THE GENTLEMAN'S MAGAZINE LIBRARY.

THE

GENTLEMAN'S MAGAZINE LIBRARY:

BEING

A CLASSIFIED COLLECTION OF THE CHIEF CONTENTS OF THE GENTLEMAN'S MAGAZINE FROM 1731 TO 1868.

EDITED BY

GEORGE LAURENCE GOMME, F.S.A.

ENGLISH TOPOGRAPHY, PART X.

(SHROPSHIRE — SOMERSETSHIRE.)

EDITED BY F. A. MILNE, M.A.

LONDON : ELLIOT STOCK, 62, PATERNOSTER ROW, E.G.

1898. ,<

qo

INTRODUCTION.

ONLY two counties — Shropshire and Somersetshire — have been able to find room in this volume. Both appear to have been of more than usual interest to contributors to the Gentleman's Magazine, for we find more communications than the average, and, I think it will be admitted, of somewhat greater interest.

In the first place, domestic architecture, which has been so much neglected by archaeologists, is well represented in this volume. The old farm cottage at Alberbury (pp. 21, 22) and the farmhouse at Stanton (p. 148) are specimens of village homesteads, all too rarely to be found described or noted except in such a book as Mr. Ralph Nevill has compiled for Surrey. The moated mansion at Berwick- Maviston, sketched before its destruction (p. 29), affords a good example of the value of these collections, as probably this is the only record of this house. Boscobel House (p. 38) has historical associa- tions as well as architectural features of interest. Everything relative to the King's concealment was preserved with the greatest care, and even attended to with veneration in 1809. " The secret places in which the King was concealed are chiefly in and adjoining the large chimney shown in the annexed view ; the principal place was probably that in the garret, or, as it is termed, the gallery, entered by a trap- door. From this hiding-place you may descend by a step-ladder to the next hiding-place, and from thence to a door near the bottom of the chimney that leads to the garden, which is undoubtedly much altered, though the tumulus with a seat upon it still remains. The large wainscoted parlour is nearly in its original form ; the concealing- place behind the wainscot has been long stopped up, and the gloves

vi Introduction.

and garters said to have been left by the King were lost before the present possessor came to the house. The Royal Oak stands near the middle of a large field joining the garden. This tree, which is fine and thrifty, is said to have originated from an acorn of the old oak." The birthplace of Wycherley, the poet, at Clive is described on p. 54, and of Shenstone, at Halesowen, on p. 75. The mansion at Longner, belonging to the Burtons (p. 89), was drawn in 1828, before it was pulled down for the modern house. The note on the mediaeval houses near Clevedon (pp. 197-203), and the description of Clevedon Court in 1835 (?• 233)> are particularly useful con- tributions. The manor-house of Ashington (p. 202), the Duke of Monmouth's cottage at Grenton (p. 266), Hardington House in 1802 (p. 266), the manor-house of Hinton (p. 268), the old house at Ilchester, temp. Henry VI., destroyed by fire in 1846 (p. 273), the manor-house at Kingston Seymour (p. 274), Preston Abbey at Preston (p. 289) in 1811, South Petherton mansion (p. 295), and the manor-house of Tickenham (p. 298), afford sufficient indication of the important contributions supplied in this volume to this neglected branch of archaeology.

Illustrations and descriptions of houses that have been pulled down or destroyed are of the utmost value to the proper under- standing of the condition of the country at different periods of history ; and I should be inclined to suggest that, in this branch of archaeological research, there is to be found important contributions to political and economical history. Thus, Mr. Clifford, in his 11 History of Private Legislation " (i. 29-30), states that in the reign of Henry VIII. a series of Acts were passed giving remarkable powers to municipal authorities. The wars of succession had probably led to some confusion of ownership in towns. Country gentlemen, too, had become unwilling or, through want of means, unable to maintain their ancient residences in the chief provincial centres. The result was, in the year 1540, "that many beautiful houses of habitation" had " fallen down, decayed, and at this day ... do lie as desolate and vacant ground," while other houses were feeble and like to fall, and pits, cellars, and vaults were uncovered and dangerous (27 Henry VIII., cap. i; 32 Henry VIII., cap. 18; 33 Henry VIII., cap. 36). Municipalities complained, with reason, that these ruined mansions were "a hindrance and impoverishment" to them; that

Introduction. vii

the abandoned sites became no man's land, disturbing to the peace of the community. Parliament listened to these representations, and prescribed a certain period within which owners should restore their houses. In their default, the lords of whom the land was holden were allowed a further time to do so. If they, too, failed, local authorities might enter and do all necessary work ; and, adds Mr. Clifford, " every considerable provincial town in England was thus dealt with."

Almshouses are noted at Ludlow (p. 96), Whitchurch (p. 159), in Shropshire, and Bruton (p. 229) in Somersetshire; and in old days these were built with regard to beauty as well as use.

Another subject of much importance in local topography is the monumental remains in churches. These supply not only heraldic and genealogical details, but also illustrations of costume. A fourteenth-century example occurs at Ellesmere (p. 62): "The dress consists of a short coat or tunic, extending to a little below the knees, with close buttoned sleeves, tunica cum manicis botonatis; over this is worn the surcoat or supertunic, of the same length as the tunic, with short wide sleeves reaching to just below the elbows. The supertunic is belted round about the loins, and the girdle or bawdrick is buckled in front, and both the tunic and supertunic open in front from the edge of the skirt eight inches upwards. From the girdle on the left side of the effigy is suspended by a narrow strap an inkhorn, and by another narrow strap a penner. The hands lie on the breast, with a book compressed between them ; the shoes are pointed at the toes, and the feet rest against a dog. The execution of this effigy is rude, and altogether devoid of that elegance and merit so apparent in many of the sculptured effigies of the same era ; but that it was intended to represent a notary, scrivener, or country lawyer of the fourteenth century, I have little doubt, and I believe it to be the earliest effigy of the kind, and the only sculptured one at present known, for, although there are some few incised brass effigies of persons in the same profession, the earliest of those which have hitherto been noticed are not prior to the latter part of the fifteenth century, this effigy being of a period at least a century anterior to that date." The Albrighton altar-tomb of Sir John Talbot (p. 22) is a good example of Elizabethan costume, and another example occurs at Claverley (p. 53). There is an unusual number of monumental

viii Introduction.

remains recorded in this volume, all giving important details in local family history and genealogy, and in local charities and donations. The example of giving a complete list of family monuments as in the case of Bath Abbey monuments might be very well copied by modern local antiquaries ; and, indeed, the whole of our monu- mental remains are worthy of a thorough survey and record, which could well be accomplished through the machinery of the local societies.

Several interesting trees are noted: Shelton oak (p. 117), and Boscobel oak (p. 36) ; but this is not a fruitful source of information from the contributors to the Gentleman's Magazine.

We may now pass from material monuments of the past, the descriptions of which are collected in these pages, to the few notes on that equally important branch of historical knowledge, manners, customs, and usages.

Of popular usages there is not much to note, because they have been collected in special volumes of this series of reprints. But important notes find their way into communications about special localities, and, therefore, belong to the topographical volumes. Thus we learn the custom of pelting with crabs at Halesowen (p. 72), the guild pageant at Shrewsbury (pp. 145-147), the " Money Stone " of Dundry (p. 236), all of them interesting monuments of a past form of society which have not yet been adequately explained.

A glimpse of the travelling arrangements of last century is afforded by the following note on Bridgnorth, dated 1783: "It is situate about 140 miles from London, and has easy access to the Metropolis by means of the great variety of stage-coaches, flys, diligences, etc., that perform the journey in a day to the neighbouring towns of Wolverhampton, Birmingham, and Worcester. I believe it has also a diligence of its own. A post-coach or diligence regularly passes through this town from Chester to Bath, which opens a com- munication, either westward through Shrewsbury, to Holyhead for Ireland, or northwards, through Kendal and Carlisle, for Scotland, or southwards, through Worcester and Gloucester, for South Wales and the West of England. But on the river Severn itself (a fine navigable stream) safe and commodious stage-wherries constantly ply through this town from Shrewsbury to Worcester and Gloucester, and back again, wherein a whole family may be carried, with bag and

Introduction. ix

baggage, sixty or seventy miles for a very trifling fare, Bridgnorth affording a central stage to all these places ; and at Stourmouth, about twelve or fourteen miles below on this river, comes in the new navigable canal, which opens a communication to every part of England by inland navigation." The term " bag and baggage," it should be noted, is here used in its literal and original sense, though it has now become of special significance and use in a proverbial sense.

Churchwardens' and other local accounts are always welcome additions to our knowledge of the past. Those of Bitterley (p. 35), of the seventeenth century, though containing but a few specimen entries, are extremely interesting. The "ale and toobaccoe at ye funerall, 2s." ; " for the proclamation of burialls in woollen, 6d. " ; and " Tho8. ye roguish tradesman, 6d.," are entries which suggest a good deal of attention to local matters which are not among the subjects of government by Parish Councils. The extracts from the Ban well accounts (p. 216) refer only to entries concerning the rood- loft, but these include payments for labour in the early sixteenth century.

The chained books referred to at Halesowen (p. 65) are curious: "Sir Thomas Lyttelton, by will dated August 22, 1481, bequeaths to the Abbot and Convent of Hales Owen his book called c Catholicon ' to their use for ever ; and another book, wherein is contained the ' Constitutions Provincial ' and ' De Gestis Romanorum,' and other treatises therein, which he wills be laid and bounded with an iron chain in some convenient part within the said church, at his costs, so that all priests and others may see and read it when it pleaseth them." To this may be added the note on p. 269 of the monastic library at Hinton Charterhouse, about which institutions we should know a great deal more than Mr. Hunter has told us in his work on the subject.

As in previous volumes, there is a very large amount of topo- graphical information here collected together which is not to be found elsewhere. The importance of the collection does not lie in its literary value, or even its archaeological value, if it is to be judged by modern standards. It is important just because it consists for the most part of locally collected information, written down by people who either lived on the spot or who travelled to the spot in the

Introduction.

leisurely and time taking fashion of pre-railway days. We get therefrom documentary evidence of great importance when properly used by the modern inquirer. Family history is particularly well represented, and the genealogist will find a vast amount of material for which he would have had to search perhaps in vain in the original.

All the communications are printed just as they stand in the original, the design being not to correct or alter, but to let each contribution speak for itself and declare its own value. People interested in local history cannot read these memorials without feeling the influence of their genuine local touch. In every case, too, I have left in the references to illustrations, because of the importance of these references to the inquirer.

LAURENCE GOMME.

24, DORSET SQUARE, N.W., November, 1897.

CONTENTS.

SHROPSHIRE : PAGE

General - - 3-20

Acton Burnell - - 20-21

Alberbury • 21-22

Albrighton • 22-25

Atcham - 25-27

Battlefield 27

Berwick ... . 27-28

Berwick-Maviston • • •'...". 28-29

Bitterley - 29-36

Boscobel - • 36-40

Bridgnorth - - - 41-45

Buildwas ... . 45-46

Burford • - 46-49

Bromfield • 49

Claverley - 49-53

Cleobury Mortimer 54

Clive - - 54-55

Clun - 55

Cound - - 56-57

Cressage 57-60

Ellesmere • - 60-63

Hadnall ... . 63-64

Halesowen .... . 64-76

Harley - 76-79

Haughmond • • 79-82

Hawkstone - . 82

Hodnet . 82-86

Ironbridge 86

xii Contents.

SHROPSHIRE (continued]—	PAGE
Leehotwood ....	86-88
Lilleshall	88-89
Longner ...	- 89-90
Ludlow ....	91-102
Ludlow and Neighbourhood •	- 102-103
Munslow	- 104-106
Newport •	- 107-109
Oswestry • • •	• 109-112
Pontesbury • •	• 113-115
Quatford • *	116
Richard's Castle -	• • 116-117
Shelton	117
Shrawardine • «-• '	- 117-119
Shrewsbury	- 119-148
Stanton • • •• ••	- 148-149
Stottesden * • ••• ••	;-• - 149-152
Tong -	• 152-154
Wellington • • • • • •	• 154-156
Wenlock	- 156-158
Whitchurch - - -»	• 158-160
White Ladies • .	- 161-166
Whittington ....	• 166-167
Willey	- 167-168
Worfield	168
TheWrekin - . •	- 168-169
Wroxeter ....	169
SOMERSETSHIRE :	^—
General - • ~ •	/•'. - I73I92
Tour into the Lower Parts of Somersetshire	- 193-196
Somersetshire Churches	- 196-197
Mediaeval Houses near Clevedon	- 197-201
Ashington - - .» .	- 201-204
Axbridge - - - •'	• 204-207
Banwell	- 207-219
Bath - - . ' 1, , .	- 219-228
Bathampton • • • •	228
Box -	- 228-229
Bruton - • • .	. 229-231
Charlton Musgrove - - •	231

Contents.

xin

SOMERSETSHIRE {continued} —	PAGE
Chelvey -	' 231-232
Chilton Cantelo -	232
Clevedon	' 232-233
Congresbury ...	' 233-234
Corscombe	' 234-235
Doulting	235
Dundry	' 235.238
Dunster	. 238-248
East Brent	" 248-251
East Cranmore -	251
Farley -	' 251-255
Frome	' 255-258
Glastonbury	• 258-265
Godney	- 265-266
Grenton	.266
Hampton	266
Hardington	. - - 266
Hinton Charterhouse	• 266-270
Hinton St. George	• - 27O-272
Ilchester	- 273-274
Kingston Seymour	• 274-275
Limington	• 275-278
Lullington	• " . 278
Maperton	. 278-279
Marston Magna ...	- 279-281
Mells -	- 281.284
Monkton Butleigh	284
Montacute • • -	- 284-285
Newton	285
North Curry	- 285-286
Norton Fitzwarren	- 286-287
Portishead ...	- 287-288
Preston - ' -	- 288-289
Puxton	- 289-290
Queen Charlton -	291
Rodden	- 291-292
Sand ford Orcas -	' 292-293
Seaborough	293
Seavington	- 293.294
Shepton Mallet -	- 294-295

xiv Contents.

SOMERSETSHIRE (continued] — PAGE

South Petherton - 295-296 Taunton 297

Tickenham - - 297-300

Uphill - - 301-302

Wells - - 303-307

Weston-super-Mare and Neighbourhood - 307-311

Winsham - 311-312

Woodspring Priory • • - 312-313

Wookey - ""•'• * 313

Wrington - 313-314

Yeovil - 314-318

INDEX OF NAMES - • - 321-343

INDEX OF SUBJECTS - ... 344.350

Shropshire.

VOL. XXII

SHROPSHIRE.

[1821, Part I., pp. 108-112.]

ANCIENT STATE AND REMAINS.

British Inhabitants. — Cornairi and Ordo vices.

Roman Province. — Flavia Csesariensis. Stations. — Braviniurn, Rushbury ; Mediolanum, Chesterton, or Whitchurch ; Rutupium, Rowton, or near Wem ; Sariconium, Burg Hill; Uriconium, Wroxeter; Usacona, Red Hill ; Oconyate, or Sheriff Hales.

Saxon Heptarchy. — Mercia.

Antiquities. — British encampments of Brocard's Castle, Burrow Hill ; Bury Ditches or Tongley Hill; Caer Caradock, near Church Stretton (on which, according to some writers, was fought the last battle between Caractacus and Ostorius Scapula ; but other authors, with more probability, assign the scene of combat to Coxwall Knoll in Herefordshire), on Clee Hills, near Clun ; the Gaer ; Hen Dinas, near Oswestry ; and on the Wrekin. Roman encampments of Bury Walls, near Hawkstone ; the wells near Chesterton, and the remains of Uriconium at Wroxeter. Saxon Earth- works, Offa's dyke, and Watts' dyke. Danish Camp, near Cleobury Mortimer. Abbeys of Buildwas (founded in 1135 by Roger, Bishop of Chester); Hales Owen (erected by Peter de Rupibus, Bishop of Winchester, in the reign of John); Haughmond (built in noo by William Fitzalan, Lord of Oswestry, who, with many of his descendants, was buried there) ; Lilleshall (where the body of St. Alkmund was originally deposited, but afterwards removed to Derby ; the west doorway is a very beautiful receding Saxon arch) ; Much Wemlock (founded by Milburga, daughter of Merewald, King of Mercia, who was its first Abbess, and was buried there 666) ; Shrewsbury (a mitred abbey,

I — 2

Shropshire.

dedicated to St. Peter and St. Paul, founded in 1083 by Roger de Montgomery, the first Norman Earl of Shrewsbury, who became one of its monks, and was buried in the Church, where his monument still remains ; the west window is particularly beautiful) ; and White Abbey, near Alburbury (the first house in this Kingdom of Monks of the order of Grandmont). Priories of Bromfield ; Chirbury, and White Ladies. Churches of Burford, Cleobury Mortimer, Ellesmere, Hales Owen ; Hodnet (a circular tower), Kinlet, Lilleshull, Ludlow (220 feet long, 75 feet broad, length of transept 123 feet) ; Morville, Newport, Shiffnall, St. Mary's, Shrewsbury (chancel window of curious painted glass ; spire 216 feet high); St. Alkmund's, steeple (184 feet high), and Tonge. Chapel of Edstaston. Fonts of Quatford and St. Mary Shrewsbury. Stone pulpit, Shrewsbury abbey garden. Castles of Acton Burnell, Alberbury, Bridgnorth (founded in 912 by Ethelfleda, the heroic daughter of Alfred; its tower stands 17 feet out of the perpendicular), Cause, Clun, Hopton, Ludlow (seat of the Lords Presidents of the Marches), Middle, More ton-Corbet, Oswestry, Red-castle, Shrewsbury (founded by Roger de Montgomery, its Earl, in 1069), Sibdon, Stoke, Wattlesborough, and Whittington (scene of Dovaston's Poem of " Fitz Guarine"). Mansions of Boscobell, Shrewsbury Council-house (in which Charles I. kept his court), Whitehall, Bellstone House, and Jones' Mansion. Statue of Richard, Duke of York, father of Edward IV., taken from the gate on the old Welsh bridge, and now on the Market House, Shrewsbury. Caves at Burcot, near Worfield, Kynaston's at Ness Cliff, and Ogo at Llanymynech.

Shrewsbury, called by the Britons Pengwerne, was the capital ot the principality of Powis. Its Abbey contains the body of the chaste St. Winifred, which was removed to it, in the reign of Stephen, from Gwitherin in Denbighshire, where it was first entombed. The Seal of the Corporation, engraved in 1425, exhibits a curious representa- tion of the town.

At Woda House, near Cleobury Mortimer, was one of the earliest establishments of Augustine Friars, or Friars Eremites, in this Kingdom.

PRESENT STATE AND APPEARANCE.

Rivers. — Bell-brook, Bore-brook, Bow, Camlet, Ceriog, Clive, Clun, Coal-brook, Corve, Dee, Elf-brook, Ketley, Ledwich, Mar-brook, Meole-brook, Morda-brook, Morles, Oney or Ovy, Perry, Quenny, Rea, Roden, Severn, Shel-brook, Strad-brook, Stratford, Teme, Terne, Vyrnwey, Warfe, and Warren.

Inland Navigation. — Canals of Donington Wood, Dudley exten- sion, Ellesmere, Ketley, Kington, Leominster, Montgomeryshire, Shrewsbury (tunnel near Atcham 970 yards long), Shropshire, and Marquess of Stafford's. Severn river.

Present State and Appearance.

Lakes. — Acton Burnell Pool, Ad Mere, Ancott Pool, Aston Pool, Beau Mere, Berrington Lake, Black Mere, near Ellesmere, Black Mere, near Whitchurch, Chetwynd Pool, Coal Mere, Grose Mere, Elles Mere (116 acres), Fenny Mere, Isle Pool, Kettle Mere, Llwynllys Pool, Marton Pool, near Middle, Marton Pool, near Worthin, Newton Mere, Oss Mere, Showsden Pool, Shrawardine Water (40 acres), White Mere, and Whitestick Pool.

Eminences and Views. — Acton Burnell Hills, Apley Park Terrace (probably the finest in Europe) ; Armon Hill, Baiston Hill, Borough Hill, Brierley Hill, Caer Caradock, Cause Castle, the Clee Hills (viz., Tittensor Clee, 1,800 feet, and Brown Clee); Cainham, Clive Hill, Cothercott Hill, Ellesmere Bowling Green, Frodsley Hills, Grin Hill, Hawkstone Grounds (the Column, on the top of which is a statue of Sir Rowland Hill, the first Protestant Lord Mayor of London, the Tower, Paoli Point, and Red Castle) ; Haughmond Hill (on which the Scotch Earl Douglas, on his flight from the battle of Shrewsbury, \\as taken prisoner, his horse having fallen in galloping down the hill) ; Hope Bowdler, Horse Hay, The Lawley, seat at the Leasowes, inscribed " Divina Gloria Ruris"; Leaton Shelf, Lincoln's Hill, in Coalbrook Dale ; Long Mont, Lyth Hill, Middle Hill, Ness Cliff, Orton Bank, Pontesford Hill, Pym Hill, Seiattyn Mountain, Shrewsbury Castle watch tower, and Lord Hill's Column, Sharp Stones, Stiper Stones (on which, May 27, 1813, a cloud burst, and swept away houses, mills, bridges, trees, cattle, and almost every intervening obstacle between it and the Severn, which rose con- siderably, and many lives were lost) ; Vinels, near Ludlow, Wenlock Edge, Wrekin 1,090 feet above the Severn.

Natural Curiosities. — Oconyate, aluminous ; Coalbrook Dale and Pitchford, bituminous ; Admarton, Boothby, Hanley, Kingley Wick, Prolley Moor, and Sutton, saline and chalybeate springs. Scenery of Coalbrook Dale, in which are found many extraneous fossils. Morse Common, near Bridgnorth, 5 miles long by 2\ broad. The Shelton Oak (which it is said Owen Glyndwr ascended to reconnoitre before the battle of Shrewsbury), height of main trunk 41 feet 10 inches, circumference 44 feet 3 inches. Numerous peat mosses. This county is famed for the longevity of its inhabitants ; some of the more remarkable instances are noticed in the Biography and Miscellaneous Remarks.

Public Edifices. — Shrewsbury, English Bridge founded 1769, 400 feet long, 7 arches (central arch, span 60 feet, height 40 feet), cost ;£i6,ooo ; Welsh Bridge, completed 1795, 2^6 feet long, 5 arches, cost about ^14,000; both bridges were built by voluntary subscription; Infirmary founded 1745, opened 1747; House of Industry finished, for a Foundling Hospital, in 1765, cost ;£i 2,000 ; St. Chad's Church, a circle, diameter 100 feet ; Town Hall com- pleted 1785, cost ;£n,ooo; Gaol finished 1793, architect, Haycock

Shropshire.

(who built the Town Hall), cost .£30,000. Doric Column, com- memorative of Lord Hill's victories, 116 feet 6 inches high, on which is a statue of his Lordship, 17 feet, finished June 18, 1816, the anniversary of the battle of Waterloo, cost .£5,973 135. 2d. ; Military Depot, architect Wyatt, erected in 1806 ; Theatre ; School founded by Edward VI. ; Market-house erected in 1595 ; Millington's Hospital. Allats, Bowdlers, Subscription, Bell's, and Lancasterian Charity Schools ; Buildwas Iron Bridge, one arch, span 130 feet, rise 24 feet, cast by Coalbrook Dale Company from plan of Thomas Telford, erected 1796; Cleobury Mortimer School, founded by Sir Edward Childe; Coalbrook Dale Iron Bridge, one arch, span TOO feet 6 inches, height 40 feet, weight of iron 378^ tons, cast by the Company from plan of Abraham Darby, erected 1779; Dorrington School, founded by Thomas Allcock, 1627 ; Drayton School, founded by Sir Rowland Hill, 1553; Hales Owen School; Ludlow Cross; Market-house; Guildhall; School founded by Edward VI., 1552; Hosier's Alms-houses ; Oswestry Town-house ; School founded by Davy Holbeach ; Alms-houses erected by William Adams, 1656 ; Wellington Church, and Chanty School ; Wem School, founded by Sir Thomas Adams, 1650; Whitchurch Church, erected 1722; School.

Seats. — Walcot Park, Dinham House, and Stone House, Earl of Powis, Lord-Lieutenant of the County; Acton Burnell, Sir E. J. Smyth, Bart. ; Acton, Reynold, Sir Andrew Corbet, Bart. ; Acton, Round, Sir F. R. E. Acton, Bart. ; Adderley Hall, Sir Corbet Corbet, Bart. ; Aldenham, Sir F. R. E. Acton, Bart. ; All Stretton, Rev. Richard Wilding ; Apley, near Bridgnortn, T. Whitmore, Esq. ; Apley, near Wellington, W. Charlton, Esq. ; Ash, Misses Benyon ; Ashford Court, C. H. Walker, Esq. ; Ashford Hall, T. B. Ricketts, Esq. ; Aston, near Owestry, W. Lloyd, Esq. ; Aston, near Shiffnall, J. Moultrie, Esq. ; Attingham House, Lord Berwick ; Badger, late J. H. Browne, Esq. ; Bank House, Mrs. Reynolds ; Belmont, J. V. Lovett, Esq. ; Belsardine, H. Harnage, Ksq. ; Benthall Hall, F. B. Harries, Esq. ; Benington, Hon. and Rev. R. Hill; Berwick House, Mrs. Powys ; Berwick, Great, R. Betton, Esq. ; Betton Hall, W. C. Norcup, Esq. ; Betton Strange, R. Scott, Esq. ; Bicton, Mrs. Jenkins ; Birch Hall, Mrs. Mainwaring ; Bitterley Court, Rev. J. Walcot ; Boreatton, Rowland Hunt, Esq. ; Bourton, B. Lawley, Esq. ; Bradley, Mrs. Congreve ; Broom Hall, H. P. T. Aubrey, Esq. ; Buntingsdale Hall, W. Tayleur, Esq. ; Burcott, R. Emery, Esq. ; Burford, Hon. and Rev. G. Rushout ; Burwarton Hall, Viscount Boyne; Cainham Court, Rev. W. Calcot ; Caughley Place, R. B. W. Browne, Esq. ; Caynton House, W. Briscoe, Esq. ; Charlton Hill, E. Jenkins, Esq. ; Cheswardrice, Henry Jarvis, Esq. ; Chetwynd Park, T. Borough, Esq. ; Chickenhall, F. Taylor, Esq.; Childs Ercal, Sir Corbet Corbet, Bart ; Chilton Grove, late W. Jones, Esq. ; Chorley, T. Crump, Esq. ;

Present State and Appearance.

Cleobury, North, T. Mytton, Esq. ; Cleverly Hall, R. Dodd, Esq. ; Clungerford, Rev. John Rooke, Jun. ; Coalbrook Dale, F. Darby, Esq. ; Condover Hall, E. W. Smith Owen, Esq. ; Coton Hall, H. L. Lee, Esq. ; Cound Hall, J. C. Pelham, Esq. ; Crank Hill, F. Walrbrd, Esq. ; Crickton, T. Harries, Esq. ; Darnford Hall, — Benyon, Esq.; Davenport, W. Y. Davenport, Esq. ; Decker Hill, Thomas Bishton, Esq. ; Diddlebury, or Delbury, Bishop of Worcester ; Dint Hill, J. Bather, Esq. ; Downton Hall, Sir C. W. R. Boughton, Bart. ; Dudmaston Hall, W. W. Whitmore, Esq. ; Eaton, J. Williams, Esq. ; Edstaston Hall, Mrs. Payne ; Edgmond, Rev. J. D. Pigott ; Endness, T. Barnfield, Esq. ; Eyton House, Thomas Eyton, Esq. ; Farmcott, Richard Tyrwhitt, Esq. ; Fern Hall, Hurt Sitwell, Esq. ; Ferney Hall, John Elliot, Esq. ; Frodesley Park, Sir J. T. C. Edwards, Bart. ; Gatacre Park, Colonel Gatacre ; Glanyravon, Lawton Parry, Esq. ; Grange, near Ellesmere, General Despard ; Great Ness, J. Edward, Esq. ; Hall, The, near Shrewsbury, R. Wingfield, Esq. ; Halston, T. Mytton, Esq. ; Hardwick, near Ellesmere, Sir J. K. Powell, Bart. ; Hardwick, near Shrewsbury, Lord Hill ; Hatton Grange, Edmund Plowden, Esq. ; Haughton Hall, R. Benyon, Esq. ; Hawkstone, Sir John Hill, Bart. ; Hayes, J. Selway, Esq. ; Heath House, Thomas Beale, Esq. ; Henley Hall, J. Knight, Esq. ; Hoarley Grange, Colonel Swinton ; Hodnet, Reginald Heber, Esq. ; Hope Bowdler, late W. C. Hart, Esq. ; Hopton Court, T. B. Botfield, Esq. ; Isle of Up Rossal, F. Sandford, Esq. ; Kilsall, J. Bishton, Esq. ; Kinlet Hall, William Childe, Esq. ; Knotton Hall, E. Kynaston, Esq. ; Leasowes, The, — Attwood, Esq. ; Lexton Lodge, J. A. Lloyd, Esq. ; Leighton, Thomas Kynnersley, Esq. ; Linley Hall, B. More, Esq. ; Llanworda, H. W. Wynne, Esq.; Llwynygroes, J. Evans, M.D. ; Lodge, The, T. R. Salway, Esq. ; Longford Hall, Ralph Luke, Esq. ; Longner, Robert Burton, Esq. ; Longnor, Rev. Archdeacon Corbet ; Loton Hall, Sir Baldwin Leighton, Bart. ; Ludford Park, N. L. Charlton, Esq. ; Lutwyche, Ralph Benson, Esq. ; Lydley Hayes, Rev. John Witts ; Lythwood Hall, T. Parr, Esq. ; Malinsler, W. B. Atfield, Esq. ; Marton, R. Atcherley, Esq. ; Mawley, Sir Edward Blount, Bart. ; Millington, W. Pugh, Esq. ; Millichope, Thomas Pemberton, Esq. ; Mont Hall, Philip Benington, Esq. ; Moore Park, R. Salwey, Esq. ; Moor, The, — Walcot, Esq. ; Moreton Corbet, Sir Andrew Corbet ; Moreton Say, Mrs. Heber ; Morvill Hall, Henry Acton, Esq. ; Mount Sion, H. P. T. Aubrey, Esq.; Neach Hill, T. Bishton, Esq.; Nursery, The, J. F. M. Dovaston, Esq. ; Oakley House, Rev. Herbert Oakeley ; Oakley Park, Hon. H. R. Clive ; Oatley Park, A. Matthew, Esq. ; Oldbury, Rev. — Lyster ; Onslow, John Wingfield, Esq. ; Orleton, William Chidde, Esq. ; Park Hall, C. Kinchant, Esq. ; Pentressant, L. Shenton, Esq. ; Peplow Hall, Sir Arthur Pigott ; Petton, William Sparling, Esq. ; Pitchford Park, Hon. Cecil Jenkin- son ; Plas Yollen, C. Morral, Esq. ; Porkington, W. Ormsby Gore,

8 Shropshire.

Esq. ; Pradoe, Hon. Thomas Kenyon ; Prescott, Joseph Micclestone, Esq. ; Preston Mountford, J. Parry, Esq. ; Prior's Lee, B. Rowley, Esq. ; Prior's Lee, R. Mountford, Esq. ; Ross Hall, F. Knyvet Leighton, Esq. ; Roveries House, Rev. E. Walcot ; Rowton Castle, Mrs. Lyster ; Ruyton Hall, Misses Kynaston ; Rye Bank, Rev. Richard Hill ; Ryton Grove, E. Pemberton, Esq. ; St. James, J. Stanier, Esq. ; Sandford Hall, T. Sandford, Esq. ; Sansaw Hall, Rev. Dr. Gardner ; Seifton, Rev. W. Johnston ; Shavington Hall, Viscount Kilmorey ; Shawbury Park, Sir Andrew Corbet, Bart. ; Shiffnall Manor, Sir G. W. Jerningham, Bart. ; Sibdon Castle, J. F. Baxter, Esq. ; Spoonbill, Sir Robert Lawley, Bart. ; Stanley Hall, Sir T. J. T, Jones, Bart. ; Stockton, Rev. C. Whitmore ; Stoke Castle, — Harper, Esq. ; Styche, William Clive, Esq. ; Sundorne House, Mrs. Corbet; Swan Hill, Mrs. Lloyd; Sweeney, T. N. Parker, Esq.; Tedsmere Hall, T. B. Owen, Esq. ; Tong Castle, George Durant, Esq. ; Tong Lodge, Robert Slaney, M.D. ; Totterton House, Rev. J. B. Bright ; Walford, R. Mucclestone, E>q. ; Wallop Hall, S. A. Severne, Esq. ; Wattlesborough, Sir Robert Leighton, Bart ; Welling- ton, Rev. J. Eyton ; West Coppice, Mrs. Smitheman ; Whitton, J. Topp, Esq. ; Willey, C. W. Forester, E-q. ; Wollerton Hall, — Clive, Esq. ; Woodcote, John Cotes, Esq. ; Woodhill, Mrs. Venables ; Woodhouse, William Owen, Esq.; V\ rockwardine, W. L. Childe, Esq. ; Wytheford Hall, P. Charlton, Esq.

Produce. — Coal, iron, lead, limestone, marble, freestone, slate, pipe-clay, marie, wheat, barley, rye, oats, peas, beans, turnips, potatoes, hay, hops, timber, peat, cattle, sheep, cheese, butter, brawn.

Manufactures. — Iron, nails, glass, china, earthenware, tobacco pipes, flannels, Welsh webs, cotton, coarse linen, bags, thread, horse- hair seating, paper, leather, gloves, hardware, cloth, stockings, d>eing, Shrewsbury cakes.

[1821, Part L, pp. 209-213.]

HISTORY.

AD. 642, at Oswestry, then called Maserfield, St. Oswald, King of Northumbria, defeated and slain by Penda, the hoary tyrant of Mercia.

A.D. 777, from Shrewsbury, the Pengwerne of the Britons, the Royal seat of the Princes of Powys, removed to Mathrafael.

A.D. 1016, Shrewsbury taken by Edmund Ironside, and the inhabitants, who had joined Canute against Edmund's father Ethelred, severely punished. Near Shrewsbury, Alphelm, a Prince of the blood, murdered whilst hunting, by Godwin Porthund, a butcher of that town, hired by Edric Streon, the execrable Earl of Mercia.

History.

A.D. 1069, Shrewsbury besieged by Eric Sylvaticus or the Forester, and Owen Gwynnedd, Prince of Wales ; but relieved, and the Welsh defeated with great slaughter by William the Conqueror.

A.D. 1 102, Bridgnorth (after a long siege) and Shrewsbury, both garrisoned for Robert Duke of Normandy by Robert de Belesme, Earl of Shrewsbury and Montgomery, taken by Henry I.

A.D. 1116, at Shrewsbury the nobility of the realm swore fealty to William, son of Henry I.

A.D. 1138, Ludlow, under Gervase Paganel, besieged by Stephen, when Henry, son of David, King of Scotland, approaching too near the walls, was dragged from his horse by a grappling hook thrown out by the besieged, but rescued, though at the imminent peril of his own life, by Stephen.

A.D. 1 139, Shrewsbury, which had been seized by William Fitzalan, Lord of Oswestry, for the Empress Maud, taken after a brave defence, and several of the garrison hanged by Stephen.

A.D. 1156-57, Bridgnorth, under Hugh de Mortimer, besieged by Henry II., when Sir Robert Synclare, or Hubert de St. Clare, con- stable of Colchester Castle, perceiving one of the besieged taking aim at the king, stepped before him and received the arrow in his own breast.

A.D. 1164, at Oswestry Henry II. assembled his army to attempt the subjugation of the Welsh.

A.D. 1208, at Shrewsbury Gwynwynwyn, Prince of Wales, who came before the Royal Council in this town to propose terms of peace, treacherously seized and imprisoned.

A.D. 121 2, Oswestry, under its Lord Fitzalan, taken and burnt by John ; at Shrewsbury, Rees ap Maelgwyn, a boy not seven years old, who had been delivered as a hostage by the Welsh, inhumanly hanged by order of Vipon, a retainer of King John.

A.D. 1215, Shrewsbury surrendered, without resistance, to Llewellyn, Prince of Wales.

A.D. 1 22 1, at Shrewsbury a quarrel between Llewellyn, Prince of Wales, and Rees ap Gruffyth, determined by the mediation of Henry III.

A.D. 1233, Oswestry taken and burnt by Llewellyn, Prince of Wales, and the Earl of Pembroke, who afterwards took Shrewsbury, and plundered and slaughtered many of the inhabitants.

A.D. 1241, at Shrewsbury Henry III. assembled his army to attack David ap Llewellyn, Prince of Wales, but on his submission, Henry, after remaining there fifteen days, returned to London.

A.D. 1260, Shrewsbury taken by the insurgent barons, but shortly afterwards retaken by the forces of Henry III.

A.D. 1263, Bridgnorth taken by Simon de Montfort, Earl of Leicester.

A.D. 1267, at Shrewsbury Henry III. appeared with his army to

io Shropshire.

attack the Welsh, but peace was restored on the submission of their Prince Llewellyn.

A.D. 1269, Shrewsbury town and castle placed under the govern- ment of Prince Edward, afterwards Edward I.

A.D. 1277, at Shrewsbury the Courts of King's Bench and Exchequer established for some months by Edward I.

A.D. 1281, to Shrewsbury the Courts of King's Bench and Exchequer again removed from London by Edward I. and remained here until he had accomplished the complete subjugation of Wales.

A.D. 1283, at Shrewsbury a Parliament held by Edward I. when David, brother of Llewellyn the last Prince of Wales, was hanged, his bowels torn out, and his body quartered ; being the first instance of that horrid mode of execution which in cases of high treason is prescribed by our present law. The Parliament removed to Acton Burnell, where was passed the Act respecting Merchant Debtors, entitled "Statutum de Mercatoribus," called also "The Statute of Acton Burnell."

A.D. 1322, in entering Shrewsbury Edward II. received by the Burgesses with great military parade.

A.D. 1327, at Shrewsbury Edmund Fitzalan, Earl of Arundel, a faithful adherent to the deposed Edward II. against the Queen and her paramour Mortimer, seized by the inhabitants, and executed without any form of trial.

A.D. 1396-97, at Shrewsbury a Parliament held by Richard II. called, from the numbers that attended, " The Great Parliament." In it many peers were created, Chester was made a principality, and several oppressive laws were enacted, which formed some of the subjects of accusation brought against Richard by Henry of Boling- broke, when he usurped the throne. On its dissolution the King went to Oswestry, where the Duke of Hereford (afterwards Henry IV.) and the Duke of Norfolk appeared before him, and it was determined that they should decide their quarrel by single combat at Coventry.

A.D. 1403, near Shrewsbury, July 22, the partizans of the Earl of Northumberland defeated by Henry IV. when their commander, the Earl's eldest son, Henry Percy, surnamed Hotspur, was slain. On the King's part fell the Earl of Stafford, Sir Walter Blount, the royal standard bearer, Sir Hugh Shirley, and Sir Nicholas Gausel ; Henry had his horse slain under him, and the Prince of Wales was wounded in the face. Of the vanquished, besides Hotspur, Sir Hugh Mortimer, Sir John Calverly, and Sir John Massey were slain. The Earl of Worcester, brother of Northumberland, Sir Richard Vernon, and Sir Theobald Trussel were taken prisoners, and beheaded at Shrewsbury high cross. The Scotch Earl Douglas, who is said to have slain three persons who :vere clothed by the King in armour resembling his own, was also taken prisoner on Haughrnond Hill. The number slain in the battle and pursuit was about 9,000 men, of

History. 1 1

which two- thirds were of Percy's party. In gratitude for this victory, Henry built and endowed a Collegiate Church on the spot where most of the slain were buried, which has ever since been called Battlefield.

A.D. 1451, at Ludlow, Richard, Duke of York, published a declara- tion of allegiance to Henry VI., and that the army he had raised was merely for the redress of grievances, and for the public weal.

A.D. 1459, at Ludford, October 13, Henry VI. having advanced with a superior army, was joined by Sir Andrew Trollope with a large body of troops that had deserted the Duke of York at Ludlow, on which the Duke, with his sons the Earl of March, afterwards Edward IV., and the Earl of Rutland, and his valiant friends the Earls of Salisbury and Warwick, fled ; York and Rutland to Ireland, March, Salisburyj and Warwick to Calais. The King then entered and plundered Ludlow.

A.D. 1460, at Shrewsbury, Edward Earl of March assembled an army of 23,000 men, with which he gained a victory over the Earl of Pembroke and the Lancastrians at Mortimer Cross, in Herefordshire.

A.D. 1483, from Ludlow Edward V. and his brother Richard, Duke of York, who were living at the castle under the tuition of their maternal uncle, Widville Earl Rivers, set out for London, Edward having been first proclaimed King at this place.

A.D. 1484, at Shrewsbury, Henry Stafford, Duke of Buckingham, having been betrayed by his servant, Ralph Bannister, was beheaded by order of Richard III. before the High Cross.

A.D. 1485, into Shrewsbury the Earl of Richmond, afterwards Henry VII., on his march from Milford Haven, admitted without opposition, but the chief bailiff, Thomas Mytton, having sworn that Richmond should not enter the town but over his belly (meaning that he would defend the place against him till death), to comply with the letter of his oath, laid himself in the highroad, and Henry walked over him into the town. From Shrewsbury Richmond marched to New- port, near which place he was joined by Sir Gilbert Talbot, Sheriff of Shropshire, with 2,000 of the tenantry and retainers of the Earl of Shrewsbury, a minor, to whom he was uncle and guardian.

A.D. 1502, at Ludlow, April, died Arthur, Prince of Wales, eldest son of Henry VII., who, after his marriage with Katharine of Arragon, had kept his court there with great magnificence.

A.D. i535,Oswestry,Whittington, Maesbrook, Knockyn, Ellesmere, Down and Cherbury, by Act of Parliament severed from Wales and annexed to this county.

A.D. 1542, the Jurisdiction of the Court of the Lords President of the Marches at Ludlow confirmed by Act of Parliament.

A.D. 1616, at Ludiow, Prince Charles, afterwards Charles I., enter- tained with great pomp.

A.D. 1642, at Wellington, September 20, Charles I. issued a

1 2 Shropshire.

Proclamation promising to preserve the Protestant Religion, Laws, and Liberties of his subjects, and the privileges of Parliament. Thence he marched to Shrewsbury, where he was joined by his two sons, Charles and James, Prince Rupert, and great numbers of noblemen and gentlemen, and established a mint in the town. He remained there till October 12, when he marched to Bridgnorth, and thence advanced to Edge Hill, in Warwickshire, where the first great battle was fought.

A.D. 1644, Longford House, April 3, and Tong Castle, April 6, taken from the Parliamentarians by Prince Rupert. Oswestry, June, taken from the Royalists by the Earl of Denbigh, when the inhabi- tants gave ^500 to prevent the soldiers from plundering. Oswestry, July, besieged by the Royalists under Colonel Marrowe, but relieved by Sir Thomas Middleton, who took Lord Newport's eldest son and 200 men prisoners.

A.D. 1645, February, Apley House, taken by the Parliamentarians under Sir John Price, when Sir William and Sir Thomas Whitmore, Sir Francis Oatley, and about sixty men, were made prisoners. Shrewsbury, February 9, surprised, its Governor, Sir Michael Earnly, slain, fifteen pieces of ordnance, about sixty gentlemen, and 200 soldiers, taken by Colonel Mytton, the Parliamentarian Governor of Wem. At Stokesay, near Ludlow, June 9, Royalists defeated, and Sir William Croft slain by the Parliamentarians.

A.D. 1646, Bridgnorth Castle, after a noble defence of one month, surrendered to the Parliamentarians. Ludlow, June 9, surrendered by the Royalists to Sir William Brereton.

A.D. 1651, at White Ladies Priory, at three o'clock in the morning of September 4, arrived Charles II. and the brave Earl of Derby, flying from the fatal battle of Worcester. Charles had his hair cut off, and was disguised in the clothes of the Pendrills. Hence he was conducted to Boscobel House, where he was concealed during the night, and in the daytime he hid himself with Colonel Careless in the " Royal Oak." From Boscobel he was conducted by the five faithful brothers, the Pendrills, to Mr. Whitgrave's house at Moseley, in Staffordshire. At Shrewsbury, October 15, Colonel John Benbow, uncle to the renowned admiral, was shot on the Castle green.

A.D. 1654, Shrewsbury Castle ineffectually attempted to be surprised by Sir Thomas Harries, for the King.

A.D. 1689, tne Jurisdiction of the Court of the Lords President of the Marches held at Ludlow abolished by Act of Parliament.

EMINENT NATIVES.

Acheley, Sir Roger, Lord Mayor of London in 1511, benefactor, Shrawardine.

Adams, Sir Thomas, Lord Mayor in 1641 loyalist founder of school, Wem, 1586.

Eminent Natives.

Adams, William, divine, Shrewsbury (died 1739). . Adams, William, founder of school and alms-houses, Newport. Allestree, Richard, loyal divine, Provost of Eton, Uppington, 1611. Arnway, John, divine, author in defence of Charles I., Shrewsbury, 1601.

- Astley, John, painter, Wem (died 1787).

Barnard, Nicholas, Dean of Ardagh, scholar, Whitchurch (died 1661).

Barnet, Andrew, nonconformist divine and author, Uppington.

Baxter, Richard, nonconformist, Rowton, 1645.

Baxter, William, antiquary and etymologist, Llanlergany, 1650.

Beddoes, Thomas, physician, ShirTnall, 1755.

Benbow, John, Colonel, loyalist (shot at Shrewsbury, 1651).

Benbow, John, Admiral, Shrewsbury, 1650.

Bowers, Thomas, Bishop of Chichester, Shrewsbury (died 1724).

Boydell, John, Lord Mayor, patron of the fine arts, Dorrington, 1719.

Bray, Thomas, benevolent divine, Marton, 1656.

Bromley, Sir George, lawyer, Chief Justice of Chester, Hodnet (flor. 1580).

Bromley, Sir Thomas, Chancellor to Elizabeth, Bromley, 1526.

Brooke, Sir Robert, Lord Chief Justice, Claverley (died 1558).

Broughton, Hugh, divine, author of " Consent of Scripture," Old- bury, 1549.

Brown, Thomas, " Tom Brown," humorous writer, Shiffnall (died 1704).

Burnell, Sir Hugh, favourite of Richard II., Acton Burnell (died 1417).

Burnell, Robert, Bishop of Bath and Wells, Chancellor, Acton Burnell (died 1292).

Burney, Charles, historian of music, Shrewsbury, 1726.

Caslon, William, letter-founder, Hales Owen, 1692.

Charleton, Sir John, Chief Governor of Ireland, Apley, 1268.

Charlton, Thomas, Bishop of Hereford, Chancellor of Ireland, Apley (died 1344).

Cherbury, David of, Bishop of Dromore, Cherbury (died 1429).

Churchyard, Thomas, poet, author of " Worthiness of Wales," Shrewsbury (died 1604).

Clarke, Matthew, divine and orientalist, Ludlow (died 1702).

Clarke, William, divine and antiquary, Haughmond Abbey, 1696.

Clive, Robert, Lord, East Indian Conqueror, Styche, 1725.

Cooper, Joseph, nonconformist divine and author, Preston, 1635.

Costard, George, divine, biblical critic and mathematician, Shrews- bury, 1710.

Davies, Sneyd, divine and poet, Shrewsbury, 1709.

Day, George, Bishop of Chichester (died 1556).

- Day, William, Bishop of Winchester (died 1596).

1 4 Shropshire.

Dovaston, John, antiquary and naturalist, Nursery in West Felton, 1740.

Edmondes, Sir Clement, commentator on Caesar, Shrawardine, 1 566.

Evans, John, topographer, author of " Nine Sheet Map of Nonh Wales," Llwynygroes (died 1795).

Fanner, Hugh, presbjterian divine, author on Demoniacs, near Shrewsbury, 1714.

Fitz-Guarine, Fulk, warrior, hero of French Romance, Whittington (flor. 1200).

Gataker, Thomas, divine, Gataker Hall (died 1593).

Gentleman, Robert, dissenter, editor of " Orton's Exposition," Whitchurch (died 1795)

Gilbert, Thomas, nonconformist divine and author, Frees, 1613.

Glanville, pedestrian (walked 142 miles in 30 hours).

Good, Thomas, divine, author of "Firmianus et Dubitantius" (died 1678).

Green, Amos, Benjamin and James, painters and engravers, Hales Owen.

Griffiths, Dr. Ralph, 1720 (founder of the Monthly Review in 1749).

Hales, Mrs., actress.

Harley, Sir William, warrior, at Conquest of Jerusalem, 1099, Harley.

Herbert, Edward, Lord Cherbury, soldier, statesman, and historian, Eyton, 1583.

Higgons, Sir Thomas, diplomatist and miscellaneous writer, West- bury, 1624.

Hill, Right Hon. Richard, statesman, Hodnet (died 1727).

Hill, Sir Rowland, first Protestant Lord Mayor of London, Hodnet (died 1561).

Holland, Thomas, divine and scholar, near the Welsh border (died 1612).

Hyde, Thomas, orientalist, Billingsley, 1636.

Ireland, John, illustrator of Hogarth, Cleeve, near Wem (died 1808).

Jenks, Benjamim, divine, 1646.

Jones, Sir Thomas, Lord Chief Justice, Shrewsbury (died 1683).

Kynaston, Sir Francis, translator of Chaucer into Latin, Ockley (flor. temp. Car. I.).

Kynaston, Humphrey, " Wild Humphrey," outlaw, Middle (died

1534).

Langeland, Robert, author of " Pierce Plowman's Visions," Cleo- bury Mortimer (flor. 1369).

Lawrence, Edward, nonconformist divine and author, Moston, 1627.

Leighton, Francis, divine and antiquary (died at Worcester, 1813).

Littleton, Adam, Latin lexicographer, Hales Owen, 1627.

Lloyd, Edward, naturalist and antiquary, Llanvarder (died 1709).

Eminent Natives. 15

Lutwyche, Sir Edward, judge, author of "Reports," Lutwyche (died 1709).

Lyster, Thomas, author of "Blessings of the year 1688," Duncott (died 1723).

Lyttleton, Edward, Baron Mounslow, Lord Keeper to Charles I., Mounslow, 1589.

Main waring, Arthur, poetical and political writer, Ightfield, 1668.

Mainwaring, Roger, Bishop of St. David's, Church Stretton (died

Mascal, Robert, Bishop of Hereford, Confessor to Henry IV., Ludlow (died 1416).

Millburgha, St., foundress of Much Wenlock Monastery (died 666).

Moore, Francis, author of the well-know almanack, "Vox Stellarum," Bridgnorth, 1657.

Mytton, Thomas, Parliamentarian general, Halstone (died 1656).

Mytton, William, antiquary, Halstone.

Neve, Timothy, divine and antiquary, Wotton, in Stanton Lacy, 1694.

Onslow, Richard, Speaker of the House of Commons to Elizabeth, Shrewsbury (died 1571).

Orton, Job, nonconformist, friend and biographer of Doddridge, Shrewsbury, 1717.

Owen, Sir Thomas, Justice of the Common Pleas (flor. temp. Eliz,).

Parr, Robert, great-grandson of Thomas, died 17571 aged 124, Kinver, 1633.

Parr, Thomas, died 1635, at the age of 152 years 9 months, Winnington, 1483.

Penderill, five brothers, who preserved King Charles II.

Percy, Thomas, Bishop of Dromore, poetical antiquary, Bridgnorth, 1729.

Plantagenet, George, youngest son of Edward IV., Shrewsbury (died an infant, 1472).

Plantagenet, Richard, Duke of York, second son of Edward IV., Shrewsbury, 1472.

Plowden, Edmund, lawyer, author of " Reports," Plowden, 1517.

Price, Sampson, divine, Chaplain to James I. and Charles I., Shrewsbury.

Pridden, Sarah, beautiful, but licentious, Shrewsbury, 1690.

Rowley, William, gave name to some of the Caribbee islands, Rowley (died 1731).

Sadler, John, law-writer, author of *' Rights of the Kingdom," 1615.

Scofield, Edward, Deputy Clerk of St. Chad's, Shrewsbury, only 3 feet 2 inches high,

Shenstone, William, poet, Leasowes, 1714.

Shrewsbury, Ralph of, Bishop of Bath and Wells, Shrewsbury (died 1363).

1 6 Shropshire.

Shrewsbury, Robert of, biographer of St. Winifrid, Shrewsbury (flor. 1140).

Shrewsbury, Robert of, Bishop of Bangor, Shrewsbury (died 1215).

Stanley, Venetia Anastasia, beautiful wife of Sir Kenelm Digby, Tonge (died 1633).

Stedman, Rowland, nonconformist divine and author (died 1673).

Stephens, Jeremiah, antiquary, friend of Spelman, Bishop's Castle, 1590.

Stretch, Samuel, eccentric miser, Market Drayton, 1732.

Stuart, the ancestor of this royal family, viz., Walter Fitz Alan, founder of Paisley Monastery (whose descendants took the name of Stewart from their office of High Stewards of Scotland) was born at Oswestry, and flourished in the reigns of Stephen and Henry II.

Talbot, John, first Earl of Shrewsbury, of his family, Blackmere (slain at Chatillon in 1453)-

Talbot, John, Viscount Lisle, heroic son of heroic father, Black- mere (slain at Chatillon, 1453).

Talbot, Richard, Archbishop of Dublin, Blackmere (died 1449).

Talbot, Robert, antiquary, friend of Leland, Shrewsbury (died 1558).

Tarlton, Richard, actor and jester, Condover (died 1589).

Taylor, John, "Demosthenes Taylor," classical critic, Shrewsbury, 1704.

Taylor, Silas, alias Domville, author of "Antiquities of Harwich," Harley.

Thomas, John, Bishop of Salisbury, Shrewsbury (died 1766).

Thynne, Sir John, warrior, founder of Longleat House, Wilts, Stretton (died 1580).

Thynne, William, statesman, Receiver of the Marches, Stretton (died 1546).

Vitalis Ordericus, historian, Atcham, 1074.

Wakeley, William, buried at Adbaston, aged 123, Shiffnall, 1591.

Walter, Sir John, Lord Chief Baron, Ludlow (died 1630).

Waring, Edward, algebraist, Mitton, 1734.

Wenlock, Walter de, Abbot of Westminster, treasurer to Edward I., Wenlock, 1307.

Whelock, Abraham, divine, Persic scholar, Whitchurch (died 1654).

Whichcot, Benjamin, divine, Whichcot Hall, 1609.

Wild, Jonathan, infamous receiver of stolen goods, Boninghale, 1682.

Withering, William, physician and botanist, Wellington, 1741.

Wooley, Edward, Bishop of Clonfert, Shrewsbury, consecrated 1664.

Wycherley, William, comic poet, Cleeve, near Wem, 1640.

Miscellaneous Remarks. \ 7

[ 1 82 1 , Part I. , //. 302 - 304. ]

MISCELLANEOUS REMARKS.

At Attingham House is a noble gallery of paintings, principally by the first masters of the Italian school; and a fine collection of Etruscan vases and other antiquities from Herculaneum.

At the Birches, between Buildwas and Coalbrook Dale, May 27, 1773, was an extraordinary convulsion of the earth, when several fields, containing about 30 acres of land, were shifted from their site, the ground broken up into irregular masses with immense chasms, in one of which a barn was entirely swallowed up, and a grove with twenty large oak-trees forced into the middle of the Severn, filling up its bed for 290 yards, and diverting its waters into a new channel. The turnpike road for 321 yards entirely destroyed. The principal chasm extended 396 yards, its breadth was 42, and its greatest depth 10. The devastation is described in a sermon by the Rev. John de la Flechere, Vicar of Madeley, which he preached to a large congregation at the place on the following day.

Bishops Castle was anciently the seat of the Bishops of Hereford, whence its name.

In Condover Church, among several handsome monuments of the Owens, is one for Roger Owen, Esq., by Roubiliac, remarkably fine. In the Hall, which was built by Lord Chief Justice Sir Thomas Owen, is a splendid collection of paintings.

At Dorrington school were educated Dr. Richard Allestree, Provost of Eton, and Richard Baxter, the Nonconformist. Dr. John Douglas, afterwards Bishop of Salisbury, " the scourge of impostors and terror of quacks," was one of its masters.

In Ellesmere Church is the monument of Sir Francis Kynaston, Esquire of the Body to Charles I., and translator of the " Loves of Troilus and Cressida."

In Fitz Churchyard is the tomb of Dr. Edward Waring, mathe- matician, 1798.

In Hales Owen Churchyard are the tombs of Miss Anne Powell (poetical epitaph by Shenstone), 1744; and of William Shenstone the poet, 1763. In the church is an urn erected to his memory, with a poetical inscription by his friend Graves; and a handsome monument, by Banks, for Major John Delap Halliday, 1794.

At Halston there is a good collection of paintings, and a curious portrait of Charles I., carved by N. Bryant, on a peach-stone, set in gold with a crystal on each side.

In Hawkstone beautiful grounds is the tent in which Sir Sydney Smith signed the Convention of El Arish ; it was taken on the sur- render of Cairo, June 25, 1801, and brought over by the Salopian hero, Lord Hill. Among the paintings in the house, is the siege of Namur, in which are introduced the portraits of William III., the

VOL. XXII 2

1 8 Shropshire.

Elector of Bavaria, the Duke of Marlborough, Count Cohorn, and Richard Hill, great-uncle to the present baronet.

Hodnet was the rectory of Lord James Beauclerk, afterwards Bishop of Hereford. In the church are several monuments of the Hills of Hawkstone, and a handsome one for Henrietta, daughter of Sir Thomas Vernon of Hodnet, the last of that ancient family. The hall is the seat of Reginald Heber, Esq., the "Atticus ': of Dibdin's "Bibliomania." It contains a noble collection of " Libri rarissimi!" In Kinlet Church are many superb monuments of the Blounts.

The Leasowes was the seat of the poet Shenstone, who formed its principal beauties, as described by Dodsley in an account prefixed to his edition of Shenstone's Works. In this, his native place, he composed most of his poems, his "School-mistress" being the old woman by whom he was first taught to read. A view of the Cottage school is engraved in the Gentleman's Magazine for November, 1795.*

In Longncr Garden was buried Edward Burton, Esq., a zealous Protestant, who expired suddenly with joy at hearing of the death of Mary I. in 1558, and whose body was refused burial by the Roman Catholic curate of St. Chad's.

At Ludlow, Sir Henry Sydney, K.G., Lord President of the Marches, kept his court with peculiar magnificence ; and on his death in 1586, his heart was deposited in the tomb of his beloved daughter Ambrosia, who died here in 1574, and was buried in an oratory he had built in the church. In 1634, during the presidency of the Earl of Bridge-water, the " Masque of Comus" was written by Milton, at the request of his friend Lawes. who set it to music. It was occasioned by the Earl's two sons, Viscount Brackley and the Hon. Thomas Egerton, with his daughter, Lady Alice, afterwards Countess of Carberry, being benighted, on their journey to Ludlow, in Heywood forest in Herefordshire, when the lady for a short time was lost. It was originally acted by the two brothers, the young lady, Lawes and others. At the Restoration, Butler, who was appointed Secretary to the then Lord President, the Earl of Carberry, composed in this castle the three first cantos of his inimitable '• Hudibras." In the church is an elegant marble tomb to the memory of the Lord President Sir John Bridgeman. In this town, in 1758, died John Davis, aged 112. It was for some time the residence of Lucien Bonaparte. Round the castle is a beautiful public walk.

In Madeley Churchyard, under a slab of cast-iron, was buried its vicar, John William de la Flechere, pious enthusiast, 1785.

At Newport, May 16, 1665, 160 houses burnt, loss ^30,000.

At Oswestry, in 1797, died John Lloyd, attorney, the original institutor of Societies for the Prosecution of Felons, of which that at Oswestry was the first.

* See/ar/, p. 64.

Miscellaneous Remarks. 19

At Pitchford Park is a valuable collection of original portraits.

Plealey, near Pontesbury, was the seat of the mathematician, Dr. Edward Waring.

Ross Hall was visited by his present Majesty and the Duke of Clarence, in 1806.

At Shiffnall died, in 1776, Mary Yates, aged 128.

At Shrewsbury first commenced in this kingdom that terrible disease the sweating sickness. April i, 1774, fifty houses burnt. July 9, 1788, the old Church of St. Chad fell down. In the abbey church is the monument (removed from old St. Chad's) of Sir Richard Onslow, Speaker of the House of Commons in 1565, an- cestor of Sir Richard, afterwards Lord Onslow, who was Speaker in 1709, and of Arthur Onslow, who was Speaker during the whole reign of George II. In St. Alkmond's Church is a finely-painted window by Eggington, emblematic of evangelical faith, and the monuments of Sir Thomas Jones, Lord Chief Justice, 1683; and of Thomas Jones, once sheriff of the county, six times bailiff, and the first mayor of the town. In St. Chad's chancel window is the "Resurrection," by Eggington, removed hither from the east window of Lichfield Cathedral ; and in this church is a tablet for Job Orton, friend and biographer of Doddridge, 1766. In its old church were buried Rowland Lee, Bishop of Lichfield, 1543, and Thomas Mytton, Parliamentarian General, 1656. In St. Giles's churchyard is the tombstone of John Whitfield, surgeon, with only the inscription "Composita solvuntur." In St. Julian's Church is a window of painted glass, with a large figure of St. James, brought from Rouen. In St. Mary's Church were buried its ejected minister Francis Tal- lents, author of "Chronological Tables," 1708; and Robert Cadman, with a curious poetical epitaph, recording his death in January, 1740, by the breaking of a rope, on which he had attempted to descend from the top of its steeple to a field on the other side of the Severn. Among the eminent men educated at the Free School, were Sir Philip Sydney; his friend Fulke Greville, Lord Brooke; Lord Chancellor Jefferies; Lord Chief Justices Jones and Price; Prelates Thomas of Salisbury and Bowers of Chichester; Dramatist Why- cherley ; Poet Ambrose Philips; Antiquary Claike; Classical critic Dr. John Taylor ; and Mathematician Waring. It contains an excellent library ; a small museum of antiquities, principally Roman, found at Wroxeter ; and some natural curiosities. Its present master is Dr. S. Butler, editor of " Eschylus." Of the two children taken by the eccentric but amiable Thomas Day, author of ''Sandford and Merton," from the Foundling Hospital, now House of Industry, in this town, there is a curious and interesting account in MissSeward's "Life of Darwin." The Quarry Walk by the side of the Severn is one of the finest promenades in the kingdom. The ancient pageant called " Shrewsbury Show " is held on the second Monday atter Trinity

2 — 2

2O Shropshire.

Sunday, but has greatly fallen off in its splendour and attendance. This town has been frequently honoured by Royal visits ; in 1490 Henry VII., his Queen Elizabeth of York, and his son Prince Arthur, attended Mass at a solemn festival at St. Chad's. The last Royal visit was by James II. in 1687. His present Majesty passed through the town on his way to Ross Hall, in 1806.

In Tonge Church are many superb monuments, among which are those of Sir Fulk Pembridge and his lady, who founded the church in 1410; Sir Henry Vernon, Governor and Treasurer to Arthur, Prince of Wales ; Sir Richard Vernon, Governor of Calais, and the last person who held the high office of Constable of England for life ; and a large tomb of Sir Edward Stanley, with an epitaph written by Shakespeare. The great bell given by the Constable Vernon is six yards in circumference, and weighs 48 cwts.

At Wem, March 3, 1677, the church, market-house, and 140 dwelling-houses destroyed by fire. Here died in 1784, Mary Jones, aged no.

Wenlock was represented in Parliament by the poet Isaac Hawkins Browne.

In Whitchurch Church are monuments of John Talbot, first Earl of Shrewsbury, of his family ; the valiant Lord Marshal of France, slain at Chastillion with his heroic son, Viscount Lisle, in 1453; and of its rector, Christopher Talbot, fourth son of John, the second Earl. Here also were buried its rector, Dr. John Rawlinson, Principal of Edmund Hall, Oxford, and author of "Sermons," 1631 ; and Nicholas Bernard, Dean of Ardagh, 1661. The old church fell down in 1710.

At Wombridge, died in 1807, Mary Hey ward, aged 112.

In Wroxeter Church are handsome altar-tombs of Sir Thomas Bromley, Lord Chief Justice, 1555; Sir Richard Newport, 1570; Francis, first Lord Bradford, 1708; his brother Andrew, 1699; and Thomas Earl of Torrington, 1719. BYRO.

Acton Burnell.

[l8ll, Part IL, pp. 17, 18.]

The subjects enclosed for your valuable museum are: No. i, a view of Acton Burnell Castle, in which King Edward I. held his Parliament, A.D. 1283; No. 2 is the remains of a large barn, 183 feet long and 41 feet broad (the gavel ends only remaining), in which the Commons of England sat at the time the Lords occupied the hall of the castle. " The Statutum de Mercatoribus " enacted here is from the place known by the name of the " Statute of Acton Burnell." These curious remains of antiquity are situated in the hundred of Cundover, in the county of Salop, about eight miles from Shrewsbury. The castle is a square building, with a square tower at each corner. Its founder, or more probably its restorer, was Robert Burnell, Bishop of Bath and Wells, Treasurer, and afterwards

Acton Burnell. 2 r

Chancellor of England, who, in 1292, was sent to the M itches of Scotland, where he was employed in a peremptory embassy, to demand of the Scots what they had to object to the claim of his master the King to the right and exercise of the superiority and direct dominion over their kingdom. In this office he died, and was interred in his cathedral at Wells. His successor in the castle was Sir Edward Burnell, who served in many actions in Scotland under Edward I., and appeared with great splendour ; he was alwa>s attended with a chariot decked with banners, on which were depicted his arms. In 1346, it came into the possession of Nicholas Lord Burnell, who died in the year 1382, and was buried in Acton Burnell Church, under an altar tomb, with a brass inlaid in it of the figure of an armed man, and a brass plate thus inscribe d :

"<ljic .facet b'n'«, <|ttcli'u0 $urndl, miles, Jb'n's to pjolgflt, xfui obijt xb° iic Jfanunrij ^|Un0 ^38'nt «Jttm0 <£ (£ Cms |£xxxtj Cm' a't'e p'pittet' b's am'."

The manor continued in the Burnell family till the 9th of Edward II., when, Edward Lord Burnell dying without male issue, he left this and other estates to his sister Maud, who, marrying to John de Handlou, or Haudlow, transferred the estate into that family, in which it continued till 8th of Henry V. Camden tells us the above-named Maud married for her first husband John Lord Lovell, and so brought this manor into his family ; but he does not make it appear how, yet in the reign of Henry VI. the Lovells were in possession of it, and Francis Lord Lovell, by his adherence to Richard III., forfeited the estate. Henry VII. being seated on the throne, gave it to Jasper, Earl of Bedford, with other estates in this county ; but he dying without issue, they reverted to the Crown, and Henry VIII. gave them to Thomas Howard, Earl of Surrey, whom he created Duke of Norfolk, as a reward for his valour at Flodden Field.

The present respectable possessor of this beautiful domain is Sir Edward Smythe, Bart., whose family became possessed of it in the reign of King Charles II.

D. PARKES.

Alberbury.

[1812, Part I., p. 9.]

I send you a view of the curious old Church of Alberbury, in Shropshire. Probably some of your antiquarian friends will favour the public with a descriptive account of it. Thomas Parr, who lived to the great age of 152 years 9 months and some days, was born at Winnington in this parish, and at the age of 105 years did penance in the Church of Alberbury, for an amour with Catharine Milton. The cottage in which he resided still remains, and retains the name of Parr's Cottage. J. P.

2 2 Shropshire.

[1814, Part I., p. 217.]

Herewith you will receive a view of old Parr's cottage at the Glyn, in the township of Winnington, in the parish of Alberbury and county of Salop. The cottage is said to have undergone little altera- tion since the days of Parr ; the erection being framed of timber, filled with wattle-work, and covered with plaster, is easily repaired. In a large uncouth chimney-corner is shown his sitting-place. The county being extremely rude, yet picturesque in the neighbourhood, I have chosen to give a general view rather than merely the cottage. Rodney's Pillar, on the Breidden Hill, appears in the distance.* From the cottage I visited Woolaston, a chapel-of-ease to Alberbury, to see a brass plate commemorative of old Parr, thus inscribed :

"The old, old, very Old Man THOMAS PARR, was born at the Glyn, in the township of Winnington, within the chapelry of great Williason, and Parish of Alberbury, in the county of Silop, in the year of our Lord 1483. He lived in the Reigns of ten Kings and Queens of England, i.e., K. Edward IV., K. Edward V., K. Richard III., K. Henry VII., K. Henry VIII., K. Edward VI., Q. Mary, Q. Elizabeth, K. James I., and K. Charles I. i>ied the 13, and was buried in Westminster Abbey on the 15 of November, 1635. Aged 152 years 9 months."

On the top of the plate is a head of Old Parr in a night-cap, very neatly engraved. J. PARKES.

Albrighton.

[1794, Part I., pp. 709-801.]

Albrighton, in Shropshire, seven miles from Wolverhampton, is a pleasant village in a flat situation surrounded with a beautiful and rich country. The church consists of a nave, west tower, north aisle (rebuilt), and chancel. On the north side of the latter is an alabaster altar-tomb with a man in plated armour, collar of SS., and cross penrtent, mail gorget plaited, straight hair, ruffles, rings on the first, third, and fourth finger of the left hand, and first and fourth of the right, belt adorned with quatrefoils, mail skirt, flourished knee-pieces, lion at feet looking up to the left, sword and dagger ; under his head a tasseled cushion, helmet, and mantlet. His lady is in a head-dress studded in front, puffed, long close beads, collar of I !•••! !•••{ i " CHI, ruffles, and the cuffs formed of four cords, rings on first and fourth finger of the right hand, and first, third, and fourth of the left, stomacher and gown tied in knots to the knees, then open, and straps flying loose, petticoat close at feet. On the ledge this inscription :

"J)ic iacrt Joh'rs b* (irnftou, iniirs, .et b'na ^randsca uxrrr ci 'ffJii <|Jx)h't$i ©uft.irb be (EhgUimgto' milit' xjut q'b, Jlflh & fil' & hev,c« mascul' Joh'is fUii ©ilbcrti <<Ealb0t miJit' & b'nc Jttargarfte herfbts SSUU'.0 coLrotol- bech milit' obitt bi° bie Junii, an0 ^8'ni m°b°lto0 , xpirrt' a'i'ab' p'ptdehn: be' amc'. . C."

* See Gentleman s Magazine , 1803, part ii., p. 1109.

Albrighton. 23

At the head : Az. three stirrups o. Crest, a beast or bird's head on a torse.

1. Az. a lion rampant o.

2. In a bordure engrailed a lion rampant o.

3. Bendy of ten o. and g.

4. ttarry of eight az. and g. ; on the g. 3, 2, 2, 3 ducks, or martlets.

5. A saltire g. in centre of it a martlet.

6. A fleur-de-lis a. between three Moors' heads.

7. G. three piles a.

8. G. a bend between six martlets a. ; G. a fret a.

9. G. two lions standing a. n. G. a lion rampant o.

12. G. two chevrons a. ; in a canton dexter a cross patee fitchee.

13. Az. a lion g. or a.

In front the same quarterings impaling the stirrups between a man in armour and one in a gown, and two women in gauze head-dress and opening gowns as their mother.

This Sir John Talbot was son and heir of Sir John, and grand- son of Sir Gilbert Talbot, K.G., of Grafton, co. Worcester, whose pedigree may be seen in Dr Hash's *' Worcester Collections," i., 158.

On each side the east window scrolls of the institution of the Sacrament in black letter.

On the altar rail in capitals :

"John Hilton and Thomas Howell, churchwardens, 1685."

On the south side an altar-tomb with a rude red slab, and in relief a fair cross and inscription "INRI" over it, and four blank shields at the corners. In the same wall are three level stalls, and east of them a piscina and a locker over it. In the east window a shield of the instruments of the Passion ; in another, a bald bishop or abbot, with a crosier, kneeling to Christ blessing ; another figure sitting above. In the east window angels with censers, a soul rising, etc.

The vestry is on the north side.

In the chancel, slabs :

11 In perpetual memory of the rev. and learned FRANCIS WEST, Doctor of Divinity, born in the parish of St. Christopher, London, senior fellow of St. John Baptist college, Oxford, vicar of this parish 21 years. He died the I5th of January, 1747, aged 55."

Arms gone.

" Hie terra reconditur tot tantisque notissimus ille cultissimus dominus D. GUL. SCOTT, th. bacc. Prsedii de Cosford natus hseres, quem quondam sociis suis doctrissimus annum .... lactitavit col. Sid. Cant, et in quo pastore suo per 17 annos glonata est hsec parochia. Csetera famam melius quam lapidem consulas. In coelum abituram exhalavit animam 30 non. Feb. anno aer. Ch. MDCC. setatis suae 50. Ecclesiae suse bonisque omnibus desiderium quam maxime flebile. Uxorem tali dignam sortitus est Eliz. Fisher, r'di admodum D. G. F., rect'oris de Hickling, in agro Nottinghamensis, ex qua suscepit filios sex, totidemque filias."

24 Shropshire.

"Hie iacet corpus AN 1MB, viduse & relictse Tho. Shadwell, gen. una filiar. Lancelotti Lee, de Cotton, arm. quse ob. vicesimo primo die Jan. A.D. 1699."

Arms : Per pale, a chevron erm, between three annulets impaling a sess cheque* between ten billets.

BENEFACTIONS.

Mr. Bromley ;£ioo, the yearly rent to be divided to the poor at the trustees' election.

Mr. John Chapman 155. 4d. yearly to the poor on Christmas Day.

Mr. William Scot, late of Cosford, ^40, the interest yearly to the poor.

The Duke of Shrewsbury, 1703 and 1704, ^40, disposed of among the poor agreeably to his order.

Anne Marigold, widow, in her life a silver chalice.

Mr. Thomas Davenhill, interest of ^20 to the poor yearly.

The vicarage is in the alternate gift of the Haberdashers Company and Christ's Hospital. The present vicar is Burfield.

In the churchyard, an altar-tomb for Anne, daughter of Thomas Green of Wolverhampton, who died 1762, aged 24.

" Beneath this stone now rests inshrin'd, Alas ! what once inclos'd the purest mind ; A virtuous soul so free from every stain, So try'd by fortune, and unmov'd by pain ; Without a groan with agonies she strove ; Heav'n, wond'ring, snatch'd her to the joys above."

^ " THOMAS GREEN, died 1783, aged 52."

As to the manor, "Norman held Albricistone in Elnoestriu hundred. Algar and Godhil held it before, but the king was then in possession of it. 2 Edw. I. Hugh de Bolinghale gave lands here to the abbot and convent of Lilleshull. John Tregoz died seized of it 28 Edward I. leaving John la Warre, son and heir of Roger la Warre, by Clarice, his eldest daughter, and Sybil, the wife of William de Grandison, his other daughter, his heirs. John la Warre had it assigned for his purparty as heir to his grandfather John Tregoz. 3 [ Edw. I. he had a grant of a market on Tuesday, and fair on the eve, day, and day after the translation of St. Thomas the Martyr, and to hold two courts of view of frankpledge. 20 Edw. II. this John la Warre, chev. son and heir to Roger la W. held this manor in chief by one knight's fee; and, dying without issue 22 Richard II. was succeeded by his brother Mag, Thomas de la W. rector of the church of Manchester, who died without issue 4 Henry VI. Hugh Hcles, or Holes, knt. 5 Henry IV. levied a fine of this manor, and died seized of it 3 Henry V. 10 Henry V. Thomas Hewster and Simon Hedrington had the custody of it during the minority of Margaret Hale (Hole), daughter and heir of Thomas Hale, deceased. 37

Albrighton. 25

Henry VI. John Troutbeck, esq.* died seized of it. 22 Elizabeth the queen gave leave to John Talbot, esq. to sell Albrighton to Robert Caldewell, gent, and his heirs. 6 Edward III. it was found that a chantry was erected in the church of St. Mary of Albrighton, to which one messuage and 60 aqres of lands and two shillings rent were annexed. The benefactor was Roger Careless. 38 Henry VIII. John Waverton did homage for the rectory. u Elizabeth the queen decreed to Thomas Calton, gent, the tithes of corn and hay here for 21 years, paying lol. 195. 9jd. per annnm. 38 Elizabeth, Jane Bromley, widow, was seised of this rectory, which, 9 James I. Sir Edward Bromlev, knt. alienated to James Weston, esq. The church a vicarage, value 5!." — (Mytton MSS.) R. G.

Atcham.

[1806, Part II. , pp. 1001, 1002.]

Enclosed you will receive a drawing of Atcham Church, in the county of Salop (Plate I.), which I made from a sketch taken in one of my rambles in search of church notes, scraps of antiquity, etc. This church is situated in the hundred of Bradford South, and deanery of Salop, about four miles from Shrewsbury on the London Road. The situation is remarkably picturesque ; the river Severn gently gliding by the western side of the churchyard, and the varied foliage of the trees, planted near the church, produce the most charming effect. The west doorway has the appearance of Saxon architecture, but the upper part of the tower and body of the church are of much later date. The interior is plain, and contains little more than the common order of parish churches. The following inscriptions, copied at the time, may amuse some of your readers. On a brass plate, in capitals :

" Ileare was bvried >e bodys of Thomas Calcot, of Betton, and Margery, who lived man and wife allmost 54 years. He ended this life ye 2Qth of March, in ye yeare 1677, in the 8oth yeare of his age. She ended her life ye 26th of February, 1685, ye 88th yeare of her age. They left issue, William, John and Richard."

On a blue stone within the communion rails :

"Here lieth the Body of the late SAMUEL JONES, Vicar of this Church, who departed this life Novembr the 9th, 1725, aged 66."

Arms : A lion rampant, with a crescent for difference, impaling seven mascles, 3, 3, and i. Crest : a sun in its glory. On a marble tablet against the north wall :

"JOHANNES WARING, A.M., Obiit 11 Oct. A.D. 1794. ^tatis suae, 78.'

* See the intermarriage of Troutbeck and Talbot on the monument.

2 6 Shropshire.

On a neat monument against the south wall :

"Sacred to the memory of SAMUEL FOWLER, M.A., who was forty-six y«.ars the Minister, universally esteemed and beloved of this Parish. Exemplary in all the duties of his function, and amiable in every relation of civil and domestic life. He died Jan. 3d, 1772, aged 71 years.

Also of Mrs. ANN FOWLER, relict of the above Rev. Sam. Fowler, who departed this life 26 Dec., 1788, aged 78 years."

Arms : Azure, on a chevron argent, between three lions passant gardant or, three cross molines sable; impaling Ermine, three annulets interlaced gules.

In a frame against the west wall :

On the top is the figure of Death ; below is a corpse in a coffin, etc., as emblems of mortality, under which are the following lines.

[Omitted.]

On a table are the following memoranda of burials in this church :

1619. March 4. . Thomas Burton, of Longner, Esq. (eldest son of Edward Burton,* Esq., buried in the garden at Longner), aged 77.

1622. October 4. Elizabeth, daughter of Francis Newton, of Heighley, in this county, Esq., wife of Edward Burton, of Longner, Esq.

1629. June 16. John, third son of Thomas Burton, of Longner, Esq., and Catherine (Beist), his wife.

1671. November n. Catherine, daughter of Jacob Walton, of Doveridge, in the county of Derby, Esq., wife of Francis Burton, of Longner, Esq.

1680. May ii. Francis Burton, of Longner, Esq.

1691. July 13. Penelope, an infant daughter of Judge Thomas Burton, of Longner, and Elizabeth (Berkeley) his wife.

1692. February 14. Edward, third son of the last mentioned Thomas and Elizabeth Burton, of Longner, aged six years.

1693. Decembers. Elizabeth, the daughter of Thomas Berkeley, of Spetchley and Ravenshill in the county of Worcester, Esq., wife of Judge Thomas Burton, of Longner.

1695. April 27. Thomas Burton, of Longner, one of his Majesty's judges for North Wales.

1725. February 21. Robert Burton, of Longner, Esq., aged 48.

*733' November 17. Elizabeth Burton, second daughter of judge Thomas Burton of Longner, wife of Joseph Jones of Chilton, Esq., aged 58.

1739. May 10. Mary, fourth daughter of the last mentioned Thomas and Elizabeth Burton of Longner, aged 59.

1758. June 25. Ann, second daughter of Robert Burton of Longner, and Anne (Hill) his wife.

* For an account of this gentleman, and the troublesome times in which he lived, see Foxe's "Acts and Monuments."

At chain. „ 27

1761. March 13. Thomas Lingen Burton, eldest son of the last mentioned Robert and Anne Burton of Longner, aged 8.

October 16. Elizabeth, third daughter of the last mentioned Robert and Anne Burton of Longner, aged 2.

1771. May 6. Anne, daughter of Thomas Hill of Tern, Esq., wife of Robert Burton of Longner, Esq.

1772. February u. John, fifth son of Robert Burton and Anne his wife, an infant.

1775. August i. Mary, fourth daughter of Robert and Anne Burton of Longner, aged 15.

1803. June 24. Robert Burton of Longner, Esq., aged 78.

A view of the old house at Longner, taken down last year, the lomb which covers the remains of Mr. Burton, who died A.D. 1558, and was buried in his garden, as mentioned before, with a copy of the epitaph round the verge of the tomb, and the particulars of that singular event would be worth preserving in your magazine.

A. n.

Battlefield.

[1792, Part II., p. 893.]

The enclosed view of the Battlefield Church (Plate III., Fig. i), near Shrewsbury, was taken in November, 1792. The land on which the church stands is supposed to be the place where the undaunted Hotspur was encamped ; and here the memorable battle between him and Henry IV. was fought on Saturday, July 21, 1403, the eve of St. Mary Magdalen, to whom the church was dedicated. This was a collegiate church of secular canons, built undoubtedly by order of the King, but in what year I am uninformed, most probably soon after the battle. At the east end, over the window, is a figure of Henry IV., much defaced by the corroding hand of time. In a niche in the south wall, wiihin the church, is a rude carving of the Virgin and child in wood, of which I send you a drawing (Fig. 2). I suppose the antiquity of this is nearly co-eval with the church. In the east window is some stained glass, but it is so mutilated that little can be learnt from it. I do not remember any monument in the church, and in the churchyard only a few frail memorials not worth transcribing.

I hope some of your intelligent correspondents will send a more particular account of this church, and in what year it was built.

D. PARKES.

Berwick.

[1804, Part //.,/. 803.]

The following lines are over the door of what is termed The Cottage, in the grounds at Berwick, the seat of T. J. Powis, Esq., near Shrewsbury :

28 Shropshire.

" Stay, passenger, and tho' within Nor gold nor glittering gems are seen

To strike thy dazzled eye, Yet enter, and thy ravish'd mind Beneath this humble roof shall find What gold will never buy.

" Within this solitary cell Calm thoughts and sweet Contentment dwell,

Parents of bliss sincere ; Peace spreads around her balmy wings, And, banish'd from the courts of kings,

Has fixed her mansion here." — 1767.

D. P. Berwick- Maviston.

[1838, Part II. , pp. 602, 603.]

The accompanying sketch represents an ancient moated mansion, which formerly adorned the township of Berwick-Maviston, in the parish of Atcham, in the county of Salop. Shortly after the Conquest this township formed one of the places of residence of the gallant and noble family of Malvoisin ; and until nearly the close of the last century it was a place of some consequence, having no less than four several mansions, besides farmhouses, within its precincts. It was, however, the destiny of this township to lose almost its entire population, and the Mansion House, which forms the subject of the drawing, was the last erection left standing within a vicinage that had for centuries been the residence of families of considerable fortune and distinction. This last remnant of a once happy community of the olden time was destroyed about forty years ago, and its site, together with the appurtenant lands, was thrown open to the adjoining park and pleasure grounds surrounding Attingham House, thus rendering this devoted township to suffer the fate of that spot which Goldsmith so touchingly describes in his poem of the Deserted Village.

Berwick-Maviston was situated between three and four miles south- east of the town of Shrewsbury. It was part of the possessions of Earl Roger de Montgomery, from whom it passed, soon after the Conquest, to Azeline, and from him into the family of Malvoisin. This name, evidently Norman, has been variously spelt and pro- nounced in succeeding ages as Malvesyn, Malveysin, Mauvosin, Mauvesin, Mavesyn, Mausin, Mavistone, and fifty other ways. It has been stated that it was derived from a castle or military tower* situate on the confines of the Gastinois, and it stands proudly con- spicuous in the ancient French records, which state that Sampson Mauveisin was Archbishop of Rheims, and Sir Guy Mauvoson

* This appears to be an heraldic fiction. Names of this description, originally soubriquets or nicknames, were exceedingly common among the Normans, as Maltravers, Malcovenant, etc.

Berwick- Maviston. 29

fought under the banner of Saint Louis against the Saracens in Egypt. The head of this house in the eleventh century was that venerable chief Raoul Mauvosin, surnamed le Barbu, living in 1080 at the seigniory of Rosny ; his sons were Robert and Hugh, and his grandson William, who all fell in battle. The younger branch, seated on the lordship of Malveysin-Berwick in Shropshire, flourished there for several centuries, and were a knightly race during the reigns of our Henrys and Edwards.

In the reign of Henry I. or Stephen, Hugh Malveysin founded the monastery of Blythbury in Staffordshire, at first intended as a double monastery both for monks and nuns, but which was afterwards for nuns only. William Malvoisin was Bishop of Glasgow and St. Andrews, and Peter Bishop of Ossory. Sir Guy Malvoisin occurs among the Crusaders. Peter and John died Governors of the Castle of Oswestry, which they held under the Baron Marchers by the harder tenure of Border Service.

John Malveysin, the last of the line of Berwick-Maviston, who died without issue, was killed in a hunting match with men of Shropshire, in the immediate vicinity of the Wrekin, in the reign of King Henry IV., and Sir Robert, of the Mauvesine Ridware branch, died fighting for that King at Battlefield, near Shrewsbury, in the year 1403.

By the marriage of Edith, the daughter of Alan Malvoisin, and niece of John who was slain at the Wrekin, the lordship and estates at Berwick-Maviston were carried into the family of Wydecombe or Whitcomb of Somersetshire, from whom a portion of it passed in 1689 to the family of Hambrook of Gloucestershire, and others. This property has subsequently been in the several possessions of the families of Grant of Berwick-Maviston, Burton of Longner, Russell of Berwick-Maviston, Calcott of Abbat's Betton, Blakeway of Cronk- hill, and others, from whom the late Noel Hill, Esq., who was elevated to the Peerage, and his eldest son, the late Thomas Noel, Lord Berwick, became possessed, by purchase and exchange, of the lordship, and almost the entirety of the lands within the township of Berwick-Maviston, which territory now forms part of the extensive domain of Attingham, the seat and inheritance of the Right Honourable Wm. Noel, Lord Berwick. T. F. D.

Bitterley. .

[1831, Part //.,//. 297, 298.]

Bitterley is four miles north-east of Ludlow, a rectory in the deanery of Ludlow, the Hundred of Overs, andDiocese of Hereford. The population in 1821 was 1,064, more than half of whom were the families of colliers and miners.

The Ghurch of Bitterley, dedicated to St. Mary, is a handsome it consists of a body, without side aisles ; the chancel is

Shropshire.

divided from the body by a screen of oak carved in open quatrefoils, at the top are foliage and grotesque ornaments. There is a gallery at the west end; the ceiling is coved without ornament. Opposite the south door is an ancient stone font ; the pulpit is of oak finely carved. The length of the body of the church 59 \ feet, breadth 22 feet; length of the chancel 33^ feet, breadth 22 feet. The tower is 14! feet, by 13 feet n inches; it contains three bells. On the first bell is :

" ^pc &ono qiu nults campana bocot gabmlis." Round the second bell :

In the churchyard is an elegant stone cross raised on steps, which support an hexagonal shaft, on the top are tabernacled niches ; that on the north side contains the Virgin and infant Christ; the west side the Crucifixion ; the east and south sides are nearly obliterated.

Adjoining the churchyard is Bitterley Court, the residence of the Rev. John Walcott, Rector of Bitterley. It is beautifully situated on a gentle rise of ground, at the foot of the Clee Hill, surrounded by pleasure grounds. The Clee Hill is a bold and grand object ; upon the top are the remains of an encampment, said to be Roman ; its extreme point, called Titterstone, appears of volcanic formation. Many parts of this hill afford very extensive prospects, varied and beautiful. The interior of this immense mountain produces coal and ironstone in abundance.

The following monumental memorials were taken at the time I visited the church, July 10, 1827.

Against the east wall of the chancel under an arch, supported by columns with Corinthian capitals, is a figure of an esquire in armour, kneeling at a desk with a book before him ; over the entablature the arms, and on the table below the figure the following inscription in Roman capitals :

" Here is interred the body of Tymothye Lvcie, of Middleton, Esq., who godly chainged this life the xxi of Janvary, 1616. He was the fovrth sonne to William Lvcie, of Charlecott, Esqvire. He married Susanna, davghter to Henrv Kan- shawe, Esqvire, by whom he had issue three sonnes and four daughters. He after married Joahn daughter to Thomas Bvrghill, of Thingell, Esqvire, and shee, in memorye and love of him her hvsband, erected this monument." . . .

Arms : Gules, crusilly or, three lucies haurient argent.

Against the south wall of the chancel a monument, ihe entablature supported by two figures, one on each side the table, which bears the following inscription :

" Memoriae Sacrum. Here lyeth, expecting a blessed resurrection, the bodyes of THOMAS POWYS, of Snitton, Gent , and of ELIZABETH his wife. Hee deceased ye i Qth of Nov., 1659, then aged 31. Shee was the daughter of Richd. Smythe, of Credenhill, in the county of Hereford, Esq., and departed this life ye first day of July, 1645. tnev having issue 5 sonnes, Thomas, Christopher, Peter, Robert and James, and fower daughters, Winifrid, Anne, Mary, and Elizabeth."

Bitter ley. 3 1

Arms : Or, a lion's gamb erased between two cross crosslets htchee, gules, Powys, impaling Smjthe.

On a marble tablet against the north wall of the chancel :

" In memory of Mrs. ELIZABETH WALCOTT, wife of John Walcott, Esq., second and youngest son of John Walcott, formerly of Walcott, in this county, Esq. She was the widow of Charles Colby, Esq., Commissioner of his Majesty's Navy at Gibraltar, and a Captain in that service. She departed this life at her house in Upper Berkley-street, London, on the 26th day of November, 1803, aged 71 years, and is deposited in a vault under the west door of the parish church of Paddington, in the county of Middlesex."

Arms : Argent, a chevron between three chessrooks ermine, Walcot ; impaling, Azure a chevron or, between three crescents argent, Colby.

On another tablet : i

"To the memory of CHARLES WAI.COTT, Esq. (late of Bitterley Court). He died Sept. 2Oth, 1799, aged 61 years. Also of ANNE his wife, who died Sept. 8th, 1812, aged 82 years."

On stones in the chancel floor :

" Here lyeth ye body of Sr LITTLETON POWYS, Knt., who departed this life the I3th March, 1731, aetat. 83. Also of Dame Agnes his wife, who departed this life the 28th of Nov., 1720, aetat. 66."

Arms : Powys, impaling Smythe, as before.

"MARIA POWYS, 1668, setat. 36. "ROBERTUS POWYS, Arm., ob. Apr., 1724."

A marble tablet, supporting two vases with drapery in bas-relief, bears the following inscription :

" Sacred to the memory of the Rev. THOMAS ROCKE, A.M., Rector of Ludlow, and formerly of this Church, who died respected and lamented, i6th Oct., 1603, an. aetat. 86. Also of MARTHA his wife, of eminent piety and virtue, who died June 21, 1772, aged 50. And of FRANCIS their son, possessed of many amiable qualities, who died Dec. 6, 1783, an. setat. 26. This inscription is dedicated by their sons, Thomas and Richard Rocke."

On a slab in the chancel floor :

" Here lieth the body of BENJAMIN MARSTON, late of Bitterley, Rector, died Nov. 30th, 1736, aged 69."

Arms : Sable, a fesse dauncettee ermine, between three fleurs de-lis argent.

On a slab in the floor of the nave :

"The Rev. Mr. WTILLIAM SHEPPARD, of this parish, and Vicar of Stanton Lacy, died loth May, 1776, aged 47. MAGDALENE, his wife, daughter of George Pardoe, of Cleeton, Gent., died July I, 1765, aged 32 years."

Arms : Azure, on a chevron or three etoiles gules, between as many fleurs-de-lis of the second. On a slab in the floor of the porch :

" WILLIAM, son of WILLIAM SMITH, Rector of Bitterley, dyed y* 7th day of Aug., 1692."

3 2 Shropshire.

On a monument against the south wall :

" Near this place are deposited the remains of GEORGE PARDOE, Esq., of Cleeton, who died 4th April, 1768, aged 74. As also of MARY his wife ; she died 1st July, 1772, aged 76. Likewise are interred in this church five of their children — MILBOROUGH PARDOE, died Feb. 19, 1741, aged 24. EDWARD PARDOE, died April 14, 1763, aged 34. MAGDALENE SHEPPARD, died July i, 1765, aged 32. MARY PARDOE, died Sept. 27, 1765, aged 37. SARAH PARDOE, died Jan. 18, 1767, aged 26."

Arms : A cross counter-compone"e or and gules ; in the first quarter a water bouget, in the second an eagle displayed, in the third a swan, in the fourth an escalop shell, all sable ; on a chief Azure, a lion passant guardant or. D. PARKES.

[1863, Part I., pfi. 93-95-]

The font of Bitterley Church is of black marble, Norman, round, with an arcade. The tower and chancel are of Early English date, but many of the windows have been inserted in the interval of transition to Decorated, consisting of three trefoiled lancets under a comprising arch. The rest are later, being of two trefoiled lights under a reversed trefoil ; a few deeply splayed lancets remain. The upper portion of the rood screen remains in a mutilated condition, but retains some rich tracery ; the basement, whirh consists of panels with the linen pattern under a row of quatrefoils, has been worked up to form a clerk's desk. The fine Jacobean pulpit is dated 1630. The east window consists of four cinque-foiled lancets, the two central lights and the two lateral lights being respectively of equal length. One of the south chancel windows has also a triplet with cinquefoil heads. The capitals of the tower arch are boldly cut with a pattern of foliage, stiff in character, like trefoils. The churchyard contains a beautiful octagonal cross, terminating in a tabernacle containing a "rood Mary and John." I regret to add that the Powys monuments require immediate care, as they are in a very dilapidated, not to say dangerous, condition.

I. Thomas Pardoe, Gent., died April 14, 1742, aged 38. Edward, son of Thos. and Mary, died April 14, 1761, aged 33. Elizabeth Pardoe, died July 13, 1790, aged 65.

II. Mary, daughter of Geo. and Mary Pardoe, died Sept. 27, 1765, aged 47.

III. Mary Shepheard, died 1699.

IV. John Walcot, died Sept. 2, 1700, aged 34. Arms: I. Argent, on a cross fleury azure five fleurs-de-lys or. II. Ermine, on a chief three scallop shells.

V. William Walcot of the Moor, died Nov. n, 1857, aged 51.

VI. Marshall Child, died March 13, 1751.

VII. Ann, wife of Charles Walcot, died Sept. 8, 1812, aged 82.

VIII. Chas. Walcot, of Bitterley Court, died Sept. 20, 1799.

Bitter ley. 33

IX. Catherine, widow of Rev. Rd. Levitt, of Blithfield, Stafford, dau. of Chas. Walcot, of Walcot, Salop, died June i, 1788.

X. A kneeling effigy. Timothy, fourth son of Wm. Lucy, Esq., of Charlecote, who married (i.) Susanna, dau. of Henry Fanshawe, and (2.) Johan, dau. of Thos. Burghill, of Thingell ; he died Jan. 21. 1616. Arms: I. (i.) Lucy; (2.) A lion rampant; (3.) Barry of six, on a bend dexter three estoiles ; (4.) Billettee, a lion rampant. II. (i.) An eagle displayed; (2.) A stag's head caboshed; (3.) Between six estoiles, three in chief and as miny in base, a fess ; (4.) Between four martlets a cross.

XI. Chancel, south wall. Thos. Powys, serjeant-at-law, of Henley, in the parish of Bitterley, eldest son of Thos. Powys, of Snitton ; and Anna, dau. of Sir Adam Littleton, Bart., of Stoke Milburgh, his wife, by whom he had tour sons : Littleton, Edward, Thomas, and John, and two daughters, both named Anna. She died June 30, 1655, age 1 34; he died April 2, 1671, aged 54.

[XL* This inscription is partly repeated on a gravestone in the floor.]

XII. Chancel, east wall, north side of the altar. Sir Littleton Powys, Knt., of Henley, Judge of King's Bench, died March 13, 1731, aged 85 ; also his wife Agnes, died Nov. 28, 1720, aged 66. Arms : I. Powys. II. Argent, between three buckles a talbot sable. [This inscription is partly repeated on a gravestone in the floor.]

XII.* Maria Powys, died June 7, 1668, aged 36, first wife of Thos. Powys, of Henley, dau. of John Cotes, of Woodmancote, and Mary Bagot, of Shin field, Staffordshire.

XIII. Eliza, wife of John Walcot, younger son of John Walcot, of Walcot, widow of Capt. C. Colby, died Nov. 26, 1831, buried at Paddington. Arms : I. Walcott. II. Sable, an eagle displayed argent.

XIV. Chas. Walcot, of Bitterley Court, died Sept. 20, 1799, aged 61. His wife Ann died Sept. 8, 1812, aged 82.

XV. Rev. John Walcot, Rector, of Bitterley Court, died Nov. 23, 1834, aged 66. Sarah, his wife, dau. of Sir J. Dashwood King, Ban., died March 22, 1834, aged 78. Also Katherine their dau., died June 2, 1827.

XVI. Thos. Hen. Apperley, died Nov. 26, 1807.

XVII. Sir Thomas Walcott, of Bitterley, died Sept. 6, 1685. Arms : Argent, between three chess-rooks a chevron erminois. A reference to " Burke's Landed Gentry" will explain why the family bore two coats of arms. Sir Thomas was a judge. See Gentleman* Magazine for 1861.

XVIII. Thomas Powys, of Snitton, died July, 1645, and his wife Elizabeth, dau. of Richd. Smyth, of Credenhill, Hereford, died Nov. 19, 1659; they had five sons: Thomas, Christopher, Peter,

VOL. XXII. 3

34 Shropshire.

Robert, and James, and fouT daughters : Winifred, Mary, Anne, and Elizabeth. Arms : I. Powys. II. A lion regardant.

XIX. Laura, wife of Geo. Pardoe, of Nash Court, died Dec. 23, 1807.

XX. George Pardoe, of Nash Court, died Feb. n, 1798.

XXI. Anne and Susanna Pardoe, died 1802.

XXII. Geo. Wood, died Dec. 16, 1743, aged 46.

XXIII. Transept. Anne, dau. of Rev. J. Stafford, of Penkridge, died 1798.

XXIV. Anne, dau. of Major Walcot, of the Moor, died Aug. 22, 1844, aged 32 — first wife; Charlotte, dau. of Jo. Molyneux, died Sept. n, 1845, aged 45 — second wife, of Rev. Chas. Walcot, of Bitterley Court.

XXV. Mary S. B. F., wife of Rev. John Walcot, second dau. of Sir Thomas Phillipps, Bart., of Middlehill, died Feb. 26, 1858.

XXVI. Jemima Ann, wife of Capt. W. Walcot, Adj. 47th Regt. B.N.I., died Dec. 20, 1853, buried at Monghyr, India.

XXVII. Nave. Margaret, wife of Humphrey Walcot, of Bitterley, Salop, dau. of Edmd. Pearce, of Wilcot, Salop, died Nov., 1715, buried at Stanmore. Arms : I. Argent, between three chess-rooks a chevron erminois. II. Azure, between four pheons a cross or.

XXVIII. Humphrey Walcot, of Bitterley, died Oct. 26, 1743, aged 71 ; likewise John his son, died in his infancy. Arms: Walcott, impaling, on a scutcheon of pretence, argent, between three scallop shells a chevron sable — [Lyttleton].

XXIX. Rev. Wm. Sheppard, Vicar of Staunton Lacey, died

May 10, 1776, aged 76. Arms : between three fleurs-de-lys on

a chevron three estoiles.

XXX. Magdalene, wife of Rev. W. Sheppard, of Middleton, in the parish of Bitterley, dau. of Geo. Pardoe, of Cleeton, died July i, 1763, aged 32.

XXXI. Richard Sheppard, Gent., died Sept. 13, 1721, aged 47.

XXXII. Richard Sheppard, Gent., died Aug. 3, 1749, aged 22.

XXXIII. Rich. Sheppard, Gent., of Middleton, died Aug. 15, 1721, aged 67 ; also Richard his son, died March 2, 1745, aged 49 ; also Mary his wife, died July 24, 1790. Arms: Barry ermine and

, on a chief between two garlands a leopard's head. II. between

three fleurs-de-lys a chevron.

XXXIV. Martha Sheppard, died 1736.

The Sheppards lived at Hill-upon-Cot ; a gravestone commemo- rates their last male descendant, who died in 1807.

CHURCHWARDENS' ACCOUNTS.

1716. At a parish meeting holden the 26th of Dec., 1716, it was then agreed by the churchwardens that I, John Shephard, of Hill-upon-Coat, should have the liberty to build a gallery

Bitter ley. 3 5

at the lower end of the old gallery, and to go up the old stairs into the seat that shall be erected against the north wall of the church.

1666. Pd for makeing ye old Mary's grave, 6d. for fetching the bode, 6d.

1712. To Mary of the Mill and Widow Prince, 2s 9d.

1714. for two bushell of corne to March, 8s.

1715. For apron, a pare of cloggs, and a hat for the geirle, is 6d.

1716. for ale and toobaccoe at ye funerall, 2s.

1718. For two men 9 days at iod ye day and a boy 4 days at 4jd ye

day, 9s 2d.

1719. pd for ye new sirplis, 2U 5s 6d.

1 66 1. For 2 fox heads, 2s.

Church goods, one carpet, one tablecloth, 2 pewter flagons, a silver cup with a cover, one plate, and an old bell clapper.

1662. 12 ells of holland at 6s per ell, and thread to make the sur-

plice, 3H i2s 6d. for making the surplice, ios. for the booke of Canons, is 4d. for repayryng the church coffer, 5s. 2 little plates to gather money in, 4d.

1663. for a bag to preserve the surplice, 2s 4d. 1675. for 12 hedg hogs, 2s.

for pins to hange hats on, 6d. 1672. for putinge up the Clarke's seate, 7s 6d. 1678. for the proclamation of burialls in woollen, 6d.

for 3 boses to set by the font, 9d. 1 68 1. for the raile about ye Comunion table, 21'. 9s.

Mr. Walcot's charity money, 1691 : — Wm. Piper, ye Prodigall, 6d. Anne Piper, virgo, 6d. Wid. Collins ye Scold, 6d. 1683. Beddo by ye cold oak, 4d. 1697. for a cay for ye bell house, 6d.

for chimney money for ye Scoole, ios.

1691. Pd. William Piper for sindling the alye in the church, is. 1694. Thos. ye roguish tradesman, 6d. 1697. Honest James of the Mill, is 6d.

THE REGISTERS.

Mem. — That in ye year 1707 the Hon. Sir Little'on Powys, of Henley, in ye parish of Bitterley, Knt, one of the justices of H.M. Court of Queen's Bench, ye patron of ye ch. of Bit- terley, did, at the desire of the inhabitants, wholly at his own charge build and erect a gallery across ye sd church at ye west

3—2

36 Shropshire.

end thereof, for ye use of ye young people of ye sd pari*h and a pew therein for ye churchwardens. — B. MARSTON, Rector. Nov. 30, 1658. Georgius Lucy, generosus sepultus. 1659. Timotheus Lucy, generosus, xxix. Apnlis sep. Hestera Little- ton uxor Thomae xvii. Julii.

Nuptiae 1663 inter Thomam Walcott, arm. et magrm Mariam

Littleton, x. die Dec. 1663. He was afterwards Justice of

King's Bench, andof Bitterley Court.— JOHN LYDALL, Rector.

1669. Nuptiae solemnizatse fuere inter Johannem Slade, Cler. et

Elizabetham Powys de Henly, xxiii. Sept.

1677. Francesca Littleton gen. sep xv°. Nov.

1678. Thos Cheshire sepultus ix° Aug. nullo juramento sumpto de

sepultura lanata, contra suis relictos authoritati Littletoni Powys, arm. ^Ediles perdebant 2m Statutum Regni die ix° post sepulturam. — W. SMITH, rector (sic).

1685. Thos. Walcot, miles sep. viii° die sept.

1732. Sir Littleton Powys, miles sep. 28 Martii.

1735. Benjamin Marston (rector) sep. 3 die Dec.

1736. Henricus Baldwyn, rector. 1740. Thos. Rooke, rector. 1790. Jas. Hastings, rector.

1795. Sept. 25. John Walcot, rector.

MACKENZIE E. C. WALCOTT.

Boscobel.

[1784, Part I., p. 249.]

Having been lately on a tour in the neighbourhood of Boscobel, and visiting the place where the Royal Oak flourished, I found it had been enclosed by a strong wall of brick and stone, but at present neglected and much in ruins. The old tree has been carried away piecemeal by the curious visitors, and some, no doubt, from a loyal motive and attachment to the memory of King Charles II., who was providentially sheltered from the designs of his enemies by the means of this tree. Many snuff-boxes and other toys have been made from the pieces of this famous oak. At present there is another, of middling size, growing within the wall, but not in the centre, which was very probably planted when the old tree decayed. Upon a square stone overgrown with moss, and placed above the arch of the door, I observed a Latin inscription, which, after scraping with a knife, became very legible. I herewith send it you, exactly as it is cut on the stone, with a translation at the same time.

" Fselicis-arbore • Qua • inasilu. Potentiss. Regis • Car • 2DI • D9 • OP • MaX • p • Quern Reges Regnat Hie Crescere Voluit Tarn in Per Pet. Rei Tantae Memoria Quam in specimen Ferinse In Reges Fidei Muro Cinctain Posteris Comendant Basilius Et Jana Fitzherbert.

Quercus Arnica Jovi.

Boscobel. 37

GOD, all-good & all-great, by whom Kings reign, was pleased that this auspicious Tree shd here flourish for a safe Retreat to the most potent King Charles the Second — Basil & Jane Fitzherbert. to perpetuate the Memory of so great an Event, and testify their unshaken Loyalty to Kings, built the surrounding Wall, and recommend the fortunate Tree to the care of future Generations. The Oak Jove's favourite Tree."

OBSERVATOR.

[1789, Part II. , p. 1076.]

Not long ago I visited Boscobel, so much celebrated in the English history. I inquired for the Royal Oak ; a servant-maid, instead of showing the lions, pointed out the field where the tree once was, and left me to find it out as I best could. I found a brick wall, now ruinous, which encloses a laurel-hedge, now stunted and decayed, and there stood the tree, which is now gone, and which, even in the days of Charles II., was a lone and pollarded tree.

The house remains as when first erected ; but being built of wood, it is very frail, and, unless it be varnished over, it will speedily share the fate of that oak to which it owes its celebrity.

Mention is made by historians of the mount and bower where the King passed a Sunday. The remains of the mount are still to be seen ; but the view is a reverse of the truth. The mount and bower are on the opposite side of the garden from that in which the view has placed them.

From the mount there is a little park, overshadowed with bushes, which leads to a garden-seat in good taste, and which, as I conjec- ture, is formed out of small branches of the fatal oak.

Much of the wood between Whiteladies and Boscobel has been felled, not from extravagance, but from the necessity of time, for the trees appeared in a state of decay.

A just delineation of this celebrated spot would be acceptable to many of your readers; and I doubt not that the lady who now pos- sesses Boscobel would, on its being suggested to her, order it to be made at her own expense. PHILARCH^EUS.

[1790, Part /.,//. 36, 37.]

I have now before me the fourth edition of the " History of Boscobel," printed in 1725, with cuts ; one of them an irregular prospective, or bird's-eye view of the house, woods, and garden, either a copy, or perhaps the same plate used in the former editions. It is very ill-executed, of no just proportion, inaccurate as to distance, and false in point of view, the house and ruins of Whiteladies being thrust in at one corner, as if they were in the same wood with Bos- cobel, though at the real distance of three-quarters of a mile.

You seem to wish for a drawing of Boscobel ; had I known it would have been acceptable, you should have received, long ere this, a sketch from my own pencil, at the same time that I sent you the facsimile of a Latin inscription, taken from a stone in the wall which

Shropshire.

surrounded the royal oak, with other particulars relating thereto. . . A drawing of these two places would be an interesting subject for a plate, and not incurious to the antiquary, especially the ruins at Whiteladies, which are respectable, where the remains of the church, a Saxon edifice, as also the gatehouse, now converted into a shep- herd's dwelling, are yet standing. . . .

It is difficult to understand in what humour, or under what appear- ance, the visitor made his address to the people of the house. Of this, however, I am certain, that so far from any slight to respecta- bility, they have always shown a proper attention to every curious stranger, and a kind hospitality within doors, when a politeness of behaviour entitled those strangers to such distinction. The wall, which once enclosed the celebrated oak, is now indeed ruinous, the door gone, as is likewise the inscribed stone, fragments whereof were to be seen amongst the bricks at my last visitation; but is the succeeding memorial tree also gone, as he takes no notice of it? It was most assuredly standing four or five years ago. What authority has your correspondent for asserting that the old tree was a lone or pollarded tree ? That it was a large thick-leaved oak we may readily suppose, as most proper for concealment, but, so contrary from being alone, tradition says, more naturally, that it was in the thickest part of the wood, which wood reached up to the garden pales, if not still nearer to the house ; and the garden, if any on that side, a very small one, having been much enlarged in the course of years.

The house, so far from remaining what it was originally, has, in part at least, undergone considerable alterations at different periods, even some within my own memory. When this house was first erected, it was intended as a lodge fora keeper and other woodmen, with a large wainscoted parlour, and a lodging-room over it, of the same size, for the occasional accommodation of a hunting party. The garret over all has been called a gallery, for what reason is unknown, where the secret place in which the King was concealed is yet to be seen. From this upper story there is a good look-out, and, being high, it commands an extensive view. These apartments are supported at the east angle by a semicircular building, in which it may be supposed were the stairs, though now converted into large closets, new stairs having been since contrived in another part. What I have just described may be considered, from its construction, as the original structure, to which many additions have since been made from time to time, as convenience or necessity required. The old building is of wood and plaister, that is, half-timbered, as it is some- times called, a fashion very prevailing in the neighbourhood, where wood was formerly in greater plenty, and less valuable than bricks. Many old mansions of the kind in Staffordshire stand firm to the present day, and are likely to outlast, if suffered to remain, even several of our modern brick buildings. The old stately chimney of

Boscobel. 39

Boscobel House, made of brick and stone, rises like a tower, and is too substantially built to fall into ruins ; neither does it or the house stand in present need of varnish, which is a term I never before knew applicable to building.

The mount is still visible, and upon it an arbour formed of different genera of shrubs to those which composed the same in King Charles's day, with a stone table in the middle, but whether the same or not is uncertain. It is probable that this mount was raised for the site of a windmill, yet some antiquaries might suppose it a Roman tumulus, being at no great distance from the Watling Street. Worse conjectures have been formed on such occasions. There is another stone table, an octagon, which is placed up against a wall of the house that formerly stood near the corner of the wood, as described in the plate, and not far from the royal tree. This table is referred to at No. 7 in the plate now before me ; and therein the mount is exactly placed, that is, on the right hand going down the garden walk. The great chimney faces the south-west as he will recollect if ever he was in the garden, and that the arbour is at a little distance from it on the right side of the walk. It is very certain he formed again a wrong judgment in saying there is a little park overgrown with bushes : no such appearance ; a pretty large kitchen- garden planted with nut hedges, currant and gooseberry bushes cannot be extended to the idea of a park. It is true there is a rustic seat at the bottom of the long walk painted white, and curiously formed of the crooked branches of some knotted oak (not the royal oak), very ingeniously wrought into a kind of lattice-work, the workmanship of an humble worthy carpenter. A few years since I saw the man on purpose to commend his contrivance, who, with the same kind of materials, and in the same style, executed a long railing on both sides of a wooden bridge over a canal in Mr. Giffard's park at Chillington, which has a very pleasing romantic effect.

There are at present few large timber-trees growing betwixt Boscobel and Whiteladies ; none, however, of any account have been felled for a number of years ; the enclosures that way are rather too bleak and open. In the middle of a large field, on a raised mount, may be seen a solitary clump of tall ash ; from this spot there is a most extensive prospect of the Wrekin, the country beyond Severn, and of the Welsh mountains. Boscobel was lately the property of Mr. Fitzherbert, and I have since understood it as the present in- heritance ot his brother Bazil Fitzherbert, Esq., of Swinnerton, in the county of Stafford. How it came into the possession of a lady is unknown to me ; your correspondent may in this particular poss:bly be better informed, but if he m. ans the tenant, I can assure him it is no lady. The person who rents the house and land is a widower.

OBSERVATOR.

4O Shropshire.

[1792, Part L, p. 113.]

The enclosed drawing (Plate II., Fig. i) is a view of Boscobel House, remarkable for being an asylum to King Charles II. This view was taken in July last, and is an exact representation of the front in its present state. A. n.

[1809, Part L, p. 105.]

