dedicated his Books of the Ecclesiastical History of England and who afterwards Rog. Hoveden renouncing the World took upon him the habit of a Monk in the Church of Lindisfern and listed himself a Souldier of the Kingdom of Heaven his body being afterwards translated to the Church of Northam When also the Danes had miserably wasted the Holy Issand wherein S. Cuthbert so much magnified by Bede was Bishop and lay buried some endeavour'd by a religious stealth to convey his body beyond Sea but the winds standing contrary they with all due reverence deposited the sacred Body at * The printed Books have corruptly Bulbeford Will. Malmesb de Gest Pont. lib. 1. Ubbanford whether a Bishop's See or no is uncertain near the river Twede where it lay for many years till the coming of King Ethelred This and other matters were taught me for I shall always own my Instructors by George Carlton born at this place being son to the Keeper of Norham-Castle whom for his excellent Proficiency in Divinity whereof he is Professor and other polite Learning I love and am lov'd by him and I were unworthy of that love if I should not acknowledge his Friendship The old people told us that at Killey Killay a little neighbouring Village below Norham were found within the memory of our Grandfathers the studds of a Knight's Belt A golden Hilt and the hilt of a Sword of massie Gold which were presented to T. Ruthall Bishop of Durham A little lower you have the mouth of Twede on the farther bank whereof stands Berwick Berwick the last Town in England and best fortify'd in all Britain hh Some derive the name of this Town from one Berengarius a Romantick Duke Leland fetches it from Aber the British word for the mouth of a river and so makes Aberwick to signifie a Fort built upon such a mouth But they will best understand the true etymology of it who know what is meant by the word Berwicus in the Charters of our Kings Ingulphus renders Berwicus a Mannour wherein nothing's more common than I give the Townships of C. and D. cum suis Berwicis ii For my part what it should mean I know not unless it be a Hamlet or some such dependency upon a place of better note For in the Grants of Edward the Confessor Totthill is call'd the Berwicus of Westminster Wandlesworth the Berwicus of Patricksey and a thousand of the like But why all this pains 'T is lost labour if as some maintain the Saxons call'd it anciently Beornica-ƿic that is the Town of the Bernicians for that this part of the Country was call'd Bernicia we have already noted and the thing is too well known to be here repeated But whence ever it had its name its situation carries it a good way into the sea so that that and the Twede almost incircle it Being seated betwixt two mighty Kingdoms as Pliny observes of Palmyra in Syria it has always been the first place that both Nations in their wars have had an eye on insomuch that ever since Edward the first wrung it out of the Scotch hands the English have as often retaken it as the Scots have ventur'd to seize it But if the Reader pleases we will here give him a summary abstract of its History The oldest account I find of Berwick is that William King of Scots being taken prisoner by the English pawn'd it for his ransom to our Henry the second redeemable only within such a time kk Whereupon says the Polychronicon of Durham Henry immediately fortify'd it with a Castle But Richard the first restor'd it to the Scots upon their payment of the money Afterwards King John as the History of Melross reports took the Town and Castle of Berwick at the same time that he burnt Werk Roxburgh Mitford and Morpath and with his Rutars wasted all Northumberland because the Barons of that county had done homage to Alexander King of Scots at Feltun A great many years after this when John Baliol King of Scotland had broken his Oath Edward the first reduc'd Berwick in the year of our Lord 1297. But soon after the fortune of war favouring the Scots our men quitted it and they seiz'd it but the English forthwith had it surrender'd to them again Afterwards in the loose reign of Edward the second Peter Spalding surrender'd it to Robert Brus King of Scots who warmly besieg'd it and the English vainly attempted its recovery till our Hector Edward the third bravely carry'd it in the year 1333. In the reign of Richard the second some Scottish Moss-troopers surpriz'd the Castle which within nine days was recover'd by Henry Percie Earl of Northumberland Within seven years after this the Scots regain'd it but by purchace not by their valour Whereupon the said Henry Percie being then Governour of the Town was accus'd of High-treason but he also corrupted the Scots with money and so got it again A long time after this when England was almost spent in civil wars Henry the sixth being already fled into Scotland deliver'd it up to the King of Scots the better to secure himself in that Kingdom Two and twenty years after Thomas Stanley with a great loss of men reduc'd it to the obedience of Edward the fourth Since which time the Kings of England have several times fortify'd it with new works but especially Queen Elizabeth who lately to the terrour of the enemy and security of the Burghers hath drawn it into a less compass than before and surrounded it with a high stone wall of firm Ashler work which is again strengthen'd with a deep ditch bastions and counterscarp so that its fortifications are so strong and regular that no besiegers can hope to carry it hereafter Not to mention the valour of the Garrison and the surprizing plenty of Ammunition and all warlike stores Be it also remember'd that the Governour of this place was alwaies a person of the greatest wisdom and eminence among the English Nobility and was also Warden of these eastern Marches The Mathematicians have plac'd this Town in 21 degrees and 43 minutes of longitude and in 55 and 48 of northern latitude So that the longest day in this climate consists of seventeen hours and 22 minutes and its night has only six hours and 38 minutes Brita has 〈◊〉 of Day So truly has Servius Honoratus written of this Country Britain says he has such plenty of day that she has hardly any room for night Nor is it a wonder that the Souldiers of this Garrison are able to play all night at dice without a candle if we consider their thorow twilight and the truth of Juvenal's expression Minimâ contentos nocte Britannos Britains with shortest nights content Take at parting J. Jonston's Verses upon Berwick Scotorum extremo sub limite Meta furoris Saxonidum gentis par utriusque labor Mille vices rerum quae mille est passa ruinas Mirum quî potuit tot superesse
Dunrobin Castle a place of the greatest note in these parts * See the Additions the principal seat of the ancient Earls of Sutherland Earls of Sutherland of the family if I mistake not of Murray Of whom William in the reign of King Robert Brus is most famous who married K. David's own sister and had by her a son whom K. David declared his successor in the Kingdom and to whom he made his Nobles swear Allegiance But he died a little after without issue and the Earldom in the end came hereditarily by a daughter and heir to A. Gordon of the family of the Earls of Huntley o CATHNES SOmewhat higher lies Cathnes butting upon the German Ocean indented as it were by the many windings and breakings of the shore Here in Ptolemie's time dwelt the Catini falsly written in some Copies Carini The Carini amongst whom the same Ptolemy places the river Ila The River Ila which may seem to be the now Wifle Grazing and fishing are the chief income of the inhabitants of this countrey The chief castle therein is called Girnego the general residence of the Earls of Cathnes The Episcopal See is at Dornok a village if it were not for that obscure where likewise K. James the 4th appointed the Sheriff of Cathnes to reside or else at Wik as occasions should require 16 For the administration of Justice The Earls of Cathnes Earls 〈◊〉 Cathâ—â—â— were anciently the same with the Earls of the Orcades but afterwards became distinct and by the eldest daughter of one Malise given in marriage to William Sincler the King's Pantler his posterity came to the honor of being Earls of Cathnes which they still enjoy p STRATH-NAVERN THE utmost coast of all Britain which with the front of the shore looks full against the North-pole and hath the middle of the tail of Ursa Major which as Cardan was of opinion causes translations of Empires just over its head was inhabited as we may see in Ptolemy by the Cornabii Cornabii Amongst them he places the river Nabeus Nabeus a Riveâ— which names are so nearly related in sound that the people seem to have taken their name from the river they dwelt upon Neither is the modern name Strath-Navern that is the Valley by the Navern altogether unlike them in sound This country hath little cause to brag of its fertility by reason of the sharpness of the air it is very thinly inhabited and thereupon extreamly infested with the fiercest of Wolves Wolves which to the great damage of the countrey not only furiously set upon whole droves of cattle but even upon the inhabitants themselves to their manifest danger Insomuch that not only in this but many other parts of Scotland the Sheriffs and respective inhabitants are bound by Act of Parliament in their several Sheriffdoms to go a hunting thrice every year to destroy the Wolves and their Whelps But if in this northern countrey that may be any comfort to them it certainly of all Britain hath the shortest nights and longest days For by its being distanced 59 degrees and 40 minutes from the Equator the longest day The longeâ—â— day is 18 hours and 25 minutes and the shortest night 5 hours and 45 minutes So that the ancient Panegyrist was in the wrong when he said that the sun did not set at all here but slipt aside and glanced upon the Horizon relying upon the authority of Tacitus That the extreme points and plain levels of the earth having low shades rais'd up no darkness at all But Pliny speaks more truth and reason where he treats of the longest days according to the inclination of the solar Circle to the Horizon The longest days says he in Italy are fifteen hours in Britain seventeen where the light nights in Summer prove that by experience which reason would oblige one to believe That at the Solstice when the Sun approaches nearer to the Pole of the World the places of the earth under the Pole have day six months â—â—â—â—sto 〈…〉 through the light 's having but a narrow compass and night for so long when it is far remote in Winter In this utmost tract by Ptolemy carried farther Eastward whereas indeed it bears full North for which Roger Bacon in his Geography taxed him long ago Tacitus says That a prodigious vast space of land runs out in length and grows narrow like a wedge Here three Promontories shoot out into the Sea mentioned by ancient Writers Berubium â—â—â—iâ—um 〈…〉 now Urdehead near the village Bernswale Virvedrum now Dunsby alià s Duncans-bay looked upon as the remotest Promontory of Britain Orcas now Howburn placed by Ptolemy over against the Orcades as the utmost of them all This is likewise called by Ptolemy Tarvedrum and Tarvisium Tarvisium Tarvodanum Martiano so named if I guess aright because it determines Britain For Tarvus What Tarvus signifies in the British tongue signifies an ending with which give me leave to make an end of this Book I shall treat of the Oâ—cades Ebudes and Shetland Shetland in their proper places Thus have I run over Scotland more briefly than the dignity of so great a Kingdom deserves nor do I at all doubt but that some one hereafter may give a larger draught of it with a more exquisite pen with more certainty and better information since as I said before the greatest of Princes hath now laid open to us these remote Countries hitherto shut up In the mean time if I have not been so vigilant as I ought the most watchful may sometimes take a nod or if any mistake in this unknown tract hath led me from the truth as nothing is so common as error I hope the courteous Reader upon my owning it will grant me a pardon and kindly direct me into the right way Additions to CALEDONIA IN the description of this part of Scotland before we come to Fife which our Author first touches upon we are to take a view of two little Shires that lye to the west Clackmanan shire and Kinross-shire â—â—imaâ—â— re a Clackmanan-shire so called from the head burgh of it Clackmanan is bounded to the north by the Ochill hills to the south by the Firth of Forth to the east with part of Perthshire and to the west with part of Sterlingshire 'T is about eight miles in length and where broadest but five Towards the Firth it is a plain Country and a fertile soil the rest is fitter for pasture but that below the Ochill-hills abounds both with Grains and pasture About Alloa and Clackmanan they have great store of Coal-pits the Coal whereof together with their Salt furnish a foreign trade It is watered with the river Devan which runs six miles through the shire â—â—â—maâ— Clackmanan is seated upon a rising ground the Castle whereof is a stately dwelling with fine gardens and good Inclosures 〈◊〉 Alloa is a pleasant little town with a small haven for ships
