be found out as in the isle of Sanda it flows two hours sooner on the west side than it does on the east side and in North Faira which lies betwixt Eda and Westra the sea ebbs nine hours and flows but three And at Hammoness in Sanda both ebb and flood runs one way except at the beginning of a quick stream when for two or three hours the flood runs south The sea here is very turbulent in a storm and as pleasant in a calm The tides are very swift and violent by reason of the multitude of the isles and narrowness of the passage for when all the rest of the sea is smooth these tides carry their waves and billows high The tides run with such violence that they cause a contrary motion in the sea adjoining to the land which they call Easter-birth or Wester-birth according to its course Yet notwithstanding all this rapidity of these tides and births the inhabitants daily almost travel from isle to isle about their several business in their little cockboats Whatever the ancients have written of the number of the isles of Orkney it 's certain there are but 26 at present inhabited viz. South Ronaldsha Swinnà Hoy Burra Lambholm Flotta Faira Cava Gramsey Mainland Copinsha Shapinsha Damsey Inhallo Stronsa Papa-Stronsa Sanda North Ronaldsha Eda Rousa-Wyre Gairsa Eglesha North-Faira Westra Papa Westra The rest of the isles are called Holms and are only used for pasturage all of them being separated from one another by some narrow streights where you may remark that the most of these names end in A or Ey which in the Teutonick Tongue signifieth water to shew that these isles are pieces of land surrounded with water They are of different natures some sandy some marish some abounding in moss and some that have none some mountainous and some plain Of these some are called the south isles and others the north-isles and that as they stand to the south or north of the greatest isle called the Mainland South Ronalsha is the Southermost of these Isles five miles long fertile in Corn and abounding with People To the South-east lye the Pightland-Skerries dangerous to Seamen but to the North is St. Margarets Hope a very safe Harbour for ships which has no difficulty in coming to it save a Rock in the midst of the Sound betwixt this Isle and Burra called Lippa From Burwick in this Isle is the usual ferry to Duncans-bay in Caithness A little separated from this to the South-west lyes Swinna a little Isle and only considerable for a part of Pightland Firth lying a little to the West of it called the Wells of Swinna which are two whirlpools in the sea occasioned as it is thought through some hiatus that is in the earth below that turn about with such a violence that if any boat or ship come within their reach they will whirl it about till it be swallowed up and drowned They are only dangerous in a dead Calm for if there be any wind and the boat under sail there is no danger to go over them If a boat happen to come near them in a Calm through the force of the tide the Boats-men take this way for their preservation they throw a barrel or oar or any thing that comes next to hand into the Wells and when it is swallowed up the sea remains smooth for a time for any boat to pass over Beyond this and to the West of South-Ronaldsha lyes Waes and Hoy thought to be the Dumna of Pliny which are but one Isle about 12 miles long full of high mountains and but thinly inhabited unless in Waes where the ground is more pleasant and fertile From Snel-setter there is the other ferry out of this country to Ham in Caithness Here are several good harbours Kirk-hope North-hope Ore-hope and others but not much frequented To the North of South Ronaldsha about a mile lyes Burra a pleasant little Isle fruitful of Corn and abounding with Rabbets Betwixt it and the Main-land is Lambholm and to the West toward Hoy-mouth lyes Flotta Faira Cava and Graâ—nsey all of them fruitful and pleasant Isles though they be not large Next to these is the Main-land called by the antients Pomona or Pomonia about 24 miles long and well inhabited About the middle of this Isle looking to the North stands Kirkwall the only town in all this country There are in it especially four excellent harbours for ships one at Kirkwall both large and safe without any danger of shoals or blind rocks as they come to it unless they come from the West by Inhallo and Gairsa another is at Deirsound which is a great bay and a very safe road for ships having good anchoring ground and capable to give shelter to the greatest Navies The third is at Grahamshall toward the East side of this Isle where is a convenient road but the ship that sails to it from the East would do well to keep betwixt Lambholm and the main-Main-land for the other way betwixt Lambholm and Burra which appears to them to be the only open is very shallow and dangerous even for small ships The fourth is at Kairston a small village at the West end of the main-Main-land where is a very safe and commodious harbour well fenced against all winds and weathers by two small Holms that stand at the entry To the East of the Main-land lyes Copinsha a little Isle but very conspicuous to sea-men in which and in several other places of this countrey are to be found in great plenty excellent stones for the game called Curling To the North-east of this Isle is a Holm called The horse of Copinsha To the North of the Main-land lye the North Isles the first of which is Shapinsha betwixt five and six miles long and hath a safe harbour for ships at Elwick Of an equal bigness to that toward the South-east lyes Stronsa which hath two convenient harbours one at Lingasound fenced with Linga-holm the other at Strynie fenced with a little pleasant Isle to the North of it called Papa-stronsa Beyond these toward the North at a pretty distance lyes Sanda of about 11 or 12 miles in length but very narrow well stored with Corn and Rabbets It hath two roads for ships one at Kitle-toft guarded by a little Holm called The Holm of Elness the other at Otterswick guarded by the most Northern Isle in all this country called North-Ronalsha which is a little fruitful Isle but both it and Sanda are destitute of moss-ground and are forced to bring their peits or turfs a great way off from the adjacent Isle Eda This Eda lyeth to the South east of Sanda thought to be the Ocetis of Ptolemy near five miles in length full of moss and hills and but thinly inhabited unless it be about the skirts of it it hath a safe road to the North called Calf-sound guarded by a large Holm called The Calf of Eda in which there is a good Salt Pan. Three miles to
so that having climb'd up one Rock we come to a Valley and most commonly to a Lake and passing by that we ascend another and sometimes a third and a fourth before we arrive at the highest Peaks These Mountains as well as Kader Idris and some others in Meirionydhshire differ from those by Brecknock and elsewhere in South-Wales in that they abound much more with naked and inaccessible Rocks and that their lower skirts and valleys are always either cover'd or scatter'd over with fragments of Rocks of all magnitudes most of which I presume to have fall'n from the impendent Cliffs But of this something more particular may be seen in Mr. Ray's Physico-Theological Discourses pag. 285. wherefore I shall mention here only two places which seem'd to me more especially remarkable The first is the summit or utmost top of the Glyder a Mountain above-mention'd as one of the highest in these parts where I observ'd prodigious heaps of stones many of them of the largeness of those of Stone-honge * See Wiltshire but of all the irregular shapes imaginable and all lying in such confusion as the ruins of any building can be supposed to do Now I must confess I cannot well imagine how this hath happen'd for that ever they should be indeed the ruins of some Edifice I can by no means allow in regard that most of them are wholly as irregular as those that have fall'n to the Valleys We must then suppose them to be the Skeleton of the hill exposed to open view by rains snow c. but how then came they to lye across each other in this confusion some of them being of an oblong flat form having their two ends ex gr East and West others laid athwart these some flat but many inclining being supported by other stones at the one end whereas we find by Rocks and Quarries the natural position of stones is much more uniform Had they been in a valley I had concluded they had fall'n from the neighbouring Rocks because we find frequent examples of such heaps of stones augmented by accession of others tumbling on them but being on the highest part of the hill they seem'd to me much more remarkable The other place I thought no less observable tho' for contrary reasons that being as regular and uniform as this is disorder'd and confus'd On the West-side of the same hill there is amongst many others one naked Precipice †Thâ— Kâ—grâ— neaâ— sâ—vyâ—â—â— is peâ—â—â— one iâ— there 〈◊〉 dâ—tâ—â—â— by â—â— partiâ—â— name as steep as any I have seen but so adorn'd with numerous equidistant Pillars and these again slightly cross'd at certain joynts that such as would favour the Hypothesis of the ingenious Author of the Sacred Theory might suppose it one small pattern of the Antediluvian Earth But this seem'd to me much more accountable than the former for 't was evident that the gullets or interstices between the pillars were occasion'd by a continual dropping of water down this Cliff which proceeds from the frequent Clouds Rains and Snow that this high Rock expos'd to a westerly Sea-wind is subject to But that the effects of such storms are more remarkably regular on this Cliff than others proceeds partly from its situation and partly from the texture or constitution of the stone it consists of However we must allow a natural regularity in the frame of the Rock which the storms only render more conspicuous That these Mountains are throughout the year cover'd either with Snow or a harden'd crust of Snow of several years continuance c. was a wrong Information our Author probably receiv'd from some persons who had never been at them For generally speaking there 's no Snow here from the end of April to the midst of September Some heaps excepted which often remain near the tops of Moel y Wydhva and Karnedh Lhewelyn till the midst of June e're they are totally wasted It often snows on the tops of these Mountains in May and June but that Snow or rather Sleet melts as fast as it falls and the same shower that falls then in Snow on the high Mountains is but Rain in the Valleys As for an incrustation of Snow or Ice of several years continuance we know not in Wales what it means Tho' Wagnerus ‖ Jâ—â— Waâ—â—â— Haâ—t 〈◊〉 Heâ—â—â— Coâ—â—â— Seâ—â—â— tells us they are common in the Alps of Switzerland Tempore aestivo quoque suprema Alpium culmina aeternâ ac invictâ glacie rigent perpetuisque nivibus sunt obtecta And adds there are Mountains crown'd with hillocks or vast heaps of such Ice call'd by them Firn or Gletscher which may be presumed to have continued for two or three thousand years insomuch that for hardness it may seem to be rather Crystal than Ice c. The number of Lakes in this mountainous tract may be about fifty or threescore I took a Catalogue of fifteen visible from the top of Moel y Wydhva These are generally denominated either from the rivers they pour forth or from the colour of their water amongst which I observ'd one under the highest Peak of Snowdon call'd Fynon lâs that signifies the Green Fountain which I therefore thought remarkable because Mr. Ray * Obsertions Tâ— graph c. observes that the waters of some of the Alpine Lakes are also inclin'd to that colour Others receive their names from some Village or Parish-Church adjoyning or from a remarkable Mountain or Rock under which they are situated and some there are tho' very few distinguish'd by names scarce intelligible to the best Criticks in the British as Lhyn Teirn Lhyn Eigiau Lhyn Lhydaw â—â—me â—ight â—nâ—erpret the 〈◊〉 former Tâ—ngâ—-near â—nd Sâ—â—â—ieâ—â—â—r the â—â—ed Ieirn â—gâ—â—â—ing a â—â—a â—â—â—r and 〈◊〉 of Th. Lhyâ—â—s is the 〈◊〉 â—â—ereby â—e call Arâ—â—â—a but â—â—rifies â—â—thing â—e we â—â—w of c. Giraldus Cambrensis as our Author observes informs us of two Lakes on the highest tops of these Mountains one of which was remarkable for a wandring Island and the other no less strange for that all the fish in it tho' it abounded with Eels Trouts and Perch were monocular wanting the left eye To this we must beg leave to answer that amongst all the Lakes in this mountainous Country there is not one seated on the highest part of a hill all of them being spread in valleys either higher or lower and fed by the Springs and Rivulets of the Rocks and Cliffs that are above them The Lake wherein he tells us there 's a wandring Island is a small pond call'd Lhyn Å· Dywà rchen i.e. Lacus cespitis from a little green patch neaâ— the brink of it which is all the occasion of the fable of the wandring Island but whence that other of monocular Fish which he says were found also at two places in Scotland took beginning I cannot conjecture Most of these Lakes are well stor'd with fish but generally they afford no other kinds than Trout and Eel The Torgochiaid