Boscobel House, rendered remarkable in English history as an asylum to King Charles II. after his defeat at Worcester in 1651, stands on the very border of Shropshire, in the hundred of Brimstry, and nearly adjoining the county of Stafford. The end and back part of the house remain nearly in the original state ; but some of the other parts have been much altered, even since I visited the place in 1791, particularly a sitting-parlour constructed from an outbuild- ing, the principal entrance removed and the area of uninclosed land in front of the house laid out with taste as pleasure ground. The inside of the house has likewise been much altered ; but I am happy to say that everything relative to the King's concealment is preserved with the greatest care, and even attended to with veneration. The secret places in which the King was concealed are chiefly in and adjoining the large chimney shown in the annexed view ; the principal place was probably that in the garret, or, as it is termed, the gallery, entered by a trap door. From this hiding-place you may descend by a step-ladder to the next hiding-place, and from thence to a door near the bottom of the chimney that leads to the garden, which is undoubtedly much altered, though the tumulus with a seat upon it still remains. The large wainscoted parlour is nearly in its original form ; the concealing-place behind the wainscot has been long stopped up, and the gloves and garters said to have been left by the King were lost before the present possessor came to the house.

The Royal Oak (see Plate I.) stands near the middle of a large field joining the garden. This tree, which is fine and thrifty, is said to have originated from an acorn of the old oak. I do not vouch for the authenticity of this remark. The wall, which was ruinous, is rebuilt of brick, and an inscription graven on a brass plate, of which the following is a copy :

" Quercus arnica Jovi. Felicissimam hanc Arborem, quam in Asylum Poten- tissimi Regis Caroli II. Deus Optimus Maximus, per quern Reges regnant, hie crescere voluit, tarn in perpetuam Rei tantae Memoriam, quam in specimen firmse in Reges Fidei, Muro cinctam Posteris commendant BASILIUS et JANA FITZ- HERBERT, Quod pietatatis monumentum jam vetustate collapsum paternarum virtutum Haeredes, et avite in Principes Fidei ^mulatores, in integrum restituerunt BASILIUS et ELIZA FITZHERBERT, mi cal. Junii An. Hum. Sal. MDCCLXXXVII."

D. PARKES.

Bridgnorth. 4 r

Bridgnorth.

[1764, Part 1 1., pp. 262, 263.]

Bridgnorth is seated upon the river Severn, in the south-east part of the county of Salop. The river divides it into two parts, the higher and lower town, which are joined by a bridge. The higher town stands upon a hill encompassed by a deep valley, which is bounded by rising hills ; it is by much the largest, and contains the High Street, which is long and wide, and would appear better if the view was not spoiled by the market-house, which stands in the middle of it, the Raven, Lissley, and Hurgril, and the two Castle Streets, and the cartway which leads from the bridge. The lower town contains only two streets, and is on the east of the river, as the high town is on the west.

The situation of Bridgnorth is said by travellers to resemble that of the old Jerusalem. There are two churches in the high town, both in the gift of Sir Thomas Whitmore. The high church, dedi- cated to St. Leonard, consists of a nave, a chancel, and two side aisles, with a tower steeple at the west end. The low church stands near the castle, and is dedicated to St. Mary Magdalen ; it consists of a nave, a chancel, and an aisle on the north side, and a tower steeple. Both these churches are old mean buildings of red stone. The present minister of the high church is Mr. Littleton; the minister of the low church is Mr. Yeates. In the high churchyard is a library built and furnished by subscription; the books are chiefly the Fathers, divinity, and Church history.

In the high churchyard is also a free school, the salary £24 per annum, and a house ; there are two meeting houses in the high town, one for the Presbyterians, the teacher Mr. Andrews, the other for the Anabaptists, the teacher Mr. M'Gowan. The market is kept on Saturday ; the fairs are held on June 30, August 2, October 29, and a movable fair held on February 10 in 1763.

Bridgnorth is a peculiar belonging to Sir Thomas Whitmore, exempt from the bishop and archdeacon, and governed in ecclesias- tical matters by an official, who is at present the Rev. Mr. Whitmore, brother to Sir Thomas, rector of Stockton, near the town. The town is governed by two bailiffs, chosen annually, and sends two members to Parliament, the present members being the Honourable John Grey, Esq., brother to the Earl of Stamford, and General Whitmore, brother to Sir Thomas. The situation of the town is very pleasant, and the views amongst the hills exceeding delightful. There is a walk round the Castle Hill kept in good order, which commands a prospect of the low town, the river, and the common called Morfe, where the races are kept ; Charles I. said he esteemed it the most pleasant place in all his dominions. There is also a pleasant walk on Morfe which affords a charming view of the adjacent country.

4 2 Shropshire.

There are several houses and cellars hewn out of the rock as you go from the bridge to the upper town.

On the west side of the river there is an old priory, now converted into an ale-house, which was founded by John Talbot, Earl of Shrewsbury, for Grey Friars of St. Francis.

There were also two hospitals in the town, one called St. John's, the other St. James's, now the house of Mr. Sanier ; there is a bowling-green near the castle. On the opposite side of the valley that encompasses the town is still to be seen the mount on which the rebels, in the time of Charles I., planted their cannon against the castle. The way that leads to the north gate of the town is cut through a rock.

Bridgnorth was first built by ^thelfleda, sister of Edward the Elder, and wife of Etheldred, King of the Mercians, whom she governed, after her husband's death, for the space of eight years. The castle was in all probability built by Roger of Montgomery, whose son, Robert de Bellesmo, Earl of Shrewsbury, built the walls. When he rebelled against Henry IM that prince besieged and took the town and castle. At the siege Sir Raulph de Pitchford behaved so valiantly that Henry gave him the little town hard by, now called the low town, to hold by service, viz., " To find dry wood for the great chamber of the castle against the coming of the king." When Roger Mortimer rebelled against King Henry II., that prince besieged and took both town and castle ; at the siege of the castle, an arrow being levelled at Henry, Sir Robert de Syncler, or Santa Clara, interposed himself, and, to save his prince, received the arrow into his own body, which killed him.

Bridgnorth espoused the cause of Charles I., and was taken by the rebels by surprise. After the town was taken, the governor, perceiv- ing the rebels made their approaches against the castle under cover of the houses, set the town on fire, which consumed the greatest part of it, together with the church of St. Leonard. The castle was at length taken, and is now demolished, except the north-ea^st part, which is forced, by the balls shot against it, many yards from the perpendicular, and seems ready to fall, to the great surprise of all who see it. The church of St. Mary Magdalene was the magazine for the garrison of the castle. Henry of Huntingdon hath left us these verses in praise of JEthelfleda, the foundress of the town.

" O Elfleda potens, O terror virgo virorum,

Victrix naturae, nomine digna viri, Te, quo splendidior fores, natura puellam,

Te probitus fecit, nomen habere viri, Te mutare decet, sed solum nomina sexus,

Tu regina potens, rexque trophea parans. Tarn nee Caesarei tantum meruere triumphi,

Caesare splendidior, virgo, virago, vale."

The principal seats near Bridgnorth are : Apley, the house of Sir

Bridgnorth. 43

Thomas VVhitmore ; Enville, of Lord Stanford ; Dudmaston, of Lady Woolrick ; Morvil, of Miss Weaver ; Davenport House, of — Davenport, Esq ; Stanlaw, of Sir Thomas Jones ; Kinlet, of Charles Baldwyn, Esq.

A mile from Bridgnorth is Quat, formerly a collegiate church, founded by an Earl of Montgomery, in memory of meeting his lady in that place. PALEOPHILUS.

[1783, Part L, pp. 373, 374.]

The site of Bridgnorth is most beautiful and romantic. It stands on the banks of the river Severn (which has here a fine clear rapid stream), and is built at the foot, sides, and summit of a sloping rock, formerly decorated with a castle, a very stupendous fragment of which still astonishes the spectator with its hanging tower. Round the edge of this rock runs a most beautiful walk, called the Castle Hill, that looks down on a delightful vale, wherein the river Severn winds its course through the most lovely meadows, over-hung with woods, and ex- hibiting the most enchanting variety of hill and dale, slope and lawn, with the constant moving picture of boats and barges gliding through them.

But the situation of this charming little town is no less healthy than it is pleasant ; the air is most salubrious, the soil light, clean, and dry. In all directions round it there is not an inch of boggy, swampy ground. The light sandy rock, on which the town is chiefly built, absorbs, or its quick descent to the river speedily carries oft, all impurities. For many miles adjoining to the town is the ancient forest of Morfe, long since cleared of trees, and now presenting only a fine open common of dry gravelly soil, covered with a delightful verdure, and affording most agreeable walks or rides, equally con- ducive to health and pleasure. From the healthiness of its situation and the long life of its inhabitants, Bridgnorth has been called the Montpellier of this country, it having been observed that the inhabi- tants of this town frequently escape epidemical and contagious dis- eases when they are most prevalent or fatal elsewhere. It has indeed one peculiar convenience, that valetudinarians of every kind may find a situation nicely adapted to their peculiar case ; for the town is divided into two parts, separated by the river Severn. The High Town, as it is called, seated on the top of the hill, is happily adapted to such constitutions as require a clear sharp air. The Low Town, situated in the vale beneath, and sheltered on all sides, affords a temperature the most mild and soft imaginable ; while such as wish for a residence not so exposed as the one nor so confined as the other, may choose it in any intermediate degree on the side of the hill from the foot to the summit. And to persons in the decline of life, who wish to be supported by the comforts of religion, it may be desirable to know that this town has two spacious churches, in

44 Shropshire.

one of which morning prayer and in the other evening prayer is daily performed throughout the year, and in both are two sermons every Sunday. Let me add that there is a taste for music also cultivated in this town and neighbourhood, and some ingenious persons meet at their own houses to play in concert, to whom any stranger that cultivates this enchanting art would be a most desirable acquisi- tion. . . .

Though well seated for commerce, this town has been robbed of its trade, like several others lately on the Severn, by the new naviga- tion on the canal to Stourmouth, lower down the river. . . .

It is situate about 140 miles from London, and has easy access to the Metropolis, by means of the great variety of stage coaches, flys, diligences, etc., that perform the journey in a day to the neighbour- ing towns of Wolverhampton, Birmingham, and Worcester. I believe it has also a diligence of its own. A post coach or diligence regu- larly passes through this town from Chester to Bath, which opens a communication either westward through Shrewsbury to Holyhead, for Ireland, or northwards through Kendal and Carlisle for Scotland, or southwards through Worcester and Gloucester for South Wales and the West of England. But on the river Severn itself (a fine navigable stream) safe and commodious stage wherries constantly ply through this town from Shrewsbury to Worcester and Gloucester, and back again, wherein a whole family may be carried, with bag and baggage, sixty or seventy miles for a very trifling fare, Bridgnorth affording a central stage to all these places ; and at Stourmouth, about twelve or fourteen miles below on this river, comes in the new navigable canal, which opens a communication to every part of England by inland navigation. A HALF-PAY OFFICER.

[1801, Part //., /. 978.]

I send you a slight sketch (Fig. 3) of the building that was made to succeed to the old collegiate church of St. Mary, within the castle at Bridgnorth. When the church of St. Chad, at Shrewsbury, fell down about 1792, the parishioners of this church took it into their heads that it also threatened ruin, and accordingly rebuilt it, of which they now heartily repent. Mr. Grose has given a distant view of the old structure in his print of the castle ; and the different views of the town preserve the remembrance of it. In the churchyard are no monuments of consequence ; and in the porch of St. Laurence, or the upper church in the town, is fixed up an inscription, removed from hence with the remains of John and Samuel Dickinson, who died 1773 and 1779, and were deposited in a vault, November 7, 1793.

P.Q.

The only remains of the castle is " part of a tower, which by under-

Buildwas.

45

mining was made to incline so much that it appears to threaten destruction to such as approach it. It makes an angle of 13 degrees with the horizon, or 17 from the perpendicular." GROSE.

Buildwas. [i773» /A 281, 282.]

On Thursday, May 27, Samuel Wilcocks and John Roberts, who live at a house called The Birches, near Buildwas Bridge, looking out of their window about four o'clock in the morning, saw the earth open in an instant, and move, with amazing velocity, towards the Severn, which it soon reached, and entirely stopped the current for more than three hours.* Next the river, on the east side, there was a coppice, in which grew between twenty and thirty large oaks. This coppice was forced into the Severn, and entirely choked up the channel, one side resting upon the opposite shore. Most of the trees still stand erect ; some few lean on one side, and three or four are fallen down. The land, which came down from the higher part of the hill, brought the hedges and trees standing in their proper position, a few only excepted. A turnpike road, at the bottom of the hill, which ran parallel to the river, is removed about 30 yards nearer to the river, and is, in all probability, made for ever impass- able. A barn was carried about 40 yards from its place, and then fell down, and now lies in ruins. The land, for about 30 acres compass, is full of deep cracks, from 6 inches to above a yard wide. There are two deep chasms, supposed to be more than 20 yards wide, and 30 feet deep. That to the left extends down to the place where the turnpike road lay, but that to the right doth not extend so far.f At the uppermost part of the chasm, to the left, there are several pyramids standing apart, and heaps of earth of an amazing bigness separated from the land, which went down the hill. One Cookson, a farmer, who lives above half a mile lower down, says that an uncommon wind, which attended the eruption, greatly astonished him, and rattled against his windows, as if great numbers of hail- stones had violently beat against them.J The stoppage of the river caused a sudden inundation above, and a fall below, which happened

* Previous to this, in the night of the 251!), the wife of Samuel Wilcocks, who lived in the same house, perceived the bed to shake under her, and saw some balm-tea in a cup so much agitated as to spill over, without any visible cause.

t The crack which formed these chasms ran very quick upwards from the river, which shows that the ground first gave way there ; yet the men perceived the house to shake, and had quitted it with all the rest of the family before the earth gave way.

J The coppice, when it moved, forced the waters of the Severn in columns, like a fountain, into the air, heaving the bed of the river up, and throwing out the fish upon the dry land, and leaving the channel dry below. It is not said how far ; but we may suppose, from the time that the current was stopped, that it must have been so for some miles.

46 Shropshire.

so quick that some boats were heeled over, and when the stream came down were sunk. There are many cracks in the coppice that now fills up the old channel of the Severn, through which the eels crept, and were taken by the people who happened to be the first spectators.

This convulsion of the earth was perceived at Wenlock and Bridg- north. A field of oats* next the coppice is entirely destroyed, and the land now appears as if it had been blown up with gunpowder. Where the moving earth was stopped by the coppice, it is now formed into a small hill. The land shakes in many places as you pass over it, especially in the coppice.

The Severn has formed a new channel through a meadow that lay on the west side of the river ; and one part of this meadow, about 30 yards in breadth, is now joined to the coppice, which before lay opposite to it on the other side of the water.

The resort of company to view this most astonishing scene is very great, it being believed that three thousand persons went there on Sunday, the 3oth. Mr. Fletcher, Vicar of Madeley, which is the next parish, preached in the coppice on Friday, the 28th, to a numerous audience, among whom, it is said, there were twenty-three clergymen.

When Wilcocks saw the earth begin to open, he immediately alarmed his wife and four children, and fled from the place. One boy, who is lame, expressed great anxiety that he should lose his life, because he could not run away. . . .

The present appearance of the place presents us with a melan- choly prospect of nature in ruins, and ought to impress the most careless mind with reverential fear. S. W.

Bur ford.

[1808, Part //.,//. 984, 985-]

I send you the following monumental inscriptions, to be found in Burford Church, a village in Shropshire, about two miles distant from Tenbury in Worcestershire.

i.

On a marble mural monument by the side of the chancel window :

" Near this place lie the remains of William Wormington, M. A., Rector of the second portion of Burford, Vicar of Stanton Lacy, in the county of Salop, and Chaplain to the Right Honourable Lord Craven. Ob. 7 December, MDCCLIV. anno astatis 57."

* This field was observed by Wilcocks and Roberts to heave up and roll over like a wave of the sea, before ever they saw the crack begin to run that formed the chasm.

Burford. 47

2.

Below the above, on a small circular marble tablet, in Roman letters, having a coat of arms at the top :

" In memoriam Elizabeths Thomse Cornewel militis et Baronis de Burford, et Annse uxoris ejus, filise natu quartae, hie depobitse vicessimo sexto die Octobris anno D'ni 1675.

" Si pietas & prisca fides, virgine digna,

Et senis & juvenis, mira pudicitia ; Si charitas inopes pascens, medicansque cubantes,

Consequitur laudes, justaque ferre rogi ; Hanc merito celebrent pnesens & postera secla,

Prsebentem hoec oculis conspicienda suis. Sex nempe undenos & tres impelverat annos,

Sanctaque fide manens castaque larga manu ; Nunc linquit mundum immundum, coeloque potitur,

Et Christi sponsi semper amore nitet. Heu fuit ! heu vitam consumpsit flam'ula febris,

Viva ast virtutis gloria morte caret."

3-

On the south wall of the chancel is a handsome monument to the memory of Thomas Cornwall. Within a circular-arched niche are male and female images kneeling on cushions, having a desk between them, on each side of which is a book open. The images have their hands uplifted as in prayer, and appear looking at the books, over which is inscribed the following :

" O Lord, our souls receive,

And eake our sins forgive ; With joy this world we leave,

And hope with thee to live ; Through Christ our Lord. Amen."

Round the arch is inscribed :

"This monument was made by the appointment and charge of Sir Thomas Cornwall, Knt., in the year of our Lord God one thousand six hundred and thirty."

Under the image is :

"TRIVNI DEO SIT HONOR ET GLORIA."

Below the whole, in two compartments :

" Here lyeth the body of Thomas Cornwall, son of Richard, brother to Sir Edmund Cornwall, Baron of Burford, who tooke to wife Katherine, daughter to John Harley, of Bromtonbrian, in the county of Hereford, by whom he had issue four sons, videlicet, Sir Thomas Cornwall, Sir Francis Cornwall, Sir Edward Cornwall, and Sir Richard Cornwall."

This monument has coats of arms affixed, the motto to which is :

" LA. VIE. DVRANT."

4-

On the north wall of the chancel, without the altar rails, is a mural monument corresponding to the above, having male and female

48 Shropshire.

figures kneeling in a square niche, with a desk between them, and over them the above lines, " O Lord, our souls receive," etc.

The inscription recording the particulars of those to whom the monument was erected is obliterated.

5-

Below the above, within a pointed arched niche, lies a female effigy as large as life. Against the wall within the niche, and above the effigy, is this inscription :

" Here lyeth the body of the most noble Elizabeth, daughter of John of Gaunt, Duke of Lancaster, own sister to King Henry the Fourth, wife of John Holland, Earl of Huntingdon, and Duke of Exeter ; after married to Sir John Cornwall, Knight of the Garter, and Lord Fanhope. She died the fourth year of Henry the Sixth, Anno Domini MCCCCXXVI."

6.

Very near to the above is a movable wooden tomb, or chest, the sides of which have been adorned with coats of arms ; and there are marks of an inscription, which is now effaced. On the top is a male effigy in armour, as large as life. This tomb is between 6 and 7 feet long, and nearly 2 wide ; and may possibly contain the remains of Sir John Cornwall.

7-

Against the south wall, near the chancel door :

" O Lord, my contrite heart and meek Do not refuse, I thee beseek.

" Here lyeth the heart of Edmond Cornwall, Esq., son and heyre to Sir Richard Cornwall, Burford, knight, who, travelling to know Foreign Countries, died at Colene, the I4th year of Henry the Sixth, and willed his servant to bury his body there, and to inclose his heart in lead, and carry it to Burford to be buried.

"The said Edmond married Elizabeth, the eldest daughter of Thomas Barr, knt., of Herefordshire, by which Elizabeth the said Edmond had a son named Thomas, and a daughter named Elenor. This Thomas married Elizabeth, daughter and heyre to Sir Robert Lintall, of Hampton, in Herefordshire, by his wife Dame Lucy, one of the cousins and heyres unto the last Lord Grey of Codner, and had issue by her Sir Edmond Cornwall. The daughter named Eleanor was married unto Sir Hugh Mortimer, of Cuyre Ward, by whom she had one daughter and heyre, who was married to Sir Thomas Worst, knight, ancestor to the Lord Delaware now living, who had by her a daughter, married to Sir Edward Guild- ford, knt., who had issue by her Ann, the most beautifull lady, wife unto the valiant Duke of Northumberland, father and mother to the noble Ambrose Earle of Warwick, and the right excellent Robert Earl of Leycester, and to the Lady Catheryne, wife of Henry Lord Hastings, Earl of Huntingdon, and to Lady Mary, wife of Sir Henry Sidney, Knight of the Garter, by whom he had issue Sir Philip Sidney, knight, and Sir Robert Sidney, created Earl of Leycester."

Against the south wall of the chancel is a wooden frame, orna- mented with a pediment and pilasters, the lower part of which has

Bur ford. 49

folding doors, which protect a painting of the corpse of one of the entombed.

The two following inscriptions are on the frieze of this frame :

" Here lyeth Richarde Cornewayll, esquier, and Jenet his wife; which Richarde was sonne and heire to Sir Thomas Cornewayll, of Burford, knt., which Jenet was doghter and heire vnto He'ry Woga', esq., and Katherin his wife, one of the heires of Dauid Matheu, of Rhaidre, by his wyf, which was heyr to Vcell, of Tortwo'th ; which He'ry was son and heyr to Sir John Wogan, of Wiston, knt. Rich, died a° do. 1568, ret. 75. Jenet died a° do. 1547, set. 40.

" Here lyeth Edmonde Cornewayll, son and heyre to Richard Cornewaylle and Jenet his wyfe, who, beinge neuer marryed, died wythowte issue, in the yere of his age 50, in the yere of our Lord 1585, leaui'g his lands and goods u'to his well beloued brother, Thomas Cornewayie, nowe liuinge, who has caused this monume't to be made for the memory of his worshipfull pare'ts and most loui'ge brother, in the yere of our Lord 1587."

to. ff. Bromfield.

[1816, Part //.,/. 209.]

The pleasant village of Bromfield is situated about two miles short of Ludlow, on the Shrewsbury road, in the hundred of Munslow, adjoining the beautiful domain of Oakley Park.

The priory or cell of monks (see Plate II.) belonged to Gloucester Abbey, which had prebendaries ; they were of the Benedictine Order. The canons of it, A.D. 1159, by the authority and with the concur- rence of Theobald, Archbishop of Canterbury, gave their church to the abbey of St. Peter at Gloucester. King Henry II. confirmed all the estates belonging to it, under the title of the Church of St. Mary, of Bromfield, to the monks there serving God, to hold of him and his heirs in perpetual alms ; the like confirmation was made to it by King Henry III. It was valued at ,£77 i8s. 3d. per annum clear at the Suppression.

The situation of this house was most delightful, between the rivers Oney and Teme. The Oney flowed by the back part of the priory, nearly touching it with its left bank, and a little below was the con- fluence of the two rivers. It is not, therefore, surprising that a place like this should have been chosen for retirement and meditation.

The flat-pointed arch of the gatehouse is standing, with the western portion of the church, patched up and made parochial. These are represented in the annexed view. Adjoining the south-east part of the church are a few fragments of broken walls. Whatever ancient monuments or inscriptions there may have been, not a vestige remains excepting a large coffin-shaped stone in the chancel floor, with a cross fleury, the inscription round the verge of which is nearly obliterated. D. PARKF.S.

Claverley.

[1822, Part //., //. 489-491.]

" The church, with the great and small tithes of the parish of Claverley, formed a part of the possessions of the Deans of Bridg- VOL. xxii. 4

5 o Sh ropsh ire .

north till the reign of Edward VI., when they were vested in the Crown by an Act of Parliament passed in the second of that reign. From this period it became a perpetual curacy, and its clergy merely stipendiary, with a very inadequate income, till the late grants, being within the royal peculiar and exempt jurisdiction of Bridgnorth. It was dedicated to All Saints, and is an interesting structure, being considered the third erected here since the Christian era, at present possessing a small portion of the Saxon with a much larger one of the Norman style of architecture. It is capacious, being 103 feet long, and 49 feet 4 inches broad ; and though built of excellent stone, procured from a mine in the township of Claverley, had been for many years suffered to proceed to ruin. Many of its ornaments, despoiled fragments of pinnacles, portions of windows, and other stones of early workmanship, had long lain scattered around the edifice, to the disgrace of its wardens and the higher circles of its votaries, and the no little regret of the admirers of this antique pile. Through the perseverance of Richard Cotton, Esq., who, appre- ciating its former grandeur with sentiments of grief and respect, on account of its dilapidated state, began the great work of repair in 1819, which had been so long refused, and by his means most happily and comprehensively carried into effect at a very consider- able expense to himself, whilst he was executing the office of warden. It was probably built in the reign of Richard II., the oldest memorial therein being in 1448 ; so that it is evidently prior to that period.

" The patrons and parish chancel, with that of Edward Gatacre, Esq., on the north, the porch and west end of the nave or choir, and the lower part of the tower,- are of masonry coeval with the before- mentioned reign. The south chancel, belonging to the Gatacre family, which is of the same style of architecture, is supposed to have been added about twenty or thirty years afterwards. A very general repair took place about the year 1494, when about one half of the tower and the whole outside wall of the nave and side aisle were re-erected. The campanile or bell tower stands lofty, having had pinnacles at each corner, and in the centre between the parapets. Within is a loud ring of six bells, with a clock and dial ; these two latter were the gift of the Rev. Richard Dovey of Farmcote, the last male of that family.

" In the interior of the church are four chancels, divided from the choir on the south by elliptic arches, and by circular ones on the north sprung from three heavy Norman pillars with wooden screens underneath. Three of these chancels were doubtless originally erected by some of the mesne lords of the several manors within that of Claverley ; in each of which were altars where the priests used to chant the Roman service of obiits, masses, prayers of requiem, etc., for the safety of the souls of the departed great, and of such

Claverley. 5 1

others as had been benefactors to the priesthood and the chantry. The one situated on the south side of the edifice, through which the inhabitants pass into the choir, is the mausoleum of the Gatacre family ; two of its chiefs with their wives are interred under raised tombs covered with alabaster slabs. In its eastern window are some specimens of stained glass giving a perfect figure of the Virgin Mary with a scroll thus inscribed : * Sanctae Matri,' and that of an Agnus Dei inscribed as before ; the colour of the raiment of these figures is mostly yellow.

" The other chancel on the north side adjoining to that of the Gatacre family belongs to Thomas Astley Crowther, Gent., but formerly to the ancient and respectable family of Spicer, who prob- ably founded the chapel there, and that perhaps in right of the manor of Sutton. The chief of this family with his wife was interred therein under an alabaster slab level with the floor, having the following inscription in old English characters :

" 'B. 6. R. S. K. S. Hie jacet Richardus Spicer, Merchator, et Alicia ux. ejus, qui quidem Richardus feliciter obiit die Mensis Marcii, anno D'ni Mill'iino ccccrao XL octavo, cuj. animae misereatur Deus. Amen.'

" After the death of Richard Spicer this chancel, with his other possessions in this parish, fell to his descendants, the Brooks of Claverley, who disposed of a part of their estates in this township to the Astleys, a branch of those once resident at Patshull from whom the present proprietor, Thomas Astley Crowther, Gent., is descended. At the east end of the north chancel of the Gatacre family, and adjoining on the north side to that of the patron, once stood the vestry, which must have been taken down prior to the interment of Lord Chief Justice Brook in 1558, whose costly monument is placed against the entrance.

" The principal chancel, and somewhat more spacious, is that in which the communion table stands, and belongs to the patron. It was erected by some one of the Deans of Bridgnorth, as Prebendary of Ludstone and lord of that manor, to which this rectory was attached. This chancel has lost its originality, its battlements have been removed, and a high, ponderous-tile^ roof now covers its walls. It is much to be lamented that these edifices should be thus mutilated, and such hideous deformity suffered to remain without calling upon the parties liable to restore them to their ancient respectability. Its ceiling had no doubt been of the like beautiful wood carving as that over the choir, but had carelessly gone to ruin and the present introduced in 1601 as appears by that date carved on the end of one of the trussels supporting the larger timbers of the roof, and on another of these trussels are carved the arms of Gatacre : impaling a cross pattee fleury, i and 4, the like invected 2 and 3 ; this probably signifies that the Gatacre family took upon it a part of the expense of that repair. At the east end is a very

4—2

52 Shropshire.

handsome and spacious window reaching from within a short space of the communion table to the roof divided by four mullions ; on the north and south are two small windows with some few traces of stained glass remaining. Within are three ancient wooden stalls facing the communion table, and on the south side are three niches arched probably for the holy water-pots, and another much smaller for the piscina. On each side of the communion table is a pro- jection in the wall, acting as a stone bracket for placing some of the images thereon relating to the ancient worship, or perhaps for the larger lights. The ceiling over the choir is curiously formed of large massive wooden framework in panels ; the part over the desk and pulpit is most beautifully decorated with richly embossed carving, covering each connected joint, nowhere equalled in this part of the country.

" In the windows in this church, it is said, were formerly displayed the arms of Ferrers, etc., and the ancient lords of this manor,* and near to the top on the north compartment of the large window of the patron's chancel is still to be seen the arms, viz., Gules, a fesse between six cross crosslets, 3, 2, and i, or, of Thomas Beauchamp, Earl of Warwick, who succeeded to that earldom in 1389, and married Margaret, youngest daughter of William, fourth Lord Ferrers of Groby, lord of this manor, by Margaret, daughter and coheiress of Robert de Ufford, Earl of Suffolk, and died 2 Henry IV., 1400."

The following monumental memorials were taken when I visited the church, July n, 1821.

At the north-east corner of the Gatacre chancel is an alabaster tomb ; on the table are three cumbent figures, the Lord Chief Justice in his official robes in the centre, a wife on each side with ornamented head-dresses, flowing mantles, single ruffs round their necks, three rows of chain necklaces hanging loose, ruffles with braids at their hands. Round the tomb their numerous progeny in the respective dresses of their time. Round the verge of the tomb the following inscription in old English characters :

" Here lyeth the body off Robert Brooke, famous in his time for virtue and learning ; advanced to be Com'on Serjaunt of the Citie of London, Recorder of London, Serjaunt at the Law, Speaker of P'lyament, and Cheife justice of the Com'en Pieace, who, visiting his frendes and country, deceas'd the 6th day of September, 1558, after he had begotten of Anne and Dorothea, his wiefs, xvii. children. Upon whose sowles God have mercy."

On an alabaster slab, a little raised from the floor, in a mutilated state, are the effigies of a man in armour, beard pointed, short hair, spurs, 5 point rowels. The lady — loose robe, with embroidered sleeves, ornamented head-dress, a single ruff round her neck, and ruffles at her wrists. At their feet are portrayed eleven children.

* Harl. MSS., a small folio vol., p. 42.

Claverley. 5 3

Round the verge of the slab is the following inscription, in old English :

" Hie jacent corpora Willielmi Gatacre, Armigeri. et Helene uxoris ejus, qui q\iidem Willidmus obijt xxii° die Decembris, anno Domini 1577, quorum ani- marum propitietur Deus. Amen."

On an alabaster slab, raised from the floor, with common bricks and in a very mutilated state, are the effigies of a man, with a loose robe and curled hair, and a lady with flowing mantle, open sleeves, and ruff round her neck. Under the figures the annexed inscrip- tion, in Roman capitals :

"Devs misereatvr. Here lyeth bvried Francis Gatacre, of Gatacre, esq., who had to wife F;iizabethe. the davg'ter of Hvmphrey Swynerton, of Swy'erton esqvire, in the covnty of Stafford, and they had issve between them 4 sonnes, William, Tho', Thomas & lohn, and three davghters, Margaret, Elizabeth and Dorothie. She died the igth of Ivne, in the yeare of ovr Lord 1599, on whose sole God. . . . Amen."

Arms : Quarterly, Gules and ermine ; on the second and third 3, piles of the first on a fesse azure five bezants : impaling, Argent, a cross formee flory sable.

On a tablet against the north wall :

" Hie jacet humatum corpus Thomae Astley, gen. qui die quarto Mail, anno Dom'. Millesimo septingentesimo decimoq' septimo, et aetatis suae septuagesimo sexto, animam efflavit."

On a table against the north wall of the choir :

"Richard Dovey, of Farmcott, gent., died nth day of Sept., 1711, aged 44 years.

"Margaret, his wife, daughter of Edward Fregleton, of Powk-hall, gent., died 23d of August, 1734."

Arms : Azure, a fess argent, between 3 doves of the same, beaked and legged gules.

On a marble tablet against the north wall :

" Non procul ab hoc loco inhumatur corpus Henrici Hawkins, gen., qui ex hac vit& migravit decimo quarto die Januarij, 1680. Panterq' corpus Margarettae uxoris Edvardi P'regleton, gen. et sororis prasdicti Henrici Hawkin?, quae hanc vitam deposuit viccsiino quinto die Aprilis, 1701."

On a tablet of white marble against the south wall :

"William Woolryche Lea, late of Ludstone, in this parish, gentleman, died the I2th day of June, 1815, in the 39th year of his age."

In the village of Claverley, facing the south gateway into the churchyard, is an ancient stone cross, raised on steps ; the base and shaft are plain, but the capital is canopied, and the niches were formerly decorated with sculpture. D. PARKES.

54 Shropshire.

Cleobury Mortimer.

[1793, Part L, p. 19-]

In the parish church of Cleobury Mortimer is the following in- scription on a plain stone :

" The Reverend Mr. William Edwards, late Vicar of this church, departed this life Feb. 16, 1738, aged 77." [Verses omitted.] D. PARKES.

Clive.

[1811, Part //.,/. 3°9-]

Fig. 2 is the remains of a mansion at the Clive, about seven miles from Shrewsbury, in which William Wycherley, Esq., the Thalian bard, was born, in 1640. The house was a handsome structure, but much has been let go to decay, and the remainder repaired in a clumsy, incongruous manner for a farm-house. The large walnut- tree shown in the view is said to have been planted by the poet ; but I cannot vouch for its authenticity. The late Mr. Gardner, of Sansaw, whose beautiful grounds reach near Wycherley's mansion, intended to have erected an urn, and to have placed it in a rocky recess in his grounds, the walk to which was called " Wycherley's Walk "; I believe it was not erected, through the negligence of the statuary in Shrewsbury, who deferred it from time to time, till it was finally given up.

The following inscription was to have been placed on the pedestal :

"To WILLIAM WYCHERLEY, Esq., the celebrated Dramatic Poet, this Urn is dedicated."

D. PARKES.

[1812, Part /., p. 609 ]

As you have so faithfully recorded the birth-place of Wycherley the poet, you will probably have no objection to a view of the Clive Chapel, near the Hall, the place of sepulture of his ancestors (see Plate I.). The poet was buried at St. Paul's, Covent Garden, but I believe no monumental memorial is to be found there, at least I sought for it without success in 1804. The following memorials are at the Clive.

On a plain stone, within the communion rails :

"HERE LYES THE BODY OF DANIEL WYCHERLY, ESQ., WHO DECEASED THE FIFTH DAY OF MAY, ANNO DOM. 1697, IN THE 8lst YEAR OF HIS AGE."

On a plain tomb in the chapel-yard :

" HERE LYETH THE BODY OF JOHN WYCHERLEY, GENT., 30. SONNE OF DANIEL WYCHERLEY, ESQ., WHO DECEASED THE 20th DAY OF IVNE ANNO DOM. 1691."

The subjoined pedigree of the Wycherley family may be worth preserving.

55

Clive.

Roger Wycherley, of Clive, 10 Henry lV.=j= John Wycherley, of Clive, 2 Edward IV.=f= John Wycherley, of Clive, 16 Henry VII.=f=

Win. Wycherley, of Clive, 8 Hen. VIII.=f=

I '

Wm. Wycherley, of Clive, 3 Phil. & M.=f=Mary, daughter and coheir of Richard

I 1 ' Geary, of the Clive.

William. Richard, 22 Eliz.n=Eliz. dau. Thos. Richardson, of

r~

Whitchurch, co. Salop.

Daniel Wycherley, of Clive=pMargaret, dau. of Wm. Wolfe, of Acton Reynold.

1 — John, baptized at Shrewsbury, May 1 6, 1663.	Daniel, of Clive,=f=Bethia, daughter, of Eliz. 1672, a Teller of 1 Wm. Shringston, of Alice, the Exchequer. | Whitchurch, Hants. Mary.
William WycherUy, the Dramatic Poet.	i i i ' " i George. Henry. Eliz. Frances. D. PARKES.

Clun.

[1793, Part L, p. 18.]

I make no apology for sending you the enclosed view of Clun Castle (Plate II., Fig. 2), and hope you will not think it unworthy a place in the Gentleman's Magazine. Clun* is a small market town in Shropshire, about six miles from Bishop's Castle, in the same county ; it contains little worth notice beside the castle, which is now in ruins, and an hospital founded by Henry Howard, Earl of Northampton, for twelve men and a master, in the reign of James I.

Clun Castle was built by the Fits Alans, descendants of Alan, son of Flaold the Norman, afterwards Earls of Arundel. The manor of Clun was originally in the family of the Says, and came to William Fits Alan, grandson of Flaold, by marriage with Isabel, daughter of Helias de Say. Their son William built the castle 24 Henry III. His son John was captain-general of the forces for guarding the Marches. In this family, afterwards Earls of Arunde), it continued till Queen Elizabeth's time, when the last earl died. About 1549, Mary Fits Alan married to Philip Howard, son of Thomas, Duke of Norfolk ; it came to that noble family, and from them to the Walcots, from whom it was purchased by the late Lord Clive. f

Near Clun is Caer Caradoc, a hill famous for being the place where Caractacus, the renowned British king, about A.D. 53, defended himself so bravely against Ostorius and the Roman legions.

There are the remains of some other camps in the neighbourhood, which appear to be Roman work, and were probably thrown up by Ostorius. D. PARKES.

* "Colun," British "Colunwy," and by contraction " Clun."— " Camd. Brit." t Cough's " Camden," vol. ii., p. 404.

56 Shropshire.

Cound.

[1820, Part //., pp. 201, 202.]

Counde, or Cund, is situated about seven miles north-east of Shrewsbury ; it is a Rectory in the Deanery of Salop, and Hundred of Condover. The church is rather a handsome structure, dedicated to St. Peter ; it consists of a broad aisle, chancel, and side aisle to the south, divided by four pointed arches supported by circular columns with plain lined capitals ; there is a piscina on the south side in an ornamented niche. The font appears of considerable antiquity ; it is banded round the top with foliage much mutilated, under which, with roses in circlets, the lower part is quite plain. There are some remains of stained glass in the east window of the south aisle. The exterior of the south side of the chancel has been repaired in a most incongruous manner with common brickwork. The following monumental memorials were transcribed at the time I visited the church, September 18, 1810.

On a marble tablet against the south wall of the chancel :

" M. S.

"Juxta manent Resurrectionem Justorum, JACOBUS CRESSETT, Rector istius Ecclesise, Filius Edvardi Cressett, Arm. Natu quartus, et Elizabetha uxor ejus, Filia Johannis Edwardes, Generosi, Parentes quatuor filiorum, Johannis, Andrea, Edvardi, et Jacobi.

Obijt Jacobus, Obijt Elizabetha,

Feb. 8, Jan. 16,

A.D. 1683, A.D. 1692.

JSMBA. 69. Misii. 77."

Arms : Azure, a cross engrailed or, Cresset ; impaling, per bend sinister Ermine and ermines, a lion rampant or, Edwardes.

On a handsome monument against the north wall of the chancel :

" Near this place lies the body of ROBERT CRESSETT) esq., whose good-nature gained him the love, his probity the esteem, and his sincerity the friendship, both of his equals and superiors. His affability got him the respect of his dependants, and his charity the prayers of the poor, so that he preserved the dignity of his family, and died lamented by all. t jTo his memory, BARBARA, his beloved and disconso- late Relict, erected this Monument, as a token of her unfeigned love to him when living, and unalterable respect now dead.

"He departed this life May the 5th, 1728, in the 32d year of his age, leaving behind him EDWARD, the only son and child he had by her, to inherit their estates and fortune."

On an elegant monument on the north side of the chancel :

" To the memory of Dr. EDWARD CRESSETT, Bishop of LLANDAFF, second son of EDWARD CRESSETT, esq., who died Feb. 13, 1755, in the 58th year of his age. He married first ALBINA, the youngest daughter of GRIFFITH RICE, of Newtown, in Carmarthenshire, esq., by whom he had no issue. He afterwards married FRANCES, the eldest daughter of Thomas Pelham, esq., of Lewes in Sussex, by whom he had one daughter, ELIZABETH, who survives him, to whom he bequeathed his whole estate."

Arms : The See of Llandaff, impaling Cressett.

Coiind. § 7

On a monument against the north wall :

" In memory of HENRY CRESSETT PELHAM, esq., of Crowhurst, in Sussex, and Cound-Hall, in Shropshire, who departed this life the 1st. of Jan. 1803, in the 73d year of his age. He married in 1767, JANE, daughter of Nicholas Hardinge, esq., of Canbury, in Surrey, who survives him. Also one son, JOHN CRESSKTT PELHAM, who succeeds to his estates, and two daughters, Frances and Anne. The above HENRY CRESSETT PELHAM was the son of THOMAS PELHAM, knight, who married JANE, sister and co-heir to ELIZABETH, daughter of JAMES HUXELY, esq., of Darnford, in Oxfordshire, who married ROBERT CRESSETT, esq., grandfather to EDWARD CRESSETT, Lord Bishop of Llandaff."

The Lady Oak in this neighbourhood is nearly demolished. A fire was carelessly made too near the tree, which, communicating with the hollow and decayed pans, caused its destruction. On June 25, 1814, I fortunately made a sketch of the then venerable tree, and took the dimensions, which may be worth preserving.

Girt at bottom 41 ft. 7 in.

Girt in the middle . . . . 24 „ 2 „ Girt under the boughs . . . 26 „ 8J The height . . . . . 42 „ 5 „

D. PARKES.

Cressage.

[1852, Part II. , pp. 58-60.]

Cressage, in the county of Salop, is a chapelry annexed to the parish of Cound, eight miles south-east of Shrewsbury, and contains 1,670 acres. It was a manor in Saxon times, being held in the reign of Edward the Confessor of one Edric, who was a freeman, when there was one hide of land taxed.

After the Conquest it was held by Ranulph Peverel under Roger de Montgomery, the first Norman Earl of Shrewsbury, being then written Cristesache. There were then in demesne three carucates and Servi, seven villani, eleven bordarii, and four cottarii, having four carucates and two more. There was a fishery of the value of 8 shillings, and a wood sufficient to fatten 200 hogs. It was valued in the time of Edward the Confessor at no shillings; after the Conquest at 10 pounds ; 6 pounds had been formerly received. This manor in 7 Edward II., 1315, was written Cristseigh, being then the property of John de Lacy. It for ages subequently belonged to the family of the Newports, Earls of Bradford, and afterwards passed with Harley to the Duke of Cleveland.

In reference to this village the following translation of an extract from the Hundred Rolls of the county is curious, as showing the oppression exercised towards the lower orders of society in the first year of Edward I.: "And the jurors say, that on the Sunday after St. Matthew's Day, Richard Russur, constable of Salop, gave a page named William de Somersete four pence to cry Wekare^ Wekare^ as he went through Cristesech, to the reviling of the men and women

58 Shropshire.

there : and as the page cried out in this manner, a woman came and said, 'Thou speakest ill,' and the page struck her with his sword; and then came one William Madoc, and said, ' Why did you smite the woman ?' and the page struck him and cutt off ... and he fell as if he was dead. Then the page fled out of the road, and the woman raised a cry, and William Wolfrich came following after him, and shot him with an arrow that he died : and having done this he fled towards the wood, and the township followed him with the suit of the sheriff to the wood ; and on this pretence the sheriff compelled the lord of Cristech and the township to pay him sixty-six marks and a half."

On the road leading from Shrewsbury to Cressage stands a large venerable tree, known of late years as " The Lady Oak."* The trunk is hollow, and well bleached from the tempests and changes of probably more than a millennium period. It has been supposed that the adjacent village, in Domesday Cristesache (" Christ's Oak," now, by corruption, Cressage), took its name from this oak. It may also, from the circumstance of the manor courts being held under its spreading branches, have derived an attached veneration that might have been continued to it from those remote times, when documents were confirmed by the sign or mark of the cross. It is on the verge of the manors of Cound and Cressage.

The girth of this interesting relic is 41 feet 6 inches, and in the middle 24 feet. The height in 1814 was 42 feet. The effects of time and other causes have, however, now reduced it. The upper portion received considerable damage about thirty-four years ago, in consequence of a party of gipsies having kindled a fire so close to it that the flame, communicating with the hollow and decayed parts, ascended to the boughs, and destroyed most of them ; after which it was found necessary to cramp the sturdy trunk with iron to prevent its falling. Within the hollow of the trunk a young oak has been planted, which has so far flourished as to exceed in' height its ancient predecessor, some of the remaining arms of which even still shoot forth leaves. The situation of this tree on the public footpath has likewise exposed it to the wanton injury of mischievous persons, and probably modern improvement, in the desirability of widening the road at this point, may, before the close of the present year, require its total demolition. t

At the intersection of two roads in the village formerly stood a wooden building, which inclosed an ancient stone cross; this was removed about forty years ago by direction of the then incumbent of the church, on the plea of its being used as a place for gossiping.

* See ante, p. 57.

t Conjecture would associate this oak with the far distant time of the early missionaries of Christianity, who- may have exercised their itinerant instruction under the shadow of its blanches.

Cressage. 59

Near this, and contiguous to the road leading to a ford through the Severn (over which there is now a bridge), is a conical mound about 15 feet high.

The old church stood adjoining the north entrance to the village, in a piece of meadow ground about one acre in extent, no portion of which had ever been consecrated for burials. The edifice was possibly the third erected here since the introduction of Christianity ; a timber edifice of the Saxons being probably replaced about the time of the Conquest by a stone building. The late structure was decayed and ruinous, and consisted of a nave and chancel, with a btll-turret rising from the roof at the western end. The outer walls, probably built about the period of Edward I. were composed of rubble masonry, the interstices being filled (as was discovered on pulling down the church) with stones apparently taken from the bed of the adjacent river Severn, which in the time of floods occasionally inundated the building. On the south side, near the entrance, a modern pointed window had been opened ; adjoining this was a more ancient one, divided by mullions into three lights, and containing fragments of stained glass.

The interior was approached by an early pointed doorway, and the nave separated from the chancel by a semicircular arch of great thickness, evidently of Norman workmanship. On each side of this arch was a square aperture forming a " hagioscope," through which to witness the elevation of the host. The rood-screen remained until late years. The seats were of oak, open and primitive, with carved finials at the end, the floor of the aisle being laid with curious small figured tiles. The pulpit, octagonal and panelled in carved oak, is removed to the new church ; along its base is inscribed :

" Hovmfry Dalle, the elder, made this for lames Dalle ; which I pray God to bles vnto his end. Amen : 1635."

The old Norman font is also preserved; the basin is large and round, and encompassed with a series of eight semicircular arches, springing from piers and regular bases and indented capitals.

The dilapidated edifice being taken down, another was commenced at the southern end of the village on an elevated spot of land pre- sented by the Duke of Cleveland. The situation commands a bold view of picturesque scenery, and — not the least remarkable feature of the landscape — affords one of the best prospects of the famed Shrop- shire Wrekin.

The new structure dedicated as "Christ's Church," received con- secration October 19, 1841. It is composed of stone found in the vicinity and designed in the Early English style of architecture, having a tower, nave, and small chancel. The interior is finished in a manner corresponding as far as possible with the style adopted. A pointed arch divides the nave and chancel, the three lancet lights of which are filled with ten scriptural subjects delineated in stained glass, and

60 Shropshire.

comprising the principal events in the life of Christ. This was the gift of the late Rev. R. Scott, B.D., of Shrewsbury, and executed by Mr. Evans of that town. The roof is open, with ornamental principals resting on corbels, and the seats are fixed forms with backs. The estimated cost of the fabric was ;£ 1,200, raised by subscription. Architect, E. Haycock, Esq.

Sir Thomas Lodge, who was Lord Mayor of London in 1563, when (according to his epitaph in St. Mary's Aldermary) " God did visit this Citie (of London) with a great plague for our sins," was the son of William Lodge of Cressage. He was a member of the Grocers' Company, and married the daughter and heir of Sir William Laxton, Lord Mayor in 1544, the founder of the grammar-school at Oundle, in Northamptonshire. Other particulars respecting him will be found in the " Diary of Henry Machyn," edited by Mr. J. G. Nichols for the Camden Society. HENRY PIDGEON.

Ellesmere.

[1829, Part II., pp. 115, 116.]

About three hundred feet of stained glass of the most exquisite workmanship has lately been placed in the eastern window of the parish church of Ellesmere, co. Salop, and which certainly may be considered as one of the finest specimens of the art of glass-staining in this kingdom.

The principal part of the window consists of five well-proportioned figures of the four Evangelists, with St. Paul in the centre, standing on hexagonal pedestals, and surmounted by lofty and beautiful canopies of the most delicate tabernacle work. On each base is an highly ornamented quatrefoil, the centre of which, within a circle, contains the respective emblems of the Evangelists, whilst that under the figure of St. Paul has the following concise, but beautiful inscrip- tion, in Roman capitals :

"Ecclesise de Ellesmere, propter magnam vicinorum in se benevolentiam, hanc fenestram pictoratam pio gratoque animo D.D. Robertas Clarke, A.S. M.DCCC.XXIX."

The figure of St. Matthew shows deep and serious meditation, added to a countenance the most benign ; in his right hand is a halbert, and in his left a Greek manuscript; his tunic is red, over which is a green vest.

St. Mark is a fine venerable figure, whose head appears covered with the frost of hoary years ; he is clad in purple and yellow drapery, and pointing to an open Gospel which he holds in his left hand.

St. Paul is attired in a flowing mantle of marine blue drapery, bear- ing his emblem — the drawn sword ; his countenance is striking and characteristic, seemingly in the act of dictation ; whilst St. Luke, with a pen and an open volume, which he holds in an attitude for writing,

Ellesmere. 6 1

shows the utmost attention to record an account of the Acts of the Apostles from the lips of St. Paul.

St. John the Evangelist, and beloved disciple of Christ, has a most pleasing appearance ; he holds in his right hand a golden chalice — the sacramental pledge of affection, and his uplifted countenance seems earnest in love and affection to his heavenly Friend and Master, who said not only to him but to all, "Do this in remembrance of Me."

The tracery of the upper compartments of the window is filled wich different devices, among which are these armorial bearings :

1. David Prince of Wales, and Emma his wife, who was sister to King Henry II., who granted to her the Hundred of Ellesmere as her dowry.

2. Llewellyn the Great, Prince of Wales, and Joan his wife, who was a natural daughter of King John, by Agatha, daughter of William or Robert Ferrars.

3. Sir Roger Le Strange and his wife, who was the daughter of Sir William or Robert Ferrars.

4. Sir Roger Le Strange and his wife, who was the daughter of Sir Oliver de Ingham ; this gentleman granted the charter of Edward III. to the burgesses of Ellesmere, which was the second charter granted to that town.

5. The Lord Chancellor Egerton, quartering Basset de Blore. A female descendant of the family of Bassett married a descendant of a Duke of Brittany, in France.

Also the arms of the See of Lichfield, the cross of St. George, the Maltese cross, or that of St. John of Jerusalem, to which order the Church of Ellesmere first belonged, and the title of which a manor in the parish still retains ; under this is a celestial crown, with some resplendent rays issuing from a cloud. The smaller divisions of the window are filled with a chalice — the Book with the seven seals — the Alpha and Omega in ruby glass — the Portcullis — the White and Red and Union Roses, and the Agnus Dei surrounded by cherubs, which form the apex of the window.

Whilst the execution of this truly splendid window reflects the highest credit on the talents of Mr. David Evans, of Shrewsbury, and is considered to outvie in effect even his recent and much admired productions in some of the sacred edifices in Shrewsbury, Winchester, and other places, we trust it will be preserved to many subsequent generations as a noble example of private munificence. H. P.

[1850, Part I., p. 72.]

On October n, the fine parish church of Ellesmere was re-opened, with the service for consecration, by the Lord Bishop of Lichfield, who preached an able sermon on the character and duty of public worship. The 'contributions of the congregation amounted to "

62 Shropshire.

The whole cost of the restoration is said to have been ^£8 ooo, the subscription list having been headed by ^3,500 from the Bridgewater family, .£500 from C. K. Mainwaring, Esq., and other handsome sums.

[1851, Part I., pp. 58, 59.]

In the recent restoration and refitting of the large parish church of Ellesmere, Salop, a discovery was made of an ancient sepulchral effigy of a highly interesting character, and of the class of diminutive effigies we sometimes meet with representing persons who had attained to manhood or an advanced period of life. This effigy, which is recumbent, measures 3 feet 5 inches in length ; the slab out of which it is sculptured is 4 feet long, i foot 8 inches wide at the head, and i foot 6 inches wide at the foot, and the material is free or sand stone. The effigy is sculptured in relief, the most prominent part being raised 3 inches only from the surface of the slab. It represents an elderly man, bareheaded, with the hair curled in flowing locks on each side of the face, in the fashion prevalent during the fourteenth century, but the upper lip and chin are close- shaven : the absence of the clerical tonsure evinces 'the person represented not to be an ecclesiastic, as many notaries were anciently. The head reposes on a double cushion, square in form, and the neck is bare. The dress consists of a short coat or tunic, extending to a little below the knees, with close buttoned sleeves, tunica cum mantels botonatis ; over this is worn the surcoat or supertunic, of the same length as the tunic, with short wide sleeves reaching to just below the elbows. The supertunic is. belted round about the loins, and the girdle or bawdrick is buckled in front, and both the tunic and super- tunic open in front from the edge of the skirt 8 inches upwards. From the girdle on the left side of the effigy is suspended by a narrow strap an inkhorn, and by another narrow strap a penner. The hands lie on the breast, with a book compressed between them ; the shoes are pointed at the toes, and the feet rest against a dog. The execution of this effigy is rude, and altogether devoid of that elegance and merit so apparent in many of the sculptured effigies of the same era ; but that it was intended to represent a notary, scrivener, or country lawyer of the fourteenth century, I have little doubt, and I believe it to be the earliest effigy of the kind, and the only sculptured one at present known ; for, although there are some few incised brass effigies of persons in the same profession, the earliest of those which have hitherto been noticed are not prior to the latter part of the fifteenth century, this effigy being of a period at least a century anterior to that date. This monument was preserved a few weeks ago in the garden belonging to the vicarage house at Ellesmere adjoining the churchyard ; but I believe it is destined to be placed again in the church.

Ellesmere. 63

The few incised brasses which represent notaries are of a much later date than this effigy. One in St. Mary Tower church, Ipswich, without date or name, cannot be earlier, from the costume, than the reign of Edward IV. In this the inkhorn and penner, which are connected by a double lace or cordon, are suspended from the girdle on the right side. In the incised brass effigy in Holme Hale church, Norfolk, of William Curteys, notary, who died A.D. 1490, the inkhorn and penner, connected by a single cordon, are suspended from the girdle on the left side, the cordon being placed over the girdle with the inkhorn suspended from the outside, and the penner from the inside. This was probably the mode of adjustment or suspension partially concealed by the sleeve of the left arm, as exhibited on another incised brass at St. Mary Tower church, of Robert Wymbyll, notary, which brass bears date 1506.

The figure of a notary or scrivener, of the reign of Mary or Eliza- beth, with the inkhorn and penner hanging from the girdle on the right side by a double cordon, is represented in an engraving in Strutt's "Dress and Habits of the People of England."

With none of these appears the book upheld between the hands, as with the effigy at Ellesmere ; but Mr. Waller, in his work on brasses, mentions a painting by Peter Brenghel of the early part of the sixteenth century, in which, amongst other figures, is that of a notary with girdle, penner and inkhorn, holding a book in his right hand ; and the book, with the penner and inkhorn, is adverted to by Shakespeare in his character of the Clerk of Chatham, whom he introduces as a lawyer ordered to be executed by Jack Cade. It is possible that the person whom this effigy was intended to represent . . . may have been a benefactor to the church of Ellesmere, as the arches which divide the choir from a north aisle or chapel, the external walls of which are of the fifteenth century, may be ascribed to the same period as this effigy, i.e., to about the early part or middle of the fourteenth century. MATTHEW HOLBECHE BLOXAM.

Hadnall.

[1812, Part /., pp. 609, 610.] .

I send a view of Hadnall Chapel, a small ancient building in a township belonging to the parish of Middle, though it has a separate assessment; but the minister for the chapel is appointed by the Rector of Middle.

The east window was formerly adorned with stained glass, and contained several coats of arms, six of which are shown in the annexed drawing. This place, though at the distance of several miles from the parish church of Middle, was not privileged with the right of sepulture till the year 1808, when the ground was conse-

64 Shropshire.

crated, and is now used for a burying-place for that township and neighbourhood.

The interior of the chapel is plain ; it consists of a middle aisle and chancel ; at the west end is a circular stone font of considerable antiquity. On four shields, at the ends of brackets which support the roof, are the letters " T. D. I. D.," and " 1699," and on the fourth shield a chevron between ten cross pattees 6 and 4. The wooden turret at the west end contains one small bell.

D. PARKES.

Halesowen.

[1795. Part 2 1. > p. 905-]

I have enclosed a drawing of a cottage near Halesowen, in Shropshire, once the infantile school of the celebrated poet Shen- stone ; and, as he hath delivered his humble dame to posterity in his beautiful poem " The School Mistress," I hope you will preserve this representation of the house in your valuable museum (see Plate II.).

A. n.

[1799, Part /.,/. II3-]

The enclosed are two drawings of Hales Owen Abbey, situated about half a mile south of the town of Hales Owen, county Salop. (See Plate II.) . . .

This was an abbey of Premonstratensian Canons built by Peter de Rupibus, Bishop of Winchester (temp. reg. John), to the honour of the Blessed Virgin. Its yearly revenues were worth ^280 133. 2d. ob. Dugd., ^337 155. 6d. ob. Speed.*

Very little of the abbey church remains ; the distance on the right in No. 3, and the view No. 2 (beautifully mantled with ivy), are all. The distance is the spire of Hales Owen and Gent Hill. The view, No. 3, is the abbey house, now the residence of a substantial farmer ; this, it is conjectured, was the abbot's kitchen. When we look upon its extent and the massiveness of the walls, it is not to be admired merely as a curious remnant of antiquity, but as a monument ot monkish hospitality. The large tree on the right in this view is a sycamore ; this tree is noticed by most people who visit the place for its size and beauty. The mutilated tile, No. i, was dug up by a labourer in 1792. In 1787 a stone coffin lid with curious sculpture was found in repairing the cellar floor. . . .

Few visible remains of this once extensive place are now to be seen. Foundations are often found, and if a person versed in ancient buildings had time to investigate it much of its original magnitude might be discovered. D. P.

* Tanner.

Halesowen. 65

[1808, Part II., p. 577.]

The enclosed is a view of the remains of the Abbey Church at Hales Owen. The church when entire must have been a stately edifice ; the chancel (and probably other parts of the floor) was paved with curious painted tiles, many have been discovered in removing rubbish from the ruins, some of which are preserved at the Abbey House. The following persons of distinction appear to have been buried here, viz., John Lord Botetourt, Baron of Weoleigh; Sir Hugh Burnell, Baron also of Weoleigh, who married Joyce, daughter and heir of the before-named Lord John Botetourt ; Sir William Lyttelton of Frankley, and Elianora his first wife ; the figure of this lady (in a cumbent position) was removed from the ruins in 1753, and placed in the churchyard at Hagley by order of the late George Lord Lyttelton.

Sir Thomas Lyttelton by will dated August 22, 1481, "bequeaths to the Abbot and Convent of Hales Owen his Book called 'Catholicon ' to their use for ever, and another Book wherein is contained the Constitutions Provincial, and c De Gestis Romanorum/ and other treatises therein " ; which he wills be laid and bounded with an iron chain in some convenient part within the said church, at his costs, so that all priests and others may see and read it when it pleaseth them.

The Commune Sigillum or Chapter Seal in the reign of Henry IV. was a representation of the Blessed Virgin in a sitting posture; on her left knee the infant Christ ; in her right hand a sceptre. The arms of the abbey, according to Tanner, were : Azure, a chevron argent, between three fleurs-de-lis or. D. P.

[1803, Part II., pp. 613-616.]

With this you will receive a drawing of the parish church of Hales Owen. It is situated in an insulated district belonging to the county of Salop, though more than thirteen miles from any part of the county to which it belongs. This spacious and venerable structure, which is dedicated to St. John the Baptist, consists of a large nave and two aisles which are divided from the nave by handsome Gothic pillars ; the chancel is large. The west end, the south entrance, and curious old font appear to be Saxon or of the early Norman age. The window over the western entrance is of the kind which prevailed in Henry III.'s time. I am sorry to observe that several of the windows have suffered by modern innovation, some are deprived of their elegant tracery, and others much mutilated. The painted glass is almost gone ; when I visited the church in January last I found only the arms of Lyttelton in an east window, and a few ornaments in a north window. In the churchyard near the south porch is a cumbent figure in stone much mutilated, but whom it was intended

VOL. XXII. 5

66 Shropshire.

to represent I can obtain no certain information. Many of the Lyttelton family have been interred here : John Lyttelton, Esq., in 1530; Sir John Lyttelton of Frankley, Knt, in 1589; and Gilbert, his son, in 1599, to neither of whom is there any memorial now to be seen. Against the wall at the end of the north aisle is the following inscription in capitals on a neat monument :

"Dilectissimo svo filio Edvardo Lyttelton, ex tribus natu minimo, Ultimo Aprilis Anno Dom. 1614 ; et anno setatis suae 14 diem. Obeunti tristissima mater Meriel Lyttelton, uxor Johannis Lyttelton, arm. filia Thome Bromley, Militis, Cancellarii Angl. hoc posuit. Ut moneant mentes hominum monumenta creantur, hoc monet, ut discat virque puerque mori.

Arms : Argent, a chevron between three escalops sable, with a mullet for difference.

On brass plates on the floor within the communion rails in capitals :

"Here lieth the bodie of Mrs. REBEKAH LITTELTON, late wife of Thomas Littelton, Master of Arts, rector of Suckley, and some time vicar of this place ; who departed this life September the XXII., 1669."

Arms : Argent, a chevron between three escallops, sable. Motto : " VN : DIEV : VN : ROY."

"In memory of the Rev. PYNSON WILMOT, A.B., who died Jan. 21, 1784, aged 78. Vicar of Hales Owen 51 years."

Arms : On a fesse, between three eagles' heads, two escalops.

Crest : An unicorn couchant.

On a plain stone in the floor near the north entrance :

"Sacred to the memory of the Rev. WILLIAM SUTTON, sen., rector of Clocaenog and Llanychan, in the county of Denbigh and diocese of Bangor, who departed this life May I4th, 1794, aged 70."

" Here lieth the body of Mr. JOHN WESTWOOD, who was vicar of Hales Owen 14 years, and departed this life the I2th of April, 1676."

Arms : Westwood, a chevron, between three mullets, impaling Lyttelton.

The pedestal which supports a plain neat urn within the com- munion rails contains the following elegant tribute to the memory of a pleasing poet and a truly amiable man :

"WILLIAM SHENSTONE, Esq., obiit nth Feb., 1763, set. 48."

[Epitaph omitted.]

Against the north wall of the chancel is an elegant monument by Banks, for J. D. Halliday, Esq. The lower part of the monument has the appearance of a tomb to which the vestry door seems the entrance. In the centre of the monument is the inscription in Roman capitals on a square pilaster with an urn on the top, on which is a bass-relief representing Benevolence clothing the naked. On the left side the monument is the figure of the deceased ; on the

Halesowen. 67

right a female figure with a dog at her feet, and in a kneeling posture seems to represent Fidelity paying her devoirs at his tomb. The major is dressed in that clothing which represents him as having put off mortality yet sympathizes with and feels that attention which is paid to his memory.

" To the memory of JOHN DELAP HALLIDAY, esq., late of Castlemaine, in the stewartry of Kirkudbright ; and of the Leasowes in the county of Salop ; and a major in the army. He was born Sept. 29th, 1749. He married Oct. 23d, 1771, Jane, youngest daughter of Sir Lionel Tollemache, baronet, 4th Earl of Dysart, and knight of the antient order of the Thistle, by the Lady Grace Cateret, eldest daughter of John Earl of Granville, by whom he had issue four sons and one daughter. He died at the Leasowes, June 24th, 1794, and was buried in this church. . . .

" This tomb was raised by his widow, the Lady Jane, and by John, William, and Francis, his surviving sons, as a testimony of their affection for his virtues, and of deep regret for their own irreparable loss."

On a neat monument against one of the north pillars in the nave :

"M.S.

" Humfri Peshall, huj. par. fil. D'ni. Joh'is de Horsly Hall, in agro Staff. B'ti, uxorem duxit Maria' fil. R. Blount de Rowley, ex qua suscep't Joh. Laur. Hum. Maria' Eliz. Jana'. Ob't Jul. 12, 1650, ret. 51. Joh. fil. et hoer. de Halle, huj. par. ex Maria filia R. Dolman de Clent, filia reliq't. sup'stes Eliz. Tho. Maria". Sara'. Lydia'., obt. Mar. I, 1670, set. 50. Thomas praed. de Hallen, B'tus (post- mortem Tho. Peshall de Staff". K'ti. Anno 1712, s.p.), obt. Mar. 29, 1714, aet. 62, huic pept. uxor ei Eliz. fil. J. Grove de Hasbury. Thomam B'tum, defunct' Sept. 14, 1759, set. 77. f. Sam Saunders de Ombersly Vig. nuptias contraxit, et prolem hab't Eliz. Tho. Joh. Saunders, Sam. Tho., obt. Dudlie., Jan. 6, 1759, s.p., Id. Sam., Nov. 18, 1753, et Saunders, Sept. IO, 1754. Antique et Eliz., Sep. 5, 1774, Cum. Anna (quae obiit), Jul. 6. 1770, ae. 77."

Arms : Argent, a cross flory, sable ; on a dexter canton, Azure, a wolfs head, erased argent. On a sinister canton, Argent, a lion rampant double queued gules, ducally crowned, or, with the arms of Ulster.

Crest : A boar's head, couped at the neck, tusked and crined, or.

Motto : " Suum cuique."

On a plain stone :

" Here lieth the body of THOMAS PESHALL, late of Hawn, gent., who departed this life the 2Oth day of March, A D., 1714, and was buried on the 22d of March, in the 63d year of his age. Memento mori."

On a large stone against the north wall :

" To the memory of JOSEPH HINCHLEY, gent., of Hales Owen, late surgeon in the service of the Hon. East India Company, who died at ihe Cape of Good Hope, on his voyage homewards towards his native country, the 2ist day of Jan., 1776, aged 51." %

On a neat monument against the south wall :

" In memory of ELIJAH UNDERBILL, who departed this life Feb. the 2cl, 1732, aged 71. Also of MARY his wife, who departed this life March 4, 1742, aged 51. Likewise in memory of JOSIAH GREEN, who died Feb. I3th, 1769, in the 47th year of his age. Reader, delay not, for thine hour is at hand. Also in memory of MARY, the wife of Jusiah Green, who departed this life on the I2th day of January, 1774, aged 57. Memtnto mori."

5— 2

68 Shropshire.

On a small stone near the above :

" Here lieth the body of ANN, wife of ELIJAH UNDERHILL. She departed this life Dec. 3, M.DCC.XIV., aged about 60." . . .

On a handsome monument near the font :

"To the memory of WILLIAM GREEN. ... On the 28th of Feb., 1754, he departed this life in the 58th year of his age."

On a large blue stone in the floor near the west end :

" In memory of JOHN SCOTT HYLTON, esq., late of Lapall house, near Hales Owen, who died 23d. Feb., 1793, aged 67 years. A safe companion, and an easy friend."

On a gravestone near the south-east corner of the churchyard is the following inscription, written by William Shenstone, Esq. :

"Here lies interred the body of ANN,* the (loving and beloved) daughter of SAMUEL and MARY POWELL, of this town. She departed this life on the xxix. day of July, in the year of our Lord M.DCC.XLIV., in the xxth year of her age."

[Rest of epitaph omitted.] On a small headstone :

" In memory of JOSEPH SMITH, late schoolmaster at Harborne, who died the Ilth of May, 1775, aged 26 years.

" Lo, here I lie within the dust, In hopes to rise among the just."

On a handsome tomb at the west end of the churchyard :

"Sacred to the memory of the Rev. JOHN PARKES, A.B., last minister of Oldbury, and master of the free grammar school in this town, who died the 29th day of Feb., 1796, aged 36. Also of MARY and MARY ANN PARKES, two of his daughters, who died in their infancy."

Hales Owen is a vicarage in the patronage of Lord Lyttelton. The present worthy vicar is the Rev. Wm. Sutton. In the tower are eight musical bells which have a pleasing effect in the adjacent neighbourhoods.

It may be proper to mention that the annexed view was taken before the trees were cut down which surrounded the churchyard, so that its present appearance is not so rural as when the lofty trees spread out their shadowy branches. The tomb in the drawing inscribed with the name of " Shenstone " shows the spot where he lies ; it was intended that the urn in the church should have been placed over his grave, as alluded to in the last line of the epitaph ; but it was placed in the church from the idea that it would soon be injured in the churchyard. D. PARKES.

[1803, Part II., p. 724.]

On revisiting Hales Owen last month, and looking over the numerous inscriptions on tombs and gravestones in the churchyard

* This young lady fell from her horse as she was going on a visit, and was taken up dead, without any external appearance of hurt from the fall.

Halesowen. 69

I transcribed the following, which I send in addition to what you gave in page 613. On a plain stone :

"Janae ux. T. Higgins, gen. de Hasbery, fil. Joh. Whitwick, gen. nuper de Ledcomb, co. Berc. ex p'tre Hum. de Whitwick, Staff), et Susan fil. Rob. et Mari. Perot de N. Leigh, co Oxon. fil. reliq't Joh. Ric. Eliz. et ob. Jun. I, 1661. Marise ux. R. Higgins, fil. R. Egerton de Cheadle, Staff., et Annse gnatae T. Win- ford, fil. Eatu 2di Joh. de Glasshampton ex qua unigena Eliz. nupsit Sam Sandes, arm', de Ombersley, co. Vig. ob. Sept. 2, 1675."

On a plain stone :

"To the memory of Mr. JOSEPH SHENSTONE, who died November 3Oth, 1751, aged 39. Also to the memory of WILLIAM SHENSTONE, esq., late of the Leasowes, who died February nth, 1763, aged 48. O Viator! Tales animas in ccelis requiescere confide : tales ne terris desint precare."

On a large gravestone :

" In memory of ESTHER, the wife of THOMAS GREEN, who departed this life December the i4th, 1751, aged 75. Also of THOMAS GREEN, who departed this life February the i8th, 1753, aged 73."

[Verses omitted.]

"EDWARD GREEN, of Green Hill, departed this life Jan. the 26th, 1794, aged 80."

[Verses omitted.]

On a handsome tomb :

" PHEBE PARGETER departed this life, after a lingering illness, on the 23d July, ^83, aged 31. PHILIP PARGETER was released from all the ills of mortality on the 25th March, 1801, aged 45."

[Verses omitted.]

"Sacred to the memory of ANN PARKES, daughter of James and Mary Parkes, of the Quintan. She departed this life April 6th, 1789, aged 23 years. JAMES PARKES ^died Oct. 23, 1802, aged 69. MARY PARKES died April i8th, 1803, aged 69." . . .

D. PARKES.

[1829, Part II., pp. 590,59L]

The little town of Hales Owen, composed of several small streets, is seated on a rising ground in one of the most beautiful and pictur- esque parts of the kingdom, seven miles west of Birmingham, and five south of Dudley. It is a place of great antiquity, and though a borough, boasts not the privilege of sending members to Parliament, and its market has long since fallen into disuse. The ancient cross is slill standing ; the shaft is of one stone, about 7 feet high (placed on a single stone, about 2 feet square, and the same in height), sur- mounted by a modern gilt ball and cross. Besides the church (which is interesting to the tourist as the burial-place of Shenstone), there are two meeting houses and a grammar-school in the town.

The church, a large and ancient edifice, built at different periods, consists of three aisles, the ground-plan being a parallelogram. From the centre arises a plain but neat embattled tower, divided into three

70 Shropshire.

stories, supporting a slender and rather elegant spire. The north porch is built of brick, but the south one is of the same kind of stone as the rest of the church. Under the eaves of this porch project stones at equal distances, each ornamented with a grotesque head or animal ; the door leading from it into the body of the church, as well as that at the west end, are good specimens of the style called Saxon, consisting of a head of circular receding arches, adorned with zigzag bands. Over the western door is a long narrow lancet-shaped window, and by the side of it a neat tablet to the memory of James Augustus and Linnaeus Brisco, sons of James Augustus and Elizabeth Hunter; the one died in 1809, aged thirteen years and six months, the other in 1811, aged seventeen years and seven months; also of their four brothers and two sisters, who died in their infancy. A few feet above the chancel window, the tracery of which has been re- moved, is a row of eight small Saxon arches ; and several grotesque carvings are to be observed in different parts of the church.

The interior is plain. The unceiled roof, the low Saxon arches in the choir, together with the dilapidated state of the pews in the body, many of which are carved, present a very antique appearance. The choir is divided from the body of the church by a wooden partition, and is by far the most ancient, for its roof, as before mentioned, is supported by Saxon arches, while that of the body is upheld by lofty pointed ones. The chancel is also separated by a Saxon arch ; over it are the Royal arms and the Decalogue; the Creed and Lord's Prayer are in the north aisle. There are several tablets of charitable donations. The pulpit is curiously carved. A gallery was erected against the partition the whole breadth of the church, in 1735, as is seen by an inscription in front of it.

In the south aisle of the choir is the font, of great antiquity ; it consists of a circular basin, standing on a low massy pillar, raised on a step about a foot high ; four human figures are placed at equal distances round the basin, each supported by a slender column. Near it is a white marble monument, commemorative of Rebecca Powel, wife of William Powel, Esq., who died in [847, and her two grand-daughters.

In the north aisle is a tablet to the memory of William Hinchley, who was for fifty- eight years a faithful servant and friend in the family of James Male, Esq., of Belle-vue in this parish. He died in 1812, aged seventy-two.

The altar is composed of a slab of white marble supported by an iron frame-work. Against the east end of the north aisle are the remains of an ancient fresco painting : in one part the Virgin is seen wilh the infant Jesus ; in another a man leaning on a gallows with a bishop standing beside him ; in a third compartment are several figures in a ship, doubtless alluding to the history of Christ's stilling the tempest. Portions of other figures are plainly discernible.

Halesowen. 7 1

Immediately beneath is an inscription to the memory of the Rev. William Hume, vicar of the parish eleven years, who died in 1721 ; also of the Rev. Thomas Jukes, vicar, twenty-four years, who died in 1779.

In the same aisle in one of the pews is a stone, upright, against the wall, in memory of several members of a family named Cox of Cradley in this parish. The inscriptions on the floor are numerous.

Jos. CHATTAWAY.

[1791, Part //., pp. 1097, 1098.]

The enclosed (Plate III., Fig. 4) is a slight but true sketch of the lid or cover of a stone coffin, found about four years since, inverted, beneath the pavement at the manor-house at Hales Owen Abbey, in Shropshire. It is now fixed against a wall there for the inspection of the curious antiquaries ; none of whom, though many have visited it, have given a decided opinion as to what the sculpture may allude. The figure on his knees (which do not touch the steps under him), with uplifted hands, seems, by the little square grate fronting him, to be a penitent in the act of confession. The book open beneath, and the crucifixion above, are merely emblematical. The star and crescent at top may be supposed to have appeared during the eclipse of the sun at the time of Christ's passion. The star is a mint-mark upon the later coins of Henry III., who granted the lands to Peter de Rupibus, Bishop of Winchester, who founded this monastery for an abbot and Praemonstratensian canons, in 1218.*

Your correspondent G, page 722, supposes the Leasowes, the birth- place of Shenstone, in Shropshire, to be surrounded by Worcestershire and Warwickshire ; but the Leasowes is surrounded for more than a mile by various farms and lands belonging to Shropshire only. One or two hamlets of Hales Owen parish belong to Worcestershire ; ten or a dozen more to Shropshire : but insulated districts of various counties are common throughout the kingdom. L. H.

[1797, Part II., pp. 738, 739.]

The enclosed drawing (Plate II.) is a view of St. Kenelm's Chapel, situated on the south-east side of Clent Hill, in the parish of Hales Owen, and county of Salop; although part of the chapel-yard is said to be in Staffordshire. On the other side the hill is Hagley, the beautiful seat of Lord Lyttelton.

Kenelm was the only son of Kenulf, King of the Mercians, who died 819. Kenelm, then a child of about seven years of age, was murdered by the artifice of his eldest sister, Quendrida, assisted by the young king's guardian, or tutor, Ascobert, who took him into Clent Wood, under pretence of hunting, and there cut off his head, and buried him under a thorn-tree. The author of " Polychronicon "

* Nash's "Worcestershire," vol. i., p. 510.

72 Shropshire.

says that the corpse was thrown into a well. Several old historians mention the murder of this prince, and the miraculous manner of its discovery. Concerning the latter, William of Malmesbury and Matthew of Westminster give the following legendary account: "After the perpetration of this bloody deed, the inhuman sister soon seized the kingdom, and prohibited all inquiry after her lost brother. But this horrible fact, concealed in England, was made known at Rome by a supernatural revelation; for, on the altar of St. Peter there, a white dove let fall a paper, on which, in golden letters, was inscribed both the death of Kenelm and the place of his burial, viz. :

" ' In CUnt Coto-batchc, ^fUiulme lung heame lji)£ih ttnber a thoriu, luatob & bmafrcb.'

"The Roman priests and monks could not understand the inscription ; but an Englishman, being accidentally present, inter- preted it to the following effect :

11 ' In Clent cow-pasture, under a thorn, Of head bereft, lies Kenelm, king born.'

Upon which the Pope sent over an envoy to the English kings, to inform them concerning the murdered Kenelm. The whole being thus miraculously revealed, the body was taken out of the hole where it had been hid, and with great solemnity carried to Winchelcombe, in Gloucestershire, of his father's foundation, and there honourably buried." The present chapel is supposed to stand where the body was found; and the well, which was said to gush out at the time, is now dry, and nearly hid with weeds and briers. The chapel consists of only one aisle, and its interior is very plain. It is maintained by the parish of Hales Owen, and has divine service performed in it only once each Lord's-day. It is a donative of Hagley, and generally given to the rector of that place in conjunction with Frankley Chapel. The views hence are fine ; the Leasowes, the beautiful seat of the plaintive Shenstone, stands just in front. See his twenty-third elegy :

" Born near the scene for Kenelm's fate renown'd, I take my plaintive reed, and range the grove, And raise my lay, and bid the rocks resound The savage force of empire and of love.

" Fast by the centre of yon various wild,

Where spreading oaks embow'r a Gothic fane, Kendrida's arts a brother's youth beguil'd ;

There Nature urg'd her tenderest pleas in vain."

Although this place consists only of a few farm-houses, and the roads are deep and dirty that lead to it, there is a fair held there on July 28 annually, for cheese, etc. At the wake held there, called Kenelm's wake, alias Crab wake, there is a singular custom of pelting each other with crabs; and even the clergyman seldom escapes, as he goes to, or comes from, the chapel. As I have never heard any

Halesowen.

73

reason assigned for this whimsical custom, I shall be glad of any information. D. P.

[1802, Part II. , p. 1177.]

Having given a very accurate north-west view of St. Kenelm's Chapel, I am induced to send you a south-east view of that remark- able structure. The other view was accompanied with a legendary account of St. Kenelm ; with this, you have a few observations on the building, etc.

The general appearance of the building seems not of higher antiquity than Henry III.'s time; but the south entrance, over which is some ancient sculpture, is undoubtedly part of the old Saxon Chapel, which was erected soon after the discovery of King Kenelm's body. The tower is a very elegant specimen of Gothic architecture. On the outside the chapel wall, fronting the south, is carved a rude figure of a child, with two of his fingers lifted up, in the ancient form of giving the benediction. Above the head of the figure is carved a crown, which projects considerably from the wall ; no doubt the whole was intended to represent St. Kenelm ; see Fig. 2. As this chapel was never privileged with the right of sepulture, no monuments or inscriptions appear, nor are there any arms, etc., in the windows. Fig. 3 represents the end of a seat facing the south entrance, which seems the only original seat left, the other being of modern erection.

The following is an inventory of the plate, etc., which belonged to St. Kenelm's Chapel, before the dissolution :

A lytyll shryne with odur relyques therein.

A heade of Seynt Kenelme, sylver and gylt.

A crown e of sylver and gylt, with a cepter of sylver.

A pyx of sylver.

A chalys gyld with pax-brede sylver and gyld.

A schypp of sylver for incense. D. PARKES.

[1795, Part I., p. 457.]

The enclosed (Plate I., Fig. i) is a drawing of the ruinated priory at the Leasowes, in Shropshire, erected by the late worthy Mr. Shen- stone. It was intended by Mr. S. as an object from several points of view in the grounds, and it certainly has a good effect.

The Leasowes being so generally known, any description would be superfluous; but the following elegant inscription may be accept- able to some of your readers. It is in a root-house facing a romantic cascade, and was written and placed there by a late possessor of the place (E. Horne, Esq.) :

"GULIELMO SHENSTONE, ARMIG°. QU1 PRIMUS HUJUSCE RURIS AMOENI- TATES (NEC GRATAS OLIM, NEC COGNITAS) INGENIO SUO INDAGAVIT, MORIBUS COMMENDAV1T, LITERIS EXORNAVIT, SEDEM CUM R1VULO DICAVIT E. H."

A. n.

74 Shropshire.

[1804, Part //., //. 802, 803.]

I send you an inscription formerly on an urn at the Leasowes, placed there by the amiable bard of the place to his brother, Mr. Joseph Shenstone :

" Fratri ejus unico fratrum amantissimo, juvenum suassimo hominum integer- rimo. MDCCLII.

Postquam te fata tulerunt Ipsa pales agros, atque ipse reliquit Apollo."

The urn was removed some years since by Mr. Home, the then possessor, and placed facing the root-house and romantic cascade which he dedicated to the poet, and inscribed the urn, "Genio loci."

D. P.

[1807, Part //.,/. 809.]

The enclosed is a drawing of the urn (see Plate II.) erected by Mr. Shenstone, at the Leasowes, to the memory of his friend Somer- ville, the poet ; and as it hath been admired for its elegant simplicity, I shall be glad to see it preserved in your Magazine, as the stone seems considerably decayed, and in time a representation on paper will be all that will remain. The inscription on the pedestal as under :

"INGENIO ET AMICITIAE GVLIELMI SOMERVILLE, G. S. POSVIT. Debita spargens lacryma favillam Vatis amici."

Fig. 2 is a sepulchral stone found under the gallery staircase, on taking down the old church of Meole Brace, near Shrewsbury, in 1799. The length 2 feet 8 inches, breadth at top i foot if inches, at bottom 9^ inches. The sculpture of it will bear the appellation, extremely rude. May not the cross placed over the circle allude to Druidism being superseded by Christianity? The observations of your antiquarian friends are requested.

Fig. 3. Sculpture, formerly at St. Margaret's Well, an ancient holy well in the township of Hasbury, in the parish of Hales Owen. Dr. Nash, in his " History of Worcestershire," gives the following account of it : " One of the stones contained some curious sculpture ; the figure of a man (in the first compartment) in the posture of hasty walking ; in the next compartment, that of another man leaning on crutches. From hence we may fairly conclude that the sanative virtue of good cold water (for it is impregnated with no mineral as I could discover), especially when accompanied with exercise and a strong faith in St. Margaret, was sometimes effectual here in the cure of lame and otherwise disordered persons." A. II.

[1810, Part /., p. 424.]

In a late visit to the Leasowes, I was sorry to observe several seats destroyed, and the inscriptions no more to be seen, which formerly adorned scenes for which they were so well adapted, probably

Halesowen.

through the negligence or caprice of the different possessors. As I many years back, took an accurate copy of everything at that cele- brated Ferme ornee> as left by the poet Shenstone, I have enclosed such inscriptions as in all probability will never be restored, except a person of true Shenstonian genius should once more possess the place.

In the centre of a fine clump of beech-trees was a seat thus in- scribed :

"IOSKPHO SPENCE, F.XIMIO NOSTRO CRITONI ; CVI DICARI VELLET MVSARVM OMNIVM ET GRATIARVM CHORVS, DICAT AMICITIA. MDCCLVIII."

On the back of a seat, in the shrubbery near the house, was the following inscription :

"AMICITIAE ET MERITIS RICHARDI GRAVES: IPSAE TE, TITYRE, PINVS, 1PSI TE FONTES, IPSA HAEC ARBVSTA VOCABANT."

A little farther on, upon another seat, was :

"AMICITIAE ET MERITIS RICHARDI JAGO."

A. n.

[181 1, Part //.,/. 309.]

Plate I., Fig. i, represents the house formerly at the Leasowes, near Hales Owen, in which William Shenstone, Esq., was born A.D. 1714 ; this is from a drawing by the poet in my possession taken in 1744. This house, by considerable additions and alterations, aided by the ingenuity and taste of Shenstone, was rendered a very respectable dwelling, and remained till 1775, when it was entirely taken down, and an elegant modern house erected. D. PARKES.

[1823, Part //.,/. 105.]

The enclosed drawing is a view of the Leasowes as it appeared in the time of the late Mr Shenstone, and as there is not any engraved view of it in that state, I am induced to consign this to your care, not doubting but many will be much pleased with the representation. (See Plate I.)

Dr. Johnson insinuates that the poet's house was mean and much neglected, which was not by any means correct; for, as his friend Graves observes : " There was the same genius discovered in im- proving his house as in whatever else he undertook ; for he often made his operators perform what they represented as impracticable." He gave his hall a considerable magnificence by sinking the floor and giving it an altitude of 12 feet instead of 9 feet. By his own good taste and mechanical skill he acquired several very respectable, it not elegant, rooms, from a mere farmhouse of diminutive dimensions. Several of the rooms were fitted up in the Gothic style, in which he evinced great taste ; and one was painted to imitate trellis-work, overhung with hazel-trees, etc. This room produced the following anecdote : Mr. Baskerville, who was intimate with Shenstone, one

76 Shropshire.

day took his friend Dr. S 11 to see the Leasowes. After admiring

the tasteful disposition of the grounds, Mr. Shenstone conducted them into the house to take some refreshment, which was prepared in the room alluded to. " How admirably this apartment is fitted

up!" exclaimed Dr. S . "Those surely cannot be artificial"

(pointing to one of the painted walls) — "they must be real hazel- nuts." " Wall-nuts, if you please," replied Mr. B. dryly. For once the sombre countenance of Shenstone disappeared, and, after various efforts to suppress a smile, he at length left the room in a complete

laugh ; and was not less pleased on his return at Dr. S 's elegantly

concluding the conversation by saying : " Whatever the nuts may be, this I am sure of, that I may here exclaim with Voltaire : ' II n'y est jamais une annee sans printemps, un printemps sans fleurs.' "

The house remained till 1766, when it was entirely demolished, and the present characteristic mansion erected by Edward Home, Esq., the then possessor.

The ruinated priory on the left was erected by Mr. Shenstone, and one apartment fitted up with the arms of his friends on Gothic shields, and decorated with various antique reliques.

DR. PARKES. Harley.

[1853, Part /.,//. 50-52.]

The old church of Harley, Shropshire, so long associated with the name of the Rev. Benjamin Jenks,* was an object strikingly picturesque to the traveller as he journeyed from the town of Wenlock to Shrewsbury. It consisted of a tower, nave, north aisle, and chancel. The walls were of red stone, partly covered with clusters of ivy, and further overshadowed by a venerable yew-tree of large girth.

The masonry of the nave had evidently been raised 4 feet above its original height, and was flanked by two buttresses, to which, as indication of weakness became apparent in the building, an addition of stone-work was placed, until each presented an unique, ill-shapen mass. A porch of timber frame-work stood before the south door- way— a low arch of the earliest Pointed style. Above this, in the roof, was a high-pitched dormer-window of the time of Charles II. The eastern end of the chancel was pierced by three well-propor- tioned lancet-windows, and, on the north side, were two round- headed loop-holes, 5 inches in width, but splayed internally to the extent of 3 feet. The tower appears to have been erected upon an old foundation, and probably, from its debased style, early in the sixteenth century. It is of freestone, and finished with a plain embattled parapet and pyramidical roof. Each face of the belfry- story shows a window of two lights, with heads nearly semicircular. In the basement is a late Perpendicular window of three lights ; and * See Gentleman's Magazine, 1852, Part II., p. 605.

Harley. 77

within a pointed arch, springing from square piers, opens into the nave.

The interior of the building had altogether a primitive simplicity. A small pointed arch of the thirteenth century divided the nave from the chancel ; and four octangular columns of timber, roughly worked, and resting on square stone pedestals, supported the roof of the former on the north side, forming an opening to a narrow aisle, built probably in the reign of Queen Elizabeth, and, as tradition relates, by the family of Harnage of Belswardine (an adjoining town- ship in the parish of Leighton), for their convenience in attending Divine worship, and where, in a vault beneath, several members of the same family have been interred.* In the east wall was a square- headed window, divided by a mullion into two trefoiled lights. The pulpit and desk were of the time of Charles I. ; the former octangular and panelled in upper and lower compartments, with a lozenge and sunk flower in each. The roof was open, and from the principals were suspended carved pendents of fir-cones. The font, large and cylindrical without ornament, stood on a round base, and, with the ancient oaken parish chest, has been removed.

Within the basement of the tower is preserved a finely-executed monumental brass, which formerly rested on the floor of the church. It displays a male figure in armour, bareheaded, with his lady attired in a horizontally-framed head-dress, each having the hands joined on the breast, as in prayer. The former is clothed in a suit of plate- armour of elegant design, the head reposing on a tilting-helmet. Around his neck is the livery collar of SS. The sword is suspended on the left side by a belt crossing the loins diagonally. On his right side is the anelace, or dagger. Below his feet is the following inscrip- tion in black letter :

Putrida lapsa caro cosumit vt fun9 agro Came cu flato de9 erigat ethere claro

Et cui p dextra ponai corde repulsa Gta afiexa sit lacryma semp avulsa.

Quisquis eris qui trasieris sta plege plora Su quod eris fuerao^, quod es p me pcor ora Mors vita mactat aiam xpscfce revivat

Terram tra tegat spiritus alta petat.

* The church of Leighton being situated at a distance on the opposite side of the River Severn, access thereto was at some periods of the year, in consequence of floods, difficult and dangerous, and by road very circuitous. The Shropshire family of Harnage derived its name from a neighbouring hamlet in the parish of Cound, and became resident at Belswardine 33 Henry VIII., when Thomas Harnage purchased it from Sir John Dudley, afterwards Viscount Lisle, Earl of Warwick, and Duke of Northumberland. The present representative of the family is Sir George Harnage, of Belswardine, Baronet.

78 Shropshire.

Small figures of eight sons and five daughters with their hands clasped stand beneath the effigies of their parents, and between these are the following armorial bearings : i. Lacon. Quarterly, per fess indented, ermine and azure, in the first quarter a bird ; impaling, Sable, three bends argent. . . . and, Argent, on a chief or a raven proper (Hood).

This memorial probably denotes Sir Richard Lacon, Sheriff of Shropshire, 17 Edward IV. (1477), and 2 Henry VII., who married Alice, daughter of Thomas Hood. There was a shield of stained glass with the arms of Lacon in the south window in 1736. The name previously to 1534 was written Laken, or Lakyn.

The fabric above noticed being deemed ruinous, it was resolved in 1 8 5 to rebuild the same, with the exception of the tower. For this purpose a subscription was commenced, towards which his Grace the Duke of Cleveland (patron of the living), Sir George Harnage, Bart., and other individuals liberally contributed; and the Rev. John Gibbons, rector of the parish, undertook to rebuild the chancel. The new edifice is from a design by Mr. S. P. Smith, of Shrewsbury, and composed of stone found in the vicinity. It comprises a nave and chancel ; the former, 43 feet in length, has three windows on the north and two on the south side, of double lights, in the Perpen- dicular style ; the chancel is 22 feet long and terminated by triple lancet windows, the head of the centre division rising higher than the side lights, and resting internally on slender columns. This contains tastefully-painted subjects in stained glass of the "Salutation " and the " Nativity," copied from designs by Guido, and the " Flight into Egypt " from Rubens, the others being filled with rich mosaic designs. These, with five more windows of foliated patterns, were the gift of the late Rev. Richard Scott, of Shrewsbury, and executed by Mr. D. Evans, of that town. A good pointed arch separates the nave from the chancel, and the pews of the old church have been refitted and placed along the side wails, the middle space being occupied with free sittings. Divine service commenced in the new church July 5, 1846.

There are no registers at Harley earlier than the year 1745 ; there- fore I have no means of noticing the rectors of the parish before those that follow, viz. :

1668. Benjamin Jenks. 1724. J. Painter. 1747. James Dewhurst. 1781. Edmund Dana. 1803. John Gibbons.

The situation of the village is on the slope of high flat land (hence probably its name), near the base of the precipitous barrier of Wen- lock Edge. Helgot was possessed of Harlege at the time of the

Harley. 79

compilation of Domesday. Richard de Harley, 30 Edward L, had a grant of free warren in Harley, Kenley, Wylely, and other manors. He married Burga, grand-daughter and heiress of Warner de Wilileg, and was ancestor of the Harleys, Earls of Oxford. Sir Richard Lacon, Sheriff of Shropshire in 1415, having married Elizabeth, daughter and heir of Hammond Peshall, who had married Alice, the daughter and heir of Sir Robert de Harley, Knt., ot Wyleley, the old Shropshire estates of the Harleys were separated from the name. The manor now belongs to the Duke of Cleveland.

Tradition states that there was formerly a castle at Harley; a residence in the village is still called Castle Hill, and which is con- nected with a small estate (tithe free), the property of Samuel Meire, Esq., who derived it from his maternal ancestors.

Silas Domville, alias Taylor, a great lover of antiquities, was born at Harley. He wrote a "History of Gavelkind " (London, 1663), and several pamphlets in the time of the Rebellion. He also pub- lished a description of Harwich, at which place he was keeper of the stores, and where he died in the year 1678.

HENRY PIDGEON.

Haughmond.

[1813, Part I L, pp. 539, 54O.]

Haughmond Abbey, about four miles north-east of Shrewsbury, was an abbey of Canons Regular, whose retired situation was suited to the solemnities of religion, and whose now scattered remains attract not the notice of a common observer. The standing ruins are principally the once habitable parts : the only fragment of the church or its appendages remaining is the chapter-house, and the original Saxon entrance to the church from the cloisters ; but these two fragments leave us to guess at the magnificence of what has been destroyed ; and we cannot but lament the loss of any part of so curious and interesting a specimen of architecture. The scattered fragments of capitals, bosses, arches, and mouldings, as perfect as if just finished, lie neglected about the ruins ; they are exquisite and delicate both in design and execution — which make us sensibly feel for their present useless and unornamental situation. The door leading from the cloisters to the church is semicircular; the pro- portions are elegant, the ornaments few, but chastely disposed, and bespeak an age when sculpture was at great perfection. The cornice (or rather moulding) is an 'assemblage of the most intricate and beautiful patterns of leaves and stalks entwined ; and a row of curious intersected zigzag, springing from the outer column, and continued round the arch, are all the ornaments contained in the archivolt. The piers of the doorway have two columns on each side, with bases and highly-decorated capitals of heads and leaves ; between which, on either side, under ornamented canopies, are two finely-

8o Shropshire.

executed statues of St. Peter and St. Paul, the former on the right side, the latter on the left, measuring in the extreme height 5 feet. Fortunately they have both escaped with very little injury, except the prominent features of the faces, which are partly destroyed ; in other respects, the hands, feet, and drapery are perfect ; the folds of the latter in both figures are beautiful specimens of diversified forms, and examples worthy of imitation. We now turn our attention to the chapter-house, whose triple arches in front, of Saxon workmanship, have a most majestic and dignified appearance; on nearer approach we are struck with the singularity of design, and filled with admiration at the invention displayed, in almost every part, and the variety of ornaments that decorate them. In every figure we find a lesson, and every part speaks its utility. The centre arch of entrance has no ornaments, except one row of leaves in the outer moulding or cornice : the side arches, though unlike in themselves, yet partake of the same simplicity ; the left has no ornaments at all, and the right but one row like the centre, though of different pattern, and the mouldings different from either of the other arches. They are supported by columns whose capitals are from the simplest to the most ornamented kind ; the side arches are filled in with two pointed arches of Saxon mouldings, resting on capitals and columns of the same age ; these were undoubtedly to lighten this end of the room, in the original chapter-house.* From the introduction of the pointed arches above mentioned, we may perhaps guess with some degree of accuracy the date of the building, which cannot be rated much higher than the reign of Henry II. On the different piers between the columns are whole-length statues of saints, bishops, and kings, standing on pedestals of crowned heads, birds, beasts, etc. These figures are finely executed, and almost every feature in their faces perfect ; but it is truly lamentable to observe, that within these few months, not only features have been partially obliterated, but one of the heads nearly destroyed. It is somewhat remarkable that the internal part of this building is left entire; that is to say, the room remains perfect, though filled with rubbish : this is of modern construction, and perhaps built but a few years before the time approached when it was to be no longer preserved for its sacred purposes, but degraded as a hovel to shelter cattle from the inclemency of the weather. Its form is a long square, with an angular bow window at the east end the roof flat, of timber, divided each way into numerous compart- ments, forming panels, the recesses of which are nearly a foot in depth. The walls and beams are of excessive thickness ; the latter

* It is worthy of remark that the original Saxon chapter-house for some reason was taken down, and by the extent of the west front must have been of large dimensions. In rebuilding it, it was not thought necessary to have it so large as before, and the side walls were built against the two original windows, half of which are consequently stopped up, the other half remain open.

Haughmond.

cut into a variety of mouldings, and seem constructed as if to remain a thousand years ; the fine old oak colour adds to its venerable appearance. Beyond these two curious fragments my observations did not extend ; compelled to leave by the approach of night ; but, anxious to preserve a faint representation of such valuable relics, I walked round the habitable walls, for every part demands attention, each portion offering fresh delight from the variety of styles of our ancient architecture. A noble fragment of the magnificent hall remains, a fine example of masonry ; the windows are of exquisite but simple design, the whole south range of which are perfect. The gable end also still subsists, with two venerable turrets at its base, over whose crumbling sides the ivy creeps, while its hollow recesses are a sure refuge for those of the feathered tribe who delight in ruins. In a room near the hall was an enriched oriel window, which till lately remained perfect; its unprotected and delicate tracery weathered many a pitiless storm, till at last the tottering Irame gave way, and above half now lies in ruins.

It now becomes the painful task to notice the existing state of these valuable ruins. At the same time it must be observed that means have been adopted to which we are principally indebted for the standing of some of the most valuable fragments. The supposed entrance to the church from the cloisters is in the north wall, adjoin- ing the north-west angle, and is protected by that wall, the whole length of which is nearly perfect, and a part of the north wall forms a buttress to the right pier of the arch ; part of the head of the arch is unprotected, and it is only owing to the superior masonry that it still subsists against the weather, not a joint being scarcely visible, or an ornament imperfect. Walking from thence to the chapter- house, we step upon the ruins of the low-laid wall of the church, which lie scattered in hillocks over the site where once they raised themselves with dignity and solemn magnificence. The west front of the chapter-house is somewhat disfigured by two very strong buttresses, which have been built against the tottering walls at the extreme angles for its support ; without these, we should probably, ere this, have had to lament the falling of this most curious and principal feature of the whole ruin. To counteract the pressure of these, two might be built inside against the piers of the great arch ; such an addition could not disfigure the internal appearance, and would materially add to its safety, the standing of which is at present doubtful, the inner line forming a bow of 6 or 8 inches, and the masonry fractured in many places. Near the north side of the chapter-house are still to be seen small memorials, which covered the ashes of the deceased who were buried in the choir of the church, whose graves are now exposed, and trampled on by cattle who come to feed on the turf which, by length of time, has grown around. The shattered fragments of an oriel before mentioned, from its delicacy of

VOL. XXII. 6

82 Shropshire.

design, gives us little reason to hope that it can subsist much longer in so ruinous and hair falling condition as it is now in ; still, we may venture to say that, if nothing of less incongruous appearance than buttresses were built against it, it would long remain to be admired by the curious. Though this may in some measure be considered a defect, yet, if it preserves the last few stones from oblivion, it should be done ; for what ought we not to do to rescue from destruction and hand down to posterity such noble works as make us acquainted with the skill and magnificence of former ages ? But let a due share of praise be given for what has already been done ; it is an instance rarely met with, and an example worthy of imitation. B. C.

Hawkstone.

[1797, Part L, p. 377.]

The enclosed drawing (Plate II., Fig. i) is a representation of the column lately erected on the terrace in Hawkstone Park, county Salop, the seat of Sir Richard Hill, B irt. The statue on the top of the column represents the great person ige alluded to in the inscrip- tion, in his Lord Mayor's gown and other insignia of office, holding the Magna Charta in his hand. From the base of the pedestal to the top of the statue is no feet; a beautiful and grand piece of workmanship. Indeed, whatever is done here by art should be great, for at Hawkstone Nature has been profusely lavish. The inscription, which is graven on a brass plate on the south side of the pedestal, was written by the worthy pjssessor of the place.

D. S. P. Hodnet.

[1821, Part IL.pp. 393-395-]

The communication enclosed contains some account of Hodnet, in the hundred of Bradford North, 13 miles north-east of Shrews- bury, on the road to Drayton.

Llomarchus, or Llowarchus, a Welsh poet, uses the word Hyd- nydh for the name of a place, which Mr. Llwyd conjectures to be Hodnet ; others are of opinion the name is Saxon, from OJo, the owner, or some person of note before the Conquest. Earl Roger held Odenett, which gave name to the hundred in Domesday that has since gone under the name of Bradford North. That Earl held here a presbyter and a prepositus. A presentment was made by a jury at the assizes in the 56th of Henry III. touching the forest of Hodnet. George de Cantelupe, Baron of Bergeveney in the ist of Edward I. was seised of this manor, as one of the fees appendant to the barony of Montgomery. It appears that this George had two sisters, his coheirs — Johanna, married to John de Hastings ; and Millecent, married to Eudo De-la-Zouch — who hid for their pro- perty one knight's fee, which Odo de Hodnet held in Hodnet. In the 2oth of Edward I. a qno-warranto was brought against William

Ho duet. 83

de Hodnet for holding a market, and claiming the emendations of assize of bread and beer, with the liberty of free warren in the manor of Hodnet. For plea he produced his charters, and so was dismissed with honour. The jury at the same assizes found that the ser- jeantry of William de Hodnet was to be steward of the castle of Montgomery, and to defend the outworks of the castle with his family and servants, and that the serjeantry had been given to his ancestors by Robert de Belesme, Earl of Shrewsbury. The daughter and heir of William de Hodenet was married to William de Ludlow. In the 23rd of Edward III. Lawrence de Ludlow, son and heir of Maud, wife of William de Ludlow, paid iocs, for the relief of his manor of Hodenyth, holden by the service of one knight's fee, by Lawrence de Ludlow, chevalier in Hodnet. In the igth of Richard II. William la Zouch de Harringforth, Knt, was seised of this manor. Escheat in the 22nd of Richard II. Roger de Mortimer, Earl of Marsh, was seised of the whole knight's fee of John de Ludlow in Hodnet In the igth of Henry VII. Gilbert Talbot did homage for this manor. In the 32nd of Henry VIII. Thomas Madlicote and Henry Townrowe did homage and fealty, " pro situ de Hodnet manerii." In the i4th of Elizabeth, the Queen gave permission to John de Vernon and Elizabeth his wife to alienate this manor to Walter, Earl of Essex, and his heirs. In the 2nd of James I. Sir Robert Vernon, Knt., makes an alienation hereof to Robert Needham, Esq., and others. In the i2th of Charles II. Henry Vernon of Hodnet was created a baronet of this kingdom.*

Henrietta Vernon, daughter and heiress of Sir Thomas Vernon of Hodnet, died in 1752, and bequeathed the manor and advowson of Hodnet, with other estates, to her cousin, Elizabeth Heber, wife of Thomas Heber, Esq., of Marlon, in Yorkshire, in whose family they still remain, being now in the possession of Richard Heber, Esq., M.P. for the University of Oxford.

Hodnet Church (see Plate I.), situated on a gentle eminence, is a handsome structure, of considerable antiquity, bat, like many of our old churches, several of the windows are bereft of their tracery and mullions, and fitted up with modern glazing, which detracts much from its venerable aspect. It is a rectory in the deanery of Newport, dedicated to St. Peter and St. Paul. The church consists of a north and south aisle, divided by six pillars, five circular and one oc- tangular, which support five circular and two obtusely pointed arches, with plain lined capitals. In the south chancel are three trefoil-headed stone stalls ; the north and south chancel have the old panelled oak ceilings with flowered bosses. Betwixt the south aisle and chancel the king's arms are placed, with the date 1660. Near the south door is a large octagonal stone font, and opposite, against the wall, a box, inscribed " Remember the Poore." In the * Mr. Dovaston's MSS.

6—2

84 Shropshire.

north chancel is an ancient reading-desk, on which are chained, in very old bindings, Erasmus's " Paraphrase upon the Gospells," "The Booke of Martyres," "The Defence of the Apologie of the Churche of Englande," and Stanhope's " Christian Patterne."

The tower, which is in the form of an octagon, contains six bells.

The following are the principal monumental memorials in Hodnet Church :

On a large blue stone in the floor of the north chancel :

"Sepulchre of the HILLS of HAWKSTONE, ah Anno 1500."

Against the north wall of the chancel is a handsome monument of the pyramidal form, containing the arms of Hill, and on the base- ment the following inscription :

"Subtus inter avos, et proavos, jacet RICHARDUS HILL, de Hawkstone, filius, nepos, ahnepos, frafer, et avunculus Rolandorum, notus in suos animi paterni. Qui per novem annos Regis Gulielmi Quaestor in Belgio, et ad plures reversus Commissionarius fuit Regis Thesauri usque ; ad obitum magni istius Regis ; sub initium veto Annse, unus e quatuor Consiliariis a Serenissimo Principe Georgio Daniae pro rebus Admiralitatis constitutus, sed alam illis navabat operam, donee ab Augustissima Regina ultra Alpes, cum plena potestate missus ablegatus Extraordinarius ad omnes Italise Principes preter Romanum Pontificem, cum Victore Amedo Duce Sabaudise postea Rege Sicilice magni et invicti, Animi Principe foedus felicissimum fecerit. Hie tandem spe resurgenHi requiescit Militia; fessus et Viarum. Hie sibi monumentum F. A. D. MDCCXXVI. aetat. suae LXVIII. — Vixi, et quem dederat cursum Deus ipse peregi.

" Arms : Ermine, on a fess sable a casile argent. Crest : A tower argent, surmounted with a garland of laurel proper. Motto : AVANCEZ."

On a handsome monument of white marble against the north wall:

11 Near this place lie the remains of Sir ROWLAND HILL, of HAWKSTONE, Bart., who, having represented the city of Lichfield in two Parliaments, chose to retire from the more public scenes of life and spend his days in his native county. Actuated by motives of humanity and public spirit, he found constant employment for the poor on an extensive demesne ; and while he displayed his taste in im- proving the place upon which his ancestors had long resided, he promoted industry, and showed the benevolence of his heart. In his intercourse with man- kind in general, and with all in particular, who vi-ited his hospitable mansion, there appeared such consistency of deportment as made him an admired pattern of every moral and social virtue. His reputation, unsullied by one ignoble action, justly entitled him to universal respect ; his condescension and gentleness of manners, added to his works of kindness an 1 charity, endeared him to neighbours, domestics, and dependents of every description. When his departure from this world was approaching, the Gospel of Peace, on which he had formed his principles, and by which he had regulated the tenor of his life, yielded him support and comfort, and opened, through the merits of his blessed Redeemer, the prospect of a better country, on which he entered the 7th day of August, 1783, in the 78th year of his age.

" By JANE, daughter of Sir BRIAN BROUGHTON, of Broughton, in Staffordshire, Bart., a prudent and affectionate wife and tender mother, he left six sons and two daughters. After her decease he married MARY, daughter of German Pole, Esq., of Radbourn, in Derbyshire, and relict of the late THOMAS POWYS, Esq., of Berwick, with whom he lived near seven years in great conjugal felicity. His eldest son, now Sir RICHARD HILL, Bart., one of the Knights of the Shire for the county, hath erected this monument to the memory of his highly honoured and justly beloved parents."

Hodnet. 85

Against the south wall of the north chancel is a monument of white marble ; the tablet, which contains the inscriptions, supports a vase with loose drapery :

" In memory of Sir RICHARD HIIL, Bart., of Hawkstone, in this county, eldest son of Sir ROWLAND HILL, Bart., and in several successive Parliaments one of the representatives of the same, who, in the lively hope of a blessed resurrection, through the alone righteousness of Christ his Redeemer, resigned his soul into the hands of his htavenly Father on the 28th day of November, in the year 1808, and the ;6th of his own age. He doired that as little as possible might be said of him in newspapers or on his tombstone. The character he most delighted in was that of a sinner saved by Sovereign Grace. His religious sentiments were those established in the Church of England at the time of ths Reformation, as expressed in the doctrinal articles of that Church, to which he was always steadily attached, though maintaining a truly Catholic spirit towards all good men of different persuasions."

Against the north wall, on an elegant monument : on the upper part a weeping female, kneeling at a tomb, with an infant; on the basement, the following inscription :

"Sacred to the memory of JOHN HILL, Esq., eldest son of Sir John Hill, of Hawkstone, Bart., Lieutenant-Colonel of the first Regiment of Shropshire Yeomanry Cavalry, and one of the Magistrates of this county. He was called from the bosom of an affectionate family to meet his God, after a few days' illness, in the 44th year of his age ; and to lament his early removal from this life, has left a widow, seven children, an aged father, and twelve brothers and si>ters, who in him are bereaved of the protection of an attached and beloved friend. Zealous, conscientious, and active in the discharge of his duty, tender and indulgent in all his domestic relations, kind and benevolent to the poor, and ever attentive to their wants. With a high sense of honour, he exhibited through life an example of strict integrity and the purest morals, and has left a name \\hich will ever be dear to his family, his friends, and the public, and long survive this frail and imperfect record of his virtues, the last sad testimony of the affection, gratitude, and respect of his afflicted widow. He expired full of humble hope in Jesus Chiist, the 27th day of January, 1814."

On an elegant monument of marble against the north wall of the chancel is the following inscription :

" In a vault near this place rest the remains of HENRIETTA VERNON, daughter of Sir Thomas Vernon, of Hodnet, Bart., by whose death that ancient family became extinct. An uncommon strength and clearness of understanding, a steady course of the sincerest piety, and a most benevolent disposition, made her worthy of universal love and esteem.

" That some honour, though unequal to their merit, may be paid to the memory of these her good qualities and virtues, one who was favoured with frequent and eminent instances of her affectionate friendship and liberality, inspired by the warmest sense of gratitude, has caused this humble record to be made. Yet whilst we are paying this just tribute to our natural friends, let us remember that thankfulness ought not to stop with them, but through these dear and honoured instruments of good, raise itself up to its proper object, the Author of them, and every good gift. To Him who both forms our hearts, and puts into our hands the power to be His ministers of kindness and beneficence to one another, to whom, therefore, at all times be supremely and ultimately attributed all praise and glory.

" The above-named HENRIETTA VERNON died the 25th of June, 1752, aged 69. The manor and advowson of HODNET, with other estates in the same parish, she bequeathed to her cousin, ELIZABETH HEBER, niece to the abovesaid Sir THOMAS

86 Shropshire.

VERNON, and wife of THOMAS HEBER, Esq., of Marlon, in Yorkshire, by whose son this monument is erected.

•' Arms : On a lozenge argent a fret sable."

Ironbridge.

[1792, Part IL, p. 625.]

Enclosed you have a view of the iron bridge (Fig. 4) lately erected at Coal brook Dale, on the road between Birmingham and Shrews- bury, and which may enlarge the number of curious matters com- prised in your valuable collection. N. J. M.

[1793, Part Il.tp. 1107.]

The iron bridge, of one arch only, over the Severn is built where an ancient horse-ferry lately was, and is now the most public road from Bridgnorth to Shrewsbury. The views only two miles round are often very grand ; and the road through Much Wenlock im- famously bad, and the inns intolerable. It was cast at Colebrook Dale in the year 1778, erected in 1779 and 1780 — about fourteen years less time than was occupied in building Worcester bridge. Expansion, 90 feet within the arch ; height from the water, 40 feet, which, with the height of the walls it is supported on, makes it near 50 feet. The road over it is covered with strong iron plates, and is supposed to contain between 500 and 600 tons of iron. It was built by way of tontine ; and every person pays each time he goes over, if it be twenty times a day.

The country abounds with. coal, lime, and iron. Here are also tar springs, mineral springs ; and gold and silver are sometimes said to be found. The most curious manufacture is the making pitch from coal. CHARLES CARLETON.

Leebotwood.

[1831, Part I.tpp. 393, 394.]

As a further illustration of Shropshire topography, you will receive enclosed a view and description of the church of Leebotwood, and of the neighbouring chapel of Longnor, which makes a pleasing feature in Longnor Park, the residence of the Ven. Archdeacon Corbett.

