and Hospital at Higham-Ferrers the place of his nativity in the year 1437. He endow d it for a Warden and 40 Fellows chiefly with the lands of Priories-Alien dissolv'd in 2 Hen. 5. â—alen's dd Magdalen College was founded An. 1458. on the site and lands of the dissolv'd Hospital of S. John's with so large endowments and such conveniences of all kinds that it is justly esteem'd one of the most noble Foundations in the Christian World â—ck â—ry ee The design of the publick-Library was first laid by Sir Thomas Bodley Kt. in the year 1597. By him the old Library of Duke Humphrey was repair'd and fitted for the reception of books 1599. and an additional East-Gallery begun in the year 1610. Another Gallery on the West projected by him was rais'd with a House of Convocation under it An. 1638. But all these being now too narrow to contain the vast accession of Books there have been new Galleries erected over each side of the middle Isle chiefly to receive the generous Legacy of Thomas Barlow Lord Bishop of Lincoln who had been elected Keeper of this Library An. 1652. When one views the Catalogue of printed Books by Dr. Hyde and the other of Manuscripts by Dr. Bernard he must admire the prodigious treasure and neither envy Rome her Vatican nor India her gold ff Brazen-nose Brazen-nose College so call'd from a Hall distinguish'd by that name was founded by William Smith Bishop of Lincoln and Richard Sutton Esquire 3 Hen. 8. It is of late years adorn'd with a beautiful Chapel Library and Cloysters the elegant structure whereof was begun in the year 1656 and the Chapel consecrated by the Bishop of Oxford An. 1666. gg The Foundation of Corpus Christi Corpus Christi College was design'd by that great Prelate and wise Politician Richard Fox for a Seminary of Monks to the Priory of S. Swithin in Winchester An. 1513. But diverted from that and assisted by Hugh Oldham Bishop of Exeter he establish'd it for a Society of Students An. 1516. with Endowments so ample and Statutes so admirable as have made very many of it's members men of singular piety and learning hh As for Christ Church Christ-Church after Cardinal Wolsey had procur'd from Pope Clement 7. a Bull for dissolving 22 Religious-houses and converting them to the use of two Colleges one to be founded at Ipswich his place of nativity the other at Oxford to which he ow'd his education he obtain'd the Kings Licence to institute a College on the site of the Priory of St. Frideswide to be call'd Cardinal-College which he first design'd for a Dean and 18 Canons and projected much greater things But before any settlement came his fatal ruin An. 1529. when among his other vast possessions this College fell into the King's hands Who in the year 1532. â—estor'd most of the allotted Revenues and had it call'd Henry the Eighth's College But this he dissolv'd in 1545. and the year following erected it into a Cathedral Church for a Bishop a Dean and 8 Canons The beauty and honour of this College have been much advanc'd by the industry piety and bounty of the late excellent Dean John Fell Lord Bishop of Oxford ii The dissolv'd Durham College Trinity mention'd by our Author was granted by K. Edw. 6. to his Physician George Owen of Godstow of whom in the year 1554. it was purchas'd by Sir Thomas Pope Kt. and repair'd and endow'd the year following Under the present government of Dr. Ralph Bathurst it has been adorn'd with fair additional buildings and a Chapel of exquisite beauty consecrated Apr. 12. 1694. kk And the site of Bernard College was in the year 1555. obtain'd from the Crown by Thomas White Alderman of London St. John's this he enlarg'd and endow'd An. 1557. by the title of St. John Baptist's College which in buildings and revenues has receiv'd gâ—eat augmentation from the liberal piety of Archbishop Laud and Archbishop Juxon ll Of Jesus Jesus College Dr. Hugh Price Treasurer of the Church of St. David's is by our Author juâ—tly stil'd the Founder For he began to build and competently endow'd it An 1571. But the Society to assume the honour of a Royal Foundation acknowledge Qu. Elizabeth their Founder who furnish'd them with some timber out of two adjoyning Forests The wise and pious Sir Lionel Jenkins late Secretary of State was so great a Benefactor as to be in a manner justly esteem'd a second Founder mm Sixteen Colleges and 8 Halls was the number when our Author wrote but the Colleges are now 18 and the Halls but 7. For Wadham Wadham College design'd by Nicholas Wadham and completed by Dorothy his Relict An. 1613. is since built and Broad-gate-Hall converted into Pembroke Pembroke College whose Foundation is owing to the charity of Thomas Tisdal and the industry of Richard Wightwicke nn But above all other buildings this University justly boasts of Sheldon's Theater Sheldon's Theater a work of admirable contrivance and exceeding magnificent built by the most Reverend Father in God Gilbert Sheldon Archbishop of Canterbury and Chancellour of this University An. 1668. Who besides an infinite expence upon the Structure gave 2000 l. to purchase lands for the perpetual repair of it The Area within which it stands is round the walls of it adorn'd with inestimable reliques of Grecian and Roman Antiquities of which the greatest part is owing to the bounty of Hen. Howard Earl of Arundel some also to the Executors of Mr. Selden others to Sir George Wheeler c. On the west-side of the Theater Musaeum stands Ashmole's Musaeum a neat and curious Edifice of which the lower part is a Chymical Elaboratory the first floor on a noble ascent is a spacious Hall and the upper-chamber a Repository of Natural and Artificial Curiosities The greatest part of these are owing to the generosity of Elias Ashmole Esq who has prescrib'd Statutes for the Custody of them and has reposited in this place the excellent Collection of MSS. made by himself and by his Father-in-law Sir William Dugdale oo The town of Tame Tame though our Author mentions nothing of it before the Conquest seems yet to have been of some note in the Saxon times for we find that in the year 970. Arch-bishop Oskytel ended his days in it The Abbey mention'd by our Author of the Cistercian Order was founded at the village of Ottendun and as Mr. Leland says upon Otmore by Sir Robert Gait Knight who endowing it with five virgates of land in Ottendum call'd it from an adjacent wood Ottelei But the low site making it altogether unfit for a Monastery it was remov'd to Tame and the Church there dedicated to St. Mary on July 21. 