Sollicitor Mr. Camden then Clarentieux my self and some others Of these the Lord Treasurer Sir Robert Cotton Mr. Camden and my self had been of the original Foundation and to my knowledge were all then living of that sort saving Sir John Doderidge Knight Justice of the King 's Bench. We held it sufficient for that time to revive the Meeting and only conceiv'd some Rules of Government and Limitation to be observ'd amongst us whereof this was one That for avoiding offence we should neither meddle with matters of State nor of Religion And agreeing of two Questions for the next Meeting we chose Mr. Hackwell to be our Register and the Convocator of our Assemblies for the present and supping together so departed One of the Questions was touching the Original of the Terms about which as being obscure and generally mistaken I bestow'd some extraordinary pains that coming short of others in understanding I might equal them if I could in diligence But before our next meeting we had notice that his Majesty took a little mislike of our Society not being enform'd that we had resolv'd to decline all matters of State Yet hereupon we forbare to meet again and so all our labours lost But mine lying by me and having been often desir'd of me by some of my Friends I thought good upon a review and augmentation to let it creep abroad in the form you see it wishing it might be rectified by some better judgment The Manuscript is now in the Bodleian Library and any one who has leisure to compare the printed Copy with it will find the Additions under Sir Henry's own hand to be so considerable that he will have no occasion to repent of his labour Thus much for his Education his Works his Friends Let us now view him in his Retirement He found the noise and hurry of business extremely injurious to a broken Constitution that was every day less able to bear it and thought it was time to contract his thoughts and make himself more Master of his hours when he had so few before him Thus when he was towards sixty years of Age he took a House at Chesilhurst some ten miles from London where he liv'd till his dying day and compil'd the greatest part of the Annals of Queen Elizabeth About two years before his death when the pains and aches of old Age had made him in a great measure uncapable of study he enter'd upon another method of serving the Publick by encouraging others in the same search He was not content to have reviv'd Antiquity to have nurs'd and train'd her up with the utmost care and tenderness unless like an indulgent Father he provided her a Fortune and laid a firm Foundation for her future Happiness It was a design he had many years before resolv'd upon witness the Conclusion of his Britannia Nihil aliud nunc restat c. quà m ut Deo Opt. Max. Venerandae Antiquitati Anathema consecrarem quod libens merito nunc voveo c. This was his pious Vow and he was willing to see it discharg'd e're he dy'd Where to bestow this Charity was a point that did not cost him much thought his own Education and other Circumstances gave the University of Oxford a sort of title So after he had settl'd every thing in due form of Law he sent down his Gift by the hands of his intimate Friend Mr. Heather On the seventeenth day of May in the year 1622. Dr. Piers Dean of Peterburrow and then Vice-Chancellor declar'd in Convocation how Mr. Camden had sounded a History-Lecture and for the Maintenance of a Professor had transferr'd over all his right in the Manour of Bexley in Kent to the Chancellor Masters and Scholars of the said University With this Proviso That the Profits of the said Manour valu'd at about 400 l. per Annum should be enjoy'd by William Heather his Heirs and Executors for the term of 99 years to begin from the death of Mr. Camden and that during this time the said William Heather should pay to the Professor of History in Oxford the sum of 140 l. yearly Hereupon the University sent him a publick Letter of Thanks and because they understood Mr. Heather was a person for whom he had a singular respect they voluntarily conferr'd upon him the Degree of Doctor of Musick along with Mr. Orland Gibbons another of Mr. Camden's intimate Acquaintance This Civility procur'd them a new Benefactor and a new Lecture For afterwards Mr. Heather as an acknowledgment for this favour founded a Musick Lecture and endow'd it with the Annual Revenue of 16 l. 6 s. 8 d. The first History-Professor was Mr. Degory Whear nominated by Mr. Camden upon the recommendation of the Chancellor Vice Chancellor and other Learned men His first Essay was a General Direction for the Reading of Histories which he dedicated to his Patron Mr. Brian Twine a person admirably well verst in the Antiquities of England procur'd a Grant from the Founder to succeed but he dying before him the right of Election devolv'd upon the University for ever Thus by the same act he discharg'd his Vow and eas'd himself of the cares and troubles of the World The little he had left May 2. 1623. he dispos'd of by Will which he drew up with his own hands about six Months before his death in Charities to the Poor Legacies to his Relations and some small Memorials to his particular Acquaintance All his Books of Heraldry he gave to the Office the rest both Printed and Manuscript to the Library of Sir Robert Cotton But the printed part upon the erection of a new Library in the Church of Westminster was remov'd thither by the procurement of Dr. John Williams Lord Keeper of England Bishop of Lincoln and Dean of this Church who laid hold of an expression in the Will that was capable of a double meaning He was never out of England tho' no one could have promis'd himself a more kind reception among Foreigners He chose a single life apprehending that the incumbrances of a married state was like to prove a prejudice to his Studies He liv'd and and dy'd a Member of the Church of England and gave such clear proofs of his entire affections towards it that 't is a wonder how a certain Romish-Author could have the face to insinuate Analect d◠Rebus Catholic in Hibernia That he only dissembled his Religion and was allur'd with the prospect of Honours and Preferments His zeal against Popery See above lost him a Fellowship in Oxford brought most of his Works under the censure of the Church of Rome and Epist 19◠expos'd him to the lash of Parsons Possevinus and others Many of his Scholars became eminent members of our Church and he converted several Irish Gentlemen from Popery as the Walshes Nugents O-Raily Shee s the eldest son of the Archbishop of Cassiles c. Whether these look more like the actions of an Hypocrite in Religion or the effects of a firm
by way of excellency have truly call'd Britain 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the great Island Now they that have more accurately compar'd the spaces of the Heavens with the tracts of Earth have plac'd Britain under the 8th Climate and include it within the c Later Discoveries have better defined the site of Britain the Longitude of the Lands End being but 11 Degrees from Teneriff and Cantium or the Fore land but 58 and an half The Latitude of the Lizard 50 Degrees and of Cathness scarce 18 and an half Whence the longest Tropical Day is from 16 Hours 10 Min. to 18 Hours 2 Min. that is from the 18th to the 25th Parallel 18th and 26th Parallels computing the longest Day at 18 Equinoctial Hours and an half The Lands end according to the Spherical figure of the Earth they place d For 16 read 13. 16 degrees and 50 scruples from the farthest point westward and the Kentish Foreland in 21 degrees of Longitude As for the Latitude they measure in the Southern parts 50 degrees 10 scruples at Cathness 59 degrees 40 scruples So that Britain by this situation must needs enjoy both a fertile soyl and a most temperate air The Summers here are not so scorching by reason of the constant breezes which fan the air and moderate the heats These as they invigorate every thing that grows so they give both to man and beast at the same time their health and their refreshment The Winters also here are mild and gentle This proceeds not only from the thickness and closeness of the air but also from the frequency of those still showers which do with us much soften and break the violence of the cold Besides that the seas which encompass it do so cherish the land with their gentle warmth that the cold is here much less severe than in some parts of France and Italy Upon this consideration Minutius Felix when he would prove that the Divine Providence consults not only the interest of the world in general but also of each part makes use of our island as an instance De Nat. Deor. l. 2. Though Britain saith he enjoys not so much the aspect and influence of the sun yet instead thereof it is refreshed and comforted by the warmth of the sea which surrounds it Neither need we think that reflexion strange which he makes upon the warmth of the sea since Cicero makes the same observation The seas saith he tossed to and fro with the winds grow so warm that from thence it may readily be inferred that there is a certain heat that lyes concealed in that vast fluid body To the temperate state also of this Island Cescenius Getulicus a very antient Poet seems to have respect in these his verses concerning Britain Probus in Virg. Geo. Non illic Aries verno ferit aera cornu Gnossia nec Gemini praecedunt cornua Tauri Sicca Lycaonius resupinat plaustra Bootes Not there the spring the Ram 's unkindness mourns Nor Taurus sees the Twins before his horns His Northern wain where dry Bootes turns Caesar also takes notice That this country is more temperate than Gaule and the cold less piercing And Cornelius Tacitus observeth That in this Island there is no extremity of cold And farther adds That except the vine the olive and some other fruits peculiar to the hotter climates it produceth all things else in great plenty That the fruits of the earth as to their coming up are forward in Britain but are very slow in ripening Of both which there is one and the same cause the excessive moisture of the earth and air For indeed our air as Strabo hath observed is more obnoxious to rain than snow However so happy is Britain in a most plentiful product of all sorts of grain that e But more truly Onomacritus says a late Author Orpheus hath called it The very seat of Ceres For to this Island f If this expression is to be applied to Britain it may be worth our while to consider whether it does not prove the Island to have been more early known to the Antients than our Author will afterwards allow it we are to apply that expression 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 See here the stately Court Of Royal Ceres And in antient times this was as it were the granary and magazine of the Western Empire For from hence the Romans were wont every year in 800 vessels larger than * Lembis barks to transport vast quantities of corn Zosimus Eunapius 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 for the supply of their armies in garison upon the frontiers of Germany But perchance I may seem too fond and lavish in the praises of my own Country and therefore you shall now hear an old Orator deliver its Encomium Panegyric to Constantine O fortunate Britain the most happy country in the world in that thou didst first behold Constantine our Emperour Thee hath Nature deservedly enrich'd with all the choicest blessings both of heaven and earth Thou feelest neither the excessive colds of winter nor the scorching heats of Summer Thy harvests reward thy labours with so vast an encrease as to supply thy Tables with bread and thy Cellars with liquor Thy woods have no savage beasts no serpents harbour here to hurt the traveller Innumerable are thy herds of cattle and the flocks of sheep which feed thee plentifully and cloath thee richly And as to the comforts of life the days are long and no night passes without some glimps of light For whilst those utmost plains of the sea-shore are so flat and low as not to cast a shadow to create night they never lose the sight of the heavens and stars but the sun which to us appears to set seems there only just to pass by I shall here also introduce another Orator using these expressions to Constantius Panegyric to Constantius the father of Constantine the Great And I assure you no small damage was it not only to lose the name of Britain but the great advantages thence accruing to our Commonwealth to part with a land so stored with corn so flourishing in pasturage rich in such store and variety of metals so profitable in its tributes on all its coasts so furnished with convenient harbours and so immense in its extent and circuit Also Natures particular indulgence to this our Island a Poet of considerable antiquity hath thus express'd addressing himself to Britain in this Epigram in some mens opinion not unworthy to be published Tu nimio nec stricta gelu nec sydere fervens Clementi coelo temperieque places Cum pareret natura parens varioque favore Divideret dotes omnibus una locis Seposuit potiora tibi matremque professa Insula sis foelix plenaque pacis ait Quicquid amat luxus quicquid desiderat usus Ex te proveniet vel aliunde tibi Nor cold nor heat's extreams thy people fear But gentle seasons turn the peaceful year When
