some time in this City we went from hence through Linlithgow Linlithgow a Town beautified with a fair House of the King 's a goodly Church a pleasant Park and a Loch a lake under the Palace Wall full of Fish of which lake it seems to have derived its Name Falkirk Lin in the British Tongue signifying a lake to another Town called Falkirk Famous for the notable Battle which was fought here betwixt King Edward the First and the Scots wherein were Slain no less than two Thousand Men not far from which place likewise upon the River Carron was formerly situate the Famous City of Camelon chief City of the Picts founded by Cruthneus Camelon before the Birth of Christ 330 Year which was destroy by King Kenneth the Great about the Year of Christ 846 and what was left was afterward swallowed up by an Earthquake where the void place is now filled with Water Glasgow At last we came to the renowned City of Glasgow which lying in Liddisdail was indeed the furthest of all our Northern Circuit 't is situated upon the River Glotta or Cluyd over which is placed a very fair Bridge supported with eight Arches and for pleasantness of Sight sweetness of Air and delightfulness of its Gardens and Orchards enriched with most delicious Fruits surpasseth all other places in this Tract the Buildings in this Town are very large and beautiful and the Tolbooth itself so stately a Structure that it appears rather to be a Palace than a Prison This has formerly been the See of an Arch-Bishop The University and in the Year 1554 an University which consists of one College was founded here by Arch Bishop Turnbill for a Rector a Dean of Faculty a Principal or Warden to teach Theology and three Professors to teach Philosophy Afterwards some Clergymen professed the Laws here being invited to that Profession rather by the convenience of a Collegiate Life and the immunities of the University then by any considerable Salary King James the Sixth A. D. 1577. did establish twelve Persons in the College viz. a Principal three Professors of Philosophy called Regents four Scholars called Bursars an Oeconomus or Provisor who furnisheth the Table with Provisions the Principal 's Servant a Janitor and a Cook The Cathedral is a very fair ancient Fabrick The Cathedrel built by Bishop John Achaian A. D. 1135. it oweth Thanks to the Memory of King James the Sixth and which is most remarkable to the Mob it self at that time for its preservation from Ruine for the Ministers here having perswaded the Magistrates to pull it down and to build two or three other Churches with the materials thereof and the Magistrates condescending a Day was appointed and Workmen ready to demolish it but the common Tradesmen having notice given them of this design convene in Arms and oppose the Magistrates threatning to bury the Demolishers of it under the Ruines of that ancient Building whereupon the matter was referred to the King and Council who decided the controversy in the Tradesmens Favour and reproving very sharply the Magistrates for their Order so that it still continues with four other Churches here beside for the exercise of their Religion The City is governed by a Mayor and is very eminent for its Trade and Merchandize and is noted upon Record for being the place where William Wallace the Renowned Champion of Scotland was traitourously Betrayed by Sir John Menteith and delivered up to our King Edward the First by whose Order he was afterward publickly executed in Smithfield Hamilton Passing away hence by Hamilton a famous Palace then belonging to Duke Hamilton which hath a fair and spatious Park adjoyning to it we had two Days journy very doleful and troublesome for we travelled over wide Meers and dangerous Mountains in the Company of some Scotch Gentlemen who were going that way for England where the Weather was ill the ways worse and the long Miles with their Way-bitts at the end of them worst of all where our Lodging was hard our Diet course and our Bodies thin that it might easily be discerned how we had lately pass'd through the Territorys of Famine who Reigns very potently over that cold and pinching Region Dunfries But coming at length to Dunfries in the County of Nidisdail it made us some amends for being situate between two Hills upon the Mouth of the River Nid over which is laid a Bridge of large fine Stones it appears to be one of the most flourishing Towns in this Tract notable no less for its ancient Castle and Manufacture of Cloath then for the Murther of John Cummins one of the most Renowned Personages for his Retinue and Equipage in all this Kingdom whom Robert Bruce for fear he should fore-stal his way to the Crown run quite through with his Sword in the Fryars Church and soon obtain'd his pardon from the Pope though he had committed so great a Murder in so sacred a place Anandale After this we came to Anandale at the Mouth of the River Anan in the County of Anandale bordering upon our own Nation which lost all its Glory and Beauty upon the War which was raised in Edward the Sixth's Days in these two last named Counties have been bred a sort of warlike Men who hath been infamous for Robberys and depredations for they dwell upon Solway-Frith a fordable Arm of the Sea at low Water through which frequently they have made many inroads into England to fetch home great Booty's and in which they were wont after a delightful manner on Horse-back with Spears to hunt Salmons of which there are in these parts a very great abundance After we had passed these borders we arrived again safe in our own native Soil within the precincts of Cumberland Cumberland which like the rest of the Northern Counties hath a sharp piercing Air the Soil is fertile for the most part both with Corn and Cattel and in some parts hereof with Fish and Fowl here are likewise several Minerals which of late have been discovered not only Mines of Copper but some veins of Gold and Silver as we were informed have been found and of all the Shires we have it is accounted the best furnished with the Roman Antiquities Nor is it less renowned for its exceeding high Mountains for beside the Mountain called Wrye-Nose The Hill called Wrie-Nose on the top of which near the high way side are to be seen Three Shire-Stones within a foot of each other one in this County another in Westmorland and a third in Lancashire there are three other Hills Skiddaw Lanvalin and Casticand very remarkable Skiddaw riseth up with two mighty high Heads like Parnassus and beholds Scruffel Hill The Hill of Skiddaw Lanvellin and Casticand which is in Anandale in Scotland and accordingly as mists rise or fall upon these heads the People thereby prognosticate of the change of Weather Singing this Rhime If Skiddaw have a Cap
the West Saxons for a Boundary to their Kingdom against the Mercians We travelled over some of these wide and large Plains for near twenty Miles untill we arrived at a place call'd Stonehenge some four or five Miles distant from Salisbury Stonehenge It is call'd by ancient Historiographers Chorea Gigantum from its Magnitude and contains within the Circumference of three hundred Foot a rude and indigested Mass of vast large Stones rough and of a grey Colour 25 Foot in length 10 in breadth and 8 in thickness they look as if they were hewn square and are joyn'd two and two together and every couple hath a third Stone lying across which is fasten'd by Tenons that enter into Morraises not closed with any Mortar it appears as if they had been set in three Ranks going round as Circles one within another whereof the uttermost and largest contain in compass about three hundred Foot but the other Ranks are decay'd and some of them being fall'n down to the Ground as it is something difficult to compute their Number so if they be rubbed or scraped and Water thrown upon the Scrapings they will say some heal any green Wound or old Sore It is very strange to think how such vast Bulks should happen in this place whenas there are no other kind of Stones even of smaller Dimensions near or about it therefore some not irrationally conjecture that they are not Natural or had their first growth here but were Artificially cemented into that hard and durable Substance from some large Congeries of Sand and other unctuous Matter mixt together Just as there hath been visible at Rome Cisterns made of Sand and Chalk so artificially and closely conjoyn'd that they have pass'd for the Product of Nature and not of Art and therefore it is not an improbable Conjecture which is made by the Author of the History of Alchester Publish'd amongst other Parochial Antiquities of Oxfordshire by the Industrious Mr. Kennet that they are not as some Fable Giants Stones fetch'd from Mount-Karel in Ireland by Merlyn's Art that Renowned Magician but might be made out of that Cliff over-against old Sarum the colour of which Clay they still represent and being scraped with a Knife a Man may discern this Clay cemented with some other glewy Substance as Plaister of Paris and such like Erected not in Memory of those Nobles whose Tombs in heaps of Earth appear still thereabouts slain treacherously by Hengist when he call'd his Son-in-law Gourtigern and the Britains to feast there but for a Trophy of some Memorable Victory thereabouts obtain'd as Necham the Poet saith by Vter Pendragon or as others by Arthur the Valiant and to that seems the ancient Bard Theliesinus to allude But Necham's Verse is this Uter Pendragon molem transvexit ad Ambri Fines de victo Victor ad hoste means Uter Pendragon brought these Stones to Ambrosbury Coast For Trophies of his Victory had on the Pagan Host Salisbury From hence we rode to Salisbury or Sarisbury which some derive from Caesar's Burg and in our way beheld the place where formerly old Wilton the Metropolis of this County stood which had then upon its Gates in honour to the Romans a black Spread-Eagle It was also call'd Willey or Ellandun that is Elen's Town for here or at Chloren or at old Sarum saith the Alchester Historian being before Guns were invented an invincible hold St. Helen at her return out of Wales did remain as well for her better Safety as also to be near the South-Seas to expect daily News and Tydings from Constantine the Emperour in the East Parts as also from his Sons her Nephews who were in the Western 'T is situated saith Cambden where the two Rivers Willeybrook and Adderbourn meet and here it was that Egbert King of the West Saxons in the year 823 fought the second Battle against Beorwulphus the Mercian so bloody on both sides that the River Avon was dyed red with the Blood of the Slain And in the year 871 Alfred having maintain'd a long Fight against the Danes upon the first onset had Success but was at last quite Routed his Forces defeated and himself forced to fly to save his own Life In the Saxon Reign it mightily flourish'd and Edgar building there a Nunnery made his Daughter Editha Lady Governess thereof afterwards being long exposed to the Fury of Suenus the Dane who was its mortal Enemy and deserted by the Bishops who were its main support it went to decay and almost return'd again into its first Principles of Nothing and so Sorbiodunum or old Salisbury then and since new Salisbury which hath sprang from that have quite extinguish'd its Primitive Lustre and Glory Old Salisbury was seated upon a Hill expos'd much to Winds and Storms very dry barren and uncomfortable by reason of the great defect of Water throughout the whole City tho' it was well fortify'd as appears still by some remaining pieces of old Walls Kinricus the Saxon in the year 553 first sack'd and took it being very fortunate in all his Enterprises he undertook against the Britains and in the Reign of Edward the Senior Osmund Bishop of Sherborne Translated the See hither and built a Cathedral Church though Suenus the Dane not long after having taken and burnt the City that likewise underwent the same fatal Calamity and were both levell'd with the Ground till both of them were raised again in William the Conquerour's time for after that he had made his Progress throughout England he at last summoned all the three Orders of the Nation to meet here and take the Oaths of Allegiance to him But after this in the Reign of King Richard I. the Citizens being oppress'd by the insolency of the Soldiers and very much incommoded by a continual want of Water resolv'd to free themselves from these Inconveniencies by transplanting themselves into another Soil which they unanimously agreed upon and seated themselves about a Mile from this place in a more pleasant Valley where the Flowry Meads and Chrystal streamed Rivers gave them a more chearful Welcome and endearing Entertainment After the Plantation of this new Colony Richard Pore first Bishop of Chichester and then of this place did likewise transplant the Cathedral from that barren dry place in which it was first Erected near to the old Castle of the Earls of Salisbury and built it at last in a more pleasant Soil and by the Advice and Contrivance of the most excellent and ingenious Artificers not only Natives but Foreigners whom he drew hither by his large Rewards he raised it to that Splendour and Magnificence that it now vies both for Stateliness and Workmanship with the most noted Cathedrals throughout the whole Kingdom The Steeple is built in form of a Pyramid very high and as the Pole-Star directs the Pilot at Sea so doth this Spire direct the wandring Traveller over the Plain discovering its lofty Head near the distance of twenty Miles but the Admirableness of