the Bound-rod from Northumberland by the river Tweed running between them for about eight miles This river is one of the 3 that rise out of the same tract of hills Clide runs west towards Dumbarton Anand south towards Solway-sands and this east towards Berwick It is of a swift couâ—se environ'd with hills running through Tweedale-forest and Teviotdale before it go into the Ocean It 's current is above 50 miles in all which compass it hath only two bridges one at Peebles of 5 arches and another at Berwick of 15. It had one at Melross the pillars whereof are yet standing and another is intended at Kelso The length of this County is 20 miles from Lamberton to Ridpeth on the south-side and from Cockburns-path to Seeinghill-kirk on the north-side But take the length anglewise 't is from Lamberton to Lauclugh direct east and west 24 miles It 's breadth is about 14 miles whether you take it on the west-west-end south-end or middle of the Shire It is divided into three parts Mers â—â—â—s Lammermoor and Lauderdale The Mers is a pleasant low ground lying open to the influence of the sun and guarded from storms by Lammermoor So that the soil is fertil and affords great plenty of oats barley wheat pease c. with abundance of hay Lammermoor â—â—mmerâ—â—â—r is a great tract of hills on the north-side of the Shire above 16 miles in length and 6 at least in breadth abounding with moss and moor The west end of them for four miles together belongs to Lauderdale the rest of it eastward is almost equally parted between East-Lothian and Mers The peculiar use of this tract is pasturage in the summer time and the game it affords by the abundance of Partridge Moor-fowl Plover c. But the product of these parts is not reckoned so good as of others being generally sold at a lower rate Lauderdale â—â—uderâ—â—le is a tract of ground lying on each side of the water of Leider abounding with pleasant haughs green hills and some woods well stor'd also with corn and pasturage The Judicatories â—â—dicatoâ—â—â—â— in this Shire are 1. The Sherif-Court which sits at the town of Duns 2. The Commissariot which sits at Lawder 3. The Regality of Thirlstan belonging to the Earl of Lauderdale 4. The Regality of Preston and Forest of Dye belonging to the Marquiss of Douglas 5. The Lordship of Coldingham and Stewartry of March belonging to the Earl of Hume who is Sheriff and has his residence at Hirsell The more remarkable places besides those mentioned by our Author are Duns â—â—ns a burgh of Barony standing upon a rising ground in the midst of the Shire Every Wednesday it has a great market of Sheep Horses and Cows and is famous for being reputed the birth-place of Joannes Duns Scotus A Gentleman a Laird of that name is still there Eymouth â—â—mouth the only port in the Shire for shipping which was fortified by the French in Queen Mary's minority Ersilton â—â—silton or Earlstown famous for the birth of Thomas Lermouth called Thomas the Rymer Hume for the Castle now demolish'd Caldstream â—â—â—dâ—â—â—â—am a market town lying close upon Tweed Greenlaw â—â—â—enlaw a burgh of Barony with a weekly market Fouldon a large town Rosse â—â—â—se famous for it's harbour and plenty of fish Aton situate upon the water of Ey White-coat White-coat where is a harbour for herring-fishing About Bastenrig on the east-hand and the Moristons and Mellerstoun downs on the west they frequently take the Dotterel Dotterel a rare Fowl towards the latter end of April and beginning of May. d Next the Mers along the south of the Firth or Forth lies the country call'd LOTHIAN having Mers to the east part of Lammermoor and part of Lauderdale with the Forest and Tweedale to the south part of Clidsdale and Stirlingshire to the west and to the north the Firth or Forth It is in length from Cockburns-path in the east to the Shire of Clidsdale about 57 miles and where 't is broadest between 16 and 17 miles over To what our Author has said in commendation of it may be added it's number of Towns with seats of the Nobility and Gentry wherein it goes much beyond the rest of Scotland 'T is divided into 3 distinct Tracts call'd East-Lothian Mid-Lothian and West-Lothian East-Lothian East-Lothian or the Constabulary or Shire of Hadington so called from Hadington one of the three burghs-Royal and seat of the Courts is in length about 22 and in breadth about 12 miles bounded by the Firth on the north and east by a tract of hills called Lammermoor on the south and by Mid-Lothian on the West It abounds with corn of all sorts has good store of grass with some considerable woods as Prestmennan Colston Humbie and Ormestan and abundance of Coal and Lime-stone It has good store of Sheep especially towards the hills of Lammermoor and by west Lammerlaw and from the west part to the sea all along to the east it abounds with Conies It hath many Salt-pans wherein much white Salt is made and at New-Milns there is a considerable manufactory of broad-cloath The sea-coast is accommodated with many convenient harbours and has the advantage of several Fish-towns particularly at Dumbar and on the coast thereabout every year after Lammas there is a Herring-fishing where they take great numbers not only to serve the Inhabitants but also for exportation The first considerable place we meet with in this tract is Dunglas Dunglas a pleasant seat on the sea-coast which formerly belonged to the Earl of Hume but has now another owner In the time of the late Wars a garison was kept there by the Earl of Hadington for the Army who with 30 Knights and Gentlemen of the name of Hamilton besides several other considerable persons perished in the ruines of this house For it was designedly blown up in the year 1640 by Nathaniel Paris an Englishman one of his own servants while the Earl was reading a Letter in the Court which he had then received from the Army with all the Gentlemen about him Only four of the whole Company escaped who by the force of the powder were thrown to a great distance from the house 'T is now repaired and adorned by Sir John Hall the present possessor with curious Gardens spacious Courts and a large and pleasant Avenue They have here a Collegiate Church a goodly large building and vaulted but 't is now ruinous Along the Coast to Dunbar is a pleasant Country the most fruitful in the Kingdom especially in Wheat and Barley South-east of Dumbar a Burgh-royal in this Shire is Dunhill Dunhill memorable for the victory obtained Sept. 30. 1650. over the Scotch-Army under Lesly by a handful of men and those too but sickly under the command of Cromwell Which miscarriage if some ingenuous persons who were in the Action may be believed was rather owing to the treachery of some
Ambri famous for the Monastery of 300 Monks founded here by Ambrosius on purpose that they should pray for the souls of those that were slain by the treachery of Hengist as also for being the burial-place of Quinever wife to the victorious King Arthur whose tomb was found here within this last Century and this Inscription on the wall in massy-gold letters R. G. A. C. 600. the antiquity of which is very suspicious not only because by this computation she must have liv'd almost 50 years after K. Arthur but also because several Historians of good credit affirm that she was bury'd at Glassenbury Here was a Synod held in King Edgar's reign and A. D. 995. Elfrick was elected Archbishop of Canterbury at this place It enjoy'd great Privileges at the time of the Conquest for in Domesday-book we find Amblesbury nunquam geldavit nec hidata fuit In the year 1177. the Abbess and 30 Nuns were for their incontinence and loose lives expell'd and dispers'd into other Religious Houses to be kept under stricter discipline whereupon King Henry gave this Monastery to the Abbey of Fontevralt and so a Convent of those Nuns were sent over the same year and admitted into full possession of this Abbey After it came to be in great repute and not only Q. Eleanor was Nun here but also Mary daughter of K. Edw. 1. and 13 Noblemen's daughters were veil'd here on Assumption-day A. D. 1285. ff Next is Everley Everley or Eburlegh the country-seat of King Ina above which in the way to Lurgeshall on the highest hill in Wiltshire call'd Suthbury-hill is a vast fortification encompass'd with two deep ditches and of an oval figure All along the declivity of the hill there runs a deep trench ditch'd on both sides made probably to secure their communication with some watering place in the neighbouring Bourn It certainly appears to have been a Danish Camp whereby they seem to have commanded all this part of the Country and 6 or 7 barrows in the plain beneath may be thought to preserve the memory of a battle here Near this place is Escourt Escourt where not far from a great Causey suppos'd to be a Roman Vicinal way there was dug up last summer a large earthen vessel with two lesser pots in it one of which was full of ashes or bones The largest of these might probably be an * Rigaltii observat in Auctores Agrarios Obruendarium of the Romans wherein they inclos'd their Vascula Cineraria c. About four miles north of this place is Great-Bedwyn which in the Saxon times †Monast Angl. T. 1. p. 97. Hist Abend was a Metropolis of the bounds of Cissa a Viceroy of Wiltshire and Berkshire under the King of the West-Saxons This Cissa built a Castle in the south part of that city and call'd it Cisse the ditches of which are yet to be seen Here it was that Wulfere and Escwin fought a bloody battle An. 675. and the place has been lately honour'd by giving to the world the most famous Physician of his time Dr. Thomas Willis Not far from hence eastward is Tokenham Tokenham the best seat of his Grace the Duke of Somerset Being now return'd to the banks of the Avon we meet with Uphaven Uphaven for which Peter de Manly procur'd a weekly market of Henry 3. by presenting to him a Palfrey About a mile to the west is a large irregular Camp call'd Casterley Casterley it has but a single trench and the name seems to point out to us something of Roman About 2 miles north-west is Merdon Meâ—don which might probably enough be the Meretune or Meredune of the Saxon Annals famous for the battle between King Etheldred and the Danes For here remain to this day the marks of entrenchments and the largest barrow in these parts except Silbury together with a tradition of a sight and of some great man's being bury'd under the barrow gg But Silbury Silbury is the largest and most uniform barrow in this County and perhaps in all England Upon what account it was rais'd we have no light from antiquity the tradition is that King Sill or King Silber was here bury'd which if compar'd with History comes nearest to Ceol King of the West-Saxons who might possibly be slain hereabouts as his Uncle and Predecessor Ceaulin was slain at Wodensdike unless one should say that it comes from sel great and beorg a hill or barrow And since our Author from this hint makes a digression about Barrows Several sorts of Barrows we may also take notice that there are several sorts of them upon these Downs 1. Small circular trenches with very little elevation in the middle 2. Ordinary barrows 3. Barrows with ditches round them 4. Large oblong barrows some with trenches round them others without 5. Oblong barrows with stones set up all round them There are grounds to believe that few or none of these are land-marks as Mr. Camden would have them About half a mile from Silbury is Aubury Aubury * Aubr Monument Britan. MS. a monument more considerable in it self than known to the world For a village of the same name being built within the circumference of it and by the by out of it's stones too what by gardens orchards inclosures and such like the prospect is so interrupted that 't is very hard to discover the form of it It is environ'd with an extraordinary Vallum or Rampart as great and as high as that at Winchester and within it is a graff of a depth and breadth proportionable from which Mr. Aubrey inferrs that it could not be design'd for a fortification because then the Graff would have been on the outside From the north to the south port are 60 paces and as many from the west port to the east The breadth of the Rampart is 4 perches and that of the graff the same The graff has been surrounded all along the edge of it with large stones pitch'd on end most of which are now taken away but some marks remaining give one the liberty to guess they stood quite round From this place to West-Kennet †Aubr ibid. West-Kennet is a walk that has been enclos'd on each side with large stones only one side at present wants a great many but the other is almost if not quite entire above which place on the brow of the hill is another Monument encompass'd with a circular trench and a double circle of stones four or five foot high tho' most of them are now fallen down the diameter of the outer circle 40 yards and of the inner 15. Between West-Kennet and this place is a walk much like that from Aubury thither at least a quarter of a mile in length About 80 yards from this monument in an exact plain round it there were some years ago great quantities of humane bones and skeletons dug up which probably were the bones of the Saxons and Danes slain at
to Winchester so is there another that passes westward thro' Pamber a thick and woody forest then by some places that are now uninhabited it runs near Litchfield that is the field of carcasses and so to the forest of Chute pleasant for its shady trees and the diversions of hunting where the huntsmen and foresters admire it 's pav'd rising ridge which is plainly visible tho' now and then broken off Now northward in the very limits almost of this County I saw Kings-cleare Kingscleare formerly a seat of the Saxon Kings now a well-frequented market town 11 By it Fremantle in a Park where King John much hunted Sidmanton Sidmanton the seat of the family of Kingsmils Knights and Burgh-cleare Bu gh-cleare that lies under a high hill on the top of which there is a military camp such as our ancestors call'd Burgh surrounded with a large trench and there being a commanding prospect from hence all the country round a Beacon is here fix'd which by fire gives notice to all neighbouring parts of the advance of an enemy These kind of watch-towers we call in our language Beacons from the old word Beacnian i.e. to becken they have been in use here in England for several ages sometimes made of a high pile of wood and sometimes of little barrels fill'd with pitch set on the top of a large pole in places that are most expos'd to view where some always keep watch in the night and formerly also the horsemen call'd Hobelers by our Ancestors were settled in several places to signifie the approach of the enemy by day s This County as well as all the rest we have thus far describ'd belong'd to the West-Saxon Kings and as Marianus tells us when Sigebert was depos'd for his tyrannical oppression of the subject he had this County assign'd him that he might not seem intirely depriv'd of his government But for his repeated crimes they afterward expell'd him out of those parts too and the miserable condition of this depos'd Prince was so far from moving any one's pity that he was forc'd to conceal himself in the wood Anderida and was there killed by a Swine-herd This County has had very few Earls besides those of Winchester which I have before spoken of At the coming in of the Normans one Bogo or Beavose a Saxon had this title who in the battel at Cardiff in Wales fought against the Normans He was a man of great military courage and conduct and while the Monks endeavour'd to extol him by false and legendary tales they have drown'd his valiant exploits in a sort of deep mist From this time we read of no other Earl of this County till the reign of Henry 8. who advanc'd William Fitz-Williams descended from the daughter of the Marquess of Montacute in his elder years to the honours of Earl of Southampton and Lord High Admiral of England But he soon after dying without issue King Edward 6. in the first year of his reign conferr'd that honour upon Thomas Wriotheosley Lord Chancellour of England and his grandson Henry by Henry his son now enjoys that title who in his younger years has arm'd the nobility of his birth with the ornaments of learning and military arts that in his riper age he may employ them in the service of his King and Country There are in this County 253 Parishes and 18 Market Towns ISLE of WIGHT TO this County of Southamton belongs an Island which lies southward in length opposite to it by the Romans formerly call'd Vecta Vectis and Victesis