this city being both besieg'd and storm'd first surrender'd it self to the Saxons and in a few years as it were recovering it self took the new name of Akmancester q and grew very splendid For Osbrich in the year 676. built a Nunnery and presently after when it came into the hands of the Mercians King Offa built another Church but both were destroy'd in the Danish Wars r Out of the ruins of these there grew up another Church dedicated to S. Peter to which Eadgar sirnam'd the Peaceful because he was there inaugurated King granted several immunities the memory whereof the inhabitants still keep up by anniversary sports In the times of Edw. the Confessor as we read in Domesday-book it gelded for 20 Hides when the Shire gelded There were 64 Burgesses of the King 's and 30 of others But this flourishing condition was not lasting for presently after the Norman Conquest Robert Mowbray nephew to the Bishop of Constance who rais'd a hot rebellion against William Rufus plunder'd and burn'd it But it got up again in a short time by the assistance of John de Villula of Tours in France who being Bishop of Wells did as Malmesbury informs us y Malmesbury has it quingentis libris i.e. 500 pounds for five hundred marks purchase the city of Henry 1. whither he translaâ—ed his See z He was only stil'd Bâ—shop of Bath subscribing himself commonly Joannes Lathon as Doctor Gaidot in his MS. history of the place has prov'd by several instances tho' still retaining the name of Bishop of Wells and built him here a new Cathedral But this not long ago being ready to drop down Oliver King Bishop of Bath laid the foundation of another near it exceeding large and stately which he well-nigh finish'd And if he had quite finish'd it without all doubt it had exceeded most Cathedrals in England But the untimely death of that great Bishop with the publick disturbances 38 And the suppression of Religious houses ensuing and the avarice of some persons who as t is said converted the money gather'd thro' England for that end to other uses envy'd it this glory s However from that time forward Bath has been a flourishing place both for the woollen manufacture and the great resort of strangers 39 For health twice a year and is now encompass d with walls wherein they have fix'd some ancient images and Roman Inscriptions to evidence the Antiquity of the place but age has so wore them out that they are scarce legible And lest any thing should be wanting to the Dignity of Bath Earls of Bath it has honour'd some of the Nobility with the title of Earl For we read that Philebert de Chandew born in Bretagne in France had that title conferr'd upon him by King Henry 7. Afterwards King Henry 8. in the 28th year of his reign created John Bourchier Lord Fitz-Warin Iâ—quis 31 Hen. 8. Earl of Bath 40 Who dyed shortly after leaving by his wife the sister of H. Daubenâ—y Earl of Bridgewater John second Earl of this family who by the daughter of George Lord Roos had John Lord Fitz-Warin who deceased before his father having by Frances the daughter of Sir Thomas Kitson of Hengrave Wâ—lliam now third Earl of Bathe who dying in the 31 year of the same King was succeeded by John his son who dy'd in the third year of Queen Elizabeth He before the death of his father had John Lord Fitz Warin from whom is descended William the present Earl of Bath who every day improves the nobility of his birth with the ornaments of learning ss Geographers make the Longitude of this City to be 20 degrees and 56 minutes the Latitude 51 degrees and 21 minutes For a conclusion take if you please those Verses such as they are concerning Bathe made by Necham who flourish'd 400 years ago Bathoniae thermas vix praefero Virgilianas Confecto prosunt balnea nostra seni Prosunt attritis collisis invalidisque Et quorum morbis frigida causa subest Praevenit humanum stabilis natura laborem Servit naturae legibus artis opus Igne suo succensa quibus data balnea fervent Aenea subter aquas vasa latere putant Errorem figmenta solent inducere passim Sed quid sulphureum novimus esse locum Scarce ours to Virgil's Baths the preference give Here old decrepit wretches find relief To bruises sores and ev'ry cold disease Apply'd they never fail of quick success Thus human ills kind nature does remove Thus nature's kindness human arts improve They 're apt to fancy brazen stoves below To which their constant heat the waters owe. Thus idle tales deluded minds possess But what we know that 't is a sulph'ry place Take also if you think them worth your reading two ancient Inscriptions lately digg'd up upon the high-way below the city in Waldcot-field and remov'd by Robert Chambers a great admirer of Antiquities into his gardens where I transcrib'd them C. MVRRIVS C. F. ARNIENSIS FORO IVLI. MODESTVS MIL. LEG II. * Adjâ—â—â—â—cis prae â—licis AD. P. F. IVLI. SECVND AN. XXV STIPEND †Hic sâ—â— est H. S. E. DIS MANIBVS M. VALERIVS M. POL. EATINVS * C. EQ MILES LEG AVG. AN. XXX STIPEN X. H. S. E. I saw likewise these Antiquities fasten'd on the inner side of the wall between the north and west gates Hercules holding up his left hand with his Club in the right In a broken piece of stone is this writing in large and beautiful letters * Decâ—â—ioni DEC COLONIAE †Glevi 〈◊〉 Glocester GLEV. VIXIT AN. LXXXVI Next leaves folded in Hercules bending two snakes and in a sepulchral table between two little images one whereof holds an Amalthaean horn there is written in a worse character and scarce legible D. M. SVCC PETRONIAE VIXIT ANN. IIII. * Meâ—â— M. IIII. †Dies D. XV. EPO MVLVS ET VICTISIRANA ‖ Filix â—rissime â—cerunt FIL. KAR. FEC A little below in a broken piece of stone and large letters is VRN IOP Between the west and south gates Ophiucus enfolded by a serpent two men's heads with curl'd locks within the copings of the walls a hare running and underneath in a great stone this in letters a cross VLIA ILIA A naked man as 't were laying hands upon a soldier also between the battlements of the walls leaves two lying kissing and embracing each other a footman brandishing his sword and holding forth his shield another footman with a spear and these letters a-cross on a stone III VSA IS VXSC. And Medusa's head with her snaky hairs t Upon the same river Avon which is the bound here between this County and Glocestershire on the western bank of it is Cainsham Cainâ—â— so nam'd from Keina a devout British Virgin whom many of the last age through an over-credulous temper believ'd to have chang'd serpents into stones Serpeâ—â— stones because they find sometimes in
and d Canute is here put erroneously for Swain as is evident by the concurring testimony of Historians Canute the Dane damnify'd it very much by fire about A. D. 1003. w It recover'd it's ancient splendour when by the authority of a e Enacting A. 1076. that all Bishops Sees should be removed into great Towns out of Villages Synod and the munificence of William the Conqueror Herman Bishop of Shirburn and Sunning translated his seat hither and his immediate Successor Osmund built the Cathedral Church And the said William 1. after he had made the survey of England summon'd all the Estates of the Kingdom hither to swear Allegiance to him at which time as it is in Domesday book Salisbury gelded for 50 hides Money by weight and by tale and of the third penny the King had xx s. by weight and of the increase lx lb by tale This I observe because not only the Romans but also our Ancestors used to weigh as well as tell their money Not long after in the reign of Richard 1. f It should be Henry 3. by reason of the insolencies of the garrison-souldiers x 20 Against the Churchmen and the scarcity of water 21 The Churchmen first and then c. the inhabitants began to remove and seated themselves in a low ground which at the conflux of the Avon and the Nadder is as it were a rendezvous of many waters scarce a mile distant toward the south-east Of this removal Petrus Blesensis maketh mention in his g Epist 105. Epistles New Sarisbury for thus he describes Old Sarum It was a place exposed to the winde barren dry and solitary a Tower was there as in Siloam by which the inhabitants were for a long time enslaved And afterward The Church of Salisbury was a captive on that hill let us therefore in God's name go down into the level there the vallies will yield plenty of corn and the champagn fields are of a rich soil And of the same place the foremention'd Poet thus writes Quid domini domus in castro nisi foederis arca In templo Baalim carcer uterque locus A Church within a Camp looks just as well As th' ark of God in the vile house of Baal And thus described the place to which they descended Est in valle locus nemori venatibus apto Contiguus celeber fructibus uber aquis Tale creatoris matri natura creata Hospitium toto quaesiit orbe diu Nigh a fair chase a happy vale there lies Where early fruit the burden'd trees surprize And constant springs with gentle murmurs rise Not careful Nature o're the world could meet With such another for our Lady's seat As soon as they were removed that they might begin at the house of God Richard Poor the Bishop in a pleasant meadow before call'd Merifield laid the foundation of the great Church a stately pile of building y The which with it's h The tower and steeple from the floor of the Church is 410 foot high high steeple and double cross-isles by it's venerable grandeur strikes it's spectators with a sacred joy and was in 43 years space finished at great expence and dedicated A. D. 1258. in the presence of K. Henry 3. whereof that ancient Poetaster hath these not contemptible verses Regis enim virtus templo spectabitur isto Praesulis affectus artificumque fides The Prince's piety the Workman's skill The Bishop's care the stately pile shall tell But much better are the verses of the famous and learned Daniel Rogers Mira canam soles quot continet annus in unâ Tam numerosa ferunt aede fenestra micat Marmoreasque capit fusas tot ab arte columnas Comprensas horas quot vagus annus habet Totque patent portae quot mensibus annus abundat Res mira at verâ res celebrata fide †Dr. Heâ—â—â— How many days in one whole year there be So many windows in our Church we see So many marble pillars there appear As there are hours thro'out the fleeting year So many gates as moons one year does view Strange tales to tell yet not so strange as true For they say this Church hath as many windows as there are days in the year as many pillars and pillasters as there are hours and as many gates as months On the south-side of the Church is the Cloyster as great and of as fine workmanship as any in England to which is adjoyn'd the Bishop's stately Palace on the north side stands apart from the Cathedral a very strong built and high Bell-tower This Church in a short time so increas'd in ornaments and revenues that it maintains a Dean a Chanter a Chancellor a Treasurer and 33 Prebendaries z all very well endow'd some of which whom they call Canons Resident have very good houses not far from the Church and all these are inclosed with a wall apart from the town Whilst the Bishop was building the house of God the Citizens in like manner with great forwardness founded the City settled the Civil government thereof supplied every street with a little rivulet of water and having obtained licence from Simon the Bishop to fortifie it they threw up a ditch on that side which is not defended by the river And to such splendour New-Salisbury arrived out of the ruines of Old-Sorbiodunum that presently after by the Royal Authority the High road into the West was turn'd thro' this town it became the second City in those parts being very populous abounding in plenty of all things especially fish and adorn'd with a very fine Council-house of wood which standeth in a spacious well-furnish'd Market-place But it hath nothing of which it can brag so much as of John Jewell late Bishop of this place the wonder of his age for Divinity and a strenuous defender of the Reformed Religion After this Old Sarum still decreasing was in the reign of Henry 7. wholly deserted so that now there scarce remaineth a turret of the castle yet for a long time after the inhabitants had left the town it was the seat of the Earls of Salisbury about which in the reign of Edward 3. there was a noted controversie 29 Edw. Term. â—lar For Robert Bishop of Sarum by vertue of a Writ which our Lawyers call Breve de Recto â— Duel aâ— out the Castle of â—arâ—m or as others â—yâ— Shirâ—â—â— question'd the right of William Montaoute E of Sarum to this Castle The Earl answered he would defend his right by Combat q So on the day appointed the Bishop brought to the lists his Champion clad in a white garment to the mid leg over which he had a Surcoat of the Bishop's Coat of Arms there follow'd him a Knight carrying the spear and a Page the shield Presently after the Earl led in his Champion arrayed after the same manner accompanied by two Knights bearing white staves And just as the Champions were about to fight whilst they withdrew that