Leebotwood is a parish in the hundred of Condover, the diocese of Lichfield and Coventry, and deanery and archdeanery of Salop. The church, dedicated to St. Mary, is an unadorned structure of considerable antiquity. It is of one pace; the ceiling is coved; there is a gallery at the west end ; the chancel rises one step from the body of the church. The tower contains three bells. The whole length of the church is 59 \ feet, the breadth 21 feet. From the churchyard is a beautiful and extensive view, including the cele- brated Caer Caradoc Hill. As this church may be considered the

Leebotwood. . 87

mausoleum, or at least the burying-place of the Corbetts of Longnor, I have subjoined the several inscriptions belonging thereto. On a brass plate in the floor, within the communion-rails :

" Here lyeth the body of THOMAS CORBRTT, of Longnor, Esq., who took to wife Jane, one of the daughtf rs and co-heirs of Robert Morton, of Haughton, in ye county of Salop, Esq., and had issue by her 7 sonnes and 3 daughters, and departed this lile the 2jd of December, An0 D'ni, 1645, setatis suae 83."

On plain stones in the chancel floor :

"Here lyeth the body of GEORGE CORBETT, fifth son of Thomas Cor belt, of Longnor, who was buried ye i8th of July, Anno D'ni 1665."

" Here lyeih ye body of HUMPHREY, the seventh son of Thomas Corbett, of Longnor, Esq., who was buried the igth day of September, Anno Dom. 1663."

" Here lyeth the body of ELEANOR CORBETT, of Longnor, who dyed ye 1st of December, 165..."

" Here lyes Sr UVEDALE CORBETT, Bart. Near this place lyes also the remains of EDWARD CORBETT, Esq., second son of the above-named Sir Uvedale, who departed this life July ye I3th, 1764, aged 66."

On a handsome monument against the north wall of the chancel :

" Beneath this marble is deposited what remains of the most worthy and ingenious Sr UVEDALE CORBETT, Bart., who, after he had seen and known the world, left it Oct. 22, 1701, in the 34th year of his age. He was son and heir to the most excellent Sir Richard Corbett, by the Lady Victoria, his wife, who was daughter and co-heiress to Sir William Uvedale, of Wickham, in the county of Southampton. He married the Right Honble the Lady Mildred Cecil,* youngest daughter of the Right Honble James Earl of Salisbury, by whom he had issue four sons, Richard, Edward, Thomas, Francis, and one only daughter, Elizabeth.

*' Relictae Honorabili revera Dominse, necnon ramusculis bonus spei singulis, omnia det Deus, nunquam non prospere." . . .

Arms : quarterly, i and 4, Or, two ravens in pale, within a bordure gules, bezantee, Corbett of Longnor ; 2 and 3, Argent, a cross moline gules, Uvedale; impaling, Earry of ten, argent and azure, six escutcheons sable, each charged with a lion rampant of the first, Cecil. Crest : a raven proper, in his beak an olive-branch vert, fructed gules.

On a monument against the east wall of the chancel :

"In memory of Sir RICHARD CORBETT, Bart., son of Sr UVEDALE and Lady MILDRED CORBETT, a friend to the Constitution, to liberty and toleration. He served his county as a true patriot in many Parliaments, in his retreat as an useful Magistrate, and a zealous patron of all such designs as promised ornament or utility to the public. In his manners he was gentle, kind, and condescending, engaging the love, as well as the esteem, of all who knew him. He died the 2Slh of Septr, 1774, in the 79th year of his age, having survived his younger brother Edward ten years, with whom through lite he had been most intimately united in all the offices of the most tender and unreserved friendship, and with whom he desired to be joined in this last memorial ol his fraternal regard and affection."

Arms : Or, two ravens in pale within a bordure gules, bezantee, with the badge of Ulster. Crest : as before.

* Her ladyship was remarried to Sir Charles Hotham, Bart. Her epitaph, and those of her daughter Elizabeth, and of Sir Richard Corbett, from St. Margaret's, Westminster, will be found in Wotton's "Baronetage," 1741, vol. ii., p. 321.

88 Shropshire.

On a monument against the east wall of the chancel : "In a vault beneath this chancel are deposited the remains of ANNE, wife of ROBERT CORBETT, Esq., uho in testimony of his sincere and affectionate regard to her memory hath erected this monument. She Departed this life April 4th, T79J> aged 60 years. She was daughter of Thomas Russell, of Lydley Hayes, in this county, Esq., and her remains, together with this monument, were removed from Longnor Chapel to this chancel, pursuant to the will of the said Robert Corbett, Esq., Oct. 31, 1804, tthose body was then here deposited. He was the 3d son of John Flint, by Jane, daughter of \Vatess Corbett, Esq., and departed this life at Longnor Hall, Octr 25th, 1804, aged 78. He married to his second wife ANNE, daughter of Ambrose Isted, of Ecton, in the county of Northampton, Esq."

Arms : Corbett, as before. Impaling, on the dexter side, Argent, on a chevron between three cross-crosslets fitchee sable, an escallop shell argent — Russell ; Sinister, gules, a chevron vaire, between three talbots' heads erased or— Isted.

On an ornamented tablet, against the south wall of the chancel :

" Underneath are deposited the remains of JOSEPH PLYMLEY, Esq. He closed a long life of usefulness to others, and of credit to himself, at Longnor, in this county, May 29th, 1802, in the 86th year of his age. He married to his first wife DIANA, daughter of JOHN FLINT, by JANE, daughter of WATIES CORBETT, Esq. This monument records the esteem in which the moiher and daughter were holden whilst living, and their sepulture in this chancel.

" DIANA PLYMLEY departed this life Nov. 2, 1779, aged 54.

"Near this spot also was buried, June 3oth, 1793, a8ed 61, HANNAH, the second wife of the said Joseph Plymley, and daughter of Thomas Russell, of Lydley Hayes, in this county, Esq."

On a neat marble tablet, against the north wall of the chancel : " In the Church-yard near this wall are deposited the remains of JANE, 2d daughter of JOSEPH CORBETT, of Longnor Hall, Clerk, by his first wife JANE JOSEPHA. Amidst the discouragement of ill-health her mind had attained un- common excellence, and when qualified in everything but bodily strength for whatsoever is useful or elegant in this life, she was removed to one more suitable to her views and aspirations, March loth, 1807, aged 19 years.

*' Near the same spot are the remains of MATTY, second wife of the said JOSEPH CORBETT, and third daughter of DANSEY DANSEY, of Brinsop, in the county of Hereford, Esq. Disinterested and unaffected in every situation, she was exemplary as a faithful wife, an affectionate mother, and a liberal benefactor to the poor. She had passed through many years of bodily pain, which as it did not diminish the patience of her mind, so neither had it injured the beauty of her person, when by a short illness she was lost to this world January the 5th, 1812, aged 40 years."

D. PARKES. Lilleshall.

[1819, Part L, pp. 596, 597.]

There was at Lilleshall, in the Saxon times, an o'd rtligious house which first belonged to secular canons or prebendaries, and then to nuns, which was reduced to a state of desolation by the Welsh in some of their incursions, and so remained till the year 1145. Philip de Beaumeys gave all that track of land between Watling Street and Merdiche, to build a religious house in honour of the Virgin Mary, and for the use of the canons regular of St. Peter, of Dorchester, who

Li lie shall. 89

were styled the regular canons of Donington. Richard de Beaumeys, dean of the church of St. Alkmond, translated his secular canons from Shrewsbury to the new foundation in Bosco de Lilleshall. The principal benefactors were Atlanta Zouche and John de Strange, who gave the church of Hulme ; and Hillaria de Trussebut, the first wife of Robert de Budlers, who gave several parcels of land, and here she devoted her corpse to be interred. In 1 1 Edward IV., the Hospital of St. John at Bridgnorth was put under the direction of this abbey. In 17 Henry VI., a commission was granted to Humphrey, Earl of Stafford, and others, to inquire what enclosures had been made out of St. Mary's of Lilleshall. In 33 Henry VIII., the Earl of Rutland obtained a grant of the manor of Braunston, in the county of North- ampton, that belonged to this abbey. In 35 Henry VIII., the King granted to James Leveson the manor of Lilleshall. Lady Katharine Leveson lent ^120 per annum to be paid from the rents issuing from lands at Foxley for the maintenance of twelve poor widows, whereof three were to be chosen by the minister, churchwardens, and overseers of the poor of Lilleshall ; and to each of them a gown of gray cloth, with the letters " K. L." in blue cloth affixed thereto ; as likewise for placing ten poor boys apprentices, whereof two were to be of Lilleshall parish. The revenues of this abbey at the Dissolution were valued at ^229 35. per annum. This house lying near the Chester road, frequent complaints were made by the abbots that their income was too scanty for the entertainment of the passengers travelling that road. This superb building appears to have suffered but little at the Dissolution ; but the place being made a garrison for Charles L, the abbey was reduced to ruins. The roof of the choir fell down one night about the commencement of the eighteenth century. There have been found amongst the ruins an image of the Virgin with Christ in her arms, many beautiful earthen tiles, coins of Henry III., scissors, knives, spurs, and stone coffins with skeletons in them. T.

Longner.

[1828, Part //., //. 577, 578.]

I send you a drawing of the old mansion at Longner, county Salop, long the residence of the Burtons ; but more particularly worthy of notice from being not only the residence, but the burying-place, of Edward Burton, Esq., temp. Queen Mary (see frontispiece to this volume).

The following account is mostly taken from Burton's "Com- mentary upon Antoninus's Itinerary." Longner is a small village on the banks of the Severn, about three miles from Shrewsbury, in the same hundred where the family of Burton have a seat. The Burtons of Shropshire were a family much in favour with the House of York, and we are informed in history that Sir Edward Burton, Knt., served that side in fourteen set battles. From him, in a direct line, de-

90 Shropshire.

scended Edward Burton, Esq., who had his seat in this village. He was a zealous assertor of the Gospel all Queen Mary's days, and is named by Fox in his "Acts and Monuments " among those who by various ways and means escaped the persecutions then carried on. He being one day sitting alone in his upper parlour at Longner, meditating on the troubles of the times, and the deliverances he and other lovers of the truth had experienced, though many had suffered, heard the ringing of all the btlls in Shrewsbury, which he guessed must be for the accession to the throne of the Lady Elizabeth by the death of Queen Mary. Wishing with certainty to know the truth, and yet not daring to send his servants to inquire, he sent his eldest son, about sixteen years of age, desiring him, if it happened 'o be so, that he should throw up his hat to gratify his expectation. His son, finding it so, did as he was directed, which, when his father obseived, he was suddenly affected with such extremity of joy for the liberty and comfort that God's people had a prospect of, that he retired from the window, with difficulty reached his chair, and immediately expired. By his will he had ordered his burial to be in the parir>h church of St. Chadd, in Shrewsbury ; and that no Mass-monger should be present at his interment, which his friends designing to execute, brought his corpse to the church, but were met thrre by the curate, Mr. John Marshall, who said that he should not be buried in his church, being a heretic (for the Popish priests wtre yet in place, Queen Elizabeth being crowned the same day). One of the friends of the deceased replied to the curate ** that as to his being a heretic, God would judge him at the last day." To whom the curate replied : *' Judge God, or judge devil, he should not be buried in his church." Whereupon his friends being forced to carry his body back again, buried it in his own garden, and set a monument over him, which, being much defaced by time and neglect, it was repaired in the year 1614, under the direction of Sir Andrew Corbet, Lieutenant of Shropshire, who composed the following epitaph, which is placed round the tomb in old English characters.

At the end of the tomb :

"EDWARD BURTON, ARM., ob. A.D. 1558."

[Round the upper part of the tomb [verses omitted].

On the side of the tomb are the following arms : the field quartered azure and purpure, counterchanged ; a cross engrailed or, between four roses argent; this, according to the Heralds at Arms, was given by King Edward IV. to Sir Edward Burton, of Longner, for his eminent services, who also created him a Knight Banneret in the field of battle under the royal standard.

The old house at Longner was taken down in 1803, and a char- acteristic mansion in the ancient baronial style erected by Robert Burton, Esq., the possessor of this fine domain. D. PARKES.

Ludlow.

Ludlow.

[1808, Part 11., pp. 1087, 1088.]

Ludlow Church is a fine Gothic and venerable building, though in its exterior appearance from some points it suffers from the surround- ing houses, which are much too near, and obstruct an advantageous view. It consists of a fine tower, a nave, and side aisles, a cross aisle, or north and south transept, and a fine chancel (called the high chancel), together with two smaller chancels or chapels, one on each side the west end of the great or high chancel, which, in reference to their situation, I will call the north and south chapels.

The principal entrance is through a large hexagonal porch on the south side, which is embattled at top, and its upper story serves as a dwelling for the sexton and his family. The height from the ground to the battlements is about 32 feet. There is also a large door at the west end, and one in the north side opposite the entrance through the porch.

The tower rises from the middle of the cross aisle between the nave and chancel ; it is square and embattled at top ; each of its corners is strengthened by an octagonal turret, which turrets rise gradually tapering, except at the highest story, which is larger than that beneath, and ornamented. Each of these turrets is higher than the battlements of the tower; they likewise are embattled and crowned with a pinnacle. The height from the battlements of the tower to the roof of the high chancel is 79 feet, and from thence to the floor of the nave 52 J feet ; which makes the whole height from the battlements 13 ij feet. Near the top of the tower are some mutilated remains of ancient statues. It has a ring of eight bells, and a small one, together with a good clock and chimes.

The interior of the church is handsomely pewed ; and the lofty pointed arches which support the tower, and those which divide the nave from the side aisles, give the whole a solemn and majestic appearance. The arches are supported by clustered columns, the smaller shafts of which are attached to the main support. Those in the nave are about 9 feet in girth, and the four which support the tower are about 45 feet in girth.

The nave is separated from the side aisles by six pointed arches on each side, from the ceiling of which are suspended two handsome brass chandeliers. At the west end is situated the font. There are two neat galleries, one in each aisle, which do not extend to the west wall by the distance of two arches. In each gallery is a small brass chandelier. The length of the nave and side aisles is about 30 yards ; the breadth of them, inclusive, 25 yards.

The cross aisle between the nave and chancel is principally remarkable for the grand arches which support the tower, and are nearly 50 feet in height. The breadth of this aisle is about 7 yards,

Q 2 Shropshire.

and its length from end to end about 43 yards. This length in- cludes the north and south transepts, or the ends which project at right angles beyond the side aisles, and are separated by wood screens about 12 feet high. In the south transept is an old coffer, containing some pieces of ancient armour ; and on the east wall thereof is fixed a board, having printed thereon the Ten Command- ments, above which is another board with a coat of arms.

[1808, Part II., pp. 1142-1144.]

The north and south chapel on each side of the chancel correspond in size, etc., with each other, and may be considered as a continua- tion of the north and south aisles beyond the cross aisle, being respectively of the same breadth. They are separated from the adjoining parts by wood screens and wainscot, and each contains a table and seats, adapted for holding courts and visitations, purposes to which they are usually applied.

The chancel is spacious and elegant, being 27 yards long, and nearly 8 yards broad. Its entrance is under a handsome organ, and ascended by a few steps, through iron folding gates painted green ; and as you proceed, on each side are fourteen stalls, adorned with divers carved figures. Approaching the altar is a balustrade, or railing, across the chancel, and the space enclosed thereby is ascended by two steps. Two or three yards further is another wooden balustrade or railing, enclosing the altar, which space is ascended by three steps.

The altar is a strong wooden table of no remarkable workmanship.

The altar-piece is a neat wainscot, consisting of six large and small panels, having two fluted columns in the middle, two panels distant from each other, and a fluted pilaster at each end supporting an entablature, the middle part of which, over the columns, is heightened by a round pediment. The height of the whole is 13 feet.

The whole of this church is remarkably well enlightened by numerous windows, some of which are of considerable size, and those in the north chapel and the chancel are chiefly of painted glass; the east window, over the altar-piece, has upwards of fifty compart- ments, and the paintings thereon are said to represent the history of St. Lawrence, to whom the church is dedicated.

Monumental inscriptions are numerous in the different parts of this church, particularly those on slabs. The following are all that I selected :

i.

At the west end of the north aisle is a modern mural marble monument, inscribed :

Ludlow.

93

" Near to this place lieth the body of Benjamin Karver, late of Ludlow, in the county of Salop, Gentleman ; son of John Karver, of Upton, in ye parish of Little Hereford, and county of Hereford, Esquire. He was elected one of ye Com'on Council of the Corporation of Ludlow the 2d day of August, 1692 ; and on ye I4th day of August, 1717, one of ye Aldermen of ye said Corporation ; and oftentimes was elected and served as one of his Majesties Bayliffs and Justices of the Peace for the said town of Ludlow. He departed this life the 28th day of July, 1737, setatis suae 72°."

2.

In the south chapel, on a slab on the floor :

" In memory of Mary, the wife of Edward Baldwyn, Esq. She died June the 1st, 1769, aged 48 years. Edward Baldwyn, Esq., died May 7, 1772, aged 63."

3-

Against the east wall of the same chapel, on a plain monument of marble :

" Near this place are deposited the remains of Mr. Tames Wilde, bookseller, one of the Aldermen of this ancient Corporation. He died 7th July, 1769, aetat. 73. As also Frances, his wife, who died 7th August, 1754, setat. 61. Likewise their son, the Rev. Mr. Francis Wilde, Rector of Knucking, in this county, who died July , 1761."

4-

In the north chapel, called by name St. John's chancel, on the south side, adjoining the wainscot which separates it from the high chancel, is a handsome altar-tomb, to the memory of Sir John Brydgeman, enclosed by iron palisades. On the top lie two effigies, as large as life ; the male in robes, the female with a book in her right hand.

A tablet of black marble, ornamented with festoons of fruit and foliage, and three coats of arms, together with a cornice, all of white marble, is placed on the tomb against the wainscot, and is thus inscribed in gilt letters :

" SACRUM MEMORISE D'ni Joh'is Brydgeman, militis, servientis ad legem et capitalis justiciary Cestrise. Qui maximo omnium bonoru' mcerore (cum 70 annos vixisset) 510 Febr., anno 1637, pie placideq. anima' Deo reddidit. Francisca vxor mcestissima posuit."

5-

On the north pillar, upon entering into the high chancel out of the nave, on a marble monument :

" Neare to this place lieth the body of the Honble Alice Burrard, relict of John Burrard, late of Lymington, in the county of Southampton, Esq., daughter of the Right Honble Richard Lord Herbert, Baron of Cherbury, in the kingdom of England, and of Castle Islands, in the kingdom of Ireland, by Dame Mary, his wife. She departed this life the first day of December, Anno\D'ni 1703, setatis buae 56."

6.

The following are all in the high chancel, on the north wall of which is a monument to the memory of E. Wattes and his wife ; it is

94 Shropshire.

a square niche, framed of stone, within which are a male and female figure, kneeling on cushions, with a pedestal or desk between them, sloping on each side at the top. On the top of the niche are two coats of arms ; and underneath the whole on a long and narrow marble, divided in the middle, is inscribed :

"THIS MONVMENT WAS ERECTED BY EDWARD WATTES, ESQVIER, ONE OF HIS MAties COVNCKLL IN ORDINARY IN THE PRINCIPALITY AND MARCHES OF WALES IN HIS LIEF-TIME, ANNO ^TATIS SV& 70, IN MEMORIAL OF HIMSELFE AND OF MARTHA, HIS LATE WIEFE, DECEASED, WHO WAS DAVGHTER TO SIR CHARLES FOXE, KNIGHT, AND DAME ISABELL, HIS WIEFE. SHE DEPARTED THIS LIEFE THE SKCOND DAY OF OCTOBER, 1629. THEY HAD ISSVE BETWEENE THEM THREE SONNES, CHARLES, EDWARD, AND TIMOTHE, AND FOVRE DAVGHTERS, MARGARET, ISSABEL, MARGARET, AND ANNE, OF ALL Wich ONLY TWO ARE NOW LIVINGE, MARGARET THE YOVNGER, WHO IS MARRIED TO EDWARD CORBET, OF LONGNOR, IN THE COVNTY OF SALOP, ESQVIER, AND ANNE, WHO IS MARRIED TO EDWARD FOXE, OF LVDFORD, IN THE COVNTIE OF HEREFORD, ESQR."

7-

Next to the above, on the same wall, on a white marble tablet :

" Beneath lyeth Ann, relict of John Price, D.D. He was of the ancient family of the Prices of Gogerthan, in Cardiganshire, by the male side ; by the female of the ancient and noble line of the Agards of Forston, in Darbyshire. His grand- and her great-grandmother were two of the co-heiresses of that family. She was his wife 42 years. He departed May nth, 1722, and lies buried at \Vestbury, in com. Salop, of which he was Rector. She was 2d daughter of Henry Sprott, Esq., of Ashmore Brooke, in com. Stafford, by Anne, sole daughter arid heiress of Tho. Lockier, of the Marsh, in com. Salop, Gent. She dyed 28 November, 1748, leaving no issue, aged 91."

[Rest of inscription omitted.]

8. On the same wall, on a black marble tablet, in gilt letters :

" O quisquis ades, reverere manes inclytos Edvardi Vavghan, equitis herois, haeredis ex traduce, proin patris magn' ad instar, per omnigense literaturse, sive academicse, sive forensis, spatia, hu'c acerrime vel a puero contendit ; ut principi et patrise egregie inserviret. Quod feliciter assecutus est, utriq. gratus et amabilis, et spectatissimus civis in ipsa temporum vertigine ; ut scias hie condi quern antiqui dixere virum cubicum et divinum. Talis tantusque, flentibus etiam inimicis, commorientibus paenfc amicis, ipso solo Icete et lubente, receptus est in beatorum patriam

( D'ni MDCLXXXIV., anno i yEtatis suae 48°.

Conjugi parentique desideratissimo vidua cum liberis, perpei'im lugens, hoc mortale mouumentum P. Ipse sibi immortale epitaphium."

[1809, Part I., pp. 37,38-]

9-

Near to the altar, but without the inner rails, is a fine altar-tomb to the memory of Sir R. Townshend, which stands part within a pointed arch niche in the north wall. Above the niche on the wall is,

11 MEMENTO MORI ; RESPICE FINEM."

Liidlow.

95

The space within the arch above the tomb is ornamented with coats of arms and tracery ; beneath the large coat is,

"ANNO DOMINI 1581. ANNO REGNI . . . ELIZABTEH/E REGIN."

On the top of the tomb lie the effigies of Sir R. Townshend and his lady ; and the sides and ends of the tomb are divided into compartments by small neat pillars, within which are the effigies of their children. The inscription is,

"20rare Itcth t!u bobgea of cSur ilabart lEutottesheitb, ^itgght, Chief Justr* of the (EouuseU, in the JRardus of SitaUesaitb (Ehester/anb Jaine, his elltufe, boug'iter anb one of the hesps of Robert ]9otoue, CfEsqnier. toho hab bettotm* them ttoao xii .children, bi sounes arcb bi boughters latofttll|) begot."

10.

Opposite the above, adjoining the south wall, is a tomb to the memory of Lady Eure, whose effigy is on the top in a recumbent posture ; above which, a black stone fixed on the wall is thus inscribed in gilt capitals :

" Here lyeth expectinge a joyfvll Resvrrection the body of Dame Mary Evre, late wife to the Ho. Ralphe Lor 1 Evre, Baron of Malton, Lord President of the Principallitie and Marches of Wales, and Lievetenant of the same, and Davghter of Sir lohn Dawney, of Sessey, in the Covnty of Yorke, Knight. She departed this mortall lyfe the 19 day of March, Anno Domini 1612, setatis svse 55."

II.

Below the second window on the south side is an ancient plain tomb to the memory of Ambrozia Sydney, whose sides have been adorned with armorial bearings, etc. Above the tomb on the wall are three coats of arms, and underneath the middle one, on a plain stone painted black, is inscribed in gilt letters :

"l^eare l^cth the bobvz of Jtmbrozia <Si?biteo, iiijth bxmghter at the right Honourable <Syr ^enrge cSgbnei), Anight of 'the mast |lobk (Dcber of tlu Ciarter, |Corbe ^'resibcnt of tlw (£oims*ll at cSBalle*, etc., iwb of th* i^abj) ^arjer his togef, bottghter of the fstmws ^ukexrf ^orthmnberlanb, toho boeb in |Cu:blotoe Ca&tell the 22 of (Jfebruarg, 1574."

12.

Near to the above is a modern mural monument of white marble, the tablet of which is inscribed,

" In memory of Theophilus Salwey, Esq., who was the eldest son of Edward Salwey, Esq., a younger son of Major Richard Salwey, who in the last century sacrificed all and everything in his power in support of Publick Liberty, and in opposition to Arbitrary Power. The said Theophilus Salwey married Mary, the daughter and heiress of Robert Dennet, of Walthamstow, in the county of Essex, Esq., but left no issue by her. Obiit the 28th of April, 1760, setat. 61. Pro Rege saepe ; pro Republics, semper."

13-

Near to the above is a handsome marble altar-tomb, standing in part within an ornamental circular-arched niche in the south wall, having on the top the effigies of Justice Walter and his lady; its

g6 Shropshire.

sides are divided into compartments by small columns, containing the figures of their children in the attitude of kneeling. The tomb is enclosed by iron palisades. Within the niche on a black stone in gilt capitals is this inscription :

" Heere lye the bodies of Edmvnd Walter, Esqvier, chieffe Ivstice of three Shiers in Sovth Wales, and one of His Majestie's Covncill in the Marches of Wales ; and of Mary, his Wife, davghter of Thomas Hacklvit, of Eyton, Esqvier, who had issve three sonnes, named lames, lohn, and Edward, and two davghters, named Mary and Dorothy. He was bvried the 2Qth daye of lanvarie, Anno Domini 1592."

14. The following is on a slab in the chancel :

" Here lieth Elizabeth, daughter of Thomas Lord Folliott, Baron of Balli- shannon, in the Kingdom of Ireland, married first to Samuel Powell, of Stannage, in the county of Radnor, Esq., afterwards to Thomas Jones, of Goodrich, in the county of Hereford, Clcr. She died the 1 2th day of May, A.D. 1725, aged 64 years."

The living is a rectory, valued in the King's Books at £ig 123. 6d. ; its reputed value is upwards of ^200 a year.

It is in the Bishopric of Hereford and Archdeaconry of Salop, and gives name to the deanery in which it is situate. The King is patron ; and the living, being under ^20 a year in the King's Books, is, of course, at the disposal of the Lord Chancellor.

Near to the church is a well-built almshouse, containing, as I understand, thirty-three comfortable apartments, over the door of which is the following inscription :

"Domum hanc Eleemosynarium munificentia Johannis Hosyer mercatoris, anno Salutis MCCCCLXXXVI primitus extructam, temporis injuria labefactam dein et ruituram ; in Dei Optimi Maximi gloriam, pii Fundatoris memoriam, et com'odiorem Pauperum receptionem, ab ipsis usque fundamentis propriis sumptibus resuscitarunt, ampliarunt, ornarunt, Ballivi, Burgenses, et Communitas villae hujus de Ludlow, Anno Domini MDCCLVIII, augustissimi Regis Georgii Secundi tricessimo primo."

Ludlow Castle is a fine ruin, standing on the west side of the town, upon a high rock, at the bottom of which flows the river, after meandering through a rich vale north of the castle. Over a gateway which leads into the interior are the arms of Queen Elizabeth and the Sidney family, with the following inscriptions, in capitals :

" Hominibvs ingratis loqvimini lapides.

" Anno Regni Reginae Elyzabethae 23.

"The 22 year co'plet of the Presidency of Sir Henri Sidney, Knight of the most noble Order of the Garter, etc., 1581.

"Anno Domini Milesimo Qvingentesimo Octuagesimo Completo. Anno Regni serenissimae illustrisssimae Reginae Elizabethae vicesimo tertio cvrrente, 1581."

In regard to the last inscriptions, I should be obliged to Mr. Urban's correspondents to state the cause why the charge of ingratitude is so

Ludlozv. 97

strongly preferred against the inhabitants of Ludlow in time past ; for to whom else are we to suppose the ingrafts hominibus to allude ?

o>. <r.

[1810, Part //., p. 305.]

Lillo's celebrated "Tragedy of George Barnwell," having by some been imputed to fiction, and by others to an event said to have happened at Cambcrwell, and the whole still remaining in apparent obscurity, the following observations, which come from visiting a place near Ludlow, in Shropshire, may be deemed worthy of notice. The place alluded to is called Hucks Barn, a short mile from Ludio\v, on the Leominster road, which is said to have been the residence of the uncle of George Barnwell ; and a plot of land near it still bears the name ot Barnvvell's Green, so called from his waiting there to rob his uncle, as he returned from Leominster Fair. Near to this green is a wood, or thicket, in which he perpetrated the horrid deed. The following extract from the old ballad will further corro borate the fact of its being at or near Ludlow :

" Nay, I an uncle have ;

At Ludlow he doth dwell ;

He is a grazier, which in wealth

Doth all the rest excell."*

The uncle might reside in Ludlow, and keep the house and land in his possession at Hucks Barn for the convenience of keeping cattle, and as an occasional residence. The house is likewise a pretty clear index to the ballad, its being, according to its general appearance, of the time of James I. From the above observations it seems evident that the play was founded on a sad catastrophe that really happened at this place. ... I enclose a view of the house taken at the time I visited the place, July 2, 1805. (See Plate I.)

D. PARKES.

[1812, Part II.) p. 209.]

I send you enclosed a drawing of the church of Ludlow (see Plate I.), which I think has never been engraved, though one of the most stately parochial churches in England. It is cruciform, with a beautiful lofty tower in the centre, in which is a melodious peal of eight belU. The architecture is less florid than is usual in the larger ecclesiastical buildings of the fifteenth century. The nave has six pointed arches on each side, reposing on clustered pillars, which are light and graceful. The four arches under the tower are remarkably lofty, and richly overspread with mouldings. The choir retains its ancient stalls ; and in the large windows are very abund.mt remains of painted glass. On the screen of the choir stands an admirable organ by Snetzler. There are no monuments of much antiquity, though several handsome ones of the reigns of Elizabeth and

* Percy's " Reliques," vol. iii., p. 260. VOL. XXII. 7

98 Shropshire.

James I., chiefly of the Lords Presidents of the Council of North Wales. The length of the church from west to east is 220 feet; the breadth of the nave and ais!es 75 feet; length of transept, north to south, 123 feet. This spacious and lofty structure crowns the summit of the gentle eminence on which the beautiful town of Ludlow stands, and is a grand object as viewed from the surrounding country. H. O.

[1834, Part //., pp. 585-588.]

The church of Ludlow is undoubtedly one of the finest eccle- siastical buildings in the county of Salop, and perhaps the most stately parochial edifice in England, the architecture being in the style of the latter part of the fifteenth century, though it is less florid than is usual in buildings of that period.

The whole of the windows in this interesting building bear evidence of having once been enriched with a profusion of stained glass, the splendour of which, judging from what remains, must have been inferior to none in point of colouring, since it appears to have been executed by perfect masters of the art, and at a period when glass-staining was at its highest perfection; and, notwithstanding the devouring hand of Time, or more probably the mistaken zeal of the Puritans, has despoiled the nave of that majestic solemnity and religious awe emanating from the mellowed tints of

" storied windows richly dight,"

the choir, chancel, and chantry chapels, still retain specimens of no ordinary beauty, although in places so barbarously mutilated by modern repairs as to present a strange mixture of patchwork. The large eastern window of the high chancel, containing the legendary history of the life of St. Lawrence, the patron saint of the church, was particularly defaced, and wantonly broken ; so much so, indeed, that the various subjects displayed could with difficulty be traced, though it appears, from a date near the top of the window, to have been repaired in a bungling manner about a century ago, when the numerous fractures it then contained were filled with common painted glass, quite opaque.

In this state it remained until 1828, when the corporation of Ludlow fortunately directed Mr. David Evans, of Shrewsbury, to restore the window according to its original design, which under- taking has lately been completed in a manner that has excited the admiration of everyone who has seen it, and even caused astonish- ment at the elaborate skill displayed by the artist in overcoming the difficulties he had to encounter in replacing many portions of the window which had been destroyed, and of so restoring the whole as to form a harmonious display of the most brilliant colouring, whereby it is impossible to distinguish the old from the new glass.

Ludlow. 99

The window occupies the whole breadth of the chancel, 18 feet, and is 30 feet in height ; the muilions have recently been renewed ; and it contains 540 feet of glass, in 65 compartments. The subject displayed is the history of the life, miracles, and martyrdom of Saint Lawrence, which is represented in 27 designs, as follows :

1. Lawrence introduced to the Pope. The saint, accompanied by his confessor, is kneeling before the Pope, whose train is supported by a bearer. Inscription :

"ICittmnc' nbfcuritwr <SixiV

2. Lawrence ordained a deacon. The saint, in a kneeling posture, is approached by the Pope, who is in the act of ordaining him, in the presence of the various officers of the church. Inscription :

" 3"MC <Sixt' orfci'at l/.iurctu' ^piacV

3. Lawrence appointed treasurer. The son of the Emperor is represented bringing his treasure in bags, and delivering them to the saint before the Pope and the Church. Inscription :

"(dffili' i'p'atorte ICvumnc' t'fcit thesanr'."

4. Lawrence relieving the poor. — The saint is here presenting a piece of money from his bag to the lame, the halt, and the blind* Inscription :

" ICattrenc' tlusaur' mrgat paup'b's."

5. Lawrence captured. — The saint in his canonicals appears secured by his enemies. Inscription :

"^)ic ^Cattr' capit' ab i'iqais."

6. Lawrence brought before the Emperor, attended by the captain and a posse of soldiers. Inscription :

"|C.uti' p'sent.it' cora' imp'at'."

7. Lawrence before idols. — The saint is led by the Emperor before idols, who appear as falling to pieces by the sanctity of his presence. Inscription :

' fcudt' cora'

8. Lawrence imprisoned. — The captain is thrusting the saint into prison, by command of the Emperor ; on the roof of the prison, seen in the background, are spectators witnessing his incarceration. In- scription :

' htc i'camratur."

9. Lawrence restoring the blind. During his imprisonment, the saint miraculously restores Lucillus to sight in the presence of the gaoler. Inscription :

" ICanr' apmt otul' ludlli."

10. Lawrence converts Ypolitus the gaoler, who is kneeling, and

7—2

ioo Shropshire.

with uplifted hands seems earnestly imploring mercy from above ; his sincerity appears to make him unmindful of his office, his keys lying on the ground beside him. Inscription : "IDattr' -cxmberiii jjpaJitti'."

11. Lawrence commanded by the Emperor to deliver up his treasures, presents before him the poor, the lame, and the blind, and with his outstretched hands seems to declare that "these are his treasures." Inscription :

M|p»dt pawp'rs cora' imp'at'."

12. The Emperor, probably enraged at the answer of the saint, is beating the poor cripples with a heavy cudgel, who appear as falling in the greatest confusion beneath the weight of his wrath. In- scription :

"Imp'ator htrbmt pimp'.c0."

13. Lawrence threatened with torments. The saint is led before the Emperor, and the various instruments of torture displayed before him. Inscription :

"ICanr' iemnit torments,"

14. This appears to be the first scene of his sufferings. The saint, nearly naked, is led by ruffians to be stoned. Inscription :

"i^atmiu' lapibatur."

15. Lawrence scourged with rods, a superior officer standing to see the punishment effectually performed. This figure appears to witness the various acts of violence to which the saint is sub- jected. Inscription :

"ICatrr' berb-trat' birgis."

1 6. Lawrence beaten with clubs. The saint lying on the ground, several men appear trampling upon him, and severely beating him with clubs. Inscription :

"IC.tttr' baculis abitwr."

17. Lawrence flogged with whips. The saint being tied to a pillar, several barbarians are flogging him with whips, to which are attached large knots of lead. Inscription :

"ICaur' c*bit' flagtll' plu'beis."

1 8. Lawrence torn with hooks. The hands of the saint being fastened to a pillar, several men are in the act of tearing his flesh with iron hooks. Inscription :

"|Caur' la*'ra' hamis ftmis."

19. Lawrence burnt with irons. The saint, again tied to a pillar, is tormented by men applying red-hot irons to various parts of his body, some of whose faces appear tinged with the heat of the irons, and even seem to experience more feeling than the tormented ; one

Liidloiv. 101

figure, in the act of catching the saint with the hot iron under the right ear, is particularly expressive. Inscription : "|Cimr' crucial* la'i's ur-ctttilms."

20. The sufferings of Lawrence are here terminated by roasting him on " a gridiron "; hence his symbol : he appears enveloped in flames, while his executioners are adding more fuel and increasing the blaze by means of a long fork. In the background appears the Saviour encircled in glory. Inscription :

assatur craikttla."

21. Lawrence buried. The tragic scenes of his life and sufferings being over, the saint, wrapped in a winding-sheet, is about to be laid in a tomb amidst a concourse of spectators, a priest performing the burial rites after the manner of the Romish Church. Inscription :

"Itet' hie' scp'tur."

22. Is the representation of a cruciform church, with a small octangular turret in the centre, and is a curious specimen of ancient architecture, the windows of the chancel and transepts having the flat kind of arch introduced about the close of the fifteenth century. In the foreground is a deacon, apparently in much trouble, in con- sequence of a golden chalice having fallen from his hands and broken ; he has recourse, however, to the prayers of the saint, and it is restored. Inscription :

'<;p' <piacxr' fttg't calk*' . . . Him."

23. The reappearance of St. Lawrence by the prayers of a priest, who afterwards causes a dry piece of timber to sprout into foliage. Inscription :

"^ic JiQtttt' dKdt rtbixtsc."

24. A table appears to be covered with a cloth, at which a figure, apparently by the command of the saint, is distributing bread and drink. It is difficult to assign a meaning to this subject.

25. Lawrence pointing to a church, and giving instructions to some bystanders ; perhaps emblematical of the church erected to his memory by the Empress Pulcheria.

26. Three figures within a church in the attitude of devotion. The inscriptions of this and the two foregoing subjects are, unfor- tunately, wanting.

27. Several workmen in the act of forming materials for the erection of a church under the direction of a superintendent. In explanation of this, it may be remarked that Justinian is said to have enlarged or rebuilt the edifice erected by Pulcheria. Inscription :

". . . stnmt capellam." These designs contain in all upwards of 300 figures. At the spring

i o 2 Sk ropsh ire.

of the arch, beginning at the left side, are full-length figures of the Virgin and Child, and St. John ; an angel holding a shield, Azure, two crosiers in saltire, and a mitre in chief, or; St. Anne teaching the Virgin Mary to read ; a bishop in the attitude of prayer, and seemingly advising St. Anne. The only part of the label remaining is " media precor Anna." Before the bishop is a table with the inscription :

"Thomas <Spof0rb ^ri (Sraiia gfjercfarb

On the corresponding side is another angel bearing a shield, Gules, a saltire argent ; a king seated on his throne, holding in his left hand a globe ; St. Lawrence, in a devotional attitude, supporting his symbol — a gridiron. The upper portion, being divided by tracery into smaller compartments, contains fourteen figures of angels and arch- angels ; the division at the apex is of larger dimensions, and has a representation of the Trinity.

The whole of the subjects depicted in the window are under elegant canopies of delicate tabernacle work, differing in design ; the costumes of the figures throughout the various scenes are particularly curious ; and, on the whole, the window is inferior to some of the ancient specimens of stained glass, either in richness of colouring or in general effect. It is supposed, from the above inscription, to have been originally put up during the episcopacy of Thomas Spoford, who was promoted from the Abbacy of St. Mary, York, to the see of Hereford, November, 1421, and this conjecture is strengthened by the above armorial bearings — two crosiers and a mitre. He governed the diocese twenty-six years, and withdrew from his charge previously to his death in 1448. HENRY PIDGEON.

Ludlow and Neighbourhood.

[1797, Part L, pp. 475»476-l

The castle of Ludlow, immortalized by the first representation of Comus within its walls, and by the writing of Hudibras over its gate- way, exhibits now the most melancholy ruins. Its roofs and very floors are at length gone, and tumbling walls alone remain.

The town of Ludlow is one of the handsomest country towns in England.

The small church and ancient mansion of Ludford, in Here- fordshire, stand at the foot of the bridge on the entrance into Ludlow. The river Team here divides the counties of Hereford and Salop, though a few paces forward the banks on each side of the river are in the latter county, as in its previous course they have sometimes been entirely in the former.

Ludford is a very poor old seat, surrounded entirely by roads, and separated by the Leominster road irom its well-wooded park. It

Ludloiv and Neighbourhood. 103

formerly^ belonged to a family of the name of Fox, of ancient stand- ing in these parts, whose arms— a chevron between three foxes' heads erased — are to be seen in many parts of Ludlow, and was lately the seat of the Charltons, from the last of whom, Sir Francis Charlton, Bart., it came by descent to Colonel Lechmere, the present owner, who has taken the name of Charlton, and resides here. To him belongs the adjoining lordship of Steventon, or Steinton.

The Moor, a seat in the adjoining parish of Richard's Castle, belongs to Mr. Salwey, jun., as does the lodge — a romantic box — to his uncle ; and to this family the ruins of the castle itself now belong. Richard's Castle, at the Conquest, was a barony of a branch of the illustrious house of Mortimer.

Nearer Leominster Alderman Harley has built a large mansion, and laid out some picturesque grounds at Berrington, in the parish of Eve; and to him also the whole seat of the Georges in this parish has come by purchase.

At Ashford-Carbonel, by the roadside, stands a seat of the family of Green. At Camham, the Rev. Mr. Calcot, rector of Great Whitley, county Worcester, has purchased the manor and a con- siderable estate, and erected a handsome mansion. To the right of his house, on a hill, are the remains of a very strong encampment.

At Bitterley is the seat of the Rev. Mr. Walcot, eldest son of Mr. Walcot, of Ludlow, one of the sons of the late Mr. Walcot, of Walcot, near Bishop's Castle. At Henley Hall, in this parish, which lies under the Gee Hills, famous for coal, is the seat of another family of Knight.

Not a mile distant from Ludlow Castle, overlooked by its walls, is Oakley Park,* in the parish of Bromfield, bought by Lord Clive of Lord Powis, and now inhabited by his mother. The house is of red brick, and appears modern. There is a pretty park, well-timbered, but not large. ...

Stone Castle, which has for many years been a ruin, but was formerly owned by a branch of the ancient family of Corbet, is said now to belong to Lord Craven, subject to the remainder of a bene- ficial lease granted to the Baldwins of Aqualate.

Hopton Castle, over the hill, now also a ruin, belongs to Mr. Beale, of the Heath, in that parish.

Lord Powis or Lord Clive has a modern house in the town of Ludlow, close to the castle walls, at which during public meetings and on other occasions they reside.

The Hay, an ancient and romantic park in the parish of Richard's Castle, has had its lodge lately refitted by Mr. Salwey, father of Mr. Salwey, of the Moor (which latter was lately captain in the 25th Light Dragoons), that he might retire to it on his son's marriage ; and he resides there. O. Y.

* See ante, p. 49.

1 04 Shropshire.

Munslow.

[1833, Part L, pp. 9-n.]

I have enclosed you a view (Pl;ite I.) of Munslow Church, county Salop, with some account thereof, and the monumental memorials, transcribed at the time I made the sketch, on July 15, 1827.

Munslow, a parish in the lower division of the hundred of Munslow, is a rectory in the diocese of Hereford, the deanery of Wenlock, and archdeaconry of Salop. In 1821 it contained 108 houses, and 708 inhabitants. It is 19 miles south east of Shrewsbury, and 9^ miles north of Ludlow.

The church, which is dedicated to St. Michael, is a fine ancient structure ; it consists of a body and side-aisle to the north, divided by two pointed arches, and a broad obtuse arch ; the chancel, the same breadth as the body of the church, is divided by an oak screen. On the south side of the chancel is a chantry-chapel, in a dilapidated state. The ceiling of the church and chancel are coved, resting on strong oak brackets. There is a gallery at the west end ; under the gallery, near the great south door, is a handsome font ; the basin, which, like all our ancient fonts, will admit of complete immersion, is octagonal, 2 feet 7 inches in diameter, and rests on a pedestal of the same shape ; the whole height is 4 feet 2 inches. Each compart- ment of the sides is carved into a rich panel, containing a quatrefoil, in which is a double rose, or a shield alternately. The shaft or pedestal is pierced through in each division, with a narrow trefoil- headed arch. In the north and east windows of the north aisle are considerable remains of stained glass. In the second window, the Virgin and Infant Christ ; St. John, in rich colours ; an ecclesiastic, under the figure, Jfoh'0 JClovjb. In the east window of the north aisle is the Crucifixion, much mutilated. In this window are two shields of arms : the first, Argent, a chevron between three escallops sable ; impaling, Argent, a lion rampant sable, debruised with a fess counter-componee azure and or. The other shield is much mutilated. The length of the church is 72 feet; the breadth, including the side- aisle, 31 J feet. The tower contains four bells; the second is thus inscribed :

"viREiNis . eriRecie . VOCOR CTGOPSNS . craRie."

On an alabaster slab in the floor, on the south side of the chancel, is the figure of an ecclesiastic in his robes, his hands joined in prayer ; round the verge the following inscription :

"*£• $§ic jacrt torjms ii'iti Jtohan'is ^lo^t, mt0r' tccltzit fa JEo'sIoru* »|« .gut joJbijt bita bttimxr k'l . . . 4- Jtlii ^°<BX£(£<£<E toitesinw .oftabxr, oijtts 4" »V* pwytitiettt ^Pttta, Qmt'* Hh"

On a marble tablet against the north wall of the chancel :

"To the memory of the Rev. Richard Powell, M. A., thirty years Rector of this parish, who departed this life Feb. 6, 1806, aged 55 years. Likewise of his

Munslow. 105

son Thos. Powell, who died Dec. 20, 1781, aged one year and eight months. — Also, sacred to the memory of Elizabeth Powell, relict of the above Rev. Rich. Powell, who departed this life July 23, 1819, aged 68 years. A bright example of every Christian virtue."

Against the south wall of the chancel, on a table, supporting a handsome sarcophagus, is the following inscription in Roman capitals :

" Sacred to the memory of Maria Powell, the deeply-lamented wife of the Rev. Richard Powell, Rector of this parish, who departed this life in the humble hope of a blessed immortality, Sept. 27, 1819, aged 32 years, leaving three surviving children and an afflicted husband, by whom this monument is erected." . . .

On a plain stone against the north wall of the chancel :

"The Rev. Thomas Hotchkiss, M.A., late Rector of this parish, and of Forton, in the county of Stafford, died Jan. 27, 1748.— Mary, his wife, died July II, 1739, and their five daughters, Mary, Catharine, Jane, Beatrick, and Anne, who honoured their parents and inherited their virtues."

On a tablet against the east wall of the north aisle, in capitals :

" Henry More, of Millichope, in the parish of Munslow, gent., departed this life the 28th day of June, in the year of our Lord God 1689."

Arms : Sable, a swan with her wings expanded argent, membered gules within a bordure engrailed or; impaling, Azure, on a chevron or, three etoiles gules, between as many fleurs-de-lis argent.

On another tablet :

" To the memory of Mary, widow of Henry More, of Millichope, gent., daughter and sole heiress to Richard Sheppard, of Balcot, in the parish of Tugford, gent., obit. 1705."

On a monument against the east end of the north aisle :

" In memory of Margaret, 46 years wife of Thos. More, esq., fourth daughter of Richard Leighton, of Leighton, esq., and co-heiress to her brother, Richard Leighton, esq. She had four sons and four daughters, of which seven survived her ; but her third son, Leighton More, Lieutenant of the Burford man-of-war, who spent his life in the service of his country, and signalized himself in many actions in the West Indies and Mediterranean, died before her, with the character of a most gallant Englishman and pious Christian. . . . Obijt Julij 12, 1757, set. 66."

Arms : More, as before; impaling, Quarterly per fess indented or and gules.

Inscription on a table, which supports a weeping figure leaning on an urn, backed by a pyramid :

" Sacred to the memory of Katherine More, daughter of Thos. More, esq., of Millichope, and relict of Robert More, of Linley, esq., who departed this life on the 23d day of December, 1792, aged 67." . . »

On a brass plate against the north wall, having on the top over the inscription emblems of mortality, the Trinity, etc. In the left corner the following arms : Argent, a saltire sable.

" Richardus Baldwin de Munsloe, philosophus, medicus, spagiricus, misterijsque Nature in gremio absconditis indagator exquisitus, vitam cum morte commutavit 8'vo die Maij, anno setatis suse 73, anno D'ni 1689."

io6 Shropshire.

On a brass plate against the east end of the church, outside : "The remains of the late Rev. Mr. Samuel Hammond, A.B., are underneath deposited, who, in full hope and assurance of a blessed immortality, died universally lamented 23d of Jan., 1763, aged 33 years, to whose memory Mrs. Sarah Hammond, his once happy wife, inscribed this plate, an unsuccessful testimony of his worth and her affection." . . .

On a tablet against the north wall of the chancel : "Edward Stedman, gent., of Aston, died Nov. 12, 1777, in the 7ist year of his age. John Stedman, gent., late of Rindleford, son of the above, died March 28th, 1804, in the 7<Dth year of his age."

Arms : Argent, a chevron gules between three boars' heads couped sable.

On a large tablet against the north wall is represented a corpse in a winding-sheet ; over it, " Can these bones live ? O Lord God, thou knowest " (Ezek. xxxvii. 3). Under the corpse a triangle, emblematic of the Trinity ; at the angles, "Watch — Fast — Pray." On one side a hour-glass ; on the opposite side a Death's head and bones :

" To the memory chiefly of his dear father, William Churchman, of Holloway, in this parish, who there dyed Sept. 23, 1602, whose body is interred in this aisle.

"Also in remembrance of Roger Churchman, his grandfather, William Church- man, his great-uncle, and Andrew Overton, his uncle, by the mother, to whose care was committed his education, who was buried in St. Peter's ye Poore in London ; and of all the rest of his ancestors that sleep in this dust, William Churchman, Priest, ye only sonne and heyre of the first-named William, caused this heer to be affixed Sept. 23, anno 1602."

[Verses omitted.]

Edward, Lord Lyttleton, eldest son of Sir Edward Lyttleton (one of the Justices of the Marches and Chief Justice of North Wales), was born at Munslow in 1589. He had his University learning at Christchurch, Oxford, and studied the law in the Inner Temple, where he became so eminent that the City of London chose him their Recorder, and Oxford their Counsellor, and the King his Solicitor-General, after which his merit so much recommended him to the King's favour that. he conferred on him the honour of knight- hood, and made him Chief Justice of the Common Pleas j and soon after raised him to the highest station of his profession by entrusting him with the keeping of the Great Seal, to which his Majesty added the honour of a baron, creating him Lord Lyttleton, Baron of Munslow, in the county of Salop, being then in high esteem for his knowledge of the law and his signal fidelity and loyalty. When the war between King Charles I. and the Parliament became a formidable concern, not thinking it safe to remain about London, he first sent the seal to the King, then at York, and soon after went there him- self, where he served his Majesty with the greatest fidelity till the time of his death. He died at Oxford in 1645, and was buried in Christchurch Cathedral, where a monument records his memory.

At Hagley Hall, county Worcester, is a good portrait, three-quarter- length, of Lord-Keeper Lyttleton, Baron Munslow. D. PARKES.

Newport. 107

Newport.

[1763, //. 386,387.]

The parish of Newport is bounded on the east by Forton, on the south and south-west by Edgmond, and on the north by Chetwynd; and is but of small extent : the town was incorporated in the reign of Henry I. but never sent members to Parliament. The arms are three fishes. The town chiefly consists of one long, wide street, which would appear to more advantage if the market-house, cross, and church did not, in some measure, spoil the view. There are many good houses in the town ; there is no trade or manufacture carried on in it, the inhabitants depending mostly on travellers, as the road from London to Chester passes through it. The chief inns are the Swan, now empty, the Bear, the Red Lion, and the Elephant. The market is kept on Saturday. There are five fairs in the year : viz., on May 28, July 27, September 10, December 10, and on Palm Saturday.

Newport is in the hundred of South Bradford, and in the diocese of Lichfield and Coventry, and deanery of Newport ; the arch- deaconry of Salop, in the church of Lichfield, being divided into two deaneries, Newport and Shrewsbury. The church was once collegiate, being founded by one Draper, in the reign of Henry VI., who purchased lands from the Abbot of Shrewsbury, for the main- tenance of a warden and 4 priests.* At the Dissolution ;£io per annum was reserved for the minister, which was ordered to be paid out of the Crown rents. Wm. Robson, Esq., left ^5, and Wm, Adams, Esq., ^20 more for the same use. TheSalters' Company pay Mr. Robson's^5.

In the beginning of the present century, Bishop Lloyd, then of Lichfield, and afterwards of Worcester, procured ,£200 from the Queen's Bounty, and so much more money was raised by contribu- tion as bought the tithes of the parish ; the Earl of Bradford gave .£200, Bishop Lloyd and Bishop Hough, ^20 each. At the same time a house was bought for the minister, which was called the site of the college of the Virgin Mary in Newport, for which he pays 75. a year to the Crown rents.

The church is dedicated to St. Nicholas; the patron is the Lord Chancellor ; the church consists of a nave, a chancel, and two side aisles. At the west end is a tower with a clock and six bells. The church is now a perpetual curacy, and it is a custom here to have prayers by candle-light in the morning of Christmas Day, and two Sacraments on Easter Sunday, the first at seven in the morning. The ministers have been Mr. John Maiden (on whom there is this remark in the register : " Honest Mr. Maiden forced from the ministry for non-conformity, August 24, 1662."^ Mr. Clarke, * See Dugdale's " Monasticon."

io8 Shropshire.

Mr. Pritchard, Mr. Gilbert, Mr. Mtllington, Mr. Greenwood, Mr. Perks ; the present incumbent is Mr. Binnel.

There is an ancient almshouse in the churchyard, founded by Thomas Reynolds, canon residentiary of Lichfield, and John his brother, canon of York, for four poor folks, now given to widows only, who have a room and about £4. los. a year, and is in the gift of eleven trustees.

There is a free school in the town, founded by Wm. Adams, Esq., of the Haberdashers' Company. The masters have been Mr. Edwards (brother to Dr. Edwards, the antagonist of the famous Mr. Locke), Mr. Greenwood, and Mr. Symmonds ; the present is the Rev. Mr. Lee. The ushers have been, as far as I could trace them, Mr. Haynes and Mr. Dickinson ; the present usher is the Rev. Mr. Forrester. The salary of the master is £40 a year and a house, and that of the usher ,£20 and a house. The Haberdashers' Company appoint the master. Mr. Adams left a collection of books for the use ot his school, consisting of the classi . authors, the fathers and divines. He purchased the manor of Knightley, in Stafford- shire, and appropriated it for the payment of the minister, the masters, and other charitable uses.

There is likewise an English school in the town of a very ancient foundation, now free to all the inhabitants, worth about ^30 a year, and in the gift of the Crown. The master receives £$ a year from the Crown rents, ^5 from the Salters' Company in London, and a benefaction from Mr. Adams. The parish register is dated in 1659.

Newport is 20 miles from Whitchurch, 10 from Drayton, 8 from Shiffnall, and about the same from Wellington ; it gives the title of Baron to the noble family of the Newports of Eyton and High Arcall, in Shropshire, which family had afterwards the title of Earl of Bradford and Viscount Newport from King William III. in 1694; these titles are now extinct.

The Earls of Shrewsbury and Gower are joint lords of the manor. That facetious poet Thomas Brown was a native of this town, his father being a tanner in it. Coals are about 4d. a hundred.

The gentleman to whom I am obliged for most of these particulars told me that his butcher had entered into an agreement with him to furnish him with all kinds of flesh meat at twopence three farthings a pound. There is no meeting-house for any sectaries in the town. Several Roman Catholic families live in the town, who resort to Longford for the performance of their worship.

The nature of the soil is a gravel, and the lands are chiefly used for mowing and grazing. Nicholas Audley, who was lord of the manor, gave a large piece of land, called the Marsh, to the town, on which every inhabitant who opens a door to the street hath the privilege of keeping a cow, or other beast.

Newport. 109

A great fire happened here in the last century, of which there is this account in the register :

" Mem. — On Friday in the afternoon, being the iQth of May, 1665, happened a sudden furyous fire, which began in the house of Richard Shelton, a smith, then living at the Antelope, which by Saturday afternoon following were burned out of habitation about 162 familyes, besides the better part of ten more houses pulled to pieces, and much prejudiced. Thomas Munck. — Newport sin no more lest a worse punishment befall the*-." The loss amounted to about ^30,000.

August 30 is kept a festival in memory of Mr. Adams, and five shillings allowed to the ringers by an order of the register. There is a traditionary account in Newport that Charles II., being informed what large sums Mr. Adams had expen-ied in charitable uses, expressed a desire to see him, when he was on a visit in the city, and Mr. Adams being introduced to his Majesty, the King asked him, "whether he had not straitened his fortune by his great benefactions." Mr. Adams replied, "that he had not, and that if his Majesty pleased, he would present him with a thousand pounds, provided he would procure an Act of Parliament to exempt his lands from taxes," which the King consented to do. Whether this be true or not, certain it is that such an Act was passed, and that his estates are now free from taxes.

One Mr. John Symmonds agreed with the lord of the manor of Church Aston to enclose a spring, called the Wall head, from whence he conveyed the water in lead pipes to Newport, and built six reser- voirs in the town for the water. He also left a piece of land, now let at about ^i i a year, to keep the pipes in repair.

PHILO ANTIQUUS. Oswestry.

[1799, PartlL,p. 655.]

Oswestry and its hundred were part of Wales at the making of Domesday. The hundred was taken out 8 Edward I. Isabel Mortimer, mother of Richard, Earl of Arundel, had the custody of the castle of Blanchminster and the hundred of Oswaldstre for her son. It was formerly in the Fitz-Alans, earls .of Arundel.

The hundred is bounded west by Denbighshire and Montgomery- shire, north by Denbighshire and the river Carrog, east by Pimhill hundred and Perry river, south by the Severn. In the extensive charter granted to the town of Oswaldstre by Thomas, Earl of Arundel, 1406, the inhabitants of the lordships of Oswaldstre, Melverley, Kinardsley, Egerley, Ruyton, and the eleven towns, Old Ryton, Cotton, Shelvoke, Shottaton, Wykey, Eardeston, Tedsmere, Rednall, Haughton, Sutton, and Felton, which form a manor. Oswaldstre hundred were under penalty of 6s. 8d. to carry any cattle or goods to any foreign fair or market before the same had been first exposed to sale in the town of Oswaldstre. (Pennant, /£., 256, 257.)

D. H.

i j o Shropshire.

[1810, Part I., pp. 409-411.]

Oswestry, a considerable market-town of Shropshire, was a place of much celebrity in Saxon times ; it was formerly called Maeser- felth, or Maeserfield, in the kingdom of Merria. It obtained the name of Oswaldstre, or Oswaldstown, from the following event : In the year 642, Penda, the daring and ferocious pagan King of Mercia, defeated Oswald, King of Northumberland. Oswald ap- proached with his army to what is called the Churchfield, then open. At a small rise of ground, about 400 yards from the church, the battle began. Penda's forces appear to have been driven to a field near the town called Cae Nef, or Heaven-field, where, it is said, Oswald fell, and his army was completely defeated. Penda caused the breathless body of Oswald to be cut in pieces, and hung on poles or crosses, as trophies of his victory.

" Three crosses, rais'd at Penda's dire commands, Bore Oswald's royal head and mangled hands, To stand a sad example to the rest, And prove him wretched who is ever blest."

Every posthumous honour was heaped on Oswald by the monks, who represented him as a martyr to Christianity. His sainted reliques were efficacious in all disorders ; and many wonderful tales are related. A monastery was founded, and dedicated to St. Oswald. Leland says, "The Chirch was sometime a Monasterie, called the White Minster. After turnid to a Paroche Chirch, and the Parsonage impropriate to the Abbey of Shrewsbury. The Cloister stood 'in hominum memoria, ubi monumenta monachorum.' " Oswald's Well, a remarkable fine spring of water, was formerly covered by a small chapel or oratory, little of which remains, except the walls which protect the well, on one of which is carved the head of King Oswald, banded with a royal fillet. Tradition gives the following origin of this famous well : "When Oswald was slain, an eagle tore off one of his arms, and was endeavouring to make off with it, but fell and perished on this spot, when a spring of water instantly gushed out, and remains to this day a memento ot the event."

Oswestry, by its walls and castle, must have been a place of con- siderable strength ; and in the Civil Wars held out for King Charles I. till June, 1644, when it surrendered to the Parliamentary Army under General Mytton and the Earl of Denbigh. The castle was built upon an artificial mount ; a few fragments of the walls only remain, which indicate little of its former strength ; of the ancient gates and walls little is left.

The church suffered much at the time the town was besieged ; it is a spacious structure ; and, before this event, must have been very handsome ; in many parts it has been patched up, without any regard to style or regularity ; yet, as will be seen by the view annexed (Plate I.), it has still a bold and venerable appearance; ihe tower

Oswestry. 1 1 1

has a very picturesque effect, from the bold tufts of ivy which clasp its lofty sides. The interior of the church is plain, and does not contain anything particularly worthy of notice; probably it was bereft of its ornaments, as well as its ancient monuments and inscribed brass plates, at the time the church was so much mutilated, as mentioned before. The church is a vicarage, under the patronage of the Eail of Powys, who is lord of this extensive manor. Part of the parish still uses the Welsh language ; and part of the service is read, at stated times, by the minister in that language. On the north side the churchyard is a pleasant walk, shaded by a double row of trees ; at the top is a handsome alcove,

"From storms a shelter, and from heat a shade."

. The following church notes were taken in July, 1807 :

Against the north wall is a clumsy monument ; a man and woman kneeling, above which is the annexed inscription :

" In memory of Mr. Hugh Yale, Alderman of this Town, and Dorothy, his wife, daughter of Roger Rodon, esq., of Burton, in ye county of Denbigh, whose bodies are interred within the Chancel of this Church, commonly called St. Mary's before the demolition in ye late Wars, anno 1616. They gave to the Poor of this Town ye yearly interest and benefice of one hundred pounds, to continue for ever, beside other good acts of Charity."

Arms : Ermine, on a saltire gules, a crescent or ; impaling Rodon. Crest : On a chapeau, a boar in a net.

On a brass plate against a south pillar, in Roman capitals :

"The body of Susanna, the wife of Richard Edwards, vicar of the parish, daughter of John Parry, of Llanbeder, in the county of Denbigh, esq., was here interred the I3thday of June, 1668.

" Here also the body of her husband, Richard Edwards, vicar of Oswestry, son of Robert Edwards, of Rhyd-y-Groese, in the parish of Llansillin, in the county of Denbigh, genr., was interred the 24th of June, 1680. ' The memorie of the just is blessed.' — Prov. x. 7."

On a handsome monument at the east end :

"Robert Powell Lloyd, son of Robert Lloyd, of Swan Hill, esquire, by Sarah, his second wife, died nth March, anno Domini 1769, and was interred in the vault beneath, aged 5 years. Sarah, mother of the above R. P. Lloyd, died igth of August, 1790, aged 59 years. Also Robert Lloyd, esq., the father, died 5th of April, 1793, aged 72 years."

Arms : Quarterly, i and 4, Or and gules, four lions passant, counterchanged ; 2 and 3, Azure, a fess ermine between three lions rampant, or. Crest : a lion rampant gules.

On a monument against the north wall :

" Sacred to the memory of Captain Robert Watkin Lloyd, of Major-general G Wynne's regiment of cavalry, only son of Robert Lloyd, esq., of Swan Hill, aged 17. He fell a victim to the yellow fever on the 2oth of June, 1794, at Port-au- Prince, in Saint Domingo, having survived the capture of that place. . . .

" Sacred also to the memory of Robert Lloyd, esq., of Swan Hill, father of the above-named Robert Watkin Lloyd, who departed this life on the 3d day of October, 1803, aged 58." . . .

1 1 2 Shropshire.

On a neat monument against the east end :

" Sacred to the memory of Thomas Trevor, Clerk, M. A., son of Roger Trevor, of Bodynfol, in the county of Montgomery, esq., vicar of this parish 50, and of Khuabon 15, years ; chaplain to Sir Watkin Williams Wynne, bart. ; and one of his Majesty's justices of the peace for the counties of Salop and Denbigh, who died the 29th of February, 1784, aged 76. ... He married twice : First, Elizabeth, daughter of Edward Maurice, of Trefedrhyd, in the county of Mont- gomery, esq., who died the 4th of June, 1762; afterwards Ann, daughter of Gabriel Wynne, of D.>larddyn, esq., and relict of George Robinson, of Brithdir, esq., both in the county of Montgomery, who survives."

Arms : Per bend ermine and erminois, a lion rampant or ; impaling, Argent, a lion rampant sable. On a tablet in the chancel :

"Sacred to the memory of the Rev. Turner Edwards, LL.B., vicar of this Parish, and of Llansyllin, in the county of Denbigh, Rural Dean of Marchia, in the Diocese of St. Asaph, and one of his Majesty's justices of the peace for the county of Salop, who departed this life on the i6th January, 1803, aged 44, leaving an afflicted widow, with five children, to deplore his untimely loss."

On a neat tablet against the south wall :

"EDVARDO . BROWNE DE . OSWESTRY . IN . COMITATV . SALOPIENSI . ARMIGERO . QVI . VIXIT . ANN . LXXX . DECESSIT . VIII . CALEND . MART. ANNO SACRO . CID . IOCC . LXXXXIIII . SARA . CON IVX . THOM^ . NETHERTON . PARKER . HAERES . EIVS . EX . ASSE . PIO . GRATO . QVE . ANIMO . IN . AVVNCVLVM . OPTIME. DE . SE . MERITVM . HOC . MONVMENTVM . FACIVNDVM . CVRAVIT."

Arms : Quarterly i and 4, Ermine, on a fess counter-embattled sable, three escallops argent ; 2 and 3, Azure, on a chevron or, between three storks' heads of the second, as many cinquefoils gules. Crest : A stork's head argent, issuing out of a mural coronet.

These are the principal inscriptions within the church ; in the churchyard the "frail memorials" of the dead are very numerous, but I did not see any of particular note.

On July 9, 1807, in company with a gentleman well acquainted with the scenery, I visited a place called Old Oswestry, Hen Ddinas, about a mile west of the town of Oswestry. This strong military post is situated upon a considerable eminence, inclining to an oblong form, and seems to have had, in its original state, but one entrance. The area of the top is about 16 acres, surrounded by two ramparts and fosses of great height and depth. The foss at the foot of the hill, which surrounds the whole, must make the area together, I suppose, more than 50 acres. Some have attributed this stupendous work to the Britons, some to the Romans, and others to Oswald or Penda ; but this must be left for the discussion of veteran antiquaries. The whole of this ancient fortification was covered with timber, mostly oak, when I visited it, which had a fine effect on the bold and picturesque scenery of which it formed a part ; but I am informed the whole of the timber is since cut down, D. PARKES.

Pontesbury.

Pontesbury.

[1827, Part L, pp. 297-299-]

I enclose you a view of the fine old church of Pontesbury, taken down in 1825, with the exception of the chancel, being considered in a dangerous state. It is rebuilding in the Pointed style of archi- tecture.

Pontesbury is a rectory, divided into three portions, in the hundred of Ford, and Deanery of Pontesbury. The church, which was dedicated to St. George, was a large irregular building of several styles of ancient architecture. It consisted of a nave, a north and south aisle, and chancel, divided from the nave by a pointed arch. The north aisle was separated from the nave by three semicircular arches, supported by clustered columns, each capital with different ornaments. The south aisle was divided from the nave by four pointed arches, supported by irregular fluted columns, with plain lined capitals. On the south side the chancel was a piscina. The ceiling of the nave was plain; that of the chancel coved, the cornice ornamented with small quatrefoils. At the west end was an ancient stone font. The length of the nave, 76 ft. 6 in. ; breadth, 58 ft.

2 in., side aisles included ; length of the chancel, 49 ft. 8 in. ; breadth, 21 ft. 6 in. The tower, which stood on the north side, was 27 ft.

3 in. by 24 ft. 5 in., contained five bells; round the tenor, "Thomas Roberts, of Salop, cast these five, 1681. William Medlicott, Nicholas Brockson, Wardens."

The following monumental memorials, taken when I last visited the church, previous to its demolition, you will probably deem worthy of preservation.

On stones in the floor, within the communion rails :

"Here lyeth interred the body of Thomas Niccolls, of Boycott, esq., who departed this life ye i6th day of April, in the year of our Lord God 1646."

" Here lyeth interred the body of Thomas, the sonne of Rowland Niccolls, esq., and Anne, his wife, who was buried ye6th day of Jvly An0 Dui 1659."

" The remains of Mrs. Ann Wingfield, wife of the Rev. Mr. Benjamin Wing- field, A.M., rector of the first portion of Pontesbury, who died 2ist Jan., 1755, aged — ."

" The Rev. Benjamin Wingfield, M. A., rector of the first portion of this Church, died 26th Sept., 1763, aged 53."

" In memory of Arthur Ward, of Kinton, gent., who died the nth day of Aug., 1682, aged 82."

Against the east wall of the chancel, secured by folding-doors, is the portrait of a boy, in a loose mantle, over which an serial form, with a wreath or chaplet, with which she is going to crown him ; in the clouds are several cherubs' heads, and below the portrait the following inscription :

" Hie subtus jacet ingens Naturae partus et conamen, quod cum absolvere non potuit iniqua delevit ; natus in tumuli tristepatrimonium, parentum in luctusolum primigenise jus retulit ; indolis tantae, de qua maxima sperare licuit, nunc vero

VOL. XXII. 8

i T 4 Shropshire.

maxima lugere. Annis tenerrimis virtutibus (hei prodigium) prmaturis. ut plus ab utero crederes, quam a disciplina excelli. Obijt quinto die IVlartij An0 Dom' 1636, oetatis n. Ea virtus innocentia in Paradisum recipi, qua primus homo deperdita exulavit."

[Verses omitted.]

On a flat stone in the floor, under the monument :

" Here lyeth the body of Thos. Ottlev, eldest son of Francis Ottley and Lucy,

his wife, son and heir apparent of Thos. Ottley, of Pitchford, esq., who departed

this life the 5th of March, 1636."

On a neat marble tablet, against the east wall of the chancel : "Joannes Mac Gilvray, A.M. In Inverness! agro natus, A.D. 1751. Christi meritis humiliter fretus, mortalitatem exuit, A.D. 1823."

On a brass plate, against the north wall of the chancel :

" MORS PUS LVCRVM. Hunc prope locum jacet corpus Oeni Davis, Colleg' Omnium Animarum Oxon. socii senioris, ac hvius ecc'liae per spaciurn xvni* annor' univs pastoru'. qui senio confectus xii° die Mali AnnoSalvtis Nostrae 1614, et peregrinationis suae 72, ab hac vita Deo et hominibvs charvs ad evm in qvo confisvs est pacifice migravit ; in cujvs piam memoriam Maria vxor eivs filia Richardi Fosteri Evang. Divini dispensatoris fidelis ab antiqua Evelensi familia orti, viri doctrina, pie ate, et moribvs approbat. Coll. s'c'toe Trinitat', Cantabr. socii, hie etiam Anno Christi 1596 sepult. moeroris plena hoc monvmentvm posvit."

Against the north wall of the chancel a handsome monument of marble ; on the right side a figure of Hope, on the left Charity ; under the tablet, in bas-relief, a ship in full sail ; on the table the following inscription :

"M. S.

" THOM^E DAVIES, Mercatoris Lond. filii natu minimi . . . hujus Ecclesise unius olim e Rectoribus, cujus Industriam spe tantum fulcitam, cujus integritatem, probitatemq' negotiis obeundis, cujus postea indigentibus charitatem pariterq' in gentem propriam (nee numero nee inopia minimam) munificentiam, divitiarum, amicorum, precii gratitudinis, affluentia Divini Numinis providentia (in cujus tutelam ab ipsisincunabiliscom'issus fuit utpote patre orbatus) abinde compensavit. Quod reliquum est, his virtutibus non solum exemplar se voluit esse, sed patronum, qui ut industriam promoveret centum lib. pueris egenis apud Hospitale Christi Lord, hujusce autem natalis soli emeritis senibus ducentas largitus est. Obiit xm. Cal. Sept. A.D. CID.ID.LXXIV. yEt. LXT. R.D. NEPOS POSUIT.

" Arms : Sable, a chevron gules, between three swans' heads or ; on a chief of the third a fleur-de-lis sable."

On a monument against the south wall of the chancel :

" Revdus HENRICUS BALDWYN, A.M. Rector primse et tertise portionis hujus Ecclesiae, obijt 17° Julij, 1757. ^Eta\ 56. Multis ille bonis flebilis occidit.

" Arms : Argent, a saltier sable. Crest : On a mount vert a cockatrice argent ; wattled, combed, and beaked or, ducally gorged and lined of the last."

On a monument at the east end of the south aisle :

" In memory of WILLIAM BOYCOTT, of Boycott, esq., who died the 2d day of August, 1707, aged 46, this monument was erec'ed by his affectionate and mournful widdow. He was steady to the principles of the Church of England, of great probity, justice, and integrity, charitable and liberal to the poor, hospitable and generous to his friends, affable and courteous to all, generally beloved whilst he lived, and much lamented at his death."

Pontesbury. 1 1 5

On a tablet against the north wall :

"Near this place are deposited the remains of JOHN OLIVER, of Shrewsbury, esq., who died Nov. 24, 1789, aged 48.

"Also of BOLD OLIVER, of the same place, esq., who died May 8, 1791, aged 44 years.

"Also of ELIZABETH OLIVER, widow of the above Bold Oliver, esq., who died May 17, 1 80 1, aged 54 years."

On a monument against the north wall of the chancel :

" Beneath are interred the remains of RICHARD WARD OFFLEY, of Hinton, esq., who died 29th May, 1762, aged 46 years. He was a gentleman of an ancient family, acted in the Commission of the Peace for this county, and was not only assiduous of doing good in general, but particularly attended the true interests of this parish and neighbourhood. He married SARAH, daughter of George Penbury, of Wotherton, esq., by whom he left issue a daughter, SARAH, and one son, WARD OFFLEY, who, whilst in the service of his country, fell a sacrifice to the malignant influence of the climate at Antigua, on the 24th of November, 1793, in the 33d year of his age.

"Arms : Argent, on a cross pate^e flory azure a lion passant gardant or, between four Cornish choughs proper ; impaling Penbury."

On a plain stone in the chancel :

" Here lieth the body of JOHN HARRIS, of Cruckton, esq., who departed this ife Oct. 21, 1746, aged 55. As likewise of SARAH, his wife, daughter of Robert Hill, esq., who died 3d Dec., 1772, aged 80. ALICIA HARRIS died igih Nov., 1798, aged 79.

" Arms : Barry of eight, ermine and azure, over all three annulets ; impaling Ermine, on a fesse sable a castle triple-towered argent. Crest : A hawk argent, beaked and belled or, preying on a pheasant argent."

On a tablet against the north wall of the nave :

"Near this stone lie the remains of ROBERT PHILLIPS, of Cruck-Meole, esq., and CATHARINE, his wife, daughter of Sir Edward Acton, of Aldenham, bart. He died i8th of April, A.D. 1772, aet. 96 ; and she the I4th of Oct., 1743, aet. 58. They had issue Edward and Mary. Edward died young. MARY married Thomas Harris, of Crunkton, esq. ; she died 23d Jan., A.D. 1767, aet. 48. THOMAS HARRIS, esq., died Sept. 27th, A.D. 1798, aged 82."

On a plain stone in the chancel floor :

" Here lyeth the body of Mrs. JANE DALE, sister to the Rector of the second portion of Pontesbury, daughter of HUGH DALE, M.A., formerly fellow of Brasenose College, Oxford, Chaplain to ye Duke of Bridgewater, Rector of Moddle, afterwards of Settrington and Donnington, in Yorkshire, who married a daughter of Pontesbury Owen, Esq. She died the 14th of Oct., 1738, aged 31."

On a tablet against the north wall of the chancel :

" In memory of the Rev. WILLIAM PUGH, formerly curate of this parish. Died Feb. i8th, 1775, aged 74."

There are several other memorials to the families of Phillips, Heighway, etc. D. PARKES.

8—2

Tl6

Shropshire.

Quatford.

[1818, Part /.,/. 17.]

In addition to the views you have already given of Shropshire churches, permit me to present you with a view of Quatford Church, with some remains of antiquity belonging to it. (See Plate II.)

Quatford is in the jurisdiction of Bridgnorth and hundred of Stottesden. The church, dedicated to St. Mary Magdalene, was built and endowed with great possessions by Roger de Montgomery, Earl of Shrewsbury, at the desire of Adelaisa, his wife, who made a vow thereof in a tempest at sea upon her first coming to England.

The nave and part of the tower were rebuilt in 1714; but the chancel and interior of the church retail their original appearance — plain benches for seats, with quatrefoil ornaments at the ends. The chancel is divided from the body by a circular arch, supported by four pilasters on each side, round and square alternately ; in the south wall is an ornamented piscina. Nos. i, 2, 3, 4, as represented in the plate, are ancient sepulchral stones, with crosses, etc., and Nos. 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, are figured floor-tiles, or quarries. Opposite the south entrance is an ancient stone font ; the upper part is ornamented with quatrefoils, deeplv recessed ; below are cable mouldings.

On a plain stone within the communion-rails :

" Here lieth the body of JANE SPENCER, spinster, daughter of Sir Thomas Spencer, Baronet, by Dame Elizabeth, his Wife, who departed this life the I5th day of April, 1765."

On a tablet against the south wall :

"JOSEPH CORBETT, Gent., died July 17, 1790, aged 66."

On a monument against the south wall :

" Sacred to the memory of THOMAS CRUMP, late of Oldbury, in this county, Gent., who departed this life July 29, 1788, aged 72.

" Also to the memory of ELIZABETH, his Wife, the daughter of Geo. and Eliz. Corfield, of Oldbury ; she departed this life Nov. 3, 1793, aged 82."

D. PARKES. Richard's Castle.

[1797, Part 11., p. 75I-]

Richard's Castle, near Ludlow, the seat of the Salways, has long been in the possession of that family. John Salway died seised of Stanford, in Worcestershire (now the seat of the Winningtons), and of Richard's Castle, 8 Henry V. (see Nash's "Worcestershire," vol. ii., p. 366).

If Stoke Castle be Stoke Say, it belonged to Sir John Ludlow, of Hodnet, whose daughters and coheirs, Anne and Alice, married Thomas and Humphry Vernon, brothers to Philip and Mary, from the former of whom are descended the Curzons. Who was the wife of Sir John Ludlow has been a matter of great dispute, the Vernons asserting her to have been Elizabeth, sister of John, Lord Powis,

Shelton. 1 1 7

grandfaiher of Edward, last Lord Powis. Hut Mr. Powis. who counter-claimed the Barony of Powis as the descendant of Eliza- beth, aunt of Lord John, denied the existence of such a person as Elizabeth Gray, wife of Sir John Ludlow. O. Y.

Shelton.

[1810, Part //.,/. 305.]

As you have recorded and given delineations of many trees re- markable for size, or some history attached to them, I am induced to send you a drawing of the Shelton Oak (see Plate I.), not more remarkable for its size than its traditional history.

Mr. Gough, in his edition of Carnden's "Britannia," introduces the following notice of it :

" About a mile and a half from Shrewsbury, where the Pool road diverges from that which leads to Oswestry, there stands an ancient decayed oak. There is a tradition that Owen Glendwr ascended this tree to reconnoitre ; and finding that the King was in great force, and that the Earl of Northumberland had not joined his son Hotspur, he fell back to Oswestry, and immediately after the battle of Shrewsbury retreated precipitately to Wales."

This tree is now in a complete state of decay and hollow, even the larger ramifications. It is visited by many people from the above tradition. A gentleman whom I accompanied was so charmed with the old tree that he gave it the name of Owen Glendwr's Ob- servatory, and wrote the annexed inscription for a brass plate to be fixed to the tree :

"On July XXIL, A.D. MCCCCIII., OWEN GLYNDWR ascended this Tree to reconnoitre on his march to Shrewsbury to join the daring Hotspur against King Henry IV., but finding his friends were defeated, returned from this spot into Wales."

The following are the dimensions of the Shelton Oak :

ft. in.

Girth at bottom, close to the ground . . . 44 3 Ditto, 5 feet from ground . . . . 25 i

Ditto, 8 feet ditto 274

The height of the tree to A 41 6

Within the hollow of the tree, at the bottom, there is sufficient room for at least half a dozen to take a snug dinner; and he whose signature follows would have no objection to make one of the party, and drink to the memory of Owen Glyndwr. D. PARKES.

Shrawardine.

[1813, Fart //.,/. 320.]

The following extracts from Shrawardine Parish Register, in the county of Salop, may be an acceptable addition to your historical and topographical notices :

" In the time of our late unnatural civil and unhappy wars that

Shropshire.

were between the King and Parliament, Shrawardine Castle was made a garrison for the King, September 28, 1644. Sir William Vaughan, Colonel, was made the Governor of it. This Castle was the headquarters of all his forces. While this garrison continued, the church and chancel were pulled down ; the outbuildings of the Castle, the Parsonage-house, with all edifices thereunto belonging, and ye greatest, fairest, and best part of the town, were burnt for the safety (as it was pretended) of the said garrison. In this firing the Register Book, among many books of the minister's, was burned. Now here followeth a register of all such weddings, christenings, and burials, as have been since that lime, only by the way, some things are to be noied and remembred. . . .

" Shrawardine Chancel was thrown down on Saint Matthias Day, February 24, 1644. The Church was pulled down on Whitsunday Eve, June 8, 1645. The town was burnt on Midsummer Eve and Midsummer Day, 1645. The garrison was cowardly surrendred up to the Parliament Forces after five dayes seige. And, within less than a fortnight after, all the timber-work of ye Castle, and much goods that were in it, were all consumed with fire, upon a sudden report that Sir William Vaughan was coming to surprize it. After- wards the stone-work was pulled down and carried to Shrewsbury, for the repairing of the Castle there, and the making-up of Rousal Wai!, standing on ye Severn side. The Church was rebuilt by a voluntary collection thro' the county in the year 1 649. All ye mean while the parish assembled for the publick worship of God in the Castle stable. Richard Typton ye elder was a diligent, careful churchwarden, while the Church was builded.

" One Mr. Edgerlye is said to have been parson here for above ye space of 40 years.

" After him succeeded Mr. Corbet, rector of Westenstow, and also parson of this parish. He is reported to have lived to a very great age. He enjoyed this place for above 50 years.

"Richard Harrison, a Cumberland man, Master of Arts and Fellow of Queen's College, in Oxford, was chosen parson by Sir Henry Bromley. He enjoyed this place 46 years, and then dyed, being aged 86. He was buried September 15, 1638.

"Francis Browne, born in Newport, Master of Arts, of Lincoln college, in Oxford, was vicar of Monford seven years, and after ye death of Mr. Harrison (by the free donation of Henry Bromley, esq., Lord of this manour, and patron of the rectory), was removed from Monford to be parson of this parish. He was inducted into this rectory by Mr. Clark, parson of Fitz, vicar of Alberbury, and rural dean of Pontesbury, November 26, 1638. The Sunday following he read openly in the Church the Book of Articles. On July ye 25, ye year foregoing, he was rnarryed to Priscilla Morris, the daughter of Rowland Morris, yeoman, and bayliffe of this lordship.

Shrawardiue. 1 1 9

"Note. This year, 1658, we bad neither churchwarden nor con- stable, Rowland Owen, a soldier in ye county troop, being chosen to both offices, but refusing to serve, as a priviledged person, he was fined in fifty shillings for his obstinacy. Thomas James, gent., was constable for part of ye year, and John Clark remained in his office of churchwarden, but did nothing, being removed out of the parish to Cilcott, in the township of Bicton. And this year was a tyme of great sickness and diseases in these parts, and generally all the land over, for ye ceasing of which we had a day of humiliation, and after that, thro' ye mercy of God, ye sickness abated in all places.

" May 29, 1660. His gracios Majesty or dread Soveraign King Charles the Second came to London, attended with the greatest part of ye nobility and gentry of ye land, where, with all demonstrations of joy, he was welcomed and received. Never was more cordial joy, love, and honor, shewed to any King, than to this exiled Prince, at his reception into ye Kingdom, in all places." S. W.

Shrewsbury.

[1763, /A 481, 482.]

The town of Shrewsbury is seated on the north side of the river Severn, not very far distant from the centre of the county of Shrop- shire, it being twenty computed miles from thence to Ludlow at the southern extremity of the county, and fourteen computed miles to Whitchurch at the northern extremity. The town stands upon a hill of red earth, and is almost encircled by the river Severn, which runs by the walls in the form of a horse-shoe. This town is sup- posed to have risen from the ruins of Uriconium, a Roman station at the conflux of the Severn and Tern, now called Wroxeter. The Saxons termed it Scrobbers-lyrig, because it was anciently a thicket of shrubs upon a hill. The Welsh named it Pengwerne, whence Leland writes thus of it :

" Edita Penguerni late fa^tigia splendent, Urbs sita lunato veluti mediamnis in orbe, Colle tumet modico, duplici quoque ponte superbit, Accipiens patria sibi lingua nomen ab alto."

They named it also Ym Withig, which, as Camden tells us, some learned in the Welsh language derive from the word " Mewithan," signifying pleasant, because the old Welsh princes greatly delighted in it. The Normans named it Scropesbery, Sloppesbery, and Salop, which Camden supposes to be corruptions of the old S »xon name. At the first entering of the Normans it was a place well inhabited and of good trade.

In Edward the Confessor's time, according to Domesday Book, it paid gelt for 100 hides. In the reign of the Conqueror it paid nearly^y i6s. de gablo. There were numbered there 252 citizens, of whom twelve was obligated to guard the Kings of England

I2O

Shropshire.

when they lay in this town, and as many to accompany them in hunting. Carnden refers this custom to the murder of Prince Ashelm, who was slain in hunting by Edrick Strema, Duke of the Mercians. William I. gave this town to Roger of Montgomery, who pulled down fifty houses and built the castle. His son Robert, when he revolted from Henry I., built the walls. In the year 1403, Sir Henry Piercy, his uncle the Earl of Worcester, and the Earl of Dunbar laid siege to the town, but Henry IV., coming up with his army, engaged and defeated them in the place since called Battlefield. Tradition tells us that his Queen stood upon Haghmond Hill to see the battle, where there is a place still called the Queen's Bo^er.

Shrewsbury zealously espoused the cause of Charles I., and endured a long siege from the Rebel forces, but was at length taken by surprise at the time of the Treaty of Uxhridge.

Roger of Montgomery was the first Earl of Shrewsbury, being so created by the Conqueror, who gave him also the greatest part of Shropshire. Hugh, his eldest son, succeeded him, and was slain in Wales without issue. Robert, his brother, succeeded him, but having rebelled against Henry I., was sentenced to perpetual im- prisonment, and the earldom assigned to Queen Adaliza for her dowry. From that time Shrewsbury had no Earl till Henry VI., in the year 1442, created John Talbot Earl of Shrewsbury, of which noble family there have been fourteen earls of this place, one of which was created Duke, but that title died with him. There are in Shrewsbury the following churches, viz. : St. Chad's, which was once collegiate, and valued at the Dissolution at -£14 145. 4d. ; St. Mary's, which was likewise collegiate, and valued at £18 is. 8d. ; St. Alkmund's ; St. Julian's ; St. Giles's ; and the Abbey Church. The Abbey was founded by Robert of Montgomery in the year 1081, in honour of St. Peter and St. Paul and St. Melburga, and was valued at ^615 45. 3d. The other religious houses were : a house of Augustine Friars, founded by Lord Stafford ; of Carmelite Friars, by De Teneville ; of Franciscan Friars, by Geoffrey, Lord Powis ; of Dominican Friars, by De Charleton. The market is kept on Wed- nesdays and Fridays. The fairs are htld on August 12, October 2, and December 12. The movable fairs were kept this year on March 19, April 13, May 18. The infirmary in this town, which was opened April 25, 1747, is a very handsome edifice, and pleasantly situated; the subscription, according to the last report, amounts to ^1,044 6s. 6d.

The chief trade of this place is for Welsh cottons and flannels. A new and elegant theatre hath been lately built here. The Foundling Hospital is a handsome building, and pleasantly seated on a hill near the river. The chief inns are the Raven, the Talbot, and the Red Lion. The best streets are the Raven Street, the High Street, and Mardol. Shrewsbury is, in general, wtll built, and many gentle-

Shrewsbury. \ 2 1

men re-side in it. The situation is exceedingly pleasant, amidst rising hills and beautiful meadows. The quarry is justly esteemed one of the finest walks in the kingdom. The principal seats near Salop are: Berwick, the seat of Thomas Powis, Esq.; Sundon, of -- Corbet, Esq. ; Tern, of Thomas Hill, Esq. ; Longnor, of Robert Burton, Esq. ; Cundover, of Lord Clive ; Underhill, of Henry Powis, Esq. The Free School is a very handsome structure, and well endowed. VERAX,

[1794, Part //.,/. 1086.]

The venerable church of Sr. Alkmond, in Shrewsbury, being to be taken down and rebuilt, I went to transcribe some old monumental inscriptions, for fear they should be destroyed by the workmen; but, to my surprise, there were several inscriptions on brass plates gone. This led me to make inquiry, and I was informed they were sold, by order of the churchwardens, to a brazier; on which I went and drsired to see the plates, and carefully copied the inscriptions.* . . .

i. On a brass plate, one foot and three-quarters by six inches and a half:

"ijljcrc luetlt (Seorgc |30ntcsburj). t\\t <Sont of TEhomas -Pxrntesbnrn, Jate of ;3Vbbrightlrje,t tohich bucb the tenth bar of (October, ^n0 §~ni 1550, anb in

' als

the fourth nere of the ^larjgne of |fiin0e'(£btr.nrb the ^irst ; anb also Jahne his luiffc, one of the baufjhters of <Sir <ltteharb |Cac~on, Anight, to huh bieb the hist fcai) of June, in the setoenth rjere 0f the jtl.iygne of the abobenameb toorthic $'nce glinge dJbtoarbe tlu Jfirst ; on tohom tlu'iCxrrb, for Jesus Christ sahe, Itabe mcrcjtj."

Second plate :

"©eorgius ^3ontesbur^e, obut ^nno Domini 1589, J^p. bit."

Third plate :

"GEORGIVS HIGGONS, GENEROSVS, ALDERMANV', & QUINQVIES BALIVVS nvivs VILL^; SALLOPI^;, EX HAC VITA EMIGKAVIT, VICESIMO TERTIO DIE

OCT°BRIS ANO D'NI M1LLES1MO QVINGENTESIMO NONAGESIMO PRIMO ^TATIS SV^E SEPTVAGESIMO SECV^DO."

Fourth plate :

" PlERE LIETH THE BODY OF THOMAS BARKER, OF ADBRIGHTLEE, ESQ., WHO HAD TO WIFE MARGARET, THE DAVGHTER OF EDWARD OWEN, OF ADBRIGHTLEE, ESQ., BY WHOM HE HAD ISSVE 3 CHILDREN, AMY, SARAH, AND JOHN. HE DEPARTED THIS LIFE MAY 10, ANNO DOMINI 1652. JUSTORUM ANIM^E IN MANU DEI SUNT."

[1796, Part L, pp. 369, 370.]

The enclosed drawing represents the east end of the old church of St. Alkmond, Shrewsbury, taken down in 1794; which I shall be glad to see engraved (Fig. 2) to accompany the following monumental

* That is all I could find, but there were more taken from the church, which I fear are lost.

t About four miles from Shrewsbury.

2 2 Shropshire.

inscriptions, copied from brass plates, etc., in the above church, in 1790, long before the ravages complained of by your correspondent (Gent. Mag., 1794, Part II., p. 1089). The plates belonging to the Pontesbury family, and those of Higgins, Barker, etc., were loose, and thrown behind a chest in the vestry. I am happy it is in my power to send the following in addition to those you have published. Monu- mental inscriptions are evidence ; and those of a date prior to parish registers are most essentially so, and ought to be carefully preserved ; that they have on many occasions been instrumental in deciding the fate of property is well known.

Upon slips of brass that had gone round the verge of a stone (the blanks are to show the pieces lost) :

" (fetoxQinst $0ttt*sbttri, tt Jaita »x' . . . fiUarum gUcharoi ^atltji), be 39tt£hforb.e, armijjeri, qux fuit, . . . tnttt' awte' secunfcnm boln'iatem patris Urn fecit fflitts t]nz ftontt shurg, nattt maximum a° ^OTTOC&jy: jEl£.n

On another :

" mamas fcHmtesbti', obijt a $'ni ^OrorarCCOrBI.''

On the back of Higgons's plate was this, in Roman capitals :

" Heare lyeth the body of THOMAS BENYON, draper, deceased the xxth day of July, 1587.

" Heare lyeth ANNE BENYON, the wyfe of Thomas Benyon, deceased the xvth of June, 1638."

On a blue stone, near the chancel-steps, were the figures of a woman and her two husbands ; at their feet the following inscription. The figures and inscription brass.

" "jjjic jzttnt J0h'e0 HJtrhep tt Joh'.e ? ^ptttufreston, burgene-es bille <Salopif, tt ctfHargeria nxox tor\ tt p'bict Jah'ts ^rbej) 0bijt a° b'ni millo TCCCC&^J:, tt y'lbut Joh'^s tj)nmfrts>ton obijt ultimo bie mc'0 ^tarcii ao b'ni millo CCCCC n0na5f£iim0 nno, ac ttixm Jftargiria u.xot p'ii-ctor', obiit ... bit mcnsis . . . a° b'ni miU'0 qttin0,*ntesim0. 0,u0r' animabus y 'pic jet' >bt' am*'."

On a large stone on the north side the church, the letters arranged as under. The letters of this inscription are sunk in the stone; but the whole appears to have been covered with slips of brass, which undoubtedly contained one of later date. At the head :

"MARY, DOUGTER TO IHON OTTELEY."

On the side :

"GENT., AND WYFE TO RICHARD OWEN, MERCER, GENT., DECESSED A'NO D'NI 1568."

On a blue stone near the font was a brass plate with the following, in Roman capitals :

" Here, in assurance of a joyful resurrection, lyeth the body of ANDREW STUDLEY, master of arte, and eldest sonne of Peter Sudley, gent., who married Elizabeth, the second daughter of Humphre Owen, gent., and had issue by her 2 daughters, Elener and Mary, who departed this life ye 17th day of July, an'o D'ni 1628, the one and fortieth year of his age, in the feare of God and peace of con- science, ending a holy life wth a happy death."

Shrewsbury. . 123

On a brass plate, in Roman capitals :

"Here lyeth the body of RICHARD PROWDE, draper, husband of Alice Prowde, deceased the 25th day of Avgvst, 1608, and had issue 2son'es, Richard and James; and 6 davghters, Anne, Mary, deceased, Elienor, Mary, Sara, Margaret."

As my intention was only to mention the inscriptions that are destroyed, I shall beg leave to observe that the other monuments, tombstones, etc. (most of which are of more modern date), are placed in the new church and churchyard. D. P.

[i8ir, Part I., p. 9.]

I beg to offer you a sketch of the north-east view of the ancient and very curious church of St. Alkmund, in Shrewsbury, which, excepting its most beautiful steeple, was destroyed by the parishioners in 1793. The drawing from which the enclosed is copied was made by me a few days previous to the unnecessary demolition of the venerable fabric, and is, I believe, the only existing representation of its northern elevation. (See Plate I.) H. O.

[1807, Part L, p. 297.]

I send you a north-west view of the ancient collegiate and parochial church of St. Chad, in Shrewsbury (Plate I.), which fell down in the >ear 1788, undermined by graves. The drawing is a faithful copy of one made by me not long before the accident.

As no tolerable engraving has ever appeared of this large church, I am very desirous that a print of it may adorn your valuable magazine ; by which means some public memorial of its form will be preserved.

The church stood in the cemetery, the present indecent state of which has been so justly reprobated by some of your correspondents, and on the spot which once contained a palace of the ancient princes of Powis. One of the Saxon Kings of Mercia founded this collegiate church, for a dean, ten prebendaries, vicars choral, etc., which existed till the ist of Edward VI., when the college was dissolved, and the church remained parochial only; served by a curate. The deanery was in the patronage of the Bishops of Lichfield and Coventry, and had been filled by many persons of eminence. Although unadorned, the exterior aspect of St. Chad's was stately and interesting; within, it possessed a venerable dignity seldom seen in a parish church. The walls of the nave rested on round Saxon arches. Four noble pointed arches sustained the square tower in the centre, in which hung a peal of ten bells. The arches of the choir and transept were round, while the windows were narrow and lancet-shaped, adorned with slender shafts and foliated capitals. In the large east window was the painted glass, now in St. Mary's Church ; and at the western extremity of the nave was a very handsome organ. The length,

1 24 Shropshire.

from east to west, was 160 feet; of the transept, from nonh to south, 94 feet. H.

[1820, Part If., p. 303.]

I enclose you the inscription on a monument recently erected in the church of St. Chad. The monument consists of a table deeply panelled, flanked with a fluted pilaster on each side, and sur- mounted with a richly-carved frieze; round the v\hule runs a guillochi, charged with roses, and enclosing above the table a circular- headed niche, containing a fine bust of the deceased by Chantrey. The whole is executed in beautiful statuary marble. The inscrip- tion is in Roman capitals.

"John Simpson, born at Stenhouse, in Midlothian, 1755, dird in this parish, June 1 5th, 1815. As a man, he was moral, gentle, social, and friendly ; in his professional capacity, diligence, accuracy, and irreproachable integrity, insured him esteem and confidence wherever he was employed. And lasting monuments of his skill and ability will be found in the building; of this church, which he superintended ; the bridges of Bewdley, Dunkeld, Craig Ellachie, and Bonar ; the aqueducts of Pontcysylte and Chirk ; and the locks and basins of the Caledonian Canal. The strength and maturity of his Christian faith and hope were seen con- spicuous in his last illness. To his exemplary conduct as a husband and a father, his afflicted widow and daughters erect this memorial of affection and regret "

D. PARKES.

[18115, Part //., p. 8.]

A handsome marble tablet, commemorative of the Rev. F. Leighton, of Ford, near Shrewsbury, has lately been erected in the new church of St. Chad, with the following inscription :

"H.S. E. FRANCISUS LEIGHTON, Ecclesiae Anglicanse presbyter, e pervetusta sui nominis in hoc comitatu prosapia oriundus : Vir quem silere nefas ; laudare arduum ; adeo summas Naturae dotes, ingenium acre, et venam Poeticae ubertrm, optimarum artium discipline, et multiplici linguarum peritia excoluerat : gravi- tatem sermonis colloquio lepido, sententiarum vim facetiis honestis temperavit : adeo pius in Deum, liberalis erga pauperes, amans Regis ac Patrise, comis, facilis, idemque constans amicus evasit. Decessit 7mo die Septemb. A. S. MDCCCXIII., anno natus LXVI. Nemini nisi malo civi infensus. Consortein habet sepulchri, quse fuerat tori, CLARAM, Johannis Boynton Adams, de Caml>lesfurth in agro Ebor. arm. sororem ex semisse haeredem, omnibus, quae matrem-familias decerent virtutibus exornatam, demortuam 30 die Octobris MDCCCI., setatis anno LXVI. Juxta avitos cineres contumulantur ST. LEGER et CAROLINA LEIGHTON, Ille infra biennium extinctus, Haec undecimo vitae men>e vix exacto frairi addita, Franciscus Knyvett Leighton optimis parentibus et liberis H. M. P. C."

D. PARKES.

[1832, Part I., pp. 589, 590.]

At a meeting held in the vestry of St. Chad's Church, on August 6, 1825, under the immediate patronage of the Hon. and Right Rev. the Bishop of Lichfield and Coventry, and several gentlemen inter- ested in the spiritual welfare of the increasing and populous suburb of Frankwell, in the town of Shrewsbury, it was proposed to erect an additional church in that district of St, Chad's parish. The

Shrewsbury. 1 2 5

death of the vicar, the Rev. T. Stedman, M.A., stopped, however, for a time, farther proceedings in the matter; and it was not until July 16, 1827, that any decisive measures were adopted, when a committee was formed and a subscription immediately entered into, to carry the plan into effect. Subsequent disputes in the parish, which it is unnecessary to detail, having further delayed the under- taking, the foundations were not commenced until September, 1829; and the building, being completed, received consecration on Monday, January 30, 1832 ; on which occasion the mayor and corporation, with several clergymen of the town and neighbourhood, walked in procession from the parish church to the new edifice, and after the usual service of consecration had been performed, the Rev. Edw. Bather, M.A., Archdeacon of Salop, preached, from the 1 8th chap, of Matt. 28th verse, an eloquent exposition of the presence of Jesus Christ in the assemblies of His worshippers, and the nature and greatness of the benefits vouchsafed to them.

The church is situated in a confined situation at the upper end of Frankwell, and is dedicated to St. George, the tutelar saint of England, a name selected from its proximity to the site of an ancient religious foundation, called in old writings, " The Free Chapel of St. George." The structure is cruciform, having a small tower rising at the west end, and is built with fine Grinshill stone. The architecture adopted throughout the building, with the exception of the tower, is of the lancet or early Pointed style which prevailed in the thirteenth century.

The west front, which is by far the best part of the building, is made into three divisions, guarded by projecting buttresses, the centre division being occupied by the principal entrance, a plain pointed arch, bounded by a sweeping label; above this is a lancet-light, succeeded by a panel intended for a clock-dial ; from this part the tower shows itself above the roof to the height of about 20 feet, and has, on three sides only, a handsome mullioned window, in the style of the sixteenth century, surmounted by an embattled parapet and four crocketed pinnacles, crowned with finials, which are quite out of character with the other parts of the building. The tower contains one small bell. The flanks of the west end are quite plain, having in their centre narrow blank loopholes. The nave has on each side four lancet windows, bounded by labels ; and the northern and southern extremities of the transepts, with the chancel, or eastern end, have triple lancet windows, with recessed mouldings, terminat- ing in bosses, at present uncarved. The transepts and chancel terminate with gables, having on their apex a crocketed pinnacle, crowned by a finial.

The extreme length of the church is 84^ feet, and 30 feet in width ; the transepts, from north to south, are 66J feet, and the tower, to the summit of the pinnacles, 60 feet.

126 Shropshire.

The interior is plain and neat, possessing rather a pleasing appear- ance. The basement of the tower forms the vestibule, being flanked on one side by the vestry, and on the other by the stairs leading to the gallery. The aisles and transepts are occupied by free benches, with a passage on either hand, the pews being placed along the side walls of the entire building.

The pulpit is placed on the south side of the chancel, and the reading-desk on the opposite. The Decalogue, etc., is painted on two wooden panels, divided by a transom, and affixed on cor- responding sides of the eastern window; and on each side of the altar are two handsome carved Gothic chairs, presented by the Rev. Richard Scott, B.D.

Attached to the west end is a capacious gallery of free seats, extending over two-thirds of the nave.

The ceiling is flat and of plaster, intersected by ribs springing from embattled trusses, and decorated with embossed ornaments, devices, etc. ; it has a modern appearance, ill-suited to the general character of the building, but which defect may, at some future period, be obviated by painting it in appropriate compartments.

The font is of freestone and octagonal, having its side compart- ments ornamented by a small quatrefoil sunk within a square panel ; it rests on a slender pedestal in the area between the transepts.

The church was erected by a public subscription, and a grant from his Majesty's Commissioners for building churches. The total cost, exclusive of the site, which was presented by R. Drinkwater, Esq., was nearly .£4,000 ; of which sum, however, ,£400 has been invested in the name of trustees, as a fund for future repairs — a plan \vhich it is hoped will be followed in other instances.

There are fifty-seven pews, which will accommodate 290 persons, and 460 free and unappropriated sittings.

The structure was designed by Mr. Edward Haycock, and finished by the contractors, Messrs. Joseph Birch and Sons, of Shrewsbury. Without attempting to criticise further the merits of the building as a piece of architecture, it may be observed that it possesses one paramount advantage, viz., usefulness ; and it is to be desired that as the inhabitants of Shrewsbury become possessed of greater facilities for hearing the Word of God, they may value the blessing, and support it practically by their influence and example.

H. PIDGEON.

[1794, Part II., p. 694-]

The enclosed (see Plate II., Fig. i) is a faithful view of St. Giles's Church, Shrewsbury, situated at the end of the Abbey Foregate. By tradition it is the oldest church in Shrewsbury. There is nothing particularly worthy of remark in the building ; and, as it is now only an appendage to the parish of Holy Cross, service is performed in it

Shrewsbury. 1 2 7

but seldom. As I have never seen the monumental inscriptions noticed by anyone who has visited this church (even Mr. Phillips in his " History and Antiquities of Shrewsbury " has omitted them), I have transcribed the most particular in the church and churchyard.

Within the church : In the chancel floor is a stone which seems of great antiquity, of which I send you a slight but correct drawing. The legend on the edge is much defaced ; but I hope, from what is here represented, some of Mr. Urban's correspondents, versed in antiquities, will be able to give a satisfactory account. See Fig. 2.

Against the south wall, on a plain stone, is the following inscription :

" HERE LYETH THE BODY OF WALTER NICCOLLS, WHO DEPARTED THIS LIFE THE 8th DAY OF NOVEMBER, IN THE YEAR OF OVR LORD GOD 1685.

" ' STYR NOT MY BONES, WHICH ARE LAYDE IN CLAYE, FOR I MVST RISE AT THE RESURRECTION DAY."

Against the north wall, on a neat marble tablet :

" MARTHA, uxor Gulielmi Gorsuch, cler. efflavit animam Maii, 1761, set. 56. Etiam, GULIELMUS GORSUCH, hujus parochire vicarius 31 ann. Obiit Nov., 1781, set. 73."

In the churchyard: on a pedestal, which supports a beautiful urn, s the following inscription :

" Ut nemini noceret mortuus, Qui unicuique pro re nata succurrere voluit vivus, Hie extra urbem sese conturnulandum pnecipiebat CHENEY HART, M.D. Warringtoni in agro Lancastrians! natus E schola ibidem publica rudimenta literarum humaniorum hausit ; Exinde ex celeb. Glasguse academiam admissus, et doctrinis liberaliter institutus, philosophise cursum absolvit ; Edinam dein se con- tulit ; Ubi scientise anatomicae, botanicae, chemicoe, et therapeutices, Operam dedit, et Grandum doctoratus in medicina adeptus, Londini demum proxi clinica ultra imbutus, Artem salutarem apud Salopienses exercuit per annos xxxui. Diem clausit extremum, setatis suae LVIII. Mense Junii, anno M DCC LXXXIV. Con viva satur ; Integer vitse, vir honestus ; Amicus, civis, maritus, pater, optimus desideratissimus ; Medicus sagax, peritus, salutifer ; Pacis curator in comit. Salop, assiduus, fidelis, sequus ; Libertatis publicse vindex vigilans, strenuus, probus ; Veri unius Dei in nomine Jesus Christi salvatoris, cultor pius, constans, sincerus, Ut moriens viveret, vixit ut moriturus A. D. O. M. denique renovandus. Abi, lector, et tuse mortis memor esto ; Virtus sit tibi famse decus, Hora namque, dies, annus, cum tempore fugit ; Manet unica virtus."

On one side a handsome tomb, inclosed by iron palisades, is inscribed :

" Sacred to the memory of WILLIAM CONGREVE, esq., of Shrewsbury, formerly lieutenant-colonel of the I7th regiment of foot ; who, after a life conscientiously employed in the uniform practice of those virtues which make up the character of a good man and sincere Christian, died 8th June, 1779, aged 79, deservedly regretted by his numerous friends, and sincerely lamented by the poor, to whom he was a generous and most humane benefactor."

On the other side :

"Mrs. JANE CONGREVE, relict of lieutenant-colonel Congreve, died 8th of April, 1790, aged 84."

128 Shropshire.

On a large tomb on the south side of the church, without name or

date, may be seen :

" Composita solvantur."

D. PARKES.

[1794, Part //., p. 909.]

The sketch of a tombstone in St. Giles's Church, Salop, which was engraved in your last month's magazine, being exceedingly incorrect in many respects, but more particularly in the inscription, I have herewith enclosed an exact drawing of it (see Plate III.). It lies directly under the east window of the church, and was probably the tomb of an ecclesiastic belonging to the neighbouring monastery of St. Peter and St. Paul.

In the churchyard are the following lines upon the gravestone of one William White, who was a quartermaster of the horse in the reign of King William III :

" In Irish wars I fought for England's glory ; Let no man scoff at telling of this story ; I saw great Schomberg fa!lv likewise the brave St. Ruth, And here I come to die, not there in my youth. Thro' dangers great I have passed many a storm ; Die we must all as sure as we are born."

R.

[1794, Part II., p. 976.]

I was much surprised at seeing a second sketch of the old stone in St. Giles' Church. From Mr. R.'s positive language I expected to have found him correct. I took both prints, and minutely examined them with it, and must say Parkes's drawing is the best. R. has given the inscription as perfect ; there is indeed the remains of one, but the truth is, the verge of the stone is so bruised that there are many scratches on it which have as much the appearance of letters as those he has drawn, and he might with as great certainty decipher them. The feet of the figure rest on a plinth, as in P.'s, and the foliage at the extremity of the cross is well executed, not quite so clumsy as in R.'s ; the something that he found at the left ear of the figure, and which, from his drawing I could not make out, proves to be a bell. The bell, book, candlestick, and chalice, being expressed by lines sunk in the stone, and nearly filled with rubbish, are easily over- looked. ACADEMICUS.

[1830, Part 1 Y., p. 199.]

The church of St. Giles, Shrewsbury, situated at the eastern extremity of the aforenamed town, consists of a nave, chancel, and north aisle, and is unquestionably as old as the twelfth century. Being unencumbered with pews, it maintained much of its original character; and though rude in appearance, was, until lately, a wretched spectacle of "damp, neglect, and decay" — the improve-

Shrewsbury. 129

ments, however, that have recently been effected in and around it, being of no common interest, I am tempted to offer a brief detail of them to the notice of your readers.

The soil of the cemetery having from repeated interments accumulated to near the basement of the windows, and causing a descent of five or six steps to the church, has been removed and made to its original level with the floor. The north entrance, probably used by the lepers of the adjoining hospital, for whom the church was no doubt originally erected, and which had been bricked up probably soon after the demolition of that building, with the exception of its Norman arched head, which served the purpose of a window, has been reopened, and a new doorway placed therein. The roof of the building, long dilapidated, has been replaced, and a declension which appeared in the wall of the north side strengthened by appropriate buttresses.

In addition to the foregoing exterior improvements, which are done at the expense of the parish, the Rev. W. G. Rowland (to whose indefatigable zeal and exertions Salopians are particularly indebted, for the appropriate and much admired decorations of the ancient structures of the abbey and St. Mary's in their town) has undertaken at his own expense to repair and beautify the chancel. His first measure was thoroughly to repair and ceil the roof, which was here- tofore unceiled, to reopen a small lancet window on the north side, and a large pointed one, which had for years been plastered over on the south side. The former has been filled with a small figure of Saint Giles, and is an exquisite imitation of ancient stained glass ; whilst the latter has been filled with fragments of painted glass. The floor in front of the Communion has been lowered, and more appropriate rails placed before the altar. The eastern window has likewise been filled with a noble collection of stained glass, executed by Mr. David Evans of Shrewsbury. The four compartments of the lower division of the window contain full-length figures of the evangelists standing upon hexagonal pedestals, through the external circular arches of which is very strikingly exhibited the groined roof of a crypt supported by slender pillars, under which are their names in black letter, and over each figure a beautiful canopy of tabernacle work, above which, in the smaller compartments of the upper portion of the window, are the several symbols of the evangelists, each sup- porting a tablet, on which is respectively inscribed in small characters :

" Mattheus Christi stirpem et genus ordine narrat. Marcus Baptists m clamantem inducit eremo. Virgin e prognatum Lucas describit lesum. Prodit loannes verbi impenetrable lumen."

The three principal compartments in the upper division are filled with fine representations from ancient designs of "the Visitation," "the Wise Men's Offering," and "the Presentation in the Temple";

VOL. XXII. 9

r 30 Shropshire.

beneath each of which is a Latin inscription, the first being taken from Luke i. 28; the second, Psalm Ixxii. 10; the third, Luke ii. 29, 30. At the bottom of the window " Gulielmus Gorsuch Rowland dono dedit."

The alterations in the nave consist in levelling and repairing the floor, ceiling, and appropriately colouring the walls, roof, and rafters ; removing trie pulpit from the south corner of the fine arch leading into the chancel to the south-east corner of the nave, to which an elevated antique reading-desk has been attached, the officiating clergyman at the former one being obliged to stand on the floor; removing also the wooden frame and " patched glass," which had for many years disfigured a large pointed window on the south side of the nave, very properly substituting stone tracery of handsome design, the quatrefoil head being filled with fragments of stained glass, whilst the windows of the south aisle contain similar pieces ingeniously dis- posed, so as to represent the outline of figures. H. P.

[1830, Part IL, pp. 402, 403.]

I herewith send you a notice ot a memorial which has just been completed to the Ven. Hugh Owen. The memorial is erected on the north side of the chancel of St. Julian's Church, over which parish the archdeacon presided with assiduous attention to the welfare of his flock for the space of thirty-five years. It is a plain tablet, with a Grecian pediment inserted on a square slab of dove-coloured marble, having the following inscription in Roman capitals :

"Sacred to the memory of the Venble Hugh Owen, M.A., F.A.S., Archdeacon of Salop, Prebendary of Salisbury and Lichfield, one of the Portionists of Bampton, Oxfordshire, formerly Minister of this Parish, and afterwards of St. Mary, in Shrewsbury. He was the only son of Price Owen, M.D., and Bridget his wife, and the lineal representative of an ancient British family. , . . He died Dec. 3, 1827, aged 67 years. Harriet, his wife, daughter of Edward Jeffreys, Esq., died April 3, 1825, aged 59 years."