1138. 3 K. Steph. Of which the Bishop was afterwards reputed the founder though he only translated it and gave part of his park at Tame for the site of it with some other lands which had
were struck out or what is new were mix'd confusedly with his Text. No that were a liberty which but few would allow and none ought to take There are not many men who can lay claim to the same authority with Mr. Camden and therefore 't is but reason the World should know when He tells the story that they may proportion their assent to the credit of their Author The want of making this distinction in the former translation of this Book has been of very ill consequence and particularly to two or three learned and curious persons who have urg'd the authority of Mr. Camden with a great deal of assurance when all the while they repeated nothing but an interpolation of Dr. Holland's To prevent this for the future our first care was to have an exact translation of Mr. Camden's text so that when one had occasion to make use of his name he might be sure he did not quote another man's words But tho' by this means the text was clear'd of Dr. Holland's Additions yet were they not to be altogether neglected because some of them are not amiss and an opinion has got abroad in the world that he consulted Mr. Camden where any thing appear'd obscure or capable of a double meaning If he had been quire laid aside these thoughts would have continually stuck by the Reader who would have been fancying at every turn that Dr. Holland might possibly have observ'd something that would solve his doubt and give him a clearer light At this rate instead of superseding that Edition we should have made it a real rarity and given it a greater value than it had at the first publication To do justice to both a middle way was thought of To put his Additions at the bottom in a smaller character and to direct by a figure to the respective places where he had inserted them After Dr. Holland had been thus treated we could not in common modesty go to insert any thing of our own or be guilty of a crime our selves for which we had arraign'd another And yet considering that many things we had to say farther had a near relation to what Mr. Camden had already observ'd we could not leave the Reader in so much confusion as oblige him to take things where he found them without any connexion and order In this case the following method appear'd most natural To make our Additions at the end of each County and by a Letter inserted in the several places they belong to in the text to admonish the Reader that he may either find Mr. Camden's opinion confirm'd or a more particular account given of the place or reasons offer'd why we dissent from him or lastly the description of something wholly omitted which in the Topographical Survey of the County falls in there And 't is hop'd the Additions may be thought of so much moment that the Reader will have no reason to complain of being stop'd for nothing or drawn aside out of his road to no purpose After the Method the Reader is to be inform'd to whose assistance he ows these Improvements And this is a piece of justice both to the Persons and to the Work For as 't is fit that each County should understand to whom it is more particularly oblig'd so all men ought to know that we have not built upon slight grounds or deliver'd things upon trifling informations The Right Reverend Father in God Sir Jonathan Trelawny Lord Bishop of Exeter procur'd us large Notices concerning Cornwall and Devonshire his own Diocese Mr. Anthony Etrick return'd what he thought most remarkable in Dorsetshire as Mr. Worsley of Lincolns-Inn sent us several things relating to Hamshire Mr. Evelyn to Surrey and Mr. Harris to Sussex The discoveries in Wiltshire depend upon the authority of Mr. Tanner who has made considerable progress in the Antiquities of that County A Survey of Kent and Middlesex was made upon this occasion by Dr. Plot. The account of the Arsenals for the Royal Navy in Kent with the Additions to Portsmouth and Harwich so far as they concern the business of the Navy were communicated by Mr. Pepys Out of Glocestershire informations were sent us by Dr. Parsons Chancellor of that Church and out of Oxfordshire by Mr. White Kennet who will shortly publish the Antiquities of some part of that County In settling the old Stations in Essex we were particularly assisted by Mr. Oosley who is writing the Antiquities of the whole County and in the description of Norfolk by a Survey of that County in Manuscript written by Sir Henry Spelman and now in the Bodleian-Library Mr. Thomas Newsham of Warwick sent us several very useful particulars out of Warwickshire and an accurate account of the Antiquities of Worcestershire was communicated by Dr. William Hopkins Prebendary of the Church of Worcester Some observations upon the Bishoprick of Durham were extracted for us by Mr. Rudd out of the posthumous Papers of Mr. Mickleton a curious Antiquary at the request of the Reverend Mr. John Smith a member of that Church and others were sent us by Dr. Kay of New-castle The West-riding of Yorkshire is indebted