springeth out of a pond vulgarly call'd Brown's-well for Brent-well that is in old English Frog-well passeth down between Hendon which Archbishop Dunstan born for the advancement of Monks purchased for some few gold Bizantines which were imperial pieces of gold coined at Byzantium or Constantinople and gave to the Monks of St. Peter of Westminster And Hampsted-hill from whence you have a most pleasant prospect to the most beautiful City of London and the lovely Country about it Over which the ancient Roman military way led to Verulam or St. Albans by Edgworth and not by High-gate as now which new way was opened by the Bishops of London about some 300 years since But to return Brent into whom all the small rivers of these parts resort runneth on by Brent-street an Hamlet to which it imparted its name watreth Hangerwood Hanwell Oiâ—terley-Park where Sir Thomas Gresham built a fair large house and so near her fall into the Thames giveth name to Brentford a fair thorough-fare and frequent Market Hard by is Brentford Brentford which receiv'd that name from the little river Brent where Edmund Ironside after he had oblig'd the Danes to draw off from the siege of London did so attack them as to force 'em to a disorderly flight wherein he kill'd great numbers of them From Stanes thus far all between the high-road along Hounslow and the Thames was call'd the Forrest or Warren of Stanes till Henry 3. as we read in his Charter deforrested and dewarren'd it Then 8 To the Thames side I saw Fulham Fulham in Saxon Fullonham i.e. a house of fowle which receives its greatest honour from the Bishop of London's Country-house 9 Standing there conveniently not far from the City albeit not so healthfully f And Chelsey Chelsey as if one should say Shelfsey so call'd from a bed of Sands in the river Thames 10 As some suppose but in Records 't is nam'd Chelche-hith adorn'd with stately buildings by Henry 8. William Powlett Marquess of Winchester and others g But amongst these London which is as it were the Epitome of all Britain the Seat of the British Empire and the †Camera Residence of the Kings of England is to use the Poet's comparison as much above the rest as the Cypress is above the little sprig Tacitus Ptolemy and Antoninus call it Londinium and Longidinium Ammianus Lundinum and Augusta Stephanus in his book of Cities 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 our British Lundayn the old Saxons Londen-ceaster Londen-byrig Londen-pyc foreigners Londra and Londres our own nation London London the fabulous Writers Troja Nova Dinas Belin i.e. the city of Belin and Caer Lud from one King Luddus whom they affirm to have given it both being and name But as for those new-broach'd names and originals as also Erasmus's conjecture that it came from Lindum a city of Rhodes I leave 'em to those that are inclin'd to admire them For my own part since Caesar and Strabo have told me British Towns that the ancient Britains call'd such woods or groves as they fenc'd with trees they had cut down Cities or Towns and since I have been inform'd that in British they call such places Llhwn I am almost of this opinion that London is by way of eminence simply call'd a City or a City in a wood But if that do not hit give me leave without the charge of inconstancy 11 While I disport in conjecture to guess once more that it might have it's name from the same original that it had it's growth and glory I mean Ships call'd by the British Lhong so that London is as much as a Harbour or City of Ships For the Britains term a City Dinas Dinas which the Latins turn'd into Dinum Upon which account it is call'd in one place Longidinium and in a * Naenia Song of an ancient British Bard Lhongporth i.e. a port or harbour for Ships And by the same word Bologne in France in Ptolemy Gessoriacum Navale is turn'd by the British Glossary Bolung Long. For several cities have had their names from shipping as Naupactus Naustathmos Nauplia Navalia Augusti c. None of which can lay better claim to the name of an harbour than our London For 't is admirably accommodated with both Elements standing in a fruitful soil abounding with every thing seated upon a gentle ascent and upon the river Thames which without trouble or difficulty brings it in the riches of the world For by the convenience of the tide coming in at set hours with the safety and depth of the river which brings up the largest vessels it daily heaps in so much wealth both from East and West that it may at this day dispute the preheminence with all the Mart-towns in Christendom Moreover it is such a sure and complete station for ships that one may term it a grov'd wood so shaded is it with masts and sails h Antiquity has told us nothing of the first Founder as indeed Cities growing up by little and little but seldom know their original Notwithstanding this among others has fabulously deriv'd it self from the Trojans and is persuaded that Brute ‖ Abnepos second Nephew to the famous Aeneas was it's Founder But whoever built it the growth of it may convince 't was begun with a †Vitali genio lucky omen 12 Marked for life and long continuance and Ammianus Marcellinus has taught us to pay it a veneration upon account of it's Antiquity when even in his time which is twelve hundred years ago he calls it an ancient town And agreeably Cornelius Tacitus who flourish'd under Nero 13 1540. years since has told us that then 't was a place exceeding famous for the number of merchants and it's trade Even then nothing was wanting to complete it's glory but that it was not either a ‖ Municipium Free-borough or a Colony Nor indeed would it have been the interest of the Romans that a City of such vast trade should enjoy the privileges of a Colony or Free-borough for which reason I fancy they made it a Praefecture Praefecturae for so they call'd the towns wherein there were * Nundinae Fairs and Courts kept Not that they had Magistrates of their own but had Praefects sent them yearly to do justice who were to act in all publick affairs such as taxes tributes imposts †Militiae the business of the army c. according to the Instructions of the Roman Senate Upon which account it is that London is only term'd Opidum a town by Tacitus by the Panegyrist and by Marcellinus But altho' it had not a more honourable title yet it has been as powerful wealthy and prosperous as any and that almost without interruption under the Roman Saxon and Norman Governments scarce ever falling under any great calamity i In Nero's reign when the Britains under the conduct of Boadicia had unanimously resolv'd
Throw in a cloth you 'll see it straight ascend For all 's bore upward by the conqu'ring wind But all that 's remarkable in this high and rough little country a certain person has endeavour'd to comprise in these f Hobbs has comprehended the seven wonders in one verse Aedes mons barathrum binus fons antraque binà four verses Mira alto Pecco tria sunt barathrum specus antrum Commoda tot plumbum gramen ovile pecus Tot speciosa simul sunt Castrum Balnea Chatsworth Plura sed occurrunt quae speciosa minus Nine things that please us at the Peak we see A Cave a Den and Hole the wonders be Lead Sheep and Pasture are the useful three Chatworth the Castle and the Bath delight Much more you 'll find but nothing worth your sight 7 To these wonders may be added a wonderful Well in the Peake-forest not far from Buxtons which ordinarily ebbeth and floweth four times in the space of one hour or thereabouts keeping his just tides and I know not whether Tideswell a market town hereby hath his name thereof Hol. As to what he says of the justness of the tides there is no such thing for sometimes it does not flow once in two days and sometimes it flows twice in an hour Those of the Peverels who as I have said before were Lords of Nottingham Lords aâ—â— Earls of Derby are also reported to have been Lords of Derby Afterwards King Rich. 1. gave and confirm'd to his brother John Simeon Dunchâ—â—â—sis Horeden Mat. Par. 204. the County and Castle of Nottingham Lancaster Derby c. with the Honours belonging to them and the Honour also of Peverel After him those of the family of the Ferrars as for as I can gather from the Registers of Tutbury Merivall and Burton Monasteries were Earls William de Ferrariis born of the daughter and heir of Peverel whom King John as it is in an ancient Charter An ancieâ—â— Charter 1 Joan. ‖ Cinrit c. created Earl of Derby with his own hands William his son 8 Who being bruis'd with a fall out of his coach dy'd in the year 1254. and Robert the son of this William who in the Civil wars was so stripp'd of this dignity that none of his posterity tho' they liv'd in great state were ever restor'd to their full honours Many possessions of this Robert were given by King Henry 3. to his younger son Edmund and King Edward 3. so says the original record by Act of Parliament gave Henry of Lancaster the son of Henry Earl of Lancaster the Earldom of Derby to him and his heirs and likewise assign'd him 1000 marks yearly during the life of Henry Earl of Lancaster his father From that time this title continued in the family of Lancaster till King Henry 7. bestow'd it upon Thomas Stanley who had not long before marry'd Margaret the King's mother 9 To him and his heirs males He had for his successor his grandson Thomas begotten by George his son on the body of Joan the heiress of the Lord Strange of Knocking This same Thomas had by the sister of George Earl of Huntingdon Edward the third Earl of this family highly commended for his courteousness and hospitality who of the Lady Dorothy daughter to the first Thomas Howard Duke of Norfolk begat Henry the fourth Earl who soon obtain'd very honourable employments and left by the Lady Margaret daughter of Henry Earl of Cumberland Ferdinand and William successively Earls of Derby Ferdinand dy'd after a strange manner in the flower of his youth leaving by Margaret her right name is Alice his wife daughter of Sir John Spenser of Althorp three daughters viz. Anne marry'd to Grey Bruges Lord Chandos Frances espous'd to Sir John Egerton and Elizabeth the wife of Henry Earl of Huntingdon William the sixth Earl now enjoyeth the honour and hath issue by Elizabeth daughter to Edward late Earl of Oxford and now William g See an account of this family in Lancashire under the title Ormeskirke the sixth Earl of Derby of this family a man of great worth and honour enjoys that dignity Thus far of the Counties of Nottingâ—â—â— and Derby partly inhabited by those who in Bede 's time were call'd Mercii Aquilonares The Noâ—thern â—â—cians because they dwelt beyond the Trent northward and possest as he says the land of seven thousand families This County includes 106 Parishes ADDITIONS to DERBYSHIRE a IN the more southerly part of this County upon the river Trent is Repton Repton where Matilda wife to Ralph Earl of Chester founded a Priory of Canons Regular of the Order of St. Austin in the year 1172. And since the dissolution Sir John Port of Etwall in this County by his last Will order'd a Free-school to be erected appointing certain lands in the Counties of Derby and Lancaster for the maintenance of this and an Hospital at Etwall both which are still in a prosperous condition b The Trent running forward receives the river Derwent and upon it stands Derby Derby which had not this name by an abbreviation of Derwent and the addition of by as our Author imagines but plainly from being a shelter for deer which is imply'd in the true name of it Deoraby And what farther confirms it is that 't was formerly a park and in the arms of the town to this day is a buck couchant in a park Which joyn'd to the Lodge-lane still the name of a passage into the Nuns-green as they put the original of it out of all doubt so do they evidently shew the ancient condition of the place When the town was built does not appear but its privileges and ancient charters argue it to be of good antiquity It is exempted from paying toll in London or any other place except Winchester and some few other towns and is a staple-town for wool a very ancient manufacture of this Kingdom There was formerly in it a Chapel dedicated to St. James near which in digging some cellars and foundations of houses bones of a great size have been found And on the north-side of St. James's lane within the compass of ground where the Chapel stood a large stone was made bare which being gently remov'd there appear'd a stone-coffin with a very prodigious corps in it but this upon the first motion of the stone turn'd into dust The Coffin was so cut as to have a round place made for the head wide about the shoulders and so narrower down to the feet On the south-east corner of the town stood formerly a castle tho' there have been no remains of it within the memory of man But that there was one appears from the name of the hill call'd Cow-castle-hill and the street that leads west to St. Peter's Church in ancient Deeds bearing the name of Castle-gate In Allhallows Church there is a monument for one Richard Crashaw of London Esquire who dy'd the 20th of June An.
