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1
THE
BEAUTIES
OF
England and Wales :
OR,
aRTGIJV^L BELIJVE^TIOJVS,
TOFOGEAPniCAL, HISTOUCAL, AVtV DESCaiPmrB. OV
EACH COUNTY.
EMBELLISHKD WITH" EN6RAVINOS.
BY THE REV. J. HODGSON,
AHD. *
MR. F. C. LAIRD.
VOL. XIL— PART I.
Heavens ! what a goodly prospect smiles aronnd, or hi lis, and dales, and woods, and lawns, and spires. And glittering towers, and gilded streams, till all The stretching landscape into smoke decays- Happy Britannia ! Thomson.
LONDON:
i'RIVTED ron J. HARRIS; LONOMAV AND CO. ; J.WALKER; R. BALDWIN > SHERWOOD AND CO. ; J. AND J. CUND£E ; B. AKD R. CROSBY AND CO.* J. CUTHILt ; J. AND J. RICHARDSON; CADELL AMD OAVlES ; C. AN» J. BIVIKOTON ; AND O. COWIE AND CO.
1813.
LIBRARY OF THE
lEum sTAt^FORD jp. u^imRBm,
OCT 1 1900
THE
BEAUTIES
OP
Cnglaitb anb WMtsf.
NORTIIUiMBERL\ND.
X HE county of Northumberland was andently included in that divkion of Britain, which» Camden conjectures, horn Its irtuation beyond the Tyne, was called Ottadini^ or Otia* HnL The Brigrantes lived on the southern »ide of the waD. The Ottadinl were a part of tlie Meatas, a people who, according to Dio^ lived near tlie great wall which divideth the island in rsrain.^ They were more to the south than the Gadeni, and their chief cities were Curia and Bremcnium.f The regions iphich the Meats possess, says another author^ are the follow rug'; Ottadinia^ in tlie east^ then Gadenia, behind this $eIgovia« tliefi Novantia, and also behind these Damnia* The Gadenii whose metropolis is Curia, live nearest to the wall, Tlie O/fn- f are nearer the ^ea ; their head city is Bremenium^ and their lef rivera the Tueda^ the Alauna, and both the T^ncs^ which ran within the walL|| The country of the Ottadini, perhaps, stretched along the whole length of the Roman province Ya* ^E3tTfA, from Tynemouth to the Firtl* of Forth; and the HI seem to have been an inland people, adjoining the Vol,. XIL B Ottadini
* iCiphl. U U%\% t Pto. Geo. | Ric. Corin. K t. c. 6. $ 57.
11 Ibid, i n.
2 XOETHUMBE&LAKD.
Otudmi on the west, from the wall in the high pnf of Nortln tunberland to the waU b Scotland. The real gituatfcm of Curia has not been accurately ascertained. Bremenium was one of the twelve urhes stipendaris in Britain, and its Uirge ndnt and chequered walls are still to be seen at Rochester, in Reedsdale.
Besides the numerous remains of camps and castlei, scattered through all parts of Northumberland, the Romans had fourteen cities in it, and it was crossed by that celebrated barrier, wbidi in Latin was called Vallum Barbaricum ; by Greek authoia, ^»aif»x*^fA« And Euu,*; by the Britons, Gual Sever and Mur Sever ; by the Scots, Scottinwaith ; and by the English, the Pict's Wall and the Keep Wall*
Though it is generaUy allowed that Agricola in his second or third campaign built several of these cities, or stations, yet the argument in favour of the presumption Lb drawn from pro- bable inferences, rather than conclusive evidence. The Benwell altar, which rcems to mention Senicio,f who was consul with Palma, in A. D. 99, and twelve years after Agricola left Bri- tain, is perhaps too much obliterated to prove that it belongs to that time ; and it may savour too much of conjecture, to suppose the prefect JElius Atticus, who has left his name on an altar at Lanchcster,^ about twelve miles from the wall, was the same as the prefect Aulus Atticus, who, being mounted on a young and fiery horse, was carried among the enemy, and perished with the three hundred and forty Romans who fell in Agricohi's battle with Galgacu8.|| An inscription, found at (/reat ('hesters, records the rebuilding of a granary, which had fallen down through age, about A. D. 220 ;f and a similar do- cimient proves that tlie armamentaria and principia, which had fallen down at Lanchester, were repaired in the year 238.^ Had these buildings been coeval with the third summer of Agricola's lieutenancy, the granary had only lasted one hundred
and
• Camden. t Bax. Glos. X Bcautiea, ficc. Vol. V. p. 209.
!! Tac. in Vit. Jul. Afi;ric. § BrancTs Newc. I. 611.
t Beautie*, fltc V. 209. Hors. Chron. Tab.
ud br^-ope yeiird, and it was so ruinous as to require the pfcttsc • veiuetate conlajjsa* to describe its state ; and the buildingi» at Lanchester had * conlapsed ' in one hundred and ft"tv-four years. It is certain, that after he conquered the Meataj, a great i>art of hLs fourth summer wui employed in se- curing his conquests with a chain of forts between the Firths «f Fmh and Clyde. The close of his second campaign was ^ ttken up in surrounding the enemy with castles and for- tP^ssea, and in the winter of that year, he erected temples, iDirkets, and private buildings ; and thus, by little and little, cwiDed the rugged vices of the natives to such a degree, that ifcere was great emulation among them to learn the Roman tongtie, and assume the Uonian habit, and they began to enjoy the luxuries of arched walks, and baths, and the elegance of ^endid entertainments* The third year, continues Tacitus, presented new people, and the country was devastated as far u the estuary Taus : and though the soldiers had to coDtend ^lih »evere tempests, there was no murmuring, and time was found to fortify their conquests with castella.* From all this, I (hink, there arises a strong presumptive evidence that the cbAia of stations from Sol way Firth towards the mouth of thu l/oe, was built under the direction of Ai^icola, and that the ancietit inhabitants of this county iirst yielded to the Roman irms in the eighteenth year after the birth of Jesus Chri^^t.
Uahkian's Vallvm consists of a mound of eartfi thirty feet at the base, and ten feet high ; a ditch ten feet deep, and ifieen feet broad ; a second mound, three feet high, and six feel m the base ; another ditch, twelve feet deep, and twenty* iour feet over ; and north of this, about seventy f«et, another Douad, thirty feet broad at the base, and ten feet high. The ads are all semicircular, and the ditches slope from the sur- to the bottom, at an angle of about eighty degrees. f ITiere arc large remains of this work on Tippermoor. Tlie three mounds, and the immense fragments of basalt, hewn out B 2 of
• Vit, Jul. Atric. t Hutt. Ro. Wall, IT o.
XORTttUMBEKLAKPt
o4* the great cUtcbt and tjbrawn confusedly on each tide of i exhibit, to this day, strong proofs of the industry aaxd mecbi uical skill of the Iloiuaxi people. Hadrian came into 6r A. D- 120, where, according to Spartian, he corrected ma things, and miule a wall fmnntrnj eighty miles in lengtk^ to divide the Romans from the barbarians.*
The truth of this assertion may be inferred from asiother passage in the Augustine histor}', where it ia said that ** L. Urbicus, the lieutenant of Antoninus Pius (A. D. 140} co 4|uered the Britalns, and drew anoiker voaU of turf across i4land*f
Thia^vall wm between tlie Firths of Forth and Clyde* Seve- ral inscriptions relating to it have been found in its ruins. One uf them mentions Uie name of L, Urbicus^ and tlie rest not oiiljj point out the legions employed about it, but the number of pac built by each legion.
Ssvi:Ri^ii died at York, in the year 210. Herodi^il says, ntkade road^ and bridges, and passed die rivers and dkckm that were the boundaries of the onpirew Dion Cassius sa^^s he died in the third year afler he came into Dritaln. He mstrtLong the l^reat barrier that diWdes the bland into tvr^o parts, m a tiling existing when Severus undertook his expedition ; and asserts that tliis emperor, in the skirmishing warfare that the natives used against him^ and in clearing mray forests, levelling hiils^ draining moriuses, and building bridges^ lost at least fiiXy thou- sand men, and yet persisted in his design* These historians lived in the time of Sevenis, and are, by far, the most copious detailer!! of Im actions ; but neitlier of them hint a word about any wall tltat he built. About sixty-five years after his death* 8partian, however, not only asserts, that he built a wall eighty miles in lengthy across the island^ but that it was the chief glory of his reign. Aurelius Victor says« it was thirty-three miles long; Eutropius has it thirty- two; and Ossorius and Casaio^ dorus make it one hundred and thirty*tH*o, All that mention hk
agree • Script H4»l» Aug. p. 51. t Ibid. 13f .
I
KORTIfUMBSItLA!f». 5
ftgtn that it pftssed from tea to sea. Spartian calls it mums M fillum; Victor has niurus in hk large work, and valhim ii Us ftbridgment. Eutropius has Galium. Orosiufi 8ftyf» ou^um fossian finnittimumque vallmn. Cassiodorus, too, haa Talliun. Antoninus, and the author of the Nolitia, both of whom rrotebdure A* D. 4 J 6, use the phrases ad vallum, and per KoettD valli. Gildas quotes the word* of Orosius, and Bede not ^fme$ the tame terms, but defines them : ** A murus,*' sayi
^ ^'ifl made ol' stones ; but a vallum, b}' which camps, intended t0 repd tlte force of an enemy, are defended, U made of turf and earth, piled up high, like a murus, above the ground, W9
tin the front, tlie place whence the earth wsB^ raised, forms a and upon this are fixed stakes made of very strung beams of wood** In Alfred's translaiion of this diaptcTj tlie words are
•] hit bejypbe -j jcpaeftrTObe mib bice ^ mib eoji^pealle pjiam|-ffi roj^ pjiam oJ?pam elpeop-
oUm oerobum f . BoethJus mentions Severus as repairing Ha- drian^B vallum ;Suritia, as fimshing Hadrian*^ vallum; and Panct- roHas as repairing Hadrian's vallum, Tvhich had fallen down. Last af •&, that penetrating and judicious ontiquary, Richard of Ci* rcDcester, says, that " Uie unconquerable Severus, having rapidly dnVen back the enemy, repaired the vallum of Hadrian, which UBS now ruinous, and gave It its greatest perfection |.
Speaking of the Romans, in the year 409, Bede also says, ** we have before related that they dwelt with hi the vallum vliich Sererufi made across the island; and this is abundantly eridecit, by the cities, courts, bridges, and high roads, still to be leeq on its southern side.y
In 414, a Roman legion, under Gallio of Havenka,^ assisted the Britons in driving back their enemies. It exhorted diem also to build a stone xvaU^ to defend them against future in* foadt, and then returned home in triumph. But the islanders being de^cient in artificers they composed the wall more of
B 3 earth
* £cc Hist I. i. c. 5* t Smttiii Eedc, p« 476.
t I., fi, e. V. f t^* II Ece, Hiit. L i. c, U, i Codcii TbeodosIL
6 K0RT»UMJ)£RLAK9*
earth than of stone, ai>d on that account it availed noth This work extended from the city Guidi, on the east, to Al- claith on the west ; 50 that where a barrier of waters was want- ing, the borders were secure from the irruptions of the enemy, under the shelter of the wall. Very high and broad vestiges of thtfi wall are still discernible. It commences about two miles from the mona«tery of iEbercumig, and terminates at Akluith^f Ai Bede no where mentions the wail of L. Urblcus, it is fihm that this passage involves a mistake. The Britons might at this time repair the northern barritr ; it is certain they were not the first to rear it.
In 416 the assistance of Rome was again implored by the' Britons ; another legion, coming over unexpectedly^ made ter- rible havoc among the enemy, and drove them into their own co^ntr^^ But that this their last visit to Britain might be of real advantage, they exhorted the natives to emulate the valour of their enemies, and assisted them in building a Jirm stone ivaH, from the one sea to the other, between those cities which had been erected there through fear of the enemy, and where Seve- rus had fornierly made a vallum* Tliis hitherto famous and con- spicuous wall, built at public and private expence, witli such assistance as the Britons could contribute, ranged in a right line from east to west, and was eight feet broad and twelve feet high, as is evident to this day*|:
Bede copied this account from Gildas, Abbot of Bangor, who finished his history in his fiftieth year> and ninety-six years after the Romans finally quitted the island, Bede was born at Monk- ton, about two miles from the eastern extremity of the wall, and educated at Hexham, wliich is near the middle of it. Each of the rampires would exhibit much of their original appearance in his time. The timber he mentions in the vallum might, it is probable, still be seen ; and the stations, castella, and turrets of the Theodosian wall, could not be more in ruins tlian the reli- gious houses deserted in the reign of King Henry the Eighth
» B«d*HiH. Ecf*Li. c. 1«.
f Ibid.
KORTtfUMBtRLAKI)* 7
»re It present. His writings prove that be was a person fur
from incurious, and it is no improbable coTijecture> that he corn- Jiredthe books and traditions of his time, with inscriptions WMog the va^t ruins of cities, towers, streets, and bridges, he tneniions as still existing in his day. When to all this we add the adrice Ammianus Marcellinus, a little before the building of this wall, gave to the Emperor Th eg dosi us, and his son, ** tolraild castles on the frontier of the empire, a mile asunder, <od joiaed with a firm wall and strong towers, and that these iorfniiet be garrisoned by the landholders adjoining;'* when all this evidence is laid together it seems past alt doubt, bat that the wall, usually attributed to Severus,was built sometime about the serenth consulship of Theodoslus the Younger, and that if ^mig did any thing to these barriers, it consisted in nothing more than repairing or improving tlie vallum of Hadrian.
Hutton, in his account of the Roman Wall, in manifest con- tradiction to history, and all good criticism, has endeavoured to prove that one part of the vallum was raised by Agricola, and the rest of it by Hadrian. Agricola's fortresses were all In the wtj" of castramentation. If Hadrian had a partner in this work it WIS certainly Severus. A Roman Road accompanied these works, from Wallsend Iwick Chesters, where it branched off towards the south, ing through Little Chesters, joined them again at Caer- Forran. The Mmden-xmy extended from Caervorran to Whit- ley Castle, and from thence to Wliellop Castle, in Wi^stmore* land. The country people in South Tindalc call it the Made- way, a term applied to it before there were any other made wny% in its neighbourhood. Over Ridpath Moor, in the parish of Hdtwhistie, the pavement of this road has been lately raised, to ossist in making a new road, from Blenkinsop to Featlierstone- haugh Castle. WatUng Street enters the county at Ebcliester, crones the Tyne at Cor bridge, and divides into two branches •t fiewciay, a short distance north of the wall. Tlie western B 4 hranch
8 KOHTUUMBEHLAKO.
branch p^ses through Ree4|idale into Scotland, md fats itpta it the two celebrated staticms, lUsingham ami Rochester, and the fine camp at Makeaden ; the other brunch is umiUy caUed the Devil^s CofiseuMi/, It has at first an eastern dir€«:tion pset Ryal, towards Bolara, and from thence sweeping away by Nether- witton, and over Rimfiide Moor, it bears due north, and entera Scotland west of Berwick upo^n Tweed. We have ako traced a Rotnan paved avzy, from the eastern gate of the station at Ro* Chester, over Boleyard Leae, Braioshaw, and Yardhope, past Hallystone to Sharperton, and were told, on good authority, that it extended from thence to the DevU'd Causeway* On the moor on the north side of Hallystone Burn ; it \% ten feet wide, and still remarkably perfect.
The Roman history of Britain closes in 446* Yortigem, ambitiQus enough, but too ieeble-miuded and Ite^ntloua, to manage a kingdom in desperate circumstances, wa« nt tliat thne its ruler. At bis requeitt Hengist, a young Soaton, brad in tlie Roman armieS| and of great wi&dom and courage, brougbt ovor an army of his countrymen to asalst the Britons in reatraining the ravages of tiie Picts. The 6r8t object of their miasion being successful ly effected, the Saxons began to turn thdr anna against their employers ; and after a etruggle of about one hun* dred and thirty years finally completed the conquest of Britain^ Octa, the brother of Hengistj and Ebussa, Octa's son, in 4<52» settled on the north side of the Tyne, and then cleared the country of the Britons as for as the H umber. They and their successors were styled Ealdormen, and held their conquest as a fee of the crown of Kent.* There were no kings in Northum- berland till tlie time of the heptarchy, when Ida* in 547, as- sumed the sovereignty over all that tract of country, virhlch lies between the two seas, north of the Humbtr^ to the rivers Forth nd Clyde.f It was divided into two provinces. — Deira^ south of ffhe Tync, and Bernkia^ north of it; each province having at
limes • R«pin, r. 149. Setden. Tit. Hon. 511. t Smitb'i Bed, pp, 55, 87, <Ji4, Gougli*5 Cajudca, III. t?4S.
tknai jtf ftparate kiog. The dynasty of Nortljumlman kitigg eodod mith Eanred^ whp l^ecame tributary to Egbert, king of Vmmxt mad died m 84L '' Thb kingaam/' mys Milton^ ^ uti pQw iiiUeii to diiire^rs; their kings, on^ aflcr anatlier, so often (tftoi by the people, no man Uuriiig, though never so am* lutioua,lo tflkc iip a sceptre, wiuch uiany had found so hot,"*
Taking ^vtuitagu pf the^ trouble the Danes made several de^erate inroads into it ; and, in B7C, the kingdom of Korthum- hcslMd, nrhich had tiiHtcd three hoi^dred and thirty years, *^was famJad out moong Danish officers^^f who now, as possessors of the aoti, began to plough and sou 4 From ti)is period to the ^e of Ed«rard the Conit^ssor, its laws Mere Dnnisth, wlien tliejf were incorporated with the West Saxoo and Mercian codes^ oddie whole made common to England, under the name of th(t lavs of Edward. Though the governors of Northumberland mere sometimes styled kings atler tliu heptarchy, their province was dependeol, and their most usual titie wa.s tliat of earl. In 970p the b^tediHsTf governnient of the whole appearing an ele* maDO too liigh for a subject, Edgar created Oslaeh, earl of the CMBaUfy, between the H umber and tlie Tees; and conferred ike fame dignity on Eadulf En ilthid, with the country from the Tees to the Forth. $ Continual wars, new colonies of people, aaii Uie incessant il actuation of power, from one people or fittnilj to another, from tlie lull of Rome to the Norman con- fftteat, caused all kinds of boundaries to be very unsettled* Mqrfkngnhprknd was abridged of its extent by d«»grees. All Am distrott from the Tweed to Edinburgh, was granted I9 K^mttli, King of Scotlimd, by Edgar, soon after his accessioa tolliewlLole English monarciiy.jt To the fnrmer pcsscssions if tkc sew of Lindisfurne, Gutted, in $04, had granted the wlbole qf tibe present county of Duiham ;f Alfred confirmed the gaatf and the bishops of Dudiam ka«Q-hitherto kept possessiDH
of ^ • Hift, Efig. 5C0. t Kapiii, I. til. HolL Chi on* b. vi. c, t5.
t 8m., Cltro«. |i, eS. Mnilros Chron* f Sim. Donel. S04-
I RitlpsUi'ft Bord. Hist p* 50. f Siin, DirncL p, ^t.
10 KORTHUMBERtAKD.
of that territory without many deprivations. Ranulplm§ de Meschinefi had a grant of Cumberlaiad, from William the Con- queror;* and Robert Mowbray, who rebelled against RufuSf and died in Windsor Castle, after ao imprisonment of thirty years, was the last that bore the official title of Earl of Northum- berland.f ** After that acra, it had its vice-conies^ or high- sheriff, and was distinguished by wards and baronies, except when it was in the hands of the Bislmp of Durham/'f
From the time of King Stephen, to the union of the crowns of England and Scotland, in James, this county formed a con- spicuous part of the theatre of the border wars ; the people of Tindale and Reedsdale, in common with the borderers in Cumberland and Scotland, being in these times nothing less than clans of lawless banditti. As these two Northumbrian dales were not subdued by the Conqueror, " they have re- tained," says Grey, in his Chorographia, ** to this day, the ancient laws and customs, according to the county of Kent, whereby the lands of the father is equally divided, at his death, amongst all his sonnes/*— " There is many every* year brought in of them, and at the assizes are condemned and hanged, sometimes twenty or thirty. They forfeit not tJieir iands, ac- cording to the tenure of Gavel kind, the father to bough» the Sonne to the plough.** — ** If any two be displeased, they ex- pect no law, but hang it out bravely^ one and his kindred, tbe other and his.'* — " This fighting they call feides, or deadly fttde^ Since the union, this heathenish bloody custome is feprei«edi^" " Both these valleys," says Camden, || ** pro- duce notable bog-trotters ; and both have their hills so swampy on the top, as to be inaccessible to cavalry. All over these wastes one sees a set of people, like the ancient Nomades, of a warlike disposition, wlio watcli here, with their flocks, from April to August, in scattered huts, called Sheales." ** Sucli adepts were they in the art of thieving, that they could twist
a cow*s • Goiigh'f Ciiftid. III. 209. ♦ Witkin'i I^^. Aof. S». U&.
t Wtaiis, I. xiv* i P. aa. umo 1649. jj Gough, IT). ftSJ.
IfOltTHVMBr RLANV: 1 1
A cow^'i bomv or mark a hors.» so that its owner could not know it- A person telling King James a surprising fitory of n cow thst h&d been tiriven from the north of Scotland into the south aT Engiandf and, escaping from the herd, had found her way boroei 'the most surprising p&rt of tlie story,' the king re* plied, * you lay least stress on, that she pas&ed unstolen through the debateable land^*' "
By statutes of the second and ninth of Henry the Fifth, on complaint of murder and violent outrages committed in the franchises of Tindale, Reedsdale, and Hexhamshire, into which diftricts the king's writ did not extend, it was enacted, that all persons committing murders within these iranchiseB shall be proceeded against by commoo law, till they be outlawed ; and that tlieir lands be forfeited to the liberties they belong, or to the king, as tliey happen within their respective limits.f The ** Northe Tyne devidethe Tyndale frome Northeum bar land. For Tyndall, thowghe it be a parte of Northumberland, yet it k a parte privilegyd within it selfe.j: "
Harrison, with his usual plainness, says, " men have doubted vhetlier thieves or true men doo most abound iti these dales* Nevertheless, wthens that by tlie diligence cheefelie of Mais- tcr GUpiD, and finalUe of other learned preachers, the grace of God working with them, they have beene called unto some obedience and zeal unto the Word, it is found that they have fo well profited by the same, that at this present their former lanage demeanour is very much abated, and their barbarous vtldnesse, and fiercesse so qualified, that there is great Iiope kk of ilieir reduction unto ciuilitie, and better order of be- Iiauiour, than hitlierto tltey have beene acquninted withatl." f '* In thin dreadful country, where no man would even travel diat could help it, Mr, (ill pin never failed to spend some part of the year. He had set places for preaching, which were as legularly attended as the assize towns of a circuit. The dis- interested Gn|t. Life of Gitp. 175, t Krble^f Stat, at Large. rp.«l3, 470.
t UL If, Vol. VII. pt. i, fol. 75. i De«r. of Brit, T*. u c. 14,
mt^esteil pains he thus took among Uiese barbarous people, W)d the good office* he wbb always ready to do them, drew from them the siocerest expressions of gratitude. How well his nttrae was revered amongst them, one metODce wiU diew: — By the carelessness of his servants^ biii horios were one daj fitolen. The oews was quickly spread, and every one ex* pressed the highest mdignation at the faet. The thief was re- joicing over his prUe, when, by the report of tJie country, he found whose horses he had taken. Terrified at wliat he had done, he instanUy came trembling back, confessed the iactt restored the horses^ and declared he believed the devil wtmld have seized him directly, Imd he carried ihom oS** knowing them to be Mr, Gilpin's/**
The progress of goad principle and civilizatbn waa, however^ but s!ow amongst them, for in the preamble of a border treaty^ made in 1596, mention occurs ** of tlie lamentable effects which the lawless and disobedient disposition of tho most of ibe inhabitants thereof, emboldened witli long impunity^ and lol«« ration of careless ofHcera, hath wrought between the marches, to die offence of Ciod*s most holy majesty, and tlte great dis- honour of the princes, and pitiful desolation of both tlie bor- ders, exhausted by these means both of inhabitants and goods." In this treaty it was also recommended, ** that the princes bd most humbly and earnestly solicited to cause God's ministera of the word to be planted in every border church, to inform the lawless people of their duty, and to watch over their man* ners ; and that the principal inhabitants q£ each parish be put in surety to their prince, for due reverence to be used towards their pastorB in ibeir ofBccs, and the safety of their persons ; and thai^ to this effect, order may be timely taken for repara- tian of the decayed churches within tlie bounds.f **
** In wto a wretched condition our English bordert were before the union of the cro^Tis (nor were the Scotch in any better) appears from that amazing list that we have of the
many * Gilp. Lifcaf Gilp. 179» 18 1. i Bp, Nicb, Bofd*Law«, 1(M.
MOATHtMBBRLAND. 13
Mitfiy hujtdrecb diai were cotitmually employed in night* wmchcB I the rest of the neighbourliood being obliged, aC all kiUi% to fise attd follow the fray : and the latter [ynrt of the border service reached as far m the county of Lanoj^ier* dioiigb the chief of iu terrors were marc confined.*' ^ To pre* vmiiL ^bem crik^ Lord Wharton, in his letter to the conunis- iionftn bt mp^mJUd for the division of land^ in the east and maiih mtrches, »ys» nothing better could be done ** thiUi mren^wa^ the county with enclofiures, hedges^ aiid ditch68; isd I aiiilMriae and command you, in the klng^tt highnctt* MBMit tv laus^ ftfl Mich portions thereof as be convenieiit fat ttiigi^ ■■mdiaurr, or grassings^ to be enclosed with ditchi3% fiv^ quarters in breadth, and six quarters in depths and i# b& dosUe set witli quick *^rood| and hedged above three quartei*
m MAftcit I» the same as mark ; it fiignifie« a boundary. Th©
p cillt if Bttc^uis origLQated in- thi3 ofBce of warden of marchies.
"Die Englcsh bordert were divided into three of these marched*
The wtntem march extended &om tlie westera sem to Tindale.
The middle march comprised Tindale and Reedsdale; and the
dttem march reached frem Reedsdale to Tweedmouth* The
office of lord warden -general being of a Diilitary nature^ ira0
fvied witli burge authortties, and usually bestowed tm the
tithes or eiiHs of Northumberland. The executive part of the
office was> however, mostly put into the hands of a deputy,
under whom were tliree deputy wardens^ One o£ the^te officers,
by the king's^ oomniiBHioa, sat as judge in the mardi-courts,
^^^ and
^^^K * Bp* Nich. Bord. littws, Pref* xxxiti.
^^^^ Ibiif. p, ftO, " Wadv/* says G-trdiiicr, **liavc ailiHjrcd ttrcporerty ^^^^r Kortkumbcrbtid, as welt they may ^ fur what with t]je bloody tyrants, H the Scotftf on tlic north of that poor coiuny, and oppre^ive corpora- H tfen o# K«wca&tk on the* ^utU tlit^«of» bounded in with hiefh land?^ on the V w€ft« and tbenea i>t) ilie ea^f, it can get notlutu^ but strokes, aixl woriied ant of what they tiave, aad uot being tolMated to make use of tht'ir owo^ and cold blast i froai the lea, &c. £ng. Oriev. Dis. p. i'i9.
H ItOKTmmBERLAND.
%mi Jtiifft^ i^ ttuUng treaties with Scotlandt and in
Most of the lands of the county were held of the king, knights* service. The barons^ and people of quality, dwek strong casdes« or moated towers. The middle classes of cbe people held their lands of the barons, chieHy in soccage ti and hved in buildings called peels, or piles, in the ground of which their cattle were kept in the nights, and the rooms reserved for the use of the family* The lowest sort, in common with the middle class, were subject to a most grievous service, in keeping night-watches at all the fords, passes, smd Inlets of valleys, to guard against the incursions, and spread alarm at the approach of the enemy. When the opposite bor- derers made their appearance, every man Within hearing of th« blowing of the horn, was obliged, on pain of death, to rise and follow the fray. The pursuit of hot*trode is thus men- tioned in the treaty of 1563 : ** The parties grieved to follow their lawful trode with hound and horn, hue and cry, and all other accustomed manner of fresh pursuit, for the recovery of their goods spoiled,"*
This slavery, and all this barbarism and conteDtion, have happily, since the union, been gradually disappearing. The country has been enclosed far up the valleys of Tindale and Reedsdale, and the refinements of great civilization now pre- vail, where less than two centuries since robbery was a trade aind if the inhabitants were not pursuing a horde of Scotch banditti, with blazing faggots, blood* hounds,f and savage cries, they were employed in burning the villages, or plundering the tamis of Liddesdale.
Tins county lies between 54* 5l' and 55** 51' of latitude, and
^om • Leg, Match, itfZ.
t A Mil e tvuy of flopping llic dog was t{> spill blood ujiOD tltc track, whitti dcitroycd tlie dbcdmioatiag 6oeiiess uf bis sceiit. A captive wa* mmctmeA sacrificed on facb occasions. Lay of Last Miiistrd» caato i.
M
irOltrnUMBERLANB. 1$
ftom J* to 2^ ^3' of longitude, west of Londoo. It hss the C(w»fjr of Durham on the south, Cumberland on the west, ScDtknd on the north, and the Gentian Ocean on the east. BedHogtooshire^ Islandshire, Norhamshire, are in the county, and subject to the courts of Durham ; but the liberties of Hex- Inn, Tindale, and Reedsdale, liave been annexed to the county of Northumberland,*
In civil matters, Northumberland is divided into six wards, and six hundred and thirty-five constableries ; and in charch a&irt into five deanries, and seventy-three parishes.f The names of the wards are Tindale^ Morpeth, Castle, Glendale, Bahnborough, and Coquetdale ; and of the deanries^ New- OBtJe, Corbridge, Bamburgh, Alnwick, and Morpeth, all of wiach are in the a^^chdeacoury of Northumberland and diocese of Durham. The churches of Hexhani, AUondale^ and St* Johnlee, with their respective chapelsi, are peculiars of the see of York ; and Throckington is a peculiar of the church of York. According to the returns of popuiation made to parliament in 1801, this county, with Berwick-upon-Tweed, contained 26|518 inhabited houses, 35,503 families, and 157,101 persons; of whom 73,357 were males, 83,744' females, 25,738 employed iQ tmde and manufactures, and 23,190 in agriculture. By tlie lecoilDt given to the House of Lords, in 1805, it contains 1809 itttole miles, or 1,157,7()0 statute acres ; each (square mile, of 910 acres, having eighty-seven persons, and the total number of persons 157,383,
By the returns made for the county, exclusive of Berwick- upon-Tweed, under the delencc and security act| October the ihitli, 1601, It appears that t24t741 persons ofiered their ser- vices in various capacities against the enemy, in case of inva- iioo ; one hundred and forty refused to serve in any capacity irhalevcr; there weos also sixty-five aliens* sixty-five qiiakers,
and
• PaltonS Stiitnt<?s, p* 970.
f loclottve of the parishes of HeilUn^toii^ Burvijck, Holy Islaadj oa^ ^Mbm, whick are in Uie county ofDmlj&ut* <Jaai|u to Armbt. Map, p. 1^,
10 KORTItVMHintJtStW ^
aiHl in all 99,231 persons returned. The ddlSct In thef ttHal number ocoarred in the Hste of infirm pertans^ wdtnen, anti chililren.
The pit Goal of this county i» th« gr^at iUplc of its trade. It is found in the greatest abundtnce» and of the best (faallty, where the strata which a<:compflny it are unconiiected witli limestone. When it burns to a hard cinder^ and learres feir ashes, it is best suited, both on accout^t of heirt and cleanliness, for domestic purposes. It is fortunate, lio^ever, that cowl ^und near iimestone answers bc^t for burning it. A line drawn front Alnemouth^ by the sea coasts t6 Tynemouth>; ^om thence by the southern bounilsRry o^the county, into the parish of Bywell, and from Bywell eo Alrtemoath, nearly ejccludes all the lime- sCdArarraid, and inclosot die vamt v&lmable of the coal*^ Thiv di^Cricti as ftktf aa iv ha» been pieffocdr into, ts found to consiEt o^ strata #f vavioua Idnda of Ailodow stone, schiitus^ and coaT* Bedg of tfdIIMCto iMAialiy iki bdt1> §tme md beneath the coal- fffinifi^ OAd af^ o^en ctifckly and beauti^lly impressed with ve- gecabla tWm*?, such as fetfoev vetches, and grasses ; we have seen^ ems of barley, ai*d the leaves of pine apples, taken from them, f in the«e btids are also found layers of iron-stones, some- times in nodulee^; more fa*quently in rhoinbords,^ with the cor- ner? rounded o^ Sometimes large trees are found, extending' out of the clay into the stone strata, as at Kenton, where arc seats of i^oite, hewn frotn one of the<;e remarkable fossils, that chew the yearly rings ot the tree, and the roughness of its bark. Pieces of half c^lrboOated wood, apparently of the pine tribe, have also been fouiUl amortg^ft Che coal— wHich seems to establtsh an opinion entertained by jfieteral vefy able and inquisitive men, that coal is a vegetable f^tib<iiftrfC0 J-*-the i^omains of fiw^ts over- ^4ielmed\v extraordirtarj.- inundaiions of the ocean.
In e*very coal district the ^trfttfHcatioii which attends the fossil
always * Oen. Mew, p* !>0, f «#e Wlitlrlmr»rs Oriff, and Faim, p. 5K)3. Iliittoflrs Ed, 17?S, I Bt and* Newc, Tl. Q4S.
VORTtlirMBEltANl). 17
tmuiniites, and is iUKlefined and disordered^ as it ap- \ to moimtauiB compoeetl of granite or porphyry ; a cir- cusiitaiice which vrould induce the belief that substaoccjs of tins Icaifl rise from beneath the coaJ, and that the coal itself never Uam fiir from the suriace;* The atrata in Northumberland gene* filly dips or incJinea towards the east; each stratum, too, in dli0 tHne dialricty usually keeps its parallelism, with respect to tlioee nunediately above and below it,« through all the confu- mm ^thoae perpendicular rents and chasms, which, in mining tlfflgiMge, are termcil dikes^ sUps^ hitches^ and troubles* Some of AnebliaHnB are tilled up with substances awept into them, as H wvM seem* from the surface, such as clay, sand, and round rtmtfw Some of them are the receptacles of metals and beau* tUU w^%J%f and others are composed of basalt, a substanc«i bear- ing » stnmg resemblance to lava, and which seems to have bMMd but ftmai the interior paru of the earth. The biutilt dilce la tte c^ mine at Walker is cased with the cinder of no^^* Tlie proceases of nature haive, however, been carried oa in ao large « aolet that we can seldom comprehend tho principles she acta vpoii. These dikes vary much, both in their wideness and ^mwcAmt they frequently break the untfortfi iticlinatioii of the Hata ta fio great a degree, that on each side uf them the part* faipi of the same seam are often elevated or depressed several hH 6rocD each other*
r. Biac Nab eatunated ihe e^ctent of the coal fields (n Kor- and DurhAm at twenty miles by dlYt^en, or three hundred square miles ; and computed thai one square mile waa efud to tJie consumption of one year. Supposing lus caicula- IM tnie, and tlic consumption on thb proportion, the coal w«aid last three hundred and seventy years* But large tracts of ^km diatrict liave bocn already excavated, and, unless other lemt be discovered than have been brought into the doctor^s acoowil, the trade cannot possibly exist to the extent of hit cal* orisilk»i»* Messrs* Bailey and Cully Iiave estimated its dura^ tiou at eight hundred and twenty^five years.* Vat. XIL C Priov
• Gen, View, 19.
18
KORTHUMBEIILAND.
Prior to Mr. Newcommon'a application of steam to raising: water from coal mines, both the water and coal were usually raised by engines, xcrougkt by horses^ a method stiU in use among the land-sale collieries. Two centuries ago, however, we find a patent granted by James the Sixtli, of Scotland, for the disco- very of an engine for raising water from coai mines. ♦ In 1630 a charter was also given to a person called David Ramsay for a similar invention, f Master Beaunoonl brought with him *• rare engines to draw water out of pits.'*f At the coUierlei at Luroley, about 1676, '^ the engines ivere placed in the lowest place^f that there may be the less way for the water to rise ; and if there be a running stream to work the engines it is happy* Chain pumps are the best engines, for they draw constant and even: but they can have but two stories of them; the second being with an axle-tree of seven or eight fathoms, and the deepest etory is wrought by buckets, and a wheel and ropes, with the force at the top." § Though the power of steam, as appli- cable to mechanics, was known so early ai 1655, as is evident from the Marquis of Worcester's Century of Inventions, we have no account of steam engines in these collieries before the beginning of the 'last century. The first in Northumberland was erected at Bykcr, in 17 14-, by the son of a Swedish noble- man, who taught mathematics in Newcastle. This powerful en- gine is now in common use in all the large cotlieries. As sim- plifiers of it the names of Messrs. Bolton and Watt, as well as that of the ingenious builder of the Eddystone light-house^ will be long remembered,
The shaft of the coal mine at St, Anthony's, near Newcastle, was two hundred and seventy yards deep, and passed through sixteen seams of coal. The seam called the High Main was six feet, the Low Main six feet and a half, the tenth seam three feet, the thirteenth three feet tliree inches, and the fourteenth three feet two inches deep, making in all twenty-two feet of workable coal. The shafl of Montague Main, three miles west
• Am. Hiic. of Edinij. 66. t Rym. Feed. L xix* f, 189*
\Onf§ Cboro. 26. j Kertli'i Life of Guilibnl, p. 1 J7; Urand.
KOHTHUMBEALAN0* 19
of Kewciiille» was two hundred and forty-five yards, had (liieQn co^ aeama^ four of which were workable* and measured thirteen kei and a half. The Low Main at WiUington, about five mile» list of Newcastle! is two hundred and eighty yards below the
Theophrastus^ tn his History of Stones, has described coal m t tiiati of au earthy nature, that kindles and burns like char- cool, and is used by smitlis. The Britons had a primitive i^rm (or it; and a oelt, or axe of flint, vms found in a coal vein ex- poied lo the day in Craig-y-Parc, in Monmoathsliirc, f circnm- Hances which favour the conjecture that the early Britons used Goftl. The Komans evidently made use of them. Siculu^ flaccus says they were one of the things made use of fur land- tnarks; and St- Augustine describes them as applied to that pur- pose from their imperishable nature : " They who pitch land- marks are wont to throw them underneath, to convince any lit^tous pereoni who should afiirmy though ever 6o long aBer» that no land -mark was there." X Ho man coins were found in a large heap of coal dndi^rs at North Bierly, in Yorki*J)ire» J ** There is a coalry not far from Benwell, a part of which is Judged, by those who arc best skilled in such affairs, to have heen wroagltt by the Romans." || Small coals and cinders have been Vttsed with the lime used in several of tlie Roman stations ; and •* in digging up some of the foundations of their walled city Magna, or Caenorran, in 176^2, coal cinders, some very large, were turned up^ glowed in the fire like other cinders^ and not |o be known from tlicm nhen taken ouL*'^
Though, by a grant dated A, D. S52, twelve cart loads of fossil coiiJ Crpselp po^ Vp jpi^j^atl**) were to be yearly paid to the ^bbcy of Peterborough, yet, during the Saxon and Banish agea W thlfi country, and for upwards of one hundred years after the €»nf{uest, coab are never mentioned. Henry the Third granted
C 2 a charter
• GcD. View, pp. 1^, 17. t Pcunanl'rt Wales, 17,
iUb. d. cif. Dei. 21. c. 4. $ Whit. Mauc [1 Huis. Brit. Rom* va«- f WM*, IL p» 119. •• 8»i* Chroa.
ift KORTITUMBIERLAKD.
k charter to Newcastle, December the first, 1259, *'IQ digcoab
knd stones, on the common soil of that town, witliout the wallt thereof, in a place calJed the Castle-iield and the Forth/' • In an in<]U]sitioB, dated 1245, it Is calJed carbo maris i and, thir^* six years after, the coal trade had increased so much aa to doubit the worth of the town of Newcastle.
The use of this articJe was so great amongst the artificers in London in 1306, that it was considered a public nuisance, and prohibited under fcvcre penalties, f Soon after they were, however, in use in the king's palace. % -^neas Sylviua § says, that when he visited Scotland the poor people were content t0 receive, as alms, pieces of stone, impregnated with tnilammabie sub8tancei, which they bum instead of wood, of which their country is destiitde, *• Colys will not byrne withowte wodd." H ** Their greatest trade beginnetli now to grow from the forge to the kitchen and hall, as may appeare alreadie in most cities and townes that lie about the coast, where they have but little other fewel!, except it be turffe or hassocke, I tnaruell not a little that there is no trade of these into Sussex and Southamp- ton shire, for want whereof the smiths doo worke their iron with charcoale*'* ^ " Within thirty j^'cares last the nice dams of Lon- don would not come into any house or roome where sea coales were burned ; nor willingly eat of the meat that was either eo4 or roasted with sea coal fire/* ♦♦
Tinmouth priory had a colliery at El wick, which in 1330 wag let at the yearly rent of five pounds ; in 1530 it was let for twenty pounds a year, on condition that not more than twent|r chaldron should be drawn in a day ; and eight years after at fifly pounds a year, without restriction on the quantity to be wrought* ft In Richard the Second^s time Newcastle coak
were
•Gurd. Ettg. Griev. p, ^t
♦ Pryaw, 4 Tt»t. 18/. Stow^ Aua, f, 1025. An. 1633,
f Braod'A Newc. II* tM, § Opera, p. 445.
II NDrtbiim. House BkC Anuo. 151^*
f HarmuD't Dctc of £ns* p- ^^^' Ett, 1807. *• 9tow*f Ami. nl f4i|^
ft Brand's Kewc. IL fB5, f M.
K01tTttUMBEJlLAKI7«
^^llrere aold at \Vliitby at three shiUiogs and fotirpeoce per ckal-
■ dim : * and in the time of Henry the Eighth their price wa|
' iw^repmce* a chaldron in NewcastJe; in London < about tour
I^tiiUings;' and ' b France they sold for thirteen noble!» per clialdrotu* By statute of the nintli of Henry the Fifth, chap, 10^ conunii- atoners were appointed to measure the portaj^e of keeU or vesflek which conveyed the coals 6rom the «iathei to the ships. Theso keels had usually contained twenty chaldrona a piece ; but as not fritfichised of Newcastle paid a duty of twopence obaldfon to tJie king, in order to evade a part 6f it, they in- ihe portage of their keels, without the knowledge of the officers of die customs, f
Queen Elisabeth obtained a lease of the manoiB and coal- iaii»a of Gateahead and \Miickham^ which she aoon transferred to the Earl of Leicester. He assigned it to his secretary Sutton, tJ»e founder of the Charter House, who also made assiga* nent of it to Sir W, Riddell and others for the use of tlie mayor and biflrgesses of Newcastle, This circumstance was much of in London, as a scandalous monopoly, which had coals to rise to the rate of nine shillings a chaldron* Otber grierances were odded< The company of ho$tmen, in Mewcasde, granted to the queen, in ItKK), a duty of twelvepenca pff chaldron; and two years ader the hostmen^ by a private ■|ifwiin lit among themselves, fixed the price at ten shillings far the besty for the second sort nine shtlliogs, and for tha ' meane coles' eight shillings per chaldron*
This trade had now advanced to great importance. In th% latter end of Queen Elizabeth's reign the duty of fuur{)ence a ciialdron produced 10,0001. a year. Upwards of 400 ships irtre constantly employed in it, and a deet of Biiy sm\ wcni Uden from Newcastle to different ports of France, wlule the Dutch and Danes supplied the Flennish ports. ;[ A year afler '5,675 tons of coals were shipped irom the port of Newcastle,
C 3 The
' Ui4rUon J Whitby, p, SSO. t Eebk*t SUt. at JUrgt, p. 134>. • An. 1 61 V
JS "^^^^^ KORTnUMBERLANI
Hie arbitrary taxes Imposed on tliis trade, fttid the shai-nefiil tnonopolies he authorised in it, contributed greatly to induce the dov^Tifal of Charles. After the Scottish armies took New- castle, tlie House of Commons began to direct the coal trade, and govern the town ; by which step, they were enabled to send, for the use of the poor of London, large supplies of coals, m*hich had ** risen to the price of four pound per chaldron." • But these patriots were not always successful in their schemes; for in 1648, even under the sunshine of the commonwealth, coals were so oppressively dear in London, that many of the poor were miserably starved to death ; a circumRtance which was charged on the governor of Newcastle for the severe im^ \ position of four shillings per chaldron upon them,'
" Many thousand peopli^ are employed rn this trade of coales: many live by working ^^(^ thetn in the pits: many live by con- veying them in waggons and waines to the river Tine; manjT , men are employed in conveying the coales in keels from the Ftathes aboard the ships; one coal merchant employed fivs hundred or a thousand in hJs work of coals; yet for all his la- bour, care, and cost, can scarce live of his trade; nay, many of them hath consumed and spent great estates, and dyed beggars* ,1 can remember one of many that raysed his estate by coale trade: many, I remeniher, that hath wasted great estates.
** Some south gentlemen have, upon great hope of benefit^ come into this country to hazard their monies in coale-piis,-— Master Beaumont, a prentleman of great ingenuity, and rara parts, adventured into our mines with his thirty thousand pounds ; who brought with him many rare engines, not known ;hen in these parts — as the art to bore with iron rods, to try the deepnesse and thicknesse of the coaJe, rare engines to draw water out of the pits, waggons with one horse, to carry down coales from the pits, to the stathes to the river, &c. Within few years he consumed all his moneys and rode home upon his light horse-*' f
The • Boarne's Newc. 154. ♦ Gri^y's CItoro. p. «4.
KORTrnTMSERLA^m* ^
^Tbe coeJe trade began not past four-score years since: coales is fonner tinies was only usetl by smiths^ and for burning of p.iuoe : woods in the south parts of England decaying, and the kj of Loadotif and odier great cities and lotrnes growing po- pulous, made the trade for coale increase yearly, and many ' s of bnrthen built, so that tliere was raore coales one year, than was in seven, focty years by past: tlm great traie hath made this towne to Eourish in all trades.**
Duties were laid upon this article to assist in building Su J'aul's churcii, and fifiy parish churches in London alter the Kt tire in that city, and ia 1677, Charles the Second granted to his DQtural son, Charles Lenox, Duke of Richmond, and hk h€in^ a duty of one shilling a chaldron on cods,* which con- tinued in the family till it was purchased by government in IHOO, ibr the annual pa)ineQt of 19,0CK)L This du^ .pro- duces upwards of 25,0001- a year at presofit*
In I699t Newcastle had two thirds of the coal trade, and 300,000 chaldrons, in all, went annually to London. The oversea trade employed 900,000 tons of shipping. Coals about Jhat time sold in London for eighteen gliiUings a chaldron, ou(t 'which five shillings were paid to the King, one shilling and sixpence to St. Paul's, and one shiliiug and sixpence metilge* It was then also stated to the House of Commons thai «ix hundred ships, one with another, of the burden of ei^lij Newcastle chaldron, with 4,500 men, were requisite for carrying on this trade. There were also then employed on the Tyne, four hundred keels, and betwet^n iiileen and 16,000 keelmen.t
The increase of this trade has hitherto continued progressive. In eight years, from January the -first, 1802, to December the thirtieth, 1809* it appears, that 4,713,476 Newcastle chaldrons, or 12,490,707 tons of coals, were exported Irosi the Tyne,
Sir Robert Mansell, knight, Vice Admiral of England, esta^ blkhed gloit ttiorks on the Tyne, in 1619, in which year we
Ci find
* Brsnil't Kew«. U. If96, nm t Ibii!, SOS, ZiH,
^ NOIlTltt7M8£atA^'D.
patched with heath, and are spongy and barren towards their heads, are, upon tlie whole, remarkably fertile. The ridges and furrows, apparent in various parts of Kidtaiid, plainly &how that the feet and sloping sides of these tinely-fomied hills have, at one time, been more accustomed to cultivation than at pre sent. As the population here has lessened by increasing size of the farms, and the farmers j^ettling lower down in I country, the plough*&hare has been disused and grazing pre* vaiied. llils district is wholly occupied by shepherds* Froiii Whittingham to tlie Tweed, the soil is of a sharp gravelly na- ture, and in a high state of cultivation. The undulating hills about IJderton, and in the neighbourhood of Branxton, Wark, and Carham, exhibit, in harvest, one of the finest cultivated prospects in Britain. From Doddington to Berwickt nearly along the line of the Devil* s Causeway, the country is traversed with a chain of low moory hilJs. The plains about Rellord are extremely rich and beautiful ; and from the whin rocks of Bam- borough, along the sea coast as Jar as the \Vans-beck| tlie soil is of a strong grateful quality. Between Shillbottle and tlie sea it is uncommonly productive* All that tract which lies be- tween the Wans-beck and the Tyne, and stretches in a westerly direction from the sea through the manor of OgIe# towards Kirkheaton, lies upon sub-strata, retentive of moisture, and is of a cold clayey quality. The valley of Hexham, including South Tyne as far as Haltwhistle, and the North Tyne as far as Belling- ham, is a tine ^harp loam, which rises up the sloping sides of the hills, till il meets with thin soils covered with poor grasses, and in many places with heatlu The harvests in this valley are the earliest, its tree^ have the richest foliage, and its landscape is the moi^t di%'ersilit:d and interesting of any in Northumberland.
Cold and pining easterly winds prevail here during the montlis of March, April, and frequently the greater part of May. \\Tien the western breezes set in, the progress of vegetation is rapid. It is not uncommon to see the trees in the beginning of May aa arid and leafless as in December ; and, through the influence of
mild
K0RTHI7HB£RL AND,
£7
ttuld wmiterly winds, and kind rains, in the course of eight or ten 4&a3FV not a branch to be seen. When these westerly breezes in* cjcie into hurricanes it is a sure indication of a deluge of ram being faliiag at the time in the western counties of Eng- land and Scotland. The autumn of the year is the summer of Northianberland. The months of Septeniber and October are usually fine settled weather. From the middle of November to the latter end of March the winter tpanlses aevere)y. The largest fails of snow are brought by winds ihat sweep over the loogeit tracts of land. Wherever the countrj' is dry and well cultivated^ the air is most salubrious.
. In M> great diversity of soil and climate^ a corresponding di* vertiiy of produce and management is to be expected. The twoil ratation of crops ^ on dry soils, is, turnips, barley, or whmlf clover for one or tut o years, oats^ or where barley haa been grown after turnips, wheat is sometimes sown. Upon ^ strong loams, fiiUow wheats clover, for one or two years, beans I or oatap Upon moist thin loams or ochrey clays, fallow, wheat, clorer^ and grass seeds for two years ; and, upon moory soils,
I&llow, oats, clover, and gratis seeds two years, oats. ♦ Near Woolrr it has been found, that, on ground properly prepared for compEiritive experiment, the difference in favour of drill ridges, at lODe inches asunder, over the broad cast way, is in the pro* portioD af tliirty-six bushels of wheat, each weiglung iifty* nine poond, to thirty*four bushels, each fifty-eight pound ; and, by another experiment, as forty-two bushels and a half, each lijtty pound, is to forty bushels, each filly-nine pound, f At the same place in was also discovered, from two experiments^ that the weight of drilled turnips, were to Uiose of the broad- oat husbandry, in the rates of four to three, ^ Some of the moit intelligent farmers in the same neighbourhood find, that a course of three year^ tillage and three years grass, is a much iQortt profitable system than one year clover, or any other sys-
ttax they have tried.
Independent
* B»iIr/« Darham*
t lb. p* jir.
t lb. p. 161.
18 KOKTHCnc&B|tLAV9«
Independenc of the produce of the Mi'j$Jtd, the wumiires^ chiefly in use, ere lime, maxia^ and Mtpweed. Lime ia pl«iu^ fol in ahnost ell parts of the oounty, except in ih^ porphyrj district of the Chenot HiUs, and the coal-field in Castle Ward« Stone marie ' abounds in many places near the Tweed side.' * Large siq>plies of excellent sheH'mmie are drawn from boggs in the parishes of Branxton and Carham, and have been employed on the grass lands about Wark and Learmouth with great effect* Clayey marles, that effervesce in nitrous acid, are found at Ilder* ton^ ChilUngham^ and Westweod, near Hexham, f The marina xmedSf collected firom rocks» or washed ashore by heavy sees, are much esteemed along the coast ; and a considerable supply of manure is also annually brought as ballast from London in the ships employed in the coal trade.
The TYHBs of this county have, perhaps, no peculiar feature. Out of the seventy-three parishes contained within its boundaries^ only thirteen are rectories ; the tjrthes of hay and com are con- sequently in the hands of opulent laymen, a cause which, more than any other, operates against their bdng exchanged for a fair equivalent.
As an increase botli of knowledge and capital has of late years been employed in agriculture, the rental of the county has rapidly advanced. In 1809 it amounted to 916,8571. 188. ll^d. The annual value of estates, rise from the smallest sums to up« wards of 30,0001. — one estate is said to be more than 80,0001. a year. In some of the mountainous districts, especially towards the sources of the Tyne, there are several small estates, from thirty to three hundred a jrear, farmed by their proprietors. As most of these have been handed down from father to son, through successions of several generations, strong attachments to ancient methods of husbandry have descended with them, and new im* provements have been slowly countenanced. The farms, in general, are largest in Glendale and Bamborough Wards. ** In the other parts of the county they are from My to three hun- dred • Geo. View, to. t Wallis, I. d3. ^5.
iroRTKVMBERt.ANIK
29
I
I
P
^ed 1 y^ ; some tenants, in tlie northern parts of the caunty, fkroQ htm 20001. to 40001. a year and upwards. In 180l», dry fertile loams let for fitfy to fiily-five shilUngs per acre ; and UMtd rich old grazing pastures for sixty to seventy shillings per mcrCf Cjthe free." ^ A large farm in the parish of Carham ii
let for twenty-one yeare, at upwards of sixty shillings per The whole of the rents are paid in money, and four or fire liionths credit usually given to the farmers.
Gf«at attention has been paid to rearing stock. The short* homed cattle, usually called the Duich breeds on account of their rapid growth, become favourites among the graziers* •* They are now sold fat to the butchers at three years and a half #)d, and a carcase in general weiglis from sixty to eighty stone*" The CArmH aheep are a very bcautilu] breed, which weigh, when fkt, froRi twehe to eighteen pounds a quarter. The Heath iheep^ m <a1M from their being peculiarly adapted to bleak and heathy fUMoitatiKf afford a fine flavoured mutton, and weigh from twelve t© aolseii pounds a quarter. Tlie long tmokd shetp^ a breed frmly improved by the enterprizing spirit of Mr. Cully, are re- ntrfcable for fatting at an early age. They are frequently called the Dwhiy breed, and were first iutroduced into this country in the yiar 1766* f They weigh finom eighteen to twenty-ttx pound per ^mrteTt and their fleeces average seven pound and a half a piece, the year 17^8, upi**ai'ds of 134,000 acres of waste
hare bee*i divided and inclosed : and though thero are alii! fwy large tracts of open ground in the sheep-walks, very Httle of It is common. Most o4' the moors are private property, di- tided by casts of heath, ridges of htlis, or by streams. These boimdafies of property are called marckeih The tenure is mostly ftiriiold. •* Tl^ere are some small parcels of copyhold ; and in
districts which belong to the county of Durham, smne for lives, or years, held under the church. There arc aNo two or three manors of eustomary tenure towards the hmi South Tyne^" %
M KORTMUMBEELAND.
The peasantry here, have been supposed to be stitl uftdeV a species of vasaalage, * The farmers retain few servants in their bouses : their labourers are called hinds, and, like their shepherds, are mostly married men and live in cottages upon the farms. In addition to their annual wages, they have certain quantities of provisions and fuel allowed, them at stipulated prices. They have also the privilege of keeping two cows, or re- oeiving three pounds a year in lieu of each. Their condition it much better than that of small farmers, who, in addition to ex- treme hard labour, have their sleep disturbed by rent-day dreams.
Canals.— Application was made to parliament in 1709, and leave obtained to bring in a bill to make the river Tyne naviga- ble from Newburne to Hexham ; but the corporation of New- castle opposed the measure, as likely to be rumoiis to their port, f Similar projects were revived in 1795* but they ended with no better success. Though tlie ultimate object of the spe- cuialors on this occasion, was to connect the eastern and wes- tern seas, by means of a navigable canal, their first attention 'uras only directed up the Tyne as far as Haydon bridge. Five engineers were employed — Messrs. Chapman, Jessop^ Doddy Sutcliffe, and Wliitworth*
Mr. Chapman proposed to carry a canal on the north -side of the Tyne, from the upper part of Newcastle to Haydon bridge, a distance of thirty -one miles and three qmirters, on one level, and to connect it with the Tyne at its east end, by means of a staircase of locks. The rise here from high-water, at neap tides, to the level of the canal, would have been about two hundred feet. It was thought that the final out-let of it would be best in th^ neighbourhood of StockbridgCi in Fandon^ These locks, and ** the projecting steep land," near the churcli oi* St, John- lee, were the main difficulties he had to contend with, Mr. Jc«Bop and himself decidedly preferred tliis hne, and calculated
tbe • Man1tair» Rc^vicw, p, 51*
t Jovr. of tlie Uoutc of Cvtii. VoU XVL Brtxid Vol. I. p. 30,
the eafpence of executing it at 129,494*. The total expence of extendiDg it to Maryport, in Cumberltind, they thought would not exceed 355»0671« ; and would bring in an average rent of 30,0001 a year.*
Mr. D odd's plan was to carry a canal on the south-side of the Tyne, from Stella to Hexham ; and to form totcing paths of ballast from Stella to Newcastle, by the river side. From SteUa •* I propose," says he, " a rise of eight feet eight inches •S each lock, twelve of which will carry us through the whole line to Hexham." The expence of making this line he calcu- lated at 35,71 Si. 10s. 2d. and its annual profit at 9,9251. 15s. 2d.t In Mesars. Chapman and Jessop's survey of tliis line, the es- penoe of forming a canal on it is estimated at 69,081).
Mr« Sutcliffe agreed with Mr. Dodd in commencing the canal at Stella, but diifered widely from him respecting the course it iUould take, and the expence of finishing it. His cidculation of its cost from Stella to Hexhum, is 89,7951. 7». ; and for making it complete between Newcastle and Hay don Bridge, 1^2,0591 1 4s, 6d4
Mr. Whitworth was requt sted by the promoters of the aflair to survey both lines^ and candidly to report to which he gave the preference. His words are, ** the line upon tlie south-side has certainly very much the advantage. But I think that oeiUier Mr, Chapman's nor Mr. Dodd's is eligible ; indeed^ 1 think they are scarcely practicable. Mr. SutcliiFe has set down plenty of money to do it welL"$ SutclifFe estimated the ex- pence of a canal on the north side at 183,4501, 15s. 6d, '* But he is rather extravagant in his ideas, and may be a little par- lid to the line on the soutli of the Tync, as IMr. Chapman may be to that on the nortli of the rivcr."l|
Mr. Thompson, of Sheepwaali, published ** Observations on
the
Chsp. Btid Jef top's Report*. t Dodd^ R'^ports^ \^p. ^8, Si , 4S, <i4. I SutcK Fh^t Rep. p, 45. Secoii«l Rep. p. 35* f WLit. N. Rep. pp. *, 9, B M'Wt, S. Rej»* p. H.
99 JVCKTHCTMBEIILAfrtl.
tittifioit Advantageous Line," wliJch he contended would be oli^ tained by proceeding from Barras bridge to the third mUe^toney on Newcastle town-moor, and there to branch eastward to North Shields, and northward to Prestwlck. From Prestwick he re- commended the h'ne to proceed by Ponteiand, Stamfordham, Hyal| Bingfield, Chollerton, over North T}T»e to Humshaugh, till it join the branch recommended by Mr, Chapman near War- den, He alM> proposed to make a canaJ from Prestwick, down the Blythe to the sea ; and from Hartford bridge to Morpeth, and from thence by the Till to the Tweed**
Mr. Chapman^s nortJi side plan fimilly met with the largest patronage, and a bill was brought forward in parliament, for authority to put it into execution : but as there had been ao much di^erence of opinion about the matter amongst tlie engi- neersy and petitions gainst it were presented by four gentle- men, neai' whose family seats it would Iiave passed, by fiixtti other proprietx)rs of land, and by the mint*^ter, and eighty- inhabitants of the parish of St/ Johnlee, the bill was withdrawn^ AAer a repose of fifteen years Mr. Dodd*s plan waa revived in IBIO. Preparations have been again made for approaching parliament with a bill, for authority to make a canal from Stella to Hexham ; but we fear tlie commerce of the country is still too confined to allow that ample and vigorous patronage, which go large an undertaking demands. Mr. Dodd's present propo- sition is to raise a capital, by shares of one hundred pounds each, of 106,CKK)L The greatest possible cost ho e!$timate« Hi J05,8(X)h; and the annual produce of the canal, he supposes, i -frannotlye less than 22,^71. 9b* lOd.
itle-
Rivers*— St. Bede is the first author that mentions itie rircr TYNE.f The origin and meaning of it^ name have been tnuch disputed. La Tyne, riviere formee de deux rivitres — Ty^ deux ; 2y;t, doble* On a etendu par abas le nom Tine 4 cha-
cune * TUonip. OlMer* [kp* 1^i i^i ^<^' * ^* Hitt. Smith> Fil. [i. IB n
KORTfrUMBERLAND. SS
Cisne im riViere* qui la formenL^ ** Tlte iwo Tynes ore rivefs
of tht OttudtDi.'*! HarrboKi tliioks it was in old time called the
^ AJi»), bat does not mention his authority 4
H Tl»e South Tyne f\s^3 behind Cross-Fdl, and in its course
HrecciTOft th« Nenl, the Tippal» and the Allen* The North Tyne
^ooniaieftoet on llie borders of Scotland, and receives the Reetl
bdov BeUiiighain* The two branches join near Nether \V ar-
deo, and are aAerwardg augmentefl by the Dill or Devib-beclCy
aear Corbridge, by the Derwent (which rises alwve the Abbey
of B&inchland) near Lemmington, and by several smaller
aCfemu^ In the time of William Rufus it was proved that this
m«lMd,ab omnl tempore, been the march between the county
of Northtsmberland and the btsbopnc of Durham ; and that a
■loie^ of it belonged to each t;ounty» while the middle of it waa
0MU&0D to all ships and boata. Ita fisheries are mentioned
«nA6r t! ' ' *' , the First, and were long celebrated
Ibriliei salmon ; so late as the year 1761, not
less tlttn two hundred and sixty were caught at one draught
at Newbume; and in I7t5, two hundretl and seventy-five were
^ landed at one draught at the Low Lights, near the mouth of the
H liter* The iiAheries are now nearly destrcyetl, a circumstance
•^ to be attributed entirely to the locks at B>t* ell, which prevent
Aa aatuMMi passing up to the shallow streams in the breeding
The Canvcnatarsliip of the Ti/ne appears to liave been invested b the corporation of Ni n-ai^tlei since the time of Edward the Sec«iid« though repeated commi*.M"ons have since been granted ta itrcngthen that power. Their jurisdiction extends tothigh- water mark on both sides of the river, from *he sea to Hcdwin Krcami, above Newbume, which distance is annually surveyed, «i Ascmsion Dayi by the mayor and river jury, in their barges. The apriag tides rbe about eighteen feet at the mouth of the trrcr, ami about eleven feet and a half at Newcastle* \oL. XIL D Camden
* BttllerH Met». sor la Lang Celt. Vot L p.SI6, t 0csc.of EnfTaDd^ Fn-f. to Hull* CUroa* p. t5f, t Hie. Cor. ^
S4 KORTHUMBEHLAND.
Cumden thought that the Tweed waa the Taum estuarium of Tacitus;* arid Mr. Horslcy says, ** between the Humber and tlie Firth of Forth, no rivers arc nicntioiitd by Ptolomy but \c» dra and AlaunuB. The latter of ^rhich I take to be the Tweed, into which river Allon, in Scotlajxd, does run ; and the other is most probably the T}iic, whose skuation answers exactly*' ^f The names of British rivers have great affinity, and are com- monly descriptive of the colour or properties of tlieir waters Derwent, Allen, &c* from tlje frequency of their occurrencet were certainly Fignificant epithets. It is abj?urd to suppose that either of these rivers lost iu nmne while the British language was spoken by the people that inlublttd their extensive baaks ; and more absurd to suppose tliat the Saxons shoiiJd change their names from one British term to another. This river rises la Tweedale^ h\ Scotland, at a place called Tweed's Cross, J ** out of a faire well standing in the inDs>e of an hill calJed Airstane, or Halrstane."^ It receives the Ettrick, Leader, and Tiviot, in its progress through Scotland, " At a litle broke, cawlyd Ryden Burne, the whiche parlithe England and Scotland by este and west, and comithc in to Twede, the great streame of Th ede towchitho on the Englyshe grownde as a limes betwenc Scotland and it.** The Till i^ the last stream of importance diat enters it. It is an ciituary at Korhom, about seven tnile* troTU tlie sea* Its banks are exceedingly fertile, and it may witU great truth be ftyled — " fair river, broad and deep,"
The yearly rental of tlie sahnon fisheries o» the Tweed is 15,7661. The average number of boxes of raw salmon sent ta Loudon, packed in ice, in the years 1806 and I807» was 8,415, of eight stone each, which, at sixteen pounds per stone, is ^^i-jWlO pounds. If tliere be added the value of what is kitted for exportation, and what is sold fresh or dried in the neighbour- hood, the amount cannot be less than 60,000 pounds a year^U
If * RriL Ed. 1590, p. Ci6. f Brit. Rom.
I FuUer'a Hist, of Berw. p. 41 9. $ LeL quoted by Harrison, p. 1 5<l» I BaiJcy*! Sar. of Parh. p, 47.
KORTHU^fBlRLAKlX*
35
rerc erected here, as on the T)Tie and other rivers^ the
supply would gradually cease.
* The Till risL'th not farre from the liead of Uswaie, in the Cheriot Hilles, where it is called Brennkh^ w^hereof the king- dom of Bemicia did some time take the naroe**^ It keeps tlie oame of Breniish till it has passed by Wooler. The Bovenf^ celebrated for its beautiful pebble$,f joins the Glen near Kirk- newtoii; and, after passing through Glendale^ by Copeland Castle, their united streams join the TilL This river, to the heada of Its smallest bronehes, but especially between the Glen and the Tweed, swarms with trout.
Harrison sap, " the Alnb if a pretie riueret, the head whereof riseth in the hills west of Alnham towne^ and k called by Ptoloraie Celnius. Between Ailmoutli and Wooden it swcepeth into the ooean-*^ Richard of Cirencester mentions Alauna as mie of the Ottadlne rtvers ; and Ahiham, Hulne, Alnwick, Aln- lOMtdt^ places on its banks, derive their names from it.
Tlie CuatJET rises amongst the Cheviot Hills. " For acertea *pace of miles it dividith Cuquedale and Ridesdale." J Near Al- laiton church it is joined by the Allen, which issues out of Kid- land. ** The Hoc, as I think it is called, coraeth from the woodland and hilly soil, by Allington^ and falleth into the same, west of Parkcnd/* j» This river enters tlie sea near Warkworth, where there i& a fishery for salmon-trout and gilse. By a re- cent alteration of its channel, it seems to be preparing itself for being a harbour for ships of light tonnage. Its banks, espe* dally from Rothbury to the sea, are well wooded, and afford « great variety of interesting landscape. It is much irequented by anglers ; and its sand-beds have been celebrated for their bcautiiy pebble-crjstals, pale carnelians, chrysolithes, and agates. Bremenium, Cocudena, or Coqueda, and Alauna, occur together in Ravenna's Ch orography.
The Wans, "a praty ryvcr,** vulgarly called Wants-becl^, D2 • Mif. D«*c. of En^. p. 152* I td, lOo, VaL VII, pt i, fol 7.1.
rijkefl
f Wallis, 1. 9a
iHar, Disc. ofEof. p. ISU
'96 MORTHUMBEALAKO.
rides near Sweethope, above Kirkwhelpmgton. At Mitfordtt meets the Font, and passing through the fine meadows o€ the valley of Newniinster and the old woods of Bothal, it enters the «ed at Cambob. The tide flows up it to the bridge of Sheep- W8sh. Dr. Akenside wrote the first copy of his Pleasures of Imagination at ^lorpcth, and in the edition of that poeiii» im 1770, complrments this river with this apostrophe;—
" Of yc NorthiiiuUriiiti sltadei, which overlook « The rocky pitvcment and ilie mouy fillip Ofsolifary WmiS'bcck, limpid ^ttream ; Hdw gladly 1 iical) your MfUkuov^n ^cats* Belovcci ofetd, aud iLdt dpLic^hirol time M'heii dt alone, Ibr many a »uiiimci*s clrtVt I waiidiM-ed tlirough your calm ^^ces^t«, led In silence^ by i^oinc jiowtiful baud ujisccil*
NEWCASTLE UPON TYNE.
The proofs that Newcastle was aBoman station are conclusive. Coins of Trajan, Hadrian, Faustina, Lucius Verus, and Antoninuj Pius, were found in the piers of the bridge here> after it wag thrown down by the great flood, in 177 L* In digging the foundations of the new county court -house, in 1810, a well of Koman maaonary wag discovered oa tlie edge of the hank. It is near the centre of tl\G court-house. To raise it to the desired level, a very strong walJ, in the form of a trapezium, and en- cloalng about ten square yards, had been constructed on frame- work, of beams of oak, fixed perpendicularly and horizontally into the river bank, and filled up, within and without, wi^ clean blue clay. The beaius of oak were remarkably fresh, and near the bottom of two of them, th«t were placed perpendicu- larly» stags horns, of great size and thickness, were found* Be* tw^^en the factitious and original bank was a thick layer of ferns, grasses, brambles, and twigs of birch and oak, iirmlj
matted * Fconatirt NorC Tour. III. SiX Brtnd* I. 58.
yORTBUMSKRLAND. jl^
wiitted together. Near die north-east comer of the court* iMMue were found two Rom ad altars, one bearing an iUegiblit iwcriptJon, the otlier plain. There were also large qiuntitica «f Roman pottery, two copper coins of Antoninus Pius, and a put of the shnil of a Corinthian pillar, richly fluted and of ex- quisite workmanship. Near the altars too were found a small uep a concave stone » bearing marks of fire^ splits and with thin fiakes of lead in the iissures ; also fragments of miM-stones, and foundations of walls, firm and impenetrable as the harden rock. With one of these walls the eastern v^-all of the late Moot Ihll has the same breadth, Tx;anng, and manner of building ; It htti also in it a low semicircular do4^r-way» walled up, and tli« outside of it is faced with te^slUted asldar-work| bearing r mark of Roman masonry* I end of Hadrian's Vallum was here, and the bridge and ^phce called after him, Pom j^Uiy or the i^lian Bridge. He bdooged to the /EUan family, and thence was named ililiua Hftdfianus. He rebuilt Jerusidem, and styled it /HUa Capito- liaa; and called tlie games he instituted at Pincum, in Mi^sia^ Sim, Pincensia. On Sohvay Firth » at tlic other cxtremhy nf UiTallunit were stationed the first cohort of /Elian mnrines; at Banlofwald the first i^ian cohort of Daciana ; and at Halton Chcsters the Sabinian wing, named so from Sabinia, Hadrian's wife. Two coins were aliio struck in his reign, to commemorate the building of two bridges ; one of which had seven ^ the other Ite arches. The Pons .^Jius at Rome has exactly five arches, tad for that with seven no place can be so well assigned as this**
* Tlie Pict's Wall,' says Grey,f • Ciime over Neathcr Deane Mdge, and so along Into Pandon.* Mr. Horsley was of opinion, liMt the east wall of the Roman station here ran at right angles ^fom this wall, through St« George's porcli in St* Nicholas* church ; that each side of the station mea^iured six chains, and D 3 tliat
^ Piraaesi'i Collection; and V&illunr^ tom. I, p« 68^ ijuoted by liruiu! • t Oior* p. 9.
58 KOnTllUMBEKLAND.
fhat the vallum of Hadrian was Its southern rampirc* It ha«, however, been found that the Pict's Wall passed near tlie great west tloor of St. Nicholas' church ; and the recent discoveries about the castle prove Uiat the station extended 35 far as the brink of the river, and that tbe east wall of the late Moot Hall is beyond all doubt the eastern wall of the station.
From the desertion of Britain by the Romans, to the time of the Norman Conquest, there is no certain mention of this place under any other name than Monkcheste^, and under that only once, ** In the year 1074', three monks, providentially sent out of the province of Mercia into that of Nortliumbcr- land, came to York, and besought Hugh, the son of Baldric, who was then viscount, to *ive them a guide to a place called Munkcccastre, that is, the City of the Monks, which is now called Newcastle. Being conducted to this place, they stayed at it for a time ; but when they could fmd there no vettiges of the ancient church of Christ, they n cnt to Jarrow, then retain- ing Httle of its former splendour, and, after inspecting its nu- merous mouastic edi6ces, anil half-ruined churches, they began to repair it, under the liberal patronage of Walcher, Bishop of Durham. The name of the oldest was Aldwin, of the second Eaffwin, and of the tlu'rd Kinfrid. By these three persons tlie monasteries of Northumberland were restored."f
** The town of Pampedon is very antient^ I find of the lungs of Northumberland that had a house in it, which we now call Pandon Hall.'*J This place was undoubtedly coeval with Monkchester. It was in the manor of Byker, and the inherit- ance of Ladararia, wifb of Robert dc Byker, who conceded it to the crown prior to 1^99 ; in which year Edward the First granted it to tlie town of Newcastle, for its increase, improve- ment, and security. About this time Newcastle began to be invested with waUs; and on the nortli side of Pandon the Koman wall appears to have been repaired for that purpose ; for, says
Grey,
« 3nt, R9m* p. 133. Warbt Vail, Rom. p, 30. t Sim, Don. p. «0<5* ^ Grey's Chor,
Gfe^, a tofreri »iimlar to tliose of the Roman wall, remaineUt •Weill the town^wall in Pampdon, older than ihe rest of the farerf, and after auother fashion, standing out of the wall. * As old iis Patidon Gate,* was a proverb here, in Leland's time. A conmis antique signet ring was found near Pandon Hall ;♦ and Romati coins were lately taken out of an old wall near Stock* bndge, m tlits place.
In the aututnn of the year 1080, King William sent his son Robert into Scotland against Malcolm. He marched as for as %gled)reth, but finding no opposition, he returned^ and in ha way built the New Castf€ upon Tyne.f Though there h lome difference among the hiKtorians concerning the precise date of the building of tliis castle, it is generally allowed that it was done by Curthose, at the command of Ins father, and tliat il wafl erected upon the site of some ancient fort, which caused it to be called the ^ew Castle, by which name both itself and the town that surrounds it have ever since been denominated. Rnitteen years had scarcely elapsed after its building, till Ku- ftti had his arms to employ against it ; for, in tlie memorable re- Tok of Mowbray, tlie last of the ancient line of the Earls of Northumberland, is was one of the fortresses seized by the re- be!i.| Many of the roost powerful adlierents of the earl were taken licre ;§ and himself, with thirty soldiers, who had escaped tma Bamborough, under promise of assistance from the garri- •oa of Newcastle, were betrayed and seized by the king.
The great tower was rq)aired by Henry the Second, at the txpente of 12ol. 13s, 6d. King John made a fpsse round its valli« and strengthened it with certain new works on the brink cf the rhrer^ and, as appeai*s ft-om his charter, indemnified \ whose houses stood in the way of these imprme- a remittance of 100 shillings from tljc tscheat rents lit! httd in the town. The crown alsot in ISId^ expended 514L 1 Ji* lid, in building a new gate; and two years after laid
Dl* out
• Stttkc1y*s It. Bor. p, CI t Sim- Dwo, ill.
I ta tiri. Brand T. I4f . i Bourne, p. 117*
KORtHUMSEALAHD.
0ut thirty-six paundfi and eight-]
e in repairing another ] " At the time of the battle of Gannonkburn the cai^tle and all tlie edifices about it were lu good repair ;** but in the coune of twenty-one years *^ the great tower, and all the leiser tues of the said castle, the great hall» wltl) the king's clmniber adjoin^* ing it, together with divers other chambers below, in tha queen's mantle and the buttry-ccllar and pantry, the king^A chapel within tlie castle^ a certain house beyond the gate, which u called the Checker House, with the bridges witliin and with- out the gate, with thiee gates and one postern, are 3001. worse than they were. They say alsju>, that there are In tlie custody of Roger Manduit, latt- high-^lieriff; 420 fother of l*ad. They say also, tliat it was thought Iilghly necessary that the Baroi:^ Meron, of Haddeston, the Baron of Will ton. Lord Robert of CliObrd, of the New Place, diief lord of the barony of Gaugie, the lords of the barony of and Delviston^ that the
Lord of Werk upon Tweed, the lord of the barony of Bolbeck, alias Bywell, the Baron of Bothal, and lastly, the Baron of Delaval, should build each of them a house witlitn the liberties of the castle, for the defeuce of it. The house of the Baron of Werk was built over the po*itern/* •
In the hall of tills cagtlc John Baliol did homage to Edward the First for the cro>vn of Scu>land;f and David Bruce was s prisoner here under John Copeknd.| Though it was In the possession of the incorporated company of taylors Irom the year 1G05 to IGl^, yet it had not entirely lost its ancient strength under their auspices; for by a few rep^uri:, and by plantbg cannon on the top of the tower, it was enabled, under tJie gallant Sir John Marley, tlien mayor of Newcastle, to hold out several days after the town surrendered to tlie Scots,
in 16U. §
Twelve • Bourne, p. iia. t Kjai^Mou, p, i*469.
I Rymer, VoL V* p. 7ST. § Tlie ScotcJi army sunimuncil Nevv castle to siiiTtnder m Fehinaiy^ 16i4^ but afler three weeks frmUcfn atay it ciusdcd tlie T^ne uid
maidiMi
XOATUUItfBEItLAIfD. 41
Twelve of the ancient barons of Nortbtimberland paid caxtle- g«iard rents and comage to this castle* These payments origi* in the tenures of their e^^tatea, wliich were granted to by the Conqueror and other kings, on the condition of their perfonzung castle-guard with a certain number of men^ for isome ftp ^ 'me* When the«e services became unneces-
aarj they v^ uutcd for annual rents;* which, togetlier
with the tenure by knights' senhce, wece abdialted ia tha time of Charles die Second.
Alexander Stevenson, Esq. a page of the king** bed-chamber, in 1618, obtained a lease of tifiy ycfars, at fiHrty shillinga a yeaf, ** of all that old casUe of the t^ivm of NewcailU upon Tyne, \ «cyte atid herbage of the aaid caatle, as well within the
waUi
ai4rdied to Sundrrlnnd. Dnrrnit ^'^ attacki Sandj^ate and fhe otbet^ n^bnrbi Wf re let on fire by the be^tegfil. The rombttied mmic* of the Eifl of Callendef ami General Levm, however, comineiieefl tlie Megc to 9D*d f»rucf»l on tbe IbiirteentU of Au^ost^ ia the same yeir* Calleaidei% I quiutert were at Uhia orth^ but hh cpeiatiooi carried oa lo Gatea^ d, and )m attacks iippo^rd iVom a buttery cooiitnicted on tlie brow of ttif' Cdittte Gaith, and atlcrvvatds colled the Halfnioon battery, Ll'tui had ^Oaitxin at El^wicJi, the collicfs of which place and of Benwell^ with \ eomttry people, to the number of 3(H)0, were employed in undei^ * the waiU» The rccl»tanc« from tlie town maa tong and obttiaat* ; Inu ilk«r tiie mines were ready fur «fiiplodin;r« awd n*peate<i suDimooi to er were proudly refn&ed^ oa the nuietrcnth of October the b«« eis opeiied all their batteries, and, with a tut ious and general as^nlt, to the breaches, upon which the gairi^n in the cfbtle played ior iil!y wftb teatteTed ^lJOt> Ttiou^h die toss of the Scotch was great fkff rftaolotely advanced, and qftrr two hmiri of lierce contention npoa Ae braacbea, iliey forre<i thetr tir*t entry near ihe C'lote Gate, The di*. ftta couUniied fur some tmi« in tlie^ticet*^ hut the aatajlantfi ponriag ia ao an ftidcj, they ftoon l>ecanie masters of the walli and Lhje town, Tha MMyut and A ft^w of hi« a«40C)atrji retreated to the castle, which, with an •tjtial »|iarc of obstinacy and gallantry, tbcy defended to the twenty -second of Oct<»ba'4 when they capitulated, and inrTtLMlered themselves pnsonen •f war. BoonM, p. «3f. Ruihw. CdL Pt. tii. Vol 11, p. 546. Thnr, State l^ap. VoL 1. p. ift ^t^
• Grose's Aut pref, p. 3*
41' noktiicmberi-akb;
wails of the same as withoiiL** This lease fell, bj purdtase^ into the Iiands of the coqyoratlon. ^\^^e^ iht-y petitioned the king for its reneival a counter-petition was presented by the magUt rates of Northumberland, under the plea that a grant of it would be more proper to be given to that county than to Newcastle, Tn the midst of tlie di5|7ute, Lord Gerrard had access to the king, and, on August thirds 1664, obtained a leaso of it for ninety-nine years, in revention, determfnable on three lives, and at the old rent. After a great struggle, and at the expence of six hundred pounds^ tlje corporation, in 1683^ by the king's warrant, succeeded in tlieir object. Lord Ger- card, then Earl of Macclesfield, however, commenced a suit against thera, which concluded in an abrogation of this warranty md an injunction awarded to stay the proceedings of the cor- porution against tlie earl and his tenants* For a fine of ono hundred and fifty pounds, and an annual payment of one hun* , drod chaldron of coals to Chelsea hospital, a fifty years* lease i •f these premises was granted, July the secondi 1736, to George Liddell, Esq.; and in 1777, they were demised from the crown to Henry, Lord Ravens\?ortJ^ for the term of forty year* and a half, from July thirteen* 1786, on the same terms aa they had been enjoyed by Colonel LiddelL They were sold bj the llavcnswortli family, in 1779, to J, C. Turner, Esq.
Henry the Fourth made Newcastle a county of itself; and, though \m charter on this occasion makes no reservation of the emtio to the county of North umhcrland, it appears to have been considered, in 1417, in a i>imilar situation with the castles of ClicstGr» Cokht^ter, Norwich, Worcester, and tlie Tower of London, independent of the corporation of its own town* By a charter of the thirty-first of Elizabeth, on account of tins •• old and ruined castle being** a refuge for wicked and disor* 4|rly people fiying from the justice of the magistrates of New* ifiStlet it was placed under their jurisdiction in matters of' on laW| and in this situation it still continues. As persona of this town exercised their trades w ithin its precincts,
many
fmij attempts \rere made by the corporation to detach it wAflWy from the county of Northumberland, and subject it to ttei'uU rigour of their charters; but in thh tlicy never suc- ceeded.
Though repairs nnd alterations, occaiiioned by sieges, changet m rauiles of warfare, and common decay, have robbed \l\k edi- fice of idl the delicacy of its infant features, it is sliU stronglj ifittrked with Uie character of Norman architecture. It an- ciently consisted of a gqimre tower, and other necetsary build* ings, surrounded by an omt.»r and an inner wall ; its whole site occupying little more than lliree acres.
Nothing remainii of the outer wall but the main entrance^ called the Black Gate, a postern at the head of the castle stairs, ind c£!tain fragments by which ks site can only be imperfectly traced. It hud two other posterns, one facing the side, and the other opening into Bailey Gate, both of which have been de?ttroycth The Black Gate was built, as wc have seen, in the time of Henry the Third, and cost upwards of 514L Its arch, GCtimding to the gloomy length of thirty-six feet, is low and narrow^ and flanked by two lofty circular towers* Besides itA iron doom it had two portcullises, and a draw*-bridge witttin and The eastern tower is still very perfect towards its base; : the rest of tliisi structure is either shut -up witli confused mmmea of buildings or mucli defonned by conversion into dwelHagsJioiisei.
The inner wall extended from the Black Gate around the great tower, and again joined the outer wall north of Bailej Gaie< It bad a large gateway tlirough it in the west, and two pCMterns, walled up, in the south side ; all of whiclt were pulled down in 1811. The Great Tower is about eighty feet high, sixty-two by fifty-four feet square on the outside, and its walla nearly fourteen feet thick. The great door on the east is ap- proached by a flight of Kteps to the second story : this door and Bev€tal of tlie windows have been tastefully ornamented wttli ;iig'zag work. In the Kides of the tower, where no windows
have
44 HOElTHUMBEltLAKO.
have interfered, rooms have been gaitied out of the walls, or gat lerit^s have passed from one aide, or Btory, to another. There is no appearance of fire-places in any part of it, but in the roonis in the walls. The dungeon^ time out of mind, has hecn used as ihe county prison for Northumberland, during the time of the aau268. It has two doors, a triple-grated loop-hole, and measures twenty- five feet and a half by twenty feet tlireii quarters. Its arch if sprung from a hollow pillar, which has conveyed water from a well in the south-east comer of the tower, and twenty -one feet from tlic ground. Adjoining the dungeon, on the east side, is a chapel of most beautiful and exquisite architecture; and above it, at the head of tlic outer stairs, h a small room, about thirteen feet by twelve, which, from its style of building, seema to have been used as an orator if, A very bold and spacioua circular staircase aj»cends from the dungeon to the top of Ihe tower. Above the dungeon there appears to have beeo five stories, from the fourth oi' which the tower has been raised from its original to its present height. The corporation pur- chased this building in 1810, and intend to throw an arched Toof over it^ and tx» pull down all the old houses built against it.
The assizes for Northumberland, prior to 164-4, were held in the Common or Moot Hall, " within tlie inner wall of the Castle Garth/* ♦ The building lately occupied for that purpose had been the chapel of tlte garrison before the castle was dia* mantled. Its eastern wall was of strong Roman masonry; another part of it was purely Norman ; its roof was supported with two rows of heavy Gothic arches ; and its front had square windows, with stone niullions ; and the arms of England quar- tered with those of Scotland were cut in a stone over ita entrance.
The design for the Nerv Courts was furnished by Mr* Stokoe, ef Newcastle, urthltect, and is now executing under his di- rection. Their foundation stone was kid by Earl Percy, in
July, • Urand, Vol. T. pp, l5d, 158| notes.
KOHTHUMBERLAKD* 45
July, ISIO, at which time his father the Dufcc of Northnra- bedHidi presenled the county with three thousand poundi fowndi expences in building them. Hieir figure is a doublo tBkmg square^ forty-eight yarda long, and twenty-four wide. The ground-floor is partly below the surface, and consists of ceQa mnd other apartments for the criminals during the time of die ttttizes : the«e are all covered with strong Homan arches. Above ihem, in the centre of the buildiag, is an entrance-hal), wnd grand-jury room, on each side of which are the courts, eaxh arcasuring sixty feet by thirty*iive, and behind them ipftrtmenti for the judges* juries, witnesses, &c. Over theso are offices for the gaoler, clerk of the peace, and other officers ; and ovei' the grand-jury room, an apartment for the councih The ftorth elevation has a Grecian Doric portico of four pillars^ where i& the door to the common hall that leads to the courts nd'juT}' room : at die extremities on this side are the es for the public, who stand on vows of steps rising be* kind each other. The soutfi elevation is taken from the Par- tbenoii in Athens, having a Grecian Doric portico of six pillars, mA five feet in diameter, and twenty*eight feet high. The feundations are laid on strong clay, and constructed of very fcrgc blocks of freestone. The whole of the masonry is indeed of a very superior kind, the centre of the walls bprng executed with stjuared ashlars, and their outside finely polished.
Pram Harding** Chronicle and the charter of King John, it tppesrs, that the town had been defended with ivalls hcforo the time (sC Edward the Tirjiit, and their testimony is strength- ened by the remains of a strong barrier of earth remaining to this day behind the priory of the Black Friars.
Iceland, and a manuscript in the Cotton Library, cited by Mr, ilrand, assign their origin to the following circumstance : *• III the rdgn of Edward the First, a very rich citizen of New^- Cttlte was earned off from that town into Scotland, and being tn last rpinsomcd, he began to enclose Newcastle with a very inn wati ; and the rest of the inhabitants following his example,
be
lie finishetl the untlcrUikmg in the reign of Edward the Third."* In 1280, the Bluck Friars obtained royal pprniissron to have a posiern through the • new wall* which passed through the mid- dJe of their garden ; and in 1307, the Carmehtes on WollknoUt got a grant to remove to the house of the order of the Penance of JesuSy because * die wsill newly built* passed dirough a part of their premises. As soon as they were couipleted the town was divided into twenty-four wards, according to tha number of gates and r9uud towers upon them* Tiie free burgesses at tliat time were aJl soldiers, A night watoli of one hundred persons was constantly traversing these bulwarks in the reign of Henry die Fourth* " The strength and magnificcns of the waulling of diis towne far pa£sith all the waullcB of the cities of England, and most of the townes of Europa."f They are said to have borne a striking hkeness to the walls of Avignon. We wonder not at Leland*s aihni ration of tliis place, when we con- sider the strength and beauty of the ca&tle, the fine Gothic ar- chitecture of tho walls, die feudal splendour of the noblenien'i houses, the number and beauty of the monasteries and churches, and the \veaith uf die corporation, and all these in the full glory of their perfection. The whole circumference of the walls is 2740 yards*J: The fosse arouud them is called the King's Dykes ; it was sixty-six feet broad, but is now 61led up.
These walls had seven tremendous gates, and serenteea round iowcn ; ** between every one of which were, for the most part« two watch towers, made square with the effigies of men cut in itone upon the tops of them, as though they were watching,**^ , The names of the gates were in order as follows :— Close Gat^^H Postern Gate, West Gate, New Gate, Pilgrim-street Gate, Paii^^ don Gate, and Sand Gate. There was also a gate in Carpenter'^i Tower, another at the north end of the Tyne bridge, &i4^| leveral posterns and water gates; None of them remain at present but West Gate and New Gate. Leland calls the West
Gate
• Cot. 34S, translated, LcK It. Vol. V, fol. 103. f lb. f. lOi,
) Huttoti'3 plin^ § Bourne, p. ITr
'n
J
liORTQUMBERLAKD 47
(iaie '< A miglule gtrong dilnge of four wards and an iron gaieJ* h u faid to Uave been built l>y the niuniticcnt Roger Tligrnton, ** who at the ^Tst was very poore, and, ns the people report, wm a pedlar ; and of him to this day they rehcrsc this ryme i^
In the WefttgAte came Thornton 10* WiUi 41 hap|fen liapt In a raui*s skyon."*
^ part of it has been pulled douji, and the rept h under sen- tence to suffer a« soon as the company, who have their IialJ iboire ttt can be accommodated with a new situation. New Gate k used as tlie town's prison.
In our account of the station Poii* j^lii, we Iiave hinted that Kfwciutle bridge was buLIt by Hadrian. Several of the piers of tJie old bridge were so strong that they could not be taken down w ithout tlie aid of gunpowder. ITiey had hacn built, as Mr- Pennant observes,^ without springs for arches, a maimer of building used by the Romans : witness the bridge built over tlie Drinube at Severin, This mode of building vvaa well calculated for eKpedition. After projections of stone had been made over the piers as far as wns consistent wltlx strength^ the remaining space was traversed with beams of timber and p&vcd upon. In one of these piers a parchment was discovered, %lth old characters upon it very fresh ; but on being exposed to the air they disappeared, and the parchment mouldered away. Brand and Pennant have inentioried several Roman cohu that were found in them, to which ma}- be added, one in- scribed round the head, IMP. CAE. NERVAE TRAL\NO. AVG. GER. DAC. P. M. TR. P. COS, V. P.P. ; and another, ANTOKINVS AVG. PIVS P. P. TR. P, COS. IlIL
A bridge existed here in the time of Henry the Second ; it was burnt down in IS^S, After this, lands were granted to be bcld by the paj^nent of one plank annually to Tyne bridge. A ^reat flood swept a part of it away^ in 1339, which occasioned ISO persons to be drowned. Grey says it had many houses
and
L* UcVR-i LeK il. Vol. V, p. il4. t Tour is Scot, Vol. III. p. 315,
iB KORTftUMI!S]ILA??l>.
and Ao^f BXiA three towers upon it ; " one tower on the souA flide» the second in the middle, and the third in Newcastle *ide» lately built upon mi arch in the bridge, used for a magsi- «me for the tovn?e,"* In 1770, Bishop Trevor repaired with stone one of the south arches, which had anciently been a draw-bridge, and was at that time constructed of large be of timber covertd witli planks and puved upon. The arches this bridge wtre some of them Gothic and others scheme arches'; they had no regular decrease from the middle to the end^ ; and the passage over them was very narrow and crowded wit boudestf
On Saturday, September seventeen, 177Iiatlclugeof rain fell in the western mountains. The Tyne suddenly overflowed its banks, and marked its progress with most terrible devastation. It btfgan to rifle at Newcastle about eleven o'clock in the night, and at seven in the morning was at its Iieight* At three o'clock tlie arches of this bridge were filled up, and, about four, three oT them on the Gateshead side were forced dowit^ and seven persons were drowned. Above the bridge the river was scvea feet four inclies higher than it usually is at good spring tides ; but at Shicldsj though great damage was done to the j^hipping there, the sea being kept at a low level by the neap tides, this flood did not exceed the common height of spring tides. A vessel took up at sea, near Tinmauth, a woodea cradlei with a child in it, which was alive and well * Tliree •hips were stranded on Newcastle quay-
Tlie nrj) Irrhlgc is three hundred feet long, luis nine archcF^ and cost upwards of thirty thousand pounds. The architects consulted in building it were Messrs, Smeaton, Wooler, and Mylne, the Er^t of whom built the Eddystone light-house, and tlie last tlie bridge at Blackfriars, London. It was finished in 1781. But as it was unfortunately built too narrow, its widtli has since that time been extended to twenty-four feet, by an ingenious contrivance^ of Mr. Stephenson, architect. He
constructed • Ckofog. p, 9, t Hdttoti!! plan.
€>.^
l^ORTMOMBERLAMO. §^
uctetl Ms additional width to the arches, Ott each side#' ~^m the buttresses of the piers, and cramped them ta the
ftirmer work with large bars of iron, reaching from one side to the other. It is at present a structure of great strengtii, cofive- ttienee, and hrmxty*
On the revival of the monastic life in these parts^ Newcastle iwn became famous for it« convents. There was a Bcncdic-' tfltt nunnery here so early as 1086, in which» according to ferdun^ afler Malcolm and liiji son were slatn before the castle of Alnwick, Agus, the mother of the Queen of Scotland^ and Chrtstiaiia, her sj«ter, took the veil^
While some of the Scotch historians assign tht origin of the ikmertf oi St. Bartholomevr to David, King of Scotland, Speed contends that it was founded by Henry the Second, and as lutkortty in the Bodlcan Library ascribes it to a Baron de liiHtoti,* In the time of Bishop Katficld it was mfierably poor, r in money and morals, on which account it was put under Ae direction of the priest of the church of St, Nicholas. It Ton the thir<! of January, 1510, when its annual value 4«- 2d*f It was situated in the field behind the Nun Gate*, about which some remains of it may still be traced.
The house of the Black Frian was fo untied about A. D. 1251, by Sir Peter Scott, the first mayor of Ncs\ castle, and kis 800^ Sir Nicholas, who had been tliree times a bailiff of the ^mtu It was in the church of this house that Edward Baliol M homage to Edward the Till rd, f and alienated to liim the ^^ Scottish counties next adjoining to the borde^rs of Knghnid. At the dlasolution this house consisted of a prior and twelve ^Tirt, and had a yearly income of 51. 19s, 4d. It w:is granted
*o the mayor and burgesses of Ne^vcastle, and by them, in V0L.XIL E 1552,
* Bnmd, I. tOU t Stev. Cunt, of Dug. Mou. Vol. IL p, ifd.
S"Ryin. Focd. T» IV. 616. Ypod. Neuat- p. all. Wdu H"mniifig- '*'d, V.iU II. p. «77, ^-c. fltc/* Bmnd, II. 40in Kni|;hton f•T^ Ed- ^1! Md a pirliutnt'fit at York, U which pUcv BiiUol caaie iu)il diri ^4ni|i to tiifi £ngli»h king, p. i5C^.
50 KOHTHUMBBItLAKB.
155'i, te time of the mysteries, or ancient trades of the towOt •even of whom have their halls in it to this day. Enough af it remains to give a suilicient idea af it< original state*
The priory o£ Augustine Frian is supposed to have been fountk'il by Wilham Lord Ross, Baron of Work upon Tweedy sometime before the year 1291. Margaret, the eldest daughter df Henry the Seventh, being affianced to the King of Scotland, and on her way thither ** was brought and conveyed to tlie 1 Veres Austyns, where she was lodged, and honnestJy re- ceivcil by those revested with the crosse.'** ** The kings of England kept house in it when they came with an army royal! against Scotland ; and since tlie suppression of the monasteries, made a magazine and storeboufte for the north parts* Now of late thcit princely fabrick is demolished, and laid level with the groimd/'f It was surrendered on tlie ninth of January, 1559, when it consisted of a prior, seven brethren, and three novices, A few door-ways and old wa!b of it may still be seen in the workhouse for All-Saints* parish ; and its whole site is occupied by hospitals, scliools, and other pub he buildings. Some re- mains of it are still visible in tJie general hospital or workhouse of the town*
The priory of the Franciscan^ or Grey Friars, owed it» foundation to the Carliols, a family of wealthy merchants, be- fore the year 1300, The English province had seven custo* dies of this order, whereof the custody of Newcastle, containing nine convents, was one. At the dissolution this house con- sisted of a prior, eight friars, and two novices. " It was a very fair tlnDg, and was granted, in the thirty-sixth of King Henry the Eighth, to the Earl of Essex and James Rockby."J
Hugh of Newcastle flourished in this convent ; and the cele- brated Duns Scoitts took the order of St. Francis here, as did also Fnar Martin^ of Alnw*ick. Hugh was a zealous defender of Scotus against Aquinas, and one of the fourteen about his tomb.$ Martin acquired notable knowledge in philosophy and
divinity • Brand, 11. 435» ♦ Greys Chor, 15. I Tan. Not, % Bale,
J
NORTH UMBBRt AND* Sl
^rioltjr al Oxford. He resided chtefly in thia momfitery, and died and wta buried in it. The houses of this order» fn the mirdenflhip of Newcastle, were Dundee, Dumfries, Hadding- ton, Berwick, Roxburgh, Richmond, in Yorkshire^ Carlisle^ Hartlapool/ Newcastle.*
The Carmelites had their first house in tliis town on Wall Koo]), from which they removed in 1507, on the pica of en- croachment made upon their premises by the new wall of the town. They obtdined^ on this occasion, a grant from Edward the Third, of the house of the Friars of the Penance of Jesu^^f on condition that they supported Walter de Carlton, the only funriviiig brother of that order, as became bis rank, and for the remainder of his life. This house was at the foot of West- gate Street, John Dynley, bom of a good family in Newcastlei and a learned writer, Bourished in it about the year 1450. At tiie suppression, there were in it a prior, seven brethren, and two novices; and it was then valued at 91. lis. ^d. Its clmreh was dedicated to St, Mary. The whole of its premises were pinied, in 1546, to Sir Richard Gresham and Richard Bil* Vi^gfiird. Some remains of windows and arched door-waya Siay still be seen in the houses erected on its site,
The Hospital of the Trimtaruim^ on Wall Knoll, was liunded by William de Acton, a burgess of Newcastle, in 136K He purchased the situation of the White Friars, who hid deserted it for several yean. The revenues of this society were divided into three portions, one of which was appro- priated to their own use, another given to the poor, and the third expended in the liberation of Christians in captivity iiDongst infidels. They were visited by the master of St, Ro- bert's, at Knaresborough, every year, on Trinity Sunday, on which occa»on they were bound to present him with a horse^ load of fiafa ; failing htm, tlie mayor and bailiffs of Newcastle
E 2 were
• 8Uv. Cont. of Dag. Mon. Vol. L pp. 9t>, 98, <>9,
t Tb^ were nfttmily fttyled Frisn c^f tlie Stc, sad wero i^tilrU Uere ia ttsa, Bnod, T. sa.
Si NOBTHUMBERtA^D*
^ere their visitors- According to their foundation charter^ they were bound ** to Imve ready, at all times^ three comp€« ' lent beds tor the use of stranger* resorting to their house," * Tlie possessions of this house were granted to Sir. R, Gresham and R, Billingford, Gent, in 151-6; and thirty-six years after they weru conveyed to the corporation of Newcastle, in whoic I possession they have continued ever since.
The Hospital of St, I^Fary, in Westgate Street^ was founded in Henry the Second's time, by Aselack, of Killinghowe» on a parcel of hig ov^ni ground, for two friars regular, and a chaplain, to sei-ve God and the poor. Provision was also made in it for Ihe entertainment of poor clergymen and strangers that were ' traveliing.f It appears to liave been a cell to the nunnery of St Bartholomew, and to have liad a second foundation^ by i charter of Ridiard the Firsts at which time its first founder was alive.
An authority, :t dated A. D* 1 546, reports it to have been founded for a master to be continually resident, for a chaplain to say divine service* for six ' bedefolks' in the alms-house, and to lodge poor and buy-faring people, and to bury such m fortuned to die there. Nine cliaJdron of coals were also to be distributed among poor pe^ple^ and ten shillings to be given yearly among the bede folks * which order is not observed at presenL^ — Clear yearly value, twenty-nine pounds nine shillings and fourpence« Dr. Davel was master at that time, but not re-* , sident; and a priest, who kept the house and orchards, aod bad^l five pounds yearly^ was the only one ^ in hospitalite* at it. ■ Dr* Davel supplied Leland with considerable information re^peetiiif this town and its neighbourhoods
Though this house came under the statute for the dissoluttoa I irf* religious houses, the community of Newcastle continued ta i present a master to the Bishop of Durham, and its revenues wer0 i enjoyed^ till the time of James tbe First, who, in consequence
^ Botuney sppeadiji*
I la tlie Aa?* OC
f Asrkek*ft cfairter* Bfand,78,
I
[ charter being lost, granted a new one m 1611. Tim ctertir decreed^ that it should consist of a master* and m% ull- married poor old men, conetttuting together a body poh^ic in law, axid having a cojiimon seal*
As the mayor and officers of the town, had, by very ancient IM^, been chosen in this hospital, the chancel of its church wmt coaverted into the corporation's election room, soon after the year 1585* When the grammar -scliool of Newcastle waa incorporated by Elizabeth^ it was removed from a buiidtng on the north side of St. Nicholas* churchyard to the hospital of St, Mary, in West Gate, the premises of wliich continue to this day to be occupied by this seminary of learning and its diiferent masters,
The hospital of Sl Mary Magdalen, stood between Vine Lane and Barra^ bridge, where many vestiges of it remain. It WM founded by Henry the First, for a master, brethren, and listiers, who were to receive persons aiflictt-d with the Iqirosy. ** It WBB founded by reporte, to th' entent ther shoulde be a master, brevbeme, and systers, to receyve all suche leproso folks as should fortune to be diseased of that kynde of sickness, and syns that kind of sickeness k abated, it ii used for ttie corofortc and heJpc of the poore folks of the towne that chaimcetli to fall sycke in time of pestilence-* — Yerely valew, niae poundti e]e%'en ahilllngs and fourpence*^*f According to
E 3 Bourne,
• ♦* Tq 1717, Newcastle &ppcArf 1o Imve beea rxKited by a grcitoiit ftniinc and morizirity, iriMorimcli, &ays }lniinic» thut the (|iiick coiiJtl httftfty bury U»e dfad ; aud a great cnrruption of rattle and zrs^, Soma ilr llir flmti of tlivir own dii1dr«a; iind liiicvesf in prison, devoured tlrr^e fbot were Dc>*!y broitj^ltl in, and ^ecdily ate tljcm Imlf alive/* Tlie plai^tic tktt ratted licrc in lr/^5 ; but its ctlecU were moderate at tlmt tinu', rotOz pvetl witb the mcrcUe^ desolatiun it made in 16:16. From May tiie Aernttb, ia tbal year, to Deeendier tiie tltirty-iir^t, h037 pt.r»on» died in Iftb town, of tbift ' trcmendons visitation.' It eanic from Hallmid, and North Shields to Ncwcaitle. JeiintMson*^ Newe. Call, ^e.
t Certif, in tJie Angni. Office. Bi^mt, I. iMT.
04 KORTHtJMBERLAKD.
BoumCt 'fourteen persons within the hous^ were iilIow«<| a room^ coals^ and eight shillings per month; and fifteen wlth'«* out, some eight shillings per month, some five sliilUngs, and gome two shillings and aixpence/*
King James, in 1611, incorporated this hospital with th« chapel of St Thomaa k Becket^ on Tjne-bridge, when it wi decreed that they should in future consist of a master an^ three poor and aged unmarried burgesses of Newcaatle; thai' the master should receive one third of their revenues and ths remainder be divided amongst the brethren; and that the may* aod common council ahould be patrons.
The Maiiion de Dicy, i« the only public buihling marked upon Sandhjll, in Speed's plan of Newcastle, It was founded by Roger Thornton, in 140i{, for one chaplain, who should also be wardun> nine poor men and four women, under the name of the hospital of St. Catharine, called Thornton's hosprtaLf The son of its founder granted the use of its hall and kitchen •* for a young couple when they were married, to muke tlicir wed- ding dinner in, and receive t!ie gills and o0erings of their friends, for at that time houses were not large," It5 clear yearly value, in 15S5, was eight pounds one penny. Sir Richard Lumley, one of the Thornton family, by the female line, conveyed it to the mayor and burgesses of Newcastle, June die first, 1624-. It is occupied as a warehouse*
On the authority of Fordun* and other Scottish historians, it is believed that a monastery for Pr je mon s t ra t t^n si ans was founded iiere, by David, King of Scotland. This order had lands at Fenham ; and an ancient-looking house in Grindon Chare» traditionally called tlie chapel of St. John, and strongly built of stone, and vaulted ; it ia .supposed to have been their con- vent. There was also a chapel below the Ousebtirni in the parish of All-Saints, dedicated to St, LawTcnce, and founded by one of the Percys, which is said to have been dependent
on • HtiL p* 151. t MonasL Angl, 11. 474. Tram. p. 170.
4
IfORTHtJMBSRLAKl^HHHH^H SB
m the priory of St, John of Jerusalem. This chapel and its fmaemons were granted, in 1 54*9, to the corporation*
A grant was also obtained, in 136Kfor founding here a fra* lemity in honour of the nativity and resurrection of our Lord ; ' but it was repealed in the following year. Authority, too, was I ^veUt in 1104, for founding a gutld, or fraternity, in honour of ^ Sl John the Baptist and St. John the Apostle ; but its history ^ is Tcry obscure.
Near Barras bridge, there are remains of a chapet, dedicated ^ to Su James, and supposed to have had connection with ' the ' laser-house neighe adjoining/ One of the Earls of Northum« ^bcrland founded a chapel in honour of St* Lawrence, some part of the ruins of which, may still be seen on St* Lawrence** I quay. It was valued at sixty shillings a year, and granted to I the corporation by Edward the Sixth. There was also, before [ the dissolution, a chapel, or oratory, in one of the towers of ^ Newcastle bridge ; and in another part of it a hermitage, te- nanted by a recluse, who was one of the thirty priests to whom Roger Thornton^ by will, gave six marks a year, for ftnging masses for hus soul*
Newcastle ie supposed to liave anciently been contained within the parish of Gosforth. At present the churches and chapek within it, as well as the chapels of Gosforth and Craronngtonj are tubject to the mother church of St. Nicholas. The respec- tive limits of the four parishes, into w^hich the town is divided, ^ were marked out in 12^0 : in 180], they contained 5276 houses, and 28,924 inhabitants; and in ISl 1 , there were, in the same dis- I irtct, 314^ houses, ilihabited hy6i61 families, and 27,587 persons, llie church of St* Nicholas was founded by St, Ossmundt Bisbop of Salisbu^, in the time of the Conqueror, Henry the Fim granted it to the canons of St, Mary^ Carlisle ; and Hugh PudKy confirmed the grant, rest?rvjng all fruit?, ohlation^i, S:l\ except the great tythes, to the vicar. It was burnt down in 1216* Its revenues in 1296, amounted to 1051. lis. 8d.; of rhjch S8L 1 3s. ^d. was paid to its rector, the Bishop of Carlisle :
E I the
I
the like sum to the prior of Carlisle, 81. to the prior of Tyne-^ mouth, and 201. 5s. to iu vicar, who had to deduct from I ui portion a pension of thirteen marks to his rector. The siruc ^ lure, ns it stands at present, is supposed to have been r^^^d in ^1359. On like suppression of the priorv, and the cxeattOD of v^hc dean and chapter of Carlisle, by Henry tho EigUtbp rnoiety of the rectory of Newcastle was given to that institution,! The furniture of this church being in exceeding bad repair a •large sum was raided by voluntary contribution, in 17J53, to de- fray the expence of fitting up the cliancel with pew5. TliisI alteration was necessary : hut as IMr. Brand observes, tire anti- . fjuary must for ever lament the havoc made on this occasion ,among tlie funeral monmneuts. The porch of St. Mary is hand* [ , somely fitted up with oak stall^s, and till lately was used at ma^l ^tins* St. George's porch, in which the festival of that saint wai] ^^celebratedf in 161 7» was repaired %b out a century ago by the corporation. There were nine or ten oratories here, the united revenues of which, at the dissolution, were valued at 4-^1* 4&. 6d. a year. The assizes for Northumberland were held here in 1810 and 1811.
The steeple of this church is very lolly, and its top, which 111 built in tlie form of an imperial crown, in a work of adinirabla J lightness and elegance. Its arches and knotted pinnacles every direction arc thrown into hnes of great delicacy ; "and, at ' four points of view, tlie light through its centre assumes the forpa of a well-proportioned w heat-sheaf. Thi^ purt h supposed In have been added in the time of Henry the Sixth; but its history is very obscure. Tliere is a tradition, ttiat during the siege la 164K the Scottish general tlireatened to demohsh this steeple^" unless the keys of the town were iinniediately surrendered. The mayor ordered the chief of the Scotch pmoners in the j town to he taken to the top of it, and then replied, " our ene- mies shall either preserve it or be buried in its ruins." This answer had the desired elFcct. John CouMnS| an aldernian of Newcastle^ in 166 1» be-
cjueathed
KORTHUMBEaiAND, 57
ijucathed sixty folios and forty quartos to the library of this dturdu In a rcwm calkd tliu old library there arc several aiued booksi covered with dust, ami in wTetclied repair; QOBg&t which is the bible of Hexliam abbey, beautifully ill^- minated^ and upwards of 60*) yeats old, with a few other uiaiui- scripts. In 1763, Widur Blackett, Euq. built a library against llie south wall of the chancel, to contain the Iwoks of tiie Uev, Dr. Tomlinson, and other benefactors* This colkctiav la every day open to the public. It is large and valuable, and super* intended by a librarian, who hai» a e>alary of t25l. a year.
** In tJ»e north part of thi« church,** says Grey, ** la a shrine of Henry, the Fourth Percy Earlc of Nortliumberland, who w^a§ killed by the hands of the rebels, in Yorkshire, gutlierii>g up a iubsidy; be was buried at Beverly, and this made in memory of lain in liis owne couatrey, he having a house in this towne^ and Ji, aiid other noblemen and gentry in tliose days. ' Ornic^fO ima Hcitrki Perctf k Northtmbria\ qui per Rehcllium manus Gunhiii^ See J" This, with many other funeral monuments, ma destroyed by the alterations made iu pewiug the chancel in ITS3 ; they have, however, been replaced by several elegant productions of art, erected to the memory of North uralierland lamilies, ^Tlie origin of the Ciiaptl of Ht, Thomas h BickHi^ at the fidge-cnd, i» unknown. It existed in 1218. It had two chan- m it* By charter of James the Firj^t it was incorporated With tlie hospital of St. Mary MagduJen ; aud in 17^'i, it was repaired, and fitted up, as a chapel of ease to St. Nicholas. ** In ^% tli<^ outside of it was hewn over, and a new steeple built, the old one being taken da\^ n to make the passage on to the bridge more spaeio us/ * *
Sf. Andrrxv^s Church lias so wdl escaped the ravages of timr, war, and fanaticism, as to retain much of its original ma- •onry. The chancel arch is semicircular and ornamented with iig-xag work, in the Norman st}k\ Tliis church is mentioned
in • Account of Newca&Oe, in irsr, p> 15.
p
SB KORTHUMBERLAJfD,
in the TjTianouth chartulary, under the year 1219; and Bouroe 8uppOfi€8 it was founded by the tovmsmen and religious houses. There were three chantries in it before the reformation. The chantry dedicated to the Holy Trinity was probably founded by Sir Adam de Athol, who was sherifi* of Northumberland in 1S8S, and was buried in this place under a stone, bearing this ^inscription: "Hie jacent donunus Adamarus de Atholl milea et domina Maria uxor ejus quae oblit quarto ded mo die mensis
* — anno domini millesimo tricentesJmo -Animarum propi*
tietur.** The altar-pieccg a high effort of the pencil of Luca Crkmlana, was presented by Major Anderson*
The date and founder of St, John*s Vhiirch are unknown. ill exiited in 1286. Though it* walls are strongly marked by • the hand of time, its architecture evinces no high antiquity* Its windows, and especially the great eastern window, abound with curious specimens of painted glass* It had one chantry dedicated to St* Thomas the Martyr, a second to the Virgin Mary, and a third to the Holy Trinity. — '* This," says Grey, ** is a pretty little church, commciided by an archprelate of this kingdome, because it resembkih much a cross." The wooden spout down which the dove on the day of Pentecost was let to represent the descent of the Holy Ghost, remained here in the beginning of last century. In the cemetry here is a stone inscribed as follows :^
'* Here liei the remains of Joliu Cunningham. Of bb excellence m a pastoral poet, hit works will remain a mcmnmeut for agci, aficr lhi« trm- porai^* tribute of ettcefn ia in dust forgotten* He died at Newcaatle, Sept. 18, 177.S, aged 44."
AH-Sainis* Church* — ** I met with an account of the churchyard of All-Hallows, in 1286, which is a plain proof that the church was then in being."* The date of its founda- tion is, however, extremely uncertain, and its records are few, and no way curious. It had seven chantries at the dissolution. The old building was 167 feet long, and 77 feet wide. Ita
chancel • Bouruep p, 88*
J
I
I
KORT&UMBERLANO. 59
vhancel was built upon a square and spacious crypt, supported by one pillar id the centre, and had been lighted by windowg, which, when Mr. Brand visited it, in 1783, w ere walled up and greatly below the level of the floor of the late church. Its bells were cast In 1696, out of an equestrian statue of James the Se« cond, which stood upon SandliiU. ** This statue was the work rf Mr. William Larson, was approved of by Sir Christopher WreOt *od cost the town 8001, It was throtvn into the Tyne bj the mob, in 1688.
The present structure was built by authority of an act of par* liament, passed in 1 783, and afler a design of Mr. Stephenson, architect. It is in truth a most magniiiccnt edifice. Its form is circular, and its pew a and galleries all of mahogany. The portico on the south is adorned with five Ionic columns ; and the Bpire is lolly and elegant. It must, however, be confessed that tikis style of architecture is unsuitable to houses dedicated to rdigtous purposes ; and that it shrinks into insignificance, when compared witli the solemn regularity and granducr of the Gothic style- The whole expence of rebuilding this church is said to have exceeded 27»000h
The Chapel of >St, Anne^ which is dependent upon All- Saints* church, was neglected for several years afler the re- fitroiation ; but repaired by tlie town in J 682. The present degasit structure was built by Mr. Newton, at tlie expence of the corporation, and consecrated in 1768.
Tlic houses of religious assembly for dissenters are more rc- mariiablo for their number than for splendour of establishment, tntiquity, or beautiful architecture* Witliin the limits of this town there are two Roman Catholic chapels ; six meeting-houses for presbyterians, in communion with the church of Scotland; the burghers, the anti-burgliers, the Calvinistic baptists, and the independents, each have one. The Weslean metliodists have their orphan-house, and their Ebeuizer : and the new cooncctJODf or KiibamiteSi assemble at Bethel^ in Manor Chare,
The
ro NORTHtmBERLAKD.
The house of the Uiiitarians is in Hanover Square, and has m I library^ There is also a small congregation of Glassites*
The Grammar *8chool was founded by Thouia* Horsley^ wha was mayor of NewenstJe in 1525. Queen Ehzabetli rcfoundcd it in 1 599. Its master has usually been ap|iotnled to the mas«^ i tership of St. Mary'^ HospitaJ, the preniisen of which, since tlie' refoundation, have been converted into school-rooms and dwel* lings for the masters of this institution. Bishop Tlidiej^ the mar- tyr, Colonel Lilbuniej Mr, Hori^lcy, autlior of Uie Britannia Ho^ . mana, and Dr, Akenside, were scholars here ; Mr. Dawes, the fiuthor of Miscellanea Critica, wan master from 1738 lo 1750L ] Lords CoUingwood and Eldon, Sir William Scott, and several other di^tinguiiibed cliaracters received the rudiments of their ] education here, under the Reverend Hugh Moises, This valua* ble man died in 1806, aged eighty-five^ A monument finely 9%*^ ei'Uted by Flaxman, at theexpence of several of hig pupils^ audi the corporation of Newcastle, has been erected to his memory in St, Nicholas' church.
The town is well provided witli institutions for instructing the I children of the poor. Each of the four churches has a charity «chooh hberally endowed. Tliere is another attached to the cha- pel of St. Anne ; and the Sunday schools are nearly as nume- rous us the several places of religious worship. A very hand- some and capacious structure was also erected in 1810, for the general reception of poor children of all sects and denomina^ tionn, to be educated on the mctliod of ^Ir. Lancaster. It waa built to commemorate his Majesty's entry into the hflieth yenr of his reign, and therefore named the Rot/ai Jtdniee SchooL
The Iniirniary stands on the west side of the town and over* looks the Tyne, This charity was first established in 1731, and the edifice commenced in the same and finished in the ensuing year. Its situation, prospect, and external plan of architecture, were well chosen, but its wards were large and crowded, and the whole house badiy ventilated. These iuconveniencce were re- presented
^ »
NDRTRCMBERLANO* 61
pnmvted to the public in IBOl, and bernefactionfl, amounting to liearSOOOL were procured to remove tbein. In 1803, thi* neces- 9»y additions and improvements were completed. The revenue* of tlie institution partly arise from funded property, but chiefly from annual voluntary contnbutiuns. '* From April the firal 1809* to March thirty-one, 1810, it restored, under the bles- mbg of Providence, to their friends and the community, 1117 poor pcfBODS, vrboUy freed from their respective complaints. la tldi institution, since lU commencement to the present tmm^ 4§,712 cures have been performed ; and it is matter of 8atisfiM> Ittrjr reflection, that the cures, during each of the years from 1803 inclusive, have been, fortunately, in progressive increaae/' Id the governor*a room is a very fine full lengtli portrait of Sir Walter Blackett, by Re}^oldB ; one of Matthew Ridley, Esq. by Webb ; one of Dr. Butler, Bishop of Durham ; and one of Dr. Bemion, Bishop of Gloucester ; all of whom were great be- nc&ctors to the charity.
A DUpauar^ was established in Pilgrim Street, in this town, 1777- It has since been removed into Low-triar Street, where a suitable building has been purchased, and iitted up by the goYemors of the institution* *• In 1801, there were ad- miUcd to the benefits of this charity, four hundred and twenty- five persons afflicted with fevers. The hardest in 1 800 was late, the grain and potatoes damaged, and theretbre Uie food of the poor was not only scanty, but afforded little nutriment. The fever, however, was tractable, and from the exertion of this cha- rity few died.** In 1810 it appeared, that " 56,285 had been admitted to the benefit of the dispensary, of whom 52,572 had taeti cured^" Vaccination is performed liere gratis to the poor.
Ifllien the Infirmary was enlarged, an attempt was made to fit up a part of it iovjever wdfts, but this was over-ruled ; and, in 13(H, a Homeoi Recox^rt^ was built, near the west gate, by. vo- Imtary subscription. It was instituted for the cure and preven- tiao of contagious diseases, and has its medical establL^lunent
from
0S XORT»UMBEntATfD#
from tlie dispensary. " Fifteen patienta were admitted into t!i» hospital in ISOOi and those mostly taken out of numerous &- milies ill the close and crouded parts of the town.*' ♦
Dr. Hdl, an eminent physician in this town, soxiie yean since erected, on the outside of the West Gate, a set of very handsome baths. Their design was furnished by Win* Craneson, architect. Considerable medical skill has been employed here in tlie appll* cation of the gaseous fluids ; and we imagine we see the com* fort and elegance of the Roman age revived in the use of the vapour, hot, and tepid battis, the swimming hasiiu, and the cold enclosed baths of these edifices. They are situated in a garden very tastefully laid out ; the wsklka fringed ivitli curious shrubs ; and the whole somewhat in the style of the baths, the younger Pliny had in his pleasure grounds.
Hospitals.— The hoispital of Holy JesuaJ, usually called the FVeemen's hospital, is situated in the Manors, and was founded, erected, and endowed, at the charge of the corporation, A* D* 168L Its founders laid out 50CX)L of its property in purchasing the Walker estate, in the parish of Longbenton. It consists of a master and forty-one brethren, or sisterf, being freemen, or widows of freemen, or unmarried sons and daughters of free- men. Contiguous to this is the hospital of Mrs. Anne Davison, founded in 1725, for a governor and five sisters, to be widows of clergymen, merchants, or freemen of Newcastle ; also the hospital of Sir Walter Blackett, for f^'ix poor unmarried bur- gesses, endowed by its founder with 1200L ; and the hospital of Thomas Davison of Fcrryhill, in the county of Durham, Esq* founded for six unmarried women, daughters or widows of bur- gesses. The edifices of these three charities were built at ll»e charge of the corporation, in 1754-, in w^hich year the two last were founded. By a resolution of the common council at the guild, January the fourteen, 1811, it was ordered that the sixty poor members in these hospitals should, in future, receive twa
hundred • KepoTt tlie ?i\llr,
KO&TIItJMB£RLAKiI. 6i
hundred a month. The Keelman*6 Hospital^ hmit at their own charge^ A. D. 1701, contains a great hall and fifty-two other roomi, and cost upwards of 2000). It is an institution much iu the nature of a benefit society. Iti revenues are levied upon the earnings of its members. After many ineiFectual attempts to lay it under wholesome and practical regulations, an act of par- liament was obtained, In 1788, by which its funds should in fu* ture be managed. It was remarked by Dn Moor, Bishop of £ly, " that he had heard of, and seen many hospitals the works of rich men, but this was the hrst he ever saw or heard oft which had been built by the poor." *
Besides these should be enumerated the Lying-in Hospital, fbundedin Roaemary Lane in 1760» and liberally supported bj voluntary subscription* And a similar institution begun in the fbllowing year for the poor lying-in women at tlieir own houses, in Newcastle and Gateshead. The Society for the relief of the firicndless poor was commenced, in 1797, and has its meetings at the baptist chapel, Tuthil*&tair$. The Asylum for lunatics, be- longing to the counties of Durham, Newcastle, and Noi thum- beriand, is in an airy and retired situation, and is a handsome and spacious building. In digging its foundation in 1765, a braia teal, inscribed ' Vis et Deus noster', was discovered ; and the field in which it is built is remarkable for its deep intrench- inents and breastworks, from which it probably derived the name of the Warden's Close, and which, as we have elsewhere liinted, mum to have been a part of the ancient fortifications of tlie town.
In Leland's time, " a square haul place of the townc'* stood upon Sandhill. Tlte present Exchange and Town-Court were fi- Qiahed in 1658* Robert Trollop, of York, was the architect of thii atructure. He agreed to build it for 20001 ;t but Bourne informed that it cost above 10,0001. of which Alderman Weymouth gave, by will, 12001. and the corporation contributed tlie rest. It has undergone many external aUerations since that time^ e^cially in having its fronts cased with freestone, and its
roof * Boumei p« 15K t Braad I, ^0*
M^ NOBTinnkrBEitr.AyD.
If oof covered witti bJue slate. In 1785, and for several reasons after, a pair of crows built their nest and reared tlieir youngs ^ ariiong the spikes of a weatli<?rcoek upon the steeple of this [building* It« lower story iig occupied by offices of the town- Iclcrky the merchants' coffee-room, and the piazzas of the Ex- I change. At tlie foot of the stair-case i& a bronze statue of [Charles the Second, in a Roman liabrt. On the second floor the Town-Couti, or Guildhall, the mayor's chamber, the ttcrc!iant*s court, the revenue office, and the archives of the *toim. The assizes, quarter-sessions, and other courts of the town and county of Newcastle arc held in the Guildhall, the I fl#or of which is laid witli black and white marble, and its walls I omamented witli full length portraits of Charles tlie Second and Jiimes the Second ; as also one of George the Tlnrd, paint- I ed by Ramsay, in 1T60. Tlie merchant's court is over a part I of Thornton's tlospita) : it is a spacious room, and has a very curious and noble chimney-piece, of carved oak. Tlie common cx>unci1 is held, and the daily business of the magistracy is transacted, in the mayor's chamber ; in which is to be seen an engine, called tl»e branks, and concerning winch Is the follow- ing remarkable anecdote in Gardener's England's Grievances« printed in 1 655 : —
"John Willis, of Ipswldi, upon his oath, said that he, this deponent, was in Newcastle, six months ago, and there he saw one Anne Bidlestone drove through the streets, by an officer of the corporation, holding a rope in his hand, the other end fastened to an engine, called tlie branks, which is like a crown, jt being of iron, w^hich was musled over the head and face, with a great gap,* or tongue, of iron, forced into her mouth, which forced the blood out ; and that is the punishment which the magistrates do inflict upon chiding and scolding women, and that he liatli often seen the like done upon others*'* f This punishment is still applied to scolds that presume to exercise their taleat in exajninations or trials before the magistrates.
The «Lcgc,fffl^. t Page 17.
irORTHUHBERLAHl^. 6$
Tile Mansion-house was rebuilt in 1691> at the cost of 600(^. beudes the furniture. "It U a building, saja Bourne, grand aad stately ; and, considering the place it stands in, is very ornamentaL*' The saloon it furnished witli halberts, and other kinds of armour, and the whole of the interior fitted up in ft m&nner suitable for the dwelling of the chief magistrate of this opulent corporation. Among other allowances, the mayor has a state-coach, a bai^, coals for the tnanision-house, and 1 30(A, a*year towards expenees in house-keeping. Great hospitality k kept up in this house through the whole of the year, and the judges of assi^ and their attendants are lodged and enter- tained in it, during their sessions ; at which, if no criminal be capitally convicted, they are each of them presented, by the mayor^ according to ancient custom, with a pair of white gloves. It if uncertain at what time the " guild or fraternity of tho blened Trinity** were licensed. They purchased the site of their present house in 1492: and in 1505 ordered that a haJl» chapel* and lodgings for their poor brethren, should be erected upon it at their common expence. Some privileges were pro* bably granted them in 1530, for under that year, in their book of expenees, are these entries ; "for ray lorde admyrall seyll, toftj six shillings and eight-pence ; for sygnet and prevye seyll^ four pounds six shillings and eight-pence ; to kynge's grayce for tiie great seayll, eight pounds two shillings." They had diaiters granted them by Henry the Eighth, Queen Elizabeth^ Jttiies the Firsts Charles the Second, and James the Second. Tlie charter pf Henry the Eighth represents them as incorpo- nted for the encouragement of the art of navigation, and with liceme to build and embattle two towers, one at the mouth of the haven of Tyne, the other on the adjoining hill, in which lights were to be kept every night, and fourpence to be paid to them by ev^ry foreign ship, and twopence by every English •h^ that entered the port. The other charters, though they altered the private regulationa of the society, concerning the Vol. XIL F choice
66 ' ~ NORtHUMBEHLAKD.
choice of a master, the nomber of their irardens, &c. and en- larged their marine jurisdiction, in no degree infringed upon the main intentions of the first. Within the circuit of their pre- mises they have a free school, erected in 1712, for the instruc- tion of the children of their brethren in writing and mathe- matics, llieir chapel was fitted up in its present neat style- in 1634. They have rooms for eight poor brethren, and twelve widows, who, with several other of their own poor, have com- fortable allowances from their funds.
The first account we have found of a * cockettum,* or cus- tom-house, in this town, is in 1*281, when a duty of six shillings and eightpence was charged upon ^500 wooled skins ; the same sum upon a sack of wool ; and thirteen shillings and four pence upon a last of leather.* Hoberi HhodeSt a great benefactor to tlie churches of Newcastle, was appointed to tlie office of ** countrouller de« custumes et subsidies le roi en le port de Novel Castell eur Tyne/' in M'4-O.t In Queen Elizabeth's time ** the customer here had a fee of sixteen poundj^ thirteen shillings and fourpence, and a reward of twenty-six poundjb thirteen shillings and fourpencr per annum; the controler, fee four pounds, reward ten pounds ; weighters, four pounds, re- ward among them, four pounds.^
There was an act of parliament, fourteenll^ George the Third, to enable Dr* Fawcet, Vicar of Newcastle, to grant a lease of a part of the vicarage garden, for 999 years, and on a rent of twenty pounds a year, for the purpose of building a Home ofAs* nembly upon. The structure was raised from a design and under the direction of Mr, Newton, architect, in 1776, and cost 6701 K The rooms ore said to be the most elegant and commodious of the kind of any in the kingdom, except those in Bath* There is a large and very good picture of Sir John Falstaff and Mrs. Ford, by Downman, in the tea-room. Part of the lower rooms
arc * Maitox's HiAt. of the Excln ]>. 634. t Bourne^ p. Sin
; IVck's Desitlrtata Cirriosa^ VoL L lib, ii* anno 173?.
are \tted as a coffee-house, which is furnished with a Ubrar^'^ cottbting of works on political economy, and other gubjecti bie to the situationi The Literary and Philosophical Society of Newcastle was in- •tituted in 1793» Its tirst meetings were in a room in 8t. Ni- cholas' churchyard- While it propofied the discussion of the several branches of polite hterature, its Jeading objects appear to have been the investigation of the situation and properties of the mineral productions of this neighbourhood,^ atid the elucida- tion of the sciences applicable to commerce. Its hbrary wai eommenced in 1795> and three years after the whole of its pro- perty was removed to the old assembly rooms in the Groat Market, of which the society procured a lease. It is governed by a president, four vice-presidents, two secretaries, and eight comndttee-men, all of whom are annually chosen out of its ordinary members^ and vested witli the management of its fundb Out of its honorary members four are aUowed the priviJeges of ordtnar)' ones. Ladies are admitted to the use of the library » bat cannot attend general meetings, or vote in the choice of iiienil>eT8. The annual payment to it is a guinea, and its re- ireoues are upwards of 5251. a year. In 1802, a kindred branch, called the New Institution^ was engrafted upon it, and a part of its funds appropriated to the maintenance of that meretorious estidilishment^ which consists of a permanent lectureship on the peverul branches of natural and experimental philosophy, che- mistry, flrc; and for which a large and very valuable apparatus luis been purchased*
The old Play-Home was built in 1T4B, upon a part of the I of St, Bartholomew's churchy and has lately been occupied m a concert-room, The Theatre Royal originated at the time that MosJey and Dean Streets ^ ere buiJt, nnd wa^ opened by the authority of an act of parliament in 17S8, It was built by Mr. phenson, and is estcremed a handtiome and commodious edi- ce, by tlie lovers of the drama. Amidst the broils and insecurity of the feudal ages, many of F 2 the
6i NORTHUlilBERLAKD.
the Korthumbrian barons foimd it necessary to have i within the strong walb of Kewca«tJe. Few vestiges, bcfwever^ remain at present to point out their situatton Of t]i£trgraiidear«i The Earl of NorthumherlantPi haiae was in the Cloie. It i that, says Bourne, which has aa its entrance a great ga^ i a large round ball of atone ; and in Uie lower part of it, towi the river, shews manifest signs of antiquity. Botbeck Hall, a it was called af^r Ralph Nevil was created an eari, We$i* .moreland Pkce^ is situate in We^tgate Street, nearly < CoUingwood Street l*hough the building upon its dte ancle Dt appearancei nothing of the original stnictore i except a remarkable wall, about eight feet broad, which ] the garden. This wall has been converted into a terrace : under | it is a vaulted passage, made of very old bricks^, and leading w? Nevil Tower. Lord Scrape had a house in Pilgrim Street. The Scotch Arms^ near Nun Gate, is traditionally held to have been the lodgings of the kings and nobility of Scotland, in ttmei of truce with England. ''It ia an ancient building, with a bu^ gate, and has been a piece of stately workmanship.**^ There ^ an inn in Pilgrim Street^ at which the devotees, in their vi to the shrine of St. Mary, at Jesmond, are said to have lodged*^ Near the head of tliis street is also a noble mansion, bulk In 1 580, by Robert Anderson, out of the ofBces, and nearly upOflli the site of the Franciscan Priory. V\' e take it to have been i kinsman of dm gentleman, who is recorded to have dropped his ring over Newcastle bridge, and whose servant purchased \ aalmon some short time after, in which the same ring found, f This circumstance happened about 1559. The ring is still in this family of Andersons, and has a fish engraven under the signet, the stone of which, Mr. Brand supposed to be a Roman antique. Sir Francis Anderson, Knight, con* veyed this mansion, in 1675, to Sir William Blackett, of Mal-
fen, • Bourne, p. 51.
tSe« a Minitar tak in Littl«bar> s Hcroditttf, Vol, I. p, tTti and n CollicfB Diclioaar>'i iioder Kentif em.
I
HORTHUMBERLAND. 69
fen. Baronet, who added the two wings to it. It came into the possession of Sir Walter Blackett by his marriage wiUi the grand-daughter of Sir William, and in 17SS was sold to Mr. George Anderson^ whose son. Major Anderson, by reason of its being at two distant periods in the possession of two fami- lies of the same name, has styled it Anderson Place* Grey calla it a princely building ; and ** indeed,*' gays Bourne, '* it » no less than very stately and magnificent, being supposed the most so of any house in the whole kingdom, within a walled town. It is surrounded by a vast quantity of ground ; thftt part of it which faces the street is thrown into walks and gran plats, beautified with images, and beset with trees, which i£>rd a very pleasing shade r tlie other part of the ground, on the west side of it, is all a garden, exceedingly neat and curious, adorned with many and the most beautiful statues^ and se- veral other cariosities." The statues have been removed ; but the rest of this description is still, in a measure, applicable to the place* A subterraneous passage, pointing towards the ManorSf was discovered iji the garden here a few years since, and ooillf of Edward the Third and Henry the Fourtli taken out of it. The parents of Durant, the colleague of Cuthbert Syden- ham • in the lectureship of St. Nicholas, were buried in the garden here, as appears from a marble tombstone remaining 10 the stable-yard* This house also is remarkable for being the head-quarters of General Levin during the captivity of King Charles in Newcastle. That monarch is said to have entered the town guarded by 300 Scottish horsemen, those near hhn bare-h«aded. He passed throLigh a lane of pikes and muskets from Gateshead to the general's quarters. He wrt<t caressed with bonefires, peals of ordnance, and other marks of rejotctng: and, according to his own confession, was no where treated with more honour than here. Himinelf and train had liberty to go abroad every day, and to play at ^olf in the Shield Field^ without the walls, till a design for hm i^cape was dis- F S covered,
• Ser Wood'f Afh^ttir. VM. Up j:o.
70 yORTHUMBEHLAKD.
covered, which occasioned stricter orders to be sent down respecting his person.* There is a traditional account, that he attempted his escape by a fiub terraneous passage from a cellar in this house to the Lortburn, but that he could not effect the opening of an iron door at the outlet of this pa but tales respecting these under-ground ways are seldom listened to. Soon after the king's arrival at Newcastle, Scotch minister preached very boldly before him ; and wheii" hk semion was done, called for the lifly-second psalm, whic begins —
Why dost thoitt tyrant^ booAl lliyself, Tliy wicked wurk» to praise ?
Whereupon his majesty stood up, and called for tlie fifty-six pBalm, which begins —
Have mercy, Lord, on me, I pray. For men would roc devour.
The people waved the minister's psalm, and sung that whicli the king called for,f The king liaviiig an antipathy to tobacco, was much disturbed by their bold and continual smoking in bis presence.^ When the news reached him of the ill success of hfsarmy in Scotland he took no notice of it» but continued in t game of chess, as cheerful as before.
From the time of William Rufus to the reign of King Jame th»!» town was constantly gathering an accumulation of power. Rufus gave to its inhabitants
^rouptl and goJd ful great to spend,
To bnllde it w<^ll, and wall it all *iboute, AitdfruunehUed theim to pay a/m- rcnU oat
Henry the First and his successor exempted it from various dens ; and John, after raising its * antient fee ferm' from fifty
*^> 4
• Bourne, p. fS5. Brand, VoK IL p. 471.
t Wliiilock's Memoit»>, p, 256, t iJotirnp, ut sup. Burnett*! Hume of Hamikoo, p» 306.
■ m\\
KORTHUMBERLAKD. 7)
to doe hundred pounds a year, enlarged itf privileges* Its first
officers werebailif&» to whom a mayor wiis added in 1251. In
1400 tt was consLituted a county of itself, and the direction of
it entrusted to Roger Thornton, mayor, William RedmaxshalJ,
itf first sheriff, and, instead of the four bailiffs, six aldermen,
who were vested with the power of justices of the peace. A
recorder, eight ch amber liiintj, two coroners, a sword-bearer, a
common -clerk^ and eight Serjeants of mace, were added in
151 Q- The aldermen were increased to ten in 1557, and the
twenty -four electors, who were to be equally chosen Irom the
twelve crafts of the town, were made a common-council. The
great charter of Elizabeth ordains, that the mayor, the ten
aldermen, and recorder, should be jointly and severally keepers
of the peace within the town ; and that the common^council
should consist of the mayor, aldermen, and twenty-four other
burgesses. It was, however, the charter of James that finally
and solidly established to this opulent body its large immunities:
Uiat fully defined the time and manner of electing Its mayor,
sheriff, chamberlains, &c, the duration and offices of electors
ind fddermen ; and that clearly pointed out the nature and
extent of the jurisdiction of its magistrates, the privileges of
the freemen, and the liberties of Uxv town. This borough has
cofitinued to send iwo fuembers to parUamctU since the year
1283, except in the sixth and eifjhth years of Edward the
Second, and first of Edward the Third, when the burgessei;
omitted to send the representatives, on account of the perilous
litoaCion tliey were placed in by the Scots. Its markets are on .
Tuesdays and Saturdays; and its annual ^iV^ August twelfth,
ober twenty-ninth, and November twenty-secoud, the last
which only continues one day, and the two other nine days*
Iti annual revenues, in 1809, amounted to 35,5011. 58. 2d.
L«rge sums have been expended in widening the streets, and
wrious other improvements in the town* A butcher-market, on
ivery handsome and convenient plan, has lately been finished
tt the expence of this body ; and we may fairly prophecy, that
F 4 the
*n HOKTHUMBIBLAKD.
the liberal md judicioua management of their purse mJH mqou place Newcastle on a level, in convenience, in elegance, and. commercial advantages, with the first towns of the Briti empire*
Elswick, in the parish of St. John, Newcastle, was one of the posftessions of Tynemonth prior)* There were collieriet at Hejgrove, Westfeld^ and Gallowflat, near Elswick, ia ISM.* Soon after the reformation, it was purchased by WO- liam Jenninson, Esq. in whose family it continued till the be- ginning of the last century, when it was sold to the grandfather of its present possee^or, John Hodgson, Esq. who has lately rebuilt the house on a large and elegant plan. Its site is higk and bokl, and the prospect from it, over the busy scene of the Tyne and the vale of Ravensworth, renders it a very interesting situation^ An exten&ive laboratory for coperas was commenced on this estate in 1808: tlic apparatus for tlie preparation of prusiate of iron was removed from this neighbourhood, in IS 10, to the south side of the river, at Heworth Shore.
Fenham, in this parish, belonged to the Knights Templarig and, with the rest of ttieir property was granted by parlia»< ment, in i324| to the Knights Hospitallers of St. John of Jerusalem. It was annexed to the crown at the dissolution^ but afterwards came to the Riddels of Swinburne Castle. Thomas Riddel obtmioed an act of parliament to sell it to Jahn Ord, attorney-at'law, in Newcastle. The mines j in this sale, were reserved ; but, in 1 770, sold to the Orda, in which family it still continues. From its east Iront is a 6ne open prospect of the river Tyne» to the haven of Shields, and the ruins of Tynemouth priory-
Benwell, the Cofidercum of the Notltiat and the station of the Ala Astorum, is situated on an eminence, near two mil^ west of Newcastle. A stone was discovered here, in 166% which Baxter supposes to have been inscribed in the consul- ship of Senicio and Pakna ; but Horsley says,f ^* I take it to
have • Tinni. Cliartulaiyi fol. 163. BmDd. t Brit, Rom. 21?.
4
I
NORTnUMBlRLAKD. 7S
have been erected to the honour of the emperort Marcus Aure- liuft and Licius Verus, upon occasion of some victory they had gained over the Northern Britonfl, by Calpurnius Agricola, their legate, in which thli Felix Seniclo had the command of the first wing of the Asti." The original is partly obliterated.* Sereral other inscriptions have been found here, the most re- oarkable of which is a fine altar, dedicated to Jupiter Dolt* chentiA, a deity worshipped by miners.f It was lately pur- chased, with the rest of Mr. Brand's collection of Roman an* tiqujttes, by the Rev, Charles Thorpe, and is at pretent in the lodl of the rectory of Ryton. The inscription^ though partly injured, is in the same state as it was in Horsley's time, who read it in ihls manner : —
J4»vt Optimo maiximo Dulkheno et uuminbui AiigitKti pro statute impe* mmtom Gssarii Titi JElii Hadriani Antonini Augiuti Pil patri« patrae et tef;t<siiii secnnds Auguste Marcus Libumiiis Froiito centuHo Icgtooii ejtu*
SiBce Horsley's time, coins of Trajan, Hadrian, and several
otlier emperors, have been found here ; five inscriptions, but
none of them of much interest; a great conduit, made of large
liewn atones ; also, in 1752, a hypocaustum, about 300 yards
aouth-west of the station, and of which an accurate drawing,
taken at the time by Robert Shaftoe, Esq. is given in Mr*
Brand's History of Newcastle,}: The fine urn in the library at
Durham came from hence. The foundations of an exploratory
tower were found opposite the second milestone. An iron rail-
wty was made through the north side of the station in 181 0»
which
• Baxter's reading :— Victoria qiiind*?cimap cohortit Gilbram feccntnt trjii^ Konto ^enodone eomnl^, feU\ aU L Afltomm multii prwilta. Hon1f^*t reading : — Victortsp Au^^tittoruin nosiromm fecit nepoi So«i} ItiecuMin consulis Felix al^ primo! A^tortun pi j^fectus,
t Vide Reinesii Symt. fuse. Ant. p. 4iiftm.
t Vol* L p, 607. Bovme, p. Hi. coibi. WaUis, Val. I* p« 17f, FhU. Tran. No. 130.
7* horthumeehlaku*
which laid bare a part of its wall«» and the fouiidationi of ««- ▼era! buildings.
A coal mine, near this place, took fire at a candle, in the beginning of last century, and burned near thirty yeanu Its progress was small at first ; but it afterguards acquired so great fitretigth, a5 to ^spread into the Fenham grounds^ and burst out in the manner of a volcano, in near twenty places. It covered the furze in its way with flowers of sulphur, and cast up pieces of sal-ammoniac six inches broad*
Jn 1272 Richard de Ben well held one moiety of the villa of Benwell, and Robert de Whitchester and Henry Dtlaval the othi^r, by sendee of each a fourth part of a knight's fee, of the barony of Bolbeck* The Delavals had possessions here in 1435. " The old tower of Benwell was the place where the prior of Tynemouth had his summer's residence, and the cha- pel which Mr. Shaftoe opens for the good of the people of his village, was the prioHs domestic chapel.'** The Shaftoes here were a branch of the Bavington family. Their mansion was joined to the old tower, but the whole edifice has been several years untenanted, and is now in ruins. The register of the' chapel ends in 1742; its Ibondations have been raised; and nothing remains to point out its site, except a few grave* stones,
With nettles skirted, and with moss o'crgrown.
The village contains a few neat houses ; the ground about it ia very fertile ; and the view from it, over the island called the King's Meadows,f to Axweli Park, and the woods of Gibside, is truly charming. Jesmono, about two miles north-east of Newcastle, and in
the
* fiournc; p. Its. f A note written in tlie time of the crnnmonwcalth, in an inteiiea? ed copy of Grey's Choro^rrapiiia, and in the Library at Hebburn Hall, in the county of Durham, says, this island was called the Kin^^'s Meadow.s, be* raiijc hay was procured vpon it for the kin^s hot^ea, when lie cam* to Newcastle.
NORTHUMBERLAND* 74
the parish of $L Andrews^ k said to have derived its naiiM! from a rood tliat stood upon a mound of earth at the entrance ci* Uie village. It uppertained to the barony of Gaugy, in the time of Henry the Third. One Hilton was possessed of a third part of it in 1368; and in 1383, Adam de Atijol, who founded the chantry of Holy Trinity, in which, himself and wife were buried^ in St« Andrew's church, resided in this vilhtge* A third part of the manor of Jessemuth, and of the advowson of the church there, belonged to John Styneley in the reign of Rich- ard tJie Second** Sir Robert Stotte came to live* here in ]65S» and his mansion to this day^ is called Stotte's HaU» Sir Francis Anderson, Knight, and others, sold possessions here
163B, to WiUiam Coulson, Esq. whose descendants resided Jenmmd House^ till it was sold In 1 809, to Jolm Anderson,
. of Newcastle. Tlie //o(y Well of Jesmund, was anciently in liigh estimation, and hither ** witli great confluence and de- votion, people came from aJl parts of this ietund, to the shrine of the Virgin Mary.'*f The Chapel and Hmpiial^ with their povessions, were granted by Edward the Sixth, to tlie cor- pmLion o£ Newcastle, who sold them to Sir Robert Brandling, The chapel had been long occupied as a barn and a stable and the hospital has been rebuilt, and converted into a dweU iing house.
HcATOK Hall, in the parish of All-Saints, Newcastle, and delightfolly situated upon the steep and woody banks of Onse* bum, is the seat of Matthew White Ridley, Esq* eldest son of Sir Matthew White Ridley, Bart* whose father, from designs
nished by Mr. Newton, architect, gave the building it< present nt appearance, by adding the two towers, and facing the ont with stone. This house was byilt in 171*^, about which time the ^mily had several extensive collieries in its neighbour- hood.
• Iawsoh^s M.S* U 7, ^* Jaeoba que fnii uxor Joliumb Stryndlyn obtit *eittU&c," £^li€ati,am* Ric. e. Fraud, I. 1 97. f Grey^ Cbor. trb. viii*
96 KORTHUMBERLAKD.
hood.* There was a chapel here at which Edward the Fir«t attended to hear a idshop of boys perform the vespers of St* Nicholas.f Tradition relates that King John made this one of the places of his retreat. Robert de Gaugy was greatly in the confidence of thi^ monarch, and this village was held of his barony* Ruins of an old building, fortified on the north, stilJ carry the name of King John*s Palace, The manor of Heaton belonged to the Bahhingtons of Hamham for many years ; and wa« the ieat of Sir Henry Bnbhington in 1628. A descendant of this family, in a low situation, recovered a share of Heaton colliery in 1796,
Near Heaton, on an elevated situation, Is the ancient vill of BvKER, which with its park, was held hy Nicholas de Biker,' in grand serjeancyt in 1234. Robert de Biker dledt seized of two parts of Byker and Pampedon, fifteenth of Edward the First. The Fercys had it in Henry the Sixth's time, and Ed- ward tlie Fourth granted it to his brother Clarence. Sir Ralph Lawaon held it in I567» and it still continues in the same mily. The Roman wall passed on the north side of this pj The mock ruins were built as ornamental objects from Heat HaU* The free-stone quarries here, have furnished immense quan titles of ashlars to Neipcastle, and the neighbouring collieries.
GospoRTH parish formerly contained two chapels, subject to St, Nicholas, in Newcastle. North Gasforth chapel began to be disused in the early part of last century, and no vestige at present remains of it, but a few grave stones in its burial ground. The village and b<irony were held of the crown, by the ancient family of Surtees, from the time of Henry the First, to the latter end of the reign of Henry the Sixth4 At^erwards jt came to the Brandlings. There are no remains of this vil- lage. Smith Ga^rth chapel was in existence in Henry the
Second's • Univ. Mftgt2« VoK LXXXt p. 8t. Bourne, p. 114. ♦ Wardrobe, Accmint of the twenty-eigbtJi ot Edward the First. I Twta Jc Ncvilt, p, 39f, Walli*, Vol. Ih p. t6B.
iton
ker,!™
zed
the
Ed- talph^ lefa*^ ,hu^
KORTHXTMBEALAKD. ??
Second's time* It has been lately rebuilt ; and is remarkablo for nothing but its neatness. Though the Te«U de Nevill de- scribes South Gosforth as in the possession of the Surtees family, yet firoin the &ame record, and other good authority, it appears to have been a member of the barony of Whalton, of which it was held in the time of Henry tlie Thirds by Otwel Lisle, by ward serrice.* The Lisles obtained it by marriage, of Robert Xifile to the daughter of Richard Caovil, about the year 1 170. This manor, and that of Coxlodge, belonged to the Lisles of Fel* ton, ID 1567; in which year North Gosforth, among other pos- iesnone, belonged to Robert Brandling, Esq. who was created a knight banneret, after the battle of M usselburg.f This family resided at Alnwick Abbey soon after the dissolution, and after- wards at Felling Hally in the county of Durham. Gosforth Hotise, the seat of C. J. Brandling, Esq. M, P* was built by Iiti father, from designs by Pain. Among the paintings her€^ •re several family portraitis, and a fine portrait of Rembrandt by himself. Since tlie building of this mansion the grounds around ire been circled with a broad girdle of wood, and their uni* features broken with pbntations and slieets of water.
Cramlingtox is a village pleasantly situated on a rising ground. In itjs chapel is a marble slab, inscribed •• Orate pro antma, Thoniae Lavv.-on, generosi qui obiit 2':' die mensis Julii, A. B, 1469. Cujus animus propietur Deus." Adam Ribaud, held six ox gangs here of the barony of Gaugy ;| and the place bae had for tenants the families of Trewycke, Ribblesworth^ Hftrbottle, Hall, and Cramlington, which last, from *mall be* ginnings, had amassed considerable possessions heie, in 1385. The Lawsons obtained this pJace by marriage in the reign of Henry the Sixth, and have been possessors of it ever since.
The parish Church of Long Benton is dedicated to St* Bar- tholomew, and, with certain lands in this pari«;h, was given by Sir Philip Somervilie, of Wickmore, in Staffordshire, to Baliol
College,
• ^mk^t K«wc. Vol, L p. 3«f. f HolL Chron. Vol H, p. 991.
t Teit* de NevBI, p. 387.
t* NORTHUMBERLAND,
College, in Oxfordi for the mEuntenance of six sehokrs. Tti« Benton Magna, South KiLllngwonh, Walker, and the two Weetslctg, were manors of Roger de Merlay, Baron of Mor- peth^ from whom they came by regular descent to the prefient Earl of Carligle, who sold them, in 1 800, to the Brandlings of Gosforth, and Brow^as of Long Benton, The Griffiths had pos- sessions here in 1356 ; and hulf the ville belonged to the Thorn- tons of Nether Witteo, in 1429. The bas&h dike in Walker colliery, in tins parish, is pure stone in its centre, and on each side gradually falls into carbonated coaL
Little Bekton, or Benton Parva, in Henry the Third'* time, was held under the baronies of Heron and Heppeh Idt^^d 1282, it was tlio Lordship of Jeffry Scrope, of Masham, in^B Yorkshire, one of whose family founded the chantry of the Vir- gin Mary, in Long Benton church* It afterwards belonged to «vHalph, Lord Greystoke, and in Henry the Sixth's reign to William Fitz-Hugh. Thomas Bigge, Esq. by his marriage with a co-hdreas of John Hindmarsh, Esq* was in possesaton of in 1730, and the two mansion houses here are the propertjj*i this family.
Wallsend, the Segedunum of the Romans, was the station of the first cohort of the Lergi, and has its modem name from tlie great stone barrier terminating here. The fort has been about six chains square, and the field in which it stands is called the Well^ or the Wall-Laws, A wall has led from the south end of its eastern rampart to the Tyne, on tlie brink of which heaps of ruins are still discernable. " The south rampart," says Horsley, ** has run along the brow of the hill, or at the head of the descent towards the river ; and the out-buildings or town (as appears by the hillocks of stones and rubbish) has •tood upon the descent open to the southern sun, and reached to the side of the river. All which is exactly agreeable to the rules the Romans seem to have almost inviolably observed in building their stations*** Tlie steam engines of Wallsend coDiery are nearly upon the site of this station. In sinking the aliaft of a
pit,
KORTHUMBEHLAKB* t9
|>it» rtry large teethe and a conduit formed of large stonee^ were fbund. Fragments of beautiful pottery ; immense quantities of bones and horns of ammafs are continually turning up ; and in- jtcribed stones have been built up by the incurious masons. In the works of the colliery.* Four centurial inscriptions, and an altar to Jupiter, are given in Horslcy, the originals of whicli are St the rectory of Ryton^ This inscription=-
HADR ....
MVR.COND. . . .
HOC MAR ....
PO!i . COSS . D . , . .
g]?eci by Penant in his Northern Tour, is a forgery, published in the Newcastle Journal, August 6, 1 775. The ancient xilfage of Wallsendi called by Letand pagula infrequens, stood on the lite of the station ; the motlcm village is a mile north of it, and contains a few excellent houses. The Old Church dedicated to Holy Cross, stood very inconveniently upon the brow of a hill, and bad a long flight of stairs up to it. The New Church wai uder authority of an act of parliament, and opened in
** I dare con6dently affirm,'* says Camden, "that Tynemouth in the lime of the Romans was called Tunnocellum ;" but Horsley, on rational grounds, placed that station at Boulne^, on the opposite end of the walLf Recent discoveries have, however, proved that the Romans had buildings here. Two inscriptions were found in 1785, on the north side of the castle, til feet below the surface, and in the foundation of an ancient building. They are in the possession of the London Society of Aatiquaries. One of them is an altar inscribed in tliis manner:—
lOM AEI^ RVFVS PRAEF COH niL LINGO
NVM
' Bfiiil^ Newc, Voh L p. 604.
whloh t Brit. Rom, pp^ lot, 109.
80 NORTHrMBERLAKIK
which is plainly to be read ; Jtm optima nummo Mlius Rufia prafectus cohort is quart i^ Lingonum, This is the first nientioo of die Jir&i cohort of Lingones* and of the prefect MMum Riiftis.^ The other inscriptloci is on a tablet about twenty* one iDcheE square : —
CYRVM CVMBAS
ET TEMPLVM
FECIT CVI
MAXIMINVS
LEG; VT: VI
EX VOTO
G^ruMf cumhas^ et templtini fecit Caiitn Jtditis Maximinus Le^ gionit iextm xHctrices ex voto. This is the most approved reading. The two first lines of the original are, however, much defaced, and, in diiierent works hnve been so variously engraveD,f m to make m cautious in adopting the barbarous triads ^jrrum, cumbas, et templuni. Brand supposed that gyrum meant * a circular harbour for tlie shipping;' and, that the word referred to Prior*s Havens adjoining to this place, and which, in hii opinion, had all the appearance of having been one of the artificial harbours of the Romans : but Gough endeavours to prove that the word has no such meaning. The other readingft. proposed for the first line are, Cippum cum basi^ and Publicum civicum hasiliatm* Perhaps the Maximinus here mentioned waa that gigantic favourite of Severus, who, from a commoii soldier was made a centurion^ then a tribune, and last of aH became conmiander in chief, and usurped the empire.
Though the origin of the monastic institution at this place it both remote and uncertain, it is believed that a small chapel of wood was erected here in the popular reign of Edwine, king of Northumberland, and that his daughter, Rosella, took the veil in itj His successor, St. OswaJdi rebuilt it of stone.$ On
account
t G«ot Mftg, 1786, p.
Gongh's Camd. III. t56. 8«5* BranJ^s Newc Vol IL p. 65. Gough'j
.Vol.111, pi. Mil* fig. 15.
I %M, Ul. IV. ToBi. L. C. p. 45. i Tin. Not. Mon.
If KORTIiUMBERLAyD.
On account of the injury it received from this siege it was
rebuilt about 1110, iu which year, the remains of St- Oswin were regained from Jarrow, The monks of Durham made fieveral inefTectual attempts to recover it from the church of St, Albans.* David, King of Scotland, spared it from the general desolation in which his arms involved Nortliumberland, for the consideration of twenty-seven marks of lilver.f William Figun, tlie thievish and gluttonous monk who atole the common- seal of Sl AlbanSj and committed a forgery vrith it, waa banished from tliat house to this cell at Thinemut, His end was mise- rable ; ^* for falling asleep in the privy, after he had over-eaten and dranki he never waked again ; and the monks who were in the dortore, distinctly heard a voice crying in the privy, * take him, Satan ! take him, Sat&n !** *%
When William Trumpintun was abbot of St. Alban's, ** ta the end that he might reign alone without contradiction, he re- moved his prior, Relmuud, the greatest monk then living, well knowing that if he subdued the chief tJie rest would be hushed through fear, and sent him away to the cell of Thinemue, which ifl a place of banishment for our monks, taking aWBy his books, which hail cost him much pains to procure, and other nec€«- saries that he might havu enjoyed, being an ancient man. From that time none durst open their mouths against the abbot ; and he went on merrily and securely, and visited the cell of Thynemue and others, with great retinue, being attended by a great number of kindred, who I>ad never known him before, I will hero mention what i^ to be done when the abbot comes from Thynemue : — When he goes thither, he is to be attended by six esquires, who, to this effect have extraordinary feofs of the land of the chiii'ch. These six shall be at tlie abbot's charge, both going and coming, but upon their own horses, the which shall be £tghtJy, and strong enough to carry, according to custom, if need be, the habits of a monk behind each squire. If any
horse
• Siin. Duu. Col. 543. t Dug. Mon. VtiL I. p, 335. Rip. Haj, p. Jld, I Stev. CoDt. of Dug. Vol. I. p. 253.
XOKTHUMBSn LAND.
I?S
I
I ^
hone belonging to any of these squires shall happen to die by the way tl*e abbot is to give him ten shillings for his loss. It is to be observed, that the abbot is to ask the king's h'cence to go to such remote parts of the kingdom, and so near Scotland^ wh«DMiever be derigna to repair to Thyncmue, When arrived theiv» he is to behave himself modestly, correcting the family ; not to be 3 tyrant, not sqaanilertng the provisions and stores of the bouse ; but considering that he h come thither to reform all that requires it» and to visit his flock with fatherly affec- littn* Peace being retilored» and King John dying, William resolved to visit Thynemue, and other cells, and accordingly set out northward. In his way he was attended by such a mid* tilude 08 looked like an army. There he reformed what was amiss : and being desirM by the prior to discharge him of that office, because he wm grown old, he intreoted him to have patience for awhile till he could provide for all things. 'Hie old prior, with much dilBcuhy, obtained leave to quit that digniry, aad was all the rest of his life kept by the tibbot, as his couii- •efior, and at hh table.'* ^
Among the most remarkable features of the history of thi« place, after this time, are the following. The churches of Eglingham, Norton, and Hartbuni, were given to the monks for the purpose of mending their ale, and to enlarge their means of baapttality. The prior mediated a peace between England and Scotland, in 1244; and eleven years aAer obtained a charter from Henry the Third, to hold a market in liis %ine and manor of Bewicke. He claimed the privilege of a market also at Tynemouth ; but in a suit on that account, judgment wa< given against him in tlie King's Bench* 1 he place, however, iiad certain immunities, which it annually asked of the judges itinerant, by some great public character, or by its baililfs, ai the * Chille* Fountmn, in Gateshead, when they came from Y'ork ; or at * Faurstanes,* when they came from Cmnberlimd. They returned the king's writ within their respective lordhhips»
G 2 au4
♦ SUV. Cotit. of Dug. Vol. I. pjK ?56, fi6.
84" KORTHUMBERLAND.
and were cxf mptecl from comage by King John : several vil- lages in Northumberland, however, paid coniage both to St. Alban's and to this house* Edward the First, in 1299, re- stored them certain tree customs, which the crown liad deprived them of, and granted the prior to liave all pleas concerning his men, lands, and tenements, to bo pleaded and determined by his oun juBtices, the king's justices not being permitted to enter his liberty. f A fair, granted to the place in 1303, was re- voked the next year, on the petition of the town of Newcastle. The prior caused a pillory to be erected in the village, in 1307* A riotous band of Northumbrians, at tlie head of whom were Sir William dc Middlcton, Knt. and Walter de Seleby, ravaged this house, in 131G ; but being apprehended, they were sent to London by shipping, and there tried, condemned, and hanged. The hospital of St, Leonard, at this place, is of uncertain foundation i it existecT in 1320. Ruins of it are still traceable a little to the west of Tynemouth^ on the road to Newcastle, J The queen of Edward the Second resided here some time, in 1322; as had also the queen of Edward the First, in 1303- The monastery was plundered by a party of Scots, under iJie Earl of Murray, in 1389.5 Cardinal Wolsey wrote to Lord Dacre, warden of the marches, desiring him, * by all meanft and politique wayes which he could devise,* to bring one Ro*
bert
• Stcv, Coat, Dug. 11. p, 79, i Brattft's Kcwc< II. p. B6.
TiD, CImrt. f. 97* t Ibid, II. p. 91.
i
§ Oa Ao^nft the Iwentletb, las'!, being tlie feitival of St. O^wiu's
Passion, whilst a iai I or was lie win;; a pitca of wood for bis sbip, at Ntrw- CBPtlc upon T^ue, he pfTccivctl blood to ilow from it ; but recollecting tlie boly day^ de^utecl (ivnt hh eiriploytiii'nf^ A curnpanioa of bis dbrc* gardiog tht iiiir^cle, came and stmck it again; but inuoediatety blood gU!(bed from every patt tliat was cut, as if one'* breast had been pierced with a iword. ITm; matter was told to the clergy, i^ho, with the laity* approved of the mirade : the wood wm tukcn to Tyueoioutby aad placed by the body of tbe tfaliit, in teilimooy of the miracle* Wahiughajp, Ypa. Neiut p. 336.
