THE JOURNEY FROM CHESTER TO LONDON.
EAST GATE CHESTER
LONDON Printed for B. WHITE, Fleet Street. MDCCLXXXII.
ADVERTISEMENT.
THE ground which is described in the following Sheets, has been for some centuries passed over by the incurious Traveller; and has had the hard fortune of being constantly execrated for its dulness. To retort the charge, and clear it from the calumny, is my present business. To shew that the road itself, or its vicinity, is replete with either antient historic facts, or with matter worthy of present attention; is an affair of no great difficulty. Possibly my readers may subscribe to the opinion, that the tract is not absolutely devoid of entertainment, and that the blame rests on themselves, not the country.
WHATSOEVER entertainment they may meet with, let them join with me in thanks to the following contributors. Firstly and chiefly, to the Reveread Mr. COLE of
Milton,
near
Cambridge;
after him, to the Reverend Doctor
Edwards,
of
Nuneaton,
near
Coventry;
to Mr.
Greene,
Surgeon, in
Lichfield;
and to the Reverend Archdeacon
Coxe,
of
Flitton, Bedfordshire.
To these Gentlemen I owe great obligations for their assistance.
PUBLIC! smile on what is right: candidly convey correction of what is wrong.
THOMAS PENNANT.
DOWNING,
March
1782.
PLATES.
FRONTISPIECE,
Eastgate
in
Chester
I.
Beeston
Castle Page 11
II. Tomb in
Acton
Church Page 22
III.
Nantwich
Church Page 32
IV.
Shugborough
Page 67
V. Temple of the Winds at
Shugborough
Page 68
VI. Antiquities at
Stafford
and
Lichfield
Page 110
VII.
Sponne
Gate,
Coventry
Page 146
VIII.
Greyfriars
Gate and Steeple,
Coventry
Page 160
IX. The Challenge between, the Duke of
Hereford
and
Thomas Mowbray
Duke of
Norfolk,
taken from the beautiful MS. of
Froissart,
in the
Harleian
Library, marked 4380 Page 167
X.
Gorhambury
Page 224
XI. Countess of
Suffolk
Page 228
XII. The first Lord
Baltimore
Page 238
XIII.
Margaret
Countess of
Cumberland
Page 246
XIV. View into the South Transept of
St. Alban's
Church 263
XV. View of part of the Body and Ailes Page 263
XVI. Abbot
Ramridge
's Tomb Page 264
XVII.
Castle Ashby
Page 310
XVIII.
John Talbot
Earl of
Shrewsbury
Page 312
XIX. His Countess Page 312
XX.
Gothurst
Page 325
XXI. Bust of Lady
Venetia Digby
Page 337
XXII.
Houghton Park
Page 381
*⁎* A few Copies are printed on Large Paper, and may be had, finely illuminated on the Margin with Views, Coats of Arms,
&c. &c.
by applying to MOSES GRIFFITH, Painter, in
Whiteford Parish Flintshire.
ERRATA.
Page 17, Line 24, for Bas Bentagne
read
Bas Bretagne
25, 11,
for
health-keepers
read
heath-keepers
26, 17,
for
Droitwich
read
Durtwich
70, 2,
after
my countryman,
add
by descent
110, 6,
for
4 XV
read
LXV
353, 5,
for
his
read
her
356, 21,
for
Earl of Russel
read
Earl of Bedford
370, last,
for
Chelsea
read
Oxford
381, 7,
for
bears
read
palms
383, 8, place a comma after
age,
and dele the full stop after
before.
THE JOURNEY TO LONDON.
IN MARCH 1780, I began my annual journey to
London.
At
Chester
some improvements had taken place since my last account of the city. A very commodious building has been erected in the
Yatchfield,
near the
Watergate
street, for the sale of the
Irish
linen at the two fairs. It surrounds a large square area; on each side of which are piazzas, with numbers of shops well adapted for the purpose.
IN digging the foundation for certain houses near the street, were discovered some
Roman
buildings, and a large
Hypocaust
with its several conveniences; and some other antiquities, particularly a beautiful altar
Engraven in
Moses Griffith
's Supplemental Plates to the Tours in
Wales,
tab. X.
, dedicated
Fortunae Reduci
et
Aesculapio.
Much of its inscription is defaced; but the rudder, cornucopia, rod, serpent, and various sacrificial instruments, are in good preservation.
ON leaving the city, I passed under the fine arch of the East Gate: a work owing to the munificence of Lord
Grosvenor.
Boughton,
BOUGHTON.
a suburb in the parish of St.
Oswald,
a little disjoined from this part of the city, had before the dissolution an hospital
Tanner,
65.
for poor lepers, as early as the beginning of
Edward
II. From an eminence, the retreat of the unfortunate brave, is a view of very uncommon beauty; of two fine reaches of the
Dee,
bounded on one part by meadows and hanging woods; on the other terminated by part of the city, the antient bridge, and over it a distant view of the
Cambrian hills.
ADJOINING to that part of
Boughton
which is within the liberties of the city, is the township of
Boughton,
in the county of
Chester;
the inhabitants of which appear at the court of the dean and chapter of
Chester,
and pay there a chief rent: but usually clame and dispose of the wastes.
NEAR the two miles stone I crossed the canal to
Christleton,
a pretty village, seated, as usual with those of
Cheshire,
on the freestone rock.
Cristetone,
as it is called in the
Doomsday
book, was held before the Conquest by Earl
Edwin.
At that event, probably, it had a chapel, or very soon after. This manor had been bestowed by
Hugh Lupus
on
Robert Fitz Hugh,
one of his followers, who gave the chapel of
Cristentune,
with the land belonging to it, and the land of a certain peasant, with the peasant himself, to the abbey of
Chester
Dugdale
Mon. i. 201.
. His great great grand-daughter
Isabel,
wife of Sir
Philip Burnet,
joined with her husband in suing the abbey for this, and some other contiguous manors. It is probable, that the monks might have taken an advantage of a fit of remorse for some crime, or the weakness of an illness, to obtain this gift from her ancestor. They thought fit to compromise the matter with her; and on payment of two hundred pounds received, in 1280, the ninth of
Edward
I. a confirmation of the grant: and at the same time full liberty was given to the abbot to make a reservoir of water, and to convey it to the abbey.
IN the year 1282,
FREE WARREN.
William de Birmingham
had
free warren
given him of all his demesne lands in this village; but it is apprehended he was only an inferior lord to the paramount privileges of the abbey. In the
Saxon
times, every man was allowed to kill game on his own estate, but on the Conquest, the king vested the property of all the game in himself, so that no one could sport, even on his own land, under most cruel penalties, without permission from the king, by grant of a chase or
free warren.
By this, the grantee had an exclusive power of killing game on his own estate, but it was on condition that he prevented every one else; so that, as our learned commentator
Judge BLACKSTONE.
observes, this seeming favor was intended for the preservation of the beasts and fowls of
warren;
which were roes, hares, and rabbits, partridge, rails, and quails, woodcocks and pheasants, mallards and herons, for the sport of our savage monarchs. This liberty, which they allowed to a few individuals, being designed merely to prevent a general destruction.
Christleton
passed from the
Birminghams,
in
Richard
II.'s time; to Sir
Hugh Brower:
Sir
Hugh
lost it by his attachment to the house of
York;
and
Henry
the IVth, in the fourth year of his reign, bestowed it on
John Manwaring,
of
Over Peover,
an attendant on his son, afterwards
Henry
V
Leicester,
333.
.
Manwaring
having no lawful issue, bestowed this place on Sir
Thomas le Grosvenor,
lord of
Hulme;
but it passed immediately from him to
John de Macclesfield,
in the 10th of
Henry
V. One of his descendants alienated it, in 1442, or the 21st of
Henry
VI. to
Humphrey
(afterward Duke) of
Buckingham. Henry
Lord
Stafford,
son to
Edward
Duke of
Buckingham,
sold it to Sir
William Sneyde,
of
Keel;
and Sir
Ralph Sneyde,
to Sir
John Harpur,
of
Swerston,
in
Derbyshire;
one of whose descendants sold it to
Thomas Brock,
Esquire, the present lord of the manor. The living is a rectory, in the disposal of Sir
Roger Mostyn:
the church dedicated to St.
James.
FROM hence I took the horse-road across
Brownheath,
by
Hockenball,
formerly the seat of a family of the same name. The rising country to the left of this road appears to great advantage, opposing to the traveller a fair front, beautifully clumped with, self-planted groves.
PASSED over a brook, and reached the small town of
Tarvin,
which still retains nearly its
British
name
Terfŷn,
or the
Boundary,
and is so to the forest of
Delamere.
In Doomsday book, it is stiled
Terve:
the bishop at that time held it. It then contained six taxable hides of land. The bishop kept on it six cowmen, three radmen, seven villeyns, seven boors, and six ploughlands. The first were to keep his cattle; the second to attend his person in his travels, or to go wheresoever he pleased to send them; the third, by their tenure, to cultivate his lands; and the fourth, to supply his table with poultry, eggs, and other small matters. The
ploughland,
or
caruca,
was as much as one plough could work in the year. This shews the establishment of a manor in those early times; which I mention now to prevent repetition.
IN
Henry
VI.'s time, the village and manor were estimated at £23 a year, and were held by
Reginald,
bishop of
Lichfield,
in the same manner as they were held by his predecessors, under the
Prince of Wales,
as earl of
Chester.
They continued possessed by them till the reign of Queen
Elizabeth,
when they were alienated to Sir
John Savage,
who procured for the town the privilege of a market. The church is a rectory, and still continues part of the see of
Lichfield;
being a prebendary, originally founded about the year 1226, by
Alexander de Stavenby,
bishop of that diocese. It is valued at £26. 13
s.
4
d.
the highest endowment of any prebend in that cathedral. It is called the prebend of
Tarvin,
which presents to the living.
THE same prelate also bestowed this church on the vice-prebendal church of
Burton,
in
Wiral
Anglia Sacra, i. 446.
; and formed out of its revenues an hospital for shipwrecked persons. This hospital was probably at
Burton, Tarvin
being too remote from the sea for so humane a design.
AGAINST the church-wall is a monument, in memory of Mr.
John Thomasine,
thirty-six years master of the grammar-school. The epitaph deservedly celebrates the performances of this exquisite penman, as
highly excelling in all the varieties of writing, and wonderfully so in the
Greek
characters. Specimens of his ingenuity are treasured up, not only in the cabinets of the curious, but in public libraries throughout the kingdom. He had the honour to transcribe, for her Majesty Queen
Anne,
the
Icon Basilike
of her royal grandfather. Invaluable copies also of
Pindar, Anacreon, Theocritus, Epictetus, Hippocrates
's
Aphorisms,
and that finished piece the
Shield of Achilles,
as described by
Homer,
are among the productions of his celebrated pen.
As his incomparable performances acquired him the esteem and patronage of the great and learned; so his affability and humanity gained him the good-will of all his acquaintance; and the decease of so much private worth is regretted as a public loss.
FROM
Tarvin
I travel on the great road, and at about two miles distance, leave on the right
Stapleford,
which retains the name it had at the Conquest, when it was held by
Radulpus Venator
from
Hugh Lupus.
After a long interval, it fell to the
Breretons.
In 1378, or the second of
Richard
II. it was held by Sir
William Brereton
of the king, as earl of
Chester.
From that family it passed to the
Bruyns,
and was purchased by the late
Randle Wilbraham,
Esquire.
Two miles farther, on the left, stood
Utkinton Hall:
the manor, with
Kingsley,
and the baileywick of the forest of
Delamere,
was given by
Randle Meschines,
earl of
Chester,
to
Randle de Kingsley;
whose great grand-daughter
Joan,
about the year 1233, conveyed it to the
Dones. Richard Done
was possessed of it in 1311, the sixth of
Edward
II. He held it by a quarter part of a knight's fee, and the master forestership of
Mere (Delamere)
and
Mottram,
by himself, and a horseman and eight footmen under him, to keep that forest, then valued at £10. 10
s.
3
d.
UPON the failure of issue male of Sir
John Done,
in the beginning of the last century, the manor of
Utkinton
came to his daughters, and has been since held by them, or persons claming under them.
Mary,
the second daughter, married, in 1636,
John,
second son of Sir
Randle Crew,
of
Crew;
and
Elinor,
the younger, to
Ralph Arderne,
Esquire.
THE
Dones
of
Flaxyard,
in this neighbourhood, were another considerable family, at constant feud with the former, till the houses were united by the nuptials of the heir of
Flaxyard
with the heiress of
Utkinton.
But at this time, both those antient seats are demolished, or turned into farm-houses.
FROM hence I soon reached
Torporley,
a small town, seated on a gentle descent. It had once been a borough town, of which
Richard Francis
was mayor in the twentieth of
Edward
I. In the tenth of the same reign,
Hugh de Tarpoley
had licence to hold a market here every
Tuesday,
and a fair on the vigil, the feast-day, and the day after the exaltation of the
Holy Cross;
but he alienated this privilege, with his property, to
Reginald de Grey,
chief justice of
Chester.
IN the eighth of
Richard
II. this manor was divided into two moieties; one of which was held by
John Done,
the other by
Reginald Grey,
of the family of Lord
Grey,
of
Ruthin.
THE manor and rectory of
Torporley
are now divided into six shares: four belong to the
Arderns;
one to the dean and chapter of
Chester;
and another to
Philip Egerton,
Esquire, of
Oulton.
THE living is a rectory in the gift of
John Ardern,
Esquire. The church is dedicated to St.
Helen,
the Empress of
Constantius,
the daughter of
Coel,
a
British
prince, a popular saint among us, if we may judge from the number of churches under her protection. That in question is of no great antiquity, in respect to the building; nor yet of beauty. Within is much waste of good marble, in monumental vanity.
THE best, are two monuments in the chancel, seemingly copied from half-length portraits, included in carved borders of marble, in imitation of frames. The figures are included in them in
mezzo-relievo:
the one of Sir
John Done,
Knight, hereditary forester and keeper of the forest of
Delamere,
who died in 1629. His figure is picturesque, in a laced jacket, and a horn in his hand, the badge of his office: which horn descended to the different owners of the estate, and is now in the possession of
John Ardern,
Esquire.
WHEN that
Nimrod, James
I. made a progress in 1617, he was entertained by this gentleman at
Utkinton;
who ordered so
wisely
and
contentfully,
says
King
Vale Royal, ii. 106.]
his Highness's sports, that
James
conferred on him the honor of knighthood.
He married
Dorothy,
daughter of
Thomas Wilbraham,
Esquire, of
Woodhey;
who left behind her so admirable a character, that, to this day, when a
Cheshire
man would express some excellency in one of the fair sex, he would say,
There is Lady Done for you.
The other is of
John Crew,
Esquire, second son of Sir
Randle Crew,
of
Crew,
Knight, married to
Mary,
daughter of Sir
John Done.
His face is represented in profile, with long hair. He died 1670.
His lady, and her elder sister
Jane Done,
an antient virgin, lie at full length in the
Utkinton
chapel, with long and excellent characters. One lies recumbent; the other reclined and strait laced, which give little grace in statuary.
Jane
died in 1662; Mrs.
Crew
in 1690, aged 86.
SIR
John Crew,
Knight, son of Mr.
John Crew,
lies reclined on an altar-tomb, with a vast perriwig, and a
Roman
dress, with a whimpering genius at head and feet. Sir
John
married, first,
Mary,
daughter of
Thomas Wagstaff,
of
Tachbrook,
in
Warwickshire,
Esquire; and for his second,
Mary,
daughter of Sir
Willughby Aston,
of
Aston,
Baronet. He died in 1711, aged 71.
I MUST not quit this place without letting fall a few tears, as a tribute to the memory of its honest rector
John Allen;
whose antiquarian knowlege and hospitality, I have often experienced on this great thoroughfare to the capital. From the antient rectorial house, at the bottom of the town, is an aweful view of the great rock of
Beeston,
backed by the
Peckfreton
hills, tempting me to take a nearer survey.
THE distance is about two miles. In my way I crossed the canal at
Beeston Bridge,
and called at the poor remains of
Beeston Hall,
the manor-house, inhabited by the agent for the estate. This place was burnt by prince
Rupert,
during the civil wars. There is a tradition, that he had dined that day with the lady of the house. After dinner, he told her, that he was sorry that he was obliged to make so bad return to her hospitality; advised her to secure any valuable effects she had, for he must order the house to be burnt that night, least it should be garrisoned by the enemy.
THIS manor had been part of the barony of
Malpas,
and was held under the lords, by the family of
De Bunbury;
who changed their
Norman
name,
St. Pierre,
and assumed that of the place where they first settled.
IN 1271, or the fifty-sixth of
Henry
III.
Henry de Bunbury,
and
Margery
his wife, gave it to their nephew
Richard,
who made the place his residence, and assumed its name. It continued in his family for many generations. Sir
George Beeston
possessed it in the forty-fourth of Queen
Elizabeth.
At length, by the marriage of
Margaret,
daughter of Sir
Hugh Beeston,
with
William Whitemore,
of
Leighton,
it was conveyed into that house; and as suddenly transferred, by
Bridget,
heiress of Mr.
Whitemore,
to
Darcie Savage,
second son to
Thomas
Viscount
Savage,
of
Rock Savage;
whose grand-daughter, another
Bridget,
brought it by marriage to Sir
Thomas Mostyn,
Baronet, with the lordships of
Peckfreton, Leighton,
and
Thornton;
in whose house they still remain. This lady was a
Roman Catholic.
Tradition is warm in her praise, and full of her domestic virtues, and the particular attention that she shewed in obliging her domestics, of each religion, to attend their respective churches. Her husband and she were lovely and pleasant in their lives, and in their death they were not divided: they died within a day or two of each other, at
Gloddaeth,
in
Caernarvonshire,
and were interred in the neighboring church of
Eglwys Rbôs.
BEESTON CASTLE.
THIS rock is crowned with the ruins of a strong fortress,
BEESTON CASTLE.
which rose in the year 1220; founded by
Randle Blondeville,
earl of
Chester,
on his return out of the
Holy Land;
for which purpose, and for the building, of
Chartley Castle,
he raised a tax upon all his estates
Polychronicon cccvi.
. At that time it belonged to the lords of the manor of
Beeston;
from whom he obtained leave to erect his castle. It devolved afterwards to the crown; for, according to
Erdeswick,
Polychronicon,
cccvi.
r
Hugh Beeston
purchased it from Queen
Elizabeth,
and restored it to his lordship.
It had been a place of very great strength. The access, about midway of the slope, was defended by a great gateway, and a strong wall fortified with round towers, which ran from one edge of the precipice to the other, across the slope; but never surrounded the hill, as is most erroneously represented in the old prince. Some of the walls, and about six or seven rounders, still
ist. A square tower, part of the gateway, is also standing.
th
n this cincture is a large
area,
perhaps four or five acres in
xtent. Near the top is the castle, defended, on this side, by an amazing ditch, cut out of the live rock; on the other, by the
upt precipice that hangs over the vale of
Cheshire.
THE entrance is through a noble gateway, guarded on each
e by a great rounder, whose walls are of a prodigious thickness. Within the yard is a rectangular building, the chapel of the place. The draw-well was of a most surprizing depth; being sunk through the higher part of the rock, to the level of
Beeston
brook, that runs beneath. In the area just mentioned, was another well: both at this time are filled up; but
King
remembered the first to have been eighty, the other ninety-one, yards deep, although the last is said to have been half filled with stones and rubbish.
WE are quite unacquainted with the events that befel this strong hold, for several centuries after its foundation.
Slow
A
ais
321.
says, that
Richard
II. lodged here his great treasures during his expedition into
Ireland,
and garrisoned it with an hundred men of arms, chosen and able; who, on the approach of
Henry
duke of
Lancester,
yielded it to the usurper. But other historians assert, his treasures were placed in the castle of
Holt.
THE fortress certainly fell in ruins soon after this reign; for
Ireland,
in his poem on the birth of
Edward
VI. speaks of it as such, when he makes
Fome
to alight on its summit, and foretell its restoration.
E
plicuit dehine FANA suas perniciter alas,
Altaque fulmia
Jovis atria victrix,
Circuiens liquidi spatiosa volumina coeli.
Tum quoque duspexit terram, sublimis, ocellcs
Sidereos sigens
Bisduni
in moenia casiri,
&c.
Thence to
Jove
's palace
she
prepared to fly
With out-stretch'd pi
ons, thro' the yielding sky;
Wide o'er the
of the ample space,
Survey'd the subject earth and human race.
Ta'e Ro
al,
iii
Sublime in air she cast her radiant eyes,
Where far-fam'd
Beeston
's airy turrets rise:
High on a rock it stood, whence all around
Each fruitful valley, and each rising ground,
In beauteous prospect lay; these scenes to view.
Descending swift, the wondering goddess flew.
Perched on the topmost pinnacle, she shook
Her sounding plumes, and thus in rapture spoke:
From
Syrian
climes the conquering
Randolph
came,
"Whose well-fought fields bear record of his name.
"To guard his country, and to check his foes,
"By
Randolph
's hands this glorious fabric rose:
"Tho' now in ruin'd heaps thy bulwarks lie,
"Revolving time shall raise those bulwarks high,
"If faith to antient prophecies be due;
"Then
Edward
shall thy pristine state renew."
R. W.
The castle was restored to its former strength, between the days of
Leland
and the sad contentions betwixt the king and parlement, in the times of
Charles
I. It was first possessed by the parlement;
SI
G
.
but on the 13th of
September
1643, was taken by the royalists, under the famous partizan Captain
Sandford;
who scaled the steep sides of the rock, and took it by surprize
Genethliacon Eaduardi
Pr.
Walliae,
L. 749.
.
Steel,
the governor, was suspected of treachery, tried, and shot to death.
THE parlement made a vigorous attempt to recover a place of such importance, and besieged it for seventeen weeks; during which time it was gallantly defended by Captain
Valet.
At length, on the approach of prince
Rupert,
the enemy abandoned the attack, on the 18th of
March
1644
MS. account. Mr.
Grose,
article
Beeston.
.
IN the following year it was taken, after a most vigorous defence of eighteen weeks. The defendants were reduced to the necessity of eating cats, &c. when the brave Colonel
Ballard,
out of mere compassion to the poor remains of his garrison, consented to beat a parley, and obtained the most honorable conditions, far beyond what would be expected in such extremity;
viz.
to march out, the governor and officers with their horses and arms, and their own proper goods (which loaded two waggons); the common soldiers with colors flying, drums beating, matches alight, aproportion of cannon and ball, and a convoy to guard them to
Flint Castle.
On
Sunday,
the 16th of
March,
he surrendered the castle to Sir
William Brereton,
and, according to articles, marched out with his men, now reduced to about sixty
Rushworth,
vol. i. part 4. p. 136.
. The fortress soon after underwent the fate of the other seats of loyalty.
FROM
Beeston Castle
I continued my journey about two miles to
Bunbury;
a village,
BUNBURY.
and the seat of the parish church. This was the
Boliberie
of
Doomsday Book;
which, with several neighboring places in the antient hundred of
Riseton,
now comprehended in that of
Ledesbury,
were possessed by
Robert Fitzhugh.
The family who assumed the name of the place, held it under him and his successors, till,
Humphrey
dying without issue, his sisters,
Ameria
and
Joan,
became co-heiresses.
Ameria
's share came to the
Patricks,
and from them to the
St. Piers.
At length
Isabel,
daughter and heiress of
Uriam St. Pier,
brought it by marriage to Sir
Walter
—; who sold his share of the advowson of the church to the famous Sir
Hugh de Calvely. Joan
's moiety came to her son
Alexander,
who still continued the name
De Bunbury.
Sir
Hugh de Calvely
obtaining likewise the other share of the church, erected here a college for a master and six chaplains; for which purpose he obtained licence, dated
March
12th 1386, from
Richard
II. on paying to the king the sum of forty pounds. It was instituted for the good state of the
King
and of Sir
Hugh,
as long as they lived; and on their death, for the souls of them and their progenitors, and those of all the faithful
Dugdale Monast.
iii. part 2. p. 107.
. Its revenue was an hundred marks, but at the dissolution, was £48. 2
s.
8
d.
when the foundation consisted of a dean, five vicars, and two choristers.
IN the fourteenth of Queen
Elizabeth,
it was purchased of the crown by
Thomas Aldersey,
of
London,
merchant-taylor, a second son of the house of
Spurstow,
in this parish. Here he founded a preacher's place, of 100 marks a year, with a good house and glebe; an assistant or curate, with £20 a year; the other for an usher
A schoolmaster, with £20 a year.
, with £10; ten pounds a year to the poor; and several other charitable gifts. The disposal of the places here are in the haberdashers company,
London.
King's Vale Royal,
ii. 104, 105.
IN respect to the succession of the manor, Sir
Thomas Cokesey,
in the latter end of the reign of
Henry
VII. having no issue, alienated his share to the
Bunburies.
In the thirty-second of
Henry
VIII.
Richard Bunbury
was lord of the manor; from whom the family of the
Bunburies
of
Stanny,
in
Wirral,
and the present Sir
Charles,
is lineally descended.
THE church is a handsome building, embattled,
CHURCH
and the tower ornamented with pinnacles. The architecture seems of the time of
Henry
VII. It is dedicated to St.
Boniface;
from whom the place takes its name. Whether the patron was
Boniface,
an
Englishman,
first archbishop of
Mentz,
who died in 754, or Pope
Boniface
the First, who died in 423, I cannot determine; for both received their
apotheosis.
THE church is distinguished by the magnificent tomb of Sir
Hugh de Calvely,
TOMB.
whose effigies in white marble lies on it recumbent. He is armed in the fashion of the times; and, to give an idea of his vast prowess, his figure is represented seven feet and a half long. He was the
Arthur
of
Cheshire;
the glory of the county: accordingly the most prodigious seats are recorded of him. Whether, like
Milo,
he could kill a bull with a blow of his fist, is not said; but our ballads give Sir
Hugh
no more than the honor of devouring a calf at a meal. His head rests on a helmet, with a calf's head for the crest, allusive to his name; yet probably gave rise to the fable.
Sir
Hugh
sprung from a neighboring hamlet (of which I shall have occasion to speak) from whence he took his surname. According to the cast of the times, he fought adventures in the military line; and, like a soldier of fortune, first appeared a principal commander of the
Grandes Compagnies, Tard venus,
or
Malandrins,
a species of
banditti,
formed out of the disbanded soldiery of different nations. On the captivity of king
John,
at the battle of
Poitiers,
they amounted at lest to above forty thousand veteran troops. They lived upon plunder; yet were ready to join the side most adverse to
France.
At the battle of
Auray,
in 1364, Sir
Hugh
Froissart,
i. ch. ccxxvi.
served with a considerable body of them, under the
English
general, Lord
Chandos;
and had the honor of turning the fortune of the day, in which was taken the great
De Gueselin.
IN 1366, Sir
Hugh
was won over by that illustrious general, (again at the head of the armies of
France
) to join him in an expedition into
Spain,
to dethrone
Peter
the Cruel, king of
Castile.
The enterprize was successful; but, on the express command of
Edward
III. to Lord
Chandos,
Sir
Hugh de Calvely,
and others of his subjects, leaders of the companies, to forbear hostilities
Rymer,
vi. 480.
against
Peter,
they deserted the quarrel they had espoused; and, on the appearance of the
Black Prince
in
Spain,
who, to his disgrace, took part with the tyrant, Sir
Hugh,
and a great body of the companies, joined him. The prince reinstated
Peter
on the throne, after the great victory of
Najara
over his rival
Henry
of
Trastamare;
to which the bravery of Sir
Hugh,
and his troops, was highly contributory. On the recall of the
Black Prince,
by his father, in 1367. Sir
Hugh
was left commander of the companies. History gives him a royal consort, in reward of his valour, and marries him to the queen of
Arragon.
If at this period he took a most antiquated piece of royalty; for I can find no other dowager of that kingdom, unless
Leonora,
relict of
Alonso
IV. who became a widow in 1335, was then alive. There was no issue by this match;
Salusbury Pedigrees,
72.
but by his second wife, heiress to
Mottram
Lord of
Mottram,
his line was continued.
IN 1376, the last year of
Edward
III. he was appointed to the important government of
Calais.
Hist. Calais,
ii. 55.
In 1378, he plundered and burnt
La Bas Bentagne,
with several vessels which lay in harbour: he also retook the castle of
Mark,
lost before by neglect. In 1379, he resigned the place to the earl of
Salusbury,
and was appointed by
Richard
II. admiral of his fleet
Rymer,
vii. 223.
.
In 1382, we find him governor of
Guernsey,
and the adjacent isles. The last mention we find of him, is in a cause that was to be determined in 1388
Ryneer,
vii. 576.
; after which, history is silent in respect to this hero.
Fuller
remarks,
It was as impossible for such a spirit not to
be,
as not to be active.
probably old-age might subdue his enterprizing soul; for I find that he lived to the reign of
Henry
IV
Two visitations of
Cheshire,
&c. MSS. in my possession: one in 1566; the other in 1580.
: but mention is made of the weak state of his body in
Rymer
's record of the cause
This satisfies me, that his royal consort was not
Syhilla Fortia,
relict of
Perdo
fourth king of
Arragon,
who lost her spouse in 1388; as was suggested to me by a most ingenious friend.
.
THIS tomb is kept always very neat; which is owing to the piety of Dame
Mary Calveley,
of
Lea;
who, in 1705, left the interest of an hundred pounds, to be distributed annually among certain poor of this parish, on condition they attended divine service while they were able and swept the chancel, and cleaned the monument.
THE
Ridley
chapel, founded in 1527, belonging to the
Egertons
of
Ridley,
is separated from the church by a wood-work skreen, painted. This had been their place of interment; but nothing monumental remains, unless the impression of a plate of a kneeling man, against one of the walls.
IN the chancel is a recumbent figure of Sir
George Beeston,
who died in 1600. This monument was erected by his son Sir
Hugh,
the last male of this antient line; who for some time survived his only son
George.
He died in 1640.
AT a small distance from
Bunbury,
I fell into the great road, opposite to
Alpram,
a hamlet, whose name is corrupted from the
Saxon Alburgham,
in the
Doomsday
book. In after-times it was the seat of the
Pages,
now extinct.
A LITTLE farther lies
Calvely,
long the property of that illustrious family, now likewise lost. The place was bestowed on a
Hugh,
by
Richard Vernon,
Baron of
Shipbrook,
about the time of
Richard
I. In
Edward
the IlI.'s time, it came to the
Davenports,
by the marriage of
Arthur
to
Catharine,
daughter and heiress of
Robert de Calvely:
in which family it has continued till the present time.
MY road lay along the low unpleasant lane that led towards
Nantwich;
the prospect frequently deformed by the great fosses of the unfortunate canal, falling in on each side of the road; for it crosses at
Barbridge,
and is finished from thence to
Nantwich.
This was only a secondary consideration, executed on the hopes of considerable profit in the carriage of salt and cheese. The original and principal object was, to continue the main trunk by
Church Minshul
to the great
Staffordshire
canal, near
Middlewich,
and by that means share in the freight of the goods of the opposite side of the kingdom: but various causes have frustrated all hopes of that benefit; and this part of the plan remains unattempted.
AT
Acton
the prospect mends a little. That village,
ACTON.
with its handsome new church, stand on a small rising, and command another great extent of flat, beyond
Nantwich.
This place,
EARL MORKAR'S.
before the Conquest, was possessed by
Morkar,
the gallant brother of the gallant earl
Edwin,
last earl of
Mercia.
At that time, the hundred it lay in was called
Warmundestreu,
at present
Namptwich.
Actune,
as it is stiled in the
Doomsday
book, was a very considerable place. There were eight hides of land taxable: there were thirty plough-lands; in the lord's demesn three: two servants, thirteen villeyns, and fifteen boors, with seven ploughlands, a mill for the use of the court (
curiae
) and ten acres of meadow: a wood six leagues long, and one broad: an aery of hawks: two presbyters, who had a plough-land: two aliens, having a plough-land and a half: a servant: six villeyns: seven boors, with four plough-lands.
THIS not only shews the greatness of this
Saxon
manor, but that it was the seat of
Morkar,
by the provision made for his support. The tenants had likewise the right of pleas in the hall of their lord, and one house in
Wich (Nantwich)
where they might make salt without interruption. In the time of the Confessor, the manor was valued at ten pounds a year; at the Conquest, at only six. It may be observed, once for all, that the troubles occasioned at that event, and the ravages committed, instantly sunk the value of the land.
AT the Conquest, this place was a member of the barony of
Wich Malhang,
or
Nantwich. Hugh,
second lord of
Nantwich,
bestowed the advowson of the living, with the lands belonging, on the abbey of
Cumbermere,
which he had founded in 1113
Dugdale Monast,
ii. 914.
.
THE third, or last baron, had only daughters, among whom the estates were divided; and
Acton
sell to the share of
Alinora,
the eldest; whose daughter
Joan
marrying Lord
Lovel,
it remained in that line as late as 1389, the thirteenth of
Richard
II. when it was possessed by Sir
John Lovel.
It was afterwards the property of the
Arderns.
Sir
Leonard Ardorn
was lord of it in 1407, the ninth of
Henry
IV.
IN 1498, the fourteenth
Henry
VII. and in 1541, the thirty-third of
Henry
VIII. it was in the heirs of
Ralph Ardens.
In the reign of Queen
Mary
it was the property of the
Wilbrahams
of
Woodhey,
in this parish; and at present belongs to
Wilbraham Tollemache,
Esquire, by virtue of the marriage of
Grace,
eldest daughter of Sir
Richard Wilbraham,
Baronet, with his ancestor
Lionel
earl of
Dysart.
ABOUT twenty years ago,
CHURCH.
the steeple and roof of the church were destroyed; but the whole has since been restored, in a very handsome manner. One monument is in good preservation, notwithstanding this church was a temporary prison after the battle of
Nantwich,
in the civil wars of
Charles
I; but the prisoners were of the party which respected these memorials of the dead.
THE most ancient is one in St.
Mary
's chapel, in memory of Sir
William Manwaring,
of
Over Pever,
and of
Badely,
in this neighborhood. This knight, before his departure on an expedition to
Guienne,
in 1393, settled his estate, and next year made his will; by which he bequeaths his body to this church, and orders a
picture
in
alabaster,
to cover his tomb. He also left to the same church part of
Christ's cross,
which the wife of his half-brother had shut up in wax, and a competent salary for a chaplain to say a competent number of masses, in St.
Mary
's chapel, for the sake of his son, for seven years, when it might be supposed to have been redeemed from
Purgatory,
and
"The foul crimes done in his days of nature
"Were burnt and purg'd away."
After his death, which happened in 1399, a magnificent tomb was erected beneath a Gothic arch, with a large embattled superstructure. Under the arch lies Sir
William
in full armour, with suppliant hands. His head is cased in a conic helm, bound with a fillet entwined with foliage. From his helmet is a guard of mail, which covers his neck, and rises to his lips; over which flow two great whiskers. His head rests on a casque, with an ass's head for a crest. Above, within the arch, is a row of half-lengths, with a book opposite to each; probably religious, chaunting his
requiem.
The whole is painted. On the edge of the tomb was this inscription, now much defaced by time:
Hic jacet William Manwaring quondam dominum de Badeleye, qui obiit die Veneris xxo ante festum Pentecostae, anno Dni. mo ccco nonogessimo nono.
THE tomb of Sir
Thomas Wilbraham,
Baronet, and his lady
Elizabeth,
daughter of Sir
Roger Wilbraham,
Knight, and one of the Masters of Request to
James
I. is very handsome. Their figures are placed on an altar-tomb, in white marble, recumbent: he in armour, long curled hair, and a turn-over, with one hand in his breast, the other by his side. Beneath him is spread a large cloak. The lady has a book in one hand; the other, like his, reclines on her breast. He died in 1660.
TOMB in ACTON CHURCH.
THE church had been long the place of sepulture of the houses of
Woodhey
and
Badeley.
The vain attention of our forefathers to posthumous honors and superstitious rites, is well exemplified from the probate of the will of
William Wilbraham,
of
Woodhey,
who died in 1536; by which
he bequeaths his body to be buried before the image of our Lady, in the chancel of the church of
Acton,
and bestows x9 . to be laid out on a tenor bell, if the parish will provide the rest; but if not, then the money to be laid out on a
pax
and two
cruytts
of silver, to serve at the high altar on good days. He further wills, that 12 white gowns be given to 12 a poor men; as also, that 12 torches be made, to hold about his body the day of his burial; and that a light be over him, with viii. tapers, in the middle whereof a bigger taper should spring out; also, that penny-dole should be given at his burial, to every person that would take it.
HE, moreover, requires his executors to buy a stone of marble to lie on him, in the said chancel of
Acton,
with pictures of himself and his wife, and their arms; also, that they put out xi £ under sure keeping, to pay xis . yearly to a well-disposed priest, to sing (during twenty years) for him and his wife, children, father and mother, and all that God would be prayed for; and the said service to be performed in his chapel of
Woodhey;
which priest should likewise have iv £ more yearly for his salary, if so be his heir is not pleased to give him his board and chamber-room
Collins's Baronets,
ed. 1725. vol. ii. 291.
.
THE monument alluded to, either never was executed, or was destroyed by the fall of the steeple.
FROM
Acton,
I went down a gentle descent to
Nantwich,
about a mile distant. Antiently this place was known only by the name of
Wich,
See
Skinner's Etymologicon.
Notwithstanding the word does not appear to have any thing to do with salt, yet
wich,
or
wych,
is always applied, with us, to places where salt is found; as
Droitwich, Nantwich,
&c and the houses in which it is made, are called
wych
houses.
an
Anglo-Saxon
word for district, or habitation; and a very common termination of a multitude of places. Here the
British Nant
is added, to shew its low situation.
IMMEDIATELY before the Conquest, its revenues were divided between the
king
and earl
Edwin.
After that event, it was bestowed by the great proprietor of
Cheshire, Hugh Lupus,
on
William de Malhedeng,
or
de Malhang,
a
Norman
chieftain; from whom it was called
Wich Malhang. Hugh
erected it into a barony, in favor of
Malhedeng,
and honored him with a seat in his parlement.
THIS dignity continued only in him and his two sons,
Hugh
and
William.
The last died without issue male. Of his three daughters,
Alionora,
the eldest, by marriage of her daughter
Joan,
conveyed her share to the Lord
Lovels; Philippa,
the second, to the
Audleys;
Doctor
Gower.
and
Alda,
the third, to the
Vernons,
barons of
Shipbroke.
BY these marriages, the barony became divided into four, reckoning the part which had been given by
Hugh Malhang
to the abbey of
Cumbermere;
and soon after, by different alliances, became split into multitudes of other shares.
WHEN entire, it was under the government of the lord, or his steward; who were vested with the usual baronial powers. This town had been governed by a bailiff; but the election of that officer being dropt, it is at present under the government of the constables. It has likewise several other officers, such as the
rulers of walling,
who were guardians of the salt-springs, and regulated all matters respecting their important staple of the place
History of Nantwich,
1774.
.
AFTER them came the
ale-tasters;
whose office related to the assize of bread and drink.
THE next were the
health-keepers;
who attended to the right of the beam-heath, antiently called the
creach;
and took care to preserve it from all incroachments, or trespassers.
THE
leave-lookers
superintended the markets, inspected the weights, and destroyed unwholesome meat of every kind. These corresponded a good deal with the
Aediles cereales
of the
Romans;
as the next officers, the
fire-lookers,
did to the
triumviri nocturni.
They had the care of the chimnies, and were to guard against all accidents that might arise from fire.
THE town is large, but consists chiefly of old houses. The
Weever,
which divides it in unequal parts, is here a small stream, and not navigable higher than
Winsford Bridge.
The inhabitants of
Nantwich
had, many years ago, an act for making this river navigable from that place to their town; but they never carried the power into execution. The
Chester
canal is now completed from that city, and finishes in a handsome broad bason, near the road between
Acton
and the town; but at this time, it remains an almost useless ornament to the country; nor has it, as might have been expected, given the lest increase to the salt-trade, for which this antient town was once so distinguished. Unfortunately for it, the other salt-towns lie more conveniently for commerce, and abound almost to excess with that useful article.
THE chief trade of the place is in shoes, which are sent to
London.
Here is a small manufacture of gloves; but those of bone-lace and stockings, once considerable, are now lost. In the reigns of Queen
Elizabeth,
and
James
I. the tanning business brought much wealth into the town.
THE salt made from the adjacent brine-springs, formed once a very important business. In the reign of Queen
Elizabeth,
here were two hundred and sixteen salt-works, of six
leads-walling
each: in 1774, only two works, of five large pans of wrought iron. The duty produced from them amounts annually to near five thousand pounds: from the whole district, including the works at
Lawton,
and a small one at
Droitwich,
from eighteen to twenty thousand pounds. The tax on this useful article is very considerable; which it bears, as being of most cheap fabrick, and most universal use. It seems, for that reason, to have been one of the earliest taxes of the
Romans;
for
Ancus Martius,
near 640 years before
Christ, salinarum vectigal instituit
Aurelius Victor,
c. v.
. This tribute was continued on the
Britons
when the
Romans
possessed our isle.
THE latter also made salt part of the pay of their soldiers, which was called
salarium;
and from which is derived our word
salary.
THE art of making salt was known in very early times, to the
Gauls
and
Germans:
it is not, therefore, likely that the
Britons,
who had, in several places, plenty of salt-springs, should be ignorant of it. The way of making it was very simple, but very dirty; for they did no more than fling the water on burning wood; the water evaporated by the heat, and left the salt adhering to the ashes, or charcoal
Plinii Hist. Nat.
lib. xxxi. c. 7.
Galliae Germaniaeque
ardentibus lignis aquam salsam infundunt.
.
IT is very probable that the
Britons
used the spring of
Nantwich
for this purpose; numbers of pieces of half-burnt wood being frequently dug up in this neighborhood.
Salinis
was a place not far from hence, one of the wiches; but I am uncertain which. The
Romans
made use of the springs, and made salt by much the same process as we do at present. The salt produced was white. It struck the natives, who stiled this place, perhaps the first place where they saw salt of this kind,
Heledd-Wen,
or the white brine-pits, to distinguish them from the springs which they used in so slovenly a fashion.
THE
Romans
were acquainted with rock-salt, but had not discovered it within the limits of
Italy.
There were mountains of salt in
India. Spain
afforded the transparent colorless rock-salt, and
Cappadocia
the deep yellow
Piiny,
lib.xxxi. c. 7.
Strabe,
lib. xx. 1057. But the rock-salt of our island remained undiscovered till past the middle of the last century.
. The
Romans
were conversant in the methods of producing this useful article from the brine
Fit et e putcis in salinas ingestis.
Plin.
xxxi. 7.
, which they practised in our island, and communicated their instructions to the natives. Salt was an early import into
Britain,
but it was only to the
Cassiterides,
Strabo,
265.
and the neighboring parts, which were remote from the salt-springs.
THESE advantages are but sparingly scattered over
Great Britain: Scotland
and
Ireland
are totally destitute of them. In
England
there are several, but few that contain salt sufficient to be worked. Thus, there are some which rise out of the middle of the
Were,
in the bishoprick of
Durham;
others in
Yorkshire, Cumberland, Lancashire,
and
Oxfordshire:
See
Campbel's Politic, Survey,
i. 76.
all those are neglected, either on account of their weakness, or, in some places, by reason of the dearness of fuel. These in
Cheshire,
and those at
Droitwich
in
Worcestershire,
with the small works at
Weston
in
Staffordshire,
are the only places where any business is done.
Droitwich,
and those in
Cheshire,
were worked by the
Romans,
and had the common name of
Salinae.
FROM that period to the present, they have been successively in use. The
Saxons,
according to their idea of liberty, divided them between the king, the great people, and the freemen. Thus, at
Nantwich
was one brine-pit, which gave employ to numbers of
salinae,
or works. Eight of them were between the king and earl
Edwin,
of which the king had two shares of the profits, the earl one.
Edwin
had likewise a work near his manor of
Aghton,
out of which was made salt sufficient for the annual consumption of his houshold; but if any was sold, the king had a tax of two pence, and the earl of one penny.
IN this place were likewise numbers of works belonging to the people of the neighborhood; which had this usage: From
Ascension-day
to the feast of
St. Martin,
they might carry home what salt they pleased; but if they sold any on the spot, or anywhere in the county, they were to pay a tax to the king and the earl: but after the feast of
St. Martin,
whosoever took the salt home, whether his own, or purchased from other works, was to pay toll, except the before-mentioned work of the earl; which enjoyed exemption, according to antient usage.
IT appears, that the king and earl farmed out their eight works; for they were obliged to give, on the
Friday
of the weeks in which they were worked, xvi. boilings; of which xv. made one
sum
of salt. This is a measure, which, according to
Spelman,
amounts to a horse-load, oreight bushels. The pans of other people, from
Ascension-day
to that of
St. Martin,
were not subject to this farm on the
Friday;
but from
St. Martin's day
to
Ascension
they were liable to those customs, in the same manner as those of the king and the earl.
THE
Welsh
used to supply themselves from these pits, before the union of our country with
England. Henry
III. in order to distress them, during the wars he had with them, took care to put a stop to the works, and deprive them of this necessary article.
ALL these salt-works were confined between the river and a certain ditch. If any person was guilty of a crime, within these limits, he was at liberty of making atonement by a mulct of two shillings, or xxx. boilings of salt; except in the case of murder or theft, for which he was to suffer death. If crimes of that nature were committed without the precinct, the common usage of the county was to be observed.
IN the time of the
Confessor,
this place yielded a rent of xx pounds, with all the pleas of the hundred; but when earl
Hugh
received it, it was a waste.
THE
Germans
had an idea of a peculiar sanctity attendant on salt-springs; that they were nearer to heaven than other places; that the prayers of mortals were nowhere sooner heard; and that, by the peculiar favor of the gods, the rivers and the woods were productive of salt, not, as in other places, by the virtue of the sea, but by the water being poured on a burning pile of wood
Taciti Annal.
xiii. c. 57.
.
WHETHER this notion might not have been delivered from the
Germans
to their
Saxon
progeny, and whether they might not, in after-times, deliver their grateful thanks for these advantages, I will not determine; but certain it is, that on
Ascension-day
the old inhabitants of
Nantwich
piously sang a hymn of thanksgiving, for the
blessing of the brine.
A very antient pit, called the
Old Brine,
was also held in great veneration, and, till within these few years, was annually, on that festival, bedecked with boughs, flowers, and garlands, and was encircled by a jovial band of young people, celebrating the day with song and dance
Hist. Nantwich,
60.
.
THIS festival was probably one of the
reliques
of
Saxon
paganism, which
Mellitus
might permit his proselytes to retain, according to the political instructions he received from
Gregory
the Great
Bede,
lib. i. c. 31.
, on his mission, least, by too rigid an adherence to the purity of the Christian religion, he should deter the
English
from accepting his doctrine. In fact, salt was, from the earliest times, in the highest esteem, and admitted into religious ceremonies: it was considered as a mark of league and friendship.
Neither shalt thou,
says the
Jewish Legislator,
Levit.
ch. ii. v. 13.
suffer the salt of the covenant of thy God to be lacking from thy meat-offering With all thy offerings thou shalt offer salt.
Homer
gives to salt the epithet of
divine.
Both
Greeks
and
Romans
mixed salt with their sacrificial cakes. In their lustrations they made use of salt and water, which gave rise, in after-times, to the superstition of holy water; only the
Greeks
made use of an olive branch instead of a brush, to sprinkle it on the objects of purification.
Next, with pure sulphur purge the house, and bring
"The purest water from the freshest spring;
"This, mix'd with salt, and with green olive crown'd,
"Will cleanse the late contaminated ground."
Theocritus, Idyl.
24.
Stuckius
tells us, that the
Muscovites
thought that a prince could not shew a guest a greater mark of affection, than by sending to him salt from his own table
Pane ipso princeps suam erga aliquem gratiam;
Sale
veto amorem ostendit.
Antiq. Conviviales,
17.
. The dread of spilling of salt, is a known superstition among us and the
Germans,
being reckoned a presage of some future calamity, and particularly, that it foreboded domestic feuds; to avert which, it is customary to fling some salt over the shoulder into the fire, in a manner truly classical
Horace,
lib. iii. ode 23.
:
Molibit et aversos penates
Farre pio, saliente mica.
IN this town was an antient hospital dedicated to
St. Nicholas,
endowed with a portion of tythes, which were granted to
W. Grys
by Queen
Elizabeth
Tanner,
65.
. The historian of this place also mentions a priory, dependent on
Cumbermere,
and a
domus leprosorum,
or
lazar-house,
called
St. Laurence's Hospital;
both which stood in the
Welsh Row,
the street next to
Acton;
but at present, even their scite is hardly known. Here was, besides, a chapel called
St. Anne's,
near to the bridge; but that, likewise, has been totally destroyed.
NEAR the end of this street stands a large house, called
Town's End,
till of late the residence of the very worthy family of the
Wilbrahams;
that honest and distinguished lawyer, the late
Randle Wilbraham,
was a younger brother of the late owner, and, with unblemished reputation, raised a vast fortune by his profession. For several years before his death, he retired from business, and enjoyed the fruits of his labors in an hospitable retirement.
THE church is a very handsome pile, in form of a cross, with an octagonal tower in the centre. The east and west windows are filled with elegant tracery. The roof of the chancel is of stone, adorned with pretty sculpture. The stalls are neat. Tradition says, that they were brought, at the dissolution, from the abbey of
Vale Royal.
NANTWICH CHURCH
THIS town was the only one in the county which continued firm to the parlement from the beginning to the end of the civil wars. It underwent a severe siege in
January
1643, by Lord
Biron;
who, after the signal defeat he here experienced from the army commanded by Sir
Thomas Fairfax
Rushworth
II. part iii. 302.
, on the 25th of that month retired with his shattered forces to
Chester.
The place was defended only by mud-walls and ditches, formed in a hasty manner by the inhabitants and country people; who were highly incensed at some cruel and impolitic treatment they had met with from the royalists. The garrison defended themselves with great obstinacy. The most remarkable attack was on the 18th of
January,
when the besiegers were repulsed with great loss. Among the slain on their side, was the famous Captain
Sandford;
who again employed the eloquence of his pen, but to as little purpose as he did before at
Hawarden.
On each occasion
Tour in Wales,
vol. i.
he maintains the same stile.
To the Officers, Soldiers, and Gentlemen in
Namptwyche,
these.
YOUR drum can inform you,
Acton
church is no more aprison, but now free for honest men to do their devotions therein; wherefore be persuaded from your incredulity, and resolve God will not forsake his anointed. Let not your zeal in a bad cause dazzle your eyes any longer; but wipe away your vain conceits, that have too long let you into blind errors. Loth I am to undertake the trouble of persuading you into obedience, because your erroneous opinions do most violently oppose reason amongst you; but, however, if you love your town, accept of quarter; and if you regard your lives, work your safeties by yielding your town to Lord
Byron,
for his Majesty's use. You see now my battery is fixed; from whence fire shall eternally visit you, to the terror of the old, and females, and consumption of your thatched houses. Believe me, gentlemen, I have laid by my former delays, and am now resolved to batter, burn, storm, and destroy you. Do not wonder that I write unto you, having officers in chief above me: 'tis only to advise you, because I have some friends amongst you, for whose safety I wish you to accept of my Lord
Byron
's conditions; he is gracious, and will charitably consider of you. Accept of this as a summons, that you forthwith surrender the town; and by that testimony of your fealty to his Majesty, you may obtain favour. My firelocks, you know, have done strange feats, both by day and night; and hourly we will not fail in our private visits of you. You have not as yet received mine alarms; wherefore expect suddenly to hear from my battery and approaches before your
Welsh Row.
This 15th of
January,
1643.
Tho. Sandford,
Captain of Firelocks.
GENTLEMEN,
LET these resolve your jealousies concerning our religion: I vow by the faith of a Christian, I know not one Papist in our army; and, as I am a gentleman, we are no
Irish,
but true-born
English,
and real Protestants also, born and bred. Pray mistake us not, but receive us into your fair esteem. I know we intend loyalty to his Majesty, and will be no other but faithful in his service. This, Gentlemen, believe, from
Your's,
Tho. Sandford.
January
15.
AMONG many other prisoners of distinction taken by Sir
Thomas Fairfax,
was Colonel
George Monk,
in after-times the famous instrument of the restoration of
Charles
II.
Fairfax
was so well acquainted with his merit, that he was determined that he never should have an opportunity of exerting his courage again in the royal cause. He sent him up to
London,
where he was committed prisoner to the Tower, and confined near four years. On his release he joined the parlement; but, through a sense of honor, declined acting against his old master: and employed his sword against the
Irish
rebels, in which service he was engaged till after the death of the King.
Nantwich
was the residence of the widow of the great
Milton,
during the latter part of her life.
Life of Milton
by Bishop
Newton.
She died in a very advanced age, in
March
1726.
She was the daughter of Mr.
Minshul,
of
Stoke,
in this neighborhood. The poet married her in the fifty-third or fifty-fourth year of his age, wanting, in the season of his infirmities, assistance from a dearer relation than that of domestics. I fear that he was disappointed; for she is said to have been a lady of most violent spirit. Yet she maintained a great respect for his memory; and could not bear to hear the least imputation of plagiarism ascribed to him. She used to say, that he stole from nobody but the muse who inspired him; and that muse was
God's grace,
and
the Holy Spirit, which visited him nightly.
She probably had heard him say as much, in the composition of his invocation to
Urania,
in his 7th book:
—upled by THEE,
Into the heav'n of heav'ns I have presum'd,
An earthly guest, and drawn empyreal air,
THY tempting.
And again, with greater force,
More safe I sing with mortal voice, unchang'd
To hoarse or mute, though fall'n on evil days,
On evil days though fall'n, and evil tongues;
In darkness and with dangers compass'd round,
And solitude; yet not alone, while THOU
VISIT'ST MY SLUMBERS NIGHTLY.
I CONTINUED my journey along the
London
road, flat, tedious, and heavy. At the fourth stone lieth, a little out of the way,
Wibbunbury,
a small village, supposed to have taken, its name from
Wibba,
second king of the
Mercians,
who died in 615. The manor was antiently in the great family of the
Praers.
Sir
Robert de Praer
gave it to his son
Richard,
about the reign of King
John,
upon condition of rendering to the heirs of his elder brother two barbed arrows yearly, on the feast of St.
Peter
and St.
Paul,
in lieu of all other services. But the
Praers
remitted all their right in this manor, and the patronage of the church, to the bishop of
Litchfield
and
Coventry,
in 1276, the fifth of
Edward
I. and the bishops continued to be lords of the manor till the second of Queen
Elizabeth;
about which time it was alienated: but the bishops still continue patrons of the church.
THERE had been, in much earlier times, a family in this place which took their name from it; for
Richard de Wibbunbury
was sheriff of
Cheshire
in 1233. Whether the
Praers
ever assumed that name, is uncertain. It is probable, that the
Richard
abovementioned was the same with the sheriff, and took the addition on receiving the place from his father.
THIS village was formerly surrounded with gentlemen's seats. Among those was
Lee,
the residence of a family of the same name; from which were descended the
Lees,
earls of
Litchfield,
derived from
Benedict,
a son of this house, who made a settlement at
Quarendon,
in
Buckinghamshire,
in the beginning of the reign of
Edward
IV.
THE church is a very handsome building, embattled and pinnacled: the tower lofty; the roof is timbered on the inside, and carved with the arms of the various benefactors. Part of the church was taken down in 1591; at which time many of the monuments were destroyed: of those remaining, are several in memory of the
Delves
of
Doddington.
The most antient is a large altar-tomb of alabaster, with the figures of a father, and son, and lady, engraven on the stone: at the feet of each is a dog, and beneath, a dolphin: on the front of the tomb, several figures, their progeny. The persons represented are Sir
John Delves,
his son
John,
and his wife
Ellen,
daughter of
Ralph Egerton,
of
Wrinehill,
in the county of
Stafford;
for which, probably on account of consanguinity, a dispensation was granted in 1439
Collin's Baronet.
ed. 1720, p. 300.
.
SIR
John
was in high favor with
Henry
VI. and enjoyed several lucrative posts under him. This he repaid with the most faithful adherence, raised forces in his support, and lost his life valiantly fighting, in the fatal field at
Tewkesbury,
on
Saturday, May
the 4th, 1471. His son, with numbers of persons of distinction, took refuge in the abbey. The furious
Edward
pursued them, with his drawn sword, into the church
Stow's Annals,
424.
; but was opposed by a resolute priest, who for the present diverted his vengeance by listing up the
host,
interposing the sacred mystery, and denied him admittance till he obtained a promise of pardon; depending on the king's word, they neglected making their escape, and continued in the sanctuary till the
Monday,
when the relentless monarch caused them to be drawn out and beheaded, according to the custom of the times, without any process. The bodies of this unfortunate pair were at first buried at
Tewkesbury
Leland Itin.
vi. 88.
, but afterwards translated to this place; where their remains lie, with the following inscription:
Hic jacet
Johannes Delves,
miles, et
Elena
uxor ejus, nec non
Johannes Delves,
armiger, filius et heres predicti
Johis.
qui quidem
Johannes,
miles obiit quarto die
Maii,
anno Dni. MCCCCLXXI. quorum animabus propitietur
Deus.
Amen.
Ralph,
the second son of Sir
John,
and his wife
Catharine,
are represented on a tomb by two brass plates. The inscription imports, that he died the 11th
March,
1513.
THE tomb of Sir
Thomas Smith,
of the
Hough,
in this parish, and his lady, is magnificent in its kind. Sir
Thomas
lies beneath a canopy, supported by four pillars of the
Ionic order,
of white marble, gilt and painted. He is represented recumbent and armed, with his gauntlets lying at his feet: his hair long, curled, and flowing: his visage bearded and whiskered. His lady (
Anne,
daughter of Sir
William Brereton
) has a fashionable fore-top, a great ruff, and extended hood. Sir
Thomas
died on the 21st of
December
1614; and his relict erected this monumental compliment.
ON getting into the great road, I passed on the left the scite of the antient seat of
Lee,
and an iron forge.
A LITTLE farther stood the antient seat of
Doddington,
originally belonging to a family of the same name; but in the reign of
Edward
II. passed to the
Praers:
in 1352, the twenty-sixth of
Edward
III. to the
Brescies,
by marriage with the heiress of the house: but in the thirtieth of the same reign,
John Brescie,
with
Margaret
his wife, alienated it to
John Delves,
of
Delveshall
in
Staffordshire,
one of the four renowned 'squires who distinguished themselves under the Lord
Audley,
at the battle of
Poitiers.
Sir
John Berniers,
Lord
Bourchier,
the noble translator of
Froissart,
relates the deed with all the simplicity of the original.
But when Lord
James Audeley
sawe that shoulde nedes fyght (he sayde to the Prynce) I have alwaies served truly my lorde your father, and you also, and shall do as long as I live. I say this, because I made ones a vow, that the first batayle that other the Kynge your father, or anie of his chyldren, shoulde be at, howe that I wulde be one of the fyrst setters on, or else to dye in the sayle. Therefore I requyre your Grace, as in rewarde for any servyce that ever I dyde to the Kynge your father, or to you, that you will gyve me licence to departe fro' you, and to set up my self there, as I maye accomplyshe my vowe. The Prince, according to his desyre (and sayde) Sir
James, God
gyve you this daye that grace to be the best Knyght of all others, and to take hym by the hande. Than the Knyght departed fro the Prince, and went to the foremost front of all the batayles all, onely accompanyed with four Squyers, who promysed nat to sayle him. This Lorde
James
was a ryghte sage and a valiant knyght, and by hym was muche of the hooste ordeyned and governed the day before. — The Lord
James Audeley,
with his foure Squyers, was in the front of that battel, and these dyd marvels in armes; and by great prowes, he came and fought with Sir
Arnolde Dandrchen,
under his own banner; and there they fought longe togyder, and Sir
Arnolde
was there sore handled. — And there was Sir
Arnolde Dandrchen
taken prysoner by other men than by Syr
James Audeley
or his foure Squyers; for yt daye he never toke prisoner, but always foughte and wente on his enemyes. — On the
Englyshe
parte, the Lord
James Audeley,
with the ayde of his foure Squyers, foughte alwayes in the chyefe of the batayle: he was sore hurte in the bodye, and in the vysage. As longe as his breth served him he fought: at last, at the end of the batayle hys foure Squyers toke and brought hym out of the felde, and layed hym under a hedge syde, for to refreshe hym. And they unarmed hym, and bounde up his woundes as well as they coude.—After the battle, the Prince demanded of the Knyghtes that were aboute him, for the Lord
Audley,
if any knewe any thing of him. Some Knights yt were there answered and sayde, Sir, he is sore hurt, and lieth in a litter here beside; by my faith, said the Prince, of his hurts I am right forye, go and knowe if he maye be broughte hider, or els I will go, and se him there, as he is. Than twoo Knights came to the Lord
Audeley
(and sayde) Sir, the Prince desireth greatly to see you: outher ye must go to him,
el
he will come to you. A, Sir, sayde the Knighte, I thanke the Prince when he thinketh on so pore a knight as I am, then he called eyght of his servanntes, and caused them to here hym
lytter to the place where was the Prince. Than the
toke hym in his armes and kyst hym, and made him
at ch
ar, and sayd, Sir
James,
I ought gretly to honour you, for by your valiance ye have this day achyved ye grace and renowne of us al, and ye are reputed for the most valyant of al others. I retain you for ever to be my knight, with five hun
ed ma
es of yearly revenues. When Syr
James Audeley
was broughte to his lodgynge, the
ne he send for Syr
Peter
,
his brother, and for the Lorde
Bartylemawe
of
Bren
,
the Lorde
Stephanne
of
Goutenton,
the Lorde of
Wylly,
and the Lorde
Rasse Perres:
all these were of his lynage: and than he called before them hys foure Squyers, that hadde
hym that daye well and trewlye: than he sayde to the Hyde Lordes, Syrs, it hath pleased my Lorde the Prynce to g
ve
e five hundred markes of revenues by yere; for the which gyft I have done him but small servyce with my bodye.
, beholde here these foure Squyers, who hath alwayes served
truely, and especyally thys day: that honour that I have is by there valyantnesse, wherefore I well 'eward them: I gyve and resigne into their
the gyft that my Lorde ye Prynce
me of five hundred marke of yerely revenues, to
and their heyres for ever. I clearly disheryte me there
and inh
ryte there
ythout any rebell or condyryon
Ch. clxii. clxv. clxvii.
.
I HAVE dwelt the longer on this account of the Lord
Audley,
only as his history is so mingled with that of his four 'squires,
,
Dut
Fe
churst,
and
Hawkeston;
but because all five were
Cheshire
mer
the 'squires, by attachment; following their neighbor to the
of military glory. I must add, that their gallant leader enjoined them, as a further proof of his esteem, to bear in some part of their coa
of arms, his own proper atchievement
gu
, a fret d
or
Dr. Gowe
Material,
47.
; which the families constantly re
ned.
THE statues of Lord
Audley
and his four 'squires, cut in stone, are still preserved at
Doddington Hall.
Doctor
Gower
supposes that of Lord
Audley
to have seen original; the others to have been made in the reign of Queen
Elizebeth,
when the late man
o
was
.
SIR John (for he was knighted by
Edward
III.) was distinguished by several marks of royal favo
had the wardship of the Dutchess of
Bre
g
e:
was constituted one of the justices of the
King's Bench,
and had
cence to embattle his house at
Doddington.
He beque
ced his body to be buried in the church of St.
James,
t
Audley
in
Staffordshire,
and, dying on the 16th of
August
1309, was interred there, according to his desire. Near him, in the same church, were deposited the remains of his illustrious patr
n.
Audley
lies a very few miles to the north-east of
Doddington,
seated on the top of
ill, on the road between
Nantwich
.
A reveren
ed curiosity led me once to visit the
ques of theose her
es. These of the Lord
Audley
e beneath a
ain altar-tomb, formerly having his figure on the slab, engraven on a small brass plate.
His 'squire is perpetuated in a more ostentatious manner, and
resented in alaba
er, at full length, with his coat of arms on his breast. The inscription is lost.
ONE of the residences of the
Audleys
was at this village: from which they took their name. A farm occupies the scite of their
use; but in latter times they inhabited
Heleigh Castle,
about
miles distant.
THE L
s had many privileges he
; such as court-lect, tumprel, and gallows: nor could any one
rrest a person here, except
officer of the manor. These estates passed, by marriage of Sir
n T
uchet,
to
Joan,
daughter of the great Lord
Audley,
and
nd co-heir of his son
Nicholas. George Touchet,
Lord
Audley,
sold it, in 1577, to Sir
Gilbert Gerrard;
from whose fa
ly it descended to the
Fleetwoods;
and in this century was lost
single night by the cast of a die.
THERE is a particularity in the situation of the house of
Har
nd,
adjacent to this parish, which I cannot forbear men
ng Whenever the family go to church (which is that of
) thev
out of the province of
Canterbury
into that of
pass through two counties, viz.
Staffordshire
and
Cheshire;
hes,
Woolsta
Audley,
and
Lawton;
three constable
T
s
l, Chell,
and
Lawton
two hundreds,
Pirchill
and
and two dioceses,
L
tchfield
and
Chester.
gton
continued in the family of the
Del
es
till the present
when, by the failure of issue male, in descended to the
of
ghton
in the county of
Stafford,
by virtue of the
of Sir
Br
an Broughton,
in the
ear 1700, with
Elezabeth,
daughter of Sir
Thomas delve
,
Baronet. The house is feated in a yark, wa
ed on one side by a large mere; with a small Hand, o
ted with an elegant rotundo. The present owner, Sir
Themes Bryghton,
is now building a new house, in a magnificent
, and
a far more
greeable situation, at the head of the
a
some distance from the old mansion. The ancient house was fo
fied, and garrisoned during the civil wars; and taken and retaken in the course of the contest.
TER,
av
ling about there miles surther, in the same tedious
e, a p
o
of SHROPSHIRE presents a hilly front,
W
.
and inter
cts
read. On the top of the ascent lies
Wore,
or
Oare,
a
m
e
of a few houses, with a small chapel, dependent on the rectory of
Mucciesten,
in the county of
Stafford.
Old
Stow
in
o
ms us that
Ran
alph Woolley,
of
London,
merchant-taylor, left to the reader of the place £5 for freely instructing the children of the inhabitants of this parish.
FROM
W
I qu
ted, for the sake of a small digression, the
London
road, and at about two miles distance enter, at
Bearston
county of STAFFORD
This county as well as Ch
r
, was the seat of the
Cornavil,
and was in
S
times par of the
Mer
n
Kin
lo
its
hn
rants what
Bede
ca
d the
Middle Engl
en.
.
A LI
TL
father stands
V
ccl
sion,
a small village, seated on a
sing ground. The church,
dicated to
Si. Mary,
a rectory in the gift of
John Crew,
h
quire, of
Crew,
lord of the manor. I
the twentie
of the Cono
or, it wat held by
Kenning,
one of the
Ty
nes
it afterwards was possessed by the
Morgans,
west country, till about the first of Queen
Elizabeth;
when
sold by
Robert Morgan,
Esquire, to Sir
Thomas Ossley,
Lord Mayor of
London
in 1556; whom
Fuller
calls the
of that city, not for his low stature, but high charity.
FROM the tower of the church,
BATTLE OF BLOREHEATE.
Margaret
of
Anjou
the faithful
spirited consort of
Henry
VI. saw the fierce battle of
Blore
,
fatal to the cause of her meek husband, then at
Coleshill.
chard Nev
l,
Earl of
Salusbury,
commanded the
Yorkists:
he was
time on his march from
Middleham Castle,
with four or five thousand men, under pretence of settling with the King the
, of the two houses.
Margaret,
fearing for her husband's
directed Lord
Audley
to intercept him on the way. He
himself on
Bloreheath,
with ten thousand troops, collected
C
shire
and
Shropshire,
who
e chieftains were distinguished by silver swans, the badges of their young prince.
Salusbury,
the disparity of numbers, determined to stand
of the day, but wisely had recourse to stratagem. He
at night on the banks of a rivulet, not broad, but
and in the morning pretended a retreat;
Audley
follow
him with the impetuous valor natural to himself and the
Salusbury
made an instant attack on the divided forces of
. The field was long disputed, with the animo
usual in civil feuds,
Audley
sell, with two thousand four
of his troops, chiefly the flower of the
Cheshire
gentry;
led them to the front of the battle. A great
marks the spot of their leader's death. The Queen fled
Castle. Salusbury
joined the Duke of
York
at
Ludlow.
commemorates the slaughter of the day, and preserves the names of the
Cheshire
heroes; for the county listen
both banners.
— The earl,
As hungry in revenge, there made a ravenous spoil.
There
Du
ton, D
ton;
kills; a
Do
e
doth kill a Done;
A
B
th,
a
Do
and
Leigh
by
Leigh
is overthrown;
against a
doth stand;
A
Tr
beck
fighteth with a
Trcu
beck
hand to hand;
There
M
lineux
doth make
M
lineux
to die;
And
Egerton
the strength of
Egerton
doth try.
I RETURNED into the great road by
Winnington
forge and
Wil
edge
wells. The last were once in high esteem for their fanative waters, strongly impregnated. with sulphur. They were formerly much frequented on account of bathing and drinking. A house for the reception of patients was built, and a bath inclosed, but it present the waters (which to look and caste differ not from common) are entirely deserted.
I RE-ENTERED the
London
road on
Maer Heath,
in the parish of
Maer,
or
M
so stiled from a large piece of water, the head of the r
ver
Tern,
which flowing through
Shropshire,
falls into the
three miles below
Shrewsbury. Maer
and
Aston,
an ad
ce
manor, were on the Conquest divided between
William de Maer
and
Robert Stafford.
Some centuries afterwards, a
Stafford
changed his part of
Maer,
with
Ralph,
the son of
John M
esfield;
by which it came into that family, who sold it to
John
Lord
Chetwynd.
THIS parish is remarkable for
Saxon
antiquities. On a hill is an antient
ortress or strorng hold,
composed of two deep ditches and
, formed chiefly of stone, the precinct not of any regular shape, for the fosses conform to the shape of the hill; as
usual with the
Britons
and the earlier
Saxons.
Two of the
ers project naturally, and form a species of bastions. The
ance was on the side next the present road. The approach is very visible: it crept up the steep sides; divided
midway, one branch took to the left and the other to the
Near this place finished his course
Osred,
the licentious
ng of the
Northumbrians;
a despiser of monks and corrupter of
ans
lain in battle in 716, at
Mear,
in the bloom of youth.
sortress is called the
Bruss,
corruptly from
Burgh.
It seems
been cast up by
Kinred,
king of
Mercia,
against the invasion of the former.
Kinred
probably gave his antagonist the
funeral honors, and interred him, and his officers, with the respect due to their rank.
Tumuli,
or barrows, some round,
BARROWS.
others oblong are scattered over the neighboring hills and heath. Un
the large conical hill, called
Coplow,
might, be deposited the corpse of
Osred;
beneath the others, those of his unfortunate followers. I must not pass over in silence the
Camp-hills,
notwithstanding the name has outlived the vestiges of entrenchments;
does any tradition of the possessor remain. Shall we suppose
to be
Osred,
who might have been there before his defeat?
THIS country is gravelly, full of commons and low hills, en
ly covered with heath; which still give shelter to a few black
and red. The mention of the vegetable reminds me,
HEATH
ED
.
a century ago it was sometimes made use of instead
a practice continued to this day in some of the
He
.
Hatton
and
Swinerton
heaths.
SWINERTON.
The last in a parish and
of the same name, owned, from the Conquest to the reign of
Henry
VIII. by the
Swinertons.
Their ancestor was called
who held the estate from
Robert de Stafford;
who, at the time of the general survey, possessed in this county alone eighty-one manors This family produced numbers of knights; and, among them,
Roger de
had the honor of being summoned to parlement in the reign of
Edward
III. He seems to have been favored in those reigns. In that of the first
Edward
obtained free
for his manor, and got the privilege of a market and a fair to be held there. In the reign of
Edward
II. he was appointed governor of
Stafford;
afterwards, of the important castle of
Ha
ch,
in
Marionethshire;
and was made constable of the Tower of
London.
In that of his successor, besides the honor above recited, he was made a bannere
; and had for his several services as assignation out of the exchequer, of an hundred and forty-five pounds thirteen shillings and eight pence. In the reign of
Henry
VIII. this manor of
Swinerton
passed into the family of the
Fitzherberts,
by the marriage of the youngest daughter of
H
y,
left male heir of the line, to
William Fitzherbert
of
Norbury;
in which name it still continues.
THE church, and
eat of Mr.
Fitzherbert
command a vast view into
Worcestershire
and
Shropshire.
In the first is a tomb of a cros-legged knight; and a plain altar-tomb, inscribed
Deminus de Swinerton & Ellen uxor ejur.
IN the school-house is placed the colossal figure of our SAVIOUR, sitting. He is represented as if after the resurrection, shewing the wound in his side to the incredulous disciple. It was found under ground, near the place it now occupies; and seems to have been buried in the reforming times, to preserve it form the rage of the image-breakers.
the house is a very fine full-length portrait of Sir
John Fitz
,
Knight.
descending a hill, I reached
Darlaston,
DARLASTON.
a village on the
Near this place, on the summit of a hill, called
Bury Bank,
area of an oval form, about 250 yards in diameter, envi
ed by a deep trench and ramparts: the entrance is on the north-west. On the south part is a
tumulus,
surrounded with a
This I imagine to have been formed out of the ruins of some buildings, and to have been a sort of
praetorium
to the occupier of this post. It is supposed to have been the residence of
who reigned over
Mercia
from 656 to 675. The old
W
serecester
in a manner confirms the opinion. Whether
neighboring
Cop,
or
Low,
was the place of his interment, as
drinks, is doubtful.
Hence I
meet with the
Trent.
This river rises in the
More
Biddulph,
out of
Newpool,
and two springs near
Mole
this place it is an inconsiderable stream, becomes navi
Burton on Trent,
and, after flowing through this county
it almost equally divides) that of
Derby, Nottingham,
and
it loses its name in the
Humber,
the great receptacle of
rivers. Poets have taken most beautiful liberties in
ologies of the name of this; for i
neither derives it
its thirty kinds of fish, nor yet from its thirty rivers that
waters.
The bounteous
Trent,
that in himself enseams
Both thirty sorts of fish, and thirty sundry streams.
AFTER quoting the sublime description of
M
lon,
we shall
simple derivation.
Feather the
a be the son
Of
or
, or gulphy
Dun,
like
earth-born giant, spreads
indented mends.
in
the name is
, and for
ed from the word
ie, (three) on account
from three heads.
AFTER crossing the river and ascending a small bank,
STONEFIELD
I find myself in a vast open tract rising to the left, called
Stonefield
Here, in 1745, the Duke of
Comber
ed
drew up his army, to give battle to the rebels, who were supposed to have been on their march this way. His intelligence failed him, and the
Scotch
insurgents possessed themselves of
Derby.
In future times pos
erity will almost doubt the fact, when they read that an incons;iderable band of mountaineers, undisciplined, unofficered, and half-armed, had penetrated into the center of an unfriendly
, with one
my behind them, and another in their front: that they rested there a few days; and that they retreated above three hundred miles, with scarcely any loss, continually presses by a foe supplied with every advantage that loyalty could afford.
PARA
L to my road runs that magnificent enterprize the
for the junction of the eastern and and the western oceans;
designed to give to each side of the kingdom an easy share in the comm
of both. In other countries, the nature of the land permits a ready execution of these designs.
Egypt
and
Holland
are levelled to the workmen's hands. Our aspiring genius scoffs at obstructions and difficulties serve but to what our ardor: our aqued
over our once-admired rivers, now despised for the purposes of navigation: we fill vallies, we penetrate mountains. H
the prophet have been treated, who, forty years ago, should have predicted, that a vessel of twenty-five tons would be seen
over
Stonefield?
Yet such is the case ar present.
Figitur
viridi
fors
prato.
great enterprize was begun a
July
17th 1766, near th
end of
Hare-castle Hill,
in this county. Its
nure length is
three miles,
viz.
sixty-one miles two furlongs from the south
of that hill to
Wil
,
ferry, in the county of
Derby;
and
-one miles six furlongs on the north side, to its function with
Duke of
Bridgewater
's canal at
Preston on the Hill,
in
Che
.
To affect this work, there we forty locks on the south side;
in all three hundred and sixteen feet fall; and on the north
-five, with three hundred and twenty-six feet fall. Six
southern locks are fourteen feet wide adapted for the
of large vessels, from, opposite to
Burton
to
Gainsho
Midd
, on the north side, is another, of the same
.
THE common dimensions of the canal are twenty-nine feet
at top; at bottom sixteen; arid the depth four and a
in the part from
W
de
.
to
Burton,
which is thirty
at top, eighteen at bottom, and five and a half
The same is observed from
Middlewich
to
Preston on the
upon which vessels, capable of navigating in the estuary of
may pass to the port of
Liverpool.
is carried over the river
Dove,
in an aqueduct of
arches, and the ground raised one mile and two fur
and to a very considerable height, It is also
over the river
,
on an aqueduct of six arches,
twenty one feet span each: and again over the river
Dane
the same
, on three
of twenty feet diameter.
BESIDES these there are near a hundred and sixty lesser
and
, for the conveyance of brooks and
the canal many of which are in span from twelve to eighteen feet.
THE undertakers, for the conveniency of the several persons whose lands they have out though, or when the canal interfeers any public road,
built a
hundred and eighty-nine cartridges, and
fiit-bridges; and frequently, when the canal passes
of any gentleman's
have politely given it a
, to improve me beauty of the prospect.
hills or rocks, that obstracted the canal
in the following places.
THE most
it is called, is at
Hermits
of an hundred and thirty
horses
and
de.
through them
Castle
is cut through
and was a
of
difficulty and
of the courage and
. In passes under
eight hundred and eighty yards
twenty
arches with
.
in the parish of
Great Budworth,
is
five hundred and sixty yards long; as
Saltenford,
in
and fifty yards long
, at
Preston on the Hill
is another, which passes under
twelve hundred and forty-one yards; each of them
feet four inches high, and thirteen feet six inches
that, at
Preston on the Hill
it emerges, and soon con
course, by falling into that formed by an useful Peer,
of
Bridgewater
which drops into the
Mersey
at
Run
with a fall of eighty-two feet, eased by terv magnificent
.
Middlewide
to
Manchester
is a dead level, which does
a look in all that space.
of this great work have employed on it about
exclusive of those belonging to other persons, which
left to the same number. They are calculated to
twenty-five tons each; are drawn by one horse, for which
receive
per
mile three halfpence a ton.
be ungrateful not to pay some respect to the memory
architect and contriver or these works,
OF JAMES BRINDLEY.
Mr JAMES
rare genius was born at
Tunsted,
in the parish
, in the year 1716. His father was a small
himself by following the sports of the
himself from giving his children any fort of
.
shewed very early the goodness of his-heart, by
familly be such labore as he was ca
he bound himself apprentice
Ma
field,
when his amazing abilities were
He speedily became a great proficient and per
of things a which his master was totally ignorant
was equal to his genius; for he overpaid any instructions he might receive from his master, by maintaining
manner when, he
past working, and felt into
.
THE first
the public received from him, was a
considerable improvement in the paper-press. He got great
water-engine at
C
fro
,
in
Lancashire;
and
more
the machinery of new silk-
at
, to which he gave many most imiportant movements. He highly
gr
ling
for the potteries and in 1756, erected
on a new plan, by which he reduced the consumption of word to one half.
IT was a peculiar
, to the Duke of BRIDGEWATER, to find a genius such as
Brindley,
cotemporary to the great designs formed by his Grace. That wonderful mechanic
rally fell under the Duke's patronage,
was the grand con
ver of all the work which his noble friend carried on. Many of his projects were of so stupendous
, and so incomprehensible to vulgar maids, as to subject him to great ridicule,
were put
confusion by the successful execution.
any great difficulty arose, be constantly took
bed, excluded all light and lay in meditation for two or three
, all he had
completed whole of his plan. A
would have
, he was visited by his
in those hours
certainly
lumma
, amidst she darkness by
. He reminds
similar method:
Claus
e se
estr
sequor, qui cadem qu
mens
lent quoties non vi
.
op. 30.
ound his health and faculties to decline, he virtu
to extend as far as possible his services, even grave. He communicated all his plans and designs
, his wife's brother, who had been employed
, from the beginning, as clerk of the works.
and
seem to have compensated for the loss
for the most difficult parts in the undertaking
successfully executed, since Mr.
Brindley
's death
the parish of
Welste
ton, Staffordshire, September
27th.
, un
direction of M
.
Henshall.
the clamors which have been raised against to undertaking, in the places through which it was, intended
when ii was first projected we have the pleasure now to
reign universally on its banks, and plenty attend its
cottage instead of being half covered with mi
is now secured with a subtaintial covering of tiles
brought from the distant hills of
Wales
or
Cumberland.
which before were barren, are now drained, and, by
of man
, conveyed on the canal toll-free, are
with a beautiful endore. Places which rarely knew the
plentifully supplied with that essential article upon
and what is
of greater public utility, the
corn are prevented from exercising their infa
, for, the communication being opened between
Liver
and
Hall
line of the canal being through
countries abundant in grain, it affords a conveyance of corn unknown to past ages. At present, nothing but a general dearth can create a scarcity in any part adjacent to this extensive work.
THESE, and many other advantages, are derived, both to individuals and the public, from this internal navigation. But when it happens that the kingdom is engaged in a foreign war, with what security is the trade between those three great ports carried on; and with how much less expence has the trader his goods conveyed to any part of the kingdom, than he had formerly been subject to, when the goods were obliged to be carried coastways, and to pay insurance?
I BELIEVE it may be asserted, that no undertaking, equally expensive and arduous, was ever attempted by private people in any kingdom; and, in justice to the adventurers, it must be allowed, that, considering the difficulties they met with, owing to the nature of the works, or the caprice of persons whose lands were taken to make the canal, that ten years and a half was but a short time to perform it in; and that satisfaction has been made to every individual who suffered any injury by the execution of the undertaking. The profits arising from tonnage is already very considerable; and there is no doubt but they will increase annually; and, notwithstanding the enormous sum of money it has cost in the execution, the proprietors will be amply repaid, and have the comfort to reflect, that, by the conclusion of this project, they have contributed to the good of their country, and acquired wealth for themselves and posterity.