H. P.

[1831, Part I., pp. 594-596.]

I send you a description of a church recently erected in the parish of St. Mary, Shrewsbury.

The church, dedicated to St. Michael, is a respectable building in the Grecian style, composed of brick with stone dressings. In plan it consists of a tower, nave, side-aisles, and an elliptical recess for the Communion, and a vestry in the base of the tower.

The tower is of three divisions, and rises to the height of 70 feet ; the basement is square, on which rests an octagonal belfry, crowned by a similar one of smaller dimensions, with a cornice charged with heads, devices, etc. ; the whole being surmounted by an angular lead roof and a gilded cross. The body of the church is in length 70 feet 6 inches, and 40 feet 6 inches in width, and has a stone plinth,

Shrewsbury. 1 3 1

cornice, and parapet. The windows are circular-headed, having an unbroken stone architrave surrounding them, and are glazed in lead after a peculiar and neat pattern. The angular exterior of the recess for the Communion has a plinth and cornice, but terminating under the principal cornice of the building, having a circular - headed window in each of the three angles.

The interior is approached by two entrances, north and south, beneath a stone pediment, sustained on antae, and if not splendid in decoration, it has that simplicity which becometh the house of God ; it possesses, however, one great advantage, in being capable of comfort- ably accommodating a congregation of eight hundred persons, six hun- dred and twenty of whom may possess free sittings. On the floor are thirty-six pews, the other portion being free. There are galleries over the north and south aisles, the whole of which are free, as well as a spacious one erected at the west end, at the expense of the Rev. W. G. Rowland, for the use of poor children. These galleries are sustained on cast-iron columns, which are also continued for the support of the roof. The fronts of the galleries are quite plain, having moulded plinths and capping only.

The ceiling has a good effect, being panelled in large square com- partments, and judiciously coloured. The pulpit, which is octan- gular, is on the north side of the church. The reading-desk is on the opposite side, and in a corresponding style. The eastern end is finished by three square panels, inscribed according to the canon of the Church. Three windows of splendid stained glass decorate the chancel ; the subject of the centre one is the Nativity, from the celebrated painting (commonly called " La Notte ") by Correggio, and is a most masterly production of the art of glass-staining, and peculiarly interesting in the management of light suitable to the time and scene of the subject. Underneath is the inscription in Roman capitals, " And they came with haste, and found Mary and Joseph and the Babe lying in a manger."

The windows on each side of the above are designed from the "Annunciation " and the "Presentation in the Temple," the former from a painting by Guido in the chapel of the Palace, on the Monte Cavallo at Rome. The angel, a beautiful figure arrayed in yellow drapery displayed in the nicest form, is in the act of present- ing to the Virgin a lily, whilst his attitude and expressive countenance seem to speak the emphatic words of the motto inscribed beneath : '* Hail ! thou that art highly favoured among women ; the Lord is with thee." The latter is from the celebrated picture at Antwerp by Rubens, and founded on the words of holy Simeon : " Lord, now lettest thou thy servant depart in peace, according to thy word."

These windows, perfect gems of the art, add much to the soemnity of the interior of the sacred edifice in which they are placed. They have been erected at the expense of the Rev. W. G. Rowland, M. A.,

9—2

1 3 2 Sh ropsk ire.

Minister and Official of St. Mary, Shrewsbury; and whilst they reflect credit on the abilities of the artist, Mr. David Evans, of Shrewsbury, will, we trust, long remain a monument of the muni- ficence of the donor.

Mr. Rowland has likewise presented a flagon, two cups and two patens, for the use of the Communion, a good peal of six bells, and a clock for the steeple. Upon the whole, the church is highly credit- able to the talent of the architect, Mr. John Carline, and to the workmanship of the builders, Messrs. Joseph Birch and Sons ; and when we consider that it was erected at an expense of little more than ^£2,000, criticism is disarmed in the solid and chaste appear- ance which it possesses.

The ceremony of consecration was performed by the Bishop of the diocese, assisted by the venerable Archdeacons Bather, Butler, and Hodgson, the Chancellor of the diocese, and other clergymen of the town, on which occasion the Rev. Dr. Butler delivered an appropriate discourse from Acts vii. 48, 49, 50, in the course of which he adverted to the bad practice of pews being used in the churches of this country, a custom little known to other nations, and by which church accommodation is much infringed upon, whilst he was persuaded that in many instances it was not a spirit of hostility that kept numbers away from the church, but an idea among the more wealthy of not wishing to intrude into the seats of others, and of a belief among the poor that there was no accommodation for them. To the exertions of the Commissioners and the Incor- porated Society we are, however, indebted, for having provided 400,000 sittings, upwards of 250,000 of which are free ; at the same time he mentioned a striking historical fact, that although we have no means of knowing exactly the population of Shrewsbury at the time of the Reformation, yet we might fix it at somewhere near 7,000, when there were five churches, with four large priory churches, and eight chapels; in 1695 it was 7,383, with five churches; in 1750, 8,141; in 1821, 18,000; and now probably about 20,000, and this with only the five churches. The necessity, therefore, of increasing church accommodation in this town was obvious to every reflecting mind ; and that the building now erected might be well filled was his earnest hope, as well as that it might be supported by a faithful minister, who will dwell on the great practical truths of Christianity.

It must be a source of gratification to know that the erection of this edifice in a populous suburb hitherto very dimly illumined with Christian light was begun in a spirit of unanimity, and has pro ceeded throughout without the slightest opposition or dissension of the parishioners ; and if this favourable result was occasioned by the indefatigable exertions of the zealous minister of the parish, it forcibly demonstrates that good understanding which should at all times

Shrewsbury. 133

subsist between a pastor and his flock — a solid foundation for a superstructure conducive to the promotion of true religion.

H. PIDGEON.

[1813, Part /., /. 9.]

Fig. 3 on the accompanying Plate II. represents the remains of the Chapel of St. Nicholas, Shrewsbury. It is situated in the Castle Street, on the left hand entrance to the Council House, and is now used for stables. Of its origin I have not been able to get any satis- factory account. The form is oblong, of about 50 feet by 20, it consisted of a nave and chancel without aisles. The western window, shown in the drawing, is pointed, divided by a single mullion, part of which is destroyed, and a piece of timber placed across. The lower part is used as a window for a hay-loft. On the south side is a very small round-headed window. The semicircular arch, which divided the nave from the chancel, is supported on each side by short circular pilastered columns. The building is undoubtedly of great antiquity. D. PARKES.

[1813, Part L, pp. 305-308.]

The enclosed is a view of the Abbey Church, Shrewsbury (see Plate I.).

The great mitred Abbey of St. Peter and St. Paul, founded A.D. 1083, by Roger de Montgomery, Earl of Shrewsbury, was built on the site of a timber church, erected by Siward, who exchanged with the Earl for the village of Langafielda, which Siward at his death bequeathed to the new foundation. It was peopled with Benedictine monks from Seez in Normandy. The Earl endowed the house largely, and encouraged all over whom he had any influence to con- tribute liberally. Roger himself, with the permission of his lady Adelisa, was shorn, and became a monk of his own abbey, and enriched it with the coat of St. Hugh, of the monastery of Cluni, which precious relic the Earl himself sometimes wore. The founder died in 1094, and was buried here, as was Hugh his son, slain in the Isle of Anglesey. The first abbot of this house was Fulcheredus, said to have been a man of great eloquence. Robert Pennant, the fourth abbot, obtained with great difficulty the relics of St. Wene- frede, and enshrined them, which added much to the emolument of the abbey. Thomas Butler was the last abbot ; he appears to have been rather a tool to the Dissolution party, by whom he was rewarded with an annuity of ^80. At the general Dissolution, Dr. Lee, and Masters Kendle, Harley, etc., the King's Commissioners, were sent down. They convened the abbot and monks to the chapter- house, caused some deeds to be signed with the common seal of the house, then ordered an officer to break it, and declared the convent to be dissolved. The revenues were valued by Dugdale at £532 4s- iod., and by Speed at ^656 45. 3d. The site of the

1 34 Shropshire.

abbey, with its buildings, was purchased by E. Watson, Esq., and W. Herdson, a tanner, dealers in monastic plunder, and soon after sold to W. Langley, of Salop, tailor ; and it continued in that family till 1702, since which it has been in possession of the Baldwins and Powises. Of tli is once famous abbey the present remains are small ; of the chapter-house, cloister and refectory, not a single vestige remains. The church of the abbey appears to have been spacious and magnificent, but great devastations were made at the Dissolution. The nave, western tower, and northern porch remain, under consider- able mutilation j but of the choir, transept, and chapels, scarce a frag- ment remains. The great western aisle, or nave, from its earliest date, was appropriated as the parish church, for the use of ihe neighbouring inhabitants ; and this probably prevented the entire destruction of the building. In Queen Elizabeth's time the church was made parochial, and called the Church of the Holy Cross, which name it still retains. The western part, represented in the annexed view, is the most entire. The tower, though plain, is finely proportioned ; the entrance a round Norman arch recessed, and a pointed arch inserted within it, undoubtedly of later date. In a niche on each side the great west window were formerly statues of St. Peter and St. Paul. Between the bell-windows, within a niche, is a statue, which has been generally supposed to be the lounder, Roger de Montgomery ; but others, with more probability, conjec- ture it to be King Edward III., not merely from the costume of the figure, but from the tower having been erected about that period. In this tower formerly hung the great bell of St. Wenefrede, thus inscribed :

"<Sancta ®$Uttcfreia, ^Un hot tomtnimbare mtnuntfl (£t pietate *aa, nxxa sprint ab haste c ru.ent.o."

This bell remained till the year 1673, when it was sold towards defraying the expense of a new peal of eight bells. The interior of the church, though in so mutilated a state, retains a solemn grandeur. On each side the middle aisle (the ancient nave) are five arches, which separate it from the side-aisles. The two which join to the tower are pointed, as are the windows over them. The other arches are semicircular, with immense round pillars, short and plain. Above was a gallery of smaller arches in the same style. Within the second arch from the west end are vestiges of what is supposed to have been an ancient chantry chapel ; there are several niches, but much mutilated, and the statues gone. The church has of late been very judiciously improved and decorated, by the addition of a handsome new organ, placed on an appropriate Gothic screen, and likewise with an east window of stained glass. In the centre compartments are large figures of St. Peter and St. Paul ; above are the arms of England, the see of Lichfield, the founder of the abbey, and of Lord Berwick, the patron of the living ; on each side are the arms

Shrewsbury. 135

of the vicars from the year 1500. In the east window of the south aisle are three ancient shields : England and France quarterly, Roger de Montgomery, the sword and keys — symbols of the patron saints. In the corresponding window on the north side are the arms of Mor- timer, Beauchamp, Talbot, Earl of Shrewsbury, and Fitz Alan quarter- ing Maltravers.

The font near the west entrance is very ancient, and has the appearance of the capital of a large Norman pillar, supported by a part of the shaft. Near the north door is another very elegant font, lately removed from the abbey garden.

The ancient monuments and brasses are all gone, excepting a figure in mail, at the east end of the south aisle, placed there by his Majesty's Heralds-at-arms, at their visitation of the county in 1622, with the following inscription :

" The Figure underneath, which was at first placed within the MONASTERY of St. PETER and St. PAUL, and was afterwards found in the ruins, was removed hither by directions of his Majesty's Heralds-at-Arms, in their Visitation of this County, 1622, to remain, as it was originally intended, in perpetual memory of ROGER DE MONTGOMERY, EARL OF SHREWSBURY, who was kinsman to the Conqueror, and one of his chief Commanders in the victorious battle of Hastings. He erected many useful buildings here, both publick and private ; and not only fortified this town with walls, but built the castle on the Isthmus. As also the Castles of LUDLOW and BRIDGNORTH, with the monastery of Wenlock. He founded and endowed in an ample manner this large Benedictine Abbey ; and, when advanced in years, by the consent of his Countess ADELAISA, he entered into Holy Orders, and was shorn a Monk of this his own foundation, where he lies interred. He died July 27th, 1094."

Of the modern monumental memorials the following seem most worthy of notice.

On a handsome monument against the east wall of the chancel :

"M.S.

"Richard! Prynce, equitis aurati, necnon suae conjugis Marias, fiHse Gwat. Wrottesly de Wrottesly in agro Stafford, armigeri. Ille optimus maritus, hsec uxor consummatissima : pietatis in Deum, in Regem fidei, in Vicinos benevo- lentiae, diu in hac parochia inclaruerunt exempla. Iniquissimis temporibus, gras- sante sanguinea belli civilis rabie, rem familiarem illi a majoribus demissam, sed per infortunia Fratris minus providi pene elapsam, inter aliorum fraudes et rapinas, honestis artibus et laudanda solertia ita redintegravit, et auxit, ut numerosam prolem, natos scilicet duos natasque octo, ipsi superstites, ingenue et pie educavit, dote sate ampla ditavit. Hisce peractis, bonorum operum semper memor, inopum fautor, pacis custos, justitise vindex, legum assertor, animam tandem Deo, corpus terrse reddidit, anno Dom. 1665, setat. 76. Hseredem reliquit Philippum filium, cum Elizabetha, filia Johannis Banks, equitis aurati, Communium Placitorum Justiciarii Capitalis, et serenissimse Maj. Car. J. a secre- tioribus Consilijs, in matrimonio conjunctum ; qui cum per plura in Patris

vestigiis pr , et progeniem omnem sublatam deplorasset, a charissima consorte,

dissolvi et esse cum Christo indies exoptante, aliquandiu sejunctus, obijt an. Dom. 1690, aet. 60."

Arms : Gules, a saltire or, surmounted of a cross engrailed ermine. — Crest, out of a ducal coronet or, a cubit arm habited gules, cuffed

1 36 Shropshire.

ermine, holding in the hand proper 3 pine-apples of the first, stalked and leaved vert.

On a neat marble monument against the east wall :

" H. S. E.

"E<hvardus Baldwin, armiger, et Comitatus Salopiensis ad pacem Justiciarius. E generosa et antiqua siirpe ortus, natales virtutihus suis illustriores reddidit. Dotibus ingenij egregijs ornotus, turn libros, turn homines perspectos habuit, quorum inter lectissimos innocuas societatis delicias nemo benignius exhibuit, aut elegantius degustavit ; quippe qusedam concinnitas perspicua et erudita (nee sine decora gravitate) sermonibus inerat, quse socios delectavit et detinnit. Adeo deniq. se omnibus commendavit, ab omni perturbatione animi alienus, judicio perspicax, consilio promptus, agendo efficax, ut omnes amicum sibi certatim arri- puerint. Amplissimis clientelis bonorum amicitijs, opibus non exiguis, beatus vixit, desideratus obijt anno setatis suse 64, MDCCXXXV. Soror ejus, Thomse Powys de Berwick, arm', in agro Salopiensi, conjux, grato aniino hoc memorise charissimi fratris sacram posuit."

Arms: Argent, a saltire sable. — Motto: "Per Deum meum transilio murum."

On a plain stone against the south wall :

" Inf a deposit* sunt reliquiae Johannis Waters et Margarita thalami consortis,

Illa I obiit i Feb' *?' '727- Ille j ol llt j Xbris 27, 1732.

Innocuos ambos, cultores Numinis ambos." On a monument against the south wall :

"M.S.

" Heic juxta jacet Thomas Rock, armig. vita functus Jan. 3,

aetat. 62.

___ 10 j Dom. 1678."

[Rest of inscription omitted.]

Arms : Or, 3 chess-rooks, and a chief embattled sable ; impaling, Argent, a lion rampant sable, a canton of the second. — Crest : On a rock proper, a martlet, or.

On a neat monument against the north wall :

"Sacred to the memory of Thomas Jenkins, esq., and of Gertrude his wife. This Monument, erected in obedience to her last will, and designed by her as a tribute of respect to his virtues, remains at the same time an instance and memorial of her own."

On a vase at the top of the monument :

" T. J., died 29 Dec., 1730, aged 53. G. J., died 28 Oct., 1767, aged 84."

Arms : Or, a lion rampant regardant sable ; impaling, Argent, on a bend gules, cotised sable, 3 pair of wings conjoined and inverted of the first.

Inscriptions on plain stones in the chancel floor :

"This stone is placed in memory of William Prince, esq., whose body lies buried here. He died 2Oth October, 1703, aged 40. Here also lies the body of his relict, M. Frances Prince, whose singular virtues and extensive charity justly gained her universal esteem. She departed this life 3d Nov., 1721, aged 47 ; whereby the Poor are deprived of a most tender friend and liberal benefactrix.

Shrewsbury. 137

Also Frances, their only daughter, relict of Andrew Corbett, of Morton Corbett, esq., who died Nov. 21, 1760, aged 59."

" Here lie the remains of Judith Prince, of the ancient family of the Princes, who died, the last of that name, August the I7th, 1733."

"Here lyes Fr. Gibbons, D.D., chaplain to K. Charles, and minister of this parish, who died 7th Jan., 1639 ; also his youngest son, James Gibbons, esq., who faithfully served Three Kings in a Civil employment, and died 2ist Nov., 1712."

" Depos-itse sunt in hoc tumulo exuviae Annae Pearson, quae fide Christi religiose vixit ; et spe beatae resurrectionis animam pie et Isete efflavit die nono Junij, 1721."

"M.S.

" Samuelis Pearson, A.M., hujus ecclesiae per 51 annos Pastoris, qui obijt 1 6 die Novembris

( Salutis 1727. anno \ ^tatis suse 80. Resurgam. "

On a neat marble tablet :

" Sacred to the memory of Nathaniel Betton, who died Nov. 29th, 1800, aged 61 years. Also of John Betton ^son of the above), Captain in his Majesty's 3d Dragoon Guards, who died Nov. 2Oth, 1809, at Merida, in Spain, aged 31 years."

These are the principal memorials in this sacred mansion of the dead. The elegant stone pulpit in the abbey garden, with the scattered fragments of different parts of this once noble abbey, will probably occupy a future page in your Literary Museum.

D. PARKES.

[1817, Part L, p. 105.]

In addition to what you have given of Shrewsbury Abbey, I send you the enclosed as a further illustration of that once extensive monastery. The building shown in the drawing is about 200 feet from the western part of the church, and represents what it is con- jectured was the infirmary of the invalid and aged monks, with its chapel and dormitory.

'mpgttibe anb &$t a la«te astern* fxmnbt."

The length of the embattled wall is about 112 feet ; in the upper part are square-headed windows, once mullioned, under which are smaller windows without mullions ; under these are pointed arches filled up. The high gable ends form part of two oblong buildings ; that to the right, now used as a barn, appears to have been the chapel, 45 feet 6 inches long and 23 feet broad ; it has pointed windows, and on the south side a large arch, worked in the wall ; that on the left (next the street) is patched up for a dwelling-house ; on the north side is a trefoil-headed window, and the sides of a door- way ornamented with raised roundles.

The space between this ruin and the abbey church, it is supposed, contained the almonry and great gate-house. Buck, in his plate of this abbey, gives part of the gateway. This was taken down about the year 1765, and a high brick wall erected, so that what was not

138 Shropshire.

accomplished by monastic depredation at the Dissolution fell a prey to false taste, or, more properly speaking, no taste at all.

D. PARKES.

[1773, /. 281.]

The seal (Fig. 2) on the plate opposite to p. 271 is the ancient seal of the Abbey of Shrewsbury, and is a present to our curious readers from the Right Hon. the Earl of Warwick.

[1802, Part I., p. 210.]

The drawings shown on the accompanying Plate (ihe exact size of each seal) are taken from seals kept in the Exchequer, Shrewsbury.

Fig. 4. Arms of England; back of shield ornamented with branches. — Seal of the bailiffs.

Fig. 5. A lion couchant behind a tree. — Seal of the bailiffs. The tree I take to be a mode of ornamenting seals at that period, as this King's mother's, and that of his victorious son Edward, with several others I have seen, are sufficient proof. I should be glad if some learned gentleman would inform me for what particular business this last seal was made. Perhaps it was a smaller seal of the same office.

Fig. 6. The bust of Edward II. full-faced. The castle on each side, with the lion at base, are parts of his mother's arms which he introduced to denote his descent from a daughter of Castile and Leon ; he also used them on his great seal. Inscription :

"8. GDW. Ren.ftNEL. £D R6EOEN. D6BITOR SPD' SftLOP'."

The seal is silver, and intended to seal recognizances for debt at Shrewsbury. J. B.

[1788, Part //., pp. 765, 766.]

In that invaluable record, Domesday Book, it is recorded that out of 252 taxable burgesses which were in Shrewsbury in the time of Edward the Confessor, the houses of 5 1 were taken up in the area of the castle built by Roger, Earl of Montgomery, 50 lay waste, 43 were held by the Francigenae, and 39 were annexed to the abbey. The burgesses, having their houses pulled down, and no abatement of their taxes, complained of the grievance ; but the Earl's two sons, who succeeded him, were haughty, and regardless of their com- plaints, though these, no doubt, were in some measure redressed when the castle came into the possession of the Crown, upon the forfeiture of Earl Robert.

When Shrewsbury Castle (see Plate II.) became a royal fortress the lands and demesnes that followed it were parcelled out in serjeanties for the defence thereof upon occasion. The first tenure of that kind was the serjeanty of Robert, the son of Adam de Ley ton,

Shrewsbury. 139

who was obliged to abide in this castle fifteen days, cum una balista ; William, the son ofWarine, did the same 20 Edward I. William de Wychard held the manor of Cold Hatton, to keep ward in this castle for twenty days, in time of war, at his own charges, besides many others. But such tenures, by degrees, grew obsolete long before the statute was made that totally abolished them. Commonly the sheriff of the county had the custody of this fort, the better to enable him to defend his bailiwick.

Henry de Alditheley, n Henry III., was sheriff and constable of this casile, and, 17 Henry III., constituted governor, in the room of John de Lacey, Earl of Lincoln. 41 Henry III., John de Grey of Wilton was governor. 44 Henry III., James de Alditheley, son of the above-named Henry, was sheriff and governor. 3 Edward III., William de Mountacute was governor. 16 Henry VI., Bowes Hampton, Esq., was appointed constable with a fee of ;£io per annum, i E.iward IV., the office of constable and keeper of the gaol in the castle was committed to Roger Eyton. 7 F^liz., Richard Onslow had a grant of the site of the castle for 31 years, paying a mark yearly.

Another officer belonging to this castle was the chamberlain ; it being esteemed a place of great importance, great care was taken to have it kept in good repair, for the security of the marches. 7 Henry III., Robert Lenfant and others had the keeping of this castle, and were allowed ,£27 for repairs, by virtue of the King's writ directed to them for that purpose, which money the sheriff paid out ot the tallage of the county, and it was allowed him in his accounts, i Henry IV. Hugh Burnell, William Slepe, and Thomas Inkhole, were commissioners to inquire " de vasto et dilapidatione in castro Regis Salop tam in plumbo ferro fenestris."

After the surrender of this castle to the Parliamentary forces, in the year 1644, Colonel Mytton was made governor, but disliking the proceedings against the King, he laid down his commission, and Humphry Mackworth, son to Judge Mackworth, of Betton, was made governor. This governor appointed as lieutenant of the castle one Captain Hill, a prodigal drunken fellow, who before the war was a barber in Shrewsbury ; but the townsmen and garrison hating him, when there was a prospect of the return of Charles II., they con- spired against him, and, in order to bring about their design, one of the townsmen was instructed to send for him out of the castle, to drink with him at the Logerheads (now the Grapes) an alehouse near the castle. When Hill was got without the gates, the soldiers shut them to, and cast his clothes, boots, etc., over the wall. Imme- diately the town was in an uproar, and Hill fled for fear of his life.

Soon after, Colonel Hunt was made governor, and Mr. John Bromley, a honest and substantial burgess, was made lieutenant ; but when Charles II. was restored, he made Richard Hosier, eldest

1 40 Shropshire.

son of Colonel Hosier, governor. In the i5th of Charles II. a quo- warranto was brought against the charter of the town, and they were constrained to deliver up the castle to the King. They afterwards purchased a confirmation of their charter, whereby all their liberties, etc., were confirmed, except the possession of the castle, which remained in the King's hands. In the time of James II. all the cannon and match, of which there were several hundred-weight, together with the greatest part of the muskets, were by the King's order removed to some other place.

This castle was granted by Charles II. to Francis Lord Viscount Newport, afterwards Earl of Bradford ; after him it came into the possession of his son Richard, Earl of Bradford, and is now in possession of John Newport, Esq.

[1809, Part Il.,p. 1097.]

The accompanying drawing represents the last of the many towers which formerly strengthened the fortifications of Shrewsbury. The northern and eastern ramparts have been long destroyed ; on the south side there are yet considerable remains, but so mutilated as to retain but little of their ancient formidable appearance.

No. 2 is a view of the house at Coton Hill, Shrewsbury, where the renowned Admiral Benbow was born about the year 1650. It would be superfluous here to repeat what is so well told of him in the "Biographia Britannica," and by the Rev. Mr. H. Owen, in his account of " The Ancient and Present State of Shrewsbury," lately published ; but I shall give a traditional anecdote of him, which redounds much to his praise as a Christian, as well as a great admiral. " After many years hard service (for he had only merit to recommend him) he visited his native town, whether before or after he became an Admiral is not said, and on his arrival proceeded to the house of his nativity, which, it seems, was then occupied by people no way related to him. He entered the house, walked upstairs, went into the room where he first drew breath, fell on his knees, and returned thanks to the Great Disposer of Events for his protection and support." In the Grand Jury Room, at the Town Hall, the admiral's portrait is preserved, presented by his sister, Mrs. Eleanor Hind. He has the appearance of a handsome man, and the painter has given him the intrepid appearance of a true British hero. D. PARKES.

[1795, Part I., p. 13.]

I have enclosed a view (Fig. 2) of the Franciscan, or Grey Friary, in Shrewsbury, and hope you will give it a place in your useful Miscellany. This view was taken in December, 1793, and was an exact representation of the building then ; but its appearance now

Shrewsbury. 141

is different, being made into small dwellings, by which the windows, etc., are much altered. As I have not been able to find any better account of this building than that which Mr. Phillips, in his "Anti- quities of Shrewsbury," has given, I shall take the' liberty of quoting his words as far as I have occasion :

" We have no particular account of the time this house was founded, neither how endowed or valued at the Suppression ; prob- ably it was founded before Austin's Friars,* as in the 3oth Hen. III., A.D. 1246, John, son of Ralph de Mortimer, is men- tioned as a Grey Friar there. Geoffery Lord Powis, is said by some to be the founder; but Leland, in his 'Itinerary,' vol. vi., p. 10, says : 1 My Lord Powis saith, that Hawise, wife to the Lord of Powis, was the causer that the Grey Friers college, in Shropshire (where she lyeth buried, under a flat marble by Chorlton's tombe) was builded.'"

A stone coffin, which was found in the building, had lain in the path adjoining for many years, and was only a receptacle for filth ; was last month cleaned and removed into my garden, which adjoins the building, and was undoubtedly once the burying-ground belong- ing to it.

This building stands on the banks of the Severn, near the East bridge. The inside, before the late alteration, contained nothing worth notice, having been used as a malthouse more than forty years.

D. PARKES.

[1818, Part //.,/. 297.]

The enclosed is a southern view of the Grey Friary at Shrewsbury as it appeared in 1794, before the alteration it underwent about that time, when it was made into small tenements. Leland, in his "Itinerary," vol. iv., p. 100, says : "The Grey Fryers of Shrowesbury of the Charletons* foundation, and there laye the Lady Charleton, whome they tooke as their Foundresse. And this House stoode upon Severne banke a little above the Bridge of 5 arches. . . . One D. Francis, a Frere of late dayes, re-edified almost a great part of this Fryer's House."

The remains of the Friary represented (see Plate I.) are supposed to be the refectory; the window with an obtusely pointed arch remains, but the lancet windows have been extended and modernized. In an adjoining garden is a large stone coffin, discovered in 1747, length 7 feet 3 inches, breadth at top or head 2 feet 3 inches, at bottom i foot 6 inches, depth i foot 6 \ inches (exterior dimensions). In 1786 a silver ring was found which contained the following motto, or posey, *n bonn an, intended originally as a New Year's gift. In 1814, on removing some foundation of the outer buildings, several floor tiles were found, but none of particular note, the ornaments consisting of the fleur-de-lis, the single rose, etc. * Founded about 1255.

142 Shropshire.

St. Francis, the founder of this order, was born at Assise in Italy, and founded this sect about 1206. Through humility these monks styled themselves Friars Minor, and Grey Friars from the colour of their garments ; their habit was a loose gown, reaching to the ankle, with a cowl of the same, and a cloak when they went abroad ; they girded themselves with cords, and went barefooted. This order was at first remarkable for its severity and strictness ; but it afterwards relaxed, and divided into what were called Conventuals, Observan- tines, and the Third Order of St. Francis. D. PARKES.

[1808, Part //., /. 1057.]

The first drawing in the accompanying plate represents the remains of St. Mary's Water-gate, Shrewsbury, which is the only gateway remaining there, though it appears there were formerly seven. Some of the Parliamentary army, under the command of Colonel Mytton, first entered the town at this gate, A.D. 1644, soon after which the town surrendered to the forces of the Parliament.

Figs. 1-5 are tiles or quarries found in the floor of the fine old church of St. Alkmund, which was taken down in the year 1794.

Fig. 6 is a Hales- Owen tradesman's token, and the only one I have met with. D. PARKES.

[1817, Part //., pp. 393, 394.]

The enclosed is a drawing of the column erected at Shrewsbury to commemorate the noble and valorous actions achieved by Lord Hill (see Plate I.).

The column is situated on a rising ground at the entrance of the town from the London and Bath roads. The first stone was laid in Masonic order by the Salopian Lodge of Free and Accepted Masons, assisted by deputies of adjoining lodges, on the 27th day of December, A.D. 1814, being the festival of St. John the Evangelist.

This is said to be the largest Grecian Doric column in the world.

The diameter at the base is 18 feet.

Height of the pedestal ... 13 feet 6 inches

Shaft and capital 91 „ 6 „

Pedestal for the figure ... n „ 6 „

Statue of his lordship ... 17 ,, o „

The whole height, 133 feet 6 inches.

The pedestal is square, with a pier or buttress at each angle, on which are placed lions couchant, worked of Grinshill stone by Mr. Carline, of Shrewsbury. The statue was designed and executed by Messrs. Coad and Scaly, of London, in their artificial stone, modelled by Panzetta. The original design of the column was by

Shrewsbury.

Mr. E. Haycock, architect, of Shrewsbury, with some slight alterations by Mr. Harrison, of Chester. Messrs. Simpson and Lawrence were the contractors. On the death of Mr. Simpson, the contract devolved upon his successor, Mr. John Straphen, who completed the column, he also designed the staircase within the column, and erected it at his own expense. The column was erected in eighteen months and eighteen days without the least accident. The last stone was laid on June 18, 1816, the anniversary of the glorious Battle of Waterloo. It contains 326 stones, their weight 1,120 tons; cubic feet in the whole 17,993, exclusive of the staircase. On the pedestal (see Plate I.) are the following inscriptions :

On the south side: "Civi suo Rolando Domino Baroni Hill ab Almarez et Hawkstone populares ejus ex agro atque municipio Salopiensi columnam hancse cum statua p. c. AS. MDCCCXVI. I in re militari quadmodum se gesserit testes sint Lusitania, Hispania, Gallise harbonensis ac Belgica Arturius Dux A. Wellington sociorum et quidem hostium exercitus.'' On the north side : " To Lieutenant General Rowland Lord Hill, Baron Hill of Almarez and Hawk- stone, G.C.B., not more distinguished for his skill and courage in the field during the arduous campaigns in Spain and Portugal, the South of France, and the memorable plains of Waterloo, than for his benevolent and paternal care in providing for the comforts and supplying the necessities of his victorious countrymen, and for that humanity and generosity which their vanquished foes experienced and acknowledged, the inhabitants of the town and county of Salop have erected this column and statue as a memorial of their respect and gratitude to an illustrious contemporary, and an incitement to emula- tion in the heroes and patriots of future ages. A.D, MDCCCXXI.

East side :

" Roleia. Vimiera. Corunna. Douro. Talavera. Busaco.

Arrogo del Molinos. Almarez. Vittoria. Pyrenees.

Nive. Neville.

Hillette.

Orthes.

Aire.

Tarbes.

Toulouse.

Waterloo."

The erection of this splendid memorial, with other incidental expenses, amounted to ,£5,973 133. 2d., exclusive of staircase, stone plinth, and palisading round the base of the column.*

D. PARKES.

* The committee have presented the Doric column, and a lodge built for the person appointed to show the same, to Lord Hill and his heirs for ever, as a lasting memorial of their high esteem. Sergeant Davis, who has been nearly twenty years in his service, and orderly-sergeant to his lordship, has been appointed to reside in the lodge. — EDIT.

144 Shropshire.

[1829, Part II., p. 489-]

I take the liberty of sending you the annexed view of a curious timber house situated at the bottom of the Wyle Cop, adjoining the East or English Bridge in the town of Shrewsbury, which has been taken down during the present year (see Plate I.).

The mansion is supposed to have been erected in the reign of Queen Elizabeth, by William Jones, an alderman and opulent draper of the town, and father of Thomas Jones, Esq., six times Bailiff and first Mayor of Shrewsbury.

The building was spacious and rude, its exterior, unlike the generality of our ancient mansions, being void of the usual carved ornaments, grotesque heads, etc. The entrance from the street was by a remarkably low archway, which led to a small area surrounded by the house and its former appendages, and formed a communica- tion to a few smaller buildings adjoining the riverside, which were doubtless the warehouses of the original occupier of the house.

A portion of the great chamber or withdrawing-room remained nearly in its original state, having a large chimney-piece, adorned with grotesque carving, and a variety of devices and armorial bear- ings in plaster displayed upon the ceiling, and, with the other prin- cipal apartments, fronted the street. H. PIDGEON.

[1833, /ferf //.,#. 356,357.]

The very ancient and spacious structure of St. John's Hall, Shrews- bury, in modern times occupied as a theatre, has been razed to the ground. The walls were more than 4 feet thick; but, in conse- quence of passages having been cut out of the walls, they, as well as the roof, were utterly dangerous ; and some deaths were occa- sioned in June, 1821, by the falling of a wall. When or by whom the structure was built is unknown. Phillips, in his " History of Shrewsbury " (published in 1798), states that, in the year 1326, it was then " in the possession of John de Charlton, Lord of Powis, who obtained leave of King Edward to fortify it with a wall of stone embattled." This Hall was afterwards granted to the family of Waring, at 135. 4d. rent. In taking down this ancient structure, nothing of importance has been discovered, except a few Gothic tiles, and ancient pipes for smoking. A human skull was found in the roof, and some consternation was visible among the workmen, who expected thence to trace a horrid murder. But it had been used for Hamlet's grave-digger, or other theatrical representations. Mr. Bennett, proprietor of the Worcester and other theatres, is about to erect a new theatre on this spot.

[1833, Part IL.pp. 30-32.]

A somewhat similar festival to the Coventry Show is annually observed in the town of Shrewsbury ; a brief notice thereof may

Shrewsbury.

be acceptable to your readers, and afford some memorial to posterity in illustration of a custom fast approaching, it is to be feared, to the eve of its dissolution.

This pageant, which is, perhaps, with the exception of Coventry, the only one of the kind in the kingdom, originated in the Popish feast of Corpus Christi, which splendid festival of the Church of Rome was, from remote times, celebrated in Shrewsbury by the masters and wardens of the different trading companies, the members of the corporation, the parochial clergy, and other religious fraternities of the town, with much pomp and solemnity, by following the Holy Sacrament to the Collegiate Church of St. Chad, where each com- pany had its peculiar place in the choir.

Several of the guilds were obliged to provide the necessary means to support the procession, which is evident from their "Composi- tions," or by-laws containing regulations to that effect. That of the Weavers, anno 1444, provides that certain fines shall be applied to the " sustentacon and encreece of the lyght of the seyd crafte of Wev's. and her successors at the feast of Corp' Xp'i daye." The composition of Mercers, Ironmongers, and Goldsmiths, directs that they shall provide " 300 mede of wax yearly to be burnt in the p'cession of the feaste of Corpus Xp'i." That of the Fletchers, 27 Henry VI., states the procession to have been "tyme owt of mynde."

This procession, originally on the Thursday, was followed by three days of " disport " or recreation in the ensuing week. After the Reformation, the religious part of the ceremony was abolished, and, as a substitute, the second Monday after Trinity Sunday was set apart as a day of feasting at Kingsland,* where each company had a small enclosure, within which is a building called an "Arbour," surrounded by trees, where refreshment is liberally provided by the respective trades. Only seven of the arbours now remain, each of which has the arms of the company over the entrance.

The anniversary is always anticipated by Salopians with feelings of delight, as affording an annual treat of no ordinary recreation and hospitality. In fact, whoever has witnessed the social pomp of the different trading companies marching in procession through the streets to Kingsland, the goodly array of tradesmen, walking as it were hand in hand together, could not but feel that as union, brotherhood and mirth were thus combined in one delightful scene, every countenance being brightened with these moral virtues, it does

* Kingsland, or Chingsland, as it is written in an early Norman grant, is a piece of land belonging to the burgesses of Shrewsbury, and is, delightfully situated on an eminence near the town, from whence is a fiie panoramic view of the fertile plain of Shropshire, richly diversified with hills and mountains, whilst the vener- able spires of the Shrewsbury churches, rising above the trees, combine to form a most pleasing landscape.

VOL. XXII. 10

146 Shropshire.

much to cultivate good fellowship and harmony, which is at least conducive to the interests and well-being of society.

About forty years ago, Shrewsbury Show was in high repute, and conducted with considerable splendour ; but, owing to the party spirit engendered by frequent elections, it had for many years become a custom " more honoured in the breach than the observ- ance,"

An attempt, however, was made about ten years ago to revive the pageantry, and it must be acknowledged, with much success and satisfaction ; but, during the last three years there has been a falling off in the display, and, it is to be feared that the manifold changes of the present times, and the refined, though perhaps not more honourable, dispositions of many modern minds, are causes that will soon hasten to a discontinuance what remains of this ancient custom and lively picture of old English manners. . . .

The annual festival, as before stated, is held on the second Mon- day after Trinity Sunday, when the town at an early hour assumes an appearance of bustle ; the bells of the different churches send forth their melodious and enlivening peals ; the incorporated com- panies are passing to their stations of muster, and at one o'clock assemble together at the castle, from whence they proceed through the streets to Kingsland, the course of procession being lined with spectators.

The following was the general arrangement of the procession on the late anniversaries :

" Master Cordwainers, preceded by their beadle, bearing a battle- axe, and Crispin and Crispianus, patrons of the 'art, mystery, calling, or occupation' of shoemaking. The former attired in a leather surcoat, bearing his mace surmounted by a boot, and the latter dressed in the uniform of an officer of the last century, with sword and gorget and cocked hat — their horses led by squires.

** The Apprentice Shoemakers have their * king,' dressed in trap- pings and finery not easily to be described.

"The Master Tailors, preceded by two * knights,' bearing swords and shields, and a purple and orange flag.

"The Apprentices have two men dressed in long 'gowns,' of * leaves sewed together,' representing ' Adam and Eve,' the first of their craft ; and though they do not generally rank as ' beauties of the creation,' yet, as ' Eve ' ever and anon plucks an apple from a large branch of a 'tree' borne before them, and gives it to ' Adam ' to taste, the figurative representation has not a bad effect.

" Master Butchers, preceded by their beadle and shield-bearer.

" The Apprentice Butchers are followed by their * monarch ' on horseback, crowned with a lofty cap of various-coloured plumage, and bearing in his hand a cleaver. The clean appearance and florid

Shrewsbury. 147

countenances of this portion of the procession (being dressed in white frocks) is highly attractive.

" The Master Smiths are represented by a ' knight ' on horseback in a complete suit of armour, carrying a sword, and a shield in- scribed, 'With hammer and hand all arts do stand,' his attendants occasionally firing blunderbusses ; the wardens in scarlet gowns.

" Master Builders are preceded by their 'king,' bearing a sceptre, and who personates with tolerable effect that most potent monarch Henry the Eighth, being portly, well ruddled, sufficiently whiskered, and robed in a scarlet mantle and> embroidered vest.

"The Apprentice Bricklayers have a gaudily dressed personage.

"Apprentice Hatters have for their leader an Indian Chief, dressed in tolerably good Eastern costume, and mounted on horseback, per- forming his part judiciously.

"Barber Chirurgeons follow a banner inscribed, 'Chartered by Edward I., 1304 ; incorporated with the Wax and Tallow Chandlers by Charter of June 2d, 1686.'

"Apprentice Hair Dressers and Weavers are preceded by a ' queen' with a long flowing train, and riding on a gray horse led by a page. She appears working at a spinning-wheel.

"The Combrethren of Saddlers, Painters, Booksellers, etc., etc., are headed by a horse caparisoned with blue tapestry, and led by a dressed jockey with a beautiful flag, on which are emblazoned the armorial bearings, quartered, of the several trades of this com- position; the members mounted on horseback, booted, and spurred.

"The Apprentice Painters. Then comes the representation of the Painters' Company, in the character of Sir Peter Paul Rubens, the illustrious prince of design and king of allegory, whose imagery was as splendid as the dreams of fairy land.

" Four Armorial Banners, Flags, Music, Stewards, etc."

In the foregoing manner, accompanied by music of all sorts, flags and streamers of various sizes, banners and mottoes of appro- priate import, did the "Trades" move towards Kingsland, accom- panied by their several wardens in their robes of office, and a considerable number of the different combrethren.

The Mayor and a respectable attendance of the body Corporate and their friends, preceded by the Town Crier, Marshal, and Ser- geants at Mace, soon follow on horseback, visiting their different arbours. About nine o'clock the companies return into Shrewsbury by a different route. The Company of Drapers and the Guild of Mercers, Ironmongers, and Goldsmiths have long ceased to form part of the procession. HENRY PIDGEON.

[1800, Part I., pp. 109, no.]

Domesday, vol. L, p. 252. — In the city of Shrewsbury, in the time of King Edward, were 252 houses, and as many burgesses in

10 — 2

148 Shropshire.

those houses, paying by the year £7 i6s. 8J. rent. There King Edward had these customs :

If any one knowingly broke the peace of the King, given under his own hand, he should be outlawed ; but whoever broke the peace of the King given by the sheriff forfeited 100 shillings; and he gave as much who assaulted a person in the highway, or fled for murder.* These three forfeitures King Edward had in demesne, over and above his rents.

When the King lay in this city, 12 men of the best citizens served him as watchmen; and when he Bunted there, the better sort of burgesses, having horses, guarded him in like manner with arms. But the sheriff sent 36 footmen to the stand for shooting deer when the King was there ; but to the park of Marstelie he found 36 men by custom eight days.

When the sheriff would go into Wales, he who was summoned by him, and did not go, forfeited 40 shillings.

A woman taking a husband in any manner,! if she was a widow, gave the King 20 shillings; if a damsel, 10 shillings., in whatever mannerj she should take a husband.

If the house of a burgess was burnt by any accident or event, or by negligence, he gave the King 40 shillings for a forfeiture, and 2 shillings to each of his two next neighbours as a relief.

When a burgess who was in the King's demesne died, the King had 10 shillings.

If any burgess broke the time fixed by the sheriff, he forfeited 10 shillings. He who spilt blood forfeited 40 shillings.

When the King went from the city, the sheriff lenteurde\\ sent him 24 horses, and the King took them to the first mansion-house in Staffordshire.

The King had there three moneyers, who, after they had bought dies for the money, as other moneyers of the country, gave each of them 20 shillings on the i5th day; and this they did when money was coined.

The city paid in the whole, by the year, 30 pounds. The King had two parts, and the sheriff the third.

In the preceding year, under this description, 40 pounds were paid to Earl Roger.

Stanton.

[1808, Part L, p. 401.]

It may perhaps be agreeable to some of your readers to have a view of the plain farmhouse now standing in the village of Stanton, in the county of Salop, in which the late much-respected Alderman Boydell

h " Qui forstel' vel heinfare faciebat." + "Quocunque modo."

+ " Quolibet modo." || Qy. the meaning of this word.

Stanton. 149

first drew his breath, and which was honoured by a last and farewell visit from him not much more than a year before his death. . . .

Stanton, Staunton, or Stone-town, is supposed to have been so named from its situation on a rock, which is laid bare by the wheels of carriages passing through the village. The small river Roden separates its north-west boundary from the parish of Morton or Moor- town, so also named in centra-distinction to Stanton, from the soil being low and marshy.

Both these parishes belong to the ancient and respectable family of the Corbets, of which the elder branch now resides at Acton Reynold, while their stately mansion, Morton Corbet Castle, though splendidly re-edified soon after the Reformation, stands in ruins on the south side of Morton Church.

The church of Stanton and its chancel are small, of one pace, and built in the Saxon or early Norman style ; the walls are 3 feet in thickness, the windows small, of the lancet form, round-headed, from 1 8 to 30 inches in height, and from 6 to 10 in width ; round-headed doors in the north and south walls towards the west end; that in the south but little ornamented, the north more so. In a window of three lights, under an obtusely-pointed arch which has been broken through the north wall, are the following pictures in stained glass : first, the Trinity ; second, the Annunciation ; third, an archbishop, and the detached head of a saint in the upper part of that light ; beneath the whole, in black letter, " Will'm heigh Vicari — ."

A large square embattled tower at the west end is of a later age, and was strengthened by two graduated buttresses in the year 1666, as appears from an inscription to that effect on one of them.

There arc in this church no memorials of any importance.

T. FISHER.

Stottesden.

[1853, Part I., pp. 510-512.]

The following account of the descent of the manor of Stottesden, Salop, is arranged from a manuscript in my possession, and may be acceptable as relating to the history of that county, and showing the succession of a manor from a remote period.

Stottesden gives name to one of the hundreds of the county of Salop, and was known in the time of the Saxons and at the Conquest as Condetret. At what period the latter designation ceased to be used cannot now be exactly ascertained.

Edwin, the great Earl of Mercia, held this manor before the Conquest ; upon that event it was granted to Roger de Montgomery, Earl of Shrewsbury, who kept it in his own hands. The church is mentioned in Domesday as possesing revenues worth twenty shillings annually, and was by Earl Roger granted to the abbey of his founda- tion at Shrewsbury.

150 Shropshire.

On the death of Roger, Count Palatinate of Shropshire, the manor devolved to his eldest son, Earl Hugh, and subsequently to the brother of the latter, Robert de Belesme, third Earl of Shrewsbury, who, revolting from Henry I. in 1102, forfeited this manor, with the hundred of Condetret and the rest of his estates, which thereby became annexed to the Crown.

By inquisition 12 John, 1210, it was found to be held by William de Gamages, but by what service does not appear. From him it descended to his son, Matthew de Gamages, who, dying in the same reign without issue, it escheated to the Crown, under whom Yvo Pantulf and Hugh Pantulf, the sons of Hugh Pantulf, Baron of Wem, and sheriff of Shropshire from 1180 to 1189, held it as bailiffs to King John, who, in the seventeenth year of his reign, 1215, took the manor into his own hands ; but lands here still continued in the families of the former possessors, for in 3 Henry III., 1218, William de Gamages had seisin of lands in Siotterden, but by what service the jurors were ignorant.

In 1240 King Henry III. granted this manor, to which it is appre- hended the hundred was attached, to John de Pltssetis, Earl of Warwick, in right of Margery de Beaumont his second wife (the sister and heiress of Thomas de Newburgh, Earl of Warwick). He, in the 28th of that reign, obtained the king's charter to hold a weekly maiket here on a Tuesday, and an annual fair for three days, viz., the eve, the feast, and the day after the feast of the Assumption of our Lady, with the privilege of free warren over the manor, of which he died possessed 47 Henry III., and also of the hundred of Stottesden, this being the first notification of the existence of the hundred under that name. He had a son, Sir Hugh de Plessetis, Knt., of whom we only know that he left one daughter, lady of this manor, who, in 53 Henry III., married John de Segrave, Lord Segrave (who was thirty-nine years old at the death of his father, Nicholas Lord Segrave, in 23 Edward I.), to whom, with other possessions, she brought the manor of Stottesden. John de Segrave, Lord Segrave, died in Gascony in 18 Edward II., having survived his eldest son, who died the same year, leaving Sir John de Segrave, his eldest son, lord ot this manor. He died 27 Edward III., having married Lady Margaret, daughter and heiress of Thomas de Brotherton, eldest son of King Edward I. by his second Queen, Margaret of France. Lady Margaret was created Duchess of Norfolk in 1398, and, dying in the following year, was interred in the church of the Friars Minors in London, when this manor descended to John Lord Segrave their only son. He married Blanche, daughter of John Lord Mowbray ; but, dying without issue, this manor descended to his only sister, Elizabeth, the wife of that John Lord Mowbray who was slain near to Constantinople 42 Edward III., when this manor descended to their eldest son, John Lord Mowbray, who in i Richard II. was

Stottesden. 1 5 1

created Earl of Nottingham, and died a bachelor sixth of that reign. The manor then vested in his brother Thomas, who was created in the same year Earl of Nottingham and subsequently Duke of Norfolk ; but being banished the kingdom for challenging Henry Duke of Lancaster, afterwards Henry IV., died of the plague at Venice in 1400, having married first Elizabeth, daughter of John Lord Strange, by whom he left no issue, but by his second Duchess, Isabel or Elizabeth (eldest daughter of Richard Fitzalan, Earl of Arundel, and sister and coheiress of Thomas Fitzalan, seventh Earl of Arundel), he had Thomas Mowbray, Earl Marshall, his eldest son. He was beheaded at York 6 Henry IV., having married Constance, daughter of John Holland, Duke of Exeter ; by whom he left a son, John de Mowbray, Duke of Norfolk, who enjoyed this manor, and died i Edward IV., having married Eleanor, daughter of William Lord Bourchier; by whom he had a son, John Mowbray, fourth Duke of Norfolk, created Earl of Warren and Surrey 29 Henry VI., and died seised of this manor 15 Edward IV. He married Elizabeth, daughter of John Talbot, Earl of Shrewsbury, by whom he had a daughter, Anne, betrothed to Richard Duke of York, second son of King Edward IV. She died young, when this manor was vested in William Marquis of Berkeley and Earl of Nottingham, eldest son of James Lord Berkeley, and his wife Isabel, daughter of Thomas Mowbray, Duke of Norfolk, and sister of Thomas Mowbray, Earl Marshal, who in 3 Henry VII. obtained a license and disposed of this manor to John Russell, Bishop of Lincoln, and other feoffees to his use. He died 6 Henry VII., 1491, without issue. Maurice Berkeley, in 9 Henry VII., levied a fine of the manor of Stottesden to Humphrey Coningsby, of Neen Sellers, and his wife, whose descendants seem to have held lands in this manor in the reign of Queen Elizabeth.*

The manor, having reverted to the Crown, was granted 36 Henry VIIL, 1544, to Richard Purslow, Esq., with the manor of Walton in this parish. John Purslow, Esq., died April u, 36 Elizabeth, 1594, seised of the manor of Walton in Stottesden. In 31 Elizabeth, license from the Queen under the great seal in con- sideration of ;£8 6s. 8d. to Thomas Throckmorton and Margaret his wife, and John Throckmorton, gent., to grant and alienate to William Norton the manor of Stoterton, alias Stotersdon (with other adjoining manors and lands), to hold to the said William, his heirs, etc., for- ever, of the Queen and her successors, by the accustomed services, and which sale was completed to the said William Norton in the following year.f

In 1714 the manor, etc., was sold by Sir George Norton, Knt., to

* An interesting account of the family of Coningsby will be found in Gentle- man's Magazine, 1823, Part II., p. 583.

f The family of Norton were eminent stationers in London, one of whom held the office of treasurer of Christ's Hospital.

1 5 2 Shropshire.

Henry Newport, second Earl of Bradford, and was by him devised to Mrs. Ann Smith, who left it, together with other large estates, to the celebrated William Pulteney, Earl of Bath, from whom it passed to his brother, General Harry Pulteney, who, leaving no issue, devised it to Frances, daughter of his cousin-german, Daniel Pulteney, Esq., who married William Johnstone, writer to the signet (afterwards Sir William Pulteney, Bart., M.P. for the town of Shrewsbury during thirty-one years), after whose death in 1805, and that of his only child, the Countess of Bath, without issue in 1808, it came to his heir-at-law, William Harry, Earl of Darlington, created Duke of Cleveland in 1833, and is now possessed by his son, the present Duke of Cleveland. HENRY PIDGEON.

Tong.

[1763, pp. 162, 163.]

Tong is situated in the hundred of Bradford South, diocese of Lichfield, and the deanery of Newport. The first lord of this ancient inheritance whose name I can meet with was Sir Foulk Pembroke, whose daughter, being married to Sir Richard Vernon, of Nether Haddon, in Derbyshire, brought the estate into that family, where it continued for several generations, till it descended at last to Sir Edward Stanley, Knight of the Bath, son of Sir Thomas Stanley, Km., second son of Edward, the third Earl of "Derby, by his wife Dorothy, daughter of Thomas Howard, second Duke of Norfolk, which Sir Thomas Stanley married Margaret, one of the daughters and coheirs of Sir George Vernon, of Haddon aforesaid. It after- wards fell to the family of Harris, and, by a female branch, to the noble family of Pierpoint, Duke of Kingston.

Tong Castle is an old, irregular edifice, built of stone, except the east wing, which being demolished in the Civil Wars, was re-built with brick in the same style of building with the rest. The church was once collegiate, being founded in the year 1400, 2 Henry IV., by the lady of Sir Foulk Pembroke. It consists of a nave, two side aisles, a cross aisle, and a choir, in which there are still remaining eight stalls on each side. There is also a chantry on the south side of the church : and on the north side of the choir another detached building, now used as a vestry. The steeple is in the middle of the church, and consists of a lofty tower with a spire upon it. There are in the steeple six bells, besides the great bell, which weighs 48 cwt., and a small bell. In the nave of the church on the left hand are the monuments of Sir Foulk Pembroke and his lady, and Sir Richard Vernon and his lady, which last figures are, in my opinion, executed with great elegance. On the right hand are the monuments of Sir George Vernon and his lady, Sir William Vernon and his lady, and Sir Henry Vernon and his lady. At the east end of the chantry there is this inscription on the wall : " Pray for the soul of Sir Henry

Tong. 153

Vernon, Knight, and Dame Anne, his wife, which Sir Henry, in the year of our Lord 1515, made and founded this chapel and chantry, and the said Sir Henry departed the i3th day of April, in the year above- said, and of your charity for the soul of Sir Arthur Vernon, priest, son of the said Sir Henry, on whose souls the Lord have mercy, Amen." At the west end of the chantry there is the bust of Sir Arthur Vernon, and on the floor his portrait in brass, with the usual inscription of " Orate pro anima," etc. On the north*side of the choir lie the figures of Sir Thomas Stanley and his lady on a table monument, supported by pillars of marble, curiously gilt and carved, with their arms. At each end is a pyramid of black marble, one of which, at the head, is thrown down. There are four marble figures on the top of the monument, but all broke. Under the table lies the image of Sir Edward Stanley, son to Sir Thomas. On the south side of the monument is this inscription in three compartments : 11 Thomas Stanley, Knight, second son of Edward Earl of Derby, Lord Stanley and -Strange, descended from the family of the Stanleys, married Margaret Vernon, one of the daughters and co-heirs of Sir George Vernon, of Nether Haddon, in the county of Derby, Knt., by whom he had issue two sons, Henri and Edward ; Henri died an infant, and Edward survived, to whom this lordship descended, and married the Lady Lucy Piercy, second daughter to Thomas, Earl of Northumberland ; by her he had issue seven daughters and one son ;

18. 16. 15. 13.

she and her four daughters, Arabella, Marie, Alis, and Priscilla, are interred under a monument in the church of Waltham in Essex. Thomas his son died in his infancy, and is buried in the parish church of Winwick in the county of Lancaster. The other three, Peronilla, Francis, and Venisse, yet living."

[Inscription omitted.]

Venetia, the youngest daughter mentioned here, married Sir Kenelm Digby, by whom she had John Digby, of Gothurst, in the county of Bucks. On the south wall of the chancel is the monu- ment of Mrs. Ann Wylde, with this inscription : " Here lyeth the body of Ann Wylde, late wife of William Wylde, of Droitwich, in the county of Worcester, Esq., eldest daughter of Sir Thomas Harris, of Tong Castle, serjeant-at-law and Bart., and of Dame Elinor, his wife, whose virtue, modesty, rare and excellent parts, exceeding her age, have fitted her for a more heavenly habitation, leaving behind these spectacles of grief and proofs of true affection ; she died the 6th of May, in the year of our Lord 1624, and of her age the i6th, being then delivered of her first-born." At the east end is also this inscrip- tion : " Here lyeth interred the body of William Skeffington, late of the White Ladies, Esq., sonne and heir of Sir John Skeffington, some time of London, Knight, obiit 1550"; and near him lies his wife Elizabeth. On the north side of the chancel there is a bust in

154 Shropshire.

the wall of a daughter of the Pierpoint family, but no epitaph. The ancient college where the clergy lived is mostly demolished, and what remains is partly inhabited by some poor people, and partly converted into a stable, long is now a perpetual curacy, and the Duke of Kingston allows the minister ^80 per annum. At the west end of the church there are almshouses, founded by some of the Harris family, for six poor widows, who have 405., a shift, and gown per annum. Tong is distant five miles from Newport, two from Shiffnall, and eight from Wolverhampton, the road from Newport to that place leading through it, the lands produce great plenty of all sorts of grain, and the nature of the soil is dry and sandy.

[1800, Part II., p 934.]

The church at Tong seems to have been built about 400 years, and is a good Gothic structure in form of a cross, having a tower and spire over the centre; and the same stairs that lead up to the pulpit lead also into the steeple, in which are a ring of six bells, the ropes of which hang down to the nave. In another room in the tower is a small bell and a very large one, the inscription round the skirt of which says it was the gilt of a gentleman whose name was Vernon. This bell, as I was informed, is between 4,000 and 5,000 Ibs. in weight, and five yards round at bottom.

In the church the pews are much out of repair, and should be re- newed ; but there are several curious monuments and memorials of the dead, among which I noticed one of alabaster to the memory of a Vernon. The effigies lie on an altar-tomb, and had the remains of a garland of flowers (then nearly reduced to dust) round the neck and breast. The sexton told me that on every Midsummer-day a new garland was put on, and remained so until the following, when it was annually renewed. As this is a singular custom, I could not forbear noticing it, and wish to be informed what was the origin of it. G.

Wellington.

[i758« PP- 574. 575-]

The parish of Wellington, formerly so-called, is bounded on the east by that of Wombridge, on the west by Wrockwardine, on the north by those of Longdon and Highercall, and on the south by Little Wenlock. Its greatest length is about 6 miles, and greatest breadth about 3^. There are in the parish fourteen villages, viz., Watlingstreet, Streetway, Lawly, Lawleybank, Kettley, Kettleywood, Hadley and Arlston, on the east and south-east ; Walcott on the west ; Horton, Leegomery, Wappenshall, part of Preston and part of Eyton, on the north and north-east ; the Streetlane on the south, and Aston on the south-west. There are 780 houses and about 4,000 in- habitants in the parish. The Church stands in the manor of Dothill, archdeaconry of Salop, diocese of Lichfield and Coventry, and

Wellington. 1 5 5

hundred of Bradford south, is built with rough stone, covered with slate, and has a large tower steeple on the north side. It was conse- crated on November i, and dedicated to All Saints ; there is an excellent ring of six bells, which were cast in 1713, and a clock and chimes at the north side. The motto on the treble is, " Peace and good neighbourhood " ; on the second, " Let us ring for peace and plenty " ; and on the tenor, " The living I to church do call, and to the grave do summon all." The church consists of a nave and two side aisles ; has a very good gallery on the west end, but the pews below are very indifferent.

It is a vicarage, and is worth about .£140 per annum. Mr. Richard Smith is the present incumbent, whose predecessors were, as far back as I can trace, Mr. Wright, Mr. Langley, Mr. John Eyton, Mr. Henry Wood, and Dr. Eyton, who was succeeded by the present in- cumbent. Thomas Eyton, Esq., and Sir John Charlton, are the patrons ; the great tithes belong to the latter, and are valued at ^128 per annum. The glebe land is worth about ^50 per annum.

There are two manors in the parish, those of Dothill and Hadley, the former belongs to Brook Forrester, Esq., the latter to Mr. Roe ; the families of Charlton, Forrester and Eyton, bury in the church. The wake is kept on November i if it be Sunday, or else on the first Sunday after. The great Watling-Street Road leads through the parish, about half a mile on the south side the town ; the only common in the parish is part of that at the foot of the Wrekin ; the fuel is coal at 35. 8d. per ton. The town is distant from London 146 miles, from Salop n, from Newport 8, Shiffnal 7, and from Wem 14 ; the carriage from London is 95". per cwt. in the winter, and 75. in the summer. There are no crosses, obelisks, or ruins of religious houses ; no Roman, Saxon or Danish antiquities in the parish. There is one park, belonging to Brook Forrester, Esq., about 3 miles in circumference, well stocked with deer. There are no manufactures carried on in the town ; the inhabitants of the parish are chiefly employed in getting lime, coal and ironstone ; there are two furnaces lately erected, about a mile and a half on the east side the town, and a steam engine, by means of which the water that works the bellows of the furnaces is returned into the pool above ; this engine, which is one of the largest in England, consumes upwards of twenty ton of coals every twenty-four hours ; there is another engine about half a mile further for draining the water from the coal-pits, but not so large as the former.

The market is kept weekly on Thursday ; there are three fairs in a year; the chief commodities exposed to sale are horned cattle, horses, pigs, hempen cloth, all sorts of grain and butchers' meat ; the prices of provisions are very variable, but chiefly as follows : a goose for 25., a duck iod., a fowl for 8d., and a rabbit for is., beef, veal, mutton, lamb and pork, 36. ; butter from 4d. to 7d., and cheese

156 Sk ropsh ire.

at 36. ; labourer's wages is. per day, carpenters, bricklayers and masons is. 6d., and tailors 8d. with victuals.

The appearance of the country is partly level, but rather hilly on the south side the great road. The land consists chiefly of arable and pasture, and some little meadow ground ; the manure chiefly used is dung, at is. 3d. per load, and lime, at 4d. per bushel ; the chief pro- ducts of the lands are wheat, rye, barley, oats, peas, beans, and hay, but the land about the town is chiefly grazed. The springs lie near the surface, but the water is for the most part brackish; the best pasture and meadow ground lets for 505. per acre, and arable ground for 205. The ploughs now in use were invented by one Lummis, whose name they bear. In the ironstone which is got about Ketley there are found figures of herbs, sea-shells, and many other impressions which merit the observation of the curious.

W. W. Wenlock.

[1806, Part II. i p. 1017.]

The enclosed sketch (Fig. 3) represents the remains of Wenlock Abbey, in Shropshire, and is sent to accompany its seal in your antiquarian miscellany.

The seal is of brass, a little larger than Fig. 4, and was found about fifty years back in digging a foundation to the church at Clun in the same county. It represents St. Michael encountering the dragon, from which circumstance I conclude the Abbey of Wenlock to have been dedicated to that saint. The legend :

"S(igillum) Eccle(sise) conventualis de Wenlo(c)k ad causas tantum."

In the last word, "tantum," the first t is a Roman, and the last / a Saxon one.

The sketch of the abbey was taken in the autumn of 1802 by

E. D.

[1829, Part II., pp. 398, 399.]

In the list of Priors of Wenlock, as given by Brown Willis and others, no prior of the name of Reinald occurs, yet I have now before me a charter without date, whereby " Robertus nlius Aberii," in the day of the dedication of the cemetery of Eston (Aston Aer, co. Salop), for the health of his own soul and those of his prede- cessors and successors, grants to that chapel a virgate of land con- taining sixty acres, also all the tenths of his demesne in the same town, together with a mansion, which charter is attested by Robert, Bishop of Hereford, " Reinaldus," Prior of Wenlock, Peter, the Archdeacon, etc. From the names of the parties mentioned in this ancient document, it is clear that Reinald must have been Prior between the year 1164, when Robert de Melun was promoted to the See of Hereford, and 1186, about which time his successor, Robert Foliot, died. Consequently, his station in the list of priors must be

Wenlock. 157

placed either between Humbert (written in a grant of his own in my possescion, Umbertus), Prior in 1145, and Peter de Leja, promoted to the See of St. David, 1176 ; or between Peter de Leja and Joy- bertus, who occurs in 1198. My own opinion, founded on two other documents relating to Aston Aer, without date, but certainly written before the year 1200, is that he succeeded Peter de Leja.

I am in possession of another valuable and beautifully written document relative to this monastery. It is no other than the original charter of King Henry III., whereby that monarch grants to our chosen in Cnrist Aymo, Prior of '• VVenloc," and the convent of that place, that the said prior and his successors, and their tenants, should be quit of murage, toll, pontage and passage, throughout the whole of the kingdom. It is dated at Westminster, December 5, in the fiftieth year of his reign, i.e.y 1265. This charter is, I believe (with the exception of a grant of a market and fair confirmed by the same King in the eleventh year of his reign), the earliest document that confers any privileges upon the inhabitants of that ancient town.

G. MORRIS.

[1842, Part II,, pp. 146, 147.]

St. Milburga, daughter of King Merwald, and niece of Wolphere, King of Mercia, erected a nunnery at this place, anciently called Wimnicas, about the year 680, and presided as abbess over it. The Danes having destroyed the building, Leofric, Earl of Chester, restored the nunnery in the reign of King Edward the Confessor ; but, it being again destroyed and forsaken, Roger de Montgomery, Earl of Arundel, Chichester, and Shrewsbury, a person of extensive possessions, rebuilt and endowed this house in 14 William the Conqueror, placing therein a prior and convent of Cluniac monks. During the wars between England and France this monastery suffered a similar fate to those of the alien priories, until 18 Richard II., when it was naturalized.

This monastery exceeded in magnificence all other monastic establishments in Shropshire \ but the buildings are now falling fast into decay, and, excepting the cloister and prior's house, are nearly in ruins. The revenues of the society at its dissolution in 26 Henry VIII. amounted to ^434 is. 2{d., and, after deducting ^32 145. 2^d., the outgoing therefrom, produced a clear annual income of ^"401 73. ojd. In 31 Henry VIII. the commissioners of pensions awarded to John Baylie, the last prior of Wenlock, ^"80 per annum ; to seven of the ex-presbyters of the same house, namely, Richard Fishewyke, Thomas Acton, John Caslett, Richard Fenymore, Richard Benge, Richard Norgrave, and Thomas Ball, the annual sum of ^6 each ; and to the remaining ex-presbyters, namely, William Mosthouse, John Lee, William Chamberlain, and John Hopkins, the annual sum of 6s. 8d. each.

158 . Shropshire.

Of this monastery the remaining buildings on the eastern and north sides thereof are still nearly entire, and were the living apart- ments of the prior, which are now inhabited by an agriculturist, and such of the buildings as could be rendered into useful farming pur- poses, are converted into stables, warehouses, sheds, and pigstyes.

The eastern side of the priory, of which the accompanying view is a representation, has a singular cloister consisting of narrow arches, now open, but once evidently glazed, which lead to the principal rooms, two of which are but little altered from their ancient state. Below is the abbot's or prior's private altar or oratory, the interior of which is represented by the annexed view of it ; the altar, being a very fine slab of red stone, still remains entire, and at present is appropriated to the use of a dairy. The projecting gable, containing a triple lancet window, which appears on the right hand of the exterior view, is the wall of this oratory.

This monastery soon after its dissolution came into the possession of Thomas Lawley, Esq., who lived in the house. By a marriage with a lady of the Lawley family it devolved to Robert Bertie, Esq., of the Ancaster family, and from him it passed to the family of Gage. Sir John Wynne, of Wynnstay, in the county of Denbigh, purchased it of Lord Viscount Gage, and devised it to his kinsman, Sir Watkin William Wynne, Bart., in whose descendant it still remains.

T. F. D. Whitchurch.

[1756, PP. 120, 121.]

The name of Whitchurch in Latin is " Album Monasterium," the White Monastery, but whence it obtained that name I cannot discover. The parish is bounded on the west and north by those of Malpas in Cheshire and Hanmer in Flintshire, and on the south and east by Frees and Ightfield in Shropshire, and Wrenbury and Marbury in Cheshire. It extends near four miles in length, and is nearly of the same breadth.

There are in the parish three small hamlets — Great and Little Ash on the east and Tilstock on the south. The town is very populous and the parish well inhabited. The church stands in the manor of Whitchurch, diocese of Lichfield and Coventry, archdeaconry of Salop, and hundred of North Bradford.

Brown Willis, in his "Thesaurus Rerum Ecclesiasticarum," says that this church is dedicated to St. Alkmund, wnich I suppose is meant of the old church, the new one being dedicated, as I am informed, to St. Ann. The church is a beautiful modern structure.

Consecrated on October 8, 1713, it is built of stone, and has a tower with eight bells, a clock and chimes at the west end. It consists of a nave or body and two side aisles ; has galleries on the south, north, and west sides, and is very regularly pewed. The living is a rectory, said to be worth .£700 per annum. The inc im-

Wkitckurch. 159

hents, as far back as I can trace them, have been Thomas Fowler, S.T.P., who was sequestered in the Great Rebellion, and died in 1652 ; Matthew Fowler, S.T.P., who was presented soon after the Restoration, and died in 1683 ; Thomas Rawlinson, S.T.P. ; Clement Sankey, S.T.P. ; Peter Leigh, S.T.P. ; the Hon. Henry Egerton, LL.D., brother to the Duke of Bridgewater, advanced to the see of Hereford in 1723. He held this living in commendam with his bishopric till his death, in 1746, and was succeeded here by Rich. Newcomb, S.T.P., promoted to the see of Llandaff in March, 1755. The Duke of Bridgewater is the patron. There is a very good rectory house built by the present incumbent, and a considerable extent of glebe land. There are two manors in the parish, Whit- church and Doddington, both belonging to the Duke of Bridgewater. The two families of Boycott and Whitehalls bury in the church. Camden has preserved the following inscription for John, Earl of Shrewsbury, who was buried in the old church, where his effigy and that of his brother still remain :

"Orate pro anima prcenobilis Domini Johannis Talbott, quondam comitis Salopice ; Domini Talbott, Domini Furnival, Domini Verdon, Domini Strange de Blakemere, et Mareshalli Francise, qui obiit in fillo apud Burderos, vii Julii, MC.CCCLIII."

Darnford, Ash, and Hinton are the chief seats in the parish. There is a chapel- of-ease at '1 ilstock, the minister being paid by the rector of Whitchurch. The Rev. Mr. Appleton was the late curate, and Mr. Saunders is the present. There is a free school, well endowed for a master and an usher, and a house for the master. The right of choosing the master is in feoffees, chosen out of the principal inhabitants. There is also a school founded by one Mr. Higginson, where poor children are taught gratis to write and read English. The same gentleman likewise built six almshouses, which his wife and daughter endowed with ^5 per annum each. The right of filling up the vacancies in them is in Thomas Yates, of Darn- ford, Esq.

The wake is kept on October 8, if it be Sunday, or else on the next Sunday after. The road from London to Chester leads through the town, and from Chester to Shrewsbury. The only common in the parish is one part of Prees Heath. The fuel is coal and turf. . . . There are no crosses, obelisks, or remains of monasteries or re- ligious houses; no Roman, Saxon, or Danish antiquities in the parish. Some coins, I am told, were once dug up in sinking a well, and sent to the old Countess of Bridgewater. . . . The ancestors of John, the great Earl of Shrewsbury, had their seat at Blakemere in this parish, whence they took the title of Baron Strange. The market is kept weekly on Friday ; there are two fairs yearly, one upon the Monday in Whitsun week, and the other on October 28, for cattle, horses, hogs, linen cloth, and other commodities. There is a meeting-

1 60 Shropshire.

house for Dissenters in the town, who are not very numerous, the inhabitants being in general zealously attached to the Established Church. . . . There are two meres in the parish, Blakemere and Osmere. . . . The town is well supplied with good water, and the air is dry and healthy. . . . INGENIUS.

[1792, Part IL, pp. 979, 980.]

It is well known that the Talbots, Earls of Shrewsbury, inherited the great lordship of Whitchurch, in Shropshire, from the Lords Strange, of Blakemere. A note in a volume of the Harleian MSS. (viz., 2129, folio 177) mentions the tomb of John Talbot the famous warrior, and first Earl of Salop, there, as " under an arch in the wall, his figure recumbent on an altar-tomb in armour, and robes over it, with a coronet on his head and a dog at his feet, all under an arch." In the chancel window of the same church were the arms of Talbot quartering, Azure, two bars engrailed gules; impaling France and England quarterly within a bordure az. ; and the same with another impalement ; and in the windows of the left hand of the choir the arms of i. Bohun, 2. Beauchamp, 3. Fitzalan and Warren quarterly, 4. Strange; and on the right hand of the choir, i. Fitzalan, 2. Clifford, 3. Beauchamp, 4. B. three stags tripping o. (qy. Greene), impaling Talbot, 5 and 6, Talbot. This estate was bought by Lord Chancellor Egerton, temp. Eliz., and is now owned by his descendant, the Duke of Bridgewater, who has presented his cousin, the Rev. Francis Egerton, Prebendary of Durham, younger son to the late bishop of that diocese, to this most valuable living. The Duke also owns the neighbouring baronies of the Stranges of Ellesmere and Knockin, being one of the representatives of the latter of those ancient peerages. But I wish some of your correspondents would send you an account of the modern state of these places, which has been my principal inducement for throwing out these imperfect hints. But farther of the Talbots it is said, in the before-mentioned MS., folio 22, that in the priory of Wormesley, co. Hereford, was buried Gilbert Talbot, Lord of Longhope (second of that name), with this epitaph :

" GILBERT TALBOT gist yci Dieu de sa alme ayet mercy " —

and that Richard Talbot lies buried under the same stone with his grandfather Gilbert. This Gilbert died 2 Edward i. His grandson, Richard, was the second son of his son Richard, and married Joan, daughter and co-heiress of Hugh de Mortimer, of Rica-d's Castle, co. Hereford, by whom he left issue John, who died 12 Richard II., and three daughters, who became co-heirs to their brother.

K. Z.

White Ladies. 161

White Ladies.

[1785, Part /.,/. 89.]

I am surprised to find no account of a monastery in Shropshire called White Ladies, situated neir Tong Castle, the ruins of which are still considerable. From the circular arches in the church walls, and having no pillars, I conclude it to be Saxon. It is an extra- parochial place, yet the area of the church is still used as a burying- ground. On digging a grave to the depth of 5 or 6 feet, some figured quarries were brought up ; having myself directed the man to go as near to the wall as possible, I succeeded by this means in pro- curing some that were perfect from the undisturbed floor, which now lies 6 or 7 feet from the surface, being filled up with stone and rubbish. I herewith send you a drawing (see our Plate, Fig. 4).

OBSERVATOR.

[1809, Part II. , p. 809.]

I send a view of the remains at White Ladies, a Priory of White Cistercian Nuns. This curious piece of antiquity is about three quarters of a mile from Boscobel, and one of those sequestered scenes so favourable to meditation. All our antiquaries, ancient and modern, are silent respecting this building ; and I have not been able to ascertain by whom it was founded or how endowed. The view annexed shows the principal part of the church, which, with the gate- house, of more modern erection than the other building, now a labourer's dwelling, are all that remain. The circular arches in the walls, and having no pillars, indicate it to be of Saxon origin ; but this I shall leave for the decision of more veteran antiquaries. The place is extra- parochial, and the area of the church is still used as burying-ground, I believe mostly for Catholics. On opening a grave a few days before I visited the place a figured quarry was dug up (represented in Fig. i), different from any before discovered there. Figs. 2 and 3 are remains of doorways on the north and south sides, now stopped up. Fig. 4 is a small gravestone, with the inscription in the following uncouth style :

"Here lyeth the Bodie of A Friende the King did CaLL, Dame Joane, but Now Shee is deceast and Gone. Interr'd Anno : Do'. 1669."

There are other gravestones, but none that contain inscriptions worthy of notice. I was so delighted with the scenery in this neigh- bourhood, and so lulled into contemplation in surveying this lonely remain of ancient art, that I did not leave it till the setting sun and the clouds of approaching night reminded me of my distant home.

D. PARKES.

[1853, Part I., pp. 504-506.]

I have the pleasure of communicating to you a very interesting account of the destruction and restoration of Dame Joan's headstone

VOL. XXII. II

1 62 Shropshire.

in the ruins of the priory church at White Ladies, with which I have been furnished by the Vicar of Bolney. BERIAH BOTFIELD.

Memoranda of the Headstone of " Dame Joan," the wife of William Pendrell, buried within the walls of the ruinated church of the " White Ladies," near Boscobel, which is extra-parochial to Donington, in the county of Salop.

In the GENTLEMAN'S MAGAZINE for 1809, Part II., p. 809, Mr. David Parkes, of Shrewsbury, exhibits a view taken in July, 1807, of a small headstone at the White Ladies in memory of Dame Joan.

The headstone and the inscription I saw and read about in the year 1807 whilst on a visit at Kilsall, in the parish of Donington, where I often passed a part of my vacations on my way to and from Oxford. The stone stood on the north side of the ruins within the chancel of the chapel, on the left as you entered the chancel door.

When, however, I became Curate of Donington in the year 1811, it had disappeared, and I well remember how disconcerted I felt, upon lionizing a bridal party to the White Ladies, to find that " the place thereof knew it no more," and how I was further annoyed by a

young lady of the company, Miss B , who declared that it never

had stood near the chancel door, but in the middle of the nave ; nay, she undertook to direct me to the spot, which I had some difficulty in reaching, as, besides that elder and other bushes were flourishing there, I was compelled to beat down a luxuriant crop of nettles and other weeds ere the party could approach the place our mis-informant had pointed out ; and then it turned out, as I knew it would : there was indeed a headstone, but of a later date than Dame Joan's by a century or so.

I made frequent inquiries afterwards, at intervals, of the cottagers and others as to the disappearance of the monument, but without obtaining any satisfactory information.

Many had seen and remembered it well, but they all gave it as their opinion that it had been broken down by some of the cattle of Mr. Lockley, who at that time occupied the united farms of Bosco- bel and White Ladies, and whose cows and horses had free entrance into the chapel from the meadow in which it stands.

I was far from agreeing with this supposition, for if the headstone had been thus broken down the fragments would have remained, and I searched for them in vain ; and often in subsequent visits to the place I have lamented the loss of what I thought an interesting relic, connected as it was with the history of the troublous times of England, and commemorative of the poor but honest family who had sheltered their outcast Sovereign in his extremest need.

More than twenty-five years passed away since I first missed the headstone, when, about the year 1837-38, in company with a relative from Lancashire, to show him the Royal Oak, Boscobel House, and

White Ladies. 163

the White Ladies ruins, I found at the latter place several masons and labourers at work repairing the outer walls (so far, at least, as to prevent any entrance into the chapel except through the Norman doorway at the north-west angle), levelling the turf, and bringing to light several gravestones which had lain flat on the ground, and had been concealed, some probably more than two centuries, others for a shorter space of time, with decomposed vegetation and sods which spread rapidly over such momentos in so neglected a spot. I at once inquired of one of the workmen whom I happened to know (Colley by name), " if he remembered where old Dame Joan's head- stone stood," when he told me " that he had dug up the lower part of a headstone about the very place, and had laid it care'ully aside as it had a few letters upon it." He showed it to me, and on in- spection I felt satisfied that it was a remnant of the stone that had marked the good dame's grave. Why I had not discovered it before arose, I conclude, from there having been graves opened for the interment of some of the Roman Catholics in the neighbourhood, and the soil thrown over the fragment. The piece of stone found retained the letters :

"Anno Do 1669."

Having lately dipped into Blount's " Boscobel," and now ob- serving (in addition to the evidence afforded by the spot where this relic was discovered) the corresponding date, and the rather unusual (I believe) abbreviation "Do" for Domini, which on most monu- ments is Dom: or Dni, or the monogram D., — I had not any doubt on the subject, and desired Colley to take care of the fragment and to inform Mr. Richmond (the then priest at the Black Ladies, under whose direction the repairs were going on) when he came to inspect the work, with my compliments, that it was a portion of Dame Joan's headstone.

On my return home I referred to the note in Blount's " Boscobel," and was, if possible, strengthened in my conviction of its identity.

The fate of this fragment was singular. Colley, as desired, laid it carefully and, as he thought, securely by ; at dinner-time he took his wallet into the meadow to eat his noontide meal there — the masons either remained in the chapel or were quicker at their lunch ; how- ever, they returned to their work before he did, and when he came back the stone was gone : they had broken it into small pieces and mixed it with mortar to place on the top of the wall which now fills up the lower portion of the handsome Norman arch of the north transept.

Had I not thus accidentally fallen in with this remnant of Dame Joan's headstone, I might possibly have been inclined ;to entertain the idea expressed in a note of one of the Boscobel Tracts — a collec- tion in octavo with which I had but lately become acquainted — " that the headstone had found its way into the museum of some

II 2

1 94 Shropshire.

antiquary," though its removal must have been attended with con- siderable trouble, and nothing can be well conceived more absurd than its abstraction from the place which alone gave it any interest. But the discovery of the fragment in question showed that this was not the case, for if any collector of ponderous curiosities had been the depredator, he would have had the sense to assure himself that he had taken the entire stone, and not have left behind the portion containing the date.

Another period of seven or eight years wore on, and in this interval I had the sad satisfaction, however trifling, of pointing out to all who inquired after Dame Joan's headstone the spot where its last remains were imbedded in mortar.

I was fortunate enough also to discover the octagon stone table which appears in the old engraving of Boscobel House and the Royal Oak. It is now in two portions, one of which forms the threshold of Boscobel House, the other forms the upper step at the wicket at the end of the path which leads from the said threshold into the pasture field before the house in which stands the oak.

I had also the luck to trace out an old millstone, which had been mentioned to me as having lain " time out of mind" near the site of the mill of Humphrey Pendrill — one of the five loyal brothers— but which had never fallen under my notice. Richard Radford, an old blacksmith at Shakerley in the parish, affirmed that " he had seen it there not so many years ago." On this hint I examined the spot, but no vestige of the millstone was to be found "under the big oak in the mill meadow," as he described it, and it is still so called, though there is not now a trace of the mill, or its pond, or pool, remaining.

It struck me that the stone might have been used for some purpose in or about the house called the White Ladies farmhouse, built about the year 1814, and upon inquiring of the mason employed on that occasion, after some recollection he well remembered that it was brought from the meadow and placed as a cover over the grating of a sough, or drain, which carries the superabundant water from the fold- yard ; and there, sure enough, I found it the day following, buried in straw and manure, and perhaps it does not see the light for a month in each year.

In one of my colloquies with the old blacksmith, the name of a sick parishioner, Martha Willock, was mentioned, and he chanced to remark that he had known " Matty and her husband many years, for they lived at the White Lady Chapel before he did." I observed to him that " that could not be, as the Willocks had only come into the parish about five-and-twenty years since, and lived at Neachley near the Brook, the husband being shepherd to Mr. George Bishton," adding "that the cottage at the White Ladit-s had been pulled down more than thirty years ago." u That's very true, Mr. Dale," said he, *' but please to hear me : the Willocks left the White Ladies about

White Ladies. 165

thirty years ago, for Mr. George Bishtoa sent all of them off to the other side of Shrewsbury, to his farm at Wallop in the Forest there, and there they stopped I do not know how many years, but it was a good while before they came back again."

Here, thought I, is a possible chance of my learning somewhat of the mysterious disappearance of Dame Joan's headstone, and I lost no time in calling upon old Martha (since deceased) and foiled Rad- ford's account correct. As he stated, she had lived with her husband and children for some years at the White Ladies. (The cottage in which they lived had been run up by the late Mr. Lockley, the tenant of Boscobel, for the accommodation of his nephew and two nieces of the name of Handford, or, rather, had been converted from a stable, or shed, with the materials of some old buildings hard by,, into a tolerably convenient residence. The Handfords, however, did not remain there long, and it was tenanted successively by labourers, and amongst others by the Willocks and the old blacksmith.)

To my inquiries Martha said "she remembered Dame Joan's headstone very well ; that strangers and gentlefolks who came to the ruins noticed it much, and that once she lent one of them a knife to scrape the moss out of the letters, whilst another wrote them down in a little book, and said how glad their friends at home would be to read them." "Well," said I, "it is gone long ago. Do yoa know what became of it?" "To be sure I do, sir. It was broken all to pieces by Molly Stocking. I saw it with my own eyes."1 " How did this happen, Martha ?" " If you'll listen to me, sir, I'll tell you all about it. Molly was servant at the Meese Hill Farm (about half a mile off, in Tong parish). She often came down to the White Ladies, for a woman from Albrighton used now and then to bring Molly's young child to see her. Well, one day after harvest she came down — not to see the child, though — but she came into the house, and, after talking a bit, she said, * Martha, will you lend me your axe ?' ' Yes, Molly/ says I, * you're welcome to it, but bring it me again.' And she went out with it, and in less than a minute I heard a knocking in the chapel, and I thought I'd go and see what she was about, and, if you'll believe me, there she was, knocking the stone all to pieces ! ' Why, gracious ! Molly,' says I, ' what are you a-doing ? Do you know that you've destroyed the tombstone of my Lady Dame Joan, who brought the King to his throne ?' It gave me quite a turn to see what she had done." " And pray, Mrs. Willock, what did she say ?" " Why, she said, * Well, it cannot be helped now, if it is so ; and whether it's Lady Joan's or Lady anybody else's, I must have some stones to scour the floors well at the Meese Hill, for my missus " lies in " before Christmas, and she'll have the house well cleaned from top to bottom before then,' and she began to fill her brat with the broken pieces. I remember," said Martha, " it was as beautiful, sparkling, bright-coloured stone as ever I saw. She asked

1 66

Shropshire.

Nanny Shingler, who was standing by, to help her, but Nanny — she was a Catholic, you know — said she would not touch a piece of it for the whole world."

I then inquired if she could tell me about what year all this happened, and she at once satisfied me on that point from the best of cottage mother's chronicles — the birth of her children, saying : <k It was at, or soon after, Michaelmas that we left the White Ladies, and Eliza was born at the Forest in the next year ; besides, sir, here's the Bible with all their names and ages written down." I examined the family birth-roll and found, "Eliza, August n, 1808."

And thus, after thirty-five years' uncertainty as to the cause of the disappearance of Dame Joan's headstone, it was from an accidental word dropped by old Richard Radford that I at length became cog- nizant of its violent and untimely fate by the rude hands of a thoughtless servant-woman.

Had I been aware when the Willocks returned to the parish that they had ever lived at the White Ladies, the suspense of my little antiquarian research might have had an earlier termination — by a quarter of a century. J. DALE.

P.S. — Several persons have expressed a wish that the memorial of Dame Joan should be restored, and the Rev. Mr. Jones, R..C., priest of Breewood, who has charge of the burying-ground within the walls of the White Ladies Chapel, having given his consent, a subscription was entered into, headed by a member of the " Roxburghe Club," and during the last summer a facsimile of the demolished headstone, with its quaint inscription, was placed in statu quo. J. DALE.

Whittington.

[1833, Part L, p. 290.]

The birthplace of the celebrated Richard Whittington, three times Lord Mayor of London, is supposed to have been in Shropshire, either at Newn's near Ellesmere, or in the parish of Whittington in that county, whence his name Richard de Whittington.

[1814, Part I I., p. 105.]

Whittington Castle, of which a view is enclosed, is situated near Oswestry, in the county of Salop. Its situation is flat : the gateway (now used as a farm-house) and remains of two immense round towers, with small vestiges of other parts, may yet be traced. It was surrounded by a moat ; several vast ditches, and other works, are yet discernible. The fine wych elms and ash trees which environ part of the ruins give a fine finish to the picture. In 1797, on removing some rubbish in a part of the ruins, three curious bottles were found, of a depressed form, bearing the appearance of having been highly gilt. Lately, on clearing the bottom of one of the

Wh ittington . 167

towers, there were found some huge iron fetters, a gyve of ponderous size, and a great quantity of the heads and antlers of deer.

According to Bardic tradition, this place was once the property of Tudor Trevor, a British nobleman, who lived in the year 924. After the Conquest, it was held by Roger de Montgomery ; and being forfeited by his son Robert, it was given to William, a sister's son of Pain Peverell, whose daughter Millet was the fair object of contention to the warlike youths of the time. Peverell offered his daughter in marriage, with Whhtington Castle as a dowry, to him who should display the greatest prowess at a tilting-match. Peverell's Castle, in Derbyshire, was appointed for the place of combat. Among the knights who repaired thither was Guarine de Metz, of the house of Lorraine, lord of Alberbury, who carried off his fair prize, and received the Castle of Whittington as her dower. His posterity continued lords of this place near 400 years, every heir, for nine descents, preserving the Christian name of Fulke, to which was added the memorable appellation of Fitz-Guarine. Fulke, son of Guarine, displayed the high spirit of his race in a quarrel with Prince John, afterwards King John, whom he highly offended by breaking his head with a chess-board. He was one of the glorious band who compelled that monarch to sign the Great Charter of Liberty, the boast and pride of Englishmen. In 1419 this illustrious race became extinct ; and the manor, after various transfers in succeeding ages, devolved to William Albany, citizen of London, whose great-grand- daughter and sole heiress married Thomas Lloyd, Esq., of Aston, in whose descent it still continues.

The ancient and present state of this beautiful domain are elegantly and poetically described by John F. M. Dovaston, Esq., M.A., in his Border Ballad of Fitz-Gwarine. D. PARKES.

Willey.

[1822, Part //., /. 306.]

The following description of the mansion erected by Lord Forester in Willey Park, Shropshire, is extracted from a pleasing account, in the Wolverhampton Chronicle, of the festivities given at Willey Hall, on the son of that nobleman attaining the age of twenty-one.

" As the stately mansion of the family is an entirely new structure, built of stone, the following description of it may not be uninterest- ing : The grand entrance hall is lighted by twenty-eight large lamps. The balcony is supported by massy pillars, between which the floor is paved with slabs of polished marble. The balcony and staircases are railed in by a burnished brass rail, which is said to have cost ^2,000, and the ornaments round the cornice (the subjects of which are taken from Grecian history) are of the most chaste and beautiiul kind, and produce a grand effect, aided by the profusion of light which the lamps reflect from below. A bronze tripod, supporting

1 68 Shropshire.

three massy lamps, is placed in the midst of the hall ; on one side, between two family paintings, is a picture of the Duke of Wellington on horseback ; on the other side is a beauti ul portrait of Napoleon Buonaparte, surrounded with paintings of the Rutland and Forester families ; the effect of the whole is of the grandest description, and may well serve as a specimen of the taste and opulence which is displayed in every apartment of the noble mansion. Many costly pictures are scattered over the principal apartments, and a full-length portrait of Lord Forester, accompanied by one of his Lady, grace the dining-room. The library is lighted up with two large lustres, which cast a brilliant reflection on the walls, that are covered with books in fanciful and superb bindings. The drawing-room (which was fitted up on this occasion for the ball, and in which a temporary orchestra was raised) is a lofty and spacious apartment. Lord and Lady Forester's morning rooms contain some historical paintings, portraits, and a collection of valuable books."

Cecil Weld Forester, Esq., was created Baron Forester, July 9, 1821. His lordship married, June 16, 1800, Lady Katherine Mary Manners, sister to the present Duke of Rutland, by whom he has had eleven children, of whom the eldest, the Hon. John George Weld, has just attained his twenty-first year. This noble family possess a grant from King Henry VIII. to John Forester, of Watling Street, in the county of Salop, Esq., to wear his hat in the presence of his Majesty, which grant is now in the possession of the present peer.

Worfield. [1764, p. 458.]

List of the Vicars of the parish of Worfield, in the county of Salop, and diocese of Lichfield and Coventry, for 200 years past :

The last Romish vicar was Dominick, who conformed to the Protestant religion during the first six years of Elizabeth. He died in 1564.

To him succeeded Barney, sen., who was vicar forty-four years ; died in 1608.

Next, Barney, jun., was vicar fifty-six years, and died in 1664.

Next, Hancocks, vicar forty-three years ; died in 1707.

Adamson, vicar fifty-six years ; died 1763.

The Wrekin.

[1797, Part II. , p. gig.]

The prospect from the Wrekin is not only very extensive, but amazingly fine ; for the lands below being rich and level, the observer looks down upon the beautiful enclosures as upon a map — the map of Nature. Round the summit are the traces of a British camp, con- sisting of two trenches and two ramparts, one elevated 30 or 40 yards

Wroxeter. 1 69

above the other. Each of them circle the hill, and each admits of but one entrance, narrow as a gateway, with a small eminence on each side by way of portal. The lower, or outward trench, is more than a mile round ; the inner much less.

This spacious camp would accommodate 20,000 men, who would find it a cold berth, suited only to a hardy Briton.

I cannot attach any historical fact to this camp; but as it is not certainly known upon what hill in Shropshire Caractacus, King of Wales, was encamped when forced by Ostorius, the Roman general, there is great probability of its being his. OSWESTRY.

Wroxeter.

[1810, Part /., p. 617.]

The drawing which accompanies this is the representation of an ancient seal, found in 1808 by a person ploughing in a field near the Roman wall at Wroxeter, the ancient Uriconium, Shropshire. Plate II., Fig. i, is an impression of the seal ; Fig. 2, the exact form and size of the seal. Several have attempted to decipher the legend, but no one has yet been able to give a satisfactory reading.

D. PARKES.

[1816, Part /.,/. 201.]

On reading the life of that extraordinary character, Edward Lord Herbert of Chirbury, written by himself, and finding that he was born at Eyton, an ancient mansion of the Newports, in the parish of Wroxeter, county Salop, I was determined to visit the spot, which I accordingly did on September 21, 1814. . . . Part is fitted up for a private dwelling ; some remains an ivy-mantled ruin ; but the greater part is entirely destroyed. The enclosed drawing was made at the time (see Plate I.).

Edward Herbert was born at Eyton in 1583. After the accession of James I. he was made a Knight of the Bath, and went into France to interpose on behalf of the Protestants of that kingdom. In 1625 Sir Edward was made a Baron of Ireland, and in 1631 of England by the style and title of Lord Herbert of Chirbury, in Shropshire. He died in 1648, and was interred in the chancel of St. Giles's-in-the- Fields. A marble slab that covered his remains had the following inscription upon it, drawn up by himself:

" Hie inhumatur corpus Edvardi Herbert, Equites Baluei, Baronis de Cherbury et Castle Island, auctoris libri, cui titulus est, ' De Veritati.' Redder ut herbse, vicesimo die Augusti, anno Domini 1648."

D. PARKES.

[1828, Part I. , p. 1 8.]

The small seal, from an impression of which the enclosed drawing is taken (Fig. 4), is of an opaque greenish substance, and was lately discovered at Wroxeter, county Salop. W. A. LEIGHTON.

Shropshire.

The following articles, which contain nothing of special interest or importance, are omitted :

1804, part ii., p. lOOO. St. Chad's, Shrewsbury.

1805, part ii., pp. 624, 625. Five churches in Shrewsbury.

References to previous volumes of the Gentleman s Magazine Library :

Prehistoric Remains : Ancient oak timber at Buildwas ; cave at Burcott.

— Archeology, part i., pp. 23, 24, 39. Anglo-Saxon Remains : The place of St. Oswald's death. — Arch(eologyt

part ii., p. 242. Roman Remains : Bishop's Castle, Linley Hall, Ternbridge, Wem,

Wroxeter. — Romano- British Remans ', part i., pp. 263-284. Architectural Antiquities: Position of Ludlow Chapel. — Architectural

Antiquities, part ii., p. 232. Folklore: Lifting at Shrewsbury; superstitions of Shropshire. — Popular

Superstitions^ pp. 42, 133. Game of whipping the cat at Albrighton ;

tenure of land called the Moors ; placing garlands on monuments in

Tong Church; verses on bell-ringing in Tong Church. — Manners and

Customs, pp. 223, 230, 231, 258, 259.

Somersetshire.

SO M ERSE TSHIRE.

[1823, Part /.,//. 407-4".]

ANCIENT STATE AND REMAINS.

British Inhabitants. — Belgse.

jRoman Province. — Britannia Prima. Stations. — Aquis Solis, Bath; Ischalis, Ivelchester.

Saxon Heptarchy. — Wessex.

Antiquities. — Druidical Temples of Chew Magna (the stones form- ing a circle of a reddish colour) ; Stanton Drew. British Earthwork, Wansdike (the boundaries of the Belgaeans, and the Aborigines). Roman Encampments of Blacker's hills, Bowditch, Brompton Bury Castle, Burwalls, Cadbury, Camalet, Chesterton, Chew Magna, Cow Castle, Doleberry, Douseborough, Godshill, Hawkridge Castle, Hampton-down, Masbury, Mearknoll, Mod bury, Mounceaur Castle, Neroche, Newborough, Norton Hautville, Stantonbury, Stokeleigh, Tedbury, Trendle Castle, Turks Castle, Wiveliscombe and Worle- berry. Roman Temples at Bath (dedicated to Minerva), a very superb one (supposed to have been dedicated to Apollo, or the Sun), a Sacellum (dedicated to Luna). Saxon Earthwork, Salisbury Hill (thrown up at the siege of Bath in 577). Saxon Encampment of Harold at Porlock. Danish Camp, Jack's Castle, Kilmington. Abbeys of Athelney Isle (built by King Alfred) ; Banwell (in the time of Alfred); Bath (built in 1137, by Oliver King, Bishop of thajfe diocese); Bruton (founded by St. Algar, Earl of Cornwall, in the reign of Ethelred) ; Cliff (founded by William de Romare, before 1 1 88); Glastonbury, Hinton (founded by the first Earl of Salisbury) ; Keynsham (founded by William Earl of Gloucester); Muchelney (founded by King Athelstan, now a barn) ; Wells (first founded by King Ina, re-erected by Bishop Joceline de Wells in 1239 ; the palace

1 74 Somersetshire.

of the Bishop is like a castle). Priories of Barlinch ; Barrow ; Bath (built by King Osric in 676); Berkley (founded in the reign of John, by one William a Norman Baron) ; Buckland Sororum (founded about 1167, by William de Erleigh, Lord of the Manor of Durston); Cannington (founded by Robert de Courcy, sewer to the Empress Maud); Chewton ; Dunster (built by William de Mohun, temp. William I., now the parish church) ; Frome (erected by Aldhelm, Bishop of Sherborne, before 705) ; Hinton Charterhouse (founded by Ela, Countess of Salisbury, in 1227, finished building 1232); Ilchester (founded temp. Edward II.) ; Kew Stoke (founded by William de Courtenye, about 1210); Montacute (erected by the nephew of William I.) ; Portbury ; Stavordale (founded temp. Henry III., now a farmhouse and barn); Stoke Courcy (cell to the Abbey of Lonly in Normandy) ; Taunton (erected by William Giffard, Bishop of Winton, temp. Henry I.) ; Woodspring ; and Yeanston. Nunneries of Nunney ; Walton ; and Whitehall (founded about 1226, by William Daius). Churches of Allen; Ashill ; Axbridge (on the tower of which are two statues, supposed to have been set up under the Kings of Wessex) ; Barton David (the north doorway is composed of a fine Saxon arch) ; Bath, St. James's (a curious specimen of ancient architecture) ; Batheaston ; Cadbury, North (built in 1427); Camerton; Chew Magna; Crewkerne; Dunster (built by Henry VII. in gratitude for the inhabitants having assisted at the battle of Bosworth field*) ; Goathurst ; Ilminster ; Keynsham ; Lansdown ; Martock ; Nunney ; Taunton, St. Magdalen, and St. James ; Walton (in ruins) ; Wincanton ; and Yeovil. Chapels of Burrough : Chard (an ancient Gothic building, now used as the Town Hall); Glastonbury (erected in 1246, by Abbot Michael) ; Hanging Chapel at Langport ; Hardington ; Hatrow ; Hinton ; Holloway (built by John Cantlow, prior of Bath from 1489 to 1495) > Ilchester, 2 (upon the bridge, and at its foot, now dwelling-houses) ; Orchard (built by John Sydenham about 1490) ; Ranehill (dedicated to St. Ranus) ; Rowdon ; Stoke-under-Hambden ; and Widcombe (founded in the i2th century). Fonts of Beckington ; Corfe (very ancient) ; East Camel (curiously decked with sculpture) ; and Pendomer. Stone Pulpit in Wells Cathedral (erected by Bishop Knight). Castles of Bridgewater ; Cadbury (built by the Romans) ; Castle Gary (in which Charles II. sheltered himself after the battle of Worcester) ; Douseborough ; Dunster (built by the Moions Earls of Somerset) ; Ilchester (built by the Romans) ; Inglishcombe (the seat of the Gournays) ; Kenn ; Montacute (built by the Earl of Moreton, brother of William L, on this spot there is now a tower 60 feet high) ; Somerton (built by the Kings of Wessex, no remains) ;

* Most of the churches in this county exhibit fine specimens of the florid Gothic, so prevalent in his reign, which makes it probable that they were rebuilt by order of that prince, in gratitude for their attachment to his house.

Ancient State and Remains. 175

Stoke-umler-Hambden ; Stowey • Taunton (built by King Ina, now in ruins); Trende ; Turk's; Walton; and Wiveliscombe. Mansion of Combe Sydenham (the ancient seat of the Sydenhams). Caves at Wokey (the most celebrated in the West of England).

Glastonbury Abbey is said to contain the bodies of Joseph of Arimathea, King Edgar, and King Arthur. The body of Arthur was searched for by order of Henry II., when a leaden coffin was discovered with a Latin inscription in rude Gothic characters, which was thus translated : " Here lies the famous King Arthur, buried in the isle of Avalon." Beneath was found a coffin hollowed out of a solid rock, wherein were the bones of a human body supposed to have been those of Arthur, which were then deposited in the church, and covered with a sumptuous monument.

In Wells Cathedral lies the body of its founder, Ina, King of Wessex.

PRESENT STATE AND APPEARANCE.

Rivers. — Avon, Axe, Barl, Bey, Brent, Brew, Cale, Car, Chew, Dunsbrook, Ex, Frome, Ivel or Evil, Ordred, Parret, Severn, Thone, Tor, Wessitire, and Yow.

Inland Navigation. — Canal from Frome to Stalbridge (branches to Wells and Bradford), Avon river (through Bath to Bristol), Parret river (to Bristol, Bridgewater, and Langport), Tone river (from Frome to Bridgewater) ; Canal at the bottom of Hampton Down.

Lakes. — Culbone, Gamely brooks.

Eminences and Views. — Ash Beacon (655 feet high); Blackdown (bordering on Devonshire) ; Bradley Knoll (973 feet high) ; Brendon Hills, near Quantock ; Broadfield Down ; Camalet Mount ; Dundon Hill (360 feet high); Dundry Hill (700 feet high); Enmore Castle (a fine view of Mendip Hills) ; Helston Roundhill (rises to a vast height above the bed of the river) ; Hinton St. George ; Lansdown Hill (513 feet high; the summit of this hill is attained by a steep ascent of 3 miles) ; Leighdown ; Mendip Hills (extend from Frome on the east to Axbridge, and from Bedminster on the north to Glastonbury) ; Moorlinch (330 feet high) ; North Hill ; Poulton Hill ; Prior Park ; Quantock Hills (an extensive ridge which runs from East Quantoxhead, through a rich country, as far as the vale of Taunton ; a fine view of the Welsh coast) ; Taunton ; Thorney Down (610 feet high) ; and White Down.

Natural Curiosities. — Alford mineral spring ; Ashill mineral spring; Castlecary mineral spring (resembling that at Epsom) ; Bath bitumen, nitre, and sulphur springs ; Chard spring (conveyed by leaden pipes to four conduits, which supply the inhabitants with water) ; Cheddar Rocks (about a mile and a half long) ; Culbone ; Dunkerry Mountain (the base of which is 12 miles in circumference, rising 1,770 feet above the level of the sea) ; Dundry Hills (produce Cornua ammonis, and

1 76 Somersetshire.

Echinis} ; East Chenock salt spring (20 miles from the sea) ; Enmore (the source of the river Ex) ; Glastonbury mineral spring (near the Chain Gate) ; Langport (the source of the river Parret) ; Mendip Hills (the source of the river Frome) ; Neroche Forest ; Nether Stowey spring (running from a hill above the church, covers every- thing it meets with a stony crust) ; Queen's Camel mineral spring ; Selwood Forest (beginning at Frome and extending near 15 miles) ; Vallis Rocks (near Frome) ; Wellington mineral springs ; Wells mineral spring ; Wokey Hole (the source of the river Axe).

Public Edifices. — Avon river, stone bridge over, from Keynsham to Gloucester, of 15 arches. Bath General Hospital, foundation stone laid July 6, 1738; Guildhall, foundation stone laid February n, 1768; in Queen's Square an obelisk 70 feet high, erected by Rich. Nash, Esq., Master of the Ceremonies, to the memory of Frederick Prince of Wales, who visited Bath in 1738; in a grove near the Abbey Church, since called Orange Grove, an obelisk 30 feet high, to the memory of the Prince of Orange, who here recovered from a dangerous sickness; Free Grammar School, founded by Edward VI. in 1553; King's Bath, handsome building ; Parade ; St. John's Hospital, built in 1728, by Mr. Wood the architect, upon the site of an old hospital erected temp. Elizabeth ; St. Catherine's Hospital, founded on the site of an ancient almshouse, built by two sisters of the name of Bimberry ; Bellott's Hospital, founded by Thomas Bellott, temp. Jac. I. ; Casualty Hospital, founded by a few inhabitants in 1778; Puerperal Charity, established in 1792; Charity School, founded by Robert Melson in 1711; Bath West of England Society for the encouragement of Agriculture, Arts, etc., established 1777; Philo- sophical Society, established 1 799. Bridgewater Free School, founded by Queen Elizabeth in 1561 ; Church, the spire the loftiest in the county ; Town Hall ; Bridge over the Parret, commenced by William de Briovere in the time of King John, and finished by Thomas Trivet, a nobleman of Cornwall. Bruton Cross ; Free Grammar School, founded by Edward VI. Crewkerne Free Grammar School, founded by Dr. Hody, temp. Edward VI. Exford Charity School, founded by Mr. Cox and Mrs. Musgrave. Frome Church, 150 feet long and 54 broad, from the towers rises an octagonal spire 120 feet high ; Free School, founded by Edward VI. ; Almshouse for widows, erected by subscription in 1720. Glastonbury Cross ; St. Michael's Tower or Tor (where the last Abbot of Glastonbury was executed), stands on a high hill north-east of Glastonbury ; Glastonbury pump- room, opened August 12, 1753; Ilminster Free School, founded by Edward VI. At Kilmington, 2 miles from the church, is Alfred's Tower, erected by Henry Hoare, Esq., of Stourhead, stone bridge. Langport Grammar -School, founded by Thomas Gillet in 1670. Martock Grammar School, founded by WilHarci Strode in 1661. Mells Charity School. Shepton Mallet Church ; Cross Fridewell

Present State and Appearance. 177

for the county ; Almshouse founded 1699. Somerton Free School; Almshouse. Taunton Free Grammar School, founded temp. Henry VII. by Richard Fox, Bishop of Winchester ; Almshouses, one founded by Robert Gray, Esq. ; Hospital ; Bridewell. Wellington Hospital, founded by Lord Chief Justice Popham, temp. Jac. I. Wells Charity School, founded in 1714; Town Hall, situate over Bishop Bubwith's Hospital. Wiveliscombe Almshouse, founded by Sir John Coventry. Yeovil Church, fine Gothic structure ; Market House, very commodious.

Seats. — Longleat, Marquis of Bath, Lord-Lieutenant of the County; Alcomb, Sir George Hewett, Bart; Alfoxton, St. Aubyn, Esq.; Alston Court, Huntspill, late R. Buncombe, Esq. ; Ammerdown, Samuel Jolliffe, Esq. ; Ashwick Grove, Richard Strachey, Esq. ; Avishayes, J. J. Fortescue, Esq. ; St. Audries, Miss Balch ; Babbington, Charles Knatchbull, Esq. ; Bailbridge House, Val. Jones, Esq. ; Barford, Joseph Jeffery, Esq. ; Barren Down, Stukely Lucas, Esq. ; Bath, T. J. Parker, Esq. ; Berkley House, Frome, Rev. J. M. Rogers ; Berwick House, J. Newman, Esq. ; Box, near Bath, W. Northey, Esq. ; Brimpton House, Earl of Westmorland ; Brymore near Bridgewater, Sir P. Hales, Bart. ; Burton Pynsent, Earl of Chatham ; Butleigh Court, Lord Glastonbury ; Cadbury House, Blackford, Mrs. Bennet ; Camerton Park, Mrs. Jarret; Ch Icompton, Miss Tooker; Claverton House, John Vivian, Esq. ; Compton Pauncefoot, J. H. Hunt, Esq. ; Coomb Hay, Mrs. Leigh ; Countesbury Lodge, J. Knight, Esq. ; Cranmore, East, J. Paget, Esq. ; Cricket Lodge, Lord Bridport ; Dillington House, Wm. Hanning, Esq. ; Dunster Castle, J. F. Lut- trell, Esq. ; Enmore, A. Guy, Esq. ; Enmore Castle, Earl of Egmont ; Euston House, Sir J. C. Hippisley, Bart. ; Fairfield, Sir John Palmer Acland, Bart. ; Fairfield, P. P. Acland, Esq. ; Farley Park, Duke of Somerset; Ford Abbey, T. F. Gwynn, Esq.; Godminster, Col. Strangways ; Hadspan House, near Wincanton, H. Hobhouse, Esq.; Halsewell House, C. K. K. Tynte, Esq. ; Hampton House, — Allen, Esq. ; Hardington Wraxall, Sir C. W. Bamfylde, Bart. ; Hatch Court, Thomas Clifton, Esq. ; Havisheys House, near Chard, Gen. Stevens ; Haydon Seat, J. Haughton, Esq. ; Hazlegrove, Sir Henry Carew St. John, Bart. ; Heatherton Park, William Adair, Esq. ; Hestercombe House, Mrs. Warre ; Hill House, Langport, Vincent Stuckey, Esq., High Sheriff; Hinton St. George, Earl Poulett; Hinton Charterhouse, Sam. J. Day, Esq.; Holnicutt, Hon. Matthew Fortescue; Horsington, Samuel Bailward, Esq. ; Horsington, Samuel Doddington, Esq. ; Huntspill, G. Saunders, Esq. ; Huntspill, J. Jeffreys, Esq. ; Ilchester, Richard Troward, Esq. ; Jordans House, Horton, W. Sheke, Esq. ; Kelston, Sir John Caesar Hawkins, Bart. ; Kilmington, Sir Richard Colt Hoare, Bart. ; King Weston, W. Dickenson, Esq. ; Leigh Court, P. J. Miles, Esq. ; Lottiford House, Rev. J. Serrell ; Lydford Rectory, Dr. Colston ; Lynmouth, J. Lean, Esq. ; Lynmouth House, East, J.

VOL. XXII. 12

1 7 8 Some rsetsh ire.

Lock, Esq. ; Lynmouth House, R. Harris, Esq. ; Marston Biggott, Earl of Cork and Orrery ; Maunsell, Col. Slade ; Mells Park, T. Homer, Esq. ; Mellyfont Abbey, Sir James William Weston Wolfe, Bnrt. ; Mellyfont Abbey, Rev. W. Phelps ; Meyners, Lord King ; Midford Castle, Charles Conolly, Esq.; Montacute House, John Phillips, Esq. ; Mount Pleasant, Gordon Gray, Esq. ; Nettlecomb, near Taunton, Sir John Trevelyan, Bart. ; North Cad bury, — New man, Esq.; Northover, H. Chichester, Esq.; Nunney Castle, Thomas Theobald, Esq. ; Orchardley, Sir Thomas Champneys, Bart. ; Orch- ardley House, T. S. Champneys, Esq. ; Orchard Wyndham, H. Tripp, Esq. ; Orchard Wyndham, near Watchet, Earl of Egremont ; Parrett, near Crookhorn, Mrs. Hoskins ; Pennard, East, Park, G. M. B. Napier, Esq.; Pitcomb, Rev. Mr. Dalton; Pixton, Earl of Carnarvon; Plash House, R. J. S. Escott, Esq. ; Pyrland, Sir Wm. Walter Yea, Bart. ; Queen's Camel, Sir H. P. St. John Mildmay, Bart. ; Redlynch Park, Earl of Ilchester ; Redlynch Park, N. Webb, Esq. ; Sandhill Park, Sir T. B. Lethbridge, Bart. ; Shanks House, Bayford, Nath. Dalton, Esq. ; Shapwick House, Rev. Elias Taylor; Sharpham Park, Rev. C. H. Pulsford ; Shepton Mallet, Wm. Powis, Esq. ; Shocker- wich, W. Wiltshire, Esq. ; Southhill, — Strode, Esq. ; Stock House, Rev. H. F. Yatman; Stone Easton House, Sir John Cox Hippisley, Bart. ; Stratton House, Chilcompton, C. G. Gray, Esq. ; Stroney Lane House, Little Elm, J. Fussell, Esq. ; Sutton Court, Sir Henry Strachey, Bart. ; Sutton Court, Oulddown, Edward Strachey, Esq. ; Thornhill House, J. M. Cree, Esq.; Upton, Lord Wellesley; Venn House, Milborne Port, Sir Wm. Coles Medlycott, Bart. ; Walford House, Arthur Chichester, Esq. ; Warley, near Bath, Henry Skrine, Esq. ; Wellington Court, Mrs. Culm ; Wells, Bishop of Gloucester ; Welton Palace, Bishop of Bath and Wells; Wilsham, Lord Somerville; Wilton Batts, J. Snork, Esq. ; Woodbarrow House, — Purnell, Esq. ; Wool- ston House, Rev. A. Askew ; Wootton, near Glastonbury, Sir Alex- ander Hood, Bart. ; Yarlington Lodge, J. Rogers, Esq.