I
KOHTHUMBERLAND. 85
Lambert to justice, who, on account of murder, bad taken SJUJctuary in the church of this monastery.*
Kobcrt Blakeney, prior, with fifteen monks and three no- vices surrendered this monastery, January the twelftlj, 1539, when an annual pension of eighty pounds was assigned to the prior, and smaller ones to each of the monks and novices. Its dite» with all its ofHces, were demised, March the ninth, in the year, on a lease of twenty-one years, and at a yearly rent of 1631. 17s. to Sir Thomas Hilton. Its po^iscssions were very large, having twenty-seven villas in Nort!j umber land, with their royalties belonging to it :-— viz. Tyncmouth, Milnton, Shields, East ChirtoD, East Preston, Monkton, Whitley (where they had a tower) Murton, Ersden, llackworth, Seghill, Wobing- ton» Dbsington, Elswick, Wylam, Hertford, Cowpen, Bebaide^ Wddon, Hauxley, Ambell, Eglinghum, Bewick, Lilbum, Flat- wortli. Middle Chirton, West Chirtoii. Tliey had the lands of Ro}*eley and Denum,f a tower at Benwell, and possessions at " Mokcteiton, Denton, Whittlngliam, Billyraille, and Framling- ton." J They had the tythe^ of Corbrldge, Ovington, Wylam> Kewbum, Dissington, Callcrton, Elswick, Bothal, Warkworth, Ambel, Rothbury, and Wooler, in Northumberland ; and of Hertnes and Middleton upon Tees, in Durham. Several mes- iHj^tt in Newcastle belonged to them, as also the impropria* tioiis and advowsons of the churches of Tynemouth, Wood- bcffiiy Wlialton, Bolam, Bewick, EgUngham, Hartburn, Shi!- tolle, and Haltwesel, in Northumberland ; and those of Con3-» dil^ in Durham. The Benedictine monastery on Cocquet Island nnacell to this houset Their whole possessions, in 15 S9, were CMiEiiated at TOGl. l(h. S|d. a year.^ These continued in the
G 5 hands
• Brand's Ncwc, Vol. II. p. 105.
t Ibid. p» liO. Grose, Vol, IV, p* 146.
i Law. MS. f. 13. Brand's Newc. p. 110.
i Ms. 10 llic Aiicni. OflRro, Bratitl» Vol. IL p. Ill, Du^dale vftlucs iftt58rK lo$« 5d.— Speed at 5111. 4s. id.— and Stevens' Continuation sa>g, I iade 5111. 4s. l^d. stimma dara :V}7U IO2, d|d« per antt.*'
86 SORT BUM 8BRLAN0*
hands of the king till Edward the Sixth, in I550» gave them in fee to John Dudley* then Earl of Wan^'ick ; but on that nobleman*^ atUtinder they again reverted to the crown, and, in I 1567, were enumerated amongst the queen's possessions in No rthun ib erl an d.*
The churdi was parochiaJ tiU 16.S9, when a part of its roof ts eaid to have falen in, and killed five or six soldiers.f On account of this great ** decay, and the parishioners in the late civil wars being often debarred the liberty of a free resort to it* another was begun to be built* in J 659, and being afterwards finii^hed, was consecrated, in J 668, by Bi&hop Cosins/*J The cemetry here» however, continues to lie used; but the little oratory of St- Mary, wliich, a few years ago, was in great per* fection, and occas tonal ty uned at funerals, lias lately suffered great desecration, having had its windows walled up, and being converted into a magazine for miiitary stores. This oratory is"^ nine feet broadj and eighteen feet long* " It is adorned,** laya I Grose^ *• with intersecting archesi, and the ceiling omamentell with figures in relief, representing Christ and the twelve Apos- tles. These are enclosed in roundels, having an in^ription under each of them, in the old text hand : both these and the figures are as fair and perfect as when first executed* This chapel is lighted by a round window. On each side of the door are two heada, in a Flyle much superior to that of the general taste of the age in which Uiey were supposed to have been done; and over the same door are two encatcheons, the dexter one charged with bearings of Vesey, a cross sable ; the sinister, th* bearingH of Brabaut and Lucy, quarterly."^ Hutchinson con- ceived tliis place contained the shrine and tomb of St. Oswin, Ilut we believe, with Gro^e, that the arms just mentioned are those of the Percys, for the Tynemouth Chartulary mentions ** die new chapel of St. Mary,*' in 1336; and MS. authorities in the Bodh'ur and Bcnnet college libraries, quoted by Brandy
prove
• Law. MS. f. 13. t Thnr. St. Pap. Vol. VT. p. J31. I Miig. B it. Vol. UL p* 694. Id. 1754. 4 Hiilcli. 11. 316.
p«
k foe
\
KOHTtlUMEERLAKD. tf
prove that Lord Henry Percy, about that time, was a great bene* factor to this church, having bestowed 100 marks and more than
.000 trees, to assist in its reparation, af^er it had been destroy td the Scots,* To this date may also be fixed the origin of the greatest parts of the edifices, as they stood at the dissolution* Thej indeed appear to have been the work of different ages ; many of the arches being ornamented witli the zig-zag, severjil of them semicircular, and others pointed*
Colonel Eduyard Villi ers was governor of this castle iii 16'6/>t and died in 1707. Much of the priory was ** pulled down by lttt»t for erecting the barracks, light-house, bis own house, nenr itf and other edifices; he likewise stripped off the lead vUiich tiJJ then bad covered the church. This I was informed by an ancient man, who lived ne^r the spot; and who likewise said a great deal, particularly a long gallery, had fallen down of itself. Towards the south side this monastery seems to hnve been i^ur- nmnded by a double enceinte of walls. The graves of many persons, said to have been slain in the siege, are iVequently ?i&tb1e in a dry summer, without the walls of the place.**f In these banks are also apparent a seam of coats, and a tnetaUic vein, which has produced a small quantity of lead*
During the years we were threatened with French invasion, these light and elegant remains suffered greatly by the military amuigements made at that time- Sufficient specimens of theni> however^ are lefl to point out the extent and ancient magnificence of die establishment ; though more wanton and more needless desecration was never committed upon any spot than this.
John IVelhemstede^ a learned and voluminous divine and his- torian, while he was prior here, was promoted to the abbacy of St* Albans, upon which occasion he gave to his house a chalice of^d.( Jahn of Ti/ncmoiUh^ also, an eminent sacred biogra- phcTy was born and flourished here. He was vicar of Tync- mouth in 1366. His greatest work he called Sanciihgium tkr-
G 4 vQrum
* llrai>^, n. 94. t Gro^f ^ ^vp*
t i^lev. Can, of Dtigd. Vol. t. p. £6i.
88 NORTHUMfiERLAKll.
ivorum Det.^ His Golden History^ in twenty books, is extant in
[ Uie library at Lambetli.f
We have before mentioned that Ti/nemoidh Castle was two I months besieged by William Rufus.j: Henrj^ Lord Percy, about I the year 133G, gave 100 niarks towartb building a gate here; I and, under \S1% the Tynemouth Chartulary describes the pri-* Lc^ry afi " a certain fortified and walled place, to resist the inalico t of the enemies of the kingdom.^* In Queen Elizabeth's time it had one master-gunner at eightpence a day, and six inferior gimners at sixpence a day each. J At present, eays Camden, it glories in a noble and strong castle, which, in the language of an old writer, ** 1% made inaccessible on the cast and north side by a rock over the ocean i but, on the other sides, on account of its lofty situation, is eaEiJy ddended,** || The Earl of New- castle put it into a posture of defence in 1612. He sent to it, from Newcastle, six great guns and 300 soldiers, and threw up trenches, and built a fort to defend the haven ;^ but it wj obh'ged to surrender to General Levin, \i\ 164*4', when thirty- eight pieces of ordnance, and great store of ammunition and provisions fell into his hands* The garrison were allowed to march out with their baggage ; but bound themselves to submit to the instructions of parEament. Before this surrender the soldiers had suffered so much by the plague that the com- mander in chief had fled out of it ;^* and six prisoners who had been taken in Nortliumberland, made tlieir escape in a tem- pestuous night, ** through a privy built on the north side of the castle ; and though the rock is very high, yet, with sheets sewed together, they let themselves down/'f f On Colonel Lilburne's revolt, in 1618, this fortress was stormed, and all found in arras in it were put to death ! Lilburoe was dccolated, and
ip I
• Stcf. Con. of Dugd» Vol. I. p. 208, f NichoUou's Hist, lih.VoI. 1» p, \7<J.
% Sax. Chron* p. $oe. $ Pecks DeiiJ. Cur. Vol. L lib. li. p. J 5.
II Brit. p. 650. Ed. 1590. % Lord's Jour, Vol V. p. 170.
♦ ♦Par. Hist, Vol. XIII. p. S56. tt Rush. Coll. p. 4. VoJ» 11. p, 1219.
JtOKTMrMBERLAKD.
89
» »
I
tiead stuck upon a pole! A tier long neglect the batteries wei% repaired, and tlie castle made a depot for arms nnd tnili- tary •lores in 17^3 ; at whith time Major Drunford discovered llietwd Roman mscrlptions. Little remains of this ancient btd- wvrlc except a strong gate-way, the approach to which has been laleij flanked with baMions, in the true gingerbread style. The iSlftge of Tynemoutli is much frequented in the bathing season; and very convenient warm and cold badis have been erected in the Friar*s Haven,
The four wards of the to^rn of North SttiELDS con- laioedy in 1801, not less than 891 houses^ and 7,280 persons. In ft case between the town of Newcastle and tlie Prior of Tynemouth, tried in the King's Bench, in 1292, it ap- peared tliat, at this town, where there had been certain small dwellings, tlie prior of Tynemouth had built a quay and twenty- six house^t and that these Iiouses were tenanted by fishers, brewers, and vietuallcrs, so rich as to be able to give loading aod victuals for 100 or 200 ships ; and that, because all this was done to the great loss of the king's revenue, and the detriment of the town of Newcastle, judgment was given against the prior, and he was ordered to remove all these new erections at his own charge.* As Newcastle continued to insist upon having the sole right of holding a market upon the navigable part of the Tyne, the want of one was much complained of at this place by its iidiabltants, and the sea-foring people that tVequented it, in the time of Cromwell, who, it should seem, had serious intent tions of constituting it a markcl-town.f But the measure was, ftt tliat time, prevented by the breaking up of parliament, and many years elapsed before this desirable privilege was obtained. The pi4igt<e raged here in 1695* We have before noticed, that the parUh church was built in 1659. It is a plain but commo- dioos edifice, conveniently situated on the north side of the town : it 1ms at various limes undergone alterations and enlarge- ments; and, some years ago, a steeple was erected, and six sausical bells placed therein^ Charity schools, on the improved
systems • Boiimet Ncwc* p. 162, 178. t Engl Gricv. pp. 117, 11£>, lih
00 KORTHUMBSRLANH.
systems of education, have been lately founded here : they are supported by annual benefactions. The oldest part of the town is a long narrow street, on the brink of the river, whichj for dirt and bustle, and confusion, is bo where better equalled than in Wapping. The improvements and enlargements herehove^ however, been carried on of late years on a very extensive scale. Many new streets have been built, others arc now building, and several more have been planned. Doekwray 8quare, a place of considerable neatness, is the most fashionable part of the town ; being chiefly inhabited by wealthy ship-owners. An elegant ion, built by the Duke of Nonhumberland ; a new market* place, on the side of the rirer ; and a public library, are amongst the latest improvements- At the foot of the town are two light-houses, maintained by the Trinity-house of New- castle; and near them Clifford's fort, built in 1672;* taken by the Scots 1614 ;t and which efiectually commands all ve8seb entering the river,}:
At Chirton^ in this parish, Mr» Gardiner wrote that severe stricture on the coal trade, entitled " England* Grievance Dis- covered." Mr. Collingivood, brother of the late Lord Colling- urood, and Mr. Cardonnell, author of " Picturesque Antiquities of Scotland," have each a residence here. It has been conjec- tured $ that this place had its name from having been the site of a Roman fort; for in the fields of East Cliirton there was a place, in 1320, called " Blake Ghestres.")] Cuflercoats is a small bathing -town, inhabited chiefly by fishermen. Here are warm and cold baths, a ballast hill, the ruins of an old pier, of a waggon-way for coals, and behind the village a neglected quaker burial-grotmd. IVhitletf contains fii\y-five houses, some of them inhabited by genteel families ; this village was held of the prior of Tyneraouth, by the singidar service of making, at the tower thereof^ a large annual feast, called * le com^eyes,* to the members of the monastery and certain of its dependents,
OQ • Bonnrf'R Xcwc. 178t t WaJlis II, 555*
♦ See South SJiields, Vol. \\ p. 15^5. $ S€e RcyD«td ft It^ Aat. [] Tynem, Chart f. 81. Brand s Newc. II 9K
korthumbehland. 91
on Innocenl^s l^^y* ftnd die day afler. As horses and dogs were included in the naniber of the guests it U probable that hunting made orte part of the amusement.^ The Moh^*x Stont\ near the village of Monkseaton, is nothing more than the remains of An ancient crofts ; upon the pedestal of which is this " idle and modem" tndcnption : '* O Horor to Kill a man For a Pigei head**' This motto Mr* Grose, with considerable he&itatian, ittriblites to a liquorish monk of the cell of Tynemouth, ^\ ho strolling to the castle of Seaton Delaval, cut off a pig's head 6-0111 the spit, and made the hest of his way homewards with it. Mr. Dehivalf on his return from hunting, enraged at this au- tlacity, remounted hh horse, and pursuing die offender^ over- took him at tliis place, and so belaboured him with his hunting gad, that his death, which happened within a year and a day, was laid to his charge. As an expiation of the deed this obe- lisk was erected, and the manor of Elsig (or Elswick) conveyed to die roona«tcry,
Earsdon Church h a plain ancient building, dedicated to St, Alban, and is subject to Tynemouth, to wliich, with the manor and tythes of Earsdon, it belonged in 1097. The manor paid sin shillings a year comage to the prior of St. Alban's.
Seaton Dllaval is situated upon a gentle slope, and though the surrounding country is fiat and tame, yet the magnihcence of the buihiing, the extent of tlie pleasure grounds, and its con- tiguity to the sea, renders it an interesting spot. The site of ^le ancient cnsth was a little to the south-west of the present icturc; but its wall^ have been entirely razed, its ditches levelled, and nothing is now lell of the first establishnienta of this fttinily excej^ the chapeL This little venerable pile is one of the purest and most perfect specimens of Norman architec* tare in the kingdom. Except iu its roof, it seems to have tin* jone very few alterations. Above the west door, within and lout, are six shields, charged with arms of die Delavals. The arches^ at the entrance into the chancel and above the
alur • Tynern. Chart, t 6a*
9S XORTtlUMBERLAIiiD.
altar, are supported by short columns, with plain lieav}^ capi- tals, and wrought with double tiers of zig*zag. The walls are decorated with pieces of armour, tattered banners and escut- cheons. There are also here two old monuments — one of them a recumbent figure of a knight templar in armour, resting upon his \ei\ arm, liis shield plaiu, and the other a neatlj executed recumbent figure of a female, with her hands elevated. Each of them have a dog at their feet, the usual emblem of faith- fuinesB.
Seaton Delaval was built by Admiral Delaval, after a design of his friend Sir John Vanbrugh. Heynolds contributed much to rescue the bold and txfraordinary genius of this architect from that unmerited neglect to which it had been consigned by jealousy and vulgar criticism. The porticos, the hall, and the saloon, are the chief features of this edifice. The offices in the lowest story are all arched with stone. The wings range at right migles with the north front of the house. They have fine arcades alopg the whole length of their fronts ; and contain the kitchen, &c, on the west side *, and very noble stables on the east. Tlie large addition to the ea*t end of the southern front has broken the uniibrmity of Vanbriigh's design, though it has been executed in his style. It was the intention of the family to liave made a corresponding addition on the west, but as the present erections are in extent more like a royal palace tlian tire cotmtry seat of a subject, it is not likely that the plan should be ever finished. Among the most remarkable produc* tions of art in this hou«ie arc^ — a fine full length portrait of Charles the TwcllYh of Sweden, in the fruit room ; very fine full length pictures of the princess of Modina, and one of her daugliters; the mother of tlie present Mr. Delaval, and one picture of seven, and another of four of her children, by Pond; with a pic- ture of Sir Ralph Delaval, coasting admiral In the time of Charles the Second, and several other family portraits in the saloon* In
the
• ♦ Ttiis wiag was destroyed by fire, May G, 175?, hnt rebuilt on tlic •riginnl i>Ua*
NORTnU^fBERLAND, 93
^itt parlour are heads of Sir Francis Drake smd Sir Joha Btal, of Hm-tley; and, in the mahogany parlour, heads of Adrujrol George Delaval, and his friend Sir John Jennings, both by Lely* The original picture of the Duchess of Cum- berland, by Reynolds, from which the mezzotinto engraving was taken, is also here«
The pleasures grounds are extensive, and great attention has been paid to adapt them to the situation. In spite of the neigh* bourhood of the sea, the trees in the lawn are healthy, and have ittained a venerable &ize ; but in the sea-walk, and where tlie plantations are narrow, they are stunted and miserably shat- tered. A fine obelisk, about half a mile south of the house, hjis beep happily placed in the dead flat towards Tyneniouth. The mausoleum was built by the late Lord Delaval, in memory of hia son, who died about his twentieth year. *
Seaton
* Tbis fttniily came into Eln^land with Wiltiain the Conqueror, to \^1mm they were r<^latfcl by the nutniage of Guy Dclavnl to I)ioriLhia« i^rroui] liter of Robert, I^rl of Mortag^it, and WilUani*? niecis In liei, tt^rt ilf^ la VilI f^ve to the monks of Tycicniontt), the tyth&'i of Seaton, CBUerton, and Dusington. * Ktchard of Hexliam, tlourished beti/^e<^ 1154 atid lia9,t and says^ tliat Robert dt Seitm^ With Rickaldy his itiotJjer' |tfe to the church of Hexham a nioicty of tlie \ille, called Achcwir ] and L^t afterwards this Ridud^ mother of Robert df Ui I W, gave to ihe same I VVfch all her right of ttie other moiety of Achewic. The»e arc eaouie* liletl aitioun; hcnefactaens to Hexham, by David, Kiag of Scots, iind Kiof ^lepbeu, and may tlierefore be dated between li;35 nnd 1154.^ Dogdatr njCDtioiis a Hu^h Delaval, in 1139^ and a Guy Delavul, the ca- pital teat of \ihose barony wm in Yorksiiirc. Jotm ' Ucvai' va,i liberated from a J^rotch prison in 1174 ^ ^"^ Gilbert Delav«tl was one of the tweiity- fite barofts 6Woro^ re»peetin<; tJte execntioD uf Magna Chaita, and Chart;! Fflrerta, by Uie pope. || Etistnce Delaval held, in capite* of Heary the 'ITiird, Black- Caller ton, with Seitan (ind lU mem hers, Newsham and Dis- iOigtony for two knights* fees of the old feufmeirt«^ llu^h Dcluval nianied Vind, diugfiterand Heiress of Hugh de liolt>ec ; ** he was alive in 129;),
but
• Speam. MS. f SclH. pref. «d. X. tcript* p. xivii,
t X. S«h|»t« Col. 907. $ Broniplnn Col. llu$. tj M. Fftfis, jl. fM,
t TeiUi dtf KevUI, p. W3. •* D<ifd» b^t*
M KOflTftUMBERLAH&*
Seaton w-a& in pos^ssion of the prior ofTynetnmith in 1079,* and paid 4 Id. a year comage to the abbot of St. Albans. The manor, however, comprised a part of the barony of Delaval id
112U * Br;)(id\ Ncwc. VoL II. p, 27.
Imt dif<! witlMHi* hsne, Eustace jnctTctle^d Hugh^ and tlic next af^erbim va* Kodcrt* \%1m niairied Margsircr, danghrer of William, Lord Grcji Ktokr. Tiu.s |{i»brrt was cofi.'iti and Jirir of x\iidte\v deSni<"tlitoii, * who, 1 Jl I, dir'd "C'lKt'd of the manor of** ScitonDcIava c, and Ihe villp of Norlj Dissjn;;ton." Ijord JnjiCiiiiK' D'cvil was ouf of tlie barons nho suffered i the bloody quarrel uliircd njj liy the ** fUe-wolf of France."^ William De- lavnt, ^liriilFof NaitEimiilii'iUiiid 1111375, inarricd CbrisktianaT tUhs;1iter of Robert dc E^iUiieftoii. Tla'ie wsls a Sir Ki>brrt Delaval, in lo7b'» be W8« succeLiIt'd b}' Sir Hptiiv DolriTal, wlio dyiii;; nithont issiif*, his viUc of ' Calverdon/ and its uienibtTii, went to Jciliu Tmpiii» of Wbitchestcr, who liad married biji sifter Alice ; but ,die abo dyin^ witbont kstie, a tbrrd of the barony di'scended to Jus wister Eiixabcih, wife of Jolm de Tnipin. One Manhcrye liad Ualf of ^' Scitou Delaval, Norlli Di^^ington, and Hartela\«e/' hi l MI2. At>er tljis« f^rrat jmrt of Ibe family pokAc^itfiiA fceni to liave centered in William DcIavHl, of BtiKvcll, who was alive in 1455* A Wbiictii'stcr, liovv(.'Vcr, lield a titird part oftlte mauor of Sciton Dclaral in 1150.$ Sir Jobn Delavril, %(bo wa?) fuiir times sbcrilf of Korthnndji^rland, atid tbe lin^t time, jg j.iTO, was possessed of " Seilon Ilclaval, Black -Caller I on, Brandon, half of liydle>d<*n, the irillc of Hart- Icy, nrnS olbcr posst'ssion"/' in tlie lenili of EUatabelli. ^ His eldest aon* JoJip, doe» not appear to have lived to inheril tlje eatatp; for, in 1575, we find it •n tbe bajids of Sir RoIi«rt ; of hU kou KRl]>b in id(),> ; ibeu of liii^ grandson Kobert ; ar>d ibtu of ld'> ronsin Ualpb, who wa* created a baronet iii 1660. Tbis tille, in tbf next generaiion, brcanifi exiincl in Sir Jolui De)a- ftil whose Quty dan^btur married Jubn Ro;^crs, E>q. anil at whoftc decease the family po<i«ie«sioiT^ came to Geari^e Deluvati of ^Hiutb Diuin^ioo* who had til rce sons, Sir John, ofH;vr(lry» Edward, of Diii>mgton, and Admiral George. Edward bml isAiic by iMiiy* daughter of Sir Frauci» Blake, of Ford Caattc^ one son, Sir Francis Blake Delaval^ wbofoatried M I? s Hussy ap Preace, ^aod-daugbter of Sir Tbonm« Hu.4.4yi of Doddiogtou, in olniiltire. 'Ilie produce of ihiji marriage \%qs^ nitmermis. TIh- eldest i Aamcd after bis fiithcTi was created a Knight of tbe Bath, at the corocalioii oT
Gcorgflt
• \V«lll«, It* t?5. ♦ KnifUlofl, CoL «^il. Lei. Ir. ToL V. f. loa.
( tawm, M%, f ]«, $ fb* MS. f. IK
1121} and has continued in tlmt lamily ever since. The har- bour here was formed by Sir Ralph Ddaval, Bart. " Charles the Second^ who had a great taste for matters of this kind, made lliia collector and surveyor of hh own port."* It is called Sea- tOH'SIuice^ from the filuice and Hood-gates which Sir Ralph invented to scour the harbour* The salt trade lins diminishecf* The copperas and glass works were eommenccd by Thomaa Ddavalt Esq, who, having resided some time at Hamburg?!* obtained considerable wealth, and a passion for commerce. He also planned the new entrance inio the Iiarbour^ which was executed by the late Lord Delava!, his brother, to whom he so'd ail his concern at this place. The new entrance is cut -t^.^'iugh a hne free-stone, and is nine hundred feet long, thirty i^et broart^ and fifVy-two feet deep. The harbour is capable of hold- tag twelve or fourteen sail of vessels, each of two or three hun* ^ed tons burden*
Hartley, a village about half a mile eouth of Seaton- Sluice, in the time of Henry the Third, was held by knights* •ervice of the barons of Gaugy, Tlie Hetton ftimily had half this mannor in 1 35%f and the other half appears to have been considered as a member of the Delaval barony, from the twdfUi of Richard the Second to the tenth of Elizabeth, f when it was wholly in the hands of Sir John Delavah On Botfet^ Inland^ opposite Hartley, was fonnerly a small chapel, dedicated to St. Mary, and a hennitage, both desolated, Lonl
Delaval
• Hntc. Vol. IL t La«noii*s MS, f. -k t Wallace, Tl. if78.
! the Third : lie dying without issue, in 1771, Vf9% mticeedcd hy liit tTt Sir Jplm HuAsy DeJaval, wbo wa^ created a ptrr, by iJiP title of liroa Deiar^J* of Ireland, and ofltTwartli of ringknd. He mariiod fir»t Bhoda Robin*ODf liy whom he had one mu. who died u minor. His soc^nd ■ttnitftf; wnB la Miss Knight, J&nuary, idOX Hi^ lortliihip died in IBUS, ifceo tlie entailed e-^tAle came to hh brother, Edward Hussy Delaval, ©f IMdtiigtmi, Esq. it* |>re<;eut poito^or^ and the per^oujif prupertj ivai be- ^Kitbed to hit relict.
66 yORTHUMBERLANO*
Delavol formed a small liarbour bere, for refuge to ihe fif*Tici in storms. The fucus lycopodloides abounds on the stei facus digitalis on this island, and along thu coast towards Tjne* mouth.
Halliwell was Utld by soccage tenure of the barony of John IklioJ, by Eustace Delaval, whose descendants had pro* petty here in H35. Over the door of an old mansion-house of Kalpli Bates, Esq.of Milburn House, is inscribed MEDIO ***.IA FIRM A. 1656, This vilhi^^e has its name from St, Mary's Well„ whicli k medicinal, and turns to a deep purj^le with galls, • Hackvcorih was ancietuly a possession of the prior of Tyne- mouth ; and, since the dissolution, has been many yciiTb the re« fiidcnce df the ancestors of R. W. Grey, its present owner^ who built the new mansion-house there- Burroden^ a strong oltf fortress, was the seat of Bertram Anderson in \B^%\ It IS the property of the Ogles of Cawsey-Park, but in ruins-
Seguill was mistaken, by Camden, for Segedunum. It be- longed to Tynemouth Priory in 1097* A branch of tlie Mit- [ford family resided here, and built the tower and afterwards a ' mansion-house, both of which are at present in ruins. Since their timt it belonged to the Allgootls, of Kunwick, who sold it to the late Sir Francis BJake, of Twizell Castle, Bart*
South Blytiie has a commodious port for small vesselfiJ The bishops of Durham have jurisdiction over the river and the wastes, between high and low water marks. Formerly they hi royal rights upon it. The yearly rent for anchorage here, at four-peace a ship, in 134-6, was only three slulltDgs and four- pence. The coal-trade flourislied here during the sx^ge of New- castle ; but, after that, Gardiner complained bitterly against the corporation of that town for impeding the commerce, and espe- cially the coal-trade of Blythe and Hartley. % That grievance has, however, been removed, upwards of fitly sail of vessels be* ing registered here. The chapel of Blythe was built by Sir M, W, Ridley, Bart, who also provides a chaplain to it at his
own
• WalJL^i, L 1B> 1 1^%. March, p* t?3. ; Eagl. Gricv. p. Itt.
\ It he ]
KORniUMBERtANO.
n?
©wntjcpehce. Nermham was held, in capite, of Henry tlic ThirtK liy Eustace Delavnl, and belonged to one of that family in 14^0, It wai the seat of Thomas Cranilington, Esq. in 1567^ whose descsendaiit, Robert, having his estate sequestered by parliament, in \S5% this matior^ and that of South Blythe» were purcliased liy Col Thomas RutchOf aad iM prci^nt are possesuiions of Sir M. W- Ridl^-
STAN^tflNGTON was a member of the barony of Roger Mer- lijf in the reign iii Henry the Third, ♦ At bin death it was di- tided by the niflrriage of hiij daughter, Mary> to Willtam Lord Greptoke, and of Johanna, to Robert de Somervillc. TJie maiety which fell to the Greystokes descended to the Dacres, and fnnu thence to the Howards. The other half went from the Somen i lies, in the twenty ^nintli of Edward the Third, to Sir ** Rhese ap Gnifith,'* by Jii^ marriage with Joan, eldest ^Umghtcr and co*heiress of Sir Fbili|) Somerville ; and to Maud» hta graod-daughter by Elizabeth, ibe wife ofJolin Stafford, f The Griffiths for some time had a fourth part of tliQ manor ; iittt the whole of the Somerville moiety was in the hands of llie Hiorntons, of Netherwitton, in 1567*$ The rectory and ad- of the vicarage were granted to the abbey of Newminster, Roger de Somerville, in l33S ; and Roger de Mcrlay, who 4Icd JO 1264'# founded a chantry in tliis church to the Blessed Ftrgin, and endowed it with lands and privileges at Clifton and Cotdwellf iu this parish. «
HoRTOH chapel was formerly subject to Woodhorn, but tarered from it in 1768. Twa maiden sisters of Admiral George Delaval h'ved in Horion Castte^ remains of which were existiag in 1 809, when iu foundations were razed and its fosse letdbKL E4ward the Firut pardoned the prior of TjTif^moulh for acquiring lands in " Hertford^ Bebcssct on Blytlie, Coopen^ ^•** without Ucense of mortmain, f BthmU^ after the disso- lution^ belonged to John Ogle, Esq* in 1;>67, and to Edward
Vol. XR H Delaval,
L litttthe
I Tliornti ^kMirsuit ^HyRog
I
• Tests de N€vill,p, 3a3. t M4^. Biif.
$ Ilj-and*A Ncwc, IL &8.
X Li*w. Ms*, f l<3
NORTftimBlllliAWDt
Delaval, Esq* in 1628. It was soM to John Johnson, Ewj. abouC the year 1700, from whom it dosccnded to Mr. Ward^ ita pre- sent possessor* Ilarifard-Houiet the scat of William BurdoA^ Esq, was bui!t afler a design of Mr. Stokoo, architect, New* c IIS tie* It is we)} situated upon the woody declivities of the Blythe, which, in this neighbotirhood, affords very excellent landscape. This manor paid five-pence farthing cornage to the abbey of St, Alban's.
Bedlikgtonsii I RE IS B parish, in Chester ward, in the county af Durham^ and lies between the rivers Wansbeck and Blythe* It measures about 191,000 acres, and, in 1801, contained 1196 persons. It was a royal franchise under the biahops of Durham, and enjoyed its own courts and officers, till it was stript of tho«e privileges by statute of the twenty-seventh of Henry the Eighdi; in all civil matters it is a member of the county of Durhajn. « Bishop Cutheard purchased, out of the treasury of St, Oath- bert, the village of Bedlington with ita appendages, Nedertun, Grubba, Twisle, Bedingtun, Slic«bume, and Commer." ^ The monks of Durham, in their ftight to Lindisfarne, before the arms of the Conqueror, with the incorruptible body of St, Cuth- bert, restetl all night here, f The church was appropriated by Bishop Fam ham to the priory of Durham, in 1242, when tho stone roof of the church of Durham was commenced. J Tbe Reverend Francis Woodmas, the cxpojiitor of St. Chrygofttoai^ was vicar here, from 1696 to 1719. Every plough-land of tlie fjianar paid u t brave of com to Kepeir Hospital, near Durkaniy about the tiniQ of Richard the Second, a claim which was afler* war da covered by an annua! payment of nine shdling^u This, and the Choppington farm, were purchased of the parliament^ in 1659, by Robert Fenwick, Esq. for 12961 } At the restora- tion, tlie purchasers of the church lands offered the king a large sum to conlirm their right for ninety-nine years ; but, instead of
accepting
• Sim. Don. Col. 75. t lb, Jy. ; Hutdn Dnrh. II. 74.
i Wliitelocke^B MeiaoritU, }u ?T>r
I
»
KOHTHUMBSaLAKn. 9^
^ce^img ii» he granted n commUsion for enquiry aHer aU sucli purchases.
The Bedlington blast-furnace, for ameUing Iron, was some years amce taken down i the concern belonged to the iMalling^ of Suoderland, and was accounted very unsucceftsful. Mefisr«» Uawlcs and Co* of Gateshead, afterwards carried on extt-nsive ^rorlcs in wrought iroD, both at the Bebsidc and Bedlington MiilSf which at present are the property of Biddulph, Gordon, and Co, and employ about fifty men.
Blagdon, Shotton, and North-Wee talet, places w!iich had l^arly fiiiuilar revolutions of proprietors witli Stannington, were held by John de Plessis, in Henrj^ the Third^s time, of the ba- rony of Morpeth, by the service of one knight*s fee** Biagdou helwifed to the Fenwick's in 1567; but, after tliey sold Litilc Hark, they had their residence here, till they parted with it to the \VTiiies, a family who came from Hawthorn, in the county of Durham. Matthew, who amassed con&iderahle wealth as a incrdtanr in Newcastle, built the house, whicli tvas enlarged aiid ornamented by his son Matthew, who was created a baronet ia 1756; but, dying without issue, the estate went to his ^ter Elizabetlt, wife of Matthew Ridley, Esq* of Heaton, and is at present enjoyed by their son, Sir M. W. RidJey, Bart. Near iliis last place is the ancient viUe and manor of BellamCy for whicli Rpberl de Bellastse made service for a third part of a kuight*s fe^» 10 Henr^' the Second. The SomerviJles and Griffiths had pOGSQs^ons at it ; in the seventeenth oi' Henry the Sixth a Btl- ]$sasc held half tlie manor ; and since that it was for many years t2i£ residence of a fiimity of Bells. An uciiuccessfal attempt V3S a few years ago made to establish a manufactory of printed colto>ns tt Stannington bridge* WfiALTOSiis a thinly populated parish. The church is an- at ; some of the Ogles have been buried in its chancel: it repaired, and parapets and pinnacles added to the tower, in 17S3* The villagt is remarkably neat aiid clean ; and tlie rec-*
H 2 lQt*$
* Testa de ^f^viil, p^ mr
100
jrORTKUMBERtAKD.
tor^s mansion is surrounded with tastefuT pleasure-groundii aud , fine treefi* The baron\f was j^iven by the Conqueror to Walter Filz William^ one of his followers. It was held by service of titree knights* fces^ King John took it from Robert de Cram* tnarille, and ^oMt it to Roger Fttz Roger, the last of whos« Mum took the samameisf de Clavering, but dying without legitimate issoe, he settled great part of his estate on Edward the Ftr&t,* In 1308^ the king*s soti died seized of this manor^ and tliat of Newbum.f The Scroops of Masham had it in 1346 J, snA m 1446. It was a po^ession of the crown in the reign of Jamei t!he First; but was afterwards granted to the Maggisons Wialton, and others, John Shaw, author of certain works' against popery* and several* times a member of the convocation^ was rector liere, in 1645. There b a remarkable camp^a llttW to the east of this \ illage, from which the term Whalton, or Walton, may have probably originated.
Oi^le Castle has been nearly demolished. Tlie remnant of it, however, in its small windows, with pointed arches, suHicientl; demonbtratcs the time of its building. It has had a square double mote around it. The Ogle family were seated here be- fore tlic trnte of the conquest. Humphrey de Ogle had a grant of all his property from Walter Fitz William. J Thomas de Ogle held his manor of the barony of NVTialton, by serdce of one knight's fbe and a half; but, adhering to the barons in their rebellion against Henry the Third, his estate was extended, and not recovered till the reign of Edward the Third, who> in 1340, granted license to Robert de Ogle to convert his manor-house into a castle, and to have free-warren through aJl this demesne.* This Roger, by marriage with the only daughter of Sir Robert
Bertram, * Mas. Brit. f Law. MS. t 4.
t III Trifiky Tk!rm, twtatieth of Edward tfie Third, iT wat Connd in the rolls of tlic cxchrfjner that Httiry Lcscro|» Leld Uir manor of \\ luillon, wilii the barony, in chi^f, by the service of l!ut r knij^litV fe«^ 1 1 is manerittm ^m hrnvntAf whicfi may ^ti'nify that ihU niiiuor was a tMitouy, or the aemt tf % httrony, Madox, Bar. Aug. fi. 41.
4 Bonme'i NVwt, f». f 1 1*.
IT 1
KORTHUMBERtANU*
h
Uertam, of Bothal^ became possessed of that barony;* after whidi the property was united till the year 1609, when Ogle * Wit sold to Thomas Brown, Esq. an opulent ship-owner in I«Wldoii« After the battle oi^ Neville Cross, John Cpptland, with eight companions, rode off with David, King of Scots, and after carrying him twenty-five miles, arrived about vespers at Ogle Castle, on the river Blythe*f
PoMTELATfo, mistaken by Camden for the Roman station Pons Elii, has its name from its moist f^ituation on the river Font, Tliec/iurcft is dedicated to St, Mary, and in the appro* priaiion and a^lvowson of Merton College. It is tn the form of M cam I iia tower remarkably broad and heavy ; the door-way i* the weit of Norman architecture j the porch arched, and cover* td with heavy freestone flags. The arches in the inside are all pointed* in ilie chancel windows are several arms on painted ghiK. Here too are the burying-places and stones inscribed to Ibm meinory of the Goftcns of Island or Eland Hall, the Hors* Wya of Milburn-Grange, the Oglea of Kirkley, and the Cam of Dunston. The Lincoln taxation, made about A. D. 1291, values " Pont* Ealand rectory at 30h Is.; the prebend of Lord Charles de Betlamont in it, at 2Sl.; and that of Philip dc WyJcby at 2<M. lOs^ There was a chantry in this church, de- dicated to St- Mary. J ** Mr. Richard Coate di^d, January the third« 1719t and left his whole effects, at or about 70l« per an- num, to tlie parish of Pont Island, for iL<harity school, Mrs. Barbara Coats built the school-house at her,owo charge," || Tl^e barons of Mitford were lords of the manor of Eland- Gilbert de Eland held, in Eland, one ptough-land, by tlie payment of two pair of white gloves and one lax ;% and lus descendants had considerable powei?iions here for mar\y generations. The ville of Ponteland, with Eland Green, and lands in Meresfen, were
H 3 in
• Ma^. Brit. \ aod WallLi, Vol. IL p. 551.
i 3^\me% Froiiarl, IL 190. ti uq, % Tun. Not. Mon. p, 39^.
f Hutdi. State of, &c. p. 56. || Intcrip. in the churth.
^TcftadcNtfvtU, p. 3W.
10*2 KORTKtTMBER^AKOt
in the hands of one Seutynns in 1567;* arid Oie Errtrlgtoffe, of Errington Castle, liad mi extensive estate here from 1 597 to ITTI', in which year tTtey sold it to George Silvertop, Esq. This place was the head-quarters of the King of Scotland, in 1^44, when the English army waa at Newcastle ; and it *raa hi^rc tTwtt a peace was negocialed between the contending p«rties> by t!lfe prior of Tynemouth, and other ecclcsiastics*f
'flionias Burgilon^ in the reign of Henry the Third, held, in loccagc tenure, of the barony of Mitford/ sixty acres of land ifi KniKLEY, by the payment of half a mark; Hugh Belle hafl irxty Other acres, by the same service ; ta\d ** Marieria de
[^it'kelaw" held a fourth part of the village, by paying a mark tmd a half4 The family of Eiire, who were lord* of Kirkley and barons of Witton, in the county of Durham, held this
:ianor in Edward the Second's reign, by annually presenting fet farbed arrow at the thanor court. They had other valuable pos-
Dssions in this nefghbt>urhood. Several of this family held high
^lUatidns in Northumberland. Bir Ralph ^was in parliament fb
\35\. Sir William ^vas sheriff in 1436 ; and his son Ralph held office in 15011, and was afterwards warden of the Eafet
Marches, which olHce he filled with greftt crediL " He, witli
his friends, tenants, and fren^atits, maintained the Castle of Scat- borough for six weeks tigainst the northern rebdls ; the garrison
iving fm- twenty days on bread and water*" He was slain fti a battle with the Scots on HalMon Hill, m I4S6.J This pUce iiasj for upwards of two centyries, been the sddt and property
&f a branch of the ancient family of the Ogles. ** The man- Won-house makes a handsome iippejirance, being a Square buiTd-
ng, with wings, consisting of oiRces." The landscape, to the Bt of it is extensive and good, Nqhth MiLBURKK wiis hcld of the bardny of MTtford, by
knights* service in Henry the IT^rrd's time, by Simon de Dive^
tistoii
• tsth, lo RlU. f CJiro. dc Mail p. 207. Matt. Pari!«, p. 6^6.
I Testa tic Nevill, p. 38<u
^ Kid, Ror. Hist, p, 59?* WrWu, Vol II. p. 554,
I
b'OllTttUMBERLAVO, lOS
listiNi, who 'grunted it to the church of Hexham. Ailer tlte dittoltttion Bartiiram Anderson, of Milhtme Graji^e^ procured pMMBsions here of Edward the Sixth, and conveyed them to Edwurd Horgley, whose descendants hove been seated here ever mnm> ^* Millebvrne dpi Suth*' wes also a member of the Morpeth bvony^ arui held of it by knights' service by Robert dc Meneville. Thomas Bates held it in 1567 ; this family were formerly iteated at Halliwell* One of them waa superviaor of ^oeen Ehzabeth's property hi this county; and another of tbao a member of parliament for JVforpeth. Miilturm Home^ their present re«idence, waa built in 1809, by Ralph Bates, Esq. from designs by Mr. P^jterson, of Edinburgh, architect* The looms in it are all oval, and elegance and utility have b^en hap** pily ttnited through the whole structure.
Newburne, — Osulph, enraged at being deprived of the airldom of Northumberland, betook himself to the wood* and mountains; but afterwards collecting a few of his associatci* in want and disgrace, he besieged Newbuene, where Copsi his livtl^ was tumultUQUsly enjoying lumself with his friends. Coptt tbok refuge m the church; but tJie revenge of his antagonist was not to be soflened by dread of lieaven or ecclesiaaticAl con- •are ; fire was applied to the sacred edifice, and the earl in at- tempdng to escape, was seized and murdered* This happened on the third of the ides of March, 1072. This was one of die Kortbumbrian churches, lield of Henry the First, by Kichard fe Aorea Valle^ and whicl* that monarch gave to the canons of the church of Carlisle. Except the tombs of tlie Delavals of Korth DiBsington it contains little wortliy of notice.
The village or bormigh of Newburne paid a fcc^farm rent of dilrty pounds a year to Richard the First. His successor John, fa ISOl, raised their rent to fifty pounds ; and, on account of pnvi- Ifgesand exemptions they enjoyed, imposed a fine upon them oi* fiitoen marks, and two palfreys. As the tide flows past this flaeei its commerciid consequence might have been cx[»ected Co have kept pace with the times; but Newcastle, which in the
H i thirteenth
m
KOUT H UM B E R L A S* IX
thirteenth centufy paid only a sixth more rent than N^whurnc^' reaped too iniiny royal fiivours fmr a rival to thrivf in tts neigh* j boitrhood* The «ia»or,or, ad it is sometinnes c'>ilJed» the barony of^ Kewbunie, lias had the same revolution of possessors bs Wark- worth, from Uobert FiU Roger, m the lime of Henry the Third^n^ to the present day. Ou the twenty-eighth of August, le^O**" tliere waa a sharp conflict here between the armies headed by Lord Conway and General Lesly. ** Tlie Scotch pitched their tentson HeddorF Law, above Newboume, from whence th^re went a continued descent to the river of Tyne- In the nighl time they made great fires in and round about the camp, in an open- moorish ground (having coals plenty thereabouts) so that the*% camp seemed to be of large compass and extent.'* Vestiges i>f*1 this encampment appear very fair a little south-east of Heddon^ Law, on Throck!ey Fell. The king's army cotisis^ting of iJfXX)' foot, and 1 500 horse, were drawn up on Stella Ha ugh, opposite Kewburne. Their Ime extended near a mile, and tlicy had.
[thrown up breast works, at the two fords, to oppose the- possage of tlie Scotch, at low-water* Lesly, unknown to tlie* English, planted nine pieces of cannon on the tower of tlie.^ dmrch, and placed his inuisqueteers in the church, houses,. lana«c, and hedges, in and about Newbyrne* These cannon^
[Says liurnett, were made of bar-iron, hooped, like a barrel,* with cords, and wet rawhides. They were carried on horse*]
t back, and bore several discharges. After tliese had played awhile
I upon the English breast-works, und exposed their army to the Bre of the musquetry, hi§ soldiers began to raunnur, and Con- ray sounded a retreat. CommiHsary Wilmot, Sir John Digby,
"and Daniel O'Neal, being commiinded to bring up the rtar,
were surrounded and made prisoners ; but were nobly treated by. Lesly, and had afterwards liberty to return to the king's army. This, says Clarendon, was an irreparable rout* Conway waj*
accused of co'.vardice and treachery, and made a most uiiserable
defence against tlie charge*^
North * Rtishwortlj !« Colkclionf, p. 123 k* WfailbcLs Mnuoir^, p. 34.
J
I
»
KOAtlCUMB£ltLAXI>. lOS
Korth and South Digsiugtons w«re maoors and aeais of the Dclavalti soon after tlie conquest. Eih^ard Dclaval, wlio was page to Charles the Second, lived at South Diulngton ; and the pliice fltiil continues in the family. Admiral Delaval was hotn Hi North Diuingion, He sold it to the Colimgwoods, from whom it de&cendedy by bequef^tj to Waiter Spencer Stanhope, Etq. of Caimon Hail, Yorkshire, its present possessor. The dli^iel here, .which was subject to Tynemouth^ has been many years neglected ; tliough the estate continues to pay a small modus in lieu oftythes, as if a chaplain was still maintained*
WotsiNCTON, an ancient posst-ssion of the priory of Tync- mouth, belonged to the Jenrjitsons, in Queen Elizabeth's reign. They sold it to James Dagnia, Esq. of Cleatlon Hall, 10 the county of Durham* a celebrated amateur in painting; and of Itim it was purchased by the ancestors of the present possessor, MattJiew BelJ, Esq,
D&MTON was a manor of the barony of Wlialtonj in Henry the Third's time,* In 1380 it was given, with " Itedwod, near Newburne," to the prior of Tynemouth, by Adade Fenrother.f Soon after the reformation we find, in the Ibt of grand jurors, a fiuudy of Errington's residing here* From them it passed to the Rogers, the last of whom married the daughter of Sir Jolm DelovaJ, of Hartley, and tlied without ii^sue. His estate being divided, this portion fell to the Honourable Edward Montague^ Earl of Sandwich, and husband of Lady Mary Wortley Mob< tague, who fitted up the old hall in the iiothic style. Vest i get af a chapeJ, and a cemctry, as also a sepulchral stone, inscribed with a sword and flowered crosier, were found here about thirty years since. By the rivulet east of this place, a piece of the Koman-watl is still remainkig; and about ^00 yards of it were lately razed here, when two centurial stones, each inscribed C. IVLl UVFI, I. e, Centurio Juli Ruii, were dug up.
At Lemmington are extensive manufactories of crowi#Bnd iJint glass; as also the Ti/ne iron*tuorks which employ about
two
• Now, Feod* p* *t%.
t Brand's Ncwc, Vol, II. p. VT.
I
hundred men, and annually produce abAt ©f iron. At Scotchwood a mile below this place Lord Duii' donald established the first apparatus for extracting tar from pit^ coals. Heddon on the Wall. — Walter dc Bolbec gave to the church
I of St. Margaret at BlancWand, and to the canons serving God
\ there^ the right of patronage to the church of St, Andrew, At Heddon^ with all its appurtenaticies, for the good of the soul of ^ his father, Walter. The deed of grant b witnessed by his mother^ ^" his brother, Hugh de Bolbec, and others* The east end of the chancel of this churchy is a ueat specimen of pure Normaa i architecture ; the other parts of the ediiice are all Gothic* Wlien the military way wa* made through this vilUige, in 1752,
' ft large and very valuable collection of silver and cofj^per Komaii coini and medals were found in tlie Roman wall h^re, deposited J in wooden boxes, which were much decayed, * Hie fftmtars of i
k!f«ddon on the Wail, East ahd West Hedwin, Whitchester, and Houghton, mth Its members, were parcels of the barony of J Boibec, in the reigii of Henry tlte Hiird. f
Clos£ House, making part of the manor of Houghtofi, formerly a chapeU tbundcd by the UHtcliffes of Carlington Castle^ j and endowed with the lands which comprise tlje present estate* 1 At the reformation it reverted to the Katcliffes, and was by I them sold to the Reeds ; and of the Heeds purchased, in 1620,1 by Robert Bewicke, Esq. an opulent merchant in Newcastle,] ^'ho had his residence rtt Bewicke*s Entry, in the Ch^r, This ] inansion is very delightfully situated on the north batik of th^ Tyne. It was built in 1779, when the old chapul, which stood! 6n the site of the bow-window, at the east end of the Imusc,^ was pulled down. It is one of the seats of C, Bewicke, Esq.
Robert de la Val, and Kiclmld, his mother, about the ycat 1140, gave half the village of Achewic, now ciilkd IWhvfrkt it the%mrch of Hexham. This same RIchaUl, afterwards, cou- ftrmed to them all her right of the other moiety of this village}]
and • Hut(f. Vol, 11. p. 4r,9, t Testa de Xevil^ p. :18l^.
xofcttnmsEtitAVD,
107
I
I I
I
ihd other bctie&ttars encreased their ]^osKe$$iofts here ffUPttr rfm diiiolution. The manor and hall were pnrchased of the crcm-n hf John, second son of Sir John Fenwick, of Walhngton. They de» ficendeclby the femalelhiefirom him to Ralph ScourfieW, E«q>ifooiit 1670, imd from him to Edward Bell, of Bellasisf > Es4^. whose Mcst (ktightery and co-heiress, married George Spearman, Ei«|. of Prestdn^ near North Shield*?, tJie fathtfi of Ralph ^Spcurmtn, E«q, the present possessor. In nuiking a road through att old camp near tlits seat» several hand mill-stoiics, a sacrificing khite, and a flint-ax, similar to the pattoo of the South Sea iilanda, *cre discovered, and at presetit «re hi the polslfeBsSon tjf Mn Spearman. Whhchentcr w-^r, for many generations, the seat of the Turpfm, a fkmDy allied to the RatclifTcfi, Dckvals, Rout- cheaters, ^-c- In a large c«/r;/, on Tttrpin^s HHl^ m 1771, a stotie ch^t was found enclosing nothing but a Smalt quantity of ash^ and burnt bones. In 1795, another of these chests wal fotind 'hi ihe same cairn : it contained ttvo urns, and ccrppcr C0f dd of Domitiati, Amo^inns Pms, and Einstma, which arft t Eadmick Hall, There aare idso cmrious tttmuH at Heddon Law and De^^ly Law.
South Tixdale. — Tlie parish of Kirkhaugh lies in south Tin- dale, and at the soutli-west extremity of Northumberland. Culti- vation here is confined to the borders of the river, from which the mountains on each side rise witli a rapid but irregular ascent. The diurch^ a neat but humble-looking edifice, is placed in a meadow, oa the j^outhcrn marginof theTyne* Tliestone coffin, and the altar, dedicated to Minerva and Hercules, were some years since either removed or destroyed. The Tyne, in these parts, is, as Froissart describes it, "exceedingly rough and stoncy,'^ It rises very suddenly during heavy rains, and almost as suddenly fdls in fair reather. Nearly opposite to the church is Whitki/ Castle^ a Ro- man station, which, on the authority of the Notitia,and the cor- roborating evidence of an inscription, Mr. Horsley pronounced to be AlwnCf garrisoned by the third cohort of the Nervii ; ♦ but
recent
• Brit. RoD^ pp. 110, 455.
103 NOltTNt^MBBRLAKlX
recent inqumes fiave refuted this opinion. That the place wa» once of considerable importance, the inscriptions found at it, and it* present remains abundantly testify, Its walls enclose iin area of nearly nine acres, and have been defended, on the west, by ten different brcast-works, each resembUng a nght-angled trian- gle, the hypothenuse of which faces inwards. These have partly extended to the north and south sides, and two of tJiem have girded the whole area of the station ; from which the ground slopes on every side but the west, and on the east ratlier rapidJy. A year ago the remains of a very fine sudatory were discovered al its north-east corner, out of which issues a ckmr and plcniiful spring. Many of the pillars of the hypocaustum were standing, covered with large thin slabs of freestone, and a strong cal- careous cement, in our visit to this place in September, iBl The Maiden- Way passes the east wall of the station, at the dis* lance of about tifly yards. Between this way and the north- east corner of the station, about five years since, an altar, bear- ing the following inscription, was found fixed in a socket like th# pedestal of a cross ; and near it, at the same time, were disco*' vered, the head, a hand» and feet of a colossal statoe ;—
Id
DEO
HERCVLI C. VITELLIVS ATTICIANVS
C. LEG Ti V, P, F.
Deo K^rcitli C^m Vitellint Atlicianni renturio Icgi^ni* stxts ntHt'u pofiens fecit ; irr, itx\m votum perficienA fecit*
On the ri^ht side of this al^ar is a rude figure of Hercules^] fighting with a serpent, twisted round a tree; and, on the left^ the samz deity k represented, strangling a serpent in each hand« The original is at an ale-house near the station : it has a square hole in its top , and the fagments of the statue, in all Hkelihood^^ appertained to one of Hercules, which had been fixed upon tbfe
NORTHITMBCRLAZID.
10^
»
^Ur. The most remarkable iuscriptioa that t}m place ha* af- Ibrdbdl b given by Camden in this manner ; —
IMP. CARS. Lttcii Septimi Severi Ara
BICL ADIABENICI PAKTHICF,
MAX. FIL, DIVr ANTONINI Pii Gcrmwici
SARMA. NEP, DIV* ANTONINI PIl PRON
DIVI HADRIAJ^I ABN, DIVI TRAIANI
PARTH. ET DIVI NERV^ ADNEPOTI
M. AVRELIO ANTONINO PIO
FEL, AVG. GERMAN ICO PONT. MAX.
TR. POT..X-IMP--COS. nil. P. p.-*
RRO PIETATE AEDE.**. VOTO---
COMMVN I CVRAN 1 E
LEGATO AVG.
PR.-COH. m. NERVIO-.. RVM-a R. POS.
Camdeii calls k an imperfect inscription, in abbreviated and complicated characters. The original haii probably been de* •trojed* Mr, Hori^ley, however, found a copy of it at Appleby^ ttd haa^giveii this reading of it : —
^ Impeimtoris Caesarii Lncii Screri Arubfci Adtabe&ict Parikici maximi iif»«tivi Aiitoniii] Pit Siamiattci u^poti divi Anto«imi Pii pronepoli divi Hi^ MuiabDepoti diviTnjani Parthkietdivi Nervae idnepoti Marco Aurelio ADtonioo Pio filici A a gusto Germanivo print ifici rmlx^mlJ^ tribnnitix potcj^-
tilb deciiaiiBi imperatorf- - • 'COD&uti quortum patji patriae pro pietarr
9^iiem ex voto comnmni curiuti legato AugmtaLi coliors tcrtia Ncrvtontm (i€njo Romap po^nli.^
By this, says Camden,* we Icarn, that the third cohort of the Xenrii erected here a palace to the Emperor Antonmus, son of Sfiverus ; and Horsley observes, ** that if this temple has been erected to Caracal! a, it has been dedicated to him as the Geniu^ of Home, or of the Roman people : a fluttering compliment too often paid by them to their emperors. The inicriptlon wai erected in the year 213," ^ We think that G. ft. POS. in the luat line, should be read gratis posuit. Horsley al» 80 found here a fragment of an inscription, which likewise re- ferred • Gvogfi't Ed. Vol* III. ji. 177* * Brit R*ym. p, *5a
110 K«ITHPM0£RLA}W«
ftrred to Caracalln. And there was, in his timCt a c^nturiii I tone here, inscribed VEX. LEG. xx, V, V. REFEC. ; and m the church-yard of Kirkhaugh, an altar dedicated DEAE MINERVAE ET HERCVLI VICTOR, Over tlie «table-door
of the above ptibhc-house, is aii altar, on which are carved a pa- tera and urceolusi. The area of the station is covered with irregu- lar heaps of ruin : no stratum of stone appears within several miles similar to its remains* Thornhope, f, e, the Castle-brook, runs a little lo tlie east of this place, and derives its name from it.
The parish aud village of Knabesdale, derive their name fVom the Knarcy a stoney brook on the east side of tJie village. The meadows by the Tyne, about thig place, arc very fertile ; and the woods upon its banks healthy and luxuriant. WiJliam- ston and a few other spots on the river are remarkably sweet and sequestered. The mountains on each side arc lofty, and thdr heads covered with heath. The church has an ancient appearance, and the ground about it is irregular as if it had been covered witli buildings or encampments. The manor of Knaresdale was forfeited by John Pratt, and granted to Sir R. Swinburne, by Edward the First, in 1279, from whose family k passed in Queen Elizabeth's reign, to William Wallace, of Copdand Castle, Esq. by his marrriage to Eleanor pecond daughter of John Swinburne, Esq, of EiUingham. It wns aold by Robert W^allace to Alderman Stephenson, of New- castle,* of whose son it was purchased by the late Mr. Wallace, i»f Feathers to neb augh Casile, Knaresdale Hail is ruinated* The forest was anciently extensive and well replenished witji red-deer, the breed of which is nearly, if not altogether, extinct in these parts. ** I Iiavc seen,'* says WallLs, " about five or six in company, never more." f On the side of a mountain, called ISnowhope, is a strong medicinal spring,
Lambley was anciently a small house of Benedictine nuns.' It b uncertain who was its founder. King John, in 1200, con- (irnied a grant of Adam de Tindole, 9^d Heloise, hia wife, to
God • W*|]it. Vol, IL IV* f Ibid, Vol. L p, 40«.
IfORTItir^IBSRLAlfn. Ill
Cfodv St« Mary, St Parrick, and thenunt of Lambley* of right of patturage on botli eidei the Tyne, in their manor of Latnbley, and tbe chapel of SandibumeBek» with four acred of land* in the aanie pl«cQ, and the tythes and offerings ; aa atoo the dona* tiofiv of BeneringSy and Sandiburn^^^le made by Heliae, nephew of Uic faid Adam,^ They had a fifth part of the village of Widen* and certain poe^eisians in Nei^coatle. f Thb place and lis neighbourhood were miserably burni and wasietl* by a roir* iDg army of Scot^, in 1296.| At the dissolution tt had six ■ittu, and a yearly income of 5h l^s. 8d. £d\Tard tlte Sixth franlad it to Dudley* Earl of Northumberlandp but on hia BttaiDder it reverted to the crown, and compridcd part of tht of Featherstonehaugh Cattle in 1567*$ It ai\erwarda the seat of the Allgoods, of Nunwick* in whofie pos- it ia at present. The Tyne ran amongst the wo lb of the in Camden's time; and has now swept away all afipear- tacft of it. This ia a spot of great loveliness. Between tlie liver and the old residence of the Allgoods, is an ash-tree often tntnkSy all sprung from one stock, and each of great height, llMckfiesSt and foliage of the most exquisite L^htness* The §hapet of Lambley stands among a few poor cottages called iikrpertown ; aod is certainly one of tbe most humble of the jawghfers of our religion. Opposite Harpertown is an old fortress called CasiU-hill^ defended on three sides by the oa^ tural slope of the river bank* and on tlie fourth by a deep, dry Irencb.
Haltwhistlk.*— The parish churchy pleasantly situated on the aouth side of the town, is dedicated to the Holy Crosa. A Uiion current about this place has handed down, that the was once situated on the south side of the river* on a pace of ground called the Church Close* but that it waa away by the Tyne; we appreliend that the Church
Close
• DilF* Mon. Aag. p. 506. Stev. abr. p. 62.
t WftUis, Vol. IL p. 19. Braod ji Newc. Vol. L p. 544*
I Kiii|tl»t<»»> Col. PIR% $ Law. MS. f. S0«
112
flORTMlfMBEHLAN0.
Close was the site of a chapdl,* for the use of tnc habitants on the soutli side of the river, like that at chap houses, whjchf on Speed's map, is marked opposite Larnb- ley. The tomb« in this church, indeed, prove its high an- tiquity. Over one of the Bleukiiisops' is one of those funen^H • inscriptions in use before the common people were able I^H read. It is inscribed with the family arms, a large and well executed flowered crosier, a broken hiked Kword, and staff and script; aJI which, while it proves the antiquity of tl church, shows that the person, over whoM remains this Moi was placed, had hoiiourably passed from a military to a religio life, and thut he had made a pilgritnage. HtTe h also an altai tomb with tlm innription i—** John Rcdle that sum tim did he tin Laird of the Walton gon is he aut of thh val of mesre hi* lies under fhis^an^ 1562.'* This John Ridley was brother the celebrated martyr, Dr, Nicholas Ridley, Bishop of h don. Th<-' rectorial possessions of this church were granted royal charter, in 1S83, to tlie priory of T}Tiemouth; and are present in different lay hands. The ediiice consists of a nave» two side aifilee, and a chancel ; and has lately undergone con* side rable repairs. The village contained, in 1801, nlncty-eigl houses and six hundred and twenty-eigltt inhabitants. It a market on Thursday, and falrii on the fourteenth of Mi and the twenty-second of November* Over the door of tl School-house is inscribed — This charity-school was founded the Right Honourable Dorothy Chftpei, Baroness-Dowager Tewkesbury, &c, and this house was granted by the Re Tltomas Pate, about A- D. 172'J. At the cirsi end of the vill is a remarkable oval nniund, called tlie Castvl Banks^ havii a fine spring tn its centre, and at each end four gradatioi of terraces from the natural surface to its summit, the north aide of which is defended by a breast-work of eartli^ and the south by a steep declivity. Not far from this there is also another curious oblong Iitil apparently lactitious,
and » Sc« Uh lu Vol. VII. f. C'A
KOAt H CJMBERLA KD«
113
mid ealled the Schtil Hill. . There are two old turreted buildings in this town, strongly charactert^stic of the inse- curity and jealousy of the border times ; and half a mile to the east of it a large square Roman castra oestiva, called Whit- cheater, and defended on three sides by deep rugged glens*
B£LLISTER Castle, on the southern banks of the river, opposite Halt whistle, at present consists of a rude and crumbling maw of ruins, overshadowed by an enormous sycamore. U itanda on a high artificial mound, and has been surrounded by a broad fos8. The landscape around it is good, the faekts rich, aad the banks woody. It was the seat of Thomas Blenkinsop* in 1551, and of George in 1567. At present the manor be* longs to Cuthhert EUtson, Esq. of flebburn Hall, Durham, and tlie cattle and estate to Mrs. Bacon, of Newbrough*
Blekkiksof Castle is on the west side of the Tippal
The country around it has a cold and naked appearance. It
is built upon a Uttle eminence, and has been defended by a deep
df}* ditch on the north and west ; on the south by the chamber of
a rivulet, and on the east by a steep bank. The buildings have
consisted of a square tower, built upon vaults, and surrounded by
A high outward wall at the distance of four yards. Though it
tt miserably ruined, a few rooms of it are still tenanted by two
poor families. The stones of which the tower has been built
hive the same character as those found in Roman stations, and,
»• suppose, have been brought from Caervoran, In two places
we found the letters P. N, which are probably only the initials
of some modem name.
An altar bearing this mscripdon, in the beginning of the last ^Dtury was at this place : —
DEABVS N\Ttf FHIS VET-- MANSVETAE- LAVDIATVR - mU. FIL. V. S. L.
1
Y0L.XII.
It
* Ijtg, Msrdi, pp. 160, 161.
114» KOHTHUMITBRLAWIJ.
It is at present m the garden wall of the inn at Glenwhelt, a small village a little to the north of this place ; where, also, is the collossal headj measuring five feet in circunifbrencei which Hutchinson saw near Thirwoil Castle. The right Bide of this altfir is woni, as if it had heen used in a staircase. Mr. Hors- ley readiB it thus; — Deabus Nymphis Vetia Mansueta ct Claudia Turbiniila filia votum solvcrunt libentes. Thii^ estate, in the time of Henry the Third, was held by Ralph Blenkinsop, af Nicholas de Bolthy, Baron of Tindule, by the annual jmy- ment of half a mark, and is at present in the posseAsion of hia descendant, J. Blenkinsop Coulson, Esq, oi' Blenkinsop Castle, a mansion which he has lately byilf» at Dryburnhaugh, on the es&i side of the Tippal^ and opposite to the old faroilf residence.
FrATHERSTONEHAuon Castle (i* e* the castle in the meadow where the atones are stratified featherw!se» m in the bed of thte Tyne at Hartleyburne Foot) nm the seat of Thomas de FcfhcrUonehaitghf in I he time of Henry the Third, and held by him of the barony of Tindale, by the yearly payment of SIX shillings and eight*pence.* The manor T^ii? sonte year* since sold to the Earl of Carlisle ; but the estate continued in the family till it was sold by Sir Matthew FetherMonehaugh, <>f Up Park, in Sussex, Bart, to the father of its present possesscMr, l^ie Ri^it Honcrarable Thomas Wallace. Thfe edifice, likt most of the hordet castles, had a ditch around it, and cohststed of a strong tower, buik upon arches, and ftn-nished with tufrets* Mr. Wallace has added three smaller towers, and a suit c^ ofHces, which, with the garden wall, are executed ih the casti- lated st}'le, and make a bold and intereisting appearan«?e, ft fronts tlie narrow vale of H«tl^tirne, through which, and over the rocky and finely hooded bimks of the Tyne, are seen till? high and heatliy summits of Tindale and Byres Fell. The meadoAvs around it are lincomm only rich; the trees in the hedge-rows mi th# lawn, large and luxuriant, and the plan-
tsA>ns
HOllTmjMBEllL AKDW 1 1^
saiotm ilirougboot the whole estate retttarkaUy heaichj» Ihick, and picturesque.
Thikwall Castle stands on a rocky precipice, above the TippjJ» and a little south of the Pict's Wall. It gave naiue to an ancient family before cailkd Wade,* Tl*e church of Hexham held lands and possessions here, the g\fi of Brisn de Thirwall, and Roger, ]us son^ prior to the twenty-seventh of Ed- ward the First The heiress of this family^ in ITSS, marritnl Matthew Swinburne, of the Capheaton fanuly, who sold the Gistie and manor of Thirwall to the Earl of Carliile* The wjlls [this fortress are, in some places, three yards, and m others two yards and three quarters thick, but sadly ruined* ** At die entrance," say WoUis, ** part of tm iron gate is still re- maining, within which, on removing the rubbkh, the flooring of a room was discovered, in 1759, consisting of three courses of fla|^ one above another, a stratum of sand lying between each/' It was vaulted undemeatli. Great part of it has of late years been applied to building cottages* ** Here the Scots opened to themselves a way into the province between tlie Inhtng and the Tyne, and very prudently too, in the very {^ace by which the heart of the kingdom was mvBt acces^ whlc, without the intervention of any rivers.*' ** The Scots,** lays Fordun, ** being nmsters of the country, on both gides the valJ, began to inhabit it as conquerors, and calling together the peatsantry with their hoes, qutlltfts, or spades, rakes, forkip and mattocks, began to dig a number of cuts and pits alt over it, by which they could easily pass and repass. From these holes the wall here takes its present name, the place being CfkUed, in English Thrlvadh in Latin, Mums Perforattis^f la sight of this castle, to the south, is a camp, with a single fiUuti) of turf, and a foss. It is called Black Dykes* The lltmi is high on the north. Lead bullets have been found iii . on cutting turf. We^t of it a quarter of a mile is an*
¥her camp4 Umthank Hall stands on the soutli side of South Tyiw^
12 and
C4ind«t), OoQ£Vs Ed. Vi)h in, p. V5.>. t Ihid. % WaUU, V(*l. I. p. ^
1 15 KOaTH0IIEERLAKtt*
and under a lieatliy momntam» called Plen Moller. It wai tlie^ seat of the late Robert Tvireddlc, Esq. and by him bequeathed- to Robert Pearson, Esq. of Benwell. TnaApi^ood, near Haydon bridge, i« the residence of the Reverend Robert Tweddle, whose brother John, a gentleman of polished learning, died at Athens on the eight of the kalends of August, 1798, in his thirtieth year, and was buried there in the Temple of Tlieseus. Farther down the river, and on the same side is WiLLtMOTE^iiWicK: (L e* the moat and filla of William) an old and ruined fortified residence o£ the ancient family of Ridley s, from whom descended Bishop Ridley, the martyr ; Dr. Lancelot Ridley, author of a C^omraentary on the Epistles of St. Paul ; Sir Thomas Ridley, Chancellor to Archbishop Abbot, and author of A View of the Civil and Eo^H clesiastical Law ; and Sir Thomas's son and biographer. Dr. Gloster Ridley. * Their lineal descendants are at present set* tied at Heaton and Blagdon, in this county, where they have large pofsessious. They had also a residence at Hardridikg, in this parish, which they ^cild to Mr. Lowes, a family reiidcnt at that time at Crow Hall, on the n<irlh side of the South Tyne, but who of later years have had their seat at Rtdlet Hall, on the opposite bank of that river, and near its con* Huence with the Allen. This mansion stands in a fine open lituation ; and the walks around it, especially among the woods and rocks on the banks of the Allen, are very romantic, and and abundant in excellent specunens of landscape. The estate And hall were, in 1567^ parcel of tlie poisessions of the Ridleys, of Will imotes wick. The Lowes* family are also ancient in these parts, and have their name from being possessors of the forest of Loughs (or Lakes) in this parish. Near Ridley Hall is the chapel of Beltingham, of the antiquity of which a very largs j9w-tree, in its yard, is a standing rnomorial. Further up, on m neck of land, at the confluence of the Allen and Harsingdale Burn, are seen the crumbling walls, and broken gateway of Staward lk PsEJt, an ancient fortress; granted, in 13S6, bj
Edwani * Cirttr^ Hjsl. of Cunb. pp. 149, 508. Bowycr'i Aaecd.
KORTHUMBBliLANB. 117
Edward, Duke of York, to the Friar« Eremites, of Hexham, to be held by the annua] pa ytuent of five marks.^ The scenery about thit place »5 also of the most striking aod interesting na- ture, consUting of woods, rocks, ruined walk, water, cottages, and patches of ricJi tillage land* This peel or castle was the residence of John Bacon, Esq. a gentleman, who raised a larg* fortune by mining, and who is said to have been a descendant from the same stock as Lord Chancellor Bacon, by a monk of M^etherall Abbey, who conformed and married, Mr. Bacon's son and successors, settled at Newton Cap, in the county ^of Durham. He had seven daughters, siJt of whom mar- to opulent gentlemen in Northumberland, and one died firaarried.
CaervorAX (i,e, the town and castle) is situated about twelve or thirteen cliains, within both the walls, and n^r the iestern boundary' of this county. It is an oblong square, and Contains about four acres and a half. The ramparts and ditch around it are now, as in Hor&ley*« time, very conspicuous. Its ancient name appears to liave been Magna,, where the No- titia places the CohorS Secunda Dalmatorum, though no inscrip- tion has been found to strengthen the conjecture. The great nulitary way from Walwick Ch esters, passes a ttttle to the south of this fort ; and the Maiden-way goea through it to Beau Castle, which is about aix miles to the north of it*f
" Abundance of antiquities of various sorts have been dug up in this station and t(ncn, Wlien I was last here 1 pur- diaied a Roman ring, with a victory, ofi a Cornelian, but »:"J Three altars have been found here, dedicated to die God Vitires. § On a funeral stone, cut in two, and used is steps in the stairs of a house, Mr. Horsley found an inscrip* tion which he reads thus: Dis Manibus Aurelia Pubeo Voraa lixit annos**** Aurelius Fubeo Naso pientissimae filiae dicat.
I 3 Tliis
• WaJlii, Vol- II. p. ^2. t Warb. VaII. Kom. p. 75.
t Bonlex, p. f30 f H>. O^ugtii Camd. Val. Ill, p, f3«.
11« . TPORTH^Mll«lttANl>.
This inscription, IMR CAES FLAV VAL CoNSTANTINd
PIO NOB CAESAR is noticed by Warburton, in hi«
map. The stone on which it t» cut^ is broken in two.. It ia cuFiouB, «ays Horsiey, but needs no explication. The three following fragments of iDscrlpUons are in the Durham hbrary ;
V.^IVLGN*--.NUST AC.AF COII flTr BR
ANToNNIA * -L L M. /, e^ Minervac Julius Gnenius actarius cohort is quartae Britonmn Antoniniae votum sohk hbentissirae merito. — Honley. The actm*ius provided com for the armies ; and an Aotonlne Cohort, is mentioned in Gruter.* PM CA ••..If ADR- -LEG II.-.APIATORIO, 4he reading of >^4iich b very uncertain, though Mr* Hortley says, " I take it to have been erected to the Emperor Hadrian by the Legio secundo Augusta, and that Apiatorium was the name of the place at that time," Perhaps of the three the last is most per- fect. FOKTVI-..AUDAC, ROMANUS C. LEG VI XX AVG. It is the fragment of an altar dedicated to Fortune by Audacius Roraanus, centurion in the Jegions, sixth, twentieth^ and second, wlrich lasL was called Augusta* There are a few inscriptions besides these in the Britannia Romana, belong- ing to CaervoraiH but none of them any way curious.
A humaii skeleton was found at the east end ef this station, when the military road into Cumberland was made: a)sa some years afler, a small fair Roman altar inscribed DKO VITERiNO, and a small brass lar, both in the pomeaaton of Mrs, Bacon, of Newbrongh, In 1760 was found a fine relief of a Roman soldier fourteen inches and a half high, and nine broad. Above its lefl shoulder was a lion recumbent, with a <deer struggling under ita paws, j:
The four foUowing inscriptions are copied from Hutchinson;
1!, CLAVDI LXXX
I
I
1* A£LS*- AVREL. MARTI.
* P. eclx. D. 1. et p. %\. a. S»
5. niF
t WalTis, VoLn.p.5,
The fifirt of which is on a fragment of a tablet, aod has at «Jtar in relief under iu The third, perhaps, ought to he read:^ — Imperalor Antoninus • • • • vallo renovato - • • « quae supra fecit ; mad the fourth may relate to some band of soidiers quartered ^t Magnum,
Mr* Brand, however, eav at Glenwhelt^ a Btooe foimd at Cocr- ^onn, and itiscnbed— CIVTAS DVMNI, r. e.the city of the hill. ♦* 1 saw here,'* gays he, <* October the seventh, llh^t five square bffsei of columns and some curious gutter atones. On opening a tumufus, on the east of this station, there waa discovered a remarkable hollow &epalchral Btone, which contained a imall quantity of a black liquid, and two gold rings*'* Fram thif place he abo brought the two ioUowing inscriptiona : —
f . BED M ,
ET NVMINIB f. C. M4R
|
IVL : ACTAR • CO |
ANTO |
|
ET Aorrva • c |
VIATa |
|
ET S. VAL GA |
GSF |
|
CCVS A SOLO |
|
|
ER. V. 8, |
The first of which he translater:—
" To the God Mara iik) tlie dt^itjcs- * * >JtiUii« the aclatiiiy of Itie cdlit^rt, I AotittB tbe ceDturioD, and Servitu Valerius GrarcUos erected tbis from igrotmd, perfbnning a vow.''
Ta the second he affixes this reading : —
«* Ceatnrin Marci Anton' viataribrti gratia «ia fecit." *
We found the two following in the east end of Mr* Carrick's -C. CALERI . CASSIA • IN BVPXIX- The letters <if which are rather faint, but we believe they are here faithfully copied* The next k very perfect :—COH . I • BATAVORUM F.
14 ** Th^
• Hist, of Newc. Vol, L p. fillf.
120 ^ NORTnUMBERLANB.
" The fiwt Cohon of Batavians made this," The Notida pLices this coliort at Pracoiitia, or Carawbrugh, where we find Melacclnia> Marcellus, ils prefect, dedicating an altar to For- tune, We also found on the garden wall a centiirial etone, too rude and tiine-woro to be legible ; and this fragment of an io- fcHption— GERMA • R*-»'C . NE. There were also here a part of a statue from the knee dovt nwards, a millstone, an un- Bcribed altar, and several other curious Roman sculptures, scat- tered in different parts of Mr. Carrick's premijies.
Scarce a furlong hence, says Camden^ on a high hill, the Roman wall remains fifteen feet high, and nine broad, faced with hewn stones on both sides. The finest specimens at thit day are to be found on tlie high grounds between this place and Shewingsheels.
Wall Town was anciently a castellated building, and the seat of John Ridley, Esq. in the reign of Edward the Sixth. The estate and manor at present belong to Mrs* Bacon, of New- brough. Here is a fine clear fountain, which has formerly been enclosed, and in which Paulinijs baptised one of the Saxon kings, perhaps Edwin, in whose reign the wells by the way- sides were supplied wnth iron diehcs for the convenience of travellers.
Great Ch esters, or JEnca^ was garrisoDed in tlie time of the Notitia, by the cohors prima Asiorum. It is about the same size a* Cacrvoran. The ditch around it is remarkably frt^h on all sides hut the east. The walla in several placet partly standing. The whole area covered witli heaps of ruins» amongst w^hich are distinguishable the Pretorium fifty yards long and forty broad, the Questorium, tlie remains of a temple, and other public edifices. Some pieces of an iron-gate and hinges were found in the ruins not long ago. A paved way fifteen chains long, leads from its southern gate to the main military way. Camden dared not to visit this place for fear of mosstroopers. '* They told us»-* says he, ** tlint Chester was a very great place*'* Here is the following inscription : —
PRO
K0RTHUMBERLAK1>*
Ifl
PRO iALVTE
DESlDlENtVE
-L[\M PK.'VE
ET SVAS.
POSVIT VOT
AO SOLVIT LIBF,
NS TVSCO ET BAS
SO COSS.
*■ I thinlt," gays Horsley, *• voto in the tif>h line must be
€X voto, as usual, ami then there is no cliHiculty as to the
meaning." Tuscus and Bassus wer« consuls in 208,
Horsley has seven inscriptions and carvings found here, three of which are curious, lAid still fL'main in the neiglibourhood* One is a symbolical sculpture in relief, on a large stonet at the bottom of whicli are two boars, with their heads towards each other, and a tree on each side of each of them ; above them, two eagles, standing on the boughs of trees, and each of them supporting on its wings a victory, which holds a vexillura in the middJe o( the sculpture. This is manifestly indicative of the Honmn eagles liaving been victoriously borne through tiie Cale- doman woods, as the wild boar was the Iloman type of the people of that country. The next is a tomb-stone, with a head cftrred at the top, and this inscription below it:— D. M, AEL MEIlCVlUALi CoRNIC vL VACIA , SOROR FECIT. The cornicularius was an inft?rior officer under a tribune. The third, also a sepulchral stone, has an ill-tlesigncd human figure upon it, and beneath it this inscription: — DIS M.PERVICAE FILt A F, I. e, Dis Manibus Pervicae filia fecit.
But the most remarkable inscription this place has produced i dug out of the ruini of a large building in the upper part
ofdiis station- —
IMP • C.ES M. E VVR SEV KUS ALEXANDER PF« AVG HORREVM VETV OTATE^CONLAPJiVM M COH U ASn'RVM S. A A SOLO RES riTVEHVNT PROVtNXlA RECN T • •
MAX1510 LEa rr, apro
ML MARTI MED. LEG A T\S CO, IL ET DEXT.
122 KORTHU»4BERtAKI5*
The perfect part of diis inscription is copied from Mr, Brand's drawing, and the letters in italic supph^ed frotn Wallis, who says, •* it is imperfect at each corner at the bottom* whereby half of four lines are wanting^ besides some letters.
Mr. Brand also found here this fragment of an in^icriptioii: — « A VG . I * C AEI . VIC , S." There are many barrows or tumuli in this neiglibourhood ; and, in those that have been opcued the graves have been formed by side-etones let into the earth, and covered at top with large flat stones*
Little Chgsteks, or the Bowers^ was the ancient Vindo* laHfff and garrisoned in the time of the Notitia by the cohors quarta Gallorum* It stands one mite and tliree quarters soutlt<
j jof both the w^alle, and a few chains north of the Roman military wdy from Walwick Chesters to Caervoran. A causeway has le4 from it to Hadrian's vallum. Its ramparts are seve|i chains long, and four broad ; the towers at their comers have been
I roundf and are partly remaining : the ditch in few places can
^ be traced ; the area is covered with a rich sward^ and is very irregular ; on the east the ground slopes swiftly from it to Bar- don Burn I on the opposite side of whicl^ rises a high hiU^ called Borcum or Barcum, which would induce the belief that tliis place had not been called Vindolana, bm Borcovicus, a name attributed to Ilousesteads. There are foundations of buildinga on the west side of it; and in a piece of swampy ground ther^ many urns have been founds son^timea four or more together,
' covered with a large square brick, and having a strong oak post driven into the earth close by them. A little south-west of this sepulchral depot is a dry » green hill, called the Cliapchicadi* At Coidley-gate, where the via vincialis crosses Bardon Bum, is a milepilliir about seven feet high, placed at the foot of a large tumu- lus ; and a uiile farther up the Causeway ^ another broken in two. Some years ago on the west side of this p1ncc» about fif^y yards from tlie walls thereof, there was discovered, under a heap of rubbisli, a square room, strongly vaulted above, and paved with large square atones set in lime ; and under this a lower roomy whose roof was supported by rows of square pillars of
about
I
*
VOITHUMBERLAHB.
123
^Ottt fatalfa fard tuglu The upper room had two niches like ^ind, perhaps* in the nature of] cliimmeft* on eacl) side of every camtr or square, which iu aU made the number sixteen. Thr ^pmtmmi^ of this room, jis also its roof, were tinged with smoke* The stones used in vaulting the upper room h«ve been tkedp fts our joiners do the deals for chiunberis ; those 1 mw omnberad thu£, x. xi, xiii."* This description answers to the £brm of the hypocausta and sudatories found in the dlf'^
(ferent Roman stations in Uiis neigbourhood. An inscription^ idsor imperfect indeed, but curious, was about the siime time (ofmi here, and described by Dr* Hunter m the Philosophical Traafiactions. Wlien Horsley visited this place he found the origiaal had been conveyed to Bcltingham Chapel -Yard, where it was converted into a tomb-stone, and the inscription ■ hewn off:^
I GALLOR
^^^^_ VOTA NV
^^^^H NIEIV5 POP.-iRRIBVS
^^^^v fl'ndamen »-'t£rvnt svb
^^^^p cl xe^^epho eg av pr
^ cvraSte
^^^•f ••GaUorutti-*Votii tmniiiii ejus priiiripis optimi tnrribns^-fimd amenta ^m |iOiiiienuit mib Clmidio Xenoplioutf^ li'<,rBto, Augiutnii proprat'tori curaiite,"^
I Horsley, concerning this inscription, observes, tliat it seems to tGstabliidi the credit of tlie Notitia, that the first cohort of the GatsiB were quartered here ; tlmt it mentions a proprietor of Britain, Claudius XenophoOj no where else spoken of, and that the words optimi principis, would make one believe thai it reft^rred to Trajan*
DEAE SVRI AE SUB CALP VRMO AGR ICOLA LEG . AVG PR.PR.A.LICINTVS CLEMENS PRAEE C OH . 1 . HAMMIOH«|.
Camden • WiiL Tr«i!», No. *78.
If 4 yOKTirUMBERLAffB.
Camilen found the allar bearing thrs inscription at Melk* rigg, a hamlet on South Tyne« It waft copied into Speed V Map of Northumberland from the original in the Cotton Col* lection^ which at present is at Cambridge, In Horslej'a timt St was much defnced. The Syrian Goddess was the same u Cybele, Ceres, 7V41us, &c, Calpurnius waa pro pre tor in Bri- tain under Marcus Aurelius. The word Hammiorum, Mn Hor»- !ey supposed had been miscopied by his predecessors, and had been Gallorum in the original.
To this place also belongs a sculpture representing Mer- cury, with hiij caduceus in his kfl hand» and io his right a purse 8uspendt?d over the head of a Camillus, pouring incense on an aJtar, inFcribed, DEO MERCVRIO. This stone, and «ome Roman sandals found here, were given to the Royal Society, by Mr. Warburton.* The bricU at this place arc inscribed, LEG. VL V, Lcgro Sexta victrix. A large altar was found here, with a deer in the centre, leaning against a tree, and two fawns in niches below, all in relief. It has been spirt in two, and the sculptured part of it is at pre- sent used as a rubbing stone for cattle, in a field north of the via TTincialis. Near it we were also shewn a stone, inscribed ta the Biis Manibus, and in memory of a person, who had lived twenty-four years, three months, and eight days, but his name too much obliterated to be legible. The stone was dis-» covered by the plough. At the west end of the Well-house is this inscription, where it was first taken notice of by Mr. Wallis :— HTI VKTOf^f
L the bottom, resent state, ^ the weoiliet
of the wail
}70RTHUMBEhtAK]»# * iCf
IMP, CAES. TRAJAN HAORUM AVG LEG. IL AVCi. A PLATOKIO NEPOTE LEG. PR. PR.
The stone was removed to Ridley Hall. It is remarkable for Qtioning Hadrian^ and the propretar Plutoriufl Nepos, and being found in one of the castella of the wall usually attributed to Severus. It seems to destroy alt accepted criticism respect- ing the autliors of these two barriers, and to induce the belief lUat they were the labour of successive emperors^ each adding, altering, or repairing, as the exigencies of didrerent timei re- qtiired*
Hou5EJiTeAD5» called by Dr. Stukely» the Palmyra of Britain, is the Uorcavkiu of the Kotitia, where the first cohort 'the Timgrians, a people of Delgic Gaul, livin<^' on botJi sideis be Maese^ were in garrison. The great stone barrier running I the steep and rocky brovir of a high lull forms its northern rampart. Its area measures five chains by tieven ; the ditch is obscure, but the ramparts very apparent. The lines and angles of the different buildings, tliat stood within it may be distinctly traced amid confused heaps of ruins ; stones carved into curious forms \ embossed figures of gods and warriors ; and broken pH- lan» of rery difFerent degrees in size and excellejicy in work- tip* We found the thresliolds of certain buildings lately ttared of rubbish, by the curiosity of former visitors, where ap- peared the plinth of a pilasttT, finely moulded on two sides ; remains of a floor waved with parallel Hues , and three fre€- iBdne Meps, much worn by use* Near tliese is also a small circu- lar building, widening upwards, with a narrow way into it ; the piace^ perfiaps, which Mr, Brand supposed had been an oven. On the east side of the south gate is an oblong building, pro- jectmg about thirty feet, through the ram partis, and having the bise of a cir^tUar tower or staircase at its north east corner : tt» walls at present are about five feet high; and its iaterior, ^ut ten feet wide, is fUIed up with stones and rubbish. On
the
126 KOnTHVMBEALAHO.
the ^uth and west of this iiation the ruins of a town arc large umd manifest, where the columns of the temples, the statues of the go<ls, and the altars of Roman pitty he in melancholy desolation. On the edge of the brook east of this place wc saw remalnft of a bath, about thirty- eight feet by fifty, the floor of wrhich is vigibJe, and the hypocaustmn, we believe, entire. On Chapel HilJ, about three furlongs to the soutli, is a large ruin- ous lieap, supposed to be the remains of a consiilerable temple^* West oi' this, where tlie way leads from the station, we also saw the lines of buildings, a large stone apparently the pedestal of a statue, and a broken statue which was lately dug up in making a drain. The hill sides herfe, where the land is good, are all terraced, afler the ancient method, mentioned by Jo* sephus, of cultivating swiftly-sloping grounds*
The Britannia Romana has sixteen inscriptions and sculptures found here, some of which are very perfect and curious* We select the fuUmving from that work : —
I O M
ET NVMIMBVS AVG . COH . I . TV NGROKVM MIL . CVl PRAR ST Q. VERIVS feVPERSTIS PRAEFECITS.
JoTi Oltttmo Maxima et autbinibns Aagnsti coU«ri fkrijua Tiuifranim^ iiuUtitm cai praeest Quinttii Vcrins iJupcr>tes pracfectus.
This altar h built up in the cMmney jamb, in the house tl the valley, below the gtation.
I O M E N%T^INIBUS AUG COH.T.TVNGROK CVl PRAE EST Q, IVLIVS MAXIMVS
Tim
• Hor». Brit, Rom. p, «19.
»
ajtar has been dedicated by tlie same cohort and prefect ai the last, but the word M AXIM VS is pnrtly worn out, aad the word PREAFECTUS entirely gone, I ., ..
ET NVMINIBUS
AVG. COH. I
TVNGROR*
CUI PRAEEST
Q. IVL. MAX I
BIXJS . PRAEF
Jon OptifSM Mfiximo et oumiuibiis Aitgusti cohort prima TungrDrum cmi praeert Qotottis JiiUila Maximus praefectu*.
DEO MARTI QVIN iXORIVS MA TERNVS PRAEF COH ITVNG
V S L M
DcoMaiti Quml(L4 FlorJii!^ Miiterotis praefecttt* coliortii prtioae Tod- fTorom voturd solvit libeoi mcrito.
Besides these there are three mutilated ioscriptionB one : cneDtions the sixth legion ; the second is, MATH IB VS COH. I,
TV^GR ; and tlie tliird, a defaced aJtar of Jupiter*
The sculptures in alto-relievo : the first of them, a flying vic- tory, witli one foot touching a globe ; the second and third, figures of Roman soldiers ; the fourth, three female figures, limiliirly clothed, and in similar attitudes, seated in a chair, and holding with both hand^ a cylindrical vessel j and the fiftlj, three other female figureg in separate chairs, each di^crently clodied, and the middle one having its legs tied to posts with two car As ; the sixth, also, has upon it three feniale figures, euch ttindiog, and of ruder work than the former, and, above their bciidli, three fishes, one of them a sea-goat ; and, tlie geventh^ ** a imall statue of a soldier in the Roman mllitai-y habk, Holding a spear in his right hand, resting with hm lcf\ upon ii shield.*'
There
*i r
** There is one inscription more which belongs to this place, tliat was published in tht; Trunsactions, by Dr* Hunter, •everal years ago." It was imperfect when he saw it, and i» givcQ thus:— >
NI VEN'O RI
G OFERSIOMS
ROMVLO ALLMAHI
MANSVETIO SENICIOM
REVINCE QVARTI0M8
EREiil FROCVRAVIT. DPXF
VS RAVTIONIS . EX . G , S.
..**tii Vtootnoni* [filio]
2-..- Oferiiotila
Bnmnl<> AlimEhionis
M.ttMttcuo !M^nccion»
ReviiiHo Qiiartioni^
crrgi ptoctiraTjt Dflfitu
Rautionh ex ^^tia sui
This has evidently been a sepulchral monument, but it Ib ex- tremely obscure and barbarous, and difficult to decypher.
Cahrowbrugh, or Procolitia, governed, when the No litia was made, by the first Batavian coliortj standi on elevate ground, rich, green, irregular, with large heaps of ruins. militar}^ way that accompanies the barriers over these hills, | through the middle of this fort, the stone barrier forming it northern rampart, which, with that on tlie east, is still ver visible. There are no remains of the ditch, but on the wes% where lie the ruins of a considerable town, and, in the begins ning of last century, was found a well, plentifully supplied witlil iiDe water, seven feet square, cased with ashlar work, and as ap*| pears by the ruins on its brink, once covered with a house. It is supposed to have been a bath. There is a broken pillar by iL
This place has not hitherto been found rich In aDtiquitjei,.J It has, however, pT«^uce4 two very fine altars, dedicated t4
Fortune
KOftTHUMlS&LAHSW
129
remaved.
Durham*
Mr* Warburton, to the library m Th^ir inscriptions are ae follow :»^
COH. T BATAVOR
CVI PRAERST
MELACCrNIVS MARCELLVS PRM.
FORTVNAE
P R
C IVL RAETICVS C. LEG. VI VIC.
^ The foa^ of these Is curieufl and useful, inasmuch ag it con* firms the evidence of tlie Notitia, that thia place was ancieuUy caUed FrocoUtia. The second la read by Horaley thus;-^ Foituiise popixli Romani Caius Juliuti Raeucus centurio kgionis aaots ▼ictricts; but that anliquaryi by mistake, makes it be- hag to Liule-Chesters.*
A ^tone, in the form of an altar without a focus, was found kf^ by WarburtoDf with this inscription ; — D* M. D. THAN* QUILA SEVERA, PRO SE ET SVIS. V. S. LM *' De* dtcaled to the Genii of Spirits, by Tranquilla Severa, for her and hei«," Mr, Wallis mentions a relief of Neptune, with hi* trideot, reclining^ in a houso-end liere ; it has, since his time, been removed into the walks at Hallington, ^
Half a mile south* west of this place, and similar to it in size» iiaa exploratory, cu* summer fort^ called Broom-Dykes; and mmr to Houses tt^ads is Busy-Gap^ a break in the mountain, ilid to have been one of the inlets by which the Caledonians. most frequently iiwaded the provinces south of the wail. Mr. Horsley thought the castle at SiiEWiKc-SiftKt.DS had no ap* petrance of being Rotnan* *' The castle itself (now in ruins) «Ad the motes beside it, are untioubtedly of much later date. And I observed several trenches thereabouts ; particularly a Iwge and long oibe, which reaches from Busy-Gap cross the
Vol,. XIL K passes
* Warb, Vsl. Roin« p. 56 luid 69.
130 NOHTIItJMBERLAMft.
passes bet«r««e]i the mountains. But these are all oti tlie notfli aide of the wall, and must certainly have been made in later times, for securing the neighbouring passes. Probably they are no older than the times of our famous mosstroopers^ who might convenicntty shLlter themselves among those hideous mountains and mosses." ♦ There are many superstitious tales about enchanted warriors in a cavern near Shewing-Shielda ; and a littJi* west of it» near the wail, is a high rude stone, called by the common people King Ethel*s Chair.
Between the South Tjnie and Canraw u Newb»ough> which probably derives its name from being built out of the ruins of Procolitia^ or from its proximity to it, Thb village stands conspicuous, in the escheats of the tenth of Elizabeth^ for the great number of its freeholders. Here is the seat of Mrs. Bacon, and the Rev- Henry Wastal, her relative by an ancestor of his, rector of Stmonbum, marrying one of the Bacons of Staward PeeL There are very excellent whetstones obtained near an old deserted lcad*mine above Newbrough-f
Whitfield IIall, a seat of Willi^i Ord, Esq. is situated- on the West Allen. William, King of Scotland, confirmecl' the manor of Whitfield to the church of Hexham, of which it» was held, in 11^6^:}: by John de Whitfield, at the annual rent* of 16s. 4sl, It continued in this family till its last proprietor/ Matthew Wliitfield, Esq* who was higli sherifi* for this countjv in I728» sold it to the Orda of Fenham, The mansion-house iras rebuilt about twenty years since, and great improvements' made about it. The high and bold rocks, and the hangti^ woods, thick with hollies, form a fine contrast wnth the neat«* ness of the lawn and tiie pleasure grounds* The Whitfields of* this place were usually styled earkf and after they became ex*-* tinct this local title passed to the A^liitfields of ClargilL
Langl£t Castle, the cnpital seat of the barony of Tyndal«^ was held of the crown, in the time of Henry the First, bj Adam de Tyndale, by service of one knight's fee ; and con'-
linued
J BriL Rom. p. 147, fWsMhy L p, <J4* | WalUi, 11. 33.
Jiii
KOKTHyMBERLAKO;
ISI
I
tioued In his male desceodaDts till the tfme of Hetirj tho
Third,* when the family inheritance was divided between two
cso-helressesy and this part came to Richard dc Boiteby, by
mxmrrmge <j^ one of thctn. From the BoUebys, from like
^muse, it passed to the Lucys, Barons of Egermojit and Cocker-
vnouth, with whom it remained five descentSp when issue niiile
.sgaiA failing it became the possession of Gilbert de Umfraavilj,
^arl of Anegos, by marriage of Muud, sister and heir of Anthony
^ord Lucy. On the demise of the Earl of Anegos, his widow
Tnarried, in 1383, Henry Percy, Earl of Noithumbcrlaml^f
a circumstance which united the large possessions of the Urn-
franvills and Lucp in the Percy family, with whom this castle
and manor remained in 1567; J but it ai'kerwards became the
property of the RatcliSes, of Dilston, with whom it continued
till it was forfeited by James, the last Earl of Derwentwater,
ID 1745< It now belongs to Greenwich Hospital*
This casUe is well situated on ihe south side of the Tyne» and though it has of late years been barbarously handled, it is by far the most perfect ruin of the kind in the county. It is in the form af tlie letter H, its walls near seven feet thick, iu inside twenty ^four feet by eighty, and the towers, one at each corner, about sixty-six feet liigh. The rooms remaining ire all arched with stone; those in the towers are fourteen feet square, and the four snuJl fire-rooms on the east, each eleven feet by thirteen. The ground-rooms, on the east and west, four on each side, have been much injured by being ■led as farm offices. The windows wl^icb have lighted the gneai hall, kitchen, &q. are large, those in the chambars mostly small, and built at an angle that would prevent the entrance of an enemy's arrow. The stone of which this fabric is built *is yet so remarkably fresh, as to exhibit in their primitive sharfmesa the characters of the masons. The whole of the toaide is red with the marks of tire.
Haydon-Bridgb has a charter for a market on Tuesdays, K2 and
T«»t*. <i« Ncvii* p. 381, f CoH, Pe^rtgc, Vol VL p. en,
; UkWK MS. t 14.
IS2 MORTHVMBERLAftU.
and a Mr dh July the ttrenty-iifst, and three days after, pri cured by the first Anthony, Lord Lucy, but both long sine fallen inio disuse. The bridge here, in Cainden*g time, wa * wooden, and oat of repair.* At present it is of »tone, consists of five arches, tliree of them built in 1800 and 181( Tlie church is a plain, neat, and new edifice, with a squ tower, finished with a quadrangular spire. Opposite to i% on the south bank of the Tjnc, i^ the Free-School an Hoispitals, founded and endowed by the Reverend Joh Shiifloe, A. M. Vicar of Nethen^arden. The endowmc consists of a valuable estate at Mousin, near Bamberough which the trustees considering iis more than suflScient for the^ maintenance of the establishment, an act of parliaineni was procured, id I7SS, for turning its proceeds into a more ' channel^ and enlarging and amending the old constitutions i the charity. By this act the trustees are empowered to bail and maintain alms-houses for old iind decayed inhabitants the townships of Hay don and Woodshields ; to provide a school'^' mistress to teach readings writing, knitting, &c. to erect suitable houses for the two ushers, and to regulate thetr's tmd the master's salary. This act provides that the master's salary shall not be less than lf)Ol. nor more than 150L a year; and that the two ushers shall be paid such annual salaries as shall teem meet to the trustees, so that the salary oi tlie first be oot less than 35U nor that of the second \em than 201. a year.
Netherwahden" 18 very sweetty situated between the two Tynes, and near their confluence. Its church has been lately rebuilt ; it is a vicarage, Its rectory appropriated to the churcH of Hexham, ami has under it the chapels of Hoydon and New- brough. The Scotch army, tlitit plundered the western part** ^f this county, while King David ravaged its shores, encamped! at " Waredun," near Hexham, the twcnty-fiftli of JanuaijiJ U38,* Between this place and Wahvick Grange ia the finug^ jfient of a crasi^ with a sheathed swurd cut upon it.
CuBiiTERs, East-Ciiesters, or Walwick-Chesters, an.
cicntly * Scrip* % cd. 96*1.
I
I
KORTHUMBJERLAKiy. 153
decrtly CUumum^ the station of the Ala Secunda Astonim, is 140 yards by 200, on the outside of the ramparts, which, with the ditch and large ruins iq their area were extant till of late years^^ but now grass-grown, though their Hnes are still per- ceptible, and the ground within them very irregular witfi foundations of buildings. The liuburbs liave been between the fort and the river, over which remiiins of a Roman bridge here can easily be traced in dry seasons. The bases of the piers are like fine pavements, the stones large, and joined together with faorkontal dove-tail cramps, several of which we saw in their original situation, and others at Mr* C]a3rt6n*s house* Each of these large stones has, in the centre of its uppermost super- ficies» a lewis, or poising hole, narrower at the top than the bottom, an invention attributed to modern times, but evidently iDcient* There is a vault in the area of this station, which has not yet been cleaned out ; and behind Mr. Clayton's house, §cveral yards of tlie Horn an wall, and its tiitch filled witJi water, in grettt perfection.
There are several sculptures and inscriptions found here, mentioned in the Britannia Romiina, hut none of them any way remarkable^ except an altar dedicated '* to the Dii Manes ^ by Fiibius Honoratus, tribune of tliu first cohort of Vangiones," a people from Belgic Gaul, ** and Aurelia Egleciane, the parentj^ of Fabia Honorata, their most charming daughter/*
In a summer-house in Mr. Clajrton's lawn are several anti- qaities* the produce of this station, the most curious of which are the following. A broken altar, too imperfect to discover
K 3 any
• Hofileytip* 143. Braaifs Newc. I* m% ** Theiitc of the Prato- ttmB, nf tile eastcru end, is very di!4tLni;«iiii!Uable, with two entrances tiiroiigli the valtiiin^ aiL^werinf to each Bide of the Prn^toriiiiu, and a roaiJ leading down to th^ river. The ^ouiid withiii the vaifnin i^ crnwtled with the ruhu of stunc hiiUdings, wl^ich appear to have stood in lineal directions, formifig »treett, two on the south side and two on the norlh, intcnccted in the middle by a crnsjt street from norrh to aontiu On the »outh side, without the valhtm and fois, niany tuxos of huildiagj> appear, and sonue on llw north.** Hotc. L 73.
^'ORTUDMBEflLAKD•
any thing from» except that it mentions Ulpius, who wat ]
liieutenant of Britain in the reigii of Commodas/ A statue off Etiropftf of very pretty workeianshipj in free-:itone, but broken] into three pieces, and the head and arms of Europa, and the | legs, head, and tail, of the bull wanting. The feet of the bull] rest upon a long scaley fish» symbolical of the sea ;—
Ausa e:»t qnoque regia virgo Nescta quein premeret, t<frgo comidtre tauH« TiiDi Dgu& ii terra, 5iccoqiie a liltoie, bfi-D^itn h'tLisik fit^dum primis vestieia pooit m tmdis* Ind« abji altenit^'iif mediique |)«r i^qtiora ponti Fcrl pra^dnm. Pavel |j%c ; litUisqite ablaUi relictism Rcspiciti €t dexUii cornu itnet , altera dorso Impoiiitii Cfrl : trrmulse tinnantur fiamine ve^tes.
OVID, METAM*
The following ioscnption if upon a large free-stone table, al j present broken into four pieces. There is a neat moulding round the mscnption, much of which has been purposely | erased. The letters in the original are much compUcated, buti perfectly legible :—
IMP CAES * WTIEL
AVG •
*....... ,.p......B, P CS PP DiVI
mVi SEVER. NEP
CAESAR. IMPER..
AL/E. IL ASTV'R. VSTAT
ER\ NT PER. BlARn^M. VALER INSTAN TE. SEl^IMIO MLO, P DEDICATVM. III. KAL. NOVEM. GR.^EO ET SEL.--.
Concerning this, it is observable, that It has been made in th^j
time of Alexander Severus, by the second wing of the Asti, tal
coniraemorate the rebuilding of bome ediHc^, which had become]
ruinous through age, and which was dedicated on tlie third of the
kalends of November, I'hc ruined granery at Great Chestera
pas also repaired by the second cohort of tlie Asti, under the
same
« ZipliiK I. botii. pp. 620— ^S-*,
NOfWrRUMBBRLAKD. l^^
tmnc enipcriN'f who comnyenced his reign, A« D. 2^, and wta lurdert'd ia 225, We f^uspect, from the space In this inscrip- Itan, betwetr n COS and FP, that its date should be fixed in 2*26, rhen this Scverus was second time CM)nsuJ. Laropridius says ' him : ** in Britania (ut alii volunt in Gallia) in vjco cui Stciia tst eura occiderunt." The erasurea on this stone prove he fell into disgrace with the soldiers. Alf^vald, King of ^onhatnberland, in A. D. 788, was slain in a place called by loveden and others,* ^* Scile- Chester pwia murum/* It tnay, rhaps be thought a wide eonje<:ture, to suppose that Sicila^ !rUiimuni, and Scile-Chester, are names of tfie same place, and JiBt the ground here has been sanctihed with the blood of the benevolent Alexander Severus, and of Alfwald, called by Simeon of Durham, Rex pi us et justm.
At thk statloQ was also found a fine consular medalion of {adrian, four inches in circumference ; the legend roimd iIjp bead, Ilaclrlano Aug. C(Bsari^ and on the obverse, S* P. Q, R Oplimo PrincipL S, C, encircled with a civic garland.f
On tiic west side of this titatlon, finely situated on rich and
f rising ground, and commanding an extensive and weil-cuitivated
prospect, ifi Cmestehs, the seat of Nathaniel Clayton, Esq. It
buik by John Enington, Esq, of Wnlwjck Grange, who
^ifterwards sold it to Adam Askew, Esq. patentee, liigh-sherifl'
of tlie county of Durham, and of whom it was soon after pur-
chosed by it« present possessor.
Warwick Gravce stands on a rocV, in a low and secluded situation, on the brink of tlie North T}'ne, The ancient dwell- ing was bm'lt afler the manner of the border towers : the addi- lions to it in tlie modern style. It was the seat of Anthony Errington, Esq- in 1551; and of his Jincal descendiint, John. in tlie ktter part of last century. The estate is leasehold, mi- ller the Northumberland family. There are several Ilonian an- tiquities, brought from Cilurnum, and <"hiefly of the sepulchral
K 4 kind,
*ilai|.Dutt.CoUiiO.
I^ic, Hsf^nj^U Cot «pg. t Wallis IT, m*
kind, in the garden-wall here ; but none of them Rfc very tert'stjug.
Walwick was purchased by the kev, Cuthbert Wilson, of Justice Wilson, by Mr. Dixon^ who sold it to Henry Tulip Esq. of Fallowfield. It b, at present, the residence of the] Rer, Robert Clark, llie prospect from it is exceedingly fine, reaching as far as Swinburne Castle, on one side, and to the | plantations of Minster Acres and the blue mountains, in ihm\ district of Weardalc, on the other. Concerning the plinth of a I ptllart in the corner of the Stack Yard, on the edge of the I military way here, Mr. Hutton observes : " I saw a beautiful i pedestal, pannelled, moulded, and fluted, in peHectton, twoi feet by eighteen inches, no doubt a Roman relic, degraded t^j a shubby prop, as a thing of no value.***
NORTH TINDALE.
The parish of Simokburk is remarkable for being the largest in the diocese of Durham, It extends from the Roman W^all to Liddesdale, in Scotland, a space of thirty- two measured miles ; in wtiich are only two chapels of case, BelUngham and Falslone. " In Nortiie Tyndale is but one paroche church, called Simonsbume. In it is aliquot sacella* Sens I hard that Simousbume is in Sowth Tyndale, aad that in Nortlie Tindale is onely Belingeham chspel, longrnge to Si- inonsburne."f The aliquot sacella here mentioned, were pro- bably the chapels of Houghton Castle, Kirkfield, FaUtone, and the one at Bumskirk, on the south side of Dead- Water, where some grave-stones still renmiup Kirkfield Chapel is about half a mile from Wark, and, by an arch and two pillars in its north wall, appears to hnve consisted of two aisles: a tomb-stone remains lit it, dated A. D. 1686. The parish church is dedicated to Su Simon. Edward the First took the advowson of it, with other
property^ • R«man WslJ, p. til. t Ld. It. Vol. XJL fol. 74.
KORTRVMBSItLAKn.
137
I
-property, from the see of Durham, in the time of Anthony Beck, becaiMc that prelate refuied to observe a treaty the king had made between him and the Prior of Durham. John Darcy left the advowion of it to Queen Philippa, who gave it to Windsor College. It fell to the crown by the attamdcr of the last Earl of Den*'entwater, and at piresent belongst to Green- wich Hospital. Its revenues ore upwards of 5000). a year ; but an act of parliament has lately passed, to divide it into 6ve rectoHes, after the decease of the present incumbent, and to befttow tliem upon naval chaplains. A itcull, says Wallis, waa^ found in a grave in this church, with the fi^re of a large scallop thell on the back of it, and of a torcula? shell at one of the auditories. The chaucet has once had considerable ele^ gance^ iU door-way on the south side being rich Gothic, and its original windowi; long, spear-pointed, and finely ornamented, but now walled up. At the east end of the south aisle is the efHgles of the Rev. Cuthbert Ridley, a child, and a youth, cut in stone, with an inscription^ dated 1625. Mr. Wallis, author of the hiitory of this county, was several years curate of this parish-
Simonburn Caitle formerly belonged to the Herons of Chip- chaae, who aold it to the AUgood family. '* It was polled down, to satisfy a violent curiosity tlie country people had for •earching, like King John at Corbridgc, and Nero at Carthage, for hidden treasure ; where they succeeded no better than those hro royml money-hunters, who got nothing but rubbish for iheir pains. Part of the west end was rebuilt, 1766, with twn imall turrets at the angles."*
NtnfwicK, also, came by purchase from tJie Herons to tha All^tKida. This seat was erected by Sir Lancelot A Ugood, Knight, who waa h^h-sheriff for this county in 1746, It is a hand- iOllie building, of white free* stone. On the west It is screened iwth a fine wood, and from tlie terrace the prospect over the fertile banks of the North Tyne is eittremely rich and diver- lified. In a held adjoining this house were five upright pillars.
• Widi»t II. 55.
138 KORTHUMBERIAKO.
m circular order; four of them perfect and entire m 1714, the other broken ; the perfect ones eight feet high and nine and a half over ; the circumference of the area in which they stood ninety feet.* North-west of Niinwick, about three quarters of a mUe» is Paik-Etid^ the seat of Thomas Ridley, Esq. sui^H rounded with fine scenery, and grounds in excellent cultivation^"
fVark is enumerated among the queen^s possessions witliin the liberty of Tbdale» in 1 567* James the First granted it t^H Theophilus Howard, Eail of Suffolk, of whom it was purchaseJ^^ by the RatcHfTs of Dilston ; and, by the attainder of the laa^^^ Earl of Derwentwater, reverted to the crown, and was givon fl^M Greenwich Hospital. Here is an exp!oratory mount, called Alote hftll, on which the RatclilTs had a manision-hous^. The camps in this netghboyrhood were probably formed by the army of Edward the Third, while he vainly wailed the return of tli^H Scotch army into their own country, in 1327.f Giles Heron^" of this place, by industry and care, acquired the sum of 8001. three- fourthi of which he left to the poor of the parish of Simonburn, and tlie residue to the perpetual maintenance of a echoobn aster in this village* He died in 168k An estate, called Tecket, was purchased by his trustees, which at present lets for about 24<)1. a year ; and, in 1805, the Governors of Greenwich Hoi*pital assisted the neighbourhood in erecting an elegant school -room.
Houghton Castkf the seat of William Smitli, Esq, fttandii proudly on a smooth sloping bank, on the southern brink of the North Tyne- It is an extensive fabric, and immensely strong* It was a possession of the Swinburnes in 1326> and of the Widdringtons in 1567* Adjoining to it is *' a domestic chapel, now in ruins,* 'J Here also is etn extensive paper f-rolU; and, at a short distance hence, on a woody and rising ground, is the village of Hitmshau^h^ anciently belonging to this castle; and where also is the seat of the late H* Richmond, Esq.
Bkllinoham • Wallis IL 50. Gouglis Camd, III. *?48, ♦ Johties Froisart, Vol. L p. 57. % Waltls 11* 67,
I
I
KOIlTriOMBEltLAKD* 139
Bellindham gave name to an ancient family, who were cd at it In 1578, and m 1454' : some ruins of their castle still
ttain near the village. Half of the manor belonged to the ArchhUhojis of York, as pitrcel of tlie pos^^ession of the franchi^ of Tindale, prior to the retgn of Heniy the Eighth, The chapel is dedicated to St. Cuthhert, and entirely roofed with stone arches in rib-work : tliere are many grave-stones in Its floor, fcniptured with swords^ and other emblems of the warlike disposition of the inhabitants of this district. Here was a weekly market on Saturdays, now disused ; the fairs are on tlie Wednesday belbre Easter, and on the first Saturday afttjr the fifVeenth of September* Nearly oppo&ite to this place, on die ?outh side of the North Tyne, is He&Heside^ the seat of Willl«ai John Charlton, and of his ancestors, since the time of Edward the Sixth. The old mansion-house was built after the manner of Lowther-Hall, in Westmoreland, was burnt down about seventy years since, and then rebuilt. The present edifice was slso twice involved in flames, by the negligence of the house- carpenters, during the time it was building. It stands on a gentle eminence ; the grounds around it are well clotl^ed witli woody and agreeably diversified with fine sheep-walks. The giirdens and fruit walls are uncommonly productive. Five miles above this place is Foist one Chape! , and about seven miles ftirlher up is Keelder CaHle^ formerly the residence of a famous border chieftain ; and at present a shooting-box of the Duke of Northumberland. Sir John Swinbum, of Capheaton, has also % shooting-seat in this neighbourhood, colled M ounce* Know, ^htmt which he lias paid considerable attention to planting. The moora here are scattered over with cairns, tumuli, and Druidicol monunients ; and, as appears by the large quantities of wood buried in the peat>mosses, have been covered with thick forests.
Tanet HaU^ about two miles above Hedieside, anciently be- longed to the Comins. Concerning this place the lords of the council wrote to the Earl of Northumberland and Sir Ralph Sadler in this manner :— " And here we have thought mete to put you in remembrance of Tarsctt Hall, belonging to the Lord
Borrows I
^MO HORTHUMBERLAl^t).
Borrowi, and Hawgston, beloDging to Sir John Wetheryogtoi! beyng thought mete places*' for the keeper of Tindale to \i\ in.* It is quite demolished. Its area has fonned an ohloi: •quare» in length about 120 yards, defended on three sides a deep foss, ten yards broad ; the east side lying on a ttei descent. At each comer have been turrets ; and traces of outward wall appear, f
REDESDALE
is the name of a district, comprising the parishes of Ehdon i Corscnsiiie. Richard do Umfranvill lie Id the vale ofRcdesdal^ by tha service of guarding it from thieves ; j: and his succe Gilbert, held it •* per regalem potestatem."^ But, as this trict continued a nest of lawless freebooters, it was enacted parliament, in 1420, that the statute of the second year of Henr the Fifth, against tlie robbers of TindaJe, should be extended to those of Kedesdale, " that they should be outlawed, and their property forfeited," Harbottle Castle, and the manor of Otter- burne, were held oi the king, in capite, by Robert UmfranvUI, in 14-28, " by the service of keeping the valley of Riddesdale free from M^olves and robbers, which service was adjudged to be great serjantry. Upon search," at tltis time, ** it was found in One of the books of knights* fees, in the custody of the king's remembrancer, that Gilbert de Humfranvifl held Riddcsdal^ per rcgaletn potcftatem^ by royal power. There was no species of taiure in England known by the name of tenure by royal
power. • Sit R. S^l. St. Pip, Vol. I. p. 490. t Halclu I. 193,
t Tost* 4t 'Nev. p* 59f . Hie print td copy of thin rrford makei no metK tion of woKes or foxes; but a Harkau MS. of the time of Henry tfae Third, *ay*, in one part—" Idem Ifcnricfw (enuit d*; Rege in capite io I com* Nort]itttiil>n& mancrium de Laxton--per M-rjirjituuii adfug^Md^ L^rvm cum canibvs ttLU per QVkTVon arm* r awd in another part — " idem Viiali tenuit inaDerium de lax too— -de Kegt in capite per scrjcatiam cwrrfndi od txwm Id madatmn Regit."
IL 3e5.
WORTRUMBERLAND* 141
f)oif«r, I io humbly apprehendi that in this cas^ the tenure
'WIS baronjTy accompanied with a fuU power of a Lord Marcher
^oreagaiitfi Scotland, like that baronial power which was an-
^i^ientljr vested in the Earl of Chester, for the time being, or
^pume other great Lord Marcher foreagainst Wales."* In 1567
^-thk •province' belonged to the crown* f Lord Redesdale if
the greatest landliolder here, but the Duke of Northumberland,
m Jord paramount of the district, for which he holds a court-lect
at Elsdon.
RisiNGHAM is supposed by Camden to be a compound of Old Eogtiflh and German, and to mean the Habitation of GiantSf because Risingberg, in Germany, signifies • the moun- tain of giants/ WalliK says it means • the hntnlet on a rising ground,' RlCCinjahseill signifies the home of the ozier meet' dams. This is the modern name of a Roman station on the western branch of Watling Street, twelve miles from the wall, _io4 on the brink of the river Rede, Its area contains three acres, three roods, and twenty-six perches, and is covered with tha linet of ancient buildings^ The walls are high ridges of ruins ; they make a flexure at the north gate, where a sluggish btck-water from the Rede lies against them. The ditch is in fiiaiiy places very visible. Opposite this station lie many large ftenet in the river, with holfs in them, somewhat in the man- ner of lew is- holes, as if they had been used in a bridge. Forty yem since a mile pillar was standing, a mile south of the stitioA ; and at present there h one used as a gate-post, oppa- ate the door of the inn at Woodhridgc. Waih'ng Street is very fii^le m this neighbourhood, and in one place has lefl the sacteut appellation l^am^ to two farm-houses, as it has done in Learning Lane, in Yorkshire, and as the Roman way, Raking- dike, from Lanchester to South Shields, has done in Leant Lantf in the parish of Jarrow. ** Here," says Camden, *' are oumy and considerable remains of antiquity; and the inhabitants that the god Mogon a long while defended thii place against
some • Bfadoi, Bar. Aag, p. 244. f Eaot, 10 Elk.
14S
KORTflUMB£RLAND»
sotdon or Pagan Prii
Nor do tliey speak at
some soicum or ragan rnnce^ r»*or do uiey speafc at random | for that this god was worshipped here, appears from two altars lately taken out of the river here, with the following mscrip* tionsi"— DEO MOGONTI CAD. ET, N, DN AVG, M. G. SECUNDINVS BR COS, HABITANCI PRIMA STA„, PRO SE ET SVIS POS. This ta in Trinity College, Cam- bridge. Botli Camden and Woodford begin with DEO, but no room ur trace of it appeared to Hor^ley, and Woodford has TAL». instead of TA, in the sixth line. Tliis Mogon waa a local deity of the Cadeni^ who are the 8ame as the Gadeni of Ptolomy* The Bmeficiarii were Boldiers who attended the chief officers of the army, and were exempt from duty, as we learn from Fes t us, somewhat like our cadets. Prima Statio may imply that it was the first northern etation at the time the altar was erected;* or that it was the first station north of the wall. Habitancuvt was evidently its Roman name: — DEO MOVNO CAD. INVENTVS DO V. S. This, perhaps, also belongs to Uie god Mogon,— D. M- BLESCIVS DIOVI* CVS FILIAE SVAE VIXSIT ANVM. L ET DIE. XXI. In Trinity College. The rydenese of the letters in the original, their scattered position, and the stops on each side the I, are very remarkable.f— ^HL CVI PRAEEST. M FERE-
GRINIUS SVPER. TRIB. COH. L VANG FECIT
CVRANTE IVL. PaVLO. TRIB. In Trinity CoUegc. DEAE TERTIANAE SACRVM AEL, TIMOTHEA P V, S, LL* M, The original lost, and nothing known respect- ing the goddess Tertiana. HERCULI IVL PAVLLVi^ TRIB V. S. On an altar, used as a gnte-post, on the south side of the station in HorsIey*s time. „.AVR* ANTONINI. PII. AVG, M. MESSORIVS DILIGENS TRIBVNVS SACRVM. At Trinity College. There is no doubt but pro salute impcratoris M. has gone before, and perhaps the altar has been to Jupiter Optimus Maximus, or to Jupiter and Uie numina Augusti, as at Benwdl M. A. Antoninus, called
Philosophusy * GottgUI Camd, lU. 230. t Horsley, No. XC
HORTllUMBERLAlfl}. H8
^VhnosophtiB, had wdrs here» and his legate, Calpumius Agricoia» M e oamed tn an inscription or two in these parts ; and I am apt ^0 think* tliat both this inscription, and some others in the ^»orth, belong to that emperor."* DEO, INVICTo HER- <:VLL SACR L. AEMLL. SALVANVS TRIB* CoH. I "VANGI V. S. L. M. This is also in Trinity College, verj -entire, large, and beautiful ; on one side an ox, on the other mhe priest's veil and pater a, f—,. J COS Cvl PRE R AVREL^fc ^AST. VETvsTaTE CoNLaBS. This is lost: Mr. Gale' -observes, ** that vetU8tate conlabsum, signifies a falling to de- -cajj and not a destruction by fire, war, or other enemy than age and neglect.'* NVMINIB AVGVSTOR COH UlT GAL. EQ. FEC, ** This long stone," says Camden, ** has an ele» gant relief, far surpassing the rest in execution, inscribed, by tlie fourth cohort of Gaulish horse, >o the divinities of the em- perors." There is an engraving from the original, wliicli is m Trinity College, in Speed's map of this county. Mars and Victory are set in a niche on each side of the stone. *' Tlie emperors, in honour of whom it was erected, I take to be Se- lenia and Caracal b, who were much hereabout, and, I be- lieve, were possessed of this very -station," J These ten pre- ceding inscriptions are all mentioned by Camden ; the three following were first publislied in Warburton*s map. MARTI VICTOR1...VS PVBLL.JVS. TRIE. V. S. L. M. There is Mars and Victory ou the capital, and an ox* s head on the base of this aUar,— FORTVNA AVG AEL PROCVLIN V a The third of these is a dedication MARTI \1CT0RI, by ^tiibtme; but it is very imperfect. Dn Hunter ^ first noticed the following fragment, which Hutchinson saw walled up iq
ahouse upon the station,. DOLOCHENO C, I\X. PVBL
PIVS TRIB ¥• S. L- M- The letters 1 O M have either been at the top of the plane of this altar, and struck off with the capital, or else upon the capital itself. Besides the above^
Horsley
* Harftle>% p* ;a6« t GauRli, III. 1^47* | Horsley, p, tSf.
f Piiibs. Trans. No. ^78. Gibi* C«jxid. JOBG.
144f XOBTHUMBBHIAKIK
HorBley haj * two sepulchral iDscripllons, two rdiefe, and an alt^ to Jupiter, found here ; also a rude bas relief of a Roman archer, called Ro6in of Bmngluitn^ or Robin of Redetdak: it is near the Park-head» about half a mile from the station, on a huge piece of fallen rock* Mr. Hutch! o&on disagreea with Horsey, in calliDg it Honian ; and says, that the appellation Robin of lledesdale, was given to one of tlie Umfranvills, and that in the time of Edward the Fourth, one Hiliiard, of the Lancastrian party, was thus denominated.^ Thii inscription, D M AEMILLIANVS ANNORVM X. we copied from tlie original at Caropville : it waa comHiiunicated, with another se- pulchral inscription^ to Mr* Hutchinson. The two next were aUo found here, and described by Lionel Charlton, in the Gtfn- tletnan^s Magazine, in 1753, at which time one of them waa in a cow'house, the other in a chimney, at Woodburn ; —
1 D M
VI xn c. R a € A
AEMII AEMIIANVS TRIB eH. 1 VANG
• •..XII : O. R
Q C, J A
IVI. VICTOR
TRBV. OH. IV
AKGONVM.
Mr* Brand has published the following m his History of Newcastle 4--MATRIBVS TRAMARINIS IVL. VICTOR V. S* LM. It ia upon a handsome altar, discovered here in 1 783* Spon's account of the Da* Matres ie, that they were deified women, who, while living, were thought to have the gift of prophecy, and after their death seem to hare been wor- ahlpped as a sort of genii, or tutelar deities of the places wliere Ihey resided. This altar is at Carapeville.
* P. ^40. t Hut«4i. I* pp. 191, t9S, Hofsfey, p, f39.
t VoK r. p. 6t«» See Honky, pp. SOl, %rt*
CtsDfiH parish is about twenty-tn^o miles long and seven miles poadt and contains about J 500 inhstbitants. The village of Els* m ha» an annual fair, for cattle^ on the twenty-sixth of August* The parish church is ancieot, and has once been mucli larger on the north side. In clearing away the earth recumbent against north transept, the bones of upwards of one hundred per* \ lately found, regularly deposited in double rows, the 9CII& af one alternately lying between the thigh bones of an- ^(tb^* Behind the chancel was also found a tomb-stone, with s croes and a sword carved upon it ; the monument of a young anaoi as i^peared by the beautiful freshness of his teeth. The Treetcrtf^hoiise is a strong old tower, with a circular staircase at <lfie comer ; its lowest story is spanned with one large arch ; on «t8 front are the arms of the Humfranvilles, and beneath them — ;X>llOKtie.
Tlie Mote HiU^ on the north side of the village, has, as its miame evinces, been a place of assembly, on public occasions, in Saxon times ; though the remains of strong masonry, and two S^nscriptions* found upon it, prove that it has been used as an E^xploratory hill by the Romans;, though its features at present YoL, Xn. L bear
* Buoei of dififerent kiudi of animals, boar'5 tusks, an iira with ashes of », were, abnut thirty-five years since, ^vt^ up licrp. The iascnp \ are in Uontcy as follow « : —
31. B-NO GENERIS
DEO MATvNO* PRO SALVTE.
HVMAN* IMPE RANTE C
AUG. PR. PR. POSVIT AC DEDICAVIT C. A, ACIL,
9dine have thought Utat these arc ft apnenta of the same ftonf*, tod that '^kmt iliDuld be read tlius : — ^Deo Matiino pro aalute et bouo generis liumani
i ^pcranie Gcta Augusta suh- legato aairustali propnHiore pasuit jie
|^ft«dicavit Cains Aiilus Acilius.' •• -Mr. Ho rsley, however, did not entirely ^o^ndde in this reading, supposing iiiat the cha&mii in the third and fourtJi lioes of tlic recond fbould be filled op isith ** Calpumiui Agncola,'*
146
KOTtXaUKTBERtAKD.
bear no resemblance of Roman origm. It consist* oFtwo cir clcs, detached from each other by ditches, about tliirty feet - deep, aud defended by high breast*work on their margins. Fa^ bulous tradition relates that a giant, called Ella, resided here, and committed great ravages in the neighbourhood.
Bereness Vhapel^ in this parish, had a long time laid in ruir but was rebuilt by voluntary subscription in 1 793, when it endowed wiUi 17301; whereof 12001. was given by the Kev.l L. Dutt^ns, rector of Elsden ; 40DL by the governors of Que Anne's bounty, and 1501. by the subscribers to tlie edifice. Ottehburne Castle, says Leland, siandcth on ** Otter] , in Kidt^sdale." John Hall, Esq. whose ance&tors had been long seated here, was a magii^trate, and captain of a train-band fin (iueen Anne's time. He engaged in the rchcilion, in 1715, j was taken prisoner at Preston, in Lancashire, and executed at 1 Tyburne. Ills estates being forfeited, were purchased by Halll i of Catclengh, whoBe son Hobeit left tliem to the father of Mr» . I JEllLif tJicir present posge»5or, whose mansion-house is founded j upon the .site of tiie old castle. In liis account^ of tiie battle i Ifought herCv on the ninth of August, 1S8%S, Froisart describes J I this fortress as ** tollerabJy strong, and situated among marches^ j [• .wliich the Scots attacked so long, and so unsuccessfully, that ] I they were fatigued, and afterwards sounded a retreat." In | council, however, it was agreed to renew the attack in the cool J of next morning ; but to many of them tlic light of that morn* ing nuvtr shone. Under the Earlh of Douglas, Murray, and i f March, tliey hud a little time before entered Northumberland, i crossed tlic Tyne, and burned the country as fur as 13rancepeth| Castle, and then returned, laden with plunder. In iheir wajF back they lay three days before Newcastle, in which time there was much skinnishing, and Sir Henry Percy lost his pennon in on encounter uith Douglas, who boasted he would ftx it upon. his Castle of Dalkeith. The morning after tins —
» B. IlL c. l?5— 189. Jobaef'Tx«Qsktiotij Vol IX, p. 237^1
KnKTHtJMllERLAKB.
H7
k
fe
The Dowflaj tiirnyd hTin homewarde a^Jiym,
For »orti w'ithow^bteii tm>e, He tonk \m iogtyti^e a( OtUetbomey
Upon a Wedyiwday ;•
in hi« road to which place he burned the castle of Ponelace^ and took \U owner, Sir Ilatfino dc Jlphrl^f prisoner. While they were at supper* and " some wt-re gone to sleep, for they had laboured hard during tlie day at tlie attack of the castle ** of Otterbume, tJie^ English, from Newcastle, entered their camp with tJie cry, * Percy ! Percy !' It was moon-light* The as* tault, byniistake» was made antong tlie huts of tlie servants^ which gave the Scotch (who had settled tlieir plans of defence in case of attack) time to wheel along the mountain side, and fail upon the English llank. The battle now raged. Douglas and Hotspur had met, and the Scotch were giving way, when Sir Patrick Hepburne and his son came, and renewed the fight. ** The Earl of Douglas, who was of a high spirit, seeipg his men d, seized a battle-axe with both his hands, like a gallant blight, and, to rally his men, dashed into the midst of hii enemies, and gave such blows on all around him, that no one eould withstand them, but all made way for him on every side, until he was met by three spears that pointed at him; one struck him on the shoulder, another on the stomach, near the belly, atid the third entered his thigh. He could never iliitengage himself from these spears, but was borne to the ground, Bght- ing desperately. From that moment !ie never rose again. Some of his knights and esquires had followed him, but not all ; for, though the moon shone, it was rather darL" Wljen his fol- lowers came up they found him stretched upon the ground, with his valiant chaplain and a wounded knight by his side. ** Thanks
L2 to
•Tlic Battle of Oltcrhunie, oa old ballad.
i Probably Sir "Ayraeruftde Athelc,** who was j*1ieriif of Nortliumberlaod, it3l3lK Fontdaiid^ attptirtof the Mitf^rd barony^ was, at t}th time, a tN^i»esxtou of Sir Ttioniaji Percy, by liis Diarriage wiUi Elizabftth, Co*Ucire*» •I Dtfid Siralolgie, Earl of AthoL
14i NORTHUMBERLAND*
to God," says he, ** I die like my forefathers, in a field of
battle, and not in my cliamber upon my bed. Raise up myl banner, and continue the cry of * Douglas!' but tell neither] friend nor foe that I am dead.'* The main force of the Englisli^ army marched over his body. Sir Ralph Percy, badly wound* ed, was soon after taken prisoner. The contention still conti^ nued fierce; but when the fallen banner again came forw'ard,! with the cry of ** Douglas ! Douglas!" the Scotch made a furiou*! attack, and tlie English^ weary with a long day's march, andi the fatigue of battle, at last gave way, and were completely j overthrown. Sir Ralph Percy, and other distingubhed charac^l ters, to the number of 1000, were taken prisoners : upwards ( 1800 were killed, and above 1000 wounded. Soon afler the! Bishop of Durham came up with flresh troops, but Unditig the Scotch strongly entrenched, and being deceived in their num' bers, by their blowing a claniorous concert witli their horQ%J they determined to return again to Newcastle. I wm told, Froisart, that this battle waa ** la plus dure et la plus cruelle < la miex combattue que jamais bataille fut. Ce que croy. C« Anglois d'un cost^ et Eacocois de Pautre sont moult bons geni d'armes et quand ili se trouvent ou rencontrent au partj d^annes e'est sans s'epargner. 11 n*y a entrc eux nid ho. Tant que lances^ e^pees, hackes, et dagues peuvent durer ils ficrent et frapent Fun sur PauLre et quand ils se sont bien battus et que Pun partie obtieut, ils se glorihent tant en Icurs armes, et sont si rejouts que sur les champs ceux qui sont prU et fiance z sod^ rati^onnez ; et savez vous comment ? si trestot et si courtoisc ment que cliacun se contente de son compaignon et qu'au de- parteraent ils dient. Grand mercy. Mais en combattant et faisant armc^ Pun sur I'autre il n'y a pouit de jeu ni d'epargne^ Ain^ois est tout a certes, et bien le monstrent la : ainsi que je rous diray, car ceste rencontre fut aussi bien demenee au droit d*armes que nulle chose peut on9ques estre.''
Mr. Hor&ley, in a letter* to R.Gale, Esq, December thirteenth^
1729, * Hutvh. NaitlHimb. I, 19a.
I
KORTIlrMBBRLA^D. 14P
J729» described a cairn opened near Ottcrburae about thgt time. It WAS computed to contain about alxty ton« of \oo9c atones, under which appeared a large, flat, undressed stone, that covered a cavity, three feet long, two feet broad, and about four feet deep. It was filled about eighteen inches with fine mould, next was a layer of ashes, mixed with pieces of boae and half-burned wood, and then two feet of fine river sand. A similar monument, near High Carrich^ was used in buddiDg a kiln, a few years since : in its centre was a cavky» formed by four stones set on edge, and covered with one about eight feet long and five feet broad. Hare Cairn^ u e. army's lon^t on a sheep-walk, east of Ilachester, is a mass of looae itaiiei^ twelve feet high, and sixty yardg in diameter. Toild- Lmo means Fox Hill, and is the name of a moor about n mile south-east of Bereness Chapel, on which are three rude stouc pillars^ in a triangle, twelve feet asunder. There are several [, tumuli, and Druidical circles, scattered over this district, cially on the hills towards the borders.
At ElishaWf between Otterburne and Rochester, was an hm* pltal and a chapel, valued in the Liber Regis at Ids. 4d. a year; but few traces of them at present remain. About the spot the ground it uneven, with foundations of other buildings ; and a Soman bridge has crossed the Rede here, as is evident by f^tones still remaining, joined together with iron cramps and lead.
Rochester is situated in Wathng Street, eight miles north of Risingham, and twenty of the wall. It is the Brancniuni of Plolo«ny and the Itineniry, as is proved by this inscription, dis- covered by Camden, and at present in Trinity College : — D R S DVPL.N. EXPLOR. BREMEN. ARAM INSTITVERVNT N. EIVS C. CAEP CHARITINO TRIB. V. S. L. M. Le, Deae Romae sacrum duplares numeri exploratorum Bremenii aram rnstrtuerunt numeni ejus Caio CsEpione Charrtino tribuno, &c. Richard numbers Brcmenium among the twelve stipendary cities io Britain. It is defended by three rampart.s oi' earth and a vaU eevcn fe«t thick, and fancifully chequered witli ashlar
L 3 work,
I
(All KORTftUMBBRLANO.
fktdn M Miftnii eohortis primetJUla Varduhrum dviam Roma"
_ Tl»# tliiiH^ fiiUowiiTg inscrijitions we copied from very perfecl
I iiimI t%(*4«hti(\il ultitn tbuncl witluxi thb station, iu the ruins of a
I Uiiti* huiliiliigi on t)ie west side of the south gate. The onginaU
H iwri» «il CMttpeviUc ;•—
k
URAK Ml
(irNto. iiiA
1fl»tifi«r
one SANCT^ MtKERV.E
VKIll-\V2i TKtEASAll
A DEAE MI NERVE IVL CARANIVS
-Mwfroae <^ Genio fe. Concerning bit inscnbed * Deo and that the terms faUf establish the HL B tUi stipendaiy Ihii lie was most of «f die peo|ife bto classes
of Copper- if ftttwi as llie aeirenth, lii Mercurial and of TrareUers. CoQceming
KOIlTHUMSfiRLAKD. Ut
Concern ing die other two of these inscriptionsi there Is nothing remarbiblef except their being dedicated to Minerva only, and t}»e last being erected ** by a decree of the senate." There are al«o several funeral Inscriptions, and curious figures in has* leltef, at Campeville, brought from this place, and amongst the flat tbta fragment :—
-BLIO .-E L. AVG ..ROCoS • CoH, I F. ..VB CVRA -G. AVG, IT. F.
from which little more can be gathered than that it has been erected m memory of some work done by the first cohort of Varduliansj called ^dii.
In our visit to this place, In September 1810, we found two oken inscriptions in the possession of the Rev. — Hope, rho resides within the area of the stations ; and the following curious, though imperfect inscription , we copied from a stone in a wheat field across the rivulet, and opposite the north -ea«t comer of the station. The top of it has received much injury from the weather ; —
..C--,-.F AVG.
-...LVS N ANOR ETEM CoMPT B R BV CoR SVB CVRVM IL MAINIAE ET ALIMENT SVB CVR OPERVM PVBL rVUA LVCILLA C. F MARITO BM VIX AN XLVIIl M. V. D. XXV.
Cripchase Castle.— Peter de Insula heldChipches and Wit- ^»illi by a third part of a knight's fee, of tJie barony of Humfran- ^ilL* In the time of Henry the Eighth it wa& the residence of
Sir * Tcsta« de Nevi)» p. $Bt*
154 KORTHUMBEBLAKD.
Sir Jolm Tleran, in whose family it continued four tlesceiits, imd Umki fell to the Allgoocis, who soon after sold it to John Ree^l^ E^» de^CPTitlecl from the ancient family of Reeds of Trough- end* in [tede*d»ilc, nnd grundiatlier of its i>resent possessor* Ldand calls ** Chipchase a praty towne and cattle, hard on the eafite parte of tite anne of Northe Tync ;*** and Sir Uitfph Sad- ler» iu u letter to Secretary Cecily says, '* the most apte and convenyq|it placis for tlic keeper ot Ttndak- to reside in on all tlie frontiers are Hawgston, Langley, or Chipchase, in one of whicti iij placis men of ^errice have alwayes been plaoc?dy and especially for the well executing of that office oC Tyndale/*^ The old tower still remains : its roof is built on corhels, and hoit openings through which to throw down stones or scalding %vater upon an enemy. The grooves of the portcullis, tlie porter's chamber above it, and tattered fragments of Gothic paititln^j' on the walls, are exceedingly curious. The large ad- ditiouN to this structiiie were made by Cutribert Herron, Esq, in 1621 ; and soon after it came to the present family it thoroughly rcprtired, and much improved ; the chapel^ in the lawn was rebuilt, the gardens made, and the grounds covered witli extensive plantations* This delighful residence is sur- nndcd with scener)^ of the richest and most enchanting kind; tind from the neighbourhood of Wark, Nunwick, and Simon* bum, lias a bold and magnificent appearance. The rooms in it are fitted up in a splendid style, and ornamented with several very excellent paintings, amongst which are a fine picture of the Descent from the Cross, by Vandyke ; the Marriage at Cana in Galilee, by Tintoretto; a Holy Family, by Rubens; St. John receiving his Revelations, coloured and drawn with great spirit; and the Forum at Rome, with the Tale of M. Curtius leaping into tlie Gulph, by Paul Panini.
SWINEURKC ♦ Vol. VIL fol. 75. t State Papers, VoL L p. 441.
t *rhi» <li]ipel, in 117], was given to t]ie chiircb of Hc^xhatn, b^ Odonel
fTmiifrafivill. 'Vht* oKl cUapel atoofl near the front of the casllc* At pre- trat Ui*i Virar of fliiilfertoo pcrfonns liatj here four liijjt^ a ^ear, for whjdi li» rccftfti fuftv sbiilingi a year, in heo of all ty&cs.
i I
I
VOKTHUMBVfttAlfll. US-
SwiNBVRXB Castlb, the flcat of Mrs. Riddelly iBan elegant itone building, on'rising ground, and surrounded with plantaF- tions, laid out in long straight lines, which, at a distance, have a dark and hard appearance. This place, wkh Ganiterton, waa held by ** Peter de Gunwarton, of the baronj of Ba]iol, bj two knights' fees,"* in the reign of Edward the First .In 1S96 It belonged to John de Swinburne, from whom it passed to Joha de Widdrington, by marriage, and was the property of his de- scendant, John Widderington, in 1596.t Afterwards it came to the Riddells, an ancient family, some of whom were opulent merchants in Newcasde, and built a residence out of the hos- pital of St. Edmund, in Gateshead, which, owing to a quarrel between tbe mob and an old senrant, was set on fire as the Duke of Cumberland marchod past it into Scotland, in 17M. William Ryddel, in 1569, obtained a lease from the crown of coals ** cum les water pyttes in campis de Gateshed."^ Sir Thomas, of this fiunily, was so great a loyalist in Cromwell's time that 1 (KX)1. was o&red for his head.
St. Oswald's Chapbl standa on a high and boU situation, above Chollerford bridge. In a field near it sculls of men and hilts of swords have been frequently ploughed up. ** There is a fame,** says Lelond, ** that Oswald won the battle at Halydcne a 9. niyles est from St, Otnoalde^n asche^ and that Ilaliden is it that Bcde caulith Ilevenfeld. And men there aboute yet finde smaule wod croesis in the ground."^ A large silver coin of St. Os- wald was found, not long since, in repairing the chapel, and there are many ancient charters in the ciiurch of Durham with seals, bearing his head, and this fnscription— ^APUT SA^^CTI OSWALD REGIS, on one side, and his cross and SIGIL* LUM CUDBERTI PR.ESULIS SCI, on the other. The origin of the sanctity of this place is briefly this :— Ceadwallo and Penda having ravaged the whole kingdoni of Northumber- land, * Test de Nev. p. 385. t Inquig. p. nort. Oct 8, 15B5.
% Jones's Index to RecVoL U, sii6 Ck4$9kmi. f It. VoL VIL p. $U
the
4
156 KORTHUMBEHLAKD*
land, Ethelburga and Paulinus fled into Kent* and the p€Ot>le, seeing no end to the oppression they suffered, chose Eanfrid King of Bemicia, and Osric of Beira : they botJi renounced Christianity, and, aa if in punishment of their apoetacyy the terrible CeadwalJo attacked Osric, slew hira, routed his array, and plundered hi£ subjects. Eanfrid, dreading sirnilar treat- ment, threw himself upon the mercy of the tyrant, who mur- dered him in his presence. At length, in 635* OswaJd, Ean- frid's brother, rising from obscurity, with an army, small in- deed, but composed of vahant men, strong in the fiuth of Christ, generously resolved to oppose the usurper. He had studied the art of war in retirement* and now, having chosen a pro] situation on the banks of Dcnis^sbum, entrenched himself, under the baiuier of the holy cross waited with religious lemnity for the enemy. Ceadwallo, flushed with recent sue ce«s, and conitdcnt in his numbers, rushed into the camp, but waa himself slain with an arrow, and his army routed. The Nortlmmbrian Saxons thought they saw the interference of Providence so plainly in this victory, that they called the field of battle HfJerifeUky^ i. e. Heaven Field ; and the brethren of the church of Hexham, for many years, annually resorted hither on tlie day before St. Oswald's martyrdom In make vigils for hiB soul, and sing psalms, and oifer the Facfi6ce of holy obla- tion for him in the morning. Which good custom growing more into notice, continues Bede, they have lately made the j»l8€e more sacred and more honourable, by building a church at it ; and that not without cause, for we do not find that there was any sign of Christianity, any church, or any altar, in the whole kingdom of Bemicia before this new general erected this ban] of the holy cross, when he was about to light with a most bi barous enemy.f
Dkni^esburn, is at present called Erringburn, Hefenfelth,
according • Fcrtychron. 1. b. ell. Sax. Ann. G. Mtlms. L 1, c, S. fEciuHiiL L^. €.i.t.
lole
1
aceoidiBg to Bede, wm jaxts mram, ad AqaOoiMmy and h nppQied by lome to be the tune si HdUmglom^^ h old writiBgo JUUbms thatk, HotyHilL Bj the tnditioo of iooe, tli» btttie WW ibug^t ot Bingfiddy iriiere thete is a dopd^ fbmierijf under Hexham dburdi; but othen oMert that k hnn>tiied m the gnmndt of CoddejTt beknr the dmrdi and cnMi of St. Onrald, and betweeo Errmg^nini and the WalL Bat whether h was at HallingtOD, CocUej, or Brngfidd, Erringbuna nost bo dtt same bfook that Bode calk DeiiiBesbiiiii.t
St. Johmlbx k the name ofaparish, the dnwdiofwfakh k dedicated to St. Jdm of Bereriej, and stands on a bold and woody hfadlimd, having a prospect of both arms of the Tyne and fiur down its muted stream. BdowkkHSmadi^y aplaoe where bothart and nature have nnitad their eCbrts to render charming.^ Prior Bidiard caUs k Emeihtmf whidi he inter- preto JSsglf^i HffiL$ It was to thk sweet sdkode that John of Beveilej retired from hk i^ostolic hdwaffs of evangdinng tibo En^ish pagans, previous to hk appoii^ipmit to the see of Hes- hsn^bjKingAUred. Hereakowasdionlorjrof St. Michad, hdd sacred in former dajrs Snt its power over inwlerate diseases. It was plundered by two Scots from the army of David, in 1138; both of which, says Richard, soon after were seized with mad- ness,
* HalMngioMy before tlie dinoistion, bekmsed to the elmrcli of Hexham. At present it paitlj belongs to the Errinftons, and to Christopher Soulsbv, Eiq. of HaUiMgton Mmhu, The Erringtoos derive their name from a small hanlet on the Eiringbam, and were seated at it in 137$. Their principal Nit, in 1567, was (MtUy Tower, a strong old fortress, at present in roim, tbongh the dongeons and rooms in its tnirets are pretty perfect, and traces of painting are »tiil obsertable on the ptaster of iu walls. Near HaUnigtoe is t hill, called the Mote Lac, haTing a square entrenchment npon it, in tbe middle of wliicb is a hearth-stone, for kindling ahmn-fires upon; and not far soath-wcst from St. Oswald's (Ihapel is a curious hi!!, called lUmgiitf Shows, with several gradations of artificial terraces on its sidei.
t Smith's Bede, aps. p. 7t0.
t Stubbs, Act. Pootif. Ebor. col. 1G92. f De Stats. &c. col 991.
15S KoiiTmncBEitLAyki*
iiesg, and wildlj roved about, manglmg ihetr limbs till ibef died. After die dk$olutiOD *' Tharinitag and Cliantri-cloee"* were in the Imnds of the crown^ as parcels and posssedsions of the church of HexhaTn.f In 1 7*1 1 it belonged to John Coats^ worth. Esq, firom wliotn it passed by will to James Jurin, Esq* son of Dr, Jurio, the learned editor of Varenius' Geographr* President of the College of Phyaicians, arc. and, since the death of his widow» it hcs been the scat of John Hunter, Esq. i\f r- Coatsworth built the man^ion-housei and Mr* Jurin made great improvements about it*
Beaupront was iJie seat of David Caroaby» E&q^ in 1567 ; and, in 1 628, we find, in tlie list of grand jurors for this county, tlmt it was the residence oi' Henry Errington, Esq. from whom It has lineally descended to itfi present owner, John Krrin^on, E«q. Few places make a finer appearance, or enjoy a larger and belter cultivated prospect than tliis. From the south side of the Tyne it exhibits a long and hantUome front, surrounded with fine pleasure-grounds; and from its walks are seen towns, towers, and hamlets, an# the winding stream of Tyne^ some* times hidden under its banks, and at uthers boldly crossing the meadows in broad and silver*looklng reaches.
Hexham. — A similariry of name Itsduced Camden, and other antiquaries, to suppose that Hexham was the Axelodunum of the Romans; but Horsley, on stronger grounds, refers tli^t station to Br ugh in Cumberland.:}: He knew not what name ta give this place, *• unless we suppose it to have been Ptolomy's Epiacum ;§ but no doubt now remains that Epiacum was either at Lanchester or Ebchester. || That the Roma/is had a station or town here is prob:ib!e, from its early mention in Saxon Jjrstory, and proved by the discovery of two Roman inscriptions in a cr^^pt^ of the church. The first of them is upon an altar, imperfecl at the top ; and copied by Horsley lhu5 : —
LEG. ^ Uwt. MS. f. 13. t Ech. 10 m'u.
I Brit. Rom. p. 190. i lb. 250. |J Uic Cor. SS— 5S»
KORTHrMBERLANO*
159
I
LEG. A. ..•
Q. CALPVRK^S CONCESSmi VS. PRAEF, EO CAESA C ORl ONOTOTAR VAL MANY PR AESENTISSIMI NVMINIS DEVS*
bese equltcs Corionolotie, Horsley supposes nught be Uie 5itMetic Crototiiates of wliom Strabo sard, " tlie last of them was tlie first ot* the Greeks;" a conjecture wlitcli accounts fur the Greek inscriptions found at Corhridge. But some have tJioyglit that the name Corlonotota; may be a corruption of Curia, or Coria Otadenorum, and that Corhridge wai the place. Coriotioiar In the anonymous RavennaS| is not uuUke this name.** Tile Qtlier is on a tablet in tlie roof of the north passage to the body of the crypt ; the right hand side of it is hidden m the ^al!^ and the blanks in the fourth and (lf\h line* " have been ■ignedly erased with a tool : — "
DIP. CAES. L. SEP.
PER IN AX. ET. IMP* C
AYR ANTONIN>
VS II*..
>; ^»-HORR
VEXIIXATION
FECERVNT V t
The imperfect state of this inscription renders its true read- ing very douhtfuJ ; and as the names of Pcrtinax were Publiua Helvius, Horsley was certainly mistaken in attributing it to that
emperor^
• Legato Ati^^tali proprit tmt Qninifis Calpiirniits Cnuceisiniu,'* prwtltrtu* equlluiu Caisartcti&ium Coiionototariim niaau ^tiest'uibaimi biimmis dd fVttnn M»lvit. Uornlof, p. 2 iS*
t Lnpemtor Cse^ar Liicjii«i 8e|»timiii& Pe rtiiiATC et impcnttor Ctvsar Merciu 4iLrdii» AniooiDfit Vimfeiix et Ge(« Ctftar Coliorliufi) VenUmtiouef fece
I
160 IfORrHXTMBERLAKD*
emperor, as he lias also been m copying some parts of the original. We conjecture that it relates to the building or ro- pairing of some granary, and tliat it is akin to the inscriptionfl belonging to the time of Alexander Severus, and found iCsica and Cilumum** There is also a fragment of another scriptlon in this cr^'pt, over the head of a door way*
In 674-, two hundred seventy and eight years after tlie sertion of Britain by the Romans* Hettoldesham, or, as it more usually called, llagustald^ was made the see of a bishop, by St. Wilfrid, Archbishop aC York. The founder presided over it four years ; but falling into disgrace with King EgiflM and into a controversy vnih Theodore, Archbishop of Cant^PI bury, he was deprived of his dignities, and succeeded in this office by £ata, Tumbert, and St. John of Beverley ; on whose promotion to the see of York, in 687, he was restored to hk neat here, in which he continued till lii^ death, which happened in 6S7. Afler him came Accai the friend and patron of ^H Bede,f and the chaplain and sharer of the fortune of his pr^ decessor. He was, says Bede, a most zealous man, et cor Deo et homlnibus magnificus. He enlarged and beautified I cathedral church ; but was banished in 752, and succeeded | Fridbert, who presided thirty -four years, and was followed Alcmund in 767, Tilbert 781, Ethelbert 789, Headred, 8C Eanbert, or Osbert, 806, and, lastly, by Tydfcrth, who died ^ journey to Rome, about 821, and wift whom the biahopr ceased, after lasting about one hundred and ilfty years, and about fifty-one years before the devastation of Northumberlajid by Halden the Dane.J In 883 it was united to the see of disfarn, at that time removed to Chester le Street, and foUoii the fortune of tlie Bishopric of Durham, till Henry the Fid offended with the conduct of Bishop Flamhard, gave it to thic" see of York, in which it has ever since continued. ^h
On the south side of the Tyne, says Richard, stands a ton^^
rather
* See Ornt«r, p* cxc. No. \S, p. cx^u No. 8. p. tnlxxviii. No. 7, a t BcdP, Eccl. Hwit, I. V, c. 30. | Ric Hag. J. i. c, xix.
lOpwP
, and rlajid
f9|
1
KORTRUMBXRLAND/ 161'
rather tmall at present, and thinly inhabited, bnt formcriy, as fntiges ef antiquity testify, largo and magnificent It has its Mme from the Hestild, a rivulet that nms near it Etheldreda» wife of King Egfirid, gave it to St. Wilfrid, Bishop of York, that he might raise it to be the see of a bishop. The church vas dedicated to St. Andrew, and is much celebrated by ancient hMtorians for its feztent and beauty. The workmen eniployed • m building it were brought by St. YnUni from Rome. ** He begantheedificebymjildng crypts, and subtemuMons oratolrfesy and wmdtng passages through all parts of its foundaticins* The piDaTs that supported the walls were finely pdished^ Mpnt, snd of various other shapes, and the three galleriei were of immense height and length. These, and the capitals df thdl^ columns, and the bow of thp sanctuary, he "decorated with histories and images, carved in relief «on tbe stone, and with {Motures coloured with great taste. The body of the church was surrounded with wings and porticos, to which winding rtaircases were contrived with the most astonishing art. These itaircases also led to long waUdng-galleries, and various wind* 'n^ passages so contrived, that a very giM multitude of peopte might be within them, unperceived by any person on the grounds floor of the church. Oratories, too, as secret as they were l)eautiiul, were made in all parts of it, and in which were altars of the Virgin, of St. Michael, St. John the Baptist, and all the Apostles, Confessors, and Virgin^ Certain towers and block* houses remab unto this day, specimens of the inimitable ex- cellence of the architecture of this structure. The reliques, the religious persons, the ministers, the great library, the vestments, and utensils of the church, were too numerous and magnificent for the poverty of our language to describe. The atrium of the cathedral was girt witli a stone wall of great thkkness and strength, and a stone aqueduct conveyed a stream of water through the town to all the ofiices. The magnitude of this place is apparent from the extent of its ruins. It ex* celled, in the excellence of its architecture, all the buildiiq;^ Vol, XII. M in.
169 ROHTl{UMB£Br.AHP.
in England ; and in tnitb, there was notliing Itke tt, at tkat time, to be found on this side the Alps.* " Of the two oi Saxon churclies, [iientJO»>cd by Richard, there are na at present.
The place in whiuh the Roman aiuiquitie« were discovered, we suppose has been one of tlie oratories of Wilfrid's churcli Its body is fitleen feet by nine, and has boen approached by winding pas^ageSf at present walled up ; access being obtained to it by raising a large tombstone, and defccnding into it by a long ladder out of the churchyard. The number of carved stones in it, which have been applied to former buildings, evi dently testify, that as long as the ruins of the Uoman fortre; lasted, they were used in the foundations of this edifice.
Thomas the Second, Archbishop of York, in liis visit to thi place in 11 13, struck with its rtiinod grmidear, and recollecting Its ancient dignity and opulence, with the consent of its rector and vicar, placed a prior and canons rirgular, of the order of St. Austin, in it. The following inscription, in ligature letter^^ in a ^let of the tabernacle work at the entrance into tlve choir, proves that this archbishop was one of its Iienefactors. Oi
pro anima, Dni, Thoma? S Pater h\ijx\& Ecclesiitt Qui
fecit hoc Opw.^. The letters in Italic supply the parts of tlje mscription broken off. In various parU of the church we found the letters ri laid in the form of a St. Andrew's crossi on a shield; and in the inside of the manor office is a shi*»Id^ charged with St. Andrew's cross, and the letters t\&l}^ meao* ing Rkhardm Prior ifaguslaldenm^ which prove that the edifice was buildhig in his time* Richard flourished iu tlie relgt) Henry the Second, and died ** sub annum ll^O.f" To reign of Henry the First, when this church was separated the see of Durhaai» we may therefore date ike co«ajiieac of its r^-buildlng, and the period of its being Bmshed to ll
bttar
• Rich. Pr. Hag. tot, X Script, Col. t9Q. See alto KMm, and Bod**! l^c* BhU L. V* e* xv.
♦ %^03siua tie Hist. Lat, L. II. rap.^f.
ioir^ raadjH
KORTttDMBEJlLANO, 163
Utter tnA of the time of Henry the Second. It is in the form of a Greek cross ; the tower, near tliirty-tbur ywrds high, k in the centre, and appears low and broad. The architecture is mixed, of the Gothic and Saxon; in one pnri tho narrow sharp windows appear, whicli began to be in use about this tiiae. Tht! mtGrbr Is hfghly finished ; tlits principnl pillars, which are rather disproportionate and heavy, are clustered, and suppoft Cothic! arches ; bat the members of the archings and pilasters «rfe finely proportioned. The choir i^ roofed mth wood, c<tv<?red \t'ith Ibad, and the side aisles are arched with stone. Jl d6uh]e gallery runs round the whole structure, oj»ening witn Kdxon arches, each opening being composed of three arches^ the centre one circular, the side ones painted , the workmaii- mh'ip extremely fine, and tlie pillars light.* Tlic nave was burnt down by the Scots in 12t)6, and nothing now remains of h but a sadly ruined specimen of its western door, and part of tbif )»outh wall adjoining tlie cioi«ters» Tlie ivhole edifice has strong marks of fire upon it. The choir is at present used as the parish church, and crouded with most inelegant pewns and leries. On the pannels of the screen, at its entrance, is
inted Dr^th*s I)ana\ and several historical subjects ; and tPtCT the litany-desk, at present placed on the west side of the tramie^t, are full-length portraits of the saints Wlliric!, John <iT '' Vy, Acca, Fridbcrt, Gilfrid, Alcnmnd, and Eata, n inscription above their head*, * Fum/atortSf hitjus locL*
"Eiith figure Is about three feet lon<;, the drapery good, btit the \ 'It. The bishop's pew, and the oratory, T\eiT Prior
Kiw-.^.v, ^, tomb, have been a)ao ornamented with paintings, al p^estnt much defaced by time and bud usage.
tit the ^outh aisle is a mutilated effigy of one of the Urn* franvilles, in the altitude of a crusador ; and, at the entrance into the northern transept, is a recumbent tigure, with clasped handt, legs and arins cuirassed, tword sheathed, afid his shield charged with the arm* of the Aydens, At the west end of the
M 2 north
• Holcii. I. 91, 99.
KOBTHUMSEHtAKD*
fkorih aisle is an elegant tomb, supposed to be in memory of
Ur^vald, King of Northumberland, who was slain at Scale-
Ichester, in 788.' The effigy that belongs to ft is clad in the
tohta of an ecclesiastic The tomb of Prior Richard is oma-
Eieiited wkh several rude and fanciful carvings, which Iiave
been mistaken for Roman antiquities, but which Pentmnt justljf
litiles, ** raonstruous engravings of no meaning or moraenL*'
bKear this tomb is a. beautiful oratory, now a pew^ and above it
w suspended the helmet of Sir J. Fen wick, who was slain at tlie
battle of Marsden Moor, and whose sculi, broken in the same
[place as the helmet, is still preserved in the priory. On the
liouth side of the altar are three stalls (and two others have
leeo cut away ) highly omajnented with tabernacIe'^worLy AO^j^J
t to which the bishop and his attendants retired during the elera*'^^!
rlion of the host, as is the practice in the great churches of the
.continent. Behind the altar is the place of the shrine of th«
. lioly reiicks* now called the Old School, Hfly-nine feet long,
•*and twenty- five feet widCf in which hare been found many stone
iCoAiDS. And against a pillar an the north side of the altar stiU
►'remains the fridstooi^ or seat of sanctuary, concerning which
I Jlichard tells ns, ** that by seizing any one, %ing for refuge*
.'within tlie four crosses on the outside of the towiit a penalty of
y sixteen pounds was incurred ; within the town tlie penalty wet
thirty-two pounds ; within the walls of the churchyard forty*
eight pounds; within the doors of the choir H^L and besides
* these penalties, penance, as for sacrilege, for each offence ;
I ^ut they who shall presume to seize any one in tlte stone chairi
, near the altar, called the Frid-stool, or at the shrine of holy
fVelicks, behind the altar, for such flagitious crime, shall not be
allowed to purchase remission by any sum of money, but shaU
be bootUsSy incapable of pardon,* *'
This
• Lib. It. cap. XVI. "Hiis privilege of saactuary wa« fii^t prorured by WilfrRl, itnl iu a ^uil r-iiicpniin^ ihc iMjht of it, in 1^92, tfic Arrlibuhopy
of York iilcuiJi'd Jiit rUim of imiiienuiri&l luage, upon which the kiag i
«oun«if
if, t
I
KORTKUMBEKLAXP* 1^5
This church had large possessions^ a catalogue of which i^ itill preserved in the maiior*oiBce of the abbey, and ii caJled* the Blnck*Book : it was gleaned for the Monasticon* At the diasolutionp the priory lands were valued at 12^1. lis. Id, flo- bert HolgatCt Archbishop of York, in 1545, gave the manor in exchuige for certain church property, and retained nothing but episcopal jurisdiction.* Several of it* poi^sessions were ia the hands of the crown, in 1567» but sold, in 1578, to Sir John Foster, Knt, Bant. In 1660 they devolved ta his son- rin*law, Sir John Fenw-ick, Knight, whose grandson. Sir John Ptfiiwick, Bfirt. «iold them to Sir WiUiatn Blackett, Bart, from irhom they descended to T, R, Beaumont, Esq. of Bretton Park« in Yorkshire, by marriage of Diana, daughter of the late ^Sir Thomas Wentworth Blackett*
The Priory stood at the west end of the church. Its doi-
and chapel were to be seen not many years since^ Sir
^'nald Carnaby f repaired it, and his arms, with the date,
M 3 1539,
«ouoci] eslAbli&hed hit right ; and Ed\Kiird the Tltinl cnnfirmed Jura Ke* ilia, atid the n^t of teufhs and 6ft«'ciitti'i to it, »llowiog the archbishop I \m OMTU officetft No \au^\ hailiff eoufd enter \m muxior. He hetd pruc^nerfi and parted \ritU them ntlih own will* He had a market, callows, u)d ctiaitcU of fug]tiv(*9 untl fotou^ rotidcmned in the luaiior. Mttdox^t Bar, Aug, p. t5<. These pn^tleve* Vieic abridged in I4ii, on accotiat of the plac? bciiii; an a&vlmn to citttku^ and iobbe»-a ; and finilly ovrrthruwo in the twenty -seventh of Henry the Ei^ith, when 1 be Arch bislia|> of York, ■od hit tem|ioral eUancelbr, were made josticeji of the peace for the ikk§ of Hexbum, which disttict^ in tlie fourteenth of Elizabeth, was ajuiexed to Uie county of NorthnmberUnd. TIte only remain.^ of ihene aociait fiaiicliise», existinp^ at present, arc — a conrt of record^ and a court of pleat, over ^hicli a steward presides ; aod a court baroo, of which tlie biitiffof the ntanor is the jn dee.
* B. Waiis'i Sqr. I. 19, 4k
t There wan a warm dbpute between the Dnke of NorthumbeHaad and Sir Ralph Sadter, in 1559, concerning Lady Caniaby^ houiie beui^ made the reiidrnce of the keeper of Tindale, in whicb Sir Halpb sayst— *♦ Hex- ham ii no apte. no mete pt^ice for the tervice of the keper of XyBdal^ Nor
166 liOBTIiUMi^l^I^AtiO*
1539, rematu ovec a door hi the mi^nor office:. Here i$ a finely carved oak bedstead, around the fringe of tlie tester of whicli^i is this inscnplioD, in Gothic capitals :—••* •Eboracenaii l^icKi seicifi mcdit hoc opus A* ****<• - omini mUlIsimo quingiat • Tbt! ituperfections were caused by im ignorant workiuan, wh^^ niled the fringe to tlie po^t& of the bed, without the raouldii^pj prhich formerly went between them. The priory was aJ&i^l med by Sir Walter Calverly Blackett, Bart, ^nd a fcnf^ yjears since was completely rebuilt by Mr. Beaumont* Ko part of the old building remains, eJ(cept the mana^ olScCt the re- faoory^ and a sm;dl specimen of the claistor», ua one pai^ of J which M'as lately dug up a butiou^ gravestone, i335Crij^^4p FVEEI VHDANI, and ornamented with crosses and swords* The Gatewa^t which Jeads to the north ftonl of tlu& man&ioi^ bears strong marks of Saxon architecture, ^d h 3upposv4 ^ i have been coeval with Wilfrixl's cluirch. There are aJ^o twi\^ towers in the ciixuit of the walls of the old uionasiejy, whici| ^hibit marks of high antiquity. One of them is built over n » gateway, and was formerly the town-hall, but at present a ses'* ^oos-room, for the county of Northtuiiberlandj and^ a coiuit* bou&e for the manor of Hexljiim, The other stands on a hillj^ { h square, has small loop-holes, broad corbel battl-emeuu, au<4 two dungeons, which were used as prisons while tlie town bad
palutino
1h my tyme I am sare there never lay any snch in Hex]iam| saving onley Sir KegiiaUlc Carnaby, who liad lever lye in liis ownc honne, though it were not the mctest place Tor the servicer, then feke any all»cr?v Nt'vej' the lc«s> 1 hitvp learned *iiice my comyng hitijer, Uial Mr. Slingtibie hath « ^ret desyrc lo He In Hexham, wher indcde he haiih leva for the most part tliis xij moncth, ever since he had thofl^icc, in a hotise, which, if he woU neds lye in Hexham, may serve him ha ^vellnuwa$ it hath done before; and if hi' be wery fjf that lioii'-e, yet m iIil-'io m Hexham i} towers of the quene's ni;yeities, whicti, m I am ciedihJy injiwriucd, willi IhcJip^nce of xx^, tp make u Utile re P'-irationi will ierve as good a ma4i a» Mr. Slingshie but fur liU own ewic and comodyt*^, Iien^ns^ ned& have my lady Caroabie*! home, becui^^ It la the fayrcst ia tjxu tpwnc»" Statu PajjcK, YqL 1,
IVORTHUBrBERlAm. 167
fli^tiwe pmllegM. ** On an oak mantleplece of one of the ctork chambers is tai inscription^ which seetns to consist of moral ^ntencetf.*'*
This town is finely situated on the soutli side of the Tyfte. Its streets are narrew, and not w^ built. It has a market oA Taesdtjf^ tad annual fairs, August the fiflh, and NoreAiber the eighth. Leather, gloves, and htfts, arc its chief manuftec- tures* Here is a firee-schoc^, founded by Queen Elizabeth, June 25th, 1598. The Mercer's Company, in London, founded a lecturesbip in the church, in 162S, under the will of Richard Fiskbome, Esq. which has opulent revenues at present. This Uiwn gave birth to two pridrs of its church, John, and Richard de Hexham. John continued the History of Durham, from 1130 to 1154, which Twisden published among the De- cern Scriplores, from a single MS. in Benct College Library, Cambridge. Richard wrote '* A History of Hexham Churcit and Bishops;^' ** The Reign of Stephen;" and « The War of the Standard ;'* also published among the Decem Scrip- tores, f
John Nevil, Marquis of Montague, getieral of the forces of Edward the Fourth, gained a decisive victory near this town, at a place called the Linhills, on the southern bank of Devils- water, over the forces of the deposed king, Henry the Sixth. The Abacoiy or cap of state, adorned with two rich crowns, was found upon one of Henry's attendants ; and his general, the Duke of Somerset, was taW§ prisoner and beheaded, as were several other distinguished characters, at Hexham. Mon- tague's success procured him the title of Duke of Northumber- land. Henry was soon after taken prisoner ; and his queen and son, after many miseries and adventures, arrived at tJie house of Rene, of Anjou, her father. Duxiield and the Queen's Cave, places near the field of battle, date their names from
M 4 this
♦ Hntdi. I. 106. Cough's Caind. ITI. ?49.