IMMEDIATELY after leaving
Stonefield,
STONE
reached the little town of
Stone,
a place remarkable for religious antiquity.
Legend
tells us, that the before-mentioned
Wulferus,
then a Pagan, put to death his two sons,
Wulfad
and
Rufin,
on suspicion of favoring the Christian faith;
Wulfad
at this place,
Rufin
at
Burston,
about three miles distant. Over each, stones were erected, as usual, in memory of the dead; from whence the names of those places are derived.
Wulfere,
after this unnatural deed, was struck with the utmost remorse, and, by the influence of his queen and St.
Cedda,
or
Chad,
who lived in a neighboring hermitage, was converted to the religion he had so lately persecuted; and, by way of expiating his guilt, among other works of piety, founded at
Stone
a college of canons regular,
COLLEGE.
about the year 670. His queen
Ermenilda
is said to have also founded a nunnery here. On the invasion of the
Danes,
the religious were dispersed; but on the abatement of the cruelty of those barbarians, it is probable they returned, or at left a new establishment was formed. This is certain, that religious were found here after the Conquest; for there is an idle tale of two nuns and a priest being slain there, by
Enysan,
a
Norman.
This
Enysan,
of
Walton,
was the true re-founder. Caution must be used in reading the histories of these times, which are filled with pious romance. Little credit should also be given to the murder of the sons of
Wulfere.
The
Saxon Chronicle
is silent about the deed. That prince was a convert to Christianity, and seems to have founded the house through the common motives of zeal.
Enysan,
on his re-establishment of this house, filled it with canons from
Kenelworth,
PRIORY.
and made it a cell to that place. The
Staffords,
who were his superiors, assumed the honor of this new foundation; and a second
Robert de Stafford,
about the year 1260, rendered it free from
Kenelworth,
excepting the right of patronage, and a yearly pension. The church of this priory was the place of interment of several of this great family; and numbers of magnificent tombs, with their figures in alabaster, lay there till the dissolution; when they were removed to the
Augustines,
on
Stafford Green.
I see on the road-side a fragment of a thick wall, perhaps a remnant of the priory. The church is quite new, and is a very elegant building, dedicated to St.
Wulfad,
one of the supposed martyrs. At the time of the suppression, a tablet, giving the whole history of the house, was hung up in the priory: it is related in old
English
metre; but is so tedious, that I must refer the readers, who desire to peruse it, to the cited author.
Dugdale Mon.
ii. 126.
As soon as I left
Stone,
ASTON.
I saw on the right a large house called
Aston,
originally the property of a branch of the
Heveninghams
of
Suffolk. Walter,
the last of the line, left two daughters; the second (who only had children) conveyed by marriage the estate to Sir
James Simeon,
who rebuilt the hall. He also built in the garden a
mausoleum;
in which, I think, he is interred. The place is at present the property of
Edward Weld,
Esquire, of
Lulworth
castle, in
Dorsetshire,
and descended to him of late years, by virtue of a marriage of an ancestor with a daughter of this house, in the reign of
Charles
II.
THE road from this place,
BURSTON.
for several miles, passes along a pretty vale, watered by the
Trent,
bounded by two hills, and much enlivened by the course of the canal. About the third mile from
Stone,
I went by
Burston,
a small hamlet, noted formerly for a chapel erected over the spot where
Rufin,
second son of
Wulfere,
was supposed to have been martyred; and on that account, in old times, greatly frequented by the devout.
ABOUT a quarter of a mile from hence, on the top of a hill, stands the church of
Sandon.
SANDON.
This manor, in the twentieth of
William
the Conqueror, was in the hands of the king; who bestowed it on
Hugh Lupus;
and he again gave it to
William de Malbanc,
or
Nantwich.
It passed from this family (by the gift of
Adena,
eldest daughter of
William,
grandson to the former) to
Warren de Verdon;
and by his daughter
Alditha,
to Sir
William Stafford;
and by the marriage of
Margaret,
daughter of one of his descendants, in the twelfth of
Edward
III. to
Thomas
of
Erdeswik.
It continued in possession of that family till the reign of
James
I. In his time it was sold to
George Digby,
groom of the stole to that monarch, by his half-brother
Richard Erdeswik. Charles
Lord
Gerard,
of
Bromley,
became master of it, by marriage with a daughter of Mr.
Digby;
whose grand-daughter, by matching with
William
Duke of
Hamilton,
conveyed it to Lord
Archibald Hamilton;
who, in 1776, disposed of it to Lord
Harrowby.
A law-suit concerning this place gave rise to the fatal duel, in
November
1712, between
James
Duke of
Hamilton
and Lord
Mohun;
in which both combatants lost their lives.
THE antient mansion stood near the church, within a moat; but is now demolished, and a beautiful house, commanding a fine view, was built by Lord
Archibald Hamilton,
on an eminence impending over the
Chester
road. The steep slope is beautiful, cloathed with plantations of recent date, but extremely flourishing.
THE church is in the gift of Lord
Harrowby.
Before the dissolution, it belonged to the abbey of
Cumbermere;
being bestowed on it by the founder,
Hugh de Malbanc.
THE monuments are curious. The finest is in memory of the celebrated
Sampson Erdeswik,
the learned antiquary of the county; a faithful guide of all that concerned the families, till his death, which happened in 1603. He might have spared himself the expence of a monument; his work would have perpetuated his name. He erected one in his life-time; and is represented recumbent, a colossal figure in a jacket with short skirts, and spurs on his legs. Above, in two niches, are his two wives, kneeling: the one was
Elizabeth Dikeswel;
the other
Maria Neale,
widow to Sir
Everard Digby,
and mother to the unfortunate victim to the gunpowder plot. Besides inscriptions to these ladies, is a pedigree of the house; for which, as well as several other epitaphs of the
Erdeswiks,
the reader is referred to the Appendix. I shall only mention, that the tombs are of the altar-form, and have the figures of the persons commemorated engraved on the stone.
THE inscription on a plain marble tomb, in memory of Mr.
Digby,
OF GRORGE DIGBY.
once owner of the place, is very worthy of preservation: as it records a remarkable piece of history, I shall give it here at length, and add notes to the obscure parts.
Si quis hic jaceat, roges, viator,
Georgius Digbaeus,
Armiger.
Vir (si quis alius) celebrati nominis.
Nobili clarus prosapiâ, sed vita nobiliori:
Quippe qui
Ipsum nobilitatis fontem caeno turbatum
Demum limpidum reddidit:
Hoc est
Ut memet explicem,
Qui regis
Jacobi
purpuram
Maledicti
Schopii
Gaspar Scioppius
was a
German
of great erudition, but of a most turbulent disposition: he became a convert to Popery in 599, and naturally distinguished himself by a blind and furious zeal against his former religion; and went so far as even to recommend the utter extirpation of its professors. He was a fierce antagonist to
Scaliger, Causabon,
and other Protestant writers; and in his book stiled
Ecclesiasticus,
611, he attacked
James
I in a very indecent manner.
dicterici soedatam
Obtrectatoris sanguine
The affront, offered to our monarch, induced Mr.
Digby,
and some other followers of the Earl of
Bristol,
then ambassador to
Spain,
to attack
Scioppius
in the streets of
Ma
rid,
in 16
4; where they left him for dead. As soon as he recovered, he removed to
Padua,
dreading another attack. He lived afterwards in continual apprehensions, and shut himself up in his room for the last fourteen years of his life. He died in 1649 at enmity with all mankind.
Retinxit.
Nec tamen homuncionem penitús sustulit
Sed gravius stigma fronti incussit
Quàm
Henricus
magnus
Libello
He was as profuse of his abuse of
Henry
IV in the book above mentioned, as he was of the
English
monarch. The regency of
France,
in honor to the memory of that great prince, directed it to be burnt by the hands of the common hangman.
,
Quo scilicet toto vitae curriculo
(Utpote omnium contemptui expositus)
Sensit se mori.
Hujus egregii facinoris intuitu
A
Jacobo
honoribus auctus est
Digbaeus
Meritis tandem annisque plenus
Vivere desiit, semper victurus.
Ipsis Idibus
Decembris
ao .
Aetatis suae LXXXVI.
Tanti herois laudes
Licet non taceant historici
Haec saxa loqui curavit
Lectissima heroina
Jana
Baronissa
Gerrard
De Bromley,
Clarissimi
Digbaei
filia
Superstes unica.
FROM
Sandon
the hills recede to the north. I directed my course to
Chartley,
CHARTLEY.
about four miles and a half distant, and about three north from the great road. This venerable pile is built round a court, and great part of it curiously made of wood, embattled at top, and the sides carved. In many places are the arms of the
Devereux;
the devices of the
Ferrars
and
Garnishes;
and, in
Saxon
characters, the initials of the founder, W. D.
(Walter Devereux)
with the motto
Loial suis je.
Over the door of the gateway is carved a head in profile, with a crown above. In the middle of the court stands a fountain: and the whole building is surrounded with a moat. The view within the court is faithfully shewn in
Plot,
tab. v.
IN several of the windows are painted glass. In the great bow-window of the hall are the horse-shoes, the antient device of the
Ferrars;
in others, the arms of that family, the
Devereux, Garnishes,
and
Shirlies.
A bed is still preserved here, the work of
Mary Stuart,
who was for some time imprisoned in this house: besides this, at present there are no vestiges of its former grandeur. Within and without is a mortifying appearance of neglect and approaching decay
A fire in
July
1781, completed its destruction.
.
AT a small distance from the house, on a knowl, are the poor remains of the castle;
CASTLE.
consisting of the fragments of two rounders, and a bit of a wall, almost hid in wood. This fortress was very soon permitted to fall in decay.
Leland
speaks of it as a ruin in his days. When the power of the nobility was broken, by the policy of
Henry
VII. numbers of the barons, finding their castle no longer a protection to their insolence, were glad to quit so incommodious a kind of habitation. We often see, as in the present instance, an antient mansion near the remains, or on the scite of a more antient castle: the times were so much bettered, and monarchy had recovered so much rightful strength, that the former became useless against; their prince, or their rival
reguli,
who then began to acknowlege the power of law. Yet still some species of castellated mansion, against popular commotions, or the attacks of bands of robbers, was requisite. Conveniency, and a sort of elegance, was affected in their houses; but a necessary suspicion still remained, and safety provided for by the deep surrounding moat, by the gateway, and the strong door.
Chartley
castle was built by
Randle Blundeville,
Earl of
Chester,
in 1220, on his return from the
Holy Land;
and to defray the expences of this, as also of
Beeston,
which he also founded, a tax was levied on all his vassals. By his death, this part of his estate devolved on
William Ferrars
Earl of
Derby,
in right of his wife
Agnes,
third sister of
Randle.
His son
Robert,
entering into the factious views of the
barons,
received a defeat at
Chesterfield
in 1266. His estates were confiscated, and the castle and manor bestowed by
Henry
III. on
Hamon
Le Strange;
but, notwithstanding this, he possessed himself of it by force, and the king was obliged to order his brother,
Edmund
Earl of
Lancaster,
to besiege the place; which he took, but not till after much loss on both sides.
Edmund,
and the nobility who assisted in the siege, thought proper to obtain his majesty's pardon for the lives lost on the occasion.
Ferrars
himself received his pardon, was divested of the earldom of
Derby,
but was suffered to retain this castle; possibly, being reduced so low as to be incapable of giving farther disturbance. It continued in his line till the reign of
Henry
VI. when, in 1447, by the marriage of
Anne,
or
Agnes,
sole heiress to
William
Lord
Ferrars,
to
Walter Devereux,
sheriff of
Herefordshire,
it passed into another great race of peers. The lady was at that time only eleven years and eight months old; but by the king's special favor, in 1452, she had livery of her lands, without further proof of her age. This estate continued in his posterity (the Lords
Ferrars,
Viscounts
Hereford,
and Earls of
Essex
) till the year 1646, when it fell to Sir
Robert Shirley,
by his marriage with
Dorothy,
youngest sister to
Robert
Earl of
Essex,
the noted parlement-general; and is at present possessed by their descendant Earl
Ferrers.
IN hopes of finding,
STOW CHURCH.
in the neighboring parish-church of
Stow,
the monumental honors usually attendant on great families, I visited it, at the small trouble of a mile's ride. I was disappointed; for I found only, one of this great line deposited in the place. This is very frequent with a race of heroes, whose active spirits carry them into scenes remote from their natal soil, or bring themselves to fates that prevent possession of their parental sepulchres.
Walter Devereux,
the first Lord
Ferrars,
fell in the field of
Bosworth,
fighting valiantly in behalf of
Richard,
and was buried among the undistinguished slain.
Walter,
his descendant, first Earl of
Essex,
died Lord Lieutenant of
Ireland, September
22d. 1576, as supposed by poison, and was interred at
Caermarthen.
His son, the favorite of
Elizabeth,
fell a victim to his indiscretion and ambition; perished by the ax, and was flung among the attainted herd. His son, for a series of victories in the cause of liberty, received from his grateful party the magnificent honors of a public funeral in the capital, which his arms had defended.
I FOUND here only the tomb of
Walter,
first Viscount
Hereford,
grandson of the first Lord
Ferrers,
and founder of the house of
Chartley.
He served with honor in the
French
wars, under
Henry
VIII; and in the naval attack of
Conquet,
in 1512, he was honored with the garter by his royal master, and with the title of
Hereford
by his successor. His death happened in 1558. He lies here under a fine monument, erected in his life-time; his figure is represented in robes, with the collar of the garter round his neck: his head reposed on a plume of feathers, wreathed round a helmet. On one side of him is placed his first lady,
Mary,
daughter of
Thomas
Marquis of
Dorset;
on the other, his second,
Margaret,
daughter of
Robert Garnyche,
Esquire, of
Kyngeton,
in
Suffolk.
Around the side is represented, I suppose as mourners, six female and six male figures; the last begirt with swords.
NEAR this is another tomb of alabaster, with the figures of two persons engrav
n on it; but so cankered with age, that neither inscription nor distinction of sex, can be made out.
ON the chancel floor a brass plate preserves the memory of
Thomas Newport,
steward of the houshold to
Walter,
first Earl of Essex, and delivers his character in these terms:
Qui charus charis fuerat qui firmus amicis;
En!
Thomas Newport
conditur hoc tumulo.
Qui felix ortu suit et morta beatus;
Quem
Deus
et coelum, quem pia vota habent.
FROM
Stow
I hastened to the
Chester
road,
WYCH WESTON.
which I reached at the hamlet of
Wych,
in the parish of
Weston on the Trent,
whose spire steeple appears at a small distance on the other side of the road. This place is productive of salt, and has been long noted: for its brine-pits, the property of Earl
Ferrers.
AFTER going about two miles farther,
HEYWOOD.
I passed through
Great Heywood,
a village bestowed by
Roger de Melend,
alias
Long Epee,
a worthless prelate, in the reign of
Henry
III. on his valet
Roger de Aston;
whose family made it their residence, till the marriage of a descendant with the heiress of
Tixal,
occasioned it to remove to the new acquisition. In my memory the old seat was in possession of the
Whitbies.
It has since been re-united to the house of
Tixal,
by purchase. The barn belonging to the manor-house of
Heywood,
was of a most magnificent size; but of late has been greatly reduced.
THE horse-bridge over the
Trent,
ITS LONG BRIDGE.
adjoining to
Heywood,
was not less remarkable, for I remember it to have consisted of two-and-forty arches; but the number at present is much lessened. There is a tradition, that it was built by the county, in a compliment to the last
Devereux
Earl of
Essex,
who resided much at
Chartley;
and, being a keen sportsman, was often-deprived of his diversion for want of one. I am not clear about the truth, of this report. There certainly had been a bridge here long before, so that, if there was any foundation for such a mark of respect, it could only have been rebuilt after falling to decay.
SHUGBOROUGH.
FROM the middle is a view, of very uncommon beauty,
VALE OF SHUGBOROUGH.
of a small vale, varied with almost every thing that nature or art could give to render it delicious; rich meadows, watered by the
Trent
and
Sow.
The first, animated with milk-white cattle, emulating those of
Tinian;
the last with numerous swans. The boundary on one side, is a cultivated slope; on the other, the lofty front of
Cannock Wood,
clothed with heath; or shaded with old oaks, scattered over its glowing bloom by the free hand of nature.
IT is more difficult to enumerate the works of art dispersed over this
Elysium;
they epitomize those of so many places. The old church of
Colwich;
the mansion of the antient
English
baron, at
Welsely Hall;
the great-windowed mode of building in the reign of Queen
Elizabeth,
in the house of
Ingestre;
the modern seat in
Oak-edge;
and the lively improved front of
Shugborough;
are embellishments proper to our own country. Amidst these arise the genuine architecture of
China,
in all its extravagance; the dawning of the
Grecian,
in the mixed gothic gateway at
Tixal;
and the chaste buildings of
Athens,
exemplified by Mr.
Stuart,
in the counterparts of the
Choragic
monument of
Lysicrates,
Antiquities of Athens,
ch. iv. tab. 1. 3.
and the octagon tower of
Andronicus Cyrrhestes.
The same, ch. iii. tab. 1. 3.
From the same hand arose, by command of a grateful brother, the arch of
Adrian
of
Athens,
embellished with naval trophies, in honor of Lord
Anson,
a glory to the
British
fleet; and who still survives in the gallant train of officers who remember and emulate his actions. My much respected friend, the late
Thomas Anson,
Esquire, preferred, the still paths of private life, and was the best qualified for its enjoyment of any man I ever knew; for with a most humane and the most sedate disposition, he possessed a mind most uncommonly cultivated. He was the example of true taste in this country; and at the time that he made his own place a paradise, made every neighbor partaker of its elegancies. He was happy in his life, and happy in his end. I saw him about thirty hours before his death, listening calmly to the melody of the harp, preparing for the momentary transit from an earthly concert to an union with the angelic harmonies. The unfinished improvements are carried on with great judgment, by his worthy nephew and successor
George Anson,
Esquire.
AMONG the great number of statues which embellish the place, an
Adonis
and
Thalia
are the most capital. There is also a very fine figure of
Trajan,
in the attitude of haranguing his army. The number of rude
Etruscan
figures in the garden, shew the extravagance of the earliest ages, and the great antiquity of the art of sculpture in
Italy,
long before the
Romans
became, a people. The beautiful monument in the lower end of the garden, does honor to the present age. It was the work of Mr.
Schemecher,
under the direction of the late Mr.
Anson.
The scene is laid in
Arcadia.
Two lovers, expressed in elegant pastoral figures, appear attentive to an antient shepherd, who reads to them an inscription on a tomb,
Et in AZCABIA ego!
TEMPLE of the WINDS at SHUGBOROUGH.
OPPOSITE to the back-front of the house, on the banks of the
Sow,
stand the small remains of the antient mansion, which, according to
Leland,
originally belonged to
Suckborrow with a long heard,
and who, as some say, gave it to the mitre of
Lichfield.
It must have been in very early times; for the manor of
Haywood
(in which this is included) belonged to the see in 1085, the twentieth of
William
the Conqueror, and so continued till the reign of
Edward
VI. who bestowed it on Lord
Paget.
The house was till that time one of the palaces of the bishops. The reliques, at present, serve to give the appearance of reality of ruin to some beautiful
Grecian
columns, and other fragments of antient architecture; which were tacked to the front by the late Mr.
Anson.
Shugborough
was frequently the house I had the happiness of making my head-quarters: from whence I made many an excursion to the neighboring places. I beg the reader's pardon for indulging myself with a recollection of what formerly gave me so much pleasure in the survey, and for detaining him with the account of a short circuit, rich in objects.
I SHALL cross the
Sow,
and begin with
Tixal,
TIXAL.
distinguished at present only by the magnificent gateway, a motley pile of
Gothic
and
Grecian
architecture, embellished in front with three series of
AT a very little distance from this heath lies
Ingestre,
INGESTRE.
or
Ingestrent,
a respectable old house, seated on the easy slope of a hill, and backed by a large wood, filled with antient oaks of vast size: this makes part of the pleasure-ground. The walks are partly bounded by enormous hedges of forest-trees, and partly wander into the antient wood, beneath the shade of the venerable trees.
THIS manor, about the time of
Henry
II. was the property of
Eudo de Mutton;
in the reign of
Edward
III. it was transferred to the family of the
Chetwynds,
by the marriage of
Isabel,
daughter of
Philip de Mutton,
with Sir
John de Chetwynd;
in which line it continues, being at present owned by
John Chetwynd Talbot,
Esquire, grandson of
John
Lord
Chetwynd.
THE house is built in the stile of the reign of
Elizabeth,
with great windows in the center, and a bow on each side: the last are of stone, the rest of the house brick. In the great hall, over the fire-place, is a very good picture of
Walter Chetwynd,
Esquire, in a great wig, and crossed by a rich sash. This gentleman was distinguished by his vast knowlege in the antiquities of his country,
CHURCH.
and more so by his piety. The present church of
Ingestre
was rebuilt by him, and was consecrated in
August
1677. A sermon was preached, prayers read, a child baptized, a woman churched, a couple married, a corpse buried, the sacraments administred, and, to crown all, Mr.
Chetwynd
made an offering on the altar of the tythes of
Hopton,
worth fifty pounds a year, to be added to the rectory for ever. The church is very neat, and is prettily stuccoed. In it is a mural monument, in memory of its great benefactor, who died in 1692.
Hopton Heath
lies on the side of
Ingestre Park,
HOPTON HEATH SKIRMISH.
and is noted for a skirmish between a party of the King's forces, under the Earl
Northampton,
and another of the parlement's, commanded by
William Brereton
and Sir
John Gell.
Victory, notwithstanding
great inequality of numbers, declared itself on the side of the
yalists; but it was purchased at so dear a rate, that, as Lord
arendon
expresses, a great victory had been an unequal recom
ence for the loss sustained in the General. The earl fell in the
tion, neglected by his troops, busied in the pursuit; and left en
oned by enemies. He flew his first assailants, and died valiantly,
fusing the offered quarter.
AFTER riding from
Ingestre
three miles, through very bad roads,
eached
Stafford,
a good town,
STAFFORD.
containing about five thousand
habitants, seated on a plain, bounded by rising grounds at a
ry small distance. The streets in general are well built; the
arket-place large, ornamented with a handsome town-hall, with
e windows in front: it is built upon pillars, and presents a
cade with six arches, intercolumniated with Ionic pilasters.
is is the county-town; and here the assizes are appointed to
held, by a statute of the first of
Elizabeth.
THE county infirmary lies at a small distance from the town,
INFIRMARY.
a good plain building; was finished in 1772, and is supported
an annual subscription of between eight and nine hundred
ear.
Stafford
consists of but a single parish,
CHURCHES.
with two churches. That
St.
Mary
is a rectory, in the gift of the king; a large building
th an octagon tower, and formerly with a lofty spire rising from Here is to be seen the tomb of Sir
Edward Aston,
the builder
Tixal;
who died in 1567, and
Joan
his wife. Their figures are presented in alabaster, under a large canopy.
THE font is a singular piece of antiquity: very clumsy; but the sides and base most singularly carved into rude
Gothic
figures.
THIS church had been collegiate, and was given, a little before the year 1136, by King
Stephen,
to the bishop and chapter of
Lichfield
and
Coventry.
The patronage was granted, in 1445, by
Henry
VI. to
Humphrey
Duke of
Buckingham.
It was of exempt jurisdiction, and consisted, in the twenty-sixth of
Henry
VIII. of a
ean and thirteen prebendaries
Tanver,
495.
. The dean's house stood at the vese end of the church, and serves at present for the school.
THE religious houses were the
Grey Friars,
RELIGIOUS HOUSES.
or
Franciscans,
at the north end of the walls, founded, according to
Erdeswik,
by Sir
James Stafford
of
Sandon.
It was valued at £35. 13
s.
10
d. per annum,
and granted in the thirty-first of
Henry
VIII. to
James Leveson.
THE FRIERS AUSTINS had a piece of ground given them on the green, at the south end of the town, by
Ralph
Lord
Stafford.
Dagdale's Baron.
i. 161.
in order to found a house, about the year 1344, for his own soul's sake, those of his wives (
Katharine
and
Margaret)
Sir
Humphrey Hastings,
Knight, and that of
Edward
III. The tomb of his great line were removed to this church from
Stone,
at the dissolution, but soon suffered to perish. It was granted, in the
of Queen
Mary,
to
Thomas Neve
and
Giles Isam.
A PRIORY of black canons, founded by
Richard Peche,
bishop of
Lichfield
and
Covenery,
about the year 1180; as others say, by
Gevard Stafford,
on land which he held from the bishop, whom
complimented with the title of founder
Tanner,
499.
. The prelate had a great affection for this house; for, on resigning his see, he became a canon of it: and here ended his days
Sacra,
i. 435. This house was dedicated to St.
Thomas Becker,
ten years after his death.
. It maintained only seven religious, whose revenues were £198 a year. On the
tion it was granted to
Rowland Lee,
bishop of
Lichfield.
BESIDES these, were two hospitals, and the free chapel of Saint
Nu
as.
in the castle.
THE town was defended partly by the river
Sow,
FORTIFICATIONS.
which bounds one half of it; the rest was guarded by a wall, and by a ditch, supplied by the river with water. It had formerly four gates; of these two are yet standing. The place never was defencible; at last ever stood a siege. Sir
William Brereton,
the parlement general, took it by surprize, in
May
1643, with the loss only of a single man.
THE origin of
Stafford
is very uncertain: the first name of it is led to be
Betheney,
ORIGIN OF STAFFORD.
and that it had been the seat of an hermit called
Bertelin,
in high fame for his sanctity. The earliest au
hentic mention of the place is in the year 913, when
Ethelfleda
Saxon C
104.
Countess of
Mercia,
and sister of
Edward
the Elder, built a castle her
. This lady had one child by her lord
Ethelred;
when, ba
ing the pangs of parturition with the joys of connubial rites,
azon
like, she determined to forbear for the future all commerce with him. From thenceforth her delight was in arms, in conquests, and in securing her dominions. Such was her prowess, that laying aside all feminine titles, she received that of
King,
as if Countess and Queen were inadequate to her heroism
Tour in Wales.
THE scite of this fortress is not precisely known. Doctor
Plot
is of opinion, that it lay within the entrenchments at
Billington,
at some distance from
Stafford,
and seems to found his conjecture from the lands wherein they are being still a remaining part of the demesne land of the barony of
Stafford
Hist. Staff.
416.
. Cambden
attributes a tower to
Edward
the Elder, founded in the year after that which was built by his sister, and places it on the north side of the river. A mount still remains near the new bridge, called by
Speed, Castle-hill;
at present named
Bullyhill,
on which it probably stood.
THE poor remains of the castle,
CASTLE.
which was garrisoned in the civil wars, stand on a little insulated hill, a mile south from the town. The keep was on an artificial mount: the whole is surrounded with a deep foss, which, on the south side, has besides the additional strength of a high rampart. This was founded by
William
the Conqueror, and was soon after demolished. It is supposed that during the time it stood, the custody of it was committed to
Robert de Tonei,
younger son of
Roger,
standard-bearer of
Normandy,
Dugdale's Baron.
i. 256.
a follower of the Conqueror, who took from this circumstance the name of
Stafford.
It is conjectured, that the king at that time reserved this manor to himself, and that it was not included in the vast grant made by him to
Robert,
of eighty-one manors in this county, twenty-six in that of
Warwick,
twenty in
Lincolnshire,
two in
Suffolk,
and one in each of those of
Worcester
and
Northampton.
It appears that it continued in the crown till the second of
Edward
II. when
Edmund
Lord
Stafford
received the grant, and held it
in capite
by barony, together with that of
Bradeley
and
Madeley,
by service, of finding for forty days, at his own charge, three armed men, with three
equis coopertis,
horses harnessed for war, as often as there should be war with
Wales
or
Scotland.
Blunt's Tenures,
25.
I do not affirm for certain the restorer of this castle. Mr.
Erdeswic
says, it was
Ralph de Stafford,
a distinguished warrior, cotemporary with
Edward
III. It was garrisoned by the king in the last civil wars; was taken by the parlement forces, and demolished in 1644.
ABOUT a quarter of a mile south of the castle, in a low situation,
MANOR-HOUSE.
stood the manor-house of the family, fortified by the same
Ralph;
for I find from
Dugdale,
Baron,
i. 160.
that he had permission, in 1348, to make castles of his manor-houses at
Stafford
and
Madeley.
This great family had in it barons, earls, and dukes; and in the year 1637 became extinct: at that time humiliated into barens again. The moat of their antient residence is still to be seen, surrounding a rectangular piece of ground, the scite of the house.
My curiosity led me about two miles further, to
Billington,
BILLINGTON BURY.
to examine the supposed scite of the antient
Stafford
castle. Near the extremity of a high hill, steeply sloping on three sides, and commanding a most extensive and beautiful view, I found a large sea, surrounded in some parts with one, in others with two, deep fosses. This had been a
British
post, as it agrees with those we find in many parts of the kingdom; but as it retains the name of
Billington Bury,
it probably might have been occupied by the
Saxons,
whose posts are distinguished by the addition of
Borough, Bury,
and
Berry.
THE town of
Stafford
is governed by a mayor, recorder, ten aldermen, and twenty common-council-men; and was incorporated in the third of
Edward
VI. It first sent burgesses to parlement in 1294, the twenty-third of
Edward
I. They are elected by inhabitants paying scot and lot, and are returned by the mayor
Willis,
iii. 50.
.
THE borough still retains one antient custom,
BOROUGH.
the privilege of
borough English,
or the descent of lands, within its liberty, to the youngest sons of those who die intestate: an usage which is supposed to have been originally founded on the presumption, that the younger child was the most incapable of providing for itself.
THE barony was,
BARONY.
even at the Conquest, one of the greatest in
England,
and afterwards, like other great seigniories, stiled the
Honor of Stafford.
None were such originally, but which were royal; but were afterwards bestowed in see on some nobleman, as proved the case with this, as mentioned in page 76; when it was given to
Edmund
Lord
Stafford,
with eighty-one dependent manors, with sixty knights sees,
viz.
nine in his demesne, and fifty-one in service.
AFTER leading the town, I crossed the
Wolverhampton Navigation
Distances.
Heywood,
to its junction with the
Birminghaus
canal, near
verlampton,
22. 4. 0: rise 125 feet:
Stainport on the Severn,
24. 0. c;
301 feet.
at
Redford Bridge.
This may be called a port to
Stafford.
A little further is
Weeping Cross,
so stiled from its vicinity to the antient place of execution. A little farther on, opens the rich view of the vale of
Shugborough,
varied with rivers and canals, and bordered with the several seats before described.
CANK WOOD.
ON approaching
Cank Wood,
HEYWOOD PARK.
I find on its confines
Heywood Park;
a small house, the property of Lord
Paget,
remarkable for the beautiful woody dingles that wind into the sides of the forest. When I was wandering through them, I imagined myself engaged in those of my native country. Here I suppose to have been the park of red deer, which
Leland
says the bishop of
Lichfield
had in his manor of
Shugborow.
I skirted part of the wood, which here ends boldly, almost driving the traveller into the
Sow.
This front has received from Mr.
Anson
a wonderful change.
Miraturque novas frondes.
Pines instead of oaks; which, waving over the head of the passenger, would recall to his memory, had he been abroad, the idea of many an alpine scene.
RETURNING over
Heywood
bridge, I passed through the two hamlets of that name; and within two miles of the first, reached the church and village of
Colwich.
I must imagine the traveller,
COLWICH.
as well as myself, blinded, if we rode this space insensible of the most elegant view of the vale. It is perfectly prodigal in its beauties, and spreads at once every charm that can captivate the eye. It shews here at once, all that I before mentioned
en detail.
THE parsonage and church of
Colwich
contribute to the variety of the view, from another station: both are antient. This place had been the property of a family of the same name
Erdeswic.
, at le
t from
Henry
III's reign to about the beginning of
Elizabeth;
when it passed into that of
Leicester
of
Tabley,
in
Cheshire,
by the marriage of the daughter of
Edward Colwich
Leicester's Cheshire,
303.
to
Peter Leicester,
Esquire.
The church is dedicated to St.
Michael,
CHURCH.
and is a prebend in
the cathedral of
Lichfield.
Within is a tomb, with the recumbent figure, dressed in a gown, of Sir
William Wolsely.
Here is also the burial-place of the
Ansons,
made a
l'antique,
in form of a catacomb. I must not forget an inscription, in memory of another Sir
William Wolsely,
which does not commemorate his unlucky and singular end; being drowned in his chariot, on the 8th of
July
1728, by the accidental breaking of a mill-dam, in the village of
Longdon,
by a thunder-shower. His four horses perished. The coachman was saved, being carried by the torrent into an orchard, where he stuck till the water abated.
BISHTON.
AT a little distance from
Colwich
is
Bishton,
WOLSLEY BRIDGE.
near which I cross the navigation again, and instantly after the
Trent,
at
Wolsley Bridge,
placed at the foot of the hanging-woods of
Wolsley
park; an inclosure of much native wild beauty. The antient mansion of the family of the same name, lies low and near the river. This manor is a member of
Heywood.
In the twentieth year of the Conqueror.
Nigellus,
the paternal ancestor of
Greslei,
held it of the bishop. About the reign of
Henry
II. it was a divided manor, between
Richard Hints
and
Richard Wolsley.
Bedeswic,
Soon after this, they seem to have become sole proprietors.
AFTER riding a little way along the
Lichfield
road, I turned to the left, and crossing the vale, which now expands and grows less
rionte,
repass the
Trent
at
Colton,
on a bridge of a fine single arch.
THE BURBOT.
Near this place is sometimes taken the
Burbot,
Plot,
241, tab. xxii.
Br. Zool.
111. No
a fish of disgusting appearance, but of a delicate flavor, and very firm. It is not common in these parts, but abounds in the
Witham,
and in the fens of
Lincolnshire;
and is very common in the lake of
Geneva,
where it is called
Lota.
According to the new arrangement of fish, it is ranked among the
gadi,
or
cod-fish:
by Mr.
Ray,
among the eel-shaped fish. The form is long; the head depressed; the mouth large, armed with small teeth; the nose furnished with two beards, the chin with one: on the back are two fins; the skin smooth and slippery, of a disagreeable green color, spotted with yellow. It is very voracious, and very prolific. The noted old fisherman of the
Rhine, Leonard Baltner,
took out of a single fish not fewer than 128,000 eggs.
MR.
Erdeswik
informs us, that at the time of the Conqueror, one
Galfridus
was lord of
Colton.
Soon after,
COLTON.
Sir
Hardulph de Gastenoys
had either all, or shared it with another; for in the year 1315, Sir
William Gastenoys
and
Anselm le Marshal
were joint lords of it. After many generations, a female (
Thomasine,
sole heiress and daughter of Sir
Thomas Gastenoys,
last male heir of the family, by marriage with Sir
Nicholas Greislei,
about 1379) transferred it to the house of
Drakelow.
The old hall, which was large enough to contain fourscore lodging-rooms, was burnt down in the time of
Charles
I. by the carelessness of a servant. It at that time belonged to Lord
Aston.
Mr.
Allen
's MSS.
THE country now alters for the worse, and the soil becomes wet and miry. About two miles distance from
Colton
stands
Blithefield,
BLITHEFIELD.
the respectable old seat of the respectable family of the
Bagots;
a most antient and virtuous race. At the time of the Conquest they were found possessed of
Bagot's Bromley.
In 1193, or the fifth of
Richard
I. a younger branch became ennobled, by the marriage of
Millisent,
heiress of
Robert
Lord
Stafford,
Dugdale,
i. 158.
with
Hervey Bagot;
from which match sprung a long line of peers of every rank. The elder branch acquired this place by the marriage of Sir
Ralph Bagot
(before the reign of
Henry
IV.) with
Elizabeth,
sole heiress of
Richard Blithefield,
lineally descended from a
Saxon
of the name of
Hereman,
or the warrior.
THE house is built round a court, and still retains, on the outside, the simplicity of appearance of that of an antient baron; and within, the old hospitality. The best rooms are, the hall, the library, and a large drawing-room, lately added. The first is a noble apartment, unadorned, excepting over the chimney-piece, where is a representation in bold and good sculpture, in freestone, of an event dear as life to every true
Englishman;
that of King
John
granting to his subjects the great charter of liberty.
AMONG the portraits, I observed on a board, in a flat manner,
LORD-TREASURER BURLEIGH.
the head of lord treasurer
Burleigh,
with a white beard, bonnet, collar of the garter, the George, and a white wand. His abilities as a statesman were inimitable; his private virtues not beyond the power of the great to copy; his magnificence was attended with hospitality; his annual deeds of alms to the amount of five hundred pounds; his honesty, temperance, moderation, industry, and justice
Cambden's Annals,
year 1598.
. As his life was excellent, so his death was happy; dying in the fulness of years and of glory, envied, as his greatest enemy declared, only because his fun went down with so much lustre; not clouded, as generally is the fate of great ministers.
A CONTEMPORARY of his is painted in the same manner,
HENRY EARL OF HUNTINGTON.
with the collar of the garter; his beard forked: the date 1588, aet. 52. This preserves a likeness of a very different character,
Henry
Earl of
Huntington,
lord president of the north, and one of the peers to whom the custody of the queen of
Scots
was entrusted.
Burleigh
created a fortune by his prudence;
Huntington
dissipated his, by being the dupe to the ministers of the rising fanaticism of the age, which, nurtured by such wooers of popularity as
Leicester, Essex,
and this noble peer, in the next age attained strength sufficient to subvert the church it pretended to purify.
A NEIGHBORING statesman, Sir
Walter Aston
of
Tixal,
SIR WALTER ASTON.
is painted on board. He appears with a firm countenance, short hair, and whiskers; in a black dress, laced with gold on the seams, and graced with a triple gold chain. Sir
Walter
was ambassador to
Spain
in the time of the negotiations about the
Spanish
match, in the reign of
James
I. and favored the designs of the young prince, and his favorite
Buckingham.
He was resolute and prudent, and had great knowlege of the importance of the
English
trade with
Spain.
Lloyd's Worthies,
ii. 248.
He might serve his master, but he hurt his own fortune; dissipating great part of £10,000 a year in supporting the dignity of his character, and the honor of his country. His reward was a
Scotch
peerage; being created by
Charles
I. in the third year of his reign, Lord
Forfar.
AN half-length of
Walter
Earl of
Essex,
father to the unfortunate
Robert.
He is represented in rich armour.
WALTER EARL OF ESSEX.
On one side are the words
Virtutis comes invidia;
allusive to the constant ill usage he met with from the worthless favorite of
Elizabeth,
the Earl of
Leicester.
He was a nobleman of great merit and courage; was sent to command in
Ireland,
in 1573, and performed services worthy of his character; but at length, worn out by the ill usage of the ministry, who with-held from him the necessary support, he came over to
England,
to lay his complaint before the queen. He was artfully received, and sent back with the promises of better usage. Grief, or, as others say, poison, administered by the instigation of
Leicester,
who loved his wife, cut him off at the age of thirty-five, at
Dublin,
in 1576. Perhaps the infamy of
Dudley
's character, and the speedy and indecent marriage of the countess with that favorite, might give rise to the scandal; for an inquisition was made on his death, and the report in consequence was, that he died of the flux; a disorder very frequent in
Ireland
in those days.
HERE are several portraits of different persons,
COLONEL RICHARD BAGOT.
of this worthy house. Among them is Colonel
Richard Bagot,
governor of
Lichfield,
who fell in the cause of loyalty, in the fatal battle of
Naseby.
He is dressed in a buff coat, and represented with long hair.
I MUST not omit a curious-picture of a countrywoman of mine,
MRS. SALUSBURY.
Mrs.
Salusbury
of
Bachymbed,
in
Denhighshire,
in a vast high sugar-loafed hat and kerchief, bordered with ermine. Near her are two of her grandchildren, Sir
Edward Bagot,
and
Elizabeth,
afterwards Countess of
Uxbridge,
by her daughter
Jane,
who married Sir
Walter Bagot,
and conveyed the
Welch
estate into the family. A head of her son
Charles Salusbury,
in long hair, and flowered night-gown, is also preserved here.
MARY Countess of
Ailsford,
LADY AILSFORD.
painted in her old-age, by
Hudson,
sitting, is a most beautiful portrait. She is dressed,
simplex munditiis,
in pale brown sattin, white hood, handkerchief, apron, and short ruffles: a reproach to the unsuitable fantastic dress of these times, which attempts to disguise respectful years, and renders that inevitable period the object of ridicule.
Mary,
daughter to
Hervey Bagot,
Esquire, of
Pipehall,
first married to Sir
Charley Berkeley.
Earl of
Falmouth,
According to Lord
Clarendon
's account, he was a very worthless young favorite of
Charles
II. He was killed in the great sea-fight with the
Dutch,
in 1665.
Charles
wept bitterly at his death. The loss of better men never went so near his heart.
Clarendon's Continuation,
268.
and afterwards to
Charles
Earl of
Dorset;
a brown, beauty of the gay court of
Charles
II. and, as
Grammont
says, the only one that had the appearance of beauty and wisdom in the departments of maids of honor to the Dutchess of
York.
William Legge,
first Earl of
Dartmouth,
and his lady; parents of the late Lady
Barbara Bagot.
THAT eccentric statesman,
Henry
Earl of
Bolingbroke,
when young, dressed in his robes.
A HEAD of that great actor, and dramatic poet,
Moliere.
MOLIERE
He lived the adoration of his countrymen; but, dying in his profession, was, according to a custom of the church of his nation, refused Christian burial by
Harlai de Chanvalon,
a debauched archbishop of
Paris.
The king (
Lewis
XIV.) at length prevailed to have him buried in a church; but the curate would not undertake the office. The populace, with difficulty could be persuaded to suffer his remains to be carried to their grave.
Bouhours
marks the injustice done this great man, in the following lines:
Tu reformas & la ville & la cour,
Mais quella en fut la recompense?
Les
François
rougiront un jour
De leur peu de reconnaissance.
II leur falut an comedien
Qui mit à les polir sa gloire & son etude;
Mais
Moliere,
a tu gloire il ne manquera rien.
Si parmi les defauts que to peignis si bien,
Tu les avais repris de leur ingratitude.
I QUIT the subject of paintings, notwithstanding there are multitudes of pictures, by the best masters, in this house. They were all undergoing a removal; therefore I avoid further mention of them, until they are fixed in their permanent situations. But I must not be silent about the collection of coins, one of the most valuable and instructive in
England,
the bequest of his beloved neighbor and friend
Thomas Anson,
Esquire.
THE park is at some distance from the house.
PARK.
The oaks are of a very great size: a twin-tree was lately sold for £.120, and some single ones for half that sum; and I am told, that there are several now standing equally large.
THE church is very near the house,
CHURCH.
in the gift of Sir
William Bagot,
dedicated to St.
Leonard.
Within, are several sculptured tombs, of the time of the fifteenth century; some with imaged figures, others engraven; mostly in memorial of the
Bagots:
one of an
Aston
of
Broughton,
and another expressed by a little skeleton of a
Broughton,
a child of three months old. The monument of Sir
Edward Bagot,
who died in 1673, is mural, and supersedes the ten commandments, being placed over the altar. The inscription tells us, that he was a true assertor of episcopacy in the church, and hereditary monarchy in the state; which probably entitled him, in those days, to this sacred place. On the outside of the church, two modest heaps of turf, parallel to each other, mark the spot where the remains of the last amiable owners of the place repose; whole merit survives in their successor.
I FOUND myself here not very distant from
Whichenoure Hall,
and could not resist the desire of visiting the seat of the celebrated
Flitch,
the desperate reward of conjugal affection.
IN my road, not far from
Blithefield,
I again met with the
Trent,
HERMITAGE.
and the
Canal:
the last a most fortunate embellishment to the neat seat of Mr.
Lister
of
Hermitage.
The proprietors (with the respect they usually pay to gentlemen) have before this house given it an elegant form; and, to add to the scenery, luckily the aweful mouth of a considerable subterraneous course of the navigation opens to view, and affords the amazing sight of barges losing themselves in the cavern, or suddenly emerging to day from the other side.
THE church of
Hermitage,
seated on a small eminence,
CHURCH.
forms another beautiful object. This belongs to the cathedral of
Lichfield,
and is stiled the prebendary of
Hansacre,
a hamlet in this parish, founded by Bishop
Clinton.
ON the opposite side of the
Trent
is
Maveston Ridware,
a rectory,
MAVESTON RIDWARE.
whose church is dedicated to St.
Andrew.
This had been the property of the
Mavestons,
at left from the time of
Edward
I. to that of
Henry
IV. The tomb of Sir
Robert Maveston,
or
Mauvesine,
in the parish-church, recals to memory a melancholy story. In the beginning of the reign of the usurping
Henry,
when the kingdom was divided against itself, two neighboring knights, Sir
Robert Maveston,
and Sir
William Handsacre,
of
Handsacre,
took arms in support of different parties: the first, to assert the cause of
Bolingbroke;
the last, that of the deposed
Richard.
They assembled their vassals, and began their march to join the armies, then about to join battle, near
Shrewsbury.
The two neighbors, with their respective followers, unfortunately met, not far from their seats. Actuated by party rage, a skirmish ensued: Sir
William
was slain on the spot. Sir
Robert
proceeded to the field, and met his fate with the gallant
Percy.
What a picture is this accident, of the miseries of civil dissension! What a tale is the following, of the sudden vicissitude of hatred to love, between contending families!
Margaret,
one of the daughters, and co-heiress of Sir
Robert Maveston,
gave her hand to Sir
William,
son of the knight slain by her father; and with her person and fortune compensated the injury done by her house to that of
Handsacre.
Erdeswik.
THE other daughter,
Elizabeth,
married Sir
John Cawardine,
whose posterity was extinct here in the male line, by the death of
Thomas Cawardine,
Esquire, in 1592.
THE tomb of Sir
Robert
is altar-shaped: his figure armed and helmed, with a great sword on one side, and a dagger on the other, is engraven on the incumbent alabaster slab, with the following inscription:
Hic jacet Dns.
Robertus de Mauvesine,
miles, Dns. de
Mauvesine Ridware,
qui occubuit juxta
Salopiam,
1403, stans cum rege, dimicans ex parte sua usque ad mortem, cujus animae propitietur
Deus.
HERE is a tomb of two other
Mauvesins,
one cross-legged, with each hand on his sword; both under arches in the wall.
NEAR the church is the gateway, part of the antient mansion of the family of
Mauvesin;
and on the other side of the
Trent,
beyond
High Bridge,
is a moated fragment of the rival house of
Handsacre.
AT the distance of about two miles from
Maveston,
KING'S BROMLEY.
I passed by
King's Bromley.
Before the Conquest, this manor had been the residence of the Earl of
Mercia.
Here, in 1057, died the pious
Leosric,
Dugdale's Baron.
i. 10.
husband to the famous
Godiva.
At that time, it was called
Brom-legge.
After the Conqueror took it into his own hands, the name was changed to that of
King's Bromley.
It continued in the crown till the year 1258, or the forty-third of
Henry
III. when
Roger Corbet
died, holding it of the king
in capite
Erdeswik.
. It continued in that family till the year 1451, or the thirtieth of
Henry
VI. when it came by descent to
Praiers
of
Baddeleigh,
in
Cheshire:
from him to one
Partridge,
who sold it to
Francis Agard
of
Ireland;
whose descendants possessed it for some generations, when it was sold to
John Newton,
Esquire, of
Barbadoes;
in whose line it remains.
FROM hence I passed by
Orgrave,
one of the seats of
George Anson,
ORGRAVE.
Esquire, lately the property of the
Turtons.
Afterwards, through the village of
Alrewas.
The manor was in possession of
Algar
Earl of
Mercia;
but on the forfeiture of his son, the brave
Edwin,
was bestowed by the Conqueror, with the following, on
Walter de Somervil,
one of his
Norman
followers.
FROM hence I visited
Whichenoure,
or
Wichnor,
WHICHENOURE MANOR.
where I crossed a bridge of the same name over the
Trent,
not far from the place where it receives the
Tame.
The
Roman
road passes this way, and on this marshy spot was formed upon piles of wood. It runs from the east side of
Lichfield,
and points to the north-east. Much brass money has been found, and, as I am informed, there are vestiges of a
Roman
camp in
Whichenoure
park.
THE church stands on an eminence,
CHURCH.
on the north side of the river. The house is at a small distance, and enjoys a most beautiful view. I believe this to have been on the site of a very antient mansion, which
Leland
observes to have been quite down in his days; and that the seat was then below,
SINGULAR TENURE.
much subject to the n
ngs of the
Trent.
The present house is a modern building, remarkable for the painted wooden bacon flitch, still hung up over the hall chimney, in memory of the singular tenure by which Sir
Philip de Somervile,
in the time of
Edward
III. held the manors of
Whichenoure, Sirescote, Ridware, Netherton,
and
Cowlee,
of the Earl of
Lancaster,
then lord of the honor of
Tutbury.
The services clamed were these,
viz.
two small fees;
that is to say, when other tenants pay for releef one whole knight's fee, one hundred shillings; he, the said Sir
Philip,
shall pay but fifty shillings; and when escuage is assessed throgheout the land, or ayde for to make the eldest son of the lord knyght, or for to marry the eldest doughter of the lord, the sayd Sir
Philip
shal pay bot the moiety of it that other shal paye.
Nevertheless, the sayd Sir
Philip
shal synde meyntienge and susteiyne one bacon flyke hanging in his halle, at
Wichenore,
ready arrayed all tymes of the yere, bott in
Lent,
to be given to everyche mane or womane married, after the dey and yere of their mariage be passed; and to be given to everyche mane of religion, arch bishop, prior, or other religious; and to everyche preest, after the year and day of their profession finished, or of their dignity reseyved, in forme following. Whensoever that ony such before named wylle come for to enquire for the baconne in their owne person, or by any other for them, they shall come to the bayliff or porter of the lordship of
Whichenour,
and shall say to them in the manere as ensewethe: Baylife, or Porter, I doo you to knowe, that I am come for my self (or, if he come for any other, shewing for whome) one bacon flyke, hanging in the halle of the lord of
Whichenour,
after the forme thereunto belonginge.
After which relation the bailiffe, or porter, shal assigne a daye to him, upon promise by his feythe to return, and with him to bring tweyne of his neighbours; and in the meyn time the said bailif shal take with him tweyne of the freeholders of the lordship of
Whichenoure,
and they three shal goe to the mannour of
Rudlowe,
belonging to
Robert Knyghtley,
and there shall somon the foresaid
Knyghtley,
or his bayliffe, commanding him to be ready at
Whichenour
the day appoynted, at pryme of the day, with his carriage; that is to say, a horse and a sadyle, a sakke, and a pryke, for to convey and carry the said baconne and corne a journey out of the county of
Stafford,
at his costages; and then the sayd bailiffe shal, with the said freeholders, somon all the tenants of the said manoir to be ready at the day appoynted at
Whichenour,
for to doe and performe the services to the baconne. And at the day assigned, all such as owe services to the baconne, shal be ready at the gatte of the manoir of
Whichenour,
from the fonne risinge to none, attendyng and awayting for the comyng of hym and his felowys chapaletts, and to all those whiche shal be there, to doe their services deue to the baconne: and they shal lede the said demandant, wythe tromps and tabours, and other manner of mynstralseye, to the halle dore, where he shal fynde the lord of
Whichenour,
or his steward; redy to deliver the baconne in this manere:
He shal enquere of hym which demandeth the baconne, if he hath brought tweyne of his neighbours; who must answere,
They be here redy;
and then the steward shal cause theis two neighbours to swere yf the said demandant be a weddyt man, or have be a man weddyt, and yf syth his marryage one yere and a day be passed, and yf he be a freeman or a villeyn: and yf his seid neghbours make othe that he hath for hym all theis three poynts rehersed, then shal the baconne be take downe, and brought to the halle dore, and shal there be layd upon one half a quarter of wheatte, and upon one other of rye: and he that demandeth the baconne shal kneel upon his knee, and shal hold his right hande upon a booke, which shal be layd above the baconne and the corne, and shal make oath in this manere:
Here ye Sir
Philip de Somervyle,
lord of
Whichenour,
mayntayner and giver of this baconne, that I
A.
syth, I wedded
B.
my wife, and syth I had her in my kepyng and at wylle, by a yere and a daye after our marryage, I would not have changed for none other, farer ne fowler, richer ne powrer, ne for none other descended of gretter lynage, slepyng ne waking, at noo tyme; and if the seid
B.
were sole, and I sole, I wolde take her to be my wife before all the wymen of the worlde, of what condytions. soevere they be, good or evyle, as helpe me God, and his seyntys, and this flesh, and all fleshes.
And his neghbours shal make oath, that they trust verily he hath said truely. And yf it be founde by his neghbours before named, that he be a villeyn, there shal be delyvered to him half a quarter of wheatte and a cheese; and yf he be a villein, he shal have half a quarter of rye, withoutte cheese, and then shal
Knyghtley,
the lord of
Rudlow,
be called for, to carry all their thyngs to fore rehersed; and the sayd corne shal be layd upon one horse, and the baconne apperteyneth shal ascend upon his horse, and shal take the chese before hym, if he have a horse; and yf he have none, the lord of
Whichenour
shall cause him have one horse and sadyl, to such tyme as he passed his lordshippe; and soe shal they departe the manoyr of
Whichenour
with the corne and the baconne to fore him, him that hath wonne ytt, with trompets, tabourets, and other manoir of mynstralsce. And all the free tenants of
Whichenour
shal conduct him to be passed the lordship of
Whichenour;
and then shall they retorne except hym to whom apperteiyneth to make the carriage and journy withoutt the countye of
Stafford,
at the costys of his lord of
Whichenour.
And yf the seid
Robert Knyghtley
doe not cause the baconne and corne to be conveyed as is rehersed, the lord of
Whichenour
shal do it to be carryed, and shall distreigne the said
Robert Knyghtley
for his default, for one hundred shillings in his manoir of
Rudlowe,
and shall kepe the distresse so takyn irreplevisable
Blunt's Tenures,
95.
:
SUCH is the history of this memorable custom. I wish,
PRESENT STATE OF THE FLITCH.
for the honor of the state matrimonial, that it was in my power to continue the register of successful clamants, from that preserved in the 608th
Spectator;
but, from the strictest enquiry, the flitch has remained untouched, from the first century of its institution to the present: and we are credibly informed, that the late and present worthy owners of the manor, were deterred from entering into the holy state, through the dread of not obtaining a single rasher from their own bacon.
THE first pessessor of this manor was Sir
Walter de Somervile,
a
Norman,
on whom it was bestowed by the Conqueror. It rested in his family till the death of the above-mentioned Sir
Philip de Somervile,
who left two daughters,
Joan,
wife of Sir
Rhys ap Griffith,
Knight; and
Maud,
married to
Edmund Vernon.
This estate fell to the former, and remained in the family till the last century, when it was sold by
Mary,
daughter or widow to
Henry Griffith,
to —
Offley,
Esquire, ancestor to the late owner; who, within these few years, alienated it to the present
John Levet,
Esquire.
I CANNOT tell the precise year in which it was sold to Mr.
Offley;
but it appears that
Henry Griffith
was living in 1597.
IN compliance with my original plan, I took the same way, in order to return into the great road. Soon after,
RUDGLEY.
repassing the
Trent,
at
Colton
bridge, I reached
Rudgley,
a small town, celebrated for its great annual fairs for horses of the coach breed.
THE church is a little north of the town,
CHURCH.
is dedicated to Saint
Augustin,
and is a vicarage belonging to the chapter of
Lichfield.
Opposite is a very antient timber-house, belonging once to the
Chetwynds;
at present to Mr.
Anson.
On an eminence, above the town, is beautifully situated a large house, formerly belonging to the
Westons,
greatly enlarged and improved by the present owner,
Ashton Curzon,
Esquire.
THE antient owners of
Rudgley
were of the same name with the town: some of the family had the honor of being sheriffs of the county, in the reign of
Edward
III: another was knight of the shire, in the same period. The name continued here till after the time of
Henry
VI.
Erdeswik
mentions this to have been a manor belonging to the bishop of
Lichfield;
which I find was alienated to the king by bishop
Sampson,
in 1547.
THE parish and village of
Longdon
succeeds that of
Rudgley.
LONGDON.
The church lies out of the road, on the left; is a vicarage, dedicated to St.
James;
and belongs to a prebendship of
Lichfield.
The village consists of scattered houses, extending for a vast way on each side of the lane; from whence the name. This gave rise, to a common saying in these parts,
The stoutest beggar that goes by the way,
Cannot beg thro'
Long'
in a summer's day.
THIS village antiently was full of gentlemen's seats; a most useful species of population to the poor, whose distresses seldom fail reaching the ears of mediocrity, but whose cries rarely attain the height of greatness. Sir
Edward Littleton
had a house called
Chestal; Simon Rudgley,
sheriff of the county in the time of
Edward
III. had another; the younger brother of the
Astons
had a seat here, from the reign of
Edward
I; the
Broughtons
had
Broughton Hall,
from the days of King
John;
and
Adam Arblaster
possessed
Liswys
(now
Longball
) in 1351, or the twenty-fifth of
Edward
III. in whose name it continued till of late, when it was purchased by
Francis Cob,
Esquire.
THIS manor is of vast extent. Above thirty other manors, lordships) and villages, owe suit and service, besides
Cank, Heywood
and
Rudgley,
to the court-leet, which is held here every three weeks. It once belonged to the bishop of
Lichfield,
but was alienated by Bishop
Sampson.
AFTER winding up the steep of a high hill, an advanced part of the forest of
Cank,
I turned out of the road to
Beaudesert,
BEAUDESERT.
the princely seat of Lord
Paget,
placed on the side of a lofty sloping eminence, sheltered above, and on each side, by beautiful rising grounds, and embosomed with trees, commanding in front, over the tops of far subjacent woods, a most extensive and agreeable view; so that it well vindicates the propriety of its name.
THIS had been a place belonging to the bishops of
Lichfield,
which, with the manors of
Longdon, Heywood, Berkswick, Cank, Rudgley,
and
Shugborrow,
were part of the spoils of that see, wrested from it in the time of
Edward
VI. with the connivance of
Richard Sampson,
then bishop, who accepted in their stead certain impropriations of the value of an hundred and eighty-three pounds a year. These livings at that time were good rectories; now poor vicarages, or mercenary curacies, annexed to the bishoprick.
THE leviathan who swallowed these manors, was Sir
William Paget,
created by
Edward
VI. Baron
Beaudesert.
He first appeared in the reign of
Henry
VIII. and from a low beginning, meritoriously rose to the dignity of secretary and ambassador to
Charles
V. and
Francis
I. In the next reign, he was made chancellor of the dutchy of
Lancaster,
and comptroller of the houshold; and obtained a peerage. In that of
Mary,
became lord privy-seal, and was restored to the order of the Garter, from which he had been degraded in the time of her predecessor. At the accession of
Elizabeth,
at his own request, he was permitted to retire from the service of the state, being zealously attached to the religion of his former mistress
Fuller's Worthies,
210.
. Yet his zeal for the old religion, produced in him no scruples about sharing in the plunder of the church. The reforming
Somerset,
and the papal
Paget,
agreed in that single point. His posterity derive from him an uncommon extent of interest and command.
Beaudesert
was rebuilt by
Thomas
Lord
Paget,
in the reign of Queen
Elizabeth.
It is a very handsome stone edifice, in form of an half H; of late most admirably improved, and fitted up by the noble owner. It is totally disengaged from the gateway, walls, and other obstructions that encumbered it in the days of
Plott;
See his plate viii. p. 126.
and the grounds that environ it are layed with the simplicity that forms true grandeur.
HERE is a gothic hall of eighty feet by twenty-one; a diningroom of forty-two by twenty-seven; and a magnificent gallery of ninety-seven by seventeen. The other apartments are small.
IN the drawing-room is a fine portrait of the founder of the family,
PORTRAIT OF LORD PAGET.
the first Lord
Paget,
a three-quarters length; in a bonnet, black gown furred, with a great forked beard, the George, a stick, and dagger. A fine performance of
Holbein's.
FROM the house I ascended to the summit of the hill,
CASTLE-HILL.
on the verge of
Cank
heath, to an antient
British
post called the
Castlehill.
It is encompassed with a vast rampart and two ditches. The two entrances are opposite to each other, and before the eastern are several advanced works. It commands a vast view, and was well situated for the purposes of a temporary retreat. I refer the reader, for an account of the uses of these entrenchments, to my
Welsh Tour
Vol. i. 412.
; for they are common to most parts of
Britain.
Doctor
Plott
ascribes this work to King
Canute;
but I suspect it to be of earlier origin.
FROM hence is an extensive view of the chace,
CANK FOREST.
or forest, of
Cank,
or
Cannock,
which
Plott
derives from the name of the
Danish
prince
Canuti Sylva.
This vast tract was once covered with oaks, but for some centuries past, has been spoiled of its honors; even old
Drayton
Polyolbion,
song 12.
deplores its losses, owing, as he says, to the avarice of the times.
O woeful
Cank
the while,
As brave a wood-nymph once as any of this isle,
Great
Arden
's eldest child!
Now by vile gain devour'd!
BUT this change is much more beautifully described by Mr.
Masters,
in his
Itinerary
Published under the title of
Iter Boreale.
of 1675; in which he describes his journey in most elegant
Latin.
His passage over
Cank
wood, and the translation by my ingenious friend
The Rev.
Richard Williams
of
Vron, Flintshire.
, cannot but be acceptable to every reader of taste.
Hinc mihi mox ingens ericetum complet ocellos,
Sylva olim passim nymphis habitata ferisque:
Condensae quercus, domibus res nata struendis
Ornandoque foco, et validae spes unica classis.
Nunc umbris immissa dies, namque aequore vasto
Ante, retro, dextrâ, laevâ, quo lumina cunque,
Verteris una humili consurgit vertice planta,
Purpuresque erice tellurem vestit amictu;
Dum floret suaves et naribus adflat odores
Haec ferimus saltem amissae solatia sylvae.
A vast and naked plain confines the view,
Where trees unnumber'd in past ages grew,
The green retreat of wood-nymphs; once the boast,
The pride, the guardians of their native coast.
Alas! how chang'd! each venerable oak
Long since has yielded to the woodman's stroke.
Where'er the chearless prospect meets the eye,
No shrub, no plant, except the Heath, is nigh;
The solitary Heath alone is there,
And wafts its sweetness in the desert air.
So sweet its scent, so rich its purple hue,
We half forget that here a forest grew.
R. W.
FROM
Castle-hill
I descended towards the great road, and passed by
Fairwell
church
Called
Ecclesia Sanctae Mariae.
DUGDALE.
, once conventual,
FAIRWELL CHURCH.
belonging to a priory of
Benedictine
nuns. It originally was the property of canons regular, or hermits; but at the request of
Roger, Jeffry,
and
Robert,
brothers of
Farewell,
Dugdale Mon,
i. 441.
and with the consent of the chapter of
Lichfield,
was bestowed on the priory, about 1140, by
Roger de Clinton,
bishop of
Litchfield;
who endowed it with the mill, and all the lands between the brooks, then called
Chistals,
and
Blache Siche,
with other emoluments mentioned in his two grants.
Henry
II. was also a great benefactor to these nuns, bestowing on them three ploughlands at
Fagereswell,
one at
Pipe,
and one at
Hamerwich,
and forty acres of land cleared from wood, in the forest of
Cank,
The same, 443, 444.
in 1527. On the suppression of the lesser religious houses, it was given to
Lichfield,
to increase and maintain the choristers, in recompente of a pension which should have been given by Cardinal
Wolsey,
out of his college at
Oxford.
Leland Itix.
iv. 119.
Rymer,
xiv. 193. —This place is called in different places
Fairweld, Faurwell, Fagrewell,
and
Fagereswell.
AFTER a short ride, I reached the summit of a long but gentle descent, from which is a fine view of the city of
Lichfield,
lying at the foot of it. The situation is delightful, in a fertile and dry soil, with small risings on almost every side. The cathedral, with its three spires, is a most striking object.
Lichfield
is a place of
Saxon
origin,
LICHFIELD.
and owes its rise to
Ceadda,
or
Chad,
the great saint of
Mercia.
I omit the legend of the thousand Christians, disciples of St.
Amphibolus,
that were martyred here under
Dioclesian;
or the three kings slain at this place in battle, as sculptured over the-town-hall. I take up its history about the year 656, when
Oswy,
king of the country, established a bishoprick here, and made
Dwina,
or
Dinma,
the first prelate. To him succeeded
Cellach
and
Trumberct;
and on his demise,
ST. CHAD.
the famous
Ceadda.
This pious man at first led an eremitical life, in a cell, at the place on which now stands the church of his name, and supported himself by the milk of a white hind. In this place he was discovered by
Rufine,
the son of
Wolphere,
who was privately, instructed by him till the time of his martyrdom, before-recited. Remorse, and consequential conversion, seized the Pagan prince. As some species of expiation, he preferred the apostle to the vacant see. He built himself a small house near the church, and, with seven or eight of his brethren, during the interval of preaching, read and prayed in private. On the approach of his death, flights of angels, sang hymns over his cell. Miracles at his tomb confirmed the holiness of his life. A lunatic, that by accident escaped from his keepers, lay a night on it; and in the morning was found restored to his senses. The very earth taken out of it, was an infallible remedy for all disorders incident to man or beast.
Bede Hist.
lib. iv. c. 3.
Ceadda
was of course canonized; a shrine was erected in honor of him; great was the concourse of devotees: the place increased and flourished.
THE history of our cathedrals is; in its beginning, but the history of superstition, mixed with some truth and abundance of legend: humiliating proof of the weakness of the human mind! yet all the fine arts of past times, and all the magnificent works we now so justly admire, are owing to a species of piety that every lover of the elegance of architecture must rejoice to have existed.
WE are told, that in the days of
Jaruman,
about the year 666,
CATHEDRAL WHEN FOUNDED.
the cathedral was founded.
I SHALL not trouble the reader with a dry list of prelates; but only mention those distinguished by some remarkable event, that befel the see during their days.
IN those of
Winfrid,
successor to St.
Chad,
in 674,
Theodore,
archbishop of
Canterbury,
thought fit to divide the bishoprick into two, and to establish the other at
Sidnacester;
in
Lincolnshire,
the present
Stow
Winfrid
disapproving this defalcation, was deprived for contumacy. The diocese might well bear dividing; for at that time it contained the whole kingdom of
Mercia.
At present, it comprehends all
Staffordshire,
except
, which belong to
Worcester;
the larger part of?
and about half
Shropshire.
IN the time of Bishop
Adulf, Ossa,
king of the
Mercians,
procured liberty from the pope of erecting the fee into an archbishop
ick, in 786, and to assign him for suffragans
Winchester, Hereford, L
g
ster (Leicester), Helmham,
and
Dunwick.
This honor died with
Adulf.
A BISHOP
Peter,
in 1067, the year succeeding the Conquest, removed the see to St.
John
's, in
Chester;
where he died, and was interred, in 1085.
HIS successor,
Robert de Limesey,
smitten with the love of the gold and silver
Wharton's Augl. Sacr,
i. 433.
with which the pious Earl
Leofric
had covered the walls of his new convent at
Coventry,
in 1095 removed the see to that city, and at once scraped from a single beam, that supported a shrine, 500 marks worth of silver
William of Malmsbury,
as quoted by
Dugdale, Hist. Warwick,
i. 157.
.
I NOW speak of a prelate of a different temper;
C
I
TON.
to whose munificence both the church and city were highly indebted.
Roger de Clinton,
consecrated in 1129, took down the antient
Mercian
cathedral. We are not informed of the dimensions or nature of the building, any more than we are of that built by this bishop. It must have been, according to the reigning mode of the times, of the species of architecture usually called
Saxon,
with massy pillars and round arches. There is not at present the left relique of this stile. But I am unacquainted with the accident, or calamity, which destroyed the labors of this pious prelate; who took up the cross, and died at
Antioch,
on a pilgrimage to the holy sepulchre.
AFTER a succession of twelve prelates,
Walter de Langton,
BISHOP LANGTON
treasurer of
England,
was consecrated bishop of this see, in 1296. He was highly favored by
Edward
I. His prosperity was interrupted by the resentment of the prince, who meanly revenged on the bishop a short imprisonment he had suffered in the time of his father, for riotously destroying his deer. After a persecution and confinement of above two years, he emerged from all his difficulties, and resumed his pastoral charge in a manner that did him great honor. He may be considered as the third architect of this cathedral: to him we are indebted for the present elegant pile. He laid the foundation for our Lady's chapel; an edifice of uncommon beauty, finished after his death with money left for that purpose. He built the cloysters, and expended £2,000 upon a shrine for St.
Chad.
He bestowed on the choir several rich vestments, a chalice, and two cups of beaten gold, to the value of £200. To the vicars choral he gave a standing cup, and an annual pension of £20, and procured for them and the canons great immunities: in particular, there was an order from the king to the justices of
Staffordshire,
that, without trial, they should hang upon the next gallows divers persons that by force kept their lands from them. This prelate also surrounded the close with a wall and ditch, made the great gate at the west end, and the postern at the south. He gave his own palace, at the west end of the close, to the vicars choral, and built a new one for himself at the east end. He partly built, or enlarged, the castle at
Eccleshal,
and the manors of
Heywood
and
Shugborow,
and the palace in the
Strand.
He finished his useful life in
November
1321, and was buried in the chapel of his own founding.
THE cathedral continued in the state it was left by Bishop
Langton,
till the time of the dissolution, when the rich shrine of St.
Chad,
and other objects of similar devotion, fell a prey to the rapacity of the prince. The building continued in its pristine beauty till the unhappy wars of the last century,
CATHEDRAL FORTIFIED.
when it suffered greatly by three sieges. The situation of the place on an eminence, surrounded by water and by deep ditches, and fortified with walls and bastions, rendered it unhappily a proper place for a garrison.
IN 1643, it was possessed by the royalists of the county, under the Earl of
Chesterfield:
when it underwent the attack rendered memorable by the death of Lord
Brook,
commander of the parlementary forces. His lordship, in reconnoitring the cathedral, in a wooden porch in
Dams street,
was shot into the eye by a musket-ball, on
March
2d, 1643. This happened to be the festival of St.
Chad,
the patron of the church. The cavaliers attributed the direction of the fatal bullet to the influence of the Saint, in resentment of the sacrileges this nobleman was committing on his cathedral. What share the Saint had in this affair, I will not pretend to say; but the musket was aimed, and the trigger drawn, by a neighboring gentleman posted in the leads, known by the name of dumb
Dyot.
The loss of Lord
Brook
gave very short respite to the garrison; which was taken almost immediately after, by Sir
John Gell.
IN
April,
in the same year, it was attacked by Prince
Rupert
At that time it was commanded by Colonel
Rouswel;
a steady governor over an enthusiastic garrison. He defended the plac
with vast resolution. A breach was made by the blowing up o
a mine. The attack was made with great bravery, but great loss At length the garrison gave up, on the most honorable conditions
Clarendon,
ii. 235.
. The colonel took care to plunder the church of the communion-plate, during the time the fanatics were in possession. They used every species of profanation; hunted a cat in it with hounds, to enjoy the fine echo from the roof; and brought a calf, dressed in linen, to the font, and sprinkled it with water, in derision of baptism
Mr.
Greene
's MSS.
.
THE prince appointed Colonel
Hervey Bagot
During the time this gentleman commanded at
Lichfield,
he received the following extraordinary challenge from a Captain
Hunt,
a parlementary commander in
Tamworth. Mercurius Aulicus,
p. 1347.
Bagot,
thou sonne of an
Egiption
hore, meete mee half the way to morrow morning, the half way betwixt
Tamworth
and
Litchfeald,
if thou darest; if not, I will whippe thee when soever I meete thee.
Tamworth,
this
Decemb.
1644.
The. Hunt.
Colonel
Bagot
met him, and after a brisk action, whipped the fellow himself into his retreat, and narrowly missed taking him.
the governor; who kept possession till the ruin of the king's affairs, in 1646; when the colonel, and other commanders, being satisfied that the king had not an hundred men in any one place in the field, nor any garrison unbesieged, surrendered on very honorable terms, on the 10th of
July,
to Adjutant
Louthian
Articles of Surrender.
.
THE state of this church, after so many sieges, may easily be conceived. The honor of restoring it to its former splendor,
RESTORED BY BISHOP HACKET.
was reserved for
John Hacket,
presented to this see in 1661. On the very next day after his arrival, he set his coach-horses, with teams, to remove the rubbish; and in eight years time restored the cathedral to its present beautiful state, at the expence of twenty thousand pounds
Br. Biogr.
iv. 2457. A MS. with which Mr.
Greene
favored me, makes the sum much less. See
Appendix.
; one thousand of which was the gift of the dean and chapter; the rest was done either at his own charge, or by benefactions resulting from his own solicitations. He died in 1670. A very handsome tomb was erected in the choir to his memory, with his effigies laid recumbent on it, with a mitre on his head, and in his episcopal dress.
THE west front is of great elegance, adorned with the richest sculpture, and, till of late, with rows of statues of prophets, kings of
Judah,
&c. and, above all, a very bad one of
Charles
II. who had contributed to the repair of the church, by a liberal gift of timber. This statue was the work of a Sir
William Wilson,
originally a mason from
Sutton Coldfield,
who, after marrying a rich wife, arrived at the dignity of knighthood.
THE sculptures round the doors were very elegant; but time, or violence, hath greatly impaired their beauty.
James
II. when Duke of
York,
bestowed on this church the magnificent west window. The fine painted glass was given of late years, by Dean
Addenbrook.
THE northern door is extremely rich in sculptured moldings:
RICH NORTH DOOR.
three of soliage, and three of small figures in ovals. In one of the lowest is represented a monk baptizing a person kneeling before him. Probably the former is intended for St.
Chad;
the latter for
Wulferus.
It is a misfortune, that the ornaments of this cathedral are made of such friable stone, that what fanaticism has spared, the weather has impaired.
IN the front are two fine spires, and a third in the centre,
FRONT.
of a vast height, and fine proportion.
THE roof was till of late covered with lead, but grew so greatly out of repair, that the dean and chapter were obliged to substitute slates instead of metal, on account of the narrow revenues left to maintain this venerable pile; and, after the strictest oeconomy, they will be under the necessity of contributing from their own income, in order to complete their plan. The excellent order that all the cathedrals I have visited are in, does great credit to their members; who spare nothing from their own incomes to render them not only decent, but elegant.
THE body is lofty,
BODY.
supported by pillars formed of numbers of slender columns, with neat foliated capitals. Along the walls of the ailes are rows of false arches, in the gothic stile, with a seat beneath.
THE upper rows of windows, in the body, are of an uncommon form, being triangular, including three circles in each.
IN each transept are two places, formerly chapels; at present consistory courts, and the vicar's vestry-room.
THE choir merits attention,
CHOIR.
on account of the elegant sculpture about the windows, and the embattled gallery that runs beneath them. On each side are six statues, now much mutilated, placed in beautiful gothic niches, and richly painted. The first on the left is St.
Peter;
the next is the Virgin; the third is
Mary Magdalene,
with one leg bare, to denote her legendary wantonness. The other three are St.
Philip,
St.
James,
and St.
Christopher,
with CHRIST on his shoulders.
THE beauty of this choir is much impaired by the impropriety of a rich altar-piece, of
Grecian
architecture, terminating this elegant gothic building.
BEHIND this is St.
Mary
's chapel,
ST. MARY'S CHAPEL.
with a stone skreen, the most elegant which can be imagined, embattled at top, and adorned with several rows of gothic niches, of most exquisite workmanship; each formerly containing a small statue. Beneath them are thirteen stalls, with gothic work over each. In this chapel are nine windows, more narrow, lofty, and of more elegant work than any of the others; three on each side, and three at the end.
In this chapel stood the shrine of St.
Chad.
SHRINE OF ST. CHAD.
Here was interred
Ceolred
Saxon Chr.
51.
, king of the
Mercians;
and in later times, here was placed the magnificent tomb (on the site of the shrine) of the first Lord
Paget,
adorned with columns,
MONUMENTS.
with two kneeling figures of a man and woman between the front and back pillars. These were destroyed in the blind fury of civil war; as was another fine tomb of a Lord
Basset
of
Drayton,
who died in 1389. Few indeed escaped. Of those are the effigies of the great Bishop
Langton,
with his pastoral staff in one hand, and the other hand in the action of benediction: another of
Hugh de Pateshul,
who died in 1241, remarkable for having the
stigmata,
or marks of our
Saviour
's, wounds on the hands and feet: a respectful superstition of antient times. Dean
Heywood
is represented in his habit, and again naked, with the emaciated change which death occasions.
HERE are several monuments within the walls, of a most frugal nature, having no appearance of any part but the head and feet. From an intermediate bracket, it is probable some favorite saint might have been honored with a rich image.
I HAVE a singular drawing of a tomb now lost, of a knight naked to his waist; his legs and thighs armed, and at his feet and head a flag's horn; his hair long and dishevelled a
his hands, as if he was reading a confession, or act of cont
ion: across his middle, on his ballet, is his coat of arms; which shew him to have been a
Stanley.
He is called Captain
Stanley.
said to have been excommunicated, but to have received funeral rites in holy ground (having shewn signs of repentance) on condition his monument should bear those marks of disgrace. I
nd
Sir
Humphry Stanley
of
Pipe,
who died in the reign of
He
VI
. who had a squabble with the chapter, about conveying the water through his lands to the close. He also defrauded the pr
bendary of
Stotford
of his tithes: so probably this might be the gentleman who incurred the censure of the church for his
mp
ety.
ON the floor, near the west door, are two droll epitaphs.
Wiliam Roberts
A
SURD EPITAPHS.
of
Overbury,
some time malster in this town (tells
ou) for the love I bore to choir service, I chose to be buried in this place. He died
Dec
.
16th, 1748.
THE other gives you the posthumous grief of a deceased wife,
clas
ical knowledge of the living husband:
H. S.
.
Secunda
Hora
Line
viz.
,
Z:
Qu
In St.
Mary
's chapel is a fragment of singular sculpture, of two
beneath one is a king sitting, with one hand on young p
ce; in the other a monarch also seated.
there lay near the north door a very thick and clamsy
, with a cross
eury on it, and a great knif
resembling those represented in
Monfo
on
I part II. tab 4xv. as
I know of ne
es in the Christian church which
instrument; therefore presume it to be a simp
, and that the person whom the stone comme
was neither more nor less than a butcher. These
acknowledgements are not unfrequent: I have seen a deceas
shearer de
d by his shears, and a taylor by his goose.
ON the part of the south choral aile is the chapter-house▪
is approached through a passage with gothic
s
te. The room is an octagon, consisting of two long
six
or side
, orn
mented with arches, like the approach;
the lost pillars, instead of being restored, are now supplied wi
uniform pla
ter, supported in the center by a clustered
l
m
. Above is a library, instituted by Dean
Heywood,
conta
ng some
aluable books and manuscripts.
T
,
surrounding sp
re, is built on three sides. The palace originally founded by Bishop
Longton,
was rebuilt
manner by Bishop
Hacket.
The dea
in the civil wars, was resrtored after the restoration.
I
the hall of the antient palace
as pain
ed the life and most
of
Edward
I. and his officers; a
ng
al
deeds of Sir
Roger de Pulesdor,
against my
.
1. at Seafford. p. 74.
2.....Lichfield. p. 106.
3.....Lichfield. p. 109.
4.....Lichfield. p. 110.
THE prebendal houses are built around the close. The whole property is in the church, except two houses on the south side, bordering on the pool, which, before the present causeways were made, were granted to the city, that the inhabitants might have landing-places, and access to the cathedral; which in old times had a vast concourse of devotees to the shrine of St.
Chad.
THIS precinct is supplied with water from
Maple Hay,
WATER.
about a mile and a half to the north; two fountains having been bestowed on the church by
Thomas Bromley,
for ever, on the annual payment of 15
s.
4
d.
I find that this donation was made before 1293; for in that year a dispute arose between the dean and chapter, and
Thomas de Abbenhale,
about the passage of the water through his lands
Mr.
Greene
's MSS.
.
THE whole close is of exempt jurisdiction,
MEMBERS OF THE CHURCH.
and quite independent of the city. Its members are, a dean, precentor, chancellor, and treasurer, who have prebends annexed to their offices. There are twenty-seven other prebends, of which that of
Eccleshal
is annexed to the bishoprick. Out of these thirty-one, the dean and four more are stiled canons residentiary; which four are chosen out of the prebendaries and dignitaries. Here are twelve minor canons: five of whom are called priest-vicars; the other seven, lay-vicars, or singing-men. Both these were formerly collegiated, and had their hall and houses. That of the priest-vicars is a handsome room, rebuilt, and usually is lent for the purposes of assemblies, and other amusements. A new house also stands on the ground once occupied by the house of the choristers: before it stood, within memory, a very pretty gate, which formed the entrance; on which was inscribed
Domus Choristes.
BESIDES these members, are an organist, two vergers, a sacrist, and sub-sacrist. It is remarkable, that the four archdeacons have here no stalls, as is usual in all other cathedrals.
THE other churches are that of St.
Mary,
ST. MARY'S
rebuilt since the year 1716, when, the body being ruinous, its fine spire steeple was unnecessarily pulled down. In the time of
Edward
III. a religious guild was instituted, and after that much promoted by Dean
Heywood.
Five priests belonged to this society, who officiated in the church
Leland Itin.
iv. 117.
. It is a vicarage, in the gift of the dean.
ST.
Michael,
ST. MICHAEL.
or
Greenhill,
is on an eminence east of the town; remarkable for its extensive church-yard. This, and that of
Stow,
or St.
Chad
's, are curacies dependent on St.
Mary
's. St.
Chad
's is reckoned the oldest of the churches of this city. In its north end formerly stood the shrine of St.
Catherine,
whose chauntry-priest had his stipend from the vicars-choral of the cathedral. Near it is the well of the faint, where he had his first oratory; which in antient times was much frequented by devotees.
THE grey friars had a house here,
GREY FRIARS.
founded about 1229, by Bishop
Alexander,
who gave certain free burgages, on which it was erected. It was destroyed by fire in 1291, but rebuilt in the thirty-sixth of
Henry
VIII. It was granted to
Richard Crumblethorn.
At present, both house and land support an hospital at
Seal,
in
Leicestershire.
The water which now supplies the city, was granted, on St.