Produce. — Stone, iron, salt, manganese, bole and red ochre. Cattle, corn, oxen, fruits, copper, lead, marl, coal, hemp, crystal, coral, sea liverwort, lapis calaminaris. Fuller's earth, alabaster, sea-weed for glassmakers, and woad.

Manufactures. — Woollen cloths, hats, gloves, serges, druggets, sagathies, duroys, stockings, Spanish medley-cloths, dowlas, ticking, kerseys, baize, bone lace, knitting of hose, pottery, Cheddar cheese.

[1823, Part /.,//. 493-496.]

HISTORY.

A.D. 493, a large body of Saxons, under the command of Ella and his three sons, encamped on Lansdown, and laid siege to Bath. King Arthur being apprised of these operations, hastened after Ella, attacked and defeated him in a bloodv battle.

History. 1 79

A.D. 520, King Arthur again defeated an army of the Saxons com- manded by three Saxon lieutenants, and preserved Bath again from their fury.

A.D. 577, the Saxon leaders, Caewlin and Cuthwin, the former of whom was King of Wessex, led their arms towards the north-east part of this county, and advanced to Deorham, a village in Gloucester- shire, about eight miles from Bath, and encountered the three British Kings, Commail, Candidan, and Farinmail, who had united their forces to defend the yet unsubdued part of Britain. After a bloody engagement the Saxons prevailed, and Bath, together with Gloucester and Cirencester, was added to their conquests.

A.D. 658, a conflict happened at Pen between the Danes and Saxons.

A.D. 722, Taunton Castle destroyed by Ethelburga, Queen of King Ina.

A.D. 733, Ethelbald took Somerton.

A.D. 775, Bath seized by Offa, King of Mercia.

A.D. 788, Glastonbury desolated by the Danes, but rebuilt by King Edmund.

A.D. 845, a memorable battle was fought at Stoke Courcy between the Saxons and an army of Danish marauders, in which the latter were defeated ; and Elstan, Bishop of Shirburn, routed a straggling army of the Danes at Evelmouth.

A.D. 873, Glastonbury entirely demolished by the Danes.

A.D. 877, Somerton laid waste and plundered by the Danes, but was rebuilt.

A.D. 879, Alfred the Great erected his standard at Kilmington against Danish invaders, on the spot where there is now a stately tower, erected to commemorate that event.

A.D. 886, Watcher,, then called We-ced-poort, suffered greatly from the Danes.

A.D. 918, the Danes, under the command of the Earls of Ohton and Rhoad, landed at Porlock, but being soon discovered, were attacked with great bravery by the inhabitants ; so that the greater part were killed, while the remainder were compelled to re-embark. A party of the Danes likewise landed at Watcher, but met with the same reception as at Porlock.

A.D. 955, King Edred died at Frome on St. Clement's Mass-day, and lies buried in the old minster.

A.D. 973, Edgar hallowed King of England with great pomp at Bath.

A.D. 987, the Danes ruined and plundered Watchet.

A.D. 997, the Danes again burnt Watchet, and killed all the inhabitants.

A.D. 1001, a conflict happened at Pen between the Danes and Saxons.

12 — 2

1 80 Somerseshire.

A.D. 1016, a battle was fought at Pen between the Danes and King Edmund.

A.D. 1018, when the English Lords had formed a wicked design to cut off William Rufus to make his brother Robert, Duke of Nor- mandy, King, Robert Mowbray, a great warrior, after burning Bath, vigorously assaulted Ilchester, but without success.

A.D. 1052, King Harold landed at Porlock about midsummer from Ireland after his banishment, when he effected his return.

A.D. 1107, Henry I. paid a visit to Bath in the Easter of this year.

A.D. 1 1 22, a great earthquake over all the county on the eighth night before the calends of May.

A.D. 1184, a great fire consumed the abbey and town of Glaston- bury.

A.D. 1260, Bridgewater seized upon by the Barons.

A.D. 1271, a great earthquake happened which destroyed numerous edifices.

A.D. 1449, Yeovil suffered considerably by a fire, which consumed 117 houses.

A.D. 1607, the county was overflown almost twenty miles in length, and four in breadth, by an irruption of the Severn Sea, and yet but eighty persons drowned.

A.D. 1642, a skirmish took place at Martial's Elm which made much noise.

A.D. 1643, July 5, a great battle was fought at Lansdown between the Royalist forces and the Parliamentarians, at which Sir B. Granville, who headed the Royalists, fell.

A.D. 1644, Lieutenant F. Doddington and Sir W. Courtney, of the Royalist party, engaged in a long narrow lane five miles from Bridgewater Lieutenant General Middleton, of the Parliamentarians, in which engagement the Parliamentarians lost 220 men — 80 killed and 140 taken prisoners. In October the loyal inhabitants of this county presented a petition to the King, asking liberty to arm them- selves in his cause, which was granted them. A battle was fought at Aller between the Royalists and Parliamentary forces, commonly called the battle of Aller Moor.

A.D. 1644-45, Colonel Blake, of the Parliamentarians, offered Captain Byham, of the Royalists, ^1,000 to betray the town of Bridgewater into their hands, to which he seemingly agreed ; accord- ingly, Colonel Blake assembled his troops, amounting to TOO horse and foot, near the bridge ; but when near enough, Captain Byham fired a piece of ordnance charged with case shot, by which fifty of the Parliamentarians were killed. At Wiveliscombe (February 9) Colonel Lutterell, the mock sheriff of Devonshire, with twenty more, were shot dead by the Royalists. The same day Colonel Lutterell's major came with the rest of that regiment from Taunton to beat up Sir Francis Mackworth's quarters at Langport, but Sir Francis re-

History. \ 8 1

reived them so gallanily that very few of them escaped. The major (Major Stephens), two captains, and all the chief officers were taken prisoners and conveyed to Bristol ; by this means the regiment was entirrly destroyed.

A.D. 1645, the Parliamentarians from Taunton having fixed their quarters at VViveliscombe, came thence (March 20, 1644-45) to Sir Hugh Windham's house at Saundle, where they intended to surprise Colonel Francis Windham, Governor of Dunster Castle, but failing in their plan, they pillaged the house, not even respecting the gentle- women, whose clothes they tore off their backs. Sir Hugh escaped at a back door, and sent word to Colonel Windham at Dunster Castle, who, with what horse was ready (only thirty), instantly marched after and overtook them in a field near Nettlecombe, full 250 horse strong, and defeated them, taking five prisoners, fourteen horses, besides ammunition. At Langport (July 12) the King's forces under Lord Goring defeated by the Parliamentarians. Nunny Castle burnt down by the Parliamentarians.

A.D. 1645-46, the siege of Dunster Castle was raised. The Parlia- mentarians, who were the besiegers, sent the following message to the Governor, in the hopes of inducing the Royalists to deliver up the Castle : " If you will yet deliver up the Castle, you shall have fair quarter ; if not, expect no mercy, your Mother shall be in the front to receive the first fury of your cannon : we expect your answer." The Governor returned the following answer, which is worthy of a Briton : ** If you doe what you threaten, you doe the most barbarous and villainous act [that] was ever done ; my Mother I honour ; but the cause I fight for, and the masters I serve, God and the King, I honour more ; Mother, doe you forgive me, and give me your blessing, and lett the rebells answer for spilling that blood of yours, which I would save with the losse of mine owne, if I had enough for both my master and your selfe." The mother replies : " Sonne, I forgive thee, and pray God to blesse thee for this brave resolution. If I live I shall love thee the better for it— God's will be done." Upon a sudden came Lord Wentworth, Sir Richard Greenvil, and Colonel Webbe, rescued the mother, relieved the castle, took 1,000 prisoners, killed many upon the place, and put the rest to flight.

A.D. 1685 (July 4, 5), the King's forces encamped at Sedgmoor. On the following night they were attacked by those of the Duke of Monmouth, who displayed great spirit and unanimity, considering their want of discipline. The horses of the Duke's tavalry being unaccustomed to the din of arms and warlike drums, could not be made to come up to the support of his infantry, in consequence of which he lost the day. A dreadful carnage ensued, which can be equalled by none but such inhuman monsters as Jeffreys and Kirke.

A.D. 1688, the Prince of Orange, shortly after his landing at

1 8 2 Some rsetsh ire.

Torbay, attacked a party of the King's guards at Wincaunton, and put them to the sword.

EMINENT NATIVES.

Adamus de Marisco, a great writer and Bishop of Ely, ftor. about 1257, Brent Marsh.

Allein, Richard, Nonconformist divine and author, Ditchet, 1611.

Amory, Thomas, Dissenting minister, Taunton, 1700.

Bacon, Roger (Friar Bacon), astronomer, chemist, and philosopher, near Ilchester, 1214.

Baker, Thomas, mathematician, Ilton, about 1625.

Batman, or Bateman, Rev. Stephen, pott, Bruton (flourished in the sixteenth century).

Beckington, T., Bishop of Bath and Wells, a good statesman, "a good churchman, a good townsman, a good kinsman, a good master, and a good man" (Fuller), Beckington (died 1464-65).

Bennet, Christopher, eminent physician, Raynton, 1617.

Berkley, Alexander de, learned writer of the sixteenth century, Berkley.

Biss, Philip, learned writer (died about 1614).

Blake, Robert, celebrated admiral and Parliamentarian, Bridge- water, 1599.

Bond, Sir George, Lord Mayor of London, Trull, 1588.

Bond, John, grammarian and commentator, 1550.

Boys, or Bois, John, translator of the Bible, Nettlestead, 1560.

Brocklesbury, Richard, eminent physician, Minehead, 1722.

Brooke, Sir David, Chief Baron of the Exchequer, Glastonbury.

Browne, Simon, learned dissenting minister, Shepton Mallet, about 1680.

Brydal, John, lawyer and antiquary, about 1683.

Buckland, Ralph, Popish divine of some note, West Harptre, about 1564.

Bull, George, Bishop of St. David's, Wells, 1634.

Bull, Dr. John, celebrated musician, about 1565.

Butler, John, benefactor, Martock.

Byam, Henry, D.D., loyalist and learned preacher, Dunster, 1580.

Castleman, Richard, benefactor to his native town of Bridgewater.

Champneis, Sir John, Lord Mayor of London in 1534, Chew.

Charleton, Walter, physician and voluminous writer, Shepton Mallet, 1619.

Chetwynd, John, Prebendary of Bristol, Banwell, 1623.

Collington, John, Jesuitical priest (living 1611).

Coriat, Thomas, fool to Prince Henry, Odcombe (died 1616).

Coventry, Sir John, the person who occasioned the Coventry Act.

Courcy, John, Baron of Stoke Courcy (died 1210).

Cudworth, Ralph, divine and philosopher, Aller, 1617.

Cuff, Henry, unfortunate wit and scholar, Hinton St. George, 1560.

Eminent Natives. 183

Dampier, William, celebrated circumnavigator, East Coker, 1652,

Daniel, Samuel, dramatic writer, historian, and eminent musician, Taunton, 1562.

Dunstan, St., Archbishop of Canterbury, Glastonbury, 925.

Dyer, Sir James, Chief Justice of Common Pleas, Roundhiil, 1512.

Edwards, Richard, dramatic writer, 1523.

Elphage, St., Archbishop of Canterbury, Weston (martyred ion).

Essebie, Alexander of, ancient English poet, flor. 1220.

Every, Sir Simon, celebrated loyalist, Chard.

Fen, John, Romish exile, writer, Montacute (died 1613).

Fielding, Henry, celebrated novel writer, Sharpham Park, 1707.

Fitz-James, Sir John, Chief Justice of the King's Bench, Redlinch (died 30 Henry VIII.).

Fitz-James, Richard, LL.D., Bishop of London, and an excellent scholar (died 1512).

Forde, Roger, Abbot of Glastonbury in 1235, Glastonbury (died 1261).

Frome, Nicholas de, fifty-fifth Abbot of Glastonbury, Frome (died

Fulwell, Ulpian, dramatic writer, 1556.

Gardiner, John, D.D., eminent divine, Wellington, 1757.

Gibbon, John, Romish exile writer (died 1589).

Gilbert, William, Prior of Brewton in 1498, Brewton.

Gildas the Wise, a learned writer, Bath (died 570).

Godwin, Dr. Thomas, learned writer, and an excellent school- master, 1586.

Good, William, author of " Ecclesise Anglicanae Trophae," Glaston- bury (died 1587).

Gournay, Sir Mathew, valiant soldier, temp. Edward III., Stoke- under-Hamden (died 1406).

Gray, Robert, benefactor, Taunton (died 1635).

Grove, Henry, dissenting divine, Taunton, 1683.

Hales, John, divine and critic, distinguished by the appellation of "The Ever Memorable," Bath, 1584.

Harrington, Dr. Henry, musical poet and physician, Kelston, 1727.

Harrington, Sir John, witty knight and poet, Kelston.

Hellier, Henry, learned divine, Dundry (flor. in 1687).

Hody, Humphrey, eminent divine, Odcombe, 1659.

Hood, Lord Viscount, Admiral of the Red, 1724.

Hooper, John, a linguist, Bishop of Gloucester, and martyr, 1495.

Hopton, Arthur, mathematician (died 1614).

Inge, Hugh, Archbishop of Dublin (died 1528).

Jeanes, Henry, presbyterian divine, Albersay, 1611.

Jennings, James, poetical writer, Huntspill, 1772.

Joceline, of Wells, Bishop of Wells, and builder of the Cathedral, Wells, 1242.

1 84 Somersetshire.

Latch, John, lawyer (died 1655).

Locke, John, the immortal philosopher, Pensford, 1632.

Lockyer, Nicholas, nonconformist, 1612.

Lovel, Christopher, said to have been cured cf the evil by applica- tion to the Pretender, Wells.

Malmsbury, William of, celebrated historian (died 1143).

Matthew, Tobias, Archbishop of York, 1546.

Miles, Richard, benefactor, Ashcot.

Mohun, Lady, wife of John, first Lord Mohun (died in the reign of Henry V.).

Musgrave, Dr. William, physician and antiquary, Charlton Mus- grave, 1657.

Parsons, Robert, celebrated Jesuit, Nether Stowey, 1546.

Plantagenet, Margaret, niece of Edward IV., Farley Castle (be- headed 1541).

Popham, Sir John, Chief Justice of England, Huntworth, 1531.

Portman, Sir John, Chief Justice of King's Bench, Portman Orchard.

Poulett, Sir Amias, privy counsellor to Queen Elizabeth, and keeper of Mary Queen of Scots, Hinton St. George (died 15 — ).

Preston, Sir Amias, naval hero, Cricket, near Crewkerne.

Prynne, William, distinguished lawyer, Swannick, 1600.

Robins, Benjamin, mathematician, Bath, 1707.

Rodney, Lord, celebrated admiral, about 1718.

Rosewell, Thomas, presbyterian divine, 1630.

Rowe, Elizabeth, poetess and accomplished lady, Ilchester, 1674.

Samford, Fulke of, Archbishop of Dublin, Samford (died 1271).

Samford, John of, brother of above, and Archbishop of Dublin at his brother's death (died 1294).

Samwaies, Richard, learned divine and loyalist, Ilminster (died 1669).

Sandford, John, eminent divine and author, Chard, sixteenth century.

Sheldon, G., Archbishop of Canterbury, Stanton Prior, 1598.

Shute, Henry, divine and benefactor, Kilmersdon.

Sidenham, Humphrey, commonly called " Silver-tongued Siden- ham," for his eloquent preaching, Dulverton (died 1650).

Slater, William, learned divine and poet, 1587.

Somerset, Maurice, Cistercian monk, flor. 1193, Ilchester.

Stoneaston, John, last prior of Keynsham, Stone Easton.

Tantone, Geffery de, a monk of Winchester, 1170, Taunton,

Tantone, Gilbert de, Prior of Winchester, 1249.

Tantone, Walter de, almoner of Glastonburj Abbey, 1274.

Tantone, William de, abbot of Glastonbury, 1322.

Venner, Tobias, physician, Petherton, 1577.

Miscellaneous Remarks.

Wadham, Nicholas, founder of Wadhaui College, Oxford (died 1609).

Walter, Sir Edward, historian and herald (died 1676).

Webb, Francis, poet, Taunton, 1735.

Wicke, John, pious divine and friend of Dr. Lardner, Taunton, 1718.

Witham, John de, Prior of Charterhouse, Witham, in 1539 (W. Witham).

Winter, Rev. Christopher, chaplain to East India Company, Stoke- under-Ham, 1789).

Wulfric, St., prophet and hermit, Compton (died 1154).

Young, Mr., benefactor, Trent.

[1823, Part I. , pp. 583-588.]

MISCELLANEOUS REMARKS.

On the north wall of the body of Ashill Church, under elliptic arches, are the crumbling remains of two very ancient tombs. One of them was designed to perpetuate the memory of a woman, who, according to a foolish tradition, had seven children at one birth. Round the mother are displayed the effigies of the seven children.

The father of the learned Ralph Cudworth was Rector of Aller, at which place our philosopher was born. Jn the parish church lies the effigies in armour of Sir Reginald de Botreaux, Knt., who died in 1420. In this parish the sacrament of baptism was administered to the whole Danish army when they embraced Christianity; King Alfred, who stood sponsor for the Danish Chief, gave him the name of Athelstan, and adopted him as his son.

Thomas Gordon, the celebrated translator of Tacitus, lived awhile at the court-house of Abbots Leigh, in the capacity of amanuensis to Mr. Trenchard, in conjunction with whom he published his " Cato."

Under the foundation of the Abbey House at Bath, taken down in 1775, was found the remains of very august Roman sudatories, constructed upon their elegant plans, with floors suspended upon square brick pillars. In 1727 a head of Apollo and a hypocaust were discovered. The Cross Bath received its appellation from a cross erected in its centre by the Earl of Melfort in the time of James II., which is now removed. In the Free School were educated, amongst many other celebrated characters, Sir Sidney Smith, the Hero of St. John d'Acre ; the Rev. Daniel Lysons, M.A., Rector of Rodmarton ; and the late Samuel Lysons, Esq., Keeper of his Majesty's Records in the Tower.

At Bathford, in digging a cellar, was discovered in the seventeeth century a Roman pavement, and likewise a hypocaust, and two Roman altars.

1 8 6 Somersetsh ire.

The sides of the Cheddar Rocks in many places are 130 yards high, and there is a subterranean passage to VVookey Hole, six miles distant, through which flows a stream of water.

On the south wall in the chancel of Bathwick Church is a plain black stone, with this inscription :

" Here lies the body of Mr. John Mackinnon, of the Isle of Skye, an honest man. N.B. — This Mackinnon was with the Pretender in the battle of Culloden, and the very man who carried him off. After his escape, by wandering about and lying in woods and bogs, he lost the use of all his limbs ; and some years after came to Bath for the benefit of the waters, and dyed there."

The brave and successful Admiral Blake was educated at the Free Grammar School at Bridgewater.

In South Brent Church are some old benches exhibiting a variety of curious grotesque carvings. One is a fox hanged by geese, with two young ones yelping at the bottom. The second a monkey at prayers, having below another of his own species, holding a halberd, and an owl perched on a branch over his head. A third represents a fox, habited as a canon, with a crosier in his hand, and a mitre on his head ; above appears the figure of a young fox chained, with a bag of money in his right paw. He is surrounded by geese, cranes and other fowls, chattering at him. Below is another young fox, turning a boar on a spit, and on the right a monkey, with a pair of bellows, puffing the fire.

In the churchyard of Brimpton D'Evercy are several stone effigies, which formerly lay in the church. One of them represents a Knight Templar, cross-legged ; another a nun ; a third a monk in his cope with his crown shaved, and holding a chalice in his hand.

At Brislington is an old tombstone, whereon is this inscription : " 1542. Thomas Newman, aged 153. This stone was new faced in the year I77!» to perpetuate the great age of the deceased."

Collinson says : " The original numerals on this tomb were simply 53, but some arch wag, by prefixing the figure i, made the person here interred one year older than the celebrated Thomas Parr, who died in 1625 at the age of 152.

At the Free Grammar School of Bruton was educated Hugh Saxey, Auditor to Queen Elizabeth and King James I.

At Burton Pinsent, the seat of the Earl of Chatham, is a fine old painting of our Saviour when taken down from the cross.

In North Cadbury Church is a curious epitaph to the memory of Lady Magdalen Hastings. This epitaph, which is on brass, has, besides the necessary memoranda in prose, no fewer than ninety-six lines of poetry, divided into stanzas of six lines each. This elaborate effusion informs us that the lady was a very good virgin :

"When choice of friends brought her to marriage bed," much against her will, as her

" Youth were tyde to age fare spent."

Miscellaneous Remarks. 187

Her first lord dying,

*' Her ears she stopt from all disswader's voice,"

and took to herself a husband more congenial to her taste than the first, though it should seem

"Of meaner state than herself."

With this husband she lived twenty-nine years, and devoted herself to works of piety and benevolence. The epitaph then goes on to state her last sickness, and how that she employed three preachers, who " by turns " assisted her in her devotions till she died, on June 14, 1596. Leland, speaking of the castle, bursts out in the following strain of rapture, seldom allowed to the feelings of an antiquary : " Good God ! what vast ditches ! what high ramparts ! what precipices are here ! In short, it really appears to me to be a wonder of nature and art !"

In Camerton Church are several monuments to the memory of the Carew family, with the effigies of Sir John Carew and his lady, etc. The churchyard is one of the prettiest in the kingdom, rendered so by the proprietor of the neighbouring mansion. The tombs are almost hid by laurels, arborvitses and roses; the walls are mantled over with ivy and pyracanthas.

Charterhouse Witham Priory was the first house of the order of Carthusians founded in this kingdom.

Richard Nikke, LL.D., Bishop of Norwich, was Rector of Chedzoy in 1489 ; Walter Raleigh, S.T.P., in 1620, murdered by the rebels in 1646, and the learned Anthony Pascal, were also rectors of this parish.

Chew gave birth to Sir John Champneis, Lord Mayor of London, who stands recorded for being the first person who ever built a turret to a private house in London.

In Chew Magna Church lie the effigies of Sir John St. Loe and his lady. He is of a gigantic size, being 7 feet 4 inches long, and 2 feet 4 inches across the shoulders, etc. In the south aisle are the effigies of Sir John de Hautvil in armour, cut out of one solid piece of Irish oak.

In Chewton Mendip Church is an old tombstone 8 feet long and 3j high, whereon are the effigies of William Lord Bonville in armour, and Elizabeth his wife.

Claverton deserves celebrity from the living having been the rectory of the late excellent and ingenious Richard Greaves, M.A.

Coombe Down is the place where the greatest quantity of free- stone comes from ; the land is undermined for miles, and persons are allowed to go down to see the works, but that is very unpleasant on account of the damp and continual dripping from the top.

In Crowcombe Church lie several of the ancient house of Carew, descended from Nesta, daughter of Rees, Prince of South Wales.

1 88 Somersetshire.

At Dishcove, a romantic hamlet in the parish of Bruton, in 1711, were found the remains of a Roman tessellated pavement.

At Ditcheat was born, in 1765, a stout boy without arms or shoulders. He was named William, and in 1791 was living without the usual appendages of arms, but possessing all the strength, power and dexterity of the ablest man, and exercising every function of life; he fed, dressed, undressed, combed his hair, shaved his beard with the razor in his toes, cleaned his shoes, lighted his fire, wrote out his own bills and accounts, and did almost every other domestic busi- ness ; being a farmer by occupation, he performed the usual business of the field, foddered his cattle, made his ricks, cut his hay, caught his horse, and saddled and bridled him with his feet and toes ! etc. (Collinson).

Dundon and Dunkerry Mountains appear to have been used as beacons to alarm the country in cases of invasion, etc., several fire hearths being observable at them.

Enmore Castle forms a quadrangle 86 feet long by 78 broad, and is surrounded by a dry ditch 16 feet deep and 40 wide. It is in the Antico-modern style, and was built by John, Earl of Egmont, who designed and planned the whole with his own hand. The drawbridge is curious : it is 13 feet long and 10 broad, weighs 4,900 pounds, and is manageable by one man, who can raise or lower it at pleasure.

Farley Chapel contains some very rare curiosities. Under its arch stands an old table tomb, highly sculptured on the sides and ends with coats of arms, knights, and a woman, in niches ; the full-sized representations of a knight and his lady are recumbent upon the top, the former cased in armour, with a lion at his feet, the latter in the dress- of the times ; the effigies of Sir Thomas Hungerford, who died December 3, 1508, and Johanna his wife, who followed him in 1512

Adjoining to the east end of Frome Church is a burial-place where lies the body of Bishop Kennet, who died in 1711. The noted author of the work on Witchcraft, Mr. Joseph Glanville, was some time Vicar of the New Church.

At Glastonbury, according to a ridiculous story related in the "Golden Legend," printed by Caxton in 1493, St. Dunstan took the devil by the nose with a pair of red-hot tongs. The abbot lived in all the state of regal splendour, with an income of ,£40,000 per annum; he had the title of Lord, and sat among the barons in Parliament. The last abbot, refusing to surrender his abbey to Henry VIIL, was with two monks drawn on a hurdle to the Torr near the town, and there hanged ; the head of the abbot was set on the gate of the abbey, and his quarters were sent to Bath, Wells, Bridgewater, and Ilchester. In the abbey churchyard stood a miraculous walnut-tree, which never budded till the feast of St. Barnabas (June n), and on that day shot forth leaves, and flourished in the usual manner; in its stead now stands a fine walnut-tree of

Miscellaneous Remarks. 189

the common sort. The George inn was anciently a hospital for the accommodation of pilgrims resorting to the shrine of St. Joseph. The front is curiously ornamented with carved work, and was formerly decorated with twelve figures, said to be the Caesars, two of which, with the mutilated figure of Charity, are still to be seen. The virtue of the mineral spring near the Chain Gate was found out in April, 1751, by a man afflicted with an asthma, who dreamed that he saw near the Chain Gate, in the horse-track, the clearest of water, and that a person told him if he drank a glass of water fasting seven Sunday mornings, he should be cured, which proving true, and being attested upon oath, in the following month upwards of 10,000 came from Bath, Bristol, etc., to receive its benefits. South-west of the town is Wearyall Hill, so called from a tradition that St. Joseph and his companions, weary with their journey, sat down here, and that St. Joseph stuck his staff, a hawthorn stick, in the earth ; it struck root, and constantly budded on Christmas Day. This famous thorn had two trunks, one of which was destroyed in the reign of Elizabeth, and in the great rebellion the other was cut down ; but there are still trees originally obtained from the old stock. Near the town are found several petrifactions resembling snakes, eels, oysters, shells, etc.

In Goathurst Church is a very handsome white marble monument in the shape of an altar, and terminated by a statue in a canonical habit. It was erected in 1742 by Sir C. K. Tynte, in honour of his brother the Rev. Sir J. Tynte, Bart , who died Rector of this church. In the churchyard is an old tomb, having upon it a square pillar of peculiar appearance, ornamented with emblematical carvings, and surrounded by a flaming urn.

Halsewell House, the seat of Mr. Tynte, contains many excellent paintings of Vandyke, Lely, and others.

At Hinton Charterhouse, the seat of Sam. J. Day, Esq., are many excellent pictures, particularly two three-quarter lengths of Henry VIII. and Edward VI. by Holbein; Mary Queen of Scots, in a richly-worked dress, by Zuchero ; the Lord Keeper Guildford, and Lord Strafford and his Secretary, by Vandyke ; Archbishop Robin- son, by Sir Joshua Reynolds ; and Chas. Jas. Fox, by Abbot ; beside some good family pictures by Woodford and others.

The celebrated Richard Brinsley Sheridan was returned a Member for Ilchester in the year 1807.

In Ilminster Church is a monument erected in the beginning of the seventeenth century to the memory of Nicholas Wadham and Dorothy, his wife, the founders of Wadham College, Oxford.

On the tower at Kilmington, erected by Henry Hoare, Esq., is the following inscription :

"Alfred the Great, A.D. 879, on this summit erected his standard against Danish invaders. To him we owe the origin of Juries, and the creation of a naval force. Alfred, the light of the benighted age, was a Philosopher and a Christian ; the father of his people, and the founder of the English monarchy and liberties."

i go Somersetshire.

At King's Weston was buried a person of the name of Newman, aged 132. In the chancel of the church is deposited a chair belonging to Glastonbury Abbey. It is of oak, the back divided into two compartments, embellished with Gothic carvings in relief ; on one side a shield bearing a crosier, with the initials R. W. [Richard Whiting, last Abbot of Glastonbury Abbey], and on the other side a shield charged with a cross botone between two leopards' heads in chief, and in base two cinquefoils. This chair was pur- chased by the late Mr. Dickinson of Mr. More, of Greinton, and deposited here as a relic of monastic antiquity.

On Lansdown Downs the Bath races are held. Here is likewise a monument erected to commemorate the battle in 1645, when Sir Beville Granville fell ; it was erected in 1720 by Lord George Lans- down, grandson of Sir B. Granville, and is inscribed : "To the memory of his renowned and valiant Cornish friends who conquered dying in the Royal cause."

The parish of Lymington was the rectory of the famous Cardinal Wolsey. There is an anecdote of him that soon after his preferment to this living he was put into the stocks by Sir Amias Pawlet, a neighbouring justice of the peace, for getting drunk and making a riot at a fair — a kind of discipline which Wolsey did not forget when he arrived at the high station of Lord Chancellor of England ; he summoned his corrector up to London, and after a severe reprimand, enjoined him six years' close confinement in the Temple.

Martock Church formerly contained some excellent paintings on glass. It has a superb altarpiece. In the centre of the town stands the market-place, and near it a handsome fluted column with a dial, being a model of the celebrated pillar of Trajan at Wilton House, the seat of the Earl of Pembroke.

Mendip Hills were anciently called " Moinedrop," having many knots upon them of steep ascent. On the highest part is a considerable flat containing some swamps, which often prove dangerous to travellers. They are now covered for a vast extent with heath and fern, and large flocks of sheep are kept upon them.

In Middlezoy Church is a brass to the memory of " Louis Chevalier de Misiers, a French gentleman, who behaved himself with great courage and gallantry 18 years in the English service, and was unfortu- nately slaine on the 6th of July, 1685, at the battle of Weston, where he behaved himself with all the courage imaginable against the King's enemies commanded by the rebel Duke of Munmuth."

Minehead is reckoned the safest harbour in the county ; for in the great storm of 1703, when the ships were blown on shore, wrecked and lost in every other harbour in the county, they suffered little or no damage in this.

In Nunney Church are the tombs of the De la Mere family, adorned with escutcheons on the side and end.

Miscellaneous Remarks. 191

In Paulton Church lie the mutilated effigies of Sir John Palton, Knt., who was engaged in the wars of Edward III.

South Petherton Church was the vicarage of Dr. James Harcourt, a great benefactor.

Prior Park, a magnificent mansion (which, together with the wings, offices, etc., forms a front of above 1,000 feet), was formerly the residence of Ralph Allen, Esq., who kept open house for men of known genius, and was particularly fond of Pope. He was also the Allworthy of Fielding's " Tom Jones." It was afterwards possessed by Bishop Warburton, in consequence of his marriage with Mr. Allen's niece, and after several changes it got into Chancery, became the seat of Lord Hawarden, and is now possessed by Mr. John Thomas.

The mineral spring at Queen's Camel is very cold to the touch and offensive to the smell, being not much unlike burnt gunpowder mixed with water.

At the irruption of the Severn in 1607 it was observed that creatures of contrary natures— dogs, hares, foxes, conies, cats and mice — getting up to the tops of some hills, dispensed at that time with their antipathies, remaining peaceably together, without sign of fear or violence one towards another (Fuller).

Somerton was formerly a considerable town, and gave name to the county. In the castle King John of France was kept prisoner, after his removal from Hertford.

In the south aisle of Stoke Courcy Church is a large handsome mural monument of various kinds of marble, to the memory of Sir T. Wroth, Bart., of Petherton Park, M.P. for Bridgewater, Wells and the county. He maintained the ancient spirit of English hospitality, and .died 1721.

In Stoke Gifford Church are several monuments of the family of the " right worthy" Rodneys.

In Suckham Church was buried the learned divine and loyalist, Dr. Byam, who raised both men and horse for Charles II., and engaged his five sons (four of whom were captains) in the service of his Majesty.

In St. Magdalen Church, Taunton, is a handsome monument erected to a benefactor of this town, Robert Gray, Esq., whose effigy thereon represents him in his sheriff's robes.

In Trent Church is a very curious arch, the bend of which is painted over with laurel branches and leaves, among which are forty armorial shields, representing the alliances of the families of Coker and Gerard.

At Warley, the seat of Mr. Skrine, was found the capital of a Roman pillar of very curious workmanship.

At Wedmore, in 1670, were found, in sinking a well at the depth of 13 feet, the remains of one of the Cangick giants, a people

1 9 2 Somersetshire.

supposed to have formerly inhabited these parts. The top of the skull was said to be an inch thick, and one of his teeth 3 inches long above the roots, 3^ inches round, and after the root was broken off weighed 3 \ ounces !

At Wdlow, in 1737, were found some tessellated pavements. They were in a fallow field called the Hayes, near the village.

Wells Abbey is a spacious Gothic structure in the form of a cross, being 380 feet long and 130 wide. The entire west front is a pile of statues of most excellent carved stone work, and one of the principal windows contains some beautiful paintings on glass. In this abbey is a curious clock, the work of a monk of Glastonbury. It has an astronomical dial, surmounted by a barrier of small figures on horse- back, representing knights at tilts and tournaments, which, by a movement of the machinery, are ludicrously hurried round in rapid circumvolutions. The episcopal palace is reckoned the handsomest in the kingdom, yet small ; and the moat gate of the palace still remains. The pious Bishop Ken and. his lady were killed here in their bed by the palace falling in during the great storm in 1703. The name of this city is said to be taken from a remarkable spring called St. Andrew's well, which rises near the palace, and, emitting a copious stream, surrounds that structure, thence flowing through the south-west part of the town. Near the site of the market cross stands the public conduit (an engraving of which is in the Gentleman's Magazine, 1813, pt. i., p. 624). In 1613 Anne, consort of King James L, visited Wells.

The entrance to Wookey Hole is very narrow ; after a length of 15 feet it expands into a cavern resembling the body of a church, the parts of which are very craggy and abound with pendent rocks, from which there is a continual dripping of water, the bottom is extremely rough and slippery, with irregular basins of water. From this cavern there is a passage leading into another of similar dimensions and appearance, from which another long and low passage leads to a third vault covered with an arched roof; on one side of this is a sandy bottom about 20 feet broad, and on the other side a stream of water very clear and cold, about 10 feet wide and 2 or 3 deep. After passing through the rock the stream descends 40 or 50 feet to a level with the ground, driving a mill near the foot of the mountain and forming the first source of the river Axe. Wookey was the vicarage of that "great refiner of the English language," Alexander de Berkley.

In Yatton Church are several ancient monuments, with effigies of the persons interred beneath, one of which is intended to represent Judge Newton and his lady, with the arms of Newton and Sherborne.

S. T.

Tour into the Lower Parts of Somersetshire. 193

Tour into the Lower Parts of Somersetshire.

[1791, Part I., pp. 229 231.]

I do not know when I have received greater pleasure than in a tour made with a friend into the lower parts of Somersetshire, and shall therefore present you with a few remarks on some particular spots we have seen. We did not take the direct great road, but crossed off at Keynsham, a little town seven miles from Bath, and the great thoroughfare between that place and Bristol. Here was formerly an abbey, granted by Edward VI. to one of the Brydges family, on the site whereof a descendant of his erected a sumptuous mansion, but now taken down. The Duchess of Chandos has large property here. Travelling on about four miles, we reached Hound- street, where is a magnificent house, built by Mrs. Popham, widow of Edward P., Esq., of Littlecot, formerly M.P. for Wilts. The apartments are handsome, and highly decorated, and the view from the front windows takes in a large extent of country. About eight miles further is Wrington, the birthplace of the great Mr. Locke, and situate in a charming valley. The late rector was Dr. Waterland ; the present is the Rev. Mr. Reeves, a gentleman who unites to learning an agreeable refinement, is married to an amiable lady, daughter of the late Dr. Wathen, and, with their father and mother, live in the most pleasant state of rural happiness. Being fond of music and performers themselves, little concerts are held at their house, to which the neighbouring gentry are constantly invited. Miss Hannah More, a lady well known for her elegant poems, has furnished a cottage in the prettiest style near this place, to which she has given the name of Cowslip Hall. Mendip now begins to rear its lofty head, at the foot of which is Langford Court, the property of the Rev. Mr. Whaley, then rented by General Gunning,* whose beautiful daughter is in possession of those graces for which her aunts, the late Duchess of Argyle and Lady Coventry, were so justly famed. Ascending the heights, a delightful prospect opens to the view, the Bristol Channel, with the mountains in Wales in the background ; on the other, the rich vale of Taunton and Quantock Hills. Such a scene riveted our thoughts for some time, till the lowering clouds foretold a storm, and we had scarcely attained the famous cliffs of Cheddar before the most furious tempest commenced which imagina- tion can describe. We had no resource but sitting quietly on our steeds, under the canopy of an immense rock, till the rain dispersed. These cliffs in some degree resemble Matlock, are well worth seeing, but inferior in point of altitude. In the village and environs is made the famous cheese, so well known in the West of England,

* Mr. Bosanquet is the present occupier, who married the daughter of Christopher Anstey, Esq.

VOL. XXII. 13

1 94 Somersetshire.

and of which great quantities are sent to London. It has a good taste, but falls short of Stilton and the Double Gloucester.

Having recruited ourselves, we pushed on for Bridgewater, a large town which has sustained several sieges. It was first garrisoned by the Parliamentary army, but reduced by the King's forces, and after that surrendered to Cromwell. The Duke of Monmouth came hither in 1685, but was defeated, when a dreadful carnage ensued, which can be equalled by none but those inhuman monsters Jeffreys and Kirk.

Lord Egmont hath a seat, called En more Castle, about three miles from Bridgewater. The drawbridge is curious: it is 13 feet in length, and 10 in breadth, weighs 4,900 pounds, and is manage- able by one man, who can raise or lower it at pleasure. Haleswell, belonging to Lady Tynte, is likewise a handsome edifice, and is not far from Enmore. It is situated on the brow of a hill, and finely placed in the middle of an extensive park. The prospects from the different grounds command the channel, which is ten miles over, the flat and steep Holmes, and, beyond, the mountains of Glamorgan and Brecknock, rising one above the other. . . .

Colonel Bampfylde's, at Hestercombe, is the next place worthy of notice ; his house is an excellent one, and may be truly called the seat of old English hospitality. This gentleman has to boast what few men of fortune arrive at, a thorough knowledge of painting. The house is chiefly furnished with his own performances. His copy from Vandyke of King Charles on horseback is charmingly executed. The drawing-room is elegantly furnished, and we re- marked some birds in needlework of Mrs. B.'s very curious. Mr. Bampfylde has shown as great taste without as within, for in his gardens are displayed all that elegance for which a Brown hath been so much and deservedly admired. One of the winding paths leads to an hermitage, or witch-house, from the figure of an old hag painted ; and Dr. Langhorne wrote the following lines on it :

" O'er Bampfylde's woods, by various Nature grac'd, A witch presides, but then that witch is Taste."

Having quitted this elysium, we soon found ourselves in Taunton, from whence it is about two miles, where we spent the remainder of the day, and the next morning proceeded homeward, intending to take Stourhead, Fonthill and Wardour, in our way. After traversing a rich and fertile country, we arrived at Redlynch, a scat of the Earl of Ilchester. . . . The grandfather of this nobleman was Sir Stephen Fox, who followed the fortunes of Charles II., and was with him in exile during his stay at Cologne and Paris. He was born at Farley, near Salisbury, where he built a church and endowed an almshouse, and was a considerable benefactor to his native county. He died at a very advanced age.

About seven miles from Redlynch is Stourhead. After looking

Tour into the Lower Parts of Somersetshire. 195

over the house, which is more habitable than the generality of those kind are, we mounted our horses, and soon gained the summit of that hill on which is placed Alfred's Tower, 155 feet in height, and, although we had feasted on the most delicious prospects, we could not help thinking this surpassed them all. Over the door of the building is written in large characters :

" In memory of ALFRED THE GREAT, who on this summit erected his standard against Danish invaders. He instituted juries, established a militia, created and exerted a naval force. A Philosopher and a Christian, the Father of his People, the Founder of English Monarchy and Liberty."

We took a view of the church, where there is a monument to his memory. . . .

Upon descending the hill, which is everywhere planted with laurel and the sweetest shrubs, we arrived at the convent, and from thence made a tour of the gardens, where, in a grotto near a gurgling rill, is placed a square piece of marble, on which is inscribed this verse from Pope :

" Nymph of the Grot, these sacred springs I keep, And to the murmur of the waters sleep. Ah, spare my slumbers, gently tread the cave, Or drink in silence, or in silence lave."

Having gratified ourselves with a sight of the gardens, every part of which was planted under the eye of the late Henry Hoare, Esq., we now rode gently on to Fonthill, the seat of Mr. Beckford. Having refreshed ourselves at Hindon, a famous electioneering town, we prepared for seeing the house, to which you arrive through a spacious portico. This palace, for such it may be called, was built by the late William Beckford, Esq., Alderman of London, on the ruins of another equally splendid, but destroyed by fire in the year 1755. It is reported that when the news was brought to him of the accident, he took out his pocket-book, and, being asked the reason, answered coolly, he was reckoning how much it would cost him to rebuild it. The house is in every respect grand, and Cassali has con- tributed much to its embellishment by his numerous pictures. The plantations around are well disposed, and the noble sheet of water adds much to its grandeur.

About five miles from Fonthill is Wardour, the magnificent seat of Lord Arundel. On arriving, we were struck with the beautiful amphitheatre of woods which overhang the ancient castle \ it is now a perfect ruin, and a fine object from the house. In this castle Lady Arundel exerted great prowess against a formidable attack made by Ludlow, one of the Parliamentary generals, during the Civil Wars ; and, after holding out a fortnight, finding her provisions exhausted, was obliged to capitulate. The present mansion was built by Mr. Paine, and is a splendid structure. It abounds with capital pictures from the first masters, collected by his lordship in Italy. There is one of

13—2

196 Somersetshire.

our Saviour taken down from the cross, painted by Joseph Ribera, commonly called Spagnioletto, which is very fine. We now took our leave, well pleased with everything we had seen in this agreeable and pleasant excursion. JOHN ELDERTON.

Somersetshire Churches.

[1819, Part I., pp. 611, 612.]

In Warton's observations on the "Faerie Queene"of Spenser* is a short dissertation on the ancient architecture of this kingdom, in which the learned annotator states that most of the churches in Somersetshire are built in the style which he calls Florid Gothic. He assigns for the reason that Somersetshire, in the civil wars between York and Lancaster, was strongly and entirely attached to the Lancastrian party, and that in reward for this service Henry VII., when he came to the crown, rebuilt their churches. The facts men- tioned by Warton are, I believe, correct. Edmund, Duke of Somer- set, who espoused the cause of King Henry VI., and was his greatest supporter, fell in the first battle at St. Albans, 1455. Henry, the Duke's son, who succeeded him in the title, was taken prisoner in the battle at Hexham, 1463, and afterwards beheaded by King Edward IV. in cold blood. Edmund, the brother of Henry, and the last of this family, was the chief commander at the battle of Tewkesbury, and after .the defeat of his army, took sanctuary in the abbey there, from which he was violently taken out, and arraigned before the Duke of Gloucester, and immediately suffered upon a scaffold erected in the Tower. As Margaret, Countess of Richmond, the mother of King Henry VII., was the niece of Edmund, Duke of Somerset, and as that family had suffered so much in support of the Lancastrian cause, it was very natural for the King, on his accession to the crown, to show his gratitude to the inhabitants of Somerset- shire by rebuilding their churches. There are evident indications that Warton was correct in his statement, though he cites no authority. The roses are profusely scattered on the cornices and fasciae of the towers and porches. In the very beautiful west front of the church of Crewkerne there is a figure of the King holding a scroll on the right or north side of the doorway, and a figure of the Prior of Caen, who held the impropriate rectory in right of his con- vent, on the left or south side. Between the figures are two magni- ficent roses. These also are conspicuous in other parts of the church, and, as there is a very striking resemblance in the style of building of the greater part of the Somersetshire churches, I have no doubt that they were erected at the same period. The tower of Beminster, on the confines of Somerset, was certainly built in the reign of Henry VIL, as in 1503 a legacy was given towards its building.

* Vol. ii., pp. 184-198.

Somersetshire Churches. 197

Besides, it exhibits the roses in great profusion in the hands or fasciae which go round it. I shall feel myself obliged to any of your correspondents who can point out any record, or other authority, which authenticates the fact of the King's erection of these buildings.

J. B. R.

P.S. — I would observe, by way of postscript, that perhaps no county in England possesses such fine stone quarries as the county of Somerset, and they are found in various parts thereof, viz., in the neighbourhood of Bath, at Doulting, near Shepton Mallett, which supplied the greater part of the stone for Wells Cathedral and the Monastery of Glastonbury ; and on Hambdon Hill, near Yeovil. The latter stone is remarkable for its durability. The numerous statues which adorn the west front of Wells Cathedral, the richest of the kind in England, seem to be of the Bath stone ; but I am sorry to observe that the frost has done more injury than the rude hand of man.

[1864, Part L, p. 225.]

When first I began to notice the churches of Somersetshire I used to fancy (as no doubt many persons do) that there was nothing in it but long, low, Perpendicular churches with lofty western towers. But on closer examination I found that the ordinary type of church which preceded the present overwhelming type was a cross church with central octagon. My list of such is very imperfect, but such as it is I give it :

Doulting. — Early English ; cornice, battlements, and spire Perpen- dicular.

Stoke St. Gregory. — Early Decorated, with an additional Perpen- dicular belfry.

North Curry. — Late Decorated, a fine example.

South Petherton.

Barrington.

These two last I have not visited, and cannot therefore be certain of their dates.

Bishop's Hull has an octagonal tower, if I remember rightly, of Perpendicular work at the west end.

I should be thankful for any additions to this list. WM. GREY.

Mediaeval Houses near Clevedon.

[1861, Par//.,/)/. 489-497.]

Clevedon Court is a house of the time of Edward II. , or the first half of the fourteenth century, much altered and added to, and witji parts rebuilt, but of which the main walls remain, and the original plan may still be traced. This may be said roughly to be the common plan of the Roman capital letter H, the hall making the cross stroke,

198 Somerset sk ire.

but a very thick one ; at any rate, it forms the central division of the house, with the rooms for the family at the upper end, and the offices for the servants at the lower, according to the usual arrangement.

The entrance is through a porch, which possesses the two original doorways with Decorated mouldings, and in the jambs of the outer arch are the grooves for the portcullis ; over this porch is a small room, in which was the windlass for raising and lowering the port- cullis, and in the angle is a winding or newel staircase leading to this room, and to the music-gallery over the screens or servants' passage. At the further end of this passage, or at the back of the house, is another porch, F, also with a portcullis grove, a room over it for the windlass, and a newel staircase. Three doorway?, with Decorated dripstone mouldings, open as usual from the screens to the buttery, the pantry, and the central passage leading to the kitchen, v, hich must always have been external in a detached building, and not part of the house, and probably on the same site as the present one ; although it has been rebuilt in the Elizabethan period, it is placed diagonally to the main building, leaving a small triangular court, which effectually prevented the smell of the cooking from entering the house. The offices which touch upon this court are the servants' hall, G, which seems to be part of the original building, though much altered. H the bakehouse, and I, the scullery, have also been much altered, but have old work in parts ; K is a touer divided into several stories, now occupied as servants' bedrooms ; it is a very plain building, with small square-headed windows, and has very much the appearance of being part of the work of the fourteenth century, although if so, it is a very unusual feature of that period.

The great hall is much modernized ; the windows and fireplace and wainscoting are all modern, that is, not mediaeval, but not very recent. The walls are original, with the two gable ends and a chimney on each, and in each gable are windows showing that the buildings attached to the hall at each end were originally much lower than the hall. There is a peculiarity in the chimneys — the flue of each is not carried down any lower than the head of the window under it, and was originally open to the hall, so that it would appear that the smoke from the fire on the hearth or reredos in the centre of the hall was allowed to circulate freely among the open timbers of the hall and escape at the two extremities without any central louvre ; or these chimneys may have been an extra precaution in addition to the louvre. The present roof is modern and ceiled, and as no ancient view of the house is extant showing a smoke louvre, we have no evidence whether there was one or not ; it is quite possible that this arrangement of short chimneys open below to the hall may be an earlier one than the smoke louvre in the centre of the hall. The da'is has disappeared, but the position of it is obvious enough. At one end in the front of the house, where at a later period the bay-window would be, is a

Mediaval Houses near Clevedon. 199

small square room or closet, forming the basement of a tower, corresponding to the porch at the lower end of the hall. Over this closet is another small room, with a rich Decorated window with reticulated tracery in the front, and at the back a small window of the same period opening into the hall ; this was probably the lady's bower or private chamber ; the only access to it was by a newel staircase from the small room below, and so from the hall ; the present entrance from the adjoining chamber has been cut through the old thick wall. At the opposite end of the dais, and consequently at the back of the house, was the ancient cellar, E, under a modern staircase, and by the side of it the garderobe turret, D, with a newel staircase in the corner, now destroyed; behind the dais is a large room, probably the parlour, and over it the solar, or lord's chamber. This wing has been much altered in the Elizabethan period, but the buttress at the external corner is Decorated work, and shows that these rooms are partly original. The room at the back of this, marked C, belongs to the Elizabethan period, and has been at some period turned into a kitchen. The west end of the house, beyond this, comprising the present dining-room and drawing-room, is partly modern, with bay-windows thrown out, in the style of the Strawberry Hill Gothic ; but the walls and the end window in the front belong t> the Elizabethan work, built by Wake, and the back wall extending from C to the west end has had an arch pierced through it to extend the dining-room.

The dotted lines on the plan connecting E and F represent a modern wall, and the straight line at the back with the steps shows the trench cut out of the slope of the hill at the back of the house. The remains of fortifications are very slight, and there is no appearance of any moat; indeed, the situation on the slope of the hill hardly admits of one, and the house could never have been intended to stand a siege.

Tickenham Court is a manor house, probably of the time of Henry IV., or the beginning of the fifteenth century, and without any appearance of having been fortified, though it was no doubt enclosed by an outer wall. The hall is nearly perfect, and stands at a right angle to the other part of the house, so that we have two sides of the quadrangle only remaining. The hall windows are each of two lights, with flowing tracery resembling the Decorated style of the previous century, but the arch mouldings are of the Perpendicular style ; the outer arch is pointed, the inner arch, or rear-arch as it is called, is segmental. The roof is perfect, of plain open timber of simple construction, the principals arched to the collars, with good panelled stone corbels. At the lower end are the usual three door- ways to the kitchen and offices, now destroyed, which probably occupied another wing, making a third side to the court ; at the upper end of the hall is the arch of the bay-window, now destroyed. The

2 oo Somersetsh ire.

remaining wing of the house is divided into two stories, with square- headed windows of the same period ; and at the back of this wing are two turrets, one octagonal, for the staircase, the other square, for the garderobes.

Clapton-in-Gordano. This manor house must once have been of considerable importance, and although but little now remains, that little is highly interesting. The interior of the present house (which is only a portion of the original one) has been thoroughly modernized, the last remnants of antiquity having been cleared out in 1860, the old partition walls destroyed, and the very curious early screen fairly turned out of doors. The original parts of the house are of the time of Edward II., but the only portions now remaining visible of that period are the doorway under the porch and the buttresses ; but a considerable part of the walls belong to the same work, and the very beautiful screen (which has now been built up under a stone arch in the open air) as the entrance to the garden, opposite to the entrance door. Fortunately, Mr. Godwin has preserved a plan of the house as it was before the late alteration, and has published it in the Archao logical Journal for June, 1860, with the illustrations here repeated, for which we are indebted to him. I can see no reason to consider this wooden screen as any earlier than the arch in which it stood, or the doorway, although Mr. Godwin puts it u century earlier ; the tracery in the head appears to belong to ihe original work, and no such tracery was in use in the early part of the thirteenth century, nor before the time of Edward I. or II. Still, it is probably the earliest and most remarkable domestic screen in existence. The tower porch was added in 1442, as appears from the arms over the door, Arthur and Berkeley impaled. The chancel of the church and the family chapel on the north side of it were rebuilt at the same time as this tower. It very commonly happens that some part of the church is rebuilt at the same time as a manor house. The gate-house is of the time of James I.

The Rectory-house at Congresbury has a very remarkable porch, the arch of which is richly ornamented with an imitation of the well- known tooth-ornament of the thirteenth century, but really built about 1470 by the executors of Bishop Beckington, the arms over the doorway cut in the original stonework being those of the see of Wells and of the executors, Pope, Sugar, and Swann, the same as in the Vicar's close at Wells, so that this house was built about the same time with that work.

It is remarkable that in the chapel of the Vicar's close some frag- ments of Early English sculpture of the time of Bishop Joceline are built in as old material in the spandrels of the window arches. This would lead us to suspect that the tooth-ornament here also is old material used again, as often happens ; but in this instance it does not appear to be the case ; it seems to be clearly copied, although

Mediceval Houses near Clevedon. 201

such an example is almost unique ; probably those executors had a taste for the earlier style, and introduced it when they could.

At Yatton the manor house is so exactly on the same plan as Clevedon that there can be no doubt it is a copy of it, on a much smaller scale, and at a later period ; the style is Perpendicular, but early in the style, probably about the same age as Twickenham Court, circa 1410.

[1861, Par/ //.,/. 547.]

In an interesting paper on the mediaeval houses of Clevedon and its neighbourhood that appeared in a recent number of the Gentle- man s Magazine* you state the shields of arms that decorate the porch of Congresbury Rectory are not those borne by the executors of Bishop Beckington. They are, however :

1. The shields of that distinguished prelate — Argent on a fess azure, a mitre displayed or ; in chief, three bucks' heads caboshed gules, attired of the third ; in base, three pheons' heads sable.

2. Of Bishop Stillington — Quarterly, first and fourth, argent, three blackamoors' heads proper ; second and third, gules, on a fess between three leopards' heads argent, three fleur-de-lys sable.

3. Of the diocese — Azure, a saltire quarterly quartered, or and argent.

And 4, also of the united see of Bath and Wells — Azure, a saltire per saltire, quarterly quartered, or and argent ; on the dexter side of the saltire two keys endorsed, the upper or, the lower argent ; and on the sinister side a sword or, charged with a crozier erect or. C.

Ashington.

[1820, Part //.,/. 17.]

The parish of Ashington, in the county of Somerset, is situated at nearly equal distances (about four miles) from the towns of Yeovil and Ilchester, in a finely-wooded and fertile country, rising gently from the river Yeo, which bounds it on the east and north ; and, looking over a rich and extensive vale, at unequal distances, is ter- minated by a bold and beautiful range of hills from the south-east to the north-west.

The manor was one of the many which William the Conqueror bestowed upon Roger de Curcelle ; it is written in Domesday " Essentone," and in modern records "Astington," " Ashenden," and " Ashington." Soon afterwards the estate was in the possession of the family of Fitzwilliam, for Robert of that name died seised of it 32 Henry II., from which family, in the reign of King John, it passed by inheritance to that of De Furnellis, or Furneaux ; and from the latter to the St. Barbesf about the year 1400. The last

* Gentleman's Magazine, 1861, Part I., p. 495.

f Charles St. Barbe, Esq., of Lymington, in Hampshire, is the representative of the family, being the tenth in lineal descent from Richard St. Barbe, the first possessor of Ashington, a record of which is to be found at the College of Arms.

2 o 2 Somersetsh ire.

possessor of that name, Sir John St. Barbe, Bart., who died in 1723, bequeathed it to Humphrey Sydenham, Esq., of Combe, in this county, and it is now the property of Lewis Dymoke Grosvenor Tregonwell, Esq., of Cranborne Lodge, in Dorsetshire, by his marriage with Catherine, daughter and sole heiress of the late St. Barbe Sydenham, Esq., of Priory, Devon, and Combe, Somerset, by whom he had issue, St. Barbe Tregonwell, born August 6, 1782 ; Helen Ellery, born December i, 1783, married to Captain John Duff Markland, R.N., March 18, 1814; Catherine, born June n, 1786, died January, 1788.

The manor-house, situate near the church, is an ancient stone edifice, erected by the St. Barbes, apparently in the sixteenth century; their armorial crest, a wyvern, remains on one of the shields over the porch, and also upon the buttress at the western end, as shown in the plate ; but the house having been long appropriated to the use of the tenant renting the estate, various internal alterations have been made in it, particularly in the old hall ; and some parts of the original building have been taken down. The annexed view (see Plate II.) shows the principal or south front as it appeared in 1817.

C. S. B.

[1820, Part /., /. 113.]

Ashington contains about 630 acres, exclusive of a third part of the adjoining hamlet of Sock, belonging to the parish, which may be estimated at 300 acres more ; of the whole not more than 240 are arable, the pasturage, which is excellent, being more advantageous to the farmer. In Ashington there are nine dwelling-houses (includ- ing the parsonage-house, which has been rebuilt by the present rector) and thirteen families, consisting of sixty-eight persons. In that part of the hamlet of Sock just alluded to there is one dwelling- house, containing four persons. The burials in the parish for the last seven years amount to eleven, the baptisms to sixteen.

The living is a rectory appended to the manor, valued in the King's Books at ^45 6s. 8d.

The church (see Plate I.) is a small neat stone structure, of a single pace, having a stone turret at the western end containing two bells. The dimensions are as follow (taken on the outside), viz. :

ft. in. Length of the church ... ... .., 40 6

Length of the chancel ... ~. ... 21 o

Both together 61 6

Breadth of the church ... ... ... 23 3

Breadth of the chancel ... ... ... 20 3

The walls of the church in thickness ... 20

The walls of the chancel in thickness 2 6

Ashington. 203

The building appears to have been erected at two different periods; the style of the church is of the early part of the sixteenth century; the chancel is of an earlier date.

In the windows are fragments of stained glass representing Scrip- tural subjects of goud execution ; a beautiful head of our Saviour, radiated, now in perfect preservation, is a good specimen of the art.

The font is without ornament, of the stone hewn from the neigh- bouring quarries at Ham Hill. A date (1637) is carved upon the pulpit, which is of oak. The church has been ceiled by the present incumbent.

At a future opportunity I will communicate some account of the epitaphs, with a list ol the incumbents. C. S. B.

[1820, Part II.* pp. 209, 210.]

In the Church of Ashington there are only three monumental inscriptions, which are all in the chancel, viz., a marble table in memory of Sir John St. Barbe, Bart, who died in 1723 :

" Here lies Sir John St. Barbe, Bart., possessed of those amiable qualities which birth, education, travel, greatness of spirit, and goodness of heart produce. — In- terred in the same vault, his second wife Alice Fiennes, aunt to the present Lord Say and Sele. His first wife was Honour, daughter of Colonel Norton. He died at his seat of Broadlands, in Hampshire, Sept. 7, 1723, leaving for his only heir and executor Humphrey Sydenham, Esq., of Combe, in Somersetshire, who ordered this Marble to his memory."

The arms of St. Barbe were : Cheeky, argent and sable.

A flat gravestone for James Burt, rector of the parish, who died June 8, 1729, aged 62. Mary, his wife, who died November 15, 1742, aged 69; and James, their son (styled Gent.\ who died January 28, 1777, aged 71. The other is an ancient flat-stone, 7 feet by 3, having the figure of a knight in chain mail, cut en creux> or rudely traced by the chisel in outline (represented in Plate II.). The inscription is so much defaced as to be almost illegible ; upon his shield he bears a Bend fussilly, which were the arms of Ralegh or Raleigh ; to this family the possessors of Ashington were allied ; Sir Matthew Furneaux (Sheriff for Somerset 34 Edward I.) having married Maud, daughter of Sir Warine de Ralegh of Ncttlecombe in this county. Neither Collinson nor any other writer on the topographical history of Somerset, has mentioned this tomb-stone; and as other families bore the above arms (that of Kittisford for instance), it is by no means certain that the knight was of this family; equally silent are our historians respecting the small niche on the outside of the church at the eastern end, above the roof of the chancel (see the Plate, p. 113), in which the sculpture cannot be distinguished without the aid of a ladder. The group consists of three human figures, a male standing between two females, admitting a conjecture that this refers to the

204 Somersetshire.

history of the martyred Saint (Vincent*), to whom the church is

dedicated. He is here represented with his hands bound, after

sentence had been passed upon him. On his right, a woman, with

folded hands, is looking piteously upon him ; and the other appears

absorbed in greater grief, turning aside her head unable to behold

him. The niche is only 2 feet in height, and 1 1 inches in breadth ;

the figures loj inches high.

The oldest register is on parchment, beginning with the year 1567 ;

from this source the following imperfect list of the incumbents from

that period is collected, viz. :

1567. Richard Orchard was then rector ; he died September 23, 1619, and was buried at Ashington.

1619. The successor of Orchard not mentioned.

1652. Michael Dolling presented this year, but the time of his death, or resignation, is not known.

1663. John Ball presented this year, and the foregoing remarks also apply to him.

1690. James Burt presented this year, buried at Ashington in 1729.

1729. Keate succeeded (according to tradition). The register

from this year to 1765 is missing.

1739. Richard Eyre presented this year; resigned in 1741.

1741. Sydenham Rutherford presented this year; he was buried at Marston Magna in 1785.

1785. John Williams presented this year, who is the present worthy incumbent, and also rector of Marston Magna, where he resides (see vol. Ixxxviii., pt. ii., p. 105); and to whom the writer acknowledges the very liberal manner in which he has communicated to him most of the information here given.

C. S. B. Axbridge.

[1805, Part /., pp. 201-204.]

Accidentally meeting the other day with a painting of the market- place, part of the church, and old market-cross of Axbridge, I could not resist the temptation of attempting a sketch of it ; and, with all its imperfections, I now send it to you. . . . The cross was taken down many years ago, and a modern octagon market-house, supported by eight plain columns, erected on its site.

Axbridge is about ten miles from Wells, eighteen from Bristol, about the same distance from Bridgwater, and 135 from London. It is situate on the southern side of the Mendip Hills ; and the spectator may, from the summit of those hills just above the town, enjoy the most extensive and picturesque prospects over the Bristol Channel to Monmouthshire, Brecknockshire, Glamorganshire, and Pembroke-

* St. Vincent, with his patron, Valerius, Bishop of Saragossa, were brought in irons to Valentia, where Vincent, refusing to abandon his faith, was burnt alive A.D. 304.

Axbridge. 205

shire; and in another point of view over a most rich and fertile tract of land extending to the Quantock Hills, including the Bay of Bridgwater and the Severn Sea, or mouth of the Bristol Channel. . . . The name of this place was anciently spelt Axbrigge. It was formerly a borough, and in many respects of much greater importance than at present. It anciently belonged to the Bishop of Bath and Wells, together with Congersbury and Cheddar, out of which three manors was paid yearly into the King's exchequer a rent of £$$ ; but, as this was deemed a large sum in the thirteenth century, they were resigned to King Edward II., who in the thirteenth year of his reign granted these manors (inter alia) in tail general to Edmund de Woodstock, Earl of Kent, his brother, in whose posterity they remained till the reign of Edward IV. Being forfeited to that King, he gave them to his brother George, Duke of Clarence, who is said to have been drowned in a butt of malmsey in the Tower, by the King, his brother's, order ; at the instigation of his other brother, the execrable Richard, Duke of Gloucester, afterwards King Richard III., Edward, Earl of Warwick, son of the Duke of Clarence, then became seised of them ; and from him to Margaret his sister, wife of Sir Richard Pole, afterwards the famous Countess of Salisbury ; but, she being beheaded May 27, 1540, it again devolved to the Crown. The manor of Axbridge has long since been dismembered ; and the presentation to the rectory is in the Bishop of Bath and Wells. The town at present consists of one principal street, which is about a quarter of a mile in length, and in some places very narrow. The houses in general are old and meanly built, many of them with timber, lath, and plaster, somewhat in the manner of old London before the great Fire. There is a tolerably spacious market-place, together with a market-house and shambles, the latter well supplied on the market-day with butchers' meat.

The market, however, is of much less consequence than it was some years ago, and, following the example of the neighbouring town Wrington, appears to be fast tending towards annihilation. . . .

Two fairs are held annually in this town, the one at Candlemas, and the other at Lady Day ; the former principally for cattle ; the latter for cattle, cloth, cutlery, jewellery, and a great variety of other merchandise and toys. Lady Day being the usual time of the year in this neighbourhood for hiring servants, this fair is generally attended by an immense concourse of servants of both sexes. . . .

Another fair was formerly held here on June n, and called St. Barnabas Fair, which had been discontinued for many years; the corporation, however, attempted to revive it about twelve years ago, but without effect, as it is now totally laid aside. There was also a fair held here formerly on the festival of St. Simon and St. Jude. The warm situation of this place renders it peculiarly adapted for the cultivation of early vegetables ; the town and parish being situate, as

206 Somersetshire.

it were, in a dell, which forms a kind of amphitheatre, backed towards the north by the Mendip Hills, and by projecting promontories or head-lands on the east and west, whereby the winds most prejudicial to vegetation are excluded. Green peas in particular are here to be had as early in the season as at any place in the kingdom ; and they are frequently sent to Bristol and Bath, and sold at i6s. and i8s. per peck ; and the premium given by the corporation of Bristol for the most early peas brought to that market is generally carried by the AxbriHge gardeners. . . .

The church here is a handsome Gothic edifice, and, from its appearance, of considerable antiquity. It is cruciform, consisting of a nave and chancel with side aisles to each, and dedicated to the Blessed Virgin, whose statue appears on the east and west sides of the tower, but much defaced by the iron hand of that ruthless and unrelenting destroyer Time.

The tower contains a peal of six very musical bells (most of them, I believe, new cast about seven or eight years since) ; also a clock and chimes, the latter playing a grand and solemn tune every four hours. One of the bells is rung every evening from Michaelmas Day to Shrove Tuesday, and called curfew.* In the floor of the north transept is a curious monumental brass, with an inscription bearing date about the time of King Richard III. . . . The church is kept in excellent repair, and the interior part particularly neat and decent ; and its decorations are very handsome and approppiate. It contains a neat and fine-toned organ of rather small dimensions, and also several good monuments of the Prowse and other families ; likewise a superb and elegant cloth for the altar, richly embroidered by one of the ladies of the Prowse family (if I mistake not, Mrs. Abigail Prowse, daughter of George Hooper, Bishop of Bath and Wells).

The present incumbent of the rectory is the Rev. R. I. R. Jenkins, of Bridgwater, and divine service is performed twice on Sundays and on saints days and holidays by the curate, the Rev. B. Cattle.

The body corporate consists of a mayor, alderman, eight capital burgesses, a recorder, a common or town clerk and other officers, and twenty -four inferior burgesses. The most ancient document that I can discover relative to this place is a grant by King John, in the fifth year of his reign, to Hugh de Wells, Arch- deacon of Wells, afterwards Lord Chancellor and Bishop of Lincoln. The original grant is still to be seen among the records in the chapel of the Rolls.

By the annexed token (Fig. i) it appears that a person of the name of John Tuthill was formerly proprietor and occupier, and probably the builder, of the Angel Inn represented in the plate, as the initials

* But, instead of going at eight o'clock, the hour appointed by William the Norman for that purpose, the bell called curfew is here rung at seven.

Axbridge. 207

on the coin and those on the Angel Inn are exactly similar. The date of the former is 1669, and that of the latter 1672.

The Tuthills were an ancient and respectable family of this place, and several branches of it still live here. The Rev. — Tuthill was rector some years ago. Mr. Richard and Mr. James Tuthill, his sons, were both respectable surgeons and apothecaries, and the former was one of the coroners for the county till the time of his death, in or about 1790.

Axbridge is the birthplace of two very great geniuses in the art of painting — Mr. William and Mr. John Naish. . . .

To the disgrace of this town the abominable practice of bull- baiting, or rather bull-beating, with all its concomitant horrors, is still continued annually on November 5. ...

We have here a respectable corps of Volunteer Infantry, com- manded by Captain Parker, both the officers and privates of which are highly distinguished in the West Mendip legion, of which it forms a part, for their very progressive abilities in military science.

G. B.

Banwell.

[1811, Part II. ipp. 105-107.]

As the fine parochial church of Banwell is not engraved in Collinson's history of this county, I trust you will do me the favour of giving the enclosed sketch a place in your valuable repository (see Plate I.) together with the following particulars.

Banwell is about 16 miles south-west from Bristol, 4 from Axbridge, and about 6 from the Bristol Channel ; it is situate in Winterstoke Hundred and in the Diocese of Bath and Wells. The village lies at the foot of what was anciently called Winthill, on the northern side thereof, and the parish is considered to be one of the first in the county for extent, population and fertility of soil. In King Edward the Confessor's charter to Bishop Giso this place is called Banawelli, and I have heard it said that in ancient times it was called Benthill, but apprehend there is no good authority for the latter ; there is, however, a piece of land and a wood at Hillend, on the western side of the parish, that go by the name of Benthills. Collinson says it derives its name from the British Bann deep, and Weilgi sea ; the waters of the channel, as that gentleman asserts, having once overspread the valley above which the village stands. . . .

By that venerable record Domesday Book, it appears that Banwell belonged to Harold, son of Godwin Earl of Kent, not as King of England, but as Earl of the West Saxons ; but he being banished the realm for non-appearance before the Great Council convened by King Edward the Confessor, that king seized this lordship and gave it, with several others of the said Earl Harold's in those parts, to

208 Somersetshire.

Dudoco* Bishop of Wells, whose successor, Giso, enjoyed it at the time of the general survey. There was anciently a monastery at Banwell, founded by one of the Saxon kings, and I find that King Alfred appointed his friend and favourite Asser abbot thereof. f

This abbey was destroyed by the Danes, but afterwards re- established. When it was finally destroyed I am not informed ; but that it met its fate some centuries prior to the general dissolution of religious houses seems very certain. So far as I have been able to discover, little or nothing of the monastic buildings now remain ; indeed, it cannot for a certainty be ascertained in what part of the parish the abbey stood, though I am much inclined to believe it was on the site, or very near where the present court-house stands. On the southern side of the hill is a small hamlet, still called Winthill.| In a field at this place many fragments and foundations of ancient buildings are discernible, and human bones and ancient coins have been frequently dug up there ; and among the rest a Roman coin of silver, which is in high preservation, and was given me in 1801 by Mr. John Lansdown, the proprietor of the field I have been speaking of, and is still in my possession. It has been said that the abbey stood in this field, but whether it did so or not I own myself incompetent positively to decide. . . .

Some attribute the camp at this place to the Danes, others to the Saxons, but it is more generally supposed to be a work of the Romans. It is situate about half-a-mile eastward from the village, on the top of what is called the Great Wood ; it is extensive, being, I should suppose, about 1,000 yards in circumference. It is nothing at present but a rampire of earth and stones thrown up all round the brow of the hill, in some places of considerable height and in others so low as to be scarcely distinguishable from the surrounding rorky part of the hill. Near the centre of the area is a large irregular mound of earth and rubbish, apparently the remains of some build- ing ; the whole of the interior of the camp is still clear of wood, except a few straggling trees of hawthorn of large growth on the south-east side ; indeed, the place is known by the name of " the Bald," from the paucity of trees growing there in comparison with other parts of the wood. The ramparts, however, are thickly surrounded with large timber and underwood, and some of the largest trees in the wood grow on the sides and top of the wall of the camp. It is a delightful spot, and towards the west there opens an enchanting prospect, having for the foreground the village of Banwell with its fine church, beyond which is a well-cultivated tract

* Godwin, de Prsesulibus.

f Asser, pp. 50, 51.

% At this place, according to tradition, a bloody battle was fought between the Saxons and the Danes, the memory of which is preserved in the appellation of the place ; Win in the Saxon language signifying a battle, and Winterstoc the place of the tower of battle. — Collinson.

Banwell. 209

of champaign country, extending about 6 miles to the bay of Weston- super-Mare, and numerous vessels of all sizes, from the pilot's yawl to the stately ship of war, passing to and from the port ot Bristol, give great animation and interest to the scene ; whilst Worle Hill and Worlebury on the right hand, and Hutton Hill and Brean Down on the left, form excellent side-screens to the picture ; in the distance the steep and flat Holmes, particularly the former, are striking features, and the coast of Glamorgan terminates the view. From hence towards the east may be seen the large Roman camp at Doleborough ; on the north-east the camp at Cadbury, in the parish of Yatton ; on the north-west what is called Caesar's Camp, at Weston-super-Mare ; and on the south-west the encampment on the top of Brent Knoll ; each of them within ten miles distance from this at Banwell.

About a quarter of a mile westward from the large camp, on the top of an eminence within the precincts of the park at the end of what is called the Little Wood, and on the left-hand side of the road called Banwell Roadway, as we go from Banwell to Wood- borough and Axbridge, is another encampment, but of small dimensions in comparison with the one before mentioned. The outwork consists of a single vallum with a wall of earth and stones ; in the area are two long mounds of earth and stones (similar to the exterior wall, but broader) intersecting each other at right angles in the form of a cross, with a small ditch or vallum running round it. A great part of this cross is now covered with low bushes of hawthorn and brambles, affording excellent cover for hares and other game ; at the north-west corner, on the most elevated part of the enclosure, there appear the remains of what I should suppose to have been an exploratory mount, or a tumulus. The entrance to this encampment was at the east end, as if it once communicated with the large camp, to which probably it was an outwork ; its length is about 70 yards, and its breadth about 50 within the walls.

Banwell Park lies eastward from the village, and is still partly covered with fine wood, though most sadly reduced in extent from what it is said to have been at the time of making the Domesday Survey. This park was anciently well-stocked with deer, and it still abounds with various kinds of game. The palace here, for the occasional residence of the bishops, was built (according to the " Itin. Willelmi de Worcestre," 286) by Bishop Beckington, and was probably constructed in some measure out of the ruins of the ancient abbey. This palace has long since been neglected and fallen into decay, and from some of its materials a large, handsome and com- modious farmhouse and offices have been erected, and is called Banwell Court, it being the manor-house and the place where the Bishop's courts are held. Since my recollection the chapel belonging to the palace (with its pulpit, pews, etc.) was perfectly entire, but I believe it is now converted into a cellar, and so completely meta-

VOL. xxn. 14

2io Somersetshire.

morphosed as to be scarcely distinguished from the modern buildings; its site is at the east end of the present mansion. A large and handsome gateway, porter's lodge, etc., with the principal part of the extensive granaries, stabling and various other detached offices of the palace have been taken down within the last five or six years, so that very little indeed of the ancient palace is now to be seen. In the fields below the house I well remember the remains of some very extensive fish-ponds ; they are now drained, and, if I mistake not, the ground planted to an orchard. In the village opposite the present Bell Inn was an ancient plain and neat freestone cross ; but it being thought to incommode the passage of the street — which, by-the-by, was not the case — this also was demolished a few years since, and the materials employed in other buildings. On the hill above the village is, or rather was, one of the most beautiful race-grounds of its size in the kingdom ; the course consists of delightfully verdant and level turf, and extends, in an eliptical form, about two miles, round a rising ground or knoll called Heughings, from the summit of which the course can be seen in almost every direction, and many well- contested matches and excellent sport have heretofore been exhibited here. But in consequence of a late Act of Parliament for enclosing the waste lands of the parish, several walls now intersect the ground, and this charming spot, formerly the boast of the surrounding country as an hippodrome, is now destroyed, and the once fashionable sport of horse-racing discontinued. The last race here was on October 12, 1796, for a purse of ten guineas for size horses, and another of five guineas for ponies between the heats. . . .

This hill contains some valuable mines of calamine or lapis calaminarias, lead ore, and yellow ochre ; and it is generally sup- posed that veins of coal abound in the neighbourhood, as small pieces of that mineral are frequently thrown out by the spring of water which rises in Banwell pond.

The beautiful sheet of water here called the pond covers a con- siderable space of ground, and is surrounded by a well-built wall or dam of stone of sufficient thickness to form a pleasant footpath round the greatest part of it, on which two persons may walk abreast without inconvenience. The spring rises at the south-west side of the pond. And at some little distance is another spring of the most limpid and pure water; this is called Adam's Well, and supplies the inhabitants of the village \vith water for culinary purposes; it was formerly esteemed for its efficacy in scrofulous disorders.* There are two mills at the dam-head, one a grist-mill, and the other a large paper manufactory : these are never in want of water, as the springs before mentioned always yield a copious supply, and were never known to fail even in times of the greatest drought. These mills and ponds are the property of John Emery, Esq., a truly worthy and

* Collinson.

Banwell. 2 1 r

respectable man. From the pond flows a charming gurgling brook, over a gravelly bottom, which runs due north about a mile from the village, when it makes a bend to the north-west, and, after meander- ing three or four miles further, falls into the Bristol Channel at a place called New Bow, between Woodspring and Week St. Lawrence. This stream is of the greatest importance to the farms lying on each side of its course, as without it the whole of the now rich and fertile vale through which it flows would in dry summers be rendered almost desert, and the inhabitants and their cattle would be driven to the utmost distress for want of water. G. B.

[1811, Part //., fp. 210-213.]

Banwell had formerly a weekly market, but for a great many years past it has been entirely neglected and disused. There are two fairs held here annually, the one on January 18, when large droves of excellent fat oxen grazed in the superlatively rich pastures in this neighbourhood are brought for sale ; the major part of them in time of war are purchased by the contractors for victualling the royal navy. The other fair is on July 18, but of little account in comparison of the one held in January. There are but few good houses at Banwell, the habitations here in general being old and mean structures, principally covered with thatch. The church is the only building here worthy of remark ; this, however, is particularly so, being one among the many elegant parish churches to be met with in the West of England : it is said that these beautiful structures owe their pre- servation in a great measure to the influence which that " great child of honour," Cardinal Wolsey, possessed over the mind of his im- perious master, Henry VIII. . . .

The church of Banwell was anciently appropriated to the abbey of Brewton, and was, with the abbeys of Churchill and Puxton, valued by the taxation of Pope Nicholas VI. , A.D. 1292, at forty-seven marks, a pension of three marks being paid out of it to the Priory of Bath, and one mark to the hospital of Brewton. The vicarage was valued at twenty shillings.* The presentation to the vicarage is at present in the Dean and Chapter of the Holy Trinity in Bristol, and its annual value is about ^500. The Rev. Frederick William Blomberg, A.M. (who is in the commission of the peace for this county, and who some- times resides in the vicarage-house, which he has repaired and greatly improved), is the present incumbent. The impropriate tithes, of about .£200 per annum, belong to John Lenthall, Esq., of Oxford- shire, who is also impropriator of Churchill and Puxton.

Banwell Church is a large, regular, and simply elegant pile, con- sisting of a lofty nave and chancel, the former about 80 feet long, with side aisles, which are divided from the nave by ranges of light, handsome pillars, four on each side; the breadth of the church,

* Collinson.

14—2

2 1 2 Somersetshire.

including the side aisles, is about 60 feet. Two tiers of windows on each side give light to the interior, one tier of large ones in the side aisles, consisting of seven on the north side, including one at each end, and six on the south side, also including one at each end, and five smaller ones on each side in the upper part of the nave. Some of these windows have small portions of painted glass still remaining in them. In the east window of the north aisle are in painted glass the arms of England and France quartertd; the arms of Bishop Beckington ; and gules, a cross lozengy argent ; gules, three fusils in fesse argent ; each charged with an escalop sable.* I am inclined to think, from the circumstance of Bishop Beckington's arms appearing here, and from the style of the architecture, that this church was rebuilt by that prelate about the time he built the palace ; if this be correct, the present structure must have been erected in the latter end of the reign of King Henry VI., or the beginning of that of Edward IV. The screen dividing the nave from the chancel is an elaborate and beautiful piece of ancient carving in wood, represent- ing palm-trees, and amateurs say it is hardly to be surpassed by any- thing of the kind in the kingdom. Above this screen is a large gallery, supposed to have been formerly a rood-loft, and in latter times, I have been informed, an organ stood in the centre of it. At the west end of the nave is a handsome modern gallery for the church musicians ; it is raised upon four neat fluted columns, with handsome foliaged capitals and an entablature supporting an elegantly neat pediment. Above the gallery, just below the arch of the roof of the church, is a carving of stone, now well plastered with whitewash, supposed to be intended for St. Andrew the Apostle, to whom, as we are informed by Mr. Collinson, the church is dedicated. At the west end of the north aisle are placed two large instruments, said to have been used formerly for the purpose of pulling off the thatch and roofs of houses when on fire to stop the progress of the flames ; the whole, including ironwork and shaft, is about 20 feet lorg ; on the sides are rings for putting ropes through, whereby the united strength of a great number of men could act with effect, or even horses might by means of loose ropes be attached to the instrument ; the iron- work has something the appearance of an anchor divested of one of its arms or flukes, and the woodwork is much worm-eaten and decayed. The baptismal font is of stone, and stands at the north- west corner of the nave, raised on a high step, and is very large, evidently intended for the immersion of the infant, and lined with lead, having in the centre of the bottom an aperture to let out the water, which lost itself in the foundation of the building, that it might not be defiled after having been used in the holy sacrament of baptism.f

* Collinson.

t On an average of seven years the annual christenings are 27 ; burials, 20. — Collinson.

Bamvell. 213

It would be needless to give copies of the monumental inscriptions already printed in Collinson's "History." I shall therefore content myself with copying two or three which do not appear in that work. At the east end of the south aisle against the wall is a plain tablet of white marble with the following inscription :

" Near this place lieth the body of the Reverend Blinman Gresley, A. M., Vicar of this parish, who departed this life the 23d Nov., 1772, aged 59.

*' Remember my end, for thine also shall be so. To-day is mine, to-morrow thine. — I shall rise again."

On the floor, near the above monument, is a well-preserved whole- length figure in brass, with a long gown and band ; the inscription is in ancient Church-text, and not in the common Old English black- letter, as given by Mr. Collinson. The date is " M°. V°. iij° " (1503). At the east end of the chancel is a large handsome window, below which a new altar-piece was set up in 1805 : it is composed of stucco, and divided into compartments, on which are written the Decalogue, Creed, and Lord's Prayer, in gold letters on a black ground ; and the representation of elegant crimson curtains, with gold cords, fringe, and tassels, gives a high finish and pleasing effect to the whole. The altar is environed with a new semicircular railing of iron, but put up in rather a bungling and inconvenient manner — indeed, the railing itself, from the formidable spikes running round its top, would have been more proper for the fence of a garden or courtyard than for the situation in which it is placed. At the upper end of the chancel, against the south wall, is a small niche and piscina, used formerly for holy water ; the chancel is not ceiled, and the naked arched woodwork of the roof, of mean construction, has by no means a pleasing appearance. In the centre of the floor is a small square brass plate, inscribed as follows :

" Georgius Phillips, mercator, qui obijt 27° die Novembris, anno Domini 1680 ; hie innatam beationem ad resurgendum positus."

At the north side of the communion-rails, on a small oval marble fixed in a large blue slab of the pavement, is inscribed :

" Sacred to the memory of the Reverend Walter Chapman, 20 years Vicar of this Parish, who departed this life September 25th, 1798, aged 47."

This gentleman was son of the late Rev. Dr. Chapman, of Bath, and was one of the most elegant preachers of his time, a man ot the most gentlemanly manners, and whose bosom was amply fraught with the genuine milk of human kindness ; he was, unfortunately, killed by a fall from his horse, near Uphill, on the day mentioned above. Tnere are various other inscriptions in the pavement of the church and chancel, " that tell in homely phrase who lie below," but it would intrude too much upon your pages to insert them here ; these, how- ever, have often implored and obtained from me " the passing tribute of a sigh."

2 1 4 Somersetshire.

The south entrance to this church is by a large and lofty porch, in the east wall of the interior of which is a niche supposed to have been the place of a holy-water pot in the days of popery. At the west end of the church stands a stately and well-built tower, the height of which to the top of the parapet is 100 feet, crowned with a spire turret at the south-east angle (on which the vane or weather- ccck is fixed), and four handsome pinnacles. A good spiral stone staircase conducts you to the flat leads on the top of the tower, from whence some charmingly diversified prospects to the north, north- west, and north-east present their beauties to the eye of the spectator; and the whole is terminated by the Bristol Channel, the steep and flat Holmes, with the lighthouse on the latter, and the distant purply- blue hills of South Wales ; the stupendous conical mountain of Skerid Vawz, in the vicinity of Abergavenny, in clear weather, is plainly seen from hence. In this tower are six large and sonorous bells and a clock ; the former are said to be the most musical of any in those parts, and it is thought they derive that property in a great measure from the undulation of ihe adjoining fine sheet of water. The south side of the churchyard contains innumerable ancient and modern tombs and gravestones, and some of them are tolerably hand- some, but the generality are " with nettles skirted, and with moss o'ergrown." Notwithstanding the dead are so thickly huddled together on the south side of this cemetery, there are, comparatively speaking, but few graves on the north side, and the lower part of that side is seldom used as a place of sepulture. In the generality of churchyards we meet with a large portion of apparently void ground, most commonly on the north side, while at the same lime the other parts appear to be extremely crowded ; and the answer universally made me when I have inquired tne reason of that circumstance has been, that " during the plague, or some other contagious disease, which raged in the parish the persons who died thereof were inhumed in those now seemingly void parts, and for that reason it is thought imprudent to meddle with that part of the ground." This certainly may be true in some instances, particularly in large towns ; but it seems very unlikely it should be so in the many country parishes where we meet with similar void spaces of ground ; and I apprehend that the reason why bodies are thus heaped, as one may say, together is because it is customary to bury all the individuals of a family in the particular spot formerly appropriated by the ancestor of that family as a burial-place ; and thus in process of time churchyards have become crowded in the manner we now see them.

Upon the threatened invasion by the French in 1803, an inde- pendent company of light infantry was raised in this parish, and called " The Loyal Banwell Volunteers," consisting principally of the yeomanry of this large and respectable parish, 'ihe officers are Edmund Sheppard, Esq., of Hutton Court (Captain), John Black-

Banwell. 2 1 5

burrow, gent. (Lieutenant), and Wm. Harrison, gent. (Ensign). The dress and accoutrements of these patriotic volunteers are of the most handsome description. G. B.

[1813, Part L, pp. 525, 526.]

I have in my possession a deed dated August 26, 1569 (13 Eliz.), whereby E Iward Dyer, of Weston, Esq. (whether Weston-super-Mare, or Weston in Gordano, does not appear), conveyed a capital messuage and lands at Rolston, in the parish of Banwell, unto Heughe Gryffyn, alias Canweye. Mr. Dyer is said, in the deed, to be a son of Sir Thomas Dyer, Knt., deceased. Who and what this Sir Thomas was I should be glad to know ; but I think there can be no doubt but that Edward Dyer the poet, and Edward Dyer, Esq., mentioned in the deed, were one and the same person. I have subjoined the autograph of Mr. Dyer, as copied from the original, and also a sketch of his arms, from the seal appended to the deed, as well as I coald make it our, upon the wax. . . .

I have thought it my duty to throw in my mite towards preserving the memory of a learned and respectable character (who, two centuries and a half ago, was proprietor of the property on which I now reside), and trust you will permit its insertion in some of your future pages. (See Fig. 9.) GEO. BENNETT.

[1827, Part 1 1., pp. 114, US-]

In a note at p. xxx of the " History of Glastonbury," we have the following notice relative to Banwell, and the rood-loft in the church there.

'•There is a tradition which connects this very picturesque village in some degree with Glaston Abbey. The magnificent wooden rood- loft in its church (without dispute one of the handsomest country * churches in the kingdom) is said to have been brought to Bruion Monastery, but to have originally formed a part of the splendid decorations of the interior of Glaston Cathedral f Church. In truth it was well worthy of that gorgeous edifice, from its unusually large dimensions, the taste of its Gothic pattern, and the delicacy and elaboration of its workmanship. The use of the rood-loft was simply this : in the centre of it was placed the rood, or image of our Saviour on the cross, and on each side of this image, those of the Virgin and St. John, its vacant space being occasionally filled with vocal and instrumental performers."

There may be a tradition that the rood-loft at Banwell (which after

* It is dedicated to St. Andrew, whose statue appears over the arch of the belfry inside the church, and the present building is supposed to have been erected by Thomas de Bekyngton, Bishop of Bath and Wells, about A.D. 1450.

f Monastic or abbey church would have been more appropriate.

2 1 6 Somersetshire.

the Reformation was converted into an organ-loft) was brought from one of the dissolved monasteries of Glastonbury or Bruton, but I am inclined to think such tradition is but very feebly supported, as the following extracts, copied from the churchwarden's accompts, now extant at Banwell, will show ; for we have mention made therein of the drawing a plan or elevation of it, and the making an indenture, bond, or agreement, for the due performance of the work, and there- fore there can be but little doubt but that this rood-loft was made for the place where it now stands.

"Banwelle (12 Henry VIII.) Comp'us, Johannes Crey et Robertus Crede, churchwardens 1521.

"Paid for paper to draw the draft of the rode-lofte, iiijd.

"Paid for makyng of the endentur, and the oblygacyon for the carver, js. viijd."

There are several other entries in the churchwardens' accompts relative to this rood-loft, some of which seem to favour Mr. Warner's supposition, and others (like those before mentioned) to militate against it. I shall therefore give all the entries allusive to the subject, and leave the reader to form his own opinion.

"1522. William Jervis and John Selson, Ch. Wardens (13 Henry VIII.).

" Paid for brede and ale for me' (men) to take down the rode- lofte, jxd."

Probably an old one, which had become decayed. And although the agreement to perform the work is dated in 1521, the artificers might not actually commence their operations till 1522.

"Paid for John Sayer's dyner the same day, ijd.

" Paid for brede and ale for the wenemen (waggoners) when they come home, iiijd."

Here, it may be said, is a proof in favour of Mr. Warner's tradition. But, as there are some very ponderous timbers used in the construction of this rood-loft, the waggonmen were not probably employed with their wains or waggons in the carriage of them, and the other heavy materials.

" Paid to the peynter (painter) of Brystow, ijs. viijd.

" Paid to the kerver (carver) att Wyllya' Jervys house, xxiijl."

The carver lived with the churchwarden probably whilst the work was in progress, or the money might be paid at the house of the latter.

" Paid for makyng of the skaffet (scaffold) to the kerver's men, for to peynte (paint) the Hy Cross, is. iiijd."

The High Cross was the large crucifix which stood in the centre of the rood-loft, and the holes wherein the transom or large cross- beam entered the sides of the arch, and kept the whole cross firm and steady, were to be seen be!ore the late repairs, though now stopped up.

Banwell. 2 1 7

" J523- J°'in Millward and Harre Page, Ch: Wardens (i4th Henry VIII.).

" Paid for makyng of the skaffete in the rode-lofte to sett the lyghte upon, js."

This light was frequently kept burning night and day, particularly during the great fasts and festivals.

"1525. Robert Cavell and Wileham Sayer, Ch: Wardens (i6th Henry VIII.).

"Paid Robert Hoptyn for gyltyng in the rode-lofte, and for steynyn off the clothe afore the rode-lofie, vl."

Honest Robert Hoptyn performed his work in a very masterly manner, as there is every reason to suppose the rood-loft had not been new gilded from that time until 1805 (a period of 280 years), and even then but little decayed as to the materials, but certainly considerably tarnished as to colour and brilliancy.

" Paid for wyer to hange the clothe, vd.

" Paid for ryngs to the clothe, and a hoke (hook) for settyng up, ijs. vijd."

Let it be remembered that all this took place some years previous to the brutal dissolution of the monasteries of Glastonbury and Bruton, and therefore the presumption is that the rood-loft at Banwell never belonged to either of those religious houses.

" At p. xcvi of the " History of Glastonbury " the author seems anxious to prove that the greater part, if not all of our grand conventual, cathedral and parochial churches, were " literally and strictly built by Freemasons," and as a corroboration of that hypothesis he gives us at the foot of the page before mentioned the following note :

" Something like a confirmation of the truth of this notion is seen in the emblems of Freemasonry which decorate the northern and southern entrances into the ancient Church of Banwell, in the inside, particularly the bust of a man over the latter portal, supported by these symbols, with a book open before him, as if he were studying the rules of his art."

Now it is really painful to state that when in the years 1812 and 1813 the fine parochial Church of Banwell underwent considerable repairs, one of the vain and thoughtless workmen — merely, forsooth, because he happened to be a Freemason ! — had the audacity to erase the two antique corbal heads, which till then had ornamented the sides of the doorway at the south entrance to the church, and after- wards to carve upon the faces of the blocks those very symbols of masonry which Mr. Warner alludes to, and which now appear there ! And as to the " bust of a man " over the northern entrance, which, by-the-by, Mr. W. has called the southern, it is in reality the bust of " an angel " (and by no means inelegantly carved), with an " open book " certainly, but the back or covers thereof are pUced against the breast of the figure, and the open part or leaves towards the spectator

2i8 Somersetshire.

(when standing in the church), so that if he is " studying," as the reverend author supposes, he holds the book in a most extraordinary position for such a purpose. On the open leaves of this book also the same pitiful innovator had the presumption to carve the emblems of his craft. At all events his handiwork ought to be erased, in order that it may not deceive in times to come ; but whether this be complied with or not, your pages, Mr. Urban, shall bear record to the truth.

The carved figures of angels, it is well-known, are often met with in our ancient ecclesiastical edifices, and on the fronts of the scrolls or books they hold in their hands are written some short but pithy sentences from the sacred writings. Several of these have lately been brought to light in consequence of the recent repairs in the venerable parish church of Congresbury, near Banwell. The inscrip- tions are still perfect, in ancient Church-text characters, though written only in black paint and long prior to the Reformation. Whitewash daubing has sometimes, as in the present instance, been the preserver of antiquities, though by no means to be recommended for such a purpose.

A beautiful new altar-piece, in a style to correspond with the architecture of the church, is about to be erected at Banwell under the superintendence of Mr. Trickey, an ingenious and deserving artist of this city. E. M.

[1837, Part II., pp. 467-469-]

Banwell, which boasts one of the most beautiful churches in the county, lies about six miles from Axbridge, and may be taken in the way to the cottage of the Bishop of Bath and Wells, though by a somewhat circuitous road, the direct way lying through the domain, which stretches from east to west nearly half a mile. The latter route claims also a great superiority over its more lowly neighbour in point of view, running along the declivity of the hill instead of traversing its bottom, and excites an additional interest in the mind of the traveller by leading him through the potato patches which the benevolent prelate has allotted to some scores of the labouring poor of Banwell.

The lower road, however, has the advantage so far as regards the approach to the cottage. Ascending to the entrance gate the eye catches the northern face of the hill on which the house is built, with all its rich embellishments, the Drudical circle and trilithon, broad surfaces of verdant turf, parterres of flowers, clusters of flourishing trees, and tasteful fancy structures of diversified form and designation. The mansion itself stands midway on the slope of the western extremity of one of the branches of the Mendip Hills, sufficiently high to command a glorious view, and protected at the same time by the acclivity at its back from the rage of the south-

Banwell. 219

western gales. Built at various times, its character has all that variety which forms a prominent feature of the picturesque; but judgment has directed fancy in all the additions, and improvement in comfort as well as appearance has resulted from every successive enlargement of the structure. . . .

Among the ornamental structures which decorate the ground in the immediate neighbourhood of the cottage is one of a character uncommon, but exceedingly interesting. The name of TO 02TEON designates it as a receptacle of the bones found in the adjoining cavern. Its form is an oblong oval, truncated at both ends, 22 feet long by 10 feet wide in the swelling diameter; with a thatched roof, a corridor around, and a front richly studded with spar and crystals.

The caverns, those most remarkable features of the cottage premises, are contiguous to the house — the one containing the animal remains, being not more than 40 yards from it, and the other within 20 feet of the drawing-room window. Our guide to both these natural curiosities was Mr. Beard, by whose sagacity the caverns were discovered, and by whose indefatigable labour they have been rendered convenient for public inspection. . . .

The Bone Cavern is attained by a succession of rude but not dangerous steps extending to its floor, about 30 feet below the surface of the soil above. The form of the interior is irregular, consisting of two apartments and a deep descending recess, in which a large mass of the bones, mingled with debris, has been suffered to remain in its original confused state. On every side are piles of these animal remains arranged in regular order. The floor, ceiling, and, if I may use the term, the wainscoting of the cavern present faces of irregular, solid and impenetrable rock, and the whole, when lighted up, would form a sublime subject for such a magic pencil as that of Louther- berg.* VICTOR.

Bath.

[1752, p. 257.]

The accompany ing sketch represents the monument on Lansdowne, near the city of Bath, erected in memory of Sir Bevel Granvile, who was there slain July 5, 1643. On the north tablet (in addition to some memorial verses) is the following inscription :

" To the immortal memory of his renowned and his valiant Cornish friends who conquered dying in the royal cause July 5, 1643, this column was dedicated by the Hon. Geo. Granvile, Lord Landsdowne, 1720. Dulce est pro patria mori."

On the south tablet is inscribed an extract from Clarendon's account of the battle ; on the west side are trophies of war ; on the east the king's arms and those of Granvile.

See Preface to Rev. W. L. Bevvies' poem on "Banwell Hill," p. xxix.

220 Somersetshire.

[1790, Part I., pp. 22,23.]

The view of Bath at a distance is splendid. But the entrance from the South Bridge leads into the narrow, irregular streets of the old city. Stall Street, which is a great thoroughfare into the High Street, is extremely inconvenient from its narrowness ; and the same remark may be made of a very considerable part of the way from the South Bridge to the London Road.

In the more ancient part of Bath many of the houses resemble the old ones in London, having the upper stories awkwardly projecting over the lower ones. But it must te observed, to the credit of the inhabitants, that when there is occasion to rebuild they adopt a better style of architecture. Most of the inns are in this part of the town.

The north and north-western parts of Bath exceed every city or town in the kingdom in the magnificence of their private buildings. The Circus, the Royal Crescent, the New Crescent (which is yet un- finished and stands on a hill above the former), Catharine Place, Portland Place, and many other ranges of stone buildings make a splendid figure.

The most elegant street, towards the centre of the town, is Milsom Street, in which are two banks — the Bath Bank and the Somersetshire Bank. To the westward the most striking buildings are Queen Square and the Queen's Parade. The North and South Parades are elegantly built and pleasantly situated near the Avon, with spacious terrace walks in the front of each.

For the better accommodation of bathers an elegant structure is now erected near the King's Bath to the south-west of the Pump Room. Not far from this spot is the cathedral of Bath, usually styled the Abbey Church.* The west front of this church exhibits some curious carvings of statues and other figures. It is upon the whole a magnificent pile, and is constructed with more uniformity than is generally observable in ancient collegiate churches. The monuments are very numerous in the north and south aisles.

The Guildhall is a very handsome edifice, situate in the High Street. It was built in 1786. The market, which is very com- modious, extends along the sides and at the back of this hall.

That rage for building which is so prevalent in this town has spread to the east side of the Avon. A new town as it were is now rising to the eastward of the bridge built a few years ago over this river by Mr. Pulteney. This bridge has small well-built tenements on each side, from one end to the other. C. C.

[i77o, pp. 512,513.]

In the Abbey Church at Bath, called St. Peter and St. Paul, is a monument of curious antiquity, erected to the memory of Dr. John

* See Gentleman s Magazine, vol. liii., p. 213.

Bath. 221

Felling, a rector of that church ; it bears the following Latin inscription, which lor its peculiarity I have transcribed :

"[Non mihi sed Ecclesise.]

' ' Reverendo Johanni Pellingo in Sacra Theologia Baccalaureo, qui tredecim annos huic praesuit Ecclesiae Dicatum.

" Lector habes stantem Pellingum umbone loquentem Et tamen hie situs est, hie jacet ille loquens, Scilicet urbis amor voluit sic stare loquentem, Quod jacet hie, orbis, quod tacet, esto dolor, Alter erat Solomon, nam quot consumpserat annos Ille perando Dei, hie tot reparando domum. Cujus et exemplo, verbo, conamine, cura, Hujus qui novus est, emicat sedis honnos. Per quem sic claves, per quern sic enses refulgent, Petre tuum meritum Paule teneto tuum, Sistitur umbra viti sed in hoc, cum possidet ipse Templum, quod dominus condidit ipse deus."

TRANSLATION.

" Sacred to the memory of the Reverend John Pelling, Batchelor of Divinity, who for thirty years presided over this church.

" Reader, behold present to thy view the effigies of that orator Pelling, whose remains are here interred. The love bore him by the city willed the erection of this monument, and that he no longer exists claims an universal grief. In his behaviour he acted like another Solomon, for as many years as the one laboured towards building, the other for so long a time was no less diligent in repairing a Temple in honour to the Deity : by whose example, assiduity, and care, the beauty of this church so splendidly appears. It was thro' him those emblematical signs of honour — the keys and sword — now decorate this mansion. The former meritoriously ascribed the ensign of St. Peter, the latter, the no less honourable badge of St. Paul. His fragile part of mortality is contained within this earthly tabernacle, whilst his most pure and eternal essence inhabit that Temple, the work only of God Himself. Buried the I5th of Feb., 1620."

Repaired and beautified by Dr. John Pelling, Rector of St. Anne's, Westminster,. Anno 1738.

[1783, pp. 213, 214.]

Subjoined is a table of persons for whom monuments have been erected in the Abbey Church at Bath . . . perhaps no one parish church contains a greater variety of interments, on account of the general resort to Bath from all parts of the British dominions.

The ancient Abbey of Bath, dedicated to St. Peter, was (it is said) founded by King Offa in 775, and was frequently repaired and augmented till Dr. Oliver, Dean of Windsor, began the present pile of building in 1459, which, however, was not finished till the year 1612. Since the Reformation, this church has undergone three considerable repairs. First, in the time of Queen Elizabeth, by the city of Bath, with the assistance of a general collection throughout the kingdom. Secondly, the south part of the cross aisle and the tower, as they now stand, were rebuilt at the expense of Thomas Bellot, Esq., the Lord- Treasurer Burleigh, and other benefactors; and, lastly, Dr. Mountague,

222

Somersetshire.

when Bishop of Bath and Wells, contributed largely towards com- pleting this church, in the middle aisle of which he lies interred.

TABLE OF MONUMENTAL INSCRIPTIONS.

Alchornus, Edward, S.T.P. 1652 Alleyne, Hannah, Barba-

does - - 1762

Asty, Elizabeth, Herts - 1736 Avery, William, London - 1745 Aubery, Edmund, Wells - 1757 Baker, William, D.D. - 1732 Baker, Sir William, Knt.,

London - 1770

Bave, Rebecca, Bath - 1725 Bave, Samuel, M.D.- -1668 Barnes, Bartholomew - 1607 BelMngham, John, Sussex - 1577 Beddingfield, Hon. Lady,

Norfolk - 1767

Billings, Frances, Bath - 1728 Billings, John, Bath - - 1732 Bostock, Richard, M.D.,

Salop - - 1747

Bosanquet, Jacob, London 1767 Blanchard, James, Somer- set - 1690 Bramston, Diana, Essex - 1725 Brocas, Thomas, South- ampton - 1750 Brocas, Mary, Southampton 1775 Brown, Nicholas, Northum- berland - 1762 Butt, John Marten, M.D. - 1769 Busby, Ann, Oxford- - 1751 Bushell, Hester, Bath - 1671 Bushell, Tobias, Bath - 1694 Callis, Admiral Smith, Bath 1761 Chapman, Richard, Bath - 1572 Chapman, William, Bath - 1627 Chapman, Peter, Bath - 1602 Chapman, Susannah, Bath 1672 Chapman, Walter, Bath - 1729 Clavering, Elizabeth, Dur- ham - - 1763 Churchill, Governor - - 1745 Clements, William -

i75° 1762

1764 1764

1757

J759

1759 i6i6 1736

1739 1746

- '753

- 1768

Cornish, Susanna, London Cowper, Rebecca, Herts - Coward, Leonard, Bath - Coward, Elizabeth, Bath - Crowle, David, York Cunliffe, Margaret, War-

w ick

Currer, Sarah, York - CullifTord, Robert, Dorset - Dunce, Samuel, London - Durell, Adv. Gen. of Jersey Dixon, Abraham, Northton Dixon, Alice, Northton Darell, John, Surrey - Darell, Catherine, Surrey - Duncombe, John - - 1747 Elletson, Governor of Ja- maica - - - 1775 Ernele, Walter, Wilts. - 1616 Fenwick, Jane, Northum- berland - - 1769 Fielding, Sarah - - 1761 Finch, Anne, Essex - -1713 Ford, Richard, Bath - - 1733 Ford, Eleanor, Bath - - 1732 Frampton, Mary, Dorset - 1698 Frowde, Sir Philip, Knt.,

Dorset - - 1674

Gee, Roger, York - - 1778 Gethin, Dame Grace, Ire- land - - 1697 Gordon, George, Aberdeen 1779 Goodfellow, Charles, Lon- don - 1728 Godfrey, Charles, Oxon - 1714 Greye, Elizabeth, North- umberland - - 1752 Grieve, Elizabeth - - 1758 Gunson, Richard, London 1762 .Gwyn, Elizabeth - - 1756 Gyare, Elizabeth - - 1688 Gyare, Mary - - - 1714

Bath.

223

Heath, William, Bath - 1607

Henshaw, Jonathan, Bath - 1764

Hobart, Dorothy, Norfolk - 1722

Hughes, Admiral - - 1774 James, Charles, D.D., Glo-

cester - - 1695 Jernegan, Sir John, Bart.,

Norfolk - - 1737 Jesup, Edward, Essex - 1770 Isham, Susanna, Northton - 1726 Ivy, Sir George, Knt, Wilts. 1639 Ivy, Dame Susanna, Wilts. Kelly, Elizabeth, Ireland - 1561 Kingston, Anthony, Bath Lamb, John, Jamaica - 1772 Legh, Calverly, M.D. - 1727 Leman, Dorothy - - 1709 Leyborn, Robert, D.D. - 1759 Leyborn, Rebecca - - 1756 Lloyd, Evan, Flints. - - 1728 Lister, Martha, Line. - 1725 Lowther, Catherine, West- moreland - - 1764 Lowther, Robert, West- moreland - - 1744 Madan, Col. Martin (see

P- 152) - i756

Maplet, John, M.D. - - 1670

Maplet, Anne - - 1670

Mason, Robert, Kent - 1662

Matthews, Anne, Stafford - 1742

Martin, Thomas, Devon - 1627 Masham, Dame Damaris,

Essex - - 1708 Montague, Bishop of Win- chester- - 1618 Morris, Thomas, London - 1763 Morrison, Elizabeth - - 1738 Molyneaux, Diana, Notting- hamshire - - 1750 Meredyth, Col. Henry, Ire- land - - 1715 Nicolls, Maria, Northton. - 1614 Norton, Col. Ambrose,

Somerset - - 1723

Ogle, John, Northum. - 1738

Oliver, William, M.D.,

Cornwall - - - 1716 Parker, John, Lane. - - 1761 Pearce, John, Bath - - 1672 Pedder, James, Jamaica - 1775 Fellings, John - - 1620 Pennington, Lady, Cumber- land - - 1738 Pipon, Thomas, Jersey - 1735 Pierce, Elizabeth - - 1671 Philips, Sir Erasmus, Bart,

Pembroke - - 1743 Phelips, Robert, Lane. - 1707 Poole, Serjeant, London - 1762 Porter, Catherine, Surry - 1779 Pringle, Margaret, Scotland 1728 Price, Elvedale, Denbigh - 1764 Piper, Granville, Cornwall - 1717 Quin, James - - 1764 Roebuck, John, York - 1767 Reeve, Mary, London - 1664 Rice, Griffith, Carmarthen 1729 Robinson, Luke, York - 1776 Rossey, Rebecca, York - 1765 Rossey, James (the Trage- dian), York - - 1769 Sanderson, Col. Robert,

Ireland - *744 Saunders, Erasmus, D.D. - 1775 Schutz, Elizabeth - - 1765 Scarfe, Elizabeth, Cornwall 1747 Shadwell, John, M.D. - 1747 Sherwood, Maria - - 1612 Sherwood, Henry • - 1620 Simpson, Joseph - - 1755 Simpson, Mary - 1755 Stacey, Richard, Westmin- ster - - 1714 Stapylton, John, York - 1750 Stewart, Brig. General - 1736 Stibbs, John, Bath - - 1708 Sowerby, Ralph, Northum. 1765 Southouse, Henry, London 1700 Southouse, Thomas, Lon- don - - 1716 Sutton, Robert, Nots - 7751

224

Somersetshire.

Swanton, Jane, Bath - - 1696 Swinburne, Sir John, Bart.,

Northum. - 1744

Taylor, John, London - 1711 Thompson, Lucy, Salop - 1765 Townshend, Hon. Edw.,

Dean of Norwich - - 1765 Tumor, John, Line. - - 17 19 Venner, Tobias, M.D. - 1660 Waller, Lady Jane Wahup, Margaret, Westm. 1718 Waldo, Elizabeth, Middle- sex - 1763 Wall, John, M.D., Wor- cester - - 1776

Wally, John - - 1615

Ward, Edward, Northum.- 1777

Watts, Robert, York - - 1739

Webb, John, Gloucester - 1745 Webb, Hon. Elizabeth,

Gloucester - - 1772

Wentworth, Hon. Lady,

York - - 1706

Winkley, Elizabeth, Lane. - 1756

Wiltshire, Anne - 1747

Woolmer, Edward, Bath - 1721

Woolmer, Susanna, Bath - 1752 Wyvill, Sir Marm. Asty,

York - - 1774

B.

[1789, Part /.,/. 189.]

In addition to the alphabetical list of monumental inscriptions in the Abbey Church at Bath, I send you the following names of persons for whom monuments have been erected in that abbey since the year 1782 :

Died A.D.

Boothby, Sir William, Bart. - - 1787

Buck, Dame Anne - - - 1764

Canning, Letitia, Ireland - - 1786

Clootwick, Jane - - - 1786

Gresley, Sir Nigel, Staffordshire Grenvill, Hon. Henry Houston, Sir Patrick, Scotland Jones, Loftus, Ireland - Leigh, Michael, Ireland - Millar, Lady, Bath Easton - Moutray, John, Scotland - Nagle, Mary, Ireland Howe, Elizabeth, Somersetshire Stonor, Lucy, Bath - Temple, Sir Richard, Bart. - Wharton, William, St. Kit's - Webb, Mary, Yorkshire

- 1787

- 1784

- 1785

- 1782

- 1782

- 1781

- 1785

- 1784

- 1779

- 1782

- 1786

- 1784

- 1786

[1785, Part //.,/. 523.]

In the Abbey Church of Bath is the following inscription : *' H. S. I. Dorothea et Maria, Filiae perambiles Johannis Enys de Enys in com.

Cornub. arm. Obiit Maria, Nov. i, 1775, get. 21 ; Dorothea, Jan. 30, 1785, aet.

30. Hoc. inane munus Hoc desiderii (exiguum licet) testimonium Fraternus amor

L. M. P."

Bath. 225

[1786, Part L, p. 99.]

In the north transept of the Abbey Church, Bath, is the following inscription :

"Underneath this lie the remains of the rev. GUYON GRIFFITH, D.D., who departed this life Jan. I, 1784, aged 54."

In the nave :

" Here lieth the body of ANNE, the wife of SAMUEL BUSH, of this city, apothecary, who died the 24th of July, 1744, aged 52. Here .also lieth the body of the said SAMUEL BUSH, Alderman and twice Mayor of this city, who died the 4th of March, 1784, aged 91."

[1799, Part //.,/. 1127.]

The subjoined epitaph to the late Sir William Draper, which is inscribed on a mural tablet in the south aisle of the Abbey Church at Bath, will not, perhaps, be unacceptable to his numerous friends who may not have seen it in its original situation :

" H. S. E. Vir summis cum animi turn corporis dotibus eegregie ornatus GULIELMUS DRAPER, Balnei eques : in schola Etonensis educatus, Cull, deinde Regal. Cantabrigise et alumnus et socius ; quorum utrumque tam moribus, qnam studiis honestavit. Altiore tamen a Natura ingenio prseditus, quam ut umbratili in academiae orio diletescens ad militiae laudem se totum contulit : et in diversis Europse Asiseque partibus stipendiis meruit. In India Orientali, A.D. 1758, exercitui regio imperavit ; obsessamque a Gallis S'ti Georgi arcem cum diu foriiter defendisset, strenua tandem facta eruptione, hostium copias, capto legionis prsefecto, repulit. Flagrante postea Hispaniense bello, anno 1762, expeditione contra Manillas auctor idem et dux fuit. Quibus expugnandis, dubium reliquit Britannise nonu n virtute magis an dementia insigniverit. Vale, dux acer ! Vir mansuete liberalis, vale ! Hoc sidum tuarum virtutum Ipectatseque a pueris amicitiae, posteris exemplar tradam. — C. A.

"Obiit Jan. A.D. 1787, setat. 66."

C. K.

[1808, Part I., p. 320.]

We have received the following account of some stone coffins which have been recently discovered in digging foundations for a new house at St. Catharine's Hermitage, near Bath, late the property of Philip Thicknesse :

The first was found below the walls of the old building, its head to the north-east, and in it was a complete skeleton, very perfect, above six feet long ; close to the bones of the feet were a number of iron rivet-nails, some held together by a substance like thin plates of iron, the nails in general half an inch to the point, turned back, and set very close together where a whole piece was found ; there was no coin, but many small fragments of black pottery, and a few long nails mixed with the earth found in the inside of the coffin. On the out- side of the cover on the right hand lay a skeleton, its head to the feet of the other, the bones of a very large size; near were some remains of a jaw, etc., of some animal like a horse.