to Mr. Ralph Thoresby of Leeds of whose abilities and exactness the large collection of Curiosities he has made himself Master of is a sufficient argument In the East-Riding Mr. John Burnsall of Hull contributed many things very remarkable and Dr. Jonston from whom we expect the Antiquities of Yorkshire communicated several particulars over the whole County Westmorland is engag'd to Mr. Thomas Machel for so many useful discoveries as its neighbour Cumberland is to Dr. Hugh Todd Prebendary of the Church of Carlisle and lastly Northumberland to Mr. William Nicolson Archdeacon of the same Church eminent for his knowledge in the Languages and Antiquities of the Northern Nations The same worthy Gentleman was pleas'd to improve this work by observations throughout the whole Province of York the Antiquities whereof he has ready for the Press When I tell you that the whole business of Wales was committed to the care of Mr. Edward Lhwyd Keeper of the Musaeum in Oxford no one ought to dispute the justness and accuracy of the Observations His diligence and known ability both in Natural History and Antiquities as they remove all objections of that kind so might they do great honour either to his native Country or any particular County in England wherein he should meet with an Encouragement answerable to the Undertaking Nor can the additional Remarks in Scotland be question'd since they are grounded upon the authority of Sir Robert Sibbalds whose Natural History already publish'd and the model he has given us of his intended Antiquities are a sufficient evidence how much he is master of the affairs of that Kingdom The Remarks upon Ireland were also sent us by a person very well acquainted in that Kingdom Sir Richard Cox Knight The Catalogues of Plants at the end of each County were communicated by the Great Botanist of our
age Mr. Ray. They are the effect of many years observation and as that excellent Person was willing to take this opportunity of handing them to the publick so were the Undertakers very ready to close with such a considerable Improvement tho' it exceedingly enhanc'd the expences of Printing and they were no way ty'd to it by their Proposals These are the chief persons by whose friendly assistance and inclination to serve the Publick the several parts of the Britannia appear in the world with so much advantage But Dr. Charlett the worthy Master of University-College in Oxford has been our general benefactor whom this Work as all other publick Undertakings has from beginning to end found its greatest Promoter It owes much also to numbers of Letters and Papers which several Gentlemen return'd out of most Counties either upon a general notice of the Design or in answer to some particular Queries as the mention of their names in the body of the Book testifies What improvement it has receiv'd from Sir William Dugdale's Warwickshire from Dr. Thoroton's Nottinghamshire from Mr. Burton's Leicestershire from Dr. Plot 's Staffordshire and Oxfordshire from Mr. Wright's Rutlandshire and from the Accounts of our Author's Life given us by Dr. Smith and Mr. Wood will be easily apprehended at first sight The world is likewise indebted to Dr. Smith for first sending abroad the two Discourses of Mr. Camden upon the Office of Earl Marshal In short I can safely affirm that I omitted no opportunity of getting the best Information both from Men and Books that the nature of the Work and the compass of our time would allow And yet after all I am too sensible there are Slips and Errours as he that sees with another man's eyes must of necessity be stumbling now and then Where the Subject indeed is a continu'd Discourse linkt together by Reasons and Inferences the natural consequence of one thing from another will go a great way towards helping a man out let the writing be never so broken and obscure So long as the main drift of the Argument is got it is not the change of a word or expression that breeds any difference But our case is otherwise for where the names of Men and of Places are so frequent how easily does a peculiar way of writing make one mistake a figure a letter or a syllable On the other side how difficult is it to give such a clear and full description of these things as to make a stranger frame an exact Idea of them 'T is for this reason that some Informations which seem'd otherwise very material are omitted because one cannot handsomly impose that upon the World which he does not understand himself It 's much more honest to suppress a discovery than to run a visible hazard of committing an errour in the telling it For a Truth before 't is publisht as it does mankind no good so neither does it any harm but an Errour is a publick Infection and draws a train along with it wherever it goes A man would be very unwilling to be thought instrumental in so many mistakes as the broaching of one single Errour may occasion in the World Some I know will take it extream ill that the several Characters should not run so high as they intended them for instance that such or such a building should only be call'd Stately and the Gardens and Walks neat and curious after they have roundly affirm'd both to be the best in the Kingdom Now such lofty Expressions are very suspicious because men are commonly too partial to the affairs of their own Country and do often set an extravagant value upon them for no other reason than that they do not look abroad Like the honest old Shepherd who could sit at home and without the least scruple take a model of Rome by the next Country-market In this particular our Author Mr. Camden has given us a caution by his own example who perhaps had better opportunities of making exact comparisons than any man living yet contents himself simply to give every place its due character and seldom or never lets fall