his to be about 80 miles distant from that sea which washes the east part of Kent where he landed Now this ford we mention is at the same distance from the sea and I am the first that I know of that has mention'd and settl'd it in it's proper place Some few miles from hence towards the east the little river Mole hastens into the sea Mole riv after it has cross'd the County from the southern bound but stop'd at last in it's way by the opposition of hills b See several instances of this kind as they are reckon'd up by the learned Selden in his Notes upon Drayton's â—olyelbion p. 267. with their several Authorities like that noble river of Spain Anas Anas a river in Spain it forces open a passage under ground as if it were some mole from whence it has it's name that subterraneous animal being call'd in English a Mole But there is nothing famous upon this river only at some distance from it's head near the old military way of the Romans call'd Stanystreat is the town Aclea commonly nam'd Ockley Ockley from the Oaks Here Aethelwolph son of Egbert who notwithstanding he had enter'd in to Holy Orders yet by a dispensation from the Pope succeeded his father hereditarily in the kingdom engag'd the Danish army with good success for he kill'd most of their brave men tho' with no great advantage to his country that Danish Hydra still sprouting up a-new d A little from the head of this river stands Gatton Gatton now hardly a village tho' formerly a famous town As an argument of it's antiquity it shews Roman coins dug up there and sends two Burgesses to Parliament Lower is Rhie-gat Rhie-gat i.e. according to our ancient language the course or chanel of a small river in a vale running out a great way eastward call'd c The Holm-trees abound very much through all this tract Holmesdale Holmesdale the inhabitants whereof because once or twice they defeated the plundering Danes have this rhime in their own commendation The vale of Holmesdall Never wonne ne never shall This Rhie-gate is more considerable for it's largeness than buildings on the south-side of it is a park growing thick with little groves and in this the most noble Charles Earl of Nottingham Baron of Effingham and Lord High Admiral of England has his seat where formerly the Earls of Warren and Surrey built a small Monastery On the east-side is a Castle standing upon a high-ground now neglected and decay'd with age it was built by the same Earls and is commonly call'd Holmes-castle from the vale in which it stands Under this there is a wonderful vault under-ground of arched work made of free-stone the same with that of the hill it self and hollow'd with great labour The Earls of Warren as it is in the book of Inquisitions held it in chief of the King in his Barony from the Conquest of England In Barâ—â—â— sua de Câ—questa Anglia From thence it runs by Bechworth's-castle for which 6 Sir Thomas Thomas Brown procur'd the privilege of a Fair from Henry the 6th For it is the seat of the family of the Browns Bâ—owns Knights of which in the memory of our grandfathers after 7 Sir Anthony Anthony Brown had marry'd Lucy fourth daughter of John Nevil Marquess of Montacute with whom he had a pretty great fortune Queen Mary honour'd his grandchild by a son with the title of Viscount Montacute A few miles hence to the west we see Effingham formerly the possession of William Howard that Conquerour of the Scots son to Thomas Duke of Norfolk who was created Baron Howard of Effingham Effinghaâ— by Queen Mary and being made Lord High Admiral of England was first Chamberlain to Queen Elizabeth of blessed memory and afterwards Keeper of the Privy Seal His son Charles is now in a flourishing condition and is Lord High Admiral of England whom the same Elizabeth in the year 1597. for his valour and great services advanced to the dignity of Earl of Nottingham 8 Of whom more in my Annals But to return to the River The Mole coming to Whitehill upon which box-tree grows in great abundance hides it self or is rather swallow'd up at the foot of it and for that reason the place is call'd Swallow The Swaâ—low but after about the space of two miles it bubbles up and rises again f so that the inhabitants of this tract no less than the Spaniards A bridge upon whiâ— flocks of sheep 〈◊〉 may boast of having a bridge that feeds several flocks of sheep For the Spaniard has made this a common proverb in relation to the place where the river d Seld. Comment in Polyolb p. 267. Anas now call'd Guadiana hides it self for ten miles together Our river Mole thus recovering it self from under ground goes with a slow current 9 By Stoke Dabernoun so nam'd of the ancient Possessors the Dabernouns Gentlemen of great note Afterwards by inheritance from them the possession of the Lord Bray And by Aâ—sher sometimes a retiring place belonging to the Bishops of Winchester towards the Thames and enters it hard by Molesey to which it communicates the name After our Thames has receiv'd the Mole it posts forward directly to the North Kingstâ—â— Matth. Pâ—ris running by Kingstone formerly call'd Moreford as some would have it a little market-town of very great resort and once famous for the castle of the Clares Earls of Glocester having it's rise out of the ruins of a more ancient little town of the same name situate in a level ground and much expos'd to inundations In this town when the Danish wars had almost quite blown up England Athelstan Edwin and Ethelred the Kings were inaugurated 10 Upon an open stage in the market-place whereupon from the Kings it came to be call'd Kingston i.e. a Royal Town g In this neighbourhood also the Kings of England e By this means it was an usual Nursery for our late Princes and Princesses when children upon account of the wholesomness of its air chose them a seat which from its shining or splendour they call'd Shene Richmonâ— the pâ—ace and vâ—â—â—â— call'd Shâ— before Hen. â— Edward but now it has the name of Richmond Here it was that the most powerful Prince K. Edward 3. after he had liv'd enough both to glory and nature dy'd of grief for the loss of his warlike son whose death was so great an affliction both to him and all England as made the methods of consolation altogether ineffectual And indeed if ever England had a just occasion for sorrow then it was For in the space of one year it was entirely bereav'd of it's ornaments of true military discipline and untainted courage Both of these carry'd their conquering swords through France and put such a terrour into that Kingdom as might deservedly give the father with Anticchus the
sea-coast entire More inward upon the west-side of the County there are also several towns but because they are but of late standing I will just only touch upon them Near Linne is Rising-Castle Rising seated on a high hill and vying with that at Norwich It was formerly the seat of the Albinies afterwards of Robert de Mont-hault by marriage with the sister and coheir of Hugh de Albiney Earl of Arundel and lastly of the Mowbrays descended as I have been told from the same stock with the Albinies But now it is ruinated and as it were expiring for age z Below is Castle-acre Castle-acre where formerly the Earls of Warren dwelt in a Castle now ruinous that stood upon a little river aa The river is anonymous rising not far from Godwicke Godwick a lucky name where is a small seat but made great by the ornament it receives from the famous Sir Edward Cooke Knight a person of admirable parts than whom as no one ever apply'd himself closer to the study of the Common-Law so never any understood it better Whereof he convinc'd England by his discreet management for many years together whilst Attorney-General and still does by executing the office of Lord Chief Justice of the Common-Pleas with the greatest prudence Nor has he given less proof of his abilities in his Commentaries upon our Laws whereby he has highly oblig'd both his own Age and Posterity This little river glides on gently westward to Linne by Neirford Neirford which gave name to the famous family of Neirfords and by Neirborrough where near the seat of the Spilmans Knights there is a strong and ancient military entrenchment upon a high hill very conveniently seated for the defence of the neighbouring field bb Next Penteney is plac'd upon the same rivulet which was formerly a common burying-place for the Nobility of those parts Neighbour to this is Wormegay Wormegay commonly Wrongey which Reginald de Warren brother of William de Warren second Earl of Surrey had with his wife of whom as I have read the said Earl had the donation or Maritage as they worded it in that age By his grand-daughter by a son it presently went to the Bardolphs â—arâ—ns â—â—â—dâ—â—ph noble and honourable Barons who flourish'd for a long time and bore three Cinque-foils Or in a field azure A great part of their estate along with the title came to 19 Sir William William Phellips and by his daughter to the Viscount Beaumont More to the east we see Swaffham â—â—affham a famous market-town formerly the possession of the Earl of Richmond Ashele-manour â—â—heâ—e in right whereof the Hastings and the Greys Lords of Ruthun â—â—n prâ—câ—â—â—â—◠‖ had formerly the oversight of the Table cloaths and Napkins made use of at the Coronation of the Kings of England â—â—â—â—e de â—â—â—â—aâ—yre North-Elmham where the Bishops had their seat for some time when this Diocese was divided into two cc Dereham Dâ—â—eham where was bury'd Withburga daughter of King Anna who divorcing her self entirely from all luxury and levity and being a Virgin of great sanctity was by our Ancestors canoniz'd a Saint dd Next to this is Gressenhall â—reâ—â—enhall with its neighbour Elsing both the possessions formerly of the Folliots â—oâ—â—ot persons of great honour in their time By the daughter of Richard Folliot they came to 20 Sir Hugh Hugh de Hastings of the family of Abergeuenny and at length by the daughters and heirs of Hugh Hasting the last Gressenhal came to 21 Sir Hamon Hamon le Strange of Hunstanston and Elsing â—â—â—ing to William Brown brother of 22 Sir Anthony Anthony Brown first Viscount Montacute In this Quarter also is Iâ—-borough â—â—hborough which Talbot takes to be the Iciani mention'd by Antoninus 〈◊〉 Nor need I say any more about these matters I have now nothing to do but to reckon up the Earls and Dukes of Norfolk and so go on to Cambridgeshire ee â—â—â—â—s and â—â—kes of â—â—rfâ—â—k William the Conquerour set one Ralph over the Country of the East-Angles that is the Counties of Norfolk Suffolk and Cambridgeshire But he was quickly depriv'd as I observ'd before for endeavouring innovations in the State Some years after in the reign of K. Stephen Hugh Bigod was Earl of Norfolk For when a Peace was concluded between Stephen and Henry of Anjou afterwards Henry 2. it was expresly provided that William son of Stephen â—â—â—eement â—â—â—ween K. â—â—â—pâ—en and â—â—â—y D. of â—â—pe should have the whole County of Norfolk except among other things the third penny of which Hugo Bigod was Earl Whom notwithstanding King Hen. 2. afterwards made Earl of the third penny of Norfolk and Norwic. A Monâ—â—s In the 27th of Henry 2. upon his death his son Roger succeeded him who for I know not what reason procur'd a new Creation-Charter of Rich. 1. Roger was succeeded by his son Hugh who marry'd Mawd eldest daughter and coheir of William Marshal Earl of Pembroke By her he had Roger Earl of Norfolk and Marshal of England Luxatis â—â—poris arâ—â—lis who * wresting and straining his joynts in a Tournament dy'd without issue and Hugh Bigod Lord Chief Justice of England slain in the battel of Lewes whose son Roger succeeded his Uncle in the dignity of Earl of Norfolk and Marshal of England But when his insolent and stubborn behaviour had thrown him under the displeasure of Edw. 1. he was forc'd to pass over his honours and almost his whole estate to the King for the use of Thomas de Brotherton the King's son by Margaret sister to Philip the Fair King of France For so a History has told us out of the Library of St. Augustin's in Canterbury In the year 1301. Roger Bigod Earl of Norfolk made King Edward his heir and deliver'd up to him the Marshal's rod upon this condition That if his wife bore him any children all should be return'd and he should hold it peaceably without any contradiction on the King's part And the King gave him a thousand pound in money and a thousand †Librataâ— pound in lands for life along with the Titles of Marshal and Earl But he dying without issue King Edw. 2. by virtue of the surrender above-mention'd honour'd his brother Thomas Brotherton with the titles of Marshal and Earl of Norfolk But his daughter Margaret Parl. 21. Rich. 2. call'd Lady Marshal and Countess of Norfolk and marry'd to John Lord Segrave was created Dutchess of Norfolk for life by K. Rich. 2. who at the same time created Thomas Mowbray Earl of Nottingham and grandchild to Margaret by a daughter first Duke of Norfolk to him and his heirs males having before granted him the dignity and stile of Earl Marshal of England 23 This is he that before the King was challeng'd and accus'd by Henry of Lancaster Duke of Hereford This is he who accus'd Henry of
Lancaster Earl of Hereford to the King for blabbing some scandalous and malicious words against his Majesty And when they were to try it by duel a Herald by the King's authority pronounc'd sentence against them at the very Lists that both should be banish'd Lancaster for 10 years but Mowbray for life who dy'd at Venice leaving two sons behind him in England Whereof Thomas Earl Marshal and Earl of Nottingham for he had no other titles upon raising a conspiracy was beheaded by Henry of Lancaster who had possest himself of the Crown under the name of Henry 4. But his brother and heir John by the favour of Hen. 5. was restor'd and being for some years after stil'd only Earl Marshal and Earl of Nottingham upon Hen. 6.'s coming to the Crown was by virtue of a Patent granted by Rich. 2. as son of Thomas Duke of Norfolk his father Rot. Parl. 3 Hen. 6. and heir to Thomas his brother declar'd Duke of Norfolk by authority of Parliament He was succeeded by his son John who dy'd in the first year of Edw. 4. and he also by his son of that name who in the life-time of his father was by Hen. 6. created Earl of Surrey and Warren Parl. 17. Edw. 4. Whose only daughter Anne was marry'd to Richard Duke of York K. Ed. the 4.'s young son and with her had a grant from his father of the titles of Norfolk Earl Marshal Warren and Nottingham But both he and his wife being made away very young Rich. 3. K. of England conferr'd the title of Duke of Norfolk and the authority of Earl Marshal upon 24 John Lord Howard John Howard who was found Kinsman and one of the heirs of Anne Dutchess of York and Norfolk above-mention'd For his mother was one of the daughters of that first Tho. Mowbray Duke of Norfolk and K. Edw. 4. had advanc'd him to the dignity of a Baron This John was kill'd in the battel of Bosworth fighting valiantly for Richard against Hen. 7. His son Thomas who by creation from Rich. 3. was Earl of Surrey 25 And by King Hen. 7. made Lord Treasurer was by K. Hen. 8. restor'd to his father's title of Norfolk 26 And his son the same day created Earl of Surrey after he had routed the Scotch-army 27 At Branxton at Floddon wherein James 1. K. of Scots was slain In memory of which victory it was granted to the family of the Howards that in the middle of the White Bend in their Arms there should be added In an Escocheon Or An honorary Escocheon in the Arms of the Howards a demy Lion shot through the mouth with an arrow within a double tressure adorn'd with Lilies on both sides Gules which comes very near to the Arms of the Kings of Scotland He was succeeded by his son Thomas 28 As well in his Honours as in the Office of Lord Treasurer of England and liv'd in the time of Queen Mary whom our own Age saw toss'd about with the ebbs and flows of Fortune His grandchild Thomas by his son Henry which Henry was the first of our English Nobility that grac'd his high birth with the ornaments of Learning being attainted of High-Treason for endeavouring a match with Mary Queen of Scots and in the year 1572. beheaded See in the Adages of Hadr. Juu. Achilleum votum was the last D. of Norfolk From which time his posterity has as it were lay dead but now by the favour and bounty of K. James begins to revive and flourish again There are in this County about 660 Parish-Churches ADDITIONS to NORFOLK THE County of Norfolk is so call'd from its Northern situation with respect to the rest of the East-Angles whereof it was a part Our Author recommends it for its being very populous having as he observes 27 markets and 625 villages But if we may trust the Book of Rates of Taxes to the King the esteem it hath upon that account may be rais'd much higher for there we find 32 markets and 711 villages whether Mr. Camden was mistaken in the number or this increase have been since his time I dare not say What he has observ'd of its being a Nursery of Lawyers as it is confirm'd by many instances so particularly by the great Sir Henry Spelman from whom Spede confesses he receiv'd his description of Norfolk After that he drew up an entire description of this his native County and upon his authority principally depends the greatest part of the following remarks a To begin with our Author Thetford Thetford is no doubt the ancient Sitomagus but whether that be corruptly written Simomagus and Sinomagus is not so certain as to bear a positive assertion It is worth the while to consider whether there is not something in these names which should imply its being the Capital city of the Iceni If we take Simomagus Ptolemy's Simeni for so he names the people of those parts does something favour it and Sinomagus comes nearer the name Iceni especially if we may suppose the I cast away as in Hispani Spani Besides Caesar's calling this people Cenimagni which Camden finding them distinctly read Ceni Agni is of opinion should be read Iceni Regni farther confirms this conjecture b As to the relation which Mr. Camden discovers between the initial of the old and present names Sit and Thet and from thence concludes that the modern name is compounded of the remains of the Roman and the Saxon ford there is no grounds for it For the old Saxon name was Ãeod-ford not as Mr. Camden writes it Ãeotford the similitude of t and d probably creating a mistake in some old Copies which plainly signifies a ford of the people This town was famous for being a seat of the Kings of the East-Angles but whether that fortification with a double trench was the work of the Saxons our Author leaves to the judgment of others That incomparable Antiquary Spelman thinks it was done by the Danes who made so considerable a figure in those parts because the camps of both Romans and Saxons are generally observ'd to be much larger An anonymous Author quoted by * Antiq. Cant. p. 148. Caius tells us there was formerly a Great-School or Nursery of Learning in this place It may possibly be the same which †Hist Eccl. l. 3. c. 18. Bede hints to when he informs us how Sigebert after he was return'd home and settl'd in his kingdom built a school for the education of youth in imitation of what he had observ'd of that nature in France Whether this passage belongs to Thetford or Cambridge for the latter lays claim to it to advance its Antiquity is a point too large to be discuss'd here Notwithstanding the eminency of the place which besides the seat of the East-Saxon Kings the Bishops-See and 8 Monasteries have entail'd upon it a thing perhaps that few cities can boast of yet in 9 Edw 1. it was neither city
Canutus founded for Nuns who being expell'd within a little time in the year 1040. Leofrick Earl of Mercia enlarg'd it and in a manner built it a-new with so great a show of gold and silver to use Malmesbury's words that the walls of the Church seem'd too strait to contain the treasures of it It was very prodigious to behold for from one beam were scrap'd w Five hundred marks Malmesb. See Dugdale's Warwickshire 50 marks of silver And he endow'd it with so great revenues that Robert de Limsey Bishop of Lichfield and Chester remov'd his See hither as to the golden sands of Lydia that as the same Malmesbury hath it he might steal from the treasures of the Church wherewithall to fill the King's Coffers to cheat the Pope of his provisions and gratifie the Roman avarice However this See after a few years return'd back to Lichfield but upon these terms that one and the same Bishop should be stil'd Bishop of Coventry and Lichfield The first Lord of this City that I know of 〈◊〉 of â—â—â—try was Leofrick who being incens'd against the Citizens laid upon them very heavy taxes these he would by no means remit notwithstanding the great intercession of his Lady Godiva unless she would consent to â—ide naked thro' the most frequented parts of the city â—â—50 which if credit may be given to tradition she perform'd â—egus having cover'd her body with her long dangling hair without being seen by any one and so freed her Citizens from many heavy impositions From Leofrick this City by Lucia his son Algar's daughter came into the possession of the Earls of Chester for she had marry'd Ranulph the first Earl of that name and the third of the family who granted the same Liberties to Coventry that Lincoln enjoy'd and gave a great part of the City to the Monks the residue of it and Chilmore their manour-house near the City he reserv'd to him and his heirs who dying and the inheritance for want of issue-male coming to be divided amongst the sisters Coventry by the death of the Earls of Arundel fell to Roger de Monte alto De monte Alto. or Monthault whose grandson Robert granted all his right for want of issue-male to Queen Isabel Mother of King Edw. 3. to hold during her life after her decease the remainder to John de Eltham brother of the King and to the heirs of his body begotten In default of such the remainder to Edward King of England and his heirs for ever For so you have it in a Fine the second year of Edward 3. But John of Eltham was afterwards created Earl of Cornwall and this place became annex'd to the Earldom of Cornwall from which time it hath flourish'd very much Several Kings gave it divers immunities and privileges especially Edward 3. who granted them the electing of a Mayor and two Bayliffs 11 And to build and embattle a wall about it and Henry 6. who having laid to it some of the neighbouring villages granted by his Charter For so are the very words of it That it should be an entire County incorporate by it self in deed and name distinct from the County of Warwick At which time in lieu of two Bayliffs he constituted two Sheriffs and the Citizens began to enclose it with very strong walls In these are very noble and beautiful gates at that which goes by the name of Gofford is to be seen a vast shield-bone of a Boar which you may believe that Guy of Warwick or Diana of the Groves which you please kill'd in hunting after he had with his shout turn'd up the pit or pond that is now called Swansewell-pool but in ancient Charters Swineswell As to the Longitude of this City it lies in 25 degrees and 52 scruples the Latitude in 52 degrees and 25 scruples Thus much of Coventry which yet that I may ingenuously acknowledge the person who furnish'd me with it you must know you have not from me but from Henry Ferrars of Badsley a person to be respected as for his birth so for his great knowledge in Antiquity and my very good friend who in this and other places courteously directed me and as it were gave me leave to light my candle at his s Near Coventry to the North are situated Ausley Ausley a castle heretofore of the Hastings Lords of Abergavenny and ww Brandon Brand Brand. of old a seat of the Verdons To the East is placed Caloughdon vulgarly call'd Caledon Caledon an ancient seat of the Barons Segrave Barons Segrave from whom it descended to the Barons de Berkley by one of the daughters of Thomas Mowbray Duke of Norfolk These Segraves from the time that Stephen de Segrave was Lord Chief Justice of England were Barons of this Realm and enjoy'd the inheritance of the Chaucumbs whose Arms from that time they assumed viz. Arms of the Segraves A Lion rampant Argent crowned Or in a shield Sable John the last of this family marry'd Margaret Dutchess of Norfolk daughter of Thomas de Brotherton and had issue Elizabeth who carry'd the honour of Marshal of England and title of Duke of Norfolk into the family of the Mowbrays Not far from hence is Brinkle Brinkle-castle where was an ancient castle of the Mowbrays to which belong'd many fair possessions lying round it but time hath swept away the very ruins of it t as also of the Monastery of Combe Combe-Abbey which the Camvils and the Mowbrays endow'd Out of whose ashes the fair structure of the Harringtons arose in this place As you go Eastward x Anciently writ Thester Over as being seated castward of Monks-kirby and call'd but lately Cester-over by the inhabitants Dugd. Warwicksh p. 60. Cester-over presents it self the possession of the Grevils of whom I have before made mention Near which Watling street a Military way of the Romans dividing this County to the North from Leicestershire passes by High-cross of which we have already spoken near Nonn-eaton which of old was call'd Eaton but Amicia the wise of Robert Bossu Earl of Leicester as Henry Knighton writes having founded a Monastery of Nuns here in which she her self was profess'd of that number from those Nuns it got the name of Non-Eaton And formerly it was of great fame for the piety of its holy virgins who being constant in their devotions gave a good example of holy living to all about them Near this stood heretofore Asteley-castle Asteley the chief seat of the family of the Asteleys 12 Out of which flourish'd Barons in the time of King Edward the first second and third Baron Asteâ—ey the heiress of which was the second wife of Reginald Grey Lord of Ruthin From him sprang the Greys Marquisses of Dorset some of whom lye interr'd 13 In a most fine and fair Collegiate Church which Thomas Lord Astley founded with a Dean and Secular Canons in the neat
opposition they resolutely made to defend their country being over-match'd in number and their territories not so well guarded by nature as to protect them But what we have said already may suffice for the Britains and the Romans However since I here treat of the Inhabitants I must not pass on without heeding what Zosimus relates Lib. 1. Vandals and Burguâ—dians in Briâ—aâ—â— though I took notice of it before That Probus the Emperor transplanted the Vandals and Burgundians he had conquered into Britain who being settled here proved very serviceable to the Romans whenever a sedition was hatching But where they could be seated unless it were in Cambridgeshire I cannot tell For Gervasius Tilburiensis takes notice of an old Vallum in this County which he calls Vandelsburg and says it was done by the Vandals I would not have any one imagine that in the time of Constantius the Carthaginians were seated here grounding their opinion upon that passage of Eumenius the Rhetorician Nisi forte non gravior Britarmiam ruina depresserat quam si perfusa tegeretur Oceano quae profundissimo Poenorum gurgite liberata ad conspectum Romanae lucis emersit i.e. Unless the grievance wherewith Britain was opprest were not greater than if it had been quite overwhelmed with the Ocean But now freed from a deep gulf of the Poeni lifts up it's head at the sight of the Roman light For there is an old Copy which belong'd to Humphrey Duke of Gloucester and after that to the Right Honourable Baron Burghly Lord High Treasurer of England wherein it is read Paenarum gurgitibus And he seems to treat of those grievances and punishments with which they were gall'd under Carausius From that of Agathias likewise in the second book of his History The Britains are a nation of the Hunns I would not have any one scandalize the Britains or conclude them to be Hunns For in one Greek Copy it is read 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 and not Britones as I have been assured long since by the most learned Francis Pithaeus and as J. Lewenclaius a most deserving person for his knowledge in History has now published it The PICTS NOW for the other Inhabitants of Britain and first of the Picts who in the order of Antiquity are allow'd by Historians to come next the Britains Hector Boetius derives these people from the Agathyrsi Pomponius Lactus Aventinus and others from the Germans Some will have them from the Pictones in France and Bede from the Scythians It happen'd says he that the Picts sailed from Scythia as the report goes in some few gallies into Ireland and that having desired a seat of the Scots there without success they went over to Britain by their advice and settled upon the north part of it about the year 78 as many would have it In such See Bishop Usher's Antiquitat Britan. Eccles cap. 15. where their original is fully discussed Dr. Stiâ—lingfleet Orig. Britan. p. 246. proves them to have their oriâ—inal from Soundinavia variety of opinions I don't know which to adhere to however to shew as well as I can how the truth of this matter stands I will venture to deliver my own thoughts of it And unless the Authority of Venerable Bede was a sufficient counterpoise to any conjecture I should be apt to think that the Picts were not transplanted from other countreys but originally Britains and the offspring of them I mean those very Britains who before the Romans came here inhabited the north part of the Island and those who being a nation averse to slavery and then refusing to be hamper'd by the Romans afterwards joined them For just as those Britains did who in the Saxon invasion being loath to part with their liberty withdrew and retreated to the west-parts of the Island Wales and Cornwall full of craggy hills so doubtless the Britains in the Roman war rather than be brought under slavery the very worst of evils shifted to these northern parts frozen by excess of cold horrible in its rough and craggy places and imbogued by the washing in of the Sea and the sens in it where they were defended not so much by their weapons as by the sharpness of the air and weather and grew up with the natives of the country into a populous nation For Tacitus tells us that the enemies of the Romans were driven into these parts as into another Island by Agricola his father in law and no man questions but they were Britains that peopled these remote parts of the Island For can any one fancy that all those Britains at war with the Romans that amounted to an army of 30000 fighting men led out at once against Agricola and who gave Severus such great defeats that in one expedition seventy thousand of his Roman and confederate Troops were cut off were every soul of them destroyed without one remaining to propagate posterity so that we must needs fill the place with foreigners from Scythia or Thrace I am so far from believing it though Bede hath said it upon the credit of others that I had rather affirm them to have been so fruitful and multiplying that their own country was unable to allow them either room or food and that therefore they were constrain'd to overflow and in a manner overwhelm the Roman Province as afterwards they certainly did when the Scots settled there among them But because Bede writ this according to the report of others in those times I am very apt to believe that some from Scandia which was heretofore together with all that northern tract call'd Scythia might arrive among these Northern Britains by way of that continu'd set of Islands lying almost close to one another However lest any one imagine that I here impose upon my self by a specious lie I think I can shew from the manners name and language of the Picts wherein they will appear to be very agreeable with our Britains that they were indeed the very Britains themselves And therefore without taking notice that neither the Picts according to Bede nor the Britains according to Tacitus made any distinction of Sex in point of Government or excluded the Females from the Crown that fashion of painting and dawbing themselves with colours was common to both nations Thus much we have already observ'd among the Britains and Claudian will shew us the same among the Picts Nec falso nomine Pictos Edomuit In happy war o'recame The Picts that differ nothing from their name Again Ferroque notatas Perlegit exanimes Picto moriente figuras And oft survey'd Pale ir'n-burnt figures on the dying Pict Isidorus is no less clear in this matter The Pict's name exactly answers their body because they squeeze out the juice of herbs and imprint it in their bodies by pricking their skins with a needle so that the spotted nobility bear these scars in their painted limbs as a badge and indication of their honour Now shall we imagine that these Picts were Germans who
upon the disordered English kill'd great numbers of them whilst they stood doubtful whether they should run or fight But the greatest part posting themselves on the higher grounds got into a body encouraged one another and opposed the Enemy with great resolution as if they had made choice of that place for an honourable death At last Harold was shot through the head with an arrow and there with his two brothers Githus and Leofwine lost his life Upon this Edwin and Morcar with some few who had saved their lives made their escape by flight giving way to the hand of providence and the present necessity after they had fought without intermission from seven a clock in the morning to the dusk of the evening The Normans lost in this battle about 6000 men and the English a far greater number William overjoyed with his victory ordered a solemn thanksgiving to Almighty God and fixed his tent in the middle of the slain where he stayed that night Next day after he had buried his men and granted leave to the English to do the like he returned to Hastings to consider of proper methods how to prosecute his victory and to refresh his soldiers So soon as the news of this victory reached London and other cities of England the whole Nation was in a surprise and in a manner struck dead Githa the King's mother was so overcome with grief that no way could be found to comfort her She humbly desired of the Conqueror to grant her the bodies of her sons which she buried in Waltham-Abby Edwin sent away Queen Algitha his sister into the more remote parts of the Kingdom The Nobility desired the people not to despair and begun to consider of methods how to settle the Nation The Arch-bishop of York with the City of London and Sea-soldiers Bâ—â—â—â—les commonly called Botescarles were for making Eadgar King and renewing the war with William Edwin and Morcar were secretly contriving how to get the government into their their own hands But the Bishops Prelats and others upon whom the Pope's Anathema made a deeper impression thought it most advisable to surrender and not to incense the Conqueror with a second battel the issue whereof was but at best doubtful nor resist God who for the crying sins of the nation seemed to have delivered up England into the hands of the Normans William leaving 〈◊〉 strong garison in Hastings resolved to march in a hostile manner directly towards London but to diffuse a greater terror through the nation and to make all sure behind him he divided his forces and marched through part of Kent Suffex Surrey Hamshire and Berkshire Where he came he burnt villages and towns plundering them passed the Thames at Wallingford and filled all places with horror The Nobility all this while were at a stand what to do nor could they be persuaded to lay aside private animosities and consult the publick interest of the nation The Clergy to avoid the curses of the Church and censures of the Pope by which he did at that time sway both the minds of men and whole kingdoms and considering that the affairs of the nation were not only decay'd but quite ruin'd stood so firm to their resolution of surrendring that many so save themselves withdrew privately out of the City But Alfred Archbishop of York Wolstan Bishop of Worcester along with some other Bishops and Edgar Etheling Edwin and Morcar met the Norman Conqueror at Berkhamsted He made them most glorious promises upon which hostages were given and they submitted themselves to his protection Forthwith he went to London where he was received with great joy and acclamations and saluted under the title of King Next he prepares all necessaries for the inauguration which he had appointed to be on Christmas-day and in the mean time employed all his care and thoughts upon the settlement of the nation This was the period of the Saxon's government in Britain which lasted six hundred and seven years The revolution that hapned in the Kingdom some imputed to the avarice of Magistrates others to the superstitious laziness of the Clergy a third sort to the Comet which then appeared and the influence of the Stars a fourth attributed it to God who for hidden but always just reasons disposes of Kingdoms But others who looked nearer into the immediate causes threw it upon the imprudence of King Edward who under the specious colour of religious chastity neglected to secure a succession and so exposed the Kingdom as a prey to ambition WHat an insolent and bloody victory this was the Monks who writ about it do fully inform us Nor can we question but in this as in all others villany had the upper hand William as a token of his conquest laid aside the greatest part of the English laws brought in Norman customs and ordered that all causes should be pleaded in French The English were dispossessed of their hereditary estates and the lands and farms divided among his Soldiers but with this reserve that he should still remain the direct Proprietor and oblige them to do homage to him and his successors that is that they should hold them in see but the King alone be chief Lord and they â—uciaâ— â—eal â—illiâ—â—he â—ucâ— Feudatory Lords and in actual possession He made a Seal on the one side whereof was engraven Hoc Normannorum Gulielmum nosce patronum By this the Norman owns great William Duke On the other side Hoc Anglis signo Regem fatearis eundem By this too England owns the same their King Further as William of Malmsbury tells us in imitation of Caesar's policy who would not have those Germans that skulk'd in the forrest of Ardenna and by their frequent excursions very much disturb'd his army suppressed by the Romans but the Gauls that whilst foreigners destroyed one another himself might triumph without blood-shed William took the same methods with the English For there were some who after the first battle of that unfortunate Harold had fled over into Denmark and Ireland where they got together a strong body of men and returned three years after To oppose them he dispatched away an English army and General and let the Normans live at their ease For which side soever got the best he found his interest would go forward And so it proved for after the English hâ—d skirmâ—shed for some time one with another the victory was presented the King without any trouble And in another place After the power of the Laity was destroyed he made a positive declaration The English thrown out of their Honours that no Monk or Clergy-man of the English nation should pretend to any place of dignity wherein he quite receded from the easiness of King Canutus who maintained the conquered party in full possession of their honours By which means it was that after his death the natives found so little difficulty in driving out the foreigners and recovering their ancient freedom After he had setled those
Marshall were complained of it was ordained in these words Marescallus de quolibet Comite Barone integram Baroniam tenente de uno palfrido sit contentus vel de pretio quale antiquitus percipere consuevit ita quod si ad homagium quod fecit palfridum vel pretium in formâ praedictâ ceperit ad militiam suam nihil capiat Et si fortè ad homagium nihil ceperit ad militiam suam capiat De Abbatibus Prioribus integram baroniam tenentibus cum homagium aut fidelitatem pro Baroniis suis fecerunt capiat palfridum vel pretium ut praedictium est Hoc idem de Archiepiscopis Episcopis observandum est De his autem qui partem Baroniae tenent sive sint Religiosi sive Seculares capiat secundum portionem partis Baroniae quam tenent De Religiosis tenentibus in liberam elymosynam non per Baroniam vel partem nihil de caetero exigat Marescallus And about that time were set down all the Droites belonging to the Earl Marshall in a Roll which was laid up in the Wardrobe but that vanished shortly after For as it appeareth by Record in the 18th of Edward the third the Kind directed a brief to the Barons of the Exchequer of the fees and all things else belonging to the office of Earl Marshal and they returned in their certificate annexed to the Brief nothing but certain petty allowances of money wine candles for the Marshal and Magister Marescallus and for the four Marshals for every day qua faciant herbergeriam And out of the red book of the Exchequer they certifie in these words De officio Marescalciae survivit Gilbertus Mareschal Comes de Strigal cujus est officium tumultus sedare in domo Regis liberationes hospitiorum facere ostia aulae Regis custodire Accipit autem de quolibet Barone facto Milite à Rege quolibet Comite eâ die palfredum cum sella And by an inquisition taken about the 11th of Henry the fifth it appeareth that there belongeth to the Earls Marshals disposing the office of the Marshal in the King's-Bench the Marshal of the Exchequer with the office of the Cryer before the Marshal and the Marshal of the Hall of the King's House and some other such places But the greatest encrease of the authority of this Office hath been since there were no Constables for the Kings since that time have referred many matters to them which in former times were proper to the Constable Neither had the Marshal any precedency in respect of his place until King Henry the eighth in the 31st year of his reign by Parliament assigned him place next to the Lord Constable and before the Lord Admiral William Camden The Original and Dignity of the Earl Marshal of England By the same Hand SOme learned men which have discoursed of offices and magistracies in respect of some conveniencies in military matters have thought the office of Marshal in our age to be answerable to that of the Tribuni militum in the ancient Roman Estate and of the Protostrator in the late state of the Greek or Eastern Empire But this name of Marshall now in use which in process of time hath ascended unto so high a dignity began at such time as the Goths Vandals Franks and other Northern people overflowed Europe who setling themselves in the provinces of the Romans liking well their policy and government began not only to imitate the same but also to translate their titles of civil and military dignities into their own tongues so they translated retaining the signification Limitanei Duces into Marche-graffes Scutati into Shield-Knights Praefectus Palatii into Seneschalk Comes Stabuli into Mar-staller Minister Dei into Gods-schalke Praefectus Equitum into Mar-schalk For all they who have lately traced out Etymologies do consent that as Mar and Mark signifie a horse so Schalk signifieth a ruler an officer or Provost But the French mollified this harsh concurrence of consonants and have made of Seneschalk Marschalk c. Senschal and Marshall This name albeit happily the office might be was not in use in this realm in the Saxon government only they had their Staller which by signification and authority of Historians doth seem to be all one with the Constable But as this name came out of Germany with the Franks into France so out of France first arrived here with the Normans and Roger de Montgomery which was Marshall of the Norman army at the Conquest is accounted the first Marshal of England For some years after there is in Histories no mention of this office until in the confusion under King Stephen when as Maud Fitz-Empress for strengthening of her part made Milo Earl of Hereford and Constable of England so he for assuring his faction made Gilbert Clare Earl of Pembroke and Marshal of England with the state of inheritance who in respect of his usual habitation at Stryghall was commonly called Earl of Stryghall in which office his son Richard sirnamed Strongbow succeeded who first opened the way to the English for the conquest of Ireland by whose only daughter and heir it descended to William Marshall who had by her five sons which died all without issue and five daughters the eldest of them named Maud to whom in the partition was assigned the office of Marshal of England with the Mannor of Hempsted Marshal which as it is in old records the Marshals held in Marescaugiâ per virgam Mareschalliae This Maud was married to Hugh Bigot Earl of Norfolk whose son Roger in right of his mother was Marshal of England and after him Roger Bigot his nephew by the brother who incurring the displeasure of King Edward the first by denying to serve him in Guienne practising to hinder the King's expedition into Flanders and dissuading the Commons to pay subsidies imposed by Parliament in that respect for recovery of the King's favour surrendred up to the King for ever both his Earldom of Norfolk and office of Marshal of England which King Edward the second granted to his brother Thomas of Brotherton from whom it came inheritably to Thomas Mowbray Earl of Nottingham whom King Richard the second created Earl Marshal of England whereas in former time they were stiled only Marshals of England and so from the Mowbrayes to Howards late Dukes of Norfolk yet this office hath not so descended without interruption in the aforesaid families but that upon disfavours and attainders it hath been oftentimes conferred upon others as appeareth by this Catalogue of them wherein they are set down successively The Marshals of England Roger de Montgomery Earl of Shrewsbury Walter Giffard Earl of Buckingham Robert Fitz-Ede base son of King Henry the first Gilbert de Clare Earl of Pembroke Richard his son Earl of Pembroke William Marshall the elder Earl of Pembroke William his son Earl of Pembroke Richard his brother Earl of Pembroke Gilbert his brother Earl of Pembroke
the Stoure receives a small river call'd Alen upon which stands S. Giles Winburn the dwelling-place of the honourable and ancient family of h Ashley is the name It came by descent to the present E. of Shaftsbury from Sir Anthony Ashley who was in several publick Employments in the reign of Qu. Elizabeth he having given his only daughter and heiress in marriage to Sir John Cooper of Rockbourn in Hampshire who had issue by her Sir Anthony Ashley Cooper who in the year 1661. was made a Peer by the title of Baron Ashley of Wimborne St. Giles having chosen that title pursuant to an Article in the aforesaid marriage That if Sir John Coopor or heirs should come to be honoured with the degree of Peerage they should take that for their title In the year 1672. Lord Ashley was created Earl of Shaftsbury to whom succeeded his son the present Earl with whom this Estate and Seat remains Astely Knights Ashleys Knights and Wickhampton the patrimonial estate heretofore of the Barons of Maltravers Maltravers the last of whom in the reign of Edw. 3. left two daughters only one of which was marry'd to John de Arundel the grandfather of John Earl of Arundel who left to his heirs the title of Barons of Maltravers the other was the wife of Robert le Rous and afterwards of John Keynes Knight From hence the Stoure flows on by Canford Canford below which not long since James Baron of Montjoy who particularly search'd into the nature of metals began to make Chalcanthum that is Coperas Coperas as we call it and boil alum From hence formerly John Earl of Warren forcibly as it were ravish'd and took away Alice Lacy the wife of Thomas Earl of Lancaster with much injury to his reputation and no small damage to England as appears by our Chronicles Here the river Stoure leaves Dorsetshire and running through some parts of Hantshire disembogues it self into the Ocean having first receiv'd a little river which flows to Cranborne Cranborne a town well watered where in the year of our Lord 930. Aeilward a nobleman sirnam'd Meaw from his fair complexion founded a little monastery which Robert Fitz-Haimon a Norman transferr'd to Tewkesbury leaving a Monk or two here for to him the possessions of Aeilward sell From whom by succession it came by the Clares Earls of Glocester and Burbs Earls of Ulster Viscount Cranborne to Lionel Duke of Clarence and by him to the Crown But now Robert Cecil 24 Now Earl of Salisbury is Viscount of Cranborne whom King James deservedly for his most approv'd wisdom first dignify'd with the title of Baron Cecil of Essendon and the year after with that of Viscount Cranborne 25 South from hence lyeth Woodland empark'd sometime the seat of the worshipful family of the Filioll the heirs whereof are marry'd to Edward Seymor after Duke of Somerset and Willâ—ughby of Wallaton It should be Woelaton Farls and Marquesses of Dorset The life of Osmund MS. Touching the Earls and Marquesses of this Shire William the Conquerour after he had got the Crown of England i Matth. Paris Hist Min. An. 1189. made Osmund who was Earl of Seez in Normandy Bishop of Salisbury first then Earl of Dorset and Lord Chancellour having a great opinion of his wisdom and excellent learning A long time after See the Dukes of Somerset Richard 2. in the 21 year of his reign preferr'd John de Beaufort the son of John of Gaunt and Earl of Somerset to be Marquess of Dorset from which honour he was afterwards degraded by Hen. 4. out of ill will to Richard 2. And when in full Parliament the house of Commons with whom he was much in favour did earnestly intercede that his dignity of Marquess might be restor'd him he utterly refus'd to accept it professing a great aversion to such a novel and upstart title unknown before those times and his younger brother Thomas de Beaufort was created Earl of Dorset who afterwards for his valour was by Hen. 5. made Duke of Exeter and had the County of Harcourt given him For he gallantly defended Harflew in Normandy against the French and bravely put to flight the Earl of Armeniâ—c in a pitch'd battel After his decease without issue Hen. 6. nominated Edmund of the same house of Lancaster first Earl then Marquess of Dorset and at last Duke of Somerset whose sons being all taken off in the Civil wars and the house of Lancaster as it were quite routed Edw. 4. created Thomas Grey of the family of Ruthin who was his son-in-law for the King marry'd Grey's mother Marquess of Dorset when he came to the great estate of the Bonvils in this County and those adjoyning in the right of his wife Thomas his son and Henry his grandson by the said Thomas succeeded him who was created Duke of Suffolk by Edw. 6. upon his marriage with Francis the daughter of Charles Brandon Duke of Suffolk and neice to King Hen. 8. by his sister He suffer'd for high-treason in Queen Mary's reign and too late experimented of what dangerous consequence it is to marry into the Royal Family and to soar too high in ambitious hopes From his time the title of Dorset was conferr'd on no one till K. James in the beginning of his reign advanc'd Thomas Sackvill Baron of Buckhurst Lord High Treasurer of England to the Earldom of Dorset for his most exact diligence and singular wisdom as an ornamental honour justly due to his true virtue and the good service he had done his country 26 Who ended his life with sudden death An. 1608. and left Robert his son his successor who deceasing within the year left the said honour again to Richard his hopeful son whom he beâ—at of the Lady Margaret Howard daughter to the late Duke of Norfolk There are in this County 248 Parishes ADDITIONS to DORSETSHIRE a THE County of Dorset as it is observ'd by our Author to be adorn'd with woods pastures and fruitful valleys so is it principally enrich'd by the sea which supplies it with great plenty of the best fish and gives it an opportunity of improving it self by trading 'T is very much for the honour of it that K. Charles 2. declar'd he never saw a finer Country either in England or out of it Lime b The Town of Lime seems to have been much improv'd since Mr. Camden's time for it is now a Burrough consisting of 16 Capital Burgesses and a Recorder whereof there is a Mayor and two Justices The Mayor is the next year after his Mayoralty a Justice of the Peace and the year following Justice and Coroner The Peer there for the nature and largeness of it hath scarce it 's like in England and requires great cost yearly to maintain it The place is so much encreas'd that whereas our Author observes it could hardly be term'd a port on any other account than as frequented by