James
's day, in 1301, by
Henry Campanarius,
son of
Michael de Lichfield,
bell-founder.
Henry
gave his fountains at
Foulwel,
near
Alreschaw,
in pure and perpetual alms to the friars of this house, with power to cover them with a head of stones, and of carrying the pipes through his land, on condition that, whenever they wanted repair, the friars were to indemnify him and his heirs for the damage done to the ground. Several parts of the house are yet standing, and form a pleasant and comfortable habitation. In digging near it, was found a large tombstone, with a cross fleury, surrounded by a singular inscription, to the following purpose:
Ricardus
mercator victus morte noverca
Qui cessat mercari pausat in hâc ierarca.
Exculit ephebus paucis vivento diebus
Ecclesiam rebus ditat variis speciebus,
Vivat ut in
Caelis
nunc mercator
Michaelis.
Richard
the merchant here extended lies,
"Death, like a step-dame, gladly clos'd his eyes.
"No more he trades beyond the burning zone,
"But happy rests beneath this sacred stone.
"His benefactions to the church were great;
"Tho' young, he hasten'd from his mortal state.
"May he, tho' dead in trade, successful prove,
"Saint
Michael
's merchant in the realms above."
The stone is still to be seen there. A figure of it was sent to the
Gentleman's Magazine,
by Mr.
Greene,
in this city. The inscription and translation are copied from the same magazine: for they appear to me to be equally faithful and ingenious.
A LITTLE beyond, stands the hospital of St.
John
's,
HOSPITAL OF ST. JOHN.
consisting of a master and twelve poor brethren. The master is a clergyman, who has a good house and stipend for superintending the charity, and reading daily prayers in the chapel belonging to it. The founder is uncertain. We only know that
William Smith,
while bishop of
Lichfield,
in the time of
Henry
VII. formed here a new foundation for a master, two priests, and ten poor men.
Henry
patronized the charity, and endowed it with the old hospital of
Denhal,
and the lands and impropriation of
Burton
church, both in
Wiral,
in
Cheshire. Smith
also founded the grammar-school in this city
Leland Itin.
iv. 117.
.
AMONG other things worthy of attention in this city, is the cabinet of curiosities, antient, natural, and artificial, in the possession of Mr.
Greene,
surgeon. It contains numbers of most valuable and instructive pieces in each class. A visit to my worthy friend is the more agreeable, as he takes great pleasure in gratifying the curiosity of all that favor him with their company.
THE city is divided from the close by a large piece of water,
CITY.
originally three; at present remain only this and another, called
Stowpool,
a little to the east. Bishop
Langton
made the causeway, bridges, and dams, at each end of the pool. Before that, the great road went round
Stowpool,
near
Stow
church. The city is neat, and well built; contains little more than three thousand souls; is a place of great passage, has a considerable manufacture of sail-cloth, and a small manufacture of saddle-cloths and tammies.
IT was originally governed by a guild and guild-master;
HOW GOVERNED.
which were the origin of corporations, and took rise before the time of the Conquest; the name being
Saxon,
signifying a fraternity, which unites and flings its effects into a common stock, and is derived from
Gildan, to pay
Spelman,
260.
Kennet's Gloss. to Paroch. Antiq.
. A guild was a public feast, to commemorate the time of the institution; and the guild-hall the place in which the fraternity assembled: These (at lest after the Conquest) paid fines to the crown, and formed part of its revenue.
Richard
I. enabled it to purchase lands to the value of ten pounds; but it was not chartered till the reign of
Edward
VI. who formed it into a regular corporation by its first charter. This was confirmed by Queen
Mary
and
Elizabeth;
and
Charles
II. granted a new one, confirming all the others.
IT is governed by a recorder, high steward, sheriff, two bailiffs, a town-clerk, and coroner. One of the bailiffs is elected by the bishop; the others to be elected annually by and out of the brethren which form the corporation. The city has power of life and death within their jurisdiction; a court of record; and a pie-powder
So called from
pier poudreux,
or dusty feet, because country people usually come with dusty shoes to fairs. See Doctor
Pettingal
's able dissertation on the word,
Archaeol.
i. 190.
court, which regulated the disputes arising in fairs.
THE district of the city and county of
Lichfield
is called the sheriff's ride,
DISTRICT.
and lies at unequal distances around. In this the corporation has exclusive jurisdiction.
THIS city sent representatives in the thirty-third of
Edward
I;
MEMBERS.
the fourth, fifth, sixth, seventh, and twentieth of
Edward
II. and first, fourteenth, and twenty-seventh of
Edward
III; from whose reign they were discontinued, till that of
Edward
VI
Willis's Notitia Parliam.
iii. 50.
. The members are returned by the sheriff and bailiffs. The right of electing is in the freemen by servitude; in the burgage-holders, or such who live in the town and pay a small acknowlegement to the corporation; and in the freeholders of forty shillings a year, within the sheriff's ride.
Lichfield
is quite an open town: all the traces of the ditches made by Bishop
Clinton
are lost,
CASTLE.
as well as of the tower, on which he is said to have bestowed such great expence
Goodwin,
367.
. The name only of
Castle Ditch,
in the east part of the town, preserves its memory. Probably in this fortress
Richard
II. kept his sumptuous
Christmas,
in 1397, when he consumed two hundred tuns of wine, and two thousand oxen
Stow's Chr.
318.
; but with more certainty we know that it was his place of confinement, in his road to the tower of
London,
in 1399, a captive prince. The unhappy
Richard
here attempted his escape, by slipping from the window of the high tower into a garden; but being seen, was carried back to his imprisonment
The same, 322.
.
Wall,
WALL, OR ETOCETUM.
the antient
Etocetum,
lies about a mile and a half from
Lichfield,
on the
Watling-street
road, on a rising ground. There are still some remains of the walls to be seen, mixed with roots of some very old ash-trees. Coins and tiles evince it to have been the
Roman Etocetum,
as well as its distance from
Pennocrucium,
a place somewhere on the river
Penk,
not far from
Penkridge;
but the site not well ascertained. The
Watling-street
road enters the county near
Tamworth,
and is continued into
Shropshire,
as far as
Wroxeter.
Near
Wall,
another
Roman
road crosses it; and at the intersection is an exploratory mount, about forty feet in diameter, called
Offlo,
in sight of
Borough Cop,
near
Lichfield,
on which the martyrdom of the thousand Christians, in the tenth persecution, is said to have happened. This is asserted by
John Ross,
a
Warwickshire
antiquary, who died in 1491, near twelve hundred years after the event; which he alone relates.
THESE
lows,
which have the same signification as
laws
in
Scotland,
LOWS.
and mean a mount, and placed here in sight of one another, were usually designed as exploratory, and for the repetition of signals; and sometimes were sepulchral.
I MADE one day an excursion in search of the seven
Tumuli,
TUMULI.
which are said, in the first volume of the
Archaeologia,
p. 57, to be near this town. As I could discover only
Borough Cop
and
Offlo,
which fall within the description, I was obliged to extend my ride. I passed through
Whittington,
a village with a church and spire-steeple, about two miles N. E. of
Lichfield.
Passed through
Fisherwick
park, a fine seat of the Earl of
Donnegal,
built from a design of Mr.
Brown
's: the grounds bounded by the
Tame,
a beautiful river.
Elford
church, village, and house, the seat of the late Earl of
Suffolk,
form a pretty groupe of objects on the opposite bank. I forded the river, and went by
Elford Low,
a verdant mount, which Doctor
Plott
proved, from examination, to have been sepulchral; but, from its situation and elevation, I suspect it might have had on it a
specula,
or watch-tower; and that all the others might have been for the same use, and to repeat signals in time of danger
See
Vegelius,
Not. ad lib. iii. 307.
.
Elford,
before the Conquest, was possessed by Earl
Algar;
ELFORD.
after which the Conqueror himself seized it for his own use. About
Henry
the Third's reign,
William
of
Arderne
was lord of it, and his posterity was seised of it till the marriage of
Maud,
sole heiress of Sir
John Arderne,
with
Thomas,
second son of Sir
John Stanley
of
Latham,
Knight; he dying in 1463, the 6th of
Edward
IV.
Margaret,
his daughter, conveyed it by marriage to the
Stantons:
by the same means it passed from the
Stantons
to the
Smiths;
from the
Smiths
to the
Huddlestons,
and from the
Huddlestons
to the
Bowes.
So very rapid was the change of family in this place! It continued with the
Bowes
four or five generations; but, about the latter end of the last century, became the property of the Honorable
Craven Howard,
by marriage with
Mary,
daughter of
George Bowes,
Esquire: and continued in his posterity (the Earls of
Suffolk
) till the death of the late able and honest peer; when it devolved to his sister, the Honorable
Frances Howard.
IN the church are several fine monuments,
CHURCH.
in the antient stile.
IN the north wall is a painted figure, with curled hair, gown down to his knees, buskins on his legs, sword, gold chain, his hands closed, and a ring on his thumb.
AN alabaster tomb of an
Arderne,
in a conic helmet, mail round his neck, chin, and shoulders, and a collar of S S: one of his hands clasps that of his wife, who has on a rich pearl bonnet, a cloak, and gown. Around the tomb are various figures, in the dress of the times.
SIR
William Smith,
who died in 1500, lies armed, has a collar of S S. and is represented beardless. He lies between his two wives:
Isabel,
in long hair and a coronet, daughter of
John Nevil
Marquis of
Montacute,
brother to the great Earl of
Warwick;
and
Anne,
daughter of
William Stanton,
by whom he acquired this place. Monks, and coats of arms, surround the tomb: the first, to express his piety; the last, to gratify the vanity of survivors.
SIR
John Stanley,
son of
Thomas Stanley
and
Maud Arderne,
lies under an arch, with both hands supplicatory, in armor, with a mail muffler. His head rests on a helm, with the Eagle and Child, the cognizance of the
Stanleys.
UNDER another arch is his eldest son, a child with curled hair, and in a long gown, recumbent: one hand points to his ear; the other holds a ball, the unfortunate instrument of his death; on which was inscribed
Ubi dolor ibi digitus.
ABOUT two miles further, in a place called
Elford Park Farm,
I discovered the site of the seven
Tumuli,
or
Barrows:
only one exists, the rest having been destroyed within a few years; that which remains is small, and evidently sepulchral. There had probably been a battle on this spot during the
heptarchy:
whether between
Saxons
and
Danes,
or two
Saxon
princes, is uncertain.
Croxal
church stands on an eminence. Within are two tombs,
CROXAL CHURCH.
with the figures of an armed man and his wife, curiously engraven on each. One commemorates
John Horton,
of
Caton,
and his spouse,
Anne,
daughter of
John Curzon,
of this place. He died in the year 1500. His name is expressed in form of a
rebus;
the word
Hor
cut upon a tun.
THE other tomb is of
George Curzon,
Esquire, and his wife
Catharine,
who died in 1605. By the marriage of their only daughter
Mary,
to the famous Sir
Edward Sackville
Earl of
Dorset,
it was conveyed to that noble family, in which it still remains. The
Curzons
had been possessed of it ever since the reign of
Henry
I.
PASS by
Hazelar
hamlet and chapel. The last is prebendal, and at present converted into a pig-stye. Ride for some time by the side of the little river
Mease,
the boundary, in this part, between
Staffordshire
and
Derbyshire.
A little further is the village and church of
Clifton,
CLIFTON.
usually called
Clifton Camville,
from a family of that name, who possessed it from the year 1200, or the second of King
John,
to about the year 1315. The spire of the church is extremely elegant, joined to the tower by flying buttresses. In the church is a tomb, with the effigies of Sir
John Vernon
of
Harleston,
in this neighborhood, and Dame
Allen,
his wife. He is dressed in a bonnet and long gown, with a chain from his neck, as usual with people of worship; for he had been one of the king's counsel, and
custos rotulorum
of the county of
Derby.
His wife is dressed in a square hood, with a purse, knife, and beads by her side. They died in 1545.
VISIT
Thorp Constantine,
THORP.
a small church close by the seat of my matrimonial relation,
William Inge,
Esquire, who deservedly bears the respectable and useful character of being the best justice of any country gentleman in
England.
The living is in his gift, and the whole parish his property. The manor was once belonging to the see of
Ely;
for it appears that
Hotham,
bishop of that diocese in 1316, obtained for it a charter of free warren.
Henry
Lord
Scrope,
favorite of
Henry
V. beheaded for his ungrateful plot against his master, left to this church a vestment worth 26
s.
8
d.
on condition the priest should pray for his soul on
Sundays,
and in all his masses. His will, made before his treason was discovered, is a curious piece of hypocrisy
Rymer's Faedera,
ix. 275.
.
I CONTINUED this little ramble to
Sekindon,
a mile distant, on the edge of
Warwickshire,
remarkable for a lofty artificial mount, the keep of a
Saxon
castle, with a flat area beneath; at the bottom are the remains of a great rampart, and the whole surrounded with a deep ditch. This place is celebrated for the battle between
Ethelbald,
king of the
Mercians,
and
Cuthred,
king of the
West Saxons,
in 755
Saxon Chr.
59.
, when
Ethelbald,
disdaining flight, was slain by
Beonred;
Brompton,
769.
Ingulphus,
853.
one of his own officers, who, for a short space, usurped the kingdom.
ABOUT four miles farther lies
Tamworth,
TAMWORTH
between the conflux of the
Tame
and the
Ankor,
which formed at this place the appearance of an island; its
Saxon
name being
Tameneordige
and
Tamanweorthe; ige
signifying an island. It had long been the residence of the
Mercian
princes, who preferred it on account of its pleasant situation, and the quantity of woodland, which afforded them in plenty the pleasures of the chase.
Offa
dates a grant, in 781, to the monks of
Worcester,
A ROYAL RESIDENCE.
from his royal palace at
Tamworth. Ceonulf, Bernwulf,
and
Burthred,
date other charters, in the years 814, 841, and 854, from the same place
Dugdale's Warwicksh.
ii. 1130.
Plott's Staffordsh.
410.
. The precinct of their residence was an enormous ditch, forty-five feet wide, protecting the town on the north, west, and east; the rivers serving as a defence on the other side. The ditch is filled up in many places, yet still there are vestiges of it, and also of two mounts, on which probably stood two small towers.
Tamworth
was totally ruined by the incursions of the
Danes:
RUINED BY THE DANES.
at length was restored by the celebrated
Ethelfleda,
who,
RESTORED BY ETHELFLEDA.
in the spring of 913, erected a tower
Saxon Chr.
104.
on the artificial mount on which the present castle stands. Here, in 920, she finished her glorious life, and in 922 she received, I may say, posthumous honors, by the assemblage of the
Mercian
tribes she had conquered, who, with the princes of
North Wales,
here acknowleged the sovereign power of her brother
Edward,
The same, 110.
probably obtained by her valour and prudence.
THE town, or borough, as it was called on the Conquest, continued part of the royal demesne, but was afterwards set at a certain rent to the lords of the castle; the first of whom, after that event,
MARMIONS.
was
Robert Marmion,
one of the followers of the Conqueror, on whom it was bestowed. His posterity remained masters of it for some generations, holding of the crown
in capite,
by the service of finding three knights at their own costs, for forty days, in the wars of
Wales.
ON the death of
Philip Marmion,
in 1291, the twentieth of
Edward
I. this fortress descended to his eldest daughter
Joan,
wife of
William Mortein;
who dying without issue, it fell three years after, by agreement among the co-heirs, to
Joan,
FREVILES.
a relation of
Philip Marmion,
and wife of
Alexander Frevile.
The
Freviles
by this means owned it till the year 1419, or seventh of
Henry
V. when Sir
Baldwyn Frevile
dying childless,
Thomas Ferrers,
second son of
William
Lord
Ferrers,
of
Groby,
became master of it, in right of
Elizabeth
his wife, eldest of the three sisters of Sir
Baldwyn.
FERRERS.
The
Ferrers
held it till the beginning of the present century; when it passed into the family of the
Comptons,
by the marriage of
James
Earl of
Northampton
with
Elizabeth,
sister to
Robert
Lord
Tamworth,
grandson and heir apparent to
Robert
Earl
Ferrers,
who had obtained it by his marriage, in 1688, with
Anne,
daughter of Sir
Humphrey Ferrers,
of this place. Lady
Charlotte Compton,
sole surviving daughter of the match, Baroness
de Ferrers
in right of her mother, married the present Lord
Townshend,
whose son, now Lord
De Ferrers,
enjoys the place. I must not forget to add, that Sir
John Baldwyn,
Knight, on the coronation of
Richard
II. claimed the honor of being the king's champion, by virtue of tenure of this castle (a service performed by his predecessors the
Marmions);
but it being found that the
Marmions
held their right only from the tenure of
Scrivelsby
manor, it was challenged by Sir
John Dymock,
the then owner, and adjudged to him
Dugdale's Warwicksh.
ii. 1134.
.
TILL the present century it had been the seat of its lords.
CASTLES.
The rooms are numerous, but inconvenient and irregular, except a dining-room and drawing-room; each with large projecting windows. Around the first are painted great numbers of coats of arms of the family of the
Ferrers,
and its alliances. The chimney-piece of the drawing-room is richly carved, in the old taste, and beneath the arms is the motto,
Only one.
THE beauty of the situation of
Tamworth
is seen from the castle to great advantage, varied with rich meadows, two bridges over the
Tame
and the
Ankor,
and the rivers wandering picturesquely along the country.
Michael Drayton,
born on the banks of the last, most elegantly paints out his love-complaints, and celebrates the last in the sweetest strain.
Clear
Ankor,
on whose silver-sanded shore
My soul-shrin'd saint, my fair idea lies:
A blessed brook, whose milk-white swans adore
Thy crystal stream, refined by her eyes;
Where sweet myrrh-breathing
zephyr
in the spring
Gently distils his nectar-dropping showers;
Where nightingales in
Arden
sit and sing
Amongst the dainty dew-impearled flowers.
Say thus, fair brook, when thou shalt see thy queen:
Lo, here thy shepherd spent his wand'ring days,
And in these shades, dear nymph, he oft has been,
And here to thee he sacrific'd his tears.
Fair
Arden,
thou my
Tempe
art alone;
And thou, sweet
Ankor,
art my
Helicon.
THE town is large and well-built; part is situated in
Staffordshire,
and part in
Warwickshire;
for which reason its members are returned by the sheriffs of both counties
Willis Notitia Parl,
iii. 51.
. It first sent representatives in the fifth year of Queen
Elizabeth:
and was made a corporation two years before; which consists of two bailiffs, a recorder, and twenty-four capital burgesses. The right of voting is in the inhabitants paying scot and lot.
THE church is large,
CHURCH.
built at different times. Near the chancel are two great round arches, with
zigzag
moldings, which were prior to the reign of
Henry
III. when this species of arch fell into disuse. Here are numbers of monuments, some antient, of the
Freviles
and
Ferrers,
with their figures, and those of their wives. Here is also a handsome monument of
John Ferrers,
Esquire, who died in 1680, aged 52; and of his son Sir
Humphry Ferrers,
knight, who died in 1678, aged 25. Their figures are represented in marble, as big as life, in a
Roman
dress, long flowing hair, and half-kneeling. Sir
Humphry
was the last male heir of his line.
THE church is dedicated to St.
Editha,
daughter to king
Edgar;
who, preferring the cloistered life to the troubles of a throne, received after death the honor of saintship. It has been said, that she founded here a nunnery, and that
Robert Marmion,
lord of this place, received from her very sensible marks of resentment, for daring to remove the holy sisters. St.
Editha
descended from heaven, and, while
Marmion
was lying down, after a costly feast, in
Tamworth
castle, she admonished him to restore them to their rights, and, by way of memorandum, gave him such a blow with her crosier on his side, that he rose in extreme torments; which instantly ceased on repentance and restitution
Dugdale, Baron,
i. 375.
. It is probable that this very
Marmion
made the church collegiate, and placed here a dean and six prebendaries, each of whom had his substitute, or vicar; for it is the opinion of
Leland,
this foundation arose from the piety of one of the name
Itin.
iv. 121.
The idle legend might have been formed from some real offence
As it is very doubtful whether, there had been any nunnery here, the offence might be the expulsion of the nuns from
Polesworth
convent, dedicated to Saint
Editha;
but were restored by
Robert Marmion
and his wife.
Stevens,
1251.
Tanner,
566.
, which might have been expiated in the manner usual in old times.
SAINT
Editha
had also an image here. After the dissolution, the seven incumbents had pensions, as late as 1553
Willis,
ii. 218.
. Queen
Elizabeth
granted the college, and all its prebends, to
Edward Downing
and
Peter Ashton.
At present, this great church is only a curacy.
In 1286,
HOSPITAL.
the fifteenth of
Edward
I.
Philip Marmion
dedicated here an hospital to St.
James,
intending to found a house of
Premonstrensians;
but, till he could execute his design, granted it to
William
of
Combery-hall,
with all its appurtenances, and pasture in
Ashfield
for four oxen and two horses, on condition it should celebrate mass for his soul
Tanner,
502.
. There is now an hospital founded for more useful purposes, by Mr.
Guy.
FROM
Tamworth
I returned to
Lichfield,
and resumed my journey along the
London
road.
ABOUT two miles from the city,
SWINFEN.
see on the left
Swinfen,
the seat of a gentleman of the same name; happy in its beautiful demesne, ornamented with an extent of water, meads, and hanging-woods. This place was once the property of the
Spermores;
but in the time of
Henry
VI. by marriage of
Joyce,
daughter and heiress of the family, with
Willam Swinfen,
it came into that name. The executors of the last of that line, a Doctor
Swinfen,
sold it, in the present century, to Mr.
Swinfen,
of
London;
in whose family it continues.
A LITTLE farther, the great
Watling-street
crosses the road near
Weford,
or the ford on the way. This is seated on
Blackbrook,
a small stream, now furnished with a bridge. The stream runs through a beautiful tract of narrow but rich meadows, prettily bounded by low and fertile risings. This spot had been the scene of much civil rage. A
Purefoy
was here slain by Sir
Henry Willoughby,
in the cause of
Edward
IV; and Sir
Henry
in the same place fought, and was desperately wounded by Lord
L'Isle
Leland Itin.
iv. 120. Probably one of the neighboring
L'Isles
of
Moxhull.
. Weford Common,
a black heath, succeeds; and a little beyond, on the left, stood
Canwell
priory, founded about the year 1142, by
Geva,
CANWELL.
widow of
Jeffry Riddel,
and daughter of
Hugh
Earl of
Chester,
for
Benedictine
monks. It had ten pounds a year in spiritualities, and fifteen pounds ten shillings and three pence in temporalities. It became at length a cell for a solitary monk; was suppressed, and granted by
Henry
VIII. to Cardinal
Wolsey,
towards the endowment of his two colleges
Tanner,
497.
.
NEAR this place I entered WARWICKSHIRE, in the parish of
Middleton;
from which the
Willoughbies
take their title. The road is over part of the common of
Sutton Cofield,
which is finely bounded on the left by a long-continued range of woods.
A FEW miles farther, I passed
Moxhull
hall,
MOXHULL.
the neat-dressed seat of Mr.
Hacket,
a descendant of the worthy bishop of that name; whose son, by marriage with
Mary,
eldest daughter of
John L'Isle,
became owner of it, after it had been in the
L'Isles,
or
de Insula,
for some hundreds of years
Dugdale Warwicksh,
ii. 936.
. On the right is the parish-church,
Wishaw,
and a little farther, that of
Curdworth.
CURDWORTH.
That manor was possessed, in the time of the Conqueror, by
Turchil de Warwik,
son of
Alwine,
a potent
Saxon
in the time of
Edward
the Confessor.
Turchil
is recorded to have been the first in
England
who, in imitation of the
Normans,
took a surname, stiling himself
Turchil de Eardine,
Dugdale Warwiksh.
ii. 925.
or
Arden,
from his residence in that part of the country then called
Arden,
or the forest; a word, according to
Cambden,
i. 606.
by which both
Britons
and
Gauls
expressed a woodland tract. He was ancestor to the antient and respectable family which flourished under the same name, till the year 1643, when it was lost in the male line, by the death of
Robert Arden.
ABOUT half a mile from
Curdworth,
I crossed the
Tame
at
Curdworth Bridge,
and a mile further the
Cole,
The view from hence, of the stream watering a range of rich meadows, bounded on one side by hanging-woods, is extremely agreeable; as is, a little farther, the town of
Coleshill,
COLESHILL.
covering the steep ascent of a lofty brow, on whose top appears the handsome church and elegant spire.
THE place had been long a royal demesne; was possessed by
Edward
the Confessor, and afterwards by the Conqueror. It fell, either in his reign or that of
William Rufus,
into the hands of the
Clintons,
in whom it continued till the year 1353, the twenty-seventh of
Edward
III; when it passed to Sir
John de Mountfort,
by virtue of his marriage with
Joan,
daughter of Sir
John Clinton.
Dugdale Warwicksh.
ii. 925.
The
Mountforts
held it till the reign of
Henry
VII. when, by the cruel attainder and execution of Sir
Simon Mountfort,
for sending thirty pounds, by his younger son
Henry,
to
Perkin Warbeck,
on supposition that
Perkin
was the real son of his former master
Edward
IV. This brought ruin on himself and family. He was tried at
Guildhall,
in 1494, and condemned to be drawn through the city, and hanged and quartered at
Tyburn.
Dugdale Warwicksh.
ii. 1012.
Digby Pedigree,
viii. 15.
His manor of
Coleshill
was immediately bestowed on
Simon Digby,
deputy-constable of the castle, who brought the unfortunate gentleman to the bar. He was a younger son of the house of
Tilton
of
Leicestershire,
ancestor of the Lord
Digby,
the present worthy possessor.
IN the upper part of the town is a small PLACE, neatly built. The church-yard commands a fine view of a rich country. The vicarage was formerly belonging to
Markgate,
in
Bedfordshire,
but is now in the gift of its lord. The spire, lofty as it is, was fifteen feet higher, before it had been struck with lightning in 1550; when the inhabitants sold one of the bells towards the repairs.
IN the church are numbers of fine tombs of the
Digbies,
CHURCH.
with their figures recumbent. Among others, that of the abovementioned
Simon,
and his spouse
Alice,
who lie under a tomb erected by himself. He died in 1519: she survived him, and left by her will a silver penny to every child under the age of nine, whose parents were housekeepers in this parish (beginning with those next the church) on condition that, every day in the year, after the sacring of the high mass, they should kneel down at the altar and say five paternosters, an ave, and a creed, for her soul, that of her husband, and all Christian souls; and the annual sum of six shillings and eight pence to the dean, for seeing the same duly performed, and likewise for performing the same himself. At the reformation, this custom was changed. The inhabitants purchased from the crown the lands charged with this money part maintains a school: the rest is distributed to such children who repair to the church every morning at ten o'clock, and say the Lord's prayer; and the clerk has an allowance for seeing the performance, and for the ringing the bell to summon them
Dungale Warwicksh.
ii. 1013, 1014.
.
THE figure of
Simon Digby
is in armor, with lank hair, and bare-headed. His grandson
John,
and great grandson
George,
knighted at the siege of
Zutphen,
are represented in the same manner, with their wives. The first died in 1558; the last in 1586. These are of alabaster, and painted.
THE tomb of
Reginald,
son of
Simon,
who died in 1549, differs. His figure, and that of his wife, are engraven on a flat slab of marble, with twelve of their children at their feet.
ON a pedestal, with an urn at the top, is an inscription to
Kildare
Lord
Digby,
of
Geashil,
in the kingdom of
Ireland,
who died in 1661; and on the opposite side is another, in memory of his lady, who died in 1692, drawn up by Bishop
Hough,
forming a character uncommonly amiable and exemplary; the integrity of that worthy prelate giving sanction to every line.
I FELT great pleasure in perusing an epitaph, by a grateful mistress, to the memory of a worthy domestic,
Mary Wheely,
whom she stiles an excellent servant and good friend; for what is a faithful servant but an humble friend?
BENEATH two arches are two antient figures of cross-legged knights, armed in mail, with short surtouts, in all respects alike; only one has a dog, the other a lion, at his feet. On their shields are two
fleurs de lis,
which denote them to have been some of the earlier
Clintons;
and by
Dugdale
Dugdale,
&c. 1009.
it appears, that one was
John de Clinton,
lord of this place, a strong adherent to the barons against
Henry
III. who suffered a temporary forfeiture of his estate; but was restored to it by the famous
Dictum de Kenelworth.
He became a favorite of
Edward
I. and clamed for his manor of
Coleshill
by prescription, assize of bread and beer, gallows, pillorie, tumbril, a court-leet, infangthef, outfangthef, mercate, faire, and free warren. He died in the year 1291, the period of crusades, and is buried cross-legged.
I OBSERVE, that the piety of the Catholics has given the same attitude to several of the
Sherborns,
in the church of
Mitton,
in
Yorkshire,
who were interred in the last century; so that I suspect it to have sometimes been considered merely as a reverential sign of our SAVIOUR'S suffering.
THE deserted seat of the
Digbies
lies about a mile or two from the town,
COLESHILL HALL.
in a fine park. The house consists but of one story, besides garrets; yet the apartments are numerous, approachable by strange and unintelligible access to all that are unacquainted with them, according to the stile of old buildings.
FROM
Coleshill
I descended to pay a respectful pilgrimage to
Blithe Hall,
the seat of the great antiquary Sir
William Dugdale;
BLITHE HALL.
from whose indefatigable labors, his successors in the science draw such endless helps. In respect to this county, he has fairly baffled every effort towards the discovery of any thing that could escape his penetrating eye.
THE house lies about a mile below
Coleshill,
on the river
Blithe;
was purchased by Sir
William
from Sir
Walter Aston,
and made his place of residence. It at present belongs (by female descent) to
Richard Guest,
Esquire; whose politeness to an inquisitive intruder I shall ever acknowlege. He was so obliging as to shew me an excellent half-length of his great ancestor, dressed in black, with a bundle of manuscripts in his hand,
PORTRAIT OF SIR WILLIAM DUGDALE.
painted at the age of sixty, by
Peter Bosscler,
I imagine, the same with the person Mr.
Walpole
calls
Bustler,
ii. 26.
in 1665.
ANOTHER portrait of his wife,
Margery,
daughter of
John Huntback,
Esquire, of
Sewal,
in
Staffordshire;
a head of Lord Keeper
Bridgeman,
a thin primitive face;
LORD KEEPER LITTLETON.
another of Lord
Clarendon;
and a third of Lord Keeper
Littleton,
with a jovial open countenance. As a judge (for he had been lord chief justice of the King's Bench) he was, as Sir
Edward Coke
said,
a well-poised and weighed man
Lloyd,
ii. 322.
. As lord keeper, dispirited, from the melancholy apprehensions he had of the approaching calamities of the times. For a while he temporized with the views of the opposition. At length, finding the resolution of the leaders to seize on the seals, and make use of them against his royal master, he gave them up to a messenger, appointed for that purpose, and followed them, at the hazard of his life, to the king at
York;
Clarendon,
ii. 574.
where he loyally resumed their use, till his death, at
Oxford,
in 1645; when he at once performed the functions of lord keeper, privy-counsellor, and colonel of a regiment of foot.
A HALF-LENGTH of the famous
Elias Ashmole,
ELIAS ASHMOLE.
whom
Antony Wood
stiles
the greatest
virtuoso
and
curioso
ever known or read of in
England. Uxor solis
took up its habitation in his breast, and in his bosom the great God did abundantly shore up the treasures of all sorts of wisdom and knowlege
Athen Oxon.
ii. 289.
.
It is well for poor
Ashmole,
that the peevish historian never read the wonderful diary of his life, in which is a most minute and filthy detail of all his ails and strange mishaps
Mr.
Ashmole's Life,
287.
; otherwise
Antony
never would have been so profuse of his praise. Yet, amidst his foibles, he was an able botanist; of most uncommon knowlege in the study of antiquity and records; a physician, herald, chemist, and astrologer. On rectifying his nativity, he found his birth to have been on the 23d of
May
1617, about three in the morning, or
3 hours 25 minutes 49 seconds A. M. the quarter 8 of II ascending; but, upon Mr.
Lilly
's rectification thereof,
anno
1667, he makes the quarter 36 ascending
Mr.
Ashmole's life.
.
This jargon should not deprive him of his real merit. To him we owe a most elaborate treatise on the institution of the order of the Garter, he having been
Windsor
herald; various manuscripts respecting county antiquities, still extant; and, above all, the foundation of the
Museum
at
Oxford,
which bears his name, finished in 1682, on purpose to receive the vast collection of curiosities bestowed by him on that university, which he had defended in 1646, as comptroller of the ordnance. Mr.
Ashmole
was doubly engaged to the worthy owner of this house: first, by the friendship resulting from the congenial turn of their studies; and again, by his alliance with Sir
William,
in his marriage with his daughter
Elizabeth,
which proved a source of great generosity, on his part, towards his father-in-law and his family. By his portrait, drawn by
Nave,
Probably
Neve.
in 1664, in his herald's coat, he appears to have been a good-looking man, in long hair, with a view of
Windsor
in the back-ground.
FROM hence I visited
Maxstoke
castle,
MAXSTOKE CASTLE.
three miles south-east, most of the way through fields. The castle is very entire, and stands on a plain, in a most sequestered spot, surrounded with trees, and guarded by a moat. It is of a square form: at each corner is an hexagonal tower, and at the entrance a fine gateway, with a tower of the same form with the rest on each side. The gates are in their original state, covered with plates of iron. Above, are the holes for pouring of hot sand, or melted lead, on assailants, and the cavity which once held the portcullis. These gates were made in the time of
Humphry Stafford
earl (afterwards duke) of
Buckingham.
He fixed on them his arms (still remaining) impaled with those of his wife,
Anne Nevil;
supported by two antelopes, derived from his mother, as one of the daughters of
Thomas Woodstock,
Duke of
Gloucester;
and added the burning nave, or knot, the cognizance of his own ancestors. Within the court the walls are pierced with divers cells, the antient casernes of the garrison.
MUCH of the habitable part is still standing, but part was burnt by accident; what remains is the dwelling-house of Mr.
Dilkes,
in whose family it has been for several generations. The great vault ribbed with stone, the old chapel, and kitchen, still remain; and the noble old hall, and a great dining-room with a most curious carved door and chimney, are still in use.
AFTER the Conquest,
OWNERS.
it was given to
Turchil de Warwick;
from one of his posterity it was granted to the
Limesies,
lords of
Long Icbinton
and
Solibull;
from them to the
Odingfells;
and from the
Odingfells,
by
Ida,
eldest daughter of the last of the name, to the great family of the
Clintons
before mentioned, who made it their chief seat. In 1437, the sixteenth of
Henry
VI. Sir
William de Clinton
exchanged it with
Humphry
earl of
Buckingham,
with whom it became a favorite residence. On the execution of his son
Henry
Duke of
Buckingham,
in 1483, the first of
Richard
III. it was seized by the king.
Richard,
on his march towards
Nottingham,
ordered all the inner buildings of
Kenelworth
castle to be removed here
Dugdale,
ii. 995.
. After his defeat and death in
Bosworth
field, this place reverted to
Edward,
son of the last duke; who fell a victim, in 1521, to
Henry
VIII. a tyrant greater, and more inexcusable, than him who destroyed the father. The estates, again forfeited, were granted to Sir
William Compton,
a favorite, and gallant tilter, in the reign of the former, and ancestor of the Earl of
Northampton.
In 1596, his great grandson,
William
Lord
Compton,
conveyed it to Lord Keeper
Egerton,
who, in two years after, sold it to
Thomas Dilke,
Esquire; in whose family it remains.
I DID not visit the neighboring priory of
Maxstoke;
so shall say no more of it; than that it was founded in 1336, by Sir
William de Clinton,
afterwards Earl of
Huntingdon,
and peopled with canons regular of St.
Augustin
Tanner,
583.
RETURNED through
Coleshill,
and at a small distance, on the left of the road, digressed to
Packington,
the seat of the Earl of
Ailsford.
PACKINGTON.
The manor antiently belonged to the priory of
Kenelworth,
being granted to it by
Geoffry de Clinton,
lord chamberlain to
Herny
II: At the dissolution, it was sold for the sum of six hundred and twenty-one pounds and one penny, to
John Fisher,
Esquire, gentleman-pensioner to
Henry
VIII. and four succeeding monarchs. By the marriage of
Mary
daughter and heiress of Sir
Clement Fisher,
Baronet, with
Heneage,
second Earl of
Ailsford,
the place was transferred to that noble family. The situation has of late years been highly improved by the change of the road. The grounds are prettily sloped by nature, are well wooded, and the bottom filled with two pleasing pieces of water. The house has also undergone many alterations; is a plain convenient building; except on one side, where opens a
loggio
(in our climate) most admirably adapted for the encouragement of rheums and rheumatisms.
WITHIN is a good portrait of its founder,
John Fisher;
a halflength, with a square white beard, close black cap, upright ruff, and black jacket.
A BEAUTIFUL picture of
Henrietta Maria,
consort to
Charles
I. She is represented sitting, in blue, with roses in her hand, and her thorny crown by her.
HERE is also a portrait of
Charles
Duke of
Somerset,
in his robes, father to the Countess Dowager of
Ailsford.
THE country here begins to lose the comforts of a gravelly soil, and changes to the wet-retaining clay. At the pleasant village of
Mireden
it is uncommonly deep,
MIREDEN.
but by the assistance of turnpikes become an excellent road. The pretty houses on each side of the way, and the magnificent inn, famed for time immemorial for its excellent malt-liquor, with the various embellishments (made by the old inn-keeper,
Reynolds
) of gateway, little ponds, statues, and other whims, enliven the spot greatly.
THE church is seated a little higher up,
CHURCH.
on an eminence. Within is a handsome alabaster tomb of
John Wyard,
in armour and mail, with sword and dagger by his side; his arms a cinquefoil on his breast. This gentleman had been 'squire (as the inscription relates) to
Thomas de Beauchamp
Earl of
Warwick,
and founder of a chauntry in this church; near which he had his residence. He was also knight of the shire for this county, in the second year of
Richard
II.
HERE is another tomb, with a figure in stone, supposed to have been that of one of the
Walshes,
the antient lords of this manor. His figure, as well as the former, is recumbent, with their hands in the action of supplication: but this gentleman has a short skirt over the lower part of his armour.
THE antient name of this place was
Alspath,
or
Ailespede,
even till the beginning of the reign of
Henry
VI; about which time, becoming a great thoroughfare, it got the name of
Myreden; den
signifying a bottom, and
myre,
dirt: and I can well vouch for the propriety of the appellation, before the institution of turnpikes.
IN
March
1739-40, I changed my
Welsh
school for one nearer to the capital,
OLD FASHION OF TRAVELLING.
and travelled in the
Chester
stage; then no despicable vehicle for country gentlemen. The first day, with much labor, we got from
Chester
to
Whichurch,
twenty miles; the second day, to the
Welsh Harp;
the third, to
Coventry;
the fourth, to
Northampton;
the fifth, to
Dunstable;
and, as a wonderous effort, on the last, to
London
before the commencement of night. The strain and labor of six good horses, sometimes eight, drew us through the sloughs of
Mireden,
and many other places. We were constantly out two hours before day, and as late at night; and in the depth of winter proportionably later.
Families which travelled in their own carriages, contracted with
Benson
and Co. and were dragged up in the same number of days, by three sets of able horses.
THE single gentlemen, then a hardy race, equipped in jackboots and trowsers, up to their middle, rode post through thick and thin, and, guarded against the mire, defied the frequent stumble and fall; arose and pursued their journey with alacrity: while in these days their enervated posterity sleep away their rapid journies in easy chaises, fitted for the conveyance of the soft inhabitants of
Sybaris.
I CONTINUED my way to
Coventry
through
Allesey,
ALLESEY.
a village with a church and spire-steeple. The place was originally a member of that city, Bishop
Clinton
having permitted a chapel to be built here for the use of the poor, reserving the right of burial to the mother church
Dugdale,
i. 129.
. In a place called
The Parks,
stood a castle, doubly moated, probably the residence of the
Hastings,
who possessed this place in the time of
Edward
I. The present handsome seat is owned by —
Neale,
Esquire.
AFTER a ride of two miles from hence,
COVENTRY.
I entered
Coventry,
a great and antient city. The time of its foundation is unknown. By the addition of
tre,
a town, it should seem as if it had been inhabited by the
Britons,
before the
Saxons
added the word
coven
to it, as is conjectured, from a nunnery very antiently established here. The site of the old town is supposed to have been on the north side of the present, not only because great foundations are discovered about the spot called St.
Nicholas Church-yard,
but, I may add, from the
tumulus
near it, on the
Atherston
road, called
Barrs Hill,
on which might have been a castelet.
THE certainty of there having been a convent here in the early times,
SAXON NUNNERY.
depends on the authority of
John Rous
Leland
(iv. 124.) says it was founded by king
Canute.
who says, that when the traitor
Edric
ravaged this country, in 1016, he burnt the nunnery in this city, of which a holy virgin, St.
Osburg,
had been abbess.
ON its ruins,
Leofric,
fifth earl of
Mercia,
and his countess
Godeva,
founded a monastery. At that period
Coventry
must have been a considerable place, and its number of inhabitants great, otherwise the fair
Godeva
could never have made so great a merit of riding naked through the town,
STORY OF GODEVA.
to redeem it from the intolerable taxes and grievances it at that time labored under. The cause must have been equal to the deed. Her husband long resisted her importunity in its behalf, on account of the profits that accrued to him: at length thought to silence her by the strange proposal: she accepted it, and, being happy in fine flowing locks, rode, decently covered to her very feet with her lovely tresses. The history was preserved in a picture, about the time of
Richard
II. in which were portrayed the earl and countess. He holds a charter of freedom in his hand, and thus addresses his lady:
I
Luriche (Leofric)
for love of thee,
Doe make
Coventre
toll-free.
Legend says, that previous to her ride, all the inhabitants were ordered, on pain of death, to shut themselves up during the time; but that the curiosity of a certain taylor, overcoming fear, took a single peep; which is commemorated even at present, by a figure looking out of a wall in the great street. To this day, the love of
Godeva
to the city is annually remembered, by a procession; and a valiant
fair
still rides (not literally like the good countess) but in silk, closely fitted to her limbs, and of color emulating their complexion.
AFTER the Conquest,
NORMAN OWNERS.
the lordship of this city fell, by the marriage of
Lucia
(daughter to
Algar,
successor and son of
Edwin,
and grandson of
Leofric
) with her third husband
Randle Meschine,
to the earls of
Chester
Leicester,
127.
Cambden,
i. 611.
.
Randle
bestowed on it the same privileges that
Linsda
enjoyed, and bestowed great part of the city on the monks. When
Henry
III. took the earldom of
Chester
into his hands, the remainder of
Coventry
fell to
William de Albany
earl of
Arundel,
in right of his wife
Mabil,
daughter of
Hugh Cevelio
.
On the death of
Hugh
earl of
Arundel,
in 1243, it fell to
Roger de Montalto,
who had married
Cecilia,
his youngest sister. After that, it was granted by his grandson
Robert,
in default of issue, to
Isabel,
queen mother of
Edward
III. with remainder to
John
of
Eltham,
afterwards earl of
Cornwall;
and then to
Edward
king of
England.
It thus became annexed to the earldom of
Cornwall,
INCORPORATED.
and became more immediately the object of royal favor.
Edward
III. in the eighteenth of his reign, by letters dated the 20th of
January,
made it a corporation, consisting of a mayor and two bailiffs, whom the inhabitants were to chuse out of themselves. The first mayor was
John Ward,
who was chosen in the year 1348.
Henry
VI. in 1451, bestowed on this city a very particular mark of his affection, by erecting it, with a considerable district around,
MADE A COUNTY.
into a county
Accurately laid down in Mr.
Beighton
's map of
Warwickshire.
, by the name of the city and county of
Coventry;
and ordered that the bailiffs from that time should be sheriffs: so that at present, it is governed by a mayor, recorder, two sheriffs, ten aldermen, thirty-one superior and twenty-five inferior common-council-men.
Henry
came expressly to
Coventry,
heard mass in St.
Michael
's church, presented the church with a gown of cloth of gold, and then created the first sheriffs.
THE representatives are chosen by the citizens paying scot and lot, and are returned by the sheriffs. The city sent members the four first parlements of
Edward
I. That privilege was interrupted (except the eighth of
Edward
II. and twentieth and twenty-fifth of
Edward
III.) till the thirty-first of
Henry
VI. when it was resumed.
AMONG all its privileges, unfortunately for the magistrates, it has that of life and death.
Two parlements have been held in this city,
PARLEMENTS HELD HERE.
in the great chamber of the priory. The first, in 1404, by
Henry
IV. which was stiled
Parliamentum indoctorum;
not that it consisted of a greater number of blockheads than parlements ordinarily do, but from its inveteracy against the clergy, whose revenues it was determined not to spare: whence it was also called the
Laymen's Parlement.
THE other was held in the chapter-house of the priory, in 1459, by
Henry
VI. and was called
Parliamentum diabolicum,
by reason of the multitude of attainders passed against
Richard
Duke of
York,
and his adherents.
THE trade of this city was originally the manufacture of cloth,
TRADE, CLOTH.
and caps, or bonnets
Anderson's Dict.
i. 262.
, which arose to a great degree of consequence, as early as 1436, and continued till the last century, when it was changed for the worsted business; and, for a long time, the making and sale of shags, camblets, lastings, tammies,
&c.
&c.
proved a very extensive and profitable trade; but this gradually migrated into
Leicestershire
and
Northamptonshire;
and at present, only a few articles, such as camblets and lastings, constitute the woollen trade.
I MUST remark, that in the beginning, or middle,
BLUE THREAD.
of the sixteenth century,
Coventry
had a vast manufacture of blue thread; which was lost before the year 1581
Anderson's Dict.
i 422.
. So famous was it for its dye, that
true as Coventry blue
became proverbial.
ABOUT eighty years ago,
RIBANDS.
the silk manufacture of ribands was introduced here, and, for the first thirty years, remained in the hands of a few people, who acquired vast fortunes; since which, it has extended to a great degree, and is supposed to employ at left ten thousand people; and has likewise spread into the neighboring towns, such as
Nuneaton,
and other places. Such real good results from our little vanities!
THERE are about a dozen traders in
Coventry,
who have houses in
London;
to which they send up weekly great quantities of ribands; and, before our unhappy breach with
America,
a very extensive trade was carried on with the colonies: but the home-consumption has been always reckoned most material. A few ribands are exported to
Spain, Portugal,
and
Russia;
but the
French
undersell us at those markets.
WITHIN these few years, four or five houses have begun to introduce the making of gauzes; and for that purpose chiefly, employ hands from
Scotland.
This branch is at present in its infancy. Another of broad silks was likewise set up, which, I am sorry to find, does not go on with the expected success.
THE military transactions of this city are very few. It was an open town for many centuries, and, of course, incapable of sustaining a siege. The walls were not begun till the year 1355,
WALLS.
and then by virtue of a licence granted by
Edward
III. twenty-seven years before; nor were they finished in less than forty. They were built by money raised by taxes, and by customs on the wine, malt, oxen, hogs, calves, and sheep, consumed in
Coventry.
These walls were of great strength and grandeur, furnished with thirty-two towers and twelve gates. These continued till the 22d of
July
1661, when great part of the wall, and most of the towers, and many of the gates, were pulled down, with certain circumstances of disgrace, as a punishment for the disloyalty of the inhabitants, in shutting their gates against their monarch
Charles
I. on the 13th of
August
1642. His majesty, after setting up his standard at
Nottingham,
had sent to this city, to acquaint them that he meant to reside there for some time, and desired quarters for his forces in and about the place. The mayor and aldermen, with many expressions of affection, offered to receive the king, but refused admittance to any of the soldiery. Incensed at this, his majesty attacked the city,
CITY ATTACKED BY CHARLES I.
and with his ordnance forced open one of the gates; but was repulsed by the valour of the citizens, and obliged to retire with loss
Vicar's Parliament, Chron.
141.
. In the following month
Coventry
was regularly garrisoned by the parlement
Whitelock,
63.
, and remained in its possession during the whole war.
I SHOULD have mentioned before, that in the fifteenth century another monarch had been denied the possession of this city. The great Earl of
Warwick
armed it against
Edward
IV. in 1470, when he attempted entering on the side of
Gosford Green.
The king amply repaid the insult on the citizens, who perhaps acted by constraint. He deprived them of their privileges, and made them pay five hundred marks for the recovering of them, by having the sword restored to them.
BEFORE the building of the walls,
CASTLE.
there had been, from very early times, a castle on the south side of the town, near
Chylesmore,
with a park belonging to it. This had been the residence of the kings and earls of
Mercia:
it afterwards fell to the earls of
Chester,
and at length was vested in the royal line. No vestige of it is now to be seen: in its place is a very antient wooden building, the remains of the manor-house of
Chylesmore,
probably built after the demolition of the castle.
KING
Stephen
forcibly took this fortress from
Randle de Gernons
earl of
Chester.
The earl, in 1146, attempted to reduce it, not by siege, but by erecting a fort near it, in order to distress the garrison, by cutting off supplies. The king twice attempted its relief; the first time without success, but in the second action he defeated the earl; forced him to fly, covered with wounds;
DEMOLISHED.
and then demolished the castle
Leicester's Cheshire ex gestis Stephani,
124.
.
I SHALL take notice of the ecclesiastical history, churches, remains of religious houses, and the public buildings, in the course of my walk about the city, in which I was accompanied by the Reverend Doctor
Edwards;
whose hospitality and politeness I have more than once had occasion to experience.
Coventry
is seated on ground gently sloping on most sides:
CITY DESCRIBED.
its length, from
Hillstreet-gate
to
Gosford-gate,
is about three quarters of a mile, exclusive of the suburbs. The streets in general are narrow, and composed of very antient buildings, the stories of which, in some, impend one over the other in such a manner, as nearly to meet at top, and exclude the sight of the sky. By the appearance of the whole, it is very evident that it never under
ent the calamity of fire; which, deprecated as it ought to be, is usually the cause of future improvement.
THE number of inhabitants, taken at different periods,
NUMBERS.
in the last two hundred years, is very different. Before 1549, they were found to have been 15,000; but on that violent convulsion, the Dissolution, trade grew so low, and occasioned such a dispersion of people from this city, as to reduce them to 3,000. To remedy this evil,
Edward
VI. granted the city a charter for an additional fair. To this cause perhaps was owing the increase, by the year 1586, to 6502. In 1644, when the inhabitants were
umbered, from the apprehension of a siege, they were found to amount to 9,500
Dagdale,
i. 146, 150, 152.
. By
Bradford
's
Published by
in 1750.
Survey of Coventry,
made in 1748 and 1749, there appears to have been 2,065 houses, and 1211, people. The accounts at present vary from 20,000 to
0,000; but, from my enquiries, the middle sum between both may come nearest the truth.
THE city is watered by the
Radford
and the
Sherborn
brooks, which, from N. and S. meet within the walls, and, after a short
, bound the north-eastern parts without the walls.
WE began our progress from the
Chester
road,
SPONNE HOSPITAL, FOR LEPERS.
on the western side of the city, at the reliques of
Sponne
hospital, consisting of the chapel and gateway. It was founded for the lepers which happened to be in
Coventry,
by
Hugh Ceveilioc
earl of
Chester,
out of affection to
William de Auney,
a knight of his houshold, afflicted with the leprosy. Here was also a priest, to pray both for the living and the dead; also certain brethren and sisters, to pray, with the lepers, for the good estate of all their benefactors. This hospital is said once to have belonged to the abbey of
Basingwerk,
in
Flintshire;
but at length was appropriated to the monk
of
Coventry,
from whom it passed to the crown, in the time of
Edward
IV; who gave it to the canons of
Studley,
in order to obtain their prayers for him, and all his connections.
THAT loathsome disorder, which gave rise to this,
APPEARANCE IN ENGLAND.
and number
of other similar foundations, was introduced into
England
in the reign of
Henry
I. and was supposed to have been brought out of
Egypt,
or perhaps the east, by means of the crusades. To add to the horror, it was contagious; which enhanced the charity of a provision for such miserables, who were not only naturally shunned, but even chaced by royal edict, from the society of their fellow-creatures
Edward
III. drove from
London
all the lepers, except fourteen, who
dmittance into St.
Giles
's hospital.
. All the lesser
Lazar
houses in
England
were subject to the rich house at
Burton,
in
Leicestershire,
which again was subject to that in
Jerusalem.
anner,
239.
They were usually dedicated to St.
Lazarus,
from whom they derived their name.
SPONNE GATE.
IMMEDIATELY within the walls, on the left, stands the church of St.
John,
CHURCH OF ST. JOHN.
a very handsome building, with a neat but not lofty tower, placed in the centre: the inside is in form of a cross, intersected by a short transept: the windows high, and form a long range, with very narrow divisions. This church was originally a chapel to the merchants gild, the most antient in
Coventry,
licensed by
Edward
III. in 1340, for a fraternity of brethren and sisters, with a warden, or master, to be elected out of the body; who might make chauntries, bestow alms, and do other works of piety; constitute ordinances, and purchase lands to the value of £20 a year, within the liberty of the city, for the founding of a chauntry of six priests, to sing mass every day in the churches of the holy
Trinity
and St.
Michael,
for the soul of king
Edward,
queen
Philippa,
their children, and for the souls of the gild, and others. Soon after,
Isabel,
queen-mother, assigned the land on this spot, then called
Bablake,
for the building a chapel, in which masses were to be sung daily for the same purposes; which was finished and dedicated in 1350. At length, in 1399, licence was given for celebrating divine service here, provided it might be done without injury to the mother-church
Dugd. W.
i. 188.
.
ON the dissolution, its revenues were found to be £111. 13
s.
8
d.
and that they supported a warden and eight priests, who had chambers in the precinct; a master of a grammar-school, two singing-clerks, and two singing-boys, and several poor men, who had been brethren of the gild. The church has of late years been rebuilt; made a rectory by act of parlement, in 1734, and settled on the master of the free-school of
Coventry
Ecton,
93.
.
BEHIND this church is
Bablake
hospital,
BABLAKE HOSPITAL.
an old building, with a court in the middle: one part is occupied by
Bond
's alms-houses, founded in 1506, by
Thomas Bond,
mayor of
Coventry
in 1497, for ten poor men and one poor woman, with a priest to pray for the soul of the founder, his grandfather, father, and all Christian souls. At that time the revenues were £49. 11
s.
7
d.
In the first of
Edward
VIth's time, they were vested in the city; and, the revenues being improved, at present they maintain eighteen old men and a nurse, each of whom have three shillings a week, a black gown, and other emoluments
Dugd. W.
i. 193.
. About the year 1619, an infernal ambition of becoming chief of the house, seized one of the alms-men; who, to attain his end, poisoned eight of his brethren; five of whom instantly died. On detection, the wretch effected his own destruction by the same method, and was buried with the usual marks of infamy. Had his fortune flung him into a higher station, his deeds would have paralleled him with
Cesar Borgia,
or his more monstrous father, Pope
Alexander
VI.
THE other part of the building is allotted for the blue boys: a foundation owing to a very singular accident. Mr.
Thomas Wheatly,
mayor of
Coventry
in 1556, and ironmonger and cardmaker by trade, sent his servant,
Oughton,
to
Spain,
to buy some barrels of steel gads; which he thought he did, in open fair. When they were brought home and examined, they were found to contain cochineal and ingots of silver. Mr.
Wheatly
kept them for a considerable time, in hopes of discovering the owner; for his servant did not know from whom he bought them. At length he applied the profits, as well as much of his own estate, for the support of poor children.
FROM thence my walk was continued along the west side of the city,
CANAL.
to
Bishopgate-street.
A little without is the head of the great canal, which, passing by the neighboring collieries at
Hawkesbury,
is to extend to
Brinklow, Hill-Morton, Branston
in
Northamptonshire,
return into
Warwickshire,
and, after passing by
Banbury,
conclude at
Oxford
Distances.
Coventry
to
Hill Morton,
20 1 0.
Napton Napton Field,
17 1 5, rise 88. f.
Claydon,
— 8 5 1
Oxford,
— 36 0 7, fall 204.
. By another branch, likewise begun near to
Coventry,
it is to pass by
Atherston
and
Tamworth,
and to unite with the great
Staffordshire
canal on
Eradley
heath, three miles N. E. of
Lichfield
Distances.
Staffordshire
canal to
Atherston,
21 0 0, rise 95.
Coventry,
14 4 0 Branches to coal mines, 1 4 0.
. which, by means of the
Stour Port
canal, would have become the uniting spot of the commerce of
Thames,
the
Severn,
and the
Trent,
had
Britain
flourished in the manner it did when these vast designs were undertaken, in the full intoxication of its prosperity. At present it is only finished as far as
Atherston.
AT the lower end of this street is the free-school: it sprung out of an hospital,
FREE SCHOOL.
founded in the beginning of the reign of
Henry
II. by
Laurence,
prior of
Coventry,
and his convent, at the request of
Edmund,
archdeacon of
Coventry,
for the reception of the sick and needy. At the dissolution,
John Hales,
a gentleman who had large share in the plunder of the church, and having neither wife or child, converted this foundation, which he had purchased at a very cheap rate, into a free school, and endowed it with CC marks a year in land. At first, the boys were instructed in the church of the
White Friers;
but the magistrates finding that Mr.
Hales
had bought the lands but not the church, took advantage of the flaw, and removed the scholars to the present place, and pulled down the church
Dugd. W.
i. 179, 180.
. The chapel, now reduced to one aile, is the present school; and the master resides in the house belonging to the antient master of the hospital. The school has also a library belonging to it.
PASS by
Cookstreet Gate,
on the outside of the city, and a little further, by the
Three Virgins,
or
Priory Gate,
between which there is a complete part of the wall. On the outside was a paved road, in imitation of the military way from turret to turret on the famed wall of
Severus:
Tour Scotl.
vol. iii. 288.
and besides, here were four others, which went a mile each way from the city.
AT a small distance without the
Priory Gate,
is
Swanswell Pool,
which supplies the city with water. This did belong to the priory, but was at the dissolution purchased by the corporation from the crown
Dugd. W.
i. 146.
.
FROM hence I returned to the priory,
PRIORY.
seated on the south side of the brook
Sherburn.
What bears that name is an uninhabited house, of much later date than that monastery; but built on some part of the site of this great foundation.
ABOUT the year 1043, earl
Leofric
and his fair countess more than repaired the loss in 1016, in the destruction of the famous
Saxon
nunnery, by founding in its stead a magnificent monastery. They placed here an abbot, and twenty-four monks of the
Benedictine
order; enriched the very walls and the church with massy gold and silver, and endowed it with half the town and twenty-four manors. All this they did with the advice of king
Edward
the Confessor and the reigning pope, and dedicated the church to the honor of God and his blessed mother, St.
Peter,
St.
Osburg,
and all saints. The pious founders were buried, according to the custom of the times, in the porches; for the distasteful custom of church interment did not prevale till long after.
THE first abbot was
Leofrin;
but that dignity was of short duration, for, on the removal of the see of
Lichfield
to this place, in 1095, by
Robert de Limisie,
the office was suppressed, the bishop being in such cases always esteemed supreme of the house
Willis's Abbeys,
i. 70.
in his stead; a prior was appointed, but without derogating from the honor of the house; for the priors were barons in parlement as well as the preceding abbots, and the place a mitred abbey. This first prelate was more attracted by the wealth of the house than by any spiritual call; for he at once scraped from a single beam five hundred marks worth of silver, in order to carry on the intrigue at
Rome
against the poor monks. He reduced them to such short commons, that he depressed their spirits, discouraged all sorts of knowlege among them, and, in short, rendered them too dejected to think of obtaining any redress.
THIS was a prelude to greater misfortunes. In the latter end of the following century,
Hugh Novani,
a
Norman,
became bishop. He soon fell at variance with the monks; who, in a synod held before the high altar, doubtless on some high provocation, broke his head with the holy cross.
Tantaene animis caelestibus irae!
This enraged the proud prelate (as he was called by those meek monks) to lay his complaint against them at
Rome.
The pope attended to it, expelled the antient inhabitants, and placed in their room a set of secular canons. The monks, now driven into the wild world, had only the satisfaction of seeing their persecutor struck with deep remorse; for, in 1198, lying on his death-bed, in the abbey of
Bec,
in
Normandy,
he was seized with fierce horrors at his conduct towards those holy men; implored forgiveness, and desired their intercession with the Almighty in his behalf. He requested to be buried in the habit of the order, that he might receive the benefit of its protection in the other world, and finally consigned himself to purgatory,
ibi in diem judicii cruciandus.
LUCKILY at the time of this event,
Thomas,
a monk of
Coventry,
happened to be at
Rome
soliciting the cause of his brethren: he so enraged
Innocent
III. (then pope) by his importunities, as to order him to withdraw. The poor monk, with tears, replied,
Another pope will come, to whom I shall not sue in vain. I therefore will patiently wait your death, as I have that of your two predecessors.
"Here is a devil of a fellow" (says his Holiness, in high wrath, to his attendants)
by St.
Peter!
He shall not wait for my death; so I will not put him off any longer, but make out the purpose of his petition before I put a morsel more into my mouth
Dugdale W.
i. 161.
.
THIS troublesome affair ended, they were replaced with double advantage; their privileges, as if by way of atonement for their short sufferings, increased beyond all reason; for in the time of
Edward
III. they obtained, that they and their tenants, except those who held by knight service more than half a knight's see, should be quit of murder, robbery, suit to the county or hundred courts, aid to the sheriffs, view of frankpledge, and repair of the king's castles or pools
Dugdale,
i. 161.
. Reign after reign they received fresh emoluments; so that in the end it became possessed of revenues to the amount of £731. 19
s.
5
d.
or, after reprises, £499. 7
s.
4
d
Tanner,
567.
.
AMONG the sacred furniture was an image of the Virgin
Mary,
adorned with a chain of gold enriched with gems, bestowed by the Countess
Godeva
on her death-bed: to which the devotees were to say as many prayers as there were in it precious stones.
AND besides this, an arm of St.
Augustine
of
Hippo,
which
Agelnethus,
archbishop of
Canterbury,
in 1020, bought at
Rome
from the pope, for the small sum of C talents of silver, and one of gold
Dugdale W.
i. 158.
Goodwin,
78.
.
BUT even this arm had not power to ward off the blow given by the more irresistible one of
Henry
VIII; who, not content with the expulsion of its inhabitants, and seizure of the revenues, directed this noble pile to be levelled with the ground; which he did, notwithstanding the earnest prayers of its bishop,
Rowland Lee,
one of his most servile tools. A deed equally wanton and impious!
THE loss is the more to be regretted, as this cathedral is supposed to have been built on the model of that of
Lichfield,
and equally beautiful. Nothing remains except a fragment, constituting part of a private house, to be seen with difficulty, and after some search. The palace stood between the priory and Saint
Michael
's, and was sold in 1651, for its materials, to
Nathaniel Lacy
and
Obadiah Chambers,
for the sum of an hundred guineas. The last prior,
Thomas Camsel,
in 1538, was prevaled on to make a surrender of the house, either through fear of death, for withstanding the tyrant's pleasure, or through lucre of pension; for he had not less than £133. 6
s.
8
d.
annuity, besides other allowances to the monks
Stevens,
i. 223.
Willis's Abbeys,
i. 72.
. The site was then granted to
John Combes
and
Richard Stansfield,
after flourishing under monastic government above five hundred years.
WHEN the cathedral was standing,
Coventry
possessed a matchless group of churches, all standing within one coemetery.
ST. MICHAEL'S CHURCH.
Saint
Michael
's at present is a specimen of the most beautiful steeple in
Europe:
a tower enriched with faintly figures on the sides; an octagon rising out of it, and that lengthened into a most elegant spire. Every part is so finely proportionable, that it is no wonder that Sir
Christopher Wren
spoke of it as a masterpiece of architecture. The outside is extremely handsome; the inside light and lofty, consisting of a body and two ailes, divided by four rows of high and airy pillars and arches. The height of the steeple and length of the church are the same, three hundred and three feet; the width of the latter an hundred and four.
IN king
Stephen
's time, this church was a chapel to the monks; became afterwards a vicarage, and on the dissolution fell to the gift of the crown. This,
Trinity,
and St.
John
's, form the parishes of this great city; so numerous are the dissenters.
ITS beautiful steeple was begun in the reign of
Edward
III. in 1372, by two brothers,
Adam
and
William Bota,
at their own charges, which amounted annually to one hundred pounds; nor was it finished in less than twenty years. By the stile of architecture, I agree with Sir
William Dugdale,
that the present body was built in the reign of
Henry
VI. Some ornament was also added to the steeple at the same time.
Coventry
seems to have been particularly favored by
Henry,
or, to speak more properly of that meek prince, by the heroine
Margaret;
for this city used to be stiled the secret harbour of that queen.
TRINITY church, and its spire, would be spoken of as a most beautiful building, was it not eclipsed by its unfortunate vicinity to St.
Michael
's. Within are two epitaphs, which I give for their singularity. One is on
Philemon Holland,
the famous translator. He was school-master and physician in the city. A wag made this distich on one of his labors:
Philemon with translations doth so fill us,
He will not let
Suetonius
be
Tranquillus.
HE was called translator-general of his age; acquired much credit by his fidelity, but none greater than by his translation of
Cambden,
in that great antiquarian's life-time, and by his consent; to whose work he made considerable additions.
HE wrote a great folio with one pen, and, as he tells us, did not wear it out.
With one sole pen I writ this book,
Made of a grey goose quill:
A pen it was when it I took;
A pen I leave it still
Fuller's Worthies,
127, 128.
.
AT length (if I may be allowed to pun with
Fuller
) death translated this translator to the other world, in 1636, at the good old age of eighty-five; leaving behind this epitaph of his own composition.
Nemo habet hic, nemo'? hospes salveto,
Philemon
Holland
hâc recubat ritè repostus humo:
Si quaeras ratio quaenam sit nominis, haec est,
Totus terra
fui,
terraque totus
ero:
At redivivus morte tua servabor,
Iesu,
Una sides votis, haec est via sola salutis
Hâc spe fretus ego, culpâ poenaque solutus
Jamque renatus, et inde novo conspectus amictu,
Coetu in sanctorum post redimitus ero.
Claudicat incessu senior mea musa, videsne?
Claudatur capulo mecum simul ipsa, valeto. Valedictio
Ad liberos et nepotes superstites.
Dantque omnes unâ dudum de stirpe creati
Henrice
ah! septem de fratribus une superstes
Orphanici patris
Gulielmi
nuper adempti
Et mihi (bis puero) nutricis
Anna, Maria
Cumque tuis angelis
Elizabeta;
valete
Copied from
Dugdale.
.
THE other commemorates a Captain
Gervas Scrope,
written; as the proem tells you, in the agony and dolorous pains of the gout, soon before his death.
Here lies an old tennis-ball,
Was racketted from spring to fall,
With so much heat and so much haste,
Time's arm for shame grew tir'd at last.
Four kings in camps he truly serv'd,
And from his loyalty ne'er swerv'd,
Father ruin'd, the son slighted,
And from the crown ne'er recruited.
Loss of estate, relations, blood,
Was too well known, but did no good,
With long campaigns, and pains of gout,
He could no longer hold it out.
Always a restless life he led;
Never at quiet till quite dead.
He married, in his latter days,
One who exceeds the common praise;
But wanting breath still to make known
Her true affection and his own,
Death timely came, all wants supply'd,
By giving rest, which life deny'd.
ON leaving of these churches, I surveyed with indignation, such as antiquaries experience, the site of the elegant and antient cross, till of late years such an ornament to the city.
CROSS.
I am not furnished with an apology for the corporation who destroyed this beautiful building; so must leave it doubtful, whether the gothic resolution was the result of want of money, or want of taste. In 1629, the city paid it such respect, as to expend £323. 4
s.
6
d.
in its repair
Dugdale W.
i. 146.
.
IT was built, or rather begun, in 1541, to replace another cross, taken down some years before. The founder was Sir
William Hollies,
lord mayor of
London,
and son of
Thomas Hollies
of
Stoke,
near this city, who left by his will two hundred pounds towards the design. The base was hexangular, finely ornamented with gothic sculpture; above, rose three stories of most light and elegant tabernacle-work, lessening to the summit. In the niches were saints and
English
monarchs, from
Henry
II. to
Henry
V. and around each story variety of pretty figures with flags, with the arms of
England
or the rose of
Lancaster
expressed on them: and on the summit of the uppermost plate Justice, and other gracious attributes.
A LITTLE south of St.
Michael
's,
ST. MARY HALL.
stands St.
Mary Hall,
at present used for corporation-assemblies. This place was built in the beginning of the reign of
Henry
VI: a venerable pile, whose entrance is beneath a large gateway, over which are the figures of a king and queen sitting; probably
Henry
and his consort
Margaret.
Within this building is a fine old room: in the upper end is a noble semicircular window, divided into nine parts, elegantly painted with figures of several of our monarchs, with coats of arms and ornaments, but now very imperfect: those in the windows on the one side are lost; several of those on the other are entire, and were designed to represent some of our great nobility, who had honored this hall with their presence as brothers and sisters of the gild, for whose use this hall was founded. This had been the gild of St.
Katherine,
established by certain citizens of
Coventry,
in 1343, by licence of
Edward
III; after which it was united to those of the
Holy Trinity, Our Lady,
and Saint
John the Baptist.
THE illustrious personages represented here, are
William Beauchamp,
lord of
Abergavenny,
and fourth son to
Thomas
Earl of
Warwick;
and by him is his countess
Jean,
daughter of
Richard
Earl of
Arundel.
Richard Beauchamp
Earl of
Warwick,
and his second wife
Isabella,
daughter of
Thomas
Lord
D' Espencer; Humphry
Earl of
Stafford,
with a battle-ax in his hand; and one of the
John Mo
rays
Dukes of
Norfolk.
All those great men are dressed with the magnificence and luxury of the east, in long robes lined with ermine, and with large and singular hoods. These were the garments of peace, when they passed the festive day in honor of their fraternity.
ALONG the walls are ranged a number of
Latin
verses, with a
ort of
Ste
nhold
translation opposite. I shall only give the last, as Doctor
Stukely
has already preserved the former in his
Itinerary.
Edward
the floure of chivalre, whilesome the Black Prynce hyghre,
Who prisoner tooke the
French
king
John,
in claime of grandames right;
And slew the kyng of
Bram
in field, whereby the ostrich penn
He won, and w
re on crest here first; which poesie bare
Ich Dien▪
n
d their martial seats of arms, wherein he had no peere,
His countie eke to shew this seate he chose and lov'd full d
e
.
The former state he g
confirmed, and freedom did encrease
president of knyghthood rare, as well for warre as peace.
time that first this antient town Earl
Leofrike
feoffed free,
suite and merit strange, or else it could not bee.
In princes grace by long descent, as old recordes do date,
It stood manteind, until at length it grew to cities state.
Quene
Isabel,
sole heire of
Fraunce,
great favor hither caste,
And did procure large fraunchises by charter ay to last.
therefore, in loialtie our selves, and all wee have,
Elizabeth,
our ladie liege; whom God in mercy save.
When
once to fade, and commonwealth decay,
No
in cities great; for what endureth aye?
John,
late Duke of
Northumberland
John Dudly,
beheaded in 1553. a character as wicked as that of his son.
, a prince of high degree,
Did graunt
lands for commons weale, as here in brass you see.
And
Leicester
great affairs▪ whereto high place doth call,
His father's worthy steps hath traced to prop, that his might fall
On
oth i
p
ce and countrie's
hold forth this course your days:
Such dee
do
o
e bloud comm
nd, such bring mortal praise.
IN the apartments of this building are held the balls and assemblies of this city. In one of the drawing-rooms is to be seen, in high preservation, an antiquity equally delicate and curious; an
unique,
which
Coventry
alone has the happiness of possessing. Here it is known by the name of
The Lady's Spoon,
but is doubtless no other than the S
ph
m of the antients, described by
Coelius Rhs
nus and
, Rerum
morab
deperd
As quoted by the learned author of
The Dialogue on Decency,
&c. &c. 40, 41.
.
THE front of the
Drapiers Hall
is very elegant,
DRAPIER
HALL.
ornamented with
Tus
an
pi
asters, and does much
edit to the city. It was lately rebuilt on the site of the antient hall,
ounded by certain drapiers, whose n
mes have long since perished.
GREY FRIERS GATE and STEEPLE COVENTRY.
THOSE friars were celebrated for their annual exhibitions of the
stories called
Corpus Christi
plays,
CORPUS CHRISTI PLAYS.
which they performed on that day, to their great emolument, before crowds of spectators.
orted hither at that season from all parts. Like
Thespis
of old, they are recorded
Plaustris vexisse poemata.
have gone to the most advantageous parts of the city,
po
table theatres drawn on wheeled carriages, from which
exhibited their pageants, which amounted to forty. The
ubjects are announced in a sort of prologue, by a person called
or,
who probably carried a flag painted with the subject of the day, and at the same time gave out to the crowd the his
was to expect. The history is taken up at the creation,
ds with the last day. I have said much of these religious
in my
Wesh Tour
Tour
1773. p.
therefore will not pester the reader
present with more than
Eve
's rhetoric, after being tempted by the serpent, to persuade poor
Adam
to taste of the forbidden
.
My semely spouse and good husbond,
Lystenyth to me ser, I ȝow pray;
Take þis
ayr appyl all in ȝow hond,
Þerof a mursel byte & asay
To ete this appyl loke that ȝe
ond
Goddys felaw to be alway;
All his wisdom to undyrstonde,
And Goddys p
r to be for ay.
All thyng for to make,
Both
ysch & soule, se & sond,
Byrd & best, waty
& lond,
Þis appyl you take out of myn hond
A bete herof you take
Stevens,
i. 145, &c.
.
Henry
VIII. put an end to the performances of these poor friars, who had the honor of falling with the greater monasteries having escaped the wreck of the lesser, because they had nothing worth sei
ing to gratify that rapacious court. But the king, net content with their ruin, added to it the mortifying obligation of making their surrender on the 5th of
October
1538, and to sign it with their names and common seal. The instrument is curiou
and worthy perusal.
For as moche as we the wardens and freers of the house of Say
Frances
in
Coventre,
commonly callyd the
Grey Freers
in
Coventre,
in the county of
Warwick,
doo profoundly consider, that the perfection of Christian livynge dothe not consi
t
me ceremonies, werynge of a grey coot, disgeasinge our selfe
strau
ge fassions, do kynge, noddynge, and beckyng, in gu
rdyng our selves wythe a gurdle fulle of knotts, & other like papisticall ceremonies, wherein we have ben mooste principally practised and mislyd in tymes paste; but the very true waye to plese God, and to live a tru Christian mon, wytheout all ypo
and fayned diseimulation, is sinceerly declared unto us by our Mr.
Christe,
his evangelists and apostles; being myndyd hereafter to followe the same, conformynge our self unto the will and plesure of our supreme hedde under God in erthe, the kynges majestie, and not to folowe henseforth die supersti
us traditions of any forinsecall potentate or peere; wythe mu
il assent and consent do surrendre and yelde up into the
ondes of the same all our seide house of Saynt
Frances,
in the
of
Coventre,
commonly callyd the
Grey Freers
in
Coventre,
wythe also the londs, tenements, gardens, medows, waters,
diards, fedings, pastures, comens, rents, reversions, & alle other our interest, ryghtes, or titles appertaining unto the
ame: mooste humbly beseechinge his mooste noble grace to
of us, and of the same, as beste shall stonde wythe his
ooste gracious pleasure. And further, frely to graunte unto
ery on of us his license under wretyng & seealle, to chaunge
habits into secular fashion, and to receive suche maner of
as other secular priests commonly be preferred unto. And we all faithfully shall pray unto Almighty God long to preserve his mooste noble grace wythe increase of moche feli
and honour. And in witnes of alle and singular the pre
, we the seide warden and covent of the
Grey Freers
is
Coventre
to thes presences have putte our covent seealle, the fivithe day of
October,
in the thertythe yere of the raynge of our mooste soveraynge lord king
Henry
the eyghte.
Per me
Johannem Stafford,
Guardian,
Per me
Thomas Maller,
Per me
Thomas Sanderson,
Per me
Johannem Abell,
Per me
Johannem Wood,
Per me
Rogerum Lilly,
Per me
Thomam Aukock,
Per me
Matheum Walker,
Per me
Robartum Walker,
Per me
Thomam Bangsit,
Per me
Willielmum Gosnelle.
Which s
d house, or site, was in the thirty-fourth of
Henry
VIII. granted by the king
ali
) to the mayor, bailiffs, and commonalry of this city, and their successors for ever.
NOT far from the friary is a f
ne gate, called
The Grey Frier Gate,
the most beautiful of any left standing.
A
farther to the east is
Cheleysmor,
where is still to be se
part of the ma
or-house: a wooden building, with a gate way beneath. This, or some other on the site of it, had been the
dence of the lords of the place, and of the kings and earls of
; after that, of the earls of
Chester;
and finally, it fell to the
, when that
arldom was resumed: which, with the park, about three miles in circumference, belongs to the Prince of
W
es
as Earl of
Chester.
The castle stood not remote from the manor-house.
FROM hence we proceeded to the
Carmelites,
or
White Friars;
whose house stands at the east end of the city: another order devoted to poverty, who lived on charity both from the living and the dead; for they often received legacies, supposed expiations for sins. Their house was built about the year 1342, by Sir
John Poultney,
four times lord mayor of
London:
a gentleman deservedly celebrated for his pious munificence
Barton's Leicestershire,
191.
. At the dissolution it was granted to Sir
Ralph Sadler.
It was afterwards
ell to
John Hales,
who, residing here, occasioned it to be called
H
les' Place.
At present, it is occupied by numbers of poor families.
HERE are considerable remains of the building: part of the
ed cloisters; the refectory and dormitory, and vast vaulted room, which served as magazines for provisions. A very handsome gateway, with three niches on the front, is still standing; and on an inner gate are three arrows, the arms of one of the be
factors.
IN the course of my walk a chamber was shewn me, in
Gosford-street,
noted for the melancholy end of
Mary Clues,
in
February
1772, who was found almost consumed by fire, occasioned by an accident of a most uncommon nature. She had been confined to her bed by illness, the consequence of intemperance. The room was
ored with brick; the bed furnished with only one curtain, and that was next to the window. The fire-place was on the other side. She was left, the evening before the accident, with two
mall bits of coal put quite back in the grate, and a rush-light on the chair, by the head of the bed. The next morning a great smoke was perceived in the room. On bursting open the door
flames appeared, which were easily extinguished. The remains of the woman lay on the floor, but the furniture of the room was only slightly damaged; the bedstead superficially burnt but neither sheets, feather-bed, nor blankets destroyed.
THE solution of this phaenomenon is rather ridiculous. Mrs.
was excessively addicted to dram-drinking: she would drink a quart in a day, either of rum or anise-seed water; and by that means, filling her veins with pure spirits, became as inflammable as a lamp. She tumbled out of bed, took fire by the candle, and in about two hours was fairly burnt out to her thighs and one leg, and nothing left except her bones, completely calcin
d
.
LXIV, part i. p
40.
.
THIS is not the only instance I have read of persons being
by their own
phlegist
n,
natural or
equired. Two
Co
nd
noblemen, after a drinking-match of spirituous liquors, died scorched and suffocated: and the Countess
Cornelia Bau
,
of
in
Italy
Annual Register,
, was found in the situation of
Mary Clu
,
but without imputation of the guilty origin.
Semele
was certainly one of those combustible ladies; but the gallant
Ovid
has ascribed her fatal end to another cause.
Corpus mortale tumultu
Non
ui
t Aethereo
; donisque jugalibus arsit.
These two lordes made provision for that was necessarye
for them for their battayle. The Earl of
Derby
The
of
Hereford.
sent his
ssangers in to
Lombardy,
to the Duke of
Myllayn,
Sir
Gal
,
for to have armure at his pleasure. The duke agreed
the erles desyre, and caused the knight that the erle had sent
, whose name was
Fraunces,
to se all the dukes armorye;
wh
n the knight had chosen such as he lyked, than the duke
rthermore, for love of the erle of
Derby,
he sent four of the best armourers that were in
Lombardy
to ye erle into
Englande
with the knight, to
henten
yt thei shuld arme & make armure accordyng to the cries entent. The
Erle Marshal,
on his part,
, and in to other places, to provyde him for the journey. The charge of these two lords was greate. But the Erle of
Derby
was at mooste charge.
THE armour of the great men was uncommonly splendid and expensive usually inlaid with gold and silver, with most elegant devices and patterns. That of
Francis
I. in possession of Mr.
W
p
e
and that of
George
Earl of
Cumberland,
at
Appleby
castle, exist as specimens of the great attention given to that circumstance. Besides beauty, the utmost regard was paid to the essential requisite of its being proof. This was to be the result of the
of the a
m
ourer not of art-magic; for the combatants
ere to clear themselves by oath, from having any commerce with
any or of rendering their armour or bodies invulnerable by any charm. Let their cause be ever so bad, they determined to die like good Christians; disavowed all dependence on the power of
Satan,
and supplicated the prayers of the pious
.
Ad
roof unto my armour with thy prayers,
And with thy blessings steel my lance's point
II. in a speech of
Hereford
on this occasion.
.
I SHALL give the consequence of this important affair in the very graphical words of honest
Holinshed,
who minutely describes the pomp and ceremony preceding the resolution taken by the unfortunate monarch, which in the end cost him his crown and life.
At the time appointed, the king came to
Coventrie,
where the two dukes were readie, according to the order prescribed therein; comming thither in great arraie, accompanied with the lords and gentlemen of their linages. The king caused a sumptuous scaffold, or theater, and roial listes there to be erected and prepared. The
Sundaie
before they should fight, after dinner, the duke of
Hereford
came to the king (being lodged about a quarter of a mile without the town, in a tower that belonged to Sir
William Bagot
) to take his leave of him. The morrow after, being the daie appointed for the combat, about the spring of the daie came the duke of
Norfolke
to the court, to take leave likewise of the king. The duke of
Hereford
armed him in his tent, that was set up neere to the lists; and the duke of
Norfolke
put on his armor betwixt the gate and the barrier of the town, in a beautiful house, having a fair perclois of wood towards the gate, that none might see what was done within the house.