in a Book Printed for that purpose A. D. 1640. I shall not undertake to pourtray that in a contracted Landskip which hath been before represented to the Publick with so great applause but refer those who are so curious as to desire a more particular Account of this City to that most ingenious Person who hath pencilled out every part and Limb thereof with great exactness and accuracy only one thing I must not omit that of late a Marble Monument hath been erected in St. Margaret's Church Canterbury in Honour of Mr. Somner who lies there interred by his own Widow who afterward Married to Mr. Hannington Vicar of Elam in Kent upon which is engraven this ingenious Epitaph H. S. E. Gulielmus Somnerus Cantuariensis Saxonicam Literaturam Civitatis Cantuariae Historiam Tenebris utramque involutam Illustravit Cantii Antiquitates meditantem Fatum intercepit Officium Erga Deum pietate severa Erga Homines probitate simplici Erga Principem fide periculosa Erga Patriam scriptis immortalibus Indicavit Ita Mores Antiquos Studium Antiquitatis efformat Cantuariae Natus est Martii 30. 1606. Cantuariae Omnem aetatem egit Cantuariae Obiit Martii 30. 1669. Feversham Passing from hence through Feversham a Town pretty large and well inhabited famous formerly for its Abby erected here by King Stephen wherein himself his Queen and Eustace his Son were buried the next place of consequence that was obvious in the Road was Sedingbourn Sedingbourn which being a great thorough-fare is well furnished with Inns a Town of which there are two things more principally Recorded the one is that in the Year 1232 Henry Bishop of Rochester as Mr. Philpott hath collected it out of some old Monkish Writers came with much exultation out of Sedingbourn Church and desired the People to express their joy because on that day by the efficacious Prayers of the Church Richard the First formerly King of England and many others were most certainly ransomed from the Flames of Purgatory The other that in the same Church was a Monument of Sir Richard Lovelace inlayed richly with Brass who was an eminent Soldier in his time and Marshal of Calice under Henry the Eighth with his Portraiture affixed in Brass which the Injuries of Time and the Impiety of Sacrilegious Mechanicks have utterly defaced In the Neighbourhood of Sedingbourn is Newington Newington which though but a small Village hath afforded some worthy Remarks of Antiquity for not many Years ago there were digged up Roman Urns not far distant from the High-way or Common Road it being agreeable to Roman Practice to inter in those Places where their Monuments might be obvious almost to every Eye Memorials of themselves and Memento's of Mortality to living Passengers whom the Epitaphs of great Ones did beg to stay and look upon them From hence the Road brought us directly to Chatham Chatham where the repair of the Parish Church and new Buildings of the Steeple commend the Religious Care and Cost of King Charles the First 's Commissioners and Officers of the Royal Navy in the Year 1635 but the Arsenals Store-Houses and Ship-Docks erected by the same most incomparable Prince are so magnificent and universally useful that they are become a principal Pillar of the Nations support and afford variety of Employment by the Manufacture of Cordage as also the Careening and Building of Ships Contiguous to Capham is Rochester Rochester a City which in Elder times was as eminent for its Antiquity as it was for its Strength and Grandeur and had not those violent impressions which the rough Hand of War made upon it Demolished its bulk and bereaved it of its Beauty it peradventure might have been registred at this Day in the Inventory of the principal Cities of this Nation but so great and dismal Calamities did frequently attend it that the Fury of the Elements seemed to enter into a Corrivalship or Competition with the Fury of Enemies for its Ruine and the Fire and Sword were joint Confederates to destroy it nevertheless maugre all these Casualties by the Favour of Princes and their Royal Munificence it recovered all its Losses and survives in Splendor In the Year 1225 by the indulgent Bounty of King Henry the Third it was invested with a Wall and that this Fortification might be of the greater importance it was secured or fenced with a Ditch it was governed by a Port-Reeve until King Edward the Fourth in the second Year of his Reign raised it to a higher Dignity and decreed by his Royal Grant that it should henceforth be under the Jurisdiction of a Mayor and Twelve Aldermen and to this Monarch doth the City owe much of its present Felicity The goodly Skeleton of the Castle which yet courts the Eye of the Beholder to the admiration of its former strength acknowledgeth for its most eminent Benefactor if not Founder Odo Bishop of Baicux and Earl of Kent half Brother to William the Conqueror which Fortress he afterward breaking forth into open Rebellion against his Nephew Rufus did seize but was quickly dispossessed by the vigorous Expedition of his Prince and enforced immediately to depart the Kingdom After this when the Dauphin was invited into England by the Seditious Barons to wrest the Kingdom from K. John their native Sovereign the Dauphin uniting their strength with his made such a furious Onset on the Castle that like a Tempest which beats down all before it he carried it by Assault the like had been atchieved by Simon Montford Earl of Leicester when he raised an Insurrection against King Henry the Third had not that Prince arrived most opportunely and by a successful Encounter wrested both Earl Warren who had so resolutely maintained it and that likewise from the Impressions of his Fury since which time there hath been little of moment acted in this Place tho it is worth taking notice of what Mr. Philpott hath observed farther concerning it that there being much Land in this County held thereof whose Tenure is perfectly Castle-guard upon the day prefixed for the discharging the quit Rents relating to it there is a Banner displayed and hung out antiently it was on the Castle Wall and all those who are Tenants to this Mannor and are in default by their Non-appearance and do not discharge their accustomary Duties and Services the penalty imposed upon their neglect is that the return of every Tide of the adjacent River Medway which finds them absent doubles their Service or Quit-Rents The Cathedral which the Bishoprick of Rochester united to it was founded and established by that pious Monarch Ethelbert King of Kent and the first Bishop to whom was entrusted the Pastoral Staff or Crosier by Austen the Apostle of the Saxons was Justus who being sent over hither as an Adjutant to Austen in the Propagation of Christianity about the Year 601 Angl. Sacr. Tom. 1. p. 329. was afterward ordained Bishop of this See A. D. 604. much about that time
was the first Bishop here say the Annals of Worcecester Angl. Sacr. pars prima about the year 680 under the high Altar whereof lies the Body of King John wrapped in a Monk's Cowl which the Superstition of that time accounted Sacred and a very necessary Defensative against all evil Spirits Here is likewise to be seen the Tomb of Arthur Prince of Wales the eldest Son of Henry VII with divers Monuments belonging to the ancient Family of the Beauchamps It was formerly a Cloyster for Monks but King Henry VIII did substitute in their Room a Dean and Prebendaries and erected a free School for the Education of the Citizen's Children It hath suffered great Calamities by Fire being burnt down by the Danes about the year 104.1 after this by an unknown Casualty under the Reign of Henry I. and once again in King Stephen's days and sure I am it hath of later years fall'n into the Hands of some merciless Men who were as raging as the Flames and whose Fury was as unquenchable as the Fire it self Witness the grievous Pressures it groaned under for its Loyalty to the King in the year 1651 For here it was that after his long Exile King Charles the Second arrived with an Army of Scots and some English the 22. of August and by the Assistance of the Citizens beat but the Soldiers who kept it for the Common-wealth and being proclaimed by the Mayor that then was and Sheriffs King of England c. Nevertheless was attended with the same ill Fortune and Success which was at that time his chief Attendants and having but a small Army in comparison of the numberless number of Rebels that were poured in upon him was totally defeated at this City several of his Nobles Slain and took Prisoners the rest forced to fly for their Lives and himself constrain'd to make his Escape as privately as he could and to betake himself into a Wood in Staffordshire where hiding himself in the shady Boughs of a well-spread Oak he found more Pity and Security from Trees and Woods than from some of his own unnatural and bloody Subjects However this City is now again restored to its Lustre and like the Phoenix being revived out of its own Ashes is raised up to its Prestine Splendour and Magnificence Having sufficiently satisfied our selves with the Varieties of that City we came into the Confines of the Eastern part of Herefordshire Herefordshire which appeared very Rocky and Mountainous at the first but having passed those Rocky parts we began to find the Country more pleasant to the Eye for we discovered it to be a Fertile Soil the Valleys thick with Corn and the Meadows abounding with Grass and well watered with Rivers the Hills covered with Sheep and the Hedges full of Apple-Trees which bear a sort of Fruit called Redstreaks of which they make the best Syder in England In a word we found it according to the usual Report which is made of it to yield to no Country in this Nation for three W. W. W Wheat Wool and Water to which formerly might have been added Wood but that the Iron Works have since destroyed it very much and made it become less plentiful Passing through Bramyard a small Market-Town of no great Consequence Mereford we came to Hereford the chief City of this County which is situated almost in the middle of it and watered by two pleasant Rivers Wye and Lugg which by their happy Union not far from this place advance her Felicity and enrich her Soil Antiquaries are of Opinion That this City had its Rise from Ariconium which hath at this day no manner of Form of a Town as having been thrown down by an Earthquake only some do imagine it to have stood in a place which they now call Kenchester three Miles distant from this City Kenchester and they do build their Conjectures from the Ruines of old Walls which are there Conspicuous as likewise from some four-square paving Tiles and thick Bricks as well as several Roman Coins digged up thereabouts though now the place which they mention is all over-grown with Shrubs Bushes and Brambles We observed when we went to visit this place three or four Receptacles in an old piece of Ruin'd Wall in which the Owners had found some Urns which argues the place to have been of great Antiquity however her Sister Hereford which is now become Beautiful by the others Decay justly claims the Pre-eminence above all other Places within this County She is thought first to have shown her Head under the Saxon Heptarchy and is supposed to have received great Helps and Increase by Religion and the Martyrdom of Ethelbert King of the East Angles who when he Courted the Daughter of Offa King of the Mercians was treacherously put to Death by Quendred Offa's Wife Hereupon being Registred as a Martyr he had a Church built and Dedicated to him by Milfrid King of the Mercians A. D. 825. which after the Establishment of a Bishop's See in it grew to great Wealth and Honour through the Devout and Pious Liberality of the Mercians and then of the West Saxons and is thought never to have suffered any Misfortune untill Edward the Confessor's time when Griffith Prince of South Wales and Algarus having raised a Rebellion against King Edward and led away Captive Leofgarus the Bishop sacked the City and burnt the Cathedral Afterward the Normans at the East End of the Church by the River Wye built a strong Castle Fortified the City with a Wall and by the Trench near the Castle is a very fine Spring call'd St. Ethelbert's Well St. Ethelbert's Well famous formerly for Miracles to which no question but in that Superstitious Age there was a great Resort of the Lame and the Blind with their Vows and their Offerings the Sanctity of Waters being such a Devout Fancy among our Ancestors as has been truly observed by that Indefatigable Searcher into Antiquity the Ingenious Mr. White Kennet that after Ages were forced to restrain the horrid Superstition of Well-Worship by a Canon in a Council under Edgar and after this too by some other Episcopal Injunctions Within this City are four Parish Churches and Bishop Reinelme in the Reign of King Henry I. founded the Cathedral that now is being a beautiful and magnificent Structure adorned with divers Monuments of ancient Prelates and Abbots To this adjoyns divers Houses for the Dignitaries of the Church and a College for 12 Vicars who live after an Academical way under a Praefectus who presides over them and supplies them with all Necessaries to encourage their Attendance upon all Divine Offices So ready were our Ancestors to promote Learning and advance such Persons whose quick and acute Parts were eclipsed under mean and slender Fortunes The City is govern'd by a Mayor who is Annually sworn upon Michaelmas-Day 12 Aldermen a Recorder and divers Common-Council Men and by their Charter have Privileges for particular Companies and Societies