which is but shallow however they have communication with one another by two Causeys made over it which have each of them their respective sluces The South part or that hithermost is by much the greater divided into several streets and has in it a School and for the relief of poor people a pretty large Hospital dedicated to St. John The further is the less yet beautified with a very sightly Church which with the fine walls that castle like surround it those fair neat houses for the Prebendaries and the Bishop's Palace all about it makes an incomparable shew with those three lofty Pyramids of stone in it This was a Bishop's See many ages since For in the year of our Redemption 606. Oswy King of Northumberland having conquer'd the Pagan Mercians built a Church here for the propagation of the Christian Religion and ordain'd Duina the first Bishop whose Successors were so much in favour with their Princes that they not only had the preheminence among all the Mercian Bishops and were enrich'd with very large possessions Cankwood or Canoc a very great wood and other exceeding rich farms being given them but the See also has had an Arch-Bishop namely Eadulph to whom Pope Adrian gave the Pall and made all the Bishops of the Mercians and the East-Angles subject to him being induc'd to it by the golden arguments of Offa King of the Mercians out of envy to Jeambert or Lambert Arch-Bishop of Canterbury About 〈◊〉 year 〈◊〉 Hiâ—t Roâ—â—â—s who offer'd his assistance to Charles the Great if he would invade England But this Archiepiscopal dignity expir'd with Offa and Eadulph Among the Bishops the most eminent is * S. Câ—â—â— Chad who was canoniz'd for his sanctity and as Bede says when the Prelacy was not as yet tainted with excess and luxury made himself a house to live in not far distant from the Church wherein with a few others that is with seven or eight of his brethren he was wont privately to read and pray as often as he had leisure from his labour and administring of the word of God In that age Lichfield was but a small village and in populousness far short of a City The Country about it is woody and a little river runs near it The Church was but of small circuit according to the meanness of those ancient times When in a Synod 1075. 't was prohibited that Bishop's Sees should be in obscure villages Peter Bishop of Lichfield transferr'd his seat to Chester But Robert of Limsey his successor remov'd it to Coventry A little after Roger Clinton brought it back again to Lichfield and began a very fine Church in 1148. in honour to the Virgin Mary and St. Ceada and repair'd the castle which is quite decay'd and nothing of it to be seen at this day The town within the memory of our fathers was first incorporated under the name of Bailiffs and Burgesses by K. Edward the sixth being 52 degrees and 42 minutes in Latitude and in Longitude 21 degrees 20 minutes o * Bishop Usher had rather place this Terra Conallea at Clan-conal in the County of Down Antiquitat Brit. Eccl. p. 369. fol. This Lake at Lichfield is at first pent up into a narrow compass within its banks and then it grows wider afterwards but uniting it self at last into a chanel it presently falls into the Trent which continues its course Eastward till it meets the river Tame from the South in conjunction with which it runs through places abounding with Alabaster Alabaster to the Northward that it may sooner receive the river Dove and almost insulate Burton Burton upâ—â— Trent formerly a remarkable town for the Alabaster-works for a castle of the Ferrars 13 Built in the Conquerour's time for an ancient Monastery founded by Ulfric Spot Earl of the Mercians and for the retirement of Modwena 〈◊〉 is also 〈◊〉 Mowâ—â—â— an Irish woman Of the Abbey the Book of Abingdon speaks thus A certain servant of King Aethelred's call'd Ulfric Spot built the Abbey of Burton and endow'd it with all his paternal estate to the value of 700 l. and that this gift might stand good he gave King Aethelred 300 mancs of gold for his confirmation to it and to every Bishop five mancs besides the town of Dumbleton over and above to Alfrick Arch-Bishop of Canterbury So that we may see from hence that gold was predominant in those ages and that it sway'd and byass'd even in spiritual matters In this Monastery Modwena eminent for her sanctity in these parts lies buried and on the Tomb these Verses were inscribed for her Epitaph Ortum Modwennae dat Hibernia Scotia finem Anglia dat tumulum dat Deus astra poli Prima dedit vitam sed mortem terra secunda Et terram terrae tertia terra dedit Aufert Lanfortin quam * â— Conel terra Conallea profert Foelix Burtonium virginis ossa tenet By Ireland life by Scotland death was given A Tomb by England endless joys by Heaven One boasts her birth one mourns her hopeless fate And one does earth to earth again commit Lanfortin ravish'd what Tirconnel gave And pious Burton keeps her sacred grave Near Burton between the rivers Dove Trent and Blith which waters and gives name to Blithfield Blithfield the delicate house of an ancient and famous family of the Bagot 's p stands Needwood â—edwoodâ—â—â— a large Forest with many Parks in it wherein the Gentry hereabouts frequently exercise themselves with great labour and application in the pleasant toils of hunting So much for the inner parts The North-part of the County gently shoots into small hills which begin here and as the Appennine do in Italy run through the middle of England in one continu'd ridge rising higher and higher from one top to another as far as Scotland but under several names For here they are call'd Mooreland â—â—oreland after that Peake then again Blackston-edge anon Craven next Stanmore and last of all when they branch out apart into horns Cheviot This Mooreland which is so call'd because it rises into hills and mountains and is unfruitful which sort of places we call in our language Moors is a tract so very rugged foul and cold that snow continues long undissolv'd on it so that of a Country village here call'd Wotton seated at the bottom of Wever-hill the Neighbours have this verse among them intimating that God never was in that place Wotton under Wever Where God came never 14 Nevertheless in so hard a soil it brings forth and feeds beasts of a large size 'T is observ'd by the Inhabitants here that the West-wind always causes rain but that the East-wind and the South-wind which are wont to produce rain in other places make fair weather here unless the wind shift about from the West into the South and this they ascribe to their small distance from the Irish-sea From these mountains rise many rivers in this Shire
heels with an army whom the rash youth engaging after a long and sharp dispute 27 Wherein the Scotish-men which follow'd him shew'd much manly valour when the Earl of Worcester his uncle and the Earl of Dunbar were taken he despairing c. despairing of success expos'd himself wilfully to death The place from this battel The battel of Shrewsbury is yet call'd Battlefield Battlefield where the King afterwards built a Chapel and settled two Priests to pray for the souls of the slain This Shrewsbury is 20 degrees and 37 minutes distant from the Azores and 52 degrees and 53 minutes from the Aequator I know not whether it is worth my while and not foreign to my purpose to tell you that out of this city came the Sweating-sickness Sweating-sickness in the year 1551. which spread it self throughout the whole Kingdom and was particularly fatal to middle-aged persons such as had it either dy'd or recover'd in the space of 24 hours But there was a speedy remedy found out that those who were taken ill in the day time should immediately go to bed in their cloaths and those that sickned in the night should lye out their four and twenty hours in bed but were not to sleep at all The most eminent Physicians are puzl'd about the cause of this distemper there are some who ascribe it to the nature of chalky grounds in England which yet are very rare to be found here H. Fracastorius They tell you That in some certain moist constitutions the subtle but corrupt steams that evaporate from that sort of soil which are very piercing and contagious either infect the animal spirits or the thin frothy Serum of the blood but be the cause what it will 't is most certain there is some analogy between it and the subtle parts of the blood which occasions in so small a space as 24 hours either the expiration of the Patient or Disease But let others make their discoveries for my part I have observ'd it thrice in the last Age rife throughout the whole kingdom of England and I doubt not but it has been so before tho' we cannot find it chronicl'd I observe it first in the year 1485 when Henry the seventh began his reign some time after a great conjunction of the superiour Planets in Scorpio secondly less violent tho' accompanied with the Plague in the 33d year after in the year 1518 after a great opposition of the same Planets in Scorpio and Taurus at which time it was likewise rife in the Low-Countries and Germany and lastly 33 years after that in the year 1551 after another conjunction of the same Planets in Scorpio had exerted its malignant influences But enough has been said of this which may be little regarded by 28 Such as attribute nothing at all to celestial influence and learned experience such as have no appetite to this sort of experimental learning Near this city the river Severn has a great many windings but especially at Rossal where it fetches x It well-nigh encloses a large plot of ground of several miles in compass for that reason call'd The Isle such a compass that it almost returns into it self Hereabouts are those old-fashion'd boats call'd in Latin Rates i.e. Flotes Flotes made of rough timber planks joyn'd together with light ribs of wood which with the stream convey burthens The use and name of them was originally brought by the English from the Rhine in Germany where they bear the same name of Flotes m Near the river stands Shrawerden Shrawerden a castle formerly of the Earls of Arundel but afterwards belong'd to the most honourable 29 Sir Thomas Thomas Bromley who was sometime since Chancellour of England and Knocking Knocking built by the Lords L'estrange from whom it came by inheritance to the Stanleys Earls of Derby And not far off is Nesse Nesse over which there hangeth a craggy rock with a cave in it of some note this place together with Cheswerden King Henry the second gave to John L'estrange Barons Lestrange 20 fieâ—â— from whom are descended the most noble families of the L'esttranges of Knocking Avindelegh Ellesmer Blakmere Lutheham and Hunstanton in Norfolk But from those of Knocking by the death of the last of them without issue male the inheritance descended by Joan a sole daughter and the wife of George Stanley to the Earls of Derby At a greater distance from the river towards the western bounds of this County lies Oswestre Oswestre or Oswaldstre in Welsh Croix Oswalde a little town enclos'd with a wall and a ditch and fortified with a small castle 'T is a place of good traffick for Welsh-Cottons Welsh-Cottons especially which are of a very fine thin or if you will †Leviâ— sas si â— cet vâ— slight texture of which great quantities are weekly vended here It derives its name from Oswald King of the Northumbrians but more anciently 't was call'd Maserfield Maserfiâ—â—â— whom Penda the Pagan Prince of the Mercians after he had slain him in a hot engagement tore limb from limb with inhuman barbarity which gave occasion to those verses of a Christian Poet of some antiquity Cujus abscissum caput abscissosque lacertos Et tribus affixos palis pendere cruentus Oswald slain Penda jubet per quod reliquis exempla relinquat Terroris manifesta sui regemque beatum Esse probet miserum sed causam fallit utramque Ultor enim fratris minimè timet Oswius illum Imò timere facit nec Rex miser imò beatus Est qui fonte boni fruitur semel sine fine Whose head all black with gore and mangled hands Were fix'd on stakes at Penda's curst commands To stand a sad example to the rest And prove him wretched who is ever blest Vain hopes were both for Oswy's happier care Stop'd the proud Victor and renew'd the war Nor him mankind will ever wretched own Who wears a peaceful and eternal crown It seems to have been first built upon a superstitious conceit See in Northumberland for the Christians of that age lookt upon it as holy and Bede has told us that famous miracles were wrought in the place where Oswald was kill'd It was built by Madoc the brother of Mereduc according to Carodocus Lancabernensis and the Fitz-Alanes Normans who afterwards were Lords of it and Earls of Arundel inclosed it with a wall n It is observable that the Eclipses of the Sun in Aries Eclipses in Aries have been very fatal to this place for in the years 1542 and 1567. when the Sun was eclipsed in that Planet it suffer'd very much by fire but after the last Eclipse of the two a fire rag'd so furiously here that about 200 houses in the City and Suburbs were consum'd â—â— Câ—rciâ—â— Below this * Northwest there is a hill entrench'd with a triple ditch call'd Hen-dinas that is the