those dangerous expressions the best the noblest the largest in England Others will make it an Objection That more notice should not be taken of Families In this too Mr. Camden has furnisht us with an excuse who has declar'd in more places than one that Families were but an accidental part of his Business But if they had been never so nearly related to it Sir William Dugdale has given us such a clear insight into them that this part might very well have been wav'd The same Apology may serve for omitting the Religious Houses the History whereof we have at large from the same Learned Knight and if we want a view of them in a narrower compass Mr. Tanner by the publication of his Notitia Monastica has furnisht us with an excellent Manual The Translations of Hamshire Wiltshire Glocestershire Oxfordshire Warwickshire Worcestershire Cumberland and Northumberland were sent us by the several Gentlemen who communicated their Observations upon the respective Counties The rest were Translated by very good Hands particularly Rutlandshire and Leicestershire by Mr. James Wright of the Middle-Temple the Preface Dorsetshire and Shropshire by Mr. Palmer of the Middle-Temple the Romans in Britain the Rebellion of the O Neals and other parts by Mr. W. S. of the Middle Temple and Cambridgshire and Huntingdonshire by Mr. Eachard of Christ's College in Cambridge The Version is plain and natural and as near the Text as the different Idioms of two Languages would bear Which indeed is all that could be expected upon a Subject of this nature wherein the sense of the Author with a justness and propriety of expression is as much as one can well compass The crabbed Names both of Men Places and Things which fall almost in every line are great enemies to the easiness of the Sentence and yet to quit a Circumstance in History for the sake of a Turn or a Cadence would prove but a very ill change The Verses which occur in Mr. Camden's Text were all translated by Mr. Kennet of Corpus Christi College in Oxford who labour'd under a much greater inconvenience For in Prose if the story be plain and intelligible there is something or other entertaining and all passes well enough but where Poetry comes in play men's fancies and expectations are presently rais'd and it is not bare Matter of Fact that will satisfie And yet our old Monkish Poets such as lay most in Mr. Camden's way do seldom rise higher than a bare relation or if they chance to aim at something of Wit and Air it comes off so flat and insipid that one may plainly see they were never made for it Here a Translator has a hard task to manage and to keep such a mean as to retain the sense and withal to set it off with something of briskness and spirit requires a great deal of art Even in this
part I think he has no occasion for an Apology but if he had his performance in other places where the Original comes up to the just Rules of Poetry would make it for him Of all in the Book the Wedding of Tame and Isis seems to run in the best vein whether we look upon the Smoothness the Thought or the Composition Who the Author of it was is not certainly known but if we should fix upon Mr. Camden himself perhaps there would be no occasion for a second conjecture One argument is because he never names the Author whereas he could not but know him when the Poem was publish'd in his own time Then if we compare the subject of it with what he has said of the several places it touches upon we shall find them to be much the same Very often also upon the mention of that fancy about the Tamisis being deriv'd from the meeting of Tame and Isis he seems to be pleas'd with it more than ordinary And which in my opinion puts it beyond all exception he never quotes the Poem with any the least commendation but always ushers it in with a sort of coldness Now this is by no means agreeable to Mr. Camden's temper who is always careful to allow every thing its just character Let it be a Monkish Rhyme he never omits to mention it favourably if there appears the least dram of wit or if it has nothing of that to recommend it he 'l endeavour to excuse it and tell you 'T is tolerable for the age he liv'd in By this rule one may be sure that such a Poem should never have pass'd without a particular mark of honour if Mr. Camden himself had not been so nearly concern'd in it but so far is he from approving it that he brings it in with a sort of caution or rather contempt Pag. 147 Let it not be thought troublesome to run over these Verses P. 157. If you can relish them P. 324. If you vouchsafe to read them P. 241 264. You may read or omit them as you please Expressions becoming Mr. Camden's modesty when he speaks of himself but very unlike his candour in the characters of other men and their works The Maps are all new engrav'd either according to Surveys never before publish'd or according to such as have been made and printed since Saxton and Speed Where actual Surveys could be had they were purchas'd at any rate and for the rest one of the best Copies extant was sent to some of the most knowing Gentlemen in each County with a request to supply the defects rectifie the positions and correct the false spellings And that nothing might be wanting to render them as complete and accurate as might be this whole business was committed to Mr. Robert Morden a person of known abilities in these matters who took care to revise them to see the slips of the Engraver mended and the corrections return'd out of the several Counties duly inserted Upon the whole we need not scruple to affirm that they are by much the fairest and most correct of any that have yet appear'd And as for an error here and there whoever considers how difficult it is to hit the exact Bearings and how the difference of miles in the several parts of the Kingdom perplex the whole may