by Ptolemy 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 by the Britains Guith by the Saxons Wuitland and Wicþ-ea for they call'd an Island Ea we now call it the Isle of Wight and Whight 'T is separated from the Continent of Britain by so small a rapid channel which they formerly call'd Solent that it seems to have been joyn'd to it whence as Ninnius observes the Britains call'd it Guith which signifies a Separation t For the same reason the learned Julius Scaliger is of opinion that Sicily had it's name from the Latin word Seco because it was broken off and as it were dissected from Italy Whence with submission always to the Criticks I would read that passage in the sixth of Seneca's Natural Quaest. Ab Italia Sicilia resecta and not rejecta as 't is commonly read From the nearness of it's situation and the likeness of it's name we may guess this Vecta to be that Icta which as Diodorus Siculus has it at every tide seem'd to be an Island but at the time of the ebb the ground between this Island and the Continent was so dry that the old Britains us'd to carry their tinn over thither in Carts in order to transport it into France But I cannot think this to be Pliny's Mictis tho' Vecta come very near the name for in that Island there was white lead whereas in this there is not any one vein of metal that I know of This Island from east to west is like a Lentil or of an oval form in length 20 miles and in the middle where 't is broadest 12 miles over the sides lying north and south To say nothing of the abundance of fish in this sea the soil is very fruitful and answers the husbandman's expectation even so far as to yield him corn to export There is every where plenty of rabbets hares partridge and pheasants and it has besides a forest and two parks which are well stock'd with deer for the pleasures of hunting Through the middle of the Island runs a long ridge of hills where is plenty of pasture for sheep whose wool next to that of Lemster and Cotteswold is reckon'd the best and is in so much request with the Clothiers that the inhabitants make a great advantage of it In the northern part there is very good pasturage meadow-ground and wood the southern part is in a manner all a corn country enclos'd with ditches and hedges At each end the sea does so insinuate and thrust in it self from the north that it makes almost two Islands which indeed are call'd so by the inhabitants that on the west side Fresh-water Isle the other on the east Binbridge Isle Bede reckon'd in it in his time 1200 families now it has 36 towns villages and castles and as to its Ecclesiastical Government is under the jurisdiction of the Bishop of Winchester but as to it 's Civil under the County of South-hamton The inhabitants facetiously boast how much happier they are than other people since they never had either p 'T is strange why they should add Monks since S. Mary's in Caresbrooke particularly was a Cell of Black Monks belonging first to Lyra in Normandy afterwards to the Abbey of Montgrace in Yorkshire and then to the Cistercians of Sheen Besides this there were in the Island three Priories * Cu 〈…〉 tos 〈◊〉 câ—â—os Newpoâ—â— Monks Lawyers or Foxes The places of greatest note are these Newport
monastery in the infancy of the English Church which was for some time the burying-place of that most Religious King Henry 6. â—enry 6. whom the York-family after they had dethron'd him cut off to make themselves more secure of the Crown and bury'd him here without the least mark of honour But King Henry 7. removing him to Windsor bury'd him in a New Tomb with the solemnity becoming a King and was such an admirer of his Religion and Virtues for he was an exact pattern of Christian piety and patience that he apply'd himself to Pope Julius to have him put in the kalendar of the Saints â—tory of â—anterbury And this had certainly been done if the Pope's avarice had not stood in the way who demanded too large a summ for the King's Apotheosis or Canonization which would have made it look as if that honour had not been pay'd so much to the sanctity of the Prince as to gold Below this place the little river Wey empties it self into the Thames a which running out of Hamshire at it's first coming into Surrey visits Feornham commonly Farnham Farnham so nam'd as being a bed of ferns given by Aethelbald King of the West-Saxons to the Bishop and Congregation of the Church of Winchester In this place it was that about the year 893. King Alfred worsted the plundering Danes with a handful of men and afterwards when K. Stephen had granted licence to all those who sided with him to build Castles Henry of Blois brother to Stephen and Bishop of Winchester built a castle upon the hill that hangs over the town which because it was a harbour for sedition K. Henry 3. demolish'd but after a long time the Bishops of Winchester to whom it belongs to this day rebuilt it Not far from hence at Waverley Waverley William Gifford Bishop of Winchester built a little monastery for Cistercian Monks 1 Commonly called White-Monks which Abbey being a Grandchild as they term'd it from Cisterce in Burgundy was so fruitful here in England that it was nother to the Abbies of Gerondon Ford Tame Cumb and Grandmother to Bordesley Bidlesdon Bruer Bindon and Dunkeswell For so Religious Orders were wont to keep in Pedigree-manner the propagation of their Orders as a deduction of Colonies out of them From thence the Wey running by Godelminge which King Alfred gave by Will to Aethelwald his brother's son and not far from Catteshull-mannour Catteshull which Hamo de Catton held to be Marshal of the whores when the King should come into those parts and at a little distance from Loseley where within a park I saw a delicate seat of the family of the Mores by these I say it comes to Guilford Guilford in Saxon Gulde-ford and in some Copies Gegldford It is now a market-town of great resort and well stor'd with good Inns but was formerly a Village of the English-Saxon Kings and given by Will to Athelwald by his foresaid Uncle There is now a house of the King 's tho' gone much to decay and not far from the river the ruinous walls of an old castle which has been pretty large In the middle of the town is a Church the east end whereof being arch'd with stone seems to be very ancient Here as we learn by Domesday book the King had 75 Hagae i.e. houses Haga wherein 175 men dwelt But 't is famous for nothing so much as the treachery and inhumanity of Godwin Earl of Kent who in the year of our Lord 1036. when Alfred King Ethelred's son and heir to the Crown of England came out of Normandy to demand his right receiv'd him with an assurance of safety but treated him contrary to his promise For surprizing at a dead time of night the six hundred men which were the retinue of the Royal youth he punish'd them as our Writers word it by a Decimation Military Decimation Which was not according to the ancient Rules of War by drawing out every tenth man by lot and then killing him but dispatching nine dismissed every tenth and afterwards with the most extream cruelty * redecimavit retith'd those tenths he had sav'd And as to Aelfred himself he deliver'd him to Harold the Dane who first put out his eyes then clapt him in chains and kept him in prison to his dying day b From hence the Wey is carry'd towards the north for a long way together and meets with nothing worth mentioning except Sutton the seat of the Westons Knights 2 Better'd by an heir of T. Camel Woking a royal seat 3 Where K. Hen. 7. repair'd and enlarg'd the Maneur-house being the inheritance of the Lady Margaret Countess of Richmond his mother who liv'd there in her later time Newark sometime a small Priory environ'd with divided streams and Pyriford where in our memory Edward Earl of Lincoln and Baron Clinton 4 And Admiral of England built him a house and in the neighbourhood Ockham William Ockham where William de Ockham that great Philosopher and Founder of the Nominals was born and had his name from the place 5 As of the next village Ripley G. de Ripley a Ring-leader of our Alchimists and a mystical Impostor So Holland This Sir George after 20 years study in Italy c. after the Philosopher's stone is said to have found it An. 1470. and well he might if he gave as a Record in the Isle of Malta declares an hundred thousand pound yearly to the Knights of Rhodes for carrying on the war againct the Turks See Full. Wor. p. 204. Com. Ebor. But where it comes to empty it self out at a double mouth into the Thames we see Otelandes c a pretty handsome seat of the King 's built within a park near which Caesar pass'd the Thames Where Caesar pass'd the Thames and enter'd the territories of Cassivelan For this was the only place in the Thames formerly fordable and that too not without great difficulty which the Britains in a manner pointed out to him For on the other side of the river a strong body of the British had planted themselves and the bank it self was senc'd with sharp stakes and some of the same sort fasten'd under water The footsteps whereof says Bede are seen at this day and it appears upon the view that each of them is as thick as a man's thigh and that soder'd with lead they stick in the bottom of the river immoveable But the Romans enter'd the river with so much vigour and resolution that tho' they had only their heads above water the Britains were not able to bear up against them but were forc'd to quit the bank and fly for it 'T is impossible I should be mistaken in the place because here the river is scarce six foot deep and the place at this day from those stakes is call'd Coway-stakes Câ—waystakes to which add that Caesar makes the bounds of Cassivelan where he settles this passage of
here a Castle now more than ruinous they were Founders of the adjacent Abby of Kingswood of the Cistercian order w 15 Derived from Tintern whom Maud the Empress greatly enriched The males of this House failed in the time of King Richard 2. and the Heir General was married to Cantelow Within one mile of this where the river Cam lately spoken of springeth is Uleigh a seat also of the Barkleys descended from the Barons Barkley styled of Uleigh and Stoke-Giffard who were found Coheirs to J. Baron Boutetort descended from the Baron Zouch of Richard Castles aliàs Mortimer and the Somerys Lords of Dueley And not far eastward we behold Beverstone-castle Beverston formerly belonging to the Gournys and Ab-Adams Ab-Adams who flourish'd under Edward 1. but afterwards to the Knightly family of the Berkleys x Hitherto I have made cursory remarks upon those places in this County which are situate beyond or upon Severn now I will pass forward to the easterly parts which I observ'd were hilly to wit Cotswold Cotswold which takes it's name from the hills and sheepcotes for mountains and hills 16 Without woods the Englishmen in old times termed Woulds Would what in English upon which account the ancient Glossary interprets the Alps of Italy the Woulds of Italy Upon these hills are fed large flocks of sheep with the whitest wool having long necks and square Bodies by reason as is supposed of their hilly and short pasture whose fine wool is much valued in foreign nations Under the side of these hills as it were in a neighbourhood together lye these following places most remarkable for their Antiquity y 17 Beginning at the north-north-east end of them Campden Campden commonly called Camden a noted market town where as John Castor averrs all the Kings of the Saxon Race had a congress in the year 689 and had a common consult how to carry on the war joyntly against the Britains which town 16 Weston and Biselay were in the possession of Hugh Earl of Chester in William the Conqueror's time Inq. 2. Ed. 2. was in the possession of Hugh Earl of Chester and from his posterity descended 17 By Nicolao de Albeniaco an Inheritrice to the ancient Earls of Arundel unto Roger de Somery by Nicholas de Albeniaco to Roger de Somery z h This place is in Warwickshire Adjoyning unto it is Weston of no great antiquity but now remarkable for the stately house there built by Ralph Sheldon for him and his posterity which at a great distance makes a fine prospect Hales Hales a most flourishing Abbey built by Richard Earl of Cornwal and King of the Romans 18 Who was there buried with his wife Sanchia daughter to the Earl of Provence famous for its scholar Alexander de Hales a great master of that knotty and subtile sort of school divinity aa 19 As he carried away the sirname of Doctor Irrefragabilis that is the Doctor ungainsaid as he that could not be gainsaid Sudley Sudley formerly Sudleagh i The neat Church here was ruin'd in the Civil wars and the best part of the Castle is since pull'd down a beautiful castle lately the seat 20 Of Sir Tho. Seimor Baron Seimor of Sudley and Admiral of England attainted in the time of K. Edw. 6 and afterward of Sir John Bruges whom Q. Mary c. of Giles Bruges Baron of Chandos Barons of Chandos whose grandfather John was honoured by Queen Mary with that title because he derived his pedigree from the ancient family of Chandos out of which there flourish'd in the reign of K. Edw. 3. 21 Sir John a famous Banneret L. of Caumont and Kerkitou in France John Chandos Viscount St. Saviours in France eminent for his services and great success in war The former Lords hence called Barons of Sudley Barons of Sudley that lived here were of an ancient English Race deducing their original from Goda the daughter of K. Aethelred whose son Ralph Medantinus Earl of Hereford was the father of Harold Lord of Sudley whose progeny long continued here until for want of issue male the heiress married with 22 Sir William William Butler of the family of Wem and brought him a son named Thomas He was father of Ralph Lord high Treasurer of England whom Hen. 6. created Baron of Sudley 23 With a fee of 200 marks yearly and who new built this castle His sisters were married into the families of Northbury and Belknape by which their possessions were in a short time divided into different families Hard by this is Toddington Toddington where the Tracies Tracies of a worshipful and ancient family have long flourished and formerly received many favours from the Barons of Sudley But how in the first reformation of religion William Tracy Lord of this place was censured after his death his body being dug up and burn'd publickly for some slight words in his last Will which those times call'd heretical or how in preceding times another William Tracy imbrued his hands in the blood of Thomas Archbishop of Canterbury Ecclesiastical writers having told us at large is now no part of my business to relate Winchelcomb Winchelcomb is here seated which is a populous town where Kenulph the Mercian King erected a Monastery and upon the day of it's consecration freely dismissed Edbricth King of Kent then his prisoner without any ransome paid 'T is scarce credible in what great repute this monastery was for the sake of the reliques of K. Kenesm a child of 7 years old whom his sister privately bereaved of his life to gain the inheritance and who was by that age added to the number of martyrs The neighbourhood of this place was formerly reckoned as a County or Sheriffdom by it self for we find in an ancient manuscript belonging to the Church of Worcester these words Edric sirnamed Streona that is the * Adquisitor Acquirer who under Ethelred and afterwards under Cnute or Canute presided and reigned as a Viceroy over all England adjoyned the Sheriffdom of Winchelcombe which was then an entire thing in it self to the County of Glocester bb 24 Thence I found nothing memorable but near the fountain of Churn river Coberley a seat of a stem of Barkeleis so often named even from the Conquest which matched with an heir of Chandos and so came hereditarily to the Bruges progenitors to the Lords Chandos Then by Bird-lip-hill whereby we ascended to this high Coteswold Lower in the County lyeth Brimesfield Brimesfield where the Giffords were formerly Lords Giffords Barons to whom by marriage with the Cliffords came a plentiful Estate but soon after having only daughters it fell to the Lords Le Strange of Blackmer the Audleys and others cc These places are situate amongst the hills but under the hills upon the East-confines of the County I saw that famous Roman highway call'd the Fosse