Prince unawares in the Breast of which he died immediately and was brought hither and buried in this place though afterwards they say his Bones were translated and put into the same Coffin with those of King Canutus At the West End of the Quire stand two Statues in Brass very curiously wrought the one of King James I. and the other of his Son King Charles I. of Blessed Memory but that which is most remarkable in this Cathedral is the rich and famous Monument of William of Wickham who from a mean Beginning by the Favour of Edward III. was created Bishop of Winchester and having after this run likewise through all the Grand Stages of Temporal Honour in this Kingdom though now and then the Wheel of Fortune turn'd very cross against him he by that means became no less a Benefactour to the Church than he still approved himself an Ornament to the State and to perpetuate his Name with the greater Glory to succeeding Generations he built in this City a College and liberally endow'd it for the Education of Youth and for a Seminary to New College in Oxford also founded by him and notwithstanding the great Expences he must needs have been at in Erecting two such large and noble Structures as these were he Re-built likewise the present Body of the Cathedral where his own Body lies Interr'd Nor did all this lessen his Charity or diminish his Hospitality for he fed both Rich and Poor as his Tomb Stone informs us and for all this died exceeding Rich and deceasing in the Reign of King Henry IV. when he was Fourscore years old he bequeathed great Legacies to Persons of all Degrees and gave something at his Death to every Church throughout his Diocess * See the Life of this Great and Worthy Prelate VVrote by Tho. Chandler Chancellour of Oxford Angl. Sacr. Pars a. p. 355. Here is one thing yet further not to be pass'd by in Silence That when King Alfred divided his Kingdom into Counties Hundreds and Tythings he had an Inquisition taken and digested into a Register call'd Dome-boc which was reposited in the Church of Winchester thence call'd Codex Wintoniensis a Model afterward followed by William the Conquerour in his Domes-Day Book which Mr. Kennet observes was for some time kept in the same Church But to return again into our Discourse relating to the City we find it not only to have attain'd a great Eminency for its Religious Houses for its pleasant Gardens for its Brooks and Meadows for its publick and private Edifices for its great Hall wherein the Assizes are usually held for the County of Southampton not to be parallell'd for length and breadth by any throughout this Nation except Westminster but likewise for the true and exact Rules of Equity and Justice which are follow'd and prescrib'd by its chief Magistrates and Governours and before we take our leaves of it we shall add for a Conclusion that as in the time of Athelstane King of the West Saxons that Invincible Hero Guy Earl of Warwick is reported in a single Combat to have slain Colobraild the Danish Giant in Hide-Mead near this City so Waltheof Earl of Northumberland being beheaded here without the Walls in the Reign of William the Conquerour is observ'd as the very first Example of Beheading in this Island Having took a sufficient Prospect of the great Curiosities of this place Surrey we advanc'd forward into Surrey q. d. South Rey from its Situation on the Southside of the Thames the Saxons calling that Rey which we term a River The Skirts of this County are noted for their Fruitfulness and the middle parts for their Barrenness which has occasion'd the saying That Surrey is like a course piece of Cloth with a fine List However in point of Health the middle parts have the advantage besides the Pleasure they yield by their Downs in Hunting and Horse-Races 'T is adorn'd is most places with very stately Palaces of Gentlemen and Merchants who by reason of the Parks well stor'd with Deer and the Rivers replenished with Fish have no Divertisement wanting to recreate their Bodies and gratifie their Senses The first Town of Note we ariv'd at here was Farnham Farnham receiving its Denomination very probably from the great quantity of Fern which grows thereabouts 'T is a Town of no very large Extent but situated in a wholsom Soil and a pleasant Air and for its further Accommodation hath the conveniencies of a Market for those Commodities which the Inhabitants mostly want Here it was that in the year 894 saith the Saxon Chronicle King Alfred routed a great Army of the Danes with a small Party taking from them a considerable Booty and putting them to flight to the River Colne in Essex After this when King Stephen gave a general Toleration for building Castles and Fortresses Henry his Brother then Bishop of Winchester built for himself in this place a magnificent Castle but proving in length a Nursery and Receptacle for Sedition and Rebellion King Henry III. quite demolish'd and pull'd it down though afterwards it was again Re-edified by the Bishops of Winchester to whom it peculiarly belongs and is at present a glorious Seat for the Prelates of that See Guilford Passing from hence through Guilford a Town of good Note seated on the River Wey consisting of three Parishes well frequented and full of fair Inns we observ'd here still the Ruines of a large old Castle near the River and have since learnt That the Saxon Kings had formerly a Royal Mansion here in whose times it was a place of a greater Extent Kingston Coming after this to Kingston a Market-Town of good Resort we were inform'd that it went anciently by the Name of Moreford but after that chang'd its Name to Kingston when it had the Honour to become a place for the Coronation of the Saxon Monarchs Athelstan Edwin and Ethelred being here Crown'd Kings upon an open Stage in the Market-place Richmond And now we began to draw near to our Journies end but calling in at Richmond heretofore call'd Sheen we found it still a Town of a considerable Account though perhaps no less in the Reign of King Edward III. who when he had lived sufficiently both to Glory and Nature died at this very place King Henry VII gave it the Name of Richmond from the Title he bore before he obtain'd the Crown of England and ended his Life here as did after him here likewise the most Glorious and Puissant Queen Elizabeth From hence pacing along by the Noble River Thames which is on both sides of it wonderfully graced with many pleasant Towns and Villages we arriv'd again in safety at the Renown'd Metropolis of England The End of the First Journey To the Right Worshipful George Elcock of Barham Esq One of His Majesty's Justices of the Peace for the County of Kent SIR THE great Civilities you are naturally inclined to shew all Travellers who have seen and
the Air clear and serene and so 't is salubrious And to begin with that Town which being the principal of all gives a Denomination to the whole County even that alone will be sufficient to set forth and demonstrate the great Lustre and Symmetry of all the other Parts Nottingham by the Britains called Caer-Snotynham Nottingham is built upon a Rock and is environ'd with Rocks on one side which are washed by the crooked Windings of a commodious River hath a fair Park of the Duke of Newcastle's adjoining to it with Sherwood Forest bordering upon it The Streets are large and well paved the Market-place handsom and convenient the Churches spacious and usefully contrived and the Houses high and stately they are for the most part built with Brick but some of them are rare pieces as well for Structure as Design and in short the whole front of their Fabrick is beautified with Sculptures and glistering Balconies the Inhabitants being very curious in the new Modes and Draughts of Architecture The Castle which is on the West-side of the Town being situated upon an exceeding high Rock did formerly for strength prospect and stateliness challenge the precedency of most Castles in the Kingdom And here the Danes held out a very long Siege against three Kings united against them For in the Year 868 Buthred King of the Mercians sent Ambassadors to Aethelred King of the West-Saxons and Alfred his Brother to crave their Aid and Assistance against the Danish Army which they accordingly obtained for the two Brothers mustering up a considerable Army arrived in the Kingdom of Mercia and made no stop till they came to Snotenghaham now Nottingham and when the Pagans confiding in their Fortress refused to give Battel and the Christians had then no Engines to batter or rase the Walls the Mercians were enforced to conclude a Peace with the Pagans and the two Brothers to return home ingloriously without doing any feats After this saith the Saxon Chronicle in the Year 942 the most Valiant and Puissant King Edmund not only rescued this place out of its Danish Bondage but four other Cities Lincoln and Leicester Stamford and Darby were by the same victorious Hand delivered from the Shackles and Oppressions of those most bloody Infidels In process of time King Edward the Senior strengthened it with Walls and a new Castle was built by William the Conqueror Edward the Fourth enlarged it with various dwelling Houses for Commanders and Soldiers and in the Rock upon which the Castle stands are several small Cottages hewn out of it in which at present dwell divers poor People And it is reported that it was never taken until by a subtil Stratagem it was surprized by Robert Earl of Darby in the Barons Wars who having once got this soon entred the Town and then used the Townsmen according to his pleasure Though I find too in the Life of King Stephen that Robert Earl of Gloucester invaded this Town with a great Power and when most of the Townsmen were slain or burnt in the Churches whither they fled for Refuge There is a Story of one of them which was richer than the rest that being forced to return to his own House by the Soldiers that had taken him to shew them where his Treasure lay he bringing them into a Cellar whilst they were busie in breaking open Locks and Coffers convey'd himself away and shutting the Doors after him set fire on the House and so the Soldiers being 30 in number perished in the Flames which catching hold of other Buildings joining to it almost burnt up the whole Town But that which makes this Castle most signally remarkable was the discovery of the secret Amours of Roger Mortimer Earl of March and the Imprisonment of David Bruce King of Scots the Relation of which I shall set down as briefly as I can After King Edward the Second had been Deposed and Murthered by the Contrivances and Plots of his own Wife Queen Isabella and King Edward her Son had Reigned about Four Years a Parliament was called at Nottingham where this Roger Mortimer who was the Queen's most especial Favourite was in such Glory and Renown that it was beyond all Comparison none so much Lord Paramount as the Earl of March none appears in so great an Equipage and attended with so honourable a Retinue as the Earl of March so that the King's Train was inferiour to his and his Majesty's Glory eclipsed by the Pomp and Grandeur of one of his Nobles for he very often would presume to go foremost with his own Officers and was so exceeding proud and haughty as to make all Persons cringe and do as great Homage to him as to Majesty it self Nay he undertook to order and dispose of all Persons and Affairs according to his own Will and Pleasure and hereupon he one day rebuked the Earl of Lancaster the King's Cousin for presuming to appoint Lodgings for certain Noblemen near the Court without his particular License and Assignation and having dislodged the Earl with some other Persons of very great Quality and removed them a Mile out of Town He did by this means so incense the Nobility against him that they began to pry more narrowly into his Actions and being enraged to see his Pride and his Usurpation of such great Prerogatives they unanimously Libelled against him and gave it out amongst the People that this Mortimer was the Queen's Gallant and the King's Master and sought by all means he possibly could to destroy the Royal Blood and Usurp the Crown which report did so work upon some of the King 's most trusty Friends that they got Robert Holland who had a long time been Governour of the Castle and knew well all the secret Corners therein to swear Secrecy to them and Fidelity to the King and accordingly to assist them in those Designs they had in hand Whereupon one Night King Edward lying without the Castle both he and his Friends were brought by Torch-light through a secret Place under the ground beginning afar off from the said Castle 't is the Vault which is still call'd Mortimer's Hole till they came even to the Queen's Chamber which by chance they found open being Arm'd with naked Swords in they rush'd leaving the King in the same posture at the Door when they had entred into the Privy-Chamber they found the Earl of March undressed ready to go to Bed to the Queen but they crossed his Design and cooled his Courage halling him away immediately by force upon which the Queen cried out in French Good Son take Pity of Gentle Mortimer suspecting her Son to have been in the Company The Keys of the Castle were presently called for and every Place with all the Furniture committed into the King's Hands and Mortimer was forthwith sent to the Tower who being Tryed by his Peers Arraign'd and found Guilty was hang'd upon the common Gallows two Days and two Nights The Articles that were brought against him were
running along they say to the very Borders of Scotland and having divers Names answerable to the places through which they are extended out of which divers Rivolets have likewise their Source and Original who pay all their little Tributes to the more noble River of Trent which receiving all their petty Homages makes at last an acknowledgment of its Royalty to the Ocean The River Derwent divides the County into two Portions and in that part which you are now going to view you will meet with very strange and wonderful Curiosities As for we poor Folk that live here about these Moors and in these parts we make a shift to live but it is hardly and if any eat their Bread in the sweat of their Brows it is we and we seem to be in a continual quarrel with the Earth that first gave us a Being for we are continually opening her Veins and for Anger eating even into her very Bowels some of us are employed in the Quarrys for Mill and Whet-stones and in some places to dig Marble and Alabaster out of the Earth Others are set to look for Antimony or to dig for Leaden Oar and after with great difficulty sometimes with the loss of their Limbs they have got it up from the Mines they are forced to hazard the rest by their indefatigable Labour before they can melt and shape it into Pigs and Sows Others you will meet with who by the blackness and grimness of their Visage you would imagine to have come out lately from some of the Infernal Regions these are they who work in the Coal-Mines who indeed one would think by reason of the darkness and dismalness of the Abyss in which they work should thereby be frequently put in mind of the more dreadful Abyss even of Hell it self but they as well as most other Miners as they are excluded often from the least Glimmerings of Lights so they are not terrified with any approaching Shades of Darkness which makes them generally such insensate Wretches as they are The Character this Man gave us of these Inhabitants was as strange and uncommon and he had just ended his Discourse when we Rode by a piece of Ground which was all inclosed with Stone We asked him the meaning of it standing so alone without any other Inclosures near it who replied that it was customary to inclose some of their Grounds after this manner Wood and Bushes here to make Hedges with being a very scarce