saith he so call'd from the famous Monastery that was once there lyes situate in Maelor Seising or Bromfield not far from Kaer Lheion or West-chester Both Town and Monastery hath so felt the injuries of time that at this day there are hardly any ruins of them remaining For we find now only a small Village of the name and no footsteps of the old City except the rubbish of the two principal Gates Porth Kleis and Porth Wgan the former looking towards England and the latter towards Wales They are about a mile distant from each other whence we may conjecture the extent of the City which lay between these two Gates the river Dee running through the midst of it The old British Triades tell us that in the time of the British Kings there were in the Monastery of Bangor 2400 Monks who in their turns viz. a hundred each hour of the 24 read Prayers and sung Psalms continually so that Divine Service was perform'd day and night without intermission c. ¶ It remains now that we make some mention of that remarkable Monument or carv'd Pillar on Mostyn-mountain Maen y Chwyvan represented in the Plate by the first and second figures It stands on the evenest part of the mountain and is in height eleven foot and three inches above the Pedestal two foot and four inches broad and eleven inches thick The Pedestal is five foot long four and a half in breadth and about fourteen inches thick and the Monument being let thorow it reaches about five inches below the bottom so that the whole length of it is about thirteen foot The first figure represents the East-side and that edge which looks to the South and the second the Western-side with the North-edge tho' the Sculptures on these edges are grav'd as if they were no part of the stone When this Monument was erected or by what Nation I must leave to farther enquiry however I thought it not amiss to publish these draughts of it as supposing there may be more of the same kind in some parts of Britain or Ireland or else in other Countries which being compar'd with this it might perhaps appear what Nations used them and upon what occasions Dr. Plot in his History of Staffordshire gives us the draughts of a Monument or two which agree very well with it in the chequer'd carving and might therefore possibly belong to the same Nation ‖ Plot 's Nat. Hist of Staffordshire p. 404. 432. Those he concludes to have been erected by the Danes for that there is another very like them at Beau-Castle in Cumberland inscrib'd with Runick Characters which is presum'd to have been a Funeral Monument * Phil. Transact Num. 178. But the Characters on the East-side of ours seem nothing like the Runic or any other letters I have seen but resemble rather the numeral figures 1221. tho' I confess I am so little satisfied with the meaning of them that I know not whether they were ever intended to be significative Within a furlong or less of this Monument there is an artificial Mount or Barrow whereof there are also about twenty more in this neighbourhood call'd y Gorsedheu where there have been formerly a great many carcases and skulls discover'd some of which were cut and one or two particularly had round holes in them as if pierced with an arrow upon which account this pillar has been suspected for a Monument of some signal victory and the rather for that upon digging five or six foot under it no bones were discover'd nor any thing else that might give occasion to suspect it Sepulchral This monumental Pillar is call'd Maen y Chwyvan a name no less obscure than the History of it for tho' the former word signifies a Stone yet no man understands the meaning of Chwyvan Were it Gwyvan I should conclude it corrupted from Gwŷdhvaen i.e. the high Pillar but seeing 't is written Maen y Chufan in an old Deed bearing date 1388. which scarce differs in pronunciation from Chwyvan I dare not acquiesce in that Etymology tho' at present I can think of none more probable PRINCES of WALES AS for the ancient Princes of Wales of British extraction I refer the Reader to the Annals of Wales already publish'd but for the later Princes of the Royal line of England it seems pertinent to our design that we add here a short account of them Edward the first to whom during his minority his father Henry the third had granted the Principality of Wales having when Lhewelyn ap Grufydh the last Prince of the British blood was slain cut off in a manner the sinews of the Government or sovereignty of that Nation united the same to the Kingdom of England in the 12th year of his reign and the whole Province swore fealty and allegiance to his son Edward of Caernarvon whom he constituted Prince of Wales But this Edward the second conferr'd not the title of Prince of Wales on his son Edward but only the honour of Earl of Chester and Flint as far as I could yet learn out of the records of the Kingdom 1 And by that title summon'd him to Parliament being then nine years old Edward the third first solemnly invested his son Edward sirnam'd the Black with this title 2 With a Cap of Estate and a Coronet set on his head a gold Ring put upon his finger and a ‖ Afterward a golden Verge was used silver Verge deliver'd into his hand with the assent of Parliament who in the very height of grandeur died an untimely death After that he conferr'd the same on his son Richard of Bourdeaux heir to the crown who being depriv'd of his Kingdom by K. Hen. 4. died miserably leaving no issue The same Henry the fourth 3 At the formal request of the Lords and Commons conferr'd the Principality of Wales on his eldest son who was that renowned Prince Henry the fifth His son Henry the sixth whose father died whilst he was an infant conferr'd that honour which he never receiv'd himself on his young son Edward who being taken in the battel of Tewkesbury had his brains dash'd out cruelly by the York-Party Not long after K. Edward the fourth being settl'd in the throne created his young son Edward afterwards Edward the fifth Prince of Wales And soon after his Uncle Richard having dispatch'd him away substituted in his place his own son Edward created Earl of Salisbury before by Edward the fourth but died soon after which I have but lately discover'd Afterwards Henry the seventh constituted first his son Arthur Prince of Wales and after his decease Henry famous afterwards under the title of Henry the 8. On all these the Principality of Wales was conferr'd by solemn Investiture and a Patent deliver'd them in these words Tenendus sibi haeredibus Regibus Angliae c. For in those times the Kings would not deprive themselves of so fair an opportunity of obliging their eldest sons but
then by Mask where there is great store of lead From thence by Richmondia commonly Richmond â—â—chmond the chief city of this Shire enclos'd with walls of no great compass yet by the sâ—burbs which shoot out in length to the three gates it is pretty populous It was built by Alan the first Earl who not daring to rely upon Gilling â—â—lling his village or manour hard by to withstand the assaults of the Saxons and Danes whom the Normans had strip'd of their inheritances grac'd it with this name signi ying a Rich Mount and fortify'd it with walls and a very strong castle situated upon a rock from whence it looks down upon the river Swale which with a great murmur seems to rush rather than run among the stones The village Gilling was rather holy upon the account of Religion than strong in respect of its fortifications ever since Oswius K. of Northumberland by the treachery of his Hospitis Host was slain in this place which is called by Bede Gethling To expiate whose murder a Monastery was built here which was highly esteem'd and honour'd by our ancestors More towards the north stands Ravenswath â—â—vensâ—â—th a castle encompass'd with a pretty large wall now ruinous which belonged to those Barons called Fitz-Hugh â—â—ron Fitz-â—â—gh descended from an old line of English who were Lords of this place before the Norman Conquest and flourish'd till the time of Henry 7. being enriched with great estates by marriages with the heirs of the famous families of the Forneaux and Marmions which went at last by females to the Fienes Lords Dacre in the South and to the Parrs Three miles below Richmond the Swale flows by that old city which Ptolemy and Antoninus call Caturactonium â—â—â—uractoâ—â—â—m and Catarracton but Bede Catarractan and in another place the village near Catarracta â—â—â—aricke which makes me think that name given it from the Catarract seeing here is a great fall of water hard by tho' nearer Richmond where as I already observ'd the Swale rather rushes than runs its waters being dashed and broken by those crags it meets with And why should he call it a village near Catarracta if there had been no cataract of the waters there That it was a city of great note in those times may be inferr'd from Ptolemy because an Observation of the Heavens was taken there For in his Magna Constructio lib. 2. cap. 6. he describes the 24th parallel to be through Catarractonium in Britain and to be distant from the aequator 57 degrees Yet in his Geography he defines the longest day to be 18 Equinoctial hours so that according to his own calculation it is distant 58 degrees â—gnum 〈◊〉 nisi noâ— habet But at this day as the Poet says it has nothing great but the memory of what it was For it is but a very small village called Catarrick and Catarrick-bridge â—â—tarrick â—â—â—dge yet remarkable for its situation by a Roman highway which crosses the river here and for those heaps of rubbish up and down which carry some colour of antiquity especially near Ketterickswart and Burghale which are somewhat distant from the bridge and likewise more eastward hard by the river where I saw a huge mount as it were with four bulwarks cast up with great labour to a considerable height m What it might suffer from the Picts and Saxons when with fire and sword they laid waste the Cities of Britain I cannot certainly tell yet when the Saxon Government was establish'd it seems to have flourish'd though Bede always calls it a village till in the year 769 it was burnt by Eanredus or Beanredus the tyrant who destroyed the Kingdom of Northumberland But immediately after he himself was miserably burnt and Catarractonium began to raise its head again for in the 77th year after King Etheldred solemnized his marriage with the daughter of Offa King of the Mercians here Yet it did not continue long flourishing for in the Danish outrages which followed it was utterly destroy'd The Swale after a long course not without some rubs flows pretty near Hornby Hornby a castle of the family de S. Quintin which afterwards came to the Cogniers and besides pleasant pastures and country villages sees nothing but Bedal Bedal situated upon another little river that runs into it which in the time of King Edward the first gloried in its Baron 3 Sir Brian Brian Fitz-Alan Fitz-Alan famous for his ancient Nobility being descended 4 From the Earls of Britain and Richmond from the Dukes of Britain and the Earls of Richmond but for default of issue-male this inheritance was brought by daughters to the Stapletons and the Greys of Rotherfeld The Swale being now past Richmondshire draws nearer to the Ure where it sees Topcliffe Topcliffe the chief seat of the Percies call'd by Marianus Taden-clife who says that in the year 949. the States of Northumberland took an oath of Allegiance there to King Eldred the West-Saxon brother to Edmund n At the very confluence of these two rivers stands Mitton Mitton a very small village but memorable for no small slaughter there For in the year 1319 when England was almost made desolate by a raging plague the Scots continued their ravages to this place and easily routed a considerable body of Priests and Peasants which the Archbishop of York had drawn together against them But now to return From Catarractonium the military-way falls into two roads that towards the north lies by Caldwell Caldwell and Aldburgh Aldburgh which imports in the Saxon language an old burgh By what name it went formerly I cannot easily guess It seems to have been a great City from its large ruins and near it by a village called Stanwig lies a ditch of about eight miles long drawn between the Tees and the Swale As the Way runs towards the ‖ Circium north-west twelve miles off it goes by Bowes Bowes at present a little village and sometimes writ Bough where in former ages the Earls of Richmond had a little castle a tribute called Thorough-toll and their Gallows But formerly it was called in Antoninus's Itinerary Lavatrae Lavatrae and Levatrae as both its distance and the situation by a military way which is visible by the ridge of it do plainly demonstrate The antiquity of it is farther confirmed by an old stone in the Church used there not long ago for a Communion-table with this Inscription in honour of Hadrian the Emperour IMP. CAESARI DIVI TRAIANI PARTHICI Max filio DIVI NERVAE NEPOTI TRAIANO Hadria NO AVG. PONT MAXM COS. I. P.P. COH IIII. F. IO. SEV This fragment was also dug up here NO L. CAE FRONTINVS COH I. THRAC In Severus's reign when Virius Lupus was Legate and Propraetor of Britain the first Cohort of the Thracians was garison'd here â—neum Bâ—â—neum for whose sake he restored the Balneum or bath also
