afford excellent Fish and wild Fowl in great plenty A noted Place in former time for its wonderfull rich Abbey which continued in its glory till its Dissolution by King Henry VIII This County which formerly was Part of the Kingdom of Mercia and its Inhabitants Part of the Iceni as the Romans called them is now in the Diocese of Lincoln Out of it are elected besides the two Knights of the Shire but two Parliament Men and these out of Huntington Kent KENT in Latin Cantium so called as being seated in a Canton or Corner of the Kingdom is a large rich and pleasant Country â—â—ying between the Thames and the Narrow Seas So that it is invironed on all sides with the Sea except Westward where it borders both upon Surrey and Sussex It contains in Length from East to West 60 Miles in Breadth from North to South 30. The Whole divided into five Lathes called Sutton Aylesford Scray St. Augustine and Shepway Lathes and these into 67 Hundreds wherein 408 Parishes and 30 Market Towns Which is an Argument of its Populousness But the Air is neither so serene nor so healthful here as in other Counties especially near the Sea and Marshes which makes this Country so noted for its Kentish Agues Now that you may know in few words the Nature of this Country both as to its Air and Soil I shall bring in the Remark made upon it which is that there are 3 Ridges of Hills in Kent one called Health without Wealth the second Health and Wealth and the third Wealth without Health Others as to the Soil give this different Character of it The Weald for Wood East Kent for Corn Rumney for Meadow Tenham for an Orchard Shepey and Reculver for Wheat Thanet for Barley and Hedcorn for Capons In general this may be said of Kent that it is a Country very good for Corn and fit for Pasturage according to the several Plots and Parts thereof and wondrous full of fruitful and well-ordered Orchards from whence the City of London is supplied with most sorts of Fruit but chiefly with Pippins and Cherries which are counted the best in England On the Cliffs between Deal and Dover there grows a great store of Samphire The same is well watered with Rivers For besides the Thames that washes its North Parts here is the Medway which in a manner parts it in the middle the Stower that runs by Canterbury the Tun through Tunbridge and the Rother upon which Appledore is seated not to mention the lesser Streams Of all the Counties in England this was the first Kingdom of the Heptarchy and had a particular King to it self which no other County ever had Neither was it conquered by the Normans the Kentish Men yielding upon Articles and having their ancient Franchises and Customs confirmed to 'em by William the Conqueror One of which is the Cavelkind whereby they are not so bound by Copy-hold as in other Parts of England Lands of this nature being equally divided here among the male Children and for want of Males among the Females By the same Law they are at age at 15 years old and they may sell or make over the Land without the consent of the Lord. Also the Son tho of a convicted Father for Felony or Murder succeeds him in such Kind of Lands The Kentish Men besides have this to glory in that they were the first Christians of this Island And this is the only County at this time that has two Cities or Episcopal Sees namely Canterbury and Rochester Canterbury the chief Place of this County is 46 miles East of London Viz. from London to Dartford 12 to Rochester 11 more from thence to Sittingborn 10 and to Canterbury 13 more A City of great Antiquity if it was built as some Authors aver 900 years before Christ 'T is seated on the River Stower noted for breeding the best Trouts in the South East Parts of England and is counted in the Lath of S. Augustine The Buildings of it but mean and the Wall which encompasses it in a decayed condition The greatest Ornament of all is the Cathedral wherein ly interred the Bodies of eight Kings For this City had been the Seat of the Kings of Kent till given by Ethelbert the first Christian King of this Country to Augustine the first Archbishop thereof and his Successors Whereupon the King removed his Seat to Reculver a Town by the Sea-side In this Cathedral is also interred the Body of Thomas Becket once Archbishop hereof that famous Saint so reverenced by the Romanists In this City and its Suburbs are reckoned 14 Parish Churches besides a Meeting-place under the Cathedral for the Walloonâ— that dwell in this City who are very numerous and drive a considerable Trade of the Stuffs they make here It has two Markets a Week Wednesdays and Saturdays the latter of which is the most considerable But to the honour this City has had of being the Regal Seat of the first Kings of Kent and of being to this day the See of the Primate of England let us add the Coronation of King John and Queen Izabel his Wife the Marriages of Henry II. and Edward I and the Interments of Edward the black Prince King Henry the Fourth and Queen Joan his Wife all which was performed in this Place The other Market-Towns are Eltham Mund. Wrotham Tue. Lenham Tue. Westram Wedn. S. Mary Cray Wedn. Goldburst Wedn. Gravesend Wedn. Sat. Feversham Wedn. Sat. Dover Wedn. Sat. Sandwich Wedn. Sat. Wye Thu. Rumney Thu. Lyd Thu. Folkstone Thu. Maidstone Thu. Bromley Thu. Rochester Frid. Tunbridge Frid. Tenderden Frid. Woolwich Frid. Smarden Frid. Malinge Sat. Milton Sat. Cranbrook Sat. Hythe Sat. Ashford Sat. Sevenoke Sat. Dartford Sat. Appledore Among which Rockester requires the preeminence as a Bishops See and the second for Antiquity in all the Island It is seated upon the Medway over which it has a stately Stone-bridge one of the fairest in England It consists most of one principal Street which extends it self a long way the Houses being but ordinary as they are inhabited for the most part but by Trades-men and Inn-keepers Yet besides the Honour it has of being a Bishops See it is dignify'd with the Title of an Earldom in the Person of the Right Honourable Laurence Hyde Earl of Rochester Viscount Hyde c. Which Title was formerly enjoy'd by three Wilmots And before them there was a Viscount of this Place Sir Robert Carr being created Viscount of Rochester Anno 1611. and afterwards Earl of Somerset Adjoyning to this City is Chatham also seated on the Banks of Medway A long Thorough-fare Town well inhabited by Seamen and Shipwrights as being the principal Station of the Royal Navy and having a good Dock and Store-houses for the building and equipping of his Majesties Ships Maidstone is seated also on the Medway but near the head of it This is the Town where the County-Goal Sessions and Assizes are kept being conveniently seated for
that Order and Henry III. Anno 1253. commanded Watches to be kept in Cities and Boroughs for the Preservation of Peace and Quietness among his Subjects Therefore there are in the respective Streets of London to this day convenient Stations for the Watchmen who are to examine all Persons walking in unseasonable Hours and to secure till next Day such as are either suspicious or riotous And then they bring them before a Justice of Peace who deals with them according to the Merit of the Cause Thus Murders Robberies Felonies Fires and other Evils are oftentimes prevented which could not be avoided in so great and populous a Place where a great many wicked People ly lurking for Mischief This Duty of Watching is commonly performed by Men hired for that purpose and paid for 't by the Citizens under the Command of a Constable assisted by the Eeadle of the Parish In case of a publick Riot the King usually sends a Party of his Gards to suppress it and if occasion requires part of the Militia is raised But to draw to a Conclusion if we cast our Eyes upon the vast Traffick and Commerce whereby this Place is become so flourishing it will every where afford matter of Admiration The same does plainly appear by the Customs yearly paid for all Merchandise Imported and Exported by the great Wealth of many Citizens by the infinite Number of Shops both in the City and Suburbs for the Retailing Trade and lastly by the incredible Abundance of Apprentices which are here brought up to all manner of Trades The Customs for this City alone tho' very moderate in comparison of most other Places in Europe did lately amount to near 400000 l. a Year The Wealth of the Citizens so vast that some of 'em for great Estates in Mony c. excel some Princes beyond Sea