Commodity and yet that all Hunters who there pursued their Game never baulked them in the least but made their way over them with great facility which the next day we found true for meeting some Gentlemen in a warm Chase after a Hare we observ'd them to Course nimbly with their light Gennets in those places where we durst scarce Trot and at last poor Puss to become the Prey of the unwearied Pursuers Having pass'd this Inclosure we came to the top of a high Hill where lighting and walking down by reason of the steepness of the Descent at the bottom we found a little Village and being thus safely got off from the Moors we took leave of our Guide and riding two Miles further we arriv'd at last at our designed Stage And took up our Inn at Bakewell Bakewell which was made a Borough by Edward the Senior it was called by the Saxons Badecanwylla in whose Neighbourhood saith the Saxon Chronicle in the year 924 King Edward Commanded a City to be built and a Cittadel for the Defence of it 'T is a Market-Town much resorted to by the Inhabitants of the Peak which by the Saxons was formerly called Peaclond and found it a place Seven Wonders of the Peak from whence we might very appositely accomplish those designs we had proposed to our selves of viewing the seven Wonders which are here so famous whereupon fitting our selves again with a Guide we set out for the prospect of such celebrated Varieties When we were got about two Miles from that Town we observed upon the top of a Hill a particular piece of Ground which was of a strange Nature as our Guide inform'd us It was a Field on which for the most part there was very good Grass which within the space of a Month would either Fat or kill any Horse that was put into it As we Rode on we found our first Pilot's Description in most points truly verified for we met divers Horses loaden with Lead and Coals and were frequently surrounded as well with plenty of Leaden Mines as Quarrys of Stone and Coals till at last we arrived at the Castle in the Peak Castle in the Peak which is eight or nine Miles from Bakewell 't is of great Antiquity by its Ruines and seems to have been impregnable by its Situation upon a high and dangerous Rock which is so steep and craggy that there appears but one way by which there is any access to it At the bottom of the Hill which is near two Miles in the Descent by reason of its steepness and frequent windings stands a Village call'd Castleton Castleton sufficiently noted for that wide subterraneous Cavern known commonly by the Name of the Devil's Arse The Devils Arse it runs under this Hill upon which the Castle stands and at its Entrance is large and capacious though the further you go in the more narrow it is and contracted Within the Mouth of it are several small Cottagers who dwell in little clay Tenements erected therein the top whereof is of a very great height and appears to the Eye as if it was Arched above and Chequer'd with diversity of coloured Stones At our Entrance the poor People were ready to attend us with Candles and Lanthorns and by their Conduct we ventured in though it belonged to Satan's Territories After we were got a little way within it we found it very dark and slippery by reason of a great Current of Water which runs along the Cave and were often forced to stoop because the further we proceeded the Rock hung down more low and sloping We passed still on till at length we were stop'd by the Water which at that time being deeper than ordinary and bubling up apace in the Cave cry'd a Ne Vltra to us though as they say 't is usual not only to wade over this with great facility but another Current likewise which runs along the Cave some ten or twelve yards distant from this to a third which is impassible The Story of the Shepherd which pass'd over all and at last came out into a fair delightful Field savours too much of a Romance to be credited however 't is supposed could all these Waters be once pass'd over there might be made some new Discoveries though I confess I should be extream loath were it to purchase the Fame of a Drake or a Frobisher to seek out a New found Land in so dismal a place which both by its Name and Nature hath so near a Relation
akin to the famous Bell called Great Tom of Lincoln we went to view the Slitting Mills which slit Iron in sunder being but a small distance from this place but the noise was so terrible before we came at them that one would have thought the Clouds had been running Re-encounters and Jove with his Thunder-Claps had utterly prohibited us any further access and when we came near there was such flashes of Lightning such hot Vapours and Steams that we might justly conclude we were got within the Territories of Vulcan and that these were some of the Cyclopean Race who were here employed to hammer out their Livings with Fire and Smoke the Wheels of the Mill are put in motion by a current of Water that streams along by it the Hammers which are continually redoubling their strokes are ponderous and massy and the Men which are at work seem to be in no happier a Condition than they who dig at the Mines or tug at the Galleys for they work Night and Day after so indefatigable a manner that the very Heat preys upon their Bodies and shortens their Days the place was soon too hot for us and the noise too troublesom and therefore we journeyed on to visit more of the County The Country appear'd to us no less pleasant than its Neighbours Shropshire and is of a wholesom and temperate Air affording Health to the Inhabitants at all Seasons of the Year this was sufficiently verified in old Thomas Parr of Alderbury who lived 152 Years and saw no less than ten Reigns he was born here in 1483 in the Reign of Edward the Fourth and died in 1635 and lies buried at Westminster The Soil is generally fertile standing most upon a reddish Clay and yields plenty of Pit-Coals and Iron and has ever been in great repute for its populous Towns and Castles for bordering upon Wales the Noblemen here and Persons of Quality were very sollicitous to preserve themselves secure against any Incursions of the Welsh and hereupon they fortified their Houses to prevent all Dangers and this dividing England from Wales was call'd the Marches for the defence of which the Lords here and Gentlemen have enjoy'd formerly very great Privileges and Immunities but since the Union of these two Kingdoms as all Hostilities have ceased so their ancient Rights and Privileges are not now so much insisted on Here are found in divers parts of this County several large Elms and other Trees under Ground which have been supposed to lie there ever since the General Deluge they are so dry that being slit into small shivers they burn like Candles and are made use of sometimes by the poorer sort instead of the other Shrewsbury In the midst of the County upon the Banks of the Severne is seated upon a Hill the famous City of Shrewsbury by the Britains named Caerpengren by the Saxons called Scrobbesbirig and by the Normans Sloppesbury and Salop 't is almost surrounded with the River and strengthened with a large and broad Wall where in some places two or three may walk abreast and upon that part of it which looks towards Wales stands the Water-House in which is a Well many fathoms deep from which the Water drawn up there by Horses in great Buckets is conveyed by Pipes into all parts of the City there being convenient steps contrived from the bottom of the Ground to the top of the Well for the Beasts to go forward and backward from their accustom'd Labours Roger Montgomery in the Reign of William the Conqueror built on the North-side of it a strong Castle and founded here A. D. 1083. a Benedictine Abbey to the Honour of St. Peter and St. Paul Besides which here were likewise two Colleges of St. Mary and St. Chad. The School was Founded by the most Heroick Queen Elizabeth which being a fair and uniform Structure built of Free-stone is govern'd by a Master and two Ushers and well furnished with a useful Library As to the neatness of its Streets and Buildings it yields to few other Cities in England and for publick Devotion it has five Parish Churches two of which are beautified with lofty Spires the City is governed by a Mayor Recorder and two Sheriffs who live generally in great Repute and Grandeur and the three Market-Days which are here every Week cause a very great Concourse both of the Welsh and other Persons and occasions a considerable Trade in this place Near to which a sharp Battel was fought A. D. 1673. between Henry IV. and Henry Piercy Earl of Northumberland which place was called Battle-Field where the King erected a College of Secular Canons to the Honour of St. Mary Magdalen for the Honour of that Victory But I must not omit to speak of one thing more that in the Year 1551 the Sweating-Sickness which destroyed so many breaking forth first here dispersed it self at length over the whole Nation Passing from hence we rode through Stretton Stretton ten Miles distant from this City and there being three of them which join close to one another Little-Stretton Church-Stretton and All-Stretton the middlemost being a Market Town is of greatest Note But finding here nothing to detain us we made no stop till we arrived at Ludlow Ludlow the chief Town in this County 't is of greater Antiquity than Beauty situated by the River Corve defended by a Wall and Castle both built by Roger Earl of Montgomery When Robert de Belasme Earl of Shrewsbury and Son to Montgomery was taken Prisoner in his Rebellion against Henry the First the King then seised it after this it was given away from the Crown by Henry the Second and came into the Possession of the Lacys from thence to the Mortimers and at last it became the Inheritance of the Princes of Wales and by this means beginning to come into great Repute the Inhabitants erected here a very stately Church so that in a little time it excelled all its Neighbourhood Kenry Henry the Eighth instituting here the Council of the Marches Here was Young Edward the Fifth at the Death of his Father and here died Prince Arthur eldest Son of Henry the Seventh both being sent hither by their Fathers for the same end viz. by their Presence to satisfie and keep in order the unruly Welsh But before I leave this County I must not forget Pitchford Pitchford a Village very eminent for its Well of Pitch which though it be scumm'd off returns again and swims aloft upon the Surface of the Water Cambden is of Opinion that it is rather a Bituminous kind of Matter such as is in the Lake Asphaltites in Palestine or in a Fountain by the Hill Agragas in Sicily however the Inhabitants are said to make the same use of it which they do of Pitch but whether like that in Jewry it hath the same Balsamick Virtues of drawing out Corruption or healing Wounds or is of any efficacy against the Falling-Sickness I have yet met with none
called Yarmouth but the Inhabitants finding both the Air and Soil very prejudicial to them transplanted themselves to the other side of the River called from the same Cerdick Cerdick-Sand and built this new Town which in a short time grew so potent and populous that they strengthened it with a Wall and were able to make up so strong a Body of Seamen as would frequently make Incursions upon the Neighbourhood of Lestoff and the adjacent Cinque-Ports against whom they had a particular Antipathy because they were excluded by them from many advantageous Privileges which their Ancestors had enjoyed But these private Feuds did at last end by an express Order from the King and their Courage was quelled by a sudden and fearful Pestilence which in the space of one Year brought above Seven thousand Men and Women to their Graves all which was faithfully Recorded in an ancient Chronographical Table which formerly used to hang up in their Church since which time as their Grudges have ceased so their Wealth hath encreased and 't is now a place of great Merchandize and Traffick but especially renown'd for its Fishery of Herrings of which at the season there is usually such plenty that they do not only supply our own but Foreign Nations too after they have been by their great care and industry dried and salted in particular Houses set apart for that purpose The Haven it self is capacious enough for Vessels of great Burdens and standing well for Holland affords a ready passage to it and is a frequent Shelter for the Newcastle Coal Fleet when distressed by Weather but the North-East Wind being subject frequently to annoy this Coast and drive in the Sand and Beach in great heaps the Townsmen are forced to be at a great Expence by removing all such Obstacles to clear their Haven From this place we hastned to Norwich Norwich which is the Metropolis of the County situate at the influx of the Winsder into the Yare and sprung up out of the Ruins of Venta Icenorum now called Castor about three Miles distance from it in which not many years since was found a great number of Roman Urns And from Wic which in the Saxon Tongue signifies a Castle the Learned Mr. Gibson in his Explication of Places not improbably guesseth that it might receive its denomination This is one of the most Renowned Cities in our British Island for whether we consider the Wealth of the Citizens the number of Inhabitants the great confluence of Foreigners the stately Structures and beautiful Churches the obliging deportment of the Gentry and the laudable Industry of the Commonalty they do all concur to illustrate and dignifie it 't is situated on the brow of a Hill and environed with a Wall upon which were placed divers Turrets and Twelve Gates to give entrance into the Town unless it be on the East side where the River after it hath with many windings watered the North part of the City having four Bridges over it is a defence by reason of its deep Channel and high Banks 't is reputed a Mile and half in length and half as much in breadth drawing in it self at the South side till it almost appear in the form of a Cone The great Damages it sustained and Misfortunes it was exposed to when Sucnus the Dane with his Bloody Crew took his range in these Parts and after that William the Conqueror had settled the British Crown upon his Head were too doleful and tragical a Story to relate Nor were the Calamities it underwent less deplorable when