as that Lacedaemonian Lady Lampido mention'd by Pliny was a King's Daughter a King's Wife and a King's Mother that is Daughter of this Henry 1. King of England Wife of Henry 4. Emperor of Germany and Mother to Henry 2. King of England Concerning which take here a Distich inscrib'd upon her tomb in my judgment ingenious enough Magna ortu majorque viro sed maxima partu Hic jacet Henrici filia sponsa parens Great born match'd greater greatest brought to bed Here Henry's Daughter Wife and Mother 's laid And she might well be counted greatest and most happy in her issue De nugis Curial l. 6. c. 18. For Henry 2. Henry 2. her son as Joannes Sarisburiensis who liv'd in those times hath observ'd was the best King of Britain the most fortunate Duke of Normandy and Aquitain and as well for the greatness of his actions as his excellent virtues above all others How valiant how magnificent how wise and modest he was as I may say from his very infancy envy it self can neither conceal nor dissemble since his actions are still fresh in our memory and conspicuous since he hath extended the monuments of his power from the bounds of Britain to the Marches of Spain And in another place concerning the same Prince Henry 2. the mightiest King that ever was of Britain thunder'd it about Garumna and besieging Tholouse with success did not only strike terror into the inhabitants of Provence as far as the Rhosne and Alpes but also by demolishing their strongholds and subduing the people made the Princes of France and Spain to tremble as if he threatned an universal conquest I will add farther if you please a word or two relating to the same Prince out of Giraldus Cambrensis From the Pyrenaean Mountains unto the western bounds and farthest limits of the northern Ocean this our Alexander of the West hath stretched forth his arm As far therefore as nature in these parts hath enlarged the Land so far hath he extended his victories If the bounds of his Expeditions were sought for sooner wou'd the globe of the earth fail than they end for where there is valour and resolution lands may possibly be wanting but victories can never fail matter for triumphs may be wanting but triumphs themselves never How great an addition to his glories titles and triumphs was Ireland With how great and stupendous a courage did he pierce thro' the very secret and occult places of the Ocean But take here an old verse upon his death which fully expresses in short both all this and also the glories of his son King Richard 1. Mira cano sol occubuit nox nulla secuta est Strange the sun set and yet no night ensu'd Rich. 1. For Richard was so far from bringing night upon this our Nation that by his Victories in Cyprus and Syria he enlighten'd it with brighter beams of glory But this by way of digression Let us now return from persons to places This Monastery wherein King Hen. 1. lies interr'd is now converted i This with the Stables was probably demolish'd in the late Civil Wars for now there is nothing to be seen of them that which remains being a very indifferent house into a Royal Seat adjoyning to which stands a very fine stable stor'd with noble horses of the King 's But concerning this place take these verses of the Poet describing the Thames running by it Hinc videt exiguum Chawsey properatque videre Redingum nitidum texendis nobile pannis Hoc docet Aelfredi nostri victricia signa Begscegi caedem calcata cadavera Dani Utque superfuso maduerunt sanguine campi Principis hic Zephyro Cauroque parentibus orti Cornipedes crebris implent hinnitibus auras Et gyros ducunt gressus glomerantque superbos Dum cupiunt nostri Martis servire lupatis Haeccine sed pietas heu dira piacula primum Neustrius Henricus situs hic inglorius urna Nunc jacet ejectus tumulum novus advena quaerit Frustra nam regi tenues invidit arenas Auri sacra fames Regum metuenda sepulchris Thence little Chawsey sees and hastens on To Reading fam'd for cloth an handsome town Here Aelfred's troops their happy valour show'd On slaughter'd Begsceg and his Pagans trod And drown'd the meadows in a purple flood Here too in state the royal coursers stand Proud to be govern'd by our Mars's hand Full stretch'd for race they take their eager round And neighing fill the air and trampling shake the ground But where poor banish'd Virtue art thou gone Here Henry lies without a single stone Equall'd alas with common dead too soon So fatal avarice to Kings appears It spares their crowns more than their sepulchres Scarce half a mile from Reading amongst fine green Meadows the Kenet joyns the Thames which by the conflux being much enlarg'd spreads it self towards the north running by Sunning Sunning a little village that one would wonder should ever have been the See of eight Bishops who had this County and Wiltshire for their Diocese yet our Histories report as much The same was afterwards translated by Herman to Sherburn and at last to Salisbury to which bishoprick this place still belongs 8 Hereby falleth Ladden a small water into the Thames Not far off stands Laurence Waltham where the foundations of an old fort are to be seen and Roman coins are often digg'd up 9 And next to it Billingsbere the inhabitation of Sir Henry Nevil issued from the Lords Abergevenny Thence the Thames passes by Bistleham contracted now into Bisham Bisham at first a Lordship of the Knights Templers then of the Montacutes 10 And amongst them the first Earl of Salisbury of this family founded a Priory wherein some say he was buried Certes his wife the daughter of the Lord Grandison was buried there and in the Inscription of his tomb it was specified that her Father was descended out of Burgundy Cousin-german to the Emperor of Constantinople the King of Hungary and Duke of Bavaria and brought into England by Edmund Earl of Lancaster who built a little Monastery here afterwards of that noble Knight Sir Edw. Hobey Sir Edw◠Hobey a person to whom I owe a particular respect and whose more than ordinary obligations are so much the subject of my thoughts that I can never possibly forget them The Thames now bidding adieu to Bisham fetches a compass to a little town call'd in former ages Southealington 11 Afterwards Maidenhith now Maidenhead Maiden-head * A 〈◊〉 cap 〈…〉 from I know not what British Maiden's head one of those eleven thousand Virgins who as they returned home from Rome with Ursula their Leader suffer'd Martyrdom near Cologne in Germany from that scourge of God Attila Neither is this town of any great antiquity for no longer ago than our great grandfathers time there was a ferry in a place somewhat higher at Babhams end But after
to reckon up the Earls of Kent in their order omitting Godwin 99 And Leofwin his brother and others under the Saxons who were not hereditary but officiary Earls Odo brother by the mother's side to William the Conqueror is the first Earl of Kent we meet with of Norman extraction He was at the same time Bishop of Baieax and was a person of a wicked factious temper always bent upon sowing sedition in the State Whereupon 1 Whereupon he was committed to prison by a subtil distinction as Earl of Kent and not Bishop of Bayeux in regard of his Holy Orders after a great rebellion he had rais'd his Nephew William Rufus depriv'd him of his whole estate and dignity in England Afterwards when Stephen had usurp'd the Crown of England and endeavour'd to win over persons of courage and conduct to his party he conferr'd that honour upon William of Ipres a Fleming who being as Fitz-Stephen calls him ‖ Vâ—â— Canâ—â— cubaâ—â— a grievous burthen to Kent was forc'd by King Henry 2. to march off with tears in his eyes 2 And so became a Monk Henry the second 's son likewise whom his father had crown'd King having a design to raise a rebellion against his father did upon the same account give the title of Kent to Philip Earl of Flanders but he was Earl of Kent no farther than by a bare title and promise For as Gervasius Dorobernensis has it Philip Earl of Flanders promis'd his utmost assistance to the young King binding himself to homage by oath In return for his services the King promis'd him revenues of a thousand pound with all Kent as also the Castle of Rochester with the Castle of Dover Not long after Hubert de Burgo who had deserv'd singularly well of this kingdom was for his good service advanc'd to the same honour by K. Henry 3. 3 Who also made him chief Justice of England He was an entire Lover of his Country and amidst the very storms of adversity discharg'd all those duties that it could demand from the best of subjects But he dy'd divested of his honour and this title slept till the reign of Edward the second An. Eâ—â— Edward bestow'd it upon his younger brother Edmund of Woodstock who being tutor to his nephew K. Edward 3. undeservedly fell under the lash of envy and was beheaded The crime was that he openly profess'd his affection to his depos'd brother and after he was murther'd knowing nothing of it endeavour'd to rescue him out of prison 4 Perswaded thereto by such as covertly practis'd his destruction but his two sons Edmund and John 5 Who were restor'd by Parliament to blood and land shortly after And withal it was enacted That no Peer of the Land or other that procur'd the death of the said Earl should be impeach'd therefore than Mortimer Earl of Marsh Sir Simon Beresford John Matravers Baious and John Devoroil had that honour successively and both dying without issue it was carry'd by their sister for her beauty call'd The fair maid of Kent to the family of the Holands Knights For 6 Sir Thomas Thomas Holand her husband was stil'd Earl of Kent 7 And she after marry'd by dispensation to the Black-Prince heir to him King Richard 2. and was succeeded in that honour by 8 Sir Thomas Thomas his son who dy'd in the 20. year of Richard 2. His two sons were successively Earls of this place Thomas who was created Duke of Surrey and presently after raising a rebellion against K. Henry 4. was beheaded 9 Leaving no child and after him Edmund who was Lord High Admiral of England and in the siege of †â—aâ—um Bâ—oâ—i Tho. Walsingham S. Brieu in Little Britain dy'd of a wound in the year 1408 10 Leaving likewise no issue This dignity for want of issue-male in the family being extinct and the estate divided among sisters K. Edward 4. honour'd with the title of Earl of Kent first 11 Sir William William Nevill Lord of Fauconberg and after his death Edmund Grey Lord of Hastings Weisford and Ruthyn who was succeeded by his son George He by his first wife Anne Widevile had Richard Earl of Kent who after he had squander'd away his estate dy'd without issue 12 1523. But by his second wife Catharine daughter of William Herbert Earl of Pembrook he had Henry Grey Knight 13 Of Wrest whose grandchild Reginald by his son Henry was made Earl of Kent by Queen Elizabeth in the year 1572. He dying without issue was succeeded by his brother Henry a person endow'd with all the ornaments of true nobility This County hath 398 Parish-Churches ADDITIONS to KENT THE History of this County having been already publish'd in three just Volumes by Mr. Lambard Mr. Philpot and Mr. Kilbourne beside what has been done by some others one would think that little more could be said upon the subject Mr. Camden too spent some of the latter part of his life in this County which gave him an opportunity of informing himself more particularly concerning it's Antiquities Yet some things there are which have escap'd the diligence both of him and the rest and mistakes have happen'd here as well as in other Counties a Our Author has observ'd that this County was given by Vortigern to Hengist on account of his daughter But the Saxon Chronicle which says nothing of that Rowena shews us that he rather got it by force of arms having worsted Vortigern in two pitch'd battles once at Aylesford and again at Crayford where he kill'd 4000 Britains and put the rest to flight And thus the Kingdom of Kent continu'd under a race of Kings descended from him till Baldred last King of Kent in our Author's account lost it to Egbert King of the West-Saxons He was the last of that race but Egbert's * Caron Sax. An. 830 Chron. Maâ—â—os p. 1. 2. leaving his son Aethelstan that kingdom shows that he was not the very last King of Kent b At the Norman-Conquest our Author tells us these Inhabitants made a Composition for their ancient privileges Which however oppos'd by †Somner Gâ—â—â—lkind l. 2 p. 63. Mr. Somner and others seems to have some remains in their present Constitution For how else come they to retain their custom of Gavelkind which once prevail'd all over Britain as it does still in some parts of Wales and why do the Heirs particularly in Kent succeed to the Inheritance tho' their Father suffer for felony or murder To come now to the Survey of the County it self we will begin in the north part and go along with Mr. Camden c The river Ravensbourn runs into the Thames near Greenwich upon which there yet remains a large fortification the area whereof is enclos'd with treble rampiers and ditches of a vast height and depth near two miles in circuit which must certainly be the work of many hands but of whose
entertain'd a design to depose him For which after he was dead he was attainted of High Treason by Act of Parliament He being thus taken off the same King gave the title of Earl of Glocester to Thomas De-Spencer 38 In the right of his great Grandmother who a little while after met with no better fate than his great Grandfather 39 Sir Hugh Hugh had before him for he was prosecuted by Henry 4 and ignominiously degraded and beheaded at Bristol 40 By the Peoples fury Henry 5. created his brother Humphry the second Duke of Glocester who us'd to stile himself 41 In the first year of King Henry 6. as I have seen in an Instrument of his Humphrey by the Grace of God Son Brother and Uncie to Kings Luke of Glocester Earl of Hainault Holland Zeeland and Pembroke Lord of Friseland Great Chamberlain of the Kingdom of England Protector and Defender of the same Kingdom and Church of England Son Brother and Uncle of Kings Duke of Glocester Earl of Pembroke and Lord high Chamberlain of England He was a great Friend and Patron both of his Country and Learning but by the contrivance 42 Of a Woman of a woman he was taken off at St. Edmunds-Bury The third and last Duke was Richard the third brother to King Edward 4. who having inhumanly murther'd his Nephews usurp'd the Throne which within the space of two years he lost with his life in a pitcht battle and found by sad experience That an unsurped power unjustly gain'd is never lasting Richard 3. Concerning this last Duke of Glocester and his first entrance upon the Crown give me leave to act the part of an Historian for a while which I shall presently lay aside again as not being sufficiently qualify'd for such an undertaking When he was declared Protector of the Kingdom and had his two young nephews Edward 5. King of England and Richard Duke of York in his power he began to aim at the Crown and by a profuse liberality great gravity mixed with singular affability deep wisdom impartial Justice to all people joyned with other subtle devices he procured the affections of all and particularly gained the Lawyers on his side and so managed the matter that there was an humble Petition in the name of the Estates of the realm offer'd him in which they earnestly pray'd him That for the publick good of the Kingdom and safety of the People he would accept the Crown and thereby support his tottering Country and not suffer it to fall into utter ruin which without respect to the laws of Nature and those of the establish'd Government had been harrassed and perplexed with civil wars rapines murders and all other sorts of miseries ever since Edward 4. his brother being enchanted with love potions had contracted that unhappy march with Elizabeth Grey widow without the consent of Nobles or publication of Banns in a clandestine manner and not in the face of the Congregation contrary to the laudable custom of the Church of England And what was worse when he had pre-contracted himself to the Lady Eleanor Butler daughter to the Earl of Shrewsbury from whence it was apparent that his marriage was undoubtedly unlawful and that the issue proceeding thence must be illegitimate and not capable of inheriting the Crown Moreover since George Duke of Clarence second brother of Edward 4. was by Act of Parliament attainted of High Treason and his children excluded from all right of succession none could be ignorant that Richard remained the sole and undoubted heir of the kingdom who being born in England they well knew would seriously consult the good of his native Country and of whose birth and legitimacy there was not the least question or dispute whose wisdom also justice gallantry of mind and warlike exploits valiantly performed for the good of the Nation and the splendor of his noble extract as descended from the royal race of England France and Spain they were very well acquainted with and fully understood Wherefore having seriously considered again and again of these and many other reasons they did freely and voluntarily with an unanimous consent according to their Petition elect him to be their King and with prayers and tears out of the great confidence they had in him humbly besought him to accept of the Kingdom of England France and Ireland which were doubly his both by right of inheritance and election and that for the love which he bore to his native Country he would stretch forth his helping hand to save and protect it from impendent ruin Which if he performed they largely promis'd him all faith duty and allegiance otherwise they were resolv'd to endure the utmost extremity rather than suffer themselves to be brought into the bonds of a disgraceful slavery from which at present they were freed This humble Petition was presented to him before he accepted the Crown afterwards it was also offered in the great Council of the Nation and approved of and by their authority it was enacted and declared in a heap of words as the custom is That by the Laws of God Nature and of England and by a most laudable Custom Richard after a lawful Election Inauguration and Coronation was and is the true and undoubted King of England c. and that the inheritance of these Kingdoms rightfully belongs to the heirs of his body lawfully begotten and to use the very words as they are penned in the original Records It was enacted decreed and declar'd by authority of Parliament that all and singular the Contents in the aforesaid Bill are true and undoubted and that the same our Lord the King with the assent of the three Estates of the Realm and the authority aforesaid doth pronounce decree and declare the same to be true and undoubted I have more largely explained these matters that it may be understood how far the power of a Prince pretended godliness subtle arguings of Lawyers flattering hope cowardly fear desire of new changes and specious pretences may prevail against all right and justice even upon the great and wise assembly of the Nation But the same cannot be said of this Richard as was of Galba That he had been thought fit for Empire had he not reigned for he seated in the Empire deceived all mens expectations but this had been most worthy of a Kingdom had he not aspired thereunto by wicked ways and means so that in the opinion of the wise he is to be reckon'd in the number of bad men but of good Princes But I must not forget that I am a Chorographer and so must lay aside the Historian There are in this County 280 Parishes ADDITIONS to GLOCESTERSHIRE a GLocestershire in Saxon Gleaƿceastre-scyre and Gleaƿcestre-scyre is said to be in length 60 miles in breadth 26 and in circumference 190. The Vineyards mention'd by our Author have nothing left in this County but the places nam'd from them one near Tewkesbury at present
which had been for some time buried under ground and was dug up a perfect stone More to the East Tuddington shews it's beautiful house lately built by H. Lord Cheney 12 Made by Queen Elizabeth Baron Cheyney of Tuddington built and shortly after dy'd sans-issue where also formerly Paulinus Pever a Courtier and Sewer to King Henry 3. did as Matth. Paris tells us build a seat with such palace-like grandeur such a Chapel such Lodgings with other houses of stone cover'd with lead and surrounded it with such ‖ Pomoeâ—â— avenues and parks that it rais'd an astonishment in the beholders We have not gone far from this place along by Hockley in the hole a dirty road extreme troublesome to travellers in winter time 13 For the old Englishmen our Progenitors call'd deep mire hock and hocks and through fields wherein are the best beans yielding a pleasant smell but by their fragrancy spoiling the scent of dogs not without the great indignation of the Hunters till we ascend a white hill into Chiltern and presently come to Dunstable Duâ—stabâ—e seated in a chalky ground pretty well inhabited and full of Inns. It has 4 streets answering the 4 quarters of the world and because of the dryness of the soil every one has 4 publick * Lacunâ— ponds which tho' supply'd only with rain-water are yet never dry For springs they can come at none without digging 24 fathom deep In the middle of the town there is a Cross or rather a Pillar having engraven upon it the Arms of England Castile and Pontieu and adorn'd with Statues it was built by K. Edw. 1. in memory of his Queen Eleanor among some others in places through which she was carry'd 14 Out of Lincolnshire in Funeral pomp to Westminster There 's no manner of doubt to be made but that this was the Station which Antoninus the Emperour in his Itinerary mentions under the name of Magioninium Magiovinium Magiovinium and Magintum c Mr. Camden in his second edition 8o. settl'd it at Ashwell in Hertfordshire nor need it be sought in any other place For setting aside that it stands upon the Roman Military way the Swineherds now and then in the neighbouring fields find Coins of the Emperors which they call to this day Madning-money and at a little distance upon the very descent of Chiltern-hills there is a round military fortification such as Strabo has told us the British towns were It contains 9. acres and is call'd Madning-bowre and Madin-bowre a name wherein with a little variation one may easily discover Magintum But after Magintum either by the storms of war or time was destroy'd Henry 1. built another Town here with a Royal seat at Kingsbury and planted a Colony that should be a curb to the insolence of Robbers as the private History of the little Monastery which he founded for an ornament to his Colony does plainly testifie But take the very words of that private History tho' they savour something of the barbarity of that age It is to be observ'd that that * Aâ—ea structure at the meeting of the way of Watling and Ikening d Primitus sartabatur in the folio edition but in the second which was in 8o. we find in the margin primitus succidebantur was first contriv'd by Henry the Elder of that name King of England to prevent the mischiefs of one Dun a famous Robber and his Gang and that from this Dun the place was call'd Dunstable i Our Lord the King built a burrough there and a Royal seat for himself near it The Burgesses were free in every thing as the other Burgesses of the King's Realm The King had in the same village a Fair and Market and afterwards built a Church wherein by the authority of Pope Eugenius 3. he plac'd Canons Regular feoffing the said Religious in the whole Burrough by Charter and granting them several immunities k 15 As for Leighton Buzard on the one side of Dunstable and Luton on the other neither have I read nor seen any thing memorable in them unless I should say that at Luton I saw a fair Church but the Quire then roofless and overgrown with weeds and adjoyning to it an elegant Chapel founded by J. Lord Wenlock and well maintained by the family of Rotheram planted here by Thomas Rotheram Archbishop of York and Chancellour of England in the time of King Edw. 4. Now of the Lords Dukes and Earls of Bedford Dâ—kes Earls and Barons of Bâ—â—â—ord First there were Barons of Bedford of the family of Beauchamp who by right of inheritance were Almoners to the Kings of England on their Coronation-day But the estate being divided by daughters to the Mowbrays Wakes and Fitz-Otes King Edward 3. made Engelram de Coucy Earl of Soissons in France 16 Son to Engelrame Lord of Coucy and his wife daughter to the Duke of Austria to whom he had marry'd a daughter first Earl of Bedford Afterwards Henry 5. erected Bedford into a Dukedom and it had three Dukes the first was John third son of Henry 4. who beat the French in a sea-engagement at the mouth of the Seine and again being made Regent of France 17 Slain in a land-fight at Vernolium He was bury'd at Roan and the Fortune of England as to the French wars was bury'd with him Whose monument while Charles 8. King of France was a viewing and a Nobleman stood by that advis'd him to pull it down Nay says he let him rest in peace now he 's dead whom France dreaded in the field while alive The second Duke of Bedford was George Nevil a young boy son of John Marquess of Montacute both of whom K. Edw 4. degraded by Act of Parliament almost assoon as he had set them up the father for treachery in deserting his party and the son out of revenge to the father Tho' it was indeed urg'd as a pretence that he had not estate enough to bear out the grandeur of a Duke and that great men when they want answerable Fortunes are always a plague and burthen to their neighbours The third was Jasper de Hatfeld Earl of Pembroke honour'd with this title by his * Nepote grandchild Hen. 7. whom he had sav'd out of very great dangers but 18 Some ten years after his creation he tho' he liv'd to a great age dy'd unmarry'd But within the memory of our Fathers it return'd to the title of an Earldom when King Edward 6. created John Russel Earl of Bedford who was succeeded by his son 19 Sir Francis Francis a person of that piety and gentile easiness of temper that whatever I can possibly say in his commendation will fall infinitely short of his Virtues He left Edward his successor and grandchild by his son Francis who is growing up by degrees to the honour of his Ancestors This little County has 116 Parishes ADDITIONS to BEDFORDSHIRE a ON the west-side of
without issue was succeeded by his brother Roger whose son Richard marry'd Amicia daughter and coheir of William Earl of Glocester and in right of her his posterity were Earls of Glocester whom you may find in their proper place But at last upon default of heir-male Leonel third son of Edw. 3. who had marry'd Elizabeth daughter and sole heir of William de Burgo Earl of Ulster by Elizabeth Clare was honour'd by his father with the new title of Duke of Clarence But he having only a daughter call'd Philippa wife of Edmund Mortimer Earl of March King Henry 4. created his younger son Thomas Duke of Clarence Dukes of Clarence who was Governour of Normandy 7 As also Lord High Steward of England and Earl of Albemarle and in the assaults of the Scots and French was slain in Anjou leaving no issue behind him A considerable time after Edward 4. conferr'd this honour upon George his brother whom after bitter quarrels and a most inveterate hatred between them he had receiv'd into favour yet for all that he at length dispatch'd him in prison ordering him to be drown'd as the report commonly goes †In dolio vini Cretici in a butt of Malmesey And thus 't is planted in the nature of man to hate those they fear and those with whom they have had quarrels for life even tho' they be brethren e From Clare the Stour runs by Long-Melford a beautiful Hospital lately built by that excellent person Sir William Cordall Knight Master of the Rolls to Sudbury Sudbury i.e. the Southern burrough which it almost encompasses The common opinion is e For Ecclesiastical Jurisdiction it has still something of preheminence the County being divided into the two Archdeaconries of Suffolk and of Sudbury that this was once the chief town of the County and that it had the name given it with respect to Norwich i.e. the northern village And indeed at this day it has no reason to give place to it's neighbours For 't is populous and thrives exceedingly by the Cloth-trade it 's chief Magistrate also is a Mayor who is annually chosen out of the seven Aldermen Not far from hence is Edwardeston Edwardeston a place of no great repute at present but had formerly Lords and inhabitants of great honour call'd de Monte Canisio and commonly Mont-chensy Barons de Montchensy Of which family Guarin marry'd the daughter and co-heir of that most powerful Earl of Pembroke William Marshal and had by her a daughter Joanna who brought to her husband William de Valentia of the family of Lusigny in France Minor Hist Matth. Par. the title of Earl of Pembroke That Guarin Mont-chensy as he had great honours so likewise had he a very plentiful fortune insomuch that in those times he was call'd the Crassus of England his Will amounting to no less than two hundred thousand marks f 8 No small wealth as the standard was then From a younger brother or cadet of this house of Montchensie issu'd by an heir-general the fâ—â—â—ly of the Waldgraves who having long flourisht in Knightly degree at Smaltbridge nearer to Stour as another family of great account in elder age 〈◊〉 Buers which was thereof sirnamed A few miles from hence the Stour is encreas'd by the little river Breton which within a small compass washes two towns of Antiquity At the head of it we see Bretenham a little inconsiderable town without almost any appearance of a City and yet that it is the Combretonium Combretonium mention'd by Antoninus in those parts is evident both from the affinity and signification of the name For as Bretenham Bretenham in English implies a town or mansion upon the Breton so does Combretonium in Welsh a valley or low place upon the Breton But this place in the Peutegerian Tables is falsly call'd Comvetronum and Ad Covecin A little way from hence to the east is seen Nettlested 9 Whence was Sir Thomas Wentworth whom King Henry 8. honour'd with the title of Baron Wentworth from whence are the Wentworths Baâ—ons Wentworth whom King Henry the eighth honour'd with the dignity of Barons and neighbour to it is Offton i.e. the town of Offa King of the Mercians where upon a chalky hill there lye the ruins of an old Castle which they tell you was built by King Offa after he had villanously cut off Ethelbert King of the East-Angles and seiz'd upon his kingdom 10 But to return to the river Breton on the banks of another brook that is joyn'd thereto stands Lancham a â—air market-town and near it the manour of Burnt-Elleie to which King Henry 3. granted a market at the request of Sir Henry Shelton Lord thereof whose pâ—sterity flourisht here for a long time Below this is Hadley in Saxon headlege famous at this day for making of woollen Cloaths but mention'd by our ancient Historians upon the account of Guthrum or Gormo the Dane's Guthrum or Gormo the Dane being buried here For when Alfred had brought him to such terms as to make him embrace Christianity and be baptiz'd he assign'd him this tract of the East-Angles that he might to use the words of my g Selden has observ'd it to be taken out of Malmesbury Not. MS. Author by a due Allegiance to the King protect those Countries he had before over-run with ravage and plunder From hence the Breton runs 11 Runs swiftly by Higham whence the family of Higham takes its name to Stour c. into the Stour whose united streams flowing not far from Bentley Bentley where the Talmaches a famous and ancient family have a long time flourisht within a few miles run near Arwerton Arwerton formerly the seat of the famous family of the Bacons 12 Who held this manour of Brome by conducting all the Footmen of Suffolk and Norfolk from St. Edmund's-dike in the wars of Wales now of the Parkers who by the father's side are descended from the Barons Morley and by the mother from the Calthrops a very eminent family Then they flow into the Ocean and the river Orwell or Gipping joyning them just at the mouth discharges it self along with them This rises about the very middle of the County out of two Springs one near Wulpett Wulpett the other at a little village call'd Gipping Wulpett is a Market-town and signifies in Latin Luporum fossa i.e. a den of Wolves if we believe Neubrigensis who has patcht up as formal a story about this place as is the * Vera narratio True Narrative of Lucian Namely how two little green boys †Ex Satyrorum genere born of Satyrs after a long tedious wandering through subterraneous Caverns from another world i.e. the Antipodes and the Land of St. Martin came up here If you would have more particulars of the story I refer you to the Author himself ‖ Omnibus rihonibus ridenda prâ—pinabit who
a petty Convent founded by the Bigrames A little way hence stands Awkenbury given by King John to David Earl of Huntingdon and by John Scot his son to Stephen Segrave Stephen Segrâ—â—e a person I 'm the more willing to mention because he was one of the Courtiers who have taught us * Nâ—â—â—am potenâ—â—am essâ—â—â—â—â—ntâ—m That no power is powerful With a great deal of pains he rais'd himself to a high post with as much trouble kept it and as suddenly lost it In his young days from a Clerk he was made Knight Matth. Pâ—â—â— and tho' he was but of a mean family yet in his latter days by his bold industry he so enrich'd and advanc'd himself that he was rank'd among the highest of the Nobility made Lord Chief Justice and manag'd almost all the Affairs of the Nation as he pleas'd At length he wholly lost all the King's favour and ended his days in a cloyster and he who out of pride must needs remove from ecclesiastical to secular Affairs was forc'd to reassume his ecclesiastical Office and shaven crown without so much as consulting his Bishop which he had formerly laid aside Not far off stands Leighton Leightâ—n where Sir Gervase Clifton Knight began a noble building h and just by lyes Spaldwick given to the Church of Lincoln by Henry 1. to make some amends for erecting Ely-Bishoprick out of Lincoln-Diocese The river Nen enters this Shire by Elton Elton f It is now the possession of John Proby Esquire the seat of the famous ancient family of the Sapcots where is a private Chapel of singular beauty with curious painted windows built by the Lady Elizabeth Dinham Baron Fitz-Warren's widow who marry'd into this family Higher upon the Nen nigh Walmsford Walmsford stood a little city of greater antiquity than all these call'd Caer Dorm and Dormeceaster by Henry of Huntingdon who says it was utterly ruin'd before his time Undoubtedly this is the Durobrivae Dâ—â—â—briâ—ae of Antonine that is the River-passage and now for the same reason call'd Dornford nigh Chesterton which besides the finding of old Coins has the apparent marks of a ruinous City For a Roman Port-way led directly from hence to Huntingdon and a little above Stilton Stiâ—ton formerly Stichilton it appears with a high bank and in an old Saxon Charter is call'd Erminstreat Ermiâ—gstreat Here it runs through the middle of a square fort defended on the north-side with walls on the rest with ramparts of Earth nigh which they 've lately digg'd up several stone Coffins or Sepulchres in g This Estate is now the joynt Inheritance of Sir John Hewet of Warsly in this County Baronet and John Dryden Esquire descended to them from the sisters of the last Sir Robert Bevile the ground of R. Bevill of an ancient family in this County Some think this city stood upon both banks of the river and others are of opinion Caster 〈◊〉 Nâ—r â—â—â—ptoâ—shâ— e that the little village Caster on the other side was part of it and truly this opinion is well back'd by an ancient history that says there was a place call'd Durmundcaster by Nene where Kinneburga founded a little Nunnery first call'd Kinneburge-caster and afterwards for shortness Caster This Kinneburga the most Christian daughter of the Pagan King Penda and Alfred King of the Northumber's wife chang'd her Soveraign Authority for Christ's service to use the words of an old writer and govern'd her own Nunnery as a mother to those sacred Virgins Which place about 1010 was level'd to the ground by the fury of the Danes A little before this river leaves the County it runs by an ancient House call'd Bottle bridge B â—â—â—â—-bridge for shortness instead of Botolph-bridge which the Draitons and Lovets brought from R. Gimels to the family of the Shirlies by hereditary succession Adjoyning to this lies Overton corruptly called Orton forfeited by Felony and redeem'd of K. John by Neale Lovetoft whose sister and coheir was married to Hubert or Robert de Brounford and their children took upon 'em the name of Lovetoft Earls of Hâ—ntingdon This County at the declining of the English-Saxons had Siward an Earl by office for then there were no hereditary Earls in England but the Governours of Provinces according to the custom of that age were call'd Earls with addition of the title of this or that Province they govern'd as this Siward the time he govern'd here was call'd Earl of Huntingdon but soon after when he govern'd Northumberland he was call'd Earl of Northumberland See â—he Eâ—â—ls â—f Noâ—thamptonshire He had a son call'd Waldeof who under the title of Earl had the government of this County by the favour of William the Conquerour whose niece Judith by his sister on the mother's side he had married This Waldeof's eldest daughter says William Gemeticensis was married to Simon ‖ â—â—vaneâ—â—erâ—◠〈◊〉 uâ—t câ—p â—6 de Senlys or St. Liz she brought him the Earldom of Huntingdon and had a son by him call'd Simon After her husband's decease she was married to David St. Maud the Queen of England's Brother who was afterwards King of Scotland by whom she had a son nam'd Henry Afterwards as Fortune and Princes Favours alter'd this Dignity was enjoy'd sometimes by the Scots and other times by the St. Lizes first Henry the son of David J â—n â—â—rdâ—â— in Scotâ—â—â—â—n co l. 3. â— 3. 6. 〈◊〉 3â— then Simon St. Lizes Simon the first 's son after him Malcolm King of Scotland Earl Henry's brother after his decease Simon St. Liz the third who dying without heirs was succeeded by William King of Scotland and Malcolm's Brother Thus says Ralph de Diceto in the year 1185. when he flourish'd When Simon Earl Simon 's son dy'd without children the King restor'd to William K. of Scotland the County of Huntingdon with all its appurtenances Then his brother David had it Matth. Par. and his son John Scot Earl of Chester who dy'd without heirs and when Alexander the second who marry'd King Henry the third's daughter had held this title a little while and the Wars broke in the Scots lost this honour besides a fair inheritance in England A good while after Edward the third created William Clinton Earl of Huntingdon Richard the second put Guiscard de Angolesme in his place and after his death John Holland He was succeeded by John 4 Who was stil'd Duke of Excester Earl of Huntingdon and Ivory Lord of Sparre Admiral of England and Ireland Lieutenant of Aquitain and Constable of the Tower of London and Henry his sons who were each of them also Dukes of Exeter See Dukes of Exeter pag. 32. Cap. 50. The same Henry Duke of Exeter that Philip Comines as he affirms saw begging bare-foot in the Low Countries whilst he kept firm to the House of Lancaster though he had married Edward the fourth 's own sister Next to him Thomas
I always thought came from the ancient Castilion family of the Earls of St. Paul â— Paul in France but the Coat of Arms of Luxemburgh that they bear is a sign that they came out of France since that Castilion family of St. Paul was by marriage ingrafted into that of Luxemburgh which was about two hundred years ago Above this the Trent the Idell and the Dan as they play along in their several streams thus Frontinus expresses it make a river Island Axelholme in Saxon Eaxelholme which is part of Lincolnshire in length from south to north 10 miles â—â—sholm but not past half so broad The lower part near the rivers is marshy and produces an odoriferous shrub call'd Gall 22 It yieldeth also Pets in the mores and dead roots of fir-wood which in burning give a rank sweet savour There also have been found great and long fir-trees while they digg'd for Pet both within the isle and also without at Laughton upon Trent bank the old habitation of the family of Dalanson now contractly call'd Dalison The middle has a small ascent and is both rich and fruitful yielding flax in great abundance and also Alabaster 〈◊〉 which being not very solid is more proper for lime and plaisterwork than for other uses â—â—â—aster The chief town was formerly call'd Axel now Axey from whence by adding the Saxon word Holme which among them signified a river-island the name without question was compounded It hardly deserves to be call'd a town 't is so thinly inhabited nevertheless there is to be seen a platform of a castle that was demolish'd in the Barons war and belonged to the Mowbrays who at that time had a great part of the island in their possession In the year 1173. Roger de Mowbray as the Author of an old Chronicle has it forsaking his allegiance to the Hâ—â—ry ◠〈◊〉 reâ—â— to his 〈◊〉 be â—â—gâ—r Elder King repair'd a Castle formerly demolish'd in the Isle Axelholme near Kinard ferry which Castle a great number of Lincolnshire-men passing over in boats besieged and compell'd the Constable and all the soldiers to surrender and laid it level with the ground A little higher lies Botterwic the owner whereof 23 Sir Edmund Sheffeld Edmund Sheffeld was the first Baron of that family created by Edward the sixth and lost his life for his Country against the Norfolk rebels having by Anne Vere a daughter of the Earl of Oxford John the second Baron father to Edmund who is now Knight of the most noble Order of the Garter 24 President of the Council establish'd in the north More northward on the other side of Trent is Burton Stather of which I have not as yet read any thing remarkable Since Egga who liv'd in the year 710 and Morcar both Saxons that were only Officiary Earls this County has given the title of Earl to William de Romara a Norman Earls of Lincoln after whose death for this title was never enjoy'd by his son who died before him nor by his grandson King Stephen conferr'd it on Gilbert de Gaunt who succeeded him but he dying Simon de St. Licius the younger son of Earl Simon you have the very words of Robert Montensis who lived about that time when he wanted lands 2 Hen. 2. receiv'd from King Henry 2. his only daughter to wife together with his honour Afterwards Lewis of France who was call'd into England by the rebellious Barons created another Gilbert of the de Gaunts family Earl of Lincoln but as soon as Lewis was forc'd away and he found himself acknowledg'd Earl by no man he quitted the title of his own accord Then Ralph the sixth Earl of Chester had this honour granted him by King Henry 3. and a little before his death gave by Charter to Hawise his sister wife of Robert de Quincy the Earldom of Lincoln so far forth as it appertain'd to him that she might be Countess thereof for so are the veâ—y words of the Charter She in like manner bestow'd it on John de Lacy Constable of Chester and the heirs he should beget on Margaret her daughter This John begat Edmund who dying before his mother left this honour to be enjoy'd by Henry his son the last Earl of this family For when he lost his sons by untimely deaths he contracted his only daughter Alice when but nine years old to Edmund Earl of Lancaster on condition that if he should dye without issue of his body or if they should dye without heirs of their bodies his Castles Lordships L iger-bâ—ok of Stanlow c. should come in the remainder to Edmund Earl of Lancaster and his heirs for ever But this Alice having no children by her husband Thomas who was beheaded lost her reputation by her light behaviour for that she without the K.'s consent was married to 25 Sir Eubul Eubulo Le-Strange Edw. 2. with whom she had been formerly somewhat too intimate for which reason the offended King seiz'd her estate 26 Yet both Sir Eubul Strange and Sir Hugh Frene her third husband are in some Records nam'd Earls of Lincoln But Alice being very old and dying without issue Henry Earl of Lancaster grandchild to Edmund by his second son had this her large patrimony by virtue of the aforesaid conveyance and from this time it became the inheritance of the house of Lancaster Nevertheless the Kings of England have conferr'd on several the title of Earl of Lincoln as Edward 4. on 27 Sir John John De-la-pole and Henry 8. on Henry Brandon who were both sons of the Dukes of Suffolk and died without issue Then Qu. Eliz. promoted to this honour See Dukes of Suffolk Edward Baron Clinton Lord High Admiral of England by whose very honourable son Henry 't is at present enjoy'd There are in this County about 630 Parishes ADDITIONS to LINCOLNSHIRE a THE corner of this County where Mr. Camden begins his survey seems formerly to have been a very inconsiderable or rather no part of it For as he observes from the banks there that the sea must once have come something farther so Mr. Dugdale putting Holland in the same number with Marshland in Norfolk and some other maritime places plainly proves that they have been long ago by great industry gain'd from the sea and were for many ages nothing but a vast and deep fen affording little benefit to the nation besides fish or fowl b As to the original of the name I shall not make the least scruple to joyn this and Holland â—â—lland in the Netherlands together agreeing so exactly in their situation soil and most other circumstances setting aside the difference of improvements which no doubt are much more considerable in one than the other but are nothing to our purpose so long as the primitive state of both was much the same Mr. Butler's conjecture drawn from the Saxon holt a wood and Ingulphus's Hoilandia which has given