and live accordingly in great state and plenty few so penuriously as most of the Dutch Merchants do The Number of Shops both in the City and Suburbs so great and indeed so far beyond that of any foreiâ— City that it is to Strangers a just Matter of Amazement Proportionable to which is That of the Apprentices reckoned to be at least forty thousand Now this great Trade of the Londoners runs into three several Streams 1. among themselves 2 in the Country and 3 beyond Sea of which in my second Part. Only I shall observe here that the vast Trade of this Place has chiefly occasioned that great Appearance in it of Pictures in the Air a Thing taken particular notice of at the first view by Strangers I mean the Multitude of Signs which hang before the Houses many of them very rich and costly and all together yielding a fine Prospect But on the other side its frequent Dirt in Winter and Dust in Summer are two such Nusances as take off very much from the Glory of it And yet both of them might with ease be Remedied and will I hope in time For in point of Cleanness few Towns are better Seated than London is standing upon an easy Ascent from the River And the Allowance for it from each House-keeper is so considerable that one would think it enough to keep it cleaner than it is But the Truth is there 's a sort of Chymists that can extract Gold out of Dirt. And I conjecture the less Care has been taken to take off that Reproach from so noble a City because of the two great Conveniences it has to go free from the Dirt from one End of it to the other that is by Land in Coaches and by Water in Boats Besides that the principal Streets and most of the New Buildings are paved a good convenient Breadth on each side with smooth hewn Stone for the benefit of Foot-Passengers Which is a great Commodiousness as well as an Ornament I conclude as to Loudon with three notable Conveniencies it has not elsewhere to be found Viz. the New Lights the Peny-Post and the Insurance-Office for Houses in case of Fire The New Lights is so ingenious and usefull an Invention that Mr. Edmund Heming the Inventor deserves an immortal Praise for it He brought it to light about 6 Years ago with a Patent from King Charles II for the Injoyment of the Profits thereof And such is the Reflexion of these Lights tho' at a good distance from each other that few of them serve to light a whole Street in the Night better than ten times the Number of Glass Lanthorns For by the regular Position of one of them before the Front of every tenth House on each side of a broad Street there is such a mutual Reflection that they all seem to be but one great solar Light And so cheap is this Conveniency that for five Shillings down and five Shillings a Year for five Years to be paid at two Quarterly Payments the Inventor obliges himself to light the Front of ones House from Michaelmas to Lady Day every Night from six to twelve beginning the third Night after every Full-Moon and ending the sixth Night after every New Moon which is in all 120 Nights The Peny-Post is such a Contrivance that for one Peny a Letter or Parcel not exceeding one pound Weight or ten pounds in value is presently conveyed from all Parts of the Town and Suburbs to the remotest Places thereof And it has been so far improved since the first settling of it as to reath ten miles about London He that sends pays the Peny â—nd when the Letter or Parcel goes beyond the Bounds of the Weekly Bills of Mortality the Receiver pays another Peny To carry on this usefull Design first there are about the Town four or five hundred Houses to take in Letters and Parcels And to convey them according to their Directions there are about 100 messengers imployed from Morning to Night to call every Hour at the said Houses and take what Letters and Parcels they find there Who carry the same to their respective Offices from whence the Letters and Parcels are dispatched away according to their Directions The Offices are six in Number Viz. The General Office St. Paul's Office The Temple Office Westminster Office Soutwark Office The Hermitage Office The General Office is in Star-Court in Cornhill and has 3 Clerks belonging to it whereas the rest have but two Clerks each The whole Concern is managed in chief by three Persons a Comptroller an Accomptant and a Receiver Every one of the Messengers imployed in the bringing in and carrying out of Letters gives 50 l. Security by Bond to the Office for his Fidelity And for this Contrivance the Publick is indebted to that ingenious Citizen of London Mr. William Dockwrea who settled it some Years since not without much trouble and cost But the late King when Duke of York sued him for the lame as his Right and carried it from the Inventor So that the Benefit of it is now inherent in the Crown The Insurance Office for Houses in case of Fire is also an
the Night at Sun-set which is according to the old Babylonian Account The Old Style is used in England as in most Protestant States and the New Style in all Popish States According to this Style these reckon ten Days before us regularly as to the beginning of Months and all fixt Festivals but for all moveable Feasts the Account proves various The Old Style is otherwise called the Julian Account from Julius Caesar who 43 Years before our Saviours Birth ordained the Year to consist of 365 Days and 6 â—ours And as these 6 hours at 4 Years end make up 24 hours therefore a Day is then added to the Month of February and that Year called Leap Year or Bissextile Year from the Latine Bissextilis The New Style is otherwise termed the Gregorian Account from Pope Gregory XIII who above 100 Years ago undertook to correct the Calendar by the advice and direction of Antonius Lilius and other excellent Mathematicians For tho the Julian Account for many Ages seemed to have no sensible Errour yet it was at last discovered to be not altogether agreeable with the natural Motion of the Sun In short it was made out that the Julian Year exceeded the true Solar Year by 10 Minutes and 48 Seconds whereby the Equinoxes and Solstices yearly changed their places and flew back so many minutes and seconds Therefore Pope Gregory ordered the Year to consist of 365 Days 5 hours 49 minutes 12 seconds And that the Vernal Equinox which then was on the 11th of March might be reduced to the 21th as it was at the time of the first Nicene Council he commanded ten Days in October to be left out by calling the fifth Day thereof the fifteenth To find Easter the Church of England observes still the Cycle found out and finished in the sixth Century by that worthy Roman Dionysius Exiguus or Abas Whereas the Roman Church having invented new Rules about Easter it happens sometimes that their Easter is full five Weeks before ours sometimes with but never after ours CHAP. III. Of the English Way of Living as to Lodging Fewel Food Raiment Exercise Recreations and some particular Customs WHen I compare the Modern English Way of Building with the Old Way I cannot but wonder at the Genius of old Times Nothing is more delightful and convenient than Light nothing more agreeable to health than a free Air. And yet of old they used to dwell in Houses most with a blind Stair-case low Cielings and dark Windows the Rooms built at random often with Steps from one to another So that one would think the Men of former Ages were afraid of Light and good Air or loved to play at Hide and Seek Whereas the Genius of our time is altogether for lightsom Stair-Cases fine Sash-Windows and lofty Cielings And such has been of late our Builders Industry in point of Compactness and Uniformity that a House after the new Way will afford upon the same Quantity of Ground as many more Conveniences The Contrivance of Closets in most Rooms and the painted Wainscotting now so much used are also two great Improvements the one for Conveniency the other for Cleanness and Health And indeed for so damp a Country as England is nothing could be better contrived than Wainscot to keep off the ill Impression of damp Walls In short for handsom Accommodations and Neatness of Lodgings London undoubtedly has got the preeminence The greatest Objection against the London-Houses being for the most part Brick is their Slightness occasioned by the Fines exacted by the Landlords So that few Houses at the common rate of Building last longer than the Ground-Lease that is about 50 or 60 Years In the mean time if there