The duke of
Aumarle
that daie being high constable of
England,
and the duke of
Surrie
marshal, placed themselves betwixt them, well armed and appointed. And when they saw their time, they first entered into the lists with a great company of men, apparelled in silke sendal, imbrodered with silver both richlie and curiouslie; everie man having a tipped staff, to keep the field in order. About the houre of prime came to the barriers of the lists the duke of
Hereford,
mounted on a white courser, barded with green and blew velvet, imbroidered sumptuously with swans and antelopes of goldsmiths worke, armed at all points. The constable and marshal came to the barriers, demanding of him what he was? he answered, 'I am
Henrie
of
Lancaster,
duke of
Hereford:
which am come hither to do mine indevor against
Thomas Mowbraie
duke of
Norfolke,
as a traitor untrue to God, the king, his realme, and me.'—Then incontinentlie he sware upon the holie Evangelists, that his quarrel was true & just; and upon that point he required to enter the lists. Then he puts up his sword, which before he held up naked in his hand, and, putting down his visor, made a cross on his horsse, and with speare in hand entered into the lists, and descended from his horsse, and set him down in a chaire of green velvet, at the one end of the lists, and there reposed himself, abiding the comming of his adversarie.
Soone after him entered into the field, with great triumph, King
Richard,
accompanied with all the peerses of the realme; and in his companie was the earle of
Saint Paule,
which was come out of
France,
in post, to see this challenge performed. The king had there above ten thousand men in armour, least some fraie or tumult might rise amongst his nobles, by quarrelling or partaking. When the king was set in his seat, which was richly hanged and adorned, a king at arms made open proclamation, prohibiting all men, in the name of the king, and of the high constable and marshal, to enterprise or attempt to approach, or touch any part of the lists, upon pain of death, except such as were appointed to order or marshal the field. The proclamation ended, another herald cried, 'Behold here
Henrie
of
Lancaster
duke of
Hereford,
appelant, which is entered into the lists roiall, to do his devoir against
Thomas Mowbraie
duke of
Norfolke,
defendant, upon paine to be found false & recreant.
The duke of
Norfolke
hovered on horsseback at the entrie of the lists, his horsse being barded with crimson velvet, imbrodered richlie with lions of silver and mulberie trees; and when he had made his oth before the constable and marshal, that his quarrel was just & true, he entered the field manfullie, saieng aloud, 'God, and him that hath the right;' and then he departed from his horsse, & sate him downe in his chaire, which was of crimson velvet, courtined about with white and red damaske. The lord marshall viewed their spears, to see that they were of equall length, and delivered the one speare himself to the Duke of
Hereford,
and sent the other unto the Duke of
Norfolke
by a knight; then the herald proclamed, that the traverses & chaires of the champions should be removed, commanding them, on the king's behalf, to mount on horssebacke, and address themselves to the battel and combat
Holinshed's Chr.
494.
.
The duke of
Hereford
was quicklie horssed, and closed his bauier, and cast his speare into the rest; and when the trumpet founded, set forward couragiouslie towards his enemie six or seven pases. The duke of
Norfolke
was not fullie set forward, when the king cast downe his warder, and the heralds cried 'Ho, ho.' Then the king caused their speares to be taken from them, and commanded them to repaire againe to their chaires; where they remained two long houres, while the king and his councell deliberatlie consulted what order was best to be had in so weightie a cause. Finallie: after they had devised, and fullie determined what should be done therein, the heralds cried 'Silence;' and Sir
John Bushie,
the king's secretarie, read the sentence and determination of the king and his councell, in a long roll; the effect whereof was, that
Henrie
duke of
Hereford
should, within fifteene daies, depart out of the realme, and not to returne before the terme of ten yeares were expired, except by the king he should be repealed againe; and this upon paine of death: and that
Thomas Mowbraie
duke of
Norfolke,
bicause he had sowen sedition in the relme by his words, should likewise avoid the realme, and never returne againe into
England,
nor approch the borders or confines thereof, upon pain of death: and that the king would sta
e the profits of his lands, till he had levied thereof such summes of monie as the duke had taken up of the king's treasuror, for the wages of the garrison of
Calis;
which were still unpaid.
When these judgements were once read, the king called before him both parties, and made them to sweare that the one should never come in place where the other was, willinglie, nor keepe any companie togither in any forren region: which oth they both received humblie, and so went their waies. The duke of
Norfolke
departed sorrowfullie out of the realme into
Almanie,
and at the last came into
Venice,
where he, for thought and melancholie, deceassed; for he was in hope (as writers record) that he should have beene borne out in the matter by the king; which, when it fell out otherwise, it greeved him not a little. The duke of
Hereford
tooke his leave of the king at
Eltham,
who there released foure yeares of his banishment; so he tooke his jornie over into
Calis,
and from thence went into
France,
where he remained.
A woonder it was to see what number of people ran after him, in everie towne and street where he came, before he tooke the sea, lamenting and bewailing his departure; as who should saie, that when he departed, the onlie shield, defense, and comfort of the commonwealth was vaded and gone.
ABOUT two miles from
Coventry,
I crossed the little river
Sow
at
Binly
bridge, a little beyond which stands the beautiful small church of the name, dedicated to St.
Bartholomew,
BINLY CHURCH.
formerly belonging to the monks of
Coventry;
now a curacy in the gift of Lord
Craven,
who rebuilt the church with uncommon elegance. The roof is coved, and ornamented with scriptural histories, in form of medallions, and with pious ornaments of crosses, crowns, and thorns, and other decorations adapted to the place. The altar is in a tribune, with marble pillars; and its window consists of glass painted with a fine holy family, by Mr.
William Pecket.
Combe Abbey,
or, to spell it with propriety,
Cwm,
from its low situation,
COMBE ABBEY.
lies about two miles farther. Notwithstanding its conversion to the seat of a nobleman, it retains in part the form of its conventual state. The cloisters are preserved on three sides of the antient court, glazed as when occupied by the antient owners, and their walls enriched with the spoils of the chace. Methinks the jovial abbot is now before me, formed out of the monk so admirably described by old
Chaucer.
A monk ther was, a fayre for the maistrie,
An out rider that loved venerie;
A manly man, to ben an abbot able;
Full many a deinte hors hadde he in stable.
And when he rode, men mighte his bridel here,
Gingeling in a whistling wind as clere
And eke as loude as doth the chapell belle.
Ther as this lord was keper of the celle,
The rule of Seint
Maure
and of Seint
Beneit,
Because that it was olde & somedele streit,
This ilke monk lette olde thinges pace,
And held after the newe world the trace.
He yave not of the text a pulled hen,
That saith that hunters ben not holy men;
Ne that a monk, when he is rekkeles,
Is like a fish that is waterles:
This is to say, a monk out of his cloistre,
This ilke text held he not worth an oistre.
And I say his opinion was good:
What shulde he studie, & make himselven wood,
Upon a book in cloistre alway to pore,
Or swinken with his hondes, & laboure
As
Austin
bit? How shall the world be served?
Let
Austin
have his swink to him reserved.
Therefore he was a prickasoure a right;
Greihounds he hadde as swift as soul of flight:
Of pricking, & of hunting for the hare,
Was all his lust; for no cost wolde he spare.
THE abbot is now represented by a jovial
English
baron, not less a lover of the generous exercise. He derives his right to the place from his ancestor Sir
William Craven,
Knight, great grandson of
Henry Craven,
elder brother to Sir
William,
lord mayor of
London
in 1610; one of the richest men of his time. It was purchased from that squanderer
Lucy
countess of
Bedford,
who inherited it from her brother Lord
Harrington,
who derived it from his mother
Anne,
daughter of
Robert Kelway,
who received it in lease after the forfeiture of
John Dudley
duke of
Northumberland,
to whom it had been granted by
Edward
VI. It had been founded by
Richard de Camville,
in 1150, and peopled with
Cistercian
monks;
FOUNDER.
who were at the dissolution found to be endowed with upwards of three hundred pounds a year
Tanner.
.
Robert Bates,
alias
Kymmer,
was the last abbot; who, for his surrender, was rewarded with a pension of eighty pounds a year
Willis,
ii, 241.
, and his thirteen or fourteen religious with small pittances, as the merit of the deed rested in the former.
THAT accomplished nobleman Lord
Harrington
was the refounder of this house; which
Cambden
says arose from the ashes of the antient abbey. His taste is evident, in his preservation of the venerable cloisters. It is indebted to the owners of the present name for its instructive furniture of portraits; probably entirely to the hero
William Craven,
a most distinguished personage of this family.
IN the north parlour is a fine full-length of his great master in the art of war,
PORTRAITS.
Gustavus Adolphus;
under whose banners he defended the Protestant cause in
Germany,
and, when very young, gained immortal honor at the desperate storming of the fortress of
Creutenach,
in the palatinate.
A FULL-LENGTH of
James Stewart
duke of
Richmond,
in black, with long flowing flaxen hair, and a dog by him. This illustrious nobleman forms one of the most amiable characters in the reign of
Charles
I. His attachment and affection to his royal relation was unequalled: he is even said to have offered his own life, to save that of his devoted master
Perichef,
as quoted by Mr.
Hume.
. He was permitted to attend the funeral of the beloved remains; then lingered away a few years, and died a victim to grief on
March
30, 1655.
Frederick
V. elector palatine, a full-length, in robes, and with the unfortunate crown which he wore, as short-lived king of
Bohemia,
elected by the revolted state in 1619, when it attempted to shake off the yoke of the emperor
Ferdinand
II. The battle of
Prague,
in the following year, deprived
Frederick
of his new kingdom and his hereditary dominions, and, from a potent prince, reduced him hereby to that of a fugitive beggar in
Holland.
He survived his own misfortunes twelve years, but died with grief, on the death of his great friend
Gustavus Adolphus,
in 1632.
NEAR him is his queen, dressed in black, and with a melancholy look. She was the daughter of our peaceful monarch
James
I; who, either through hatred of war, or disapprobation of his son-in-law's ambition, reluctantly undertook his defence, and made, under
Mansfield,
an unfortunate essay. His daughter
Elizabeth
supported her unhappy situation with uncommon dignity, and shewed, amidst the most distressful poverty, an illustrious example of magnanimity. She visited the army of
Gustavus,
which had in view her husband's restoration, as well as the giving liberty to the
German
Protestants. The
English
volunteers seem to have fought her battles, inspired by love. She was the admiration of the camp, and had votaries among every nation. The young
Craven
was among her warmest devotees, and continued his attachment to the last moment of her life; possessed her deserved confidence, directed all her affairs, and gave a most distinguishing proof of his esteem, by building for her use, at his estate in
Berkshire,
a magnificent palace. The difference of rank alone prevented the publication of their union, which is generally supposed to have taken place. Her spotless fame was never aspersed with improper connection.
I MUST step to another room, the picture-gallery, for the portrait of her admirer; a fine head, with the body armed, and crossed with a sash. Let me finish his history with saying, that after the death of
Gustavus,
he retired from the
Swedish
army into the service of the
Dutch,
and, notwithstanding he never interfered in the civil wars of his own country, yet, in 1650, his estates were confiscated by the parlement (as is said) through false accusations of favors done the exiled king. On the restoration he came over, and in 1670, on the death of the Duke of
Albemarle,
he was appointed colonel of the
Coldstream
regiment of guards. His gallant spirit never forsook him: he braved the pestilence in its greatest fury, and, with a few other worthies, undertook the care of
London
in 1665, during the desolation of the plague; and in every fire, was so active in preventing the devastation of that other scourge, that it was said,
his very horse smelt it out.
I MUST return to the parlour, to mention a fine conversation-piece, consisting of prince
Rupert,
prince
Maurice,
and the duke of
Richmond
at table, in the manner of
Dobson,
by
Honthurst.
Those of the king of
Bohemia
and his queen are by the same hand;
Honthurst
having had the honor of instructing that unfortunate princess and her family.
A HEAD of
Raphael.
THE brazen serpent, surrounded by the terrified multitude: a fine performance.
Judith
and
Holofernes.
Her maid, a swarthy old woman, is performing the operation of cutting off the head.
ON the stair-case is a large picture of Lord
Craven
on horse-back, with a truncheon in his hand.
IN the breakfast-room is a fine scene among the
Alps,
by
John Loren,
a
Dutchman,
who, residing much in
Switzerland,
became celebrated for his wild romantic views.
IN the picture-gallery is a fine half-length of
David,
with the head of
Goliah,
by
Guercino. Frederick Tromellus,
count
Lavella,
a head.
John Ernest
duke of
Savoy.
Gustavus Adolphus,
a half-length, and the heads of sixteen of his illustrious generals, by
Mirevelt.
These, and most of the other portraits of men of eminence in
Germany,
were brought over by the queen of
Bohemia,
and by her bequeathed by will to Lord
Craven.
A HEAD of
Mirevelt,
and another of
Honthurst,
painted by themselves. The former resided chiefly at
Delft,
and was prevented from visiting
England
by reason of the plague. The latter was here some time, by the encouragement of
Charles
I.
Christian
duke of
Brunswick,
a fierce hero in the army of
Gustavus,
subdued by the charms of our royal countrywoman. It is said, that he snatched a glove from her, put it in his cap, and swore he would never part with it, till he saw her husband in possession of the capital of
Bohemia
Harte's Gustavus Adolphus,
i. 177.
.
SIR
Edward Cecil,
third son of the earl of
Exeter,
a celebrated commander during thirty-five years in the
Netherlands.
He died in 1638, after being honored with the title of Lord
Wimbledon.
His picture is a head, with short grey hair; his body in rich
rmour, with a sash. From this the print by
Simon Pass
was
.
A REMARKABLE legend of
Otto,
or
Otho
I. earl of
Oldenberg,
represented as wearied with the chace, and separated from his compassions, on a wild mountain. When he was almost fainting with
, a beautiful virgin, in white, with long flowing hair, and a
land on her head, bursts out of the side of the hill, and offers him drink out of a rich horn, which she put into his hand, assur
him, that if he drank, prosperity would attend him and his house. He disliked the proposal, suspecting deceit. Accordingly, pouring some of the liquor on the hind part of his horse, found it so noxious as to take off the hair. He instantly rode off
the horn full speed, terrified at the adventure; and the sp
re retired into the bowels of the mountain. The horn, which gave rise to this fable, is of silver, gilt, and of most exquisite workmanship; and is still preserved in the museum at
.
Regium Hav
iae,
&c pars II. sect. iii. par.
o. tab. v.
Instead of being of the age of
Otho
I. or about the year
, it is proved to have been made by
Christian
I. in honor of the three kings of
Cologne,
whose names are inscribed on it;
or it seems it was customary, among the northern nations, to de
their cups or horns to saints, and make large libations out of them, invoking the saint to assist the mighty draught: Help
Gol
Maria
dat
w Got
, par. 62.
. What gave rise to the particular le
relative to the horn, is the figure of a woman on the recur
ed up, with a label, with this jovial exhortation,
Drine all w
;
the lip,
O mater Dei memento mei.
In several apartments whose names I have forgotten, are var
ty of other paintings and portraits.
AMONG them is one of the founder of the family, Sir
William Craven,
lord ma
or of
London,
by
Jansen;
two full-lengths of Earl
Craven,
in armour, one very spirited; and a portrait of Sir
William Craven
of this place, by Sir
Peter Lely; Lucy
countess of
B
ford,
by
Jansen,
in the same attitude and dress in which she is painted at
Weburn
and at
A
Tour Se
l.
1772, part ii. p. 223.
.
AN elegant figure of
Henry
prince of
Wa
s,
in a gay silk jacket, crimson hose, roses to his shoes, a white silk hat and feather before h
, and a glove in one hand. He stands in a room with a pretty view through the window. Drawn while that amiable prince was in his boyhood.
Charles
II. when young, his body armed with steel, the rest with buff.
GENERAL
Monk,
cloathed entirely in buff. This species of defence was usually made of the sl
n of the elk, and oftentimes of the stag, and was proof enough to turn a ball.
DUKE of
Ormond,
by Sir
Peter Lely.
A PRETTY half-length of Lord
Herbert,
young, in armour, laced crav
t, and his helmet before him.
THE punishment of sloth: a man whipping a woman out of bed.
A F
NE decollation of St.
John,
by
Albert Dur
r.
The executioner sheathing his sword▪
Herodias
's daughter receives the head with great satisfaction of countenance, and her swelling waist shews the price of the Evangelist's destruction.
FOUR musicians: two, a
Flemish
gentleman and a lady; the other, peasants: a capital performance, by
Frank Hals.
THE offering of the wise men in the east, by
Paul Veronese,
equally fine.
AN old woman and boy, heads, by candle-light, likewise fine.
TWO fine paintings, by
Rembrandt,
of two philosophers; each with a noble pupil: one in a
Turkish
dress; the other in an ermine robe. These young figures are called Prince
Rupert
and Prince
Maurice.
The time of the residence of their mother in
Holland,
agrees entirely with that of
Rembrandt
in
Amsterdam,
which makes the conjecture probable.
I RETURNED through
Coventry,
and, passing over the site of the
New gate,
soon entered on a long common. At about a mile's distance from the city, on the left side of the road, stood the
Chartreux,
now inhabited by —
Inge,
Esquire. Little of the antient building remains. The wall of the precinct is still standing and in a wall in the garden are the marks of many small doors, the entrance into the cells of the austere inhabitants.
THIS religious house arose from the pious intentions of
William
Lord
Zouch
of
Harringworth,
in
Northamptonshire,
who obtaining, in 1381, fourteen acres of land in this place from Sir
Baldwyn Frevile
the elder, determined on that to erect a monastery of
Carthusians,
and endow it with ample revenues. Death prevented the execution; but in his last illness he left sixty pounds towards a future establishment.
THE design was speedily completed by various pious persons.
Richard Luff,
a mayor of
Coventry,
and
Richard Botoner,
a fellow-citizen, bestowed four hundred marks on the church-choir, cloisters, and three cells: others followed their example.
Richard
II. on his return from
Scotland,
in 1385, assumed the honor of being the founder, and, at the instance of his queen
Anne,
laid the first stone of the church with his own hands, declaring, in the presence of his nobility, and of the mayor and citizens of
Coventry,
that he would bring it to perfection. After this, it received considerable endowments, and at the dissolution was found, according to
Dugdale,
to be possessed of £131. 6
s.
8
d.
above all reprizes. The prior seemed to want the resolution of this severe and conscientious order; for more of this than any other resisted the will of their cruel monarch, and underwent martyrdom in support of the trusts committed to them. It is probable that
John Bochard,
the last who presided over the house, was prevaled on to surrender for the consideration of the great pension of forty pounds a year: after which it was granted to
Richard Andrews
and
Leonard Chamberlain.
A LITTLE farther I crossed the
Sherbourn,
leaving on the right
Whitley,
WHITLEY.
a large old house, in which
Charles
I. resided during the attempt upon
Coventry.
I was told, that the history of many of his actions had been painted on the wainscot. About a mile and a half from hence I passed the
Avon,
at
Finford
bridge. This is the river that runs by
Warwick
and
Stratford,
and discharges itself into the
Severn,
near
Tewkesbury;
still retaining the
British
name
Afon,
or river, as is the case with several others watering
English
ground.
ASCEND an extensive brow, commanding a rich and vast view toward the north and west. On the summit is a
tumulus,
from which the spot, which gives name to the hundred, is called
Knightlow,
KNIGHTLOW.
or mount. It seems to have been sepulchral, and to have covered the ashes of some
Roman eques,
or knight, from which it was denominated. It lies very near a great
Roman
road, as customary with similar memorials. On it in after-times stood a cross; on whose base the inhabitants of several towns in this hundred still attend, and pay the dues to the lord on
Martinmass
-day: the sums are from 1
d.
to 2
s.
3
d.
each. These rents are called
Wroth-money,
and
Warth
or
Swarff penny,
and are supposed by
Dugdale
to be the same as ward-penny:
Vicecomiti aut aliis castellanis persoluti ob castrorum praesidium vel excubias agendas.
They must be paid at this cross before sun-rise, and the party paying must go thrice round the cross, say
wroth-money,
and put it into the hole in the stone before good witness, or on omission to forfeit thirty shillings and a white bull
Dugdale,
i. 4.
.
A SMALL space beyond, the
Roman
foss-way crosses the road:
ROMAN ROAD.
it enters this county at
High Cross,
on the verge of
Leicestershire,
where it is intersected by the great
Watling-street,
and traverses direct to
Stafford upon Foss,
near the edge of
Glocestershire.
Go over
Dunsmore
heath (now inclosed) and, after riding in a tedious avenue of elms and firs for five miles, reach
Dunchurch,
or the church on the hill; a small village, whose church once belonged to the monks of
Pipwell,
in
Northamptonshire.
DESCEND the hill, and about three miles further go near
Willoughby,
or the
place of willows;
a little village,
WILLOUGHBY.
with a church dedicated to St.
Nicholas,
formerly appropriated to the hospital of St.
John,
without
East-gate, Oxford;
now in the patronage of
Magdalen College.
This bottom, at present enlivened with the windings of the canal, assumes a commercial appearance, by the number of new buildings rising on its banks, and the magazines of coal and limestone laid up for sale. The former gives a most comfortable prospect to the half-starved inhabitants of
Northamptonshire,
by flattering them with the speedy approximation of the means of warmth, and giving to their poor good fuel, instead of the wretched substitute of horse-dung, which they collect in scanty portions for that purpose.
IT would be ungrateful to leave
Warwickshire,
without paying a tribute to the memory of Mr.
Henry Beighton,
author of the map of this county, surveyed by him in 1722, 23, 24, and 25. As it was the earliest, so it was the best performance of the kind. He had an estate of about a hundred a year, in the parish of
Coton,
in this county. He assisted his income by surveying, in which, for elegance, accuracy, and expedition, he had few equals. He left behind him, in his neighborhood, numbers of excellent surveyors, who own him for their master. His account of
London
bridge, in the
Philosophical Transactions,
shews his skill in mechanics. He was interred at
Chilvers Coton;
where a small monument barely tells that he lived and died, without mentioning his merit, neglected by his countrymen during life; for he never met with encouragement to publish his admirable map: which was done about the year 1750
He begun his survey in 1725, and finished it in 1729.
. by subscription, for the support of his widow.
FROM
Willoughby
I instantly entered NORTHAMPTONSHIRE,
BRAUNSTON.
in the parish of
Braunston.
The village, church with spire steeple, and the number of narrow inclosures, appear on the side of a slope, on the left of the road. This is among the few places I neglected to visit. I must therefore speak from Mr.
Bridges
Twenty-six.
of its cross, twenty-four feet high; of the effigy of the Knight Templar in the church; and of the instance of the longevity of
William Bren,
of this village, who attained the age of an hundred and twenty-one.
AFTER the Conquest, the
D' Aiencourts
and the
Peverels
held land here. From the last it fell, by marriage, to
Albricius de Harcourt;
by his daughter, to
William de Trussebot,
a man raised from a low situation, by his desperate valour, to great estates. In the reign of king
Stephen,
being attacked in
Bonville,
of which he was governor, he set fire to his own house in four places; which so terrified the enemy, that they instantly evacuated the town.
BY his daughter
Roese,
it fell to
Everard de Roos;
a family who flourished here for several centuries, a distinguished race. One of them,
William,
was clamant to the crown of
Scotland,
under the arbitration of
Edward
I
Sir
David Dalrymple's Annals Scotl.
i. 203.
. They became extinct in the male line, in the reign of
Henry
VII. when
Elinor,
eldest sister of the last Lord
Roos,
conveyed it by marriage to Sir
Robert Manners;
and it was sold by his descendant,
Henry
earl of
Rutland
(who died in 1563) to
Gregory Isham,
of
London,
merchant, a younger son of the respectable and antient family of that name.
THE present lord of the manor is —
Web,
Esquire; who keeps in the small manor-house a court-leet and baron.
SINGULAR TENURE.
The tenure of a considerable portion of land in the parish is very singular. If a widow appears at the next court after her husband's death, and presents a leathern purse with a groat in it, she can keep her husband's copyhold lands for life; but she must attend every court after she has done this service.
FROM
Dunchurch
the country grows hilly, and till of late uninclosed; pleasant during the verdure of the young, and the rich yellow of the ripened corn. About three miles from
Braunston
appears
Daventry,
DAVENTRY.
on the side and top of a hill. The place is populous, and carries on a considerable manufacture of whips: is an incorporated town, governed by a bailiff, twelve burgesses, and a recorder; has two serjeants at mace, and one town-clerk. The bailiff for the time is justice of the peace, and also the year following; and is likewise coroner of the inquest. The serjeants may arrest any within their jurisdiction for a sum under one hundred pounds, and the cause is to be decided here. No county justice hath power in this place; the justices of the borough having power of commitment to the county-jail in criminal causes. The inhabitants also enjoy the privilege of exemption from serving on juries at the county assizes.
ITS charter is said to have been first granted by king
John,
and was renewed by queen
Elizabeth.
The place is of considerable antiquity; especially if we give into the derivation of its name,
Dwy Avon tre,
the town of the two
Avons,
or rivers, from its situation between them. Certainly it was a place of note at the Conquest; had in it sixteen plough-lands; in the manor three, with three slaves, twenty villeyns, a presbyter, and ten boors, and twelve acres of meadow. It had been worth three pounds: after that event improved to eight.
THIS was part of the great possessions of the countess
Judith,
niece to the Conqueror, whom he had married to the brave
Waltheof
earl of
Northumberland;
and farther to engage his fidelity, he gave with her this county, and that of
Huntingdon. Waltheof
unfortunately engaged in a conspiracy; and, notwithstanding he repented, and flung himself at the king's mercy, was beheaded in 1074, at the instigation of his wife
Order Vital.
. It seems she had cast a favorable eye on another person: but was disappointed; for the king offered to her
Simon de Liz,
a noble
Norman,
lame of one leg: him she rejected; which so enraged her uncle, that he deprived her of the two earldoms, and gave them to
De Liz,
with her eldest daughter; which obliged
Judith
to a state of penitential widowhood during life.
HERE are some remains of the priory,
PRIORY.
inhabited by poor families. The place is easily discovered, by several gothic windows, and a door accessible by a great flight of steps. Four
Cluniac
monks were originally placed at
Preston Capes,
in this county, by
Hugh de Leycester,
sheriff of the county, and steward to
Maud,
sister to the first
S. Liz
earl of
Huntingdon;
but finding the situation inconvenient, for want of water, he built a priory here; to which place he removed them, about the year 1090. It was dedicated to St.
Augustine,
and was subordinate to St.
Mary de Caritate
Tanner,
375.
. Its spiritualities were valued at £115. 17
s.
4
d. per annum;
its temporalities £120. 10
s.
2
d.
Cardinal
Wolsey
made five of his emissaries to pick a quarrel with the poor monks, about certain lands of theirs; and, causing the dispute to be referred to himself, took occasion to dissolve the house, and, as
Stow
says, to be given to his own college.
But of this irreligious robbery, done of no conscience, but to patch up pride, which private wealth could not furnish, what punishment hath since ensued by God's hand (sayeth mine author) partly ourselves have seen; for of those five persons, two fell at discord between themselves, and the one slew the other; for which the survivor was hanged: the third drowned himself in a well: the fourth, being well known, and valued worth two hundred pounds, became in three years so poore, that he begged till his dying-day: and the fift, called Doctor
Allane,
being cheefe executor of these doings, was cruelly maimed in
Ireland,
even at such time as he was bishop
Annals,
522.
.—The pious historian then traces the judgment to the cardinal, who died under the king's displeasure: to the colleges which occasioned the sacrilege; that of
Ipswich
being pulled down; that of
Christ-church
never finished under
Wolsey
's patronage: and lastly to the pope, who permitted these violences on religious houses; for he was besieged in his holy see, and suffered a long imprisonment.
THE parish-church had been the conventual:
CHURCH.
of late years it was handsomely rebuilt; but is no more than a curacy in the gift of
Christ-church
college. The arms of the college, and of the earl of
Winchelsea,
lord of the manor, grace the east window.
FROM
Daventry
I visited the noted camps on
Borough-hill,
BOROUGH-HILL.
or
Danes-hill,
about a mile south-east of the town. It is lofty and insulated. The area is of an oblong or oval form, about a measured mile in length, and near two in circumference. The whole is surrounded by two, three, or four deep trenches, and the same number of great ramparts, or banks; according as the strength or weakness of the ground required. These run on the margin of the hill, and on the slope; and having the entrance on the eastern and western sides opposite to each other.
WITHIN the area, near the middle, is a bank, which passes strait from the western side towards the eastern: the remainder is destroyed. Farther on is the vestige of another, running parallel. These, when entire, would have formed a rectangular camp, by the assistance of part of the ditches on the sides of the hill.
NEAR this camp are several
tumuli
of the sepulchral kind; but since Mr.
Morton
's time, their number is evidently lessened; for in his days, he informs us, there were eighteen.
THE northern end of the hill is formed into a third camp, of a circular shape, and of vast strength. Two ditches, of prodigious depth, with suitable ramparts, and a deep entrance, cross the area, and fall into the general surrounding ditches, which have been deepened to add to the strength of the third part. There is likewise the imperfect remains of another ditch and bank on the outside, a little south, designed to add to the security.
ON the north-west part of the great rampart of this round camp, is a great mount, either exploratory, or the spot where the chieftain pitched his tent.
I MUST differ with Mr.
Morton
about the makers of the first of these camps or posts, which were the
Britons
themselves. It has every agreement with the multitudes of others scattered over the kingdom, and suits exactly with the description left by
Tacitus
of the method of defence used by our ancestors,
Tunc montibus arduis, et si qua clementer accedi poterunt in modum valli saxa praestruit.
I shall not here repeat what I have fully dwelt on in my Tours in
Wales
and
Scotland
Tour Scotl.
1772, part ii. 159.
Tour Wales,
413.
.
THIS post was in all probability made use of when the victorious
Ostorius
was traversing this island, to quell the commotions he found on his arrival in
Britain.
It is evident, that the
Britons
at this period made use of the same species of defence which is proved to have been common to the whole country. The
Iceni
lodged themselves within a post of this kind, against this very general
(Locum pugnae delegere septum agresti aggere et aditu angusto ne pervius equis foret)
Taciti Annal.
lib. xii. c. 31.
but it did not avale. The
Coritani
of these parts had recourse to the strong hold of what I dare say they called
Ben Avon,
or the head over the river; one of the streams which form the
Nen,
the river of this country, passing beneath.
THIS post proved no obstacle to the Conqueror; he found it sit for a station: he contracted its limits east into the shape of the camps of his people, and made this a summer station, as he did the warm bottom, near the fort, a winter station. Numbers of
Roman
coins found on the spots, evince the conjecture. The
Romans,
as is frequently the case, latinized the
British
name, and formed from it their
Benvenna;
which I beg leave to place here, rather than at
Wedon,
a place destitute of all classical traces.
I MUST add, that on the south-east side of
Borough-hill,
about two or three hundred yards below the ditches, is a lesser camp, surrounded by a foss and bank. Mr.
Morton
guesses it to have been the receptacle of the carriages of the greater camp: I imagine it to have been a
procestria,
a sort of free post attendant often on camps, where provisions and other necessaries were brought.
As to the third division of the area of this hill, it is probably
Saxon;
the words
borough, burgh, berry,
and
bury,
being the constant appellation left by the
Saxons
to similar places. It is my belief, that every post of this nature, occupied by that nation in our island, had been originally
British;
which they altered to their conceptions of strength and defence; which was usually done by deepening the ditches, raising the ramparts, and clearing the area, and often exalting one part into what was called the
dunjeon,
or keep. These places were stationary, not properly camps; for the antient
Germans,
from whom these invaders were derived, and whose customs they retained, made use of no other defence to their camps than a barrier of waggons, with which they formed the precinct.
Omnes Barbari,
says
Vegetius, carris suis in orbem connexis ad similitudinem castrorum securas a supervenientibus exigunt noctes
Lib. iii. c. 10.
. Caesar
twice
Bell. Gal.
lib. 1. & lib. iv.
mentions this custom among the
German
nations; and I am told, that even in later days, this mode of defence has been used, and called
Waggenburg,
or the camp of
waggons.
EVERY thing on this hill must not be attributed to remote antiquity; for
Charles
I. a few days before the fatal battle of
Naseby,
occupied this post, and fortified it: so possibly some of the entrenchments might be the work of the unfortunate monarch
Whitelock,
150.
.
I MUST not quit this place without mentioning a spot which I overlooked.
BURNT WALLS.
This is what Mr.
Morton
calls the
Burnt Walls;
where many loads of walls and foundations have been dug up. The precinct is about six acres, and was moated round. The water that filled the moat was conveyed from pools in
Daventry Park,
a place not remote. Tradition says, that within the area stood a seat of
John
of
Gaunt;
which is probable, as this manor was once possessed by the earls and dukes of
Lancaster,
in
Edward
III's time, annexed to that dutchy, and assigned to that great duke
Hist. Northampt.
44.
.
CONTINUE my journey: turn a little out of my road, on the left,
DODFORD CHURCH.
to
Dodford
church; and found there a tomb of a cross-legged knight, armed in mail, with both hands upon his sword, as if in the attitude of drawing it. On his shield are, ill-blazoned,
vaire, argent
and
azure;
two bars
gules,
which denote the person here deposited to have been a
Keynes,
one of the antient lords of the place; and, from the attitude of his legs, to have lived during the fashionable madness of crusades.
Two ladies, in hoods, recumbent, said to have been two sisters, co-heiresses of the manor, and probably
Margaret
and
Maud de Ayote,
who were possessed of this manor, I think, in the time of
Richard
II; which descended to their father,
Laurence,
from his mother,
Lettice,
sister to
William de Keynes.
A BRASS plate of
William Wyde,
who died owner of this place in 1422, and another of his wife.
AN alabaster figure, armed, of
John Cressy,
a successor of the former; who distinguished himself in the
French
wars, under the duke of
Bedford,
was captain of
Lycieux, Orbef, and Pontesque,
in
Normandy,
and privy-counsellor in
France.
He died in 1443, at
Tove,
in
Lorrain
Hist. Northampt.
51.
.
IN this manor, the
Watling-street
crosses the road to
Wedon:
it enters the county at
Dowbridge,
on the edge of
Leicestershire,
passes close by
Borough-hill,
and proceeds from
Wedon
to
Toucester
and
Stoney Stratford,
where it enters the county of
Bucks.
NEAR the sixty-eighth mile-stone is the entrance to the new turnpike-road to
Northampton,
which is above seven miles distant; and on an eminence, a little to the left, is pleasantly seated the church and village of
Flore,
or
Flower.
A LITTLE beyond, on the right, lies the village of
Wedon on the Street,
WEDON.
or
Weedon Bec;
from which I chuse to transfer the old
Bennevenna
to
Borough-hill,
on account of deficiency of classical evidence at this place, and the little difference of distance from the other stations.
SUFFICIENT honor will remain to
Wedon,
in allowing it to have been the site of the royal palace of
Wulfere
Bridges,
93.
, the
Mercian
monarch; afterwards converted into a nunnery, at the instance of his daughter, St.
Werburg;
who presided for a time over it. Here she performed the miracle of the wild geese; who, at her word, forgot their nature, were driven by her steward from their ravages among the corn, into the grange, and, after receiving from her a severe check for their depredations, were commanded to take wing, and never appear in her demesns. They obeyed in part, but kept hovering about, till one of their companions, which had been stolen (and some say eaten) by a servant, was restored; on which they bid an eternal adieu to the fields of
Wedon
Cressy's Cb. Hist.
427.
.
THIS nunnery was destroyed by the
Danes;
but the memory of the foundress was preserved in
Leland
's day, by a fair chapel dedicated to that saint
Leland Itin.
i. 11.
.
AFTER the Conquest,
Roger de Thebovil
gave a moiety of lands in this monastery to the abbey of
Bec,
in
Normandy;
which was, with many other grants to the same house, confirmed by
Henry
II. That abbey afterwards became possessed of the whole, when it was made dependent on their great cell or priory at
Okeburn,
in
Wiltshire.
Vast privileges were bestowed in favor of the monks of this abbey; such as exemption from suit and service to the county and hundred courts; from toll passage and pontage; and exemption from forest laws. They had also free warren, and right of determining in murder, manslaughter,
&c. &c.
all which perished at the dissolution of the priories; and this manor, as part of the possessions of
Okeburn,
was vested in the provost and fellows of
Eton
college, by
Henry
VI; in which it still continues
Hist. Northampt.
93; in which Mr.
Bridges
denies that there ever was a priory here, as Sir
W. Dugdale
and Bishop
Tanner
imagine.
.
FROM hence, I was led by my curiosity about two miles westward,
CASTLE DIKES.
to
Castle Dikes,
in the parish of
Farthingstone,
remarkable for some antient works attributed to the
Saxons.
They are placed on the brow of a steep hill, commanding a vast view; but at present so overgrown with thick woods, that I had but a very indistinct sight of them. They appeared to comprehend near thirteen acres of ground, and to consist of strong holds, divided from each other by a ditch of stupendous breadth and depth. A plat, called the
Castle-yard,
stands to the south-west of these, entrenched on all sides but the south-west, comprehending about seven acres, on which, tradition says, a town was situated.
MR.
Morton
informs us, that a vaulted room, formed of squared stones, was discovered in his time, and beneath that another, which falling in accidentally, a smell, resembling that of putrid carcases, issued from it. Two or three, rude sculptures were also discovered among the rubbish.
IT is conjectured that this place was burnt by the
Danes;
for vast masses of cinders, mixed with pebbles and clay, have been found in different parts; and many of the stones had on them the marks of fire
Mr.
Morton,
543.
. There is no account left of the particulars of their ravages; so this rests upon conjecture, as well as the notion of
Ethelfleda
having been founder of this place, among her other great works performed in 913.
ON my return to the great road, about two miles from the place, I visited the church of
Stow-nine-Churches,
STOW-NINE-CHURCHES.
to see the most elegant tomb which this or any other kingdom can boast of; that of
Elizabeth,
fourth daughter of
John
lord
Latimer,
wife, first to Sir
John Danvers,
of
Dantrey, Wiltshire,
and afterwards to Sir
Edmund Cary,
third son of
Henry
lord
Hunsdon.
Her figure is of white marble, lying recumbent on a slab of black. The attitude is the most easy possible, that of one asleep; her head, covered with a loose hood, reclines on a rich cushion. One hand is placed on her breast, the other lies on one side. Round her neck is a quilled ruff. The fashionable stiffness of her embroidered stays is a disadvantage to this elegant sculpture. Her gown flows to her feet in easy folds, and covers them. She lies on a long cloak, lined with ermine, fastened at her neck with rich jewels. At her feet is a
griffin
holding a shield of the family-arms. The whole rests on a white marble altar-tomb, with inscriptions and arms on the sides. After informing us of her parentage, marriages, and children, are these lines:
Sic familia praeclara
Praeclarior prole
Virtute praeclarissima
Aetatis 84,
Anno
Dni. 1630.
Commutavit Saecula; non obiit.
She left three sons and seven daughters by her first husband. Sir
Charles,
the eldest, lost his head through his unfortunate attachment to the ill-fated Earl of
Essex; Henry,
an able warrior, died Earl of
Danby,
full of years and glory; Sir
John
married into the great family of the
Newports,
in
Shropshire.
THIS noble monument was erected by the lady in her lifetime, and was the
chef d'oeuvre
of that great statuary
Nicholas Stone,
master-mason to king
James
and
Charles
I. statuary and stone cutter; so humbly does he stile himself. It appears by a note of his, that,
March
the 16. 1617. I undertook to make a tomb for my lady, mother to Lord
Davers;
which was all of whit marbell & touch
Touch, Pierre de Touch
was a name applied to any black stone which was used for the touching or trying of gold. At length the statuaries bestowed it on all the black marbles, because they were sometimes used for that purpose.
; and I set it up at
Stow of the nine
Churches,
in
Northamptonshire,
som 2 yeare after. One altar tombe: for the which I had 220 li.
Mr. WALPOLE, in the 2d vol. of his
Anecdotes of Painting,
p. 23, informs us, that this able artist was born at
Woodbury,
near
Exeter,
in 1586, and died in
London,
1647. I refer the reader to that elegant performance for a list of his works. Let me add, that the first time I saw this beautiful tomb, it was going fast to decay; but, since that time, has been fully restored, by the care of the worthy
ector and (I think) patron of this church, Doctor
Lloyd.
OPPOSITE to this is a very handsome
cenotaph,
in memory of the Reverend Doctor
Thomas Turner,
born at
Bristol
in 1645, and buried in 1714, in
Corpus Christi
college,
Oxford,
of which he had been president.
HE laid out his great income in acts of hospitality and charity; and on his death, after bequeathing £4000 to his relations and friends, left the rest of his wealth to pious uses. He augmented the stipends of the poorer members of
Ely
cathedral, in which he was prebend: he left £100 to be expended in apprenticing poor children of that city: he left £6000 for improving the buildings of the college he presided over: and finally, left £20,000 to be laid out by his executors in estates and lands, to be settled by them on the governors of the charity for the relief of the poor widows and children, of the clergy. Accordingly they purchased this manor, and other estates here, and at
West Wratling
in
Cambridgeshire,
to the amount of upwards of £1000 a year, and settled them, in 1716, agreeable to his will
Willis's Cathedrals,
ii. 389.
. This manor was purchased from
Edward Hooley,
Esquire, for £16,000; which occasioned the honorable mark of gratitude in this church. It is singular, that
Francis Turner,
bishop of
Ely,
lost his preferments in 1690, for refusing the oaths to
William
and
Mary,
when this gentleman, his brother, had the good fortune to preserve his, without injuring his conscience.
IN 1702, the last year allowed for undergoing the test, he left
London
on the 28th of
July,
and went to
Oxford
with a full resolution to sacrifice all his preferments on the first of
August,
the last day allowed by the act. He wisely made no resignation, well knowing that his refusal would be ample deprivation. Whether he was forgotten, or whether the omission was winked at, does not appear; but he retained all his benefices to his dying day
Bentham's Hist. Ely,
263.
.
THIS charitable divine is placed standing in a graceful attitude, in his master of arts robes, in his own hair, under a canopy supported by two fluted pillars of the
Corinthian
order, of colored marble. On the side of him is Religion, represented by a woman on a celestial globe, with a cross in one, and a font in the other hand. On the last is inscribed
. The doctor stands on a terrestrial globe, with a book in his hand, in which is written
. The account of his various charities is placed on the pediment.
IN a corner of an aile, to make room for this sumptuous monument, was removed the tomb of a cross-legged knight, armed in mail, and partly covered with a surtout. One hand is on his breast, the other on his sword. On an enormous shield, which is belted to his body, is a rude figure of a lion passant guardant, and crowned. He is supposed to be one of the
Gilbert de Gants,
the antient owners. There were five of them. The first was great nephew to the Conqueror; the last died in 1295.
FROM hence I descended to the great road: the country hilly and clayey. The quarries are of a coarse grit stone, often filled with shells, but of too shattery a nature to be used, except in ordinary buildings. A few miles farther is an eminence, called
Forster's Booth,
so named from a booth erected here by one
Forster,
a poor countryman. It grew at length into a scattered street, of several houses and carriers inns, through which runs the
Watling-street
road in a direct line to
Toucester,
four miles distant.
THIS is a pretty considerable town, seated on a plain,
TOUCESTER.
on a small stream called the
Tove,
from which the name is derived;
Toucester,
or the castle on the
Tove.
The great
tumulus
on the east side of the town, points out of the site of the
speculum
or watchtower. The
Roman
coins found in digging about, prove it to have been an appendage to a
Roman
station, whose name has never reached us. The
Saxons
profited of this little fortress, and added the foss which surrounded it. From them it received its present title of the
Bury,
or
Borough,
to which has been since added the double tautology of
Berry Mounthill.
THE
Saxons
called the town
Tofeceastre.
In the time of
Edward
the Elder it was almost ruined by the ravages of the
Danes;
but in 921, the king determined to restore it, and for that purpose detached part of his forces; who, soon after their arrival, were attacked by the
Danes
resident in
Northampton
and
Leicester
Sax. Chr.
107.
; but, assisted by the townsmen, they repelled the barbarians; and
Edward,
in order to prevent future insults, fortified the whole place with a stone wall
Sax. Chr.
108.
. But time hath destroyed every vestige of it.
THIS manor, after various changes, became the property of the famous Sir
Richard Empson,
one of the instruments of the avarice and oppression of
Henry
VII; who, in 1509, lost his head, with
Edmund Dudley,
on
Tower-hill;
perhaps more deservedly than legally.
Empson
had been the son of a sieve-maker in this town: by his great abilities in the profession of the law, he was promoted to the chancellorship of the duchy of
Lancaster;
but by his unbounded submission to the will of his rapacious master, fell a victim, in the next reign, to the demands of an enraged nation. At present, the manor belongs to the Earl of
Pomfret,
who derives it from his ancestor
Richard Fermor,
a merchant of
Calais,
and a younger brother of the antient house of
Fermors,
of
Oxfordshire.
THERE was a church here at the Conquest,
CHURCH.
which was given by the Conqueror to the abbey of St.
Wandragasile,
in
Normandy.
In the present, is nothing remarkable, excepting the tomb of
William Sponne,
archdeacon of
Norfolk,
and rector of this parish in the reign of
Henry
VI. who founded here a college and chantry for two priests to say mass for his soul, and the souls of his friends. At the dissolution, it was worth £19. 6
s.
8
d.
a year
Tanner,
388.
. He was also a great benefactor to the town, and his charities are still felt here, governed by feoffees, consisting of fifteen of the principal inhabitants.
HIS figure is represented recumbent, dressed in a red gown, which reaches round his feet, with ermine hood and sleeves. Beneath is another representation of him after death, with a sunk nose and emaciated body, and all the changes wrought by that fell monster on the human frame.
THE town is supported by the great concourse of passengers, and by a manufacture of lace, and a small one of silk stockings. The first was imported from
Flanders,
and carried on with much success in this place, and still more in the neighboring county of
Buckingham.
I TOOK a walk about a mile east of the town, to see
Easton-Neston,
EASTON-NESTON.
the seat of the Earl
Pomfret.
The wings were built by Sir
Christopher Wren,
in 1682; the center by
Hawkesmore,
about twenty years after, who is said to have departed greatly from the original design. It has nine windows in front, and is enriched with pilasters. The inside has been long since despoiled of its curious portraits and valuable statues: the latter having been presented to the university of
Oxford,
by the late Countess of
Pomfret,
grandaughter to the lord chancellor
Jeffries.
THIS manor was purchased by the same
Richard Fermor,
MANOR.
in 1530, from
Thomas,
son of Sir
Richard Empson.
The antient house stood below the church, in a park inclosed by Sir
Richard,
by licence from
Henry
VII, at the time it came into the possession of Mr.
Fermor.
He lived here with boundless hospitality, till the year 1540, when, for sending 8
d.
and a couple of shirts, to one
Nicholas Thane,
his confessor, then in prison at
Buckingham
for denying the king's supremacy, he incurred the tyrant's displeasure. He fell under a praemunire, and, in his old-age, being stripped of all he had, was forced to live with the parson of,
Wapenham
(whom he had presented); which he did for several years, with consummate piety and resignation
Bridges,
290.
.
THE recovery of part of his fortune was owing to a singular accident. During his prosperous days he kept, as usual in those days, in the establishment of people of rank, a fool or jester: his was the noted
Wil. Sommers,
WIL. SOMMERS.
who, for his drollery, was promoted to the same office under
Henry
VIII. I have a very scarce print of this illustrious personage, by
Delaram,
with all the insignia of his place about him.
Wil.
with a gratitude not frequent at courts, remembered his old master; and in the latter days of
Henry,
when his constitution was weakened by infirmities, took occasion, by some well-timed speech, to awaken the king's conscience; who, touched with a compunction rarely known to him, ordered restitution
Collins's Peerage,
v. 50.
; but died before it could be effected. His pious successor,
Edward
VI. restored to him this manor, that of
Toucester,
and some others of his estates, and added many grants, by way of compensation for the injury done him; but all fell short of the great losses he had sustained from the cruel father. He returned to his house, which he enjoyed only two years, dying in
January
1552-3. He seemed to have a presage of his end; for on the day of his death he had invited a number of his friends and neighbors, took his leave of them, retired to his closet, and was found dead in an attitude of devotion
Ibid.
. His tomb, with his figure in brass, and that of his wife, are still to be seen in the adjacent church.
THERE are,
CHURCH.
besides, several other family-monuments. Sir
John Fermor
(son of
Richard
) and
Maud
his wife, are represented kneeling at a desk, beneath an arch: she is dressed in a great ruff and lappets. He, perhaps out of respect to his father's sufferings in the cause of the see of
Rome,
received the honor of Knight of the Bath at the coronation of queen
Mary.
He died in 1571.
His son Sir
George
lies in alabaster, recumbent and armed, with peaked beard and small whiskers. His wife,
Mary
daughter of
Thomas Curzon,
of
Addington, Bucks,
lies by him, dressed in a gown tied neatly with ribands from top to bottom, a quilled ruff, and great
tete à caleche.
Beneath are represented, kneeling, their seven sons and eight daughters. Above all, is a vast quantity of ornaments, arms,
&c. &c.
This gentleman might, like Sir
Fulk Grevil,
have boasted of being the friend of Sir
Philip Sydney,
having contracted an intimacy with him in the wars in the
Netherlands,
where he served all his youth, under
William
prince of
Orange,
and walked at the funeral of the celebrated
English
hero. He also improved himself by foreign travel; lived at home with vast splendor and hospitality; and, on
June
11, 1603, his house had the honor of being the place of meeting between
James
I. and his queen, on her journey from
Scotland,
to receive her new crown. Here they dined, and were entertained, with all their trains, in a princely manner
Collins, 52.
. He quitted this life in 1612.
SIR
Hatton Fermor,
who with nine other gentlemen were knighted at the above interview, is also buried here. He died of the consequences of a broken leg, in 1620. He and his lady are very elegant figures, placed standing: he armed; in great boots, flapping down; vast whiskers; peaked beard; and, what was not in use at the time of his death, a cravat. It seems the monument was not erected till 1662, when his widow
Anna,
daughter of Sir
William Cockain,
lord mayor of
London,
gave this proof of her affection.
She is dressed in a loose gown, and with long flowing tresses: her hand is on an hour-glass; his on a scroll: between, is a bust of a man in long hair: above, are three most aukward figures of kneeling women. I must not quit the lady, without saying she suffered, with exemplary patience, a long imprisonment and great confiscations, on account of the loyalty of her family; which were rewarded with a peerage in the person of her son Sir
William Fermor.
FROM hence I continued my journey southward, and much of the way near the borders of
Whittlewood,
or
Whittlebury Forest,
WHITTLEBURY FOREST.
which still continues wooded for several miles in length, and of different extents in breadth, in a most deep and clayey country. Much of the timber is cut in rotation, but in parts towards the edge of
Buckinghamshire,
are considerable quantities of good oak. This forest remained in the crown till the year 1685, when
Henry Fitz-roy,
first duke of
Grafton,
was appointed hereditary ranger. The present duke hath an elegant house, called
Wakefield Lodge
Designed by
W. Kent.
, originally built by Mr.
Claypole,
son-in-law to
Oliver Cromwell,
and ranger of the forest. This was one of the five tracts, called walks;
viz. Wakefield, Shelbrook, Hazelbury, Shrob,
and
Hanger.
Fourteen townships are allowed the right of common in the open coppices and ridings, from the principle of justice, that some reparation might be made to them for the damages sustained by the deer. In this great tract here are two lawns,
i. e.
spots inclosed with pales, for pasture for the deer: one is
Wakefield Lawn,
the other
Sholbrook Lawn,
which are secluded from the forest cattle.
THAT fierce animal the wild cat, is still met with in this forest. In the reign of
Richard
I. the abbot and convent of
Peterborough
had a charter for hunting in this place the hare, the fox, and the wild cat; which was confirmed to them, in 1253, by
Henry
III
Morton,
443.
. By these charters, the wild cat should be added to the beasts of forest, or of venerie; which the book of St.
Albans,
and old Sir
Tristram,
in his
worthie Treatise of Hunting,
confined to the hart, the hynde, the hare, the boare, and the wolfe: the hart and hind being separated, because the season of hunting them was different; yet they remain in species still the same. Beasts of the chace (which was an inferior sort of forest) were the buck, the doe, the fox, the martion, and the roe
Manwood's Forest Laws,
39.
.
THE fondness that seized the regular clergy for the pleasures of the chace, did not appear till after the Conquest. The
Saxon
clergy were expressly forbidden the amusement. King
Edgar
directs the priest
to be neither a hunter nor hawker, nor yet a tippler; but to keep close to his books, as becomes a man of his order
Leges Saxon.
86.
.
THE canon law still preserved its severity, and forbad to spiritual persons the amusement of the chace. This probably was rather designed to check what might by the excess estrange them from their sacred function. The common law, from a principle of good sense and humanity, permitted the recreation, from these arguments; that nothing could contribute more effectually to the performance of their duty than good health, resulting from fit exercise; as nothing could disqualify them so greatly as the disorders arising from a sedentary life. This indulgence probably soon ended in abuse. In the twelfth century, we find
Abelard
unhappy in presiding over a monastery of huntsmen.
Chaucer,
as I have before quoted, flings a fine ridicule on the sporting monk. Finally, the chace became so necessary an appendage to the ecclesiastical state, that every see had a number of parks: that of
Norwich,
thirteen; and the sixth mortuary which the king clamed on the death of a prelate, was his kennel of hounds.
PASS by
Potters Pery,
POTTERS PERY.
a village which takes its name from the manufacture of coarse ware, such as flower-pots,
&c.
which has been long carried on here. The clay is yellowish, pure, and firm; yet the pots made with it are very brittle, unless glazed; when they endure the weather as well as any.
THE post-road is still continued the whole way on or near the
Watling-street.
Near
Potters Pery
I quitted it,
PASSENHAM.
through curiosity of visiting
Passenham,
about a mile or two distant, on the banks of the
Ouze,
near this village.
Edward
the Elder encamped here to cover his workmen, who were employed in building the walls of
Toucester
Saxon Chr.
108.
, from being interrupted by the
Danes.
A square entrenchment is supposed to have been cast up by him, and garrisoned for that purpose.
THE church is small,
CHURCH.
and without ailes; dedicated to
Guthlaius,
the saint of the fens. It was rebuilt in 1626, at the sole expence of Sir
Robert Banastre.
This gentleman was lord of the manor; he died in 1649, aged about eighty. His figure is a halflength, with a book in his hand, placed against the wall. His epitaph informs us, that he was born at
Wem,
in
Shropshire;
that he was bred at court, and served three princes; that he had three wives, and by the last an only daughter, who conveyed the estate, by marriage with
William
lord
Maynard,
into that family; a younger branch of which possesses it, as I apprehend, at present.
I REGAINED the great road, and passed through the hamlet of
Old Stratford,
seated on rich meadows,
OLD STRATFORD.
watered by the
Ouze'
which rises in this county, not remote from
Brackly.
This place is reasonably supposed to have been the
Lactodorum,
or
Lactorodum,
of the
Itinerary,
as the distance suits extremely well, and
Roman
coins have been found in the neighboring fields. Antiquaries derive it from
Llech dwr,
and
Llech rhyd:
one signifying the stone on the water; the other, the stone on the ford
See
Gale,
60, and
Burton,
144.
: a name bestowed on it by the
Britons,
probably because the bank of the river was marked by a military stone on this great military way. I here cross the river into BUCKINGHAMSHIRE; which, with
Bedfordshire
and
Hertfordshire,
formed the country of the
Catticuchlani.
The present name is, according to Mr.
Cambden,
taken from the quantity of beeches found in parts of it; a word derived from the
Saxon bucken.
Two arguments serve to confirm the assertion of
Caesar,
that this tree was not found in
Britain
at the time of his invasion: one is, that the woods of it are merely local, and confined to a very few of our southern counties: the other is, that the
Britons
had no name for it, but
what they derived from the
Latin fagus;
for they stiled it, as we do still,
Ffawydden,
and
Pren ffawydd.
ON crossing the
Ouze
I entered
Stoney Stratford,
STONEY STRATFORD.
a town built on each side of the
Watling-street.
It suffered greatly by fire on
May
the 19th, 1742, which almost destroyed the whole place; but it was soon restored by the vigour of
English
charity. One church (that of St.
Giles
) has never been rebuilt; the body of the other (St.
Magdalene
's) is restored in a very handsome manner, by Mr.
Irons,
architect in
Warwick,
and, I suppose, enlarged sufficiently to supply the want of the other. St.
Giles
's had been a chantry, valued at £20. 2
s.
6
d.
a year; and was at the time of its ruin a curacy: St.
Magdalene
's was a chapel belonging to
Wolverton,
but now in the presentation of the parishioners.
MY journey was continued along the
Street
road to the 47th stone,
BLECHELEY CHURCH.
where, tempted by the same of certain monuments in
Blecheley
church, I digressed about a mile and a quarter to the right. I found there a very fine alabaster tomb of
Richard
lord
Grey
of
Wilton,
TOMB OF LORD GREY.
restored by the celebrated antiquarian
Brown Willis,
Esquire, who added an inscription, and in the front the arms. From the former we find, that besides
Richard,
his son
Reginald,
who died
February
22, 1493; and his great granson
Edmund,
who died
Water-hall,
on
May
6th 1611; were interred here.
THIS
Richard
lord
Grey,
by will, dated at
Blecheley, August
12, 1442, bequeaths his body to be buried in the church of the
B. V. Mary
of
Blecheley;
and directs his executors to find a priest, for four years, to perform divine service in the said church for his soul; and that they make a tomb of alabaster or marble, according to his state and degree. He bequeaths to the lady
Margaret
his wife, his mano
of
B
y-hall,
in
Essex,
for life. The residue of his lands and goods he gives to his executors, to dispo
e of for the health of his soul;
viz.
the lady
Margaret Grey,
Darcy,
Esquire.
John
ethal,
Esquire,
Roger Eton Clere,
rector of
Blecheley,
and
William Barker
H
will,
ated
Aug
. 442. Mr.
Cole
's MSS.
.
THE tomb is of alabaster: his figure is armed, his hair cropt, his face without a beard; round his neck is a collar of SS, and round the lower part of his armour is another collar of jewels, in the midst of which is a small shield with the cross St.
George;
for he was made Knight of the Garter by
Richard
II. On the fingers of his left hand are not fewer than six rings.
NOTWITHSTANDING it may be thought tedious to many, yet I cannot forbear describing two monuments, full of the fashionable
blem, p
n, and quibble of the times. The first is in memory of THOMAS SPARKE, S. See .
Theol. Dr.
le
er bujus eccle. reb
or vi
issimus,
DR. SPARKE.
as inscribed round the oval that contains his figure. A little altar with sparkling flames is placed near his name. The monument is a small but extremely neat one of brass set in a white marble frame: on the top is the crest, a
demi
albot
rampant, studded with
orteauxes, and
sparks
of fire issuing from his mouth
on the brass is finely engraven an altar-tomb, on the ta
e of which is an urn, with
sparks
issuing from the mouth; and on the
elly is written
Non extincta, sepulta licet;
S
i
tilla
favilla est.
ON the
side of the urn stands
Death,
in
rm of a skeleton,
a spade, on the flat part of which, going to cover the mouth of the urn, is wrote
Mors teg
;
and an angel in the he heavens founding a trumpet, from the end of which issues these words,
Retege
untius is
e
;
and on a s
r
, in the same ha
is written,
Is
a cadu
ro
est:
just above which, in the other hand of the angel, is a fresh-blown rose, inscribed
Sed
,
about the angel's head, and in the clouds, are several sta
and quite at top is written,
Qu
ultos ad just
m,
s
ell
semper spl
ndebunt.
, with her usual attributes of ears, eyes, and tongue
blowing a trumpet, stanos on the other side of the urn. On each side of her are two scrolls: o
one
s▪
Vindex fam
li
ros sa
a
l to
lit ab ur
a.
on the other,
Si
S
ntilla
micat quem tegit atra cinis.
Fame
holds in one hand a book, near the mouth of the
on which is written
Funer
Sermons.
On other books, scat
about are inscribed,
A Persuasive to Conformity; A comfort
reatise for a troubled
, Motives to Qu. Elizabeth for Successor, A Treatise of Ca
chising; A Confutation of J. Albin
word
out of the mouth of the trumpet,
The high way to Heaven.
Th
were the works of the Doctor, who was a most famous contro
ia
ut, in the reign
of
Elizabeth
and
I. He is engraven
front of the tomb, a half-lenght, in gown, cassock, scarf, scull-
ruff, and square beard. On each side of him is a shield: on o
is
:
on the other,
a nostr
sunt spiritual
.
side of the figure are three clergymen in their habits,
with a church o
each; and beyond them two women in high crowned hats. These five were h
s children, whom he ad
es,
Filioli cavete vobis ab idolis;
and above their heads are
lines:
Bis geniti, retinete, fidem zelumque paternum:
Hoeredis vestri sic dece
esse patris
Sic dece
, O mea tun
quam molli
er ossa cubabunt
Si licet in natis sic superesse meis:
Scintillam S
tilla
meam si vestra sequetur
Orba sua flamma mor
erit ara Dei.
the other side of his picture are represented his parishioners,
these verses:
sacra in populo signatur epistola
Paul
Sic mea in h
sancto lucet imago grege.
Co
poris in
abula datur imperfecta; sed ill
Cordi
us in vestris viva figura mei e
t.
Viva mei, dixi, CHRISTI a
sit vera figura;
S
mini si populus vera figura Dei.
Doctor died in 1616; his wife the year before. Luckily,
was
Rose;
which afforded fresh matter of allusions.
Sixty-eight years a fragrant ROSE she lasted:
No vile reproach her virtues ever blasted.
Her autumn past, expects a glorious spring,
A
ond better life, more flourishing.
is in memory of Mrs
Fa
h Taylor,
wife of Mr.
, minister of the parish, with many pretty sportings
Fa
th;
but the dulness of this species of epitaph has
me, as I fear it has the reader, that I dare not venture on the transcript of
hat was probably
uch admired at the p
of
.
I
I got into
great road at
Fenny Stratfford,
FENNY
.
from its
The chapel, which is in the par
s
as
at the expence of Mr.
His
was nea
the church
for the works of his own hands, he
the Reverend Mr.
William Cole,
the
of the parish, the following inscription; which Mr.
Cole
was requested to
to be inscribed on a white marble stone
i
cered with
ck, to be laid over him in this chapel.
W
l
s,
antiquarius
The Wil
berri
Sancti
A. D. 1675
est.
. Anno Domini 1760.
Aetatis
uae
8.
O
Chris
e
Seter e
J
ex,
ecatorum primo
M
ereco
et propitius esto.
ON the
are the
of all benefactors of ten pounds
upwards The chapel had been originally a chantry
ct
.
.
.
was dedicated to St.
Martin,
out of respect
who happened to die on that day. The same
physician first made a settlement in this parish, by the purchase of the manor of
Blecheley,
and that of
Fenny Stratford,
from the
George Villiers
duke of
Buckingham.
FROM hence I kept a gentle ascent to
Little B
ckhill,
seated on the sleep of a long range of sand-hills, divided by pleasant
dingles, which extend for a considerable way, and form a any frontier at this end of the county. Very soon after my
age over them, I entered the county of BEDFORD,
keep as far as
Dunstable
on the
Wa
ling-street,
which goes di
to this town. In the beginning it crosses a most undula
ed
. On the right are the woods and park of
Battlesdon,
a seat
rs.
Page.
In the bottom go through
Hockley in the Hole;
HOCKLEY.
range of houses, mostly inns, built on each side of the
The
English
rage of novelty is strongly tempted by one sa
publican, who informs us on his sign, of news-papers
to be seen at his house
every day
in the week.
, place, whose proper name is
Occleie,
or
Hockeliff,
HOCKELIFF.
was
, with a master and several brethren, dedicated to
Baptist
,
8.
. In 1
83 here was a
eudal of quarrel, between
of the priory of
D
nstaple
and those of
William de
,
a potent baron; in which one
John
the Smith was
on the side of the priory, and
Thomas Musta
a,
a fierce
o
the other
Danstaple
. 48.
. In old times, these were very frequent,
fatal: men were always formed into
rties, and ready to
rsue the most bloody ends on the most trivial occasions.
TWO miles farther,
I reached the foot of
Chalkhill,
formerly of a tremendous steepness, and the terror of country passengers; at present formed into an easy ascent. This is the first specimen the traveller
with of the great chalky str
um which intersect
the kingdom. A lint drawn from
Dorchester,
in the county of
Dorset,
to the county of
Norfolk,
would include all the chalky be
of the kingdom; for none is found in any quantity to the west of that line. This earth was of great estimation, and an article of comm
ce in the times of the
Romans.
The workers in it ha
their goddess
Nehele
nia,
who presided over it. To her
we find this votive altar,
DEAE NEHELENNIAE.
O
merce
ite conservata
M. secundus
Negetor Cretarius
Brit
nni
ianus
.
L. M.
AFTER descending the
ll,
I turned about half a mile out of
to visit
M
e
'
Bower,
a very large
Danish
camp of
, surrounded with a great rampart with a ditch
side
on a plain with a portion verging towards a
. Its history is unknown, yet mer
ts a
the
of the
nes
are not very common
.
,
enter
Dunstable,
a long town,
side of the
Wa
ling street,
and intersected in the midd
e
I
nield-street.
This town had been the
Magiovinum,
or
Magi
,
of the
Itinerary:
and probably had four
port
,
answerable
the great
oads. The
Icknield-street
issues out on the north side of the church. Antiquarians derive the name, very properly, from
Maes Gwyn,
or the wh
e field, from the color of the chalky
.
Roman
money has been found about the place, which the country people call
ma
ing money:
which, as Dr.
Stukely
observes,
have no reference to
Maiden's Bower,
which belonged to another people. But on a hill, called
Castle-hill,
about half a mile well of it, is a
Roman
camp: within which, near one end, is a
mount, very hollow in the top; and near the outside of one of the ramparts is a deep hole, probably the place of the draw
. The whole stands on a
t
ep promontory, projecting west
.
was certainly occupied by the
Saxons,
after the de
of the
Romans.
We can indeed only argue from the pre
Du
-Staple,
the mart near the hill. We cannot allow
sh
gend, that it was called
Dun's Stable,
or the stable
of that name. It probably was a waste at the time
Conquest, as many places were, and might become a har
, by reason of the woods with which the country
. This determined
Henry
I. to colonize the spot;
that purpose, he encouraged people by proclamation to
and, in order to destroy the shelter which the forest
, directed the woods to be grubbed up. He also
oyal palace, called
Kingsbury
Stow,
136.
Dugdale M
nast.
ii.
3
.
, which stood near the
and whose site is now occupied by a farm-house. Here he kept his
Christmas
in 1123, with his whole court, and received at the same time the embassy from the earl of
Anjou
22
Antiq Ex
.
.
. He ma
the town a borough, bestowed o
it a fair and a market, and various other privileges; particularly, that the inhabitants should not be
to be called before the
iner
t justices, but that
causes should be determined by the justices of the king,
a jury of twe
ve of the burgesses
Dugdale M
nast
. He kept the town
in
is own hands, and then bestowed it, with all
priveleges (re
r
ng only his royal residence) on the priory,
founded here some time after the year 1
31, for black
honor of St.
Peter.
At the time of the dissolution, here
prio
and twelve canons, whose revenues, according to
were £344. 13
s.
3
d.
a year: to
Speed,
£40
. 14
s.
7
d.
THE last prior
rv
se Markham,
who, with his canon
scribes to the king's supremacy in 1534; and on the dissolution
had a pension of sixty pounds a year for life. His reward was the greater, as his conven
was the residence of the commi
for carrying on the divorce between
Henry
VIII. and
Catharine
of
Arragon;
in which he took an active part
,
ii. 2.
. The unfortunate princess at that time resided at
Ampthill.
neighborhood.
THE church,
CHURCH.
and an arch in the wall adjoining, are the only
mains of the prio
. The front of the church is singular,
a gallery d
vided
y c
rved gothic arches: a great door with round arch richly c
rved with scrolls and ovals, including
figures.
pitals of the pillars cut into grotesque forms. The lesser door is gothic, richly ornamented with nail heads. Between both doors is a row of false arches interlaced; the co
consist of very singular greater and lesser joints, placed alternate, not unlike one species of the fossils called
en
.
THE steeple is attached to one side of the front, and has two
of niches,
STEEPLE.
now deprived of their statues. Formerly
towe
corresponded with this: both fell down in
and destroyed the prior's hall and part of the church
de D
nstable,
i. 126.
.
body was rebuilt in 1273, by the parishioners; but one
Ch
de
went to the greatest expence
The same, 417.
. The inside of the church is supported with six round arches, all plain except one: the windows above are also round at the
op. Either the date
the rebuilding is wrong, or the
Saxon
or round-arched mode and have continued longer than is generally allowed.
THE church had been originally in form of a cross, with a
the center. Two of the vast pillars which supported it
to be seen at the east end.
ABOVE the altar in a large and handsome painting of the Last
pper; which, with
plate and
ch pulpit-cloth, were
two maiden sisters, of the name of
Carter.
I
ITTED in its place a visit made to the priory by
Henry
III.
family; when the monks presented the king with a gilt
and the queen with another; and gave his son
Edward
and daughter
Margaret
a gold clasp apiece. In return, the royal vi
bestowed on the church eight pieces of silk; and the king
for the making of a thuribule and a pix
The same, 277.
.
I
with some a
i
nt tombs,
dated between the years 1400 and 1500▪ but none of dignity sufficient to be mentioned. Sir
's
amous pedigree-book has preserved one, in memory of
William M
ls
and his wife
. Both are dressed in their
their
and in the
titule of pr
ver. At their feet
group of
, another of seven daughters. The
of th
four evangelists are placed at the corners.
etween their
eet were these lines:
scciavit et
Ali
.
ors gener
li
:
hic
atos
binos, De
s
cle
e
s
THIS gentleman was
, in the county of
Northhamp
The name of the
,
Marmore.
This seems to have been
hem
celebrates for having three times, three children
, and twice five children
British
,
p. 110.
I suppose they must
by
and h
band; for the pedigree gives her but
P. 42.
.
BESIDES the religious house, was one of friars preachers, who
ttled here about 1
59. It was valued only at £4. 18
s.
4
d;
and at the dissolution its site was granted to Sir
William Herbert.
These brethren as the Chronicle says, came sorely against the will of the
; but by their interest with
queen, and courtiers, got leave to stay here.
Chr.
. It seems the inhabitants of the priory did not like such insinuating interlopers as
Chaucer
describes this order to have been, who were sure to win all the penitent males and females.
Ful swetely herde he confession,
And plesant was his absolution.
HERE was a house or hospital for lepers. Whether it was the same with that marked at the post-house, a mile west of the town, in the new map, I cannot determine.
THE schools here were probably considerable; for I find the quarrels between the scholars and the townsmen important enough to be mentioned in the Chronicle.
THIS town is now supported chiefly by the great passage of travellers. A small neat manufacture of straw hats, and baskets, and toys, maintains many of the poor. In old time the breweries raised many of the inhabitants to great wealth. We are told by
Hollinshed
of one
William Murlie,
an eminent brewer in this town, who fallied out in the time of
Henry
V. to join the foolish insurrection of the
Lollards,
near
London,
followed with two led horses with gilt trappings. He also took with him a pair of gilt spurs, ready to wear on his receiving from lord
Cobham
the honor of knighthood
Hollinshed,
p. 544.
; but had the hard luck to be taken and hung, with them about his neck.
ABOUT four miles from
Dunstable
I passed by
Market Cell,
MARKET CELL.
at present a gentleman's seat; formerly a nunnery of
Benedictines,
dedicated to the Holy Trinity of the Wood. Legend ascribes its origin to
Roger,
a monk of St.
Alban,
who, on his return from
Jerusalem,
led here an eremetical life; and, taking under his care
Christina,
a rich virgin of
Huntingdon,
inspired her with the same contempt of the world. She succeeded to his cell, and many temptations resisted, many divine visions visited by, and many miracles wrought in her favor
Dugdale Monast.
i. 350, &c. &c.
. She was patronized by
Geoffry,
elected abbot of St.
Albans
in 1119, who built and endowed a house, and constituted
Christina
first abbess. The site of some adjoining lands were the gift of the dean and chapter of Saint
Paul
Ibid. ii. 872.
; but the rest of the pious work resulted solely from the abbot, who twice rebuilt the same, after it had suffered by fire
Mathew Paris,
1013.
: but
Mathew Paris
complains, that all this was done at the expence of the convent of St.
Albans,
and even without its consent
The same.
, to the great injury of the church. In the time of
Henry
VIII.
Humphry Boucher
Leland Itin,
i. 116.
,
base sunne to the late
Berners,
did much coste in translating of the priory into a maner place;
i. e.
converting it into a mansion for himself, but left it unfinished. It probably was granted to him; but it afterwards was bestowed by
Edward
VI. on
George Ferrers
Tanner,
4.
. At the dissolution it was valued by
Dugdale
at £.114. 16
s.
1
d.
a year; by
Speed
at £.143. 18
s.
3
d.
IT appears that these religious were grievously oppressed by a neighboring knight; of whom they complained in certain lines too ludicrous to be inserted
See
Weever,
585.
. Whether they got any redress does not appear.
AFTER passing through the village of the same name, built on each side of the
Watling-street
road, I entered the county of HERTFORD; and near the twenty-eighth mile-stone leave on the right
Flamsted,
FLAMSTED.
where stood a small priory of
Benedictine
nuns, founded in the time of king
Stephen,
by
Roger de Tonei.
The manor had been granted by the Conqueror to
Ralph de Tonei.
His predecessor was a
Saxon
knight, called
Thurnoth,
who, with the true spirit of the times, engaged with thirteen soldiers,
Waldef,
and
Thurman,
to protect all passengers from the thieves and wild beasts which then infested the road; and in time of war, to protect the church of St.
Albans
with all their might.
Leofftan,
abbot of that convent in the time of the Confessor, facilitated the undertaking, by cutting down the great woods on the side of the
Watling-street,
which gave shelter to robbers. He bestowed on
Thurnoth
this manor; who, in return, presented
Leofftan
with five ounces of gold and a fair palfrey.
Thurnoth,
at the Conquest, resisted the power of the
Norman
invader; who bestowed it on
de Tonei;
who directed that the same services should be strictly performed to the abbey
Chauncy,
432, who by mistake calls this
De Tonei, Roger;
but in page 565 gives him his right name.
.
ABOUT three miles further, go through
Redburn,
a small town,
REDBURN.
built like the former, on each side of the antient road. At this place was discovered the bones of St.
Amphibalus,
the noble
Briton,
who lodging at the house of St.
Alban,
at
Verulam,
proved the means of his conversion. In the
Dioclesian
persecution he was diligently sought after; but St.
Alban,
generously determined not to give up his guest, promoted his escape by putting on his preceptor's cloak, and suffering himself to be seized by the soldiers in his stead
Bede de Br. Eccl.
539.
.
Amphibalus
for a time evaded their fury; but was at length seized, and underwent a most cruel death
Weever's Fun. Mon.
585.
, on the spot on which his pious convert was martyred. The Christians stole the body, and gave it a private interment at this place. In 1178, the reliques were removed to St.
Albans,
enshrined near those of his fellow-sufferer; and a prior and three monks, with 20
s.
a year, were appointed guardians of the sacred deposit. I am sorry to find, that, after all, the very existence of this Saint is doubted; for there are some who believe that the Saint was no more than an
amphibalus,
a long cloak, which St.
Alban,
before he went to execution, threw about him; which being at length personified, was canonized, and received into the Kalendar
Usher de Br. Eccl.
539.
.
A CELL, consisting of a prior and a few
Benedictines
from St.
Albans,
was placed here. It was dedicated to St.
Amphibalus
and his companions, and was inhabited before 1195. After the dissolution, it was, with the manor, granted to
John Cork
Tanner,
185.
.
THE present great road, a little beyond this place quits the
Watling-street,
which runs direct on the right to
Verulanium.
The former can boast of no great extent of view, but is bounded by beautiful risings varied with woods, and inclosures dressed with a garden-like elegance. The common soil is almost covered with flints: the stratum beneath is chalk, which is used for a manure.
CHALK.
Pliny
describes this
British
earth under the title of
Creta argentaria;
and adds
petitur ex alto in centenos pedes actis puteis ore angustatis: intus ut in metallis spatiante vena, hac maxime
Britannia
utitur
Lib. xvii. c. 8.
. This very method is used in the county at present. The farmer sinks a pit, and (in the terms of a miner) drives out on all sides, leaving a sufficient roof, and draws up the chalk in buckets, through a narrow mouth.
Pliny
informs us, in his remarks on the
British
marls then, that they will last eighty years; and that there is not an example of any person being obliged to marl his land twice in his life
The same.
. An experienced farmer, whom I met with in
Hertfordshire,
assured me, that he had about thirty years before made use of this manure on a field of his, and that, should he live to the period mentioned by the
Roman
naturalist, he thought he should not have occasion of a repetition.
THIS bottom is watered by the small stream of the
Verlume, Ver,
or
Mure;
which rises at
Rowbeach,
beyond
Market-street;
flows by
Flamsted, Redburn,
and St.
Albans;
and loses itself and name in the
Coln,
a little N. E. of
Colney-street.
ABOUT a mile and a half from St.
Albans
I turned out of the road to the right, to visit
Gorhambury,
GORHAMBURY.
the venerable seat of that glory of our country Sir
Francis Bacon
viscount
Verulam.
His matchless talents, his deplorable weaknesses, and his merited fall, have been the subjects of so many able pens, that it would be a presumption in me to enter into a detail either of his life or works. I shall prefer giving an account of the place, and perhaps touch accidentally on what may relate to one whom Mr. WALPOLE justly stiles
The Prophet of Arts,
which
Newton
was sent afterwards to reveal.
THIS manor was, from very antient times, part of the lands of the abbey of St.
Albans:
the original name is not delivered to us; that which it has at present was derived from
Robert de Gorham,
elected abbot of the house in 1151. Mr.
Salmon
conjectures, that he might have built here a villa
Salmon Hist. Hertf.
83.
Chauncy,
464.
: a luxury not unfrequent with the abbots of the richer houses. In 1540,
Henry
VIII. made a grant of it to
Ralph,
afterwards Sir
Ralph Rowlet;
who sold it to Sir
Nicholas Bacon,
the worthy and able lord keeper, and father of the great lord
Verulam.
The elegance of his taste was apparent in his buildings; which confirm the observation of
Lloyd
i. 356.
, that "his use of learned artists was continual." To him we are indebted for
Redgrave
in
Suffolk,
and the seat in question. In both he adhered to his rational motto,
Mediocria Firma.
He is said to have departed a little from it in the instance of
Redgrave,
but not till after his royal mistress, who honored him with a visit there, told him,
You have made your house too little for your lordship.
'No, madam,' replied he;
but your highness has made me too big for the house.
But after this, he added the wings
Collin's Barouets,
i.
.
GORHAMBURY.
Some lines ove
the statue of
Orpheus,
that once stood on the en
into the orchard; shew what a waste the place was before
possessed by this great man.
Horrida nuper eram aspectu Intebraequ
serarum;
Ruricolis tantum numinibusque locus.
Edomitor fausto hic dum forte superveni
Orph
us,
Ul
e
ius qui me no
finit esse rudem:
cat avulsis virgulta vi
e
tia truncis:
E
sedem quae vel diis placuisse potest.
Si
qu
mei cultor, sic est
cultus et
Orpheu
:
Floreat O noster cultus amorque diu.
ouse (no longer
,
W
.
but to re
phered on the walls,
illustrious antients
.
W
.
58
.
This room seemed to
favorite summer-room of the
for the enjoyment
from the
of his house
Lib. ii.
. Mo
between the villas of the
countrymen This building,
ble gal
placed at different
to mind many parts of the villa,
owner.
over the
-piece is
II.
Most of the others
of
beginning of the last century.
of the
of his or any age appears
who succeeded his brother
Anthony
Much is said of his depravity
of his a
sawing after his fa
I look or the la
part of his
as the period to
with greatest dignity. That soul which
beneath the temptation of corruption, ar
by d
and superior to obloquy. He passed
Lib.
. 17.
days in labors which have made him the admiration of succeedings times. He was then disengaged from business, which
d his
nius, and was supported (notwithstanding assertion,
me contrary) by a great pension (£1800 2 year) which
d him to purpose his studies at c
, removed from every
of the embarrassments of poverty.
His portait is a full-length, by
Varsomer,
dressed In his than
's robes.
HERE is besides, in one of the room, another portrait of
and a bust of him while a child. N
him is his accom
kinsman his half-brother Sir
Natha
B
,
SIR NATH BACON
Knight of
, leaning back in
chair, in a g
laced, yel
kings, a dog by him, and
ord and pallet hung up. In the art of paintings none," says
P
,
"des
more respect and admiration than Master
N
Bacon,
of
Brome
,
not inferior, in my judgment, to our sk
ullest
He improved his ta
by travelling into
Italy;.
in this home, as a proof of the excellency of his persor
, this por
, and a most beautiful one of a cook, a perfect with an old game-keeper: behind is a variety of dead
particular a swan, whose plumage is expressed with
le
o
ness and gloss.
In the house is a half-length of a beautiful woman reading,
Melancholy Cock;
perhaps the same with the former.
who,
COUNTERS OF SUFFOLK.
like lord
,
Gentlemen,
Mr.
Walp
le's
Painting,
i. 163, where the
is engraven.
fell under the charge of cor
should have been placed next to him In the room is a fine ful-length of the countess of
Suffolk,
daughter of Sir
Henry
word,
and wife to the lord tre
. She is dressed in whi
,
in a great
,
b
exposed: her waist show and swelings, for she was
prolis
. This lady had un
and was extrem
to in
varics, and took bribes from
. Sir
ran
Ba
,
in
in the star-chamber against her husband, wittily compares her to an exchange wo
, who kept her shop, while S
John Bingley,
a
of the Exchequer, and a tool of her's, cried
Her beauty was remarkable, and I fear the made a bad use of her charms. "Lady
," says the famous
Anne C
,
in the d
ary, under the year 1019,
had good face of
, which spoiled that good face of
had bought to other much misery, and to herself gre
is,
ch
in much unhappiness.
A
of
T
duke of
Norfolk,
is a bonnet, so
of the Garter, and a where rod: an unfor
, who through weakness and ambition, aspired to be husband to the
queen of
Scots,
and for that, and his practice for her
ead in 1572.