The second coffin was several feet deeper in the ground, the head to the south-west, of the same length, but much broader and thicker ;

VOL. xxn. 15

226 Somersets h i re.

extended on the cover was a skeleton of a very large size, with the handle of a sword and part of the blade, all of iron, much corroded ; there is a guard to the handle, like a cutlass. A small flat piece of iron was also found, resembling a coin, but no impression of any figure to be made out. On taking off the cover, the inside was quite full of a smooth yellow clay, which appeared to have been lately in a liquid state ; on removing this, was found the skull and the greatest part of the bones, entirely decayed ; at the feet were the same kind of iron rivets, but no pottery. Whether these pieces of iron belonged to certain armour worn on the feet and legs, or were a kind of sandal, we are perfectly at a loss to guess. Why the heads should lie in different directions, and what was the meaning of bodies being buried on the outside of the coffin, we are equally unfit to determine. In this small spot of ground a number of coffins have been formerly dug out, and it is probable that several more will be found in the course of levelling the hill.

[1834, Part L, pp. 213-215.]

The Abbey Church of Bath is now undergoing some very extensive repairs. During several mayoralties, and particularly those of William Clark and Joshua Phillott, Esqs., some gentlemen of the Corporation happily conceived, and put into execution, the idea of discumbering the edifice of those unsightly buildings which were placed against it, as well as the accumulation of soil and stones by which its basis had long been hidden. In the course of this process the workmen unexpectedly opened, under the eastern buttress, part of the shafts and the bases of four columns, upon which the original superstructure was evidently laid : and they also discovered indications of a more continued line of architectural elevations, evidently the portions of an original and extended building.

Their plan was lately extended to the removal of the houses at the bottom of the High Street, or Market Place, thus opening a view of the whole north range of the church. Soon after this determination, large sums of money were voted by the Corporation for various works about the exterior of the abbey, and for removing the clock, which by its weight endangered the tower, and by its great diameter and bulk much injured its beauty and architectural proportions. This has been effected, and the dilapidations creditably repaired, under the care of Mr. Manners as architect. A new illuminated dial, of about 7 feet diameter, is to be placed in the centre of the gable end of the north transept.

In the works on the north and south aisles of the choir an im- portant restoration has been made. Those aisles were covered with leaden roofs in 1520, denuded thereof about 1539, and supplied in 1558 with the late heavy parapet wall, and stone and wood roofs, in the form of a A, one side of which, leaning against the clerestory

Bath. 227

windows of the choir, caused them to be deprived of their glass, and built up with stone, to the height of 5 feet, and the other rested upon the ponderous parapet wall, which obscured the fine bases and proportions of the elegant flying buttresses. These heavy parapet walls have been partly removed, and the stone blocking up the windows taken out and replaced with glass, and the roof covered with lead, which is placed in the identical grooves of the lead roof of 1520. It is also proposed to take down and lower the present stone and wood roofs of the transepts and choir, which have a higher elevation than the original lead roofs removed in the time of Henry VIII., and now injure the proportions of three sides of the tower.

Few who have visited Bath Abbey will forget the handsome carving of the great west doors, which were a contribution to the works of Bishop Montagu, in 1617, from his brother, Sir Henry Montagu, Chief Justice of the King's Bench. These carvings have been repaired by Mr. James Jones, of Bath, and a brass plate, com- memorating the circumstance, placed inside one of the shields. It is remarkable that during his labours a number of musket-balls were extracted from the wood.

The repairs of the interior have commenced with the oratory of Prior Bird, where the principal requisites are the abstersion of the elaborate carvings from numerous coats of cchre, and the removal of various monuments from the mullions of its graceful windows. This portion of the repairs has been undertaken by private subscrip- tions, under the care of Mr. -Edward Davis, architect, of Bath, the estimated expense being ^250, of which the greater part has been subscribed. It is a remarkable and gratifying circumstance that the names of the contributors will be preserved in the same " Codex Parochianus " by which those of the seventeenth century have been handed down.

The arrangement of the monuments throughout the building is also in contemplation, including the "cropping off their ridiculous excrescences, in like manner as has been effected in Winchester Catheral," a measure certainly desirable where they block up windows or deface architectural features, but in which, for the sake of family history and family feelings, we would suggest the most considerate judgment and cautious attention to the workmen.

The repairs, and the plans for repair, had proceeded so far when a few weeks ago some questions arose whether the buttresses of the church should or should not, in propriety, be surmounted with pinnacles, whether a pierced parapet should be added to the aisles, and whether a flying buttress, similar to those at the east end, should be erected on each side of the western turrets, in order to give a finish and connection to all parts of the west front . . .

Bath Abbey is in the latest period of Pointed architecture, nearly

2 2 8 Somersetsh ire.

coeval with the chapels of King's College, Cambridge ; St. George's, Windsor; and that of Henry VII. at Westminster; but, although it possesses the general features of the style in which they are, it is itself simple and unadorned, almost to plainness. It is evident, from the composition, that pinnacles were never intended on the buttresses of the aisles at Bath ; and St. George's, at Windsor, is without them in that situation. The flying buttresses carry the composition up- ward, without that interruption, much better ; but it would accord alike with good taste, and with the authority of numberless examples, to terminate the buttresses on the walls of the nave and choir with pinnacles. The proposed cutting away of the heads of the flying buttresses against the walls of the nave is itself a barbarism, but the restoration is infinitely worse : it would break up the composition, and tend much to destroy the abbatial, or even metropolitan, char- acter which the flying buttresses tend to give the edifice. The pro- posed pierced and machicolated parapet is certainly in conformity with the style of the period, but totally at variance with the plain and simple guise which it assumes in this edifice, and for which it is so highly valuable.

[1844, Fart /.,/. 246.]

The first subject in the accompanying plate represents one of the turrets at the west end of Bath Abbey as they appeared before the late changes, when pinnacles were substituted for these turrets.

Bathampton.

[1804, Part //., /. 621.]

The enclosed drawing (Plate II., Fig. i), is taken from a figure placed in a niche in the east outside wall of Hampton Church, near Bath. AN ANTIQUARY.

[1841, Part //.,/. 304.]

A curious discovery has been made during the progress of works for the Great Western Railway. The workmen, while engaged at Bathampton, in the neighbourhood of Bath, found three skeletons, two of which were lying side by side, while the third was within 6 or 7 feet of the others. In the breast of one of these skeletons was discovered a ball of a pound and a half in weight, from which circum- stance it has been presumed that the bodies were those of indi- viduals who had fallen in some of the battles during the civil wars. The ball is in the possession of a person in the neighbourhood of the spot where these curious relics were found.

Box.

[1830, Part //., /. 224.]

There overlooks the valley of Box a brow of an extensive plain, called Kingsdown Hill, from the summit of which the eye is carried

Box. 229

to an immense distance, both eastward and westward. The brow is in shape like one side of an immense artificial mound, and in appear- ance is not unlike a vertical section of a cone, or it may be described, indeed, as being somewhat similar to the human nose, projecting from the lofty plain above, and sloping gradually downward to its base.

This elevated spot is about five miles from Bath (Aqua Solis, or Sulis), and is nearly in a direct line between this city and Abury ; not, indeed, within sight of Bath, but directly in view of that lofty conical mound-like eminence rising above this city on the eastward, which is still so singularly called " Little Salisbury, or Sulisbury," and which probably bore formerly the same religious relation to the Temple of Sul (Apollo) at Bath, as the lofty eminence of Old Salis- bury did to the venerable temple of Stonehenge in the plain below.

Bruton.

[1789, Part 1 7., pp. 800, 801.]

Bruton, a small town in Somersetshire, stands in a small valley, through which runs a small stream, over which are two small bridges. That part of the street which is opposite to the church is tolerably wide ; it is narrow afterwards, and the houses in general are mean. There are two silk mills, in which a good many people are employed. There is a neat almshouse, founded by Hugh Sexey, Esq., auditor to Queen Elizabeth and King James I., as an inscription under his bust informs. It consists of a small quadrangle, the south side of which is occupied by a chapel and hall, under which is a schoolroom fur twelve boys, who are clothed and educated for two years, and then put out apprentices with two suits of clothes. Neat apartments for four men and four women take up the rest of the building ; the former have 55. a week, the latter 45. 6d., a gown and coals. The minister of the parish reads prayers every day, and preaches once a month, for which he has ^20 a year.

On the other side of the stream, the south side of the churchyard, stood the abbey, founded before the Conquest by Almerus, or Algarus, Earl of Cornwall, for monks of the Order of St. Benedict ; but they were changed into canons-regular by William de Mohun, grandson of William de Mohun who came over with William I. This William gave them the manors of Bruton and Bruham, and was buried here.* On the Dissolution, the site of the abbey, the parson- age, and the manor, were granted to Sir Maurice Berkley, from whom it descended to the late Lord Berkley of Stratton. His heirs sold it to Sir Richard Hoare, who married the daughter of Henry Hoare, Esq., the maker of Stourhead. His son, the present Sir Richard, has pulled down the greatest part of the house, and is ready to sell the rest by the cart-load to any who want stone. . . . * Dugd., " Mon.," vol. ii., p. 206.

Somersetshire.

A good deal of the abbey was rebuilt by William Gilbert, the last abbot, not long before the dissolution. Over the north door of a narrow passage which led to the church is a shield, carved in stone, with arms (probably of the abbey, a chevron charged with three roses) between the letters W. G. On each side of this door, in a small niche, is a lion's head well carved. On the south side of this entry is a shield, with a pair of shears open, the letter P between the blades. This is said to be for Philip Shears, a former abbot.

The principal entrance seems to have been on the south side. Part of the battlement over tiie gateway remains, and on it is a shield with the letters p b, and something between them which I could not distinguish. These few things, with part of the groin of an arch, and some buttressed walls enclosing the stable-yard, seem to be all that now remains of any antiquity marked by anything peculiar.

The late Lord Berkley of Stratton lived here in great hospitality, and the poor had no reason to regret the discontinuance of the abbot's alms; provisions were liberally distributed amongst them. The rooms were fitted up with cornices of stucco of the taste of his time, some of which are yet to be seen, and some of his numerous mottoes are not quite defaced. One commemorates a visit paid him by the Princess Amelia in 1767. One of his sun-dials remarks, " Vestigia nulla retrorsum "; another calls on your attention with " Indico utere." Over the remains of his study door, "Quid verum atque decens euro et rogo, et totus in hoc sum." The garden is turned into grass ground ; it was enriched with some noble trees, of which a very few remain to show what their brethren were. An arch over the road led to some ponds in the meadows on the other side, by which were some walks. The little stream runs through these grounds. The ground rising to the south of the house spreads into not a large park. . . .

The church is that of the abbey, and built in that style. . . . Over the altar is a pediment of stucco between two Corinthian pillars, and the coved roof and the arch which separates the chancel from the body of the church are filled with stucco ornaments. In this chancel is a tablet for Captain Berkley, of the Tiger man-of-war, and another for another of the family. . . .

In making some repairs or alterations a number of bones were found, which were collected and deposited in the churchyard under a marble, on which is the following inscription :

" Pulvis et ossa sumus cadaverum antehac jacentium in ossiario subadyto hujusce ecclesiae sub hoc marmore condita jussu honorabilis C. Berkley, Anno 1743."

Abbot Gilbert is said to have resided in the town after the dissolu- tion, to have died of a broken heart, and to have desired that he might be buried just within the churchyard. His tomb, much decayed, remains close to the wall at the north-west corner. In

Bruton. 2 3 1

rebuilding the churchyard wall a few years ago the workmen went so near to his grave as to lay his skull bare.

The church consists of a nave, a north and south aisle, and a handsome tower. The north aisle is said to be the oldest.

Charlton Musgrove.

[1813, Part //.,/. 641.]

I send you a brass plate with a figure coarsely engraved, which is evidently designed for William. Prince of Orange, afterwards King William III. The inscription, "Syr Konink Lecke Hoog Heyt, etz.," from the information of a Dutch officer, ought to be " Syn Koninglyke Hoog Heyt, etz.," and signifies "His Royal Highness," etc. The plate, with another with several whole figures (now lost), was dug up in rooting an ancient tree near the churchyard at Charlton Musgrove, near Wincaunton, in the county of Somerset, and was probably a badge worn by some of the adherents of King William during his progress from Torbay through the Western counties. From the place and manner in which it was found, one might indeed be led to conclude that it belonged to a fugitive from the battle of Sedgemoor after the Duke of Monmoutlvs defeat; but I do not recollect that the avowed partisan of \Villiam appeared publicly in Monmouth's enterprise. T. R.

Chelvey.

[1833, Part //.,/. 209.]

The church at Chelvey in Somersetshire, a neat little building, consists of a nave, chancel, south aisle, and well-built tower. In the aisle, which belongs to the lord of the manor, is the manor pew, enclosed by richly carved oak panelling, and the side wall is wrought into three arched canopies, a specimen of which I have engraved on wood. They are separated by square columns with crocketed heads, and covered by contrasted arches feathered below and ending above in finials, and they rise from bases of the character of table tombs, the sides of which are sunk into arched panels beneath a band of roses and a cornice moulding (see Plate II.).

This aisle might have been built by the Acton family, who held the manor about the time of Edward III.

The cross and barn, of which I have also sent you engravings, are still complete. The latter (see Plate II.) is a large and well-built structure, supported by massy buttresses with a lofty porch projecting from the middle, and a lower building, I suppose for stables, at the end of it.

The court-house is now occupied by the fanner who holds the land. The lord of the manor, C. K. K. Tynte, Esq., is the patron of the living ; and the late incumbent, Dr. Shaw, once an associate of Dr. Johnson's, was the author of a Gaelic Grammar and Dictionary, and

Somersetshire.

I believe one of the writers in the controversy about the authenticity of Ossian's poems. W. BARNES.

Chilton Cantelo.

[1 865, Part II., p. 223.]

On visiting the church of St. James the Less, Chilton Cantelo, Somerset, I found it in course of rebuilding in very good style, the tower excepted. In pulling down the north transept of the church, which dated circa 1480 to 1500, a very interesting wall-painting was discovered, extending to about 16 feet in squares of varied subjects about 28 inches high. It occupied the west, north and east walls, and included the splays of a three-light Perpendicular window. The first subject includes numerous well-drawn weeping figures, around the death-bed of a female, whose disembodied soul, indicated by a miniature figure, is received by our Lord, whose head is surrounded by the golden nimbus. The second depicts a group carrying a corpse — taken from the bed. The third, men carrying a bier by poles on the shoulder, lamenting figures being depicted in the fore- ground. The fourth, the body in swath-bands lowered into the tomb, the officiating ecclesiastic arrayed in a mitre with a cross on the apex. The fifth represents the Judgment, " Satan the Accuser" in the corner. The sixth, the acceptance, an ascending body with a rejected figure below. The seventh, the crowning the redeemed. The groundwork of the whole is powdered with lilies in pairs ; several of them, however, have the stem of the left-hand flower opposite to the observer broken off. The paintings probably records the domestic trials of the unknown founder of this transept and chantry, in which probably the obit of his deceased wife was solemnly observed. T. G. N.

Clevedon.

\i%Z*» PartL< pp. 359, 360.]

Clevedon Court, in Somersetshire, the seat of the Rev. Sir Abraham Elton, Bart., is beautifully situated on the coast of the Bristol Channel, about twelve miles from the city of Bristol. The manor belonged to a family which used the local name from the reign of Henry II. to that of Edward III,, and then passed by heiresses through the names of Hogshaw and Lovel to that of Wake. The first of the latter family here seated was Sir Thomas Wake, a gentleman of the Privy Chamber to King Edward IV. His descen- dants were afterwards baronets, and from a junior branch of them sprang William Wake, Archbishop of Canterbury in 1715-37. Clevedon passed from the Wakes about the reign of Charles I. to John Digby, Earl of Bristol, and from that family it was purchased by Sir Abraham Elton, who was created a baronet in 1717, and who was great-grandfather to the present possessor. . . .

Clevedon. 233

The court was built during the occupancy of the Clevedons in the reign of Edward II. Its external design is remarkable for the breadth and boldness of the porch and the long window, between which is the only other window by which light is admitted on the south side. The ancient chimneys and turreted pinnacles are interesting specimens of their age. The kitchen was rebuilt in the reign of Elizabeth, and possesses considerable merits ; its prevailing ornaments are imitated from an older style — an example which was neglected by the architect who was afterwards employed on the other side of the building ; whilst, as if to prove that taste in architecture could sink still lower, the west front was during the last century rebuilt in the Chinese Gothic fashion.

The interior of the hall has been modernized, excepting the space under the gallery, which, with the arches of entrance, retains the original triple doorways leading to the kitchen and its offices. On the northern side is a fireplace with a window immediately above it, now filled with the royal arms of England, from Egbert to George IV. On the western side of the hall is a carved stone doorway, conduct- ing to the apartments on that side of the mansion through a wall of great thickness.

The ancient portion still exhibits so solid and durable a character that the external alterations which the building underwent in the sixteenth century must surely be ascribed rather to a preference for the style of architecture which belonged to the period first named, and which was characterised by broad and lofty windows, with many mullions, than to any decay in the strength of the original edifice, or any deficiency in the dimensions of its apartments ; and this opinion seems corroborated by the fact that the walls of the principal members were not demolished, but only altered and perhaps a little heightened, and the singularly formed pediments by which they are surmounted were made to out-top the roof of the magnificent hall, whose gable was never very prominent above the parapet. A far more sweeping alteration was made on the side of the offices, which were probably enlarged and extended on all sides beyond their ancient limits; but age has rendered these venerable, and their design is so handsome that they cannot be viewed without admiration.

J. C. B.

Congresbury.

[1828, Part J., p. 462.]

In pulling down part of an old farmhouse, the property of Mr. Beaks at Brinzey, in the parish of Congresbury, Somerset, the labourers lately found a small screw box containing 115 silver and 23 gold coins. The silver ones are groats of Henry V., two of them struck at Calais, and the others at London. One of the gold coins is the noble of Henry VI., on which the king, with his sword drawn in his right hand and his shield on his left, is standing in the centre of a

234 Somersetshire.

ship to show that he was lord of the seas, with his titles round it. Upon the reverse is a cross fleury, with lioneux, inscribed " JESUS

AUTEM TRANSIENS PER MEDIUM ILLORUM IBAT " (Luke iv. 30). The

other is the recoinage of the noble by Edward IV., called the rial ; it has the king in the ship, as usual, with a full-blown rose, the badge of the House of York, on the side, and a square flag at the stern with the letter E (Edward) in commemoration of his victory at Mortimer's Cross. The reverse is distinguished by the sun, the impress of Edward, and by him first introduced upon the coins. The coins are in a state of high preservation.

Corscombe.

[1819, Part L, pp. 512, 513.]

Corscombe is a retired village near the borders of Somersetshire. The surrounding country is hilly and rather romantic, being on the verge of the Dorsetshire Downs ; it is enclosed and not altogether destitute of trees, but the general aspect is rather cold and cheerless. The village is small and on the side of a hill ; a narrow path through a dell conducted us up a hill to Urles,* the house occupied by Mr. Hollis. It faces the south-east, and is protected by some trees, the situation being high and rather exposed ; behind the house is a neat piece of water and a grove of fir-trees. It is a mere farm- house now inhabited by a farmer ; it -is not large and apparently out of repair. The part occupied by Mr. Hollis consists only of a small low parlour, having a sash window and a chamber above, in which I am told he died, though it appears from the account in his memoirs that he died suddenly in one of the adjoining fields. The parlour at present is not furnished. . . . Near the house is a field, in which are six trees planted on mounds of earth. These are probably some of the trees planted by Mr. Hollis and named after celebrated patriots ; he was accustomed to name his farms and fields in like manner ; but the farmer who now resides at Urles was not acquainted with the circumstance and could therefore give no information on the subject. The field in which he was buried is close to the house ; the parlour window looks into it. Notwithstanding it was ploughed up at the time of Mr. Hollis' burial, the exact spot of his grave is well ascer- tained. According to the account of an old man now residing at Corscombe, who remembers Mr. Hollis, it was near the centre of the field, between a tree and a small rock ; and as the ground has sunk down a trifle at one place there can be but little doubt on the subject. The field has not been ploughed up since the time of his death. It is large and open, surrounded by trees planted by Mr. Hollis ; from the upper part of it are some fine views extending over

* A view of Urles Farm was communicated, in 1815, by its then owner, the late Rev. Dr. Disney, to the new and greatly improved edition of Hutchins's " History of Dorsetshire." — EDIT.

Corscombe. 235

the rich vales of Somerset. • The Dorsetshire Downs stretch away behind. I believe the nearest market town is Beaminster. The Disney family, who inherit the property, have never resided at Corscombe. Mr. Disney, the present possessor, was High Sheriff for Dorsetshire last year. The estates includes the whole parish of Corscombe and part of Halstock. I. P. I.

Doulting.

[1796, Part II., p. 985.]

On the south side of the Mendip Hills stands the village of Doulting, once noted as the residence of that pious abbot and saint, Adhelm, the nephew of the wise and good king Ina. Adhelm died here in 709, and a chapel was erected to his memory. Near the spot where this chapel stood is a fine spring of excellent water, enclosed in a recess in an old wall, and which to this day is called St. Adhelm's well. Passing by this spot not long since, I was induced to make a sketch of this fragment of antiquity for the use of your magazine (Plate I., Fig. 2). A. CROCKER.

Dundry.

[1830, Part /.,/. 105.]

The village of Dundry, in Somersetshire, is situated on a range of hills, or rather one vast hill, 790 feet above the level of the sea, which may be said to commence at Bedminster.

Its name is derived, says Collinson, from two Erse words, Dun and Dreagh, signifying " hill of oaks," of which wood, no doubt, there was plenty in former times.

The manor of Dundry was formerly united to that of Chew Magna, and held by the Bishops of Bath and Wells, for a period of 500 years, until the time of Edward VL, when it was alienated from the Church and given to the Duke of Somerset, on whose attainder it reverted to the Crown, and passed through several hands, until it came from the Popham family to the Summers, who are its present possessors.

This village has been honoured with a most magnificent tower, appended to a most insignificant church. But the former, which was erected in the reign of Edward IV. is a landmark for an amazing extent, and might probably have been originally intended as such by the founder or founders, rather than as necessary for so contemptible a structure as that which shrinks beneath it. A turret crowns the north-east angle, and buttresses of eight gradations sup- port three others. Four horizontal strings separate the height into as many storeys, each of which contains pointed windows, with neat mullions. The upper string, or cornice, has projecting grotesque heads of animals on every angle but the north-east, and one over each window to the cardinal points. The former support beautiful pierced flying buttresses to the four lanterns or pierced turrets ; and

236 Somersetshire.

the latter octagon columns embattled. The rich effect of the whole will be best exemplified by the annexed print (see Plate I.).

The south-west, or weather-sides of this fine tower, have recently been thoroughly and judiciously repaired, by the substitution of sound stones for those which were decayed.

From the summit of this tower is a fine view of Bristol, with its numerous spires, contrasted with the more solid tower of the cathedral. More to the left are the Crescents at Clifton, almost overhanging the Hot Wells ; and below the picturesque rocks of St. Vincent are occasional views of the Avon, bounded by the hanging woods of Stoneleigh. Rather more to the west is Sir John Smyth's elegant seat at Long Ashton, over which are seen the waters of the Severn, bounded by the Welsh coast. To the south, the eye ranges over a rich and varied country, including Alfred Tower, and the luxuriant woods rising above Sir R. C. Hoare's seat at Stourhead ; also Knoll Hill, near Warminster, with the noble plantations at Longleat, belonging to the Marquess of Bath and the Duke of Somerset at Maiden Bradley ; beyond which are the high downs of Wilts and Dorset.

The body of Dundry church is of more ancient date than the tower. The columns of the arches are plain and massive, and at the west end of the nave is a small lancet window of the early English era. The font is octagonal, with a large recess, and is enriched with sculpture of an early age.

In the church is a monument to William Symes, gent., and several of his successors. There are also memorials of the families of Tibbot, Haythorne, and Baker, of Alwick Court ; and one to William Jones, of Bishport, of whom it asserts, " that his natural abilities, unaided by academical education, enabled him to refute, with uncommon sagacity, the slavish systems of usurped authority over the rights, the consciences, or the reason of mankind."

In the churchyard is a cross, with a tall shaft, having an orna- mented head, nearly perfect, fixed on a high pedestal, on five rows of steps. Near it originally stood an immense stone, of about 5 feet cubic measure, which has been removed to the southern side or the church. It is called the " Money Stone," and on it the poor have been paid from time immemorial. North of the church are the mutilated remains of an ancient stone coffin ; and contiguous is an antique house, built by the Bishop of Bath and Wells for the resi- dence of the officiating curate, but now converted into the parish poorhouse.

Dundry contains 2,800 acres of land, 82 houses, 92 families, and 454 inhabitants. The living is a curacy annexed to Chew Magna.

A TRAVELLER.

Dim dry. 237

[1862, Part /.,//. 22, 23.]

On October 16 last the church of St. Michael at Dundry was reopened, after having been almost completely rebuilt, under the direction of a Bristol architect, by Bristol tradesmen. The splendid and well-known tower, which is a celebrated landmark, as from its great height (being built on the summit of a high hill) it can be seen for a considerable distance out on the Atlantic, has been allowed to stand, and has been restored internally, and a new ringing-loft pro- vided. The church, which was in a ruinous state, has been entirely taken down and rebuilt on an extended scale. The work, which has been most creditably executed and has given general satisfaction, was undertaken in great measure in consequence of the munificence of the Rev. D. Boutflower, chaplain, R.N., who gave, it is said, ^600 towards it ; the remainder of the money (with the exception of about ;£ioo, which has yet to be procured) has been raised by rate and by voluntary contributions. The cost entailed has been ^1,500. . . . During the demolition of the old church some interesting relics were discovered. The ancient stone pulpit Vas found embedded in the wall ; and a figure, 3 feet high, supposed to be a statue of St. Michael, much discoloured, was buried in plaster ; some old coins were also picked up, among which was a Bath farthing of ancient date. The old church was supposed to have been erected in the twelfth or thirteenth century.

The restoration, or rebuilding rather, has been carried out under the superintendence of Mr. S. B. Gabriel, architect, of Bristol. A new aisle has been added on the south side, with piers and arches corresponding with the old ones on the north side, which have also been taken down and rebuilt. Such of the old windows as were in good character have been repaired and reinserted in new walls, with a new east window in the chancel. The floor of the church has been raised 2 feet; the roofs are open and of red deal, stained and varnished, with carved ribs and principals, filled in with tracery and supported on carved brackets, representing angels with different musical instruments. Open benches of pitch pine, varnished, have been substituted for the old sleeping-boxes. The west gallery has been removed, and the fine tower archway restored and thrown open to the church. A new vestry has been built on the north side. The pulpit is octagonal, and of Bath stone, with red Devonshire marble shafts and freestone arches over — the panels filled in with sacred monograms, and a statue of St. Michael in the centre one. The chancel-arch is also supported on red Devonshire marble detached shafts, and carved brackets representing two archangels. The roof of the chancel is polygonal, of red deal boarding, stained and varnished, with moulded ribs and bosses at the intersections — the latter facsimiles of some old ones found in taking down the old roofs.

238 Somersetsh ire.

The font has been cleansed of innumerable coats of whitewash, and is placed near the south porch. A new organ, with an open front and one row of keys, by Bevington, of London, has been placed at the east end of the north aisle, and the church warmed by Messrs. Haden's apparatus. The altar-rails, brackets, and standards for candles are of wrought-iron and brass foliage, made by Mr. Singer, of Frome, and the carving was executed in a masterly style by Mr. Henry Margetson, of Bristol.

On the day of opening the church presented a very tasteful appear- ance, being decorated with flowers and evergreens, and having appro- priate inscriptions in various parts. The altar-cloth, ministers' cushions, etc., which were beautifully worked, were presented by the Misses Shorland ; the altar-cloth was of blue velvet, with the mono- gram "I.H.S." upon it. The altar-rails were presented by the Rev. Prebendary Ommaney, who was formerly the incumbent of Chew Magna-cum-Dundry ; but at his instance we understood the two places were separated, the cure of Chew Magna remaining with the Rev. Prebendary, and that of Dundry devolving upon the Rev. C. Boutflower, who still retains it. There was a musical service, Mr. Welsh, of All Saints', Margaret Street, London, presiding at the organ, and the congregation was very numerous, including most of the clergy and gentry of the neighbourhood, in addition to many who came from Bristol and other towns.

Dunster.

[1808, Part 77. , pp. 873-879.]

Dunster, in the hundred of Carhampton, county Somerset, is situate about twenty-five miles from Bridgewater, and three from Minehead, on the margin of a rich and fertile vale, open on the north to the Bristol Channel, which is one mile distant, but bounded on all other sides by steep and lofty hills, rising one behind another in grand succession. The chief of these are Gallox Hill, Grabice, and the Conyger,* on which is a circular building, erected by the late Mr. Luttrell, as an object from the castle.

In the time of the Saxon heptarchy it was a place of great note, and was a fortress of the West Saxon kings. At this period, and for some centuries after, it was called Torre (a fortified tower), but in after days Dunestorre, in modern orthography Dunster, the mountain- tower. At the Norman Conquest it constituted the head of a large barony, and was given, together with no less than fifty-six manors or vills in this county, by William the Conqueror to Sir William de Mohun, whose descendants resided here in great feudal magnificence,

* The Conygre, or Rabbit Ground, was a common appendage to manor houses. Gallox, or Gallows Hill, requires no explanation. I know not the etymology of Grabice, anciently Grobfast.

DunsUr. 239

and possessed it till 50 Edward III., when the relict of Lord John Mohun,* one of the firsts knights of the Garter, sold the reversion of the barony, honour, and manor of Dunster, together with the manors of Minehead and Kilton, and the hundred of Carhampton, to Lady Elizabeth Luttrell, relict of Sir Andrew Luttrell, of Chilton, county Devon, and daughter of Hugh Courtney, Earl of Devonshire. It continued in the Luttrells till the last century, when Alexander Luttrell, Esq., dying without male heir, left his estates to descend to one sole daughter and heiress, Margaret, married to Henry Fownes, Esq., of Nethaway, county Devon, who thereupon assumed the name of Luttrell, and was father of John Fownes Luttrell, Esq., the present resident at Dunster Castle, and M.P. for Minehead, of which he is lord of the manor and chief proprietor.

The castle is a large and stately edifice, crowning a steep hill (still called the Torr), at the south extremity of the principal street, and commanding a fine view of the town, the sea, and the mountains of South Wales. It is supplied with water from a spring, over which a conduit is built, on the side of Grabice, which I presume to be the Well of St. Leonard mentioned in ancient writings.! The planta- tions, park, and surrounding scenery have distinguished claims on the notice of admirers of picturesque beauty. . . .

During the Civil Wars Dunster Castle was garrisoned, and alter- nately possessed by the Royal and Parliamentary forces. The celebrated William Prynne, for defying Cromwell's authority and refusing payment of taxes, was committed close prisoner to this place July i, 1650, where he remained till January 12 following, and was then removed to Taunton Castle. Whilst in confinement at Dunster he wrote " Sad and serious Considerations touching the invasive war against our Presbyterian Brethren of Scotland" (Wood's "Ath.Oxon.," vol. ii., p. 438). The town itself consists chiefly of two streets, the one running in a north and south direction, formerly called the north but now the Fore Street, the other branching westward from the church and called the West Street. Other streets there are, but so much depopu- lated as scarcely to deserve the name. The following often occurs in old feoffments : St. Thomas Street, St. George Street, Church Street, Water Street, Gallox Street, and the Bailey. The Fore Street is close built, paved, and of a tolerable breadth, but blocked up in the middle by an old market-cross and a long range of ruinous shambles.

Many of the houses are good, being built with wrought stone (of these the Luttrell Arms, an excellent inn, is most conspicuous), but the greater part are low, rough stone thatched buildings, with old

* There is a tradition that this lady obtained from her husband as much ground for the commons of the town of Dunster as she could walk round in one day barefoot.

f "Dimidiam acram terre subtus Grobbefast, juxta fontem Sancti Leonardi," 51 Edw. III., " Seysinam in una acra terre arrbile in campis de Dunsterr, vocata above ye town, prope fontem Sancti Leonardi." 14 Hen. IV. Deeds, penes W. H.

240 Somersetshire.

pent-houses over the doors and windows, and chimneys towards the street.

The market is on Friday, and a fair is held on Whit Monday. The following charter relates thereto :

"Sciant presentes et futuri, quod ego Reginaldus de Moyhun* dedi, concessi, et hac mca presenti carta confirmavi, Hugoni Ron- devin, et Roberto Luci, et Roberto Venatori, et Rogero Priver, et Roberto Chipera, et Symoni Coc, burgensibus meis de Dunestor, et heredibus eorum, habendi et in perpetuum possidendi de me et heredibus meis, Nundinas et Forum in eoduin vico del Nord, libere, et quiete, et integre, et sine remocione et impedimento, de me et heredibus meis. Propter hanc autem donationem et concessionem de me et heredibus meis, sibi et heredibus suis in perpetuum habendam, dederunt michi predicti burgenses unum tunellum vini, de precio quadraginta solidorum, in recognicionem. In hujus rei securita- tem, huic scripto sigillum meum apposui. Hijs tebtibus, Domino Johanne de Regn. Rogonef filio Symonis, Willielmo Everraddo, Ricardo de Holne, Rogero Pollard, Roberto de Cogstane, Galfrido de Kytenor, Galfrido de Lucumba, et alijs."

The seal of green wax (Plate II., Fig. i), bearing [gules] a dexter arm, habited with a maunch [ermine], the hand holding a fleurs-de-lis [Or]. The circumscription, SIGILL. REGINALDI . DE - MOVN.J

In the year 1801, the parish of Dunster, which comprehends the vills of Avill, Stanton, Alcombe, and Marsh, contained 183 inhabited houses, 36 uninhabited houses, 370 males (whereof 115 were em- ployed in agriculture), and 402 females ; but at the beginning of last century there were nearly 400 houses, and a large manufacture of kersey-cloths,§ which is now wholly removed to other places. The inhabitants have a tradition that 24 master-clothiers from hence, were used to attend the fairs of Bristol and Exeter. Anciently, like other places under Castle-ward, Dunster assumed the name of a borough ; the burgesses whereof possessed certain lands and tenements, and had a common seal.

29 Henry III. Richard the Bailiff of Dunster (Prapositus de Dunetore] was amerced in the sum of io6s. 8d. for exporting corn without license. ||

20 Edward III. it was rated to furnish three armed men for the wars.U It sent Members to Parliament; but we retain the names of only two of its representatives, viz., Walter Morice and Tho. Cartere, who were returned 34 Edward III.

* Reynald de Mohun lived in the reign of John, and was succeeded by his son of the same name, who died 41 Hen. III., 1256.

t Probably for " Hugone." % From the original, penes W. H.

§ The cloths called " Dunsters " are mentioned in several of the old statutes. II Madox, " Echeq.," vol. ii., p. 559. IF Rymer, " Foedera," torn. v. , p. 493.

Dunster. 241

John de Mohun* granted thefollowing charters f to the burgesses :

" Omnibus Johannes de Moyun, salutera in Domino. Noverit

universitas vestra me concessisse, confirmasse, et quietum clamasse in perpetuurn pro me et hered. meis, omnibus burgensibus ville mee de Donestorr et hered. eorum, omnes libertates ejusdem ville quas Dominus Regenaldus de Moyun, avus meus, dictis burgensibus et hered. eorum aliquando per cartam suam dedit et concessit, et sicut ipsa carta in omnibus punctibus testator, sine aliqua calumpnia inde de cetero facienda. Concessisse ecciam dictis burg, et hered. eorum invenire annuatim ballivum unum ydoneum et fidelem, ad recipien- dum, presentandum, et fideliter respondendum de attachiamentis infra burgum factis. Et si idem ballivus qui pro tempore fuerit in aliquo modo versum dominum vel dictos burgenses sive heredes eorum deliquerit, ipse idem ballivus emendationem faciet domino suo, secundum consuetudinem burgi, et loco suo dicti burgensi alium ballivum ydoneum ad opus domini ponant. Pro hac autem conces- sione, etc., dederunt michi dicti burgenses viginti solidos argenti pre manibus. In cujus rei test, huic present! scripto sigillum meum apposui. Hijs testibus ; Domino Johanne de Brytasch, milite, Philippe de Locum, Ricardo de Cloudesham, Joh. de Holne, Galfr. de Kytenare, Galfr. le Tort, Will. Everard, Will. Pyron, Rob. de Laputte, et alijs."

"Omnibus Johannes de Mohun, Dorninus de Dunsterre,

salutem in Domino. Noverit univ. vestra me dedisse, concessisse pro me et hered. meis, et omnibus alijs Dominis Custodibus Ballivis de Dunsterre, omnibus Burgensibus ville mee de D. manentibus imperpetuum, viginti Lagenas Cervisie de viginti et quatuor Lagenis Cervisie prius michi debitis, de quolibet Bracino. Volo eciam et concede pro me et hered. meis et omn. Dom. Custodibus et Ballivis quibuscunque, quod de cetero non possimus capcionem de Bracino alicujus in eadem villa facere nee habere, nisi quatuor Lagenas Cervisie de Bracino sicud illas habuim. et consuem. a termino pre- terito, et illas de Cervisia quam Ballivus invenit in vendicione die quisicionis. [Warranty, contra omnes mortales.] In cujus rei test., etc. Hijs testibus ; Domino Henrico de Glaston, Milite, Rad. le Tort, Galf. de Loccumbe, Will, de Kytenore, Will, de Holne, Rob. Everard, Galfr. de Avele, et alijs. Data apud D. die Domin. prox. post festum Purif. Beate Marie, anno regni Regis Edw. fil. Regis Edw. septimo decimo."

" A tous Johan de Mohun, seyngnour de Dunsterre, saluz en

Deu. Sachez nous aver ressu de mes Burgeys de la vile de Dun- sterre, Karaunte Lyveres, en les queus il me furunt tenus, pur les prises de la vile aens vendus, des queus Karaunte Lyveres nous conysum estre ben e leaumentes payes, E les avauntdiz Burgeys e

* John de Mohun died 4 Edw. III. 1329. f From the originals, penes W. H. VOL. XXII. 1 6

242 Somersetsh ire .

lour heyrs, a tous jours estre quites. En temonyance, etc. Done a Dunsterre, la procheyn Lundy devaunt la feste Seynte Margarete, le an du Reygne le Roy Edward, fiz le Roy Edward dys utyme."

His seal is shown in Plate II., Fig. 2, bearing [or] a Cross engrailed [sable]. The circumscription, SI . IOHANIS . DE . MOVN.

PRIORY.

The first Sir Will, de Mohun erected a Priory of Benedictine Monks, "yn the rootes" (to use the words of Leland) "of the N. W. side of the Castle," and dedicated it to the honour of St. George. Sir William, his son, was also a liberal benefactor. This priory was annexed as a cell to the abbey of St. Peter at Bath, and consisted only of four or five monks, besides the prior, who was generally sent hither from Bath.* Rob. de Sutton was made prior October 24, 1332. William Bristow occurs 1411. John Henton, July 28, 1425 ; and Thomas Brown, 1499 > which are all the names that can now be recovered. Its revenues were valued in 1444 at ^30 135. 4d., and in 1534 at ,£37 45. 9^d. The site of the house was granted, 34 Henry VIII., to Humphrey Colles, and the buildings are converted into a farmhouse, which bears but little appearance of antiquity. An ancient building, now a malt-house, is called the Nunnery ; but, finding no account of such an institution, I am induced to think that it was only part of the offices of the priory. May 29, 1788, the Hon. Daines Barrington exhibited to the Society of Antiquaries a seal, then lately found near Dunster Castle, representing a monk, in the attitude of prayer before the Virgin and Child The circumscription, PHILIPPI - SCELERA • D1LVE - XPIFERA. Presumed to have belonged to one of the priors. (" Archaeologia," vol. ix., p. 369.)

•

THE CHURCH

is in the Deanery of Dunster, to which it gives name. It was formerly vicarial ; the ordination is given in Collinson, but is now a perpetual curacy, in the gift of Mr. Luttrell, who purchased it from the Stawel family.

In 1292 it was valued at 12 marks. At present, Mr. Luttrell pays the curate ^,"20 per annum, and Queen Anne's Bounty and surplice fees produce about ^50 more.t

Collinson gives no succession of incumbents; and the following is the best list I have been able to collect from the register, etc.

Richard de Keynsham occurs in a deed 13 Edward III., 13384

Robert - occurs in deeds 1369 and 13784

* This religious establishment at the beginning of the fifteenth century (as appears from the curious inventory in your vol. Ixxv. , p. 920) consisted of a prior and three monks. The five chaplains therein mentioned were probably the vicar and chantry priests.

t From the information of the Rev. G. H. Leigh. J Penes W. H.

Dunster.

243

John Rice, buried September 27, 1561.

Christopher Williams, buried April 22, 1600.

1600. David Williams.

1603. Thomas Smythe, alias Smith, buried April 12, 1638.

1638. Robert Browne.

1642. Robert Snelling.

1 66 1. Richard Savin, alias Saffin.

1670. John Graunt, alias Grant, buried February 22, 1703.

1703. William Kymer.

1730. John Question.

1738. Jeremiah Davies.

1745. William Cox.

Robert Norris.

James Gould.

Richard Bawden. William Camplin. George Henry Leigh.

1756.

1759-

1773-

The register begins thus: "Dunster, Anno Domini 1598, quarto die Augusti, Anno Regnse Do'nae n'ae Elizabethse Reg. quadragesimo. A Register-boke, conteyning all the Weddings, Christenings, and Burialls that nowe are to bee founde in the former Registers, sithence the beginninge of her Maties raigne, which was the xvijth daie of November, in the yeare of our Lord God 1559." Signed by Christopher Williams, curate, and Thomas Dennis and William Blackwell, churchwardens.

A.D.	Baptisms.	Burials.	A.D.
1575	27	15	1775
1600	33	20	1800
1625	36 -	34	1801
1650,	imperfect.		1802
1675	19	30	1803
1700	38	23	1804
1725	33	27	1805
175°	21	27

Baptisms.	Burials.
2O	18
16	9
15	10
22	14
21	12
18	13
I9	12

In 1697 were eighty-six burials, but no reason is assigned for this extraordinary number.

In 1644 and 1645 are several entries of the burial of soldiers from the castle.

February 22, 1735. Nineteen soldiers, a boy and two women, with two children, were buried, having been drowned the day before.

The church is a beautiful pile of pointed architecture (Plate I., Fig. i), 1 68 feet long and 55 feet wide, being divided into parts by the tower, which stands on four pillars in the centre. The tower is 90 feet high, embattled at the top with low broken pinnacles at the corners, and contains a clock, chimes (which play the ii3th Psalm-

16— 2

244 Somersetshire.

tune at the hours of one, five and nine), and eight bells, the oldest of which bears date 1668, and the newest 1782. The tower weighs 22 cwt.

It is the generally received opinion that the church was built by Henry VII. in reward for the services of the Dunster men at the Battle of Bosworth Field ; but I have reasons for placing its erection at an earlier period, viz., about the latter end of the reign of Henry V. or the commencement of the reign of Henry VI. William Pynson, by his last will,* dated the Wednesday in the Feast of St. Valentine the Martyr, 1419, bequeaths his body to be buried in the church of St. George the Martyr at Dunsier, before the image of St. Christopher, and 40 shillings towards the new bell tower and 20 shillings towards one of the new bells, with 6s. 8d. towards the new rood-loft in the said church [ad opus novi solarij Sancte Crucis in dicta Ecclesia] . The date of the tower is more certainly known from a coeval agree- ment found in the church a few years ago endorsed by a recent hand: "The building of the Tower of Dunster in the 2ist year of the reign of King Henry the Sixth, 1443. This building was undertaken by John Marys of Stogursey, Somerset, and an engineer from Bristol, to be completed in three years." The endorsement was copied at the discovery of this curious document, but the agreement itself has un- fortunately been mislaid. Mr. Luttrell, at my request, obligingly examined his papers at the castle, but could not meet with it. The part eastward from the tower was in 1499 appropriated to the use of the priors and monks, and is now called the Old Church. It is stripped of all its furniture and totally neglected, though it contains several valuable monuments deserving of better care. On the north side is a small chantry chapel and an ancient tomb (Plate II. , Fig. 4), whereon lie the mutilated remains of two alabaster effigies of the Mohuns, and in this little chapel may still be seen the original altar, a table of stone, 4 feet 9 inches by 2 feet 6 inches, with a cross deeply cut in the middle of the front edge on a base 2 feet 6 inches high. On the south side is a stately mural monument of various kinds of marble, whereon are recumbent the effigies of a man in armour and two females, another man in a kneeling attitude and in a religious vest. These are memorials of the Luttrell family. Under an arch below lies another figure (Plate II., Fig 5); but I cannot agree with Collinson, or his coadjutor Rack, who supplied the church notes, in supposing it the monument of a domestic ; it is most probably the "Image of one of the Everardes " mentioned by Leland (" Itin.," vol. ii., folio 62), and from him by Collinson, as having once been there, but removed into the churchyard, whence it may have been reinstated in its former situation. The historian of Somersetshire here omits to notice the tombstone of Lady Elizabeth Luttrell (Plate I., Fig. 2), and from an obscurity in Leland's account places it * From the Probate, penes W. II.

Dnnster. 245

in the neighbouring Church of Carhampton, where it has no doubt been often searched for in vain by the tourist and antiquary. It certainly lies in Dunster Church, before the high altar, and is thus inscribed :

pro a'i'a b'lu (Elizabeth luttrrdl que .obijt printer btc mcnsis n0 b'm 4HC<K<HK ^Xomtgfsi'xr tmt0. — ^ttmc x'pc t* prtimus miaem* xfs xjut to'isti rsbim's p'bitas n0lt fcampnare ttitttptt*.

The first division of the inscription is too obvious to need illustra- tion. The latter clause may be read, " Nunc, Christe, te petimus miserere : quesumus qui venisti redimere perditos, noli dampnare redemptos."

On a mural monument is the following epitaph :

*' Hie jacent cineres Anna;, dilectse uxoris Francisci Luttrell, filise et heredis Caroli Stucley de Plymouth, armigeri. Quam post breve sed felicissimum spatiuui vitae conjugalis, mors immatura abstulit. Vixit grata amicis, benigna paupericus, omnibus cara ; obijt omnibus deflenda, 300 die Octobris, 1731°, aetat. 23°, relin- quens unicam filiam, spem et solamen Conjugis mcestissimi."

The part westward from the tower is that now used for Divine service, and consists of a nave, chancel, and north and south aisles. The chancel is divided from the nave by a truly rich screen of oak, about ii feet high, formerly supporting the rood-loft, containing fourteen arches of elaborate tracery, one of which is imperfectly repre- sented in Plate II., Fig. 6. The upper part is painted white and yellow, and has a very good general effect. The stairs leading to the rood-loft are in a turret on the south side of the church, the doorway now walled up.

On brasses in the nave :

1. "P. M. D. Hie intumulatus jacet Richardus Blackford, generosus ; obijt 2d° die Februarij, 1689, circiter annum 65 ?etatis suae.

" Siste gradum properans, et Mortem meditare ferocem,"

Non fugit Imperium ulla Corona suum. Si Virtus, Probitas, vel Cultus mentis adornans,

Quemlibet armaret, non moriturus erat. Clarus erat patriae legibus, sincerus amicis,

Nulla ferent talem sec'la futura virum."

Arms. A chevron gules between three estoiles of five points.

2. "Here lyeth the body of Mary Blackford (daughter of Rich. B., gent., and Eliz. his wife) ; who departed this life the 22 day of June, 1669, and in the I2th yeare of her age.

" Shorte was her life, longe was her payne, Create was our loss, much more her gayne."

Other inscriptions on slabs in the nave for the following persons :

Mrs. Mary Parker, May 14, 1799, aged 87.

Betty, wife of John Clement, May 10, 1774, aged 37.

Henry Clement, March 13, 1704.

Mary Wilkins, February 5, 1798.

246 Somersetshire.

(On a brass.) Edward, son of William and Mary Sealy, February 7, 1693, aged 3.

Justine, mother of William Sealy, April 5, 1695, aged 81.

Elizabeth, daughter of William and Mary Sealy, June 24, 1696, aged 3.

Mary, wife of William Sealy, November 9, 1702, aged 44.

Mary, wife of Francis Chaplin, and daughter of William and Mary Sealy, December 4, 1737, aged 57.

William, son of William and Mary Sealy, April 28, 1705, aged 23.

Elizabeth, daughter of Francis and Mary Chaplin, May 6, 1788, aged 80.

Margaret Blake, August 25, 1792, aged 82.

Robert Giles, March 12, 1703.

Elizabeth, his wife, May 5, 1705.

Here is an ancient slab with a cross (Plate II., Fig. 7), also a brass chandelier of eighteen lights, inscribed :

"Gaven by the late Jone Brewer, ten pounds two wards this branch. John Hossum, Benj. Escott, Churchwardens, 1740."

In the south aisle is the brass represented in Plate II., Fig. 8, thus inscribed :

" ©f j)0r rha.nte prajj fox the sonles of John SMjither **& aQn.es his , anb John ggipilter, iluir elbest *one, tohose hob"i>s gfresigrth unier this stone anno b'ni Jttill'mo CCCCbcxxxtoijo pinnltimo Me stpte'Jnris -ejcpwtanb.0 seneralem rtsitrrnxonem mortuor' ti toita' sterna' amen."

On a brass (in capitals) :

" Anagr . amaror . amoris . Hue . modo : tune illuc . passim . vestigia . flectes .

Ast . hie . in . ^Eternum . siste Maria pedem . Ne dubites . dabitur quicquicj . deerat . tibi . virgo .

Despice . mortalem . conjuge . digna . deo .

" Here lyeth the body of Mary, ye daughter of John Norris, late Customer of Minehead, who dyed 22 of March, 1673."

A slab for Nath. Ingram, March 17, 1749, aged 65; and two ancient slabs with crosses (Plate II., Figs. 9, 10), the memorials probably of some of the priors removed from the other part of the church.

In the chancel is a large slab for

Prudence, daughter of Giles Poyntz, gent, and Anne his wife, June 3, 1716, aged 19.

Mary Clark, wife of Luke Clark of London, and daughter of Giles and Anne Poyntz, September 29, 1726, aged 32.

Elizabeth, daughter of Giles Poyntz, gent, May 24, 1729, aged 33.

Edward Poyntes, gentleman, July 29, 1583.

Other slabs for Elizabeth Sharp, July n, 1769, aged 55. Ann Wheddon, daughter of Elizabeth Sharp, February 19, 1803, aged 66.

Elizabeth Bond, buried December 28, 1791, aged 93.

D unster. 247

George Rawle, October 15, 1799, aged 56; twenty-seven years clerk of this church.

Over the communion table is a large indifferent painting of the Crucifixion by a person formerly resident at Dunster. In the chancel are three ancient chests, two of them strongly bound with iron. The chalice bears the date of 1573; the king's arms 1660. On glazed tiles in the chancel are a spread eagle, a fess between six cross crosslets, three and three, birds and flowers, a lion rampant, a man on horseback tilting with a lance, and many fragments with other designs.* In the windows of the north aisle are some remains of ancient stained glass, viz., the head of St. James of Compostella (Plate I., Fig. 3), a small whole length of a king, the head defaced ; the arms of Luttrell (Or, a bend between six martlets sable), and an abbat's crozier with a scroll inscribed,

" eSl. bxnusteiTe abba* be diba "

(Plate I., Fig. 4). The name of William Seylake occurs in the list of Abbats of Cleeve, communicated to Tanner's " Notitia " by Browne Willis, and he was probably the same man deriving the cognomen of " Dunster " merely from the place of his birth, a usual practice with religious. The date of his institution being 1419, and his death or removal 1421, is a very strong argument in proof of my conjecture respecting the building of the church. The font is octagonal and handsome, having on shields in quatrefoil recesses the monogram IHS in a crown of thorns, sponge, and spear cross, hammer, and pincers, hands, feet and heart alternately with double roses. If these latter ornaments have any allusion to the union of the Houses of York and Lancaster, we may presume that the bounty of Henry VII. was applied to the furniture of the church, though not to the building itself.

Over the west window of the south aisle, on the outside, is " God save the King. 1624. MVXX." (i.e. 1520).

In the churchyard opposite to the west door is the pedestal and shaft of an old cross on three steps, and a venerable yew of large dimensions. A range of almshouses are seen in the view, but I could learn no particulars of their foundation or endowment.

TRINITY CHANTRY.

7 Henry VII. , 1491. Giles Daubeney, Knt, Alexander Syden- ham, Richard Sydenham, George Stukeley and others conveyed unto Richard Baker, chaplain, sundry houses and lands in Dunster and Carhampton on condition that whenever mass was celebrated at the altar of the Holy Trinity, in the Parish Church of Dunster, he should pray for the souls of Henry, Franke, Christina his wife, and

* In another part of the church I observed a tile, bearing a fess between three crescents.

248 Somersets /i ire.

others, and for the faithful departed this life, and for the good estate of the said Giles, Alexander, etc.

29 Henry VIIL, 1537. " The feofers off the Trynytye Chauntre " granted to John Ryse, clerk, " ther full and hole power to receve the p'fytts of the said Chauntre duryng the terme of xxij yeres " ; there- with to repair the houses belonging to it, and to maintain "an honest Chapleyn to say masse and to praye for the sowles of the founders, feofers, and benefactors of the seid Chauntre."* The altar of St. James the Apostle, the Chapel of St. Mary and the " wex silver light " are named in ancient wills, etc., but the present article has already so far exceeded the indulgences granted by Sylvanus Urban to his correspondents that it must be here concluded.

P.S.— The seal (Plate II., Fig. 3) is of Thomas Bratton, of Bratton in Minehead (Collinson, vol. ii., p. 31), who died 38 Henry VI. The arms were anciently a chief indented, three mullets pierced, but this seal gives a fess between the mullets. Circumscription : "<SigilI. ^home. bntttxm."

WILLIAM HAMPER.

East Brent.

[1838, Part L,pp. 359, 360.]

One of the latest topographers of Somersetshire (Mr. Rutter, in his " Delineations" of the county), says of this place that "East Brent has been incorrectly supposed to have derived its name from having been brent or burnt by the Danish invaders," adding in a note the follow- ing etymology, which may certainly be considered more improbable :

" Celtice Briant, a name equivalent with law, the designation of similar hills in the north of England ; the law having been anciently promulgated to the people from these heights."

Any such promulgation of the '' law " from Brent Knoll, near East Brent, or from Brent Tor on Dartmoor, is no doubt extremely fanciful, if not absurd. And as for the Saxon hlcew, we have re- marked that the word was in many cases, and perhaps in all, applied to sepulchral mounds or barrows.

The derivation from burning is not so extravagant, for such, we believe, is the authentic etymology of Brentwood, in Essex.

But with respect to the Somersetshire Brents — East Brent and South Brent, and to Brentford in Middlesex, we find in both cases, a river bearing the name. The Somersetshire Brent rises in Selwood Forest ; and after receiving various smaller streams, falls into the sea, near Bridgewater. It also gives name to a hundred, containing four parishes, of which East Brent is one, but South Brent is in the hun- dred of Stanborough. The district is marshy, and the manor belong- ing to the abbey of Glastonbury is surveyed in Domesday Book

* From the originals, penes W. H.

East Brent.

249

under the name of "Brentemerse." At the taking of the Valor of the possessions of Glastonbury Abbey in the year 1535, the manor of South Brent was worth annually ^"80 i8s. 4^d., and that of East Brent ^84 6s. yd.

There is also a South Brent in Devonshire, on the high road from London to Plymouth, and Brent Tor on Dartmoor ; but no river of the name is mentioned in connection with either of these.

The Manor of Brent, containing " ten hides," was given to the Abbey of Glastonbury in the year 690, by Ina, King of the West Saxons. An interesting account of the manor-house at East Brent is given in the Terrar of Abbat Beere, made in the year 1503 ; it may be translated as follows :

" There is there a manor suitably and handsomely built by John Selwode, late abbat [from 1457 to 1493], containing a chapel, hall, refectory (cxnaculum}, chambers high and low, buttery (promptu- arium\ cellar, pantry, kitchen, larder, and a house to the south of the kitchen called the woodhouse, with chambers above called Gisten chambers (rooms for guests), and various other chambers, nobly built ; and with a handsome cloister (porticu) with [blank] and arms, and inclosed with sawed palings eight feet high ; whereof the site with the garden within the pales contains an acre. Also in the outer court there is a stable with a loft and hayhouse built by the same abbat, whereof the site with the barton and pinfold (punfaldo) contains three perches. Also to the north of the said manor-house is an orchard, containing three acres one perch and a half, planted by the same abbat with apple and pear-trees of the best kinds, of which the fruit is generally worth 405. ; and in the circuit of the same orchard are forest-trees, namely elms and oaks, growing to a wonder- ful height and bulk, where the herons are wont to build and breed : and the fuel thence arising is not estimated, because it is kept for the store of the manor-house.

" And there are in East Garston eight acres of pasture and brush- wood, lately belonging to the house called the Church-house; whereof the bailiff is charged in the issues of the manor at 45. io|d. And further, the brushwood and trees growing there are reserved to make the flakes for the keeping up of the sea-walls.

" The wardens of the church goods hold a house called the Church-house, and a piece of waste for archery butts, as appears by a grant of the lord abbat."

This grant is then inserted in the Terrar ; from which it appears that the Church-house stood on the north side of the churchyard, being 36 feet by 20 wide, and had been granted by the late abbat John Selwode in the 36th year of his rule, at the yearly rent of 4d.; together with the site of another house then destroyed, measuring 37 feet by 30, for the enlargement of the said house, for which the churchwardens were to pay another 4d. ; and for the waste-ground

250 SomersetsJi ire.

for archery, 2d. — in all, lod. ; for the lease of which for eighteen years they paid a fine of 203.

Some curious customs follow respecting the services called " Moundey-warkes," performed by the tenants called " Mondey- men."*

The abbatial manor-house was taken down in the year 1708, and the materials sold. This circumstance is recorded by a gentleman then living,! who adds: "There were many monuments of the monks or priors in the cloysters. I saw some lye about the church- yard, covered with nettles and long grass, one of them at length — a monk, as his tonsure shewed — another half-length or bust. Doctor Westover, of Blackford in Wedmore, bought some of them, as I was inform'd, for statues in his gardens." It appears more probable, however, that these statues were architectural rather than sepulchral. Rutter states that Mr. Harden possessed in 1829 an old triangular chair, resembling that engraved in Warner's " History of Glaston- bury," which was supposed to have formed part of the furniture of this mansion.!

The Church of East Brent, which stands upon a rising ground, is a handsome structure, manifesting the care and taste of its patrons, the abbots of Glastonbury. It measures 114 feet in length and 50 in breadth, and consists of a nave, chancel, north and south aisles, all covered with lead. At the west end is a quadrangular tower, 80 feet high, whereon is a spire rising to the height of 60 feet. In front of the tower are three niches, one above the other. In the upper one is an effigy of King Ina, with a sceptre and mound, his feet embraced by a monk; in the middle niche is Queen Frithogitha ; and in the lowest her husband, King Ethelred, the brother-in-law of Ina, and who succeeded him on the throne of the West Saxons.

In the windows of the church are the remains of some excellent painted glass. In one are the subjects of the Salutation, the Nativity, and the Wise Men's Offering ; in another, the Virgin with her infant Son ; in another, the Scourging ; and in others, the Imprison- ment and Decollation of John the Baptist, and figures of St. John the Evangelist and St. James the Less.

The effigies of two monks in stone lie at length under two of the windows.§

On February 7, 1786, this church received considerable damage from lightning. Collinson has noticed a few sepulchral memorials, but they are not of much importance.

* Hearne has printed the Latin of this hmdmarioi'um ; but qy., should it not be lundinariomm, from the French lundi ?

t John Strachey, of Sutton Court, in Somersetshire, Esq., whose list of the Religious Houses in that county is printed by Hearne, appended to his " Hemingford."

t Rutter's "Delineations of Somersetshire."

§ Strachey and Collinson.

East Brent. 251

The vicarage is in the patronage of the Bishop of Bath and Wells, and its net value, as returned in 1831,^902. The present vicar is the Rev. Robert Harkness, who was collated by his father-in-law, the late Bishop, in 1837.

East Cranmore.

[1845, Part II., p. 416.]

The ancient church of East Cranmore (the door of which, still preserved, is of Norman work) having become much dilapidated, was taken down in April, 1845, and an entirely new and enlarged structure, from a graceful design by T. H. Wyatt, Esq., of London, has been erected on the old site. On Tuesday, August 18, the new building, dedicated, like the former one, to St. James, was consecrated by the Lord Bishop of the diocese, assisted by the Venerable the Archdeacon Brymer, the Hon. and Rev. Chancellor Law, the Rev. G. Denison, his lordship's chaplain, the Rev. J. Fussell, vicar, the Rev. E. Dighton, curate, and about forty of the neighbouring clergy, with a numerous assemblage of the laity, when an impressive sermon was delivered by the Hon. and Rev. R. Boyle. The church, which is of the early Decorated character, with a tower surmounted by a broach spire, is substantially built of Doulting freestone both within and without, and is fitted with spacious open sittings of oak, with an open hammer-beam roof of the same material, supported on corbels of stone, richly carved. The space around the altar is paved with encaustic tiles. The communion-table and rails, reading-desk and pulpit, are of handsomely carved oak, with chairs of the Glastonbury pattern, and the entire chancel is fitted up in strict accordance with its sacred character. The church contains about 130 sittings, which will amply satisfy the requirements of the parish.

Farley.

[1790, Part //., /. 1 186.]

As you inserted a few epitaphs I sent in your last, the following are at your service ; as well as a letter of Oliver Cromwell's. The epitaph is engraved on brass, in the old chapel at Farley Castle, about seven miles from Bath, and formerly the seat of the Hunger- fords ; the letter is preserved in a frame.

EPITAPH.

" If birth or worth might add to rareness life, Or teares in man revive a vertuous wife, Look in this cabinet ; bereav'd of breath, Here lies the pearle inclos'd ; she which, by Death, Sterne Death subdu'd, slighting vain worldly vice, Achieving Heav'n with thoughts of Paradise. She was her sexes wonder, great in bloud ; But, what is far more rare, both great and good. She was with all celestial virtues storde, The life of Shaa, and soul of Hungerforde.

252 Some rsetsh ire.

" AN epitaph written in memory of the late right noble and most truly virtuous Mrs Mary Shaa, daughter to the Right Ho'ble Walter Lord Hongerford, sister and heyre general to the Right Noble Sir Ed. Hongerford, Knt., deceased, and wife unto Thomas Shaa, Esq. ; leaving behind Robert Shaa, her only sonne. She departed this life, in the faith of Christ, the last day of September, Ano D'ni 1613."

The chapel consists of a single aisle ; but, having been exposed to the injuries of time and weather, is much decayed. The estate, which is considerable, belongs to .... Houlton, Esq. (a relation of the admiral of that name), who succeeded to it upon the death of Mr. Frampton, of Moreton, in Dorsetshire.

There is a vault underneath the chapel, where are deposited several leaden coffins ; and a few years since some rogues attempted to carry them off, but were deprived of their b'ooty by having made too much noise ; by which means the ashes of the family still rest in peace.

Letter from O. Cromwell, preserved at Farley Castle :

"SiR, I am very sorry'd my occasions will not permit mee to return to you as I would. I have not yett fully spoken with the gentlemen I send to wait upon you : when I shall doe it, I shall be enabled to be more particular, being unwilling to detaine your servant any longer. With my service to your lady and family, I take leave, and rest your affectionate servant,

"July 30, 1652. O. Cromwell."

"For my honner'd friend Mr. Hungerford, at his house, these."

The country about this castle is exceedingly picturesque, the river Avon winding through beautiful meadows ; and to those who resort to Bath, and wish for a pleasant shade, they cannot do better than pay a visit to this sequestered and rural spot.

[1794, Part I., pp. 497, 498.]

Near the ruins of Farley Castle, on a hill, is the parish church, not very ancient ; and on the south side of it, over the door, I dis- covered a semicircular stone, set in the wall, which has the appearance of much greater antiquity than the church ; and annexed you have a copy of the inscription, the letters nearly in their present state.*

Here we see the XPM used for Christum. In the "Archaeologia," vol. viii., Mr. Pegge gives a sketch of the history of the Asylum, or Sanctuary, from its origin to its final abolition by James I. ; and to it adds a list of most of the sanctuaries that were formerly in Eng- land. Qy. Whether this stone did not formerly belong to a sanctuary on this very spot ? I read the words to be :

" Muniat hoc (signum) in vera cruce glorificans miseros Mariam virginem qune genuit Christum miserrimis pace fiat Asylum."

* The same inscription, with a somewhat different reading, has been sent also by another correspondent, on a considerably larger scale. (See Plate I., Fig. I.)

Farley. 253

I should judge, by the form of the letters, that it is as ancient at least as the time of Henry VI. F. M.

Farley Church, small as it is, contains, notwithstanding, many things well worth observation. There are indeed no ancient monu- ments in it, the Hungerford family being all buried in the chapel of the castle. ... The windows were once " richly dight" with painted glass. Great part of it remained entire in August, 1789, when I made the following memoranda.

Each window contains two figures of saints on ornamented grounds, within borders of various device. One of the figures is that of our Lady ; another looks like St. George, being an armed man, with a red cross on his shield, the lower half of him (and consequently the dragon) wanting ; another seems to be St. Mary Magdalene ; two others are in episcopal habits, with names under them, not now legible. Among the ornaments of the border are the letters ^ and 3$. In a window on the north side of the chancel are also two large shields ; one of them containing the arms of Hungerford, with an impalement which is entirely defaced ; the other Azure, 3 garbs -. argent, with a chief, which is also too imperfect to be clearly made out.

The whole of the glass was at that time in a very shattered condition ; and unless it has been since repaired, I doubt it has, ere this, given way to the rude assaults of wind and weather. Many of the original old seats were likewise then remaining, and, I suppose, are so still ; unless some tasteful churchwarden (an animal whose ravages are at least equal to those of wind and weather) should, in his rage for improvement, have substituted modern deal panels in their stead. They were, and I hope are, decorated with the Hun- gerford arms, Crosses ragule (not in shields or on wreaths), reaping- hooks interlaced, and horses' heads with winged necks placed on wreaths. At the same time I observed on the walls, in several parts of the church, painted crosses, somewhat of the pat£e kind, which the brush of the reforming whitewasher had not been able totally to obliterate.- Of the wooden screen, separating the chancel from the nave, little more than the skeleton was left ; but the design of it appeared to have been light and airy, and the carving neatly exe- cuted.

The outside of the church is unusually regular and uniform, having probably not undergone any alteration, or received any addition, since it was built ; which, from what I recollect of the style of its archi- tecture (for I did not take any drawing), must have been in the fourteenth or early in the fifteenth century. Over the door of the porch is a stone of a semicircular form, bearing an inscription, which, though in so conspicuous a situation, escaped the notice of our historian. I have now sent you an exact copy of it (Plate I., Fig. i).

254 Somersetshire.

From the shape of the characters, as well as from a defect in the stone itself, which was evidently mutilated before its insertion in the wall where it is now placed, there can be no doubt but that this in- scription is of higher antiquity than the building to which we see it attached. Most likely it was removed hither from a prior church, demolished when the present fabric was erected. The letters are not raised, but indented in the stone ; they are very clear, and most of them perfect; but I confess I do not thoroughly understand the whole of it. Perhaps it may afford some exercise to the conjectural acumen of your correspondents, to whom I therefore leave it. R. P.

[1798, Part II., p. 1022.]

Permit me to request some correspondent to favour me with an account of Farley Castle, in Somersetshire, which I was induced to visit lately, being in that neighbourhood, from a slight description of it, in a small publication, which treats of its origin as unknown, tradition not making mention of it earlier than Edward III. It seems three original letters of Oliver Cromwell, in his own hand- writing, were formerly found in an old chest, now lying in the chapel of the castle, two of which were some time since borrowed, but never returned ; and the third, which was shown preserved in a frame, has lately encountered the merciless hand of (probably) some antiquary, who has carried it off in triumph. M. W. J.

[1799, Part //., p. 745.]

Your correspondent, M. W. J., will not find a better account of Farley Castle than what has been given by Captain Grose and Mr. Collinson, and in the last edition of Camden's "Britannia." He may see a plan of the castle in the "Sepulchral Monuments of Great Britain," Introd., pp. cccxix., Plate, etc.

The enclosed sketch of the gateway (Plate II., Fig. 6) is at your service. T. P.

[1828, Parti., pp. 577, 578.]

The annexed sketch represents part of Farley Castle, in Somerset- shire. Its ruins stand on the northern acclivity of a rocky hill, embowered with oaks, walnut-trees, and poplars. It consisted of two courts or wards, lying north and south ; the court northward was 1 80 feet in length from east to west and 144 feet in breadth from north to south, and was flanked by four round towers 60 feet in height. Each of these towers, the walls of which are 5 feet thick, were originally divided into three stories, the apartments lighted by narrow windows and embrasures. The walls of the south-east and south-west towers are still remaining and beautifully veiled with vy, one of which is seen in the annexed view. More than half also

Farley. 255

of the north-east tower is still standing : the southern wall being fallen down, the windows and old chimney-pieces, interwoven with ivy and wild roses, appear to view. The north-west tower is quite down, as are also almost all the intermediate walls and building, except a small portion of the parapet northward, which overlooks a deep dell, shaded with the thickest wood. In this court stood the great hall and the state apartments, decorated with rich tapestry, exquisite sculpture, and beautiful paintings. The hall was a very large and long apartment, hung round with armour. But of these buildings, which, towards the close of the last century, were nearly entire, the smallest remnant now is not left standing, the whole area of the court being rudely strewed with the ruins, which lie in heaps, covered with weeds and luxuriant herbage. A large gateway led from this to the southern court, in which were the offices, etc. The principal entrance was on the east side, through an embattled gate- house, the shell of which is still standing; before it, there was formerly a drawbridge over a deep moat, which surrounded the whole castle; the holes through which the pulleys of the bridge passed are still visible in the gateway wall, and over the arch are the arms and crest of the Hungerfords, boldly sculptured in the stone. On the eastern side of this court stands the chapel, to which there is a descent of several steps ; this building has of late years been repaired (see a view in Britton's " Beauties of Wilts") ; it consists of a nave and chantry chapel on the north side, the former 56 feet in length, and 19! feet in breadth; the latter, 20 feet in length and 14 in breadth. The altar slab is of rich granite ; against the south wall stands the old pulpit, and underneath it are several pieces of armour, such as a head-piece, breast-plate, with a saddle, brought hither in an old chest from the castle hall before the time of its demolition. Behind the chapel stands the old habitation of Lord Walter Hungerford's two chantry priests, now converted into a dairy. The external walls of this part of the castle retain some of their pristine battle- ments.

The parish church of Farley stands on an eminence southward from the castle, and is of one aisle, 92 feet in length and 24 in breadth. At the west end is a small tower, containing five bells.

N. R. S.

Frome.

[1801, Part /., p. 122.]

The enclosed sketch and inscription (Fig. 6) are correctly copied from a painted memorial plate affixed to one of the pillars of the nave in Frome Church, Somersetshire :

"Benjamin Avury, attorney-at-law, the son of Jacob Avury, of Mells, gent., married Joan, the daughter of William Chapman (Alderman of the City of Bath), by whom he had 2 sons and 2 daughters. Obiit 8° Jan., 1675, anno setatis suse 76.

256 Somersetshire.

. " Posterity, let this suffice

That near this place the body lyes

Of one both pious, prudent, just,

But yet is now resolvd to dust ;

His angell part (we hope) it is

With God's dear saints in perfect blisse."

PHILL. CR.

[1821, Part //., pp. 114-116.]

The parish church of St. Peter at Frome is of considerable antiquity. Tradition says it was built before the Conquest. History informs us that Henry I., in the year 1133, granted the church of Frome, with the lands, chapels, and tithes appertaining thereto, to the Priory of Cirencester, co. Gloucester ; in proof of which consult Sir Robert Atkyns's History of that County, p. 163. As a further proof of its antiquity, I may observe that a workman employed in repairing the church some years ago told Mr. Whit- church (" Whitchurch's MSS. penes me") that he met with a stone on which was the date 1150, in Arabic characters, which are the same as are now in use.

The patronage of the church seems to have belonged to the Priory of Cirencester, till the Dissolution, when it came to the Thynnes. The Marquis of Bath is the present patron.

The church is a large Gothic structure, in length 175 feet, 72 feet wide and 45 in height. It appears to have been enlarged and altered at periods very remote from each other. It consists of a nave and two aisles, and the tower, which is at the east end, contains an ex- cellent ring of eight bells. The chancel is very elegant, the area formed by the rails round the altar being paved with black and white marble. The altar-piece is placed in a beautiful oval, and represents the liberation of St. Peter. From the floor upwards the wall is wainscoted with mahogany curiously ornamented with carved work, in which bundles of wheat are depicted in a very natural and striking manner. The organ, which is at the west end, makes a noble appearance, and is supposed to have belonged formerly to the cathedral church at Wells or Bath. It is reckoned one of the best-toned organs in the West of England.

On the north side of the church there are three recesses or chantry chapels, and on the south another. That on the north, nearest to the west end, is very small, and is said to have been the burial-place of the Cabells, and after them of the Lockes. A little from this, towards the east end, is another recess or chantry chapel, the largest, perhaps, in any country church, being considerably more than 20 feet square. It seems to have had an altar, the ascent to which was by a flight of steps still remaining. The Leversedges, who for centuries were lords of the principal manor in this parish, were anciently interred here; and before the altar is a large table monument,

Frame. 257

beneath which are the effigies of a gentleman at full length, in a recumbent posture. There is no inscription legible ; but it is sup- posed to have been erected upwards of three hundred years.

The manor passed by purchase from the Leversedges and Seamans to John Earl of Cork and Orrery. It is now, together with the chantry chapel, the property of the present Earl. In the chapel are several inscriptions to the memory of members of the noble family of Boyle, together with their hatchments.

Leaving this, further towards the east end we come to another recess, or chantry chapei, which is also very large, in which the Leversedges of Vallis (now extinct) used also to bury.

The chantry chapel, on the south side of the church, has also been a burial-place ; and here a cavity may be seen in which the basin of holy water in the days of Catholicism used to be placed. John Smith, of Frome, Esq., was here interred in 1768. He was uncle to John Smith, for some years M.P. for Bath.

In the nave there is a monument of gray marble to Mrs. Jane Hippie, who died 1752. Her daughter Elizabeth was wife of William Seymour of Knoyle, in Wilts, Esq., grandson of Sir Edward Seymour, the celebrated and eloquent Tory. Opposite the desk and pulpit, which are constructed of mahogany, at an expense, as is said, of nearly ^300, is a singular monumental inscription and painting on iron : the latter represents a lady and gentleman praying at a desk, with their sons and daughters behind in gradation.

On the pavement of the middle aisle is a gravestone with a brass plate affixed, thus inscribed :

" Pray for the soules of Henry Champeneys, 'squire, and Jane his wyfe, whiche Henry decesed the I4th day of August, 1506."

The family of Champneys, seated at Orcharleigh, near this town, for some generations, possesses the right of nomination of the sexton,

There is a mural monument to the memory of Mr. Vincent, an apothecary of this town, one of whose daughters is married to Capt. O'Connor, who resides in the parish. There are also a few more in memory of persons of but little note.

In the chancel, south side, a sumptuous monument has been lately erected to the memory of Mr. Stevens, the munificent founder of an asylum and hospital here.

The vestry, a spacious room, contains nothing worthy of notice, but a mural monument to the memory of the Rev. Anthony Methuen, B.D., Vicar of this parish, who died July 6, 1640.

Over the vestry door, a neat monument is erected to the memory of the late Rev. William Ireland, M.A., domestic chaplain to the late and present Marquis of Bath, and many years Vicar of Frome, having succeeded to the living on the death of the late Dr. Ross, Bishop of Exeter. Mr. Ireland married Alicia, one of the daughters of William Everett, Esq., of Horningsham (sister of the Rev. William Everett,

VOL. XXII. I7

258 Somersetsh ire.

B.D., of New College, Oxon, Rector in the year 1809, and now Vicar of Romford), and by her had issue John, curate of Nunney, and four daughters, of whom Fanny is married to the Rev. S. H. Cassan, M.A., the present curate of Frome, and chaplain to the Earl of Caledon.

At the east end of the church, in the churchyard, Dr. Ken, Bishop of Bath and Wells, lies interred. An iron skeleton, with the mitre and crosier, is all that is placed over the grave, which is enclosed with iron rails.

Frome, which is about thirteen miles from Bath, is in the diocese of Bath and Wells, and archdeaconry of Wells. The population is about 14,000.

Vicar. — Charles Phillott, M.A. (resident at Dawlish, Devon).

Curate. — Stephen Hyde Cassan, M.A.

A CONSTANT READER.

Glastonbury. [1773, /. 480.]

The monastery at Glastonbury is undoubtedly one of the most ancient in the kingdom ; but it is now very much decayed. The Abbot's Kitchen here represented (in the accompanying plate) is much more entire than any of the other buildings of this monastery, and was probably of more modern construction. This surmise is somewhat justified by a tradition, which says that King Henry VIII. having some dispute with one of the abbots, threatened to burn his kitchen, thereby insinuating a reproach for his gluttony and luxu- rious manner of living ; to which the abbot haughtily answered that he would build such a one that all the wood in the Royal forests should not suffice to accomplish that threat, and forthwith erected the present edifice. Perhaps this might be true of some former King, but the building seems rather older than the reign of Henry VIII.

Doctor Stukeley, who accurately considered and surveyed the remains of the abbey, gives, in his " Itinerarium Curiosum," the following account of this building :

" Nothing is reserved entire but the kitchen ; a judicious piece of architecture. It is formed from an octagon, included in a square ; four fire-places fill the four angles, having chimneys over them in the flat part of the roof. Between these rises the arched octagonal pyramid, crowned with a double lanthorn, one within another. There are eight carved ribs within, which support the vault, and eight funnels for letting out the steam through windows, within which, in a lesser pyramid, hung the bell, to call the poor people to the adjacent almery, whose ruins are on the north side of the kitchen. The stones of the pyramid are all cut slanting, with the

Glastonbury. 259

same bevils to throw off the rain." This drawing was made anno 1753- [1784, Part L, p. 20.]

The account given in your magazine* of the closet called "Little Ease," in the Church of St. Mary in Leicester, brought to my mind a description I had formerly read in " Anglia Sacra," vol. ii., p. 96, of the cell of St. Dunstan, adjoining to St. Mary's Church in Glastonbury; and, on revising the passage, I find, in some instances, a very striking similitude between the two buildings. Osbern, in his " Life of Dunstan," styles it " Cellam, sive destinam, sive spelaeum"; and Mr. Wharton, in a note, informs us that " destina " means a small outward edifice contiguous to the wall of a greater, and that the word occurs in Bede's " Eccles. Hist.," 1. 3, ch. xvii., and other writers. According to the Monkish historian, the cell was fabricated by Dunstan himself, and had rather the form of a sepulchre of the dead than of an habitation for the living. He represents it to have been not more than 5 feet in length, and 2\ in breadth, and its height answerable to the stature of a man, provided he stood in tl e hole dug at the bottom of it, for that otherwise it would not be higher than a man's breast. The door seems to have opened into the church, as your correspondent remembers that of the closet at Leicester to have done ; but there was this difference between the two edifices, that in the latter are loop-holes looking into the church- yard, whereas all the light the former received was through a window in the middle of the door. In this strait apartment Dunstan is said to have slept, as well as performed his devotions. Here also, whilst he was at work, his harp would play of itself for his amusement ; and it was thiough the aperture of the door of this cell he was so lucky as to fasten his red-hot pincers upon Satan's nose. But to wave the ridiculous parts of this legendary tale, it is plain, from Osbern's relation, that small structures of this kind were erected very early in this country ; and though Dunstan, and some other monks as rigid as himself, might, by way of mortification, dwell in these places of " Little Ease," yet (as the traditional notion with respect to that at Leicester imports) it is very probable they might be intended and applied as prisons, for the security or punkshmtnt of persons suspected or convicted of heinous offences. W. & D.

[1791, Part L, p. 419.]

A view of Glastonbury Torr herewith is sent (Plate III., Fig i). The present possessor is Sir Richard Colt Hoare. It may be amusing to your distant readers to remind them that the town of Glastonbury, for antiquity, claims pre-eminence over every other in the county, here being formerly an abbey, thought to be the richest

* Gentleman's Magazine^ 1783, part ii., p. 920.

17—2

260 Somersetshire.

and most magnificent in the world. Dr. Stukeley, in his " Itinerary," thus speaks of Joseph of Arimathea's chapel : "The roof is chiefly wanting ; two little turrets are at the corners of the west end, and two more at the intervals of four windows from hence, which seems to indicate the space of ground the first chapel was built on. Here was a capacious receptacle for the dead. They have taken up many leaden coffins, and melted them into cisterns. Hence is the sub- terraneous arched passage to the Torr, according to their notion. All the walls are overgrown with ivy, which is the only thing here in a flourishing state, everything else presenting a most melancholy, though venerable, aspect." Here likewise grows the curious thorn which buds at Christmas. J. ELDERTON.

[1786, Part 21., p. 752.]

Enclosed you have a drawing (Plate I., Fig. 2) of a brass vessel, found, about four or five years since, within the precincts of Glaston- bury Abbey. It weighs two pounds eight ounces and a half. Its height is 3 inches and a half; and it contains nearly a pint, wine measure. The bottom is solid, and marked with the letters R and E% which are tolerably well represented in the drawing. A. B.

[1794, Part I., p. 306.]

Among other things I dug up at Glastonbury was a brass seal, an impression of which (Fig. 5) is herewith sent.* An explanation will be esteemed a particular favour by OBADIAH.

[1794, Part /.,/>424«]

The Glastonbury seal may be read : "S[igillum] Sans de Eemartur/' and represents a pair of compasses. D. H.

[1794, Part //., pp. 615, 616.]

Permit me to trouble you once more on the subject of the Glaston- bury seal, engraved in your Plate I., Fig. 5, for April. An explanation was requested, which D. H. has thus given: "Sfigillum] sans de Eemartur." This may be clear and intelligible possibly to you ; at least, I should suppose so to D. H. ; but poor Obadiah is as much in the dark as ever, and to his dull comprehension it appears more incomprehensible than the seal itself. D. H. seems to have mis- taken the letters, which are evidently s : SANS DE E ENMARTIN. It may be read thus : "Sigillum sanctum de E. Enmartin.'' If this be the true reading, can D. H. inform me what, or who, Enmartin was? It is also said that it represents a pair of compasses. Hence I am induced to ask your masonic correspondents if they can say whence it came, and whose superscription it bears ? It has no handle, but

* For an account of the seals of Glastonbury, see Warner's " History of Glastonbury," part i., pp. 343, 425, 541.

Glastonbury. 261

only a loophole on the back, and appears to have been worn sus- pended to some part of a dress. Disquisitions of this kind are, I doubt not, received by no small part of your readers with a smile ; others may think with me, "hac non sunt nuga" OBADIAH.

[1804, Part I., p. 409.]

The enclosed (Plate II., Fig. 2) is an accurate representation of an ancient spur found a few years ago in the ruins of Glastonbury Abbey. The spur is now in the possession of a relation of mine ; and the annexed drawing is of the exact size of the original,* the present weight of which is about t iree ounces. It is of iron, and much injured by rust. G. B.

[1807, Part L, p. 211.]

Fig. 4 on the accompanying plate is a carving in freestone over a doorway at the back of a very ancient building at Glastonbary now called the Red Lion Inn, leading to the area or garden of the alms- houses for women, founded by the benevolent Abbot Beere ; and in all probability they are the arms of that good abbot or of King Henry VII. They consist of a full-blown rose, surmounted by an elegant close or covered crown ; the sinister supporter, which remains quite perfect, has the appearance of a winged dog ; and from what I can judge, from the mutilated remains of the dexter supporter, it seems to have been originally the same as the sinister one. The whole is about 2 feet long and \\ feet broad, all cut in high relief. The date, 1512, on a scroll, is nearly as perfect as when first set up ; f it is much bedaubed with yellow ochre, and the dexter supporter is almost destroyed, but the other parts of the carving are in good preservation.

Fig. 5 is a carving in freestone over the porch of the north door of St. Benedict's Church, at Glastonbury, having on a shield the initial letters R. B. in a cipher surmounted by a mitre.

There is another stone with similar letters, placed in the upper part of the front of a modern brick house on the south side of the High Street of Glastonbury, just below the middle conduit.

They are the initials of the name of Richard Beere, the fifty- eighth (according to Willis) and last abbot but one of the monastery of Glastonbury. He was installed abbot on January 20, 1493, added considerably to the monastic buildings, was a great benefactor to the church and monastery, and died on January 20, 1524, and was buried in the south aisle of the body of the abbey church under a plain marble slab. BENEDICTUS.

* About three times the size of the engraving.— EDIT.

t Twenty-seven years before the dissolution of the monastery.

262 Somerset sk ire.

[1838, Part I., pp. 367, 368.]

In reference to the attempt to make Glastonbury a watering-place, a correspondent has fa von re 1 us with the following copy of an advertisement, affording an example of the noble art -of castle- building in the air, which has seldom been surpassed, and as a local puff not inferior to any more modern production of the same class.

(From the Gloucester Journal, Tuesday, June 3, 1752) :

"Glastonbury, June 16. "To THE PUBLIC.

" The waters in this town are almost cover'd all along the road- way, and the rest is intended to be done as soon as possible ; and a commodious pump-house and baths to be erected, with other con- veniences, in the neatest manner, for the use of those that come to drink the waters. All persons willing to encourage so good a work are desir'd to send their names and benefactions to either of the printers of the following newspapers : viz., the Daily Advertiser, St. James's Evening Post, or the Bath, Bristol, Gloucester, Salisbury, or Sherborne Journals, where the same will be register'd : and all persons subscribing five shillings shall have a ticket to entitle them to the free use of the said conveniences for the first season ; and, where larger sums are given, more tickets proportionably will be allow'd and made transferable. An assembly-room is preparing, and will be soon finish'd. Yesterday an account was taken of the strangers that lately arrived and continue in town to drink the waters, the number of whom amounted to 114, besides a greater number that lodge in the neighbouring villages.

" A brief account, made on oath before the worshipful mayor of this

town, of some of those strangers that have been here since

Christmas last, and, through God's blessing, received benefit by

the waters at the Shoot :

" George Hunt, Esq., mayor of Rumsey, received a cure of a paralytic disorder, deafness, arid a dropsy, and was so much better in the leprosy that at his going away he had not so much remaining all over his body as he had on one finger when he came. His servant was cured of fits.

" Mrs. Willoughby, a lady from Salisbury, was afflicted with an inflammation in her eyes, and a strong scorbutic humour in her blood, for some years, and had taken a great many medicines, but to no purpose, but by using these waters was perfectly cured.

" Mr. John Cott, late of Milksham, now of Glastonbury, was cur'd of shortness of breath, a fever, and huskiness on his lungs.

" Thomas Wager, of Munford, in Salop, was cur'd of an asthma, sore legs, and rheumatic pains in eight weeks, and received benefit in his hearing.

Glastonbury. 263

"Mr. James Hide, shopkeeper, in Stoke-Damerell Dock, Ply- mouth, now twenty-six years of age, had the king's- evil from his child- hood, and is perfectly cured.

" Mr. John Downing, a butcher, at the Dock, Plymouth, had his legs and arms so contracted as to be quite helpless, and was in the Infirmary at Bath three months, and was discharg'd as incurable, but is now perfectly well.

" Mr. Clark's wife, a furbisher of small arms for his Majesty's Ordinance at Plymouth, was cured of an asthma, a dropsy, and sore legs, after many years' affliction.

" Mr. John Reynolds has received great benefit for a giddiness in his head, and a numbness and lameness in his limbs.

" Mary Cox, of Winford, near Bristol, was in the Infirmary at Bristol near six months with bad legs and a dropsy, with which her body was swell'd two yards round, where she could get no relief ; but she has here received a cure for the dropsy, and is almost heal'd of her wounds, so that she has now but four out of twenty-five, and they are likely to do well.

" Margaret Wilkinson, a cook, from Bath, was cured, in a fortnight's time, of rheumatic pains and a giddiness in her head.

" Mrs. Matticks of Greenwich, near London, was cur'd of the gout and rheumatism, last summer, in two months.

" Six persons are now in town that have been cured of the king's- evil ; and Master Hycett, of St. John Street, Golden Square, London, and ten more persons, are under cure for the same, and have receiv'd great benefit; fourteen persons have been cured of the asthma, and nineteen are under cure ; seven cured of scorbutic dis- orders, and six under cure ; six cured of bad legs, and eight much better.

"Further Information may be had by applying to Anne Gallo- way, from Bath, late Shopkeeper in Cheltenham, now in Glaston- bury, by whom the cases of those that have received benefits, sign'd by their own hands, will be receiv'd ; and where all persons, wanting to buy or sell, lett or rent, estates or lodgings, or to put out or take up money, or that want apprentices or servants, as also servants, etc., wanting places, may have their business register'd for one shilling each, and the earliest account sent them. — All letters post-paid will be duly answer'd, and none receiv'd without.

*£* " A large, commodious house, pleasantly situated near the Abby, with five rooms on a floor, will be completely finish'd, and ready to let for lodgings in about a fortnight or three weeks, by the aforesaid Anne Galloway."

[1846, Part //.,/. 360.]

The ancient market cross which formerly stood in the centre of the two principal streets of the town of Glastonbury was a building

2 64 Somersetsh ire.

of some antiquity, having been erected in the early part of the six- teenth century. It was taken down about the year 1806. There was an ancient conduit close by it which supplied the town with excellent water, but which was also removed about the same time, or soon after, leaving a large open area. In the centre of this open space a new and handsome cross has recently been erected, at the instance of Thomas Porch Porch, Esq., of the Abbey House, under the direction and superintendence of Mr. Benjamin Ferrey, the architect, of Bedford Street, Bedford Square, who has recently been engaged in the repairs of the cathedral of Wells.

This new cross is an elegant structure, composed of the Bath free- stone. It is of a mixed style of architecture, conceived upon the outline of the famous conduit at Rouen, and from the elegant crosses of Geddington and Waltham, both of which were erected by King Edward I., to the memory of his consort Queen Eleanor.

The Glastonbury new cross is about 38 feet high, presenting a noble and imposing appearance, and may be considered a great ornament to the town. It is hcxangular, and highly enriched with tabernacle work and foliage.

The old market cross was quadrangular, with clustered columns at each angle, and one in the centre, which was higher than the others. It was surmounted by rude wooden carving, representing a naked man, seated, his legs perhaps never finished, but made to fix into the place for which it was first made. This figure was designated Jack Stag. It was broken down when the building itself was removed ; but was preserved by Mr. Rood, a chemist and druggist, who had some taste for antiquities ; he put it together, and placed it in the limestone wall of the garden of his house, between the Old George Inn and North Load Street, where it is now to be seen. The under part is an antique stone bracket, placed there to support the mutilated figure. The house is at this time in the occupation of Miss Rood, his daughter.

It is not known at this time who this figure was intended to represent. W. R.

[1846, Part II. , p. 562.]

In consequence of an oversight in the original plan, the spire of the new cross at Glastonbury was taken down, soon after its erection, in order to lengthen the mullions of the second or upper tier, and carry the spire itself 6 feet higher. By this alteration the new cross is now about 45 feet high, exclusive of the three steps and metal cross above ; altogether, from the ground to the top of the gilded cross, it is exactly 50 feet 6 inches in height, and has a very magni- ficent and imposing appearance. A spinal column, or backbone, has been introduced, running from the base to the summit, to give unity, solidity, and compactness to the entire pile. The three steps are

Glastonbiiry. 265

placed round the base so as to form an elevated platform for the edifice, and the whole area is enclosed with a neat wrought-iron palisading. Following the form of the structure, in immediate con- nection with the railing, there are iron standards, with appropriate fixtures, termed nossels, to emit the water, which is supplied from the original sources, which are springs in the hills, about a mile distant from the spot, and which are enclosed in curious structures of solid antique masonry, coeval with the days of the abbots. These springs are to the north-east of the town, on the gentle range of declivity which forms the base of the mount called the Tor Hill, and which gush out at the upper portion of that hill. Directing its course to the west, the water fills the baths at the south-east ot the town, runs through Chinkewell Street, crosses the Abbey Close, and so on to Chaingate, at the entrance of St. Magdalene Street, where it supplies the old baths, and from thence runs through the valley, till it mingles with the waters of the Brent.

Godney.

Enclosed I send you the impression of an ancient seal found among the ruins of Glastonbury Abbey, June 29, 1754 (see the Plate, Fig. 3). The inscription on the border — " S. Tome Capellani Dei insula" — consists of such characters as were used in Richard I.'s time, as appears plainly, I think, from the ancient coins of that king, and therefore shows the seal to be not less than 550 years old. The meaning of it seems to be evidently this : " The seal of Thomas, the Chaplain in the island of God." The island of God here meant is undoubtedly the same as Dugdale mentions in his " Monasticon " by the name of Godeney, which, he says, with some little islands there- about, was subject to the Abbey of Glastonbury. The word " Godeney," as he observes, signifies " Dei insula," or God's island. . . . The reason why the island is called the island of God, the same learned author says, is because there was a little church or chapel in it dedicated to the Holy Trinity. This place yet bears the same name, has a little chapel in it, and is generally surrounded with water.

The signification of the images or figures on the seal I take to be as follows : the large figure represents the great Abbot of Glaston- bury, with his mitre on his head and crozier in his hand, as he had the high honour of being one of the mitred and croziered abbots. The little figure, which is in a kneeling, supplicating pos- ture below, is the Chaplain of Godeney, who was subject to him, and the three persons enclosed or bound together just above the head of the kneeling ecclesiastic represent the Trinity in Unity, to whom the chapel at Godeney was dedicated, it being common for the Romanists to represent God the Father, and God the Holy Ghost, as well as God the Son, in human shape. The several perpendicular strokes

266 Somersetshire.

that appear equal with the border, over the heads of the Three, and partly over the head of the abbot, seem to be designed for the rays of a glory. THO. HARE.

Grenton.

[1772, /. 304.]

The annexed plate is an exact representation of Edge House at Grenton, a cottage made memorable by an event which history has imperfectly recorded. . . .

We gather that in this cottage it was that the Duke of Monmouth endeavoured to conceal himself after the battle of Sedgmore, in 1686, where he was hospitably entertained by the poor shepherd, the inhabitant. This seems to contradict what our historians have said of that prince's being found in a field covered with straw, with raw peas in his pocket.

Hampton.

[1804, Part //., /. 1182.]

I send you (Plate I., Fig. 2) a slight sketch of an ancient monu- ment in Hampton Church, near Bath. R. P. S.

Hardington.

[1802, Part II. , p. 801.]

Hardington House (on the eastern side of Somerset, twelve miles south of Bath) is now in a dilapidated state ; and, to preserve its small remains from total oblivion, I send you a drawing (Plate I.). Of its history we can only learn that William and Alexander de Had- ington were of this place in the time of Henry III., and that the heir of John de Sore held this manor in the reign of Edward II., after which John de Pederton possessed it, and leaving at his death a daughter, named Agnes, she married John Baumfilde, Esq., from whom, by lineal descent, it became the property of the present Sir Charles Warwick Bampfylde, Bart.

PHILL. CR.

Hinton Charterhouse.

[1791, Part II., p. 323.]

The enclosed is a drawing (Fig. 8) made from the west side of a ruin, commonly called Hinton Abbey, about five miles from Bath, in the county of Somerset. . . . Mr. Grose has not favoured the public with any view of it. Speed calls it a monastery of the Carthusian Order, founded by William Longspee, Earl of Salisbury, in the reign of Henry III., and valued, at the Suppression, at ^262 125.

JOHN LANGLY FRYER.

[1830, Part IL,pp. 577-579-1

Hinton, or Henton, Charterhouse is a village is Somersetshire, five miles south of Bath on the road to Salisbury. It derived its secondary

Hint on Charier house. 267

appellation, which distinguishes it from various other places of the same name, from a priory of Carthusians formerly established there. It has also been sometimes styled Hinton Comitis, having been a manor attached to the Earldom of Salisbury. It was among the lands which William the Conqueror conferred on Edward of Salis- bury, who is supposed to have been only Vicecomes or Sheriff of Wilts, but whose grandson Patrick received the title of Earl of Salisbury from the Empress Maud. At the composition of Domes- day, Edward de Sarisberi held "Hantone" of the King, having three plough-lands in the demesne ; and there were nine serfs, twelve villeins, and fifteen cottagers, with six ploughs ; two mills rendering 245., twelve acres of pasture, and wood one mile long, and half a mile broad.

William de Longespe', the first Earl of that name (and one of the natural children of King Henry II. by Fair Rosamond), had first placed the society, in 1222, on his manor of Hatherop, in Gloucester- shire, and had by his will bequeathed them various sacred utensils, 1,000 ewes, 300 rams, 48 oxen, and 20 bulls. But his widow Ela, " because " (as is stated in her charter) " the monks and brethren destined for that place, although they had continued there many years " (that is, apparently, about five), " could not find in the tene- ments the Earl had given them a place suitable to their rule," was in 1227 induced to remove them to her park of Hinton. In exchange for the lands in Gloucestershire, she then granted them all her manor of Hinton, with the advowson of the church, and the park ; and like- wise all her adjoining manor of Norton, with the advowson there, and all their appurtenances, except such military service as was due to her, and the service of Richard the parker, for the virgate of land he held, which service, however, should belong to the monks, whether Richard rested his claim upon his office of keeper or on military tenure. The house of the religious was to be built in the honour of God and the blessed Virgin, and of St. John the Baptist, and of All Saints, at the place in the park of Hinton which was called Locus Dei ; and the habit and rule to be observed was that of the Church of Chartreux, the strictest of all the religious orders. Twelve years after, King Henry III., by charter dated in the twenty- fourth year of his reign, took under the special protection and defence of himself and heirs the house of the Carthusians at Hinton, and granted to the monks for ever all the privileges and customs which his grandfather, King Henry, had granted to the Carthusian house he had founded at Witham. That house, which was also in Somersetshire, was the first settlement of the order in England ;* its

* Regarding this monastery and two others in Somersetshire, there is a privately printed volume, entitled " Monastic Remains of the Religious Houses at Witham, Bruton, and Stavordale, co. Somerset." Collected by Sir Richard Hoare, Bart., anno 1824. Only fifty copies were printed for distribution by the munificent author ; and none for sale.

268 Somersetshire.

dedication is in the same terms as that of Hinton, and its rights and privileges were the same as those possessed by the original estab- lishment at Chartreux. Pope Innocent IV. granted a Ball of privi- leges to Hinton in 1245.

At the taxation of Pope Nicholas in 1291, the temporalities of this priory were returned as : In Chynton, ^4 los. ; in Norton Comitis, ;£i2 ; in Hinton, £24 155. ; making a total of ^£41 53.

Its wealth was increased by a variety of grants from the neighbour- ing landowners and the merchants of Bristol. King Richard II. granted the monks a hogshead of wine yearly out of that port ; and King Henry V. a charter of free-warren in the manors of Hinton of Norton. Their estates were in 1444 valued at ^50 i6s. lod. In 26 Henry VIII. the gross revenues were estimated at .£262 125., the reprisals from which amounted to £13 125. iod., leaving a net income of nearly ^250.

The priory was surrendered to the King on March 31, 1540. Edmund Hord, the last prior, was assigned a pension of ^£44 ; and twenty-one monks were also pensioned, two at 12 marks, or £& ; fourteen at 10 marks; and four at 3 marks, or £2.

The site of the priory was granted, about four years after, to John Bartlet, who sold it to Matthew Colthurst. It was afterwards in the Hungerford family, then in the Robinsons, and in the time of Collinson, the historian of Somersetshire, the joint property of James Humphrys, Esq., and Joseph Frowd, Esq., in right of their wives, the daughters of Stocker Robinson, Esq.

The old manor-house of Hinton, represented in the first view of the plate, is supposed to have been built out of the ruins of the priory.

Hinton Charterhouse, the present mansion, which is about half a mile distant, was the seat of the late James Skurray Day, Esq., brother-in-law to the present Lord Ribblesdale, and is now occupied by his mother, Mrs. Day. A description of the house and the pictures will be found in the " Beauties of England and Wales."

The second view represents the remains of the priory church. There is another view of this building in the elegant little work entitled "The Antiquarian Itinerary." It shows the east window, composed of three lancet lights, without any tracery above ; and another lancet window on the north.

This favoured spot, which the somewhat difficult Carthusians at length chose as the scene of their mortifications, retains its natural beauties. "The environs," says Collinson, "are highly beautiful, being variegated with fine open lawns, hanging woods, and limpid streams. In the vicinity are several larpe tumuli ; and in the ruins of the abbey have been dug up Roman [?] bricks, tesserae, and other reliques."

Within the monastery of Hinton was for many years resident

Hinton Charterhouse. 269

Thomas Spenser, a learned and pious monk, son of Leonard Spenser, of Norwich. He wrote, among other works, " Comment, in Epist. D. Pauli ad Galatas." He died in 1529, and was buried in the priory church.

In the little work on " English Monastic Libraries," by the Rev. Joseph Hunter, F.S.A., recently published, occurs the following list of books, specified in an indenture of the year 1343, as having been lent by the prior and convent of Hinton to another house. It is curious, both on account of its contents and as showing an un- observed usage of the monasteries :

Two books of Homilies, to be read in the Refectory.

The four Gospels.

The Meditations of Anselm.

The Enchiridion of Saint Sixtus.

A Treatise by Peter Cluniacensis.

Life of John the Almoner.

Flores et Magna Glossa Psalterii.

The Meditations of St. Bernard.

Quendam libellum inter Orosium et Augustinum; et Templum Dei.

Life of Paul the Hermit.

Excerpta from the Lives of St. Anthony, St. Hilarion, and St. Sylvester.

De orto Pilati.

Libel, de Manipul. flor.

Dialogus SS. Gregorii et Augustini.

i Legend, totius anni, abbreviat.

Primar. Ecclesiast. et II. Primar. Puerorum.

A Breviary.

Liber qui sic incipit, "Qui bene prsesunt presbyterii."

Stimulus Amoris, et multa alia edificatoria de manu Domini Will, de Colle.

The engagement to restore these books was formally drawn and sealed.

Of this monastery was Nicholas Hopkins, who was several times consulted as a prophet by the last Stafford, Duke of Buckingham, and, "like a false hypocrite," had induced the Duke to the treason with his "false, forged prophecies." He was one of the witnesses at the trial in 1521, and full particulars of the Duke's consultations with him will be seen in Holinshed's account of that proceeding.

Collinson says that in the church of Norton St. Philip's (also called Norton Comitis), " under an arch in the south aisle, lies the effigy of one of the religious of Hinton Abbey, who is supposed to have rebuilt the church. Her hands are uplifted in a suppliant posture, and at her feet. is a dog." Collinson does not explain how

2 7O Somersetshire.

a female could have been one of the members of a religious founda- tion for males.

The paragraph which next follows may be worth adding, as men- tioning a supposed instance of united twins — a subject which, from the public exhibition of living individuals so circumstanced, has recently attracted much attention : " In the floor of the nave are the mutilated particulars in stone of two females close to each other, and called by the inhabitants the fair maidens of Fosscot, or Fosstoke, a neighbouring hamlet now depopulated. There is a tradition that the persons they represent were twins, whose bodies were at their birth conjoined together ; that they arrived at a state of maturity, and that one of them dying, the survivor was constrained to drag about her lifeless companion till death released her of her horrid burden."

This account (which comes in bad company with the female monk of Hinton) is perhaps nothing more than a sexton's tale, like that of the lady in Westminster Abbey, who died from a prick of her finger, or numberless others which are rife through the country. It may, however, be remarked that the history of these "fair maids of Foxcot" bears a strong resemblance to that of the maids of Biddendon in Kent, whose remembrance is annually renewed by cakes stamped with their figures, which are distributed at Easter (see Hasted's " Kent," and Hone's " Every-day Book for 1827 "). The Biddendon maids lived so early as 1 100, and, from the mention of a depopulated hamlet, these appear to claim an early era. But the examination of the stone figures by a more judicious eye than Collinson's might tend to show whether the story has any claims to regard.

J. G. N.

Hinton St. George.

[1812, Part IL, pp. 417 419.]

I send an account of the monuments in the Church of Hinton St. George, in the east end of which is the burial-place of the Poulett family.

Against the north wall an alabaster monument, with a large arch or canopy, supported by Corinthian pillars, and on an altar-tomb a figure in armour on a mat, and this inscription :

" Honoratissimo patri D. Amitio Pouletto, equiti aurato, insulae Jersse praefecto, apud Christianissimum Regem quondam legato, noblissimi ordinis Garterii can- cellario, & serenissimae principis Elizabethse consiliario, Antonius Poulettus filius hoc pietatis monumentum moerens posuit.

"Gardez la foy. " Quod verbo servare fidem, Poulette, solebas,

Quam bene conveniunt hsec tria verba tibi ! Quod gladio servare fidem, Poulette, solebas, Quam bene conveniunt haec tria signa. tibi ! Patria te sensit, sensit rt gina fidelem, Sic fidus civis, sicque senator eras.

Hinton St. George. 271

Te fidum Christus, te fidum ecclesia simul,

Sic servas inter multa pericla fidem. Ergo quod servo princeps, ecclesia nato,

Patria quod fido cive sic orba dolet. Interea Christus defuncti facta coronat

A quo servatam viderat esse fidem.

" Margareta Poulett hoc epitaphium moeroris simul & amoris sui perpetuum testem Amitio conjugi suo canssimo ciarissimoque dicavit."

He died 1588, and was buried on the north side of the chancel in the Church of St. Martin's-in-the-Fields, London ; but on the rebuilding of that church, the parishioners refusing to put up this monument again, it was brought down hither, with his body.

At the head of this is a similar monument for Sir Hugh Poulett, his father, in scaled armour, his vizor up, and by him his wife, in the veil head-dress. He died December 21, 13 Elizabeth.

At the head of this another monument, for Sir Amias Poulett, father of the last, who died April 10, 1537. His figure is in armour, his vizor up, and by him his lady in the veil head-dress.

At the west-end of this chapel is a lofty canopied monument for John, first Lord Poulett, who died 1649. On a sarcophagus sup- ported by two savages an angel blowing two trumpets.

Under the north arch is a monument for Sir Anthony Poulett, " miles, dux insulae Jersey," eldest son of Sir Amias, and father of John, first Baron. He died July 22, 1600. He is in armour and ruff, hair, and broad beard, helmet under his head, and a lion at his feet ; his lady by him, in cap, ruff, and petticoat. Five sons and five daughters kneel at the sides of an altar-tomb, though the new edition of Collins's " Peerage," 1812, vol. iv., p. 8, gives him only two sons and two daughters ; but Collinson, in his " History of Somerset," expresses ten children.

At the feet of this a knight in alabaster, pointed helmet, plated armour, sword and dagger, head on helmet ; crest, a lion rampant ; lion at his feet ; at the sides of the tomb quatrefoils and shields ; and in niches, figures praying.

Against the north wall of the nave is a marble monument to Anne Poulett, fourth son of the first Earl, K.G., who died 1775. A woman with an owl, and another with a dog, holding a snake, on a sarco- phagus, under a medallion.

Another marble monument, for Rebecca, youngest daughter of John, Earl Poulett, by Bridget, daughter of Peregrine Bertie, who died in 1765. A winged boy flying holds a wreath in his right hand, and a medallion of her head in his left, against a pyramid of red marble.

In the north aisle, a brass plate, inscribed to :

"John Hellier, esq., lieutenant colonel of the Somerset militia, justice of peace, and son of John and Elizabeth Hellier, died July 14, 1792, aged 83. He served the Earl Powletts as bailiff in the year 1730, and continued in friendship with the

272 Somersetsh ire.

family to the day of his death. He gave a piece of ground in Meriot, called Niddons, five acres, to the poor of this parish, for the remainder of a term of 3000 years, the rent of which is to be laid out on St. Thomas's day every year by the minister and churchwardens for the time being in the purchase of shoes and stockings."

It produces £8 or £9 a year.

Two doors on each side the altar open, as at Crewkerne, co. Somerset, into what serves as a vestry.

A seat on each side of the altar.

Against the south wall of the Poulett chapel is a monument to John, Earl Poulett, born 1662, died 1743, A bust like Locke's, under his arms, on a pyramid of veined marble.

Under the bust of a Roman matron :

"Verus comes Poulettus, amore & pietate erga parentes praeditus Bridgettae comitissse Poulett, quae obiit anno 1747, hoc monumentum excitavit. Ah, matrum optima, Vale. Te Honos, te Virtus, te Beneficentia, te Incorrupta Fides, & te Amicitia deplorat."

Poulett and Bertie in a shield of pretence ; and over the bust a snake in a circle.

On the south side of the chancel, on the floor, a brass figure of a man in armour and hair, and a woman in the veil head-dress, and under them :

" Hie jacet Joh'es Thuddiole armiger, fili' & heres Joh'is Thuddile & Alicie uxf ei' quondam ux' Joh'is Juyn, milit', filia Willi'mi Bydmore."

On a chevron three acorns . . . single ; and impaling three lions. Against the east wall of the south aisle, twelve Latin lines, beginning :

"Coniugii comites," etc.

The font and shaft are twelve-sided, adorned with the Poulett swords and a plain cross, in quatrefoil alternately.

The only monuments mentioned by Mr. Collinson, " History of Somerset," vol. ii., p. 168, are those of:

Anthony and Catharine Poulet, 1600, 1601.

Amias Poulet, 1537.

Sir Hugh Poulet, December 6. ...

John, first and second Barons.

Sir Amos Poulet, second son of Sir Anthony, 1626.

An old figure, of the family of Poulet, on the north side of the nave.

Rebecca Poulet, 1765.

In the churchyard, on an altar-tomb, at the east end :

"Here lieth the body of William Poulett, gent., who died the first day of February, Anno Domini 1699, aetatis suae 92.

" Here also lieth the body of Mary the wife of William Poulett, gent., who died the igth day of April, 1701, aetatis suae 76."

P. Q.

lie /tester. 273

Ilchester.

[1794, Part 1 7., /. i oo I.]

The inscription on the mace belonging to the corporation of Ilchester, given in the newly published " History of Somersetshire," vol. iii. p. 299, agrees with that given by Dr. Stukeley, and corrected from the original in the new edition of Camden's "Britannia," vol. i.} p. 68, Plate IV., Fig. i :

oijor

I.e. " I Jesus was of God, Notwithstanding the gift was ill received."

The language of the inscription is said to be old French ; but when critically examined, I cannot find the first word, /, at all, nor the fifth, God, in the word Dm, which is not pretended to be read, as on old French epitaphs or other inscriptions, DEU, or DIU. How can erie be substituted for estois ; and, if it can, why not render it Jesus was of God, without the affix I? Is nemet ne aumoin? Dun may be don, et may be estoit, or etoit, and mie is a word of diminu- tion or slight.

It is said Frier Bacon was born in thefnery at Ivelchester, 1214. Is not this a mistake for the town ? D. H.

[1846, Part I. , p. 490.]

I beg to send you a sketch of an old house at Ilchester, Somerset, part of which was destroyed by fire in 1844. Whether any part before the fire was more ancient than the front here represented, I do not know ; but the age of this appears, I think, to be about the time of Henry VI. It is said to have been formerly occupied by some remarkable personages. It was certainly one of the oldest houses remaining in Ilchester. The sketch now sent you was made in 1834 ; but when I saw the remains last summer the front re- mained pretty much as here represented : the back part was entirely destroyed. It had been used as a public-house for some years.

JOHN BUCKLER.

Note. — The town of Ilchester is of high antiquity, ascending up to the times of the Romans. It was considered a county town in the reign of Edward III., and sent members to Parliament from 26 Edward I. There were formerly four churches, according to Leland, though one only remained in his time. The present church has an octangular stone tower. The town also contained a house of Black friars. The old philosopher Roger Bacon was a native of Ilchester.

Though the county assizes were fixed at Ilchester in the reign of Edward III., they were afterwards alternately held at Wells, Taunton,

VOL. XXII. 1 8

274 Somersetshire.

and Bridgewater, as well as this town. A county prison was erected here, after the plans of the philanthropic Howard ; and that edifice was famous in modern times for the confinement of the political prisoner Henry Hunt, the " Radical" reformer.

On the particular history of the house communicated by Mr. Buckler, we are sorry to have nothing more to say. Such ancient edifices are chiefly remarkable for having survived their fellows, which, one by one, have disappeared, either from decay and accidents, or the deference of their owners and occupiers to the capricious fashions of the day, whilst one or two alone are left behind as the monuments of their race, and at length receive that notice and respect from succeeding generations which is due to their vener- able appearance, and the long march of centuries of which they have been the witnesses.

Kingston Seymour.

[1835, Part II., p. 370-]

The interesting old manor-house at Kingston Seymour is of the age of Edward IV., whose favourite badge, the rose-en-soleil, appears on the west gable. The manor was divided ; but the resident lord, to whom the erection of the house may be ascribed, appears to have been one of the family of Kenn.