happens to be a long fit of excessive Heat in Summer or Cold in Winter the Walls being but thin become at last so penetrated with the Air that the Tenant must needs be uneasy with it But those Extreams happen but seldom And this Way of Building is wonderful beneficial to all Trades relating to it for they never want Work in so great a City where Houses here and there are always repairing or building up again The plaistered Cielings so much used in England beyond all other Countries make by their Whiteness the Rooms so much lightsomer and are excellent against a raging Fire They stop the passage of Dust and lessen the Noise over-head In Summer-time the Air of the Room is something the cooler for 't and the warmer in Winter The Use of Stoves so common in Northern Countries as Germany Denmark Sueden Poland and Moscovy and even so far Southward as Swisserland is in a manner unknown in this Country And indeed its Temperateness does no way require it Therefore the English use no outward Remedy against Cold Weather but a Chimney-Fire which is both comfortable to the Body and chearful to the Sight 'T is true there is a double Conveniency in Stoves First in point of Savingness for once heating of a Stove in the Morning keeps the Room warm a whole Day Secondly in Point of Warmth the Room being so warm with it that all Places in it feel the benefit thereof But those two Conveniences are more than over-ballanced by one Inconveniency viz. the aptness of Stoves to gather and foment all the noisom Smells of a Room for want of Vent which must needs be very unwholsom whereas a Chimney-fire draws 'em to it and there they find vent with the Smoak To that Inconveniency we may add the chilling Impressions of a cold and sharp Air upon ones coming into it out of so warm a Room as commonly Stove-rooms are Besides the Cumbersomness of Stoves in Summer-time when being altogether useless they take up a great deal of room to no purpose As for Fewel England affords three Sorts Wood Coals and Turves but Coals is the most common in London especially where they have 'em by Sea from Newcastle and Sunderland A lasting sort of Fewel being a mixture of small and round Coals together which by their aptness to cake is the most durable of any and for Kitchin Use far beyond Wood it self as yielding not only a more even but more piercing Heat The Smoak of it is indeed grosser and of a corrosive nature but yet nothing so offensive to the Eye whatever it is to the Lungs as some pretend it to be In many Parts of the Country they have Pit-coals which is a cleaner and more chearful Fewel but not so durable as Sea-coals But the Cheapness of these at London in Time of Peace is worth taking notice where for so small a matter as two or three pence a Day one may keep a constant moderate Fire from Morning till Bed-time Which is a mighty Advantage to so vast and populous a Place especially considering it comes 300 miles by Sea And whatever the Parisians can say to the praise of their Wood-fires I dare say the common sort of People there would be glad could they compass it to change in
and frequented and enjoying a good Trade It has two Markets a Week viz. Wednesdays and Saturdays which are very great for Corn and Cattle and well served with all Provisions And for Divine Worship here are twelve Parish-Churches besides the Cathedral a fine piece of Architecture noted amongst other things for its Whispering Place which is in an Arch of the Quire but chiefly for being the Burying-place of Lucius the first Christian King and of the unfortunate King Edward II. who at Barkley-Castle was barbarously murdered by the Cruelty of Isabel his Wife Lastly this City is both a Bishops See and a County of it self being made a County by King Richard III once Duke of Glocester And as it has the advantage of denominating so rich a Country as this so it has been often dignified with the Title of a Dukedom sometimes that of an Earldom in those eminent Persons who in their several Times and Ages have been either Dukes or Earls of Glocester The Number of 'em is too great for me to produce 'em all here Therefore I shall only say that the last Duke of Glocester was Henry the third Son of King Charles I declared by his Royal Father Duke of Glocester and Earl of Cambridge and so Intituled Anno 1641 but not so created till the Year 1659. He lived to see the Restauration of the Royal Family and died the same Year it hapned viz. Sept. 13. 1660. With him the Title has lain dormant till it was lately revived in the person of the young Prince William the Son of the Illustrious Prince George of Denmark Nigh to this City is Alney-Isle so made by the Severn In which Edmund Ironside King of the English Saxons and Canute the Dane after many Conflicts and bloody Battels fought a single Combat hand to hand for the Crown of England The Issue of which was that they agreed to part the Kingdom which they joyntly governed till Treason took away the Life of King Edmund and left Canute sole Monarch of England At Lassington a mile from Glocester is found a sort of Stone called the Star-Stone being about the breadth of a Silver Peny and the thickness of a Half-crown These Stones are flat and like a Star five-pointed of a grayish colour and on the flat sides naturally ingraven in fine Works as one Mullet within another The other Market-Towns besides Glocester it self are Bristol Sat. and Wedn. Tewksbury Sat. Winchcomb Sat. Leonards Stanley Sat. Thornbury Sat. Wickware Mun. Dean Magna Mun. Cirencester Mun. Frid. Panswick Tue. Horton Tue. Minching-hampton Tue. Marshfield Tue. Letchlade Tue. Campden Wedn. Blackley Wedn. Tedbury Wedn. Stow on the Wold Thu. Cheltenham Thu. Dursbey Thu. Chipping Sudbury Thu. Fairford Thu. Stroud Frid. Wotton Frid. Newent Frid. Newham Frid. Amongst which Bristol being not only the greatest Place of Trade in England next to London but also a Bishops See and a County of it self deserves a particular Description It is both pleasantly and commodiously seated at the fall of the Frome into the Avon which five Miles from thence empties it self into the Severn By this River the City is divided into two Parts the chief Part in Glocestershire and the other in Somersetshire but with the conveniency of Communication by means of a fair Stone Bridge Which like London Bridge is so covered with Houses that it looks more like a Street than a Bridge Its Streets are neatly ordered and set out with many fine Edifices Among which may be reckoned the Cathedral and most of the Parish Churches which are 18 in Number The City is begirt with a Wall besides other Fortifications At the East end of it stood a Castle wherein King Stephen was kept a Prisoner by Maud the Empress But it was demolished by Oliver Cromwel and is now built into Streets called Castle-street and Castle-Green But that which has chiefly made Bristol so considerable is the goodness of its Port. The principal Key whereof stands on the Frome which at Spring-Tides does flow about 40 Foot and so brings Ships in of a great Burden Thus Bristol by its Commodiousness for Shipping is become a Place of great Resort both for Merchants and Tradesmen those driving a great Trade to most Parts of the Known World these a Home-Trade especially to Wales to Shropshire and other Counties About Bristol is great store of Coals also a sort of Precious Stone called from thence Bristol-Stones taken out of S. Vincents Rock At the bottom whereof is a hot Well of a Medicinal nature Lastly though Bristol stands partly as I said before in this County and partly in Somersetshire yet as it is a County of it self it yields Obedience to neither And considering its Beauty Trade Riches Extent and Populousness it may be counted the chief Place in England next to London 'T is but about 150 Years since this Town came to he a Bishops See this being one of the six new Sees erected by Henry VIII by virtue of an Act of Parliament made in order to it But it is less since it became a Title of Nobility which was not till King James I. conferred the Honour of Earl of Bristol upon John Lord Digby of Sherburn Anno 1622. From him devolved by his Death to his Son George in the Year 1650 and from him to the Right Hononrable John Digby the present Earl of Bristol Cirencester commonly pronounced Circester is seated on the River Churn over which it has a Bridge It has been a Place of great account in the time of the Romans and without insisting upon the Roman