+ Sfld. Prffif. ad. X. Script: Wharton's Angl. Sac. I. Piicf. 48. T«il Bib. Brit. p. 628.
1611 KORTHUMBl^llLAKD^
tint e%ent* A serious riot dso to(4 place in this town oil tW ninth of March, 1761, between a v^ry large coucoursc of fieo* pie, collected to oppose the halioting for the militia, and a troop of the North Vork militiii. After Ensign Hart and a private were killed, the magistrate!! commanded the mnitia XQ fire upon the raob^ tbrty-five of whom were killed on the s-poU and about liOO badly wounded*
The Abbey of Blanxhelano stands in a narroir, green valley, surrounded by moor« and morasses, and in about two miles from the head of the river Derwent. It was founded by k^alter de Dolbeck, in 116^, for twelve preirionstratensian anons* The abbot was summoned to the parlitimenta held in 1291 and 1295. lu revenues, at the iuppres^ian^ were valued^ by Speed, at 141. ds. ld« It was granted by the crown to John iBellow and John BrixHolm» and aller tfiHt brcarae the propetty lof the Forsters, of Bambargh, who forfciud it» in 1715, after rhich it was purchased by Lord Crene^ and by him leH 10 I charitable U£e$* Part of the church ts litted up for Uie um of the parish, and contains some old grave-stone«. The gateway of the quadrangle of Uie abbey ^ and the abbey itself, ore pretty I entire. A mite from it, near llunfttanworth chapel, ts a curious ^ arched x'nttfip Ibriy-five feet iong> and twenty-five feet wide. Also in this neighbourhood ie Bo l beck, which, in the cleventb and twelilh centuriea, was the barony of a famous family of its own name; it was forfeited, witii the Bywell bnrony, by Uie Earl of Westmoreland, in Qiccn Clizabctli*i$ reign ; it at pre- sent is a manor of George Sitvertop, Esq. of Mini&ter Acaxs, a seut abou( which great and laudable improvements have, of late years, been made in planting.
PAuuHoe Castle has its name from stiwding on a prmid eminence. It was the capital seat of the barony of the Hum- franviJles, and given to them by Willium the Conqueror, with whom tljcy came into England. It wtis gallantly and SiUCcesiS' fully defended agaim^t William, King of Scotland^ in the time of Henry the Second. Odonel Ilumfranville also defended it
against
J
V01lTHVlfBBmi.A«]K 16§
die Scots in 1244, and plundered his neighboun to repair ita roof. Gilbert, of this fiunily, died in 1845, and ia called, bj M. Paris, ^ a famous baron, the guardian and orna* ment of the northern parts.'' Three of this family were Earb of Angus, viz. Gilbert the Third, who died in 1272; Robi^ who died in 1S84 ; and Gilbert the Fourth, who died without iasue in 1381. Su: Robert, half brother of Gilbert the Fourth, was sheriff of this county in the ye^rs 1871, 1376, 1400, and 1404; and Sir Kobtrt, grandson of the. second earl, waa a knight of the garter, and Vice- Admiral of England, in 1410: be brought such plenty of cloth and .com from il Scotch war, that he was nick-named Robin Mend^Market. He was slain at Baugie, in Anjou, in 1419.* From this family Prudhoe came to the Tailboys, who forfeited it at the battle of Hexham. The crown granted it to John, Duke of Bedford, and after- wards to Henry Percy, first Earl of Northumberland, in whose fiunily it still continues. This castle was tenanted, in 1557, by Hepury Percy, brother of Thomas, Earl of Northumberlaild ;f though in 1559 it is described as ** old and ruinous, being walled about, and in form not much unlike unto a shield hanging with one point upward, scituate upon a high moate of earth, with ditches in some places, all wrought with man's hand, as it seemeth, and is of content, all the scite of, with a little garden plat, and the bankes, by estimatciou, sc. iii acres. — ^There is within the scyte, and without the walls, an elder chapellf which hath been very faire, and covered with slate." — In this there was a chantry for two chaplains, founded by Gilbert Ilumfranville, first Earl of Angus. *' The gate is a tower, all massy worke on both sides to the top of the vault. Above the vault is the chepell ; and, above the chepell, a chamber, called the wardrobe." The outer walls appear to be the oldest part of this fortress, as the square towers in them, on the west side, have circular bases, and the covered way, which leads to the
inner
* HoUinsbed, II. 536—578. t Lodge*! niiut. of Brit. Hist. Vol. I. p. e54.
170 K0iiTin'M«EiitA>n*w
iimer u»d semicircular gskc^ is of much stronger and better Biasofiry thiiD tiie lower fiart of the tower ati the guteway ilMlt^ Tlie keep measures ^* one way IS ) chords, aiiotber wa^ sdl j^eards north aad south, of thrte storyes onJy, and ot* heighft XV yeards, or tkereabouts, besides the battlements,'* It had winding galiei'ies, gained out uf the walls, Tiie ground high towards the river, and on tlie south the waih have dci^eiided by deep ditches, rrosied by a draw-bridge. Two families live amongst tiiesc ruin^» which hmre hitely^ in niaiv pbces, been secured irwn entirely fkJling tSgOtllGri by repamni itie parts most dJ lapidated*
eigoi ndiM
COliBIUDGE
mry,
thj raiHH
thi-V
b aented oa a rich plain on the north side of the Tyae, It called Corabridg<s in 771, at which time there was a utoiuister at iL^ Da^id, King of Scots^ had his tents here in January » H3S,f while he was plundering the adjacent countf}' ; an^ anuiet^ from Scotland, in the yeai« i29G and 1311, burnt thi^ ioH D* The manor wm held in fee ikmn, at die annual rent { forty shillings, by tlie CluTerings^ of Wtirkworth, by gra from King John, and^ continued wkh them till Edward th?^ First's time. Atter 1533 it was purchased by Henry, Lord Pen:y, and still continues in tliat family. This town waa ai]»^| Ciently a borough^ and sent members to parlimnent, a privilege dhcoutinued for many centuries. King John granteil it aa annual fair on the day of John the BuptiBt^ and a weekly mar- kek In Leland^s time tlie names of divem streets remaine<|^H here, and he ibund great tokens of old foundations* By tradi-^^ lion this txiwii had once live churches, only one of which now relating : it is dodiontcd to St Andrew, and has been built out of the neighbouring Uoinan istation ; on a grave-stone in the notth uisle, is tliis inscription, iu modern Gothic characters : —
Hk • Uic. \U%. toL 29a, t Joh. H«?. Cal. ?60.
XQllTHUiaiBftLAilB. 171
^0 j%cet in tcrrift AftUni ftlhia HafO*
By the church is an old tower, which was once the town gaolp though Camden calls it *^ a little turret, built and inhabited by the vicars."
CoRCHESTER is a Roman station, at the confluence of the brook Cor with the Tjme, half a mile west of Corbridge. Sonne have thought that this was Ptolemy's Citria Otadenorum^ but Horsley makes it tlie Corstofitztm of Antoninus. It was " al* most levelled" in Horsley 's time ; " but abundance of n^edals, inscriptions, and other Roman antiquities, have been found at it."* The foundations of the part belonging to Greenwich Hospital are untouched, but the rest of theni are entirely razed. When this was done, remains of a hsifh were found, one room of which was ornamented with a nea^ small, green bordering. The ruins of the Roman bridge here are ^till discernible, espe- cially on the south side of the Tyne. Th.ere are various altarai, inscriptions, and othjer curiosities» the produce of this sti^OP* in possession of different persons in Corbridge ; of George Gib- son, Esq. of Stagshaw-Close House ; and of the Rev. Robert Clark, of Walwick. But the most curious of its productions are the two celebrated Greek inscriptions, foi^nd in the church* yard of Corbridge :—
HPAKAEI TTPIfti
APXI£P£IA
A.C'i'...THC Ba;MONM
eCopaC
nOYAXEPM ANE0HKEN
. )^^^^f^ them i^ake aa hexameter, the first being read:—
HfaicXii • BhU Kom. 397.
ns
lfO]lTIItrMB£tlLAN]>.
Iti 17*5, a fine stiver plat e^ or lanx^ nineteen inches and half long, and Bdeen inches broad, and weighing 148 ouncefigj was found on the margin of a HttJe brook, on the ea«t side Corbridge, It is at Alnwick Castle. Sir John Clerk mad^ [ *' no question of its being a tabula votiva^ and that it had t)eeii f Jiung up or kept in some temple at Corbridge, dedicated, pei [ Iiaps, to Ceres or Apollo." It has a flat rim, an inch and m rquarter deep, charged with vine leaves ; and the middle of it, is adorned with figures of Apollo, Vesta, Juno, Minerva, and Diana, each with their proper symbols, &c.* The figures arc in has relief; the minor parts have been executed witli punches. On the back are a few dotted letters, which were probably the I workman's signatures* The work is neither of the best nor tithe worst of times: the figure of Vesta is extremely well exe-. Itcuted, the posture free, ttie drapery soft and easy* Also ^hbout the same time was found, on the other side of the riTer^ nearly opposite the place where the lanx was found, a silver Icup, weigliing twenty ounces ; on one part of it are six equi stant compartments, each containing the Christian mgnci« gram. ** It may have probably been a chalice, and tlie diib^ though of Pagan workmunsl»ip, may have served as a pat- ten." t
Dixston-Hall standi on a bold situation, on the east side of the brook called Devi Is water. Here, in the time of Henry the Third, was the baronial seat of Thomas de Devilstone, whose family had resided in it t>om the time of the conquest* After tliem this place was successively possessed by the Tin* dales, CrasLer.s, Claxtons, and RatcHttes, which last family had it in 1457- Sir Francis liatclifle married Mary Tudor, natural daughter of Charles the Second ; and James the Second, in 1687, created him Baron Dilston, Viscount Lang ley, and Earl l«f Derwentwater. His son James being engaged in the rebel*
iio%
I
* Qoogh*s Canid. ITL 250.
t Ibid.
voftrauiiBKfti.Ain»/ tli
UflBy in 1715, wat taken and bdieaded, when the whole of HI eitateiwere forfeited to the crown, and given to GreeikiwlGb HoapkaL The Hall was buUt in 1616, l>y Francis Ratclifle^ Eaq. MDiif after falling into ruin, completely removed, by ihi advice of Mr, Smeaton. It stood adjoining to tlie old toner iof the DevilatoneSy which still remains. In the chapdf which b kepi in decent repair, tlioogh not used,' is a vault, containing tbt remains of several of the Ratdiffe fiunily.
Arwmx Castls stands on the west side of a deep dell, and by the present extent of its mini seems to have been, at one time, n place of great sise and strength. It is encompassed with a minoos outward wall, pierced with arrow*holes« Hcse is a staUe arched with stone, and having stone mangers. It gave name to a family, whose heiress Edward the First mn* tied to Peter de Wallis. Afterwards it bdonged to the Baymessy of Bolam, who held it from 1368, to the rdgn of Gbtfks the First. A moiety of it belonged to the Camabys of ' Haltom Towsb, a strong old seat, with turrets at its fiatf eomers, and which that family obtained by marrying an hdrasa of the Haltonsy in Edward the First's time. They were' a branch of tlie Camabys, of Camaby, near Bridlington, in Yorkshire. This estate was sold, in the beginning of the last century, to John Douglas, Esq. and from him descended to the Bldcketts, of Ma^fen. Here is preserved a sword of the Camabys, sixty-four inches long ; and, a short distance to the north, is
Halton Chesters, the Hunnum of the Notitia, and garri- soned by the Ala Saviniano. It lies between the two barriers, and on both sides of the present military way. It seems to have been supplied with water by an aqueduct, from a spring on the higher ground, which a countryman told Horsley, for- merly contained the speaking tmmpet, which ran through the whole length of the wall. The border part of the station Is called Silver HiU. On the south side of it, the walls, ditchea^ and the interior buildings, appear in large aad confused heqia
of
1*4 sscirrrwitxtASTi.
m -u=s» Tr* ic^s=3r-r^r- : m£T ietcns to have been rounct, and a zjBia ic -uEs iiir-rf- JLrr^r :h:D a: cihcr places, plainly Indi- ra-* "lie resaiES ?c i itlir i^«-€t. Th-: iuscriptions belonging 13 ::.<7jef- ▼•^.i I-i:-*Jit n-fz:!:-*, are few and incurious. 5!-:ca liS ^ce irrr :»?tr iy^s^L s ct£in;r.al «tone, with LEG II A'«~ ,-- 1- :i 1 CT-.; irr^T^-wiih etgle* hf^d^ at each end; another, -"nraiti!: rcao ry r f i:, ^.ih -^ ir.icnptioDy in a border, L-i:-. X:\ '^■^r .-- HrSTIN"? PKOCVL: and a tWrd, eleven :^:.: zs >» *l-\- .T^-rnSs-f, UL VI. V. P. F. FEC. Ctreat abund- LTO? ::" sc^ b.TTs*. l~jr W -Scii^ c:" nascie shells, many Ctiri^v arc & c^jtipj? rr-^. z*i^ ic Mjre^, have been dug up
'?'«'w-t; :^ ij""? :>: r^fci :»» Vt^!!?- 2§ 2 b^ronr held in capite .i" :*i i,-^;. rr H.u:? i:f ?aii-?I. bj ±c serrlce of five knight's f v< c ' i-=c -t' -'• --"^ n.^*: r*£5 :*:t w^r-i ?f Xewc25tlc,as his srj-ssvr^ :c.i - v^ ^^ ir T"~.ljr:: H'^'::*. """ho invested them "•e^-T-n:. !:r I^.^— "i r r f^j^.Tic"* rrii::: :: »r*=::f to the NeviPs, g't: -i^-:? zx^ tr "«»arTier«ua!»L wV fxr:>l!-c :r in 1 jTT, after ».•!.-• . t » :cr-:rj«fi ^; -- 'rrizc^ .k de Ff-.-ncLs of Fen- , .: - -,»w^ !:?it » • / V - V Tr:(>r-rr ::" :he Rcr. Septimus >,.',j, r- :.i mir-JiT-z m-.-ih zbe ^yl-^-^ c: the last of that
- Z'lrsniwr :i ?7^e"." Siij? liesiarvfv. :^iis of the for-
-. .^^': :>T-jr^ 7 :.^>^* ** ^ *?'.:3ded :a !enc:h a.'! of cne street,
•Tcn ue river, er *.i:*r -y Ttiw. L« divided in!o two several
r-->i*cf. i-:-: '--'-i^ •-^'' ^'=' '"^^'•.•^•i^'t me::, whcse trade is in
irvu-werfr. :cr tfee rtfr^ensen and bordertrs of rhjf country.
YStT jfc sooject :o tht? shieves of T\ aedcle, and compelled,
w:gr am* samwer, o br.n^ in all their cattle and sheep into
1^ iOWt ia the nkht *t-a<or», and watch both ends of the
j^^ and, when the enemy approacheth, to raise hue and
-. 1b FrweH town, the ancestors of the Earl of Westmore-
^^il^afeir tower, or gate-house, all of stone, and covered
'^^^z mMnlng to have proceeded farther, as appears by
the beighc of a man, left unfinished.^' Facing the
castle«
I
irORTHUMBE1lLAlT% IfS
mmBtle^ on the southern margin of the river, are the rums of a •<}oxnestic chapel : the piers of the bridge, mentioned by Cam- •^en and Penant, are stiil stand ingi and have prububly belonged to 41 wooden bridge, which lead to tliis chapel, and to the southern ^arts of the baronies of Bywcll and Bolbeck, Tht? town is small at present, but, both in appearance and gttuation, the most Interesting of any in this county* The woody banks of the riTcr, the water-fall, the castle» and the two churches> all withia a narrow compass, group agreeably together, Mr. Hodlgsoii's house is of Payne*s architecture, and girt with a iine lawHt and stately forest trees. A silver salver^ of Roman work- manship, and inscribed DESIDEKI VIVAS, was found in the Tyne, neur this place, al\era flood, in 1760*
At OvtXGfiAM, was a cell of black canons, subordinate t& Hexham, and founded by ouq of the ITumfranvilles, barons of udhoe. Speed values it at 131. a yean In the parish church is a tomb of one of the Addisons, who purchased the hnds and appropriations of this house, and resided here, till their possessions were sold to Cliarles Clarke, Esq. from whom they went, by marriage of his daughter and heiress, to William Biggc, Esq. a£ Benton, This town had a royal charter for a oiurket, and was governed by a baiMl Near it, at Wylam^ ire large coUieries; and Wvlam Hall, a se;rt of the Bbcketts, m the seventeenth century, and at {present of Christopher ckett^ Esq, North of Ovlngham, on the line of Hadrian's l^aUum, is WELxoy, now a small hamlet, but once, as exten- foundations testify, a considerable village. This, in 6S% the royal villa of King Osweo, which Bede calls An Mtr- aad in which Finian, Bishop of Lindisfarne, buptiifc^ Mcrciaii kK>g, Peada, and Sigberet, King cff the Ea^r Wkltosi ToavBR, aiitiently the seat of the Welton mkw^ and at present the property of William Bosti^ll, Esq. Biitton Hall, Yorkshire, is failing fan into rtiins. At it wi$
saw • Hiit. Aap. I nL c, «1, $f.
176 KORTnuMBERLANB.
jiuw this iiiscriptmn : LEG. IL AVG* F, on a large Aton^ oul of the opposite castellurn of the wall.
RuTciiesTEH, the Vindohala of the Notitia^ was the stat . of the first cohort of the Frixagi. It has been a consider fort, h'dvlng hiid towers not orily at its corners and gates, bd also in each intemiediate space between them* Its inside paved with flat, unsquareU freestones^ lately taken up, on the east side. A broken statue of Hercules, two silver fibula?, coins of the loNver empire, and bricks made by the sixth legion, are mentioned among the discoveries here \ but no inscriptions any note havf been found. In the castellurn, nearest this st tion on the east^ were found, in 1766, an urn full of gold as silver coins ; " almost a complete series of those of tjie highi empire ; among them several Othos; most of tliem in fine pre- servation,"*
STAMFORDHAM
Ikirc^H
is a well-built town, having a market and three annual
the cross was built by Sir John Swinburne, Bart, in 17S6, to
whose ancestors this manor was granted by Sir William de Hil« ton, in lfi99. Here is a free-school, founded and well*endow by Sir Thomas Widdrington, K nighty in 1663, In the chur is a cross-legged figure of one of the Fenwicks, an antient fi mily, who resided at Femwick: Towkh, in this parish, from time of Henry the Third, to the Revolution, when their estal was forfeited for treason, and sold to the BlaeketL<. in pulli^ down the ruins of thi^ house, in 1775, " several hundred fair gold nobles, of Edward the Third, were found in a stone chest, covered with sand twelve inches deep* and placed over the arcfa of the cellar door, wrhich stood immediately under the Bags of the castle gate. They were probably concealed on an inroad 0f David, King of Scotland, in 1360, as far as Hexham, whence.
• WaUis, ii, lfi«.
KOHTtIUM0ERLANl>* 17t
he caffied off the two sons of Sir John Fenwick, the «j#ner of UiB castle, who did not long survive the loss, and pfobablj' then concealt'd tliis new species of coinage."-)-
\Ve8t-Matfek, the seat of Sir William Blackett, Bart, ww held of Henfy the Third, by Philip de Uleote, in Grand Ser- jeawcy. After this it belonged to the Feltons ; then to Sir £dwajrd de Hastings ; in Queen Elizabeth's reign to Sir Ralph LiWBon, and afterwards passed, with Halton Tower and other property, to the BlackettSi. In an odjoining 6 eld is a circular mount, with a cavity on its top ; and by it a stone nine feet high and three feet by one and a haJf thick, called the Sto6* Stone, In removing the mount, two kistvaens were found| coii- taioing ashes of the deud^ dusty and white.
CETEESEBuaKE GRANGE, before the dissolution, belonged la Hexham priory ; and to Gawin Swinburne, Esq. in 1567. In 1638 it was the seat of Thomas Widdringlon, Eeq* whose son» Sir Thomas, became recorder of York: lord-kueper in 1647t speaker to parliament in 1656 1 and lord chief baron in J 658. From this family it descended, by the female line, to Ralph Rid* deJt, Esq. the father of its present possessor- Near it, in 1B02, fame curious brass spear heads were found in making a ditch.
Little Bavingtok is the seat of Sir Cutbbert Shaft oc, Knight, to whose ancestors it belonged in 1304* It has a large slieet of water in front, and is surrounded with young planea* tioas. The ground about this place and Throckerington is cele* brafed for the excellency of its sheep walks.
KtRK Ha RLE was a manor o^" tlie Rolbeck barony. It ti the mine of ft parish, and of the seat of Sir William Lorraitie, Bart* It belonged to Sir Robert Herle in the reign of Edward the Rrrt, and to the ancestors of its present po^essor about the ytar 14^t The seat is in a low situation, sheltered with tall l<?fCft rrecs. Near it is a stone pillar, erected on the spot wKere Robert Lorraine, Esq, was slain by a band of Moss* troopers, in Queen Elizabeth's reign. This ikmily came mt#
Vti. XIL N
• Googb'i Cacnb. iO, \k y^t,
ITS )iORTHUMBERI/AND.
■England with the Conqueror, by whom they were infeoffecf with lands in the county oi' Durham : they obtained this estate by marriage of a co-hciress of William del Strother, of Kirk- harle Tower, in the reign of Henry the Fifth. . Little Harlb was a manor of the barony of Prudhoe. It belonged to John de Fenwick in 1551 ; and to Wilham Ainsiey in 1567, the heiress of which family, in 1793, married the Honourable Charles Lord Murray, youngest son of the Duke of Athol ; his lordship took the name of Ainsley, and was Dean of Hocking. Since his death, Little Hark Toftcer has beea the residence of his relict.
. Cafheaton is said to have been in the hands of the Swin- burnes since 1264. Leland calls it " Huttun, a fair castle, in the midste of Northumberland, as in the bredthe of it. It is three or four miles from Fenwicke Pile, and this is the oldest house of the Swynburnes.'* Sir Thomas, of tliis house, in 1405, in company with Lord Berkley and Henry May, Esq. took fourteen French ships, carrying provisions to Milford Haven. This family, and the Swinbumes of Edhngham castle, inttrmarried in the time of Charles the First, since which time their chief residence has been here. The mansion house was built about the year 1668, by Sir John Swinburne, who was created a baronet in 1660; and died in 1706. The present possessor, Sir John, nho is the sixth baronet of the family, has made great improvements here, by building his cottages afler regular plans, and sheltering his estate witli large plantations. . In the beginning of tlie last century, a great number of Ro- man coins, and vessels of silver, were found near tliis seat, by some workmen employed in making a hedge. The coins were all privately sold ; as were also most cf the vessels, after break- hig the bottoms out of some, and the ornaments and handles off others. They presented to Sir John Swinburne, the grandfather of the present baronet, one cup entire, weighing twenty-six ounces ; the bottoms ''of three others ; three handles, adorned with beautiful figures in relief; part of another carved handle ;
a figure
« figure of Hercules and Antaeus wreMlIng ; and a figure of >^^eptuDe< Thejie havt all been described in a kt6 voiuine of ^e Arcti^oobgia.
BoLAM was the barony of Gilbert de Bolam, inid granted to litm by King John. From 13U% to [G38» it, in ii great mea- sure, belonged to the Raynies fainily* The heiress of the Morsle^i of Bolani, in Jij09| married the Hev* J. \L Beresford, «onof Uie present ArehbUhop of luani* who reside* at Btdam HalL The church is very andcot : in it is the figure of a knight templar, supposed to be the effigies of Sir Walter de Bolam ; -also a comb of the Middletons o^ BeJsay Castle* The village is ^aid to have formerly consisted of tivo hundred slated liouses* Thi^ tamp west of it» iH oval^ near whtcli» on both jsidL'S of ^e highway, are inequalities in the eartJi, which appear like linear intrenchments. Farther west is Gallmi UilU used by the Karons as a place of execution, bi.'fore the power of bunging iras taken from them ; and iitill farther we&t, by WatJing Street » «n Bolam Moor, is a lumulus of earthy between two large up- right stones, in wliich Mr. W'arburton found a stone cofHnf ^^aibout three feet long, two broad, and two deep, smoked ^thin, and containing notliing but several lumps of glutinous :2natter.
Haiikuam, seen before a setting auu, appears like one of ^e fine towered hills in the pictures of Nicholas le Foussin, "^ It stands on an eminence, and has been u place of great strength and security ; a range of perpendicular rock^ on one aide, and a morass on the other ; the entrance by a narrow de* clivity to the north, which, in the memory of some persons 3J0W living, had an iron gate. The manor house in on the soutli- irest corner of the precipice, built on to un old towen lu Charles the Second's time it was the seat of Colonel Philip Babbingtoui Governer of Berwick upon Tweed s his hrst wife, ^ying under excommunication, wa^ interred in a vault cut out ^f the soUd rock, below the tower," ^
N 2 Belsay
» Wtllis, ii, jji).
189 ffORTHrMREHLANV.
BELSAt CASTLBy the Seat of Sir Charles Miles L&mber Monck, stands on a rising ground, finely interspersed wti fiingle trees and thick groves of wood. It has a grey, neutr appearance, and consists of a venerable tower, to which extcc fiite additions ^ere made by Charles Middleton, Esq, who died in WIS. ** In a 6eld to the sautli b a domestic ciiapel ;*' and above the cofetle an ancient stone cross. Sir Charle?, who paid great attention to Grecian arclutecturc, in his travels through Asia Minor, has commenced a new mansion on a large scale, and on a style of the greatest elegance. The Middletons for- feited this place in 1317; but one of them marrying a aole heiress of the Strivelings, who were tlien possessed of BeUay, they were again infeofed in (his part of their estate^ by Henry ihe Fifth. Sir William was created a baronet in 1662. Hw son. Sir John, married the sole heiress of John Lambert, Esq. of Calton, in Craven, whose ancestor, William Lambert, mar* tied Gundre<l, grand-daughter of Willkim the Conqueror: ge- neral Lambert, who commanded the forces of the Common* wealth, was of this family^ and Im official seal is at Belsay Castle. Sir WilHam Middleton married .Jane, only surviving daughter and heiress of Lawrence Monck, Esq. of Caenby, in LiiiColntihire, at whose demise, his grandson, the present ba* fonet, changed his name from Middleton to Monck.
HAHTauHK, is a pleasant village, having a spacious Gothic church, and near it a Gotfiic tower, partly used as a school- room, and overhung with ivy» In the vic;trage gnnmdis, by the margin of the Hart* are delightful walks and arbours, formed by the late Dr. Sharpe, who was vicar of this church, and arch- deacon of Northumberland.
Wallikoton, a manor of the Bolbeck baronVf belonged lo John Grey, m 1 326, from whose family it parsed, by an heiress, to William del Strother ; and from him, in like manner, to Sir Joha Fenwick, of Fenwick Tow er, in Henry the Fourth's time : hia descendant. Sir John Fenwick, who built the great eating hall in Christ's Hospital, and was executed for high treason, sold it
KOnTHUMBERLAKD. 181
%o Sir WiUiam Blackett» of Newcastle upon Tyne, whose grand- L^kughter marrying Sir Walter Calverley, of Caiverley, in York- ^«hire, that baronet took the name of Bluckett, and, at his do- rajse, this estate fell to his nephew. Sir John Trevelyan, of !Nettlecomb, in Somersetshire, whose son John succeeded him in his title and estate, in 1768, and is yci alive. Letand calls ** Walliugton Castle the chefcst house of the Fen wicks.*' Tlie present edifice is a spacious and handsome structure, of white Creestone, finely hewn. Behind it is a large gateway ; and on liie east, north, and west, thick groves of luxuriant forest ij^es* At the bottom of the lawn runs the Wansbeck ; crossed Ijy an elegant stone bridge, with three arches, «nd open battle- Tnents. A mile east, over the same river^ is a stone bridge, at Che south end of which, on each side of the road, are grass- j^own ruins, of a considerable village. Also, withuk the pre* c*incts of tftis estate, is
Camboe, that is. Camp HiU, which, in Henry the Tliird's
€uni!, was the seat of Iloberi de Caniho€f sheriff of this county
in iliree successive years. Here was formerly a chapel, in the
«^iQ8 of which were lately found grave-stone^, with emblematic
devices cut upon them, now in the walls of a bam* This also
was the birth place of Mr. Bhowk, usually ciUlcd Capability,
imd celebrated for his taste in landscape gardening, and do-
ic architecture.
^OTHLEY Castle, which, from many points of view, has
\ appearanoe of the seat of some ancient baron, was built for
' ttibct, by the late Sir W, C. Bluckett, It is on a rugged emi-
HBDce, in a park of its own name, and which, thirty-iive years
aince, was full of deer;* but since tltat time has been dis-
parked, and put under cultivation. Near it were two fine sheets
of water, hemmed with shrubberies.
LoNGWiTTON Hall, is an ancient building, fronting the jouth, and having a thick grove of wood on the north, ea$t, and •rest* It formerly belonged to a branch of the Swinburne fu-
N 3 miiy,
• WalUi, ii. 5f;>.
182 WORTHUMBERLAXD.
mily : ^"Jw sold to the Blacketts : and desccndod to Sir John Trevelyan, Bart. At present it is occupied by James Fen wick, Esq. BcloK* the garden, on the margin of the Wansbeck, in an oak wood, are three medicinal fountains, called Thurston Wells.
Netherwittos, formerly called IViffnTt-ft^'the-Walmf ha« a tmall chapel, under Hartbum. A cotton manufactory was established here about twenty years since ; but, as it never flourished, was soon discontinued. Here was tho seat of Roger Thornton, Esq. the munificent patron of Newcastle. He was probably bom at the neighbouring hamlet of Thornton.* Tra- dition represents him as rising out of poverty to great opulence, which he acquired in merchandize, and mines of lead in Wear- dale.f He diet! in 1429. The tozccr -he built here has long fjnce fallen into nn'ns. The present mansion, which is a hand- fomo structure of white freestone, is the residence of W alter Trevolyan, Esq. and, with the estate, came to him by morria^ with Jane, eldest daughter of James Thornton, Esq.
MORPETH,
18 supposed to derive its name from some path to it, over a Moor. The Testa do Nevill destTibcs it as the barony of Rogor de >rerlay, held of the king by four knights' service ; and that the predecessors of that baron, had held it from the time of the Conquest, without any part of it being alienated. This Roger was the third of that name. The first of them, in 1199, obtained, from the crown, licence for a market for his
borough,
•** Thftrnionj says Warbiirton, (in a letrcr to R. Gafe, Esq. 5tli Jan. 1717-8) tbougliat prcseutan mcou&KJciablpvillace, .nhrwn tiie vestigia is it of a remarkable town in former tiinc> : a lii^h ridged luilitaiy way ruits tbroU|;;b tbc inidiJlc of it, and a squaie platforin joins to it, both ^vIucb arc evidcnily Roman.
t Sec Uouroc'8 Neve. p. 2''.>.
NORTHUMBSRLAHD. IBS
boroo^^ and an annual fair on Magdalen Day ; his successor ornamented the borough, and founded an hospital at Catch'* hum; and Ro^r the Third granted' to his burgesses many im- munities. He died in 1265, leaving two co-heircsses ;. Mary, the eldest, married to \ViUxam Lord Greystock ; and Jonanna; married to Robert de Somerville. The whole of this barony diescended to Lord Greystock, and from him to his son John, who divided his grandfather Mcrlay'-s possessions between him- self and his uncle, Robert de Somerville ; but having no issue, and his brother William bemg dead, he settled his moiety of this, and his other estates, on his relation, Ralph Fitz-William» who assumed the name and title of Ralph Lord Greystock : he. built a cliantry in Tynemouth churcli, and, after possessing the estate nine ye|uv, died in 1316. His successors were: Ralph, who died in 1317. Ralph, who was poisoned at Gateshead^ in ISSi, by the revengeful adherents of Sir Gilbert Middlcton, whom his lordship apprehended for treason, in the castle of Mitford. William, who was summoned to parliament in 1352, and, after building the castles of Greystock and Morpeth, died in 1358. Ralph, was in 6ve parliaments; he had the direction of the expedition against the Scots, in 1380, when he was taken prisoner, at Horseridge, in Glendalc*, by the Earl of Dunbar: his raasom cost 30(X) marks, towards which tlie burgesses of Morpeth paid 71. 13s. lOd.; he was a benefactor to the priories of Brinkbum and Newminster, and died in 14-17. John, didd in 14*35. Ralph, was in four parliaments ; he di<.*tl in 1486, when his estates devolved upon his grand-daughter, Elizabeth, Ba* roness (ireystock and Wemme; who married Thomas Lord Greystock, ofGilsland, in whose family these possessions con* tinued, till issue male failing, they devolved, in 1566, upon his two grand-daughters and co-heiresses, Anne, married to Philip, Earl of Anindel ; and Elizabeth, to William Howard, third son of Thomas, Duke of Norfolk, and from whom they have lin- eaUy descended to the present Earl of Carlisle.
** I have no particulars," says Camden," from ancient his-
N 4 tory,
184
ifOltTtfOMSl&l.Aff9v
tory, rektiv« to this place, except Ihat^ in 121 5« it was burnt down by its own inhabitatiu, out of Iiatrcd to King John.*' L eland callt it a ** long town, metely well buylded, with low howsys, t!)e stretes pavyd. If is a far fayrar towne then Alen- wike. Morpeth Castle standeth by Morpeth town* It la set of% a high hrlj, and about the hill is moche w^ood," Nothing now reniaiufi of the cobtle, but part of the gateway-tow er^ and frag- ments of the outward wall. The tower haa formerly had an- gular turrets at the nortli-east and south-east comers, commu- nicating by an open gallery, supported on corbules. Near the castle, on the north aide, ia a round mound of earthy on n natu- i»l mount, whose hiught is greatly assisted by art, probably a lualvoisin in some blockade. 1 he town was also burnt down, in )669, when the loaa was estimated at 3,5001. At present it ia neat^ and pleasantly seated among woody, undulating htll& It is a prescriptive horottgh, governed by two bailiffs and seven bur- gesses. It first sent members to parliament in 1558, The market is on Wednesdays, and affords the principal supply d^ fat cattle and f^heep for the consumption of Newcastle, Shields, and Sunderland. Here is the county gaol for Northumberland. The town -house, from a design by Vanbrugh, was built at the expence of the Earl of Carlisle, in 1714. On the market- house is inscribed : ** The Hon* Philip Howard, and Sir Henry Beloeyae, Knt. tlie only benefactors of this cross. Anno Dom. 1659." The paruh church is on Kirk Hil(, a quarter of a mile out of the town ; but there is a good ring of bells, in a square tower, near the market-place, A I the bridge end is a cliapel { and, adjoining it, In an old chantry, a good free-school, founiied by K ing Edward the Sixth. Tliere was also formerly here aa hospital for the sick. The population^ in 1801, amounted U» 2,951 persons. Dr. WLlham Turner, the first Engliah botaniat and orttithologiiit ; and Dr» VVilliatn Gibson, author of *' A Book of Herbs,** and ** The Treason of tl\e Prelates since the Con- quest,'* were born in this town ; and Mr. Horsley, the learned autlior of the ^ Britannia Romana," was several years nuAia-
KORTHUMBERLAKDI 18S
9xT of a diftscDtlng congregauon here. He died in 1732, aged
A qwartar of a mile owl of the towiie^ on the hichere syd^ ^ Wanspeke, was New Mikster Abbay of wliite inonksy pleaiaunt with water, and very fayre wood about IL'* * The <^islersjans catne here^ under the patronage oF Ranulphus de ^leriay, in il3B, who» in the next year, founded this house- Its abbot was several timet sumrooned to tlie parliaments of Edward the First *f The catalogue of itfi benefactors is long ; .fUid its revenues, at the di^solutiont by Speed's account, amounted to i40L 10s. 4d. Only a fragment of a door-way re« James the First granted its scite to the Brandlings i at f'present it belongs to William Ord, Esq. of Whitfield Hall, M. P, for Morpeth- MiTfoRD, at the time of the Conquest, was a villa and irdthip of Sir John Mitford, whose only daughter, Sibel, was ^married to Richard Bertram, a Nortnan- It was created a barony by Henry the First ; and forfeited by Roger Bertram, one of the confederi^e barons, in the reign of Henry the Third. Part of it was afler^'ards given to Eleanor Stantour, wife of Robert de StoteviUe; but Edward the Second granted the en« tire barony to Adomar de Valence, Earl of Pembroke : from whom the greater part of it descended, by marriage, to David de Strabolg}', Earl of Atho) : but issue male failing in his son Davtd, it passed, by female heirs, to Henry Percy, and in tlic same manner from liim, in Henry the Sixth's time, to Thomas Brough, Esq. Queen Mary, and afterwards Charles the Se- oondf granted it to the Mitfords of MoUsden^ a collateral br.mch of its ancient owners, who still enjoy it.
Thtcmile^ in 1215, was burnt down by King Jotui and his Hiitan, a band of Flemish troops ^ben they so miserably viMted this cmmtry.^ In the next year it was beseiged by Akxander, King of Scoti;. Sir Gilbert de Middleton, and hia
ossociatest •Ld* It. V.7. foL^S, fSTtv. Dn?. volJi» spv, p, 14.
1 BS KORT HCMBEia AH0P
asBOciates, had possewioti of it in 1 SI & ** h wmb beten tlowne/' fsays Lelarid, **by the kynge; for one Sir Gilbetl MiddietoQ robbyM a carditiall comtnge out of Scotland, Bed to his ca&tte of MiUbrd.** It etandfi on a high n;iturtil netice^ outli: ' ' -rthe Wan?ibeck. On the
and east, grt i employed in forming » ditch (
of the rock tinder its wails, whifih are tfUll^ in niany^ plaices, l feet high. The keep ia circular, of rough titrong ma^oiirj ; contaiitiug small gloomy dungeons, with thicU walls, and na loop-holes. The other buildings, within the area of the n-allll arc quite deo)o)iaiied« Near it is the icei of Bbktram Mil FORD, Etq*i and the parish chitrcltf appropriated to Lane Priory, and in wbidi is t\ moaunient, with the rude eifigjr one of the Bertrams, and an tnncription, dated 16S2. wn9 et mfirkrt here in I *1'jQ, St, Leonard* s II above tlie village of MiUbrd, wm founded In tram, in Henry the First's reign ; at present it is a ^entlennan's Beat^ and called The Spitai**
The barony of Both a L was held of the king, by thr Icnigbis' service, by Robert Bettrani, and afterwards by his i Richard, in the time of Henry the ThinL They were younger branch of the Bertrams, of MitJibrd. In Edwa the Third's reign, their estates passed, by an licini-ss, to Sir Ro bert Ogle, of Ogle, knightf rhose posterity enjoyed this ba- rony tlirough a long succession. In tlie contest between tli( houses of Y ark and Lancusicr, Robert Ugle, being in tiie tttq cesfiful party, nus created Lord Ogle. Cuthbert tlm se?i and last of them who bore that title, had two daughters, J<l hanna and Cutharine, the latter of whom married Charlc; Cavendish, of Welbeck, in Nottinghamshire, and was Baroncfss Ogle. From her son William, who w*aa creat<:d Da of Newcastle, in 1664, it passed, by only daughter^ to John Holhs, also Duke of Newcastle ; and then to £arl of Oxford and Mortimer; and, lastly, to the Dnke of Portland, in irhose family it still continues*
The easHr wm built by Sir Robeit Bcrtrtm* in the time of
«Iilwflnl the Tbirtl, The following estmrtt wii5 puhJished m
^lie Anti'^iTiariafi ttepertor}, from a iiirrey> culled ** Tli<r Book
of the Bothnol Barrinryc/* tnkcn in June, 1578, •* To thi»
^ «:rifiiKir af Bnthoole beiongeih nne cu^Ufll, in circumference
'e, wherto betongeth ane caitell. great ehaulmer,
f I>. chttiilmcfs one galare, butterie, pHntrie, Ijirde-
[s%ort Icitchitt^^ tiaclcboase, brewhtiuse^ a ituble, an court,
^:!" ' ' thare is a prisoci, a porter loge,
^tii ::, tin cammoo itable, and a towrre
^sailed Bfaoke Towrt- ; a gnrdine* ane norice, chapel^ and an
^towre caHc'd Ogfe!< Towre, and pastrie, with many other priftie
^^c^aldingi here not specified, faire garditigy, and orchett9,
irin grower all kind of hcarbes and ftoirres, and fine applies,
iltimbes of alt kynde, peere, damsellt!i» naltes, wardens, cher*
"i<s, to iSie black and reede, wallnutes, and also licores veric
^ne, wortfi by tfie yeare XX*-.** Of ali these, only the gate*
refnaznst and the outer wafla» sadly sbattered, and io>
^clofting" about two roods of land, scattered with fragments oi^
'fcuilJings. The gateway has been liiiely mtich deformed, by a
«hed built against its arch : it is ** fliuiked on the north by two
"J>olygnnal towrm^ liiVy-three feet high -. and, on the «outh-weat
single, by a s<jftlro turret, whose height nieaaurcs ai^ty feet*'*
^Thc §citc of these ruins occupy a fine natural emiDefitc in the
«itd$t of a deep valley, and washed on the south by the Wans*
** The wood scene in the back ground slopes to tlte
^s edge, here and there skirted by ptcturescjue rocks/* In
the church i which stands a little distance east of the t*ast)e, is
afnted in black letter, a gene^dogical table of the Ogles, from
Conquest ; and a curious tomb, belonging to that lamily,
^e of alabaster, and inclosed with iron mik* It consists of
(cumbent figures of one of the barons and his lady, with seve-
al emblematical figures about them : and in one part of it a
bield, Hingulurly charged with armorial devices. On the river's
side, about three c|uarters of a mile above the castle, stood
Our
nil by one of the Ogles, a^ appeared I » iftpi nigiifitl II It was eight yards long, and fa A tkm jtm9 ciAce It waA oversown with trees, whi^ mt iinr roots mto its walla ; at present It u quite d&*
fxEft Tower, ui Speed'^; map, jji culled Cocklc^^ apd gygtiiundcd witli a park. It wm in the barony of 4pd wai» a inaiaiion-tkoiui^ of the Bertrams in Edward m* It lias anckntly been mucli larger towards appears by large remains of Strang foundations of arche^i between tlic old and new parts* MJk ^ possession of hiii graco tlm Duke of Portland, a ltt%|«lt of it being thrown down by lightning. There ^ fiir^r oiKuus fire-placcs in it* In the front are the Of liii llie supporters, two antelopen, collared and chained. Il"" ^ MttcMcolations on the outside, nnd is uUogetlier aikT the ^itm ^ iho old border mansions*
Mll^HisoTOV Castle was the seat of " Gerard de W4 t in 1272,** who held it witJi ** Dririg and Bomdon,.*] fH It^ barony of W»aUon, by the service of otie knight's fee* Yttk liaiiiy stands conspicuous in the list of slierifFs of th ^ffgltSk Atul as a h*ne of heroes. Sir William was advanced i ll# 4iCtMly oi* a baron of the redm by Charte the Firv^t, and ImH hyi la^ at VVigan, in Lancashire, in the cause of Charlf d^ ^buSiHid. " llo wa^t'* ** mys Clarendon, ** oiie of the' Mlrittr«i 11^" ^^ '^ ^S*-*^ being near a head higher than most^^ nJI MHU** His grandson, Wiiham, Lord Widdrlugton, foi^^| lliiid dli Mtite In the rebellion in 1 7 la; ailer which it wa£ ' ^1^.1 ^1 100»0()(>1. and soUl by ttie crown to iSir George lleve^j ^f^m ^Im^ij^ i^ descended, by heitcssesj to Lord Bulkeley, il gf^lMIt |M>SMS8or< The castle, though Irregular and the work ^ ^mrtinw M£v*t ^^ ^ noble structure, e^ecially the most im^ mm9ik purt of it, which was a Gut hie icnur^ finished with machi*| and fiHir round turrets, built on double tiers of coivj
bnle^ * Tcita dc Ncvil, [k iat.
nomttttrifButAvft; fM
MM DbereitagoodTie«roritl7 8.fliidN. Budkyin ITSQii It wfli bonn dmm about tbbtf jrean ibiot i and the only w^ wtUag pwt nf it at preient is sn octuigolar, embAttled tower^ t» wUdi • a^uare modern ediBce hm been added. It coa»« cxtemive tea prospect to the east, and a land viei^ I tbe eeudi aa fiur as Tjnemouch Cattle.
CAtmR FAWHf a member of the Bothal batoajr, was Ae seat of • yaanger branch of the Ogle% of Botbal CastlOp flrooi k bos descended to its prasent possessor, William Qgle ifl^ ThetoweroftbemaMieaJMwaeirasbniltl^Jelni Oi^Ea^kkliSM. The chapel efSt Cmfebert is in mins.
LoiMnMULR was gifen bj OMpatricp Bari of Dunbar^ as m mmilsge pertien to Sir Balph Merisj, Baron of Metpelk He tsnonts of this manor, in the tbne of Henry the T1iifd» weie ceaspdtod to loeep the rends and ditches 4n good erdsTf nnder pnin of fcttMting dlse* virg&i JhreaSf'^ Ibr every efisnee» Half ef the tfflage, wkfa a deer-park, and an ancient leowr^ bekmg to Ralph RkMeH, Esq. and the other half to C. W« B^jgfe^ Esq. who b now enjoyed in boading a huge and do* gant mansbn on a pait of his estate here, called* LinnoN.
fkLTON was one of the manors of the barony of Mitfimj^ and was siicoe«sir^ possessed by the Bartram, Pembroke^ Athol, Percy» Scrope, Lisle, and Widdrii^ton fkhiilics ; from wMch last it passed, by marriage, to the fkther of the present possessor, Ralph Riddefi, Esq. whose seat, caUed Fekon HaUp and bailt by the Widdringtons, stands in an old and extensiTe perk, on the west side of the village. Here the barons ef Nor* thumberland did homage to Alexander, King of Scots, in 1215; a defection which King John punbhed, by laying this and other places in the nei^ibourhood in ashes.
On the north side of the Coquet, a few miles below FekoOr is Gruyaanoe, of note only for a nunnery^ founded by Richard Tyson, mentioned in the Lincohs Taxation, and annexed to ft%% abbey of Ahiwick, by charter of Etlwaid the First.
BRiKxavay
* Wan.i, n. 3r»0. Hutcli. H. .119.
1 90 NORTBUMREKLAND.
BRtNiCBUBN Prior Y was tonndcd for blnclc canoni, ia the lime of Henry the First, by Roger Bertram, Baron of* Mtlford, and dcdieated to St, Peter. In 1534, it wsls valued by Speedy at 771. lu possessions were granted to Jorin, Earl of Warwick, ill l.*5i9; and a^in, ia the &«me reign, to a brancih of the Fen* wicks, of Feiiw'ick Tower, whose descendants sold thfm a few years since- Major Hodgson, tlieir prestent possessor, has uiiide great improvements about the place. The priory stjinds on the north cm margin of the Coquet, surrounded by high banl^ and hanging woods. Tiie shell of the church is ^til) very entire, and exertions were used not many years since, to lit it yp for divine service, for which purpose a brief was obtained. The north and south doors are charged with rich Saxon orna- nients ; the upper windows have round arches ; the rest, with tl. * of the tower and nave, are pointed. " llierc have hr il^ here so lute as i7'i5. At the east end, and in the
north and soutli crossesj were chapek; in one iif which were dJviTJi fragment* of coffins and human bones.** In clearing away the rubbish, a circular staircase, communicating with tfie body of the church, has been lately laid open^ and vaults for inter- ment, formed like the kistvaen, discovered. ** On the whole, thougft thiH building, except about the doors above mentioned, is remarkably plain, it has a sober and solemn majesty not alwayi) found in buildings more highly decorated. Fart or this perhaps it may owe to its romantic situation."*
VVarkwohtu is an ancient prescriptive borough, governed by a port-reeve, now culled mayor, chosen by th« tree bur-
• Gr09«i. Wbi'ri.* lite o»<^ti'rn brancli of Watliiig Street cri'Ssca the Co- «|«i't» a little below tlm pUee, tliiTc ure cvidrnt rpmaini of a liHilge ; and on rh« Ijili, m t\it north tide of the prioiy, are litirs af r>rttfiratiom, and appeal ftiices of an «itri^iH town, Joltfi of Hexlmm^ under the year iiM, CAiU diw place iinmnhuK^h^ ortho^mfihy which iiwimeA m to b<flieve', tliat tllM f» the intr sitiiatiou t)(^ XlntNANBURcit* nherc ICiuj^ Atlicbtao, m 958| forght with such boasted anccesi'i ti^aiast the Iriidi, Wdcb, aod Noi - tUumbrian Duaes* Sase, Am, 93^. Mailros Chron, 937,
MOBTHUMBIRLANBU 191
^[ettfcSy and sworn into office by a coiM-leet. It hai an exten- sive common-right; a weekly markd on Thursdays; and aa annual^fV on the Thursday before the twenty-third of Novan- ber. In 1^1 it contained 614 inhabitants. In tlie churchy which has a tall spire, are the remains of Saxon architecture ; and a cross-legged figure of Hugh de Morwic, with a modem inscription. Adjoining the church was a cell for two Benedic«* tine monksy from Durham, founded by Bishop Farnham, in 1256, and endowed with the appropriation of the church of Branxton. The Inidge is of three arches of stone ; has a pillar with the Percys' arms on the middle of it ; and a tower, lately repaired, at its south end.
The castle and manor of Warkworth were held of Henry the Second, by the service of one knight's fee, by Roger Fitz- Roger, whose ancestor, Serlo de Burgh, was a follower of the Conqueror. Edward the First sumamed the family de Claver' hgf from a manor in Essex, granted to them by King John* Issue male failing in John de Clavering, his estates fell by be- quest to Edward the Third, who granted them, in 1S27, to Henry, Lord Percy; from whose family this place was taken in the reigns of Richard the Second and Henry the Fourth, and given to Roger Humfranville, whose constable here was Hard- ing the Chronicler. It was restored to the Percys by Henry the Fifth, and several times after seized and restored. The castle was the favourite residence of the Earls of Northumberland, and in Leland's time "well menteyned;'* but in 1672, its timber and lead were granted to one of their agei.ts, and the principal parts of it unroofed. At all points of view, and especially from the south, it is a most magnificent pile of ruin : " and, though of great strength, it seems to have been one of those hospitable maniions,"
Where throngs of knights aiid barons bold. Th weeds of peace high triumphs bold,
ihan
192
Ho RTUU&i BEnt An t}«
than one of *' those rugged tbrtresse* destined solely for war.**^ Within its tuoat it contains above five acres. It stands oa rocky its wttHs guarded with toirera, and of a triangular sh the keep forming Uie apex, and the southern vrall, in which the great gfite between two polygonal towers, the base. Tike keep is Kquare^ witli the angles canted off, and having at the middle of each side a projecting turret, semi-hexagon at its base, and of the same bight as the rest of the structure : it contains a chapel, and a variety of spacious apartmentu, and IB fintBhcd with a lofty watch tower, connnandlng an almost un* bounded prospect- f
IL'ilf a mile above the castle, on the brink of the Coquet, ii tlio IIehmitage of Warkworth, <;e]ebrated, in 1771, by the
late • Gro«G.
♦ E«tra<^t of » Survey, by G. l!lark%OQ, in 1567, one of tlio au4lilOT% to Uit tUea Liirl of Kor^iwiutHrbiid ;—
** riic buyldingc of Ui^j sayd cattail on the aowth parta, ia thrc towres. The ji|;iite-boLi!»e toMTC, iu tlic [fitdilJe thereof, inluch is ih' entyir at a draw-briilgr over drye moyte ; and in the ^anie tow re ys a prison unci poi ter lodge ; and ov^r ihe «aina a tare lodginge, called the con§ta1>les liMl|^g« ; stid ill Ihe conrtayrw b€twe€n the gatehouise and wcit towre is 0 fere and ci>me1y buyldinK, » cUupell, and divei^e hoo&cj ol offiee one the groiiiid j And iibuve the ^reat chambre, and Uic Jotde^ lodginge : all whidi be tiow in great decay e> as well in the covert our beynge lead, k% aUo in timbre, an glaM ; and vrithout some help of repaiacioui It ^tU come to utter ruin.
** Over the cotirte from the postcmc tow^re is the foiinffacinn of n hofite, wTiirh wa.^ meant 1o huve been a coUed{>e, and part of tlie mB9 were btiiided, nrhuvb, if it had been ti[iished» would have mode a i^cifeot jiq^narc. The daun^ton is in the north [larto of the ^ytc o(^ llie i«^^ castetl, let upon a titttc mount, higher than the rest of the cowrte #*>»•• -»•'*• 6tcppes of grta» befori- you enter toyt: and the same js hm\d Ri fonre square, and owt of every square ope tuvvre ; all which be so quarterly uqiiarcd together, that in Kijgbte every parte appcarcih fyvo tovrreii very lineiy wrought of maiion workj and iu ibe ^me conteyned, «a well a tkre hall, kytchinge» and all oilier homes of offices verie fare and aptly placed, as aUo greet cbambre, chapel, and lodgings for the lord and kh trayn,** Ate. &;c.
NORTHUMftERLANO.
Sate Btfiliop of Dromore, in the ballad of tJic Hermit of f^'ark* ^^vorth* It wns only for one priest, or hermit, but its origin and ^^oundatian are uncertain. The Earl of Northumberland, in hk .^grant to the last hermit, in 153% calls it '* min artmtage, 'Vbelded in a rock of stone, in my parke, in honor of the Holy "Tr**uty.** As it was never endowed in mortmain, its munifi* -^cent allowance reverted to the Percy family at the dissolution. ^Mere are renaains of buildings of masonry, one of them -^Kighteen feet by seven, against the rock. But the most perfect -^^saiid curious part of it consistJs of a dnipel, sacristy, and vest?* ^^^ule, hewn out of a fine freestone rock, twenty feet high, and overshadowed wtUt shrubs and stately forest trees. The en- trance is by file chapel, over the door of which wits formerly legible: "Sunt raihi laclirymge meac cibo interdice & noctu.** The chaptl is about eighteen feet long, and seven feet broad high, and executed with great neatjiesa in columns, groins, nd arches, in the old Gothic style. It is lighted by a window ^^■if two compartments, in the sill of which lies an elegant figure of -3a lady ; at her feet, in a niche, is a male figure kneeling, his ^3iead on his left palm, and his right palm supporting his left ^^Ibow; and an obscure figure in the pillar of the window. The altar is the breadth of the chapel, and has two steps to it. -Parallel uith the chapel, five feet wide, and stretching five feet ^^voimd its west end, is the mcriMt/^ lighted from the cl.apel "*^tli a Gothic window, and having the remains of an altar in ^^^tf and over its door a shield, with instruments of the passion. ^Mu> west end communicates with the ve&tibnle^ in which are '^wo square niches, and from whence Iws been a way into au ^ipSftment of masonry, having remains of a chimney, A stair'^ Oic led from the chapel door to the top of the clitf, where was ^e hermit's house and garden.
Coquet Island, a mile from the main land, and a mile
'ound, is said, by Bede, to have been famous for the resort of
Qianks in St. Cuthbert*s lime* It had upon it a ceil of Bene-
VoL. XIL O dJctine*
192
than one of
COP*
ho.
. :ho mill*" oi v. l.'c.S
W*^" '^^ . arul li-ht-iioiiM . h
^^^^y »^-^ ^ood vaym- oi' .in oio,
"^^ r^^*- • \nit seven at-vcN «;*' :' *.
^^'0»'- -.0 Secoiul's rei-n, i.:-:.-
. :ii till' parisii .»:* lA->lr.->v,
.-> exports, corn, p.^rk, rgi:-,
*•* ' ^. .:iul slup-hiiiluiiij: iiiattrial>.
..ro, till lati!}, tliv rrr.ian.> oi'
XV, ot* vfi-y ariciciU anhiurtsire,
:hv last of it was blown down
'.♦.as used till Ifiteh, a:ul liviit-
'.' tiio sca-bunks near it bj, tl;?*
'iiilht by the valvar to hv bon,-.
; »r.scs, siaii^i;}itcred in boniir <i !>
vl NWk'K.
\.»rtliiinib( riaia?. ami »t;i aiuloiL bo-
».-i»rporatc by [ireseription, eon--lstiis:x
*.v*.«iiioii-t:ouncil ()r futiifx-iiiiir, and
.•'yiriri. witli a v. ..l!, ihrtt ^lm:*.-.* j\ -■,
f<v.i r- 1 "». .hilijix. i«.i'. \. p. I.. »,
..•'ini*>i^ii rn Si. M irk' (! ••. . ji.;- fs. i"l!i a .» •«.% I«'ct over, «<ii a ip<in. rMiimrly r..il('l .!■..'♦;, » till (iiil till ulxMit a v\;»'k 1h;;«i»- t: ; ..•!:!! ^•■•n ..ii!j», and i\< liiilti-in nimh' i!i.('. ;. '\ ,,': -lo'.. '., »» Hi' >ira\\. \i\ .1 iH'^uii x^}i«. ii\(«- i;- .u. ;.,ii> , .'.^ .vOUKi'i fiwni,* liia! il ly. In M/nio | I.k » • i; i ..n ^^ • * I lull . and n«» ^li<k, or ctlu-r ht Iji l.r:i!: arc»u» -i, .\«und« ''H'^ u!iioi»'-r tht.' nmd. Tlii^ ili.n- . ai.-.l ;l. -j
KORTUUMBEKLAND. ^ 195
Uwcrs of wlach still remain. In 1801 it contained 4719 inha- bitants. Its market is on Saturdays, and well supplied ; and its fairSf on the twelfth of May, the last Monday in July, the first Tuesday in October, and the twenty-fourth of December. The Toivn Hall was built in 1731 ; the S/tatnbleSf which are Gothic, by the late Duke of Northumberland. At the head of Pottergate is a toiver, in imitation of that of St. Nicholas, in Newcastle, built at the expence of the borough, in 1786 : it was intended for a ring of bells ; but since made a clock-house. * Here are ivro Jree-schools ; one of them for the classics, founded in 1G87, rebuilt in 1741, and endowed with certain tolls: also two charity schools ; and one 07i Lancaster's system^ inscribed thus in its front : <* For the education of 200 poor boys, this school was erected and founded by Hugh, Duke of Nor- thumberland, on the twenty-fiftli day of October, 1810; in commemoration 6f our sovereign, George the Third, having oH that day completed the fiftieth year of his reign.'* The churchy which is dedicated to St. ^lary and St. Michael, is Gothic, 150 feet by 52. In tlie south aisle are three ancient recumbent effigies of persons unknown. The chancel is sup'* ported by two rows of elegant fluted pillars, with flowered ca- pital ; and lias a large open space behind the altar. Near the town, in 172G, were found on a quarry head, about twenty swords, sixteen spear heads, and forty celts ; and on the face of the rock above them was rudely cut a date, 1 1 45.
Alnwick Castle, the principal seat of his grace the Duke of Northumberland, belonged toWiDiam Tyson, a Saxon baron, who was slain in the battle of Hastings ; and whose daughter, and poS' se8sion6,were given by the conqueror to Ivo de Vesco, one of his
O 2 followers.
rloatiis aliiftcd.tlipy ritlc the bounds of the moor, attended by tlie two oldest fubabitants as guides; each of the newly-initiatcd ahi;htiii!,' from his horse f¥ery quarter of a mile, to cas»t a stone upon tlie boundary cairns or kirocks. This road, which is about twelve miles, is over many dangerous precipices. Tradition asiigns tlii« ciistoio to a capricious mandate •f iung John.
^
I^ XORTIIUMBRllLAKD.
foBowcTf. Tro*$ heiress, by Henry tlie First > was inarrled to Emtace Fitx John, whose descendant^ Eustace do Tescy, held this boronry of Henry the Third, by the service of thirteen kiughts* fees.* William de Vescy, the last baron of this fa- mily, died in 1^7» leaving the barony of Malton, in York- ^hire, la Gilbert de Aitun, who had mangled hts only daughter; and this barony to Anthony Bee, Bishop of Durlian), in trust for his natural son, William de Vescy, a minor* The bishop, tlhr holding it urxen years, sold it to Henry Lord Percy, in
^1S10; and since that time it has shared the fortune and vicissi- ttidai of that powerful family.| Thif* ■ • Test, dc NcF, 'JO^,
M tW PffCf ffttnily derive thdr dcscirnt from Manfre*! P^rcj-^ wh4» CUM out of DenmArk Into Nomiajidy, bcfurc Rolkt ; nnd William and $r\10f fifth in descent from liim, came InUi Kti^lAiid with the Cndrjnrrnr. *nie nmlc line frtiled till ITeiii-y IL but Agnes marry inp JoRi»eliue dc l/>- f till Iftnn', tilt* tiftli nf tLietr de^cendAnt^ (who Itad a^.^nmrd the iiaifi« of JVfcy) wa* ^rcjiti^d ICarl of Northumbcdfttid, 51 Edward III.'* Hit br»* liter ThoiitftXy Eiirl of \\'orce»trr^ «vnd liis renowucd ifoii, Hot»|)tir, ^en* i^iM At tbc tmttle of Shrewsbury* After this he was attainted, hut soon ilWr liikcii i»»to tavoiir ; lhou':h he ajraiii t'Ojjus^cd in irhdhuii, iind fffl Ht lUHiam Muur, in t ^Ot>. Honrj^ son nf Henry I!ot«|inrj in i\w hegintitiis ^tlii^ K^iR" <^*' Hrnry the Fifth, was restored to Iti^ father's c^ute and mif ; hilt wan ftlnin "» the battle of St. Albmi'a, in 1451. Hh scun, TIeiiry, tliinl earl, fell in the battle of Towton, AtYcr tliis Jolia Nevil, Lord Xm^w^ «'»» creatt'd Earl of North utnUej land ; htil, iji iiW, it-su^ed tl 16 Mfltry i'«*rry, ridc-t sou of the tliird tail, llr al^o fell l>y thr s\\rird, b*lilK >^**" *" *" lusurnction f>f J^ea.-lallt^ ^s^in'^l tlie cotlfetuin of thr ^fff^ al Coxlftdife, nearThJrsk, in VorKshire, in lioa. Hrnry Uh wp, ^ fifth rutli died in li^iC^ and was buHi'd iipar ht^^ father, at Deverley. nil *^ •**'* «wercwor, Henry, died in liv;37, Icavinjjf iio issue, Soon after lIlK «liihn lluilU'V, B^il of VVarkwoiIJi, was created Dnkc of Northiunl>er- laiidf al>cr Hho»e dcrohuion, Thomiw, nori of Thomas Perry, who wa^ pnt In fitith (i»t taking np arm« a^in««t Hntry tiie lti£;hth, obtained hb nnclc'» ^^^l ^ , Imt bdiig t'onunitled to the To^er, on j«u-«>plriuii of tit-asou, 1^ If, Jime 1*1, 1A84, HU brotlier Henry sueccedcd him, ac-
Miiliitf ^* ^'^^ tenure of Queen M^arj^'s patent, aad in 156J>, ended hk daya
lUrtu
L nftlH
H ffitr;
^^J|lll
K0ftTtlUMBERLAK1>. 197
Thk castle standB on elevated ground^ on the south side of ^^e AJne. ** It is believed," says Grose, " to have beea ^^^anded by the Romans ; for when a part of the castle- keep ^^mwBs taken down to be repaired some years ago, under die pre- ^sent walls were discovered the foundations of other buildings^ "^rhich lay in a different direction from the present, and some of ^he fctones appeared to have Roman mouldings. The zigzag Network round the arch leading to the inner court is evidently ^f Saxon architecture ; and yet tliis was probably not the most ^^nttesit entrance, for under the fiag tower (before that part i^as taken down and rebuilt by the present duke) was the ap- pearance of a gateway, that had been walled up, directly fronting the present outward gateway into the town," It was a consid(;nible fortress in 1093, in which year it withstood the
O 3 memorable
to prison. " Henry Percy, the ninth carl, wa^ not re«tor(Ki to \m honours
Ut\ 4 Chatici I« IjAvmi,' been impf JMrncd iu tlie Toupr most of the rciitm of
Jittiies I* lor mjjpri^u uf ticasoti coiiceriim:* tht' puwder ptol. Hf *ii*rc!
ftrirl wa^i bttrted at Petwortlif ifiJi'. Hv was succeeded by his §ou, Al^er-
iton, biincil at tJicsame place, 1668. Hk .^uccet'^or w»s liis son Joscehne,
fanrird tlicre, 1670* Dyin^ without issue loale, tti^e harony devolved oti liis
iduftiter, Eli3Eahetli» uiarriLd to Ileiiry CavciidTsh, Earl of Ogtc (only sou
I licir of Henr)% Duke ofNenoasUe) who took the name *nri anns of
Perry, and died and uaa burit-d »t Petvvortlj^ 1680* Algernon, her eoit
by her f^ccoud husband^ Chailes Seymour, Duke of Somerset, was. the
twdftit £arl of Nortlitmiberlandf by crculioii, 1749^ S3 George IL being
ttheftam*' tiinir Duke <jf SomerseL He died I7;t[l» and was buried in
fettmin^ti-T Abbty . His oiijy soo Geor^i- dyttig before biin, 1744, tJie
Utie dev(itved to bU only ^i^ter ICli^abeiti, mairicd 1740 to Sir Hugh
Sijiiihsou, Bart, who succeed*?d in tJte tifle of carl 1750, on the death of tfje
Duke if Jjonicrnet, and 1760 was created Duke of Northumberland, He
dietl June i, 17iJ6, aud wa^ buried in WcstJuimicr Abbey, and succeedcil
by tiii eldest son, and namestike, Hugh, fonrteendi Duke of Noithuntbcf*
nd. Hi* brother Alger acm, in cuiiseciuence of hi» father liavio^ been
eAled Lurd Lovaiue, Ba.ron of Alnwick, is now a peer of Great liritaio^
by U»e'€ titles. The tiUe« cf Earl mid Duke of Nortliunibedatid had be-
►re been conferred, by Charles IL iiiB3^ on his natural sou, George
oy, wtUi whom Lhe^ boUi expired/*^ — Gough'a Camd, III, S?58,*
198 NORTHUMBERLAND.
memorahle siege against Malcolm, King of Scots, and hi« S01I9 Prince Edward, both of whom were slain before it.* William the Third, of Scotland, was taken prisoner here in llT-k King John burnt it down in 1216. After 1310, it un- derwent a thorough repair. The two octagonal towers were added to the old Saxon gateway, in the inner ward, in 1350» as b apparent from the numerous shields upon them. It con- sistt c^' three wards, and contains within its outer walls about five acres. The walls are flanked with sixteen towers, most of whidi are fitted up in a stvie as suitable to their architecture as is conTenient with modem manners. The battlements of the tewers are embellished with grotesque figures of warriors, riany ca them anoioat, others added bv the late duke, who, on his accession to the estate, restored tiie whole of the edifice tnxu a ruin to its present ma^iificence. The saloon in the €ftt*kl b fortT'-two feet br thirty-nine, and ornamented with l^cturvs of the ninth, tenth, and eleventh Ecrls of Northum- berlanKt The iM«j^a/o« is forty-six. feet by thirty-five; and the J««^-nvi« fifty-four feet by twenty-one, exclusive of a eireulnr recess^ nineteen feet in diameter. The chapel is fi:\Y feet by tweuty-one, corloil in the manner of King's College, in Cambridge, the walls painted like the great church of Milan, anil the windows of painted glass of great lightness and ele- gance.
Alnwick Abbey, sweetly seated on tlie northern margin of the Alne, was the first house of the Premonstratensians in England: they settled at it in 1147, when Eustace Fitz John, who took the surname of Vescy, gave tliem a foundation charter and rich endowments. Its abbot was frequently sum- moned to parliament. In 1534 it was valued at 1891, 15s. and Wtts granted to Sadler and Winnington in 1549. The Brand- lings
* Acroi9 was erected, in 1774, by the Duchess of Norihinnbcrland, 011 tin p^ee where Malcolm fell, her grace being lineally descended fron) Urn.
NORTHUMBERLAND. 1 99
lings made it their scat several years, and afler them the DoubledaySy by whose heirs its scite was lately sold to the Duke of Northumberland. A gateway tower of it remains, on which are armorial shields of the Percys, crosses, and a niche richly crowned with open Gothic work. St Leonardos Hoipi* t4ilf in Abwick, was granted to it by Lord Percy, in 1375. The chronicle of this abbey is in King's College Library, Cam- bridge.
HuLNE Abbey stands in a woody and delightful solitude, in Hulne Park, three miles above Alnwick. Among the English barons who went to the Holy Wars, in the time of Henry' the Third, were William Lord Vescy, and Ralph Gray. In a visit to Mount Carmel, they found among its monks ont Ralph Fresburn, a Northumberland gentleman, who had signalized himself in a former crusade, and whom they intrdated the sa- perior of the monastery to permit to return with them ; their request was granted, on condition that they founded a house fbr Carmelites at home. Afler their return, Fk'csbum, it is saidf fixed upon this spot, from its striking resemblance to Mount Carmel, and, at his own expence, began to lay the foundations of this abbey in V2\0; it was endowed by the Lprds of Alnwick. Johij Bale, the biographer, lived and studied here. Its outer walls and gateways arc still very en- tire ; but it$ numerous chapels, oratories, and offices, are much dilapidated. The most perfect part of it is a fine tower, which was fitted up in the Gotliic style, by the late duke : on the wall adjoining is tliis inscription, in old English letters, in relief : —
In the year of Crist Jim ra.ccrc.iii «!t viii*
Tliis towr was bilUcd by Sir Hen. Percy
'ilie foiirlli eric of NortlniWeriad of gret honr A: worth
Tliat espoused Maiid y* pjood lady full of virtue & bewty
Paugter tp Sir WilUii Herbert, right noble Sc hardy
() 4 Eric
• Anno 1468, about the lime he was restored to his father's powcMiox)^ .411(1 earldom. See Col!. Pew. VI. 70?.
)ttD SO&THUMBERI^ND*
Erie €f Pembrock iii:ose sou!* s 91MI nve
And with bis ^nce ooscnre y* boildr of this towr.
HowicK v«s a maior of the Muschanqp baronj, in Heniy
dw Thnd*s rv^n, and afterwards engrafted upon that of WiU
Itam de Vckt, of whom it was held by Adam Ryhaud^ by
scrvm of one knight's fee.* Hontercombie, one of the repre-
acoutiies of the Mttschamps, howerer, died seized of half of
k» etther b 1313 or 1317. &r Ralph Grey^ of Chillingham,
IkU anediely 01* it in the reign of Henry the Eighth ; and the
wlwtte of h was possessed hy hb descendant, John Grey, Esq.
la ITOU whcise SOD, Henir, was created a baronet in 1746 ;
dM in 17J9: and was succeeded in his title and property by
hfe eMtst aoQ llenrr, at whose decease, in 1808, Howick
JtiKeoiSad to ht$ nephew Charles Grty^ Earl Greif, and Vic"
NaiMtf Ifcpm..^. who for many yean distinguished himself for
htt waiimB «fipi3^Hm to Mr. Pitt's administration ; and, as
ttie ar$t Iced of the Adwralty, became a cd]eague in govem-
■K^Bt wHh >fr- Fcoc. Tbe ^ little /».V," or tower of Howick,
Murntioaed by Leisnd, * was eoiered," says Wallis, " by a
t^i ot^5«ep$^ anxi wa$ 9 fiur structure, to the end of which,
the 6r$t Sir Henry Grey boSt a large handsome house, end
ekftaiu offices." This pile was taken down in 1787, when the
prtKitt noble structure was commenced* Fhyne and ether
architects gave ilestgns for it; but it was chiefiy executed
under the direction of Mr. Newton, of Newcastle. Its inter-
mil arrangenamts, furniture, and decorations, were last year
ahniist entirely renewed ; the wings joined to the centre by two
additions, the fronts of which form the arcs of a quadrant ;
m*w gateways made; the approaches altered: and the lawn
broken into a better style. It stands within a mile of the sea.
The chmrck^ which is on the margin of a brook, that skirts the
IiwHv was built by the first barotiet, though he was not its
pitroOt and is an edifice of great neatness, without a tower,
itt fPoMy and in the Greek style.
Craster. • Test de Nev. 38*.
NORTHUMBERL ANI>. . 90V
Chaster. William de Craucestr* held Craucestr^y in 1272, if the barony of John le Viscount, by the service of half n ight's fee, and at present it is the seat and manor of his Lineal descendant Shafloe Craster^ Esq. The hall^ which is fcuilt of basalty stands in a deep grove of forest trees, and has Kne sea views through the chasms of a bold chain of broken. Brocks, that run between it and the shore. The grounds about St are kept exceedingly neat and trim. The village of Craster, •^)n an inlet of the sea, is inhabited by fishermen.
DuNSTANBRouGii was a manor and estate of Prince £d- Tnund, Earl of Lancaster, whose son Thomas obtained a licence, in 1315, to make a castle of his manor-house in this place. He was the most powerful and opulent subject in Eu- rope in his time; but becoming general of the confederate army that opposed Edward the Third, he was beheaded, and afterwards canonized. This estate and fortress were restored to his brother, and continued in the Lancastrian house till afler the battle of Hexham, when certain of Queen Margaret's adherents, namely. Sir liichard Tunstall, Thomas Findern, Dr. Morton, and others, with 120 men, continuing within it in arras, it was besieged by Lords Wenlock, Hastings, and two others, with a large force, and, after three days assault, was taken, and battered into ruins, in which state it has ever since continued. It stands upon a high whinstone rock, acces- sible on the south, but naturally defended by a rocky declivity ^on the west, and by the sea and abrupt frightful precipices on the ew^t and north. Nothing at present remains of it but its outworks, s::hich are in the form of a crescent, and chiefly consist of the shtjU of the keep, on the highest ground on the west; of a strong giwpmy gateway, defended by two large round towers ; and of three square towers in the southern wall. Its area contains about nine acres ; and, in one year, is said to have produced 24-0 Winchester bushels of com, besides several loads of hay. Hexangular crystals, called Dunstanbrough
diamonds^
202 KORTHUMBEKLAND.
diamonds^ are sometimes found here, which are not inferior !• those of Bristol in hardness and lustre.
The village of Dunstan is celebrated as the birth-place of Duxs ScoTUS, the famous opposer of Aquinas. In one of his MS. works, are these words : — " Explicit lectura Docioris Sub- tiles in Universitatc Oxoniensi super quartum libnim sententia- rum, scilicet, Domini Johannis Duns, nati in quadam villula paro- chiae de Emylton, vocata Dunstan, in Comitatu Northurabrias, pertinentc domui Scholarum de Merton Hall in Oxonia, ct quon- dam socii dictac domus." This place belongs to Merton College to this day.
In this parish also is Fallowden House, the scat of the late Earl Grey, which he inherited from his mother, who was an heiress, of the name of Wood. His lordship signalized himself, as a general, in America, and in the West Indies ; and was created a peer of the realm, by the title of Baron Grey de Howick, in 1801 ; and of Earl Grey, Viscount Howick, in 1806. At present it is in possession of the Countess Dowa- ger Grey.
" The Fam Islands," says Pennant, " form two groups of little isles and rocks, to the number of seventeen; but at low water the points of others appear above the surface. They are rented for 161. per annum : their produce is kelp, some few feathers, and a few seals, which tlie tenant watches and shoots, for the sake of the oil and skms. Some of them yield a little grass. The nearest isle to the shore is called House Island^ which lies exactly one mile and sixty-eight chains from the coast. On this secjuestered spot St. Cuthbert spent the two last years of his life." Here was afterwi^fcJs established a prior?/ tor six benedicline monks, subordinate to Durham. It was valued, in 1.031, at 121. ITtJ. ^d. The remains of it are sadly shattered. Part of the square tower, which Leland says was built by " Prior Castel of Durham, the last save one," is still standing. There is a light home here, and a well of fine fresh water.
Ellingiiam
NOATHUMBERLAND. S09
ELLtKGUAM is the name of a pamh^ and was the barony of Ralph de Gaiigy in Henr)^ tiic Third*s reign. In 1378 it waa a lordship of the heroic knight, Sir Alan de Heton, whose name, at his death, was extinct in co-heiresses. In 1460, on the attainder of the Earl of Northumberland, it was given, with some other manors, to the king's brother, George, Duke of Clarence* John Swinburne, of Chapwell, in the county of Durham, forfeited it in the rebellion in 1769* The hally which is an ancient building, much repaired last year, iss the seat of Thomas Huggerston, Esq. a brother of Sir Camaby, and wlio inherited this estate from his uncle Edward.
BAMttVRGii Castle <(tands upon a bogalt rock, of a trian- gular shape, high, rugged, and abrupt, on the land side; Hanked by the sea, and strong natural rampire* of sand, matted togeiiier with sea rushes, on the east ; and only accesstbJe to an enemy on the south*east, which is guarded by a deep dry ditch, and a series of towers in the wall, on cuch side of the gateway. The rock is beautifully besprinkled with lichens of various rich tints ; it rises 150 feet above the level o^ the sea, and lies upon a stratum of mouldering $tone» iipparently scorched with violent heat, and having beneath it a close flinty sand- atooe« Its crown is girt with walls and towers, which, on the land ddc, have been nearly all repaired ; but on the east arc ^fl ruinous. The outLT gateway standi between two fine old iDwers, with time-worn heads s twelve paces witliin it is a se- ^ * ife, which is machicolated, and has a portcullis; and iig, on the left hand, audon a Iot\y point iy\* rock, is a t«Ty aocient round tower, of great stren*?'^*^ commanding a pass, N) every kind of annoyance from the bcfeiogcd. ** This . .; _ars die moKt ancient appearance, and challenges tlte Savons for its origitu" Tlie keep * stands on the area of the
rock,
* WalUs Au<J oiljriff tliuuglil t]je bajie of thu tower was ni* Roman oii. 90, wbicii Gro^ie Loutradicts. As ** three Romui] diMiurii, one of them a V«psi&ian," w^r<' foaml here, wc mav fairly coiiuUitlt% llml tUi^ w»s {\w •rite of aoc of the Cu<^r4lL-i buiU by Agiicoia^ in \m tluril camitaigu in ftritiun.
SOI
KOETRUMftEairAKJD.
rock, having an open space around it. It is square, that kind of buiJding which prevailed from the Cooqi about the time of Henry tlie Second. It had no chimney ; but fires had been made in the middle of a large room, the door of which was of stone, supported by arches, and the Hght ad- mitted into it by a window near its top, three feet square. AI] the other roouiji were lighted by slit holes, six inches broad It is bailt of siiial! stoni^F, from a quarry at SunderIand-on-tli€ Sea, three miles digtant ; within it is a draw-well, discovered ia 1770, in clearing the celiai* irom sand and rubbt&b ; its depthJ is 1 15 fecti cut through solid rock, of which seventy 4ive feet J is of whinstone. Dr» ijharpe repaired one story of it for a court j room for the manor; at present ihe truhtees under Lord] Oewe'ci will, reside in it. The drawing-room is huug round with iapcsirj/f in which in wrought the life of Marcus Aurelius ; ' and with portraits of Lord and Lauy Crewe, and Dr. Sharpe. The Ubrari/ is extensive, is circulated gratis for twenty miles round, and was the bequest of Dr. Sharpe* TJie remains of tliC chapel were found under a prodigious mass of land in 1773* , The chancol is separated from the nave, thirty-six feet by] twenty, and, aiXet the Saxon fashion, semicircular at the > end* The ancient font was discovered^ and is preserved in the ^ ke^ The altur had a passage round iu The rebuilding of tliis cilifiee bus been commenced on its old foundations.
** St, Bede, in describing the besieging and burning of it by ' tPenda, the Mercimi, saj$, it had its name from Queen Bebba. I But Matthew of Wostmiaster tells us, that Ida, first King of jKonhumiKr!and» built it, fortifying it fin^t with wooden pall - leadoes, and after wainl^ with a wall But take the folio win^-J ^description of it frum Roger Hoveden : — * Bebba is a strong ^ity, not very large, but including about two or three
aving one entrance hollowed out, and raised mih steps, in a^ ►tuqirizing niaiiner, and on the top of the hill a beautiful church, and to the west, at the top, a fountain, adorned with extraordinary workmanship, sweet to the taste, and clear to the
KOTRTnUMBERLAND. S05
eye. At this time it is rather a castle than a city, though large enough to pass for a city,'* Alfred calls it Sa cynelican
buph, ISe mon nemepBebbaa buph. Penda attempt- ed to bum it in 672, by setting fire to piles of wood laid against its walls ; but the wind blowing contrary, the flames caug!vt hk own camp, and he was obliged to raise the siege, Brrthric» after being some time besieged here, in V05, salUed out, and took Eardulf prisoner, and routed his army* Here Oswald's teliques were kept, and wrouglit miracles. It was destroyed in 993 by the Danes ; but about the time of the Conquest was in good repair* William Eufus besieged Earl Mowbray here; but Etidlng the place impregnable, he built a tower of Mal- voisin against it, and leaving a strong garrison, marched south- ward* The earl escaped, but was tdken at T^nnemouth : his wife» and Governor Morel, held out, till the king threatened to put out his eyes unless they surrendered, ivhich they ae* cordingly did, Edward the First summoned Baliol to meet him here, and, on his refusal, invaded Scotland, and took hio» prisoner ; and here his successor sheltered his favourite Gavcstnn, in 1310. It lost the greatest part of its beauty in a aiege alW the battle of Hexham. ** From that time it has* ^tiflercd by time and winds, which throw up incredible quan- Litiee of sand from the sea upon its walls, through the windows^ wltich arc open»"f
Sir John Forsler was governor of it in Elizabeth^s reign ; dnd his grandson John obtained a grant of it and the manor, from James the First. His descendant, Thomas, forfeited it in 1715 ; but his maternal uncle, Nathaniel, Lord Crewe, Dishop of Durham, purchased his estates, and bequeathed %liem to cliaritable purposes. He died in 1720. Tlie trustees under his will, reside here in turn, and at their own expence. Archdeacon Sharpe, about the year 1757, began tlie repairs mt tile castle, on which he expended large sums out of his fiwn purse. Much has been done since his time ; and it affords
matter
^S KOltTHUMBERLAKD*
matter of high ^Ratification, to see this veneraMe gradoaUy reclaimed from ruin, and converted luto apartmei for the most wise and benevolent uses. A large room is fiti up for educating the boys of the neighbourhood, on Dr. Bell*s system. A suite of rooms are allotted to two mistresses, and twenty poor girls, who, from tlieir ninth year» are lodged^ clothed, and educated, till they be fit for service. Here is a market for meal and groceries, which are sold to the at prime coat, on Tucficiays and Fridays* Medicines and •vice are given at the infirmary on Wednesday* and Saturdays ; and, in IBIO* 1050 out-patients were admitted to its benefit, and thirty-six inpatients ; of whom tliirty-four died, eight v fient to Newcastle infirmary, and the rest either cured or lieved. Various signals too are made use of, to warn vessi in thick and stormy weather, from the rocks of the Fei Islands. A life-boat, and all kinds of implements usetul i] saving crews and tlieir vessels io distress, are always in rea< ness; also beds for shipwrecked ^lors ; and all means used prevent wrecks from being plundered, and for restoring to their owners.
The town of Oamburgh wa^; once of considerable important as appears from the Testa de Ncvill, and the numerous sages respecting it in Madox's History of iJie Exchequer. It gives name to a shire, ward, and deanery; sent members the parliament in 1294"; contributed a ship to the siege of Ci lais, in Edward the Third's reign ; and had a market, now* dii used. Here was a monastery for Austin friars, founded in 1137, subordinate to Noslel abbey, vdued by Speed at 124^^ 15s, 7d, granted, in 151-5, to John Forster, whose descendantlH had a seat in its premises, lately pulled down. Also a monas- tery of friars preachers, founded by Henry the Third, in 1265, given by Queen Elizabeth to Rcve and Pindar, and called, b; Leland, " a fayre college, a little without the town, now cl gone down/* St. Mary Magdalen's hospital was licensed Edward the Second. The church is dedicated to St. Aiden
has
NORTHUMBERLAND. 207
has a cross-legged figure in it, called, by tradition. Sir Lance- lot du Lake ; monuments of the Forsters ; and old armour sus- pended from the chancel roof. Lord Crewe's trustees have lately made great improvements here, by building cottages on uniform plans.
In this neighbourhood, at Spindeston^ b a camp, nearly round, with a triple ditch and rampart, and two exploratory iiills on the south, and one on the north. A little west is another, in the form of a crescent, triple trenched, and with ramparts pf oncemented stones. There is a ballad called, the Laidley Worni^ of SpindUston Heughf said to be 500 years old, and composed by Duncan Frazier, a Cheviot bard, in 1270. The camp at Out Chester^ is square, and, as its form and name indicate, of Roman origin.
Edderstone, in Bamburgh parish, was the seat of Sir Tho- mas Forster, Knight, in the reign of Henry the Eighth, and of his descendants, till the year 1763, when it went into the Bacon family, who built tlie present mansion, and sold it lately to J. Pratt, Esq.
BELFORD
was a manor of the barony of Wooler ; and after male issue failed in tlie Muschamps, was held in medieties, from the time of Edward the First to the tenth of Elizabeth, by the families of Graliani, Iluntercombie, Lylburne, Meinells, D*Arcy, and Conyers. The Forsters possessed it in 1638; and after being sold by the descendants of Abraham Dixon, Esq. who resided upon it in 17.>9, it was lately purchased by William Clarke, Esq. The mansion-house' was built from designs of Payne ; but has suffered much from neglect. The chapel is parochial under Bamburgh ; it was built in 1700; or the bells hang, as in many parts of Scotland, on a frame on the outside of the gable." The old chapel is in ruins on an adjoining hill The
town
30B NORTH0MBKRtAKt>.
town IS small y but pleasant ; liajs a market on TuesdiiySy and filirs on the Tuesday before Whitsuntide, and the 23d nf Au- gust. ** A mile south-west of it is an encampraent, nearly 'fequare, with a wide fosB and double rampire, the entrance on tiie south*"
KOTHBURY,
in the oldest rceords concerning it, is called Robire^* or Ratli^
bury, a name probably derived from lis being thi burying-
I -place of Rathf or Roth^ some Dane of distinction. There Is a
'•large Harrow on the southern margin of the river, opposite the
t'iown, and several others in the neighbourhood* King John
enfeotfed the barons of Wlialton, in this tnanor^ for the pa}*-
ment of one knight^s fee.f With Warkworth it fell to tbc|
CTOwn, and in 1330, wos granted to the Percys, and en-
iled upon their male posterity, September the 25th, J: 15^2.1 T!ie church is in the form of a cross, and contains a font %*ery curious workmanship. Wilton Totoer, a strong ancientj building, with the Humfran%'ille*5 arms upon ita west side, iaJ the rector's mansion- Sir Ralph Sadler recommended tbei ** parsonaige of Rothcberj*, whiche is presently in the hands of one of the prebendaries of Durcsme, with the yerely fee of | CC« (2001.) to be anexede to the castill of Harbottell/*^ The I inhabitants, in 1201, held their tmcn of the crown, and paidi lines like Newcastle and Newburne. |I Leiand calls it ** such j ^ toun as Corbrige/' In 1801 tt contained only 66S persons.. It has the privilege of three annual fairs, and of a market on J Thursdays, which Inst, with free forest here, and certain otlier^ franchises, was granted lo the lords of the manor by King l-John. Its situation is dry and salubrious, on which account,^ fi«nd for its goat's milk, it is much resorted to by valeludina-^
rianKv*
• Testa de Nev. S31% 392. f Ibid*
♦ Col, ftcrage. Vol. VL 651, J Si. Pap. IL 15,
II Mado^*A Birtxi. Borog. 54.
Hans.* On iKe top of a hill, between this town and l^hrq^ton, it a circular entrenchment, with a tlouble ditch and vaJlum, called Old Rothlury^ and not far from it^ in a sand-stone rock, ii ft large cave,
Hepple was held in thenage, by the annual payment of fifty ihEJings, by the ancestors of Wilham Bardolf, in whose time Kin^ John changed that service into one knight's fee. In Henry the Third's time it belonged to •* Joo Taylleboys," and continued in his family till about the year 1370, when it i^ent to the Oglesy and from that period had the same revokition of ^pmesson as the Bothal barony, till the late Duke of Portland told it to Sir J, B. Riddelh The castle or tower was ex- Ct*edingly strong, but its remains at present are few. West of it half a niile, on Kirk Hill, was a chapel and cemcieri/^ all trace of which were about fifty years since removed-
Cartington Castle, in early times, belonged to a family of its own name. In 1502, it was the seat of Sir Edward Rat- diff, and aflerwarda of Edward Widdrington, who raised a
Vol. XIL F troop
• Jotm Brown, D,D. w« born here, m 1715, aiid edncaiiMl it St. Jolin'i
Collvi^, Cuiibridg€. He wa^a Canon of Cai'lisle^ and an acltve vohuitcer
I the rebeliioH, in 1715, He \va*» aUo Vic;ir of IVIoiL-land in W' estniore-
liad, Bixf ofLa^oobyp in CuniberlauJ ; aftorward^s Ri.clor of Hfrksley, lu
Enex, and lastly^ in 1761, Vicar of Nevfcaatle upon Tyne, and a cUaplaiJi
in ordinary to the kioj;. IV Emprr&s of Hn^sia invited him to assist in
ninflp certain reyiilationst for schools, A:c. iu her cniptrc ; but, while pre-
ations were making for \m voyai^e^ Le died, by an act of Mtieide, at hj»
pniS% in Pall-MalJ, LeiiJon, September tli« ifSd, 1166, He publisked,
^ia 1751, Essays cm -Slmfbbury's Cbaracteriitics ; in 1735, tbc tragedy of
BarbarovMt; and, in tJie ncjct year, llic tragedy of Atfaebt'ii]. In 1757,
* appeared his Esiiniateof tbe Manner* and Principles of the Times ; and, in
1766, a Letter to Dr. Lowtb, M'bo had alluded to liim, as one of Dr. War-
artoaiflattereri. Amouj? bis works aba w»re : Ttie Care of ♦Saol» i
^l^ocm i ITie History of tlie Rise and PjO|/rew of Poetry aud Music ; and
Tbougbts ©o Civil Lib«rty, Licentiousness, and Faction.
Binft, BriL Bjun^$ Netec, I. 310.
^\6 nohtiiumbealavi?.
troop of horse for Charles the Firsit, and wa« created a btroitti in \i}^2f but had his estates sequestered by parliament in 165% Hla daughter and cohtiiresn, Lady Charlton, of Hc^lieiide* founded an almshouse here, for four widows of the Hani&n ca- tholic persuaiion. AAer this a Talbot, who signalized himael4j but waK killed* at the siege of Buda, had this estate* His 8o9i John» being concerned in the rebellion m 1715, Bad from Chester. Since that time it belonged to the Alcocks, of Neiv^ castie* The mansion is strongly built, and of the castellati IdimI.
Adjoining to the village of Haly&toxb is a very copious^ spring, called Our Ladt/'s IVell^ in wliich, as some say,* nus baptized a great multitude of 8axoii5» Here also small benedictine nunnery, founded by one of the Humfran* ville's, of Ifarbottle castle. Henry tlie Third confirmed theii charters in 125>K Richard Kellorsc, Bishop of Durham, umite the church of Corsenside, and Horbottle d]a|>e], to this church and nunnery ; and gave th*j advoirson of the vicarage to Lc Richard Humfranvillo* Its annual revenues at tlie diasolutioni according to iSpeed, were only 151. IDs* 8d. though they liad been rated in the Lincohi taxation, m 1291, at 4*0i* The church has been much larger than it is at present. V u
of the convent *itill appear in ihe Mill House ^ and in ot! i-
ings in the village.
HifcRBOTTLE Castle, with the franchise of Kedesdale, wa given in 1075, to Robert de Humfiauvilie, Lord of Tours Vivan, to be defended by the same sword which the coni^ue wore when he entered Northimiberland. Before that time belonged to Mildred, the son of Acman* From the Hamfraii villes it was inherited, in 1438, by Walter Talboys, vv^iose di scendant, Sir Walter, forfeited it atler the hmh of Hexha It was, " as it is saide, the Lord Talbusaes inheretaacei gef en the prence in exchange, for that it was so aaeat a hfMtff^
for
• Btw Lei. If, r. (y.
Cm* the serrice, te."* It beloi^ed to the crown, in 15$7 1 bttt heing granted to a branch of the Widdrington family, tiieir b^resi carried it to Sir Thomas Gascoigne, who sold it to the Ciennels^ ks present possessors: their mansion is a modem biiildiBgy at the east end of the village. In U7S» this fortresi was sacked hy the Scots ;t after which it was rebuilt, and so strongly fortified, that a Scotch army, in 1296, besieged k two days in vain ; after the battle of Bannock Bum, however^ they succeeded more to their wishes, and again demolished it. It was the retirement of Queen Margaret, of Scotland, on bar aecond marriage to the Earl of Angus, and here was bom, in 1518, her daughter Margaret, afterwards married to tlie Eail q£ Lenox.^ It is boldly seated on the southern brink of the Coquet^ and its ruins are of large extent. The walls of the gresH tower have an odd appearance, parts of them being rent asoi^ der from their foundations, and overhanging their base ; and other parts having slidden in large masses, halfway down tke hill, and fixed themselves deep in the earth.
BiDBLKSTON, the Seat of Thomas Selby, Esq. is seated at the head of a gradual slope, at the foot of Silvertoa, a high greea- mountain, and one of the. most southern of the chain of the Cheviots. It belonged to the Vissards, whom Edward the Firsts on account of their treasonable proceedings, deprived of it, in 1272, and gave to Sir Walter de Selby "pro bono et laudabili servitio."^ His successor, Sir Walter, was governor of Liddle castle, in 1342, in which year the fortress was taken by Davidf King of Scots, and its governor beheaded. This family wet also possessed of the barony and manor of Prend^lath, on thm opposite border. 11 Their seat here is a large and commodveos stone edifice, built by its present possessor.
P 2 EDkLIKOHaM
* 8irR.Sa(l. St. Pap. ii. 15.
t Ridp. Bord. HUt. p. 98. t Knighton int. x. Scrip. Aog. col. 1 \i96,
$ Original Grant at Biddleston.
I Cliarter in Oatcihead Vestry, Dortiaiii.
2\2
kohtmumaerlakd.
£DiiN'GffA>f Castle, with several other possessionB^ i^a# held by John, son of Walilcn, of the barony of Earl Patrick, for one soar hawk, or sixpence** It was the seat and manor of Sir Roger de Hasting, Ktit, who bore a captain's commission, in the expedition against the IVIoors, in 1509. In the tenth of Elizabeth, it belonged to Thomas Swinburne, Esq. ; but heirg male failing in his descendant^, in the reign of Charles the First it went by marriage to the Swinbumes of Capheaton, its presenfi^B owners. The castle stands near the head of a narrow valley,'^^ and chiefly consists of a grey, venerable tower.
Bolton is a small village, on the north side of the Alne and having a chapel under Edlingham : but it is only of not on account of an hospital^ founded at it by Robert de Re Baron of Wark, ** to support," as his charter seta forth, " \ master, three brethren, three chaplains, and thirteen leproui laymen." It was dedicated to " the blessed Mary, and Sti Thomas the martyr," and put under tlie wardenship of thi Abbot of Kyval, and the Prior of Kirkham. It was well en- dowed, and at the dissolution came, with this manor and village to the Collingwoodfi of Eslington- The Earl of Sun^ey met here by several noblemen and gentlemen, with their re tinues, to the number of 2^,000 men, before the battle Hodden Field^f
Eglingham is tliename of a parish and a village, and in 15B1 was the seat and manor of Luke Ogle, Esq., and at present his descendant, Ralph Ogle, Esq, It is en\uroned with tnoort* Near it is a mineral water, described by Mr, Cay, in the Philo^ iiophical Transactions ;| and below it Kim-mere, a lake stor with pike and perch, and its banks abounding with the mpica called sweet p^ah^ or Dutch myrtle.
WiiiTTiKGHAM, ** In the year 883, Alfred the Great, haiN- tug slain the two Danish generals, Hlnguar and Halden, beg
• Tc*t. de Nev, *e5.
lK>BTH9MBBRLAIfSw
to cuhhrate the wastes of Northinnberliuid.^ At that ^ Cuthbert, by a vision, revealed to the Abbot Edred» th Ushopy and all the En^Ush and Danes, should be commanc Hfflsom Guthred, the son of Ardecnute, who had been i slavery to a widow, at Whittingham, and should make him of Northumberland; which was done, and he reigned York, but Egbert beyond the Tyne."* This village wi ctendy held in sergeancy of the king, by dreogi^e service' has a fair on the twenty-fourth of August; ijbs church is form, old, and spacious ; and4he vale jn wl^cb it stands u trembly rich, well cullivated, and beauUiul.
ELLINGTON, a i^eat of Sir Thomas Henry OddeU^ B^ occupied by C. W, Bigg^t E»q., stands in a low^ ric •helterecl gituationy on the margm of the Af ne. It is a B|i mdjeie^gtmt edifice, of poJisheid feeorstone, and in the n style. It belonged to Alan de Eslington, in the time of the Third, of whom he held it by certain local services, < species of sergeancy ; from this family it passed to the I rigges, and from them to the CoUmgwoods, with whom it, tinued from the sixteenth to the dghteenth century; \ Colonel George Liddell, a younger son of Sir Thomas Lidaeii, of Ravensworth, Bart, bought it of the commissioners for seUing estates, forfeited in the rebellion, in 1715, and lefl it to his nephew, Henry Lord Ravensworth.
Callaly was the seat of William de Callaly, who held it and Yetlington, by drengage and other services, of Henry the Third : his son Gilbert gave them to Roger Fitz-Roger, Baron of Warkworth and Clavering, from whom they have been handed down to his lineal descendant, John Clavermg, Esqr their present possessor. The tower, at the west end of this mansion, has marks of high antiquity; that on the east, BOf^ the centre of the building, are modem. The dining room if
P 3 forty*
^ ChroD. de Mailrot, p. 145. Sim. Dam. col. 147. t Test, de Nef. 389, 39S.
2H K9ftrHmffBEmirAin>«
forty-five feet long, and twestj-five feet high, elegantly ttac^ coed, and has a music gallery at each end. A raivge of high roc^h hills, planted up their sides, and brown and craggy at their heads, sweep before the southern front, at the distance of kalf a mile.
Near Callaly is a conical hill, called Castle Hiix; ka top, comprising about two acres, is girt by a high wall, and, in die weakest phices, by a fbss seven yards deep, hewn out of tlie solid rock, and fhnked on the outside with a wall. Down the western brow of the hill, about one hundred paces, ^ another strong waU, it» ruins measuring seven yards and a half at their base. The whole fortified area contains nearly six acres, and jb difficult of access. There are several other andcnt camps in this neighbourhood.
Glantox Pike is also a oooical exploratory hill, in s^ht of the carious circular camps, on the tops of Ciinch HiU and Ingram HUL Near it, at Deer-street, beside Glanton West* field, were found, in 1716, four Hstvamsj one empty, lh« other containing each on urn, filled with fine earth, charcoal^ and human bones, bearing marks of fire: also near them, two more urns of ordinary pottery. North of Glanton West-field a quarter of a mile, a ccH^ of the old mixed brass, well pre* l^ervt^d, ivas turned up, ar.d given to Mr. Wallis. By the side of the highnay, ovor Hedgloy Moor, is a square stone pillar, called Percv'r Crosjj, embossed with the arms of Percy and Lucy, and sot up in memory of Sir Rulpfi Percy, ^who was slain here by Lord Montaciile, in a severe skinnish, in 1 4f»'^ before the h:tttl^? of Hoxham. Hw dying words were, *' / have sav$d the bird in vt// brcfst ;" meaning his faith to his paity-
Tho ninnsioii at R odd am was built by the late Admiral Roddam, on the scite of the old family residence. John M«j^y ^^'^o flourished in the beginning of the sixteenth cen- iify, mentions* the following curious grant, as ranch admired Hr Robert, Duke of Alban} , for its brevity : —
**I King • Hist. Brit Ac. p 265.
NORTHUlOBlt&AVm. Sid
*< I Kimi Athdfltuie
Giffig heir to Paulanc
Odam and Rodam
A Is grid and ab fair
Als c?ir tlta myn ware
And yair to Witnen Maid my wyff."
The battle of Brunanhurch^ so much extolled by the hk- torians and poets of that age, is supposed by Camden to have been fought near Broomridge, a mile from Ford castle, wher6 are the lines of a large encampment ; and this grant may have been made by Athelstane, in consequence of services there performed. The Testa- de Nevill, mentions this manor at k member of the barony of the Earl of Dunbar ; but is silent respecting the family, though their names occur in the escheats for the year 1£64, as possessors of it. They were a warlike family.^ Leiand calls them ** men of fair landes in Northum- brelande, about Tylle river, ontyl one of them having to wife one of the Umfraville daughters, killed a man of name, and thereby lost the principle oi dccc markes by yere: so that at this time Rodam, or otherwise Rudham, of Northumbrelande, is but a man of mene lands."
Near Ilderton, the manor and seat of Sanderson Ilderton^ Esq., and of his ancestors, since the time of Edward the First, is Rosedon Edge^ on which is a large square entrenchment ; and in sight of it, three miles to the east, on Bewick Hilly is a semicircular camp, its chord on the west, guarded by an abrupt declivity, overlooking the plains of the Bramish, and its arc by a double foss and vallum ; the entrance on the south' is by a hollow way, hemmed on one side by large stones, set edgewise in the earth. At Haeriip'burn^ half a mile farther to the east, is a smaller semicircular camp, a kind of out-post to Bewick Hill. Near Three-stone Bum, north of Hedge-hope^ one of the highest of the Cheviot mountains, is a Druidioaf
P 4. Circle,
• See Lei. Colect. and Coll. Peerage, VI. 659.
216 W&f BUUSEilL AN P.
Circle^ thirty-eight yards in diamct^r^ and formed by ten large stones : and a few tnite$ south of this place is Linhope'^pcmlf a cataract of the Brami&h, that falls over fifty-six feet of poiot^ rocks.
LtLBt/itsiK 1 owERy *^ bosocned high in tufted trees/' is m grey old ruin, on the north side of a brook of its own name ; near it are remains of a chapel. It was the seat of John Ul- burne, in 1234, from whose stock sprang John Lilburne, a tur- bulent enthusiast, in the time of tlie civil wars* In latter times it belonged to the Clcnnels ; and from them was inlieritt;d by Henr>' Collingwood, Esq , whose mansion, a neat modem build- ing, stands OP Uie south side of the brook, opposite the old lower.*
Patrick, Earl of Dunbar, htld tite barony of Beakly or Bengi^eya, consbting of several manors and* villages, by the service of his being for them, InOcrg^ and Haitbofg^ between England and Scotland ; " tliat is,** says Camden, *' if I under- stand rightly, obliged to secure and protect the commuBica- tion to and fro, between the two kingdoms. For the Old Eng- lish call entrance and a porch, in their language, luDOpOU/'^
Chillin'oh AM, anciently called ChevcUngham, was held of the barony^ of William de Vescy, Uy Robert de Muscamp ; and afterwards belonged to the chief of the noble family of Greys, Barons of \\ark, from whom it was inherited by tlie Earl of Tunkerville, its present posscissor* The castle was re- built in Elizabtth's reign; it is a square heavy structure, of four stories in the wings, and three in the centre^ Here is a marble chimney-piece, in sawing which, was found a live toad ;
the
• By the »kff of the high «wtf, in thin ^ttmh, wa« a limp of stones, catl(^d til© Afren full if Sttme$^ aix4 a^cnbcit to tiri* ilvvil On irnioviiit; them to mmd ihc roud, tUey i«fef« foand to eovtr llw haw and framnciil» «tm rT»n* » the lirtM i-in ubi , iwiMvif feel in diaiueler^ uimI Iriviwg four rows of step^.
Hcht. Mtig. 1769, p, l^'J.
i i Mr. ^u ,„^,^ , u,,, of the Tttla ilc NeviU, at p. :;9i, Um SUingburg^ tor ] »'< hgfuttg.
I
NOJtTttUMBERLAKD. 21T
nidus in which he lay has been plastered up. The other partfwith the same mark, was at Horton csustie.* The hes^ picturea here are full lengUi portraits of Lords Bacon^ Bui^- leigh, and Buckingham^ the last twa gaudy, and portraits of Charles the First, and James the Second. The park is ex- texuive, and contains a Jarge herd of deer, and a numeroui breed of wild cattle^ called the White Scoituh Bhmi / " Uiese are of a middle size, have very long leg9, and the cows are fine homed ; tlic orbits of the eyes, and Uie tips of the noses » are black ; but the hulls have lost the manes attributed to them by Boethius,"f They are very shy, wild, swift, and savage. In severe winters they venture to visit the out-houseiii in search of food*
H OR TON Ca&tjlb Stands in a bleak and naked country. It
*vas held of the barony of William Vescy, by William Tuber-
vUle, by half a knight^s fee ; and afler that '^ for many ages
was the porsesslon of a branch of the family of Grey» of
OhIlJingham. Sir John Grey, of Horton, going into the war
' £j\ France, with King Henry tli^ Fifth, took by storm tlie castle
L^a|!»TankerviUe, in Normandy ; for which good aervice he was
«::!reatecl Earl of Tankervillc, and Knight of tlie Garter/* The
_^t:ivo families afterwards became united, and at present are re-
tT-^re^ented by Earl Grey, the owner of this castle,
Wooi^KR, or, as it is written in the Testa de Nevill, WiL- ^^^ovE, was a barany^ consisting of several manorii, and given to ■^^OBERT de MuscAMp, by Henry the First, to be held by the Eiymcnt of four knight's fees. His successor, Kobert« in the iuie of Henry the Third, was the most powerful baron in the i<Jrth, but his name expired in three daughters, co-heiresses, *ha married the Earl of Struthern, Odond de Ford, and Wid- er de Huntere<ambe. Aftcrwarda we find the families of Hcuell, Scrope, d'Arc}'s, and Percys, having possessions here, _^»^nd from the laet of these* the manor of Wooler passed to the
«
218
iroRTtfUMt&RLAKD*
GfejSf and from them is inherited by the Earl of T"^- Here was an hoifpiialy riedicated to St, Mary Magtia., on a round hill, near the town, is an old tmwr^ probably iha ohatteau fort of the Mustcamps. The town has a marbH on Thundays, and fairs tlie tenth of May, aiid seventeeocJi of October, It was burnt down about tiie year \ Vli^ and ♦* anMe fairer out of its aehes.*' At preaent, however, it it nearly all thatched ; and though it begins to flourish, baa but a coM ttOr cleanJy appearance. \t& church is said to have formerly beett a chapel to Fenton church, a ruin on the east «ide of the Till : it waa thatched till 1765, in wfiich year it was rebuilt^ H« also are Hve or hix dissenting meeting-houses.
In ihU neighbourhood are several remarkable cnirenchmtA and cairns : one at a place called Cattlewell, is naoii^d Maiden Cftsfle^ and a lar^^er. Trodden Gazes, At Humbled on bum* a nule north-east iVotii Woolcr, is Green CnMle^ a la'^gc round eamp, with a oairni on a hill, cut in lerrace§* And im Red- rigs, near the Toll-bar, is a IVkmstone PiHnr^ pointing out the •pot where Henry Lord Percy, aod George Etirl March, in !S02, defeated 10,000 Scola, under Earl Douglaa.
Yeveriko is, at thtB day, an lacomsiderable Tillage, on tht south side of the river Glen : concerning it, aaya St. Bede, " PaulinuB, coming with King Edwin, and hw Qiieen Ethel- btirga, to the royal villa, called Adgefrin^ abode ther« thirty- gix i\iiy% employed in catechising and baptizing ; in all whic time he did nothing, from morning to night, but instruct people, who flocked to him from all the tiilagefi aiid places, the doctrine of Christ, and baptize them in the neighbouring river Cilen. This villa was deserted by succeeding kings, and another made in its btead, at a place called Machmu^ On the south side of Yevering is a whinatone column, in memory of
tlie
• Ecc. Hist L. IL c. liv, Marlmin h .snjipo^cti to have be<*n at Mii> FIBY,D, anilUbuilr village, »itaated on ilic north Mcleof Mi feld Plaun^ where fjir Williatn Hiilnjcr dt-tVated a party of Scots by the Durhatn force», before tlie bftttte ofFlodden*
KOKTHUUBBHLAND. HO
Ae battle of ** Geteringey" fought here in 1414, between Ihe English, under Sir Robert Humfranville and the Lord Warden of the Marches, and a strong party of the Scotch, in which th* ktter were discomfited.*
Above this village rises Ybvekikg Bell, a green Misshaped mountain, two thousand perpendicular f^ fVom the plain. Its top is level, and girt with a wall of large whinstones, en- closing an area of above sixteen acres. The entrance is on tile south. In the east side of it, a paved way, three pacca broad, and thirty yards lone, lends to a low circular mount, girl with a slight wall, one hundred and eighty paces in circunr* ference, and with a ditch within ; its centre is crowned with k cairn of stones, ten paces high, the middle hollo^i', and six paces from brim to brim, and the stones beneath it calcined witii fire. The sides of this mountain arc scattered with cir- cular foundations of small buildings, such as arc seen by th^ margin of the higher parts of the Coquet, and through all the Cheviot district. South of the Bell half a mile, is a cairn cafleA Tim Talhn^s grave. On Newton Tor, a very high hiH, are en- trenchments and a cairn ; and on Haerhnoy near Mr. Selby's seiit^ at Paston, a camp, girt with a round double rampire and fbfSw
CoPBLAXD Ca«tle wfts rebuilt, in 1614, by George Wal- lace, Esq., to whose family it belonged, from Edward the Se- cond's reign, till it was sold in the last century, to the Ogles of Kirkley.f It stands on the north brink of the Glen. One John de Copeland was amongst the twelve English knights, chosen to meet the Scotch commissioners, to settle the certain border disputes, in 1249; and we suspect, that the celebrated Northumberland Esquire, John de Copeland, was of this famfly. He took David, King of Scots, prisoner, in the battle of Dur» ham, in 1347, for which he was created a knight haneret, and had 5001. a year settled upon himself and heirs.j:
Foiin • Hardin?, c. 2l5f. t Walli**, 11. 480.
t Pryimc'8 4th In!«t. p. 345. Lrj;»eA IVfarufi, p. ?.n Durn nnd Nicb. Hfot. •f Wectin. and Cuuuberl. VoU I. p. 36.
KORTHUMBERLAKO.
Ford was the seat and manor of Odonel de Ford, in \i and by him held, with other property of the Muscamp haron^i by one knight's service. His heiress married Sir WilUa Heroni wliose descendant, Sir WilJiam, huilt the casik^ in 13S1 and obtained a royal grant of a weekly market and an annua fair at this place, and also liberty of free warren in his manora,^ Their heiress married Thomas Carr, Esq. of Etal, in Queen Elizabeth^s reign, and bis heiress Sir Francis Blake, from wboi it wtnt to llie Delavals. In Leland's time it was ** meadl strong, but in decay." It was rebuilt by the late Lord Deli v&\ in 1761 ; and Is at present the seat and property of hit relict, Lady Del aval.
Robert dtj Maneriis held Ihthcd^ now called Etal, of Muscamp barony, in 1272, by half a knight's service- Th castle was built in 1340. James the Fourth, before the battli of Plodden Field, took, and ruined it. Sir Thomas Manner Lord Kos, of Eta], was created Earl of Rutland in 15S Lord Wharton made this place the residence of the Deput Warden of the Eaf^t Marches, in 1552. In Queen Ehzabeth'i reign it belonged to Sir Robert Carr ; and by marriage of th heiress of that family, in 1762, it went to the Earl af Errol] whose sister. Lady Augusta Hay, carried it to the Earl Glasgow, its present possessor. The mansion \& an clegan modern structure, 6ncly placed, at a short distance from th venerable remains of the old castle.
Pallinsburx is the seat of George Adam Askew, Esq The country about it is remarkably fertile, and thrown by ture into a thousand hilts, of low undulating forms, exquisitely beautiful. Several small vessels of coarse pottery, and a tria gular shape, were found on this estate.
In Brankston West-Held is a rough upright column of basalt six feet seven inches high ; a memorial of the great victory ob- tained over James the Fourth by the Earl of Surrey, on tlic ninth of September, 1513. This battle is sometimes called th^ baUk ^/'Branxton, from the main scene oi action lying near
thai-
MORTBUMBBRLAIIV* 281
Aat village; but commonly the battle ^Fi^odden^ becauie the Soots were encamped on Flodden Hill, and from thence draim out of their entrenchments to fight, by the Earl of Surrey secretly marching through the narrow defiles about Crookhamy and catting off their retreat. Among the slain was the Ardi- bish(^ of St Andrew's and two bishc^, four abbots, twdve, earls, seyenteen lords, innumerable knights and gentlemen, and from eight, or, as some say, twelve thousand common The English only lost about fifteen hundred : their suo-
I was attributed to their artillery and bowmen. King James Ul near Branzton, and was next dMj found by Lord Dacre. On the highest part of Flodden Hill is a natural rock, called tke Kk^i Chair^ whence he had a good view of the two ar- ■iies and the country. The standards and ordnance were nest day carried to EtaL James's corpse was embalmed at Berwick^ and brought to En|^d, and buried at Sheene, where, at the dissolution, it was tumbled into a lumber-room. . His swocd and dagger were given to the Herald's College, where they now are. Surrey deposited the Scotch standards in Durham Cathe- draL As Sir Camaby Haggeistmi's workmen were digging in Flodden Field, in 1810, they came to a pit filled with human bones, and which seemed of great extent ; but, alarmed at the sight, they immediately filled up the excavation, and proceeded no fiuther. A fine seal, supposed to be Roman, was found here, and was in the possession of the late Countess Cowper.*
The village of Werk stands on the margin of the Tweed, and chiefly consists of a miserable cluster of thatclied cottages, occupied by fishermen, most of whom, are freeholders. The Castle here, so celebrated in the border annab, is completely ruined, nothing remaining of it but fragments of ashlar work, near its foundations, and lines of its moat. It stood on a. round hill, apparently artificial. Below it is a beautiful terrace on the brink of the river, called the Maiden's Walk. The Kembf or outwork, is an intrenchment half a mile long, con- sisting * Hon. Bitt Bon. p. 75.
mtmg of a rampart of eorth aiul atonp, and « ditch ; it ftil midde and western extremity are small mounts, each ddV at die tdp with a trench ; also another on the river side : and near the first ruin* of SK Gfhs^i Chapel^ some curious grav*- dtonea. Bat lie Place is on the sauth side of th« iiia&tk, and opposite it Gnll0tiL*s Hill^ which is terraced, and a round hiU, calletl Gaiioios'/iiii'hiow, The harany of Werk was given lo the family of Ros, Baroni of Helragley, in Yorkshire^ by Henry the Firsts for the service of two knight's fees^^ and was in their possession till 1399; but in the next year was found to belong to Sir Thoma* Grey, of Hetion. It gave title of baron, in 1622, to Sir WiiHam Grey, who died in 1674, and wjw suc- ceeded by his ^OHj Ford Grey, who was created Viscount Glen- dale and Earl of Tankerville in 1695, which titks expired with him in 1701, and the barony with hig brother Ralph, in 1706; but the earldom was again revived in his niece's huj»band» Charles Be^nel, Earl of Ossulton, whose great grandson, Charles, the present Earl of Tankerville, succeeded to his titl# in 1767.
Though Leland asserts, that ** Henry the Second caused tho castell ot Werk to be made/' Richard of Hexham fells m, that Carrunif wluch tlie English call Werk, was taken by the Scots in 1 3S6 ; but that two yean* alter, they invested it with a numerous array, and, **^ cum baluHt el machinu mttkis §** but, after three weeks assault* were forced la raise the sieg^, SdOA after they made a similar attempt with no better success; but afterwards returned to the attack, and compelled the fa- mished garrison to capitulate. Henry the Second repaired it ? but John, ever inconsistent, burnt it down, Henry the Third and his queen resided hcTe in August and September, 1^5 5 f and were met by the King of Scotland and Queen Margaret, fStkBiT daughter, f Edward the First strengthened llie garrison
with
* Tcita de Nevil^ 59^. The MugttA Hrttaxmia c6iifoiiud4 Oiii phite Willi Wark, on the Nortli Tync.
♦ Ryni. Ford, L 561.
NOBTHUlfBBRLA]^ SV
with 1000 nitB» oq the defectioD of Robert de Boi^ and had bis court here at Easter, 1295.* *' The Scottes, in 1318, caoM: into Bo^and, and destroyed the castells of Wark and Har^. bottler" In 1S41, the garrison sallied out upon the reav ef David Brace's army, as they returned from ravaging Dttrhaa^ and took 160 horses laden with q>oil ; a drcumstance wUeh bwi^t on a desperate siege, in which the celebrated Coimtese of Salisbury greatly distinguished herself: Froisart has !»• lated this a£Eur with his usual minuteness a^ gaUantry. In 1884 tba castle was burnt down, but soon after rebialt i and ift 1419 fotaken by the Scots, and its garrison butchered i a deed iriiich the English revenged, by creeping up a sewer from tb9 Tireed w$a the kitchen, and sheddmg blood for blood. In 14^ it again fell into the hands of the Scotch, who demia- lished il» After being repaired by the Earl of Surrey, it was gaUaady defcnded, in l52Si against 4000 Scotch and Frenoh» wfaoottde breaehes in the waHs with cannon. The historiasp Rwdianani who was present at this siege, describes it thuit *^ In the innermost area was a toirer of great strength and he%ht ; this was encircled by two walls^ the ooter indttdidg n large space^ into which the inhabitants of the county used to fly with their cattle, com, and flocks in time of war i the inner of much smaller extent, but fortified more strongly with walls and towers.'' " As a good pece of its wall was fallen down in 1543, one Archan, an Italyan, was employed to repair it."f The work was commenced on the twelfth of February, and finished on the tenth of November, in the same year» and cost 1864L 16fc 7d.j:
At Bngham^ near Wark, was heUl the great oonvention Sdt settleaMnt of the tendis for the Holy War, demanded by Henrjr fibe Second, in 1 188% Hugb^ Bkhop d Dorbam, appeared #■ Henry's part» and was met by WiUiam the Second of Scotland^
with • Prymn^ 4tb Inst. 3S7. t Lodgt's lUuit of Brit Hiit. I. 50. t BocDean MS. 68S6. 18.
KORTHOMHItltLAin?.
With \m bishops and barons, who rejected the demand witli the utmost contertipt,
LKAHMoLrru was Cormerly a considerable ▼illage, as appears by the foundations of Frnnll cottages, and a negJected burial ground. It had a market, but at present consists onlj of one farm-houfJc, In a marl-pit near it, fourteen feet deep, we found large stag's boms, and an oak paddle, such as the Soull tea iRiunderR use.
At rAHiiAM was formerly an abbey of btack-cunons, subo dinate to Kirkluim, in Yorkshire. William Wallace, whose en* canipment gave name to the (ie)d adjoining it» burnt it down 1995, It SI nil hot, according to the Lincoln Taxation, was lowed thirteen pounds a year. The church stands sweetl among fine trees, on the edge of the Tweed : hnt the village i Miall luid dirty* The English, under Sir John Ltlburne, we •everdy defeated here in 1S70. There was " a little tower < defence here against the Scots,'* in Leland's time. CAnttAl }lAl»t, the seat of Anthony Compton, Esq. is a handsome mi j|im structure, about whicli great improvements have bee
de by planting. His estate here was purchased by Iii grandfather of the Forstcrs, There is a ruined chapel, with neglected burial ground , at Mindrum,
NORHAMSHIRE
11 the name of a district, having the sarae bounds as the parii of Norham, which, in 1801, contained 3584 inhabitant NoniiAM was anciently called XJblmnfbrd. King Bgfrid buil a church at it, and honoured it with the remains of Leolwulf, whom St. Bede dedicated his Church Histor}' : he was the fir of our kings who retired from a crown to a monastery. After" the second descent of the Danes upon Lindisfarne, St, Cuthbcrt*s body rested here till the time of King Ethelred.
The
irORTHUMBERLAMK' StS5
The churdi had three chantries in it: only the middle aisle of it is standing. In some old foundations at its east end, a stone, with curious inscriptions, and the effigies of Su Peter, St Cuth- beit, and King Ceolwulf, its patrons, was discovered. The auile stands on a high rock, on the brink of the Tweed. It was built by Bishop Frambard, in 1 121 ; but the Scots, under Xing Daridy in 11 38, took and destroyed it Hugh Pudsqr soon after rebuilt it, particularly the great tomtTf which is still standing : the crown took it from the see of Durham durii^ part of his prelacy. Kings John and William, had four con£b* fences here : one of them respecting a castle at Tweedmoutb, which John had twice attempted to build, but which the Lion as often destroyed. Alexander the Second, after investing it f<Hty days with a mighty army, in 1216, was obliged to raise the siege. Edward the First resided here, and held a confe- rence with the nobility and clergy of Scotland ; and afterwards called a parliament, in 1291, on Uplington Green, on the op- posite side of the Tweed, to settle his claim to Scotland, pn the death of Margaret of Norway: after this, John Baliol swore fealty to him in this castle. It was twice besi^ed by the Scots in Edward the Second's reign, and at length taken ; but recovered in 1322. In the night of Edward the Third's coronation it was unsuccessfully assaulted, but forced by storm in the next year. Bishop Fox put it into good repair ; but it suffered much in the siege immediately before the battle of Flodden Field. In Henry the Eiglith's reign it was again taken ; but recovered by Franklin, Archdeacon of Durham.
Bishop Tunstal repaired it in the reign of Queen Mary. Cam- den had his information respecting it from Dr. George Charl- ton,* who was bom here whilst his father was keeper of the
Vol. XII. Q castle.
* He was educated by Bernard Gilpin, whose life he wrote ; admitted of 8t Edmund's Hall, Oxford, in 1576 ; one of the four English divines sent to the council of Dort ; Bishop of Landaff, in 1618 ; and Bishop of Cfiichester, in 1619, where he died in 16«8. He wrote abo, A lliaakfol Remembrance of God*s Merry, and A Confotation of Judical Astrology.
I
I
iATflUMBERLilKD.
C7i5tlc. *' U Ts fortified/* says f
outer iTJill, which is of great compass, were many little towen*
in the angle next the river ; within is anotiier circular wall,
much stronger, in the centre whereof rises si loftier tower:
hut the cMaMishetl peace of our age long suffered tills castle^
though on the border, to run to decay.'* " U is,'* says Sir
Ualph Sadler, ** the most convenient place of service for the
warden of ihcstc march to lye at, having thereunto annexct all
that tltc hdllf revennewes pcrtcyninge, and belonging to the
HJde castell, witliein Elande Shire and Norhume Shire, as tliey
Ctiuie to the hande$ of the late Bishoppe of Duresme with the
yerely fee of one poundc by the yere.*' After Bi&liop Barnes
Alienated it from his see. Queen Elizabeth granted it, with all
the tythes atul demesne*, to the Earl of Monmouth, who sold
ihcm for 600(fl* and the furniture of the castle for SOOh to
Cicorgt* Hume, Earl ot' Dunbar. The Fenwicks of Lcmhtgtont
N MNAt nciir WhitUngham, sold the castle to Mr* Alder, who
d^midished the outworks, and then demised it to Sir Fnmeis
BKike, BarL The manor belongs to Sir Camaby Hagger-
stone.
TwixKLL Castlb, a seat of Sir Francis Blake, Is best Y tewed from the bridge* It has been near forty years in build- hig, and has no floors laid yct« Though at present it is five storiet high, it b intended to be iifleen feet higher, and to be hnishid with fif\ecn-feet turrets at the corners. The Till runs in tVont of it, under a bold rock, which is finely fringed with wood, and adds much to the interest of tlie castle. This place held in soccage tenure of the Mitford baroas by Alida de frrley, in 1 272; in 1329, it belonged to Sir William Riddell ; mid WHS afterwards for several descents in the Selby family, a lady of i^hich, in tlic sixteenth century, built the bridge here, grhich is nearly senii-clrcular, ninety feel ainl a half in span, and rty*six feet high from the battlement : below it is a fine pe- trifying fountain; and farther down, the ruins of TUmauth CkapcU where wns till lately ^* a stone boat of as fine a shape
na
KORTItUMBEBLAND. f^7
afi a boat of wood, St, Cuthbert is reported to have sailed in it down the Tweed, from Melross to tliis chapel. It is ten feet long within, three feet and a half in diameter, eighteen inches tleep, and four Inches and a half thick.*** " Tlie vicnr of Tillemouth,** says Leland, ** did write an hhtorle, thus inti- tuled, Hixtoria Arirea^ wherein is much to be seene of Kinge 'William Con<jueror's cuming yn to England*" Tillmouth XIousE is also a seat of Sir Francis Blake. It contains an ex- :r4*llcnt collection of pictures. It belonged to Jurdan Riddel I in 12T2; and afterwards to the Claverings, far many genera- •^ions. Near Tillmouth Cross is a square canip, called Haltf ^^kcsiers*
Hetok, in Edward the First's reign, belonged to Willijm t3e Eton ; and, in the next reign, to Sk Thomas Grey, captain ^^z^f NcMrham Castle. Sir .Tolin Grey^ of Eyioo, In 1420, was ^^aced with the order of St. George, or the Garter ;f and ^•^ rora him the estate descended to the present Earl of Tai»ker» "^fc^ille. The c/tstle was a strong and beautiful structure, nearly ^'*=^<|uarc. At the south-west corner was the Lion*i court and io\^*er; and on the north side^ a vault, in which l(K) horse Flight stand. The great Scotch army, in 151 S, besieged it in • ain. It Is now quite in ruins. 'Cpr\*itill is a small village, with a good inn, and an old of the Collingwoods, of Lilburne. In 1549, the Scots "^fcook a strong old house, called the Castle of Cornhilh On the "^^jrink of the Tweed, a quarter of a mile from the bridge, are "^iraccs of a fort, trenched round, and called Cadle Stone^XicL ^•ji 1751, in pulling down the chapel, was found a stone ^'ofEn, aut eight feet long, in which were two urns, of coarse pot* jr, and the sfmnk-bones and scull of a person of great siise. To a wood, a little south of Cornhiil, is a fine mineral spring, Ibrmerty much resorted to; and in tlie Belds beyond it, on each «de of the Kelso road, are a series of works, consisting of ter- races^ conical hills, and basins o£ water, which are altogether
Q 2 so
• Walli*, IL 450. t Heylm> Hist, of St. Geo. p. 3<55,
~"^». uigh
in NORTHUMBERLAND.
80 destitute of every thing like military strength, and so finely executed, as to make us believe they have been of an agricul- tural nature ; perhap6 the gardens of some peaceful monarch, in an obscure period of the historjr of our country. Their east end extends to the medicinal spring, which was probably once connect- 6d with them. Josephus intimates, that much of the husbandry of the Jews was of this nature. The terraces near Branxton, mentioned by Pennant, are perhaps of a similar kind.
ISLANDSfflRE.
Opposite to the mouth of the brook Lindis, lies Lindis- #ARNE, called by the Britains, Inis Medieante^ and by the English, Hofy Island^ from being the residence, of several of the fathers of the Saxon chwch. Fahretty in Celtic, means a recess. King Oswald, in 635, made it a bishop's see ; and Aiden, a Scotchman, its first prelate. The church was en- larged in 652; but, " more Scottonim," only made of timber, And thatched. Eadberct, who was bishop about ten years, and died in 698, took off the thatch, and covered all the roof and walls with sheets of lead. In 793, the Danes made their first descent here ; and their second, in 875, in the episcopacy of Eardulf, the seventeenth, and last of its bishops. Dreading tlic visits of these pagan barbarians, Eardulf, with Eadred, the ilbbot of the monastery, and the inhabitants of the island, took up the body of St. Cuthbert, and the most valuable of their relics and sacred utensils, and lefl it to the fury of the in- vaders. After wandering about from one hiding-place to an- other, for the space of seven years, they at last settled at Chester-le-Street, where eight bishops presided, before the final removal of the see to Durham.
** 67. Cuthbert y who from a poor shepherd became monk of Melros fifteen years, was prior here twelve more, when he re- tired to the Fame Island ; from whence he was caUed to this
see.
KOftTHUMBERLAXD. 22^
cee, which he only hdd two year^^ and returned to Km retire zneiit ; where he died, and was buried at tile east end oF his <iratoryi where hia stone coffin is still shewn. Hi& body wa3 ^oirnd fresh eleven years after his death.*** Sl Bede wrote liis life, both in prose and verse. Ui& Icgejui is long, and un- c'Ofnmonly rich in the raarvellous : a very curious manuscript -copy ot* it IB in the possession of John Thompson, Eijq* o^ UorthumberUnd Street, Newcastle.
** The montuitefy here, occasionally mentioned, of Aidau*^
foundation^ w;i3 under the government of the bishops. The
abbot and moaka were the cathedral clergy. The cathedral*
and the neiglibouring village of Fenham and church of Nor-
haiDv with other possessions, were given by William de Cari-
iephot to the monastery of Durham i to which the cell of Bo*
nedictine monks, at this place, was then made subordinate;
itg annual revenues, in 1534, are valued by Dugdnle at
481, 18s. Ikh and by Speed at GOh 5«. In 154-1, they were
g^ranted to the Dean and Chapter of DuHiam^ in whose posses^
•ioD they now are.**
The church of the monastery is in ruins. Its north and south
rail is standing, though much out of perpendicular ; great part
^>f the west remains, but the east is fallen. All the arches are
^^Ircular, except two iu the chancel, and one in the north aisle ;
ft^ut these, as well as a pointed arch over the north aisle, built
^:%iiderneath with a semi -circular arch, seem to be more modern
the rest. All the roof, both of the church and chancel,
been arched* The columns of tlie nave are of four sorti,
twelve feet high, and five feet in diameter, massy, and richer
%.haEi those of Durham ; the bases and capitals plain. Over each
^^reh are large windows, in pairs, separated by a sh<tt't column ;
^md over these are smaller arches. One of the diagonal ribs of
Ihe arch, that supported the tower, is still standing, richly
wrought with 8axon zigzag ; as is also the we;«tern door, and
aeveral other arches. The length of tiie body is 138 feet, its
breadth # Goai^h*^ Camd. III. 7 Id.
i
ithfl
^^^^ >RT»UMB£RLAXO.
breadth eiglileeu feet^ and, with the two aisles^ thii1y<&ix hut it may be doubted whether there ever \vas a transept, stones appear red \^'ith tirei and, on the south side of the chan- cel, are eaten by the weather into the scmbhince of honey^ comb. Mr. Selby, to whom it belongs, has lately repaired ihll weakest parts of the walls. On the south side of it, are the ains of the priory and offices ; tlic inside of their walls, built of whinstone, obtained from tlie rock, which forms a high na- tural pier on the south side of the island. West of it is the pamh churchy a phdn, but spacious Gothic ediHce ; ita archeg^ on one side, semi-circular ; on the other pointed ; the windows long and narrow ; and the chancel walls of polished frt:estonei whitewashed. East of the ruins is the pedestid of St, Cuth4 bert'« Cross, anciently held in high veneration ; and ut present called the Pdting^ione; marriages are thought un fortunate, whe a new-made bride, on attempting, cannot step the length of it.^ The entrocJn found here, are called St. Cuthbert*s bciids ; and said to be made by him in the night.
The iiiland is two miles from the main land, and, as in Bedel time, accessible to all kinds of conveyance at low water, thougl the sands are diutgerous to persons not acquainted with then It is nine miles round, and contains 1,020 acres, nearly half which is sand banks : on the north-east a spit oi luud runs out a mile long, and in places not more than sixty yards broad, where the tide may be seen ebbing on the east and flowing oii||^^ the west : in Camden's time, tins part, ns it is now, was left t0^^ rabbits* The soil is rich ; but, before the inclosure of the common, in 1792, only forty acres of it was in tillage, and that subject to inturcommonage as soon as the crops weri^M reaped* The rental of the whole island was, in 1790, 320},^^" in 1797, 9'2Gl. Between the town and the castle there is a small harbour. The toxm is on the west side, and, tu 179 contained 379 persons, most of whom are employed in fishing It has Ibrmcrly been much larger, as tlie names and ruins H'vcrnl streets testify. The casltc is mentioned by Camdet
NOaTIIUMBERLANXK S3l
It Stands upon a lofly whinstonc rock, on the south-east corner. In l^^^, his majesty expressed his pleasure " with the repayr- ing of the blocke house in the Holy Island." * William Heede was captain of this and the Fame Island, in 1 559 ; the monthly expeuce of the garrisons of which, at that time, was 28L 48. 8d,;t^ Parliament garrisoned it as a '' place of consequence to the northern parts," in 1646; and, in 1715, onelltocelot Erring- ton, in a romantic manner, seized it for the Pretender. A garrison, from Berwick, is kept in it at present.
The parish of Holy Island is also called Islandshire ; it contains the chapclries of Kyloe, Lowick, Ancoofl, and Tweed- mouth ; and, in all civil matters, is included in the county of Durham. ** At Kiley, primis annis Hehrici viii. not far from Norham, in the lordship of the Bishop of Durham, was found, betwixt two stones, bokels of an arming girdle, typpe and barres of the same, of pure gold ; a pornel, and crosse, for a sword of gold ; bokels and typps of gold, for spurs. D. Ru- thall had some of them." ^
Haggerston, is the 6eat of Sir Carnaby Haggerston, B^rt. and of his ancestors, since the time of Edward the First.^ Tliomas, who was a colonel in the Northumberland regiment, in the civil wars, was created a baronet in 1643. The mansion house stands in a thick grove : the oldest part is a foiver^ to which two additions have been made, and in which Edward the Second received the homage of Thomas, Earl of I^ancaster, for the earldom of Lincoln, in 1311. Hard by are ruins of an old Chapel.
TwEEDMouTH is a considerable village, on the north side of the Tweed, opposite to Berwick. It has a chapel belonging to the establishment, and a Presbyterian meeting-house. All traces of the castle King John attempted to build here, are obli- terated, • Lodge's niiMt. of Brit. Hist. V. I. p. 50.
t Sadler's St. Papers, Vol. I. p. C. t Lei. VII. 71. ^ Test, dc Nev. p. r,3.
temtttd* In 1275, icvcrnJ tnonltf, <l(*)mtatinn f^f thv Scotch nobility here, rroachtricnti curnplained of by tlie Btsiiofi af lioffpitAJ, which Mood herc% gave name to cirtiichcd from IVecrfinouth, hut in the mm popiihition of whichp in 1801, amotinted m Keur rhc Spltt«il I* a fine niinenil Bpriug, otAe
BERWICK UPON TWFED.
Hector Rocthhix rcbtcn iin improbabk talc
King of Soothindt being tJikcn pnaoner here by Uk I
makcH thix the himhng plncc of the Danes, tmikr Iin
S6T>* King Edgar gave it, with Coldingbom, to liie ctardbl
of Durham ; but Hishop I'lambard forfeited it : sa ttym
lingjihcad ; but it>i nanu* doe» not occur in Edg«r^
In Alexander'a rcfgn it had a church, and was one of ^tmjmr
b^rotighx for holdin/? courts of trade, in David's time. Witli
the ftcljacent country, it was laid in rushes, in ] 173; aiH)^ in the
fblltming year» Earl Duncau rekindled it^ embers, aod btftdt-
ercd itif inhalHtairl5* Ilrnry the Second received its caslic
9§ part of the ph^lgr for the ranflom of King Witliaoi, and
Itrengthcned it» rortif)cation8 ; |: but Richard the First restored
it. King John, and hia Hutar^i ravaged it horribl}-, with fire
and Rword* Edward the First, in 1201, held a convention of
the states of England and Scotland here, respecting the claim
to the Scott tjih crown ; and, in the following year, in the great
hall of the cattle, decided in lialiors favour ; but that prince
breaking hU Oath, Berwick became an object of Edward's \*cn*
gcmicc, and waa most unmercifully sacked. In 1296, the
EogUsb • Lib. 10. f Smidi*8 Iktle, p. 760.
J Bromton, |089, 1167. In Ymag;. Hint. .S8i. Diccto, oBU M. Pam $ny^ Bearjr obtniocd it in pn-jittuvm iHH3id(ndtt,
VORTHUMBBELAVD. 2S^
JBoglifth king, says Knigbtooy fortified it with a wall and a foup and in the same year received the homage of the scotch noU- iity here, on the twenty-fourth of August, before an English parliament. The town, in 1297, was taken by Sir William Wallace, through neglect of Cressingham, its governor ; but the castle held out, and after a long assault, was relieved by a large army of horse : Wallace about eight years after this was betrayed, and half of his body exposed upon Berwick-bridge. The Countess of Buchan, for crowning Robert Bruce at Sc<me^ was shut up here in a wooden cage, in the shape of a cn>wo« and ordered to be attended by two English women : she lived in it six years, and was then released. Edward the Second and his queen wintered at Berwick* in 1310 ; and two years after, Robert Bruce made an unfortunate attempt to obtain it by a scalade in the night. The English King assembled his army here before the battle of Bannockburn ; and, three days after it, issued a proclamation from hence respecting his privy seal, which had been lost in that sanguinary conflict. Peter Spalding betrayed this place into the hands of Robert Bruce in 1318 : many attempts were made to recover it, which was not effected till the day after the battle of Halledon-Hill in 1333. Edward the Third was here in 1335 ; with a great army, in 1340 ; and the year after, at Easter, held a tournament ; but, in his absence in France, in November 1353, the Scots surprized and took the town : the castle, under the renowned Sir John Copelandi held out till Edward, on the 14th of February following, arrived Vol. Xir. Q* " with
* Berwick, or Befipic, in Doomsday-bookj and in the old language of oar country, has nearly the same signification, as grange, granary, and barn, meaning a place for laying up the produce of a farm during winter. Bere, te this day is a provincial name of barley, the liquor of which is called bear, Ingulphus says, that Berwick is equivalent to manor. Some derive it from the Celtic word aber, water ; others fVom Bniicta, as if it had been a principal town of that kingdom ; and others from bare, as descriptive of the nakedness •fits sitvatioB. Wic is the same as Ffcus, dwelling, town, or village.
^94 irOBTHIIMB»X.4V O.
wUb A great armyy and forced Ihe Scotcb to capitulate. Sereii ^cotcbmeOf id 1S77» ioipri»ed the cattle, and bdd it eight days agaioat 7000 archers and 3000 cavalry. The depotj^ g^temor, under the £arl of Northumberlandy betrayed it into the eoeiny't baudt io 1384 ; but the eail by meoacea and bribery #000 after recovered it: thb high spirited lord, however* through tlie solicitation of his uncle the Earl of Worcester, en- g^g^ig in the rebellioo against Henry the Fourth, in 1406, em- ployed this, amongst other fortresses, against thr king ; but a eaooon-shoty^ the first that was ever fired in England, so alarmed the garrison, that it iounediateiy surrendered. An unsuccessful attempt was made to reduce it in 142^ ; but, after the battle of Towion, in 14599 it was agsin in the hands of the Soots, who strengthened its walls at great expenoa, and held it till 1489, when it again came into possession of the English, in whose hands it has ever since continued. ** From that time," says Camden, " the kings c^ England hava continualiy added works to it, particularly queen Eliaabeth, who lately, to the terror of the enemy, and security of the townspeople, con- tracted the circuit of the walls, drawing vriihin the old ones a very high wall, well built of strong stone, surround- ed by a deep ditch, a regular rampart, redoubt, counter- scarps, and covered ways, so that the form and strength of the Cortifications are sufficient to discourage all hopes of carrying it by assault, not to mention the bravery of the garrison, and the stores in the place which exceed belief." In 1559 the garrison consisted of only 2000 men, which, according to Lord Trea- surer Cecil's opinion, should be increased to 3 or 4(KX) more ;
" and,
* Waltuogluun and SjJieed relate that his altQH wm of a large tiae« and de- molished great part oi a tower. lu the ipring of IBU, a ball of cast iron, weighing ninety'tis pounds, was found in a partof tberuinjof thecasl]e« whkh aoawert well lo WaUingham's account. It had penetr«ted the caaile wall about three yards, at a place where it was flanked with a tower, wliach of courte must have been first penetrated^ and of whick tktm are nfficieiit reouuaf to ascertain this fact.
** and, if it should come to a siegei 10,000 w ill scantly sulHce/* Accordingly we find orders for sending 2000 additional men limber in November 1559; and, a month after, for 2000 mote*. From the year 176'l to 1770 the walU were almost tntirely rebuilt io many partft, particularly the quay* walls and gates, together with the saluting battery : tbey were completely finished in l7S5,t A modern writer an ibe fortifications says: '* Berwick was regakrly fortified in the old Spanisb and Italian style, in the reign of Queen Mary, and has five demi-rivetted bastbns with double retired fiauks, casemates, and cavaliers; but the ditch is very shallow, and has never been ri vetted, or the counterfort is now niioed and obliterated. Tlie ruins of the ancient Scots fonilications are still observable. But in the present art of war, no fortifications around this place could ever be important^ as it is every where closely surrounded by commanding eniLuences; and hollow ways reach almost up to tbe walls forming nature! approaches." {
The Governor of Berwick hcis an annual salary of $S6}, 7ffp Id. M is house makes the north eatst hide of an imperfect square called the Palace, The barrackii measure 2l7 by 121 feci in the inside ; and contain 24 rooms for otHcerSi and 72 rooms adapted to bold 567 privates.
The CituRcu of this town is a peculiar of the dean and cihapter of Durham. Jt stands on the north side of a fine area called the parade* Joan, sister of Edward 111. was married lere, in 1328, to David, son of King Robert Bruce. In iGhl^ Ibe corporation procured a brief to collect money for rebuilding it ; the work was cornmeuced in l642 and was finished in l662, under the direction of Colonel George Fenwick of Urinkburne. It cost 1400L According to the fashion of the times, in which It ^as buiU| it has no steeple, U is ninely feet eight inches long, and
♦Q 2 fifty-
« Ssd.SL PftpJ. 589« 601, 658. f FuUer*» Bcr«vick« p. 555. I £diub. Eucjclop.
236
VORTHUMBBELAND*
fifly*two feet six incbes broad, and consists of three aisles, und several gallenes, all handaomely pewed : the external architec- ture, though beloDgiog to no definite order, is extremely pleasing and approaches nearly to elegance. The Mercer's Company in London, founded a lectureship here, ai at Hexham. ^H
The Rdigioiu Houses here never made any remarkable figur€^^ David the First, king of Scotland, founded in Berwick, a coQ« vent for CUtcriian Num ; and Robert the Third, in 1391^ granted its revenues to Dry burgh Abbey. The convent Carmeiitcs originated in the munificence of Sir John Grey, ii 1270 ; they officiated tn the King's Chapel in the castle. The Scotch king, in 1230, brought hither a convent of Dominkam^^^ which Edward the Tliird removed. The Trinitaria/is are said^^ by Lei and, to have been dissolved by Bishop Beck ; but men- tion occurs of their house, in 1327» as founded '* pro miuistro et fratribus sauctae Trtnitatispo/f^fs Berwici/' The Frnncisatns also had a house, here, to which Edward the Third, ia 1338, confirmed a grant of twenty marks a year; and* be- tween the sea and the town, In Maudlin- (ield, stood the hospital and free chapel of Si, Mary Magdalen^ menliontsd in the escheats for Northumberland, in 1:^66: it had a hospital or hermitage belonging to it, at a place calif d Srgeden,
Queen Ellzabedi founded a Free-Schooi here, and placed under the patronage of the Guild, A charity-school was built in 1725, in which twenty boys and six girls aru cloathed &<^4^H educated. The Corporation also lately erected a spaciooi^H building, consisting of offices and five schoolrooms : one for mathematics, another for writing, and the rest for reading*
The Bridge of Berwick was swept away by a flood in 1 199,* concerning which Leland says, *' it brake with great force of water, bycause the arches were to low ; and after the makio^^H of iU as it was then, it durid scars IX yeres.'* It was re-edifierf of wood, of which material it consisted till the time of James
Oie
* UovedoD, p. 796,
KORTHUMBERLAVD. t5f
^be First, who commenced the present elegant stractare of Atone. It has fifteen arches ; its whole length being 388 yai^ and its breadth seventeen feet. It was twenty-four years, four Toon^tSf imd four days in building, and finished on the twen^« fonrtli of October, l6d4. It was built by Mr. James Barren and -Lancelot Branxton, and cost government the sum of 14^9^1- Is* £d« The 10,0001. paid to the crown for coofima* ikm of the will of Thomas Sutton, founder of the Charter* Houae, was also applied towards rebuilding this edifice.
The T<mm Hall was bailt by Joseph Dodd, architect, in 175I< On its ground fioor, on the east side, is a piassa, called Umi £achange ; and opposite it, are cells for criminals, and shops. Tfao second door consists of two spacious halls and other apartroeots. The outer hall measures sixty feet by thirty-one, and is used for holding courts and guilds. The inner hall is 47 feet long aadl 33 feet broad, and occasionally occupied at assemblies aadl public entertainments. The upper story is the common gaol of the town. The roof is covered with slate and lead, and the whole edifice elegantly finished by a turret 150 leet high, aad coBtainiog eight musical bells.
CoKPOEATioN. — Berwick appears to have been one of thm original four Scotch burghs. Its first charter was granted bf Edward the First, who required its Mayor to be sworn before his Chancellor, Treasurer, and Barons of the Exchequer of Scotland.* The seal of the corporation is a bear standing upoa a tree, with this inscription : Sigillum dmi Henrici dei gra. reg. Angliae et Francis & dmi Hibernise de terra sua ultra tuedmT The corporation were first summoned to send mem- bers to parliament in the latter end of the reign of Edward the Fourth, from which time, to the first of Edward the Sixth* the returns are all lost, except an imperfect bundle of the thirty- third of Henry the Eighth. The last charter of this town was
granted
* Burrow's Reports.
f3t
irORXnUMBERLAir]
graoted b^ James the Flni and saucttoned by parliament in tbe Uni year of hh reign. The present corporation cooaista oC m mmyOTf recorder, town clerk » and four bai tiffs ; and also of a corptver, four Serjeants al mace, and a water-bailiff. The mayor ia also escheator in tbe borough* clerk of tbe market, and a juttice of the peact ; the other justfces of tbe town being tbe recorder, and lucli resident burgesses as have sustained tiie afRceof mayor. They are lords of the manor of Tweed mouth, where they hold a courl-leel and court^baron Iwice a year# Their revenues, which arise from duties laken at the quay and gates, from ballast quay daes, and other sources, seldom exceed 70001. a-year. ^M
Tbe population of this town, in 1801* amounted to 7187^™ Its charter secures the right of weekly markets on Wednesdays and Saturdays, the latter of which is well supplied. Its fair it on the Friday in Trinity week« ^^
Exclusive of the trade in S tlmon, great quantities of coi^H and eggs are exported here for London. The foreign commerce^ even in the best of times, was never ex tensive, not more than 4J45 tons of skipping, having annually delivered cargoes here 0f» an average of lour years, ending in 17^4. In 1800 tbe port bikd belonging to it ^1 vessels, equal to 5,399 ^o^s. Tbe bar* Ibotir, if I several places, abounds with low, dangerous rocks ; at its month, a nobte pier is at present const ructtng on the site of an old one, built by Queen Elisiabetb, but lung since de- stroyed.
The most remarkable objects of antiquity Ibis town at pre* sent affords, are the exlemive ruins of the Caff/f, once a place of high importance, but now almost levelled with tbe ground ; and, about 400 yards north of it, a pentagonal lower, called tbe B€U Tower f having its name from containing a bell, which was rung at the approach of an enemy. ^m
In digging a cellar on Hidebill, in 1770, the clay was fouo^H idtinrntely mixed with quicksilver: a piece of it tbesiseof an egg, produced a iea-spoonftal. Tbe place where it was found is
t> muc
KORTttUMBEALASO.
tS9
mtKh huih upon, a ciroumstaoce which hus prevented far tlier
It may not be ambs to subjoin here the account formerly given o( the bordrrers, who live round about this pluce, liy ^fieas Sylvius, afterwards Pope Pius IL who lived in Scotland a private Jegnle about 1 1^-18, in his life, written by htmsttif, aod published under another's nanie,^ as they are nat at nU aitcfeds * There u a river/ (llic Tweed) ' which, spreading ilsejf ftgm a Kigti mountain, parts the twa kingdoms, y€i»eiis haviag crofftcd this in a boat, and arriving about sun-s6t at a large village, went to the bouse of a peasant, and there supped with the priest of the place, and his ho%u The table was pleutifuMjr spread with large quantities of pulse, poultry, and geese* but neither wine nor bread was to be found there, and all the peo* pie of the town, both men and women, flocked about him as to some new sight, andi as we gaze at negroes or Indians, so did they stare at iEneas, asking the priest wberw he came from* what he came about, and whether be was a Cbrisiian. iEneas* undefBtandiog the difficulties be must expect on this journey^ had taken care to provide himself at a certain monastery with tome loaves, and a measure of red wine, at sight of whicli they were seised with greater astonishment, having never seea wine or \vhite bread. Women with child came up to the table with their husbands, and, after band ling the bread and smelling at tlte wine, begged some of each, so that it was impossible to void distributing the whole among them. The supper lasting 111 the second hour of the night, the priest and host, with alt the men and children, mado the ben of their way off, and left ^neas. They said they were going to a tower a great way off for fear of the Scoti, who, when the tide was out, would come over the river and plunder ; nor could ihey^ with all his en- treaties, by any means be prevailed on to take ^^neas with themj nor any of the women, though many of them were young
and
* Coatoientftriei of Piui IL published uujer the n%m^ uf J«ha Gebdihi
240 NORTHUMBERLAND.
and bandsome ; for they think them in no danger from an enemy, not considering violence offered to women as any barm, ^neas^ therefore, remained alone with them with two servants, and a guide, and 100 women, wbomade a circle round the fire, and sat the rest of the nigbt without sleeping, dressing hemp and chatting with the interpreter. Nigbt was now far advanced > fiben a great noise was beard by the barking of dogs, and scream- iogof the geiese, all the women made the best of their way off, the guide getting away with the rest, and there was as much confusion, as if the enemy was at hand, ^neas thought it sore prudent to wait the event in bis bed*room (which hap* fcned to be a stable> apprehending if be went out be might Bustake bis way, and be robbed by the first he met. And soon liltec the women came back with the interpreter, and reported tbere was no danger ; for it was a party of friends and not of tnemies that were come.*''
* Camdeiu
LVD OF NORTHUMBSaLAlTB.
NOTTINGHAMSraRE.
XJ. AS been noticed by Tanom writers to have a peculiarity
in its geographical situation, not possessed by any other county in the kingdom; that of being boumled by four entire shires only, 00 the four cardinal points, and without being cut or intersected by detached portions of other counties. These bordering counties are, Yorkshire on the North, Lincolnshire on the East, on the South Leicestershire, and Derbyshire on the West : with which latter connty it was united under one sherifl^ until the lOlh year uf Elizabeth. Its Bgure is rather elliptical ; its transverse diameter extending from Alkley or Finningley in the north to Stanford upon Soar on the Leices- tershire border, being fifty miles; whilst its conjugate or shortest diameter from Tevershall on the Derbyshire border, to Col- ^ lizkgham which joins to Lincolnshire, may be estimated at lwcnty*&ix, or twenty-seven. Its latitude extends from fifty - two degrees fifty minutes, to filly-three degrees, thirty-four minutes norih ', its circumference is estimated at upwards of i one hundred and forty miles ; and its superficial content at 480,000 acres, its
Djvisiovis consist of six hundreds or wapentakes, including Dine market towns and one hundred and sixty parishes; in which the tillages have been estimated at four hundred and fifty» but this must of course include the smallest hamlets.
Vol, Xn. A North
I
NoitTH ut ThEnt there are now three xsapcniakes, though these at the time of the conqucrtir^s survey were /re iti number. BaoxTON has undtrgone no change since that perio<l. Thur- G4IIT0N U now Thurgarion a Lee, or Lythe, the ancient hunJrerl of Z*j/f/o being joineil with it; BASisETLAw contain* the ancient butKlred of OaxLaideheck, which now fnrins the north clay diyision ; and having also the south clay and Hat- held dtYisions 15 considered as being equal to three hundreds.
South of Trent there are the three wapentakes of Rl siu cLtPF, BiNGU sM, or Binghamshore, and Newark; but the&tv though nominally equal to one half the county, do not conUiin quite one third of its superficies.
It has been said that in the ii'^ual division of the county^ the hundreds of Busnettaw and Newark are equal to the other four, if the town of Kotlinghani is left out of the calculation j and we must not omit another mode of division which has long ext!ited, drawn from the nature of the soil ; for the western dis- trict is calltti the Sand, and the eastern part of the county is dcMgnated by the appellation of the Clay, The first of these is in general woody or barren; the latter highly fertile both as arable and pusture^ and again subdivided into the north and south clays. In the
HisTouY of this county, very little is known of its ancient state, except that it formed a portion of the settlemenu of the Coritani, as the l^oinans called its aboriginal inhabitants. In common with the rest of the island^ it became the prey of the Roman Eagle, and had several Colonies of that entcrprizing people, as is evident not only from hii^tory, but also from vari* ous antiquliies discovered at dinercnl times, and from thetr roads of which condderahlo vestiges still remain leading to and from their difterent stations. After the evacuation of the island by the Roman arms, the invading Saxons adopted a new mode of division, and this county became part of the kingdom of Sfercla; and even after the union of the Saxon heptarchy liiulcr One monarch, was siill gorcroed by the Earls of rh^K name; 1 At
KOTTlNGBAMSillltB.
At the cotHjucst, the same change<i took place here, as in other counties ^ and iti subsequent history is too closely con- nected with that of the kingdom at large, to require any furthet elucidation, except in some few points which will lie best tre'«ited of| under their respective heads* This county ontains but few
BtttTisH ANTiQDiTtEs; yet we must not neglect to mention
an ancient camp at Barton about four miles S. W. of Notting-
»m, which Aubrey seems to have examined, and which he
onsiders as of British workmanship* It has indeed been
illed British Hill; but now Breni'i HiU : and though the for*
tiBcalions which were on its summit have long been levelled
in the du8t« yet there are still vestiges enough on its sides to
show that it mu.^t have been a place capable of an obstinate
efence ; for there have been originally fifteen earthen banks^
ach about half a mile in extent, which mnst have been
ttccesslvely forced before an enemy could even attack the
lelt That it was once a place of importance is also further
'^tirinced by the coins which at dillerent times have been fomid
here*
At Oxtan also there are three large tumuli^ the largest of
rirhich is fifty-three feet in diameter* This wa^ opened by th«?
»tc major Rooke, who has much distinguished himself by hi^
search into the antiquities of this county* He found in it an
Bin made of iron, filled with ashes and burned bones ; along
rith this, there were a large sword in a wooden scabbard.
token into several pieces, two daggers, and fifteen glass beads^
blue^ yellow^ and green: and he considers it as being the tomb
fsoroe British warrior. Mr* Rooke also considers those ele-
r^ations, now called Robin Hood's Hills, as having a great le-
ItembUnce io tumuU at a distance, though on a nearer approach
iiey are found too large to have been the production of art.
They lie at the back oi Newslead Abbey, on the North-
restern range of the foreM, betv^cen that and Ktrkby, and
llbrta a curious kind of amphithcatje at the end of a little valley ;
A 2 bur
soTTiveaASiiRtmi.
but though they have originally been the work of nature, yet an may have had some band in producing their regularity of ap« pearaoce in remote times. On the summit of the highest, there wa,s formerly a scat cut out of the solid rock with a canopy over 1 iU ^nd called Robin Hood's Chair, though probably of miiellj higher antiquity : this however was destroyed some years ^go^j having actually been taken down to form some rock work in thel Park at Neivslead Abbey.
In the western limits of Works'^p Park^ there are also several] mounts which are cTideiuly ancient tumuli; these have no«rJ some very old oaks growing out of thens^ which add much t^l their air of aittHjoity. Of
Roman ANnQt;tTi£s — there are still many specimens in rious parts of the county. The great camp on Holly hill nea^ Arnold ^ is supposed to have been the central depot of the Re man forces in this district, as from its great elevation^ all th€ eTcploratory camps are easily distinguished ; at the same timi that its vicinity to Nottingham, gives great weight to the opi*J nion of Dr» G«i}e, that this was the Causennis of that mllilari people.
About two miles from Mansfield also, are still to be see some vestiges of that curious Roman villa, discovered by Mi! Rooke, and which will be more fully described in its propt place* In various parts of the county also, have been found spears^ fibulae* and keys of brass, and evidently of Roman ^ workmanship; these have more particularly been dug up about Newstead, and between Mansfield and Harlow Wood, Brass Cclu have also been found, particularly between Hexgrave
an
*Ilooke'i Sketch of Sherwood Forrst. We sbmll remark here, onee for ajf, thnt the variuufi authorilii^ ihall be fuitlifuLlN given ^ but that the formstily of marking ^utHMiom wilt in general be dispen&ed i*iilv ai noc only br^skkig in tipoti the regular ctiftin ol description, but in tome measure tending to etieck thai mode of abbreviation which is better done by a general view of the vatioui opinionij than by a distinct quotation from each specific authority.
IfOTTlKaHAMSIllRS*
^
and Raliivrorth water ; but these are perhaps rather of British origin. Into this part of the queslion. Major Rooke enters very fully. He observes that antiquarians have cJiOered much in opinion with regard to their me ; for many of them have a ioop on the side, from whence it has been thought they were used by the Romans^ as missile weapons; but a.^ on the other hand, many of them have been found in the shape of a chiiie], that coDJecture seems not well founded. Besides the edges of most of those that have been found, are notched in such a manner 9M to prove that they have been used for mechanical purposes; they have also been found in pUae^f where the Romans are sup* posed never to have penetrated ;^ nay they are found even at the present day in parts of Ireland and of Tartary, where that nation never found a way : the occasional discovery of them therefore, near the best adcertaiued Roman stations or high roads« does not militate against the conjecture that they were fkbricaied by the ancient Britons long before the Romans taught them the use of iron, though the Cont|uerors might in some measure have adopted, and iinproved them, during their reaidence here.
The Roman Roads have been pretty numerous; through this county*
Near Willoughby on the H^alds^ the ancient Fosseway enters from Leicestershire, passes on to Newark, crosses the Erminge urt€t from London to York, and then enters Lincolnjihire. This road may be easily traced for \n'^T\y miles along the wolds^ and U literally ^ fosse, dug so deep than an army might march along tt, even now, without being seen except by thtjse on the very edge of the bank. Several of the roads through the wolds cross tt in different placesi particularly about Owthorpe, and in many parts the remains of the old pitching with stones set on edge may be found by clearing away the grass and weeds,
A 3 The
• The Editor of the*c shfctiiav* one disco vered in Worcestershire Imi iiain^ icr, near Evcibttm^ iAs from any acknowledged traces of the Eornan^*
9 NOtTtKGRAHSltlRE.
The Forest tracts al»o contain many vestiges of those miiU Ury ways, wliich nre invariably in a norih-west direction, thai seeming to have been their line of march through tiiis disiric and these are in many places accompanied by exploratoi^ camps.
One of these roiitls commences at Nematkt and goes throng part of Smithtteti, in a line between Norwood Piirk and Kir| Jington ; when it enters ihe forest, we lose it for a short dtstanc Iiaving cridently been Htsfroyed, nor do we find it again unt^ if ^bews itself in anebn;irtcl ridge ne;ir Rainworlh w^ter» This had Inen for many ctnturres* since the conc^uest, the old road from New:irk to M;instield, utn\ was unciently called the Sireti , a certain proof of its Roman origfin.
To the S<juihward ol Mansfield al§o^ particularly near t) Hut,* are several fragments; which added to the amenity of situation, and the di&covery of the %'illa, and of several Coin &c. sufficiently prove it^ having been a Roman station. There n reason to believe that Ihe ^^m
Eaiil!! orNoTiTSGHAM — dcfivcd their tttle^ rather from tli^H CaaU, than from the County; with the latter boirever, ihetr history is so clo5;t:ly cunnecled that we shall give it in this place Part of it we shall give from an ancient MS. * in the Brilis Museum which brings it down to 1694. and is called
*« Catalogue of the Earls of the town of Notingham with t brief hiiittorical collection of their loyalty, armes» wifea anJ deaths.
•• William Peverell a naturatl Sonne of William the Con fjucror^ begotten to Normandy; which William came with hi| fatlicr to this his conquest ; who having been brought up military profession, and one that the Conqueror could confid )tii he advanced bim to honour, and gave him bis new bu rastle of Nottingham^ with sev trail lordships within this cou
t1
• Hurl. MSS. 5041.
KQTTlNGUAICSIIIEEi* J|
If.* This William with his Notifighamsli: forces was one nt*
^.Ihc chief Commanders in the third of Kiiitj Stephen a^aiiiJ^
' those projidwus Scots, who had inviided England, so farr as
North AUerton, in the couoty of Yorke; where theye receivrd
I their reward, being totally overthrown: and with king Slrpben
In the battle of Linculne, where he Wdn taken |>risonifr, ho that
Maud the Empress had scize^l on his casllv of Ngtingham, and
^vea it to one William Painell : but it wtui recovered again by
I stratagem. He married Aveline.
"WiLLJAM pEVLittLL his sonne and heire with others con* irived which way to take away the life of Rauulphe Earl ivf Chester, which by poison was done.f After hearing of llenrv the 2ds fewry, he lied the Reahiie, leaving all hii» ciij'tles and lordship[>3 to the King's dispossal. He left a daughter and heire, Margaret^ who marrk'd about 1141
*' William (Earl of Nottincham iu her rights) and Earle r Ferrers and Derby, of who&c antiquity and family you may see more in the earldome of Derby, /or Robert hi% father stUcd kimieifi Ear ie Junior de Notingham^l This til le next came to
A 4 ^'JoHj«,
• Thcte amoontt'd to forty-eight tradesmen's boujcsiii Uie town, and firtj* We Rtsnors tn ihe Shire.
f The circuttittatices connected with ihif events strongly mark the igno-
•nt supcrttUiun of those time$>,whcn (he simple&t and plainer pracci^Acs wtttr
eferrcd to magic; for ihe moiitiih writer who relates ihe »torv tells us, that
Iqaftrrel having arisen between thU Perfrri and TUttutph ite M^ctnit Earlnf
tier, the former contrived vrilh many «itbersj 6y fi>reert/ and wiichcrttft, to
lym , which ho accordingly effected A^v poiionhtg him ; a mode so cvriain*
My not to have required (lie aid eiilwJf of sorcery or wilchrrafl f The
pefpetratorof this horrible deed, tied fif»t inio a monastery of hi«< nwn foun-
dnimu at LtntiJn, Imd his head shnrn like a Monk, and appeared to have
tikrii the vows ; Imt he »oon found thut the power of the Churcli was not
nScieur to protect him agninit a justly incensed Monarch.
► * We are told that ho was a very ju«hii aisd devoot man, " according to the
mannenof tho%e tinted'* which tnay have bt'Cn *tnc of the reasons th.i( induced
kilig Richard CcMir de Lion to lake UU cai tic and liunour» iroin himi and
bellow fbeiB OD his brother John.
i VOTTIVOBAMSUiaK.
'« JaHN» who wai siroamed Sanz-terre, sixi aoniie of Hearf the Second ; which John be made Earle of Moreton (or Max^ layne) and gave him this castle and honour of Notingham, whom bad before a castle seated upon an hill near to Mori, ia the county of Wiltsh : (now called Marleburgh) and lastly was King of this reaUn.* After this it was granted to the ancieni fiunily of the Mowbrays ; first to
«< John Moubrat, f 27th of Edward the Sd, who wai slaine in the Holy Land by the Turks, anno. XLII of £dw. IIL He married Elizabeth daughter and heire of John Lord Segraye who assumed the surname of Segrave> from a lordship in Lei« cestersh : their son
«' John Mowbray, created Earle at the coronation of king Richard the Second, and H. of his reign. % He was one that entered Scotland, with his joint forces, and died the sixflt of Richard the 2d at London, without issue and was buried there.