〈…〉 l. 1. 〈◊〉 p. 〈…〉 Olaus Wormius which together with the meeting of two military ways near it induc'd a late Author to believe that this is the very place where Aethelred and Aelfred fought with the Danes in the year 871. q Our next place is Oxford Oxfâ—â—â— the oldest Saxon name whereof is Oxnaford The Antiquity of this famous place has deservedly employ'd several eminent pens and to give so much as an Abridgement of the Controversie between the two Universities in this point as it would bâ— extreme difficult so would it be too large for a work of this general nature Let it be sufficient for us to follow our Author by the light of clear History from the time of King Alfred who as he observes built here three Colleges He seems to have had the story from John Rouse of Warwick who farther asserts that the first was founded at the east-East-end of High-street endow'd with competent Salaries for 26 Grammarians and call'd Little-University-Hall the second in School-street for the maintenance of 26 Students in Logick and Philosophy and call'd the Less-University-Hall and the third in High street near to the first but higher to the West with endowment for 26 Divines and call'd Great-University-Hall now University-College r The occasion upon which Matthew Paris gave the University such an honourable title An. 1256. was the Bishop of Lincoln's encroaching upon the Liberties of the University Whereupon they sent Delegates to the King at St. Albans to whom he made this remarkable Address in behalf of them Domine pro Domino curam habe de Ecclesia jam vacillante Universitas enim Parisiensis tot altrix magistra sanctorum Praelatorum non mediocriter perturbatur Si similiter uno tempore perturbetur Oxoniensis Universitas cum sit schola secunda Ecclesiae imo Ecclesiae fundamentum timendum est vehementer ne Ecclesia tota ruinam patiatur s The design of Baliol College Bâ—liâ—l College was only laid by Sir John Baliol who settl'd yearly Exhibitions upon some scholars till he should provide them a fit house and other accommodations And at his death a little before Whitsuntide An. 1269. he recommended to his wife and Executors this pious project Upon which his Relict Dervorguill settl'd those Exhibitioners in a Tenement which she hir'd of the University in Horsmunger-street now Canditch and prescrib'd Statutes for their government An. 1282. Afterwards in the year 1284. she purchas'd another tenement near the same place call'd Mary's Hall and when she had repair'd it the Society were here settl'd by her Charter confirm'd by her son Sir John de Baliol afterwards King of Scots and by Oliver B. of Lincoln t Merton Merton College was first founded at Maldon in Surrey in the year 1264. and being translated to St. John Baptist street in Oxford An. 1267. receiv'd the last Statutes of the wise Founder in the year 1274. u The restoring of K. Alfred's Foundation is by Stow and Holinshed ascrib'd to William Caerliph B. of Durham in the reign of William the Conquerour and by Leland as falsly to William Shirwood Chancellour of Lincoln But our Author has here rightly assign'd it to William Archdeacon of Durham who dying in the year 1249. left 310 marks to the Chancellour and Masters of the University Universâ—â—y for the maintenance of 10 11 or 12. Masters with which money about 30 years after the Donor's death a Society was here establish'd An. 1280. and their Statutes prescrib'd by the University in the year 1292. w Walter Stapledon B. of Exeter Exeteâ— upon his first design of a Foundation for Scholars purchas'd Hart-Hall and Arthur-Hall in the year 1314. and there instituted a Society for a Rector and 12 Scholars But finding the place too narrow for his design he bought ground for a new site in the Parish of S. Mildred and having built convenient Lodgings translated his Society to this house call'd at first Stapledon's-Inn then Exeter-College x The honour of the Foundation of Oriel Oriel College is attributed to K. Edw. 2. tho' he did little more than grant Licence to Adam de Brom his Almoner Apr. 20. 1324. to build and endow a College to be call'd by the name of S. Maries house To this Society K. Edw. 3 in the first of his reign gave a Tenement call'd Le Oriele on which ground stands the College so called The present St. Mary-Hall was a long time the Parsonage-house to the Rectors of St. Maries which Church with it's appurtenances being appropriated by K. Edw. 2. An. 1325. to the College then founded by Adam de Brom the house came also into their possession and was soon after allotted to the residence of Students y Queens â—â—ens College owes it's name to Queen Philippa but it 's Foundation to her Chaplain Robert de Eglesfield Rector of Burgh under Stanmore in Westmorland who by the Queen's favour in the year 1340. purchas'd the ground and erected a Collegiate-Hall to be call'd Aula Scholarium Reginae de Oxon. The Revenues of it have been much improv'd by several Benefactors and there is now under the government of Dr. Timothy Halton a very stately Library in building It was begun upon occasion of the Legacy of Dr. Thomas Barlow the late learned Bishop of Lincoln and formerly Provost of this College who by Will bestow'd upon it the greatest part of his Books giving the rest to Bodley's Library whereof he had been Keeper z That munificent Prelate William de Wickham lâ—id the design of New-College 〈◊〉 â—â—ege in the year 1369. and having at several times purchas'd ground sufficient for it obtain'd the King's Licence June 30. An. 1379. 3 Rich. 2. and on the 5th of March following laid himself the first stone It was finish'd An. 1386. wherein Apr. 14. the Warden and Fellows were admitted with solemn Procession â—â—coln aa Lincoln-College was begun An. 1427. 6 Hen. 6. for a Seminary of Divines to confute the Doctrines of Wicliff slightly endow'd only with the Appropriation of 3 Parish Churches in Oxford and therefore wanted another Founder Thomas Rotheram Bishop of Lincoln who in the year 1475. finish'd the building of the College enereas'd their Revenâ—es and gave them Statutes An. 1479. bb This Glocester-College â—â—cester 〈◊〉 was not built as our Author affirms at the charge of the Monks but by John Giffard Baron of Brimsfield who in the 11 Ed. 1. for the good of his soul and that of Maud de Longspe his wife founded this Cell for the maintenance of 13 Monks from the Benâ—dictine Convent of Glocester At the suppression of Religious-houses it was given by Hen. 8. for a Palace to the Bishops of Oxford but reverting to the Crown was at last purchas'd by Sir Tho. White Founder of St. John's and being transmitted to the use of Principal and Scholars is now call'd Glocester-Hall â—ouls cc All-souls College was begun by Henry Chicheley after the Foundation of a College
de Scremby At last the King gave it to 6 Sir Henry Henry de Bellomonte for nothing is more clear than that he enjoy'd it in Edward the second 's reign 〈◊〉 4. E. 2. â—ckingâ—m Near this is Skrekingham remarkable for the death of Alfric the second Earl of Leicester kill'd by Hubba the Dane Which place 't is very probable Ingulphus speaks of when he writes In Kesteven three Danish petty Kings were slain and they interr'd them in a certain village heretofore call'd Laundon but now Tre-king-ham by reason of the burial of the three Kings More to the east is Hather famous for nothing but the name of the Busseys or Busleys â—â—fy who live here and derive themselves from Roger de Busley cotemporary with the Conquerour â—â—xd And then Sleford a castle of the Bishops of Lincoln erected by Alexander the Bishop where also 7 Sir John John Hussy 〈◊〉 â—â—ly the first and last Baron of that name 8 Created by King Henry 8. built himself a house but lost his head for rashly engaging in the common insurrection in the year 1537 when the feuds and difference about Religion first broke out in England A few miles from hence stands Kime â—me from whence a noble family call'd de Kime had their name but the Umfranvils three of whom were summon'd to sit in the house of Lords by the name of Earls of Angus in Scotland â—s of â—gus became at last possessors of it The sages of the Common Law would not allow the first of these forasmuch as Angus was not within the bounds of the Kingdom of England to be an Earl before he produc'd in open Court the King 's Writ by which he was summon'd to Parliament under the title of Earl of Angus From the Umfravils this came to the Talbois one of which family nam'd Gilbert was by Henry the eighth created Baron of Talbois whose two sons died without issue so that the inheritance went by females to the family of the Dimocks Inglebies and others More to the west stands Temple Bruer â—mple â—er that is as I take it Temple in the Heath it seems to have been a Preceptory of the Templars for there are to be seen the ruinous walls of a demolish'd Church not unlike those of the New Temple in London Near it is Blankeney â—ons â—ncourt once the Barony of the Deincourts who flourish'd in a continu'd succession from the coming in of the Normans to the times of Henry 6. for then their heir male fail'd in one William whose two sisters and heirs were married the one to 9 Sir William William Lovel the other to Ralph Cromwell I have the more readily taken notice of this family because I would willingly answer the request of Edmund Baron Deincourt who was long since so very desirous to preserve the memory of his name having no issue male he petition'd K. Ed. 2. for liberty To make over his Manours and Arms to whomsoever he pleas'd â— 21 H. 6. â— 10 â—w 2. for he imagin'd that both his name and Arms would go to the grave with him and was very sollicitous they should survive and be remembred Accordingly the King complied and he had Letters Patents for that end Yet this sirname so far as my knowledge goes is now quite extinct and would have been drown'd in oblivion if books and learning had not sav'd it In the west part of Kesteven where this County borders on Leicestershire on a very steep and as it seems â—voir or â—erâ—le artificial hill stands Belvoir or Beauvoir-Castle so call'd whatever the name was formerly from its pleasant prospect which with the little Monastery adjoyning was built as 't is given out by Todeneius a Norman from whom by the Albenies Britans and by the Roos's Barons it came to be the inheritance of the Manours Earls of Rutland by the first of whom nam'd Thomas it was as I have heard rebuilt after it had laid in ruins many years For William Lord Hastings in spight to Thomas Lord Roos who sided with Henry 6. almost demolish'd it and upon the attainder of Baron Roos had it granted him by Edward 4. with very large possessions But Edmund Baron Roos the son of Thomas by the bounty of Henry 7. regain'd this his ancestors inheritance o About this castle are found the stones call'd Astroites Astroites which resemble little stars link'd one with another having five rays in every corner and in the middle of every ray a hollow This stone among the Germans had its name from Victory for they think as Georgius Agricola writes in his sixth book of Minerals That whosoever carries this stone about him shall be successful against his enemies But I have not yet had an opportunity to make the experiment whether this stone of ours when put in vinegar will move out of its place and whirl round like that in Germany The Vale beneath this castle commonly call'd from it The Vale of Belver The Vale of Belver is pretty large and exceeding pleasant by reason of the corn-fields and pastures there It lies part in Nottinghamshire part in Leicestershire and part in Lincolnshire If not in this very place yet for certain very near it †See the Additions to Rutlandshire under the title Market-Overton where 't is more conveniently plac'd stood formerly that Margidunum Margidunum which Antoninus makes mention of next to Vernometum and this may sufficiently be prov'd both by its name and distance from Vernometum and the Town Ad Pontem otherwise Paunton for Antoninus places it between them It seems to have taken this ancient name from Marga and the situation of it For Marga among the Britains is a sort of earth with which they manure their grounds and Dunum which signifies a hill is applicable only to high places But I do for all that very much question this etymology seeing there is very little Marle in this place the not searching for it being perhaps the reason except the Britains by the name of Marga understand ‖ Gypsum Plaister-stone which is as I am inform'd dug up not far from hence and was as Pliny declares in his natural history in great request among the Romans who used it in their Plaisterings and * Sigillis Cielings Thro' this part of the Shire runs Witham Riv. Witham a little river but very full of Pikes and the northern parts are bounded by it It s spring head is at a little town of the same name Bitham not far from the ruins of Bitham-Castle which as we find in an old pedigree was by William the first given to Stephen Earl of Albemarle and Holderness to enable him to feed his son as yet a little infant with fine white bread for at that time nought was eaten in Holderness but oat-bread altho' 't is now very little used there This castle nevertheless in the reign of Edward 3. was when