in a winding chanel sometimes broad and sometimes narrow runs through many Counties as we have already observed The chief families are the O Rorcks O Murreies Mac Lochleims Mac Glanchies and Mac Granells all pure Irish John de Burgo the son of Richard Earl of Clan-Ricard who was made Baron Letrim Baron Letrim by Queen Elizabeth and soon after slain by some malicious rivals took his title as some say from another place and not from this Letrim and I have not certainly discovered the truth of that matter The County of ROSCOMAN BElow Letrim to the south lyes the County of Roscoman first made by Henry Sidney Lord Deputy of great length but very narrow bounded on the west by the river Suc on the east by the Shanon and on the north by the Curlew mountains Curlew-â—ountains This is for the most part a Champian country fertile well stock'd with cattle and ever plentiful in its corn-harvests if assisted with a little good husbandry and tillage Towards the north are the Curlew-mountains steep and unpassable till with much pains and difficulty a way was cut through them by George Bingham and famous for the slaughter of 35 Sir Coniers Clifford Coniers Clifford Governor of Conaught and other brave old soldiers cut off there not very long since by his negligence There are four Baronies in this County first the Barony of Boile Barony of Boile under the Curlew-mountains upon the Shanon where formerly stood a famous monastery founded in the year 1152 together with the Abbey of Beatitude * Mac-Dermot quasi rerum potitur Balin Tober This is the Seigniory of Mac Dermot Next the Barony of Balin Tobar upon the Suc where O Conor Dun has the chief power and interest neighbouring upon the Bishoprick of Elphin Lower down lyes Roscoman Roscoman the Barony of O Conor Roo that is Conor the red wherein stands the head town of this County fortified with a castle built by Robert Ufford Lord Chief Justice of Ireland the houses of the town are all thatch'd More southward lyes Athlone Athlone the Barony of the O-Kellies so called from the principal town in it which has a castle a garison and a fair stone bridge built within the memory of this age by Henry Sidney Lord Deputy at the command of Queen Elizabeth who designed to make this the seat of the Lord Deputy as most convenient to suppress insurrections The Lords of CONAGHT IT appears by the Irish Histories that Turlogh O Mor O Conor formerly reigned over this Country and divided it between his two sons Cahel and Brien But when the English invaded Ireland it was governed by Rotheric under the title of Monarch of Ireland who was so apprehensive of the English power that he submitted himself to King Henry the second without the hazard of a battle Soon after he revolted and thereupon Conaght was first invaded by Milo-Cogan an English man but without success However the King of Conaght was reduced to such straits that he was fain to acknowledge himself a liege-man of the King of England's Rog. Hove ac 1175. p. 312. Claus 7. Joâ—nnis so as to serve him faithfully as his man and pay him yearly for every ten head of cattle one hide vendible c. Yet by the grant of King John he was to have and to hold the third part of Conaght to him and his heirs for 100 marks However this County was first subdued and civilized by William Fitz-Adelme whose posterity is the De Burgo's in Latin or as the Irish call them the Burks and Bourks Robert Muscogros Gilbert Clare Earl of Glocester and William de Bermingham William de Burgo or Bourks and his posterity under the title of Lords of Conaght governed this and the County of Ulster for a long time in great peace and enjoyed considerable revenues from them But at last it went out of the family by the only daughter of William de Burgo sole heir to Conaght and Ulster who was married to Leonel Duke of Clarence son to King Edward the third He generally residing in England as well as his successors the Mortimers this estate in Ireland was neglected so that the Bourks The Bourks their relations and stewards here finding their Lords absent and England embroiled at that time confederated with the Irish by leagues and marriages seized upon almost all Conaght as their own and by little and little degenerated into the Irish barbarity Those of them descended from Richard de Burgo are called Clan Ricard others Mac William Oughter i.e. Higher others Mac William Eughter i.e. Lower So those of greatest interest in the County of Maio were simply called Mac William assumed as a title of much honour and authority as descended from William de Burgo already mentiond 36 Under countenance of which name they for a long time tyranniz'd over the poor Inhabitants with most grievous exactions ULSTER ALL that part of the Country beyond the mouth of the river Boyn the County of Meath and Longford and the mouth of the river Ravie on the North make up the fifth part of Ireland called in Latin Ultonia and Ulidia in English Ulster in Irish Cui Guilly i.e. Province of Guilly and in Welsh Ultw In Ptolemy's time it was wholly peopl'd by the Voluntii Darni Robogdii and the Erdini This is a large Province water'd with many considerable loughs shelter'd with huge woods fruitful in some places and barren in others yet very green and sightly in all parts and well stock'd with Cattle But as the soil for want of culture is rough and barren so the Inhabitants for want of education and discipline a This is to be understood of the Irish Inhabitants who are now so routed out and destroyed by their many Rebellions and by the accession of Scots who for the most part inhabit this Province that there are not supposed to be left 10000 Irish able and sit to bear Arms in all Ulster are very wild and barbarous Yet to keep them in subjection and order for neither the bonds of justice modesty nor other duty could restrain them this hither part was formerly divided into three Counties Louth Down and Antrimme and now the rest is divided into these seven Counties Cavon Fermanagh Monaghan Armagh Colran Tir Oen and Donegall or Tirconell by the provident care of 37 Sir John John Perott Lord Deputy Jo. Perot Lord Deputy 1585. a man truly great and famous and thoroughly acquanted with the temper of this Province For being sensible that nothing would more effectually appease the tumults of Ireland than a regulation and settlement of these parts of Ulster he went himself in person thither in that troublesome and dangerous time when the Spanish descent was so much expected there and in England and by his gravity and authority while he took care to punish injurious actions which are ever the great causes of dissention and War gain'd so much respect among
Trinity appear'd to him saying Why hast thou cast me out of my own Seat and out of the Church of Doun and plac'd there my S. Patrick the Patron of Ireland For John Curcy had expell'd the Secular Canons out of the Cathedral Church of Doun and introduc'd the black Monks of Chester in their room And the Holy Trinity stood there upon a stately Shrine and John himself took it down out of the Church and order'd a Chappel to be built for it setting up the Image of S. Patrick in the great Church which displeas'd the most-high God Wherefore he bid him assure himself he should never set foot in his Seignory again However in regard of other good Deeds he should be deliver'd out of Prison with Honour which happen'd accordingly For a Controversy arising between John King of England and the King of France about a Lordship and certain Castles the King of France offer'd by a Champion to try his Right Upon this the King call'd to mind his valiant Knight John Curcy whom he cast in Prison upon the information of others so he sent for him and ask'd him if he were able to serve him in this Combat John answer'd He would not fight for him but for the Right of the Kingdom with all his Heart which he undertook to do afterwards And so refresh'd himself with Meat Drink and Bathing in the mean while and recover'd his Strength Whereupon a day was appointed for the Engagement of those Champions namely John Curcy and the other But as soon as the Champion of France heard of his great Stomach and mighty Valour he refus'd the Combat and the said Seignory was given to the King of England The King of France then desired to see a Blow of the said Curcy Whereupon he set a strong Helmet * Plenan loricis full of Mail upon a large Block and with his Sword after he had look'd about him in a grim manner struck the Helmet through from the very Crest into the Block so very fast that no one therâ— was able to pull it out till he himself at the request of the twâ— Kings did it easily Then they ask'd him Why he look'd so gruâ— behind him before he struck So he told them If he had fail'd iâ— giving it he would have certainly cut them all off as well Kingâ— as others The Kings made him large Presents and the King of Englanâ— restor'd him also to his Seigniory viz. Ulster John Curcy attempteâ— 15 several times to sail over into Ireland but was always in danger and the Wind cross'd him so he waited awhile among the Monk of Chester and at last sail'd into France and there died MCCV. The Abby of Wetheny in the County of Limerick was founded by Theobald the Son of Walter Butler Lord oâ— Carryk MCCVI. The Order of Friars Minors was begun near the Ciâ—â— Assisa by S. Francis MCCVIII William de Brewes was banish'd out of England anâ— came into Ireland England was interdicted for the Tyranny 〈◊〉 King John A great defeat and slaughter was given at Thurles iâ— Munster by Sir Geffery Mareys to the Lord Chief Justice of Inland's Men. MCCX John King of England came to Ireland with a greâ—â— Fleet and a strong Army and the Sons of Hugh Lacy viz. thâ— Lord Walter Lord of Meth and Hugh his Brother for their Tâ—ranny but particularly for the Murder of Sir John Courson Loâ—â— of Rathenny and Kilbarrock for they had heard that the saâ—â— John accus'd them to the King were driven out of the Nation So they fled into France and serv'd in the Monasteries of S. Taurâ—â— unknown being employ'd in Clay or Brick-work and sometimâ—â— in Gardens as Gardeners But at length they were discover'd bâ— the Abbot who intreated the King on their behalf for he haâ— baptiz'd their Sons and had been as a Father to them in manâ— things So Walter Lacy paid two thousand fâ—ve hundred Markâ— and Hugh Lacy a great Sum of Mony likewise for their Ransom and they were restor'd again to their former Degree and Lordshiâ— by the Abbot's Intercession Walter Lacy brought with him Johâ— the son of Alured i.e. Fitz-Acory Son to the aforesaid Abboâ— whole Brother and Knighted him giving him the Seignory 〈◊〉 Dengle and many others Moreover he brought Monks with hiâ— out of the said Monastery and bestow'd many Farms upon theâ— with the Cell call'd Foury for their Charity Liberality and gooâ— Counsel Hugh Lacy Earl of Ulster built a Cell also for tâ—â— Monks in Ulster and endow'd it in a place call'd John King 〈◊〉 England having taken many Hostages as well of the English as 〈◊〉 the Irish and hang'd a number of Malefactors upon Gibbets aâ—â— setled Affairs return'd into England the same Year MCCXI. Sir Richard Tuyt was crush'd to death by the fall of Tower at Alone He founded the Monastery de Grenard MCCXII The Abby of Grenard was founded This saâ—â— year died John Comyn Archbishop of Dublin and was burieâ— within the Quire of Trinity Church he built S. Patrick's Churâ—â— at Dublin Henry Londres succeeded him sirnam'd Scorch-Villeyâ— from an Action of his For having call'd in his Tenants one daâ— to know by what Tenure they held of him they show'd him the Deeds and Charters to satisfie him whereupon he order'd them to be burnt and hence got the name of Scorch-Villeyn given him by his Tenants This Henry Archbishop of Dublin was Justiciary of Ireland and built Dublin-castle MCCXIII William Petit and Peter Messet departed this life Peter Messet was Baron of Luyn hard by Trim but dying without Heir-male the Inheritance fell to the three Daughters of whom the Lord Vernail married the eldest Talbot the second and Loundres the third who by this means shar'd the Inheritance among them MCCXIX The City of Damieta was miraculously won on the Nones of September about Midnight without the loss of one Christian The same year died William Marshall the Elder Earl Marshal and Earl of Pembrock * The Genealogy â—f the Earl Marshall who by his Wife the Daughter of Richard Strongbow Earl of Strogul had five Sons The eldest was call'd William the second Walter the third Gilbert the fourth Anselm and the fifth Richard who lost his Life in â—he War of Kildare every one of them successively enjoy'd the â—nheritance of their Father and died all without Issue So the Inâ—eritance devolv'd upon the Sisters namely the Daughters of their Father who were Maud Marshall the Eldest Isabel Clare the seâ—ond Eva Breous the third Joan Mount Chensey the fourth and Sibill Countess of Firrars the fifth Maud Marshall was married to Hugh Bigod Earl of Norfolk who was Earl Marshal of England â—n right of his Wife By whom he had Ralph Bigod Father of John Bigod the Son of the Lady Bertha Furnival and * The Widow of Gilbert Lacy. Isabel Lacy Wife to John Lord Fitz-Geffery by whom after the death of Hugh de Bigod Earl of Norfolk she had John de Guaren Earl of Surry
Litanies of the Church there was afterwards inserted From the fury of the Danes Good Lord deliver us They brought the French to such extremities that Carolus Calvus was forc'd to buy a truce of Hasting the commander of the Norman Pirates with the Earldom of Chartres and Carolus Crassus gave Godfrid the Norman part of Neustria with his daughter At last by force of arms they fix'd near the mouth of the Seine in those parts which formerly by a corruption had been call'd Neustria Neustria as being part of Westrasia for so the middle-age writers term it the Germans stil'd it Westenriich i.e. the Western kingdom it contains all between the Loyre and the Seine to the sea-ward They afterwards call'd it Normannia i.e. the Country of the Northern men so soon as Carolus Simplex had made a grant of it in Fee to their Prince Rollo whose Godfather he was and had given him his daughter to wife When Rollo as we are inform'd by an old Manuscript belonging to the Monastery of Angiers had Normandy made over to him by Carolus Stultus with his daughter Gisla he would not submit to kiss Charles's foot And when his friends urg'd him by all means to kiss the King's foot in gratitude for so great a favour he made answer in the English tongue NE SE BY GOD that is No by God Upon which the King and his Courtiers deriding him and corruptly repeating his answer call'd him Bigod Bigod from whence the Normans are to this day term'd Bigodi For the same reason 't is possible the French call hypocrites and your superstitious sort of men Bigods This Rollo who at his Baptism was named Robert is by some thought to have turn'd Christian out of design only but by others not without deliberation and piety These latter add that he was mov'd to it by God in a Dream which tho' Dreams are a thing I do not give much heed to I hope I may relate without the imputation of vanity as I find it attested by the writers of that age The story goes that as he was a sleep in the ship he saw himself deeply infâ—cted with the leprosie but washing in a clear spring at the bottom of a high hill he recover'd and afterwards went up to the hilâ—'s top This he told a Christian captive in the same ship who gave him the following interpretation of it That the Leprâ—sie was the abominable worship of Idols with which he was defiâ—'d the Spring was the holy laver of regeneration wherewith being once cleans'd he might climb the mountain that is attain to great honour and heaven it self Dukes of No mandy This Rollo had a son call'd William but sirnam'd Longa Spata from a long sword he us'd to wear William's son was Richard the first of that name who was succeeded by his son and grand-child both Richards But Richard the third dying without issue his brother Robert came to the Dukedom and had a son by his concubine nam'd William who is commonly called the Conqueror and Bastard All these were Princes very eminent for their atchievements both at home and abroad Whilst William come to man's estate was Duke of Normandy Edward the Holy sirnam'd Confessâ—r King of England and last of the Saxon Line to the great grief of his subjects departed this life He was son of Emma a Cousin of William's as being daughter to Richard the first Duke of Normandy and whilst he liv'd under banishment in Normandy had made William a promise of the next reversion of the Crown of England But Harold the son of Godwin and Steward of the Houshold under Edward got possession of the Crown upon which his brother Tosto on one hand and the Normans Normans on the other lay out their utmost endeavours to dethrone him After he had slain his brother Tosto and Harald King of Norwey whom Tosto had drawn in to his assistance in a set-battle near Stamford-bridge in Yorkshire and so tho' not without great damage had gain'd the victory within less than nine days William sirnam'd Bastard Duke of Normandy building upon the promises of Edward lately deceas'd as also upon his adoption and relation to Edward rais'd a powerful army and landed in England in Sussex Harold presently advanc'd towards him tho' his soldiers were harrass'd and his army very much weaken'd by the late fight Not far from Hastings they engag'd where Harold putting himself forward into the heat of the battle and showing great courage lost his life Abundance of the English were slain tho' it would be almost impossible to find out the exact number William after he had won the day march'd through Walingford with a barbarous army towards London where he was receiv'd and inaugurated Charter of William the Conqueror The kingdom as himself expresses it being by divine Providence design'd for him and granted by the favour of his Lord and Cousin the glorious King Edward And a little after he adds That the bounteous King Edward had by adoption made him heir to the Crown of England Tho' if the history of S. Stephen of Caen may be credited these were the last words he spoke upon his death-bed History of St. Stephen's Monastery at Caen in Normandy The Regal Diadem which none of my Predecessors wore I gain'd not by any hereditary title but by the favour of Almighty God And a little after I name no heir to the crown of England but commend it wholly to the eternal Creator whose I am and in whose hands are all things 'T was not an hereditary right that put me in possession of this honour but by a desperate engagement and much blood-shed I wrested it from that perjur'd King Harold and having slain or put to flight all his abettors made my self Master of it But why am I thus short upon so considerable a revolution of the British State If you can but have the patience to read it take what I drew up 't is possible with little accuracy or thought but however with the exactness of an history when raw and young very unfit for such an undertaking I had a design to write the history of our nation in Latin The Norman Conquest EDward the Confessor's dying without issue put the Nobility and Commonalty into a great distraction about naming the new King Edgar commonly called Aetheling Edmund Ironside's * * Abnâ—pos ex fâ—â—io great great grandchild by his son was the only person left of the Saxon Line and as such had an hereditary title to the Crown But his tender years were thought altogether uncapable of government and besides his temper had in it a mixture of foreign humours as being born in Hungary the son of Agatha daughter to the Emperor Henry the third who was at too great a distance to bear out the young boy either with assistance or advice Upon these accounts he was not much respected by the English who valu'd themselves upon nothing more than to have a
King chose as it were out of their own body The general inclination was towards Harold Godwin's son much fam'd for his admirable conduct both in Peace and war For tho' the nobleness of his Birth lay but on one side his father having by treason and plunder render'd himself eternally infamous yet what by his courteous language and easie humour his liberal temper and warlike courage he strangely insinuated himself into the affections of the people As no one threw himself into danger with more chearfulness so in the greatest extremities no man was so ready with advice He had so signaliz'd his courage and success in the Welsh wars which he had some time before happily brought to an end that he was look'd upon as a most accomplish'd General and seem'd to be born on purpose to settle the English Government Moreover 't was hop'd the Danes who were at that time the only dread of this nation would be more favourable to him as being the son of Githa Sister to Sueno King of Denmark From what â—ther parts soever attempts whether foreign or domestick might be made upon him he seem'd sufficiently secur'd against them by the affections of the Commonalty and his relation to the Nobility He married the sister of Morcar and Edwin who at that time bore by much the greatest sway and Edric sirnam'd the Wild a man of an high spirit and great authority was his near kinsman It fell out too very luckily that at the same time Sueno the Dane should be engag'd in the Suedish wars and there was an ill understanding between William the Norman and Philip King of France For Edward the Confessor while he lived under banishment in Normandy had made this William an express promise of the Crown in case himself died without issue And Harold who was then kept prisoner in Normandy was bound under a strict oath to see it perform'd and made this one part of the conditon that he might marry the Duke's daughter For these reasons a great many thought it most advisable to make a present of the Crown to the Duke of Normandy that by discharging the promise they might prevent both the war that then threatned them and destruction the certain punishment of perjury as also that by the accession of Normandy to England the government might be established in the hands of so great a Prince and the interest of the nation very much advanc'd But Harold quickly cut off all debates that look'd that way for finding that delays would be dangerous the very day Edward was bury'd contrary to all mens expectation he possessed himself of the government and with the applause of those about him who proclaimed him King without all ceremony of inauguration put on the diadem with his own hands This action of his very much disgusted the Clergy who looked upon it as a breach of Religion But as he was sensible how difficult it was for a young Prince to establish his government without the reputation of piety and virtue to cancel that crime and to settle himself on the throne he bent all his thoughts towards promoting the interest of the Church and the dignity of Monasteries He show'd Edgar Aetheling Earl of Oxford and the rest of the Nobility all the favour imaginable he eas'd the people of a great part of their taxes he bestowed vast sums of money upon the poor and in short what by the smoothness of his discourse patience in hearing others and equity in all causes he gained himself a wonderful love and authority So soon as William Duke of Normandy had certain intelligence of those matters he pretended to be infinitely afflicted for the death of Edward when all the while the thing that lay upon his stomach was his being disappointed of England which he had so long promised himself Without more ado by advice of his Council he sends over Embassadors to remind Harold of his promise and engagement and to demand the Crown Harold after mature deliberation returned him this answer That as to Edward's promise the Crown of England could not be disposed of by promise nor was he obliged to take notice of it since he governed by right of election and not any hereditary claim And for what concerned his engagement that was plainly extorted by force treachery and the fear of perpetual imprisonment did likewise tend to the manifest damage of the Nation and infringe the privileges of the Nobility and therefore he look'd upon it as null in it self That if he could make good his promise he ought not or if he would that it was not in his power being made without the knowledge of the King or concurrence of the People That the demand seem'd highly unreasonable for him to surrender the government to a Norman Prince who was altogether a stranger when he had been invested with it by the unanimous consent of all Orders The Norman Duke did not very well relish this answer but plainly perceived that Harold was seeking out ways to avoid the perjury Upon which he sent over another Embassy on the same errand to put him in mind of the strictness of his Oath and that damnation from God and disgrace among men are the certain rewards of perjury But because William's daughter who as betroth'd to Harold was a tye upon him for the discharge of his promise was now dead they were entertained with so much the more coldness and returned with the same answer as the first In all appearance there was nothing like to ensue but open war Harold prepares a fleet levies soldiers places garisons upon the sea-coasts as he sees convenient in short omits nothing which may any way contribute towards repelling the Normans In the mean time what was never before so much as thought of the first storm of the War comes from Tosto Harold's own brother He was a man of a high spirit and cruel temper and had for some time presided over the Kingdom of Northumberland with great insolence till at last for his barbarous dealings with inferiors impudent carriage towards his Prince and a mortal hatred to his own brethren he was cashiered by Edward the Confessor and went over into France And at this juncture push'd forward in all probability by Baldwin Earl of Flanders drawn in by William Duke of Normandy for Tosto and William had married two of Earl Baldwin's daughters he declares open war against his brother whom he had for a long time mortally hated He set out from Flanders with 60 sail of Pirate-vessels wasted the Isle of Wight and very much infested the Kentish coast but being frighted at the approach of the Royal Navy he set sail and steered his course towards the more remote parts of England landed in Lincolnshire and plundered that County There he was engaged by Edgar and Morcar and defeated then made for Scotland with a design to renew the war Now were all thoughts in suspence with the expectation of a double assault one from Scotland another from
word without offence profaned The Degrees of ENGLAND AS to the division of our State it consists of a King or Monarch the Nobles Citizens Free-men which we call Yeomen and Tradesmen The KING The King stiled by our Ancestors Coning and Cyning e Either relating to cene which in Saxon signifies stout valiant c. or to cunnan which signifies to know or understand from whence a designing subtle man is called a Cunning man a name under which is coucht both power and wisdom by us contracted into King has in these Kingdoms the supreme power and a meer government nor holds he his Empire by vassalage neither does he receive Investiture from another nor own any superior Bracton l. 1. c. 8. but God And as that Oracle of Law has delivered it Every one is under him and himself under none but only God He has very many Rights of Majesty peculiar to himself which the learned in the law term The Holy of Holies and Individuals because they are inseparable but the common people The King's Prerogative and those they tell us are denoted by the flowers in the King's Crown Some of these the King enjoys by a written Law others by Right of custom which without a law is established by a tacit consent of the whole body and surely he deserves them Seneca since by his watchfulness every man's house by his labour every man's ease by his industry every one's pleasure and by his toil every one's recreation is secured to him But these things are too sublime to belong properly to my business Next the King is his eldest son and as he amongst the Romans that was designed for the Successor The Prince was first called Prince of the youth * Princeps juventutis and as flattery prevail'd afterwards Caesar Noble Caesar and the most noble Caesar so ours was by our Saxon Ancestors termed Aetheling Aetheling i.e. noble and in Latin Clyto Clyto from the Greek 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 famous that age affecting the Greek tongue Upon which that saying concerning Eadgar the last heir male of the English Crown is still kept up Eadgar Eðeling Englands Searling i.e. Eadgar the noble England's darling And in the antient Latin Charters of the Kings we often read Ego E. vel AE Clyto the King's son But the name of Clyto I have observed to be given to the King's children in general After the Norman Conquest he had no standing honorary title nor any other that I know of but barely The King's Son or The King's eldest Son till Edward I. summoned to Parliament his son Edward under the title of Prince of Wales Prince of Wales and Earl of Chester to whom he granted also afterwards the Dukedom of Aquitain And this when he came to be King Edward II. summoned his son Edward to Parliament then scarce ten years old under the title of Earl of Chester and Flint But that Edward coming to the Crown created Edward his son a most accomplisht soldier Duke of Cornwal since which time the King 's eldest son f If he be eldest son but if the first dies the second is not born to the same Title See concerning this in the Notes upon Cornwall p. 15 is born Duke of Cornwall And a little after he honoured the same person with the title of Prince of Wales by a solemn Investiture The Principality of Wales was conferred upon him in these words to be held by him and his heirs Kings of England And as the heirs apparent of the Roman Empire were as I observed but just now called Caesars of the Grecian Despotae Lords those of the Kingdom of France Dauphins and of Spain Infantes so those of England have been since that time stiled Princes of Wales And that title continued till the time of Henry VIII when Wales was entirely united to the Kingdom of England But now the formerly divided Kingdoms of Britain being reduced into one under the government of the most potent King James his eldest son Henry the darling and delight of Britain is called Prince of Great Britain whom as nature has made capable of the greatest things so that God would bless him with the highest virtues and a lasting honour that his success may outdo both our hopes of him as also the atchievements and high character of his forefathers by a long and prosperous Reign is the constant and hearty prayer of all Britain Our Nobles are divided into Greater and Less The Greater Nobles we call Dukes Marquesses Earls and Barons who either enjoy these titles by an hereditary claim or have them conferred on them by the King as a reward of their merits A DUKE A Dukâ— is the next title of honour to the Prince At first this was a name of office not of honour About the time of Aelius Verus those who were appointed to guard the Frontiers were first called Dukes and this title in Constantine's time was inferiour to that of a Count. After the destruction of the Roman Empire this title still continued to be the name of an Office and those amongst us who in the Saxon times are stiled Dukes in such great numbers by the antient Charters are in the English tongue only called Ealdormen The same also who are named Dukes are likewise termed Counts for instance most people call William the Conqueror of England Duke of Normandy whereas William of Malmesbury writes him Count of Normandy However that both Duke and Count were names of Office Mar. â—â— Formaâ— is plain from the form of each's creation which we find in Marculph an antient writer The Royal clemency is particularly signalized upon this account that among all the people the good and the watchful are singled out nor is it convenient to commit the judiciary power to any one who has not first approved his loyalty and valour Since weâ—t therefore seem to have sufficiently experienced your fidelity and usefulness we commit to you the power of a Count Duke or Patriciâ—us President in that Lordship which your predecessor governed to act in and rule over it Still upon this condition that you are entirely true to our government and all the people within those limits may live under and be swayed by your government and authority and that you rule justly according to law and their own customs that you zealously protect widows and orphans that you severely punish the crimes of robbers and malefactors so that those who live regularly under your government may be cheerful and undisturbed and that whatever profit arises from such actions to the Exchequer you your self bring yearly into our coffers It began to be an honorary title under Otho the Great â—gâ—ius l. 〈◊〉 Regni â—â—lici about the year 970. For he in order to bind valiant and prudent persons more effectually to his own interest honour'd them with what he call'd Râ—gelia Royalties Those Royalties were either Dignities or Lands in Fee The
Dignities were those of Dukes Marquisses Counts Captains Valvasors and Valvasins An hereditary title came but late into France not before Philip 3. King of France granted that for the future they should be called Dukes of Britain who were before stiled promiscuously Dukes and Counts But in England in the Norman times when the Norman Kings themselves were Dukes of Normandy there were none had that honour conferr'd upon them for a long time till Edward 3. created Edward his son Duke of Cornwall by a wreath on his head a ring on his finger and a A gold â—erge afâ—â—â—wards â—â—me into 〈◊〉 and a †silver verge as the Dukes of Normandy were formerly by a sword and a banner delivered to them and afterwards by girding the sword of the Dutchy and by a circlet of gold garnished on the top with little golden roses And the same King Edward 3. â—t Paris â—cernâ— John â—aâ—ed D. Norâ—â—ndy created his two sons Leonel Duke of Clarence and John Duke of Lancaster in Parliament By the putting on a sword setting upon their heads a furr'd cap with a circle of gold set with pearls and by the delivery of a Charter After this he created several and there have been now and then hereditary Dukes made in this Kingdom with such like expressions in the Charter the name title state stile place seat preheminence honour authority and dignity of a Duke we give and grant and do really invest you with them by the putting on a sword setting a cap with a golden circle upon your head and the delivery of a golden verge â—â—rquis A MARQUISS i.e. g From the Saxon mearc a bound and mearcan mearcian to set out mark distinctly c. in the same language according to the import of the word one set to guard the limits is a title of honour the second from a Duke This title we had but late none being invested with it before the time of Richard 2. For he created his darling Robert Vere Earl of Oxford Marquiss of Dublin and that was merely titular For those who were formerly to secure the frontiers were commonly called Lord Marchers and not Marquisses as we now stile them They are created by the King by girding on a sword putting on a Cap of honour and dignity 1 With the Coronet Hol. and delivering a Charter And here I shall take the liberty of relating what I find register'd in the Parliament-rolls â—â—m 4. When John de Beaufort Earl of Somerset was made Marquiss of Dorset by Richard 2. and was deprived of that title by Henry 4. the Commons of England in Parliament made an humble Request to the King that he would restore to him the title of Marquiss but he himself opposed his own cause and openly declared that it was an upstart dignity altogether unknown to our Ancestors and therefore that he did not by any means desire it nay utterly refused it â—â—s The EARLS which hold the third place we seem to have had from our German Ancestors For as Tacitus tells us they had always â—â—mites Earls attending their Princes to furnish them with counsel and to gain them authority But others are of opinion that both the Franks and we received them from the Romans For the Emperors after the Empire was come to its height began to keep about them a sort of domestick Senate which was call'd Caesar's †Comitatus retinue and these by whose counsel they acted in war and peace were called Comites Attendants from whence we find it common in old Inscriptions Comiti Impp. This name in a few years prevailed so much that all Magistrates had the name of Comites * Qui sacrum Comitatum observarunt Parati ad Cod. who gave their attendance at the said Council or had been of it insomuch that it was afterwards extended to all who had the supervisal of any business and Suidas as Cujacius has told us defined Comes 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 a Governour of the people From whence also we gather that before Constantine the Great the name of Comes was not used to denote Dignity But he modelling the Roman government by new distinctions and endeavouring to oblige as many as possible by bestowing honours upon them first instituted the title of Comes as barely honorary without any duty nay there were certain rights and privileges annex'd to that title as to accompany the Prince not only when he appeared in publick but also in his palace and private retirements to be admitted to his table and to his secret consultations Upon which we read in Epiphanius 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 c. i.e. Who also had obtained of the King the Dignity of a Count. At length such as had the favour of this title had other honours conferr'd upon them to which some duty was annext and again to those who were before in Offices and were engaged in the affairs of State he added this piece of honour 2 Comes domesticorum Lord Great Master of the Houshold Comes sacrarum largitiâ—num Lord High Treasurer Comes sacrae vestis Master of the Wardrobe Comes Stabuli Master of the Horse Comes Thesauri Tresurer Comes Orientis Lieutenant of the East Comes Britannia Comes Africa c. Hol. Hereupon the name of Count implied both Dignity and Government and being at first but temporary it was afterwards for term of life But when the Roman Government was divided into several Kingdoms this title was still retained and our Saxons call'd those in Latin Comites which in their own tongue were named Ealdormen The same persons were stil'd by the Danes in their language Eorlas i.e. honourable men Eorles at this day Earles P. Pithaeus in his Memorabilia Campania as Ethelwerd tells us and by a little melting of that word we call them at this day Earls And for a long time they were simply so called till at last an addition was made of the place's name over which they had jurisdiction But still this Dignity was not yet hereditary The first hereditary Earls in France by the way were the Earls of Bretagne But when William the Norman and Conqueror had in his hands the Government of this Kingdom the Earls began to be Feudal hereditary and patrimonial and those too as appears from Domesday were stil'd simply Earls without any addition as Earl Hugh Earl Alan Earl Roger c. Afterwards as appears by ancient Records the Earls were created with an addition of the name of the place and had every third penny of the County assigned them For instance Mawd the Empress daughter and heir of King Henry 1. created an Earl by this form of words as is manifest from the very Charter now in my hands I Mawd daughter of K. Henry and Governess of the English do give and grant to Gaufred de Magnavilla for his service and to his heirs after him hereditarily the Earldom of Essex and that he have the third penny out
of the Sheriff's Court issuing out of all pleas as an Earl ought to receive from his County in all things And this is the most ancient Creation-Charter I ever saw Likewise Hen. II. King of England created an Earl in these words Know ye that we have made Hugh Bigod Earl of Norfolk namely of the third penny of Norwie and Norfolk so that no Earl in England shall hold his County more freely Which an ancient Book belonging to Battle-Abbey explains thus It was an ancient custom through all England that the Earls of Counties should have the third penny for their own use from whence they were call'd Comites Earls And another anonymous Author delivers it more distinctly Comitatus is call'd from Comes or else this from the former Now he is Comes an Earl because he enjoys in every County the third part of the profits arising from the Pleas. But yet all Earls do not enjoy them but such only who have them granted by the King hereditarily or personally So that Polidore Virgil as to the custom of the present age delivers this matter right It is a custom in England that titles from Counties shall be disposed of at the pleasure of the Prince even without the possession of such places from whence they derive their title Upon which account the King usually gives to such as have no possessions in the County in lieu of that a certain annual pension out of the Exchequer They were formerly created without any farther ceremony than the bare delivery of the Charter Under Stephen who seiz'd the Crown whilst the Kingdom was embroiled with civil wars there were several who seized the title of Earl whom the History of the Church of Waverly calls * Psâ—udocomites false Earls and imaginary Earls where it tells us how Henry 2. ejected them But King John as far as my observation has carried me was the first that used the girding with a sword Girding with a sword For Roger of Hoveden writes thus King John on his Coronation-day girt William Marshall with the sword of the County of †Penbrochia in other writers Strigulia and Geffry the son of Peter with that of the County of Essex and those tho' they were before that called Earls and had the government of their Counties were not yet girt with the sword of the County but that very day they served at the King's table with their swords on In the following age there was an additional ceremony of putting on a cap with a golden circle which is now changed into a Coronet with rays and a * Trabea honoraria Robe of State Which three namely a sword and a belt a cap with a Coronet and a Robe of State are at this day carried by so many several Earls before him who is to be created and then he is introduced to the King set upon his Throne between two Earls in Robes of State and himself in a †Superâ—unica Surcoat where kneeling up on his knees whilst the Instrument of his Creation is read at these words The same T. we advance create honour prefer to and constitute Earl of S. and accordingly give grant and by the girding of a sword really invest in him the name title state honour authority and dignity of Earl of S. the King puts on him the long robe hangs a sword at his neck puts a Cap with a Coronet upon his head and delivers into his hand the Instrument of his Creation so soon as 't is read But these things do not properly belong to my design But as to a custom now in use that whoever is to be created Earl if he be not a Baron before must first be advanced to the dignity of a Baron it is a new upstart thing and only practised since King Henry the 8th's days Now amongst the Earls or Counts those were by much the most honourable who were called h Of the nature and authority of these Counts Palatine see the additions to Cheshire Counts Palatine Counts Palatine For as the Title of Palatine was a name common to all who had any office in the King's Palace P. Pithaeus so that of Count Palatine was a title of honour conferr'd upon such who were before Palatini with the addition of a Royal authority to judge in their own territory 3 As for the Earl Marshal of England King Richard 2. gave that title first to Thomas Mowbray Earl of Nottingham whereas before they were simply stil'd Marshals of England Pithaeus and after the banishment of Mowbray he granted it to T. Holland Duke of Surrey substituted Earl Marshaâ—â—n his place that he should carry a rod of gold enamelled black at both ends whenas before they used one of wood Hol. After the Earls the VICOUNTS Vicounts follow next in order called in Latin Vice-comites This as to the office is an antient title but as to the dignity but modern for it was never heard of amongst us before Henry the sixth's time 4 Who conferred that title upon J. Lord Beaumont Hol. Amongst the Greater Nobility the BARONS Barons have the next place And here tho' I am not ignorant what the learned write concerning the signification of this word in Cicero yet I am willing to close with the opinion of Isidore and an antient Grammarian who will have Barons to be mercenary Soldiers This that known place of Hirtius in The Alexandrian war seems to make pretty evident It is thus They run to the assistance of Cassius for he always used to have Barons and a good number of Soldiers for sudden occasions with their weapons ready about him Nor is the old Latin and Greek Glossary against us which translates Baro by 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 a man as always in the Laws of the Longobards Baro is used for a man But the etymologies of the name which some have hammered out do not by any means please me The French Heraulds will have Barons to be from Par-hommes in the French that is of equal dignity the English Lawyers as much as to say robora belli the sinews of war some Germans think it is as much as Banner-heirs i.e. Standard-bearers and Isidore to be from 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 i.e. grave or weighty In hâ—â— Pâ—â—rgâ— Alciatus thinks the name comes from the Berones an antient nation of Spain which he says were formerly stipendiaries but that from the German Bar i.e. a free man pleases me better See Gâ—â—stus pâ—â— The precise time when this name came into our Island I have not discovered the Britains disown it there is not the least mention made of it in the Saxon Laws nor is it reckoned in Alfrick's Saxon Glossary amongst the titles of honour for there Dominus is turned Laford which we have contracted into Lord. Lords And among the Danes the free Lords such as those Barons are at this day were called Thanes and as Andreas Velleius witnesses are still so termed
In Burgundy the use of this name is very antient for we find in Gregory of Tours Abou◠〈◊〉 year 5â— The Barons of Burgundy as well Bishops as those of the Laity The first mention of a Baron with us that I have met withal is in a Fragment of the Laws of Canutus King of England and Denmark and even in that according to different copies it is read Vironis Baronis and Thani But that the Barons are there meant is plain from the Laws of William the Conqueror amongst which are inserted those of Canutus translated into Norman where it is writ Baron Take the whole passage But let the * Hâ—â—iâ—â— or Reâ—â— Exercituals be so moderated as to be tolerable An Earl shall provide those â—hings that are fitting eight horses four saddled and four unsaddled four steel caps and four coats of mail eight javelins and as many shields four swords and two hundred maucae of gold But a King 's Viron or Baron who is next to him shall have four horses two saddled and two unsaddled two swords four javelins and as many shields one steel cap and fifty †Possiâ—â— for â—â—â—usae iâ— 30 pâ—â—â— Many Thâ—â—â—â— Englâ—â— in the Câ—queroâ— time maucae of gold In the beginning also of the Norman times the Valvasors and Thanes were reckoned in dignity next the Earls and Barons and the Greater Valvasors if we may believe those who have writ concerning Feudal-tenures were the same as Barons are now So that Baro may seem to come from that name which time has by little and little made better and smoother But even then it was not so very honourable for in those times there were some Earls who had their Barons under them and I remember I have read in the antient Constitutions of France that there were ten Barons under one Earl and as many * Câ—â—inâ—â— Chieftans under a Baron 'T is likewise certain that there are extant some Charters since the Norman Conquest wherein the Earls write thus To all my Barons as well French as English greeting c. Nay even citizens of the better rank were called Barons so in Domesday-book the citizens of Warwick are stiled Barons and the citizens of London with the Inhabitants of the Cinque Ports enjoyed the same title But a few years after as Senators of Rome were chosen by their estates so those were accounted Barons with us who held their lands by an entire Barony or 13 Knights fees and one third of a Knight's fee every fee as we have it in an antient Book being computed at twenty pounds which in all make 400 Mark For that was the value of one entire Barony and they that had lands and revenues to this value were wont to be summoned to Parliaments It seems to have been a dignity with a jurisdiction which the Court-Barons Court â—â—rons as they call them do in some measure show And the great number of Barons too would persuade us that they were Lords who could give judgment within their own jurisdiction such as those are whom the Germans call Free-heirs especially if they had their castles for then they answered to the definition of Baldus that famous Lawyer who calls him a Baron that had a †Morâ— mixtuâ—â— impeâ—â—â— mere and mixt government in some one Castle by the grant of the Prince And all they as some would have it who held Baronies seem to have claimed that honour so that some of our Lawyers think that Baron and Barony Earl and Earldom Duke and Dukedom King and Kingdom Matth. Parts pag. 1262. were as it were Conjugates 'T is certain in that age K. Henry 3d reckoned 150 Baronies in England Upon which it comes to pass that in the Charters and Histories of that age almost all Noblemen are stil'd Barons a term in those times exceeding honourable â—aâ—onage 〈◊〉 Engâ—and the Baronage of England including in a manner all the prime Orders of the Kingdom Dukes Marquisses Earls and Barons But that name has come to the greatest honour since King Henry 3d out of such a multitude of them which was seditious and turbulent summoned to Parliament by his Writs some of the best only For he the words are taken out of an Author of considerable Antiquity after those great disturbances and enormous vexations between the King himself Simon de Montefort and other Barons were laid appointed and ordained that all such Earls and Barons of the Kingdom of England to whom the King should vouchsafe to direct his Writs of summons should come to his Parliament and no others unless their Lord the King please to direct other Writs to them also But what he begun only a little before his death was strictly observed by Edward the First and his successors From that time those were only looked upon as Barons of the Kingdom â—ummons 〈◊〉 Parliaâ—ent whom the King by such Writs of summons as they term them should call to Parliament 5 And it is noted that the said prudent King Edward I. summoned always those of antient families that were most wise to his Parliaments but omitted their sons after their death If they were not answerable to their Parents in understanding Hol. until Richard the 2d the 10th of October in the eleventh year of his reign created John de Beauchamp of Holt Baron of Kederminster by the delivery of a Diploma From which time the Kings have often conferred that honour by a Diploma or rather honorary Letters and the putting on of a long robe And at this day this way of creating Barons by a Diploma and that other of Writs of summons are in use though they are greeted not under the name of Baron but of Chevalier 6 For the Common Law doth not acknowlege Baron to be a name of dignity Hol. Those that are thus created are call'd Barons of Parliament Barons of the Kingdom and Barons honorary to distinguish them from those which are commonly call'd Barons according to the ancient constitution as those of Burford and Walton and such as were Barons to the Count Palatines of Chester and of Penbroch who were feudal and Barons by tenure Those Parliamentary Barons are not like those of France and Germany call'd barely by that name but are by birth Peers Noblemen Great States and Counsellors of the Kingdom and are summon'd by the King in this form to treat of the weighty affairs of the nation and to deliver their judgment upon them They have their peculiar immunities and privileges as in criminal causes to be judged by their Peers only not to have an oath demanded of them but in such case 't is sufficient if they deliver any thing upon honour not to be called among the Jury of twelve to enquire into matters of fact not to be liable to the Writs Supplicavit Capias Essoins and a great many other privileges which I leave to the Lawyers whose proper business it is to treat of these and things of the like nature Besides