possibly have occasion to wonder there should be so few Especially if he add to these inconveniencies the various Spellings of Places wherein it will be impossible to please all till men are agreed which is the right I have heard it observ'd by a very Intelligent Gentleman that within his memory the name of one single place has been spell'd no less than five several ways Thus much of the Work For the Vndertakers I must do them this piece of justice to tell the world that they spar'd neither pains nor expence so they might contribute to the perfection of the Book and the satisfaction of the Curious That they have fail'd in point of time was occasion'd chiefly by the Additions which are much larger than either they at first intended or any one could reasonably expect from the Proposals A Glossary had been added but that Mr. Camden himself has made it needless by explaining the more obscure Words as he had occasion to mention them A Catalogue of the Seats of the Nobility was also design'd but upon second thoughts was judg'd unnecessary because the greatest part of them have their place in the body of the Book ADVERTISEMENT There are now in the Press and will speedily be publish'd A Compleat History of England written by several hands of approv'd ability containing the Lives of all the Kings their Effigies engraven in Copper several Coins Medals Inscriptions c. for illustration of matters of fact A Map of England noting the Battels Sieges and remarkable places mention'd in the History And at the end large Index's and a Glossary explaining all difficult words and terms of art occurring in the work The whole to be contain'd in two Volumes in folio the first whereof will be publish'd in Trinity-Term 1695. A more particular account of this Work may be seen in the Proposals for printing this Book by Subscription to be had of the Undertakers R. Chiswell B. Aylmer A. Swall c. Booksellers in London as also of all other Booksellers in London and the Country A new Volume of du Pin's History of Ecclesiastical Writers being the History of the Controversies and other Ecclesiastical Affairs transacted in the Church during the Ninth Century English'd with great care Will be speedily publish'd by A. Swall and T. Child Books lately printed for A. Swall and T. Child at the Unicorn in St. Paul s Church-yard Viz. A New History of the Lives and Writings of the Primitive Fathers and other Ecclesiastical Writers together with an exact Catalogue also an Abridgment of all their Works and an account of their various Editions together with a Judgment upon their Stile and Doctrine and a History of the Councils Written in French by L. E. du Pin and English'd with great Additions In six small Volumes in folio containing the History of the Church and of the Authors that flourish'd from the time of our Saviour to the end of the Eighth Century Theatrum Scotiae containing a short Description and Prospects curiously engraven in Copper as large as the sheet of the Castles Palaces and most considerable Towns and Colleges as also the remains of many ancient Churches and Monasteries of the Kingdom of Scotland Written by John Sleezer Captain of the Artillery Company and Surveyor of His Majesty's Stores in that Kingdom and printed in Folio on Royal Paper T. Lucretii Cari de Rerum Natura Libri sex quibus Interpretationem Notas addidit Thom. Creech Col. Omn. anim Soc. cui etiam accessit Index Vocabulor omnium 8o. BOOKS lately printed for A. and J. Churchil in Pater-noster-Row BUchanan's Chronicle of the Kings of Scotland Folio Mr. Locke of Human Understanding Fol.
pure effects of his ignorance He was now too old and infirm to endure the fatigue of close study and thought he had too little time before him to bestow any of it upon quarreling and controversie But Mr. Vincent a person admirably skill'd in the business of Families then only Poursuivant under the title of Rouge Croix but afterwards made Windsor-Herald and Clerk Wood's Athenae Keeper of the Records in the Tower undertook upon this occasion to convince Mr. Brooke that he had not such a share of infallibility as he had flatter'd himself withal He publish'd this Answer in the year 1622. With what success and applause I appeal to the commendations of Mr. Selden and of other learned men which appear in the beginning of the Book Another branch of Mr. Brooke's accusation against Mr. Camden was Plagiarism He consider'd likely that drawing down of Families was no part of Mr. Camden's Office when he first publish'd his Britannia that it was also an accidental thing to the design of a Survey that therefore the World would make allowance for little mistakes in Genealogies and upon the whole matter was afraid that the objections he had rais'd upon that head would not be much damage either to the reputation of the Book or the credit of the Author To strike home he endeavours to insinuate that how gay soever the composition might look and how uniform soever the work appear'd yet if men would be at the trouble to examine they might find the summe and substance of all that was said in the posthumous papers of Glover and Leland So that if this suggestion did but take Mr. Camden had no farther share in it than ranging a parcel of loose papers into a little method and order Methinks by the way it might have been some excuse that possibly Glover and Leland whom forsooth he follow'd so close had lead him into some of those many Errors he pretends to correct in his Britannia Why should not they share in the mistakes as well as they do in the useful discoveries The former of these Mr. Glover was Somerset-Herald Smith p. 27. and so eminent a master of his Profession that in Sir William Dugdale's opinion Mr. Camden and He were the two greatest men that had ever been of the College Had he liv'd out the common term he would have made a greater figure in the world and we at this day might have enjoy'd the fruit of his Labours Apr. 14. 