Hugh Bigod Earl of Norfolk sided with Young Prince Henry against his Father and as 't is supposed re-edified the Castle which stands upon a high Hill and was once thought impregnable till Lewis the French Monsieur by the assistance of the Seditious Barons won it at last by Siege And as if the Plague and the Sword had made a Conspiracy together utterly to subvert and destroy it the Pestilence in the Reign of King Edward the Third consumed no less than 57374 besides Ecclesiastick Mendicants and Dominicans But after this in succeeding Ages it began again to flourish whilst to recruit their strength which was much impair'd King Henry the First permitted the Citizens to Wall the City and King Richard the Second gave them a Grant for the Transportation of Worsted and to advance their Trade which was extreamly eclipsed King Henry the Fourth renewed their Charter and conferred on them the Honour to chuse every Year a Mayor whereas by a former Order from King Stephen they were only govern'd by Coroners and Bayliffs And as if the Fates with no less eagerness designed their Felicity than before they consulted their Misery the Dutch who flock'd over hither during the Bloody Inquisition of Duke Alva have made it very opulent by the great Trade of Says Bays and other curious Stuffs which here occasion a considerable Merchandize Here is an Hospital where above an Hundred Men and Women are maintained and A. D. 1094. the Episcopal See was translated hither being first placed at Dunwich about the Year 636. by Felix the Burgundian who established the East-Angles in the Christian Faith and here it continued till Bisus the fourth Bishop from him removed it to North-Elmham in Norfolk in 673. leaving a Suffragan Bishop at Domor or Dunwich afterwards both Sees becoming vacant for the space of 100 Years after the Death of St Humbert alias Humbritt who suffered Martyrdom with King Edmund by the Bloody Danes in 995. Adulphus alias Athulphus seu Eadulphus who lived in the time of King Edwin became Bishop of both Sees under the Title of North-Elmham but in the Eleventh Century Herfastus by Bartholomew Cotton in his History of the Bishops of Norwich called Arfattus who was Chaplain to William the Conqueror and a great Favourite of that Prince before the Conquest as is observed by the Learned Mr. Wharton in his Notes on that place Angl. Sacr. par prima p. 403 404 406. was the Person that removed the See to Thetford according to the Canon made in the Council of London by Arch-Bishop Lanfrank A. D. 1075. by which it was provided that all Episcopal Sees should be translated from smaller Villages to more eminent Cities But his next Successor to him save one Herbert Losing settled it at last in Norwich A. D. 1094 where it has continued ever since founding a Cathedral Church to the Honour of the Holy Trinity in which he placed Benedictine Monks who continued till the Dissolution at which time King Henry the Eighth put in their Room a Dean and six Prebendaries This Church is a very stately and magnificent Structure and famous not only for its Cross and Cloyster but for the Roof likewise which runs aloft over the Body of it on which is pourtrayed to the Life the History of the Bible in divers little Images curiously carved and adorned from the Creation of the World to the Ascension of our Blessed Saviour and the
Descent of the Holy Ghost with the perfect Figures and Resemblances of our Lord's Crucifixion and Resurrection and divers other Circumstances that attended him both at his Nativity and Passion And for the Encouragement of Piety and Learning every Sunday Morning throughout the Year there is a Sermon preached by such Ministers as the Bishop shall appoint to each of which is presented Twenty Shillings left as a Legacy to the Church for this Religious purpose by one who had formerly been Mayor of this City But before I leave this place as the Duke of Norfolk's Palace adorned with curious Granaries and a large and spacious Bowling-Alley so the Mount on the East-side of the City called Ket's-Castle must not be passed by in silence for it was the Harbour and Nest of Ket a Tanner of Windham that notorious Ring-leader of Rebellion in King Edward the Sixth's Days who with no less Violence assaulting the City than afflicting the Citizens did at last receive the just Reward of his Rebellion when all the Seditious Rabble being persuaded to desert him he was hanged up in Chains on the Top of Norwich Castle After some few Days abode in this City we travelled on to a little Village called Tettles-Hall Tettles-Hall in the Parish Church whereof is erected a stately Monument of Marble in Honour to Sir Edward Cook that most famous Lawyer of his time on the top are placed his Coat of Arms with the four Cardinal Virtues to support them at each corner his Effigies is of Marble laid out in full length above which this Motto is engraved Prudens qui Patiens and underneath in Golden Characters this following Inscription The Monument of Sir Edward Cook Knight born at Mileham in Norfolk Recorder of Norwich and London Sollicitor to Queen Elizabeth and Speaker to the Parliament afterward Attorney-General to Her and King James Chief Justice of both Benches a Privy-Counsellor as also of Council to Queen Ann and Chief Justice in Eyre of all her Forests Chases and Parks Recorder of Coventry and High-Steward of Cambridge of which he was a Member in Trinity-College He died in the Eighty-third year of his Age his last Words being these Thy Kingdom come thy will be done His Epitaph this Deo Optimo Maximo Hae exuviae humanae exspectant Resurrectionem Piorum Hic situs est Non perituri Nominis Edvardus Cooke Eques Auratus Legum anima interpres Oraculum non dubium Arcanorum Promicondus Mysteriorum Cujus fere unius beneficio Jurisperiti nostri sunt Jurisperiti Eloquentiae flumen torrens fulmen Suadae Sacerdos Vnicus Divinus Heros Pro rostris ita dixit Vt literis insudasse crederes non nisi humanis Ita vixit ut non nisi divinis Sacerrimus integrae pietatis Indagator Integritas ipsa Verae semper caussae constantissimus assertor Nec favore nec muncribus violandus Eximic misericors Charior erat huic Reus quam sibi Miraculi instar est Sicculus saepe ille audiit sententiam in se prolatam Nunquam hic nisi madidoculus protulit Scientiae Oceanus Quique dum vixit Bibliotheca viva Mortuus dici meruit Bibliothecae Parens Duodecim Liberorum Tredecim Librorum Pater Facescant hinc Monumenta Facessant Marmora Nisi quod pios fuisse denotarunt posteros Ipse sibi suum est Monumentum Marmore perennius Ipse sibi sua est Aeternitas Next to Sir Edward stands likewise a Marble Monument of his first Wife Bridget Daughter of John Paston Esq with Eight of her Children six Sons and two Daughters his second Wife was the Lady Elizabeth Daughter to Thomas Earl of Exeter by whom he had only two Daughters Having given a solemn Vale to this great Man's Tomb Lyn. we took up our next Quarters at Lyn which though but of a late being having received its Original from Old Lyn which is seated in the Marsh-Land and is opposite against it yet it is grown of far greater request for the commodiousness of its Haven and safe Harbour cause a great resort of Mariners to frequent it and the Vessels which coming loaded with Coals from Newcastle do lighten here their Burdens and are conveyed up the River by Lighters and Barges drawn along by Horses into divers parts of the adjacent Counties 'T is a large Town surrounded with a deep Trench and for the most part Walled the Streets are well paved and kept clean and 't is divided by two small Rivers over which there are Fifteen Bridges It is called Old Lyn and Linnum Regis i. e. King 's Lyn though before the Reign of Henry the Eighth it was called Bishop's Lyn because the Ground it stands upon belonged to the Bishops of Norwich There are five Churches with a Free-School to adorn it the chief of which is a curious Fabrick dedicated to St. Margaret upon the top of which stands a large and stately Lanthorn very admirable for its rare Workmanship and here is once a Year about February held a great Mart for all sorts of Commodities by which no small Benefit accrues to it The Town is governed by a Mayor and Aldermen who have received great Favours and Privileges from their Sovereigns but their chief and most munificent Benefactor was King John who for the good Service they had done him in the defence of his Quarrel not only presented them with his own Sword from his side which is continually carried before the Mayor whenever he pleaseth to appear in State but likewise gave them a great Silver Cup gilt for the use of the Corporation which because they shew as a main Badge and Cognizance of Royal Favour to all Strangers and Foreigners of any Note or Repute they seldom produce it unless filled with Wine to drink His Majesty's and Mr. Mayor's Healths for which there is a generous Allowance proportioned by the Town We rested here one Night but the next Day being summoned away by the Tide whose Motions we were enforced to wait on and observe we Ferried over into Mersh-Land and posted away for the Washes through which we were to pass into the Frontiers of Lincolnshire The Washes The Washes are called by Ptolemy Metaris Aestuarium being a very large Arm which every Tide and high Sea covers over with Water but when the Sea Ebbs and the Tide is gone 't is as easie to pass over them as upon dry Ground though not without some danger for Strangers who are unacquainted with their Tracts and Channels which King John found true by woful Experience for whilst for the more speed he journeyed this way when he was engaged in the War against the disaffected Barons his Men not aware of such Irruptions the Waters unexspectedly broke in upon them by which means he lost all his Carriage and Furniture Hereupon to prevent all such unwelcom Dangers we hired a Guide to ride before us by whose conduct we nimbly tripped over those dangerous Plains and arrived safe at last out of these troublesom Territories of
Ruines of Churches and other Edifices declare it to have been of a very long standing its Condition was always mutable according to the mutability of Affairs betwixt the Britains and the Saxons and if it was the burying place of that great Man of Valour and prowess the Noble Britain Vortimer as is credibly reported then this hapned contrary to his own Command for he was desirous to be interred near the Sea Shore where he thought his very Ghost would be sufficient to Protect the Britains from all Saxon Invasions But however after his Death the Saxons got possession of it and fortified themselves on the South-side of the Hill about which time Paulinus having preached the Gospel in Lindsey was the first that converted Blecca the Governour hereof to the Christian Faith and erected a Church all of Stone-work some of the Ruines whereof remain to this Day Afterwards it was much impaired and depopulated by the Danes but in the Norman time it flourished so exceedingly that it became one of the most populous Cities of England King William the Conquerour strengthned it with a Castle and Remigius having translated hither the Bishops See from Dorchester a small Town which stood in the remotest corner of this Diocess erected upon the top of the Hill a large and sumptuous * His successor Robert Bloet â—ounded with him the Cathedral and endow'd the Dean and Chapter â—anner's Not. Monast Cathedral mounting up aloft with high Turrets and stately pyramids and dedicated to the Virgin Mary which afterward being defaced by Fire Alexander his Successor re-edified and beautified after a more glorious manner than before Nor indeed did the Bishops that succeeded him add less to its Beauty and Lustre and raised it to so great Magnificence and unconceivable Height that its starely Towers discover themselves at many Miles distance the Workmanship of the whole Fabrick is very curious and admirable and the carved Images on the Front of the West-end were such unimitable pieces of Art till some of them in our late unhappy broils were sacrificed to the fury of the Insolent Soldiery who committed a new Martyrdom upon the Saints in Effigie that they did even allure and ravish the Eyes of all Spectatour Nor was it less glorious without than beautified within for besides the Bell called Great Tom for which this Church is so famous being cast in the Year 1610 and of a larger Size than any Bell in the Kingdom 't is adorn'd with divers Monuments of very ancient Families for the Bowels of Queen Eleanor Wife to King Edward the First lie here interr'd in Copper and the Body of the Lady Catharine Swinford third Wife to John of Gaunt Duke of Lancaster and Mother to the House of Somerset and of the Lady Joan her Daughter Second Wife to Ralph Nevil Earl of Westmorland besides many other Persons of great Note and Quality In the former Ages of the Church the Precincts of this Diocess were of so large an extent that the greatness hereof became even burdensom to it hereupon they were contracted into a narrower compass by some Princes of this Nation and though King Henry the Second took out of this the Diocess of Ely and King Henry the Eighth the Bishopricks of Peterborough and Oxford yet still it is reputed the greatest Diocess of England both for Jurisdiction and number of Shires there being no less than six Counties and One thousand two hundred forty seven Parish Churches as is generally computed belonging to it As for the Town though it flourished mightily for some Years together after the Norman Conquest by reason of a Staple for wooll and other Commodities setled here by King Edward the Third yet it met still with some Calamities or other which hindred its Growth and eclipsed its Grandeur for it had its share of Sufferings both by Fire and War in King Stephen's days about which time it seems though the King had at first been conquered and taken Prisoner yet he afterward entred into the City in Triumph with his Crown upon his Head to break the Citizens of a superstitious Opinion they held that no King could possibly enter into that City after such a manner but some great disaster or other would befal him but neither did it then or by the Barons wars afterwards sustain half the damages which of late Years it hath received from the devouring Hands of Time who hath wrought its downfal and from a rich and