more fees to give away For nothing could be more effectual to excite brave men and lay an obligation upon their best and most deserving Subjects such as were nobly descended and men of great estates than as an istance of their good will and favour to bestow the honourable title of Knights upon them which before was always a name of great dignity For when the Prince conferr'd advisedly upon merit it was thought a great reward and favour and look'd upon as a badge of honour Those that were thus Knighted esteem'd this as the price of Virtue as an encomium upon their family a memorial of their race and the glory of their name So that it is said by our Lawyers Miles a name of dignity that Miles is a name of dignity and not Baro. For a Baron in ancient times if he was not a Knight was written barely by his Christian name and the proper name of his family without any addition unless of Dominus which is likewise applicâ—ble to Knights But the name Knight seems to have been an additional title of honour in the greatest dignities seeing Kings Dukes Marquesses Earls and Barons were ambitious both of the name and dignity And here I cannot but insert what Matth. Florilegus writes concerning the creation of Knights in Edward the first 's time For the sake of his expedition into Scotland the King publish'd a Proclamation lately throughout England to the end that whoever were by hereditary succession to be Knights and had wherewithall to support that dignity should be present in Westminster at the feast of Whitsontide there to receive all Knightly accoutrements save Equipage or Horse-furniture out of the King's Wardrobe Accordingly there assembled thither 300 young Gentlemen the sons of Earls Barons and Knights and had purple liveries silk-scarves and robes richly embroided with gold bestow'd upon them according to their several qualities And because the King's Palace though very large was too little to receive this concourse they cut down the apple-trees about the †Novum Tempium new Temple in London ras'd the walls and set up Pavilions and tents wherein these young Gentlemen might dress themselves in garments embroider'd with gold and all that night as many of them as the Temple would hold watch'd and pray'd in it But the Prince of Wales by his father's order with the chief of them watch'd in the Church of Westminster And so great was the sound of trumpets minstrels and acclamations of joy there that the chaunting of the Convent could not be heard from one side of the Quire to the other The day following the King knighted his Son in his palace and gave him the Dukedom of Aquitain The Prince therefore being thus knighted went to the Church of Westminster that he might likewise confer the same honour upon them And such was the press and throng about the high Altar that two Knights were kill'd and many fainted though every Knight had at least three or four Soldiers to conduct and defend them The Prince himself the throng was so great was forc'd to knight them upon the high altar having made his way thither * Per dextrarios bellicosos by his war-horses At present he that is knighted kneels down and in that posture is lightly struck upon the Shoulder with a naked sword by the Prince saying thus in French Sois Chevalier au nom de Dieu i.e. Be thou a Knight in the name of God and then he adds avancez Chevalier i.e. Rise up Sir Knight What relates farther to this order how famous how glorious and how brave a reward this dignity was look'd upon by men of honour among our Forefathers with what exactness they practis'd fidelity and plain-dealing when it was sufficient surety if they promis'd as Knights or upon their Honour lastly how far they were above the sordid humour of scraping and how they contributed upon the account of their fees when the King 's eldest son was honour'd with this dignity these things I leave to other Writers Degradations of Knights As also when they had committed any crime that was capital how they were strip'd of their ornaments had their military belt took from them were depriv'd of their sword had their spurs cut off with a hatchet their glove took away †Clypâ—o gentilitio in verso and their arms inverted just as it is in degrading those who have listed themselves in the Spiritual warefare the Ecclesiastical ornaments the book chalice and such like are taken from them I leave it likewise to be consider'd by them whether these Knights have been by some rightly term'd Knights Bacchallers and whether Bacchallers were not a middle order between Knights and Esquires For some Records run Nomina Militum Baccalaureorum Valectorum Comitis Glocestriae In dâ—â— so Pat. 51. H. 3. Hence some will have Bachallers to be so call'd quasi Bas Chevaliers though others derive the same from Battailer a French word which signifies to fight Let them farther examine whether these dignities which formerly when very rare were so mighty glorious and the establish'd rewards of virtue became not vile as they grew common and prostitute to every one that had the vanity to desire them Aemilius Probus formerly complain'd of the same thing in a like case among the Romans Next in order to these Knights were the Armigeri Eâ—â— 2. Esquires call'd also Scutiferi Homines ad arma and among the Goths Schilpor from bearing the Shield as heretofore Scutarii among the Romans Who had that name either from their coats of Arms which they bore as badges of their nobility or because they really carry'd the armour of the Princes and great men For every Knight was serv'd by two of these formerly they carry'd his helmet and buckler and as his inseparable companions adher'd to him For they held lands of the Knight their Lord in Escuage as he did of the King by Knights-service Esquires are at this day of five sorts for those I but now treated of are at present out of use The chief are they who are chosen to attend the King's person Next them are the eldest sons of Knights and their eldest sons likewise successively In the third place are counted the eldest sons of the youngest sons of Barons and others of greater quality and when such heir-male fails the title dies likewise The fourth in order are those to whom the King himself together with a title gives arms or makes Esquires adorning them with a collar of S. S. of a white silver colour and a pair of silver spurs whence at this day in the west parts of the Kingdom they are call'd White-spurs to distinguish them from Knights or Equites Aurati who have spurs of gold of these the eldest sons only can bear the title In the fifth place are to be reputed and look'd upon as Esquires all such as are in any great office in the Government or serve the King in any honourable station But
above Padstow is Wadebridge Wadebridge a bridge of seventeen arches and much the largest in the whole country †Lel. Itinerar vol. 2. It was built by one Love-bone Vicar of the place to prevent those dangers which passengers on horse-back were expos'd to by ferrying over The foundations of some of the arches were first laid upon quick sands which made the undertaker despair of effecting his design till he laid packs of wool for the ground work q Upon the north-coast is Botereaux Botereaux which by marriage with an heiress of that name our Author tells us came to the Hungerfords By her Robert Lord Hungerford had issue Robert Lord Hungerford and Molins and he Thomas Lord Hungerford his son whose sole heiress Mary was marry'd to Edward Lord Hastings and Hungerford by whom he had George the first of that Sirname Earl of Huntingdon This castle with a large inheritance continu'd in that family until the reign of Queen Elizabeth r Towards the north-east upon the same coast lies Stratton Stratton near which place the Cornish forces for K. Charles 1. An. 1643. gain'd a victory over the Parliament-army In the place there follow'd a prodigious crop of barley ten or twelve ears on one stalk So formerly after the battle with the Danes in Swornfield a certain shrub sprang up therefore call'd Dane-ball or Dane-wort by others Dwarf-elder which is no where else to be found but there or transplanted from thence Continuation of the DUKES By virtue of that Privilege mention'd by our Author whereby the King 's eldest Son is born Duke of Cornwall since Edward the Black-Prince the heirs apparent to the Crown of England if eldest sons have enjoy'd it successively A Catalogue of more rare Plants growing wild in Cornwall Alsine spuria pusilla repens foliis saxifragae aureae Small creeping round-leaved bastard chickweed On moist banks in many places both of Cornwall and Devonshire together with Campanula Cymbalariae foliis This Plant is figur'd by Dr. Plukenet Phytograph Tab. 7. and describ'd in Synops Stirp Britan. Asparagus palustris Ger. marinus J.B. marinus crassiore folio Park maritimus crassiore folio C.B. Marsh-Asparagus or Sperage It is found growing on the cliffs at the Lizard-point in Cornwall Ascyrum supinum villosum palustre C. B. Park Ascyr 2. sive supinum 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Clusii Ger. emac. Round-leaved marsh St. Peter's wort On boggy grounds about springing waters in many places most abundantly towards the Lands end in this County Campanula Cymbalariae foliis Ger. emac. Park Cymbalariae foliis vel folio hederaceo C. B. folio hederaceo species Cantabricae Anguillarae J. B. Tender Ivy-leaved Bellflower On many moist and watery banks in this County and elsewhere in the West of England Centaurium palustre-luteum minimum The least Marsh Centory On a rotten boggy ground between S. Ives and Pensans It grows also in several the like places thereabouts Chamaemelum odoratissimum repens flore simplici J. B. nobile seu odoratius C. B. Romanum Ger. Sweet scented creeping Camomile or common Camomile It grows so plentifully upon the downs in this Countrey that you may scent it all along as you ride Erica foliis Corios multiflora J. B. Coris folio secundae altera species Clus. Juniperifolia Narbonensis densè fruticans Lob. Fir-leaved Heath with many flowers On Goon-hilly downs going from Helston to the Lizard point plentifully This is different from the the second Erica Coris folio of Clusius notwithstanding that C. Bauhine and Parkinson following him make it the same therewith For Clusius himself distinguisheth them Euphrasia lutea latifolia palustris Euph. latifolia viscata serrata H. Reg. Blaes Great yellow Marsh Eybright About boggy and watery places especially towards the further end of this County plentifully Figured in Dr. Plukenet's Phytogr Tab. 27. Foeniculum vulgare Ger. Park vulgare minus nigriore acriore semine J. B. vulgare Germanicum C. B. item sylvestre ejusdem Common Fennel or Finckle All along the cliffs between Lalant and St. Ives and thereabouts plentifully Geranium pusillum maritimum supinum Betonicae folio nostras Small Sea-Cranesbill with Betony leaves In sandy and gravelly places near the Sea about Pensans and elsewhere abundantly This is figured by Dr. Plukenet in his Phytographia Tab. 31. Fig. 4. Gnaphalium maritimum C. B. maritimum multis J. B. marinum Ger. marinum seu cotonaria Park Sea-Cudweed or Cotton-weed On the baich or gravelly shore between Pensans and St. Michael's mount plentifully Gramen dactyloides radice repente Ger. dactylon folio arundinaceo majus C. B. repens cum panicula Graminis Mannae J. B. canarium Ischaemi paniculis Park Creeping Cocksfoot-grass Found by Mr. Newton on the sandy shores between Pensans and Marketjeu plentifully Herniaria glabra Herniaria Ger. J. B. Millegrana major seu Herniaria vulgaris Park Polygonum minus S. Millegrana minor C. B. Smooth-leaved Rupturewort At the Lizard point plentifully Hyacinthus Autumnalis minor Ger. Park Autumnalis minimus J. B. stellaris Autumnalis minor C. B. The lesser Autumnal Star-Hyacinth On the Promontory called the Lizard point plentifully Pisum maritimum Anglicum The English Sea-pease The same I suppose which grows on the baich between Aldburgh and Orford in Suffolk where see the Synonyma On the baich near Pensans where the Gnaphalium marinum grows DEVONSHIRE By Rob rt Morden Linaria odorata Monspessulana J. B. An Linaria capillaceo folio erecta flore odoro C. B Linar caryophyllata albicans C. B Blue sweet-smelling Toad-flax Near Perin along the hedges plentifully It grows sometimes a yard high The leaves are not set confusedly on the stalk as in the common Linaria but in rundles at distances The stalks are brittle much branched toward the top and the flowers stand not thick clustering together but more sparsed or at greater intervals and are of a pale blue and streaked all along heel and all with a deeper The lower lip at the gaping is spotted with yellow Linum sylvestre angustifolium floribus dilutè purpurascentibus vel carneis C. B. sylv angustifolium J. B. An Linum sylvestre angustifolium 6. Clus an Lini sylv quinti varietas ejusdem Narrow-leaved wild Flax. In the pastures by the Sea-side about S. Ives and Truro plentifully Peplis J. B. Jer. Park maritima folio obtuso C. B. Small purple Sea-spurge On the sandy shores between Pensans and Market jeu plentifully I have not found this any where else in England but in hot Countries as Italy abundantly Pinguicula flore minore carneo Butterwort with a small flesh-coloured flower in moist meadows and marsh-grounds about Kilkhampton and elsewhere Polygonum Serpyllifolium verticillatum Polyg parvum flore alb verticillato J. B. An Polygala repens nuperorum Lob repens Park repens nivea C. B. Verticillate Knot-grass with Thyme-like leaves It grows in watery places near Springs between S. Columbe and Michil and about Pensans and towards the Lands end in many places To these I
cause probably was to improve his own mannour of Topesham to which one of the Hughs of this family perhaps the same procur'd a weekly market and a yearly fair which Edward Courtney Earl of Devonshire in an out-fall with the citizens threw into the chanel of the river Isc which hinders ships from coming to the town so that all merchandize is brought thither by land from Topesham a little village three miles from the city Nor are these heaps remov'd tho' it is commanded by Act of Parliament o From these a small village hard by is call'd Weare Weare but formerly Heneaton which belong'd heretofore to Austin de Baa from whom by right of inheritance it came to John Holand Ch. 24 Eâ— who in a seal that I have seen bore a lion rampant gardant among flower de luces The government of this City is administer'd by 24. of whom u Thâ—s City was incorporated by K. John and made a County by K. Henry 8. one yearly is chosen Mayor who with four Bayliffs manages all publick affairs As for the position the old Oxford-Tables have defin'd it's longitude to be 19 degrees 11 minutes It 's latitude 50 degrees 40 minutes This City that I may not omit it has had it's Dukes For Richard 2. King of England of that name made John Holand Earl of Huntingdon and his brother by the mother's side first Duke of Exeter Dukes of Exeter Henry 4. depriv'd him of this honour and left him only the title of Earl of Huntingdon which being beheaded soon after 6 For conspiracy against the King he lost together with his life Some few years after Henry 5. supply'd this Dukedom with Thomas Beaufort Earl of Dorset descended from the house of Lancaster an accomplish'd Souldier He dying without issue John Holand the son of that John already mention'd as heir to Richard his brother that dy'd without issue and to his father was restor'd to all again having his Father's honours bestow'd upon him by the bounty of Henry 6. and left the same to his son Henry who whilst the Lancastrians stood flourish'd in great honour but after when the house of York came to the Crown his example might well shew us how unsafe it is to rely upon the smiles of fortune For this was that Henry Duke of Exeter who notwithstanding his marriage with the sister of Edward 4. was reduc'd to such misery Phil. Coâ—â—naeus câ—â— 50. that he was seen to beg his bread ragg'd and bare-footed in the Low-countries And at last after Barnet-fight where he behav'd himself stoutly against Edward 4. he never was seen more till his body was cast upon the shore of Kent as if he had been shipwrack'd Long after this Exeter had it's Marquess namely Henry Courtny descended from Catherine the Daughter of Edward 4. rais'd to that honour by Henry 8 7 And design'd heir-apparent But to this Marquess as well as to the first Duke a great fortune did but raise great storms which as presently sunk him endeavouring a change of Government For among other things because with mony and counsel he had assisted Reginald Poole that was afterwards Cardinal and had left England to intriegue with the Emperor and the Pope against his King and Country who had then withdrawn from the Romish Communion he was arraign'd found guilty and beheaded with some others But now by the bounty of K. James Thomas Cecil Lord Burghley enjoys the title of Earl of Exeter Earlâ— of Exeter a man truly good and the worthy son of a most excellent father being the eldest son of William Cecil Baron Burghley Lord Treasurer of England whose wisdom has long supported the peace of this Kingdom nn From hence to the very mouth there is nothing of antiquity besides Exminster Exminâ—â—â—â— formerly Exanminster bequeath'd by King Alfred to his younger son and Pouderham Pouderham a castle built by Isabel de Ripariis now for a long time the seat of a very noble family the Courtnies Knights who being descended from the Earls of Devonshire and related to the best families are to this day flourishing and most worthy of such noble ancestors 8 Under Pouderham Ken a pretty brook enters into Ex which riseth near Holcombe where in a park is a fair place built by Sir Thomas Denis whose family fetcheth their first off-spring and surname from the Danes and were anciently written Le Dan Denis by which name the Cornish call'd the Danes Upon the very mouth on the other side as the name it self witnesses stands Exanmouth Exanâ—â—â— known for nothing but it's bare name and the fisher-hutts there More eastward Otterey Otterey that is a river of otters or water-dogs which we call Otters as the name it self implies runs into the sea it passes by Honniton Honniâ—â—â— well known to such as travel these parts 9 And was given by Isabel heir to the Earls of Devonshire to K. Edward the first when her issue fail'd p and gives it's name to some places Of which the most remarkable above Honniton is Mohuns-ottery which belong'd formerly to the Mohuns from whom it came by marriage to the Carews below Honniton near Holdcombe where lives the family of Le Denis Knights who take their original and name from the Danes S. Mary's Ottery so call'd from the w Iâ— was suppress'd by a Parliament held at Leicester in the reign of Henry 5. College of S. Maries which John de Grandison Bishop of Exeter founded who had got the wealth of all the Clergy in his Diocese into his own hands For he had persuaded them to leave him all they had when they dy'd as intending to lay it all out in charitable uses in endowing Churches and building Hospitals and Colleges which they say he perform'd very piously From the mouth of this Ottery the shore goes on with many windings to the eastward by Budly q Sidmouth r and Seaton s formerly fine havens but now so choak'd with sand heap'd before the mouth of them by the flux and reflux of the sea that this benefit is almost quite lost Now that this Seaton is that Moridunum â—â—idunum in Antoninus which is seated between Durnovaria and Isca if the book be not faulty and is lamely call'd Ridunum in the Peutegerian Table I should conjecture both from it's distance and the signification of the name For Moridunum is the same in British that Seaton is in English namely a town upon a hill by the sea Near this stands Wiscombe â—â—omb memorable upon the account of William Baron Bonevill who liv'd there whose heir Cecil brought by marriage the titles of Lord Bonevill and Harrington with a brave estate in those parts â—his in County â—merset â—â—ster to Thomas Grey Marquess of Dorset Under these the river Ax empties it self from a very small chanel 10 After it hath pass'd down by Ford where Adelize daughter to Baldewin of Okehampton founded an Abbey for
person still living had done the same in Oxford for the Northern Languages in general but that a sudden change of Affairs prevented him This place has been lately honour'd by giving the title of Marquess to the Right Honorable William Earl of Bedford now created Duke of Bedford This town has given several great Lawyers to the State as Sir John Glanvill a Judge Serjeant Glanvill his son and Sir John Maynard who was lately one of the Commissioners of the Great Seal of England Two miles from hence is Lamerton Lamerton parish in the Church whereof is an ancient monument of the Tremaines where may be seen the effigies or Nicholas and Andrew Tremaine twins alike in all lineaments suffer'd like pain tho' at a distance desir'd to sleep walk eat and drink together and were slain together at New-haven in France An. 1663. Nearer to the sea is Beare-Ferris Beare-Ferris so nam'd from the family call'd De Ferrariis anciently famous in this County In this parish there were Silver-mines in the reign of K. Hen. 6. which were lately re-enter'd by Sir John Maynard but have since been discontinu'd e From hence the river carries us down to Plimouth Plimouth mention'd by our Author as a town lately risen and a haven well fortify'd We may add that it had anciently but one Church till the 16 of Ch. 1. when a new one was erected and consecrated in the time of Ch. 2. Here is also a Royal Cittadel built by that King consisting of five regular Bastions and 165 guns The guns of the other fortifications added to these make up in all 253. There are two Docks begun in 1691. and finish'd in 1693. As Sir Francis Drake was born here so both he and Mr. Candish began their voyage from this town for discovery of the unknown parts of the world By his contrivance and his own proper chargo there was brought to this town a large stream from a great distance through many windings and turnings which is a great benefit to the Town carrying several Mills and serving for other common uses of the Inhabitants This place has been honour'd since Mr. Camden's time by giving the title of Earl to Charles Fitz-Charles natural son of K. Ch. 2. created July 29. in the 27th of that King f Eastward from hence is Modbery Modbery and of the Fortescues of Wimpston in that Parish was descended Chancellour Fortescue Author of the famous book De Laudibus Legum Angliae Between Modbery and Kings bridge there is a fair bridge over the river Avon about a quarter of a mile long At the mouth of the river stands S. Michael's Rock several acres over in which are to be seen the remains of an old Chappel This ancient Rhyme seems to refer to it Where Avon's waters with the sea are mixt St. Michael firmly on a rock is fixt Kings-bridge Kingsbridge is a pretty market town pleasantly situated and particularly deserves our notice for the benefaction of Mr. Crispin a late citizen of Exeter who founded here a Free-school and endow'd it Near which is Dodbrooke Dodbrooke singular for a custom of paying tithe to the Parson for a certain sort of liquor call'd White-Ale g The river Dert first runneth thro' Dertmore Dertmore a large Forest 20 miles long and 14 broad It was first made a Forest by K. John and had anciently in it many tinn-works It now yields pasture every summer to near 100000 sheep with a proportionable number of other cattle and supplies the North West and South with variety of pleasant rivers h Then to Totnes Totnes which in K. Charles the first 's time gave the title of Earl to George Lord Carew of Clopton son of Dr. George Carew Dean of Windsor Torr bay i Directly East-ward lies Torr-bay memorable for the landing of the Prince of Orange now K. William on the 5th of November An. 1688. Where we must not pass by Mary-Church being the first Church founded in this County according to tradition Near this bay is a remarkable well call'd Lay-well which ebbs and flows several times in an hour and bubbles up sometimes like a boiling pot the water as clear as crystal very cold in summer and never freezing in winter accounted by the neighbours to be medicinal in some fevers Farther up in the country is Moreley Moâ—â—ley remarkable for it's Church built upon this occasion In the time of Edw. 1. Sir Peter Fishacre Knight upon a controversie between him and the Parson of Woodley about tythes kill'd the Parson in a rage and being constrain'd to answer the same at Rome was by the Pope condemn'd to build this Church where he lies bury'd From hence towards Dertmore lies Wythicombe Wythicombe where in the 14 Car. 1. in a violent storm of thunder and lightning a ball of fire came into the Church in divine Service kill'd three persons wounded 62. turn'd the seats upside down c. the damages amounting to above 300 l. A like storm hapn'd at Crews Morthard Crews Morthard in this County An. 1689. which rent the steeple melted the bells lead and glass and nothing escap'd but the Communion Plate k Returning to the shore we meet with Teignmouth Teignmouth which as it formerly suffer'd by the Danes so was it of late burnt by the French l North-east from which is the river Ex upon it stands Tiverton Tiverton where Peter Blundell a Clothier built a free-school and endow'd it with a liberal maintenance for a sâ—hool-master and usher He gave also two fellowships and as many scholarships to Sidney College in Cambridge and one fellowship and two scholarships to Baliol College in Oxford for scholars bred up in this school m Upon the river Creden lies Kirton Kirton now no more famous for the Bishop of Exeter's house than it was in Camden's time for the College of Prebendaries For the house together with the mannour was alienated to the Killigrews so that now there do not remain the least footsteps of the Bishop's having any thing there except the name of a great meadow call'd My Lord's Meadow n The river Ex carries us to Exeter Exeter the Cathedral Church whereof our Author observes to have been enlarg'd by several hands 'T was for a long time no bigger than our Lady's Chappel An. 1112. William Warlewast Bishop of Exon. laid the foundation of the present Quire Two hundred years after Peter Quivell Bishop began the Nave of the present Church to which John Grandison Bishop made an Isle on each side An. 1450. Edmund Lacy Bishop built the Chapter-house and about the same time the Dean and Chapter built the Cloyster So that this Church was about 400 years in building and yet the symmetry of it such as one might easily imagine it the work of a single man The organ of this Church is accounted the largest in England the greatest pipe being 15 inches diameter which is two more than that of
about the year of Christ 1183. Baldwin Archbishop of Canterbury by an exchange with the Bishop of Rochester got a mannour in this place wherein he began a palace for him and his successors and this by little and little was enlarg'd But when the Archbishops began to have thoughts of building a small Collegiate Church here Good God what numbers of Appeals were packt to Rome by the Monks of Canterbury and what thundrings threatnings and censures were level'd by the Pope against the Archbishops For the Monks were jealous that this might prove an encroachment upon their Privileges and deprive them of their right to elect the Archbishop Nor could these disturbances be quieted till the little Church they had began was at the instance of the Monks levell'd with the ground Near to this is the most famous mart-town of all the County call'd at this day the Burrough of Southwork in Saxon Suþƿerke Southâ— i.e. a work or building to the south situated so to the south over against London as that it seems to be a sort of suburbs to it but yet so large is it and populous that it may vie with most Cities in England being as it were a Corporation of it self Within the memory of our fathers it had it 's own Bailifs but in the reign of Edward 6. it was annext to the City of London and is at this day reckon'd a branch of it For which reason we will defer the further examination of this place till we come to London Beneath this the Thames leaves Surrey the eastbound whereof runs down in a direct line to the south almost by Lagham which in the reign of Edward 1. had it's Parlamentary Barons Barons S. John 〈◊〉 Lagâ—â—â— call d S. John de Lagham whose estate came at last to J. Leodiard by a daughter and heiress Somewhat lower almost in the very corner where it takes a view both of Sussex and Kent is Sterborrow-castle formerly the seat of the Lords de Cobham who from this place were nam'd de Sterborrow Sterborrâ— and descending from John de Cobham Lord of Cobham and Couling and the daughter of Hugh Nevil flourish'd a long time together in great splendour and reputation For Reginald in the reign of Edward 3. was made Knight of the Garter and Admiral of the Sea-coasts from the Thames mouth Westward But Thomas the last of them marrying Anne daughter to 15 Humphry Duke the Duke of Buckingham had by her one only daughter Anne marry'd to Edward Burgh descended from the Percies and Earls of Athol His son Thomas was created Baron Burgh by K. Henry 8. and left a son William father to Thomas Barons â—rough 〈◊〉 Burgh who was a great encourager of Learning Governour of Briel made by Queen Elizabeth Knight of the Garter and Lord Deputy of Ireland where he expos'd himself to death in defence of his country As to Eleanor Cobham of this family wife to Humphrey Duke of Glocester whose reputation was something tainted I refer you to the English Histories We must now reckon up the Earls Earls 〈◊〉 Surreâ— who were 〈◊〉 call'd 〈◊〉 of Wâ—â— Arms 〈◊〉 Earls 〈◊〉 Warrâ—â— William Rufus King of England first made William de Warren Governour of Surrey 16 Who had marry'd his Sister under the honorary title of Earl whose Arms were Checky Or and azure For in his Foundation-Charter of the Priory of Lewis we read thus I have given c. for the good of my master K. William who brought me over into England and for the good of my Lady Queen Mawd my wife's mother and for the good of my master K. William his son after whose coming into England I made this Charter and who created me Earl of Surrey c. To him succeeded his son 17 And marry'd the daughter of Hugh Earl of Vermandois whereupon his posterity as some suppose us'd the Arms of Vermandois His son William dying in the Holy Land about 1142. and his grandchild by a son of the same name But this last had only a daughter who brought the same title first to William King Stephen's son and afterwards to Hamelin base son of Geoffrey Plantagenet Earl of Anjou But the first husband dying without issue Hamelin had by her William Earl of Surrey whose posterity taking the name of Warrens bore the same title This William marry'd the eldest daughter and coheir of William Marshal Earl of Pembroke widow of Hugh Bigod and had by her John 18 Who slew Alan de la Zâ—rich in presence of the Judges of the Realm and John by Alice daughter of Hugh le * Earls of March in â—â—â—nce Brune sister by the mother's side to K. Henry 3. had William who dy'd before his father and had by Joanna Vere daughter of the Earl of Oxford John who was born after the death of his father and was last Earl of this family He was as I learnt from his seal Earl of Warren Surrey Strathern in Scotland Lord of Bromfeld and Yale and Count Palatine But he dying without lawful issue in the 23d of Edward 3. his sister and heiress Alice was marry'd to Edmund Earl of Arundel and by that marriage brought this honour into the family of the Arundels 19 For Richard their son who marry'd in the House of Lancaster after his father was wickedly beheaded for siding with his Sovereign King Edward 2 by the malignant envy of the Queen was both Earl of Arundel and Surrey and left both Earldoms to Richard his son who contrariwise lost his head for siding against his Sovereign K. Richard 2. But Thomas his Son to repair his Father's dishonour lost his life for his Prince and Country in France leaving his sisters his heirs for the lands not entailed who were marry'd to Thomas Mowbray Duke of Norfolk c. to Sir Rowland Lenthall and Sir William Beauchampe Lord of Abergavenny from which it came at last by the Mowbrays to the Howards For Thomas Mowbray marry'd the eldest sister and coheir of Thomas Fitz-Alan Earl of Arundel and Surrey In the mean time 20 After the execution of Richard Earl of Arundel Richard 2. conferr'd the title of Duke of Surrey upon Thomas Holland Earl of Kent who notwithstanding did not long enjoy that honour For secretly endeavouring to rescue the same Richard then taken prisoner and to restore him to his Crown his plot unexpectedly was discover'd and himself making his escape was seiz'd by the town of Cirencester and beheaded Next Thomas de Beaufort who was the King's Chancellor bore this honour if we may believe Thomas Walsingham For he tells us that in the year 1410. The Lord Tho. Beaufort Earl of Surrey dy'd But let Walsingham make good his assertion for there is no such thing appears in the King's Records only that Thomas de Beaufort was about that time made Chancellor 'T is evident however from the publick Records of the Kingdom that King Henry 6. in the 29th year of
presently turn'd their backs and betook themselves every man to flight The Norman proud and haughty with this victory in memory of the battel Battel erected an Abbey and dedicated it to St. Martin which he call'd ‖ Battel-Abbey in that very place where Harold after many wounds died amongst the thickest of his enemies that it might be as it were an eternal monument of the Norman victory 25 And therein he offer'd his Sword and Royal Robe which he ware the day of his Coronation These the Monks kept until their suppression as also a Table of the Normans Gentry which entred with the Conqueror but so corruptly in later times that they inserted therein the names of such as were their Benefactors and whosoever the favour of fortune or virtue had advanc'd to any eminency in the subsequent ages About this Abby there grew up afterwards a town of the same name or to use the words of the private History As the Abbey encreas'd there were built about the compass of the same 115 houses of which the town of Battel was made Wherein there is a place in French call'd Sangue-lac from the blood there shed which after a shower of rain from the nature of the earth seems to look reddish whereupon Guilielmus Neubrigensis wrote but with little of truth The place in which there was a very great slaughter of the English fighting for their Country if it happen to be wetted with a small showre sweats out real blood and as it were fresh as if the very evidence thereof did plainly declare that the voice of so much Christian blood doth still cry from the earth to the Lord. But King William granted many and great privileges to this Abbey And amongst others to use the very words of the Charter If any thief or murderer or person guilty of any other crime fly for fear of death and come to this Church let him have no harm but be freely dismissed Be it lawful also for the Abbot of the same Church to deliver from the Gallows any thief or robber wheresoever if he chance to come by at the execution Henry 1. A marke on Sunâ—â—y likewise to give you the very words of his Charter instituted a market to be there kept on the Lord's Day free from all Toll and other duty whatsoever But Anthony Viscount Mountague who not long since built a fine house there obtain'd of late by authority of Parliament to have the market chang'd to another day And as for the privileges of Sanctuary in those more heinous and grievous crimes they are here and every where else quite abolish'd by Act of Parliament For they perceiv'd well that the fear of punishment being once remov'd outragiousness and an inclination to commit wickedness grew still to a greater head and that hope of impunity was the greatest motive of ill doing Neither here nor in the neighbourhood saw I any thing worth relating Ashburnham but only Esuburnham that has given name to a family of as great antiquity as any in all this tract g Hastings Hastings before spoken of call'd in Saxon Hastinga-ceaster lies somewhat higher upon the same shore Some there are that ridiculously derive it from Haste in our tongue because as Matthew Paris writes At Hastings William the Conquerour hastily set up a fortress of timber But it may rather seem to have taken this new name k William the Norman speaks of this Hasting in Henry Huntingd. Hist 7. f. 211. a from Hasting a Danish Pirate who where he landed with design to ravage and raise booty built sometimes little fortresses as we read in Asserius Menevensis of Beamflote-Castle built by him in Essex and others at Apledor and Middleton in Kent 25 The tradition is That the old Town of Hastings is swallow'd up of the sea That which standeth now as I observ'd is couched between a high cliff sea-ward and as high an hill landward having two streets extended in length from N. to S and in each of them a Parish Church The Haven such as it is being fed but with a poor small Rill is at the south end of the town and hath had a great Castle upon the hill which over-commanded it now there are only ruines thereof and on the said hill light-houses to direct Sailers in the night time Here in the reign of K. Athelstan was a Mint It is the chief of the Cinque-ports Cinque-â—orts which with it's members Winchelsea Rye c. was bound to find 21 ships for war at sea If you have a mind to know in what form both this and the rest also were bound to serve the King in his wars at sea for those most ample immunities they enjoy here take it in the very same words wherein this was anciently recorded in the King's Exchequer Hastings with it's members ought to find 21 ships at the King's summons And there ought to be in every ship 21 men able fitly qualified well arm'd and well furnish'd for the King's service Yet so as that summons be made thereof on the King's behalf 40 days before And when the aforesaid ships and men therein are come to the place of rendezvous whereunto they were summon'd they shall abide there in the King's service for 15 days at their own proper costs and charges And if the King shall have further need of their service after the 15 days aforesaid or will have them stay there any longer those ships with the men therein while they remain there shall be in the King's service at the King's costs and charges so long as the King pleases The Master of each ship shall have sixpence a day and the Constable sixpence a day and every one of the rest three pence a day 26 Thus Hastings flourish'd long inhabited with a warlike people and skilful sailors well stor'd with Barks and Craies and gained much by fishing which is plentiful along the shore But after that the Peer made of timber was at length violently carry'd away by extream rage of the sea it hath decay'd and the fishing less used by the reason of the dangerous landing for they are enforced to work their vessels to land by a Capstall or Crain In which respect for the bettering of the town Q. Elizabeth granted a contribution toward the making of a new harbour which was begun but the contribution was quickly converted into private purses and the publick good neglected Nevertheless both Court the Country and City of London is serv'd with much fish from thence The whole Rape of Hastings together with the Honour â—â—mites â—â—enses â—go de â—gi Earls 〈◊〉 Ew was held by the Earls of Ew in Normandy descended from a Natural son of Richard 1. Duke of Normandy till Henry 3's time when Ralph de Issodun in France marry'd Alice whose posterity lost a noble estate in England because as the Lawyers then deliver'd it they were under the King of France 's Allegiance 27 When K. Henry
3. had seiz'd their lands into his hands he granted the Rape of Hastings first to Peter Earl of Savoy then to Prince Edward his son and after upon his surrender to John son to the Duke of Little Britain upon certain exchanges of lands pertaining to the Honour of Richmond which Peter Earl of Savoy had made over for the use of the Prince Long time after when the Dukes of Britain had lost their lands in England for adhering to the French King King Henry 4. gave the Rape of Hastings with the mannour of Crowherst Burgwash c. to Sir John Pelham the elder upon whose loyalty wisdom and valour he much relied Furthermore as there were certain great Gentlemen in this County at the beginning of the Norman times sirnam'd de Hastings one of whom Matthew de Hastings held the mannour of Grenocle by this tenure â—â—uisitio 5. â—w 1. That he should find at this haven an Oar whenever the King would cross the seas so the noble family of the Hastings now Earls of Huntingdon enjoys this title of Hastings For King Edward 4. bestow'd it with certain Royalties upon William Hastings his Chamberlain â—illiam â—d Haâ—â—â—ngs who is commended by Cominaeus for that having receiv'd a yearly pension from Lewis xi the French King he could not by any means be perswaded to give him an acquittance under his own hand I will in no case said he that my hand be seen among the accounts of the French King's treasury But this man by falling too deep into the friendship of Kings quite overwhelmed himself For whilst he deliver'd his mind too freely in a Cabinet-Council with the Usurper Richard 3. he was unexpectedly hurried away and without trial beheaded immediately l He had notwithstanding an honourable burial in S. George's Chapel in Windsor leaving issue Edward Lord Hastings his son and heir Neither must we forget to take notice â— H. 6. â—on Hoo â—d Haâ—â—â—ngs that King Henry 6. ennobled Tho. Hoo a worthy person whom he also chose into the Order of the Garter with the Title of Baron Hoo and Hastings whose daughters and heirs were marry'd to Geoffrey Bollen from whom by the mothers side Queen Elizabeth was descended to Roger Copeley John Carew and John Devenish Thence the shore retires backwards and is hollow'd inwards being full of many windings and creeks within which stands Winchelsea Winchelsea built in the time of K. Edward 1. when a more ancient town of the same name in Saxon Wincelsea was quite swallow'd up by the raging and tempestuous Ocean in the year 1250. at which time the face of the earth both here and in the adjoyning coast of Kent was much alter'd It 's situation I will set before you in the very words of Tho. Walsingham Situate it is upon a very high hill very steep on that side which looks towards the sea or overlooks the Road where the Ships lie at Anchor Whence it is that the way leading from that port to the haven goes not streight forward lest it should by a down-right descent force those that go down to fall head-long or them that go up to creep rather on their hands than walk but lying sideways it winds with crooked turns in and out to one side and the other At first it was inclos'd with a mud after with a very strong wall but scarce began to flourish till it was sack'd by the French and Spaniards and by the sea 's shrinking back from it as it were on a sudden faded and fell to decay 28 And now only beareth the countenance of a fair town and hath under it in the level which the sea relinquished a Castle fortify'd by Henry 8. and large marshes defended from Sea-rages with works very chargeable h By which accident and the benefit of the sea it 's neighbour Rye Rye began to flourish or rather to reflourish for that it flourish'd in ancient times and that William of Ipres Earl of Kent fortify'd it Ipres Tower and the immunities and privileges that it had in common with the Cinque-Ports do sufficiently shew But either by reason of the Vicinity of Winchelsea or the sea 's recess it was inconsiderable for a long time But when Winchelsea decay'd and King Edward 3. wall'd it about it began to recover it self and within the memory of our fathers the Ocean to make a rich amends for the injury it had done swell'd with an extraordinary tempest and broke so violently in insinuating it self in form of a bay that it made a very convenient Port which another tempest likewise in our age did not a little contribute to Since which time it has greatly re-flourish'd with inhabitants buildings fishing and navigation and is now the usual passage from hence to Normandy 29 Yet now it beginneth to complain that the sea abandoneth it such is the variable and interchangeable course of that element and in part imputeth it that the river Rother is not contain'd in his Chanel and so loseth it's force to carry away the sands and beach which the sea doth inhear into the haven Notwithstanding it hath many Fishing vessels and serveth London and the Court with variety of Sea-fish But as to it's name whether it takes it from Rive a Norman word which signifies a Bank I cannot easily say Yet since in Records it is very often call'd in Latin ripa and they who bring fish from thence are termed Ripiers I encline the rather this way and should encline more if the French us'd this word for a shore as Pliny does Ripa 30 These two towns neither may it seem impertinent to note it belong'd to the Abbey of Fescampe in Normandy But when K. Henry 3. perceiv'd that Religious men intermingled secretly in matters of state he gave them in exchange for these two Chiltenham and Sclover two manours in Gloucestershire and other lands adding for the reason that the Abbots and Monks might not lawfully sight with temporal Arms against the enemies of the Crown Into this haven the river Rother or Rither hath it's influx which springing at Ritheramfeld River Rother for so the old English call'd that town which we call Rotherfeld runs by Burgwash formerly Burghersh Lords Burghersh which had Lords so sirnam'd amongst whom was that Sir Bartholomew Burgwash a mighty man in his time who being found by most solemn embassies and the wars in Aquitain to be a person of great prudence and undaunted valour was thought fit to be created a Baron of England and to be admitted into the Order of the Garter at the very first institution even amongst the Founders as also to be Constable of Dover-Castle and Warden of the Cinque-Ports And his son of the same Christian name no way degenerating from his father liv'd in a great deal of splendor and honour but left but one only daughter behind him marry'd into the family of Le Despencer descended m Call'd S. Mary's of Robertsbridge and