CVLMINIS INSTITVTI 〈◊〉 But there has been none yet found to encourage one to believe that this was the Morbium where the Equites Cataphractarii quarter'd tho' the present name seems to imply it Nor must I omit the mention of Hay-Castle â—â—tle which I saw in the neighbourhood very venerable for its antiquity and which the Inhabitants told me belong'd formerly to the noble families of Moresby and Dissinton After this the river Derwent falls into the Ocean which rising in Borrodale a Vale surrounded with crooked hills runs among the mountains call'd Derwent-fells wherein at Newlands and other places some rich veins of Copper 〈◊〉 not without a mixture of Gold and Silver were found in our age by Thomas Thurland and Daniel Hotchstetter a German of Auspurg tho' discover'd a good while before as appears from the Close Rolls of Henry the third n. 18. About these there was a memorable Trial between our most Serene Queen Elizabeth and Thomas Percie Earl of Northumberland and Lord of the Manour but by virtue of the Royal Prerogative it appearing that there were also veins of gold and silver Veins of gold and silver it was carry'd in favour of the Queen So far is it from being true what Cicero has said in his Epistles to Atticus 'T is well known that there is not so much as a grain of silver in the Island of Britain Nor would Caesar if he had known of these Mines have told us that the Britains made use of imported Copper when these and some others afford such plenty that not only all England is supply'd by them but great quantities exported yearly Here is also found abundance of that Mineral-earth or hard shining Stone which we call a The people thereabouts call it Wadd It is much us'd in cleansing rusty Armour having a particular virtue for that purpose 'T is said there is a Mine of it in the West-Indies but there 's no need of importing any for as much may be dug here in one year as will serve all Europe for several years By the descriptions which the ancient Naturalists give us of their Pnigitis it does not seem as if that and our Black-lead were the same for theirs agree better with the composition of that black chalk mention'd by Dr. Plott Nat. Hist of Oxfordsh p. 56 57. It may perhaps be allow'd to fall rather under the Catalogue of Earths than either Metals or Minerals But then as Ruddle is acknowledg'd to be an Earth strongly impregnated with the Steams of Iâ—on so is this with those of Lead as may be made out from its weight colour c. Dr. Merret in his Pinax Rer. Nat. p. 218. gives it the name of Nigrica fabrilis telling us that it wanted a true one till he bestow'd this on it at Keswick And he further adds that 't is the peculiar product of Old and New England Blacklead Black-lead us'd by Painters in drawing their Lines and †Monochromata shading such pieces as they do in black and white Which whether it be Dioscorides's Pnigitis or Melanteria or Ochre a sort of earth burnt black is a point I cannot determine and so shall leave it to the search of others The Derwent falling through these mountains spreads it self into a spacious Lake call'd by Bede Praegrande stagnum i.e. a vast pool wherein are three Islands one the seat of the famous family of the Ratcliffs Knights * King James 2. An. regni 3. created Sir Francis Ratcliffe of Dilston in Northumberland Baron of Tindale Vicount Ratcliffe and Langley and Earl of Darent-water another inhabited by German Miners and a third suppos'd to be that wherein b The story of St. Herbert's great familiarity with St. Cuthbert their endearments at Carlisle their death on the same day hour and minute c. we have at large in Bede Eccl. Hist l. 4. c. 29. Vit. S. Cuthb c. 28. All which are repeated in an old Instrument of one of the Bishop of Carlisle's Register-Books whereby Thomas de Apulby Bishop of that See A. D. 1374. requires the Vicar of Crosthwait to say a yearly Mass in St. Herbert's Isle on the thirteenth of April in commemoration of these two Saints and grants forty days Indulgence to such of his Pashioners as shall religiously attend that Service Regest Tho. de Apul. p. 261. Bede tells us St. Herbert led a Hermit's life Upon the side of this in a fruitful field encompass't with wet dewy mountains and protected from the north-winds by that of Skiddaw lyes Keswick Keswick a little market-town formerly a place noted for Mines as appears by a certain Charter of Edâ—ard the fourth and at present inhabited by Miners 3 Who have here their smelting-house by Derwent-side which with his forcible stream and their ingenuous inventions serveth them in notable stead for easie bellows works hammer works forge works and sawing of boords not without admiration of those that behold it The privilege of a Market was procur'd for it of Edward the first by Thomas of Derwent-water Lord of the place from whom it hereditarily descended to the Ratcliffs f Skiddaw a very high mountain The Skiddaw I mention'd mounts up almost to the Clouds with its two tops like another Parnassus and views Scruffelt a mountain of Anandal Anandal in Scotland with a sort of emulation From the Clouds rising up or falling upon these two mountains the Inhabitants judge of the weather and have this rhyme common amongst them If Skiddaw hath a cap Scruffel wots full well of that As also of the height of this and two other mountains in those parts Skiddaw Lauvellin and Casticand Are the highest hills in all England From thence the Derwent sometimes broad and sometimes narrow rowls on to the North in great haste to receive the river Cokar Which two rivers at their meeting almost surround Cokarmouth Cokarmouth a populous well-traded market-town where is a Castle of the Earls of Northumberland 'T is a town neatly built but of a low situation between two hills upon one is the Church and upon the c This is evidently an artificial Mount cast up on purpose to give a better prospect to the Castle other over against it a very strong Castle on the gates whereof are the Arms of the Moltons Humfranvills Lucies and Percies Over against this on the other side of the river ‖ Ad alterum milliare at some two miles distance are the ruins of an old Castle call'd Pap-castle the Roman Antiquity whereof is attested by several Monuments Whether this is the Guasmoric Guasmoric which Ninnius tells us King Guortigern built near Lugaballia and that it was by the old Saxons call'd Palm-castle I will not determine Here among other Monuments of Antiquity was found a large open vessel of greenish stone with several little images curiously engraven upon it which whether it was an Ewer to wash in S. Ambrose
of Scotland is contain'd in less bounds being divided from England by the water of Tweed to Carhoom then by Keddon-burn Haddon-rigg Black-down-hill Morsla-hill Battinbuss-hill to the risings of the rivers Keal and Ted after by Kersop-burn Liderwater Esk to the Tod-holls the Marchdike to White-sack and Solloway-frith On the west it hath the Irish-Sea on the north the Deucaledonian and on the east the German Ocean On all which sides bordering upon the Sea it hath several Isles belonging to it From the Mule of Galloway in the south to Dungsbay-head in the east-point of Cathness in the north it is about 250 miles long and betwixt Buchan-ness on the east sea and Ardnamurchan-point on the west 150 miles broad The most southerly part of it about Whitern is 54 degrees 54 min. in Latitude and in Longitude 15 degrees 40 min. The northermost part the above-mentioned Dungsbay-head is 58 degrees 32 some say 30. min. in Latitude and 17 degrees 50 minutes in Longitude The longest day is about 18 hours and two minutes and the shortest night 5 hours and 45 minutes The air temperate It was not without reason that Caesar said Of Britain Coelum Gallico temperatius for even in Scotland the air is more mild and temperate than in the Continent under the same Climate by reason of the warm-vapours from the sea upon all sides and the continual breezes of the wind from thence the heat in Summer is no way scorching The constant winds purifie the air and keep it always in motion so that 't is seldom any Epidemick disease rages here Hills in Scotland The nature of the Country is hilly and mountainous there being but few plains and they of no great extent Those they have are generally by the sea-side and from thence the ground begins to rise sensibly the farther in the Country the higher so that the greatest hills are in the middle of the Kingdom These hills especially upon the skirts of the Country breed abundance of Cows which not only afford store of butter and cheese to the Inhabitants but likewise considerable profit by the vent of their hides and tallow and the great numbers that are sold in England when there is no Prohibition Their size as also that of their sheep is but small but the meat of both of an exceeding fine taste and very nourishing The High-Lands afford great Flocks of Goats with store of Deer and are clear'd from Wolves The whole Country has good store and variety of fowl both tame and wild The quality of the soil Quaity 〈◊〉 the 〈◊〉 compared in general with that of England is not near so good 'T is commonly more fit for pasture and for that purpose is very well watered Where the surface is leanest there are found Metals and Minerals and considerable quanties of Lead are exported yearly there is also good Copper but they will not be at the pains to work it But in much of the in-land Country especially where it lyeth upon some of the Friths the soil is very good and there all sorts of grain grows that is usual in the South parts of Britain The Wheat is frequently exported by Merchants to Spain Holland and Norwey Barley grows plentifully and their Oats are extreme good affording bread of a clean and wholesome nourishment In the Low-grounds they have store of Pease and Beans which for the strength of their feeding are much used by the Labouring people In the skirts of the Country which are not so fit for Grain these grow great woods of Timber to a vast bigness especially Firr-trees which are found to thrive best in stony grounds Springs of Mineral-waters which the people find useful in several diseases are common enough No Country is better provided with Fishes Besides flocks of smaller Whales the Porpess and the Meerswine frequently cast in great Whales of the Baleen or Whale-bone kind and of the Sperma Ceti kind are cast now and then upon several parts of the shore Besides the grain and other commodities already named the Merchants export alablaster linnen and woollen cloath freezes plaids plaiding stuff stockings malt and meal skins of Rabbets Hares c. fishes eggs oker marble coal and salt The Christian Religion was very early planted here Chrisâ—nity 〈◊〉 in Scoâ—land for Tertullian's words Britannorum inaccessa Romanis loca Christo verò subdita must be understood of the north part of the Island possessed by the Scots and separated by a wall from that part which was subject to the Romans The Religion of the Kingdom establisht by Law is that which is contain'd in the Confession of Faith authoriz'd in the first Parliament of King James 6. and defined in the 19th Article of the said Confession to be That which is contained in the written word of God For the promotion of Learning they have four Universities St. Andrews Glasgow Aberdeen Learnâ—â—â— in Scoâ—land and Edenburgh wherein are Professors of most of the Liberal Arts endowed with competent Salaries The Division of SCOTLAND ALL the Northern part of the Island of Britain was antiently inhabited by the Picts who were divided into two Nations the Dicalidonii and Vecturiones of whom I have spoken already out of Ammianus Marcellinus But when the Scots had gotten possession of this Tract it was shar'd into seven parts amongst seven Princes as we have it in a little antient Book Of the Division of Scotland in these words The first part contained Enegus and Maern The second Atheodl and Goverin The third Stradeern with Meneted The fourth was Forthever The fifth Mar with Buchen The sixth Muref and Ross The seventh Cathness which Mound a Mountain divides in the midst running along from the Western to the Eastern Sea After that the same Author reports from the Relation of Andrew Bishop of Cathness that the whole Kingdom was divided likewise into seven Territories The first from Fryth so termed by the Britains by the Romans Worid now Scottwade to the River Tae The second from Hilef as the Sea surrounds it to a Mountain in the North-east part of Sterling named Athran The third from Hilef to Dee The fourth from Dee to the River Spe. The fifth from Spe to the Mountain Brunalban The sixth Mures and Ross The seventh the Kingdom of Argathel as it were the border of the Scots who were so called from Gathelgas their Captain With respect to the 〈…〉 and. 〈…〉 andâ—â— manners and ways of living it is divided into the High-land-men and Low-land-men These are more civilized and use the language and habit of the English the other more rude and barbarous and use that of the Irish as I have already mentioned and shall discourse hereafter Out of this division I exclude the Borderers â—â—â—derers because they by the blessed and happy Union enjoying the Sun-shine of peace on every side are to be lookt upon as living in the very midst of the British Empire and begin being sufficiently tir'd with war to grow