Coyns Checker-work Pavements and engraven Marble Stones that have oft been digged up here it s very ruinous Walls still to be seen and about 2 Miles in Circuit are a sufficient proof of its former Greatness This City was taken from the Britains by the West-Saxons and afterwards possessed by the Mercians till laid in Ashes by a Stratagem of the merciless Danes in tying fire to the Wings of Sparrows from whence it came to be called the Sparrows City Since which Desolation it could never recover it self to any thing beyond the Name of a good Borough Town Tewksbury is a goodly Town situate at the fall of the North-Avon into the Severn and watered besides with two Rivulets A Town of good account for making of Woollen Cloth and for the best Mustard in the Kingdom as Dijon is in France But most of all memorable for the Battel fought here Anno 1471. between King Henry VI. and his immediate Successor Edward IV that is between the House of Lancaster and York where the Lancastrians were intirely defeated and the young Prince Edward the only Son of King Henry slain Stroud situate on the River so called is a well-built Town whose Houses for the most part are of Stone It has a Bridge over the River on the Banks of which are placed abundance of fulling Mills Here they die Scarlet the Stroud Water having a peculiar quality to give the right Tincture Near the
handsom Town flands pleasantly among fertile Meadows near the Forest of Charwood on the Banks of the River Stowr over which it has a Bridge Lutterworth a goodly Town also beautified with a large and fair Church with a neat and lofty Spire-Steeple is seated in a good Soil on the River Swift which at a small distance from hence falls into the Avon in Warwickshire Of this Town the famous Wicless was Parson an okl Champion against the Corruptions and Errours of the Church of Rome This County now in the Diocese of Lincoln was part of the ancient Kingdom of Mercia in the Time of the Heptarchy and its Inhabitants with several of their Neighbours went among the ancient Romans under the Name of Coritani Out of it are elected besides the two Knights of the Shire but two Members of Parliament chosen by the Town of Leicester Lincolnshire LINCOLNSHIRE a large Maritime County is bounded on the East with the German Ocean on the West with the Counties of York Nottingham and Leicester on the North with the River Humber which parts it from Yorkshire on the South with the Counties of Cambridge Northampton and Rutland It contains in Length from North to South almost 60 miles in Breadth from East to West 35. The Whole divided into 3 Parts called Lindsey Kesteven and Holland And these 3 Divisions contain 30 Hundreds wherein 630 Parishes and 35 Market-Towns This Country being Fenny especially in the East and South Parts makes the Air something unhealthful because it is apt to be thick and foggy The Soil in the North and West Parts is exceeding pleasant and fertile stored with Pasturage Arable and Meadow Grounds But the East and South Parts that are full of Fenny Grounds and something brackish by reason of the Salt Waters that come in from the Sea through several Inlets are barren and unfit for Corn. 'T is true in recompence thereof there is such a plenty both of Fowl and Fish that no County in the Kingdom can compare with it And there goes a Story that at one draught with a Net 30â—0 Mallards have been taken besides other sorts How true it is I am as yet to seek but am apt to think there 's one Cypher too much As for Rivers no County in England is better irrigated nor Rivers any where more plentifull of Fish Northward is the Humber which as I said before parts it from Yorkshire and Westward the Trent which severs Part of it from Nottinghamshire Cross the Country you will find the Witham River Southward the Weland and the Nen. That Part of the County which goes by the Name of Lindsey lies to the Northward and is so named from Lindissi the ancient Name of Lincoln according to Beda This Part is so surrounded with Water that it is an Island and its Extent so great in proportion to the rest that it takes up at least one half of the County Noted for giving the Title of Earl to the Right Honourable Robert Bertie the present Earl of Lindsey Lord Great Chamberlain of England Kesteven and Holland take up the South Parts from Lindsey Holland lying towards the Sea and Kesteven West from it Of Holland there has been 3 Earls Henry Robert and Edward Rich. The first created Earl of Holland by King James I. Anno 1624. Robert his Son succeeded not only in this Title but also in that of Earl of Warwick upon the Death of his Cousin-german Charles Rich Earl of Warwick who died without Issue So that both Titles are now injoyd by his Son and Heir the Right Honourable Edward Rich the present Earl of Warwick and Holland Lincoln the principal Place in this Shire and a Bishops See bears from London North by West and is distant from it by common Computation 103 miles thus Viz. from London to Huntington 48 miles for the Particulars whereof I refer you to Huntingtonshire from thence to Stilton 9 to Peterborough 5 more to Market-Deeping 8 to Sleaford 18 more and thence to Lincoln 15. A City seated on the side of a Hill the lower part whereof is watered by the River Witham over which there are several Bridges for the Conveniency of Passengers A Place of great Antiquity whose ancient ruinated Places are still an Argument of its former Greatness In the Time of the Romans 't was a Town of great strength and fame and in the Time of the Normans a Place of great Trading Whose flourishing Condition occasioned the Episcopal See then at Dorchester near Oxon to be removed hither But this City has gone through all the Calamities of Fire Sword and Earth-quake Which has so much weakned and impaired it that of 50 Churches it is said to have had for divine Worship there remains but 15 besides the Cathedral In the Time of the Saxons King Arthur drove away their Forces from this Place The like did Edmund Ironside to the Danes who had made sore havock thereof On the 5th of Sept. 1140. here was a great Battel fought between King Stephen and Maud the Empress in which the King was taken Prisoner and afterwards laid in irons in Bristol On the 19th of May 1217. here was another sore Battel fought betwixt King Henry III. and his disloyal Barons who stood for Lewis the Dauphin of France in which the King got the day But whatever Disasters and Calamities this City has gone through still 't is a large populous and well frequented Place Dignified not only with an Episcopal See whose Diocese to this day is the greatest of any in the Kingdom but also for many Ages with the Title of an Earldom Which having passed through severall Families with frequent Interruptions came at last to be in the possession of Edward Fiennes Lord Clinton who being Lord Admiral in Queen Elizabeth's Time was by her Majesty created Earl of Lincoln Anno 1565. From whom the Title is now devolved in a direct Line to the Right Honourable Edward Clinton the present Earl of Lincoln The Cathedral or Minster as now standing is one of the stateliest Piles in England and perhaps in Christendom high seated on a Hill and from thence discerned over all the Country In short this City is a County of it self whose Liberties extend about 20 miles in compass and is called the County of the City of Lincoln It s Market kept on Fridays is well served with Provisions and Country Commodities The other Market-Towns are Grantham Sat. Kirkton Sat. Thongcaster Sat. Waynfleet Sat. Horn-Castle Sat. Dunington Sat. Burton Sat. Bourn Sat. Spilsby Mun. Salsby Mun. Sleaford Mun. Market-Stanton Mun. Stamford Mund. Frid. Ganesborough Tue. Barton Tue. Market-Rasen Tue. Bullingbrook Tue. Spalding Tue. Alford Tue. Grinsby Wedn. Binbrook Wedn. Lowthe Wed. and Sat. Boston Wed. and Sat. Glamford Thu. Burgh Thu. Market-Deeping Thu. Folkingham Thu. Holbich Thu. Wragby Thu. Naverby Thu. Tatershall Frid. Saltfleet Crowland Barnwell Among which Stamferd in Kesteven Division and the hithermost Town of Lincolnshire is the most considerable Seated on both sides of the