before the See was remov'd to Lincoln It was rebuilt by Remigius the first Bishop of Lincoln and in Stow-park a little mile from the Church there was an Abby re-edified by the same Bishop but the Monks were soon remov'd from it by Robert Bloett the second Bishop of Lincoln to the Abbey of Eynsham near Oxford It was afterwards made a Bishop's seat but there is little of the ancient ruins now to be seen In the parish of Stow is a village call'd Stretton from the old causey running that way as if one should say the Street-town and in a field belonging to that place are a great many Ophites or stones roll'd up like serpents ee From hence we come to Gainesburrow Gainesborrow wherein as * Itin. p. 24. Leland says upon the south part of the town is an old chapel of stone in which 't is reported by the inhabitants that many Danes were bury'd that there is also the remains of another chapel of wood on the side of Trent now quite demolish'd At present the right honourable Baptist Noel has his title of Earl from this place A little above Gainesburrow through the end of a Country town call'd Marton Marton Mr. Foxcroft has observ'd that a Roman way goes into this County It comes from Danum i.e. Doncaster to Agelocum now Littleburrow from whence it goes to Lindum Lincoln 'T is a great road for pack-horses which travel from the west of Yorkshire to Lincoln Lyn and Norwich The ferry upon the river Trent is one side in Nottinghamshire and the other in Lincolnshire A quarter of a mile from Marton abovemention'd there are yet remaining two or three considerable pieces of Roman pavement or Causeway which may be easily observ'd by travellers of ordinary curiosity ff In this part of the County it is that Mr. Camden has in general settl'd the ancient Sidnacester but without determining it to any particular place If one should take the liberty of a conjecture and settle it at Stow there would not want several probabilities to warrant it That the See now at Lincoln was once at Dorchester near Oxford is agreed upon by all that likewise Eadhed was made Bishop of Sidnacester in the year 678. and that he was succeeded by several other Bishops under the same title is as plain But after Eadulf's death when it had been vacant about 80 years it was by Leofwin united to Dorchester as that of Leicester had been before it The sixth from Leofwin was Eadnoth who as the intermediate Bishops had done enjoy'd the title of Dorchester and under that of Sidnacester and Leicester This was that Eadnoth who built the Church of our Lady in Stow and died An. 1050. Now where can we imagine a Bishop of Sidnacester should so probably build a Church as at Sidnacester And whence would he sooner take his pattern or platform than from his own Cathedral of Dorchester But it appears by the enquiries of an ingenious Gentleman in those parts that there is a very near resemblance between the two Churches of Dorchester and Stow. And if they have been since rebuilt we may probably conclude that the same form notwithstanding was still kept The See of Legecester or Leicester is concluded to have been where St. Margaret's now stands and as that is a Peculiar a Prebend and I think an Archdeaconry so is Stow too Besides the present Privileges of this place are greater than any hereabouts except Lincoln and they have formerly exceeded even that For that it was famous before Lincoln was a Bishop's See is beyond dispute and 't is a common notion in those parts both of learned and unlearned that Stow was anciently the mother-Church to Lincoln The steeple of the Church tho' large has been much greater than it is and Alfrick Puttock Archbishop of York An. 1023. when he gave two great Bells to Beverley-steeple which he had built and two others of the same mold to Southwell bestow'd two upon this Stow. Here is likewise a place call'd yet by the name of Gallow-dale suppos'd to have been the place of execution for malefactors which among other marks of antiquity tho' it have no relation to the affairs of the Church is yet a testimony to the eminence of the place But there is one thing still lies in our way for in the * Anglâ—â— Sacra Pâ— 2. p. 411 Lives of the Bishops of Lincoln written by Giraldus we meet with these words Remigius sedem suam Cathedralem à loco nimis incongruo obscuro ad urbem praeclaram locum competentem sc Lincolniam transferre curavit nec non hoc quoque quod Lyndeseiam totam ab Humbro marino ad Withemam fluvium qui Lincolniam permeat penetrat per tanta terrarum spatia contra adversarium tantum tamque potentem Metropolitanum sc Eboracensem innata quadam prudentiâ praeditus gratia quoque desuper divinitus adjutus tam provinciae Cantuariensi quam Dioecesi Lincolniensi stabiliter aeque potenter adjecit Now if all Lindsey belong'd to the Archbishop of York till Remigius's time who liv'd since the Conquest the old Sidnacester united afterwards to Dorchester perhaps can hardly be plac'd reasonably within the compass of that Division NOTTINGHAM SHIRE by Robt. Morden Continuation of the EARLS After Henry Fiennes son of Edward Lord High Admiral of England the title of Earl of Lincoln was successively enjoy'd by Thomas and Theophilus of the same name The latter of these was succeeded by Edward Lord Clinton his grandchild by his eldest son Edward At present the right honourable Henry Clinton is in possession of this title More rare Plants growing wild in Lincolnshire Atriplex maritima Halimus dicta humilis erecta semine folliculis membranaceis bivalvibus in latitudinem expansis utrinque recurvis longo pediculo insidentibus clauso Near Sairbeck a village about a mile distant from Boston plentifully Dr. Plukenet Alsine Polygonoides tenuifolia flosculis ad longitudinem caulis velut in spicam dispositis Polygonum angustissimo gramineo folio erectum Bot. Monsp Chickweed-Knottgrass with very narrow leaves and flowers set along the stalks as it were in spikes Carum vulgare Park Caraways In the marshes and fenny grounds plentifully Cannabis spuria flore amplo labio purpureo Fair-flower'd Nettle-Hemp About Spalding plentifully Cochlearia major rotundifolia Garden Scurvy-grass In the marshes in Holland and in many other places near the sea-side Oenanthe Staphylini folio aliquatenus accedens J. B. In the marsh ditches and slow streams of water in the parish of Quaplod near Spalding Lapathum folio acuto flore aureo C. B. Golden Dock About Crowland and in other places of the Fens Pneumonanthe Ger. Gentianella Autumnalis Pneumonanthe dicta Park Gentiana palustris angustifolia C. B. Gentianae species Calathina quibusdam radice perpetua seu palustris J. B. Marsh Gentian or Calathian Violet In a Park at Tattershall and on the heathy grounds thereabout also on a
the Counties of Wilts and Somerset Provinces of the West-Saxon Kingdom u Mr. Camden having left the west-side of this County in a manner untouch'd it will be necessary to give a more particular view thereof The river Teme Teme in Latin Temedus waters the north-west part of this Shire taking its course into the Severn through rich meadows and the soil on both sides produceth excellent Syder and Hops in great abundance On the edge of Shropshire the river gives its name to Temebury a small but well-frequented market-town This town with most of the Lands between Teme and Herefordshire were held by Robert Fitz Richard Lord of Ricards Castle whose son Hugh marrying Eustachia de Say a great heiress the issue of that match took the sirname of Say These Lands by Margery an heir-female came to Robert Mortimer about K. John's time and the issue-male of the family of Mortimers failing the patrimony was divided between two daughters the elder of which being marry'd to Geoffry Cornwall part of it continues in the hands of their posterity but the rest hath often chang'd its Lords About 7 miles below Temebury the river passeth under Woodbery-hill Woodbery-hill remarkable for an old entrenchment on the top vulgarly call'd Owen Glendowr's Camp which notwithstanding is probably of greater antiquity Hence runs a continu'd ridge of hills from Teme almost to Severn and seems to have been the boundary of the Wiccian Province At the foot of Woodbery-hill stands Great-Witley Gâ—eâ—t â—â—â—ley where is a fair new-built house the chief seat of the Foleys who bought it of the Russels to whom it came about King Henry the 7th's time by marriage with one of the coheirs of Cassy who had marry'd the heir-general of the Coke-sayes it s more ancient Lords Under the west-side of Woodbery-hill lies Shelsley Beauchamp and over against it Shelsley Walsh Sheâ—â—ey Waâ—sh where dwelt Sir Richard Walsh the famous Sheriff of this County at the time of the Powder-plot who pursu'd the traytors into Staffordshire and took them there A little lower stood Hammme-castle and now in the place of it a fair seat which the ancient family of the Jeffreys have enjoy'd about 200 years Hence by Martley Teme passeth under Coderidge Coderiâ—â—â— a manour of the Berkleys formerly the Actons and in more ancient times belonging to the Mortimers and Says On the opposite bank stands Leigh Leâ—gh a manour of the Viscount of Hereford whence the river hasting to Powick falls into the Severn Continuation of the EARLS Henry son of Edward succeeding his father was created Marquiss of Worcester by K. Charles 1. which honour was after him enjoy'd by Edward his son and Henry his grandson who being created Duke of Beaufort by King Charles 2. the title of Marquiss of Worcester is now given to Charles Somerset his eldest son a Gentleman of great parts and worth who merits no less a character than that Mr. Camden gives his noble Ancestor with whom he concludes his description of Worcestershire More rare Plants growing wild in Worcestershire Colchicum vulgare seu Anglicum purpureum album Ger. Park Common meadow-Saffron I observed it growing most plentifully in the meadows of this County Cynoglossum folio virenti J. B. Cynoglossum minus folio virente Ger. semper virens C. B. Park The lesser green-leaved Hounds-tongue It hath been observed in some shady lanes near Worcester by Mr. Pitts an Apothecary and Alderman of that City Sorbus pyriformis D. Pitts which I suspect to be no other than the Sorbus sativa C. B. legitima Park That is the true or manured Service or Sorb-tree Found by the said Mr. Pits in a forest of this County Triticum majus glumâ foliaceâ seu Triticum Polonicum D. Bobert An Trit speciosum grano oblongo J. B Polonian Wheat It is found in the fields in this County and as Dr. Plot tells us in Staffordshire also STAFFORDSHIRE THE third part of that Country inhabited by the Cornavii now Staffordshire in Saxon Stafford-scyre the people whereof as living in the heart of England are call'd in Bede Angli Mediterranei Angli Mediterranei bounded on the east by Warwickshire and Derbyshire on the south by the County of Worcester and on the west by Shropshire lies from south to north almost in the form of a Rhombus being broad in the middle but narrow and contracted towards the ends of it The north part is mountainous and less fertile but the middle which is water'd by the Trent is fruitful woody and pleasant by an equal mixture of arable and meadow grounds so is also the south which has much pit-coal and mines of iron Iron but whether more to their loss or advantage the natives themselves are best Judges and so I refer it to them STAFFORD SHIRE by Robt. Morden After this we find memorable in this tract Chellington Chellington a very fine seat and the manour of that ancient and famous family the Giffards The Gâ—ffards given to Peter Giffard in the reign of Hen. 2. by Peter Corbuchin to whom also Richard Strongbow who conquer'd Ireland gave Tachmelin and other lands in that Country Vulfrunes-hampton so call'd from Vulfruna a very pious woman who built a Monastery in the town which before had the name of Hampton and hence for Vulfrunes-hampton it is corruptly call'd Wolverhampton Wâ—lverhampton which is chiefly remarkable for the College there annex'd to the Dean and Prebendaries of Windsor b Theoten-hall 〈…〉 that is to say a house of Pagans now Tetnall where many of the Danes were cut off in the year 911. by Edward the elder c Weadesburg now Weddsborrow Weddsborâ—ow heretofore fortified by Aethelfleda Governess of the Mercians and Walsall none of the meanest market-towns Near this lies the course of the river Tame Tame which rising not far off runs for some miles on the east-side of this County toward the Trent passing at some small distance by Draiton Basset â—â—set the seat of the Bassets who are descended from one Turstin Lord of this place in the reign of Hen. 1. and grown up into a numerous and famous family For this is the stock from which the Bassets of Welleden Wiccomb Sapcott Chedle and others of them are propagated But of these Bassets of Draiton Ralph was the last a very eminent Baron who marry'd the sister of John Montfort Duke of Bretagne and died without issue in the reign of Rich. 2. From hence the Tame passing thro' the bridge at Falkesley over which an ancient Roman-way lay runs by the lower part of Tamworth â—â—mworth in Saxon Tamapeord in Marianus Tamawordina so situated between the borders of the two Shires that the one part of it which formerly belong'd to the Marmions is counted in Warwickshire the other which belong'd to the Hastings is reckon'd in this County It takes its name from the river Tame which runs by it and the Saxon word Weorth which signifies