populous City hath reduced it almost to the lowest ebb of Fortune and of Fifty Churches which were all standing within one or two Centuries hath scarce left Fifteen so that the old Proverbial Rhymes which go currant amongst them seem so far to have something of verity in them Lincoln was and London is And York shall be The fairest City of the three Sure I am that this doth abundantly verifie the verses of the old Tragedian Sophocles 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Only the Gods cannot Times sickle feel Nothing can else withstand his Powerful Steel But though the City be gone to decay the Magistrates preserve their Authority and their ancient Charters and Privileges are not as yet involv'd in the same Fate with the Town which is governed by a Mayor and Aldermen and hath the Assizes held here where the Judges twice a Year determine all Suits and Controversies depending either in the City or the County and for provision it affords great Plenty for 't is replenished every Friday which is their chief Market Day with such variety of Fish and Fowl to be bought up at easy and cheap Rates that there is hardly the like to be met withal in any other City of England From this City we set forward for Barton Barton a small Town Situate upon the River Humber famous for the abundance of Puits Godwits Knots which are a sort of Bird so called say some from Canute the Dane who perhaps brought them hither first from Denmark and likewise for Dottrels a simple kind of Bird much given to imitation these Dottrels are caught by candle-light after this manner The Fowler stands before the Bird and if he puts out an Arm the Bird stretcheth out a Wing if he hold out his Head or set forward his Leg the Bird doth the like and imitates the Fowlers gesture so long till coming nearer and nearer by degrees at length throws his Net over him and so takes him Here we met with a convenient Passage to Ferry over into York-shire York-shire whereupon we took the first opportunity of Wind and Tide and sailed away for Hull which is about a League from the place on the other side of the River This County is the greatest in extent being parted into three Divisions which are called the West-Riding the East-Riding and North-Riding amongst which Providence hath so wisely distributed her Blessings that what one wants the other enjoys and makes a compensation for the Barrenness of one
Mart which in the Month of May holds constantly a Forthight which causing all kinds of Commodities to be brought hither is no less advantageous to the Town than commodious to the Neighbourhood who by this means may provide themselves of all Necessaries at a very reasonable Rate And for the better Government of the Town a Mayor was placed here by Queen Elizabeth which keeps the Town in a good Decorum and Order We removed our Quarters from this place to York which being the Metropolis of the County as well as the Ornament and Safe-guard of the Northern Regions is but one days Journey remote from it York York formerly stiled by the Britains Caer-Ebrank from King Ebrank the first Founder of it and Euerwick by the Saxons from the River Vre or Ouse is for its Magnificence very deservedly reputed the second City of England the situation of it is mighty pleasing and delightful and the Buildings both private and publick stately and beautiful 't is rich and populous glorious and honourable both in respect of its being governed by a Lord Mayor who moderates in all cases of temporal Affairs as also by an Arch-Bishop who is Chief Judge in all Spiritual Matters The River Ouse flowing with a gentle Stream from the North divides the City into two Parts which yet are conjoined by a strong Stone Bridge consisting of five Arches one of which is of so large a size that it contains twice the breadth of any of the other And round the City stands a thick and spacious Wall and as on the West side 't is fortified with a Wall and River together and a great Gate which is called Mikel Bar near to which is the Mount called the Old Bale raised and designed for a Fort by William Melton Arch-Bishop of this See so on the East side opposite to the Mount stands an ancient Castle built by William the Conqueror which is environ'd with a strong Wall and a deep Mote over which is a Draw-Bridge which gives entrance into it here is usually a small Garrison supplied by a Regiment of Soldiers which Quarters about the City and hath some great Guns and Ammunition suitable for the Defence of it Here are now but Seventeen Parish Churches though formerly there were Thirty and towards the North-East stands the Cathedral dedicated to St. Peter being one of the most magnificent and stately Fabricks in our native Soil near to which is the Prince's House called commonly the Mannor-House This Church was first Founded by Paulinus who converted Edwyn King of the Northumbers and his People to the Christian Faith about the Year 626. It was then a mean Oratory built only of Wood but as we are informed by the Saxon Chronicle the King constituting Paulinus the first Bishop of this See ordered him to build a more ample Structure of Stone but he dying before the whole was finished it was at last compleated by Oswald afterward according to the various Successes and Conquests of the Nation it flourished or decayed till the Reign of King Stephen when a sudden Fire breaking out in the City amongst other great Buildings consumed this too together with a noble Library founded at first here by Egbert Arch-Bishop of York from whence Alcuinus the Preceptor of Charles the Great and Founder of the University of Paris borrowed those Lights which have since glittered there a Library which was stiled by the Men of those Days the Cabinet of Arts and Closet of all the Liberal Sciences In this forlorn Condition it continued and lay buried in its Ashes till the Reign of Edward the First when John Roman Treasurer of the Church laid the Foundation * The Notitia Monastica informs us That Thomas the first Norman Arch-Bishop A. D. 1067. laid the Foundation of the stately Cathedral that now is for a new Superstructure which afterward by the Munificence of William Melton and John Thursby both Arch-Bishops hereof together with the liberal Contributions of divers Persons amongst the Nobility and Gentry especially of the Piercies and Vavasors which their Arms and Images at the West end of the Church pourtray'd the one with Timber in their Hands as finding it Timber the other with Stones as supplying it with Stone doth declare recovered its Lustre and Dignity that it hath now justly the Pre-eminence above all others and outvies all its Neighbours in Art and Stateliness As for the Windows which convey Light to the whole Fabrick they are very admirable for their Workmanship all the Panes of Glass being exquisitely painted and adorned with most curious Colours and in the East Window is pourtray'd to the Life the History of the Bible in very lively Representations The Isles of the Church are large and spacious the Pillars strong and uniform and the whole Body adorned with the Monuments of several Persons of Quality and Renown who have lived and died in these Parts amongst which is interred Mr. Swinborn the great Civilian who wrote concerning Wills and Testaments on whose Tomb this Epitaph is engraved Non viduae caruere viris non patre pupillus Dum stetit hic Patriae Virque Paterque suae At quod Swinburnus viduarum scripsit in usum Longius aeterno marmore vivet opus Scribere supremas hinc discat quisque tabellas Et cupiat qui sic vixit ut Ille mori The Superstructure above is made with great Raftures of Timber which are covered with Lead raised Spire-wise and upon one of the Turrets is placed a Lanthorn Seventy Foot square which discovers it self at a great distance to be a beautiful Ornament and there are 286 Steps which lead up to it The Quire is well Roof'd and curiously furnished with all decent Habiliments and the Chapter-House is as famous and remarkable being circular and one and twenty Yards Diameter raised by many Pillars and finished by an Arch or Concave on the top having no Column at all to support it in the middle and indeed 't is so glorious a place that it justly deserves the Character which is written upon the Roof of it in golden Characters Vt Rosa flos florum sie est domus ista domorum In the Vestry upon the left hand is a little Well of pure Water called St. Peter's-Well in the times of Popery supposed to have been of great Virtue and Efficacy in charming Evil Spirits and curing of Diseases but it may be his Holiness since the Extirpation of his Papal Authority in these Parts hath laid an interdict upon its healing Faculty since which time it hath ceased no doubt in Reverence to St. Peter's Successor from any such miraculous Operations The first Original of this Church's Metropolitanism was from Pope Honorius at which time it had not only a Superiority over Twelve Bishopricks in England but its Primacy was dilated over all the Bishops of Scotland too but in process of time Scotland having exempted it self from its Jurisdiction other places likewise did the same so that there are only now left
Ships are under Sail dancing along the proud Billows of the Ocean After we had travelled some few Miles from hence we came in little time within the Liberties of the Bishoprick of Durham Bishoprick of Durham a County very rich in its Mountains which are inlayed with Iron Lead and Coals and very fruitful in its Valleys with Grass and Corn. It was formerly the Patrimony of St. Cuthbert who being Bishop of Lindisferne and afterward Patron of the Church of Durham led a Life of such wonderful Piety and Holiness that he was Canonized for a Saint and Invocated by some of the Kings and Princes of this Nation as their Tutelary Saint and Protector against the Picts and Scots who formerly did grievously infest these Parts upon which account upon him and his Successors was not only conferred and setled all the County between the Tees and the Tine while he lived but after his Death came divers Princes and other Potentates with the greatest Devotion imaginable in Pilgrimage to visit his Body and offered at his Shrine an inestimable Mass of Treasure To which many other great Privileges and Immunities being daily added at the coming in of the Norman Conqueror the Bishop was reputed for a Count Palatine and did ingrave upon his Seal an Armed Knight holding a naked Sword in one hand and the Bishops Arms in the other Nay it was once adjudged in Law that this Bishop was to have Forfeitures and Escheats within the Liberties as the King had without in short the Bishops hereof have had the Royalties of Princes having their own Courts of Judicature both for Civil and Criminal Causes and Coining their own Coins But these Royalties have been since taken off in a great measure and reannexed to the Crown However the Bishop is still Earl of Sadberg a place in this Bishoprick and takes place in the Episcopal College next to the Bishop of London but he is subordinate to the Arch-Bishop of York Darlington We took up our first Station at Darlington on the Skerne over which it hath a Stone-Bridge 'T is a Market-Town of good resort which Seir an English-Saxon the Son of Vlph having obtained leave of King Ethelred gave unto the Church of Durham and Hugh Pudsey adorned it with a fair Church and other Edifices Here was also formerly a College for a Dean and six Prebendaries In the Precincts of this place are to be seen three Pits full of Water of a wonderful depth called by the common People Hell-Kettles Hell-Kettles concerning which Sir Richard Baker in his Chronicle gives us this following Account That in the 24th Year of King Henry the Second the Earth in this place lifted up it self in the manner of a high Tower and so remained immovable from Morning until Evening and then fell with so horrible a noise that it afrighted all the Inhabitants thereabouts and the Earth swallowing it up made there a deep Pit which is still to be seen to this day That these Pits have Passages under Ground was first experimented they say by Bishop Tunstall who to satisfie his Curiosity herein marked a Goose and let her down into them which very Goose he found afterwards in the River Tees which runs along not far from this place Bishop-Aukland From hence we bent our course to Bishop-Aukland upon the Ware over which it has a Bridge 't is a Town pleasantly seated in a good Air upon the side of a Hill and as it was formerly adorned with a Collegiate Church dedicated to St. Andrew Founded by Anthony Beck Bishop of Durham for twelve Prebendaries so is it likewise graced with the Bishop's Palace built at first by the same Bishop Beck with divers Pillars of Black and White Marble and re-edified since by that Munificent Prelate Dr. Cosins one of the Miracles of our Age for his great and unbounded Works of Charity He likewise rebuilt the Chapel and very gloriously adorned it with the most costly Habiliments that are any way befitting so Sacred a place and the Plate which was bestowed upon it by him for religious Uses was of a great value Nor was his Charity confined at home but dispersed and diffused it self as liberally abroad having erected here an Alms-House as he did likewise another at Durham for divers poor People for whom he hath allotted a comfortable subsistence He erected at Durham a Library very spacious and uniform to which he bequeathed several Volumes of choice Books he raised there a new Structure for the use of the Country in which are held the Assizes and Sessions he made the Castle formerly built by William the Conqueror which was quite gone to Ruin very useful again and magnificent besides all this he gave some new Fellowships and Exhibitions to St. Peter's-College in Cambrige where himself had been Master He expended vast Sums of Money in publick Benevolences to the King in redeeming Christian Captives at Algiers in relieving the distressed Loyal Subjects and in many other publick and pious Uses So that both the City and Country have sufficient reason gratefully to remember him and to wish that such Prelates may continually succeed him who may approve themselves such Worthy Fathers of the Church such Noble Patrons to their Country and such Glorious Pillars of Religion Some three or four Miles distance from this Place is Binchester Binchester now a small Village of little repute save for its relicts of old Walls and pieces of Roman Coin often digged up here called Binchester Pennies by which it appears to have been formerly an eminent Station of the Romans though now 't is nothing but a rude heap of Rubbish And about the same distance from Binchester stands Durham the most flourishing and principal City of this Province Durham is a City whose Situation is upon Hills and bottoms of Hills Durham and all surrounded with Hills but the lower parts watered by the River Ware which encircles the best part of it and over which there are two Stone Bridges so that it is a Peninsula which Dunholme a name by which it was formerly called doth denote for the Saxons called an Hill Dun and a River-Island Holme from whence the Latins have made Dunelmum the Normans Duresme and the Commonalty corruptly Durham The Town is pretty large but of no great Beauty nor seems to bear any considerable stamp of Antiquity but to have received its first Original from the distressed Monks of Lindisferne who being driven thence by the Fury of the Danes came hither with the Body of St. Cuthbert which they preserved with great care and honoured with the greatest Veneration imaginable at which time the See being removed hither by Bishop Aldwin A. D. 995. he built a small Oratory of wreathen Wands and Hurdles over the Body of St. Cuthbert on the South-side of the City which continued for some time till William de Careleph pulling down that began a new Foundation which was afterward finished by Ralph his Successor after this