Hundreds wherein 660 Parishes and 31 Market-Towns Which is an Argument of its Populousness Here the Air is sharp and piercing especially near the Sea and in the Champain Part which occasions a later Spring and Harvest The Soil in many Places but chiefly along the Sea-Coast which is a Champain Country affords plenty of Corn. The Heaths feed a World of Sheep and breed abundance of Conies And the Woodland Part serves for Grazing of Cattel yet not without Corn-ground The Sea and the Rivers besides that glide through this Country strive as it were to furnish it with their plenty of Fâ—sh And among these besides those above-named viz. the two Ouses and the Waveney there are two of chief note called the Yare and the Thryn The Yare particularly noted for its great plenty of a certain Fish called Ruff whose body is all Prickled over the tail and fins spotted with black Specks This Fish eats tender and short as a Perch and is counted a wholsom Fish It delights in sandy Places and is rarely seen in any other River One Thing is observable of it that when the Fish is angry the fins stand up stiff and after its Anger is over they fall flat again In short the Soil of this Country according to the Variety of Places is of different nature In some Parts it is fat rank and full of moisture in others very light and sandy Yet so that one contributing to the other and the Sea giving help to both it is a very plentiful Country for Corn Sheep and Fish Norwich the chief Place hereof and a Bishops See bears from London North-East and by North and is distant therefrom 90 miles thus From London to Ware 20 to Barkway 11 more thence to Witleâ—ford-Bridge 10 and to New-Market 12 more from Newmarket to Theâ—ford 16 to Attleborough 10 more thence to Windham 5 and to Norwich 6 more A City seated on the River Yare which runs thence to Yarmouth and over which it has several Bridges It was formerly the Seat of the East-Angles and then a Place of great splendour But it has since undergone so many Calamities by Sword and Famine by Fire and Pestilence that it is much it should prove to this day a fair large populous and well frequented City Insomuch that it ly's out a Mile and a half in length and half as much in breadth containing in that Circuit about 20 Parishes well walled about with several Turrets and 12 Gates for entrance but not without much waste Ground within it It s chief Buildings are the Cathedral beautified with a lofty Spire then the Bishops and the Duke of Norfolk's Pallaces the Market-House the Cross and the House of Correction made of free Stone and so well cemented that no Mortar is seen Here is also an Hospital where 100 poor Men and Women are maintained and the Ruins of an ancient Castle of the Saxons building In short here is so pleasant an Intermixture of the Houses with Trees that it may not improperly be called an Orchard in a City or a City in an Orchard the populousness of a City and the pleasure of the Country meeting here together Of some Note besides for giving the Title of Earl to his Grace the Duke of Norfolk Earl of Arundel Surrey and Norwich Finally this City do's injoy a great Trade but chiefly for its Stuffs Stockings and other Manufactures here made for the learning of which it is beholding to the Dutch that came to inhabit here It has three Markets a Week Wednesdays Fridays and Saturdays the first and last very great for all sorts of Provisions The other Market-Towns are Lyn Sat. Mund. Yarmouth Sat. Thetford Sat. Hingham Sat. New-Buckenham Sat. Swafham Sat. Downham Sat. Holt Sat. Burnham Sat. Cromere Sat. Repcham Sat. Alesham Sat. Worsted Sat. Sechy Mund. East-Herling Tue Fulcham Tue Caston Tue Harlston Wedn. Watton Wedn. North-Walsham Thu Attlebury Thu Fakenham Thu Windham Frid East-Derham Frid Diss Frid Snetham Frid Walsingham Frid Besides Southwold and Winfield two new Markets and Hickling whose Market-Days I am ignorant of â—yn formerly called Bishops Lyn as appertaining to the Bishops of Norwich till King Henry VIII gave it the Name of â—yn Regis or King's Lyn is seated in the Western Part of the Country upon the Banks of the Ouse near its fall into that Part of the Sea which is called the Washes Watered besides by two little Rivers that fall there into the Ouse which are passed over by about 15 Bridges A Town of good antiquity large and well built containing 3 Parish-Churches and for its Defence incompassed with a Wall and a good Ditch Well Inhabited by Merchants and Tradesmen who drive a considerable Trade and the more by reason of its commodious Haven Yet it is much eclipsed in its Trade to what it was formerly because of the stoppage of a Sluce upon the Ouse which do's so obstruct the Current of salt Water that the River is scarce navigable to Cambridge Nigh unto this Town on the other side of the Ouse is a little Marsh Country called Marsh-Land very subject to the Inundations of the Sea and therefore very moist and aguish But in recompence its Soil is exceeding fat and feed abundance of Cattel In this Marsh are seated several Towns but so destitute of fresh Water for houshold Use that many of 'em are fain to get a supply thereof at 4 miles distance About 3 miles from Lyn towards the Sea stands a decayed Town called Castle-Rising It s Decay occasioned by its Haven's being many years since choakt up with Sands whereby 't is become useless Which has done a Kindness to Lyn. Yarmouth the best Harbour in all this County and the Key of this Coast is seated at the Mouth of the River Yare from whence it is called Yarmouth A Town of good Strength as well by Nature as Art well built and pretty large and yet it has but one Church which is beautify'd with a lofty Spire The same is well inhabited and much resorted unto by Seamen affording a ready Passage to Holland and being a frequent Shelter to the New-castle Fleets when distressed by Weather Of special note besides for Herring-fishing in the Seas adjacent in the Month of September Which draws a great Concourse of People hither and makes the Town much richer all the Year after Lastly 't is dignified with the Title of Earl in the person of the Right Honourable William Paston the present Earl of Yarmouth Thetford is an Inland Town situate on the Confluence of the Thet and the little Ouse over wich it has a Bridge leading to Suffolk A Place of great Antiquity built out of the Ruins of the ancient City Sitomagus which was destroyed by the merciless Danes The Bishop's See of the East Angles was from North-Elmham removed hither and from hence to Norwich It is not very well Inhabited to what it has been However this is the Town where the Lent-Assizes for the County are usually kept Herling and
three are all seated on small Rivers which after some small Course joyn together into one Stream and so fall into the Derwent a little below New Malton To conclude this County formerly a Part of the Kingdom of Northumberland and its Inhabitants Part of the Brigantes as the Romans called them is now in the Diocese of York Out of it are elected besides the two Knights of the Shire 28 Members of Parliament Viz. Two by each of these following Towns York Kingston upon Hull Knaresborough Scarborough Rippon Richmond Heydon Borough-bridge Malton Thirsk Aldborough Beverly North-Allerton Pomfret And which is remarkable it yields at this time two Dukes and one Dutchess one Marquess and nine Earls The Dukes are of Richmond and Bolton the Dutchess of Cleveland the Marquess of Halifax the Earls of Mulgrave Kingston Strafford Craven Burlington Holderness Derwentwater Faulconberg and Scarborough Thus I have compassed a very difficult Task the Description of forty Counties with so much variety of Matter in so short a Compass The Reader perhaps expects in the next place I should give an Account of the Twelve Counties of Wales as being Incorporated with England at least in point of Government But what Union soever it may have with England 't is but like those remote Cities conquered by the Romans whose Inhabitants were Civitate donati that is made Citizens of Rome England and Wales are naturally so distinct from each other both as to the Country and the Inhabitants that they cannot possibly fall under the same Character And so I lay Wales aside to present you by way of Precapitulation with a Table shewing by distinct Columns the Number of Hundreds Parishes and Market-Towns belonging to every County of England with the Names of the Shire-Towns Only 't is to be observed that instead of Hundreds Durham is divided into Wakes Cumberland Westmorland and Northumberland into Wards Also that some Counties are more generally divided than into Hundreds as Yorkshire first into three Ridings Kent into five Lathes Sussex into six Rapes Linconshire into these three Parts Lindsey Kesteven and Holland The TABLE Shires Hun Par. Shire-Towns Mark T. Barkshire 20. 