''Thomas Mowbrat his brother, succeeded, being next heire, and was created Earle of Notingham by Richard the second, the VH of the said King's reigne. Hee with other Barons entered Scotland with an army of Spearmen and Archers ; and in the IX of his reign. He constituted the said Thomas Earle Marshall of England, for term of life ; whose loyalty and great service for his King and countrey, the French and Spaniards both knew ; also he attended king Richard into Ireland, the XVIII of his reigne. He was the first that was ever honoured by charter with the office of Earle Marshall. His first wife
wa^
* On the return of Richard from the Holy Land, John refused to reaigpi it, and kept it in bis own hands until he came to the Crown^ in whicli it was merged for some lime.
f This Earl is not mentioned in the general lists. His creation* if it reallji took place, must have been in 1S52.
t With this special clause that he should boId« tub /iMiore C^mitali, or at parcel of this Earldom, all his other lands and possessions. He must haTO entered early on the theatre of public life* as be died under age« and his brother was only seventeen years of age when cieated Earl ia his room.
NOTTlNOUAlI&Hiait* V
was Elizabeth daughter and heire to Jolin Lo : Strange of Black- mere ; she aird XXUI of August VIL of Eiohard IL without issue. His secoatl wite, viz. Eiizabelb one ot ihti daughters of Richard Fitzalan, Earle of Arundelle. And the XXIX of Septem: Anno M. CCCXCVIl. he was created Duke of Nor* fblke; but suddenly afler the scales turned by subtile and per* nicious counsel], for ambition and striving;; for wordly bonourt and promotion is a very miserable thing, short of continuance md hastneth an dangrous end ; for in the XXf of Richard li, be had an Irrecoverable fall, being banished out of this realm never to return into England. He died at Venice in Septem* the I. of Hen. IV^
"Thomas Mowbray EAittc Marshall op Ekgland (his
Son)f who meeting with discontented persons, soon laid hold of
that opportunity ; for rebellion doth all waics begin upon revenge,
or ambition, and sinister respect. Such was his desperate con-
ipiracy against his lawfull kingj for the whiche he had tliestrolct
' of the axe at Yorke, anno MCCCCV. He married Constance
[daughter of John Holland Earle of Huntingdon and Duke of
[ £xeier.
*< Jobs Mowbray Earle Marshall ano Earle or NoTtfiG* ^AM (his Son X) hee was a mo^t active and faithful subject io Iking Henry V.in his warn? in France with horse and foot; alls^ sut eminent Commander in bis service in Normandy ; and [ Henry VI. retained by him in those warrs, with one Baneret^ IV Knights, one CXIV military men armed a capea pee, and CCC and LX archers. For this his fathfuU loyalty he was re- stored
• Variooi hiftoriani give liim but an indifFerenl character, and acca»e him «f a series of pciliiical indttiy, whicli seems lo have been puoisbed even by the man for whom he commined iiomc of hi^ worst deeds.
« He ^a» Earl of Notliticflium, but ii said nut to have betfii Duke ol Nor* folk* He wa» very young, on comnig lo the Uile, and was prevailed oa ttt join in the conspiracy ot Seroopc Archbiahnp of York»
I He h by some geitcially called ItittWf to the preceding Earl*
10 yOTTtSCUJiMSVIR'E
floral ttiid digoified with flial princely tkim ol IMnr «f Mke, He dyd ihe XX of May, VU of Hen. VI body to be buryed wiibiii tlir Uie of Axholoie ; •til OcL XI Henry V. He marrtcd Eatbcrioe Ha1|>h Nevile £arle of Westmoreland*
*'JoiiBi LoftD Mownn4r succeeded and cnjoy^ Itw 1 tUIcK of Honour, and in ibe XV U of King Henry tbe VI i bee waft sent Ambossadoar tn treat of peace bein ixt OQr Kin and the French King, and died MCCt'CLXI and buried Tlietfurd tn Nurfulke,* He married Eleanor daughter to VViUia Lofd Bourchrer.
"Joiiw Lord Mowbrav (his Son) was by Henry the V] the XXIV March created Earie Wanrenne and Surrey : a pef ton of good prudence, and put oit the belt of military hon engaging to serve hi& King in the warres of France^ fd one whole ycarc* He died at Frmnington Castle (quer Framlingham) in Norfolket and was emerredatXhetford ann MCCCCLXXV. He niarned Elizabeth danghtcr of John Tal bo^ fifflt Ear le of Shrewsbury of Lhat naroe^ by whom he ha Anne solo daughter and heire, but she died without issue f
*• jjiabcl one of the daughters of Thomas Mowbray Duke ' Norfolke by his II wife, married James Lo: Berkley who diel] at Berkley Cusile in Glouce»tersh : anno MCCCCLXHI and lyeih buried in Berkley Church; to whom s! •* had issue,
"Wiitivw Bekklby,! who received the order of Knight hood ttt Calais : be wa« by King Edw ; IV advanced o vt^ountf^
• lie wn^^ttlta Jaitice Ttiueraiit of the ling*> forests louth of Trcoi; mnd iiccording to U»o piety of tho*c dAys, made scvrriil pilgrimage* tu Jloiue, the Ht»ly lund &c, aitd had even *oMred to inkc Jtvprol more; but in Uiis he wai Iriiitfuti'd by the arrot o( T>c«ih.
t it «|Jpciifhh.iweverthiiithiiUdv h«iviog married llich«d Dakcot \ork, Woond wti tif F4wutd the founh, he W4« lliercby emitted to poocsa the EstU floni. in» HMirder in l\w Tawvt nl jiii catJy age, prp vented any issue ; oot 4Atf he a|ipeiLf in »U the geneml hs{»,
t He 11 »omcttmei »aid to hiive beeu ber gnmdtoi^
KOTTtNOItAMSUIHE. M
ind by King Richard created Eaulb op Notingham. But af^etv adhering to Henry Buke of Buckingham, against King Hichar^i, he fled unto Henry Earle of Richmond, who was after King, and constituted Earle Marshall of £ngbnd> and after Bdvanced to that princely honour of a Marquessc, He died without Issue XIV of Feb: VII Hen, VIK He married three wtres| Elizebetb daughter of Reginald West Lord La Warre ; Jane daughter of Sir Thomas StraDgwaya Knight ; she died I Rich S I Anne daughter of John Fiennes, I^ord'Dacres of the South, but dyed without issue X Sepir: XIII Hen, VIL*
" llE^av FtTzaoY, a natural Son to King Henry the Eight, begotten on the Lady Talboys, widdow, but daughter of Sir John Blound, Knight ; who was by his talhcr the XVllI of June in the XWll yere of his Haign» made Knight of that nobk order of the Garter, and the &ame <Iay advanced mito that honourable title of Earle of Notinghain &,c; who with the rest of bis ho* Hours and dignity s dyed vvithout issue the XXiV of July anno MBXXXVL
"William Howaeo, a collateral branche of the Duke of Norfolke was by Queen Mary advanced to a Baron by the title of L^rd Howard of ElBngham in the hundred of Copthorne in the Com: of Surrey. He married Catherine daughter and co* Ikeir to Sir John Broughton of Tuddington in Com : Bedf : Knt. but had no issue male; secondly Margaret daughter of Sir Thomas Gamage^ Knt. who had issue male.f
" Cmahl^s Howard, succeeded in the honour, nho ^as ( in
his
* Having no iisur, bc^vu prcvtjted on by Ihc politic Henry the serentfi, to l|iAke over hh honourt and estotes to the crown ; by which rneani las brother 3k!iiitrice, aguiu^t whom lie h Mid to liavc been much enraged, for murrjin? tome pcrsun below bini in &iiiticjii. wns coinpletftly diiiuheritcd, Maurice, Wmcver« wto> ambled to recover snuie manours wrhich tbo Crown could not I |fty bold oG hot tbc earldom ot Noilingharn wa« loit t^ the famity, and lay dormant for toiuc ycari.
I Ii doen not uppciir howevefi from otbcr sources th^t this WUIlan^ Uowgird trer bort the tide ot Notilnghtim.
12 VOTTIVGBAMSBI&S.
hii faiber's life tiine) on6 of those noble persons, by Queen Elisabeth made choice on for the condu<;ting the Lady Anne of Austria, daughter to Maximilian the Emperor from Zeland into Spain : and XXIV April the XVI of £liz : he was made one of the most noble order of the Garter, being then Lord Cham-> berlayne to the Queen.* Hee was made Lord High admirall of -England anno MDLXXXVIII ; he was constituted Lieute- nant ^General of the Queen's whole fleet at Sea, against the Spaniards Armado ; also in the XXXIX of her raigne he was dignified with the title of Earlb or Notinoham, and at the coro* jMftion of Ring James, he was Lord Great Steward of England and dyed at Hayling in Kent, anno MDCXXIV. He married Katherine daughter to Henry Lord Hunsdon (first wife) and his second, but oldest sunriving Son by her. ' •'Cbarlss HowABD succeeded.'^*— — —
Thus fhr says the MSS.*-to which we have to add that he married three wives, but had issue only by the last of them, Margaret daughter of James the Scottish Earl of Murray. His eklett son James, died unmarried in his father's life time, and his youngest
Charles Howard succeeded as Earl of Nottingham, but dying without issue, the earldom became extinct, though the barony of Effingham went to the ancestor of the present Earl of that title.
Heneage Finch, baron Finch of Daventry, was created earl of Nottingham in the reign of Charles the second. He was son and heir of Heneage Finch, fourth son of Sir Moyle Finch, the Iwenty-fiflh baronet created by King James. Sir Moyle had married Elizabeth only daughter of Sir Thomas Heneage Knt. Treasurer of the chamber, vice chamberlain of the household, and chancellor of the duchy of Lancaster, in the reign of Elizabeth, also a member of her Privy Council, and who would
have
* He wM Earl tw cnty-ieYcn jcsn^ and knight of tW Garter durbg s pe- riod of fifty-tw*.
irotTtNGnAMSnias*
IS
received higher honours, had not his death prerenled it
Sir Moyle Finch wa,^ also considered as having further claimi
ttpoci his sovereign ; accordingly soon after his death his Widow
was raised by James the first to the peerage, by the title of
Viicoantesst Maidstone; and a short time aller^ in 1628^ Charlet
first, gave her the higher dignity of Countess of Winchel*
in which the was succeeded by her eldest son.
iog highly esteemed for his great knowledge of the laws of
Sigland, he was on the restoration of Charlca the second, first
appointed solicitor General, then attorney General, and soon
mfter, in 1G60, a Baronet* In IG?-*!, he rose to the dignity
of lord keeper of the Great Seal, was created Baron Finch, and
in I<iT5 earl of Nottingham. He married the daughter of
Datiiel Harvey Esq. a njerchanl in London, and had a nume*
rous family. Hts eldest son
Daniel second Earl of Nottingham of that family succeeded, but shortly after, the earldom of Wlnchdsea coming to him as heir to his great grandmother, tlie fust Countess,though descend- ed from her fourth Son, the title of Nottingham became merged in the older creation of Winchelsea, and is now enjoyed hy the present Ear t of Winchchea and Nottingham, With respect to the
Estates and Lanoed Property — of this coiinty« we know nothing of tbem before the conquest ; soon after which the Saxon landholder* seem to have been completely ousted from their lands, which were then parcelled out by the Norman soiong his followers, in various proportions: to William Pe- el he gave no less than one hundred and three lordships ; to ger de Buisly, eighty-six; to Walter D'Eincourt, thirty- Ibor; to Ralph FiU Hubert fen; to Hugh D'Vbrincis earl of Chester, four; to Alai>earlof Riclnnond, seven j to Robert earl ofMorteign and Cornwall, six; to William Malet, baron of Eye, two; to Henry Ferrers earl of Derby, three; to Ralph de ^Limesi, eight ; to Hugh de Grenfsmesnil, one; to Goisfred de H^inselin, eighteen: to Hugh de 8ay of Ricard*s Castle, six; a to
14 VOTTIVORAMtRlRI.
to Ralph de Buniiij eight ; to Tosti Earl of Northamberland, obat ^ to Godiva Countess of Mercia, four, and to Algar Earl of Mer- ciai one, being all that was left them out of their ancient Saxon possessions in this county.
Besides these we find from Domesday, that there were other landholders in the county ; these were the Archbishop of York i Bishop of Lincoln ; Bishop of Bayeux ; Abbot of Burgh ; Roger Pictavensis; Gilbert de Gand ; Gilbert de Tison : Ilbert de Laci; Berenger de Todeni; Hugh Fitz Baldric; Osborne Fitz-richard ; Robert Fitz-william; and William Hostiarius, or the usher.
To enumerate the various changes of property in succeeding reigns would far exceed our limits; but as great part of the lands of this county^ at different periods, came into the hands of the church, we shall here add a list of the
Religious Foundations. — Beauvalle, or Pulchra vallis in Parco de Gresley, a Carthusian Priory, dedicated to the Holy Trinity.
Bingham College. Bfythe Benedictine Priofy; to the^lessed Virgin.
■ Hospital ; to St. John the Evangelist
Bradesbusk Hospital, in Gonalston Parish ; to St. Mary M^g-^
dalen. Broadholm Pramotistratensian Nunnery ; to the Virgin Mary. Clifton College ; to the Holy Trinity. Felley Austin Canons ; to the Virgin Mary. Fiskerton upon Trent, Austin Cell; to the Virgin Maryv Ltnton Cluniac Priory ; to the Holy Trinity.
■ ' ' ■ Hospital ; to St. Anthony.
White Friars or Carmelites,
Marshe Benedictine Cell ; to. St Thomas; Matter sty Gilbert ine Priory ; to St. Helen. Newark Hospital; to St. Leonard.
Hospital belonging to the Benights Templars^
• Austin Friars.
ffcwarM
NOTTIJIOHAMSUI&B. II
Newark Observant Friars.
NewMiead Austim Canons ; to the Virgin Mary.
Nottingham, St. Mary's Cell.
St. Sepulchre's.
College.
^t. Jones's Hospital; to St. Joha the Baptist.
— — St. Leonardos Hospital
Plumtrt's Hospital; to the Anuunciation of tlfcc Virgin. ■ Grey Friars.
White Friars.
Bodynffon College.
Rufford Cistercian Abbey ; to the Virgin Mary.
She\ford Austin Priory ; to the Virgin Mary.
Sibthorpe Collegiate Foundation.
Southtvell College ; to St. Mary.
— Hospital ; to St. Mary Magdalene.
Stoke by Newark Hospital ; to St. Leonard.
Thurgarton Austin Canons; to Su Peter.
Turfbrd College.
Mallingwells Benedictine Nuns ; to the Blessed Virgin Mary.
Wdbeck Pramonstratensian Abbey ; to St James.
Worksop or Radford Austin Canons; to St. Mary and St
Ciuhbeit*
Tiic various grants of the lands belonging to the foundaiionft which took place at the dissolution, will be recorded under the several heads; and wiih respect to the present occupation and tenure, it is only necessary to say that few estates in the county arc above 12,0001. per annum, but the majority are much smaller, so as to produce a numerous and opulent gentry, to whom must be added a most respectable yeomanry occu- pying their own lands.
Though Nottinghamshire boasts the residences of so many of the highest orders of the nobility, yet it is rather surprising
that
* Xaaocr*t Net. Moik
IG
HOTTlKGHAMSnillTS.
OD.
ibat^ wJth the exception of the town of Notlinghara itself, thcr^ are so few others that have atforded titles to resident nobles* The only places in the county which have given titles are^ Mamfieldt an Eiirhloni in the Murray family; Newark, a Viscounty in the Meadows, now the Pierrepoint family ; and Lexington enjoyed by the family of SattODj bat now ex- tinct.*
The Baronetcies in the county have been roore numerous; these commenced with Sir Gervase Clifton of Clifton, the 13tli Biironet CI eiueii by Kmg James the fjrftt ; Sir John Molyneux of Teversal and Wellows; Sir Hardolph Wastneys of HeatoD^ now extinct ; Sir Thomas WiHiamsun of East Markham^ ex tin Sir Edward Golding of Colston Basset^ extinct; Sir Willi Willoyghby of Willoi;ghby, extinct; Sir Francis 1 eeke of Newark upon Trent, extinct; Sir Edw*ard Neville of Grove* extinct; Sir Francis Willoughby of Widlaton> now merged in the peerage; Sir Thomas Parkins of Bunney, extinct; Sir George Smith of Nottingham and East Stoke, now Smith Brom le}' ; Sir Samuel Gordon of Newark tipon TrenV, extinct; Si Richard Sutton of Norwood Park; Sir Richard Heron of Ne ark; and Sir JohnBorlase Warren of Stapleford Hall.
When the order of the Knights of the Royal Oak was conlempiation aller the restoration of Charles the Second, the names of the following gentlemen were on the Irst for thai honour; Cecil Cooper of Thurj^nrton, John Palmer, John Whaley, John Eyre of Mati^field Woodhouse> John Middleton, Esqrs, and Sir John Curson, KnU ancestor of the present Scarsdale family.
The present sta^e of landed property and of residence, wi be fuUy shewn by the followjng list of the
SEATS OF THE NOBILITY AND GENTRY. Bunnet/f Lord Ranclifle. Clumber Park, Duke of Newcastle.
Cost act
im-
I
eiU -
.4
• Langar in llic S. E. pnrt of Ihc county docs not come exactly wilhto lltii (leKTipiion ; the title in the patciil is VtscotiiU Ihutf of Langar,
of Lanear, J
Cosiock, Lord RancliflTe- Holme Picrpoint, Earl Manvers. Langar, Baroness Howe. Newsi€ad Abbt^f Lord Byron, Scrtbjf Hati, Viscount Gal way.* Thorcsbif Parkt Earl Mani^ers. ' Wclbcck Abbey, Duke of Portlandi Wollaton Hail, Lord Middleton. Worksflp Manor, Duke of Norfolk; Carlton HalL Sir WilUara Earl Welby, Bart- CUft€m Grove, Sir G^rvas CliftoO/Bart. East StoUx near Newark, Sir George Smith Bromley, Bart. Monoid JVoodhou^e, Sir William Boothby, Bart* Norwood Park J near Southwell, Sir Richard Sutton, Bart, Siaplrford Hall, Right Hon. Sir J. B. Warren, K. B. Bart. Weilow, near OUcrton^ Sir Francis Molyncux, Bart* Atme^lejf Halt, John Musters Cbaworlhi Esq. Anncsley, William Chaworth, Escj* Apsley, E* Wiilaughby, Esq. BabiLorih, Hon. J. Bridgertian Simpson.
1 Rev. Archdeacon Eyre.
Becstftorp Hall, Thomas Bri^tow^ Esq. Berry Hilt, near Mansfield, T. Walker, Esq. Blythe Hall, a seat of the Mellish family. Btythe^ near to, seat of Joshua Walker, Esq. Bramcote House ^ John Longden, E<?q. Brook Hill, near MansfieM, Bcv* D*Ewes Coke. Mrtmgkton Upper, seat near to, F, Morris, Esq. Carlion, near Worksop. R. Ramsden, Esq, Ckilwelh William Charltoo, Esq. Cockglade, near Carburton, Dr. Aldrkh, Coddington, near Nt!wark, S, C. Colclougb, Es<f. Colstofi Ba$4e(, seat near to, Samuel Wright, Esq*
B Colwick
• TTiete ti a very htndsomt sent of l»dy QAmikj, do4e to the tawDoC B*wtry* and which we bclicv* ii witbiu the limits of thii countj.
Ifl
K^OTtlNOllAUSHtaif
Cohfick Hall, Job a Musters, Esq.
, near io, seat of Gent^ral LUUr, Cromwell, Joseph Pocklitigron, Earj. I Edwinstow, Hon. R. L. Saville. ^ near to, seat of Dr. CKxkes*
- , near to, seat of Booth by, E:>q.
, near to, scat of Mills, Esq,
^ortit Lodge, near Papplewick, J^ Cope, E^sip
Flmtham Hall, Col. I'lioroton*
Gedling House, William ElUot EJliotti E»q#
Grove, Anthony Hardolph Eyre, Esq. M, P.
UurgurtQn Hall, G. D. L, Gregory. Esq. Kelkam Hou&e, John Manners Suttoiw E.'iqv
KirkUngton Hall, near SouthwelL ]Vlrs< VVhetbam.
Langford House ^ near Newark, Chaplin, Esq*
Langold, near VN'urbiop, J. G. Knight, Esq*
Lentun Grove, Francis Evans, Esq.
Lent on Priory, William St ret ton, Esq*
JIappcricj/, Ichitbod Wright, Esq.
3Iuskham Houie, Joseph Pockhngton, Eaq#
MuMam South, near to, seat of W. D. Rastell, Esq.
Isettleworth, near Mansfield, Edward Greavea, Es4j«
Norwood Parkt Thorn aij Wright, Esq**
Nunall Tetttple, Hon. Henry Sed ley.
Oibcrton, near Retford, Francis Ferrard Foljambe, E«<|i.
Ossington Hall, near Tux ford, JohnDenison, Esq. M, P.
OxLthorpe, Miss Rcnsbaw.
Plumtree, William Hal lam, Esq>
Papplctiick, Right Hon* Frederic i^lontagtie-
PoiMtill near Mansfield, R. Burdon, Esq.f Ranby Hall, Hugh Blaydes, Esq. Itatdiffc Lodge, Tliomas Boulton, Esq. Red/dll, John Chaaihcrlain, Esq.
* He is we believe only the occtipu;iL f Ci;l. II4II U| Of was, the occapaiU t»hlijjsK»t.
lioTTlHG^AMSMlRB.
19
Rempstont semi near to, J» Goodere, £91;*
—, seat near to, W, Gregory Williams, Esq,
^Muddirtgton, Will ram Ford Rawaon, Esq. ^Jtuffhrd AbUy, Hon* and Revd. J. Lumley Saville. Scqfton near Babworih, R. Sutton, Esq.
hcf-wood Mali, near Mansfield, CoU KelteU mcrwood LodgCy Henry Cooper, Esq* Shirewood Hail, John Need, E«q, kthire Oak, near to Gateford, J. Hewell^ Esq,
Icghf, seat near to, Thoraas Luidley, Esq* fiiaunton Hall, Rev, J, Suuilton, D. D. fj^anford Hill, Charles Verc Dashwood, Eiq. ^^VrW/cy, Thomas Webbe^Esq, Syer$toH, George Fiirmghara, Esq. T%omey, George Neville, Esq* Thitimpiont J. W. Emnierton, Esq,
hurgarton, John Brettle, Esq, Totlenon Bali, Pendock Neale Barry, Esq* JFalie^eld near Sneinton, Charles MeUor, Esq, rWaiting ffW/i, William White, Esq. Wainall, near to, seat of ^— .^ Rolleston, Eiq, y^jf^Afly near Annesley, W. Chaworth, Esq, Yigthorpc near Carlton N. W. — R, Kentish, Esq, Yifford House, John Smith Wright^ Esq. finckbourne near Southwell. P. Pegge Burnell, Esq* itkorpe Hall near Muskhara. R, Pocklinglon, Esq. [Hall, Joifathan Aclom, Esq, Tivcricn Hall, near Bingham.
Having thtss taken a genera! view of the past and present naie of Landed Property, it remains for us to glance slightly Lit the present stale of the County in other respects^ and shall fiercfore begin with lis
Cliiisat£. — which i^ by all writers, even of the earliest dale, ton»idered as mooh drier than that of most of the other neigh-
B 2 bouring
20
NDTtrNGHAltSIliRE*
bouring counliei, or indeed than ihe kingdam in general. By j
comparison of di 1)1" real years, and different places^ this opinion has met with a considerable degree of confirmation sulBcient \ establiih it as a general meteorological feet. In ihc yc 1794, the quantity of rain which fell at West Bridgeford w^ only twenty SIX inches and a quarter; in 1795, it was Iwcntj four and three quarters; and in 1796, only eighteen inches.*
Mr, Lowe, in his agricultural survey, has accoi>nted for this fipon very rational grounds, conceiving that although th greatest rains come with the Easterly winds, from the Germai ocean^ yel the surcharged clouds being attracted powerfully by the mountains of Derbyshire, i>assover this county too quicti ly to deposit much of their moisture, whilst on the other ha the clouds from the western ocean and Irish channel are i traded and broken by the Derbyshire and Yorkshire niou tain;^, before they arrive at this level district.
This general dryness is cotisidered as favourable to the tei perature of the County, so as to bring it nearly upon a par vii^ respect to seed time and liar vest, with the more southern couB ties. The
Soil and Surface*— Of Nottinghamshire are eonsidered by Thoroton as "generally of the most fertile in England (excep a part of the forest of Sherwood which was the most pleasan bat by the abominable destruction of woods is now much othc wise) and likewise some of that which borders upon Derbysbir part whereof aftbrds most excellent coals.*' The fact JSj ih this is not properly a level, but a champaign country, having a general inequality of surface, seldom rising to the altitude i a hill, but auOiciently broken to avokl the sameness resulting from u dead flat, and also presenting a considerable variety i surface v>hich the attentive agriculturist will know hoiv to ap- preciate*
^jff. [t is fpinnrkablc, However, th«t th« corresponding qauititles jn the meb pA\% were gulj iZ^t aiid 18 inches in 1794 — 95. wtuJst in Ltuc«thii« j ^isouQled to siify-niQe inches nnd a half!
KOTTIKOHAMtlllSB.
»»
The general dtvisiun of the soil h now into sand or gravel; §lay ; limestone and coal land : and the IkrsX of these ha» again T}#en sabd'ivitled into the forest country and borders extending about thirty miles in length » and from seven lo ten in breiidth ; the Trent bank district ; and the tanf^ie qf hmd beyond, or east y Trent, running into Lincolnnhire.
The Trent bank district ticcompanies the river through its whole course in the county^ as fkr as Sutton upon Trent, and is in some places not more than a mile in breadth, and never move than fii'e; it is in general a mellow vegetable mould un a bottom of sand Of gravel, which tometimes &hew themselves on the surface. The Aouth-western district also on the hanks of the Soar is included in this*
The district east of Trent, is generally a poor land, and being subject to floods, is much incon>moded by low nmors, which it is to be hoped the present system of improvement by drainin*^ will soon remove.
The clay district Is again divided into the north tmd south clays, The first of these is extremely fertitej much more so indeed than its name would seem to imply, arising from a con- siderable mixture of sand that renders it more friable and of course more easily susceptible of agricultural labour than cold lelay lands In general. In the more northern part it is agreea- Ibly diversified with hill and dale, whilst its bold promontories ris* Ting abruptly from the dead level of Misson Car, and its cou- tiualion into Lincolnshire appear evidently to have been at ne very remote period the boundaries to an ocean which bust once have flowed over what is now a scene of rich culti- "ipation. It is impossible for any persim to conretnplate the view from Oringiey on the Hill without drawing this conclusion, and it appears even more evident when these hills are viewed from lie low, particularly on the road from Buivtry towards Re(ford, when they have all the semblance of Idands rising from the bosoin of the ocean ; their abrupt cliBs being to the northward.
B 3 whiUt
n
XrOTTIKGBAMSHIRS*
whilst on llie other tide they sink gradually into theg^ntral I line of the county. #
The south day district is by no means so extensive as the I fiorth ^ it includes the Vale fif Bdvoir, which presents a scene ot I cultivation perhaps equal to any other in the kingdom ; aliq , the woulds, which are a ranj^e of high bleak hills, in many parts uninclosedtbut now in a state of progressive improvemeiU, par- ticularly by plantings for which they seem well calculated*
The lime and coal dUtncts lie on the very western verge of the county, beginning about S/ur€ Oaks^ and extending to the southward as far as the Trent. The coal begins near Mans- field : and it is a curious fact that the limestone is prectnely bounded by the river Lene, to the eastward of which it is not to be found. The
Produce of this county is fully equal in quantity to the tegular proportion that might be expected, but we have not been able to procure any thing like an estimate either of its annual quantity or value. In such a diversity of soilj the agri- culturist has an opportunity of cultivating every species of grain, nor do his cares go unrewarded ; but we have not been able to ascertain any leading facts not generally known. Thn'e is however on^ species of grain whose culture Mr. Lowe in his survey believes to be peculiar to this county. These are called Skegs, and yield a crop double in quantity to any other species of oats, but only equal in wt-ight. The great advantage result- ing from their cultivation is, that they will grow where nothing else will ; and as they yield a sweet nourishing food, the far^ mers, though they seldom bring them to market^ r^isc them it| considerable quantities, particularly in the north-western pari of the county^ for their own use, giving them to their horses, in the straw. In the agricultural survey, they are stated to be the 'A vena stipiformii*' of Limiseus, and defined scien titi call y I as *' pannicled. calyxes two-flowered, awns twice as long at the seedj culm branchy, stipe fgrro.** That they might be ia-
troducrd
MOTTl^tCHAMSBtRC.
is
lrodoc€d With success into other places, is evitlent from the fact, thftt here they are sown on the worst land; sometitnes on a lea, sometimes after turnips, ol\en taken as n last crop. Their produce on bad land amounts in ^ncral to about four quarters per acre, equal in valtie to about two Ihirtls the stme quantity of oats ; nor are they «npr«ritable on good Iirid, as they have been known to produce fourteen or fifteen quarters; but their great advantage is that they will produce a considera] bic quanlity of 5wcet nutritious green food for hor-^es and tha they will do this on the worst land where nothing else will grow. *
ifopf arean article of con??itlerable cultivation in the central part of the county about Oilerton, and indeed in most parts of the north clm^. Their cultivation is not however considered as an increasing one; for though they are much stronger than the Kentish hops, in a proportion of nearly two to one, yet their flavour is by no means so mild and agreeable, which of course operates against them in the market.
It is thought that this county is favourably situated for the ealtivation of orchards, as much of the soil is a red marlv loam with blue veins, similar to the orchard districts of Worcester* shire and Herefordshire* There are indeed in the north clay many orchards both of apples and pears, but not in isuffictent quantities to render the making of cyder or perry an object of agricultural attention ; particularly as the ready sale at Mans- field market to the dealers who supply the whole mountainous district of Derbyshire, is sullinient to carry off any i|uanlity of tlie fruit that may be raised*
H^ttdt sometimes called the dyer's wet'd* is anarrtcle of par* tial cultivation about Scrooby, and other places in the northern district, and has this advantage that it docs not occupy much ground, being sown with oiher crops either barli;y or clover, Jn a favourable season, it has been known to yield half ato(i
B i per
^ More on this tnbject niii^ be seen in L^wcS larvcy of tbc coont^.
NOTTlKCilAM&KtllE.
per acre ; bui its price is too variable far the farmer to depen4 much upon its cuHure« being s^Jin^times as low us 6/, and at others rising to 34/» per ton*
It may be ob&eryed with propriety^ that tiotwithstanding all that has been said in favour oNarge farms, yet the system of occupation to this county, i» a proof that they are far from being absolutely necessa^ry^ at leaU beyond a certaiti extent. It may be trge indeed* that if very large forms had never ex- isted, many of our present improvemenU would never havi^^ been thought of; but even granting this, it is still pleasant tol^ see a whole county^ populous in proporti^^m to Ibe extont anc) uatureof its Aoil, in a high stale of cultivation, intersected by good roads^ and inhabited by a respectable yeomanry aoii leasehold farmers^ well lodged and comfortably situated ; and all this, where very few farms exceed SOO/. per annum ; wber more firms ape below than above 100/. j and many, in the cla] district, as low as twenty. By this equal division^ it is easy i conceive how many families are livji^g in h^^nest respectabilit]^ and though they may be considered as in a state of poverty the smallest farms, yet it is no^ a state of poverty wbipb will send their occupants to the workhouse for relief* as would in fallibly have been the case bad twenty or thirty of these littl^ spots bpen pon^olidated into one^ and their hapless tenants ob^ liged to perform i|s servile drudgery, as that which now forn the cheerful labour of themselves and families, and is a powcrfa stimulus to tht;ir industry.
A liberal spirit of improyemer^t too sepms to pervade alt classes, each in proportion to his means, trying and adoptin^^H the moderi} discoveries of other districts ^ and the beneficial el^H fects of this spirit, which has been much aidpd both by the pre- cept and example of many of the resident gentry, is evidetil over the whole face of the county. Much of this state of ioi^ provement, resulting from a more ec^ual di0usion uf occupancy may be supposed to proceed from the
Tenvh
KOTTIKGHAMSHtRE*
u
TEN4;*Rs--which of course are in all the variety of freehold, copybold, and leasehold, and there is also a considerable quan» Uty of church and collegiate lands; the church of Southwell, and the archbishopric of York, being sfili, as formerly, consi- derable landholders^ whilst some of the ancient priory latids are now in possession of the universities.
The freeholds, indeod, are more extensive than numerous i and with reipectto ihc copyholds, a great proportion of the smallest ones are "Borough English/' and descend to the youngest son.*
The ifDQiediaie occupanU of the soil, llowever» are mostly tetip ants at will^ and as Uiejr ^rms in r|iai>y instances have thus gone through sevisral generations, they feel a kiud of heredi- tary security that prompts them to the same course of improve- roent as if they were secured by leases.
The JUnt-i indeed, according to the modern system, have been in many instances raised in a moFt extrnordinary propor- liou, even oo the lea^hold lands, though perhaps not far be- yond the limits of strict propriety ; we have heard, however, of some ini^taxK-es, particqtarly on the baiika of Trent where they have been raised in a proportion of three to one ! and that un* tier circumstances which left the farmer no choice between ac- ceptance and dismission. If, with t?iich an extraordinary rise, the farmer is titill able to live and pay his rent, it is indeed evi- dent that the landholder might have doubled his rentJ! without uny injury to the farmer, and with a just regard to his own rights; bat we cannot help fearing that a rise to such an extent must be immediately detrimental to the occupant, and ultimate- ly so to the landholder, unless it pruduces a more spirited mode of culture^ and perhaps brings a considerable part of the land under thp plough, that would otherwiie have lain in a com- paratively
• The origin of ihis part of our commun law is completely inroUcd iti lajUery. but i« 5up|H)8cd to have Arisen Iron* the ancieatfystem of va^salagr, wlitch gnvc tlic iard certain rrghts Over hii vvtsad brides tliu» rcndoriiig the l^iliinacj of the tldett born uncertain.
iJOTTlKGnAMSllIRE*
paratiTely idle stale. Shotild ihat prove ta be ifee caae, theti^ . indeed the public at large mast benefit from it, and the exlracvp«^| dinary nse need no longer be considerctl as an evil; but tbii^^ can only be determined by the result of the experiment.
In thfs county, also, the farmer we understand has many ad- vantages in the article of iythes ; for most of the lands, origi nally church lands, are tythcfree ; whilst in other parts of ih connty, compositions are gencraUy made, and that at a miich lower rate, than a surveyor would be apt to value them at.
Before we dismiss this part of the subject it will not be irrel^ ▼ant to notice two Guriouti agricultural facts, in some measn peculiar to this county* Mr. Lowe in his survey tells us that the/or«r dUtrict, the land being of a convertible nature, ver Httle now remains permanently m g^rass, except in the bottoms near rivers or brooks for meadow, and homesteads about fa houses for convenience; but formerlj' there was always abo each forest village a small quantity of inclosed land in tillage pasture, the xt%t lay open, common to the sheep and cattle the inhabitants, Qnd the King^s deer.
With respect to foresi breaks, he observer, that it has been m immemorial custom for the inhabitants of townships to take breaks, or temporary inclosures of more or less extent, perha from forty to two hundred and fifty acres, and keep them tillage for five or six years. For this the permission of the t.01 of the manor, however, is necessary, and two verdurL-fs niui inspect, who report to the Lord Chief Justice in Eyr#», that is not to the prejudice of the king or subject; and they are at the same time to see ihat the fences are not such &§ io exclude the Deer* The
MtNEUAi«ooY of Nottinghamshire, ha^ nothing particularly worthy of attention. We have already mentioned the articl of coats in the western part of the county ; these are b< coming very valuable to their proprietors from the increas sale arising from the facilities of water carriage^ and as they
IIOTTtHOHAMSHtllS,
tre now both cbeap and plentiful^ the encouragement to lime-^ burning will naturally increase to the manifest improyenient of agriculture. The county is not deficient in stone of vr^riouf kinds. Very exteufiive quarries of a reddish stone, in iinmenf# blocks* are now in full work near MansBeld, and there is a quarry nearMan^^field Woodhouse now worked for the purpose! of burning as lime, but which is so extremely beautiful, of a light cream colour clo^e in the grain^ and extremely hard, thai it would be highly valuable for ornamental buildinr;, were it not that its extreme hardtipss would raise its price far beyond that of Portland intone*
A good bluish atone, fit for building ptirpose*?, hast been for a long time, dug up at Maplebeck ; Newark bridge is built of it. and it appears to improve from cjcposure to the weather. But there b no county in the kingdom which produces such a quantity, and at the same time such a variety of gyprntfif ala» bastcr, OTpUister as it is commonly called here. The pits at Gothamj Beacon hill, &c. will be spoken of under their proper heads.
Marie, it is supposed^ might be found in considerable quantitiei for agp"! cultural purposes, if that mode of dressing land was once introduced ; j;uch veins of it as have been opened by chance, are found to be highly calcareous, and might, under judicious management, be rendered highly beneficial. There i& no county in England, of a champaign surface, which is wa* tered with a greater variety of
Rivers^ affording it all the advantages of navigation for commercial, and of irrigation for agricultural {wjrposes. The principal of thrse is the
Trent; respecting the origin of whose name, a variety of eonjectureu have been started. Its present name is known, or fltp/irttcfi?, not tn be older ihan the Saxon times, and antiquaries have been much puzzled at its not being mentioned by name by any of the Roman writers; in fact neither by Ptolemy,
Strabf^,
irOTTfKGHAM$!{ia£.
Strabo, nov even in the Ittnerary. A iaticifol idea had indeed originated from the brain of some monk, of its receiving Ihirty tributary streams, being therefore called Triginta, and* that being changed into TrctUc in the Norman French ; but this is too dirosyeven to require refutation. That a river of such magnitude, should not have received a name from the Romans is incredible; and it may naturally be supposed^ what^ e¥er that name was, that some remains of it shoutd be in the present appellation. The happiest guess of this kind muy be. seen ia the thirtieth vidume of the Gentleman'* Magaeine^^ page 65, where a very ingenious writer observes, that we find in a note of the Grammnrian Seruius upon Virgil, that the Tibet, in one part of the city of Rome had the name of " Terentum'^ in consequence of its wearing its banks from the rapidity of it course—*' co quod rtpas terat.** — Now supposing this to be trtae^ and that the Romans might probably enough have given ihej name of their favourite river, (as our modern discoverers hav« done in several instances) to this one, whose beauty they could not fail to be struck with, for it is not likely they would havtl left it without a mime, then the etymology of its present ap*^ pellation wotild be simple and un forced *
Another idea has also been started on the ground of looking for its etymology in the ancient Roman name, for there is' another word in the Latin language, which is as good a word lor conjecture, and cumes even nearer to it in sound; this is, TridcniuiH, or Tridanta, from whicli Trent, or Trcont as in the SaxoHj might easily be deduced.
The:je indeed ure only conjectures ; but its real Roman name, which however has no similarity whatever with its present ap* pellation^ may perhaps be traced by the consideration, that although it had been the general !!>upposition ot antiquaries thai the Roman name of the Humber was Ahus, yel Doctor Gate ' seems to have been rather fortunate in his conjecture, that its real name was Utub, of which there are still sor^^e vestiges in the names of Isurium^ nnd Ehuracum the modern York: the
questioii
MOTTIirCVHAMSIIiai:.
99
^ucUton then natural ty^ arises, to what river did they give the name o( Abus ,^why t^ the Inni^ says our etymologist, and even of this there is a vestige in Appisthorpe, or Abu«^thorpe, the town on the Abus near Littleborough^ the AgeioQum of the Romans. This* is certainly a conjecture wbichj on a minute invesli- ation, may appear to be well founded ; and is at least well de- erving the notice of antiquaries.
The river it?ie If has been considered of high importance as iarly as the Contjuest ; for it is recorded in Bom esd ay -book, llliat " in Snotin^hamj the wtUer qf Trait and the fosae and the ray towards York, were kept so, that if any should hinder y^t pOMage of boats, and if any should plow or make a ditch on |the King's wayj within two perchesj he should make amends Illy Eight pounds/'
It ranks as the fourth capital riv^er in England^ being only I iur passed by this Thames, Severn, and Huinber : and though [most certainly not the largest, yet it may be said tu run the [ kmfgfst coarse of ajiy, from its rising neart^r to the we^t side of [ the kingdom than any of the others.
It rises near Biddulph in the Moorlands of Slaflrordshire> re- ceiving from Cheshire and Lancashirej even whilst near its llieail» a number of small rivulets, which have been said to tmount to Thirty and thence its name ; but this is futile^ for the Saxon name of Treonta was given, long before the introduction of * the Norman French into this country. It soon becomes a pretty large river, coming down from the hills with a very rapid current, and being augmented in the flat country by the accession of other rivers, it ilows past Trentham to which it gives a name^ and from thence Burton in Derbysliire, when it Brst becomes navi- gable. It soon after enters Nottinghamshire near RadcbtFe- ^ iipon-Soor in a clear stream, and bold rapi^l current; thence flowing past the groves of Clifton, it winds round the town of Koltingham, giving fertility to an immense range of meadows^ flified by villas, villages, and ccmfortabte farms, in some
places
$0 totTlvokAkMiRi.
filaces sweeping oyer fertile plains, in others reflecting oniu glossy surfac!9> high spelling kh(^\h, and green feathered cliflir that add to the sublimity of the scene. Its scenery roand Holme Pierpoint and Radclifie is pleasing in the extreme; it then proceeds with rather a tortuous course through a highly cultivated country towards Kewarky where it suddenly takes a bend toward the North, and pursues that route as far as GliftonV tpon-Trent, where it becomes the boundary between Nbtting^' luun and Lincolnshire^ and passes Gainsborough, but does not leave that county until it reaches Heck Dyke, from Whence it proceeds, after a courser of near two hundred miles/ to t!M Homber.
At Gainsborough, abovft eight milcfs before Rsr leaf mg^ Ih^ bounty, it loses th^ influence of the tid6 which iioWs up so* hr, and is no longer navigable for vessels of any gfoaC btrthen ^ ftal vessels of a flatter construction are cottstatlUy oddi)>ied in k as hig^ up as Burtofc. its navigMionis inde^ of socfar importance to the country ift hrge,' in eooMqu^nce of th^ tiumerous coromunicatkms which it forms with other rivers and canals, that every means have beeir taktiWtO'aflford it alt the facilities possible. For this purpose it htti a sid^ cut of teif Ibiles in length, in order to avoid twenty-one shoals* Whtclr occur in little more than thirteen miles of its course b^tweei^ Trent bridge at the commencement of the Nottingham' canal/ and Sawley Ferry at the commencement of the Trent and Mersey canal. This side cut, which is sometimes called the TYeru Canal, has a rise of twenty-eight feet; and it n6t only crosses and is connected with the Erwash canal near Sawley, but has also a short cut and lock into the Trent at Beeston/
The Erwash is but little connected with the county,- merely ^ming the boundary on the soutl^west for about ten or twelve miles between Nottingham and Berbyshires/ and falls' into the Trent near Thrumpton.
The Soar is more to the southward, constttutinj^ a partial
boundary between this county and Leicestershire, but has
nothing particularly worthy of notice.
f Besides
JrOTTilfCUAMSliiaE*
31
Besides these> there are some smaller streams M^hicti have t>een accurately <lf linealed by a native antiquary ;* who tells tti that on the forest nide of the county there are hvc fine streams which cross from west to «asi, almost parallel to eacli Olher^ and after wrards turn to the north and form the River Idk*
The first of these is Rainworth water which rises near New- tiead Abbeyj runs to Inklesall dam and Hutlbrd, and joins the Maun^l Ollerton.
The Maun, or Man, riscft in the forest between Kirkby and Newstcad, and runs by Mansfield, Clipsitone, and Hdwmstowi loOllerlon.
The Medcfi rises in the forest near Sutton Hard wick, and runs by Budby through Thoresby Park ; it joins the Maun near Palethorpe^ and from this junciion the two rirers take the miTne of The idle*
The WtHten runs through Wclbcck Park, and after receiving the Poulter from Langwith, through Cackney, by Carburton, and thence through Clumber Park into the Idle near ElkesUy*
The Worktop riv«*r runs from Worksop by Scofton, Bilby, and Scruoby, and enters into the Idle at Bawtry.
The IdU^ after asHuming that name, runs m a courne nearly itortb, by Haughion Park, through Retford towards Mattersey • thence north-west to Bawtry, where it takes an easltrn course past Mistson, and traversing the Car falls into the Trent near ili junction with the Chesterfield canal, in the nurth east angle «f the county*
There arc two others north of Trent which run in a southerly direction.
The Lcn€ rises near the source of the Maun between Kirkby and Newstead : runs through Ncwstead Park, by Papplewick, BulwelL Basford, Leiiton, and thence into the Trent, by Not- imghum bridge* It will be treated of more particularly in the description of that towa*
Dover or Iktre beck runs from near Bludworth by Oxton,
Cakcrion>
' Sk«tcb Qi Sherwood fore»V ^J oa'^jot Hajmsa Hookc
HOTTIMOBAMSillfte
Calverton^ Eperst^Ot Lowdbam^ and ibmce mm lit T^oft hf
Caythorpe near Ilovet ingham.
Alt these may be considered u Uilwiftiig i» the fatmL South of Trtsnt there are many small rif^en wkidi take lh€ff riie in the wold^^ and convey their tfitntagj utewtoibM riven hut none of them require parttctilsr twCke*
Wiih such facilrtici^ of inland coromnakaCM k n qoI tobe- supposed that
Canals have been neg1<?cted ; in fbctw^fiai l^attingliam- shire as well supplied in that xnnde o( cowmmtmAmmrtnunm 9B hny county in the kingdom.
The Noit ingham Canal in some measure csaoiA ike prece- dence ; it£ general course being about fifle«B aUct ikroygh the county in a norih-westdirectton» but not exactly ia a right liite^ Itcoiiiniences In the river Trent, and proceeds t<» (be Cromfbrd canal near Langley bridge, very near to the lenniDation of lh« Ervvash canal ; and it is also connected with the side cut itx^m the Trent and Mersey navigation, called generally the Trent canals which enlers near its southern limit. Its bed is not greatly elevated, and its supply la principally from the n^er ^ however to gitard against deficiencies of water in dry seasons, a reservoir hut been made near Arnswtrch, with a self regulating sluice, which lets off above 3000 cubic feel of water per hour for the use of some mills in its neighbourhood, and also for tho Er wash cans I. This navigation was finished in 1803; and the principal object of its undertakers were the expoK of agrtcu)*- lural produce, and of coals from the various mines in its vicimiy, together with the importation of jinie^ timber, and other heavy articles.
The Grantham Canal is also connectetlwith the Trent, com« mencing near Holme Pier point, and having a branch upwards of three miles in lengthy leading to liw; town of Bingham* The system of lot kage on that part of the line whicb is in thi^ county is very extensive ^ for on the rise of the wolds from ihe Trent \o Cromwell Bishop, in a line of only six miles and
a half.
190TTlYI61lANSIIiae.
33
a ba1f« there is a gradual elevaiicm of eighty-two feet; but from Cropwell to Stainwith, closes there is a dead level of twenty tniles. The proprietors of the Trent river navigation having been at a eonsiJerable expense in deepening the rivef tie«r to the entrance of this cana), they are intitled to take c^t* taia tolls on all goods passing from this to the Nottingham canal ; which have of late years risen to a considerable amount* In 1793 it was in contemplation to have farmed a junction be* tween this and Newark and Bottesford canal near Stainwith, which would have made a complete line of water communica- tion between the souih-eastern part of Nottinghamshire and the adjoining country*
The Idle River Canal must not pass unnoticed^ although it is more properly a Hver navigation th;in a c«/. It commences nt Bawtry, and runs nearly east for ten miles along the nortiiern verge of the county. In one part ofits course it has the name of By car Dyke ; and about half a mile fi-ora Stock with, where it joins the Trent, (dose to the junction of the Chesterfield canal witli th>it river) is Misterton Sas or Sluice which has an open- ing of ^venteeu feet eight inches, with two lock doors or gates Biicteen feet high opening to the Trent* for the purpose of keep* ing the floods out of the low lands through which this river flows.
But the mo«t important water communication ita the northern district of the county, is the Chesterfield Canal, which com* mences In Derbyshire close to that town, and enters Notting- hamshire hear Shire Oaks, thence by Worksop through the oorthern limits of Sherwood forest in a circuitous direction by Babworth to Retford* where it changes its course suddenly to the north, passing through Welham, Haylon, Clarborough, and Clayworthi by Wiieton Hallt Evertun^ and Drakelow^ where it run^ through a tunnel of two hundred and fifty yards* and the nee round G ring ley on the hili m a north eu^t direction through Misson Car lo Misterton* across Walkeringham moor^ and thence into the Trent at Stbckwith* The advantages which
VouXIL C . have
S4
mtfrnwcmAu^mnm^
hate already resulted irom this litie of coaii Bcmibly feJt throttgh the whole of tliH district*
The whole line of this canal is about forty miles; ffoa Chei- tcrfield it riaes abool forty-fire fen until it reaches KoHi'<oi» both in Berbyfthire, and from thence to the Trent it has ft fe* gular fall of three hundred and thirty-five feet.
The RoADii of Noctinghdmshire are generally in very ^9oA order. It i< needless to mention that fx>rtion of the Cfremt Nonk HimkI which runs through the county from Newark to Bmt- try ; but it is but justice to the couruy at large to »y tbttt iJie whole of the roads through it are nearly in as good order as emn t»o&8ibly be expected, from the hottoms on which they are formed, and the maicriaU which can be procured for their for- Datton and preservation. Much of this has arisen from the various parishes h;iTing taken up the business with a determi* nation to see it well executed, and from the public spint of the gentry and the better order of farmers who have sedulo<ii«1y undertaken the office of surveyors, instead of leaving k to 9om0 careless contractor, whose sole object was to finish a certaon number of perches of road, without any regard to its fitne^sa to endure even the next winter f^eason.
In some places indeed^ particularly in the coal districts, and in the clays, the carnage of a heavy article, and the want of a good bottom, have formed a few exceptions ; and in the forest district alsO) there arc some places, particularly between Ret- ford and Worksop, and again between Worksop and Warsop> where a heavy sand forms an almost insurmountable obatacle to the et^tablishment of a convenient line of road. The first of theat being m the direct line of road from Gainsborough to Sii«aicld , it ou^ht to be an object with the county to amend it If possible ; but with respect to the latter, the sands are too deep perhaps ever to admit of amelioration. To avoid the worst part of this road, the duke of Purtland, in some instances, per* rntts curriuges to pass through bis park; but with respect to th« road itself, the editor of these sheets can give no belter idea
cbati
KOtTIKOHAMSQim.
35
than in statbg the fact, that in the autuoma) seasoHj eteii after Home slight rain had fallen to fix the sands, he was three hours going from Worksop to Church Warsop in a post chaise, though the distance is only eight miles ! It is perhaps not to be expected that any rapid amelioration can take place in these landy roads, on account of the enormous expense which woutd attend the transport gf lime and gravel, or other materials ; but with respect to the roads in the clay district, the following hints from the author of the late Agricultural Survey of the County may not be misplaced. He states that the most approved sys- tem of forming new roads on clay or wet bottoms, is first to throw the soil from ibe sides, leaving a groove in ihe middle for the materials, beginning with brush-wood laid on plentifully^ over which must be depoiiited a sufficient quantity of stones and gravel. If the gravel is very sharp and good, he thinks there is no necessity to round the road. He also asserts that a con- cap€ surface has been found to answer very well; but still ac- knowledgea that where the materials are tender; it may be better to round it a little, though not so much as is generally done, as that is oft*in dangerous and always hurtful to the road, by obliging carriages to keep one track, and thus cut it up in deep ruts.
The numerous impfovements in the inland navigation of this connty, have tended much to the increase of its
Commerce, of which a gogd idea may be formed by a brief entimeratioo of the various articles of export and import on the , various lines of water*carriage.
The eiportf which pass either from or through the county, and in cither rase form a very lucrative business for many thousands of the population, are lead, copper, coals, and salt troui Derbyshire and Cheshire ^ StalTordshire ware in consider- able quantities; lime and limestone for agricultural purposea; chirt stone for the glass manufactories j coarse earthen wares; pig iron and cast metal goods ; oak timber and bark ; and sail-cloth*
C2 The
J6 .]fiief«i««HAVi«nti.
Theimporte iat fMon^ cottsninptioiit fttid for the suf^ply of Ae netg^booring d&trictsi. are timber* heiiip» flax alid iron . from tht nortbeim puts of Borope ; mtlt» com, and flour ; |pro- tbrifctof all kinds; Wiiliei and spinta^ cotton wool, abd yarli; hrfgt quantitiet 6f flintB from NorthfleM and the various chalk- fi^ nesLT the Thames, for the use bf the Staffordshire potteries ; arid ih short all species of riw materials for inland manu- factures. The .
MaWu^acturbb of Ithe cotsnty are updn a. scale equally ex- tensive* T\ieMiockmgf^uak^fkeiory hks L6ng beeh a staple> and is the mbstancledt mannfactilTO of the county; it is to be la* ikkented howeverv that the partial atbppage of cfKportatlon from the ^leaent eilslavied state of the Continent, hiid the nlachi- aations of somis . designing chariicters, havd .lately pirodticed aeetoea of.riot ahd outrage disgraceful (fo these coAcerkied in dMm, and highly injaribbs to the cbunty at large* The par- ticulan of this manufacture will be entered inlo'more fully^ in tie descriptioh of Nottia|;hamw
Cbiioii MUb hare now become a coniaderabM branch of ma- tmfiBictdre firom th^ir connection with the atocking trade. Theie have also undertaken to produce a supply of cotton twist for the Manchester trade. In the town of Nottingham alone there are too less than eight of these establishments; at Mansfield there are three ; at Papplewick and Linby^ six $ at Newark, two; besides others at Worksop, Redfbrd, Sduthwell, &c. &c. t6 the number of twelve or thilrteen ; and four establishments of worsted mills.
The MieUiing bunmts k another lucrative branch, principally at Nottingham* Newark, and Mansfield ; and this is both for the home consumption, aad elpottation to the counties in the vicinity.
The Bretvtries at Nottingham and Newark are also objects of great importance; at the latter place in particular, they cota- sidered themselves as powerful rivals of the Burton brewers, and th^ir foreign trade was very considerable previous to the present circumscribed state of continental commerce.
Silk
KOTTiyGIIAMSHIRE.
37
Uik millM have been rstablished at Nottinghami to be worked by horses ; for though there is so much water round that town, yet the frequent floods preclude all possibility of em ploying water mills, except by the adoption of a principle which we shall notice in its proper place.
The Thread and BritUk Lace manufactures have long been carried on upon an extensive scale ; but the unfortunate fond^ ness for French and Brussels lace« though even much of that is BriiUh lac€ Jiowcred and ornamented on the Continent* has always operated against that due encouragement which the io" dustry of our own manufacturers and our owtt woiking poor, ought to receive from the fashionable and the opuknt.
PQiierUs of co^^rse red earthen wme have been established with some success at Sutton in Ashfield A starch manufactory is now at work at Upton near Southwell, A $mklotk manufac- tory has long been in a flourishing condition at Heiford ; and a dying <^wi bleaching (rude has been attempted with considi^r* able success both at Nottingham and Newark. Cojisidcnible sums have been annually received at Mansfield by the stcne trade; suid there is also something done there in the manufai;-* tnre of anlficial stone.
The flourishing state of the county of Nottingham may per* hapkS be most accurately proved from the progressive increase ofiu
Population. — At the close of the seventpenth century, tht number of houses in the county were 17|6^4; and the inhabi* taiils were estimated at 105,300,
In 1801, there were found to be 08,558 males, and 71,792 femalesi amounting to 140,350 in all; 35,513 of whom were f oiployed in different manufactures and la trade, and 93^904 tn the variotis branches of agriculture*
By the recent parliamentary returns it appears that the in- crease of population has been considerable; males 79,057; fe- males 83,843: forming a total of 162,900, and an increase of «,580-
C3
We
dk VOTTIVOHAMftHUtE.
• We have already made some obderratkms on the size of the fetrms in this county, all of which are upon a moderate scale ; and we most again rerert to that subject in our consideration 6f the
Poor and Poor's Rates. — As these are in a great measure c!erroborative> in this county, of the general principles there adverted to.
Eden, in his very nsefel work on the state of th« poor through- out the kingdom, speaking of a parish in a neighbouring county, but bordering close upon Nottinghamshire, says, that many people of this parish attribute the rise in the poor's rates to the enclosure of the common fields; because, say they, before the enclosure took place, farms were then from ten to forty-pounds p.er annum, and any person could then rent a small tenement ; bat now the parish being mostly thro^vn into large ihrms, it re- i|uires a very considerable capital to stock one. This eircum- atance reduces therefore numbers to the necessity of living in a state of servile dependence on the large farmers ; aiid as they have no prospect to which their hopes can reasonably look for- ward, their industry is checked, economy is deprived <^f its greatest stimulant, ^qd their only thought is how to enjoy the present moment !
Let us now look at the state of the poor in Nottinghamshire, where large farms are fortunately, as yet, almost unknown. A very faithful picture of them has been drawn by Mr. Lowe in his agricultural view of the county, which having been found correct, as far a^ a cursory survey would admit of, we shall venture to take it as our ground work. He tells uq. and that too with justice, that there are few counties in England where the poor will be found better lodged, clothed or, fed, or better provided wit|i fu^i.^ IVf ost cottages have a garden, a^d potatoe
ganb,
* In this the manu/aeturing poor mo«t be eicepfed ; for here as in all pfber placei, they have that syitein of luxarious, yet brutish, indulgence, and tiiat slatternly poverty, which must always l^ef p (heq^ in abject p^ory,' and iQ pUfiOit absolute vohmtmry wipt I
iroTTtKOHAMtnrEE*
39
garths akid few of them are wiihoot a web of cloth of their own jtptnning; many of thenrij partkularly in the cTaysnave a few acres of land annexed to their cottages, and are thereby ena* bled to keep a cow in addition to their pigs ; and here too the poor may be actually said to be industrious, for here they are oflen seen themitelves^ as well as their children, employed at their leisure hours in cojlecttng the horse dung from the public roadsf either for the use of their own gardens or to sc\h*
Now the consequences of all ibis, if not ohvioui, are at leaiit certain ; for here in general the rates do not run so high as in other counties where manufactures have formerly flourished, though now gone to decay ; but» adds Mr. Lowe, at the same time, it is a matter of concern lo observe, that the manufactures, particularly that of stockings, uhtist ihey increase the popula- tion, increase at the same time tlie burthen of the poor's rate on the occupiers of land ; which may be ascribed to the lower ma- nafacturers too frec^uently spending all their earnings, without looking forward to a time of old age and infirmity.
As a remedy for this evil in the mun^faciuving part of the county, IVlju Lowe ver^ properly reconinitinds the extension of friendly societies* or the making some more competent pro- vision by the legislature on the same principle; but we fear that unlil the nature of mankind is altered, no radical cure will ever be found for the eyil amongst the m<^tutfacturing poor, though much may certainly be dane pi tl^e way of regulation ; perhaps by premioma to tbo^ who have brought up the lar- gest families without parochial assistance ; by Tontines on the principles of collection established in Friendly Societies; and £veo by encouraging those clubs where money is coJIccied for tjie purchase of various useful but expensive articles of furm- turc; and where each member's chance of possessing the month- ly prize is determined by what is generally termed a rqj^e. All these vt\\\ tend to produce a spirit of economy ; and some of them may in the end be highly beueficial and lucrative to in-
C 4 dividuals;
• AgricuIluraJ Sttrvey, p. 140*
40
aOTTITCGHAVSHTUS*
di?idaaU ; but jperhaps the speediest and most nseful reform, both as a temporary and as a lasting expedient, would be the re- moval of the manufaciorerft pay faW« from the public houses. This would take away from the poor mauuiUcturer the temptit* tion lo driak, because it would check the landlord in hi^t syi^H tern of gi?ing credit* and it would save the sober indu&trioifl^l muLhanic from the abwlute necessity he is always under of spending part of bis money in the alehouse on pay nights, even although he should not have incurred any debts there throug] the week.
The agricultural will always indeed have advantages over t manufacturing poor; but much will depend on the difTerence habits, for the advantage of wages h always on the side of t latter.
The farming labourer haa seldom in this county been in the receipt of more ihaii eighteen pence per day, though in the harvest months it may amount to a couple of shillings. The hours of labour for this, are the common ones in general use; but if the labourer undertakes task work^ he may increase bis gaUit by a little industry without injuring or over fatiguing himself. His provisions are rather moderate ihan otherwise j and his fuel may always be had reasonable since the extension of water carriage. Upon the %hole we may consider the poor of this county as comparatively comfortabk, though much yet remains to be done, both by themselves, and by those of the higher orders who may think it a more charitable act ioprfttni poverty by encouraging economy and industry, than to relieve it even with larger sums, where it might have been avoided, by a little prudent circumspection. Much of the comfort of the agricultural Poor must depend* as has been before observed, upon the division of laijd ; and even their number must be much smaller where the farms are small, than where those who would have been farmers have no other mode of support than becom* ing the labourers of the rich overgrown capitalist, who regards them no longer than they are useful lo him* We mean not
thti.
lI0TTltaOHAlf9IIIRl.
41
this, howerer as a general ar gutnent against large farms ; they have their advanfagei^, and it must even be curifessed that in maiiy parts of the kingiiom^ smaH farms woukl be intinitely less product! re, acre for acre, than large ones. What we wlah to enter a caveat against is merely ihat system of aniting many fanns into one, which in many places has swept away whole hamlets* nay villages, where the residences of honest cheer- ful industry have actually been levelled with the dust, and no- thing been left, hot the solitary church, to mark that here had been the habilafion of men; whilst the few un forty nate villa* gers that are unable to emigrate, or not old and helplessS enough to gain admission into the workhouse, are crowded into rows of improved collages, as they are called, and ranged like cattle in a stall wit hoot even a slip of garden ground to jioface a tarn* mer*s evening. Bat even where large farmj* are necessary, even this evil might be partially avoided, in regulating the new
Inclosuhes.^As by a due attention to the probable number of labouring poor in each parish, a sufficient number of small slips of one or two acres each mi^lu be enclosed for the purpose ofraising cottages and forming g^artlcn ground for the agricultural poof» an arrangement lending not only to their benefit, but al- so to the advantage of the farmers themselves, as it would be an additional stimulus to industry, would excite an emulation amongst the labourers to become possessed of these small ad- vantages, and would soon be sensibly felt In the diminution of poor's rates. It has indeed Ue^n objected that small portions of ground given to the poor will make them too independent, and render them unwilling to work for the ftirmer; but the man who can thus coolly object to the comfort of his fellow crea- tures, from an idea, and we believe a mistaken one too, of his own interest, denervesnoi an answer!
With respect to the principles and practice of Inclosurca in
this county, it is not to be 2$up posed that a summer Tourist can
have witnessed their progress, but must judge of them rather
by their actual state. In this re pect, however, we believe that
9 thtt
M
XOTTlH6HilM5fI11lB.
the Notiinghamshire iiiclasurca bare not btea producUvt af evils; they are now, and have been for some time, gviog on with great rapidity ; the apfilicatious to parltatnent^ vvery mssionsif are numerous, and ihey have bad the effect of raiamg • tbt; value of bnd very conaiilerably wherever tbey have taken l|>lacei In fact there is now vtrry little left to tnctose, exce|>t ktome tracts on the western side, and about the middle of tbr I'fbrest. These are at present mostly rabbit warrens, and seem [•fit for rery little else; indeed we understand that portions of hthese tracts have been taken into cultivation, but suBered again I |o run waste from their being totally unproductive. That this rotinty has for acme years been in a progressive state of Improvement is evident even to the passing stranger ; but klhcre are some facts recorded by Mr, Lowe in his survey, which I prove it indubitably. One instance in particular is conclusive. [He tells us that about thirty years ago, the sand lands in Gress* •Iborp, Cromwell, and Muskham BeUU, all on the great north I road between Newark and Retford, were not worth more than Itwo shillings and sixpence per acre, covered with wild sorrel, litnd lea lay for six or seven years. Now they produce from I eight to ten quarters of remarkably fine oaU! per acre ; and lib is entirely cilected by turnips and clover.
Much improvement may also be expected in future from the
Itention now paid to draining. In the new inclusure tills,
drains are ordered by the commissioners, and provision made
»r their being properly kept up, which has already been found
|to be more encctual than the old laws of Sewers, of the neglect
the execution of wbich there have been great complaints in
iKottinghamsbire, as well as in the neighbouring counties.^
The Archit£cture of the county will be best described un-
'dcr the various heads, and there is peih^ips no county in the
kingdom that displays a greater variety, principally modem ;
indeed we may assert that Nottinghamshire contains the reai*
dences
♦ Agricultural Sarvey, p. 98.
HOTTIKGHAMSfiiaS*
43
j^nc^s of more nf the nobility and gentry than any other of iu Me: In what may be calltrd agriailiurttl architeclurt, however, great improvements have «)f late year^ bi^en maUo, through the Tery patriotic exertions of several gentlemen of the county« who have (bus not only ornamented but improved their estates, and m some measure corrected au existing evil; that i», ill e farm houi€ft in most parts being chiefly situated in villages, and often at a distance from the farms. Great improvements have aUo been made in the farming ofiices, which not coming immedintely within the plan of a work of this irature, we must refer for fur- ther inforoiattun to Mr. Lowe's survey.
In EccLiisi\sTtCAL AftcntTECTUBE, there are many elegant specimens of the antique, particubriy in St, Mary's church in Nottingham, the colbgiate church at Southwell Newark churchy the church of Rudford witli the abbey gate near Work- sop« and several others which will be auiiced in ihcir proper places.
Of Ahcient Sei'ulchral MoNVMESiTs, however, the num- ber is but limited ; for, with the exception of the Furnival and Lowetoi monuments at Radford, there are nono older than the |4th century, of which period, Mr. Gough even with liis ac- curate research could discover but six cross-legged figures of crufiaders: one of which is atFliaiham^ and belongs to the Hus^ aeys* but who wrre not in possession of that manor l>efore the eighth of Edward tlie third, so that its dale cauoot he anLeriof lo ISSi,
We have but little to observe on the subject of
Zoology, as Nottinghamshire ha^ no particular genus of animals of any kind except the old /oral (freed qf sheep, which are described as a small polled breed (though some are horned) with grey faces and legs : the fleeces run from thirteen to eighteen to the tod of twenty -eight pounds; and the carcases mhen hi are from seven io nine pounds per quarter. This breed, however, mf^y be expected to he soon worn out, as the Farious crosses have been found to improve both carcase and 6 fleece
4# «OTTlKOEtAM»BIlLS*
0efrco u> iQnch> Ihal (ew farmerti wiU now mr Atm^ wh^ tbftir weight may be nearly trebled by a mixivre of tJie I>nk- li;y breed. In some expeiimeaU whicb have bec»nade«A tlie 6ercei» it bas been ascertained that tbe foirert and I mtnikM Ain: brcedi mixed bare produced eight povods of ii«ttl«tal th« Forest alone« only five : and witb respect ta ptice, ifaa bia been more than doubled by tbe cross of the Baikeipei] toiedt It is a curious fact, and deserving of attenlioo ia otfcg eomitiei, that though the coal district in the west of K<Htiwgii«M shire it very apt to bring on the rot in sheepj yel nmjr hmt* dreds of the infected have been cured by a removal to tmm^ ttone land ; from whence it bas been inferred^ with feme appear- •nee of truthi that water impregnated with tbe foied mad oC lime in proper quantities^ with change of pasture* aa moo as tbe dtvieasc appeared, might be attended with every dmeaof lucctfNH* The experiuieni is ut least worth trying.
Mr. Lowe ttlts m, that in the clay district more |>%eoiit tie Isopt than are probiibly in any other part of tbe kingd<(iiii : and bt say* it IS a wtfll attested fact thai some years ago» j^eveo hoiK dred doa&en were sold, on one market day at Tux ford, for sixty* threogyineat.
The forest of Sherwood has been so long disused for its an* eient purpose a)* a preserve for game, that little is to be said on that point : there is a curious fact, however, respecting Fal- conry recorded by Fuller, not undeserving of notice. "We nmtt not forget how two Ay res of Ltinnanls were lately found in Sherwood fnrest. These Hawks are the natives of Saxony, and it seems heing old and past flying at the game, were let, or did set theujselves loose, where meeting with lanerets en« larged on the same terms, they did breed together, and proved at excellent in their kind, when managed, as any which were brought from Germany,'*
Before we close this general ikttch of the county, it wilt not be irrelevant to take a short view of its
Mi^NRiPAi AND Parliamentary History ; but of these there
is
irOTTl K G II A HS a IRS.
4S
is little peculiarly novel to be noticed* The cotinti^s of Derby and Nottingham were under the same afacrifF, (an offit:er ap- pointed here as early as in atiy other part of the kingdom) until after the i*eign of Edward the third.
With respect to its parliamentary history, we have found but few violent contests- In the "History ol Boroughs" indeed there are loud complaints that the county is under the influence of the aristocracy, from having so many noblemen reiident in it ; but this will always be the case, influence always will exists and the Editor of that work himself tacitly approves of it ih dejicribing the attempts made by Mfijor Cartwright to restore the independence of the county at a time when he was encoii^* aging the honcj^t industry of the county by his manufactures. Now surely I without denying the major every credit for his disinterested am! patriotic designs, if he bad succeeded in con- sequence of the good opinion of the freeholders, this very suc- cess would have been the effect of influcDce ; not a dishonest one His true, but proceeding from an interested feeling on the pari of &ome of the voters at least. In short it is not the in-- fluence we ought to complain of, but the bad use made of it, when that take^i place.
The Ecclesiastical Jueisoiction of Nottinghamshire is un- der the see of York ; but it had formerly, even as late as llie reign of Elizabeth, a bishop of its own. At present it ha^ an arch- deaconry, and the four deaneries of Nottingham, Bingham, Newark, and Retford. There are in all in the county 182 parifihes and chapelries, u hich are within the jurisdiction of the arch-deacon; to which we must add ^ parii^hes and chapeU ries belonging to Southwell; also 7 parishes and cliapelries within the jurisdiction of the dean and chapter of Vork, and the peculiar of Kinolton, whose vicar is collated by the arch* bishop.*
There
• Thow who iiiih funbet uiforiiiafioti majr coftiylt the {i|iipendii !• Derin^, vphcre there are e«pii»u« litu of the churchet, tnd chipcli oi each dcAiier/, •itti their |iatrot}t, Ice.
There are several mstances of
County BiocitAFav, wbtch a» we are unable to refer then
\ their specific birth places, mast be generally noticed here-
StR John Fenton Knt. wa$ bom in this county* and vras for twenty-teven years a privy counselior in Ireland to Clueeii Blizaheth and King James. He translated the history of Gaic* ciardini out of the original Italian into English, and dedicated it to Clueen Elizabeth. He died at Dublin in 1603,
Edwakd Fenton> bis brother, was also born in this county. He in rery early life displayed an inclination for nautical a0air»« and was very active in the various attempts at discovery about Hudson ^s Bay, Greenland, and Ihe other northern parts of the American continent, so feishionable at that period. Much re- specting him may be found both in Hackluyt, and in Pur- chase
Thomas IIoiimk another Nottinghamshire man, became a student at Magdalen Hall, Oxford* in 1624, and was soon ad- mitted to the degree of M. A. He seems to have distinguisheil himself much by his abiliiies as a pedagogue; for soon after taking his degree he was appointed master of a privatcr school in London* was shortly after chosen master of the free-school ftt Leicester, where he remained only two years, and was thence Cianslated to that of Tunbridgc in Kenr, His merits did not long remain unnoticed ; for after a residence of about ten years at the latter place, he was preferred in the head mastership at Eton, where he remained during the residue of his life. If we tnay Judge of his practical abilities by several works which h« has kft behind him introductory to, and illustrative of, classical education, it mujit be confessed that he was highly deserving o£ the promotiojis and enciiuragemcnl he met with.
William HoLota, D. D. a native of this county, is particik- larly deserving of notice, being esteemed, and we believe just- ly, as the Inventor of the art of teaching the dumb to tpeak. He was educated at Pembroke Hall, where he took the degree of M. A. and shortly after received the rectory of Blechingdon in
Oxibrdshire,
If O*TIK0 HA iriHtll**
>uring the civil wars he secra§ to hare acted a loyal part ; for on the restoration he was made a canon both of Ely, and of St* Paul's; shortly after be was appointed sub- dean of thecbapcl^ and <^ub-almoner to the king; and he ivas also one at" the earliesit members of the Royal Society* A co* temporary biographer lays ** he was a great virtuoso, and got himself a great name by his wonderful art, in making a young gentleman* Alexander Pop ham, ^on of Colonel Edward Pophara, who was born deaf and dumb, to speak ; how he did it he tells us in a discourse of the Elements of Speech^ which he wrote Ibr that purpose, and to promoto a pablicgood. But the young inan being taken from hi in too young, or before he grew per- fect in hts speech, lost what he bad been taught by the doctor ; and was sent to Dr. Wallis of Oxford (who had recovered the <ipeech of a young gentleman, one Mr. Whalley) to restore his speech again, which Dr* Wallis having eCected, he vainly as* sumed the glory of it to himself, without takfng notice of Dr* Holder, tlie first Inventor of it in England, if not in the ^bole world* This provoked Dr. Holder to vindicate himself, against Dr« Wallisi in a treatise which he calls " a Supplement to the Philosophical Transactions of July 1070;" to which Dr» Wallis published an answer soon after, and so the controversy ended." Now, without presuming to settle tlie point of priority in dis- pute between Drs. Holder and WallJK, we may hence justly in- fer that the world at large is indebted to England for this great discovery ; and that all the boastings of the French Abb^s St* card, and De I'Epee, are nothing more than the arrogant inso- lence of Frenchmen, who. either through ignorance or impu* dence, would claim for themselves and their countrymen* every thing honourable possessed by other nations. Dr. Holder al&(> frrote *' A Treatise of Music," both theoretic and practical, in If bich he is said to have had great skill.
Nottinghamshire boasts of two extraordinary characters of th«t name o( Sterna ; but the one lo which we here allude
IVOS
RtCHARB
4S
irOTTIKCKAltfaniRE.
• RiCTTAmD Sterne D. IX who was born in thb county ia 1598; 4itid said to have bet-n descen<ied from an ancieot stock* His early years were spent at the free-^chool at Notlingharo ; and he afterwards weni to Christ Charch college, Oxford, whca he graduated with much credit to himself^ and wan soon after ad- mitted to holy orders. He soon attracted the notice of Arch-* btshop Laud, who appointed him one of his chaplains ; and his character was now so well established that he was immediately aAcfrwnrdjj elected master of Je^us College^ by the unanimotaa tote uf the fellows.
lidoes ifol appear that he took any active part in the afiairi which brriught his patron to the scaffold ; however, when the
r charges were brought forward against the Archbishop* and he in consequence committed a prisoner to the To«er, his enemies had sufficient influence to cause Dr. Sterne to he sent thither also. They were unable, indeed* to prove any thing gainst him« and were obliged^ though unwillingly, to permit i\m to be set at liberty, after the public execution of the Arch^
' tishop. Ourrng the civil vrars, and proicctonite, he retired in- to 11 sale obscurity; but was called from it on the Restoration, and immediately afterwardi appointed bishop of Carlisle, tn I6(i4« hv was pit)moted to the archlnsliopric of York> which he mijoyed for twenty years, and died in 1084.
Having thus taken a brief view of the county in its various pbtions, it remains for us, previous to entering upon the spe- cific topography, to delineate the
FOREST OF SHERWOOD.
Winch embraces a large ponionof Nottinghamshire, and v%*h]ch, according to Camden " some render the clear, some the famous forest, anciently thick set with trees, whose entangled branches were so twisted together, that they hardly left room for a jiinijie person to pass. At present** be adds »* it is much thinner, bwl still breeds an infinite number of deer, and slags, with lofty antlers;" this however was in the reign of Elizabeth,
Gilpin
JraTTIKQ0AM9HlRB.
49
I
Gilpiti* iti his elegant delineations of forest 8cenery» ohteryes ibat Britain, like other countries, abounded once in wood; but as it became more cultivated, its vvooik of course receded. That our woods were often cut down merely for the sake* of til- lage and pasturage^ without any respect to the uses of timber^ ^eetni to be evident from the great quantities of subterranean trees dup up m various parts of England. Thoso are chiefly foiiiad m marshy grounds, which abounded indeed every where before the arts of draining were in use ; and nothing n'as neces^ ftary in such places to produce the future phenomenon of sub- lerranean timber* but to ca^ry the trees, when cut down, upon the darface of the hog, which might easily be done in dry sum- mers* Dr. Plot,t who also aeems to be of this opinion, adducei several reasons for supposing that they might have be^n buried in thi« way, to make room for the plough : he also imagines that the English might begin to clear their Lands for tillage as early ai the reign of Alfred the Great.
There it indeed some plausibility in this theory ; for at pre* sent even the vestiges of most of our English forests are ob* hierated ; and scarce any of them can now boast of their syU van honours* 'Tls true, however, that some of the woods were destroyed in licentious times; and that many of them have been suffered, through mere neglect, to waste away from ihe pil- lage of a dbhonest neighbourhood.
Leiaud during his journey seems not to have paid much at- tention to the then state of ihis woodland tract. He say^ " coming ottte of the town of Mans:field, withyn a little way ; pasted over the brooke that renneth in the vale hard by It. Tlwbrooke a 3 miles by west above the town oC Mansfield, and a 3 miles lower goeth by Clypstone as I harde.
" Soone after I entered, withyn the space of a mile or lease, into the very thick of the woddy Forest of Sherwood^ wher yt greate game of Deere : and %o I rode a v miles in (he very
Vol, XII. D woddy
• Gilpin't Forest Scenery* t Pbt*i S'mfr«ird?^h»fe.
50 VOTTIUGBAMSHiai*
woddy grounde of the Forest, and so to a liule pore streete a thoroughfare at the end of the wood.**^
" A liule or I came to the end of this wodde, I left about a quarter of a mile on the right hand, the Ruins of Newstead a priory of Chanons."
In less than a century after this, Thoroton tells us that the pleasant and glorious condition of this noble forest, is now won*' derfuUy declined; and he adds, there is at present (1G75} and long hath been a justice seat held under my Lord's Grace the Duke of Newcastle, Justice in Eyre of all his Majesty's forests north of Trent, wherein it seems his deputies or lieuten* ants have allowed such and so many claims, that there will not shortly be wood enough left to cover the bilberries, which every summer were wont to be an extraordinary great profit and pleasure to poor people who gathered them, and carried them all about the country to sell.
Notwithstanding this early devastation there is still much woodland scenery in existence, sufficient to give a pretty accu* rate idea of what was once a forest life. Gilpin, (whose ob^er* vations are so very picturesque, that we shall take an opportu* nity of embodying many of them in this delineation as highly illustrative of what may be esteemed one of the chief beauties of Nottinghamshire) remarks, that this once celebrated forest was formerly the frequent scene of royal amusement As early as the time of Henry the second, Mansfield was the general resi-^ dence of the court upon these occasions, and it was in its vicinity that Henry made an acquaintance with the miller of famous memory. Sir John Cockle; but in treating of Mansfield at greater length, we shall perhaps have an opportunity of shewing that this old legendary story is by no means of such an early date. This forest was also the retreat of another personage, equally celebrated in the Chronicle of ballad, the illustrious Robin Hood, who with little John and the rest of his associates^
making
* This leemt (o bare been Fapplewick.
iroTtiirGHAif&Hfiifr
SSiciri^ tne w6ody scenes of it their asylum^ laid the whole
» country under contribution.* It is a matter of serious regret, in a picturesque point of view, that none of our landscape painters have ever thought of study- ing in this forest; for it cannot be denied by those who have actually traversed it. that it would afford many specimens of landscape, new to the English school, and of which no good likeness can be found among the Italian painters. Its style is totally di He rent from the rocks and woods of Claude Lorraine^
■ or the savage scenery of Salvator iiosa; but il has a wildne^^s
■ peculiar to itself, varying with the hours of the day and with all the atmospheric changes to which England is so subject, bq
■ tbat in fact there is iicarcely a ferny heath, a knoll, or glade^ that does not present some novelty ta the lover of picturesque beauty* Having traversed its woodland haunts in every direc-
■ tiotij tinder all the changes of an autumnal season, and 'midst all the varieties accompanying the aerial landscape at early dawn« during the glare of open day, and whibt the dewy hand of even* tng is slowly drawing her sober tinted mantle of grey over the receding thickets, and all nature sinks into repose, the editor of these sheets feels that he would leave the most interesting of the Beauties of this county but imperfectly noticed, if he did
K not enter at some length into the application of the principles of
■ the picturesque as far as tliey relate to this forest, and which
tare so ably laid down by the inimitable in vei^ti gator of the charms of English sylvan landscape. Nothing can be more correct than his first principle that there are few extensive forests which do not contain, in some part or other, a specimen of every species of woody scenery. The wild forest view In- deed differs essentially from the embellished one, for beauty is not the characterestic of the forest* It disdains all human cut- tare ; and the very name, from our accustomed association of ideas, immediately suggests to the imagination a continued and uninterrupted tract of woody country.
D 9 Thiff
♦ Vide Gilpin'* Fotc»t Sceaerr
52 HQTTINGHAIfSBiaS.
This forest however, if it does not possess what the landscape gardener would term beautiful, has in itself every variety of sylvan scenery, consisting of pasture tracts of woody country intermixed with pasturage, and in many places with cuUivate4 enclosures. These intermingled scenes are again divided from other intermixtures of the same kind, by wild heaths which are sometimes bounded by a naked line of horizon, at others skirted with wood : and this intermixture of wood and pasturage, with large separations of heath, gives a variety to many tracts of Sherwood Forest which could not be expected io a boundless continuance of woody scenery alone.
. The forest heath too, though to the common observer it pre* senU only ideas of sterility and desolation, becomes a most in- teresting scene to the tasteful admirer of nature, when bounded, aa it generally is in this forest, by woods in various directions^ and interspersed here and there with lately planted clumps which almost imperceptibly unite its woody boundaries with the Wide foreground of heath and graveL A very pleasing contrast too may be discovered in the broad masses of colour in the wild extent of heath and the various portions of gravelly surface, broken as they often are by the rude forest tracks, or dotted in deeper shades with patches of furze, fern, or other wild plants which stain it as it viere with every shade of green, or enliven it with the livelier tints of tiie yellow furze blossoms* But among all the minuter plants, as Mr. Gilpin observes,/frn is the most picturesque. In itself it is beautiful. We admire it, adds he, for the form of its leaf — its elegant mode of hang- ing-—and its dark brown polished stem. As an accompaniment also, nothing is better suited to unite the higher plants with the ground ; whilst its bright green hues in summer, and ita ochre, tint in autumn, join each season with its correspondent tinge. In some places too the most pleasing ideas of animated nature break in upon the desart scene, from the woodman's cottage, or groupes of cattle, or the starting deer, and when these cir- cumsunces come in unexpectedly, and happily unite with the 6 time
I
I
lime of day, or with the i^eneral expression given to the scene by the sUte of the atmosphere, it does not require much taste to per- ceive that, to a picturesque eye, the wild heath may become one of the most interesting scenea of the foi-est* To this most be added the iticidental appearance of smoke, either from the low* roofed cottage, or from tht; frequent practice of burning the gorse and fern for agrlcaltai'al purposes, and which is always attended with peculiar beauty in woodland i^cenery. In the latter ca4^, its ailhci is always striking, for then we see it in large masses spt*eading in the forest glades, and forming a soft back ground lo the trees which intercept it; attd as tliis proces.% generally takes place in autumn, it contrasin more happily with their nisset foliage, or withered ramifications.
Mr. Gilpin observes that the blasted tree has often a fine ef- fect both in natural and in artificial landscape^ When the dreary heath i:* spread before the eye, and ideas of wildness and de- solatioQ are even wished for, surely no accompaninieni more suitable to the scene can be imagined than the blasted oak, ragged, scathed, and leafless, shooting its peeled vThite branches, athwart the gathering blackness of i»ome rising storm ! It must be confessed indeed that much of forest beauty, if btauty it can be called, depends upon the adventitious circumstances of time and season. He who would enjoy the various pleasures inci- dental to the contemplation of nature in Sherwood Forest, must not shrink from the evening's chill, nur from the passing storm. When the tempest scohU over the forest, as Gilpin s»ublimely exclaims, as wc traverse its deep recesses, what grandeur do the internal parts of it receive from the casual ray darling upon ikiem! or when we view the storm blackening behind the irees^ with what wonderrul eftect does the sun, in an opposite direc- tion, strike their tutted headn. But if that sun be scttijig, whilst the tempest is brewing over the hemispheres-black to* wards the east — lurid— more purple— and glowing with red, as tl sidvancc)« towards the west — t!ie scene is too sublime for de- icription. But even in the af illeat evening^ there is a silent and
D 3 a sacred
54
VOTTlKGlIAMftinaB*
a sacred charm produced by the effect of a decrming son, whiU the traveller is treading the mazes of the forest especially iit broken ground; because, if moving with any rapidity, he li cojislantly shifting his sensible horizon. For then how oftea* and with \^hat delightful elFect, does he see the sun's broad diivk just appearing above a woody hill^ throwing a mass of light upon the broad tints of green, or darting his lengthening ray through the branches, whilst the shadows of surrounding objects^ seem extended to the distance. But the partial breaksof lights are at this time the most beautiful ; for then the sun-beams, so much softer than the glare of noon, sometimes catch the taps of those groves that hang midway upon the shaggy steep, and slightly touching here ami there some other prominent objects imperceptibly mix their ruddy tint with the surrounding jnists, appearing to set the upper parts on fire, whilst the lower skirts are lost *' in a darkness of varied conftision, in which trees, and dark ground, and radiance^ and obscurltyt art^ all blended together'' as if rendering darkness more visible.
It is not however in any one district of Sherwood, that all these varieties can be seen* The open heath with its accompa- niments may be traced chrriugh these broad tracts that lie between Beskw^ood and Mansfield, skirling Newslead abbey, and ex- tending to the right towards Ox ton and Fanuficld. The wild expanse, overgrown with gorge and fprn, and skirted with woodland scejiery, may be traversed between Mansfield and Ollerton, rotmd Ed wins tow and Kullbrd, and including the scenery of Clipstone Park. Whilst the more varied scenery of ancient forest, of thickening foliage intermixed with opcnlawm, and breaks of cultivation, may be found round Warsop and Carburton including much of the park landscape of Welbeck, Worksop^ Clumber, and Thoresby. and extending to the northern limits of the forest land to the right of the road from Worksop to Retford. The whole of which is finely contrasted on the eastern bounds, by the rich scenes of cultivation and enclosure extending ffom Haughton park to Southwell, and
wh^r^
KOTTtKCnJlMSHlRC.
u
where in general the ground ts ftu(Bcient1y broken to add the picturesque to the beautifuL Such are the scenes^ ihM, even in Its denuded condition^ may be traced throughout Sherwood forest ; we shall now slightty touch upon its ancient history and present state. It appears that (he forest was anciently divided' or rather known, by the names of Thorntry Wood, and High Forest; the Brst of which, although by much the smallest, con- tained within its limits no less than nineteen towns or villages^ amongst which Nottingham was included ; and the High Forest U described as abounding with fine stately oaks, and being entirely free from underwood. The first time in which we find this forest particularly mentioned was in the reign of Henry the second, it being then, a» we have before noticed, a place of royal resort, and also famous as the principal haunt of Kobiii Hood and his trusty bowmen.
It appears by an in(]uiAiuon held at Nottingham in that reignj that the archbishop of York had a right, or a custom, of hunlitig in the forest, nine days in every year; ihree at Christmas, three at Easter, and three at Whit!iunt)de ; and also that the archbishop and his canons, and hia men, had here tbc^ir proper foresters, and aeryes of hawks, and pannage. It is evident in- deed, that, although not mentioned by any writers before this reign, it must have been for some time previous, of consider- able conaecjuence ; for the first session of justices in Eyre, held by order of Henry, was under the superintendance of the bishops of Durham and Lincoln, and the earl of Leicester The last of these sessions upon record in the Tally Office of the Exchequer, is in a book in which is entered the claims and commencement of a justice-seat held here before the then lord Cromwell who was chief justice in Eyre north of Trent, and which roust have taken place sometime afier the 26th year (1534) of Henry the eighth. In the same reign there was also a perambulation, which is preserved by Thorolon, much more minute than any preceding ones, bui not e&sentially dilFering ill the extent of its limitfk
D4 According
S6 VDTTlKGHAMtHIEE.
According to Thorotou, Sherwood Fobbst extends into lh« Hundreds of Broxton, ThaTgarton> and Bassetlaw. He considers its origin, as a forest, uncertain ; bat although not meutioiiefl by name, earlier than the time of Henry the second, he shews it roust have been known as a forest long before, for William Plevcrel in the Jirtt year of that reign, was called upon to answer <' De Placitis Forestae" in this county. At that time be bad the whole profit and command of this forest ; but it oMUt soon after have fallen to the crown, for in Henry's eighth year (1161) the sheriff of the county prays to be discharged of 4L m vasto forests ; and two years afterwards be prays for tbe aame discharge, also for 61. &s. Od, paid to the constfible, eight foresters and a warrener ; and 40i. to the caaons of Sherwood fcr alms.**^
The old Forest Books contain a copy of a charter made hy King John, before his coming to the crown and whilst eaii of Morteyn, to Matilda de Caux and Ralph Fitsstephen her hus- \»nd» and to their heh-s, of all the liberties and free cuatoma which any of the ancestors of the said Maud (lords of Laxton) held at any time in Nottinghamshire or Derbyshire, that is, all the forest of Nottingham and Derbyshires, as their ancestors ever held the same.
It aflerwards came to John Birking as heir general to Matilda deCaux, and the 11th of Henry the third (1396) was in the possession of his son ; but this line failing, it descended to the family of Everingham, who by heirship claimed '<Custo- diam Forestarum Regis'* in both Notts' and Derby ; but Tho- roton is of opinion that this claim extended no farther than the preceding limits of Sherwood Forest, as Henry had disafforested all the other parts of those counties, live years before this claim was put in.
The Everinghnm family having lost their rights by forfeiture, in the reign of Edward the first, it came to the crown, since which time it has come generally under the civil jurisdiction of
the
* It is probable these were the monlLS of Newstead Abbey.
KOTTIKGHAMSIIIR^. 17
ibc sbcrilTs of the covmty, and iu forest jurisdiction has been panted to various individuals among the nobility and gentry* as (ipecial marks ot royal favour.
1(5 nmiiiiers and costcitns at that period are curiuusj and in some meaisure illuHirattye of the times; as recorded in an inquU sition taken before Geott'rey de Langley* the king's jiisiice in Eyre north uf Trent, By ihis it appears that the chief keeper ought to have three deputy kceperit over three distrtcts in order til attach all trespa^^e^, and pre!»cnt them at ihe attachment be* fore the Verdnrers,
In the first keeping which lay between the rivers Lcnc and Doverbeck, he was to have one forester riding, v^'ith a page and two foresters on foot; two verdurers; and two agisters. This keeping contained the three hays of Beskwood, Ltndeby, and Wiliay.
The High Forest formed the second keeping; and here were two foresters riding* with two pages and two foresters on foot ; bt;re also were two verdurers, and two agisters. This keeping also included tlie two bays of Birkland and Billahay* with the park of Clipstonet which were to be under the careof twoTerdiirer* and two agisters.
The third keeping* Rurawoode, was to have one forester on foot; and two woodwards, one at Carburton* and the other at Badby; also two verdurers, and two agisters* It was further found that the chief keeper ought also to have a page bearing bis bow through all the forest to gather cfnminage.^
The whole extent of the forest from north to south is about twenty-five railesj and its breadth from seven to nine; which seems to agree with its ancient boundaries^ for the perambu- lation in the I6th of Henry the third {1231} began atConings- withford, by the highway towards Ntittingham, on to Blackstone Haugh^ and thence following the course of the Doverbeck into the Trent, Westerly, it went from Coningswiih by Maydcn Water to the town of Worksop, following the course of the
river bis leensto have hcttk a fee for ttie fvrmtitioa tnd |irei«rvatioQ of toadi.
58 KOTTIHOBAMSBIRS.
river to Pleasley, so ap to Otter Brigges, then keeping the great highway to the Miilford, thence to Mayneshead, by Hard wick and Kirkeby to Nun Carre, on< towards Annesley, keeping the high road to Linbye through the midst of that town to Lene watery on to Lenton, ''and from thence by the said water, as it was wont of old time to run into the water of Tredt, to the fall of Doverbeck.'*
Although there were some disafibrestation after this, yet they appear to have been again resumed ; so that, as Thoroton states, this old perambulation stood in the year 1673, without any re- markable alteration. It must be remembered, however, that several tracts of land, particularly in the northern district as far as Rossington bridge, which lay in a waste state, had been generaliy esteemed part of the forest ; but from the survey of 1609, they appear either not to have belonged to the forest, or to have been disafforested before that time.
The present state of this forest has been ably delineated by the late Major Rooke, who observes that it is the only one that now remains under the superintendance of the chief justice in Eyre, north of Trent, or which now belongs to the crown in that district.*
The Fouest Officers, consist of a Lord Warden, who holds his office by letters patent from the crown, during plea- sure;
* By tlie survey of 1609, this Forest was parcelled out in three wa Iks. The north includes the towns of Carborton, Gleadtborpe, W&rsop, Nettle* worthy Mansfield-wood bouse, Clipstone, Ruiford, and Edwinstow; the bays of BirkUnd and Bilhagb, towns of Budby, Thoresby, Paletborpe, or Pe- verelthorpe, and Ollerton.
In the middle, are Mansfield, Pleasley bil^ Skegby, Sutton, Hucknell, Tulwood, part of Kirkby, Blid worth, Papplewick^ Newstead, part of Lin- by, and part of Annesley.
In the south, are the towns of Nottingham, part of liVelford, with Rad- ford, Soeinton, Col wick, Cedling, Stoke, Carleton, Burton, and Bolcote* Guntborpe, Caytborpe, and Lowdham ; Lambley, Arnold, Basford, BulweU, Beskwood Park, Woodborougb, Calverton, and Sauntesford Manor.
Vide Appendix to Lowe't Agricultural Survn^
^^^^B JIOTTIKOttAMSfirRE. 59
I mrp; at present the Duke qf Newcastk : a Bow-B£arer and
I Rajs G Eft appointed by the lord warden during pleasure ; at pre-
acnt. Lord B^ron : and Four Verdurers elected by the free*
holders for life; who have each a tree out of the King's hays
I of Birkland and Rilhagh, and two guineas to *fach verdurerat-
I tending the inclosure of a break ; the present verdurers arc Sir
I Francis Molyneux, Ban, J. Liichjicid, Edward ThurfHon Gottid^
and William Sherl/rookc, B$ip't,
There are also a Stewwrd ; nme Keepeus* appointed by the Yerdurcrs during ple;tsure# having so many diflercnt walks, and I each a salary of twenty shillings pakl by the lord warden out of a fee farm rent from Nottingham caiitle.
There are also Two sworn Woodwards for Sutton and Carleton*
Thorney Wood Chace, btJing a branch of the Forestt was granted by Queen Elizabeth^ in 1599 to JohnSraiihopcj Eticj. as hereditary keeper, which is now enjoyed by the earl of Ches- terfield*'*
The Surveyor General qfihe woods has also a jurisdiction over this forest as far as regards the wood, and timber of the crown; lie has a deputy in ihe forest who has a fee tree yearly, and a salary of twenty pounds paid out of the *ales of wood,f
Mr.
• Tbi> crbace coroprchendi Ihe greateft purt of the prcicnt Soviihem divifion of the forest. Mr. Lowe, in hi» Survcj, lays il U well itocked with fallow deer, the oihef fjflrts h«*ing been stocked wiili red dc<?f, whicti two tpecies appear not Co have latennised in breed. Tlie qutntitj of wood will fooii ht reduced, m eonscqoence of the rcc«nt iuclo^iurcs of Laiubley aod Ged* liog. Tbc deer have been lutterJy much dimirilAhcd, perhaps rutalty or nearly dctiro^cd,
f To lliew officer*, llicrc were fwrne additional one* in Thoroton** time, towardi tlie close of the leveuieeiitb century, for be tells u» that the twtiee Re- gardcri were to reduced by an ordmance In (he reig^n of Edward the firtf. Thotetwcjve forcU keepers were at that time, one of Mmufield, one of Mnnt- i«ld Woodhoofc, one af Anneslcy hiJliand Kewiicad, ttne of P^pplcwick oOf of Rumwoode and Oswnld, one of Ruflbrd, one of Bilbagh, one of Birk- land,
Co VOTTlWeHAMSntllS.
Mr. Lowe states that the whole soil of the forest is under* elood to haTe been granted by the crown to different lords of manors, reserving only, in forest language, the vert and »mi- 9om, or trees and deer. The latter were certainly in former iioaes very numeroas, and all of the red kind, with the ex- vcjplion of Thomey wood chace, where they were the fallow d««r. Within the memory of many persons, now living, herds of a hundred or more might be seen together in different parts of this woodland district; but the extension of cultivation has driven them gradually firom their accustomed haunts ; and, ex- cept in preserved parks, there are none now to be found. The vert, and venison if there were any, are under the care of the ▼efdurers already mentioned.
It was most certainly not quite an exaggeration in an author, who wrote about the middle of the last century,^ to say that the woods were so destroyed, that Robin Hood would scarcely find shelter in Sherwood forest for a week ; for of the ancient woodland, the principal remains are now only to be found in tho hays of Birkiand and Bilhagh, which form an open wood of large ancient oaks, free from underwood (except la one part where some natural birch is growing,) but most of them iii a state of decay. The extent of this tract is about three miles, by one and a half ; or about fifteen hundred acres : and in a survey about two and twenty years ago, they contained no more than ten thousand one hundred and seventeen trees, va- lued at a little more than seventeen thousand pounds. Part of these hays is in Thoresby park. Clumber park contains there- mains of two venerable woods, which were called Clumber and Hardwick woods ; and there are some other ancient dis- tricts of small extent consisting of Harlow wood. Thieves wood,
and
knd, oue of Calvertun, one of Fviieafitld, one of Langton ■rboor ■nd Blidworth, and one of SaUon in AsbfieM. There were also a keeper of Net- tinglmni park, a keeper 6f Clipstone, and teferal woodwards for e?ery towo^ •bip,
• Tour through Grwil Britain, Vol. 3.
KOTTIMOHAMSHXaS. 6l
and some scattered portions of the Man&field woods, wkicfa* however^ can boast of very little valuable timber. These are all that remain of the ancieni woodland ; hot we shall have oc« :casion to enter more minutely into a description of the modem plantations which are now conducting on an extensive scale.
The enclosed parks, bordering on the forest land, have some antique and very august specimenit of the ancient forest ho* nours. Major Rooke observes that in Welbeck park, particu* larly, the extensive groves of ancient and majestic oaks are beautifnlly diversified by the slender and pendant branches of the silver-coated birch, with which they abound. Many of these venerable oaks are of an extraordinary size, and undoubt* edly of very remote antiquity, perhaps not less than a thousand years old, some of them being upwards of thirty four-feet in circumference.
Among the many large trees, which are objects of curiosity to the botanical tourist, is anoak on the west side of Clipstoott park* called the parliament oak, from a tradition of a parliament having been held there by Edward the first; and another near the north-end of the same park, called the Broad oak, mea* suring twent)' seven feet and a half in circumference. Near Blidworth also, there is a very large and ancient elm called Langton arbour, which even some centuries ago was sufficiently remarkable to give a name to one of the forest walks, and to have a keeper appointed to it.*
A recent discovery has shewn a very curious mode of ascer- taining
•In traversing the forest between Mansfield and Notiingham, the tourist will observe a large square pillar, on which was furmerly a bruss-plate with aa inscription. This is on the north side of Harlow wood ; and tradition sajf^* that this pillar was formerly the place where the forest officers of the crown assembled annually on Hulyrood'day, early in the morning, to receive the charge of the lord chief justico in Eyre, to view fcnccsj and take an account of the dter, in order to make their presentments at the Sweinmote court« which ivas held on that day at Mansfield by a steward appointed by the lut4 chief justice in Eyre. RookcU Skttch of the Forest.
St
KOTTIKGRAIfSHl&£.
taintng the great aniitjuity of some of these trees. Major Rooke telb us that in cutting down some timber m Btrkland and BilUaghi Ictiers have been found cut or stamped in the body of the trees ; denoting the king's reign in which they were , thus marked.
It seems that the bark was cut off and the letters cut in, afler which the next year's wood grew over it but without adhering where the bark had been cut.
The cyphers are of James the first, of Will ram and Mary, and one of King John ! one of these with James's cypher was about one foot within the tree^ and one foot from the centre : it was cut down in 17B6.* One of William and Mary bad the mark about nine inches within the tree, and three feet thre« inches from the centre ; cut dovvn also in 1786*
The mark of John was eighteen inches within the tree, and something more than a foot from the centre ; it was cut down in 1791 : but the middle year of John's reign was 1207^ from which if we subtract 1^ the number of years requisite for a tree of two feet in diameter to arrive at that growth, it will make the date of its planting 10BJ» or about twenty years after the conquest* The tree therefore, when cut down in 179U musi have been 706 years old, a fact scarcely credible ; for it ap- pears from the tree^ whose marks are better authenticated, that those exactly of the same size, when marked, had increased twelve inches in diiuntter in 172 years, whilst this one had in- creased no more than eightuen inches in 584 years« It mnsi be allowed however that the surplus six inches of di0erence contained a greater cubic quantity, than the six inches immedi- ately vvJtliinthem, and would therefore require a longer time for their increase, and that in the proportion of an increasing progress
SlOfU
•This tree must Imvc been therefore tw© feet in diameter, ot two yards hi circupifcrrace wJicn the mark vth^ cut. Now a Ircc of thai liic is genermlly eiCimuted at one hundred and twenty yearV growth, which number »utitr«cted from the middle year of Jumet's rci^n, would make 1491 the ddtc uf (he plaat- iDg of the tree.
NOTTIXaBAHSmRE.
S3
I
,^^.* This very accurate delineator of Sherwood Forest, ac- counts for these phenomena, by supposing (as the increasing wood never adheres where the bark has been taken otf) thai ihe sap which rises from the roots through the cQ|jillary tubes of the wood, to the branches, returns in its circulation between the hiea and the bark. " I have often/' sayi be, *' examined many of the ancient hollow trees in Birkland and in Bilhagh, and always found that where the bark remained, even on their mutilated trunks, there they frequently put out small branchei with leaves ; but where that necessary covering of the re- luming sap was wanting, there was no iippearance of vege- tation/'
With respect in motlern improvement in this forest, much has already been done; but there is one point whirh ret|uirea more attention than has hitherto been paid to it. Mr. Throsby, in bis additions to Thoroton, has already given a hint on this iubject, and it were well if it could be attended ta. He says^ " in passing over this forest, I observed that it h now in a great measure inclosed between BIyih and Nottingham. As many parts of it are but thinly inhabited at present, and in conse- quence of the inclosures you meet with a great variety of roads branching here and there, handfHx^ts would be exirtmeiy use/ai They arc at all times in such places, the most civil things a traveller meets with, but rarely seen here/'
The inconvenience resulting from the want of handposts is certainly very great; but with respect to the latter part of the observation, the editor of these sheets must do the inhabiianti of the forestthe justice to say, that ijx walking over it* varioui tracts, he never experienced the slightest deficiency in civility* but always found them ready to direct, or even to accompany him over its most intricate recesses.
The present state of the woodlands of this forest, and of modern plantation, is a subject of too much importance to be
slightly
* Major Booke alto myt, that tiprtat trees with this mark had been L'ut 4t>wu, M tbat deceptiou or mJMtnke U Karcf.1/ poskibte.
KOTTIHGBJUfSntUS*
slightly pnssed orer^ parttcalarly at a period when our uup^* tation of timber for na?al purposes is so much circumscribed* ■ That England, by a little care and attention, might m fifty years be able to supply her own wants, in this article, and that without interfering with land fit for agricultural purposes^^ h a truth which we believe will not be denird ; at leaj^t, whoeter , Iraversjes thin tract must confess that much of it which is unfS for cuUivation, might be thus usefully employed. To she what has, and whait may be donr> we shall therefore avail our selves of a very accurate enumeration of the various modcr plantations by major Rooke^ to whose labours we ha^e been \ much indebted in the course of this delineation.
Hetelljt us that so late as the beginning of the last century (1700) Sherwood was full of trees, and it wai then one con* tinued wood from Mansfield to Nottingham.
Since that time, the forest has been pretty much cleared; none of the ancient wooda being left, except those which have already mentioned: it is pleasing however to observe tha efforts are now making to adorn this ancient forest, and tha large plantations have been made, and are stiH making, honour of our splendid naval victories, than which toothing i be more appropriate*
The duke of Portland's extensive plantations in the neigh- bourhood of Wclbeck have a fine eflect, and are alre;idy see at a great distance ; whilst the stcraggy oaks called Thieve?" Wood, between Maiisfiekl and Nottingham, have been filled up with young plants, which are now fvpringing up to form an union with .several others ni the Portland plantations.
On that part of the forest called Cock's Moor, in the parisb of Kirkby, and uhich is generally considered as the highest gmuiJtl in the county, commandmg the most extensive view*l in every direction, a plantation of forty acres has lately been £unned : and forty 'five acres have been »own with acorns dnd chesnuU in Norton forest in the same neighbourhood.
The second duke of Kingston ptauied two large clumps of
evergreenv
lOTTINGHAMSUrHE.
6$
«rcrgreeiis, the one circular, the other square, on Hangerhillt at the west end of Birkland, which have succeeded very well*
The ManvetiJ family have made many plantations ahout Thoreaby since it came into their possession. One of these^ partly forest trees and partly 6 r^j, has been called Howe Grove^ in honour of the tirst of June : another at the eaiiteru extremity of the Auaru adjoining to Thoresby park is named afler the Earl qf St. Vifuxm : and there is another on the boundary of Budby forest;, called Duncan wood^ which with some jtteeps on the forest side of the park called Portland grove^ and Benlinck border^ form the whole of the Thoresby plantations on that side*
The extensive plantations at RuBbrd abbey^ bordering on the foretit, first begun by the late patriotic sir George Saville* have been greatly increased and improved by the present possessor.
The Right Hon. Frederic Montague has also in this part of the forest made several plantations, chiefly of oak: the first of these^ on the left band side of the road to Nottingham* is called the Hqwc plantation : the next is the Spencer ; the third, about a mite from these on the right hand side of the road is the Net" 4on; contiguous to which is the St. Vincent plantation*
Adjoining is another plantation in honour of Sir John Borlase Warren's gallant conduct on the coast of Ireland, and during his command of the Western Squadron, and called the Warren p^ntation: and the Duncan plantation is formed on the right band sidt^ of the coach-road to Papplewtck: whilst on the most elevated spots in these plantations, handsome pillars are erected with suitable inscriptions.
In this western district, and on the left hand side of the road to Nottingham, just wht^re the forest gives way to modern cul- tivation> Henry Cope, Esq. has erected a good house, and has alto formed several extensive plantations, which are already become highly ornamental.
On the eastern Limits of Sherwood, sir Richard Sutton^ Bart^ bat made some very extensive plantations near Farnfield; and
Yoi.XIJ. E m
00 KOTTIirOHAirSHIKl*
in one of th«:sej which encirctes a hill, he has mised an eleganl
bailding in the Turkinh style^ which commands a most extended
and delightful prospect.
Round Kif kby, aome very large eiumps of firs and larcheiji which are now of sufHcnent growth to be seen at a considerable distance, have been planted by Sir Richard Kay e« Bart. L. L. D-
Itfae late venerable dean of Lincoln, and rector of this parish* Towards the northern limits we most notice several very con-
'tfpicuou9 plantations formed by Earl Bathurst; also about iifty acres of oak and other forest trees planted by Robert Ram5df«n# E»q» of Carlton : nor must we omit the very extetuive planta-^ lion&of F» Foljambej Esq. roynd Osberton, which with a pa- tnotiG spirit the owner is annually increasing.
Upon the whole, we agree with the Major in his conclusion^ that from the laudable exertions of the resident nobility and gentry, there is reason to hope that the uniiiclosed parts of this •xtetisive forest of Sherwood will again be embowered^ and that succeeding generations will have occasion and opportunity to venerate the majestic oaks planted by their ancestors at monuments of British valour.
To give some adequate idea of the surface of the forest with respect to extents we shall cloi^e with a sketch of the survey lit 1G09^ with the more recent inclosures.
Acres*
Ancient inclosures ot^ual to*,* .44839
woods 9486
wastes 33080
S940S
CTii>s(ou Park 158^
Oekwoud Park....... .M72
Bulwell Park 326
Nottingham Park I2d
95115
Bmcf
lOTTINOUAMSBIRE. 6f
iSincc which time, the following; inclo^ures ha?e taken place*
Acres.
Iti 1789 in Arnold Forest 2280
1792 Baiford m ,..,.1158
1794 Sutton m Ash6eld .«...2608
1795 Kirkby in ditto ,.--«...*. 1941
1796 Letiton and Kadford 261
8248 stores in allj independent «f subsequent ioclosures^ of which we have not been able to pTQ* cupe any e&iimate.
Having thus completed our delineation oF tbe forest it only ■^maini lor ua to notice that famous^ but legendary character,
ROBIN HOOD,
whom tradition records as having made ibis his principal haunt, and of whoi^e popular and int creating story but little k known to any degree of certainty, though bis exploits bav« been celt^brated in ballad in every succeeding age.*
We shall here endeavour to collect all that has been written upon the subject, both legendary and historical ; and though re cannot hope to throw any new light upon a tale so obscum I to t>e by some considered as enlirely fabulous, we may at eatt 80 far gratify curiosity as io present it with all that a patient research can afTord,
Mr. Throsby, in bis addition lo Thoroton, observes that tht
tigs if] the Garland which goes by his name, are simply and
^toiically poetized, and have been the favonriies of the lower
Mcla&ftes perhaps ever since his time. We are very doubtful,
however, of their having any particular claim to antiquity, at
^least in their present dress. Tbeir internal evidence is not lu
ivour of their antiquity; the style and turn of expression are
wot those of the tweSflh century, nor of many centuries after-
E ^ wards,
* Sotue few p;uticular& may b« Co U4id in Percy's Et'tiqtiet; but Sir J ah^ M^wktoj con»idert the idrlivlt vubject m pTtvetopcti in iilrnost iaip«n«tf«b^ 9iic«rt«intj.
f9 KOTTIVORAMSHIRB
wards. One fact in particnlar is well worthy of attention^ that they are free from indecency, which is not the case with the popular ballads even so late as the reign of Elizabeth ; and this simple fact alone must ,place the date of their composition, or of their present dress, at a period not by any means remote. Indeed Mr. Throsby partly agrees with this opinion ; for al- though he says that their remote antiquity cannot be doubted, he adds that they most likely have been varied agreeably to the phraseology of the different periods in which they have been recited. We further agree with him in his observation, that who were the authors of them, nobody knows ; and that they were most probably written by various hands, as some of them have much more of the spirit of poetry than others.
That R<^iH Hood however was not a fabulous hero, there are sufficient reasons to prove, if it were necessary.
Camden calls him the gentlest thief that ever was ; and Major says of him,
«« From wealthy abbots' chests, and chorles abendaat store.
What often times he tooke, he shared amongst the poor :
No lordly Bishop came in Robin's way.
To him, before he went, but for his pass must pay t
The widow in distress, he graciously relieved.
And remedied the wrongs of many a virgin grief ed.*'
As early as ]594 his story seems to have become a favourite subject for the drama ; for in that year was printed " a pastoral comedy of Robin Hood and Little John/' Again in 1634 wti meet with '* Robin Hood's pastoral May Games;" and in 1730 Robin Hood is performed as an opera at Bartholomew Fair in London. Shortly after came out " Robin Hood and his Crew of Soldiers," and in 1751 a musical entertainment under the name of ** Robin Hood" came out at Drury-lane ; besides which we have had ** Robin Hood, or Sherwood Forest" of a recent 4ate ; all founded on the original Garland.
This collection of ballads is too well known to require the msertionof any extracts; but the events which it records dif- fer
fer consitlerabty from what is considered as the real hbtoricat bio- raphy of this extraordinary character, for such he certainly was,* His legendary biography indeed seems made op of a tissue Df exaggerations. It tells us that bis father was ^foreuer, and could send an arrow to a distance of two north country miles; and by a strange anachronism it describes his mother as niece to the famous Guy, the Saxon Earl of Warwick.
She is stated to have had a brother "a notable Squire" who
"lived at Gamewell Hill in this county, (perhaps corrupted from
Gamelstoiij or Gamston) and who was anxious that Robin when
a youth, should live with bim» This, however, was prevented
by a fondness for field sports, and for a rambling life, which led
Hobin to Tuibury in Stalibrdshire, not far from his birth place
of Loxley> where he married a shepherdess under the poetical
.MDame of CloTinda, having been charmed by her dexterous man*
Ef of killing a buck in the fort^^^t.
Bveo at this early period of his life, his exploiu against the
foresters must have been frequent ; for we are told that he
killed no less than fifteen of them, f all of whom were buried in
one row in one of the church yards at Nottingham, His fame
was now so great that he bad raised a force of nearly one hun*
died followers ; and in a short time« his robberies and frolics, his
kindness and charity to the poor, became the general theme
E3 of
*Dnjton in the ^6th long of bit Poly Olhian give* some particiilmrt of Robio And hit maid Marka called Chriniia in I he Garl«iid.
f *^ A r^w days aso &s tanie labouring men were digging in a gaidru si FoiUoc Dctir Nottiiigliafu, they di*covercd tu buman skeletons intire, de- posited ia regular order side by aide, and supposed to be part of the fifteen fore^ttcrsthBt were killed by the daring outlaw Rubin Hood.
•* Near tlie above place micieiuly stoo<l n cburcb, built in the early ages of CbristtiLn)tT dedicated loSi« Micbuelt aiitl totally dtfstroyed at the reforniatioii ; jeC »till tbc pafisbiuners on cerUin times repair to thi^ place for religious par- pQtesj it bein^ con»idered as consecrated ground. In thii place at difijpreut times great qua nti ties of human bones hair c been found j besides sereral Saion sad old EngUih coins, ke. 6lc/*
GtnC* Mogntine, April 179i.
^ YOTTINOHAMSHXRlt.
of conrersation, aii<i prodaced a kind of friendly feeling towards him, althoQgh an ouUaw. He appears by the Garland to have made his business his amnsement, and to have been a merry thief, for he sports most jocularly with the characters and per* ions of a bishop, and the sheriflPof the county, after robbing them of their purses.
Yet he was not always victorious ; but seems to have been roughly handled at dii^erent times, by a tinker, a shepherd, and a friar, and several others.
He is next described as going to London, and being receired at court, where he appeared in a scarlet dress, whilst his men were clad in Ltncoln green ; all of them wearing blaek bats and white feathers : a species of costume, by the bye, unknown in the reign of Richard the first, or of John, at which time he lived.
Soon after this, he is stated to have fought a desperate battle with Little John, or John Little, who was eeven feet high, in which however he was worsted ; but Little John notwithstand*^ ing joined the troop, and became his faithfurfriend.* After this the Garland states that a monk whom he sent for to let him blood, was the cause of his death, when all his bowmen fled to different countries to escape that justice which they could not otherwise avoid, now that their chief was gone.
Thus far the Garland ; but the author of the " Anecdotes of Archery," who seems to have paid considerable attention in his research afler the real events of this outlaw's life, gives us some other particulars which have a great semblance of authenticity. He describes him as at the head of two hundred strong, reso- lute men, and expert archers, ranging the forest of Sherwood, but not remaining there always.
Fuller
* There it a loose paper iti Athmole*i hand writing in the Oxford masenm, which says " the famous Little John (Robin Hood's companion) lies boned in Hethersedge charch*jard, in the peak of Derbyshire ; one ttooe at hit head; another at his feet) and part of his bow hangs np in thechnith* A. D. 161f.
yOTTIKOHAltSlltEV.
71
Fuller says that hi» principal resirlence was in Sherwood forest,^ though he had another haunt near the »ea, itt the north ridtng of Yorkfihire, where Robin Hood*s bay still bears bit name : and Charlton, in hia " History of Whitby/' observes that Robing when closely pursued by ihe civil or military power, found it necessary to lea? e his usual haunts, retreated across the moors to Whitby in Yorkshire, where he always had in readiness some sniall fishing vessels, and in those putting dV to sea» he looked upon himsetf as quite secure, and held the tr hole power of the English nation at detiance. The "Anec- dotes of Archery" add, that the principal place of bis retort At tJiese times, and where his boats were generally laid up, was about six miles from Whitbyi still known as Robin Hood's baf . It is then stated to be a tradition in that neighbourhood, that in one of these peregrinations, he went to dine with Richard the abbot of Whitby, accompanied by his friend Lit- tle John ; when the abbots who had often heard with wonder of their great skill in shooting with the long bow, requested after dinner that he might have a specimen of their dexterity* iTbe two friends^ in order to oblige their courteous entertainer^ accompanied the abbot to the top of the abbey tower; from this elevation each of them shot an arrow which fell close by Whitby Laths, To preserve the memory of this transaction, and to mark the distance, the abbot set up a pillar on the spot where each arrow fell; the distance being more than a mea- sured mile. That there were two pillars standing at Whitby a few years ago, is beyond a doubt, and that they were called af^ ier these (wo friends is equally certain ; but that there is any real foundation for the story, we will not pretend to say.
The " Anecdotes^* then proceed to state that he was out- lawed, and a price set upon bi^ head ; and detail several stra-
E 4 tagems
* Kittoii, mlio rcrtniiily hat ikewn indefAtignble research iti his " Robin Hood" ui two voluaics^ sa^i ibat Boni^di^lc forest in Yurkthiro, wwl PloFny^ ton patk ill CgnjberluuJ, wer« alftolwuof bl^> fAvoiirilc hauiitK
79 yOTTIVOHAMSHlRE.
ttgems which were put in practice to ensnare him but in Tain ; tot force he repelled by force, and stratagem by moreskilinl wiles. At length the force sent against him was so poweHnl that many of his followers fell, and the remainder baying been ibrced lor personal safety to desert him, he sought shelter and protection in the priory of Kirklees in Yorkshire, the prioreu of which was his near relative. Here it is said old age, dissap* ]K>intmeut, and violent faiigae, brought on a disease which re- quired venesection, when the monk who was called to perform the operation, either through ignorance or design, wounded an artery, and he bled to death.
Convinced that his end was approaching, and wishing to mark the spot for his last repose, he called for his bow, and let* ting fly two arrows, the first fell into the river Calder, but the second failing into the park, pointed out the place of sepulture. His death is said to have Uken place on the eve of Christmas day 1274; and on his tomb, which still remains in Kirklees park, the following epitaph is said to have been inscribed by the prioress.
" He^ andernead dis Util stean, LaU Robert Earl of Huntington ; Kea arcir rer as hie ta geod« And pipl kauld im Robin Heod : LieJc atlas at bi an is men yU England ni?T see agen."^
The question now naturally arises, " who and what was this Kobin Hood, earl of Huntingdon ?t
That
* A drawing of this tomb is preserved bj Googh in bit SepnlchTal Bfonn- neutt , but we are told that the late Sir Samuel Armitage canted the ttone to be taken up, and the groaud'below it to be dog a yard deep, which appeared nef er before to have been rooFed. It was thence tnpposed that thit coold not bare been the place of hit interment.
Mr. Ritton alto on the aothority of one of the Sloanian M8S. tayt that it was the prioreit who bled him, and taffersd him to bleed to death.
t Robin Hood hu not beea mentkaied by any of the clericci writers of
that
KOTTINGHAMSIIIRC.
7$
Thai no nobleman of that name ever existed in EngJandj ii beyond a doubt. John Le Scot, of the royal family of Scot- landj was earl of Huntingdon in 1^19. He died shortly after, and the title was extinct until 13-57, when it was conferred on William de Clinton^ which compl cutely filh up the period of Eobin Hood's life.
It hai indeed been said that bis name was Head or Hood* and that he was the son of a noble ntam Others Jgain have been of opinion that in the unsettled rergii ot Richard the fir^ be was one of those youths that resented the inclosing of tl»c forest, and being prosecuted by the officers of the crown» he was tempted both for bis own security and out of revonf;;e* to raise a band of archers, who acting under his command infested all the towns within the forest and in its vicinity, robbing aU rich travellers, but tiever proceeding to acts of blood shed, ex* cept in se1f*defenee. It has been said tooj that he was a greal fjiirourite in many parts of the country, in consequence of his hoarding up the dilferent articles which he obtained in hit course of robbery, until they amounted to a con^^iderable stuck, when he exposed them for sale at a particular place on the borders of the forests where his Kales were as regularly attended as a fair; and there is no doubt that his customers got their purchases pretty cheap, from whence arose tht; proverb of selling Robin Hood's penny worths.^
Am
that period, wlitch, Mr, Ilit5on« (ituteid of toiisideriiig U us sQ argument [^•gsifift bi» existence,) h of optnicM), ^jit owing to the inveterate hatred and enmity which the uuclawed foresters alwaj's shewed towards that ordcr^ who were aUo Uien the bwyert ol (he time,
* There is snoihcr proverb respecting biin, recorded by Fuller ia hi» Wot • thiet of England.—" Manj talk uf tiubiii flood who never shot out of hii bow'^ — that ij, adds thia quaint historian, " mmiy dincaurse for prate rather) «f matters whereia ihey have no «kiJl or experience. Thii proverb ii now fitmded ail ofer £ngl(itid, though originally of NoUinghamshire eilraction." Toiler then goeaou to »y " ill at he wa» an arch robber, and withal an excel JenI srchtr i though tQfcJj the poet gave a twang to the loose of hit arrow ; raak-
iiig
r4
llOTTtNAllAM9IIlR£*
As far as rcgarcls historical feet, be is certainty mentioned m our different annals; and Rapin notices him so far as to that about 1199 lived the famous Robin Hood with his co panion Little John, who were said to infest Yorkshire with their robberies.
In the Harleian collection of MSS. also at the British Mo«e in No. 153-1, p. 199, there is the following article, though know not on what authority^ nor by whom written.
*' Robin Hoo^l, accompanied with one called Little John, lested passengers on the high way, temp* Rich. I. of whom it it said that he was olf noble bloody no tesse than au Earle* Having wasted his estate in riotous courses, very penury forced him to flteale* The Kmge att last sett forth a proclamation to hafi€ htm apprehended; at which time it happened he fell ill at a nunnery in Yorkshire, called BiV^d^y* j,* and desiring there to let blood, he was betrayed and made bleed t<>deaih/'
But the question seems now pretty well set at rest, by Still ley in his Palfieographia Britannia, VoL 2, p. 115, where he jectures bis true name to be Fin Octht and that he w^as de* scended from a Norman chief of that namej fvho was lord of Kyme in Lincolnshire immediately after the conquest, and further that his mother was daughter of Payne Beauchamp and Koisia de Vcrc.
The Pedigree appears then to run in the following manner Richard Fitz Gilbert or de Clare, earl of Brion in Normandy, married Alice daughter of Waltheof who was earl of Hunting* don in 1068 in right of his wife Judith niece to William the Conqueror. He had a son by this Alice, Robert Fitz Gilbert, whose daughter Roisia having married Gilbert de Gaunt^ had a daughter Maud wife of Ralph Fitz Ooth, or Oetk, a Normaa, {
and
ittg him ahoot oae a cloth yard long, at full fortj score markj for ctMspaia fterer higher than the breast, and wtibin ie«i than a f(»ot of Che mark.
" But herein oar author hmth verified the (irOTerb, talking tt large of Rohiii Uood, in whose bo« he never shot !'*
* TbisbeTidentl^ an error in copjing from some ^Id MS. for Xtrtltet.
VOTTIKGHAMftBlAt. fS"
wnA lord of Kyme in Lincolnshire. Of this marriage was WiU
liam Fita Ooth, who was brought up by Robert de Vere earl of
Oxford, and married a relative of bis patron, the daughter of
Paganel Beauchamp and Roisia de Vere of the Oxford family.
Robert Fits Ooth was the son by this match, and he certainly
could thus prove a descent from the first earl of Huntingdon*
thoagh his claim to the title might not be so certain ; and yet it
must be acknowledged that he was at least one qf the repretenta"
ihts of Waltheof the lirst earl, by his daughter Alice ; a claim of
some importance when it is recollected that Waltheof leaving
no son, the title of Huntingdon, after his death, was carried by
another daughter Maud to her husband Simon St. Liz, who was
the second earl, but left no issue ; and Maud marrying to her
second hasband David, prince, and afterwards king, of Scotland,
he became third earl of Huntingdon in right of his marriage ; but
this line failed in John Le Scot who was the tenth earl of Hon*
tingdon, but died without issue in 1337, from which time until
1337, when the title was conferred as a new grant on William
de Clinton, it appears to have been considered as extinct.
Throsby, who, in his additions to Thoroton, seems to bare taken a very comprehensive view of this subject, observes that imder these circumstances, the title may actually have been claimed by Robert Fitz Ooth ; and there is great weight in m subsequent observation where he says, it has been supposed that he might have been driven to his predatory course of life, in consequence of the troubled state of Henry the second's reign, or perhaps adbpted it, being dissatisfied with the refusal of hit claims, particularly as his father William Fitz Ooth might have been implicated in the consequences of the rebellion of the king's eUlest son, the prince Henry; for in the rebellion the earl of Ferrers took the prjpce's side, and he was lord of Loxley, which has been said to be the birth place of Robin Hood. It may also not be irrelevant to observe, that the fact of his being something more than a mere robber is evident from the considerable force which he was able to raise and to keep
4 together.
ill llic l^odivy ^afti^ veil » lm$ph of ysM an ttejBi
I Mill •Utsr'iff, to arrtM or crca la 4«
|#cU«l» Mr U likely ever la te
artMimry characl^^ asd mm/L mtm lfai»a
t^ lu»ionj ofiUiriab^Mi*
r Jivbioo now kadi Q» ta iIm
> vayal afsiT« or <
ciem co^-
TOWN OF NOTTINGHAM;
Miacli hi which, on any sad^, is portf enlariy itfi^g la
'4^ ,wl|fr; timJ it may be jimly «tid thai Uiite b |iafia|
||I0 loWH ii^ (iiv cmpiro wKicti ajipears under such a rarktjf afl
|#iliti'*Ul it ttlii duei* from its ditlereni points of view. Tbe
mivM wIm* tfirrivci by the I^tiJon road, cannol 6iil btiag
\%Unw\\ %m %[^mi9^mUttg the Kill by Fiumpir^e, to see tbe feftilt
^h 0I IWiH liuuildcd by the august rock on vrhtch ii lUfids,
I ^ t ' — » It II prtcipilous hit I to the W(i» the long p:»ast
iuxWy iiinkitig tnlo the plain 00 kis rigbl,
aimI Ibf Htiul« ivra^ ned by li)(s graceful tower of 5i* Mary's.
ibMitbl be «iM«i by ibc c'liM vrn «iile from the Newark r^d* tlie
fhuW iHtiAi i»( buibJiM)t U tbcu foi ojihortened« the tower of St.
Ury*t Aiid Ibi* iTtill^ i^re nearly m oiie« whiUt the long Line of j
Jl\ t XiV^w bridgen raifte idcti^ of its mze aiid itapoit-
i^pimrtnuly t'licuiuacribed lin^ks wouM nolatber-
wUa hikveji«i*l^(i»d« If ho comet from the norths from Mannfialik
Ibi I<m0r fif St Miiry'«t ^ii^ preeminent, i& the only object
nvlllf b iimrka bU approach to tbc hAbitaiiou of gregarious man^
anill Ko rliaf Ibt hiti above ihe race ground^ when the ivbole
f^ Ui»on his wtonijdied sight, as if by enchantment^
h)w« lien At hh feci; he sees ibe Ltinc and the Trem^
ilifmiAiilli[ij tnd beyond these the vale of Bel voir m almost urt*
6 Itmiied
%
K0TT1N0IIAM8U1RE. 77
limited extent, skirted partly by the Leicestershire hills, seemt like anew world starting into existence. It is, in short, impossible for any man of taste or feeling to view the scene without experi- encing emotions that he must allow to be indescribable— emotions tuch as the Jewish lawgiver may have felt on Pisgah's meant Then the approach on the western road from Derby, is com- pletely different from the others. Oo arriving at Wollaton park -gate, the town is just seen; all that is descried is then in a commanding situation, and this is perhaps the point of view •which impresses a stranger with the highest ideas of the place : on the right, the castle and its commanding clifis boldly start- ing from the verdant swells in the park; in the centre the bar- racks appearing to form a town of themselves ; and to the left, a number ofwindmilis which immediately excite the idea ofaDutch or Flemish town. To the north he looks down upon the forest^ with Its foreground flat, but in high cultivation ; around are numerous villas, and respectable manufacturer's country re* treats; on all sides the country appears rich, well cultivated^ and populous; and the noise of the stocking frames is heard in most of the houses.
The sounds of industry on all sides present indeed a different picture from that drawn by a facetious traveller, sometime in the seventeenth century, who, in his journey to the north, says,
" TlicHce to Nottingham where rorert, Higliway riders, Sherwood drovers. Like old Robin Hood and Scarlet, Or like Little John his varlet ; Here and there they show thcro doughtj In cells and woods to get their booty.*'*
At the same time it must be confessed, that although the •a- trance on the western side is open and airy, yet the long line dfktreet filled with low manufacturing cotuges does not im- press
* Vide Drunkea Bamaby's Journej.
7S
% 0TTI17G n AMSHIRB.
ptt»M the traTetler witli any high ideas of either the ele, or comfort of the town itself.
Noiiinghnm, we are told by Camden« and his whole sabee^ quent train of copyists, has the honour of giving a name to county at large. This is evidently softened from the Saxon »« Snottinghani/' an appellation given it on account of the sub- terranean caverns and passages hollowed out in ancient times for houses and retreats under those craggy rocks on the south side, banging over the river Lene. An old etymologist (Asserius) informs us that the Saxon name may be latinized into ** Spe» luncarum Domus/' or the house of caverns^ and that if tnina- lated into British, it would be •' Tui Ogo Bancj" a name which however we have no authority to say was ever given to this place*
There is perhaps no town in the kingdom, who«e origin is hid in greater obscurity than Nottingham, and there is certainly none which has given rise to a greater variety of conjectures, ^^B
Stukely says,* one may easily guess Nottingham to bafS^^ been an ancient town of the Britons, As soon as they had proper tools, he adds, they fell to work upon the rocks, which every where oiler themselves so commodiously to make housei iti^ and he doubts not that here there was a considerable collec* ttoji of dwellings of this sort.
Dr. Thoroiunf seems to consider all memorials of its origin aa entirely lost i and places no conEdence whatever in John Rouse, a monk of Warwick, and canon of Osneyj who, io his history addressed to king Henry the seventh, tells a long tale of the an- Uqutiy of Nottingham 9bi^ years before the Christian era ; J at
which
*Stukelf^'i Iliiierary, pnge 49. t Thoroton's Survey of Notta-
t Lcland in lu^ Collcctaucii V^o). 3, |k 43t gives us aotue rragnients from % Chronicle which he coRftiders os ihc work of an unknown or uncertain writer^ Who iCt!iiiJito have written an epitome of Geoffrey of Monnionih^ and to have loaerted many thrng^ which are not to be found even in Geoffrey *» work, and iprhose authority is certainly tlius rendered, ifp(*ntbte, more doobtful. Herf wt are told of king Ebrancusj wlio built on the duhrQUi lull ihsi which ts now
Nottin^faain .
irOTTlllOHAMSHlEfi. 79
which time, according to him, king Ebranc built a town on the, banks of Trent, and partly on this ** Dolorous'' hill, a nam* which it had acquired, from the extreme grief of the Britons^ in consequence of a great slaughter of them by king Humber, and which took place. here in the reign of king Albanact Foe this piece of original secret history, indeed, the reverend monk does not fiivoor us with any authority ; nor can ^e help think* iiig it a piece of unnecessary labour in Dering,* in his hist<Nr][ of the town, being at the trouble of proving that the Britons being little better than savages at Caesar's coming, which was oaJy half a century before the commencement of the Christian «n» so it was not likely that they should have b^n more civi- lised 900 years earlier. ' Dr. Dering however, like other, writeriu indulges himself also in conjecture ; but as there is some apt* pearance of plausibility in his opinion, we shall slightly notice Its tnbstance. He conceives then that the most which can be topposed with a due regard to probability, is that considering tiie convenient situation of that part of the forest of Sherwood^ in the immediate vicinity of the site of the present town» it ie not nnlikely that several colonies of Britons had planted them* eeives hereabouts, where they were sheltered from the incle* mency of the most prevalent winds of the winter season, accom* modated with the convenience of a southern aspect, and with plenty of water. Nay, like Dr. Stukely, he imagines it highly probable, that as soon as these people were provided with tools for the purpose, finding in these parts a yielding rock, they might improve their habitations by making their way into the main rock, and framing to themselves convenient apartments in it, and that perhaps long before the Romans came into this neigh- bourhood.
Nottingham \ and immediateljr after it is stated that Lucius son of Helena caused four cities to be founded, one of uhirh was Nottingham. Upon tbe whole; it teems that the Monkish writers were ignorant of, or inattentive to, that wholesome adage, that people of a certain habit ought to have goo4. nt- m9tlm.
* Daring's Town of Nottingham.
90 . VOTtlVORAIItHIRV.
bourhood. He seems to lay the greater stress upon this conjeo*-- ture« in consequence of the discovery made by some workmen em* ployed by lord M idd leton in 1 740, to level a deep and narrow way between the two hills called the Sand-bills on the Derby road approaching to Chapel Bar ; for when these workmen had re- moved a good deal of the sandy part of the hills, they met here and there with excavations which (upon clearing away the sand from them,) appeared to form the partition walls of several rooms, of difierent altitudes, cut out of the solid rock. These, the Doctor thought, had no marks of being of Roman workman- ship, and he therefore considers them as British. These re- mains he eren considers as of higher antiquity than the esca- lations in the rock on which Nottingham stands ; and having roundly asserted, (which may indeed be true) that the whole rock on which the town is built is so undermined and hollowed •ut, that it is almost a question, whether the solid contents of what is erected on the top would fill up the cavities under ground, he comes to the conclusion that the sand of the place in question was brought from the Nottingham excavations, and that it would not have been lodged upon the ute of these cham* bers if they had not been in a ruinous state, and therefore of con- siderable antiquity. He adds that there are other sand hills about the town where the same discoveries have been made, which have given rise to a tradition that the ancient town of Not- tingham stood further to the northward ; and is of opinion that these straggling habitations formed no part of the town in the Saxon times, being considerably without that wall which Ed- ward the elder constructed for the defence of Nottingham.
The Doctor then adverts to a story of Coilus, a British king, having been buried here in the year of the world 3833, a period which in ancient chronology falls in between the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah, and the destruction of Troy : but though possessed of all the prejudices natural to a local historian, he acknowledges that even this is.no more a proof, if true, of the an- tiquity of Nottingham, than that the certainty of some Indian
hau
>0TtiaOHAMiniftB. M
iMtslMving stood ft thoufltad yean age oa the preiont teiUt ef New York> or Philadelphia^ would carry their aptiqotty teck beyond the days of Wtllmm Peim.
After all ihese conjecturea we can only aay that tfa»«rf^ thing certain iB, thai there is no authentic hbtory extant whieh givesany account of the /Ira formation of the carerne of cor ancient Ttcglodfftt^ ; we nny, therefore^ safely infer that they are anterior to all authentic history, and, of oonne, older than the time of the Romans. How fer they may be carried hmfpmi that perfod is» however, perhaps fer vrer hid in obscurity ;* but if wo might be allowed to add efw eonjlBctore to the' many nU feady fai ezistence» we should certainly Tehture to ntppoie that they could not have been made, before the island of Britain was inkoHied, though probably very soon after; and we wmf venture to predict that when the one era is settled precisely by coid^Uiring antiquaries, the other may then be guessed ' 4t within a century or two ! We come now to a period of Topo- graphical history, which might be supposed attended with few difficulties; but the real antiquary seems possessed of the pro* perty of the Cuttle fish, which throws oipt such a quantity of ink around it, that it is impossible to trace it in the obscurity* When the emperor Antoninus drew op his Itinerary, through the island of Britain, beseems to have been anxious to settle both the names of places, and their distances, with great pre* cision ; unfortunately, however, not being gifted with prophetic powers, he has not told us^ what these places would be called in succeeding ages, and there are now as many disputes trpofi ike road, where the Romans were, and where they were not, that a plain jog trot traveller can scarcely get along. Even round this very spot, now under examination, two very learned men. Dr. Gale, and Mr. Baxter, have kicked up tuck a dusi, that if they had both travelled the same road, the traveller in search of truth would have been blinded ; they seem not to have tra« veiled the same road, however, and therefore there is a differ- ence of twenijf miici in their distances ; or perhaps, for a more . Vol. XU. F logical
9QnmBAvsBTsm.
Mte.
r«r
14 1
Koir t^i hMl
iiiiiiiiM; at Bcif Cartctum ;
nf lo be Caster, thw^giiAgdiUMiceii oolTSSMika; Ctei ,IH«» bt caUa CniitliM> thoack ibe dlrtne« mmkfMt tmal the ditfaase Ha fiadiiii la t^o wtei sbortaf I Iliiierary ; and^ tboagfa lie adds a mile froai
iMkidllMa&tlcashartaf thewiMfelediiMK^ Far and Gale agree to a diaUiica of lOS aUea^ whiiit Baxter can only produce S5«
Much ink has been tpiUed, nay wailed* om baib aidat af queftion ; we shall, therefore, add as littk aa povible, la ite^ ij*i»nlity ; it is necesiary, however, to state, that, aitha^ it •upporteri of Mr. Baxter assert that there have never bceii^ any Roman cojiir, or um«, discovered at NottiDghani, aa invariably the case at all their acknowledged statioo*; yet there U lafficient proof, that there were Roman stations wjtli«i til Aiffht of the rock on which Nottingham stands, it is not like* 1 y that a place whoee situation was so comroaodang* and sa ca« I Mble of defence, would have escaped their notice* But Dr. Gale bring* further proof in support of his opinion^ that Cftii- icnnii wa« our modern Nottingham ; for he shews clearly, that Cautennii, or Caufenui*, were the Homan changes of the word Ccven, from whence, in Various placet, were the names of *' Go- fennis,*' ** Gobannium," kc. Cctcn being the ancient British for a cluster of rocks, and Kaff, or Kaoup in the same langtiage, signify tug a cavern, Bf. Gale, indeed, perhaps goes too far, ki supposing that tha
excavat»oa$
NOTTIKGHAMSHIEI. §#
extavatiom are Horoan; if they had been so* it is not probable that they would have had a name latinized from the British ; for there is no instance whatever, on record, in which Ihe Hotnans bad adopted British words for the names of places of their own erection* That the caverns existed^ therefore, before the Ro- man settlement seems beyond a doubt; it is still probable^ however, that the Romans may have availed themselves of ihe then existing caves, and may even have added others*
A periud of greater certainty begins in the seventh century, ftt which time it is allowed by all historians^ that Nottingham WES a considerable place, and bad a strong tower, for its de* fence ; and it is certain^ that^ during the Saxon heptarchy, it had ihe name of Snottingham^ from Snoitinga, signifying cavegt %miHam, a home or dwelling place, or perhaps used with a plural signification. It is Dr. Bering's opinion, that this Saxon tiame was doubtless given to it, by that people, from the con- dition they found the neighbourhood in» before they tbein<(elves made improvements by building. It then belonged to iht kingdom of Mercia, and a part olf that kingdom took alter* wards, in king AUred's reign, its name from this town, Snotting- bam Scyre.
It is rather curiou.^, that all the learned investigators of the uriginof Nottingham should have overlooked a particular cir- cumstance, which seems to throw a new light upon its state, in the Saxon times, and perhaps, for some ages previous to thern^ If the Saxon origin, of ihe name of Nottingham, is correct, pay W€ not suppose also, that Snottengat or SncitengcUan, may liave been corrupted into Snenton, or Sneinton. If, then, there "Were two places existing in the Saxon times, by the names of iSnottinga A a/fi, and Snottenga/ori, it is a yery probable conjee* ture, that the spot designated by the appellative of ton, was more considerable than that which had only the adjunct of ham, inasmuch as a town is larger than a village, or hamlet. That P|Ucb was the origin of the name of Sneinton, now a village ad* |(^ining to Nottingham, seems almost beyond a doubt, when we
F "S consider
•4 VOTTIVOHAMSntftB.
coniider Umt ii potseflses ezteiisiTe' cav^mii of an antiquity equal to that of tlie latter place, or at leatt apparently so : and It is mttch to be regretted that the able antiquaries of past dajrs were not in possession of such a clue to conjecture. Tis not for us to Tenture further into a subject so capable of extension ; but we may he allowed to express a hope that some local an- tiquary will be induced to investigate \t, as far as probability will authorise his research.
From the period of the union of the Saxon heptarchy. Not* tingham seems to hare increased in conseqaence. In Edward the Confessor's reign, immediately preceding the Norman con- quest, there were one hundred and serenty three burgesses, and nineteen rilleins, in this borough ; and Earl Tosti had lands and houses here.
• But, perhapSf the proper era from whence we should com- mence our view of the rise and pi^gress of this place, is that period when the Jcingdom was settled, after the Norman acces- sion, and the surrey of Domesday-book, was made. Prom this register it appears that Hugh, the sheriff, (bund here one hundred and twenty dwelling houses, of which the sheriff him- self possessed thirteen ; Roger de Builly had eleven ; William Pevereli the earl, son of Ralph Peverell, who came in with the Norman, had ibrty-eight tradesmen's houses,* which brought htm in thirty shillings per atmum ren^ * seven knights', and thirteen gentlemen's houses, be^des eight borders, forming, in* the wholes his honour of Peverell, in the town ; Ralph de Burun had twelve gentlemen's houses, and one mer- chant's house ; one Guilbert, had four houses; Ralph Fitch'er- bert, eleven houses ; Goisfrid de Anselyn, twenty one houses ;
' Acadus
* It is curious to coDtrait thif turn wiih the value oi Uad iu Nottingham^ 4t the present day. In 1811, the ground for some new baildiogs, in a street, at the end of Smithy Kow, Was sold at the rate of 9L per square yard ; so that three square yards, without buildings, in the year 1811, would yield as mach in intertst of money, m forty-eight houses did« in rent, in the yeat 1086!
VOmVOBAMSHIES. M
Acadas the Priest, two hoiues ; to the crofl of the Priest th*rt were sixty houses ; Richard Tresle« had four lioiises ; and io Ibe borough ditch, seTenteen houses and other six houses'; 'all «nM>iintiDg to two hundred and seventeen*
The compiler of '* Magna Britannia/' published about a etW' tury ago, is of opinioq, that the reason why we find no more iohabitants^ in this borough, it because many of the hooM were deserted, in consequence of the ravages, that took place, in the Norman conquest; and the number was certainly dimi* nished, since the Confessor's reign, for then there were, as we have before noticed, one hundred and ninety-two burgesses^ and yilleins, though, when the first Norman surrey was taken^ there were only one huodred and thirty-six men dwelling there, which number, at the Domesday survey, was reduced to one bundredaod twenty. About this time, however, great en* concagement seems to have been given to resident burgesie% (and we may« perhaps, from hence date the origin of the mb^ dem burgess lands,) for the burgesses had six carucats to plow, and twenty borders, and fourteen carucats, * or plough lands besides. They were also woot to fish in the Tnem, but complained ihat they were then prohibited.
At this period, also, the church, with all things belonging to it» was of 100 shillings annual value.
Having thus investigated its origin, we shall now proceed to take a short view of its general
UirroRY, premising first, from Dering, that Nottingham can claim, as a town of note, the ageof 900 years ; as a considera- ble borough, 761 ; as a mayor's town, 518, being only a cen- tury posterior to the metropolis ; as a parliamentary borough; during which it has constantly sent two representatives, 5SI e
* This iDiut have been a contiderable quantity, for the carucat, or hide, waa lis'icore acres of arable land, together with pasture, and meadow, with' barDt,iUbIes, and dwellings for nich a naraber of men, and beattt, at wer« peeeMary for agricoJtoral purposes.
S6
KOTTlMOHAMSfllRE.
and as a county in itself, a thing y^ry unusual for boroughg, a space of 353 years, up to the year 1812,
The first great historical event, we find connected with the place, was m the year 852, when the Danes, in the course of their frequent ravages, came to this place. In which they were immediaitely afterwards besieged by Buthred, the Mercian king 5 but, with so little prospect of success, as the Danefi had possessed themselves of a strong tower on the scite of the pre- tent castle, that he was obliged to send for assistance to Ethel- ted, king of the West Saxons, and Alured his brother, who, hav* ing collected a large army, proceeded towards Nottingham, and oOered the invaders battle. This, however, they thought pro- per to decline, when the Saxon chiefs attempted to batter down the walls, but even this, they were unable to perform; and at length the Danes, starved out perhaps, agreed to conclude a peace, and return home under their leaders Hcngar and Hubba, From this time, until 940, the Danes were very troublesome to Nottingham, and the surrounding parts of Mercia; for, hav- ing landed with a large army, and got military possession of mil the northern parts of Britain, they lefla large force there, and proceeded to Nottingham, which they took with facility, and fixed their winter quarters there. From this they were again driven by the Saxons j but again returned, and remained until the middle of the tenth century, when king Edmund made a final reconquest of the place*
William the Conqueror came here in 1068, and soon after founded the castle.
In the troublesome limes of Stephen's reign, Ralph Paynell, who was governor of the castle, and in ihe interest of Henry afterwards H«nry the second, invited the earl of Gloucester in 1140, to take possession of the town. It is recorded that the town being thus easily taken, was plundered, and the in- habiLants killedj or burnt in the churches^ to which they had fled for safety* It ia also stated by StoW*^ that one of the rich-
est
Stow'i Sumcoarj, p. 135*
NOTTIKGHAMSHIRl.
€it of ihe inhabitants was forced by a party of the robbers to shew them where his treasure lay; he, accordingly, took them iata a low cellar, from whence he escaped;^ whilst tht:y were intent on plunder; and, having shut the doors, set fire to his house, in consequence of which, not only they were burnt, but the whole town was set in flames, r^utttngham met with the same misfortunes only thirteen years aClerwards; £br being ta- ken by Henry, in 1153, we are told, by Leland, that the garri- son retiring from the city to the castle set fire to the town on their evacuating it.*
It has, however, been otherwise asserted^ that this conOa* gration was caused by the Earl of Ferrers, In the contests be» iween Henry the second and his son Henry, who came sud* denly» with a good number of horsemen to Nottingham, which Reginald de Lucy had then in keeping for the king ; and, hav* ifig taken it, burnt the town, slew the inhabitants^ and divided their goods amongst his soldiers*
After this, from whatever cause it may have proceeded, the town of Nottingham appears to hare lain in ruins^ until the kingdom became quiet by the death of Prince Henry, whom his father had been so imprudent as to cause to be crown* ed duiing his own life time : the inhabitants then, having some prospect of protection for their lives and property, began to make great exertions to restore it to its former consequence^ and the king, in order to make them amends for what they had su^ered from their loyalty, not only gave them evtfry eucou* ragement, and assistance, in the rebuilding of it, but also grant- ed ih cm a writ? charter, in whith ht? confirmed all those free customs which they had enjoyed in the reign of Henry the first* This is a convincing proof, that Nottingham had been a corporation^ for a considerable time, before the grant of this new charter; and it is, with great probability, supposed, that they had enjoyed a market, and paid a farm rent to the crown, •om^ time previous. John earl of Morteyii, Henry's younger
F 4 soo^ • Lcland Collect, vol. 3. p* 3lf.
18
HOTTIKGHAMSIIIRS.
I
•on, afterwards king* procured them some further pmHegei being matle earl of Nottingham ; and by a new charter, which conBrnied on coming to the throne > granted all the advan- ge», which his father ami great grandfather bad bestowed ion tliero, together with a merchant's guild, or fraternity. During the contests between Richard the first and his hfo* er John, Nottingham changed hands several times ; and, on the king's return from his captivity* this castle held out a siege of several days, tboygh the king himself besieged it person.
Soon after, Richard called a parliament here, in which lie j demanded judgement against John and his accomplices: and the |*ar I lament immediately issued summonses for John, and Ihe baions* his friends, to appear in forty days, to answer all j CompkintK, under pain of forfeiture on the part of John, and for the others, lo stand such censure, as might be awarded Against them, by the parliament. In cotisequcnce of non-com - pliance, earl John incurred the foi feitore, bot was soon restor* ed by his brother J however, after coming to the crown, we find ihaU in hia contest with the barons, an attempt was made to de- prive himof this place, by the ♦'army of God, and the Holjy Church," as it was then called, but without sixccess.
On a subsequent occasion in 1213, John was so pressed, that, having reci'ived repeated intelligence of a plot against him, he distrusted even the officers about his person, and relying solely on the loyally of this town, and of some foreign archers^ disbanded his army, and retired here to &hut himself up in the castle.
InI33D, the well known event of the seizure of Monimer, earl of March, by the young king Edward the third, took place in I he castle ; but that will be treated of more fully in
another place.
Seven years afterwards a parliament was called together for Tery imporUnt purposes, and Nottingham has the honour of ^cing the spot, from whence emanated laws that were the first
foundation
KOTTINGllAMSIflRE.
foonijaljon of England^s greatness^ as a manufacturiiig comitiy i for here it was enacteil, that whatsoever cloth- workers of Flan* ders« or of other countries, would dwell, aiKl inhabit in £ii« gland, should come quietly^ and peaceably, and the mo«t €oii-» venient places should be assigned to thcnii with great liberties and privilege*], and the king would becotne surety for them, until they should be able to support themselves by their SO'^ ireral occupations. The same parliament also passed that pa- triotic laW| that no per&on should wear any foreign made cloths^ with the exception of the royal family: they also prohibited the exportatioD of English wool.
A curious attempt to infringe on the liberty of election took place here, m the reign of Richard tlie second, which is well worthy of notice. In 1386« the marquis of Dublin, the royal favourite, having been dismissed in consequence of the remon- ^trances of Parliament, he, and some of his adherents, soon alter procured access to the king, and was, in a few weeks, accom- panied by the misguided monarch into Wales; where it was privately settled, that a plan for the assumption of arbitrary power should be put lu force, and that the patriotic barons, the duke of Gloucester, the earls of Arundel, Dt^rby, War- wick, and Nottingham, should be the Brst victims, not only for the purpose of revenge, but of security. In order to insure the success of their plan, it was determined that the King should raise an army to keep those barorui m check, and that he should then call a parliament^ the elections for which should be so managed as to have none but the Ifriends of the favourites summoned or elected, so that there would be no difficulty in passing any law which might he proposed. No sooner was everything prepared, than Richard, with his /a vou rites and their friends, proceeded to Nottingham, where all the sheriiFs, and all the judges, were sent for, together with many of the principal citizens of London ; to these^ when assembled^ the monarch communicated his design of proceeding with an army (o chastise tbe noblemen, already mentioned^ and demanded of 4 019
irOTTllTGHAIfSHllIX*
1
tbe fiherifrs> what number of troops they could raise immedi- ately. He then told them to permit no representatives to be chosen for the new parliament, that were not in the list, which be should deliver to them himself; but the sherifTs immediate- ly answered, that it was not possible'to execute his orders; for the people were in general so partial to those noblemen, t^t it would be difficult to levy an army against them ; and they corw eluded by stating, that it would be still more difficult to depri the people of their right of freely electing tbcir repre^entativi in parliament.
The judges, however, were neither soscrapnloiis, nor so pa- triotic, as the sheriffs ; for ihey answered to the queries put t9 them, '' that the King was above the law ;" yet, when required to sign this opinion, they endeavoured to evade it, until forced by the menaces of the court party,* Notwithstanding this forced submission of the judges, Richard found it imposaible to do any thing at Nottingham, and therefore returned to London.
Nottingham was at>erward5, in I4G1, the rendezvous of Ed- ward the fourth, where he collected his troops, and caused him- self to be proclaimed King, immediately at\er landing at Ha- ve nspur in Yorkshire,
In 14H5, Richard the third marched from Notltngham to- wards Bosworth- field, in order to decide the fate of England in his fatal contest with Henry the seventh ; and Henry the ne- f enthj two years afterwards, (in 1487) held his council of war at Nottingham previous to the battle of Stoke, which we shall have occasion to notice more fully in another place*
We must not neglect to nolice an extraordinary tempest, which took place here, in the reign of Queen Mary, and which is thus stated by Stow, in his Chronicle* He sayi*, that on th«
7iKof
• *Tls alm<ist unnecessary to state to tTioie acqeainted with Englbb lu«torj, tliit ibete judges^vere sir Robert Tresilinn* lord chief justice of the Ling'i bench, who vras tfterwards bsngt'd at Tyburn : Sir Robert Belknap, chief justice of Ihc cominon pleas ; Sir Joho Holt i Sir Roger FuJlliorp { Sir \VU' 1^ de Burgb ; ind John Locktoa^ Sergeant ae liiv.
NOTTINOIIAMSIIIRC*
TtH of July, 1559, " was witbin a mile of Nottinghao), a mar- vellous tempest of thunder, which, as it came tbrough two towns, (Lenton ami Wilfonl,) beat down all the houses and churches, the bells were cast to the outside of the chwrch-yard^ and some webs of lead 400 feet, into the field, writhe n like a pair of gloves. The river Trent running between the two towns, the water with the mud in the bottom, was carried a tjuarter of a mile^ and c&st against the trees; the trees were polled up by the roots, and cast twelve-score foot oft. There fell some hailstones that were 15 inches about/*
In 1649, Charles the first «et up his standard here, which will be noticed more fully in another place* It is unnecessary to recapitulate all the occurrences connected with this event, as ^bey may be seen at large both in Bering and Thoroton. It is sufficient to say, that the town being soon after in possession of the Parliament, the government was entrusted to Colonel Julius Hutchinson, whose memoirs hav^ lately been published, and who, however he might have erred in his politics, has yet the merit of being true to the side he had choaen. In 1643, he seems to have been strongly tempted to deliver it up to the King's fnends, by the earl of Newcastle, who offered him the sum of 10,000/, and promised also a grant of the castle and its government, to him and bis heirs, which he refused, accord- ing to his own account transmitted to the Parliament. During the next year, 1644, there seems to have been a paltry kind of skirmishing carried on between the royal garrison of New- ark, and that of Nottingham*; for we are told by Whitlock, who is copied by Dering, that colonel Hutchinson met with a party of the people from Newark, when he slew iheir captain^ ftnd took 50 prisoners ; and that be and his party« on the next day, took more of them consisting of twenty gentlemen, and officers, together with sixty of their horse. Shortly after a detachment of the Newark garrison^ having come rather too near to Nottingham, to levy contributions^ and to take some prisoners^ they were pursued^ by a party of the Nottingham
DOTTING BAMSUIRE.
ironpsi ^nd escaped, with the loss of all their prUoners^ mod five or six of iheir own party; but the Nottiogliam menj fol- lowing too close, were, in their turn^ assailed by fresh troops, iheir prisoners taken from tbero^ and also two officers, and about thirty horsemen.
Some differences seem to ha?c taken place, between the gar- rison and the town cotninittce in 1645, so that the Parliament were obliged to refer ihem to a committee of both houses; a measure evidently necessary, as, during these intestine broils in the town, a party of horse, from Newark, had stormed a fort upon Trent bridge, and became masters of it« after putting about forty men to the sword.
But it is unnecessary tu recapitulate all the eFents of that time, we shall, therefore, just notice that after the restoration, in 16S2^ a surreptitious surrender of the charter was procured by the ministers of Charles the second, which occasioned great disturbances. A new charter was granted^ but even this was taken away in IG87, by king James the second, by a writ of quo warranio.
A rery copious account of the subsequent events will be found in Bering^ but it is not irrelevant to add, that it was at Nottingham the meeting took place between the earl of De- vonshire, and several other noblemen, in order to promote the glorious revolution of 1688, when a slop was put to the insi- dious attempt to introduce popery into the kingdom^ and thai too by the assistance of the Dissenters ; for such certainly wa^ James's ptan^ notwilbstanding all that has been asserted to the contrary, by some modern whigs.* The internal quiet of the kingdom, from this period, until the present day, (with one or two slight exceptionsj] leaves us little more to record of past events, respecting Nottingham : we shall, tharefore, merely
briefly
* In this we beg 1c«ve to be oodentood, m$ r«eording nn UiitrmrAl factV withoQt reference to potitica) or to parly opiniooij twa ttiiogs whiob ougbt Acrtftialj to be mToktcd m » wori.of Uiia kiad.
briefly notice some late occurrences, which fall with mo«t pro* priety under this general head.
Throsby tells us, that in the year 1777, as some workmen were clearing away the rubbish at a place called Derry Mounts Ihey discovered sereral human bones, which appeared in a per- fect state* III a scull, there was the appeai^nce of a bullet- hole; a dagger likewise was fouml with the skeletons, which p were five in mimber, and a piece of silver coin, the legend not legible. But from a tradesman's token, of the date of 1GC9, it was supposed, that those people might have fallen in some skir- mish during the civil wars, or at least during the Protectorate,
A most extraordinary natural phenomenon took place here in \7&5, which has been considered as perhaps one of the larg* est water-spotits» ever seen in this country. It happened on the first of November. In the morning the sky was clear ; but the preceding day had been overcast, and some claps of thun- der heard in the evening, though at a considerable distance* About eleven in the morning it became overcast like the former day» and rained heavily at interval^?, until the afternoon, the wind being first at south-west, and then falling calm. At four in the afternoon, the water-spout was first FCen, proceeding from a dense cloud, apparently about a quarter of a mile to the southward of the Trent, and moving slowly towards it; and It was remarked, that the branches of the trees, over which ll passed, were bent downwards to the ground.
As the cloud came nearer to the river, it appeared to be strongly attracted by it, and when it crossed did not seem more than 30 or 40 feet from the surfisce of the water, which was violently agitated, and tlew upwards to a great height in every direction. Some persons who saw it from the Trent bridge, then only about 300 yards distant, mistook it at first for a column of thick smoke rising from a warehouse by the Trent lide, which they supposed to be on tire; but they were soon undeceived, and now beheld with astonishment a large black inverted cune, terminating nearly in a point, and in which
they
^i^ ym^wmirmrf phiBly* at they fkfterwardi said, a whiti* mg spiral motion, whilst a nunbliog' noise like thunder waa kB8i4^^di<rtaDce, By the description which those people l^ive ef it, (att4 indeed they may be supposed to hare exanua* ed it oooUy» whilst they ^opposed it to be only ^ colttmn of psaktf) the middle of the con^ appeared nearly twenty -fisel la4ttineter. After passing the rifer, it ascended slowly asid mfyesMcally IB a N*E» direction; and nothing coming within Aelipits qt its.electric pfAwen^ niitil it cafne orer Soenton, ii dNure 9l]it began its devastation, taking the th^b from sereral barps and collages, and toMring up soine apple treea by the TCM^ on^. of which was (iw fieet in circwnference,. yet waa br^lBep short off near the groonn^ and. the body and braachea ciip^ad seTonal yards. A barn- near 30 yards long waa lefelled iril^.^ie grenodf ^ a4joiniipg boose was onmoM* fod other- wjienmch shatterejd ; a sycamore in tfae^yard^^ which nwasnred BCfprlj. Iw^o yards in cirdunferai^e, waf,tom np; in ahor^ bi>» Ih^ coald resist the hppetiiosity of ita action ; and the rain hSf^f heaTily at the ^e, jo^md to the roaring noise of the sp9«v uid t^^ by the mmtbjf of the phenomenon, prodnced amepgpt the spectators a scene of terror and confotion which» they acknowledged, was not eaay to be described.
It viras suted also, that in a tavern in the outskirts of the vil^ lage^ it tore off part of the ro^ whilst the people within were'' almost all of tbem seized with a painful sensadbii in the head, which la*ited some hours : and the spout in passing orer the ad- joinmg close where a number of people were collected, it being the usual statute for hiring servants, affi>vded rather alo- dicrous scene wherein hucksters, stalliv baskets, &c. were all thrown into confusion, and some of the people hurled with great violence against the hedge, but happily without any se» riousMcident One boy indeed, about 14 yeaiaof age,issaid to have been actually carried over the hedge inlo^ an adjoining field, but without being iiyured. Some flashes of light were observed in its passing the fields;
8 and
w^TTi NO B A ws Hmm*
I
ati(! a« the dou^ pa.<;$ed orer the hill^ oppostte to the tavern, the fpout was observed to contract and expand alternately, as if it had been attracted, and repelled, by some extraneous force.
I It continued in ail about twenty minutes.* We have beijn more particular in noticing this phenomenon^ because it seems described with more accuracy than any iimtlar one which has happened in the kingdom.
It is always unpleasant, to record the rbullitionfi^ and nut- rag<es, of parly* whatever may have been their original pritici* pies ; yet we cannot wholly pa** over the events, in the year
11794 J but shall avoid all chance of misapprehension, by a quo- tation from Mr. Throsby, who seems the most moderate of the local historians that have noticed these unhappy disturbances, and to have confined himself to historical fact, without animad* rersion. He commences with the pleasing observation, that this year was marked by the loyalty of the inhabitants of tha town aitd county, in support of the constitution, and defence of the empire^ in the raising of four troops of gentlemen yeo- matu'y and cavalry, the ranks of which were filled up with the most respectable of the inhabitants in general, and the whole
I under the command of A. H* Eyre, Esq. of Grove : the Not- tingham company having Ichabod Wright, Esq* for their cap- tain. On this occasion he remarks, that none shewed more loyalty I in the way of subscription, than a club in Nottingham, called the loyal society.
Unfortunately, however, in July of the same year, a serioiu disturbance took place, in consequence of some people, " evil afiected,'' as it has been said, shewing sigits of pleasure on the arrival of some unpleasant news from the continent, and wear- ing in their hats, emblems, &c, A party of royalists in con* sequence (or, as another local historian describes them» a num- ■ l»erof violent politicians under /»rr^4-yice of loyalty 0 ducked se- veral disalFected people in the river; but not stopping there, tht mob at night set fire to some outworks of Mr. Dennison^s
cotton
« Vidt Gent'i Mag> for 1765.
SS SrOTTIlfOHAMSHIBB.
cotton-mill^ in wbick some oF tfaoto considered as JaooMu bed taken shelter, and from whence it has been asserted that some •hot were fired* The vigUance of the magistrates and their friend^, however, assisted by the light horse from the bar- racks, prevented farther mivhief than the baming of some premises, not of any extraordinary value : but the next day still continued as a day of ducking and disorder, until the popular ebullition subsided*
Mr. Throsby, also records a great flood, which took place here, on the 7th of February 1795, after a severe week's frosW and in which, by an accurate estimate, upwards of one million of damage was done by the Trent alone« Many fiimilies, both in the town, and mdeed in all the villages bordering on that fiver, were great sufihrers, from the loss of cattle drowned, and from the damage done to their goods. The new gravel road to the Trent bridge, which had been heightened and improved at different times at a very considerable expense, and the beau- tiful canal cut, which forms a collateral branch with the river Lene, received such imo^nse fracture^ as to require an im- mense expense for their repair ; and the new Lene bridge, with its accompanying arches formed to draw the water off the road, was also materially injured.
From that period, nothing remarkable has happened at Not- tingham until the unfortunate disturbances amongst the stock- ing manufacturers in the early part of 181:2, and a short time preceding ; but the occurrences are too recent to require de- scription, and it is to be hoped, that the parliamentary regula- tions which are taking place, whilst these sheets are in the press, will prevent the necessity of any further notice* We •hall now proceed to the consideration of the
Local Topography, oF Nottingham, which the author of the tour through Great Britain very justly states to be, one of the most pleasant and beautiful towns in England, from its situation, even if its various buildings were not to be taken into the account. We have already noticed the various circumstances,
connected
V0TTIV6B4JltBpM« 9?
connected with iu approach from diflferent quarterip and thall now slightly notice its
Situation and Extent, the former of which k pdrhape aft fiiTOurable as can well be imagined* With respect to its retaU tire situation to the kingdom in general. Dr. Bering Tory jtistl j observes that it lies almost in the middle, equidistant fipom Betf^ wick upon Tweed northward, and Southampton southfhtr4» at the same time that there is very little difference in hs^dbtance from Boston and Chester, on an east and west line.