1588. But he was cut off at 45 years of age and left behind him a confus'd mass of Collections which were purchas'd afterwards by my Lord Burleigh and communicated to Mr. Camden Of what use they were to him any one may be easily convinc'd by comparing his Britannia with those Papers which were reposited in the Archives of the College Miscellanies of that nature are generally no more than short hints to carry us to something further and are heap'd up together without any thing of consideration So that 't is impossible for any but the collector to dive into the true meaning of most things and unbecoming a person of common judgment and curiosity to lay much stress upon any But if they had been as serviceable to him as his Adversary would perswade us I cannot see how he could be fairly charg'd with ingratitude or injustice after he has more than once afforded Mr. Glover such an Defence against Brooke p. 6. Britannia in Barkshire honourable character As the Itinerary of Mr. Leland has gain'd a greater name and esteem so it will be harder to remove the objection rais'd upon that bottom Far be it from me to injure the memory of that great man He was the first that turn'd the eyes of the Kingdom upon that part of Learning and let it be said to his immortal honour What he did was faithful and what he design'd was glorious In the year 1533. 25 Hen. 8. he had a Commission under the Broad Seal whereby he was impower'd to search the Libraries of all Cathedrals Abbies Priories Colleges c. And in the 28. year of the same King he obtain'd a special dispensation to keep a Curate at Poppeling where he was Rector having represented to his Majesty the great advantage might be made by travelling over England When he had got together large Collections he fix'd in London with a design to fall about such Books as he had encourag'd the King to expect when he obtain'd his Dispensation Also in the 37 of Hen. 8. he presented that King with a Scheme of the several projects he had laid under the title of a New-years-gift wherein he promises a description of Britain as under the Romans a survey and history of each County in 60 Books a survey of the British Isles in 6 Books and a work concerning the Nobility of Britain in 3 Books But the very next year out of an apprehension as most think that he should never be able to compleat what he had undertaken he fell distracted continu'd so to his dying day and left his Papers in confusion The greatest part of them are now in the publick Library at Oxford presented to it by Mr. William Burton Author of the Antiquities of Leicestershire into whose possession they had at last come through several other hands The only work I think that he left compleat was his Lives of the British Writers in Latin wherein he has been but coarsly us'd by Bale Pits and some others who 't is said have made up their Volumes upon that subject in a great measure out of Leland's store But now at last he is like to have justice done him by a diligent and judicious Author from whom we may shortly expect an accurate edition of that part with suitable improvements But the main charge against Mr. Camden is grounded upon the Survey of Britain and of the Isles for I think any one will excuse him in what relates to the Romans that does but consider what mad work they made of it who undertook to settle the old Towns in Britain before Mr. Camden Now giving these posthumous Papers the splendid title of an Itinerary flourishing upon the number of Books proportionable to the Counties of England and to back these observing that Mr. Leland roundly affirms that he had ample materials ready by him all this looks very big and is an admirable handle to any one that has a mind to employ his ill nature But men would do well to consider at what a low ebb Learning was then and what a plausible figure several things make in the infancy which after a little growth and improvement appear to be very inconsiderable To describe the course of a River and the distance of one Town from another to tell you whether a bridge was of wood or of stone or how many arches it had was an useful piece of instruction at that time when travelling was not much in fashion And perhaps one may safely affirm That the Counties of England were then more strangers
Sollicitor Mr. Camden then Clarentieux my self and some others Of these the Lord Treasurer Sir Robert Cotton Mr. Camden and my self had been of the original Foundation and to my knowledge were all then living of that sort saving Sir John Doderidge Knight Justice of the King 's Bench. We held it sufficient for that time to revive the Meeting and only conceiv'd some Rules of Government and Limitation to be observ'd amongst us whereof this was one That for avoiding offence we should neither meddle with matters of State nor of Religion And agreeing of two Questions for the next Meeting we chose Mr. Hackwell to be our Register and the Convocator of our Assemblies for the present and supping together so departed One of the Questions was touching the Original of the Terms about which as being obscure and generally mistaken I bestow'd some extraordinary pains that coming short of others in understanding I might equal them if I could in diligence But before our next meeting we had notice that his Majesty took a little mislike of our Society not being enform'd that we had resolv'd to decline all matters of State Yet hereupon we forbare to meet again and so all our labours lost But mine lying by me and having been often desir'd of me by some of my Friends I thought good upon a review and augmentation to let it creep abroad in the form you see it wishing it might be rectified by some better judgment The Manuscript is now in the Bodleian