whatever we admir'd in you still continues and will continue in the memories of men the revolutions of ages and the annals of time Many as inglorious and ignoble are bury'd in oblivion but Sidney shall live to all posterity For as the Grecian Poet has it Virtue 's beyond the reach of fate From hence the river Medway 30 Branching it self into 5 streamlets is joyn'd with as many stone-bridges and thereof giveth the name of Tunbridge to the town there situate as the town of bridges This about K. William Rufus's time Richard son of Count Gâ—lbert Grandchild to Godfrey Earl of Ewe and Lord of Briony goes on to Tunbridge Tunbridge where is an old Castle built by Richard de Clare who got it by exchange for Briony in Normandy For his grandfather Godfrey natural son to Richard 1. Duke of Normandy was Earl of Ewe and Briony For after a long contest about Briony Richard as we are told by Gulielmus Gemeticensis in recompence for the same castle took the town Tunbrige in England For they affirm that the Lowy of Briony was measur'd about with a line and that he râ—ceiv'd an equal quantity of ground at Tunbrige measur'd by the same line brought over into England 31 Shortly after he built here a fair large Castle fenc'd with the river a deep ditch and strong walis And albeit it is now ruinous and the Keep attir'd with ivy yet it manifestly sheweth what it was But his successors Earls of Glocester 32 And sirnam'd de Clare for that they were Lords of Clare in Suffolk built here a Priory for Canons of S. Austin's Order founded the Parish-Church which was impropriated to the Knights of S. John of Jerusalem and compounded about the Tenure of the Manour for which there had been long suit * The Lowy of Tunbridge Leuca * Clientelari jure held the manour as they call it of Tunbrige of the Archbishops of Canterbury upon condition that they should be stewards at the instalment of the Archbishops and should grant them the Wardship of their children 33 From those Clares Earls of Glocester it came by an heir general to Sir Hugh Audley Earl of Glocester and by his only daughter to the Earls of Stafford who were afterward Dukes of Buckingham and from them by attainder to the Crown It hath in latter ages been beholden to Sir Andrew Jude of London for a fair Free-school and to John Wilford for a Causey toward London Three miles directly south from hence in the very limit of Sussex Whetstenes and near Frant I saw in a white sandy ground divers vasty craggy stones of strange forms whereof two of the greatest stand so close together and yet severed with so streight a line as you would think they had been sawed asunder and Nature when she reared these might seem sportingly to have thought oâ— a Sea n From hence Medway glides forward 34 From Tunbridge Medway passeth by Haudelo from whence came that John Haudelo who happily marrying the heir of the Lord Burnell had issue by her a son who was call'd Nicholas summon'd to Parliament among the Baronâ— by the name of Burnell Then Medway encreased with another water called Twist which twisteth about and insulateth a large plot of good ground runneth on not far from Mereworth c. not far from Mereworth Mereworth where is a house like a little Castle which from the Earls of Arundel came to the Nevils Lords of Abergeuenny and to Le Despenser whose heir in a right line is Mary Fane to whom and her heirs King James in his first Parliament restor'd gave granted c. the name stile title honour and dignity of Baronesse le Despenser and that her heirs successively be Barons le Despenser for ever Barâ—nâ— Despâ—â— Ounâ—â—â— Letteâ—â— tents The Medway 35 Having receiv'd a rivulet that loseth it self under ground and riseth again at Loose serving 13 fuling-mills hastens next to Maidstone which because the Saxons call'd it Medwegston and Meopeageston I am inclin d to believe is the Vagniacae mention'd by Antoninus Vagâ— and nam'd by Ninnius in his Catalogue of Cities Caer Megwad corruptly for Medwag Nor do the distances gainsay it on one hand from Noviomagus and on the other from Durobrovis of which by and by Under the later Emperors as we learn from the Peutegerian Table publishd lately by M. Velserus it is call'd Madus And thus we see in progress of time names are chang'd by little and little Maâ—â—â— This is a neat and populous town 36 For the â—air stone-bridge it hath been beholding to the Archbishops of Canterbury Among whom to grace this place of the conscience or waters Boniface of Savoy built a small College stretch'd out into a great length In the middle it has a Palace of the Archbishops of Canterbury begun by John Ufford Archbishop and finish'd by Simon Islip †and between them which it standeth in plight William Courtney erected a fair collâ—giaâ—â— Church in which he so great a Prelate and so high born lieth lowly entomb'd Here is likewise one of the two common Gaols of this County 37 And it hath been endow'd with sâ—ndry Privileges by K. Edw. 6. incorporated by the name of Mayor and Jurates all which in short time they lost by favouring rebels But Queen Elizabeth amply restor'd them c. and it is beholding for a great many immunities to Queen Elizabeth who made their chief Magistrate a Mayor instead of a Portgreve which they had till that time Portgâ—â—â— a thing I the rather take notice of because this is an ancient Saxon word and to this day among the Germans signifies a Governour as Markgrave Reingrave Landtgrave c. o Here below the Vagniacae the Medway is joyn'd by a small river from the east which rises at Leneham very probably the Durolenum of Antoninus writ falsly in some Copies Durolevum Duâ—â—â— Laâ—â— For Durolenum in British is the water Lenum and beside the remains of the name the distance from Durovernum and Durobrovis confirms this to be the Durolenum not to mention it's situation upon the Consâ—lar way of the Romans which formerly as Higden of Chester affirms went from Dover through the middle of Kent Hard by at Bocton Malherb Bocâ—â— Maâ—â—eâ—â— dwelt long since the noble family of the Wottons of which within our memory flourish'd both Nicholas Wotton Doctor of Laws Privy Counsellor to K. Henry 8. Edward 6. Queen Mary and Queen Elizabeth sent Embassador to foreign Courts nine times and employ'd thrice in a Treaty of Peace between the English French and Scots and so run out the course of a long life with great commendations both of piety and prudence as also 38 Sir Edward Edward Wotton Barâ—â—â—ton his nephew's son by a brother whom for his great experience and knowledge Q. Elizabeth made Lord Controller and K. James created Baron Wotton of Merlay 39 Here
of the Mercians adorned it with a noble Church in which her self lyes intomb'd Not long after when the whole County was ravaged by the Danes these sacred Virgins were forc'd to depart and the Danes as Aethelwerd that ancient Author writeth after many turns and changes of war set up their tents at Gleuu-cester Now those ancient Churches having been ruin'd in these calamitous times Aldred Archbishop of York and Bishop of Worcester erected a new one for Monks which is the present Cathedral and hath a Dean and six Prebendaries belonging to it Which Church in former ages receiv'd great additions and ornaments from several Benefactors for J. Hanly and T. Farley Abbots added the V. Mary's Chapel Nicholas Morwent built the western front from the ground very beautiful b Thomas G. Horton Abbot joyned to it the northern cross Isle Abbot c Frowcester Trowcester built the curious neat Cloysters and Abbot Sebrook the great and stately Tower The south Isle was rebuilt with the offerings that devout people made at the shrine of King Edward 2. who lyes here interr'd in an Alabaster tomb And not far from him lyes in the middle of the Quire the unfortunate Robert Curt-hose the eldest son of William the Conqueror Duke of Normandy in a wooden monument 7 Who was bereft of the Kingdom of England for that he was born before his Father was King depriv'd of his two s ns the one by strange death in the N. Forest the other despoiled of the Earldom of Flanders his inheritance and slain he himself dispossessed of the Dukedom of Normandy by his Brother K. Henry 1. his eyes pluck'd out and kept close Prisoner 26 years without contumelious indignities until through extream anguish he ended his life Beyond the Quire in an Arch of the Church there is a wall built with so great artifice in the form of a semicircle with corners that if any one whisper very low at one end and another lay his ear to the other end he may easily hear each distinct syllable k In the reign of William the Conqueror and before the chief trade of the city was forging of Iron for as it is mention'd in Doomsday book there was scace any other tribute requir'd by the King than certain d A Dicar of Iron contain'd to barrs Blunt's Tenures Icres of Iron and Iron bars for the use of the Royal Navy and a few pints of Honey After the coming in of the Normans it suffer'd some calamities when England was all in a flame by the Barons wars being plunder'd by Edward the son of Henry 3. and after almost laid in ashes by a casual fire But now by the blessing of a continued peace it doth prosper and reflourish and having the two adjacent hundreds added to it is made a County of it self and is call'd The County of the City of Glocester l And Henry 8. in the memory of our Fathers augmented the state thereof by erecting an Episcopal See with which dignity as Geoffry of Monmouth saith it was formerly honour'd and I have reason not to question the truth of this assertion m since the Bishop of * Câ—osis Cluve is reckon'd among the British Prelates which name being deriv'd from Clevum or Glow doth in part confirm my conjecture that this is the Glevum mention'd by Antoninus n The river Severne having now left Glocester o and uniting its divided streams 8 Windeth it self by Elmore a Mansion House of the Gises ancient by their own lineal discent being in elder times owners of Apseley-Gise near Brickhill and from the Beauchamps of Holt who acknowledge Hubert de Burgo Earl of Kent whom I lately mentioned benâ—ficious to them and testifie the same by their Armories Lower upon the same side Stroud a pretty river slideth into Severne out of Coteswold by Stroud a Market-town sometimes better peopled with Clothiers and not far from Minching-Hampton which anciently had a Nunnery or belonged to Nuns whom our Ancestors named Minchings waxeth broader and deeper by the ebbing and flowing of the tyde it rages like the aestuation of the sea towards which it hastens with frequent turnings and windings But in its course toucheth upon nothing memorable except Cambridge Cambridg a e It has only five or six houses small Country-hamlet where Cam a little river runs into it f Where this action is mention'd by the Saxon-Annals it is said to have been at Cambridge which is prov'd rather to be Bridgnorth in Shropshire See the County under that title at which bridge as Aethelwerd writeth when the Danes passed over by filing off laden with rich spoils the west Saxons and Mercians receiv'd them with a bloody encounter in Woodnesfield in which Healfden Cinuil and Inguar three of their Princes were slain On the same side of the river not much lower standeth Berkley Berkeys in the Saxon tongue Beorkenlau eminent for a strong Castle and its Mayor who is the chief Magistrate as also for the Lords thereof the Barons of Barkley of an ancient and noble family 9 Descended from Robert Fitz-Harding to whom King Henry 2. gave this place and Barkley Hearnes Out of this house descended many Knights and Gentlemen of signal note of which was William Baron of Barkley 10 Who was honoured by King Edward 4. with the style of Viscount Barkley by King Richard the 3. with the Honour of Earl of Nottingham in regard of his mother daughter of Thomas Mowbray Duke of Norfolk and Earl of Nottingham and by King Henry 7. with the office of Marshal of England and dingity of Marquess Barkley who in the reign of Henry 7. was made Viscount and Marquess Barkley E. of Nottingham and Marshal of England but because he died without issue those titles ceased with him p If you would know by what stratagem Godwyn Earl of Kent Earl G dwyn's 〈◊〉 a man fit and prepar'd for any wicked design got the possession of this place take this short account of Walter Mapes who lived 400 years since for it is not unworthy the Reader 's perusal Berkley is a village near Severne of the yearly value of 500 l. in which was a Nunnery govern'd by an Abbess that was both noble and beautiful Earl Godwin a notable subtle man not desiring her but hers as he pass'd by left his nephew a young * That this is not the original of the name is plain from the Saxon Bricgstow which plainly points out to us a bridge or passage over the river proper handsom spark as if seized with sickness till he should return back thither and instructed him to counterfeit an indisposition till he had gotten all who came to visit him both Lady Abbess and Nuns with child And to carry on the intreague more plausibly and more effectually to obtain the favour of their visits the Earl furnish'd him with rings and girdles that by those presents he might the more easily corrupt and gain their inclinations There needed
ridge to the north and separate this County of Oxon from that of Bucks at the foot whereof are seated many little towns of which the most remarkable are Watlington a small Market-town belonging formerly to Robert D'oily tt Shirburne Shirburne where was heretofore a small Castle of the Quatremans now a seat of the Chamberlains descended from the Earls of Tankervil who bearing the office of Chamberlain to the Dukes of Normandy their posterity laying aside the old name of Tankervil call'd themselves Chamberlains from the said office which their Ancestors enjoy'd 24 To omit Edgar Algar and other English-Saxons Official Earls of Oxford The title of Earl of Oxford Earls of Oxford has long flourisht in the family of Vere who derive their pedigree from the Earls of Guisnes and their name from the town of Vere in Zealand They owe the beginning of their greatness in England to K. Henry the first who advanced Alberic de Vere for his great prudence and integrity to several places of honour and profit as to be Chamberlain of England and Portreve of the City of London and to his son Henry Duke of Normandy son of the daughter of King Henry and right heir to England and Normandy this was the title he used before his establishment in this kingdom to divert him from King Stephen who had usurpt the Crown and to oblige him to his own party he granted and restor'd the office of Chamberlain which he had lost in those civil wars and offer'd him the choice of these four Earldoms Dorset Wilts Berks and Oxon. And after this Maud the Empress and her son Henry then in possession of the Throne by their several Charters created him Earl of Oxford Of his posterity not to mention every particular person the most eminent were these that follow Robert de Vere who being highly in favour with King Richard the second was by him advanct to the new and unheard of honours of Marquess of Dublin and Duke of Ireland of which he left as one well observes nothing but some gaudy titles to be inscribed upon his tomb and matter of discourse and censure to the world For soon after through the envy of the other Courtiers he was degraded and miserably ended his life in banishment 25 John the first of that name so trusty and true to the House of Lancaster that both he and his son and heir Aubrey lost their heads therefore together in the first year of King Edward 4. John de Vere a man of great ability and experience in the arts of war and as eminent for his constant fidelity to the Lancastrian party fought often in the field against K. Edward the fourth for some time defended St. Michael's mount and was the chief assistant to King Henry the seventh in obtaining the Crown Another John in the reign of Henry the eighth in all parts of his life so temperate devout and honest that he was distinguisht by the name of John the Good He was great Grandfather to the present Earl Henry the eighteenth Earl of this family and Grandfather to the two noble Brothers Francis and Horatio Vere who by their admirable courage and military conduct and their many brave and fortunate exploits in the Low-Countries have added no small lustre to their ancient and honourable family This County contains 280 Parish Churches ADDITIONS to OXFORDSHIRE a THE County of Oxford call'd by the more early Saxons Oxna-ford-scyre and afterwards Oxen-ford-scyre does by its situation particularly the north-east parts of it Otmore and the adjacent places exactly answer the original of * See Camd. at the beginning Glocestershire Dobuni as lying low and level Though most parts of it bear corn very well yet its greatest glory is the abundance of meadows and pastures to which the rivers add both pleasure and convenience For beside the five more considerable ones the Thames Isis Cherwell Evenlode and Windrush †Plot. p. 18. it has at least threescore and ten of an inferiour rank without including the smaller brooks What our Author says of the hills being clad with woods is so much alter'd by the late Civil wars that few places except the Chiltern-country can answer that character at present for fuel is in those parts so scarce that 't is commonly sold by weight not only at Oxford but other towns in the northern parts of the shire b To follow our Author Burford Buâ—ford in Saxon Beorgford not Beorford as it is famous for the battel mention'd by our Author fought probably on the plaâ—e call'd Battle-edge west of the town so also for a Council conven'd there by the Kings Etheldred and Berthwald An. 685. at which among many others Aldhelm Abbot of Malmsbury afterwards Bishop of Shirburne being present was commanded by the Synod to write a Book against the error of the Brittish Churches in the observation of Easter Which I the rather take notice of here because Sir Henry Spelman calls it only Synodus Merciana An. 705. without fixing any certain place or the exact time whereas both are evident from ‖ De Pontif. lib. 5. Malmsbury and the Leiger-book of that Abby There has been a Custom in the town * Plot. p. 349. of making a Dragon yearly and carrying it up and down the streets in a great jollity on Midsummer-eve which is the more remarkable because it seems to bear some relation to what our Author says of Cuthred's taking from the enemy a banner wherein was painted a golden Dragon only to the Towns-men's Dragon there is a Giant added for what reason not known c Next is Ensham Ensham in Saxon Egonesham the eminence whereof in those times is confirm'd by the early mention of it and by Aethelred's Charter mention'd by our Author which terms it Locus celebris Here it was that in the year 1009. the same King Aethelred by the advice of Alphege Arch-bishop of Canterbury and Wulstan Arch-bishop of York held a General Council wherein many Decrees were establisht relating to the government of Church and State it is call'd by †Concil â— â— p. 510. Sir Henry Spelman Aenham c Our next guide is the river Evenlode not far from which near Chastleton is a Fortification which the learned Dr. Plot imagines might be cast up about the year 1016. when Edmund Ironside met Canute the Dane Châ—stâ—eton but if that conjecture be built purely upon its being near the Four-shire-stone which generally goes for the old dceorstan where the battle was fought the place of the battle being ‖ See Aâ—â—â— to Wâ—tshire undeâ— Shâ—râ—â—â— as it probably ought remov'd from this place that opinion is destroy'd d More to the North is the Monument of Roll-rich R ll-rich-stones * Plot. p. â—â— a single Circle of stones without Epistyles or Architraves and of no very regular figure †〈◊〉 Except one or two the rest of them are not above four foot and a half high What the
Stony-Stratford from the stones the publick street and the ford because the buildings are of Free-stone which is dug plentifully at Caversham hard by and because 't is seated on the publick street or high-way commonly term'd Watlingstreet which was a military way of the Romans Some remains of it are plainly to be seen beyond the town There was too a ford though it be now scarce passable The town is of a considerable largeness beautified with two Churches In the middle stands a Cross though not very splendid erected in memory of Queen Eleanor of Spain wife to Edw. 1. and adorn'd with the Arms of England Castile and Leon and of the County of Ponthieu to which she was heiress n Where formerly the Ford was the Ouse is now kept in by a stone-bridge whereas before it us'd in winter-floods to break out into the neighbouring fields with great violence On the other side of the bank which is something higher the inhabitants report the town to have heretofore stood Hard by is Pasham Pasham so call'd from passing the river so that it may probably be that pass which Edward the Elder maintain'd against the plundering Danes while he was fortifying Torcester But after the building of the bridge at Stony-Stratford this pass was wholly neglected If I should guess this town to have been the Lactorodum Lactorodum of Antoninus not only it's situation on a military way and the exact distances would favour my conjecture Leach in British signifies Stones Ri and Ryd a Ford. but the signification too of Lactorodum fetch'd from the British tongue agreeing excellently with this modern name for the words in both languages are deriv'd from Stones and a Ford. Passing hence the Ouse washes Wolverton Wolverton 18 Anciently Wolverington the seat of an ancient family so sirnam'd whose lands are nam'd in Records The Barony of Wolverington from whom it came to the house of Longvilles of ancient descent in these parts the seat of the Longavils and Newport-Paynel Newport-Paynel so call'd from the Lord of it Fulk Paganel From whom it descended to the Barons Somers of Dudley who had here their castle Thence thro' Terringham Terringham giving name and habitation to an ancient family o it runs to Oulney Oulney a small market-town Thus far and a little farther reaches the County of Buckingham limited by the Ouse The first Earl of Buckingham as far as I can yet understand was Walter sirnam'd Giffard son to Osbern de Bolebec a most famous man among the Normans whom in a Charter of Hen. 1. we find among the witnesses by the name of the Earl of Buckingham He was succeeded in this honour by a son of the same name who in the book of Abingdon-Monastery is stil'd Earl Walter the younger and is said to have dy'd 19 Issucless in the year 1164. In the reign of Hen. 2. Richard Strang-bow Earl of Pembroke 20 Call'd Conquerour of Ireland descended from the sister and heiress of Walter Giffard the second in some publick instruments made use of the same title But it afterwards lay vacant for a long time till conferr'd by Rich. 2. in the year 1377. on his Uncle Thomas of Woodstock of whom we have spoke before among the Dukes of Glocester Of his daughter married to Edmund Earl of Stafford was born Humphry Earl of Stafford created Duke of Buckingham by Hen. 6. 21 With an invidious precedence before all Dukes in England for whom valiantly fighting he was slain at the battel of Northampton To him succeeded his grandson Henry by his son l This Humphrey was slain in the life-time of his father the Duke at the battel of S. Albans 34 Hen. 6. Humphry who was the chief means of bringing that tyrant Rich. 3. to the Crown though he presently after endeavour'd to depose him because he would not restore him the estate of the Bohuns to which he was lawful heir p But being intercepted he lost his head and found too late that Tyrants commonly pull down those Scaffolds by which they ascended to their grandeur His son Edward being restor'd to all by the kindness of Hen. 7. through the wicked practices of Cardinal Wolsey lost the favour of Hen. 8. and was at last beheaded for treason for that among other things he had consulted a Wizzard about the Succession He dy'd much lamented by all good men When the Emperour Charles 5. heard of his death he is reported to have said 22 As 't is written in his life that a Butchers Dog had tore down the finest Buck in England 23 To the name Buckingham and c. alluding to Cardinal Wolsey's being the son of a Butcher Afterwards the splendour of this family so decay'd that they enjoy'd only the bare title of Earls of Stafford 24 Whereas they were stil'd before Dukes of Buckingham Earls of Stafford Hereford Northampton and Perch Lords of Brecknock Kimbolton and Tunbridge There are in this County 185 Parishes ADDITIONS to BVCKINGHAMSHIRE THIS County is in length reckon'd to be 39 miles in breadth 18. and the whole circumference about 138. a Though Beeches may grow here in great plenty yet I cannot conceive the name of the shire or its principal town drawn from them For the Saxons did not call those trees bucken but as appears by Aelfrick's Glossary bocas and any thing made of it becen Now our most ancient records showing neither Bockingham nor Beckingham but constantly retaining the second Letter u it is much more natural to derive it from the Saxon buc which the same Aelfric interprets cervus a buck or hart nothing being more probable than that those woody parts abounded with Dere As to the Buckenham in Norfolk urg'd by Mr. Camden to justifie his conjecture being as he says full of beeches we have the authority of * Iceni MS. Sir Henry Spelman that no such trees grow thereabouts which enclin'd him rather to choose the Saxon buc cervus for its original b Chiltern Chiltern by the Saxon Annals call'd Clitern our Author tells us comes from cylt or chylt being a chalky soil In the language of the Saxons there does not appear to be any such word they always expressing that by cealc and 't is certain that in their time it had this name Mr. Somner interprets it locus gelidus upon what grounds I know not unless he have respect to our present Chil. In the year 1009. the Danes pass'd over these hills in their journey out of Kent into Oxfordshire upon the mention whereof Florence of Worcester has it Saltus qui dicitur Clitern by which it appears that in those days this tract of hills was one continued wood as perhaps were a great many in other parts of England which are since converted to better uses c To go along with our Author through the County at Wickham Wickham was an hospital of St John Baptist the revenue whereof upon the general
to John Backwell Esq p In the account of the Earls Mr. Camden tells us that Henry Duke of Buckingham's reason for plotting against Richard 3. was that King 's detaining from him the estate of the Bohuns But this cannot be the cause ‖ Dudg Bar. T. 1. p. 168. for after that Tyrant's advancement he sign'd a bill for Livery of all those Lands unto him whereunto he pretended a right by descent from Humphrey de Bohun sometime Earl of Hereford and Constable of England Mr. Dugdale has given us an abstract of it and is of opinion that the cause of this his carrriage was either remorse of conscience for raising that King to the throne by the barbarous murther of his nephews or else his observing himself neglected by him Continuation of the DUKES After the attainder and execution of Edward the title lay vacant till the 14th of Jac. 1. when George Viscount Villers was created Earl of Buckingham the next year Marquess of Buckingham and by a Patent bearing date 18 Maii 21 Jac. 1. Duke of Buckingham This George being kill'd by one Felton at Portsmouth Aug. 23. An. 1628. was succeeded by George his son who dying Apr. 16. 1687. left the title vacant More rare Plants growing wild in Buckinghamshire I have not had opportunity of searching this County for Plants neither have any singular local or uncommon species growing there as yet come to my knowledge save only Sphondylium montanum minus angustifolium tenuiter laciniatum observed by Dr. Plukenet near St. Giles Chalfont in the mountainous meadows BEDFORDSHIRE THE County of Bedford commonly Bedfordshire is one of the three Counties which we observ'd before to have been inhabited by the Cattieuchlani On the east and south it is joyn'd to Cambridgshire and Hertfordshire on the west to Buckinghamshire on the north to Northamptonshire and Huntingdonshire and is divided into two parts by the Ouse running through it In the north part it is more fruitful and woody in the south where 't is much larger the soil is more poor though it makes a tolerable return For it abounds with barley which is plump white and strong In the middle it is something thick-set with woods but eastward is more dry and wants wood The Ouse at its first entrance into this County first visits Trury the seat of Baron Mordant â—â—â—oâ—s â—â—rdant which family is indebted to Henry 8. for this dignity For he it was that created John Mordant Baron Mordant a prudent person who had married the daughter and coheir of H. Vere of Addington Next it glides by Hare-wood a little village call'd formerly Hareles-wood where Sampson sirnam'd The Strong built a Nunnery and where in the year of our Lord 1399. a little before the breaking out of those Commotions and Civil wars wherewith England was for a long time embroil'd the Hyâ—gma 〈◊〉 153. the river stood still and the water retiring both ways did wonderfully leave a passage on foot through the chanel for three miles together a 1 They who saw it took it as a plain presage of the division ensuing Afterwards it runs under Odil or Woodhill formerly Wahull which had also its Barons of Wahull eminent for their ancient Nobility 2 Whose Barony consisted of 300 Knights-fees in divers Countries and a Castle 3 Which is now hereditarily descended to Sir R. Chetwood Knight as the inheritance of the Chetwoods came formerly to the Wahuls which is now come by inheritance to the Chetwoods b From hence the Ouse with no less windings than those of the Meander it self is carry'd through Bletnesho commonly Bletso â—â—so formerly the seat of the Pateshuls afterwards of the Beauchamps 〈◊〉 St. 〈◊〉 of 〈◊〉 sho and now of the famous family of St. John who formerly by their valour became Masters of a great estate in Wales 4 In Glamorganshire and in our age had the honour of Barons conferr'd upon them by Queen Elizabeth of blessed memory 5 When she created Sir Oliver the second Baron of her Creation Lord St. John of â—letnesho unto whom it came by c. To them it came by Margaret de Beauchamp an heiress marry'd first to Oliver de St. John from whom those Barons are descended and afterward to John Duke of Somerset by whom she had the famous Margaret Countess of Richmond a Woman whose merit is above the reach of the highest Commendation and from whom the Royal Family of England is descended From hence the Ouse hastens 6 By Brumham a seat of the Dives of very ancient parentage in these parts to Bedford Bedford in Saxon Bedanford the County-town and which gives name to the whole and so cuts it that one would imagine it two towns but that it is joyn'd by a Stone-bridge c 'T is more eminent for the pleasantness of its situation and antiquity than any thing of beauty or stateliness though it has indeed five Churches I dare not assent to those who think it to be the Lactodorum of Antoninus for neither is it situate upon a military way which is the surest guide in our search after stations and mansions mention'd by Antoninus nor were there ever any Roman Coins dug up here I have read that it was call'd in British Liswider or Lettidur but this seems to be turn'd out of the English name For Lettuy signifies in British publick Inns and Lettidur innes upon a river and our English Bedford implies Beds and Inns at a Ford. Below this Town in the year 572. Cuthwulph the Saxon did so shatter the Britains in a set-battel that he was ever after too hard for them and had several towns surrender'd Nor does it seem to have been neglected by the Saxons since Offa that powerful Prince of the Mercians made choice of this place as Florilegus tells us for his Burial but the Ouse being once more rapid and rising higher than ordinary swept away his Monument The town was repaird by Edward the elder after it had been destroy'd in the Danish wars which King did likewise add a little city on the south side of the river call'd by that age to follow the best Copâ— of Hoveden Mikesgate In the time of Edward the Confessor as we find it in that Book wherein William the first took his Survey of England it defended it self for the half of an Hundred in expedition and ships The land of this village never hided But under the Normans it was a much greater sufferer for after Pagan de Beauchamp the third that was call'd Baron of Bedford had built a Castle theâ—e never a civil commotion arose in the kingdom but what had a stroke at it while standing Stephen in the first place when he had possess'd himself of the Kingdom of England against his solemn oath took this Castle with great loss on both sides afterwards when the Barons took up arms against King John William de Beauchamp Lord of it and one of the headers of that Faction
the first that gave life as it were to this place For Maud the Empress gave him Newport a pretty neighbouring town in these words which are transcrib'd from the Original Charter For as much as he us'd to pay at the day of my father Henry's death and to remove the market of Newport to his castle of Walden with all the customs which before belong'd to the said market in Toll passage and other customs And that the way of Newport which lyes near the shore be turn'd to Walden according to custom upon the ground forfeited to me and that the market at Walden be kept on Sundays and Thursdays and that there be a fair held in Walden to begin on Whitsun-eve and last all the following week From this market the place was long call'd Chepping-Walden We read also in the Register of this Abbey He appointed Walden as the head of his Honour and the whole County for a seat for himself and his heirs The place where he built the Monastery had great plenty of water which ran here continually from springs that never dried up The Sun visits it very early in the morning and forsakes it very soon in the evening being kept off by the hills on each side This place is now call Audley-end from 31 Sir Thomas Thomas Audley Chancellor of England Baron â—â—dley of Walden who changâ—d the Monastery into a dwelling-house for himself He was created Baron Audley of Walden by Hen. 8. and left one daughter and heir Margaret second wife to Thomas Howard Duke of Norfolk who had issue by her Thomas William Elizabeth and Margaret Thomas famous for his experience in sea-affairs was summon'd to Parliament by Q. Elizabeth An. 1587 by the name of Lord Howard by Walden And lately King James hath created him Earl of Suffolk and made him his Chamberlain 32 Who in this place hath begun a magnificent Building Near whose house at Chesterford there was seated a much ancienter little city near Icaldune in the very utmost limits of the County which now from the old Burrough the Country-people call Burrow-bank Burrow-bank There are only the marks of a ruin'd place to be seen and the plain track of the walls Yet I shall by no means affirm it to be h This in another place be fancies may be St. Edmundsbury See Suffolk under that title the Villa Faustini which Antoninus mentions in these parts and tho' Ingrati haud laeti spatia detinet campi Sed rure vero barbaróque laetátur Of no vast tracts of barren land 't is proud But like true Country innocently rude Yet I shan't so much as dream this to have been the place described in these and the other verses of the ingenious * Martial Epigrammatist The fields as I have said before look very pleasant with sown Saffron 33 A commodity brought into England in the time of King Edward 3. Saffron For in the month of July every third year when the roots have been taken up and after twenty days put under the turf again about the end of September they shoot forth a bluish flower out of the midst whereof hang down three yellow chives of Saffron which are gather'd best in the morning before sun-rise and being taken out of the flower are dried by a gentle fire And so wonderful is the increase that from every acre of ground they gather 80 or 100 pound of wet Saffron which when it 's dry will be about 20 pound And what 's more to be admir'd that ground which hath bore Saffron three years together will bear Barley very plentifully 18 years without dunging and afterwards will be fit enough for Saffron Bâ—rons of Câ—avering More to the South lies Clavering which Hen. 2. gave with the title of a Baron to 34 Sir Robert Fitz-Roger Robert Fitz-Roger from whom the family of the Euers are descended His posterity having after the old way for a long time taken for their sirname the Christian-name of their father as John Fitz-Robert Robert Fitz-John c. at length upon the command of Edw. 1. took the name of Clavering from this place But of these when we come to Northumberland See in Northumberland Here too Stansted-Montfitchet presents it self to our view which I can't pass by in silence since it was formerly the seat or Barony of the family of the Montfitchets Barons Montfitchet Arms of the Montfitchâ—â— who bore for Arms Three Cheverons Or in a shield gules and were reckon'd among the most honourable of our Nobility But the male-line continued no farther than to five Descents when the inheritance fell to three sisters Margaret wife to Hugh de Bolebec Aveline to William de Fortibus Earl of Albemarle The Playzes and Philippa wife to Hugh Playz The posterity of the last continued till within the memory of our Grandfathers and ended in a daughter married to Sir John Howard Kt. from whose daughter by 35 Sir George Vere George Vere the Lords Latimer and Wingfield are descended A little lower stands Haslingbury Hâ—sâ—ingbury the seat of the Lords Morley of whom more in Norfolk Adjoyning to this is an old military Vallum thence call'd Wallbery and more to the East Barrington-Hall the seat of the noble family of the Barringtons Barrington who in the time of King Stephen were greatly enrich'd with the estate of the Lords Montfitchet that then fell to them and in the memory of our fathers a match with the daughter and heir of 36 Sir Henry Pole Henry Pole Lord Montacute son and heir to Margaret Countess of Salisbury render'd them more illustrious by an alliance with the royal blood 37 Neither is Hatfield Regis commonly called of a broad spread Oak Hatfield Brad-Oak to be omitted where Robert Vere Earl of Oxford built a Priory and there lyeth entombed cross-legg'd with a French Inscription wherein he is noted to be first of that name Robert and third Earl of Oxford After the Norman Conquest Maud the Empress Lady of the English as she used to stile her self created Geoffrey de Magneville â—â—rls of Essex or Mandevil son of William by Margaret heiress to Eudo ‖ Dapiferi Sewer first Earl of Essex that she might draw to her party a man of that great power and experience in war He in the civil disturbances under King Stephen 38 Despoiled of his estate lost his troublesome life in the field 'T was he too as ancient writers inform us who for his many villanous practices incurr'd the sentence of Excommunication â—egister of Wâ—lden under which at the little town of Burwell he receiv'd a mortal wound in the head As he was just expiring some Templars came in who put on him the habit of their Order marked with a red cross and when he was dead carried him away with them into their own precincts the old Temple at London where putting him into a pipe of lead
More inward wee see Wingfield Wingfield with its half ruinated Castle which gave both a name and seat to a large family in those parts famous for their knighthood and ancient nobility And Dunnington which boasts of its Lord John Phelipps Phelipps the father of that William who married the daughter and heir of Baron Bardolph and whose daughter and heir was marry'd to John Viscount Beaumont But now 't is the seat of the ancient family of the Rouses Not far from hence is Huntingfield Huntingfield which in the reign of Edward the third had a noted Baron of that name and near this is Heveningham the seat of the knightly family de Heveningham Henningham which is exceeding ancient at a little distance from whence is Halesworth Halesworth formerly Healsworda an ancient town of the Argentons now of the Alingtons for which Richard Argenton procur'd the Privilege of a Market of King Henry the third That on the north part two little rivers namely Ouse the less and Waveney divide this County from Norfolk we have already observ'd They both rise out of a marshy ground about Lophamford very near one the other and run quite contrary ways with creeks full of shallow fords On this side of the Ouse which goes westward there is nothing memorable k Upon Waveney which is carried eastward first we meet with Hoxon formerly Hegilsdon made famous by the martyrdom of King Edmund Martyrdom of King Edmund For there the most Christian King because he would not renounce Christ was by the most inhuman Danes to use the words of Abbo bound to a tree Hoxon and had his body all over mangl'd with arrows And they to increase the pain and torture with showers of arrows made wound upon wound till the darts gave place to one another And as a middle-age Poet has sung of him Jam loca vulneribus desunt nec dum furiosis Tela sed hyberna grandine plura volant Now wounds repeated left no room for new Yet impious foes still more relentless grew And still like winter-hail their pointed arrows flew In which place was afterwards a very neat seat of the Bishops of Norwich till they exchang'd it not long since for the Monastery of S. Benedict In the neighbourhood at Brome the family of Cornwalleys Cornwalleys Knights have dwelt for a long time of which John was Steward of the Houshold to King Edward the sixth and Thomas his son for his prudence and fidelity was Privy-Councellor to Queen Mary and Lord Controller of her Houshold Below this is Eay Eay that is the Island so call'd because 't is water'd on all sides where are seen the rubbish ruins and the decaying walls of a Monastery dedicated to St. Peter Book of Inquisitions and of an old Castle which belong'd to Robert Mallet a Norman Baron But when he was depriv'd of his dignity under Henry the first for siding with Robert Duke of Normandy against that King he bestow'd this Honour upon Stephen Count of Bologne who afterwards usurping the Crown of England left it to his son William Earl of Waren But after he 18 Having surrendâ—r'd his estate to King Henry 2. had lost his life in the Expedition of Tholose the Kings kept it in their own hands till Richard 1. gave it to Henry 5. of that name Duke of Brabant and Lorain with the grandchild of K. Stephen by a daughter who had been a Nun. A long time after when it return'd to the Kings of England Edward the third as I have heard gave it to Robert de Ufford Earl of Suffolk Nor must we pass by Bedingfield Bedingfield in the neighbourhood which gave name to a famous and ancient family that receiv'd much honour by the heir of Tudenham From thence along by Flixton Flixton for Felixton so nam'd among many others in this County from Foelix the first Bishop the river Waveney runs to Bungey Bungey and almost encompasses it Here Hugh Bigod when the seditious Barons put all England in an uproar fortify'd a Castle to the strength whereof nature very much contributed Of which he was wont to boast as if it were impregnable Were I in my Castle of Bungey Upon the River of Waveney I would ne care for the King of Cockeney Notwithstanding which he was afterwards forc'd to compound for a great sum of money and hostages with Henry the second to save it from being demolisht Next not far from the banks we meet with Mettingham Mettingham where in a plain a square Castle with a College in it was built by the Lord of the place John sirnam'd de Norwich whose daughter and afterward heir of the family was marry'd to Robert de Ufford Earl of Suffolk to whom she brought a fair estate Now the Waveney drawing nearer the Sea while it tries in vain to break a double passage into the Ocean the one along with the river Yare the other through the lake Luthing makes a pretty large Peninsula call'd by some Lovingland but by others more truly Luthingland Luthingland from that long and spatious lake Luthing which beginning at the Sea-side empties it self into the river Yare At the beginning of this Lestoffe Lestoffe a little town hangs as it were over the sea and at the end of it is Gorlston where I saw the tower of a small ruinated religious House which is of some use to the Sea men More inward upon the Yare is Somerley Somerley formerly as I was told the seat of the Fitz-Osberts from whom it came to the knightly and famous family of the Jerneganes A little higher where the Yare and Waveney joyn there flourish'd Cnobersburg i.e. as Bede interprets it the City of Cnoberus Cnoberi Urbs. we call it at this day Burghcastell Which as Bede has it by the vicinity of woods and sea was a very pleasant Castle wherein a Monastery was built by Fursaeus the Scot. By his perswasions Sigebert was induc'd to quit the Throne and betake himself to a Monastick life but afterwards being drawn against his will out of this Monastery to encourage his own men in a battel against the Mercians he was cut off ‖ Una cum suis with all his company Now there is nothing in the place but broken walls almost square built of flints and British brick It is quite overgrown with briars and thorns amongst which they now and then dig up Roman coins so that it seems to have been one of those Forts which the Romans built upon the river Garienis against the Saxon-Piracies or rather indeed the very Garianonum where the Stablesian horse had their station l Suffolk has had Earls and Dukes Dukes and Earls of Suffolk of several Families There are some modern Authors who tell us that the Glanvils were formerly honour'd with that title but since they build upon no sure authority and the mistake is obvious nor does any thing of it appear
house but Hugh Hare brother to Nicholas was he who so much improv'd the estate and dying without marriage left above 40000 pound between 2 nephews Not far from hence lies West-Dereham West-Dâ—â—eham famous for the birth of Hubert Walter who being bred up under the famous Lord Chief Justice Glanville became Archbishop of Canterbury Lord Chancellour under K. Rich. 1. Legate to Pope Celestine 4. and Lord Chief Justice of all England The respect he had for the place oblig'd him to build a Religious-house there wherein as a piece of gratitude for the many favours he had receiv'd he order'd that they should constantly pray for the soul of his great patron Ralph de Glanvilla CAMBRIDGE SHIRE At a little more distance from the sea is Congham Congham honour'd with the birth of Sir Henry Spelman that great Oracle of Law Patron of the Church and glory of England More inwards is Rougham Rougham the seat of the Yelvertons of whom William under Hen. 6. Christopher under Qu. Elizabeth and Henry under K. Charles 1. were Lord Chief Justices of England Next is Babbingley Babbingley whither Felix the Apostle of the East-Angles coming about the year 630. converted the inhabitants to Christianity and built the first Church in those parts whereof succeeding ages made S. Felix the patron Some remains of this passage are still found in the adjoyning mountains call'd Christian-hills and in Flitcham Fâ—itâ—ham a neighbouring place which imports as much as the village or dwelling-place of Felix bb Removing from the sea-coast towards the south-east Narburgh Narburgh lies in our way the termination whereof seems to suggest something of Antiquity and the place it self answers the name For there is an old Fortification and from hence to Oxburgh has been a military foss tho' it be now levell'd in some places But what puts it beyond dispute is that Sir Clement Spelman contriving an Orchard at the foot of the hill digg'd up the bones of men in great abundance and likewise old pieces of armour cc Upon the north-side of the Hier stands Elmham Eâ—â—ham which till within these two ages was never under the jurisdiction of any secular Lord. For under the Heathens 't is said to have been the habitation of a Flamin and after their conversion to Christianity by Felix it came into the possession of the Bishops The See was first at Dunwich but when it was thought too great for the management of one it was divided into two Dioceses the one to reside at Dunwich for Suffolk and the other at Elmham for Norfolk dd Directly south is East-Dereham East Dereham call'd also Market-Dereham which having been almost all burnt to the ground is now rebuilt into a fair town and Hingham another market town not far from it hath had both the same disease and cure ee About 4 miles from Ic-burrough lies Weeting Weeting near Brandon-ferry wherein is an old wasted castle moated about and at a mile's distance eastward is a hill with certain small trenches or ancient fortifications call'd Gimes-graves of which name the inhabitants can give no account On the west-side of this place from the edge of the Fen arises a bank and ditch which running on for some miles parts that bound of Weeting from Wilton and Feltwell and is call'd the Foss In the fields of Weeting is a fine green way call'd Walsingham-way being the road for the pilgrims to the Lady of Walsingham And about a mile from the town north is another like it from Hockwold and Wilton upon which are two stump crosses of stone supposed to be set there for direction to the pilgrims Continuation of the EARLS and DUKES By the Attainder of the last Thomas the title of Duke of Norfolk being taken away Philip his eldest son was call'd only Earl of Arundel by descent from his mother and he being attainted of High-Treason for favouring the Popish party had the sentence of death pass'd upon him but his execution being forborn he dy'd in the Tower An. 1595. His son and only child Thomas was created Earl of Norfolk Jun. 6. 20 Car. 1. and dy'd at Padua An. 1646. leaving two sons Henry and Thomas whereof Henry succeeded his father and he likewise was succeeded by Thomas his eldest son in his Titles of Earls of Arundel Surrey and Norfolk who at the humble petition of several of the Nobility was May 8. 13 Car. 2. restor'd to the title of Duke of Norfolk Which is now among others enjoy'd by Henry Howard Earl Marshal of England More rare Plants growing wild in Norfokl Atriplex maritima nostras Ocimi minoris folio Sea-Orrache with small Basil leaves Found by Dr. Plukenet near Kings-Lynne Acorus verus sive Calamus Officinarum Park The sweet-smelling Flag or Calamus Observed by Sir Thomas Brown in the river Y are near Norwich See the Synonymes in Surrey Lychnis viscosa flore muscoso C. B. Sesamoides Salamanticum magnum Ger. Muscipula Salamantica major Park Muscipula muscoso flore seu Ocymoides Belliforme J. B. Spanish Catchfly By the way-sides all along as you travel from Barton mills to Thetford plentifully Spongia ramosa fluviatilis Branched river-sponge In the river Y are near Norwich Turritis Ger. vulgatior J. B. Park Brassica sylvestris foliis integris hispidis C. B. Tower-mustard In the hedges about the mid-way between Norwich and Yarmouth Verbascum pulverulentum flore luteo parvo J. B. an mas foliis angustioribus floribus pallidis C. B. Hoary Mullein About the walls of Norwich Vermicularis frutex minor Ger. Shrub Stonecrop This was shew'd us by Sir Thomas Brown of Norwich who had it from the sea-coast of Norfolk See the Synonymes in Glocestershire Urtica Romana Ger. Park Roman Nettle At Yarmouth by the lanes sides not far from the Key N. Travelling from Lynne to Norwich I observed by the way side not far from Norwich the Medica sylvestris J. B. which is usually with a yellow flower and therefore called by Clusius Medica frutescens flavo flore to vary in the colour of the flower and to become purplish like the Burgundy Trefoil or Sainct-foin CAMBRIDGESHIRE MORE into the Country lies the County of Cambridge by the Saxons call'd a Grantâ—bryegscyr Grentbrigg-scyre and by the common people Cambridge-shire stretch'd lengthways to the north It borders upon Norfolk and Suffolk on the east Essex and Hertfordshire on the south Bedford and Huntingdon Shires on the west and Lincolnshire on the north the river Ouse running from west to east crosses and divides it into two parts The south and lower part is more improv'd better planted and consequently more rich and fertil sufficiently plain but not quite level chiefly or indeed wholly setting aside that part which plentifully produces Saffron consisting of Corn-fields abundantly stor'd with the best Barley of which they make great quantities of Byne or Malt Byne Malt. by steeping it till it sprout again then drying it over a Kiln