It is locally fixed in the south west comer of the county, anS of the venerable Sherwood forest, and drily and afarily silualaA upon a soft rock coyered with A sandy soil« On three sidesi it is sufficiently protected by gentle eminences from the moal hurtful blasts, whilst its southern aspect gives it every advtn* tage of the enli? ening rays of the noon4ide sun at all seanae 6i the year* On this point of view, it overlooks the fertile and extensive vale of Belvoir, the Nottinghamshire wold^ and the hills of Leicestershire ; a prospect not only pleasing from its beauty, but also from the consideration of the great fertility of the vicinity, particularly in the barley crops, and which has rendered Nottingham so long fomous for mah and ale.
The rock on which it stands, is so high that even the gronhd floors of many houses on its summit, are a long way elevated above the rook's of other habitatibns situated in the NarrowMarsh at its foot. Indeed the stranger is struck with the novelty of the prospect when in one part he contemplates three tiers of streets, each overlooking the one immediately below it, and many of the houses iu these streets with apartments cut into the rock, below the cellars of the superior ones.
From several breaks in the High and Low Pavements, and in the Casile Lane, the birds eye view of the houses and gardens between the foot of the rock and the rivers Lene and Trent, is extremely picturesque, and becomes more so when the spec- tator views the more distant scenery extending from the romaAv
Vo*.XII. G tic
lie and pleasing hllU of Sneinton and Colwick in the mxith casf round by Bridgeford and Gamston, &c. to the deep eitr* bowered village of VVilford, overtopped by the shady groves of Clifton.
The ancient extent of tlie town was from Chapel bar aerosf the Mansfield road towards the present house of correction, from whence it turned short to the southward, through Coa1*pit lane, and thence to the HoUnw stone, then forraing the southern entrance into the town ; thence along ilie pavements towards the south side of Castle gate« joining the castte rock^ near to the present brew house yard,
in later times (about the middle of the last century,) Bering telb us that the town of Nottingham was about two statute milet, and the County of the town spread its jurisdiction upwards of ten miles, in circumference; the boundaries of which they carefully preserve by chusing every half year a certain nooi* ber of persons of the town, headed by one of the coroners^ which are called the Middkion Jury, a name supposed by Be- ring to be contracted from " middle town Jury," not only b«* cause they are summoned from amongst the towns people, btit because whilst they take care of the extreme boundaries, ibey likewise walk through the middle, and every part of the town# taking notice of, and preventing^ all iucroachments and niiit- ances.
The nourishing condition of DQanufactures in Nottingham have, however, during a course of many years, considerably extended iLs limits, so as to have added perhaps one half to iti superficial contents within the last century ; whilst the progresi of building, not only in the very heart of the town, but alao in its outskirts, promises a further increase, as soon as the com* mercc of the world shall be restored to its ancient fooling. The
ANcrRNT Wails, and Gates, of Nottingham are now scarce* ly to be traced, although in Leiand's time some part of them WIS remaining; he says, "the town hath been meetly welte
wallid
XOTTINORAMSIllRS.
99
^Mid with stone, and hath had divers gates, much of the wal- le 15 noiv dowiie, and the gates, savinge 2 or S."
The ancient line of wall we have alrtady noticed in describ- ing the extent of the town informer times ; to thi^ we have lit« lie more to add than that the original wall was butlt by Kdward the elder for the better security and d trie nee of the place about the year 910, and that WUliamthe Conqueror made »ome ad- dition to them on building the c&%i\e ; for after that, the wall of the town joined the outer wail of ihe castle, and thence ran 1 northward to Chapel bar. Of this> in Bering's time, there were manSfesit ve.iiigeH remaining ; and Throsby says, that though from Chapel bar north, and round to the east, the true ancient wall i^ not to be traced above ground, yet even withia a few years, some parts of it have been found in digging; and he adds that of the wall extending westward along the rock by the coal yard to the hollow stone, a portion was lately visible. Denng says, that about midway between the castle and Cha- pel bar, in a part of the dituh now formed into a reservoir, som« ruins were to be seen in his time of a postern, which was erected ill consequence of a precept of Henry the third, in which he pOrders *< his bailiffs and burgesses of Nottingham without delay lomake a postern in itie wall of the said town, near thecastle^ towards Lenton, of such a breadth and height that two armed borsemt^n carrying two lances on their shoulders might go \a jAiid out ; where IViUiam, Archbishop qf Yark, had appointed it, ^ho made the King understand that it was expedieiit for him ;^nd his heirs, and for the castle and town*'-*— most certainly iber a curious subject for an arckbUhop to advise his monarch ; it is, however, a pretty specimen of «good old tiroes'* ! From ihis postern, adds Dering, a bridge went over the town itch, which though long since hlled up, along with the whole !4ine of fosse on this side of the town may be traced, whilst the «citc of the bridge \^ even now called Bmton Bridge, an evi- ent corruption of the original jianie. Great part of the ditch If if ftill occupied as kitchen gardens, and there i% a bury- G 2 iaf
too
HdttlKOilAMSHIKE*
itg gfoond of the Baptists at one end of it ; whilst the lane tKal j ntos along It b called B^f// Dyke, having formerly been uaed as ij ftireof exerci^ for the toHU*s people In archery.
ANtft the middle of the last century, Chapel bar wasp sad fvai Uieii the last remaining specimen of the ancle Uttdtr ii kad been two arched rooms one of which waij Mr a milttary chapel, but which had foi yota bittt occupied as a brewhouse by an alderman I tubs having been placed even on t t to Ibeir former sanctity, iiome ^cetiou mm a kick at the fallen siupersUtions t %%MKm4 ys Fega84is in dramng up what i
** INir fFHia rf gH IwfJ wafen into Cod, Aid ^vt ft«t lijaeit brwd Ibr Be«h aud blood, ■iC WW a lifMd «jfrt*t7\ here let up,
r piliil tadkpMii both^ p«rtal« tlie cop/*
Tise HoUom Sume, tliovgli mneb altered of late years, mt] now atill be oonstdered as the remains of an ancient entranced or gate to ibe Kwrik About seventy years ago it was a very narrow pafttge* having been secured by a strong portcullis^ of which at that time there were some evident traces to be seen. Within the gale on the \eh hand, there was a cavity cut in the fock capable of holding twenty men with a fire place and l>ettches, evidently designed for a guard house, and having a ttairciise cut aUo in the rock for the relief of the centineli^^d Dr, Deriiig considers this as having been used for military puP^fl poses even as late as the civil wars, perhaps first executed at that very period. This pa>i5age» however, is now sufficiently wide for two carriages to pass, in consequence of a late duke mt Kingtton» in the year 1740, having made a present to the corporation of a house which belonged to him standing on the fOtk above the passage, and which being pulled down enabled the workuien to proceed in cutting away the rock to its present
wndth.
SH6BAH8B1E]
Jth, During ihxs process the labourers met with some por- tions of the ancient wall^ of which the mortar formed lh<.^ hard- est part.
There h perhaps no town in the kingdom that has a more curious variety of names for rxs streets than Nottingham; all tak«;n from the yarious circitmstances of relative situations, or their peculiar qualities. Some of them, and these arc even now the most frequented for trade, take their appellations from the different occupations exercised in them at the time wht:ii Nottingham had a considerable portion of that species of the Iron manufacture now transferred to Birmingham, such as Bridle- smith Gale, Girdlesmiih Gale, Fletcher Gate, &c. ; others from different animab, Cow lane, Sheep lane, &g.* and some Jew lane. Rotten row, Cuckstool row, &c. sufficiently descrip- tive of their various properties*
There is another street which runs along the north side of the town, at the back of that range of buildings that forms one side of the market place and Long row ; this had a name which, though certainly very appropriate to its situatioti^ is said by Throsby to have been disagreeable to the ears of a Mr. Rouse, a resident in it, a man of some property, but generally consiclered as a little deranged in his inlellerts. The proof which Throsby adduces of this, is, that he ottered hiraselO i^ot many years ago, as a candidate at an election to serve in Parlia- ment, and this, he says, was done in one of his mad fits ! In order to accomplish his design^ he treated his companions, who were all of the lower order of the electors, with ale, purl, and sometimes with rhubarb, which he strongly recommended to all as an excellent thing for the human constitution j and no doubt would have proposed measures of a similar tendency for the political conslitution had his ambition been gratified*
Notwithstanding his fundness for this medicine, he disliked the name of the street in which he resided, and conceiving thai the residence of a man who wished to get into pavliameut should bear some reference to ihe object of his aambition he
G 3 caused
tot
]rOTTlKGItAMgBlR£.
caused at hU own expense a number of boards to be stuck at Ibe most conspicoous corners and passages, bywhicb tbc who could read, mere informed that they were in Parliament ^ Scr«et* He and his ambition are now in the silent grave, but h3M eflbHs %0 gel some how or other into a parliamentary way* mtttWt beliere, not quite obliterated^ and the learned of thi liei^b^vHiood in order to shew their readings have adopted his wya, littt the UUieraie are still rude enough to make use of in noce vnlgar appellation.
Tlie Stb^cts* in general, are upon a narrow scale, if we eepi ihe CaMle gati; aod the high Pavement; and we are sor to ay, whilst describing the beauties of Nottingham, that there k loo miach tnith in Throsb>^s observation, which we shall ^Mteb btttleaipered with the confession that we have perceived constderable imp'rovement in this respect in some parts of the ifrwiu whibt IB others the censure must be allowed to remain in full ktrce. We have heard it said that the great clash of pwtirs in Hottinghaa] operateSi in some degree, against unani* MIy to ■wwircs necessary for the improvement and welfare «f tile town; if thts is the case, we must hope that a more laberml spirit will begin to shew itself; for, that there is much of • liberal spirit, in the leaders at least, is evident from the ac* live e^tertions which have lately been made, and are still mak- ing here* in the eitise of benevolence^ and which we shall have occasion to notice more fully under the beads of the In- firmary and Lunatic Asylum. Mr< Throsby's observation is as fcUows :— ''but when it is said that the scile of Nottingham is delightful, the air salubrious^ and the town one of the pleasant^ est in the kingdom, it must he lamented that the new building are erected, many of ihein, without any design of forming regular streets. Well contrived streets or passages'* he adds *'arc highly conducive to health and cleanliness; but here la a rtmrrtction of buildings, generally without order, seated like clusters of mushrooms in a field cast up by chance/' Hi thtfn eiclaims^ ** how the gathered filth within doors is scattered '
daily.
KOTTI NOH AMSHtftB.
103
I
I
I
I
^i\y^ in the dirty passages wiihout, in the front of the dwell- iJigs! — and many of these streets ami lane.s, if so they may called, are without any sort of pavement, consequently wit[i- OQt regulated water courses, and consequently pregnant with mischievous trfftcis,"
Of the Caves and Cavekns in th^ town we have already ilightly spoken. Letaml says« '^ southward as to the waterside be great clifes and rokkes of stones, that be large and very gtjod to build with, and many houses settle on the toppes of thera ; and at the botom of iliese be great caves, where many stones hath been diggid oute for buildings yn the town, and these caves be purtely for cellars and .storehouses." Many of thc^ caves and cellars are but of modern date; others no doubt are extremely ancient^ peiiiaps enlarged in diticrent eras ; and it is by no means unlikely that a strict antiquarian research into the subtei-raaean part of Notti«ghaHi might be attended with some very interesting discoveries.
For want of any very recent information on this subject, we must be content to take notice of some circumstances which took place during the last century, and which are handed to its on the authority of Bering, but unfortunately that is again found* ed merely on the story of a bricklayer, who, if he was a fel-- low of any thing like what is called ^rniuj by the lower clas* teSt might perhaps have been amusing himself with the ere-* dulity of the local antiquary,
Bering, indeed, speaking generally of these excavalions« *ay«, that in several parts of the town structures of a very con- siderable extent, arched in a regtdar manner, and supported by columns with carved capitals, have been discovered at dif* ferent times, together wiih apartments for lodging places with obscure entran<:es, whilst digging for foundations for the houses in Long Row, and on the south side of the market place. But there may be something apocryphal in the story of a brick« layer, who assured liirn that, when an apprentice, and at work near the Weekday Cro^s, be got into one of those subterraneous
G 4 fabrics^
104 .: ir0tTI|r99AVflHIM.
Abrics, mpported by tbofe ornameDted pillari already no- Iked^ and through which he made hb way to the upper end of lUcher gate^ ha?ipg found tb^re a wooden eap jand a wooden can» which aeemed to be found and whole* but» on being taken hold oC mouldered into dust.
Tb» conclusion drawn from this by Dering is too erroneoos lo escape notice; fe^r be says 'nhese places being of the Ooikie order, I coi^^ecture to bare been contriYed in the time of the Jieptarcby/' which was in iact about three hundred yean b^cre Ibe introduction of Qoikk ^rckiucnarc into England ! There is^ howeveri more apparent probability in the sequeU as the causes which he assigns may hare not only brought some of the ancient excayations into, use, bpt rendered the making of elhers necessary ; .for he observes that tbe Damt, who were then Bagans, made frequent inroads into the kingdom of Mer- laa, where they exercised in a most extraordinary manner their cruelties upon nuns and Iriars, and indeed upon Christian priests of all kinds* . To them, therefore, these cares might have been a refege in time of danger, and there they might possibly have, been in the habit of performing their religious duties, without the danger of being exposed to the fury of those.persecuting idolaters. The
Castle is the first object of particular curiosity to a stranger ; not so much perhaps for its own beauty, as for its commanding aituation, and the interesting historical passages connected with it. Camden, who wrote whilst the ancient fortress was in ex- istence, briefly observes, that this castle rises on a bold rock on the west side of the town, where it is supposed to have been anciently a fort which the Danes held out against Ethelred as already mentioned ; but without attending to suppositions, we .have the historical fact that it was founded by William the Con- queror, and its govcmineut conferred on William Peverel, who seems, or at least his son, to have been the superintendant of
its erection.*
Of
e Xhif cistle not being mentioned in Domesdajf'boolr, has led some to sop- pose that it was not erected until the reign of Heniy the fint.
KOTTINOHAMBRIRB,
105
ad
Of in State at that period, we are told by William of New* bargh, that it was made so strong both by nature and art, that it was esteemed impregnable (except by tamine) if provided with a sufficient gaiTison.
In the reign of Edward the third, it was considered so strong as to be a secure residence for the Queen-mother and the earl of March ; and it was by stratagem only that the youthful mo* narch, (as we shall notice more fully} was able to procure ac* €€ss in order to check the arrogance of the favourite.
It was aCterwards much enlarged by Edward the fourth, par* ticuiarty with an immense tower, said to have been a stately and mugnificent fabric of atone ; to which Richard the third added a tower, or so much enlarged and strcngthcfned that built by his brother, as to be the reputed founder of it, and of this
e scite may still easily be ascertained.
Those who are anxious to enquire accurately into its form and extent may have recourse to Bering, who, by means of quotation, aided by conjecture, is very copious on the subject; but perhaps the best delineation we can give of its ancient stale will he from Leland, who visited it in the reign of Henry the eighth. He says *' there is a great likelihood that the cas- telle was builded of stones taken out of the rokke and the great ditches of it.
The Base Court is large and meetly strong, and a stately bridge is there with pillars, being bestes and Giantes, over the ditch into the second warde ; the frontier of the which warde in the entering is axceedinge slronge with tnures and portecoleces. Much part of the west i^ide of this inner warde# as the haul and other thinges be yn ruines. Tlje ci^t side is stronge and well toured ; and so is the south side*
Bui the moste bcautifullejit and gallant building for lodging is in the north side where Etlward the 4ih, began a right sump- tuous pccc of stone work, of the which he ckrely Bnished an excellent goodlie tour tif ;) heights yn building, and brought up the other part likewise frnm the foundation with stone and
marvel us
106
1irOTTlildHAMSfflR£.
manrelus fair compactd windoes to layyng of the first soyle for
chatBht^rs and their lofte.
Then king Richard his brother, as I hard there, forced up upon that worke another peecc of one loft of tymbre* making round wmdows al^o of tynihre to the proportiuii of the afore- snid windows of Stone^ a good fi^utuialion for tlic new tymbre windows. So that surely thai north part is an exceding piece of work.
The dongfon or keepe of the cmstelle standeth by south anJ egt, and is exceding strong ei muura laci ti opere^
Ther is an old fair chapel ie ^nd a walle of a greate depthe* The kepers of the ca.stelle say Edv^ard the thirdes band came up through the rok and toke the erie Morlyiner prisoner.
There is yet a fair stair to g.i down by the rok to the ripe of Lene. There be diverse buildings belvryxt the dungeon and the imier court of the castelle ; and !Uer goith also douiic a stair ynto the groundi \\h%T Davy kinge of iScottes, as the castettanes say^ was kept as a prisoner.
1 marked in all 3 chapetles yn the castiHe, and 3 welles/*^ From ibis description of Le)und's» it \% evident that this 15 one of tlie castles which had been permilted to go to decay in the preceding reign ; but, as Thorolorr says^*^ the whole became far more rniuous in the possession of Francis, e;irl of Rutland, in the latter end of whose time, many of the gooffly buildings were pulled down, and the iron and other ntateriaU i^ld/'
During the civil warK« we have already seen that it wasoc* copied merely as a fortress ; but was soon after, by order of Cromwell so far demolisbed as to render it unserviceable tor war*.
After the restoration, the duke of Buckingham claimed it in right of his mother ; but soon after sold it to the duke of New- castle, who, in the year 1674, and at the advanced age of %% began to clear away the whole of the ancient work, and build the present mansion, which he lived to see about three feet above the ground i and dying in 167G, it was fuiished according
to
NOTTIKGBAMStilKE.
107
lo hvB pUn about three years afterwarda* Before vrt proceed ii> delineate lis present state, it will be proper to take some notice of
MoBTiMER^s "Hole, which J with its history, has caused a long controversy amongst the various writers since the days of Camden ; but which we shall be able to delineate with accuracy and novelty through the kind attention of Mr, Streilon of Lenton priory, the present archi- tect of the castle, and lo whose indefiitigable spirit of research the historical world is much indebted for a local discovery which conBrtns the ancient chronicles in their simple statements, and clears up that immense mass of doubt and conjecture in which so many later hisiuriaus have completely lost their way. It I8i at the same time, necessary to remark, that the discovery to which we allude, had been partisLlly known before, although the later commentators had, by some unaccountable neglect, failed lo avail themselves of the light which it throws upon the whole story,
Rapinj speaking of the plan of Edward the third, to seize upon the favourite, takes his account of it from the old ehro* nicies, and nays, that *' to execute hi^ designs, he chose the lime the parliu^ment was to meet at Nottingham.
The court being come to that town, queen Isabella and the carl of March lodged in the castle with a guard of one hundred and eighty knights;* whilst the king with a small rttinue was lodged in the town.
In spite of these precautions, w htch seemed to shew that the the queen and favourite were not without their uneasiness, Ed- ward having gained the governor,t entered the castle through
a seem
* Stow &ayt that tlie Queen !iad itio leys of tfae castle brouglit to tier every niglifj and laid them under her pillow.
♦ The governor was Sir Willianj Elands who, ia « MSS< chroitklc qmited by Dcriiigj la deicribed tii »<iyiiig to llie young king, when the matter vtui, first proposed. " Sir woll ye understands^ that the y ftts of tbc caMcIlc bcth loltcii witU Ukjh mud queen laabell ^ent hldder by nigtit foi tlic kayca dicreof, and they
* Msret passagDf Aiid ctme into his mother's aptrtment^there watmt first aoino noise nade, and two knights of the gnard were killed. The earl of March was apprehended, and notwith- standing the queen's cries and entreaties to spare the gallant IfortiBier, he was carried oat the same way the king came in, siad conducted nnder a strong guard to the tower of Lwidon.^* tnw oldeet description of the pamtige thas alluded to, b In f Camden,
kelsjrdtf under tb« cbemseO of her beddii bede anto tlie morrow, and to I Mtj aot cone into Ibe eaatell by the jats no mraner of wjte, bat yet I know hnHber wigre by an nley tbet stietcbetb oete of the word tinder die esidie kill^ tbe CRfleU tbat gootb into the wett;, which eley qoeen Usbeli no wete fiCber mcayne ne the Mortimer ne none of his compenye Jcnowtk al not, end so I ahall lede yoa throogh the aley^ and co ye shall come into the caitell without aspiges of any men tbat beth your Enemies." Stowe and the other cktwiklers inform ns more partSeotarly than Rapin seems to bare Ibonght Mscwary, that it was upon Friday after the feaat of St. Lnke, in tbe dead ifaM of tbe niebt* that tbe kinf and bis party ^ got into tbe cistlt by a way ■mde nnder gronnd. which through a rock pcsirfk ly stairt «p ta tbe kitfr (wbkb place hath ever since been called MortioMr's Hple) and entering a rqom next to the queen's lodgings, found the Earl with Henry bishop of lineoln, and some others, &c.'* Vide Magna Britannia, Vol. IV. p. 7* The qneen Is stated to ba^e exclaimed, ** Bel Fitz, Bel Fitai ayes pitie do gentill Mortimer."
^iXbia anfortnnate favounte was not beard in bis defence against tbe Tarioos fbi^vfet brooghl against Yam, some of which were certainly ratber political errari than political crieifs, whilst others were more supported by ta/frmoc than by provf. With respect to his^ personal familiarity with the Queen- asoiber however, that roust still remain as an historical fisct ; altfaoogfa he bad a Very numerous family by his wife, Joan daughter of Peter do Gene- viUe Lord of Trim in Ireland. His sentence, which, ran, that be should, •I n traitofy be drawn and banged on tbe oonmon gallows at Tyburn, fias .f x^uted without the least (avoor. His body, after hanging two days and nights, was granted to tbe Friars minorib who baried it in tbehr dinicb, now Christ Church. The irregularity of bis not being beard, bowavery proved in tbe end advantageous to his family, for Roger his grandson obtained af- terwards an act to reverse this sentence as erroneous, and bis descendants, in the fevale line, afterwards mounted the throne of England. Edward the iburdi was son of Anne Mortimer, duchess of York, and beireta of Edniond her brother, the last earl of March. 9
MOTTIffOHAMSHIRS.
I0»
Camden^ who after telling us ''certain it U that in the firsi
court of the castle we descend with lights down many steps inio
another subterraneous vault and arched rooms ctit in the rock
A^tialf; oti the walb of which are carved Christ's passion^ and other
things, hy the hand as they pretend of David king of Scots who
was there imprisoned/' adds " in the upper part of the castl6
I which rises high on tlie rock, we came by many steps into
a sabterraneous cavern called Moi"tIiner*a hole, from Roger Mor*
timer's concealing himself in it, when his conscience gave him
the alarm.''
The later historians all animadvert upon this evident error of Camden; and Dering says, "had Mr. Camden been more I exact in observing the place we are speaking of, he wotild ; hardly have fallen into this error, &c. ;" bat we cannot help re* forting upon Dering that even fie seems not to have taken that careful observation of the place which might have been eic- pected from the hints given him by a Mr. Paramour, and which he mentions in his description of the place*
That the passage, now called Mortimer's hole, leading from
I the court of the old castle, to the level at the bottom of the rock,
was not the secrci passage mentioned by the historians, is almost
self evident; for it is a vault seven feet high and six wide with
broad steps the whole way down cut in the rock, though now
almost entirely worn away, and upwards of 107 yards in length.
There are even now the remains, of several gates which were in
It for defence ; and Dering himself says, that after the conquest^
I it was no doubt made use of for the purpose of conveying the
" meat and beer, for the use of the garrison, the nearest way
into the castle, its lower entrance opening into the brewhouse
I yard, and connecting it with the mil Is erected on the river Lene,
then brought to run close by the rock on which the castle
stands. After noticing a passage from Drayton's Baron^s wars,
purporting thai this •* wonderful passage had been hewed and
j dug out during the Danish invasion by some of the Saxon kiiigi
S better iccurjty in c^nt of a siege*' Dering adds^ that for
W0TTtV6HAM&niR£.
bisotvn part he could not help thinking it designed to rdreva the castle with men and providion^, in case of a siege, in which thtj enemy should be in paisession of the town,
Thtt a passige used for such purpose* could hate been un- known in the reign of Edward the third, is impossible ; ne might ihtrefore, sufely conclude, even without having seen theplace^ that the paiftage from the upper court yard of the castle into tll^ rock yard, or brewhou&e of the castle, as it is railed in old wrilingc* and which seems the only one known to Leiand or Olinden, could not have been thai secret passage, through which Edwtird and his party entered. With respect to its general dc- •crtption, even as it exists at the present day, Dering is cer* laifily very correct lie siays, that this way through the rock wat provided viiih no U^9 than six gates, of which some rcmatni ire &liU to \m aeeci* hcsides a side one,* on the left hand going dowtt : ** the ftrsl gitt was above ground leading from the turret down Kft ili« tec^Kiid; the place where the turret »tood is now c«f eriMl bv part of the modem fabric^ and the passage to the } {% illM* and th« gs^xe itM-lf walled up with stone ; to I a new passage cut out of the rock since the building of the present cattle, without the wall of the paveil yard.
•* The distance bel%%*een the first and the second gate I take to have been about 16 yards; from this we ttep down 14 yards, and meet with the marks of another, and 15 yards lower was a fourth ; miout 45jurds behw ihU, on the l^ hand, we abterre a guH ktkktd irpf wkick with jeren or eight 9tep$ did lead up into fOfMt wtfrh ^ the old tower (as the late Mr. JcmUhan Para* mour informed mt^ in whose time it was kricked up ;) about eight yards below this stood a fifth, and the sixth and lowest which 0|Nncd into the ruck yard, and is also now bricked up, is still about Itmo yurds lower — there arc, all the way down, till within 15 or 16 yards of the b<jtloin, openings in the side of the rock to con. irey light into this passage, and to serve the soldiers to shoot
their
I
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KOTTINGUAMSniHIC.
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I
their arrows througb upoti the enemy; in the upper part ar6 cut out sev^eral regular port boles, ninth show that, during the civil war» caaons were plaivted llicre^ wiach conimaiiik'U all the [DeadowA ; there are besides in this part of the vault ob* •ervable man/ holes or excavations about a foot in hetglit^ breadth, and drpth ; tbe^^e seem to have been made to lodge caiujon ball?* in to prevent their rolling to the bottom,"
From thi» description, which is undoubtedly accurate in
t general, we are led to ituppose, that Dr. Dering was as careless in his examination of the place as those who went before him* and il is extretnt^ly curious that he pays no parttcul;ir attention lo the observation of Mr. Panunour noticed abi>ve in Italics, If lie bad observed this passage in the lel\ hand, he would have found that it was not bricked up, but .so artificially closed ^itli rough stoue as to resemble the Uving rock itself.
Mr. Strettonj ho\%ever, was particularly struck with Para- mour's description, and htingdelerrained to ascertain the lact* with considerable dilliculty discovered the entrance alluded to* which led into a narrow wimling pa^^sage mto the body of the rockt and seemed to direct tttelf towards the preseDt terracef but was entirely filled up at the upper end. After removing the gravel and soil from that part of the terrace at the east end of Uie present building, and as near as possible to the sit^ of the ancient keep, he was enabled to enter J be passage from above, and which by a careful comparison with the plan of the castle drawn by Smithson in 1617, and some other MSS, doemaaents m Mr- Stretion's own possession, wa? ascertained to have origi-
tnally led into the keep which contained the state apartments, Thh then was the Mecrei passage which Sir William Eland alone knew, and uf which Mof timer and the queen had nosus*
Ipicion ; for the principal passage did not lead into the body of the castle* but into a court yard, and into which, if there was an entrance from the keep, that was considered as secure by tbe keys being delivered up at night to the Queen*
All doubts and conjectures are therefore completely cleared Ji up
tit
aOTTINOBAUBHIEl.
■/ttn-aa-
mjg^ by ihb tnf esugaLion : so that it is no longer oecessaiy lo m^ pose lilt principal pa&sage a secret one, a thmg almost mcredi- ' bh ; Oft It aoillf hive done* to doubt the whole story« in coo- a«|iieiict of ihr apptrent incredibility,
Tibs ptt59g« itaelf is again partly closed up below, with the
iMMi wbicil b«ifore had been used tot that purpose; on the
, leTel of the terracQ it is completely secured and gravelled civeri «
b marked, so as to iihew in the clearest R»n»fr
I Hith the ancient build itjgM as laid down m Smith-
i ton's plan.
in trhich the king of Scots is said to haicbecB
at the cither end of the castle, and wasm&cl
[ »olhiij|g OKM-e than a complete range of cellars dug out of tha
lock, part of which we believe were preserved for the use of
Ihc modern maitsion^and the rest tilled up with rubbish.*
If U were not Ibr these historical tkcts^ the castJe iteelf, as it now axbl^ would not be an object of any particular interest Al tha lime of its erection^ indeed^ it was much admired ; ai]d Stukrty. who visited it soon after, says, " it is a goodly building on a high perpendicular rock^ uid seems to have been modelled after s^me of Inigo Jones4'^
Mr ThroshyV animadversion on it, howeveri is not an unjust
oaii ha aays '* art should hero have been, in etiect» as bold %9
alnra; alof\y massy pile toweriitg towards tho heavens^ with
iirrtlsand embauled walls, tlie tiiite of ages pa^t, placed on its
Urow, instead of the present formal and equal edifice^ would
[liave created a scene of splendour not in saemiogly irregular
lordcr/*
Yet
* In 17tO thii pUttt was opened bj order of the then duke of Newcjiitte,
jnofder to W'urrli inr the cnrtUig? s«id to liave tieen ni»de by the kiug ol
$ffmt snd d«icri^d by Canwient but >«rirhout Any disco very of (liem. owing
|t» the (rtAt qimnetljr of rubbi^bj Ate* It is now wjtlted uji with hrtck> ntid iJ
I th« rtiAi *u\ti of « ^ard which was formed fur vnrious donieitic purpofe^»
r ft •Intighter hou9<!« &c« at the {jertod when the castle wm uiltsbtted try
MOTTIVOKAMStllRE.
ltd
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ITct it must be allowed that the ediBce has some merit ia iU architcfcture abstractedly considered. It is a very large build- ing* on a rustic baseaient which supports an ornamented front of the Corinthian order, with a very grand double flight of tteps leading to the principal range of apartments. Over the door of the north ea^t front, here alluded to, is an equestrian Matue of the founder* who was so determined on its erection I hat he tied up a considerable estate by his will fur that express purpose. The statue is the more remarkable for being carved out of one solid block of stone brought from Donnington in Leices- tershire, and was executed by an ingenious artist of the name of Wilson.* The other sides of the building are handsome, but not so highly ornamented, with a handsome terrace surround- ing the whole, and an arcade on the south aide. Thift has long been a favourite promenade with the haut ton of Not ting 1mm, and tf certainly very delightful in a summer evening, from the ex* tenatveness of the prospect in which the Trent format a very con- :«piciJous object in the fort* ground; then the groves of Cliftoa appear with Wilford on the banks of the river; beyond this to the right is a rich valley over which Derby shire may be clearly seen; then Woflaton hall, and the forest oF Sherwood, &c. and to the left» the vale and cattle of liclvoir, Rudington hills, and Colwick hall and village, Flolm Pierpoint, &c. whilst almost: the whole town of Nottingham h below in a birdB eye view. This is the same prospect partly seen from the openings in the rock in Mortimer's Hole, and vvhich, in its detached masses^ iieems like so many living pictures in a frame*
The apartments \n the interior were once very fine ; but they Vol. XI I. H have
* Dering tayi ofliiig, th&t loon ft(ter ercculing iKji work, he was for a tints •polled for a statuary} b«caotea Leiceatershira ludy, tbe wjdaw Lady Pud- •ey» who wa« poifrtted of a very targe jointorc, fatling deeply in love with huog goihm koigljlcd, aiid married Iiim; but lie Uvjiig up to the citent of hU aproQ »triag e&tate, and his Jady dying before him, Sir William <}uick1y ralumed to his formrr occupatiofi, aad the public rccovarad iha los* of an f miiieTir artivt.
lU
XOTTlNOHAMSIIiae.
iMve l^Mg bf en neglected. Throsby, who visited It about fifteeii Of tireiuy yean ago« says ** within the castle I foand notbingto ailimct ; the pieiures which once adomi!d the vi^alls of the apart- mefil» are now immured* aiid the chief of the ^rniture. remaiiisonly stimetapesfry* &.e. Some of the rooms I Ml occupied by a Mi^ Rirkby; lately a part of the ciulltt t ttted aa a boartliiig ftcbool." At present we fiod it inbabited [by luro ladiest in separate teuements; but there isi nothing to [beaeeUf which can induce a stranger to intrude upon their do* itic privacy* The
Park
I in biU i^mall* loniaintng only IdO acrrB^ and at present in a very
I neglected slate, yet still used as a summer promenade^ and
ff«q«ented from diflerent ruads leading through it to
iTUfiifdf Lentoo, &c« U has now no deer, and but very few
1^ y«l wr are informed that it was well stocked with the
fi»rroer oiitik aller 17iO» and that it had many good timber
tf«ea» until they were cut dowo on the property betug leqiies-
tral«>d in the civil wars*
Dr, Tborotou is of opinion that this park« or at least the one
r hali of it« was that which William Peverell had a license from the
Conqueror to enclose for the purpose of making him an orchard.
In that Itcen^' tlie quantity stated is ten acres^ which of ajs-
iCicnt foreU measure is equal to about 6fty of our present ones>
iTbe most remarkable object in the park is a range of
Caves,
or Pofiish or Papist ho1es« as they are vulgarly called^ which has cen considered as confirtiring the conjecture that ihey actually belonged to an abbey or monastery^ probably that of Lentor, built by Will tain PfvereL They stand some distance west of the castle, in the face 4lf a Lc!iirpretly near to the banks of the Lene, as it now runs ; aiid are described by Deriiig as the ruins of an ancient pile of building, cut and framed in, the rock. There are
4
upon,
no
NOTTIVGHAMSUtRt.
lis
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no written records of ihem whatever^ and of course, conjectures have been many and various.
In the early part of the last century, when Stukely visited them, they were more perfect that at present: he says, " what is visible at present is not of so old a date as the time of the Britons, yet I see no doubt that it is founded upon theirs. This is a ledge of perpendic«i!ar rock h^vvn out into a church, houses* chambers* dove* house, &c. The church is like those in the rocks at Bethlehem, and other places in the Holy I-and. The altar is natural rock, and there has been painting upon the wall : a steeple, I suppose where a bell hung, and regular pillars. The river here winding about makes a fortification to it, for it comes to both ends of the cliiF, leaving a plain before the mid- dle. Th« way to it was by gates cut out of the rock, and with oblique entrance for more safety. Withtiut is a plain with thre« niches, which I fancy their place of judicature, or the like : be- tween this and the castle, a hermitage of like workmanship/'
To this description, it is scarcely possible to add any thing that will give a beUer idea of the place. We can only say, that it has suffered considerably from the elFects of time and weather sioce Stukely wrote; but enough still remains to gralify* and, at the same time, to excite curiosity. The outer part has ftiUen down in several places, evidently from the etli^cts of damp and frost ; but the church and altar, and even fiome ves- tiges of the ancient paintings, may be clearly traced ;* many of the pillars are ornamented with capitals, &c. and thespandrilled Gothic arch is very well imitated m several places ; a fact in* deed which militates against their very early antiquity. It is mnch to be regretted that no care whatever is taken to preserve this venerable specimen ; the floor f>f it is broken into boles, where the water lodges* and much of it is disfigured Avith the grossest Bltbiness. In the summer, these excavations have be^
H2 come
♦ Svme iftgeninus ttrtlit has added a nntBWr pf piintingi, such at ck'phanrf, Mldiers in full accoatrcraents, kc, not itreJegaotly donr, but which muit b« CloMcd amongn '* modem aniiqucs,''
flspfiie Om luuuito of tii« veiy lovrtit of Motely^wkothira tak» up their nocturnal abode ; and if no(fc A dan-of thievety tl mxf he fMVidevrdM/ioaiathingwoKMk • • ,. r. . - . - • *iiif » i .1 .On a careful exaAiaa^ao^ U. it^videnl thai Ihs wholSiliMe 9f e3i6av«liw>ii.ibai: baau the work of diffiureaA periods*.. The J>oYe-c0ta» for iii8fta0C0i>M but of Modern date; aodcloealiyil* where there are chimniei cut through the roek« ihu macto of the imok« iitUlreinain» as ICby the.eflfecls#fyeaterday^-e,oocupawDy> J)^tiog. aaygi that« ki his tmew tome old peiapte:.rei»eniheiicd thjt» oiiieh more extensife J and be .adds from UndkioB* f ilhat ia,the time of il», civil war,, the Romtdheads had. demolished a part of Ahem unfar pretence, ^f Ihetr abhorrence Id fioperjf^ whluh majhpprhaps bo tb^/sole lerigiii •of • their teceiifiBg^Ihe vime.of PmMit hotflSk
t^.W» wiUr'liot^fi4iow,the. various authors threug|i' Ihetr wide cang^ pf cofljjet^tuvfsf but must confess that there seems most' probabilil^ m tM which, supposes them lo h»ve»heen the iesi* djsni:e of some order, of anchorets or h^mits^inol endoiied, though perhaps dependent upon some religious riieuee»- and* therefope. aotoreoNded in eny list uf religieusf fsnedetisns. < To whieh we must add« that it is extremely ^probable thai, wheii mpreentiret their entrance, was more ea#iily concealed; aadk therefore, that in the early days of the reformation -they may have been occupied at times Tor religious purposes, by these who were averse from the neyr order of things^ ;end wished Iq enjoy the exercise of their ritual in secret. . . The place designated by Stukely, as an.hermiiage> has nothing remarkable ; and we warcnot fortunate enough to find ou^ the spot mentioned by leering as affording the most icleer and perfect echo, he had ever met with»
At the upper end of the pa^k* adjoining the Derby reedv are the . .
Barxacrs
already mentioned ; a spacious range of brick buildings, open and airy, and healthfully situated. They were erected by government in 1792-93.
When
nOTTIKORAMSBIRK.
Jl?
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^ When the unhappy Cbarlet the f\rst resolved to raise an artny hi defence of his prerogatives against the encroachments of the Parliamenl'i he appointed Nottingham as the spot where his standard should be raised, and which is said to have been first hoisted on one of the towers of the old cajit1e> but afterwards re- moved to the
Standard HjLt,
Which is just ivithoLit the old vrall on the north side, and sttnated on part of ihe Castle Hill. The <ipot is still pointed out at the present day» thoug^h its name has since been changed to ihfltl of Nevil's Closei being the property for many years of a family of that name. In order to mark the exact spot, a post had stood here for a long time, but being at length pulled up, the then owner, in order that it might still be exactly known, planted several elm trees; but these were repeatedly destroyed by the mischievous boys of the plarci perhaps stimulated by those who ought to hare been witter than to wish to destroy the memory of a place remarkable for an historical fact, for the sake of some paltry feeling in politics.
In consequence of the removal of any exact mark^ the local antiquaries have been at their usual conjectures respecting a fact even so recent as this ; and some have asserted thai a hill a atnali distance to the north, called Derry Mount, was the iden- tical spot. Dr. Dering, however, is of a contrary opinion, and we think for a sufhcient reason, if he is right in asserting that this latter place is not within the jurisdiction of the castle.
Waving all furl her conjecture^ however, we shall briefly state a few of the leading circumstances from Clareridon, who tells us, at the close of his first volume, that the king " published a proclamation by which he required all men who could bear arms to repair to him at Nottingham by the 25th of August fol- lowing, on which AAy he would set up his royal standard tliere> which all good subjects were obliged to attend.^^
It appears that some of his advisers proposed York in pre- ference to Nottingham J but the king thought he would be
II S nearer
118 yoTTtyeaAiciKfBB.
> to mne fHeadi who wwtt alirriBg m hiirfiMrosr^lMliiii the sooth and weit He •ecordingljr came to NottfaigkaMi • few days beibre the 9Sch; and haviiig gone lowardf CoveMry with a few troopfy die gates were shot against him, and he BomaA it necenary, in consequence of the appearance of aDaie of the parliamentarian forces, to return to Nottingham on the day «p* pointed for the ceremony.
^ According to proclamation, upon the 35th day of Angnst (160,) the standard was erected abont six of the clock in the evening of a very stormy and tempesUioas day. The king hiaih self with a small train rode to the top of the Castle hill» Vamey the Bjiight Marshal, who was standard beaieo oarrying the standard, which was then erected oii that place, with little ether ceremony than the sound of drams and trampets : melancholy men obsenred many ill presages about thai time. Thestuidard was blown down the same night it had been set op, byavery strong and onruly wind, and could not be Sxed again inaday or two, till the tempest was allayed, he***
Bering, and Tboroton, as well as Thresby, speak of its having been erected on the 98d; but this most allode merely to the usoal hoisting of the standard in the castle on the kuig's arrival, which was on the 33d, and which is done even at the present day at Windsor when his Majesty is there, but the ^brmai erccticn of it, agreeable to the proclamation, was that which took place on the Standard hill. The king's declaration on this im« portant day, was, after setting up the standard, and the cere* mony of blessing his arms, «' that he would govern according to the known laws of the land ; and if he failed in these things* he would expect no relief from maui, nor protection from Heaven.''
Before we quit the environs of* the castle, it is necessary to take some further notice of the
Ktvam Lemb, as far at least as it is here locally cmmected with the town. In an old perambulation of the forest taken in the 16th of Henry
the
HOTTtlTGHAMStllRS*
1J9
k
third (19^1) the bouuds are descnbed asninning "solo Lenton, aiid from ihence by the same water, as it was wont of old lime to run into the water of Trent/' which confirms the generally received opinion as recited by Dering. that at Lenton bridge it u»edj before the Conquest, to turn towards the soiiih and empty itself into the Trent, opposite lo Wiiford ; but that the Conqueror, or at least one of the Peverels, turned it into a new cot running by the foot of the castle rock, as it does at present, along the south side of the town^ and thence to SneUuon meadows, where it divides the jurisdiction *»f Noliingham and the pariah of Sneinton^ and turning short otl'f<iUs into tl»e TrenU
Some people have been of opinion th;ti its present course is of a more modern date ; but the fjuotaiion from llie pirambtJ- lation must now be considered as conclusive*
Leland says, " the little ryver of Lene and the great stream of Trente cum nere together in the medow on the south fide uf ike town; and when any land waters cum down much of the tale and meadowes there be overflowexi*" Since his time, how- ever, great improvemeuts have been made in ihf state of this river. Throsby has recorried the particulars with such accuracy, that wc shall quote him where he says^ that the passage over tiie Leen (or Lene) into Nottingham, was made between twenty and thirty years ago, very commodious, and aji ornament to the town. In fact it is sa at the present moment; but when he wrote, it had been partly destroyed by a great tttjod which happened lu March 1795. He further says when the improveraenis firM look place, in consequence of making a cut from the Erewa^lj canal near Nottingham, to communicate with the Trent near Trent bridge, the old road ftom the bridge to the town was in u great measure cut away for that purpose. The new high road wa<i, therefore, formed in a straight litic, at a very great expense, and raised to a height which vv as supposed to be far above any pro* bable rise of the rivers* By the execution of tlii^ plan, a num- ber of little bridges were united into one grand and light range of arches over all the water currents and sv\ampy grotmd on the
H i L*>f\dou
HOTTIVOBAMSHIRS*
I
hmitm hmmI. Tliia* however^ could not resbt thatsev«c« Ibcdf Ui« Tcry fooodalioo «>f the arches was shaken^ mocli oflli solid road wi9 swvpt aumy ; and ibe whole damage m m^lfd al upward! of 900(ML
fiince that period, the xvbote has been repaired, maj coRMilidaied* as to hid defiance to ev^try thing but the aUacki of time*
Th# TVrnl to4|€ fraa anciently c^lltd Hesthbethe bridgej at^ cording to the opinion of Thorotun and others; and mw:k an* UiqiMmii conjecture may be found on this subject in Deriftg and Throsby, There certainly was a bridge built Ijere by EdwaH IIhi liidert about a century before the Norman accession^ which rtmaoed in part until IStiS, when it was almost completely de- alroyed by the ice. The corporation then erected the present bridge ofaione^ oonaiaitng of twenty arches, to which conside* rable r^paira and improirttnents have been made; notwithstand- ing which it hat a rery retierable a ppeerancej throwing iu long range of arcbea acroAS the flats on the London road. The fundi; for the 9Uppoft otthis bridge are now, wc believe, pretty consi* derablc. Even in the middle of the last century^ they anaonnttd to 130/. per annum, which conniving of houses and landi granted by the crown, ofgiftsi and legacies, besides toUs, &c, must now be considerably tmproired in value. We liave not seen any re* cant atatement of thc^e funds; but the sum mentioned was a net receipt after paying all charges^ " burgesses parts, &c/' The rapidity of the floods in the Trent, ao often mentioned, pravants all Httcmpt<s at the erection of water mills, and is the reaaon why a stranger on his first arrival is forcibly struck with iha appaarance of so many windmills, where there is apparently inch a copious supply of water. We cannot hclpljcing of opinion, bowever,that very commodious water mills might be erected here upon tba same principle as those ou the banks ofthe Rhine in Ger- many* These are erected upon platforms of wood, properly fccured against the force of the current, and made to rise and _&U with the water. In seasons of frost, they might be totally
4 removed i
KOTTtNOHABtSlffnC. 1?#
remored; as is done in many ciiirs an ih^ Rhine, particularly at Menu. Notlinghanii in its
Ecclesiastical BivtsioN, has three parishes; St. Mary's; St* Peter's; atitl St, Nichotas ; each of which has its appropriate church; anti there is besides the extra-parochial chapel of St. James, lately built on part of the castle ground*
St. Mary's is the largest parish, and contains the prin- cipal church, nhicU standing on a bold eminence., twenty-three yards in perpendicular height above the level of the meadows, presents a commanding appearance to the spectator in almost every direction, Leland, when speaking of it, says that *' it is excellent nexvc, and nny forme yn work, and so many fair wyn- dows yn it that no artificer can imagine to set more." Stukely also describes it as " a fine old llghtjiotne building, with a good ring of eight bells,"
As it is said by Letand to be " newe/' we must presume that it had just received a complete repair at his visit; for its anti- quity is of a much older date, and carried hack by some to the Saxon times, evident indeed from its architecture, or at least previous to the reign of Stephcu, when thai mode of architec-^ lure fell into disuse* We are not disposed, however, to place any reliance on the tale of Dering, of a workman who told htm that in repairing the west end, he had seen a date cut in one of the timbers, which he did not remember, but knew that it was upwards of eleven hundred years old ! This church is built quite in the collegiate style, in form of a cross, with a very august tower in the centre, and evidently of the Gothic of Henry the seventh's reign : and its whole appearance is venerable and impressive.
^Jtisat present undergoing a complete repair, and it is but fltie to the taste of those who superintend it, to say, that the ancient workmanship is preserved as much as possible. It is at the same time a matter of regret that the ancient bell loft in the
body
1^
VOTTHrGBAMSHtEB.
hn^y of tlie cbureh is taken down^ as it was a very cttHovt
ffrtg^ent of oW cusimns.
The interior is as %'€Dcrabl« as the outside ; tlie windows cast | ttdim religiouii liglit, but arc no longer adorned with iheir an- cient painted glass, except some trifling fragments. There was J silso an ancient painting on the waU, of St. Christopher; but nothing remains to gratify cyriosity, except some faint shades ' that are scarcely perceptible-
The moniimenls in the church have once been numerous; both myraf or of the tablet kind^ and also many brass plates; but these latter were almost entirely stripped oflT by tbe liberal nnd reff^rming round Iieads in the civil commotions of tbe St vcnteenih century,
In the south aisle is " our Lady's* chapel" which contains the lomb of the first and second Earls of Cbre, who died at the he- ginning and middle of the seventeenth century; and opposite to this, on the north side is the " Chapel of All SainU*' the bu- rial place of the Plum! re family. In ibis latter chapel is a win- flnw which, fur si^eand elegance of ornament, surpasses roost that we have seen of its date and style, and whose ramifications mu\ irncery, by making even darkness more visible^ add much III ihr nolemniiy of ibc surrounding scene of mortality.
The ftiuient organ was destroyed in the civil wars; anotbtr
Intib in I7(U, which %vas taken down and replaced in 1742:
but the present elcgane and fine toned one was erected in 1777,
by Sncuf^r, It has two fronts ; and, both in tone and elegance^
is a convincing proof of tbe extraordinary skill of its maker*
For the inscriptions on the raonumentji, ami on the bells which
jiow amount to ten in number, we must refer to Dering. as even
^ slight recapitulation would far exceed our limits* Before the
In'fuimation this church had a efuild or fraternity of six priests
iin honour of the Trinity, and also three chantries. The Tri*
k^nntal and Annual visitatiotis of the archbishop^ and of tbe
urehdracon, are always held in ibis church.
Hr. Pi:tkii's Church is a hiiudsome edifice with a lofty spire,
^ standing
NomKQUAUSHtftS.
1S3
standing near the market place. li silU retains some memorials
of Saxon archiiecture ; much of Gothic ; and a considerable share of modern additions^ added during a recent repair. The necessity for these modern additions was occasioned by the damage which itsustained in the civil wars during the siege of the town by Cromwell's forces; at which time in particular a shell fell upon the vestry, and destroyed not only that but also pari of the body of the church. It is at present well lighted in consequence of its modern windows^ and issudictently large to accommodate the parishioners ; which cannot be said of St. Mary's^ whose parish is considerably krger than both the others.
Whilst digging a vault about a century ago^ the workmen dis- covered the remains of John de Piumirc, the benevolent foun- der of the hospital at the bridge^ and which still bears his name ^ and who* with his brother, desired by witi to be buried in the chape) of All Saints in this church*
Here is a very good ring of bells, the 7th of which was given to th* church by Margery Duubleday,a washerwoman ^ in 1544, with twenty shilliit^s per anmim to the j(exto(i> for the ringing of it every morning at fonro'clock> in order to rouse all future nymphs of the tub to their daily labour.
There are many monuments in the church j but they are prin* cipally interesting to the local antiquary, as iUustrative of the descent of the various families in the parisht In this church the Spiritual Court is held«
St. Nicholas' Church was pulled down in the civil wars, by order of Colonel Julius Hutchinson, the parliamentarian gover* iiorj its materials applied to private profit, and the belb as it is said sent by tlic goviTimr to the niauur house at Uvvthorpc.* The reason assigned for pulling it down, was its extretne vici- nity to the castle, which would have been beneficial to a he- sieging
• Tbiiteemfi however* partly conirndicted bj a fuel incntiotied bjThroiby, who sayt tb»l in digging sniue veart ago tiPitr llie loundalion of the pres(T»t tower, |Jirt uf a t>eU was foutid brokro io pieces, Aiip[»u4«il td liave bven din^ ax the detuuliiiiia of tke uld churcli.
iti
ItOrTIKOSAllfsntllB*
^egiiig army in case of an attack* The pfes^nt ediBce irift erected in 1678; it is of bricks oniamented with stone corners, window frame s, &c. and has a light and airy appearance. There is a very fioe prospect from the church yard, though its elevt* tion is only ekven yards abowc the level of the Trent. •
-• The interior iR very well lighted, and extremely comfortableii Dnsequence of the great attention paid to it; for the parish n of 4ate years so increased 9s lo be^superior to St. Peter V It consists of a spacious nave and two side aisles, the southem- niost of which was much enlarged in 1166 by priva e subscrip- tion; and a similar extekif^ion of the north aisle took place m 1783, when 500/. were raised for that purpose. It has been of late years new paved, and oriiamL-nted with a handsome pulpti nnd reading de^k, and also with a new gallery on ihe nortK side. The ancient monuments were all destroyed; and the modern ones do not require any particular notice. Amongiit other parochial charities^ is a chance htquui of Anthony Walker, a wandering beggar, who left iwo cottages and sijc acres of ground at Matlock to that parish in which he should did which happened to be this of St, Nicholas.
St. James's Church, or chapel, has laltly been built, in con* aequence of the great increase of population, on castle ground, which is extra^parocbial. On or near to its ociie, was in ancient times a chapel^ which was granted by Edward the second to the friars C«irmelttes, to whose monastery it was adjoining. Here also the court of the honour of Peverel was held for some centuries^ but now removed to Basfbrd.
The present edifice is light, neat, and elegant, both w ithtn and without, and judiciously and tastefully executed in imita- tion of the Gothic style* under the superintendance of Mr. Strelton of Lenton priory, whose taste and research as an anti- quary are fully displayed by his choice of style and selection of ornaments. The inside is peculiarly neat and comfortable, without losing any thing of its Gothic atr; and ihe light support of the galleries, together with the execution of the pulpit and
reading
HOTTIttOHAWSHlRB*
Its
reading desk> are in Ihemsdves complete modela for future architects.
If it has any defect it h in the lownes^« of the tower, which we believe proceeds from a lowness in the subscription purse. By the act of Purliameiit for its establmhment, the subscribers have at present the presentatiun in ihoir own haiid^t^ but it iJ in a certain (tme to devolve to the crown*
In the town of Nottitighara, there were formerly seireral REHCiots Foundations. LeJand says, "there hath been 3 hou^s of frereSf as I remember, whereof 2 stoode toward the weste of the towiie, and not far from the cagteHe/'
The Grey Fkurs were placed in the Broadmarsh not far from the castle. The bouse was founded by Henry the third in 1350, and granted at the dissolution to Thomas Heneage. It is now the scite of a brewery.
The White Friars, or Carmelites, had a house in St. Nicholas parish. It was founded by Reginald lord Grey de Wilton* and Sir John Shirley, Knt. and granted by Henry the eighth to James Sturley.
The HousR of St« Johns belonging to the knights of Jerti* salem^ stood on the eastern side of the town.
St. Leonard's Hospital for Lepers, was also somewhere on thA eastern side : it had the privilege of cutting the dead wood in the forest of Nottingham.
St, Mary's Cell, tvc are told by Tanner in the Not, Mon. was founded in the reign of Henry the third for two monks in the chapel of St* Mary in the rock under the castle.
St* Sepulchre's was a brotherhood in the reign of Henry the third: and a College of Secular priests wa* once existing in the castle,*
As
• Dcring it very copious in hU detail of the ?ariau» rules of the«« diffetw f lit ordrrs ; wc iball select one or twa to exemplify the chtutity &nd cUatdi* nea Qi the ihodIs, tw« firtoei with which we belif ve llioy ti«Ter baire beco ettraardinarily gided.
H6
K OTT t If G H A lif S tf t R E<
* As Nottingham has but three parish churches which have long been inadequate to the inoreased population, it is not sor* prizing that it should contain such a number of Dissenting and Sectarian Places of Wonsntp.
The High P/vvf.mfnt Meeting is established by a number ' of the moiii rei^pectable inhabitants of the town, and the build- ing itself is a handsome fit|uare of brick, and of modern erection* It is spacious, light, nml utry ; and acknowledges the Pt^byie^y Hon principles and form of wurship.
The Castlegate Meeting is nearly on the same principle^H the coogregation being Calvinists, and pretty nuineroos; tndi they have had the good sense !o make their place of worship airy and commodious, the want of which good and neressarjT j qualities wc believe often tends to fill Sectarian Chapels with^ visitors who would otherwise have adhered to the Established^ Church.*
The Gekeral Baptists arc not very numerous; their place of %vorship was originally a Methodist chapelt and is a smaU»'^ liut neat, octagon building.
The Bapttzisg Calvinists are more numerous ; and have 9} spacious, well lighted, comfortable place of meeting near CoU iin's IlospiiaL
Close to it, and almost adjoining the north east side of Col* j lin*s Hospital, is the very neat and simple meeting of thi QuAKEns.
BuH
With respect In ifie first, It was ohJainrd, ** ttiil no brntLer alone risit a j sister, but in cumpiinTi and that by pcrmi^ision, »nd fof edtRcation ;" inj^ that " none w«r^ to kiss the li^is *if any woman." With mi^rct to thu latttr* Tirtue, there were xha rcmarkabte <tirectiuii*i ** rhat t}iejf be B«it too ni6« in fvasbmg tbeir clothes," und that " ihej d^ire kill no vermiiii nor l^con fea- ther beds-'* and k was further ordered, thai "if the abbot enjojn t<> an f monk mjidiiihilliUi, he musf, with reference and lubmiisimi, excuse hit ioi* bility ; if the abbot urge !(, he most obfy, and trtivt lo God't assistance.^' * I
• We may almost Bay Unit Ihii is prnvri in the njetropolis, wlierethe com* f«>rtablc chupeJs belongiiig tn the church of England arc tlwa^'s well filled, and The parhh ehuft^ii dvicrlcd.
But the most tiumerouaof all the Prott;Uant sectaries ar Wesleyan METHODrsrs, who have anew place of meeting in Hockley Sircei* It is large, and always wtfll attended.
The Ro^AM Catholics ha^e ahii a smu II chapel in Storey Slreer» King*s Place; b«t they are nut very numerous.
There W15 also lornierly & &ect of Phitadtipkians, who met in the brew house yard« and whom Dr* Thorototi calls a set of fanatics* Their founder was a Dutch Anabaptist, and certainly a false prophet ; fur he boasted that he would rise in three day 4 after ht« death which happened in li>56; which not taking place, many of hia followers immediately disowned hm doctrines.
The Public Cuahities, both ancient and modem, are very numeroust J and the latter are upon a very extensive scale.
pLUMTBE'«i Hospital was founded by John Plumtre^ an ixi- habitattt of Nottlnghaui* sometime about the IGth of Richard the second^ having obtained the king's leave to erect an hospital ■ at the bridge end for two chaplains, whereof one was to be ma«ler« and 13 poor old widowsi to the honour of the annuncia- tioti of the bkised Virgin. Little of the first building is, we believe* now in existence, yet mucH of what remains is of con* «iiderable jnliquity^ and seems of Elizabeth's time, or a little
I before. It has a centre with ballustrade on top, tvv^o wings or endi of semi-circular isigzag outline in the roof, and the win* dow* of plain stone work. In 1751 a dei»cendant of the onG^inal founder added four new tenements; and two year* atlerwaids his njn repaired tho old tHiilding, added two new tenemetkts and thus completed the original benevolent plan. The apartmenta are clean and com- fortable^ the pensioners receive fil'leen shillings each per month, a ion of coals and a new gown per annum ', and the presentation is still m the Plumtre family.
Collin's Hospital is a plain brick elevation of two stories, with fourteen wlndovrs in each row in front* a doorway of cut £toue with niche and ornaments over it. It stands in Friar Lane,
»
123
NOTTtKOtliLllSfltae*
surroundet] by a small court and low brick wait; and is really an ornament to that part of the town.
It was founded by the will of Mr. Abel Collin in I70i far the reception of 2^ poor men and womeoj each having two com- fortable apartments and two shillings per week^ with a ton and a half of coals per annum*
Of other charities of an old standings our limits will €>tilj permit uh to name Willoochby's Hospital in the Fishcrgatc; Gregory's Hospital in Houndsgate; Woolley*s Beadbousi in Becklane ; Handleys Hospital in Stoney Street ; Bilby's Alms Houses in Coal-pit Lane; Labourers* Hospital on Toll- house Hill; Wabsargate Hqspital, &c.» the whole of whicli afford relief to upwards of 70 poor and InBrm individuals sides these there are the Pcckknm and Covcniry charities^ well as several others, which, having no importance beyond their immediate locality, do not require any particular illuftrt- tion here.
The Workhouses are in number equal to the parish esj are all upon a very clean and commodious scale: and it is bi justice to the town at targe to say that e?ery benevolent plaa or regiilation for the comfort of their helpless inmates is strictly^^ attended to, and generally followed by beneficial coinse* quences.
The size of the parkh of St^ Mar^^s, now so very populous calls perhaps for some further additions to its own ; but those who have the management of it have fully availod themselves aflU animadversions of Eden, who, in his Slat© of the Poor written in 1795, noticed that this workhouse was surrounded by other buildings, most of which were much higher than it ; so as com- pletely to obstruct the free pai>sage of air.
In this parish also we understand from the same author that
several small donations, amounting in the whole to about 80/,
per annum, are disitributed to fit objectst not receiving paro«
chial as&iMance.
Bui one of the greatest glories of Nottingham, is itsG£ifStiU.
Il«FIRlCAEiri
on* licii^^
»»i4 I
KOTTtNGHAMSUIftE.
129
I
iMPfRMAiiY^ a most Spacious, and indeed eleganl buildings and ngble institution, which, as Throsby ob-^erves^ takes under
its healing wlngji, the sick, poor, and lame, from any county or district ; shedding a most comfortable inilueiice around ; and forming a splendid ornament to the town«
The first stone was laid on the 12th of February 1781, at the ftouth east butment, accompanied by a series of silver coins of ihe present reign, and with a brass plate whose inscription at some di.Htant day may prove, to future antiquaries, the bcne^o* Icnce of Englishmen io the 18th and I9tb centuries :
" General Hospital near Nottingham ; open to ihe SJck and Poor of any Country, The Corporation gave the ground for the said Hospital/'
On digging for the foundation, some human bones were found with a sword and target, broken spears, &c.
The building consists of a centre, two advancing wings, and two ends ; it has thirteen windows in a range, and is two storiea high; and from the south east front a most extensive prospect of the vale of Btilvoir presents itself* It is most airily situated on all sides, and is surrounded with pleasant walks and gardens ; for which the duke of Newcastle benevolently gave some ground in addition to that presented by the cor- poration.
It has been observed that this hospital may boast of two things: first, of being at) eleemosynary asylum to the indigent and impotent ; and, secondly, that it is built upon the identical spot, (or near to it,) on which the unfortunate Charles first fixed his royal standard; but after a very careful survey and exam- ination, for which we were indebted to the polite attention of Mr* Stretton the architect^ and to the laudable pride of the matron who was anxious to exhibit every thing concerning it, we may fairly say that this benevolent and liberal institution has much more to boast o£
At present there are considerable additions making to itj by which two spacious and airy day rooms, four additional wards.
Vol* XIL 1 a more
i»
HOTTIVGHAHSHIRE*
ft more com m (idiotic «hop and store room, aad sevemi other conveniences^ will be obtaine<).*
In these additions, many very useful improvements are tak- ing place, particularly in the mode of ventilaiion and of Use conveyance of water j botb of which are well worthy the ex- amination of persons superintending similar establishmenU^ Of indeed any buildings on an extensive scale^ being both Bie- cbanically and philosophically novel and correct, Tbcinlrr- tial cleanliness is highly deserving nf praise ; and the dii^posi- ticiii of the dispensary, and other offices, is a pattern for ail iustitutiotis of this nature.
The Nobility and Gentry of the county and town have come forward in the handsomest mamier to execute the Tarious of- fices; and the Medical gentlemen all contribute their services graluitou<^ly. The benefactions, legacies, and annual subscript tiuns, are on a very handsome scale ; and it is worth notice that the annual esepensep upon a tair principle, can never well ex> cced the annual income ; for every subscriber can only recom^ mend a certain number of patients in proportion to his subscript tion, though the scale of recommendation is yery liberal, si subscribers of two guineas annually can recommend two in- patients, and three out-patients, in the course of a vr;ir ; and these may he from any distant county, even if brought here liierely for the purpose of cure.
The benefactions have already been very numerous: aroongi* which one generous tfn^;iou?ft individual subscribed the lium of UHMMIL stock, e^inal to 6337/. sterling If
At the close of the year ending March 1811, the benefac lions amounted to 14,785/.; the legacies to 44i3/. ; and the
c
# Vide Genera] Report fnr tail.
I Other bene faction a were, fruui Mn. £. Dutiibiiiige of W(K>dbi>r^ig(t|
moot , a Iricrid 4001; Diike ot NewcaMk', ond Jwlm Morrii, tsq of Jjut'
utighiitii 900L €»eli ] Mtid Dsanj of f 00/. sod liXfl. frcnn* tite tietfrhbourritg
Mobility and Geutrj. Tbcre bate iIm been seircfd legacies of^OOL; t^
e t^^J
i
r
HOTTlKGnAlASHlRft*
CcipU in that ye^r, incltKling 1 000/. balance, and 947/, annual Bobscriptlonf^ amounted to SS2^L
In February 1813, there were 49 in-patients, ami 309 out- patients, then on the hospital books : but the total number re- lieved, from the first opening up to March 1811, were 9525 in- jpaiients, ^4401 ouUpaltents, making Si total of 33926 ! ! ! I The Lunatic AsvurMj both for paupers, and for those who pan pay for admi&sion, is upon a very considerable scale, and Is amongst the first completed under the act of Parliament ; having been opened for admii^sion on the 12th of February of Ihe present year (ISI^) when nine were admitted from Not- tingham, and there were also 52 recommendations of cases on ,the books.
This building which is erected upon an airy acitein the pa- lish of Sneinton, at a very short distance from the town, and rtaced fto as to form an ornamental object, has been very justly id to possess a decided superiority in iL<» general design, and the distribution of its arrangement, over any other buitding bf the same nature yet established. It h built on land pur* uebased by the voluntary subscribers for that purpose, and Its general plan is to provide separate and diMinct wards for male Ind female lunatics, distributed into classes; as well as for the convalescents and iucurables; and also separate and distinct itiring grounds for the mate and female convalescents* b This plan has been completely executed, by a buiidrng of kve Rtories in height, two of which are in the basement, but Motficiently light and airy for every purpose of health and coin- l^ort. Each story has a long and airy corridore, which leads lo each range of cell?, airy, cool, ami corafurlable, and afford- fig accommodation for fifty-six patients. The style of archi^ cture is extremely plain ; yet the front elevation may be kinsidered suiiictently handsome lo render it an object of beau- y from any point of view.
In order for it* support, much has already been done by vo- luntary contribution J but much yet remains to be done, not
I f only
im
)lOTTI¥GnAlf»IIiEl*
arc I
only to pay off the debt already contracted, of which abou^ 4700L was borrowed from the funds of the General InErmary^ but also for its aunual support and expenditure,
Tlie patients form three classes ; persons who can pay fot thetr care and maintenance in proportion to their ability; per- sons admitted on the paymtiit of very small soms; and pau pers, for whom a certain rate shall be paid by the county*
The justicet of the county* and also of Nottingham, bene' factors of 20 guineas, and annual subscribers of 2 guineas, arc ^vernors ^ and all elections of officers, &c* are to be done by ballot.
The dc/nationsin 1811 amounted to 1764^.: legacies ta 2487t* aodthe annual subscriptions to about 350/*
The Public Schools in Nottingham are fiilly siifljcient in number, for the sixe of the town; and from the recent judi- cious regulations which have taken place in several instances, they are likely in future to answer every benevolent purpose for which they were iounded.
The Free Gbammah School wa» founded by Agnes Mellors in 1M3, a vowess, often called Lady Mellors, but only the widow of a wealthy bell-founder of Nottingham** Thii school, which is in the parish of St, Mary's, bad almost fallen into disuse, as the knowledge of Latin is no longer necessary to enable a man to say his pra^/era, which was the case in the day^ of Catholicism when this school wa* founded, though but a very few years before the Beformation; of course, few schobr»^ were in the habit of attending ; but by a recent and judicious- regolatiou of the corporation, in 1807, sixty boys are now to be admitted and taught not only Greek and Latin, and ihi classics, but also English, writing, and arithmetic, gratis,
Tliere is also an excellent Charity School, a neat litil« building, clean and comfortable, and ornamented in the front: with the uEual statues of a boy and girl of the foundation. Ji h airily situated in the High Pavement, on a piece of ground
gixtu m Deriag^ p. 154.
MOTTIKCHAMSHIRB.
ISt
I
I
I
I
Ipvea by a bencvolenl attorney, a Mr. William Thorpe. It it entirety supported by voluntary coiitribtitioo> and maintains fifty poor children of both sexes, who are instructed in religion* and in English reading- Forty of these are clothed in the blue coat costume, and the whole of them have an air of health and happiness.
There are several other schools supported on liberal princi* pies ; ose in St. Mary's parish educates thirty poor children ; Qjiother in the same parish, supported by a private society^ haft Jong been established for the edtjcation of sixteen ; the Protes* tani Dissenters support one for the poor children of their own persuasion, who are clothed and plainly educated; and a Church of England Sundaj/ School has been for some time in existence, whose receipts in 1811 amounted to \^7L
The Sunday Sckoots in Nottingham, supported by all classes, are, indeed, on a very extent ive scale, though at a small ex- pense, as tbe yoiiBg people of each persuasion^ and in very respectable situations in life^ dedicate themselves sedulously to the education of the children, who amount to upwards of 1500 of each sex, or about 3000 in the whole.
The County Hall was, in Dering's time in the middle of the last century, a ruinous disgraceful building. This, however, has been replaced by a very commodious and handsome edifice erected by t^e county in 1770» on the High Pavement, and ia the immediate vicinity of St* Mary's churcJi. The ground oa which it stands was expressly excepted from the jurisdiction of the town by the charier of Henry the sixth, and still continues so. It has an exten^ve ball with two convenient courts, and all the neC'e<^iiary apartments for the accommodation of the judges, j«ry rooms, &c. ; and is ornamented with some old standards of the duke of Kingston's light horse, in the rebellion i*f 1745, and with pictures of their present Majesties given by tlie earl of Manvers.
Tbe Town Haul, for the town and county of the town of ^ottingham^ is a large building three stories high, with the
I n towtt
154
¥OTTIirGllAlfftHIEE
town prison on ihe ground floor^ and a large fiight of st^fis H one end, leading to the first floor, co mm odiously and haDd«> some I y fitted up for the various necessary purposes. It stands near the scite of the old Weekday Crosa*
In 181 1 » the annual statement of the county rate of lh« , county and town of Nottingham was 2G3l/*^ which wa» all ex* pended, except a small balance of 177f*
The County Piiison, which formerly was under the andcm county balh i^ now behind it; and, being on the slope of the rock on its southern face^ is not only airily situated, but liai aliio some very exfcensiTe yicws from its upper apartments^ from one of whjch^ some years ago, a prisoner jumped in hopes of escaping, though at a height of 70 feet. This gaol is clean, and airy; and, we understand, under excellent modern regulations; which were certainly very necessar\% when we consider its state when the benevolent Howard was collecting his materials Ibr a History of the Prisons in England. There are some small benefactions existing for the relief of poor debtors ; but, in Mr* Howard's time, their principal relief was from a collection raised by a person employed to go round the country at Cbrist-^ vmA, which amounted at that time to about S5/. Mr. Howard complained much of a man who, in the year 1776, having ob* taiued hb Majesty's pardon, was nevertheless detained in gaol for a considerable time for the paltry sum of about fifty shillings for ofiice and gaol fees,
TheToWiS and County Gaol is also as commodiotts a^ cir- i cumstances will admit oft though much is yet wanted to rendeff it complete^ At Mr. Howard's first visit, he complained mucl^^ i of the stale of its dungeons and other rooms; but at his second^ considerable improvements had taken place. There is now «4 total separation of Felons and Debtors; and there is a commo-^ dious bath, which is extremely conducive to the health amtffl cleanliness of the unfortunates confined here. A small sum i^^ annuiilly collected in the town for the relief of poor debtors, j The Town BiuDttW£Lij which stands in St« John's Street, ha^i
NOTTIHORAUSaiRB.
iSi
I
I
I
Also began to derive some benefib from the liberal active phi- Uathropy of the present day. Indeed it is to be boped that in a few years, the general melioration of all places of confine* nien^ as far as is consistent with security^ wilt caufie Mr* Flow- ard's Aorri^/c, yet unfortunately too accurate, statement, to be considered as a kind of Romance, It never can be too deeply impressed upon the minds of all ibose who have any power or superintendance over those places, that the separation nf the sexes, the separation of yonng from hardened onfeiK!eri>» and the separation of debtor-j from felons, are objects bi>tli of thi? greatest physical and moral importance. When all these things are sufficienily attended to, with the addition of wbole.Home food, clean lodging, airy exercising grounds, good sewers, and a supply of water, with good workshops and incitements to in- dustry, Mill will our prisons be places of punishment to tho^^ unhappily confined in tbem; and with these additions they aie also more likely to become places of amendment.
The Marjcet Place of Nottingham has long been admired. Even in the reign of Henry tb<^ eighth. Lei and says, '* the Mar- ket place and streate, both for the buildings on the side ol it/ for the very great wideness of this streete, and the clearie pav- ing of it, is the most fairest without exception of all England;" and it is now certainly one of the most spacious in the hing- dloDi^ surroonded with excellent houses, and having every ac* commodation for its various purposes. At the upper end of it formerly fttood the Mali Crott ; but that, with the other crosses^, is now down,
ll is now tJie place for the two weekly markets on Wednes- day and Saturday ; on the former of these days the ancient beast market from St. Peter's is held liere ; but on the Saturdays, irhich are the principal days, the mayor ami corporation have yery judiciously ordered tije cattle market lo be held on another spot.
The supply of this market^ jiarticularly on Saturday, is very abundant in every necessary of life ; but the prices are consi*
1 4 dered
us
yOTTIVGHAMSBIUl*
I dered as rather extraTsgant in many instances* and rery Imr in- deed above that scale which Bering has giren os m hb book : and nothing can be more amosing or interesting ta a stranger ^ than to go through this market, and observe the extraordinary neatness and regularity of those who have brooght thetr ▼arioos articles for sale ; bat more partlcolarly to see the 3*oiing ^eniales of the town, many of them of the most respectable familtea in the place, who are not ashamed to put on their markeiiog i dress, and, with their little baskets, to make such purchases as| they can conreniently carry. It is not unfair eitlier to remark* that the stranger cannot fail to be struck with the neatness and beauty, which he will meet at eveiy step, and that in a greater proportion than the Editor of these sheets recollects ever lo lave met with in any other town, even where they have been famed for the charms of the sex.
The New Exchange stands at the east end of the Markel^j place ; it is a very handsome brick building of iour stnrinsin height, erected by the corporation in the early part of the lasij century, of 123 feet in length, and the front supported by ; range of stone pillars forming a spacious open parade, with the Shambles partly under, and partly behind it; which, howevcrpj are so insufTicienl for the demand on market dayii, that BOstallt are sometimes set out in the Market place, or rather in the Smithy Roio, It was intended at first to ornament the fronton with the statues of George the firsts and the then Prince and^^ Princess of Wales ; but the niches still remain untenanted. There is, however, a well executed figure of Justice on ihe top. The apartments above stairs are airy and spacious^and neatly, though plainly, fitted up for public purposes and various corporatioii|^| and election uses : there \v^s also been for some lime a subscrip- - tion news room fitted up in one of them, called the Exchange^^ HaJK ^
The Fairs at Nottingham are three annually ; these we be- lieve take place on the seventh ol' March, the second and third af^_ Aprilf and the second of October called Gootie fair. All o^^ 8 these
I
I
tkese are for cattle and hor^s, and the latter also particularly tor cheese-*
The Tr\de and Manufactures of Nottingham have long been very extensive. Here are several mills for spinntn^silk and cotton, and for twisting^ do; silk mills worked by hordes; lace workers; stocking wt*avers ; a whitt* trad work ; a foutidery for cast iron ware from Ibe pigs brougiit from CoalhTook dale; dyinj^ and bleach works; British lace by framework; brew- eries; malthouseii; tanneriesi &c. The glasshouses, however, which formerly existed are now laid aside ; and the pottery is also very triflings
Great changes have at difTerent times taken p!ace with re- spect to the trade of this town; and it is a curious fact that lit- lie more than a century ago, though then a manufacturing place, it was dependent upon the neighbouring towns, and even villages, for grocery, drapery, &:c» though it is now iho general depot for a very extensive neighbourho<>d. Much of its modern im prove m en t must, however, be dated from even so late a period as that in which its water communications were improved by the various cnta in its vicinity.
It is said that, as early as the commencement of the twelfth century, ihe Dyeing Thaue was an object of importance to Nottingham ; but it declined in the reign of Mary, and 15; now scarcely worth mentioning, though so long a source of opu- lence and independence to many families in the place.
The Stocking Ma su factory seems lo have begun to fill up its place soon after^ as the stocking frame was invented in the reign of Elizabeth ; yet, m 1641, there were only two frame work kniiters in Nottingham.
The usefulness and simplicity of the present machines are lltonishing; and it is well known, that it was invented by WiU
liam
•The AgTiciiltural Survey »aj?, that the foir on the second of April b moveablf , if it falU on tlic Monilay after Pdm Suaduj , and wc hiirc seen it stilled fbtt these fairs are on the Fridiij aflcr Jnnuarj 13ih, 7tfi and Btli ol Idftrcb, Tfaoridaj t^fgre Eajtcr, md 2ad, 5ft>^ «iid 4th, of Ocloher.
ms
xqttikgbamsuirb.
Ham Lee, who was M. A, of St, John's college at Camliridgej born atCalverton according to Thoroton, but at Woodboroagh, a vilb^€ about seven miles distant fiom Notcingham, according to Der ing^s account, who records a traditional story of him that he was heir to a pretty freehold estate^ and being deeply in love with a young person to whom he paid his addresses^ but whom he always found more intent upon her knitting, than to bis wows and protestations^ he was induced to contrive a ma* chine* which should render the mode of knitting by hand en- ^lirely useless. We have, however, seen it stated diOereotly ; that Mr. Lee m'asa poor curate, and married ; and his wife being obliged to occupy herself industriously with knitting, which interfered very mucii with the atientiun necessary to her fa- mily, he was prompted to attempt thi; invention of the presenl Complex, yet simple, machinery. It is certain ihal he or his brwlUer exhibited the loom before queen Kliaiabeth ; but his in- vention being de«piscd in his native country, h« went to France with several English workmen, where he was patronized by Henry the fourth. The murder of that monarch overturned all bis hopes of success ; he died of grief and chagrin at Bsris^ and hh few surviving workmen returned to England. After some time, a company was establtstied in London; but no trade «f this kit^t, where sffmli capitals are suHicient, can possibly Nourish under a monopoly ; of course even the London dealers ill hosiery bund it more profilahle to purchase their goods in tht: country, than from the manufacturers of the metropolis ; and the ti^de has thus been enabled, for manyyears^to ^d iti own level.
We hEive not been able to procure any recent estimate of the number of frames em jdoyed in this manufacture; but During says, tlrat in the middle of the bst century, there wert? !300 en>pl<\ved ill Nuttingham alone, to which may be added about 400 assistant workmen occupied in making the various partaof the frame niauof.tcture, and also a great number of winderSj *lzers,ajid scaniers, &c, The nujober at present, however, nol*
withstaiidiiig
NOTTiiroujiMsai&s.
159
withstanding the circuinflcribed state of our cocamerce, muat ht
much greater.
The Bone Lace Trade was once a source of profitable in* dtistry to a number of females; it afterwards declined ; bal we believe that the frame lace would soon have enabled us to rival the continent m that article^ had it not be<:ii fur the lat« unhappy disturbances. Ii is evident, indeed, that if the enc* miea of England had it in thtir power to stir up any part of het populacei to i' legal deeds, ihis is one point to which ihey would naturally direct their attention; ami ii is not inipossibte that some future investigation may shew that French inOuence and corruption were at the bottom of these rioti, not only for the pur[>oses of general injury, but with a reference to this branch of trade in parllcuiar.
The Maltinc Business^ as we have already noticed under the general head of the county, has long been a source of pro* fit to the town ; indeed, ever since the introduction of that trade into the kingdom, at the peritjd of the Norman conquest. The goodness of the barley, in the vale of Belvoir, has been stated as one cause of the goodness of the Nottingham malt and ale, which even Stukely the antiquary did not disdain to mention, saying, " h was highly valued for softness and plea- Kint taste ;" much abo may have been owing to the great depth, and consequent coolness, of their ale cellars, many of them having 36 steps in depth. Some of the other nianu factories, already noted, have indeed fallen into decay, particularly the Tanning business ; and the Iron trade, which, with the exception of a founder y already mention td, is complelefy removed to districts better fitted for it.
The Population of Nottingham has been increasing gra* dually ever since the reign of Edward the Confessor, when the number of men stated, amoimted lo 192; and if we allow each man to have bad a bouse, and the whole inhabitants to have averaged at 5i per house, the popubtion must have been about 1056; excc|3t m this uislance, that^ after the Norman coiiquesl, 9 the
im
MOTTtSClljIMSBtBE.
the nomber of men were otUy 1S6» which>at the same propor* tion^ would give a population of about 74B,
It has been said thai a decrease took place in the reign of Henry the eighth ; bat that is merely an inference drawn from aa act of Parliament having passed, obliging the town& of Not- lingbam, and some olher5» to repair their ruinous bouses, aoil bad paremeats; and, therefore^ canoot be taken as an absolute lact.
The earliest authentic account we have of the population in the last century, is from Deri a g* pages IS and 14, where it ap- pears that the houses amounted to 18Q6, and the inhabitants to 9790, besides SUO in workhouses, gaols, and hospitals, equal to a total of 10,010 : this was in 1739; and by a census of the birtlis and burials for the seven preceding years, tt appears that the former amounted to 2G94, the latter to 3*13 1, giving an in- crease of ti6t3, indepetideot of new comers.*
By another account taken in 1751, the number of inhabi- tants b estimated at 10.0G1, being only an increase of 51 in the coarse of twelve years.
By a census taken in 1779^ the parishes were slated to con- lain as follows :
• III the year 1T44, Bering prod ucet several ijutancej of toiigetity, prot. iag tlie geoeral tieatthrulae» of thii town ; two of his in.»tiiiices may amu^e,
"Goody Ry ley* till witfiin tlirec days of her death, being in Si. Mary "s wofkhou»c, if ^e was not p)ea&ed with her usage, wQtil4l every now and then, take a ramble tm foot to London, where she had lome of her childrea settled i and if they gave her the least ofFence. »hc would as readily trot down again to Nottiiighaia ; she wa* above lOifyeara ol age/'
After this ettraflrdhtaty instance of an old woman, whom it was difftcijjl to please, ihe doctor adverts to a lady to wjirtm he seenji lt> bave paid roorc pet" lonaJ altention, w he speaks of her hi the present ten*e ; thi"* was •* Goody Gedling, without Chapel bar," who, necording to his observatian», "sella ak, walks about, brews herself, and spins, m ertimifl^ nimbU ttntgntd, and tias a Toi-ce very ihrill; by her cotintt^uaiice oQe wauld judge ber not to bt aboTC 70. !'•
yoTTINGHlMSlIIILE. 141
HnmiCM* Families. SouU,
St. Mary's ,.. ,.2314 2584 12037
St. Pcler*s...„,. 446 4©7 2445
St. Nicholas's. .,•,.•••.•,. 431 475 2502
firew house Yard, near Uie caiUcj Extra-parochial 127
3191 3556 17,711
and at that, period, the burials, from 1772 to 1778 iocluslre, amounted to 39<>3.
The return of 1801 gave 4977 houses, contaiomg 6707 fanii- Hes; the males were 13729; the females 15132; making a ge- neral total of 28G61 ; of whom 11698 were employed in trade, tnanu&ctures, and handicraft, and 362 in agricylture. The estimate of the parishes was, St. Nfary's 29,654 ; Sr, Nicholas's S.415; Sl Peter'd ^,739 ; and Extra- parochial only GO, being only one half of the prccedhig census.
By the returns of 1811* the males now amount to 15,537; the females to lH,82(j; making a total of 34363, or double the population of 1779, a period of only 32 years. It appears, however, that there has been a decrease both of baptisms and burials in Nottinghami during the last year^ though not to any rery coniiderable amount,*
Though
*" TlioAe who chuse to ^peculitte on tlie chancer of life &nd d«at1i x&a^ re- ceive &onie inlbrLuatiop, by contpftrliig the fnllowiog accouniC of tlie biiUii and tMirinliiJittiia CowUf wkh the Aam total of population :
McOft. Fcmo/cf. T^talpfBtp, Total of Bur.
St. Mur^'d Baptized ..**5fB 444 967
Burivd t%0 f99 579
St. Nicbolai's Baptised * • 48 48 96
Buried 54 dl> 111
St. PcterV BuprLzed 56 SO 66
_ Bufied 36 4» te
11^8 770
H«re there is an etTraordi^iac; diCerence between tlie births and detthf, 4nd 1(1 a proportion uniiBown in former fimes ] but m% gorccivei that oo one
m
HOTTrKGBAMSHIKB*
P
Tbciiisli much cif thif increase must have arisen from the in- crease of commerce an J maiitifactures ; yet ive imist allow jK)me merit to the healthy situation, and to the general salubrity of the air. By a sutexiieiit kept by Dr» Clarke^ of Nottingbara, for IHIO, it appears that the thermometer was at its greatest aU titude on the secoBtl of September, being 89" with an easterly ^vintl j its greatest ilepressiuii on the 20th of February, being 14** with the wind at N. E, Its greatest variation in 24 hours was on the 19th and 20lh of February, from 16' to 46^.
The annual mean of the barometer was 29,HS inches; itf greatest height being on the Slat of December 3O^50# the wind ^tN. £. and its lowest state on the 19th of February 28.73, wind at S*W,
There were in the year 269 dry, and 96 wet days ; the great* est quantity of rain falling in July, equal to 3,85 inches^ and the smallest quaniity in SepLemberi only 0,62 inches; the total (juanl it y, during the year, 23,15 inches.
There
%ri!l be at a fois to account for k, after readmg iKib followkig ststement from .1 recptil per'iodiciil wot It,
In IBIO an epidemic iinnll pox rtged nC NottingH«ini 450 had tbe infee* lion natarallyj of whom 151 died ^ 20 children were UiocuUted with the Vi- lioloui mutter, of whom 1 died.
During the eight months that this eptderaic wni in all its virulence^ lOtt were vaccinated, 86 of who<i] had been expo-^cd to the iraholaus iafectioil some days preirioiis to vnccinailon. Of ihne B6, tbere were S^ who escaped Ihe imall pox totaltj ; on 46 of tim Dumber the sm nil pox and cow pox acted together at the siine time] hut, in all thetc cases, the »roall pox was mild. In »even only tbe cow pox fuiled of effect, and ihc epidemic proceeded as u«uaL
The conclusion drawn from this^ wai (hat 9t6 were probably uvcd from the iQfetitiotii of whom 2$^ would otherwke naturalJj bare died in thetlioft ipacc of eight months I
By a report of vrtccination in that year, it appeari that up to thot period $7B4 persons had been vnccinuted nt Nottiugfiam, out of which one only tcKjk the small pox, and died ; whiht in that nit m be r of patienlfi in the iialu- tal way the prnportion of deaths would bare been 60O; and with inoculation f7. Vide Monthly Mugndnc.
IfOTTtNOflAirilfritC^
us
Mpet
There were 14S winds between N. and N, E. ; 79 between E. ajitl S. E. ; 157 between S. and S. W. ; and 88 from W. to N. W,
le State of thr Poor is at all lime?* an object of conse*
nee, but more parlictilfirJy so in a large nianufikcturnig town like Nottinghnm. The public workhooj^es and charities we have already noticed; but it rniglrt perhaps be of singular tise, if a house of General liiflusiry were established, which Eiien^ in his work on the Poor, says was in contem|>l4itiou some years before he WTote, but failed on account of the dilliculiy of unit* ing men of different party principles, even in a work of be- oevoleuce.
At the period when Eden wrote, there were no less than fifty* one friendly societies ;* and he also takes a very particular no- tice of a most benevolent and rational one, called the Charitable Society, the principal intenlinn of which is to extend relief to such cases, as it is impossible to alleviate under the general poor laws. In pursuance of this plan the funds have been faith* fully employed, as far as their general amount wilt admit of^ and principally to the following objects; to strangers in distress, and to persons labouring under disease or other casual mis for- tuoe. This has been done, either by loans^ by donations, or both, as circumstances required. The society has also paid, in some instances, small annual subscriptions to Sunday schools; and they have even paid for the education of individuals in poor and deserving families. The Qtuiker^ were the original patrons of tills benevolent plan, in which they were soon joined by others; but it was left principally under their management.
In 18(J3 {than which %ve have not been able to procure a more recent account) the parish raien of St. Mary's amounted to SS95Ly Sl Nicholas* to 5^55/.; aikl St. Peter's to U67/.; at which time, houses were rated froni III. 8d, to I^i. ; and land from It** iOif. to 19s, Gd. in the pound.
These rateji, however, must l>e enunnously augmented, when H*e consider tliat the number of poor relieved in the first weeic
of
* But Ibeti ttiere wetf 152 alefiausek *.
lU
nOTTIKGaAMSniRS.
of January 1819, wan 8288, in 2363 families^ and on the SOtfl
of the same month, 4248 families, ainouiiting to 15350; so that in one month, the number of paupers was doubted, and actuatty amounted to nearly one half of the population.
If any ihingcould convince the labouring poor, of the tmpro* priety of popular commotion, we think this would be sufBcient; for though the manufactures of Nottingham must undoubtedly have suffered from the present restricted state of commerce, yel that efiect had been fully produced, before the first week in January. To what then, it may be asked, are we lo attribute this extraordinary increase? To the noUl most certainly ; as they have obliged the employ ers to stop rheir works, lest their property should be destroyed. This needs no comment*
In referring more particularly to the Pbesent State of Not- tingham, we shall have an opportunity of noticing some points that did not regularly come under any of the preceding beads; and here we may first consider its progressive improvement. Lc- land, speaking of it generally, tells ua that *' it is both a large towne, antl wMe builded for tymbre and plaister, and standeth stately on a clyninghille.'* Of these buildings of " tymbre," few, if any, are now remainirkg; but it ts evidenttthat all the advan- tages arising from its situation, were not then attended lo; for, even so late as the middle of the seventeenth century, we are told that the stranger, especially in the winter, found the Trent lanes very dirty, and after he had passed the Lecn bridge, the very foot of the town, called the Bridge End, deep and miry. At his first entrance^ continues Deringt into the narrow passage which used to lead between two high preci- pices* lo the upper part of the town, be was, from a parcel of little rock houses, if the wind was Northerly, saluted with a volley of suJFocatjng smoke, caused by the burning of gorse and tanners' knobs. Every body, he adds, knows the fragrancy and cleanliness of tanners, fell mongers, and curriers, many of which were then dispersed all over the town; the greatest tho- roughfare
* Query, the HoUun Stmie?
4
iTOTTflTGHAMSfftll]
145
FDUgbfare In the town, Brldlesmith Gate, wai then lined on both sides with the roughest kind of blacksmiths ; the market place, though spacious^ yet was paved but on one sidii, and on the other, called the Sands, it was very mtry. That p!ace near Su Peter's church, where the Monday market was afterwards projected, was not paved ; and part of it was so boggy, that there was a bridge of planks laid acroits it with a single rat)« over which it was extremely dangerous to pass in the night time. The whole of that quarter was dirty in the extreme, and there was one continued swamp from Listergate to the Lene.
Al that lime, indeed, the houses were not only of wood and
plaisier, but the roofs were thatched with straw or reeds; and
we are told the first tiled house in Nottingham was one in the
.Long Row, which had formerly been the Unicom Inn, the last
lin the row, and which had its new roof put on in 1503. The
toldest brick house was the Grfen Dragon^ a public house in the
tLong Row, of the dale of 1615. Some slight improvements took
(place during the civil wars; but it was not until after the Re^
[storation, that the increase of manufactures produced a consider-
ible melioration in the style of building. Of these earlier
[upeeimens of the elegance of those days there are stiU some
f remains.
Tkurland Hall is a good specimen of that style ; at present
fit seems to contain only two thirds of the original plan* con-
i fiMting only of a centre and one wing. The centre has a double
I row of ornamental pila-sievs; the door of entrance is about eight
fcet above the level of the street, with steps to ascend; the
I window frames are of heavy stone work; and there are semi-
I circular zigzag pointed fronts to the roof. Within side, the
rthickness of the walls reminds the stranger of ancient dungeons;
and the apartments, though spacious, are extremely gloomy.
I The great room is generally used, upon public occasions, ass
dining apartment for the meetings of the nobility and gentry of
the couniy.
P/umtrc*s Houst is of a more modern date, and has been Vol. XIL K much.
p^. andgtiHsrilly^.adbiiked for ils very light andeUfuil froi^ bniit in the Italian -style of arohitectnre; it standi ouSu lAaty's hilU and is a great ornament to thai part of the toira. Here* we cannot avoid doing Kottingham the josttce of record* ^g the sentimentsof an intelligent foreigner respecting it.^
^ This of all the towns I have yet seen» except Londoii^ ismied to me to be one of the best; -end is nndottbtedly the thanest. Erery thing here iprore s^modem .appearance^ and a luge.place, in ihe centre^ scarcely yielded to aLondcfi square In point of beanty. Noltingbam lies high* and makes -a bean* lifiil appearance at a distance^ with its neat high hooses, -red foo^ and its lofty steeples^''
We notice the state of Owrdmng in Nottingham and its neigUioiirhood» merely for the poqpost of recocduig one or tpsocnrieorfocts. It appears that seen after theConquest» as already mentioned* the king gave to • William P^erell ten acres to make an apple-orchard (mdfniendmm Pommiuuh} and tvkiehissopposedy from thediffiuenceinmeasarib tohajrecon* ilitnted great part of the present park. We have norecordiw howe ver» of its havuig been planted with •frnit irfes. .
In later times, we are told by Deringp AaV the gardeners of Nottingham were not very skilfol* imtil after the arrival of Mar- shall Tallard, and the other French officers taken at Blenheim, who '^ resided in Mrs. Newdigate's hoose in the Castle gial^ and smde very fine gardens there/'
The Stgfpfy qf water, a thing so necessary in a popalous place, has of late been much oomplPMnod of. Throsby observes, generally, that the wells, like the ceUatSii are 9ften of the depth of 36 yards, and the whole descent through a body of rock ; but a ^^reat ;part of the vrater wluch is used in Nottingham, is supplied by water works» which have become profitable to the proprietors. . The editorof a re- cent local guide, however^ complains that the place caaaor boast of good, pure, and wholesome water; and bf asserts
♦'•that
* Travelt in England^ mottly on Utot, by MoHtE, a Pnuaitii derg3rnuio>'>n<l • profeiior of ooe of the OenMO onircitkiei, 1794.
Eiri6e water WuK which the works on the river Lene sup- ply not more than cue third of the town, is far from being pure ; but eyen the advantage of this the most populous part^ caiinot obtain ; and to this cause, together with the confined s^ate of the buildiogs^ mrich of the excessive dlth^ misery, and disease^ of the lower orders of the people^ are to be attributed.^' We hope, howeverj that this picture is rather too deeply colourtd t it is, at the same tirae, a matter of serious regret, that the dis- agreement of parties, as has bet^u said, should have so far pa- ralysed pub he spirit, as to have prevented some judicious, and probably efficacious, improvements lately proposed.
The Supply of coal, an article of such importance, may be supposed to be on a cheap and convcn tent scale, as Notting- ham is in the immediate viciaity of very extensive coalpits; yet it has been a matter of complaint, that the increased facili* liesol water carriage have actually raised the price upwards of 50 per cent. This has been attributed to a *' combination against the poor*' ; but it is more likely to have arisen from the extension of the country to be supplied, in consequence uf the new canal cuts having Leeu greater than the usual supply at the pits was equal to.
In adverting to the State of Soctett, it is unpleasant to be obliged to remark, that a town possessing so many facilities, for promoting the comfort and happine^ of its population, should yet be " so split in parties, that no measure afiecting the inhabi- tants is allowed to be carried into execution, without under- going a very rigorous investigaiion.** Such was the observa- tion of Sir F- M. Eden, in his State of the Poor; and we lament It, because, instead of leading to truth^i as it might be proved to do theoreticalttf, its /jr<*c//ca/ consequences are generally so mixed with the personal feelings of party spirit, that the best measures are negatived merely because that the question ia thereby carried for or against the opposing interests.
The prevalence oi a decided party spirit in Nottingham cannot be more fully proved than by a recent fact of a news-
K 9 room
Ut ndtfiirdirAiiiiiicf.
i being eitablithed, wlioBe list of newspapers were pnlH- UsbwL ttul were aih if not the decided organs, at least the dgy cided partisans^ of one Hde. We will not make any obser* fatioDson the Ubermlky of this arrangement; it is sufficient to iay» that another newsroom has been proposed, on a tme liberal plan> without reference to part j politics* or local prejudices* TUa is aa^it should be, and will undoubtedly accord more with the general spirit of 4he town ; for that the genermt Mpnrii h a liberal one, however it aoay have bee^ warped by noisy or designing partisans, is evident firom the unity and aetive be- nevolence so particularly displayed in several of the charita* ble establishments already noticed. But in Nottingham it must ever be the case, as in other places, that those 101AO are reaify Hhmaitmd candid are silent. and quiel, too often indeed su- pine* whilst those who make liberality of sentiment teir stalk- ing horse are at least chunorous* if not intolerant • Wbilatdoing justice to the inhabitants at the present day, we
^not, however, forget an ancient distich:
*' ypo niw ooofipgMi, pww I— dbte Kottiajh— ^ . Gent foBtet atque focus, sordidiii Ule locus."
And which has been, though not very elegahtly, translated :
** I cMmot without \y% and shsiae, Commend the town of Notting^imm* The People and the fuel st The place as sordid as a Sink !"
T^is opprobrium, if it ever had truth on its side, is now com- pletely done away ; let us then turn to more agreeable subjects. That the state of genteel society here has long beeii on a ftsbionable scale b evident from the statement of Dering, that, hi the middle of the last century, there were 400 saddle horsesj^ above fSO coach, chaise,- and team horses, II gehtlemeoV coaches and chariots, a considerable number of chaises and
• ■ chairs^
^irOTTlKaHAMSniKl,
n9
'cbairs^ liesides five hackney glass coaches* one charioi» and 9«Teral chaises and chairs on the same principle*^
The Assemblies of Nottingham are, as in ail oiher place^» the resort of the young and gay, who go to see, and be seen ; and also of those, who, having played their matrimonial cards well in early life, are now content to sit down to a game of sober whi^t or r^uadrille. There was a distinction tn former limes thai certainly trenched much upon the harmony of society, in baving two separate as&emblies^ for the two separate classes of
K 3 polite
• If we go funlier back, liowcrer, to llic beginning of thf »»xtceiiib ccntary only, wc must form m ciiritnis idfa of the state vf laanners, from the dre^ t>f an iti{ieTman*ii lister, uliU> dj^ing in 151 J, lefl in htv nvilli the fallowing
'* Item. I gire to my sitter, Margnrtt Banks, every year, « gitrmeni of the price at 5%. 4d. dttting her life, «a need re^uiret, aiid a pair of iho'^s^ a imoke, and a kerdiirrof 8d« price, and every quitrter of a jretit, t^4. and A foame in my bedc hou>c, like at oilier my bede-folkc» liavc" — ^so iliai if Mr». Marp;arel TSanki had no more clothes ihim those Jeft by the wt*,rthy aldtrman, she musl hare *iecn nfnritf ai thinly clad a» toiuc of mir fasliion- able belles of tlw present day.
In eiimining the various cireuniftance^ peculiar to tht* places in flncient ^y«i we find a provcfb recorded bj Fuller :
*' The litil^ imtili <if NotiingUim, Who doth the work that no luau cm/'
He thinks it means Ko^r^^, or a person ^^ha nvvtt was; and 8<ldi, thai the proverb. Hy way uf Mircasm, Jt appVit'd to such, wlio, h^'ing concoiied of their ikill, pretend to Ihe atdiicfing of in»t»'>i»ibililjei. But Dcring is of opinion, that It aioie merely from the circumstunce of Natriiigham havingj in I urine r eWaet, Heeti famous for the pjodoction of the most curious nrtJcks in the jrnn manufacture: whilst lUy take* it literally, itiirl supposes thaithcre really wat a " little *milh/' who wmstQ very clever, tlial, by a kind o| a^jhiwable eaag^eraiioii, he might belaid to ** do the work that no man could/' 'J hit is all duabtlest vcrj ingenious; but tf we might hazard a cimj^'vlure^ff is not impufuble that the Unei may rather be an Enigma lt«an a Pr^Ji/rrftMiad ihsit the "lii tic smith*' wmt a Ind^, as even at the present day, hi the iirjgfihuurmg cjuntici, many, though nut absniuicly of the /a»r arx, afe employed at the . Cyclopmii iorge. U then, thit iudy was clever a* a tforkjuan, tJie whole might be a huniourout alluilou to her ikill und to imt sex.
160
HOTTlKGIIAMftlllRC*
jjoUtc and middle life. The former of these, the " Ladies* As* semblies," were held in a lofty and spacious apartment on iht Low Pavement,^ited up with all the usual convenitncies; and ihe latter, the *' Tradesman's Assembly/' at the Thurland HalL The assembly room at the Low Pavement «till remains; but ihe other we believe is discontinued, as there is now a more geaermi and liberal mixture of society.
The Theatre is a plain building in Mary Gat«» withotit any external decorations but very jvidiciously fitted up and arranged within* A recent writer, however, has observed, that it la, per- haps, to the credit of the inhabitants that more attention has been paid to useful and charitable institutions, than to those of mere entertainment.
The Rii>iNG School also of the yeomanry cavalry, at the lop of Castle Gate, has often been the scene of the usual eqaes* trian and other itinerant exhibitions.
The Ansu.\l Races for the king's plate take place herein July. Formerly the course was four miles, but now unly two miles, round ; it js on the north side of the town, to the left of the Mansfield road ; and is said to be one of the best in England, so far at least, as that it is never^out of order in any kind of weather^ being on a sandy soil, and having a sufficient descent The Race Stand, is an elegant building of two stories in height; built by Mr, John Carr, of York, as architect, and the first stone laid by Mr, St re Eton. The lower story projecU some dis- tance beyond the upper, with a ballustrade on top, and a ter- race to which opens the upper room of seven windows in front* The whole of the upper part is appropriated for the company during the heats, and the lower apartments arc very judiciously fitted up for refreshments.
The Public Walks^ in and about Nottingham, are very nume- rous, though there is none that can be considered as the public MalL The Castle terracci and the park, have been already de- scribed, and the meadows which extend along the banks of the Trent are in many spots peculiarly pleasant, from the very charming prospects which they command. These, with the
others
XOTTllTGIIAHSHtAB.
151
I
I I
I I
others called the ** Burgesses Grounds/' nre much frequented ; and ti> these we must add the walks to Wilford and Clifton^ and to Colwick, where ihere is a springs formerly in great repute. The t^hote of the scenery is pleasingj and much enli?ened by the very frequent passage of commercial craft, on the Trent and the other canal cuts.
Another favourite walk u to St Ann's WeH» about two miles distant, at the foot of a hiH, not many years ago covered with trees, and called " Nottingliam Coppices.** This is, howcTcr, now entirely cleared^ inclosed, and cultivated; though the old name still remains* This hilL or part of it at least, belongs to the burgesses. The well itself is covered by an arched stone foof, but of rude workmanship; and has formerly bten often used as a cold bath ; Throsby says, " it will kill a toad/* Even now rheumatic patients derive some benefit from its application. The houiye of entertainment is near the well ; and they are still surrounded by a few trees, which add much to the beauty of the place in a summer evening. The story of this place having been a sequestered haunt of Robin Hood is motit probably a fable; though certainly he may have been there; but as for the cap, and part of his chair, or at least those things shewn for them, it would be absurd to place any dependence irpon their autheniku^ft as relics, after so long a period as 70<}year>4. Brome, who made a tour in 1700, say a, "Strangers are placed in the chair, a cap put on their heads, &c. when they receive the freedom :" — ^in short it is nothing more than a second edition of the Horns at Highgate. Deringp indeed, very properly con- siders the whole as the artifice of some former publican, and which was so profitable as to be retained, bringing great num- bers, as at the present day, to spend their money in holiday times: he adds, "for at those times, great numbers of young men bring their sweethearts to this well, and give them a treat ; and the girls ihink themselves ill used, if they have not been saluted by their lovers m Robin nood*s chair ;" so that it ap- pears to be a cure, or at least a palliative, for love, as well as foi 6ore eyes and rheumatism. The house is built on the scite of
K4 an
ut
WOTI^VfiHJillsaiftK.
an ancient chapel, and part of the east wmll is incorj in the building ; so that we may snppcse Robin Hood's rtlb to b^ no older than the Heformation« when the mir^culow le- gends of Monkery ceased to have their attraction, and thewt^ would most probably ha?e been deserted without the auisttoci of Robin^ and some stout Nottingham ale* Those who wisb» koow further particulsirs may consult Bering, page 73.
About a furlong from the well, teat the Shepherd's race, i maze or labyrinth cut in the torft on the summit of a geodf hill. It wa% on what was once a common belonging to SiieinloA parish, given to them by the family of Picrrepoint; but the rectal inclosures have completely destroyed every restige of iL It was 17 or 18 yards square; at the angles were four projectiooi, facing the four cardinal points ; and to follow it through all its windings would have been a pretty bmart run. Stukely thinks it to have been Roman ; others suppose it to have been madt by the priests of St. Anntr^s chapeU for the sake ofexerciie; but a^ the slightest vestiges of it are no longer in eJCisteo^rU Is unnecessary to examine its history at greater length*
The Caves of Snei>*tok. (illustrated by a plate^) thonj a pariiih distinct from Nottingham^ may yet be properly i in this place^ from their very close vicinity to the t&wsi* TIkk roton, indeed, says, that Sncinton Lordship (Snotington or N ington, as it is called in thi? Magna Britannia^ and wh serves as an additional proof of the probability of a eonjectai formerly started respecting its name,] is a member of St. Mary's^ Nottingham, and may now be almost considered as locaUj united to it. It is a distinct parish, or chapelry, in the deam of Nottingham ; and the present ancient chapel dedicated St, Stephen stands upon the summit of the excavated surrounded by a burying ground : and the chapel is small low, partly in the Gothic style, but having nothing to reconi* mend it pariicuhrly to notice, except the very extensivi; pi pect over the vale of Belvoir, and even a^ far as the *' JLeici tcrsU ire to rest rock/' at a distance of twenty miles. From
'51
1
call^
i
J
KOTTlHGHAHsntRl*
isa
pMxii of view also the spectator looks down upon Colwick Hail, the &tdt of the Musters family, oa the banks of the mud- ing Trent,
It was ortginalty crown land ; but king John granted it to William de Briwere ; from whom it went, ;n the reign of Edward Ihe first> to Tibetot, and was held of him at iLie same timp by Robert Pierpoint, by ibe ser?lce of a pair of gloves, or one penny, though fairly valued at 26/. 3«. It has continued cvef since in that famiiy, ^vho, as wc have obseryed, gave^the common near to St* Anne's weH to the parish.
The village itself is rural, at present in some measure romantic ; has a number of pleasant villas and cottages, and has long been famous for a race of dairy people, who make a very pleasant kind of soft summer cheese,
Creat part of the village, indeed, consint^ of ihe habitations within the rock, many of which have staircases that lead up to gardens on the top, and some of them hanging on shelves on its sides. To a stranger it is extremely curious to see the perpen- dicular face of the rock with doors and windows in tires, and ihe inhabitants peeping out from their dens, like the inmates of another world ; in fact, if it was not at home, and therefore cf no value, it would, without doabl, have been novelized and melodramatized, until ail the fashionable world had been mad for getting under ground. The cofleehouse* and ale houses, cut out of therockr are the common resort of the holiday folks; in- deed the cofieehouse is not only extremely pleasant from its garden plats, and arbours in front, but alto extremely curious from its great extent into the body of the rock, where visitors may almost choose their degree of temperature on the hottest day in summer.
Without going into all the minutia? ofCorpomilon squabblet , which are seldom interesting beyond the locality of the borough itself, it is enough to notice of the MvNtctPAL History of Not* tingham, that it was anciently governed b)'' two bailifB, coro* Ders, and a common council ^ who were empoweied by Edward
the
IM
VOTTTlirGBANSUTIll.
the first to choose a mayor. Henry the sixth made it a coonlj of itself; and it has dow seren wards, with each an aldermaiij oat of whom the mayor is ahrays chosen. These wards are* Chapel ward, on the western side of the town ; Ciutlc xourd, in the viclniiy of the -castle; Market ward, inclading the market place* and the Long Row and lanes to the north of it ; NortA wurd, which embraces the north ea5t division of the town > Bridge ward> between Sl Mary's and the Lene, and the lanef and streets to the eastward ; Middle taard, which h very small* to the east of Market ward, and between Grldle Smith Gate* and Fletchergate ; and Monihall ward, to the south east of the latter, and containing the Low, and part of the High Pave* mentii. Each alderman, though possessing a peculiar jurisdic* tion over^ is not obliged to reside in» his ward ; for* indeed, bit jurisdiction may properly be eaid, as a justice of the peace* to extend to the whole town.
At present, the corporation consists of a mayor^ sis alder* menji a recorder, two sheriffs, two coroners, two chamberlatnty aad a common council composed of twenty -four bargessej^ eighteen of whom are chosen by the burgesses at large, but must have served the office of sheritr, and arc the senior coun* cil. whilst the remaining six arc chosen the same way from the body at large, and from the junior council. These, however, have ec[iJal rightii, and equal votes, except ihat the magistracy is filled Up from the senior body. It appears, that the hurgesies of Nuitingham hjve some privileges, advantageous to the lower jaoksj particutlarly the *' Burgesses Grounds/' as Ihey are called, which may be worth about Si per annum* to about 300 of iheir number, to themselves during life, and to their widows* Where parties run high, it is not surprising thai charges of undue partiality, in the distribution of these dooceurs, should be sometimes brought forward ; nor were we surprized to hear, that some attempts which were made to enclose these lands, giving the various claimants an equivalent, have hitherto been always negatived* notwithstanding the probability, that such iui ar- 9 range meat
■
KOTTlHOHABrsniRE.
1^
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I
I
rangement ifi^ould make the landJn more valuable, and more use- ful u> t be town at large. No doubt that some of the partizani^p on both sides, may have considered these grounds as very good grounds on which to found theii* plans of borough influence** In Parliamentary Rights, the mayor and corpora^un, free- holders of 40^. per annum, eldest sons of freemen by birtb^ younger son* of freemen if they have served a seven years* apprenticeship any where, and freemen's apprentices^ havd each a vote* The ancient right wa^ in those paying scot and lut; but Oldfield, in his History of the Boroughs, complains that the decision of the House of Commons, in 1701, which settled the present arrangement, hag rendered the right of vot- ing so complicated and open to fraud, that every freeman may qualify as many as he pleases, by surreptitious indentures of appreniiceship. He adds, however, that Nottingham is un* derno immediate influence, owing to the great number of elec- tors, (n bout 1700;) yet complains, that the leading men of each party have formed a coalition to return one member each. This, he asserts, neutralizes the two voles; and he recommends that /A/«r should be allowed to prevent ii; but, however fine this may look in theory, it is extremely probable, that those who have been witnesses to popular contesU in large towns are very glad to secure peace and quiet, by any arrangement which will put a stop to scenes, where every thing is considered but libeHy and proptrty, both of these being very apt to suf- fer during the concussions of Whigs and Tories^ The necessity ofaocnething of this kind at Nottingham, or some other powerful palliative, seems acknowledged by a late act of Parliament, in consequence of tumu I tuoua proceedings in lH02, which gives a concurrent jurisdiction in this borough to the magistrates of the county at large.
The number of votes has been estimated at 1700; but it is
now
•At an election of Cominoii Coancilmen, m 1797. the corporatina and caii- didatei had the good 9eu»e to agree, Ihai n Atm} atop should be put to the old Abu«e ol gifin^ iDouej, &c. as pracliaed on JWoier occiuiotii. Thi» roajr be ^teduaykir iiist&ucc of prActicul relbroi*
156
KOTTlKGHAMSniRE.
HOW probably much larger- The votes at the late election i»l 1 J507, ran for John Smith, E^q. 1047 ; for D. R Coke, Eati, 7m ij and for Dr. Compton, 575.
With respect to BtoGRAPitY* particularly of literary cba-] racters^ Koltrogham has not many insUnccs to produce* The first we find on record is
JoHji Plough/ son of Christopher, and nephew lo John.P»j rector of St. Peier*s who spent JteveraJ years in acquiring acade- mical learning at Oxford j and, in the latter end of 1543, suppltr 1 catcd fur ihc degree of B. C. L. but does ftot appear by the Uni*] vcrsitybook to have obtained it- Yet, at that period, he wai rector uf St. Peter's, in room of his uncle, who had purchased i ibc adf owson for one mm from Thomas Hobson> the prior of J Lenton monastery, in order to confer it on him. Wood says,] that after this John became a zealous minister of God's word, in the time of king Edward the sixth j but being obliged to fly beyond sea, on the accession of queen Mary^ he went to reside a! Ba^il, and there wrote the following books; Apilogy fotl the Protestants, written in answer to a book against the Englisll j Protestents, that was ptsnned and published by one Miles Ho geard, of London, hosier; a Treatise against the Mitred Man in] the Popish Kingdom ; and, the Sound of the doletul Trumpet.
William BftiGHTMAN,t was bred a fellow of ^ueei/s College Cambridge, and afterwards hentfficed at Hawnes, in Bed for shire. He made many prophcciesj and Fuller alludes to thefltl in very quaint terms. " Sure I am that Time, and Mr. B. will expound tbe hardest places in the Revelation j but what credit is to be given to the latter alone 1 will not engage. Such, who dislike Mr. B's %vriting, could not hut commend his evan- gelical living> who had so much of heaven in his heart. Walk- ing through the vineyard of thi«; %vorld* be plucked and eat a few gra^e>>, but put up mine In his vessel, using wealth as if he used it not. His clay cottage did crack, and fell down in the same minute, so sudden was \m death; but he who died
could • U'outJj Alhciiajj VoL L p. i2$, ♦ TuiitfB Worthier.
ir OTTlUDTr AMSTf TUT:.
4ouM on no Jay be said to die AudiWnly, being always pre* pared for bh dksolution."
of
I
I
GiLBBRT W.iREdELD, ifi more modem daysi^ iras a native « thiH town, being bom in ibe Parsonage Houii: of St. Nichub^, of wbicb parisU Wh father iiras rector, on the ^d of Ffcby. I75(i. HU father was of a Derby^^htre family, but immediately from SlaHurd&bire. His motUt^r'ii ancestors were of Nottinj^bam* her grandfather having been twice mayor: by an allui^ion madi^by Waketield, in liie memoirs uf his own life, they were onijinaljy fi^ihermen. Ii has been said in frome recent publication, owing to a miiiintei'prelation of a passage in the first volume of that life, that his mother was buried in one of the churches at Notltng* ham; but the fact is, she died at Hackney, in 1800, in her 79th year, and was buried at Richmond. His life it* »o r«;ceut, and had m little connection with bis native county, thut it is need Jets to go into further particulars, except that after Jear* iiig the academy at Warrington, he resided at Bramcole, and afterwards at Ntittingham, where he attempted to establijih a school, but seems to have been either unsucce3sful or unset tled« As many of his co temporaries arc yet living,, and as further notice might lead us into both religious and political discussions, we muiit refer to his own life, written by himself, which cstnnoi fail ofatlWding both infarmation and amusement, to the libera] on both sides of the {|uestion.s connected with lUh learned, tbongh unfortunate, character,
Henrv KinKE White will long remain, his memory at lea«t, 13 a proof that genius and talents will always burst through the thickest veil ofobscurity* In fact, the spirit and perseverance with whicli he adhered to, and at last accomplished his youlii- fal wishes, as related by Mr* Southey, are almost incredible, yet strictly true ; and are, or ought to be, a proof to parents^ that the early inclinations of their children ought not to be heedlessly thwarted und^r the name of obstinacy, where they may be the cont^equence of conscious genius^ and ot coii»cii»U5 wortb. He has also unfortunately added another proof of the
156
llOTTIW0ttAM5HTltS.
homeiy nd^ge, "lOon ripe, soon rotten." To dilate on the bi- ography of him, who may have been the school companion, or college friend, of in«iiy who read these lines, must be totally ujinecettary ; it is pleasant to remarki however, that his rae* mory is not forgotten^ nor useless to his family, the female branches of which now superintend a very respectable board- ing school in Nottingham, and who need not be ashamed td have it said, that the merits of an amiable son and brother go hand in hand with their own*
It is time now to leave Nottingham, and proceed to examine its
Environs, with which we shall commence in a north-west direction, come round by the west, to the southern parts of the counry, not confining ourselves to the exact local division of Hundreds, b»t adopting such a route as would most readily pre^nt itself to the observant tourist.*
BAsroBo
* In the general iketch of the county, it has been atatedj that there *te »ix wapentakes or h anil reds. I'hc pariihcs cootatned in each, arc as Tollotr :
IttrsffcLiFre. Adholton ; Barton m the Beunt ; West Bndgcford ; Bon' r.ty ; Clifton; Curlinstock ; Gotham; Key worth ; Ke^nston, an Untndoned Chapelr; ; Eaat Leek; NormanCon upon Soar; Plunitre; Ratcliffe upon Soar ; Henitoo ; Ruddtngton, has Flawfardy for tlie mother cluirch ; Staor- ford; Stanton in the Wolds; Snttun BoningtoD; TfftOFp in liie Clods; Wid- mcrpole; WjsalL
BiNGiiAM. AsUctori in Whatton j Bingham; East Bridgvford; Biotigh- ton Salncy ; C«rcoh(onj Cofgravc, two panslics ; Coliton Basset; Cropwcll Bishop; Elton; Flinlham; Grantv ; Hawkeswoith ; Htckling; Holme Pierputnt; Knereton ; Kmollon ; Lunger; Orston; Owlhorpi Baddiffe opotv Trent; ScrevetouiTilhbycunj CropwclJ; Whaltoa, cujitaiiiing thtChmpclrj of Astacton.
Ntwjiti. Baniby in the Willows; Norih Clifton; North and Soutli CoL ruigliams; C<»thani; Eikering ; EI»lon ; Farrington ; Hawton; KilWngioii; Newark; South Scarlc ; Shelion ; Syeriton Chape Ity ; SUnton^ JStoke ^ Tborney; Thorp by Newark; Winihorpc,
B4S5ETLSW. N^trih Cl^. Beckingham ; Boyle; Glarboroiigh ; Cla-
MOTTtKOBAIfSBtHBV
»«J
, fS/iSFOlD h the fir»t plactf, in this direction^ deserving of n a bottom, to which yau approach from tht: race ground^ aud the scenery around it, is rich in the extreme. Tills villagei indeed* may be now said to be a town« lo much is it increased of late, from «bc various raanufactarcs, ami the improvements consequent upon them^ for here are not only corn and cotton miUs, but I he bleaching and dyeing branches of business have been carried on for some yeari*, with consider* able success. The church h dedicated to St. Leodigariui, and has a very handsome spire; with a nave and side aisles in jf^ry good order; but there are no ancienl epitaphs, though it for- merly contained many armorial bearings in the windows. The
importance
worth; Cotef, a free Cbspet; Evertdn; GTingley on tlie Hill; Havton; Holte; Noflh snd South LtfTertotw; Missoo; Misterton; East and Wctt Retford»; liowineloo ; Saundby; Stuiley; Stufton; Korth and South TiU uei; Wiilkriughani ; North a»d South Wheatiey.
&Hith Ciaif. hiiiihorpe; Darletoa^ Bait Praylon; Dunh^tro; Eaton, Of idteloni Egmanton i Gamsion ; Grove; Headon ; Klrton; LBuehiiui; Lex» ifiton, or Lax ton ; Eiist Mark ham cum Weil Drayton; We«t Mark ham cHNi Bevercotei^ Morehoase ; North and South Maskliain ; Muskham Pre* bend; Ramptoii; East and West Trtis^eUs; Tntford; U{iton.
KATfiEti^. Babworth; Berercotes; Blithe; ISoughton, but ito ehordl; B«tljaj]iieU ; Carltou in Liiidrick ; Cuckcncy ; Edwinstow ; Elke»ley ; Flit* aiAgley; Uarworth i Uougbtotij Marlon, here wu» ancicutly a Chiipdi ilattersej^ Merriel Bridge, here was a CUupel formerly; OrdsaJI; \Vei| Ray too ; Sutton upon Luuod cum Scrooby ; WateBby ; Warsr*p ; Worksop.
BnoKtow. Attenborough; Arnold; Batford ; North BeeJiton; Bilbo* rough; Biidworth ; Bulwell; Eastwood; Grieslcy ; Hucknall Torcard ; Kirkb^ in Athfield; Lemon; Linby; MansBeld ; Nuthall ; Radford; Set- ■ton; Strelley ; Sutton upon Aihfield; Tevertal ; TroweJl ; Wo'latan*
TuvaoAaToit. Arerhmm; Bleaibjr; Burtoo Joyce cum Bulcote; Ctl- f erton ; Caunton ; Culwick ; €rumweU;Editigiej ; Eperstou; Eaton or Oiton ; Elton in Cropwelij a Prebetnl ; Exton, aiioUier Prchetid; FarnAcId ; Fled- borough; Gediing; Gonalston; HttflougUton; Ho<:kertan ; Hoveringham ^ Kelham; Kirklington : Kn««aJZ; Lamblrj ; Lowdham; Mamham ; South Netbeley; Nornaanton by Gfetthdrpe ; Noithivell OverbaTl ; Owrngtoa.; Roliton; Sntuton; Stmthwell ; Stitton iijxjn Trent j Thurgartoo; Uptoa ; WeHon Uercj aud NormauvUIe^ WoiMlboruugh,
KOTTIIft
importance of this place haa also been kept up, by its being Cbe scat of the Court of the Honour qf Pcvcrel, since it wat re- moved from Nottingham, The High Steward, however, bus the power of holding it by his deputy wherever he ihinki necessary or convenient. It formerly sat every Tuesday, and has jurisdiction, not only over Nultinghanishire, (the two hun- dreds of Thurgarton and Broscton. being added to the others in the 25Lh Charles the 2d,) but also over great part of Derby- shire, and a town or two in Leicestershire. At present it siti twice in the year, to try causes as high as 50/» ; Lord Middle- loo h the High Steward, and his defmty presides. A g«ol for the court is situated here, %vhich Howard describes as hav iiigj at the time of his wriiin;j, merely one room, with three beds; but the keeper toUl him, he had atiotlier little room for women prisoners^ of whom there being none in bis custody, he applied the apartment to domestic uses, A bowling green close by the gaol is much frequented by the inhabitants of Not- lingham; and Mr. Bray observes in his tour, that the prisoners bcitig then permitted by the gaoler to wait upon the company, their confinement was not very rigorous*
Mapperle^ is a hamlet in this parish, and has a hand-some seat ef IcUaboii Wright, Esq, a banker in Nottingham. This gen- tleman has been very active in forming plantations^ and making inclosures^ and the place is now an ornament to the neighbour- hood*
BuLWELL is a large village, and it« inhabitants arc princi- pally employed in cotton printing, and in bleaching; it has also some very extenMve lime works. Part of the parish is in
I
the forest; the rest is incla^ied ; but the Lordship is the property fl of different individuals, who are stated as forming a kind of cor- poration, having the appointment of their own stewards, and the perqaisites of their own courts. Yet they still continue , copyholders, in order to preserve their customs and forest rights* The ancient manor house, Bulwcll WoodhaU, is now the residence of a farmer; but a handsome house has been built
aome
I
KOTTIItGHAMSinaC.
Jffl
some years ago, by John Ncwton,Esq. to which he wished toaffiac the name of the place ; it happens^ however, unfortunately to have acquired the appellation of " Pye-wipe-Hall," so that £u/* well Hall is almost obsolete.
INuTHALL stands a short distance from Bulwellj the Tillage is very BmaU, but has a neat and well preserved church, dedi* cated to St Patrick, with a handsome tower, and two aisjc!?. Here were, formcriy, several ancient monuments of the family of Bonn: and there are also some moilern ones, butnotofpar- ticubr consequence- Some of the armorial bearings of the Strelleys^ and other familie3> yet remain in the windows.
But the greatest beauty of the place is the Temple, the seat of the Hon Henry Sedley, formerly Veniont but who took thin name in consequence of his marriage w*ith the only daughli^r
I of the late Sir Charles Sedley, Bart.* This scat of Nut/tall Templct stands on an extensive plain, near to tlie village, and has a spacious paddock cont^ected with it^ but without any of the higher embellishments of park or garden scenery. The house is a square, with two low wings, and a handsome portico in front, consisting of six lofty pillars^ with a neat pediment; * and a light ballusiraded range of steps. The roof is pitched pretty high, with a lofty dome in the centre, surrounded with an airy baliustrade. The visitor first enters a magnificent hall, sup- ported by detached columns of the composite order, lighted from the dome, and elegantly decorated. The dome within Vol. XI L L displays
* or tUli ramltj was Sir C[i!irt«!S Sedlej^jin tlie reign of Cbarlea the lecoud^ noted for Uis gallantry, and pnrticularlj meationcd in GritrnmontS Memoirs of tlie Engl bli Court. Diasipaiioii, howcrcr, vr as then fashionable ; but m «|pi(e of court intrigue* !9ir Churlei shewed himself an honest pstnut H the |lcv<iJation» when be waa very active agaiiivt Jamea the second, humourouifj observing, th«t be should do bis utmoU to make his Majesty *s d*ug)iter & qtK'en. as the king Imd made his a Counless ; nltuding to her being mtde Coonte>s of Dorchester* She was no beauty, Charles once said, his brother had her by tvay of penance j yet such wus James's attachment, (bitt he Mpould not part with her, except at the slrang retuon»trances of the queen and priei^^ agfuiisl whom she tiad employed die irholc torce of her ridicule.
l6t irOTTlirGRAMSBXRS.
diiplays « profuaioii of oraameiilal bocy w^k, and baaf a light gallery tupported by the pillars of tbe hall. On enlraace, a BtK€hHt, of elegant workmanship, imilet upon the stranger, who cannot fail of being much strack not only with the ale* ganccj bttt with the conTenience of arrangement, which displays itself on all side^ particularly in the easy oommuoication from the hall to the Tarioos apartments.
Yet, with all this elegance, a moment's consideraiioB destroya the effect, as there is something particularly incongmons in this style of architectttre in our climate. The original Rolonda of Palladio, of which this house is a copy, is the VilU Capra near Vicenaa in Italy, one of the most celebrated works of that great restorer of ancient architecture, and which is shoated aboQt a mile from the city gates. Nothing, as Mr. Dallaway observes,* can exceed either the plan or elevation of the ori* ginal in simplicity and commodiousness ; and its elegance baa often excited a desire of imitation, and an ambitHMi of im- provement, which, however, have always failed, §nm a viola- tion of that simplicity which is the real cause of all the excel- lence of Palladio's work. In this point he considers Mere- worth Castle and Footscray Place in Kent, which, like this of Nuthall temple, are imitations of the Villa Capra, to have to- tally failed ; as the four porticoes which constitute their decora- tion are ill adapted to our climate, whilst the filling them up with apartments, which has in some instances taken place, is still a greater solecism in architecture.
Gretsley parish is the largest in the county ; and is said to be twenty miles in circumference. It has a handsome spacious church with a lolly embattled tower, in which are four good bells. The whole is kept in good order ; but the value of the living is said to be very unequal to iU extensive duties. There are some monumenU of the Rollestons, Millingtons, &c. but none remaining of the ancient possessors, pf whom the Canti- lupes had license to embattle their mansion house. Thb is to- tally e Dtllsfrsj on the httu
KOTTIKGHAMSBIRK.
16%
tally destroyed^ with the exception of some fragments of the aDcient walls.
« Northwest from Watnow is the castle of Griesly, the an- cient possessions of the lord Zouch ; and before of the lord Cantilupe, who married the daughter and heiress of Sir Hagh of Griesly. The same is now the possession of Sir John Sa- vage, whose ancestor had it hy the gift of Henry 7lh/'^
Bemtvakt "within the park of Griesley which is north from the castle, was built an abbey in the time of Edward 3d, by the lord Cantilupe, called BeauTale.in Latin htlla vailis, which Bridget, now Countess of Bedford^ hath by Sir Richard Morrison her first husband, the reversion belonging to Charles Morrison her Sonne/' t Tanner, in his Monasticon, tells us that this wat a Carthysian priory , of a prior and twelve monks ; they seem* also, to have been jolly fellows, as John of Gaunt granted them a ton of wine annually^ as long as he lived, a certain mode of securing their prayers for his longevity. They were also indebted to Edward Baliol, the Scottish monarch, for a grant of sufficient timber for its first erection 4 W this place» once so important that the prayers of its inhabitants were in* cesMiiUy sought by numerous benefactors, nothing now re- mains except some tottering walls that contain nothing either picturesque or illustrative of antiquity, and are now merely ap- plied to form the common offices of a farm yard.
Kimberley village is within this parish, and its situation scat* tered over a rising ground, intermingled with trees and hedge?, may be considered as even romantic in some points of view. It had a chapel, now in ruins, and going rapidly to decay ; and which, not being noticed by Thoroton, may in fact be of a posterior date to his work.
Eastwood stands upon the vory verge of the county, and is in the coal country; of which there are extensive mines at various depths^ from 5 yards to 50* These coaU contain a ~ t variety of specimens of antediluvian remains, particubr*
L2 ly
' Harleian Col. Sb% 53. f Ibid* | Leland. CoL VuK h 64.
rilffQltAMSRTftS.
\y ol FcrnR anfother vegetables. The village itself is scat- tered over some broken ground, wiih a modern built cburch of brick, and of course possessing no ancient inoniiment) ; and those who ch use to gossip with the " sage chroniclers'^ of the place, will be told a wonderful story of a farmer being swat lowed up alive in the parlour of the village alehouse, whilst vfz& swallowing a cup of ale» to the great surprize of the host^ who by this means discovered that his humble raan^ston wai built on an exhausted coal pit*
CossAL is a small village to the southward uf Eastwood. Here is an hospital founded by the ancient family of Wil lough by^ for four men, who have coals« clothing, and two shilUngs pc^ week, for their support. Near it is a small chipel in which is a vault of that family. About the year 1780, on the death of Miss Willoughby of Nottingham, this ancient vault, which had not been used for many years, was opened for her interment ; when the workmen entered it, they were surprized by a lumi- nous appearance at the further end, which suddenly dtsappear*^^^ ed on the approach of a candle. As soon as their superstitioo^j^^^l alarm, however, gave way to their curiosity, this ptiraculous light was discovered to proceed from the animal phosphorus of a human sculU covered with a greenish coloured mould in a high state of putrescence.
Marshy which is about one mile from Cossal, ^ecms to be the place described by Tanner as having a Benedictine cell or cha* pel of St. Thomas, but whose scite wa^ then considered by himr and since that by bis copyists, as unknown.
Strruev '*in the west part of the couiUy called the Sand^ where the little river Erwash makes ila way to the Trent, an- ciently Strettci^h, gave name and re^jldence to the knightly fa- mily of the Strel leys, (commonly called Sturley,) one of the oldest and most famous in the county/'^ It is now the pro* perty of T W. Edge. Esq. who has a nmdcrn seat in the parish* The village itself is small; the church is dedicated to All Saints^
and * C«ii}dcQ*f BritDnnia«
NOTTIirOHilMStirRS.
165
and is kept parttcularly neat, especially the chancel ; owing in Ipft great measure to the attention of the patron, who has present- a very elegant modern painted east window, of various criptural subjects. Some of the old armorial glass is still in ood preservation, which, with the antique font, may be seen In the plate:* to Throsby^s edition of Thoroton, Two old altar monuments still exi^t in the chance!; one has no inscription; the other is of the date of 1500: there are also some rery neat ppulchral menioriaLs of the family of the present possessor, rhosc Seat is near lo the church, a plain building of three sto- ries in height, with a small projection in the centre of the principal front, ornamented with a pediment. The pleasure grounds are as yet in their infancy ; but laid out in a good style^ and derive much of their beauty from views of the surrounding scenery, which consists of romantic vallies and pleasing iroodlands interspersed with all the elegancies of culiivalion*
BtLBO ROUGH parish has a church dedicated to St. Martin^ on a very small scale, but containing some monumenlalfloorstones which may amuse the hunter after genealogy. It also possesses some coal mines, where that fossil is met with at the depth of one hundred yards; hut it is principally remarkable for con- tatning the hamlet of Broxiow, which gives name to the hun- dred, and was a place of great consequence in the Saxon times. Here is an ancient manor bouse, prettily embowered in trees, but much of its picturesque elTect destroyed by some uncouth additions of a modern date.
Radford is a manufacturing village at a very short distance from Nottingham on the road to Wcdhiton, with a populaiion amounting to 3447, )t has a small church dedicated lo St. Peter ; and the village contains some good houses, particularly one beMmging to Mr. Elliot of Nottingham, where ihe grounds are a most excellent miniature of park and garden scenery on a larger scale. In this neighbourhood are many coal pit** in which the coals are dug out in large masses; and it is said that they possess the inflanimable princjpli: or gas in a greater pro-
I* 3 porliou
166 VOTTIVOHAMSBIEE.
portion 4htii any other species of the fossil in the kingdom* The pleasantest ramble for the tourist in this part of the envi* roofl of Nottingham, after passing the heavy sandy road which leads to Radford, is to pass through that village, and to cross the Erwash canal and the river Lene, along whose banks he may trace some very pleasing scenery. He then, leaving Wol- laton parkwall on his left, arrives at the village of Wollatov, in which there is a very ancient church, well deserving of at- tention, and dedicated to St. Leonard, with a very good spire, containing six bells. This church is very neatly pewed, and has a small organ; in it is also the vault of the Middleton family, but there are no modem monuments : iJf the ancient ones, however, described by Thoroton are in good preserva* tion. Amongst these, is one to Richard Willoughby, Esq. and his wife, who died about 1481: it resembles an ancient fire^ place in a Gothic hall ; and in the centre is a large grating, inside of which lies the representation of a skeleton on the floor. Here is also a monument of Henry Willoughby, in armour, with two female figures on one side, which lie in a line, and are just his length. He is in the attitude of prayer ; and the lower part of the altar contains four figures, two of which are sons in armour, and two daughters in the costume of the time. Three Gothic arches in the body of the tomb shew a statue of a corpse in grave clothes. The date is 1528, no less than eighty-three years before the institution of Baronets; yet the inscription on the tomb has " miles pro corpore regis, Sfc. BaronettM," which, how- ever, Thoroton considers as a mistake for " Bannerettus,'' and of which several other instances might be adduced.
The village is extremely rural; and in it is a neat villa look* ing house with pleading grounds, belonging to Mr. Martin Steward to ibe Middleton estates. Leaving the village, the ro id leads to the Erwash Canal, along whose towing path there is a very pleasant ramble, by some extensive coal pits^ from whence we cross a common, to the Bramcote Hills, near which is a modern built house^ of John Longdon, Esq, called Bramcote
House*
KOTTlKOBASISItlET^.
167
Houic, As yet the grotinds and plaiuatioDs are ki a very roiigb state ; but as ihe hiila at the back of the house are a very pktLitesque range, tt prumiseSf when completed, to be a place ofcoiiKsderable inlertst ta the admirer of ronil beauty.
Between these hillii, on the brow nf a rising ground. Is a Very carious and conspicnous object, called the Hemlockstonb* Thiii \s an insulated rugged mas^ of rock, or reddish ssnd^tone^ upwardg of thirty feet high, and consisting of very thiu laminm dipping to the west; its extreme breadth from north to south is about twelve feet at the base^ but .spreading at about two thirds of its elevation ; and it^i thickness below is abuyt four feet, Inouiline, it bears some slight rcicn^b lance to a mushroom, ami is evidently wJfring away, from the eilects of the weather* Dr. St»ke]ey is of opinion, that it is merely the remnant of a quarry, the stone of which has been dug, or cut, from around ii; an idea not improbable, as it consists of the siame materials as the adjoining hills, though in much thinner layers.
Bkamcote, was long the reside ntc and prnperfy of rhe JFaiid- l^y family; and in the church lies Henry Handley, Esq. uhose memory it preserved in Notttnghain by his various charitiei;, as well as at Bramcote^ where he left 5oL per onnum, for a preuchingand resident minister, and 5L per annum to the poor; he died in 1650* This place is only further nutiteable for har» ing, at one period of hts hfc, been the residence of iJUben Wakefield, who :^ettled here in oider to establish a school, but without success. The tourist now comes into the Derby road, and turning towards Nottinghauu soon arrives at the park* gate of
W^LtATTosi Hall,*
This gale is a handsome elevation cif stone« with a neat lodge, and light iron railing; and the approach to the house is through a noble winding avenue of hme-trees, nearly a miie in length* The park i« eactensive, and well slocked with deer, hares, aad ill« various domestic animals; it aUo contains spacious sheets of
L 4 water,
* iu aucicnt aimc ««s 01 a vet ton, but has l&ng Lee a ihus corrnpitiJ,
168
¥OTTIKGtlAM»HlR£»
water, supplied with a variety of lisb, aud enlivened by swans
and other aquatic birds; and is broken into gentle swells, weH wooded with oak and elm, and at intervals admitting some very picturesque and extensive views of the surrounding landscape* A fine sweep leads round to the north front of the house^ which stands on a knoll, and exhibits a most magnificent appearance e?en at a considerable distance^ lofty and antique, and bearing some resenibhmce to the august lower of some ancient carJ thedraJ,
*' Bosotn'd high in ruftcd irc«.'*- —
It U of the fashion of Queen Elizabeth's time, or rather Of that ^hion then just beginning to be introducei), and i^in the Italian sty le» but of Gothic arrangementi It is square^wrlh four large towers* adorned with pinnacles ; and in the centre, the hodyJ of the house rises higher, with projecting coped turrets at the cor- ners. The front and .sides are adorned with square projecting Ioni€ pilasters; the square stone windows are without tracery; and the too great uniformity of the whole is broken by oblongi niches, circular ones filled with bust"! of philosophers, em- perors, empresses, &c. and by some very rich mouldings.
The house is built entirely of freestone, which came hom\ Ancaster in Lincolnshire, in exchange for pit coal from the J estate. Sir Francis Willoughby, Knt. built the bouse, an4| was also the dcssigner of the plan, according to his own laslef but the whole was superintended by John Thorpe, a ct^lebratc artist of that time.
Camden, in the first edition of his Britannia, rather pays thli house and its builder a compViincnt; but, in his last, he censureij hts niotivea for erecting it; and asscrtsf that, by the time it wafj finished, it had sunk three Lordships. Again, in speaking of IVollaton, he says, •' where in our time. Sir Francis WiU loughby, at great ex pence, in a foolish display of his weaUb built a magnificent and most elegant house, with a fine prosi»| pect," A later critic,* speaking of this house, seems inclined 1
t<»l # Lard Orford, VoL III, p. 144.
VOTTlfrORAMSHIRS.
16|9
> carry its style of builtling to a much earlier date than the reign of Elizabeth, when it is supposed to have been first in- iroduced : hts says, ** the taste of all these stately mansiom was that bastard style which intervened between Gothic and Grecian architecture; or which, perhaps, wai* the style that had been invented for the houses of the nobility > when they first ventured* on the settlement of the kingdom after the termina- tion of the quarrel between the Rosea, to abandon their fortified dungeons^ and consult convenience and magnificence; for I am persuaded, that what we call Gothic architecture was con- fined solely to religious buildings, and never entered into the decoration of private houses*" This is rather a curious position ; but if the noble author merely means to assert, that private houses were never built in the cathedral style, we will agree
irith him, even although his own house at Strawberry hill
F|brms an exception to the rule. At the same t'iroe, it cannot
be clt^uietl, that the castellated mansions of the nobitity and
gentry were built in the Gothic, though not exactly in the
'ccle4ia$ikal Gothic manner; and it is as evident that the style of Wollaton Hall was not introduced immediately after the contest of the Roses, nor even in the reign of Henry the eighth, as the buildings of that period, of which indeed only a few remain, consist of ranges of low aparimenis, with g^uare framfid windows with mullions ami iracery, und ihe whole generally added to the castellatetl mansion of former times:* and as we are, perhaps^ to date the introduction of the Goikie My le from the taste and observation of our wandering Crusaders, go fur this introduction of the reviving arts in Italy, engrafted upon ihe former style, are we indebted to that spirit of ramb- ling over the continent, which had become so fashionable in the tune of Elizabeth, and even in the latter part of Hjrnry% reign*
Having
•A verjr correct cjiample of llus poiition maj he found lit If^vcrcnitk in Kcnti near Taitbridgc, Ihe rc&idctice of Sir Thoiun* lip)c^ii> and often the icene of llcnry*!> courtship with the f»ir A^nne.
170
NOTTlNGHAMSfllHE.
ig tht>s examined the ouUide of this augtist m&tisiofii
Lwe shall proceed to the interior, in the examination of whtch
rwcwerc more fortunate than Mr. Bray, who obserycs in hi«
todr, '* so far may be seen, but strangers are nut permitted to
Ltee the inside, cTcn when the family is absent; a piece of
pride, or gloomy inbospitality, which for the credit of our
country is rare." It is to be r«;gretted, that a man of so much
I taste, and so capable of describing this residence, should thus
have been dti^ppointed ; we, however, met with no difficulty
in procuring admission; but even found the attention and ciri-
ility of the domestics redoubled, when the intention of the visit
l^as known. We shall then at once, in company with our
Iteaders, ascend a handsome flight of steps, which leads to an
Snipanee hall, in which is an armoury for the county, consisting
»fa number of musquets with their accoutitrments all disposed
lln a regular and ornamental manner. From hence we enter
II^LL, which is a lofly and spacious apartment, on a plan and jirrangement strictly Gothic, but fitted up and ornamented en* Itirely in the ItsiHan style of revived architi^cture. It has an ^it flat ceiling, supported by oaken brackets of light and ^ workmanship; at the upper end is a gallery, and the crcen is supported by Doric pillars. Under the beams are a Itaricly of devices, of satyrs, caryatides, &c, according to the taste of the times; and in the gallery are a handsome clock, and 3 [in organ. The walls and ceiling are painted by La Guirc; and < [there ore several good pictures by the best masters, Neptune^ ind Amphitrite, Rape of Eurtipa* These are both hy Luca^ \€iryrd(mi. Game, fruits, and a dog most exquisitely e^ecuted*^ I Wolves and dogs. Schneider, Three landscapes ; one cattle in < Ifreposc amidst ruin,^ ; travellers reposing beneath a rocky Icavcni, with cattle, and ruins; travellers \vith their flocks, kItOM di Tivolu Charles the first; a good copy from Vandyke* [Ancient painting containing a birds eye view of Wollaton Hall, ' and gardens. Mere is also a good bust of Bacchus in white
marble ;
NOTTtKOIIAMSIIlIll:.
171
fiiBrble; and there are imitations of Elks head^ but with real horns, over every door. Near to the gallery h a family piece, in which is introduced Sir Hugh Willouphby, whose portrait we shall have further occasion to mention*
The Gallerit contains some fkraily portraits, a large paint- ing of Joseph and his brethren, and a piece of still life.
The Saloon is a very elegant and airy apartment, containing some good pictures. A most masterly production of dogs, and a wild boar. Schftcider, Four family pictures of the Wil* lou^hbys, in (he time of Elizabeth ; the^e are Sir Francis and his lady, their son and daughter. First Lord Middleton* His Liidy, Large view of the house and park at Middlctom Though the paintings in this apartment deserve examination* yet the stranger's attention %vill be principally directed to the windiiws, from whence there is a most enchanting prospect of the plcasare grounds and their various ornaments of buildings and water, backed by fine groves, in which are seen shady walks, and all the beauties of garden scenery.
The Principal Staircask, is elegantly painied in fresco. In the centre is a Roman sacrifice to Apollo, in which the por- traits of several of the family are introduced. The ceiling re- presents Heaven, with a toll assembly of the Gods; and Pro- metheus is seen stealing the sacred spark of fire. On thelefl side of the staircase, he is represented animating the figure • the story is here rcuArkably well told, and the surprize mixed with joy, wonder, and gratitude, so strongly marked in the countenance of the animated statue, seems a counterpart of the feelings of our general mother, so admirably delineated by- Milton* On the right side, the unfortunate Philosopher, for such, when divested of allegory» we may believe Prometheus to have been, is seen chained to the rock by Vulcan, whilst Mer- cury gives the orders, and the whole groupe are surrounded by nymphs, graces, &;c. The whole aflibrding an excellent allegorical lesson; for though Prometheus may have been the first, he is not thu last who, after animating a female statue, and
having
1/2
HOTTiFGBAMSHiaS.
having his chains rtreted by the Grefcna Green Vulcan» hai
found bis heart torn by a Vulture 1
The DiSiMo Rooait up sUirs has two most magni Been t glafistv and has some Tery capital family pictures Sir Richard WiW looghby. Lord Chief Justice for the space of twenty -three years> in tUe reign of Edward the third. Sir Hugh WiUoughby* frozen to death in the North Seas, in 15M. He went out for the purpose of making discoveries in the Northern Ocean, with three ships fitted out at the private expense of the society of merchants^ who had joined in company, in order to prosecute the search after a norlh-ea&t passage to India. Having pr ceeded as far as Spitzbergen, the Edward Banaventnrr, con manded by Captain Richard Chancellor, was separated from the squadron in a gale of wind ; soon after which Sir Hugh discovered land, but w^& unable to examine it on account of the ice and shuahiess of the water. He considered it as being in 72 degrees of north latitude; and it may have been the Coa of Nova Zemblaj or the island of Kolgen. Sailing from thenci to the westward^ he came at length to a river and harbour, nvhere he determined to pass the winter; bui not having a suf- ficient quantity of wood for fuel, and being perhaps attackc by the scurvy, he and his v\ hole crow perished^ though it af peared by the papers which they left behind them thai they were sliil alive in the munth of January 1554. This harbour is said to have been called Ariina; and tli^re is a river of that name in Russian Lapland^ To this unhappy evetU« ThomsQA alludes in his *' Winter :" —
-Tyiherabte they !
Who, lirre ctiianglcd in tl«? galfierinic: ice^ Tiikc their Imt look of ilie dcircnding aun ; Whilr, full ordfiiih, »nd fiprcp witli ietifofd frosty The long long niglit, iiicttinbrni oVr their h^ads, YAh hurriblo. Suth wnd ih« Brjton*» fjite, A> with Cir^r prow, (whiu hitvc nut Jlritoii* diir\P) l\v iuT (he jjjissugr *Qugbt, ain;inptcd jujiCc
^llOTtlKOBAMSRinE.
m
Si> much in ftin^ tnd seemmg to be sliat By jealous nature with cterriB! burs, lb these feli re%wm, in AnitM cnughr^ And to (he stony deep his idle shit» Immediate seurd, be mth }u% hapless crew* Each full exerted at his sevur:il task. Froze into statues ; to the cordage glued The iulou and the pilot to the lieku.'*
I
The poet has Indeed made a copious use of the pott's Iiceuce by exaggeration; but it is impossible to look on the picture with- 9^t feeling many of the sensations that arise from the delmea- tiotL
The Drawing Room is plain but elegant. The pictures are, a fine view of Notiitighara, from ihe Trent j good portraits ol' ktc Lord Middleton aitd his lady ; an old lady by SirGodfnry Kneller ; two sea pieces ; two Indian paintings; and a humourous piece of two boys eating hasty pudding.*
The BiLLi^iiD Room is well adapted for Us declared purposf and has a few good paintings. Over the fire place, is what U called the original of the Earl of Strailbrd, and his secretary, Ciie night beFore his execution ; there are several pieces of this kind, however* which claim the meed of ortginaliiy. Speaking of Wentworih in Yorksiiire, Gilpin says, '* the original of Lord Strafibrd and his secretary is said to be here. Its pretensions are disputed; though I think it has merit enough to niaSntairi them any where.*' Whether this at Wollatun ^ really the ori- ginal* or only a copy, we will not pretend to decide; but the picture certainty has considerable merit; and is no doubt a juil likeness of that unfortunate nobleman, whose true character has perhaps never been justly appreciated ; for whilst the violent factions, which occupied the attention, and directed the conduct and sentiments, of his cotemporaries, still con tin oe by their remembrance to divide posterity into his absolute censarcrs or uncjualified admirers, both his enemies and friends b^vc tjjo
lit uch
• Soine aJtcfation hAiiiace tHken jiUce tvilh respect to these picture*.
174
SOrriYGQilMtBlBl.
Viicb confounded bit own raerits and
die UumctiofiA in wbicb be w^ hi i
idfibldf he exprewed bii late far kk camtHtwf, loii Ar Hi
■overeign ; bat he expreaied bis feart thit it aogvred ID §m lk»
povple's hapfmcH!. Uiii* to write the commtmxmem mi mw^
§Km in letten of blood*
Atone end of the rooio, 1$ a large piece of lf«it# §afDe» Yegeublet, &c. ettber an original of, or a good cayy Mckmader* At tbts other end, is a very corioits coafiQiiliaB oC lurfKape« sea bc)cb« rocks, &c. in the centxe is a ietitly a portrait \ there is also a Sherman with hia aome fish remarkably well done.
IlieS&coNDAaY Staircase, h ornamented with palntingf* Landscape and buifaloes ; these anioials in the park. Ttie father of the present lord. Se¥eral Itach paintings* particularly a most excellent market piece, balias tea piece, a copy from Ciaudt Lorraine. A philoaofiller wilb Gerard's Herbal before blm ; a painting of rery ccmaidefaMc merit, though evidently neglected. The infant J<^, his ofleriiig to the child Jesus, with Mary and Isaac and Jacob meeting. Some family pictures of the an line of Willoughby, which deserve a more consptciMMii ation.
The Tisitor is now led by a circalir staircase in one of tht lowcrf, to the Upper Room or Ball Room, which rises abote the centre of the roof. At present it is little more than a lorn- her room, but is still %vorth seeing, as it contains some carious ancient arms, some fdinily pictures copies uf those below, and a very strange one of Susannah and the lihkTs, literally a curi- osity. Here is also an antique cabinet of Queen Elizabeth's time* with a variety of uncouth figures carved on it*
In two of the turrets there are neat rooinaj to which the ap- proach is from the roof of the house^ from whence there is a most delightful and extensive prospect of the well wooded park and gardens, in which the w^atcr and bridge have a very fine 9 I ffect ;
KOTTIlieilAMSIIfmS.
175
fir«ct ; and ibe Would^ iogcih<fr wltb tb« vale of Btlvoirj add ranch to the beauly of ilie prospect^ contrasting finelv with the ricti foreground. TUt ornaments of the roof consist principally of a number of statues of very decent execution^ and in remark- ably good preservation ; and the mode of arranging the chim- iiieii it well worthy the notice nf the architect, springing from the corners to a centre* lo as to appear rather designed for ornament than u^.
Uescendiiig from this elevation, the Lishahy is the next ob- ject of exauurtation. It is a long room^ wainscotted in imitation of oak, with a good selection of books on general nubjects. Well arranged. Here is an ancient folio Missal, hig^^ly illurut* Hated ; also an ancient service book of Woltaton churchy bought from the last Catholic rector for ten marks, containing the whole service set for chanting in the ancient manner. Henry, the fifth Lord Midiiieton, with many portraits of the earlier brancheiiof the Willoughbys are in this apartment; together with a very curious antique cabinet, ornamented with animals and flowers^ inlaid in mother of pearl.
Leaving the house, the stranger is conducted towards the grounds, when he passes a vt^ry handsome pile of stables and other exterior offices, erected in 1774 : in the front is a pediment enriched with sculpture, and the whole are on a large scale, and finished even in a style ol elegance* Close to the mausiun* is the ancient pleasure ground, in which the antique style is pre- served, though with some modern alterations and additions : here are a number of statues, and the other usual ornaments of such places. The modern flower, and kitchen garden, &c, are at some distance from this, and completely hid in wood, so as only to he visible from the upper part of the house. In the grounds there is a curious sunnncr house in the Grotto style, pannelkd and ceiled with looking glasses, and ornamtnted with paintings and shell work* Under it is a water home, formed completely in the grotesque, with *hell and rock work ; but as
these
176
NOTTtN^CBAMSHIRE«
these arc at least a century old, much of their former grandeur is gone,
TftowELL lies between Wollatoo, and the verge of the county; ttt$ nothing more than a scattered village^ with a cbarch dedi- cated to St. HeJen, This buildingt though consisting of a nave and side aisles^ is in very indifferent preservation ; but the tower is a very fine object* In the windows of the chancel are many fragments of armorial glass ; some of the ancient stalls remain, and there h an antique and capacious font> that may engage the attention of the antiquary.*
STArLEFORD^ a populous village engaged in the stocking manufacture, lies about a mile south from Trowel, close to the Erwash canaL The chapel is dedicated to Si, Helen's, and I is kept in very good order. The spire has a set of five bells, I and the chapel h sufficiently liirge for the whole parish, having , II nave and two side aisles; yet the love of variety or of novelty, [even in religious matters, has been fallowed by the establish- [ment of a meeting house, upon the Wt-sleyan principles. The [whole of the chapel under^vcut a thorough repair in 1785 ; and J lit is pleasing to observe, that the churchwardens have been par- Iticularly careful to preserve the ancieni monuments, some of Iwhich remain lor the iamilies of Tevery and Willoughby, and Itbere are also some handsome tablets for the Warrens
STAPtEFOBO Hall, the Jieat of the Right Honourable Admiral ^Sir John Borlase Warren, Bart, and K. B. is situated close to the village. It stands low, with a handsome lawn in fronts i^tefulty surrounded with ornamental plantations* The house is quite in a plain style, and was rebuilt by the gallant proprietor, al)out 1797. It would far eKceed our limits to enter on his bi- ography ; the pen of the historian must deuil his exploits— but
it
* The Mftgna Bntonniat speaking of Trowel, tajij that " while the natif
rSciiiprtfTglMOi Lnd m \mn here, the Prit*r ha'J tJjc Itbcftj of/rfe vfttrrtn m blL
tlie ritmesnc laiictt belonging to them/* — a thing not very uncommon^ if w*
are to behete all (he i lories of monks titid nuos, so prevftlcQt mt tht time of
the Hcf^irniftUoij.
KOTTIKOHAJiASBtAS.
.177
il is a fact worth recording here, that on his engaging in the naval service as niitlshipnian of the Venus frigate, at the com- mencement of the American war, then resuming a professional life, to Mrhich be was much attached, he performed asingtilarand perhaps romantic action that betokened a munificence truly princely, by going to the Fleet and King's Bench prison and ac- tually releasing all the officers of the navy detained at hoth^ out of his own private fortune.
Attcn&orougii, which we presume was the ancient Aucntan^ lies nearly on the banks of the Trent. It is a very small ril- lage« not containing more than twenty houses ; yet its church U Urge, and also well filled, as it serves for Chi I well, Touelon,* and part of Bramcote* It is dedicated to St« Mary, and has some armorial glass, as well as rude figures on the capitals of the pillars that deserve attention. The monumental remaini are but few; but there is a curious little brass only eight inches long, of which a plate may be found in 1 hrosby'i edition of Thoroton,
But this place is remarkable, as having given birth to Henry Iabton the regicide, and son in law of Cromwell. He was eldest son of Gervase Ireton, Esq. and brother to Sir John Ire- ton, Lord Mayor of London, in 1()58. He was a gentleman commoner of Trinity College Oxford, in 1G29^ and at the age of 19 took one degree in arts; but* ai Wood tells us in his Athenct, left the university without completing that degree by determination^ at which ttme he had the character in that college^ of a stubborn and saucy fellow towards the seniors, and therefore his company was not at all %viinting. Afterwards he went to the Middle Temple^ learned some grounds of the com- Bion law, became a raan of a working and k^horioos brain, which, in the end, led him into error. When the rebellion broke out, he as a person naturtd to mischtef^ took up arms against the king, was a rtcruUtr in the Long Parliament, eitiier for the
Vol, XIL M county
* It is ftConoQs mistake of Dr. Thoniiis Fuller^ in hii Ecckiiastjcal Htstc^ry, to conofund iliii pk^Q nicli Towioiilleld in Yorkftbire^
180
VOTTtllOItAM^nfflS*
tingham durmg its coatinuancej ami also that all persons Comitig from, or going lo it* should be free from all processes of la*; TUis fLiir still ccmtinucs for horned caUle^ sheep^ and bops; and there is another on the WcdnestJay in Whitsun-weekj by grant j of Charles the second. At the dissolution, the abbey demesne was gr.inted to Sir William Hicks; it iifterward* came to tb« first Duke of Richmond, who sold it to the ancestor of ■
Gregory, Esq. the preienl possessor, in the reign of Charts the second.
The vilUge, iwhich at the present day consists of a long street^ is a pleasant evening** walk from Nottingham, being extreoiejy neat and rubral, and liavinir several gentlemen's seats on tht banks of the rivrr.
Thechurcli, dedicated to the Holy Trinity, is very saiatU aoi seems to have been built oti part of the ancient hospital, ailer ' the dt!Siruction o] the priory* It bears, however^ high marks of antiquity itk many pans, and near the reading desk there k an ancient ini>Jiamental stone on which a cross and chalice art carved with the date of 133S^ but this may have been remoTed j from the original I church. The font is very large, being tw# ,lV-et six inches in height j and is remarkable from its being in the form of a parallelogram, as if intended for complete immer« 9ion. On the sides are some curious and even laboured sculp- tures of the crucifixion, &c. wjih niches filled with angels- All vestiges of the Abbey and Abbey Church, had long been destroyed p nor ivaji its scile even known until some years ago, when a vtiy curious brass plate of the crucifixion was founds Weighing upwards of seven ounces, and supposed to have been left there by Cardinal Wolsey, on his way to Leicester abbey, where he elosed his ambitious and disquiet life. It contains a number of figures, not badly exetuled, as may be judged fron^j an tmprei^sioa of it in the 67 th volume of the Gentleman's M**i;»| gazine^ It was found adhering t<» a wooden crucifix, above the | transverse piece; and this discovery naturally led to ihe sup- poi»ilion» that the spot where it was found must have been the
6Cite
ROTTl^JGHAMSnTllE.
191
sT^tte of the ancient priory. Nothing further took place, bow- er, with respect to investigation, unul a few years ago*- hen Mr. Stretton, whose house is close by ihe anctcnl church yard, and mdeed partly situated on the ancient ruin, be^n a* rie of examination iti which he discovered several bases of he very elegant Saxon pillars of the conventual churchy but even in doing this his researches were att**nded with very little antiquarian satislactiont as the venerable remains ivere actually taken away for common purposes. He had influence sufficient, however, to prevent any further Vandalic proceedings ivf this nature, and has not only dug out seven very fine specimens cif the ancient pillars, to the hci^^hi of a (^w feet above their bases, but has abo been enabled nearly to trace out the groiuvd plan of the whole*
Lcnton Priory is a very handsome dwelling house of Mr, Sli»etton's own erection^ in the form of an ancient priory, as far as the proportions would admit; and there are several an- ue aepulchral memorials in the garden desi^rving of notice, particularly a stone coflin^ with a crosier on the lid; also a very curious Saxon font supposed to have belonged to the ancient priory* The ^xU^rior of the bou«c presents some very good specimens of the oraamentcd Gothic, in the floors ami windows* and the interior arrangement, tliowgh possessii^g every moderii ^omfortj is not inappropriate.
The antiquarian tourist w-lll also fmd much to gratify him tna collectiow of curiositi*?*! belonging to thii gentleman, most f which are illustrative of Lcnton, and its neighbourhood. Here is also a portrait of the lamous AW/ Givt^nne, which, if not an original of Leiy's, is such a co()y ai he need not have been a.<$himed of. It is not our place, indeed, to fdl up the^e pages ith reuiiirlts on a woman of her description, however-clevai<ed ihe became in life; yet we tnust do her the justice to allow, that Jier portrait speaks her worthy of a better fate. Indeed iihe jWffS most oiunificeutly liberal in her benelWlioni*; and her ^-tfwblesj her failings* and ail her errors, arc forgotten in the con-
M i lemplatioa
tjNDplation of her being the primary cause of the erection and establishmeDt of Chelsea Hospital, as an asylum for dia* abled soldiers, and for which she adoally gave the ground on which it stands, as an encouragement to the design.* Her lat- ter end too was honourable to her, as Dr. Jennison, who ' preached her funeral sermon, adduced satisfactory evidence that she died a sincere and contrite Christian. Such, as her bi* ographer has observed, was Nell Gwynne; her failings most be admitted by all; but the most rigid moralist cannot witlN hold from her the praise of many good and amiable qualities. Bat to quit this digression, to which we were led by a recollec- tion of this very capital portrait, let us now proceed towards
. WiLFoao, a most delightful village on the banks of the Trent, and which contains several very neat villas, belonging to some people of opulence in Nottingham. The village is altogether neatly built, and extremely rural. The church stands close to the Trent, and is not only an handsome object in itself, but also commands a most pleasing view of Nottingliam and its vicinity. It is dedicated to St. Wilfrid, and the name is evidently a con- traction of Wilfrid's ford, ai there is both a ford and a ferry close by ; the tower is low, but the nave and two side aisles are capacious and kept in good order, and the chancel has a very neat altar piece. It seems to have been anciently a Roman station, as many Roman coins were dug up here a few years ago, most of which were of the latter emperors.
WHford House, a neat modern building, is the seat of John Smith Wright, Esq. Turning from this village towards the bank of Trent, we have a view of the steep cliff on which
Clifton Hall standi deeply embowered in groves of oak and elm, and most pleasingly situated to command the most extensive prospects over the Trent, the town of Nottingham, and an immense tract
" of
* A public hooie in the yicinity of that hospital, and much frequented by its inmates, slill exhibits a rude representation of her head ; and there, as well as iu the hospital, Udl Gwynne, has long been a standing toast.
irOTttKOUAMSBl&C.
16
i>f country extending into all the surrounding counties, A neat gravelled walk leads along the river's bank, from whence the opposite shore, crowned with the towers of Wollaton and the modern Gothic villa of Mr# Wright, is seen to great ad* Tantage. At the end of this path, a handsome park gate opens to the grounds, and leads to Clifton Grove^ a long avenue form- ing ibe approach to the house, about a mile in length, and broad enough for a dozen carriages to drive abreast. It is entirely covered with the green award, and thickly sheltered with treei* on each side which preclude all distant views^ except about the middle, where a circular opening cut in the foliage presents an almost magic prospect of Nottingham castle with the town and part of the surrounding scenery, like a living |>icture in a irerdant frame. The eiTect of this is indescribable, nor coufd it be expressed even by the largest painting; in short, it must be eeen to be fully appreciated. The whole of the orowii of the cliff, and also the slope to the Trent, are covered with fir and elm, which were planted in 1740 and have thriven re- markably well* Near the upper end of this avenue, the clijf nearly overhangs the Trent^ whose silver stream meanderjt most pleasingly round it* *' Here" we are told by Thronby, ^' trddition says, the Clifton beauty, who was debauched and murdered by her sweetheart, was hurled down the precipice into her watery grave; the place is stit! shewn, and it has been long held in veneration by lovers***
We now approach the hall, the seat of a very ancient family of the same name for many centuries, of which the present Sir Gervas CUfton, Ban, is the represenUitive. The mansion, which stands on a rock of gypsum or alabaster curiously inter- spersed in many places with beautiful spars, was formerly quite in the antique style of the sixteenth century, atid Stukely speaking of it about the year 1712 says, '^ Clifton near here, is a good seat with pretty groves, and a noble prospect ;*' but ii is now much modernized, indeed in some parts almost rcbuitt.
The present Sir Gervabe Clifton, had begun to modernize the
M 4 house
n4,
90TT1V6HAMSH1RE.
house near forty years ago, but broke off bis geiieraTflSSfgli m con&efjuence of a domestic loss. Much was done, however, tn the couise of twelve years ^ for what was then done to mo- dernize it was executed in the most elegant manner, and the gardens and plantations were begun to be laid out on a new pUn of tastefiil elegance. At present the front to the viUage slill retains part of the ancient mansion, but looks incomplete, from the wings not being regular ellher in iihape or in size* The centre of the principal Iront is ornamented with ten hand- some columns of the Doric order, but is rather concealed from view by the luxuriance of surrounding plantations, as well as by the churchyard enclosures, and b)/ some of the ofiices* so as not to be seen except on a close approach. One of the most elegant of the intended alterations was nearly Bnished, whea the death of the amiable mistress put a stop in some measure to the |*lan^. Lady Clifton's intended dressing room was ar- rangt^d with a south aspect with an entrance into the green- house, thus bringing that roost pleasing sheltered amusement in a dreary winter's day within reach of the social fire^de« and thereby rendering it a more frequent object of attention, than when placed at such a distance as almost to forbid a visit to it during the inclement season when it b most desirable* Xhfi k house contains many good paintings, but ^ they are mostly Ifamil}' portraits, they require no illustration*
The gardens are on the side of a hill ri&ini^ above the house, Imid originally were laid out in the ancient taste with a regular Iseries of slopes in progressive height, connected by flights uf Ifitone steps, and divided by cut yew hedges; and, as it has been justly observed, the le\elling of the ground on each^of these* L»o as to make ihem into so many ilat parterres, was not only at- {tended with great expense, but alijo a proof of the then bar- rbarous tast^ of the designer ; as, by the preservation of the [initural slope of the hill, its whole surface might have been I viewed either from the summit or from the base; instead of [baving only one terrace seen at a time. After ascending th^e
steps^
IVOTTIBieHAMSntltE*
IBS
stepAt the fisitor found htmielf on a large bowling green, be* yond which wiis a walk through u wood» leading to a summer- house in a most commanding situation, looking down on the Treaty and over a great extent of distant country. At present the fine terrace walk is preserved^ as well as a most interesting one at the toot of the hill, winding through a thick embower* ing shade of willow and hawthorn^ overtopped by some fine , spreading elms*
The VUiagc of Clifton lies on a flat» and contains a number of neat rural cottages Bnely shaded with treesj and also two or thsee pretty vilU looking residences. The church, dedicated U) St, Mary, inclose to the mansion, and^ though ancient, is^et in good preserration^ with a nave, t^o side aisles^ and two cross aisles. In the windows are still some fragments of armo- rial glassy and (here are many old brasses of the Clittons. Here also is the family vault, in which are deported several generations, its entrance having the date of 163^2* Throsbjr tells us that in it is an ancient leaden coQiii, Ibrmed to the human shape; also a heavy piece of lead in the form of a heart* which once held the heart of one of the family who died ahroad« Some of the table monumt;ntfi with ancient knights, &c. arewortb inspection, as well as the brasses some of which are very finct Here is also the grave of Joseph, (commonly called the Black Prince,) a negro converted to Christianity in 1G85, and who was brought up under the patron:vge of the resident family. It usaid that be grew to the height of seven feet nectr/y, which is marked off in the church porch.