Library and any one who has leisure to compare the printed Copy with it will find the Additions under Sir Henry's own hand to be so considerable that he will have no occasion to repent of his labour Thus much for his Education his Works his Friends Let us now view him in his Retirement He found the noise and hurry of business extremely injurious to a broken Constitution that was every day less able to bear it and thought it was time to contract his thoughts and make himself more Master of his hours when he had so few before him Thus when he was towards sixty years of Age he took a House at Chesilhurst some ten miles from London where he liv'd till his dying day and compil'd the greatest part of the Annals of Queen Elizabeth About two years before his death when the pains and aches of old Age had made him in a great measure uncapable of study he enter'd upon another method of serving the Publick by encouraging others in the same search He was not content to have reviv'd Antiquity to have nurs'd and train'd her up with the utmost care and tenderness unless like an indulgent Father he provided her a Fortune and laid a firm Foundation for her future Happiness It was a design he had many years before resolv'd upon witness the Conclusion of his Britannia Nihil aliud nunc restat c. quà m ut Deo Opt. Max. Venerandae Antiquitati Anathema consecrarem quod libens merito nunc voveo c. This was his pious Vow and he was willing to see it discharg'd e're he dy'd Where to bestow this Charity was a point that did not cost him much thought his own Education and other Circumstances gave the University of Oxford a sort of title So after he had settl'd every thing in due form of Law he sent down his Gift by the hands of his intimate Friend Mr. Heather On the seventeenth day of May in the year 1622. Dr. Piers Dean of Peterburrow and then Vice-Chancellor declar'd in Convocation how Mr. Camden had sounded a History-Lecture and for the Maintenance of a Professor had transferr'd over all his right in the Manour of Bexley in Kent to the Chancellor Masters and Scholars of the said University With this Proviso That the Profits of the said Manour valu'd at about 400 l. per Annum should be enjoy'd by William Heather his Heirs and Executors for the term of 99 years to begin from the death of Mr. Camden and that during this time the said William Heather should pay to the Professor of History in Oxford the sum of 140 l. yearly Hereupon the University sent him a publick Letter of Thanks and because they understood Mr. Heather was a person for whom he had a singular respect they voluntarily conferr'd upon him the Degree of Doctor of Musick along with Mr. Orland Gibbons another of Mr. Camden's intimate Acquaintance This Civility procur'd them a new Benefactor and a new Lecture For afterwards Mr. Heather as an acknowledgment for this favour founded a Musick Lecture and endow'd it with the Annual Revenue of 16 l. 6 s. 8 d. The first History-Professor was Mr. Degory Whear nominated by Mr. Camden upon the recommendation of the Chancellor Vice Chancellor and other Learned men His first Essay was a General Direction for the Reading of Histories which he dedicated to his Patron Mr. Brian Twine a person admirably well verst in the Antiquities of England procur'd a Grant from the Founder to succeed but he dying before him the right of Election devolv'd upon the University for ever Thus by the same act he discharg'd his Vow and eas'd himself of the cares and troubles of the World The little he had left May 2. 1623. he dispos'd of by Will which he drew up with his own hands about six Months before his death in Charities to the Poor Legacies to his Relations and some small Memorials to his particular Acquaintance All his Books of Heraldry he gave to the Office the rest both Printed and Manuscript to the Library of Sir Robert Cotton But the printed part upon the erection of a new Library in the Church of Westminster was remov'd thither by the procurement of Dr. John Williams Lord Keeper of England Bishop of Lincoln and Dean of this Church who laid hold of an expression in the Will that was capable of a double meaning He was never out of England tho' no one could have promis'd himself a more kind reception among Foreigners He chose a single life apprehending that the incumbrances of a married state was like to prove a prejudice to his Studies He liv'd and and dy'd a Member of the Church of England and gave such clear proofs of his entire affections towards it that 't is a wonder how a certain Romish-Author could have the face to insinuate Analect d◠Rebus Catholic in Hibernia That he only dissembled his Religion and was allur'd with the prospect of Honours and Preferments His zeal against Popery See above lost him a Fellowship in Oxford brought most of his Works under the censure of the Church of Rome and Epist 19◠expos'd him to the lash of Parsons Possevinus and others Many of his Scholars became eminent members of our Church and he converted several Irish Gentlemen from Popery as the Walshes Nugents O-Raily Shee s the eldest son of the Archbishop of Cassiles c. Whether these look more like the actions of an Hypocrite in Religion or the effects of a firm