Confessor's Charter In consideration of 4000 Eeles in Lent the Monks of Ramsey shall have out of the Territory of St. Peter so much square stone as they need at Berneck and of rough stone for walls at Burch Beneath Berneck that Roman way which the neighbouring Inhabitants call the Forty-foot way from its breadth cuts this Shire in two between Caster and Stamford and appears in an high Causey especially by the little wood of Berneck where it has a Beacon set upon the very ridge and so runs along by Burghley-Park-wall Some few miles hence the Welland runs down by Maxey-Castle Maxey formerly belonging to the Barons of Wake and by Peag-Kirke Peag-Kirk Ingu phus where in the infancy of Christianity in England Pega a holy woman who gave name to that place sister of St. Guthlac with other devout Virgins by their life and example gave excellent documents of Piety and Chastity and so comes to the Fenns so often mention'd And by reason the bank on the South-side thereof is neglected the river over-flows the adjacent Lands to the great damage of the proprietors and having broken thus out of it's chanel which went formerly by Spalding it falls into the Nen and extreamly overcharges it The lesser Avon which is the other boundary as I said of this Shire northward but serves for a limit only about 5 or 6 miles breaking out of the ground near the springs of the Welland runs westward by 11 Suleby sometimes an Abby of black Monks and by c. Stanford Stanford upon Avon seat of the family of Cave Cave out of which several branches of good note have dispers'd themselves in all the neighbouring Tract also by Lilburne the seat in former ages of the Canvils That this hath been anciently a Roman Station I am persuaded by it's situation upon one of their Military ways by the ancient Trenches there and a little piked Hill cast up which some dug of late days in hopes of finding old hidden treasures but instead of Gold they met with Coals And thus this little river after it 's passing under Dowbridge leaves Northamptonshire and enters Warwickshire Bounds of the Ancients From the digging up of those Coals what if I should give a guess that this Hill was thrown up for a mark or Boundary since Siculus Flaccus tells us that either Ashes or Coals or Potsherds or broken Glasses or Bones half burnt or Lime or Plaister were wont to be put under such marks or limits and St. Augustin writes thus of Coals Lib. de Civ Dei 21. c. 4. Is it not a wonderful thing considering Coals are so brittle that with the least blow they break with the least pressure they are crush'd in pieces yet no time can conquer them insomuch that they that pitch'd Land-marks were wont to throw them underneath to convince any litigious fellow whatsoever that came never so long time after and should affirm that no Land-mark was there made And so much the rather am I inclined to this conjecture because they that have written of limits do inform us that certain Hillocks which they termed Botontines Boton tines Hence perhaps come our Buttings were plac'd in the limits So that I suppose most of these Mounts and round Hillocks which we see all hereabouts 12 And call Burrows were raised for this purpose and that Ashes Coals Potsherds c. might be found under them if they dug deeper into the ground Earls of Northampton The first Earl that this County had at least that I know of was Waldeof son of the warlike Siward who being also Earl of Huntingdon lost his head for treason against William the Conquerour leaving only two daughters behind him which he had by Judith the Conquerour's niece by a sister on the mother's side The Life 〈…〉 Simon * De S. 〈…〉 Sylvaneciensâ—â— Sinlis being scornfully rejected by Judith the mother upon account of being lame in his legs married Maud the eldest daughter and built St. Andrew's Church and the Castle at Northampton After him succeeded his son Simon 2. who was a long time at law about his mother's estate with David King of Scots his mother's second husband and having sided with King Stephen in the year of our Lord 1152. died with this ‖ Elogia elogy A youth full of every thing that was unlawful every thing that was unseemly His son Simon 3. going on with the suit against the Scots for his right to the Earldom of Huntingdon wasted his whole estate but thro' the favour of King Hen. 2. married the daughter and heir of Gilbert de Gant Earl of Lincoln and having at last recover'd the Earldom of Huntingdon and disseis'd the Scots died issueless in the year 1185. Many years after King Edw. 3. created William de Bohun a person of approved valour Earl of Northampton and when his elder brother Humfrey de Bohun Earl of Hereford and Essex and High Constable of England was not able in that warlike Age to bear the charge of Constable he made him also High Constable of England After him his son Humfrey succeeding in the Earldom of Northampton as also in the Earldoms of Hereford and Essex upon his Uncle's dying issueless had two daughters the one married to Thomas of Woodstock youngest son to King Edw. 3. the other to Henry of Lancaster Duke of Hereford afterwards King of England The daughter of Thomas of Woodstock brought by her marriage this her grandfather's title of Northampton together with others into the family of the Staffords But when they had lost their honours King Edw. 6. honour'd William Par Earl of Essex a most accomplish'd Courtier with the title of Marquiss of Northampton who within our memory died issueless And now while I am upon this work our most serene Sovereign King James in the year of our Lord 1603. at one and the same time has advanced Henry Howard Brother of the last Duke of Norfolk a person of excellent wit and fluent eloquence a complete master of Arts and Sciences exceeding prudent and provident to the degree and stile of Baron Howard of Marnehill and the honour of Earl of Northampton There belong to this Shire 326 Parishes ADDITIONS to NORTHAMPTONSHIRE a THE County of Northampton at the time of the Conquerour's Survey was something larger than now it is For all the south part of Rutlandshire must have been taken out of it because in Domesday-book we meet with the towns in this tract under the title of Northamptonshire 'T is a County so plentiful in all things necessary to life that it does not need nor indeed will allow much of manufacture the ground abundantly maintaining and fully employing the Inhabitants * Full Wor. pag. 279. It is said that of Cloathing has been attempted with great application but at last came to nothing The thinness of it's woods observ'd by our Author and it 's distance from the sea so that no Coal can
of the Graves of the great family of Mansfield in Germany who assert the Antiquity of the family of Mansfeld in Germany and that the first Earl of Mansfeld was at the Celebration of the round Table with our Arthur and that he was born here Our Kings were formerly wont to retire hither for the sake of hunting and that you may have it in the very words of an old Inquisition Henry Fauconberge held the manour of Cukeney in this County by Serjeanty for shooing the King's horse when he came to Mansfeld 9 And the hereditary Foresters or Keepers of this Forest of Shirewood were men in their times of high estimation viz. Sir Gerard de Normanvile in the time of the Conquest the Cauzes and Birkins by whose heir it came to the Everinghams Of which family Sir Adam Everingham was summon'd to Parliaments in the reigns of King Edw. 2. and King Edw. 3. At which time they were seated at Laxton anciently call'd Lexinton where also fleurish'd a great family so sirnam'd whose heirs were marry'd into the houses of Sutton of Averham and Markham Many small rivers spring out of this wood and run towards the Trent the chief of them is Idle â—dle upon which near Idleton in the year 616 the great success and fortune of Ethered a most potent King of the Northumbrians stopp'd and fail'd him For whereas he had formerly always fought with great success here his fortune vary'd and he was cut off being defeated by Redwald King of the East Angles who set Edwin excluded then and depriv'd of the throne of his Ancestors over Northumberland The course of this little river lyes at no great distance from Markham â—â—rkham a small village but yet it has given name to the Markhams a family very famous heretofore both for antiquity and virtue 10 Being descended from one of the heirs of Cressy and formerly from an heir of Lexinton as I lately shew'd the greatest ornament of which was J. Markham who was Lord Chief Justice of England and temper'd his Judgments with so much equity as you may read in the Histories of England that the glory of him will never perish in after ages i He dy'd as appears from an inscription in Markham-Church of S. Silvester's day An. D. 1409. Six miles from hence to the westward stands Workensop â—â— kensop known for its great produce of liquorice â—â—qâ—orice and famous for the Earl of Shrewsbury's house there built in this age by George Talbot Earl of Shrewsbury with magnificence becoming the state of so great an Earl and yet not to contract envy To the Talbots it came with a great inheritance from the Lovetofts first Lords of it in the Norman times by the Furnivals and Nevils Of these Lovetofts G. Lovetoft in Henry the first 's time built a Monastery here the ruins of which are still to be seen among very pleasant meadows on the East-side of the town but the West-part of the Church is yet remaining with two towers very fair and beautiful i A little higher upon the same river I saw Blithe â—â—â—the a noted market-town which was fortify'd with a castle as I was inform'd by Bulley or Busly a Nobleman of Norman extract but at this day hardly the ruins of it are visible so destructive is age to every thing But the little Monastery there was built by Roger Busly and Foulk de Lisieurs and this is almost the last town of Nottinghamshire to the Northward unless it be Scroby â—â—roby a little town belonging to the Arch-Bishop of York seated in the very edge of it William sirnam'd the Conquerour Lords and Earls of Nottingham Lib. M. Linton Matth. Paris p. 126. See the Earls of Derby Matth. Paris p. 204. Hoveden p. 373. b. Inq. 6 Ric. 2. made his natural son William Peverell ruler of this County not by the title of Earl but Lord of Nottingham who had a son that dy'd during the life of his father and he likewise a son of the same name depriv'd of his estate by Henry the second for preparing a dose of poyson for Ranulph Earl of Chester About the same time Robert de Ferrariis who plunder'd Nottingham us'd this title in the gift he made to the Church of Tuttesbury Robert the younger Earl of Nottingham But afterwards King Richard the first gave and confirm'd to his brother John the County and Castle of Nottingham with the whole Honour of Peverell Long after that Richard the second honour'd John de Mowbray with this title who dying young and without issue his brother Thomas succeeded him who by Richard the second was created Earl Marshal and Duke of Norfolk and being banish't immediately after he begat Thomas Earl Marshal beheaded by Henry the fourth and John Mowbray who as also his son and grandson was Duke of Norfolk and Earl of Nottingham But the issue male of this family failing and Richard the infant-son of Edward the fourth Duke of York having enjoy'd this title among others 11 By his wife the heir of the Mowbraies for a small time Richard the third honour'd William Marquess of Barkley and Henry the eighth grac'd Henry Fitz-Roy his natural son 12 When he created him Duke of Richmond who both dy'd without issue with this title of Earl of Nottingham And lately in 1597. Queen Elizabeth solemnly invested Charles Howard High Admiral of England who is descended from the Mowbrays with this honour for his service as the Charter of his creation has it so stoutly and faithfully perform'd by Sea against the Spaniard in the year 1588. and his taking of Cadiz in the year 1596. he then commanding by Sea as the Earl of Essex did by Land There are 168 Parish-Churches in this County ADDITIONS to NOTTINGHAMSHIRE THE Antiquities of this County were publish'd An. 1677. by Robert Thoroton Doctor of Physick a native of it with great accuracy and exactness But keeping close to the descent of families and possessions of estates in which he has shown a great curiosity Mr. Camden and he have carry'd on two very different designs Had he given himself the liberty of making digressions upon British Roman and Saxon Antiquities as Mr. Burton in his history of Leicestershire has done his curiosity must needs have discover'd a great many things of that nature which might have been of considerable use towards the improvement of Camden Since then he has confin'd himself to the business of possessions for those matters I refer the Reader thither where he may have ample satisfaction and will go along with our Author in that part of Antiquity which he has principally touch'd upon a Going out of Leicestershire the Foss-way Foss-way which is the best if not the only direction for what we principally look after leads us into the South-part of this County and carrys us along the East of it into Lincolnshire And because Mr. Camden has taken no notice of it the best service that
College here A little higher upon Watlingstreet for so this Military way of the Romans is vulgarly call'd where there is a bridge of stone over the river Anker Manduessedum Manduessedum is seated a town of very great antiquity mention'd by Antoninus which having not yet altogether lost its name is call'd Mancester Mancester and in Ninnius's Catalogue Caer Mancegued Which name since a quarry of free-stone lies near it 't is probable was given it from the stone there digg'd and hew'd For in the Glossaries of the British tongue we learn that Main signifies a stone and Fosswad in the Provincial language digging which being joyn'd together seem aptly enough to express the name Manduessedum u But how great or of what note soever it was in those times 't is now a poor little village containing not above fourteen small houses and hath no other monument of Antiquity to shew but an old Fort which they call Old-bury i.e. an old Burrough w Atherston on the one side a well-frequented market where the Church of the 14 Augustine Friers Friers was converted into a Chapel which nevertheless acknowledges that of Mancester to be the Mother Church and Nonn-eaton on the other side have by their nearness reduc'd Mancester to what you see it Neighbour to Atherston is Meri-val Merival i.e. Merry-vale where Robert de Ferrers built and dedicated a Monastery to God and the blessed Virgin in which his body wrapp'd up in an Ox-hide lies interr'd Beyond these Northward lies Pollesworth Pollesworth where Modwena an Irish virgin fam'd for her wonderful piety built a Nunnery which Robert Marmion a Nobleman who had his castle in the neighbourhood at Stippershull repair'd x Hard by also in the Saxon times flourish'd a town of which there appear now but very small remains call'd Secandunum at this time Seckinton Seckinton where Aethelbald King of the Mercians in a civil war was assassinated by Bcornred Chron. Sax. Beared in the year 749 but in a little time he was cut off by King Offa by the same means falling from the throne by which he had impiously got it y To close the whole I must now give you a Catalogue of the Earls of Warwick Earls of Warwick And to pass over Guar Morindus Guy that Echo of England and many more of that stamp which the fruitful wits of those times brought forth at one birth Henry son of Roger de Bellomonte brother of Robert Earl of Mellent was the first Earl of the Norman race who marry'd Margaret daughter of Aernulph de Hesdin Earl of Perch a person of mighty power and authority Of this family there were who bore that honour Roger son of Henry William son of Roger who dy'd in the 30th of King Henry the second Walleran his brother Henry son of Walleranâ— Thomas his son who dy'd without issue in the 26th of Henry the third and his sister Margery surviving was Countess of Warwick and dy'd childless Her two husbands nevertheless first John Mareschal Plaâ—â—â—3 Rot â—34 then John de Plessets in right of their wife and by the favour of their Prince were rais'd to the honour of Earls of Warwick But these dying without any issue by Margery Walleran Margery's uncle by the father succeeded in the honour and he dying without issue Alice his sister came to the Inheritance Afterwards William her son call'd Male-doctus Malduit and Manduit de Hanslap who dy'd also without issue But Isabel his sister being marry'd to William de Bello Campo or Beauchamp Baron of Elmesly carry'd the Earldom into the family of the Beauchamps Who if I am not mistaken because they were descended from a daughter of Ursus de Abtot gave the Bear for their Cognisance and left it to their posterity Of this family there were six Earls and one Duke William the son of Isabel John Guy Thomas Thomas the younger Richard and lastly Henry to whom King Henry the sixth made a Grant without precedent That he should be primier Earl of all England and use this title Henry primier Earl of all England and Earl of Warwick Rot. Parâ— 23 Hen. â— He made him also King of the Isle of Wight afterwards created him Duke of Warwick and by the express words of his Patent granted that he should have place in Parliament and elsewhere next to the Duke of Norfolk and before the Duke of Buckingham He had but one daughter Anne 24 Hâ— who in the Inquisitions was stil'd Countess of Warwick and dy'd in her Infancy She was succeeded by Richard Nevill who had marry'd the daughter of the said Duke of Warwick a person of an invincible spirit but changeable and fickle in his Allegiance the very sport and tennis-ball of fortune Who altho' no King himself was yet superiour to Kings as being the person who depos'd Henry the sixth a most bountiful Prince to him and set up Edward the fourth in his place Afterwards he un-king'd him again re-establisht Henry the sixth in the Throne and involv'd the kingdom in the flames of a civil war which were not extinguisht but with his own blood 15 After his death Anne his wife by Act of Parliament was excluded and debarred from all her lands for ever and his two daughters heirs to him and heirs apparent to their mother being married to George Duke of Clarence and Richard Duke of Glocester were enabled to enjoy all the said lands in such wise as if the said Anne their mother were naturally dead Whereupon the name stile and title of Earl of Warwick and Sarisbury was granted to George Duke of Clarence who soon after was unnaturally dispatch'd by a sweet death in a Butt of Malvesey by his suspicious brother King Edw. 4. His young son Edward was stil'd Earl of Warwick and being but a very child was beheaded by King Henry 7. to secure himself and his posterity The death of this Edward our Ancestors accounted to be the full period and final end of the long lasting war between the two royal houses of Lancaster and York Wherein as they reckon'd from the 28th year of Henry 6. unto this being the 15th of Henry 7. there were 13 fields fought 3 Kings of England 1 Prince of Wales 12 Dukes 1 Marquis 18 Earls with one Vicount and 23 Barons besides Knights and Gentlemen lost their lives Edward son of one of his daughters by George Duke of Clarence succeeded whom Henry the seventh for neither youth nor innocence could protect him to secure himself and the line put to death The title of this Earldom which was become formidable to Henry the eighth by the great troubles Richard Nevil that scourge of Kings had created lay dormant till Edward the sixth gave it to John Dudley deriving a title from the Beauchamps He as the before mention'd Richard endeavouring to subvert the Government under Queen Mary had his boundless ambition punisht with the loss of his head But his sons first John whilst his father was
living and Duke of Northumberland by the courtesie of England made use of this title for some time and afterwards Ambrose a person most accomplisht in all heroick qualities and of a sweet disposition by the royal favour of Queen Elizabeth had in my time the title restor'd him 16 And his heirs males and for defect of them to Robert his brother and the heirs males â—f his body lawfully begotten maintain'd the honour with great applause and at last dy'd without issue 17 This Honour Ambrose bare with great commendation and died without children in the year 1589. shortâ—y â—fter his brother Robert Earl of Leicester In this County are 158 Parish-Churches ADDITIONS to WARWICKSHIRE THIS County at first sight should promise a considerable stock of Antiquities being almost encompass'd with old Roman ways which generally afford us the largest treasure Watlingstreet runs along the East-part Ykenild-street upon the West and both are cut by the Foss crossing it from South-west to North-east And had but Sir William Dugdale took the liberty of making larger digressions of that kind either in the body of his work as such places lay in his way or in the method which Dr. Plott has since us'd making such Antiquities an Appendix to his elaborate work we should probably have found the discoveries answerable to the appearance and that those ways would have contributed the same assistance to that search as they do in other Counties I dare not call it an omission because it did not so directly fall under his design but if it were those many excellent digressions he has given us concerning the nature and difference of Monastick orders consecrations of Churches and such like would make ample satisfaction However since we cannot compass the whole let us be content with what we have and accompany Mr. Camden to the several parts of this County a Only we must premise something of the condition of its two general branches Feldon and Wood land That the first was once exceeding populous may certainly be inferr'd from the numbers of villages enter'd in Domesday the situation whereof are now known only by their ruins or at most by a cottage or two of a Shepherd's who ranges over and manages as much ground as would have employ'd a dozen Teems and maintain'd forty or fifty families The reason of converting so much Tillage into Pasture in this part seems to be the great progress the Woodlanders have made in Agriculture by which means the County began to want Pasture For the Iron-works in the Counties round destroy'd such prodigious quantities of wood that they quickly lay the Country a little open and by degrees made room for the plough Whereupon the Inhabitants partly by their own industry and partly by the assistance of Marle and of other useful contrivances have turn'd so much of Wood and Heath-land into Tillage and Pasture that they produce corn cattel cheese and butter enough not only for their own use but also to furnish other Counties whereas within the memory of man they were supply'd with Corn c. from the Feldon b Feldon is recommended for the delicate prospect it affords from Edge-hill â—c â—hill but Edge-hill it self is since become much more considerable for that signal battel fought there between the King and Parliament Sept. 9. 1642. The generality of our Historians compute the number of the slain to have been five or six thousand but by the survey taken by Mr. Fisher Vicar of Kineton who was appointed by the Earl of Essex for that purpose the list of the slain amounted only to thirteen hundred and odd On the Noth-east corner of Edge-hill stands Ratley â—y call'd falsly by our Author Rodley it never appearing under that name only in Domesday-book it is indeed call'd Rotelei The fortification he mentions is not round but quadrangular and contains about 12 acres Near which within our memory were found a sword of brass and a battle-ax something of this kind our Author observes to have been discover'd at the foot of St. Michael's Mount in Cornwall The shape of the horse mention'd by our Author is on the side of Edge-hill and the trenches that form it are cleans'd and kept open by a neighbouring Freeholder who holds lands by that service c Kineton â—on cannot be as Mr. Camden would have it deriv'd from its market of kine because Henry 1. gave this Church under the name of Chinton to the Canons of Kenilworth â—â—de â—â—orth whereas the market was not granted till 4 Henr. 3. But 't is probable it had that name from being the possession of the Kings particularly of Edward the Confessor or William the Conquerour And to the North-west of the town at the point of a hill still call'd Castle-hill there has been a Castle as appears by a little mount cast up and a broad and deep ditch round it where tradition says King John kept his Court a Spring also at the foot of the hill goes at this day by the name of King John's well North-east from Kineton is Chadshunt Chadshunt one of the 24 towns given by Leofrick Earl of Mercia to the Monastery of Coventry in his Charter call'd Chaddesleyhunt and in Domesday Cedesleshunte 'T is probable it had that name from S. Chadde call'd also Cedde and Ceadde For in the Chapel yard was an ancient Oratory and in it as the Inhabitants report the Image of St. Chadde by reason of the resort of Pilgrims worth 16 l. per An. to the Priest Inquis capt 4. Eliz. Here is also a Well or Spring that still retains the name of Chad's well Not far from hence is Nether Ealendon Nether Ealendon which manour was held of Henry de Ferrers at the time of the Conquest and continues at this day in the hands of his posterity of the male-line such an uninterrupted succession of owners for so many ages as we seldom meet with Till Henry the third's time it was their principal seat then removing into Derbyshire they took the name of Shirley and the present Lord of this place is Sir Robert Shirley Baronet d More Eastward stands Wormleighton Wormleighton of which place Mr. Camden tells us Robert Spenser was created Baron by K. James 1. * Baronage Tom. 2. p. 418. Dugdale also says that Sir Robert Spenser son to Sir John and not Sir John as it is in some Editions of our Author was he upon whom K. James 1. on the 21th of July and first year of his reign conferr'd the dignity of a Baron under the title of Lord Spenser of Wormleighton whose grandson Henry Lord Spenser being advanc'd by K. Charles the first to the title of Earl of Sunderland and in arms for that Prince in the late civil wars lost his life in the first battel of Newbury e Next we go forward to Long-Ichingdon Long-Ichingdon so call'd from the river Ichene on which it stands †Dugdaâ— p. 230. and memorable for the
room William the son of Osbern of Crepon or as the Normans call'd him Fitz-Osbern a person very nearly allied to the Dukes of Normandy He being slain in the 4 Assisting the Earl of Flanders wars in Flanders was succeeded by his son Roger sirnam'd de Bretevill who died 5 Condemn'd to perpetual prison for a Conspiracy against the Conquerour out-law'd Proscriptus leaving no legitimate issue Then King Stephen restor'd to Robert le Bossu Earl of Leicester 6 Who had marry'd Emme or Itta heir of Bretevill son of Emme de Bretevill's heir I speak out of the original it self the Borough of Hereford and the Castle and the whole County of Hereford to descend by inheritance but to no purpose For Maud the Empress who contended with Stephen for the Crown advanced Miles the son of Walter Constable of Glocester to that honour and 7 Also granted to him Constabulariam Curiae suae the Constableship of her Court whereupon his posterity were Constables of England as the Marshalship was granted at the first by the name of Magistratus â—lariscalâ—iae Câ—riae nostrae made him high Constable of England Constables of England Nevertheless King Stephen afterwards divested him of these honours This Miles had five sons Roger Walter Henry William and Mahel all persons of great note and who died untimely deaths after they had all but William succeeded one another in their father's inheritance having none of them any issue King Henry amongst other things gave to Roger The Mote of Hereford with the whole Castle Girald Cambriae Itin. l. 1. c. 2. and the third penny of the revenues of the Pleas of the whole County of Hereford whereof he made him Earl But upon Roger's death if we may credit Robert Montensis the same King kept the Earldom of Hereford to himself Margaret the eldest sister of these was married to Humphrey Bohun the third of that name and his Posterity were High Constables of England viz. Humphrey Bohun the fourth Henry his son 2 Par. Chart. An. 1 Reg. Joan. Matth. Paris Lib Waldensis Lib. Monasterii Lanthony to whom King John granted Twenty pound to be received yearly of the third penny of the County of Hereford whereof he made him Earl This Henry married the sister and heir of William Mandevill Earl of Essex and died in the fourth year of King Henry the third Humphrey the fifth his son who was also Earl of Essex and had Humphrey the sixth who died before his father having first begot Humphrey the seventh upon a daughter and one of the heirs of William Breos Lord of Brecknock His son Humphrey the eighth was slain at Boroughbrigg leaving by Elizabeth his wife daughter of King Edward the first and dowager of the Earl of Holland a numerous issue viz. John Bohun Humphrey the ninth both Earls of Hereford and Essex who dyed issueless and William Earl of Northampton who had by Elizabeth 8 Daughter sister and one of the heirs of Giles Lord Badlesmer Humphrey Bohun the tenth and last of the Bohuns Earl of Hereford Essex and Northampton as also Lord High Constable of England He left two daughters Eleanor the wife of Thomas de Woodstock Duke of Glocester and Mary married to Henry of Lancaster Earl of Derby Henry 〈◊〉 fourâ—◠〈◊〉 of Eâ—gâ—â—â—â— who was created Duke of Hereford and was afterwards crowned King of England After this the Staffords Dukes of Buckingham had the title of Earls of Hereford who were descended from a daughter of Thomas of Woodstock which daughter was afterwards married to William Bourchier called Earl of Ew But in our memory King Edward the sixth honour'd Walter D'Eureux descended by the Bourchiers from the Bohuns with the title of Viscount Hereford whose grandchild by a son was afterwards created Earl of Essex by Queen Elizabeth This County contains 176 Parishes ADDITIONS to HEREFORDSHIRE a THE County of Hereford being as it were a Frontier in all the wars between the English and Welsh has upon that account been very remarkable for its number of Forts and Castles no fewer than 28. the greatest part whereof have now little to show beside the name Our Author observes it to be a very good Corn-Country but its present peculiar eminence is in Fruits of all sorts which give them an opportunity particularly of making such vast quantities of Syder as not only to serve their own families for 't is their general drink but also to furnish London and other parts of England their Red-streak from a sort of Apple they call so being exrtemely valu'd b Upon the river Wye two miles from Hereford is Eaton-wall Eaton * Aubr MS. a Camp containing about thirty or forty acres The works of it are single except a little on the West-side And about two miles from hence and a mile from Kenchester is Creden-hill upon which is a very great Camp and mighty works the graff here is inwards as well as outwards and the whole contains by estimation about forty acres c Near which is Kenchester Kenchester †Blome where about the year 1669. was found in a wood a great vault with tables of plaster in it The vault it self was pav'd with stone and thereabouts were dug up also many pieces of Roman Coins with large Bones leaden Pipes several Roman Urns with ashes in them and other vessels the use whereof was unknown d A little lower stands its daughter Hereford Hereford in which name our Author would find some remains of the old Ariconium whereas it is of a pure Saxon original implying no more than a ford of the army nor ought the vulgar's pronouncing it Hariford be of any weight when it appears by * See the Glossary and the several places wherein 't is mention'd our most ancient Annals that it was constantly written hereford Which interpretation doth also suit the situation of the place exceeding well the Severn being for many hundreds of years the frontier between two Nations almost always at war e Leland †Itinerar MS. has told us that the Castle by the ruins appear'd to have been one of the fairest largest and strongest in all England The walls were high firm and full of great towers and where the river was not a sufficient defence for it there it was strongly ditch'd It had two wards each of them surrounded with water the dungeon was high and exceeding well fortify'd having in the outward wall or ward ten towers of a semiciâ—cular figure and one great tower in the inner ward As to the building of it the sâ—me Leland has left us what tradition was on foot in his time without taking any notice of our Author's Earl Milo Some think says he that Heraldus â—gan this Castle after that he had conquer'd the rebellion of the Welshmen in King Edward the Confessor's time Some think that the Lacies Earls of Hereford were the great makers of it and the Bohuns Earls of Hereford
Sheafield Sheafiâ—ld the Staple-town for Knives and has been so these three hundred years Witness that Verse of Chaucer's A Sheffield whittle bare he in his hose Many of the Talbots Earls of Shrewsbury are here interr'd particularly George the first of that name and title who dy'd the 26th of July 1538. and his grandson of the same name to whose custody Mary Q. of Scots was committed the date of whose death is now inserted upon the Tomb xviii Novembris anno redemptionis Christi MDLXXXX which is the more worthy our observation because it was deficient in that part when Sir William Dugdale publish'd his * Vol. 1. p. 334. Baronage His son Gilbert likewise interr'd here gave 200 l. per An. to the poor of Sheafield where his great grandson erected a stately Hospital with this Inscription The Hospital of the Right Honourable Gilbert Eâ—rl of Shrewsbury erected and setled by the Right Honourable Henry Earl of Norwich Earl Marshal of England Great grand child of the aforesaid Earl in pursuance of his last Will and Testament Anno Dom. 1673. The Manour of Sheafield is descended from the said Earl Marshal to the present Duke of Norfolk The Castle mention'd by our Author was built of stone in the time of Henr. 3. and was demolisht when other Castles also were order'd to be ras'd after the death of King Charles the first Here it was or in the Manour-house in the Park that Mary Queen of Scots was detain'd Prisoner in the custody of George Duke of Shrewsbury between sixteen and seventeen years Concerning the vast Oak tree growing in this Park I refer the Reader to Mr. Evelyn's account of it Before the river Don comes to Rotheram it passes close by a fair Roman fortification call'd Temple-Brough Temple-Brough The North-east corner of it is worn away by the river the area is about 200 paces long and 120 broad besides the agger and without it is a very large Trench â—37 paces deep from the middle of the Rampire to the bottom On the outside of it is another large bench upon which are huge trees and upon the side of the bench of the high-way there grew a Chesnut-tree that had scarce any bark upon it but only upon some top-branches which bore leaves It was not tall but the Bole could scarcely be fathom'd by three men On the North-side of the river over aginst Temple-brough is a high Hill call'd Winco-bank Wâ—â—â—â—-bâ—â—â— from which a large bank is continu'd without interruption almost five miles being in one place call'd Danes-bank And about a quarter of a mile South from Kemp-bank over which this Bank runs there is another agger which runs parallel with that from a place call'd Birchwood running towards Mexburgh and terminating within half a mile of its West-end as Kemp-bank runs by Swinton to Mexburg more North. d Below upon the same river lyes Rotheram 〈…〉 famous as for the birth of Thomas Rotheram so also for that of the learned and judicious Dr. Robert Sanderson late Bishop of Lincoln Near which is Thribergh the Seat of Sir William Reresby 〈◊〉 Baronet e Not far from hence is Connisborough Câ—â—â—â—◠〈◊〉 Wâ—â—â—â— the birth-place of Richard Plantagene Duke of York grandson to King Edward 3. and grandfather to King Edw 4. who tampering too soon for the Crown was beheaded by King Henry 5. The Castle here hath been a large strong built Pile whereof the out-walls are staâ—ding situate on a pleasant ascent fâ—om the river but mâ—ch over-topp'd by a high hill on which the town stands Before the gate is an agger by tradition said to be the burying place of Hengist In the Church-yard under the wall lyes a very ancient stone of blue marble with antique figures upon it one representing a man with a target encountâ—ing a vast winged Serpent with a man bearing a target behind him It is ridg'd like a Coffin on which is engraven a man on horseback curiously cut but very ancient f Nigh this town is Carhouse Caâ—â—â—â—â—â— the Seat of John Gill Esq High-Sheriff of the County A. D. 1692. and above three miles off is Aston Aâ—â—â—â— the ancient Seat of the Lord D' Arcys now Earls of Holderness g Going along with the river 〈◊〉 we come to Doncaster where in St. George's Church the only one in the town is interr'd Thomas Ellis five times Mayor and a Benefactor founder of an Hospital call'd St. Thomas the Apostle and one Byrks that gave Rossington-wood to the publick with this uncouth Inscription upon his Tomb. Howe Howe Who is heare I Robin of Doncastere and Margaret my feare that I spent that I had that I gave that I have that I left that I lost A. D. 1579. Quoth Robertus Byrkes who in this world did reign threescore years and seven and yet lived not one This place since our Author's time hath afforded the title of Viscount to James Hay Baron of Sauley created 16 Jac. 1. and afterwards in the 20th year of the same King made Earl of Carlisle and was succeeded in his estate and titles by James his son who dy'd without issue Whereupon in the 15th of Car. 2. James Fitz-Roy Baron of Tindale was created Earl of Doncaster and Duke of Monmouth h Thence Done runneth by Whâ—atley Wâ—â—â— the Seat of Sir George Cook Baronet whose uncle Bryan Coâ—k Eâ—â— gave by Will A. 1660. the whole Rectory of Arkâ—â—y to five Trustees for the payment of so much to the Vicar there as with his ancient stipend of 12 l. 13 s. 4 d. will amount to 100 l. per Ann. He gave also 40 l. per An. to a School-master to instruct the poor of the Parish and 60 l. for the building of a Hospital for twelve of the ancientest poor which receive each 5 l. per An. His brother Sir George Cook Baronet gave by Will 1683. 200 l. and two Cottages for building of a fair School-house Scarce two miles from Arksey Aâ—â—â—â— lyes Adwick in the street memorable on this account that Mrs. Anne Savill a Virgin Benefactor yet living daughter of John Savill of Medley Esq purchas'd the Rectory thereof for which she gave about 900 l. and has settl'd it in the hands of Trustees for the use of the Church for ever and this from a generous and pious principle upon the reading of Sir Henry Spelman's noted Treatise De non temerandis Ecclesiis Mr. Joshua Brook the present Incumbent has erected this Inscription over the door of the Parsonage-house built from the foundation at his own charge Rectoria de Adwick accessit Clero ex donatione Dnae Annae Savile ex prosapiâ Savillorum de Mâ—thley oriundae i The next place of note is Hatfield-chace where Cadwallin King of the Britains the 〈…〉 printed Bede calls him Carduella but Ceadwalla seems to be the right as it is in a MS. Bede now in the hands of Mr. Thoresby of Leeds with Penda Pagan King of Mercia in
elsewhere they held of the King More inward among the mountains of Blackamore Blackamore there is nothing remarkable to be met with besides some rambling brooks and rapid torrents which take up as it were all the vallies hereabouts unless it be Pickering a pretty large town belonging to the Dutchy of Lancaster seated upon a hill and fortified with an old Castle to which many neighbouring villages round about do belong so that the adjacent territory is commonly called Pickering Lith the Liberty of Pickering and the Forest of Pickering Pickering which Hen. 3. gave to Edmund his younger son E. of Lancaster In this upon the Derwent Atton Atton is situated which gives name to the famous family of the Attons Knights descended from the Lords de Vescy whose estate was divided by the daughters between Edward de St. John the Euers and the Coigniers From this Edward de St. John a great part thereof came by a daughter to Henry Bromflet who was summon'd to Parliament in the following manner 27 Hen. 6. Bromflet Lord Vescy no where else to be met with among the Summons to Parliament We will that both you and the heirs males of your body lawfully begotten be Barons of Vescy Afterwards this title went by a daughter to the Cliffords On the other side four miles from Pickering near Dow a very strong current is Kirkby-Morside Kirkby-Moreside none of the most inconsiderable market-towns formerly belonging to the Estotevills and situate near hills from which it takes it's name From these westward stands Rhidale Rhidale a very fine valley pleasant and fruitful adorn'd with 23 Parish-Churches and the river Rhy running through the midst of it A place says Newbrigensis of vast solitude and horror till Walter Espec gave it to the Cluniack Monks and founded a Cloister for them Here Elmesly is seated Elmesley call'd also Hamlak which if I do not mistake Bede calls Ulmetum where Robert sirnamed de Ross built the Castle Fursam near which the river Recall hides it self under ground Lower down upon this river stands Riton the old estate of an ancient family the Percihaies commonly called Percyes From hence the Rhy with the many waters received from other currents rolls into the Derwent which washes Malton Malton in this valley a market-town famous for its vent of corn horses fish and Country-utensils There the foundation of an old Castle is visible which formerly as I have heard belonged to the Vesceys Baron Vescey Barons of great note in these parts Their pedigree as appears from the Records of the Tower is from William Tyson who was Lord of Malton and Alnewick in Northumberland and was cut off in the battel of Hastings against the Normans His only daughter was married to Ivo de Vescy a Norman who likewise left one only daughter called Beatrice married to Eustachius the son of John Monoculus who in the reign of K. Stephen founded two Religious houses at Malton and Watton For his second wife daughter to William Constable of Chester was Lady of Watton William the son of Eustachius by his wife Beatrice being ripped out of his mothers womb took the name Vescey and for Arms Arms of the Vâ—scies Matth. Paris MS. A Cross Argent in a field Gules This William by B. daughter to Robert Estotevill of Knaresburgh had two sons Eustach de Vescey who married Margaret daughter to William King of Scotland and 7 Sir Guarin Guarin de Vescey Lord of Knapton Eustach was father to William who had a son John that died without issue and William famous for his exploits in Ireland and who changed the old Arms of the family into a shield Or with a Cross Sable William his lawful son John dying in the wars of Wales gave some of his lands in Ireland to King Edward that his natural son called William de Kildare might inherit his estate Lib. Dunelm and made Anthony Bec Bishop of Durham his Feoffee in trust to the use of his son who hardly acquitted himâ—elf fairly in that part of his charge relating to Alnwick Eltham in Kent and some other estates which he is said to have converted to his own use This natural son aforesaid was slain at Sterling fight in Scotland and the title fell at last to the family of the Attons by Margaret the only daughter of 8 Sir Guarin Guarin Vescy who was married to Gilbert de Atton Vid. pag. praeced But enough of this if not too much and besides we spoke of it before Near this valley stands Newborrow Newborrow to which we owe William of Newborrow an English Historian learned and diligent now it is the Seat of the famous family de Ballasise who are originally from the Bishoprick of Durham and also Belleland commonly call'd Biland Biland two famous Monasteries both fâ—unded and endow'd by Roger Mowbray Family of the Mowbrays The family of these Mowbrays was as considerable as any for power honours and wealth they possessed very great estates with the castles of Slingesby Thresk and others in these parts The rise of this family was in short thus Roger de Mowbray Earl of Northumberland and R. de * In another plâ—ce call'd De Frente Bovis Grandebeofe being for disloyalty depâ—iv'd of their estates King Henry the first gave a great part of them to Nigell de Albenie descended from the same family with the Albenies Earls of Arondell a man of very noble extraction among the Normans He was Bow-bearer to William Rufus and enrich'd to that degree by him The Register of Fountain-Abby that he had in England 140 Knights fees and in Normandy 120. His son Roger was also commanded by him to take the name of Mowbray fâ—om whom the Mowbrays Earls of Nottingham and the Dukes of Norfolk are descended To these Mowbrays also Gilling-castle Gilling-castle a little way from hence did formerly belong but now 't is in the hands of that ancient and famous family which from their fair hair have the name of Fairfax Fairfax for fax Fax in the old Saxon signifies hair or the hairs of the head upon which account they call'd a Comet or Blazing-star a Faxed-star Faxed-star as also the place before spoken of Haly-fax from holy hair Below this to the Southward lyes the Calaterium nemus commonly The Forest of Galtres The Forest of Galtres which in some places is thick and shady in others plain wet and boggy At present it is famous for a yearly Horse-race A Horse-race wherein the prize for the horse that wins is a little golden bell 'T is hardly credible what great resort of people there is to these races from all parts and what great wagers are laid upon the horses In this Forest stands Creac Creac which Egfrid King of Northumberland in the year b It was given in 685. the last of that King's reign as some Latin editions and the