may believe Tacitus but questionless they were known in the time of Claudius the Emperor for Pomponious Mela who then lived mentioneth them Yet doubtless Orosius is untrue in that he writeth that Claudius conquered them So little right has Claudius to this conquest as Hierom relates in his chronicle that Juvenal in Hadrian's time writes thus of them Arma quid ultra Littera Juvernae promovimus modo captas Orcades minima contentos nocte Britannos What tho' the Orcades have own'd our power What tho' Juverna's tam'd and Britain's shore That boasts the shortest night Afterwards when the Roman Empire was utterly extinct in Britain 4 The Saxons the Picts planted themselves in these Islands thus Claudian poetically alludes Maduerunt Saxone fuso Orcades The Orcades with Saxon gore or estow'd Ninnius also tells us that Octha and Ebissus both Saxons who served under the Britains sailed round the Picts in 5 40 vl Kyules and wasted Orkney After that they fell under the dominion of the Norwegians upon which account the Inhabitants speak Gothick by the grant of Donald Ban who after the death of his brother Malcolm Can Mor King of Scots had excluded his nephews and usurped the Kingdom and thought to procure a second by this means to support him in his designs The Norwegians continued in possession of them till the year 1266. Then Magnus the fourth of that name King of Norway being exhausted by a war with Scotland surrendered it to Alexander the third King of Scots by treaty which was afterwards confirmed to King Robert Brus in the year 1312 by Haquin King of Norway At last in the year 6 1498. 1468 Christian the first King of Norway and Denmark renounced and quitted all the right either of him or his successors in it to James the third King of Scotland upon a marriage between him and his daughter and so transferred all his right upon his son in law and his successors for ever For the better warrant and assurance whereof it was also confirm'd by the Pope As for the Earls of Orkney Earls of Oâ—kney not to mention the ancient who also held the Earldom of Cathness and Strathern as an inheritance This title was at last by an heir female derived upon William de Sentcler and William the fourth Earl of this family sirnamed the Prodigal run out the estate and was the last Earl of the family Yet his posterity have enjoyed the honour of Barons Sentcler till within this little while And the title of Cathness remains at this day in the posterity of his brother But as for the honourable title of Earl of Orkney it was since this last age together with the title of Lord of Shetland conferr'd upon Robert a natural son of King James the fifth which his son Patrick Steward enjoys at this day * The present Governors are stiâ—ed Stewards of Orkney Additions to the ORCADES THE Isles of Orkney are generally so little known and yet withall so slightly touch'd upon by our Author that the Curious must needs be well pleas'd to see a farther Description of them Mr. James Wallace is our authority a person very well vers'd in Antiquities and particularly in such as belong'd to those parts where his station gave him an opportunity of informing himself more exactly He was Minister of Kirkwall Orkney lies in the Northern temperate Zone in longitude 22 degr 11 min. in latitude 59 degr 2 min. The length of the longest day is 18 hours and some odd minutes For a great part of June it will be so clear at midnight that one may read a letter in their chamber yet what Bleau tells us cannot be true that from the hill of Hoy a man may see the sun at midnight It cannot be the true body of the sun but only the image of it refracted through the sea or some watery cloud about the Horizon seeing it must be as far depressed under our Horizon in June as 't is elevated above it in December and from that hill the sun is to be seen in the shortest day of December above 5 hours and a half The Air the Seasons and the particular Islands my Author shall describe to you in his own words The air and clouds here by the operation of the sun do sometime generate several things for instance Not many years since some fishermen fishing half a league from land over-against Copinsha in a fair day there fell down from the air a stone about the bigness of a foot-ball which fell in the midst of the boat and sprung a leak in it to the great hazard of the lives of the men that were in it which could be no other but some substance generated in the clouds The stone was like condensed or petrified clay and was a long time in the custody of Captain Andrew Dick at that time Stewart of that Country Here our winters are generally more subject to rain than snow nor does the frost and snow continue so long here as in other parts of Scotland but the winds in the mean time will often blow very boistrously sometimes the rains descends not by drops but by spouts of water as if whole clouds fell down at once About four year ago after a thunder in the month of June there fell a great flake of ice more than a foot thick This Country is wholly surrounded with the sea having Pightland-Frith on the south the Deucaledonian ocean on the west the sea that divides it from Zetland on the north and the German sea on the east Zetland stands north east and by east from Orkney and from the Start in Sanda to Swinburgh-head the most southerly point in Zetland will be about 18 leagues where there is nothing but sea all the way save Fair-Isle which lies within eight leagues of Swinburgh-head Pightland-Firth which divides this Country from Caithness is in breadth from Duncans-bay to the nearest point of South Ronalsha in Orkney about twelve miles in it are many tides to the number of twenty four which run with such an impetuous current that a ship under sail is no more able to make way against the tide than if it were hindred by a Remora which I conceive is the cause why some have said that they have found the Remora in these seas In this Firth about two miles from the coast of Caithness lies Stroma a little isle but pleasant and fruitful and because of its vicinity to Caithness and its being still under the jurisdictions of the Lords of that Country it is not counted as one of the isles of Orkney On the north side of this isle is a part of the Firth called the Swelches of Stroma and at the west end of it betwixt it and Mey in Caithness there is another part of it called the Merrie Men of Mey both which are very dangerous The sea ebbs and flowes here as in other places yet there are some Phaenomena the reason of which cannot easily
not very far from this same Praetentura since the Poet immediately subjoyns to Quae Scoto dat fraena truci Ferroque notatas Perlegit exanimes Picto moriente figuras That this Thule was a part of Britain the Roman Writers seem to be very clear especially Silius Italicus lib. 17. in these Verses Coerulus haud aliter cum dimicat incola Thules Agmina falcifero circumvenit acta covino For Silius here seemeth to have in his eye what Caesar in his Commentaries hath delivered of the Britons fighting in Essedis and Pomponius Mela lib. 3. cap. 6. where he speaks of the Britons sayeth Dimicant non equitatu modo aut pedite verum bigis curribus Gallice armati covinos vocant quorum falcatis axibus utuntur And our Author Tacitus tells us that in the battle fought with our Countrymen at the Grampion-hill media covinarius eques strepitu ac discursu complebat The middle of the field was filled with the clattering and running of chariots and horsemen And a little below that Covinarii peditum se praelio miscuere quanquam recentem terrorem intulerant densis tamen hostium agminibus inaequalibus locis haerebant In the mean time the Chariots mingled themselves with the Battalions of the Footmen which although they had lately caused much terror yet were they now entangled in the thick ranks of the Enemies and in uneven ground These Covinarii are called by Caesar Essedarii so I think no body will doubt but that Silius the Poet by Coerulus Incola Thules meant the Britains We also find an appellation of the same nature given to one of the Tribes of the Scots by Seneca in Ludo in these Verses Ille Britannos Ultra noti Littora ponti Et Coeruleos Scoto Brigantes Dare Romuleis Colla catenis Jussit He to submit the Britains did compel Beyond the utmost Ocean's bounds who dwell The Irish Scots who painted are with blew He forced to the Roman yoke to bow For so it is read by Joseph Scaliger and by Salmasius Exercitat Plinii in Solinum p. 189. who came next in learning to him upon these words Gelonis Agathyrsi collimitantur caerulo picti Et sane Pictos sive Agathyrsi haud aliter interpretari liceat quam aliquo colore fucatos sic Picti Scotobrigantes Senecae Picti Populi Britanniae ab eadem ratione dicti And it should seem by these Verses Et caeruleos Scoto Brigantas Dare Romuleis Colla catenis Jussit that Seneca who was contemporary with Claudius had in his eye the victory which Ostorius under Claudius the Emperor Governour of Britain obtained over Caratacus His History may be seen elegantly writ by Tacitus in the 12th Book of his Annals where he shows us that Caratacus being brought before Claudius in Chains made a brave Speech to him and amongst other things tells him Neque dedignatus esses claris Majoribus ortum pluribus gentibus imperantem foedere pacis accipere And without doubt besides the Silures mentioned there by Tacitus these Scoto-brigantes were of the number of these Gentes he commanded Claudius was so well pleased with his manly behaviour saith Tacitus that Caesar veniam ipsique Conjugi Fratribus tribuit atque illi vinclis exsoluti But to make it appear which part of Britain the Thule mentioned by the Romans was it will be fit to see to which part of Britain the Epithets attributed by the Authors to Thule do agree best First then it was a remote part Ultima Thule as if this were the remotest part of Britain as Tacitus bringeth in Galgacus expressing it Nos terrarum ac libertatis extremos recessus ipse ac sinus famae in hunc diem defendit Then Thule was towards the North and so was this Country with respect to the Roman Province And then thirdly it might deserve the name Thule because of its obscure and dark aspect it being then all over-grown with woods Fourthly the length of the day is attributed to Thule and upon this account it must be the country to the North and to the East of Ierne by these Verses of Juvenal Arma quid ultra Littora Juvernae promovimus modo captas Oreadas minimâ contentos nocte Britannos For it is of the North and East parts of Britain the Panegyrist saith Panegyric Constantino Constantii filio dicta O! fortunata nunc omnibus beatior terris Britannia and a little below Certe quod propter vitam diliguntur longissimi dies nullae sine aliqua luce noctes dum illa littorum extrema Planities non attollit umbras noctisque metam coeli siderum transit aspectus ut sol ipse qui nobis videtur occidere ibi appareat praeterire This same is applied to the Northmost part of Britain by Tacitus where he says of it Dierum spatia ultra nostri orbis mensuram nox clara extrema Britanniae parte brevis ut finem atque initium lucis exiguo discrimine internoscas quod si nubes non officiant aspici per noctem solis fulgorem nec occidere exsurgere sed transire affirmant That is the length of the day is much above the measure of our climate the nights are light and in the furthermost part of the Island so short that between the going out and coming in of the day the space is hardly perceived and when Clouds do not hinder they affirm that the sun-shine is seen in the night and that it neither setteth nor riseth but passeth along The antient Scholiast upon the word Juverna says Inverna Juberna insula Britanniae sita in oceano mari a qua non longe sunt triginta aliae Orcades insulae quas Mela scribit and addeth in Hibernia enim quae Britanniae pars in solstitio aestivo nulla omnino nox vel illa exigua prope nulla est ait ergo minima nocte utpote in quo loco in universo imperio nox omnium brevissima est The day is 18 hours and 25 minutes and as Lesly in his History observeth in Ross Caithness and the Orkney Isles the nights for two months are so clear that one may read and write in them which is confirmed by those that live there Another property of Thule given by Tacitus is that about it mare pigrum grave remigantibus perhibent Which agreeth indeed to the Sea upon the N. E. part of Scotland but not for the reason Tacitus gives for want of winds but because of the contrary tides which drive several ways and stop not only boats with oars but ships under sail that if any where it may there be said of the Sea Nunc spumis candentibus astra lacessit Et nunc Tartareis subsidet in ima Barathris Sometimes the foaming Billows swell amain Then suddenly sink down as low again But Thule is most expresly described to be this very same Country we treat of by Conradus Celtes Itinere Balthico Orcadibus qua cincta suis Tyle