But when William de Briewer the younger dy'd without issue by partition it fell to Margaret his sister by whose daughter which she bore to William 19 De la Fort. de la Fert it came to the family of the Chaworths or de Cadurcis and from them by inheritance to the Dukes of Lancaster 20 As some lands hereabout by another sister came to Brees and so by Cantalupe to Lord Zouch but the greatest honour it ever had was being made a County by King Hen. 8. upon his creating Henry Daubeney Earl of Bridgewater Earl of Bridge-water ee whose sister and coheir Cecil was marry'd to John Bourchier the first Earl of Bath of that family Below this at a few miles distance the Parret throws it self at a wide mouth into the Severn-Sea call'd as we observ'd before the Aestuarie Uzella Uzella by Ptolemy and by some at this day Evelmouth but by the ancient English g Pedridan-muth in the Saxon Annals Pedredan-muð where as Marianus tells us about the year 845. Ealstan Bishop of Shirburn routed the dispers'd army of the Danes At the same Aestuarie 21 Where we saw Honispell an ancient manour of the Cogans men of great fame in the conquest of Ireland we meet with another river which some call Brius rising out of that spatious wood in the east part of this County call'd by the Britains Coitmaur by the Saxons Selwood Selwood i.e. h See Florence of Worcester p. 317. as Asser interprets it a great wood not far from Pen an inconsiderable village where the God of war seems to have conspir'd the extirpation of the British name i The Danes notwithstanding were too hard for Etheired who encounter'd them here An. 1001. In the adjoyning parish of More there are still the remains of these engagements namely four Camps one whereof particularly having a double ditch appears to have been a Danish work and also the utter ruin of the Danes For Keniwalch the West-Saxon gave the Britains such an entire defeat in this place that they were never after able to make head against them and many ages after in the same place Edmund Ironside had a memorable victory over the Danes whilst he pursu'd from place to place Knute the Dane who had possess'd himself of the kingdom This river first visits Bruiton and gives it that name a place famous for the tombs of the Moions who there built a Monastery 22 Of the Fitz-James and running a long way thro' nothing but small villages with the encrease of a few rivulets it waters some fruitful fields till meeting with a softer soil it in a manner stagnates and makes an island call'd formerly Avalon in British from the apples there afterwards Inis-Witrin i.e. a glassy Island and in the same sense Glastn-ey as in Latin Glasconia A Poet of pretty good antiquity has these verses concerning it Insula pomorum quae fortunata vocatur Ex re nomen habet quia per se singula profert Non opus est illi sulcantibus arva colonis Omnis abest cultus nisi quem natura ministrat Ultro foecundas segetes producit herbas Nataque poma suis praetonso germine sylvis The isle of Apples truly fortunate Where unforc'd goods and willing comforts meet Not there the fields require the rustick's hand But nature only cultivates the land The fertile plains with corn and herbs are proud And golden apples smile in ev'ry wood William of Malmesâ—â—ry's Antiquities of Glassenbury In this 23 Under a great hill rising in great height with a tower thereon which they call the Tor. stood k Concerning the Antiquities of the Church of Glassenbury see Usher's Antiquitates p. 53. fol. the monastery of Glastenbury which is very ancient deriving its original from Joseph of Arimathea the same who bury'd Christ's body and whom Philip the Apostle of the Gauls sent into Britain to preach the Gospel For this is attested both by the most ancient Histories of this Monastery and l That the Treatise of the Antiquities of Avalonia is falsly ascrib'd to S. Patrick Dr. Ryves in his discourse relating to that Saint has evidently prov'd and shewn farther that Patrick was not the Apostle of the Irish an Epistle of S. Patrick the Irish Apostle See the title Romans in britaine who led a monastick life here for 30 years together From hence this place was by our Ancestors call'd The first ground of God the first ground of the Saints in England the rise and fountain of all Religion in England the burying-place of the Saints the mother of the Saints and that it was built by the very Disciples of our Lord. Nor is there any reason why we should call this in question since I have before shewn that the Christian Religion in the very infancy of the Church was preach'd in this Island and since Treculphus Lexoviensis has told us that this Philip brought barbarous nations bordering upon darkness and living upon the sea-coasts to the light of knowledge and haven of faith But to return to the Monastery and inform our selves out of Malmesbury's little treatise upon that subject When that small ancient Church founded by Joseph was wasted away with age Devi Bishop of S. David's built a new one in that place And when time had worn that out too twelve men coming from the north of Britain repair'd it but at length King Ina who founded a school at Rome for the education of the English youth and to maintain that as also to distribute alms at Rome tax'd every single house in the kingdom one penny pull'd this down An. 698. and built m It was afterwards the See of Savaricus Bâ—shop of Bâ—the See Hoveden p. 450. that stately Church dedicated to Christ S. Peter and S. Paul Just under the roof whereof round it he order'd these verses to be writ These verses with a very little alteration are in the 4th book of Venantius Fortunatus his Poems partly in praise of the Church at Paris and partly of that of Nantes Syderei montes speciosa cacumina Sion A Libano geminae flore comante cedri Coelorum portae lati duo lumina mundi Ore tonat Paulus fulgurat arce Petrus Inter Apostolicas radianti luce coronas Doctior hic monitis celsior ille gradu Corda per hunc hominum reserantur astra per illum Quos docet iste stylo suscipit ille polo. Pandit iter coeli hic dogmate clavibus alter Est via cui Paulus janua fida Petrus Hic Petra firma manens ille Architectus habetur Surgit in his templum quo placet ara Deo Anglia plaude lubens mittit tibi Roma salutem Fulgor Apostolicus Glasconiam irradiat A facie hostili duo propugnacula surgunt Quod fidei turreis urbs caput orbis habet Haec pius egregio Rex Ina refertus amore Dona suo populo non moritura dedit Totus in