Monument there is a place call'd Kevn Varehen which may seem to be denominated either from this Barcun or some other of the same name The third and fourth Inscription was copied by my above-mention'd friend Mr. Erasmus Saunders from a polish'd Free-stone at the West-end of the Church of Lhan Vihangel Gerwerth The fourth which seems less intelligible than the rest was also communicated by the same hand The stone whence he copied it is neatly carv'd about 6 foot high and 2 foot broad and has a cavity on the top which makes me suspect it to have been no other than the Pedestal of a Cross It may be seen at a place denominated from it Kae'r Maen not far from Aber Sannan but for the meaning of the Inscription if it be any other than the Stone-cutter's name tho' I confess I know no name like it I must leave it to the Reader 's conjecture In the Parish of Lhan Vair y Bryn we find manifest signs of a place possess'd by the Romans For not far from the East-end of the Church Labourers frequently dig up bricks and meet with some other marks of Roman Antiquitiy and there is a very notable Roman way of Gravel and small Pebles continued from that Church to Lhan Brân the seat of the worshipful Sackvil Gwyn Esq which as I am told may be also trac'd betwixt this Lhan Vair and Lhan Deilaw vawr and is visible in several other places This Country abounds with ancient Forts Camps and Tumuli or Barrows which we have not room here to take notice of I shall therefore mention only one Barrow call'd Krîg y Dyrn in the Parish of Tre'lech which seems particularly remarkable The circumference of it at bottom may be about 60 paces the height about 6 yards It rises with an easie ascent and is hollow on the top gently inclining from the circumference to the center This Barrow is not a mount of Earth as others generally are but seems to have been such a heap of stones as are call'd in Wales Karnedheu whereof the Reader may see some account in Radnorshire cover'd with Turf At the center of the cavity on the top we find a vast rude Lhech or flat stone somewhat of an oval form about three yards in length five foot over where broadest and about ten or twelve inches thick A * Mâ—â—â— an 〈◊〉 of Lâ—â—â—â— Dâ—â—â— Gentleman to satisfie my curiosity having employ'd some Labourers to search under it found it after removing much stone to be the covering of such a barbarous Monument as we call Kist-vaen or Stone-chest which was about four foot and a half in length and about three foot broad but somewhat narrower at the East than west-West-end 'T is made up of 7 stones viz. the covering-stone already mention'd two side-stones one at each end and one behind each of these for the better securing or bolstering of them all equally rude and about the same thickness the two last excepted which are considerably thicker They found as well within the Chest as without some rude pieces of brick or stones burnt like them and free-stone some of which were wrought They observ'd also some pieces of bones but such as they supposed only brought in by Foxes but not sinking to the bottom of the Chest we know not what else it may afford Krîg y Dyrn the name of this Tumulus is now scarce intelligible but if a conjecture may be allow'd I should be apt to interpret it King's Barrow I am sensible that even such as are well acquainted with the Welsh Tongue maâ— at first view think this a groundless opinion and wonder what I aim at but when they consider that the common word Teyrnas which signifies a Kingdom is only a derivative from the old word Teyrn which was originally the same with Tyrannus and signified a King or Prince they will perhaps acknowledge it not altogether improbable And considering the rudeness of the Monument describ'd and yet the labour and force required in erecting it I am apt to suspect it the Barrow of some British Prince who might live probably before the Roman Conquest For seeing it is much too barbarous to be supposed Roman and that we do not find in History that the Saxons were ever concern'd here or the Danes any farther than in plundering the Sea-coasts it seems necessary to conclude it British That it was a Royal Sepulchre I am apt to infer partly from the signification of the name which being not understood in these ages could not therefore be any novel invention of the vulgar and partly for that as I hinted already more labour and force was required here than we can suppose to be allow'd to persons of inferiour quality That 't is older than Christianity there 's no room to doubt but that it was before the Roman Conquest is only my conjecture supposing that after the Britains were reduced by the Romans they had none whom they could call Teyrn or King whose corps or ashes might be reposited here Gwâly Vilast or Bwrdh Arthur in Lhan Boudy parish is a monument in some respect like that we have described at this Barrow viz. a rude stone about ten yards in circumference and above three foot thick supported by four pillars which are about two foot and a half in length But Buarth Arthur or Meineu Gŵyr on a Mountain near Kîl y maen lhŵyd is one of that kind of circular Stone-monuments our English Historians ascribe to the Danes The Diameter of the Circle is about twenty yards The stones are as rude as may be and pitch'd on end at uncertain distances from each other some at three or four foot but others about two yards and are also of several heights some being about three or four foot high and others five or six There are now standing here fifteen of them but there seem to be seven or eight carried off The entry into it for about the space of three yards is guarded on each side with stones much lower and less than those of the circle pitch'd so close as to be contiguous And over against this avenue at the distance of about 200 paces there stand on end three other large rude stones which I therefore note particularly because there are also four or five stones erected at such a distance from that circular Monument they call King's-stones near Little Rolrich in Oxfordshire As for the name of Bruarth Arthur 't is only a nick name of the vulgar whose humour it is though not so much as some have imagin'd out of ignorance and credulity as a kind of Rustick diversion to dedicate many unaccountable Monuments to the memory of that Hero calling some stones of several tun weight his Coits others his Tables Chairs c. But Meineu gŵyr is so old a name that it seems scarce intelligible Meineu is indeed our common word for large stones but gŵyr in the present British signifies only crooked which is scarce applicable to these stones unless we
and Aldermen having sometimes been deceiv'd in their choice admit none into their Alms-houses but such as will give Bond to leave their effects to the poor when they dye a good example to other places The principal trade of the town is making Malt Oat-meal and Tann'd-leather but the poor people mostly support themselves by working of Bone-lace which of late has met with particular encouragement the children being maintain'd at school to learn to read and to work this sort of lace The Cloath-trade was formerly follow'd in this town but †â—in MS Leland tells us that even in his time it was very much decay'd They have several Fairs but one more especially remarkable beginning about nine days before Ascension-day and kept in a street leading to the Minster-garth call'd Londoner-street For then the Londoners bring down their Wares and furnish the Country-Tradesmen by whole-sale About a mile from Beverley to the east in a pasture belonging to the town is a kind of Spaw tho' they say it cannot be judg'd by the taste whether or no it comes from any Mineral Yet taken inwardly it is a great dryer and wash d in dries scoâ—butick scurf and all sorts of scabs and also very much helps the King 's Evil. h At the mouth of the river Hull is Kingston Kingâ—â—â— upon Hâ—â—â— call'd in all writings of Concernment Kingston super Hull The walls and town-ditch were made by leave from King Edward 2. but Richard 2. gave them the present haven which now it 's fear'd will shortly be warp'd up at the mouth if speedy care be not taken about it 'T is a town very considerable for merchandise being the scale of trade to York Leeds Nottingham Gainsborough and several other places as also for importing goods from beyond sea And for the better convenience of managing their trade they have an Exchange for Merchants built in 1621. and much beautify'd in 1673. Above that is the Custom-house and near these the Wool-house made use of formerly without all doubt for the selling and weighing of wool as well as lead but now only for the latter when 't is to be sold or ship'd here On the east-side of the river is built a strong Citadel begun in the year 1681. and including the Castle and south-blockhouse It hath convenient apartments for lodging a good many souldiers with distinct houses for the Officers has also an engine for making salt-water fresh and is well-furnish'd with Ordnance But yet the strength of the town does not consist so much in it's walls or fortifications as it 's situation for all the Country being a perfect level by cutting the sea-banks they can let in the â—â—ood and lay it for five miles round under water Which the Governour of the place at the late Revolution had designed to do if the then Prince of Orange had landed there as was once thought For he had caus'd several Flood-gates to be made and pitch'd upon certain places about the town and on the bank of Humber for cutting The town hath two Churches one call'd the High-Church a very spacious and beautiful building on the south-side of the Quire whereof is a place now alter'd into a neat Library consisting mostly of modern books The other is the Low-Church the steeple whereof Henry 8. is said to have order'd to be pull'd down to the ground because it spoil'd the prospect of his house over against it wherein he had his residence for some months An. 1538. Near the High Church is the Free-school first founded by John Aâ—â—â—ck Bishop of Worcester and then of Ely and in the year 1583. built by Mr. William Gee with the Merchants Hall over it North-west of the said Church is the Trinity-house begun at first by a joint contribution of well-disposed persons for the relief of distressed Sea-men and their wives But afterward they got a Patent from the Crown with several privileges by the advantage of which they maintain mâ—ny distressed Sea-men with their widows both aâ— Hull and other places members of the Port of Hull The Government is by twelve elder brethren with six Assistants out of the twelve by the major vote of them and of the 6 Assistants and the younger brethren are annually chose two Wardens and two Stewards out of the younger brethren These Governours have a power to determine matters in sea-affairs not contrary to Law chiefly between Masters and Sea-men and also in Tryals at law in sea-affairs their judgments are much regarded But here take the accurate description of this place as I had it from the curious and ingenious Mr. Ray who actually view'd it The Trinity-house belongs to a Society of Merchants and is endow'd with good revenues There are maintained 30 poor Women called Sisters each of whom hath a little chamber or cell to live in The building consists of a chapel two rows of chambers beneath stairs for the sisters and two rooms above stairs one in which the brethren of the Society have their meetings and another large one wherein they make sails with which the town drives a good trade In the midst of this room hangs the effigies of a native of Groenland with a loose skin-coat upon him sitting in a small boat or Canoe cover'd with skins and having his lower part under deck For the boat is deck'd or cover'd above with the same whereof it is made having only a round hole fitted to his body through which he puts down his legs and lower parts into the boat He had in his right-hand as I then thought a pair of wooden oars whereby he rowed and managed his boat and in his left a dart with which he strikes fishes But it appearing by the Supplement to the north-North-East Voyages lately publish'd that they have but one oar about six foot long with a paddle six inches broad at either end I am inclin'd to think that the boat hanging so high I might be mistaken The same book has given us an account of their make to which I refer you This on his forehead had a bonnet like a trencher to fence his eyes from sun or water Behind him lay a bladder or bag of skins in which I supposed he bestowed the fish he caught Some told us it was a bladder full of oyl wherewith he allured the fish to him This is the same individual Canoe that was taken in the year 1613. by Andrew Barkar with all its furniture and boat man The Groenlander that was taken refused to eat and died within three days after I have since seen several of these boats in publick Town-houses and Cabinets of the Virtuosi Here I cannot but reflect upon and admire the hardiness and audaciousness of these petty water-men who dare venture out to sea single in such pitiful vessels as are not sufficient to support much more than the weight of one man in the water and which if they happen to be over-turned the rower must needs be lost And a wonder it is to me that
and all the North over M. Lilium convallium Ger. Lilly convally or May-lilly On Ingleborough and other hills Lunaria minor Ger. Park botrytis J. B. racemosa minor vel vulgaris C. B. Moonwort Though this grows somewhere or other in most Counties of England yet have I not found it any where in that plenty and so rank and large as on the tops of some mountains near Settle Lysimachia Chamaenerion dicta latifolia C. B. Chamaenerion Ger. Chamaenerion flore Delphinii Park minùs recté Rose-bay Willow-herb In the meadows near Sheffield and in divers other places Lysimachia lutea flore globoso Ger. Park bifolia flore globoso luteo C. B. altera lutea Lobelii flore quasi spicato J. B. Yellow loose strife with a globular spike or tuft of flowers Found by Mr. Dodsworth in the East-Riding of this County M. Muscus clavatus sive Lycopodium Ger. Park Club-moss or Wolfs-claw Muscus clavatus foliis Cupressi C. B. Ger. emac. clavatus cupressiformis Park terrestris ramosus pulcher J. B. Sabina sylvestris Trag. Selaginis Plinianae prima species Thal. Cypress moss or Heath-cypress Muscus terrestris repens clavis singularibus foliosis erectis Smaller creeping Club-moss with erect heads Muscus erectus Abietiformis nobis terrestris rectus J. B. Selago 3. Thalii Upright fir-moss Muscus terrestris rectus minor polyspermos Seeding mountain mosse All these sorts are found upon Ingleborough hill The last about springs and watery places The first and third are common to most of the moores and fells in the north of England Ornithogalum luteum C. B. Park luteum seu Cepe agraria Ger. Bulbus sylvestris Fuchsii flore luteo seu Ornithogalum luteum J. B. Yellow Star of Bethlehem In the woods in the northern part of Yorkshire by the Tees side near Greta bridge and Brignall Pentaphylloides fructicosa Shrub-Cinquefoil On the south bank of the river Tees below a village called Thorp as also below Eggleston Abbey At Mickle Force in Teesdale there are thousands of these plants Pentaphyllum parvum hirsutum J. B. Small rough Cinquefoil In the pastures about Kippax a village three miles distant from Pontefraict Pyrola Ger. J. B. nostras vulgaris Park Common Winter-green We found it near Halifax by the way leading to Kighley but most plentifully on the moors south of Heptenstall in the way to Burnley for near a mile's riding Pyrola folio mucronato serrato C. B. serrato J. B. tenerior Park Secunda tenerior Clusii Ger. Sharp-pointed Winter-green with serrate leaves In Haselwood-woods near Sir Walter Vavasor's park Polygonatum floribus ex singularibus pediculis J. B. latifolium flore majore odoro C. B. majus flore majore Park latifolium 2. Clusii Ger. Sweet smelling Solomon's seal with flowers on single foot-stalks On the ledges of the scars or cliffs near Settle and Wharf Primula veris flore rubro Ger. Clus Paralysis minor flore rubro Park-parad Verbasculum umbellatum Alpinum minus C. B Birds-eyn In the mountainous meadows about Ingleborough and elsewhere in moist and watery places Pyrola Alsines flore Europaea C. B. Park Herba trientalis J. B. Winter green with Chickweed flowers At the east end of Rumbles-mear near Helwick Pyrola Alsines flore Brasiliana C. B. prod Winter green Chickweed of Brasil Found near Gisburgh in Cleveland as was attested to me by Mr. Lawson Ranunculus globosus Ger. Park parad flore globoso quibusdam Trollius flos J. B. montanus Aconiti folio flore globoso C. B. Indeed it ought rather to be entitled an Aconite or Wolfsbane with