A
Thomas Wentwort
and of
Clev
,
at the creation of
Henry
prince of W
. He
, with a red
, turnover, and yellow hair. He was
p
or the guard to
Charles
a distinguished
the Restor
, and enjoyed his for m
.
COUNTESS OF SUFFOLK.
A REMARKABLE picture of Sir
Thomas Meautys,
SIR THO. MEAUTYS.
secretary to lord
Verulam.
His dress confirms the account of the choice he made of his servants, whom he selected from the young, the prodigal, and expensive
Wilson,
159.
. Sir
Thomas
makes a most finical appearance: his habit elegant: has on a sash, a hat with a white feather, laced turnover, a long love-lock extended on his left arm, an ear-ring in one ear, a spear in the other, and brown boots. Thus he is represented as a smart office-clerk, walking in his new-acquired park; for he was clerk of the privy council to two kings: and got possession of
Gorhambury
from his master, who conveyed it to him on foreseeing his fall. Like a grateful servant,
Meautys
erected a handsome monument to him in a neighboring church, more to shew his respect, than from any necessity of endeavouring to preserve the memory of one self-immortalized.
FROM the heirs of Sir
Thomas Meautys,
SIR HARBOTTLE GRIMSTON.
this place passed by sale to Sir
Harbottle Grimston,
Baronet; whose portrait is here at full length, in black, with a turnover and black coif, leaning on a slab. On the picture is this motto,
Nec pudet vivere, nec piget mori.
This gentleman was one of those worthy persons who set out with a view of reforming the abuses of the arbitrary court of
Charles
I. but whose moderation and good sense made them oppose their own party, when it attempted measures subversive of the constitution: in consequence, he, with several others, were excluded the house. In 1656, he was elected one of
Cromwell
's parlement; but not being approved by the slavish council of the usurper, was laid aside. He was active in promoting the Restoration; was chosen speaker of the parlement; was rewarded with the mastership of the Rolls, and died in great reputation, at the age of ninety, in 1683
Here is another portrait of him, in his robes, as master of the Rolls.
.
IN the same room is a head of Mr.
Chiffinch;
MR. CHIFFINCH.
a beautiful picture of
Catharine,
queen to
Charles
II. in the character of St.
Catharine;
and a fine half-length of St.
Augustine.
IN the dining-parlour is a piece containing the portrait of
Algernon
earl of
Northumberland,
ALGERNON EARL OF NORTHUMBERLAND.
in black, standing: his lady, in blue, sitting, and a child by them. This generous peer stepped forward in the cause of liberty, in the beginning of the troubles of
Charles
I. while he held the post of lord high admiral: a post he was displaced from by the popular party, by reason of his moderation; which they suspected would be a check to their unreasonable views. He was constantly a mediating commissioner in all treaties on the side of the parlement; in which he behaved with dignity, spirit, and integrity. He was appointed governor of the king's children while they were separated from him, and behaved to them with respect and affection. He joined with opposing the ordonnance for the trial of his master; and, after his death, retired to
Petworth,
and took no part with the usurping powers. He joined heartily in the Restoration; but, like a true friend to his country, wished for it on terms of security to the people, and advantage for the nation. He received from the restored king honors suited to his rank, and enjoyed them till his death, in 1668.
OVER the chimney-piece is a half-length of Sir
Edward Grimston,
SIR EDW. GRIMSTON.
in black, a bonnet, and lawn ruff, by
Holbein.
Its date is 1548, aet. 20. On one side are these verses:
The life that nature sends, death soon destroyeth,
And momentarie is that life's remembrance;
The seeminge life which peaceful art supplieth
Is but a shadow, though life's perfect semblans:
But that trewe life which virtue doth restore,
Is life indeed; and lasteth evermore.
THIS gentleman was comptroller at
Calais,
at the time it was taken by the duke
de Guise
in 1558. He had frequently wrote to the ministry, to inform them how ill provided it was against a siege. His remonstrance was neglected; but when the place was lost, the
English
government permitted him to remain prisoner, for fear of his complaints. The
French
demanded, as the price of his ransom, a large estate he had purchased about
Calais;
but he preferred captivity rather than injure his family. He suffered a long and rigorous imprisonment in the
Bastile:
at length escaped to
England,
and was honorably acquitted of any thing that could be laid to his charge
Lodge's Irish Peerage,
iii. 267.
. He lived to the great age of ninety-eight. Another portrait shews his figure at that of eighty-one, with a skull in his hand, and white bushy beard.
SIR
Samuel Grimston,
in a long wig and laced cravat.
SIR SAMUEL GRIMSTON.
He had rendered himself so obnoxious to
James
II. as to be excepted out of an act of grace, when that prince meditated a descent, 1692.
HIS two wives, lady
Anne Tufton,
and lady
Elizabeth Finch,
HIS TWO WIVES.
the last, daughter of lord chancellor the earl
Nottingham;
whose portrait is also here,
EARL OF NOTTINGHAM.
dressed in black robes.
IN the great drawing-room is the portrait of lady
How,
LADY HOW.
with white long hair, daughter to Sir
Harbottle Grimston,
and wife of Sir
John How,
of
Wiltshire.
SIR
Herbottle Luckyn,
SIR HARBOTTLE LUCKYN.
Baronet, in a blue coat, long white wig, and breast-plate; a castle at a distance. His granfather, by the marriage with
Mary,
eldest daughter of Sir
Harbottle Grimston,
brought the estate into his family; which changed its name for that of his lady.
A HEAD of
Thomas Howard,
THOMAS EARL OF ARUNDEL.
the virtuoso earl of
Arundel;
who, by much residence in foreign parts, acquired a thorough contempt for his own country. Filled with family-pride, he was sent to the Tower for a contempt shewn in the house to a nobleman less highly born than himself: yet on the breaking out of the troubles of his royal master,
Charles
I. he shewed a great want of true spirit, consulting his own safety and ease, rather than to risque them by siding with either party. He quitted
England,
for which, as lord
Clarendon
says, he had little other affection than as he had a great share in it, in which, like a great leviathan, he might sport himself. He was a man of a noble presence, and affected a plain garb. He accordingly is here dressed in a dark habit, robed with fur. His countenance corresponds to the description: his hair short, and his beard bushy: his turnover plain; and the only ornament is the pendent order of the Garter.
IN the turret-room is the fine picture of the cook, by Sir
Nathaniel Bacon.
THE great gallery is a magnificent room,
GALLERY.
a hundred and thirty feet long, and nineteen wide; the roof wooden, richly gilt, and painted, and the sides filled with full-length portraits of the great cotemporaries with its illustrious owner lord
Verulam.
They are indeed all copies; but copies taken during the lives of the personages represented.
His peaceful master
James,
is drawn in inconsistent armour,
JAMES I.
black and gold, with each foot on a rock. Above him,
Jam tu
tenditque sovetque.
beneath,
Jacobus
unitor
Britanniae,
plantator
Hiberniae,
conditor imperii
Atlantici.
The last, I fear, a piece of the characteristic adulation of the chancellor.
NEAR him are two monarchs, not in fact coeval with
Bacon,
but placed here from the admiration he had of their abilities, in extending their dominions to the
Indies.
By
Emanuel
king of
Portugal,
EMANUEL KING OF PORTUGAL.
he pointed out the advantage of commerce, received by the discovery of the new passage to
India
under his auspices, by
Vasco di Gama:
by
Ferdinand
V. he points out the discovery of
America
by
Columbus.
FERDINAND OF SPAIN.
The first monarch he calls
Conditor imperii Europae super Indias orientales;
the other,
Super Indias occidentales.
Each of these princes are represented knee-deep in water: but I suppose, by the situation of his cautious master, he would shew he had too much prudence to wet his feet.
IT is to no purpose to preserve the present order of portraits, in a house unhappily devoted to demolition. I shall therefore, at lest in this part of it, give a chronological series; out of which the noble owner may, if he pleases, give, in the succeeding edifice, an interesting history of past times, in the lively representation of the great actors of a great period.
Ludovic Stuart
duke of
Richmond
and
Lenox,
LUDOVIC DUKE OF RICHMOND.
and earl of
Newcastle,
properly follows his prince and relation. He is dressed in his robes, a bonnet with a white feather: the George and a white rod are other appendages; the last, as lord high steward of the houshold. He was also high chamberlain, and admiral of
Scotland,
and was sent ambassador to
France
Crawford's Peerage Scot.
262.
before the accession of his royal master to the
English
throne. He was a most deserved favorite, and supported himself with such true dignity, that, as
Wilson
expresses it,
the king, as it were, wanting one of his limbs to support the grandeur of majesty at the first meeting of parlement, in 1623, sent for him with great earnestness,
and received, by the return of the messenger, the melancholy news of his being found dead in bed, after going to rest in the fullest health
Wilson,
257, 258.
. His majesty shewed the sincerest respect to his deceased servant, by proroguing the parlement for several days, unable sooner to digest his loss.
William
earl of
Pembroke,
WILLIAM EARL OF PEMBROKE.
in black, with the white rod and key, as lord chamberlain; George pendent, flat ruff, short hair, peaked beard: a great and amiable character, and the most universally esteemed and beloved of any man of that age; and, having a great office in the court, he made the court itself better esteemed, and more reverenced in the country;
Clarendon.
. He was beloved in court, because he was disinterested; in the country, because he was independent. In 1630, he died universally lamented: his many fine qualities causing his abandoned sensualities to be forgotten.
His brother, and successor to the title, is painted here twice: in full-length,
PHILIP EARL OF PEMBROKE AND MONTGOMERY.
in black, with a star, George, and turnover, with black hair and peaked beard; and again in half-length, advancing.
Philip
was a complete contrast to his brother: rude, reprobate, boisterous, and devoted to his dogs and horses: so mean as to receive tamely a horse-whipping from one
Ramsay,
a
Scotchman,
at a public horse-race; and for his civility in not resenting the insult, was rewarded by the peaceful
James,
by being made a knight, baron, viscount, and earl on the same day. His mother,
Sidney
's sister,
Pembroke
's mother,
tore her hair when she heard of her son's disgrace. He was likewise lord chamberlain to
Charles
I. and, as
Osborn
observes, in that office broke with his white rod many wiser heads than his own; but his fear always secured him, by a quick and ample submission. Notwithstanding the profundity of his ignorance, he became, on the king's imprisonment, chancellor of the university of
Oxford,
a fit instrument for the eradication of loyalty. A noble statue of him stands in the picture-gallery. On the usurpation, he had the meanness to sit in
Cromwel
's mock parlement as knight of the shire for
Berkshire;
and concluded his despicable life on
January
the 23d, 1649-50.
A MAN in black and gold, a ruff, chain round his waist, and sword. Date 1594.
A LADY with red hair, great lawn ruff, her dress black and gold. In materials resembling the former. Three long chains of pearl.
Charles Howard
earl of
Nottingham,
CHARLES EARL OF NOTTINGHAM.
lord high admiral, drest in his robes, with a view of a fleet and storm; the conqueror of the
Spanish
armada.
SIR
Edward Sackville,
EDWARD EARL OF DORSET.
the accomplished, witty, and learned earl of
Dorset:
a nobleman of quick passions and resentments, violent in his friendships and enmities. In the great national quarrel between the
English
and
Scots,
at
Croydon
races, he alone left his countrymen and sided with the latter, out of friendship to lord
Bruce;
for which, had not the affray been prevented, the
English
had fixed on Sir
Edward
as the first victim
Osborn's Reign of King James,
paragr. 26.
: yet a dispute with his beloved
Scot
produced the famous duel, which was pursued with unheard-of animosity, and terminated in the death of
Bruce
For an account of this dreadful affair, read the
Guardians,
No 129, 133.
. He behaved in the public quarrel of his royal master with equal spirit, and survived till 1652.
EDWARD earl of
Worcester,
EDWARD EARL OF WORCESTER.
master of the horse to queen
Elizabeth,
and privy seal to
James
I. What recommended him to the first, was his being of royal blood, and at the same time the finest gentleman, and the best horseman and tilter of his time
Collins's Peerage,
i. 204.
. He is represented here at the period at which he had outlived the athletic exercises, with a bald head and white beard; in a white jacket and ruff, and George pendent.
THE first lord
Cornwallis,
THE FIRST LORD CORNWALLIS.
with long hair, in black, and a turnover: an active and valiant adherent to
Charles
I; brought up from his youth in his service, and that of his brother
Henry.
So resolute, that he knew not fear; so chearful, that sorrow never came next his heart. Death would not try him by illness, but took him off suddenly, on
January
31, 1661-2, after he had been raised to the peerage the preceding year.
THE gallant fickle earl of
Holland,
in a striped and very rich dress: hat with red feather in his hand, the blue riband across his breast.
A YOUNG warrior has somehow crept in among the veterans:
Henry
duke of
Gloucester,
HENRY DUKE OF GLOUCESTER.
in buff coat, breast-plate, long black hair, the Garter, and a truncheon. A prince whose eminent virtues made his early end universally deplored. He died in 1660, in his twenty-first year, feelingly lamented by his brother
Charles;
who was never observed to shew a sensibility equal to what he did on this occasion.
George Carew
earl of
Totness,
GEORGE EARL OF TOTNESS.
in a white flowered jacket; hand on his sword; white beard, and short hair: a nobleman celebrated as a warrior, scholar, and author. He was son of a dean of
Exeter;
received his education at
Oxford.
His active spirit led him from his studies into the army; but in 1589, he was created master of arts. The scene of his military exploits was
Ireland,
where, in the year 1599, he was president of
Munster.
With a small force he reduced great part of the province to her majesty's government, took the titular earl of
Desmond
prisoner, and brought numbers of the rebellious Septs to obedience
Prince's Worthies of Devonshire,
197.
. The queen honored him with a letter of thanks under her own hand
The same.
. He left his province in general peace in 1603, and arrived in
England
three days before the death of his royal mistress. Her successor rewarded his service, by making him governor of
Guernsey,
creating him lord
Carew,
of
Clopton,
and appointing him master of the ordnance for life.
Charles
I. on his accession, created him earl of
Totness
Dugdale's Baron,
ii. 423.
. He died in
March
1629, aged seventy-three, and was interred beneath a magnificent monument at
Stratford upon Avon
Beneath a rich arch, supported by
Corinthian
pillars. He and his countess lie in their coronets and robes. In front are artillery, balls, powder-barrels, and other marks of his office as master of the ordnance. See
Dugdale's Warwicksh.
ii. 686.
.
HE was not less distinguished by his pen than his sword. In his book
Pacata Hibernia,
he wrote his own commentaries; of which his modesty prevented the publication during life. He collected four volumes of antiquities relating to
Ireland,
at this time preserved unheeded in the
Bodleian
library: he collected materials for the life of
Henry
V
Prince,
198.
, digested by
Speed
into his
Chronicle.
To conclude, he merited entirely the encomium given him by
Wood,
of being
a faithful subject, a valiant and prudent commander, an honest counsellor, a gentle scholar, a lover of antiquities, and great patron of learning
Athen. Oxon.
i. 529.
.
GEORGE CALVERT
the First Lord Baltimore
ARCHBISHOP
Abbot,
in a cap and episcopal habit,
ARCHBISHOP ABBOT.
with a grey square beard. This prelate owed his preferment under
James
I, to the
Scottish
favorite, the able and worthy earl of
Dunbar:
perhaps from the
Calvinistical
principles with which he was strongly imbued.
Fuller
says,
he honoured cloaks above cassocks; lay, above clergymen
Worthies of Surrey,
83.
.
He was upright and firm in his principles: probably too favorable to the tenets which, under him, acquired strength, in the following reign, to subvert both church and state, with the assistance of the contrary conduct of the indiscreet and furious
Land.
How difficult is the virtue of moderation!
Abbot
gloriously resisted the licensing of a slavish sermon, preached by doctor
Sibthorp,
and fell into disgrace; his office was suspended: nor was it taken off, till the rising strength of the puritanical party made the compliance with the times prudent. His manners had in them an uncourtly stiffness and moroseness
Clarendon.
. He found he was restored more through policy than affection. As he attained to the age of seventy-one, I can scarcely think that grief, either on account of his suspension, or unconquerable sorrow for the sad accident of killing a gamekeeper with a cross-bow, in shooting at a deer
Illustr. Heads,
i. 60.
, brought him to his end. Nature might effect his dissolution, without having recourse to other causes.
THE beautiful
George Villiers
duke of
Buckingham,
GEO. VILLIERS DUKE OF BUCKINGHAM.
in white, with a hat and feather on a table. A minion of fortune, who owed his rise to a handsome face and elegant person: merits irresistible with
James
I. The king, by the insolence and ingratitude of his favorite, received sufficient punishment for his folly.
Buckingham
was possessed of abilities, clouded by the violence of his passions, and almost rendered useless. In his embassy to
France,
in 1625, he had the presumption to make his addresses to the queen
Anne
of
Austria
Clarendon,
i. 38.
. On receiving the treatment which his vanity merited, he not only, in revenge, involved his country in war, but endeavoured to alienate the affection of his master
Charles
from his spouse, her lovely sister-in-law,
Henrietta Maria.
I ought to have mentioned the common report, that his ill success with the wife of
Olivarez,
the
Spanish
minister, and a cruel deception in consequence
Granger,
i. 326, note.
, was the primary cause of the breach of the
Spanish
match, and the hazard his young prince ran in escaping from an incensed court. He fell at length by the hands of the melancholy
Felton,
who, taught by the murmurs of the people, thought he did an acceptable service, by freeing his country from so distasteful a minister.
SIR
Richard Weston
earl of
Portland,
appears drest in black,
SIR RICHARD WESTON EARL OF PORTLAND.
with a ruff blue riband, and white rod; his hair and beard grey. This nobleman is a proof how honors change manners. He set out with a great character for prudence, spirit, and abilities, and discharged his duty as ambassador, and, on his return, as chancellor of the exchequer, with much credit. Under the ministry of the duke of
Buckingham,
he was appointed lord treasurer: on which he suddenly became so elated, that he lost all disposition to please; and, soon after the duke's death, became his successor in the public hatred, without succeeding him in his credit at court
Clarendon,
i. 49.
. His lust after power, and his rapacity to raise a great fortune, were unmeasurable; yet the jealousy of his temper frustrated the one, and the greatness of his expences the other. His imperious nature led him to give frequent offence; yet his timidity obliged him to make humiliating concessions to the very people he had offended. He had a strange curiosity to learn what the persons injured said of him; the knowlege of which always brought on fresh troubles; as he would expostulate with them for their severe sayings, as if he had never given cause for them; by which he would often discover the mean informant of his fruitless intelligence. He died in
March
1634, in universal disesteem; and the family and fortune, for which he labored so greatly, were extinct early in the next reign.
Thomas Wentworth
earl of
Strafford,
THOMAS EARL OF STRAFFORD.
in armour. Like
Buckingham,
a victim also to the popular fury; but brought to his end by all the solemnity of trial and pomp of strained justice. His great abilities and moving eloquence, his fortitude and great deportment on the scaffold, make us lose sight of his failings, and lament that so much heroism should be devoted to plans which made his life incompatible with the public security.
THE illustrious and faithful servant to
Charles
I.
James
duke of
Richmond,
JAMES DUKE OF RICHMOND.
in long, flowing, flaxen hair; his star; and a dog by him.
Thomas Wriothesley
earl of
Southampton,
THOMAS EARL OF SOUTHAMPTON.
another nobleman, not less attached to his royal master; and who, like the former, offered himself a victim for his prince's life. The earls of
Hertford
and
Lindsey
joined in the generous petition to the commons, on the condemnation of the king; alleging, that they having been counsellors to his majesty, and concurring in the advice of the several measures now imputed as crimes, they alone were guilty in the eye of the law, and ought to expiate the supposed offences of majesty. He survived to see the restoration of the royal family; was rewarded with the treasurer's rod; and died a friend to his country as well as prince, on
May
16th 1667. His death, and the fall of chancellor
Hyde,
removed from the abandoned court every check upon its profligate designs. It was so impatient to remove him, as to wish to wrest the rod from his dying hands, had not
Hyde
earnestly entreated the king to wait four or five days, till his death must happen. He died of the stone. So little credit had our surgeons at that time, that he sent to
Paris
for one; but his end prevented the operation
Continuation. Clarendon,
411.
.
THE chancellor himself is dressed in robes. In him is the character of an honest great man;
CHANCELLOR HYDE.
the glorious victim to a prince and party, that neither could nor dared to attempt the slavery of their country, while he remained in power in it. He was exiled in 1667, by the contrivances of an ungrateful master, and lived abroad, venerated by the good, till this ornament to human nature gave way to death, on
December
the 9th, 1674.
George Monk
duke of
Albemarle,
GENERAL MONK.
the well-known instrument of the Restoration. He is drest in a buff coat, with an anchor by him. He entered at a very early age into the military life, and first made trial of his sword in the ill-conducted expedition to
Cadiz,
in 1625: but his military experience was attained by a ten years service in the
Low Countries.
On the breaking out of the civil wars, his principles led him to embrace the royal party, after serving for some time against the rebels in
Ireland.
In his first campaign he was taken prisoner at
Namptwich,
and imprisoned for some years, with such severity, that he was at last induced, for the sake of obtaining liberty, to engage with the parlement. Perhaps by stipulation, he never served the remainder of the war in
England.
Clarendon.
Ireland
was the scene of his exploits, and afterwards
Scotland,
which he entirely reduced. He was justly loaden with honors by his restored prince, under whom, by indulging his spirit of frugality, he amassed a vast fortune. His great military abilities fitted him equally for sea or land. He commanded, jointly with prince
Rupert,
the fleet against the
Dutch,
in the dreadful engagement of 1666. His success was equal to his valour. He became the darling of the sailors, who called him by the familiar appellation of
honest George;
for he was a plain man, of few words, but inviolable in his promises. Worn out with fatigue, he died in 1670, and received a funeral pomp, which his eminent services so well merited.
LORD keeper
Coventry
in his robes,
LORD KEEPER COVENTRY.
and a ruff, with his hands on the seals: his look remarkably pleasing; a mark of the internal comfort he felt in a life passed in the full integrity of the discharge of his profession. He held the seals for fifteen years, and died in universal esteem,
January
14, 1639-40, at a period unhappy for his country; when the respect borne to his counsels might have prevented the dreadful feuds that so immediately followed his decease.
FOUR portraits of the
Stuart
line:
James
I.
Charles
I. and II. and
James
II. The first is dressed in black, barred with gold. Typical of the
Stuarts,
the prerogative is before his eyes, in form of the crown and scepter.
William
III. who gave us the power of happiness, makes a fifth portrait in this royal succession.
Heneage Finch
earl of
Nottingham,
in his robes, with the seals in his hands,
CHANCELLOR NOTTINGHAM.
and long deep brown hair. This nobleman was lord chancellor in the reign of
Charles
II. and in those dangerous times distinguished himself for his integrity and prudence, in steering clear from a criminal compliance with the views of the court, or humouring the unbounded faction of the popular side. He brought the peerage into the family, which (rare to say) has never been fullied by those who have derived the honor from him. He received the seals in 1673; died in 1682.
THIS concludes the list of portraits in the noble gallery of
Gorhambury:
scattered over the house are a few others which merit mention, as persons eminent in their generation. Among them is one which ought properly to have led the van; the head of
Sir Nicholas Bacon;
his dress a furred robe.
SIR NICHOLAS BACON.
He was a person of a very corpulent habit; for which reason queen
Elizabeth
used to say, "that her lord keeper's soul lodged well." To what I have given of him before, I shall only add, that he caught his death by sleeping in his chair with a window open. He awoke disordered, and, reproving his servant for his negligence, was told, that he feared to wake him. "Then," replies the keeper, "your complaisance will cost me my life." He died in 1579.
ANOTHER head of his second wife, in a close cap and white gown,
HIS SECOND WIFE.
worked with oak-leaves and acorns. This distinguished lady was
Anne
daughter of Sir
Anthony Cook,
of
Giddy-hall,
in
Essex.
She had great abilities, natural and acquired, and was eminently skilled in
Greek, Latin,
and
Italian.
She had the honor of being appointed governess to
Edward
VI
Chauncy,
i.
Hertfordsh.
464.
. To her instructions was probably owing the surprizing knowlege of the excellent young prince. She shared his education with her father, doctor
Cox,
and Sir
John Cheek
Complete Hist. Engl.
ii. 274.
. Her sons
Anthony
and
Francis
were not a little indebted, for the reputation they acquired, to the pains taken with them by this excellent woman in their tender years
Br. Biegr.
i. 412.
. When they grew up, they found in her a severe but admirable monitor. She translated from the
Italian
the sermons of
Barnardine Ochine;
and from the
Latin, Jewel's Apology for the Church of England:
both which met with the highest applause. She died in the beginning of the reign of
James
I. and was buried in the neighboring church of Saint
Michael
Ballard's Br. Ladies,
136.
.
MARGARET COUNTESS OF CUMBERLAND.
THE dress of the portrait is very elegant. Her hair is turned up before, and backed with chains of pearl. Over her head is a black feather: a beautiful ruff and pearl necklace surround her neck. Her gown is black, hung with chains, and set with ornaments of pearl.
A HALF-LENGTH of Sir
George Croke,
SIR GEORGE CROKE.
one of the judges of the King's Bench in the time of
Charles
I. in his robes; distinguished for his knowlege of the laws. He was one of the judges who had the honor of deciding against the illegality of ship-money; yet still, on account of his eminent qualities, preserved the favor of the court. When sunk in years, and petitioning for a retreat, the king granted his request, and rewarded his services with the sees and honor of chief justice during life
Lloyd,
ii. 267.
.
Mundum vicit et deseruit,
says his epitaph,
aet.
82.
Anno
R. C. 1. 17.
Anno Domini
1641.
HIS lady is in black, with a lawn ruff: her portrait is dated 1626.
HIS LADY.
Lady
Croke
should by no means be passed unnoticed; especially as
Whitelock
Memorials,
25.
gives her the chief merit in her husband's decision in the case of ship-money. He had, it seems, resolved on the contrary side; but appearing wavering, was told by his wife,
that she hoped he would do nothing against his conscience, for fear of any danger or prejudice to him or his family; and that she would be contented to suffer want, or any misery, with him, rather than be an occasion for him to do or say any thing against his judgment or conscience.
I SHALL conclude with a very singular portrait on wood,
PHILIP LE BON DUKE OF BURGUNDY.
called
Sylvester de Grimston,
a noble
Norman,
standard-bearer to the Conqueror at the battle of
Hastings,
and afterwards his chamberlain. He held lands in
Yorkshire
of the lord
Roos;
among others, that of
Grimston
in
Holderness;
from whence he took the name. The picture is antient and curious, but wants four centuries of the great period in which
Sylvester
lived; neither did that age afford any artists that could give even a tolerable representation of the human figure, much less convey down a likeness of the fierce heroes of their times. I premise this, to shew the impossibility of this portrait having been a copy of some original of this great ancestor. The dress is singular: a large bonnet, with a very long silken appendage; a green jacket, hanging sleeves: a collar of SS held in one hand: his face beardless. On the back of the picture is
Petrus
xoi.
me fecit, anno
1416. The artist is unknown to me: but the habit of the person is that of the date; for I find in
Monfaucon's Monarchie Francoise
several persons of rank in the dress, particularly
Philip Le Bon
duke of
Burgundy:
between whom and this portrait, there is so strong a resemblance of feature
See the book cited, vol. iii. p. 260. tab. xlix. fig. 2.
, that I do not hesitate to imagine that the
Gorhambury
portrait is no other than one of this illustrious prince. He was born in 1396; died in 1467: so that he was a youth when the picture was taken.
I NOW resume my journey, and, in my way to St.
Albans,
about a mile and a half distant, pass by the site of St.
Mary de la Pre, de Pratis,
or the Meadows; an hospital for leprous women, founded about 1190, by
Warine,
abbot of
St. Alban's.
It afterwards rose to a priory of
Benedictine
nuns; but fell in 1528, when
Wolsey,
commendatory abbot, obtained from
Clement
VIII. a bull for its suppression, and for annexing it to the abbey; after which he got a grant of it for himself from the king; who, on the ruin of the cardinal, gave it to Sir
Ralph Rowlet
Tanner,
185.
.
IMMEDIATELY after quitting this place,
VERULAMIUM.
I entered the celebrated
Verulamium,
at a spot distinguished by a great fragment of the antient wall, known by the name of
Gorhambury-block,
which probably bounded one side of one of the
portae,
or entrances, being exactly opposite to that on the eastern part. The precinct departs from the rectangular form of the
Romans,
this being among those which were laid out,
Prout loci qualitas aut necessitas postulaverit
Vegetius,
lib. i. c. 23.
. It inclines to an oval shape; is placed on a slope, and the lower side bounded by the river
Ver,
which in former times might have spread into a lake, and given greater security to the town. According to
Humphry Lloyd
Commentariol,
31.
, it gave also the name to the place,
Gwerllan,
or the temple on the
Ver;
rightly bestowing on the
Britons
a pre-occupancy of it to the
Romans.
I shall not dispute the notions of the particular ford over which
Cesar
crossed the
Thames,
when he penetrated into our island. It probably was at or near
Coway Stakes. Cesar
leaves us no room to depart from that opinion, as he expressly tells us that he led his army to the river
Thames,
towards the borders of the territories of
Cassivelaunus,
Caesar cognito consilio eorum ad flumen
Tama
in
in finos
Cassivelauni
exe
citum duxit.
Bel. Gal.
lib. v.
Preceding this, he speaks of the
fines Cassivelauni,
as being a
mari circiter
lia passaum
lxxx.
, the golden-locked leader of the country of the
Cassi:
and these
Cassi
are reasonably supposed to have been a clan of the
Cattieuchlani,
and to have inhabited the hundred of this county now called
Cashio,
in which
Verulamium
stood. But I must contend, that the distance of that city is far too remote from the fordable parts of the
Thames,
to admit it to have been the town of the
British
leader destroyed by the invader. It lies, in the nearest line, thirty-seven miles from those parts of the river: a distance too great for the time given to
Cesar
for his second campaign in
Britain.
The town, or rather post, which was forced by him, was not remote from the camp occupied by him on the side of the river; and most likely was that which is still very entire, in the park of her Grace the dutchess dowager of
Portland,
at
Bulstrode,
about fifteen miles distance from the
Roman
camp; whose vestiges are still to be seen, not far from the famous ford
Sylves Paludibusque munitum.
. Partly by length of time, partly by constant cultivation, this post has lost some of the characters ascribed by
Cesar
to the town of
Cassivelaunus;
for it wants at present the marshy defence it had in his days.
THE town alluded to was within the territories of the
British
chieftain, and one of the strong holds into which the
Britons
were used to drive their cattle in time of danger. This, by
Cesar
's account, was certainly not the most capital; for his first relation informs us, it only contained
saits numerus pecorum,
a pretty considerable number of cattle. Notwithstanding his vanity, a few lines lower, swells his booty into
magnus numerus,
a vast number
Le
vis Hist. Br.
73.
. Near
Shepperton,
also, near that place, in a field called
War Close,
are found spurs, swords, bones, and other marks of a battle. See
Cambden,
i. 366: but in all likelihood, the first is the nearest to the truth.
erulamium
was the capital of this country, and the residence of its princes. I do not reckon
Cassivelaunus
among them; he was a chieftain of the
Cassi,
and, for his great abilities, elected general on the
Roman
invasion, if our
British
history is to be trusted. He was a guardian to his nephews,
Anarwy
and
Tenafan
Stukely Itin.
i. 117.
(the last) father to
Cunoboline,
whose coins are so frequent. Here was one of the
British
mints; for we find the word
Ver
on the coins, but no prince's name to distinguish the reign.
After the
Romans
had effected their conquest, they added walls to the ordinary
British
defence of ramparts, and ditches. Many great fragments of the former still remain, proofs of the strength and manner of the
Roman
masonry. On the one side is a vast foss; on another, two. The walls are twelve feet thick, where entire,
WALLS.
formed of flints bedded in mortar, now grown into amazing hardness. By intervals of about three feet distance, are three, and in some places four, rows of broad and thin bricks, or tiles, which were continued the whole length of the walls, which seem designed as foundations to sustain the layers of flints and lime, while the last was in a moist state. There were, besides, round holes, which penetrated quite through
See Doctor
Stukely
's admirable plan of this place.
; but these are either filled up, or escaped my notice. According to Doctor
Stukely
's measurement, the area is five thousand two hundred feet in length, and the greatest breadth about three thousand. It is at present inclosed into fields; but under the hedges, in many places, are vestiges of buildings, and, as I am told, when it is under tillage, the sites of the streets appear, by the different color of the corn above them. The
Watling-street
comes to the
Porta Decumana,
the gate on the western side, and passes quite through the city. There is another road goes on the outside of the south side; a small military way, like that which passed from turret to turret on
Severus
's wall
Tour Scotl.
1772, part ii. p. 288.
, for the conveniency of external passengers.
THIS place, by its attachment to the conquerors, acquired the privileges of a free borough,
A MUNICIPIUM
a
municipium,
or municipal city, whose inhabitants enjoyed all the rights of the
Roman
citizens; for which reason such towns derive their name
a muneribus capiendis,
their power to bear public offices. They had their senators, knights, and commons; magistrates and priests; censors, ediles, questors, and flamens.
THE attachment of this town to its new masters, proved the cause of a heavy misfortune, which befel it under the reign of
Nero. Boadicea,
SACKED BY BOADICEA.
widow of
Prasutagus,
king of the
Iceni,
enraged at the cruel indignity offered to her and her daughters, raised an insurrection against the
Romans
and their friends, and repaid with the most dreadful cruelties the injuries they had received.
Camolodunum, Londinium,
and
Verolamium,
suffered from the fury of the
Britons;
and seventy thousand citizens and allies fell by the edge of the sword. This city was remarkable for its wealth
Taciti Annal.
lib. xiv. c. 31,
&c.
; which was another incentive for the
Britons
to attack it, added to a particular animosity against a people who had forsaken the customs and religion of their ancestors.
THE place in a short time emerged from its misfortune; and had the honor of producing
Albanus,
OF ST. ALBANUS.
the proto-martyr of
Britain,
a wealthy citizen of
Verulamium,
and, by privilege, of
Rome
also. He had been a
Pagan,
but was converted by means of a guest, whom he had sheltered during the great persecution of
Dioclesian,
as I have before related. St.
Alban
suffered in the year 302. Let not legend destroy the credibility of the martyrdom, by assigning attendant miracles, long after their cessation. We are told, that after he had refused to sacrifice to the heathen gods, the usual test of the alleged crime of Christianity, he was, as customary, whipped with rods, and then led to execution, and beheaded on
Holmhurst,
where the town of
St. Alban's
at present stands. In his passage, the torrent, which then divided the place from
Verulamium,
like the Red-sea, divided its waters, and gave dry passage to the Saint and his followers: a fountain sprung up where the martyr kneeled: one of the executioners relenting, was converted, and suffered with
Albanus;
another, who performed the deed, lost his eyes, as a penalty for his cruelty; for they dropped out of his head in the moment in which he gave the blow
Bede Hist. Eccl.
lib. i. c. 7. Father
Cressy,
in his
Church History,
lib. vi. has given a much longer detail.
▪ St.
Alban
was interred on the spot; and his remains were miraculously discovered several centuries after their interment.
IN 429,
SYNOD HOLD HERE.
this place was honored with a synod, in which St.
Germanus
and
Lupus,
two
French
prelates, assisted. A chapel was erected, about the year 945, by abbot
Ulsin,
in honor of the former, on the spot in which he preached; whose ruins were to be seen the beginning of this century.
AFTER the
Saxon
invasion, the name of the town was changed for that of
Verlamcester
and
Watlincester.
The
British
hero,
Uther Pendragon,
after a long siege, wrested it out of the hands of the
Saxons,
and held it during his life; after which they soon recovered it; but by reason of the cruel wars that raged during the contest between them and the
Britons,
the place became totally desolated.
LIKE the antient
Deva
Tour in Wales,
p. 108.
, Verulamium
had its great vaults,
GREAT VAULTS.
or subterraneous retreats, strongly and artfully arched. These are supposed, by Sir
Henry Chauncy,
to have been designed as places of retreat in time of war for the women and children, and for the concealing of the most valuable effects. In 960, they were found to give shelter to thieves and prostitutes; which caused
Eldred,
the eighth abbot, to search after these sousterrains, and found several ways and passages; all which he caused to be destroyed, but preserved the tiles and stones for the rebuilding the church, then in ruins
Chauncy,
431.
.
THE present
St. Alban's
arose from the ruins of
Verulamium. Offa
king of the
Mercians,
directed, says legend, by a vision from heaven, discovered the reliques of St.
Alban,
by beams of glory springing from the grave
Cressy,
lib. xxv. c. 6.
. In 793, he erected on the spot the magnificent monastery, for the maintenance of a hundred
Benedictine
or black monks, and in a parlementary council, which he held in the same year, bestowed on it most liberal endowments.
Verulamium
was now reduced to the state elegantly described by
Spencer,
assuming the character of the Genius of the place.
I was that city which the garland wore
Of
Britain
's pride, delivered unto me
By
Roman
victors, which it wore of yore,
Though nought at all but ruins now I be,
And lie in mine own ashes, as ye see.
Verlame
I was: what boots it that I was,
Sith now I am but weeds and wasteful grass?
Ruines of Time.
BEFORE I quit these antient precincts, I must note the church of St.
Michael,
CHURCH OF ST. MICHAEL.
built within them, by the same pious abbot who founded the chapel of St.
German.
It became an impropriation of the abbey, and, after the dissolution, a vicarage. The church is small, supported within by round arches. It is most distinguished by the monument of the great lord
Verulam.
His figure is of white marble, placed sitting in a chair, reclining, in the easy attitude of meditation. He is dressed in robes lined with fur, and a high-crowned hat. Any emblems of greatness would have been unnecessary attendants on this illustrious character. The spectator's ideas must render every complimental sculpture superfluous. The epitaph conveys high honor to the grateful servant: his master could receive nothing additional.
H. P.
Francisc. Bacon,
Baro de
Verulam,
Sanct.
Albani
viceco'
Sen notioribus titulis
Scientiarum lumen facundiae lex,
Sic sededat:
Qui postquam, omnia naturalis sapientiae
Et civilis arcana evolvisset,
Naturae decretum explevit.
Composita solvantur.
Anno Dom. MDCXXVI.
AEt. LXVI.
Tanti viri Mem.
Thomas Meautys
Superstitis cultor.
Defuncti admirator.
ON leaving St.
Michael
's, I passed through a sort of suburbs to
St. Alban's,
ST. ALBAN'S.
and crossing the
Ver,
to the site of the palace of
Kingsbury.
It had long been the residence of the
Saxon
princes, who, by their frequent visits to the abbey of
St. Alban's,
became an insupportable burden to its revenues. At length abbot
Alfric,
by his interest with king
Ethelred
II. prevaled on him to dispose of it, the king only reserving a small fortress in the neighborhood of the monastery
Chauncy,
431, 463.
. This also continuing to give offence to its pious neighbors, was destroyed by king
Stephen,
at the intercession of
Robert,
the seventh abbot
The same, 436.
.
I SEE in Doctor
Stukeley
's plan, a
bury,
or mount, called
Osterhill,
on which the palace might have stood; and a ditch, called
Tonman Ditch,
which took its name from this
Tommin,
or
Tumulus.
ON ascending into St.
Alban's,
up
Fishpool-street,
FISHPOOL.
the bottom on the right reminded me of the great pool which once occupied that tract. This had been the property of the
Saxon
monarchs, and was alienated by
Edgar
to the all-grasping monks. Those princes were supposed to have taken great pleasure in navigating on this piece of water. Anchors have been found on the spot; which occasioned poets to fable that the
Thames
once ran this way. One of them, speaking to the
Ver,
says,
Thou saw'st great burden'd ships through these thy vallies pass,
Where now the sharp-edg'd scythe shears up the spiring grass;
And where the seal and porpoise us'd to play,
The grasshopper and ant now lord it all the day
Drayton,
song xvi.
Spenser
sings in the same strain, See
Ruins of Time.
.
THE town spreads along the slopes and top of the hill. The magnificent mitred parlementary abbey graced the verge of the southern side. Of this there does not remain the lest vestige,
ABBEY.
except the gateway, a large square building, with a fine spacious pointed arch beneath: so that all the labors of
Offa,
and the splendid piety of a long train of abbots, and a numerous list of benefactors, are now reduced to the conventual church; and the once-thronged entrance of the devout pilgrims, to the shrine of our great proto-martyr, is now no more than an empty gateway.
A BARBAROUS murder was the true spring of
Offa
's munificence.
A MURDER.
The
Mercian
monarch cast a longing eye on the dominions of
Ethelbert,
prince of the
East Angles;
treacherously invited him to court, under pretence of marrying him to his daughter
Althrida;
seized on the young prince (who is represented to have been the most amiable of his time) beheaded him,
CAUSE OF THE FOUNDATION OF THE ABBEY.
and seized on his dominions
Carte,
i. 274.
.
Offa
had recourse to the usual expiation of his crime, that of founding a monastery; when the grateful monks, to conceal the infamy of their benefactor, call down a vision from heaven, as a motive to his piety. But
Offa
did not trust to this solely: he made a penitential pilgrimage to
Rome,
and, by the merit of his monastic institution at
St. Alban's,
readily obtained absolution,
ITS GREAT PRIVILEGE.
and not only procured for the house exemption from the tax of
Peter-pence,
but power to collect the same for its own use, through the whole province of
Hertford:
a privilege which no person in the realm, the king himself not excepted, ever enjoyed. By the same bull, his holiness granted, that the abbot, or monk, whom he appointed archdeacon, should have pontifical jurisdiction over the priests and laymen of the possessions of this church; and that no person whatsoever, save the Pope himself, should offer to interfere. It was, by the charter of the king, to be free from all taxes, repair of bridges and castles, and free from making entrenchments against an enemy; to be exempt from episcopal jurisdiction; and that the fines for crimes, which belonged to the king, should be given for ever to this monastery.
Offa,
not content with this, inclosed the body of the Saint in a shrine of beaten gold and silver, set with precious stones; and, encircling the scull with a golden diadem, caused to be inscribed on it,
Hoc est caput
SANCTI ALBANI,
Anglorum protomartyris
Mat. Paris,
984.
.
Wiligord
was the first abbot. It flourished from his time to the dissolution,
FIRST AND LAST ABBOT.
and received vast endowments and rich gifts. At that fatal period it was surrendered, on the 5th of
December
1538, by
Richard Boreman,
alias
Stevenache,
the last abbot; who got, in reward for his ready compliance, the annual pension of £266. 13
s.
4
d;
and the thirty-nine monks, then of the house, lesser sums; some even as small as five pounds a year
Willis,
i. 27.
. The house, and the greatest part of the lands, were granted to
Richard Lee,
captain of the band of pensioners, as scandal reports, in reward for his prudence in winking at the king's affection for his handsome wife
Stevens,
i. 265.
. The town, or, as
Willis
says, the abbot, purchased the church from the king for £400, and by that means preserved it from destruction; which gave him so much merit with queen
Mary,
that when she determined to restore the abbey, she appointed him to preside over it
Willis,
i. 27.
. It is said that he died of a broken heart, within a few days after he received the news of her death.
THE revenues at the dissolution were valued by
Dugdale
at £2102. 7
s.
1
d. per annum;
REVENUES.
by
Speed,
at £2510. 6
s.
1
d.
Tanner,
180.
Notwithstanding the purchase made by
Boreman,
GRANTED TO THE TOWN.
Edward
VI. granted the monastery to the corporation of
St. Alban's,
which he had lately instituted, and ordered that the church should be reputed the parish church of the place, and be served by a rector, to be nominated by the mayor and burgesses of the town.
THE abbots lived in splendor, suitable to their rank and revenues. They dined in the great hall, at a table to which there was a flight of fifteen steps. The monks served up the dinner in plate, and in their way made a halt at every fifth step, where there was a landing, and sung on each a short hymn. The abbot usually sat alone in the middle of the table; and when any persons of rank came, he sat towards the end of the table. After the monks had waited some time on the abbot, they sat down at two other tables, placed on the sides of the hall, and had their services brought in by the novices; who, when the monks had dined, sat down to their own dinners
Antiquarian Repertory,
iii. 60.
.
THE church,
CHURCH.
in its present state, is a most venerable and great pile: its form that of a cross, with a tower. At the intersection the length is six hundred feet; that of the transepts one hundred and eighty. The height of the tower one hundred and forty-four feet; that of the body sixty-five; of the ailes thirty; the breadth of the body two hundred and seventeen.
BY neglect,
RUINED.
or by the ravages of war, the original church fell to decay. Abbot
Ealdred,
who lived in 969, designed to pull down and rebuild it; and for that purpose collected, from the ruins of
Verulamium,
all the stone, tiles, and timber, he could find. Death put a stop to his intention. His successor,
Eadmer,
resumed the task of getting together the materials; and in his search, found great quantities of curious antiquities; such as altars, urns,
&c.
which the pious man broke to pieces, as heathen abominations. He also, as is said, discovered several books, some in
British,
others in
Latin;
and a great one in a language and character unknown to any but an old priest. This was found to be the authentic life of St.
Alban;
which was carefully treasured up, being a confirmation of what
Bede
had wrote on the same subject. The other books, being only accounts of heathen mythology, inventions of the devil, were instantly condemned to the flames
Stevens,
i. 237.
.
A FAMINE stopped the design of the new church, under the abbot
Leofric.
The troubles that ensued, under the remaining
Saxon
monarchs, and the unsettled state of the kingdom at the Conquest, occasioned the plan to lie dormant till the year 1077, when it was executed by abbot
Paul,
a
Norman
monk. He applied to that purpose the timber,
AND REBUILT.
the stones, and tiles, collected by his predecessors
Ex lapidibus et tegulis veleris civitatis
Verolamii
et materie lignea quam invenit a praedecessoribus suis collectam et reservatam.
Mat. Paris,
1001.
: accordingly we see the far greater and more antient part of the walls a motley composition of stones and
Roman
tiles.
MANY other parts afterwards were pulled down,
ALTERATIONS.
and rebuilt in the stile of the times; and I suspect that, in general, the present windows are long posterior to those coeval with the walls; being painted, and of a taste of another age. The windows in the great tower, and perhaps the range along the nave, are of time intervening; for they differ from the mode of each of the others. I find this confirmed in the lives of the abbots.
John
(first of the name) who died in 1214, pulled down the frontwall, which was built of old tiles, so strongly cemented with mortar, that it proved a work of great labor. Master
Hugh Goldcliff,
a most excellent workman, was employed; who, consulting more the ornaments of sculpture, of images and flowers, neglected the security of his building; so that it fell down, and was left unfinished during the life of this good abbot
Mat. Paris,
1047.
. His successor,
William
of
Trampington,
had the honor of completing his design. He not only rebuilt that front, but made new windows, and put glass into them, so as to give more light to the church. He also raised the steeple much higher, covered it with lead, and died full of good works, in 1235
The same, 1054, 1063.
.
IN the abbacy of
John
of
Whethamstead,
this church received the most considerable alterations. To avoid prolixity, I omit the numerous works of that most munificent abbot: I shall only note the change he made in the exterior part, by enlarging and glazing the windows on the north side of the church, which was before dark, and by causing a large window to be made at the west end of the north a
e, which was as destitute of light as the other part
Stevens,
i. 262.
.
John
died in 1464; before which time the narrow windows had been changed for those more expanded, lightsome, and less painted.
VIEW into the SOUTH TRANSEPT of ST . ALBAN'S CHURCH.
View of part of the BODY & AILES of ST ALBANS CHURCH.
ABO
the antient arches are galleries, with evenings round;
probably coeval with the former.
THE upper part of the choir is entirely of
gothic
architecture,
CHOIR.
from the body by a stone skreen, ornamented with
le-work. Before this stood the chapel of Saint
a work owing so the piety of abbot
Richard,
who
to be present at the translation of the incorruptible
that Saint to the church of
Durban,
apprehending, from
ess then, it was going to fall to pieces,
ght it in his
and in reward, one of them, which was withered, was in
M. Paris.
1006.
.
altar fills the end of the choir a most rich and ele
of
gothic
sculpture,
HIGH ALTAR.
once adorned with images of gold
placed in beautiful ni
hes: the middle part is not of
the rest, being modern and c
umsy. This altar was made by abbot
Wallingford,
either in the reign of
Edward
IV. or
Richard
III. at the expence of eleven hundred marks.
THE hind part of it, which stands in the chapel of St.
Alb
is of
gothic
work,
inferior indeed to the other side, but still of much elegance. The
of both are nearly similar; consi
of
work battlement: at the bottom is a large arched
,
in which stood the superb shrine which contained the re
of St.
Alban,
made of beaten gold and silver, and enriched
and sculpture. The gems were taken from the treasure one accepted,
hich being of singular use to parturient women wa left
. This was no other than the famous
Ae
es,
gle,
superstitious repute from the day of
Pl
ny
to that of
, re-founder of the shrine; which had been taken down and
during the reign of
Edward
the Co
essor, to preserve them from the ravages of the
Danes
. To guard the invaluable treasures, a careful and trusty monk was ap
eed who was called
Custos Foretri,
and who kept watch
gallery, still standing, near the site of
.
ABBOT RAMRIDGE'S TOMB.
ON the south side of the chapel of St.
Alban
is the magnificent tomb
Finely engraven in
Sandford's Genealogical History,
p. 318.
of
Humphry
duke of
Glocester,
TOMB OF HUMPHRY DUKE OF GLOCESTER.
distinguished by the name of
The Good.
He was uncle to
Henry
VI. and regent of the kingdom, under his weak nephew, during twenty-five years. His many eminent qualities gained him the love of the people; his popularity, the hatred of the queen and her favorites. His life was found to be incompatible to their views. They first effected the ruin of his dutchess by a ridiculous charge of witchcraft, and after that, brought as groundless a charge of treason against himself. He was conveyed to St.
Edmund's Bury,
where a parlement was convened in 1446; before which the accusation was to be made. His enemies, fearing the public execution of so great and so beloved a character, caused him to be stifled in his bed, and then pretended that he died of vexation at his sudden fall. His body was interred in this church, the scene of his detection of the pretended miracle of the blind restored to sight at the virtuous shrine of St.
Alban. Shakespear
gives us the relation admirably
Henry
VI. part ii. sc. 2. taken from
Grafton,
p. 597, 598.
.
Glocester
had a predilection for this place: he had bestowed on it rich vestments, to the value of three thousand marks, and the manor of
Pembroke,
that the monks should pray for his soul: and he also directed that his body should be deposited within these holy walls. The sees attendant on his funeral, were not of the most moderate kind; unless we may suppose, as probably was the case, that the house was at the charge of erecting the monument to so great a benefactor. Sir
Henry Chauncy
expressly says
448.
, that abbot
Whethamsted
adorned duke
Humphry
's tomb; which shews, that part at left of the expences were borne by the convent. The account is curious.
CHARGES of the burial of
Humphry
duke of
Gloucester,
FUNERAL EXPENCES.
and observances appointed by him, to be perpetually born by the convent of the monasterie of St.
Alban
Cotton Library Cla
dii,
A. S. fol. 195. A copy of this is hung up in the church.
.
 
£
s.
d.
First.
The abbat and convent of the said monastarie have payd for markynge the tumbe & place of sepulture of the said duke, within the seid monasterie, above the sume of —
CCCCXXXIII.
2.
VIII.
Item.
To two monks prests, dayly seiying messe at the auter of sepulture of the seid prince, everich takyng by 1 day VId sma. thereoff, by 1 hole yere —
XVIII.
V
s.
 
Item.
To the abbat ther yerely, the day of the anniversary of the seid prince, attending his exquys ther —
XL.
s.
 
 
Item.
To the priour yerly ther, the same day, in likwyse atteinding —
XX
s.
 
 
Item.
To XL monks prests, yerly, to everich of them, in the same day, VI
s.
VIII
d.
sm. theroff —
XII.
VI.
VIII.
Item.
To VIII monks not prests, yerly, in the seid day, to everich of them 3
s.
4
d.
sm. thereoff —
XXVI
s.
VIII
d.
 
Item.
To II ankeresses, I at St.
Peter
church, another at St.
Mich.
the seid day, yerly, to everich sm. —
III
s.
4
d.
 
Item.
In money, to be distribut to pore peple ther, the seid day, yerly —
XL.
s.
 
 
Item.
To XIII pore men beryng torches, the seid day, about the seid sepulture —
II
s.
II
d.
 
Item.
For wex brennyng dayly at the messes, and his anniversary of torch, yerly —
VI.
XII.
III.
Item.
The kechin of the convent ther yerly, in relief of the great decay of the hustode of the seid monasteri in the marches of
Scotland,
which before tyme shall be appointed to the kichyn —
X.
 
 
THIS beautiful tomb was once insulated, as appears by one of these
items.
In the middle is a pervious arch, adorned above with the coat of arms of the deceased; and others again along a freeze; with his supporters, two antelopes with collars. From the freeze arises a light elegant tabernacle-work, with niches; containing on one side the effigies of our princes; the other side is despoiled of the figures.
IN 1703, the vault in which reposed the remains of this illustrious personage was discovered. The body was preserved in a leaden coffin, in a strong pickle; and over that was another case, of wood, now perished. Against the wall is painted a Crucifixion, with four chalices receiving the blood; a hand pointing towards it, with a label, inscribed
Lord have mercy upon me.
THE epitaph has long since been defaced; but was as follows:
Hic jacet
Umphredus
dux ille
Glocestrius,
olim
Henrici
regis protector, fraudis ineptae
Detector; dum ficta notat miracula caeci
Alluding to the detection of the impostor.
Lumen erat patriae, columen venerabile regni:
Pacis amans musisque favens melioribus; unde
Gratum opus
Oxonio
He founded the beautiful divinity-school at
Oxford.
quae nunc scola sacra refulget,
Invida sed mulier regno, regi, sibi, nequam
Abstulit hunc, humili vix hoc dignata sepulchro.
Invidia rampente tamen post funera vivit.
ABBOT
Whethamsted
's,
WHETHAMSTED'S CHAPEEL.
tomb (or
Johannes de loco frumentario,
as he stiled himself) is covered by a small chapel, erected by himself. It is a plain building, on the south side of the choir. His arms, allusive to his name, are three ears of wheat; and the motto, allusive to the flourishing state of the monastery under his government, is
Valles abundabunt,
twice repeated.
Weever,
from p. 562 to 567, enumerates all his munificent works. He had a great turn towards ornamental generosity; and caused this church, the Lady's chapel, and several parts of the house, to be adorned with historical paintings, and inscriptions of his own composition to be placed under them. He also was a great composer of epitaphs. The reader will accept, as a specimen of the first, a distich placed in our Lady's chapel:
Dulce pluit manna, partum dum protulit
Anna,
Dulcius ancilla dam CHRISTUS crevit in illa
Weever,
562.
.
Of the other, a curious one upon one
Peter,
who was interred in the lower choir.
Petram
petra tegit; qui post obitum sibi legit
Hic in fine chori, se sub tellure reponi.
Petra fuit
Petrus,
petrae quia condicionis
Substans et solidus, quasi postis religionis
Hic sibi sub petra, sit pax et pausa quieta
Idem, 577.
.
His artist was
Alan Strayler,
painter;
STRAYLER, THE PAINTER.
who is said to have been so well paid for his work, that he forgave the convent three shillings and four pence of an old debt, for colors; and on that account was probably complimented with the following epitaph:
Nomen pictoris
Alanus Strayler
habetur
Qui sine fine choris celestibus associetur
Idem, 578.
.
I BELIEVE, some of his labors are yet extant in the roof of the choir; on which is painted, in compartments, an Eagle and a Lamb. Under others, in our Lady's chapel, was this line:
Inter oves Aries, ut sine cornubus Agnus.
under the other,
Inter aves aquila veluti fine felle columba.
IN the middle of the cieling of the north aile, is a painting of the martyrdom of St.
Alban,
(as is said) over the very spot on which he suffered. There is, besides, a rude sculpture of his death in a small aile on the back of his chapel, expressing the manner how the executioner lost his eyes for his impiety.
IN the center of another cieling, is a rude painting of king
Offa;
and this inscription beneath:
Fundator ecclesiae circa annum 793
Quem malé depictum, et residentem cernitis altè
Sublimem solio
Mercius Offa
fuit.
BRASS MONUMENTS.
IN the choir are some fine brasses of mitred abbots. That of
Thomas de la More,
a most munificent and pious man,
ABBOT THOMAS.
who died in 1396, is very richly engraved. His figure lies in the center, surrounded by the twelve Apostles in miniature: a proof that this art was arrived at great perfection at so early a period.
I MUST not omit the modest epitaph of an antient abbot.
Hic quidem terra tegitur,
Peccato solvens debitum:
Cujus nomen non impositum
In libro vitae sit inscriptum.
ON a large brass plate is engraven the figure of a warrior.
HEIR OF EDMUND EARL OF KENT.
Fragments of the inscription are given by Mr.
Salmon;
which inform us, that it was in memory of the son and heir to
Edmonde
erle of
Kent.
The date 1480. The historian says, that he was killed in the second battle of
St. Alban's.
This must be a mistake; for none of the name of that family fell on that day, except Sir
John Grey
of
Groby.
This must therefore have been a
cenotaph
in honor of
Anthony Grey,
eldest son of
Edmund
earl of
Kent,
buried at
Luton,
who died before his father
Vincent's Discoverie,
&c. 287.
; the earl dying in 1489: which might bring the son's death to the date on the brass.
AGAINST a wall, near
Whethamsted
's chapel, is painted, kneeling, in a cloak,
Ralph Maynard,
of this town, of the family of the ancestor of lord
Maynard.
A LONG inscription
This, and many others, are nearly defaced with white; but may be seen in
Weever.
567.
against a column, on the north side of the body of the church, clames the honor of having the body of the celebrated Sir
John Mandeville
interred beneath. We admit that this place gave him birth;
SIR JOHN MANDEVILLE.
but he found a grave at
Liege,
in the convent of the
Gulielmites,
in 1371. He was the greatest traveller of his or any other age; having been out thirty-four years; and in the character of pilgrim, knight-errant, and man of observation, visited the greatest parts of
Africa
and
Asia
then known. It is probable that he penetrated as far as
China.
He left an account of his travels, which were shamefully falsified by the monks; who destroyed much of their credit, by mingling with them legendary tales, and stories out of
Pliny:
but still truth appears so frequently, that the authenticity of the groundwork is by no means impaired. He was called
Johannes de Mandevile,
aliter dictus ad
Barbam,
from his forked beard. He is engraven on his tomb with that addition, armed, and treading on a lion. At his head, the hand of one blessing him; and these words in the
French
of the time,
Vos ki paseis sor mi pour l'amour Deix proies por mi.
His knives, horse-furniture, and spurs, were, in the time of
Ortelius,
Life of Sir J. M.
prefixed to his
Travels.
The tomb was in being in the time of
Weever,
who law both that and the inscription.
preserved at
Liege
by the monks, and shewn to strangers.
AN inscription under the great west window denotes, that the courts of justice were adjourned from
London
to this town: once, in the reign of
Henry
VIII, and again in that of his daughter
Elizabeth,
on account of the pestilence which at those times raged in the capital.
THE magnificent brazen font,
FONT.
brought from the plunder of
Leith
by Sir
Richard Lee,
in the reign of
Henry
VIII. was again stolen in the civil wars. The knight commemorates his benefaction in these bombastic terms:
Cum
Laethia
oppidum apud
Sco
s
non incelebre et
Edinburgus
primoria apud eos civitas incerdio conflagrarent,
Ricardus Leius
eques auratus me flammis ereptum ad
Anglos
perduxit. Hujus ego tanti beneficii memor non nisi reeum liberos lavare solitus, nunc meam operam etiam infimis
Anglorum
li
enter condixi. LEIUS VICTOR SIC VOLUIT.
Vale.
A. D. 1543.
THE last inscription I shall mention, is that in memory of two hermits, now almost defaced, inscribed near a benetoire, by the door in the south aile leading into the cloisters.
Vir domini verus jacet hic hermita
Rogerus
Et sub eo clarus mentis hermita
Sigarus.
THE door adjacent is extremely beautiful; rich in sculpture. The cloisters lay on the other side. Nothing but the marks of their junction with the outside of the church now remains; a series of tripartite arches: nor is there the lest relique of the vast and magnificent buildings, which once covered a large space on this side.
ADJOINING to the east end of the church is the chapel of St.
Mary,
CHAPEL OF SAINT MARY.
supported by light and elegant pillars. The roof is of stone; the sides of the windows ornamented with a fine running foliage; and little images adorn the pillars of each widow. The stair-case from hence to the leads has a beautiful imitation of cordage cut in stone, following the spiral windings. All the arches are of the sharp-pointed gothic.
I CANNOT trace the founder of this elegant building. It was prior to the days of
John
of
Whethamsted;
for he caused
Weever,
562.
our Lady's chapel to be new trimmed, and curiously depicted with stories out of the Sacred Word; and caused some verses (before quoted by me) to be curiously depensed in gold.
Edmund Beaufort
duke of
Somerset, Henry Percy
earl of
Northumberland, John
lord
Clifford,
and others of the nobility and gentry, to the amount of forty-seven, slain in the first battle of
St. Alban's,
were interred in this chapel.
SAINT
Peter
's, the third church in
St. Alban's,
ST. PETER'S
lies at the upper end of the town: it was founded by abbot
Ulfin:
was an impropriation of the abbey, now a vicarage in the patronage of the bishop of
Ely.
This church received the overflowings of the bodies of the men of rank slain in the same battle. There is still a perfect brass of Sir
John Entwysle,
in complete armor. He was born in
Lancashire,
and was viscount and baron of
Brikbeke
in
Normandy.
He died on
May
28th, 1455, of the wounds he received on fighting in the cause of
Henry.
THE two
Ralph Babthorps
of
Yorkshire,
father and son (the one sewer, the other squire to that unfortunate prince) found their graves here; slain in the same cause.
ON a stone is this inscription:
Edithe le Vineter gist: ici: Dieu: de: sa: alme: eie: merci.
A LARGE marble monument, with a bust, commemorates the reward of ingenuity and honest industry.
Beneath, lie the remains of
Edward Strong,
a shepherd's boy near this town, who took to masonry, worked at St.
Paul
's cathedral, and laid the last stone. He acquired a good fortune, with a fair character, and died aged 72, in 1723.
AT the bottom of the town is a small brick house
Lord Treasurer
Godolphin
died in that house.
,
HOLYWELL HOUSE.
called
Holywell;
once the residence of
Sarah
dutchess of
Marlborough.
Her portrait, in white, exquisitely handsome, is preserved here; as is that of her aged mother, Mrs.
Jennings.
In the first, are not the lest vestiges of her diabolical passions, the torments of her queen, her husband, and herself.
TWO little pictures in this house are so charmingly finished, as to merit a visit. One is of a beautiful woman, with red hair parted in the middle; a close cap, placed far behind; with a long black coif, edged with pearl.
SHE is dressed in a scarlet gown, with sleeves and mantle of purple: breasts and shoulders naked. She appears a deep devotee, reading a rich illuminated missal, seated in a chair. Her middle is surrounded with a chain, a rosary of gold and colored beads pendent from it. On a table, behind, is a chalice of gold, set with pearls.
THE other is a head of an old man, in a black gown; his beard grey and square, finely finished.
THE town of
St. Alban's
is large, and, in general,
TOWN.
filled with antient buildings. It originally sprung from a few houses built by king
Offa,
for the conveniency of the officers and servants of the monastery. About the year 950, it was so increased, that king
Ethelred,
at the intercession of abbot
Ulfin,
gave it a grant of a market, and the rank of a borough. In the
Doomsday Book,
it appears at the Conquest to have been rated for ten hides. The
arable was sixteen ploughlands. In demesne, three hides, two ploughlands, and another may be made. There were four aliens, sixteen villeyns, and thirteen boors, having thirteen ploughlands: forty-six burgesses: the toll, and other rents of the town, eleven pounds fourteen shillings a year: three mills, forty shillings a year: meadow, two ploughlands in quantity: wood to feed a thousand hogs in pannage-time: and seven shillings rent. The total twenty pounds at that time; in that of
Edward
the Confessor, twenty-four. There are now twelve cottagers, a park of deer, and a fish-pond.
THE town was always considered as part of the demesne of the abbey; and at the Conquest it was part of its possessions.
Richard
I. by charter, confirmed it to them, with a market, and all the liberty attending a borough: the abbot holding, as he alleged, of the king
in capite,
and holding the burgesses as demesned men of the abbey. This tenure the burgesses wished to force from him; which they attempted by the following stratagem: —In the thirty-fifth of
Edward
I. they had sent representatives to parlement, and also in the first and second of
Edward
II; but in the fifth of the same reign, the sheriff of
Hertfordshire,
by the contrivance of the abbot, to save the expence, had omitted the usual summons. This the burgesses complained of, asserting that they held of the king; hoping thereby to get released of the services they owed their lord abbot: or, if they succeeded in sending members, to be freed of those which they owed the king. Both of which expectations, in the opinion of Mr.
Madox,
were illfounded
Antiquities of the Exchequer,
i. 760.
. Burgesses were returned to parlement the fifth of
Edward
II. and in the second, fourth, and fifth of
Edward
III; after which the load, or the privilege, as it was respectively thought by the disputants, ceased. At the time of the dissolution, the town, with the other possessions of the abbey, fell to the king
(Henry
VIII.) and from him to his heir,
Edward
VI; who, by letters patent, dated
May
12th, 1553,
INCORPARATED
made the town of
St. Alban's
a body corporate, by the name of the mayor and burgesses, and granted to the said mayor and burgesses, and their successors, the said profits, and other franchises; they to hold the premises in free burgage, and to render yearly to the crown XL. as a fee-farm, at the feast of St.
Michael
Madox,
i. 762.
.
THESE were changed, by
Charles
II. into a mayor, recorder, twelve aldermen, and twenty-four assistants. The members are returned by the inhabitants and freemen (about a thousand in number) and the returning-officer is the mayor
Willis Notit. Parl.
iii. 26.
.
THE remarkable events, which befel this town in earlier times, were, as usual, of the sanguinary kind. During the rage of the barons wars, in the reign of
Henry
III. the burgesses fortified the place, and defended it with strong gates, well secured. They were particularly jealous of horsemen; therefore refused passage to all cavaliers. The constable of
Hertford,
displeased at this prohibition, in a bravado, boasted that he would enter the town with three youths (knights) and four of his best villeins. He did so; and, walking up and down with great insolence, asked his companions which way the wind was. The townsmen, alarmed at the question, thought he designed to fire their houses. In a summary way they executed justice, by knocking down and beheading him, his youths, and villeins; placing their heads on poles, at the corners of their streets. The king resented this invasion of his prerogative, and fined the town in a hundred marks; which was immediately paid
Chauney,
442.
.
IN the reign of
Richard
II. they underwent a mortification of a far heavier nature. In 1381, after the bloody insurrection of
Wat Tyler,
a court of justice was held here, by the famous Sir
Robert Tresilian. John Ball,
a priest of
Coventry,
was tried and executed. Several of the inhabitants had favored the rebels, or, taking advantage of the turbulence of the
mes, had demanded from the abbot a release from all their services. Several of them were condemned and put to death, and orders given, that their bodies should remain on the gallows
in terrorem.
The burgesses, in contempt of the king, took them down; but when a discovery was made,
Richard,
in a rage, commanded the townsmen to make chains, and hang the putrid carcases on the same places they took them from; which, disgusting and horrible as the task was, they were obliged to perform
Holinshed,
438.
.
IN the civil wars between the houses of
York
and
Lancaster,
FIRST BATTLE AT ST. ALBAN'S.
this town was the scene of dreadful carnage. Here was shed the first blood in that fatal quarrel. As soon as ever the weak
Henry,
or rather his queen and ministers, found themselves free from the power of his rival the duke of
York,
they armed their forces, and marched from
London
to
St. Alban
's to meet their enemy, who was advancing towards them with a mighty host. They met on the 22d of
May,
1455. The peaceful prince sent out a herald to
York,
strictly commanding him to keep the peace as became a dutiful subject, and to avoid effusion of blood.
York
's answer was humble, yet resolute; demanding the duke of
Somerset,
and other delinquents, to be delivered into his hands, that justice might be executed on them, for the miseries they had brought on the realm.
Somerset,
who had been regent of
France,
was charged in particular with the loss of
Normandy.
The king determined to stand the event of the day, rather than give up his friends. His banner was placed in St.
Peter's street.
Orders were issued by
Henry
(but most probably by the bloody
Margaret
) that no quarter
Stow,
399.
should be given to his opponents. The
Yorkists
began the attack in three places. The famous
John
lord
Clifford
defended the barriers with his accustomed valour. The king-making
Warwick,
who at this time espoused the cause of
York,
collected his force, and broke in through the gardens into
Holywell-street
Stow,
399.
: his soldiers shouted his tremendous name. The duke of
York
entered at the same time, and a dreadful fight ensued. Victory declared in his favor. Numbers of the nobility and gentry, with about eight hundred common men, fell on the side of
Henry:
the valiant
Clifford,
usually called
The Old,
though only forty years of age; the earl of
Northumberland,
son to the noted
Hotspur;
and the great duke of
Somerset,
were slain. The last lost his life beneath the sign of the
Castle,
to fulfil the prophecy thus delivered by
Shakespeare:
Let him shun castles.
Safer shall he be on the sandy plains,
Than where castles mounted stand
Henry
VI. part ii. act 1.
Hulle's Chronicle,
lxxxvi.
.
Numbers of the nobility were wounded, and numbers fled till the fury of the battle was over. None were executed by the victor: the barbarity of civil feuds had not yet taken place, provoked by the reciprocal cruelties which speedily followed.
Henry,
wounded in the neck by an arrow, which hurtled in showers on him, retreated to a poor cottage, where he was found by the conquerors. They asked forgiveness on their knees; which the humane prince readily gave, on condition they would stop the carnage. He became their prisoner, and they of course became governors of the kingdom. The abbey escaped plunder; for fortunately the king did not make it his head-quarters.
THE king, from this time to the year 1461, remained a mere shadow of royalty, entirely under the directions of the
Yorkists,
His queen was driven from him, under the terror of a proscription. That spirited woman did not employ her time in prayers, or counting her beads, like her weak husband; but, by the assistance of her northern friends, raised a potent army, fought and slew the duke of
York
at the battle of
Wakefield,
on
December
30th, 1460; and, marching towards
London,
gave occasion to a second battle at
St. Alban's.
THE earl of
Warwick,
SECOND BATTLE AT ST. ALBAN'S.
now in possession of the king, hastened from
London
with the captive monarch, and took post in
St. Alban's. Margaret,
attempting to pass through the town, was repulsed by a storm of arrows, directed from the market-place; but she quickly forced her way through a lane into St.
Peter's street.
The conflict became then very bloody; and, after great slaughter, both parties quitted the town, and continued the battle, with the animosity usual in civil feuds, on
Bernard Heath,
north of
St. Alban's,
as far as the village of
Sauntbridge,
and even beyond it, at a place called
No Man's Land
Stow,
413.
. There a
corps de reserve
of
Warwick
's army, to the number of four or five thousand, made so vigorous an onset on the
Lancastrians,
as to render the victory for some time doubtful. At length the treachery or cowardice of a captain
Lovelace,
who commanded the
Kentishmen,
determined the day: he quitted the field, and left a complete victory to the queen. The confederated lords fled, and left the king in company of Lord
Bonvil
and Sir
Thomas Kiriel,
a gallant knight of
Kent,
both
Yorkists.
These gentlemen
Henry
had prevaled on to stay with him, assuring them of pardon and security; but his barbarous queen, in contempt of the royal word, and in defiance of all good faith, caused them to be beheaded in presence of her son
Edward
Halle,
p. c.
, as it were to familiarize the young prince with blood, and train him to cruelty.
THREE-AND-TWENTY hundred men perished in this battle. Only one man of rank was slain, Sir
John Grey
of
Groby;
who had that morning, with twelve others, been knighted by the king at
Colney.
His widow became queen to
Edward
IV. and occasioned fresh calamities to the kingdom; and proved the innocent cause of the destruction of her kindred.
ON quitting
St. Alban's,
I passed by the long wall which inclosed the nunnery of
Sopewell,
SOPEWELL.
made of stone mixed with great quantities of
Roman
tiles. The religious house took its rise from two pious women, who on the site built a hovel with boughs of trees, and covered it with bark, in order to indulge in privacy their fondness for prayer and fasting. Abbot
Jeffry,
about the year 1140, encouraged their virtue, by founding a nunnery of
Benedictines.
IN this house
Henry
VIII. was privately married, by Doctor
Rowland Lee,
afterwards bishop of
Lichfield,
to
Anna Bullein.
It maintained thirteen nuns: on the dissolution, only nine; when its revenues, according to
Dugdale,
were £45. 7
s.
10
d.;
to
Speed,
£68. 8
s.
It was first granted to Sir
Richard Lee;
but finally became the property of Sir
Harbottle Grimston,
and his heirs
Tanner,
183.
.
AFTER passing through the village of
London Colney,
LONDON COLNEY.
seated on the
Colne,
RIDGEHILL.
at about a mile's distance I ascend
Ridgehill,
remarkable for a most extensive and rich view northwards of the fine country about
St. Alban's.
At
South Mims,
enter the county of MIDDLESEX;
WROTHAM PARK.
and soon after leave, on the left,
Wrotham Park;
a beautiful house, built by admiral
Byng,
who was put to death in 1757!
ABOUT a mile farther,
BATTLE OF BARNET.
reach the bloody field of
Barnet,
marked by a column, that shews the spot where the decisive battle was fought between the houses of
York
and
Lancaster,
which fixed the crown on the head of
Edward
IV.
THE great earl of
Warwick,
resentful of the injuries he had received of that prince, deposed him from the throne he had enabled him to mount. So popular was the character of this potent baron, that a numerous army flew to his standard: every one was proud of bearing his cognisance, the bear and ragged staff, in his cap: some of gold, enamelled; others of silver; and those who could not afford the precious metals, cut them out of white silk, or cloth. When he visited
London
in peaceful times, he came attended by six hundred men, in red jackets, embroidered with ragged staves before and behind. He kept house at his palace in
Warwick-Lane.
Six oxen were consumed at every breakfast; and every tavern was full of his meat; and every guest was allowed to carry off as much, roasted or boiled, as he could bear upon his long dagger
Stow's Hist. London,
edit. 1611, p. 130.
.
Edward,
on his return to
England,
was joyfully received in
London.
Hearing that
Warwick
was on his march towards the capital, he hastened to meet him, and posted himself at
Barnet.
So bad was the intelligence in those days, that
Edward
advanced in the night so near to
Warwick
's camp, that the earl, unapprized of his vicinity, kept firing his ordnance over that of the king the greatest part of the night, without the lest execution. On the morning, being that of
Easter-day, April
14th 1471, both the leaders placed their armies in order.
Warwick
wore as his cognisance an ostrich's feather
Ibid. 422.
, the badge of
Edward,
the son of king
Henry:
his friend
Vere
earl of
Oxford,
a star; the fatal cause of the loss of the day.
Edward
wore a sun; from a fancy, that before the battle of
Mortimer's Cross,
he saw three distinct suns at last unite in one
Hollinshed,
660.
Shakespeare, Henry
VI. part iii. act 2.
. The battle began at four in the morning, which opened in a thick mist, with that deadly hate which the long series of civil wars had created. The battle raged with various success, as might be expected from the undaunted courage and animosity of the leaders, and from the reflection on the certain destruction consequential of defeat. They fought obscured in fog till ten o'clock: victory seemed to incline to
Warwick;
when his people, mistaking the stars in the helms of
Oxford
's soldiers, for the suns of
Edward
's party, charged their own friends; who, crying Treason! Treason! fled with eight hundred men. The marquis of
Montacute,
with the fickleness usual in those times, had privily agreed with
Edward
to desert his brother
Warwick,
and had changed his livery. This was discovered by some of the earl's men; who instantly put him to death: a fit reward of fraternal perfidy!
Warwick,
seeing his brother slain,
Oxford
fled, and the fortune of the day turned against him, leaped on a horse, in hopes of escaping; but coming to an impassable wood, was there killed, and stripped naked; and, after being exposed, with the body of
Montacute,
for three or four days, in the church of St.
Paul
's, was interred in the abbey of
Bisham
in
Berkshire,
founded by the
Montacutes,
his maternal ancestors. About four thousand were slain on both sides; who were interred for the most part on the spot.
Edward
built here a chapel, and, according to the custom of the times, appointed a priest to say mass for the souls of the deceased. This place, in the days of
Stow
Annals,
423.
, was converted into a dwelling-house. The following conversation relative to this battle, between
Civis
and
Roger,
extracted from Doctor
Bullein's Dialogues both pleasante & pietifull,
&c. will probably be acceptable to the reader:
How like you this heath? Here was foughten a fearful field, called
Palme Sondaie Battaile,
in king
Edward
the fowerthes tyme. Many thousands were slain on this grounde. Here was slain the noble erle of
Warwiche.
If it please your maistership, my granndfather was also here, with twenty tall men of the parishe where I was borne, and none of them escaped but my granndfather only. I had his bowe in my hande many a tyme: no man could stir the string when it was bent. Also his harnes was worn upon our
S. Georges
back, in our churche, many a colde winter after; and I hearde my grand-dame tell how he escaped.
Tell me,
Roger,
I pray thee, howe he did escape the danger?
Sir, when the battaile was pitched, and appointed to bee foughten nere unto this windmill, and the somons given by the harolts of armies, that spere, polax, blackbille, bowe and arrowes, should be sette a worke the daie following, and that it shoulde be tried by bloudie weapon, a sodaine fear fell on my grandfather; and the same night, when it was darke, he stale out of the erle's campe, for fear of the king's displeasure, and hid him in the woode; and at lengthe he espied a greate hollowe oke tree, with armes somewhat greene, and climbed up, partly through climing, for he was a thatcher; but feare was worthe a ladder to him: and then, by the helpe of the writhen arm of the tree, he went down, and there remained a good while; and was fedde there by the space of a monthe with old achorns and nuttes which squirrels had brought in; and also did in his sallet kepe the raine water for his drinke, and at length escaped the danger.
AT a small distance stands
Hadley
church, and pleasant village,
HADLEY CHURCH.
on the edge of
Enfield Chace;
where, in my boyish age, I passed many happy days with my uncle, the Reverend
John Pennant;
who, during forty years, was the worthy minister of the place. Here had been, in early times, a hermitage; which
Geffry de Magnaville,
about the year 1136, bestowed on his newfounded abbey of
Walden
in
Essex
Newcourt's Repertorium,
i. 621.
. The church was probaby a chapel to the hermitage, and, from its being annexed to
Walden,
was called
Hadley Monachorum.
It is at present a donative in the gift of the lords of the manor. The present church is built with flints. Over the west door is the date 1498, and the sculpture of a rose and a wing. The same is found under the upper window of
Enfield,
and on a gateway opposite to the
Curtain
in
Shoreditch,
once belonging to the
Benedictine
nunnery of
Haliwell.
Sir
Thomas Lovel,
who lived at the period in which this church was built, was a great benefactor to the nunnery, and had his residence at
Enfield.
Whether he contributed to the building of
Hadley,
does not appear; otherwise it would seem to have been a badge of his: but others have conjectured it to have been a rebus, expressive of the name of an architect,
Rosewing.
ON the top of the steeple there remains an iron pitch-pot,
BEACON.
designed as a beacon, occasionally to be fired, to alarm the country in case of invasion. It takes its name from the
Saxon Becnian,
to call by signs. Before the time of
Edward
III. the signals were given by firing great stacks of wood; but in the eleventh of his reign, it was first ordered that this species of alarm should be made with pitch-pots placed on standards
Lambarde's Kent,
66.
, or on elevated buildings, within due distances of one another.
Hadley
stands at the edge of
Enfield Chace
This
Chace
was inclosed in the seventeenth of the present reign, and was found to contain 8349 acres; which were thus allotted:
 
A.
R.
P.
Enfield
parish —
1732
2
6 including 200 to be inclosed and let, in aid of land-tax and poor's rate.
Old Park in ditto
30
0
15
Edmonton
—
1231
2
6
Hadley
—
240
0
0
South Mims
—
1026
0
0
Oldfold
Farm —
36
3
24
The Crown —
3213
2
20
Tythe Owners —
519
0
32
Four Lodges —
313
0
3
To be enfranchised
6
2
1
The 200 acres allowed in relief of
Enfield
parish, are divided into forty-one lots, and let at £1. 16
s. per
acre, and some for two guineas, for ninety nine years, commencing at
Michaelmas
1778. The crown makes £1300 a year of twenty-four lots, for the same term, and at various and higher rents.
, a vast tract of woodland,
ENFIELD CHACE.
filled with deer. The view of the county of
Essex,
over the trees, is extremely beautiful. This great extent of forest was first granted, by
William
the Conqueror, to
Geffry de Magnaville,
a noble
Norman,
one of his followers: the name afterwards corrupted to
Mandeville.
His posterity were earls of
Essex
till the death of
William Fitzpier,
in 1227, his descendant by the female line; when this chace, and the title of
Essex,
fell to
Humphry de Bohun
earl of
Hereford,
in right of his mother, sister to
Fitzpier
Vincent's Discoverie,
180.
. It continued with the
Bohuns
till the decease of the tenth of the name; after which, the property of the
Chace
descended to
Henry
earl of
Derby,
afterwards
Henry
IV. by virtue of his marriage with
Mary,
younger sister to the last
Bohun,
and became annexed to the dutchy of
Lancaster
Cambden,
i. 398.
.
FROM
Hadley
to
Barnet
is half a mile:
BARNET.
a small thoroughfare town on the top of a hill; whence its name, corrupted from the
Saxon Bergnet,
a little hill. It has also the title of
Chipping Barnet,
on account of its market. In
Saxon
times, a vast wood filled this tract; which was granted to the abbey of St.
Alban's.
An inscription in the midst of the church shews it was founded by a
Beauchamp:
CHURCH.
Ora pro anima
Johannis Beauchamp
hujus operis fundatoris.
HERE is a fair monument to a countryman of mine,
Thomas Ravenscroft,
Esquire, born at
Hawarden,
of an antient family in that parish. He lies in a gown and ruff, recumbent. He died in 1630. He and his son
James
were considerable benefactors to this place. To him was owing the vestry-room; to
James,
an alms-house for six poor women, which he amply endowed.