original Charter it self still extant in the Cottonian Library and publisht by Sir Roger Twisden at the end of the Hist Eccles Sim Dunelm abundantly testifie 684 gave with the ground three miles round it to S. Cuthbert by whom it came to the Church of Durham Scarce four miles from hence Sherry-hutton Sherry-hutton a very neat Castle built by 9 Sir Bertrand Bulmer Bertrand de Bulmer and repair'd by Ralph Nevill first Earl of Westmorland is pleasantly seated among the woods near which is †This Castle was a great part of it lately burnt down Hinderskell Hinderskel a Castle built by the Barons of Greystock which others call ‖ Centum fontes Hunderd-skell from the many fountains that spring there Behind the hills to the Westward where the Country falls again into a level and the fields are more fruitful North Alvertonshire lyes Alvertonshire commonly North-Allerton a small territory water'd by the little river Wiske It takes its name from the town of Northalverton formerly Ealfertun which is nothing but a long street yet the most throng Beast-fair upon St. Bartholomew's day that ever I saw King William Rufus gave this place with the fields about it to the Church of Durham to the Bishops whereof it is much obliged For William Comin who forcibly possess'd himself of the See of Durham built the Castle there and gave it to his nephew which is almost decay'd The Bishops likewise his Successors endow'd it with some privileges For in the Book of Durham Cap. 1â— we find that Hugh de Puteaco Bishop of Durham fortified the Town having obtain'd this favour of the King that of all those unlawful Castles which by his order were then destroy'd up and down throughout England this alone should still be permitted to remain entire which notwithstanding the King afterwards commanded to be rased 113â— and laid even with the ground The Bâ— of Staâ—â—ard Near this was fought the battel commonly call d c One part of the History written by Richard Prior of Hexham bears the title De Bello Standardi Pits de Script Angl. p. 259. The Standard wherein David King of Scotland who by his unheaâ—d of cruelty had made this Country a mere desert Hovedâ— was put to flight with such slaughter of his men that the English themselves thought their revenge then at last sufficiently completed For what Ralph the Bishop said in his Exhortation to the English befoâ—e the fight was fully effected A multitude without discipline is a hindrance to it self either to hurt when they conquer or to escape when they are conquer'd This was call'd the Battel of Standard because the English being rang'd into a body about their Standard there receiv'd and bore the onset of the Scots and at last routed them Now this Standard as I have seen it dâ—awn in old books was a huge Chariot upon wheels with a * Maâ—â— mast of great height fix'd in it on the top whereof was a cross and under that hung a banner This was a signal only us'd in the greatest Expeditions and was lookt upon as the sacred Altar being indeed the very same with the Carrocium Carrocâ—â—â— among the Italians which was never to be used but when the very Empire it self lay at stake There is farther remarkable in this division Thresk Thresk commonly Thrusk which had formerly a very strong Castle where Roger de Mowbray began his rebellion and call d in the King of Scots to the destruction of his Country King Henry the second having very unadvisedly digg'd his own grave by taking his son into an equal share of the Government and Royalty But this Sedition was at last as it were quencht with blood and the Castle utterly demolisht so that I could see nothing of it there besides the rampire Another flame of Rebellion likewise broke out here in King Henry the seventh's reign For the lawless Rabble repining most grievously at that time that a small subsidy was laid on them by the Parliament drove away the Collectors of it and forthwith as such madness upon the least success spurs on without end or aim fell here upon Henry Percie Earl of Northumberland who was Lieutenant of this County Earl of Northâ—â—berland slain by 〈◊〉 Rebels and kill'd him then under the conduct of John Egremond their Leader took up Arms against their King and Country Yet it was not long before they were brought to such heavy punishments as were due to them Here hard by stands Soureby and Brakenbak belonging to the truly ancient and famous family of Lascelles Lascellâ—â— and more to the Southward Sezay formerly the estate of the Darells after that of the Dawnies who flourish'd long under the title of Knights The first and only Earl of Yorkshire after William Mallet and one or two Estotevills Earls 〈◊〉 Dukes oâ— York both of Norman extraction whom some would have to have been hereditary Viscounts here was Otho son of Henry Leon Duke of Bavaria and Saxony An. 1 R Hovedâ— by Maud the daughter of Henry the second King of England who was afterwards greeted Emperour by the name of Otho the fourth From whose brother William another son by Maud the Dukes of Brunswick Dukes oâ— Brunsâ—â—â—â— and Lunenburgh in Germany are descended who as an instance of this relation of theirs to the Kings of England us'd the same Arms with the first Kings of England that were of Norman descent namely two Leopards or Lions Or in a Shield Gules Long after this King Richard the second made Edmund of Langley fifth son to King Edward the third Duke of York who by one of the daughters of Peter King of Castile and Leon had two sons Edward the eldest in the life time of his father was first Earl of Cambridge after that Duke of Albemarle and last of all Duke of York who without issue lost his life valiantly in the battel of Agincourt in France Richard the second son was Earl of Cambridge he married Ann sister of Edmund Mortimer Earl of March whose grandmother likewise was the only daughter and heir of Leonel Duke of Clarence and attempting to set the Crown upon the head of his wife's brother Edmund was presently found out and beheaded as if he had been hired by the French to destroy King Henry the fifth Richard his son in the sixteenth year after by the great but unwary generosity of Henry the sixth â— 10 H. was fully restored as son of Richard the brother of Edward Duke of York and Cousin German to Edmund Earl of March. And now being Duke of York Earl of March and Ulster Lord of Wigmore Clare Trim and Conaght he grew to that pitch of boldness that whereas formerly he had sought the Kingdom privately by ill practices complaining of male-administration dispersing seditious rumours and libels entring into secret combinations by raising broils next to wars against the Government at last he claims it publickly
as his right in Parliament against Henry the sixth Rolls â— 6. as being son of Ann Mortimer sister and heir to Edmund Earl of March descended in a right line from Philippa the daughter and sole heir of Leonel Duke of Clarence third son of King Edward the third and therefore in all justice to be preferred in the succession to the Crown before the children of John of Gaunt the fourth son of the said Edward the third When it was answer'd him That the Barons of the Kingdom and the Duke himself had sworn Allegiance to the King that the Kingdom by Act of Parliament was conferr'd and entail'd upon Henry the fourth and his heirs that the Duke deriving his title from the Duke of Clarence never took the Arms of the said Duke and that Henry the fourth was possess'd of the Crown by the right he had from Henry the third All this he easily evaded by replying that the said Oath sworn to the King being barely a human Constitution was not binding because it was inconsistent with truth and justice which are of Divine appointment That there had been no need of an Act of Parliament to settle the Kingdom in the line of Lancaster neither would they have desired it if they could have rely'd upon any just title and as for the Arms of the Duke of Clarence which in right belonged to him he had in prudence declin'd the using them as he had done challenging the Kingdom till that moment and that the title derived from Henry the third was a ridiculous pretext to cloak the injustice and exploded by every body Tho' these things pleaded in favour of the Duke of York shew'd his title to be clear and evident yet by a wise foresight to prevent the dangers that might ensue upon it the matter was so adjusted That Henry the sixth should possess and enjoy the Kingdom for life and that Richard Duke of York should be appointed his heir and successor in the Kingdom 10 He and his heirs to succeed after him with this proviso that neither of them should contrive any thing to the prejudice of the other However this heady Duke was quickly so far transported with ambition that by endeavouring to anticipate his hopes he raised that pernicious war between the Houses of York and Lancaster Wars between the House of York and Lancaster or between the Red-rose and the white distinguish'd by the white and the red Roses Which in a short time prov'd fatal to himself at Wakefield King Henry the sixth was four times taken prisoner and at last deprived of his Kingdom and his Life Edward Earl of March son of Richard then obtain'd the Crown and tho' he was deposed yet he recover'd it thus Fortune inconstant and freakish made her sport with the rise and fall of Princes many of the Blood-royal and of the greatest of the Nobility being cut off those hereditary and rich Provinces of the Kings of England in France being lost Ireland neglected and relapsed to their old wildness the wealth of the Nation wasted and the harass'd people oppress'd with all sorts of misery Edward being now settled in his Throne the fourth King of that name bestow'd the title of Duke of York upon Richard his second son who with the King his brother was destroy'd very young by that Tyrant Richard their Uncle Next Henry the seventh conferr'd it upon his younger son who was afterwards by the name of Henry the eighth crown'd King of England And now very lately King James invested his second son Charles whom he had before in Scotland made Duke of Albany Marquis of Ormond Earl of Ross and Baron Ardmanoch 11 A little child not full four years of age tho' but a child Duke of York by girding him with a Sword to use the words of the form putting a Cap and Coronet of Gold upon his head and by delivering him a Verge of Gold after he had the day before according to the usual manner created both him and eleven others of noble families Knights of the Bath There are in this County 459 Parishes with very many Chapels under them which for number of Inhabitants are comparable to great Parishes RICHMONDSHIRE THE rest of this County which lyes towards the North-west and is of large extent is call'd Richmondshire or Richmountshire The name is taken from a Castle built by Alan Earl of Bretagne in Armorica to whom William the Norman Conquerour gave this shire which belong'd to Edwin an English-man by this short Charter I William sirnam'd Bastard King of England do give and grant to you my Nephew Alan Earl of Bretagne and to your heirs for ever all the villages and lands which of late belong'd to Earl Eadwin in Yorkshire with the Knights-fees and other Liberties and Customs as freely and honourably as the same Eadwin held them Dated from our Siege before York With craggy Rocks and vast Mountains this shire lyes almost all high the sides of them here and there yield pretty rank grass the bottoms and valleys are not altogether unfruitful The hills afford great store of Lead Pit-Coal and also Brass Brass Lead and Pit-coal In a Charter of Edward the fourth's there is mention'd a Mineral or Mine of Coper near the very City of Richmond But covetousness which carries men even to Hell has not induced them to sink into these Mountains diverted perhaps by the difficulties of carriage On the tops of these Mountains Stone-cockles as likewise in other places there have sometimes been found stones resembling Sea cokcles and other Water-animals which if they are not the Miracles of Nature I cannot but think with Orosius a Christian Historian tâ—at they are the certain signs of an universal deluge in the times of Noah The Sea as he says being in Noah's time spread over all the earth and a deluge pour'd forth upon it so that this whole world was overfloated and the Sea as heaven surrounded the earth all mankind was destroyed but only those few saved in the ark for their faith to propagate posterity as is evidently taught by the most faithful Writers That this was so they have also been witnesses who knowing neither past times nor the Author of them yet from the signs and import of those stones which we often find on mountains distant from the sea but overspread with cockles and oysters yea oftentimes hollow'd by the water have learn'd it by conjecture and inference k Where this Shire touches upon the County of Lancaster the prospect among the hills is so wild solitary so unsightly and all things so still that the borderers have call'd some brooks that run here Hell becks Hell beâ—ks that is to say Hell or Stygian rivulets especially that at the head of the river Ure which with a bridge over it of one entire stone falls so deep that it strikes a horror upon one to look down to it Here is safe living in this tract for goats deer and stags which
called Balineum as appears from this Inscription which was hence convey'd to Connington to the house of the most famous and learned Sir Robert Cotton Knight DAE .. FORTVNAE Instead of Deae Fortunae VIRIVS LVPVS LEG AVG PR PR BALINEVM VI IGNIS EXVST VM COH I. THR ACVM REST ITVIT CVRANTE VAL. FRON TONE PRAE F EQ ALAE VETTO Here I must correct an errour in those who from a false draught of this Inscription which has it Balingium corruptly for Balineum imagine the place to have been call'd Balingium whereas upon a close inspection it is plainly Balineum in the stone a word used for Balneum by the ancients as the learned know very well who are not ignorant that Baths were as much us'd by the Souldiers as any others both for the sake of health and cleanliness for daily in that age they were wont to wash before they eat and also that Baths both publick and private were built at such a lavish rate every where Seneca See Flintshire that any one thought himself poor and mean that had not the walls of his Bath adorn'd with great and costly * Orbibus Rosses In these men and women washed promiscuously together tho' that was often prohibited both by the Laws of the Emperours and Synodical Decrees In the decline of the Roman Empire a †Numerus Exploratorum Band of the Exploratores with their Praefect under the command of the * Dacis Britanniae Captain of Britain had their station here as is manifest from the Notitia where it is nam'd Lavatres Now seeing these Baths were also call'd Lavacra by the Latins perhaps some Critick or other will imagine that this place was call'd Lavatrae instead of Lavacra yet I should rather derive it from that little river running hard by which I hear is call'd Laver. This modern name Bowes seeing the old Town was burnt to the ground according to a tradition among the Inhabitants seems to me to be deriv'd from that accident For that which is burnt with fire is call'd by the Britains Boeth and so the Suburbs of Chester beyond the Dee call'd by the English Hanbridge is nam'd by the Welsh or Britains from its being burnt down in a Welsh in-road Treboth that is a little town burnt Here begins that mountainous and vast tract always expos'd to winds and rain which from its being rough and stony is call'd by the Inhabitants Stanemore Stanemore for it is quite throughout solitary but for one Inn in the middle of it for the entertainment of Travellers 5 Call'd the Spittle on Stane more Spittle on Stanemore and near this is the remainder of a Cross which we call Rere-cross Rere-cross and the Scots Rei-cross that is a Royal Cross Hector Boetius a Scotchman says this stone was set as a boundary between England and Scotland when William the first gave Cumberland to the Scots upon this condition that they should hold it of him by fealty and attempt nothing that might be to the prejudice of the Crown of England Somewhat lower just by the Roman Military way was a small Roman Fort of a square form which is now call'd Maiden-castle Maiden-castle From hence as I had it from the Borderers this Military Roman way went with many windings to Caer Vorran As the favour of Princes inclin'd there have been several Earls of Richmond Earls of Richmond and of different families of whom with as much accuracy and clearness as I can I will give this following account in their due order 6 The first Earls were out of the house of Little Britain in France whose descent is confusedly intricate amongst their own Writers for that there were two principal Earls at once one of Haulte Britain and another of Base Britain for many years and every one of their children had their part in Gavelkind and were stil'd Earls of Britain without distinction But of these the first Earl of Richmond according to our Writings and Records was Alane sirnam'd Feregaunt that is The Red son of Hoel Earl of Britain descended from Hawise great Aunt to William the Conquerour who gave this Country unto him by name of the Lands of Earl Eadwin in Yorkshire and withal bestowed his daughter upon him by whom he had no issue He built Richmond-castle as is before specified to defend himself from disinherited and out-law'd English men in those parts and dying left Britain to his son Conan le Grosse by a second wife But Alane the Black son of Eudo son of Geffrey Earl of Britain and Hawise aforesaid succeeded in Richmond and he having no child left it to Stephen his brother This Stephen begat Alane sirnam'd Le Sâ—vage his son and successour who assisted King Stephen against Maude the Empress in the battel at Lincoln and married Bertha one of the heirs of Conan le Gross Earl of Hault Britain by whom he had Conan le Perit Earl of both Britains by hereditary right as well as of Richmond He by the assistance of K. Henry the second of England dispossessed Eudo Vicount of Porhoet his father-in-law who usurp'd the title of Britain in right of the said Bertha his wife and ended his life leaving only one daughter Constance by Margaret sister to Malcolme King of the Scots Geffrey third son to King Henry the second of England was advanced by his father to the marriage of the said Constance whereby he was Earl of Britain and Richmond and begat of her Arthur who succeeded him and as the French write was made away by King John his Uncle Alan Rufus Earl of Britain in Armorica Alan Niger to whom William the Conquerour gave this shire Stephen Earl of Britain his brother Alan Earl of Britain About this time Overus de St. Martino is mention'd as Earl of Richmond the son of Stephen Conanus Earl of Britain his son who by the assistance of Henry the second King of England recover'd Britain from his Father-in-law the Sheriff of Porhoet possessed of it Geoffrey Plantagenet son of Henry the second King of England who first married Constantia only daughter of Conanus Arthur his son who is said to have been made away by King John Upon this account John was certainly impeach'd by the French as Duke of Normandy who pass'd Sentence upon him tho' he was absent unheard had made no confession and was not convict Normandâ— taken froâ— the King 〈◊〉 England so they adjudg'd him depriv'd of Normandy and his hereditary Lands in France Whereas he had publickly promis'd to stand to the judgment of Paris and answer to the death of Arthur who as his liege subject had taken an oath of Allegiance to him yet had broken the same raised a rebellion and was taken prisoner in the war In these times the question was bandied Whether the Peers of France could be Judges of a King anointed and by consequence their Superiour seeing every greater dignity as it
were drowns the lesser and the King of England and Duke of Normandy at that time was the self same person But where am I thus roving After Arthur there succeeded in the Earldom of Richmond Guy Vicount of Thovars second husband of Constantia aforesaid Ranulph the third Earl of Chester third husband to the said Constantia Peter de Dreux descended from the Blood-royal of France who married Alice the only daughter of Constantia by her husband Guy Thovars 7 Then upon dislike of the house of Britain Peter of Savoy c. Peter of Savoy Uncle of Eleanor Consort to King Henry the third who fearing the Nobility and Commons of England that grumbled at that time against foreigners voluntarily renounced this honour John Earl of Britain son of Peter de Dreux John the first Duke of Britain and his son who married Beatrice daughter to Henry the third King of England He had issue Arthur Duke of Britain who according to some Writers was also Earl of Richmond For certain Robert de Arthâ—is wâ— not Earl oâ— Richmâ—â—d as Frâ—â—sardus has â— but of â—â—lomorâ— Lib. Feâ—d Richmâ—â—diae John his younger brother presently after the death of his father enjoy'd this honour who added to the ancient Arms of Dreux with the Canton of Britain the Lions of England in bordure He was ‖ Custoâ— Governour of Scotland under Edward the second where he was kept prisoner three years and at last dy'd without children in the reign of Edward the third and John Duke of Britain his Nephew the son of Arthur succeeded in this Earldom He dying without issue at a time when this Dutchy of Britain was hotly * Between John de Montâ—foâ—â— and Jâ— Clauâ— wife of Charles of Blâ—is contended for 8 Between John Earl of Monfort of the half-blood and Joan his brother's daughter and heir of the whole blood married to Charles of Blâ—ys Edward the 3d to advance his interest in France gave to John Earl of Montford who had sworn fealty to him for the Dutchy of Britain all this Earldom till such time as he should recover his Lands in France he seeming preferable to the daughter of his brother deceas'd 9 To whom the Parliament of France had adjudg'd it both as he was a man as he was nearer ally'd and as he had a better title His lands being at length regain'd by means of the English the same King gave it to John of Gaunt his son who at last restor'd it to the King his father for other Lands in exchange The King forthwith created John Earl of Montford the second Duke of Britain sirnam'd the Valiant to whom he had married his daughter Earl of Richmond that he might oblige him by stronger ties being a warlike man and a bitter enemy to the French Yet by an Act of Parliament in the 14th of King Richard the second he was deprived of this Earldom for adhering to the French against the English However he retain'd the title and left it to his posterity The Earldom it self was given by the King to Joan of Britain his sister widow of Ralph Basset of Draiton After her death first Ralph Nevil Earl of Westmorland by the bounty of Henry the 4th had the Castle and County of Richmond for term of Life and then John Duke of Bedford Afterwards Henry the sixth conferr'd the title of Earl of Richmond upon Edmund de Hadham his brother by the mother's side with this peculiar privilege That he should take place in Parliament next the Dukes To him succeeded Henry his son afterwards King of England by the name of Henry the seventh But whilst he was in exile George Duke of Clarence and Richard Duke of Glocester had this County bestow'd upon them by King Edward the fourth their brother Last of all Henry natural son to Henry the eight was by his father invested Duke of Richmond Duke of Richmond but in the year of our Lord 1535. he dy'd without issue 10 As for Sir Thomas Grey who was made Baron of Richmond by King Henry the sixth he was not Lord of this Richmond but of a place in Bedfordshire call'd Rugemound and Richmount Greies There are reckon'd in this County 104 great Parishes besides Chapels of Ease ADDITIONS to the North-Riding and Richmondshire a IN the North-riding the first place our Author speaks of is Scarborough â—â—â—â—boâ—â—â—gh which drives a great trade with fish taken in the Sea thereabout wherewith they supply the City of York tho' thirty miles distant Besides Herings which he takes notice of they have Ling Cod-fish Haddock Hake Whiting Makrel with several other sorts in great plenty On the North-east it is fortified with a high and inaccessible rock stretcht out a good way into the Sea and containing at the top about eighteen or twenty acres of good Meadow and not near sixty as Mr. Camden has told us out of Newbrigensis Whether the difference lye in the several measures of Acres or the greater part of it be washt away by the Sea or lastly may have been caus'd through an error of that Historian I shall not dispute since the matter of fact is plain Wittie's â—â—â—ription â—carboâ—â—â—gh â— The Spaw-well is a quick Spring about a quarter of a mile South from the Town at the foot of an exceeding high cliff arising upright out of the Earth like a boyling pot near the level of the Spring-tides with which it is often overflown It is of that sort of Springs which Aristotle calls 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 which in the most droughty years are never dry In an hour it affords above 24. gallons of water for the stones through which it flows contain more than 12 gallons and being empty'd every morning will be full within half an hour It 's virtue proceeds from a participation of Vitriol Iron Alum Nitre and Salt to the sight it is very transparent inclining somewhat to a sky-colour it hath a pleasant acid taste from the Vitriol and an inky smell The right honourable Richard Lumley has from this place his title of Earl of Scarborough b Upon the same coast is Whitby â—â—itby not call'd in Saxon Streanes-Heale as our Author has it but Streones HalH as it is in the Saxon Paraphrase of Bede and also the best Latin Copies And therefore Mr. Junius in his Gothick Glossary under the word Alh seems to have hit the true original when he fetches it from the Saxon hael hal or healh call'd by Caedmon alh which as our Northern word Hall still in use signifies any eminent building Hence the Pagan God Woden's Valhol or Valhaul so frequently mention'd in the Edda and other old Cimbrian Writers and Crantzius fetches the name of the City of Upsal from the same original c As for the Serpent-stones â—â—â—pent-â—â—â—â—es Mr. Nicholson who has made large observations upon the Natural Rarities of those parts affirms them to be the same with those the Modern Naturalists call Cornua Ammonis Whether
raised Edmund Crouchback his younger son to whom he had given the estate and honours of Simon Montfort Earl of Leicester of Robert Ferrars Earl of Derby and of John of Monmouth for rebelling against him to the Earldom of Lancaster Eaâ—â—â—â— Lancastâ—â— giving it in these words The Honour Earldom Castle and the Town of Lancaster with the Cow-pastures and Forests of Wiresdale Lownsdale Newcastle under Lime with the Manour Forest and a Castle of Pickering the Manour of Scaleby the Village of Gomecestre and the Rents of the Town of Huntendon c. after he had lost the Kingdom of Sicily with which the Pope by a ring invested him to no purpose and what expos'd the English to the publick scoff and laughter of the world he caus'd pieces of gold to be coyn'd with this Inscription AIMUNDUS REX SICILIAE 〈…〉 having first chous'd and cully'd the credulous King out of much money upon that account The said Edmund his first wife dying without issue who was the daughter and heir of the Earl of Albemarle 10 Of William de Fortibus Earl c. yet by her last Will made him her heir had by his second wife Blanch of Artois of the 〈…〉 Royal Family of France Thomas and Henry and John who dy'd very young Thomas was the second Earl of Lancaster who married Alice the only daughter and heir of Henry Lacy Earl of Lincoln she convey'd this and her mother's estate who was of the family of the Long Espee's Earls of Salisbury as likewise her father Henry Lacy had done before with his own Lands in case Alice should dye without issue as indeed it afterwards hapen'd over to the family of Lancaster But this Thomas for his Insolence and disrespect to his Prince Edward the second and for imbroiling the State was at last taken prisoner in the field and beheaded having no issue However his Sentence was afterwards revers'd by Act of Parliament because he was not try'd by his Peers and so his brother Henry succeeded him in his estate and honours He was also enrich'd by his wife Maud daughter and sole heir of Patrick Chaworth and that not only with her own but with great estates in Wales namely of Maurice of London and of Siward from whom she was descended He dying left a son Henry 〈…〉 whom Edward the third rais'd from Earl to a Duke and he was the second of our Nobility that bore the title of Duke But he dy'd without issue-male leaving two daughters Mawd and Blanch between whom the Inheritance was divided Mawd was married to William of Bavaria Earl of Holland Zeland Friseland Hanault and of Leicester too in right of his wife But she dying without issue John of Gaunt so call'd because he was born at Gaunt in Flanders fourth son of Edward the third by marriage with Blanch the other daughter of Henry came to the whole estate And now being equal to many Kings in wealth and created Duke of Lancaster by his father he also obtain'd the Royalties of him The King too advanc'd the County of Lancaster into a Palatinate by this Rescript wherein after he has declar'd the great service he had done his Country both at home and abroad he adds We have granted for us and our heirs to our son aforesaid that he during the term of life shall have within the County of Lancaster his Chancery and his Writs to be issued out under his own Seal belonging to the Office of Chancellor his Justices likewise as well for Pleas of the Crown as for other Pleas relating to Common Law to have cognisance of them and to have power of making all Executions whatsoever by his Writs and Officers And to have all other Liberties and Royalties of what kind soever appertaining to a County Palatine as freely and as fully as the Earl of Chester within the said County is known to have c. Nor was he only Duke of Lancaster but also by marriage with Constantia daughter of Peter King of Castile John of Gaunt K. of Castile for some time bore the title of King of Leon and Castile But by contract he parted with this title and in the 13th of King Richard the second was created by consent of Parliament Duke of Aquitain 11 To have and to hold the same title for term of life of the King of England and Monarch of France but to the general disgust of the inhabitants of the Province of Aquitain who gave it out that their Seigniory was inseparably annext to the Crown of England to the great dissatisfaction of that Country At that time his titles were John son to the King of England Duke of Aquitain and Lancaster Earl of Derby Lincoln and Leicester and high Steward of England After this John Henry de Bullingbroke his son succeeded in the Dutchy of Lancaster 12 Who when he had dispossess'd Richard the second and obtain'd the Kingdom of England he considering that being now King he could not bear the title of Duke of Lancaster and unwilling that the said title should be discontinu'd ordain'd by assent of Parliament that Henry his present son should enjoy the same and be stil'd Prince of Wales Duke of Aquitain Lancaster and Cornwall and Earl of Chester and also that the Liberties and Franchises of the Dutchy of Lancaster should remain to his said son sever'd from the Crown of England who having deposed Richard the second obtain'd the Crown and conferr'd this honour upon Heny his son K. Henr. 4. afterwards King of England And that he might entail it upon him and his heirs for ever he had an Act of Parliament made in these words We being unwilling that our said inheritance or its liberties by reason of our now assuming the Royal state and dignity should be any ways chang'd transferr'd diminish'd or impair'd but that our said inheritance with its rights and liberties aforesaid should in the same manner and form condition and state wherein they descended and fell to us and also with all and singular liberties franchises and other privileges commodities and profits whatsoever which our Lord and Father in his life time had and held it withal for term of his life by the grant of the late King Richard be wholly and fully preserv'd continu'd and enjoy'd by us and our heirs specified in the said Charters And by the tenure of these presents we do upon our certain knowledge and with the consent of this our present Parliament grant declare decree and ordain for us and our heirs that as well our Dutchy of Lancaster as all and singular Counties Honours Castles Manours Fees Advowsons Possessions Annuities and Seigniories whatsoever descended to us before the Royal Dignity was obtain'd by us how or in what place soever by right of inheritance in possession or in reversion or other way remain to us and our said heirs specified in the Charters abovesaid after the said manner for ever Afterwards King Henry the fifth by Act
Francis who dy'd at York 1643. leaving issue one only daughter so that the male line of that most ancient and noble family is now extinct At present his Royal Highness Prince George of Denmark honours this County by having the title of Duke of Cumberland which was enjoy'd before him by Prince Rupert Prince Palatine of the Rhine a person of admirable courage and bravery aa If our Author means by the Praetentura of Agricola any thing of Walls or Rampires we may justly question the truth of it since the learned â— Eâ—l p 3.6 Archbishop Usher has prov'd out of Tacitus that Agricola only garison'd the Frontiers at this place without contriving any other sence 'T is likely that according to the Roman custom he plac'd some of his troops within the limits of the Barbarians Country intra fines Horestorum for these Horesti were not the inhabitants on the river Esk near the borders of England as our Author afterwards in his description of Scotland asserts but those of Angus and Mernes as the Scotch Historians sufficiently evidence particularly the learned Sir George Mackenzie Defence of the Royal Line p. 79. â— in 〈◊〉 Not but Mr. Camden's foundation may for all that stand good and the Horesti be deriv'd from Ar-Esc considering there is a South as well as a North Esk. â—od 〈◊〉 bb Not many years ago there was found on the ruins of the Wall a little below Carlisle a small wing'd image of brass somewhat more than half a foot in length well agreeing with the description which some of the ancients have given us of the god Terminus 'T is now in the possession of the right honourable Sir John Lowther of Lowther Baronet cc Buchanan maintains that Severus's Rampier was at Grimesdike but Fordon and Major as well as Hector Boëtius are of Camden's opinion The Controversie will be best determin'd by considering the length as it is deliver'd by several authors Eutropius sets it at XXXII and if some others have XXXV 't is easie to imagine that a little inadvertency in a Transcriber might change II into V. Thus far the account seems to make for Buchanan that Severus's fortification was really between the two Friths of Edenburrow and Dumbritton And Paulus Orosius who computes its length at CXXXII miles goes so far beyond the extent of that which reach'd from Solway to Tinmouth that thence no true estimate is to be had But 't is most likely that this whole difference is to be stated by Spartianus who rightly asserts that the extent of Hadrian's ditch was LXXX miles Out of this number by the heedless change of L into C the copyers of Orosius made CXXX and by a careless dropping of the same Letter the transcribers of Eutropius turn'd it into XXX * V. Usher Antiquitat p. 316. As to the dispute betwixt the Archbishop and our Author Whether Severus's work was a wall of stone or a rampier of earth we shall only add to the authorities produc'd by Camden that the Royal Paraphrast upon †Eccl. Hist l. 1. c. 5. Bede says it was mid dice and mid eoƿþ-Æ¿ealle and ‖ Lib. 1. c. 12. afterwards speaking of a later fabrick of Stone in the same place he says it was built ðaer Severus se Casere in het dician eopð Æ¿all geÆ¿yrcan The Saxon Chronicle also affirms that it was of turfum And if that expression 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 of Agathemer who is suppos'd to have liv'd in Severus's time have any relation to this work it very much countenances the opinion of Bede and Mr. Camden Vide Geogr. Agathem edit à Sam. Tennulio Amst 1671. p. 45 74 86. dd That this last Wall was built betwixt Tinmouth and Solway-Frith * Lib. 1. c. 12. Bede seems most peremptorily to assert And yet Archbishop Usher Antiquitat Eccl. p. 317. enclines rather to Buchanan's opinion that it was at Grimesdike and thinks this conjecture supported by Gildas's saying that it was built recto tramite which says he that betwixt Bowness and Tinmouth is not With the Archbishop agrees our very learned Bishop of Coventry and Lichfield then of St. Asaph in his historical account of Church-government c. p. 4. And 't is certain that along Grimesdike there are here and there as the Gordons in Bleau's Atlas have observ'd several ruins of Stone-buildings nor can we doubt but there were Forts of stone erected at due distances along that Rampier But 't is certain that in most places there appear no manner of remains of a stone-building whereas a continu'd stone-wall is easily follow'd from Carlisle to New-castle As for Nennius's story Hist Brit. cap. 19. 't is so full of contradictions that there 's no regarding it and after all the stress that 's laid upon Gildas's expression a man shall hardly travel the length of The Picts-Wall in any great road in England that goes more recto tramite in a streight line than it does ee As to the Medicinal Plants Mr. Nicolson to whom we owe these observations upon the WALL as well as several others throughout the Province of York has made very diligent search but could never meet with any sort of Plants growing along the Wall which is not as plentiful in some other part of the Country An Account of the Division of Cumberland by William the Conquerour amongst his Followers a It is call'd Distributio Cumbriae ad Conquestum Angliae inter Gentes Sir William Dugdale calls it Chronicon Cumbriae and so the Lord Willâ—am Howard has stiled it in one of the MSS. but 't is a mistake for that piece of Antiquity if it be extant was of another nature and writ by one Everardus Abbot of Holme Cultram temp H. 2. It was said to be in the Library of Sir Thomas Gower Baronet but upon search it could not be found taken out of two ancient Latin Manuscripts in the Library of the Dean and Chapter of Carlisle carefully Collated by the Reverend Dr. Hugh Todd KING William sirnam'd the Bastard Duke of Normandy Conqueror of England gave all the Lands of the County of Cumberland to Ranulphus de Meschins and to Galfridus Brother to the said Ranulphus he gave the whole County of Chestre and to William another brother he gave all the Land of Coupland between Duden and Darwent Ranulphus de Meschins infeoffed Hubbertus de b Vaux MS. B. Waux in the Barony of Gillisland and Ranulphus his brother in Sowerby Carlaton and Hubbrightby And Robert the third brother in the Barony of Dalston He infeoffed also Robert Destrivers im the Barony of Burgh and Richerus de Boyvile in the Barony of Levington and Odardus de Logis in the Barony of Stanyton He infeoffed also Waldevus son of Gospatricius Earl of Dunbar in Scotland in all the Barony of Allerdale between Wathenpole and Darwent The aforesaid William de Meschins Lord of Coupland infeoffed Waldevus son of Gospatricius in all the Land that lyes between Cocar
to him King Aelfred was under a necessity of coming to Terms with them and so he and they divided the Land assign'd it to the Danes who within a few years were thrown out by Athelstane Yet even after this the People made a King of Eilric the Dane who was forthwith expell'd by King Ealdred Henceforward the name of King was no more heard of in this Province but its chief Magistrates were call'd Earls whereof these following are successively reckon'd by our Historians Osulph Oslac Edulph Waldeof the Elder Uchtred Adulph Alred Siward Tostius Edwin Morcà r and Osculph Amongst these Siward was a person of extraordinary valour who as he liv'd so he chose to dye in his Armour Ingulph p. 511. b. An. 1056. His County of York was given to Tostius Brother to Earl Harold and the Counties of Northampton and Huntingdon with his other lands bestow'd on the noble E. Waldeof his son and heir I have here given you the very words of Ingulphus because there are some who deny that he was Earl of Huntingdon To this let me also add what I have met with on the same subject in an old Parchment Manuscript in the Library of John Stow a most worthy Citizen and industrious Antiquary of the City of London Copsi being made Earl of Northumberland by William the Conquerour dispossess'd Osculph who nevertheless soon after slew him Afterwards Osculph himself was stabb'd by a Robber and dy'd of the wound Then Gospatrick bought the County of the Conquerour by whom he was also presently divested of the Honour and was succeeded by Waldeof the son of Siward He lost his head and was succeeded by Walcher Bishop of Durham who as well as his successor Robert Comin was slain in an insurrection of the Rabble mm The title was afterwards conferr'd on Robert Mowbray who destroy'd himself by his own wicked Treason 10 When he devis'd to deprive King William Rufus of his Royal Estate and to advance Stephen Earl of Albemarle a son to the Conqueror's sistâ—r thereunto Then as the Polychronicon of Durham tells us King Stephen made Henry the son of David King of Scots Eâ—rl of Northumberland and his son William who was also himself afterwards King of Scots wrote himself William de Warren Earl of Northumberland for his mother was of the family of the Earls of Warren as appears by the Book of Brinkburn-Abbey Within a few years after Richard the first sold this County to Hugh Pudsey Bishop of Durham for life but when that King was imprison'd by the Emperour in his return from the Holy War and Hugh advanc'd only two thousand pounds in silver towards his ransom Lib. Dunelm the King took this slender contribution so ill knowing that under colour of this ransom he had rais'd vast sums that he depriv'd him of the Earldom At present that Honour is enjoy'd by the family of the Percies Percies descended from Charles the Great who being descended from the Earls of Brabant got the sirname and inheritance of the Percies together which was done by the true Off-spring of Charles the Great by Gerberg daughter to Charles younger brother of Lotharius the last King of France of the Caroline stock Josceline younger son of Godfrey Duke of Brabant who marry'd Agnes daughter and sole heir of William Percie This William's great grandfather call'd also William Percie came into England with William the Conquerour who bestow'd on him lands in Tatcaster Linton Normanby and other places This Agnes covenanted with Josceline that he should take upon him the name of Percie but should still retain the ancient Arms of Brabant which were a Lion Azure chang'd afterwards by the Brabanters in a Field Or. The first of this family that was made Earl of Northumberland was Henry Percie the son of Mary daughter of Henry Earl of Lancaster This Noble-man signaliz'd his valour in the wars under Edward the third and was by him rewarded with large Possessions in Scotland He was very much enrich'd by his second wife Matilda Lucy who oblig'd him to bear the Arms of the Lucies and by Richard the second was created Earl of Northumberland His behaviour was very ungrateful to this his great Benefactor for he deserted him in his straits and help'd Henry the fourth to the Crown He had the Isle of Man bestow'd on him by this King 11 Who also made him Constable of England against whom he also rebell'd being prick'd in Conscience at the unjust deposing of King Richard and vex'd at the close confinement of the undoubted Heir of the Crown Edmund Mortimer Earl of March his kinsman 12 Grievously complaining and charging him King Henry with Perjury That whereas he had solemnly sworn to him and others that he would not challenge the Crown but only his own Inheritance and that King Richard should be govern'd during his life by the good Advice of the Peers of the Realm he to the contrary had by imprisonment and terrour of death enforc'd him to resign his Crown and usurp'd the same by the concurrence of his faction horribly murdering the said King and defrauding Edward Mortimer Earl of March of his lawful right to the Crown whom he had suffer'd to languish long in prison under Owen Glendowr reputing those Traytors who with their own money had procur'd his enlargement Hereupon he first sent some Forces against him under the command of his brother Thomas Earl of Worcester and his own forward son Henry sirnam'd Whot-spur who were both slain in the battel at Shrewsbury Upon this he was attainted of High-Treason but presently receiv'd again into the seeming favour of the King who indeed stood in awe of him He had also his estate and goods restor'd him except only the Isle of Man which the King took back into his own hand Yet not long after the popular and heady man again proclaim'd war against the King as an Usurper having call'd in the Scots to his assistance And now leading on the Rebels in person he was surpriz'd by Thomas Rokesby High-Sheriff of York shire at Barham-moor where in a confused skirmish his Army was routed and himself slain in the year 1408. Eleven years after Henry the fifth by Act of Parliament restor'd the Honour to Henry Percie his Grandchild by his son Henry Whotspurre whose mother was Elizabeth the daughter of Edmund Mortimer the elder Earl of March by Philippa the daughter of Lionel Duke of Clarence This Earl stoutly espoused the interest of Henry the sixth against the House of York and was slain in the Battel of St Albans His son Henry the third Earl of Northumberland who married Eleanor the daughter of Richard Baron of Poynings Brian and Fitz-Paine lost his life in the same quarrel at Towton in the year 1461. When the House of Lancaster and with it the Family of the Percies was now under a cloud King Edward the fourth created John Nevis Lord Montacute Earl of Northumberland but he quickly resign'd that Title being made
Marquiss Montacute After which Edward the fourth graciously restor'd to his father's Honours Henry Percie son of the fore-mention'd Henry who in the reign of Henry the seventh was slain by a rabble of the Country People in a Mutiny against the Collectors of a Tax impos'd on them by Act of Parliament To him succeeded Henry Percie the fifth Earl from whom who was himself the son of a Daughter and Co-heiress of Robert Spenser and Eleanor Daughter and Co-heiress of Edmund Beaufort Duke of Somerset descended Henry the sixth Earl He having no Children and his brother Thomas being executed for rebelling against Henry the eighth in the beginning of the Reformation squander'd away a great part of his fair Estate in Largesses upon the King and others as if his Family had now been reduc'd to a final period A few years after John Dudley Earl of Warwick got the Title of Duke of Northumberland Duke â—f Norâ—â—â—berland 13 By the name of John Earl of Warwick Marshal of England Viscount Lisle Baron Somery Basâ—â—t and Ties Lord of Dudley Great Master and Steward of the King's House when in the Non-age of Edward the sixth the Ring-leaders of the several Factions shared the Titles of Honour among themselves and their Abettors This was that Duke of Northumberland who for some time as a Whirlwind troubled the Peace of his Native Countrey by endeavouring to exclude Mary and Elizabeth the Daughters of Henry the eighth from their lawful Right of Succession designing by the countenance of some Lawyers inclinable enough to serve Great men to have settled the Crown on Jane Grey to whom he had married his son Hereupon being convicted of High Treason he lost his head and on the Scaffold openly own'd and profess'd the Popish Religion which either in good earnest or k The account we have of his Speech as to this particular is That he exhorted the people to stand to the Religion of their Ancestors to reject all Novelties and to drive the Preachers out of the Nation and declared he had temperiz'd against his Conscience and that he was always of the Religion of his Forefathers Burnet seemingly and to serve a turn he had for a good while before renounc'd Upon his death Queen Mary restor'd Thomas Percie Nephew to Henry the sixth Earl by his brother Thomas creating him at first Baron Percie and soon after by a new Patent Earl of Northumberland 3 â— Pâ— Maâ— To himself and the Heirs-male of his Body and for want of such to his Brother Henry and his Heirs-male But this Thomas the seventh Earl under pretence of restoring the Romish Religion rebelled against his Prince and Country and so lost both his Life and Honour in the year 1572. Yet by the special bounty of Queen Elizabeth his brother Henry according to the Tenure of Queen Mary's Patent succeeded him as the eighth Earl and dy'd in Prison in the year 1585. He was succeeded by his son Henry the ninth Earl of Northumberland of this Family who was also son of Katharine eldest Daughter and one of the Heirs of J. Nevil Baron Latimer ADDITIONS to NORTH-HVMBER-LAND a HUmphrey Lhuyd places these People about Lothian in Scotland and herein he is not contradicted by Buchanan who never fails of doing it when he can have an opportunity All agree they were Picts and therefore if they did inhabit some part of this County it must have been beyond the Wall Possibly Naeatae is the true reading And then they are more probably placed by our Author near the Wall or Rampire For Naid or Nawd in the old British signifies a Defence or Security And why may not the Transcribers of Dio for he is the only man of Antiquity that mentions these People turn his Naeatae into Maeatae as well as those of Marcellinus have made Attigotti Catacotti and Catiti out of his Attacotti b Our Author observes this Country was divided into Baronies â—â—â—â—nies and very good Baronies they were according to the old and true import of the word For the Civilians define a Barony to be Merum mistúmque Impertum in aliquo Castro Oppidóve concessione Principis Alciat Lib. de Sing Cert cap. 32. Such a Jurisdiction it was requisite the Men of rank should have here on the Borders and upon obtaining the Grant they were properly Barones Regis Regni See the signification of the word at large in Sir Henry Spelman's Gloss voc Baro. All Lords of Manours are also to this day legally nam'd Barons in the Call and Stile of their Courts which are Curiae Baronum c. Selden's Titles of Honour Part 2. cap. 5. But long before King Edward the first 's time the name of Barones was chiefly apply'd to the Peers in Parliament Thus in the famous Contest about the Votes of Bishops in Criminal Matters in the reign of Henry the second A. D. 1163. we have this decision of the Controversie Archiepiscopi Episcopi c. sicut caeteri Barones debent interesse judiciis Curiae Regis cum Baronibus quousque perveniatur ad diminutionem Membrorum vel ad mortem Matth. Par. edit Watsii p. 101. Many like Instances might be given 〈…〉 c Caer-vorran may not improbably be Glanoventa which Mr. Camden imagines to have been somewhere on Wentsbeck For there is a place near it which is still call'd Glen-welt The distance from hence to Walwick will suit well enough with the Itinerary and 't is not the first Elbow which Antonine has made in his Roads through this part of the Country Thus by fetching in Castra Exploratorum he makes it twenty four miles from Blatum Bulgium to Luguvallum whereas the common Road 't is only ten very short ones d Bede's Account of the Roman Wall Eccl. Hist l. 5. c. 10. is very likely fair and true For in some places on the Wasts where there has not been any extraordinary Fortifications several fragments come near that height and none exceed it His breadth also at eight foot is accurate enough For whereever you measure it now you will always find it above seven 〈◊〉 e Old-town seems more likely to be the Alone of Antoninus in the Liber Notitiarum Alione than any other place which has hitherto been thought on It answers best the distances both from Galana and Galacum and many Roman Antiquities which have been found there strengthen the conjecture The name of the river also whereon 't is seated argues as strongly for this place as West-Alon can do for Whitley f The huge heaps of small Cobbles are not the only Monuments which these Wasts afford There are also large stones erected at several places in remembrance as is fancied of so many battels or skirmishes either anciently betwixt the Britains and Picts or of later times betwixt the English and Scots Particularly near Ninwick in the Parish of Simondburn four such stand still erected and a fifth lyes fall'n to the ground g Notwithstanding the great encouragement which