The ancient state of this place has been described in a MS. ia tbeBritishMuseumj^^andamile beyond is the town of Clifton; also upon the very bank of the river of Trent, is the housv of Gervase Clifton, a most ancient stock, and most renowned by Ihe memory of his worthy grandfather, Sir Gervase Clifton deceased, most famous for his courtesie and libenilily, and fur bb great services done in the wars, as well within the realm as
in
• Hurl. CoU 5C0, 53.
HOTTIKGHAIffSIITaS.
in France and Scotland." To this there is no date ; bnt there is also another* containing the following quaint paragraph^ speaking of the first baronet of the fiamily. " Hee is worthjr m be honoured that deserveth honour, saith the Roman Emperor* This person was honoured in being chosen a hurgesse with the Lord Mansfield, for the borough of East Retford« in this county as their representatives in that long winded Parliament at W^f- minster, whose loyalty to king and country, deserves the van and right hand of all baronets in this shire, for he suddenly found that there was a compact party of dangerous principles In the House of Commons, so that he betooke himself to the breast ptate of loyalty* and with a goorl courage and resolution, went to Oxford to serve his Majesty of blensed memory, king Charles the first, who made him a commissioner at the garrison of New- ark upon Trent, where he proved a valiant and fortunate gentle- maiii one well settled in his religion, and allegiance to his Iteg* lord and sovereign, for which he paid into the usurpers of Gold- smith's hall in London the sum of MDC hundred XXV pounds,*'
The early opulence of the Clifton family, is particularly noticed by Peck in his ** Desiderata Curiosa/' where he states a curious wedding dinner, in the year 1530; at which there were two oxen^ two brawns, twelve swam, three quarters of wheat, seven lambs, six wethers, seven calve?, ten pigs, eight cranes, sixty couple of coni^es, three hhds of wine, white, red, and claret, and eight quarters of barley malt, &c. &ۥ kc^ The wine cost five guineas, the oxen thirty shilling each, pigs five* pence, lambs one and five-pence, wethers two and four-pence, the wheat eighteen shillings per quarter, malt fourteen shillings per quarter, and there were as many wild fowl as cost a sum equal lo the two oxen. The wedding ring cost twelve shillings * and four pence.
Tumier, in bis Monasticon tells us, that at ClifWn there was* a small cottage for a warden and two priests* dedicated to the
Holy • Uirl. CoU. JOM. •
.
KaTTI¥0HAM6HlRfi»
187
Holy Trinity; begun by Sir Robert, and completed by hissoa Sir Gerrase Clifton, in the time of Edward the fourth ; at the dissolution, it was valued at 21/..
Near Clifton is Chilw£LL» of wbich there is now nothing worth particular notice; but b a MS. iq the British Museum* we find the foHowinjj note ;* " and against Chfton on ye north side of the Trent, standiih Chilwell, where is an ancient house builded by Sir William Babyngton, sometime chiefe bushier of the Common Pleas, and before was the house of one Martel^ an ancient gentleman, whose heire the said Babyngton mar* ried, and lately the Lord SheiField possessed it, as heire to Ba* byngton, who sould it, and now one Christopher Pymni^ GenU has it/'
Of Barton, we have already spo]<en, in our general intro- duction. Near it is the hilU already noticed, on the top of which, are the remains of the Roman camp, m appears from the many coins which have been found at diiferent periods. It is evident, however, that it was ongioaliy British. Peck grvei an extraordinary account of the elTect^ of lightning upon thi* hill» in 1734, seemingly like tile consequences of an earth- quake.f
Thrumpton Hall, is a short distance from Barton. It be* longed formerly to the Pigot family, who some years ago sold it to John Emracrton, of the Middle Temple, Esq. ; from whom it came to the Wcscombs, who have since taken the name of Emmerton. In lG6d» its then possessor Ger vase Pigot, Esq. was high sherifFof the county, and having dressed his men in black and silver, on account of his daughter's decease, they were obliged soon after to attend him in the same livery to bis own last liome.
The mansion, which stands near the union of the Soar and Trent, was built about IGiiO, and, though having undergone many recent alterations, still retains much of the ancient work, much of
partaking \
style (
the
» Hwl. C»lh 36«, M, ♦ DwideratA Corioii, Vol f, lib. XIV. p. 54,
1^5
XOTTTITGirAirSUITll.
t<ie ornamented gable ends to ihc returns in front, and lb« square heavy framed windows, &c. It rises to the height of lour stories, and the interior arrangements are upon an elegant and convenient sc^e. The gardens arc extremely neat and| agreeable; and the surrounding scenery is piciurcsqnc in al* mof^t every point of view. It i» now the property and residence of John Wcscomb Emmertcm> Esq.
Gotham, so famous in proverbial story, is but a short dif« tance from Thriiaipton« and lies on the cross road from CHflon loLeke.
Oid ** Drunken Bariiaby*' seems to have visited Gotham m^ one of bis poetical journtes to the north j for he sings :
" Tticnce to Gottiatiij vthtre iiire am I« Thougli not all faols, I saw many ; Here • she-gull found I prancing. And in mfK»nshine nbiblj daiiciiig ; TiKre tnuther wanton mtcdliugt Who, her Hog was m;C u tadling/'
Mr.Throsby,howe¥er«seeo]sof adilFerent opinion from hone^ Bdrnatby, for he says, that he now thinks the inhabitants of this village as wise a5 their neighbours, A variety of opinions, indeed. Lave gone abroad respecting this place^ War ton, speaking of '* tlie idle pranks of the men of Gotham," is rather mistaken^ when he calU it a town in Lincolnshire]^ but he add*, '* tliat such pranks bore a reference to some customary law tenures be* longing to that place, or its neighbourhood, now grown obso- kte ; and that Blount might have eniiched his book of ancient Itjnureswith those ludicrous storit*s," Hearne also-f says, " nor is there more reason to esteem. The merrjf tales of the mad tncn of Gotham i (which wis much valued and cried up in Henry the eighths time, though how i^old at hailad singer^n stalls,) as alto- gether a romance: a certain 4tLilJu I ptirson having told me more than onre, that tUe^' formerly held bads I here, by such sports land customs ai are touched upon ia this book,"
• English r&ctry. Vol. III. t ^Uckti ctSpiciljcg. and Gul. Ncwbrig, Vol III p» 7H.
HOTTlKaHAMSHIRC.
%$9
But Fallcr* says, that the proverb " as wise as a man of Ciothann pas!«eth [jublicly fur the periphrasiiuf a fool j and an humlred fopperies are furged and fathered on the towasfolk of Gotham/^ Still he thinks it iio mure remtirkuble than iIns customs of other nations; for h has been well obijerveJ, that a custinn seeing to have prevailed, even among tlie eartievt nations, of stigroatiziag some panlcolar spot a& remarkable for siupiJity. Amongst the Asiatics, Phrygia was considered as the Guiham of that day ; Abdera, amongst the Tbracian2» ; snd Boeotiii among the Grct^ks* Fuller, however, adds, ♦* but to re- turn to Gotham, it doih breed as wise people as any vvhich cau^ielfsijly laugh at their simplicity. Sai^ I am Mr. Wiillam de Gotham^ fifth master of Michael Houae^ Cambridge, anno I3c)9, and twice chancellor of the University, was as grave a governor as thiit age did a0brd : and Gotham is a goodly large lordship, where the ancient and right well respected family of Sl Andrew have flourished some hundreds of years, till of late the name is extinct, and lands divided betwixt female coheiri matched unto very worshipful persons.'*
From these various protests in favour of the men of Golham, it is evident that considerable publicity had been given to I he many ridiculous fables traditionally told; particularly of their having often heard the cuckoo, but never having seen h«r« and therefore hedged in a bush from whence her note seemed to proceed, that being confined within so small a compass, they might at length catch her anti satisfy their curiosity. It hoj been observed by several writers in the last century, thai what gave rise to the story is not now remembered ; but th^y all mention that there is at a place called "Courthill'' In the parish, a bush still designated by the name of the " Cuckoo bush/'
The editor of the Magna Britannia, huwever, might almoM be suspected of being a Gotharnite himsetC from the warmth with which he declares that, ** unless some good reason can be produced, it ought to be laid aside, and never mentioned »ft
history.' • Britbk Wonbjef.
irOTTlHGHAMSHtRfi.
* liistory.*' He adds, Ihat in the Conqaeror^s Survey, it U calltcl •• Gatham/' frfun goats, whicb we may Tmagine at that time were pteDtirtil in or about it ; and being much cberished here« it was hence caKed GoatK-bome or dwelling. One 5iory was lord of part of this manor before the Norman invasion;* but ] after that it was taken from him^* being a Saxon, and given by the conqueror to Robert^ Earl of Morteyn^ one of his Norman followers* It is now the property of Pen Asheion Curzon, Esq. The Tillage stands upon a gentle rise, whose basis In gypsum or alabaster, which seems also the basis of the hills to the west and southwest. From Clifton hill to Gotham, the whole country isa dead flat, extending to the Wouldsand into the vale of Bol^ toir ; but the ground rises towards East Leek and Remston, so as to join the Leicestershire hills* To the west, there are some ' very fme swelling eminences, partly clothed in wood; over | these the road runs towards Key worth, and the views from I them into Leicestershire on one side, and over Nottmghanishire towards Lincolnshire on the other, are very fine* Much of the land round the village is common fields but is highly suscep-. tibleof cuhivatTon; and there is plenty of game in the neigh* liourbood.
The village church is antique, and is dedicated to $t Lau*] rence ; it has a nave and two side aisles; but the spire is rather J
' of a heavy appearance- The whole of the church is in good] repair, and the chancel has been rebuilt about thirty years ago. The village itself only consists of a few cottages, not remarkable] for neatness ; it must be confessed, however, that the inhabitant are very tenacious of their parochial honour, as the editor of I these sheets, on making enquiry on the spot^ could not meet j with any person who seemed to know any thing of the olij Gothaniite stories. For this uifful ignorance, however, he wa^l made ample amends by a talkative landlady at the village tnil'l at East Leek, the adjoining parish^ who seemed to have irea
sured
*Mag. Bnt4n.Voh4*p*ir.
KOtTIKGfIAIf9tfIE£.
w
mitred in her memory ef ery tale that had been told of her
neighbours*
CQunhilh the scene of the cuckoo-bush siory^ is a rery short distance from the Tillage, and the "cuckoo bush," is most cer- tainly still in existence there ; the present inhabitants have been wise enough* however, to turn this hill to better purpose than their ancestors did, as they work on the side of it two very fine ^ cjuarries; one of gypsum, or piaster, as they term it, in very large blocks, the strata in some places being three feet in thick- ness; the other of a reddish stone, suiEciently hard for build- ings but calcareous, and fit either Id burn into lime, or to polish as marble. Much of the produce of these quarries is now car- ried to the canal, and there shipped for the wharfs at Notting- haai;, from whence it is con? eyed to various parts of the king- dom.
The book alluded to by Fuller is also mentioned by Wal* pole, who says, " the merry tales of the mad men of Gotham, a book extremely admired, and often reprinted in that age, was written by Lucas de Heere, a Flemish painter, who resided in (England in the time of Elizabeth," Wood, however, is of a <)i0erent opinion respecting the author^ and tells us they were written by one Andrew Borde, or Andreas Perforatus as he calls himself by a strange kind of dog Latin paraphrase. This facetious gentleman was a kind of travelling quack ; and it is supposed that the name and occupation of a "merry and re w," took its rise from some of the professional fooleries of thii whimsical charlatan* There is an old black letter edition of the work, now in the Bodleian library at Oxford : it is called " Cer* larne merry tales of the mad men of Gotham, compiled in the sign of Henry the eighth, by Dr. Andrew Borde, an eminent ^physician of that period;" but it would far exceed our limits to tell more than one stury, which is related nearly m the fol- lowing words :
'* There were two men of Gotham, and the one of them ua> going to the market of Nottingham to buy sheepe, and the
Other
19t
KOTTHrGITAMSHTEB.
Other came from the market; and both met together upon Kdt^
tiugham bridge. Well m^l, said the one to the other.
Whether bee ye going? said he that came from Nottingham.
kMarry* said he that was going thither, I goe to that market to
lt>uy sheepe. Buy sheepe! said the othr^r, and which way
yfiiit thou bring them home P Marry, said the other, i will
» luring them oTer thiis bridge. By Robin Hood> said he thai
•came from Nottingham, but thou shalt not. By maid Marlan«
.said lie that was going thitherward, but I wilU Thou shalt not
.«aid the one, I will, said the other. Ter here f said the on««
,Shue there / i^aid the other* Then they beat their staves against
-the ground, one against the other, ai» there had been a hundred
[j»hcepe betwix^t them* Hold in, said the one. Beware the
leaping over the bridge of niy sheepe, said the other. They
shall not come thi.s way, said the one. But they shall, said
.the other. Then» said the other, and if that thou make much to
<Io, I will put my finger in thy mouth. A*— thou wilt, said the
ether. And as they were at their contention, another man of
Gotham came by from the market, with a aacke of meale upon
his horne, and seeing and hearing his neighbours in strife about
sheepe, and none betwixt them, said, ah! fooles, will you
never learn wit f Helpe me, said he thai had the meale, and
lay my sack upon my shoulder. They did soe; and he weol
to one side of tlie bridge, and unloosed the mouth of the sacke^
and did shake out all his mcale into the river. Now neighbours^
aid he, how much meale is there in mysacke? Marry!
'there is none at all, said they. Now by my faith, said he^
even as much wit is in your heads to strive for that ihing you
have not. Which was the wisest of all these three persons^
I judge you ?'*
It is needless to expatiate on the tales of the two brotherf« €ne of whom wished for as many oxen as he saw stars, whilst ■ the other wishing for a pasture as wide as the firmament, they quarrelled and killed each other, about the pasturage of the ojten; nor shall we show so little respectful the foibles of the
fair
ItOTTtlVOITAMSIilHC,
if
fairsexj as to notice the ingenmty of the good woman of Go- tham> who when left at home by her husbaod, with directions to wet the meal before she gave it to the pigs, threw the meal into the wel!, and the pigs after it: these, and uri hundred others, tre jihall leave for the grave chroniclers of ihe neighbouring parishes who are all very careful to remember, what the people of Goiham seem rather anxious should be forgotten* The sages of Gothara, indeed^ have a tradition that their folly was like Ed- gar's madness, put on for ihe occasion; and Mr* Throsby re- lates that this tradition is, that the Cuckoo bush was merely planted to commemorate n trick which the inhabitants of Gotham put upon King John^ who, passing through this placii towards Nottingham, and intending to go over the meadows, %vas prevented by the villagers who supposed (as men of Go- tham might,) that the ground over which a king passed must ever after remain as a public road* The king, incensed at their proceedings, sent from hif^ court soon after some of his officers to eni^uire of them the reason of their incivility and ill treat- ment, in order that he might duly apportion the punishment, by way of fine, &c, The Goibamites, hearing of iheir ap- proachj thought of an expedient to turn away his displeasure ; for when the messengers arrived, they found some of the inha- bitants endeavouring to drown an eel in a pool of water; some employed in dragging carts upon a large barn, in order to shade the wood from the sun; otber-s were tumbling ihetr checsei down hill, that ihcy might find their way to Nottingham market for sale; and some employed in hedging in a cuckoo^ which had perched upon an old bush that stood where the present one now stands; in short ihey were all occupied in some foolish way or other, which convinced the king** oHiccrs that they were a village of fools! Thus far > Mr. Thro»hy ; but at the same time he quotes some stanzas from an humble village poet, who, with some degree of irritation, attempts to prove that they who go to look after the cuckoo bush, are now the greatest fools! But then the cuckoo bush is «jiill there ; and if the an- Voi.XlL N cient
19*
iroTTI M O H A H Sll lUE,
cicnt Gothamites were so simple as to plant It, we cannot belp thinkings that their Ue^sceatJants are not much wiser for being ^^^y ^v^^h tliose who choose to laugh at an ancient jest.
Radcliffe upon SoAfij was once a place uf some conse** qyencc, *' Next Kingston standelh Radclivc, alias Eatdiiie upon Soar, wliich now is the house of Henry Sacheverell, Esq.; but anciently it was the inberilance of one Priott« alias Pigott, ami at\er of the Duke of Buckingham, of whom it was p\it* chased.'*^ At pr^^seut almost the whole of the aucit^nt manor house has been pulled clown> except a small part turned into a farm house; and the old dining room, which is now occupied as a barn. There is^ however, a modern seat called Ratclifie Lodge^ the residence of Thomas Boultonj Esq* In the village IS a free school for six poor children; and the old, decaying church contains nothing worthy notice^ except an humble^ yet true and striking, description of mortality and of the compa- rative rapidity of human life^ in an epitaph on Robert Smith* born in the first year in the last century, and died in 1782.
" Fift^-Ave jcars it was and something more. Clerk af thU p«riih, he the oBca bore ; And in lliat tpacc, *tii «wful to declare. Two Ctneratiotii buried by him were." I
Kingston upon Soar, is now scarcely deserving of the name of a village* " Upon the same river, (Soar) standeih the towne of Kingston, whcretJi siandeth the mines of an old house^ late of Antho ; Babyngton, Esq. attainted in the reign of Eliza- beth; but now it is the inheritance of Gilbert Earl of Salop/** Of this* building nothing remains but the outward wall of the couft and gardens, with an ancient stone gateway, all in a state of dilapidaiion^ and speaking the melancholy tale of other times. The church is very small, with a curious bell turret of the simplest form ; it is, however, well worthy the notice of the antiqixf^rian tourist. It consists of two aisles, of the Gothic order, with &onie small Gothic arches in the chancel of great
antiquity ;
*H«rl. Coll. 568. f Ibid* 3CS, 5S»
I
jCOTTJNGilAlfSUlRB*
antiquity ; but iU tiate is carried even farther back by the Saxon doorway in the western porch- Frooi the arrangement of the Gothic arches in the walls of the chancelj it is cvidciit that the buiUling has once been much larger; the ^ch leading from the iia?e IS ?ery curious, but the Bahyngton monumeni inside the chancel infinitely more so. This latter consists of a canopy, formed on a semicircular arch supported by grotesque pillars# and adorned with upwards of two hundred heads of a bal>€ in a ion, the common monumental pun on the family name^ and which the architect has thought sufficient to designate the owner without any inscripiioUi On the tomb, under this arch, once lay a figure, but that has long since been removed, and the iomb itself bears evident marks of crunibling to dust like its teuant; it is still, however^ venerable in ruin, and would have been more so if our modern VandaU (for it wuuld be paying them loo high a compliment tu call them Goihs,) commonly known by the appellation o( church^wardens, had not daubed it so completely with yellow ochre, as to have filled up most of the ramifjcations in I he highly embossed foliage of vine leaves which once adorned it in rich alto relief. These beautifier^ have been at work on the elegant Gothic remains on the inside of the chancel walls; they have not yet, however, attempted to ini» prove some very ancient armorial beat ings on its outti^ide* The carved work and tracery of the east window has also once been I L'urious; but its effect totally destroyed by the white wasHtl and plaiiier of these animal cQtm(Hsseur9 ! Tiie country roun4 j Kingston is highly cultivated; and the f iew^ into Leicester- 1 ahire, on descending from tbe hilts of the wolds are rich and j extensive-
East Leake, and its coinpanioti West Leake,^ are said to de« rive their names from the Saxon verb " I.eccian," to water ok ' moisten, they being both traversed by a small rivulet.
The former h a large village, consisting principally of faring liouses; and the church, dedicated to St, Mary, is a handsome
N 2 specimen
# Sometimes ipelled Leak, mnd Leek.
igfi
yotTlNGUAllSHI1l£.
Specimen of the later Gothic, in very good preservation^ aitd b^Ttng a very handsome turret and 3pire> containing four well toned bells. In the interior, which is kept in good orden are some ancient benches wtih curious carvings, which seem to have belonged to an older building. Here is a charity school founded by John Blay, citizen of London^ but a native of Leake. He died in 173 1^ but not before he had bought a piece of ground for its support^ for which he paid 450^ He also bequeathed 10/. to every farmer, and 5L to every cottager in the village.
West Leake has some small remains of an ancient manor house; inhabited some years ago by the family of Chad wick, but now giving shelter to an humble villager's family* The church is very low, and seems of an older date than its com* pan ion. In a niche in the north wall are two very old monu* ments, each contain ing a recumbent figure ; there is also one of a lady in the chancel j but much decayed.
Sutton Bomington consists of two parishes; St. Aime's^ and
St. Michaer^ field. The principal church is kept in very
decent order, and is buik on a large scale, having a nave and
two side aisles ; the other is much smaller but more ancient
and contains one ventTablCj Uuinmch mutilated, monument in
the chancel. Though considered now as one town, ibis was not
the case formerly* " next beneath Norm an ton standeth upon
the river, iW0 iowns called vulgarly SuUon Bontngton ; but^ in
truths the more southerly is Sutton juxta Bonlngton, and the
other is Bonington*"*
Norm AN TON tjpon Soar is but a small village, with a very
[undent church gone much to decay, and nothing remarkable
I in it but a large font, used when baptism was performed by
[dipping. The manor was once in possession of the Willooghhy
family ; but ia now the property of two eminent breeders anH
graziers^ Messrs, Buckley and Richards; to the former of
whom
• HirL Coll. U%.
NOTTIKOnAMSHIIlK.
1J7
I
mhom the late Duke of Bedford gave 700 guineas for the use of one of his rams, for one season.
Stanford is a pleasant village on the verge of the county, with a church embowered in thick foliage and forming a very (pleasing object. It is pretty large, with a nave and two side aisles, and a very extensive chancel; and the whole kept in in good condition. In the roof of the nave are many figures curiously carved, serving as supporters, and there are several ancient monuments of the lllingworths, and Lewises Jatu pos- sessors, with the latter of whom the Dash wood family are con- nected by marriage. Th« square tower adorned with pin- nacles has a good effect, when seen peeping from amongst the trees; the village is extremely rural; and the parsonage bougie b a genteel comfortable dwelling.
Sim\ford Haiij the seat of the late Charles Vere Dash wood, Esc^* is a great ornament to this vicinity. It stand* about a mile from the village, on a gentle eminence, and looking down upon u pleasing piece of water, with an extensive paddock, and some ^ thriving plantations at the back of the house, formed a pleading object from the Loughborough road. The modern house was built nearly on the scitc of the. old manorial ediBce about forty years ago, with more attention to d'*mestic comfort, than to external or internal show j it consists of a centre of handsome elevation of three stories, and the two wings assimilate well with the general plan*
The Dining Room has some good family portraits; also some landscapes, particularly a vcr}^ fine moonlight piece* The Library also contains some good paiiUingSt with portraits, and a horse by Siubbs. The Dtaiciu^ Room is most remarkable for its very fine view over the forest hills in Leicestershire : to the iefl are Cluarndon woods and Mount Sorrel; in front is Lough- borough, in the mid^t of a verdant amphitheatre, with Barley and Garendon park, in the latter of which the manstou forms a fine object, whilst the village and church of Stanford com- plete the foreground. Now advertised to be let*
N i^ Remtstone
IflS
NOTTIKOUAMSnmB.
RSMFJ^TONE is a pleaasmt village in this neighbodrhoodj coa- taining two good hunting seats belonging to J. Goodere, and W.GAVilliams Esqrs. the old manor house being now turned into a farmer*? dwell ing- The parochial concerns of this village have undergone a conaiderable change. The ancient chui*ch was St. Peter's in the rushes, standing about half a mile from the village in which was an old chapel long in disuse: but the pre* sent church which stands in the village was consecrated in 1773* and built out of the ruins of these two sacred edifices. Its stile Is neatj and its interior handsomely arranged ; with a tower steeple and five bells ; but though the inhabitants are obliged to attend divine service in it, they make but little use of its church yard* chusing rather to mingle with the dust of their departed rela* lives in the old burying ground, which lies in a retired and sombre situation, and has two ancient tombs^ one of which is for an archdeacon of Nottingham.
' Thorpe in the Clods is in this neighbourhood, of which wc have only to observe that Thoroton, when treating of it, complains heavily that the inclosures had depopulated it so much in his time, as to leave not a house inhabited except some part of the hall, and a Shepherd who kept ale to sell in ihe church !
CoRUNSTOCK or Costock, is on the high road to Lough- borough* it is a place of no conscf|uencej though pretty ex- tcnsiive : consisting principally of farm houses. The church is a poor building of one aislcj with a roof like a barn, and a steeple like a dove cote; some remains of painted glass are in the windows, and on the outside wall is part of a mutilated monumental figure, probably the tomb of the founder.
Turning to the left, towards Nottingham, we approach Bln- ^v, a straggling village on the high road, containing about sixly hoifees, and which seems lo have been indebted principally for its origin to the anttent seat of Bunny Pabk Hall» once ihe property of the f;uni!y of Parkyns, and now of their dtacen* dant Lord KanclilTe. This femily have indeed been great bene-!
factors
KOTTISTOIIAMSHIRI*
199
fEiclors 16 the Tillage, as it contaim a good school house and hos- pitiil, the former being close to the church yard gate and erect- ed m 1700 for the poor children of Bunny and Bradmore; and the latter having four rooms for four poor widows, and endow- ed by Dame Anne Parlt yn9 with IGI, per annum, to which her husband. Sir Thoma&, added 5L
The church has a nave and two side aisles ; the body is an- cient, but the chancel of a more modern ilate. In the latter is the tomb of Sir Thomas Parkyns, ban* so famous as a wrestler in the last century ; also a monument in tlie body of the church with the date of 1G03 for Richard Parkyns, Esq. his w\h, (our sons, and four daughters,
Et'NNY Park Hall is a strong looking heavy building close to the road f$ide, with a very heavy gateway in front, built in the ancient style of two centuries ago. The house irself is a massy pile, and its front in its present state has quite llie appear- ance of a ruin ; and, being built of brick with stone corners and window^ cases, has quite a sombre eileci. It seems irwleed to he the patch work of different periods; bnt the aparlmtnts are lufty and commodious, and contain many good family pnrtraits, amongst which, in particular, are two in the dining parlour of the late Sir Thomas and his Lady, by Vanilcrbank; but the house having long been unoccupied by its possessor, even these are going to decay* The Park has a fine sheet of water, and a long avenue of fine lofty trees; it has also some good scenery, which, however, Mr Thiosby unfortunately calb ro- mantic, though it merely consists of some gentle swells with clumps of forest trees, with a profusion of bramble and other cover for game.
Sir Thomas Parkyns, Bart* who lived in the early part of the last century* was remarkable for his skill in, and fondness for, ihc art qf wrestling. By the inscripiion on his monument in the church, we are infmmed that he was a great wrestler, and Justice of Peace for Notts and Leicestershire. Also that Jii* new-roofed the chancel, built the vault below, and erected this
N 4 monument
«K>
yOTTIKGHAHSMlUB-
monument wrought out of a fine piece of marble by Kb cbap* lain in a barn ; that he studied Pliysic for the benefit of his neighbours ; wrote the *' Cornish Hug Wrestler ;*' and died in 1741, aged 78.
He had two wives j one a grand-daughter of a London alder^ man; the other an alderman'^ daughter of York; he had two or three stone co(Bns made for himself, in order to take his choice, and there is one of them now in the church unoc- cupied, and ready for whoever wishes for it. Notwithstanding some eccentricities tn his character, he was, however, upright and inteliigent, and possessed all the learning of his day ; and at his decease was universally lamented as a most excellent magistrate.
On his monument in the church, he is represented in a pos* ture ready for wrestling; and on another part of it, he appears thrown by Tiftt^, accompanied with a stanza said to be written b^ Dn Freind,
** Quem modo str&visti longo tn certmuSne tempniSj
Hit; recubuit itritanum cUrusin orbe pugil Jam primus straCuy ; pftcter ta viccrttomiies ; De to ctiani Ticlor, quandoresurgct, erit." This whimsical epitaph has been translated,
'* At length he faJli, the long^ Jong contest's o'er, And Time Uu thrown, whom none e*cr threw before . Yet boast not Time ! thy victory, Tor he At last shall rise again, and conquer thee." Through his great fondness for this manly exercise, he tram* ed not only his servants and neighbours, but also many others to it, and often exhibited his pupils on public occasiuns with no Jittle fame : and by his will he lefl a guinea to be wrestled for every Midsummer's day, as well as muney to the ringers, of whom he alway:^ made one upon these occasions. Ili.4 fondness for displaying his skill in Lai in was almost equal to that of wrestling: over a seat which formerly stood by the road side, was this inscription :
^ Hie sedeas Viator si iu dcfessus es ambulando,*'
IVOTTIKOUAMSIIiai.
SOI
Nay, even his horse block waa made a reporter to posterity of ibe honour of a visit from a Judge on the circuit by» "Hinc Jusliciarius Dormer ec^uum ascendere solebat V
His book on the " In play, or the Cornish Hug Wrestler/* contains many quaiat specimens not only of his style but of hia ideas on that subject ; and an admirer of hi.s a Mr. Tunstall^ says in a prefatory address^ that Horace was wrong in satirize ing the Roman youths for hissing the tragedies at the Amphi* theatre and calling for their wrestlers and boxers »*-he then prophesies that,
*^ Vigorous J outb5 Will cxcrcite I he field.
And fam'd Olympia, to tb^ Btmmj } idd ; Then new epochal fium thj aporU shall riic, And future jears be reckon 'd from thj priac ;* Aftd meti shmtl qttettion where the dnto to ptice. To thy tic w annuls or tt> Anna's peacc^^^^ Tbe Jimber minnetj and ftiJit^atic shrug, Shtdl yield tiie Iwaour tu thy Corntsh Hugg* Then cheated dacD^eU AhulJ Jici more embrace Tbe feeble uffipring of a flimsy race, But cjuii their Bullicit aad discard (heir Beaux, Atid (torn tliy ring their tusty husbindi cbod^e^**
Sir Thoiwas htmself, in speaking of the excellence of bis art, says ** I receive no liroberUams, no darling sucking bottles who must not rise at Midsummer till eleven of the clock, till ^e fire has aired his room, and clothes, of his colliquatiFe veats, raised by high sauces and spicy forced meats^ where be cook does the oHicc of the stomach, with the emetic tea* able« set out with bread and butter for 's breakfai^t; FU scarce admit a Sheep eater; none but beefeaters will go down with me*" He then endeavours to inspire his readers with a fond- ness for the art by the hopes of gaining the approbation of the fair sex, laughs at the Norfolk Out play, and [though wtih a
marginal
* Of A guuiea a ymr at Midiuintnct * * I
an
XOTTHrODAMSniftK.
Diarghml note cif Ilmii soii qrd maly pmse,) giTcs a *ly hint abaut the Bedfordshire In play, and the close Comish Hug.
Near to Bunny is Bradmorc, a mere harolct, bat noticed here from its having a Tower and spire viithoui a ekwtch : the latter was burnt down some years ago^ and the inhabitantf |o to p«; BwDfivaTON, which, however, is only a Chapelry t<^ FkfUf* ford the mother churchi standing in a field. This ancient churchi built in the Saxon style, had a lofty spire steeple and many curious monuments with cross-legged figures ; but bar* ing been long neglected, and become so ruinoxis as to be in danger of falling, a license was obtained from the archbishop in I773, to pull it down. For this purpose some of the work- men from the neighbouring coHicries were employed, who* by their architectural skill joined to the taste of the church war- dens for the time being, contrived to mutilate and even to de- stroy almost all the monumental memorials. Indeed Mr. Throsby asserts that the materials were taken to mend the Toads, to build bridges* and erect pigsties, and the grave stones taken up to cover the sink holes in the village streets !
The village of Ruddington itself is of considerable size; tl has a respectable free school founded by James Peacock, citi- zen of London in IGll ; and here also was formerly a college founded by William Babyngton, Esq. by license of king Hen- ry the sixth, for a warden and four chaplains, which he endowed with revenues vaJued at 30/.*
The chapel is of con^derable antiquity* and is mentioned by Thoroton; and here is every Sunday a dole of bread to the poor who attend Divine Service, amounting to four dozen and a half of loaves.
The tourist will find mucli amusement in hjs ramble to the fcoatb east of Nottingham, (still in Rushclifte hundred) and the first object of Ms notice, after admiring the commodious ca* nal ftitb its bridges wharfs, £ic. will be
Wt.T
' Twiuer** MonanftcoVit
KOTTrirGHAMSHIKE,
50$
West Bridgsford, a pleasing well hMt, little irtUage. Its church is dedicated to St. GileSj and consists of a naye and side aisle; its light tower* which contains three bells^ appears lo great advantage peeping alxive the trees which surround tt; its interior is kept in very neat order, and it has still some re- mains of armorial glass^ which the annua) beaiitifiers have not yet begun to whitewash. "The Trent goes from Clifton to the bridge of Nottingliam, called the Trent bridge, and aa- ciently Htthe botke bridges; at the south end whereof ts the town of Brtdgeford built by the famous Lady of Mercia, to re- repress the violence of the Banes* who possessed Nottingw ham/* *
Edw ALTON is a small village on the London road, not very remarkable fur neatness or comfort ^ but this must in a great degree be attributed to its moorish situation, Throsby says, that some years ago Ihe land could scarcely be let at any price; the improved system of drainage, however, has now improved the parish, consisting of 700 acres of old inclosure. In the yard of the chapel, which is dedicated to the Holyrood, there is a grave stone of an old woman, who possessing some landed property, was supposed by the sepulchral poet of the village to have lived upon the fat of the land, as he has added to the Qsual obituary notice,
"Sbe draak good ale, good punch* and wine ; And llr'd to the sgc of ninety nine/*
ToLLERTON Hall the seat of Pendoc Neale Barry, Esq. is a fihort distance from Edwalton, The house has been lately re- built in imitation of the Gothic ^vith towers> turrets, &c* and with a cloister which communicates with the church. It is a pleaMHg looking building; but wants that vastness bolh of height and extent which is the very essence of Gothic sublimity, and w iibout which, towers, turrets,, and pointed windows, are
almost • Harl Ctfl. 368, 53.
tCM
trOtTlKGIIAMSnllLE*
iilroost as absurd as baillements on a pigstye, or a hmy cart ! Tbc grounds are very extensive, and i^ put into good orderj would have a fine eil'ect, though they lie entirely an a tUtm' The new gateway* and the lodge near it, together with the bridge, will all assimilate well with the surrounding scenery.
The village is very small, the church ancient; and the Faf-l nonage house a comfortable and respectable looking residence.
To give even slight notices of Coigravep Piumtre, and seve- ral other pleasing little villages in this neighbourhood^ would] far exceed our possible limits; nor can we say more of Key*\ worthy than, that although a village of not more than thirty] houses, it has not only a church but also a meeting hotisi j lately erected. The church, which h dedicated to St, Mary! Magdalen, has a nave and two dark side aisles, and a curious tower with another raised upon it.
Stanton on the Wdlds, is another small place in this ' neighbourhood, which we were not tempted to examine with any very critical accuracy whilst peJestrianizing over the. Wolds i butThrosby says, that the church is below descriptiofi and is of all other?^ within and without (with respect to th^ latter of which we can fully agree with himj the most despi* cable he ever saw. When he was here about twenty years ago, one family only went to it, making a congregation of four or fife; and the other families, he says, were alt either Dissen- ters or Abseniers, and hke the pious folks in Cromweirs time amused themselvea with breaking the church windows. By the parish register of 1788, it appears that a young damsel of the parish was baptized and married on the same day ; at the age of tweiUy*
In this neighbourhood the remains of the ancient Fosscway
are in high preservation, or more strictly speaking, have not
-yet been destroyed. Uorsky observes, ^ that this Fosse way
proceeds directly from Bath to Lincoln, and has been continued
beyond Bath as far as Ikhesler, if Jiot quite to the sea. Stuke-
I*
* KoT»1ey Brittn* Roni. 388.
XOTTl!?GHAHSfItIll.
205
iy, indeed, thinks it has been carried as far as Seaton on the coast. Great part of ihis road, which ts undoubtedly of Ro- man workmanship, has had no part of an Uer on it> though running through the very heart of the kingdom, except in llie latter part of the sixth Iter of Antoninus and middle part of the eighth; but the route from FenowiV (Clay center) to Lindum, (nowr Lincoln) has undouhtedly, in the opinion of Horsley, been on the other part of itj and he seems to join in the opinion i>f others that it has been continued from Lincoln to the sea coast*
Speaking of the Lodge upon the Woldi, which is in this neigh- bourhood, Stiikeley says that in 1724 here was an Inn, under a great wood upon the declension of a stiff' clayey hilL Here the pavement upon the road is very manifest, of great blue flag utones laid edgeways very carefully* The quarries, whence they took them, arc upon the side of the hilL This pavement it two feet broad or more, and is still very visible where not covered with dirt,* It is still in the same state, and gives a very good idea of the ancient Roman roads; and about 0\v- thorpe particularly is so sunk In the Fosst^ that an army mighl^ be marched without observation for many miles.
OwriioQFE Hall is now a venerable pile, and stands in a very retired situation, forming an object of considerable inte- rest from its connection with a man of some eminence during the civil wars.
Colonel Julius Hutchinson, its founder, was an active par- liamentary partisan in this county during that unhappy period, and was for some time governor of Nottingham (!astle. Though he gat in judgement upon his unfortunate Sovereign, yet it ap- pears that no very active means were taken to apprehend him at the Restoration, and he seems to have lived sccretlt/t though perhaps by a tacit forbearance, in his house at Owthorpe for some years, in which was a room made for defence, as Thros- by nay?, with apertures to hre through in case of an attempt to
take Vid€ Stukclf j*j Inner try.
S06
KOTTIlfOHAIfSHiaE*
take hint. Such a defence fts lhi&« indeed, could never have Ijeen seriously intended, and would have been of very litilc avail. He had no opportunity of trying it, however, for be was seized within a few yards of hb own house, whilst on his way to the church that stands within less than a stone's throw of H* in the year 1653 at a period when many were taken up for aup« posed treasonable oircnce^; some tried, and others imprisoa^d for life, amongst the latter of wliorn was the Colonel. Mr. Dickinson in his History of Southwell, observes that thougb old and infirm, and particularly out of health, yet he was hur«j fied in a dark night by a party of horse under the commandl of Cornet Atkinson, without open accusation or written war- rant, from his dwelling to \ he gaol at Newark, where he wai ^ detained for several days. Now we will grant that thia treatment was illegal, and unconstitutional ; yet surely Colonel Hutchin- son, who, without legal warrant but merely by a precept issued by rebels, bad sat upon the trial of his Sovereign^ and without] any law whatever had condemned hrm to death, must havgl been the last person to complain of illegal treatment I
The house itself is now occupied by a maiden lady who] lives in great retirement,* It is large, and forms a sqanre^J with handsome, lofty, and convenient apartments, but witbl little ornament, A handsome flight of steps leads into a hall^l which occupies the centre of the ediBce and is lighted by two large windows at the entrance, and by one of very considera* ble size at the further end. The view from it is very fine, as ' it stands on an eminence at a small distance Irom the foot of the range of hills, below which the Fosseway lakes its direction, and the eastern side opens upon a very fine terrace ; but as the house has been almost deserted ever since the beginning of the last century its gardens and grounds are rjoitc m a state of deso- lation. The Editor of the Colonel's Memoirs, when speaking
of
* Miss Eeushaw is the occupant. The preiont pos5«i5or o^ Owtliorpc, hj pareliajic in i773> 19 Sir George Smitli Bromley, fis rt, 9
VOTTlNGHAMSUiaE.
2or
I I
I
I
of the sale of ibis place, observes that the most extraordinary
and gratifying clrcumsiauce (to the existing tlescendaiib) was the Teneratiou tor ihe family which still subsisted, and which at the period when the Wt possessor had by his will ordered this and all his estates in Nottin^;bam shire to he sold, and the produce given to strangers^ induced the tenants to oBer a large advance of their reoUj and a good 2share of the money neces* sary for purchasing the estates, in order to enable the rentains of the family to come and settle among them*
The church which is very small, and dedicated to St. Mar- garet, stands near the house. It consists only of the nave and one aisle, with a small chancel. The tower is low, and has but one belL Wilhin are several large monuments of the Hutchinson family, consisting of hgures as large as life laying under canopies supported by carved and twisted pillars, &.c. and decorated with all the monumental frippery of the seven* teenth century.
Colston JSasset is close to Owthorpe, and is a plea^iing lit* tU village, with a very elegant house, the residence of William Milnes, Esq. The church has a peal of five very deep and solemn toned bells. The villagers have a tradition that, when this place was sufTering under the plague in 1604, the inhabi- tants of Nottingham and Bingham not only refused to permit any articles to be brought from hence to their maikets, but Ijven cut ofi' all communication with them whatever, so that Jay were left to shift for themselves, to live or die, as it pleas- ed God. jj KtNOULTOM nikky be distinguished from hence by the lofly ^wer of its chapel, which we believe has been lately rebuilt* baving long been in a wretched state. The church, dedicated E|o St, Wilford, is now a ruin at some distance fryin the villagi^ ; t)ut there is nothing further worthy of notice.
At HicKLiNG some silver Roman coin.*4 have been found ; I'hich are in confirmation of the opinion of Camden^ that it *was a Roman station in the neighbourhood of the Fosseway,
WjLLOUGHiY
l*OTtf!IGlfAMSHIRt.
WtttotfCHBY ON THE WoLi> IS Considered by Horsley as
an ancient Hnman station, and as the Vernometum so of^i^n mistaken for ^fargidinmm.
The village is pretty extensive, and has an appearance ex- tremely rural, from the whole length of it being shadect by mi double row of trees, whose thick embowering foliage sbelttrt its beaut ifu! cottages. Though so retired in its situation, it could not, however^ escape the baneful effects of civil commo^J tion, but was the scene of a bloody contest in the unhappy] days of Charles, an action having taken place here at Wit* loughby field, A cross of a kfty construction stands in the cen-^ tre of the village, but having no inscription, iu origin or date is unknckwn. It consists of one stone, five yards long; and its appearance gave such offence to the pious soldiery of Croni* well in the civil wars, that they had tied ropes round *t in order J to pull it down ; but their religious enthusiasm was so much J damped by some strong beer given to them by the vicar, after [ he had made a long speech in defence of its innocence, thai It was permitted by those apostles of the church militant to re- main unmolested*
The church is dtdicafed to St Mary and All Saints, and bat I I a nave with two side aisles ; one of which is inclosed by railing in order to preserve the family memorials of the Willoughbys. In this latter, at the entrance is a stone with this imcriptton t
" Here lietb the body of Colonel Stanhope, who was slain in Willoughby field in the month of July 1648, in the 9ith year of his age* being a soldier of king Charles the l»t/'
A table monument surrounded with battlements, stands in
the centre, with angels in niches; on it lies a knight in armour
I 'with a roll or wreath round his helmet, and by his side his lady
• with a curious mitred head dress.
A very graceful monumental tigxire of a lady, with a dog at
• her feet, is placed under the south wall ; and in the choir, un- der an arched wall, whb plain iTiodem pillars supporting it in
front,
KOTTtKOHAlfSlII&B.
209
front, iliercU another kuigbt in warlike capamon, his tomb completely coyered with ai'morlal bearings.
WiLLouGHBY Brook Hes between Willoaghby and Over- Broughton ; and on the Willoughby side of the road« there i« a turnulus which marks the i^icinity of the Roman station. This is now called Croeshill; and there i^a revel or annual festival held upon it, which is supposed to be founded on some tradi- tionary festival of the Roman mythology.
Stukely tells us that the old Roman town (of which the re- mains of the ttggcr, or ditch and mound surrounding the camp still exist) was in a field called " Heninga/' a British word al- lusive to the ancient meadows. Here^ accord irtg to the iradi- llon, there was an old city once called Long Billingtm ; but since that, the Blackfield, in common discourse, from the colour and excessive richness of the soil which never requires manure.
Tradition also says, that at a barn at a place called ffW/i^ there once was a church ; and also that the city once extended 80 far« Stukely adds« that in his time the people in the vicinity had a notion of great riches being under ground ; and that there was a vulgar report, that one balk or mere (that is a division between the plowed fields) had as much money utider it as would have purchased the whole lordship; but it seems they had been often frightened by spirits whilst attempting to dig it up, of which also there \%'ere many curious stories. Notwith- standing these sprites, however, of late years some coins and other antiquities have been found.
Upper or Over Broughton has nothing remarkable | but we mention it as a pleasant village, and the last on the London road, being on the very verge of Leicestershire, Near it also is Widmerpoolc through >^hich runs the coach road ; and the country rising here from the vale of Belvoir^ into the Leices- tershire hills, produces a diversity of prospect extremely pleasing.
The tourist will not quit the enf irons of Nottingham, without Vot. XIL O Tisiting
$ie
H0TTSirOif4M9HlR««
Visiting CoLwicK Hall* the seat of tjic Musicn kmWy, wh^ Uhoogh standing on a flat, yet being backed with tome J I irooded JiiHsj and having the silver Tri^nt in front* wttb llic extensive plains on ils southern bsink> has a very impresstre appearance. It is about three mi lets from Nottingham* on the L norik bank of the river, and forms the termination to a most agreeable evening's walk. The steep rock at its fetr^ milig in abrupt precipices, and finely tufted vvith overhanging woodv i producer a good effect in every point of view, and in the stiJl^ ^ Uhe silent hour of eveningj throws a sombre shade urer Use I f^iilage church embosomed in foliage* The Park is bot sma1l» i but comprobend:i^ much of this charming scenery within its^ ljiaU» and is stocked with the antlered natives of the forest*^ I The pleasure grounds and crnamcnta! plantations are^ coinpara'* ] ^lively* more extensive thun the park, and exhibit a good &peci^ Imen of modern improvement engrafted on the ancient moiteL I But the bouse is the principal object, and consists of a very elegantly elevated centre crowned with a pediment resting dci I four welt proportioned Ionic pit lart^> and joined by two wiug» I of one lofty story >|ith entablature supported by scjuare pilas* Uers with plain capitals, and lightened much in its cfTect by a i handsome baUustraded parapet; the whole doing much credil«f iziot only to the inventive genius of the iksigner, Mr Jobti ICarr of York, but also to the executive taste of the luprrin* ^lending architect, Mr. StretLon. In the grounds there Is also (Well consiructedj and indeed even clegnnt, dogkeiuieJ* cob* Jductcd bv the same artist<i.
The Church which stands ctos^ to the hoo'^ej is dedicated to
, John the Biiptist, and contains some ancient inonuments of
hhc Byron family ; ^\m ^ot that of Musters, the present pos-
Uesfiorsj by one of \%hich on tUe norrb side of the chance t it
lappearA that the chancel was rebuiltj and the church repaired,
by Sir John Clusters* kt\U in 1684*
CAHttoN is a village of considerable size, near to Colwick, li^l U entirely supported by th^ stocking mtnufactuff;; here ^ aho
XOTTIVGHAMSHtHZ,
SU
a3iK> is G£DLnra« of which we find nothing remarkablej ex* cepta curious fact of an old soldier who died in the workhouse in I797j in the DGth yeir of his age> and having been mail the battles in the German war about the middle of the last cen* tary, enjoyed a pension from Government^ which enabled him to live comfortably ; but having tried to live in several families in the village^ at last boarrled himself in the workhouse, where he resided for many years. Mr. Throsby. indeed, tells a long story of two stone coffins in the church yard, which have oc» ca si on ally had different tenants, who on these occasions^ like the victims on the iron bed of Procrustes, were always made to fit them. He aUo mentions a stone which '* bare this inscrip- tion, but now defaced^ >" Here lieth the body of Joseph Smalley, whose mother was 60 years old, when he was born/'
On the opposite side of the river i^ Holme Pi£Rpoii<T,a pleasant but very small village* *' Within this hundred (Bing- ham) about two miles beneath the bridges of Notts^ upon the said rivtr, is the town of Holme, called Holme Pierpoint, in which is the possession of Sir Henry Pierpoint, a very aiicieni gentleman of the jhire. Before it waj the inheritance of one Manvers, whose hetre the ancestor of Sir Henry Pierpoint married about the time of Edward Int."
Holme Pierpoint House is still a large and ancient build- ing, though much of it at times has been pulled down* It stands close to the church, and is now completely repaired and cased in imitation of stone, forming a very handsome spe* cimen of the Gothic of the later ages.
The church is rich tn mural monuments^ in altar torn bs^ and in ancient armorial brasses. Its form is Gothic, but in the style of the time of Henry the seventh, with large and numerous windowi, a square tower^ and a handsome lofty spire^ and con* listing of a nave aud side aisle.
The family vault of the late dukea of Kingston, and of the present Pierpoint family, is in the north side of the choir, with a lofty monument over it supported by Corinthian pil-
O 9 lars.
tit
NOTTlK0HAM5nrilE^
jlars, and most gloomily ornamented with death's heads iis Iwreaths, intermixed with fruit and foliage. Its inscription i» ather in a superior style of sepulchral bombast. '' Here lyeth the Illustrious PrinccsM Gertrude, Countess of Kingston, daugh- [ ter to Henry Talbot, Esq. son to George late Earl of Shrews- ury. She w'as married to the most Nuble and Excellent Lord Hobert, Earl of Kingston, &c/' A very fine altar tomb to the m^emory of Sir Henry Pier pot nl, knt. in 1615, ia on the south side ; he is in armour, and in xhe, usual attitude of prayer. On the sides of the tomb are a son, four daughters, and an iiifant in swaddling clothei» ; and over it a highly ornamented tablet containing the inscription. Near it is another who, by his habit of ft pilgrim, seems to have been to the Holy Land ; he has angels playing round W% head« Here too was buried young Oldham, considered a& a poet of considerable merit, and pa- onized by William Earl of Kingston, who also wrote the \txy elegant inscription on hia monument*
Radcliffe on Trevt near to this, is particularly remarkable 'br its very romantic scenery, standing tjpon a lofty cliff on the south bank of Trent, from which it takes its name, and nhtch aUbrds it some very fine prospects over the vale watered by that meandering river. Its vicinity is extremely pleasing from the goodness of the roads, and from the number of gen* teel villas which embellish it The village itself is very ex- tensive, and is very active in the hosiery manufactory. The church dedicated to St. Mary, has a handsome spire steeple, with four belU; the nave and chancel are both spaciouSp and kept in good order ; but the only monument of note is a wooden figure of Stephen Ratciifle the founder, and which must there* fore be very ancient.* ' BINGHAM
It hai be«ii propoted as a question to antiqttartcSi wh\t arc xfi^^dtn rtio- .nonicntal £gure« icl up, iti pli*ccs where iloiie might have bcf n ewilj pro- cured * bat wctef wiswercd.
XOTTIKGHAMSBTRE*
1215
BINGHAM
lies a short distance from RadcHffe* Its situation i& rather low ; bot being surrounded with bigh groonds all in a rich state of cultivation* the views in its i^icinity are both extensive and pleasing. Tlie town nse\f, though once of considerable re- pute from its religious establishment and collegiate churcb, of a date nearly as old as the Conquest, is now nothing but an in* considerable struggling place, but still possessing a market, and several fairs: these are on February the l:kh and 14th fur horses, for agricultural purposes, and lor draught; on the first Tliursday in May for horses, horned cattle, sheep, and swine * and on Whitsun-Thursday* 31st May, Sth aud 9ih of Novem- ber, for young horses and hops*
Bingham once contained the college of St, Mary, which Tan- ner, in his Monasticon, observes was valued, according to Spetid, at 40t ; but he merely calls it a Guild, rated at 4L Of this, haw- ever, there are now no vestiges, nor of two chapels which once had eicitttenoe, as well as a chantry in the chapel of St, Elen. The market place is very extensive, and has very cum* fliodious shambles j but has nothing else worthy ol notice. Near Histtie vicarage, a handsome modern dwelling, attached to a living of very cunsiderable value. The church deserves the attention of the curious traveller* It is a sptcinif n of the an- cient Gothic; and though a heavy building badly lighted, owuig indeed to a considerable part of the nave being taken down in UB4 when it was completely repaired, it stiH possesses an air of ecclesiastical magnificence* The chancel is lolty and spa- cious, and has a very fine arch joining it to the body of the* church, but some of the ornaments over this arch cannot fail of exciting the risibility of the stranger, consisting of the royal arms of queun Anne, surrounded with gaudy ornaments of plaisler work, with a large collection of chubby cherubs^ amouga whom the aspirijig church wardens of that day tiavc
O 3 contrived
fpl
somvoHiiiisBnis*
cooUiTed to iiiCrodace tbetr own nametj as briogio^ them one step nearer to heaTen* Hus carioqs melange, howcTer^ wiiii all its incoogTQjty^ b coiuidered as tlie principal Hon of the ti^ini-
The chancel has been lately ceiled, with other improre* meots at the expense of a late jDCiimbent ; and the nave and two side ables are very spaciom* Here are many tombs, but none of any particular merit. Mr. Throsby, indeed, remarks that all the la<ius have remarkably good characters on their tombstones ; and he, therefore, concludes that e?en now a maa might hare a chance for a good wife here.
Here is a good Charity School for children of both sexes ; bai originally erected for the education and support of thirty poor boys, by the benevolent subscriptions of the neighboor- iag gentry.
It U a curious fact that in the recent retmns of population, the sexes in Bingham were stated to be e^ual, or 663 of each, amounting to 1336.
Since the Conquest this place has gone through a Tariety of possessors^ and once belonged to a family to which tt gave a name. They, however, seem to have lost all property here» and it has since come to various hands.
With respect to its biography^ we must noc omit to mention a Mr. White, who, though in the huroble station of a ftchi>ol« master here, W2fe yet recommended by Dr. Maskelyne to his Majesty as a proper person to assist in the prosecution of a very considerable astronomical work, which, nevertheless^ ho modestly declined. He was for many years, the compiler of almanacks for the Stationers' company, and published the '* Celestial Atlas*' which was so long in very high repute. Ilia astronomical knowledge appears to have been entirely the re- salt of his own industry; be died in 1783 at the age of 61.
A curious instance of bigotry, beyond the grave, is recorded here of one Henry Porter, who, differing in opinion with his re* lativ*:son religious matters^ actually gave orders that his body
should
KOTTIKGIIAVSflllll&i
W5
should n^t be buried among ibeni, but ugainst the north wall cu the outside of the church*
Mr. Throsby^ iti hi.i additioud to Thoiotoztj gives a long list of events, amongst which are some anecdotes of a drunken clergyman, and of another who fur a series of years v as in- tane: but these perhaps are memorabilia which we ought only lo remember to forget. Nor is it particularly neceitsary to re- cord the breaking open of the church, or the setting fire to the town in 1710. Two o{ hi* tnsiances, however, we may notice : one of twelve young men, whose united eKertions in some his*' I irionic efforts m the winter of 17B3 enabled Uicm lo raise lOOA to bi: settled on the poor of the parit^li for ever , and the other of Thomas Groves^ a poor lad, born in 17€M), and put out ap* prentice to a cabinet maker from whose service he eloped, and having entered as a private in the msLrine corps, rose at length to the rank of Colonel, dying in 17&0, after seventy five years of service.
Shelford stands on the banks olf the Trent, in a north west direction from Bingham. Here was an Austin priory, built by Ralph Hanselyn in the time of Henry the second, to the ho- nour of ihe blessed virgin Mary ;* the scite of which at the dis- solution was graut4!d to Michael Stanhope, ancestor of the Ches^ teriseld family, the present possessors* Here was an ancteol mansion of the family ; but burnt do\tn in the civil wars, hav- ing been a garrison for king Charles the first. At that time Colonel Stanhope, son of the first earl of Chesterfield, was gover- nor; but was slain when it was tdken by storm by tlic Purlia* mentarian Uoops. Some year-* after this, the family nmde some additions to, and re|>airs of, that pari standing after the eil^cts of the fire ; it has now the appearance of the ancient manor houses of that period, but is inliabited by a farmer. The church, B respectable building, contains many monuments of the Stanhope family ; and in the vault is interred the late earl.
S»>mc of the earlier generations of this family built and en-
C) 4 dowed
• Tftnner'A Monasticon.
VOTTlKGBAMSBTIlfi.
dowed in the village an almshouse, with a chapet attached to it, for six poor men, batch el ors or widowers. To each ihtre is aj»s>gned a hou^e^ a garden^ and orchard ; they have also an al- lowance of coals, two shillings per week, and a cap and coat every year. These, however, are now reduced to four, of whom one is from SheUord parish, another from Ged ling, and Vwo chosen by the incumbent of Bingham. Throsby gives a curious plate of what he calls a whimsical and puzzling inscrip- tion, on four sides of a long square stone in the church yard j but this is nothing more than a simple epitaph ^ and the secret of the enigma is, merely to read the west side first, and ihea take the south, east, and north sides from line to Hne, as one inscription*
East Bridgepokd is a short distance from Shelford, on the banks of the Trent, and Is a very ancient village having inda- bitable remains of a Roman camp pointing it out as one of their stations; and confirmed, with respect to its chronology, by many coins, urns, and other antiquities, dug op at various times. This place has likewise been the possession and residence of many ancient familiest there being still much armorial glass in the church, of Dering, Deyncourt, Babington, &c* It is evi- dent too that the church was once on a much larger scale ; but ' from the decay of the place itself, from inattention, and per- haps from sacrilegious hands taking away its venerable walls tor humbler purpose,*;, it is now not only reduced in size, but' bassutfered much from actual dilapidation, whilst many of the monuments have been defacttd, others much mutilated^ and itome removed into the church yard to perish through th<? at« iack« of weather. It wan, however, in a much worse sute in Mr. Tliroshy's time ; indeed, he complains oi it very much.
Here is a Clvarity School supported by private contribulioni for teaching English and the catechism, to ten poor boys.
In modern history, this village is remarkable as being the birth place of the rcgicidal parliamentarian Colonel Hacker* who attended the unfortunate Charles to his last scene, for
whicb
1 . • , VOTTITTGHAIISBIRE*
«17
Mrhich he afterwards sufFeretlas a iraitor^ and bis estates were confiscated ; yet his two brothers were active partizaus in the royal cause, for which one of them was slain*
But Bridgeford is most worthy of notice for its early history, Stukely says that it lies near a mite to the right of the Eooiaa staitou, Adpontem, and adds that doubtless there was a bridge here in the Roman times* He then says, *' here were formerly great buildings and cellars on the right hand as you descend to the Trent^ and a qoay for vessels to unload at* The Homaa station upon the fosse^ 1 found to be called Boroughfield, west of the road. Here a spring was under the bedge^ called Old» wark spring, very quick, running t*ver a fine gravel, the only one hereabouts that falls eastward, and not directly into Lhe Trent Hereabouts 1 saw the Roman foundation's of walls and floors of houses, composed of stontfs set edgeways into clay^ and liquid mortar run upon them. About a miltf from this la.U station^ upon an eminence of the road beyond Bingham lane* there is a tumulus, from whence a hoe prospect of BeUoir«
Horseley, however, does not coincide with him in the opinion of Ad Pont€m» being in this neighbourhood, but considers this place as the Margidunum of the sixth Iter of Antoninus; and though he does not decide absolutely whether Newark or South* well is the tr\ie Ad pontarit yet he confirms his idea respecting this place not only by the actual admeasurement, hut by the consideration that it is often called Bridgeford on ike hUh to which he conceives its ancient adjunct of dunum had a re* ference. " This station of Margidunum-f is distant from Verno- metum thirteen miles* according to this Iter; but only twelve* according to the 8th. The Utter seems to be the truer number* unless we suppose the truth to he between the two. If we pro- ceed across the Fosse, the next station that ofler» it^self, is East Bridgeford. The name has led most of our antiquaries into the
opinion
• Stukclfj'a UintTary, 1 JIof>Iej'» Brilaii. Roiaftd. 4S8*
2iir
irott nrnit A 9f6inits.
opinion of its being Ad p&nttm ; but the numbers and dutancei ought to preponderate.*' We shall notice this queslkm mor^ fully when we come to Southwell.
SciLCtETON is principally remarkable as the birtb place and residence of Dr, TnoaoroN, the earliest topographer of this country; and here siill remains the old manor house of the family. In CarcoUton, near to this, is another building erected by the Dr* himself, but now tti ruins. " Now is found Scre- rotonj ulias Screaton, where is the beautiful house of Richard Whalley, Esq. whose ancestor married the daughter and heir of one Leek, or rather Leake, about the time of Henry the seventh* who was owner thereof.'** The manor then cume to the Tho- fbtons, and h still their property j and Thomas Thoroton, Esq. a descendant of the worthy and learned doctor, has now his n-sidence here.
The church, which is dedicated to St. Winifred, is a neat edifice, with a nave and two side aisles ; the lower steeple con- tuiti^ a small ring of three betU^ and the curious old font* which is siili in high preservation, is worthy of notice: there are several iincicnt monuments of the Whalleys.
Wmattoh, which lies about two miles east from Bingham, comprehends in its parisli the chapelry of Astacton, the chapel of which small village or hamlet dedicated to the patron saiBl »if the parish is now a total ruin, but has been lately converted into a dwelling house.
The church of Whation is dedicated to Su John of Beverley, >tands on a rising gmuiid on the north side of the village, and consists of a body, two aisles, and a chancel^ with a tower at the angle formed by the north aisle and chanceL The nave rests on three pointed arches on each side, with octagon |>illars.
Against the north-east pillar is fixed up a white slab, with ibm figure of a man in flowing hair and gown, and a pur^e at hb right side, his band on a cushion* and round hiu), on a ledge in bUck letter.
• Hart, ColK p. Sd8.
I
JIOTTillGHAJtf^flXRS.
319
" Uk jttcet Thoms5 Crantner Armiger, qui obiit Ticcfimo sftpcioio die ttienfiit mail a&no dni m^* m'^* oetiteitJBQ priroo cui oie ppciatur Den.
II has also several armorial coaU, and was raised in memory <»f the father of the lamous Archbishop Crarimer, born in 14^9 at Aslacton ; and which maaor came to Lhe tamily by ihe mar- riage with tiie heiress of the Aslactoiis^ passed by an heiress of Cranmer to Molyneax,and is now the property of the Pierpoiat family.
The font h Jeserviag of notice ; not for lis anUqoHy which h but recent^ by a date of 1662 on the shaft, but from its orna- menu^ consisitng of a rose* lulip« Oeor de lis. £tc.
The monuments are various. Two arches have been made la the north \vall of the north aisle : one of these U empty ^ under the other is a priest with curled hair* and his head rest- ing on a double cushion; in the middle of this aisle, across- legged Knight in armour lies on a raised tomb, Sir Richard Whatton ; and an altar tomb with an armed knight in alabaster, one of the family of Newraarch, is placed at the east end of the south aisle, now converted into a schoolhouse. The chancel is quite plain; and, being fitted up with modern seats and desks^ has lost its venerable airi but the style of the church plainly bespeaks it lo be of the lime of the Edwards. The windowi* are particularly deserving the notice of the Gothic architect^ being very elegant specimens of the lancei arch, and of orna* mental tracery i in the east window of the north aisle, in parti- cular> there is a very rich specimen of the quatr^oiL Of the state of 4jlaaon, as cotemporary with Cranmer, we have the following account from Leland : " And coming near toward Mile Brooke^ I left about a mile on the left hande Aslacton village in Nottinghamshire, where Thomas Cranmer, Archbishop of Cantorbyri, was born^ and where the heire of the Cranmers^ a man scajit of XL luarkes landes by the yere now dwellith.'^
The manor bouse and grounds are now the property of Mr.
Maniot.
tfO
iroTTnTGnAVsnTHE.
Merriot. A modem hrm house occupies the scUe ; and tome years ago bad ftome curious relics of the C ran met family. Here also Diay be traced several moats, islands, and other remains of the pleasure ground& At a nmall distance from the house b a raked walk of three or four feet, and more than one hundred yards long, which leads to Orston^ and is still called ** Cran* Bier's WaiL'^ At the west end« on crossing a moat, the visitor may ascend a square mount of considerable elevation^ and from thence have a pretty extensive prospect.
Of the ancient chapef> now in ruins^ part of the walls still remain; these are visible under a modern built house of brick atid tile ; and the chapel itself is now a coramon alehouse.*
The ARCHBisBe? was born on the second of July 1489 ; and, being placed at an early age under a private tutor, was soon filled for the completion uf his studies at Jesus College, Cam- bridge. He- graduated, and entered into priests^ orders, became a fellow of the coHfge, completed his degree of I>. D* and was fioen after entrust^^d by Mr. Cressy, a gentleman of large foJ^^ tunc residing at Wahham abhey in Essex, with the care of fal^H two sons I but the plague breaking o^t in the university* Dr. Craumer retired with his pupils to their father's house.
At this period Henry the eighth came to Waltham abbey, during the arrangements for his divorce, whicfi, how ever, went oo loo slowly for the monarch's impatience. Two of hia prin- cipal ecclesiastical agents lodged in Mr. Cressy's house, and were much gratided in finding a man of Cranraer's learning and undaunted spirit, not only approving the measure as much as they did themselves, but even inclined to enter on it more boldly than they dared to do* Wbco asked his opinion respecting the propvjcty of opposing the pope's mandates and the intrigues of li is Agents, Cranmer at once recommended that the suftV rings of the king's conscience, respecting a marriage with bis brother'^* wife, slitjuld be referred, not to the pope and his dispensing power, but to the word of God and an assembly of divines; and
also» • Vide tuT^hn, Gcola, M«g. VoL 62, P«rt IL 991,
VOTYlHOHAMSHIEl*
fsi
alsoi that this should lake place in the Engliih oniverstties, and not ifi the ecctesiastical courts of any other nation; adding^ that if the cause was once determined by the authority of scrfp* Hire, the pope coald iwit possibly have power to overttarn il, not having authority to dispense with the word of God!* When the monarch heard of this opinion* '* Aye" said he, " tliis man hath the sow by the right ear -" he immediately sent f^r him, and not only employed him in the work at home, but in Writing and in embassies lo the pope, and the diflTerent Euro- pean princes, umil he had not only ihe consent of the English universities, bat also of all the foreign powers concerned, or presuming to be concerned, in this bosiness.
On the death of archbishop Warham Cranmer wag imme- diately appointed to the metropolitan see> and was under the new order of things, then just commencing, considered as the ecclesiastical head of the church in England, without ihe inter- ference of the pope's legale ; and was al^o entrusted with many civil commissions by Henry, whose favour lie had gained, by not only pronouncing the sentence of divorce against Catharine^ but also uniting him to his then favourite Anna Boleyn.
When Henry asserted his supremacy in ecclesiaKiical affairs , Cranmer supported him against the pope's claims; he also aided much in the dissolution of the monastic societies, and encou- raged the cause of rational religion, by causing the Bible to bif translated into English, and a copy of it to he placed in every church in the kingdom. This part of the Reformation was much expedited by the discovery of printing, which had then laken place, tboogh not many years before. f A copy of this work was presented to the king, and is now preserved in the British Museum.
The appropriation of the revenues of the convents, for the
establishment
■ Tht4, however, wai n power which the Pope tlien claimed, and whkh the Catholics admitted ; nor do we know ihat it ii even now denied.
f Printing began to be uacd in Esglaud in 1453, nlioQt 50 ytm before Htnry'B flccr»9ion*
t22
HOTTIKGIIAMSltmB.
establishment of rrcescbools^ was a measure of his recommen- dation ; but this took place only in a few instances^ as the pro- fuse monarch found a pleasanter mode of spending these large 9Uiiis: ytjt though thwarted in some things^ Cranmer still used every means in his power to aid the cause of the Reformation. By this^ he became so obnoxious to the Catholic hierarchy, to ihe pope and his agents, that erery means were taken to ex* cite the public discontent against hira ; the power of Henry, however^ was his protection ; and it is said that Cranmer^ of all that monarch's favourites, was the only one for whom be pre* served a sincere respect to the very last.
During this period, the faction which opposed him had so far lost sight of propriety as to bring charges against him in Parliament, which they could find no person willing to under- take except Sir John Gostwike, Knt. ; and this perfton ventured lo accuse hiui of preaching heresy at Sandwich in Kent, When the king was acquainted with this, '• How comes Gostwike,^* said he, " who dwells in Bedfordshire, or Buckinghamshire, to hear my lord of Canterbury preaching in Kent ? Go !*' added he to a gentleman of the privy chamber, '* and tell him, that if he does not go to the archbishop, and reconcile himself to bim, 1 will pluck his goslin's feathers so, that he shall never again have au heart to slander our metropolitan, of any other learned ninii."
On the death of Henry^ and the accession of the youthful Edward, he performed the coronation o(Iicc ; and was soon aftet appointed with other bishops to compose the homilies ; the act of Parliament .ilsu for the Common Prayer took place through his recommendation and intluence. But having joined the party of Lady Jane Grey,* on the demise of the young monarch, the ruling powers caused hira lo be committed to the tower, i\nd attainted of high treason, for which, however, he obtained
a pardon
* Thts \at\y*i proper nam« wts Dudle^t »> ihm wife of Lr^rd ODildford Duilley; it i^ curiuai thai hUtorinm »h««i}U, notwithttsndtnfr always d«fl(ig- nate ber by het maiden name.
KOTTIMOBAMSHIKE*
f»
a pardon from Mary. Yet he was immediately after conveyed to Oxford, and condemned for herc.^^y, for denyijig transubstan- tiation, and the propitiatory sacrifice of the mass, or in other words a repetition of the sufferings of Chrift in an ordinance which Christ himseif told us was only a tememhrancc of him. After condemnation, he was induced to sign a recantation ;
, but having nobly dented his crrofi and withdrawn that confes- sion, he was condemned to the stake, at which be sulFered oi^ ^ the 21st of March 1550.
To this he was brought witHont any official notice^ though he had reason to expect it ; and when tied to it was obliged ta listen to all the charges and aspersions of Dr« Cole : but Craiv mer boldly replied, '* 1 believe every word and sentence taugbt by our Saviour Christ, his apostles, and the prophets of the Old and New Testament^ but as to the pope, I refuse him
^ as Christ's enemy, or Antichrist, with all his false doctrine; s/"^ So great was his sorrow for his recantation* and ^a determined was his spirit at the last hour, that he calmly held his right hand in the fLimes till it dropt oiY, paying* *' this hand has offended ;" and this h«s was enabled to do^ as his exeeii- tioQer!i had taken care to keep up a slow Hre^ in order that be
I f^hould suffer the utmost pain of his punishment, as a proof
^ of their regard for Christian mcrcicM*
It has been stated, that after his whole body had been reduced to ashes, ^iiis heart was found entire, and untouched by the Are, which by some of the bystanders was considered as an argu- ment in favour of his hearty love of the truth ; whilst others looked upon it as a proof of the heretical obduracy of that vital part« which would not yield even to the warm argument of a blaj&i ng Catholic fire!
Elton, near Whatton, has so little lo be noticed, that we only mention it in order to add another instnnce to the many which prove bow necessary it is, that precautions sbould al- ways
« We do not wisti to estublisH a new age c»f miracles ; but mcreVj gire(l># passage Ifoin Bifhop Godwin'i worlc^ " Be Pra;tutibiit| p* J03/'
$24
TTOTTllfOnAlfSHIRir.
way§ be taken with respect to fire arms ; not a footish fear vhich will often produce the evH it wishes to avoi<V. but a coo! camion whfch shall point out the neceiisary guards against acci- dent, Mr. Throsby records this curious circumstance^ which took place here in 1784| when a blacksmith had purchased ^^M a piece of iron about two feet long, and an inch and a lialf ia ^B diameter, apparently solid^ and which had been used a^ a pestle in a family J upwards of sixty years* The workman having aome doubts, however, about its solidity, put it into his fire, when it exploded with great force; and a musrjuet ball from within it grazed his side, and lodged in some coals behind bim* This led to further examination and enquiry when it was discovered to have been a gun barrel dug up in the year 1723, but so completely (i)led with earth and rust that nor cavity had ever, till then, been noticed,
Granrv lies two miles to the south of Elton, and on the I borders of Lincolnshire, but is remarkable for nothing more than giving the litle of marcjuis to the Rutland family, whose ancestor Sir John Manners, purchased it from L4>rd Viscount Savage, to whom it had been granted by Henry the Bevenlli, after the attainder of Henry Lord Lovel, of whose unhappy I and mysterious fate we sltall take some notice under llie head of Stuke near Newark.^
WivEnroN, though possessing few remains of its ancient gran-
I deurt is still mtereMing even in its present dilapidated and de*
[ populated state. The Hatl %vas built by the Cha worth family
! in the reign of flenry the sixih^ and the house was sutlTiciently
» in the castelfaled style to be a garrison during the civil wars;,
I since that period, howerer, it has fiu(T*ered much ; and even iti
Thoroton*s lime, little was left but the ancient gste house, of
which he has given a plate* This is now almost in ruins, stand*
[ingin the open fields near Trthby village, a solitary memo-
j f ial of departed gramleurj of ancient hospitality, and of all
this once happy delights of domestic sociability.
9 LhuaMt^
* Hail. Colt. S6S.
NOTTIKOMAMftfJI&B.
255
I I
I
I
Langar^ was the seat of Earl Howe^ and is now in the pos* session of his descendanbi la the female line* *' Here was an ancient house now re-editied by Hen. ho* Scroope^ Lord and owner hereof, whose ancestor married one of the daughters af the Lo* Tiptoft; and the Rhodes were Lords hereofj immedi- ately after the time of the CoiiqueHt."*
Thoroton says^ '^ the whole lordships of Langar and Bar- niston are become the possession of Mr. Howe, who has made a convenient park of the closes which he halh found nigh the house, which is well stocked with deer, much better than the towns are with peoplei when so considerable parts of the fields are enclosed : the too common fate of good land in this country/' Without combating Dr. Thoroton's deductions about incbsures, it is enough to mention that part of the old houses which he describes^ still remains at the back of the new part of theedihce. It stands close by the church, and has a communi- cation witb it, and though now long deserted and of course pos- •easing little of modern elegance in the interior, yet the antique portion may be considered a& gti'ing some insight into ancient manners* The modern front has a very handsome portico sind pediment, with six lofty Ionic pillars the height of the house, which is three stories; and the gardens, though much negtectedv might with little troubk be rendered extremely pleajiing.
The church is dedicated to St. Andrew, and consists of a nave and two side aisles ; it has also a tower of not very an- cient workmanship, with a ring of ftve bells. It contains many monuments of the Lords Scroope, &c» particularly one very elegant one^ ornamented in the richest sepulchral styles of Lord Scroope who died in the year 1609^ with his lady.
The parsonage house is excellent of its kind; and has a Vol. XII. P very
• In the introductory part of lUc county, we hiVc not noticed Laugar and Granhy us giving noble litJes; but tb<r reason of tbb is evident, ai the object there wa* to ootico ouly tbow which give the tupfrUtr title, by wUtcb eich poiseMor i* knowti.
1M9
VOTTIVGSAMSiriKE.
very good observatory erected in 1797 by Mr. Gregory the rector^ who was very partial to astronomical pursuits.
We now proceed to Newark Hundred, and conftmence wi4b tbe town of
Newark,
Of which old honestj but Drunken Bamahy sings «
'^ Thence to Ncwtrk. flocnl surfowodod.
Where I hoping mast, were drained j
Hsad Co hand t straightwii^s shortd«
To a cdUr ricblj ilored ;
Till tuBpGctcd for a pkklock^
Tho beadle led mc to tbe whip stock/'
Later tourists, however, have been more hospitably treated^ and of cciurse speak better of the accommodations.
Arthur Young sayg, it " h a very pretty and well built town ; remark when you see it, particularly the steeple, which, for 9ome miles aroundj appears very light and beautiful : there is likewise a new street worth viewing; although ihc houses are very small, yet each side of the street forms but one front, and is in a very pretty neat InsteJ* Bibdin also in his musical tour seem^i though a vagrant melodist, to have been on better terms with the parish beadles than poor Barnaby, and therefore laya that it " is a clean, handsome, improving town, and seems to look more like the land of the living than any place in the county. The market place is very handsome and spacious. It is full of bustle, being on the great north road; and it boasts a vicinity full of spirit and importance." With respect lo the an* iifuity of Newark, Throsby, as well as some other aotiquaries* looks for " Ad Pontetn" here ; but Mr. Dickinson^ as we shall presently have occasion to shew more at length, endea- vours to fix that station at Southwell.**
Thai
* The county of Nuttiugliam, and the kingdom at large» are under gi tfbtigatiouft to ^r. Dickiiiaoa for his antiquarian researches and modern dell< neatti^nt ; and wt cannot omit a fact niticb to the credit of the candour and hherali ty of that gcuilumap, that he haj dedicated hts hookt with juit dtscri- ttinatiou, to one who liad been hi< political oppoucnl on many ocGationat
leHi^^
VOTTlNGHAMSHtftE.
nr
That Newark, however, was a Roman ftation in now beyond a doubt. Stukely* in his Itinerary, says that it was certainly raised from the neighbouring Roman cities, and has been walled about with their remains; and he adds, thai the northern gate was composed of stones seemingly of a Roman cut ; and not improbably the Romans themselves had a town hereabouts^ for many antiquities are found about it, especially by the Fosse side which runs through the town. Hor^ley also is pretty much of the same opinion ; for he says, in his observations on the sixth iter of Antoninus,* "The station AdPontera, is only seven itinerary miles from Margidunnm* which distance is not quite sufficient to bring us from Bridgeford quite up to Newark— this therefore obliges us to look for Ad Poutcm, two or three miles from the middle of Newark. I make no doubt but that this large town has arisen out of the ruins of Ad Pontem on one side, and Crocolana on the other. The name " Newark/* which irn* plies aome prior building of greater antiquity, may perhaps refer to those Roman stations on each side of it/*
Mr. Dickinson's recent observations are even more to the point. He says^ that it requires little sagacity to discover that New -work, (the obvious signification of its present name, and that by which it has been distinguished in history, &c. ever since the reign of Edward the Confessor,) is a name of reference, of comparison, and of discrimination. If what was then erected was called the New- work, it is an incontrovertible admission that there wat something older, on which the modern establishment was en- grafted, but 3tilL that is enveloped in the obscurity of untiquity He then notices, thnt Stukely with great acumen shews the probability, and almost certainty, that this was the Sidnaceaster of old, once a bishopric in the early days of Christianity, hav* tng had a succession of nine bishops. Though these walls and gates are now down, yet tliey have been shewn by Stukely and others to have been formed of Roman materials; and innu- merable quantities of Roman coins, and other antiquities, have
P 2 been
• Honlrj'f BriCaDt Rom. p. 4J9.
2tfl
KOTTfirOBAnSIirEt.
been found here. Stokely atso thinks that the Roman itQfbe wasEitarona; and he addi* that Mr, Baxter has placed it al» most beyond contradiction, that the Roman name of the Trent was Tatus, or AbuM as sortie hare thought^ and which we hare allijded to in the early part of this county. That branch new called the Trent^ and passing under the w^Wa of the castle^ Stukely also calk the rirer DaTon or Ta?on« a.<iserling that tt is not the Trent, bat the united streams of the Da? on and SDtle* From these circumstances, Sttikeley draws his conclusion of Sidnaceasttr being the modern Newark; and he adds, that the Roman town being destroyed by the Scots and Picls after the departure of that people, it was refounded by the Saxons, who to the name of the river Suite on wiiich it stands added the ter* mination " Ceaster^' to markitsliaving been a Roman italion, llnis forming Sidnaceasier. After this, Mr. Dickinson con* oatves it highly probable that the Danes may have destroyed the Saxon refounded city, and hence iVht^-work was justly ap- plied to it in the reign of Edward the confessor* Camden, in* deed, carries its antiquity no higher than the time of Alexander* bishop of Lincoln, who built the present castle; but in this he confines himself solely to the building as it then stood.
To detail the history of Newark from its re- edification would be little more than a recapitulation of great part of the his- tory of Englaml; a few facts, howevert desenre partlcula? notice*
This place was the scene of king John's death; those who wish to enquire particularly into the fact of his being poisoned or nat, may consult the fuurth volume i>( the Archatoiogia, p. 29, where they will End a long letter of Mr. Pegge*s upon that sab- jecu
James the first arrired at Newark, on his way to London, on the 2l8tof April ltK>2, on which occasion he was received by the corporation, and addressed by the alderman^ (there being then no mayor,) Mr. John Twentyman, in a Jong Latin speech, witit which his Miijetity was so well pleased^ that he conferred
upoa
fipon him the off ce of purr^yor of wax la ihc loysil household, in ihe counties of Notu, York, LiiKoln^ and Derby. WUeii about to depart, James ordered him to repeat the speech, llten asked hh name ; and on being told, replied sharply, *' then by my saul man ihou art a tray tor; the Tu'eutymans pulled down Redkirk in Scotland/^ This, however^ must have been in jetitt as he coniinued hi| &Your to hm, and was oflea accompanied by him in hts hunting excursions m\ ihe forest.
In the unhappy reign of Charles the first, Clarendon says that Newark became a very necetMtary garrison in the county of Nottingham ; and had not only subjected that little comity^ the town of Nottingham only excepted^ which was upon ihf manner confined within its own wallsj but had a greftt part of the county of Lincoln under contribution,*
ThorotQu speaking of those times^ of which we may almost
If onsider him as an eye witness, saya that Newark was one of the
aost considerable garrimns the king had, ia which the loyalty
id courage of the townsmen were ever remarkable, and suf-
[^ciently manifested in all their three sieges f at the first of
iwbich Sir John Henderson, %he prudent governor^ caused all
[JTorthgate and the Spiral (an hospital of St. Leonard of Slokf)
|o be burned, '^yet the remains ftirmed a reccpiacle fui Ihe
lienemy at the second siege, where Prince Rupert took a goodly
train of artillery which I &aw,t together with their foot arms,
^ when he so fortunately relieved the tovni then under the
^ government of Sir Hichard, now Lord Byron: but before the
ihird^ there was not one stone left unt brown down, and in oc
P 3 near
^ Id the tacond vol. of ClBrendon, page 25^ are some stories of tlie unmh Hngncssor people in litis couiUj to k*nd money to the king j but wln>» m ke ob&erves, miglithjive fiaalljF «aved hoih their m<Micy And c»tiit(?f. One tii pur- ticular, he mentloaB, who was aiked for a loin of hOOL «(td prstriited \mL ftwearing he had never teen f»0€l. of his own money Mt one lime in his life ; "yel a few weeks after the ParliamcuUnwi army borrow^ 50001. which tliey found bid in hii bedchamber*
^ f Claraodon 3my% 4000 priioD^n^ cleTea bia^t cumoni two mortar pieflt4» And liTA barrcli of puwd«r.
iSd VOtTIVaHAVSHlRS;
near the place a strong fortification raised in Sir Richard Wil- lis's time, (as I remember) and called the king's sconce, which, by his Majesty's special command then in the Scots quarters on the north side of the rirer Trent, was about the sixth of Bfay 1646, with the town and castle and the rest of the fortresses, con- eluded by commissions of the Right Honourable John Lord Bellasis the last go? emor, to be surrendered the Saturday fol* lowing, though it is said, that Mr. Smith, the Taliant mayor, upon his lordship's communicating to him the king's order, urged the gofemor with tears, to trust God and sally, rather than think of yielding the town, which indeed at that time suf- fered more by the plague within than the enemy without"
The Beacon Hill was the scene of this action between Prince Rupert, and the Parliamentarian army under Sir John Mel- drum; and a MSS. recorded by Mr. Dickinson, says ««the t>rince advanced up the hill, at the descent whereof he espies four bodies of horse standing in readiness to recei?e him; and charging and it^uting these horse, drore them quite put of the field beyond their own work, foot and cannon, some into the island, and others to Muskham bridge, pursuing them with that expedition, that he besieged them in their own intrenchment at the Spittle with his horse, before his foot came within four pailcs."
During the second siege in 16<14, an extraordinary circum- stance is related to have taken place of one Clay, a trades- man of some eminence residing in the market square, who, as is recorded on his monument in the church, is said to have dreamed three successive times in one night, that his house was in^flames. At the conclusion of the last dream he got up much confused, and caused his whole family to leave the house ; very soon after which, a bombshell from Beacon hill fell on his habi- tation, and, passing through every floor, was set on fire.
Much gallantry was displayed during the third siege ; and it has been particularly recorded, that on the first of January 1645, the Newarkersmadea most determined sally upon Poyntz's
quarters
irOTTIIIOHAM9HTR«.
fai
If narters at Stoke« and killed and took above SCO of his men; but the most effectual atrack was on the lirst of April in the £ame year, when they killed and drowned several hundred of the t;nemy*s choice troops, and took so many prisoners, that their nunibers caused great sickness in the town. It has been asserted, that Newark might have sustained the siege many months longer ; but^ as has been before noticed, it was sur- rendered to the Scots army, by the king's order, on the 19th of May 1645-6. Mention about this lime is made of a memora- ble gentleman volunteer, Mr, Gawen Rutherford^ who well de* serves to be held m everlasting remembrance for his loyalty; " for having twenty-nine children by one wife, he irooptd under his twenty ^evemh child, who was a commander for hi^ Majesty at Newark**'
Of the state of Newark at the close of the last siege, we may form a good idea from the MSS, already noticed as preserved by Mr. Dickenson, " the ladies and gentlemen did much de- sire the surrender to be speeded as much as could be, longing for their enlargement, which occasioned the surrender a day sooner than by the articles was agreed. And truly it is become a miserable, slinking, infected town. I pi ay God, they do not infect the counties and towns adjacent— they carried not much out of the town, for they had hot very few carriages/'
After the surrender, the country people were ordered to come with pick axes, shovels, &c. to demolish all the work^ and circumvallation ; but one of the sconces has been left entire, and gives a good idea of the state of warfare at that time. It is extremely small, and consists of five bastions, being a pentagon, but these are so near to each other, that the curtines are scarcely half pistol shot in length, contrary to the usual scale which always allows two rausquet shot between the retiring (lanks of two bastions : and, being fortified on the fieldlace as well as towards the town, shews that the assailants were not without their apprehensions that some attempt to raise the siege might cause an attack upon their own works,
P 4 Sine
Since the HeralutioD« little remains to be noticed, exce|>tt progre^ife improvement in trade^ manufactures^ andopD]eaoe; the leading poiotR of wbicb will be detailed under their r^spec> live heads in the description of the place*
The whole p:»rish of Ne^i ark contains about 80Q acres. Some changes with res|»eci to its boundaries, however, must hare taken place: for Mr. Dickenson fells us, that anciently the Trent pas&ed near to the town about 350 yards distant from the castle, where the bed of the old river is very apparent, and is to this day called the ** Old TrenL'* Where the main stream now runs by Kelham^ there was a small brook which not being sufficient for the various purposes of the Sutton family, resident there, a cut was made from the Trent to the brook which gave ra turn to the whole current, probably aided by the obstruction rhich the mills at Newark must be supposed to occasion: it there forced its way and formed that channel which is now seen* An island has thus been formed, which is remarkably fine feeding land for cattle; there is aljK> under the upper stra- tum of gravel a bed of clay extremely useful for the making of bricks.
It is a curious fact, that although the number of inhabitants* and consequently the number of dwellings, are increased in a great proportion, even within the last two centuries, yet the ichnography of the town, according to Mr. Dickinson, appears to have undergone no alteration. Northgate^ indeed, whick now forms a part of the town, appears in former times to have been only a hamlet ; for it is in many places called " Norihgat juxta Newark."
Th*! Sirceu of Newark are now kept in a very respectable con«| dition: yet, according to the before mentioned authority^ whici we shall often have occasion to quute, this improvement is bill of late dale, although an act of Parliament for paving them was passed in the 27th of Queen Elizabeth. It was nut, howeveti until the middle of James's reign, that even the paving of thi market place was begun, and that only a causeway six fe*
9 broai
4
I
I
irOTTlNGBAfttSlUEB*
sas
broad from the weat corner of the market place to the south porch of tlie church. At that tiwe there was a cross in the ceotre of the market square, on which was cut the name of the undertaker of the work, and the date (H, W. 1619) forHeory Webster.
TheQ\srLE2,ndilB precinct, though within the borough of Newark, are in the parish of Stoke. It was built, or re-edified^ in tlie reign of Stephen, by Alexander, bishop of Lincotn, and its o/^f name of A>u;-work still preserved** Henry of Huntingdon^ in speaking of this, acknowledges thai this kind of military erections were even at that time deemed rather improper for an ccclesiaatlc to engage in; the pious bishop^ therefore, built two monasteries as an expiation. But though he might flatter him- •elf with thereby avoiding the pains and penalties of purgatory. It appears that Stephen was not so easily satisfied, but having seized both the bishop and his uncle, kept them in durance until they had surrendered to him all their fortresses. The governor of the castle refuged to deliver it to ihe king's oiBcers, without an order from the bishop iu person^ this, however, he waved, when be received notice from the bishop, that the king had made a vow that he should have neither meat nor drink until it was given up. In the days of iuhu, and in the baro- nial wars, it several limes changed hands* Whilst a royal garri* •on, the troops repeatedly sallied out, wasting the lands of the neighbouringrebetliousbarons;but the Dauphin of France, whom they had called in, in order to put a stop to the depredations^ Lordered Gilbert de Gaunt, whom he had lately created Earl of rXincolnj to proceed with a considerable force, either to re- duce it, or to repel the soldiers of the garrison. He, tiowever, having got intelligence of the king^s approach with a powerful Tarmy, retreated to London: but John, having in his march over the washa lost a part of his army together with his car- riages and military chest, who wt ro all surprized and over- whelmed by a rapid flood tide, he retired t» this castle ; and,
being • Vide Gfo»c'» Anti<iuitic*.
M%
HOTTlKGHAMSniKS*
being extremely sick and in violent angujsK of mint], here ended his unfortunate reign in 1316, the 19th of October, ^ 6(0 we adds, that immediately on his decease, his attendants#| afier taking all that wae about hiirij fled; not leaving so mach of any thing, worth the carriage, as would cover hisdea4| carcase^
The governor, Robert de Gangi, seems now to have given it up to the barons, for Henry the third, on bis accession, found it m i their hands: but he having directed it to be restored to the bishD{ft J of Lincoln^ De Gangi refused at first on pretence of money du4|i to him ; he was by force at length compelled to be content] with ihe payment of 100/* In 15'30, Cardinal Wokey lodged [ here with a great retinue, in his way to Southwell, where ho ' was acciislomed to spend part of the summer. The remainder 1 of its history may be considered as connected with that of the town, already recorded.
Though now in ruins^ it still presents an august appearance^ i wliich would be even much more so, were it not that its re* mains are applied to the purposej^of coal wharfs, stables &c« The north front over looking the river* is the most perfects j having a large square tower at the north east anglf;^ and another in the centre of the elevation. Between these great features^ in the principal story, and among some large magnificent win* dows, is an excellent projecting window, forming a perfect 1 ipecimen of those called baj/t, or bower a , in ancient times.
The general outline of the plan of the castle is square ; itsdi* mensions are very great; and the nunibcr of stories, by the ap* pearance of the north frontj seems at least to have been five* Within the exterior walls^ nothing remains; aud the plot has long been used as a bowling green. The vestiges of the great hallt shew evidently that it was built in later times^ from the manner in which the roof appears lo have been inserted into the walK; and in this hall, the before menlloned window seems to
have
• Vide PtifBUifs of Architectural Iniiovutioiis* t /Irchtfologin, Vol. VI. 321.
irOTTIKOHAMSHtEC*
25S
have been hangiag over the river, and even of later coQstruc* I iion, as it could not have been placed ihere> unul all the an- Icieixt modes of defence had become out of use.
Under this hall, is a most curious arched vault or crypt, sup* ported by a row of pillars in the middlej and having loops and embrasures towards the river in which were planted cannon in the civil wars. At the end of this vault, there are some remains of the entrance of a subterraneous passage, said to have gone m great wa%' under ground. There are also Home vestiges of a stair- case from the vault up to the halL Exclusive, however, of ibis hall and vault, what remains of the editice seems most evidently to continue precisely as it was in the days of king Stephen; and exhibits a curiou.^ specimen uf the odd mixture of old Norman architecture, and of these which bishop Gundulpb lirst intro- duced at Rochester castle.
The Bridge, which crosses the river close by the castle, was originally of wood, but pulled down in 1775 being then qalle ruinous; when Henry Duke of Newcastle caused one to bft erected of brick, fact-d with stone. A better idea of its appear-, ance may be formed from the accompanying plate than from ny description.
The Church has long been considered as the first parish I church in the kingdom. It is of the age of Henry the sixth, and rThoroton says *' yet 1 suppose it better than all the ten men- tioned in Domesday book, wliich I guess were not all in thit town, though in the Soc.'* It is indeed a noble edifice, its ex-* terior most superb ; mullions and tracery of excellent designs fill the windows; in difterent parts of the building are niches with statues, and other decorations; and there is perhaps no ecclesiastical edifice which contains such a number of ^hort ludicrous busts, forming spout heads, &c. except Magdalen college in Oxford. It is much to be lamented, indeed^ that the [buildings which surround it take olF mnch from the elFect which would otherwise be produced by a clear view of the edi^ fice. The other church having been destroyed during the civil
wart.
SeTTIKGllAUSHIEB.
fvmrf« lliis seems lo have had the undivided atteiiUao of succ^ed- hig generations for iu preaervaitoa and iniproYemenL The lower is light and handsome, possesRes much symmetry^ and htaelyj and has a peal of eight bells y it is much ornamented with arch vrork and imagery, and supports a lofky stone spire md^raed with the tweke apostles in niches, and which makes a f ery handsome show In approaching the town in all direc*^ lions.
The inside of the church has moch of a cathedral appearance ; butthenate is narmw and gloomy. The pillars are light and beautiful ; the choir is inclosed by a rich screen of wooden carved work, and has a spacious east aisle behind it. The aisles are lofty* and the pavement is covered with sepulchral memo* rials; besides which the numerous monuments vind brasses are in good preservation. The new galleries too add much both to the beauty and convenience of the building.
The windows have formerly been filled with painted glass, come of which are stilt in good preservation^ representing the va* rious events of our Saviour's life; the history of the New Testa* ment was formerly in the windows of the north aisle, and in the east window the history of Joseph. Besides these, here have been many armorial bearings of Deyncourt, Cromwell^ Tate* shall, Chaworth, Cakopt, Foljambe, Leek, Barry* &c.
Most of the iiuporLint monumental inscriptions may be found in Thorolon; we shall, however, briefly notice a curious brass ef an ecclesiastic, mentioned by Cough in his Sepulchral Mo- nurnent& It is on a large slab, at the entrance of the soutli traniicpi,* and contains the figure under n rich canopy of three arches with double rows of itainis round it. Over the saint^^
i angel sided by two naked hgures; under the two uppermost
aints kneel figures with labeU. Angds at the side of hts head
hold censers or lUuL He is in curled flowing hair, a long coat
with pocket holes in front, and over it a kind of mantle linetl
with something like minever, his sleeves are buttoned to tht
wristbandst * Strpu Icbral MoEtQisentt, Vul, L p« 185«
VOTTIXGaAMSniltE.
asf
wristbands, and fioin his conjoined hands falls a scroll inscribtfd *' Miserere mei, dotDine Dtus meus/' He has pointed sboes» ot balf boot9^ with a buckle or opening in the rnstep. Between his feet h represented a lion hunting. The whole ligure is much worn by trampling; but the tradition of the place is, tliat ikjs is the grave of Alan F/cmj/ztg, the founder of the churchy and of coarse the oldest one in it.
The communion plate is all of massy siWer, the gifls and IMS'* iguests of various individnaU; yet it is surprising, that when a most daring atiempt was made about seventy years ago to rob [the chufch, the thieves did not touch the plate« but seemed ifi" tent only on securing the money belonging to the corporationt which they supposed to be kept here in an iron cbei^t.
Of other Religious Foundations here was an Jiospiial, de- dicated to St, Leonard, founded by Alexander, bishop of Lin* coin,* in the latter end of the reign of Henry the fir&t^ or be- ginning of that of Stephen, and confirmed by his successor Philip. Perhaps^ this h the one said to have consisted of ft master, one chaplain, and three poor persons, with revenue! amounting to 18/.
Here were also a bouse ot Awtm/nan, mnd another ofOifstr^ \9itntfriarg; the friary seal was discovered some years ago, anil iits facsimile (a bust of the Madona and child) may be seen in iihe Gentleman's Magazine, Vol, 76, page 9 IS.
An ancient hospital for sick persons, belonging to the knight's templars, was founded here before 1185: and at the farther end of the Northgate street was a great house called tbe Spittle, burnt down, as already mentioned, in the civil wars.f
Here also were formerly a great house called the CAauniry iFreeschool, and a Song School at tbe north west corner of the I church -yard for an organist and six choristers.
The present GRA>iMAti School was f^sunded by Dr. Thomas LMagnus in 1529; as appears by an inscription over the door.
The
• Tanner's MoTtastlcon. t Soa« liAve considered tlili at th« HoipriEil of St. L«oa«T(i.
Si VOTTtKOQAUSlltltB.
The MwKET Place it a hamlsome square; but traditionalljr
I lEiid io he much smaller than it once was. It is related that ill
the civil wars no less than ten thousand men hate been drawn
up in it. All this^ however, must feem doubtful to any one wha
will examine the antiquity of the buildings which surround it#
the scite of the church and townhall^ of the inn, &c. when he
will scarcely find room for its ever having been more extensive
[than at present. Some, indeed* consider the doobJe row of
I buildings between the south side of the church and the market
I place, as an encroachment, and Mr. Dickinson is of the same
hepinion ; yet let the houses on that side next the Church be ex*
nined^ and it will perhaps appear that they are of an older
lAfktc than the middle of the seventeenth century.
The market on Wednesday ts well supplied with butcher's [meat J fishi poultry, and vegetables, &c.
The TmvNHALL ts a neat and even elegant building of stone«
[erected in 1805 by the corporation at an expense of 17000/.
f paid out of the funds of the tt^stamentary estates tell for the ad-*
vantage of the town. It stands in the market place, hasanar*
rowj t>ut light and airy front, and possesses considerable depth.
[•The basement h rustic; four handsome piHars support a pedi*
Blent ornamented with the corporation arms. On the top is a
Statue of Justice^ and the ballustradcs give it a handsome 6nish*
It is three stories high, and has seven windows in front. Here
are held the concerts and assemblies, and also all the corporate
meetings, &c.
' The Fairs are six in the year ; at which a considerable traf- fic is carried on in rattle of a!l kinds. The dates are, Kirst on Friday before Careing Sunday, or Sunday before Easter; se- cond May 14ili, or day after, if Sunday ; third Whitsun Toes* r day ; fourth Liinunas, or Maudlin fair, on August the second, [or if on Sunday ihe day after; fifth All Saints fair, 1st of No- iTeroher ; sixth St, Andrew's, on the Monday before December [the llth.
The Editor of these sheeli', when at Newark, was a 3qy ajicr
the
the fair; but Mr, Dickmson^ he finds, complains that great an- Doyance is given to travellers and lo the inhabitants themselvef, in consequence of the mart for horses being held on the great London road at the southern extremity of the town ; and thai for cattle and shetsp, on the spacious area which composes the entrance from the elegant bridge northward of it ; whilst those filthiest of all animals, swine, are posted on the causeways near ihe fronts of the houst^s in the principal streets. Some me» Itoration of these nuisances has^ we believe^ taken place since Mr. Dickinson wrote.
In IStK)^ an annual cheese market was established here, to be held on ihe Wednesday preceding the second of October,
The Manufactures of Newark are extensive: at ihc south end of the town, a cotton mill has been erected of con- siderable size, from which a great number of poor derive a comfortable subsistencct When Sir F. M, Eden wrote his work on the poor, he states the cotton business to have been th^n the principal one here ; and adds that a mill for making cotton thread for the hosiers gave employment lo upwards of JOO, chiefly women and children, earning from one to five shillings per week.
In North gale, there is a very large Brewery, where a great trade was carried on for many years with the northern parts of Europe, until such a heavy duty was imposed on the impor- tation of British beer by the Russian government, as to ajnount almost to a prohibition. Since that event. It is pleasing to un- derstand that the propietors have cultivated a trade at home with no less assiduity than success.
The Workhouse is one uf the be&t in the kingdom. It is sufficiently capacious and well aired ; and the sexes very judi- ciously separated, on the two sides. Edtn speaks of it ^ as being well supplied with vegetables from a good garden, and in all other respects, both within and without, exhibiting a de- gree
* Vide Sir Frederick Mortoa Edcn't vtty volutble work on the Stite of th« Poor,
iW
twotnyciTAiiinfic.
gree of comfort aii^! ot^Aimm m^Aom ta be act wiA* Be gUttdet to a nioft libml wrmtgemaUt of m few ai^afftaMV^ tter tiedtrr th&n tbe reitt appointed fiir the receptieii of i
pemm* ms hsre been imfivrtiiiiAlely (irtcipiceieil firom an esey ^ .Hftlfon in h(e, to ibe bimiiUatiiig conditio of sdbsieting oq « Ipwochial allowance : and be adds that tbeir iilaalion receiTes
erery aitenibn tbat homaoity coold dictate. This was polK I Ibhed »omc few yeart ago j but, on recent enqaiiy, we find the
tame reputable ccndoct to be adhered io, and eYen improved
on«
In 1794, when Sir F. Eden wrote, the industry or the poo- \ I per« also was well attended to ; some of ibe children were
ployed at the cotton mill ; others permiued to engage in soch
work as »ttited them tn different parts of the town ; and tbe
l^own people allowed two-pence in the shitltngoQt of their ' imingB. At that period the annual expense was opwards of
The badge, as appointed by tbe act of William the third, ts worn by ihe paupers ; but on its tiaring been laid aside some years ago, the paupers increased so much, that it waa toon re^ '
I ftored, and it was then found that several persons who ha«l • liefore made regular applications to the parish immedtatety declined asking for relief! The donations and charities are mostly under the direction of the corporation, and there has been of late years about 190/. per annum arising from these distributed amongst the poor in money, coals, corn, bread, &c* to wbich we rau^i add the very liberal subscriptions in winter and in times of scarcity to relieve the distresses of those •easons. There are two hospitals, or almshouses, for the re- ception of 14 decayed tradesmen, and 10 widows; one of these was fuunded by alderman WillUam Phil pott, who left ample
( possessions for its support.
But the Labouring Poor have perhaps done more for their own support, in ibis place, lliaii in any other town in ij^e king* dom, as they have no less than ten friendly societies, wUicK
even
KOTTIKGHAHSHIAE*
Ui
tven some years ago consisted of WO merabers* Some of their
Regulations too are excellent ; no relief is given if the cause
>f distress arises from qtiarrelling or from vicioua habiu ; and
any member spend ing» at one sittings more than twopence in
Bin alehouse, is expelled.* If these, or similar regwlalionsj
^were to be well attended to, there would seldom be occasion
for a Town Gaol : from the size of this one, indeed, we may
imagine that it is bnt seldom wanted. When the benevolent
[Howard was here, it was merely a place with two rooms arched
Lfrith brick, the largest up stairs^ IS feet by 1 1 ; but as the two
rindows looked towards the street, he complained that no
l^uard could be put against the admission of spirituous liquors ;
nor was there either courts wateri or sewer, for the conve-
[lieiice of the prisoners. Some melioration has, since that,
aken place.
The Population of Newark is estimated in 1795 by Sir Frederick IVL Eden, at 7000, consisting, as he describes theni, > of tradesmen, inn-keepers, and a few gentlemen of independent fortnne. If he was correct, it has increased very little in a icour^e of 17 years; for by the census of last year (181 1) It tappears that there are only S3 19 males, and 3917 females, mak- ing a total of 7*236 ; and that these form 1595 families, inhabiting l1465 houses, with 12 houses building, and IS uninhabited. It i may seem strange to see innkeepers specified a?* making a dis- Itinct branch of the population ; but it must be recollected that IKewark is a principal station on the great north road^f The VouXIL Q inns
• Yet m 11 9^ ilicrc were 49 alchoutea in Newark ; we belief e the ivtiiu- ^%er ii not diminished.
t Tlie north road nmning througli Uiit town bciag a cauw of great ijjflux Lfi »rrangers, it l)a» long been a matter of iiirereit nitli the inhttbituntt to tender ii eo mm odious. That part of it, Bcro» the vule of Trent, (tn length atiom three roilci) being subject to it^undat'um* of the rirer, and often from that circamftance haying been im|>a^iable» the mliabitnnts at length came to ihu piibhc ipiiited resolution of tnakmg k turnpike road, lo high and tub- f tanttal a» to be patied with safety in the greatest flood*. Under the rond in
man^
ffOTflllGMAliSUl
inns abo s&re of great antiquityj and it h singular ibat llie %r«- cm's had has existed as an iim ever since ihe days of Edward the third ; this k proved by aseriea of conveyances and deeds: and the antiquity of another^ almost contiguousi is ascertaintid by the deed of Adam Creymers de Newark and Amicia hii wife^ who gave to their »oti Walter all that house known " by the name of the White Hart, in the market stede, and passing backward to the street called Carttir Gale/' temp. Hen. 4, The antiquity of the Sv;an and Salmon also, near to the castle^ is ai* certaiiied as far back ai* Henry the eighth*
Mere are Subscription Dance and Card assemblies held at ' tjhe Town lull ; the Assembly Room is handsomely finished with Corinthian pilasters^ and a rich coved ceiling. At one end of Uiis^ the sessions are occasionally held ; and at tb« other the corporation meet to transact public business. Upon the wholet the state of social manners in Newark is agreeable : how much of it is owing ta the remembrance of an early ex* ample, we shall leave to the Bcnedicis to determine ; but there is a little anecdote told of queen Henrietta Maria who came here in the civil wars^ for the support of the royal cause, witb an army under the command of Colonel Jermyn. Here shfj remained a few days, and treated the ladies of the place an4 neigbbourhootl hi ^uch a courteous aud agreeable manner, tha they pressL-d her much lo stay with thtiiii^ until the troop were in posses*ion of NoUingham, Her Majesty replied, tha she was under the command of the king, and was about march by his ordt^r to another place ; but although she could not coniply with their requeit, she^ by her obedience, would set them an example to obey thtir husbands. It is not reconled that she had absolutely any reason tu think such an example , necessary ; yet we think it possible that there may be towns in
the
many places are srcltec neatly bailt of brick, intended to eirry o([ ttie wutcr without overflowing tljc rrmd ; there is a bridge utso near the town Coristructed for the a^me pur|iQ»Cj upuu Ituid too^tly dry, coiuiiting of uiiic htij tccbci
VDTTDfOUAHaDtBE.
14J
the kingdom in which some of the genlleraen would be happy^ if her Majesty had paid ih«n a visit also,*
Here h an AcaicutTURAL Meeting which has been attend- ed with much beneftt to the neighbouring counties*
The Parliamentary and Municipal History of this town present some scenes of an agrtemcni to disagree, which are by uo means conducive to the comfort of the place. Real pro- perty is much diffused in the town, in consequence of which it has always possessed great weight in county eleccion^^ The number of freeholders is of late much increased from the divi« 81 on and sale of property, but the duke of Newcastle, lord Middleton, and Sir J* W. Gordon, Bart, arc the greatest indi- vidual proprietors In the parish. In consequence too of such large sums of public money being at the disposal of the trus- tees for the various bequests, thi're have been of late years the most violent contests for the office of church warden; the partisans have been diHtinguiBhed by red and blue ; and it is whispered that instances have taken place of three guineas being paid for a vote.
No great diHerences^ however, have taken place on religious points, for there are not more than a fourth or filth of the in- habitants who dissent from the esiablishmenl. These are either CalvinisLs, or Methodists; and each have a place of worship, Oldfield, in his *' History of Boroughs/* tells us that a con- test had existed here above a century, between those who were taxed, and those who were not taxed, but who were of sulBcient ability to be charged scot and lot ! These latter, however, had iheiv hard com taken into consideration ; and in 1G9£^ the House of Commons came to a resolution, that all who paid, or ought to pay, had a right to vote at elections: yet in a resolution, in 1791* the words " ought to pay" were omiiled | but we have not heard of any comjdaints of late years, of being exempt from taxes f The families of Newcastle and Rutland may be
Q ^ supposed
• Mr. Hartod, a modcra topogtapfber. givei ihis rtory an c»rlicf OTijTa ; and carriei it back to tlie time ^f Heorjr rb« thiid.
?44
irOTTlNGHAMSirrRV.
supposed to have some influence here, the one, from property in the town; the other, kom landed property in the vicinity. An oppositJtin, however, has long exrated, at the hcjid of uhich of late years haa been Mr, Dickinson Rastall, the antiquary and topographer, whose liberal character and conduct, we have l>een given to understand, have prevented an overflow of party spirit on more occasions than one, and to whom therefore, though personally unknown to us, we are happy to pay an humble tribute of just praise.
Newark is the last borough in England w*hich received a chartered right of representation, so late aji the 99th of Charles the second. The electors consist of the mayor, 12 aldermen, IS assistants, and about 735 others,*
As, far back as 153^2, a donation was bequeathed by Robert Brown, to be applied *• whether in the reparation of the church, or any good works to be done in the town '/* there are also se* vera I others, and the whole are now regulated by an order of chanc«:jy» The trustees have done much for the town, from their increase, in repairing the church, paying the streets, building the town ball, and supporting the poor ; all without parish rates, and sanctioned by an act in 1773. The estates principally lie in Everton parish; and, instead of being a job, are now let to the best bidders, and, if we are correctly inform- ed, amount in the whole to near 3000/. per annum.
The ViciNiTv of Newark in its immediate outskirts has been much cat up by military w^rks in the civil wars^ many traces of wbicb remain ; and the stranger will not neglect to visit the Beacox Hill, wUere thtre are Mime very extensive quarries of gypsum, once extolled as a manure^ but said by Mr. Lowej in his " Agricultural Survey/' to have been attended with •* Imd succ€4s^'' in this neighbour Ivood*
In
• The Triiilatioft of Sif Kichard St. George, Norroj ki»g «t arms, m 1614, iHiw in the Hftrl. Cal. H00> coiiUhis nnny particulars respecting the cotf^o- r«iinu. The corporate unus, given b^ EUsabeUi, ure considered by Mr. Die^* toioD^ ij UJustmtive of \he fimUtcs Iheo posscstiitg iiifioeitceio tbe place.
w
In the BioGRAFtiY of Newarlr^ we inusl not forget Tkam^ Magnus, who, by an old tradition recorded by Fuller, is said i<f have been found in the church porch, and therefore called by the people, *• Thomas among Us :** but it appears to be olbrr- ivise from his deed of settlement, (when Archdeacon of the east Riding of Yorkshire, and Warden of Sibthorpe College,) in which he mentions several of bis family. "Itsoundeth much in his praise," says Fuller, "that he forgot not bis gratitude to thetoi«niof his nativity, where he erected a fair school with other benefactioit6. He Bourished, as 1 take it, under Henry the eighth/'
John Lightfoot, D,D. chancellor of Cambridge, and vrcll knownj by his Hebrew and Rabbinical learning, was born herein 1602; but hb life is not sufficiently interesting to re- quire further notice.
At CoDDjNGTON, on the S(cf{ford road, ts a handsome stat of S. C. Colclougb, Esq, but this neighbourhood is most remarka* ble for Brough, which Stukely calls the undoubted Crocohna of the Romans, lying three miles north of Newark. He de* rive« this name from the qoantitiet» of wild salFron, {Krokois, in the Greek, and British £Aan, an enclo!«ure,) but thisis fanciful, as well as Baxter^s idea of Orug, a healh. All traces, howcM*er, of the city are gone, except the straighrne«s of the roads and bye lanes, with repeated discoveries of coins, much rusty iron, and iron ore, which is thought by Stukelcy to prove the exist* encc of antient forges here. He adds *' the old landlady at the little alehouse, which is the only house there, till Tom Cope's and another were lately built, (1724), says that where her fire place is the cross once stood, and that the nliole \& fairy ground, and very lucky to live on/'
Barnbt IH THE Willows, is a smaff place on the borders, with a small church; and BALi>EftT0N about two mil ei front Newark, where there is a handsome seat of Joseph Sykes, Vsq* though a large village on the great north road, is only remark- able for a most curious Saxon porch to the church, richly
Q "1 wrought
ti6
VOTTIHGBAMi^niRS.
wronght wilh zig zag iDoiildingt and oxes heads ;* and for a curious epitaph on Anne Lake in IfiGO which says that
- (he was sent
In virgin cojrne to pay dame D«ture*i rent,**
and concludes >ith asserting what some may he dbpo5«fd to al- loWj that
" The iicxl to the martyr'i, » the virght*s place 1**
Hawton* a small Tillage, south of Newarkf with its chorch surrounded by trees^ presents a very picturesque appearance ; but unfortunately most of the ancient monamental figures de* scribed by Thoroton^ principally of the Moiyneux family, to* gether with the armorial glass, are now in a state of dllapidalod mutilation and destructive fracture* The stalls in the chancel are rich in decorations of carving ; but some of the designs are too grossly indelicate for preservation.
Staunton lies about seven miles S. S. E- of Newark, and ih« same distance to the north east of Bingham; and ij* situated in thevsile of Belvoir, at the extremity of the county, adjoining Lincolnshire and Leicestershire, about two miles from Long Benningtun^ through which the north road parses, and is 1^ miles from London,
The lordihip of Staunton contains LlOO acres of land, and was inclosed in the year 1760. The soil is clay, which pro* duces good wheat and beans, and excellent grazing ground : there is a quarry of exceeding good stone in the parish, hav- ing three strata; the tirst is thin and shivery; only fit for tiie top dressing of roads; the second is a hard blue stone, proper lor building and burning into lime, which ts equal in quality to the Barrow lime in Leicestershire, being impervious to water; and the third stratum is a large flooring stone, u.«ed by the in* habitants in laying the floors of their dwellings; it has also been known to polish f^^r chimney pieces. As the lime is so very .similar in quality to the Barrow lime, it is supposed that
the
• Of thh a plaie roaj be seen in the Gcnt.'i Mtg, faU 16* |v ^i%,
1?0TTIHGnAH9BIllK«
547
the same strata of stone run from Barrow through Staunton to Beacon hiU near Newark.
StauiiLoLi belonged to two maiden ladies, Anne and Emma, the only surviving daughters of J oh Staunton Charlton^ Esq. who served in Parliament for the borough of Newark for many years* He was the last male heir of this most ancient family j and died in January 1777. His father was Gilbert Charlton^ second son of Sir Job Charlton^ of Ludford in the county of Hereford, baronet; and his mother Anne, the eldest daughter ot Harvey Staunton* Esq, whose ancestors have been in possession of this place^ from the time of the Saxon?! in 10G6. This union trans- ferred the Staunton estate to the CUarlioniS^ and upon the death of Anne^ the eldest and iast surviving daughter of the above named Job Staunton Charlton, (who died in 1807,) bbe left lier estates at Staunton and in Yorkshire to her :$econd cousin Eliza* bethtf the daughter of Job Brough, Esq. of Newark^ and the wife of the Rev. John Ashpinshaw, LL. D. untl directed by her last will and testament^ that they and their issue should take the name and bear the arms of Staunton only, which was confirmed by the king*s sign manual June^Oth^ id07, and re* gislered in the College of Anns.
The mansion, of which a plate is here annexed, is a hand* some and noble structure, with many very excellent rooms therein of large dimensions, and the gardens and pleasure grounds are very beautiful and extensive, from whence there is a delightful view of Bel voir Castle, the seat of hi.^ grace the Duke of R-jtland, Sir IVIauger Staunton defended this cas* tie against William the firt^t, <luke of Normandy, generally styled William the conqueror, and there made his composition and contract for his lands, and had the strongest fortress therein, ever since called by his jvame ** Staunton's Tower/^
The church is a handsome structure, with a tower, contain* ing four bellr*^ and is dedicated to St, Mary, In the church are many monuments of the Slauntons, of great antiquity. The Rev. Dr. Staunton, the present possffssor, has made
Q 4 great
great improvements in planting and ornamenting the place. The tower of the church and the woods about the mansion may be seen from the north road between long Bennington andi Newark.*
SiBTHORPE had once a large mansion of the Burneiis, but nothing now remains except a dove cote. In the church are I some ancient tombs of the Burnell family ; on one of whicht Mr, Throsby in a fit of critical accuracy corrects a mistake of ' Thorotun, by substituting 1589 fur 1590. Tanner tells us that here was a College founded by Geffrey le Scroop, ia the reigr% of Edward tlie second^ the whole of which aflerwards came to the Wballeyg*
Flintham has a handsome Hall, the 9eat of colonel Thoroton, a descendant of Dr. Tliorotoii the topogi-apher. It is a hand- some modern building on the road from Bingham to Newark, and erected on an ancient mansion of the Husseys since the time of Edward the third. The church contains an ancient cross legged hgure of the Hth century^ described by Gough^i- and vulgarly called "Old Butler;" but the legs are nearly gone, and it is shamefully mutilated, A former incumbent of this parish was an odd character, and saved upwards of 1500/, by a most beggarly and penurious mode of life; he has been
known
* A fuller account of Staunton, and the Staunton family maj be seen m Ttiorolou^t Antiquitiei of Nottingliambhirer p. 156, (where there %* m cunout rhyniiiig pedigree dane by one Robert Cude, wiih nil tlte epitaphs sud also all the buildiug*, births, roarr^agcv &c») also in thtl rcry excellent nnd ro- lummous work, NicoJls's Hittor^- of LeicesLcrthirej YoL IL ftagoa t6i f7^ 84» uiid^r the head " Bel voir/'
The arroa of Staunton are, Jtrgciit, two chcrronels ubte. Crest^ a foji passant pro per*
*\ \\t pre»enl iirms are argent, two cKetronelf snbJe : and (for diuiitctba) iiQ A Ctnton Bxtite, a quairtfoU or, crest, a fox pas«aiit properi chsrgvd, to^, ) distinction, with a qiiatrcl'oil.
The Stiiuntou», huronet^, of Ireland (<i( wham. Sir George StpuntOQ, the cainiitiuion oi Lord Macartney' in his embaft^, was the first barooel] arc Mt4 ic» br » yoanger branch of the ramily,
f Sepukhrul Monimt^nts.
FOTTlirOHAMSHIEl.
240
known to ierve the thatchers to g€t a penny, and once went to Newark with a letter for the sum of twopence !
Elveston or Elston has an ancient mansioHj the residence of Robert Waring Danvin, Esq, The village is large, nnd has an hospital for lour widows founded by Anne Darwin in 1744. The neat church> dedicated to All Saints, contains many monu- mente of the Darwin family* originally of Lincolnshire,
The late admired Dr. Darwin, was a native of ibis place and youngest 8on of Robert Darwin, E&q* a barrister. After receiYing the radiments of education at a country school^ be went to Sl John*s college, Cambiidge, where he proceeded M.B. in 1755, and bis fir^st poetic eHuBions were in the Uoiver- aity collection of odes and elegies on the death of the late prince of Wales. These, however, are considered a* not con* ferring any distinction on the author ; nor did they even give any promises of his future excellence. Having received his degree of MJX he found the capital overstocked, and there- fore jieiected Lilcbfield for hi^ professional labuurs, where he resided many years.
He wrote several medical treatises, and in 1789 brought out his " Botanical Garden ;"" after w hicb, impressed with a thorough conviction of the aJvantage,s rcsuking from system, he reduced Medicine to the Ltnnean mode of arrangement in bi» ** Zriono- mia, or Laws of Organic Life/* He afterwards settled at
^ Derbyj and his whole life was distinguished by a regard to the cause of science^ and of humanit}*.
In the Philosophical Transactions,^ there is a curious paper by Br. Stukeley, describing a stone found in the grounds at
k^he rectory here, with a skeleton impressed in itj of a roost enormous size, and which is supposed to have belonged to a cry cod lie, or porpoise. The -vtone was supposed to have beea brought from the neighbouring quarries of Fulbcck, through the whole of which range of hills there are immense strata of .Stone abounding in shells and other submarine substauccs.
Stokr • Vol XXX, p. 96.
iroTTiirGnAMSinAi.
Stohs by NswAfiK is a very pleasont filiage^ moitretiredTj sitoated on the banks of the Trent, though the post road goes iBrough part of it. It liejt upon the fosse, and ixiay have been m Roman station ; it had also a very ancient hospital * dedi* catcd to St. LcoDard, for a master, chaplains, brethren^ and^H s»ck persons. ^^
Near the churthj is a pleasing little inansioii, the residence of Sir George Smith Bromley, Bart, in the arrangement of which taste and comfort seem to hare gone hand in hand. The grounds, ihoctgh on a small sca1e> are pleasing* and ha?e aft extensive prospect over the Tale of Trent below* and also ct\ the Church f a re.spectable edifice standing on arising ground tM iwoai^ &nd dedicated to St. Oswald. The chancel is ancient, and the whole is kept in excellent order, so as to do away thi complaint made by Mr* Thrnsby twenty years ago: here ts i monument to the memory of the father of the present baroncL
Siokc field, as it is called, was the scene of the battle between Henry the seventh, ami tho army under the earl of I^incollfei who had espoii*^ed the cause of the Impostor Lambeth Stmneli the pretended earl of Warwiclc^ and claimant of the crown,-! This took place in 1487, but Hall, Stow, and HoUinHbed, a1 ditVer with respect to the day, calling it the 6th, IGdi, and 20tlfa{ of Juui* Uering according to tradition says, that Henry'mj bead quarters were in Elsian fields, and that the battle fought close to them, the earl of Lincoln having quartered at Newark; but Rapin copying from the chronicles, says, thai the king marched so as to prevent the earl fiom reaching Newark, and encamped between that town and the enemy, whilst the cafl, advaticing to Stoke, encamped on the side of a hiH, a pof^ition whirh we shall presently shew to be correct. The nrxtday, the king having formed his army into three lines^f reftoWing that ibe Tan only should engage, and having advanc- ed into the plain to offer battle, the earl left hts strong po*
aitioi
* Tanner *s A^ofinsticon. t Vide Bacoa's History of Henry the Mventk.
intion, the battle commenced^ and after three hours* liard Bght- in^, in which the insurgents did wonders, Irtish under the earl of Kilddre, Germans under Martin Swart, as well as the few English, the whole rebel line was broken^ and all the chieftains slain. A flight now touk place in which the greatest part of the fugitiyes were slain, having taken a route to the river, in hopes of fording it, by a deep raTtne (leading to Fiskerton Ferry) which, the tnidiiion of that neighbourhood says, run with blood. This ravine is extremely deep and steep, but now filled op with young plantations ; it is parallel to the modem road, and opens on the plain at the back of the ferry house, where the river is easily fordable for horses, and might even be passed by armed men, if there was a necessity. Bacon, in his history, complains that " the relations that are left unto us are so naked, and negligent, {though it be an action of so recent memory,) as they rather declare the success of the day, than the manner of the fight ;" it is evidenti however, from a care- ful view of the ground, compared with the different accounts» and by an eye not unaccustomed to such scenes, that the battle must have been fought in the plain between Stoke and Thorpe, rather than between Stoke and Elstfin. The total slaughter of both armies amounted to 70C>C) men ;* and though the lord Love], one of the insurgents, is stated by cotemporary histo- rians to have swam into the Trej^t on horseback, ** but could not recover the further side bj^ reason of ihesteepnesse of the bank and so was drowned ," yet Bacon adds "but another report leases him not there, but that he lived long after in a cave or Tault/' Now it is a curious fact that Bacon should have beard such a report, particularly when we advert to Gough's addi- tions to Camden, where it is said ihnt the house of Minster Lovel in Oxfordshire which belonged to Lord Lovel, bentgnot many years ago pulled down, in a vauli was formd the body of a man^ in very rich cIoathF^, seated in a chair, with a table and
mass
* Bftcon Mji 4000 of the insurgents and nil the officers, together with aoe half or the king*s vanguard, bul none of itote.
252
irOTTIVGRAMSHTRE.
insss book before him* The body was enlire when fnuntJ by th<e workmen^ but upon admission of the air^ soon fell into dust. From this, Mr. Gough concludes that having retired lo his own house* be had trusted himself to some servant^ and afterwards been neglectetl through treachery^ fear, or accident^ befaUirig the servant. Under all these circumstances, ho%vever, it ii cxlraof dinary bow the report could have arisen io Bacon's lime, so long before ibis last mentioned discovery.
It is extremely probable, from the coincidence of name and other circumstances^ that this event formed the ground work of Miss Clara Beeve's elegant romance of the "Old BngUsh Ba- ron/'
On the high road from Newark to Worksop, is KctifAM House, the seat of John Manners Sutton, Esq, This h£dl, or houMCt is a plain but elegant building of brick with stone cor- ners and window frames, of three stories in height, standing in a hajidsome bwn on the banks of the Trent. It consists of a large centre and two wing^j; the lawn and grounds, though not very extensive, are yet extremely pleasing and kept in good order ; and the view of Newark, across the river, forms a fine prospect from the house. It had for some time been unoccu* pied, but is again inhabited by the family. Close to the grounds there Is a very curious wooden bridge over the Trent, which, him ever, does not seem exactly to justify Mr^Throsby's observation of its being ''apparently the most complex man ever formed/' The village Is small, but comfortable; and the church, dedicated to St, Winifred, has a very handsome tower, and also a richly wrought monument of the last lord Lexington and his lady, of line statuary marble, but the figures strangely placed back to back, lie holds a coronet in one hand, and a book in the other which rests upon a scull, whibt the lady has a ring, the emblem of matrimonial happiness in this world, and Clenml duration in the next. The inscription states the family of Sutton to have flourished here from time immemorial, and their claim to the title to be as old a* 1251» at which time Row- land
HOTTLKOHABrSIfTIIE.
tss
land Suttoa married Alice, sister and coheir to Robert lord Lcx- iugton*
AvEaHAM, or Aham, was sinother seat of the family, but fio\7 diamantled and disparked. The church has some curious alle- gorical memorials of South and Tou, &c. wilh many motiu-* inenls, particularly of the first lord, who, a« Thoroton says» " Tery much increased his patrimonyj ever kept a plentiful sober house, and was much out of purse for Charles the first, who created him a Peer/' He h described as a loyal subject, a lover of his cuutitryi a good husband, father, friend, landlord^ master, and neighbour. On a monument of Sir William But- toHj there are recorded
'* Eiglit of each sex ; of each an equal pnrt, Ualiercd to lieuven their fftlher, und tiic other Rem&iiied behind him to atleud Iheir mothur.*'
At BeesthorpEi in this nei^^hbourhood, there is a good seat belonging to Thomas Bristow, Esq. and there was a Charity School, supported by a small endoxvment, and voluntary con- tributions ; but it is now no more. The hall is a spacious man- sion, quite in the old style of James's reign, with pointed ruofs, an ancient hall, a tower* and some very extensive of- fices. There were several other ancient seats here, good spe- cimens of old times. Dean shall, Earlston, &c. but these have been all pulled down,
NoKTH and South Muskbajis on the great north road now form one village of upwards of a mile and half in length. The church is dedicated to St. Wilfrid, is situated in the centre of the village, and has a respectable Gothic appearance being as old as the 14th century at least ; here are some old monu- men Is.
In South Muskhah is the Grange, a very pleasing resi- dence, the seat of William Dickenson Rastall, Es<|. who has distinguished himself as a topographer of some uf the most interesting parts of his native county* Part of the house was
built
«§•
KOTTryGHAMSniRE.
built about tbe close of the seventeenth century, the other part iii more recent, and having two neat wings in the modern styl^ the whole is now a neat and convenient abode, with good plea- sure grounds, &c.
lit North Muskham is Muskham Home, a superb modem edi6re, built in 1793^ the residence of Joseph Pocklington^ Esq. ft stands on the east side of the north road^ and consbtJi of a centre of very fine elevation, and two wing.^; with of- fices on a very extensive scale.
A singular character died at this Tillage in 1805 \ his name Wuu. About thirty years before his decease, he made a voi^^^H never to step out of his house on any account ; and notwiih^^H standing the entreaties of his friends scrupulously adhered to It until his death.
VViNTHOBPE Hall, the seat of R* Pockliiigton, Esq. is also io this neighbourhood, and is an elegant building of two stoiie* on a rustic baaemeiiL The plantations and grounds arc very extensive j and on a gentle rise which commands charming prospects, particularly over the vale of Belvoir, there is an oc- tagonal temple with a table made out of part of the wrecks of the Spanish tloating batteries desti-oyed at the memorable at- tack on Gibraltar.
HoLMEi a village three miles from Newark, and tti this vi- cinity, is highly deserving the notice of the antiquary, on ac- count of its Churchy This village* in the seventeenth century^ belonged to Sir Thomas Barton, knight; whose fortune having been acquired by the woollen manufacture, he was not ash am* ed to confess it, but placed the following distich m the windows of hU mansion.
" I tliaiik God, nod ever ihall ; It was itie $lieepp tUal pftid for alj.*'
The rhurclb or rather chapel, has some monuments of the
family in the chancel. On the north side stands a very large
and curious aliar tomb witli two recumbent Bj^urcs of a man
9 aad
irOTVfKGHAMSIflllt.
and wc^tnan, and below a very striking figure of «n emaciated youth in tbi' last stage of a dt^cliue.
Over the south porch is a cbambcr culled ** NanScolCs." It is saidj by tradition^ that the bst great plague wai^ pailicularly fatal 10 t bis village I at which time this A niitj Scott re It red ta the room bere lueutiont^d^ with a sulBcient quaiuuty of food to last her sevt^ral week's. Having remained unnoticed UEitil lier {provisions v^'tfre eicpendtd^ she ventured to return to the villa^^ Mhicb she found entirely deserted, only one person, b€!side4 herself, of its former iiifiabitanls^ being alive. Shockeil tijr the horrors of the scene, she is said lo have returned to ihit chamber, where she took up her residence again for the re* maiiider of a long I ife.
Cromwell stands on the great north road, a little beyond Muskhani. The village h but liniall, but is remarkable for % handsome parsonage which owes much to the late incumbent^ the Rev. Dr. Eastall. It was " ancientley the seate of Crum- well which was raised in Sir Raufe Cruniwell to Lord Cromc- well of Tattershall in Lincolnshire^ and Lord Treasurer of £i«g- land in the time of Henry the sixth, and died Kans issue/'*
Caulton uroii Trent is a pleasant Tillage on the same greai roadj with a very handsome and commodious ina. The maxt* lion house was built about the middle of the last century, and was long the residence of Sir William Earle Welby, BarL Tbc small chapel is curious; and the tourist cannot fail to observe a smair house by the road side with a large hor&e-sboe In brick- work at the end of it. It seems whimsical; but the editor of these sheets could not procure any inform a tion respecting it*
The Collegiate Church, and town of
SOUTriWELU
lie to the weit of Newark, on the opposite side of tbe river. It In seated on a gC title eminence, embosomed in trees« and in tbe
leoUre • hUrl Col 5^.
i^aTtnTGHAMSirraf.
centre of an amphit+jeatre of swelling hills, on a ferlflf well woodedi ant] iheir bases washed by ihe little riv« so much celebrated for its red troat. This town is vei reduced in h\ze of late years; and we have been informed that the foundations of a whole street have been at times discovered ruD- ning in an east and west direction, in a part of the immediate vici- nity where now there are no other Iraces of inhabitftnts; biit ihe hamlets of Eai^t and West Thorpe, which are coniiguotis to it, appearing to form part of it^ and going under the same name^ the toyrist will generally consider H as a pretty Urge, bul much scattered country town, without referring to these local distinctionii. It is properly divided into two parts; the Birr- gage or ** Borridge/- and the Prebcndage: the former of i%hicb comprehends all that space between the market place and the river Greet, whilst in the other is the Collegiate Church and iu property.
That this was a Roman station, there can be no doubt; though antiquaries have cjuarrelled about its name. On the Burrrdge hill are the remains of a Roman fosse, evidently the Burgtis, or camp ; and many old Roman bricks have been foun< in the rwins of the prebendal houses and the late discovery ol the foundation of the Roman bridge in the Trent, near to Win* thorpe^ from which to Southwell the road has been traced by Mr. Dickinson, has tended very much> in that gentleman's opi nJon, to confirm the belief that Souilixvell was the true Ai> PoNTEM of the Romans. Ilorstey indeed, in his Britannia R mana, whilst commenting nn the sixth Iter, thinks that if ibt distance of Ad Pontem from Margidunum is set o0* froui ih station near East Bridgeford, it will bring us to Farndon ovef against Southwell ; hut he adds, ilvat though Newark has by lome been supposed to be the place which Berle calls ** TiovuU fingaceaster/' yet that termination seeming to imply a Roman station somewhere in its neighbourhood, (which he did not be- lit!ve Newark 1o have been,) might apply to Southwell *' an ancient place, but on the wrong side of the river/' He stJII^
howcvirr.
le
NOTTIKGHAMSBIKI.
fsr
however, considers Ad Ponicm as having been in this neigh- bourhood; and even this admission is considered by Mr. Dick- iuson as in favour of his opinion. The Saxon name of TiovuU fingaceaster is said by this latter gentleman to mean, (when analysed) *' the place where much industry was employed in laying hands on the multitude;*' Tio!« signifying iflf/u^frj^ in Saxon, Vulgus being the Latin for multitude, Fengar, Saxon, ta iffy hand^ o% and Ceaster, the Saxon for castrum, alluding to the baptismal ceremony performed by Paulinus first archbishop of York, in which the crowd were dipped in the Trent as soon as they were converted. The modern appellation is said by Dug- dale, to have arisen from a spring or well to the southward of the church,
LeJand in his Itinerary, in the reign of Henry the eighth says, '* Southwell town is mctely well builded, but there is no market public. The minster of oar lady is large but of no fi^leasant buildingt but rather strong/' Its appearance, how- ever, at the present day is such as even Leland might have ad* mired^ (though more a man of industry than of taste^) as much has of late years been done to give it a thorough repair. For this purpose a contribution has been set on foot, as far back as 1804, the whole of this venerable pile having been long in a state of almost absolute ruin.*
At present its extreme length is 306 feet; its breadth 59; and the length of the cross aisle from north to south is 121 feet. All historians have agreed in atlrtbuling its first foundati^jn to FaulinuSy archbishop of York, who was sent by Pope Gregory* by the advice of Sl Augustine, in order to establish Christianity tn this island. This was in 627, on the Easter day in which year, he baptized Edwin the Great, king of Norihumberland^ with his whole court at York; in which conversion, however^ Vol. Xn, R the
* Toward* Bccompltshing tbii praise worthy design, CaX* £^r« jet • fiiuni* 5cetit cxumple by ^ubscrihmg 1001.; many others have come forward h«nd* lorocly ; %nd the dcAn «nd chapter baTing contribalsd Urgf ]jr« flT«rj tjterupa M now milking Co complete tbt design.
1258
^KOTTIKOBAMSBIRS.
Ihe saint seems to have been much asslstetl by the queen Ethel* burga> daughter of Ebauld king of Kent^ wlio bad been already converted.
During a succession ofages* untit the dissolutioUp this church had been encouraged and endowed by the liberality of bulh Jiionarchsand nobles, and protected by the decnees ofpopestaud the regulations t>f various prelates; and it is suid by Mr, Hasl^lL thiLt scarce a person was advanced to the see of York that did not render it more independent on his pronioiion, whilst its oi»n members always manifested their attention by some augnte^- tat lull af its re venues J whenever they I tad been long in the en- joyment of their benefices. In the early part of Henry's relgu^ its charities were dissolredj and that order of its priests esc* pelled; and soon after, it shared in the general wreck of coUe» giate foundations. It was« notwithstanding, declared by act of Parliament in Henry's ^4th year (IM2) to be the mother church of Nottiiigliam£»hire; a favour which it owed« partly to Crau* mer, and partly to the intercessions of the gentry of the county. In Edward's reign the chapter was dissolved and granted to the Duke of Northumberland, but restored by Mary to the arch* bishop and chapter, in whose hands the property still remains. and queen Elizabeth, in her 27th yirar^ ordained a new code of laws, %vhich, with some occasional decrees of diiFerent arch-» bishops, form its present municipal law*.
It suiFered much in ihe civil wars, being se(|uestrated^ bu& afler wards restored ; but it ha'* not even yet recovered the damages done by CnMnwelTt! troops, who converted it into a stable for their horses, broke down the monuments^ and ran* sacked the graves of the dead for lead and other valuables. 'Even as late as 1703, some of the iron rings, driven into the walls to fasten ihe horses to, were still in o^tistence. It was also damaged considmably by being set on iire by lightning on ihe 5th of Nov. 171 L
Cenerally speaking, this great mass of building hui> ^u^^Kuuevl little alteration, except in some of the windows, whose Siixoa
aicbei
260
NOTTIKGBAMSniRE*
and tnuch tracery* and even the battlements area departure from the original Saxon design*
The north side'is most strictly Saxon ; having Btc stories, witJi breaks or pilasters between the windows; and even the upper row of windows are circular: the elevation terminates with a plain parapet^ and the porch assimilates to the grand de- sign.
On entering at the western door, the visitor is much struck with the extreme similarity of the interior to Rochester Calhe* dral; but be soon leaves the plainness of Saxon architecture, fdr all the richness and elegance of the meridian pride of Gothic architecture of the I4th century, displayed in the Screen at tbc entrance of the choir. This has, in diiTerent parts, large arched openings with recesses, the arches bordered by pediment Enisb* ing with entablatures; and the whole made completely similar on both sides. The interior of the screen, however, composes a kind of cloyster of three divisions, full of the richest and tnosi delightful tracery* This cloyster work presents an e&traordl* nary mode of geometrical support in the groins, which, thoogli on a miniature scale, forms an incontestable proof of the ginl skill in roofing and in arching of the Gothic architects; fi>r there are no spandrils to the ribs, *' they being left to seek their pointed (lighti independent of any such seeming assistance ; in the diagonal line behind the ribs there is open tracery filling in that narrow space ; nothing can exceed the lightness, and it may be said, the magic touch of these vaulted bows/* Through- out the whole of this sp lend id work, the minutiae of mouldings and arnaments are delicaLeand rich to excess; " in fine, this screen may be held as one of the gems of ecclesiastical decoration in this part of the north : a jewel most worthy to be prized, and by these men of taste and discernment who have, to the high honour of this church, so long kept it unsullied and free from all diJapi* datjon, or more fatal improvement. In the renovation of tiiis work^ great pains have been taken not only to presenre its
beautitSf
KOTTlKOItAMSUlIlK*
26i
beauties but to restore as much of its ancient splendour as pos* sible ; and great Judgement seems displayed iii the placing ihe names, or rather titles, of the various incumbents over their stalls, which has the effect of carrying the mind of the spec- tator back to the earliest times. The tourist is now led into the avenue extenrUng to the Chapter Houses in whicli the part below the tvtndows consists of recesses mth columns and arches enriched with heads in ancient costume, adding much to I he beauty of the pointed windows with their pleading tracery, and the rich light groins of the roof. With respect to the <rx* i€rior of the Chapter House, Mr. Hastall very justly observes that it does not boast a profusion of ornament, though its battle* ments and butt revises are light and well finished, and in a good laste. Its interior indeed is much superior « and the arch of en* trance has always arrested the attention of visitors, being superior perhaps to any thing else of the kind in the kingdom. The double entrance is indeed rt^plete with grace ^ its ornaments are many« and the running foliage of vines and other plants is in a style of alto relief incredibly rich and airy** The roof is of stone work^ and^ though not so richly ornamented as in other parts, is yet light, simple^ and elegant. In the wall are many niches forming the stalls extending quite round the room, separated from each other by sinall cylindrical columns* The variety in the devices which ornament these niches is extreme ; as no two of them are alike. The windows form fme specimens of the later Gothic^ but their sainted and armorial glass ha^i long been destroyed. It is to be hoped, however, that the in* troduction of modern stained glass will here once more " Teach light to couiiterfett a gloom I" In abort, as it has been well observed, altogether the columns, R 3 arches,
♦ Tbe wfitcT of Pursuits of ArchitPduntl Innovation, is of opmiun, from tbe co«tURic of tbe headi, Uc. being « king tnd queen, a Inshup, ludjes of ▼srioos ranks, Aec. ib&t this psrt is of tbe age of Henry tbe second ; but Mr. Rastallrefen the whoJe to the reign of Edward tbe tbird, wbtlit be attribntfK the choir to that of Edward the Lrn,
2fl2
irOTTlNGHAlfSRlRA.
arches^ galleries, windows, groins* mouldingSi and ornamenU^ both of the exterior and interior, are truly genuine, and full of that infinite varitjty that particularly characterises, and which perhaps gives to Southwell a celebrity not possesised by any other simitar fabric.
Carter, in his work on Ant iunt Sculpture, has given many gpccimens from this church, principally illustrative of antique head dresses. He thinks the very ancient hieroglyphical sculp- ture (of a roan drawing the teeth of a lion, acconipanted by a lambj and angel, and a dragon^ which is placed over the door- way leading to the belfry) alludes to David whilst keeping his 6]ither^s sheep ; hut Mr. Rastall considers it as typical of Christ, and supposes it to be the most ancient specimen of Saxon sculpture in existence in this kingdom^ perhaps even ante- cedent to the building of the church J
The Tombs h«re are not very numerous; and seemed of so litcle consequence to Thoroton, that he has not given a single engraving of them* The oldest is in the north aisle, and is es* actly in the shape of a modern coiBn, under a circular arch; there are also several altar tombs; but the brasses have been stolen, the figures mutilated, and in some instances destroyed. The most worthy of notice is that of archbishop Sandys within the mils near to the altar. It is a large alabaster altar tomb wiih bis effigies reclining upon k, and having on the front his widow and nine children kneeling, with a Latin epitaph at one end.
In the Churchwards was a College for the chauntry priests,, of which there are some remains; but the Vicarage, which once possessed some curious carvings, was taken down in 1780*
From the wells in this churchyard, and others, this modem name is said to have ansen- On the right of the cloystcr wa* the Holif Weill and the Lad/s well was also within the conse- crated ground, but filled up in conseqijcnce of a clergyman bfiing drowned in it in a dark night,*
Many
• St. Catharine's Well Is in VWsMliorpc, and b celebrotcd for rhconiJilio euret. The Seuih vttU^ called the hordes well, b aLkjuI l^alf a mile S. E. froiA the tvwu.
KCrrTrKOHAMSHlR«#
26$
h^ve been tnade here in digging; and
Many discoveries Peck, in his Desiderata Curiosa (Book 6,) gives an account of a body being found in the south aisle dressed in cloth uf silver tissue i with leather boats, a wand by hii^ side, and on his breast something like a silver cup with an acorn or bunch of leaves on its top. Some have supposed him to be one of the family of Caur ; bat Mr. Gough considers him as a Reiigious from the chalice and crozier. His skuli was thin and very transparent ; and his teeth w^re all sound, and taken away by the spectators; even the stitciiing of the boots was in preservation, though the leather tore like paper.
In the Britiiih iVluseum* is a grant by Elizabuth in the year 1585, which enumerates the foundation and statutes by Henry the eighth and Mary; and then enacu that all vicars and ministers of this churrh^ three times per day, shall assemble at such hourji as the archbishop ahall appoint, decently ami reverently in the chotr, each in his station and place^ and each in his choral habit; also that the Scripture shall be preached every dominical day or festival ; that if any prebeudary shall neglect hit: duty, he shall forfeit ten shillings vi^hich shall be given to the person who supplies his place, or if no such person^ then to tlie poor of the town of Southwell; the vicars and singers, to forfeit a penny to be divided amongst the others; that the choir service shall be performed by six skiikd in music, and by six iuaii acted m the same. *' Moreover if any canon, or any other member of the church, shall be convicted either of heresy agaiiisi the law of God, or of treason, simony, usury, perjury, knowntheft, voluntary homicide, adultery, form- cationj ur dilapidation of the goods of the church, by twocompe. tent witnesses, or by his ownconfei^sion, or by the notoriety of the fact, he shall without delay be deprived ol' his canunry> prebend, or whatever place he may hold in the church ;*' and it seems that, in days of Catholicism, the vicars were forbidden to have ajiy female servants, but those whose ages exempted them
R 4 from
* Ajscough'i Ctttukgue, •I934i **
8^ VQXTUIOBLAlCSHi&ll.
from all siupicion of amorpua inclination. Begulationa so strict could not &il of producing.a decent and orderly behaTioar in tbase, almost monastic, institutions ; nay, were perhapa ▼ery necessary, if we are to belie?e all the stories of monkisli knavery and wickedness so often bandied about at the time of the Reformation. But scandal was even busy in the I7tb cen« tury, when one Gervase Lee was fined in the Star chamber for ar libel contained in a ballad, which Mr. Rastall has preserved; one stanza of which runs thus ;
"Agtinthey hold of their Virgin Mary
Ecee qmm bonnm tit cohabiture:
And neither keep bakehoQse, brewbouse, nor dairy.
Nor any residencej nor tell qs Quarel"
The whole EstabUshmcntnoiw consists of fix/fcn prebendaries* or caoona holding prebends^ <t> vicars choral, orgamt,njr sing* iag men, ti» choristers, and ssr boys as probationers, a regis* tinr to the diapter, a treasurer, auditor, verger, &c.
Hera also are two annual iytiedi, at which all the Netting* hamshire clergy afMend*; and over which a certain number of the prebendaries and other clergymen are nominated by the archbishop of York to preside.
The civil government is distinct from that of the county in general, and called the '* Soke of Southwell cum Scrooby/' Adjoining to the church is a Free school under the care of the chapter, the master of which is chosen by them, but must be approved by the archbishop.
There are also two fellowships and two scholarships in St. John's College, Cambridge, to be presented by the master and fellows of that college to such persons as they shall think proper, who have been choristers of Southwell. These were founded by Dr. Keton, canon of Salisbury, in the reign of Henry the eighth.
With respect to the Psebcnds, there were ten existing before the Conc^uest : the most ancient are the three belonging to
JVonccrt
trOTTtHCUAUSHIRE.
SfiS
K Its I fr<]
NQrw€lls consisting of A'brujc// Overall, Palace kalh aoil Tenia Parf ; next come Normanion, a jiinall haniJet in the vicinity; Ox/on Prima and Secunda ; IVodborough ; North and iSaitM
uskham; and 6«cri5/a, a local and kind of official prebend^ its revenues, in addition to some lands in SouthvrelU arising from the peiitecostal cQ'erings.
The SIX established since the Conquest are Beckmgham, Le* pcrion^ Dunham, Halloughton or Hawton, Ramplon, and Eaton* or Idleton, which last was founded in 1289, The prior of Thur- garton alsu claimed a right to a stall in the choir^ superior Id those of the prebendaries^ wbiclt was allowed to him; and is still preserved with his name on it. In 1570, it was ordered that the Resident Prebaidary was ti> l*ave all the ty the pigs, fitc, for his household expense^ with all other profits of the jurisdic- tion; and every residentiary^ vicar choral, or singing man* being disposed to enter into commons with himj was to pay from 3«, 4i/. to 2$. 2d. per week.
The house (of modern erection) ap^>ointed for the resident
.prebendary^ is a very handsome building at the east end of the
^church^ and is worthy the most elegant domestic establishment;
but iu 1706 it was decreed, as a safeguard of ecclesiastical
economy, that an entertainment of no greater expense than 3/.
fihotild be provided by each new prehendary when installed i
he was at the same time obliged to give 2/. for the benefit of th&
. library. The Residence is taken in regular rotation.
The Aechbisuop's Palace situated on the south side of the Minster yard, within what was once called ihe Little, or New park, was once an elegant building, according to the ancient laste* The scite of the mansion still belongs to the see; and Thoroton observes " the archbishop had a very fair palace here demolished in the late rebellion ; some think it was built by Cardinal Wolsey, and if it were not, I should guess at the arch^ bishops Bothest for they or one of them butlded a chapel joy n* ing to the south wall of the church, which by negligence in the
late
VOTTtVGITAlIStltRE*
late wars is now utterly ruiaedi as is also a very fine marble" tomb, &c/*
Even in ruias, as Mr. Kastall observes, it retains mnch of it* ancient grandeur, shewing its original magnificence and extent* Jn the eastern wing were the rooms of state ; the western* occupied by the offices? j and the north containing the chapel, atJi! great hat!* which may he smd to remain entire, though much of its antique beauty is destroyed by a modern fitting tip* \ a^ a domestic residence. In this is a room, lighted hy the great west window of the ancient haU, and appropriated to the justices of the Soke for their sessions i and the quadrangle^ once surroumled by the offices, is now converted into a pleasanl and romantic bowling green.
The tuins are will extensive, with many pointed gaMes, Golhic windows, and circular chimnies of the age of Henry the eighth, ^rll remaining; and being deeply overshadowed with ivy, and embosomed in trees, they add much to the ro- mantic beauty of South we!!.
During the civil war?, it was compleiely gutted of every
thing that was valuable, or nseful ; and there are still many Ira*
p^itional stories respecting ii» One of these is recorded by
Thro^bvi w^ho <kiys that, in 1740, in clearing atvay the vaults of
this palace, thf iiorkmen fouml the entire skeleton of a man
ittanrling upright, with booU and spurs on, and some part of his
[milit^iry arms lying at his feet. Nt;ar to this wa^a skull witb
Ifhe he:id nf an axe in the cleft, with which it may be supposed
rtiis person was killed. This discovery has therefore given ad*
kdtf ioftal credit to a local tradition that a deserter or spy had been
riaken up in Southwell, when Charles the iirst was there, and
Pfliat some of the soldiers had thrust him into a vault or well
inhere he lost his life.
The arcljiepiscopal Parks were once four in number; but
lliave bee,n divided and enclosed since the destruction of the
I palace in the civil wars* It appears also that the lands of the
fee were sold during the usurpation for about iKMK*/* Duriog
tboaoJ
K0TT1KGHAMSHIKK.
26r
I
I
those unhappy times, Charles ihe first was often here; and, like most other placet at that period, it ofVen (fxperiencec) the fate of war ; it is said., indeed, that the garrison of Newark once cut to pieces here the greatest part of a Parliamentariiin regi- ment.*
The head qnnrters of the king were sometimes al ihc palace, aud somettmes at the Isn, particularly on the 6lh of May 1640* when he came here privately, and eurrendered himself to the Scotch commissioners. Peck in his Desiderata, Vol. II. Book 9, gives {from Rushworili) u whining letter from the Scotch army, denying that the king had made terms; asserting that he was tor some days in their army without their knowing him f talking much of a witness in Heaven, and of the Covenant; and almost saying in plain termsj *' now that we have him^ what wiil yon give for him,"?
The apartment in which the king dined that day is still in existence, and nearly in its original state* It is on thti south side, or left hand of the gateway of the Saracen's Head at the upper part of the churchyard; the removal of which sign, some time ago, discovered the old one of the King's Amis cut in atone, but which heing probably unfashionable in the days of Reptihlicanism had been superseded, or rather covered, by that which now exists. A little before the king's death, this same apartment was used by Cromwell when he was sent to oppose tht: northern army ; the palace having been rendered unfit for hiii reception, by the soldiers who had attended the commit sioners haying stripped all the lead ofiHhe roof,
A story is current in the town, aj^d mentioned by Throsby, of the unfortunate monarch at one of his visits here during the decline of his afliiirs^ which importSj that walking about the town
and
• A Mr. Cludtl was ut tljut tJnjc a confpicuDUs cliwactcf lierc, and his in- fluence great as a PuTliaiULiiUry parlizan A cotcomical servant of liii b«ing »cnt to London to give *ume iiit'ormalion reipeciiiig tlic approuch of the rojftl army, he wfts*iskcd "How nialtef* went on in Noitrngbimstiire'*' To wliich he replied, *• Very ^di! I arid my itiaaier mlo^aU there III*'
KOTtlMGHAMSHlRE.
fend being unknown^ he entered the shop of one htn, a fanaiic tioemaker, whom he desired lo take his measure for a pair €yi [lors: but Lee after some littie hesitation refused to perform [lis oQice, saying that he was the customer whom he had seen ill a dream the preceding night, and of whom be had beea warned^ as a man derot^d to destructionj being told at the fame time that those who worked for him would never ihrne! Throsby gives a Mr* Savage as the narrator of the tate; but we imagine it is like many others told after the ^ivents hav e taken place.
Southwell cannot be said to possess any Trade; but its Market, held on a Saturday, is one of the best in the county. It also has a Fair on Whitmonday^ for horses, horned cattle, sheep, and roerchandiae.
A Plbljc Walk or parade has been made on the north side of the churchyard in 17S4. This is commodious, well shaded from ihe weather on every side, extending the whole length of the churchyard, and pleasingly planted with trees and shrubs; hut we cannot help thinking that a spot for cheerful and loqua- cious rambling might be found more appropriate than the som* bre purlieus of decaying mortality.
The County Buidewell is used as a prison (or the Tarious . inanors belonging to the archbishopric, within the county* This , edifice was Hist erected in IG^b; and many additions, together with the surrouttding walls, were built in 1787. Its situation is airy and healihrui, upon the decline of a gentle hill, and close 10 the Burgage Green, which is opposite to the entrance. lu this place means have been judiciously taken lo separate the various descriptions of ofTenders: and both in appearance and arrangement it bears a miniature resemblance to the Coldbath Fields prison of the metropolisi but a late writer complaiiii* much of some of the interior regulations,^ the separation of oU'enders being in the following manner^ males, for petty of-
fcnceSf
* tti th« Getitt. Mag. Vol. 76, page 106, maj be teen a completo ichncifrs* pkicbl dcftcriptioD qI this pliice, by Mr. Nield«
KaTTIKOHAMSIIIftlS,
169
I
I I
fences, one rootn and a small court-yard ; vagranta , a coart-yard, a day and sleeping mom for males* and others for female*; faulty servants, a court-yard and apartments; three solitary cells, with iron gratings ovtT the doors, " thjotigh which those in solitary confinement are enabled to 9ee and converse witfi the female felons in their chambers or on the steps/* Wheti Mr. Nield wrote, an arrangement also existed^ which has since been in some measure remedied ; he aays, thai in the floor of the felon's dayroom there ** is a trapdoor, on opening which you descend by ten steps into a loathsome hole or dungeon, about 14 feet by 10, with three wooden bedsteads, on which lay some short dirty straw, and pieces, or bits of dirty ragged rugs* The only ventilation or glimmering light this miserable place re- ceives, is through an iron grating, two feet ten by only eight inches, and level with the court: in this damp and loathsome dungeon seven of the prisoners heavily ironed sleep every night/* In repeating these animadversions* we mean not wantonljf to advocate the cause of the guilty; but surely the spirit* if not the leUer, of English law requires not such addi- tional punishment to be inflicted even upon contictSs That loathsome dungeons were formerly the prisons of the aecusedt as well as of the condemned, is but too true; and it is no doubt proper that prisons, in aildition to the punishment of confine* menti should make their inhabitants both yre/ and £ A iitJ^: but surely this may always be done with a due regard to health and personal cleanliness; ont: of which is a blessing, and the other a virtue which forms the comer stone of the physical and moral welfare of human nature.
The Civil GovERNMEffT of Southivell may be called amphi- bious, being divided between the clergy and laity ; the preben- dage being under the jurisdiction of the one, and the burgage subject to the other. It is thus the head of a peculiar jurisdic- tion, both civil and ecclesiastical; twenty towns, (or vtlbges) being within its liberty, or civil limits, for which a sessions of die peace is hdd, indepen<lent of the county; whilst the eccle* ^^ slaslical
2T0
HOTttHGHAMStllBB.
stasiical extend over tweaty-eighu T*hc civil administmtioii k held at Southwell and at Scrooby, by the justicesp nomtQated by the archbishop, but acting under a commission from the crown ; and the Chapter m the person of their vicar general exer- cise all episcopal functions within the peculiar^ except ordina- tion and confirmation.
Upton is a handsome village near Southwell, with a small Gothic church dedicated to St. Peter. Throsby telU us that hi his time, the village just contained as many inhabitants as there are days in the year; but Leap year must surely have made some difTerence in this very nice calculation ! The village con shU principally of farm houses, but a fit&rcb manufactory been some time estabh'shed. Some land had been trilled h in perpetuity, for the purpose of repairing the church, the balance of annual prtjfit to be given to the poor st>ldiers travelling through, and any overbalance to be at the dtsicretton of the inhabitants. By this means (the lands being urorth about twenty pounds per annum) the church is l<ept in good order; but any trifling balances are now employed to find mi* litia men, and to case ihe paristi rates, |
tvcRMANTOK is a parish close to Southwell; and here Th<l^^fl roton tells us was an ancient capital messuage, the scat of the^^ Hunts, merchants of the staple in Nottingham in the reign of Edward tiie fo^irth, since which period, theCariwrighls built ft house of brick and stone. Edingley village or chapelry is in the parish, and is worthy notice far its small but ancient chapel with curious ifiigzag ornaments over the western entrance. Anotljer chipel is now occupied as a barn.
WiNCKBouitNF, now the seat of P. Pegge Burnellj Ewj. ha long been the property of that family^ who built the hallhouf It was anciently iho property of the priory of St» John of Jeru- salem. The chiipel near tfie house has a very conspicuous tower* and contains several monuments of the Burnells, one ah armed knii^hti but mostly illegible except a very modern one for
P'Arry Burneil. Esq. in 1772,
t KersM
KOTTIITGHAMSHIRE.
m
Kcrmll 13 anerely noticed here as having once had a Quaker's xn^^eting^ and bury lug ground^ but the former has long been abandoned.
£yk£Ring Vii^LAGE IS nearly a mile in lengthy but not ctjttalljf pOj>ulous, as its habitations are nmch scattered. The rectory is an elegant buildings lor its sixt^ with very bandsiome pleasure grounds, and the church is respectable. There is great reason to believe that this was the residence of that family from whicti sprung Will Scarlet the iViend of Robin Hood ; for abotit that |jerioclj Robert Scarlet and Beatrix hi* wife gave lands here to the monks of Ruflord abbey, for which the monks in return gave him a she goalj and to his wife a cow! tbijj^ however^ is i\\^ first and last instance we have ever met with of monk* giv- ing any thing in this world, though very prodigal t>f the next!
Turning to the southward, we now coine to Kiutlikcton Hall, the seat of Mrs, Whethani, a largt* modern building of three stories^ with tv\o projectitig (octagonal wings tower fusliionj and the whole topped with battlements. It stands near the village, and has a handsome tawn with an extensive piece of water in front, finely diversified by rising swcUs. The village is hut small^ and is situated on tht Mansfield road^ the church, dedicated to St. Ssviihin, has a large chancel, and sonie relics of old monumental stones and crosses.
Near thia is Hcigrave^ ancienily a park, with evident vci^ tigcs of a Roman encampment placed on a hdl. In ^ome spots^ the ditch and vallum may still be iraced> but the intermediate lines havcj been conipleLely destroyed by the plough* About three miles south-west from this, at Combe's farm to the left of the Mansfield road^ is another, of which a drawing may be seen in the 8th volume of Archajulogia. It commands a most extei|- sive view over the forest, and that indefatigable antitjuary Major Rijoke, very justly observes that from this, and otiiers, we have great reason to admire the judgementof the Rotnans in their choice of these situations^ as they not only have dear prospects over tbe surrounding country, but are so situated, that
iuteltigence
S/8 ir^TtivoBAiriniES.
intelligence might always be conreyed by signals. Mr« Sas- iall is of opinion that these works are not Roman ; it is true that they may have originally been British ; but that they were also ^C-Roman occnpancy is proved by the discovery of the coins and other antiquities.
Haiam is a small village, with some rude paintings in its church windows. Throsby has given some drawings of these ; and, as they are nothing more than Adam digging and Eve spinning, they almost tempt us to date their origin from an older period than the introduction of armorial blazonry npon glass in this kingdom.
Hallo UGRTON, or Hawton, was remarkable for an ancient mansion house upon the prebendal estate, which Mr. Rastall says was very dark and gloomy, with an appearance of consi- derable antiqui^, and situated within a very few yards of the parish church. It was, upon the whole, not unlike many of the remains of old monasteries that have been continued to our day ; and this sort of sombrous grandeur may possibly have given rise to the report of its having once belonged to a monastic society. Great alterations have indeed lately taken place; but Throsby records that during the repair, in taking up the kitchen floor, there was found a large stone about the size of a mill stone, under which was a large key ; and which was supposed to have been left there by design. Some time after, this place was more minutely examined, and it proved to be the mouth of a cavity, enclosed by a circular wall, and traced for some dis- tance by the workmen until their further search was inter- rupted by a quantity of water. ' He adds, that there was a tra- dition in Southwell, of a subterraneous passage from this place to Thurgarton ; and that in taking down a stack of chimnies in this house, there was Found in the middle of them a large recess, in which were many human skeletons quite entire and uncovered with earth, chiefly those of children ! We will not vouch for the truth of these discoveries; but, if correct, they seem not in- 9 consistent
KOTTIKOIIAMSntllX.
§73
consistent with the old tradition of a relighm foundation, as some of these were perhaps too often misnamed.
EperstoH owe« much of its present comfort and respeclabiiity to the fostering care of the late Earl Howe. It has a tiled roofed church with ^ spire^ dedicated to the Holy Cross: here are some curious old monomental stones f but they have been long worn by the feet of departed generations, arc now covered with nettles, and coated with moss. This may have been a small Koman station, as a number of coins of ibal people were found here in 1776,
WooDBOROuGti, the next parish^ i^ a cheerftil. populous, vil- lage, with a church dedicated to St. Swithin, built on an ex- tensive scale, and now pos^essin^many vestiges of ancient mag- nificence, particularly ifi tlie windows of the chancel, wliere are still some fragment of armorial glass containing the inter- marriages of the Strelley^, In the chancel are also !^ome brasses for the family of Bainbrigge* the present owners* The family seat is an old plain hall, in which resides Mrs. Bain- biigge, a widow lady, long remarkable for her very extraor- dinary benevolence, and lately particularly so for her generous benefaction of 1000/. to the General Ilospitai of Nottingham. Wood borough is one of the prebends of Southwell.
" About tliree miles northward from Colwick, is the town of B^rion, called Barton Fan, (now Burton Joyce,) upon the bank of the river Trent, wherein were in times past two auncient houses of two auncient gentlemen, one of Forz, the other of Byr- ton. That ofForz, Bryan Stapleton, Esq. late held, and lokl it to Sir Tho. Stanhope; the heiress of Byrton was marry ed to Mcynell and Wood. Meynell now possesses his; but Wood's heir sold his part, &c/** The village is but small, and belongs entirely to the CMiesterHeld family ; and the church contains several ancient tombs, and armorial glass, of the families of Frecbeville* Jors, Roose, Stapleton^ 8tc* At Bulcote, in tht
Vol* XIL S parish,
• ITirLCt^lLSeS,
274
VOTTlVGUAUSHimi.
parish, & boarding school for young geuUemen haa long pos- sessed considerable reputation.