Near
Barnet
is a medicinal well, a gentle and safe chalybeate; in former times in great repute.
FROM this town is a quick descent.
WHETSTONE.
Near the village of
Whetstone
I again enter
Middlesex;
FINCHLEY COMMON.
which I quitted on going into
Barnet.
Just beyond
Whetstone,
the road passes over
Finchley Common;
infamous for robberies, and often planted with gibbets, the penalty of murderers. The resort of travellers of all ranks, and the multitudes of heavy carriages which crowd this road, compared with those between
St. Dennis
and
Paris,
give a melancholy idea of the overgrown size of our capital, which makes such annual havock of the lives and fortunes of the distant visita
ts.
ABOUT a mile beyond this common, stands
Highgate,
a large village,
HIGHGATE.
seated on a lofty eminence, overlooking the smoky extent of the town. Here, in my memory, stood a large gateway, at which, in old times, a
oll was paid to the bishop of
London,
for liberty granted (between four and five hundred years ago) by one of his predecessors, for passing from
Whetstone,
along the present road, through his parks, instead of the old
way by
Friarn Barnet, Colme-b
ch, Muswell-hill, Crouch
d,
and (leaving
Highgate
to the west) by the church of
Paneras.
In the time of queen
Elizabeth,
it was farmed from the bishop for forty pounds a year
Norden's Speculums Brit, Middlesex,
15.
. After resting for a small space over the busy prospect, I descended into the plain, reached the metropolis, and disappeared in the crowd.
PART II. FROM NORTHAMPTON TO LONDON.
IN a preceding year, I determined to vary part of my journey
to the capital, by quitting the common road near
Daventry.
I began with making a digression about five miles to the south of that town, as far as
Fawsley.
I passed through the village, and by the church of
Badby.
The manor, in
Saxon
times,
BADBY.
was bestowed on the abbey of
Crowland,
by one
Norman,
a sheriff; and
grant was confirmed by
Witlaf
and
Beored,
kings of
M
r
i
,
in 868. That great convent held it for no
very long
. In 1017 it devolved to
Leofric
earl of
Leicester,
by
of his brother, also of the name of
Norman,
to
house of
Crowland
had granted it for one hundred
, on the payment of a pepper-corn▪ but
Leofric
severed
on the abbey of
E
ham.
VIII.
ave it to Sir
Edm
nd Kinghtly
the
of Sir
Edward
of
and it now is the sole
of
Esquire.
the parish, and at a small distance to the west of the
, noted for the vast d
h and rampa
. It is of an irregular shape, conforming to the shape of a hill; notwithstanding which, it may have been
, and possessed afterwards by the
Saxons;
who bestowed on
present name of
A
d,
which signifies, in the
British,
high:
, which in their own tongue, is an eminence
,
524.
.
AT a
distance from hence is
Cates
y:
long the prop
of a family of the same name. Sir
William Cates
y
one of the three favorites of
Richard
III. was lord of this manor.
ancestors possessed the place in the reign of
Edward
III, and
in his posterity till the infamous conclusion of his
, the execrable
Dod
s Church Hist.
ii 430.
con
of the Gun-p
Plot.
FROM
Badly,
I rode through some pretty woods,
and through
E
-park,
to the house of
s
ey,
the seat of the antient
o
the
;
standing in an improved de
esne, above some pretty pieces of
ter, winding along a fine woo
ed
THE present owner derives it from a very long race of
ors, who were settled here from the year 1
15: at which
it was purchased by
Richard Knightly,
descended from a
Stafford-shire
a
ly
taking in name from a manor in that
they had possessed from the twentieth year of
William
the Conqueror.
THE present house is a motley building; part being exceedingly old,
HOUSE.
part middle-aged, and part new. The hall is a mag
gothic, of a vast height, timbered at top, and fifty-two
long. The recess, or bow-window, is richly ornamented at
with sculpture in stone. Ail the other windows are very
, and placed at a great height above the floor. In every
arms of the family, and their alliances. I enumerated above sixty; for it has been greatly allied, from very early
.
THE chimney-piece is large, grand, and well carved. Above
great window. The smoke is conveyed by flue
passing on
of it; so that the chimney does not in the lest disturb
formity of the room: at the lower end are two arched
There would be a faultless prop
iety, if it was not for
wooden skreen trespassing on the lower end.
THE kitchen is most hospitably divided. On each side of the
is an enormous fire-place,
KITCHEN.
fitted for a hecatomb of
they are placed back to back, so as not to interrupt their
operations.
portraits preserved here are very curious:
PORTRAITS.
than of Sir
Knightly
caught my eye first, as senior of the company. He is represented half-length, in black, with short brown hair,
and a small beard; one hand on
us sword, the other
. I find nothing more remarkable of him than being
more active spirit.
Sir
Richard Knightly:
who is painted in two periods of
in advanced years, sitting; his head kept warm by a coi
;
dress black; his ruff laced. Near him are his spectacles, a Bible, and hour-g
a
s. Between his leg, is a little girl playing with his stick, while he,
ing one hand on her shoulder, forms a true picture of aged affection. In the inscription he is stiled of
Norton;
a manor belonging to the family, and possibly the residence of Sir
Richard
at this time
THE other portrait represents
m in the thirty-third year of his age,
A. D.
1
67. On his head is a bonnet: his dress is yellow: his clock black: his ruff small. He is painted with a sword and small rod. It should seem, from some not ill-wrote
that he had p
ssed his youth licentiously; but afterwards made a
reform. They begin,
In
Fotuna.
So hit
by helpe of hevenlie powers,
My doubtful liffe hath
onne his postinge race;
Whos
you
hath passed such stormie showers
As might have cute me of in halfe this space.
Yet mightie JO
, by his celestial grace,
Hath brought my barke to such a blissful shore,
As da
ie doth advaunce me more and more,
In vita Fortuna.
It is probable he had an enthusiastic turn. He took part with the puritans, who early beg
n to give disturbance to the church of
England.
Their spirits were so greatly e
t
tered by the unfavorable conclusion of the mock conference between their
inister
and the royal paedagogue, in 1603
Rapin,
ii 162.
, that they gave
ent
their rage in variety of most s
urrilous pamphlets against the
la
ical order. These were the productions of secret presses,
travelled from place to place. The lord of
Fawsley
was
guilty of harboring then. He was cited before the Star
, and would have been severely treated, had it not been
the mild
Whitgift,
archbishop of
Canterbury,
who had been
principal object of their abuse
. The agreement of Sir
with Sir
Francis Hastings,
in a petition to the House for
n
ing a toleration to the
Roman
catholics, must not be thought
nsistent with the views of his party; for, had, success followed the puritans might have clamed, and most probably ob
the same indulgence. He died in 1615.
HIS first wife was
Mary,
daughter of Mr.
Richard Fermor,
of
Neston:
his second, was lady
Elizabeth Seymour,
sixth
Discoverie.
483.
daughter to the protector duke of
Somerset.
There are two por
of this lady: one dated 1590, at
. Her hands and face
mall: her dress a quilled ruff; black gown hung and beset
vast strings and rows of pearls. The other is also in black,
ruff. This lady brought her husband seven sons and
daughters: died in 1602, and was interred in the church at
Bridges,
79.
.
LL-LENGTH of
Thomas
lord
Grey
of
roby,
in armour,
, a turnover, and boots; with a boy in red giving him
. This nobleman was eldest son to the first earl of
, and married to
Anne,
second daughter of
Edward
earl of
Bath.
He is represented as a young man of mean
who took a determined part in the civil wars against his sovereign: was active against him in the field, and submitted,
others equally warm in the cause of liberty, declined the
nge
s office, to sit among the judges on the trial of the king; and finally in sign his name to the warrant which brought him. to the block. These services were fully rewarded. He had
mou
of a thousand a year bestowed on him
Drake's Parl Hist.
xx. 50.
, and
of the royal manor of
Holdenby;
but before the Restoration,
luckily rescued him from the fate of
is b
d
inquents.
I MUST close this
mentioning two most beautiful heads of women, do
e in crayons; much to the honor of the fair performer, a lady of the present generation.
THE church is dedicated to St.
Pet
,
CHURCH
and was bestowed by
Henry
II. on the mo
ks of
Daventry.
On the dissolution, it was given to the college of St.
s
ide, Oxford;
TOMB
.
but is now in the gift of Mr
Knightly.
Within are numbers, of antient tombs of the
from its first settlement in this country; but many of them much
lated. That of Sir
Richard Knightly,
who died in 15
4, and
Jane
his wife, are magnificently represented
, rec
mbent, on an altar-tomb: he in
with a herald's mantle over it, and a defence of
over his th
g
.
SIR
Edward Knightly,
and his wife
Ursula,
sister to
John Vere
earl of
Oxford
is figured on a brass plate; and, according to the fashion of the times, is armed, notwithstanding he was a serjeant of law. He died in 1542.
A VAST mural monument preserves the memory of another Sir
Valentine
and his spouse,
Anne,
daughter of Sir
Edward Ferrers
of
Badesly,
in
Warwickshire.
He died in 1566. This memorial is a great pile of marble, with a great black sarcophagus in the middle, and finished with a pediment.
THE seats are most ridiculously carved with variety of droll subjects: such as a cat fiddling, and the mice dancing; an animal riding on a sow, bridled and saddled: and other figures equally calculated to spoil the gravity of the best-disposed congregation.
FROM
Fawsley
I returned into the
London
road, near the eighth stone from
Toucester;
and crossing it, reached the village and church of
Flore,
or
Flower,
pleasantly seated on rising ground,
FLORE.
at a small distance from the great road. In
Doomsday-book
it is called
Flora;
perhaps from its agreeable situation. I left the church unvisited. I must speak from Mr.
Bridges
P. 506,
&c.
of the most remarkable particulars. It is dedicated to
All Saints.
It was bestowed in the reign of king
John,
CHURCH.
by a
Ralph de Kaines,
on
Merton abbey,
in
Surrey;
but at the dissolution, was given to
Christ-church, Oxford;
under the patronage of which it continues.
ON a grey stone, in brass, is the figure of the VIRGIN,
TOMBS.
clasping our SAVIOUR in her arms. Beneath them is
Thomas Knaresburght,
in armour, and
Agnes
his wife; both with suppliant hands, addressing themselves to the object of the adoration of their days. She in these words:
O Blyssyd Lady, pray to
IHU,
of us to have
mercy.
He died
in die ramis palmarum,
1450; she, on the 26th of
March,
1488.
THE following curious epitaph informs us of the end of
Robert Saunders,
and
Margaret
his wife.
ROBERT
Saunders,
the seconde sone of
Thomas Saunders
of
Sybbertoft,
lyethe here buryed:
To
Margret Staunton,
the heyre of
Thomas Staunton,
he was fyrste marryed;
WHICH
Margret
being dead,
Joyse Goodwyn
he tooke to wyfe.
THE XIII daye of
November,
Ao . XCVO . XLIX. he departyd thys lyfe;
AND reste the at GOD'S pleasure, tyll the daye of perfection.
GOD sende us and hym then a joyful resurrection.
Amen.
CLOSE by
Flower
I enter on the new turnpike-road, which forms a communication between
Daventry
and
Northampton,
and which opens into the
London
road between
Dodford
and
Weedon.
ABOUT two miles from
Northampton,
I passed through the village of
Upton,
UPTON.
and by
Upton-hall,
the seat of Sir
Thomas Samwell,
Baronet, and property of his ancestors since the year 1600; when it was purchased from Sir
Richard Knightley
by
William Samwell,
Esquire, a gentleman of antient
Cornish
descent.
AFTER a short space, I crossed the northern water, or
Naesbyhead,
a river that rises due north, and by its junction a little below with another stream, which flows from
Fawsley-pools,
forms that which receives at
Northampton
the name of
Nen. Leland
calls one of these branches the
Avon;
the other the
Weedon.
I ENTERED this beautiful town at the west gate,
NORTHAMPTON.
and passed beneath the site of the castle. Nothing, excepting an outer wall and foss, remains; in part of which is a vast stratum of ferruginous
geodes.
OPPOSITE to the castle is a great mount,
CASTLE.
once the foundation of some more antient fortress; perhaps one of the line of forts which crossed this and the neighboring counties. One exists at
Toucester,
and another I shall have occasion to speak of, lying about three miles to the east. I cannot speak with certainty of the period in which it was occupied by the
Saxons,
who gave it the name of
Hamtune.
Mr.
Bridges
supposes it to have risen from the ruins of
Eltavon,
a
Roman
station on the side of the town. It appears that the
Danes
were possessed of
Northampton
in 917; and from thence long made their barbarous excursions
Sax. Chr.
104, 106.
. Before the year 1010, they had quitted the place; but in their inroads in that year, they burnt the town, and desolated the country.
IN 1064, it found in the
Northumbrians,
under
Morcar,
who had advanced as far as
Northampton,
a cruel set of banditti, who committed most unprovoked outrages. They murdered the inhabitants, burnt the houses, and carried off thousands of cattle, and multitudes of prisoners. But in the reign of
Edward
the Confessor, here were LX burgesses in the king's lordship, and LX houses. At the time of the Conquest, fourteen were waste; but at the time of the survey, there were forty burgesses in the new borough
Doomsday-book,
in
Mortor's Northampt.
.
Simon de Sancto Licio,
or
Senliz,
a noble
Norman,
founded here the castle. He had married
Maude,
daughter of
Waltheof,
the
Saxon
earl of
Northampton,
and succeeded to the title.
THE Conqueror had bestowed this town, and whole hundred of
Fawsley,
then worth forty pounds a year, on
St. Liz,
to provide shoes for his horses
Blunt's Antient Tenures,
16.
. From that period it became considerable, and frequently was the seat of parlements, and was on several other occasions honored with the royal presence.
I MUST particularize the great council held there in 1164, in which the contumacy of
Thomas Becket
was punished by a heavy fine. At this time,
the whole people came, as one man;
and yet all were unequal to the pride and obstinacy of the single prelate
Lord Lyttelton's Henry
II. 41 to 56.
. The other great council, or parlement, was summoned in 1176, to confirm the statutes of
Clarendon;
in which the rights of the crown and customs of the realm, especially as to judicial proceedings, had been established
The same, V. 264, octavo, 2d edit.
.
DURING the civil contests which
England
was so unhappily afflicted with, it came in for its share of the calamities incident to war. In that between king
John
and the barons; it was stoutly defended on the part of the king against
Robert Fitzwalter,
fanatically stiled marshal of
the army of God and the holy church
Cambden,
i. 519.
; who, for want of military engines, was obliged to raise the siege
Dugdale Baron,
i. 219.
. This post was of such importance, that, after the charter of liberties was extorted from
John,
the constable for the time being was sworn (by the twenty-five barons appointed as a committee to enforce its execution) to govern the castle according to their pleasure. This was done in the fullness of their power; but as soon as the perjured prince got the upper hand, he appointed
Fulk de Breans
(a valiant but base-born
Norman
) to the command, as one in whom he could entirely confide
Dugdale Baron,
i. 743.
.
IN the year 1263, the younger
Mounfort
and his barons held it against their sovereign
Henry
III. The king marched against them with a great force; and having with his battering-rams made a great breach in that part of the town-walls nearest to the monastery of St.
Andrew,
entered the place, and, after a short but vigorous resistance, made the whole garrison prisoners
Carte,
ii, 141.
.
IN 1460,
Henry
VI. made
Northampton
the place of rendezvous of his forces. The strength of his army encouraged his spirited queen to offer battle to his young antagonist, the earl of
Marche,
then at the head of a potent army. A conference was demanded by the earl, and rejected by the royal party; who marched out of the town, and encamped in the meadows between it and
Hardinston.
The battle was fierce and bloody; but by the treachery of
Edmund
lord
Grey
of
Ruthen;
who deserted his unhappy master, victory declared in favor of the house of
York.
Thousands were slain, or drowned in the
Nen:
among them the duke of
Buckinghum,
earl of
Shrewsbury, John
viscount
Beaumont,
and lord
Egremont.
The duke was interred in the church of the
Grey Friars;
others of the men of rank, in the adjacent abbey of
De la Prè;
and others, in the hospital of St.
John,
in the town.
THE town had been inclosed with a strong wall, probably before the reign of king
John;
for mention is made, in the second year of his reign, of the east-gate, one of the four. The walls were of breadth sufficient for six men to walk abreast. Both walls and castle were early neglected; for they appear to have been in 1593 in a ruinous state
Norden,
as quoted by
Bridges,
432.
; yet part of it was used as a prison before the year 1675: and within had been a royal free-chapel, dedicated to St.
George;
to which a chaplain was presented by the crown, with a salary of L
s.
a year.
IN the civil wars of the last century,
Northampton
was seized by lord
Brook,
for the use of the parlement. In 1642, he fortified it with a foss and ramparts; converted the bridges into draw-bridges; and brought several pieces of cannon here to defend it, in case of attack. Whether it distinguished itself by any particular acts of disloyalty beyond other places, I cannot say; but in 1662, pursuant to an order of council, the walls, gates, and part of the castle, were demolished
Bridges.
.
RELIGIOUS HOUSES.
THE most antient of the religious houses in this town was the priory of St.
Andrew,
ST. ANDREW'S.
founded about the year 1076, by
Simon de St. Liz,
(first earl of
Northampton
of his name) and
Maude
his wife. He peopled it with cluniacs, and in 1084 made it subject to the abbey of St.
Mary de Caritate,
a monastery upon the
Loire.
This occasioned it to undergo the common fate of all alien priories, that of being seized into the king's hands. It was surrendered to
Henry
at the dissolution, by
Francis Abràe,
then prior; who, in reward for his ready compliance, was appointed the first dean of
Peterborough
Willis,
ii, 160. The recantation which he and his poor monks were forced to make, is well worth perusal. See
Appendix.
.
ITS revenues, according to
Dugdale,
was £263. 7
s.
1
d.
; to
Speed,
£344. 13
s.
7
d.
The house stood near the north end of the town, and, with the demesne lands, was granted by
Edward
VI. to Sir
Thomas Smith
Tanner.
.
THE
Grey Friars,
or
Franciscans,
GREY FRIARS.
had a house on the west side of the place. They originally hired a habitation in St.
Giles
's parish, but afterwards built one on ground given them by the town, in the year 1245.
John Windlowe,
the last warden, and ten of his brethren, surrendered their poor revenues, of £6. 13
s.
4
d. per annum,
on
October
28th, 1539
Willis,
ii. 160,
; after which it was granted to one
Richard Taverner.
ABOVE this house was a priory of
Carmelites,
or
White Friars,
WHITE FRIARS.
founded in 1271, by
Simon Mountfort
and
Thomas Chetwood.
It was valued at £10. 10
s.
and granted to
William Ramesden
Tanner,
386.
, after being resigned by
John Howel,
the last prior, and eight brethren.
THE
Dominicans,
or
Black Friars,
were fixed here before 1240.
BLACK FRIARS.
John Dalyngton
was either founder, or a considerable benefactor. Its revenues were only £5. 11
s.
5
d.
Bridges,
455.
It was resigned to the crown by its prior
William Dyckyns,
and seven of his friars.
William Peverel,
natural son to the Conqueror, founded,
BLACK CANONS.
before 1112, a house of
Black Canons,
in honor of St.
James.
This
Peverel
has no less than forty-four manors granted to him in this county. The revenues of this house amounted to £175. 8
s.
2
d.
according to
Dugdale;
or £213. 17
s.
2
d.
according to
Speed. Henry
VIII. granted it to
Nicholas Giffard
Tanner,
377.
. Its last abbot was
William Brokden,
who, with five monks, resigned it in 1540.
THE
Austin Friars,
AUSTIN FRIARS.
or
Friars Eremites,
had a house here in the
Bridge-street,
founded in 1322, by Sir
John Longueville
of
Wolverton,
in
Buckinghamshire;
and several of his name were interred there.
John Goodwyn,
the prior, with seven friars, resigned it to the king in 1539. It was soon after granted to
Robert Dighton.
Its revenues are unknown
Bridges,
456.
.
THE college of
All Saints
was founded in 1459,
ALL SAINTS.
with licence of purchasing to the value of twenty marks. It consisted only of two fellows. In 1535, it was found, clear of all reprizes, to be worth XXXIX
s.
IV
d. College-lane,
in this town, takes its name from it
The same, 458.
.
THE hospital of St.
John
is an antient building,
HOSPITAL OF ST. JOHN.
standing in
Bridge-street.
It consists of a chapel, a large hall with apartments for the brethren, and two rooms above for the co-brothers. It was founded for the reception of infirm poor, probably by
William St. Clere,
archdeacon of
Northampton;
who died possessed of that dignity in 1168. He is supposed to have been brother to one of the
Simon St. Clere;
but
Leland
justly insinuates, that they never were called by that name, but by that of
St. Liz
Leland Itin,
i. 10. and
Bridges,
456.
.
AT the dissolution, its clear revenues were £57. 19
s.
6
d.
Sir
Francis Brian
was then high steward of the house, and had 40
s.
yearly; and eight poor persons were maintained at 2
d.
a day each: a charity founded by
John Dallington,
clerk, and confirmed in 1340, by
Henry Burgherst,
bishop of
Lincoln.
It is at present governed by a master, and two co-brothers or chaplains, whose salary is £ v. each, with XI
s.
each, in lieu of firing, and X
s.
on renewing of leases. The eight poor people are named by the master, and maintained in lodging, firing, and common room, and 1
s.
2
d.
weekly.
ST.
Thomas
's hospital stands a little more to the south of St.
John
's,
ST. THOMAS'S.
beyond the south gate, in the suburbs called
The Quarters,
which extend to the south bridge. This owes its foundation, in 1450, to the respect the citizens had for St.
Thomas Becket.
Originally it maintained twelve poor people: six more were added in 1654, by Sir
John Langham;
and one more of later years, by
Richard Massingberd.
It is governed by a warden, who is one of the aldermen; and the vicar of
All Saints
is the chaplain, with an annual salary of £ III. XVI
s.
VIII
d.
Bridges,
457.
I FIND, besides, an hospital on the south side of the town, in the parish of
Hardingstone,
dedicated to St.
Leonard,
for a master and leprous brethren; founded before 1240. The mayor and burgesses were patrons.
Dugdale
valued it at ten pounds a year
Tanner,
386.
.
I MUST not omit mention of the short-lived university which existed in this town;
UNIVERSITY.
and which arose from the following occasion: — In 1238,
Otho,
the pope's legate, happened to visit the university of
Oxford,
and took his residence at the neighboring convent of
Osney.
He was one day respectfully waited on by the students; who were insolently refused admittance by the
Italian
porter. At length, after intolerable provocation from the clerk of the kitchen, a
Welsh
student drew his bow, and shot him dead
Wood's Hist. Ox.
i. 89.
. The resentment of government, and the fear of punishment, caused the first secession of the students to
Northampton,
and other places. In succeeding years fresh riots arose, and occasioned farther migrations. At length, these migrations were made under sanction of the king; who imagined that the disturbances arose from the too great concourse of scholars to one place. It is said, that not fewer than fifteen thousand students settled in this town. Whether from resentment of former proceedings against them, or from the usual dislike youth has to governing powers, they took the part of the barons. They formed themselves into companies, had their distinguishing banner, and, when
Henry
III. made his attack on
Northampton,
proved by far his most vigorous opponents. After the king had made himself master of the place, he determined to hang every student; but being at length appeased, he permitted them to return to
Oxford,
under the conduct of
Simon Mountfort,
and abolished the university of
Northampton
Bridges,
426.
.
THE town is extremely finely situated on an eminence,
TOWS DESCRIBED.
gently sloping to the river, which bounds it on the south, as it also does on the west. The streets are in general strait, and very handsomely built. The great market-place is an ornament to the town: few can boast the like. Much of the beauty of
Northampton
is owing to the calamity it sustained by fire, on
September
20th, 1675; when the greatest part was laid in ashes. The houses were at that time chiefly wooden. Twenty-five thousand pounds were collected by briefs and private charity towards its relief; and the king gave a thousand tons of timber, out of
Whittlewood
forest, and remitted the duty of chimney-money in this town for seven years: so that it was soon rebuilt; and changed its wooden edifices for more secure and ornamental houses of stone.
THE church of
All Saints
fell a victim to the flames. The old church was a large pile,
CHURCHES.
with a tower in the center. It was rebuilt with great magnificence, and is a considerable ornament to this pretty town. The portico is very elegant, supported in front by eight columns of the Ionic order. The body stands on four lofty columns, and has a neat dome in the middle. The roof beautifully stuccoed. This church, and that of St.
Peter,
were bestowed on the priory of St.
Andrew,
by
Simon de St. Liz,
the founder.
All Saints
is at present in the gift of the members of the corporation, who are inhabitants of the parish.
THE church of the
Holy Sepulchre
was supposed to have been built by the Knights Templars, on the model of that at
Jerusalem.
The imitative part is round,
HOLY SEPULCHRE.
with a nave issuing from it. In the round part is a peristyle of eight round pillars, thirteen feet eight inches high, and twelve feet three in circumference. The capitals consist of two round fillets: the arches sharp and plain. The space from the wall to the pillars is eleven feet: the diameter, from the inside of one pillar to that of the opposite, is twenty-nine feet two inches. In the center of the area stands, in the church at
Jerusalem,
the supposed sepulchre
See
Sandys's Travels.
; and it is probable a model might be placed in those which we find of the same kind in our island; for, besides this, the
Temple
church in
London,
and St.
Sepulchre
's in
Cambridge,
are built on the same plan. The steeple, and some other parts of that in question, have been added after the building of the circular church.
ST.
Peter
's church is a singular building.
ST. PETER'S.
Two corners of the tower are ornamented with three round pillars: above these are two, and above them one; all gradually lesser than the others. The middle of the tower is ornamented with small round arches, which are continued along the outside of the body of the church, and have a good effect. Within are two rows of round arches, carved with zigzag work: the pillars which support these are alternately single and quadruple. A small monument commemorates
John Smith,
that eminent metzotinto scraper
Mr. WALPOLE,
Engravers,
105.
, who died in
January
1742, aged ninety.
THE advowson of this church was given by
Edward
III. to the hospital of St.
Catherine,
near the Tower, in
London,
and still remains under its patronage.
WHOSOEVER intended to clear himself of any criminal accusation in this town, was obliged to do it in this church only; having here first performed his vigil and prayers in the preceding evening
Bridges,
445.
. St.
Giles
's church stands in the east skirts of the town; but contains nothing worthy notice.
IN old times
Northampton
was possessed of three other churches, which are now destroyed. St.
Bartholomew
's stood on the east side of the road going to
Kingsthorp;
and was bestowed by
St. Liz
on his convent of St.
Andrew.
St.
Edmund
's stood without the east gate, and was also under the patronage of St.
Andrew
's: and the church of St.
Gregory
was the third; also the property of that much-favored house.
AMONG the public buildings, I first speak of the county infirmary;
INFIRMARY.
not on account of the beauty or magnificence of the house; for it is laudably destitute of both; but because the subscription which supports it does honor to the province, by proving the benevolence of its inhabitants. That of 1779 amounted to near eight hundred pounds; and the number of patients perfectly cured, from its foundation in 1744 to the former year, is not fewer than thirteen thousand one hundred and fifty.
THE county hall is a very handsome building,
COUNTY HALL.
and ornamented in the manner which gives dignity to courts of justice. The vulgar are affected with external shew, and never pay half the respect to a judge scampering in boots and bob-wig up the stairs of a barn-like court, as they would to the same person, who adds solemnity to his merit, and assumes the garb suited to his character.
THE jail is at a small distance from the sessions house,
JAIL.
and was originally a house built by a Sir
Thomas Haselwood,
and sold by him to the justices of peace.
THE town or guild hall, is an antient building, in which the corporation transacts its business.
Northampton
was incorporated by
Henry
II.
Henry
III. gave it power of chusing annually a mayor, and two bailiffs, to be elected by all the freemen; but
Henry
VII. ordered by charter,
CHARTER
that the mayor and his brethren, late mayors, should name forty-eight persons of the inhabitants, with liberty of changing them as often as was found necessary; which forty-eight, with the mayor and his brethren, and such as had been mayors and bailiffs, were annually to elect all future mayors and bailiffs. There are, besides, a recorder, chamberlain, and town-clerk. The mayor, late mayor, and one other member of the corporation, nominated by the mayor, aldermen, and bailiffs, are justices of the peace within the town for one year. The mayor, recorder or his deputy, and one justice, are necessary to form a sessions: they have power in criminal causes to try all offenders; but wisely leave all but petty larcenies to the judges of the great sessions
Bridges,
433.
.
Northampton
is among the most antient boroughs. In the parlement held at
Acton Burnel,
in the time of
Edward
I. it was one of the nineteen trading towns which sent two members each. Every inhabitant, resident or non-resident, free or not free, has liberty of voting: a cruel privilege for such who have of late years been ambitious of recommending their representatives.
FROM
Northampton
I visited
Castle Ashby,
CASTLE ASHBY.
the princely seat of the
Comptons
earls of
Northampton.
It lies about six miles south-east of the town, in a wet country, and without any advantage of situation. It is a large structure, surrounding a handsome square court, with a beautiful skreen, the work of
Inigo Jones,
bounding one side. More is attributed to that great architect. Some is more antient than his time; yet he probably had the restoring of the old house, as the finishing appears, by a date on the stone ballustrade, to be 1624, preceded by the pious text,
Nisi
DOMINUS
aedificaverit Domum, in vanum laboraverunt qui aedificant cum.
CASTLE ASHBY.
ONE front is taken up by a long gallery, and at the end is a small room,
PROTRAITS. COMPTON, BISHOP OF LONDON.
the chapel closet. In it is a full-length or
Henry Compton,
bishop of
London.
He was youngest son of the famous loyalist earl of
Northampton.
Went for a short time into the army, after the Restoration; but soon quitted it for the church. In 1674 he was promoted to the bishoprick of
Oxford,
and in the next year to that of
London.
His abilities were said not to be shining; but his discharge of his pastoral office gained him great reputation. He was firmly attached to the constitution and re
ion of his country; and, in the reign of the bigotted
James,
underwent the honor of suspension, for not complying with the
aws of the court. He appeared in arms at
Nottingham,
in support of the Revolution; and lived till 1713, when he died, at the age of eighty-one.
IN the same closet is a good head of the Reverend Mr.
, who began the
Saxon Dictionary,
MR. LYE.
finished and published by the Reverend Mr.
Man
ing,
1772. He also published
Junius's
ogicum Angli
num,
in 1743. He was born at
To
ness,
in
became possessed of benefices in this county; and died in
67, at the rectory of
Yardly Hastings.
THE drawing-room is remarkably grand; it is fifty feet five,
DRAWING-ROOM.
by twenty-four; and eighteen feet ten inches high. It is hung
tapestry, the meritorious labor of two aunts of the present
. The chimney-piece is of an enormous size: a quarry of
filled with shells from
Raunce.
MR. WALPOLE had made me impatient for the sight of the pic
of the hero JOHN TALBOT,
JOHN TALBOT EARL OF SHREWSBURY.
first earl of
Shrewsbury,
by inform
that such a portrait existed in this house. I was at first
grined, by my attendant denying all knowlege of it.
m
ch search, I discovered it in a garret, and re
the earl and his
countess from beneath a load of
of the garrets.
THE portraits
originals: coarse, and rudely painted on
might be
from the artists of the period in
this later inscription:
John
lord
E. of
Shrewsbury
by
Henry
VI.
his hair short and ill-combed, his hands
of prayer. He is in armour, but
emblazoned with his arms. His
, is wanted. He was
ame put armies to flight. He had
in forty several and dangerous skirmishes: at
aged eighty, at
Cha
lon:
and with him
good fortune of the
English
during that unhappy
, dressed in the sortout of the hero's arms
bed embraced
took off the sortout painted with his ma
ters arms
the dead corpse with it, and burst into these passionate expressions:
Alas! is it you? I pray God par
all my misdoings! I have been your officer of arms
orty years or month
I should surrender them to you
last edit.
.
JOHN TALBOT EARL of SHREWSBURY.
MARGARET COUNTESS of SHREWSBURY.
HERE is a portrait of
Spencer
earl of
Northampton
(the justly-boasted character and hero of the house) represented in armour.
SPENCER EARL OF NORTHAMPTON;
His genius was so extensive, that in his youth he at once kept four different tutors in employ, who daily had their respective hours for instructing him in the different arts they professed. In the civil wars he was the great rival of lord
Brooks,
whom he drove out of his own county of
Warwick;
and was a most successful opponent to the earl of
Essex.
He brought two thousand of the best-disciplined men in the army to the royal standard at
Nottingham.
At length fell in
Staffordshire,
in
March
1743, desperately fighting; forgetting, as is too frequently the case with great minds, the difference between the General and common man.
HIS eldest son,
James
earl of
Northampton,
is in armour,
HIS SON JAMES.
and with a great dog near him. He inherited his father's valour, and was wounded in the battle in which his father was slain. In all the following actions he maintained a spirit worthy of his name. On the fall of monarchy he lived retired. On the Restoration he was loaden with honors, and died in fullness of glory at this place, in
December
1681.
A PORTRAIT, which I take to be Sir
Spencer Compton
In the house he is called earl of
Northampton.
, his third brother,
SIR SPENCER COMPTON?
is dressed in a green silk vest, a laced turnover, and with long hair. This youth was at the battle of
Edgehill,
at a time he was not able to grasp a pistol; yet cried with vexation that he was not permitted to share in the same glory and danger with his elder brothers.
THE celebrated
Edward Sackville
earl of
Dorset
is painted in armour.
EDW. SACKVILLE EARL OF DORSET.
His well-known spirit, in the duel between him and lord
Bruce,
would make one imagine that he would have appeared with peculiar lustre in the field of action, during the civil wars; but fortune f
ung him but once into the bloody scenes of that period. He fought with distinguished bravery at
Edgehill,
and retook the royal standard, after its bearer, Sir
Edward Verney,
was slain. Might not the weight of the sanguinary conflict at
Tergose
rest heavy on his mind, and make him shun for the future scenes of destruction? for HE could do it with unimpeached reputation. Certain it is, that his lordship acted chiefly in the cabinet, was a faithful servant to his master, and a true friend to his country; and spent the rest of his service in earnest and unremitting endeavours to qualify affairs, and restore peace to his country. After the king's death, he never stirred out of his house; and died in 1652, at his house, then called
Dorset-house,
in
Salisbury-court.
HERE is a singular head,
GEO. VILLIERS DUKE OF BUCKINGHUM.
called that of
George Villlers
duke of
Buckingham;
bearded, whiskered, and represented as dead.
THE heads of the duke of
Somerset,
Protector,
Francis
first earl of
Bedford,
and Sir
Thomas More,
and another, the name of which I have forgot, are beautifully painted in small size.
THAT favorite of fortune Sir
Stephen Fox,
SIR STEPHEN FOX.
is represented sitting, in a long wig and night-gown: a good-looking man. He was the son of a private family in
Wiltshire,
but raised himself by the most laudable of means, that of merit. After the battle of
Worcester,
in which his elder brother was engaged, he fled with him to
France,
and was entertained by
Henry
lord
Percy,
then lord chamberlain to our exiled monarch. To young
Fox
was committed the whole regulation of the household; "who," as lord
Clarendon
observes,
was well qualified with the languages, and all parts of clerkship, honesty, and discretion, as was necessary for such a trust; and indeed his great industry, modesty, and prudence, did very much contribute to the bringing the family, which for so many years had been under no government, into very good order.
On the Restoration he was made Clerk of the Green Cloth; and on the raising of the two regiments, the first of the kind ever known, he was appointed paymaster, and soon after paymaster-general to all the forces in
England.
In 1679, he was made one of the lords of the Treasury; and in the same year, first commissioner in the office of master of the horse; and in 1682, had interest to get his son
Charles,
then only twenty-three years old, to be appointed sole paymaster of the forces, and himself, in 1684, sole commissioner for master of the horse.
James
II. continued to him every kind of favor; yet Sir
Stephen
made a very easy transition to the succeeding prince, and enjoyed the same degree of courtly emolument.
James
thought he might have expected another return from this creation of the
Stuarts:
accordingly excepted him in his act of grace, on the intended invasion of 1692.
SIR
Stephen
made a noble use of the gifts of fortune: he rebuilt the church of
Early,
his native place; built an hospital there for six poor men, and as many poor women; erected a chapel there, and handsome lodgings for the chaplain, and endowed it with £188 a year: he founded in the same place a charity-school; he built the chancel of a church in the north of
Wiltshire,
which the rector was unable to do. He also built the church of
Culford
in
Suffolk,
and pewed the cathedral of
Salisbury:
but his greatest act was the founding of
Chelsea
hospital, which he first projected, and contributed thirteen thousand pounds towards the carrying on; alleging, that he
could not bear to see the common soldiers, who had spent their strength in our service, beg at our doors
Collins,
v. 368.
.
HE married his second wife in 1703, when he was seventy-six years of age, and had by her two sons:
Stephen,
late earl of
Ilchester;
and
Henry,
late lord
Holland.
His happiness continued to his last moment; for he died, without experiencing the usual infirmities of eighty-nine, in
October
1716.
THE manor of
Castle Ashby
was called in the
Doomsday-book,
MANOR OF CASTLE ASHBY.
Asebi:
it was afterwards called
Ashby David,
from
David de Esseby,
who was lord of it in the time of
Henry
III. It fell afterwards to
Walter de Langton,
bishop of
Lichfield;
who, in 1305, got leave to fortify it
Bridges,
341.
; from which it got the name of
Castle Ashby.
It afterwards passed through several owners. The
Greys,
lords of
Ruthin
and earls of
Kent,
possessed it for a long time, till
Richard,
who died in 1503, parted with it to lord
Hussey;
who alienated it, in the time of
Henry
VIII. to Sir
William Compton,
of
Compton Vinyate,
in
Warwickshire,
ancestor of the present noble possessor.
THE grounds have been laid out by Mr.
Brown,
and the church, dedicated to St.
Nicholas,
stands in them, at a small distance from the house. I took horse and rode through the park,
EASTON MAUDUIT.
and, after a mile and a half, reached
Easton Mauduit,
one of the seats of the earls of
Sussex;
a large but low old house, with a quadrangle in the middle. This place probably took the addition of
Mauduit
from some antient owner. Sir
Christopher Yelverton,
third son of a very antient family in
Norfolk,
was the first of the name who settled at this place.
THE portraits in this house are numerous. In the hall is a full-length of
Henry,
PORTRAITS.
seventh earl of
Kent,
of the name of
Grey,
HENRY, SEVENTH EARL OF KENT.
dressed in black, with a turnover; and another of his lady,
Elizabeth,
second daughter and co-heir of
Gilbert,
seventh earl of
Shrewsbury.
She is also in black, with a great black aigret, light hair, bare neck, and ruff.
HER father, in white, with a black cloak, ruff, and George. He died in 1616. A misnamed portrait, called his great ancestor, the first earl of
Shrewsbury,
is shewn here. It seems to be of some nobleman of the time of
Edward
VI. dressed in black, with a sword, the George, and the garter about his leg.
ON the stairs is an excellent painting of an old poultry-woman.
IN the dining-room is a half-length of Sir
Christopher Yelverton,
SIR CHRISTOPHER YELVERTON.
with a ruff, and in robes, as one of the justices of the King's Bench. He distinguished himself in the profession of the law in the reign of queen
Elizabeth,
was appointed queen's serjeant, and was chosen speaker of the House of Commons in 1597. His speech of excuse is singular, and historical of himself
Drake's Parliam. Hist.
iv. 411.
. His prayer (for in those days it was usual for the speaker to compose one, and read it every morning during the sessions) ran in a strong vein of good sense and piety
The same, 413.
. He was the purchaser of this estate. Died here in 1607, and was buried in the adjacent church.
His son,
SIR HENRY YELVERTON.
Sir
Henry,
appears in the same habit with the father. The date is 1626,
aet.
60. He proved as distinguished a lawyer as his father, but was less fortunate, in falling on more dangerous times. He owed his rise to the profligate favorite
Ker
earl of
Somerset.
On the disgrace of his patron, Sir
Henry
had gratitude enough to refuse to plead against him
Lloyd's Worthies,
ii. 86.
, notwithstanding his office as solicitor-general might have been a plea for doing it. When he was attorney-general, he fell under the displeasure of the court: — He was charged by the commons with making out the patents for the monopolies, so justly complained of in that reign. In his defence he suffered to escape some indiscreet truths, which were interpreted as if his delinquency was not disagreeable to the king and the then favorite
Buckingham.
The rage of the court was directed against him: he was fined in ten thousand marks to the king, and five thousand to
Buckingham;
who instantly remitted the last
Carte,
iv. 73.
. Perhaps the favorite might fear him; it having been said, that one cause of his disgrace was the refusal of making out patents to the degree which the duke desired
Wilson.
, whose brother was deeply concerned in this plunder of the public. A mean letter to
Buckingham,
and a submission in the star-chamber, acknowleging errors of negligence, ignorance, and misprision, restored him to favor
Cabala,
409,
&c.
. In the following reign he was made one of the judges of the Common Pleas, and died in
January
1630.
HIS grandson, Sir
Henry Yelverton,
Baronet,
HIS SON HENRY.
is dressed in a brown mantle and large wig. He was a worthy character, with a most religious turn; a strenuous defender of Christianity in general, and of the church of
England
in particular, as appears by his writings in behalf of both.
HIS lady
Susanna,
daughter and sole heiress of
Charles Longueville
lord
Grey
of
Ruthin;
which title devolved to her, and afterwards to her son
Charles.
She is very beautiful, and represented by Sir
Peter Lely
with her head reclining on her hand.
Anne,
daughter to the second Sir
Christopher
Son to Sir
Henry Yelverton,
the solicitor-general, and father to the second Sir
Henry.
, is drawn by the same painter, in yellow, leaning on an urn. She was first married to
Robert
earl of
Manchester,
and afterwards to
Charles
earl of
Halifax.
A Lady
Bulkeley.
A HEAD of
Frances
viscountess
Hatton,
daughter to the last Sir
Henry Yelverton.
BARBARA, daughter to Sir
Thomas Slingsby,
second wife to
Thomas
earl of
Pembroke,
by
Dahl.
MRS.
Lawson,
a celebrated beauty of her time, bare-necked, in a loose habit clasped before, with a sort of veil flung over her head.
SIR
John Talbot,
a head, with a big wig and armour.
THE church is at a small distance from the house:
CHURCH.
is now in the gift of
Christ-church, Oxford;
but formerly belonged to the abbey of
Lavendan, Buckinghamshire.
Within are very expensive monuments. The first is in memory of Sir
Christopher Yelverton,
TOMES.
who died in 1607, aged seventy-six; and his lady
Margaret,
daughter of
Thomas Catesby
of
Ecton
and
Whiston,
in this county.
Their figures are placed recumbent, and painted: he in his robes, and square cap, and an artichoke at his feet; she, in a black jacket and petticoat, and great distended hood. At her feet a
cat,
allusive to her name.
OVER them are two arched canopies of veined marble, supported by six square pillars of shell-stone. On one side of the tomb are eight females; on the other, two male figures, and a little girl.
THE other monument is of his son Sir
Henry.
His figure is placed in his robes: and on one side his lady
Anne,
daughter of Sir
William Twisden
of
Rawdon-hall,
in
Kent,
lies by him, wrapped in a black cloak from head to feet. Round her neck is a ruff: in one hand an open book. Above them is a vast canopy, with various statues on the top. This is supported on each side by two full-length figures of almsmen, in black gowns and hoods, with great white beards; the arch resting on their heads. This probably alludes to some charitable foundation with which I am unacquainted. In front, beneath Sir
Henry,
is an altar, at which kneel two men in armour, and two in cloaks, and five women. It does not appear that either Sir
Christopher
or Sir
Henry
left a number of children equal to those expressed on their respective tombs.
IN my return I saw at
Little Billings
the poor remains of the mansion of the great family of the
Longvilles.
LITTLE BILLINGS.
John de Lungville
was declared lord of the place in 1315. This was he who founded the
Augustines
in
Northampton.
It continued in the name till the time of queen
Elizabeth,
or
James
I. when that succession expired in the person of Sir
Edward Longeville.
NOT far from hence I visited
Clifford's Hill,
in the parish of
Houghton Parva,
a vast artificial mount, having once on it a
specula,
or watch-tower. The coins found in and near it, prove it to have been the work of the
Romans.
Before the river
Nen
was diverted, by the building of
Billings Bridge,
the channel ran under this mount; which it is supposed to have guarded
Morton,
518.
.
REACH
Northampton,
and, after a short stay, pass over the river into the suburbs, called the
South Quarters,
and into the parish of
Hardingstone.
On each side is a fine range of meadows; those on the left are greatly enlivened by the beautiful plantations and improvements of the Honorable
Edward Bouverie,
whose house stands on the site of the
Abbey de Pratis,
or
de la Prè;
a house of
Cluniac
nuns,
DE LA PRÈ ABBEY.
founded by
Simon de St. Liz
the younger, earl of
Northampton
Dugdale,
i. 1011. in which is the recital of the old charters.
. It had in it ten nuns at the time of the dissolution. The last abbess,
Clementina Stokes,
governed it thirty years; obtained the king's charter for the continuance of her convent; but, fearing to incur the displeasure of the tyrant, resigned it into the hands of Doctor
London,
the king's commissioner, and got from him the character of
a gudde agyd woman;
of her
howse being in a gudde state;
and, what was more substantial, a pension of forty pounds a year.
BETWEEN this place and the town, in 1460, encamped
Henry
VI. and his insolent nobility, immediately before the bloody battle of
Northampton.
The king (or rather queen) depending on the strength of their entrenchments and warlike engines, returned a haughty answer to the humble proposals sent by the earls of
March
and
Warwick.
BATTLE OF NORTHAMPTON.
These spirited commanders led their troops instantly to the attack, and forced the camp, favored by the treachery of
Edmund
lord
Grey
of
Ruthen;
who, on some disgust, changed sides, and assisted the enemy in forcing their way into the works. "Ten thousand talle
Englishmen
and their "king," says
Halle
xxiv. xxv. The battle was fought
July
9th.
, "were taken, and numbers slain or drowned "in the river;" for the fight was carried on with the obstinacy usual in civil dissension.
Humphrey
duke of
Buckingham, John
earl of
Shrewsbury, John
viscount
Beaumont, Thomas
lord
Egremont,
and Sir
Thomas Lucy,
were among those who fell. Multitudes of my countrymen also perished on that day
xxiv. xxv. The battle was fought
July
9th.
. The slain were buried either in the church of this convent, or in the hospital of St.
John.
ON the road-side,
QUEEN'S CROSS.
on an ascent near this place, stands one of the pledges of affection borne by
Edward
I. to his beloved
Eleanor;
who caused a cross to be erected on the spot wheresoever her body rested, in its way from
Hareby
in
Lincolnshire,
where she died, in 1290, to
Westminster,
the place of her interment. It is kept in excellent repair: is of an octagonal form, and stands on a base of seven steps. Coats of arms and an open book adorn the lower compartments. Above, in six gothic niches, are as many female figures, crowned. Above them, are four modern dials, facing the four cardinal points; and above those is the cross.
AROUND this spot are frequently found
Roman
coins and medals; from which it is conjectured, that this might have been the site of
Eltavon,
ELTAVON.
or
Eltabon
(from the
British Ael,
a brow, and
Avon,
a river); and is supposed to have been the
Eltanori,
or
Eltavori,
of the geographer of
Ravenna
Morton Northampton,
504.
Gale's Iter. Br. Com.
145.
. The dry and elevated situation, and its vicinity to a river, makes it very probable that this was a
Roman
station, at left a summer camp.
NEAR this place, on the summit of the hill called
Hunsborough,
HUNSBOROUGH.
are some antient works, of a circular form;
i. e.
conforming to the shape of it; consisting of a foss and double rampart, with a single entrance. Mr.
Morton
Morton,
538.
attributes this to the
Danes,
and imagines it to have been a summer-camp of one of the plundering parties which infested the kingdom of
Mercia
about the year 921. Another was raised, about the same time, at
Temsford,
in the county of
Bedford,
for the same purpose. This has very much the appearance of a
British
post; but as there is great similitude between the early fortifications of the northern nations, I will not controvert the opinion of that ingenious author; yet I have probability on my side, as he admits that the
Danes
had possession of
Hamtune,
i. e.
Northampton,
in 917. I think they would scarcely trouble themselves with raising these works so near their former quarters, which, for any thing that appears, was as open to them in 921, as in the former year.
ABOUT five miles from
Queen's Cross
I turned a little out of my road, to see
Horton
church,
HORTON CHURCH.
remarkable for a fine monument of
William
lord
Parr,
uncle, to
Catherine,
the last queen to
Henry
VIII. His lordship is represented in alabaster, recumbent,
WILLIAM LORD PARR.
with his lady,
Mary Salusbury,
by his side; in right of whom he became master of this manor. He is dressed in armour, with a collar of SS, and a rose at the end. His head rests on a helmet, whose crest is a hand holding a stag's horn. His upper lip is bare, but his beard is enormous, regularly curled in two rows. He was called to the House of Peers on this second marriage of his niece, was appointed her chamberlain, and, during the queen's regency, on the king's expedition to
France
in 1544, had the respect shewn him to be named as a council to her majesty, occasionally to be called in
Herbert's Henry VIII.
577.
. He died in 1548; left four daughters, the eldest of whom conveyed, by marriage with Sir
Ralph Lane,
the estate into his family.
ON the floor are the figures of
Roger Salusbury,
between his two wives, in brass. He died in 1482, first owner, of his name, of this estate; whose grandaughter became mistress of it on the death of her father
William.
THE
Lanes
kept it for some generations. On the death of Sir
William,
it was found to be held of Sir
Richard Chetwood,
as of his manor of
Woodhall,
by the service of one knight's see, suit of court, and the annual payment of 6
s.
towards the guard of
Rockingham
castle. The estate passed from the
Lanes
(I believe by purchase) to Sir
Henry Mountague,
first earl of
Manchester,
and, by descent, fell to the earl of
Halifax;
and is now possessed by lord
Hinchinbroke,
in right of his lady, daughter and heiress of the last earl.
THE house is in a very unfinished state; part modern, part antient and embattled.
GOTHURST.
FROM the
Queen's Cross
to this place the country is uneven, unwatered, and far from pleasant. It is now, in general, inclosed; but the hedges are young, and, till within these few years, quite a novelty.
NEAR the fifty-eight mile-stone enter the county of BUCKINGHAM. Here the country improves. After passing
Stoke Goldington,
STOKE GOLDINGTON.
a small village, a beautiful vale opens on the left, watered by the
Ouze,
running through rich meadows,
THE OUZE.
and embellished with the spire of
Oulney
church. This river rises near
Sysam
in
Northamptonshire,
and, after watering this country, becomes navigable above
Bedford,
by means of locks; runs by
Huntingdon;
and, after creeping almost undistinguished amidst the canals of the fenny tracts, falls into the sea at
Lynn Regis.
The name is probably derived from the
British,
perhaps signifying a river
Skinner.
; being, in common with
Avon,
the name of numbers of
British
streams.
ABOUT half a mile from its banks, on a rising ground on the right, stands
Gothurst,
antiently
Gaythurst;
GOTHURST.
whose venerable form has not been injured by inconsistent alterations. It was begun in the forty-third of queen
Elizabeth,
and was greatly improved, a few years after, by
William Mulsho,
Esquire. The windows are glazed with propriety: only part of the back-front is modernized. The lands are very finely dressed, and swell into extensive lawns. One before the house consists of a hundred and twenty-eight acres; and on the sides are others of great extent. The woods are vast, and cut into walks extensive and pleasing. Several pretty pieces of water, the view of the
Ouze
and its verdant meadows, and the old respectable house of
Tyringham,
with its church, on the opposite side, are no small embellishments to the place.
THIS manor, at the time of the compilation of the
Doomsday-book,
was held by
Robert de Nodavirs,
or
de Nouers,
under
Odo
bishop of
Baieux,
earl of
Kent,
and half-brother to the Conqueror.
THE DE NOUERS.
The
De Nouers
became possessed of it in their own right in the time of
Henry
II; perhaps earlier
Mr.
Cole.
: but the first I meet with is
Radulphus,
and his son
Almaric,
who lived in 1252, the thirty-seventh of
Henry
III. It continued in that family till 1408
Digby Pedigree,
46 to 47.
, the tenth of
Henry
IV. when it became the property of
Robert Nevyll,
descended from
Hugo de Nevyll,
who had lands in
Essex
in 1363, or the thirty-fifth of
Edward
III.
Robert Nevyll
possessed himself of
Gothurst,
by marrying
Joanna,
sister and sole heir to the last
Almaric de Nouers;
his two other sisters,
Agnes
and
Gracia,
having preferred a monastic life
The same
, 47.
.
THE
Nevylls
remained owners of it till the reign of
Henry
VIII. when
Maria,
NEVYLLS.
only daughter of
Michael Nevyll,
on the death of her two brothers; became possessed of it; and she bestowed it, with her person,
MULSHOS.
on
Thomas Mulsho
of
Thingdon,
in the county of
Northampton
The same, 45.
, a respectable family. I find sheriffs of the name, as early as the time of
Richard
II; and one of that house governor of
Calais
in the reign of
Henry
VI. But the first mention of the name is in 1370, when lived
John Mulsho
of
Goddington.
Gothurst
continued with the
Mulshos
till the beginning of the reign of
James
I; when
Maria,
daughter and sole heiress to
William
(who died in 1601) resigned herself and great fortune to Sir
Everard Digby
Digby Pedigree,
x. 43.
, one of the handsomest and completest gentlemen of his time:
DIGBYS.
but
Eumenides
tenuere faces de funere raptas:
Eumenides
stravere torum.
She had not been married three years, before her husband was snatched from her by an ignominious and merited death, for his deep concern in the plot, which, thanks to the charity of the times, is execrated by each religion. It is very probable, that a mind so tinctured with bigotry as his was, soon devoted itself to the most desperate resolutions, for the restoration of the antient church. He foresaw the certain consequences of ill success, and, preparing against the event, took every method to preserve his infant son from suffering from the fault of the father. Before he committed any acts of treason, he secured to his heirs his estates, in such a manner as to put it out of the power of the crown to profit by their confiscation
Wright's Antiq. Rutlandshire,
114
.
THIS illustrious line was the chief of the
Digby
family; the peers of that name springing from younger branches. The origin is
Saxon.
The first, of whom notice is taken, is
Aelmar,
who had lands at
Tilton
in
Leicestershire,
in 1086, the twentieth of
William
the Conqueror. They afterwards took the name of
Digby,
from a place in
Lincolnshire;
and became owners of
Stokedry
in
Rutlandshire
(which, till the acquisition of
Gothurst,
was their usual residence) by the marriage of
Everard Digby,
Esquire, in the reign of king
Henry
VI. with
Agnes,
daughter of
Francis Clare
of
Wyssenden
and
Stokedry,
Esquire. This gentleman, with three of his sons, fell in the bloody field at
Towton,
fighting in the cause of the house of
Lancaster
Collin's Peerage,
vii. 631.
.
MOST of the particulars relative to this great family,
DIGBY PEDIGREE.
I owe to the friendship of my worthy neighbor
Watkin Williams,
Esquire, who favored me with the use of the famous genealogy of the
Digbys
of
Tilton;
a book compiled by the direction of Sir
Kenelm
in 1634, at the expence of twelve hundred pounds. This tradition, is very credible, to any who have seen the book: a large folio, consisting of five hundred and eighty-nine vellum leaves; the first hundred and sixty-five ornamented with the coats of arms of the family and its allies, and of all the tombs of the
Digbys
then extant, illuminated in the richest and most exquisite manner. The rest of the book is composed of grants, wills, and variety of other pieces, serving to illustrate the history of the family; drawn from the most authentic records, as the title sets forth. Several of the wills are curious proofs of the simplicity of the manners of the times; and another, of the magnificence, superstition, and vanity of our greater ancestors. One of the first kind I shall give here; the other, being of great length, is reserved for the Appendix.
In the name of God,
CURIOU
WILL.
Amen.
The XVI day of the moneth of
January,
the yere of our Lord God a thousand fyve hundred and VIIIth, I
Everode Dygby
of
Stoke dry,
in the countie of
Rutland,
of the diocese of
Lincoln,
seke in body and hole in mynde, make my testament and last will in this fourme following. Fyrst, I bequeth my soul to God Allmyghty, our blessed lady seynt
Mary,
and all the seynts of heven. My body to be buryed in the parishe churche of Seynt
Pet
at
Tylton,
before the ymage of the blessed Trinitie, at o'lady autther.
Itm.
I bequeth to reparacon of the said church, for my buryall ther, vi
s.
viij
d. Item.
I bequeth to the said church a webe of land; whiche the churhmasters of the said churche have in their kepyng.
Item.
I bequeth to the high aiot. of the parish church of
Stokedry,
for tythes by me forgotten, ij
s. Itm .
I bequeth to the reparacons of the said churche of
Stokedry
vi
s.
viij
d. Itm .
I biqueth to the cathedrall churche of
Linc,
ij
s. Itm .
I biqueth to
John Dygby,
my son, all my rents, lands, and tenementes whiche I have pr chased, by dede or by copyhold, in the townes and fields of
Vipinghm, Preston, Pysbroke,
and
Elynden,
to have and to hold, to hym and his assigneys, duryng the terme of his lyff; and aftr his decease, I will that the said rentes, londes, and tenementes, shall remayne to
Everod Dygby,
my eldest sonne, and to his heyres and assignes for ever.
Item.
I biqueth to
Alice,
my daughter, all my rentes, landes, and tenementes, wth all prousetts and comodities to them belongyng, whiche I have pr chased, by dede or by copy, in the townes and feldes of
Hareborow, Bowden,
and
Foxton,
to have and to hold to hyr, hyr heyres and assigneyes for ever.
Itm.
I biqueth to the foresaid
John Dygby,
my son, ij geldyngs, iij maires for his ploughe, with all barnes and other thynges to it belongyng, and also a pair of cart wheles unshode.
Itm.
I biqueth to my forsaid doughter
Alice,
a fetherbed, a matras, a bolster of fethures, with pillowes, blanketts, shetys, coverletts, and covyng. with all the hangyng of rede say pertenyng to the bed whiche I now ly in.
Itm.
I biqueth to
Elyn,
my dowght. lxxx
l.
of gode and lawfull money, to be payed to hir by my sone
Everode,
within the space of iij yeres next following aftr my decease, if she within that tyme be maryed; and if she be not maried within iij yeres next after my decease, then I will that my sone
Everad
shall delyv. hir 10
l.
in gode money, and the residue of the lxxx
l.
I will be put into stock, and be occupyed by my said sonne
Everad
to hir use and proufitt, untill the tyme that she be maryed, and then to be delyvered to hir: and if she decease before that she be maryed, then I will that the said residew of lxxx
l.
besids the x
l.
paid to her, be gyven and payed to the fynding of a preste to syng for my soul, as long as the money will extend to, after the discrcion of my executo.
Itm.
I biqueth to my said dought.
Elyn,
a fetherbed, a matras, a
spaiver
wt hangynge, blankette, shetis, and coverlitts, and other things to it belongyng, as it lies in the chamber called the Norcery, within my place of
Stoke
bifor said.
Itm.
I bequeth to
Everad
my sone, and
Alice
my daughter, iiij pair of my best and finest shetis, to be devided equallie bitwixt them.
Itm.
I biqueth to my said daughter
Elyn,
the next best pair of shetis that I have, and other v pair of fflexyn shetys, and ij pair of hardyn shetis.
Itm.
I bequeth to my daughter
Alice
aforsaid, x other pair of flexyn shetis, and ii pair of harden shetis.
Itm.
I bequeth to my daughter
Kateryn,
nunne at
Sempinghm.
xx
s.
in money, and a pair of flexyn shete, and a white sparnar.
Itm.
I bequeth to
Darnegold,
my daughter, ij kyne and 12 ewes.
Itm.
I bequeth to my sonne
Everad Dygby,
my grettest bras pot, to be kept for a standard of that hows, and the next bras pott and two little bras pottes, and halfe a garnysh of pewter vessell, with all other ledy fattys, tubbys, and bolles wt in my hows, and my grettest bras pane, wt two other lesser pannes: and all other my brass pottes, panes, and pewt. vessel, I will be devided betwene
John Dygby
my sonne, and
Alice
and
Elyn
my doughters.
Itm.
I biqueth to my said sonne
Everod,
a plough, wt all harnes pertenyng to it, and six of my plough horses, for his said plough, and my waynes, and viij of my best oxen, wt all thinges pertenyng to the same waynes, and six of my best keyn, and lx of my best shepe.
Itm.
I will that the residew of all my shepe, keyn, calves, and oxen, not by me biquested, divided bitwen
John Dygby
my sonne, and
Alice
and
Elyn
my forsaid doughters, equally.
Itm.
I biqueth to
Rowland
of
Lee,
my susters sonne, ij keyn and a young black ster, and vj ewes.
Itm.
I bequeth to
Everard Ashby,
my godson, iiij of my best calves, which be goyng in
Tylton
feilds.
Itm.
I biqueth to
Margaret Kynton,
my hunte, a matras, a gode coverlitt, a bras pott, a pair of flexyn shete, a kow, and vj ewes, and xiij
s.
iiij
d.
in money, for hir wages.
Itm.
I biqueth to
Elyn Hall,
my hunte, at
Tylton,
a kow and xl
s.
in money.
Itm.
I biqueth to the parishe church of
Skevyngton
vj
s.
viij
d. Itm.
To the parishe churche of
Vpinghm.
x
s. Itm.
To the parishe churche of
Lidington
iij
s.
iiij
d. Itm.
To the abbot of
Wolston
vj
s.
viij
d.
and every chalon. of his hous viij
d.
if they be at my buriall.
Itm.
I gyve to the couent there, to have
placebo
and
dirige
song in their church for my soul, x
s. Itm.
I biqueth to Sir
Robert Kyrkby,
chalon. ther, to py. for my soul, xx
s. Itm.
I will that my executo. doe fynde an able prest, to syng for my soull, and the soulles of my father and mother, and all Cristen soules, by the space of iij yere next following after my decease, in parishe church of
Tylton.
The residue of all my rentes, londes, and tenementes, dettes, and all other my godes, moveable and unmoveable, I give and biqueth them to
Everad Dygby,
my eldist sonne and myn heyre, whom I ordeyne and make my sole executor, to pay therwith my dette, and to dispose the residew thereof act his discretion,
Of
Dalison.
for the helth of my soulle and my friendes. Thyes beryng witness,
Of
Skeffington.
Mr.
Thomas Dalyson,
pson. of
Stoke dry, William Skevyngton, Everod Darby,
and
John Dalyson,
Of
Darby.
gentilmen, Sir
Robart Kyrkby,
chalon. of
Wolston,
Of
Kirkby.
and Sir
Thomas Northmpton,
chalon. of Laund,
Of
Northampton.
of the diocise of
Lincoln
above rehersed.
E. Watson.
Tenore
putm. nos
Willmus.
permissione divinae
Cant'
Archiepus totius
Anglie
primus et Aplice sedis legtus notum sacimus universis quod duodecimo die mentis
Februarij
anno Dm. millimo quingentesimo octavo, apud
Lamehith
probatum fuit coram nobis ac p. nos approbatur et insinuatur testm.
Everardi Dygby
defuncti putib. annexu. trents. dum vixit & mortis sue tempore bona in diversis dioc nre.
Cant,
provinc. cujus pro textu ipsius testamenti approbatio et insinuatio ac administrationis bonorum & debitorum concessio nec non compoti calculi sive rationarii administrationis hinor. auditio finalisq. liberatio sive dimissio ab eadm. nos solum et insolidum et non ad alium nobis inferiorem cudicem de nre prerogativa et censuetudine nris ac ecclie. pre xpi. tant hactenus quiete pacifice et inculle in hac pte. usitat. et obsuat. ltimeq. prescript dmonstrat. notorie pertinere comissaq. suit admistratio om. et singulor. bonor. et debitor: dri. defuncti
Everardo Dygbi
executori in timor. testamento noint. de bene et fidelit. admistrando eadm. ac de pleno et fideli inuentario omni. &c. singlor. bono. et debitoru. timoi. conficiend. et nobis citra festid. annunciationis beate
Marie
Virginis px. futur. exhibendo, nec non de plano et vero compoto calculo sive ratiotino nobis aut successoribus nris. in ea pte. redend. ad fta. dei eungelia. in rat dat. die mends, anno Dni. et loco predicto et nre. trans anno sexto.
Exam. a. concard. recordia
J. Hen. Lilly, Rouge Rose.
Everard Digby
made his will anno 1508.
Everard Digby,
eldest son and heir.
John Digby.
Alice.
Ellen.
Katharine,
a nun at
Sempringham.
Darnegold.
I NOW return to the period when the family emerged from its misfortune; and in the person of Sir
Kenelm,
the son of the last Sir
Evarard,
was restored to its former honor, by the uncommon merits of the successor. He married
Venetia,
daughter of Sir
Edward Stanley
of
Tongue Castle, Shropshire,
Knight of the Bath. His eldest son,
Kenelm,
was slain in 1648, in the civil wars, at
St. Neots:
his second son,
John,
succeeded to the estate, and survived his father many years. He left by his wife
Margaret,
daughter of Sir
Edward Longueville
of
Wolverton,
in this county, Baronet, two daughters; the eldest,
Margaret Maria,
married Sir
John Conway
of
Boddruddan,
in
Flintshire;
the younger,
Charlotta,
married
Richard Mostyn
of
Penbedw,
in the same county, Esquire. These two gentlemen, in 1704, sold this manor, with
Stoke Goldington,
and the advowson of both the churches, to
George Wright,
Esquire, son of the lord keeper, Sir
Nathan Wright;
in whose posterity it still remains. By the preceding owners, the reliques of Sir
Kenelm
's collection came into my country; but the leaving behind the two beautiful busts of lady
Venetia,
impress no favorable idea of their taste.
SOME portraits,
PORTRAITS.
belonging to the former possessors, still keep a place in the house. In the parlour is a full-length of old Mr.
Digby,
OLD MR. DIGBY.
father to the unhappy Sir
Everard.
He is represented in a close black dress, a laced turnover ruff, and with lace at his wrist: his hair black, his beard round, with one hand on his sword, the other
HIS lady,
HIS LADY.
Mary
daughter of
Francis Neile,
Esquire, of
Prestwold,
and
Keythorp,
in
Leicestershire,
and widow to the
Staffordshire
antiquary,
Sampson Erdeswik.
Her dress is black, pinked with red; has a high fore-top adorned with jewels, a thin upright ruff, round kerchief, a farthingale, with gloves in her hand.
THEIR son,
SIR EVERARD.
the victim to bigotry, is here at full-length, in a black mantle and vest, the sleeves slashed, and pinked with white, large turnover, and turn-ups at his wrists: one hand holds his gloves; the other is gracefully folded in his mantle.
A REMARKABLE portrait,
SIR KENELM.
of a young man of large size, in a quilled ruff, white jacket, black cloak, purple hose, flowered belt, a bonnet with a white feather in it, flowered belt, with one hand on his sword. Above him, in a tablet, is represented a lady, in a most supplicatory attitude, with a lute in one hand, and a purse in the other, offering it to him. He stands by her, with averted look, one hand on his breast, and with an air which shews his rejection of her addresses, and horror at the infamy of mercenary love; and as if uttering to her the words inscribed near to him,
his majora
This portrait is inscribed on the back
John Digby;
but from the romantic circumstance attending it, the dress, and the likeness to other pictures of Sir
Kenelm,
I cannot help supposing it to be his.
.
THIS is a portrait of the famous Sir
Kenelm,
in his youthful days; that prodigy of learning, credulity, valour, and romance, whose merits, although mixed with many foibles, entirely obliterated every attention to the memory of his father's infamy. The circumstance of the lady painted along with him, is a strong confirmation of the truth of the story related by
Lloyd,
that an
Italian
prince, who was childless, earnestly wished that his princess might become a mother by Sir
Kenelm,
whom he esteemed as a just model of perfection. It is probable that the princess would not have disobeyed the commands of her lord: but whether the painting alludes to our knight's cruelty on this occasion, or whether it might not describe the adventure of the
Spanish
lady, recorded in an elegant old ballad
Antient Songs and Ballads,
ii. 231.
, I will not pretend to determine.
IN the long room above stairs,
LADY VENETIA.
is the picture of his beloved wife
Venetia Anastatia Stanley,
in a
Roman
habit, with curled locks. In one hand is a serpent; the other is on a pair of white doves.
She is painted at
Windsor
in the same emblematic manner, but in a different dress, and with accompaniments explanatory of the emblems. The doves shew her innocency; the serpent, which she handles with impunity, shews her triumph over the envenomed tongues of the times. We know not the particulars of the story. Lord
Clarendon
must allude to her exculpation of the charge, whatsoever it was, when he mentions her as
a lady of an extraordinary beauty, of as extraordinary same
Lord Clarendon's Life,
34.
.
In the same picture is a genius about to place a wreath on her head. Beneath her is a Cupid, prostrate: and behind him is Calumny, with two faces, flung down and bound; a beautiful compliment on her victory over Malevolence. Her hair in this picture is light, and differs in color from that in the other. I have heard, from a descendant of her's, that she affected different hair-dresses, and different-colored eye-brows, to see which best became her.
BUST of LADY VENETIA DIGBY.
BOTH the pictures are the performances of
Vandyck.
In this at
Gothurst
are two of her sons, of a boyish age, and in the dress of the times.
HERE are, besides, two most beautiful busts of the same lady,
BUSTS OF LADY VENETIA.
in brass; whether by
Le Soeur
or
Fanelli,
I am not certain. One is in the dress of the times: an elegant laced handkerchief falls over her shoulders, leaving her neck bare. Her hair is curled, braided, twisted, and formed on the hind part of her head into a circle; beneath which fall elegant locks. On this bust is inscribed,
Uxorem vivam amare voluptas, defunctam, religio.
THE other is
a l'antique.
The head is dressed in the same manner, only bound in a fillet: the drapery covers her breast; but so artificially, as not to destroy the elegancy of the form.
I KNOW of no persons who are painted in greater variety of forms and places, than this illustrious pair: possibly because they were the finest subjects of the times. Mr.
Walpole
is in possession of several most exquisite miniatures of the lady, by
Oliver,
bought from the heirs of
Boddrudan
and
Pembedw,
at a very high price. The most valuable is one in a gold case, where she is painted in company with her husband. There is another, said to be painted after she was dead; and four others, in water-colors.
THE same gentleman is in possession of a beautiful miniature of her mother, lady
Lucy Percy,
purchased at the same time. She is dressed like a citizen's wife, and with dark hair.
AMONG other portraits,
LORD KEEPER WRIGHT.
is a full-length of the lord keeper, Sir
Nathan Wright,
in his robes, and a head of Sir
Joseph Jekyll,
with a long wig and robes. The first received his appointment in the year 1700, unfortunately for him, as successor to lord
Somers;
whose precipitate dismission, in favor of a Tory, hardly allowed time for reflection on the impropriety of the choice. Sir
Nathan
kept his place till the year 1703, when he was dismissed, not without disgrace; more through defect of ability than want of integrity: but contemned by both parties.
SIR
Joseph
was a very different character: a staunch Whig, and a man of great abilities and worth. He died Master of the Rolls, in 1738. His wig was probably none of the best, if we are to trust these complimentary lines of
Pope
Epilogue to the Satires.
:
A horse-laugh, if you please, on honesty;
A joke on
Jekyll,
or some odd old Whig,
Who never chang'd his principle, or wig.
THE church is at a little distance from the house;
CHURCH.
is new, and very neat, having been rebuilt, in pursuance of the will of
George Wright,
Esquire, son of the keeper. The figures of father and son face you as you enter the church: the first in his robes; the other in a plain gown: both furnished with enormous
Parian
perriwigs.
In the old church was a grave-stone, lying in the chancel, supposed to have been laid over
John de Nouers,
who lived in the time of
Edward
III. The inscription was in
French
Communicated by Mr.
Cole,
from church-notes, taken in 1634.
.
JO: DE: NOVERS: GIST ICI DIEV: DE: S'ALME: EIT: MERCI: AMEN.
FROM
Gothurst
I crossed the
Ouze,
to the respectable old house of
Tyringham,
TYRINGHAM.
(once the seat of a family of the same name) which stands very high in point of antiquity.
Giffard de Tyringham
gave the church of
Tyringham
to the priory of
Tickford,
near
Newport Pagnel,
in 1187. Sir
Roger
was one of the knights who attended
Edward
I. into
Scotland;
and
Roger,
his son, was sheriff of this county as early as the fifteenth of
Richard
II
In 1322, or the fifteenth of
Edward
II.
Roger de Tyringham
was appointed to superintend the estates forfeited in this county, on the earl of
Lancaster
's rebellion.
Rymer,
iii. 963.
. A Sir
John Tyringham
had the honor of losing his head in the cause of
Henry
VI; being, with several others, put to death unheard, in 1461, for the murder of the duke of
York;
that is, for being present at the battle of
Wakefield,
where that prince fell by some unknown hand. It continued in this antient family till 1685, when, on the death of Sir
William Tyringham,
it devolved to
John,
son of
Edward Backwell,
alderman of
London,
who had married his only daughter.
THE house has been neglected for some time, but not wholly unfurnished. Several family-portraits still continue there: such as a head of lady
Tyringham,
PORTRAITS.
in a yellow laced cap and ruff, of the same kind with that in which the famous Mrs.
Turner
went to be hanged, for her concern in
Overbury
's murder.
A VERY curious picture, full-length, of an aged lady, in a great quilled ruff and gauze cap, distended behind, with an enormous gauze veil falling to the ground; a black gown spotted with white; jewels, in form of a cross, on her breast; another on her arm, and great strings of pearl round her wrists. She stands beneath a canopy, on which is a crown and coat of arms.
ANOTHER, of a young lady leaning on a chair, in a gauze cap, falling back; yellow petticoat flowered with red, and a feather-san.
A HALF-LENGTH of Colonel
Backwell,
in blue, gold sleeves and frogs, a sash; and a battle in view.
A SMALL portrait of
Edward Backwell,
EDW. BACKWELL.
Esquire. He is represented in long hair and a flowered gown, with a table by him. I have a fine print of him, given me by the late Mr.
Backwell,
one of his descendants. He was, says Mr.
Granger,
an alderman of
London
and a banker, of great ability, industry, and integrity, and of most extensive credit; but ruined in the reign of
Charles
II. by the infamous project of shutting up the Exchequer. He retired to
Holland,
where he died, and was brought over to be interred in the church of
Tyringham;
where he lies embalmed. A glass is placed over his face; so his visage may possibly be seen to this time.
I COULD not but admire a spirited picture of a Falcon stooping at Bitterns.
IN the hall is a curious table, of an ash-colored marble. I should call it a polynesious marble, being veined like a chart filled with little islands, nicely shaded at their edges.
As my curiosity led me to explore the kitchen, I found on the walls the rude portraits of me following fish, recorded to be taken in the adjacent river, in the years below-mentioned.
A carp, in 1648, 2 feet 9 inches long.
A pike, in 1658, 3 7.
A bream 2 31/2.
A salmon, 3 10.
A perch, 2 0.
A shad, in 1683, 1 11.
These are the records of rural life; important to those who were perhaps happily disengaged from the bustle and cares attendant on politics and dissipation.
THE adjacent church is dedicated to St.
Peter,
and united with
Filgrave:
it is in the gift of Mr.
Backwell.
The village of
Tyringham
is quite depopulated, and the church of
Filgrave
dilapidated; but the inhabitants of that parish make use of the church of
Tyringham.
ABOUT a mile farther, go through the village of
Lathbury;
LATHBURY.
near which is the church, and a large old house.
A LITTLE farther is
Newport Pagnel:
in former times of dangerous approach,
NEWPORT PAGNEL.
by reason of the overflowing of the
Ouze.
This small town stands between that river and the
Lovet,
near their junction. Soon after the Conquest, it was the property of
William Fitz-Ausculph;
Dugdale Baron.
i, 431.
; from him it passed to the
Paganels,
or
Painels,
in the reign of
William Rufus,
who continued possessed of it above a century.
Leland
mentions them as lords of the castle of
Newport Pagnel
Ireland Itin.
i. 26.
. On the death of
Gervase Pagnel,
in the reign of
Richard
I. this manor became the property of
John de Somerie,
by marriage with
Hawise,
daughter of
Gervase.
Dugdale Baron.
i. 612.
His son
Ralph,
gave king
John
a hundred pounds, and two palfreys, for livery of this lordship, and did homage for it. In the reign of
Henry
III.
Roger de Somerie
forfeited his lands, for neglecting (on summons) to receive the honor of knighthood
The same, p-613.
. The king then granted the farm of this place to
Walter de Kirkham
for life, quitting him of suits to county and hundred, and of aid to sheriffs and his bailiffs; and that, when the king or his heirs should tallage their manors and demesnes, the said
Walter
might by himself, and to his own use, tallage the said manor in like form as it might be tallaged if it were in the king's hand
Madox Antiq. Exch.
i. 418.
. But I find that it afterwards reverted to the
Someries.
In the reign of
Edward
II. it was conveyed to
Thomas de Botetourt,
by his marriage with
Joan,
one of the sisters of
John de Somerie,
last male heir
Dugdale Baron.
ii. 46.
. I now lose sight of the succession, and can only say, that it continued a place of strength till the civil wars of the last century, when its strength was demolished, or, according to the phrase of the time, slighted, by order of parlement, in 1646
Whitelock,
167, 236.
.
IT flourishes greatly,
LACE MANUFACTURE.
by means of the lace manufacture, which we stole from the
Flemings,
and introduced with great success into this county. There is scarcely a door to be seen, during summer, in most of the towns, but what is occupied by some industrious pale-faced lass; their sedentary trade forbidding the rose to bloom in their sickly cheeks.
THE church is dedicated to St.
Peter
and St.
Paul;
CHURCH.
was an impropriation belonging to the neighboring abbey of
Tickford;
and is in the gift of the crown.
Here were three hospitals, founded in early times. That by
John de Somerie,
HOSPITALS.
about the year 1280, still survives, for three poor men, and the same number of poor women; having been refounded by
Anne
of
Denmark,
and from her is called
Queen Anne's Hospital.
The vicar of
Newport,
for the time being, is appointed master
Tanner,
33.
.
ABOUT eight miles from
Newport,
at the forty-four mile-stone, at
Hogsty-house,
enter the county of BEDFORD, on
Woburn Sands,
seated on the extremity of the range of hills which traverse the east end of the former county,
WOBURN SANDS.
and contain the parishes of the three
Brickhills.
Near the road side are the noted pits of fullers earth, that invaluable substance,
FULLERS EARTH.
which is supposed to give that great superiority to the
British
cloth (honestly worked) over that of other nations.
THE beds over this important marl are, firstly, several layers of reddish sand, to the thickness of six yards; then succeeds a stratum of sand-stone, of the same color; beneath which, for seven or eight yards more, the sand is again continued to the fullers earth; the upper part of which, being impure, or mixed with sand, is flung aside, the rest taken up for use. The earth lies in layers; under which is a bed of rough white free-stone, about two feet thick, and under that sand; beyond that the laborers never have penetrated.
THE great use of this earth is cleansing the cloth, or imbibing the tar, grease, and tallow, which are so frequently employed by the shepherds, in healing the external diseases which sheep are liable to; neither can the wool be worked, spun, or woven, unless it be well greased. All this grease must be gotten out, before the cloths are fit to wear. Other countries either want this species of earth, or have it in less perfection. The
British
legislature therefore have, from the days of
Charles
I. guarded against the exportation, under severe penalties. The
Romans
attended to the fulling business by their
lex Metella,
which was made expressly to regulate the manufacture
Keque enim pigebit hanc quoque partem attingere, cum lex
Metella
extet fullonibus dicta, quem
C. Flaminius, L. Aemilius,
censores dedere ad populum ferendam. Adeo omnia m
joribus curae fuere. Ergo ordo hic est
primum abluitur vestis
Sarda,
dein sulphure suffitur: mox desequamatur
Cimolia
quae est coloris veri.
Plinii Hist. Nat.
lib. XXXV. c. 17. — The finest foreign earth of this kind, is what the prince of
Biscari
sent me from
Sicily,
under the title of
Terra Chiemata
supona
a
della quale si servono quei Paesani per lavare i pennilini.
. They used various kinds of earth: the
cimolia,
the
sarda
(which came from
Sardinia
) and the
umbrica.
The two first were white; the latter might be allied to ours,
crescit in macerando.
It swells in water
Plin.
ibid.
; a property of the true marls. But the application of earths in the woollen manufacture, and for the cleansing purposes, was of very early times: —
But who may
abide the day of his coming, and who shall stand when He appeareth? for He is like a refiner's fire, and like
FULLERS SOPE
Malachi
iii. 2.
.
AT a small distance from hence lies the little town of
Woburn,
WOBURN TOWN.
in which is a free-school, founded by
Francis
I. earl of
Bedford,
and a charity-school for thirty boys, by
Wriothesly
duke of
Bedford.
The church was built by the last abbot of
Woburn
Willis,
ii. 4.
, and
CHURCH.
belonged to that religious house; having been a chapel to
Birchmore,
a church long since demolished. This place is of exempt jurisdiction, under the patronage of the adjacent great family
Ecton,
211.
. The steeple is oddly disjoined from the church. The chancel has been very elegantly fitted up with stucco by the late duke. The pulpit is a pretty piece of
gothic
carving, probably coeval with the abbey.
A NEAT monument of Sir
Francis Stanton
is preserved here;
TOMBS.
who, with his lady, is kneeling at an altar.
IN the south aile stood a grey marble, robbed of the figure of a priest under a large canopy, and four coats of arms, with the inscription entire.
Hic jacet
Johs Morton,
filius quonda
Johes Morton,
de
Portsgrave,
domini de
Lovelsbury,
qi obiit in die comemorcois Sci
Pauli,
anno Dni Millmo C. C. C. nonagesimo quarto. Quor aie ppicietur
Deus
These two particulars I collect from Mr.
Cole
's papers.
.
IN the east window were the arms of
Robert Vere
earl of
Oxford,
impaling
Samford;
the last, in right of his wife
Alice,
daughter and heiress to
Gilbert
lord
Samford,
chamberlain to
Elinor,
consort to
Edward
I.