140. Reading 12. Bedfordshire 9. 116. Bedford 10. Buckinghamsh 8. 185. Buckingham 15. Cambridgeshire 17. 163. Cambridge 8. Cheshire 7. 85. Chester 13. Cornwal 9. 161. Lanceston 21. Cumberland 5. 58. Carlisle 15. Derbyshire 6. 106. Derby 10. Devonshire 33. 394. Exeter 32. Dorseishire 29. 248. Dorchester 19. Durham 4. 118. Durham 6. Essex 20. 415. Colchester 21. Glocestershire 30. 280. Glocester 26. Hampshire 39. 253. Southampton 16. Hartfordshire 8. 120. Hartford 18. Herefordshire 11. 176. Hereford 8. Huntingtonshire 4. 79. Huntington 6. Kent 67. 408. Canterbury 30. Lancashire 6. 61. Lancaster 26. Leicestershire 6. 192. Leicester 12. Lincolnshire 30. 630. Lincoln 35. Middlesex 7. 273. LONDON 6. Monmouthshire 6. 127. Monmouth 7. Norfolk 31. 660. Norwich 28. Northamptonsh 20. 326. Northampton 13. Northumberland 6. 460. Newcastle 6. Nottinghamsh 8. 168. Nottingham 9. Oxfordshire 14. 280. Oxford 15. Rutland 5. 48. Okeham 2. Shropshire 15. 170. Shrewsbury 15. Somersetshire 42. 385. Bath 30. Staffordshire 5. 130. Stafford 18. Suffolk 22. 575. Ipswich 30 Surrey 13. 140. Guilford 8. Sussex 65. 312. Chichester 16. Warwickshire 5. 158. Warwick 15. Westmorland 4. 26. Kendal 8. Wiltshire 29. 304. Salisbury 23. Worcestershire 7. 152. Worcester 11. Yorkshire 26. 563. York 49. CHAP. XVIII Of LONDON and WESTMINSTER I Joyn these two together because contiguous And tho' they be two distinct Cities both by their Foundation and distinct Government yet as they make together one compact Body the City of Westminster under that Notion is generally comprehended under the Name of London and lookt upon as a Part of it In the Description whereof I shall joyn and part them as occasion shall offer My Design is not to make a long Preamble about the uncertain Original of LONDON which as some write was built above eleven hundred Years before the Birth of our Saviour That it is a most ancient City is a thing past all doubt For History tells us that the British King Lud above 60 Years before our Saviours Birth repaired and improved it The Romans in whose Time it was an Archbishop's See gave it the Title of Augusta And Animianus Marcellinus who wrote near 1300 Years ago calls it then an ancient City As for its Name the most probable Conjecture in my Judgment is that of those who derive it from the British Word Llongdin a Town of Ships It s Situation is upon all accounts very advantageous whether we consider the Soil on which it stands the River that waters it the Fruitfulness of the Country about it the Roads that lead into it or its convenient Distance from the Sea The Soil is gravelly and therefore so much the wholsomer And as it stands upon a gentle rising Bank on the North-side of the River this adds much to the healthfulness of the Place the South-side being counted something unhealthy by reason of the Vapours the Sun draws upon it The Thames that waters it I have already described as the chief River of England and an excellent navigable River This City stands where the River is cast into the form of a Crescent and stretches it self in length along the Shore as Cologne does upon the Rhine Which is a great Advantage upon several Accounts especially to a great City First because it ly's the more convenient for the several Uses and Benefits of the River Secondly for the Freeness of the Air which makes it so much the healthfuller lying open to the Fields Northward and to the River Southward Whereas Paris and all other Cities of an orbicular Form ly close together and the middle Parts half choackt for want of Air. To which add another Conveniency in London by its Situation along the River that by the Course of it one may sooner find out any Place than is possible in Paris which is a very Labyrinth in comparison This River besides is full of excellent Fish such as Barbels Trouts Chevins Pearches Smelts Breams Roaches Daces Gudgeons Flounders Shrimps Eels c. And after the Smelt-time is past it yields also sweet Salmons But Carps it is scarce of except upon Land-flouds when they get out of Gentlemens Ponds Great number of Swans are daily seen upon this River Besides a perpetual Motion of Wherries and small Boats above 2000 in Number whereby 3000 Watermen are maintained by carrying Goods and Passengers thereon Not counting those large Tilt-Boats Tide-Boats and Barges which either carry People or bring Provision from most Parts of the neighbouring Counties For Navigation no River more commodious as may appear by a Passage in the Reign of King James I. Who being displeased with the City for refusing to lend him a Sum of Mony he required threatned the Lord Mayor and Aldermen that he would remove his Court with all the Records of the Tower and the Courts of Westminster-Hall to another Place with further expressions of his
And of all the Cities of Europe none can so justly challenge the Preeminency in this Point as London the Metropolis of England being not only perhaps the most ancient but also the wealthiest and reckoning all its Annexes the greatest City now extant in Europe Such a City as contains above 600 Streets Lanes Courts and Alleys and in them all by a late Computation at least a hundred thousand Houses So that allowing only 8 Persons to each House one with another which I think is moderate the Number of the Inhabitants will amount at that rate to above eight hundred thousand Souls Befides a World of Seamen that live and swarm in that constant tho' moving Forest of Ships down the River on the East side of the Bridge The Dwelling Houses raised since the Fire are generally very fair and built much more convenient and uniform than heretofore Before the Fire they were most Timber Houses built with little regard to Uniformity but since the Fire Building of Bricks has been the general Way and that with so much Art and Skill in Architecture that I have often wondered to see in well-compact Houses so many Conveniences in a small compass of Ground In short our English Builders have built so much of late Years that no Nation perhaps at this time can vy with them for making much of any Ground tho' never so little and contriving all the Parts of it to the best advantage in the neatest and most regular way with all the Conveniences the Ground can possibly afford And that which adds much to the Neatness of the late Buildings is the Wainscot now so much in use Which as it is the cleanest Furniture so it is the most durable and indeed the most proper for so moist a Country If we come to Stateliness I confess the Noblemens Houses at Paris being built of free Stone as most of that City are with large Courts before 'em for the Reception of Coaches make a fine outward Appearance But for uniformity state and magnificence we have some here and chiefly Montague-House that exceed by far most of ' em As for great Merchants Houses and fair Taverns scarce any City surpasseth London in this particular For publick Buildings as Halls Inns of Court Exchanges Market-Places Hospitals Colledges Churches besides the Bridge upon the River the Monument Custom-House and the Tower they are Things worth any Strangers Curiosity to view at least a good part of them Most of which have indeed the disadvantage of being built backward and out of the way to make room for Tradesmens Shops in the Streets Whereas if they had been all built towards the Street as generally they are in other Countries few Cities could make so great an Appearance But for stately strait and spacious Streets to pass by many curious Courts where shall one see finer than Cheapside Cornhill â—ombard-Street Fleet-Street Hatton Garden Pallnall and several others especially near the Court What forein City can shew so many Piazzas or fine Squares such as Lincolns-Inn-Fields Lincolns-Inn-Square Grays-Inn Red Lion and Southampton-Squares the Golden Square King 's Square in Sohoe S. James's Square Leicester-Fields and Covent-Garden The first of which is chiefly noted for its Spaciousness and King 's Square for its Stateliness Lastly when I reflect upon that disinal Fire which in three Days time consumed above thirteen thousand Houses besides 89 Parish Churches the vast Cathedral of S. Paul divers Chappels Halls Colledges Schools and other publick Edifices it is a matter of amazement to me to see how soon the English recovered themselves from so great a Desolation and a Loss not to be computed At 3 Years end near upon