This is one of the most perfect and interesting specimens of ancient domestic architecture in the county of Somerset. It is a small building, its extreme length not exceeding 67 feet. The hall occupies the centre, and is 28 feet 6 inches long, by 18 feet in width. It has a window on the north, and another on the south side; the latter appears between the porch and the bay, which is a square of 7i feet on the inside, and forms the only means of communica- tion between the hall and the withdrawing-room, which occupies the western wing of the building, and is 24 feet in length by 13 feet 6 inches in width. The staircase is attached to this room, and entered from it, on the north side. The eastern wing, which is 31 1 feet in length, and 18 feet 8 inches in width, including the thick- ness of the walls, is separated into two rooms, the front and larger portion of which was the kitchen. The room beyond does not seem to have been devoted to mean uses. It has no external doorway, and it is difficult to imagine where space was formerly found for the offices which must have originally belonged to this handsome resi- dence. As it does not appear that any subordinate buildings were ever attached to it, it is reasonable to suppose that they were included in some building detached, but not far removed from the main edifice. There is no chimney-piece in the hall, so that we may con- clude that the fire was kindled on a hearth in the centre of the room. The chimney-piece in the withdrawing-room is of stone, and singularly ornamented, and the ceiling is of woodwork, handsomely panelled.

Kingston Seymour. 275

The hall in this, as in the greater number of instances, has a lofty roof of timber, very finely constructed and of good proportions, but not distinguished by many ornaments.

I should not, however, omit to notice a little window, handsomely canopied, which appears high up in the wall at the west end. It opens into the spacious apartment over the withdrawing-room, and was sufficiently large to give the host a commanding view of his assembed guests.

We must now speak of the exterior, which presents a highly decorated elevation towards the south. The west wing and the bay on one hand, and the north wing and the porch on the other, leave the hall deeply recessed in the centre, and their double gables rise so high as nearly to conceal the long line of its steep roof. The arch of the porch, and the upper windows in the wings, are dis- tinguished by pointed arches. All the other windows have square tops, with very highly-enriched tracery. The windows differ in size ; several have transoms and several are without, but the whole appear with their original ornaments complete. The masonry and con- struction of this house are good and perfect.

It is now the property of John Hugh Smyth Pigott, Esq., of Brockley Hall, and will be henceforth preserved with the care it merits.

The following particulars are entered in the parish register of Kingston Seymour, and dated 1727, by Mr. James Tuthill, the then rector.

" Kingston, the manor and estate of John de Burgh, grandson of the great Hubert de Burgh, Earl of Kent, who, leaving only three daughters and heirs, Hawise, Dervergild, and Margery, this manor and his other estates were parted between them; and Dervergild, who married Robert Fitzwalter, had this lordship for part of her share. It did not come to the said John from his ancestors, but as he was heir to Hawise de Llanvalley, his grandmother, upon failure of issue in that family. John de Kingston, who seems to have taken his name from his lordship, which was his seat, was Knight of this county and Dorsetshire in the 6th and i2th years of the reign of King Edward the Third."

This curious document is imperfect. B.

Limington.

[1825, Part L, pp. 9, 10.]

Collinson, in his " History of Somersetshire," mentions that Wolsey was rector of Limington at the time of his well-known adven- ture with Sir Amias Poulett, and that his cipher is to be seen on the panel of an ancient pew, he having been presented to the living by the Marquis of Dorset, who had entrusted to him the tuition of his

sons.

18 — 2

276 Somersetshire.

The church contains some curious relics of antiquity, of which I made some sketches and memoranda, and as the Cardinal has lately occupied so considerable a portion of your pages, and has been so ably defended in your Magazine for November, a view of it may be gratifying to some of your readers (see the frontispiece to the present volume). Indeed, while examining the antiquities within the church, I could not avoid recalling to my imagination " Wolsey and his Times," and portraying to myself the future arbiter of Europe grasp- ing a mewling infant at the font, his eyes glancing at the coral lips, ruddy cheeks, and hazel eyes of the Somersetshire wenches around him.

Leland, in his " Itinerary," vol. ii., fol. 52, says :

"One Juverney (or Fuverney) was owner of this towne and lord- ship. He lyeth richely buried yn a fair Chapelle on the North side of the Paroche Church of Limington. Ther lyeth at the feet of Juverney a woman vaylid in a low tumbe with an image of stone. Ther lyeth also in the South arche of the same Chapelle, a gentilman and his wife, I think also of the Juverneys. Juverney dwelled, as some thinke, in the farme at the North-est side of the Chirch. Juverney's lands came by heires generale to the Bonevilles of Devonshire."

All these monuments yet remain, and, compared with too many others, are in a tolerable state of preservation. The name was cer- tainly " Gyvernay "; and although I have not been able to ascertain what were the arms borne by that family, there can be little doubt but that the figure of a cross-legged knight, having on his shield a bend between six escallops (Plate I., Fig. i), represents the "Gyver- nay " noticed by Leyland.* His " woman vaylid " is represented at Fig. 2. The "gentilman and his wife" are shown at Figs. 3 and 4. The former is not in armour; they are youthful figures, and afford curious examples of painting upon sepulchral monuments, it being plainly discernible that they were gaily attired in green and pink.

Sir Richard Gyvernay, A.D. 1329, gave a messuage, five acres, and one rood of arable land, one acre of meadow, and seventy-two shillings rent, with appurtenances in Limington, to God and the church of Limington, and to John Fychet, chaplain, and all other chaplains his successors, to perform Divine service every day at the altar of the blessed Virgin Mary, in the parish church of Limington, for the souls of him the said Sir Richard and Maud his wife, and for the souls of Gilbert Gyverney and Mabil Gyverney, father and mother of the said Sir Richard, and of Lord Philip de Columbers and Eleanor his wife, Gunnora, formerly wife of the said Sir Richard Gyverney, and Margaret, also formerly his wife, and of Henry Power

* The bend between six escallops was used with different colours by Fuljambe, Freshwell, Walton, Coupe, Scale, Crws, Daniell, Cotterell, and others ; and the same charges may also have been born by Gyvernay.

L imington. 277

and Maud his wife.* Having no issue male, his estates descended to Henry Power, who had married Maud, his sister, which Henry died seised of this manor, 35 Edward III., leaving an only daughter, Joan, who was married to William de Shareshull.f After which the manor came to the Bonvilles.

The manor appears to have been held of the Barons Beauchamp, of Hache. Margaret, one of the daughters and coheirs of Sir John Meriett, Knt. (a descendant from John Meriett, nephew ex sorore of John Lord Beauchamp, of Hache, who died without issue), was the wife of Sir William Bonville, of Chewton, county Somerset. The issue of this marriage was Sir William Bonville, who had summons to Parliament by the title of Lord Bonville of Chewton, 1449, and was honoured with the Order of the Garter. But espousing the cause of the House of York, he had committed to him the custody of Henry VI., taken prisoner at the battle of Northampton. This William Lord Bonville married Elizabeth, sole daughter and heiress of William Lord Harington, K.G., and had issue William Bonville, Esq., who had issue William Bonville, Lord Harington, slain at the battle of Wakefield in 1460, in the lifetime of his grandfather. He was himself beheaded by the Queen's party, after the second battle of St. Albans, in February, 1461.

Collinson appears to have been mistaken in referring the cipher carved on the pewj to Cardinal Wolsey. The arms (Fig. 5), viz., Quarterly, first and fourth, six mullets, second and third a fret, are those of Bonville and Harington, and there cannot be a doubt that they were placed for William Bonville, Lord Harington (after March, 1458, when he became entitled to quarter Harington, upon the death of his great-grandfather, William Lord Harington, above-mentioned), and that the initials "W. C." (entwined by a sort of knot) denote "William" and "Catherine," that being the name of his wife, who was daughter to Sir Richard Neville, Earl of Salisbury. They left an only child, Cicely, who was heiress to her great-grandfather, William Lord Bonville, A.D. i Edward IV., and then within one year old. She became the second wife of Thomas Grey, Marquis of Dorset, K.G. (son of Elizabeth, Queen of Edward IV., by her first husband, Sir John Grey). Their son, Thomas, Marquis of Dorset, Lord Groby of Harington and of Astely, K.G., etc., presented Thomas Wolsey to the rectory of Limington, as above mentioned, about the year 1500.

The elegant font (Plate L, Fig. 6) appears, by the form of the escutcheons thereon, to have been executed at the beginning of the sixteenth century. It is more than probable, therefore, that it was set up by Wolsey. Perhaps it exhibits the dawn of that taste which he undoubtedly possessed, and which was afterwards so magnificently

* Collinson, " Hist. Som.," vol. iii., p. 218. f Ibid.

t It is probable that this originally formed part of a screen.

2/8 Somersetshire.

displayed at Hampton Court, in the Tomb House at Windsor, at his archiepiscopal seat Cawood Castle, at Ipswich, at Oxford, and various other places.

The church is dedicated to St. Mary. There is a mural monu- ment to the memory of Mr. Edward Gould, son of Mr. James and Mrs. Mary Gould, of London, who died January 20, 1747, aged twenty-one. Arms : Paly of six, argent and sable, six cross-crosslets or. The "fair chapelle " on the north side, which is seen in the Plate, has a curious stone roof.

The manor is the property of Lewis Dymoke-Grosvenor Tregon- well, Esq., of Cranbourne, county Dorset, in right of his first wife, Catherine, daughter and heir of St. Barbe Sydenham, Esq. I cannot omit acknowledging that I have been greatly assisted in ascertaining the particulars of the family above-mentioned by one of your valuable correspondents, my friend, G. F. Beltz, Esq., Lancaster Herald.

T. R. Lullington.

[1794, Part //.,/. 893.]

Lullington is a small parish, situated three miles north of Frome, in the county of Somerset ; the church whereof, as it now is, appears to have been built at different periods of time, part being evidently Saxon, part Gothic, and part modern architecture (see Plate II., Fig. i). In the middle stands a square embattled tower, supported by four clustered pillars, which are ornamented with wreaths, figures of birds, beasts, etc. The arch which divides the nave from the chancel is enriched with the Saxon zig-zag ornament.

On the outside of the north wall of the church is a beautiful ancient doorway (the entrance closed) of the true Saxon ornamented archi- tecture, having in the upper arch, within a corbel, a mutilated figure of the Virgin Mary in a sitting posture, holding on her knees the Holy Child (see Fig. 2).

Collinson, in his faithful and very valuable " History of Somerset- shire," tells us that the advowson of this church, before the Dissolution belonged to a priory of black canons at Longleat, in the county of Wilts; which priory, in the 2Qth of Henry VIII., was united with the monastery of Carthusians at Hinton, in the county of Somerset, and was, by Prior Hard, surrendered to the Crown. The advowson of this church, on the 32nd year of the same reign, was granted to Edward, Earl of Hertford, who sold it, with the beautiful place of Longleat, to Sir John Thynne, from whom it descended to the Marquis of Bath, the present lord of the manor. A. C.

Maperton.

[1817, Part II., p. 298.]

The following epitaphs are at Maperton, a small village in Somersetshire. R.

Maperton. 279

In the church, on the east side :

"The Rev. Charles Michell, late Rector of this parish, who died Oct. 6, 1766. A tender father and real friend.

"Mrs. Margaret Michell, who was buried April 20, 1732."

On the west side :

" To the sacred memory of Thomas Lockyer, esq., who departed this life July 8, 1785, aged 86."

On a flat stone in the chancel :

"Samuel Collins, once Rector of this Parish, was buried Jan. the 2ist, 1714, aged 76 years. Agatha, wife of Samuel Collins, was buried July the roth, 1714, aged 64 years. Agatha Nichols, wife of Roger Nichols, once Rector of this Parish, was buried June the i;th, 1707, aged 82 years. Thomasin, daughter of Samuel Collins, and Agatha, his wife, was buried August the 6th, 170 . ., aged 29 years. Agatha, daughter of Samuel and Agatha Collins, was buried ... the 24th, 1713, aged 39 years."

Round the edge of an old flat stone, much defaced :

"Here lieth the body of James Bradford, Minister of the Gospel. January I, 1656.

" Underneath lie Philip Bennet, esq., and Jane, his wife. As he was universally esteemed for his friendship, good nature, and honesty, she was no less remarkable for her beauty, virtue, good sense, and piety. He died March the I5th, 1722, aged 44 ; she died May the 2d, 1722, aged 50.

"Thomas Strode, jun., obiit. Oct. 13, 1688.

" Here lieth the body of Mrs. Eliz. Ernes, obl. Dec. 8, 1717, setatis suse 77.

"Jane Bennett, wife of Philip Bennett, esq., departed this life the 3Oth of April, 1722, setatis suse 50."

On another stone :

"Mary Bennett obiit Dec. 28, 1688."

In the churchyard :

"Thomas Hole, of Wesbury, in this County, who died Feb. 17, 1722, aged 72.

"Robert Clothier, of Clapton, died Jan. the I5th, 1767, aged 84.

" Rebecca, the wife of Robert Clothier, of Clapton, died Sept. 2d, 1753, aged 66."

On the side of a table-stone :

"John Provis was baptised Jan. 1, 1648 ; died Sept. 28 ; buried Sept. 30, 1696.

"Michael Pitman died July 9, 1770, aged 79.

"Mary, wife of Michael Pitman, who died Aug. 10, 1771, aged 59."

Marston Magna.

[1818, Part //.,//. 105-107.]

The parish of Marston Magna, in the county of Somerset, receives its additional name by way of distinction from Little Marston, a village north of this place ; the situation of both is in a low flat country, shaded in the summer months from the scorching rays of the sun by a thick, dark foliage of stately elms, orchards, and orna- mental forest-trees, that afford the same friendly protection from the frigid north atmosphere during winter.

It is distant about four miles from the celebrated Cadbury, or

280 Somersetshire.

probably Cerdic, Hill, in the Saxon history of our country, famous for the defeat of Baldulph and Colgrin, who, after a second struggle for victory, flushed with the succour of new forces under Cerdic, were again, by the military prowess of the invincible British King Arthur, repulsed and entirely defeated, to almost the loss of their whole army as well as themselves.

The soil of this parish is principally a fine, fertile, calculous earth, chiefly pasture lands, astonishingly quick in vegetation, and produc- tive to the degree of abundance. . . .

The church (see Plate I.) in the centre of the village is a plain, neat building of freestone, with a high tapering tower, supported with buttresses, having an embattled pediment that encircles the top. The chancel is by far the oldest part of the building, and seems to be the work of a very early period, most likely Saxon, as its massive walls are without buttresses, and the eastern window is of that kind of order we find in our oldest ecclesiastical structures ; it has the long lancet-shape lights carried up in the plain wall. Under this window stands the altar; and very near it in the south wall are two niches, one evidently for a holy water basin ; the other is larger, and has in it a stone bench of very rude workmanship, the customary seat of an assistant officiating priest.

The main body of the church is connected with this very ancient chancel by a high light Gothic arch, without screen or ornament, that seems to be a work of no very distant period (comparatively with the chancel). The north-west side of this portion of the build- ing has an attached projectional structure, screened off from the main body, that seems to have been intended for a small chapel or chantry ; this addition appears to be much more modern than any other part of the church, having the particular style of our Henry VII. : it further appears to have been dedicated to the Blessed Virgin, the niche still remaining in which that statue stood ; it is elegantly exe- cuted in a fine sort of tabernacle manner, cut in stone, and standing on a handsome mural bracket. The walls of this ambiguous struc- ture have been beautifully ornamented with fine specimens or efforts of the chisel, representing the most remarkable subjects of the Bible, in a fine bold relievo, that nearly covered the whole interior : but unfortunately, the church undergoing some repairs, during the life- time of a predecessor very different from the present rector, the sacrilegious miscreants employed were suffered to pillage the church and convey away all this beautiful tracery, with also the Virgin statue.

Many curious stone-coffins have been discovered beneath the flag work ; and it is presumed many of them are of monkish origin, having in various devices the representation of the cross ; and in others the palm-branch rudely designed. The latter is conjectured to have contained the bodies of such nuns whose ascetic life had

Marston Magna. 281

passed through the different degrees established according to the rules of St. Benedict.

A little north of the church stands the parsonage, now a delightful rural residence, surrounded with delicious gardens, nicely disposed and tastefully arranged by the present worthy rector, Mr. Williams. . . .

The parish of Marston Magna originally consisted of little else than a convent and its detached buildings, nearly the whole of which stood on the south side of the church, as the present village stands north, two or three houses excepted. The site of this religious establishment is at this moment to be plainly traced in a close con- tiguous to the church, called the Court Garden, the discriminating features of which are a succession of various mounds, terraces, excavations, and other irregularities, throughout the whole field. The principal terrace led to a distant field, still called the Park, where it is presumed deer had been kept for the use of this convent. The field is about 40 acres, and the terrace surrounds the whole, that probably came from the grand front, or from the entrance of the great cloister of this priory, through an avenue of trees leading to a drawbridge over the ditch, by which it could only be accessible. This ditch still remains ; it is large, deep, and wide over, enclosing a spacious quadrangular area, on which spot, no doubt, the principal building stood. Indeed an amazing combination of various struc- tures must have formerly dignified the classical site of this house, its society must have been large and liberally maintained. Its sect is said to have been a religious sisterhood of Benedictine Nuns, under a lady prioress, and dependent on the Abbey of Polestro, or Poleston, in the county of Devon ; but the history of this abbey unfortunately seems very obscure, or at least never to have fallen under my obser- vation, a circumstance I must regret.

It appears from good authority that the abbess and nuns of Polestro, or Poleston, in the county of Devon, had the peculiar rectory of Marston Magna; taxed 20 Edward I. at 2 3 marcs, 6s. 8d.; and presented to the vicarage, probably by way of augmentation fee; but in what manner the rectory dues were held we do not find out.

J. BELLAMY.

Mells.

[1794, Part IL, pp. 702, 703.]

Mells Church is a very stately edifice. There is on the south side a porch which merits particular notice ; its form and ornaments are singularly graceful ; and it is quite perfect, except that the mullions of the window, and the statues which heretofore peopled the niches, are now destroyed, whether by the hand of Time, or of " godly thorough-reformation," I know not. On the summit of the wall which divides the nave from the chancel stands a kind of lantern turret, in which hangs a small bell, now usually rung as soon as the

282 Somersetshire.

officiating minister is in his place, to give notice to the people with- out that the service is about to begin ; but this, doubtless, or some tinkling predecessor, was originally the sane/us, or saint's bell. . . . These little campaniles are by no means infrequent in country churches, though it is not common to find them so well tenanted as this at Mells.

In the chancel is a handsome monument of white and Sienna marble to the memory of the late worthy rector the Rev. T. Paget, with the following inscription :

" Spe certa resurgendi juxta dormiunt reliquiae THOM^E PAGET, S. T. B., hujus ecclesiae per annos triginta fere quatuor rectoris; qui hominis, civis, clerici, munera non implevit modo, sed et ornavit omnia ; erat enim vir ingenuus, probus, pius, pastor eruditus, sedulus, beneficus, dum gregi suo fideltier invigilaret, anirno, re, corpore, laborantes, consilio, sere, cibo juvandos non solum voluit, sed et ipse curavit. Severiora theologize studia quibus praecipue incubuit, humaniorum literarum elegantiis ita feliciter temperaverat ; ut suavitate morum, et officio bene prsestito, bonos omnes sibi devinxerit. Ita demum in omni re se gessit, adeo decorum miscuit honesto, ut in vita amabilis, in morte flebilis, carissimam sui reliquerit memoriam. Obiit secundo die Januarii A.D. MDCCLXXXIII. ^Etatis LXXVIII."

An altar-piece of marble was erected, and the whole chancel fitted up in 1785, by the present munificent rector, John Bishop, D.D. On the south side of the chancel were three of those seats, with ornamented canopies, which are vulgarly called tabernacles, and whose original use has been the subject of so much antiquarian dis- cussion. These unfortunately were either removed, or are now hidden or filled up by the plastering. In the windows are a few scraps of painted glass ; and in the side-aisles the reliques of some very handsome old screen-work, adorned with carving, richly painted and gilt.

At a small distance from the church, and probably on the site of the " praty maner-place of stone " mentioned by Leland, stand the remains of what was for several generations the principal seat of the Homers, who inhabited it till the present Mr. Homer enlarged the house in the park, and made that his constant place of residence. In a journal of King Charles's marches during the rebellion, published in Gutch's " Collectanea Curiosa," is this article :

"July, 1644, Wednesday the lyth. MelJs, Sir John Horner's, the king's by attainder [staid there] two nights."

This Sir John makes a considerable figure in Lord Clarendon's History. He and Alexander Popham were the only persons of fortune in the county (which the same noble historian styles "one of the richest in the kingdom") who espoused the Parliament's cause. When the King's affairs declined, Sir John, I presume, regained possession of his chateau ; and, dying before the Restora- tion (in 1659) the attainder was perhaps forgotten, certainly not enforced. However that were, the zealous and active loyalty of the

Metis. 283

present representative of this family makes ample amends for the failing of his ancestor. Half of the old house is now mouldering in ruins, the rest is occupied by a farmer. It was one of those capacious and splendid mansions which arose towards the end of the sixteenth century, and the style of its architecture was superior to most of that age. The porch has been ascribed to Inigo Jones, but without sufficient reason. In all likelihood, the artist, whoever he was, that planned the porch, designed the whole facade, to which this porch is in strict conformity ; and that the body of the house is of a date somewhat prior to the works of Inigo, certain inscriptions, which were lately existing about its walls, undoubtedly prove. The door-way of the porch is decorated with two fluted three-quarter columns, of the Doric order, supporting an entablature, above which are the family arms ; the whole much enriched and well executed. In the metopes are the crest and other devices.

Round about the house are many lofty elms and horse-chestnuts. Indeed, the soil of the whole parish is remarkably propitious to the growth of all kinds of timber. There are many very large trees in the park ; and the principal approach to Mr. Horner's house is through an awful grove of aged beeches, wonderfully solemn and magnificent. An internal view of this grove, which is about a quarter of a mile in length, can scarcely fail of bringing to the beholder's mind the idea of a vast cathedral. . . .

Leland tells us that " Melles hathe bene a praty townelet for clothing " (" Itin.," vol. vii., p. 99). No manufacture of this kind is now carried on here ; but there are several houses in different parts of the parish which appear to have belonged formerly to persons of opulence.

Two much-frequented fairs are annually holden here on a very pleasant spot called Mells Green. It is " a plat of rising ground," covered with a beautiful verdure, and shaded with avenues of tall and spreading elms, under whose branches the booths are set up, and parties of pleasure assemble, exhibiting altogether an appearance extremely cheerful and gay.

The old parsonage-house, which ceased to be inhabited about forty -four years ago, is an ivy-mantled ruin. It was ancient and spacious, having in it a large hall with an oriel window. The modem manse is a well-built dwelling ; and the territory around it has been laid out in an agreeable manner by Dr. Bishop. In levelling the earth for a garden, the workmen met with a Roman coin of brass. No more of the emperor's name is legible than the termination ANVS, but the countenance resembles that of Adrian.

Ivy-leaved toad-flax (antirrhinum symballaria), a plant very rare in this part of England, and, I believe, not common anywhere, grows luxuriantly on some of the old walls in and about Mells. Mells too can boast a salutary spring, which has been found efficacious in

284 Somersetshire.

scrofulous cases ; but it is little attended to, and I know not that it has ever been analyzed. R. P.

Monkton Butleigh.

[1841, Part L, p. 82.]

A silver seal, in fine preservation, has recently been found on the grounds of W. Brown, Esq., at Monkton Butleigh, Somerset, near the site of the Priory of St. Mary Magdalene. This relic is a pendant, having a female front face, deeply cut and of exquisite workmanship (probably Italian) ; the legend, encircling the head, " CAPVT MARIE MAGDALENE."

Montacute.

[1786, Part L, p. 410.]

In the notes of references subjoined to Bishop Tanner's account of the Priory of Montacute in Somersetshire ("Notit. Monast.," p. 467), it is mentioned that transcripts of many deeds formerly belonging to that religious house were, anno 1698, in the possession of Mr. Andrew Paschall, rector of Chedsey, near Bridgewater ; and in the " Magna Britannia," published in 1728. Should any of your readers be apprized where these deeds, if extant, or transcripts of them, are deposited, by communicating such information they will much oblige. T. Ros.

[1817, PartIL>p. 577.]

I send you a view of that noble mount called Montacute and St. Michael's Hill (see Plate), situate in the parish of Montacute, in Somersetshire ; the base of which contains near twenty acres. It rises boldly out of the plain, and bears the appearance of a cardinal's hat.* . . .

Near this mount are two other eminences, called Hedgecock Hill and Hamden Hill ; the latter of which has been remarkable for many ages for its freestone quarries, of which most of the churches in the neighbourhood are built.

At the foot of the mount was founded, about the year 1091, by William Earl of Morton, a priory of Black Cluniac Monks, which was surrendered to Henry VIII. in 1539. The remains are partly represented in the Plate.

The site, etc., of the priory was granted to Sir William Petre, and sold by him to Mr. Robert Freke ; of whom it was soon after pur- chased by the family of Phelips, who at that time possessed some other parts of the manor ; and is now the property of John Phelips, Esq.

The parish of Montacute is situate four miles south-west of Ivel-

* See Collinson's "Somerset," vol. iii., p. 309.

Montacute. 285

Chester, and is in the hundred of Tintinhull. It is divided into three tithings, viz., Bishopston, Hyde, and Widcombe; beside which there is a small hamlet called Thorn. The tithing of Bishopston comprehends the town of Montacute, which consists of three streets, forming nearly the letter H ; wherein, according to the Return to Parliament, there were, in 1811, 8 houses building, 2 uninhabited, and 165 inhabited by 188 families (80 of which were employed in agriculture and 102 in trade, etc.), consisting of 400 males and 457 females ; total, 857.

The church, situate immediately under the mount, is dedicated to St. Catherine, and consists of a nave, chancel, and two side aisles ; at the west end is an embattled tower. In the church are several stately monuments to the family of Phelips.

Nearly adjoining is the large and noble mansion-house, built in the reign of Elizabeth by Sir Edward Phelips, Knight, the Queen's Sergeant, third son of Sir Thomas Phelips of Barrington (at which place the family had previously resided), who settled his family at Montacute, where they have been ever since. The house is 92 feet in height, and a remarkable gallery runs the whole length of the building to the extent of 189 feet. B. N.

Newton.

[1832, Part L, p. 401.]

I send you a drawing (Plate II.) of the west door of Newton Chapel, near North Petherton, Somerset.

The figures refer to the parable of the Ten Virgins, in the 25th chapter of St. Matthew, and the workmanship exhibits a mixture of Gothic with the style of the sixteenth century, which date appears on a richly carved cornice running round the interior of the chapel.

The chancel screen is handsome, and consists of figures supporting a cornice in the same taste as the upper part of the west door ; but of this I had not time to make a correct drawing.

The chapel is on the property of Sir Thomas Acland, and was built by an ancestor of the present baronet, for the benefit of his tenantry. E. W.

North Curry.

[1748,^.405.]

At North Curry, near Taunton, Somersetshire, July 12, 1748, there was ploughed up, in a field where a hedge had stood, an urn, in which were contained several silver Roman coins ; viz., of Gratianus, Valentinianus, Valens, Theodosius, Honorius, Arcadius, Constan- tinus, Constans, Julianus, Mag. Maximus, and many others. They are all of the same size, excepting one of Gratianus, with this inscrip- tion : D. N. GRATIANUS, P. F. AUG., and, on the reverse, a sort of an angel standing with one of his feet on a globe, with a shield in

286 Somersetshire.

his hands ; in which are these words, VOT. V. MUL, X. and in the round, VICTORIA AUGUSTORUM, and in the bottom S. M. T. R. This piece is three times as large as any of the others, and weighs very near a shilling. There have been found about 150 of the smaller pieces, and the greatest part of them are now in the possession of the Rev. Mr. Woodforde, vicar of North Curry above-mentioned.

They have been viewed by several learned gentlemen, and are reckoned to be some of the greatest curiosities of that kind hitherto found. They are as perfect and free from decay as if they were but very lately coined, notwithstanding the latest of them is above 1,350 years old. J. PILE.

Norton Fitzwarren.

[1829, Part /., /. 305.]

Norton Fitzwarren is a village in Somersetshire, distant about three miles north-west from Taunton, on the road to Wiveliscombe. It gives title to the hundred and derives the adjunct to its name from the ancient and honourable race of the Bourchiers, Lords Fitz- warren, the ancestors by female heirs of the Earls of Bath and many other distinguished families. This manor, with those of Novington, Huntshill, and others in Somersetshire, and those of Bampton, Tavistock, Kingston, Nymet-Tracey, and others in Devonshire, formed in the reign of Edward IV. part of the extensive possessions of the Fitzwarrens. That family had, in all probability, a residence in this place, for there \re some remains nearly adjoining the church- yard which indicate the former existence of a mansion-house of considerable consequence.

The interior of the ancient Church of Norton Fitzwarren presents an interesting object which, connected as it is with an existing tradi- tion, appears worthy of being rescued from oblivion. This is an ancient screen which divides the chancel from the nave, and, like those still existing in many churches of the west of England, is carved in oak in a spirited and elegant style. It forms six open arches, adorned with foliage and tabernacle work, and it is sur- mounted by a long panel or compartment, which forms the subject of the accompanying sketch (Plate II., Fig. i). The figures are in high relief upon a ground of vine-leaves, and are severally gilded and painted of various colours, producing a striking effect. Com- mencing with the subject at the northern end we have three hunting dogs of various breeds ; the first is a greyhound, the others are hounds one yellow and the other black ; next is a man in a yellow jerkin with red hose and cap, holding in his left hand a circular implement ; he seems either on the point of falling a sacrifice to the monster which forms the next figure, or employed in attempting to entrap him. This animal is carved with great spirit, and is painted

Norton Fitzwarren. 287

black with a golden stripe on his back. A man is next represented with a bow in his hand, and seems to be making his escape ; he is dressed in red, with a yellow hat and shoes. We have then three yoke of oxen dragging a plough, which is remarkable for the rude- ness of its structure ; the ploughman and driver are painted in a similar manner to the other human figures ; next follows a seedsman with his seed-lip or box; the figure which is next is naked, and appears to be meant for a female ; her hands are joined in the attitude of prayer, and she seems a resigned victim to the black monster, which is in the act of devouring her. Then come the letters which seem to record the name of the churchwarden of the period, " Jlaphe harue (£. £U.," and these are succeeded by the three naked figures whose attitudes and employment it is difficult to interpret ; the last two hold each other by the hair, and appear to have each a piece of rope in their hands. On inquiry to what event this remarkable sculpture is said to relate, I was informed that it records the fact of a man at plough having been devoured by an enormous serpent, and a field on the south side of the village was pointed out to me as the spot where the circumstance occurred. J. D.

Portishead.

[1830, Part L, p. 32.]

The repairs of the Church of Portishead have been considerably assisted not only by the very ample and munificent benefactions of the Corporation of Bristol, but also by the liberality of James Adam Gordon, Esq., the lord of the manor of that parish and of Portbury, who, in addition to the other services he has rendered, recently presented to the church a fine-toned organ, built by a first-rate London artist. This church contains also two oak chairs of peculiar beauty, well worthy the attention of the antiquary, formed at the expense of the Rev. John Noble Shipton, B.D., of Balliol College, Oxford, who has been for many years resident in this parish, and a great benefactor to the church, from the materials of the elegantly carved screen which once separated the church from the chancel, the production of an age long since passed away, but which was taken down and thrown away as lumber upwards of half a century ago. These have lately been presented to the church, no expense having been spared in their formation, and are placed on each side of the altar. B. C.

[1830, Part L, p. 204.]

The gentleman who presented the chairs made out of the materials of an ancient screen to Portishead Church displayed in the donation more munificence than good taste. Are the chairs any better for their materials having once formed an ancient screen ? It reminds

288 Somersetsh ire.

me of the construction of a bridge by the vain Duke of Chandos out of the remains of a Roman pharos, and his inscribing the circumstance on the structure. ... If the gentleman had expended his money in restoring the screen either to its original use, or to some appro- priate situation in the church, he would truly have deserved applause; but as it is, I cannot help regretting the misappropriation.

Preston.

[1841, Part //., pp. 496, 497-]

Preston is a parish of considerable size, contiguous to Yeovil, on the road to Taunton. It is divided into two tithings, called from the ancient manors, Preston Plucknet and Preston Bermondsey. The former, which contains the church and the larger number of houses, derives its name from the ancient family of Plugenet. The latter was named from the Abbey of Bermondsey, which here pos- sessed a considerable estate.

This manor was already distinct from the other in the time of Edward the Confessor, when it was held by Alward, and was rated at two hides. After the Conquest it belonged to Ansger, and it had improved in value, from fifteen shillings to forty. The arable was one carucate, which was in demesne, with one serf and eight cottagers ; and there were ten acres of meadow. The Ansger here mentioned (in Domesday Book) bore the surname of Montagud, and was possibly related to Drogo, the castellan at Montacute in Somersetshire, the ancestor of the Montacutes, Earls of Salisbury. In 1092, within ten years of the compilation of Domesday Book,* Ansgerus Brito gave this manor to the Priory of the Holy Saviour of Bermondsey, in Surrey; and again, in 1126, he confirmed the same gift, together with Walter his son.f

In 1095 Walter, son of Ansger Brito, gave the abbey two other hides, situated at Stone, \ in the neighbouring parish of Mudiford ; and at Pope Nicholas's taxation in 1291 these lands were valued :

£ s- d.

Apud Preston . . . . . . 834

Apud Gevele (Yeovil), Preston, et Stonem . 650

* The same authority, the chronicle of Bermondsey, now the MS. Harl. 231, records both events. " Hoc anno 1083 [rex] fecit describi volumen vocatum Domysday. Anno 1092 Ansgerus Brito dedit praeriictis monachis manerium de Preston, scilicet duas hidas." In the new " Monasticon," vol. v., p. 86, Ansger Brito is called "a knight of Wynebald de Baalun," but for this there is no authority in the original (ibid., p. 96). That description belongs to Odo (de Tirone) just before mentioned.

t Collinson (" History of Somerset," vol. iii., p. 223) gives the latter date only, having overlooked the earlier entry in the chronicle.

£ Called " duas hidas terrae de Estanas " in the confirmation charter of William Rufus, which, it is remarked in the new " Monasticon," must have been given in 1094 or before, as Aylwin, one of the witnesses, died in that year. A more extra- ordinary point in the charter is that Stone is mentioned, but not Preston. In tfie confirmation charter of Henry I. both places are enumerated.

Preston. 289

In 1417, 5 Henry V., there was a trial in Chancery between the King and Thomas Thetford, Abbot of Bermondsey, upon a plea of Quo Warranto, concerning the manors of Preston Bermondsey and Stone, when they were recovered by the abbot. It appeared that the condition of the gift was the provision of two chaplains, to pray, for ever, for the souls of the donors, their ancestors, and all the faithful deceased.

In the reign of Henry VIII. the manors of Preston and Stone were let together for the rent of £16. This appears both by the Valor Ecclesiasticus of the 26th of that reign, and the Compotus of the 32nd, printed in the new " Monasticon." Antony Gilbert was steward of the abbey's lands in the county of Somerset (which com- prised the manor of Kenyweston in addition to those already noticed), at the annual sum of £i 8s. 4d.

The house erected on this abbatial manor acquired for itself the name of Abbey. The following is the notice given of it in Collin- son's "Somersetshire": "Not far from the church is a large old mansion called Preston Abbey, having been formerly one of those granges which are commonly met with in manors belonging to religious establishments. The windows in this house are gothic, and some very large, the doorways arched, and the staircases of stone. The predial barn is 114 feet in front, of stone well quoined, with a spacious arched entrance, and a timber roof curiously con- trived for strength and duration." The accompanying view was taken in 1811. Since that time (in 1836) the house had lost some of its interesting features, and the porch was entirely covered with ivy. It is occupied by a farmer. . . .

It may be added that a monk of Bermondsey, who was a native of this place, and therefore called William de Preston, performed in 1363 the useful service of forming a digest and register of the charters of the abbey, giving a synoptical view of its liberties, churches, rents, pensions, portions, and all other possessions. This cartulary is mentioned by Tanner to have been formerly in the possession of Robert Trappis of London, gent., lord of the manor of Bermondsey. Its present place of deposit appears to have been unknown to the compilers of the list of Monastic Cartularies, in the first volume of the " Collectanea Topographica et Genealogica."

Puxton.

[1804, Part I., p. 201.]

In Plate I., Fig. i, is a slight but accurate sketch of the parish church of Puxton in Somersetshire. The tower overhangs its base considerably towards the west, and has been in that situation time immemorial ; it appears very likely to me, from the construction of this tower (it being very large and strongly built in proportion to its present height), that it was originally ornamented with a spire or

VOL. XXII. J9

290 Somersetshire.

steeple ; and probably the weight of such spire occasioned the sinking of the foundation of the tower, and thereby caused it to verge from the true perpendicular ; and it is likely the spire was taken down on that account, but of this there is no record or tradition. The tower is at present covered with a lead spire roof, surmounted with a gilded cock. The roof of the church is covered with Cornish tile or slate. Over the porch, at the north entrance of this church, is a coat of arms cut in a kind of freestone, but now so much defaced by whitewash and the weather, that it cannot, for a certainty, be said what the arms were ; the date, however, beneath the shield of those arms is very legible, and appears to be 1557 (see the Plate); but from the general appearance of this building, I am inclined to think it of much older date than the time of Mary I. ; the above date probably was set up when the church underwent repairs. There is a tradition current with the inhabitants of the parish that there were formerly five bells in the tower ; at present, however, there are but two only, which are said to be the first and fifth of the original peal. The pews or seats in the church are of the rudest workmanship imaginable, being of oak rough-hewn from the tree. The pulpit is covered with a handsome dark-green velvet cloth, on which is embroi- dered in silver letters, " Holyness to the Lord"; and, from the uncouth make of the letters, it appears to be ancient. On the right- hand side of the pulpit is fixed in the wall an iron frame, said to have been a stand for one of those hour-glasses alluded to by Butler

in nic '* T-Tn/^iKrac " •

in his " Hudibras'

; As gifted brethren preaching by, A carnal hour-glass do imply."

The name of this place was anciently written Pokerelestone, as appears by old deeds and writings. The parish adjoins to Banwell Bruton, and the church is said to have been formerly a chapel-of- ease to Banwell. The presentation of the church is in the Dean and Chapter of the Holy Trinity in Bristol; but the impropriate tithes which belonged heretofore to the Abbey of Bruton at present belong to John Lenthall, Esq., of Oxfordshire, a descendant of Lenthall, Speaker of the House of Commons in the Long Parlia- ment.

The manor of Puxton lately belonged to the Hon. James Everard Arundell, of Ashcombe, in the county of Wilts, in right of his wife Anne (before her marriage Anne Wyndham, only child of John VVyndham, Esq., of the Close of New Sarum) ; but is now the pro- perty of William Wyndham, Esq., of Dinton, near Hindon. In this parish is an annual fair (heretofore held on Trinity Monday, but altered about five years ago to Whit Tuesday) for sheep and cattle.

B. G.

Queen Charlton. 291

Queen Charlton.

[1811, Part L, p. 113.]

I send you a sketch of the old gateway (Plate II., Fig. i) that belonged to the Abbot's Court-house at Queen Charlton, a village distant five miles south-east from Bristol.

Collinson says, in the second volume of his "History of Somerset- shire," that at the time of the Conquest this village, with that of Whitchurch, and many other adjoining places, was parcel of the manor of Keynsham, where an extensive abbey was founded by William, Earl of Gloucester, of the order of Black Canons ; and Edward II. ratified this grant, with the villages of Whitchurch, Chewton, and Charlton. No vestige of this abbey now remains at Keynsham, and this gateway is the only fragment of the court-house remaining at Charlton.

If any of the ingenious antiquaries of the present day were to cross this part of the country, it might perhaps repay them if they would deviate a mile or two from the great road leading from Bristol to Wells, and visit this little retired village. The collector of fossils, also, would add considerably to his collection could he but devote a few hours for his researches in this neighbourhood, where the Cornua Ammonis, or snake-stone, are found in prodigious quantities, from the size of J inch to 2 feet in diameter.

The monkish tale of the Virgin Keyna first originated in this district, which tells us that, when this lady arrived at years of maturity she attracted many admirers, and many noble personages sought her in marriage ; but she was deaf to all their overtures, having con- secrated her virginity by a perpetual vow, for which cause she was denominated by the Britons Keyn-Wyryf, or Keyna the Virgin. At length she determined to forsake her native country, and seek some desert place where to indulge in private her religious contempla- tions. Directing her journey beyond the Severn, she met a certain woody place in these parts, and made her request to the prince of the country that she might be permitted to serve God in that spot of solitude and retirement. Tne prince informed her he was ready to grant her petition, but that the place so swarmed with serpents that neither man nor beast could live therein ; to which the Virgin replied that she firmly trusted she should be able to drive the venomous brood out of all the country. Hereupon the place was granted her, and by her prayers all the snakes and vipers were con- verted into stones ; and to this day all the stones in that country resemble the windings of serpents through all the fields and villages.

* # * Rodden.

[1803, Part L, p. 497-]

Rodden Chapel, a rough sketch of which is here sent (Plate I.), is situated on the borders of Somerset and Wilts, between Frome

19—2

292 Somersetsh ire .

and Warminster. It can boast of nothing particularly interesting, either in appearance or antiquity. Ecclesiastically considered, it is a chapelry to Boynton in Wiltshire, distant fifteen miles ; and was built at the expense of the tything about the year 1640 by the then rector of Boynton, pursuant to an order of the Archbishop of Canterbury, by some persons unknown, to which the rector annexed the chancel E.

Sandford Orcas.

[1844, Part II. , p. 156.]

Sandford Orcas is situated on the southern confines of Somerset- shire, adjoining Dorsetshire, and is only three miles from Sherborne in the latter county. It is a small and sequestered parish, lying under the western declivity of the Gorton Hills, which sweep round towards the west, forming two sides of a small valley. The parish is diversified with hill and dale ; the soil a sandy loam, and stone brash, chiefly in pasture, interspersed with a small portion of arable. An extensive sheep-walk occupies the declivity of hill on the east, and the parish contains 1,370 acres. Cows are principally fed in the valley. A small stream flows down the vale, on which the village, surrounded by trees and orchards, is situated. It consists of a long straggling street, running along the bank of the rivulet nearly a mile; at its western extremity stands the church, and near it the ancient manor house, still in tolerable preservation.

This mansion Mr. Phelps, in his "History of Somersetshire," stated to be " in the Elizabethan style," a general term, and much too generally employed. The building in question is older than the reign of Elizabeth, and perhaps of the time of Henry VIII. We are sorry, however, not to possess the materials for describing it minutely. It has a porch and large bay-windows. A lofty arched gateway leads into a court; over it are the arms of Knoyle, in a panel, and also over the entrance-porch. The hall has been divided and converted into a farmhouse.

The additional name of Orcas is a corrupted abbreviation of Ores- cuiltz or Orskoys, a family who possessed this manor, with other lands in the same county, in Wilts, and in Gloucestershire, soon after the Conquest. In the time of Henry I., Henry Orescuiltz held one knight's fee in this county of the Abbot of Glastonbury, and was succeeded by Helias de Orescuiltz, his son, who was living 12 Henry II., 1166. To this Helias succeeded Richard de Ores- cuiltz, his son, lord of this manor and of Sturis, in the beginning of the reign of King John. In the i2th of the same Roger de Villiers paid twenty marks, that he might inherit the share of his mother Alice in the lands of the said Richard de Orescuiltz. Maud, the daughter and coheir of this Richard, and sister of the said Alice, was lady of this manor and of Sharncor, in the county of Wilts. She

Sandford Orcas. 293

married William, son of William de Harptree, of Harptree in this county, and made a partition of her inheritance with her sister Alice, by a fine, 10 Richard I., 1199. He died 16 Henry III., 1232, leaving issue Thomas de Harptree, who married Eva de Gournay, sister and heiress of Maurice de Berkeley. The moiety continued in that family for a long series of years, and became involved with their other estates in the vicissitudes of the Gournays, till it fell to the Crown, after the death (most probably) of Mathew de Gournay, the last of the line, in 1406. The manor seems to have been divided about this period between the families of Knoyle, who had held possessions in this parish in the time of Edward III., and of Jerrard ; one of whom, John Jerrard, died seised of a moiety of this manor and of the advowson of the church, 6 Henry VI., 1428.

William Knoyle, who died in 1607, is called of Sandford Orcas, and left three sons and four daughters.

In 1708, Sir Thomas Webster, of London, Bart., was seised of a moiety of this manor ; and soon after the other moiety belonged to John Hunt, Esq., of Compton Pauncefoot, whose widow presented to the living in 1723. He devised it to his second son Dodington Hunt, who died in 1749, leaving the moiety of the manor and of the advowson of the church to his eldest son, Dodington Hunt, Esq., of Charlton Kings, in the county of Gloucester, who sold it to John Hutchins, Esq., in 1735, whose grandson John, of Ludlow, in the county of Salop, now holds the manor and advowson. The other portion belongs to Lord Portman.

Seaborough.

[1793, Part I., p. 223.]

Mr. Collinson, in his " History of Somersetshire," just published, vol. ii., p. 173, has this singular account of the manor of Seaborough : "At some of the courts held by the lords of this manor we find very singular presentations made. 3 Richard III., two women, Isabella, wife of William Pery, and Alianore Slade, were presented for commom scolds, and fined in one penny each, which two pence were the whole perquisites of the court. And at the same time an order of court was made, that the tenants of the manor should not scold their wives, under pain of forfeiting their tenements and cot- tages. 23 Henry VII., an order was made that tenants wives should not scold, under the penalty of a 6s. and 8d. fine, half to go to the repairs of the chapel, and the other half to the lord of the manor."

Seavington.

[1862, Part I., p. 298.]

The site of the newly-discovered ruins at Seavington commands a view of Ham Hill (the great local Roman station), and is placed directly upon the line of the Fosseway. Roman coins appear to

294 So ntersetshire.

have been scattered almost broadcast about the neighbourhood. We have ourselves seen a great number found in the village of Lopen, and have been shown two very interesting Roman coins dug up among the "rubbish " of the villa. One of the coins presents on the reverse the figure of the gate of a Praetorian camp surrounded by the word " Providentia." The other is very small, with three human figures on one side. One of them appears to be of the reign of Carausius, who governed the Romano-Britons from A.D. 289 to 293. The field in which they are found forms part of a farm belonging to Earl Poulett, and rented by Mr. Marsh of Dinnington. It bears the name of Crimbleford.

As regards the remains already disclosed, they reveal, at the distance of about two feet below the surface of the soil, a space measuring about 30 feet by 20, which is evidently a portion of the remains of an extensive residence inhabited, some fifteen centuries 3g°> by a Roman gentleman who had brought with him to conquered Britain the luxurious habits of his countrymen. The by no means careful excavators have revealed the ground-floor of at least one large room and a passage, or an ante-room, covered with mosaic pavement, composed of the usual tesserae, of regular design, and formtd of about twelve-inch squares of red, white, and blue, with flues underneath, as usual (a hypocaust) — for the Romans heated their living rooms from below. The tesserae are coarse and rather large ; but smaller and more elaborate ones have been found in frag- ments, as if to indicate that the remains of the principal apartments are still buried beneath the soil. Portions of the walls are visible, and the stucco with which they were ornamented still shows the pattern and colours almost as fresh as when first laid on. Fragments of roofing tiles are also in profusion. These tiles were evidently formed of bine clay, resembling that found in the neighbourhood of Westport — for the fire with which they were burnt has reddened the surfaces only. Large quantities of ashes have been carted away — the contents, perhaps, of the ashpit — with oyster-shells and other culinary tokens. Then there are fragments of crockery, an iron chisel, an ivory pin, and a great number of bones, apparently those of human beings, including the almost perfect skeleton of an infant,

Shepton Mallet. [1781, p. 172.]

Shepton Mallet is a large market town in Somersetshire, on the hills, four miles south of Wells, twenty south of Bristol, and 120 from London. It contains near 1,200 houses, and consists of one prin- cipal street, well built but narrow. The church is a handsome build- ing, and the chancel has a beautiful carved stone roof. In two north- west windows lie the effigies in stone of two knights, vulgarly called Shepton and Mallet, and pretended to be founders or builders of

S hep ton Malcet. 295

the church. On the west front of the steeple are two good figures of the Deity, with the crucifix between His knees, and on each side of Him St. Peter and St. Paul, all well preserved. In the market- place stands a neat cross on steps surrounded by a hexagon building in arches, with a parapet of quartrefoils, and the pillars and pilasters terminating in purfled finials. On the top of the cross, on the east side, are figures in niches, and above all a modern weathercock. To this market are brought every Monday out of the country near 400 loads of garden stuff. The town is well watered, and inhabited by some considerable clothiers. It is governed by a constable. The market is held on Fridays, and a fair on August 8 for cattle and cheese. The church is dedicated to St. Peter and St. Paul ; it is a rectory, to which the Prince of Wales and Mr. Wyckham present alternately, is valued in the King's Books at ^33 123., and is in the diocese of Bath and Wells, and archdeaconry of Wells. This town is not noticed by Camden, or in Bishop Gibson's "Additions." The drawing of the cross here engraved was made in 1747.

South Petherton.

[1836, Part /., pp. 489,490.]

The handsome village of South Petherton, lying nearly midway between Ilchester and Ilminster, is rich in architectural antiquities. The church, of a cruciform shape and distinguished by a lofty octagonal tower in the centre, is noble in all its proportions, and elegant rather than elaborate in the various details of its design. The prevailing style of architecture is that of the fifteenth century, and it appears engrafted upon the walls, or raised upon the foundations, of a structure of far older origin. Besides the church, there are several ancient mansions which claim the attention of the antiquary. Of these, the most interesting, the most neglected, and the most obscurely situated, has been selected as a fit subject to accompany the present number. It has for many years past been the residence of several poor families. Its owner has bestowed no care upon it, and its inmates have wanted the means, if they possessed the inclina- tion, of keeping the wind and the weather from penetrating through the roof and the windows. Thus slighted and misused, it is no wonder that this curious and once elegant building has been reduced to a condition which renders its entire demolition, if not necessary, very probable. It is deserted and shut up, its inmates having been driven from their abode by the dangerous condition of the walls, on which the steep gable roof imposes a fearful weight.

This venerable mansion is not large, and perhaps its original dimensions were not considerably greater. The design of the south front, before which there is a spacious court, is singularly irregular. The hall in the centre is distinguished by its windows on the sides

296 Somersetsh ire.

of a broad and lofty chimney, and a doorway of handsome design. At the upper or west end of the hall are rooms in two stories, moderate in size, and perfectly plain. The rooms at the lower end are of a nobler character; towards the south they are distinguished by a superb bay-window, which occupies the width of the transverse building, and is carried to the height of two stories. It has an em- battled parapet, and buttresses on the angles, once terminated with pinnacles. The windows are rich in tracery, and their beauty is enhanced by the manner in which they are connected, so as to give light to the double story, without losing the unity of their design. The tracery of the middle space in these Avindows is occupied by a double row of shields, but they appear never to have borne any heraldic devices. There is another shield on the exterior of the chimney belonging to the hall, but this also is without sculpture. We observed nothing in the interior to merit description. The owner was so sparing of decoration that the modern occupants have found nothing to destroy. I have only to add that this interesting relic of domestic architecture was probably built by Sir Giles d'Aubeney, in the reign of King Henry VI. It is in a low and watery situation, and has been encompassed and defended by a strong wall, the greater part of which has been thrown down, and the space con- verted into an orchard. J. C. B.

The manor of South Pelherton was in the possession of the family of Albini (afterwards written Daubeny) in the reign of Edward I., if not before. Sir Giles Daubeny, the supposed builder of this mansion, was Sheriff of the counties of Bedford and Bucks, in 10 Henry VI. ; and by his will, bearing date March 3, 1444, he be- queathed his body to be buried in the chapel of our Lady within the Church of St. Peter and Paul at South Petherton, before the altar there. His son William, says Collinson, seems to have been altogether resident at this place, where most of his deeds are dated, and for which he obtained a charter for a fair in 25 Henry VI.

His son Giles was a nobleman high in favour with King Henry VII., to whom he was Lord Chamberlain and Lieutenant of Calais. He was created a Baron of the realm by patent in 1486 (two of his male ancestors had been summoned to Parliament in the reign of Edward I., but the writ was not continued) ; and was also a Knight of the Garter. He was buried in Westminster Abbey, in 1507, where his monument and effigy still remain.* By his will two chantry priests were settled at his tomb, and one in the church of South Petherton.

With his son Henry, who was created Earl of Bridgewater, and who sold South Petherton to Lord Arundell of Wardour, the family became extinct.

* Engraved in Dart's "Westminster Abbey."

Taunton. 297

Taunton.

[1785, Part //.,/. 761.]

On the floor of the cloister of Monkton Almshouses, near Taunton, in Somersetshire, which are of so old a date that all record of them is lost, though tradition assigns it to the twelfth or thirteenth century, at the time when St. Mary Magdalen Church there was built, is a stone, about 2 feet 4 inches by i foot 7 inches, whereon is carved a shield, surrounded by a mitre richly ornamented with jewels, as are also the strings hanging from it. On the shield are carved the initials "R. B." in a cipher, which some have supposed a date, 1133.

The like error was adopted by the author of the " History and Antiquities of Glastonbury," published by Tom Hearne in regard to a shield with the like initials in cipher on St. Bennet's Church at Glastonbury, in the same county. But as that at Glastonbury exhibits the initials of Richard Beere, Abbot there from 1493 to 1544, so these at Taunton may refer to the same munificent abbot who was so great a benefactor in building to his own abbey. Others may choose to refer them to Robert Burnell, Bishop of Wells, who died 1292.

I have therefore submitted both to the judgment of your anti- quarian correspondents, and shall only add that (in Plate II.) Figs, i and 2 are at Taunton, and that Fig. 3 is inserted on the west front of the manor-house at Glastonbury, which was built with the materials of the abbatial house, and adorned with keystones and other carvings from the ruins. The same is to be found on the north porch of St. Bennet's church in that town, which, we may therefore presume, experienced some of the abbot's bounty. Figs. 2 and 3 are both surmounted by a mitje which will suit the mitred Abbot of Glastonbury as well as the Bishop of Wells. D. H.

Tickenham.

[1839, Part II., pp. 573-575-]

Tickenham stands* on the south side of the high range of hills which extends from Leigh Down, near Bristol, to Clevedon, on the banks of the Severn, and which, in this vicinity, is rendered beau- tiful by patches of flourishing plantations and woods. The village is built at the foot of the hill, on the immediate edge of the moor which divides this parish from that of Nailsea.

A branch of the Berkeley family resided for many generations at this place, and adopted the local name. Roger de Tickenham was living in the reign of Richard I., and was father of Nicholas, who occurs in the time of Henry III. Subsequently the family called themselves Fitz- Nicholas. The last of them lived in the reign of Henry IV., and left a daughter and heiress Catharine, married to

298 Somersetshire.

Robert Poyntz, and in that family the manor remained until the reign of Charles I.

It is mentioned, however, in the "Genealogical History of the House of Yvery," that, " in the thirty-fourth of King Henry VI., Anno Dom. 1456, a fine was levied at Westminster, between Ralph Perceval the elder and his wife Joan, and Ralph the younger, as they are stated in the record bearing date upon the morrow after the Purification of the Blessed Virgin, before the Judges of the Realm, whereby Ralph Perceval the elder, and Joan his wife, acknowledged Tykenham with its appurtenances, in the county of Somerset, to be the right of Ralph the younger, as the gift of Ralph Perceval the elder, and his wife Joan, who quitted claim thereto, for themselves and the heir of Joan (whereby it appears to have been her inheritance*), to the said Ralph the younger, and to his heirs, with warranty of the premises, to him and his said heirs for ever" (etc., an entail described).

"Tykenham," continues the same writer, " is a little village in the county of Somerset, not distant above a small mile from Weston Gordein (where the Percevals were seated). It lies at the bottom of a hill, upon the edge of a kind of moor, by which it is separated from Nailsay (afterwards the seat of this line for some time), in direct measure about as far as it is from the place last named, though by the road which the nature of the soil obliges travellers to take, it is at least five miles, t There were visible, not long since, the remains of an old seat which was said to have been the habitation of this Ralph Perceval. But they left it in the next generation, the situation being, in all probability, unhealthy, and being tempted besides by an inheritance of much greater consequence, devolved upon them."

This ancient mansion, still existing in some decay, as a farm-house and its offices, may be attributed to the early part of the fifteenth century. On entering the fore-court, the hall is on the left hand. It measures in its interior 37 feet in length by 20 in width. There is a remarkable correspondence in its parts. At the east end are two uniform doors. In each side-wall are two doors at the lower end, two uniform windows, and an ornamental bracket between them. At the upper end, on the south side, was a high arch, origi- nally forming a bay, or leading into the drawing-room, but now filled up. On the other side another door into the courtyard. The windows are of two lights, with cinquefoil heads, and a quatrefoil opening at top. The lines of their tracery are flowing, as shown in the accompanying woodcuts.

* His wife was a Vincent.

t This description of the roads of this part of Somersetshire (now lying between Bristol and the favourite watering-place of Clevedon, and furnished with excellent roads) was written just about a century ago.

Tickenkam. 299

The brackets already mentioned are ornamented each with four small sunk quatrefoil panels and two quatrefoil rosettes. Rutter asserts that these brackets were " for the purpose of sustaining the military trophies which were amongst the most admired decorations of these stately apartments " ; but what authority he has for this assertion, we are not aware.

The withdrawing-room, which stands at right angles with the hall (uniting only at their extreme corners), was apparently originally lighted by two large square windows, one of which is wholly filled up, and the other partly cut into a door. These windows were com- posed of eight cinquefoil-headed lights, four and four ; and they were adorned with stained glass. The dimensions of this room within were 30 feet by 16 feet. The walls were panelled with oak, as was the ceiling, a part of which remains, divided into large squares by transverse mouldings, with handsomely carved foliated ornaments. Collinson says that over the chimney-piece were three shields of arms, carved in the wainscot. The first was gone. The second was, Quarterly, i and 4, a griffin segreant — Davis; 2 and 3, a chevron between three spears' heads — Rice ; impaling two lions passant. The second coat impaled three eagles displayed — Rodney. Rice Davis (it is added), whose arms are here quartered, some time resided at Tickenham, and married Dorothy, daughter of Maurice Rodney, Esq., and sister and co-heir of Sir George Rodney, Knt.

A turret containing nineteen stone steps conducts to the upper story. This staircase was lighted by two small windows, the upper one a quatrefoil within a small circle (never glazed).

There is a handsome groined ceiling of plaster in the upper floor, the intersecting mouldings forming wheels and crosses, with large rosettes ; but it was an addition subsequent to the original structure, and perhaps of the reign of James or Charles I, as is the wainscot panelling.

The owner of this property is Sir John Smyth, Bart, of Long Ashton Park. The present tenant is Mr. William Voules, yeoman.

The Church, which immediately adjoins the manor-house, consists of a nave, north and south aisles, chancel, tower at the west end, and a south porch. About the exterior generally there are not many marks of remote antiquity. Of the original lancet windows there are some remains, but the present windows are nearly all insertions of the latter period of Pointed architecture. The outer archway of the porch may, however, be taken as a specimen of the original struc- ture in the Early English style. It has a trifoliated head rising from slender pillars and capitals ornamented with a small dog-tooth pattern. The font is also a relic of the same period ; it is square, each side measuring 2 feet 6 inches at top, slightly narrowing down- wards ; a short pillar at each corner, and a trifoliated arch carved on each panel. The arches of the interior of the church are now

300 Somersetshire.

perfectly plain, as if cut out of a wall ; but one of them has relics of pilasters carved at its corners, which seem to have been cut away.

The church tower is remarkable for having many large flat bricks worked up amongst the stone. There is a water-stoup in the porch. The total length of the nave and chancel is 74 feet ; the total width of the interior is 52 feet, the north aisle being 13 feet 9 inches and the south aisle 17 feet 3 inches. The south aisle extends to the same length as the chancel. At its eastern extremity there is a water-drain in the south wall.

In the north aisle there are three recumbent effigies of stone, in a nearly perfect state, and apparently of the same age, which is about that of Henry III. The first seen is of giant proportions, being about 6 feet 6 inches from head to heel. It is the effigy of a crusader, cross-legged, accoutred wholly in chain-mail covered upon the body with a light linen surcoat ; a plain heater shield on his left side, beneath which his left hand is concealed and his sword ; his right hand held before him ; his feet on a lion. His head rests on a lozenge pillow, slightly turning to the right.

The second effigy is a lady. Her forehead, face, and chin are banded with a wide fillet, leaving a small ball of hair above each cheek. The hair on the upper part of her head is confined by smaller cross-bands. Her hands are raised in prayer. Her feet on a lion. The length of this figure is 6 feet.

The third effigy is another crusader, resembling the former in costume and in attitude, except that he is represented as drawing his sword, held in front. He has a small garter round his right knee, and spurs, and his feet on a lion. His stature is 6 feet 2 inches.

These effigies may be attributed to the De Tickenhams. already mentioned. There are no modern monuments of any importance. The only one with armorial bearings is in the south aisle, to the memory of the family of Samuel Bave, Gent, in the last century.

There are some small remains of stained glass in several of the windows. In the east window of the south aisle is a well-designed figure of an old man, seated, having the nimbus of a saint. In one of the windows of the north aisle is St. Mark with his lion ; and in those windows are the following shields of arms :

1. Quarterly gu. and or, a bend argent (Fitz-Nicholas).

2. Paly or and gu. on a canton argent a cross pat£e

3. Paly or and gu. a bordure az. bezantee (Basset). In the chancel window :

4. Gules, a chevron or.

5. Gules, a chevron between ten crosses argent (Berkeley).

6. Argent, on a canton gules a rose (or quatrefoil, or cross) or.

7. Paly (as No. 2, above). J. G. N.

Uphill. 301

Uphill.

[1828, Part I., pp. 388-390.]

The parish of Uphill is situate in the hundred of Winterstoke, eight miles west-north-west from Axbridge and 138 miles from London, at the conflux of the river Axe with the Bristol Channel, containing thirty-nine inhabited houses, and fifty-one families, thirty- one of whom are employed in agriculture, and the total population by the census of 1821 was 270.

This place in Domesday Book is spelt " Opopille." It belonged at that time to Serlo de Burci, one of Duke William's followers, and was held of him by four military persons :

" Four Knights held of Serlo, Opopille. Ewacre held it in the time of King Edward, and gelded for six hides and a half The arable is ten carucates. In demesne are four carucates, with one servant, and seven villanes, and four cottagers, with three ploughs. There are seventy acres of meadow, and one hundred acres of pasture. It was and is worth six pounds."*

In the time of Edward I. the family of Lunget or Long possessed the greatest part of this parish, which was then held of the family of Martin ; in the iQth of Edward II., Wm. Martin being then the superior lord, the manor was divided into five parcels, which were held by Hugh de Draicote, John de Draicote, Philip le Long, Hugh de Ovile, and Wm. de Puteney. From the beginning of the reign of Henry IV. to the latter end of that of Henry VI., a fourth part was vested in the family of Pokeswell. In the following reign it belonged to John de Wyke, of Court de Wyke, in the parish of Yalton, who, 10 Edward IV., left it to his brother Richard de Wyke, who died seised of it, i Richard III., and was succeeded by John, his son.

The family of Wyndham sometime possessed it, as did also, in 1665, Sir John Fitz-James and Wm. Bord, Esq., the coheiresses of which families sold it, and it is now the property of Licius Payne, Esq., as representative of the late Rev. Jonathan Gegg. Mr. Payne married Hester Gegg, spinster, only daughter and heiress of the said Rev. J. Gegg, of Axbridge, who built a handsome house on the summit of the hill above the village, called Uphill House, which commands very extensive and picturesque prospects to both south and north.

Mr. Payne has built several new houses in the village, which are let as lodging-houses, and also a good house in the fantastic or modern antique style at the end of Uphill Green, called the Castle.

There are two tolerably decent inns at this place, one called The Ship, and the other The Dolphin.

The widow of T. T. Knyfton, Esq., has a comfortable summer * Lib. Domesday.

302 Somersetshire

residence at this place, with shrubberies laid out and planted in a tasteful and truly pleasing manner.

The clergyman's house is neat and commodious, and surrounded by an extensive shrubbery, intermingled with fruit-trees of large growth.

At a place called Tottendown, in this parish, is the . . . dwelling of Mrs. Richardson, widow of the late Mr. Thos. Richardson. . . .

The village is much frequented in the summer and autumn for the benefit of bathing in the salt-water. In the summer of 1773 the celebrated John Langhorne, D.D., resided some time at Weston- super-Mare for the benefit of the sea-air ; and the equally celebrated Mrs. Hannah More resided at Uphill for the same salutary pur- pose. . . .

The church stands on the top of the hill, whose southern side is an abrupt, rocky precipice of considerable height, south of the village — a rude and rather awkward-looking pile, but from its form and the manner in which some of the arches are constructed (par- ticularly the arch of the porch, which is now built up, leaving a doorway in the centre), I take it to be of no inconsiderable antiquity. It is a seamark to mariners traversing the Bristol Channel, and in order to make it more conspicuous at a distance it is whitewashed on the outside. It is dedicated to St. Nicholas, and consists of a nave and chancel, with a tower containing five bells.

Against the north wall is a tolerably handsome marble monument to the memory of some of the Richardson family.

The churchyard contains but few of those frail memorials " that teach the rustic moralist to die." Among these few, however, I noticed two neat gravestones near the chancel-door, with the follow- ing inscriptions in gold letters :

"In memory of Richard Jones, gent., who died Nov. 29th, 1782, in the 27th year of his age."

[Rest of inscription omitted.]

"Sacred to the memory of John Biss, of this parish, mariner, who died Sept. 29th, 1792, aged 58 years.

"Also of Thomas, son of the above John Biss, who died Dec. 24th, 1801, aged 32 years."

[Rest of inscription omitted.]

The living is a rectory in the patronage of the King, in the deanery of Axbridge, and valued in the King's Books at J£n 75. The present incumbent is the Rev. Thomas Deacle, who was instituted in the year 1795.

In the year 1826 were found in the fissures of the rocks in Uphill Hill a quantity of fossil remains. . . . ALFRED.

Wells. 303

Wells.

[1805, FattL.p. 409.]

The enclosed (Fig. 3) is on a broken stone inserted in the outside of Wells Cathedral, near the west door. It commemorates John Benet, Rector of Pitney, co. Somerset, and may be read, " Pur

1'alme Johan de Puttedie pries et trese jurs de ."

Collinson (" History of Somerset," vol. iii., p. 398) prints it in black letter, and gives the name of the place Putenie ; but the d in Puttedie is too plain to admit of any other reading. The Itinerary of William de Worcester, p. 132, informs us that in " 1438, Die Jovis voc. Maundy-Thursday magister Johannes Benet Rector de Pytney obiit." WM. HAMPER.

[1843, Parti., pp. 191, 192.]

The following description of the sculpture with which the exterior of Wells Cathedral is decorated has recently appeared from the pen of Mr. Cockerill, the architect : " Upwards of 300 statues, in nine tiers, decorate the west and north fronts. In the first nearest the earth, in niches and under canopies, are the personages of the first and second Christian missions to this country, as St. Paul, Joseph of Arimathea, and St. Augustine and his followers. In the second tier are the angels, chanting ' Gloria in excelsis,' and holding crowns, spiritual and temporal, the rewards of those predications. In the third tier, to the south, subjects of the Old Testament ; to the north, of the New — compositions of the highest merit and interest ; two of them are cited by Flaxman as examples of pure and expressive art. In the fourth and fifth tiers is contained an historical series of the lords spiritual and temporal, saints and martyrs, under whom the Church has flourished in this country : as King Ina, founder of the conventual church ; Edward the elder, founder of the episcopal church of Wells ; the Saxon, Danish, Norman, and Plantagenet dynasties, individually and most significantly represented ; together with these are the founders of those dynasties, the remarkable daughters, and allies by marriage, of the royal families of England, with the leading characters and lords of the Church, as Archbishops Brithelmus, St. Dunstan, Bishops Asser, Grimbald, the Earl of Mercia, surrounding Alfred, etc. They form a complete illustration of William of Malmesbury, and the early historians of our country — ' a calendar for unlearned men,' as well as for unlearned artists ; for thus are many of them as beautiful as they are deeply interesting to Englishmen. In the sixth tier there are ninety-two compositions of the Resurrection, startling in significance, and pathos, and expression, worthy of John of Pisa, or a greater man, John Flaxman. In the seventh tier are the angels sounding the last trump, the four arch- angels conspicuous. In the eighth tier are the apostles, of colossal

304 Somersetshire.

dimensions and admirable sculpture. In the ninth tier are the remains of the Saviour in judgment, with niches on either side, for the Virgin and St. John, as usual. This magnificent picture of the great doctrines of the Christian dispensation, and its peculiar relation to this country, hitherto sealed, was unravelled at no small expense of time and meditation (since there are no inscriptions or records of any kind), and indeed of colds and catarrhs, caught at Kill-Canon corner in the months of November and December."

[1864, Part I., pp. 642, 643.]

The following deed of gift of musical instruments to the vicars- choral of Wells Cathedral seems deserving of a place in your pages. It is transcribed from a contemporaneous MS., the authenticity of which cannot be questioned :

" To all Christian people to whome this pr'sent writinge indented shall come. Henry Southworth, of Wells, in the Countye of SomS Esq., Sendeth greetinge in o'r Lord God euerlastinge. Knowe ye that the saide Henry Southworth for diverse good causes and con- siderac'ons him movinge, Hath given, graunted and delivered, and by these presents doth give, graunte and deliver vnto the Principalls, Seniors and Vicars Chorall in the Quire of the Cathedrall Church of Welles in the Countye of Som's't and their successors, One Cheste w'th Five Instrum'ts of Musicke called Vyolls ; To have and to houlde the saide Cheste and Vyolls from the date hereof vnto the said Principalls, Seniors and Vicars Chorall, and their successours for-ever; Provided alwayes, and it is the intente and meaninge of the said Henry Southworth, that the saide Cheste and five vyolls shallbee and remayne w'th in the Close of the saide Principalls, Seniors and Vicars Chorall in Welles aforesaide forever, To the cheifest vse and behoofe of those as cann play thereon, to be vsed at suche theire civill Convenc'ons and meetynges as the major p'te of them shall thincke fitt in theire discrec'ons. And further it is p'vided and meant by the said Henry Southworth that the said Cheste and five Vyolls shalbee and remayne in the saufe custodye of William Hunt, Clerke, now one of the Vicars of the said Close, to be ym ployed to the vses aforesaide for and duringe, and as longe as the said William Hunt shall live and contyneewe a Vicar in the said Close ; and after his session or decease, that then the saufe custodye and kepinge of the said Cheste and Vyolls shall remayne and belonge vnto suche a one of the Principalls, Seniors and Vicars Chorall w'thin the said Close for the tyme beinge as the said Henry South- worth shall nominate and appoynte duringe his lyefe, And after the decease of the saide Henry Southworth, that then the said Cheste and Vyolls shall remayne from tyme to tyme for ever in the hands of one of the Vicars of the said Close, as the Principalls, Seniors, and Vicars Chorall of the said Close for the tyme beinge, or the major

Wells.

305

p'te of them in theire discrec'ons shall thinke fittest, to be ymployed to the vses aforesaide. In witnesse whereof to the one p'te of these presents remayninge w'th the said Principalls, Seniors and Vicars Chorall, the said Henry Southworth hath put his hande and scale, And to th' other p'te of these presents remayninge with the said Henry Southworth, the said Principalls, Seniors and Vicars Chorall hath putt theire com'on scale, eaven the thirtieth day of Januarie in the nyneteenth yeare of the raigne of o'er soveraigne Lord, James by the grace of God, Kinge of Englande, Fraunce, and Irelande, Defender of the faithe, &c., and of Scotlande the five and fiftieth, Anno D'ni 1622."

These " vyolls " have for many years disappeared, and nothing is now known of them. Mr. Southworth, the donor, was in other ways a benefactor to the vicars choral. He gave them books for their library, and added a new window in the library itself, which still remains. The vicars' books have been sadly neglected, and hundreds of them lost. Those that have been saved are now kept in the vicars' muniment room, and more care is bestowed on them.

THOMAS SEREL.

[1865, Part I., pp. 354, 355.]

In the list of prelates who have presided over the see of Bath and Wells are two of the same name, viz., William Button. The first of them was consecrated at Rome, July 14, 1248. One of the chief things recorded of him is the care which he took in providing for many of his kindred, by placing them (as Godwin states) " in all the principal places " in the church of Wells. He died April 3, 1264, and, according to Britton, was buried in the middle of the Lady Chapel ; but the tomb generally assigned to him is that on the north side of St. Catherine's Chapel, and near the chapel of St. John the Evangelist. This, however, is very doubtful.

Among those of his relatives to whom Bishop Button extended his patronage was his nephew, of the same name as himself, who from being Archdeacon of Wells became bishop of the diocese (in succession to Walter Giffard), February 10, 1267. This prelate was " much esteemed for his superior sanctity," and miracles were said to have been performed at his tomb in the cure of the toothache. Even after the Reformation many superstitious persons visited the tomb for the cure of that distressing pain. The precise position of this bishop's grave has been matter of doubt. Godwin says he was buried "without the north side of the choir"; and Britton states that his tomb had been removed into the Lady Chapel. Cassan tells us that the tomb is at the back of the choir, between the second and third columns from the west; and this is the fact, but the bishop's grave is not pointed out. Collinson, writing of this prelate, says : " He was buried between two pillars on the south side of the

VOL. XXII. 20

306 Somersetshire.

choir," and this has lately been proved to be true. The Dean and Chapter having determined on introducing gas into the choir, the workmen commenced the necessary operations a few days ago. In making an opening for the pipes about 2 feet east of the second column from the west, a thick slab of freestone was found, and on opening the floor in the choir it was seen that this slab formed the cover of a stone coffin which was immediately under the stone stalls. The shape of this coffin is square at each end, the width at the head being, as usual in coffins of this date, greater, but without the pro- jections at the shoulders, as in modern coffins. The head was placed in a space cut for it in the stone. On the left side of the coffin, in its upper side or edge, near the head, was found a small plate of lead inserted in the stone, measuring 10 inches long by 3^ inches wide. This plate was found to be engraved thus :

" Hie jacet Willielmvs de Bvttona Secvnd. Bathoniensis et Wellensis Episcopvs. Sepvltvs xii. die Decembris, Anno Domini M cc LXXIIII."

The plate was set in mortar, and the cover, also set in mortar, was placed over the plate. The cover appeared to have been originally formed of two stones, that on the south side of the coffin being sufficient to close the entire opening, except about 4 or 5 inches on the other side. The smaller stone had been displaced, but no other disturbance seemed to have occurred since the interment, either as to the contents of the coffin or otherwise. The state in which the plate was found, as well as the character of the engraving, bear evidence of great antiquity, and I think it may be assumed that both are contemporaneous with the burial of the second Bishop Button. The moulded tomb spoken of by Cassan is not exactly opposite the bishop's grave, but a short distance to the east of it.

The interior of the coffin could only be partially seen ; in it there were the bones of the deceased, a pastoral staff of oak very rotten, and an iron ring, about an inch in diameter, much corroded by rust. The bones indicated the deceased to have been a man of small stature ; the teeth were nearly perfect. The position of the coffin is, as near as possible, in the centre of the space between the second and third columns from the organ screen. It cannot be moved, as the stalls are erected immediately on the cover-stone.

THO. SEREL.

[1848, Part II., p. 636.]

Some architectural and other relics of the most elaborate descrip- tion have recently been discovered in consequence of the restoration of the parish church of St. Cuthbert, Wells. On removing the mass of plaster and whitewash from the walls of Trinity Chapel on the north aisle, a fresco painting of considerable merit was found. It represents our Saviour in the act of preaching, with an angelic being above, bearing a shield with the five wounds emblazoned and the

Wells.

307

inscription " I H S " and " M'CY " running horizontally in rows, as a diaper behind the figure ; and underneath the words " Salvator Mundi " in large Lombardic characters. A window containing tracery of very beautiful design was also found. On proceeding further with the search, an altar was disclosed to view (which for many years must have been coated with plaster and whitewash), as luxuriant in design and as elegant in workmanship as the most elaborate portions of Henry VII.'s Chapel at Westminster. The altar consists of five arched compartments of equal height. Each compartment is slightly recessed, and contains two canopied niches, one above another, which arrangement is continued throughout the divisions. The recesses are flanked by buttress-work, which carries a complete mass of crocketed pinnacles, that through their intricacy present to the eye a lace-like effect. The work is of the best period of the Perpendicular style, and the whole of it has been most highly illuminated. The niches, which have a blue ground diapered with gold stars, formerly contained figures more highly coloured than the other parts of the work. Another altar, which was discovered in the chapel on the south side of the edifice, possesses merit of a very high order. At the base is a recumbent figure, life-size, sadly muti- lated— indeed, to such an extent has the work of destruction been carried that the effigy has actually been hewn away, so as to leave an entire section only from head to foot. The portions of the work that remain bear evident traces of high illumination. On removing the carved panel-work, sedilia were disclosed, of good design, and evidently coeval with the rest of the building. On removing a panel on the opposite side there was discovered a door similar to that found two years since in the Lady Chapel of the cathedral ; also a piscina, with a credence table, which bear marks of illumination, as do the sedilia.

Weston-super-Mare and Neighbourhood.

[1805, Part II., pp. 1097-1099.]

The parish of Weston-super-Mare, In the county of Somerset, is situate near the western end of that immense ridge of rocks called Worle Hill, on the southern side thereof. This hill runs into the sea, forming a promontory, known to mariners by the name of Anchor Head ; and a few hundred yards from this promontory is a rock or island called Beam Back, where the fishermen (in the season) take large quantities of sprats and other fish. Under the rocks opposite to Beam Back we met with a spring of limpid and sweet water, which distils from the hill above, and at high water the spring is overflowed by the tide. This spring is supposed by the neighbouring people to possess great sanative virtues in diseases of the eyes.

20 — 2

308 Somersetshire.

On the summit of the promontory before mentioned is a very large Roman encampment, which now goes by the name of VVorlebury.

Mr. Cruttwell, in his " Tour through Great Britain," says :

" This was the last fortification the Romans had in this district westward, and if not the strongest, yet the most convenient they had in all those parts for surveying the motions of the enemy, and was probably one of their castra czstiva"

This camp towards the east (the most accessible part, it being on that side level with the top of the hill) has four or five walls and as many ditches, the walls diminishing in height and the ditches in depth from the first or inside wall. The walls at present are nothing but huge rampires of heaped stone of considerable height. It is fortified in the same manner on the south and west with one, and in some places two, ditches and walls. The greater part of the north side is a natural rampart of perpendicular rocks. The camp is upwards of 500 paces long from the point of the hill westward to the inside wall eastward ; and if we include the outworks beyond the walls on the east, the whole must be nearly 1,000 paces in length, but in the widest places it is not much above 100 paces broad.

I have of late heard this place called Caesar's Camp, but on what authority it is so called I know not. Whether or not the works here were thrown up by the legions of that renowned general is very uncertain, but it is generally supposed, and I think with much apparent reason, that it is a Roman work, and a strong and im- pregnable station it must have been, from its natural situation and the mode of constructing the entrenchments.

On the south side of the camp within the wall I saw the remains of a building about 15 feet square, and on the north and west sides some parts of the walls thereof still remain perfect ; in some places they are one, and in others from two to three, feet in height. The sketch (Plate L, Fig. i) represents a section of the said wall at the north-west corner, the highest part now remaining. No traces whatever of mortar or any kind of cement are now discernible, but the wall is built with a tolerably smooth face, and the stones are well jointed, though no marks of any tool can now be traced on them. I observed also on the southern side of the fortifications several other pieces of wall in the same state as that last mentioned. Whether these erections are coeval with the camp or of more modern date I leave for others to determine ; but if one may be allowed to hazard a conjecture on the subject, I should incline to think them of the same age with the camp itself. No traces of the well belonging to this camp can now be discovered, but in all probability it derived its water from the same source as the spring before mentioned. . . .

The vast encampment called Doleborough Lodge, near Churchill (also supposed to be a Roman work), about ten miles distant from Weston, is clearly seen from this spot, and in all probability signals

Weston-super-Mare and N eig Jib our hood. 309

were occasionally made by fires and other means from one camp to the other ; and it appears to me that Caesar's Camp would still be a very proper situation for the erection of a signal-post or telegraph for the purpose of giving alarm to the adjacent country, in case the bloody Corsican despot, with his worse than savage banditti, should ever attempt an invasion upon these undefended and solitary shores.

The church at Weston-super-Mare is an ancient building, and I send you herewith two drawings thereof — north-east and south-west (Figs. 2 and 3). ...

In the floor of the church porch are three large blue stones with various inscriptions, to the memory of a family of the name of Day, among which is the following :

"Here lieth the body of Peter Day, Yeoman, who departed this life ye 28th July, 1695."

[Rest of inscription omitted.]

On each side of the interior of this porch are large and com- modious stone seats or benches ; and on the east wall of the porch, above the seat, is a mutilated carving of the crucifixion, with the figures Mary and John cut in freestone, but now very much defaced, and as it is placed in a dry wall, and completely sheltered from the weather, it seems as if it owed its present wretched appearance to the hand of some bigoted enthusiast or puritanical fanatic.

In the church I observed an elegant new Bible, with copperplates, published by the Rev. J. Cookson, A.M.

In the centre of the floor, within the rails of the Communion, is the following quaint inscription :

" Of two brothers born together, Cruel Death was so vnkind, As to bring the eldest hither,

And the younger leave behind : May George live long, Edgar dyd young, For born he was

To Master Sam. Willan, Rectour of this place, of Jane his wife, Sept. 5, 1680, and buryed Feb. the eleventh, 1686. The 9th

Did put an end to all his pain, And sent him unto everlasting gain."

On the south side of the above is another inscription, but partly covered by the Communion-rails, so that it could not conveniently be copied.

Within the rails to the north is the following :

" In hopes of the resurrection, Elizabeth Willan, the eldest daughter of Mr. Samuel Willan, rector of this place, and Jane his wife. She entered this life Dec. 16, 1668, and ended June the 4th, 1686, in the i;th of her age. . . .

In the floor of the chancel

3 1 o Somersetshire.

" Sub hoc lapide jacent cineres Roberti Willan, hujus ecclesiae Olim rectoris, qui ex hac vita Migravit 31° Decembris ; quinto Januarii sepultus est ; setatis suoe 52, A.D. 1721-2.

pace quiescat anima."

On a freestone slab, about 6 feet by 4 feet, in the centre of the floor of the chancel, is cut a cross, as in Fig. 4, with a book on one side and an hour-glass on the other, but without any inscription.

The silver chalice, or Communion-cup, is of the shape here represented (Fig. 5); and on the top of the cover is engraved 1573, which, for the sake of. perspicuity, I have placed on the side of the drawing.

In the upper story of the tower are three bells of moderate weight, and on the largest is an inscription in ancient characters ; but it being towards evening when I paid my visit to this iron-tongued monitor, it became impracticable to decipher the purport of the motto.

The vestry-room is entered by a small door from the chancel, and is furnished with benches on three sides thereof, with a large chest for the parish records, etc., placed in the midst, which answers the purpose of a table. I was sorry to see the roof and windows of this room in so bad a state of repair ; the tiling being gone from some parts, exposed this venerable little consistory to the inclemency of the weather. The roof and windows of the church and chancel also are in a sad state of repair — one window in particular, on the north side of the chancel, I observed to be much broken, and where the glass was wanting, its place supplied by bundles of hay. . . .

Some of the graves in this churchyard are surrounded with edging- stones, and planted with rosemary, thyme, and other aromatic plants, as is customary in some of the churchyards of the opposite coast of Wales. Round about the church and churchyard I observed the herb fennel growing in profusion. . . .

Near the chancel door is part of a stone column curtailed of its top, and standing on a square pedestal, now nearly buried in the earth. Whether this be the remains of a cross (which is very probable) or of some monument, I could not discover.

Weston-super-Mare is a rectory of about ^150 per annum, and the present incumbent is the Rev. — Draper.

On the door of a fisherman's cottage at this village is cut the representation of a fish called a " flook," caught some years ago in the bay of Weston; it measured 2 feet 2 inches in length, and 15! inches in breadth.

This village is much frequented of late in the summer and autumn for the benefit of sea air and bathing, several good lodging-houses having been lately erected for the reception of company ; and the Rev. Mr. Leeves, of Wrington, has built a charming little cottage on the beach, at which himself and family reside a considerable part

Wins ham. 311

of the year. Of this cottage I have subjoined a slight sketch (Fig. 6). ... G. B.

Winsham.

[1832, Part L, pp. 309, 310.]

The interesting account in your last volume of the paintings con- nected with the rood-loft in Mitchel-Dean Church induces me to point out to the notice of your readers the existence of a similar painting, which may fairly lay claim to the merit of having supplied the place of the holy rood itself, and which yet maintains its original situation. The village church of Winsham in Somersetshire, about four miles south-west of Crewkerne, contains this relic of antiquity. The building consists only of an aisle and chancel, with a heavy square tower between them, which is evidently the most ancient part of the structure. The piers of the tower, inside, are relieved by attached shafts with circular laminated capitals, from which spring pointed arches of considerable elevation. The opening on the eastern side towards the chancel is occupied by a screen of carved oak, comprising a range of lights formed by low arches with trefoil heads and quatrefoils above. The spaces are ornamented by angels with expanded wings holding shields, and above them is a range of mouldings representing vine leaves and fruit. Immediately above this screen is the painting above mentioned, which fills the whole of the arch on that side of the tower. It is on panel, and is executed in a very bold style, and in lively colour. The subject is the Crucifixion. Five figures only are represented, and they are of a size sufficiently large to have rendered them distinctly visible to the con- gregation below. In the centre appears our Saviour on the cross, with the blood trickling from his wounded side. A weeping female stands at a little distance on each side, and beyond them appear the two thieves, who are not nailed to their respective crosses, but hang with their arms bent back over the transverse beams. This picture, like those at Mitchel-Dean, has been long covered with whitewash, and has been recently restored to light ; to gain a view of it, the belfry stairs must be ascended, as it is hidden from below by a loft erected for the accommodation of the ringers, who formerly stood on the floor.

The church of Winsham contains some monumental inscriptions for the family of Henley of Leigh, and those of several vicars of the parish ; but it offers nothing else peculiarly worthy of notice, if we except an ancient lectern, to which is affixed by a chain a black-letter copy of Fox's " Martyrs " in tolerable preservation. . . .

J. DAVIDSON.

[1832, PartlL.p. 35.]

In consequence of the letter concerning the rood-loft in Winsham Church, of which your excellent correspondent, Mr. Davidson, has

3 r 2 Somersetshire.

given an interesting account, I lately visited the place, and was much gratified. The rood-loft, it is generally supposed, was placed between the church and chancel, intimating that all who entered the latter must pass under the cross. This is not universally allowed, and a learned author, who lived soon after the Reformation, acknowledges himself uncertain of the situation of the rood-loft. However, in most churches in which there are any remains at all of it, they are traced at the arch which separates the church and chancel ; and this seems to be the most probable idea, since at the altar the most sacred parts of the service were performed, and it is likely that the cross or rood would be placed in a situation to which the eyes of the con- gregation were so often directed. JAMES RUDGE.

Woodspring Priory.

[1807, Part II., pp. 8oi, 802.]

With this I send you drawings of Woodspring, otherwise Worl- spring Priory, and its Friars Hall (see Plate I.), taken on the spot. It is situate in the parish of Kewstoke, on the Bristol Channel, in the county of Somerset, and about twenty miles south-west from the city of Bristol. The site of the priory and valuable estate thereunto belonging are now vested in the representatives of the late John Piggott, Esq., of Brockley.

I understand this to have been a religious house, founded by William Courtenay, and endowed by him for canons regular of the order of St. Augustine, under the direction of John de Drokenside (or Drokensford), Bishop of Bath and Wells ; this prelate died in the year 1328, and the priory was dissolved in the 25th year of King Henry VIIL, 1534. Dugdale informs us that Henry VIII.'s commissioners valued this priory at ^87 25. njd. per annum, but Speed says ;£no i8s. 4fd.* This priory is now converted into a farmhouse, and part of the church is used as the kitchen, and a noble one it is. Where the solemn organ once sounded its grand and melodious notes, and where the pious Requiem once was sung, the farmer and his family now transact their domestic affairs, and the rustic chants his artless ditties ; here the hinds and dairy-maids, with " the rural scandal and the rural talk," now usurp the place of the demure friar, with his close-shaven head and naked feet, and all the pomp of religious bigotry. The walls of the beautiful Gothic tower are in high preservation, and a thick drapery of ivy clothes the east side of it from the bottom to the top. It has four elegant Saxon or round-headed windows in the upper story, each of them facing one

* The estate of Woodspring now lets for upwards of ^500 per annum, exclusive of the whole parish of Kewstoke, and part of the parishes of Locking and Worle, with other possessions, which at the -time of the Dissolution belonged to this priory. Such is the alteration in the value of property in the course of less than three centuries.

Woodspring Priory. 313

of the cardinal points of the compass. The tower is now a perfect shell, nothing being left but the bare walls, not even the roof; there is a staircase remaining, by which one may still ascend to the top of the building. On the north-west of the priory are large and com- modious granaries, which appear to be of the same age with the other buildings, and no doubt the tenant finds them a most convenient and necessary appendage to his farm. The Friars Hall stands on the south of the priory (adjoining to what was formerly the cemetery, now the garden) ; it has several large windows (with stone mullions) on the side next the cemetery, exactly similar to the one seen in the view of the south-west side thereof. . . .

The large arched doorway seen in the drawing is now partly built up with modern masonry. The remains of a turret staircase is still visible on the south side, between the great door and the window, which was formerly the ascent to the roof of the building ; it is at present covered with thatch, and used as a waggon and cart-house. This place is surrounded with venerable old trees and orchards, which envelop the priory. . . .

The lower window seen in the west end of the church has been made since the present tenant occupied the premises, and it appears to have been once a doorway, but afterwards walled up. The large space also above the last-mentioned doorway was originally a superb window, as is very evident from its present appearance, though now built up, and two comparatively modem windows placed in its stead. ... G. B.

Wookey.

[I79L Parti., p. 419.]

About seven miles from Glastonbury, near Wells, is the parish of Wookey, where is the famous cave vulgarly called Okey Hole. The way into this vault is upon a level, but farther on it is rocky and uneven. The roof, in the highest part, is about eight fathoms from the ground ; and in some places it is so low that one must stoop to pass. The length is about 200 yards. The poor people, who show this cave with lighted candles, point to several pretended figures of men and women, but they are only lumps of common spar, without any regular forms. The several divisions are termed a kitchen, hall, dancing-room, etc. At the farthest end arises a stream of water.

J. ELDERTON.

Wrington.

[1836, Part I., p. 30.]

The monument to the memory of Mrs. Hannah More, which has been put up in Wrington Church, is from the chisel of E. H. Baily, Esq., R.A., of Bristol. Its form and ornaments are gothic, the

3 1 4 Somersetshire.

material the finest white marble, and is truly chaste and elegant. It bears upon it the following inscription :

"Sacred to the memory of HANNAH MORE. She was born in the parish of Stapleton, near Bristol, A.D. 1745, and died at Clifton, September 7th, A.D. 1833.

" Endowed with great intellectual powers, and early distinguished by the success of her literary labours, she entered the world under circumstances tending to fix her affections on its vanities ; but, instructed in the school of Christ to form a just estimate of the real end of human existence, she chose the better part, and consecrated her time and talents to the glory of God and the good of her fellow creatures, in a life of practical piety and diffusive beneficence. Her numerous writings in support of religion and order, at a crisis when both were rudely assailed, were equally edifying to readers of all classes, at once delighting the wise, and instruct- ing the ignorant and simple. In the eighty-ninth year of her age, beloved by her friends, and venerated by the public, she closed her career of usefulness in humble reliance on the mercies of God, through faith in the merits of her Redeemer.

" Her mortal remains are deposited in a vault in this churchyard, which also contains those of her four sisters, who resided with her at Barley Wood, in this parish, her favourite abode, and who actively co-operated in her unwearied acts of Christian benevolence.

" Mary More died i8th April, 1813, aged 75 years.

" Elizabeth More died I4th June, 1816, aged 76 years.

"Sarah More, died I7th May, 1817, aged 74 years.

" Martha More, died I4th September, 1819, aged 60 years."

Yeovil.

[1824, Fart //.,//. I7-I9-1

The church of Yeovil (see Plate I.) is a substantial and handsome fabric of that order, which is usually denominated the lighter gothic, and partakes of those features generally characteristic of the larger sacred edifices erected within this county by Henry VII. in grati- tude for the zeal evinced by its inhabitants in support of the fortunes of his family during the civil contests of the preceding reigns.

The tower is a plain structure, 90 feet in height, surmounted with a stone balustrade, and contains a clock with eight large bells, the tone of which is considered to be inferior to none of the same dimensions.

The interior of the church is divided into a nave, a large chancel, north and south aisles, and transept ; the whole length of the build- ing is 146 feet, its breadth 50 feet, and the length of the transept 80 feet. From the size and form, as well as the number of its windows, an uniform air of lightness pervades the interior, which has been in no degree impaired by the recent erection of four spacious galleries in a style corresponding with the general appear- ance of the church, and affording a great accession of accommoda- tion for a very increasing population. The altar-piece, which is highly decorated, and equally in unison with the other parts of the building, is (to quote the words of the historian of Somerset) " very handsome, being formed into a rich portico, supported on each side by four handsome fluted pillars with Corinthian capitals, and a rich

Yeovil. 315

entablature. This portico is divided into square compartments, with cherubs and roses gilt, and decorated with a transparent glory en- circled with clouds."

Under the floor of the altar is a perfect crypt, formerly used as a vestry, but now rarely noticed, the doorway leading to which is of the gothic order, and more ornamented than any other belonging to the church.

On the south side of the Communion-table is a piscina, and within its rails, on the opposite side, are two well-proportioned gothic niches, which have recently been opened to view by the removal of a cupboard-door, originally placed there for the purpose of utility rather than of ornament.

The monuments in this church are not numerous nor particularly worthy of notice. Amongst the principal are two in the north transept (which is enclosed as a pew, and belongs to Wyndham Harbin, Esq., of Newton House, within this parish), erected to the memory of different members of that ancient and respectable family. One of them, which is of gray and white marble, is described at length by Collinson ; and of the other, it may suffice in this brief memoir to say, that it is in commemoration of Wyndham Harbin, Esq., who died February 26, 1740, and his son, Swayne Harbin (ob. February 8, 1781); also of Barbara Harbin, the widow of the latter, who dird June 18, 1809, aet. 80; with two of their sons, William (ob. October 22, 1823, set. 61), and Robert, who died March 12, 1808, set. 48. ,

Over the doorway leading to the present vestry-room is a mural monument of white marble to the Rev. John Phillips, formerly Vicar of this town, the inscription on which is given in Collinson's History ; adjoining to which is a black mural tablet for Elizabeth Clarke (ob. 1714).

Immediately opposite to the latter is a mural monument thus inscribed :

" This monument was erected by Mr. Newman, of Barwick, in the year 1790, to the beloved memory of John Newman and Mary Newman, his father and mother, Mary his sister, and William his brother. They were natives of this town, died, and were buried here."

In the south transept is a marble monument, bearing an inscrip- tion to the memory of Mr. William Down and other members of his family ; near to which is another mural monument thus inscribed :

"In a vault underneath lies buried the body of Edward Boucher, only son of Edward Boucher, and Frances his wife. He died the I3th day of Nov., 1724, in the 35th year of his age. Also Edward Boucher, senior. He died May the 2d, 1725, aged 70 years. Also Frances Boucher, wife of the above said Edward, givers of the candlestick ;* she died July 25, 1741, aged 83."

* The candlestick is a handsome brass candelabrum of two branches, surmounted with a dove bearing an olive-branch in its mouth. It is suspended from the ceiling

3 1 6 Somersetshire.

On the top of this monument is placed a marble bust, and it is supported by two cherubims ; in its immediate neighbourhood are two other memorials of the same family.

Affixed to the two centre pillars of the church are tablets to the memory of Mary Seward (ob. 1775), and Ambrose Seward (ob. 1779), "lineally descended from Samuel Seward, D.D., Vicar of this Church in the year of our Lord, 1648," and also of Anne Seward (ob. 1788). The other is a record of " Edward Burton of this town, and Elizabeth his wife. She died August 2, 1766, aged 51. He died January 20, 1777, a§eci 54-"

In the north aisle is a monumental inscription for the Rev. F. C. Parsons, " 14 years Vicar of this town" (ob. 1798, ast. 67), and Jane Parsons, his widow, who died in 1822, aged 82.

Under the western gallery, within one of the pews, and nearly concealed from public observation, is the following record of another vicar, furnished by him in his own lifetime, and inscribed on a black mural tablet :

"Martinus Strong, A.M.E.W.P., et Hujus Parochioe, 3ota per Annos Vicarius, H.S.E., Una cum Uxore et tribus Filiis Lapides hos Sepulchr. vivus posuit, Mortis sine metu memor : Obiit I2mo die Novbis, 1720, setat. suae 59™°. Abi, Lector, et disce Mori. Filius etiam 4tus et Filia. H.S.S."

There are also affixed to the walls memorials of the families of Shorland, Wellington, and Shew, and many are to be found engraven in the pathways within the church.

In the churchyard are several tombs of the principal as well as of other inhabitants, but, in consequence of its being unenclosed, and a general thoroughfare, they are much defaced and dilapidated.

Only two brasses are to be seen within this extensive building, probably from the irregularity with which the pews are constructed (their tenure being freehold, and the property of them being vested in individuals without any reference to their local residence) ; others may have escaped observation from being concealed under the different floors. Both of these brasses are in the path of the chancel. One, representing a man and his wife in plain long dresses, with hands uplifted in the attitude of prayer, above their heads two shields, and under their feet the following inscription :

" Of yor charite pray for the soules of Gyles Penne, Gentilman, and Isabell his wyf, which Gyles decessed the . . . day of ... in the yere of our Lord God 15 ., and the seid Isabel! decessed the I2th day of December, the yere of our Lord God, 1519 ; on whose soules Jh'u have mercy. Amen."

And a copy of the inscription engraved on the other, which I found considerable difficulty in deciphering ; but it is faithfully

in the centre of the church, and is thus inscribed : " The gift of Mr. Edward Boucher, Tobacconist, 1724. Richard Rennells fecit. Bristol."

Yeovil. 3 x 7

given, and, although the lines are very unequal in point of compo- sition, they deserve, perhaps, to be rescued from total oblivion :

" Here vnder lieth buried the body of John Lavor, the elder, who dyed the 5th day of the moneth called Avgvst, anno D.M. 1662."

[Rest of inscription omitted.]

The font, which is hexagonal, has nothing to boast of either in point of workmanship or great apparent antiquity.

A handsome and massive brass reading-desk, which stands on a substantial pillar of the same material, supported by four claws terminating in four lions couchant, is placed at the bottom of the nave of the church. From this, it is apprehended, the lessons were formerly accustomed to be read, and on either side of the desk is a rude representation (now nearly effaced) of the upper half of a priest in the attitude of prayer, on a large label, whereon are two barbarous Latin lines in Old English characters.

The pulpit, which was removed from its former site on the erec- tion of the four galleries, to which I have before adverted, is now placed nearly in the centre of the church. It is in no respect remarkable. These galleries run from east to west, and are inter- sected nearly midway, in order that the view from the north and south transepts may not be impeded, and that the general outline of the interior may not be injured. On each of those more immedi- ately adjoining the western end of the church is the following in- scription :

"The back-range of sittings in this gallery are appropriated for the sole use of the poor of this parish, under the direction of the Minister and Churchwardens for the time being. Henry Penney, George Mayo, Churchwardens. 1818."

In front of the galleries, commencing from the eastern end of the church, is this inscription :

" The whole of the sittings in this gallery are free for the sole use of the poor of this parish, and have been obtained partly by the aid of the Society for the Promotion of Building and Enlargement of Churches and Chapels, and partly by the surplus arising from the sale of the pews in the adjoining galleries lately erected. George Wellington, John Edwards, Churchwardens, i8io.7"

The building, which appears in the view annexed to the western end of the tower, is a charity school, of which the Rev. Thomas Tomkins is the present master, under the appointment of the feoffees. In a deed, dated March 12, 1708, it is thus described: " All that late Chapel covered with lead situate within the Churchyard of the parish Church of Yeovil." To hold certain feoffees therein named, "Upon trust to and for the only proper use of the parishioners of the parish of Yeovil aforesaid, for a School-house to educate children, or such other charitable uses as to the said parishioners should seem meet." The living, "with the Chapel of Preston*

* Preston is distant about a mile from Yeovil. There is also within the parish of Yeovil the sinecure of Pitney, which is in alternate presentation of Wyndham

3 1 8

Somersetshire.

annexed," is a vicarage in the deanery of Marston. John Philips, Esq., of Montacute House, is the patron. The Rev. Robert Philips is the present vicar. URBANI AMICUS.

The following articles, which are not of any special interest, have been omitted : 1751, p. 411. On the waters of Glastonbury. 1791, part ii., pp. 1012, 1013. Antiquities of Bath.

1793, part i., pp. 318-320. Notes on the history of Somersetshire.

1794, part ii., pp. 078-980. Illustrations of the history of Somersetshire. 1800, part ii., p. 1269. Crewkerne School.

1807, part ii., pp. 722, 723. Account of Ilchester gaol. 1818, part i., pp. 36, 37. The Abbey church of Bath. 1826, part i., pp. 313-315. Somerset antiquities. 1834, part i., pp. 313, 314. Repairs of Bath Abbey. 1852, part ii., pp. 219-225. The baths of Bath.

References to previous volumes of the Gentleman's Magazine Library:

Prehistoric Antiquities: — Ancient caves at Banwell ; tumulus near Bath ; ancient catacomb at Burrington Coomb ; excavations called Cole Pits and Pen Pits ; cave at Spaxton ; fossil oak-tree at Taunton ; excava- tions at Weston-super-Mare. — Archaeology, part i., pp. 5, 22, 27, 28, 139-143, 264, 283, 306, 316.

Roman Remains : — At Bath, Farley Castle, Littleton, Lower Langford, Pitney, Shepton Mallet, Uphill, Wellovv, Whatley.— Romano-British Remains, part i., pp. 284-297 ; part ii., p. 592.

Anglo-Saxon Remains : — Antiquities found near Bridgewater ; jewel found at Newton Park ; stone circle at Stanton Drew. — Archeology, part ii., pp. 69-71, 141, 249.

Folklore ; — Custom of plucking geese alive ; witchcraft. — Popular Supersti- tions, pp. 211, 236, 237, 243-249, 274-276. Fairy toot at Nemnet. — English Traditions, p. 59«

Dialect: — Local expressions ; Anglo-Saxon words ; proverbs. — Dialect Proverbs and Word-lore, pp. 4, 25-28, 41, 117.

Ecclesiology : — Sacristy behind altar at Crewkerne and Hensdridge ; almshouse and early wooden church at Glastonbury ; cathedral school, ecclesiastical buildings, episcopal palace, and vicar's close at Wells ; palace of Bishop Jocelyn at Wookey. — Ecclesiology, pp. 10, 18-20, 53, 90, 105, 106, in, 122, 173, 244-246, 270, 271, 280, 288-294.

Harbin and George Bragge Prowse, Esqs. The Rev. John Harbin is the present incumbent. Tradition of no very remote date points out the spot on which its chapel formerly stood.

Indexes.

INDEX OF NAMES.

ACHELEY (Sir R.), birthplace of, 12 Acland (Sir J. P.), seat of, 177 Acland (P. P.), seat of, 177 Acland (Sir T.), chapel of, 285 Acton (family of), manor of, 23 1 Acton (Sir F. R. E.), seats of, 6 Acton (H.), seat of, 7 Acton (T.), presbytery of, 157 Adair (W.)? seat of, 177 Adams (Sir T.), birthplace of, 12 ;

foundation of, 6

Adams (W.), birthplace of, 13; founda- tion of, 6, 108 ; benefactions of, 107, 109 ; manor of, 108 ; introduced to Charles II., 109

Adamson (Rev. — ), vicarage of, 168 Adeliza (Queen), dowry of, 120 Albany (W.), manor of, 167 Alchornus (E.), memorial of, 222 Aldhelm (Bishop of Sherborne), founda- tion of, 174

Alditheley (H. de), shrievalty of, 139 Alfred (King), foundation of, 173 ; victories of, 179 ; stands sponsor for Danish chief, Athelstan, 185 ; erects standard at Kilmington, 189 Algar, manor of, 24 Allcock (T.), foundation of, 6 Allein (R.), birthplace of, 182 Allen (R.), seat of, 177, 191 Allestree (Dr. R.), birthplace of, 13;

school of, 17

Alleyne (H.), memorial of, 222 Almerus (Earl of Cornwall), foundation

of, 229

Alphelm (Prince), murder of, 8 Alward, manor of, 288 Amelia (Princess), entertained at

Bruton, 230

Amory (T.), birthplace of, 182 VOL. XXII.

Andrews (-— ), schoolmaster at Bridg-

north, 41 Anne (Queen of James I.), visits Wells,

192

Ansger Brito, manor of, 288 Anstey (— ), marriage of, 193 Apperley (T. H.), memorial of, 33 Appleton (Rev. A.), curacy of, 159 Arimathea (Joseph of), chapel of, at

Glastonbury, 260 Am way (J.), birthplace of, 13 Arragon (King of), marriage of, II Arthur (King), victories of, 178, 179,

280 Arthur (Prince of Wales), marriage of,

1 1 ; death of, 1 1 Arundel (E. F., Earl of), execution of,

10

Arundel (R., Earl of), castle of, 109 Arundel (T., Earl of), grants charter to

Oswestry, 109

Arundel (Lady), defends Wardour, 195 Arundel (Lord), seat of, 195 Arundell (Hon. J. E.), manor of, 290 ;

marriage of, 290 Arundell of Wardour (Baron), manor

of, 296 Ascobert murders Kenelm, Prince of

Mercia, 71, 72

Ashelm (Prince), murder of, 120 Askew (Rev. A.), seat of, 178 Astley (family of), estates of, 51 Astley (J.), birthplace of, 13 Astley (T.), monument of, 53 Asty (E. ), memorial of, 222 Atcherley (R.), seat of, 7 Atfield (W. B.), seat of, 7 Athelstan (King), foundation of, 173 Athelstan, chief of the Danes, baptism

of, 185

21

322

Index of Names.

Attwood (— ), seat of, 7 Aubery (E.), memorial of, 222 Aubrey (H. P. T.), seat of, 6 Audley (N.), benefaction of, 108 ;

manor of, 108

Avery (W.), memorial of, 222 Ay mo (Prior of Wenlock), grant to,

157 Azeline, possessions of, 28

Bacon (Friar R.), birthplace of, 182, 273 Bailward (S.), seat of, 177 Baker (family of), memorials of, 236 Baker (R.), chaplaincy of, 247 Baker (T.), birthplace of, 182 Baker (Sir W.), memorial of, 222 Baker (Dr. W.), memorial of, 222 Balch (Miss), seat of, 177 Baldulph, defeat of, 280 Baldwin (E. ), monument of, 136 Baldwyn (C.)i seat of, 43 Baldwyn (Rev. H.), burial of, 36 Baldwyn (M.), memorial of, 93 Ball (Rev. J.), rectory of, 204 Ball (T.), presbytery of, 157 Bamfield (T.), seat of, 7 Bampfylde (Sir C. W.), seat of, 177 Bampfylde (Colonel), seat of, 194 Bannister (R.), betrays his master, II Barker (T.), monument of, 121 Barnard (N., Dean of Ardagh), birth- place of, 13

Barnes (B.), memorial of, 222 Barnet (A.), birthplace of, 13 Barney (Rev. — ), vicarage of, 1 68 Barnwell (G.), tragedy of, 97 Bartlet (J.), buys Priory of Hinton,

268

Basset (family of), arms of, 300 Bateman (Rev. S.), birthplace of, 182 Bath (Marquess of), seat of, 177 Bath and Wells (Bishop of), seat of,

177 ; manor of, 235 Bather (Rev. E.), archdeaconry of,

125, 132

Bather (J.), seat of, 7 Bave (R.), memorial of, 222 Bave (S.), memorial of, 222, 300 Bawden ( Rev. R. ), vicarage of, 243 Baxter (J. F.), seat of, 8 Baxter (R.), birthplace of, 13 Baxter (W.), birthplace of, 13 Baylie (J.), priory of, 157 Beaks (— ), property of, 233 Beale (T.), seat of, 7 Beale (— ), seat of, 103 Beauchamp (Baron), manor of, 277

Beauchamp (family of)» arms of, 135

Beauchamp (T., Earl of Warwick), arms of, 52 > marriage of, 52

Beauclerk (Lord J., Bishop of Here- ford), rectory of, 18

Beaumeys (P. de), benefaction of, 88, 89

Beaumeys (R. de), translates canons from Shrewsbury to Lilleshall, 89

Beaumont (M. de), marriage of, 150

Beckford (W.), seat of, 195

Beckington (T., Bishop of Bath and Wells), birthplace of, 182 ; arms of, 201, 212 ; buildings erected by, 209, 215

Beddingfield (Hon. Lady), memorial of,

222

Beddoes (T.), birthplace of, 13 Bedford (Jasper, Earl of), manor of, 21 Beere (Abbot), foundation of, 261, 297 ;

benefactions of, 261 ; burial-place of,

261 Belesme (R. de, Earl of Shrewsbury),

manor of, 83, 150; garrisons Bridg-

north, 9, 42 Bellot (T.), foundation of, 178; erects

buildings at Bath, 221 Bellingham (J.), memorial of, 222 Benbow (Admiral), birthplace of, 13,

140 ; anecdote of, 140 Benbow (Colonel J.)f death of, 12 ;

burial-place of, 13

Benet (Rev. J.), death of, 303; memo- rial of, 303

Benington (P.), seat of, 7 Bennet (Dr. C.), birthplace of, 182 Bennet (Mrs.), seat of, 177 Bennett (Jane), memorial of, 279 Benson (R.), seat of, 7 Benyon (R.), seat of, 7 Benyon (T., and wife), memorial of, 122 Benyon (The Misses), seat of, 6 Benyon ( — ), seat of, 7 Berkeley (E.), burial-place of, 26 Berkeley (family of), arms of, 300 Berkeley (M.), manor of, 151 Berkeley (W., Marquess of), manor of,

ISI

Berkley (Captain), memorial of, 280 Berkley (Rev. A. de), birthplace of,

182 ; vicarage of, 192 Berkley (Sir M.), grant to, 229 Berkley of Stratton (Lord), estate of, 229 ; residence of, 230 ; entertains the Princess Amelia, 230 Bernard (N., Dean of Armagh), burial- place of, 20

Index of Names.

323

Bertie (R.), estate of, 158 Berwick (Lord), seat of, 6 Berwick (W. N., Lord), seat of, 29;

patronage of, 134 Betton (N.), memorial of, 137 Betton (R.), seat of, 6 Billings (F. and J. ), memorials of, 222 Bimberry (The Misses), foundation of,

176 Bishop (Rev. Dr. J.), rectory of, 302 ;

benefactions of, 302 Bishton (G.), estates of, 164, 165 Bishton (J.), seat of, 7 Bishton (T.), seats of, 7 Biss (J.), memorial of, 302 Biss (P.), birthplace of, 182 Biss (T.), memorial of, 302 Blackburrow (J.), command of, 217 Blackford (R. and M.), memorial of,

245 Blackwell (W.), churchwarden of

Dunster, 243 Blake (Admiral R.), birthplace of, 182;

school of, 1 86 Blake (Colonel), besieges Bridgewater,

1 80

Blake (M.), memorial of, 246 Blakeway (family of), estates of, 29 Blanchard (J.), memorial of, 222 Blomberg (Rev. F. W.), vicarage of,

211

Blount (family of), monuments of, 18 Blount (Sir E.), seat of, 7 Blount (Sir W.), death of, 10 Bolinghale (H. de), manor of, 24 Bonaparte (Lucien), residence of, 18 Bond (E.), memorial of, 246 Bond (J.), birthplace of, 182 Bond (Sir G.), birthplace of, 182 Bonville (Cicely), marriage of, 277 Bonville (family of), manor of, 277 Bonville (W., Lord), marriage of, 277 ;

custodian of Henry VI., 277 ; effigies

of, 187

Boothby (Sir W.), memorials of, 224 Bord (W.), manor of, 301 Borough (T.), seat of, 6 Bosanquet (J.), memorial of, 222 Bosanquet (— ), marriage of, 196 ;

residence of, 196

Bostock (Dr. R.), memorial of, 222 Botetourt (J., Lord), burial-place of, 65 Botfield (Rev. B.), curacy of, 162 Botfield(T. B.), seat of, 7 Botreaux (Sir R. de), effigies of, 185 Boucher (E., and wife) monument of,

Boucher (Edward), gift of, to Yeovil

Church, 315, 316

Boughton (Sir C. W. R.), seat of, 7 Bourchier (E. ), marriage of, 151 Bourchier (family of), estate oi, 286 Boutflower (Rev. C.), vicarage of, 238 Boutflower (Rev. D.), benefaction of,

237 Bowers (T., Bishop of Chichester),

birthplace of, 13 ; school of, 19 Boycott (family of), burial place of, 159 Boycott (W.), monument of, 114 Boydell (J., Lord Mayor), birthplace

of, 13, 149 Boyle (Hon. and Rev. R.), preaches at

opening of East Cranmore Church,

251

Boyne (Viscount), seat of, 6 Boys (J.), birthplace of, 182 Brackley (Viscount), benighted in Hey-

wood Forest, 18 Bradford (A.)» tomb of, 20 Bradford (Earl of), manor of, 57 Bradford (F., Lord), tomb of, 20 Bradford (J.), memorial of, 279 Bramston (D.), memorial of, 222 Bratton (T.), seat of, 248 Bray (T.), birthplace of, 13 Brereton (Sir \V.), takes Ludlow, 12 Brewer (J.), benefaction of, 246 Bridgeman (Sir J.), tomb of, 18, 93 Bridgewater (Dukes of), patronage of,

1 59 ; manors of, 1 59 Bridgewater (Earl of), president of the

Marches, 18 Bridgewater (H., Earl of), manor of,

296

Bridport (Lord), seat of, 177 Bright (Rev. J. B.), seat of, 8 Briovere (W. and T. de), build bridge

at Bridgewater, 176 Briscoe (W.), seat of, 6 Bristol (J. D., Earl of), manor of, 232 Bristow (W.), priory of, 242 Brocas (M.), memorial of, 222 Brocas (T.), memorial of, 222 Brockson (N.), churchwarden of Pontes-

bury, 113 Brocklesbury (Dr. R.), birthplace of,

182

Bromley (J.), lieutenancy of, 139 Bromley (sir H.), manor of, 118;

patronage of, 118 Bromley (Sir T.), birthplace of, 13;

tomb of, 20

Bromley (— ), benefaction of, 24 Brook (family of), estates of, 51 21 — 2

324

Index of Names.