Scruffel wotes full of that And there goes also this usual By-Word concerning the height as well of this Hill as of the other two Skiddaw Lanvellin and Casticand Are the highest Hills in all England Nay so liberal to it is Nature in the distribution of her largesses that she seems to have enriched it with every thing that may any way be conducible to Health as well as Wealth for here are such Varieties of vulnerary Plants which grow plentifully in these parts especially near to the Picts-Wall that in the beginning of Summer many Persons that are curious in these things come hither out of Scotland on purpose to Simple here are likewise upon the Sea-Coast very frequently discovered Trees at Low-water which have been covered with Sand and that in many other mossy places of the Shire they digg up Trees without boughs and that by the directions of the dew they say in Summer which they observe ne'er stands upon that Ground under which they lie At Carlile wee took up our first qaarters in this Province Carlile an ancient City very commodiously situated 't is guarded on the North side with the River Eden on the East with Peterial and on the West with Cawd and besides these Natural fences 't is fortified with a strong Wall with a Castle and a Cittadel the Fashion of it is long running out from West to East on the West side is the Castle of a large compass which King Richard the Third as appears by his Coat of Arms repaired and on the East the Cittadel built by Henry the Eighth In the middle almost of the City riseth on high the Cathedral Church being formerly a stately and Magnificent Structure adorned with rich Copes and other sacred Garments and Vessels and two Unicorns Horns of great Value which by an ancient custom were placed here upon the Altar but now deplores the want of part of its Body being ruined by a wicked War whilst it was only intended for a House of Prayer and Peace It was first founded by Walter Deputy of these parts for King William Rufus and by him dedicated to the Blessed Virgin but finished and endowed by King Henry the First out of the Wealth which the said Walter had amassed for that purpose The Romans and Britains called this place Lugoballum that is saith Cambden the fort by the Wall which Name it derived probably from that famous military vallum or Trench which stands apparent a little from the City and that it flourished exceedingly in the time of the Romans the famous mention of it in those Days and diverse remains of Antiquity which have been here frequently discovered do sufficiently attest After the departure of the Romans it suffered extreamly by the insolent outrages of the Scots and Picts and afterward being almost quite ruined by the Danes it lay about two hundred Years buried in its own Ashes until it began again to flourish under the government and by the favour of King William Rufus who as the Saxon Chronicle tells us A. D. 1092 coming hither with a great Army repaired the City and built the Castle driving from hence the Daulphin of France who had got too sure footing in some of those Northern parts and planted here a new Colony of Flemmings say some Historians whom presently upon better advice he removed into Wales and setled in their room a more useful plantation of Southern English-men After this here having been formerly a Covent of Monks and a Nunnery built by St. Cuthbert A. D. 686. which were both destroyed by the Danes King Henry the First established here the Episcopal See * A. D. 1135. saith Mr. Wharton Ang. Sacr. Tom. 1. P. 699. and made Athulph Priory of St. Oswalds his Confessor Bishop hereof and endowed it with many Honours and emoluments in the successive Reigns of our Kings it was Subject to great casualties and misfortunes the Scots won it from King Stephen and King Henry the Second recovered it again in the Reign of Edward the First the City and Priory with all the Houses belonging to it were consum'd by Fire and a little after King Edward the Second came to the Crown all the Northern parts from Carlile to York fell under the subjection of the Scots at which time our Chronicles tell us that the English by their faint-heartedness grew so Vile and Despicable that three Scots durst venture upon an hundred English when a hundred English durst hardly encounter with three Scots but under victorious King Edward the Third the Englishmen pluck'd up their Spirits and recovered their ancient Valour enforcing the Scots to quit all their strong holds and retire back again to their own Territories and Dominions nevertheless this City with the parts adjacent were frequently pestered by Scotch Invasions till the happy Union of the two Crowns since which time it is grown more Populous and opulent being governed by a Mayor and having the Assizes and Sessions held here for that County Salkelds We rode away from Carlile by Salkelds upon the River Eden where is a trophy of Victory as is supposed called by the Country People Long Megg ' and her Daughters being seventy seven Stones each of them ten Foot high above Ground and one of them viz. Long Megg fifteen Foot to Penreth Penreth which is saith Cambden if you interpret it out of the Brittish Language the Red-head or Hill for the Soil and the Stones are here generally of a reddish Colour but commonly called Perith sixteen Miles distant from this City This Town is but small in compass but great in Trade fortified on the West-side with a Castle of the King 's which in the Reign of King Henry the Sixth was repaired out of the Ruines of a Roman Fort not far from it called Maburg adorned with a spatious Church and large Market-place where there is an Edifice of Timber for the use of such as resort hither to Market garnished with Bears at a ragged Staff which was the device of the Earls of Warwick it belonged in times past to the Bishops of Durham but the Patriarch Bech taking two much State upon him and carrying himself with more haughtiness than became him did hereby so displease King Edward the First that he took from him Werth in Tevidail Perith and the Church of Simondburn But for the commodious use of this town William Strickland Bishop of Carlile descended from an ancient Race in this tract at his own proper charge caused a Channel for a Water-course to be made out of Peteril which near unto the Bank had Plumpton Park a large plat of Ground which the Kings of England had appointed as a Chase for wild Beasts to range in but King Henry the Eighth disparked it and converted it into a better Habitation for Men it lying near to the Marches where the Realms of England and Scotland confine one upon another Not far from this Town begins the County of Westmorland Westmorland being one of the worst
not possible for Waggons to pass so that the Country People are forced in Harvest time to carry home their Corn upon Horses in Crooks made for that purpose which creates no small Toil and Labour to them Exmore Forrest Upon Exmore Forest are some huge Stones placed as confusedly as those upon Salisbury Plains and one of them hath Danish letters upon it directing passengers that way Hubblestow And at Hubblestow in this County was a Battel fought by the Danes where their Banner called Reafan in which they reposed all confidence of Victory and success was notwithstanding taken and Hubba their General slain Exeter Exeter is the Principal City of this Province called by the ancients Isca and Isca Damoniorum and by the Saxs on Ex or Exa 't is situate upon the Western Bank of the River Ex or Isc upon a litttle Hill gently arising with an easy ascent to a pretty height the pendant whereof lies East and West environed about with Ditches and very strong Walls having many Turrets orderly interposed and six Gates which give entrance into the City and contains about a Mile and half in Circumference The Suburbs branch forth a great way on each side the Streets are broad kept clean and and well paved the Houses are as gay within as trim without and there are contained in it fifteen 〈◊〉 and in the very highest part of the City 〈…〉 Castle called Rugemont forâ—â—◠〈…〉 VVest-Saxon Kings and afterwards of the Earls of Cornwal which Baldwin de Reduers as the Saxon Chronicle informs us A. D. 1135. holding out against King Stephen was through scarcity of Provision enforced to surrender and after the surrendery he with his whole family was banished out of the Kingdom Just without the East-gate are two pleasant Walks called Southney and Northney beset on both sides with rows of high Trees which being mounted up aloft afford a curious prospect to Topsham Topsham the place where all the Ships and Vessels of the Citizens lie at Anchor from whence since the River was stop'd up by certain Wears and Dams that Edward Courtney Earl of Devonshire from some distast which he had took to the City caused here to be made all their Goods and Commodities are brought home by Land In the same quarter of the City stands the Cathedral in the precincts of whose close were in ancient times three Religious Houses as the Ingenious Mr. Tanner's Notitia Monastica doth inform us the first was a Nunnery which is now the Deans House the other was a House of Monks reported to have been built by King Ethelred about A. D. 868. the third was a Monastery of Benedictines founded by King Aethelston A. D. 932. but the Monks not long after forsook it for fear of the Danes till A. D. 968. at which time King Edgar restored them upon the removal of the Bishops See hither from Crediton A. D. 1050. the Monks were translated to VVestminster upon which about the same time Bishop Leafric Chaplain to Edward the Confessor uniting the three forementioned Monasteries into his Cathedral Church placed here some secular Canons dedicating it to St. Mary and St. Peter but the Chapter was not setled till Bishop Brewer A. D. 1235. established and endowed a Dean and twenty four Prebendaries to which have been since added four Arch-deacons In this Church are six private Chappels and a Library very handsomely built and furnished by a Phisitian of this City the Quire is curiously beautified and adorned especially with an excellent Organ the Pipes whereof as they are of a much larger size than any which ever we beheld in any Cathedral besides so likewise is its Musick no less sweet and harmonious and though this Church did through all its parts extreamly suffer in the late unhappy Civil Wars yet it hath returned to its primitive beauty and order since the return of King Charles the second in this Church as likewise in most of the other Churches and Church-yards of the City the Graves especially of the Wealthier sort are paved all over on the inside with Bricks and plaistered with white Lime where after they have interred the Corps all the company in general who were invited to the Funeral return to the House of Mourning from whence they came and there very ceremoniously take their leave of the party by whom they were invited to perform these doleful obsequies On the West side of the City runs the River over which is built a strong Stone Bridge with four Arches and about the middle of the City is the Town Hall where the Assizes and Sessions are held it being both City and County of it self in which hangs the Picture of the Royal Princess Henrietta Maria Daughter to King Charles the First who was Born here and was given by her Royal Brother King Charles the Second to this City which is governed by a Mayor Recorder two Sheriffs and four and Twenty Aldermen with all other Officers befitting the Dignity of so Honourable a place The chief Trade of it consists in Stuffs and Kerseys of which there are innumerable Packs sent away every Week for London and other places in lieu whereof all sorts of vendible Commodities are imported hither here being a knot of very eminent Merchants This City has been exposed to great Calamities and disasters straitned with sieges and exposed to the fury both of Fire and Sword the Romans had it in possession about the Reign of Antoninus and after them the East-Saxons in the Days of King Athelstan from whom the Danes having forced it Suenus raged here with Ruine and Destruction and scarce had it regained a little Strength and Beauty when it felt the fury of the Norman Conqueror after this it was besieged by Hugh Courtney Earl of Devonshire in the Civil Wars betwixt the two Houses of York and Lancaster then by Perkin Warbeck that imaginary counterfeit and pretended Prince who being a young Man of as mean a Family as Condition feigning himself to be Richard Duke of York second Son of King Edward the Fourth made strange Insurrections against Henry the Seventh after this it was pestered by the seditious Rebels of Cornwal about the Year 1549 when although the Citizens were extreamly pinched with a great scarcity of all things yet they kept the City with Courage and Fidelity till John Lord Russel came to succour and relieve it And again in the late miserable Confusions it was strictly besieged by the Parliamentarian Forces at which time it is reported by several Persons of good Credit and Repute that it being reduced to great extremities for want of Provision an infite number of Larks came flying into the Town and setled in a void green place within the Walls where they were killed in great quantities by the besieged and eaten We departed from hence to Newton-Bushel Newton-Bushel a Town well known in these Parts for its Market and from thence to King's-ware King's-ware situated below a Hill upon