ten thousand Houses were raised up again from their Ashes with great Improvements And by that time the fit of Building grew so strong that besides a full and glorious Restauration of a City that a raging Fire had lately buried in its Ashes the Suburbs have been increased to that degree that to speak modestly as many more Houses have been added to it with all the Advantages that able and skilfull Builders could invent both for Conveniency and Beauty But it is time to come to Particulars The City properly so called is begirt with a Wall which gives entrance at seven principal Gates besides Posterns of later erection Viz. on the West-side Ludgate and Newgate both which serve for Prisons the first for such Debtors as are Freemen of the City the other for Malefactors both of the City and Country and is besides the County Goaâ— for Debt Northwards those of Aldersgate Cripglegate Moorgate and Bishopsgate And Eastward Aldgate Within the Compass of the Walls there are reckoned 97 Parishes and in relation to the Civil Government the City within the Walls and Freedom is divided into 26 Wards or Aldermanries of which more hereafter As to the publick Buildings here I shall begin with the Tower a Fort upon the Thames which commands both the City and River Called the Tower from the great white Tower in the middle which gives Name to the Whole 'T is all surrounded with a Wall and Ditch about a mile in compass with Cannon planted on the Walls and the Turrets thereof But it is besides the principal Store-house of England for Arms and Ammunition such as is said to contain Arms for about 60000 Men. Here are also kept the Jewels and Ornaments of the Crown and the ancient Records of the Nation As among others the Original of all the Laws that have been enacted or recorded till the Reign of Richard II. The Grants of several Kings to their Subjects at home and abroad and the Confirmations thereof The several Treaties and Leagues with forein Princes The Dominion of the British Seas The Title of the Kings of England to the Kingdom of France and how obtained All the Atchievements of this Nation in France and other forein Parts The Homage and Dependency of Scotland upon England The Establishment of Ireland in Laws and Dominions These and many other Records are reposited in Wakefield Tower near the Traytors Gate under the Custody of an Officer called the Keeper of the Records and whose Salary is 500 l. per Annum This Place is properly in the Master of the Rolls his Gift Every day of the Week except Sundays Holy-Days publick Fasting and Thanksgiving-Days and Times of great Pestilence they that have occasion to look into the Records have admittance In the Morning from 7 to 11 a clock and in the Afternoon from one till five Except in the Months of December January and February where Attendance is not given till 8 in the Morning and in the Afternoon not beyond 4 a clock In the Tower is the only Mint of England for Coyning of Gold and Silver To which belong several Offices which I intend to muster in my second Part where I shall speak of the English Coyns Lastly the Tower which has been formerly honoured with the Residence of several Kings who kept their Courts here is
absence to do whatever almost the Chancellour might do if he were present He keeps Judicial Courts wholly ruled by the Civil Law which all Members of the University are subject to And by Charter of Henry IV it is left to his Choice whether any Member in the University there inhabiting accused for Felony or High Treason shall be tried by the Laws of the Land or by the Laws and Customs of the University Though now where Life or Limb is concerned the Criminal is left to be tried by the Laws of the Land But in all Suits for Debts Accounts Contracts Injuries c. betwixt the Students he is the proper Judge and has Power to determine such Causes to Imprison to give corporal Punishment to excommunicate to suspend and to banish 'T is the Vice-Chancellor's Business to see that Sermons Lectures Disputations and other Exercises be performed that lewd people Hereticks c. be expelled the University and the Converse with Students that the Proctors and other Officers of the University duly perform their Duty that Courts be duly called and Law-Suits determined without delay In a word that whatever is for the Honour and Benefit of the University or may conduce to the Advancement of good Literature may be carefully obtained Next to the Vice-Chancellor are the two Proctors yearly chosen by turns out of the several Colledges These are to assist in the Government of the University more particularly in the business of Scholastick Exercises and taking Degrees in searching after and punishing all Violaters of Statutes or Priviledges of the University all Night-Walkers c. They have also the Oversight of Weights and Measures that Students may not be wronged Next in order is the Publick Orator Whose Charge is to write Letters according to the Orders of the Convocation or Congregation and at the Reception of any Prince or great Person that comes to see the University to make proper Harangues c. Then there is the Custos Archivorum or Keeper of Records Whose Duty is to collect and keep the Charters Priviledges and Records that concern the University to be always ready to produce them before the chief Officers and to plead the Rights and Priviledges of the University Lastly there is a Register of the Univerfity whose Office is to register all Transactions in Convocations Congregations Delegacies c. Besides the foresaid Officers there are certain publick Servants the chief whereof are the six Beadles and the Verger Three of the first are called Squire Beadles who carry large Maces of Silver gilt and the other three Yeomen Beadles whose Maces are of Silver but ungilt Their Office is always to wait on the Vice-Chancellor in publick doing what belongs to his Place and at his Command to seize any Delinquent and carry him to Prison to summon and publish the Calling of Courts or Convocations to conduct Preachers to Church and Lecturers to School c. But upon Solemnities the Verger appears with a Silver Rod in his hand and walking with the other six before the Vice-Chancellor is to observe his Commands and to wait on Grand Compounders c. I have already mentioned several great Priviledges granted by former Kings to this University That of sending two Burgesses to Parliament they hold from King James I. Another that no Victuals be taken by the King's Purveyors within 5 miles of Oxford unless the King himself comes thither is of a much more ancient Date But one of the most considerable is That granted by Charter of King Edward III whereby the Mayor of Oxford is to obey the Orders of the Vice-Chancellor and be in subjection to him Accordingly the Mayor with the chief Burgesses in Oxford and the High-Sheriff of Oxfordshire besides every Year in a solemn manner take an Oath given by the Vice-Chancellor to observe and conserve the Rights Priviledges and Liberties of the University of Oxford And every Year on the tenth of February being the Day of S. Scholastica a certain Number of the principal Burgesses publickly and solemnly do pay to each Colledge a Peny in token of their Submission to the Orders and Rights of the University Thus you have a short Description of Oxford as a City and an University My next Business is the Description of Cambridge Cambridge CAMBRIDGE the chief Town of Cambridgeshire and that from whence the Country is denominated bears from London North by East and is distant therefrom 44 miles thus From London to Waltham 12 to Ware 8 more thence to Puckeridge 5 to Barkway 7 and to Cambridge 12 more 'T is seated at the Confluence of two Rivers the Cam and the Grant which running from thence Northward in one Channel empty themselves in the Ouse 3 miles above Ely By these Rivers it is separated into two but unequal Parts but they have Communication by a Bridge It is a Place of a large Extent numbering 14 Parishes And according to Doctor Fuller's Observation in his Worthies of England 't is a Town within an University whereas Oxford is an University within a Town For in Cambridge the Colledges are not so surrounded with Streets as in Oxford but for the generality seated in the Skirts of the Town which afford them the better and more delightfull Walks and Gardens about them There are in Oxford as I said before 18 Indowed Colledges and 7 Halls In Cambridge there is but 12 