GuNTfioHPE h-dd formerly a cba()e1, now converted into a blacksmith's shop : here also is a ferry over the Trent. In the tame vicinity is Hoverincham, which Sir F, Eden, in 1794, de- signates as containing a few slocking weavers, but principally agriculturists, chiefiy of tb« established church; wilh two ale- houses and one friendly society. Sir Richard Suttoti, to whom ibe manor came by purchase* was at considerable expense ia repairing the small church, which has an ancient Saxon porch with a very curious bas relief of the patron saint, Michael the archangel, and the dragon. A modern buttress, found neces- sary at the late repair, unfortunately conceals much of this specimen of ancient sculpture ; but enough is still visible to gratify the antiquary*
Gonalston h principally remarkable for its ancient foundation in a part of the parish called Bradebudk. Tanner says thai *' William Heri^, temp. Henry ti, built here an hospital to the bonour of Si. Mary Magdalen, which is still in being, and called Gonalston Spittle." Throsby calls it " an ill looking place/' and it certainly cannot be reckoned amongst the beauties of Nottinghamiihirt;; yet though the chapel is in sucb a state of ruin as to have no glass in the windows^ each new incuiiibeat is obliged to preach here on bis induction to the living. Here is a charity school for six boys,
THURGAaTON is said by Mr. Rastall to be compounded of ThoT^s-Oarth'ion ; and to have been first Roman, then Saxon. Tanner says, that Ralph de Ayncourt about 1130 placed bete a prior and a convent of canons of the order of St. Austin ; St. Peter being iheir tutelar ^alnt : and it appears that tliis noble baron was extremely accommodating to the church by thit grant; for an ancient MSS« in the British Museum says that he " turned bis house into an abbey/' The tenants of these lands' after ihey came into possession of the monks, were under some curious regulations^ amongi^t which *' every she native^ as of^
as
KOTTINGBAMSRIBE.
275
08 she took a husband^ or committeci fornicaiion^ was to give for the redemption of tier blood 58. 4d, ; but if the daughter of a cottager only half!" The village, notwithstanding these licensee for population, is still but small, with a church once of considerable magnificence, but now almost dilapidated, nothing but one dark aisle remaining, partially lighted by a window which has been formed out of on« of the principal entrances, once a noble specimen ot Gothic elegance. At the dissolution it was granted to ihe ancestors of the family of Cooper, the present possessors ; some of whose monuments are in the church, but of a modern date.
The ancient priory was pulled down by the late Mtf Cooper, who, leaving only some small remains of the foundation now in- corporated in the cellars, bnitt a platn modern house of three stories liigh, Thurgarton Hall, upon its scite. Mr, Rastall camplaius, that part of the remains of the abbey, now destroyed, consisted of a kitchen, vast and magnificent almost beyond parallel or compari&on, and very feelingly adds that an antiquary must be allowed to lament tlie felse taste which dictated the destruction of so noble a monument of ancient grandeur. The grounds are pleasingly di versified with wood and water; but the mansion has been some time in lease to John Breitle, Esq.
In Dcnihorptf or Dunethorpe, in this parish, the prior of Thurgarton and the abbot of Peterborough agreed that all the tenants were to plow for the church three days in the yean '' Each plough to have per day four loaves and four htrrings. They were likewise two days and a half in autumni and to have their wonted meat once in ihe day, and the second day like- wise, if the abbot would have them all day, otherwise to go away at nine o'clock without meat, &c/'
FiSKERTOM, on the banks of the Trent, has a ferry which crosses to Stoke, It appears an increaVmg place, having seve- ral coal-wharfs and warehouses connected with the Trent navi- gation. Here was anciently an Austin cell. Tanner tells us, that this manor having been granted to the priory of Thu
S2
m
^OTTIHOUAMSiUkS*
Ion by Ralph de Ayncourt the founiler^ in the court or matiof houj^, were Hoon after pluced some tew black canons belongs iiig to that moiiaslei y, who had a cliapcl here dedicated to tltn Blessed Virgioj and se%*eral beuefactioiis settled upon tliem- This was one of the very few houses which were granted to the laity in the time of Pinlip and Mary; and vva^ given to l<f>rd Cjinton and Thomas Morrison*
Norwood, about two aiiks from Southwelli baF a small modern seat built of brick and stone by John Sutton^ Esq* which aikr wards coiutnjj to his brolber and heirj Sir Richard Sutton# BarL an act of Parliament was procured to enable the archbishop of York k) grant him this place in fee, in exchange for other lands of ec|ual value. The situaliop of the house is extremely pkasaiiij being on a gentle slope, with a small piece of w^ter in the bottom^ and the approach is pleasingly striking, through scattered clumps of firs and larches, inltrspersed with some venerable oaks. This mansion is at present, we belieTe« occu- pied by Thunias Wright, Esq. ^Kcturning to the great uorlh road we arnre at
SUTTON UPON TRENT,
Which is indeed nothing more than a large village, consisting of many scattered dwellings upon the bank of the river. It is, however, a good central situation fur the tourist who wishes to examine the few parishes of ibis county which lie beyond Trent,
The Church here is a vicarage, and was anciently in the patronage of the prior of Worksop, who possessed the rectory. It is dedicated to All Saints; and, having a slender spire on a tower of some elevation, has a good effect when seen from a dis* tance* The nave and two side aisles are in good condition, but there are no ancient monuments, except one under an antique arch in the cbtincel but without Inscriptf on.
JfOTTINCHAUSlllRK.
2?r
I I I
^ was formerly in the SuUon ffimily; but Itlcharc! Je Sulton kavlng five daughters, coheiresses, the manor was diviik'd> and Mary the fourth daughter had the greatest share : her grand- daughter Joan was wife of Bertram de Moabouei^ier who claimed a market here every Monday weekly, and a yearly hir for two days, on the eve and feast of St. James the apostle ; byt these are now dbu?ied.
An extraordinary facti^ recorded here of the lateness of the harve«?t in the year 18(M*, w Iven on the fir^t of March the liar- Tt'St after m>Jch dilliculty and labour terminated, by getting home ft iield of bean.<i in excellent condiiiou !
Nonrn Colling H\!tf U a pretty large village with some good houses. Its very ancient church i* of Saxon origin, all the arches on the Routh aide of the nave being of that order. Those are very irregolar in size ; and, thoygh oi excellent workman- ship, do not appear us if intended for part oi' ffth buihling, hnl are perhaps a part of the old priory church which is tradi- tionally related to have exij^tcd here. It h dedicated to St* John the Baptist, and has a good tower with four bells. This parish witb its neighbour wais formerly the property of the abbot of Peterborough, whoj as early as the reign of Henry the third, had a grant of free warren here, and set up a gallows^ as being within his joristliction. If he ha4l no right, he was not- withstanding determined to shew his power, and accordingly hanged a thief upon it : but the bishop of Lincoln, who claimed the lordship of Newark, and of the whole ^it Us wapen- take, ordered the gailows to be taken down.
South CoLLiNfJMAM lies nearer to Newark, and has a ^mall church dedicated to All Sainu, and a Baptist meeting house. Stukeley takes notice of- a high barrow or tumulm called Pot* ter's Hill* stated traditionally to have been a Roman pottery • it is likely, how^evcr, to have been originally a Roman, or per- haps a British, military suiion, as it aarid?* upon an enuntnc* commanding a prospect of the road on both sides, Gough, in- deed^ says, " at (^olfin|Jiam,or Burgh near it,, was the OocQievta
S 'J
170TTldr6HAIfSHtR&.
1
of Antoninus* The ramparts are plowe<l over j l>ut the Eoman coins. Burgh Peonies, have been found here, and foundations often struck up* Many pots, urns, bricks, iron oret and cinders, have been found here.'* Mr. Tbrosby's observa* tion on this is of rather a curious nature : for after acknowledg- ing that such things have been dug up here» he adds yet not such kind oC pottery or of bricks '* from what I could learn that indicate that thi& place had been a Roman station ofikat consequence ^ Crocolana ;" but if these things were Bomtm, the kind can have nothing to do with the consequence of thv tiation or establish mtint, for at our own manufactories gooda of dif- ferent qualities may be round.
North and South CtiFTO!*, though two distinct villages^ a mile asunder, have bat one churchy decent \n its arrangements^ but containing nothing curious. At North Clifton there was formerly a collegiate chauntry for secular priests; but the whole edifice has been long since totally destroyed.
That this place has been formerly of considerable note is manifest from various discoveries. Mr. Pegge observes that Clifton hill* has a red clilTnear the Trent, for the space of i mile, which though it seems natural, yet produces innumerable pieces of urm of various colours. He adds^ that there arc mnny bones and scalps otten found," and there lately tumbled out an ancient grave stone without inscriptiouj but with some iron work, wherewith the parts seem to have been united. The inhabi* tants tell of some pieces of lead with figures upon them, and discourse much of CHfton castle, which they suppose to have been placed upon the hill.*^
Here h a ferry over the Trent, but the inhabitants Jkre firry free; and in lieu, the ferryman and his dog have each a dinner at the vicarage at Christmas, of roast beef and plum puddings and the parson\<; dug is always turned out whilst the ferryman's eats his share of the entertainment. The ferryman also has a
righ-
• BibL Top. Brit, Vol IIL p. 4B6.
KOTTIKailAMSIIl&I*
right, OQ that day, lo claim from the TiUagers a prime loaf of bread*
Thoenky is a small village wkh a church dedicated to St« Heleo^ and contaimiig some monuments of the Neville family # nut of Tery ancieiu date. Here is a very agreeable seat of George NevllJe, ILsq. with pleasing grounds; but the most im* portant object is the scene of improved cukivatiun, a targe tract of low moors, often flooded by rain<it and said^ in the late agri- cultural survey, t« be the worst huid which the editor had ever &een. Yet this has all been reclaimed within the last thirty years, by a good system of drairt:ige, follnwed up by Mmeing* and manuring : the worst land has thus been rendered fit fur plant* ingf and upwards of two hundred acres are in a very flourishing state, w hi 1st the remainder by judicious cropping and feeding is now in a state amply lo repay the very extraordinary expenses, incurred particularly in the article of manure*^
Brodholme ia ta Thorney parish^ but contains only two or three houses. It once, howevefj had a monastery ; and Tan* jier tells us that Agnes de Camville^ wife of Peter Gousla, (ihc founder of Newhouse fur Prxmonstratensian canons,) placed here a prioress and nuns of that order, about the latter part of the reign of king Stephen. This small monastery, situated upon the borders of the county next to Lincolnshire, wasdedi* cated to the blessed Virgin Mary, and had possessions rated at 16L; but Sarah, dat^hter of Agnes and Peter, seems to have been Its greatest benefactres.% having both added to and con* firmed the original grant*
In an old MSS, in the British Museum,t there is a curious story of some priests giving to a nun a green gown /
•' L I find under Ere via Rex Edward i III, anno XXIV- that William Fox, Parson of Lee near Gainsborough, John Fox,
S 4 and
* Vide ft letter of Mr. Neviic*i to Sir Richard Sattoti, Bart* m the Agricul- tural Survey, p. 30 »
t Aytcough'i CutiUogQe, 4938, 135, with a tBireu)«l reference to Wcarcr'i FancTil Mgnuroenis. ,
ISnQ
VOTTl^OffJUfSltTllV.
aiid Thomas dc Lingostone, Friars minora of llie consent in Lincoln, were indited before Gilbert d'Unifravill and otbef Justices in parlibu?i de Lindley apud Ttmancastefi die Sabbaw po&t fesluin S. Jobaruiis Bapttstij in the said yere. ^* for tti^t they came to Brad holme, a nunnery in the county of Not ting* bam, tbe XVI IL of the Kalands c»f February, and then and there rapucrunt et abduxerutit inde, <rontra pacem DK Regis, &c,*-> violently tnok> and forcibly carried away thence > agaiiisl^M the peace of their Sovereign Lord the King, a certain nun hy^M name Margaret de Everingham, a sister of the said House (strip- ping her of her religioua habits, and putting upon her a green gown or robe of the secular fashion) and also divers goods to the value of XL. S.**—
1L\TIDBY, or Herdeby, a small village upon the verge of the county, is remarkable as the place where Queen Eleanor lay ill and died. How little dependence can at any time be placed in traditt0fi is exemplified in this instance^ by the very absurd story ^ihicb Mr, Throshy picked up here* He says, " the in* habitants here have a simple tradnion, that a Queen Catharine fje^ided ages since at this pface* Foundations of some capital buildings are here frecjuenlly di^ieovered, which foster tbe tra- dition.*' If Mr. Throsby, however^ had looked Into Goagh^s additions to Camden, he would have t'ound that Herdby " where Queen Eleanor died 29th of November, HHb of Edw^ard the lirat was not, aii vulg;n"ly sujjposud, near Bolingbroke in Lin- colnshire, but in the parish of N»irlh Clifton on the Trent, in this county > five miles frum Lincoln, where was a vill.i and' chape! of ease to that parish which is one of the prebends of Lincoln, The king founded a chauntry here ; a tterwards re- moved to Lincoln where her bowels were buried.^' Here the first cross was erected, but iii now do^itvoyed ; and the next wib^h at Lincoln. ^^|
Returning into the great north roadj we cgme to Weston^ a ver}^ pleasant village^ seated upon a hill, with a neat Gothic churcU> and commancling a line view over the northern part o*
th«
VOVTUIOHAM8BIR1. Ml
Uie ccHintj ; pariicalarly Semnkmg moor to which we ioactaadi and where the toorUt* if fiitigued, nay be elcgantl j accoamio* dated at Scorikmg moor Imt, aungle and eztrmely elegi^il hooae on the right hand sid^'of the road. It is cased with a stonelika composition, and has a very 'haodsonecorridore arranged as a greenhouse^ connecting it with the offices, with a shrubbery in front, and presenting ali the ^^rtwtem of a private mansion*
The moor being now in a state of inclosnre presents a pleas* ing scene of coltivation, contrasting finely with some vnMg though flat, scenery in its vicinity. .
Two mties further of excellent road, bring as to
■ .. • ' ■ ■
TUXFORD,*
Often called Toxford in the Clay, from its situation in thai ' division of the hundred, and well kpown as a posting stage oaf the north road. .. - ■* . » -
OldBarnabyindescrtbing hit' northern route, says •
'' Theoce. to Tof ford in tlw Cli^ Ificrfi, Where poor tnveliert fiodMch wajr Cherej Wa^rs like bird-lime seem to tbew them. Seats are S^rtt to snch at know them ; Th' \wy hsngt there, Idrtg batt hong there. Wine is never v«nttcd ahong there.".
If the wine is not better than in ftrnaby's days» more of it is now sold there, for the town consists principally of inns for the great resort to it as a thoroughfare.
The town is but small, but is of more modem appearance^ than many others in the county, having been burned down on the eighth of Sept. 1702. Much of what is rebuilt^ however, con* sists of farm residences ; and there is scarcely any trade in the place except in hops, of which a considerable quantity is raised ill the vicinity. The Fair for this article takes place on the
«5th
* Googh says, '' branded, to. a proverb, for its mty vitoation.''
nt
1IOm^OHAMSfitftl«
k9i5ili of September; and there is another on the l'2th of May for caiile, sheep, pigs, and poultry. The market is on Monday* anil is fuUy supplied for the small population, which by the returns of 1801 consisted only of 785 in 110 houses; being 400 males, anil 385 females* The church, which is oppoMle to the principal inn, is dedicated to St. Nicholas, con5ists of a na¥e and side aisle, and has a spire with five good bells. All the ancient monuments mentioned by Thoroton, as well as the ar- morial glass, are in a htate of decay ; there is, however, still in existence a representation of Su Laurence roasting on a grid- I iron ; one man is employed in blowing the fire, another turning |btm with a pair of tongs, and a third looking on; aUo some •pecimens in the north porch of a priest in the attitude of prayer. This latter is on a stone of a coffin shape ; the fi^re i$ I only a bust, with his head shaven, and a cushion under it, ac- I ^ooipanied by a quaLrefoil, rondeau, chalice, and patten, the emblems of the sacerdotal office. In the north wall also is a i very ancient (igure of a lady in a si^uare head dress, strait sur* coat, and long sleeves, and a bound at her feet ; opposite to hcr^ b an altar tomb with the mutikted trunk of an armed knight ; but the armorial bearings are too obscure to be ascertained.
Of its former history, we find recorded in Tanner, that here was a college founded by John de Longvillers who obtained leave to place in the parsonage house here a college of live chaplains, one of whom to be warden ; but that not taking effect, he got leave from Edward the third to give this ad vow- ion to Newstead priory, that they might find five chaunting priests, viz. three at Tuxford, and two at their own conventual church, whose duty should be to pray for his soul, &c.
But a more rational establishment is of later date, and con- sists of a Grammar School, which is held in a well-built house* and has long been in considerable repute. It deserves parti- cular mention ; wc shall, therefore, give an extract from a MSS, inlheBri'jsh Museum.*^
" From * Ajrioougb*! Citaloguei 49H* 18.
KOTTlKGHAMSinaB.
283
<* From a MSS, copy in the bands of Isaac Garner, Gent, of Grantham, June 1st, 1731. Mr* Charles Reatl by bis last will and testament, dated 30 July 1669, amongst other matters, wills thus :
1* " Item, 1 do hereby give and bequeath for the mainte* nance of two several Free Grammer Schools/' {one at Corby in Lincolnshire) " to be erected* constituted, and continued for ever, after my death.—
4. Item^ for the respective leaching and instructing of the youth and children of the inhabitants of the ^ulid respective towns and parji>hes, to write, read, and ca:»t accounts> and further to instruct th^m in Latin, as occasion shall require respec- tively.
5* The several yearly sums or stipends of 30/. apiece per annunu
6. And I do hereby likewise give to eight boys (the sons of poor widows of ministers, and of decayed gentlemen and their widows who are not able to maintain their charge,) the sum of 5L per annum apiece, for ever, towards their maintenance in dyet and otherwise ; to enter at their respective ages of seven years or upw&rds, and to be continued, taoghtt and instructed, gratis, by the respective masters of the respective schools for the time being, in such manner as the rest of the children of the respective inhabitants of the aforesaid towns and parishes respectively ought to be taught as aforesaid, untill their re- spective ages of sixteen years; and then to be removed and others to be admitted in their places, viz. four of them by the master for the time being of the Freeschool of Corby, where they are there to reside ; and four of them by the master for the time being of the Freeschool of Tuxford aforesaid, where they are to reside, till their said ages of sixteen years as aforesaid.
?• Gives lands in fee to trustees^
9» Appoints ^ix freeholders of Tuxford as trustees for an half.
19, Declares
*2^^
iiaftiv«rttAMsirrR«r
19. Declares all surplosse* ti be for repairi, &c ; but fifitto build school houses, and lodgings for the masUTS.
24. Uerpit'^ts the lords uf the respective iiiai»ors to give ptrce* Of ground (waste) for the purpose.
Si). A|ipnintH mayor and aldermen of€rajitham lobe visjiors,
:J4. In ca?e of abuse, Ruch parts lo be entered upon by the heirs at law, but lo recontinue the salaries, &c. on ct-asing of the abuse.
4^, Gives 200/, towards the building of the scboolhouse, SicJ* We have been the more diflTuse on this head, not only to render it an cxampfe to others in this liberal age ; but also to preserve the memory of such parts as may have become nearly dormant, or al leiJit unknown to those whose circumstances mo5tre()uire such adventitious aid in the education of their Httle one^*
Of Egmantok, in this neighbourhood, we are told that in the feign of Henry the first, there was one Nigel lus de Albini. liroihcrto the Earls of Clare and Arundel, then a young man of a good diH|io?*ilion, and great hope ; who carrying the kiog^s bow was made a knight, and for his honesty enfeoffed by that monarch with this munor, with the parks «nd appurtenances. He hiid not been seized of thtuj long, when he guve them to his bosom friend Hubert lyAiville; this coming lo the king^s knowledge, he enr|nired into its truth, when Nigellus answered •* It was,** adding that now the king had got two honest knighfi instead of one. Nigellus was the founder of the family of Mowbray^ and the descendants of D'Aiville held it of that family as far down as the time of Edward the first.
Llxington^ or Lax ton, is a considerable viHage that once gave the title of Baron to the Buttons of Kelham. Itschurdi is dedicated to St. Michatd, and once had much armorial painting and carving, of tlie uncient families of Roos, Hastings, ♦irey, Longvillers, kc. Thesis arc now either mutilated or totally gone, partly through the unavoidable decay of lime, but pnii.;
i 4
4
KoTTtlfOH AMStI 1 as*
7BS
i^ipally Dwitigr according to Mr. Throsby^s cibservation^ tliiriy years ago, to tbe unpanlonabli: neglect of iho^e who ought to have preserved them tram wanton destruction. Hu gives, iti particu* lar^ a most horrid picture of the tilth and nastinc^s of the north cemeterVf the original burying place of the fiHinder*; but it h pleasing to observe that a great chnnge for the better has since tliat taken place. Anciently there was a chauntry in the church; siiid it has evidently been a building of great ecclesiastical im-* portance, having a spacious nave and two side aisles, with a large chancel, a lofty tower, and five bell^i. Amongst the old mtmunients were three of crusaders; but they are gone*
FiiUer^ Lu his Worthies^ telbus, in his usual quaint style, that William Chappell was born here and bred a feUow in Christ*s College in Cambridge^ where he was remarkable for the strict* nesH of his conversatioiu No one tutor in our memory, adds he, bred more and better pupils; so exact bis care in their educa- tion* He was a most subtle diaputant, equally excellent with the sword and tlu- shield, to reply or answer.
He was chosen provost of Trinity College in Dublin ; and af- terwards biihop of Cork and Rosse. Frighted with the rebel- lion in Ireland (1(j41 ) he came over to England, where he rather cxchai»gedj than eased, his condition^ such the woefuiness of our civil wars. He died anno 1649, and parted his estute
^almost equally betwixt his own kindred ami distres*sed mim«*
Iters; his charity not impairing Ids duty, and his duty not pre*
Hudicing his charity*
OssiNGTON Hail lies a short distance south of Laxton> and U the modern built seat of John Denisoii, Esq. IVL P. Here was an ancient house in the old style, with pointed roofs and clustered chimneys; it was indeed partly de^etroyed in the civil wars, about which lime it belonged to the Cartwtight
rfcmiiy» afterwards to that of C^ranmer, and since purcbtised by the late Mr Denison of Leeds, a gentleman said to have rea- lized a fortune of three-fourths of a million, by the woollt^n
* traJe.
trade. Tboroion gives a Tiew of the ancient edifice, and calb it <' a dwelling of more magnitude than iplendoor;'' in the present one, however, elegance and comfort are united. The pleasure grounds are laid out in a good style, and the park is extensive.
The church is newly built, and contains a magnificent man^ soleum to the memory of the late worthy proprietor.
Marnham lies on the east side of the great north road# near to the bank of Trent. Though but one village, it consists of two hamlets, and is a cheerful, pleasant, though retired* spot. Wil* Ham de Cawres " gave for his souFs health, and that of Agnes his wife, to God^ St. Mary, and St. Cuthbert at Radford, and the brethren serving God there,^^ (which he considered no doubt as ihe^rm of his heavenly bank,) free passage for their servants and carriages in his ferry boat here \"
The church here was the property of the knights templars, upon whose extirpation it went to tlie knights hospitallers of St. John of Jerusalem.
Here is a fair on the 13th of September for horses, homed cattle, swine, and merchandise.
At one period, the MamhamM, Skegby, and Fleddorough, were considered as forming one village;' but the latter we are told by an intelligent antiquary,''^ has been a much larger place than it now is. There have indeed been no antiquities ever discovered in the inclosures ; but this he attributes to their con- sisting principally of grass lands, and not having been disturbed by the plough.
The church is a spacious edifice, and has once been adorned with much scriptural painting in the windows. Part of this con- sisted of the twelve apostles, with an article of the creed along with each ; but time and neglect have made great ravages among them. The ancient raised monument in the choir, is tradi- tionally
* Vide Peggc*s Bib. Top.^ritan. Vol. HI. p. 486. 9
KOTTIVaHABTSinaS*
2M
tionaliy said to be a raecnorial of one of the once flourbhing family of Basset.
Dunham, or Dunholme, in this neighbourhood, has a fair on the 12ih of August for cattle and merchandize. The tenants L4»f this £oc and manor have peculiar privileges; for being tenants <^f ancient demesne, " they ought to be quit of murder, pou. tage, and all other fiiies^ to which the commonalty of the rest of the county are subject/' This church is one of the prebends of Southwell, being given by Henry the first to Thurstan, arch* bishop of York, for that purpose,
Easi and West Drayton, Laneham, and Stokeham, are all com*' fortable villages, in this vicinity* but have nothing interesting to give them a place here : and iti Darleton we have only oc- casion to mention a good liouse at RagnaU# lately inhabited by ^a branch of the MeHish family*
East Markham is a large and populous village^ and may indeed be esteemed a country town ; and is now in a state of further improvement, as its common lands are all in process of inciosure, and that upon a liberal scale of general convenience* the private roads being thirty feet in width, and public foot roads planned of six feet, so as to insure a free and easy comniu- nication. The church is a very pleasing edifice, with a lofty embattled tower ; its nave and side aisles are good specimens of the Gothic* and its chancel is spaciou.<i. Here are several an* tit^ue monuments; particularly one of Judge Markham as far back as 1409''^. In the village is a good house be tanging to the family of Cartwright* Amongst the various ancient religious benefactionjj in this place there was a curious grant by Avicia, wife of Jordan de Chevercourt, who gave to the monks at Bly the, St bovate of land " for a refection of the monks on the day of
bet
■ * The charchyarO wns formeHy reckoned worth fire poundi* on aceount of F^i site: ittliis was for profitable purpoM^», iiidependeiit <jf clerical dura far
»epuUure> It was a la rje sum to be given far it» ncirt^ ft eentury ago, an4 tliewf
*4iJiC it iituil jcideed hate been citfAfi^,
^S8
XOTTTKOUAMSninS.
ber anniversary, tbat by their intcrcessiont her soul in heavejl might have refect'on with celestial meat and drink. &c/*
Wlst Markram is a small village on the great north roadr with a conUurtable inn, xtvtd as a posting stage by the rarious public convey anres. It is very small, nnd has a very small church; but there '%«> a very l«irge moor ivhteh takea ils name froift it, partly cultivated, dad now in a state of inclosing. At East Markhaiii there is a School for twelve buys, and eigh girls, who arc all clothed: this h partly supported by prirati subscription, and partly by a bequest of ten pounds per annum for ever.
Sir John Markham, as upright a judge as ever sat on the bencbj was a native of thii4 place, and descended of a very an- cient family. He was educated in the practice of the law, was knighted by Edxvard the fourth, and made Lord Chief Jus- tice of tlie King*s Bench, in the room of Sir John Fortescuc. "These," says Fuller in his Worthies, " I may call the two Chief Justices of the Chief Justices, for their singular integrity |.. for though one of them favoured the house of Lancaster, th« other of York, in the titles to the crown, both of them favoured the house of justice, in matters bt-iwij^t party and party*
It happened that Sir Thomas Cooke, late Lord Mayof of London, one of vast wealth, wa^ cast before hand at the court« (where the Lord Rivers and the rest of the queen's kindred had predevoured his estate,) and was only for formalities' sake to be condemned in Guildhall, by extraordinary commissioners in Oyer and Terfuiner, whereof 8ir John Markham was not the meanest. The fact for which he was arraigned was for fend- ing money to Margaret of Anjou: this he denied, and the sin- gle testimony of one Hawkins, tortured ou the rack, was pro- 4 need against him.
Judge INInrkham directed the jury (as it was hrs place, and no partiality in point of law to do,) to fmd it only misprision ftrcasoni whereby Sir Thomas saved his lands, though heavily
led, and litV*, though long imprisoned. At this, king Edward
was
KOTTINGHAMSUIRi.
2B9
I
jfM fto vexedi that Sir John was ouied of his Chief Justiceship, and lived privalely the remainder of his life.^'
Another anecttote is recorded ofhlm^ ofa lady whoj though agaiDst the will of her husband^ " would traverse a suit of law, he being contented to buy his quiet by giving her her i^ill therein, though oihrrways persuaded in his judgement the case Would go against her. This lady, d welting in the Shiretown, in- vited the judge to dinner, and (though tUrifty enough of herself) treated him with a sumptuous entertainment. Dinner being done, and the cause being called, the judge gave it clearly against her ; and when in passion, she TOwed never to invite a judge again. Nay wifcj said the husband, vow never to invite a jusi judgt any more .***
IktcrcQtcs makes a much greater appearance on the county map, than it does in reality, for it consists of not more than halfa dozen houses; mid its church, which fell dov«rn in 1650, is not likely ever to adopt " Resurgam*' as its motto.
HiUGHTON, once the abode of the Stanhopes, and afterwards of the ancestors of the present Newcastle family (Hollesi) is now in total decay. The house is entirely gone, and nothing remains but the chapel, now in ruins; but being buitt in the Gothic Style and embotiomcd in trees, it forms a pleasing though sombre object in the scenery. It never consisted of more than a nave and north cemetery, in which is the ancient burial vault of the liolleses which his present grace of New- castle is preparing for tlie future sepulchral abode of himself and family ; he also intends making some repairs in the chapel itself. Even the gravestones, at present, are in a state of ruin, and the monumental rcliques are in a total state of mutilation and decay.
A paper mill still gives employment to the inhabitants of a
few cottages^ yet this place was once of suGjcient coiwequence
to give the title of Baron to the Earls of Clare of the name of
Holies. An old MS. in the British Museum says, the house
Vol. XIL T ' wai.
590
iroTTnroftAn«HiKB*
iras an ancieni baildmg with little unifbnnity in it. Wilt at dif- ferent periods^ and its oldest part forming the entrance tower, Tlie history of this place aflfords a curious lesson to manktnd* The Stanhopes sold rt to Sir William Holies, an eminent mffrchast in the mctro[>oli5, and lord mayor iti the reign of Henry the eighth, and his fortune so great as to enable him to becpieath a fortune of 10,000/* per annum to his eldest son. His hospi- tality was great ; and he sttways begun his Christinas holidays at Hallow tide, and coniititied them to Candlemas, during which period any man was permitted to 5lay three days without being asked who he was, or whence he came. At all times, he nevtr set down to dinner till one o*dock ; and being asked why he a!- way!» dined so late, lii^i answer was, that for aught be knewj there might be a friend come twent)-^ miles to dine with bim« and he would be loth he should lose his labour,*
His son, dying before liis father, never came to the family estate, (though it appears to have been bequeathed to him ; but he tired at Irby in Lincolnshire, "where he was seen many times Co confront Henry Clinton, Earl of Lincoln, who was a great tyrant amongst the gentry of that county, and carry business against him, as it were, in spite of his leeth,^' little thinking that, in a few generations, his blood and estates would centre in the family of that nobleman: and the grandson of Sir Thomas, eldest son of Sir William, losing both father and mother at an early age, " was exposed to the most wretched condition, till the T,2tI of Clare took notice of him/'
Tlie first Earl of Clare of the Holies family was bom at Houghton in 1564, and improved so ranch under a private tut that at thirteen years of age he was fit to be sent to Tnnii College Cambridge ; where at his first examination fee dis- played such genius and acquirements, that the master embraced him, and truly prophesied " this chiiJ if he lives will become ft singular honour and ornament to his country/* Altera due
course
at
XOTTtKGHAMStllES*
991
courie of study he seemft to have formed some idea of engag- ing ID the legal po^eftsiotit for he entered himself at Gray's Ifin on leaving college; but hav^ing been introduced at court, aad been appointed one of the gentlemen of the Band of Pen* •ioDerSj he adopted pursuits more agreeable to his inclinations.
In that age of mottoes and madrigals, he chose for bisjDo^^ *' Qui inimicum timet, amicum nan amat/' and with great jus^ lice« for a brave heart is always the most generous and friendly ; and the gallant spirit marked by this, he was soon enabled to indulge, having served in the Flemish ^vars, and al?o against the Turks.
On the attempt of the Spanish Armada against the libertiei of his native country, be returned and distinguished himself much in its subsequent defeat, and he afterwards did consider- able service in the suppression of the different rebellions in Ireland.
After the accession of James« he became obnoxious to the court, and (why we know not) was imprisoned; but after a very short confinement was released, aud immediately called to the House of Peers, for which, however, he is said to have paid lOiOOO/, to Buckingham the favourite. His earldom of Clare was bestowed upon him in IG^, a dignity of which he was highly worthy i hut which it is said he could not obtain without paying down 50U0/. more. Though content to pay the bribe, he seems to have despised the receiver, and in the reign of Charlei was one of hi** most violent enemies ; but we must also allow him more honourable motives for his general conduct, as he stood forth, upon all occasions, the champion of tht just rights oi the people against the uncoustttational conduct of the then minister. Notwithstanding this, his heart was im- pressed with loyalty; but he lived not to see the degradation of the kingly office, or the overthrow of genuine liberty by the fanatic and revolutionary principles of the demagogues of that day, having died in IG^iT^ at the venerable age of 7S,
T2
His
^9^ irOTTlirOHAHBBIEEj
llis second son, howerer, (Denztl Holies) also bom ab Havghton, took a more active part in revolutionary politics, so much so as to be in the list of members whom Charles so unad- vised ly accused of high treason. He was born in 1597, and in 1627 came into the House of Commons ; in which year he be-, gan to display his activity, being one of the persons who actu- ally by force held the speaker in the chair, until the well known resolutions were read. The imperious conduct of Charles to- wards him in 1641 gave him a decided turn against the cxyurt party ; yet he, though afterwards a Pari iamen tar iai^ was np^ only a steady opposer of the principles which took away buf ndnarch's life, but was ev^ obnoxious t6 Cromwell himself, for his resistance to his nnconsiitutional cwurpations^ He now taw the absurdity of a democratic government in such n country as England, land joined with ardour in the proceedingt which brought about the Restoration ; and so convinced was the second Charles of his loyalty and integrity/ thai be called kiat to the upper house, by the title of Lord HoUes^
The other leading particulars of this noble family may be found in any of the peerages; we mention these personages aa connected with the biography of the place.
Elke$ley, near Haughlon, has little worth noticing; but Gani'' ston, or Gaineston, is a considerable village, and great part of its population have long been employed in the manufacture of Candlewick^ Like all other manufacturing places, it has a numt ber of sectaries,- of whom the Baptists are the most numerous. Its church has once been antiijue: but its brasses being all de- stroyed or stolen, and its monumental ornaments having suffered heauiifying from the whitewash brushes of the Vandal^ in oilice a few years ago, there is nothing to interest the antiquary .^
Proceeding along the north road we come ta
ftETFORD;
KOTTINQHAU»RtliE.
m
RETFORD-
" Thence to Retford, fish I fed ton, Audi to til' adiiigr, I h^id rtvd on. With curouses I did uim mc. That mj (Uh might swtm «rithiji me. As they hud done bemg living And in the river oimbljr div^iDg/'*
This cheerful and populous town, seated on the river Tdie, has fchence become extremely husy^ particularly since the branch of the Chesterfield canal has been brought into ita ti» cimty. Comfort^ and even weaUh^ are displayed on all sides; and its open airy square, surrounded by good regular buildings, gtV£S k an air of importance that few country towns of its size possess. Its name is supposed to have originated from an an- cient ford over the river, at a place where the soil consisted of a reddish coloured clay, and of which a considerable quantity is still fiiun4 in the vicinity*
Properly ipvaking, it consists of two towns and two parishes^ East and IVest Retford, from their situations on each side of the river, and each of these are distinct in jurisdiction ; but their ex- treme nearness make» them, for all local purpoi>es, but as one^ being iniited by a very substantial, and not inelegant bridge ; we shall, however, consider them separately in onler,ofde^ fcription*
The church of Bait Retford, dedicated to St* Swithin, and called the Corporation church from its being within the bo- roughi is a neat Gothic edifice, in high condition on the outside^ but not so well in the interior. It ha^a handsome square tower with sis well toned ht;lU, and its nave and two side aisles are well lighted, and on a commodious plan. The chancel \% but small ; and, being rather dark, is disailvantageous to the appear* ance of ita altarpiece, which represents the Last Supper of our irord^ and was given about a century ago by a gentleman resi-
T 3 dent
• Drunkca B4mnbj'» Jourocj.
S54
irdtTlVGHAlltHIRE*
on of
deut ill the town. Here are some sepulchn&l memorials, one oi which is to the memory of Robert StJtton, £aq. who distin- guished himself much by his benefactions to the town and to the church; he also left a share tn the canal, for the benefit of the poor of East Retford*
This church is a vicaragej the rectory being in the cathedral of York, whose archbishop in 1258 allotted for the vicar's main* tenance one hundred shiUrngs of altarage, and the small tythes of pigs, geese, chickens^ and the bread and wine, ale and beer, which should happen to be brought to the altar : but the tytbei of the milts were to be given Uj the poor. Once a yeAT mla^H there is a visiLahon in this church* ^B
Sioswick Hospital was built some years ago by a person of that name ^or four men ; but it was rebuilt in 1806 by the i poration, and is now a neat building of brick, simply imitativl of the G(tthic, The Freeschool endowed by Edward the six tj is near the church, and is» as it ought to be, plain and spaciouf It has been rebuilt within these few years by the corporation,^ who have added good accommodations for the master and usher. Here is also an Alttuhouu for twelve poor women.
The Town HALL was built about Bl\y years ago, and is a plain yet handsome, and commodious edilice; but it is to be regrt^tte that it very inconveniently occupies a large space of the marks place* Here are always held the sessions both for town an district; and beneath the large room, are Shambles eKtremel| clean and convenient, reckoned indeed the best in the shi/e*
Tlie Market is on Saturday, and is always well supplied, not only with articles of the usual kind, but with considerable rjuan* titiet of hopt in the season. The corporation have much im- proved the market, by giving up all the tolls; but their at- tempts to stop regrating have been inefficacious ; and this must always be the case ; far regulations which can be of any avail will operate ac;ainst the fair dealer, whilst the iUlntentioned will break through them, trusting to chance and iheir own ingenuity, to avoid a diacovery. |
Tbe
NOTTVKGHAMiEI&E.
f9S
Tbe Fain are two in ihe year, on ihe 2M of March and 9nd
ofOctober» for horses and black cattle; there was fmuicrly mnother at the feast of Tiuiity, but it has been some tioie di&con' tinued.
The Tradt: of Retford, at tbe beginning of the last century* was much in barley for mahing; but Worksop has taken away great pait of it. Its Mamifacturci at present consist of hattt a mill for candlewick, and a paper mill; and there has long been a sailcloth manufactory establisbed. The Worsted milt, at* tempted tome years ago by Major Cartwright^ no longer exists. We know not the reascm of its I'ailuie : the plan was certainly both judicious and patriotic; but we are told that many indivi- duals were ruined in consequence of its want of success.
In 1799j an Agricultural Society was formed here utider ihe auspices of Colonei Eyre, tbe Mar^^uis of Ticbfield, (present Duke of Portland,) Viscount Newark^ &;c. ; it has already be- stowed many premiums, axid has been of considerable advantage to the vicinity*
About a mile from the town is a well of extremely cold water, called Si, John's Well; it was ^unous for many cures in the early part of tbe last century, but seems to have lost muchof ilt notoriety. No aUem|)t has been made to bring it into repute^ though a probable consetjuent resort ofcompauy would be bene* ficial to the place ; but this is perhaps owing to what we un* derstand lo be a circum scribed state of sociability in Retford ; for though there are assemblies held at the Angel Inn during tbe winter, yet society is separated, and those who consider them- selves as the first class are principally engaged in the amuse- ments of iheir own domestic circles.
West Retfoiii> is very small, and has an ancient church de- dicated to St. Michael, with a spire upon a s<j*iare tower^ and some old monumental stones, but none of antiquarian im- ^^^ portance.
^^m Dorrtts Hospital was founded in IG66 by John Dorrel^ ■ M* D* The original plan was for ten men, but the trustees ^^^ T 4 have
^dS HOTTlVOHAMShiM.
Aare added accommodations for six more. It is now a low an4 ancient looking edifice, in the centre, with two advanced wings of the same style; bat there are two advanced fronts of modern erection in the Mezzo Gothic, done with some degree of taste* and the whol^ forming an interesting object in the outskirts of the village on the road by Babworth to Worksop. It now sup- ports sixteen brethren, who have 10/. per annnm each, with clothing, coals, &c. part of a garden each, an orchard for the whole ; and, as they have honest trustees, they live in comfort under good rules. It is dedicated to the Holy Trinity; and the Subdean of Lincoln is always the master.
This village f uiTered considerably in the heavy flood which took place in 1795, and rose to the height of three feet in the inarket place. The torrent not only tore up the pavement in several places, but actually destroyed some houses. Since the Chesterfield canal was finished. West Retford has progressively flourished, and may now be reckoned a pleasaiit thriving place.
fVest Re(ford HaU is in its immediate yicinity, and is a seat of the Emerson family. An extensive lawn, watered by a gen- tle stream, and highly ornamented with thriving groups of trees and shrubs, lies before its principal front, and though lying on a flat, yet the home views are very pleasing, and may be considered extensive. It is a matter of great boast here, that his Royal Highness the Prince of Wales spoke highly of its situ- ation in one of his journies from the north.
It may be interesting to those locally connected wth Retford* to trace its history in times comparatively recent; we there- fore give the entry in the visitation of Sir Richard St. George^ Norroy king of arms in 1614.*
" The town and borough of East Radford in the county of Nottingham is the Kingstown, and hath been an auncient borough as appearclh by an auncient grante made by Edward the second, who graunted the town in fee farm to the burgesses of the same,
paying
• Ilail. Coll. p. 1400. 3.
NOTTIKGHAMIHIRS*
paying X. ^'>* IL and giving them power to choose baytiff« fur tile go?ernment of the said townc. Hen. 3 gninted Ihcni a fay re. Edward 3 exempted them from all tolls and tnreigit seri^isses* Hen. 6 gave them a court of record to hold plea of action without imitation of same, and lo execute the odjce of Eacheaior and clerke of ihe markett| with many other liber* ties.
*' AM which privileges have been from time to time cnnfiroicd by the several kinges and queenes of this land; and now lastly our Gracious Sovereign Lord, King James, in the fil\h year of his reign did not only confirm ail former graunteji made by his predecessors, but also incorporated it anew by the name of bay- lilFs and burgesses, and appointed the same to be (joverncd by two bayliiFs and likewise twelve aldermen to make a Common Council for the town; also they shall have a common eeale, with power to alter it at their pleas\ire; and Ihat the two bay- lifis for the time being, and the learned steward, shall be justice^ of the peace and cjuorum, within the said borough.
*' And at ihh present visitation (1614,) was Nicholai Watson, and Thomas Draper, Baylifls; and those following aldermen, viz. Wiiiiani Thornton, Robert Wharton, John Jepson, Richard Elsham, Richard Parnell, Rubert Stock ham, William Hellamy* Fiancis Barker, Martin Taylor, William Bayley, Robert Hud- son, and William Dickins: the Right Honourable Gilbert Earl of Shrewsbyry, High Steward; Sir RicJiard Williamson, Knt* Learned Steward ; Robert Brown, Town Gierke; and two Ser- jeants at Mace.
" This town hath two burgesses of the Parliamenl* Signed^ Ni- cholas Watson — Thomas Draper — Robert Brown."
This corporation has long been lu possession of much landed property^ considerable part of which, consisting of hop plan- tations, is highly valuable. Formerly they had a power both of hanging and transporting at this place ; but that unpleasant part of municipal jurisdiction has been removed for some years to the county town*
t ^bt
?98
KOTTIKOaAMftlflEft.
The elective franchise U in the bailill&y aldermen^ ai Bi«n; ihe latter cf ivhom are indehniLe, andnotobUg re«iident : the patrimooial right, however^ mherited by ih« eldest son, itiust depend upon his local nativity. The taodetof acquiring the freedom, independent of inheritance, are two; by servitude of seven yearns apprenticeship to a freemaiij actu- ally within the limits of the borough ; or by redemption^ which is by the gift of the bailiOs and aldermen; these latter^ how- ever, at the time when they receive their freedonij most be in habitant householders ; yet^ if they leave the place« oa the UA lowing day^ their rights remain unimpeachable.
Like all other small boroughs, this place had for many yei been a scene of di^sen«ion» both from Parliamentary and mi nlcipa) cauaes. With respect to the first, ihey have avoid Parliamentary interference belweea the corporation and the free- men, by a kind of tacit agreement by which each party h sup* posed to return a member; and with respect to the second, it has been settled by the Court of King*!> Bench^ even so latf as I797t ^^bo decreed " that all bye lavvj» ^hall be ipao facto inta* )id> which take upon them to enact matters which contradict or oppose the charter.**
Like all other places, wealth and interest will always have their influenccj and the Newcastle lamily have been supposed to be the principal favourites of the corporation; in 1797, how, ever, this influence was opposed by Sir William Amcots, and Mr Petrie, which for some time mmle it an open borough. But at til e election of IS06, Geni^ral Crawford came in at the head of the pollj having 98 votes; his colleague, Mr. HugbaH> poll- ing 80; whilst the unsuccessful candidate, Sir John Ingleby, could not muster more tliau 69. The whole number of electors has been estimated at 15(i; but we believe that now there arft^^ rather mot c, mB
The freemen have been rather unfortunate in their attempts to tttfranehiae themselves; but this will always be the case, where the attempt is not made upon true indepeil4<?tit princi- ples.
IffOTTlNOH AM SHIRK.
pics. If representatives ^re always to be chosen either by the 3ilent,but sure, influence of aristocracy, or by the danioar of a few discontented, or interested individuab^ who, by fiery boasts of patriotism and flaming promises of reform, &c, either per- miade or frighten the ignorant mass of the electors to choose the favourite of the day, then the cry of constitutiyna! iiiUe- petidence is but an empty sound ; nor will it ever be any thing better, until the electors come to a resolution to reform them- selves^ and to be prompted in their choice by no principle but that of selecting men of sense, information, and honesty, and who at the same time have a stake in the welfare of the country at large, of more importance than mere temporary personal in- ierest. In fact, until this is done, they will sometimes feel it difiicutt to find a proper person for their representative, when they honestly wish to repress undue iufltjence ■ a truth, which we believe will not be denied; a truth, at least, of which we believe many instances could be produced. In short, according to the too frequent practice of borough oppojtitions at the pre* sent day, an honest moderate nian is afraid to trust to a party led perhaps by a few hot headed individuals who, under the in* flueuce of a temporary spirit of patriotism, or of interested motives, are not always guided by cool resolution or by a juft sense of their coontry't good.
Mr. Oldfield in his " Histovy of Boroughs,** mentions a di»- appoiatment, something of his kind, which took place at Ret- ford, #hen the freemen oil e red their votes to Major Cart- wright, who although he had established a manufactory which gt that period employed upwards of 600 pfopkj and of course waa well qualified to be a representative burgess, yet he ^'hose to decline it, however; and, though rheauthui quoted has lK>t told m the reason why, it may ratiunally be suppoH'd that a fear of trusting too much to pop uiar favour ma.y tuve influ* lenced that gentleman^ in addition to other motives equally honourable,
TU^re aeem^ U» have been £ome interruption in the elective
franchise
VOTffSOIfJIJfSHlEX.
ftancbice of thU borough ; €ar libofigli iliey leot i
f>f Eiiw37d tli« secoad, yetliielr period mitti the IStli of
to Faj^inmeni in the n ngfit lay dortnant Ir
Th« CmHiffi are cIUt i as lamr anU j«M»ar ; the ibmicf
attr^ys cho^^en rroin a ., ...^ :.j€ aldermrii; and the biter fpoai soch rrremen as hare served the oflSce of chamber lain.
In |>foceciIiMg to investigate the North emteng dmrict oftfie 6o«nty, ttie totimt will keep for a short distance" on the great Borth road toward« Banrtry, and half a mtfe beyoti^ tbe two M»ik »(<>ne, will find a cross road which leads him IoScttom, m popolous village on the rights the tower of it hose small yet vciitrsibte ch»jfch forms a directing object, pleasingly backed by the iwelling hills towards Mattersy. The parish t5 called ''Sutton cum Lound;'' and Lowfit/ ci»mmonly called, though corruptly, ** Lound in the Morning** is a hamlet near to it
Mlacow, or Bacca HiU, now presents itself, a gently t emtnencct topped with a very picturesque, imleed elegftnlj farrf bouse and ollices in the style of an Italian villa, and forming a most pleading object tii the landscape. This was erected by JonaThan Acklnm, Esq.af Wiseton Hall ; but is only one among many of his very patriotic and tasteful improvements in thf$ neighbourhood. The plantations aromtd it are laid out with grvat ta«lc and jfidgement ; so us to make it literally a J #niec. In this neighbourhood are ihe remains of many Danii and Saxon antiquities, but most of which are unfortututely inl gn^at measure obliterated by the plough, and by paring and bttrning* liuccu ik said to signify a burying ground, in the old Ilinish, which is fully exemplified by the circular range of bar- rows on ilie north front of the hill j some of thom clumped wit! firs; and ollrers nearly levelled. A very large tumulus is sai^ to have been here not many years ago; this, however, is gone^ but \\ is most likely thnt tlje hill has been both an encampment iinda burying pkice. In the valley also, to the northward of it, are Mime slight vestiges uf earthen moumlSj which the tradition of
the
KOTTIKOnAHSQlRB.
301
Ih^ vicifiUy refers to the same origin ; and Pusto Hill is coa- stdered as another specimen of ibe warlike genius of our Danish fnvaciers,
iVI ATT ERSE Y next presents kself, a gcnleel, yel f^ery retired village on a gentle rise, and ha?ing some very handsome man- sions. It Mras the property of Earl Tosli before the Conquest; afterwards a family was here, who took their name. Be Mattersvy, or Maresey, but ended in an heiress Isabel married to Chaucey* who gave the village to the monks of the neighbouring Gilbcrtin^S Abbey fuynded by her antestori. After those geutlemeti got k, the prior had free warren, and there was also a market and fair. At the dissolution, the manor was granted to the Neville family whose heiress marrying Sir Wiiiiam Hickman, Oiat family resided here in the early purl of the last century : their house (Vtiil remain!^, and is a genteel and comfortabte residence of a private gentleman. The present lord of the manor it Jimathan Ack]Dm» Esq. of Wiseton Hall.
Letand in his Itinerary says, " from Gainsborough over Trent yiito Notinj^hanishire, and so lo Madersey viUage a V. niile'i^ 2 miles be tow medowes, and S be cora and pasture ground/*
The church dedicated to All Saints, is a very h^indsomc Gothic edifice, in excelleiit preser%'ation, and is a most pleas- ing object in the village* It has soMie curious carvings which %vere discovered some years ago under the oJd pavement of the chancel floor, and of which Throsby has preserved an engrav* ing: they are now placed against the south wall of the choir; but only one of them is d^cypherabie, which app^^ars to be the benevolent action of St. Martin dividing his cloak\ In the reign of Edward the firbi, this church was appropriated to the priory, to make them amends for some losses they had sus- tained by fire. There was also here a chauntry dedicated to St. Jolm the Baptist.
A handsome stone bridge over the river Idle is not only of great use, but also an ornatncnt to the village^ and forms an
agreeable
$06 vMTivaHAirsBrtiiii*
agreeable object amidst the surrovndlttif and orerihadoiriiii; foKag^.
About half a mile from the village are some small remsintof the Gilbertine priory/ dedicated to St. Helen, and founded for six canons by Roger Fttz Raaatph de Maresey before 1199; At the dissolution it was faloed at 601.
A (arm house now stands on its scite; part of its cloyatera, some of the cellst and what appears to hare been a comer of Its churcb> still roaric part of ita boundaries ; but these are going fkst todecay, and are now occupied' as carthooses» and filled with poultry roosfs. Yet there is still enough led, though in detached masses, to form even a conspiceout part of a small Cbthic residence, if its situation was to tempt a man of taste; but it stands low, and though the scenery around it is pleasiiigly retired, it has not any of those charms soeght after hy modem builders, whose primary object seems to be to see and be seen.
Crossing the Idle by Mattersey bridge, a pleasing mtmi road, shaded by extensive plantations, leads to Drakelaw, the priaci^ pal building in which, though it scarcely can be called a ham^ fet, is the Inn, which is not only comfortable and commodious, but forms a good object in the scenery both from its style of building and situation, being erected with that intention, by Mr. Acklom, whose long life seems to hare been principally occu- pied in improving the country around him. This is also one of the depots for the Chesterfield and Trent canal which passes by here, through a tunnel, 250 yards in length, 15 feet high, and of the same width, of good workmanship, and in the cutting of which many coins of Constantino, and human bones, were found. There is no doubt but that this has been a Roman sta- tion ; for here ran a Roman road, which, though nearly obli- terated, has yet some faint traces, and was evidently connected with the neighbouring station of Agelocumy or Littleboroogh.
This canal pursues a winding course of two miles through
Mr. AckVom's estate, and the turnpike road from Gainsborough
9 to
I
HOTTtirottAMSHIlll.
503
lo Bawtry goes ofvr it ; the»e pubUc route* of cowrie have been itlenJtfd with the u<tual inconvtmience to the neighboiiritig grounds, but the worthy and judicious owner, by a well |>lanr>ed system of pbatatitin, has remedied Ihcir inconvenience in a great oieasure, and iRdeed rendered ibem even benuties in seme inatances.
WisETON Hall standi nearly m the centre af the manor of which Mr, Acklom is sole proprietor, and is tn Claworih parish. It was origmally ihe residence of the Nelthorpe fBiiiily ; but was purchased, nearly two centuries ago, by an ancestor of the Ackloms, an ancient Yorkshire family, oflen honoured with Knighthood in earlier times, when that title was conferred for im- portant services to the state, and on those whofte birlh entitled them to it.
Very Httle of the aticient mansion remains ; the present one, partly erected on it, forms a handsome elevation of a centre three story high, with two wings of one lofty story each : the whole light and airy, and accompanied by a very commodiou* range ofofliiceH. It was begun by the late Mr» Acklom, and finished in its present slate by its now venerable owner; its tituation, though not commanding, is yet highly pleasing, stand- ing rather on a gentle swell, with a very extensive lawn of up* wards of thirty acres in front, finely belted by trees and orna- mentai shrubs, and judiciously broken at Intervals by well dis* posed piciurescjue clumps. Though its situation cannot be called a commanding one, yet tl»e grounds contain most exten* live prospects over thd four surrounding shires of York, Lin* coin, Notts, and Derby, and even into Cheshire when the weather is clear.
The whole of the interior arrangements are elegantly modern ; and though it is by no means a show house, yet tho&e whom the hospitality of its worthy owner admit to its friendly resort, will be gratified with some paintings, which are not the levs valua- ble for being few in number. These consist of an original of Sir Robert Cecil ; another pf Henry the eighth; both by tlolbein, I th«
ad# VOTTIHOHAMSHIRB^
the last certamfyso; a curious piece of poultry by Barlow, a painter of such eminence as to have been engraved by Hollar; a piece of still life from the pencil of Caravaggio ; another, artist unknown, but extremely well done; an ancient architectural piece; and two modern landscapes done with marble dust of different colours, both curious and elegant.
The whole manor is so well wooded as to appear on6 gfeat ornamental plantation ; and a well conducted walk round the home grounds is led for upwardsof a mile in a circuitous roole,- 80 as to connect the exterior woods with the domestic scenery. That part which accoropanfies the canal h particularly pleasing^ having a fine prospect of the well wooded eminences on the north and west sides. The canal too, which leads to Claworth^ has been rendered a pleasing variety in domestic arrangement ;^ there being a boat on it, which in fine weather carries the whole family to their parish church.
On all the surrounding eminences Mr. Acklom has judi« ciously placed his new built farm houses; these are not only or- namental to the grounds, and indeed to the whole estate, but have even proved an economical measure, notwithstanding their small extra expense ; as houses built in an ornamental, yet plain strong style, are most easily kept in repair^ the oc- cupants being in some measure obliged to take more care of them, to keep them cleaner, and to have much less agricul- tural lumber about tht^m, than is generally the case with an old farm house, and which not only stands in the way of trifliug re- pairs, but in fact often renders them necessary.*
Everton parish, to the north west, contains the hamlet of Scqt'lii;orth holden of the see of York, to which Richard Ack*-
lom,
• " Jonathan Ackloni, Esq. of Wiseton, on tlic intlosore of Wis^tooj Mat- tcrsey, Everton, Missoii, and Scrooby, pnrsued the plan of placing new farni houses central to their respective grounds, and completed sdven with large ap- purtenances, dove cotes, granaries, ct»w-hoa$os, &c. The same has been' done more or less in othei new inclusurcs."
Vide i:>>we*s'Stirvey 6t KJttt:
VOTTIKOIIAMSHIRS.
505
loTHi Esq* the present proprieior, pays a quit rent^ lioldmg with it free warren in the archiepiscopal paramount manor of the j>oke of SouthweJL During the iiiclosure uf ibis manor several specimens of Eoman antiquities have been founJ^ particufurly part ofa spear, and some fragments of urns } a discovery which seems in some measure to settle the origin and chronology of some vestiges of fortiiicationSy thence justly conclude J to have been a Roman Citation.
In a small tongue of the county, running between York and Lincolnshire, stands Finningity, a large village* with a church dedicated to St, O^^waidj but containing only some modern sepulchral memorials. Here is a school, whicti was first begun and maintained by the minister of the parish ; but which , about a century ago, was so improved by the charitable contributions of the neighbouring gentry, as to clotbe and educate eigbt boys.
This lordship was originally the property of the Frobisfurr family ; of which was Martin FroHshcr an enterprizing navi- gator, who was sent out by queen Elizabeth with three sliips in 15G7, in hopes of discovering a north-west passage to India, Having proceeded as far as Labrador, be was stopped by the approach of winter, but returned with a quantity of gold mar- C|isite» or pyrites aureus, which tempted ihc members of the
Society for Promoting Discovery," to send out three otbtr ships in 1577, under Frobishcr*s command. In ihi:* second voyage he discovered the Straight, now known by his name, but was again stopped by the ice j and having taken on board more of this glittering substance^ then supposed to be gold, ho returned to England.
Soon afler this« queen Elisabeth determineil to form a settle* nt in these countries, and a fleet of fifteen small vessels with
en and necessaries was again sent out under Piobisher's com-
and : but he could not get so far as he had gone in his preced* log voyages; so that they soon after returned, and Frobisher seems to have given up all further attempts at discovery.
MissoN lies to the southward of Fiuningley ; it was anciently
Vol, XIL U caUed
d06 VUTTIHGHAMSUIRE.
called Mime, or Myssen, as ii| supposed from its intermixtire with Lincolnshire^ being, even at the present day« partly in the two counties. It seems to have followed the same <teacent as the lands in its vicinity ; for it belonged first to the fiunily of Maresey, then to the prior and monks of Mattersey, and, after several other changes, is now vested in Richard Acklotn, . Esq. who is impropriator. It has long had the advantage of a water communication with the Trent* for, before the present canal was cot, the Idle was thus fax navigable.
The scenery around it is of a very curious kind, consisting of a widely extended plain, level as the surface of a calm sea, and presenting to the spectator the idea of space tmboonded, when seen from the neighboaring heights. In.fiict it is quite distinct and different from what is meant by z plain in the com- mon acceptation of the word^ or, as Mr. Gilpin has very judi- ciously described another appearance of the same nature, " the idea of this kind which such scenes as Salisbury plain suggest, is much less pure. The inequality of the ground there, sets bounds to the idea. It b the ocean in a storm ; in which the idea of extension is greatly broken, and intercepted, by the tur- bulence of the ^vaves-^this gives us the idea of solid water, rather than of land, if we except only the colour.
-interminable meads.
And vast Savannahs, where the wandring eye Unfix'd, is in a verdant ocean lost."
This, like the plain he described,* is one of those extensive tracts from which the sea, in a course of ages, has retired. With the eye it seems impossible to fix iu limits, for it ranges many miles in every direction, and softens at last into the azure distance of Yorkshire, whilst its foreshortening is partly marked by long lines of inclosure studded with villages, and dim dis* covered spires.
MisTERTON is in this vicinity ; and has long been a consi- derable ^Burgb Marsh in Cumberland.
NOTTINO H A MSH ift £•
ao7
derable villagej but mucb iniproted of late by the canal wbtch passes close to it* It has a church dedicated to All S.iints^ and^ ibough in what /toj been a retired situation, wasi remarkable for holding the |>1aces of assembly of other sects ; for Throsby ob> serves, " here are Catholic^ Methodist, and Calvinist places of worship, whitberj over some roads iatolerably bad, the sectaries from the neighbouring villages resort."
Stocicwith is a bamlei of Mlsterton ; but^ having the advan* tag«f of being situated at the junction of the canal with the Trent, it bids fair to become a flourishing place; in f^ct to be* come, like Stoiarport in Worcestershire, a new creation*
Walkejiinghaw, ihough a mile from theTrtnt, is so far con- nected with it as to have a ferry : it is a very considerable vil- lage, with a large church dedicated lo St. Mary Magdak'n; but the rectory being impropnate, ^he vicar has only a large parish and small profits. Though tlat> yet the country around is plea- sant from lis populousness and cultivation*
OswALDEuec id in this neighbourhood, and is in such decay as to be undeserving of notice^ were it not that it hdd given name originally to the hundred. Nor should we have thought it necessary to have named Beckinguam were it not that it b one of the prebends of SouthwelU and in further remarkable as the place of nativity of Dr* Howell^ who has been justly called the laborious author of the History of the World, and of some others, about the latter end of the seveoteenih century.
GafNDLEY ON THE HlLL, auciently '* Greenalege," is tery descriptively calKed so from its lofty situation on a hill overlook- ing the wide extent of Misson Car already described. On this spot there are several swelling mounds, whicli, were it not for their size, might be supposed ariitiuial from their very bases : on them, however, have been thrown up three others in ancient times ; a small one to the west of the church, and two large ones on its eastern side. These are evid enlly the remains of Saxon or Danish works; and the part, which U still called " the Parks/' is traditionally recorded to have belonged to a Saxon Lord.
US The
SOB iroTttvaHAiC8aia,£.
The tillage is extetisire, though not vety large with respect to its number of houses, which are mostly the residences of the farmers who hold the neighbouring lands. The church is a very handsome edifice, is dedicated to St Peter and St. Paul, and under this double guarantee seems to hare been well taken care of, for it is well paved in the inside and kept very clean, whibt its pinnacled tower forms a fine object in the landscape. Throsby records a curious epitaph of an old lady, Winifrid Ver- non, who is made to address the reader in a way which some wicked wits hare interpreted very differently from the good lady's meaning. It is certainly whimsical, but its interpreta- tion too gross to be permitted to sully our pages.
Upon the whole this place will afford amusement to three classes of tourists ; to him who can play upon and laugh at a sepulchral joke upon aged maidenhood ; to hin who is pleased with extensive and curiously contrasted prospects ; and to him who can feast upon antiquarian reflections ; for these latter must rise rapidly in any man's mind who contemplates this spot, which, having Iain out of the track of former antiquarian tourists^ seems to offer a rich mine to those who will investigate it- Horsley and Stukeley seem both to have been so occupied with Agelocum in the vicinity, as to have almost entirely overlooked this place : but we have no doubt that an investigation, pursued upon the plan of that of the indefatigable Sir Richard Hoare on Salisbury plain, would amply repay any trouble or expense incurred, and perhaps throw considerable light upon the early history of this part of the kingdom.
Claworth is a pleasing little rural village on the banks of the canal ; its church is strictly in unison with the place, and its Gothic tower, and almost darkened pointed windosrs, suit well with the gloom produced by the overhanging foliage. To him who would retire from society, without ffying to a desart* Claworth olfers an asylum* as his repose would never be dis- turbed except on the sabbath, when the neighbouring gentry assemble at divine service. The church is dedicated to St.
Peter,
irOTTIKOHAltSHIlll.
S09
Peter, tnd contains several monuments af the FiUvvilHamsnd Ack'lom families; and the present venerable representative of the latter family has here placed a stone to the memory of a faithful servant, John BoUomley, who had lived in the iaraily, and as steward, for 7^ years; having lived with three genera* lions, and seen the fifth ; he died in 177$ at the age of 85»
Nation \& a very long, but no otherwise remarkable, village ; nor Is Qturhorougk deserving of particular notice, though a clean comfortable place, with some excellent houses: and at Tihf, a small hamltt, we have only to notice the probability of its having been formerly a place of some consequence, as many Roman anric|uities, particularly a itylus and several agates and cornelians with inscriptions and engravings, have been dug up here some years ago*
North and South Wkcailey, and Saundby, are principally in- habited by farmers, whose farms are occupied by dairies; and great quantities of butter are sent from their neighbourhood into the principal manufacturing towns of York and I^ncashires,
Sire t ion is a village containing some good houses ; its ancient church dedicated to Su Peter, with its light and airy pinnacled lower, fs kept in Tery good order, and has some ancient monn* mentsofthe Thnrnhaughs and HewetlK, &:c»
LtTTLEftoRoi9QM, though HOW a Small place, has employed the pens of most of our antitinariii4 with respect to its con- nection with the Itinerary of Antoninus. Camden expressly considered it as the Agelomm or Segetocum of that Itinerary, (for it is spelled both ways,} both on account of its standing or the military way, and of the great number of Roman imperial coins often dug up here, in his time, and then called swine pennies, from their being so near the surface of the ground as to be rooted up by those animals. It is true, indeed, that in his first edition of the " Britannia" in 1591, he had fixed this station I at Idleton, or Eaton, supposing that in the transcription of names ■ 4gtiocum had been written for Adelocum, and to this suppo- K titioQ he then trusted, without considering that the Agelocum I U 3 of
li
810 votTiiTGHinimniii
of Antoniirat bad 9i ferry aver the T)reni, and which is continuefl at Littleborough to this day, constitothig pelrhfips t)ie olde§i eueiomary uiage in the empire, and that n^ithout let or intermp* tion. Thoroton was of the same opinion with Camden respecting the fixing of the station at Eaton ; but this be did from a cook parison of the distances on the iter, and from a cmrioaa coitm* dence of the British and Roman names ; for Id, in the Bri- tish, signifies corn ; therefore Id and ton may signify a ''place of corn/' bearing a strong resemblance to the Roman Segelockm, Ba if Caitiden in his early opinions fargot the ferry, so Thoroton seems to have jumped over a xiftr, not recounting that Idleton is the town on the Idie. It would indeed be an idle business to pursue these reverici any farther; w6 may just observe, therefore, that Burton in his notes upon the Itinerary, places Agelocam or Segelocum, (for he shears that the Romans indiscriminately used, or omitted, the S) at little* borough, in which ho is followed by Stukdy, who thinks, how«k ever, that Segelocum may have been a corruption of the ortgi* nal name in later times. His description of ii at the early part of last century, is that it is a small Village three miles above Gainsborough, justupon the edge of the water, and in ah angle. AgeUAuk from Frons Aqua he thinks a pertinent etjnotiology ; and adds that it seems only to have been environed by a single ditch, of a square form, with the water running quite round it* for to the west where Whitesbridge is, there is a watery valley which hems it in, so that it was a station of considerable strength* The church, as he observes, stands upon the highest ground ^ and the Trent had not only washed away part of the eastern side of the town,but foundations and pavements were then visible in thebank. In 1684, when the inclosures between the bridge and town were first plowed up, many coins of Nerva, Trajan, Hadrian^ Constantine, &c. were found, together with Intaglios of Agate^ and Cornelian, the finest coloured urns and patera, some wrought in basso relievo, with the workman's name generally impressed on the inside of the bottom f also a DUcus, or Quoit^
with
SOTTINCHAMSBIKI.
Oil
wilh an emperor's head embossed on it. Agaln^ in 171 8* two very handsomely moulded aitars were dug up, and then set up as piers in a wall on the side of the stepa which led from the waterside to the inn. Stukely adds^ that near White's bridge, he had seen extensive fuundations of ancient buildings; and that in dry seasons, and when the tide was low, coins were then often tbund at low water mark.
To continue the chronological order of antiquarian research, it is necessary to menlion that Horsley* decidedly sajs, '* i?c- gelocum and Agelocuiu, as called in two iters, is certainly Lit* tleborough^ Here Dr, Gale saw an urn which, besides a&hea and bones, cont^ned a coin of Domitian. The Homaa station has been on the east side of the river, though the town stands on the west."
Pegge also,t gives a letter from Mr, Ella, vicar of Rainpton near this place, in which he says that in 1701, ferrying over the Trent into Nottinghamshire, he observed in the opposite banki washed away by the water, one of the Coralline coloured urns. It was, however, broken in pieces, but contained bones' and also a coin of Domitian* He does not think, however, that the principal station was on the east side, but says that the Roniiins seem to have had a summer camp on the east side of the river, though tillage had then destroyed all traces of it.
To such an host of observations and conject-ures it is linpos* sible for us to add any thing ; except merely to say that tho antiqtiary, though he will nowiind nothing to gi*atify curiosity at ihisspoi, will still be able to tread, with reverential awe, that ground which is hallowed by the remembrance of past ages; and here may he contemplate the striking changes of political power, and of the exertions of man, and the instability of a fancied immortality, ihe names and actions of its once proud possessors having moutdered rnto oblivion like their decayed sepulchral dust.
Habkuhorp^ or Absthorpe, has already been noticed whilst en-
U4
deavourtng
' Biit. Rom* p. 454.
t Bibh Top. Bril. Vol. HI. p. 1?6.
8l£ ironivaitAMSRiaB;
deaTouring to ascertain the ancient name of Trent^ It b but a smail hamlet, with some remnant of a chapel ; but, not hav- ing been mentioned in the Norman snnrey** has been supposed not then to have had existence: if so, the conjectures founded on its name must fall to the ground.
Rampton near the Trent has been in possession of the ma- ternal ancestors of the family of Eyrt, ever since the Conquest In the reign of Henry the eighth, a mansion house was built here, but pulled down about a century ago, nothing of it re- maining except a very curious gateway highly ornamented in the style of that time. It has still some armorial bearhigs in pretty good preservation ; and a good drawing of it may be seen in Throsby's Notts, where much of their modem descent may be found, both from the Babyngtons and from Lady Pakynton of Westwood House in Worcestershire, the pious authoress of the " Whole Duty of Man.*' Here is a very large church dedicated to All Saints, with a \ofiy tower; and in the chancel, and other parts of it, are many monumental memorials of Stanhope, Babyngton, Eyre, &c.
NoaTB Lbvbbton is a large village with a commodious church ; but we mention it particularly on account of a curious mode of dividing, and marking the divisions of the common lands, by arset of names applied to the twenty-eight parts of every division. The plan is certainly a regular one, and much praised by Mr. Throsby and his correspondent Mr. Shillitoe ; but we conceive that every plowman must carry his surveyor with him to the field, as the ground is marked out almost to inches. Some of the names also are as curious as the mode of division, and shew some genius in their invention; these are. Cicely Oxgang, Doll in tenure, Mary Dole, Cockermeat, Poory Dole, Scutt, Rose, Wyemark, &c.
Its companion South Leverton is also an agreeable village w^th a neat church, and possessing a most extensive prospect
ov^r • Vide page 28,
irOTTIKOIIAUSHtRB*
3t$
over Lincolnshire* from whence Lincoln Minalerroay be seen at a distance of twenty miles.
Grove is a small village, with a church dedicated to St. Helen» which has in the chancel some cunouii antique monu* mental stones of the Hercj/ familyi formerly lords of the manor. The parsonage is a pleasing habitation^ most liberally improved by a late incumbent. Being so near the line of the Romaa road, the situation of Grove could not escape that warlike people* as fit for an exploratory station, and we may conclude that the moat on Castle Hill in this parish was occupied by ihem far miHury purposes, though it may originally have been a British work. But the greatest beauty of Grove, \a Grots Hall, the seat of Anthony HardolphHyre^ E.iq. who nowrepre* sents the coumy in conjunction with his son-in-law Lord fiew^ aik* It has a very commanding appearance when seen from the north road^ being situated on a considerable elevation in the midst of a well wooded park. Of the ancient mansbn built here by the family of Hercy, nothing has been removed ex- cept the front, which is now a modern one in a pleasing style of architecture; the other part of the house is certainly as old as Henry the eighth's reign, and has lieen an edifice of great elegance according to the style of that day.«
HfiA^DON was another old ancestorial mansion of the £yre family, having come to them hy a marriage with the heiress of Wastiiey : the house, however, bui it inthelastcentury by thelaftt baronet, has been some years pulled down^ though the ancient park still remains* Many monuments ol the Wastneys remain ill the church, which is dedicated to St. Peter, and is on an ex- tensive scale, having a nave and two side aisles ; and it is a curious fact, that the impropriate rector of this parish must be a clergyman, although he has no cure of souls within it, that duty being performed by the vicar, who possesses only the small tythes.
Eaton^
m If ucb genealogicsl jaformatlou leipeciing tbi» sudeiit fimity m»j he «cn b Ike Gents. Mag. (ot 1795.
314 iroravavAMiBiftBr
EitTdN, or Idkitm, tboagli. now a small Tillage/ add oiiI|r va« markable for Ix^ing a prebend of Soathwelt, was a place of soma continence before the Norman Conquest ; for bare were um manors^ and ten thanes, each thane having a Hall: at the' surrey, however, they were reduced to one manor.
OansALL lies a small distance lo the left of the north ruedj aad fa worthy of notice for an agricnltaral fact recorded by Mr* Yoi^ng in one of his toors, wko observes that there had then been recently practised some very micommon improvements by means of hop.% particularly by Geo. Brown, Esq. of Ordsall, and •r— «* Mason, Esq. of the same neighboorhood. The praise* vrorthy attempts of these gentlemen were on a black bog three feet deep, its spontaneous growth nothing bnt rashes, andkt for bat three shillings per acre : this was drained at a small ex* pense by open cats, and planted with hops in sqaarea of six feet; and in this they succeeded so well as actually to clear 6U per acre*
A &ir instance of the practice and principles of pnrtthnic times may be drawn from an act of the Rump Parliament in 1652, against the rector of this place. Dr. Marmaduke Moor • whose estate was forfeited for treason, and himself sequestrated from his living, for the heinons and damnable offence of playing- cards, three several tiroes, with his own wtfe ! '. !
Babwoath Hall, the seat of the Hon. J. Bridgeman Simp- son, isaboutamile to the west of Retford, on the Worksop road. It is a plain comfortable white-fronted cesidence, having had considerable additions made to it by the present possessor. The pleasure grounds are in as good a style as the ground would admit of, and do great credit to the skill of Mr. Repton whe laid them out : the plantations, having now acquired a consider^ able growth, assimilate well with the older woodj scenery around, and serve much to embellish the open lawn, and well formed though small piece of water in the front
The church, a neat Gothic building, stands a short distance from the hall, and is in very good order both within and with- out
KOTTItQttAMSHIHE.
SIS
out* The tower supports a small steeple, and there are two young trees growing out of the roof of the south porch« It con- tains no ancteDt monuments, but there are some of a modera ^late of the Simpson family.
Near the church is the charm ing little sequeMered residence of the Rev. Archdeacon Eyre* the rector^ in which comfort and elegance are bJendcd^ and to whose worthy posaeasur, added to the kind patrimage of the Bridgeman Simpson family » we understand the parish is much indebted for its internal pros- perity* The whole populaiton of Babworth is SIO, ihe males being predominant; they have no poor, but ten outpensioners; a Sunday School i^ supported by about 35 individuals, costs onlj 7L per annum, but has produced ten time» thai pfo&t» by the improvemem of moraU!
After passing Bab worth j iUe ground begins to rise« and the tourist tinds himself within the limits of the green wood lorest^ whose enchanting scenery of woods* and tawns» and glades, and heaths, and cultivated farms, and ornamented seats, breaks in upon him like enchantment m every direction. Sometimes the road runs alongside of the Chesterfield canal bu;*y with com* merce, at oibers it sinks into the forest delLs and at length tarings him to Osberton House, the elegant modern seat of Mr, Fo1>ambe, The surrounding estate abounds with wood« which is annually increasing in richness ot foliage by the growth of thriving plantations of oak, larcb, and other useful timber trees. A rivulet which runs through the whole has been so ex* tended in front of the house, and for some distance on each side, losing itself in the woods, as to appear like a river of con* siderabie size. This effectf says the editor of the VUruviuM Britannicus, has been produced under the inimediate direction of the o^ner. who posjjcsses a degree of taste and judgement which is perhaps surpassed by few of those who have made it their study to display, to the greatfst advantage, the beauties of nature, and to supply her defects by the exertions of arL The ground on which the house stands rises with a consider- able
31? HOTTlKGHAMStTlRl.
able degree of boldness on the south side of the river; bul the riewa sire more piGturesque than extensive ; and the scenery ii tranquil and woody. The foreground, which is finely inter* spersed with the noblest oakjs, e)ms» and beeches, both single and in groiipes, is backed by extensive woods, some of which, amongst other timber, contain, in particular, spruce firs of the largest dimensions, beautifully feathered to the ground. The house itself has in front an elegant portico of four fluted Ionic pittars, supporting a highly ornamented architrave and pedi* stent; and it has of late years received such additions^ under the superintendanct; of Mr. Wilkes, the architect, as to have be* come a very convenient family residence, with es^teosire ao> commodations for the reception of visiting friends.
To the north of this, on the Great North Road, is Barnby Moor now inclosed, and w hie h may be said to form a small hamlet, lia?- iiigsome excellent houses, and a very large and comfortable inn, and posting house. Turning to the left over the moor, and proceeding down a sandy lane, we come to
BLYTHE,
which, rising on a gentle ascent, has a prepossessing appearance at a distance: the county around is well divided with hed rows : and a broad opening leads into the town, or rather vfl lage, (for Tlirosby calls it a market town without a market,) from the ascent of which there is a fine view over the valley in which Lord Gal way's seat at Serlby is situated. A topogra- pher of the vicinity,* says it is a clean well boill town, and formerly had a small weekly market on Wednesday ; this, how* ever, has for some lime been in disuse, and the inhabitants go toBawtry. We think, however, it can scarcely be called a town, even if it had a market ; it is, merely, a large village with sevtral very decent inns, and must have the credit of being clean and comfortable. After the Norman Conquest, Roger
de
iroTTIKOIIAHSHIRB*
317
^e Buali had a castle here, ami procured for it the title of an honour; but his chief residence being at Tickhill in Yorkshire. the honour of BIyth was dependent upon that manor. We are told that afterwards, this Roger " being of a pious and grateful diapostlion, with the consentof his wife Muriel did for the slabi* Jity of William then king of England, (who had given him a full fourth part of this county, if not more, besides what he had given him iti others) and of his successors, as also for the heatth of the soul of queen Maud, and iheir own, by the advice of their friends^ erect a priory in this town, and by way of endowment gave and granted to God, St. Mary, and the monks there 4erv* ing Godj the church of BIythe, and the whole town eiitirelyi with all the privileges and customs thereunto belonging/'
This grant is said to have been confirmed by the first two Henries; and yet Madox asserts,* that an ancient feoQment had been made of the honour of Blyihe; and also that in the reign of Henry the first, that honour was in the king's hand eilher by escheat or wardship, for the profits of it were accounted for to him I which position he proves by reference to the rolb of the honour.f Tanner, however, makes no mention of this in the Monasticon, but merely says thi^t here was a priory of Benedictine monks, built by Roger de Bui III and Muriel hii wife, about 1068, to the honour of the blessed Virgin. It was in some respects subordinate to the abbey of the Holy Trinity of Mount St* Catharine at Rouen, tti Normandy, and was at the dissolution worth VZGi. pet annum.
Hert^ aUo was an hospital for a warden, three chaplains^ and several leprous people, founded by William de Cressi, lord of Hodesac, and dedicated to St* John the Evangelist.
Of the state of this place after the dissolution, we are told by Leland in his Itinerary, that "from Rosington in Yorkshire to Blith, most by wot>dy ground, part by corne, pasture and medowe, a 5 miles. Tliere renne two Brookes as I cam into
the * AtiiduK Bnron. Angl. p. t^, t Hoiior de Blldr. Mag. Rot. Annl liicerti It. Heii, L Hot, 5. A.
tamUk. The
\hf^km M9
taMMfe Mill Uk mr6tmt% mod g«HJb t»Se!
l^S m^m kmtt, Biiili h bvi Biddy fcwHilBdL At \
«liMr ■■■■w^r I lanud boc» b«l tlai a tittle m I csk t0«fi i&er apfverilb jra a woodtm fades tmkxm ef ^^
Firfier, m hm wrole aooie lime tfter Lcbnd^ mjE, * OmemMymwrnMrnigkHmmk called Blithe, wliiei Jen «ili bate tift named Irooi JtMrnrndkete^ inm tfe airtt (B^d MMrsKip of tbe ittb^icaau therein. If io^ 1 dmmm Ifoib the nune and tbr tlmis mmy be exiaide^ all iit« fliiire; » being cowftdept thii an oimee of watih wnk the t degne of grtoe will tcrre Cod mortj and more acceptaHyr ibtn a |ioaiid of normm,"
Tbe ebotcb it dedicated to Si. Blaflio^ and t& a < «la|pHit Gotb'rc ftrocturei. wttb a very faaiidioaie ancient lower; and at the eati end tadng ibe bigh road there it uiek- gani arcb inferted in tbe walU whtcb miist either bare led to a former chancel r or perbapi baire been tbe renkains 4>f eoane other religious building attached to the church. At present it if comptcicly embowered in a shrubberyi has a venr pkw ttirescjue appearance, and seems a continoation of tbe oma- mental paddock in which stands a large^ though not very modern, regidcncej now occupied, or about to be so, by lb* DacUcss Dowager of Newcastle.
The whole body of the church is of high anlic|uity» and in
the interior it preicntt u noble nave with arches supported by
lutly pillars, ami interspersed with some very splendid mooii-
9 ments
JtOTTIMOHASSUtas.
319
•VmjU of the M^Iltsbes ; and among others a niemoiia! for a lalelodividad of that family who built ihe mansion alludleJ to. This was evidenily the priory church, as the remains of that ancient hwilding are adjoining to it; of these^ however, scarcely any thing i.s kft, though it may be that a larg« house on the right hand going up, is founded on part of its scite.
Though the market h discontinued, there are two annual Fairs ; one on floiy Thursday, for horse and biack cattle; iJic other on the twentieth o( October, for iheep and swine.
On passing through the town, the tourist cannot fail being uiuch struck with the beauty of its vicinity » as a scene of orna* niented cultivation bursts upon hii view, superior to any thing of the kind, which the editor of these shcLts has ever seen ; the whole expanse of ground, for a considerable extent, seems a complete garden, embracing not only the grounds belonging to the mansion of the Mellisheit, but also those of Serlby Hul1« with all their lawns, winding walks, and shady grorei. In fact the high road itself seems an ornamented walk, leading over a superb bridge, built of Roch Abbey Stone by the grand* father of the present possessor, for the convenience of crossinj;^ the extensive piece of water, formed on amont magnificent scale by damming up the river Idle and the little brook called Ry» ton which runs through these groundi*
When Mr, Young wrote his agricultural tour, the town of Blyth and the country round it, for several miles every way, be- longed to William Mellish, Esq.* to which gentleman Blyth Hall is iudebled for all its modern improvementfi, both for beauty and convenience. The additions and alter;itious have been so considerable^ that we may say it has been rebuilt on the scite of the ancient hall ; and it is now of considi^rable mag- nitude, being formed of brick, ornamented with stone.
The most elegant apartment is a magnificent drawing room*
forty
* Joseph MelNib, Esq. mtirried a siiter of Mr. Gore, fatrernar of the H«ia- burgh Conipiuij. He died in 1753, sad was succeeded in tlie £[/the e lUte by his eldentflii Willtam^ » -commissioner of eiciif in 17.M.
510 VOTTlNOBAMSaiaB*
forty feet long, twenty-two broed, and eighteen in height^ with a circular bow window of twenty-one feet span, so as to form a yery agreeable proportion. The chimney piece b ex- tremely elegant, consisting of Ionic pillars formed of Egyptian granite, fluted with stripes of white marble, and supporting the frieze in which is a tablet with an ancient sacrifice in bas relief. The furniture is appropriately rich, with the beauty of the apartment ; and the chairs and carpet are of crimson velvet, embroidered with yellow silk. The view from this apartment, and from maoy of the others is extremely grand, looking over a fine piece of water, winding through the lawn for a mile and a half, and of the breadth of from fifty to seventy yards.
Speaking of Mr. Mellish's improvements, Mr.^ Young ob- serves that he has executed undertakings, which shew an acti- vity not to be surpassed. He made ten miles of road, at bis own expense, and a river four miles long, and ten yards wide, as a drainage to a large extent of low land in tbe centre of his estate, capable of being made as fine meadow as any in Eng- land. He also built several farm houses, and above thirty cot- tages, all in the most substantial manner, of brick and tile; << works of the noblest tendency, that will always carry their own eulogy.'' He also built here a handsome and extensive pile of stabling; and ornamented the estate with upwards of two hundred acres of plantations which are now arrived at a thriving growth.
Serlby Hall, now the property and residence of Lord Vis- count Galway, (not the Earl of Galloway, as asserted in a modem work,) was in early times the manor of Alured the Saxon ; but at the Norman Conquest was given to Roger de Busli, of whom Gislebert his man held it. From the Busli family it came to that of Mowbray, and in the reign of king John, Roger de Mowbray, for what reason is not assigned, gave it to Maud de Moles, who married Hughy a man very likely without a sir- uame, as he immediately adopted that of de Serlby. For many generations it remained in this family, until tbe last male, An- thony,
irOTTtNOHAifSBtllB,
as I
I
ihony, in the beginning of the seventeenth century, being childless, lefl it to bis wife, Gertrude, daughter of Ralph Leek of Hasland, Esq. for her own life and Iwenty-one years after. During this long interval of expectation, the male heir of the Serlby family was obliged to sell the reTcr»ion to Mr. Saunder- «on of B!yih ; but the widow marrying Sir George Chaworth, that family also purchased a part of it j and from them it has come to the present poi^sessor, to whose family it belonged as Ikr back as the beginning of the last century/, at which time there was a very old mansion standing on it.
The present building is of brick and stone, consisting of a centre of very handsome elevation, with two appropriate wings, having the offices in the underground story, and the stables and out offices on the eastern side. The situation i.s extremely agreeable; on the south front is a spacious lawn, beautifully interspersed with clamps of trees; whilst the north front has a charming prospect over some very luxuriant meadows, watered by the little river Hyton. The principal plantations are on the south west side, with many avenues and shady walks cut through them, opening to the most striking prospects in the vi« cinity. The terrace is a part of the grounds always very much admired, not only for its own beauty, but for the exquisite view which is seen from it. The interior of the house is both ele- gant and commodious, and when visited by the editor, was un- dergoing a complete repair^ together with the outside.
There are many fine paintings in the various apartments; amongst which are two undoubted originals by Hans Holbein ; one of these is in the dining room, and is a portrait of Henry the eighth on wood; the other is in the drawing room, and is a finely execuled portrait of Nichoias Kreatzer, astronomer to that monarch.
The drawing room also contains a very large picture, being twelve feet two inches in height, and fifteen feet four in breadth^ from the pencil of Daniel My ton. Its subject is Charles the first and his quecnj with two horses, on one of which is a side
Vol, XIL X saddle*
I9fldk, %wi tome dogs, fJlftslnrge as life. It al&o codUum ioofber Bgure at lar|;eiis life* bulwko* oi bioiBelf. W99ld not baTi9 required such a breftdtb of onoYa^^ this is Jeffery Hudson* Ihe fksnouB dwmrf, who is io tbe act of striviiig to keep back twf small dog3 with collars on. This picture having come into the possession of queen Anne, wi» by her presented to AddUmk, from whom it came to the Arund^ls^ oi which family is its pn&sent noble possessor.
ir the tourist crosses a bridge at the east end of the town, he will find a very pleasant road leading across an inclosed moor to
BAWTRY,
which btjing partly in this county, having its division marked by a small current of water in the yard of the Crown Ino, must be partly noticed. Old Barnaby in pursuing his poetic drunken route, tells us.
" Thence to Bawtree, as I came there, Froa the boshes near the lane there, Rush*d a T^ntake in gesture flanting, With a leering eye and wanton; But my flesh I did subdue it. Fearing lest niy purse should rue it.*'*
The traveller, however, may now yisit Bawtry without in- curHng such danger, if he chooses, and he canntt fail of being struck with a very elegant mansion on the lefl, on entering the town, extremely pleasing in itself, and from its situation com* manding the most charming prospect over Nottinghamshire. In mentioning this place, indeed, we fear that we have over- stepped our limits ; for the line of division of the two shires is here so very undulating, that an unguarded tourist may easily commit a trespass^ and even in the middle of the high road may shake hands wjth a friend in the next county. We shall, there- fore, just repeat that Bawtry is the market for Blyth and the vicinity, and is always extremely well supplied for iu demand.
lu
* " Sed inflezi carni pssnam^
Timens niiscre Crumenam."
Vide Bamaby's Journey.
90TTI N G It A KSH I El<
S$3
I
Its popaktion by ihe last return is 421 tnales» and 497 l>roales, amounting to a total of 918 ; bat the particular descnption of its topography must be ]eft for its own proper county.*
Near to this, to the left of the road from Blyth, is the viUage of Hanvorth, on the border of which parish, close to Bawtry, was an hoapital founded by the Morton family, with a chapel in which was their sepulchral rault ; but it is remarkable for nothing further, except a charity school for twelve boys, sup- ported by voluntary subscription.
Returning from Bawtry towards Worksop, we come on the north road to Schoobt, This place wa^ visited by that modern Anacrcorip old Barnahy^ whom we have »o oflen quoted; but his fears seem here to have got the better of his ciiriosiiy* and prevented him from giving us any description of ih^ village,
"Thence to Scrabifj oh my maker ^ TiVilti a fiastor, and a TaiurJ Ddjr I spent ; 1 night divided. Thief did muke roc well prorided : My poor scrip did cause nie fear him* AIL night Jong I eiLiue Dot ucai Iiim/'
In a preceding note we have already given Leland's opinion Ihat the rivulet close to this place once divided Notts from York- shire ; to that opinion he adds, " from Scroby to Bawtre a mile or more^p Ridinge a little beyond Scroby manor place, I passed
by a forde over the ryver; and so betwixt the pales of 2
parkes longging to Scroby, &c. ;" but the line of division, since that, seems to have been altered.
Of the state of Scroby, when in its glory as an archiepiscopal
residence, we have a good account from the same early tourist :
he tells us *' thence ( Matte rsey) I roode a myle yn low wash
Kind somewhat fenny ground, and a myle farther or more by
Mghcr ground, to Scroby in Noiinghamshire, In the meane
X 2 tounelet
• Lclaod lajs, <* Btwtrce is % very bare and pQOic market townc, ttnnd*
; yn Yarkthire, as the inhabitanti of it told me j bo that by ihis it should
em that Scroby vvmHi m lome ptrt dkideth the shircj,"
t LatTO in tbe origin* L
534 V0TTI1I&HAM8BIEI*
totmelet of Scroby I marked 3 thinges, the paroche chirche not bigge, but very well builded ex iapide politi quadrato. Tlie second was a great manor place standinge withyn a mote^ and longging to the archbishop of York, boilded yn to coartes» whereof the first is very ample, and all builded of tymbre* saving the front of the haule» that is of bricke, to the wycih wa^ cenditur per gradus lapidis. The ynner courte iHiilding, as fiir as I marked, was of tymber buikling, and was not in cnmpaee past the 4 parte of the utter coorte/'
The archbishops of York had free warren here as early as the 17th of Edward the second ; and in queen Elizfd>eth's reign this palace was not only considered as excellent • in itself, and more capacious than that at Southwell, but much more modtous for provision, having a large jurisdiction on thei side, consisting of very many towns thereabouts.* Even in the early part of the last century, I be park still remained ; bnt arch- bishop Sandys having caused it to be demised to his son Sir Samuel Sandys, the house afterwards became so much ne- glected that even then it had almost fallen to the ground. No- thing now remains but some small part incorporated into a farm house, marking the ancient abode of splendour and hospitality, and in the garden is an old mulberry tree, which tradition as- serts was planted by the haughty Wolsey.
The village stands a short distance to tlie east of the great road, and merely contains a few farm houses, and the church, which once was handsome, but now decayed, and possessing nothing of its ancient grandeur except its lofty spire.
Scrooby Inn, a commodious posting house, stands about half a mile further on the road ; after which we come to Ranskili, and also to Torxvorth, two hamlets in the parish of BIy th, principally supported by the great thoroughfare on the road,
HoDSACK, a little to the Southward of Blythe had once a large house belonging to the Cliftons; there is still a curious brick gateway and a lodge house, the residence of Mr. Spencer.
At one period the greatest part of this parish had been given
to * Magaa Britannia, Vol. IV.
HOTtlNGtlAMSHlRB.
3U
I
I
I
to the church for religious uses; we shall therefore trace iu his- tory to serve as a fair specimen of the meekness, and humility, and /icavtniy THtndcdneas, of I lie monastic brotherhood, who in iht^ii- searcli after hfc'dveii took care to luy hold of the good things on this earth, by the way.
Ill Saxon times this was the manor of Vf$i ; but Roger de Busli procured it from the Norman conr|uerQr, and delivered it by feudal tenure to Turold de Liiwrlis, in whose descendants it continued several generations* From tliem it de*»cended by marriage to tlie Cressi family, as early as the reign ol" Richard the firsts and remained with them until the time of Henry the fourth, when the coheiresses of Hugh de Cressi carried it to the families of Mark ham and Clifton, with whom it remained until the middle of last century, and is now become part of the Melt is h estates.
During this period, at least previous to the Re formal ion, no icNs than five distinct granta of (and were made to the clvurch** by the lords, and by their subtenants. The first in point of itme was by Fulk de Lisuriis who gave to the monastery of Blylh four bovats of his own lattds.
The second was from Ralph Cossard, who bestowed on the same brotherhood six acres of his own demesne in Corsard Thorpe» a hajnlet of the parish. Roger de Cressi made the third grant to God, St, Mary, and the monks at Blyihe, of the lyitlies of ait his mills belonging to his manor here; for which thiite charitable and benevolent gentlemen agreed to sny per- petually four masses per week for himself, hisancestors, and successors, living and dead ! Sometime after, in the reign of Richard the second, Hugh de Cressi, one of his successors^ seems to have derived very little heneht from these weekly masses, for he is recorded to have been guilty of felony^ for which, however, he procured a license to enable him to give seven messuages, and four bovats of land to three chaplains in the chapel of St^ John the Evangelist near Blylhe, as a fine for his Crime 5 and no doubt these worthy chaplains would have given
X 3 him
p
3^6 vomv«HAiiimE4.
him absolution for half a docen feloniof in addiibn to^tlie Ibm mer, provided be bad paid beforehand. The last gift was thai of tbe chapel which was given to Blythe monastery by lh€ joint agreement of William de Cressi, and Thomas de Hodeaackt
This, however, is but a small part of what was given in another part of th^ parish ; for in the hamlet of Hermeaaa, William de Glarifagio, and Aviqe his wife, daughter and heiress of WilliaA de Tenaia, in the 18lh of Stephen, gate to the church of St Cuthbert at Radford near Worksop, three bovats of land with the common, for the souU of the aforesaid William de T«iaia». and Hugh Lovetol; and for the redemption of their own aenli^ and of all their parents and friends, as well living as dead. And bemuse Hugh de Cressi, Lord of Hedsack, gave aoilM vneaa* ness to tbe monks of Radford in the possession of these bovats king Henry the second interfered, and ordered htmtopenBit tbe holy brothers to epjoy them in peace, otherwise his slew- i^rd of Tickhill, should tickle him to some purpose, and see jus- tice done to these pious gentlemen, who were thus lef^ in qaiei possession of these lands, as well as of the hamlet of Helm idse in this parish, which was given, with all things belonging to it^ la the same monastery by Avice de Clavifagio, with consent of her husband.
From this single specimen of one solitary and not very ex- tensive parish, we may judge of the temporal as well as spin* tual influence possessed by those gentry, who by thefr vows were bound to poverty, but by their practice were in a fdii way of getting possession of half the lands in the kingdom.
The town of
WORKSOP
stands on the borders of ihe foresri;, nearly in the midst of what was commonly called in the viciiuty, « the Dukery," from the circumstance of there being no less th^ four principal seats
of
VOTTIirOHAMSfliaE.
m
of Dukes, widiin the compass of a few miles; since ihe death ut
the Duke of Kingston, however, there are now but three-
Oii the approach from Retford, the appearance ni Worksop and Radlbrd^ ^y^g in a vailey> overtopped by the magnificent
■double tower of the church, and backed by swblHng hills finely clothed wiih wood, is extremely striking. Its situation is indeed
Idelighriul, and natme has done much for it; and, as a modern tourist ha^s observed, if art has not done so much for it, yet there are more noblemen's seats in its immediate vicinity, than any other spot in the kingdom s^o distant (rom London can ; of. We muat observe, however, that we perceived no deficiency in the exertions of art; for the tuwn is in general well biiilt, and the streets very well paved; the inns are clean and comfortable; and much of the bustle of business enlivens it, from being on the post ruad to Shefiicld and having the ad- vantage of the Chesterfield canals which runs close to Ihe north end, and near to the little river Ryton. It consists, indeed, only
.<>rone long street, and of another leading to Radford ; but both
. Ihese contain good houses; and the whole place has an air of gentility not always to be seen in larger country towns.
Of its slate three centuries ago we have a very good account from Leland, who says, in his Itinerary^ " about a mile beyond
^Blith I passed by a park called Hodsak, where Master Clifton hath a fair house; and 2 miles farther much by hethy and then wooddy ground, I cam over a smaul broke with a litle stone bridge over it; and so strait into Wirkcmop, a praty market of 2 streates and metely well butlded.
" There is a fair park hard by it; and the begynnynges of *l fair manor place of stpiared stone yn the same. The old cas- leUe on a h ill e by the towne is dene down and scant kiiowe
, where it was,
** This toune, and caste! le, and large parke longed first to the LovetottSj then as sum say to one of the Nevilles. Then were the FurnivauU of certente owners there; and after the Talbotes*
X4 -Th^
KOTTIKGBAMaillEE.
" The priorie of the black chanons there was a thing of greCe building,'* Though Lelaad says^ that few knew where the castle stoo4* i scite may be ascertained e^en at the present day« at the wesi side of the town on a circular hill inclosed with a trench* ex- cept on one side where it has a steep bank overhanging the lit- tle river Rytun which thus formed a kind of natural defence : this, however, is all that remains^ as there is not one stone left , upon another.
Before the Norman conquest^ this place was the property o€ ^Mlsi, a Saxon Nobleman ; but he was obliged to yield it lo the Ifevourite^Roger de Buslr^ whose man Roger became his feudal jlenant, ami was succeeded by William de Lovetot. After many ^generations it passed by the marriage of an heiress Matilda de iXovetot^ to the family of Furniva), and from them to the Ne« Lyills^ and afterwards to the Talbou who first became^ on that l^count, barons of Furnivah aftervvards earls, and dukes« ol^ ^Shrevi^sbur)^, though now extinct as a dukedom ; but the earldoni 1 In a junior branch. Gilbert, the first carl of Shrewsbury, was a [man of great military prowess, and became such a terror to I France as lo be extremely uscfyl to Henry the fifth in his wars with thai country. lie became so much attached to Worksop M to build here an immense mansion hoase» with a magnt- Jficence in full accord with the splendour of his family: tbi»,d however^ has unfortunately been burnt down, as we shall have occasion to detail more at targe presently ; and it is much to be regietted, as there is reason to believe that it \'^bs a complete ^otique specimen of old fashioned elegance. The Talbot es- tates being divided amongst cuheiressea, this portion came to I I the Howards^ Earls of Arundel, now Dukes of Norfolk; anditfj still held by them as tenants in chief of the crown, for ihe ser- ylce of a knight's fee, with the privilege of procuruig « gloTc (of I the king's right hand at his coronation, and of supporting thatj hand whilst be holds the sceptre.
But the modern glory of Worksop is iu Ahbetf Church, whicht
howeveri^l
rHOTTrNORAMSHIUf,
329
howeirer, stands m that part called Radford, and to which ilie stranger advances by a street of half a mile in length. The first object which particularly arrests his view is the Abbey gate, of which a plate is annexed. This is of the latest fashion of the Gothic mode of workmanship, with a pointed roof^ and the arch flat ; it ha5> some florid windows and niches of great beauty on the side next the street. Tlie statues on eacli side of the gale- way are gone, but there are stUl three over it; the gateway it- self has a flat ceiling of oakj with Cotliic groins as supporters; but this is nothing more than the floor of tlje room above, whicH bad been long used as a school house^ but is now in a ruinous state. The gate was double, with a wicket; and the wbole# even now, is a pleasing spectmen of ancient architecture.
This gateway led to the Monastery or Friary, which was founded by Wiiliam de Lovetot, in the reigu of Henry the first, for canons regular of St. Augustine, and dedicated to St. Mary and St. Cutbbert. The first grant, allowed by the concession and consideration of Emma his wife and of bis children, consisted of the whole chapelry of his whole house, with the tythes and oblations ; of the church of Worksop in which these canons were^ with the lands and tythes, and all things belonging to the churclu and the tishpond and mill near to the church, and a meadow ad« joining to them ; of the tythes of the pence of all his set rcnt^, as well in Normandy as in England ; of a carucate of land in the field o I Worksop, and of a nieadovf called Crattla: of all the churches of his demesne in the honour of Blyth, with alt the lands, tythes, and other things belonging to these churches; of the tythes of paunage, honey, venison, fish, fowl, malt, and mil t^» and all other things of which lythes were wont to be given.
This grant was confirmed by king Henry the first, and added to by Richard de Lovetot, who approved of his bther*& gtRsj granting also liis part of the church of Clarborough aud two bovatesof land. Cecilia de Lovetot gave the church of Dinesley in Hertfordshire also to this Monastery; but that grant was not valid until confirmed by pope Alexander the
f Uiinl,
3M
MOTTlNOnANSUlRB,
third. Gcrnrcl dc Ftirnival also* at the rec^uest of his wjfn ] tilda de Lovetot« granted to this church and the canons there* for the heaUi) o^ his soul, and his wife's, their ancestors, and Miccesfiors* pasture for forty head of cattle in the park at Work- top every year, from the close of Easter to the i^ast of St, Michael, The pious Matilda, however* wa& not satisfied with her husband's gift, but added to it a mark of yearly rent out of her mill at Work5op> to be paid on St« LukeV day when the monks were annually to celebrate the anniversary of her hos- band* Sir Gerard himself also bequeathed his body to be buried in this monastery,* and vritb it giwe a third of his milts it Bradfield with the suit of the man of that soke.
Sir Gerard having been succeeded by his brother, SirTliomis Fnrniyal, the latt«>r dying left a widow, Berthaj who for th£ health of her own and her hiisband^s soul, and also for that of Sir Gerard, which doubtleiis she thought had not been suf- ficiently paid for, gat^e an additional four pounds of sSKer out of the same mills.
Many other bene factions were given, which were «H con- firmed by pope Alexander the third, and by succes?»ive ponliiFs; until Henry the eighth, whether for th«f good of his own soul or not we will not prcttnJ to say, thought proper to take them all into his own hiindn. It appears also from a bull of popt Alexander in 1161, that the canons had a power of appointing the priests for their own parish churches, " who were answer^ able to the bishop for the cure of the people's souls, and to the priory for the profit of their livings !'*
Of the il'lonmteryf but little is now remaining ; but the Chii still remains, a proud monument of ancient ecclesiastical mag nificence. This, however, is but the west end of the prior
church/
• Thl» was aU.iji con^viercd as a bctjucst of some value* «* it brought Urge »iiiii« in shape of oUationSj oiFcringi, maiaes, reqoiemi, &c« There Imve been many instance! nr he re the roonVs wf one church h»-ir# hy force tnken a rich nifn'i bodj horn the njoiiki of awitUcr, in ordei to bring all th« £ri«t to I heir own mi 111
NOTTtNOHAMfllliaft*
5n
churcht yet has an august appearance from its Iwa lofty tower* which strike the eye of the beholder wilh an tmpre&sion equal to those of Westminster Abbey. The style of architecture was originally Saxoui but un the ouuido is much mixed with the Gothic ; and the whole is in the form> and nearly the size» of a cathedral.
The west entrance is very grand, consisting of a Saxon arch with zigzag ornaments { and the towers over it have Sajcoii« Anglo 'Norman, and Gothic windows, in diHerent gradations.
On ibe north side of the edifice are a few fragments of walls, close to the wall of the chnrcb^ some of which have been con- verted into small dwelling houses; and in ihe meadows below it many traces of fuundations have at various times been dis- covered. But the most splendid specimen of antique architec* ture is a ruinuu^s chapel at the south ea^t corner, now used as a burying place by the Froggait family, and which is highly de^ servmg the notice of ihe antiquary, as the windows, still in good pre nervation 9 are perhaps the most perfect model of the lancet ihaptnow romainiug in the kingdom.
The churchyard contains several old tombs; and one of the oldest is now before the door of the schoolmaster's house, being a freestone slab, which formerly covered the body of William Furnival, second in descent from Gerard, who came in with the Norman duke. It had a curious inscription, nowal* most obliterated; but said by Gough to be,
5* Mc memorans pallc* limiU currii quia calle^ De FournWalle pro Willielmo roga Psailc.**
On entering the church, the visitor is struck with the an- I titjue appearance of the body of it, which is 135 feet in lengthy ^and consist? of a nave and two side ainles; the roof of the nave is lupportcd by eight pillars, alternately cylindrical and oclangu- I lar, joined by Saxon arches ornamented with quatrefoils. Over I these are two alternate rows of windows, one over the arches, the other over the intervals above the respective pillars, and
9 I
3S2
WOTTf KGN AMSHtRC.
these are of ibe latest origin. The pulpit is very judiciously tdken care of, and is a very curious proof of the irigemitty of an-
cient workmen, and of the profusion of labour which they were content to bestow on what they conistdered as sacred iKirtgs.* The niomimenis arc only remarllable for their antiquit
The
*Thc vattticst of our ancient cmthedriih tnd c1iarc1>e», »nd the Ubciyred pf^fu»lon of nrnaio«fif I (tntcrwoven as it may be said into their very gtEm mud teitnre.) have been sources of wonder snd admiration fo sacoeeding ag**. Alittk conaidcrauon, however« will di^pei uor wundcri but vrithoul diminkh^ it^ our admiration, it wc recoiled tKnt clmrches qt chapelt were fi«f 4 tlicQ as now, cither b^* act oi Parliament, or for purposes of private i neat, and thus ctrcuiDscribed in tlie ooe case bj puhJic^ and m the other 1 private, economy; nor was It neecsiary that for the sake of economy th slwold be built in ti liun-y.
When an f)rchbi»hop, or « fralernity of monki, or any other religioQt i cielj, got a ficencc to build a church or cathedritl, the stale of inaimers i •fprapertj did not permit an jtomcdiatc au^ripthn of caal|» or faaxik DOte», for tlic pnrpftse ; bal the pmjcclor* knew wcli that, hj working «iii the l«IigHj ons hopes and ft'ars of individuals, tliey shoutd be able graduallj to acquin funds for their sacred foundation. It wa« their iniercjit, therefore^ to adopt m plan which ahouM require yeitrs, nay gcncmtious, to comptetc it« (sonae of these edifices halving been two centuries hi buitding^) by which means they wcreeuahled to build aniiualff as (utuh cAtne in, nity even Co add pn aif ely to iho landed property «f the monastery ; tot when Jaudi and tytl were given anr] brqncathcd for tlie holy work, the nionks, m' ho were bod treasurers and audi tor > found themselves quite at liberty to appty such i ufthe bequesii to that work, as was convenient for them. By the prolon* •ntion of the work al»0| ihcy not only recti vcd immediae suppiics, baf ei- lablbhed a kind ofaimaal 3n6 pcrpetuai t4X on the eiithosia^m, or coom- lion, of the richj who sometimes added wimie chapela, altarj, lower*. &c. &c. 91 liieir o^ii c'xpen^tv, with a sum for masses tacked to thenci. Kay^ they 'Acre even thuA enabled to avail themselves of the industry of the poorwith^ fiut paying for it; for the mechanic, that was employed u.ily half the year, noutd gladly give the other batf of hta labour^ either to purchase p^rdoti and Indulgence in tliis world, or la compound far a short rmt to ptirg;alory ill the next.
By the prolons;iiioti 6i the worki also^ the monks lefl a valoable reversion t»| the ir "successors ; and thus every thing contributed to raise edifices imihoiigbM 4f in out present dny.
KOTTINOHAMSHinfi«
d3S
Tktse are principally of the families of Furnival and Lovelot; amongst the forcner of which, most of them lying in a neglected and mutilated stale at the east end of the south aisle, there is a figure of a knight in a pointed helmet and frontlet, and g^>r* get of mail; on his surcoat is a fes.se between six martlets^ bis Ix^Jt IS studded } and under his head h a doidde cushioo sup- ported by ajigch. The slab on which he lies ij» bordered with foliage, and this, Gough in bii Sepulchral Monuments coost- ders as the fifth of the name of Funiival recorded by Dugdale about the time of Edward the third. In the " Monasticou" thereis a rhyming genealogy of the family^ in which thb baron bold Ls called a
> flern and right hasty man.
" The Ijasty Foumirall, hut he was good foundcf. To lb« place of Wyfk»opp« iu his tiine then/'
which of course was a salvo for all the evils which his hxstiness and stern impetuosity might hiflict on bis bousebold and tenantry. In anniher part of the ai;de are three large statues iti a recumbent posture, two of them mate and one female, which seem to have been brought from some other place, and are now lying on the ground, most luxuriantly ornamented with wbile- waidi*
Gough particularly illustrates and describes* two alabaster figures, of a kni^^ht in a pointed helmet with a corolla round it, and a frontlet of oak leaves, plated armour, and a saltire with a martlet in the centre for difference on his surcoat : hi* belt stud- ded; his elbow and kneepieces trefoil pattern ; a helmet under his head, with some beast's head for crest i and a lion at his feet : also at his right hand, a lady in the surbast reticulated head- dress, slender face and neck, mantle and boddice, and plaited petticoat; and under her head a double cushion with angels* He adds, that the clerk who shewed him the monument in 1785 innocently told him that this was the tomb of *^ a vast great
war- » SepuK Mob. VoL I. p. 185,
su
KOTTIHOHAIiSBIRS*
vrarrior" and his wife, and that the lion at their feet was their lap dog; "be stood a yard high, but some graceleas chapl broke off his legs."
The Cicrrouc, which the editor of these sheets bad the lock to find here, seemed not more conrersant with the antiquities of the place than his predecessor ; he pointed to these moauments as *' morals of Antikkity/' and added with an air of connob* searship, that these were '* merable of the FuHn^Mds and L&tt* cms/'
The fact is, howefer, that this last monument is that of Thomas NevtII, brother to Ralph first Earl of Westmoreland ; ht married Joan the heiress of these estates, and was treasurer of England.
The chapel of St. Peter^ on the south side of the cbancet^ al- ready noticed, where most of these memorials are now assem* bfed^ and now in a ruinous condition, was the burial place of the family.
Upon ilie whole* every antiquary, and indeed every person of taste, will find much to gratify curiosity in this place; and the solemn antiquity of this venerable ruin, for such it is tnparf» appears not the less from being contrasted with the cheerful gaiety of Ra4ford, which* having some extensive maltiag houses and mills, possesses an air of comfortable plenty ex- tremely agreeable.
Tlie Market at Worksop, which serves both places, is held on Wednesday, and u always well supplied. Here also are two Fairs; on the SIst of Marcii for cattle ; and on the 35th of Oc- tober, for horses, cattle, and pedlary: the great sale of liquo- rice is now ai an end, that root being no longer coltivated here as formerly ; and the fair also, which formerly was held on St, Walburg's day, the 2lst of June, is now discontinued,
A considerable degree of trade has been brought to this place by the Chesterfield canal, which goes close by the north end of the towui and has in particular reduced the price of coals.
The whole population of Worktop and Radford^ by the last
Census,
MOTTIKGflAM^IltftE.
555
Cefisii$» is 3G09j consisting of 1763 malest Siad 1839 ft^tualed; giving an increase. In eicvt-n years, of 70L
Though lb t^rc are no tnaiiufactures here to givi; employment, yet the gtneral state of the Poor seems not so hard as ia other
places^ the svorkhouRe is on a small scale, and a system hdA for some lime subslgtciij of giving flax for spinning to the out- poor who chase to be iudo^<irious. There are also many poor Ca- tholics in the place, who we understand are much ijidchted to llie bounty of the Howards, though the Duke of Norfolk does uot often fix biij residence at his neighbouring seat of
WORKSOP MANOR,
which stands in the centre of an extcnsirif park, eight miles in circyniference» and cuntaining much ^ne timber^ fome of it ao ancient as to be falling into decay. The park entrance, which 11 not half a mile from the town on the Mansfield road, is a light airy gateway, yet possessing an appearance of anti*|ue grandeur; and the tourist finds himself at the commencement of a long avenue deeply shaded by umbrageous oaks and other spreading trees. To the left, some hne lawns open at intervaU, and he ■ Bees at some distance the Castle farm, an extensive range of agricultural buildings with a Gothic front, a battlemented para-^ pet, and all its appendages in imitation of an ancient editlce^ from whence it takes its name ; it is surrounded by a large tract of cultivated ground, much of the park being under the far* mcr's hands. The park itself ia naturally very fine, having an extensive range of hills within its limits, sufljciently high %o bound the view from the house on one side, and magnificently covered with a series of woods, which overhang the landscape witn a most charming eJTect. On the side next the farm, aa abrupt swell rises in the boldest manner, tufted with wood, finely contrasting with the cuUi?ated scenery below, and pre-
seatu>g
S36
KOtTtNGHAHSHIRS,
senting from its summit a niont t'Xtensive prospect over t&e western part of the county.
The trees in this park, which once formed part of the forest of Sherwood, are in general upon a very large iicale ; there are mme, meruioneil loo nearly a century ago by Evcij/n in his »• Sylva/' which tvill bear two feet square of timber, at a height of forty feet, so that each will contain more than six soHd tons of timber: and one tree in particular was 180 feet firom ihe ex- treme ends of the opposite bri^nches, covering more than half an acre of groend.
The avenue towards its end affords some casual gliropset of the house itself^ which^ on turning round a wood^ bursts at once upon the view. A handsome gate now leads into the yard of oflices, separated from ilje front bwn by an immense screen of light architecture with iron folding gates; and here a stranger will find it proper to apply for admission into the interior,
The house itself is not only justly celebrated for its beauty^ but for the surprizing expedition which was used in its erection; and the visitor is struck with astonishment when told that what be sees is only the fifth part of the original design^ so that« ai Mr. Young in his tour very fairly observes, it would, if finished, be the largest house in England. It is, indeed, even now a tnas. l^rpiece in architecture, and may be considered among the noblcfit mansions in England, Payne was the architect ; but we understand that some of the most beautiful parts of the edifice must be attributed to the architectural skill of a former Due he «» ot Norfolk, who is said to have superintended its erection.
The ancient structure was burnt down in 17C1 by an acci* dental fire, and it was estimated that the loss sustained in paint- ings, furniture, antic|tie jttatues, (many of which were of the old Anitidelian collection, and discovered in digging the founda- tions of some liouses in the Strand in London,* on the scile of Ariindel house) and in the library, must have amounted to up- wards of 100,000/.
The
^ On ttie di»coverj of thetQ itaiues, Dr^ Dacarel had some etchings takea
iifthfiu : which we believe if tU that now rerD«ini,
H0TT1N6HAMSHIRS.
337
The then Duke^ on this unfortunate event, began a new house on a mo6t ma^ificent plan ; and now the present building, which is only one side of an intended quadrangle, is not unfit for the residence even of majesty itself* This quadrangle and two interior courts would have completed the plan ; but the execution of it was prevented by the sudden death of the heir! The front which is finished^ of a handsome white freestone^ is ^ 318 feet in length, presenting a facade of lightness, beauty elegance, and grandeur: in the centre, a portico makes a light projection, consisting of six very striking Corinthian pillars resting on the rustics, and supporting the tympanum and pedi*« ment, with all the grace of the Aminous tidded to the apparent vigour of Ha-cuki,
Three handsome statues are placed upon the points of the pediment; and In it!i centre is an emblematical carving allusive fo the high family alliances, A light and airy hallustradc crowns the edifice from the tympanum to the projecting part at the ends which ninrk the termination*; in the style of wingSj ami upfin this are vases so gracefully placed that we cannot agree with Mr. Young in his opinion that the double ones at the corners are crowded; and further we acknowledge that *' this front upon the whole is undoubtedly very beautiful; there isa noble siimplicity in it which must please every eye^ without raising any idea of want of ornaments/'*
The front entrance is into a vestibule* with the staircase in front, and the grandest apartments to the let^. In the general plan of the house, the present front, which is to the north, waa designed for the back front, and here are ten rooms below and twelve above, with twenty-six in the attic story; on the south side are the two galleries, one used for breakfasting, the other as a billiard room; and we may premise generally that the furni- ture, portraits, and other decorations are all in the ancient style of magnificence, with hangings and beds of crimson damask and «ky blue velvet, with the history of Joseph in Bru'^sels tapestry.
Vol. XU, ' Y Indian
♦ Vide Young*! AgTicultaral Tour.
338
XOTTIXOUAaiSRIRfi.
Indian scenery in Gobelin work, ** and all ihe Howards, Tirfm frown aioug tUe deserted galleries, some in armour, some m whbkers, and those of a still later date in iheir large wigs and square shoes i*'
We shall now examine the interior of this superb mansion in detaiU and for I he convenience of future tourists adopt thai arrangement in which the apartments are generally shewn.
The Breai^fast Parlour, is hunjsf with handsome Chinese paper^ and contains a very curious and well executed series of twenty ancient engravings, of views and charts illustrative of the defeat of the Spanifvh armada, by an ancestor of this nohie family* These views have the great merit of being chronologically de- scriptive of that event; they are also embellished with portraits^ and are upon the whole highly worthy of examination.
The Front Hall is of noble proportions, and contains two antique busts, of undoubted originality, but unknown; a bocis of a foreign breed studied, this was a great favourite of the late duke, during it,s life ; and a large coat of arms cut in wood as if for the purpose of using as a sealj though nearly two feet in height*
The Staircase is large, its area being 37 feet by 25 ; the iron rails are extremely light, and the whole has a handsome ap- pearance. Its walls are generally au[)posed to be done inJrf$co, but they consist in fact of paintings in Chiaro Scuro by Thomas de Bruyn, a Flemings and whose name is niLirked at one corner. The figures are in »uch high reliefj or rather in such capital perspective, as actually to appear protruding from the canvas j and there is a boy*s leg and foot in the large compartment which, |)erh:ip9, has never been exceeded. Their design is to reprf^sent the arts and sciences, and the light and shatle are most happily tempered, whilst the altitudes and expression pos- sess a degree of Bntsl) not generally seen in works on so large a scale 1 indeed tliey have all the sofiness of smaller paintings, with all the eirect of high relief from the strong contraiit always adopted ia fresco and in scene painting* Amongst other pic- i lures
VOTTlKaHAMftatRB.
S39
lures of merits there is ao excellent one, size of life, of Lacy the player in three dififereut characters.
In a Bed Room, 25 feet scjiiare, we are next shewn the bed on which hii present Majesty was born at Norfolk House in Lon- don ; it is a silk damask^ and still in good preservation.
A Dressing Room, 92 by 25 feet, contains a ntiniber of good pictures; Mar^ Stuecn qf Scots, when young, as if taken about the time when state policy^ as woll as personal liking, threw her into the arms of ihe dauphin of France: St, John, a most impresuive figure; the Nativiiy, highly illustrative of the hum- ble birih of the Saviour of mankind; the Adoralion^ evidently from the samt pencil, though done with a greater glare of co- louring; two heads of the Buckingham family, time of Eliza- beth or James; tuo heads of Catharine of Arragon, forming a very curious contrast, one taken when she was only sixteen, the other at the age of forty, the latter sufficiently accounting for Jlairy^s scrupies of conscience ; another i\«//i?//j^, a sweet little piece ; Christ scourged; in this the heavetdy resignation^ and even forgiveness, of the divme sufT'erer, are well pourtrayed» In this apartment the chnlrs and hangings are of white satin damasked with birds and flowers ; and the elegant chimney piece of wliiie marble, with an eagle pouncing on a twisted or apparently twisting iudikeg is highly deserving of notice. In a neighbour* ing dressing loom is a picture of Lord Thomas Howard^ Huhcr of that duke who built, the house.
Another elegant little Dressing Hoom contains some charming pieces, the principal of which are, an impressive portrait of Thomas Dukt c^f Norfolk t beheaded in ll»e reign of queen Elizabeth, of whose grandson an anecdote is recorded that king Charles the first, having taken the part of a pnest who pretended that his majesty had a right to a rectory which he, (then earl of Arundel,) challenged as bis, he said to the king " Sir, this rectory was an appendant to a manour of mme, un- till my grandfather unfortunately \m% it with his life and seven* lecn lordships more, for the love h#? bore to your grandmother I*' Iniideofa cathedral, which seems a production of the Spanish
Y2
cbool
340
K0TTI)t6HAM8HIRiE«
school ami is an exquisite specimen of perspective; theligbts in particular are well managed; Earl and CounifJts of Arnndef^ by Vandyke ; in this ptecc the earl, who has a globe near him, i^ pointing to Mailagascarf a place where he once had thoughts of malcing a settlement; the head of Homer is also introduced* copied from an undoubted nriginaS bust, afterwards purchased by Dr, Mead ; from this a print has been engraved i* ilfrt. Brock hokf, sister to the present d ulceus mother ; a portrait, in exquisite one, but unknown. The Bfue Velvet Bed Room, contains a most curious inlaid
cabinet*
• Horace Watpoli? i;>v«^9 &" excdteut clmracter of lliii patriolic nobleman*
Lifing mdch vithin hirosrjr^ bat tii all Ihe state of [tie ancient nobility, bit
chief amusemeut wa« hu collect iuti, the ver^ ruins of which are ornAments
now to several principal cnbinels, Ik wns ihe first who profefsedijr began
to collect io thi« coitiitry, ami led the way to prittce Henrjr, king Charles,
and the chikc of Eurkinghanij " 1 cannof/' «ay» rcAcham, in hit Com-
plere Gentleman, " but with ranch reverence mention ihe every way Right
, Hononrable Thomaa Howard, Lord Bi^h Marshall of England^ at great
fbr hit noble patronage of arts find ancient Icarningt as for his high
birth arid place ; to viho»e liberal charge* and magnificence this angle of the
world oitetb the first sight of Greek and Roman stutuci, with ^hoae admired
presence he began to honour (he galleries and gardeni of Arundel House.
about twenty years ago, and ha!li ever since continued to transplaitt Old
Greece into England," This carl wm not a mere selfish Tirtuucn ^ be wai
botintafiil to men of talents, retaining some in his ^ervtcei aird liberAt m all*
tie was one of the first wlno disiinguished the genius ol' Inigo Jones; and wa)
hiroaelf, say* Lillyi the first who brought c»er the new way of boUdiogwith
brick in tht city, greatly to the safety of the city, and the preservation of the
wood of this ntition. On his embassy to Vienna, ho fmind JUliat at Prague,
and brought him over.
Vide Walpole's Worb, Vol. III. p, J05.
Another anecdote of rhii nohlcmon h recorded in the life of 4eefia#. Thai coi&incntiitor h.iviug deilicatecl the srcund vi>luine of his Lcllen In Jiinef the first, and receiving no reward, nohcited one for five years. Hear* ing at liijt that the Earl of Arundil had orders to give him 300t:rowTts, and nut immediately receiving them, he accused the Earl publicly of having con- verted ttiem to bis own me. The ^ail ordered his servants to beat ArftiuCt which they did severely ; al\cr which the corrected libeller publlnhed that tk« Knrl had nn hand in beating him, wetit to him, begged the money« nut! re- ceived it.
VOTTINGEAMSUtHE.
341
cabinet, and two good portraits in armnur^ which, however, ap*
pearin^ of an older date tlian their wigs, we suspect the painter has committed an anachronism.
The Dtfrnn^ R^om belonging to this apartment, contains the original painting of the School of Athens over the fire place^ ill wliich the figures are certainly exquisitely proportioned, in welL chosen attitndesi and the whole keeping masterly « yet notwithstanding the assertion of our coiidyctress we suj^peci this to be only a copyj but certainly a good one* Here is also a high wrought Indian cabinet, ornamented with paintings of Chinese figures^ each covered with glass; this is worth exami- nation^ and as^iaiilales well with the rich satin dumask hangings of the apartnient.
In the next Antlchamber, the pictures are but few, but ihey are excellent, particularly Cain and Abel by Vandyke; this is extremely daik originally, and seems more so through lime^ yet it cannot tail to strike the beholder with horror ; nothing can be finer than the contrast between tlienieek, yet suppliant, resignation of Abel, and the anatomical exertion of his mur- derer; the Tr«w4%«rario/i, by Caracci ; half length td' Chattcs the firsi by Vandyke; and the Dead Christ, in which we know not what to admire the most, the meekness and resignation of the Virgin mother who is supporting the bodyi or the ilexile manner in which it reposes on her lap; though evidently dead, yet the bmly of the Redeemer .still bears the stamp of divinity; incorruptibility seems marked in every muscle; and an enthusi- astic mind might conceive that it saw the vital spirits, which had left the extremities, collecting round the heart, as if preparing for a renewed and immortal circulation ; in short, if this piece has a fault it is in it,s excellence, for it iippcars i*ather to represent that moment when approaching vivificalion began to shew itself, than the sombre hour which pa^ised when it was first taken from the croifs.
The Ladyi Drtssing Room is hung with Brussels tapestry, representing four of Raphael's Cartoons; these arc Paul and
Y 3 Barnabas
34«
NOTTfKaitillkfSHlItS*
luch I
til U^^^
Barnabas at Lustra, the Miraculous Draught of Fishes, Death of Ananias f and Christ delivering the key to Peter, A single figure of 5^. Peter over the fireplace is done with much spirit ; there are also two doe Spanish paintings.
In the Lad/sBed Chamber, amongst many others, an clei portrait of ^ueen Henrietta Maria, when young, cannot fail attract attention; and the curious visitor will dedicate some time to the examination oi St. Jerome in the Desart, with the usual accompaniments of the scull and lion, as in a piece of so little action, the expression is most wonderful, and the land* scape in true perspectiye^ a thing not always attended U> h the most admired masters.
The Gejuleman's Dressing Room is rich in paintings, althou a numher have been taken from this apartment, as wc^ll as froi other parts of the house, for the ornamenting of Arundel castli Here is one in particular, a very antient head of Christ, v\fh\c\ if there were none other in the mansion, would fully repay a visit to Worksop ; our Cicerotic, however, could only say it was an original, seeming to itnply that it was taken from ii life! but as our faith did not extend so far, knowing that St< Luke was the only painter of that time, and the specimen of his art shewn at Lorello not being quite equal to this, we were obliged to leave it like Priam's bod}* at the destruction of Troy, not indeed '' sine nomine Corpus,*' but sine nomine pictura, A charming nun next presents herself; this is Miss Blount, Lady Abbess at Antwerp, whose sweetness of countenance would make one regret that ever the walls of convents should have existed to shrowd such beauty from an admiring world, was it not recollected how tHiiny of our own blooming damsels pine in virgin sadness* Here are also, a Madona, placid and im^ pressive J some tolerable landscapes; fruit and flower pieces; Henry sixth Duke of Norfolk ; Master ClitFord^ about whom there is some story of his being to form an important matximo- niaJ connection with the family, but dying before it was com- pleted i a capital piece^ in the style of Schneider, if not from
his
KOTTlNGHAMSfltRE.
hh pencils of a Spnrf9man reposing, wilK a spirited horse and
Tiie Library at our visit was all in ronrusion, and oontained little worth notice except a portrait uf a Roman Pontiff, ancl two whole lengths of Jama the second and h is Queen. Of James, it has been so much the r4shion lately to speak, and to de- V elope liis motives, (these too asserted with such positive i\e' cisiooi or argued with such intricacy of ayllogism,} that one is almost persnad*fd to disbelieve the facts recorded in history, and to worship the new light. But after all tliis ingenuity of dis- <|uisition» a little calm retlection will convince those who are not wilfiilly blind, that the writer came neare&t the truth, who says that " a bigot, from his intancy, to the RomisU religion, and to its hierarchy, he sacrificed every thing to establish them ; and guided by the Jesuit Peters his confessor, and the infamouj* Jefteries, he violated every law enacted for the security of the Protestant religion ; and flying from his throne, and his country, chose to live and die a bigot, or rather, as he supposed, a saint ana martjr to the cause/'*
In the next Dressing Room are Mary, DucheM qf Norfolk, sis* ter to Miss Blount the abbess; a good sea piece ; and a family piece, posse^ising more spirit thun these stilF and formal asscni- blages do in general, containing Mister Howard who died heir to the title, two Miss Wests, and the late Lady Petrc.
The Duke*s Bed Chamber contains Bishop Bid he sulFering martyrdom ; he was bishop of Sebusta in Cuppadocia in the second and third centuries, and sullereddtath under Dioclesiun by decapitation, after being whipped and having his flfsh lorn with iron combs; he has long been a personage of great import- ance among the woollen manufacturerii who consider him as their
y 4 patron
♦ In inimditcing lhi» libtoricsl remark, which ccrtnitdy wai ctinsidcred at « just tine, for si centary at Itntx after tlie alHlicittiwii, it is ivit uur wbli, not would U be coris«)n«nt m\h wlmi wu liopc uidj he e'stoemcd our liberal and tuofTeniitt; plan, to encourage bigotry, or Alhiiuluic lo uuolcraiico on cUhcr side of the question; bulif it i* nut lriu*| it la n^itural lo usk, '* Why had wt a reroiiilion r'*
£^U
IfOTTINQHAMSUia£«
pdiron saints and carry him m all processions, aaihe inventor of their wool cards ; this, Uo we ver, must originally have arisen from the tortures antecedent to his martyrdom, which, instead of making him a friend to the trade, would we think have rather given him a distaste to woolcoinbing! Here is also a/<inc{A(' representation of the Crucifixion, with angels holding cups to receive the blood, but surely the plain bi^orical facts attendant upon that awful scene are more impressive ihan those flights of a painter's imagination; where the body only sutlered^ it is futik to attempt even to anbkviaiize the heavenly support aflbrded to ihedivinUif vjithiiu
On descending the staircase, we are tirst shewn into thei^i(- Hard Room, a long gallery hung with Chinese paper, and fitted up for its osteiuible purpose ; here also are som^ Jioieerpiecat the mside qf a cuihcdral, &c.
The Back Hall contains four very large pieces ; these art Joseph interpreting Pharaoh's dream ; Joseph'm his coat of many colours relating his own dream, to his brethren ; ilfo^^^ found in the Nile ; and IMosts and the serpents \ two anti«)ue busts, ori- ginals; and two modern one$> Charles the first, and Charles Louis Palatine of the Rhine.
A small Drt^tsing Room on this floor has a very curious por- trait of a I}uch€ss of Milan, and another of Henry sixth DuJte qf Norfolk^ whose resemblance seems lo have been multiplied in the several apartments.
We now enter the Small Drawing Roofu, 36 ft*et by 30, and ptry elegantly furnished with crimson dn mask, and magnificent ■labs of Sienna marble; it is also extremely rich in paiutnigs, of which we shall only enumerate a few* of the beat. These are. Marj/ Duchess qf Norfolk ; Edward Duke qf Norfolk ; Eurl iilafford, beheaded in Charleii's reign ; Philip Earl of Arund^ iUe gvQAi Earl of J tundel; Lady Aliihea Talbot, his counieftt these two portraits, of these noble personages, are by Paul Vansomer^ with the date 1618; the Earl is painted silting^ in a black costume^ with the order of tUe garter hanging round hts
KOTTXlTGUAMSUlRe*
neck; be holds the Earl Marsihals Bacon m his handj with which he points lo several uutiqtiiis : Hcnrj/ Howard, the poelic JEari qf Hurrjf, when young ; he was both a soklier and a poet; 'mhh youth he became enamoured of the fair Gcraldinc, whom im sonnets have immortalized, and whilst making the lour of Italy, according to the chivalrous custonj of those times, pub- lished a challenge against all comers, whether Christiana or Saracens, in defence of her beauty, and was victorious in a tournament on that occasion, which induced the Grand Duke of Tuscany to wish to retain him at his court; hut he determined to establish her fame in every city in Italy, from which roraaa- tic resolution, however, he was recalled by order of Henry the eighth, yet afteivvards beheaded as a victim to the jealousy of that mouarchj pq Towerhill, in 1546; Elizabeth Somtr^Hg daughter of the Marquis of Worceister, and consort of Henry sixth Duke of Norfolk ; Thomas Duke qf Norfolk, Lord Trea- surer | a portrait of the poetic Earl of Surry niott advanced in life, this is a whole length and is habited ni an embroidered waistcoat and short breeches, a cloak on, a collar of the order of the garter^ a garter on his leg, a »hort sword with a gold hiJt, and a glove in his hand ; /Ic?ir^ Earl qf Arundel ; Itord Thomai Howm'd faibef of a late duke; he lost hts life at sea, whilst a young matb and is represented as shipwrecked ; Cardinal How- ard ; Lord Edmund Hoivard who coummnded ihe Van at the battle of Floddcnfield; the Eari qf EJiughanit who was made Lord High Admiral at that critical juncture, when the Spa- niards were sending their armada, invincible in their optnion, and to ihe assured conquciit of this island; though not brought up to a sea life, yet both his conduct and his courage were con- apicuously 4iiip1ayed in his various and reiterated attacks upon an enemy numerically superior; his coolness of temper was no doubt a great advantage to him, and likevvise his magnani- mity and prudence, both which prompted him to attend to the advice of Drake and the other experienced neamcn, and to which, under heaven, this country was principally indebted for
that
S4«
lOTTIHGHAHSBTBK.
'^
ibstt signal defeat of an enemy buoyed up with fancied sxipe* riority, and stimulated by all the enthusiasm of religion, as if engaged in t crusade. Here is also a portrait, by Sir Joshua, of ihe Dttkc preceding the late onc^ but it is even more faded iban tbnse of an earlier date.
The Largf Drawing Room is 53 feet by SO, and is hung wit] most bealit\il GobcHn tapestry, which, as has been justly •erTetf, for colours of an amazing brilliancy, and an exqtiisite imilntion ejf nature, fs above all prarse. Even the Bnest tints of painting are most happily caught, and the representations of -4*1 rt ^/«(i j^wcrica personified, with their Tarioas attributes and productions^, are appropriate in the extreme. Here are also two l^rgeflowct'piectSf and two fine slabs of Sienna marble; the elegant chimney piece is of the same substance ; and the pier am? chimney glasses are superbly magnificent,
Tlie Dining Room is 42 feet by 38, and contains two tm tcapts mid handiid by D'Arthos; Dido and Eneas from Italian pencil ; San Rucpie, * on pilgrimage, and his dog brin ing him a loaf, in which the dog is admirable in the extrei hDt the glare produced by an extraordinary diffusion of the tights draws olY the attention from ihe principal figure ; and foakes it look rather like a sketch, than a Jinishcd piece, which it amloubtedly is. ^^ An Anti Uoom, 25 ffct square, brings us again to the lonA^B ^llcry ; it h;\s a handsiimc chimney [»iece of white marbte^^ with a painting over it in fresco, done by Bmyn who painted the staircase ; in this, if possible, the perspcctire deception is vren finer than that of the larger work.
The Chape t possesses a gloom suitable to such a holy pVace^ the altar is highly gilt; the altarpiece, a most splendid work of the Rcsurrcrtion^ On the altar also is a large crucifix of ex- cjutsile workmanship, and highly gilt; this, by a very liberal arrangement of his grace, is permitted to remain in compliment lo several Catholics in the neighbourhood, who knowir.g that
• Qnerj, %m U^gnt '
HOTTINGHAMSMIRS.
347
this chapel was originally consecrated according to the ritual of their church, are happy to avail themi^lves of it as a place of assembly to oiler up their prayer and praise to the God of all. As an adciitional proof nf his grace's libemlity and bene- ▼olence, we understand that many of those who nifasure their humble steps to this retired umple, are the old retainers and proteges of this illustrious family. This is aa it should be ; this is the true spirit of tolerant Protestantism, which never can injure any cause, and whose consequences must be pleasing in the sight of heaven, religion being ihuji far divested of poliiicai considerations i On thti various sides are hong several other paintintjs as assistants and slimolaiiis to devuiion; these are the Prtsentation, the Descent from the Cross, and a Dead Christ, with several others that cannot fail to e?ccite the iwarmestand most contrite devotion in minds preparcnl for it.
After viewing the interior of this superb raanjiion, the visitor ia naturally anxious to examine the Gurdem, which, indeed^ cannot be supposed ef]ual lo ibeir stale when the family prin- cipally resided here; as specimens of the antii)ue siyk, how- ever, they are not undeserving of curiosity* The iloxver-gar- den is near to the house, and contains a large and handsome greenhouse, which sttll boasu a variety of exotics : the bow* ling green also is a very extensive one, surrounded by some very fine larches feathered to the very ground ; but the plea* sure ground has lost one of its greatest curiosities, a menagery which the duchess, antecedent to the late one, had filled with a numerous collection of birds. The fruit garden too was laid out in CQimiderable taste having a great number both of hothouses andhoiwulls; but these, though still taken care of, have no* thing particular to excite enquiry, •
Much of ilie beauty of the houie grounds loo is gone, partly from want of attention, and paitly from the landscape gardening in the park being broken in upon by the return of a great part of it to iu agricultural state. When Mr, Arthur Young visited this mansion in 1770, everything was then in high perfection, and his
account
348
KaTTiiraiiAu&iJtBB*
account of it ser^t*d at least to tell ub what it ance vras. Yel it is a pleasing, though melancholy, task, even now lo trace Kls descnp- tion«and to retlect on the various changes that have taken pbc« mice those who first laid it aut virere In high health and spirits. The beauly of the ontruies still remains, and it is impossible not to be pleased with the artiticial piece of water, which has ftU the boldiiesft of a river, assimilates well with the surrounding scenery, and is partly seen to great advantage from a Gothic bench placed in a shady and now se que ottered spot, the d^rk green foliage of the impending wood contrasting the clear ex- panse below. Imntedialely opposite to this bench, the banks are rocky and abruptly broken ; and soon spreading tbemselres> they open and display an extensive sheet of the water wtiich is seen at some distance to recede into a very deep and dark wood, retiriJig beneath the arches of an elegant bridge, and ihu.^ gi?* iiig an idea of continuity to that which is soon after terminated. The contrast of the dark brown overarching foliage witb the pure whiteness of the bridge, is very grand, particularly when made more apparent by the blaze of the noontide ray. Wind- ing through a thick wood to the lef^, the water is agiftm caught close to the bottom of an extensive lawn, at one end of which a gentle swell Is crowned with a Tuscan temple that iorms a fine object from whatever direction it is seen, and also in oiFering the visitor a resting place, points out to his view a charm prospect of part of the lake. From this spot there aie a vari of walks to diderent parts of the grounds; one of tbese leads lo the bridge close to which is the termination of the water, now more hidden than when Mr. Young visited the place, but which ought to hiive been moved more into the recesses of the wood, or might have been concealed by the omission of the path to the bridge, as that edifice from this spot seems abfturdly 8uper* lluous. The ground rises into gentle swells after ciossing the bridge, and is prettily tufted with trees and fhrubs, and this is perhaps the most pleasing part of the grounds, as the light of day call scarcely break in, whilst the silence is only disturbed^
lelfH
KOTTlNaHAMSlItftt.
349
fiay it may be said is moredistiactly marked,by t!ie trickling of a mmW rivulet in the bosom of the venlant foliage. We cannot leave this spot without copying Mr. Young's obserfntion, "that this sh robbery will amuse any person whoae taste leads them to admire the soft to»jehes of nature's pencil, scenes of the beautiful unmixed with the sublime." But the admirer of nature in all her wildness, may still be highly gratified by a ramble through the park, to which he is led by a road parsing to the southward from the house: ihi^ walk extends upwards of two miles, the scenery being partly diversified by cultivation, and also by the irregularity of the gr<>und most judiciously planted; in one pari there is some fine forest scenery with elms of an extraordinary Htze, planted on mounds of earth that seem evidently to have been ancient barrows, yet have not been de- scribed, nor even mentioned, by that indefatigable antiquary Major Rooke. An extensive common, or rather xvasie, over- run with fern presents itself to view^ across which we proceed to a lane that leads to the park of
WELBECK ABBEY,
the residence of his Grace the Duke of Portland. This was on- ginally the freehold of Sweyn the Saxon before the Conquest, after which it was divided into several manors, of which Joceus de Flemaug obtained a third part of a knight's fee; mid upciii ihe death of an old Saxon Drenghc, or knight, named Gamel- bere, who held two carucates of land of the king \n captte by the service of shoeing his majesty's palfrey upon all four, and died without heirs, Richard, son of Joceus, obtained these lands, doing the like service, and became Lord of Cukeneyt in which parish Welbeck stands. Thomas de Cukeney his son, was both a statesman and a warrior; he built a castle at Cukeney^ and founded the Abbcjf of Welbeck, for PrBemonstratensiaa canons from New ho use in Leicestershire ; beginning a in the reign of Stephen, and completing it in that of Henry the t second
I
p
350 woTTiironAiisHiiim*
second. He dedicated it to St. James, and gave it afoflg^ ' some extensive grants of land to those monks in free and per-' petualalms, for bis own, father*s, mother's, and ancestor's souls, « and theirs, from whom he bad onjustly taken any gooda/' After this, many troubled consciences bestowed numerou beiR^facLions on this abbey, which had previously been to firmed by a roy^^l grant of Henry the second.
In the reign of Edward the tiiird, John Hotham, Bishop* Ely, in 1329, bougla [he whole of the manor of Cukeney, aiid settled it upon the abbey, on condition of their finding eight canons who shouUl erjjoy the good things, and pray for Edward the third and his cjueen, their children and ancestors, &c. ; at«o for the bishop's father and mother, brother, &c. " but especi* ally for the health of ihe said Lord Bishop whilst he lived, and after his death Jor his soul, and for all theirs that had faithfully served him, or done him any good/* to which w^as added this entraordinary injunction, that they should observe his anni* wcrsarjf, and on their days, of commemorating the dead •* should absolve his soul btf name/' a process whose frecjuent repetition might naturally be considered as needless, unless the pious bishoji supposed that he might perhaps commit a few additional sins whilst in purgatory.
At the dissolution Jt was granted in the usual manner to trus- tees, for secular purposes, and its then state may be partly in- ferred from Lelaiid*s desrriptioti. " From Wirkensope I rootlf a longe by the pale that cnvironneth the great wo<m1 chilled Roonie wood, by the space of 2 miles and more, and then I passed over a little bridge under the which renneth Wilebeke iirater. Wile hath 2 hedde springes, whereof the one riseth not very far alj<»ve Wilebek Abbey. The bigger riseth far of by west, and about Wilebek cum to one botom. The abbey of Wilebek is about half a mile on the righte hand above the afore- said bridge. One Waulley hath bought this wood of the king; it longgid as I hard to Wirkinsop priory."
From Whallcy the original grantee it came to Sir Charles
CavcndUh»
HOTTIKOHAliSHTaB*
C&vendUb^ youngest son of the cclebraud Countess of Shrews- bury, by ber marriage with Sir Willjam. He marrying the heiress of Lord Ogle, bis son succeeded to th^t barony, and be- came afterwards Duke of Newcastle ; this was the noble duke the author of the famous Treatise on Horse manshipf and the builder of the lir^^e riding bouic here, of whjcl* we shall have occasion to nnake further mention- Though the duke wa* very active durijig tht civil wars on the side of Charles, yet this seat and park escaped the fury of the Parliamentarians; in other respects, however, he suffered to the amount of nearly one million sterling. His grand-daoghter and heiress, Margaret, married John llolli:*, afterwards created Uuke of Newcastle; but she left only a daughter who inherited the estates, and mar- rying the Earl of Oxford, another heiress, the only issue of this union^ carried it to ihe ancestor of the present noble pro* prietor.
Tlic p;\rk is about eight raile.'? round, and powerftilly excites the attention of the visitor in his approach to the house, as it contains several noble woods of very ancient and venerable oaks many of which are of an extraordinary size; we shaU, however, only enumerate a few of them.
The Gteeadak Oak is considered by Major Rooke as being upwards of 700 years old. In Evelyn's time it* was 33 feet in circumference at the bottom ; the breadth of the boughs was 88 feet, covering a space equal to t>7(J tqi>are yards. It is now almost in a state of decay, being propped in several places; in some parts capped with lead to protect it from the wet; ia others*, secured by iron bars in order lo bold its limbs together; and only one solitary branch evincing any marks of vegetation* A coach road, ten feet three inches in height, has been cut through it in 1724, whose width in the middje is six feet three inches, and the present circumference above the arch is 35 feel three jiiches. Yet it never contained any great f|uantity of limber; atleastj not equal to that of some other trees in this
park • Vide Evcljn*! *' Silva/*
S5f
««tntoiijiM«ijnit*
park which hav€ been estimated at upwards of seven cwdglit
btindred solid feet.
Tiie Dukt^s Walking Stick is in height to the top. 111 feel itix inches; its solid contents four hundred and forty feet, and jits weight eltven tons: in short, as Major Kooke observes, H llnay be doubted whether this admirable tree can be matched in I [the kingdom.
The Two Porters have received their name from there having l^nce been a gate between them; their respective heights are 1 98 and 88 feet ; and their circumference 38 and 34*
In another part of the park, near the gate which goes In from [Worksop, is that very remarkable production of vegetable na- [liire, called the Seven SUlers, from iu consisting of seven stems lipringing from one root in a perpendicular direction; but one of Ivfhich has unfortunately been lately broken off. Their hf^ight I is 88 feet ; the circumference of the common trunk close to the
groimd is 30 feet* Near this is a hollow tree, in circumference
20 feet nine inches, supposed to be 30D years old ; and this is re(\en used by the gume keeper as a place of concealment from
whence he can unobserved take aim at the deer.
That part of the park which is seen in the vicinity of the Ifcouse, and in which the plantations are upon a very large
•cale, has been rendered ornamental, and contains a vel*y fine < [piece of water, occupying a winding valley, meandering | [through the dark foliage of the surrounding woods* and whose nttom being boggy was dug out by order of the late duke, and [being made the receptacle for all the drainage, is now com- [pletcly floated. This charming lake is a great embellisibrient I [to the grotmds, being of a considerable length and breadth, and I winding with the most natural eftect in an easy but bold line at | tlhtf foot of several small promontories shaded with planting, and presenting the most picturesque prospect* at every turn-
The late duke made many considei^ble alterations and im* IprovementA, independent o£ this piece of water; but he wa» [ralher unlucky in one proposed embellishment, for having
erected
NOTTINGHAMSHIRE.
353
erected a mo«t elegant^ nay magnificent, bridge of three arebes, the centre one of wbich was ninety feet in span, and the litle ones seventy-fiv*; each, it feli down just as it was titiishedj and when Its fine elTect was so nobly and completeTy displayed as to add considerably to the loss in other respects.
In the Rein Deer Park, on the west side of the lake, there is a beautiful grove of large majestic oaks, which are supposed to have braved the tempests upwards of six centuries.*
It has been justly said that few noblemen planted more than his late Grace of Portland, and none with greater success; and bis very judicious mode of procedure may be seen at large in the Survey of the County by Mr. Lowe, p, 57 : at the period of whose writing, the uncultivated lands which had been improved by that lamented, departed, nobleman » within the space of twenty-five years, amounted to nearly two thousand five hundred acres; of which number, about seven hundred contain plantations.
Respecting the house itself, there have been a sufficient num- ber of opinions to warrant the old adage of " many men, &c/' Throsby observes^ that it has been much enlarged, but is on no regular plan ; yet appears in difierent points of view, on a scale Karge and magnificent. He adds, that very little remains of the old abbey c^xcept the cellar arches ; which arches are said by Mr. Bray to be the oni^ remains. In these opinions we should have coincided^ from a strict examination of the outside walls; but on enquiry, we were informed that many of the walls of the interiur are of the ancient building, and that in some of the apartments, even the sepulchral monuments fixed in these w^alli are not destroyed, but only hid by the wainscot pannels and other hangings. What is seen, however, is of comparative modem erection being begun in 1604. yet it has towers, turrets, some small battlements, and some ballusirades, which aitu* gether give it an impressive air of antiquity, though by no Kieans assimilating with our ideas of an ancient abbey. We
Vot. XIL Z cannot
• Vide Br»j*i Toor to the Blidliad coudUm.^
954^
IV oTTiir^fr A If tnisi.
cannot agree with a receDt penoiHcal wrilcr,* that it tr^ withom, but shall atlovv thai iL ba» every a|ipearance of I I be seat of elegance anrl hospitality wiikin* Tbuse which . called the new apartments are very spacious; but ivith the es- reptlon of additions, no great alteration has taken place siocc u» first erection^ though the lai« duke fitted up all the principal r4»oms id their present slate.
The Equestrian duke of Newcastle built a most rnagnihcent Riding House here in 16^3« and finished the stables in i02a^ ttnder the direction of John Smithson, an ingenious architect : it seems, however, that hia immediate successors did not keep up his favourite hobby, as It was for ifotiie time permitted to go to decay t but is again restored to ita original use ; sukI the great stable is now one of the finest in the kingdom, (with the exec lion of the royal ^eutiiblishment at Brighton,} being 130 feet la by 40 broad^ and containing 40 stalb, the outside being linishc in vvhat may be called, not the modem, but the madenitt style of Gothic, Thoroton speaking of that duke to whom ive havaj alluded, says " though he is so great a niaster of horsema ship (hat though he be above eighty yearfi of age> he very coiv» stanlly diverts hloi^lf with it, still, insomuch that he is thougfa to have taken as much pleasure in beholding his great store i choice well managed horses, (wherewith his Cine stables continually furnished) appear to exercise their giiu in his magsj nifictnt Riding House, which he long since built there of brick^J as in older times any could take to see the religious perfot^f] mance^ of monks in the quire of the great church of St. Jameeiij now utterly vajrisbed, except the chapel for the house was on^J part of it, which of kte years also haih lain buri«}d in tha^i ruins of lis roof,**
Having thus examined the outside of this mansion, we shal| now proceed to its interior, and enter the 1/a//, which is verKl capacious. On one side is a
Hmall Dressing Room which contains several small purtnuta o(
the! * In the MiMitlil^ Mngnzme*
I I
JrOTTIir9BAM9HfRB. 355
the present noble family ; here are also. Si, Jerome in the dc^ sen J Kiiig William the third; hU iiuetn Mary; four Dutch Caiidfe light pieresby Schakkm,* remarkably well done; a set of small paintings of Tarquin and Lucreiia, Htrcuks and Om" phale, Jupiier and Semek, Friar and NunSt all done in enamel undtr ^lass, and being rather in the style of Faccticc ! Here are also &mM brottzes of horse?, &c. particularly a most curioae group of a man on horseback, with a lion, &c.; these are real antiques. We now ascend the
which has a handsome Gothic ciejing^ with Gothic doors, &c. to the varioos rooms. This leads to the
Small Saloon which contains the following portraits, curious to the enquirer into British history; Elizabeth Hurdwkk of Hard wick in Derbyshire, Countess of Shrewsbury ; a portrait, three-quarter length, in Chancellor's robes ; Lady Jane Caven- dish, eldest daughter of William Duke of Newcastle; she mar* ried Charles Cheneyj Esq, of Cheshara Bois, and actually kept garrison at Welheck, against the Parliament forces; Lady Catharine Damkyt natural daughter of James the second by Catharine Sedley ; she was Baroness of Darlington, and mar- ried first James Earl of Anglesey, secondly James SheiBeld^
Z 2 Duke
^ Walpole observes that Godfrey Schakktn was a ^at maieer of lucks in tbc an, or Ihe Di*>b could decide on merit, He was born at Dortp and soao began to display hi» genius ; but hit chief pmcUce was to paint catulJe-ligbti, He phced tlie object and a candle iu a dark room ; and looking through a tmail hu!e, puimed b; day light wliat lie «aw in Ihe dark chamber^ Sotue- tiiEca he tiid portraiis in that mamiefj and catuc lo England with that view; but found ibe buiinc&t loo much eogrossed by KneJIei and others. Yet ha once drew king Willinm; but as the piece wm lo be by candle- lightj he gavo his vnnje*iy the candle to hotdj till the tallovr run dovrn hh ficigera. As if to justitj (his ilJbreedingt be drew his own picture in the same iitutition. Deti- cacy wajno part of his character. Hariiig drawn a lady who was marked with the imaJI pox, but had handiome hands, aho liaked bim, when tbe face wasfinbbed, if she must not -tit for her hao^s ? "No, replied the boor, I alw^ayi draw lliem from ray bouit maid I"
&S6 VOtTIVOBAMSHIEX.
Duke of Normanby and Buckingham, by whom she was motifer of the 1a%t duke of that title; her 6gure in waxwork is one of those shewn at Westminster Abbey ; Henry Cavenduk, Lord Ogle, who married Lady Elizabeth Percy, daughter of Josce- line last Earl of Northumberland; same lady, who married secondly Charles Seymonr, Duke of Somerset;* Charles Cavenr disk, Lor«l Mansfield; Lady Harriet Cavendish, daughter of the Duke of Newcastle, married to Lord Harley, »ftevwards Emrl of Oxford; a curious head, resembling Martin Lsither, bat our Cicerone having no list and not being a connoisseur, it wa* with difficulty that the names of any of the portraits coold b« obtained except those which had them painted ckkcr mi the frames or the canvas. Here are also some very handsome enamels of the Resurrection, the Magdalen, Christ and #fe woman qf Samaria, &c.
The Drawing Room contains some very superb French plate glass; and iselegiintly filled up with plain pink walls, and light gilding.
The Breakfast Room has a good likeness of Afchhiskof Laud ra lawn sTeev^s^ with short hair ; a late Duke and one of bis brothers; a small one of the late Duke when young ; Miss Cast' ning niece to the present duchess.
The Dining Room is 59 feet by SG, and has an elegant coved cieling. The portraits consist of, Matthew Prior, that eminent [^oet, so justly celebrated for the easy humour and elegant taste of his writings; he was son of a joiner in the city of London, yet became secretary to the English embassy in the Congress at the Hague in 1690, and a gentleman of the king's bedcham- hiiT, &c. being first noticed by the Earl of Dorset and others, for his classical attainments at Westminster School, whilst liv- ing
• Sli« vvas tir".l wife of this proverbial/y proud duke of Somerset. Afttr her Jeath, he luarrit'd a second wife; but even with these compuuions of his bed ind bosom he seems to have avoided all faiuiliaritj*, for one evening, when alone, the second duchess having in a graceful matronly manner thiowu her arm round his neck, he frowned and exclaimed, *' Madam I that it a libcr^ my first wife ut^vcrtook, and she wot cs Perc^!^
MOTTHtSHAMSIIIIlC.
w.
I
img wiik his unde^ a vifimer at Charing CrOss : this accounts for his professed coiiiempt of genealogy in the wel! known epttaph written by himself;* William Cavendish, Duke of New- castle, the active and Inyal friend of the unhappy Chirles; his costume it a rest of black with slashed <»1eeyes, and an im- mense lace ruff; his s^vord is gold hilteil, the garter is on hi^ legj and there are roses in his shoes j portrait of an ancient baron with a lady and two children^ ?ery 4ike the utifortunate Earl ofStraflTord; the Earl of Strafford, a whole leiigdi, by Vandyke ; Sir Hugh Middkton, has grey hair cut short, a moderate sized tn% and turned up lace rulHes \ he was a public spirited man, and a very great benefactor to the city of London, hy planning and completing the New River j but like all other projectors he greatly impaired bis Cbrtune by this work, ihough it repaid him in part before hisd^ath; he was first knighted, and next created a haronet»i>y kin^ James the hrst; it appears by the Gen/s Mag, VoL p. 917, that his great, great, great, grand children are now living near E^ceter, with large families byt u«t the greatest share of this world's good&
The Library is 44 feet by BQ; itsckling is in tbe flMid<r«- thic, and its chimney piece in the same style; in &hort its i^ hole ittiug itp in panne U, windows, &c. &c. is an elegant modem imitation of thai style of architecture. Atone end is a very handsome paiming ol* an angel contemplating a crucifix sur.- r-ounded by a divine^glary.
The Vest ibuk conimn^ a view of tlie race ground at New- market, t<igeiher with portraits of favourite horses, dogs, and <»ther animals.
The visitor is next conducted to a Dressing Room, which though it cantiot be called superb, or even elegant, is yet ex* trumeiy curious from the number of inlaid and other cabinets, and the profusion of fancy piece?* which adorn its walls.
Z^ Met
• *' Lo 1 bcfc good rcadcrj b^ ^our leave* Bcneiiih tlib stone, Ji« Matthew Prior j The ton of Adam and of £trc.
It VOTTIKGHAMiaiEl*
Her Grocers Dressing Room is a rery pleasing aparlment, contains ioroe curious specimens. Here is a modtil of f>n An* iique head by Scbiavoneui; a smnll figure of CharUsihefim on horseback, copied from Vandyke, and ihe hor*e d»»nr by Wootton; the 014 Roman supping on turnips, and refuMng the bribes of tbe ambafisadors of Pcrsius; Date Obolum HeUsario ; iwo Italian Landscapes by P. Laura ; a Saint fed by angets ; a most curious ancient painting of a lady ; Dutcb Bofirs; ^niedlj original of Edward the sixth, in crimson aiid gokl; whole length of i^ueen EUzahcth by Lucas de Heerc.on horseback ; in Ihe background, a view of ihe old mansion at Wanstead \ Spanish I , G^ey singing to the Guitar; a fine head, apparently of tbe^ Spanish school.
The Smait Dressing Room is merely mentioned m possessing I a portrait, (but that is a jewel) of Gertrude Pierpoint, youni^^er j ^daughter of the Hon. William Pierpoiiitj she married George Saville, Marquis of [ialifax.
The Chapel has a very comfDiLabie gallery opening from thii floor: below it is fitted up likt' a country church, with GothinJ wifidowt in leaden diamond squariSt ur lozenges^ &c«
Upon the ^ hole, though, withtlit exception of the libraryij there is nothing extraordinarily superb ; yfl still nemii^ir alloirl this maniiion to be neatly elegant> without either gaudtnes^ or ' profusion*
The next ramble, which the inquisitive tourist will undertake, •is to
CLUMBER PARK,
ihe elegant residence of his Grace t^ Newcastle. Proceerlrnp ' along the Mansfield road, a picturesque scene presents itself cut through the rocks, amidst overhanging wood^; which add much to the wi Idness of the scenery ; bul the country soon opens into a wide and half uncultivated tract, soon alter which the road.^ divide, the turn to the left leading to OUerton and, at
a distance
KOTTlirGBAMSBItH.
559
a distance af two inUe& from Worksop^ presentrng an uncouth paih« through b^avy sand^^j that leads to the park gatCj a modern erectioft of handnome ^tone work with an old lodge. On en- tering this, a splendid scene presents itself, amd following the trackj the visitor finds himself almost in a desert, amongst woods, rough lawns, rising grounds, and small billH broken into steep cliils, crowncsd with planting and feathered even to their bases. Amidist this sylvan scene, some marks of rude coHivaUon ac- company him for two miles, when the mansion bursts at once upon his view ; bui standing rather low, it does not at first make an impression ecjnal to the ideas with which the mind is filled froTTi the approach. Yet its front of white stone, brought a dis* tance of five mile? from a quarry on the estate, has an air of mag- nrBcence ; and the whole mass of building, including the very spacious court of offices to the left, form^ a fine contrast with the rising hill beyond it, and with the large piece of water oc- cupying the extended bosom of a winding vale, and terminated by an elegant bridge of white stone in a most superb style of ar* chitectore.
In contemplating the scenery around, we must not forget that this park, now eleven miles in compass, was not many years ago a large extent of wild forest land, through which the pub- lic roads still lead with the usual direction posts, Mr* Young who visited it in its infancy, for it is entirely a new creation of the late duke's, observes that his Grace was then planting on so Jarge a scak^ and reducing such a quantity of the Ung land to profitable grass, that the place in a tew y^irs would not be known ; and he adds, that the extent of the new plantations was then so great as to promise to be not only an ornament to all the country, but a soursc of immense profit to the faintly. Mr. Lowe also, in his Agricultural Survey, tells us that it contains about 4000 acres, yet not half a century ago it was little more than a black htath full of rabbits, having a narrow river running through it, with a small boggy close or two; but now *' besides a Hiagnificcnt mansion and noble lake and river with extensive
Z 4 plantations.
96o wonncBAumnn.
plantations^ aboat MOO acres are broogbt into a regidtf and excellent course of tillage, maintaining at the same time be- tween three and four thousand sheep, and all in his Grace's oo- copation.'' This was fifteen years ago^ and great improTcments both in planting and in cultivation are still going on under the auspices of the present noble proprietor. Even at the period when Mr. Young wrote, the then duke had the largest farm yard in the county; our researches, indeed, into this part of the economy were not so minute as those of that intelligent traTel* ler, we shall therefore observe on his authority that eT«i ihe '^ Hog houses are very convenient, in emptying the wash, grains^ &c. directly out of the cisterns through the wall into the troughs." In this park also are the remains of two woods of venerable old oaks, one of which gives name to the place, being called Clumber Wood, the other is Hardwick wood ; and Mr. Lowe adds, that since they have been shut in from cattle, the young trees are springing up surprisingly, firom the acorns. When Mr. Lowe wrote, the whole of these plantations, within the park, amounted to one thousand eight hundred and forty* eight acres.*
With respect to the Hou$e itself, so much has been said in its praise, that it is difficult to find novel terms in which to exr press its elegance. It has been said that it embraces magni- ficence and comfort more than any other nobleman's mansion in England ; that every thing reflects the highest credit on the taste displayed in the accommodations and ornaments found in this delightful retreat; and that in this princely abode the writer of romance, (and why not the reader also?) might enrich his fancy, and the poet imagine himself wandering through an enchanted palace.
This
• Vide Lowe's Survey, p. 5S. " In the extemlve enclosares made bj hit Grace in Elkeslej, Bothamsellj &c. the quick hedges, which an remark- ably fine, were raised with posts and rails^ the thinnings of those plantationi. I was assured, some years since, that sixty miles rnnaiog measure had be«n done iu tbi4 manner ; and by this timp it most amount to doable that nambcr."
KOTTIHGHAMSIITRI*
35l
I
I
This truly magnificent mansioa consists of three fronts; and in the centre of that which faces the lakej there h a very light Ionic colonade which has a pleasing etFect^ and particularly &o in that hannonious whole which is best seen from the loAy bridge over the extensive piece of water.
The Entrance Hail is yery lofty and $up|>orted by pillars^ It contaioB a very large picture of Clumber by Wheatley, with the present Duke's grandfather and some frietiJs setting out on a shooting party , this, however^ is a view of the old house# which has been considerably altered and added to by his late Grace, this picture aho has portraits of favourite dogs; two paintings of sieges with reconnoitring parties; an elegant mar- ble medallion of Dotph in and Trii om exquisitely executed; a marble table iulaid with landscapes ; another tesselated ; their frames highly wrought, and richly gilt; here arc also some an* tique busts, originals.
A lofty stone Staircase next presents itself; with a very, handsome iron railing, " curiously wrought and giU in the shape of crowns with lassils hanging down between them from cords twisted in knots and festoons/' It is adorned with^ the ifi/ca/ club and Dr. Meausobre giving lectures, by Doddridge; a marble model of the Laocoon groupe, exquisitely finished ; two elegant marble vases; small painting of Apoih and ihe Hours preceded bjf Aurora, and exhibiting thus at one %'iew the diflerenl effects of the mornnig'i dawn on iand and sea, each accurately defined and charmingly contrasted. On the upper part of this staircase are some Roman sepukkrai monuments in good preservation.
The Library is a large* scjuarej lofty, room,welL lighted^ and containing a splendid and well chosen collection of English, foreign, and classical literature. The only painting it possesses is over the tireplace, a very line copy by Kent, from HapbaeTs School qf Athens. From lUis apartment there is a charming prospect, in alt directions^ of the lake and pleasure grounds.
The SFHait Library contains a portrait as old as 1500, of a
Countesa
CoaaleM ^lAnooh, daojffbMr of tbe Earl of Stldare, <iii « rick stitiqae ooBtome, t^ry curioa* ; many fsiiiily pictorep, cousin* Ukg of the Uite Lord Lincoln, a whole length by Hoare ; the late 4«ke'8 father and mother; Ihe present duke's iathar and mother; the late duke> &c^; and a handsome drawing of a ^ross in the ancient chapel at Haaghton park near Tnxfbrd, laow 10 roins, ^ot which the present dake is fitting op in order t|a form a aepulchrai dboAe for fotore generations. . The Dukes' Study has an antique portrait of the first iSsrf ^ &arc of the present family's ancestors ; Edward Earl qf Imh €9h by Holbein ; 'nomoBDuke of Newcastle} Mr. Henry Pd* ioM, in his gown as Chancellor of the Exchequer ; hii Hliogbter Miss Felham, grandmother of the present duke ; Sir Hemy CMifcm, Commander in Chief of the British aray. daring part of the American contest: a very renlarkable snail original of Hemy the eighth, more thoughtful in expressieo than his usual portraits; also two smaTl, but well done land- •capes by a young artist. Binge of TickhilU patronised by bis Grace.