learnt so much abroad your self is a sufficient Encouragement to me to lay these Papers before you not doubting but that they will find a favourable Acceptance from so worthy a Friend whose experienced Candour and Ingenuity makes him so signally Eminent amongst all such who have themselves any true sparks of it What it was that moved me to publish this Itinerary as it will fully appear by the Preface I have prefixed so if I add further that the natural and congenite Propensity that is in Mankind to pay their Regards and shew what Service they can in their Stations and Capacities to their own Native Country in which as Lipsius elegantly expresseth it Infantia vagiit pueritia lusit juventus exercita educata est was the next motive I hope they will jointly be a sufficient Apology for this Topographical performance If I may flatter my self that it will any way gratifie your nice and curious Palate I shall not doubt but it will then find a powerful Advocate to plead for such Slips and Imperfections to which things of this nature may be unwillingly obnoxious however it will fully answer my design if it may be accepted of as a grateful Acknowledgment for the repeated Acts of Kindness conferred upon Your most Humble Servant James Brome AN ACCOUNT OF Mr. BROME'S Three Years TRAVELS OVER England Scotland and Wales A Narrative of his second Journey AFTER some few days respite and abode in London we began a new Progress and passing through Newington Totnam-High-Cross and Edmington Towns of good Note by reason of divers Gentlemen Merchants and rich Citizens that inhabit there we came to Waltham in Essex of which County I shall have occasion to speak more fully hereafter Waltham was of old a small Village Waltham in Essex or rather a desolate place beset with Woods and Briars which one Tovius in the declination of the Saxon Empire a great Courtier and a very wealthy and potent Man first Founded and planted there a Colony of some sixtysix Men afterwards he deceasing Athelstan his Son was deprived of his Patrimony and Edward the Confessor bestowed it upon Harold a great Favourite of his who having taken possession of it constituted in it a Church of Secular Canons and Dedicating it to the Honour of the Holy Cross made his Vows here in hopes of a Victory when he went to fight against William the Conqueror but Harold being slain and his Army quite routed by the Normans his Body was beg'd by his Mother of the Norman Duke and buried in this place After this the same Abby in the Reign of K. Henry II. was by the King's Command much enlarged and Regular Canons placed there to the number of Twenty-four and Dedicated to the Holy Cross and St. Lawrence saith the most Ingenious Mr. Tanner in his Notitia Monastica Richard I. still more augmented it and so did King Henry III. with Fairs and Markets appointing one Fair in the year to last for seven days together Hartfordshire We staid not long here and therefore were presently in Hartfordshire a County every where abounding with fertile Fields sat Pastures shady Groves and pleasant Rivolets and the first Town here of any Remark which presented it self to our View was Ware Ware which was built say Antiquaries by Edward the Senior King of the West Saxons about the year 914. 'T is watered by the River Ley and hath a great Market for all sorts of Grain it is populous and well inhabited by persons of very good Quality and lying in the great Road to London frequented constantly by persons of all degrees and although Hartford be the Eye of the County 't is now inferiour to this place since all Passages for Carriages being there obstructed during the Barons Wars were here freely opened to the great Advantage of this Town But the most remarkable thing in Ware is the New River or Aquaeduct convey'd above 20 Miles together in a continued Channel from this place to Islington from whence the Water thereof is dispersed in Pipes laid along in the Ground for that purpose into abundance of Streets Lanes Courts and Alleys of the City and Suburbs of London the happy Contrivance whereof all the Citizens have daily Experience and ought to Immortalize the Name of their Inventor Sir Hugh Middleton who bestow'd this most excellent Gift upon them and consummated this good Work so useful and beneficial to the City at his own proper Cost and Charges We lay here one Night in the company of some Friends Puckeridge and Barkway who came along hither with us for their Diversion but the next Morning taking a solemn farewell of them we set forward on our Journey and passing thro' Puckeridge and Barkway Towns of good Hospitality and Entertainment for Strangers we were quickly arriv'd within the Precincts of Cambridgeshire This is an extream pleasant open Country Cambridgeshire and a place of such Variety and Plenty that fruitful Geres with a smiling Countenance invites the Industrious Peasant to behold with Joy the Fruits of his Labour whilst she crowns his Industry with a plentiful Harvest and as if the Earth strove not to be behind hand with him in conferring other Largesses she in divers places makes some Annual Additions of another Crop by adorning the Fields with large Productions of Saffron by which great Profits do continually arise Besides here it is that the green Banks of murmuring Rivers and sunny Hills bedeck'd with diversity of Plants and Simples call forth the Students from their musing Cells and teach them Theory as well as Practice by diving into their Natures contemplating their Signatures and considering their Qualities and various Effects In a word here is nothing wanting for Profit or Delight and though the Northern parts of the County towards the Isle of Ely lying somewhat low are moist and Fenny yet that Defect is abundantly supply'd by the Plenty of Cattle Fish and Fowl bred in those Fenns and which makes the Air more healthy the gentle Gales which are frequently stirring drive away all thick Mists and Fogs which in some parts most annoy it and by this means it is become a fit Seat for the Muses to inhabit and we have no reason to complain of the Soil since our Wise Ancestors thought it good and convenient to plant a Colony of Learned Men here and place one of the Eyes of our Nation in this spot of Ground the famous and most glorious University of Cambridge which we could not in Honour pass by without a Visit Cambridge Cambridge was formerly call'd by the Britains Kaergrant and Grantbridge from a fair large Bridge made over the River Grant which is now call'd Cam from whence the Town it self receives its Name It is increased much by the Ruines of Grantchester sometimes a famous City situated a little above a Mile from this place and the Castle that is beyond the River the Ruines of which are still to be seen was built as
ancient Records testifie in the first year of William the Conqueror and in the fifth year of William Rufus in the year of our Lord 1092 a Nobleman of the Norman Blood nam'd Picot a Vice-comes or Sheriff at the request of Hugolin his Wife founded a Church and Dedicated it unto St. Giles near to this Castle placing in it a Convent of six black Canons which was twenty years after remov'd to Barnwell a Village near a Mile distant from this place by Pain Reverell where he built a Priory to the Honour of St. Giles and St. Andrew and endow'd it with Revenues for the maintainance of thirty Canons of St. Austin's Order As Mr. Tanner informs us As to the Antiquity of the University of Cambridge if any Credit may be given to King Arthur's Diploma which says That King Lucius was converted by the preaching of the Doctors of Cambridge for which reason he gave Privileges to that University which were after confirm'd by King Arthur or if the Bull of Pope Honorius the First may be allow'd Authentick which bearing date Feb. 20 An. Dom. 624. makes mention of the Privileges granted to the University of Cambridge by Pope Eleutherius and takes notice of Doctors and Scholars Resident there at that time Why then as it is truly observ'd by our most Learned Bishop of Worcester in his Antiquities of the British Churches This is a sufficient Proof to all that relie on the Pope's Authority that in the time of King Lucius and Eleutherius there might be a sufficient number of Learned Men in Cambridge to have instructed King Lucius in the Christian Faith and that it is not improbable that Eluanus and Medwinus might be of that number especially considering that Camboritum or as many Copies have it Camboricum was a Roman Colony and mention'd amongst the best Copies among the 28 Cities of Britain and that the Roman Colonies had their Schools of Learning wherein the several Professors of Arts and Sciences did instruct both the Roman and British Youth But what ever Favours the Romans were pleased to confer upon this place 't is certain it met afterwards with very great Encouragement from divers other Benefactors and by the Countenance of Segebert King of the East-Angles and other Saxon Princes it held up its Head in a flourishing Condition till about the year 1100 as the Saxon Chronicle informs us The cruel and merciless Danes laid all waste before them and Swene their King with Fire and Sword burnt this place to the Ground contrary to what we read of the Roman Captain Sylla who though otherwise as furious as a Tyger or a Lion yet when he raged in Greece spared the much celebrated Athens for Minerva's sake Yet nevertheless when these Storms were once blown over in the time of the Normans Learning began to peep out again and seeing all was clear and quiet sprouted up a fresh recruiting it self by degrees till at last in progress of time it return'd to its Primitive State and flourish'd more vigorously than ever it did before For in the Reign of K. Henry I. for his Learning sirnam'd Beauclere it began again to be new modell'd into an University and hereupon Religious Houses and Halls were immediately erected and they have ever since been increasing to the number of Sixteen namely Twelve Magnificent Colleges and four famous Halls where the Buildings are so Uniform the Chapels so Stately the Privileges so Great the Government so Regular the Orders so Strict the Ceremonies so Decorous and the Preferments so Honourable that in all the European Countries no nor perhaps in all the Nations of the World can we find out one University excepting that of Oxford so richly endow'd so famous and renown'd for its Structures so admirable for its Discipline and so courted and address'd to for its most Polite Learning So that when Erasmus was pleased to give us a Strain of his Eloquence in Decyphering both their Characters he doth it but in such a Style as is very suitable to the Subject and the Elogy is no less than what they justly deserve I have before this saith he been extreamly well satisfy'd and have exceedingly rejoyced that England hath constantly been furnish'd with Men who have been as Eminent for their Parts as Learning But now I begin to envy her Felicity had he lived now in our days he would still have had greater reason for this Harangue by reason that she is now so enrich'd with all kind of Literature that by taking the Commendation thereof from other Regions she doth marvellously obscure and eclipse their Glory and yet this Commendation is not only due to England at this present time for it is well known for divers years past to have flourish'd with persons of deep and profound Learning The Universities prove this to be true which have for their Antiquity and Worthiness contended with and outstripped the most ancient and celebrated Academies that ever were planted in the Christian World It might now be expected that I should further exspatiate into a more particular Description of these Famous and Ample Colleges and give an exact Portraiture of the large and spatious Quadrangle of Trinity-College so excellently contriv'd and admirably surrounded with a curious Pile of Buildings which was at first founded by King Henry VIII Of the noble Fabrick of St. John's founded by Margaret Countess of Richmond and Darby both which Colleges have of late years been so extreamly beautify'd and enlarg'd Of Corpus-Christi or Bennet-College founded by Henry Duke of Lancaster whose Library is so famous for its divers ancient Manuscripts as well as from the great Honour it daily receives from His Grace the present Lord Archbishop of Canterbury who was formerly a Learned Fellow and still continues the greatest Glory of it Of that unimitable Piece of Architecture in King's College Chapel founded by that Heroick Prince King Henry VI. Of the Publick Schools of the University which have been of so ancient a continuance that there is no mention when or how they began Of the Publick Library which though it be not so spacious and glorious as the Vatican or Bodleian yet it is so well stock'd with all kind of Divine and Humane Writers that there is not sufficient Room for all the Manuscripts and choice Books which are daily given to it especially if that Order be strictly observ'd of which I have been credibly inform'd That a Copy of every Book which is printed in England be by the Printer presented to it I might insist further on the laudable Modes and Customs which are duly observ'd in this Renown'd University of the large Privileges and Immunities which have been ever granted to it of the honourable Degrees in Divinity Law and Physick which are here annually conferr'd of the great Encouragements which are daily given to all such Persons who have been most Exemplary for their Piety and Learning for which Reason undoubtedly three great and eminent Persons the Pious and Humble Dr. Sancroft the