These two particulars I collect from Mr.
Cole
's papers.
AT a little distance from the town was situated the abbey,
ABBEY.
founded, in 1145, by
Hugh de Bolebec,
a nobleman of great property in this neighborhood; who, inspired by God, made a visit to the abbot of
Fountains,
to advise with him about his pious design
Dugale Monast.
i. 829.
. The abbot encouraged him to proceed; and
Hugh
erected the buildings, endowed them, and peopled them with monks of the
Cistercian
order, and placed over them, as first abbot,
Alan,
brought from the monastery of
St. Mary,
at
York.
Willis,
ii. 4.
. The place prospered, by several benefactions; and at the dissolution, was found, according to
Dugdale,
to be possessed of revenues to the amount of £391. 18
s.
2
d.
a year, or to £430. 13
s.
11
d.
according to
Speed
Tanner,
4.
.
THE last abbot,
Robert Hobbs,
was hanged at
Woburn,
in
March
1537, for not acknowleging the king's supremacy. The monastery and its revenues, in 1547, were granted by
Edward
VI. to lord
Russel,
soon after created earl of
Bedford
by the same prince. No one profited so greatly by the plunder of the church as this family: the fortune, even to the present time, doth principally originate from gifts of this nature. To the grant of
Woburn
it owes much of its property in this county, and in
Bucks;
to that of the rich abbey of
Tavistoke,
vast fortunes and interest in
Devonshire;
and, to render them more extensive, that of
Dunkeswell
was added. The donation of
Thorney
abbey gave him an amazing tract of fens in
Cambridgeshire,
together with a great revenue.
Melchburn
abbey (I should have before said) increased his property in
Bedfordshire;
the priory of
Castle Hymel
gave him footing in
Northamptonshire;
and he came in for parcels of the appurtenance of
St. Alban's,
and
Mountgrace
in
Yorkshire;
not to mention the house of the friars preachers in
Exeter,
with the revenues belonging to the foundation: and finally, the estate about
Covent Garden,
with a field adjoining, called
The Seven Acres,
on which
Long Acre
is built, appertenances to the convent of
Westminster;
the first, a garden belonging to the abbot.
THE superstitious will stand amazed, that no signal judgment has overtaken the children of sacrilege; yet no house in
Britain
has thriven more than the house of
Russel.
THE house is situated in a very pleasant park, well wooded,
HOUSE.
but defective in water; the several pieces being too much divided, and the dams too conspicuous. The present house was built by the late duke, excepting a paltry grotto, by
Inigo Jones
(which shews that his taste was superior to such childish performances) and the great stables, which were part of the antient cloisters, and still preserve their pillars and vaulted roof. The offices are also the work of the late duke, and form two magnificent but plain buildings, at a small distance from the mansion.
THIS house is a treasure of paintings; of portraits of the great,
PORTRAITS.
now illustrious by their figure they make in the eyes of posterity, undazzled with their wealth, rank, power, or qualifications, mental or corporeal, which concealed their failings, and made them pass at lest unnoticed openly by their cotemporaries. They now undergo a posthumous trial, and, like the
Egyptians
of old, receive censure or praise according to their respective merits.
THE first which struck me was a lady, who defied the strictest scrutiny; a small full-length, in widow's weeds, with her head reclined on one hand, and a book by her;
RACHEL LADY RUSSEL.
with a countenance full of deep and silent sorrow: the sad relict of the virtuous lord RUSSEL, and daughter to the good and great
Wriothesly
earl of
Southampton.
I imagine her in the third month of her affliction, filled with the following meditation:
LORD, let me understand the reason of these dark and wounding providences, that I sink not under the discouragement of my own thoughts. I know I have deserved my punishment, and will be silent under it; but yet secretly my heart mourns, because I have not the dear companion and sharer of my joys and sorrows: I want him to talk with, to eat, and sleep with. All these things are irksome to me now: the day unwelcome, and the night so too. All company and meals I would avoid, if it might be; yet all this is, that I enjoy not the world in my own way; and this sure hinders my comfort. When I see my children before me, I remember the pleasure he took in them! This makes my heart to shrink. Can I regret his quitting a lesser good for a bigger? O! if I did stedfastly believe, I could not be dejected! But I will not injure myself, to say I offer my mind any inferior consolation to supply this loss: no, I most willingly forsake this world, this vexatious, troublesome world, in which I have no other business but to rid my soul from sin; secure, by faith and a good conscience, my eternal interest; with patience and courage bear my eminent misfortunes, and ever hereafter be above the smiles and frowns of it; and when I have done the remnant of the work appointed me on earth, then joyfully wait for the heavenly perfection, in GOD'S good time; when, by his infinite mercy, I may be accounted worthy to enter in the same place of rest and repose, where he is gone for whom only I grieve
Lady Russel's Letters,
Letter vi.
.
I NOW turn my eyes to a lady, whose felicity consisted in a different fate; in being early cut off from the embraces of a capricious tyrant,
LADY JANE SEYMOUR.
whose inconstancy and whose lusts would probably have involved her in misery, had not heaven, in its mercy, taken her to itself. Lady
Jane Seymour,
the lady in question, became queen to
Henry
VIII. in 1536, and was released from him by death, 1537. The portrait expresses the elegance of her person. She is dressed in red, with great gold net-work sleeves, and rich in jewels. Her print, among the illustrious heads, does her little justice.
THAT gloomy insipid pair,
Philip
II. and his consort
Mary,
PHILIP AND MARY.
are painted in small full-lengths, by Sir
Antonio More.
The first of these ungracious figures is dressed in a black jacket, with gold sleeves and hose; the queen sitting, in a black-and-gold petticoat, and furred sleeves. Her black conic cap is faced with gold and jewels. A rich chain of great pearls and small vases, red and gold, are other ornaments to our bigotted sovereign. The date is 1553. Sir
Antonio
was sent from
Spain
to draw her picture; so has placed them in a scene of aukward courtship; for they were not married till the following year.
ANOTHER remarkable portrait, by the same painter,
ED. COURTENEY EARL OF DEVONSHIRE.
is that of
Edward Courteney,
last earl of
Devonshire
of his name; who, for his nearness in blood to the crown, was imprisoned by the jealous
Henry,
from the age of ten till about that of twenty-eight. His daughter
Mary
set him at liberty, and wooed him to share the kingdom with her. He rejected her offer, in preference to her sister
Elizabeth;
for which, and some false suspicion of disaffection, he suffered another imprisonment with
Elizabeth.
He was soon released. He quitted the kingdom, as prudence directed, and died at the age of thirty, at
Padua.
HE is represented as a handsome man, with short brown hair, and a yellow beard, a dark jacket, with white sleeves, and breeches; behind him is a ruined tower; beneath him this inscription, expressive of his misfortunes:
En! puer et insons et adhuc juvenilibus annis;
Annos bis septem carcere clusus eram.
Me pater his tenuit vinclis, quae filia solvit:
Sors mea sic tandem vertitur a superis.
Fourteen long years in strict captivity,
Tyrant-condemn'd,
I pass'd my early bloom,
'Till pity bade the generous daughter free
A guiltless captive, and reverse my doom.
R. W.
SIR
Philip Sydney
is painted in the twenty-second year of his age;
SIR. PHILIP SYDNEY.
in a quilled ruff, white slashed jacket, a three-quarter length. He was a deserved favorite of queen
Elizabeth:
who well might think the court deficient without him; for, to uncommon knowlege, valour, and virtuous gallantry, was joined a romantic spirit, congenial with that of his royal mistress. His romance of
Arcadia
is not relished at present: it may be tedious; but the morality, I fear, renders it disgusting to our age. It is too replete with innocence to be relished. Sir
Philip
was to the
English,
what the Chevalier
Bayard
was to the
French, Un Chevalier sans peur, et sans reproches.
Both were strongly tinctured with enthusiastic virtue: both died in the field with the highest sentiments of piety.
I LAMENT that the portraits are not placed in chronological order: I must give them as I found them.
Isabella,
ISABELLA DUTCHESS OF GRAFTON.
daughter to
Henry Bennet
earl of
Arlington,
and wife to the first duke of
Grafton,
is represented a half-length, in white, with long flowing hair, very handsome.
IN one of these apartments is a head of the duke of
Monmouth.
DUKE OF MONMOUTH.
A CAPITAL picture of the plague. The dead bodies appear infectious, by the attitudes of the living. To increase the horror, the artist has placed a live infant by its dead mother: a circumstance not unknown in the dreadful pestilence in
London,
of 1665. By
Nicholas Poussin.
A FINE view of
Pout Neuf,
with numbers of figures, by
Wovermans.
IN the green drawing-room is a fine landscape by
Claude Lorrain;
with a view of the sea. The figures are shepherds and shepherdesses.
David,
and
Abigail
averting his wrath. Her beauty and suppliant looks are admirable. By
Lucca Jordano.
A LANDSCAPE, by
G. Poussin;
with the figure of an old man begging.
FROM hence I crossed through the hall, a low room, supported by eight pillars, into
THE DINING-ROOM. In this apartment are four pieces, representing
Alexander
's campaigns, by old
Parocel.
The first is a repose after a march: he and his companions feasting under a tree. Two others are battles.
A LANDSCAPE, by Mr.
Gainsborough;
containing cattle, figures, and an antient tree: a piece that would do credit to the best masters.
IN THE COFFEE-ROOM is a large family-picture,
FAMILY PICTURES.
by
Jervis,
of
Elizabeth Howland,
dutchess to the first
Wriothesley
duke of
Bedford,
in her weeds, with her four children. Above her, in the back part of the picture, hangs the portrait of her lord; the same who built
Covent Garden
church, and was called
The good Duke.
IN another apartment is a large picture, representing the present dutchess, presenting her daughter (the dutchess of
Marlborough
) to
Minerva,
the Sciences, and Graces; painted by
Hamilton,
an artist settled, I believe, at
Rome.
A FULL-LENGTH of a nobleman, in a hat with a red crown and feather, square black beard, red ear-rings and stockings: in his robes, with a white rod in his hand. This was brought from
Thornbaugh,
a seat of the family in
Northamptonshire.
OPPOSITE to him is a portrait of a lady, in black, a red-and-white petticoat, flat ruff, and a great string of pearls across her breast.
Two children in one piece,
LADY DIANA AND ANNE RUSSEL.
lady
Diana
and lady
Anne Russel,
daughters of
William,
first duke of
Bedford.
They had the misfortune of being poisoned, by eating some noxious berries which they met with. Lady
Anne
died; lady
Diana
survived, and is again painted, in more advanced life, by Sir
Peter Lely.
A MAN, with his jacket grey, breeches red, short hair, and small beard; a stick in his hand, and helmet by him. Date 1592,
aet.
28.
Elizabeth Bruges,
ELIZABETH BRUGES.
or
Bridges,
aged 14, 1589, painted in a flat stile, by
Hieronymo di Custodio,
of
Antwerp.
She is represented in black, flowered with white, with full sleeves, a gold chain, a great pearl set in gold on one shoulder, and a gold ornament on the other. This lady was eldest daughter to
Giles
lord
Chandos,
and wife to Sir
John Kenneda,
Knight
Dugdale's Baronage,
ii. 395. There is another picture of her in the gallery.
: she dying childless, the whole fortune of her family devolved to his second sister,
Catherine
countess of
Bedford.
IN this room is a full-length of that fantastic lady,
LUCY COUNTESS OF BEDFORD.
Lucy
countess of
Bedford,
in a dancing attitude, dressed in as fantastic a habit, with an immense transparent veil distended behind her. I have spoken sufficiently of this lady elsewhere
Tour Scotland
1772, part ii. p. 220.
; so shall add nothing more, but that her vanity and extravagance met with no check under the rule of her quiet spouse
Edward
earl of
Bedford,
whom she survived only one year.
A STRANGE figure of a man, in black, half-length, in a close black cap, and a letter in his hand, directed to
Pr. de Nassau.
I am informed, by a very able herald, that, from the arms on the picture, the personage represented is the
Count de Nassau-Uranien Nassau.
IN the billiard-room is a curious painted pedigree.
THE
arras
hangings fall over the doors, in the old fashion. The lifting up of such hangings have often given opportunity for dreadful assassinations.
IN the passage-room is a portrait of the present dutchess of
Marlborough.
PRESENT DUTCHESS OF MARLBOROUGH.
James
earl of
Carlisle,
See a full account of him,
Tour Scotl.
1772, part ii. p. 84.
, in long hair, buff coat,
JAMES EARL OF CARLISLE.
and red sash.
SIR
Edward Stradling,
SIR EDW. STEADLING.
of
St. Donet's,
in
South Wales.
A head, with whiskers, a turnover, and black dress. I imagine him to be the gentleman who had a regiment under
Charles
I; who was taken prisoner at the battle of
Edgehill,
and who died on his release at
Oxford.
THE Angel hastening the departure of
Lot
out of
Sodom,
by
Rubens.
Small.
LORD
Francis Russel,
a miniature, in black dress.
RUBENS and his two wives. Heads.
A BOY and girl, by
Morillio.
THE LIBRARY, with a coved roof, painted by
Cypriani
and
Rebecca. Apollo
and the Muses by the first; the other subjects by the latter.
IN the green room is a singular picture of
Ignatius Loyola,
in black, with a dog behind him, kneeling to the apparition of our Saviour in the clouds, by
Bassan.
TWO, by
Rosa di Tivoli.
AN Ascension, a fine piece, by
Sebastian Ricci.
The confusion and terror of the soldiers are inimitably expressed.
A BATTLE, by
Pandolfo.
THE castle of St.
Angelo,
by
Lucatelli.
A MAN'S head, in which is a noble appearance of contrition and hope, by
Balestra.
AN old woman's head, by
Guido.
IN the little blue room is a fine full-length of a nobleman, in a black-and-gold vest, and a high-crowned hat in his hand. On the back ground is a curtain, almost concealing a lady; of whom nothing but one hand and part of her petticoat is seen. By this is
Aetatis.
1614.
L
I.
THE music-room is small, but elegant, stuccoed and gilt. Several oval compartments, and prettily filled with paintings
in clare obscur,
by
Cypriani
and
Rebecca.
A PORTRAITS, called
Lucy
countess of
Bedford,
in a white satin gown worked with colors,
LUCY? COUNTESS OF BEDFORD.
a laced single ruff, and a long scarlet velvet cloak hanging gracefully, with one arm folded in it. On her head is a pearl coronet, and pearls on her wrists. In the back ground she appears in a garden, in the true attitude of stately disdain, bent half back, in scorn of a poor gentleman bowing to the very ground. Unfortunately for her lover, it is probable that
Donne
had just told her,
Out from your chariot morning breaks at night,
And falsifies both computations, so;
Since a new world doth rise here from your light,
We your new creatures by new reck'nings go.
This shows that you from nature lothly stray,
Thus suffer not an artificial day.
In this you have made the court the
antipodes,
And will'd your delegate, the vulgar sunne,
To doe profane autumnal offices,
Whilst here to you wee sacrificers runne.
In all religions as much care hath bin
Of temples frames and beauty', as rites within
Donne's Poems,
p. 80. This portrait is so extremely unlike others of this lady, that I doubt whether it was designed for her.
.
HEADS of lions, by
Rubens.
THE
Israelites
carrying the ark, by
Parocel.
A FEMALE dwarf; dwarf to
Catherine,
queen to
Charles
II.
IN the upper dining-room is a full-length portrait of the well-known unfortunate
Robert,
ROBERT EARL OF ESSEX.
earl of
Essex,
in white. The queen's passion for
Essex
certainly was not founded on the beauty of his person. His beard was red, his hair black, his person strong, but without elegance, his gait ungraceful
Reliquiae Wottianae,
3d od. 170.
. But the queen was far past the heyday of her blood: she was struck with his romantic valour, with his seeming attachment to her person, and, I may add, with the violence of his passions; for her majesty, like the rest of her sex, probably
Stoop'd to the forward and the bold.
At length his presumption increased with her favor: her fears overcame her affection, and, after many struggles, at length consigned him to the scaffold; having thoroughly worked himself out of her
gracious conceit.
The same, 165.
.
Catherine
countess of
Bedford,
CATHERINE COUNTESS OF BEDFORD.
wife to
Francis
earl of
Bedford,
and daughter to
Giles Bruges,
third lord
Chandos.
Her dress is a pearl coronet, and hair flowing below her waist, a worked gown, and red mantle: a fine full-length.
Edward
earl of
Russel,
EDWARD EARL OF BEDFORD.
sitting. He is dressed in black-and-gold, with a high-crown hat; his hand in a sash, being gouty. This nobleman was an exception to the good understanding this family is blest with; and unluckily was matched with a lady whose vanity and expences were boundless.
LORD TREASURER
Burleigh,
the able statesman of
Elizabeth;
a favorite,
TREASURER BURLEIGH.
whom she chose, as she expressed it, not for his
bad legs, but for his good head
Lloyd's Worthies,
i. 360.
. His maxims did not quite agree with those of the ministers of later days; for he held,
That nothing could be for the advantage of the prince, which makes anyway against his reputation:
wherefore he never would suffer the rents of lands to be raised, nor the old tenants to be put out
Cambden's Eliz.
.
THIS great statesman is represented sitting. His countenance comely, his beard grey, his gown black and furred, and adorned with a gold chain. His mistress lost this faithful servant in 1598, aged seventy-seven.
HIS second son is placed near him, standing: a mean, little,
ROBERT EARL OF SALISBURY.
deformed figure, possessed of his father's abilities, but mixed with deceit and treachery. His services to his master and his country, will give him rank among the greatest ministers; but his share in bringing the great
Raleigh
to the scaffold, and the dark part he acted, in secretly precipitating the generous, unsuspecting
Essex
to his ruin, will ever remain indelible blots on him as a man. His dress is that of the
Spanish
nation (though he was averse to its politics) a black jacket and cloak, which add no grace to his figure.
NEXT is the portrait of Sir
William Russel
(afterwards duke of
Bedford
) when young.
SIR WILLIAM RUSSEL, FIRST DUKE OF BEDFORD.
He is dressed in robes of the order of the Bath, leaning on his sword; and by him a dwarf, aged thirty-two. On the picture is inscribed
Johannes Priwezer,
di
Hungaria,
fecit. 1627: a painter of merit, but whose works are rare. There is another portrait of him in the gallery, a full-length, in a long wig, and, I think, the robes of the Garter.
Anne,
HIS DUTCHESS.
daughter of that infamous pair,
Robert Car
earl of
Somerset
and his countess, is painted by
Vandyck,
in blue, drawing on a glove: a most beautiful half-length. She was the wife of Sir
William Russel,
above mentioned, married to him in the year 1637. She proved worthy of the alliance she made. It is said that she was ignorant of her mother's dishonor, till she read it in a pamphlet she found accidentally left in a window. It is added, that the was so struck with this detection of her parents guilt, that she fell down in a fit, and was found senseless, with the book open before her. She died on
May
10th, 1684. The anecdote is omitted in the histories of the family, probably to avoid the revival of a disgraceful tale.
Francis
earl of
Bedford
was so averse to the alliance, that he gave his son leave to chuse a wife out of any family but that. Opposition usually stimulates desire: the young couple's affections were only increased. At length the king interposed, and, sending the duke of
Lenox
to urge the earl to consent, the match was brought about.
Somerset,
now reduced to poverty, acted a generous part; selling his house at
Chiswick,
plate, jewels, and furniture, to raise a fortune for his daughter of twelve thousand pounds, which the earl of
Bedford
demanded; saying, that seeing her affections were settled, he chose rather to undo himself than make her unhappy
British. Biogr.
v. 3534.
.
HER father-in-law,
THE SECOND FRANCIS EARL OF BEDFORD.
the second
Francis
earl of
Bedford,
by
Vandyck;
full-length, in black, with light hair and short peaked beard; painted in 1636, aged forty-eight. He died in 1641, and left behind him a distinguished character. He was of the popular party; but of such an excellent understanding, so good a heart, and of such great moderation, that it is supposed, that, had he lived, his influence with his friends would have been exerted to have composed the unhappy violences of the times. This was the nobleman who undertook, and succeeded in the arduous attempt of draining the vast fen in
Cambridgeshire,
called
The Great Level;
containing three hundred and six thousand acres
Dugdale on Embanking,
344.
.
IN the saloon is a fine half-length of a man, by
Titian.
Cain
slaying
Abel,
by
Guido.
A BEAUTIFUL young woman washing, with an old man by her: a most pleasing picture, by
Le Moine.
OVER the chimney is a full-length of the earl of
Bristol,
EARL OF BRISTOL AND SIR W. RUSSEL.
and Sir
William Russel
(afterwards earl of
Bedford).
The former is in black; the other in red. A copy from
Vandyck.
LATE king of
France:
full-length.
ANGELS flying: a very graceful painting, by
Morillio.
THE Last Supper, by
Tintoret.
THE vision of our Saviour's passion to admiring spectators. God appears above, and angels support the cross. By
Luca Jordano.
Two landscapes, by
Poussin
IN the blue drawing-room is an exquisite picture of
Joseph
expounding the dream to
Pharaoh
's baker. The last, sitting, with vast and eager attention in his countenance. In
Joseph
appears vast concern, at his assured foreknowlege of the fatal prediction. By
Rembra
.
Near it is a portrait of that great painter, by himself.
IN the
French
dressing-room is a striking resemblance of the present dutchess of
Bedford;
and in the gallery is a very fine full-length of her worthy husband, the late duke, represented sitting, in his robes.
A MADONNA and child, by
Guercino.
A MAGDALENE, by
An. Caracci.
Anne
countess of
Warwick,
ANNE COUNTESS OF WARWICK.
daughter to the first
Francis
earl of
Bedford,
and wife to
Ambrose Dudley
earl of
Warwick.
The date is 1600. She is in her full age, and dressed in black and gold, with white-and-striped sleeves.
IN the state dressing-room are numbers of small pieces. A fine landscape, with figures, by
Cuyp: Oliver Cromwell,
represented in a field of battle: two very fine small views of rock and wood, by
Salvator Rosa:
a sea view, by
Vandevelde:
a holy family, by
Simon de Pesaro:
the child seizing on a crown of thorns, out of a basket of flowers, in preference to the most exquisite of the assemblage; the turn of his head beautiful: a
Magdalen,
by
Hannibal Carracci:
and a horse in a stable, by
Wouverman:
another
Magdalen,
by
Trevisiani:
a fine bright landscape, by
Claude Lorrain;
two, by
Salvator Rosa;
one, by
Cuyp;
and two humorous
Dutch
pieces, by
Both,
merit attention.
LATE lord and lady
Tavistoke.
His lordship in a red gown,
LORD AND LADY TAVISTOKE.
furred. He is again represented in another room, in the uniform of the
Dunstable
Hunt.
THE gallery;
GALLERY.
a room unparalleled for its valuable and instructive number of portraits: their history would make a volume. I can only pretend to point out some principal facts, that the spectator, who may honor me with his company through this illustrious assemblage, may not have to reproach me, with suffering him to depart wholly uninformed.
THE first I shall point out, is a head of lord WILLIAM RUSSEL,
LORD WILLIAM RUSSEL.
the sad victim to his virtuous design of preserving our liberties and constitution from the attempts of as abandoned a set of men as ever governed these kingdoms. True patriotism, not ambition nor interest, directed his intentions. Posterity must applaud his unavailing engagements, with due censure of the
Machiavelian
necessity of taking off so dangerous an opposer of the machinations of his enemies. The law of politics gives sanction to the removal of every obstacle to the designs of statesmen. At the same time, we never should lessen our admiration and pity of the generous characters who fell sacrifices to their hopes of delivering purified to their descendants, the corrupted government of their own days. To attempt to clear lord RUSSEL from the share in so glorious a design, would be to deprive him of a most brilliant part of his character. His integrity and ingenuity would not suffer even himself to deny that part of the charge. Let that remain unimpeached, since he continues so perfectly acquitted of the most distant design of making assassination a means; or of intriguing with a foreign monarch, the most repugnant to our religion and freedom, to bring about so desired an end.
OVER the door is Sir
Nicholas Bacon,
in a black dress, furred
See p. 245 of this volume.
.
SIR NICHOLAS BACON.
By
Zucchero.
SIR
Nicholas Throgmorton.
SIR.
Ed. Gorges?
SIR ED. GORGES.
a head.
ANOTHER,
SIR JOSSELYN PERCY.
head, of Sir
Josselyn Percy,
seventh son of
Henry,
eighth earl of
Northumberland.
He and his brother
Charles
were concerned in the earl of
Essex
's insurrection. Both received their pardons: and
Josselyn
survived till 1631.
ANOTHER,
COMPTROLLER ROGERS.
of a gentleman of the name of
Rogers,
comptroller to queen
Elizabeth.
I imagine him to have been Sir
Edward Rogers:
a person of some consideration at the time of her accession; for he was one of the few who waited on her at
Hatfield,
on the death of queen
Mary,
and formed one of the privy-council held there on that great event
Carte
iii. 355. Perhaps
Rogers
of
Briainston,
in
Dorsetshire.
There was a Sir
John Rogers,
who died in 1566; possibly
Carte
might mistake the Christian name.
.
Thomas
earl of
Exeter,
THOMAS EARL OF EXETER.
eldest son to the great
Burleigh,
is painted, a full-length.
NOTWITHSTANDING this nobleman was inferior in abilities to his younger brother, yet was he a man of spirit and of parts. He served as volunteer at the siege of
Edinburgh
castle, in 1573; distinguished himself in the wars in the Low Countries; and, with his brother, served on board the fleet which had the honor of defeating the
Spanish
armada. He entered also into the romantic gallantries of the reign of queen
Elizabeth,
and was a knight-tilter in the tournaments performed for the amusement of her illustrious lover the duke of
Anjou,
in 1581. In the following reign he was employed as a man of business; was created earl of
Exeter;
and finished his course, aged eighty, in
February,
1622.
NEAR him is the head of
Charles Brandon
duke of
Suffolk,
CHARLES BRANDON.
son of Sir
William Brandon,
standard-bearer to
Henry
VII. slain in the battle of
Bosworth.
His dress is black, with red sleeves, with the collar of the Garter and the George. His beard is white; his countenance bluff, not unlike that of his master,
Henry
VIII. Their qualities, happily for the favorite, were different; for the inscription with truth says, that he was
gratiose with
Henry
VIII.; void of despyte; most fortunate to the end;
never
in displeasure with his kynge.
He was brought up with his master, and justly beloved by him for his noble qualities, for his goodly person, courage, and conformity of disposition (I suppose only) in all his exercises and pastimes
Herbert's Henry VIII.
35.
. He was a principal figure in every tilt and tournament. In his younger days (1510) he appeared at
Westminister
in the solemn justs, held in honor of
Catherine
of
Arragon,
in the dress of a recluse, begging of her highness permission to run in her presence; which obtained, he instantly flung off his weeds, and came out all armed. He signalized himself at the just at
Tournay,
in 1511, instituted by
Margaret
princess of
Castile,
in compliment to his royal master. The place was flagged with black marble, and the horses of the knights shod with felt, to prevent them from slipping
The same, 41.
. He here won the heart of the fair foundress of the entertainment; but fortune reserved him for another princess.
IN 1514 he performed amazing deeds of arms at
St. Dennis,
at the coronation of the youthful
Mary,
sister to
Henry,
on her marriage with the aged and decrepid
Louis
XII. The good king, says
Henault,
forgot his age, and met with death in her arms in less than three months. This opened the way to the possession of the beautiful dowager. Her heart was lost to him at the preceding tournaments; in which she had opportunity to compare her feeble bridegroom with the dexterity, the grace, and strength of her valiant knight; who, at single combat, overthrew man and horse. The
French,
envious of his prowess, introduced into the lists a gigantic
German,
in hopes of bringing the
English
hero into disgrace. He treated the
Almain
so roughly, that the
French
interfered; but, in a second trial,
Suffolk
caught him round the neck, and pummelled him so severely about the head, that they were obliged to convey the fellow away secretly; who had been surreptitiously introduced in disguise, merely on account of his great strength
Halle,
xlix.
Holinshed,
833.
.
Mary,
on the death of her royal consort, proposed to
Suffolk,
and gave him only four days to consider of the offer
Herbert's Henry VIII.
54.
. This seems concerted, to save her lover from the fury of
Henry,
for daring to look up to a dowager of
France,
and, what was more, his sister. His master, fortunately, favored the match. He continued beloved by the king to the end of his life; after seeing the following knights and attendants on the conjugal festivities, the earl of
Devonshire,
lord
Leonard Grey,
Sir
Nicholas Carew,
and
Anne Bullein,
sent headless to their graves. But
Charles
went off triumphant with his royal spouse; carried with him her jewels, to the amount of 200,000 crowns; the famous diamond
le mirroir de Naples;
and secured her jointure of sixty thousand crowns
Herbert,
55.
. He married almost as many wives as his master, leaving his fourth to survive him. He died universally lamented, in
August
1545, and was buried magnificently, at the expence of his master; his loss being one of the few things that touched his hardened heart.
Edward Clinton,
first earl of
Lincoln,
sitting: a half-length,
EDW. CLINTON, FIRST EARL OF LINCOLN.
in black, a short ruff, bonnet, and with his George. By
Cornelius Ketel,
the whimsical artist, who took it into his head to lay aside his brushes, and paint with his fingers only; and at length, finding those tools too easy, undertook to paint with his toes
Mr. WALPOLE, i. 38, 139.
. This nobleman was one of the most distinguished persons of his age, and shone equally as a soldier and a sailor; for, during the reigns of
Henry
VIII.
Edward
VI.
Mary,
and
Elizabeth,
there were scarcely any expeditions in which he did not signalize himself. He was lord great admiral for thirty years; counsellor to three princes; and of unspotted reputation. In an advanced age, he married for his third wife the fair
Geraldine,
the subject of the gallant earl of
Surrey
's affection, and of his amorous Muse. Their union never took place. It is probable that she deserted him; for soon after his sonnet, descriptive of the fair,
From
Tuscane
came my ladies worthy race.
follow several others, complaining of his hard lot, in experiencing the scorn and inconstancy of his mistress; but what affects him most is, the giving the preference to a lover of meaner rank.
I know (though she say nay, and would it well withstand)
When in hir grace thou yeldest the most, she bare thee but in hand.
I see her pleasant cheere in chiefest of thy suite,
When thou art gone I see him come that gathers up the fruite;
And eke in thy respecte, I see the base degree
Of him to whom she gave the heart that promised was to thee
Folio 11. edition 1585.
.
The lady,
THE FAIR GERALDINE.
like many other beauties, humiliated by years, at length resigned the noon of her charms to this antient peer; who quitted her and the world in 1585.
IN this room is the portrait of
Geraldine
herself, a head. Her hair yellow: her face, a proof how much beauty depends on fancy: her dress far from elegant.
A HEAD of
John Russel,
JOHN RUSSEL, FIRST EARL OF BEDFORD.
first earl of
Bedford,
a profile, with a long white beard, and the George hanging from his neck. This gentleman was the founder of the family, and owed his rise to his merit and accomplishment.
Philip
archduke of
Austria,
being, in 1508, driven by a storm on the coast of
Dorsetshire,
was entertained by Sir
Thomas Trenchard;
who sent for his neighbor, Mr.
Russel,
who was skilled in the languages, to wait on his highness. The duke was so pleased with his conversation, as to insist on his going with him to the king, then at
Windsor. Henry,
at the recommendation of the duke, took him into his service. In the following reign he advanced in fortune with vast rapidity. He fortunately was cotemporary with the fall of monastic life, and obtained vast grants of the possessions of the church.
Edward
VI. created him earl of
Bedford.
The last act of his life was a voyage to
Spain,
to bring over
Philip
II. (grandson of the prince to whom he owed his rise) to espouse his royal mistress. He died in
March
1555, and lies buried at
Cheneis,
in
Buckinghamshire,
with his lady; by whom he acquired that estate. The church of
Cheneis,
from that time, became the
aeterna domus
of all this great family, and contains a most superb collection of different-fashioned monuments.
Ambrose Dudley
earl of
Warwick,
a head, with a bonnet,
AMBROSE EARL OF WARWICK.
black dress, the George pendent. His third wise, lady
Anne,
daughter to
Francis
earl of
Bedford,
in black-and-white sleeves, and a black body.
A HALF-LENGTH of
Henry
earl of
Southampton,
HENRY EARL OF SOUTHAMPTON.
by
Solomon
de
Caus
Mr. WALPOLE, i. 20.
; with short grey hair; in black, with points round his waist, a flat ruff, leaning on a chair, with a mantle over one arm. This nobleman was friend to the earl of
Essex,
and through friendship, not disaffection, attended him in the mad and desperate insurrection which brought the favorite to the block. The plea was admitted: he was condemned, but reprieved; and continued in the Tower till the accession of
James
I. when he was instantly restored to his honors and estate. By reason of his love to the earl of
Essex,
he never was on good terms with the minister, the earl of
Salisbury.
He was one that attended
Mansfield
's army into the
Netherlands,
and died in 1624, at
Bergen op Zoom,
of a fever, contracted in that fatal expedition.
Thomas
earl of
Southampton,
THOMAS EARL OF SOUTHAMPTON.
in black, with a star on his mantle.
SIR
William Russel,
SIR WM. RUSSEL LORD THORNHAUGH.
in a black slashed vest. He was lord deputy of
Ireland
in the reign of queen
Elizabeth,
in 1594: a wise and most gallant commander, and successful in various expeditions against the rebels; but not brooking a divided power with the general, Sir
John Norris,
was, at his own request, recalled. He was created by
James
I. baron of
Thornhaugh,
and died in 1613.
HIS lady is painted,
HIS LADY.
dressed in great sleeves. She was daughter of
Edward Long,
Esquire, of
Thingay,
in
Cambridgeshire,
and died two years before her lord.
THEIR son
Francis,
afterwards earl of
Bedford,
is painted in his childhood, in white, with green hose; with a hawk on his hand, and two dogs in couples near him.
ANOTHER,
LUCY COUNTESS OF BEDFORD.
portrait of
Lucy
countess of
Bedford,
exactly resembling that at
Alloa.
A FULL-LENGTH of
Catherine,
wife of the second
Francis
earl of
Bedford,
full-length, in black, with roses in her hand.
Edward
earl of
Manchester,
EDWARD EARL OF MANCHESTER.
lord chamberlain to
Charles
II. Long hair and robes.
QUEEN
Elizabeth,
QUEEN ELIZABETH.
full-length, with a rich gown, white, embroidered with flowers, and a fan of feathers in her hand. I find that her majesty would condescend to accept of the smallest present, as a mark of her subjects love; for, in passing through a Doctor
Puddin
's house, in her way to the celebrated wedding of Mrs.
Anne Russel
with lord
Herbert,
she did the Doctor the honor of accepting from him a fan
en passant
Sydney Papers,
ii. 203.
.
THE first
Francis
earl of
Bedford,
with a long white beard and furred robe,
FIRST FRANCIS EARL OF BEDFORD,
and George pendent; a head. Another illustrious personage of this house, who discharged several great offices in the reigns of
Mary
and
Elizabeth.
Such was his hospitality, that the latter used to say of him, that
he made all the beggars.
He died, aged fifty-eight, on the 28th of
July
1585, the day after his third son, Sir
Francis,
was slain, happily unknowing of the misfortune.
THIS youth, and his elder brother
Edward
lord
Russel,
AND HIS BROTHER.
are represented in small full-lengths, in two paintings; and so alike, as scarcely to be distinguished: both dressed in white close jackets, and black-and-gold cloaks, and black bonnets. The date by lord
Edward,
is
aet.
22, 1573. He is represented grasping in one hand some snakes, with this motto,
Fides homini, serpentibus fraus:
and in the back ground he is placed standing in a labyrinth, and above is inscribed,
Fata viam invenient.
This young nobleman also died before his father.
HIS brother
Francis
has his accompaniments not less singular. A lady, seemingly in distress, is represented sitting in the back ground, surrounded with snakes, a dragon, crocodile, and cock. At a distance the sea, with a ship under full fail. The story is not well known; but it certainly alludes to a family transaction similar to that in
Otway
's
Orphan,
and gave rise to it. He, by the attendants, was perhaps the
Polydore
of the history.
Edward
seems by his motto,
Fides homini, serpentibus fraus,
to have been the
Castalio,
conscious of his own integrity, and indignant at the perfidy of his brother. The ship alludes to the desertion of the lady. If it conveyed Sir
Francis
to
Scotland,
it was to his punishment; for he fell there on
July
27th, 1585, in a border fray.
A FULL-LENGTH of
Henry Danvers,
HENRY DANYVERS EARL OF DANEY.
created baron
Dauntsey
by
James
I. and earl of
Danby
by
Charles
I; a full-length, by
Vandyck.
His beard square and yellow; his jacket black; over that a red mantle, furred and laced with gold. His rich armour lies by him. Near him is written
Omnia praecepi.
He was son of Sir
John Danvers
of
Dauntsey,
in
Wiltshire,
by
Elizabeth,
daughter and co-heir of
John Nevil
lord
Latimer
Dugdale Baron.
ii. 416.
. His elder brother, Sir
Charles Danvers,
lost his head for his concern in
Essex
's insurrection.
James,
who on all occasions testified his respect to that unhappy nobleman, countenanced every family who suffered in his cause; accordingly, had
Danvers
restored in blood. Besides a peerage, he made him governor of
Guernsey
for life.
Charles
promoted him to an earldom, and created him knight of the Garter. He passed his life as a soldier, under
Maurice
prince of
Orange,
in the Low Countries; under
Henry
IV. in
France;
and under the earl of
Essex
and lord
Monjoy,
in
Ireland
See his Epitaph,
ibid,
and in
Lloyd's Worthies,
ii. 263.
. At length, in 1644, died, as his epitaph says, at his house of
Cornbury Park, Oxfordshire,
full of honor, wounds (verified in the portrait, by a great patch on his forehead) and days, in the seventy-first year of his age. Besides his military glory, we may add that of founding the physic-garden at
Chelsea,
in 1632; purchasing for that use the ground, (once the
Jews
cemetery) and inclosing it with a wall and beautiful gate, at the expence of five
Wood's Hist. Oxon.
lib. ii, 45. and
Dugdale,
as above.
thousand pounds.
AN earl of
Rutland,
a full-length, in a rich slowered jacket,
AN EARL OF RUTLAND.
red full skirts, a single laced ruff, short hair and beard, brown boots: a plumed helmet near him. He wears the honor of the George. From his boots (a fashionable part of dress in the time of
James
I. and
Charles
I.) I suspect him to be
Francis
earl of
Rutland,
who commanded the fleet which convoyed
Charles,
when prince of
Wales,
in his return from his romantic expedition into
Spain.
This nobleman died in 1632.
Giles,
the third lord
Chandos,
in a high-crowned hat,
GILES LORD CHANDOS.
white jacket, black gown laced with silver, short hair and beard.
Aet.
43, 1589. He died in 1594.
HIS lady,
Frances,
daughter of the first earl of
Lincoln,
in a great ruff,
HIS LADY.
a black dress rich in pearls;
aet.
37, 1589: lived till the year 1623.
LADY
Anne Ayscough,
eldest daughter of the first earl of
Lincoln,
LADY ANNE AYSCOUGH.
and wife to
William Ayscough,
son to Sir
Francis Ayscough,
of
Lincolnshire.
A HEAD of
Catherine,
youngest daughter to the treasurer,
CATHERINE COUNTESS OF SALISBURY.
earl of
Suffolk,
and wife to
William
earl of
Salisbury.
She is in a flowered dress; her ruff worked with gold; and her breasts naked.
THE head of her infamous sister,
Anne
countess of
Somerset,
COUNTESS OF SOMERSET.
is placed over one of the doors, dressed in black, striped with white, and her ruff and ruffles starched with yellow. This fashion soon expired; for her bawd and creature, Mrs.
Turner,
went to
Tyburn
in a yellow ruff, and put the wearers out of conceit with it. I need not enlarge on the well-known marriage and divorce of this lady from the earl of
Essex.
They are too well known to be insisted on; as is her weakness, in having recourse to the impostor
Forman
for philtres to debilitate
Essex,
and impel the affections of
Somerset
towards her. Her wickedness, in procuring the death of
Overbury,
who obstructed this union; her sudden fall, and confession of guilt on her trial, need no repetition. Her earl avowed his innocency; he had been more covert in his proceedings. Her passions were more violent, her resentments greater, and, of course, her caution less. They both obtained an unmerited pardon, or rather reprieve, being confined in the Tower till the year 1622, and then confined, by way of indulgence, in the house of lord
Wallingford.
The little delicacy which people of rank too frequently shew, by countenancing the vices of their equals, was conspicuous at this time. The countess felt their pity, and was visited even by the stern
Anne Clifford. Somerset
lived with his lady, after their confinement, with the strongest mutual hatred: the certain consequence of vicious associations. He died in the year 1645
Dugdale Baron.
ii. 426.
: she, before him. In her end may be read a fine lesson on the vengeance of Providence on the complicated wickedness of her life. It may be held up as a mirror to posterity, persuasive to virtue, and teach that Heaven inflicted a finite punishment on the criminal, in mercy to her, and as a warning to future generations. I give the relation (filthy as it is) in the
Appendix;
but hope the utility of the moral will excuse the grossness of the tale.
IN this gallery is a full-length of a nobleman, in a black jacket, double ruff, brown boots, and a stick in his hand: armour by him: a manly figure, with short black hair and square beard: miscalled
Car
earl of
Somerset,
this lady's husband. I forget whether the print among the illustrious heads, (vol. ii. 19.) was not copied from this. But
Car
was a person of effeminate features, and light hair.
A PORTRAIT of a very different character follows, in the head of lady
Cook,
LADY COOK.
dated 1585,
aet.
44. She has on a quilled ruff; is dressed in black, richly ornamented with pearls. I apprehend this lady to have been the wife of the son of Sir
Anthony Cook,
one of the tutors to
Edward
VI. and distinguished by being father to five daughters, the wonders of their age for intellectual accomplishments.
Margaret
countess of
Cumberland,
MARGARET COUNTESS OF CUMBERLAND.
is dressed much like the former. She was youngest daughter to the first
Francis
earl of
Bedford,
and wife to the celebrated
George Clifford
earl of
Cumberland
For an account of both, see my
Tour in Scotland,
vol. iii. 355.
.
LADY
Bindloss,
wife to Sir
Francis Bindloss,
of
Berwick,
LADY BINDLOSS.
near
Lancaster,
and daughter to
Thomas,
third lord
Delawar.
LADY
Wimbledon,
wife of lord
Wimbledon.
Christiana,
daughter to
Edward
lord
Bruce,
of
Kinloss,
LADY WIMBLEDON.
and wife to the second
William
earl of
Devonshire;
a small head.
CHRISTIANA COUNTESS OF DEVONSHIRE.
with long hair: her dress white
Eleven
rs, of the same size with the portrait of this lady, hang up in this gallery; copies, by a painter of the name of
Russel.
. This lady, who is less talked of than others, was by far the most illustrious character of the age in which she lived. Her virtues, domestic and public, were of the most exalted kind. Hospitality, charity, and piety, were in her pre-eminent. I speak not of her great maternal cares; nature dictates that, more or less, in all the sex: but her abilities in the management of the vast affairs of her family, perplexed with numberless litigations, gave her a distinguished character. She at left equalled her lord in loyalty, and was indefatigable in inciting the nobility, who had quitted the cause of majesty, to expiate their error. After the battle of
Worcester,
she lived three years in privacy at her brother's house at
Ampthill,
and had correspondence with several great personages, on the subject of restoring the exiled king. The reserved
Monk
had such an opinion of her prudence, as to communicate to her the signal by which she might know his intentions on that subject. She lived in high esteem, to a very advanced age; died in 1674, and was interred by her beloved lord, at
Derby.
IT is no wonder that so illustrious a character should attract the powers of the poets. She had the honor of being celebrated by one equal in rank to her own. That accomplished nobleman
William
earl of
Pembroke,
wrote several poems to her, and dedicated a collection of them to her.
There is wit and ease in several; but a great want of correction, and often of harmony. The following is the lest faulty
Communicated to me by Mr. WALPOLE; who is in possession of this very scarce book: a thin small quarto, published in 1660. It consists of the earl's Poems, and Responses by Sir
Benjamin Ruddier;
and other poems, by both, on other subjects. See
Royal Authors,
i. 192; also p. 234 of this
Tour,
for a farther account of this noble poet.
;
the subject,
That he would not be beloved.
Disdain me still, that I may ever love;
For who his love enjoys can love no more:
The war once past, with peace men cowards prove,
And ships return'd, do rot upon the shore.
Then tho' thou frown, I'll say thou art most fair,
And still I'll love, tho' still I must despair.
As heat to life, so is desire to love;
For these once quench'd, both life and love are done.
Let not my sighs nor tears thy virtue move;
Like basest metals, do not melt too soon:
Laugh at my woes, although I ever mourn:
Love surfeits with rewards; his nurse is scorn.
FROM
Woburn,
for the sake of variety, I left the great road, and, crossing the county, went through the village of
Ridgemont,
and, soon after, through that of
Millbrook,
whose church is pleasantly seated on the bluff point of a hill. About two miles farther, reach
Ampthill,
a small market-town,
AMPTHILL.
on a rising ground, noted in old times for the magnificent mansion built by lord
Fanhope,
as
Leland
says, with
such spoiles that he wanne in Fraunce
Itin,
i. 115.
. It had four or five fair towers of stone in the inner ward, beside the basse court
The same.
. It was worthy the princess for whom it is supposed he built it,
Elizabeth
dutchess of
Exeter,
and sister to
Henry
IV. This hero was son of Sir
John Cornwall:
LORD FANHOPE.
his mother, niece to the duke of
Britany,
who was delivered of him at sea. He was usually stiled
green Cornwall,
from the color of that element. He rose by his merit; was celebrated for deeds of arms and acts of chivalry, and those equally in the field, and in the lists of arms. At
York
he fought and vanquished, in the presence of
Henry
IV. two valiant knights; one a
Frenchman,
the other an
Italian.
In reward for his prowess,
Henry
created him knight of the Garter. He signalized himself at the battle of
Azincourt,
where he took prisoner
Louis de Bourbon
count of
Vendome,
and had his ransom confirmed to him
Sandford's Genealog. Hist.
258.
, with which he might have built the house; for it seems to be the
spoiles
alluded to by
Leland.
In reward for his services, he was created by
Henry
VI. baron of
Fanhope
and
Millbrook;
and died in 1443. He had no lawful issue; neither were the large grants made to him by the crown, for more than term of life; so that they reverted on his decease.
THE place was afterwards bestowed by
Edward
IV. on
Edmund
lord
Grey.
The gift was not (as
Leland
supposes) founded on the ruin of lord
Fanhope,
after the battle of
Northampton;
for that event did not take place till seventeen years after
Fanhope
died peaceably in his bed. It continued in the family of the
Greys
till the death of
Richard
earl of
Kent,
who made it over to
Henry
VIII. That prince added it to the crown, and erected it, with the great estate belonging to it, into the
honour of Ampthill
Cambden,
i. 340.
. Here was the residence of the injured princess
Catherine
of
Arragon,
during the period that her divorce was in agitation; and from hence she was cited to appear before the commissioners, then sitting at
Dunstable
She died at
Kimbolton,
in
Huntingdonshire,
on the 8th of
January,
1535-6.
. About the year 1774,
John
earl of
Ossory,
on the site of the castle, erected a gothic column (designed by Mr.
Essex
) to perpetuate the memory of this ill-fated queen, with the following elegant inscription:
In days of old, here
Ampthill
's towers were seen,
The mournful refuge of an injur'd queen;
Here flow'd her pure, but unavailing tears;
Here blinded zeal sustain'd her sinking years:
Yet Freedom hence her radiant banner wav'd,
And Love aveng'd a realm by priests enslav'd;
From
Catherine
's wrongs a nation's bliss was spread,
And
Luther
's light from
Henry
's lawless bed.
Johannes Fitz-Patrick,
Comes de OSSORY, posuit, 1773.
THE only remarkable thing I observed in the church,
CHURCH.
was a mural monument in memory of
Richard Nicolls,
governor of
Long Island
after the expulsion of the
Dutch.
He was a gentleman of the bed-chamber to the duke of
York,
and was slain in the celebrated engagement of
May
28th, 1672, attending his royal highness on board of his ship. What is singular in this monument is, the preservation of the very ball with which he was killed, a five or six pounder; which is placed within the pediment, inlaid in the marble; and on the molding of the pediment, on each side of the bullet, are the words,
Instrumentum mortis et immortalitis.
MR.
Sandford
Geneal. Hist.
259.
has given a plate of the figures of Sir
John
Cornwal
and his wife, as painted in a window of this church. They are either lost, or I have overlooked them. They are represented kneeling, and both with mantles of their arms over them: she in her ducal coronet. Between them, at top, is a banner with her arms; at bottom, his arms included in the Garter.
FROM the town I descended to
Ampthill Park,
AMPTHILL PARK.
the seat of the earl of
Ossory:
a modern house, plain and neat, with eleven windows in front, and wings. Within, is the portrait of
Richard
lord
Gowran,
in his robes: he was ancestor to the noble owner, and married, in 1718, to
Anne,
younger daughter of Sir
John Robinson
of
Farming Wood,
in
Northamptonshire,
her ancestor. Sir
John Robinson
's portrait is preserved here: a half-length, in a great wig, cravat, sash, and buff coat. He was an eminent loyalist; was lord mayor of
London
in 1663, and lieutenant of the Tower, from the Restoration to the time of his death. His double employ is expressed by a distant view of the Tower, and the gold chain placed by him on a table.
THE indiscreet prelate
Laud,
is admirably painted by
Vandyck.
HERE is a full-length of
Catherine Cornaro,
CATHERINE CORNARO.
queen of
Cyprus:
a bulky woman, in black, with flaxen hair, much curled. This distinguished female was daughter to
Mark Cornaro,
the most illustrious of the
Venetian
families.
James Lusignan,
or
James
the Bastard, king of
Cyprus,
in order to strengthen himself in his throne, demanded, by his ambassador, a wife out of the republic of
Venice.
The senate fixed on this lady, adopted her as their own, and stiled her, from its tutelar saint, the
daughter of St. Mark.
She reigned long in that island, and governed fifteen years after the death of her husband. He had left the senate of
Venice
protectors of her, and the child with which she was pregnant at the time of that event. The infant son lived only ten months; and the
Venetian
state considered itself as heir to the kingdom, in right of its daughter
Catherine.
Apprehensions arose, that the
Turkish
emperor
Bajazet,
and the
Christian
monarch
Ferdinand,
had designs on it: they determined to frustrate both, and sent
George Cornaro,
brother to the queen, to assist her in the government. By his eloquence, he succeeded in the arduous task of persuading a lady out of her love of power. He promised her regal state in her native county. She accepted the terms, and erected the
Venetian
standard in her capital; and, on her arrival at
Venice,
was met by the whole senate, and the ladies of rank, and received, during life, every mark of esteem which her patriotism merited; with a magnificent establishment, equal to the dignity she had so generously quitted. This event happened about the year 1489
Gratiani's Wars of Cyprus,
10, 11.
.
Albert
archduke of
Austria,
commonly called the
Cardinal Infant,
CARDINAL INFANT.
in black, a great ruff, and with a sword. He was fifth son of the emperor
Maximilian
II. and was originally brought up in the church; became cardinal, and had the archbishopric of
Toledo
conferred on him. His talents were more fitted for the field and cabinet. Accordingly, we find him in universal esteem, for his prudent administration as regent of
Portugal;
and a brave and enterprizing general in the Low Countries, in the reign of
Philip
II. who had invested him with their government. In the year 1598,
Philip
bestowed on him his daughter, the
infanta Isabella,
and with her the sovereignty of the
Netherlands.
Under him was undertaken the famous siege of
Ostend,
which cost the
Spaniards
a hundred thousand men. He lived till the year 1621, and died universally lamented by his subjects. He was a patron of the arts. He was so struck with the merit of
Rubens,
that he detained that able painter some time at
Antwerp;
and to him we owe the portrait of this illustrious prince
Anecdotes of Painting,
ii. 81.
.
HERE is a fine half-length of a general, by
Baroccio;
an artist who died at a great age, in 1612. The person is represented with light hair and whiskers, a hat, armour, and red sash.
A CONVERSATION; consisting of
Edward
late duke of
York,
lord
Ossory,
lord
Palmerston, Topham Beauclerk,
colonel
H. St. John,
and Sir
William Boothby:
done when they were at
Florence,
by
Brompton.
Ampthill Park,
and that of
Houghton,
contiguous to it, were granted by
James
I. to Sir
Edward Bruce
of
Kinloss
(a favorite, brought by his majesty out of
Scotland
) or to his son
Thomas
earl of
Elgin.
It continued for some time in his posterity, earls of
Elgin
and of
Aylesbury.
It became, about the year 1690 (by purchase) the property of lord
Ashburnham,
who built the house; which still retains nearly the original form. It was alienated by
John,
the first earl of that title, between the years 1720 and 1730, to lord viscount
Fitz-William.
His lordship sold it, in the year 1736, to lady
Gowran,
grandmother to the present lord
Ossory.
HOUGHTON.
THE portico and loggio are of stone, and ornamented with columns of the Doric and Ionic orders: the rest of the house is of brick. The fronts are unequal; one being a hundred and twenty-two feet in extent; the other, only seventy-three feet six inches.
THE house and manor were purchased by the late duke of
Bedford,
from
Charles
earl of
Aylesbury,
and with it the stewardship of the honor of
Ampthill,
hold under the crown.
THIS place must not be confounded with
Houghton Conquest:
HOUGHTON CONQUEST.
a very antient house, at the foot of the hill. This had been the property of the very old family of the
Conquests,
and was purchased, with the manor, from the last Mr.
Conquest,
by the late earl of
Ossory.
I DID not leave the neighborhood without visiting the church of
Maulden,
TOMBS IN MAULDEN CHURCH.
a mile or two to the east of
Ampthill.
This is noted for the octagonal
mausoleum
erected by
Thomas Bruce
earl of
Elgin,
in honor of his second wife
Diana,
daughter of
William
lord
Burgbly,
and by her first husband countess of
Oxford.
Her tomb, of white marble, is placed in the center. On it is a sarcophagus, or at lest what was designed to represent one; out of which rises a miserable figure of the countess in her shroud: on whom the country people, by a very apt similitude, have bestowed the title of
The lady in the punch-bowl.
In a niche in the wall of the building is the bust of her husband, with long hair, a short beard, and turnover; and on the floor is another bust (I think) of her son-in-law,
Robert
earl of
Elgin,
placed at a respectable distance, as well as the other, for the reason given in the inscription,
Eminus stantes venerabundi, quasi contemplabuntur
See the whole epitaph in the
Appendix. Thomas
earl of
Elgin
died in 1663; the countess in 1654.
.
IN the church are the brasses of
Richard Faldo
and his family, inlaid on a tomb of shell-marble.
AFTER a short ride, I reached the large house of
Wrest,
seated in a low and wet park, crossed with formal rows of trees. The pleasure-grounds have, since their first creation, been corrected by
Brown:
his hand appears particularly in a noble serpentine river. Several parts are graced with obelisks, pavilions, and other buildings, the taste of the age before.
From his melon-ground the peasant slave
Had rudely rush'd, and levell'd
Merlin
's cave.
In the quarters of the wilderness are to be seen two cenotaphs, for the late duke and dutchess, erected by the duke himself: and, if you gain a steep ascent, from the hill-house is a most extensive view of the country. The front is plain and extensive. Within, is a great court. This place is the property of the earl of
Hardwick,
in right of his lady
Jemima,
marchioness
Grey,
daughter to
John
earl of
Breadalbane,
by
Amabel;
daughter to
Henry Grey,
thirteenth earl and first duke of
Kent
of the name. That illustrious family had been possessed of the manor of
Wrest,
and other estates in this county, at lest from the time of
Roger de Grey,
who died owner of it in the year 1353.
THE portraits and their history would take up a volume. I must, therefore, be excused for giving a more brief account than their merits might demand.
IN the hall is a full-length of the unfortunate
Mary
queen of
Scots,
PORTRAITS.
aet, reg.
38, 1580, in black, with her hand on a table: a copy from one at
Hampton Court.
ANOTHER of her grandmother,
Margaret,
daughter of
Henry
VII. and queen of
James
IV. of
Scotland.
Another full-length, in black hair, naked neck, with a marmoset in her hands.
THREE very fine portraits of
James
I. in his robes.
JAMES I.
Anne
of
Denmark,
ANNE OF DENMARK.
in white; dressed in a hoop, with a feather fan, and neck exposed. Their son
Henry,
in rich armour, boots, and with a truncheon. His military turn appears in the dress of most of his portraits. Had he lived,
England
might probably have transferred the miseries of war to the neighboring kingdom. His mother had inspired him with ambitious notions, and filled his head with the thoughts of the conquest of
France.
She fancied him like
Henry
V. and expected him to prove as victorious. I am sorry to retract the character of this lady; but I fear that my former was taken from a parasite of the court
Wilson.
. She was turbulent, restless, and aspiring to government; incapable of the management of affairs, yet always intriguing after power. This her wiser husband denied her
See
Carte,
iii. 746. This historian is far from being singular in this account.
, and of course incurred her hatred. Every engine was then employed to hurt his private ease: she affected amours, of which she never was guilty, and permitted familiarities, which her pride would probably have never condescended to.
James
was armed with indifference. At length, in 1619, he saw her descend to the grave; but not with the resignation of a good Christian monarch, as might have been expected from her conduct.
LORD SOMERS, in a long wig and his chancellor's robes, sitting.
A PERSON unknown; a full-length, in a black cloak laced with gold, laced bonnet, triple gold chain.
OVER the chimney is a copy of the
Cornaro
family.
IN the eating-room is a full-length of
Philip
baron of
Wharton,
PHILIP EARL OF WHARTON.
with long hair, breast-plate, and truncheon, and boots;
aet.
26, 1639. This nobleman took part with the parlement in the civil wars. Mr.
Grainger
relates, that at the battle of
Edgehill
he hid himself in a saw-pit: a fact incredible, as he gave a very clear account of the battle, in a long speech in
Guildhall
Drake,
xi. 474.
. He survived long, and in 1677 was sent to the Tower, for doubting the legality of one of
Charles
's parlements, after a recess of fifteen months
Macpherson,
i. 216.
.
LADY
Rich,
in black. This is, I suspect,
LADY RICH.
the lady who was married by
Laud
to
Charles Blount
earl of
Devonshire,
during the life of her first husband,
Robert
lord
Rich,
afterwards earl of
Warwick.
She was daughter to
Walter Devereux
earl of
Essex:
and had been addressed by
Blount
while he was a younger brother, and she favored his passion. Her friends broke off the match, and married her to a very disagreeable suitor, her first lord. When
Blount,
after some years absence in the
Irish
wars, returned laden with glory, and, by the death of his elder brother, honored with the title of
Mountjoy,
he commenced a criminal connection with his former mistress. She was fully and legally divorced from lord
Rich. Blount,
now earl of
Devonshire,
determined to make her reparation, and persuaded Mr.
Laud,
then his chaplain, to marry them. In those days this was looked on as so high a crime, that king
James
was for several years extremely averse to the bestowing any preferment on him: and
Laud
himself had such a sense of his fault, as to keep an annual fast on the unlucky day ever after. These two pictures were painted by
Vandyck,
and part of the
Wharton
collection; bought by Sir
Robert Walpole,
and sold after his death.
LORD CHANCHELLOR
Hardwich,
in his robes, by
Hoare:
a character superior to my pen.
HIS son, the present earl, by
Gainsborough.
ON the stair-case is
Henry
seventh earl of
Kent,
a full-length, in black.
Elizabeth,
daughter of
Gilbert
earl of
Shrewsbury,
is painted in the same color, with a ruff, flaxen frizzled hair, and a great black egret. He died in 1639; she, in 1651.
HIS successor
Anthony,
grandson of
Anthony,
third son of
George
earl of
Kent,
is drawn in black, with his hand on a book: a meagre personage. He was surprized with the peerage at his parsonage of
Burbach,
in the county of
Leicester,
where he lived in hospitality, and the full discharge of that great character, a good parish-priest. He was summoned to parlement, but preferred the duty to which he was first called
Fuller's Worthies,
299.
; never would forsake his flock, and was buried among them in 1643.
HIS wife,
Magdalene Purefoy,
is represented a half-length, sitting, with a book in her hand, and a long motherly black peaked coif on her head.
Amabella,
AMABELLA COUNTESS OF KENT.
surnamed, from her super-eminent virtues,
The good countess of Kent,
is drawn in black and ermine, full curled hair, and a kerchief over her neck;
aet.
60, 1675: by
Lely.
She was second wife to
Henry,
son and successor to the parson of
Burbach,
and daughter to Sir
Anthony Ben
of
Surrey.
Her epitaph speaks her deserts
See
Appendix.
.
HER husband is in his robes, with a small beard and whiskers, painted by
Glosterman; aet.
53, 1643. He died in 1651.
THEIR son,
Anthony
earl of
Kent,
and his lady,
Mary,
daughter and sole heir to
John
lord
Lucas;
both in their robes: by
Lely.
The date to his portrait is 1681,
aet.
36. He died in
August
1702; she, in
November,
in the same year.
THE old dining-room is most curiously furnished: mock pilasters finished with stripes of velvet, and worked silk festoons between each. This is said to have been done for the reception of
Anne
of
Denmark.
IN this apartment is the portrait of that eminent statesman and honest man Sir
William Temple:
a copy from one by
Lely;
yet a most beautiful picture. He is placed sitting, and looking towards you, in a red vest; his hair long, black, and flowing; his whiskers small. In his hand is the triple alliance: the greatest act of his patriotic life; but soon frustrated by the profligate ministry of the time.
IN the chapel-closet is the glory of the name, lady
Jane Gray,
LADY JANE GRAY.
the sweet accomplished victim to the wickedness of her father-in-law, and the folly of her father. Her person was rather plain; but that was amply recompensed by her intellectual charms. She was mistress of the
Greek
and
Latin
tongues; versed in
Hebrew,
Chaldee, Arabic, French,
and
Italian;
skilled in music; and excellent at her needle. I have seen in the library at
Zurich
several of her letters, wrote in a most beautiful hand, to
Bullenger,
on the subject of religion; and a toilet, worked with her own hand, is preserved there with great reverence. She fell at the age of seventeen. Could there be wanting any proof of her amazing fortitude, it was supplied near her last moments with the most invincible one: — As she was passing to the scaffold (whether by accident, or whether by the most cruel intention) she met the headless body of her beloved husband. A line in
Greek,
to the following purpose, was her consolation:
That if his lifeless body should give testimony against her before men, his most blessed soul should give an eternal proof of her innocence in the presence of GOD.
THE dress of this suffering innocent is, a plain white cap, a handkerchief, fastened under her arms, and a black gown: a book in her hand.
IN the same room is the picture of
Banaster
lord
Maynard,
BANASTER LORD MAYNARD.
who had married a daughter of this house.
A PORTRAIT of the valiant Sir
Charles Lucas,
by
Dobson:
a half-length, in armour, fine sash, long hair. He was barbarously shot to death, at
Colchester,
after quarter given; and for a reason that should have endeared him to a soldier—the vigorous defence made by the garrison.
HIS niece,
Mary Lucas,
sole heiress to his elder brother lord
Lucas,
married to
Anthony
earl of
Kent.
SIR
Anthony Ben,
in hoary short hair, quilled ruff, red dress faced with black.
HIS lady, in black, a kerchief, and curled hair. These were parents to the good countess.
IN the passage is a most curious portrait of lady
Susanna Grey,
LADY SUSANNA GREY.
daughter to
Charles
earl of
Kent,
and wife to Sir
Michael Longueville.
She was a celebrated workwoman; and the dress in which she is drawn is said to have been a wedding-suit of her own doing. This is the lady who is fabled to have died of the pricking of her finger with the needle, and who is shewn as such in
Westminster
abbey. She looks as pale as if the fact was true. Her gown is finely flowered; her petticoat white and striped; her robe lined with ermine; her veil vast and distended; her wedding-ring hanging from her wrist by a silken string.
IN another room is the portrait of Sir
Randle Crew,
in a bonnet,
SIR RANDLE CREW.
ruff, gold chain, and robes, as lord chief justice of the King's Bench: a dignity he filled with credit in the last year of
James
I. and first of
Charles
I. He had the honor of being displaced in 1626, for his disapprobation of the imprisonment of those gentlemen who refused the arbitrary loan proposed by the court. He discovered, says
Fuller,
no more discontentment at his discharge, than a weary traveller is offended at being told that he is arrived at his journey's end
British Worthies, Cheshire,
178. It must not be forgot that Sir
Randle
had been speaker of the House of Commons in 1614.
. He lived many years, in great hospitality, in
Westminster:
he purchased the estate of the
Falshursts
of
Crew,
in
Cheshire;
built the magnificent seat of
Crew Hall;
and was the first who brought the model of good building into that distant county. He died in 1642. He was the son of
John Crew
of
Nantwich,
and the ancestor of the present flourishing family.
THE next portrait is that of his younger brother Sir
Thomas Crew,
SIR THOMAS CREW.
in red robes, and a coif as king's serjeant. He was among the most active supporters of the rights of the commons in the reign of
James
I. The king, under pretence of redressing certain matters in
Ireland,
sent him, and several of the most obnoxious members, into that kingdom, with proper commissions
Drake,
v. 525.
. In 1623 he was chosen speaker, and made a speech, which his majesty heard with no more patience than approbation
The same, vi. 10.
; yet, by his lord keeper, thanked him for several parts of it. He was again speaker to the first parlement of
Charles
I. and died in
February
1633, aged sixty-eight. By his marriage with
Temperance,
fourth daughter of
Reginald Bray,
Esquire, he obtained the manor of
Stene,
in
Northamptonshire;
which became the settlement of him and his posterity, till it devolved to this house, by the marriage of
Henry
duke of
Kent
with
Jemima,
eldest daughter of
Thomas
lord
Crew.
HIS son,
JOHN LORD CREW.
John
lord
Crew,
is represented in his baronial robes, with long grey hair, and a small coif. He was created lord
Crew
of
Stene,
in 1661, having been active in promoting the Restoration, and freeing his country from the confused government it had long labored under. No one was more active in defence of the liberties of his country, in the beginning of the troubles of the former reign, than himself. He had been member for
Northamptonshire
in the long parlement; was chairman to the committee of religion; and was committed to the Tower, for refusing to deliver up the petitions and complaints
The same, viii. 489.
. He was nominated one of the commissioners for the treaty of
Uxbridge:
he was one of those entrusted with the receipt of the king's person from the
Scots,
and the conveying him to
Holmby House.
He again acted as commissioner in the treaty of the
Isle of Wight;
and finally, was so far in the favor of the usurper, as, in 1657, to be constituted one of the sixty which formed the upper house of his mock parlement
Whitelock,
233, 334, 666.
. The game being soon over, he conciliated himself to the approaching change, and proved so active an instrument in the Restoration, as not only to make amends for his past demerits, but to obtain, in 1661, the honor of baron of
Stene.
He died in 1679, after attaining the good old age of eighty-two.
HIS wife
Jemima,
daughter of
Edward Walgrave
of
Lawford,
in
Essex,
is sitting, in black, and a great black hood.
A VERY fine half-length of their son
Thomas
lord
Crew,
THOMAS LORD CREW.
in black, with long hair, and his hand on his breast, by
Lely.
In the old dining-room is another portrait of him, in his robes, dated 1680. He was father to
Jemima,
dutchess of
Kent.
Nathaniel Crew,
bishop of
Durham,
fifth brother to the former.
CREW BISHOP OF DURHAM.
He is in red robes faced with ermine, a turnover, and long hair; his countenance good. By the death of his brother, he became lord
Crew.
Never was any person of his time so subservient to the will of his master, as this noble prelate. He was the most active member of the inquisitorial commission, established by
James
II. to promote his wild designs in religious matters. Of the three bishops joined in it, one declined acting; a third, struck with his own imprudence, resigned.
Crew
continued obstinately servile, and suspended thirty of his clergy for refusing to come into the views of the court. Conscious of his conduct, he fled out of the kingdom at the Revolution; but at length made his peace, and died in 1721, aged eighty-eight, after having been bishop, and of
Durham,
forty-seven. His charity, it is to be hoped, has covered his multitude of political sins.
Oxford
experienced largely of his bounty; and the navigators of the
Northumberland
sea may bless his well-planned benevolence as long as tempests endure
See article BAMBOROUGH,
Tour Scotl.
1769.
.
A STRANGE picture of lady
Harold,
LADY HAROLD.
daughter to
Thomas
earl of
Thanet;
first married to lord
Harold,
the late duke of
Kent
's eldest son, and afterwards to the late earl
Gower.
She is dressed in the riding-habit of the time, a blue-and-silver coat, silver tissue waistcoat, a long flowing wig, and great hat and feather.
I FORGOT to mention,
SECRETARY WALSINGHAM.
that in a bedchamber is a portrait of Secretary
Walsingham,
in a quilled ruff: the active, penetrating, able, and faithful servant of queen
Elizabeth;
the security of the kingdom as well as her own person. So attentive to the interests of his country, so negligent of his own, as to die (in 1590) so poor, as not to leave enough to defray his funeral expences.
A FINE portrait of Sir
Nicholas Throgmorton:
SIR NICHOLAS THROGMORTON.
his face thin, his beard black. At his girdle is a large ring to hold his handkerchief. Has a sword and stilletto, and is graced with a gold chain and medal. He had a narrow escape in the time of queen
Mary;
being tried, and narrowly acquitted, for a supposed concern in
Wiat
's insurrection. Was employed by
Elizabeth
in important embassies to
France
and
Scotland.
His abilities were great: his spirit was said to have bordered on turbulence: his death, therefore, was esteemed rather fortunate: it happened in 1570, at the table of
Cecil;
not without suspicion of poison
Complete Hist.
ii. 430.
: an end in those days more frequently attributed than it ought to be.
THE mausoleum of the
Greys
adjoins to the church of
Flitton,
FLITTON CHURCH.
about a mile and a half from the house. It consists of a center and four wings. In one is the tomb of
Henry
fifth earl of
Kent,
TOMBS.
and his countess
Mary,
daughter of Sir
George Cotton
of
Cumbermere, Cheshire:
both are in robes, and painted; both recumbent, with uplifted hands: his beard long and square, his ruff quilled. This was the fiery zealot who fat in judgment on
Mary Stuart,
and, with the earl of
Shrewsbury,
was deputed to see execution done on the unhappy princess. They, with true bigotry, refused her the consolation of her almoner in her last moments; and
Kent
had the brutality to give a most reluctant assent to her request of having a few of her domestics to perform their final duties to their dying mistress.
Kent
even burst into the exclamation of saying,
Your life will be the death of our religion, and your death will be the life of it.
A cause of triumph to
Mary Stuart.
He founded this building, and took possession of it in the beginning of the year 1614. The tomb of the countess is a mere cenotaph; for she was buried, in 1580, at
Great Gaddesden.
Henry
earl of
Kent,
and his second lady, the good countess, repose in another wing, with Justice, Temperance, and other Virtues, on each side. Both are represented in white marble, recumbent, and both in robes. His beard is small, his lip whiskered; one hand is on his breast, the other on his sword. She is dressed in an ungraceful pair of slays; her hands before, holding her robes; her neck naked; her hair curled, and enormously bushy. He died in 1651; she finished her excellent life in 1698, aged ninety-two.
AT one end is an inscription of
Elizabeth Talbot
countessdowager of
Kent,
who died in 1651; and another to lady
Jane. Hart,
relict of Sir
Eustace Hart.
Her figure is in white marble, in a reclining posture.
ON the floor is a brass of
Henry Grey,
second son of Sir
Henry Grey,
Knight, in armour.
IN another appears
Henry
late duke of
Kent,
reclined on a
sarcophagus,
in a
Roman
dress, in white marble, with a coronet in his hand. His Grace died in 1740. His first dutchess,
Jemima Crew,
is represented with her countenance looking up, and leaning on one side. Opposite to his Grace is a most amiable character of his second lady,
Sophia,
daughter of
William
earl of
Portland.
A MONUMENT of his son
Anthony
earl of
Harold,
in a
Roman
dress. He died in 1723. And near him is another son and a daughter of his Grace; but not one of the figures do any credit to the statuary.
NEAR the altar, on the floor, is an admirable figure, in brass, of an honest steward; a true
Vellum
in aspect: in a laced nightcap, great ruff, long cloak, trunk breeches. This was
Thomas Hill,
receiver-general to three earls of
Kent.
Aske how he lived, and you shall knowe his end:
He dyde a saint to GOD, to poore a friende.
These lines men knowe doe truely of him story,
Whom GOD hath cal'd, and seated now in glory.
He died
May
26th. 128, aged 1601.
GRATITUDE forbids me from leaving this place without my acknowlegements to the Reverend Mr. Archdeacon
Coxe,
the worthy incumbent, for his great hospitality, and the various information he favored me with respecting these parts.
FROM hence I went southwards, over a hilly and open country. Ride over
Luton Downs,
and reach
Luton,
a small dirty town,
LUTON.
seated on the
Lea;
remarkable for its church and tower-steeple, prettily chequered with flint and freestone. Within is a most remarkable
baptisterium,
FINE FONT.
Engraven in
Gent. Mag.
1778.
, in form of an octagon, open at the sides, and terminating in elegant tabernacle-work. In the top is a large bason, in which the consecrated water was kept, and let down by the priest into the font, by means of a pipe. On the top of the inside is a vine, guarded by a lamb from the assaults of a dragon. The vine signifies the church, protected by baptism from the assaults of the devil.
ADJOINING to the church is a chapel, founded, as appears by the following lines, by
John
lord
Wenlock:
JESU CHIRST, most of myght,
Have mercy on
John le Wenlock,
knight,
And of his wyffe
Elizabeth,
Wch out of this world is past by death;
Wch founded this chapel here.
Helpe them with yr harty praer;
That they may come to that place
Where ever is joy and solace
Br. Mus.
H. M. II. No 1531. fo. 15.
.
THIS lord
Wenlock
rose in the reign of
Henry
VI;
LORD WENLOCK.
was knighted, made constable of
Bamburgh
castle, and chamberlain to the queen. He acquired great wealth, and was able to lend his master a thousand and thirty-three pounds six shillings and eight pence; for which he received an assignment of the fifteenth and tenth, granted by parlement in 1456; and soon after he was rewarded with being made knight of the Garter. He valiantly supported the royal cause at the first battle of
St. Alban's,
and was carried out of it dreadfully wounded; yet, with the fickleness of the times, he joined the duke of
York,
in 1459, and was of course attainted by the
Lancastrian
parlement. He fought valiantly in
Towton
field, and received, as recompence for his former loss, the office of chief butler of
England,
and the stewardship of the castle and manor of
Berkhamstead;
and was created a baron
Dugdale's Baron,
ii. 264.
. He was employed by the
Yorkists
in several important embassies, and advanced to the great post of lieutenant of
Calais.
Notwithstanding all these favors, he again revolted, and joined the earl of
Warwick.
to restore the deposed
Henry.
He raised forces, and joined
Margaret
of
Anjou,
before the battle of
Tewkesbury.
He was appointed by the general,
John
earl of
Somerset,
to the command of what was called the middle ward of the army. When
Somerset,
who led the van, found himself unsupported in the fierce attack he had made on the enemy, he returned, enraged, to see the cause. He found lord
Wenlock,
with his troops, standing in the market-place. Whether a panic had seized him, or whether, through a mutability of mind, he was meditating a new revolt, does not appear; but the earl, unable to curb his fury, rode up, and with one blow of his battle-ax clove the skull of the supposed traitor
Halle's Chr.
xxxii.
. He was interred at
Tewkesbury;
and his tomb is still to be seen in that noble church.
IN this chapel are several tombs: one very magnificent, in the altar-form, with a rich canopy, open beneath on each side. On the top various arms, some inclosed in a garter. On a wreath is a crest, a plume of feathers.
ON the tomb lie the effigies of
William Wenlock,
WILLIAM WENLOCK.
in the habit of a shaven priest: his hands closed as if in prayer; beads hang from them; and on a label from his mouth is a small shield of a chevron, between three croslet gules, and these words:
Salve Regina Mater miserecordie
Jesu fili Dei miserere mei.
On the side which opens into the chapel is this inscription:
In
Wenlok
brad I, in this toun lordschipes had I.
Her am I now layed,
Christes
moder helpe me, Lady.
Under thes stones, for a tyme, schal I reste my bones.
Deye not I ned ones myghtful God graunt me thy wones.
Ave.
On the other side, in the chancel,
Wills
sic tumulatus de
Wenlok
natus
In ordine presbyteratus.
Alter hujus ville: dominus
Someris
fuit ille
Hic licet indignus: anime Deus esto benignus.
This
William
was prebend of
Brownswood
prebendary, in the church of St.
Paul's, London,
in 1363; before which he had been rector of St.
Andrew's, Holborn.
In 1379,
Richard
II. made him
custos
of the hospital of
Farle,
in
Bedfordshire.
See
Bromfield's Collect.
article LUTON.
He died in 1392, and was buried here, in pursuance of his will. By the garter, in which one of the coats of arms is included, it is evident that the tomb was erected by the founder of the chapel. This also directs us to the origin of lord
Wenlock.
It is most likely that his father was related to this prebend, and that he left his possessions to him; and that lord
Wenlock,
in the height of his prosperity, paid this ostentatious compliment to the memory of his kinsman.
IN the middle is an altar-tomb of shell-marble, with the brass plate of a woman.
IN the wall, beneath two arches, are the tombs, I think, of the
Rotherhams,
owners of this chapel after the
Wenlocks.
On one had been an inscription to a
Rotherham,
who had married
Catherine,
daughter of a lord
Grey;
and was himself nephew to
Scot,
alias
Rotherham,
archbishop of
York.
THE following odd medley of
English
and
Latin,
merits transcribing. It is on the tomb of
John Ackworth,
Esquire, who died in 1513; and is represented here with his two wives, eight sons, and nine daughters.
O man, who eer thow be,
timor mortis
shulde trouble the;
For when thow beest wenyst,
Veniet te
Mors superare.
And so—grave grevys
Ergo mortem memorare
Jesu
mercy: Lady helpe:
Jesu
mercy.
NEAR the altar is a large mutilated figure in the wall, in a priestly habit, with a pastoral staff, or a crosier, lying on him. He was an abbot, and probably of
St. Alban's,
for the abbots had a seat near this town
Leland Itin.
vi. 63.
. The chancel appears to have been rebuilt by abbot
Whethamsted;
whose motto, VAL LES HA BUN DA BUNT VAL LES, is to be seen on the walls.
PART of this place was said to have been bestowed by king
Offa
on the monks of
St. Alban's, Gilbert de Clare
earl of
Gloucester,
had the patronage of the church; which they bought from him in 1166, for eighty marks, and kept in their own hands, till they were compelled to appoint a vicar. The purchase was in the time of abbot
Robert
Chauncy,
438.
. It appears that this place,
Houghton,
and
Potesgrave,
had been bestowed on the monastery, for the support of the kitchen for the guests. This is seen in the charter of confirmation, made by king
John,
in the first year of his reign
Dugdale Man.
i. 179.
Henry
I. had confirmed the same. In his charter the names are mis-spelt. See
Chauncy,
434.
.
The church is dedicated to St.
Mary,
and is a vicarage in the gift of the earl of
Bute.
Luton Ho,
the seat of that nobleman, lies near the
London
road;
LUTON HO.
about three miles from the town. I lament my inability to record his taste and magnificence; but alas! the useful, talent,
Principibus placuisse viris,
has been unfortunately denied to me. I must therefore relate the antient story of the favored spot. In the twentieth of
Edward
I. it was possessed by
Robert,
Chauncy,
352.
who took the addition of
de Hoo,
from the place; which signifies a high situation. His grandson,
Thomas,
was created lord
Hoo
and
Hastings,
by
Henry
VI. in 1447. He, if no mistake is made in the account, settled two parts of the tithes on the abbey of
St. Alban's,
for the use of strangers. Lord
Hoo
left only daughters. From one, who married Sir
Geofry Bullen,
was descended queen
Elizabeth.
I do not discover the time in which the tower in
Luton Park
was built. It is an antient structure, of flint and
Tottenhoe
-stone intermixed.
ABOUT two miles to the north-east of
Luton Hoo,
SOMMERIS.
is the village of
Sommeris,
where, as
Leland
informs us, lord
Wenlock
had begun sumptuously a house, but never finished it: that the gatehouse of brick was very fair and large. The gateway and part of a tower are yet to be seen. In the last are fourteen or fifteen brick steps; and there was originally a hole, or rather pipe, which conveyed the lowest whisper from bottom to top. Part of this, and of the other building, was pulled down by Sir
John Napier,
about forty years ago.
Leland
also acquaints us, that these estates of lord
Wenlock
passed, by marriage of an heir general
Leland,
vi. 63.
of his, to a relation of
Thomas Scot,
alias
Rotherham,
archbishop of
York
from 1480 to 1500: a prelate remarkable for nepotism, and the preferment of his kindred by marriage, and other ways
Goodwin Pros. Angl.
70.
. This family assumed the name of
Rotherham,
and flourished here for some centuries.
John
was sheriff of the county in the seventeenth of
Edward
IV. and others, in after-times, enjoyed the same honor
Fuller's British Worthies,
123, 124.
.
Luton Hoe
and this place became the property of the
Napiers;
from them they passed to Mr.
Hearn,
who sold them to the earl of
Bute.
FROM
Luton
I pursued my journey southward: near the twenty-sixth mile-stone, passed through the village of
Hardin,
or
Harpedon,
and by its chapel, dependent on
Whethamsted.
This manor belonged, in 1292, to
Robert Hoo,
and continued in his line till the death of
Thomas
lord
Hoo
and
Hastings,
about the latter end of the reign of
Henry
VI; when it devolved to his three daughters
Chauncy,
525.
. The manor was sold soon after their marriages to
Matthew Cressy,
in the time of
Edward
IV. It continued in his line till the reign of queen
Elizabeth,
when, by the marriage of a female descendant, it fell to the
Bardolfs. Richard Bardolf
sold it to Sir
John Witherong,
created baronet in 1662; and it is now possessed by
John Bennet,
Esquire.