Brooke (R., Lord Chief Justice),

monument of, 5i» 52 Brooke (Sir D.), birthplace of, 182 Brooke (Sir R.), birthplace of, 13 Brotherton (M. de), marriage of, 150;

created Duchess of Norfolk, 150 ;

burial-place of, 150 Broughton (II.), birthplace of, 13 Broughton (J.), marriage of, 84 Brown (N.), memorial of, 222 Brown (T.), birthplace of, 13, 108 Brown (T. ), priory of, 242 Browne (E.), memorial of, 112 Browne (J. H.), seat of, 6; M.P. for

Wen lock, 20

Browne (R. B. W.), seat of, 6 Browne (Rev. F.), rectory of, 118;

vicarage of, 118 ; manor of, 118 Browne (S.), birthplace of, 182 BrydalQ.), birthplace of, 182 Brymer (Archdeacon), assists at opening

of East Cranmore Church, 251 Buck (Dame A.), memorial of, 224 Buckland (R.), birthplace of, 182 Budlers (H. de), benefaction of, 89 ;

burial-place of, 89 Bull (A., Bishop of Bath and Wells),

birthplace of, 182 Bull (Dr. J.), birthplace of, 182 Buncombe (R.), seat of, 177 Buonaparte (Napoleon), portrait of,

1 68

Burci (S. de), manor of, 301 Burfield (Rev. — ), vicarage of, 24 Burgh (J. de), manor of, 275 Burleigh (Lord Treasurer), buildings

of, at Bath, 221

Burnell (E., Lord), manor of, 21 Burnell (H.), commission of, 139 Burnell (M.), marriages of, 21 Burnell (N., Lord), castle of, 21 ;

memorial brass of, 21 Burnell (R., Bishop of Bath and Wells),

birthplace of, 108 ; foundation of,

20, 21 ; embassy of, 21 ; death and

burial-place of, 21 Burnell (Sir E.), castle of, 21 Burnell (Sir H.), birthplace of, 108 ;

marriage of, 65 ; burial-place of, 65 Burney (C.), birthplace of, 13 Burrard (Hon. A.), monument of, 93 Burt (Rev. J., and wife), memorial of,

203

Burt (Rev. J.), rectory of, 204 Burton (E.), residence of, 89, 90;

burial-place of, 18, 26, 27, 89 ;

monument of, 90

Burton (family of), burial-place of, 26,

27

Burton (R.), seat of, 7, 90, 121 Busby (A.), memorial of, 222 Busk (S., and wife), memorial of, 225 Butler (Archdeacon), sermon by, 132,

225

Butler (J.), birthplace of, 182 Butler (Dr. S.), mastership of, 19 Butler (T.), abbacy of, 133 ; annuity

granted to, 133 Byam (Rev. Dr. H.), birthplace of, 182 ;

burial-place of, 191

Cabell (family of), burial-place of, 256 Cadman (R.), burial-place of, 19 Calcot (T. and M.), memorial of, 25 Calcot(Rev. W.), seat of, 6 Calcot (Rev. — ), rectory of, 103; seat

of, 103

Calcott (family of), estates of, 29 Caldewell (R.), manor of, 25 Callis (Admiral S.), memorial of, 222 Calton (T.), obtains grant of tithes of

Albrighton, 25

Calverley (Sir J.), death of. 10 Camplin (Rev. W.), vicarage of, 243 Candidan (King), defeat of, 179 Canning (L.), memorial of, 222, 224 Cantelupe (G. de), manor of, 82 Cantelupe (J. de), manor of, 82 Cantelupe (M. de), manor of, 82 Cantlow (Prior), foundation of, 174 Caractacus, defeats of, 3, 55, 169 Carbery (Earl of), Lord President of

the Marches, 18

Careless (R.), benefactions of, 25 Carew (family of), burial-place of, 187 Carew (Sir J. ), monument of, 187 Carnarvon (Earl of), seat of, 178 Cartere (T.), M.P. for Dunster, 240 Caslett ([.), presbytery of, 157 Caslon (W.), birthplace of, 13 Castleman (R.), birthplace of, 182 Cattle (Rev. B.), curacy of, 206 Cavell (R.), churchwarden of Banwell,

217 Ceawlin (King of Wessex), victory of,

179

Cecil (Lady Mildred), marriage of, 87 Chamberlain (W.), presbytery of, 157 Champeneys (H.), residence of, 257 ;

memorial brass of, 257 Charnpneys (Sir J.), Lord Mayor of

London, birthplace of, 182, 187 Champneys (Sir T.), seat of, 178 Charnpneys (T. S.), seat of, 178

Index of Names.

325

Chandos (Duchess of), property of, 193 Chaplin (M. and E.), memorial of, 246 Chapman (J.), benefaction of, 24 Chapman (R. W. P. and S.), memorials

of, 222 Chapman (Rev. W.), death of, 213 ;

memorial of, 213 Charles I. entertained at Ludlow, n ;

at Mells, 282 ; establishes mint at

Shrewsbury, 12 ; portrait of, 17 Charles II. sheltered at Boscobel, 12,

36-40; at Castle Gary, 174; at

Whiteladies, 12 ; introduced to Mr.

Adams at Newport, 109 Charleton (Sir J.), birthplace of, 13 Charleton (Lady), foundation of, 141 Charleton (Dr. W.), birthplace of, 182 Charlton (Sir F.), seat of, 103 Charlton (J. de, Lord of Powis),

mansion of, 144

Charlton (Sir J.), patronage of, 155 Charlton (N. L.), seat of, 7 Charlton (P.), seat of, 8 Charlton (T., Bishop of Hereford),

birthplace of, 13 Charlton (W.), seat of, 6 Chatham (Earl of), seat of, 177, 186 Cherbury (D. of), birthplace of, 13 Cheshire (T. ), burial of, 36 Chetwynd (Rev. J.), birthplace of, 182 Chichester (A.), seat of, 178 Chichester (H.), seat of, 178 Chidde (W.), seat of, 7 Child (M)., memorial of, 32 Childe (W.), seat of, 7 Childe(W. L.), seat of, 8 Churchill (Governor), memorial of, 222 Churchman (W. and R.), memorial of,

106

Churchyard (T.), birthplace of, 13 Clarence (Duke of), visits Ross Hall, 19 Clarence (G., Duke of), manor of, 205 ;

murder of, 205 Clark (J.), churchwarden of Shra-

wardine, 118

Clark (M.), memorial of, 246 Clark (W.), mayoralty of, 226 Clark (Rev. — ), vicarage of, 118 Clarke (Elizabeth), memorial of, 315 Clarke (M.), birthplace of, 13 Clarke (R.), erects stained-glass win- dows in Ellesmere church, 60 Clarke (W.), birthplace of, 13 Clarke (Rev. — ), vicarage of, 107 Clavering (E.), memorial of, 222 Clement (B. and H.), memorials of, 245 Clements (W.), memorial of, 222

Clevedon (family of), manor of, 232, 233 Cleveland (Duke of), manors of, 57 ;

patronage of, 78, 79 Clifton (T.), seat of, 177 Clive (Hon. H. R.), seat of, 7 Clive (R., Lord), birthplace of, 13 Clive (W.), seat of, 8 Clive (— ), seat of, 8 Clootwick (J.), memorial of, 224 Clothier (R., and wife), memorial of, 279 Cohorn (Count), portrait of, 18 Colgrin, defeat of, 280 Colles (H.), grant by, to Dunster Priory,

242

Collington (J.), birthplace of, 182 Collins (Rev. S.), memorial of, 279 Collins (widow), residence of, 35 Colston (Dr.), seat of, 177 Colthurst (M.), estate of, 268 Commail (King), defeat of, 179 Congreve (Colonel W., and wife),

memorial of, 127 Congreve (Mrs.), seat of, 12 1 Coningsby (H.), manor of, 151 Conolly (C.), seat of, 178 Cookson ( — ), residence of, 45 Cooper (J.), birthplace of, 13 Corbet (Sir A.), seat of, 6, 7, 8 ; re- stores E. Benton's monument, 90 Corbet (Sir C), seats of, 121 Corbet (family of), seat of, 103 ; estates

of, 149

Corbet (Mrs.), seat of, 8 Corbet (Rev. — ), rectory of, Il8 Corbett (Ven. Archdeacon), residence

of, 7, 86

Corbett (Anne), monument of, 88 Corbett (F.), memorial of, 137 Corbett (G. H. and E.), memorial of,

87

Corbett (J.), monument of, 116 Corbett (fane), memorial of, 88 Corbett (Matty), memorial of, 88 Corbett (Sir R.), monument of, 87 Corbett (T.), memorial of, 87 Corbett (Sir Uveclale), monument of, 87 Corbett of Longnor (family of), burial- place of, 87

Cork (J., Earl of), manor of, 257 Cornewayll (R.), monument of, 49 Cornewel (K. T., and wife , 47 Cornish (S.), memorial of, 222 Cornwall (Edmund), monument of,

48, 49

Cornwall (E., Lady), monument of, 48 Cornwall (Sir T.), reputed tomb of, 48 Cornwall (T.),' monument ot, 47

326

Index of Names.

Costard (G.), birthplace of, 13

Cotes (J.), seat of, 8

Cotton (R.)» restores Claverley church,

5°

Courcy (Baron J.), birthplace of, 182 Courcy (R. de), foundation of, 174 Courtenay (W.)» foundation of, 312 Courtenye (W. de), foundation of, 174 Courtney (Sir W.), victory of, 180 Coventry (Sir J.), birthplace of, 182 ;

foundation of, 177

Coward (L. and E.)f memorials of, 222 Cowper (R .), memorial of, 222 Cox (Rev. W.), vicarage of, 243 Cox ( — ), foundation of, 176 Cox of Cradley (family of), memorial

of, 71

Craven (Lord), seat of, 103 Crede (R.), churchwarden at Banwell,

216

Cree (J. M.), seat of, 178 Cressett (E., Bishop of Llandaff), monu- ment of, 56, 152

Cressett (Rev. J.), monument of, 56 Cressett (R.), monument of, 56 Crey (J.), churchwarden at Banwell,

216

Croft (Sir W.), defeat and death of, 12 Crowle (D.), memorial of, 222 Crowther (T. A.), estates of, 51 Crump (T.), seat of, 6 Cudworth (R.), birthplace of, 182, 185 Cudworth (Rev. — ), rectory of, 185 Cuff(H.), birthplace of, 182 Culliford (R.), memorial of, 222 Cunliffe (M.), memorial of, 222 Curcelle (R. de), manor of, 201 Currer (S.), memorial of, 222 Curteys (W.), memorial brass of, 63

Dains (W.), foundation of, 174 Dale (Rev. J.), vicarage of, 162 Dale (Jane), memorial of, 115 Dalton (N.), seat of, 178 Dalton (Rev. — ), seat of, 177 Dampier (W.), birthplace of, 183 Dana (Rev. E.), rectory of, 78 Daniel (S.), birthplace of, 183 Darby (F.), seat of, 7 Darell (J. and C.), memorials of, 224 Daubeny (Baron), burial-place of, 296 ;

monument of, 296 Daubeny (Sir G.), manor of, 296 ;

shrievalty of, 296 Daubeny (G.), foundation of, 247 Daubeny (W.), residence of, 296 Davenhill (T.)> benefaction of, 24

Davenport (W. G.), seat of, 7

Davenport ( — ), seat of, 43

David of Wales, arms of, 61 ; execution

of, 10

Davies (Rev. J.), vicarage of, 243 Davies (S. ), birthplace of, 13 Davis (family of), arms of, 299 Davis (O.), memorial brass of, 114 Davis (Rice), marriage of, 299; resi- dence of, 299 Davis (Serjeant), custodian of Lord

Hill's column, 143

Day (G., Bishop of Chichester), birth- place of, 13

Day (P.), memorial of, 309 Deacle (Rev. T.), rectory of, 302 De Charleton ( — ), foundation of, 120 De la Mere (family of), tombs of, 190 Denbigh (Earl of), takes Oswestry, 12,

no

Denison (Rev. G.), chaplaincy of, 251 Dennis (T.), churchwarden of Dunsier,

243

Despard (General), seat of, 7 De Teneville ( — ), foundation of, I2O De Tickenham (family of), effigies of,

300

Dewhurst (Rev. J.), rectory of, 78 Dickenson (W.), seat of, 177 Dickinson (J. and S. ), memorial of, 44 Dickinson ( — ), usher at Newport (Salop)

school, 108 Digby (J., Earl of Bristol), manor of,

232

Digby (Sir R.), marriage of, 153 Dighton (Rev. E.), curacy of, 251 Disney (family of), estate of, 235 Dixon (A.), memorial of, 222 Dodd (R.), seat of, 7 Doddington (Lieutenant F.), victory of,

1 80

Doddington (S.), seat of, 177 Dolling (Rev. M.), rectory of, 204 Dominick (Rev. — ), vicarage of, 168 Domvile (S.), birthplace of, 79 ; death

of, 79 Dorset (T. G., Marquess of), patronage

of, 277

Douglas (Earl), imprisonment of, 5, 10 Douglas (J., Bishop of Salisbury),

mastership of, 17 Dovaston (J.), birthplace of, 14 Dovaston (J. F. M.), seat of, 7 Dovey (Rev. R.), benefaction of, 50 Dovey (R. and M.), memorial of, 53 Down (W.), monument of, 315 Draicote (J. de), manor of, 301

Index of Names.

327

Draper (G.), monument of, 225 Draper (Rev. — ), rectory of, 310 Draper ( — ), foundation of, 107 Drinkwater (R.)» benefaction of, 126 Drogo, castellain at Montacute, 288 Drokensford (J. de, Bishop of Bath and

Wells), death of, 312 Dudoco (Bishop of Wells), possessions

of, 207, 208

Dunce (S.), memorial of, 222 Duncombe (J.)> memorial of, 222 Durant (G.), seat of, 8 Durell (Advocate-General), memorial

of, 222 Dyer (Sir J.), birthplace of, 183

Earnly (Sir M.), defeat and death of, 12 Edgar (King), consecration of, 179;

reputed burial-place of, 175 Edgerley (Rev. — ), rectory of, 118 Edmondes (Sir C.), birthplace of, 14 Edmund (King), takes Shrewsbury, 8 ;

rebuilds Glastonbury, 179 ; victory

of, 1 80

Edred (King), burial-place of, 179 Edric, manor of, 57 Edward the Elder (King), foundation

of, 3°3

Edward I. holds Parliament at Shrews- bury, 10

Edward II. enters Shrewsbury, 10; bust of, 138

Edward III., reputed statue of, 134

Edward V., proclamation of, II

Edward VI., foundations of, 6, 178; portrait of, 189; grant by, 193

Edward ( J. ), seat of, 7

Edwards (J.), churchwarden of Yeovil,

3*7

Edwards (Sir J. T. C), seat of, 7 Edwards (Rev. R., and wife), memorial

brass of, ill

Edwards (R.), birthplace of, 183 Edwards (Rev. Turner), memorial of,

112

Edwards (Rev. W.), memorial of, 54 Edwards (— ), mastership of, 108 Edwin (Earl of Mercia), manor of, 149 Egerton (Hon. E., Bishop of Hereford),

victory of, 159

Egerton (Rev. F.), vicarage of, 160 Egerton (Lord Chancellor), arms of, 6 Egerton (Hon. T., and Lady A.),

benighted in Hey wood Forest, 1 8 Egmont (Earl of), seat of, 177, 188,

194

Egremont (Earl of), seat of, 178

Ela (Countess of Salisbury), foundation

of, 174

Elizabeth (Queen), foundation of, 176 Elizabeth of York visits Shrewsbury,

20

Ella, defeat of, 178

Elletson (Governor of Jamaica), memo- rial of, 222

Elliot (J.), seat of, 7

Elstan (Bishop of Sherborne), victory of, 179

Elton (Rev. Sir A.), seat of, 232

Emery (J.), property of, 210

Emery (R.), seat of, 6

Emes (E.), memorial of, 279

Enys (D. and M.), memorial of, 224

Erleigh (W. de), foundation of, 174

Ernele (W.), memorial of, 222

Kscott (R.), seat of, 178

Essebie (Alexander of), birthplace of,

183

Ethelbald (King) takes Somerton, 179 Ethelburga (Queen), destroys Taunton

Castle, 179 Ethelfleda, foundation of, 4; builds

Bridgnorth, 42

Ethelred (King), effigies of, 250 Eure (Lady M.), tomb of, 95 Evans (Dr. J.), seat of, 7 Everett (A.), marriage of, 257 Everett (Rev. W.), rectory and vicarage

of, 257, 258

Every (Sir S.), birthplace of, 183 Eyton (Rev. Dr.), vicarage of, 155 Eyton (Rev. J.)f seat of, 8; vicarage

of. '55 Eyton (R.), Governor of Shrewsbury

Gaol, 139 Eyton (T.), seat of, 7; patronage of,

ISS

Farinmail (King), defeat of, 179 Farmer (H.), birthplace of, 14 Fen (J.), birthplace of, 183 Fenwick (J.), memorial of, 222 Fenymore (R.), presbytery of, 157 Ferrers (family of), arms of, 52 ; manor

of, 52

Fielding (H.), birthplace of, 183 Fielding (S.), memorial of, 222 Finch (A.) memorial of, 222 Fishewyke (R.), presbytery of, 157 Fitz-Alan (Earls of Arundel), castle of,

Fitz Alan (E., Earl of Arundel), execu- tion of, 10 Fitz-Alan (family of), arms of, 135

328

Index of Names.

Fitz-Alan (Isabel), marriage of, 151 Fitz-Alan (M.), marriage of, 55 Fitz-Alan (W., Lord of Oswestry), birth- place of, 1 6 ; foundation of, 1-3 ; manor of, 55 ; burial-place of, 3 Fitz-Guarine (Fulk), birthplace of, 14 ; castle of, 157 ; quarrels with King John, 157

Fitz-Herbert (B.), estate of, 39 Fitz-James (Sir J.), birthplace of, 183 ;

manor of, 301 Fitz-James (R., Bishop of London),

birthplace of, 183 Fitz-Nicholas (C.), marriage of, 297,

298 Fitz-Nicholas (family of), residence of,

297 ; manor of, 297 ; arms of, 300 Fitz- Walter (R.), manor of, 275 ;

marriage of, 275 Fitz- Warren (family of), manors of,

286 ; residence of, 286 Fitz-William (R.), manor of, 201 Flechere (Rev. J. W. de la), burial- place of, 1 8

Fletcher (Rev. J. W. de la), burial- place of, 1 8

Folliott (E.), memorial of, 96 Ford (R. and E. ). memorial of, 222 Forde (R., Abbot of Glastonbury),

birthplace of, 183

Forester (C. W. ), seat of, 8 ; created a peer, 168 ; marriage of, 168; privi- lege of, 1 68 Forrester (B.), manor of, 155; estates

of, 155 Forrester (Rev. — ), usher at Newport

(Salop) School, 108 Fortescue (J. J.), seat of, 177 Fortescue (Hon. M.), seat of, 177 Fowler (Rev. M.), vicarage of, 159 Fowler (Rev. S.), memorial of, 26 Fowler (Rev. T.), vicarage of, 159 Fownes (H.), marriage of, 239; assumes name of Luttrell, 239 ; manors of, 239 Fox (C. J.), portrait of, 189 Fox (family of), seat of, 103 Fox (R., Bishop of Winchester), founda- tion of, 177 Fox (Sir S.), birthplace of, 194 ; death

of, 194

Frampton (M.), memorial of, 222 Frampton ( — ), estate of, 252 Frederick (Prince of Wales), memorial

of, 176

Freke (R.), property of, 284 Frithogitha (Queen), effigies of, 250

Frome (N. de, Abbot of Glastonbury),

birthplace of, 183 Frowd (J.), property of, 268 Frowde (Sir P.), memorial of, 222 Fulchert'dus, abbacy of, 133 FuUell (U.), birthplace of, 183 Furneaux (family of), manor of, 201 Furneaux (Sir M.), marriage of, 203 Fussell (Rev. J.), vicarage of, 251 Fussell (J.), seat of, 178 Fychet (J.), chaplaincy of, 276

Gage (Viscount), estate of, 158 Gamages (M. tie), manor of, 150 Gamages (W. de), manor of, 150 Gansel (Sir N.), death of, 10 Gardiner (Rev. Dr. J.), birthplace of,

183

Gardner (Rev. Dr.), seat of, 7, 54 Gatacre (Colonel), seat of, 7 Gatacre (E.), chancel of, 50 Gatacre (F.), monument of, 53 Gatacre (W.,and wife), monument of, 53 Gataker (T.), birthplace of, 14 Gegg (El ester), manor of, 301 Gegg (Rev. J.), manor of, 301 Gentleman (R.), birthplace of, 14 George IV. visits Ross Hall, 19 George (family of), seat of, 103 Geihin (Dame G.), memorial of, 222 Gibbon (J.), birthplace of, 183 Gibbons (Dr. F.), memorial of, 137 Gibbons (Rev. J.), rectory of, 78 Giffard (W., Bishop of Winchester),

foundation of, 174 Gilbert (A.), stewardship of, 289 Gilbert (T.), birthplace of, 14 Gilbert (W.), birthplace of, 183

abbacy of, 230 ; residence of, 230 ;

tomb of, 230, 231 Gildas the Wise, birthplace of, 183 Giles (R.), memorial of, 246 Gillet (T.), foundation of, 176 Giso (Bishop of Wells), possessions of,

208

Glanville (Rev. J.), vicarage of, 188 Glanville ( — ), birthplace of, 14 Glastonbury (Lord), seat of, 177 Gloucester (Bishop of), seat of, 178 Gloucester (W., Earl of), foundation

of, 173, 291 Glyndwr (Owen), defeat of, 5 ; ascends

oak at Shelton, 117 Godfrey (C ), memorial of, 222 Godhil, manor of, 24 Godwin (Dr. T.), birthplace of, 183 Good (T.), birthplace of, 14

Index of Names.

329

Good (W.), birthplace of, 183 Goodfellow (C.), memorial of, 222 Gordon (J. A .), manor of, 287 ; bene- faction of, 287

Gordon (T.), residence of, 185 Gore (W. Ormsby), seat of, 7, 8 Goring (Lord), defeat of, 181 Gorsuch (W., and wife), memorial of,

127

Gould (E.), monument of, 278 Gould (Rev. J.), vicarage of, 243 Gournay (Eva de), marriage of, 293 Gournay (family of), estate of, 174 Gournay (M. de), marriage of, 293 Gournay (Sir W.), birthplace of, 183 Grafton (J. de, and wife), tomb of, 22 Grandison (S. de), manor of, 24 Grant (family of), estates of, 29 Grant (Rev. J.), vicarage of, 243 Granville (Sir B.), death of, 180;

memorial of, 190, 219 Graves (R.), memorial of, 75 Gray (C. G.), seat of, 178 Gray (E.), reputed marriage of, 117 Gray (G.), seat of, 178 Gray (R.), birthplace of, 183; founda- tion of, 177

Greaves (Rev. R.), rectory of, 187 Green (Amos), birthplace of, 14 Green (Anne), tomb of, 24 Green (E.), memorial of, 69 Green (family of), seat of, 103 Green ((.)> memorial of, 67 Green (Thos.), burial-place of, 24 Green (T.), memorial of, 69 Green (W.), memorial of, 68 Greene (family of), arms of, 160 Greenvil (Sir R.), relieves Dunster,

181

Greenwood (Rev. — ), vicarage of, 108 Grenvill (Hon. H.), memorial of, 224 Gresley (Rev. B.), memorial of, 213 Gresley (Sir N.), memorial of, 222 Greville (F. , Lord Brooke), school of,

19 Grey (Hon. J.), M.P. for Bridgnorth,

41 Grey of Wilton (J. de), governor of

Shrewsbury Castle, 139 Grey (T., Marquess of Dorset), marriage

of, 277 ; patronage of, 277 Greye (E.), memorial of, 222 Grieve (E.), memorial of, 222 Griffith (Dr. G.), memorial of, 225 Griffiths (Dr. R.), birthplace of, 14 Grove (H ), birthplace of, 183 Gruffyth (R. ap), quarrel of, 9

Gryffyn (H.), conveyance of lands to, 215

Guildford (Lord Keeper), portrait of, 189

Gunning (General), residence of, 193

Gunson (R.), memorial of, 222

Guy (A.), seat of, 177

Gwyn (E.), memorial of, 222

Gwynn (T. F.), seat of, 177

Gwynnedd (O., Prince of Wales), besieges Shrewsbury, 9

Gwynwynwyn (Prince of Wales), im- prisonment of, 9

Gyare (E. and M.), memorial of, 222

Gyvernay (Sir R.), benefaction of, 276

Gyvernay ( — ), manor of, 276 ; burial- place of, 276

Hale (M.), manor of, 24

Hales (Rev. J.), birthplace of, 183

Hales (Sir P.), seat of, 177

Hales (Mrs.), birthplace of, 14

Halliday (J. D.), monument of, 66, 67 ;

marriage of, 67 Halliday (Major J. D.), monument of,

17

Hambrook (family of), estates of, 29 Hammond (Rev. S.), memorial of, 106 Hampton (B.), governor of Shrewsbury

Castle, 139

Hancocks (Rev. — ), vicarage of, 168 Handlow (J. de), manor of, 21 Hanning (W.), seat of, 177 Harbin (S. W. and R.), monument of,

315

Harbin (W.), patronage of, 317, 318 Harbin (Wyndham, and wife), monu- ment of, 315

Harcourt (Rev. Dr.), vicarage of, 191 Harington (W. B., Lord), arms of, 277 ;

marriage of, 277 ; death of, 277 Harkness (Rev. R.), vicarage of, 251 Harley (Alderman), seat of, 103 Harley (Alice de), marriage of, 79 Harley (R. de), marriage of, 79;

possessions of, 79 Harnage (H.), seat of, 6 Harnage of Belswardine (family of),

aisle of, 77

Harnage (Sir G.)i seat of, 77 ; bene- faction of, 78 Harnage (T.), seat of, 77 Harold (King) lands at Porlock, 180 ;

banishment of, 207, 208 Harper ( — ), seat of, 8 Harptree (T. de), manor of, 293 ; marriage of, 293

330

Index of Names.

Harptree (W. de), manor of, 293 ;

marriage of, 293 Harries (F. B.), seat of, 6 Harries (Sir T.), seat of, 7 ; attempts

to enter Shrewsbury, 12 Harrington (Dr. H.), birthplace of, 183 Harrington (Sir J.), birthplace of, 183 Harris (A.), memorial of, 115 Harris (family of), estates of, 152;

foundation of, 154 Harris (J.), memorial of, 115 Harris (R.), seat of, 178 Harris (T.), memorial of, 115 Harrison (Rev. R.), rectory of, 118 Harrison (W.), command of, 215 Hart (Dr. C), monument of, 127 Hart (W. C), seat of, 7 Hastings (J. de), marriage of, 82 Hastings (Lady M. ), memorial of, 186,

187

Hastings (Rev. J.)f burial of, 36 Haughton (J.), seat of, 178 Hautvil (Sir J. de), monument of, 187 Ha warden (Lord), seat of, 191 Hawkins (H.), memorial of, 53 Haynes (— ), usher at Newport (Salop)

school, 1 08 Haythorne (family of), memorials of,

236

Heath (W.), memorial of, 223 Heber (Elizabeth), manor and patronage

of, 83, 85

Heber (Mrs.), seat of, 7 Heber (R.), seat of, 7, 18 ; M.P. for

Oxford, 83 ; manor and patronage of,

83 Hedrington (S.)i custodian of manor of

Albrighton, 24 Heighway (family of), memorials of,

US

Heles (H.), manor of, 24 Helgot, possessions of, 78 Hellier (J.), memorial brass of, 271,

272 ; benefaction of, 272 Hellier (Rev. Dr. H.), birthplace of,

183

Henley of Leigh (family of), memorials of, 311

Henry I. takes Bridgnorth, 9 ; visits Bath, 1 80; grants by, 42, 256

Henry II. besieges Bridgnorth, 9 ; narrow escape of, 9, 42 ; grant by, 49

Henry III. assembles army at Shrews- bury, 9; grants by, 49, 157, 267

Henry IV., figure of, 27 ; foundations of, II, 27 ; victories of, 10, 120

Henry V., grants by, 268

Henry VI. plunders Ludlow, n ; im- prisonment of, 277

Henry VII. visits Shrewsbury, n, 20; foundations of, 174, 177 ; rebuilds Somersetshire churches, 196, 244

Henry VIII., portrait of, 189

Henshaw (J.), memorial of, 223

Henton (J.), priory of, 242

Herbert (E., Lord Cherbury), birth- place of, 14, 169 ; burial-place of, 169 ; memorial of, 169

Herdson (W.), purchases site of Shrews- bury Abbey, 134

Hereford (Bishops of), seat of, 17

Hereford (E., Earl of), patronage of, 278

Hervey (J.), memorial brass of, 122

Hewett (Sir G.), seat of, 177

Hewster (T.), custodian of manor of Albrighton, 24

Hey ward (M.), centenarian, death of, 20

Higgins (J.), memorial of, 169

Higginson (— ), foundation of, 159

Higgons (G.), monument of, 121

Higgons (Sir T.), birthplace of, 14

Hill (Anne), burial-place of, 27

Hill (Captain), lieutenancy of, 139 ; flight of, 139

Hill (John), monument of, 85

Hill (Lord), statue of, 6 ; seat of, 7

Hill (Noel), seat of, 29

Hill (Sir Richard), birthplace of, 14; statue of, 5, 82 ; foundation of, 6 ; monument of, 85

Hill (Sir Rowland), momument of, 84

Hill (Hon. and Rev. R.), seat of, 6

Hill (Rev. R.), seat of, 8

Hill (T.), seat of, 121

Hilton (J.), churchwarden of Albrighton,

23

Hinckley (J.), memorial of, 67 Hinckley (W.), memorial of, 70 Hippie (E.), marriage of, 257 Hippie (J.), monument of, 257 Hippisley (Sir J. C), seat of, 178 Hoare (H.), erects tower at Kilmington,

176, 189 Hoare (Sir R.), estate of, 229, 259;

marriage of, 229

Hoare (Sir R. C.), seat of, 180, 236 Hobart (D.), memorial of, 223 Hobhouse (— ), seat of, 178 Hodnet (W. de), estates and privileges

of, 83

Hody (Dr.), foundation of, 176 Hody (Rev. H.), birthplace of, 183

Index of Names.

33*

Hogshaw (family of), manor of, 232 Holbeach (Dr.), foundation of, 6 Hole (T.), memorial of, 279 Holes (H.), manor of, 24 Holland (C.), marriage of, 151 Holland (T.), birthplace of, 14 Hood (Sir A.), seat of, 178 Hooper (J.), birthplace of, 183 Hopkins (J.), presbytery of, 157 Hopkins (N.), prophet of Hinton, 269 Hopton (A.), birthplace of, 183 Hoptyn (R.), gilder of Banwell, 217 Hord (E.), priory of, 268 Home (E ), residence of, 74, 76 Homer (family of)i residence of, 282 Homer (Sir J.), attainder of, 282 Horner (T.), seat of, 178 Hosier (R.), Governor of Shrewsbury

Castle, 139, 140 Hoskins (Mrs.), seat of, 178 Hosyer (J.), foundation of, 96 Hotchkiss (Rev. T., and family), me- morial of, 105

Hotspur (Harry), death of, 10 Houlton (— ), estate of, 252 Houston (Sir P.), memorial of, 224 Howard (H., Earl of Northampton),

foundation of, 55 Howard (P., Duke of Norfolk), marriage

of, 55 Howard (T., Earl of Surrey), manor of,

21 ; created Duke of Norfolk, 21 Howell (T.), churchwarden of Al-

brighton, 23

Hughes (Admiral), memorial of, 223 Humbertus, priory of, 157 Hume (Rev. W.), vicarage of, 71 ;

memorial of, 71

Humfreston (J.), memorial brass of, 122 Humphreys (J.), property of, 268 Hungerford (family of), seat of, 251,

255, 268

Hungerford (Sir T. and Lady), monu- ment of, 1 88 Hunt (D.), manor of, 293; patronage

of, 293

Hunt (H.), imprisonment of, 274 Hunt (J. ), residence of, 293 ; manor

and patronage of, 293 Hunt (J. H.), seat of, 177 Hunt (R.), seat of, 6 Hunter (J. A. and L. B.), memorial of,

70 Hutchins (J.), manor and patronage of,

293

Hyde (T.), birthplace of, 14 Hylton (J. S.), memorial of, 68

Ilchester (Earl of), seat of, 178, 194 Ina (King), foundation of, 173, 175,

249» 3°3 ; burial-place of, 175 ; effigy

of, 250 Inge (H., Archbishop of Dublin), seat

of, 183

Ingram (N.)( memorial of, 246 Inkhole (T.), commission of, 139 Innocent IV. (Pope), grant by, 268 Ireland (F.), marriage of, 258 Ireland (Rev. J.), curacy of, 258 Ireland (J.), birthplace of, 14 Ireland (Rev. W.), vicarage of, 257 ;

marriage of, 257 ; monument of, 257 Isham (S.), memorial of, 223 Ivy (Sir G.), memorial of, 223 Ivy (Dame S.), memorial of, 223

Jago (R.), memorial of, 75 James II. visits Shrewsbury, 20 James (Dr. C.), memorial of, 223 Jarret (Mrs.), seat of, 177 Jarvis (H.), seat of, 6 Jeanes (H.), birthplace of, 183 Jefferies (Lord Chancellor), school of, 19 Jeffery (J.), seat of, 177 Jeffreys (H.), marriage of, 130 Jeffreys (J.), seat of, 177 Jenkins (E.), seat of, 6 enkins (Mrs.), seat of, 6 enkins (Rev. R.), rectory of, 206 enkins (T., and wife), monument of, 136 enkinson (Hon. C.), seat of, 7 enks (B.), birthplace of. 14 ennings (J.), birthplace of, 183 ernegan (Sir J.), memorial of, 223 erningham (Sir G. W.), seat of, 8 errard (family of), manor of, 293 ervis (W.), churchwarden of Banwell,

216 ; residence of, 216 Jesup (E.), memorial of, 223 Joceline (Bishop of Wells), birthplace

of, 183 John (King) takes Oswestry, 9; quarrels

with Fulke Fitz Guarine, 167 John (King of France), imprisonment

of, 193

Johnston (Rev. W.), seat of, 8

Jolliffe (S.), seat of, 177

Jones (L.), memorial of, 224

Jones (M.), centenarian, death of, 20

Jones (R.), memorial of, 302

Jones (Rev. S.), memorial of, 25

Jones (Sir T.), Lord Chief Justice,

school of, 19 ; monument of, 19 Jones (T.), mayoralty of, 19; monu- ment of, 19

332

Index of Names.

Jones (W.), seat of, 6 ; mansion erected

by, 144 ; memorial of, 236 Jones (Rev. — ), Roman Catholic priest

at Whiteladies, 166 Joybertus, priory of, 157 Jukes (Rev. T.), memorial of, 71 ;

vicarage of, 71 Juverney (— ), burial-place of, 276;

monument of, 276

Karver (B.), monument of, 93 Keate (Rev. — ), rectory of, 204 Kelly (E.), memorial of, 223 Ken (W., Bishop of Bath and Wells),

death of, 192 ; burial-place of, 258 Kenelm (Prince of Mercia), legend of,

71, 72 ; burial-place of, 72 Kenn (family of), seat of, 274 Kennet (Bishop), burial-place of, 1 88 Kenyon (Hon. T.), seat of, 8 Keynsham (Rev. R. de), vicarage of,

242

Kilmorey (Viscount), seat of, 8 Kinchant (C.), seat of, 7 King (Lord), seat of, 178 King(O., Bishop of Bath and Wells),

foundation of, 173 Kingston (A. ), memorial of, 223 Kingston (Duke of), estate of, 152 Kingston (J. de), seat of, 275 Knatchbull (C.), seat of, 177 Knight (Bishop of Bath and Wells),

erects pulpit at Wells, 174 Knight (family of), seat of, 103 Knight (J.), seat of, 7, 177 Knoyle (family of), arms of, 292 ;

manor of, 293

Knoyle (W.), residence of, 293 Knyfton (T. T.), residence of, 301, 302 Knyvet Leighton (F.), seat of, 8 Kymer (Rev. W.), vicarage of, 243 Kynaston (E.), seat of, 7 Kynaston (H.), birthplace of, 14 Kynaston (Sir F.), birthplace of, 14;

monument of, 17 Kynnersley (T.), seat of, 7

Lacey (J. N.), governor of Shrewsbury

Castle, 139 Lacon (Sir R.), memorial brass of, 77,

78 ; marriage of, 78, 79 ; shrievalty

of, 78

Lacy (J. de), manor of, 57 Lamb (J.), memorial of, 223 Langeland (R.), birthplace of, 14 Langhorne (Dr. J.), residence of, 302 Langley (W.), residence of, 134

Langley (Rev. — ), vicarage of, 155 Lansdown (J.), property of, 208 Latch (J.),- birthplace of, jg^ Lavor (J.), memorial brass of, 317 Law (Hon. and Rev. Chancellor), assists at opening of East Cranmore church,

Lawley (B.), seat of, 6 Lawley (Sir R.), seat of, 8 Lawley (T.), estate of, 158 Lawrence (E.), birthplace of, 14 Laxton (Sir W.), foundation of, 60 Laxton ( — ), marriage of, 60 Lea (W. W.), memorial of, 53 Lean (J.), seat of, 177 Lechmere (Colonel), seat of, 103 Lee(H. L.), seat of, 7 Lee (J.), presbytery of, 157 Lee (R., Bishop of Lichfield), burial- place of, 19

Lee (Rev. — ), mastership of, 108 Leeves (Rev. — ), residence of, 310,

3"

Legh (Dr. C.), memorial of, 223 Leigh (Rev. G. H.), vicarage of, 243 Leigh (M.), memorial of, 224 Leigh (Rev. P.), vicarage of, 159 Leigh (Mrs.), seat of, 177 Leighton (Sir B.), seat of, 7 Leighton (F.), birthplace of, 14 Leighton (F. K.), seat of, 8 Leighton (Sir R. ) seat of, 8 Leja (P. de, Bishop of St. David's),

priory of, 157

Leman (D.), memorial of, 223 Lenfarit (R.), chamberlain of Shrews- bury Castle, 139 Lenthall (J.), impropriate rectory of,

211, 290 Leofric (Earl of Chester), restores

nunnery at Wenlock, 157 Le Strange (Sir R., and wife), arms of,

61

Lethbridge (Sir T. B.), seat of, 178 Leversedge (family of), manor of, 256,

257 ; burial-place of, 256, 257 Leveson (J.), manor of, 89 Leveson (Lady K.), benefaction of, 89 Levitt (A.), monument of, 33 Leyborn (Dr. R.), memorial of, 223 Leyton (R. de), serjeanty of, 138 Lisle (Viscount), death of, 20 Lister (M.), memorial of, 223 Littleton (A.), birthplace of, 14 Littleton (F.), burial of, 36 Littleton (M.), marriage of, 36 Littleton (Rev. — ), vicarage of, 41

Index of Names.

333

Llewellyn (D. ap Prince of Wales), takes Shrewsbury and Oswestry, 9 ; quarrels with R. ap Gruffyth, 9 ; sub- mits to Henry III., 9 Lloyd (E. ), birthplace of, 14 Lloyd (J.), institutes Society for the Prosecuiion of Felons, 18 ; tomb of, 104

Lloyd (J. A.), seat of, 7 Lloyd (R. P.), monument of, in Lloyd (Capt. R. W.), monument of, in Lloyd (W.), seat of, 6 Lock (J.), seat of 177, 178 Locke (family of), burial-place of, 256 Locke (J.), birthplace of, 184, 193 Lockley ( — ), farms of, 162 Lockyer (N.), birthplace of, 184 Lockyer (T.), memorial of, 279 Lodge (Sir T.), birthplace of, 60; Lord Mayor of London, 60 ; mar- riage of, 60 ; burial-place of, 60 Long (family of), property of, 301 Longspec (W., Earl of Salisbury),

foundation of, 266 ; manor of, 267 Lovel (C.), birthplace of, 184 Lovel (family of), manor of, 232 ;

monument of, 244 Lovell (F., Lord), forfeiture of estates

of, 21

Lovell (J., Lord), manor of, 21 Lovett (J. V.), seat of, 6 Lucas (S.), seat of, 177 Lucy (T.), memorial of, 30, 33 ; burial

of, 36

Ludlow (A.), marriage of, 116 Ludlow (Sir J.), castle of, 116 Ludlow (W. de), manor of, 83 Luke (R.), seat of, 7 Lunget (family of), property of, 301 Lutterell (A.), monument of, 245 Lutterell (Colonel), death of, 180 Luttrell (J. F.), seat of, 177 Luttrell (Lady E.), manors of, 239;

tomb of, 245

Luttrell (M.), marriage of, 239 Luttrell (— ), buildings erected by, 238 ;

patronage of, 242

Lutwyche (Sir E.j, birthplace of, 15 Lydall (Rev. J.), rectory of, 36 Lyster (Mrs.), seat of, 8 Lyster (T.), birthplace of, 15 Lyttelton (Edward), effigies of, 65 ;

memorial of, 66

Lyttelton (G.), burial-place of, 66 Lyttelton (Sir J.), burial-place of, 66 Lyttelton (Lord), patronage of, 68 ; seat of, 7 1

Lyttelton (R.), memorial brass of, 66 Lyttelton (Sir T.), benefaction of, 65 Lyttelton (Sir W., and wife), burial- place of, 65

Lyttleton (K., Baron of Munslow), birthplace of, 15, 106 ; portrait of, 106 ; death and burial-place of, 106

MacGilvray (J.), memorial of, 114 Mackinnon (J.) memorial of, 186 Mackworth (Sir F.), victory of, 180,

181

Mackworth (H.), governor of Shrews- bury Castle, 139

Madan (Colonel M.), memorial of, 223 Madlicote (T.), manor of, 83 Maelgwyn (R. ap), execution of, 9 Mainwaring (A.), birthplace of, 15 Mainwaring (C. K.), benefaction of, 62 Mainwaring (Mrs.), seat of, 6 Mainwaring (R., Bishop of St. David's),

birthplace of, 15

Maiden (Rev. J.), vicarage of, 107 Male (J.), seat of, 70 Malmesbury (W. of), birthplace of, 184 Malveisin (W.), bishoprics of, 29 Malveysin (H.), foundation of, 29 Malvoisin (family of), residence of, 28

29 Malvoisin (P. and J.), governors of

Oswestry Castle, 29 Malvysin (f.), death of, 29 Malvysin (Sir R.), death of, 29 Manners (Lady K. M.), marriage of,

1 68

Maplet (A.), memorial of, 223 March (Earl of), flight of, n ; victory

of, ir

Marigold (A.), benefaction of, 24 Marisco (A. de), birthplace of, 182 Markland (Captain J. D.), marriage of,

202

Marlborough (Duke of), portrait of, 18 Marrowe (Colonel), besieges Oswestry,

12

Marsh (— ). farm of, 294 Marshall (Rev. J.), curacy of, 90 Marston (Rev. B.), rectory of, 36;

memorial of, 31 Martin (T.), memorial of, 223 Martin (W.), manor of, 301 Mary Queen of Scots, portrait of, 189 Marys (J.), builds church at Dunster,

244

Mascal (R., Bishop of Hereford), birth- place of, 15 Masham (Dame D.), memorial of, 223

334

Index of Names.

Mason (R.)> memorial of, 223 Massey (Sir J.), death of, 10 Matthew (A.), seat of, 7 Matthew (T., Archbishop of York),

birthplace of, 184 Matthews (A.), memorial of, 223 McGovvan ( — ), mastership of, 41 Medlicott (W.), churchwarden at

Pontesbury, 113

Medlycott (Sir W. C.), seat of, 178 Meire (S.), estate of, 79 Melson (R.)> foundation of, 176 Melun (R. de, Bishop of Hereford),

priory of, 156

Mercia (E., Earl of), manor of, 149 Meredyth (Colonel H.), memorial of,

223

Meriett (M.), marriage of, 277 Methuen (Rev. A.), vicarage of, 257 ;

memorial of, 257 Metz (G. de), marriage of, 167 Micclestone (J.), seat of, 8 Michael (Abbot), foundation of, 174 Michell (Rev. C.f and wife), memorial

of, 279

Middleton (General), defeat of, 180 Middleton (Sir T.), relieves Oswestry,

12

Milburga, Saint, birthplace of, 15 ;

foundation of, 3 ; burial-place of, 3 Mildmay (Sir H. P. St. John), seat of,

178

Miles (P. J.), seat of, 177 Miles (R.), birthplace of, 184 Millar (Lady), memorial of, 224 Millington (Rev. — ), vicarage of, 108 Mill ward (J.), churchwarden of Ban- well, 217

Milton (C), amour of, 21 Misiers (L. C. de), memorial brass of,

190

Mohun (family of), monuments of, 244 Mohun (Lady J.), birthplace of, 184 Mohun (Sir W. de), manors of, 238 ; foundation of, 174, 229, 242 ; burial- place of, 229

Molyneaux (D.), memorial of, 223 Monmouth (Duke of) conceals himself

at Grenton, 266 ; defeat of, 183 Montacute(W. de), governor of Shrews- bury Castle, 139

Montagu (Sir H. ), benefaction of, 227 Montague (Bishop of Winchester),

memorial of, 223 Montford (S. de, Earl of Leicester),

takes Shrewsbury, 9 Montgomery (H., Earl of foundation

of, 43; manor of, 150; death of,

120

Montgomery (R. de, Earl of Shrews- bury), foundations of, 4, 5, 116, 120, I33'I37, 157; manors of, 87, 149; arms of, 135 ; imprisonment of, 120; becomes a monk, 133, 135 ; burial- place of, 4, 133 ; monument of, 4, 135 Moore (F.), birthplace of, 15 More (B.), seat of, 7 More (Hannah), residence of, 195, 302 ;

monument of, 313, 314 More (H.), memorial of, 105 More (K.), memorial of, 105 More (Margaret), memorial of, 105 More (M., E., S., and M.), memorial of,

3H

Moreton (Earl of), foundation of, 174 Morice (W.), M.P. for Dunster, 240 Morral (C.), seat of, 7 Morris (P.), marriage of, 118 Morris (T.), memorial of, 223 Morrison (E.), memorial of, 223 Mortimer (family of), barony of, 103 ;

arms of, 135

Mortimer (H. de), defends Bridgnorth, 9 Mortimer (Joan de), marriage of, 160 Mortimer (R. de, Earl of Marsh),

manor of, 83

Mortimer (Sir H.), death of, 10 Morton (W., Eail of), foundation of,

284

Mosthouse (W.), presbytery of, 157 Moulkie (J.). seat of, 6 Mountford (R.), seat of, 8 Moutray (J.), memorial of, 224 Mowbray (B ), marriage of, 150 Mowbray (J., Lord), manor of, 150; marriage of, 150; created Eatl of Nottingham, 151 ; death of, 151 Mowbray (J. de, Duke of Norfolk),

manor of, 151 ; marriage of, 151 Mowbray (T., Earl Marshall), man iage

of, 151 ; execution of, 151 Mucclestone (W.), seat of, 8 Munsloe (R. B. de), memorial brass of,

105

Musgrave (Dr. W.), birthplace of, 104 Musgrave (Mrs.), foundation of, 176 Mytton (Colonel), birthplace of, 15; takes Shrewsbury, 12 ; takes Os- westry, no Mytton (T.), seats of, 7; burial-place

of, 19 Mytton (W.), birthplace of, 15

Nagle (M.), memorial of, 224

Index of Names.

335

Naish ( J. ), birthplace of, 207 Naish (W.), birthplace of, 207 Napier (G. B. M.), seat of, 178 Nash (R.)> erects monument at Bath,

176

Needham (R.), manor of, 83 Neve (T.), birthplace of, 15 Newcomb (Rev. R., Bishop of Llandaff),

vicarage of, 159 Newman (J., and wife), memorial of,

315

Newman (J.), seat of, 177 Newman (T.), memorial of, 186 Newman (W. and M.), memorial of,

315 Newman ( — ), centenarian, burial-place

of, 190

Newman ( — ), seat of, 178 Newport (H.), manor of, 151, 152 Newport (F., Viscount), castle of, 140 Newport (J.), castle of, 140 Newport (Sir R. ), tomb of, 20 Newton (E.), burial-place of, 26 Newton (Judge), monument of, 192 Niccolls (A.), memorial of, 113 .Niccolls (M.), memorial of, 223 Niccolls (T.), memorial of, 113 Niccolls (W.), memorial of, 127 Norcup (W. C), seat of, 6 Norfolk (T., Duke of), manor of, 151 ;

marriage of, 151 ; banishment and

death of, 151

Norgrave (R.), presbytery of, 157 Norman ( — ), manor of, 24 Norris (Rev. R.), vicarage of, 243 Norris (M.), memorial brass of, 246 Norton (Colonel A.), memorial of, 223 Norton (Sir G.), manor of, 151 Norton (W.), manor of, 151 Nottingham (T., Earl of), manor of,

Oakeley (Rev. H.), seat of, 7 Oatley (Sir F.), imprisonment of, 12 O'Connor (Captain), marriage of, 257 Odo, possessions of, 82 Offa (King of Mercia), seizes Bath, 179 ;

foundation of, 223 Offley (R. W.)i monument of, 115 Ogle (J.), memorial of, 223 Ohton (Earl of), defeat of, 179 Oliver (Dr., Dean of Windsor), build-

ings erected by, 221 Oliver (J., B., and E., memorials of),

1!5

Oliver (Dr. W.), memorial of, 223 Ommaney (Rev. — ), vicarage of, 238

Onslow (Sir R.), birthplace of, 15;

monument of, 19 Onslow (R.), obtains grant of site of

Shrewsbury Castle, 139 Orange (W., Prince of), memorial of,

176

Orchard (Rev. R.), rectory of, 204 Orescuiltz (H. and R. de), manor of,

292 Orescuiltz (Maud de), manor of, 292,

293 ; marriage of, 292, 293 Ormsby Gore (W.), seat of, 7, 8 Orton (J.), birthplace of, 15 ; memorial

of, 19

Ostorius, victory of, 55, 169 Oswald (King of Northumbria), defeat

of, 8, no; death of, no; tradition

concerning, no Ovile (H. de), manor of, 301 Owen(E. W. S.), seat of, 7 Owen (Venerable Archdeacon H.),

memorial of, 130 Owen (M.), memorial of, 122 Owen (Rowland), elected church- warden of Shrawardine, 119 Owen (R.), monument of, 17 Owen (Sir T., Lord Chief Justice),

birthplace of, 15 ; seat of, 17 Owen (T. B.), seat of, 8 Owen (W.), seat of, 8

Paganel (G.), defends Ludlow, 9 Page (H.), churchwarden of Banwell,

217

Paget (J.), seat of, 177 Paget (Rev. T.)» monument of, 282 Paine (— ), mansion of, 195 Painter (Rev. J.), rectory of, 78 Palton (Sir J.), effigies of, 191 Pantulf (Y. and H.), bailiffs of manor of

Stottesden, 150

Pardoe (A. and S.)i memorial of, 34 Pardoe (E., M., and S.), memorial of,

32 Pardoe (G., and wife), memorial of, 32,

34

Pardoe (L.), memorial of, 34 Pardoe (T.), memorial of, 32 Pargeter (P.), memorial of, 69 Parker (Captain), command of, 207 Parker (J.), memorial of, 223 Parker (M.), memorial of, 245 Parker (T. J.), seat of, 177 Parker (T. N.), seat of, 8 Parkes (A. ), memorial of, 69 Parkes (Rev. J.), memorial of, 68 Parkes (M. and A.), memorial of, 68

336

Index of Names.

Parr (R.), birthplace of, 15

Parr (T.), birthplace of, 15, 21 ; seat of,

7 ; penance of, 21 ; memorial brass

of, 22

Parry ([.), seat of, 8 Parry (L.), seat of, 7 Parsons (Rev. F. C), vicarage of, 315 ;

monument of, 315 Parsons (R.), birthplace of, 184 Pascal (Rev. A.), rectory of, 187, 284 Pawlet (Sir A.), birthplace of, 184;

puts Cardinal Wolsey in the stocks,

184

Payne (Mrs.), seat of, 7 Payne (W.), manor of, 301; residence

of, 301

Pearce (J.), memorial of, 223 Pearson (A.), memorial of, 137 Pedder(J.), memorial of, 223 Pelham (H. C.)> monument of, 57 Pelham (J. C.), seat of, 7 Pelling (Rev. Dr. J.), rectory of, 221 ;

memorial of, 221 Fellings (J.), memorial of, 223 Pemberton (T.), seat of, 7 Pembridge (Sir F., and Lady), founda- tion of, 20 ; monument of, 20 Pembroke (E.), seat of, 8 Pembroke (Earl of), defeat of, II ; seat

of, 190 Pembroke (Sir F.), estate of, 152;

foundation of, 152; monument of, 152 Penda (King of Mercia), victory of, 8,

no Penderell (family of), birthplace of, 15;

shelters Charles II., 12 Pendrell (H.), will of, 164 Pendrell (Dame Joan), memorial of,

161-166

Pennant (R.), abbacy of, 133 Penne (G. and I.), memorial brass of,

316 Penney (H.), churchwarden of Yeovil,

317

Pennington (Lady), memorial of, 223 Perceval (family of), seat of, 298 Perceval (R., and wife), fine levied by,

298

Percy (H.), death of, 10 Percy (T., Bishop of Dromore), birth- place of, 15

Perks (Rev. — ), vicarage of, 108 Pery (W.), presented as a common

scold, 293

Peshall (Elizabeth), marriage of, 79 Peshall (H.), marriage of, 79 ; monu- ment of, 67

Peshall (T.), memorial of, 67 Petre (Sir W.), property of, 284 Peverell (P.), castle of, 167 Peveril (R.), manor of, 57 Phelips (Sir E.), mansion of, 285 Phelips (family of), monuments of, 285 Phelips (J.), property of, 284 Phelips (R.), memorial of, 223 Phelps (Rev. W.), seat of, 177 Philips (A.), poet, school of, 19 Philips (Sir E.), memorial of, 223 Philips ([.), patronage of, 318 Philips (Rev. R.), vicarage of, 318 Phillips (J.), seat of, 178 Phillips (G.), memorial of, 213 Phillips (Rev. J.), vicarage of, 315 ;

monument of, 315 Phillips (R., and wife), memorial of,

"5

Phillott (Rev. C.), vicarage of, 258 Phillott (J.), mayoralty of, 226 Pierce (E.), memorial of, 223 Piercy (Sir H.), defeat of, 120 Piercy (Lady L.), marriage of, 153;

burial-place of, 153 Pierpoint (Duke of Kingston), estate of,-

152

Piggott (J.), property of, 312 Pigott (Sir A.), seat of, 7 Pigott (Rev. J. D.), seat of, 7 Pigott (J. II. S.), seat of, 275 Piper (A. and W.), recipients of charity

at Bitterley, 35 Piper (G.), memorial of, 223 Pipon (T. ), memorial of, 223 Pitchford (Sir R. de), obtains grant of

lands from Henry I., 42 Pitman (M., and wife), memorial of, 279 Plantagenet (G.), birthplace of, 15 Plantagenet (M.), birthplace of, 184 Plantagenet (R., Duke of York), birth- place of, 15

Plessetis (J. de), manor of, 150; mar- riage of, 150 Plowden (E.), birthplace of, 15; seat

of, 7

Plugenet (family of), estate of, 238 Plymley (J., and wives), memorial of, 88 Pokeswell (family of), seat of, 301 Pontesbury (G.). memorial brass of, 121,

122

Pontesbury (T.), memorial brass of, 121,

122

Poole (Serjeant), memorial of, 223 (fa

Popham (family of), manor of, 235

"opham (Sir J., Lord Chief Justice),

birthplace of, 184 ; foundation of, 177

Index of Names.

337

Popham (Mrs.), mansion of, 193 Porch (T. P. ), erects cross and conduit

at Glastonbury, 264 Porter (C.)> memorial of, 223 Porthund (G.), murders Alphelm, 8 Portman (Sir J.), birthplace of, 184 Poulett (Sir A.), monument of, 272 Poulett (Sir D. A.), burial-place of, 271 ;

monument of, 270-272 Poulett (Earl), seat of, 177 ; property

of, 294 Poulett (Sir H.), monument of, 271,

272 Poulett (J., First Lord), monument of,

271, 272 Poulett (Hon. R.), monument of, 271,

272 Poulett (W., and wife), memorials of,

272

Powel (R.), monument of, 70 Powell (A.), memorial of, 68 Powell (Miss A.), tomb of, 17 Powell (Sir J. K.), seat of, 7 Powell (M.), memorial of, 105 Powell (Rev. R., and wife), memorial

of, 104, 105 Power (H.), manor of, 277 ; marriage

of, 277

Power (Joan), marriage of, 277 Powis (Earl of), seat of, 6 ; patronage

of, in

Powis (G. D.), foundation of, 120 Powis (G., Lord), reputed foundation

of, 141 Powis (H., Lady), reputed foundation

of, 141

Powis (H.), seat of, 121 Powis (T.), seat of, 121 Powis (T. J.), seat of, 27 Powis (W.), seat of, 178 Powys (E.), marriage of, 36 Powys (Hon. Sir L.), erects gallery at

Bitterley Church, 35, 36 ; burial of,

36 ; memorial of, 30, 33 Powys (Mrs.), seat of, 6 Powys (M.), burial-place of, 31, 33 Powys (R.), burial-place of, 31, 33 Powys (T., and wife), memorial of, 30,

33. 34

Poynter (E.), memorial of, 246 Poyntz (P. and E.), memorial of, 246 Preston (Sir A.), birthplace of, 184 Preston (W. de), cartulary of, 289 Price (A.) memorial of, 94 Price (E.), memorial of, 223 Price (Sir J.), takes Apley House, 12 Price (Lord Chief Justice), school of, 19

VOL. XXII.

Price (S.), birthplace of, 15 Pridden (S.), birthplace of, 15 Prince (Judith), memorial of, 137 Prince (W., and wife), memorial of,

136

Pringle (Mrs.), memorial of, 223 Pritchard (Rev. — ), vicarage of, 108 Provis (J.), memorial of, 279 Prowde (R.), memorial brass of, 123 Prowse (Mrs. A. ), altar cloth made by,

206

Prowse (G. D.), patronage of, 317, 318 Prynne (W.), birthplace of, 184; im- prisonment of, 239 Pugh (Rev. W.), memorial of, 115 Pugh(W.), seat of, 7 Pulsford (Rev. C. H.), seat of, 178 Pulteney (Lady F.), manor of, 152 Pulteney (G. H.), manor of, 152 Pulteney (W., Earl of Bath), manor of,

152 Pulteney (Sir W.), marriage of, 152 ;

M.P. for Shrewsbury, 152 Purnell ( — ), seat of, 178 Purslow (J.), manor of, 151 Purslow (R.), manors of, 151 Puteney (W. de), manor of, 301 Pynson (W.), benefactions of, 244; burial-place of, 244

Quendrida( Princess of Mercia), murders

her brother, 71

Question (Rev, J.), vicarage of, 243 Quin (J.), memorial of, 223

Radford (R.), blacksmith at Shakerley,

164

Ralegh (M. de), marriage of, 203 Raleigh (Rev. W.), rectory of, 187 Rawle (G.), memorial of, 247 Rawlinson (Rev. Dr. J.), rectory of, 20 ;

burial-place of, 20

Rawlinson (Rev. T.), vicarage of, 159 Reeve (M.), memorial of, 223 Reeves (Rev. — ), rectory of, 193 Reinald, priory of, 156 Reynolds (Mrs.), seat of, 6 Reynolds (Revs. T. and J.), foundation

of, 1 08

Rhoad (Earl of), defeat of, 179 Rice (family of), arms of, 299 Rice (G.), memorial of, 223 Rice (Rev. J.), 'vicarage of, 243 Richard II. holds Parliament at

Shrewsbury, 10 ; grant by, 268 Richardson (Mrs.), residence of, 302 Ricketts (T. B.), seat of, 6

22

338

Index of Names.

Rivers (W., Earl), tutor to Edward V.,

II

Roberts (J.), residence of, 45 Robins (B.), birthplace of, 184 Robinson (Archbishop), portrait of, 189 Robinson (L.), memorial of, 223 Robinson (Stocker), estate of, 268 Robson (W.), benefaction of, 107 Rock (T.), monument of, 136 Rocke (Rev. T.), burial of, 36; me- morial of, 31 Rodney (Admiral Lord), birthplace of,

184

Rodney (Dorothy), residence of, 299 Rodney (family of), monument of, 191 ;

arms of, 299 Roe ( — ), manor of, 155 , Roebuck (J.), memorial of, 223 Roger (Bishop of Chester), foundation

of, 3

Roger (Earl), possessions of, 82 Rogers (J.), seat of, 178 Rogers (Rev, J, M.), seat of, 177 Romare (W. de), foundation of, 173 Rood (Miss), residence of, 264 Rooke (Rev. J.), seat of, 6 Rosewell (T,), birthplace of, 184 Ross (Rev. Dr., Bishop of Exeter),

vicarage of, 257 Rossey (J.), memorial of, 223 Rossey JR.), memorial of, 223 Rowe (E.), birthplace of, 184 Rowland (Rev. W. G.), benefactions

of, 129-132 ; vicarage of, 132 Rowley (B.), seat of, 8 Rowley (W.), birthplace of, 15

Sadler (J.), birthplace of, 15

St. Algar (Earl of Cornwall), founda- tion of, 173

St. Alkmund, burial-place of, 3

St. Aubyn, seat of, 177

$t. Barbe (C.), seat of, 103

St. Barbe (family of), arms of, 200 ; manor of, 201

St. Barbe (Sir T«), memorial of, 203

St. Dunstan (Archbishop of Canter- bury), birthplace of, 183

St. Elphage (Archbishop of Canter- bury), birthplace of, 15

St. Francis, birthplace of, 142 ; founda- ons of, 142

St. John (Sir H. C), seat of, 177

St. Kenelm, legend of, 72 ; burial- place of, 72

St. Loe (Sir J., and Lady), monument of, 187

St. Milburga, foundation of, 3, 157 ;

burial-place of, 3

St. Vincent, martyrdom of, 204 ; sculp- ture representing incidents in history

of, 203, 204 St. Wenefrede, relics of, removed to

Shrewsbury, 133 ; will of, 134 St. Wulfric, birthplace of, 185 Salisbury (Ela, Countess of), manors of,

267 ; grants by, 267 Salisbury (Earl of), foundation of, 173 Salisbury (M., Countess of), manors of,

205

Sal way (J.), seat of, 116 Salway (T. R.), seat of, 7 Salwey (R.), seat of, 7, 103 Salwey (T.), monument of, 95 Samford (F. of, Archbishop of Dublin),

birthplace of, 184 Samford (J. of, Archbishop of Dublin),

birthplace of, 184

Samwaies (Rev. R.), birthplace of, 184 Sanderson (Colonel K.), memorial of,

223

Sandford (F.), seat of, 7 Sandford (J.), birthplace of, 184 Sandford (T,), seat of, 8 Sanier ( — ), residence of, 42 Sankey (Rev. C.), vicarage of, 159 Saunders (Dr. E ), memorial of, 223 Saunders (G.), seat of, 177 Saunders (Rev. — ), curacy of, 159 Savin (Rev. R.), vicarage of, 243 Say (family of), manor of, 55 Say (L de), marriage of, 55 Sayer (W.), churchwarden of Ban well,

216

Scarfe (E.), memorial of, 223 Schutz (E.), memorial of, 223 Scofield (E.), birthplace of, 15 Scott (D. W.), memorial of, 23 ; bene- faction of, 24 Scott (Rev. R.), gifts by, to Cressage

Church, 59, 60 ; to Harley Church, 78 Scott (R.), seat of, 6 Sealy (E., J., M., and W.), memorials

of, 246

Seaman (family of), manor of, 257 Segrave (J., Lord), manor of, 150 ;

marriage of, 150 Segrave (Sir J. de), manor of, 150;

marriage of, 150 Selson (J.), churchwarden of Ban well,

216

Selway (J.), seat of, 7 Selwode (J. ), manor of, 249 ; grants

by, 249, 250

Index of Names.

339

Serrell (Rev. J.), seat of, 177 Severne (S. A.), seat of, 8 Seward (A. and M.), memorial of, 316 Seward (Rev. Dr.), vicarage of, 316 Sexey (H.), foundation of, 229 Seylake (W.), abbacy of, 247 Seymour (W.), marriage of, 257 Shaa (M. ), memorial of, 251, 252 Shad well (A.), memorial of, 24 Shad well (Dr.), memorial of, 223 Shareshull (W. de), marriage of, 277 Sharp (E.), memorial of, 246 Shaw (Rev. Dr.), vicarage of, 231 ;

writings of, 231, 232 Shears (P.), abbacy of, 230 Sheke(W.)f seat of, 177 Shelden (G., Archbishop of Canter- bury), birthplace of, 184 Shelton (R.), residence of, destroyed

by fire, 109

Shenstone ([.), memorial of, 69 Shenstone (W.), birthplace of, 15, 75;

school of, 64 ; residence of, 5, 75 ;

burial-place of, 69; tomb of, 17;

memorial of, 66, 73, 74 Shenton (L.), seat of, 7 Sheppard (E.), command of, 214 Sheppard (family of), residence of, 34 Sheppard (M.), memorial of, 32 Sheppard (R. ), memorial of, 34 Sheppard (Rev. W.,and wife), memorial

of, 31, 34 Sherwood (M. and H.), memorial of,

223

Shew (family of), memorials of, 316 Shipton (Rev. J. N.), rectory of, 287 ;

benefaction of, 287 Shirley (Sir H.), death of, 10 Shorland (family of), memorials of, 316 Shrewsbury (Earls of), manor of, 108 Shrewsbury (J., Earl of), burial-place of,

159 ; memorial of, 159, 160 Shrewsbury (R. of, Bishop of Bath and

Wells), birthplace of, 15 Shrewsbury (R. of, Bishop of Bangor),

birthplace of, 16

Shute (Rev. H.), birthplace of, 184 Sidenham (H.), birthplace of, 184 Simpson (J. and M.), memorial of, 223 Simpson (J.), monument of, 124 Sitwell (H.), seat of, 7 Siward, timber church erected by, 133 Skeffington (W.), memorial of, 153 Skrine (H.), seat of, 178, 191 Slade (A.), presented as a common

scold, 293 Siade (Colonel), seat of, 178

Slade (J.), marriage of, 36 Slaney (Dr. R ), seat of, 8 Slater (W.), birthplace of, 184 Slepe (W.), commission of, 139 Smith (A.), manor of, 152 Smith (J.), memorial of, 68 ; burial- place of, 67

Smith (Rev. R.),vicarage of, 155 Smith (Sir Sydney), school of, 19, 185 ;

signs convention of El Arish, 17 Smith (W.), memorial of, 31 Smitheman (Mrs.), seat of, 8 Smith-Owen (E. W.), seat of, 7 Smyth (Sir E. J.), seat of, 6 Smyth (Sir J.), seat of, 236 Smythe (Sir E.), seat of, 21 Smythe (Rev. T.), vicarage of, 243 Snelling (Rev. R.), vicarage of, 243 Snork (J.), seat of, 178 Somerset (Duke of), seats of, 177, 236 Somerset (E., Duke of), defeat and

execution of, 196 Somerset (H., Duke of), imprisonment

and execution of, 196 Somerset (M.), birthplace of, 184 Somerville (Lord), seat of, 178 Southouse (H.and T.), memorial of, 223 Southworth (H.), benefaction of, 304 Sowerby (R.), memorial of, 223 Sparling (W.), seat of, 7 Spence (J.), memorial of, 75 Spencer (J.), memorial of, 116 Spenser (T.), residence of, 269; writ- ings of, 269 ; burial-place of, 269 Spicer (family of), chancel of, 51 Spicer (R.), memorial of, 51 Spoford (T., Bishop of Hereford),

abbacy of, 102 ; memorial of, 102 Stacey (R.), memorial of, 223 Stafford (A.), memorial of, 34 Stafford (Earl of), death of, 10 Stafford (H., Duke of Buckingham),

execution of, 1 1

Stafford (Lord), foundation of, 120 Stanford (Lord), seat of, 43 Stanier (J.), seat of, 8 Stanley (Sir E.), marriage of, 153 ; issue of, 153 ; monument of, 20, 153 Stanley (Sir T.), marriage of, 152;

estate of, 152 Stanley (Sir T., and wife), monument

of> 153

Stanley (T.), burial-place of, 153 Stanley (V.), marriage of, 153 Stanley (V. A.), birthplace of, 16 Stapylton (J.), memorial of, 223 Stedman (E. and J.), memorial of, 106 22 — 2

340

Index of Names.

Stedman (R.), birthplace of, 16 Stedman (Rev. T.), vicarage of, 125 Stephen (King), besieges Ludlow, 9 ;

rescues Henry of Scotland, 9 Stephens (Major), defeat of, 181 ; death

of, 181

Stephens (J.), birthplace of, 16 Stevens (General), seat of, 177 Stevens ( — ), foundation of, 257 ; monu- ment of, 257

Stewart (B.), memorial of, 223 Stibbs (J.), memorial of, 223 Stillington (Bishop of Bath and Wells),

arms of, 203 Stocking (M.)> demolishes Dame Joan

Pendrell's headstone, 165 Stoneaston (Prior J.), birthplace of, 184 Stonor (L.), memorial of, 224 Strachey (E.), seat of, 178 Strachey (J.), residence of, 250 Strachey (R.), seat of, 177 Strafford (Lord), portrait of, 189 Strange (E.), marriage of, 151 Strange (J. de), benefaction of, 89 Strange (Lord), estates of, 160 Streon (E., Earl of Mercia), iniquities

of, 8, 120; murder of, 120 Stretch (S.), birthplace of, 16 Strode (W.), foundation of, 176 Strode (—), seat of, 178 Strong (Rev. M.), vicarage of, 316 ;

monument of, 316

Stuart, ancestor of royal family, birth- place of, 1 6

Stuckey (V.), seat of, 177 Stukeley (G.), foundation of, 247 Sutton (R. de), priory of, 242 Sutton (R.), memorial of, 223 Sutton (Rev. W.), vicarage of, 68;

memorial of, 66

S wanton (J.). memorial of, 224 Swinburne (Sir J.), memorial of, 224 Swinton (Colonel), seat of, 7 Sydenham (A. and R.), foundation of,

247

Sydenham (C. St. B.), marriage of, 202 Sydenham (family of), seat of, 175 Sydenham (H.), manor of, 202 Sydenham (J.), foundation of, 174 Sydney (A.), burial-place of, 18, 95 Sydney (Sir H.), court of, 18 Symes (W.), monument of, 236 Synclare (Sir R.), death of, 42

Talbot (G.), manor of, 83 ; burial-place

of, 1 60 Talbot (J., first Earl of Shrewsbury),

birthplace of, 16 ; foundation of, 42

created an earl, 120 ; monument of,

20 Talbot (J., Viscount Lisle), birthplace

of, 1 6 Talbot (R., Archbishop of Dublin),

birthplace of, 16

Talbot (Rev. C.), monument of, 20 Talbot (Sir J.) joins Henry VII., II Tallents (Rev. F.), burial-place of, 19 Tantone (Geffery de), binhplace of, 184 Tantone (Gilbert de), birthplace of, 184 Tantohe (Walter de), birthplace of, 184 Tantone (William de), birthplace of, 184 Tarlton (R.), birthplace of, 16 Tayleur (W.), seat of, 6 Taylor (F. ), seat of, 6 Taylo (J.), birthplace of, 16 ; memorial

of, 224

Taylor (Rev. E.), seat of, 178 Taylor (S.), birthplace of, 16, 79;

death of, 79 Theobald (Archbishop of Canterbury),

grant sanctioned by, 49 Theobald (T.), seat of, 178 Thetford (Abbot T.), manors of, 289 Thicknesse (P.), estate of, 225 Thomas (J., Bishop of Salisbury),

birthplace of, 16 ; school of, 19 Thomas (J. ), seat of, 191 Thompson (L.), memorial of, 224 Throckmorton (T., and wife), manor

of, 151

Thuddiole (J.), memorial brass of, 272 Thynne (family of), patronage of, 256,

278 Thynne (Sir J.), birthplace of, 16 ;

seat of, 278 ; patronage of, 278 Thynne (W.), birthplace of, 16 Tibbot (familv of), memorial of, 236 Tickenham (R. and N. de), residence

of, 297

Tipton (R.), churchwarden of Shra war- dine, 118

Tollemache (J.), marriage of, 67 Tomkins (Rev. T.), mastership of, 317 Tooker (Miss), seat of, 177 Topp (J.), seat of, 8 Torrington (T., Earl of), tomb of, 20 Townrowe (H.), manor of, 83 Townshend (Hon. E., Dean of Nor- wich), memorial of, 224 Townshend (Sir R., and wife), tomb

of, 94. 95

Tregonwell (H. E.), marriage of, 202 Tregonwell (L. D. G.), manor of, 202 ;

marriage of, 202, 278

Index of Names.

34

Tregoz (J.), manor of, 24

Trevelyan (Sir J.), seat of, 178

Trevor (Rev. T.), vicarage of, 112; monument of, 112

Trevor (T.), property of, 167

Tripp (H.), seat of, 178

Trivet (T.), builds bridge at Bridge- water, 176

Trollope (Sir A.), joins Henry VI., II

Troutbeck (J.), manor of, 25

Troward (R.), seat of, 177

Trussebert (H. de), benefaction of, 89 ; burial-place of, 89

Trussel (Sir T.), imprisonment and execution of, 10

Turnor (J.), memorial of, 224

Tuthill (family of), residence of, 207

Tuthill (Rev. J.), rectory of, 207, 275

Tynte (C. K. K.), seat of, 177 ; manor of, 231 ; patronage of, 231

Tynte (Rev. Sir J.), monument of, 189

Tyrwhitt (R.), seat of, 7

Ufford (M. de), marriage of, 52 Underbill (A.), memorial of, 68 Underbill (E., and wife), monument of, 67

Vaughan (E.), memorial of, 94 Vaughan (Sir W.), governorship of,

118

Venables (Mrs.), seat of, 8 Venner (Dr. T.), birthplace of, 184 ;

memorial of, 224 Vernon (H. ), created a baronet, 83;

marriage of, 116 ; tomb of, 18 Vernon (J. de, and wife), manor of, 83 Vernon (M.), marriage of, 152 Vernon (Rev. Sir A.), memorial brass

of, 153 ; bust of, 153 Vernon (Sir G., and Lady), monument

of, 152 Vernon (Sir H., and Lady), foundation

of, 153 ; monument of, 20, 153 Vernon (Sir R., and Lady), monument

of, 152 Vernon (Sir R.), imprisonment and

execution of, 10 ; monument of, 20 Vernon (T.), marriage of, 116 Vernon (Sir W.,and Lady), monument

of, 152

Villiers (R. de), manor of, 292 Vincent ( — ), monument of, 259 Vipon, retainer of King John, cruelty

of, 9

Vitalis Ordericus, birthplace of, 16 Vivian (J.), seat of, 177

Voules (W.), icsidence of, 299

Wa«l ha in (N ), birthplace'of, 185 Wadham (N. and D.), monument of,

189

Wahup (M.), monument of, 224 Wake (Archbishop of Canterbury),

manor of, 232 Wakeley (W.), birthplace of, 16 ;

burial-place of, 16

Walcot (A. and C.), memorial of, 34 Walcot (family of), manor of, 55 Walcot (H.), memorial of, 34 Walcot (J. A.), memorial of, 34 Walcot (K.), memorial of, 33 Walcot (M.), memorial of, 34 Walcot (M., S., R, F.), memorial of, 34 Walcot (Rev. E.), seat of, 7 Walcot (Rev. J.), seat of, 6 Walcot (T.), marriage of, 36 ; burial- place of, 36

Walcott (A.), memorial of, 31, 32 Walcott (C), memorial of, 32, 33 Walcott (E.), memorial of, 31, 33 Walcott (Rev. J.), residence of, 30;

burial of, 36 ; memorial of, 33 Walcott (W.), memorial of, 32 Waldo (E.), memorial of, 224 Walford (F.), seat of, 7 Walker (C. H.), seat of, 6 Wall (Dr. J.), monument of, 224 Waller (Lady J.), memorial of, 224 Wally (J.), monument of, 224 Walter (E., and wife), tomb of, 93 Walter (Sir E.), birthplace of, 185 Walter (Sir J., Lord Chief Baron),

birthplace of, 16 Walton (C.), burial-place of, 26 Warburton (Bishop), seat of, 191 Ward (A.), memorial of, 113 Ward (E.), monument of, 224 Waring (Dr. E.), birthplace of, 16 ;

tomb of, 17 ; seat of, 19 ; school of,

19

Waring (family of), mansion of, 144 Waring (J.), memorial of, 25 Warre (J. la), manor of, 24 Warre (Mrs.), seat of, 177 Warre (Rev. T. de la), manor of, 24 ;

rectory of, 24 Warren and Surrey (J., Earl of),

marriage of, 151 ; manor of, 151 Warwick (E., Earl of), manors of, 205 Waterland (Rev. Dr.), rectory of, 193 Waters (J., and wife), monument of, 136 Watson (E.), purchases site of Shiews-

bury Abbey, 134

342

Index of Names,

Wattes (E., and wife), monument of, 94 Watts (R.), monument of, 224 Webb (F.), birthplace of, 185 Webb (Hon. E.), memorial of, 224 Webb (J. and M.), memorial of, 224 Webb(N.), seat of, 178 Webbe (Colonel), relieves Dunster, 181 Webster (Sir T.), manor of, 293 Wellesley (Lord), seat of, 178 Wellington (family of), memorials of,

Wellington (G.), churchwarden of

Yeovil, 317 Wells (Archdeacon H. de), obtains

grant from King John, 206 Wenlock (W. de), birthplace of, 16 Wentworth (Lord), relieves Dunster,

181 Wentworth (Hon. Lady), memorial of,

224

Weoleigh (Barons of), burial-place of, 65 West (Rev. Dr. F.), memorial of, 23 Westmoreland (Earl of), seat of, 177 Weston (J.), impropriate rectory of, 25 Westover (Dr.), residence of, 250 West wood (family of), arms of, 66 West wood (J.), memorial of, 66 Whaley (Rev. — ), property of, 193 Wharton (W.), memorial of, 224 Wheddon (A.), memorial of, 246 Whelock (A.), birthplace of, 16 Whichcot (B.), birthplace of, 16 Whitcomb (family of), estates of, 29 White (W.), epitaph on, 128 Whitehall (family of), burial-place of,

Whitgrave (— ), shelters Charles II., 12 Whiting (R.), abbacy of, 190 Whitmore (General), M.P. for Bridg-

north, 43

Whitmore (Rev. C.), seat of, 8 Whitmore (Rev. — ), official at Bridg-

north, 41 Whitmore (Sir T.), seat of, 6, 42, 43 ;

Whitmore (Sir T. and Sir W.), im- prisonment of, 12 Whitmore (W. W.), seat of, 7 Whittington (R.), birthplace of, 166 Wicke (Rev. J.), birthplace of, 185 Wilcocks (S.), residence of, 45 Wild (J.), birthplace of, 16 Wilde (J., and wife), monument of, 93 Wilding (Rev. R. ), seat of, 6 Wileleg (B. de), marriage of, 79 Wilkins (M.), memorial of, 245 Willan (Edgar), memorial of, 309

Willan (Elizabeth), memorial of, 309 Willan (Rev. R.), memorial of, 310 William L, victory of, 9 ; grant by, 120 William III., portrait of, 17 ; lands at

Torbay, 181, 182; badge worn by

adherents of, 231 William, Prince of Orange, memorial

of, 176

Williams (Rev. C.), curacy of, 243 Williams (Rev. D.), vicarage of, 242 Williams (J.), seat of, 7 Williams (Rev. J.), rectories of, 204 Williams (Rev. — ), rectory of, 281 Wilmot (Rev. P.), memorial of, 66 Wiltshire (A.), memorial of, 224 Wiltshire (W.), seat of, 178 Windham (Colonel F.), victory of, 181 Wingfield (A.), memorial of, 113 Wingfield (J.), seat of, 7 Wingfield (Rev. B.), rectory of, 113;

memorial of, 113 Wingfield (R.), seat of, 7 Winkley (E.), memorial of, 224 Winter (Rev. C.), birthplace of, 185 Witham (Prior J. de), birthplace of, 185 Withering (W.), birthplace of, 16 Witts (Rev. J.), seat of, ^ Wolfe (Sir J. W. W.), seat of, 178 Wolfrich (W.), shoots page at Cressage,

58

Wolsey (Cardinal Archbishop), rectories of, 190, 275, 277 ; put into stocks by Sir A. Pawlet, 190; cipher of, 275, 277

Wood (G.), memorial of, 34 Wood (Rev. H.), vicarage of, 155 Woodforde (Rev. — ), vicarage of, 286 Woodstock (E. de), manors of, 205 Wooley (E., Bishop of Clonfert), birth- place of, 1 6

Woolmer (E. and S.), memorial of, 204 Woolrick (Lady), seat of, 43 Worcester (Earl of), imprisonment of, 10 Wormington (Rev. W.), monument of,

46

Wright (Rev. — ), vicarage of, 155 Wychard (W. de), manor of, 139 Wycherley (D.), memorial of, 54 Wycherley (family of), pedigree of, 55 Wycherley (J.), memorial of, 54 Wycherley (W.), birthplace of, 16 Wydecombe (family of), estates of, 29 Wyke (J. de), manor of, 301 Wyndham (Anne), marriage of, 290 Wyndham (family of), manor of, 301 Wyndham (W.), manor of, 290 Wynne (H. W.), seat of, 7

Index of Names,

343

Wynne (Sir J.), estate of, 157 Wynne (Sir W. W.), estate of, 157 Wyther (J., and wife), memorial brass

of, 246 Wyvill (Sir M. A.), memorial of, 224

Yale (H., and wife), monument of, III Yates (M.), centenarian, death of, 19 Yates (T.), patronage of, 159 Yatman (Rev. H. F.), seat of, 178

Yea (Sir W. W.): seat of, 178 Yeates (Rev. — ), vicarage of, 41 York (R., Duke of), statue of, 4 ; flight

of, II Young ( — ), birthplace of, 185

Zouch (E. de la), marriage of, 82 Zouch de Harringworth (W. la), manor

of, 83 Zouche (Atlanta), benefaction of, 89

INDEX OF SUBJECTS.

Abbots Leigh, 185

Abbot's kitchen, the, at Glastonbury,

258

Abury, 229

Acton Burnell, 10, 20, 21 Acton Reynold, 149 Alberbury, 4, 21, 22, Il8 Albrighton, 22-25 Alfred's Tower, 189, 195 Aller Moor, 180, 185 Allotments at Banwell, 28 Almshouses, 6, 96, 108, 154, 159, 178,

179, 229, 261, 297 Altarpiece at Banwell, 218 Alwick Court, 236 Apley, 12

" Arbours" at Shrewsbury show, 145 Arms (family), 23-26, 30 34, 51-53, 56,

61, 64,66, 67, 86-88, 90, 102-105,

ill, 112, 114, 115, 135-138, 160,

202-204, 214, 233, 245, 247, 253, 261, 271, 272, 277, 278, 290, 292, 299, 300

Ash Beacon, 175

Ash, Great, 158

Ash, Little, 158

Ashford Carbonel, 103

Ashill (Somerset), 185

Ashington, 201-204

Aston Aer, 156

Atcham, 4, 25-27

Athelney, 173

Attingham, 17

Augustine Friars, foundations of the, 4,

120, 141, 312 Axbridge, 174,204-207

Baily (E. H.), sculpture by, 313,

3U

Banks, sculpture by, 17, 66 Banwell, 175, 209-221

Barnes (W.), on Chelvey, 231, 232 Barns, remarkable, at Chelvey, 231 ; at

Preston, 289 Barnwell's Green, 97 Barrington, 197 Barton David, 176 Bath, 173, 174, 176, 178-180, 185, 197,

219-227

Bathampton, 228 Batheaston, 174 Bathford, 185 Bath wick, 186 Battlefields, II, 27, 120 Beam Back, 307 Beckington, 174 Bellamy (J.), on Marston Magna, 279-

281

Bells, church, 20, 30, 50, 84, 86, 91, 97, 104, 113, 123, 134, 152, 154, 155, 158, 208, 244, 255, 281, 282, 290, 302, 310

Beminster, 196, 197, 235 Benedictines, foundations of the, 49,

133, 229, 281

Bennett (G.). on Banwell, 215 Berkeley, 174 Berwick Maviston, 28, 29 Berwick (Salop), 27, 28 Bevington, organs by, 237 Birch (J., and Sons), buildings erected

by, 126, 132

Birches, The, 17, 45, 46 Bird (Prior), oratory of, 227 Bishop's Castle, 17 Bishop's Hull, 197 Bishopston, 285 Bitterley, 29-36, 103 Black Cluniac Monks, foundation of,

284 Blackdown, 175

Index of Subjects.

345

Blackfriars, foundations of the, 273, 278, 291

Blakemere, 159

Bloxam (M. H.), on Ellesmere, 62, 63

Blythbury (Staffs.), 29

Bone cavern at Banwell, 219

Boscobel, 4, 36-40, 164

Botfield (Rev. B.), on Whiteladies, 161, 162

Box, 228, 229

Boynton (Wilts), 292

Bradley Knoll, 175

Brasses, memorial, in situ, 21, 22, 25, 62, 63, 66, 77, 105, 106, in, 114, 122, 123, 153, 191, 206, 213, 245, 246, 257, 271, 272, 316, 317; muti- lated, 122 ; lost, 122, 135

Braunston (Northants), 89

Brendon Hills, 175

Brent, East, 248-251

Brent, South, 1 86

Bridge water, 176, 1 80, 1 86, 194

Bridgnorth, 4, 9, 12, 41-45

Brimpton D'Evercy, 186

Brislington, 186

British Encampments, 3, 168, 169

Brocard's Castle, 3

Bromfield, 49, 103

Brown Glee, 5, 30

Bruton, 173-176, 186, 229-231

Buck ( — ), drawings by, 137

Buckland Sororum, 174

Buckler (J.), on Ilchester, 273

Buildwas, 3, 45, 46

Bull-baiting at Axbridge, 207

Burford (Salop), 46-49

Burton Pinsent, 186

Cadbury (Somerset), 186, 279, 280

Caer Caradock, reputed battle at, 3, 55

Cainham, 103

Camerton, 187

Cangick giant, discovery of remains

of, 191

Cannington, 174 Carleton (C.), on Ironbridge, 86 Carline (J.), architecture of, 132, 142 Carmelites, foundation of the, 120 Carthusians, foundations of the, 187,

266, 267 Carvings, curious, at Bath Abbey, 227 ;

at South Brent, 186 Cassali, paintings by, 195 Castle Gary, 174, 175 Caverns at Banwell, 219; at Wookey,

3*3 Chained Books at Hodnet, 84

Chancel Screens, 30, 104, 214, 253, 280,

285-287

Chard, 174, 175 Charlton Musgrove, 231 Charterhouse Witham, 187 Charter, grant of, to Dunster, 241, 242 Chattaway (J.), on Halesowen, 69-71 Cheddar, 175, 186 Chedzoy, 187 Chelvey, 231, 232 Cherbury, u Chew, 187

Chew Magna, 187, 235, 236, 238 Chewton Mendip, 187 Chillington (Staffs.), 39 Chilton Cantelo, 232 Churchwardens' Accounts, 34, 36, 218,

219

Cistercians, foundation of the, 161 Clapton-in-Gordano, 200 Claverley, 49-53 Claverton, 187 Cleobury Mortimer, 4, 54 Clevedon, 197-199, 232, 233 Cliff, 173 Clive, 54, 55 Clun, 55, 156 Coad and Scaly, statue designed by,

142 Cockerill (— ), on Wells Cathedral, 303,

304 Coffins, stone, discovery of, 71, 89, 141,

225, 226, 236 Coins, discovery of, 89, 159, 208, 233,

234, 237, 283, 285, 286, 294 Cold Hatton, 139 Combe Sydenham, 175 Comus, Masque of, first performed at

Ludlow, 102 Condetret, ancient name of Stottesden,

149

Condover, 17

Conduit at Glastonbury, 264, 265 Congresbury, 201, 202, 218, 233, 234 Conventuals, origin of the, 142 Cookson (Rev. J.), Bible published by,

309

Coombe Down, 187 Corfe, 174 Corpus Christi, celebration of, at

Shrewsbury, 145

Correggio, copy of painting by, 131 Corscombe, 234, 235 Coxwall Knoll, battle of, 3 Cranmore, East, 251 Cressage, 57-60 Crewkerne, 176, 196

346

Index of Subjects.

Crimbleford Farm, discovery of coins at,

294

Crocker (A.), on Doulting, 235 Cromwell (Oliver), letter of, to Mr.

Hungerford, 252, 254 Crosses, churchyard, 30, 32, 236, 247 ;

market, 204, 239, 263-265, 295 ;

village, 58, 69, 107, 210, 231 Crowcombe, 187, 188 Curry, North, 197 Customs, curious, at East Brent, 250 ;

at Halesowen, 72 ; at Newport

(Salop), 107 ; at Shrewsbury, 148 ;

at Tong, 154

Dale (Rev. J.), on Whiteladies, 162-166 Dalle (H.), pulpit made by, 59 Danes, baptism of the, at Aller, 185 ;

incursions of the, 157, 179, 208 Danish encampments, 3, 175 Darby (A.), bridge designed by, 6 Davidson (J. ), on Winsham, 311 Davis (E.), architecture of, 227 Deorham, battle at, 179 Dishcove, 188

Disney (Rev. Dr.), drawing by, 234 Ditcheat, 188

Doddington, manor of, 159 Doleborough, 209, 308, 309 Domesday Book, references to, 119,

138, I47-I49» 201, 207, 267, 288, 301 Dominicans, foundations of the, 120 Donington (Salop), 162 Dorrington, 6, 17 Dothill, manor of, 155 Doulting, stone quarry at, 197, 235 Dovaston (J. F. M.), ballad by, 4, 167 Down, ii

Druidical remains, 173 Dundon Hill, 175, 188 Dundry, 175, 235-238 Dunkerry Beacon, 175, 188 Dunster, 174, 181, 238-248

Earthquake at the Birches, Salop, 17,

45,46

Earthworks, 3, 30, 55, 112, 173 East Brent, 248-251 East Camel, 174 East Chenock, 176 East Cranmore, 251 Edge Hill, battle of, 12 Eggington ( — ), painted glass by, 19 Elderton (J.), on Glastonbury, 259,

260 ; on Somersetshire, 193-196 ; on

Wookey, 313 Ellesmere, n, 17, 60-63

Epitaphs, 21-25, 28, 30-32, 45-49, 51-54, 56, 57, 66-69, 77, 84-88, 93-96, 104-106, 111-116, 121-124, 127, 128, 130, 135-137, 161, 169, 186, 225, 245, 246, 251, 252, 270-272, 279, 284, 287, 302, 309, 310, 314-317

Etruscan vases, collection of, at Atting- ham, 17

Evans (D.)f stained glass by, 61, 78, 98, 129, 131, 132

Evelmouth, 179

Exford, 176

Eyton, 169

Fair maids of Foxcot, effigies of, 270 Fairs, 24, 41, 72, 107, 120, 155, 205,

211, 283, 290 Farley, 188, 251-255

Ferrey (B.), architecture of, 264 Fisher (T.), on Stanton, 148, 149 Fitz, 17, 118

Flaxman (J.), sculpture by, 303 Flechere (Rev. J. de la), sermon by,

17,46 Fletcher (Rev. J. de la), sermon by,

17,46 "Flook," representation of a, at

Weston, 310 Fonthill, 195 Fonts, church, 4, 30, 32, 56, 59, 70, 91,

104, 113, 116, 126, 135, 174, 203,

212, 236, 238, 247,272, 277, 299, 317 Fossils, discovery of, 5, 302

Foxcot, fair maids of, effigies of, 270

Franciscans, foundations of the, 120, 140, 141

Frankley Chapel, 72

Free schools at Bath, 176, 185 ; Bridge- water, 176; Crewkerne, 176 ; Frome,

176 ; Ilminster, 176 ; Langport, 176 ; Martock, 176 ; Taunton, 177 ; Wells,

177 ; Yeovil, 317, 318

Fresco paintings, remains of, 70, 232,

306, 307

Frome, 174, 176, 179-188, 255-258 Fryer (T. L.), on Hinton Charterhouse,

266

Gabriel (S. B.), architecture of, 237 Glastonbury, 174-176, 179, 180, 188,

189, 258-265, 297 Goathurst, 189 Godney, 265, 266

Grammar schools. See Free schools Great Ash, 158 Great Parliament, The, at Shrewsbury,

10

Index of Subjects.

347

Grenton, 266

Grey (W.), on Somersetshire churches, 197

Grey Friars, dress of the, 142 ; founda- tions of the, 42, 140, 141

Guido, copies of designs by, 78

Hadley (Salop), manor of, 155

Hadnall, 63, 64

Hagioscope at Cressage, 59

Hagley, 106

Halesowen, 3, 17, 64-76

Halsewell, 189, 194

Halstock, 235

Halston, 17

Ham Hill, 293

Hambdon Hill, stone quarry at, 197

Hamper (W.), on Dunster, 238-248; on Wells, 303

Hampton (Somerset), 266

Hardington, 266

Hare (T.), on Godney, 265, 266

Harley, 76-79

Harrison (E.)» architecture of, 142, 143

Hasbury, 74

Hatherop, 267

Haughmond, 3, 79-82, 120

Hawkstone, 17, 82

Haycock (E.), architecture of, 142, 143

Helston Roundhill, 175

Hen Ddinas, 112

Henley (Salop), 103

Hestercombe, 194

Heughings, The, 210

Heywood Forest, 18

Hindon, 195

Hinton, 173

Hinton Charterhouse, 174, 189, 266- 270

Hinton St. George, 270 272

Hodnet, 4, 18, 82-86

Holbein, paintings by, 189

Holloway (Somerset), 174

Holme Hale (Norfolk), memorial brass at, 63

Holy- water basin at Frome, 257

Holy well at Hasbury, 74

Hopton Castle, 103

Hospitals, at Bath, 176 ; at Bridgnorth, 42; at Glastonbury, 189; at Wel- lington (Somerset), 177

Hour-glass at Puxton church, 290

Hucks Barn, 97

Huntingdon ( Henry of), verses by, 42

Hyde, tithing of, 285

Hypocausts, Roman, discovery of, 185

Ilchester, 174, 179, 189, 273 Ilminster, 189 Inglishcombe, 174 Inscriptions. See Epitaphs Inventories of plate, etc., at St.

Kenelm's Chapel, 73 Ipswich, memorial brass at, 62, 63 Ironbridge, 86

Jacobean pulpit at Bitterley, 32 Jones (Inigo), architecture of, 283

Kenyweston manor, 289

Ketley, 156

Kewstoke, 174, 312

Keynsham, 174, 193, 291

Kilmington, 176, 179, 189

Kilsall, 162

Kingsdown Hill, 228, 229

Kingsland, 145

Kingston Seymour, 274, 275

Kings Weston, 190

Kinlet, 18

Knockyn, n, 160

Knoll Hill, 236

Lady Oak, the, at Cound, 57, 58 Langport, 176, 180, 181 Lansdown Hill, 175, 180, 190 Lawes ( — ), music by, 18 Lawrence, Simpson and, column

erected by, 143 Leasowes, the, 18, 73 76 Lectern, with book attached by chain,

at Winsham, 311 Leebotwood, 86-88 Legends of St. Kenelm, 72 ; of the

Virgin Keyna, 291 Leigh (Rev. G. H.), on Dunster,

242

Leighton (W. A.), on Wroxeter, 169 Lely ( — ), paintings by, 189 Leominster, 103 Library at Bridgnofth, 41 Lilleshall, 88, 89 Little Ash, 158

Little Ease, at Glastonbury, 259 Littleton (Somerset), 278, 279 Locking, 312 Long Ashton, 236 Longford, 12, 108 Longleat, 236 Longner, 1 8, 89, 90 Ludford, II, 102, 103 Lummis, ploughs invented by, 156

Madeley, 18

348

Index of S^t,bjects.

Maeserfield, ancient name of Oswestry,

no

Maesbrook, n Maiden Bradley, 236 Manners ( — ), architecture of, 226 Maperton, 278, 279 Marches (Lords President of the), court

of, II, 12

Margetson (N. ), carvings by, 238 Market House at Newport (Salop),

107

Markets, 24, 41, 107, 120, 150, 240 Marston Magna, 279-281 Martial's Elm, 180 Martock, 176, 190 Mendip Hills, 190 Meole Brace, 74 Middle, 63 Middlezoy, 190 Milton (J.), composes "Masque of

Comus," 18 Minehead, 190

Mineral Springs, 5, 176, 177, 189, 191 Mitcheldean, 311

Money-stone, The, at Dundry, 236 Monkton, 297 Monkton Butleigh, 284 Montacute, 174 Moorlinch, 175 Morfe, The, a common at Bridgnorth,

41,43

Morris (G.), on Wenlock, 156, 157

Mortimer's Cross, II

Morton Corbet, 149

" Moundeywarkes " at East Brent, 250

Muchelney, 173

Much Wemlock, 3, 20, 156-158

Mudiford, 288

Munslow, 104-106

Nether Stowey, 176 Nettlecombe, 181 New Bow, 211

Newport (Salop), n, 18, 107-109 Newton (Somerset), 285 North Cadbury, 186 North Curry, 197, 285, 286 Norton Fitzwarren, 286, 287 Norton St. Philip's, 269, 270 Nunney, 181, 190

Oak Chairs in Portishead Church, 287,

288

Oakley Park, 49, 103 Oak Trees, at Boscobel, 36-40 ; at

Cound, 57, 58 ; at Shelton, 5, 117 Observantines, origin of the, 142

Ofifa's Dyke, 3

Okey Hole at Wookey, 313

Orchard, 174

Organs, church, 238

Osmere, 160

Oswald's Well, no

Oswestry, 8, 9, n, 109-112

Painted Glass, 19, 56, 59, 60, 65, 78, 92,97-102, 104, 123, 129-131, 134, 149, 247, 250

Panzetta, modelling by, 142

Parkes (D.), on Acton Burnell, 20,21 ; on Battlefield, 26 ; on Berwick, 27, 28 ; on Bitterley, 29-32 ; on Bosco- bel, 40 ; on Bromfield, 49 ; on Claverley, 49-53 ; on Cleobury Mor- timer, 54 ; on Clive, 54, 55 ; on Clun, 55 ; on Cound, 56, 57 ; on Hadnall,

63, 64 ; on Halesowen, 64-69, 71-76 ; on Leebotwood, 86-88 ; on Longner, 89, 90 ; on Ludlow, 97 ; on Muns- low, 104-106 ; on Oswestry, 110-112 ; on Pontesbury, 113-115; on Quat- ford, 116; on Shelton, 117; on Shrewsbury, 121-124, 126 128, 133- 138, 140, 143 ; on Whiteladies, 161 ; on Whittington, 166, 167 ; on Wrox- eter, 169

Parkes (J.), on Alberbury, 22

Parliament at Acton Burnell, II, 20

Paulton, 191

Pavements, tessellated, 192

Pen, 179, 180

Pendomer, 174

Pengwerne, Welsh name of Shrewsbury,

119

Petherton, south, 191, 197 Pidgeon (H.), on Cressage, 57-60; on

Harley, 76-79 ; on Ludlow, 98-102 ;

on Shrewsbury, 125, 126 Pile (J.), on North Curry, 285, 286 Piscinae, remains of, 52, 56, 307, 315 Pitchford, 19 Plealey, 19 Poleston (Devon), 281 Pontesbury, 113-115 Porlock, 173, 179, 1 80 Portbury, 174 Portishead, 287, 288 Frees Heath, 159 Premonstratensians, foundations of the,

64, 71

Preston (Somerset), 288, 289, 317 Prior Park, 191

Privilege, ancient, in favour of Foresters, 168

Index of Subjects.

349

Pulpits, stone, 4, 137, 176, 237 ; wood,

32, 59, 70, 77, 3i7 Pulteney, architecture of, 220 Puxton, 289, 290

Quantock Hills, 175

Quarry Walk, 19, 121

Quat, 43

Quatford, Il6

Queen Charlton, 291

Queen's Bower at Haughmond, 120

Queen's Camel, 191

Quo Warranto, issue of writs of, 82, 83

Redlynch, 194

Registers, church, 243

Reynolds (Sir J.), paintings by, 189

Ribera (J.), painting by, 196

Richard's Castle, 103, 116, 117

Rings, discovery of, at Shrewsbury, 141

Rodden, 291, 292

Rodney's pillar, 22

Roman encampments, 3, 30, 55, 112, 173, 208, 209, 308, 309 ; provinces, 3, 175 ; remains, 173, 185, 188, 191, 208, 268, 283, 285, 286, 294; stations, 3

Rood lofts and screens, 32, 59, 212, 215, 217, 245, 311, 312

Ros (T.), on Montacute, 282

Ross Hall, 19

Roubiliac, sculpture by, 17

Round Towers, 4

Royal oak at Boscobel, 36-40

Rubens, copy of painting by, 78

Rudge (J.), on Winsham, 311, 312

St. Adhelm's Well, 235

St. Dunstan, legend of, 188

St. Joseph, tradition concerning, 189

St. Kenelm's Chapel, 169-171

St. Lawrence, legendary history ofj

98-102

St. Leonard's Well, 239 St. Nicholas's Chapel at Shrewsbury, 133 St. Paul, statue of, 80, 134 St. Peter, statue of, 80, 134 Salisbury Hill, 173 Sandford Orcas, 292, 293 Sansaw, 54 Saundle, 181 Saxon architecture, 3, 25, 38, 50, 65

70, 73, 79, 80, 123, 149, 161, 174,

278, 280, 312, 313 Saxon remains, 173 Scaly, Coad and, statue by, 142 Scolds, presentation of, at Seaborough

Manor, 293

Screen, carved, at Clapton-in-Gordano,

200 Screens, chancel, 30, 104, 214, 253,

280, 285-287 Seaborough, 293 Seals, chapter, 65 ; conventual, 156

242, 260, 265 ; corporation, 4, 138 Seavington, 293, 294 Sedgmoor, 181 Sedilia at Wells, 307 Sepulchral stone, discovery of, 74 Serel (T.) on Wells, 304, 306 Serjeanty, tenures by, at the time of

Domesday, 138 Shakerley, 164 Shakespeare, epitaph by, 20 Shelton, 5, 117 Shepton Mallet, 294, 295 Shifnal, 19 Shorland (The Misses), gifts of, to

Dundry Church, 237 Shrawardine, 5, 117-119 Shrewsbury, 3-6, 8, 9, 12, 19, 20, 44,

119-148

Shrewsbury Show, 19, 2O Silk mills at Bruton, 229 Simpson and Lawrence, column erected

by, 143

Skeletons, discovery of, 226, 228 Snetzler, organ by, 97 Sock, 202, 203

Somerton (Somerset), 174, 179, 19* South Brent, 186

South Petherton, 191, 197, 295, 296 Spagnioletto, painting by, 196 Spur, discovery of, at Glastonbury,

291

Stained glass, 19, 56, 59, 60, 65, 78, 92,97-102, 104, 123, 129131, 134, 149, 247, 250 Stanton, 148, 149 Stavordale, 174 Steventon, 103

Stiperstones, disaster at the, 5 Stoke Courcy, 174, 179, 19* htoke Gifford, 191 Stoke St. Gregory, 197 Stokesay, 12, 116 Stone Castle, 103 Stone coffins, discovery of, 64, 71, 14 1»

225, 226, 236, 280, 281 Stoneleigh, 236 Stottesden, 149-152 Stourhead, 194, 195, 236 Stourmouth, 44 Suckham, 191 Sudatories, Roman, discovery of, 185

350

Index of Subjects.

Sweating sickness, outbreak of, at

Shrewsbury, 19 Sycamore-tree at Halesowen, 64

Taunton, 174, 175, 177, 179, 181, 191,

194, 297

Telford (T.), bridge erected by, 6 Thorney Down, 175 Tiles, discovery of, at Halesowen, 65 ;

Lilleshall, 89; Shrewsbury, 141, 142;

Whiteladies, 161 Tilstock, 158, 159 Timber buildings, 133, 144 Titterstone Clee, 5, 30 Tokens, tradesmen's, 142, 208 Tong, 12, 20, 152-154 Tottendown, 302 Traditions connected with Dunster,

239, 240

Trent (Somerset), 191 Trickey ( — ), altarpiece by, 218

Uphill, 301, 302

Uriconium, 3, 20, 119, 169-171

Urles Farm, 234

Urn, memorial, at the Leasowes, 74

Vandyke, paintings by, 189, 194 Virgin and Child, carving of, 27 ; image of, discovered at Lilleshall, 89

Wakes at Wellington (Salop), 155 ; at

Whitchurch, 159

Walcott (M. E. C. ), on Bitterley, 29-36 Walnut-trees at Clive, 54 ; at Glaston-

bury, 1 88, 189 Waltham (Essex), 153 Wansdike, 173 Wardour, 195 Warley, 191 Watchet, 179

Watergate at Shrewsbury, 142 Water stoup at Tickenham, 300 Watt's Dyke, 3 Wearyall Hill, 189 Wedmore, 191, 192 Wellington (Duke of), portrait of, 168

Wellington (Salop), n, 12, 154-156

Wellington (Somerset), 177

Wellow, 192

Wells, sacred, 236, 239

Wells (Somerset), I73'i75> 177. 194, 303-307

Wem, 20

Wenlock, 3, 20, 156-158

Weston-super-Mare, 307-311

Whitchurch (Salop), 20, 158-160

Whitehall, 174

Whiteladies, 4, 12, 37, 38, 161-166

Whittington, 166, 167

Willey, 167, 1 68

Willock (M.),on Dame Joan Pendrell's headstone, 165, 166

Wimnicas, a nunnery founded by St. Milburga, 157

Wincanton, 182

Winnington, 21, 22

Winsham, 311, 312

Winthill, 208

Win wick, 153

Wiveliscombe, 177, 180, 181

Woda House, 4

Wolsey (Cardinal Archbishop), archi- tecture of, 277, 278

Wombridge, 20

Wood (— ), architecture of, 176

Wooden church at Shrewsbury, 133

Wookey, 175, 186, 192, 313

Woolaston, 22

Wor field, 168

Worle, 312

Worlebury, 308

Wrekin, The, 168, 169

Wrington, 193, 313, 314

Wroxeter, 3, 20, 119, 169, 171

Wyatt (T. H.), architecture of, 6,

25i

Wycherley's Walk at Clive, 54 Wyle Cop, timber house in, 144

Yatton, 192, 201 Yeanston, 174 Yeovil, 177, 1 80, 314-318 Yew-trees at Dunster, 247

Elliot Stock, 62, Paternoster Row, E.G.

ELLIOT STOCK'S RECENT PUBLICATIONS.

NEW VOLUME OF THE "BOOK-LOVER'S LIBRARY." Cloth, price 43. 6d. ; roxburgh half-morocco, 75. 6d. ; large paper, £1 is. net.

The Novels of Charles Dickens.

A Bibliography and Sketch.

By F. G. KITTON, Author of " Dickensiana," " Charles Dickens by Pen and Pencil," etc. In this work the author dilates upon the origin of Dickens's principal stories, and describes the gradual development of each of these masterpieces of English fiction. Many interesting par- ticulars are also recorded concerning the prototypes of the more prominent characters immortalized

by " Boz."

"The little volume (which includes a small but good portrait of Dickens) wilt be found both readable and useful. It is an acceptable addition to the ' Book-Lover's Library.' " Globe.

In demy 8vo., cloth, price 155. net (subscribers only).

The Note-book of Tristram Risdon

(Author of the "Survey of the County of Devon "). 1603-1623. Transcribed and edited from

the Original Manuscript in the Library of the Dean and Chapter of Exeter. By JAMES DALLAS, F.L.S., Local Secretary to the Society of Antiquaries of London, Cor- responding Member of the British Archaeological Association, Fellow of the Anthropological Institute; and HENRY G. PORTER (late R.N.).

NEW ILLUSTRATED WORK ON THE CIVIL WAR. In demy 8vo., cloth gilt, price IDS. 6d.

East Anglia and the Great Civil War.

The Rising of Cromwell's Ironsides in the Associated Counties of Cambridge, Huntingdon,

Lincoln, Norfolk, Suffolk, Essex, and Hertford. With Appendices and Illustrations. By ALFRED KINGSTON, F.R.Hist.S., Author of " Hertfordshire during the Great Civil

" The reader will find abundance of details, collected from many sources, that throw a great deal of light on particular incidents of the time ; and he will see that these minor details give the past a colour and a liveliness which are not to be met with in some more pretentious histories." — Pall Mall Gazette.

In demy 8vo., cloth, price 6s.

J. F. Millet and Rustic Art.

By HENRY NAEGELEY (HENRY GAELYN), Author of " The Mummer, and other Poems." The author gives a sympathetic study of Millet's life-work as compared with the restricted rustic art of preceding periods, and describes, from personal knowledge, his surroundings and relation- ships. A number of letters by the mother and grandmother of the great painter are given, which have not been published before either in French or in English. Some interesting MS. fragments also are included in the work. A collotype portrait of Millet (the last taken before his death) is given as a frontispiece.

In handsome 8vo., suitably bound, price 315. 6d.

Indian Nights Entertainments :

A series of Indian Folk-tales, taken down from oral narration. With numerous Illustrations by

Native Artists. Dedicated by permission to the Queen.

Collected and Edited by Rev. CHARLES SWINNERTON.

NEW AND CHEAPER EDITION. In handsome 8vo., price 6s.

Coins and Medals :

Their place in History and Art. By the Authors of " The British Museum Official Catalogues.

Edited by STANLEY LANE-POOLE. Second Edition, with numerous Illustrations.

"A most invaluable book .... lucidly written .... the illustrations are exact, and the whole work most interesting and useful." — Times.

LONDON : ELLIOT STOCK, 62, PATERNOSTER ROW, E.G.

In demy 8vo., cloth, 75. 6d. ; roxburgh, los. 6d. ; large-paper copies, 2is. net each volume.

THE NEW SERIES OF

COUNTY HISTORIES

VOLUMES ALREADY PUBLISHED IN THE SERIES:

A HISTORY OF WESTMORELAND.

By RICHARD S. FERGUSON, M.A., LL.M., F.S.A.

A HISTORY OF HAMPSHIRE.

By THOS. W. SHORE, F.G.S.

A HISTORY OF CUMBERLAND.

By RICHARD S. FERGUSON, M.A., LL.M., F.S.A.

A HISTORY OF WARWICKSHIRE.

By SAM. TIMMINS, F.S.A.

A HISTORY OF BERKSHIRE.

By LIEUT. -COL. COOPER KING.

THE HISTORY OF DERBYSHIRE.

By JOHN PENDLETON, Author of " Old and New Chesterfield."

THE HISTORY OF DEVONSHIRE.

By R. N. WORTH, F.G.S., Author of the " West Country Garland," etc.

A HISTORY OF NORFOLK.

By WALTER RYE, Author of" The Norfolk Antiquarian Miscellany," etc.

A HISTORY OF NOTTINGHAMSHIRE.

By CORNELIUS BROWN.

A HISTORY OF LANCASHIRE.

By LIEUT.-COL. FISHWICK, F.S.A.

THE HISTORY OF NORTHUMBERLAND.

By CADWALLADER J. BATES.

THE HISTORY OF SUFFOLK.

By JNO. JAMES RAVEN, D.D., F.S.A.

THE HISTORY OF CAMBRIDGESHIRE.

By REV. EDWARD CONYBEARE, M.A.

LONDON : ELLIOT STOCK, 62, PATERNOSTER ROW, E.G.

DA The Gentleman fs magazine

90 library

v.23

PLEASE DO NOT REMOVE CARDS OR SLIPS FROM THIS POCKET

UNIVERSITY OF TORONTO LIBRARY