Colledges and 4 Halls 'T is true they are all Indowed and generally so large that the Number of Students is commonly little different from that of Oxford The Names of them and of their Founders together with the Time of their Foundation you have in the following Table Colled Halls Founded by Anno. S. Peter's Colledge Hugh de Balsham Bishop of Ely 1284 Clare-Hall Rich. Badow Chanc. of the University 1326 Pembroke-Hall Mary S. Paul 1343 Gonvile Cajus Edmund de Gonvile and Cajus 1348 Trinity-Had Wil. Bateman Bishop of Norwich 1350 Corpus Christi H. of Monmouth D. of Lancaster 1351 King's Colledge King Henry VI. 1441 Queen's Colledge Margaret Wife to King Henry VI. 1448 Catharine Hall Robert Wood Lord Chancellor of the University 1475 Jesus Colledge John Alcock Chanc. of England 1496 Christs Colled S. John's Coll. Margaret Countess of Richmond 1505 Christs Colled S. John's Coll. Margaret Countess of Richmond 1508 Magdalen Coll. Tho. Audley Chanc. of England 1519 Trinity Colledge King Henry VIII 1546 Emanuel Colledge Sir Walter Mildmay Chancellor of the Exchequer 1582 Sidney and Sussex Francis Sidney Chancellor of Sussex 1598 The Degrees at Cambridge are usually taken as at Oxford except in Law and Physick For at Cambridge six Years after one has taken the Degree of Master of Art one may take the Degree of Batchelor and after five Years more that of Doctor The Batchelors of Arts compleat their Degree in Lent beginning at Ash-Wednesday And the first Tuesday of July is always Dies Comitiorum there called the Commencement wherein the Masters of Arts and the Doctors of all Faculties compleat
the King's Court because the Authority thereof originally belongs to the Crown In short this Court first derived from the Sheriffs Turn is ordinarily Kept but twice a Year and that at certain times But there is another Court incident to every Mannor called Court-Baron because in ancient times every Lord of a Mannor was stiled Baron To this Court are all the Tenants Summoned that belong to the Mannor where part of the Tenants being Sworn make a Jury which is not called the Inquest but the Homage Here the Steward sits as Judge and directs the Jury to enquire of such Things as are proper for this Court. And these principally Inquire of Copy-holders and Free-holders that be dead since the last Court and bring in their Heirs and next Successors They likewise Inquire of any Incroachment or Intrusion of Tenants against the Lord or among themselves They also make Orders and Laws amongst themselves with a Penalty annexed for Transgressors payable to the Lord of the Mannor In short these Courts are of great Use for Men that are willing to be ordered by their Neighbours and who prefer their Quiet and Advantage in Husbandry to the Trouble and Charges of Law-Suits Otherwise either Party may procure a Writ out of a higher Court to remove the Plea to Westminster Courts-Baron may be held every three Weeks or at any longer time according to the Lords pleasure I conclude with Constables called in some Places Headboroughs and in others Tithing-men whose Office is only Ministerial These Men says Sir Thomas Smith were formerly called Custodes Pacis or Guardians of the Peace and were in much greater esteem than they be now whose Power and Authority he supposes to have been equal with that of the present Justices of Peace Lambert looks upon this Office as a Stream of that great Dignity lodged in the Lord High Constable of England Out of this high Magistracy says he were drawn those lower Constables which we call Constables of Hundreds and Franchises First ordained by the Statute of Winchester 13 Ed. I. which appoints for the Conservation of the Peace and view of Armour two Constables in every Hundred and Franchise called in Latine Constabularii Capitales in English High Constables And by reason of the Increase both of People and Offences others were made in process of time called Petty Constables which are of like Nature but of inferiour Authority to the other The Office of a Constable is properly to apprehend such as break the Peace and common Malefactors and even Persons suspected of any Crime upon a Charge given them or a Warrant for it from a Justice For a Badge of his Authority he carries a long Staff painted with the King's Arms and for a Surprise sometimes he uses a short Staff which he hides till he thinks it convenient to produce it The Party apprehended he keeps in his Custody till he can bring him before a Justice of Peace who upon a strict Examination of the Fact and hearing of the Evidence commits the Party to Prison if he sees cause in order to his Trial. Upon which the Constable conducts him to Prison and there delivers him to the Goalers Custody with the Committimus directed by the Justice of Peace to the Jayler And the Party mustly in Prison till the Justices of Peace do meet either at their Quarter-Sessions or at their Goal-Delivery when the Prisoners are by Law either condemned or acquitâ—ed When he is upon Duty and about to apprehend one he may call his Neighbours to aid and whoever declines to give him assistance is liable by Law to Punishment In case of Theft Robbery or Murder in a Country Town or Village and the Malefactor be upon flight the Constable having notice of it is to raise the Parish in pursuit of him And this is called Hue and Cry If the Malefactor be not found in the Parish the Constable and his Assistants are to go to the next to get the Hue and Cry raised there by the Constable of it In this manner the Hue and Cry is carried from Parish to Parish till the Criminal be found And that Parish which does not do its Duty but gives way by its Negligence for the Malefactors Escape is not only to pay a Fine to the King but must repay to the Party robbed his Damages When the Malefactor is taken he is presently carried by the Constable or any other by whom he was apprehended to a Justice of Peace Who examines the Malefactor writes the Examination and if he do confess his Confession Then he binds the Party robbed or him that sueth together with the Constable and so many as can give Evidence against the Malefactor to appear at the next Sessions of Goal-Delivery there to give their Evidence for the King He binds them in a Recognizance of 10. 20. 30. 40. or 100. l. more or less according to his Discretion and the quality of the Crime Which being certified under his hand fails not to be levied upon Recognizance if they fail of being there Thus the Constables which formerly had much the same Authority as our modern Justices of Peace are now subservient to them upon all Occasions either to bring the Criminals before them or to carry them by their Command to the common Prison And accordingly this Office does commonly fall into the hands of Tradesmen and Artificers and Men of small experience and ability who hold it for a Year there being commonly two of them to each Parish chosen by the Vestry But the hardest part of their Office in London especially is their Watching a Nights and walking the Rounds in their several Parishes But then they have the chief Command of the Watch and because seldom a greater Power appears abroad at that time therefore a Constable came to be called the King of the Night CHAP. IX Of the Assizes BEsides the publick Justice administred at four times of the Year in Westminster both for Civil and Criminal Causes the Twelve Judges take twice a Year a Progress in the Country and exercise their Judicial Power in the several Counties the King is pleased to appoint them for The Times of the Year fixt for it are presently after the end of Hilary-Term and after the end of Trinity Term that being called the Lent and this the Summer Assizes In relation to which England is divided into Six Parts called Circuits Viz. 1. Home-Circuit Comprehending Essex Hartford Sussex Surrey Kent 2. Norfolk Circuit Comprehending Bucks Bedford Huntington Cambridge Norfolk Suffolk 3. Midland Circuit Comprehending Warwick Leicester Derby Nottingham Lincoln Rutland Northampton 4. Oxford Circuit Comprehending Berks Oxon Glocester Monmouth Hereford Salop Stafford Worcester 5. Western Circuit Comprehending Southampton Wilts Dorset Somerset Cornwal Devon 6. Northern Circuit Comprehending York Durham Northumberland Cumberland Westmorland Lancaster Besides the two Circuits for Wales viz. North and South Wales for each of which two Sergeants at Law are appointed Now these Courts are called Assizes and the Judges