ABOUT four miles from this village, passed through
St. Peter
's street, in ST. ALBAN'S, and turning towards the east, after a ride of about five miles, reach the small town of
Hatfield,
HATFIELD.
prettily seated on a gentle ascent. Its
Saxon
name was
Haethfeld,
from its situation on a heath. The important synod,
SYNOD.
held during the heptarchy, at the instance of
Theodore,
consecrated archbishop of
Canterbury
in 668, in which the most interesting tenets of Christianity were declared and confirmed
Beda,
lib. iv. c. 17. p, 160.
Beda
had been an eleve of this venerable archbishop.
, is generally supposed to have been held at a place of the same name in
Yorkshire. Hatfield
was part of the revenues of the
Saxon
princes, till it was bestowed by
Edgar
on the monastery of
Ely.
At the time of the Conquest, it was found to be in the possession of that great house; in which it continued, till that abbey was converted into a bishopric, in the reign of
Henry
I. It then became one of the residences of the prelates; for they had not fewer than ten palaces belonging to the see
Bentham's Ely,
163.
; and from that was called
Bishop's Halfield,
to distinguish it from other places of the same name. It probably fell into decay during the long wars between the houses of
York
and
Lancaster;
for I find it was rebuilt and ornamented by bishop
Morton,
in the reign of
Henry
VII.
Ib. 181.
Among the shameful alienations made from the bishopric of
Ely,
by queen
Elizabeth
(by virtue of the imprudent statute, which gave her power of exchanges over all) must be included the manor of
Hatfield.
The palace had at times been an occasional royal residence, notwithstanding it was the property of the church.
William,
second son of
Edward
III. was born here in 1335, and was called, from that circumstance,
William
of
Hatfield.
Queen
Elizabeth
resided here many years before she came to the crown
See the curious account of the practices of the lord admiral on her at this place, in 1548, in
Burghley's State Papers,
99, 100.
; and, on the death of her predecessor, removed from hence, on the 23d of
November,
to take possession of the throne. This place did not continue long a part of the royal demesne.
James
I. in the fifth year of his reign, exchanged it for
Theobalds,
with his minister, Sir
Robert Cecil,
afterwards earl of
Salisbury;
who built, on the site of the palace, the magnificent house now standing; and inclosed two large parks, one for red, the other for fallow deer. At the bottom of the first was a vineyard, in being when
Charles
I. was conveyed there a prisoner to the army
Herbert's Memoirs,
30.
.
THE building is of brick, and of vast extent;
HOUSE.
in form of an half H. In the center is an extensive portico of nine arches: over the middlemost rises a lofty tower, on the front of which is the date 1611, and three ranges of columns, of the Tuscan, Doric, and Composite orders. Between the second are the arms of the family, in stone
Among
Kip's Views
is one of this house, engraven from a drawing by
Thomas Sadler,
Esquire.
.
IN the chapel is a small antient organ;
CHAPEL.
a fine window of stained glass, in twelve compartments; and a gallery, on the front of which are painted the twelve apostles.
OVER the chimney-piece of the hall is a painting of a great clumsy grey horse,
HALL.
given by queen
Elizabeth
to Sir
Robert:
a sign our breed was at that time far from excellent.
IN the common parlour are portraits of lord-treasurer
Burleigh
and his son
Robert,
PORTRAITS OF THE CECILS.
the first earl, the founder of this house: both in robes, and with white staves
See p. 357.
.
William
second earl of
Salisbury,
in black, with long hair, a star on his cloak, and the George, a dog by him. He was captain of the band of Gentlemen Pensioners to
Charles
I. privy counsellor and ambassador extraordinary to the court of
France.
He was one of those characters who preferred his own safety to all other considerations. He had been in two reigns so supple a courtier, as to over-act every thing he was required to do. No act of power was ever proposed, which he did not advance and execute with the utmost tyranny
Clarendon
iii. 209.
; but, on the first appearance of danger, he deserted his royal master, fled to the parlement, and subscribed an engagement to be true to his new party, to whom he passively adhered; and, on the usurpation, condescended to be a member in the usurper's parlement. He ended his inglorious life in 1668, aged 78. This portrait, and that of his son, viscount
Cranbourn
(who died in his father's life-time) are both by
Lely.
Two children of the second earl, caressing a dog.
Lely.
Good.
A portrait, called the second earl of
Salisbury,
but probably lord
Danby:
the Garter on his shoulder; hand on a dog's head.
Vandyck.
FOURTH earl, probably by
Kneller;
as are two others, called the fifth earl and lady; but probably lady
Ranelagh,
engraved by
Faber,
among the
Hampton Court
beauties.
James
third earl of
Salisbury,
a full-length, in his robes.
Lely.
A head of
Anne,
daughter to the first earl, married to
Algernon▪
earl of
Northumberland.
Charles
I. a full-length,
CHARLES I.
in the dress in which he went into
Spain,
with the blue ribband tied under his arm, instead of being pendent: a mode of wearing begun in this reign. The hand remarkably fine. His picture at
Gorhambury
greatly resembles this.
A half-length of a lady. Good.
IN the drawing-room is a portrait of the late earl of
Thanet,
EARL OF THANET.
in a long black wig. Another of his lady. They were maternal, grandfather and grandmother to the late earl of
Salisbury.
OVER the chimney a fine half-length of lady
Latimer,
by
Lely.
CURIOUS HISTORICAL PIECE.
IN the dressing-room is a picture, on board, uncommonly curious; a representation of some of the amusements of the court of
Henry
VIII. who often relaxed his savage disposition in little progresses about the neighborhood of the metropolis. This seems to have been in the spring of 1533; for
Halle
says
P. ccxvii.
, that
this seasone the kynge kepte his progresse about
London,
because of the quene;
which means, on account of queen
Anna Bullen
's being then pregnant. Accordingly we see
Henry,
with his royal consort
I think the king and queen are masked.
, in the condition described, at a country wedding, fair, or wake, at some place in
Surrey,
within sight of the Tower of
London.
In the back ground is an open room in a temporary building, with the table spread. At the entrance appears a man, seemingly
Henry
's favorite,
Charles Brandon
duke of
Suffolk,
inviting them in.
THERE are great numbers of other figures; many of which appear to have been portraits. In one group is a lady with a gold chain, between two men with white beards. The utmost festivity is exhibited. There are four fiddlers, and a number of dancers. Behind the king is his 'squire, carrying his dagger and buckler; and near
Henry
are a boy and a girl; perhaps the children of
Charles Brandon,
by the king's sister,
Mary
dowager of
France;
for at this time
Henry
had only one child,
Mary,
afterwards queen of
England,
who was at this period older than the others represented in this picture.
OTHER figures are, a man on foot, with a buckler on his back: a yeoman of the guard, in red, with a rose and crown on his breast: five figures on horseback; the first with a hawk on his hand, and a portmanteau before him; the second on a bay horse, followed by a lady on horseback; after her a cavalier with another lady behind him.
IN the room called
King James's dining-room,
is a bronze-colored stone statue of that prince. The cieling is of rich old-fashioned stucco.
Algernon Percy
earl of
Northumberland;
his lady
Anne,
daughter of the second earl of
Salisbury;
and their daughter. Half-lengths, by
Vandyck.
THE portrait of queen
Elizabeth
is extremely worth notice;
QUEEN ELIZABETH.
not only because it is the handsomest we have of her, but as it points out her turn to allegory and apt devices. Her gown is close-bodied: on her head is a coronet and long aigret, and a long distended gauze veil: her face is young; her hair yellow, falling in two long tresses; her neck adorned with a pearl necklace, her arms with bracelets. The lining of her robe is worked with eyes and ears, and on her left sleeve is embroidered a serpent: all to imply wisdom and vigilance. In the other hand is a rainbow, with this flattering motto, "
Non
sine
sole
IRIS."
IN the gallery,
THE GALLERY.
which is a hundred and twenty feet long, are two vast marble chimney-pieces. The portrait furniture are, first, a curious half-length of the first earl of
Salisbury,
in mosaic.
THE head of
Laura,
LAURA.
in a furred robe, with red sleeves, reading.
La belle Laure,
the celebrated object of love with the virtuous and elegant
Petrarch,
for the space of twenty-one years before, and twenty-six after her death; for he first saw
Laura
on
April
6th, 1327. Their passion seems to have been of the seraphic kind. She devoted herself to religion, and persuaded him to do the same. She died in the convent of the
Cordeliers,
in
Avignon, April
6th, 1348: he, in 1374, in
Italy,
his native country; to which he had retired after the loss of
Laura.
Her age was probably about forty; his seventy. Both of them became the subject of the finest pens for centuries after their deaths.
Francis
I. celebrates her memory in a beautiful epitaph. The tender and amorous earl of
Surrey
made them the subjects of two sonnets
Songes, &c.
ed. 1585, p. 74.
. He modestly yields the palm to
Petrarch,
but denies, the superiority of beauty to
Laura
in preference to his mistress, the fair
Geraldine.
The inscription on this picture is,
LAURA fui. Viridèm RAPHAEL fecit, atque PETRARCHA.
THE next portrait is on wood,
MARGARET COUNTESS OF RICHMOND.
of a lady not less celebrated for her piety than the fair inhabitant of
Vaucluse;
but it appears in a less amiable form, attended with high rank and great austerity. Her virtues were of a nature fitted for the praise of bishop
Fisher,
not for the sweet pen of the elegant
Petrarch. Margaret
countess of
Richmond
did not pique herself to far (virtuous as she was) as to carry her passion for a single object to the grave. The pious prelate gravely tells you, that she accepted her first husband,
Edmund
duke of
Richmond,
at the instance of St.
Nicholas,
patron of virgins, who appeared to her in a dream. We are not told at whose recommendation she took Sir
Henry Stafford
and
Thomas
earl of
Derby;
for she liked the state matrimonial so well, as afterwards to accept both their hands. She signalized herself, during life, by her piety, charity, humility, and chastity. The first appeared in her rigorous attendance on the duties of the church, and her admittance into the fraternity of five religious houses: the second, in her noble foundations of
Christ College
and that of
St. John,
in
Cambridge,
besides a number of other great deeds of charity: the third, in her declaration, that,
if the princes of
Christendom
would undertake a crusade, she would chearfully be the laundress of the army:
and then, for her chastity, in her last husband's days she obtained a licence from him to live chaste, and took the vow of celibacy from bishop
Fisher
's hands, at the age of sixty-four. For this reason she is usually painted in the habit of a nun, and here is represented veiled.
Richard
III.
RICHARD III.
a head. He is represented with three rings; one of which he is taking from or putting on his little finger.
A head of
John Frobenius,
FROBENIUS THE PRINTER.
by
Holbein.
He is dressed in a black gown lined with fur.
Frobenius
was a native of
Franconia,
but settled at
Basil,
in
Switzerland;
of which city he became a citizen. He was a man of considerable learning, and the finest printer of his time.
Erasmus
resided a long time with him; attracted by his personal merit, and his admirable skill in his profession: for to him we are indebted for the most beautiful edition of the works of his illustrious friend.
Frobenius
died in 1527, and was honored by the same hand with two epitaphs; one in
Greek,
the other in
Latin.
Francois de Coligni,
seigneur
de Dandelot,
a head. Rich armour,
COLIONI SHIGNEUR DE DANDELOT.
short hair, and peaked beard. He was youngest son of the first
Gaspar de Coligni,
and colonel-general of the
French
infantry.
THREE dukes of
Guise:
one is
Le Balafreè,
DUKES OF GUISE.
or the slashed; so called from a scar on his left cheek, occasioned by a wound he received in his face in the battle of
Chateau-Thierri,
against the
Huguenots.
He fell a victim to his turbulent disposition, and his practices against the state, on the 23d of
December,
1588; being assassinated at
Blois,
by order of his prince,
Henry
III: the common fate, in that age, of such great men who were grown too potent to be brought to justice by the ordinary means
Consult
Sully,
vol. i. book 3. and
Montfaucon Monarchie Francoise,
v. 297.
.
LADY
Burleigh,
very old, blind, and decayed.
A FULL-LENGTH, on board, of
Mary
queen of
Scots,
in a long black mantle edged with white lace,
MARY STUART.
and reaching to the ground; a small gold crucifix; a cross and rosary at her girdle; beads of gold richly wrought, and set with rubies. The inscription,
Maria
D. G. Scotiae
piissima regina,
Franciae
dotaria.
Anno aetatis regnique 36. Anglicae captivitatis 10. S. H. 1573.
resembles that I have mentioned, in a former tour, on her whole-length portrait at
Hardwick House,
in
Derbyshire.
A PORTRAIT of
Charles Gerard,
baron
Gerard
of
Brandon,
GERARD EARL OF MACCLESFIELD.
created earl of
Macclesfield
in 1679: died
January
7th, 1694. He is dressed in black; a coif on his head, a turnover on his neck, grey hair and beard; his hand on his breast. He was a brave and successful commander on the side of
Charles
in the civil wars: yet, notwithstanding his zeal in the royal cause, he was one of the persons who thought it his duty to present the duke of
York,
in the King's Bench, as a popish recusant
Granger,
iii. 219, octavo.
; in which he thought he did his country equal service as when he bled in the field in support of regal authority.
Robert Dudley
earl of
Leicester,
the unmerited favorite of queen
Elizabeth.
His hair and beard are represented grey; his gown black, his vest white and gold. On his head is a bonnet: by him a white rod.
IN a lumber-room is a picture of
Christopher de Harlay
count
Beaumont,
COUNT BEAUMONT.
ambassador from
Henry
IV. to queen
Elizabeth,
in her last year, and the first years of her successor. He was a nobleman of great personal merit, and an able negociator. He died governor of
Orleans,
in 1615. He is painted as a tall thin man, in black, with white sleeves, and a ruff.
Aet.
34, 1605; the year in which he concluded his embassy
See
Sully.
SIR
Simon Bennet
of
Bechampton,
SIR SIMON BENNET.
in the county of
Bucks,
knight. His dress is that of a magistrate, in a red gown furred, ornamented with a gold chain; ruff; high hat.
Aet.
70, 1611. He died 1631, being uncle to
Simon Bennet,
who was his heir; and whose daughter,
Frances,
married
James
fourth earl of
Salisbury,
and died 1713.
HIS lady, in a great ruff, red dress furred, gold chain, jewels on her breast, feather-fan set in silver.
Frederic P. la gra. de Dieu comte Palatin de Ryn,
small, in an ermined cap: in his hands two covered dishes, with a napkin over them. I believe this prince to have been
Frederic
IV. father of the unfortunate
Palatin
king of
Bohemia.
Henry
VI. a head on board. There is another at
Kensington
-palace, from which
Vertue
took his print.
Catherina de Cornara regina de Cipri,
in black, with blue mantle, pearl necklace, and crowned. See the account of her, p. 378.
IN the chaplain's room is another portrait of queen
Elizabeth,
QUEEN ELIZABETH.
richly dressed in black. On the table is a great sword, as if she was sitting ready to confer the honor of knighthood. A spotted ermine, with a crown on its head and collar round its neck, is represented running up the arm of her highness. This little beast, being an emblem of chastity
Gwillim's Heraldry,
14.
, is placed here as a compliment to the virgin queen.
SINCE this account of these pictures was taken, they have been differently arranged. I have the pleasure to learn, that the house has undergone a complete repair, in the original stile, under the conduct of Mr.
Donowell,
the architect; the pictures have been repaired by Mr.
Tomkins;
the grounds disposed in the modern taste; a considerable tract of road is going to be removed to a proper distance from the park; and the splendor of this noble family is reviving with all the magnificence of the
Cecils.
THE church is dedicated to St.
Ethelreda.
In an adjoining chapel is a beautiful monument to the first earl of Salisbury;
CHURCH.
who is represented in his robes, in white marble, lying on a slab of black, which is supported by the four cardinal Virtues, with their attributes. Beneath, is a skeleton, in white marble, lying on a well-counterfeited mat of the same, also placed on a slab of black marble.
IN the church is a monument of Sir
John Brocket
of
Brocket Hall,
knight, who died in 1598: and not far from him are the figures of two ladies: one is his first wife,
Helen Litton;
the other a younger figure, with a scull in her hand, representing his second lady, widow of
Gabriel Fowler.
Both lie on their sides, one above the other.
FROM hence I continued my journey along the great road;
GOBIONS.
passed by
Gobions,
in the parish of
North Mims.
It took its name from the old family of the
Gobions,
its antient lords, as early as the time of king
Stephen.
Salmon's Herts,
46.
The
Mores
afterwards possessed it for some generations. Sir
John,
the father of the celebrated Sir
Thomas More,
owned it in the reign of
Henry
VII; and it became the residence of that illustrious character till the time of his cruel sacrifice; when the son was stripped of every part of his fortune, by the most arbitrary attainders. It reverted again to the family; but the grandson of Sir
Thomas,
being ruined by the civil wars, sold it to Sir
Edward Desbovery.
It afterwards passed, by sale, to Mr.
Pitchford,
and to Sir
Jeremiah Sambroke.
From his sisters it devolved to Mr.
Freeman
of
Hammels;
and was afterwards sold to the present owner, Mr.
Hunter.
NOT far from a place called
Potters Bar
(probably from some pottery, such as is still carried on at
Woodside,
about two miles to the north, on the same road) I entered the county of MIDDLESEX: kept along the edge of
Enfield Chace
This chace was inclosed by act of parliament, 1779; and of the 8000 acres whereof it consisted, 2584 were appropriated to the use of the Crown, and the residue divided between the four adjoining parishes of
Enfield, Edmonton, Hadley,
and
South Mims.
to
Hadley;
passed through
Cheping Barnet,
and, in less than a mile beyond, quitted the great road at
Pricklers Hill;
again skirted the
Chace,
descended
Winchmore Hill,
and concluded the day's journey at my friend RICHARD GOUGH'S, Esquire, at
Enfield,
the object of this little digression.
THE New River,
NEW RIVER.
the work of my illustrious countryman Sir
Hugh Middleton
See some account of it in my
Welsh Tour,
vol. ii. p. 29.
(which on the north edge of this parish, for some yards, as till lately at
Islington,
is conveyed in a trough of wood lined with lead, called
The Boarded River,
over a brick arch fifteen feet high) was the first object of my attention.
I NEXT visited the antient brick house called
Enfield Palace,
built by Sir
Thomas Lovel,
knight of the Garter, and privy counsellor to
Henry
VII; where he died in 1524
Camden,
i. 398.
. It is conjectured that
Henry
VIII. bought it for a nursery for his children
See the
Antiquarian Repertory,
ii. 231; where a print of this palace is given. It is now divided into several dwellings.
. Here
Edward
VI. received the first news of his father's death, and his own accession. On the chimney-piece of the great parlour are the arms of
England
in a Garter, supported by a Lion and a Griffin; on the sides, the Rose and Portcullis crowned; with E. R. beneath. These initials are also on the stucco in front of the house.
QUEEN
Elizabeth
used sometimes to make this place a visit.
Robert Cary
earl of
Monmouth
informs us he once waited on her Highness at this place; where she went to take a dinner, and had toiles set up in the park, to shoot at bucks, after she had dined
His
Memoirs,
2d edit. p. 136.
.
IN the time of the great plague, in 1665, a very flourishing school was kept here by Mr.
Uvedale.
That gentleman was very fond of gardening, and, among other trees,
GREAT CEDAR.
planted here a cedar of
Libanus;
which is still in being. The storm of 1703 broke off eight feet of the top. The dimensions of it at present are these:
Height 45 feet 9 inches.
Girth at top 3 7
Second girth 7 9
Third 10 0
Fourth 14 6
See the ingenious account of cedars planted in
England,
by my respected friend the Reverend Sir
John Cullum,
bart.
Gent. Mag.
1779. p. 138.
NOT far from hence, on the north side of
Fourtree-hill,
stood
Worcester House,
built by the accomplished
John Tibetot,
or
Tiptoft,
earl of
Worcester
Norden's Middlesex,
19.
, who was beheaded in 1470. The manor, which still retains his title, descended to him from his father, Sir
John Tiptoft.
The house was rebuilt on higher ground, by Sir
Nicholas Raynton,
knight, lord mayor of
London
in 1640
who died in 1647, and has a splendid monument in
Enfield
church. The place is now owned by
Eliab Breton,
Esquire, who married a co-heiress of the
Raynton
and
Wolstenholme
families.
UNDER the conduct of my friend before mentioned, I made a visit to
Waltham Abbey,
seated in ESSEX, about three miles from
Enfield,
on the west side of the river
Lea.
I past by
Waltham Cross,
WALTHAM CROSS.
one of the affectionate memorials of
Edward
I. towards his beloved queen
Eleanor.
The cross is in excellent preservation, and richly adorned with gothic sculpture. This tract is a rich flat of verdant meadows, watered by the
Lea,
and bounded on each side by gentle risings. The meads belonging to the abbey are distinguished by the name of
Halifield,
or
The holy field.
THE present church of
Waltham
is only the nave of the antient structure,
CHURCH.
which was in form of a cross, with a central tower; which fell down after the dissolution, and the new tower was built at one end, 1555. Within are six massy pillars; some carved with spiral, others with zigzag furrows, like those of the nave of
Durham
cathedral. The arches are round; above them two rows of galleries, in what is called the
Saxon
stile. At the east end remains one vast round arch of the tower.
THE only monuments of any note, are those of the
Dennies.
That of Sir
Edward Denny,
and
Joan
his wife, has on it their figures, in a reclined posture; he in armour: and in front are the figures of six of their sons and four of their daughters kneeling. Sir
Edward
was of the privy chamber to queen
Elizabeth;
governor of
Kerry
and
Desmonde,
and colonel of some
Irish
forces. He died in 1599, aged about fifty-two; and, I hope, merited this eulogy inscribed on the tomb:
Learn, carious reader, how you pass;
Your once Sir
Edward Denny
was
A courtier of the chamber,
A soldier of the field;
Whose tongue could never flatter;
Whose heart could never yealde.
THE tombs of earl
Harold,
founder of the abbey; of the famous
Hugo Nevill,
who slew a lion in the Holy Land; and of several others, are now lost; having perished with the fall of the tower on the eastern part of the church, in which they were placed
Weever,
644.
.
THE abbey stood near the church. Its only remains are a gate and postern, with the arms of
England
in the time of
Henry
III; part of a cloister; and an elliptic bridge over the moat. The edifice was pulled down after the dissolution, and the materials applied to building a mansion by Sir
Anthony Denny
(father of Sir
Edward
) to whom the place had been granted by
Edward
VI. His lady afterwards purchased the reversion in see of
Waltham
manor, from the same prince, for between three and four thousand pounds, with several large privileges in the adjoining forest
Fuller's Hist. Waltham Abbey,
13.
. This, and the great estate of the family, passed afterwards to the luxurious
Hay
earl of
Carlisle,
by his marriage with the heiress of
Edward Denny
earl of
Norwich,
grandson of Sir
Anthony.
The fortune was soon dissipated; and the estate sold by their heirs to Sir
Samuel Jones
of
Northamptonshire;
who gave it to the
Wakes:
and it is at present owned by Sir
William Wake,
baronet.
THE abbey was founded in 1062,
ABBEY.
by earl
Harold,
afterwards king of
England.
It might more properly be stiled a college, being supplied by a dean and eleven secular black canons, who were excellently provided for; the dean having six manors, and each canon one. A copy of the charter of confirmation by
Edward
the Confessor is preserved by Sir
William Dugdale
Monast.
ii. 11.
.
AFTER the battle of
Hastings, Githa,
the mother of
Harold,
and
Osegod,
and
Ailric,
by their prayers and tears moved the Conqueror to deliver to them the corpse of the
Saxon
monarch, and of his brethren
Girth
and
Leofwin,
to be interred here.
Harold
's tomb was of rich grey marble, with a cross fleury on it, and supported by four pedestals
Fuller's Waltham,
7.
.
Henry
II. in 1177, changed the foundation into an abbot and regulars, of the order of St.
Austin
Tanner,
119.
. The first abbot was
Walter de Gaunt;
who obtained the privileges of the mitre, and of being exempt from episcopal jurisdiction
Willis,
i. 191.
.
Robert Fuller
was the last abbot; who, with seventeen of his religious, resigned the monastery to the king,
March
23d, 1540. Their whole number was twenty-four. Their revenue, according to
Dugdale,
was £900. 4
s.
3
d.
to
Speed,
£1079. 12
s.
1
d.
THE largest
tulip-tree,
I believe, in
England,
stands within the abbey precinct; being fourteen feet in circumference near the bottom.
FROM hence, at a distance, on a rising ground, I saw
Copthall,
COPTHALL.
once a villa and park belonging to the abbots.
Richard
I. bestowed the lands on
Richard Fitz-Auchor,
to hold them in see, and hereditarily of the abbey. He fixed himself at this seat. At length the abbot became possessed of it, and retained it till the dissolution. Queen
Elizabeth
granted it to Sir
Thomas Heneage.
His daughter, afterwards countess of
Winchelsea,
sold it to the earl of
Middlesex,
in the reign of
James
I.
Charles
earl of
Dorset
sold it, in 1700, to
Thomas Webster,
Esquire, created Baronet in 1703: and he sold it to
Edward Conyers,
Esquire, of
Walthamstow;
whose grandson,
John,
is the present possessor
The late Mr.
Conyers
took down the old house (of which a print may be seen in
Farmer's History of Waltham Abbey
) and built the present on a higher site, about thirty years ago. The beautiful east window in St.
Margaret
's church at
Westminster,
came originally from the chapel of this old mansion.
.
RETURNING the same way over the
Lea,
I could not but reflect on the different appearance this tract made, to what it did in the days of king
Alfred,
when it was navigable for ships to the
Thames,
ALFRED'S EXPLOITS IN 896.
and by which the piratical
Danish
navy came up quite to
Hertford.
Our great monarch instantly set about frittering this vast water into various small streams; and, to the amazement of the free-booters, left their fleet on dry land
Saxon Chr.
96.
Chr. J. Bromton,
813.
. At present a useful canal passes along the country.
CLOSE to
Cheshunt
stood the magnificent palace of
Theobalds,
THEOBALDS.
built by lord treasurer
Burleigh.
When
James
I. came from
Scotland
to take possession of the
English
throne, on
May
3d, 1603, he was received here by the lords of the privy council, and was most sumptuously entertained by the owner, Sir
Robert Cecil,
afterwards earl of
Salisbury. James
fell in love with, the place; obtained it from
Cecil
in exchange for
Hatfield;
enlarged the park, and inclosed it with a brick wall ten miles in circuit. The place was resigned to the king and queen, on the 22d of
May
1607. A poetical entertainment was made on the occasion, by
Ben Jonson,
and suitable scenery invented, in all probability by
Inigo Jones
Tour in Wales,
ii. 142.
. The Genius of the place is at first very anxious about her lot; at last is reconciled to it by
Mercury
and the Fates: and the piece concludes with a most flattering chorus
Ben Jonson's Works,
v. 226.
.
James
was particularly fond of this palace, and finished his days here in 1625. In 1651, the greatest part of this magnificent place (so particularly described by
Heutzner
) was pulled down, and the plunder given to the soldiers. The small remains (such as the room in which the king died, and a portico with the painting of the genealogical tree of the house of
Cecil
) were demolished in 1765, by the present owner,
George Prescot,
Esquire; who leased out the site to a builder, and built himself a handsome house a mile south of it; so that the memory of it is only preserved by the picture in possession of earl
Poulet,
at
Hinton St. George;
and the description, from lord
Burleigh
's own hand-writing, preserved in
Murden's State Papers
Mr. GOUCH'S
Br. Topogr.
i. 426.
.
I RETURNED by
Enfield,
pursued the direct road to
London,
passed by
Tottenham High Cross
(so called from a wooden cross formerly placed on a little mount) and in a short space joined my friends in the great metropolis.
APPENDIX.
No I. SANDON CHURCH, p. 60.
UPON A CURIOUS MONUMENT AND TOMB AGAINST THE NORTH WALL.
Ricardus de Vernon
Baro de
Sibroc
20
Willmi
Conquestoris Pater harum ffamiliar' de
Vernon Holgreve
et
Erdeswik
1086.
Hoc s
bi spe in Xpo resurgendi posuit
Sampson Erdeswik
miger. qui gen' recta serie ducit a
Rico
de
Vernon,
barone de
Sibroc
tempore gui' comā qst.
Hujus ffili' et heres
Hugo
de
Vernō
duxit ffiliā et heredē
Rainaldi Ballioli
dni de
Erdeswik
et
Holgreve
dedern̄ nt ffilio
Mattheo
cuju' ffili' inde dict' fuit de
Holgreve.
Vernon. Malbanc.
Vernon.
Vernon.
Vernon. Balliole.
Vernon.
Holgreve.
Holgreve.
Vernon. Mandevill.
Richardus
s
ilius junior
Mathai
de
Holgreve
tertij cum pater illi
Erdeswik
dedisset nomen de
Erdeswik
sibi assumpsit et posteris reliquit et ex altera herede
Guil.
dni de
Leighton Thomam
de
Erdeswik
genuit cujus pronepos
Thomas
quartus accepit in uxorē
Margaretā
unica ffiliā et heredem
Jacobi Stafford
de
Sandon
militis cujus proavia fuit AVda, una ffiliar et heredu
Warini
ultimi baronis de
Sibroc
proav' vero
Guil. Stafford,
ffilius secund'
Harvaei Bagod
ex
Melicēta baronissa Staffordiae
qui fuit proneptis
Roberti
primi baronis
Staffordiae
qui
Angliā Guil.
Conquestore ingressus.
Holgreve. Bunbury.
Stafforde. Vernon.
Holgreve. Leigh
.
Stafford. Walkelin.
Stafforde.
Stafforde. Stafforde.
Erdeswik. Stafforde.
Erdeswik. Mirshull.
Erdesw. Clinton.
Erdeswik.
Erdeswik.
Erdeswik.
Erdeswik. Basset.
Erdeswik. Harccurt.
Erdeswik. Grey.
Erdeswik. Lee.
Sampson Erdeswik.
Elizabetha Dikeswell. Elizabetha
uxor prima fuit silia secunda, et una trium
eredum
Humfridi Dikeswell
de
Church Waver
in com
arwici
armigeri ex qua quinque suscepit filias,
Mar
aretam
nondum nuptam,
Helenam
uxorem
Thomae
eyne
e Westen Coyne
in comitatu
Staffordiae
armigeri,
Elizabetham. Mariam,
et
Margerian
,
omnes supers
ites
cdum enuptas.
Sampson Erdeswik. Maria Neale. Maria
uxor secunda fuit ffilia secundo genita et una heredū
Ffra
cisci Neale
de
Kaythorpe
in comitatu
Lecestrie
armigeri quae illi peperit
Richardum
et
Mathaeum
filios et
Jehan.
fili
at priori marito
Everardo Digby
armigero 14 liberos en
xa est., e quibus
Everardus, Jeannes, Georgius, Maria, Elizabetha, Ffrancisca,
et
Christiana,
nunc sunt super
ites
Vernon
semper viret anno Domini 1601.
No II. EXPENCES IN THE REPAIRS OF LICHFIELD CATHEDRAL, AFTER THE RESTORATION. p. 105.
[From Mr.
Green
of
Lichfield
's MSS.]
 
£.
s.
d.
BY the accounts of the late Bishop
Hacket,
Mr.
Glazier,
and Mr.
Harrison,
the sum of money received by them, for the repairs of the cathedral church of
Lichfield,
amounts to —
9092
1
7½
Besides two fair timber trees, which his majesty gave out of
Need-wood,
inserted, but not valued, in the book of the said accounts —
 
 
 
As also, there is omitted out of the said accounts, glazing seven of the south windows, by Mr.
Creswell;
wherein his arms, which (saith he) cost about —
30
00
0
Out of which £9092. 1
s.
½
d.
the late Bishop
Hacket
gave out of his own purse, to the repairs of the said cathedral —
1683
12
0
Bishop
Wood,
when dean, gave —
50
00
0
And since bishop —
10
00
0
And promised (saith Dean
Smallwood
) more
100
00
0
In
St. Peter
's chapel (which is now a place to lay ladders and scaffolding) was painted upon the wall St.
Peter
crucified with his head downwards; and two other apostles. And in this place is the noted St.
Chad
's tomb (though defaced) removed from the Lady Choir to be put here, since the Restoration.
No III. THE RESIGNATION OR SURRENDER OF THE PRIOR AND CONVENT OF SAINT ANDREWS, NORTHAMPTON: WITH A RECOGNITION OF THEIR MANIFOLD ENORMITIES. p. 303.
MOST noble and vertuous prince, owr most rightuous and gracyous soueraign lorde, and vndoubted founder, and in erthe next vndre GOD supreme heed of this
Englyshe
churche. We yowr gracys pore and most vnworthy subiects, FRANCYS, priour of yowr graces monastery of Saint ANDREW the apostle, within yowr graces town of
Northampton,
aud the hoole couent of the same, being steryd by the gryffe of owr conscience, vnto greate contricion for the manifolde negligence, enormytes, and abuses, of long tyme by vs and other owr predecessours, vndre the pretence and shadow of perfyght religion, vsyd and commytted, to the greuous displeasure of Almyghty GOD, the craftye decepcion, and subtell seduccion of the pure and symple myndys of the good Christian people of this yowr noble realme, knowlegen owr selffes to haue greuously offendyd GOD, and yowr highnesse owr soueraign lord and founder. Aswell in corrupting the conscience of yowr good Christian subiects, with vayne, superstitious, and other vnprofitable ceremonyes, the very means and playn induccions to the abominable synne of idolatry; as in omyttyng the execucion of suche deuowte and due observances, and charitable acts as we were bounden to do, by the promises, and avowes made by vs and our predecessors, vnto Almighty GOD, and to yowr graces most noble progenitors, orygynall founders of yowr saide monastery. For the which obseruances, and dedys of charyte, only yowre saide monastery was indowed with sondry possessions, iewels, ornaments, and other goods, moueable and vnmoueable, by yowr graces said noble progenitors. The revenues of which possessions, we the saide priour and couent, voluntaryly onely by owr propre conscience compellyd, do recognyce, neither by vs, nor owr predecessors to haue ben imploied accordyng to the origynall intent of the founders, of yowr saide monastery; that is to saie, in the pure observaunce of CHRYSTS religion, accordyng to the deuowte rule, and doctryne, of holy Saint BENEDICT, in vertuose exercyse, and study, according to owr professyon and avowe; ne yett in the charytable sustayning, comforting, and releiuing of the pore people, by the kepyng of good and necessary hospitality. But aswell we as others owr predecessours, callyd religiouse persones within yowr said monastery, taking on vs the habite or owtewarde vesture of the saide rule, onely to the intent to lead owr liffes in an ydell quyetnes, and not in vertuose exercyse, in a stately estymacion, and not in obedient humylyte, haue vndre the shadowe, or color of the saide rule and babite, vaynly, detestably, and also vngodly, employed, yea rather deuowred the yerely reuenues yssuing and comyng of the saide possessions, in contynuall ingurgitacions and farcyngs of owr carayne bodyes, and of others, the supportares of owr voluptuose and carnall appetyte, with other wayne and ungodly expensys to the manyfest svbuertion of deuocion, and clennes of lyuyng; and to the most notable slaunder of CHRYSTS holy e
angely, which in the forme of owr professyon, we dyd oftentate, and openly advaunte to kepe most exactely: withdrawing therby from the symple and pure myndys of yowr graces subiects, the only truth and comfort, which they oughte to haue by the true faith of CHRISTE. And also the devyne honor and glory, onely due to the glorious maiestye of GOD Almighty, steryng them with all persuasions, ingynes, and polyce, to dedd images, and counterefeit reliques, for owr dampnable lucre. Which our most horryble abhominacious, and execrable persuacions of yowr graces people, to detestable errours, and our long couered ipocrysie cloked with sayned sanctitie; we reuoluing dayly and continually ponderyng in owr sorrowfull harts, and therby perseyuing the bottomles gulf of euerlastyng fyre redy to deuowre vs, if perseysting in this state of lyuynge, we shulde departe from this vncertayn and transytory liff; constrayned, by the intollerable anguysh of owr conscience, callyd as we trust by the grace of GOD, who wolde haue no man to perysh in synne: with harts most contrite, and repentante, prostrate at the noble feet of yowr most roiall maiesty, most lamentably doo craue of yowr highnes, of yowr habundant mercy, to grant vnto us, most greuous agaynst GOD, and yowr highnes, yowr most gracious perdon, for owr saide sondry offences, omyssyons, and negligences, commytted as before by vs is confessyd, agaynst yowr hyhnes, and yowr most noble progenitors. And where yowr highnes, being supreme hedd, immediately next aftre CHRISTE, of his church, in this yowr roialme of
England,
so consequently generall and only reformatur of all religious personnes, there, haue full authority to correct or dyssolue at your graces pleasure and libertye, all couents and religious companyes abusyng the rewles of their profession. And moreouer to yowr highnes, being owr soueraygn lord and vndoubted founder of yowr saide monastery, by dissolucion wherof apperteyneth onely the oryginall title, and propre inherytance, as well of all other goods moueable and vnmouable, to the saide monastery in any wise apperteyning or belonging, to be dispossessed, and imployed, as to yowr graces most excellent wysdome shall seme expedyent and necessary. All which possessyons and goods, yowr highnes for owr saide offences, abuses, omyssyons, and neglygences, being to all men obedyent, and by vs playnly confessed, now hath, and of long tyme past hath hadd, iust and lafull cawse, to resume into yowr graces hands and possessyon at your graces pleasure. The resumption wherof, yowr highness neverthelesse, licke a most naturall lovyng prince, and clement govenour, ouer vs yowr graces pore, and for owr offences, most vnworthy subiects, hath of long season differred, and yet doth, in hope and trust of owr voluntary reconciliation and amendment, by yowr graces manyfolde, louyng and gentyll admonyshments, shewyd vnto vs by dyuerse and sondry meanys. We therfor consyderyng with owr selffes your graces exceedyng goodnes and mercy, extended at all tymes vnto vs, most miserable trespassers against GOD and yowr highnes; for a perfight declaracion of owr vnfeyned contricion and repentance, felyng owr selffes uery weeke, and vnable to obserue and performe owr aforesaid avowes and promyses made by vs and owr predecessors, to GOD, and yowr graces noble progenitors; and to employ the possessyons of yowr saide monastery, accordyng to the fyrst will and intent of the oryginall founders. And to the intent that yowr highnes, yowr noble heires and successors with the true Christian people, of this yowr graces roialme of
England,
be not from hensforth eftsones abused with such feyned deuocion, and deuilysh persuasions, vndre the pretext and habyte of relygion, by us or any other, which shulde happen to bear the name of relygyous within yowr saide monastery. And moreouer, that the said possessyone and goods shulde be no lenger restreyned, from a bettyr or more necessary employment. Most humble beseechen yowr highnes, owr most graycious soueraign lord and founder, that it might licke yowr maiesty, for the discharging and exonerating vs, of the most greuous bourden of owr payned consciens, to the immynent parell and danger of owr dampnacion, that we shulde be in, if by persisting in the state that we now rest in, we shulde be the lett of a more godly and necessarie imployment: graciouslie to accept owr free gifts without coercion, persuasion, or procurement, of any creature living, other then of our voluntary free will, of all such possessions, right, title, or interest, as we the sayd prior and couent hath or euyr hadd, or a supposed to have hadde, in or to our sayd monastery of
Northampton
aforsaide. And all and euery parcell of the lands, aduousons, comodytes, and other reuenues, whatsoeuyr they ben belonging to the same. And all maner of goods, iewels, ornaments, with all other manner of cattals, moueable and vnmoueable, to the sayd monastery in any wise apperteyning or belonging, into whoes handes or possession so euyr they ben come into, to be imployed, and disposed, as to your graces most excellent wysedome shall seme expedyent and necessary. And although, most gracious soueraign lord, that the thyng by vs gyven vnto your highnes, is properly, and of right ought to be yowr graces owne, as well by the meryts of our offences, as by the ordre of your graces lawes; yen notwythstandyng we estsones most humble beseechen yowr highnes, graciously, and benevolently to accept owr free wyll, with the gyft therof, nothing requyring of yowr majesty therfor, other than yowr most gracious perdon, with some pece of yowr graces almes, and habundant charyte towards the mayntenance of owr pore lyving, and lycence hensforth to liue in such forme in correcting the rest of our liffes, as we hope to make satysfaccion therby to GOD, and yowr highnes: for owr hypocrasie, and other owr greuous offences by vs commytted, as well againe his Deite, as your maiesty. And for the more infallyble proffe that this our recognycion vnto yowr highnes, is only the mere and voluntary acte of us the said priour and couent aforesaid, withought any compulcion, or inducement, other then of owr propre consciens, we haue not only publyshed the same, openly in the presence of your graces true and faithful subiects, and seruants, Sir WYLLIAM APARRE, knyghte, RICHARD LAYTON, doitor in the lawes, archedeacon of
Buckingham,
and ROBERD SOUTHWELL, atturnay for the augmentacions of yowr graces most noble crowne, yowr graces commyssyoners here, with diuerse other that wer present at that tyme. And vndre this owr present recognicion sealed with our couent seale, subscrybed owr owne names; but also haue made sealed with owr couent seale, and delyuered to the saide ROBERD SOUTHWELL, to yowr highnesse vse, a sufficient and lawfull deade, accordyng to the form of yowr graces lawes, for the possessing your grace, yowr noble heires, and successors therof for euyr, to be presented by him vnto yowr highnes, together with this owr free recognicion and assent; offering owr selffes most humbly vnto your highnes, to be at all tymes redy to do from tyme to tyme, any other act or acts, as by yowr highnes, and yowr most honorable councell shall be of vs farther requyred, for the more perfight assurans of this owr voluntary surrendre and gift vnto yowr highnes. And fynally we most humbly, and reuerently, with habundant teares proceedyng from our harts, having before owr eyen owr detestable offences, submytt owr selffes totally to the ordre of GOD, and yowr mercyfull and benygne maiesty, most hartely beseching Almyghty GOD, to grant your highnes, with the noble prince EDWARD your graces most noble and naturall sonne, next vnto yowr grace the most precious iuell, and chyse comforte of this yowr graces roialme, long to lyue among vs, yowr graces honorable and deuoute procedings, which hytherto thorow yowr graces most excellent wysdome, and wonderfull industry, assidually solycyted abought the confirming and stablyshying mens consciens contynually vexed, with sondry doubtfull opynions, and vaine ceremonyes, haue taken both good and lawdable effecte; to the vndoubted contentation of Almighty GOD, the great renowne, and immortall memorie of your graces hye wysedome and excellent knowledge, and to the spyrituall weale of all your subiects. Datyd and subscrybyd in our chaptre the first day of
March
in the xxix yeare of yowr graces reign. By the hands of yowr graces pore and vnworthy subiects:
Per me Franciscum priorem.
Per me Iohannem subpriorem.
Per me Tho. Smyth.
Per me Tho. Golston.
Per me Rob. Martin.
Per me Iacob. Hopkins.
Per me Rich. Bunbery.
Per me Iohannem Pelte.
Per me Io. Harrold.
Per me Tho. Barly.
Per me Will. Ward.
Per me Tho. Atterbury.
Per me Will. Fowler.
No IV. THE WILL OF SIR EDMUND MULSHO. p. 328.
IN the name of the highe Trinitie, Fader, Sonne, & Holy Ghost. Amen. The firste daye of the monethe of
Maye,
the yeare of our Lorde Godd M. CCCCLVIIJ, and in XXXVJth yeare of the raigne of my soveraigne lorde kynge
Henry
the Syxte, I
Edmude Mulso,
knight, of our Lorde Gods vysitation, weake, sycke, and feble in bodie; neuerthelesse, of holle, sownde, and clere mynde, and of sensible witte, beinge honorid & thancked my Maker. I make and ordeyne this my prnte testament and laste will, in maner and forme that suethe. First, I bequethe & recomende my soule unto Almightye God, my Maker and Sauior, and to his blessyd moder virgin
Marie,
and all the companye of heauen; and my bodye to be buryed in the chappell of or ladye, in the churche of
St. Mychaell,
called
Pater Noster Churche,
in the Ryall of
London,
besyde the tombe where the worshipfull knight
Herre Tancke
lyethe buried. And I will firste, afore all thinges, after yt my bodie ys buryed, that all my debtes, in wch of right I am bownde, be fully contentid and payed, in discharge of my soule. Alsoe, I wyll & ordayne, that, that myne executors under wrytten make and ordayne, or do to be made and ordayned, in all godly and honest wife, wth in the firste yere next after my deceasse, a tombe of allabaster, in the place whereas my bodye ys buryed, as ys aforesaid, wth an image ouer the same tombe, after my p
son and degree, to be sett with myne armes aboute the same, in all places therupon, wher as myne executors shall seeme moste conuenient and necessarye. And I bequethe for the same tombe so to be made, XLL sterlinge, or more, as yet neadethe, after the discrection of myne executors. Allso, I bequethe all my goods, jewells, and ornaments, in any wise belonginge to my chappell, for to serue at the aulter of our Ladie, in the chappell abouesaid, for any tow prists there, for to synge as hereafter followethe, as longe as they maye endure. Also, I bequethe my ornaments and garments of clothe of golde and veluit, in any wise belonginge to my bodie, to be made in alter clothes, and vestments so made, I bequethe to be distributed and disposed, by my executors, unto the chappell of our Ladie abouesayd, and to the churches of
Miche Newton
and
Lytell Newton,
in the shier of
Northt.
after there beste discrection. Also, I will that mine executors ordeyne and doe make an aulter clothe, and a frounte, of white satin or damaske, with low curtaynes of the same sute, wth my armes, which I bequethe unto the auter of our Ladye at
Pewe, Westminr .
there to serve as longe as they maye enduer. Also, I bequethe, to be disposed and distributed unto the sayd churches of
Miche Newton
and
Lyttell Newton,
XXL sterlinge in bookes, jewells, and ornaments, after the best discrection of my executors, Soo: alwayes that the p.sons and p.ishons of bothe saide churches devoutly, every
Sondaie,
pray hartely God for the goode estate and prosperytie of the noble prynce
Ric.
duke of
Yorke,
and of dame
Cecyley
his wyffe, and for the souls of me and my fader and moder, and for the soule espially of
John Washebourene,
all Xtian soules. Also, I bequethe to
Wyllm. Mulso,
my brother, XLL sterlinge. Also, I bequethe to
Margrett Langley,
my syster, XLL sterlinge, and a standinge cuppe coverid of syluer. Also, I bequethe to
John Mulso,
my nephew, XXt sterlinge, and parte of my rayment and vesture longinge to my body, after the discrection of my chosen
Rychard Whettebey
to be dd to the same
John.
Also, I bequethe to
Alice
and
Margrett,
daughters to the said
Symon,
XX•• markes sterlinge: that is to say, to every of them tenne markes sterlinge. Also, I bequethe to
Alyce Chamber,
the dowghder of
Willm,
cytyzen & mercer, whilst he lived, tenne markes sterlinge. Also, I bequethe to
Thomas Tanner,
cytezen and scryvener of
London,
XLs . sterlinge. Also, I bequethe to
John Purfoote,
late seruant to my sayde lord the duke, tenne markes sterlinge. Also, I bequethe, to be disposed emongste my servants and mene, XXXt sterlinge, after the discrection of my executors, as I have mencyoned in a byll of pap. under my signe manuell. I bequethe to him or hir, now on lyve, next of the blood of the
Candyshes,
that laste hadd off the manor off
Pentlow,
in possession before me and my feoffees, XL• sterlinge. Also, I bequethe A C markes sterlinge, to be disposed and distrybuted for my soule, and for the soules abouesayd; as in massis to be songe, highe waies and brydges to be amendid and holpen, and to poore people most needefull, and in other wourkes of charytie and pyttie, to be done after the best discrection of mine executors. Also, I will and bequethe, that all my lands and tenements, rents, and seruices, wth thappurtennes in
Nassington
and
Yarwell,
in the county of
Northt .
shale remayne to my executors, by them to be solde; and all the mony of that same sale comeinge, I bequethe to be disposed and distributed by my sayde executors into the p.formeigne of my bequests, and for my soule, and for the soules above sayde, and in espiall for the soule of my son
Walt.
in works of charitie and pittie, as is abouesaid. Also, I will and ordayne, that myne executors, imediately after my decesse, sell my manor of
Rychmonds,
in
Thackstedd,
in the shier of
Essex,
with the appurtennances, in the best wyse and the most auailable proffitt that they can or maye; and all the money of that sale comeinge, I bequethe to p.forme and fullfilll the bequests in this my testament contayned: and yf by any p.son now one liue, being next vnto the kyneredd of the
Rychemonds
that last had the said manor of
Rychemond
in possessyon before err yt came into the hands of me, or any feoffees that woll bye the sayd manor of
Rychemonds;
than I will that he haue it better cheap then any other by XL markes sterling. Also, I will & ordeyne, that myne executors, immediatlye after my decesse, sell my manor of
Greys,
in the shier of
Suffolke,
wth thappurtenances, in the best wysse, and to the most auaile and profitt that they can or maye; and all the monney of that same sale comminge, I bequethe to fullfill and p.forme the bequests in this my testament conteyned: and if there be any p.rson now one lyve, beyinge next unto the kyndred of the
Greys
that laste hadd the sayde mannor of
Greys
in possessyon before yt came to the hands of me or my feoffes, that will bye the sayde mannor of
Greys,
with the' appurtenances; than I will that he have the sayde mannor of
Greys
bett. chepe then any other, by A C markes sterlynge. Also, I will that myne executors, imedyatelye after my decesse, sell th'advouson of the church of
Candyshe,
in the saide shier of
Suff.;
& all the money of that sale comeinge, I bequethe to fulfill the bequestes in this my present testament contayned. Also, I will & inwardly desire, and praye and beseech the most reverend Fader in God, and my goode lorde
Thomas
archebishopp of
Cants bury,
his brother my lorde
Bourcher,
& all my feoffees I straightly requier wch of great trust and confidence bene feoffees o enfeoffid in any of my landes and tenements, rents & seruices, mannors & advousons, as of churches or chappells, wth th'appurtenances, wheresoever they be, within the realme of
Englonde,
or in any other place, that they make such estates, feoffments, and releases thereof, to suche p.sons, & in such convenyent and lawfull forme as myne executors shall desyer, assoone after my deceasse, as myne executors them thereto shall praye & requyer. Also, I bequethe to Dame
Elizabeth Mutton
j pewe bason, and a peue ewre of syluer, or a pewe pottes of hir choyse. Also, I bequethe unto
John Neuell,
knyght, my black horse. Also, I bequethe unto
John Otter
fiue markes sterlinge. Also, I bequethe unto
Robert Kolfey
fiue markes sterlinge. Also, I bequethe to
John Groue,
scryuener, XLs sterlinge. Also, I bequethe unto y• chappell and fraternitie of the Resurrection, in the churche of
St. Nicholas,
of the towne of
Calace,
XLd sterlinge. Also, I bequethe to the reparation of the same churche XXVjs . viijd . sterlinge. Also, I bequethe to the fraternytye and almes table in the same churche of the Holye Trinitye, of the same churche, vj. viij. sterlinge. Also, I bequethe fiue markes sterlinge to the makeinge of a new glasse wyndow to my memory, to be made in our Ladye churche of
Calace,
wth three images of the Holye Trinitye; our Lady, and St.
George,
and my good angel; presentinge my persone wth my armes. Also, I bequethe to the hospitall of
Callace,
called the
Mayson dyne,
& to the poore peoples fyndinge there, & to the relieuing of the lazar-house, withoute the town of
Collace,
to be disposed by the discrection of
Richard Whyttwell,
xxvj• . viijd . sterlinge: also, to be dealte by the discrection of the same
Richard,
to the prysoners in
Callace,
where mooste neede ys, xxvjs . viij sterlinge. Also, I bequethe to fryer
James Stope,
to praye especyallye for me to God in his massys, by a yeare, Lijs . iiijd . sterlinge. Also, I bequethe to the pryer and couente of the fryers churche in
Callace,
that they spially have my soule recomendid to God, xxvjs . viijd . sterlinge. Also, I bequethe Liijs . iiijd . to the reparation of the churche of
St. Peter
wth oute
Callace,
and to the makeinge of an auter clothe, and a frontell, stayned wth an image, or the storye of St.
Peter,
and myne armes, & name of them, to be made; there to serue at the highe alter, in the honor of God and St.
Peter,
as longe as it maye enduer. Also, I bequethe to the makeinge of a challyce to the parryshe of
Bockarde,
in the marche of
Callace,
where Doctor
Salmon
ys parson, xxs . sterlinge. Also, I giue and bequethe to
Johanat
of
Fanne,
at
Thakestedd,
xxtie markes starlinge. Also, I bequethe to the chappell of our Ladye in the Woule, in
Callace,
vjs . viijd . sterlinge; Also, I will and bequethe that CCL. markes sterlinge of my moveable goodes, jewells, and lyvelood, shale remayne in the hands of my deare sister
Margarett Langley,
and of my cosen
Rychard Whytwell;
and they to dispose the same some withoute any mynyshing, defalcacon or abridgement of eny parte there of in suche wyse as I have declared unto them my wryghtinge, under my sygnett and sygne manuell, by me delyuerid afore my menyall meny to the sayde
Richard Whyttwell.
Also, I will that my householde and menye shale be kepte wholle and togyder fownden of my goodes by XV. dayes nexte sueinge after my decease. Also, by this my present testamente and will, I adnull & defeate my former testament and will that I made in
Englonde;
afore that I came to
Callace,
and all the bequestes conteyned in the same, bearynge date the tenth daye of the moneth of
September,
in the yeare of or Lord God M.CCCLIII, and in
the yeare of yt raigne of kynge
Henry
the Syxt, after the Conqueste the xxxijth , and all other testaments and willes by me made. As for my proper goodes and lyue lodde, yf eny be afore this my present testament. Also, I will and specially requier, that all the parsons that have any moueable goodes or jewells of myne, by wrytinge or other wyse, in there possessyon and keepinge, that they, and euery of them, make delyuerance thereof to my executors, when they desyer them. Also, I will that myne executors be rewardid, recompensyd, and allowed, for all manner of costes and expensys that they make, or shale make and dafer me in eny wyse, in any of the matters & causys conteyned in this my testament, and by the ouersight and knowledge of my overseers wnder written. Also, I bequethe unto the Trynitie Table, wth in our Ladye churche of
Callace
aforesayde, vjs . viij• . sterlinge. The resydue of all my goodes, cattalls, and debtes, whatsoeuer they be, in whose hands that they be, after that my debts be payed, my body brought on earthe, my bequests fullfilled and payed, and this my present testament & last will in all wyses performed, I bequethe to my executors underwrytten, they therwithe for to do dispose and distribute for my soule, & for all the soules above rehearsed in werkes of charytie and pittie, in maner and forme aboue specyfyed, as they maye beste please God and most profitt my soule. And over all this, as to the disposytion of my maner of
Pentlowe,
with appurtenances, in the shier of
Essex,
and the advouson of the churche of
Pentlowe
there, I will, requier, and hartelye praye all my feoffees in the saide mannor of
Pentlowe,
wth th'appurtenances & th'aduouson of the same churche, and myne executors vnder wrytten, that they, or the more parte of them, with th'aduise of learned councell, imediatly after my deceasse, sue, purchase, chase, and gett of the kynge, our soueraigne lorde, his lers patents, to be made and hadd unto them in all sufficyent and suer wyse, vunder his greate seale, whereby that my feoffees or executors, or on or moe of them, may haue power and auctoritye sufficient, after the forme of lawe, to giue and graunt vnto Mr .
Thomas Eborall,
p.son of the churche of St .
Michall,
abouesaide; and to the wardins & keep.s of the goodes and ornaments of the same church of St .
Michaell,
and to their successors, p.sons and wardins of the same church, wch for the tyme shalbe, for euermore, my said mannor of
Pentlowe,
wth th'appurtenances and advouson of the saide churche of
Pentlow;
and so therof that they establish mortise and fowunde a channterie in the saide churche of St .
Michaell,
and to be cauled
Mulso Chaunterie,
for tow preists there perpetually for to singe for my soule; to have and to hold to the said parson and wardins, and to their successors of p.sons and wardins of the saide church of St .
Michaell
for the tyme beinge for evermore, vnder the maner & forme and condition that followethe; that ys to saye, First, I will and ordayne the sd. p.son and wardins, and there successors, parsons & wardins of the saide churche of
Saincte Michaell
for the tyme beinge, of the revenew and profitts cominge of the saide manor of
Pentlowe,
and th'advouson of the churche off
Pentlowe,
wth appurtenances, fynde tow seculer priests dailye & perpetually, for to singe in the saide churche of St .
Michaell
's for my soule, and for the soules of my fader and moder, and my friendes & kyneffolkes, for euermore. And I will & ordeyne, that the sayde towe priests be alwayes chosen, receiued, and admitted to the sayd chaunterye by the sayd parson and wardins, and their successors, parsons & wardins of the saide churche of
Saincte Michaell
for the tyme beinge; and the saide towe priests to be honest goode men, & of goode name and same, & of honest conversation and condicon; and that they be at all mattins howers, masseys, and evensonges, and at all other divine services & obsequies there now used and done, and to be used and done. And yf the saide towe preistes, or eyther of them, so chosen, receyued, and admitted to y• saide chaunterie at eny tyme hereafter, be unhoneste, or any vngodly or outragyous wyse behaue or beare him, then I will and ordeyne that the saide towe preists, or either of them, lyneinge unhonestly, or in any ungodly or outragious wyse ruleinge, behavinge, or beareinge himselfe, be removed by the sayde parson and wardins, and theire successors, parsons & wardins of the saide churche of St.
Michael
's for the time beinge, from the saide service; and that another prieste or preistes, in his place or their places, by the saide parsone & wardins & their successors, parsons & wardins, unto the said chaunterie be chosen and putt in, in the maner and form above-saide; and so from tyme to tyme to be done, as ofte as yt so happethe or faullethe vayde by the death of them, or that they, or eyther of them, be promotid to any benyfyce or offyce. Also, I will and ordeyne the revenewe and profitts cominge of the saide manor of
Pentlow,
and advouson of the church of
Pentlow,
wth th'appurtenances, duely repayere, sustaine, & meynteine the said manor, wth th'appurtenances, & all manner rents and chargis thereof goinge out, pay and supporte yerely fortever more. And that the said parson and wardins, and their successors, parsons and wardins of the saide churche of
Saincte Michaell
for the time beinge, pay yearely for evermore unto the sd. towe preistes for their salarie, XXtie markes sterlinge, att the feastes of
Xmas, Easter, Midsomer,
and
Mychaellmas,
by euen portions; that is to saye, to each of them X markes sterlinge. And I will & ordeyne furthermore, that the saide parson and wardins, & their successors, parsons and wardins of the saide churche of St.
Michaell,
which for the tyme shall be, withe a parcell of the revenews comeinge of the saide mannor of
Pentlow,
wth th'appurtenances, yerely for euermore, in the churche
Saincte Mychaell
abouesaide, holde and keepe myne anniversarie the daye of my deceasse; that is to saye, in the even,
dirige
by note, & one the morrow, masse of
requiem
by note, wth tow tapers at my saide tombe, eache of tow pounde of waxe; and that the parson have for his labour, being there present in there obsequies, XXd , and every of the priests XIJd , and of the clarks XIJd , and either of the church wardins XXd ; and that there be disposed emongste xxiiij poore men and the women, the same daie of my anniversarrie, iiijs in money yerely, for ever more. Also, I will and ordayne, that the day following myne anniversarye, an account be had and made between the parson and wardins, and their successors for evermore, yerely, of all the receiptes, payments, & chargis, by them hadd and done within yc yere; and that all the money that upon such accounts, from yere to year, over and above the sustenatcon of the saide towe preists, reparatyons of the saide mannor of
Pentlowe,
wth th'appurtenances, fownden & done, the saide anniversarie kept and holden, and all other chargis aboue saide done & payde, remayne the cleare, be put in a boxe, or in a chiste with tow lockes and keyes, fast locked, for the repacyon and new edeficationes and sustenation of the saide manor of
Pentlowe,
wth th'appurtenances, and chargis aforesaide, in the saide churche safelye to be kepte; and that the saide parsone have and keepe the one keye, & the saide wardins the other keye. Furdermore, I will and ordeyne, that if the saide person and wardins, and their successors, parsons and wardins of the saide churche of
Saincte Michaell
for the tyme beinge, at any after, by neglygent and slothfull, and fynde not the towe preistes, nor keepe not the saide anniversarye, & all other chargis abouesaide, in manner and forme aboue declared, and haue no cause reasonable whereby they shoulde be lettid or tarryed; than I will that the state, right, and possession of the said parson and wardins, & their successors, parsons and wardins of the saide churche of
Sat . Michaell
for the tyme beinge, be voide & of no strengthe; and than I will and ordeyne, that the saide mannor at
Pentlowe,
with th'advouson of the saide churche of
Pentlowe,
and all th'appurtenances, remayne & turne unto Mr.
Thos Bucksall,
maister of the colledge of
Fodringhey,
in the shier of
Northampton,
to have and to holde all the saide manor of
Pentlowe,
and all th'appurtenances, to the saide now master of the saide colledge of
Fodringhey,
and to his successors, maisters of the said colledge, forevermore; so alwaies that the same maister & his successors fynde for evermore towe preistes dayleye for to singe in our Ladye chappell there, for the soule of me the saide
Edmonde,
and the soules before rehearsydd; & also hold and keep my anniuersarye in the maner and forme aboue writtenn, and all other chargis and things, before rehearsed, do obserue and fullfill yerely in the saide colledge, in manner and forme as ys aboue specifyed and declared evermore. Also, I charge and requier, and will that none of myne executors, in absense of the other, in the execution of this my testament and laste will, take upon them, nor presume to doe any thing
wth out the agreement, will, and assent of them all, or the more parte of them; and when neede be, they to take thadvise of the overseers hereafter named of this my testament, except only as for the CCL markes bequethed and assigned to my saide sister
Margarett Langley,
and my chosen
Richard Whytwell,
in forme aforesaid; and also all suche thinges as of right and very nescessitye must be done in
Callace
and marches of the same; the which I comytt only, by this my testament, to my saide cosen
Rychard Whytwell,
in absence of his fellowship co-executors, with hym wholly to execute and parforme. Of this my present testament and last will, I make & ordayne myne executors; that is to saye, the wort• knight
William Oldehalle,
Mr.
Robert Wyatt,
clerke, the saide
Willm. Mulso, Symon Reyham,
and
Rychard Whyttwell.
And I bequethe to the sd.
William Oldhall,
knight, for his labour in this behalfe to be had, XXL sterlinge, and a gowne of fyne
French
blacke, or of puowke, and a furre with a pursle of browne martirs for the same. Alsoe, I bequethe to the saide Mr.
Robert, Wm. Mulso,
&
Symon Reyham,
for their labore about the premyssys. trewly to be done, XXL sterlinge eche of them to have. And to the sd.
Rychard Whyttwell,
for hys labor, I bequethe fiftye poundes sterlinge. And I make overseers of y
my present testament and laste will; that is to say, the mooste reverende Father in God, and my right goode lorde
Thomas
archebishop of
Canterbury;
the high, mightie, and my full good lorde,
Rycharde
earle of
Warwicke; Henry Bourchere,
knight, lord
Bourchire;
& th'aforesaid Mr .
Thomas Eborall.
And I bequethe to the saide most reverende Fader the Archbishopp, XXL sterlinge; to the saide mightie earle, my double harneys complete, that I had of the gifte of the dolphin of
France;
to my saide lorde
Bourchir,
XXL sterlinge; and to the saide Mr .
Thomas Eborall,
XL sterlinge; instantly beseeching & desyreing my saide goode lordes, and requireinge all other of my overseers and executors of this my testament and laste will, to shew and doe for me, in th'execution of all the premisses, as they would I did for them in semblable wise one God his behalfe. Over this, I will that an able preiste of conversation synge and pray for my soule, and the soules of my fader & moder, and of all other soules that I am in deade to praye for at
Scala: Celi,
in
Rome,
by the space of one wholle yeare and XXX daies; and, wth in the same tyme, I will that the same preiste shale synge and praye for my soule, and the soules afore rehearsed, a trentall in certeyne principall churches at
Rome
aforesaide in suche forme, and at suche tymes, as Saincte
Gregory
did, and as yt is there used and accustomed; for the which seruice so to be done by the saide preiste, I will that my saide executors giue him a competent sallary, in suche forme as they wth hym conveniently may accorde. Also, I will that my saide executors ordeyne and doe prouide a gentill and a well doinge horse, wth and harneys to the same; and that the saide horse and harneys, and also my chawferyn wth the whyght feather for the saide horse, by my executors, for and in my name, be giuen to righte noble lorde the earle of
Marche,
as for my remembrance to his goode lordshipp. Provydid alwayes, that if any goods moueable, as well here as
Callace,
and in the marches of the same, as in
Englonde,
and my londes and tenements beinge in my feoffees hands, wheresoevere they byn, will not suffice ne streche easely to the performing and fullfillinge of these my saide bequestes and will (as I trust to God they shalle) than I will and ordeyne by this my testament and laste will, that my saide executors abridge and make desalcacon of parte of all and every of my saide bequestes, wills, and ordinances, in suche forme as they shalle seeme most expedient and behofefull to be done for the health of my soule, except only the CCL markes bequethed and assigned to my saide sister
Margarett Langley,
and to my cosen
Rychard Whyttwell,
and also the said XXtie markes to the said
Johane
at
Fann;
whiche towe somes I will specially to be performed, and my debtes payed. In wyttness whereof, to this my present testament and laste will I have putto my seale, wrytten and yearenthe day and yeare afore rehearsed.
Testamentu
Edmundi Mulso,
militis, quo ad disposionem tam omniu et singuloru manerioriu, terraru, et tenementoru suoru quam omniu et singuloru bonoru suoru mobiliu; ultimam suam in se contineu volunt ap. te lect p. dictu
Edmundu
sigillo suo ad arma sigillat. in p.sentia testiu subscriptoru specialiter ad hoc vocatoru.
Aerat.
John Groue
John Wryght
Robt. Wynnington
John Deley
John Pycharde
Willm. Toste
Radi Knyston
Robti. Leche
Thome Laverocke
Guuley Walmesley.
Thome Vsher
No V. ON THE DEATH OF THE COUNTESS OF SOMERSET. See p. 372.
HER death was infamous: and though she died (as it were) in a corner (in so private a condition) the loathsomeness of her death made it as conspicuous as on a house-top: for that part of her body which had been the receptacle of most of her sin, grown rotten (though she never had but one child) the ligaments failing, it fell down, and was cut away in flakes, with a most nauseous and putrid savour; which to augment, she would roll herself in her own ordure in her bed; took delight in it. Thus her affections varied; for nothing could be found sweet enough to augment her beauties at first, and nothing stinking enough to decypher her loathsomeness at last. Pardon the sharpness of these expressions; for they are for the glory of God; who often makes his punishments (in the balance of his justice) of equal weight with our sins.
Wilson's Life of King James I.
p. 83.
No VI. EPITAPH IN AMPTHILL CHURCH. p. 377.
M. S.
Optimis parentibus nunc tumulo conjunctus
Pietate semper conjunctissimus
Hic jacet
Richardus-Nicolls Francis. Is•i .
ex
Margar. Bruce
Filius
I-l-limo
Jacobo
Duci
Ebor.
a cubiculis intimis;
Anno 1663, relictis musarum castris,
Turmam equestrem contra rebelles duxit,
Juvenis strenuus, at
que
impiger,
Anno 1664, aetate jam & scientiâ militari maturu
In AMERICAM
Septentrionalem cum imperio missus
Longam I-s-lam caeteras
que
insulas,
Belgis expulsis, vero Domino restituit.
Provinciam arces
que
munitissimas
Heri sui titulis insignivit,
Et Triennio pro preside rexit.
Academiâ Literis
Bello Virtute
Aula Candore Animi
Magistratu Prudentiâ
Celebris:
Ubi
que
bonis carus, sibi & negotiis par,
28o
Maii,
1672.
Nave praetoriâ contra eosd. Belgas
Fortiter dimicans,
Ictu globi majoris transfossus occubuit.
Fratres habuit,
Praeter
Gulielmum
praecoci fato defunctum,
Edvardum,
et
Franciscum.
Utrum
que
copiarum pedestrium centurionem,
Qui faedae & servilis tyrannidis
Quae tunc
Angliam
oppresserat impatientes
Exi
o praelato (si modo regem extorrem sequi exit. sit)
Alter
Parisiis,
alter
Hagâ
comitis,
Ad coelestem patriam migrarunt.
No VII. EPITAPH IN MAULDEN CHURCH. p. 382.
Diana
Oxonii
&
Eligini
Comitissa
Quae
ILLUSTRI orta sanguine, sanguinem illustravit, Ceciliorum meritis clara, suis clarissima, ut quae nesciret minor esse maximis. Vitam ineuntem honoravit, & prodeuntem ampla virtutum cohors, et exeuntem mors beatissima decoravit, volente Numine ut nuspiam deesset aut virtus aut felicitas. Duobus conjuncta maritis, utri
que
charissima; primum (quem ad annum habuit) impense dilexit; secundum (quem ad 24) tanta pietate & amore coluit, ut cui vivens obsequium, tanquam patri praestitit, moriens testimonium filio reliquit. Noverca quum esset maternam pietatem facile superavit; famulitium adeò mitem prudentem
que
curam gessit ut non tam domina familiae praesse quam anima corpori in esse videretur; deni
que
cum pudico, humili, forti, sancto animo, virginibus, conjugibus, viduis omnibus exemplum consecrasset integerrimum, terris anima major ad similes evolavit superos Anno salutis 1654,
April
17, aetatis
que
58.
Ita gemuit Dominus
Thomas Bruce,
Comes
Eliginensis
& Baro
Bruce
de
Whorlton,
qui hoc monumentum aeque sacellum
In perpetuam conjugis optimae memoriam
Erigendum curavit
Anno
1656.
The following inscription appears under a busto:
Thomas
Comes de
Elgin
Baro
Bruce
de
Whorlton
In comitatu Eboracensi,
Hanc dilectissimi patris sui effigiem
Robertus
Comes de
Ailesbury
&
Elgin,
&c. filius unigenitus in extimo sacelli circulo erigendam curavit. Medium quippe soli Comitissae de
Oxford
uxori fuae cariffimae praedictus
Thomas
sacrum voluit, cujus in aeternum memoriam monumentum illud centrale extruxit, quod & ipse & prosapia sua, fatis olim cessura, eminus stantes venerabundi quasi contemplabuntur.
Obiit
Decemb.
anno salutis 1663.
Aetatis suae
73.
Edwardus Bruce
Armiger,
Rob.
Baris
Bruce,
filius domae
Dianae Henrici Grey
Comis de
Stamford,
filiae nu . m
. quinetiam
Thomae
Comitis de
Elgin
nepos a quo hanc vivendi rationem cum didicisset, gratus scholaris exemplo suo docuit avum (ei vix paucis mensibus superstitem) mori. Anno salutis 1663. Aetatis suae 17mo .
No VIII. EPITAPH IN FLITTON CHURCH, ON THE GOOD COUNTESS OF KENT. p. 394.
HERE lyes the Right Honble .
Amabella,
late countess dowager of
Kent,
entombed by her dear lord
Henry
earl of
Kent,
to signifie her resolution to dye with him to the rest of ye world, and to live after so great a loss only to God, & the interest of this noble family. This she made good, by her exemplary piety & regular devotion in her chappel; whereto she obliged all her domesticks, every morning & evening, to attend her.
And, surviving her own monument 45 years, she had time to raise to herself a more lasting one, by restoring the fortune of this illustrious family, which she found under an eclipse, to near the height of it's antient splendour.
This she effected by her wise conduct & large acquisitions, & by the advantageous disposal of her only son
Anthony
earl of
Kent,
in marriage, with
Mary,
sole daughter and heiress of the Rt . Honble .
John
lord
Lucas,
baron of
Shenfield,
in
Essex.
To the concerns of her children & grandchildren she confined her thoughts; & fixed her residence at
Wrest,
their usual seat; which she wonderfully improved & imbellished; continually adding to the profit or ornament of the place, until death gently seiz'd her,
Augst .
17th , 1698, in the 92d year of her age; & was here interred by the Rt . Honble
Anthony
earl of
Kent,
her most dutiful son; who would have caused y• to be engraven, had not a sudden death prevented him; but it was afterwards performed, in due acknowledgement of her great beneficence, & to perpetuate her precious memory to all his posterity, by her grandson, Henry Duke of Kent.
Mary,
one of the daughters of Sir
George Cotton
of
Combermere,
in y• county of
Chester,
knight, first espowsed to
Edward
earle of
Derby,
& after, to this
Henry
earle of
Kent;
who deceased the 16th of
November,
in the yeare of our Lord God 1580, and lieth buried at
Great Gaddesden,
in the covnty of
Hertford.
In tender affection & good respect of wt lady, the said earle of
Kent,
her husband, caused this remembrance to be made of her.
Here lyeth the body of the most noble, vertvous, & worthy peere,
Henry Grey
earle of
Kent,
lord
Hastings, Weisford,
&
Rvthyn,
lord lievtenant of the covnty of
Bedford:
ever loyall to his prince, assvred to his covntry, kinde to his friends, loving to al good men, & charitable to the poore; the first erector & fovnder of this chapell; who deceased the 31st of
Janvary.
1614.
INDEX.
A.
ABBOT,
archbishop page 239
Acton
church 19
Alban's, St.
See
Saint Alban's, Albert
archduke of Austria 379
Allesey
village 138
Altar,
Roman, at Chester 1
Amphibalus,
St. 222
Ampthill
375
Ankor
river, Draiton's verses on 124
Anne
dutchess of Bedford, daughter to Robert Car earl of Somerset, her story 358
Anson,
Thomas, his amiable life 67, 68
Armour,
great attention paid to 168
Arundel,
Thomas earl of 232
Ashmole,
Elias 132
Aston-hall
58
Aston,
Sir Edward, tomb of 73
Aston,
Sir Walter, lord Forfar 83
Audley
church 42
Audley,
lord; and his Esquires 39
Avon
river 182
B.
Bacon,
Sir Francis 226, 256
—, Sir Nathaniel 227
—, Sir Nicholas 224, 245
Bacon,
lady, second wife of Sir Nicholas page 245
Badby
manor 291
Bagot
family 81
Baltimore,
first lord 238
Barnet,
battle of 282
—town 288
Battle
of Barnet 282
—Bloreheath 48
—Hopton Heath 72
—Northampton 321
—St. Alban's, first 278
—St. Alban's, second 280
Beaudesert
96
Bedford
family 346
Bedford,
Lucy countess of 353 5
Beestor-hall
9
—family 10
—castle 11
Beighton,
the surveyor 184
Bertelin
the hermit 75
Bethuei,
now Stafford ib.
Billings, Little
320
Billington Bury
77
Binley
church, elegant 173
Blecheley
church, tombs in 208
Blithe-hall
131
Blithefield
81
Bloreheath,
battle of 45
Beadicea
sacks Verulamium 252
Borough-hill,
near Daventry page 188
Boughton
2
Branden,
Charles duke of Suffolk, account of 363
Braunston
village 184
Brickhill
213
Brindley,
James 54
Broughton
family 43
Bruff
the 47
Buchingham,
George Villiers first duke of 240
Bunbury
church 14
Burbolt
fish 80
Burleigh,
lord treasurer 82
Burston
58
Bury-bank,
near Stone 49
—Stafford 77
C.
Calveley,
Sir Hugh, his tomb and history 16
Camp
hills 47
Canal,
Cheshire 19
—Staffordshire 51
—Oxford or Coventry 149
Ca
wood 73, 98
Castle Ashby
310
—hill 97
—dikes 194
Cecil,
Sir Edward 178
Chad,
St. or Ceadda 100
Chalk,
antiquity of its use 214
Chalk-hill
ib.
Chartley
house 62
—castle 63
Christleton
village 2
Clifford
hill 320
Clifton
church 120
Clifton
village page 120
Clinton,
Roger de, bishop of Lichfield 102
Coleshill
128
Colton
81
Colwich
79
Combe
abbey 173
Combustible
woman 165
Compton
family 310
Cornara,
Catherine, queen of Cyprus 378
Cornwallis,
first lord 236
Corpus Christi
plays 161
Courtney
earl of Devonshire, his story 349
Coventry,
138
—, its trade 141
—, its churches 147, 154, 155
—, the priory 150
—, lord keeper 244
Craven,
Sir William 180
—William lord 177
Crew,
Sir Randle 389
—lord Crew 390
—, bishop 391
Croke,
Sir George, a judge 247
Cross,
queen Eleanor's 322
Croxal
church 119
Cumberland,
Margaret countess of 246
D.
Danby,
Henry earl of 370
Danes,
at Toucester 199
Danvers
earl of Danby 370
—, lady, her fine tomb 195
Darlaston
bridge 49
Daventry
186
Devonshire,
Christiana countess of 373
Digby,
George, his singular epitaph 60
—family 327
Digby,
Sir Everard page 327
—pedigree-book 328
—, Lady Venetia 335
Doddington-hall
39
Dodford
church 192
Dorset,
Edward earl of 236
Duel,
great, in 1398, designed at Coventry 166
Dugdale,
Sir William 1
8
Dunchurch
183
Dunsmore
heath ib.
Dunstable
214
Dwina,
first bishop of Lichfield 100
E.
Easton Manduit
house
6
—church
9
Easton Neston
201
Eleanor,
queen, her crosses 322.
Elford
church and village 117
Eigin,
Diana countess of, her strange tomb 38
Elizabeth,
queen, curious portrait of 406
El
avon
322
Empson,
Sir Richard 200
Enfield,
413
Erdeswik,
Sampson 59
Ethelfleda
countess of Mercia 75
Etocetum
1
6
F.
Fairwell
church 99
Fanhope,
lord 375
Fawsley
house 292
Fenny Stratford
212
Femor
family 201
Flamsted
221
Elitton
church
Flor
church page 297
Font
at Luton 395
—Stafford 74
Free warred
3
Frevils
122
Frebenius
the prinrer, portrait of 408
Froissart,
quotations from 89, 167
Fuller's-earth
344.
G.
Geese
dropping down miraculously 193
Geraldine
the fair 365, 366
Gerard
family 58
Gobions,
seat
. Sir Thomas More 412
Godiva
139
Goldington
325
Gorges,
Sir Edward 362
Gorh
nbury
223
Gosford-green,
remarkable duel designed at 167
Gothurst
325
Gray
lady Jane 387
Greene,
M
, of Lichfield, his cabinet 114
Grey
family 383
Grimston
family, and portraits 230
H.
Haket,
bishop 105
Ha
dley
285
Hatfield
house 403
—church 411
H
lead-Wen
27
H
ge,
Mr. Lyster's 8
Heywood
bridge 65
Historical
piece, curious at
Hatfield
405
Hoo
family 400
Hop
72
65
I.
15
72
K.
9
292
L.
4
5
bishop,
37
4
6
6
395
139
146
5
5
M.
215
14
his epitaph page 32
Mandeville,
Sir John, his birth-place 271
Margare
queen of Henry VI. 45, 155
Market S
eet
219
Mary
queen of Scots 409
Church 382
,
Sir Robert's tomb and
history 87
134
,
Sir Thomas 229
M
,
S
ffordshire 46
127
widow, account of 35
village 136
General, his beginning 35
Sir Thomas 10
of Norfolk 167
— his designed duel 168
M
ccleston
church 44
326
— Sir Edmund, his curious will 432
N.
wich
24
Nassa
count de 353
, goddess 214
N
River
298
New River
413
P
gnel
342
his epitaph 377
Northampton
299
—
, earls of 310
,
family 326
O.
O
a,
king 25
family 45, 94
O
grave
house page 89
Orphan,
supposed origin of that play 369
O
je
river
6
P.
Packington
house 135
Paget
family 96
Pagnel, Newport
342
Parliamentun
diabolium et indoctu
141
Passenham
church 206
Pembroke,
William earl of, verses by 375
Pennoruc
um
116
Philip
L
Bon duke of Burgundy 248
Potter's Pery
206
Pri
de la,
abb
y 321
R.
Ram
dge,
abbot, his tomb 264.
R
nb
22
R
b
y
her story 385
Richmond,
Marga at countess of 40
Roger
and Ci
, dialogue between, on the battle of Bar
et 284
Rogers,
comptroller
62
Roman
roads, 252, 1
6, 265, 2
3
Roos
family 18
Rothera
family
9
Rudghy
village
Rufin,
prince
,
0
R
ssel
lady Rachel 348
—Lord William 361
—Lord Edward and Sir
,
port
69
S.
Salines
page 2
Salt,
its antient history 26
Salt-works
26, 66
Sandon
church 59
S
ruppius,
account of 61
Schindon
village and church 121
Sevmour,
lady Jane 349
Shugborough
67
Somerts
tower 400
Somerset,
countess of her infamous life 371
—loathsome death 446
Somer
th,
Sir Philip 90
Sommers,
Will, the jester 202
Sop
well
unnery 28
Sow
river 67
Sparke,
reverend Dr. quibbling epitaph on 209
Stefford
town 73
—castle 76
—family ib.
S
ne
priory 57
Stow
church, near Lichfield 112
—near Chattley 64
S
-nine-Churches
195
Stragle
Alan,
old painter at St.
lban's 261
Stratford
St
ney 203
—
enny 212
Surrey,
earl of, his passion for the fair Geraldine 365
S
innerton
house 47
Sydney,
Sir Philip 35
T.
Talbot,
John, first earl of Shrewsbury, curious portrait of 311
121
T
worth
ib.
Tarvin
village page 4
T
r
90
T
river 46
Te
l
singular 328
Th
bau
36
Th
C
n
ine 120
Tir
,
Nicholas 392
George
rew Earl of 237
199
river ib.
river 49
house 339
V.
Ver
r
Ver
ame river 213
Ve
la
249
Vers
colum
at Ampthill 377
Up
on
village 298
W.
Wall,
the antient E
o
t
m page 116
Waltham
abbey and cross 415, 416
W
l
ng-street
208, 213
Wedon
193
Wetlock,
lord 395
Whethamsied
abbot, his tomb 268
Whitbenoure
flitc
90
Whitby
184
Will
oughby
183
Wills,
curious 328
Woburn
town 345
—abbey 346
Wrest
house 382
Y.
Yelver
on
family 317
—tombs 319
FINIS.