The Duke and Duchesset^ Bedroom was formerly n stody, but in the* present alteration of the house, is fitting op for the above purpose. Of its old furniture, it still contains an immense vellum pedigree of the family, not an inappropriate ornament; two whole lengths of George the second and qoeen Caroline; and a very interesting portrait of Mary Queen of Scots, evidently done towards the close of her chequered and unhappy life; she is in mourning, with slashed sleeres, &c.
The Common Dining Room contains an exquisite Madona and Child with St. John by Battoni ; two fine flower pieces by Van Noss ; two by Teniers, one of cardplayers with the date 1661, the other a large landscape of a brickfield, &c. but done in a cold style very unlike the other works of that mas- ter; a large battle piece well done; first Earl qf Lincoln; two views of Venice, by Canal etti ; t^^o cattle pieces by Rosa de Ttroli; small landscape by Claude Lorraine; a wild landscape
by
WOTTlKGBAMStllEB-
56$
1>y Salvator Rosa; two fine heads by Rubens ; and the Prodigal Son by Domenichitio*
The Small Drawing Rocm has s large and very tint; picture by T«iijer$ ; some well done female heads in crayons by Hoare; and a line piece of game by Rubens; but it^ greatest ornament is the portraii qf an Orator by Rembrandt, Here also, amongst a variety of other ext^uisite specimens, is the famous piece by Corregio of Sigimvunda wtephtg over the heart of Tancrcd^ To describe this exqiiiHiie specimen of the power of the pencil, ia fkt beyond our tatcnis; the expression is even more than ima* gin ation would have expected ; and the siieni tenr, for silent it is in comparison with the features, is done with such a degree of trutb that one expects to see it fall. This crelebrated picture was once the property of Sir Luke Schaub, and though saidUi be painted by Corregio> is thought by Horace Wulpoie to have been probably a production of Furino. The same noble author adds that it is impossible to see the picture^ or to read Dry* den's inimitable tale^ and not leel that the same soul animated both. Hogarth from a contempt of the ignorant ririuosi of his time, and from indignation at the impudent tricks of picture dea- lers whom he saw continually recommending and vending vile copies to bubble collectort, and from having never studied, in- deed having seen few good pictures of the Italian masters, per* tuadcd himself that ihe praises bestowed on these glorious works were nothing but the efFects of prejudice. He talked this language, till he believed it; and having heard it often as- serted, as indeed is true, that time gives a mettowness to cO' lours and improves them, he not only denied the proposition, but maintained the contrary. He even went further ; he de- termined to rival the ancients, and unfortunately chose t/iis, one of the finest subjects in England, as the object of his compe- lition.
After many essays, he at length produced his Sigistnunda, "hut no more like Sigismunda, than I to Ht?rculcs'r! not to mention the wretchedness of the colourings it was thu re pre -
t9 entationa
I
I
9Al VeTVIII«HAM8Htmi*:
.«eiiUltonof a Maudlio Mr just iarned oat of keeping mi
ivith eyes red with rage and usquebaugh* tearing off the omt« nieiits her keeper bad given her. To add to the disgust raised by such vulgar expression, her fingers were blooded Jby ber iover's heart that lay before her like thai of a sheep for ber din- ner* Noi4^ of the sober grief, no dignity of suppressed an- guish, no involuntary tear, no settled meditation on the £ite she meant to meet, no amorous wanntb turned holy by despair; in short all was wanting that should have been there, all was tbeie that such a story should have banished from a mind capable of conceiving such complicated woe: woe so sternly felt and yet so tenderly. Hogarth's peiformance was more ridiculous thaa any thing he bad ever ridiculed. He set the price of 400 guineas on it, and had it returned on his hands by the person for whom it was painted. He took subscriptions for a plate of it, but had the sense to suppress it*
Thus §Ar says the late Lord Orford ; to which we may add that Smolkt has introduced the same circumstance into his novel of Peregrine Pickk^ where he makes Pallet Ute painter boast of the charms of '< bin Cleopatra.''
As a companion to the Sigismunda, there is on tiM same side of the apartment, Artemisia with the cup containing her husbands ashes, by Guido; also BuplUm qf Christ, by Battisti Franco; two landscapes by Poussin; four views of Venice by Can^lelti; two heads expressing Smell and Taste by Robeniu highly interesting; Magdalen with a crucifix and scull, by Tre* vissani; country church, by Rubens, inimitable; two attacks of convoys, by Van der Meulen ; a large landscape by Poussin# with the most accurate and brilliant distavce we have ever wit- nessed ! Flemish village by Teniers; and the inside of an an* cient building in a most superb style of architecture, illuminated both by torch and girandole lights; the artist is unknown, bu| the eflect is exquisite in the contrast between the general and fixed glare of the principal light issuing from the girandole and
reflected
- - ' Vide Walpole's Work, Vol. 3. p. 460,
r
KOTTIVOHAMSIIIAE*
3SS
reflected by numerous pillars, and that of the almost moving torch ei whose beams irradiate in partial gkam« the inmost re* ressefi of the long drawn aisles uf the edifice.
The Great Dmiuing Room has a mo»t capital portrait of Rcmhrandi by him^'lf; a Lion and Boar by Snyder?, exquisirclr tlonf, and roloured nitli a degree uf warmth etjual toRiibeiis! iirdcud ill is piece has been aitnbiited by some comioi&senrs, bnt iDipriiperly* to that miisier; the Discovery of Cyrus by Caiti- glione ; Rinaido and Annida by Vandyke, but she has too niucb of the Dutch woman about her ; St. George and the Dragon^ by Rubens ; a ino^t extraordinary production of old Franks, being a Cabinet of Paintings in which his own portrait in intro* duced; the colouring is rich yet chaste, and every part is as highly hnished as the smallest cabinet pieces; Diana and her nymphs Imntingi by Rubens; Sacrifice to Pan> by And, Saccbi ; a most exquisite moonlight piece ^ and a virgin encircled by angels, by Michael Angelo*
The Bfxakfati Room has also a number of paintings. Here are a virgin and child by Albert Durer: a landscape contain- ' ing the four seasons, the joint production of Van Beulen and Breughel ; several sea pieces, and two landscapes, by Ruysdael ; two beggar boys, remarkably well done hy Gainsborough ; Ijord Tarrington ; Cardinal Imperiain by Dominichino ; a minia- ture of Lord Chief Justice Man^fietd by Myers; two small OYals^ by Angelica Kaufflman ; two small pieces of wild scenes with shepherds, by Salvalor Rosa; an elegant flower piece by Van Huysum> most brilliantly coloured agreeable to nature, with a dew drop exquisitely resting on a tulipi almost equal to the tear on Sigi^tmunda's cheek ; Oliver CromircH, whose cha- racter a4 well as portrait has been often drawn, but never so pithily as in one short sentence which says that he '* raised himself to the possession of tlie supreme power under the title of Protector of the Common Wealth of England; was equally remarkable for his great militury skill, by which he obtained so many victories iu th« li^dd, and by hisain;i^nig aUilities in the
cabinet.
vorrr ire If A v sntmY.
cabinet^ irhich enableil him to overcome all opposition ai faooe« and to strike even the most powerful nations abfiad with ter- ror." Vandyke has a very grand production liere of a Wed- dingjtoji, which h not only remarkable for its tine colour aod finish, but particularly so for the very high preserTatJon in which it exists at thia day.
But the greatest glory of Clumber is the State Dttstjio Soon, a moist magnificent apartment, sixty feet in length* thirty -four in breadth, and in height thirty ; it h sufficiently large to ac- commodate one hundred and fitly guests at tahle^ iodependcnl of a superb recess or saloon for the sideboard, &c* The cieling and panneb are extremely rich in stucco and gildmg; yet chaste without glare ; the lustres are of the finescciit glass; and the marble chimney piece and steel grate, may be sef n, btit cunrtot be described ; they are in fact an honour to Englifh losUr and execution. The other ornaments of this august apariAienl are few in number, yet rich in value; being estimated at 2a/KK>/, sterling, and only seven distinct pieces. Four of theatf arc Market pieces by the joint penciU of Snyder and Long J<»hn ; and consisting of a display of flesh, fish, and fowl, fruit %wk vegetables. Over the chimney piece is a large paintlj) f ' nj game by Wenix ; and there arc two landscapes by Z i.
If Clumber possessed no other paintings than those of this apart* ment, the time ami attention of the touristy or artist, would be amply repaid by their examination. The display of maguw ficence here must indeed be striking, when the apartiueot is prepared for its ostensible purpose, lighted up lu the usual bril- liant manner, amidst the dazzling radiance of a glillering and superb sideboard* and the sparkling services of glass* &c. In fact, even the housekeeper herself, who acted as oifr Cicerone, seemed >varmed into enthusiasm and astonishment, and like Katterfelto with bis hair an end wondering at his own wonders, was scarcely able to describe that exquisite brilliancy which she had rissisted in arranging on a late visit of some of the royal fcunily to this splendid abode of hospital ity»
It
KOTTIKOHAMSBIEE* Wf
It lias been saldi that Rubens assisted ui the four large pieces, and that he has introduced hinii^elf into one of them in the cha- racter of a butcher, accompanied by his two wivei?. The view of the grounds and water from this room are also exquisite.
The Chapel is a very pleasing apartment, admirably filled for its purpose, and having a very sombre effect from the four win- dows of stained glass, in which the family arms are very hand- somely emblazoned- Here are a Dead Christ, ami a Hoiy Family, copies after Raphael ; but we believe no original^.
The Dressing Room up stairs, formerly the duchesses, but now changed for one on the principal floor, is exquisiLely fur- nished with fancy pieces. Here are some very fine fruit pieces^ an inlaid table of curions workmanships &c« and the view from the windows U delightful, Here are also seven very fine paintings in water colours, of ancient Roman taste, brought from Herculaneum.
The furniture and decorations of ihe Bed rooms are tnosC superb ; the beds are dited up in imitation of Lents and pavi* lions- with their curtains even picturesquely arranged; to aH which we must add immense mirrors, both hanging and porta* tile, highly finished cielingsi, Turkey carpets, inlaid cabinets, and a number of chronometers mounted in masses of sculptarcj after the most classical designs. In short every thing breatlies the essence of taste and the very soul of magnificence.
Nor must we omit the great conveniences and neatness of the household arrangements, particularly the kitchens and larders, ihe latter of which are on a scale to contiun whole Hecatombs, yet so systematically arranged as to have every thing in the best order and most convenient readiness. Thouy;b these are parts of a house not generally shewn, yet the tourist will not fail to be gratified shnuhl his Cicerone indulge him with a .^ight of thk .her own peculiar doniaim
The shortest route for the tourbt, who wishes to Sfve
THORESBY
OSB VOTTHrOHAMiHimi.
THORESBY PARK,
the seat of earl Manners, is to cross the bridge in Clamber Park, which he must traverse a mile farther through a succes- sion of sylvan scenery, when be arrives at a gate opening to a wild wood lane where there is another park gate leading through Thoresby park for a ooorse of nearly two miles, during which a visitor may almost conceive himself rambling midst transatlantic forests,
'< Miyestic woods, of every vigoroa» green. Stage above ftage, high waving o'er the bills : Or to the far horiaon wide diflfiised, A boundless deep immensitjr of shade."
The mansion itself stands very open, in rather a low situation, dearly in the centre of the park, and well backed with rising ground, thickly planted. The old house was burnt down on the fourth of March 1745, and nothing saved but the family wri-> tings, the plate, and a small part of the best furniture ; after which, its then possessor the duke of Kingston, grandfother to the present noble proprietor, built the present edifice.
As a modern tourist has observed,* this is rather a comforts^ ble house, than a magnificent seat ; it consists of a rustic stone basement^ with two stories of brickwork, and the principal front is ornamented with a tetrastyle portico of the Ionic order, of a beautiful stone ; the other fronts are regularly decorated.!
The principal entrance is in the basement, opening into the Hall, which is slightly ornamented with some landscapes, some sea-pieces, a few good engravings, and a Chiaro Scuro of the Trojan horse, &c.
The Eari's Dressing Room opens from the hall, and has some portraits of Henry earl qf Pembroke, 1769; Pascal Paoli, 177(>i Colonel Sawyer ; Admiral Medowes, father of the present earl of Manvers ; also some sea-pieces and medallions.
The LUlle Drawing Room generally contains many fine paint- ings ;
• Braj'i Tour. ♦ Vitruvius Britanaicus.
KOTriKGHAMSliiaE.
St}9
I
ings; but these being taken down, during some repairs, could not be seen.
Inihe Dining Room, ibere is nothing particularly woithy of notice^ except a very fine Madona and infajit Jesui.
The ascent to the principal story U by a double staircase la llie centre uf the mansion, single at the coraroencement, but dividing at the top of the first flight, amd opening into the Dome, a circular apartment of factitious marble, supported by four- teen pillars alternately round and square, on which rests a gal- lery balluslraded, and opening into the upper chambers. The light is admitted from a handsome circular skylight; and the wallh are composed of a substance forming a very correct imi- tation of yellow variegated marble, beautifully contrasting wiih the white pi Ifars and pilasters, and others resembling rer<f an* tique; the floor is laid with the same substance, tesselated.
Ihe. Dining Room is very handsomely fitted up, with curious twisted pillars forming a recess at one end. Its other ornaments are only a portrait of Earl Howe, and a well executed land- scape of Ben Lomond and its loch*
The Octagonal Drawing Room has a very fine efiect, when viewed from the staircase. Ii is supwrbly, yet we might say plainly, fitted up, nc»tvvithstanding the elegance of its gilding,' It contains only a portrait of Evelyn^ duke of Kingston, and a well moulded bust of Pascal Paoli, of whom it has beenju3itv said, that whilst tightihg gallantly, first against the Genoese ami then against the French, tiiis nation was desirous of second* ing his patriotic ardour ; and that it stifl reflects no small share of dishonour on the minivers of a former period, that Louis the fifteenth was ptrniitled with impunity to invade the territories of a free and independent state. But a generous indignation on the part of the people in some measure made amends for the conduct of their rnlers, and a ho-'pitablc asylum was at length atlorded here to the gallant chief, ^Fter he had been forced to retire from a long and unequal contest,*
Vol. XIL 2 A Tht
* Vide FubHc clmrMTten ; sad Bosweirt Corilcn.
370 VOTTIHOHAIl8HI»S.
The Adtnirar 8 Gallery is very low, and very plain; bal tf hung with a number of interesting sea pieces.
The Countess*s Dressing Room is peculiarly elegant, coiofort- able, and commodious; superbly fitted up indeed, but with every attention to useful convenience. It is hung, uay we may say covered, with a profusion of handsome drawings, land- scapes, miniatures, &c. amongst which is an inimitable head of a boy writing. Here are also some elegant cabinets.
The Gardens are very fine, part of them constructed by the late duchess in the German style with arbours, and treillaged : and in the shrubbery, a very fine cascade forms a good object in the point of view from the apartments in the back front.
The Park itself is thirteen miles round, and contains several pieces of water. The lake near the house, which is very fine, is laid out so as to represent an extensive river ; and which» being amphitheatrically surrounded with lawns that hang as it were towards the bouse in varied and verdant slopes, has a fine effect, enlivened as it is with several vessels of difl^rent sixes.
To give detailed descriptions of every spot within the environs of Worksop, would far exceed our limits; but we must not omit to mention Shire Oakes, as it is called from an ancient tree of that name, where there is a good Hall house, fitted up in a handsome and convenient style, the seat of John Hewett, Esq. The chapel of this hamlet, was lately erected and endowed by the Rev. John Hewett, and consecrated by his grace the arch- bishop of York.
This place, as we have noted, derived its name from an Oak, which as Mr. Gilpin observes, in respect both to its size and the dignity of its situation, deserves honourable mention.**^ In point of grandeur, few trees in this country have ever equalled it; as it spread a space of ninety feet from the extremities of its opposite boughs. Evelyn, in his Sylva, says it covered a superficies of 707 square yards; and these dimensions, accord- ing 10 Mr. Gilpin's calculation, will produce an area capable of
covering
• CilpinU Forest Sc«ner^«
jroTTlNOUAMSilllim*
371
GOTerlng a squadron of 933 horse. Its <twn dignity » as he adds was equalled by the dignity of its station, for it f>tood on a spot where Yorkshire, Nottinghamshire, and Derbyshire unite, and spread its shade over a portion of each. In consequence of its honourable ofi&ce of thus fixing the boundary of these large counties* it was equally respected through the duinainsof them all; and was known lar and wide, by the distinction of the Shireoakt by which appellation it was marked among cities* townsj and rivers, in all the larger maps of the kingdom*
Wailingweiis are partly we believe in this county. Here is ihe seat of Sir Thomas Wollaslon White, Bart. Tanner says, that Ralph de Capreo curia, or Cheurolcourt, in the reign of king Stephen, built and endowed a smat) Benedictine nuimery here^ to the honour of the blessed virgin Mary. Its value at the dis.solution was 59/. ; and it was granted by Queen Elizabeth to Richard Pype and Francis Bowyer. It was originally called St. Mary in the Park, but changed that appellation from its si- tuation amongst wellsj fountaiJis, and streams.
Crcsweil crags about three miles from Worksop are, strictly speaking, in Derbyshire, but so adjacent to Nottmgham as to have been often considered as part of that county- laying out of the u.iual track of good roads, and the road from Worksop being rot:ky and almost iropa^isable for carriages, they are not often visited ; yet they are curious and worthy notice, consisting of rocks torn by some convulsion of nature into a thousand ro- mantic shapes, and presenting a miniature resemblance of the more majestic scenery on the Derwent at Matlock.
Carkton in Lindrick, as it is called to dist'uigitiab it from Carlton on Trent, was of suQicieut consequence in S*ixon timei; as to have six resident Thanes, each of whom had a hall or manor; but these were all swallowed up by that Levjaihanp Roger de Busli, at the Norman conquest. The family of Che- vercouri, or Cheurolconrt^ held it under him, but their heirs failing, it was divided betw^een the Latimers and Fitz Hughs, from them it came to Dacre, Molyneux^ Tayler, and afterwards
2 A 2 ' to
97t VOTTtirOBAHSHIUX.
to the Cliflons who huitt a fine seat here. It iteems now to he enjoyed hy Reveral Gentlemen resident in its nei^bourhood ; particularly SirT. White, Bart, Richard Ramsden, Esq. and Robert Kentish Esq. of Wigthorpe.
Cnrherton though marked as a place of some consequence on the maps, is merely a hamlet of three or frar houses in the pa- rish of Edwinstow. Near it is Cockghde the seat of Dr. Aldricb> an elegant mansibn built in 1778, and much admired throughout the county and ricinity. The views from the house, which stands upon a gentle swell, are extensive and pleasing ; and the woods and home grounds are laid out with great attention to picturesque effect.
Palcthorp, or Peverelthorpe, adjoins Thoresbf park, and is in the same parish with it, (Edwinstow). It has a gt>od inn, and is the property of the Pierpoint family ; but has passed through many hands since its first grant to Roger de Busli.
Crossing the forest into the high road from Worksop to Mans* field, we come to Cuckney, after passing the hamlet of Norton through heavy sands by the pales of Welbeck Park. Here is much wild forest scenery, as the road skirts the linfHs of Sher^ wood ; there are also some inclosures.
Leland in speaking of this place, says '' from this bridge (Welbeck) to Cuckeney village about a mile : and ther cam down a broke from west, resorting as one said to Wilebek stream, or Wilebek to it. There is 2 miles by com, wood, and pasture to Warksop village end, ther ran a Bek ; and this, as the other doth, resorteth to Rufford stream."
We find by Mr. Throsby's authority, that this village has ' only increased to its present size and importance within this last half century ; and that, in consequence of the worsted and cotton manufactories established within that period. The miNs are on an extensive and convenient plan, and give occupation to a number of Children from the Foundling Hospital in the metropolis. These poor, deserted objects, are placed under the care of proper superinteudants, and lodged in separate 9 cottages
VOTTlVOHAMSQtaV
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collages so as to divide the sexes^ and tliey are not only well fed, and provided with proper medical aid, but are also, (at least in Thronby's time) brought up in the knowledge of religious and moral duties j which (uudent regiilaiioii, wc understand is still adhered to.
The church is an extensive ediBce^ being 126 feet in lengthy with a very handsome tower. It is of the later Gothic ; but may have been originally of an older erection, aa there is a frag- ment of a sepulchral stone in the floor with the date of 1351 in black letter; there are several other ancient monumental re* cords.
The village is large, and very neat : and, in addition to its other manufactories, has a mill for potij^htng marble.
At Langwith, there was a seat of earl Bathurst^ but now neg* iected and dilapidated ; and the tenants on the Cuekney and Lang with estates are ntit «nly exerting themselves in agricul- tural improvements^ but have lately established an association on a most excelknt plan for the prevention and conviction of robberies, and agricultural oilences,
WarsQp consists of two villages, about half a mile asunder ; Church War$opt and Market War sop ; sometimes called the Church-town, and Fair-town.
The former has a very neat Gothic church, and an anlic|ue vicarage close to the road ; the village lying principally to the left. The latter lies right in the road, and is very extensive, but seems of very ancient architecture, principally farmhouses anJ cottages. It has two fairs, on the 21st of May, and l7th of November i mostly fur cattle and horses.
Passing through Mansfield Woudhouse, which shall be fur- ther noticed, we come through a line of road and a narrow street called Lccminglunc,^ into
2 A S MANSFIELD,
• Derivifd rrom the Biitlah the, » ro«d| tnd Aff«ii, ■ itont ; or the rotd on the r<iek*
374
KOTTIHGHAMSBIRC*
MANSFIELD,
Which was also visited by our predecessor. Old Bamaby^who tells us
" Vcoi Munifeld, ubi aortiB Ma Here u lam decora in j Cum quJi, nudum feci pmctunip Dedi icturo^ egi actum ; Scd pregniimem timcni illam Sprevi vili«m et anciUam/' —
)but not being urged by the same reasons, as master Bamaby* to a speedy departure, we shall stop lo take a view of this ^cry ancient, and large, but straggling town, whose first sight rather makes an unfavourable impression on a stranger, as its streets even in summer are dirty and badly paved, its houses built f>f a gloomy liK>king sione> and «n shorty the whole place in such a state, as if the word " Police," was unknown in ihe Mansfield* ian lexicography. Its age indeed may be partly the cause of this sombre expression ; but still we conceive it possible to be venerable without being diriy ; and If it was no better in ihc days of our earlier monarchsi wc cannot help thinking that their frequent residence there, %vas no proof of their taste, Standing as it does on a rock, there can be no excuse for the badness of the pavement ; unless the curators of its iniemal economy think that, where nature has done so much, it is unne* cessary fur them to do any thing; but it is said that what is seen every day, is not seen at all, therefore they may perhaps have forgot that the neighbouring quarries will ailbrd theiu stone, and that the forest of Sherwood containsi a quantity of gravel which might be laid on with some prospect of improvement.
There is no duubt that Man&field is justified in boasting a very early antiquity ; but the tale that the counts of Mansfield in Germany came here to attend at tike tournaments of king Ar* fhur's round table, and gave their name to it, is a mere fable *
indeed
KOTTlNGBA&fSllIIIE.
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I
I
indeed it is unnecesaary to trouble our^lves about conjectures^ when we have a plain anil simple solullon of the deriratlon of its name before us,
** North from Annesley i» the town of Kirby in AshBeld, in the north part whereof riseth a little brooke named Man^ which descerideth thence uorthwaril hy the town of Sutton in Ashfield, and so ihrough the town of MamfieUl in Sherwood forest, an an- cient market town, and hath its name of the said water, as I take it/'*
or ix& British origin, though it may have existed in those times, we know nothing ; but that it was a British^ and after- wards a Roman station^ is generally believed : indeed its lat" /cr occupancy is proved by ihedLscovery of man}/ Roman coins of Vespasian, Constantine, Marcus Aurelius, and others of the lower empire; by the exploratory camps, which are numerous ill its vicinity ; and particularly by the recent discovery of a Homan villa, which shall be noticed more at large in it^ proper place.
After the desertion of this island by the Roman legions^ it seems to have Houriahed during th« Saxon heptarchy » being a favourite, though only temporary, residence of the Mercian kings in consequence of its neighbouring forest then w ell sup- plied with beasts of chace.
In the lime of Edward the confessor it was royal demesne, and Wiis continued 3s such by William the conqueror, and by his son WiHiam Riifus whose fondness fur forests hastened iiis death. This latter monarch gave the chinch of Mansfield, and all its poi^essions, to the cathedrai of St, Mary at Lincoln. In the reign of Stephen, the manor was granted to Ranulph de Gernon^ earl of Chester ^ but that line ending in coheiresscfi, it was regranted to Hastings, and to John Cumyn carl of Bu- chan. This was indeed in the reign of Henry the third, pre- Tiotjs to which it had ofien been a favourite resort of the Nor* man monarchs. The well known story, of king Henry the se*
2 A 4 cond
• Hvl. Coll* Ng. 36Z, 5S,
zr6
VoTTtVOUAMSniVLM^
cood aodi the Miller of Mansiieldj it is unnecessary to re|,»»| though we suspect the event, if it ever tlid happen^ to haff taken place at a much later period ; at least the present rh^m* ing tale preserved by Percy in his Reliques, is of a much later coroposiiion. It is indeed a tale so replele with ancouth ijide* cency, wiihoat even the slightest spark of wit to recommend tt» that we are surprized even a fondness for antiquity could hail induced the learned bishop to insert it in bis CDllectioti^ parti* cularly as the '* Reliques" are, in some measure, a parlour win* dow book : for on the same priacipl«« this collector of some fu- ture age might be justified in republishing even those effusions of salacious wit and meretricious de^icription of the present day* some of which have been noticed by the Society for the Sup- prcssion of Vice» whilst others under the name of ^'Confes- iions/* " Spirits of' Books/' and *' Monks/' are still sitfiicieiit to pollute the shelves of every circulating library.
The inhabitants of Mansfield, however^ still consider the ho nourofthe town connected wiili the antiquity of the story ; and tradition says that the mill and house now inhabited^ or lately m, by the widow Massey» situated on the left hand of the road passing from Mansfield to Sution, were built ou the scite of the house and mill where the king was entertained ; though nothing remains of the ancient buildings.'*^ ^^|
In the reign of Johii,r the inhabitants in order to promote the publick good of their township, paid fifteen marks to the crown, for right of common in Clipstone park^ as they were wont to do before its tnclosure; and by paying five marks to Henry the third, they obtained a charter for a M'eekly market on MotiJsy, and from the name monarch obtained the privilege of having Housebote %n^ Hay bote out of the forest.
In the reign of Henry the eighth this manor was granted to the earl of Surry for his gallant conduct at Floddenfitld; hot the king afterwards gave him some other lauds in exchange for it ;
aAer
* lUrrod*! Maii^^field,
XOTTINOBAMSillRB.
3?r
I
after which it went to the then dukes of Newca&tie, who from
hepce took the title of Viscount Mansfield*
Lebnd describing it in the reign of Henry the eighitu says " thence to Maunsfield, a praty market town of one paroche, by like ground (corn^ wood, and pasture,) a three miles, and there rennith m the tnidle uf it a rille^ and in the bottome, as I rode out, — west a four miJea of, and so it goetb to Civpston a three miles lower, and so to Ruflord water,''
Notwithstanding our aiiimsidversions on its first appearance in the eye of a stranger, we must acknowledge that on a nearer acquaintance he may be disposed to allow that it contains many good houses, and thut it a both a iluunshing and genteel market town. Should bis term of residence include the Sabbath day, he will see that it contains a handsome and shewy female popti* lation, and that it has many Quakers amongst its inhuhitants. Throsby observes that there are some very old houses, but that the most ancient js supposed to be that in Church-streetj now the White Hart Innj which was in the reign of Henry the eighth, the residence of Lady Cecily Flogan. Who she was Is uncertain, there being no tradition, nor inscription on her monument (nor even arms) wliich is under an arch in the church. In her will she is called jdain Cecily ; b^it in an ex- tract from the rolls of the court of Augmentations in the reign of Edward the sixth, *' Dame Cecily Flogan, widow," most likely w^idow of a knrght. She was v^ery pious and charitable, giving much to the church to pray for her soul, and obliging certain of her tenants to keep a stout and able bulf^ and boar, for the use of the parish. Her house has its ground floor built uf stone, but the upper part Is woudframed, though with some tnodern alterations.
At the east end of tlie town there is a good modern house built in 170*3 by Colonel Lichfield, and called R^tcHfle gate 3 he had been m the duke of Kingston's light horse during tbo rebellion of 1745, but returned afterwards t« ••-••Ula m Mans- iield.
378
VOTTIKGfSAIlSHlRS.
P
The church is a good build iug with respect to size and com- tiiodiousness, and of the later Gothic ; it is dedicated lo St, Pe- ter, ajul is in length from eist to west, nitiety-lhree feetj sixty- three from north to soutb^ and has a middfe and two side aisles* It was pavtly burnt down in 1304, aton^ with the town ; but ii^H now re- edit] cd and stili in good preservation. Its body is sup^^a ported by handsome pillars; over each side aisle there is a spacious gallery ; and at the west end, there is a rery fine toned orgafi of fourteen stops which was erected in 1795, at an ex* pence of two hundred guineas. In the preceding year, the inhabitants of Mansfield, paying 15/. 16^. 3d, obtained an arcbi- episcopal license not only to erect this organ, but also to build the new gallery over the south aisle, to remove the pulpit to its present situation, and to convert a private pew into a church* ing one, &.c.
Tfie pulpit is now judiciously placed in the middle aisle^ and is of handsome mahogany, with a support of four neatly turned pillars of the same material.
In the interior are mutty monumentji of stone, and monamen* lal imcriptions, wiUt brass plates both inscribed and armorial ; also some considerable remains of painted glass; but as the^e are principally of local interest, we must refer to ihe dtscrip* tion oft a local historian.*
Mere are many respectable Sectarians ; the Presbyterian meeting hijuse is a neat and spacious building, and well alien ded, and possesses an organ ; a neat budding has also been erected b^ the Catvinists; and here are also comfortable meel iJlg houses for the Quakers and Methodists.
A Free Gnimmat School was founded here by queen Elizabeth, with two scliolarshipsof lOi* each at Jesus college Canibrid This was endowed by charter ; and for its establishment and support, two thndii of the church lands go to the vicar, two thirds of the remainder to the head master^ attd the remainder
to
* Vtdc Harrod*3 Almiiaey.
fen
'3
KOTTINGUAMSIIIRE.
379
to Ihe usher. The school-house was erected tn 1567 ; butre* built in the reign of Queeu Anne.
Here is u Charity School for 3G boys who are cloathed and educated j* and here are also four Sunday schools*
Mansfiehl market is now beld on Thursday, and is always Well supplied. The fairs are on the 5th of April ; lUth July ; and second Thursday in October; all for horse!»« caulc, and sheep ; but the two former, principally for cattle and h^igs, have nol been estabiished many years, and being only dependent upon cijramon consent, without charters, are merely called "Meetings;" at the October fair, some cheese is brought for sale.
There are here several very considerable Manu farm res which have much improved ihe town of laie years. There are five cotton milU upon a very extensive scale; one of which hai 2400 spindles, with carding and roving machinery, and give* employment to IGO individuals.
Here are also upwards of 700 frames employed in making stockings and gloves, both of silk at»d cotton. An Iron i\um- dery possesses an extensive trade, where iron in cast in tiny shape or size- Nor is it unlikely that iron s.tone might be found in this neighbourhood, as the quarries at iht: nortti i»ide of the town seeth very copiously linj^ed with the ochre of that metah
The Mailing and Stone trades have long been of considerable value.
Double point net, worked in frames, was brought to its present elegant state of perfection by the ingenuity of Mr, John Ro- gers of this place in 1786*
The
4 Tliii CWity School was rt>tiii<!cd in ITOSf, ittd aupported tlicu by a iiab* KriptiifU of l^U per auijum. In 17 il it Mr. ikuiU» leU 4l. ^jrr fiiinum for jta» bcoer muiuteiiuitice, And also mi addilioii oi 4L per iiJtiMiiu to [ml oue poor hoy out, a parent ice to %omc imde.
Ot1)cr grjiiKft to lihe poor* and Eur ttiarilabk* pvrpuu's* ;irc iniiny and vttrioui; tiutMi [lumergiia that He umvi re(i:r in SiU, Hn^rod'a vcr^ diiluse aod jpunect Hhturj of tbe place.
$ao
KOtTlKGIlAMSHIlS
The patent circular vaw wa« »Uo invented ber« Uy Jamil Murray, a workman employed by a Mr* Brownj an iugemoui turner and mechanic* By means of tbii inveaUoi)^ ten timecttje quantity of work can be pertorniedj and Ibal in a much neater manner and wiib kss labour Uiau by the common saw.
The only public building in the place U the Moot liall, in which the county meetings are often held on account of the central siiuailon of the town* It istands in the market place« and wan built by lady Oxford in the year 1752^ principally for the purpose of accommodating the market folks with shelter f and abo to supply the town iijielf with an apartment suitable for municipal business^ and the gentry with a good assembl| room. Thiii apartment is 48 feet by I7t but is low and badlj proportioned; nor does the lower part aJFord the intended fhel ter; so that there may be some truth in ihe local story of he ladyship coming to see it when finished^ but being so disgu as never even to look at it afterwards.
There l.< much sociability in Mansfield. A Coffct Room been established at tht: Swan inn by subscription of the bilily^nd gentry of the vicinity, and of the principal trad people in Ihe town* All members are chosL^n by ballot; the plan extend:! to London and country papt!rs» maps* char periodical publication!** Stc.
The Theaire is small, but well contrived, and contains both side and front boxes.
A Bowling Green has also been long established in Leeming'^ Une ; fitty*two yards in length by thirty-three. It in supported by subscription ; and the house contains a billiard room, and also an assembly roonv where thf justices often meet to transact business.
A handsome and commodious Void Bath also affords *bolh health and comfort to the inhabitants. Of this, IMr. Harrod observes^ the approach from Leemmg-lane is truly pictures^que and scarcely so much variety can be found any where else in a walk of only '3(K) yard.s. The visitor is tirst struck with a
view
KOTTIKGHAMSHTUE.
581
Tiew of two regularly built cotton mills, before each of which ii a sheet of water reflecting the binltling:s,anH surrounded by hillt between which runs the river Mann. Having viewed these, on turning a Iklle to the right, the church steeple appears to much advantage. From this situation afe seen excavated rocks which have a gofid effect, resembling a fortification. Near the bath is a large rock from which issues a constant stream of water, and forms the supply >
In this neighhourhood too are many domestic excavation** in the rocksj where the n^odern DroghdytcM have their buis, and even their gardens formed in the bosom of the sterile stone; and ill some parts, the incautious visitor may run the risk of stepping down a chimney !
The Manor Cusioms of Mansfield are curious in many instan* ces ; and it is recorded in the " Forest Book>" that " Tenaunts be fre of bloile and lefully may marye them after ther willei as wel men as womeni — that the eyres as sone as they bene born, byen of full age,^and that lands arc departabill bctwtxt sonnes, or daughters if ther be no sonne :" tliii seems a rem- nant of the old Saxon custom of Gttvctkind,
Mansfield presents several instances of Biography worth re* cording. Here was born William Mamficld, who is supposed by Fuller, to have derived his name from that circumstance. He was bred a Dominican, and was much esteemed for hts gfreat proficiency in logics, ethics physics, and metaphysics^ He defended Thomas Aquinas against Henry Gandavensis, although both these great Polemics had long been in the silent gravel but by this he gained great celebrity. "Bale who is not usually so civil in his expressions, gaith that he did strew branches of palms before Christ's asse; which if so, was (I assure yon) no bad employment/'
Humphrey Ridley, son of Thomas Ridley of this place, he- came a student of Merton College in 1071, at the age of 18 • at which time, or soon afler, he was taken into the service of Dr* Richard Trevor, fellow of that college, and pbyed the
fiddle
I
5S4
KOTT|]fOBAM8HIR8«
dishonoured remnants of mortality in church yards^ be cbote to be buried in Sherwood forest in this vicinity, and left direc> tions for that purpose, in a mast whimsical will, which were complied with. The spot [$ on the left of the road to Not- tingham.
Of the various seaU in the immediate neighbourhood oC lliis place, we may notice,
StiERwooD MALt, the scEt of John Need, Esq. *Ti» an ex- cellent hou^ on the forest^ about one mile from Man&lield. lu situation is extremely pleasant, and its grounds are tastefully ornamented with thriving plantations*
Nettleworth the re.<>tctence of Edward Greaves, Esq. ittaodi in a hamlet of Manslield of that name. The old mansion his been long pulled down, but the modern house stands on its scite, It mm Pinxton parish which is half in Derby shirt swi half in Nuttinghamshire, standing at the bottom of gentle de* clivity and on the ferge of a most delightful valley. Einl>o« somed thus in hilU, its retired situation is rendered even more so by its sarrouiuiing woods; the scenery is elegantly diversi- fied; and the home grounds most agreeably watered by twift rivulets which glide through the valley in front, and unrtin] form some very fine piece* of ornamental water. The hoi though ancient, is substantia], and stands in the north psrt of the pleasure grounds, being we believe in Derbyshire, is is also Pinxton Hall the ancient seal of the family*
Here h also Brookhill H*tL, the seat of the Rev. D'Ewcs Coke; also Park Hall, the seat of Colonel Hiill ; and fitnsr Hall, a good hfjuse on the edge of the Forest, with elcg;»iifc; grounds and extensive prospecti, the seat of T. Walker, E«ifj.
The ramble from Mansfield into the Fore4t towards RuAtird and Ullerton, h extremely pleasing* About one mile the town, a gate o(»ens upon the forest, where the view pn a striking contrast. On the light it is wild and waste, swelling into hills covered with fern and heath; whilsi on the lefl ther«
two
VOTTINGffAMSniEl.
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]i a charmirtg cultivated valley. Afler proceeding a short dis- tance wc come to
capstone Parkt now the property of the duke of Portland, and containing a handsome lodge, but small and modern^ be- longing to that nobleman* This park is near eight miles in circumference, and was once famous for its fine oaka, but most of these were cut down during the civil wars and usurpation ; much of it is now viastei but there is still some old planting.
Near to it is the village of Cupston j f* the water of Man
descendeth northward from the town of Mansfield through tha
■ forest and through Clipstone Park, and so by the town of Clip*
stone where was an ancient house of the princes of this realm,
>but before the comjuest by the king of Northumberland*"* King John frequently resided here, both whilst earl of Mor- tein and after his accession lo the crown, and several dt^eds and grants are dated from this place, since which it has retained the name of king John's palace.
A Parliament was also held here by Edward the first in the year 12£K) ; it is indeed uncertain whether they met in the palace, or under an ancient oak on the edge of the pai k> to which tradition now givea the name of the Parliatncni Oak* Of this nothing now remains except part of itslargt: trunk, scathed and denuded, with one solitary branch about ten feet from the ground, which annually puts forth a few leaves.
The only part remaining of the palace, which stands in a large field close to the village, seems to have been the hall ; and several of its Gothic windows are yet entire. Its founda- tions have, formerly, been very extensive, whh several vaults, but during the last summer great part of these were dug up to be employed in a system of drainage which the duke of Port* land has commenced upon his pn^perty here. We understood, however, from the workmen, that his Grace hail given strict i>rders, that the venerable walls of this once royal pile should not be touched, Even in its present dilapidated state, it would
Vol. XIL 2 B be
• Hsrl. Celt. 363. ^^.
5Sff « OTTliro R A VSHTEtt.
be picturesque if shaded with planting; it is still, notwithstand* ingi interesting, and strongly raises the idea of times long past, when steel clad knights, and barons hold, and haughty priests,and smiling courtiers, and strait laced dames, and blushing damsels, and the whole etcetera of feudal pomp and high minded chi- ▼alry paced its now deferred halls, where the bat and toad as- sume the empire of the night, and wheie the sun only breaks in upon a ^cenc of desolation.
From this abode of ancient departed grandeur, we tarn to the right, and cro8«« a wild extent of the forest for about three miles, to a scene of more modem desertion ; and entering some thick and shady woods, we proceed until their forest walks brins: us to tbe OUerton high road, where a park gate leads through some thick overarching elms to
RUFFORD ABBEY,
an immense edifice of not yery recent date, erected upon, and engrafted into, the remains of the ancient monastic build- ing. Its situation is extremely sequestered, and the entrance front is so completely embowered in a grore of elm and beech, as to preserve much of the original character of the building, though it has been so much altered by the ancestora of the late patriotic Sir George Saville, its former powessor.
The ancient monastery, or Cistercian abbey, was founded here in 1148, by Gilbert de Gaunt earl of Lincoln, for a colony of monks whom he brought from Rivaulx abbey in Yorkshire, in honour of the blessed virgin Mary.
At the dissolution it was found to contain fifteen of this holy brotherhood, whose revenues amounted to 254/. ; after which its scite and the greatest part of the church lands were granted to George earl of Shrewsbury, in exchange for some others : from whom, by the marriage of his grand daughter and heiress to Sir George Saville of Barrowby in Lincolnshire, it came to that family.
Tboroton,
J^rOTTlNQUAMSUIEE
^^been the residence of king James the first and his sou Charles, who found it very cominoijions for luinthig in bherwood forest, and were hospitably enteriainud there. He adds> there was some distance tVom the house towards the south, a pleasant
I large pool, through which the river Mann had its connse^ but was there confintMl to its channel and carried along tlie top of the bank or dam, and the place of the pool made dry ground, and therefore madi* more profitable, pleasant, and hejilih»ul, fhan btjfore, though some still thought otherwise. It is evident too that ft succeeding improvers thought otherwise, for ihe river bos again been allowed to overtlow its banks, and thus to form a*<?cry pleasing and extensive sheet of water, winding amongst gentle swells clumped with pictiiresc|ue plantations^ and adding much to the beauty of the grounds*
In the time of Sir George Saville, this place wos in all lU splendour, but coming by an heiress to the Scarborough family^, to aj^ot/w^cr branch of which it must aUvay* belong, tt is now the property of the Hon. nnd Rev, Ltimley Saville, ivho resides at Eilwinstow in the vicinity, and has, iht^refore, left Rafi'ord almost in an unfurnished slate, wiih the exception of a nume* rousand valunblu collection uf paintings.
On approaching thti en i ranee front, we ascend some fvtcps over an area whtch surrounds the house, and gives light to the otTices in the under ground »lory, then enter a large A<a// altered to its present state in the reign of queen Elizabeth, ;^nd with its lofty ceiling, high raised screen, and bricii lIuor» marking the taste of that period. Here are some very ancient portraits; two curiiius pieces of boys and girlii surrounded with fruit and flowers; and one (deasing landscape*
The Brown Dinitig Hoom is a handsome apartment, but un- furnished. It coniainsj however, among many paintings a very fine dead Christ by candlelight, moat cxciuisitely dune ; tour correspondent picttires of arches surmounted with saints, angels, and virgins, apparently copied from the decorations of
2B 2
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Mt VOTTIH&HAlfSHiae.
some of the Italian galleries ; a ^ery curioua landscape iridi • representation of an Italian wedding ; a town on fire* by moon- Ifght ; and a Dutch sea-piece.
In the Bii/iard Room there is nothing particularly cunoat except the portrait of that ugly wretch Buckhorse af whom it has been said, that some years ago he was well known for bii readiness to engage in boxing matches, in which he would ofba conie o(V conqueror, by suflVring hi» antagonirt to beat him tta* ill he bad exhausted all his strength^ after whjcb he would beat him in his turn.
The Drawittg Rootn is hang with handsome tapestry, hot hu tiolhing curious except two elegant drawings of a ship's hall
The Long GaUery h l\4 feet long, and 36 broad, and cod tains many Tery valuable portraits, besides aome other paiotfagi- Siscra and Judith, most Aorri% well executed ! Sir ffWuim Sa- tiilt, in I6d5. Hit Lady* John adoring Christ* Sir Henry Sarilk with a letter addressed " Illustri Viro, Domino Henrico S, et nostfo amico colendo et mcrcndo/' A Peer in his ruff and robes* A Madona. Sir George SaviUe the firs^t poss in the old dress* Gilbert earl of Shrewsbury, a whole length | with his face fresh coloured^ and smnll black whiskers; U costume consists of a black cloak over a grey habrt, srhort tntnf hoscj the ribband of the garter hanging round his neck, and a short silver hilted sword. George earl of Shrewsbury, in a similar atuiqtie dress, with the insignia of the garter. ChrimnM queen of Sweden ; very masculine. The eurlqf Ilattfaxt with his two wives, and fir-jt wife's grandfather. The father of the earl in a bull' coat and iron breastplate, with long tank hairj his wife and four daughters. Sir Henry Sidney, time of Elis beth ; a three cjuarter piece, with a stern look, bUek whiskers and beard. Robert carl of Esser^ Duke of NarthumberfcHd, apparently inad, or melancholy, and presenting a huniiliatitig view of human greatness, - Edward the sixths a three qimrtef length on board. Mrs, Gertrude Savllle. A female he;id look- ing out of a window with a wooden shutter ; in this the efitsct
of
Hotting H A HSH IRE* 3S9
nf the tight is most admirably done. Dead Game. Mn* Sa- ri7/ir. Lad^ Cole. A curious portrait of a young man on wood« wiih the following iiiscriptioii round the frames " Le Sieur H. !>• pardtt son vie naturelle au service du Prince, a Saint Quein- ten avecque honour et Taiiioor du Sotdats et du mondej et de «on age vint ant et dimi 1557 ;" he is id red uniform with a ■carf and spear.
Ao apartment is next shewn called " the Prince of Waks*« bed room/* his Royal Highness having slept here some years ago; but it cunLains nothing worthy notice except the tapestry- In a Mnajt room on this floor there were a settee and some chairs, worked by an aunt of the late baroDet, from the prints of the Harlot's Progress^ extremely well copied*
In the Attic story, there are an immense number of rooms, in which there are a variety of paintings. The most exquisite of these wliich, however, unfortunately s^eera quite neglected, are, a lyrunkard, remarkably well done, though raihtr disgust- ing; a Duitiu i(f morning ; a Magdalen, highly impressive ; a Girl reading by candle light, in the styleof Schakken; a very line head ol' a jBoy reading, in deep study ; Jedidiah Buxton^ a most exiiaordmary head ;* a portrait of Anne BuUen on wood,
2 B 3 but
» Of tbii txtrºBrj character, bom in Derbyshire about the year 1?(M), lb 5hort sccouuc ban been given in the dcJincatixto of that county ; but % (tw addmonal particulars will not be irrelcrant in tbii pUcu. He bu been IfiowQ to multiply a funi of 59 places of figures, n^o itself^ and hai ^Ycii converged whiUi performing it* Hh wemorjr «ii9 so great, that h« <outd leave olT, :ind rtaumi? the operation at the distant period* of a week, or «veu severttl months. He said thut he was drutLk once wtlb reckoiitti||r bj Lis iDCuiorj from tfic 17th of Maj uutil the 16th ot June, and tbeo recover- ed after sleeping souadlj seven botirs. The tjue&tioD which occupied bim so intensely was the reduction of a cube of upwards of tfOO miJlioni of itiilea into baric J corns^ aud tbea mto hairs hrciidths of an inch in length. He Jrept at) accnunt of all the beer be had drank for 40 ye^n, whicb was e4{uaj to 51 16 pints* Of theK S150 were drank at tkc duke of Ktngstoiis ; at bii «>WB bou»e Hn '
Havini
590 VOTTIirORAMSntRB.
bat by no means so bandsome as Holbein bas painted her ia one wbich is preserved at Losely ill Surrey ; yet as this one bears a great resemblance to a portrait of her at Hever castle ia Kent, the seat of her family, one is almost led to suspect that Henry's taste for beauty would not have been much followed at the present day.
After descending another long range of staircases, (of which there are three or four and twenty in the house) we pass through the Great Drawing Room in which is a fine portrait of the late baronet, with a map before him; he is full length, but sitting. In this apartment also are three views of Roche abbey ; and a very fine piece of wild boar and dogs, by Schneider.
But the two greatest curiosities amongst the paintings in this mansion are exquisUe little pieces, which the housekeeper has been directed to keep locked up in one of her presses below. One of them is a Dutch painting of a Fiddler and groupe, the other an Old woman withfloxverSj the painter we believe un- known, but the execution done in the most exquisite style of high finishing. In short as pictures, they may almost be con- sidered as invaluable, and we could not help expressing our as- tonishment, that two cabinet bijoux of sucli exquisite taste should be thus suffered to lie unseen amidst table cloths and napkins.
Though this mansion is uninhabited, the noble owner with a religious affection to the memory of his ancestors, has preserv- ed the gardens and grounds in the best state ; indeed every thing is so elegant both within and without, that even a stranger cannot help feeling regret that such a spot should be in a great measure unenjoyed !
We caimot leave this place without noticing the plantations of useful timber which took place under the auspices of the late Sir George Saville. In the various parts of the forest
around
I laving been taken to a concert in London, whilst attending upon the Koyal Sociei)', \\n declared that ihc innumerable sounds produced by the insiiumcuis, had perplexed hiui bcvond mcaiure !
KOTTINOHAMSfltKl.
391
around the house, there are no kss bhan 1090 acres planted
with ojk and sl^U ; and ihe fnclosures made by that worthy biirunet, since Uitf year I770j amount to the extraordinary quantity of 196(1 acres,
Biisihorpe h a small village about three milca to the right of Ruiiord. Btfore the conquest it was the property of Ulph the Saxon, but was given by William the conqueror to Gilbert de Gaunt, being at that time Soke to RuUbrd. From him it came lo the faniity ofTregoz; then to Lowdham, and Foljambes, afterwards to the Broughtons, &.c. At one time it was in the very heart of the wild forest; but recent inclosures have given it an airy appearance^ and its liiaiple inhabitants seem indus- trious, happy, and contented* The church is d indicated to St* Margaret, and though small is very neat : it has several monu- ments, amongst which may be seen that of Dr. Chappel, bishop of Corke, mentioned under the head of Mansfield. In the humble church yard is the following humble attempt at what we suppose the parish clerk considered poctrjf*
" Little Marj'i dead and gonc^
And wu a loving
And A prcctoui wife to little Jolui
Fletcher."
An ancient mansion, or hall house, stands near the church, and like all other old mansions has it*f accompanying tales. It i^ said that Charles the first was secreted here for some time ; hut ibLS perhaps has as little truth in it, as the other tratlition men- tioned by Throsby, of a large hollow rock near it having serv- ed the humble purpose of a nocturnal utensil to the redoubt^ able Robin Hood 1
H'tUow is another small village in the vicinity, with a poor looking chapel dedicated to St. S within ; it consists principally of poor cottagers, who find employment in the numeroui hop gardens in the neighbourhood. The late Sir Francis Molyneux, BarL had a soiall housti here with very good gardens.
S B 4 Ollertov
392
K0TTrK6ffAMSHTR£.
Ollertoh i« a small market town through which runs the high road from Newark and Southwell to Mansfield* ai>d it has some good mns, on which and hs hop grounds it principally depends. lu market is on Friday ; ^nd ihere is a hop market every Tuesday in September. Its Fairs are on May day for cattle^ sheep, and pedlary* and the 27th of September for hops*
The chapel, though erected in the ancient style, is a mndern edifice, and is kept in very good order ; it is in the parish of Edwinstow.
Cofonel Thomas Markham, son of Genrjie Markham* Eflq, of this place, was a gentleman of great loyalty during ibe nvil wars, and his courage and conduct were so highly ej^teemed that the command of a regiment was ^iven to him. But tJi 1643, having en j; aged the Pari ia men lury force =4 tiear t^aint* boroughi he was driven, with many others, into the Treiii* snd unfortuniutfly drowned, Fiis loss was not only a source of great sorrow to his own relatives, but to all en^agcM in th royal cause^ as great hopes had been formed from his niilits exertions.
From Ollerton, the route -towards Edwinstow lies through Sherwood forest, and there is much of the rural wood jicenery to be seen, particularly around a small house embosomed m trees, the seat of Governor MJInes. Here are also the dences of Dr. Oakes, r.nd of ■ Booth by, Esq.
The village of Edwinstow is extremely rural ; and the vene- rable church has a lofty spire highly ornamented with turrei looking Gothic niches.
In the church yard, i^^the following^^!?e/ira/cii/^jR/)€
" Robert Rncklcy b^^dj? here itlaid ; Iti for tiin) thcie huei «re oiftde. Thit w« ftJl here mny lemember He died the lirth of September Kobcri Hocklcj lOD lie be Ji i» age i» near to 15.
ins/' ^ Edwinstowej
irOTTtKGHAMSHlIlE.
S9%
Edwinstowe^ or Edeiistow, was originally a ** heme** of tbe great manor of Mansfield, of whkh the king was lord; but the inhabitajits had a right of pastare and hay in Billahay and in Birklandt tbe tov^n being within the limits of the forest H«;nry the fourth granted ihem a fair for two days in every year; and they had also a license to pull down their houses within the foie^it, and carrying them out of rt, to set them tip elsewhere I The tair now lasts only one day ; and is held on the 24th of October for cattle, horses, but principally pigs, and she 12 p.
A pleasant route across the forest brings the tourist back to Manstleldj from whence he may set out in a western direction on a very agreeable mmble towards Hardwtck halt^ already de» scribed under the head of IXrby shire, as the maDsion stands in that cgiiiity ; but as parr of the park is in Noliingham, and the intervening space pecuUariy romanticj and out of ihe general line of travellings we shall slightly sketch its features. The route, however, is not piissable for carriages, nor is it even convenient for the equestrian, as great part ol it lies in path- ways through incLosores. The best line of road to see and en* joy all its beauties, is to proceed on the Alfreton road about half a mile from Mansheldj then turning up Bangcroft^lane to cross some inclosures by a path that leads to a forest lane» where turning lo the right tbe rambler come.** to Penny Mont houses, throtigh a tract of finely diversitied hill and dale, and of richly cultivated scenery well wooded* The lane now leads to Newfound mill, standing in a valley watered by a small stream that divides the two countici*; a rugged declivity must now be descended, when crossing the rivulet, and rising the opposite hill, a narrow lane to the left leads him through em- bowering woods to Hardwick hall.
WhiUt on this route, a short detour to the left brings the tourist to Sktgbjf which is a chapel to Mansfield, and is worth visiting, not only on account of itstetired situation^ but also for the purpose of viewing 500ie antujue pieces of monumental
sculpture.
394
yOTTITVG HAMS HIRE*
•culphire, one of fvhich h highly iUnstrati^re of ancient times, though withoui date, being two rude figures of a man and wo» man in the attitude of prayer, the man evidently ^Jaresier with the bugle horn hanging at his side. Kear this is a seal of T. Lindiey, Esq.
" From Mansfield westward is the town of Tershall (now Te- TcrshaH) wherein is the house of John Molynetix, Rsq. whose grandfather married the daughter and heire of Roger Green* halghj Esq. owner thereof, whose ancestor long before bad mar* ried with the heir of Barry a gentleiuaa of uucient name and continuance in this shire*"*
This manor is still the property of the MoUneux far and the place is particularly worrh notice on account of i dent church dedicated to St* Lawrence; this edifice* in the nai?e and chancel, is 75 feet in length, and has two side aisles j and its sides are supported by Saxon and Gothic arches on cir^ cular pillars, whose capitals are surrounded by a few rude oma* ments. There can be no doubt oi the high antiquity of thit church, though its exterior in some parts seems of a more mo* dern date ; its soiilh door is particularly curiousp being of Sax* on architecture, and in feiy good preservation, with an indent- ed moulding surrounded by curious and various devices of birds, fish, &c. though unfortunately beautified with a super coat of the church warden's cosmetic lotion, vulgarly yclepM
The lower is of a much older date than the body of the edi* fice in general ; and in the inside there are some antique monu* menls of Molyneux, Babinglon,Grcenh;iIgh, &c. Considerable attention seems to have been paid to the neatness and comfort of the interior; in the nave there are several atchievementi hanging i^p against the pillars; the roof is painted blue and white with a pleasing tlfect; the whole is regularly and well pewcd with oak; and there is a very elegant canopied^ and high-
* Harl. Col. 3:8.
KOTTIKGHASfSalRI.
395
ly ornamented pew for Sir Francis Molyneux, with the family
Tauit bebw.
Part of the olU mansion house remains, with some armorial bearings ill Btonewoik; and there is an excellent and commo- dious rectory house with good gardens, a fine bwn in front em- bowered amidst Ijigh and stately trees, and possessing a fine view into Dt rb V ?*hire-*
Returning from Newfound mill, we recross the stream and procecfd Btralght on by a road which leads to Plcasley, a smalt vilia^e standing partly in the two counties. On passing the market cross, a short turn to the left for about half a mile brings us to the church, when turning to the right we enter a dell whose
bouadi
Are edgi d wtUi wo«d, o'er liung by hoar^ diffs, Wljicrh from thcdaudt bend frowmng. Down a rock. Above tlie lul'tjc'st ^umniit of ttic grove, A tmubiiijg tortefjt wem-slhe ahaggrd itone ; Tben glearaing Ihroogh the ifitcrval* of shade Attaina tlie valleyj where ikt level ttreaiu"
conducts us towards PUasUy Forge an extensive range of cot- ton works sealed on the rivulet which divides the shirtjs of Notti and Derby, In this spot, su little known, even in its immediate neighbourhood, we meet with all the romantic beau- ty aud all the sublime effect of Matlock and Dovedale, Here arc high and rugged cliifs well wooded on their summits, and sweetly feathered to the very edge of the water; ginlly swelling knolls tufted with firs j high, abrupt, and overhanging rocks clothed with verdure und resembling dilapidated ruins j and a pleasing contrast from a view of the mills, tht: mirror looking appearance of the water here dammed into a small lake, the cheerlid habitations of the workpeople, and the smil- ing industiy around. Passing along the valley we come to another establishment of the same nature, and crossing a hand*
some ♦ Vide further, Gcats*. M ig. Vol LXXX* p* ISO.
VOTTlNGUJlMStltRZ.
some bridge which unUes the two counties^ ascend ai hilUl wbeo at its summit follow a path leading to a white gate on the right, which leads across three fields and to a clump of trees surrounding a small bailding erected some few yeans ago by Major Hayman Rooke to preserve a i€$scUued Rontan pavtmsau^ mud to commemorate the scite of an ancient
Roman Villa discovered by that gentleman, and of which afl tlaborate account may be seen in the eighth vol. of the Archmo- iogia. This indefatigable antiquary relates that having seen some small stone cubes about an inch square^ which the country people called *' fairy pavements/' said to be found in the N4>rtk field, where many s^tones and bricks had al different Itmesbeen taken up to prepare the fields for cultivation^ and to repair tbt fences ; and having discovered these latter to be Roman trich, he was tempted to persevere in his researches^ and in May 1786» set three men to work. In digging about a foot below the sur- face, they came to some walls, and by following these, the major M)on dij* cove red se^en roomsj wbkh be coo.^idered bi in- self justified in considering as an elegant Viiia Vrbana, In f<- inoving the t*nrLh which was near a foot deep to the floor, it was p<;rcepiib!e th'Jl the walls of most of ihe rooms bad been stuccoed and paiuicd, many frag[]>ents being found in diBerent plates on the floors, which must have fallen from the upper part of ilie walls. The rcmoining lower part had the paintedi stucco perfer t in many places. The curoposition was near two inches tbtcki made chiefly of lime and sand ; on this was laid a very thin body of stucco, painted in stripes of purple, red, J
[yellow, green, and indeed in all the various colours* In the' centre room was part of a very elegant mosaic pavement* of
I fed, yellow, wbtte, and grey taserm about the sire of m die. The space between the mosaic pavement, and the walls, was paved with stone cubes about an inch thick; and the major
I thought it not improbable that this space in^as intended for the
[three beds or couches^ and that this was the TViclmum or DiiK
ling room.
Th«
KOTTtVOHiitfSHrilSi
397
Th» other rooms had painted walls, bui no lesselated pave^ cai^nts; but ashes, and utUer appearances of there having becii fires, were vi.sible towards the centre of these apartmcnia.
The entrance seemed to have been at the east fronts in a narrow inclosed pottkus with painted walls and a tesselaied pavement ; and consisted of a passage fifty four feel long, yet anly eight in width.
The Major adds in a note* that a vUla according to Columella^ consisted of three put ts ; urbana ; rusiica ; and ftuciuaria : the first of which was that portion of the hou&e »et apart for th# mailer's uie; tbe secotid was for the cattle^ aiul servants that tilled the land and were employed in the more ordinary ser- yjces of the house; and the last consisted only of repositoriet for agricultural produce. He thinks, as he attempu to shew by many well executed pkns, that he had traced the remains of all those parts ; and he even points out^ and that with great antit^uarian Judgement, the hj/pocaittt with lluea for warming the sittmg rooms; also the $tidatorium, or vapour hath, &c,; and he gives a very accurate description and delineation of them. In a little room also were some bases of pillars^ but he adds ''I um more inclined to think they were bases of altars, dedicated to local deities, and that this room was l\\e penetraU or chapel, which the Romans had in their private houites for ihe v^or&hip of their household gods.*'
In clearing out the villai many slates were fotmd w iih holes in thera ; in one was a nail ; these must have covered the roof. The outhouses, stables, and other appendages of the farm, must have been destroyed long ago, owing to the rock being so near the soil.
Mr, King in treating of this discovery, observes that **we may fairly conclude, both from the nature of the foundation wall*, and from the situation and dimensions of the principal apartments, that it could not be> in point either of elegance or convenience, much superior to these habitations discovered at the ancient Po7r\pda In Italy, where we are |ed lo w^onder ai
the
39^
iroTTivGiiAitftatftt.
ibe same ttmet boUi at the profusion of painted vralls, and ab^ at the extreme uncomfortableneiss, and unplea^antfirgfa of tke ^wdlmg>»Mn which they were bestowed,"*
Major RcMike adds that »onie remains of two sepulchres were also discovered about 100 T^ards south east of tbe Yilta; ill which were found many fnLgmenU o^ patera^ aad pots of Ro- man ware, with several articles of household conyenieoce.f
After lamenting the too common deitrucUon of antif}utties, the worthy Major con^atulated biiii^ieir that John Knigbtol' Lani^old, Es^q. on whose estate this discovery ties, bad e3cpr«f»- ed his intention of erecting a building over it — that building has been erected, but to very little purpose, for no visiting it ill September 1811, the editor of these sheets lound the d^wrs broken open, the pavement ruined, and the floor strened with the cubic pieces, the walls written over with nbaldry, and its only tenants a mare and her foal* who had there taken shcllcr from the noon tide heat !
A pleasant walk ot two miles now brings us to
Mansfield Woodhou^u a very extensive village, containing many good houses, and iong the residence of several respecu- ble families. Sir Robert Plump ton, KnL in the time of Henry tlie sia^th, died possessed ol one hov^te in this manor called "WoiiUuntUnd** held by the service of windtng a born« and driving or frightening the wolves in llie forest of Shenvood, It ig recorded id a forest book written on parchment in liiSO^ «*Be it liod in mynd tliat the town of Mansfield Woodhoase was burned the SutuitJay next afore the feast of Exaltation of the holy crosse, the year of our Lord M.CCCIllI, and the kirj
aupi
* Vide King's Munltnentik, Vol, 11. p* 175.
f- Ur. King, who, in bis ** MnnimeuUit''* v\ nf apimou that th^ grestcal
number of our hurtows «re Uritisli j says (V«'l, I, p. 30J») ** l» like inatintf*
ijj the Ilomtin sepulchres clifrcovercd near the Tcrnnins of tl»« »ncieot HoiDau
Titla, near AlniisflelfJ W^cdliou^c^ there was nolhmg like tbe n^pearanCfS of
the V'\\m\ vt iiitcrmcntf of the Britons, nor lilt' a barrow.** 9
I
ir OTTt IT 9 tl A af S 11 1 R c.
S99
fpull with the belles of ihe game, for the niepull was afore of fmhra worke ; and part of the kyrk wa^j burned.'* Before ihit; accident happened the church had three nisi ef}« hut now hns only two. It is 98 feci in length by $2, and the ipire steeple is lOS feet liigh* In the steeple iue four bells and a small sainfs hclU which ia (.atholic tiuies wa.^ rung when the priest came to ihat part of the Latin service which is trans- lated "holy ! holy 1 Lord God of Sabaoth V* in order that those who staid at home niighl join with the congrej^ation in the most iolenin part of the ufhce* It is dedicated to St. Edaiund ; aud IS a neat edifice and kept in very good order.
The Ftast or wake is held here on Sunday after the tenth of July ; and an Annual Meeting or fair has lately been established on the first Wednesday after Mansfield cheete fair. The house and (and of the late Sir William Boothby, Bartjs now the pro* petty of Mrs, Ramsden (or lately so) who resided there ; the house was built by the Digby family, and was fornierly their re* sidencc.
There are several ancient houses in the town, once the abodes i>f opulence^ but now mostly inhabited by various poor families. At one end of the town, (or village more properly speaking) there is a small eminence called Wlnn^hill ; on this there are iome remains of a Roman exploratory camp» of which the double ditch and vallum are still plainly to be seen on the right hand side of the road going to Warsop.**
This cheerful, social vdlage is not more than half an hour's walk from Mansfield, and is a pleasant excursion after the heaviest rains, for the foot path is paved with flat stones nearly the whole of the way, the greater part of which is on a solid rock ; and the scenery on each side is extremely tine. The worthy antiquary of whom we have had occasion so often to speak. Major Hay man Rooke, had a r<^sidencc about midway between this village and Mansfield. He was F. R. and A. S^S. and died in 18U6 "after a long period of useful services to his
cotiiitryt * Vid« further Uarrod'i Hittorjof Mittifietd Biid iti vjciaitj*
k
^, as a ioldier, aiitM|«aiy, and Ddcfaoldgiil. Hb ilicaSiCMis in the Afclisotogia an Terjr extauiwm in V^h. K 9, 10. and 11."
Suiion in AMhJkU to the weti of Maaifield^ on tte ]>erli^ iiiire border^ b« wc believe, iIk iaaue parisii of »lilcb ite ftcetioos and sentstiieatal £«t9raice ^keme was Ticar. b ii a bf ge ▼iltage, with a church dedicated lo St Marjr* erected as a 0o«d scale with respect to stze* yet actmlly co noeqital to the population thai Mveral meeting bottiet have bcoi taili m a great measure to supply ihe deficiency. Here k a cMmaideni* ble p<^tery of red wiire of a coarse kind« for garden poCs, &c« Anoogst the old tenares of this place^ we lind thai Jordan da Sutton, holding bb lands of the crown, paid foitrteeii abtJlinga per anntun acknowledgement, and betides did homagaif sail and service to MansBeld court from three weeks In three wedcs^ and atteodaoce upon the king^& army in Wales, with oi and horse aiid habergeon# cap of iron, launce and sword.
Kirkby in A^hficid Is a large Tillage, with a spacnoiia handsome church dedicated to Si* Wilford, containmg painted glass, but no monuments of importance.
This manor came from the Sititevilles to the CaresidjdMi^ and it is recorded that Sir Cbarles Caf endish began lo himself a great house in this lordship on an hilt by ibe side near Annesley Woodlioiise» where, being assault^ by Sir John Suinhope and bis roan, a^ he was viewing the woHk^ ha resolved to leave ofl* his boaldmg, because some blocid had been spill in the quarrel, which was then very hot betweta these two families,
«* North from Griesley is Attnen!ey, an ancient house of the Annesleys, but now of Henry Chaworth, E*q. who is descend* ed of the house of Annesley. There wait a custle within An* nesleVi whereof there is now no monument to be found. In the west pari of vvhich lordship was a little abbey of ancieoH fouoilaiion culled Felley, which is now tlie inheritance ol Sir Philip Sterling/'*
# Hsf 1' Cal* see. 53*
I
.^'
VOTTlVOHAMSniRB. 401
The village is small ; and the church is much defaced though formerly ornamented with painted glass, &c.
Arwesiey Halt and park are close to the church ; the resi- dence of John Musters Chaworth« Esq. Near this is also Whig* hay, ^seat belonging to another branch of the family.
Feikjf had a priory dedicated to the Blessed Virgin Mary. Nothing now remains of this monastic building, except some small fragments incorporated in a farmer's residence.
Proceeding from Mansfield on the forest road towards Not- tingham, we pass through some wild forest scenery with inter- Tening patches of cultivation.
To the left is Blidworih pleasantly situated, and having a pic- turesque sylvan vicinity. In the early part of the last century, the foundation of the church was so much weakened by digging a Tault, that great part of the ancient edifice fell down; since which its body has been rebuilt, still preserving the antique tower and chancel. There are some curious old sepulchral stones with the emblems of various trades ; and there is one with a date of 1608, and an inscription of the same period ; but its last occu- pant seems to have it only at second hand, as the ornaments and devices of dogs and deer, of bows and arrows, &c. mark it of an earlier origin.
On the forest in this vicinity there is a curious conical rock sixteen feet in diameter at the base ; it has been slightly hol- lowed, and is supposed to have been used as an altar in Druidi- cal limes. Keeping again along the Nottingham road, we come to the Hut, a small public house on the forest, near which we turn to the right over some rude fields for
NEWSTEAD ABBEY,
The seat of the Right Hon. I«ord Byron, and pass through what was once the park, but now all brought into cultiva- tion, and divided into farms. These grounds are still finely diversified with hill and dale, but bare of wootl, and presenting a scene rather of desolation than of impcovemeiit.
Vol. XII. 2 C Ni-wstead
402
mOTTlVQUAUfiniKE
News lead abbey was founded ai a pnory of Black * about 1170, by Henry the second. At the dissolution its rw* Tenii«js were estimated at 229/. ; and it wa^ granted to Sir Jalm Byronj at that time Heutenant of Sherwood forest, Sirloliii immediately fitted up part of the edifice; but the cliurcfi was sufteredto go to decay, though the south ahle wasactuatty in- corpomted into the Uwelling house^ and now contains sofneof the most habitable apartnieuta.
Mr. Young, during its days of splendour^ deftcnbeh it a^ ^ituat* ed in a vaie iu the midst of an extensive park tinely planted; 00 one ijde of the house, a very large winding lake wa» llien making; on the other Rjde> a very fine lake (still in extsteace) flowed almost up to the house : the banks on one side rofisialed of fmc woods which spread over the edga of a hiU ciowo to Ite water ; en the other Ehore, were scattered groves and a park. On the banks^ says Mr* Young, are two castles wa&hed by tka water of the lake ; they are uncommon, thongb plct*jresque; but it seems unfortunate that the cannon shotild be Wveiledat the parlour windows. A 20 gun ship, with several yachts ami boats lying at anchor, threw an air of most pleasing ebtefibt* ness over the whole scene. The riding up the hill leads toi Gothic building, from whence the view of the lakes, the abbey and its fine arch, the plantationai and the park, are seen at onct, and form a very noble landscape.
Such once was Newstead Abbey; but some utifortuoate ( mily difl'crences between the (ate lord^ and his son the liill of the present peer^ induced him to sell every thing belongingt^ the mansion, and not only to suiTer every part, both of the hooic and grounds, to go to decay, but even to dilapidate great j of it until be was stopped by an injunction in chancery.
The front of the abbey church has a most noble and majf appearance* being built in the form of tiie west end of a cAih*' dral, adorned with rich carvings and lofty pionacles*
The uastcllated stables and offices are still to be seen, i Vmior enters into a sombte deserted court yard in ih#
^ 4
KOTTlSfOHAMSIlimi.
403
of which is a curioua erection of red stone in the form of an antique cross. In front is the west eml of the ancient church ; also the venerable front of the manf^ion wnh its towen> and battlementSj and Gothic windows, anti on the right some addi- tional buildings in the castellated style, originally intended lor domestic oflices, but now in a greater state of ruin than the older parts of ttie house, yet aasiuiilatin^ well with it, particu- larly as being overshadowed with the darkening foliage of son^e lofty elms.
Ascending some steps, a heavy grated door anil porch open into the Grtai Hall quite in the aiUique style; its only orna- ments are two pictures of a wolf-dog, and another from New- foundland^ favourites of his lordship ; to the latter indeed bv once owed his life*
The Link Drawing R<yom contains a few femlly pictures still interesting from their locality. In this apartment there is a very ancient carved wooden chimney piece in which are in- troduced foui of the old nionarchs of this kingdom, Henry the eighth and two of his concubines, and the tamily arms of Byron in the centre.
The Gallery over the cloysters is very antique j and from its windows we see the cloyster court with a im^m in the centre used as a i?lew for fish, *Tis impossible to contemplate ihis tcenc without a recurrence to past time*; in fact %vhen we look down on the (Jolliic arches, or up to the hoary battle- ments, midit all the sombre silence that reigns arouml* busy fancy peoples the i»cene with ideal beings, and the shadows of some small a^h trees in the area may readily be niistaken by an enthusiastic imagiiiation for the sliadt of the passing religious from his cell to the altar.
The Great Dining Room h a most noble apartment, present- ing a good idea of ancient manners, but now dcsertt d and forlorn.
In passing towards the habitabl« part of the housej it was impossible not to feel something like an awful regret in pjw* the chamber of the late Hon. Mrs. Byron, ejtactly in
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fftate as when she breathed her last within U, only a few days preceding; her clolhesj her ornamenU^ were displayed wtf she had just retired, alas ! retired to return no more !
Our aged Cicaoni with great good will expressed a desire to shew his Lordship's Siudy^ and with all the respectful fanuJia- rity (A an old domestic dependant went into the apartment, to request his lord's permission^ which was readily and politely grantedj though at a moment when a recent domestic loss muit have rendered it an unwelcome request, and one indeed which the writer of these sheets would have shunned, had it not been for the friendly and even hospitable attentions of the yeoerahle old man* It was impossible to enter thi^ swtiet liule apartniem without noticing sunie of ihe very unusual ornaments for such a place; but as ihe house itself is literally a mansion of the dead, for the monkish cemetery was in the cloisters, it may account for the noble owner's taste in decorating it with the re* lies ol' the dead, instead of the more tasiy ornaments of bow pots and flower vases. The other ornaments are some good classic busts, bookcases with a select collection, and a Tcry curious antique crucifix.
A Smali Drawing Room next to this apartment contains some good modern paintings, A portrait of his Lordship as a Sailor boy ; With rocks and beach scenery. Some good Sea piecei. An exquisite Madona, East and west Views of Newstead, Dogs, horses, &c*
We now come to a long range of deserted apartments. In one called King Edward the tliirdU Room, on account of ihst monarch having slept there, there is a ? ery ancient rhimnev» which* ttAgetber with the whole fitting up of the venerable aparimentt seems to be coeval with the royal visits and excites a niotst pleasing enthusiasm in the mind.
^iext to this h the Sounding Gallery, so called from a very remarkable echo which it posscMes.
The cloisters exactly resemble those of Westminster Abbey, anly on a smaller scale ^ but possessing, if possible, a more vent*
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rahleappeamnce. These were the cloy stersoftbe ancient abbey,
and many of its aacient tenants now lie in silent repose under their flagged pavement.There is soniethhig particularly sombre in thecircumsitance i>fihe habitable part of the house not only open- ing into this scene of departed mortality, buieven having it in some measure as a thoroughfare. These cloy sters lead into an an- cieiit and extensive crypt under the body of the church, but for many generations used as cellars; here also was the Singing Hoom for the practice of the choristers, now very handsomely fitted up as a bath ; the ancient chapel too« long used by the family for the same purpose, is still entire though in ruin^ and lis ceiling is a very handsome specimen of the Gothic style of springing arches. This chapel was also used as a cemetery, and its light clustered pillars and ancfent carved windows add much to the melancholy expression of the scene.
An vinQ\tnx' Gothic Greenhouse t with an antique roof, now opens into the Garden which was once the burying ground of the church, and in which a large circular vault has lately been dug, with a handsome pedestal of white marble, on one side of which an inscription tells the passing stranger that it contains the body of a Newfoundland dog to whom his lordship once owed his life, and whom his gratitude has placed here. This garden also includes ihe dilapidated part of ihe church, and is altogether % very interesting spot.
Near to this is Pappkivkk^ a pleasantly situated village, con- taining exten&ivt cotton mills which give employment to a number of families. The church, or rather cbopel, waii rebuilt in the Gothic style in 1797, at which time many curious frag- ments of Saxon sculpture were discovered.
In this vicinity there is a curious hollow rock in the side of a hill, traditio.nally called *' Kuhin Hood's stable/* and Mr, Rooke considers it as likely lo have been a retreat of that cha- racter, as it contains several passages and doorways cut in th^ Gothic style^ nut of the solid rock, with little hollows as if foi holding fodder ; or perhaps for holding holy water, if this
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place like the cxcavatiorns in Nottingham park, bast^ver befn applit;d to religious purposes,
Papplevvk K Hall, the scat of ihe riglit hon- Frederick Mon- tague, is an elegant stone etiitice, built in 1787, and finUhed with great taste and convcoicncy. The east front prM«fit« llie principal entrance, which in into a Veitibuk or hall % feet 10 inches by 17 feet G, in which there is a winding staircase lead- ing to the upper apartments.
The Draxiiing Room is a hamlsomc, elegantly furnished, and well proporliLincd apartment, being 30 feet by S4, On the right hand i* a Library very neutly furnished, and arranged » having over the fire place a very fine statuary marble bti»t of the late Mnrcjuis of Rockingham, A Small Stud^ adjoins the library. On the left of the ball is the Dining Room, a spacious apartment, 25 by 22 feet, and adorned with several l^mily por- traits. A cheerful Brcafifasi Parlour adjoins the libmry ; mod the Bt^d Chamber5 and Dressing Rooms are spacious^ and n«<at)y fitted up with every convenience. The situation of this man- lion has been very judiciously selected, as it is not only a fine object in jtseU'» but also possesses plf^asing and, in some poimi of view, Ycry extensive prospects. Nature has done much for the grounds in giving them all the variety of undulating swells; and these have been much improved by the hand of taste.
Linhy has some ancient monuments of the Sif^lleyg ; tnd Hucknall Torcard may he noticed as a considerable village forming a long street with the church at one end of it, in the chance] of which there is a mural monument to the memorY of Ricliaid Lord Byroui who, together with his seven brolher\ bore arms in the royal cause during the civil wars.
Oxtoti IS situated to the ea^t of the Mansfield road, ancient' ly and locally within the f<>resi, yei left out in the great per- ambulation in the reign of Henry the second ; nor did the in- habitanU possess any right of common until the reign of Jsd- ward the third, when they put in a claim, when it was de* creed that as they contributed nothing to the proviaioo of the
fuf esters*
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foreiters» as the king's deer did not common within the bounds of their town, ajid as the people had tio lands within the limils of the forest, so they could have no right of common j hut it %vas at length allowed them on paying five shillings annual rent. We know of nothing particalarly curioas at the present day> only that the botanist may be gratified with the sight of an un- common species of fern that grows upon the church tower* Oxton Hatiis a oeat mansion, with a projecting centre^ and a handsome pediment. It belongs to the family of Sherbrooke.
Cmlverton was the birth place of Mr, Lee, the inventor of the stocking loom. Throsby in this place mentions that la 1793 there were two dissenting meeting bouses, " one of which has a famous pastor John Roe, who it is said bid defiance to the discipline of the eMablisbed church, respecting matrimony. Two of his female followers have sutfered a long imprisonment in Nottingham juil hi consequence* One I believe was his wife in his own way 1"
Beskwood was once a royal demesne : until the civil warii it had plenty of deer, but has mnce been inclosed ; and the an* cient hatl is occupied by agricultural tenants. It contained 9700 acres^ and it had not been all thrown into cuUivatioii un til about five and thirty years ago when a Mr. Barton from Nor- folk brought a wliok colony of his counly labourers with him* and broke it up according to that mode of husbandry.
Arnold is a newly inclosed lordship, principally belonging to Mr, Cope who resides in a pleasant modern house with hand- some plantations, un the verge of the forest^ called ShtrwQoi Lodge^ The village is nearly a mile in length, and is clean, comfortable^ and even rurah The stocking manufdcture is itu staple; here are also cotton and worsted raitis, one of which, however, was so large that a tenant cuulJ not be found for it, and it is suffered to go to decay.
Hoilyhill is in this vicinity ; Major Rooke thinks it took iti name from the number of holly trees which were once upon it ;
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and here be traced outihe remains of a Roman eamp«417 yard& long and ^H) in bread ilu
A short detour now brings us back to Noltingham; but, be- fore we leave ihe county, we feel it a pressing duly to return our bent thanks for information given, and facilities ajforded^du* ring our researches*
To J, Srretton, Esq. of Lenton Priory, and to bU brother Mr. G. Stretton of Nottingham^ we are indebted for much mo* dern information respecting that town and neighbourhood^ as well a5i for many judicious hints for reiearcb in other parts.
In the northern parts (if the county we owe much to thtt Rev. Archdeacon Eyre, and to the venerable Jonathan Acklotn of Wise ton Hall, £54,; and (hougli we were not fortunate enough to find any of the nobility at home at the larger man- ;<ion«, yet the readiness with which the domestics aflTorded every information and facility of exumi nation has enabled us, we hope, to throw some novelty into the various descriptions.
To Messrs. Taylor and Hidge^ l)ooksel]ers at Retford and Ntnvark, we are indebted for much local information.
But our best thanks are peculiarly due to the Rev. John Staun* ion» D. D. of Staunton Hail> not only for many hints respecting that lordships but also for some very valuable drawings of bit venerable mansion for the use of the work.
To the rest of our obliging friends we will leave the kind re* collection of favours conferred^ and shall now bid tbem^coHec^ lively, farcwd f
END DF NOTTINGHAMSHIRE.
AilST
OF TBE PRfNCIf At
BOOKS, MAPS, AND VIEWS,
THAT HAVE BEEN PUBLISHED IN
JUustraiion of the Topography and Antiquities of tike COUNTY OF NORTHUMBERLAND.
Northumberland, and of the Riven Tyne 1 n two v'olumes.
L HE Natural History and Antiquiti so much of Ihi; county of Durham as lies b*;twee and Tweed ; commonly called North Bishoprick. By John WaUis, A, M/' 4to. London, 1767.
** A View of Northumberland with an excursion to the Abbey of Mailross in Scotlaml* By William Hutchinson, Anno 1776," 2 Vols. 4to. Newcastle, 1778.
'* A Historical and Descri|itive View of the county of Norlhum- berlandf and the Town and County of Newcastle npon Tyne, witfi Berwick upon Tweed, Uc** Printed and published by Mackensie and Dent, Newcastle, 2 Vols* 8vo. 1^. 6*. boards, 1811.
''Summa Ddigenlia assiduaque industrial studio atqne labore hi quatuor (omnium terrarum, oppidomm et tcnemenlorum) hbri inti* tnlati SwflifMor partes Northnmbria: de nuvo rcjwvati sunt, ac curia f^ard4xrum inaximo robori ctditi ; per Johannem Lawsonum, reginae ibidem feodarum quarto die Julii anno 8alutis nostras 1584/* A manuscript volume bearine the above title, and belonging to the library of the Literary and Fhiiosophical Society* in Newcastle, also contains a MS. transcript of the differenl records in ihe Testa de Nevill respecting this county. The 9.mituor Partes fyc, is chiefly extracted from the Inquisition es post Mortem.
Dr. Nicholson, while he wus archdeacon of Carlisle, wrote '* j4
Description q^'ihe anciejit Kingdom of Northumberhnd** which was announced* in 1695, as ready for th»* press; but then remaining in the Dean audChiipter's Library at CaTlisle* Sec Nichol's edition of Fuller's Worthier, vol. 11, p. t204.
'* Camden's Britannia,'* by R. Gough, F. A, Sc R, S. S. besides an excellent summary of ull the valuable infoniialion that has been pub- lished respcctmg this county in general, contains Mr. Horsley's very accurate survey of ihe Roman wall, and numerous engravings of Roman Anttq^uities discovered in lu neighbourhood,
** Bloom* n Britannia/* printed in 1673, contains a Ittit of nil the "Kobilityand Gentry, wiilch are, or lately were, related nnlothc coun- ty of Northumberland, with theirseatsaud title* by which they are or have been known."
Vol, XIL E ** Magnat
U5T OP 0OOXS, &C*
** Afagna Sriiunnia,-* 4to. printed in 1724, VoK IfL hesKlcs a great variety of other kinds of informalion^ cuiitalns an acconni of alt the townsi baronies, and minorsi of the caunty^ alphabetically af* ringed.
In ** Pennant** Northern Totir** are manv notices concerning thi» county. He visited the Fani Ulunds, aiiJ de^cribej several q( the birds that frequent them*
The Rev. George UUchel^ a learned Bohemian, and author of ** Ci.intcin|)btione§ MeiaphyMca.-, ^Vc/* and ** Di*!seitatio dr Cirem. Eccles. Anglic, &c/* wrote ** A Qttalogttc qf the Mvrrral Bcne^ factors t^ the Churches, Poor, and Free SvhtwU in TintUdc ffard^** imb\\s\\f*i\ in 1713, and republifihen, with additions, in 1780.
" Iht Hordfr History of England and Scotland. By the Rev. Ceorge Kidpath> revised and corrected by his brother the Rev. Plii- Jip-Kidpaih.*' 4to. London, 177 i5t
" Leg€sAfarchiaram, or Bordcrtaxos,'* containing several ortgnii Articles an<rrn^atif 5 belvvfrn Eiielaud and Scotland* By Dr. Nicho* son, Bidiop of Carlisle, iivo. 1747,
•* An exact Histonf of the Batik of Fhdden Field in Ferse writ (enaltout thetime of '^uccn Ethaheth. In which arc rdaUd mm facts not to he found in the English HiUory. PubtisJ>ed from a ci rious MS. in the library ot John Askew, Esq. of Palinsburn, Nof- tltumberland; with notei by Robert Liimb, vicar of Nnrhain." ftvo. 1773. In this volume is also contained The Bntuiie nj Brunitan, or Fhdden Field; fuught itt thcyearc of our Hcdtcmer 15 J 3, dfc. Co- pied Irom an edtiion uf The Xfirrour of Magifftnttes printed in 1587. ' ' •* The Minstrdii^ of the Scottish Border, by Waiter Scott, Ekj,** 5 vol<. 8vo. Thh work contains several ancient Historical ballads f«^^ spccting battles and s^kirmishes that have happened in tin* i:ount]M^H Much curious infonnatiou may also be found ainanie; tiie nott-^ to tha^B Motk, and among tJioi»c to the, ** The latf qf the Last Minstref* and ** Marmion/*
Several of these songfi and ballads may also be found in " Rils^t
CoUectiouof EngUsh Songs,*' 3 voU. 8vo.
•' The Hermit of H'^arkxvorth, a Northumbertand Unliad, in three fits or cantos^ Uon^oix 1772,** 4lo, written by Dr Pert^, late bishop of liruniiwe- The Nortliumbrian ballads' are also to be found io ** Dr, Percy*^ HcUes of undent English Poetry,*' 3 vols* Svo.
The State Papers of SiK Rstvn Sadlrii, Thurlow's State Pa^
pen, *' Lodge s /finstrtUions of British Hist-rri/,** and Peck** ** Desiderata Ctiriosti,^* adord much useful information on diU'enut brandies of Norlhuinbrian HUtory.
Besides Mr. H or^ ley *s account of the Eomj^}? WAtLin his" Brittrfi' nin fiomana,^ tliere are critical and descriptive accounts of the ei\i Uomiin ban ier^i in Britain in " CIurdun's Itinerunj ;^^ Stukeiki ** Carausius and Iter Borealc;^^ Smith's Appendii to his edttii qfBede*s ITork^ : BfiYNoLP's " Commentary on the Iter qf Ant
HUs:
Al&o
*• railim
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*' Fullum Romanum : or the Histortj and AntiquiUes of tkc Ro* man ff^all, cmnmonly catkd ihc Fid's WuHt By John Warburtok, Esq, Sum enset Herald, and F. A. S. 4to, London/' 1753. 10*, Gflf, boards. Bat this work is almost entirely copied I rom Hoi^ley's. It has a map of the wall, and many eDgiavings.
** The Hifsiorif of the Roman ffullt Sfc, describing its ancient state, and its appca rahcein 1802. By W . H u tt o k, F, A * S . '* Tlii s has a map of the Walt, and plans of the Stations,
In the Philosophical TRA>fSACTtoKs are accounls of Roman Altars and Inscripiiuns found at CorUridgCt Risingham, Rochester^ and other piaces in Nortiiumberland, andan account of the formation of a Mineral iratcr tit Eglingham.
In the Gentleman*s Magazine for 1753, are drawings and an account of two Roman inscriptions found at Ilisinglmm, and descri lied by Lionel Charllon. At p. 842, for I7ti9, is ani^ccount nf an ancient cros^, di!tcovered in a heap ut *tone$ near Lilburne, And at p. 825, ttono I7K6, are engiaving;> and descriptions of the two Roman inscrip' ttans found atTyneniouIh.
The Arch/eolocia also contain certain miscellaneous notices con- cerning this county, especial ly concerning the Roman silver vessels found at Capheaton.
Tlve second volume of the Supplement to *♦ CoHIns'i Peerage/' contains an exceUejit account of the House nf Percy, And in the fourth volume of \\v\i Peerage is a list of the persons in this county re- turned to be mad 4- Kui^tUs of the intended Ordt'r of the Royal Oak^ with iUf^ annual amount of their incomes.
'• General f^itw of the Agriculture ff the county of Northumber* land, with obserratioas on the means nf its improvement ; dra-xn up for the const drrai ion oj the hoard of Agricmturc and Internal I m* provement, by J. Bailey and G. Culley/' 8vo»
Marshall's " Rtvictv nf ihc Agricultural Reports from the Nor* thcrn counties of England," 8vo.
** Botanist's Guide through the Counties (^Northumberland and Durham. By N. J, Winch, F L. S. JoH^f fHoRNHiLL, Richard Waugh. VoL I, Newcastle upon Tvne, 1803* Voh IL Uatcs- hcad;' 1307,
"Treatise on a Section qf the Strata commencing near Newcastle upon Tyne.and concluding on the west side of the Mountain of Cross- fell, with remarks on minL-ral veins in generali \\m\ engraved lij^urcs of »ome of the diitenmt ?;f)ecie^ of Production*, Arc. By Wlstcarth FoRsTER, Newcastle upon Tyne/* 8vo. 1809.
" Report, Sec, on the present state of Tynemouth Harbour, with projected im pro vemenl* ; as surveyed bv order of ihe Conimiltee for obtaining a better Navigation/ By U* Dodd, Engineer," 8 vo, 1796.
The Map qf Northumberland in "Speed's Theatre of Great Bri- tain,*' contains a plan of Newcastle^ described by W. Matthew, and a plan of Berwick upon. Tweed* Also Armi of Noblemen^ and Bo-
R 2 man
S44
LIST OF «OOKS« Sec.
. man Antiquilies from Sir Robert Cotton** collection. It qw^oll} r* |>riirtetl, and sold siopily.
'* A New Map of Northuinbeiland, shewing Ihc extent and sUui lion of th** ^vefAl wanis and j>:'fi*hes wuli thpir Cliurches, Cha|)el*i and nature of bonefic^^-, Maikel Tovns, Villages^ GenllcinmS St*ati» CaHles, Keltgious lIouses« Bouses of Kin{(s/ antirnl Baronte^, Mjinnort* Forrest^, Parks, Fitlils of Battli^s, £ncaitipment&* Col- hemis» Lea<U^orks, M<*diciual WaU*rs, Nature of StiiK. Likewise the courses of the sovLTal II o man Ways, Present Roads, River;, Rivulets ; together with an iiccwrate draught of the Boman Ws the Garrisons, and Stations thereon with their anlient names and nen e>t di^fovcred fo>cription^;*' aUo •'350 of the arn>s of suoh hon<^of ble persons as have born titles of Dukes and Earls *• d since th^ Nofiijan Comjuest." Hy Johk Warburton, No date,
**A,\fnp of the Roman ffali, Sec, By G. Smith/' 1746,
** A Map of Noilhuml»crland begun by the late Mr. Jor^j Hofj t-HY F. R. S. continued by the Surveyor that heemployd ;.
f*ated to the Right Honourable lluierh» Earl ol Northuml y
John Cay/* Thi* Index to it vas print*xl at Edinburgh hy iiaxwiV tun, Barfltur, and NdlU 8vo. 173 J.
** A Nine Siteet Map of Northumberliuid, liy Capt, AilMstrokis with a Companion to it, Prujtt'tl by W. Prat, London,'* 176y. TliJ hai been reduced to one Sheet,
" A Pitm tp^ the Collieries on the Riticrs Tt/ne, and Wear> alio Blylhe, Bcdllnt^on, and Hartley, with the Country 11 miles round
Ncwciisile. ByJohn Gitjson/* 17S8.
** A plan of llie Riven* Tvne and Wear from Tynemouth Barf Byvfli, in the county of Northumberland, and from Sunderland i the Junction of Chester Dean, in the county of Durham iiiththe Loads f Collier let, Haggon ff^ui/s^ and Staithi^ thereon, inclu<Ving the towns of Newcaitle, Shield'i, Sunderland, and Chester le Street. By W. Ca$sok, Viewer of Coal Mines, and Land Surveyor/* 180L
** A Plan of the tow part of ihe river TtfW, shewing the Bucks, Sands, ice, ByJoHM Fryer," I77i. AUo ^^ A Plan rf the rtvtr Ttfftetfrom the Bar to the head of South Shield*, By John FRVEa," 17S7.
*' -/ pkn of the Proponed Can«/ between Newcastle and Maryport, and of the adjaccjit country by WttUAM Chapmak, Engineer," 1795, two Sheets. Also " A Plan of tU propostd Navigution^ from Newcastle upon Tyne to Haydon Bridge* b) Willij^m Chapma!^, Eiiginerrr, I79ti/* on two f»he*Ms. Tliese Plans were accompanied by ** A Report on the measures to he attcndtd to in the Surref/ of a fint of Navigation from Neu^eastle upon Ttfne to the Irish C'h
17fK> -HeiKirt on the line so far as extemhfrom N >
Haydon Bridge, with observalian** on the separate advan^ r
north and south sides of the River Tvne, 1795. Sec r
mithr tinvfrom I/ai/don Uridge to Afarf/part, v\ih r^ n
line's to Penrith, San^^held, Ravensbank, Bowntss, ^^ i
'lliird and Jifcit Report, cojitincd to the advantages anu m*-^u»j.m-^*j
LIST or BOOKS, Stc,
245
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I
of carrying the Navigation oo iUt Sau(h »>ik of the River Ti/ntt m the d I tierent courses tliat il is capable of, all by W, Chapma??, M, R. I, A. 8vu. 1795/' We also hiid by the same Author " OhstrvO' tions on Mr, SuUUJe'4 Report;'' iiiulii '* Postscript ta Mr,Jessop*$ Report/*
"A ptan/' oil ** one Sheet of the first part of llie Canal Navigation, from the East to the Wf^t Sea by way of Nevcaslk and Carli»W. Pmjected and surveyed In* R. Dodd, Oivil Rnginrer, with the con- tin uatioji ol tire Kivtr Navii^ation imo the North Sea, 17y3.** This Plan was also accompanied with a Report, 4 c- '^ ''^ ititimates, Uc. 8v'o.
"Beport on the propowd line of Navigation bH\v«f#*a Newcastle and Mdr}'port. By VV* Jessop, Engineer. Wuli abstracts of the E^timateiof this hne, and aUo of tlial from Stella to Hexham, By W. JcssoF and VV. CHAPAt an. Engineers," Svo* 17D5.
** Report on liie proposed line of Navigation from Stella to Hex- ham, and from Hexham Id Haydon Bridge, on the south side of the River Tync. By Rout. Whitwomth, Ent^iueer/'8vo. 1797
There are also two Reports by ion n Sutcuffe, Engineer: the First on the Line froni Stella to Hexhymi on the south si<le of the Tyne; and the second on the line from Hexham to Haydun Bridge, and from Newcastle to Haydoo Bridge, on the North side of the River, with Estimates, &c.
" Observations on the most advantageous lineofroNntryj through which a canal navigation may he carried, from Newcastle imon lyne, or North Shields, towards Cumberland, &c. with a proposal to extend Collateral Branches by the Pont and Biy the Rivers to Morpeth, the port of Blyth, &c. and through the middle of Northumberland to Ber- wick upon Tweed. By Jona. Thompson*" 8vo* 1795.
A Bill for making and maintaining a Navigable canal, from or near^ ly from the town of Newcastle upon 1\\ne, to or nearly to, Haydon Bridge, all in the county o( Nuriliumberland. 37 Geo. HI. 1797. Printed wiili blanks. Besides the above there are several other tracts of an inferior kind respecting this subject.
NEWCASTLE U PON T YN E «' Chomgraphia, or a Snrveif qf Nt^LCn^th upon Ttjiu.*, i^c.Newc, Printed by S, B. J 649. S, P. D. dilectis Burgensibns ctprobis bominibus Novi Castri super Ty nam, W. G**' 4to. 34 pages besides title page, and preface. The initials ttand forWM. Grey, This tract was reprinted in Harlehn MisceL Voh HI. Ed. 1743, and YoL XI. Ed. 1810.
** England's Grievance discovered in relation to the Coal Trude ; with t/te Map (\f ike river of Tync, and situation of the ttfwn and Corporation of Newcastle t(p0n Tynt\ h/ I^alfh Gardner, of Chnton in the coui>ty of Norihuinlxriand, Gent. London, ItiJS/* 4to. 21 1 pages, and ornamented wi^h heads of feveral of the knigs and queens of England. Reprinted in 8vo. by D. Akenhead and Sonsuf Newcastle in I7yti, wiUi ihe map, heads, and other plates,
** The History of Newcastle upon Ti/ne : or the ancinit and present state qf that Jrju/i. By the laic Uenrv Bovrne, M, A. Curate of
R 3 All-
S46
UST 0» BOOKS, $£C,
AllHallowf in Newcastle. Newc. Print* <l by J* White, 1736/* foK 246 puges, wild an Appendix. The last pa get! leaf was reprinted, in 1757 ; but h found in only a few copies.
•* The fluiory and AntiquitieB of (Ik Town and Countif qf A'«»>^ castte upon T^nc, inciudtni!; an account of the Coal Trade of thm Place, and EmMUslud with Engravtd yicws qf the public BuiiUngMi 4"c% By John Brasd, M. A. Fellow iind Secretary of theSociet]f of Antiquaries, London» 2 Vols.'* 4to. 1789.
'* Alt Account of Newcastle upon Tyne cpUamhedt &c. Newc» 1787/* 12mo, 102 pages.
** The Picture of Newcastle upon Tyne, Spc. Frlnled by Aketihead and Sons, JS07/' 8vo. 186 pagef. A AVty If^ork unJer the i titkj and by th« same publishers, appeared in 1812,
" An Impartial History of the Totvn oftd County qf Ketvcasii upon Tync and its Ficinity. Newc. I SOL** 8vo* 612 pagesw Thl^ work was wrllleti by the Rev. Mr, Bjiitey, and publtshed by sub*
scription*
plan of Xexvcastle ** described by William M atthew* ' ;n** Speed'i Map of Norlhiimberland.** *' A plan of Newcastle on two Sheets with vicMisof 'Itipuhiick Ifitikloigs, by Jajies Cor bridge, 1723.'*
"Bourne^s History," contains aonciheet plan of this Town.
A beautiful and correct Plan of Newcastle and Gateshead, was wade in 1770 by Charles Hutton', mathcmulician, ^nd cngravcdj by J, Ellis. "Brand's Newcastle** abo coniafnsa pton of Newcastl^ and Gateshead on one sheet, with a fac slniile of William Maltbew'f plan annexed lo Sp»!ed*s Map.
Throsby's Ducatiis Leodcnsis, p, 497, mentions a Prospect of this town by VVm. Lodge, who was born in 1649, and died in 1689. A view of Newcastle Bridge dedic^led to Cuthbert Fenwvck> Mayor in 1739i engraved by J. Hilbert, refers to Bourn's History^p. 129* A Project of Nenrasile, from Gatefhead Church Sleej)le by S.Bijck, in 1724. A large oblong north west view of ^ ev,'ca&i\e. By S. and N. Buck in 1745,
A Fieiv of St. Nicholas Church in Newcastle upon Tyne^ dedi* cated to Bishop Crew, in 1713. Twenty-two inches by si'xteen. 4^ North vieiv {if' St. Nichohjt CAurc/i; R. Johnson del, G. Nesb_ Stulp. fourt<^cn inches by twelve, very iinety engraved upon Wootl,.^
** History (^Berwick upon Tweed, including a sftori Accauttt ofthef^'illa^tsofTwccdmouthandSpittaUdfc. By )ohh Fvllmh, M. D, Berwick. Edinburgh, 1799,** 8vo. 60I pages, Appendix SO pages.
There is much curious unpublished information respecting Berwick among the records of thtf Tower and the Exchequer ; in the Boilteiin J^ibrary ; and in the Advocate's Library, in Ediohurgh* A large ob- long view of Birrwick, uaspublibhed byS. andN. Buck in 1745; and a pbn of it inSpeed^s Map.
'I'he Editor of the account of Norlhiimberland also recciv
UST OP BOOKS, &C. S47
usistance from MS. Notes on '' Hutchinson* s Fiew^" by R,« Spearman, Esq. of Eachwick-Hall : and was favoured with com- munications or the loan of papers and records from the late AT. He- ron, Esq. of Newcastle; from Mr. John Adamson and Mr. ./oAn Murray of the same place; from Mr. John Chaloner of Morpeth ; from Dr, Patterson of Berwick ; and from various other Gentle- men, to all of whom his grateful ai:kQowlcc^;ement8 are due.
K 4 INDEX
INDEX
TO
rHE COUNTY OF NORTHUMBERLAND.
^ ^ * TUe Makket Tomtms ofe printed in Sntll Capitals; the Viltagii in Italics.
ABACOT, or cup of State, 167. Abbiu^ Alfiwicki 198. , Carlmm^ 3^4.
, Hulnc, 199.
« — ~-~, NewmiDster^ IE5.
Ad Gehln, 218.
Ad Murum, 115*
JE^^icu, & Romiin staiion^ liO.
A gri coin's forts, 2.
Agriculture of North Qmberlaod^ S7.
Akeniide, Dr, 36.
AM^oodj family of. 111, IST,
Ailonc, a Komaii station , ]0T.
All Samt's Church, Newcostlei er-
rata, .58- A I no, river, 36. Atntmoutkf port, and ruined churcli,
194. Almwich, obbev, 198.
, cMtle of, 195.
-^ , town, 191.
*, friar Martin of, 50. Ancrofi, tSl.
Aader&ou FJacc, Newcastle, 68. St. Andrew** Church, Newcastle, 57. St. Anne'* ChopeJ^ Newcaille, 59* St. Am hunt's, deplli ii( a coal mine
at, tB. AiieediJte cuiicerniit^ Edward tUe
first, 76. — St. Nicholas
church iteepte ia Newcii9lle« 56«
Ataftroblj rooms m NeweaiUc, S^, AniKCft, pla4:et of holding far Nor* Itiuniberland, 44.
New-
castle, 64.
Augustine Friarf, Newcastle, 107.
Austin canons at Hexham, 16f .
Antiquities, niiscellaneotts, Horom pottery, &c. at Newcastle, 37; ring and corns, 39 ; orn at Beriwcll, 73 ; teeth, pottery, and bones at Wills- end, 79 \ lostniments of flint« kistracns, amt, coins, &c. 107 ; cairns, aec. 139 ; urns and bonet« 145 J kistracnf, 149 ; sacred ves- sels, 17«, 175, 178; kistraeni^ spcurheads of brass, 177, 178 ; spenrheads, nnd celts, 195; uroi and a celt, fl4 ; triangular earthen vessels, StO ; curious armour of coId|
Ayden Castle, \f^^ B
Babbinglon, family i»i, 76, 179.
Back worth. 06.
Bacon, John, Esq. \i\% descent, ht-
117. Baljol, Edward, does homage^ 49. -, John, ^o. 40.
BAMBtRon, castle and
errata, *U3, «07. Bntes' Island, 95. Bates, fnmily of« 103.
lie,
B«ib>.
INDEK,
I
I
I
Bithi, at Newcafdcj 61*
, Koman, 108, 1!2S« Itfi, 150,
171. Battles, nt BranTtiM or Floddcn, 220.
— -^ ^, Hclcnfchb, 135.
-^, JHenham* ld7.
— — --^ UtLcrbouriie, 146* — — - J Nt'wbumc, 104*
, Yevering, 219,
Bsrrmcks, TjroemouUij 87.
'■, Berwick, «35. Burrows, i*it, 14i>, 150, 179, 208. Bavingtofi, Li tile, 177* BtanUy, 216. Beaufrunr, 153.
Beatinioiit, Mr. a ereafc coal owner» £?. Befrfii r, iron works, S5, 99,
— , seur, 97.
Beckei'M, TlioniBi a* cbapel, in New*
cattle, 57 • BedJiugtonshirc, ^c. 98. BelporDj errata, t07. Bellasi»e, 99. BeilinohaMj 139. Belt Liter casile, llS. Bells family of, 99. Bttiity, CA!»tle, ermta, 160. Beluiigharo Chapei, lt6. BcNton loH*, 77 j Litile, 78, Btnwellt a Roman UatioQ, 72,-74. 1^— -t coal mine on fire at, 74»
, lower, 6cc, ib.
Bercntu Chapel, 14tk Beroicia, kingtloiu of, 8, — 55. BanwrctL upunTwk:h». tSt, Bewicke Hill» camp on, 215.
-, familjof, 106.
Bibie, an aiicteiit MS, 67. Biddleiione, f 11. Biggc, family of, 78. 175, 189, Bi»bap of boys, 76. BiitM)ps i>f Heibaia, 160.
^ ^- of Lindisfarne, 228.
Btdck book of Hei^ham cburcb, 165. Bl2u:k caaoni, at Ovmgbacn. 175.
^ Carhatw, 424,
-TvneraODlbi 81,
Black friars, in Newcastle, 49.
Blackgate, do. 43.
BIftckett, family of, 6S, 166, 175, 177,
181. Btdgdon, 99. BtuHchfUud \hbey, 168. Blcitkinsop Caitle, 113.
«- -, Umiiy of, lt«, lis.
Blytht, 96.
Boat, ^L Catbbcrf s stone, 226.
Balam, 179,
Bolbeck baronjf, 16i»
BoUon, Hofipital at, 21 1*
BiHhai Casik, 186.
BorcoTictii, a Roman stall on, 125*
Border history, 10, service, 14.
B irdcrcrs, accouotuf, 239*
Bowcnt, river. Si,
BraudJmg. laroily of, 77, 199,
Branksi an engine to puujsh »co)ds, 64»
Braaxton, batile of, ttO.
BremeaJum, a Roman stipendiary
city, 1, 149. BremJsb, nvcr, 35. Bridge, Newcusik^, 47*
,nt Bjfwcll, 175.
-, ni Berwick, S37.
, BoiiiaD, 37, 133, 144, 171-
Brigbam, a coriTenttoa held at, 125.
Bnnkburn priory, 190.
Broomridge, cump at, 215.
Browne Cupahi lily, 181.
Brown, Dr. Jobn^ accouttt of, 209*
Bruimnburch, 190, 215 1
Buvy Gap, 1Q9.
Burroden, 96'
Ihi^er^ 76.
Bywtlk lU.
c.
Caervomn, a Komaji station, 1 17. Cairnt, 107, 139, 149, U16, 218. Ca Haley, 213. Cal lender, £art of, besieges New*
cfutle, 40. Canali, 3^>,'-3i. Cam,i(te, 1 15. Cmmps, circolar, 179, 207, f09, 2 1 4,
218, 219.
■, semicircular, 215, , square, 100, 113, 114*129,
138, 207, 215, 2!ir. Capability Browne, IBl. Capbefttoiif 178. Cnrhnm, S24.
Curt ion. Dr. George, errata, 225. Ciif nielvtes jn Newtnatlc, 51, CarneliajiS, 35,
Ciirrowbrugh, a Roman station, 128* Ciirtington castle, 2l*y, Ciutte Karik», nt flaltwlnstle, lt?» — — 11 ill, near Lumbley^ 1 1 K
Cu/laley, 214,
Castle of Abiwick, 195.
^ Bcltister. 1 13.
— Berwick, 238.
— Btcnkinsop, ib,
Cartiiigton* 106, 209.
Castle
INDEX,
Ca^tU orCtiiftinghaic. $lfu ,^>— — Chipchase, \H.
FtfitierstonehiogU, 111.
Ford, 220.
Hfton, Sf'27.
— . --Hortuni iiedr BIyrhc, 97,
— , near Woolcr, 817.
Kcclder, 139,
^— Lrtiigfey, III.
^Mtilord, 185,
-Scuton Di'laval, 91* 'Shewing Sbecls, 1ff9, -Simoi^burfi, 137.
-Vh^urk, on Tynr, 138.
-^Warkworfh, 191,
— » Werk, on Tweed, emtitp
^— Widringfton, 188.
Caill« breeding, ^9.
Wild, at Chillingbam ctLBlle,
«17, Citaract, in tite Brcmi^h, 116. Cau*cw«v, hamlet of, 122, Causey |mrk, 18^>. Celts, 107, 19.^. «I4* Chesterii a Eoroaii itatkni, J3f. — . — ^, a scat, 134. CUeesi'buni Grnjigc, 177. Chin ill y;hatn castle, UI6. Cbtpcbuse caMle, 1 .3, ChiTton, 90, CUapel ill Alnwick ca»tle» 158.
, — . at Bambursh, a Saxon, t?04.
^ of St. Thoiiirt* a Becker, m
^ewcftAtle.^'i7.
HT Belli npham, 139. . — Belting ha nij 116,
- , ncfiT Bothiil, our LadyV, 188.
^. ^ at Close-HQn»e, i06*
, HHltwhiitk\ U?,
HaaioHj 76,
liepple, «09,
.^ Lambiey, 111.
„ Ncwcaitie. 55, ,^9.
«, — ^jieatoii Delaval, 91,
Simmiburue, JJ6.
.Til mouth, 226.
Cbafch, al Ahieiuoiith, 1 94,
. —Alnwick, 195.
— ot AU SdiiilJ* Ncwcaille,
Cburcb of St. Andrew**, N«wcasll«»
57. — — — at Banibargb, J06,
Bervrickj S35-
^^ Hctiliogton, 9B*
.-, — ^— Bolam, 179,
^Bothal, 187.
Eanden, 91.
Elidcn, 145.
n»ltwhistle, 1 1 J.
Ilcddoti on*ehe-WaU, ICW^
— Heiham, 1fcO«lC5.
Holy hlandt 130,
Howick, too.
St Jolm's. Newcatlle, 58.
Kirkhaugb, 107,
Morpeth, 184,
^ St, Kicholaft'f, Kewc
55.
Potileland, 101.
SiRKHiburne, 187.
— — Tynemoutb, 86—89.
Ciliirnim, a* Roman ftation, 132.
Cisteriiaii*, 18.?.
ClaFeri.ig, family of, 100, 104, tH,
191i ¥13. Climate of North omberlmnd, 3T. Clinch Hill, «I4. Close House, 106. Coal niinei, 16; wrtmgbt bj the Ro»
mans, 19; on fire, 7 4» Coal tiade at Ncwcutllc, 16; ill pvo*
bable duratkm, errata, 1*7 ; tanoos
engines employed in it, I8» Cockle Park Tower, 188* Cock fey Tawef, 157. Coin«, Romaut 3?. 47, 175, 178 ; Sat
on and English, 155« 176. Commohs encbwd, f9. Coiidi'Tcum, a Roman nation, Tf, CiJii*crraror»hip of the Tyne# 53* Conway, Lord, defeated, 10 k Cfipeland C.j*tle, «19-
John, 40, lOl, f 19.
Copperat, ^5, 7f.
Copper mine, f5.
Copsi, earl, slain bj OfulpH^ 10)L
Coquet, riv^r, 35.
Island, 191.
CoRDftinc;!'. 1.^9*170, CordK9Ter, a llom«n station, in,
Cuntupttum, l7l.
Couns New, iu Kewcante^ 45,
CramiingtOHt errata, 77,
Crow UaMj 116*
CrawH
|
^^^^B |
i^^^^H |
|
^^ ^^^^^^^^^1 |
|
|
Ctiwi, baiJd Ibcir nest on n weather- |
^H^^^H |
|
cock* 64. |
£ure, family of, 10$. ^^H |
|
Cro»»j fragment of «n ancient, SI 6. |
Bx change, in Newca^slle, 63. ^H |
|
Crj^ttib, pebble, in Cucjuet aud Dow- |
Excommunirtttiun, Mr».Babbington'f» ^^| |
|
cnt, 35. |
and mlermem, 179. ^^H |
|
^^M |
|
|
CHlUu'iyati, 90, |
^M |
|
Ctiiin'mgli.itii, Jobn, Itia epitaph, i}8. |
|
|
Cuatom Hoiifsc, Newcastle^ 6^. |
Fallowden Houne, SOt. ^H |
|
Sl Ctuiibeft, tOV, ^'18. |
Karn bbnds, 20^. ^H |
|
Curia, J, 171. |
Fetheratonehaagb caitle, and faaulr, ^^H Fr/ri^ri, r&9. ^H |
|
D. |
|
|
Peiihani, 7?. ^^H |
|
|
Dcmth*B Dance, ia Eeibani church, |
Fen wick Tuwer, 176. ^H |
|
163. |
Family of, 98, 99, 176, 17B* ^M |
|
Deira, 8. |
180, l9tK ^H |
|
DeUval SealoRj trratUf 91. |
Fliidilen field, haldcar, SIS, iSL i ^H |
|
— ^^ — , famiJ y of, 74, 93, 103, ?^0. |
PurdCuiitle, no. ^H |
|
Beiibcsburn, I5n. |
Frfti»ci»caiij, nr Grey frian, in Nei»- ^^| |
|
Dctti»>M, crraiei, lfl5. |
CJiitle, 50, ^^M |
|
"Derwentwaler^ Ettrl of, 17^. |
Frajtir, Dutieiiti, Ihe Cheviot bard, ^^| |
|
Dcvd's Cttu&e^ny, 8* |
^H |
|
Dikes m coal miiie», i7. |
Freeman, method of making, al Aliip ^^| |
|
Dihton Hall. 175. |
Hitk, t94. ^H |
|
DisjietiAJirj in Newcastle, 61* |
Frifl-diDol, m flexhatti church, 164. ^^| |
|
_ Diisiiigton, North and South, 1 Oil. ' |
F Lieu a lycouudioide«, 96. ^^^1 |
|
■ Djvi<ion», civil aid eccle«ia^ticttl, of |
^^^^1 |
|
f Nurihumbediwid, 15. |
^1 |
|
D reiigage *er vice, « 1 3. |
|
|
Dniidicul circle% 138, |
Giillow HitL 179. ^H |
|
Duns SctidiA, 50, SOt. |
G Hie way, a Sdi»n, at Hciham* 166. ^^t |
|
Duii^t^nbrou£b| !20t. |
George's, Sl least cekbrjil<;d, oG. ^^| |
|
GiUun, Dr. W. 154. ^H |
|
|
i E. |
Glajs works, on the Tyne, t3. ^H |
|
1 |
GiuNt^N Prie, y.l4. ^M |
|
■ Eichwick. 106. |
CfleHichctl, lloman Antiquities at, Itf, ^H |
|
1 KnrU of North uiubcrland^ 9, 103. |
Goalor^h^ 76. ^^| |
|
Ear$dcn, 91. Ku^t Cheaters, a ilomari station, iSf* |
Griiot, a curious, f 15. ^^M Gnat Ch esters, a Hutu an station, 1?0, ^^M |
|
■ Kddcntuiic. 157. |
Grey, family of, WK), Sl6, S17, 128*, ^H |
|
■ Kdliiigham CiistJe, f lf« ^^ iudward the Fir*t, anecdote of, 76. |
Grcystoke, family of, 185. ^H |
|
^H^Jlxlinghaiu Caidc, 91f. |
GuvEunce, a nunnery at, 189, ^H |
|
^^^KEli^hnir, 149. |
^^1 |
|
^^^VEllingbaru, errafa, SOS. |
B. ^M |
|
^^^SUden, 145. |
^^1 |
|
^^■XUwick, tsto, 7$. |
Ilabitaiicum, n Roman itation, 14K ^H |
|
^^^K^iu riasurc*, '49. |
11 .idriuifs Vallum, !f, 1.^5. ^H |
|
^^^B^iigHie^i u>ecl in coul tulcicg, ISw |
Huerlttw. «ll». ^H |
|
Haerupbyni, canipat, ti5. ^H |
|
|
^^^HBf'iacum, 158. |
Haggerston, 203, *i3U ^H |
|
^^■'Enieshaw, i:>7. |
MftlhnKton, 157. ^M |
|
^■P-Sinngtun, familj of, 135, 158. |
Halli>vell,96. ^M |
|
^P^ E*tiiigton, ^13. |
HitU^ittnie, errata, 9f>0. ^^M |
|
■ Jbthcl, chair of kiug, 130, |
llahonchcster», a Roman station, 175, ^^| |
|
h |
^M |
IKDEX,
Uaftoo Tower, l73,
fl«riiing, ilteClMonickrt 191. i/<*'f'>wr.r, 180.
HnughtonCaMlc, l58.
llcatori (full, 1i Ht^td^moU'thfWnU, 106. Hcnuitngcoi Warkwortb, errato,i9'i,
— — , Ji »c»t. 1^7.
Iirr0ii> Giie9, foauder of « School^
138. lltpplc, «09. Bcslicfcidct 139, llvxvtt Cttslfc, tn, Hicham, 1.^8^168. Hexham, John of, 167. — — — -t Richard of, ib* Hoc. & brook, 53.
Hurstev* the Rev John. IB^. Horton Castle, 97,^17. Uo»pittils> in Newcastle, 5I» 6?. Umpilalj Bt RoUoD. f 1^. Elifhaw. 149. > TvTK'iuoutkj 81. > Wooler, If 18.
Hoii»c»teocli, a Eofann stat'iODj if 5* Howkk, too, Wuinc Abbey, 198. I{um§>taughf frrasm, 138. fiaoiium, a Roniiiii iilalion, ITS. Hitiulriiivillej immly ofj 140^ 169,
H^pocattst> tee Baihs. L
llderton, ?15.
ItifirmarYj Newcastle, 60*
Ingram IliJt, '2U.
InttitutioDp New. in Ncwciitk^ 67.
Iron wi>r|i5, X5, 99, 105.
Iroii siofie. 16, '2b.
Ulandfrliiro, '^18.
John, Sl T^e, 1$7. John, palace of king, 7<S- Jubikc School, in Nr frc^aije* i J aim, Dr. 138*
Keeper of T^Mlale, dii9pi)te about m1
rt-Mdcncc, 165. KecU, fttafute concerooig^ 31. Ktrkhaugk 107. Kirkharlc, 177. Kifkley, 10«.
Kistvacn. 107, 149,177, 214* hnaresdnie, 110. K night's templar, effigies of, 9ft *i%
I7y, 191, «07. Kyl««j curious annttor foimd at* f$h
L.
Laid ley worm, tfOT. Lamblcv nnnoery. I lOi Uuglej- Castle. !»>. L*nx, a CO I ion* silver, 17 fi* I^wrence, Si. chapel i>e« N'
54. LawMin, family of, 76, 17. I^eam, appliciition of the term^ 141» LcBd mines, v5> ^l, l30.
Lectureship, in Hexham ch^rcht I LemmtHgUm iron works, 105- seat, 126.
the
J.
Jarrow, 58.
Leslj> Gvnernit defeats Lord CawAj
atNcwbnriit, 104. Lewis holes, used hjr
133, 14L Libraries. 57, 67. «04. Lilburn loweri 216. Lime, V8. Luidiifnrne, 238. Lindan, 189. LiohiUs, bailie at, 167. Linhope ipout, a cataract* 9lSi] Lisle, family of, 77, 153, i«9, ^ Little Baviiigton, 177. Little Chesiers^ a Eomaii ttatiod, II Lillle Harle, tmitn, 178* Literary ajid IMiilcsophteal Society, I
NewcuKtic, 67- Lovfi Hars/fy, 1*^9. Lon^ 1t'i/l0» Hull, 18K Luifajue, 177- Jjowes, family of, 116.
Mm
INDEX.
M.
&Iatdini.way, a Roman road, 7. Magna, a Roman station, 1 17. Maison de Dieu, in ^fewcastle, 51. Mansion House, in do. 65. Manures used in Northumberland, *^Q. Marches of ihe Border, IS, 29. MargaieC, queen oi Scotland, 210. Marie, S8 ; niarlepits, «?4. Marley, Sir John, bis gallant defence
of Newcastle, 41,56. Matfen, West, 177. Mayor of Newcastle, 53, 71. Meeting Houses of Dissenters, io
Newcastle, 59- Merlay, family of, 183. Middleion, family of, 84, 180, 183. Milfcurne House, 103 ; Grange, ib. Mindrum, ^•24, Miusteraores,. 168. Mitford Castle, 18 >. Moises, the Rcr. Hugh, 60. MoJesden, 185. Monce Know, i39. Monks stone, 91. Monkchester, 38. Montague, Mrs. Elieabeth, errata,
105. MoRpBTH, 183^185. Mote Hill, 138, 145, 157. Mowbray, Earl, 10, 39. Myrica, or sweet gale, J12. Muicamp barouy, 217..
N.
Netherwardf^^f iSt. Netherwitton, 189. Kewbrough, ISO; Romao antiquities
at, 118. Neiobume, 113,
Newcastle upon Tymf, 36— 7f. Newcastle assembly rooms, 66.
•— Augustine Friars, 50.
Baths, 6f.
' Blackfriars, 49.
, Bridge of, 47.
, caMle of, 39—44.
— Carmelites, 51.
- churches, and chapels, .55,
59.
-, corporation of, 71.
~ Custom house, 66.
- Dissenting Meeting houses.
Newcastle Eschangev 63.
• Fairs, 71.
-^ Gales in the walls, 47.
Hospitals, 51, 6/.
—*• Hugh, of NcHCdstie, 50.
— Libraries, 5«», 67,
Muisoii de Dicu, 54.
— — Mansion bouse, 65.
— Markers, 71.
— " Medical instkutions, 60, 6f.
North umberlaud house, b6L
— Nunnery, 49.
Parishes and population, 3S*
• Pilgrim sUeet, 68.
Pr»moi)strat«nsians, 54-
Religious houses, 49—55.
— Schools, .^3, bO.
'liege of, 41.
Theatre, 67,
Trinity house, 65w
Walls oU 45.
Westmoreland place, 6t.
Newminsler abbey, 185.
Newsham, 97.
Newton Tor, tl9.
Nobles, gold of Edward the Third. 176.
Norhamshire, 994.
North Shields, 89.
Northumberland, the country of the Ottadini, 1 ; boMMlaries of the aia- cient kingdom of, 8 ; present boun- daries of the county, and ciril and ecclesiastical divisions, 15 ; soil, &c. 85 ; el ieq. Nunneries, 49, 1 lO, 189. Nunwick, 137.
Ogle Castle, 101.
.family of, 101, lOf, 186, 188,
189, fit. Ord, family of, 7f. ISO, 185. Oswald's, St. diapel, 155. Ottadini, the boundaries of their
country, 1. Otterboume, castle, and battle of, eiv
rata, 146. Otho, coins of, 76. OVINOHAM, 175.
P.
Parchment, with old characters upoa it, 47. *^
Paintings
I INDEX.
[ FatntmgijeniioQt, to Hexbftm ^orcti,
I Fatnpedon, or Paudoa, in Newcntl«,
^ PalJiiuburn, iff).
P«rkeiid« 1S8«
Paiton, tfl9.
Patat'i, St. charch, London* built by a dutjr UI1 coils, iS.
Pc«ce. coitctudej «i PonteUnil, 101. I Pcatantrv» aiulc of, in Nt^rlliumbcr* Jnnd^ 30.
Pebbte», or iicfRtes« S5>
Pelting ftom . un Holy Island^ 130.
Penance of Jon*, Fnur»uf. 5i. 1 Percy, fumily of, trrait, 196*
Percy "s crouj «I4* , Piciuff >. 6(>, l^ K
PiJgTiiir* Ion, Ncvrcasllc. 6B,
Pillar*, wNinfttonc, '2is, tw.
PUgiie, in Ncwcaaile, 63 j in Korth ShiildH 87. ' Puns <^lti, II Roman fUiiou^ $7, lOl*
Fiftittlatut A 01,
Populuiion of Nfirlhtitnhrrland, td. . Porlrniif, 6t, 6i, ')':. 1^8. :? 17*
Prfbmonstr&t'nisianN. .^1. t68. lf)9.
Priories in N'cwcatile»4d — 51*
l;fii;khurnj 190*
Ilcklunu If R'
' > Tyiiemoutli, flL
' PfocoUiift, ii Roman siuriiinj WO*
£rudhoe Qhitln, 169.
Quaker^ bori.il f roand, 90. Quakers, Number of, in Northtirabf r- Uftd, 15.
KatclifTcj, family of, 105, 17?, 409,
Bedc&daie, MO. I Bccovcry, Howit of, in Nencaj;fe,61* > Jlentat tf Ihc poenty. vtf.
KicJimtmi!, Oukc of, his duty on coaU^
^ RiddcU, family oC, j5j, 177, 1B9,
2?6. Bidley Hall, 11^. Kidley, farmly of, 96, llf, 116, UO,
1«S. Fikiugham, a Rorom imtionj MI. EiTcrt, 3i,
Roman coiiu, ST, 59* 47, lOg^ lOf,
13.1. Roman in^ripfions, Ate. »t Ben«ellL
75.
-BletikiQJiop cudr.
Caerroran^ 117. CarroH brtt(h«
lis.
1^9.
iiro.
17S.
L -.. .,J, 114,
' Urirat Cbejiert,
llmltoa 0>caten»
T' ' 159.
Its,
ter», 153*
107.
■f JILj
1 176.
J 79.
Walwi<:li CtMt*
► Welton, 17fi.
Rofiinn mileilnnev, Iff, 141.
ring*, 117, 119, 114.
-^ — r^ads 7.
»ilvir vcnelf, 17f, 175, tTt.
wnU*, 2—7, 105, lO. l-iP.
Robia uf Reittigham, 144.
Rirhthter, u Human »tmtjon, 149»
R (id da til, tit.
Uoscdcii edge, camp at, 21ii»
RoTMuviiY, *ztiii^
Roditeycitstle, 191,
Rutdiester, a Homuii ttatiofi, 17^
Sfilmon fliherif 5 on ihc Tv'ne, 5S ; i»
lUe IVicd, »a ; nt WAik^ttrlh, S5^
Schools at Alnwitkj T9dv
^ — Biifnt>ur(^h cii%Ue, fOfi,
Bcrviick, 7M,
Hii^don bhdg<», iSt.
Haii^vhink, lit,
i»,W
— — NcwCMtle^SS, 60»
Scboolt
|
^ - •* |
H^^^^^H |
|
■p ^^^^^^^ |
|
|
SchooU lit Pont«Uiid, lOi- |
^^^^^^^H |
|
— Wrtik, 138. |
T^yzelt Castle. ^^^^^^H |
|
Sctlec]jesrcr» 1S5< |
TynOf river, 3f. ^^^^^^^^H |
|
Scotuf Duit*. .^, <0f. |
lynemautht errdtta, 19—89; ^^^^H |
|
■ Seats, curious uncirntt 39, 65, StL |
^^^^^^H |
|
Tytbes, <8. ^H |
|
|
■ 5«afore iUtce, 95. |
^^^1 |
|
Segedunttui^ ii Roman Italian* 7$. |
H |
|
SeghiU, 96. |
|
|
Selby. family of, «IK $t9. |
VitidubaU. a Rom^n itiition, 176. ^^M |
|
Serjeancy, grand, 76, |
V'ludolaaa, a Human italion, li'h ^^M |
|
Sev^fui's wall, 4, l'/5. |
|
|
ShAW, theRci'. Julia, lOO. |
1 |
|
Sheep, diUVfcni brtcdawf, :29* |
|
|
Shewing ShieJdv 1^9. |
Uiulutnk, a teit, 1 tS. ^H |
|
Silver Komanvesieh, 17*, 175. 118. |
1 |
|
Stman^Mrn cliurcli, custle, Skc. 136. |
|
|
■ Smeaton, MrJmjirovcr of Sti^nni en- |
^^M |
|
■ siaes, i:) ; consuk&d rcipectictg ■ Newcatilti bridge, 48; pulUduiru- |
Walkrr colliery, m reoiarkable basalt^ ^^M |
|
dike in. 17, 78. ^H |
|
|
■ ]»i<fttoii HaJl, 173. |
WaltB, Eofuan. «- 7, IfO. ^H |
|
f Soil uf Norltiumbvrl.ind, ^5. |
Walb«ce, family of. 1 10, n9. ^M |
|
Stahfoudiiam, t?6. |
Waltsrnil, a Raman station, 7 d. ^^M |
|
Sittftnihgton, 97. |
Wallii. ihc Rev. John. 157. ^H |
|
H Stavrard le Feci, ] Id. |
Wall, Town. 1^0. ^H |
|
■ State's Hull, 7 %, |
Waiwick, rn-Afa.a/ii/. ir^d- ^^M |
|
■ Htoue CU01I19, I6h. |
— ^ — •*' CUesii^rf, a lid man ititjoa, ^^B |
|
■ Sudatory, tec biith. |
^H |
|
■ Swinb»iruecj«iile, 155. |
Grange, Iji. ^H |
|
Woni. or DLii.itibei!lc. river. 1*^0. ^^^1 |
|
|
■ 170, Itsivyif, |
^rark, mid castle, 133. ^H |
|
■ T. |
1 WAna^vomn. ^rmfa, 190. ^H |
|
Walling Street, 7. ^H |
|
|
Tapestry, at Bambnrgh gaitte, 201, K Tarset kUH, 139. |
Weeblt^r, Nonh. 99. ^M |
|
Wtib, mineral, facred, or pctrirvins, ^^^| |
|
|
1 Tauru esluarium, 34 |
75« 96. 1V0, irlO. yif, il6, t2«7. ^H |
|
I Theatre, in Newcasllej 67, |
Well, curious, al Bauiburgti coatle^ ^^M |
|
■ Thirl wall csutle, and family, 1 15. |
^M |
|
■ Tboruton, Roger, .^4,67, 18/, 1 Threepwood, 1 16. |
Nr-nrrn^rlr '^ff i4 ^^H |
|
WtUon, 175. ^H |
|
|
W TKr^cktrhglOH, 177. |
TFcriCt, and caailc. tf I. ^H |
|
Tilraoiilh* vicar uf. ««7. |
Westmoreland riai;c« In NvwcattJe, ^^M |
|
-Iloim". ^«7. |
^M |
|
■ Tindate, South, 107. |
Wcrhiirostede, John, 87. ^^1 |
|
■ , North, 136 |
Whet^lou<^», 150 ^H |
|
I Toad, toii^td enclosed in marhle, SI 6. |
Whitchestcr. 1«>7, 1 J5. ^H |
|
I T<>tubi and Tombtironti, remarkuble. |
Whitfield, i:)0. ^M |
|
■ 57, UK>, 103. 1ST, 13% 143, 163, |
Whitlnj.'^O. ^H |
|
168, 1«1, 187, |
W hit ley Caatk, a Unman nation, t07. ^H |
|
Town ILill. Berwick, 937. |
Whaiom. 9y. ^H |
|
■ *J fCvclyaii, family of, 180, 182. |
rr^rfO/fif^4'i», 21'>. ^H |
|
1 Tnmiuritins, m Newcasile, 51. |
^^idrnig^if»Cu»tk', 189. ^^H |
|
" Tfiniry Huusp, iadu, 65. |
1 . family nf, ]18, 15.5, 176, ^H |
|
Tomer. Or. W. 184. |
177. ia8,f09,till* ^H |
|
Turpin's liiil, i07. |
Witfrul^ St. louudcr of Hexhan| ^^M |
|
K Tweed, ri>fer, 34. |
church, lipO. ^^B |
|
Wininioieiwiek, ^^1 |
|
^M |
^^^^^^^TND^^^^^^^^^^^H |
|
|
^^^^^H WiJtiraoteiwtck, lt£. |
Y. ^^ |
|
|
^^^^^H Wrtron ^^^^^H Woodbodge^ Eomaa antiquitlet at, |
YcTvehng-bcll, a curious fofUfic^^H tnoatitatn, 118. ^^| |
|
|
^^^^^H Wood mas, the Rer. FriincU, 96. |
■ |
|
|
^^^^H WOOLIR, |
^1 |
|
|
^^^^ WyL |
tw, 175. |
Zinc, 36. ^H |
|
^^^^ |
Errata et Addenda. ^H |
|
|
^^^^HjMve. |
iin«; 1 |
|
|
^^^^H 16 |
W Jiff fliOTn1>ord«. mrd rhomboid*. J |
|
|
^^^^H 17 |
SB lifter yc^f p ffcfcf And a quarter. j^^H S3 /or El wick, read El»wick. d^H |
|
|
^^^^H «o |
||
|
^^^^^H M |
.10 i^cr There, add Htc ^^^| S4 /or Ti»e, f^ad ri«C9. ^^H |
|
|
^^^^^B ^ |
||
|
^^^^^B M |
9g fbt pt>nnd5i, read »hlllinf«. ^^H |
|
|
^^^^v ^ |
14 Jf^r live luiiic, read, four Doric. ^^^H |
|
|
^^^F ^ |
90 /or cciiiceri i ooro, rrad gmiiftryt Ae. ^^H |
|
|
^^E |
«0 /%»r aniiuii. Jicod antftiiu ^^H |
|
|
SI ybr pr<»pieiur, rfAtf propltietnr, ^^H 11 read rtVf r/ct^ ^^H |
||
|
^^^^H ao |
||
|
S4 tKA^ cirium biisUicam, ^^H |
||
|
^^^^H 9S |
5 /or R^yuolds^ rtod Coiwiiy. - ^J^^l |
|
|
^^^^^B iS |
S4 ^/br the Honourable. *i^c. fo fitted, read Kdw^f d Mont»f^ac. E»Q. w** m^^M |
|
|
Chufk-s, nrih «an of the fir^t E^rl of Snniwich* wiio Irit hi« lurge po* ^^^H |
||
|
^^^^^^^^v |
•««-sjon^ tfi hi-^ widon\ Fli^nbeOi MonLi^ui.-. tin- nble antl elcfAnl drf«^^^H |
|
|
^^^^^^^^^ |
der of s JLV invtaRiusKafTility of YolUlrc : ibslE6i ^^ |
|
|
^^K |
rtffd ci • iiiriA« 1 |
|
|
81 /or C ! ...rt, 1 |
||
|
^^^^H. 11» |
3 /^r Tl;,.! . , . , ■■ r,.iri«-t-l(, 1 |
|
|
^^^^B 116 |
3 ^r... Mi'.!|".^ 1 ?r-<j£i Tfireapwood. 1 |
|
|
^^^^M 1^9 |
9 j4.^ i;. ,,.,.,.. ,.;,d jWi,<r;w. J |
|
|
^^^^^^ ISl |
11 Jor'i^M, rcVrrC^flo ^^J |
|
|
11 for EA VR SEV. read AVR SET*, ^H |
||
|
^^^H lee & ie4rrm iti(*»fi1 is rra<ev icinali». ^^H |
||
|
^^^^^ 146 |
H /' ^ .7,jf. -^m |
|
|
^^^^B 130 |
H |
|
|
^^^^B 14* |
S() ' Diw. ^H |
|
|
^^^^ 14$ |
(JiihKinnHNE CASTLE and c^t;1' " ^ '^H |
|
|
Gtibrir^l HalU K^q. nt CaUl^ogh, 1^ ^ ^H |
||
|
^^^^^L |
by yv\n, m iri5, lo Robert Ellison, > • ^H |
|
|
^^^^^^^^H |
litm lo l»(!( iion llniry ElliKon, "* ^^| |
|
|
^^^^^^^^H |
Ihcy wrrt' pineljii*id by RIr» • *^ ^H |
|
|
^^^^^^^^^ft |
thr vUL^-e : <utd Ia*t!v. aftet |
-•' ^^H |
|
^^^^^^^^^1 |
a *l*»crec ol'lhe court of Ch^nrtrv : tjm- Li-ri.. ninn-r, uno u- T^r-.e ^^ |
|
|
^^^^^^^^^M |
lumU, lu Jnincv Ellt-*, t*q. and the vilI«s<J »lid rnrt of the land*, lo Joltu |
|
|
^^^^^^^^^B |
pii,*.'if!*<jr, K*q. 'f V»MvraUU. |
|
|
^^^^^V 159 |
jg r-7 ■ ■ ■ ^ n. |
|
|
^^^^H 179 |
8 ' Lord Ch«iJ« Murray, mwl «/lPer relieti (I UJ |
|
|
^^^^H 170 |
£4 ^cu ^^m |
|
|
^^^^B ifii) |
8 fur Atift Mmor. rrt»rf Turkey In Europe. ^^^H |
|
|
^^^^H 19^ |
14 yi^r intcrdkr, i-rad tnttrdiu. ^^H |
|
|
^^^H ^s |
«y ^i?r Vv*CM, read Vescy* ^^H |
|
|
^^^^l 396 |
1.1 /orS^xto. rc4><< Scrlo. ^^H |
|
|
^^^H 197 |
aa *t;tiTr liu**. «d«r and that of Karl of Beverly lo wliich be wtt «4««M«|^H |
|
|
in 1790. ^^\ |
||
|
^^^^^B 108 |
34 /brtheri*!* « lizht Tion&f?, rtvif/ there iirc two Hiiht hou^cv •w^ ^^t«* 1 |
|
|
^^^^^^^^^B |
^mler ♦ tfdd Tft^rf i^ also k hghl lioose ou ot>c of Vht fitilhcf i>Utid%* J t( /brl70 ^^H lO/orllu. rd Hngecntoij. ^^H |
|
|
^^^^^m $03 |
||
|
^^^^^H |
||
|
^^^^H fl04 |
19 />r lanu, 'r,/a !^.iikJ« ^^^| |
|
|
^^^^^1 503 |
a /t?r fiCDiew. (SrkO I'eajj iieiniieUj, <Siix.) ^^1 |
|
|
^^^^^l CU7 |
30 deU or, tfn.l ^ir^dt « ^^H |
|
|
^^^^H «^ |
B /or Joo, trad Ivo* ^^H |
|
|
^^^^^H SIO |
Id ;br Kellorw, read Kellowc. ^^H |
|
|
^^^^H SIS |
ea >br Hodden, rc^rf Floddeu. ^^H |
|
|
^^^^H fi^T |
♦ Jhr two, rrad too. ^^^ |
|
|
^^^^H 3je |
15 /<?rGiwc!., re«»rf Garros. 1 |
|
|
^^^^^p »?f |
2 />r mliddis ri'ad middle 1 |
|
|
^^^^^^^^^ |
3 ric«<f «ind, n«Rr the fir^i, rnins of $1. GlleiiS chnpcl wilk, 1 |
|
|
^^H |
S9 far Charltou* read Carltc/u. 1 |
A
LIST
OF THE PRINCIPAL
BOOKS, MAPS. AND PKIXTS,
WHICH HAVL B£E,ii PUELISHED
Illustrative of the Topography, Antiquities ^ Sfcofthe COUNT r OF SOTTINGHAM.
NOTTlNGHAMSinR£*
•*ThE Aiittqyitief of Notlitighamslilre, with mapv, prospects, and jWHirlriilures/'* Londofi, 1677, foL By Dr. Thorolou.
" Thorotwn's Bhtory of Nottingli am shire. Bepublislied wUh large additions. By J*>hn Throsby, 3 Vols," 4lo. 1790-
Wf understand that Charles Mdlbh. Esq, of BIylh, F. R, S. bad long been occupied in collecting additions for Thoroton's work,
ARMORi/iL Collections,
Some ArmSp Monumenls, &c, collected by E. Ashmolc, 1663, were arranged No. 854 in his library,
TOWK OF NoTTiyOHAM.
*' Notlini^hamia vetus et nova; or the ancient and present State of ibe Town ot NoUingham. By Charles Deermg, M. D» Notting- ham 17Sl,**4to.
Previous to the piib'ication of this work. Dr. Deering brought otit •'A BoUnical Catalogue oi Plants about Nottiiighain in 8vo,*' lu 1738.
Castri NottingUamicnsis Deiicriptio, may t>e found in a small work published i^ London in 1629, in Svo. called*' Epi;;ruininaton opuscu- luni ^'kiobus libelUs dblinctuni. Sec. Authore llunUiigdono Plumtfc, A* M.Cantab/'
In the early part of last century there seems to liave heen some d?s» agreement about the building of ihe Gii^l-i, Sec. ; but as ihb has long been settled, we think it unnecessary to trouble our readers with a dry recapitulation of the pamphlets on that subject. Some account of them njay be found in ** Gough's Topograpl*ical Anecdotes," acd elsewhere.
Plaos of Nottingham Castle and Town may be found io *' De- ring's
<• Richard Hnll wa* the drfltightsro*in ; Holler the etcher, 1676, and $L Mtry's cliurcb U iuppo«ed t« be viiiring^t the lait of his ^iKkt.
410
UST OP BOOK&i Sec.
ring's Hiaoi V ;*' and a plan of iheTown iffsis df ain published by Jofaa BaUiler aiid'Vhoma* Peat in 1744.
has been illustniteilby
«• The Kiston »nd Antiquiiies of ihe Town of Newark, in iHe county of NoUiiiflbani, (ihe iJulnaceaster of the Romans,) interspen- etl \vtUi Birtgrajimcal Skeldie^i. By Wjlliam Dickinson. Esq." 4lo. ISOti. This only forms part of an intended General lii>tor>* of the County*
Southwell
has be«n ItUistrated by Dugdale, vrho at the end of hit •« Hiftmy
of St. Paurs," uiibUshed in 1716, has given a Hi^lorv of U*e Colle- giate Church. There arc Vit-ws of it by Hall and Hollar in Thoro- ton ; N. and W. pn^^pects of it in the Mana-^licon, Vol. UI*; and m South view of tJif Palace engraved liy Buck in 1726-
** A History of the Antmurtie? of the Town and Church of $<votb- wen. By W. Dickin^n Rastall, A* M* Fellow of Je^ua Collcgf CamUricfge.** ^to. 1787*
** AnlHinitieSi Historical, Architectural, Choroi^phiGal» aind ftii»- erary, in Nottiu^liatnshire and lUe adiaccnt Countn^« Containing (in lliut' part already published,) the History of Southwell, the (Ad Ponleni of ihe Romans/) with Biographical Sketches, by Wiiltam Dickinson, Esq.*'
Mansfjcld*
"The History of Man«iidd, aiid of its Environs in m .» parts, con- tainijigthe AniiquUks and Present State. By Williani Uarrotl, 4to,"
VIEWS. i£c.
Various Views in tlte County have been engraved by Buck, Stc* ; but these and so many Maps of*^ N ollinghamshire have been pubtiif recently^ detached and in the various Atlasses, atid are so easily to 1 met with, that it would lie a work of pedantic su 'tn't<i [
tend to insert them i^ill ; we shall, therefore, close ' rJi^ome i
the most important articles to be faiind in the il\ititiAN Coll£C- ' TION of
MSS. IK THE BrITISU MuSEtJM.
South wortirs Report of the Repairs of Notting- ham Cai^tie in the 15th of Ehsabeih.
Part of a brief Description of the County, in tJie same reiKii*
Visitation of Noll*. 1569, by WilUam Flower, Norroy, king at Anns.
|
Nos. |
|
|
363. |
5L |
|
53, |
|
|
S96. |
3. |
|
Nos, |
|
|
4196. |
128. |
|
1057. |
29. |
|
1400. |
1. |
|
1535. |
|
|
1171. 1394. |
4, 10, 24. 81, 85, 88. |
|
1457. 2043. |
37. 63. |
|
4954. |
|
|
6593. |
|
|
6238. 6822. 7020. |
2. |
LlftT OP BOOKS, kc, 411
Nomina liberi Tenentium in Comitatu Notting- ham. 13(>9.
Alpltahet of Arms, in Blazon, of the Notting- hamshire Gentry.
Visitatio'.i of Notts, by Sir Richard St. George, Norroy, king at Anns in I6l4, &c.
Many Genealogical notices of the County, with Arms, &c.
Many Genealogical Notices.
Church Notes and Arms in Anncsley, Titheby, and VVhalton.
Arms of tlie Nottinghamshire Gentry.
Imperfect Notes concerning the Nottinghamshire Baronets, and their behaviour to Charles the 1st. Placita Forests de Sherwood, of 8 Edw. 3. ad tempus Hen. 6.
Numerous Extracts from old Deeds, with Monu- mental Inscriptions, &c.
Short Description of Notts.
Grants from Henry the 8th to divers Persons.
Li >t of the Gentlemen and most substantial Free- holders in Notts. with tlie names of the persons who signed the association.
INDEX
INDEX
TO
THE COVNTY OF NOTTISOHAM.
* ^ * The Market Towks ire printed in Small Caplult ; ttie rit^ffi ill Itnlics.
Anecdotes of the E*rU of Not-
littglmm, 6 ; curious, of lotigcvitji 14 i of Sir Hugh Wilioagliby, lit ; Sir John Borh^e Warrtii* 176; Clifton family siid wedding, 186; wise men of Gut ham ^ 183 ; Sir Thomas Parkju*, the fnuiuu^ wrctiler, 199; aucienC dame at Edwtlton, JOS; Colonel Hulcliin* •on, SU5; Old Soldier, «ll; at Bingh»m, fi4; of Crtniticr, V19; of JiimcA L ^f% ; of Dr Harwrn, g49; of Lord LoveU 252 ; of monkish limei, SJ7 I ; of Fcrrjman and hi* dog» 17b ; of a ^tven go^o given lo a nun, «79i of chiviilrj^ ^a4 ; of Jodge Mark ham, VSH j of the Hollia fiimilv, t9^\ ; of Mart*n Frobiiher, 305 ;* *>f ancenl ecdc- »ia«ticul urchiicctuie. 3'21?; of Enrl of Arundel, 340; ol Howard, tarl of Noirmghanig 34j ; of Godfrey Schak'keii,3.'i5; of ilic proud Duke of Soiuemci, 355; of Sir tiogh Middleton, 357 ; of Hogiirth, 3f>3i Fa^ca] Puoli, 369 ; Dodsley, 383 ; Jedidiah Buxtun, 589; Sir John Stanhope^ 40D.
Annesley, ib*
Antiquites, Britiih, S.
*-^— — — Koinan* 4-
Aniiquity of ifcea, exlraordinarj^ 6t.
Architecture ofcouiify* 4tL Arnold, 4'^7.
Aticnh&voughf and t»iograpbjr4» l^> Ji?erAowi, to3,
B.
Bafowoith* and icAts in victxiit^i 5t4 515.
Bamby in ttie WiHo«r>,145..
Barrncks at N'ottinghara« 116.
Barton, 187.
Btt$ford and Peverel Couri, 159.
Bawtbv, SiU
BeJittvatle Abbej* 163*
Beeithorpe, t5S.
Beskwood, 407.
Bilborough^ 165.
Bi1»tborp«i 391.
Ltiagra|>hy of county, 4C*
BmoiiAM, «15.
Hiihop Blaixe. »ome accotintoC S45*
Blacow hid, 300.
Bled worth, 40].
Bhfth, and vicinltj, 3t6* et »«<).
Bounds and rule* of foreM» 38.
Bradehu'^k Priory, «74.
Brad more, mf,
Bnvmcote, 167; hills, %6S,
Brcwcriei, 36*
Brightman, acxouni of Willimm, tS4^
British antiquities, 3.
Broadholm Mi«na3t<"fy,f79.
BuHwell and Piewipe haM. 160.
Huuiiif l*ark find villa ge» 199;
Burton Joyce> tlS,
Casalsi
id
INDEX.
C.
Canali, 3^
Calverton, 407.
Carburton, S7«.
Carlton, near Col wick, SlO.
Carlton upon Trent, 855.
Carletou in Lindrick, 57.
Castles, of Notthighaio, 104; of
Newark, SM, Caves and cellars, at Nottingham, 80,
lOS ; in Park^ 114; at S^einton,
153. Cbappel, account of William, 285,
383. ChesterBeld Canal, 33. Chil well, 187.
Churches at Nottingham, 121. Clay districts, ft, Claworth, 303. Clifton Hall, IBt; Grove, 183; vil-
Jage, 185. CU/twt, North and South, 278. Chmaie, 19. Clipttone Park, 385. Clumber Park, seat of the Duke of
Newcastle, 358 to 367. Coddington, 245. Colston Basset^ 1^*07. Colwick Hall, 210. Commerce of county, 35. Corlinstock, or Costock, 198. Coisal, and family vault, 164. Cotton mills, :56. Country seats, 16.
Cranmer family, and anecdotes, 219. Crcswcll Crags, 371. CromwtUj tbb,
D.
Darebeck river, 31. Darwin, Dr. anecdotes of, 849. Denthurpe, 275 Divisions of county, 1. Drakelow and Tunnel, 302. Dunham, or Dunholme, 287.
E.
Earls, 6.
Eatt Bridgtford, 216; ant iqui lies, 217.
Entt Leake, 193.
Eastwood, and anecdotes, 163.
£utoH,43T Idleton, 314.
Ecclesiastical architecture, 43«
Kdwnlton, 203.
Edwinitow, 392.
Egmanton, and anecdotes, 284.
Eleanor, Queen, her death, and
crosses, 280. Elton, 223.
Elvattm, or Elston, 249. Environs of Nottingham, 158* Epcftton, 273. Erwash river, 30. Estates and landed property, 13. EvertoMp 30^. Extent of county, 1. Eykering, 271.
Farms, state of, 24.
Felley, 401.
Feniun, some account of Sir J<Am»
46. Finning ley, and anecdotes, 305. Fiikerum, and Ferry, 275, Fledburough. 286. Flintham, 248. FoRitr OF Sbsrwood, 4&
Gameston, 292,
Gedling, and anecdote, 211.
General Infirmary at NottioghaiBv
129. Gonalston, 274. Gotham and anecdotes, 188* Granby, 224. Grantham Canal, 32. Green gown given to a nun, 279. OreytUy, Church and Monuments,
162. Gringtey on the hiU, 307. Grove Hall and village, 313« Gunthorpe, 274.
H,
Httbsthorpe, 311.
Hailam, 272.
Hallooghton, and ancient Hall, 2>2.
Hartibyt and Cross, 280«
Hawton, V46.
Hay ton, 301.
Headon Hall, 313.
Ilcmlockstone, 167.
Uexgrave, and Roman Camp, 271.
HicHifig^
|
^^^J^^^^^^^B^INDEX. ^^^^^^^H |
|
|
^ ihthtiiig, for. |
aiajiufaeiurca, 56, 15?. ^H |
|
^^^H History uf counlj, 2. |
Mapperlcy, 160. ^H |
|
^^H HndsHck, 324. |
Blarktiam, Klast and West, tfifi. |
|
Marnham, 266. |
|
|
^^H H«k)cn,WilUait». D. D 46. |
Mattcr^yand Priory, 5^1. |
|
^^^^M J{ulme, near Nen^ark, ^i. |
MflUJi river, 31. |
|
^^^H H<i£nie Ft>r/7r>i/t( and Huuse, $11* |
Meden river, ib. |
|
^^^H Honour ot l^eirerel, 160. |
JVIincralogy, J6* |
|
^^^H Hops, aa procfucej f^. |
Mifterton, scctafian diapcla, JOT, |
|
^^^H Htiruej account of TbornaSj 46. |
MoNUMSNTt it WoUattan, 166; of |
|
^^^B Hosiery trnde and framcfi. 137. |
Ihe Babyni^na ai lCing»t»o ypwi. |
|
^^^B Hover ittgkam, 971. |
Soar, 195; Sir Thomas Parkju |
|
^^^B Hiiughiun, and chiipel, f 89. |
al Boiiney, 2(K> ; in WillOu^by |
|
^^^ft HottD&£DB and Pariihei, Ida |
church, fiJe; io Ho] me rierpowt |
|
^H |
chorch, «lf ; at Cfaworlh, 309; |
|
al Radford near Worksop, 551 j |
|
|
^^^H Idle river, Si : and caoal, 35. ^^^H Improvemtttt^ 1^4. ^^^^H In closures 41. |
rustic and cpjyphs, S9%, S9% Mortimer's hole, 107. |
|
.Mu!)iharoi, North and SowtK t&S. |
|
|
^^^^ Irelon^ account of Renry« 177. |
Mysscn, and curloui accocry^ 906w |
|
^^^H Julia of Gaunt, anecdote of, 165* |
N, |
|
^^^H iurisdicUou, £ccle*iasi}caJ« 45. |
Nettlewonb, S84. |
|
^H |
NfiwiRK, ni ; hUtury, mtcmtiiig |
|
anecdote^ clitircb. iicgra, SlC* tsi^ |
|
|
^^m Kelham, and Hall ^.'>?. |
et icq. |
|
^^m KenathS?]. |
Nkwstkao Arbey, 401, |
|
^^^B Kimberiej Aiid cbapeli 165. |
fCorm,tntonuFOH*Soart l95» |
|
^^m King ind Mdtcr of Mansfield. 50, |
|
|
^^B |
Xnrth CoiUngh^tm, t?7. |
|
^^^1 King john'» house. 5fi5. |
North of Treat, t. |
|
^^m KiHouUcH, tor. |
Norwood, !^76. |
|
^^^B King-^ion u|Hjn Soar. 19^. |
NoTTiNoiiAMsaiRa.^^itoatioo^ •»• |
|
^^H KirAbif ill dMhftdd, 400. |
tent, diviiioris, 1; history^ f- Bri- |
|
^^M Kirkthigtoii Hull, ¥71. |
tiih antiqiiitiet, 5 ; Koman aniK |
|
^H |
quitic'v 4; Roman roada> 5; earU, |
|
6; estate* and faoded property. |
|
|
^^^H Lnce tnannfactdrers, 57. |
13; rcJigioDs foundntioui, 14; |
|
^^^H Land<;d property » 15. |
titles 15; seats* 16; cTimne, 19; |
|
^^^B LNngarund llaJJi 23fd. ^^^H LiiKton^ or Lciington, $1(5* |
soil nnd surface. tO; produce, fa ; tcnurcj, «5 ; rent*, ib ; roriKTV |
|
^^^B Lene riv«r, 51, 118. |
Jogy. f6) riverf, 77 j cvnoh, 5f j |
|
^^^^H Xeitronand Priory> 179, 181. |
roadi, 54 ; cu«jiiit rce. 55 ; manu- |
|
^^^H J.tvtrtout Nortli anii Suulli, 51?. |
factnrcs, 56 ; popolation, 57 ; |
|
^^^H Linby, 4(>6. |
poor's ratei, 58 ; iuclotnrei, 41 j |
|
^^^B Liltleboruugli, 3(>9. |
improveiiipur^ 4^ ; architecture. |
|
^^^H Litdge upnfi {he Woldv f05. |
4^ i ecclesiastical Architecture, aii- . |
|
^^^H J^ord I^ovt^J, anecdote of, 252, |
cicnt sepulchral niirQuuients loo- |
|
^^^H Lunatic ajjliUDj 13 L |
logy, 43; Parliamcotary history^ |
|
^^H |
44 ; ecclesiastical jurisdict ion, ij ; |
|
^^^B Making ba^inc»», 50 |
cooniy hiogruphy, 46? forest «*f Sherwood, 48 ; Rubm Hood, 67. |
|
^^H MANftfiLLD, oiigin>2^c. 5lC. 574> et |
NoTTiKGHAAi TowN, appronch IO, |
|
^^H |
'*f>t dcrivatioo of name, 78 ^ an-^ |
|
^^B kantjiild Woadhimt', S?$, |
CK'iit hiitory, 7», ^jjives aad ceW |
|
lift, |
INDEX.
Un, 80 ; Ho man hbtory, 82 ; Saxon bi!Storjf 83 ; comparBlive value of land, &4 ; geneml lijs> lory» 8Jp ♦ siege hy the Mcrcinnf^ 86 ; de«tructJon bv fire, BT ; sei*^ «are of Mortimer, 88 ; Purliamcn- tary anccdoiCj 89 ; extruoTJlmiiTj tempest, 90 ; it*indafd ot Clkailc* I. set up, 91; walei S|*out, 93; modern evenu, 95 ; local topo- graphy^ 9fi ; stluatiua and extent, 97 I ancient wnlb and gates, 9S ; streets, 10 1 J castle, lOI ; barracks 116; cavc&, U4 ; Standard In 1 1> 117 ; eccte«iasticul tliviiiurt*, ITl ;, St. Mary's churcbj If I ; religious fouadatJuD!^, It^j; tPcUmii cha- pelsj I3u; public clmruicf, li7j, wnr^iJioiisei, 1«8; infirmary, 129; JtinmtiL- »i3 tuni^ tJlj public kUooIs, 152^ cuuiity-ltalJ, 133; [owij-Jinll, ib,; coQoty and town gaols, 134 ; market- pi ace, 135 j nes^ exchange, 136; f4ir»j ib* ; trade imd inattu- factores, iS7 ; popufaiion, 159; anecdote* of longerit^, IJO; rue* teorologlcai ubser ration i, 1 1'i ; atate of poor, 143 ; preicnC stale, 144; ThurUnd-hall, &c. 1-15; sup- ptici of water, of coals ,Sfc. 146; ttaie of society atid miiu*enienls, 147; proverbs, 14^V; St. Atiiu^ » Well, ate. 151 ; municipal history, 153 ; Part i« men til r^ right»^ IdS ; biography, 156. Niitbalj, andauccdote*, 161.
O.
01dh:»m, the poctj tJ8. OUertm , SOU, Orchil rd5, f3. Or«/ia^/, 314. Osberton Hooie, 316. 0»»ingrm Hall, SSS. Oswnldibec, 5C>7. OwtborpL' Hali, «05. Oiton, lontuli there, 3, 406*
Paleihorpe, 37S Fapplewick, 40d. Parishes in the county, l.*V8. Parliamcitiary hi^torv, 44, Pevcrel Court, I60. ' PifiutstiiJiift, modernj In forest, fi4* Pleaaley, romantic scenery, 593* Pbugb, account of John/l66. yoot and ratet, 3B,
PopuUtion, 37.
PonTRAiTB — of WiHougbby family, in ; Sir Hui?h Wlllooghby, 17« ; Ncl» Gwynoc, IHt ; Henry VlIL Stl ; Jeffer} Hudson, 3Sf ; Mary, Queen of Scot*, Cittheriae of At- ragon, Norfolk f&aiily, 339 ; Earli of Arundel, 34(>, 34I3 at Rufford Abbey, 387, et sect .
Produce of county, J2f .
Radeitfftt upon Sour, 194,
on Trent, ti^,
Uedfitrd near Worksop, Abbey -gate, ancient church, &c. 3'27*
Uttttlmtit near NotlinghaiD, 16Si
RftTupion, 3\'L
Keligrous louridatlon!*, 14^ ^f^*
iltm)titonct 198.
Kent* ut county, ?5.
Rbtford, Eoit and Wttt, t93, 30O,
RtVRM, il7.
Roads, 34v
Pki^hin Hood's bills S»
— >_— chair, 4.
Roni^f Hoott, history ot\ &c. 67.
Rriritan mv|ii|ui(ies, 4.
ftoman ro^id^i, X
Roman villa discovered, 396«
Romantic scenery of Shorwood Fo- rt* t, 5'2 ; a I Pleastey, 'J93,
lindfiiuglon, 20%,
RuFrono Aaa£V, 386.
S,
Scufdung Moor and Inn, 281. Scenery ofSberivood Forest, 57»
Serwfty, 3if5.
Seiit» of iounry, 15.
Sectarian chapela at Nottingham,
H6. SepulchrMl monuments, JMicicnt^ Serlby HaH, 3v'8. Stfr{f'>fd, '/1 5. Sijkhitooo FoRitT, 48. Sherwood Hall, 384. Sibthor(>r, 848. S'lV rniNs, 37. Situalioij of county, 1, Surttitout cavea at, I5f# So;»r river, 30. Soi^ and surface, 20. South ColtinghuJi», 377. South of Trent, 2, SowT«wFLL. Church, antiquities,
itc. 255, ^0,
Stajt.
INDEX*
Sta.»(!ard irill, 117.
Stmifurd aud H<iU, 1^,
Sutiuion^ Mnjior ud HmH, t46 ;
Stnuiituu in tliC VVwhJ** 50*. Stut>U/,'rd iirid 11 nil, i7i$. Siernc. Hichaitl, D. D. 48.
Stoci.uig tr«dc, 137.
htokf hjf Stwiirk, And b«ule, ?504
Siratfu^, diaractei yfLutdi 17,\
Strcllcy* t64.
Slreliuii^ 5U9.
Stittoti Bonington, 196.
Sutton in AsUneld, 400.
:»utlua u[)ou Trciii, ^76*
r,
TcnuTM of cponty, 23,
Ti(onf&DY» »e4i of Earl Mi»overt>
:ji>b, 3?o. Tliwniejr, y79. TI*rum|*ton-hall, 187* 'i'hufgttnon, 27 J,
I'oUcrtnii-liiill, f03. TnKKT llirin, «?, luiHiU^ 176.
i*pper. Of Over Brottghtoti^ ii09, l*phm, n«dt Souili*rrll, v7i».
Wakefield, accouot of Gilbert, l
WatkejingKam^ 307.
Walling Wttlli. 371.
IVii rif»p cLurcb and feir, 373.
TVtLntca AoaAr« 349, 518-
Weld, a9 product^ fS*
W€st Bridgtfard, 203. Wtit UaU, 195.
W7*ffle/rv, NiJrtK and Soulb. 509. White, H. R. notic«oJ* J 3?* IV'fif;>rd church, 18'^, W( fill ugh by br^>ok. ^09. IVHiffughtf^ ,m the Wold, ti>9* WitiCKbounte, *70. Winrhtirftf a Hit Hnll, »M* Wi«e Men of Goiliam, 188. Wisetofi-halt and improvcmeati« I Wirerton and rtiitis Sf4i» WolJan nvcf, 31- Wfkilaton^ church, &c. Id6. WoLLATOK Hall, 167. Wofrdborough, <7.». Wnnatiop, and vicinity, 3f6, WormsopM^yOR, 3S6- S49k
3Soolugjr uf fouotj, AS*
ERRATA.
UMe,
from lifttlnm. for ** E«*in?h«in,*' rend ** F:fif*eham*^
q anrt 10, ttiP ftnul lHt«nt wAnt |o be Mipplicd*
It dvW •' a»" bt'fore ♦• Uudi/'
4 for " •gfjoortfu,** te*d •* a^ttocvin,'*
1* from )>ourvm. Inr '* Arn^u-ircli,** r<fad *• JnTwiteh.^
|0 ftoviii Intltonif for '* olijrct,'* icsiii •* <*/||^^tfjs-*'
Q dete Ihr comfntb <ificr *' StniHwUh," and in^mt U after
1 tn>eri a f at tlir end.
fi fill *• wiite," ri-fid '* •ri»t.'*
(5 from ImUnii) '* tcfmrjite ihc word» '• forest" and •* the/*
p fmm bntirihir fo» ** Jf^," rrad ** «."
9 fi*f ♦■ »»,'* ro*nl •* •>«» "
4 from buUom, *etmi'ate " age," «nd ** of.** iaU ill *' uatutMtioir'^fiele Ihe (t.
.1 insert H beforu ** culled *•
«0 alter •* ruu" tniwn b comma.
19 fui »• tin s.*' rend " efrit/*
5 from bnttuin. l«f '* come," rrad *' <*owi»»if.*
S fKnn bollom of ihc noli*, for •* pnc^t,*' read ** pri§»t$^
iCt for" wuti,*' rend '* mnH/*
la»l of the note:, ^*r ** cnnorund,** rend ** eem/bund."
Irt fur •* Kej/l^^oilli," rrud *' iuf^«»rfA"
? Iniert a tSn.il x
4 from boUiuii, " ^K it on fire," read" t« va« iel 4»n ll?r**
|« for *' lhe*i*." lertd " fA*rf/*
jy for •♦ |*U3 wi;;," rend •' iwrfpmjr-" for ♦' LHmbeth," itod »• Lnrnhftf,'*
elo
' jr«»/<<*»4/»afli ParA;.'
f ihe IMiiles of »' Cave*," in iHi* CfMinty, Ibf •• Si;irtal«ll|* J
LE LiL