a Crowfoot flower The Globe-flower or Locker gowlons In the mountainous meadows and by the sides of the mountains and near water-courses plentifully Ribes vulgaris fructu rubro Ger. vulgaris acidus ruber J. B. fructu rubro Park Grossularia sylvestris rubra C. B. Red Currans In the woods in the northern part of this County about Greta-bridge c. Ribes Alpinus dulcis J. B. Sweet Mountain-Currans Found in this County by Mr. Dodsworth Rhodia radix omnium Autorum Telephium roseum rectius Rosewort On the rocks on the north-side of Ingleborough hill plentifully Rosa sylvestris pomifera major nostras Rosa pomifera major Park parad The greater English Apple-Rose In the mountainous parts of this County it is very frequent Rosmarinum sylvestre minus nostras Park Ledum palustre potiùs dicendum Wild Rosemary or Marsh Holy Rose On Mosses and moorish grounds Rubus saxatilis Ger. Alpinus saxatilis Park Alpinus humilis J. B. Chamaerubus saxatilis C. B. The stone-Bramble or Raspis On the sides of Ingleborough hill and other hills in the West-Riding Salix folio laureo seu lato glabro odorato Bay-leav'd sweet Willow In the mountainous parts of the West-Riding by the rivers and rivulets Salix pumila montana folio rotundo J. B. Round-leaved mountainous dwarf Willow On the rocks upon the top of Ingleborough hill on the north-side and on an hill called Whernside over against Ingleborough on the other side of the subterraneous river Sedum Alpinum ericoides caeruleum C. B. J. B. Mountain Sengreen with Heath-like leaves and large purple flowers On the uppermost rocks on the north-side of Ingleborough Sedum minus Alpinum luteum nostras Small yellow mountain-Sengreen On the sides of Ingleborough-hill about the rivers and springing waters on the north-side of the hill plentifully Sedum Alpinum trifido folio C. B. Alpinum laciniatis Ajugae foliis Park Sedis affinis trisulca Alpina flore albo J. B. Small mountain-Sengreen with jagged leaves On Ingleborough and many other hills in the north part of this County Sedum purpureum pratense J. B. minus palustre Ger arvense seu palustre flore rubente Park palustre subhirsutum purpureum C. B. Small Marsh-Sengreen On the moist Rocks about Ingleborough-hill as you go from the hill to Horton in Ribbles-dale in a ground where Peat is got in great plenty Sideritis arvensis latifolia hirsuta flore luteo Broad-leav'd rough Field-Ironwort with a large flower In the West-riding of Yorkshire about Sheffield Darfield Wakefield c. among the Corn plentifully Trachelium majus Belgarum Giant Throatwort Every where among the Mountains Thalictrum minus Ger. Park C. B. The lesser Meadow-rue Nothing more common on the Rocks about Malham and Wharfe Thlaspi foliis Globulariae J. B. montanum Glasti folio minus Park C. B. opp In the mountainous pastures going from Settle to Malham plentifully Thlaspi vel potiùs Leucoium sive Lunaria vasculo sublongo intorto Lunar Violet with an oblong wreathen cod On the sides of the Mountains Ingleborough and Hinckel-haugh in moist places and where waters spring Vaccinia Nubis Ger. Chamaemorus Clus Anglica Park item Cambro-britannica ejusdem Rubo Idaeo minori affinis Chamaemorus J. B. Chamaemorus folio Ribes Anglica C. B. Cloud-berries Knot-berries or Knout-berries This I found plentifully growing and bearing fruit on Hinckel-haugh near Settle I have found it also in Ingleborough and Pendle hills but not in
High-street to serve the town with water There is here also a College of Justice which hath its Dean of faculty They try their Intrants or Candidates and have a Bibliotheque well furnished with Books of Law and History King Charles the second did likewise erect at Edinburg a College of Physicians giving them by a Patent under the Great Seal an ample Jurisdiction within this City and the Liberties thereof appointing the Judicatures to concur to the execution of their Decreets by a latter Grant they have the faculty of professing Physick They have their conferences once a month for the improvement of Medicine and have begun to erect a Library Near to this City is Leith a convenient harbour for Ships As this Country has at present several considerable Houses whereof Hawthornden is famous for its caves hewen out of the rock and Roslin for the * Vide Theatrâ—â— Scotiae stately Chapel so can it produce some remains of Antiquity For near the Town of Cramond at which Salmon and several other Fish are taken many stones have been dug up with Roman Inscriptions Also in the grounds of Inglistown belonging to Hugh Wallace were found not long ago two stones parts of a Pillar upon one of which is a Lawrel-Crown upon the other the longest of the two there is on each side the Roman Securis The name of the Emperor is broken off but by the progress of the Roman Arms described by Tacitus it appears to have been set up in the time of Julius Agricola's government And since only the Emperor's name is struck off and it appears that by order of the Senate the Statues and Inscriptions of Domitian were defaced one may probably conclude that 't was erected in honour of that Emperor What remains of it is this AVG. COS. IV. GERMANICVS PONTIFEX MAX. These Stones are to be seen in the Garden at Edinburgh belonging to Sir Robert Sibbalds Doctor of Physick Next the Antiquities * Scotia Ilustrat Cap. 10. p 24. that noted spring two miles south of Edinburgh deserves our notice The name of it is St. Catharine's-Well though 't is commonly call'd The Oily Well because it sends up along with the water an Oil or Balsom which swims upon it 'T is found by experience to be exceeding good not only for the cure of Scabs but likewise of any pains proceeding from cold as also for strengthening and putting life into any decaying part It has two Presbyteries Edinburg and Dalkeith f The Shire of LINLITHGOW call'd West-Lothian West-Lotâ—ian takes it's name from Linlithgow the head burgh and has on the north the Forth is divided from Mid-Lothian toawrds the south and east by the waters of Almond and Breichwater to the north-west it meeteth with part of Stirlingshire and to the west with part of Clidisdale 'T is in length 14 miles and in breadth about nine It affords great plenty of Coal Lime-stone and of White Salt and in the reign of King James 6. a Silver Mine was found in it out of which they got a great deal of Silver The Town of Linlithgow â—â—nlithâ—â—w mentioned by our Author * â—heatr â—â—â—â—ae is a Royal-burgh well built and is accommodated with Fountains that furnish water to the Inhabitants with a stately Town-house for the meeting of the Gentry and Citizens and with a harbour at Blackness But it 's greatest ornament is the King's house which stands upon a rising ground that runs almost into the middle of the Loch and looks like an Amphitheater having Terras-walks as it were and a descent from them but upon the top where the Castle stands it is a plain The Court has apartments like towers upon the four corners and in the midst of it a stately fountain adorned with several curious statues the water whereof rises to a good height The Levingstons Earls of this place are hereditary Keepers of it as they are also hereditary Bailifs of the King's Bailifry and hereditary Constables of the King's Castle of Blackness Near the Palace upon a level with it stands the Church a curious work of fine stone Nor ought we to omit Borrostoness â—â—â—â—â—stoâ—â—â—â— north from hence upon the sea-coast erected into a burgh of Regality by his Grace the Duke of Hamilton who hath in the neighbourhood his castle of Kineil of late adorned with large Parks and stately Avenues Torphichen â—â—â—phiâ—â—â—n to the south of Linlithgow deserves also our notice as being a burgh of Regality and once the residence of the Knights of Malta but now giveth the title of Lord to the chief of the name of Sandilands And Bathgate Bathgate the parish whereof is erected into a Sherifdom by it self And as the Towns so also some Houses of note require our mention Nidry-Castle Nidry southwest from Linlithgow upon a river the Manor of Sir Charles Hope who by these lands is hereditary Bailif of the Regality of Kirkliston and by the Barony of Abercorn is hereditary Sheriff of the Shire And north from thence Dundass Dundass formerly a fortification now adorned with parks and fine gardens wherein are many curious Plants by the care of that worthy Gentleman Mr. Patrick Murray the owner thereof who whilst he lived was the ornament of his Countrey From whence to the west between this and Linlithgow is the Bins Bins the residence of General Dolzâ—ll adorned by his Excellence with Avenues large Parks and fine Gardens After he had procured himself a lasting name in the Wars here it was that he fix'd his old Age and pleased himself with the culture of curious Flowers and Plants And upon the same coast Medop Medop the residence of the Earl of Linlithgow famous likewise for its fine Gardens which the father of the present Earl enclosed with high walls furnish'd with Orange-trees and such like curious Exoticks But from the present places to descend to those of Antiquity at the east end of the enclosure of the Kipps Kipps south from Linlithgow there is an ancient Altar of great stones unpolish'd so placed as each of them does support another and no one could stand without leaning upon another Hard by it there are several great stones set in a Circle and in the two adjacent hills the remains of old Camps with great heaps of stones and ancient Graves Some miles also to the west of Queens-Ferry upon the sea-coast is Abercorn-Castle Abercorn Castle near which place Bede tells us the Roman wall began One may trace it along towards Cariddin where a figured stone is to be seen and a gold Medal was found In a line parallel about a mile to the south of this there is a Village which still keeps the remains of the old wall being called Walltoun From the name and the artificial Mount cast up there one would believe it to be the very place which Bede calls Penvalltoun The track of the wall appears in several places between this and Kinweill and from thence to
Falkirk but we need not here be particular in the Description of it designing a separate discourse upon that subject at the end of this Kingdom SELGOVAE BEneath the Gadeni to the South and West where now lie the small Territories of Liddesdale Eusdale Eskdale Annandale and Nidisdale q To which add Wachopdale so called from Rivulets running through them which all lose themselves in Solway-Frith were anciently seated the Selgovae the reliques of whose name seem to me whether to others too I knâ—w not to remain in the name Solway IN Liddesdale â—â—ddâ—sâ—â—â—e we have a high prospect of Armitage so called because anciently dedicated to a solitary life But now it is a very strong Castle which belonged to the Hepburnes who deduce their Original from a certain English Captive whom the Earl of March for delivering him out of a danger much enriched They were Earls of Bothwell â—â—rls of â—â—thwell and for a long time Admirals of Scotland by inheritance But by a sister of James Earl of Bothwell last of the Hepburnes â—â—pburnes married to John Prior of Coldingham a natural son of K. James 5. who had several such issue both title and estate devolved to his son Hard by is Brakensey â—â—akensey the seat of the warlike Family of Baclugh â—â—â—d â—â—clugh sirnamed Scot with many other little Forts of men of Arms up and down the Country In Eusdale Eusdale I should be apt to think from the affinity of the name that the ancient Uzellum Uzellum mentioned by Ptolemy lay upon the River Euse In Eskdale Eskdale some are of opinion that the Horesti Horesti dwelt into whose borders Julius Agricola after he had subdued the Britains that inhabited this Tract led the Roman Army especially if we read Horesci for Horesti For the British Ar-Esc signifies a place by the River Eske As for Aesica in Eskdale I have spoken of it before in England and need not repeat it here a ANNANDALE JOined to this on the west-side lies Annandale Annandale that is the Valley or Dale upon the river Annan into which the access by land is very difcult The places of greatest note are a Castle upon Lough-Maban Lough-Maban which is three parts surrounded with water and strongly walled And Annandale Town almost upon the very mouth of the river Annan divested of all its glory by the English War in the reign of Edward 6. In this Territory the Jonstons The Jonstons are men of greatest name a family born for Wars between whom and the Maxwells who by ancient right preside over the Stewartry The Stewartry of Annandale for so 't is term'd there hath been too long an open enmity and defiance even to bloodshed This Valley Edgar King of the Scots upon his restoration to his Kingdom by the Auxiliaries he had out of England gave for his good services to Robert Brus The Bruses Lord of Cleaveland in the County of York who bestowed it by the King's permission upon Robert his younger son being unwilling himself to serve the King of Scots in his Wars From him are branched the Bruses Lords of Annandale of whom Robert Bruse married Isabella the daughter of William King of Scots by the daughter of Robert Avenel his son likewise Robert the third of that name married the daughter of David Earl of Huntingdon and Garioth whose son Robert sirnamed the Noble upon the failure of the issue of Alexander the third King of Scotland challenged in his mother's right the Kingdom of Scotland before Edward I. K. of England as the direct and superior Lord of the Kingdom of Scotland as the English give out or as an Honorary Arbitrator as the Scots will have it as being more nearly related in degree and bloud to King Alexander the third and to Margaret daughter to the King of Norway although a second sister's son Who soon after resigning up his own right granted and gave over to his son Robert Brus Earl of Carrick and to his heirs I speak out of the very Original all the right and claim which he had or might have to the Kingdom of Scotland But the point was determined in favour of John Baliol who sued for his right as descended from the eldest sister though in a more remote degree in these words Because the person more remote in the second degree descending in the first line is to be preferred before a nearer in the second line in the succession of an inheritance that cannot be parted Nevertheless the said Robert son to the Earl of Carriot by his valour possess'd himself of the Kingdom and establish'd it in his posterity A Prince who as he was illustrious for his glorious Actions so did he successfully triumph over Fortune so often his Adversary with a courage and presence of mind invincible b NIDISDALE CLose to Annandale on the West lies Nidisdale abounding in arable and pasture grounds so named from the River Nid The River Nid by Ptolemy falsely written Nobius for Nodius or Nidius of which name there are other Rivers in Britain full of muddy shallows as this Nid is It springs out of the Lake Lough-Cure upon which stood anciently Corda Corda a Town of the Selgovae It takes its course first by Sanqhar a Castle of the Creightons The Creightons Barons of Sanqhar who were long honoured with the Title of Barons of Sanqhar and the authority of hereditary Sheriffs of Nidisdale next by Morton Earls of Morton which gave the Title of Earl to some of the family of Douglass of which others are seated at Drumlanrig upon the same River near the mouth whereof stands Dunfreys Dunfreys between two Hills the most flourishing Town of this Tract which still shews its ancient Castle a Town famous for its woollen Manufacture and remarkable for the murder of John Commin a man of the greatest Interest amongst the Scots whom Robert Brus lest he should oppose his coming to the Crown ran through in the Church and easily got a pardon of the Pope for a murder committed in a sacred place Nearer to its mouth Solway a Village still retains somewhat of the old name of Selgovae Upon the very mouth is situated Caer-Laverock Caer-Laverock Ptolemie's Carbantorigum a Fort looked upon as impregnable when K. Edw. I. accompanied with the flower of the English Nobility besieged and took it But now 't is a weak Mansion-House of the Barons Maxwell who being of ancient Nobility were long Wardens of these Western Marches and lately advanced by a marriage with a Daughter and Coheir of the Earl of Morton whereby John Lord Maxwell was decâ—ared Earl of Morton as also by the Daughter and Heir of Hereis Lord Toricles whom J. a second son took to wife and had by her the title of Baron Hereis Barons Hereis In this valley also upon the lake lies Glencarn Glencaâ—â— of which the Cunninghams about whom I shall speak
the West of Kirkwal at the bottom of a large Bay lyes a little Isle called Damsey with a Holm beside it as big as it self To the North-north-west lyes Rousa a large Isle about six miles long full of heatherly hills well stored with Plover and Moor-fowl it is but thinly inhabited Betwixt it and the main land lyes Inhallo and toward Kirkwal lyes Wyre and Gairsa small but profitable Isles North from Kirkwal at eight miles distance stands Eglesha something more than two miles long but pleasant and fertile having a convenient road for ships betwixt it and Wyre there is in it a little handsome some Church where it is said that St. Magnus the Patron of this Country lyes buryed To the North of Eglisha is Westra seven miles long pleasant fertile and well inhabited it hath a convenient harbour for ships at Piriwa at the East end of it lyes Faira called for distinction Faira be North and to the North-and-by-east is Papa-Westra a pleasant Isle three miles in length famous for Saint Tredwel's Chapel and Loch of which many things are reported by the vulgar All these Isles are indifferently fruitful well stored with fields of Corn and herds of Cattle and abound with Rabbets but destitute of Wheat Rye and Pease The chief products of this country and which are exported yearly by the Merchant are Beer Malt Meal Fish Tallow Hides Stockings Butter Selch-skins Otter-skins Rabbet-skins Lamb-skins white Salt Stuffs Writing-Pens Downs Feathers Hams Wooll c. Thus much of the particular Islands They have good store of field and garden-plants and make great quantities of butter Their Ews are so fertile that most of them have two at a birth and some three nay Mr. Wallace affirms that he has seen four at a birth all living and following the Dam. Their horses are but little yet strong and lively they have great herds of Swine and Warrens almost in every Isle well stored with rabbets That they can want either fish or fowl considering the situation of the Country we cannot well imagine The Eagles and Kites are there in great plenty and are very troublesome seizing sometimes upon young Children and carrying them a good way off So that if any one kills an Eagle he may by law claim a hen out of every house in the parish where it is killed Hawks and Falcons have their nests in several parts of the Islands and the King's Falconer comes every year and takes the young who has twenty pound sterling in salary and a hen or a dog out of every house in the Country except some houses that are privileged They have several Mines of Silver Tin Lead and perhaps of other Metals but none are improved They find abundance of Marle which turns to good account to the Husbandman Free-stone quarries with grey and red slate are in many places and in some Marble and Alabaster When the winds are violent the sea casts in pieces of trees and sometimes hogsheads of wine and brandy Ambergreese exotick Fowls c. Forest or Wood they have none nor any Trees except in the Bishop's garden at Kirkwall where there are some Ashes Thorn and Plum-trees Here and there in a Gentleman's garden there are Apple and Cherry-trees but the fruit seldom comes to any maturity Yet it should seem there have been Woods formerly for they find Trees in the Mosses of twenty or thirty foot in length with their branches entire Where the Country is divided into so many small Islands it cannot be expected there should be any large rivers yet bourns and torrents they have well replenished with Trouts There are many Lochs but they serve to no further use than affording water to their Mills or Cattle The many excellent roads bays and ports make it exceeding commodious for navigation Thus much of the Country in general Particular places are no ways considerable except it be Kirkwall an account whereof take from my Author together with the ancient state of the Church of Orkney the Cathedral and Bishop's Palace being both in this Town Mr. Wallacâ—'s account of Kâ—râ—wall The only remarkable town in this Country is Kirkwall an ancient borough long possessed by the Danes by whom it was called Cracoviaca built upon a pleasant Oyse or inlet of the sea near the middle of the main land near a mile in length with narrow streets having a very safe harbor and road for ships Here is the seat of justice the Stewart Sheriff Commissary all of them keeping their several Courts in this place Almost all the houses in it are slated but the most remarkable edifices in it are St. Magnus's Church and the Bishop's Palace As for the King's Castle it is now demolished but by the ruines it appears to have been a strong and stately fort and probably built by some of the Bishops of Orkney as appears from a remarkable stone set in the midst of the wall that looks towards the Streat which has a Bishop's Miter and Arms engraven on it There is in it a publick School for the teaching of Grammar endowed with a competent salary and at the north end of the town is a place built by the English ditch'd about and on which in time of war they plant Cannons for the defence of the harbor against the ships of the enemy as it fell out anno 1666 when there was war between our King and the Hollanders a Dutch man of war coming to the road who shot many guns at the Town with a design to take away some of the ships that were in the harbor was by some Cannon from the Mount so bruised that he was forced to flee with the loss of many of his men This Town had been erected into a royal borough in the time of the Danes and Anno 1480 King James the third gave them a Charter confirming their old erection and privileges specifying their antiquity and giving them power to hold Borough-Courts to incarcerate and arrest to make laws and ordinances and to elect their own Magistrates yearly for the right government of the town to have a weekly Market on Tuesday and Friday and three Fairs in the year one about Palm-Sunday another at Lammas and the third at Martinmas each to continue three days He moreover disposed to them some lands about the town with the customs and shore-dues and the power of a Pitt and Gallows and all other privileges granted to any Royal Borough within the Kingdom exempting them from sending any Commissioners to Parliament unless their own necessities requir'd it This Charter is dated at Edinburgh the last of March 1486. And in the year 1536 February the 8th King James the fifth ratified the former charter by a new Charter of confirmation And in the year 1661 King Charles after his restoration ratified the former Charters by a signiture under his royal hand dated at Whitehall May the 25th whereupon the Parliament at Edinburgh the 22d of August 1670 confirmed all by their Act yet with this special provision
the reflection causeth that admirable splendour At Stennis where the Loch is narrowest in the middle having a Causey of stones over it for a bridge there is at the South end of the bridge a Round set about with high smooth stones or flags without any engraving about 20 foot high above ground six foot broad and a foot or two thick Betwixt that Round and the bridge are two stones standing of the same largeness with the rest whereof one hath a round hole in the midst of it And at the other end of the bridge about half a mile removed from it is a larger Round about an hundred and ten paces diameter set about with such stones as the former save that some of them are fallen down and both East and West of this bigger round are two artificial as is thought green mounts Both these rounds are ditched about Some conceive that these rounds have been places wherein two opposite Armies encamped but others more probably think that they were the High-places in the Pagan times whereon Sacrifices were offered and that these two mounts were the places where the Ashes of the Sacrifices were flung And this is the more probable because Boethius in the life of Mainus King of Scots makes mention of that kind of high stones calling them the Temples of the Gods His words are these In memory of what King Mainus ordained anent the worship of the Gods there remains yet in our days many huge stones drawn together inform of a Circle named by the people The antient Temples of the Gods and it is no small admiration to consider by what art or strength so huge stones have been brought together You will find besides in many other places of this country Obelisks or huge high stones set in the ground like the former and standing apart and indeed they are so large that none sees them but wonders by what engines they have been erected which are thought to be set up either as a memorial of some famous battle or as a monument of some remarkable person that has been buried there that way of honouring deserving and valiant men being the invention of King Reutha as Boethius says There is in Rousay betwixt high mountains a place called The Camps of Jupiter Fring the name is strange and should import some notable accident but what it was I could not learn At the West end of the Main-land near Skeall on the top of high rocks above a quarter of a mile in length there is something like a street all set in red clay with a sort of reddish stones of several figures and magnitudes having the images and representations of several things as it were engraven upon them And which is very strange most of these stones when they are raised up have that same image engraven under which they had above That they are so figured by art is not probable nor can the reason of nature's way in their engraving be readily given In the Links of Skeall where sand is blown away with the wind are sound several places built quadrangularly about a foot square with stones about well-cemented together and a stone lying in the mouth having some black earth in them The like of which are found in the Links of Rousum in Stronsa where also is found a remarkable monument It is a whole round stone like a barrel hollow within sharp edged at the top having the bottom joyned like the bottom of a barrel On the mouth was a round stone answerable to the mouth of the monument and above that a large stone for the preservation of the whole within was nothing but red clay and burnt bones which I sent to Sir Robert Sibbald to whom also I thought to have sent the whole monument had it not broken in pieces as they were taking it from its seat It 's like that this as also the other four-square monuments have been some of those antient Urns wherein the Romans when they were in this country laid up the ashes of their dead Likewise in the Links of Tranabie in Westra have been found graves in the sand after the sand hath been blown away by the wind in one of which was seen a man lying with his sword on the one hand and a Danish ax on the other and others that have had dogs and combs and knives buried with them Which seems to be an instance of the way how the Danes when they were in this country buried their dead as the former was of the Romans Beside in many places of the country are found little hillocks which may be supposed to be the Sepulchers of the antient Peights For Tacitus tells us that it was the way of the antient Romans and Verstegan that it was the way of the antient Germans and Saxons to lay dead bodies on the ground and cover them over with turfs and clods of earth in the fashion of a little hillock Hence it seems that the many houses and villages in this country which are called by the name of Brogh and which all of them are built upon or beside some such hillock have been cemeteries for the burying of the dead in the time of the Pights and Saxons for the word Brogh in the Tentonick language signifies a burying place In one of these Hillocks near the circle of high stones at the North end of the bridge of Stennis there were found nine Fibulae of silver of the shape of a Horse-shoe but round Moreover in many places of this country are to be seen the ruines and vestiges of great but antique buildings most of them now covered over with earth and called Pight-houses some of which it 's like have been the sorts and residences of the Pights or Danes when they possessed this country Among the rest there is one in the Isle of Wyre called The Castle of Cubberow or rather Coppirow which in the Teutonick language signifies a tower of security from outward violence It is trenched about of this nothing now remains but the first story it is a perfect square the wall being eight foot thick strongly built and cemented with lime the breadth or length within the walls not being above ten foot having a large door and a small slit for the window Of this Cubbirow the common people report many idle fables not fit to be inserted here In the Parish of Evie near the sea are some small hillocks which frequently in the night time appear all in a fire Likewise the Kirk of Evie called St. Nicholas is seen full of lights as if torches or candles were burning in it all night This amazes the people greatly but possibly it is nothing else but some thick glutinous meteor that receives that light in the Night-time At the Noup-head in Westra is a rock surrounded with the sea called Less which the inhabitants of that Isle say has this strange property that if a man go upon it having any Iron upon him if it were an Iron nail in his shoe