of England and return homewards might be entertained which till K. Henry the second 's time remained in the hands of the King 's of Scotland In this Lothian the first place that presents it self upon the Sea Shore is Dunbar Dunbar a Castle in ancient times very strongly fortify'd the seat of the Earls of Merch before-mentioned thence commonly called Earls of Dunbar Earls of Dunbar often taken by the English and recovered by the Scots But in the Year 1567 it was demolisht by order of the States to prevent its being a retreat for Rebels But King James in the year 1515. conferr'd the Title and Honour of Earl of Dunbar upon Sir Geo. Hume for his approved Loyalty whom he had created before Baron Hume of Berwick Baron Home or Hume of Berwick to him his Heirs and Assigns m It is now a Viscounty in the person of Robert Constable Viscount Dunbar Hard by the little River Tine after a short course falleth into the Sea near the source whereof stands Zeister Zeister which hath its Baron of the Family of the Hays Earls of Arroll who is likewise hereditary Sheriff of the little Territory of Twedale or Peblis Upon the same rivulet some few miles higher in a large plain lies Hadington or Hadina fortify'd by the English with a deep and large ditch and a four square turf-wall without with four bullwarks at the Corners and as many more upon the Inner wall and as valiantly defended by Sir George Wilford an Englishman against Monsieur Dessie who fiercely attaqu'd it with 10000 French and Germans till the Plague growing hot and lessening the garison Henry Earl of Rutland came with a great Army and rais'd the siege and having levell'd the Works conducted the English home And now of late K. James 6. hath for his loyalty and valour elected into the Nobility of Scotland Sir John Ramsey whose RIGHT HAND was the DEFENDER OF THE PRINCE AND COUNTRY in that horrid Conspiracy of the Gowries under the title and honour of Viscount Hadington Viscouâ—â— Hadinâ—ton n It is now an Earldom in the famiâ—y of the Hamiltons Of this Hadington J. Johnston hath these Verses Planities praetensa jacet prope flumina Tinae Fluminis arguti clauditur ista sinu Vulcani Martis quae passa incendia fati Ingemit alterno vulnere fracta vices Nunc tandem sapit icta Dei praecepta secuta Praesidio gaudet jam potiore Poli. Near Tine's fair stream a spatious plain is shown Tine's circling arms embrace the hapless town Where Mars and fiery Vulcan reign'd by turns With fatal rage whose dire effects she mourns By sad experience now at last grown wise She slights their fury and their power defies Contemns the dangers that before she fear'd And rests secure when mighty heaven 's her guard A little way from Hadington stands Athelstanford Athelâ—â—â—â—ford so named from Athelstan a Commander of the English slain there with his men about the year 815 but that this was Athelstan that Warlike King of the West-Saxons must be utterly deny'd if we have any respect to time or the manner of his Death Above the Mouth of this Tine upon the doubling of the shore stands Tantallon Castle from whence Archibald Douglas Earl of Angus was very troublesome to James 5. King of Scotland Here by the winding of the shores on both sides room is made for a very Noble Arm of the Sea well furnished with Isllands and by the influx of many rivers and the Sea-tides dilated to a mighty breadth Ptolemy calls it Boderia Tacitus Bodotria Bodoeâ—â—â— from its depth as I conjecture the Scots the Forth and Frith we Edenborough-Frith others Mare Fresicum and Mare Scoticum and the Eulogium Morwiridh Upon this after you are past Tantallon Tantalâ—â—â— are seated first North-Berwick antiently famous for a House of Religious Virgins and then Drylton Dryltoâ— which formerly belong'd to the eminent family of the Haliburtons and now by the favour of K. James 6. gives the Title of Baron to Sir Tho. Ereskin Captain of his Guards as Felton Viscouâ—â— Felton hard by gives the Honourable Title of Viscount to the same person who was the first that had the stile and dignity of a Viscount in Scotland Over against them in the sea near the shore lies the Bass The Bass an Island which rises up as it were in one continued craggy rock on every side inaccessible yet it has a Fort a fountain and pasture-grounds but is so hollow'd and undermined by the waves that it is almost wrought through What prodigious flights of sea-fowl especially of those Geese they call Scouts â—â—outs and Soland-Geese at certain times flock hither â—â—â—andâ—â—eâ— â—â—ch â—â—â—n to be â—â—â—'s Piâ—â—â—ae for by report their number is so great as in a clear day to darken the Sun what multitudes of Fishes they bring so as that 100 Soldiers in Garison here liv'd upon no other provision but the fresh fish brought hither by them as they give out what a quantity of sticks they convey for the building of their nests so that by their means the inhabitants are abundantly provided with firing what vast profit also their feathers and oyl amount to are things so incredible that no one scarcely would believe it but he that had seen it â—â—â—on â—â—â—â—-town Then as the shore draws back Seton appears which seems to take its name from its situation upon the Sea and to have given one to the Right Honourable House of the Setons descended of an English Family and a Daughter of King Robert Bruce of which the o The Marquisate of Huntley is now in the family of Gordon who are likewise Dukes of Gordon Marquiss of Huntley Robert Earl of Wintoun 〈◊〉 of Winâ—â—â—n Alexander Earl of Dunfermling all advanced to honours by King James 6. are Branches d After this the River Esk hath its influx into the Frith having run by Borthwic â—â—â—thwic which hath its Barons so sirnamed of Hungarian extraction by Nâ—wbottle â—â—wbottle that is the new building formerly a little Monastery now a Barony in the person of Sir Mark Ker by Dalkeith â—â—â—â—â—â—th lately a pleasant seat of the Earls of Morton and Musselborough â—â—â—â—â—boâ—â—â—gh below which upon Edward Seymour Duke of Somerset's entring Scotland with a * compleat Army â—â—â—â—o to challenge the performance of Articles for the marrying Mary Queen of Scotland to Edward 6. King of England there happened a most dismal day to the youth of the noble Families in Scotland who there fell in the battle Here I must not pass by in silence this Inscription which J-Napier a learned person in his Commentaries on the Apocalyps informs us was here dug up and which the eminently ingenious Sir Peter Young Knight King James the 6th's Tutor hath thus more truly described APOLLINI GRANNO Q. LVSIVS SABINIA NVS PROC AVG. â—â—tem â—â—ptum â—â—it luâ—â— meriâ—â— V. S. S. L
antient and noble family have flourished from the first conquest of this country by the English who were afterwards advanced to the honour of Barons o Now Earl of Tyrone Curraghmore Upon the bank of the river Suire stands Waterford â—â—terford the chief City of this County Of which thus old Necham Suirius insignem gaudet ditare Waterford Aequoreis undis associatur ibi Thee Waterford Suir 's streams with wealth supply Hasting to pay their tribute to the sea This City which the Irish and Britains call Porthlargy the English Waterford was first built by certain Pirats of Norway Though 't is situated in a thick air and on a barren soil and close built yet by reason of the convenience of the haven p It was once but now Cork may claim that honour 't is the second City in Ireland for wealth and populousness and has ever continued q It s motto was Intacta manet Waterfordia But in the course of the Irish rebellion begun An. 1641. by means of the Popish Clergy it became exceeding faulty Now that the English Inhabitants daily encrease we may expect it will recover its former reputation particularly loyal and obedient to the Crown of England For since it was first taken by Richard Earl of Pembroke it has been so faithful and quiet that in our Conquest of Ireland it has always secur'd us from any attempts on this side Upon this account the Kings of England have endowed it with many and those considerable privileges which were enlarged and confirmed by Henry 7. for behaving themselves with great valour and conduct against Perkin Warbeck a sham-Prince who being but a young fellow of mean extraction had the impudence to aim at the Imperal Diadem by pretending to be Richard Duke of York the second son of King Edward 4. King Henry 6. gave the County of Waterford 〈◊〉 of â—â—terford together with the City to John Talbot Earl of Shrewsbury in words which so clearly set forth the bravery of that warlike man that I cannot but think it worth the while and perhaps some others may think it so too to transcribe them from the Record We therefore says the King after a great deal more wherein one sees the defect both of the Latin and eloquence of the Secretaries of that age in consideration of the valour of our most dear and faithful Cousen John Earl of Shrewsbury and Weysford Lord Talbot of Furnival and Lestrange sufficiently shewn and proved in the wars aforesaid even to his old age not only by the sweat of his body but many times by the loss of his blood and considering how our County and City of Waterford in our Kingdom of Ireland with the Castle Seigniory Honour Lands and Barony of Dungarvan and all the Lordships Lands Honours and Baronies and their appurtenances within the same County which by forfeiture of rebels by reversion or decease of any person or persons by escheat or any other title of law ought to vest in Us or our progenitors which by reason of invasions or insurrections in these parts are become so desolate and as they lye exposed to the spoils of war so entirely wasted that they are of no profit to us but have done and now do many times redound to our loss and charge and also that the said lands may hereafter be better defended against the attempts and incursions of enemies or rebels do ordain and create him Earl of Waterford with the stile title name and honour thereunto belonging And that all things may correspond with his state and greatness we hereby of our special grace certain knowledge and free motion that the Grandeur of the Earl may be supported more honourably do give grant and by these presents confirm unto the said Earl the County aforesaid together with the aforesaid title stile name and honour of Earl of Waterford and the city of Waterford aforesaid with the fee-farm castles lordships honours lands baronies and all other appurtenances within the County as also all mannors hundreds wapentakes c. along the sea-coast from the town of Yoghall to the city of Waterford aforesaid To have and to hold the said County of Waterford the stile title name and honour of Earl of Waterford and likewise the city of Waterford aforesaid with the castle seigniory honour land and barony of Dungarvan and all other lordships honours lands and Baronies within the said County and also all the aforesaid mannors hundreds c. to the abovesaid Earl and to the heirs males of his body begotten to hold of us and our heirs by homage fealty and the service of being our Seneschal and that he and his heirs be Seneschals of Ireland Seneschal of Ireland to us and our heirs throughout our whole land of Ireland to do and that he do and ought himself to do in the said office that which his predecessors Seneschals of England were wont formerly to do for us in that office In witness whereof c. However while the Kings of England and their Nobility who had large possessions in Ireland were either took up with foreign wars in France or civil dissentions at home Ireland was quite neglected so that the English interest began to decay r See the Statute of Absentees in the County of Caterlogh and the power of the Irish grew formidable by reason of their absence and then it was enacted to recover their interest and to suppress this growth of the Irish strength that the Earl of Shrewsbury for his absence and carelesness should surrender the Town and County of Waterford to the King and his successors and likewise that the Duke of Norfolk the Baron Barkley Ann. 28. H. 8 the Heirs Female of the Earl of Ormond and all the Abbots Priors c. of England who held any lands there should surrender them to the King and his successors for the same faults The County of LIMERICK THus far we have surveyed the maritime counties of Mounster two remain that are inland Limerick and Tipperary which we are now come to The County of Limerick lies behind that of Cork Northward between Kerry the river Shanon and the county of Tipperary fruitful and well inhabited but it has few remarkable towns The West part of it is called Conilagh Conilagh where among the hills Knock-Patrick Knock-Patrick that is St. Patrick's hill is most eminent for its height from the top whereof one has a pleasant prospect into the sea and along the river Shanon which at a great distance falls from a wide mouth into the Vergivian Ocean At the bottom of this hill the Fitz-Giralds liv'd for a long time in great honour Knight of the Vally Qu. Elâ—z An. 11. till Thomas call'd the Knight of the Valley or de Glin when his graceless son was put to death for Arsony for 't is treason by the laws of Ireland to set villages and houses a fire was also found an Accessary and had his estate
confiscated by Act of Parliament The head city of this county is Limerick encompass'd by the Shanon a famous river which divides its stream and embraces it The Irish call it Å¿ Louminagh is the name Loumeagh Limeâ—ick L umeagh the English Limerick It is a Bishop's See and the great mart of this Province of Munster first taken by Reimund le Gross an Englishman the son of William Girald afterwards it was burnt by Duvenald a petty King of Thuetmond At last it was given in fee to Philip Breos an Englishman and King John fortified it with a castle At present t is reputed two towns the upper for so they call it where stands the cathedral and the castle has two gates which give entrance to it and each of them a fair stone bridge leading to them strengthen'd with bulwarks and little draw-bridges one of which leads Westward the other East The lower town which is joyned to this is fortified with a wall and castle and a fore-gate at the entrance More to the East stands Clan-William Clan-William so called from a family of that name descended from the House de Burgo which the Irish call Bourk who inhabit it Of this family was that William who slew James Fitz-Moris the plague and firebrand of this country upon whom Queen Elizabeth conferr'd the title and honour of Baron of Castle-Conel where Richard Rufus Earl of Ulster Baron â—f Castâ—e-Coneâ— had fortified the Castle together with a yearly pension in recompense for his bravery and the loss of his sons slain in that conflict In the South part of this county stands t Killmalock Kil-mallo next in dignity to Limerick both in respect of plenty and populousness and walled round Likewise Adare a little town fortified heretofore situate upon the same river which straightways from thence runs into the Shanon near which stands u This is now in the County of Cork Clan Gibbon Clâ—n Gibbâ—n the Lord whereof John Fitz-Girald called John Oge Fitz-John Fitz-Gibbon and from the grey hair of his head the white Knight was banished by Act of Parliament But by the clemency of Queen Elizabeth his son was restored to the whole estate The most noted and eminent in this tract besides these Bourks and Fitz-Giralds are the Lacies the Browns the Hurleys the Chacys the Sapells the Pourcells all of English extraction the Mac-Shees and the Mac-brien O Brians c. of Irish extraction The County of TIPPERARY THE County of Tipperary is bounded on the west with that of Limerick and the river Shanon on the east with the County of Kilkenny on the south with the Counties of Cork and Waterford and on the north with the territory of the O Carolls The south part is very fruitful produces much corn and is well built The west part of it is water'd by the long course of the river Glason Emely not far from the bank whereof stands Emely or Awn a Bishop's See and by report a very populous and well frequented city heretofore The Sewer or Swire a noble river which rises at Badin-hill runs through the middle of it and so through the lower Ossery Lower-Ossâ—ry which by the bounty of King Henry the 8th gave the title of Earl to the Butlers and then through Thurles which gave them the title of Viscounts from whence it passes by Holy-Cross a famous Abby heretofore which makes the Country about it to be commonly called the County of the Holy Cross of Tipperary The County of the holy Cross of Tipperary The wood of the Cross This Abby enjoys certain privileges granted in honour of a piece of Christ's Cross preserv'd there The whole world says St. Cyrill is fill'd with pieces of this Cross and yet as Paulinus says by a constant miracle it hath never been diminished This was the belief and opinion of Christians in ancient times And it is incredible what a concourse of people do still out of devotion throng hither as to a holy place For this nation does yet firmly persevere in the religion of their fore-fathers which is now grown in more reputation than ever by the neglect and ignorance of their Bishops for there is none here to instruct them otherwise Cassil From hence the Swire passes by Cassil adorn'd with an Archbishop's See by Eugenius the third Bishop of Rome with many suffragan Bishops under it and so forward making many Islands as it runs along till it encompasses Cahir-Castle which has its Baron one of the family of the Butlers raised to that honour by Queen Elizabeth But his son proving disloyal was thereupon attainted the castle being taken by the Earl of Essex in the year 1599 and he himself committed From whence it runs by Clomell Clomell a market town of good resort and well fortified and also by Carick Mac-Griffin situated upon a rock from which it takes its name the habitation of the Earls of Ormond which with the honour of Earl of Carrick was granted by King Edward the 2d to Edmund Boteler or Butler Here it leaves Tipperary Earl of Caâ—rick Annâ— 9. Edw. 2. and becomes a boundary to the Counties of Waterford and Kilkenny Thus much concerning the south part of this County That northward is but barren and mountaneous twelve of the hills here are huddled together and over-top the rest these they call Phelem-ge-Modona This north part is call'd in Latin Ormondia Ormondia Butlers Earls of Oâ—mandâ—â— in Irish Orwowon that is The front of Mounster in English Ormond and by many very corruptly Wormewood It s glory is from its Earls who have been many since James Butler a The heir of this noble family is now Duke of Ormond both in England and Ireland to whom and his heirs King Edw. the third gave this title for term of life Anno 2. Ed. 3. together with the royalties and other liberties as also the Knights-fees in the County of Tipperary which by the favour of the Kings of England his posterity still enjoy Earl f Tipperary Hence this County is reputed Palatine and he has been call'd by some the Earl of Tipperary The ancestors of this James were heretofore Butlers of Ireland an honourable office from which they derive the name of Le Boteler or Butler Those of this family were nearly related to Thomas Becket Archbishop of Canterbury being descended from his sister After his murder they were translated into Ireland by King Hen. the 2d who hoped to redeem his credit in the world by preferring his relations to wealth and honours The first Earl of Ormond in this family was James son of Edmund Earl of Carrick who married the daughter of Humphry Bohun Earl of Hereford by a daughter of King Edw. the first and this was their first step towards honour Hereupon his son James was commonly called by the people the noble Earl The fifth Earl of this family not to be particular in the account of them had the
into the Neor upon which stands the third Burrough-town of this County that takes the name Kallan from it and also Inis-Teag Inis-Teag a fourth The family of the Butlers spreads its branches almost all over this Country and has flourish'd in great honour being for their eminent virtues dignified with the title of Earls of Ormond Wiltshire in England and as it is already said of Ossery Besides the Earl of Ormond Viscount Thurles and Knight of the Garter there are of this family the Viscount Mont-Garret the Viscount Tullo the Barons de Dunboyn and Cahyr with many other noble branches The rest that are eminent in these parts are also of English original the Graces the Walshes Levels Foresters Shortels Blanch-felds or Blanchevelstons Drilands Comerfords c. The County of CATERLOGH THE County of Caterlogh by contraction Carlogh bounds upon Kilkenny on the east lying wholly in a manner between these two rivers the Barrow and the Slane The soil is fruitful and well shaded with woods It contains two towns considerable more eminent than the rest both situate upon the west of the Barrow the one Caterlogh about which Leonel Duke of Clarence begun to build a wall and Bellingham that famous and excellent Lord Deputy of Ireland built a strong Castle for the defence of it The other is Leighton in Latin Lechlinia where was formerly a Bishop's See now annex'd to the Bishoprick of Farnes These towns have both of them their Wards and Constables to govern them The greatest part of this County belonged by inheritance to the Howards The Stat. of Absenties Dukes of Norfolk descended by the Earls of Warren from the eldest daughter of William Marshall Earl of Pembroke but King Henry the eight by Act of Parliament had all the lands and possessions granted him either belonging to him and the other Gentry or to the Monasteries here in England b See the County of Waterford the last paragraph because that by their absence and neglect of private affairs there they had endangered the publick interest From hence the Barrow runs through the Barony of Ydron Baron Ydron which belonged to the Carews of Devonshire 13 For Sir John Carew an English Knight died sâ—isâ—d thereof in the time of King Edward 3. ever since Sir N. Carew an English Knight married the daughter of Digo an Irish Baron which has since our memory been recovered after a long usurpation by Peter Carew Upon the river Slane stands Tullo memorable for Theobald Butler brother's son to the Earl of Ormond who was lately honoured with the title of Viscount Tullo by King James The Cavanaughs Cavanaghs are very numerous in these parts descended from Duvenald a younger son or Bastard as some say of Dermot the last King of Leinster warlike men and famous for their good horsemanship and though very poor at this day yet of as much honour and generosity as their forefathers Upon the account of some slaughters which many years ago they committed upon one another they live in a state of war at this day Some of these being trusted by the English to manage their possessions in these parts about King Edward the second 's time usurp'd all to themselves assuming the name of O-More O-Moâ— From 〈◊〉 book oâ— Patricâ— Fingâ—â— and taking the Toles and Brens into their confederacy by which means they dispossess'd the English of all that territory between the Caterlogh and the Irish-Sea Among these the river Neor joins the Barrow and after they have travell'd some miles together in one stream they quit their names and present that with their waters to their eldest sister the Swire which empties it self soon after from a rocky mouth into the sea where on the left there is a little narrow-neck'd promontory upon which stands a high tower built by the merchants of Rosse while they flourished to direct their vessels into the river-mouth Hooktowâ—â— QVEENS-COVNTY TOwards the north-west above Caterlogh lies a woody boggy tract call'd in Irish the Lease Lease in English the Queens-County which Queen Mary by her Minister Thomas Ratcliff Earl of Sussex and Lord Deputy at that time first reduced into a County Hence the chief town is call'd Mary-Burgh Mary-Burgh defended by a garison under the command of a Seneschal who with much ado keeps off the O-mores pretending to be Lords of it as also the Mac-Gilpatricks the O-Dempsies and others a mischievous and unquiet sort of people who are daily conspiring against the English and endeavouring to free themselves from their laws At the first coming of the English into these parts Meilere was sent hither to subdue this wild and hostile part of the country Hugh Lacy Lord Deputy built a castle at Tahmelio for him as also another at Obowy a third upon the river Barrow and a fourth at Norrach Among others also he fortified Donemaws Donemawâ— an ancient castle situate in the most fruitful part of this territory which fell to the Breoses Lords of Brecknock by Eva the youngest daughter of William Mareshall Earl of Pembrook Where also the Barrow rising out of Slew-Blomey-hills westward after a solitary course through the woods sees the old city Rheba Rhebâ— a name it stiâ—l preserves entire in its present one Rheban though instead of a city 't is now only the reliques of one consisting of some few cottages and a fort However it gives the title of Baronet to that noble Gentleman N. of S. Michael commonly called the Baronet of Rheban Baroâ— Rhebâ—â— The KING's-COVNTY AS the Queen's County aforesaid was so named from Queen Mary so the adjacent little County on the north divided by the river Barrow and called heretofore Offalie was term'd in honour of Philip King of Spain her husband the King's County as likewise the head-town in it Philips-town Philips-town where there is a garison a Seneschal and several noble families of the English the Warrens Herberts Colbies Mores and the Leicesters of the Irish the family of O-conor to whom a great part of it formerly belong'd as also of Mac Coghlam and O maily Fox and others who stoutly defend this and the other possessions left them here by their ancestors while the natives complain that the estates of their families are took from them and no other possessions in lieu assigned them to live upon For this reason they break out into rebellion upon every occasion and annoy the English with great outrage and cruelty The County of KILDAR THE County of Kildar lies along like a foreland to the King and Queen's Counties on the east very rich and fruitful Giraldus Cambrensis applies those verses of Virgil to the pastures of it Et quantum longis carpunt armenta diebus Exiguâ tantum gelidus ros nocte reponit What in long days the browzing cattle crop In the short nights the fertil dew makes up The a The Shire-town at this day is Nans near which at Sigginstowne Thomas
57 And this Rory his succâ—ssor practising new treason against King James his advancer upon the terrour of a guilty conscience fled the Realm in the year 1607 and died at Rome The Scots The antient inhabitants of this Ulster as likewise of all other parts of the Kingdom went formerly by the name of Scots and from hence they brought that name into the Northern part of Britain For as Giraldus says the six sons of Mured King of Ulster possest themselves of the North of Britain about 400 years after Christ from which time it has been called by the name of Scotia Yet the Annals of that Kingdom shew us that it has had this name much earlier And moreover Fergus the second who re-established the Kingdom of the Scots in Britain came from hence Patrick â—xâ—ife of â— Patrick having foretold That though he seemed mean and contemptible to his brethren at that time it would shortly came to pass thas he should be Prince and Lord over them all To make this the more probable the same writer adds farther That not long after Fergus according to the prediction of this holy man obtained the soveraignty in these parts and that his posterity continued in the throne for many generations From him was descended the most valiant King Edan son of Gabrain who conquer'd Scotland called Albania where his offspring reign to this day 58 Sir John John Curcy in the reign of Henry the second was the first Englishman that attempted the conquest of this County who having taken Down and Armagh made himself master of the whole Province either by force or surrender and was the first that had the title of Earl of Ulster â—'s of â—â—er At last his success and fortune made him so envied that for his own worth and the unworthiness of others he was banish'd and by King John's appointment succeeded by Hugh de Lacy second son of Hugh Lacy Lord of Meth who was made Earl of Ulster by a sword with orders to carry on a war against him Yet he was deprived of this honour by the same King 〈◊〉 â—o upon his insolence and popular practices but received again into favour In confirmation of this I will here give you word for word what I find in the Records of Ireland Hugh de Lacy formerly Earl of Ulster held all Ulster exempt and separate from any other County whatsoever in capite of the Kings of England by the service of three Knights when ever the Royal service was ordered by proclamation And he migâ—â— try in his own Court all pleas whatsoever belonging to the Sheriff and the Chief Justice and held a Court of Chancery c. After this all Ulster was forfeited to our Lord King John from the said Hugh who had it afterwards granted him for term of life by King Henry the third After Hugh's decease Walter de Burgo did these services to our Lord Edward King Henry's son Lord of Ireland before he was King This same Lord Edward infeoff'd the aforesaid Walter with the lands of Ulster to have and to hold to him and his heirs by the service aforesaid as well and freely as the said Hugh de Lacy did excepting the advowsons of the Cathedral Churches and the demesns of the same as also the Pleas of the Crown Rapes Forstalls Arsonyes and Treasure-trouves which our soveraign Lord King Edward retaineth to himself and his heirs This Walter de Burgo who was Lord of Conaught and Earl of Ulster had by the only daughter of Hugh de Lacy Richard Earl of Ulster who put an end to an uneasie life in the year 1326. This Richard had a son John de Burgo who died in his life time after he had had a son William by his wife Elizabeth the sister and co-heir of Gilbert Clare Earl of Gloucester who succeeded his Grandfather William was murder'd by his own men in his youth leaving a little daughter Elizabeth See Raâ—norshire and Yorkshire north-riding afterwards married to Leonel Duke of Clarence by whom she had likewise an only daughter married to Edmund Mortimer Earl of March and by her the Earldom of Ulster and Seigniory of Conaught came to the Mortimers from whom together with the Kingdom of England it fell to the house of York and then by King Edward the fourth was annexed to the Crown or the King 's demesn lands as they express it A civil war breaking out at that time and the Nation falling into faction and parties so that these English then in Ulster were induced to return into England to support their several sides and parties these Countreys were seiz'd upon by O-Neal and others of the Irish so that the Province grew as wild and barbarous as could be and whereas it formerly yielded a considerable revenue to the Earl in money it has hardly since that time paid any to the Kings of England And if I may be allowed to make remarks of this nature the piety and wisdom of the Kings of England has been more defective in no one thing than in the due administration of this Province and all Ireland either in respect of propagating Religion modelling the State or civilizing the Inhabitants Whether this neglect is to be imputed to a careless oversight or a design of parsimony and unseasonable providence I am not able to determine But one would think an Island so great and so near us where there 's so much good soil and rich pasture so many woods so much good mettal for digging up so many fine rivers and commodious harbours on all sides convenient for navigation into the richest parts of the world upon which account great imposts might be probably expected and lastly an Island so very fruitful of inhabitants and the people both in respect of minds and bodies capable of all the employments of peace or war should of right challenge and deserve our care for the future 59 If they were wrought and conform'd to orderly civility I Did but just now intimate That I would give some account of these O-Neals who pretend to be Lords of Ulster and therefore I promised to an excellent friend of mine the history of the Rebellions they rais'd this last age Though that Gentleman is now happy in a better world yet I had so much esteem for him that I cannot now but perform my promise to his very memory Thus much I thought necessary to premise As for the following History the materials are not drawn from uncertain reports or other weak authorities but from those very authâ—ntick papers that came from the Generals themselves or such as were eye-witnesses and had a share in the transactions and that so sincerely that I cannot but flatter my self with hopes of favour from the Reader if he desires a true information or would understand the late affairs in Ireland which are so much a secret to most of us and also of escaping all manner of reprehension except from such as are conscious and gall'd
and many Christians cut off MCLXXXVII On the Kalends or first of July the Abby of Ynes in Ulster was founded MCLXXXIX Henry Fitz Empress departed this life was succeeded by his son Richard and buried in Font Evrard This same year was founded the Abby De Colle Victoriae i.e. Cnokmoy MCXC. King Richard and King Philip made a Voyage to the Holy Land MCXCI. In the Monastery of Clareval the translation of Malachy Bishop of Armagh was celebrated with great solemnity MCXCII The City of Dublin was burnt MCXCIII Richard King of England in his return from the Holy Land was taken Prisoner by the Duke of Austria and paid to the Emperor 100000 Marks for Ransom besides 30000 to the Empress and 20000 to the Duke upon an Obligation he had made to them for Henry Duke of Saxony He was detain'd in Prison by the Emperor a year six months and three days all the Chalices in a manner throughout England were sold to raise this Sum. This year was founded the Abby De Jugo Dei. MCXCIV The Reliques of S. Malachy Bishop of Clareval were brought into Ireland and receiv'd with great honour into the Monastery of Millifont and other Monasteries of the Cistercians MCXCV. Matthew Archbishop of Cassil Legat of Ireland and John Archbishop of Dublin got the Corps of Hugh Lacy that conquered Meth from the Irish and interr'd them with great solemnity in the Monastery of Blessedness or Becty but the Head of the said Hugh was laid in S. Thomas 's Monastery in Dublin MCXCVIII The Order of the Friers Predicants was begun about Tolouse founded by Dominick II. MCXCIX Died Richard King of England succeeded by his Brother John who was Lord of Ireland and Earl of Moriton Arthur the lawful Heir Son of Geffrey his whole Brother was slain by him The death of Richard was after this manner When King Richard besieg'd the Castle of Chaluz in Little Bretagn he receiv'd his mortal Wound by an Arrow shot at him by one of those in the Castle nam'd Bertram de Gourdon As soon as the King found there was no hopes of Life he committed his Kingdom of England and all his other Possessions to the Custody of his Brother All his Jewels and the fourth part of his Treasure he bequeath'd to his Nephew Otho Another fourth part of his Treasure he left to be distributed among his Servants and the poor People When Bertram was taken and brought before the King he ask'd him for what harm he had kill'd him Bertram without any fear told him That he had kill'd his Father and two of his Brethren with his own Hand and then intended to do the same with him That he might take what Revenge he pleas'd but he should not care since he was to die too that had done so much mischief in the World Notwithstanding the King pardon'd him and order'd him to be set at liberty and to have a 100 Shillings Sterling given him Yet after the King's death some of the King's Officers flea'd him and hung him up The King died on the eighteenth of the Ides of April which happen'd to be the fourth * Feria day before Palm-sunday and the eleventh day after he was wounded He was buried at Font Eberard at the feet of his Father A certain Versificator writ this Distich upon his death Istius in morte perimit Formica Leonem Proh dolor in tanto funere mundus obit An Ant a Lyon slew when Richard fell And his must be the World 's great Funeral His Corps were divided into three Parts Whence this of another Viscera Carceolum Corpus Fons servat Ebrardi Et cor Rothomagum magne Richarde tuum Great Richard's Body 's at Fontevrault shown His Bowels at Chalons his Head at Roan After the death of King Richard his Brother John was begirt by the Archbishop of Roan with the Sword of the Dukedom of Normandy upon the 7th of the Kalends of May next following The Archbishop also set a Crown adorn'd with golden Roses upon his Head Afterwards upon the 6th of the Kalends of June he was anointed and crown'd King of England in S. Peter's Church Westminster upon Ascension-day attended with all the Nobility of England Afterwards he was summon'd to Parliament in France to answer for the death of his Nephew Arthur and depriv'd of Normandy because he came not accordingly This same Year was founded the Abby of Commerer MCC Cathol Cronerg King of Conaught founder of the Abby De Colle Victoriae was expell'd Conaught This year the Monastery De Voto was founded that is to say Tyntern Monastery by William Marshall Earl Marshal and Pembroch who was Lord of Leinster viz. of Wrisford Ossory Caterlagh and Kildare in right of his Wife who married the daughter of Richard Earl of Stroghul and of Eve the daughter of Dermic Murcard This William Earl Marshal being in great danger of Shipwreck a night and a day made a Vow That if he escap'd and came to Land he would found a Monastery and dedicate it to Christ and his Mother Mary So as soon as he arriv'd at Weysford he founded this Monastery of Tynterne according to his Vow and it is nam'd De Voto This year also was founded the Monastery de Flumine Dei MCCII. Cathol Cronirg or Crorobdyr King of Conaught was restor'd to his Kingdom The same year was founded the house of Canons of S. Marie of Connal by Sir Meiler Fitz-Henry MCCIII The Abby of S. Saviour i.e. Dawisky which was before founded was this Year and the next following finish'd MCCIV. A Battle was fought between John Courcy first Earl of Ulster and Hugh Lacie at Doune with great slaughter on both sides Yet John Curcy had the Victory Afterwards upon the 6th day of the Week being Good Friday as the said John was unarm'd and going in Pilgrimage barefoot and in a linnen Vestment to the Churches after the common manner he was treacherously taken Prisoner by his own People for a sum of Mony part in hand and part promis'd to be paid afterwards and so he was deliver'd to Hugh Lacy who brought him to the King of England and receiv'd the Earldom of Ulster and the Seigniory of Connaught upon that account both belonging to John Curcy Hugh Lacy now being made Earl rewarded the said Traytors with Gold and Silver some more some less but hung them up as soon as he had done and took away all their Goods by these means Hugh Lacy ruleth in Ulster and John Curcie is condemn'd to perpetual Imprisonment for his former Rebellion against King John refusing to do him homage and accusing him for the death of Arthur the lawful and right Heir to the Crown While the Earl was in Prison and in great Poverty having but a small allowance of Provisions and the same mean and course he expostulated with God why he dealt thus with him who had built and repair'd so many Monasteries for him and his Saints After many Expostulations of this kind he fell asleep and the Holy
and made ready to entertain the Conquerors whosoever they should be usually saying upon this occasion That it would be a shame if such Guests should come and find him unprovided It pleasing God to bless them with the Victory he invited them all to Supper to rejoice with him giving God the thanks for his success telling them He thought the things look'd as well upon his Table as running in his Fields notwithstanding some advis'd him to be saving He was buried in the Convent-church of the Friers-predicants of Coulrath near the river Banne Item The Earl of Ormond Chief Justice of Ireland went into England and Moris Fitz-Thomas Earl of Kildare was made Chief Justice of Ireland by a charter or commission after this manner Omnibus c. To all whom these Presents shall come greeting Know ye that we have committed to our faithful and loving Subject Moris Earl of Kildare the office of Chief Justice of our Kingdom of Ireland together with the Nation it self and the Castles and other Appurtenances thereunto belonging to keep and govern during our will and pleasure commanding that while he remains in the said office he shall receive the sum of five hundred pounds yearly cut of our Exchequer at Dublin Vpon which consideration he shall perform the said office and take care of the Kingdom and maintain twenty Men and Horse in arms constantly whereof himself shall be one during the enjoyment of the said commission In witness whereof c. Given at Dublin by the hands of our beloved in Christ Frier Thomas Burgey Prior of the Hospital of S. John of Jerusalem in Ireland our Chancellor of that Kingdom on the 30th of March being the 35th year of our reign Item James Botiller Earl of Ormond return'd to Ireland being made Lord Chief Justice as before whereupon the Earl of Kildare resign'd to him MCCCLXI Leonel son to the King of England and Earl of Ulster in right of his Wife came as the King's Lieutenant into Ireland and on the 8th of September being the Nativity of the blessed Virgin arriv'd at Dublin with his Wife Elizabeth the Daughter and Heir of William Lord Burk Earl of Ulster Another Pestilence happen'd this year There died in England Henry Duke of Lancaster the Earl of March and the Earl of Northampton Item On the 6th of January Moris Doncref a Citizen of Dublin was buried in the Church-yard of the Friers-predicants in this City having contributed 40 l. towards glazing the Church of that Convent Item There died this year Joan Fleming wife to Geffery Lord Trevers and Margaret Bermingham wife to Robert Lord Preston on S. Margaret's eve and were buried in the Church of the Friers-predicants of Tredagh Item Walter Lord Bermingham the younger died on S. Lawrence-day who left his Estate to be divided among his Sisters one of whose Shares came to the aforesaid Preston Item Leonel having arriv'd in Ireland and refresh'd himself for some few days enter'd into a War with O Brynne and made Proclamation in his Army That no Irish should be suffer'd to come near his Army One hundred of his own Pensioners were slain Leonel hereupon drew up both the English and the Irish into one body went on successfully and by God's mercy and this means grew victorious in all places against the Irish Among many both English and Irish whom he knighted were these Robert Preston Robert Holiwood Thomas Talbot Walter Cusacke James de la Hide John Ash and Patrick and Robert Ash Item He remov'd the Exchequer from Dublin to Carlagh and gave 500 l. towards walling the Town Item On the feast of S. Maur Abbot there happen'd a violent Wind that shook or blew down the Pinnacles Battlements Chimnies and such other Buildings as overtop'd the rest to be particular it blew down very many Trees and some Steeples for instance the Steeple of the Friers-predicants MCCCLXII In the 36th year of this King's reign and on the 8th of April S. Patrick's church in Dublin was burnt down through negligence MCCCLXIV In the 38th year of this reign Leonel Earl of Ulster arriv'd on the 22d of April in England leaving the Earl of Ormond to administer as his Deputy On the 8th of December following he return'd again MCCCLXV In the 39th of this reign Leonel Duke of Clarence went again into England leaving Sir Thomas Dale Knight Deputy-keeper and Chief Justice in his absencc MCCCLXVII A great feud arose between the Berminghams of Carbry and the People of Meth occasion'd by the depredations they had made in that Country Sir Robert Preston Knight Chief Baron of the Exchequer put a good Garrison into Carbry-castle and laid out a great deal of mony against the King's Enemies that he might be able to defend what he held in his Wife 's right Item Gerald Fitz-Moris Earl of Desmond was made Chief Justice of Ireland MCCCLXVIII In the 42d year of the same reign after a Parliament of the English and Irish Frier Thomas Burley Prior of Kylmaynon the King's Chancellor in Ireland John Fitz-Reicher Sheriff of Meth Sir Robert Tirill Baron of Castle-knoke and many more were taken Prisoners at Carbry by the Berminghams and others of that Town James Bermingham who was then kept in Irons as a Traytor in the castle of Trim was set at liberty in exchange for the Chancellor the rest were forc'd to ransom themselves Item The Church of S. Maries in Trim was burnt down by the negligent keeping of the fire in the monastery Item On the vigil of S. Luke the Evangelist Leonel Duke of Clarence died at Albe in Pyemont He was first buried in the city Papy near S. Augustin and afterwards in the Convent-church of the Austin Fryers at Clare in England MCCCLXIX In the 43d year cf this reign Sir Willium Windefore Knight a Person of great valour and courage being made the King's Deputy came into Ireland on the 12th of July to whom Gerald Fitz-Moris Earl of Desmond resign'd the office of Chief Justice MCCCLXX In the 44th year of this reign a Pestilence rag'd in Ireland more violent than either of the former two many of the Nobility and Gentry as also Citizens and Children innumerable died of it The same year Gerald Fitz-Maurice Earl of Desmond John Lord Nicholas Thomas Lord Fitz-John and many others of the Nobility were taken Prisoners on the 6th of July near the Monastery of Magie in the County of Limerick by O-Breen and Mac Comar of Thomond many were slain in the Fray Whereupon the Lieutenant went over to Limerick in order to defend Mounster leaving the War against the O-Tothiles and the rest in Leinster till some other opportunity This year died Robert Lord Terell Baron of Castle Knock together with his son and heir and his Wife Scolastica Houth so that the Inheritance was shared between Joan and Maud the sisters of the said Robert Terell Item Simon Lord Fleming Baron of Slane John Lord Cusak Baron of Colmolyn and John Taylor late mayor of Dublin a very
amongst which is a pulpit of stone and a Chappel wherein they say that Jordan Companion to St. Austin the English Apostle was bury'd but 't is now a free-school This place not to mention the private houses is beautify'd on all sides with publick and stately buildings On one side with a Collegiate Church call'd Gaunts from its founder Sir Henry Gaunt Knight who quitting the affairs of this world here dedicated himself to God now by the munificence of T. Carre a wealthy citizen it is converted into a Hospital for Orphans On the other side over against it are two Churches dedicated to St. Austin the one but small and a Parish-Church the other larger and the Bishop's Cathedral adorn'd by King Henry 8. with six Prebendaries Now the greatest part of it is pull'd down and the College gate which indeed is curiously built has this Inscription REX HENRICVS II. ET DOMINVS ROBERTVS FILIVS HARDINGI FILII REGIS DACIAE HVIVS MONASTERII PRIMI FVNDATORES EXTITERVNT That is King Henry 2. and Lord Robert the son of Harding son to the King of Denmark were the first founders of this Monastery This Robert 42 Call'd by the Normans Fitz Harding Harding's son of the blood-roâ—al of Denmark was an Alderman of Bristol and was so great with King Henry 43 The second that by his favour Maurice his son marry'd the daughter of the Lord de Barkley from whence his posterity Barons of Barkley who flourish'd in great state are to this day call'd Barons of Barkley Register of the Monastery some whereof are bury'd in this Church aa From hence where the Avon runs are high rocks on both sides the river as if Nature had industriously design'd them One of these which hangs over the river on the east-side is call'd S. Vincent's and is so stock'd with Diamonds British Diamonds that one may get whole bushels of them But the great plenty lessens their true value among us for besides that by their transparency they even vie with those from the Indies they do not yield to them in any respect save hardness but their being smooth'd and fil'd by nature into six or four corners does in my mind render them more admirable bb The other rock on the western bank is likewise full of Diamonds which by a wonderful artifice of nature are contain'd in hollow reddish flints for the ground here is red as if they were big with young The Avon after it has pass'd by these rocks is at last with a full channel unloaded into the Severn-Aestuary cc It remains now that I reckon up the Earls and Dukes of this County of Somerset Earls and Dukes of Somerset The first Earl of Somerset is said to have been William de Mohun or Moion the same probably that b Vid. Hist Matth. Paris Minor Maud the Empress in her Charter whereby she created William de Mandevil Earl of Essex makes use of as a witness under the name of Comes W. de Moion i.e. Earl W. de Moion From this time there occurs no distinct mention of the Earls of Somerset unless it be in this Rescript of King Hen. 3. Patents an 1 Hen. 3. to Peter de Mawley which I will set down in order to incite others to spend their judgments upon it Know ye that we have receiv'd the homage of our belov'd Uncle William Earl of Sarum for all the lands which he holds of us especially for the County of Somerset which we have given to him with all the Appurtenances for homage and service reserving still to our selves the Royalties and therefore we command you that you grant him a full seisin of the said County with all it's Appurtenances and for the future not to intermeddle with any thing belonging to the said County c. And we charge all our Earls Barons Knights and Freetenents of the County of Somerset that they pay Fealty and Homage to the said Earl with reserve only of fidelity to the King and that for the future they be obedient and answerable to him as their Lord. Whether one may from hence conclude that he was Earl of Somerset as also of Devonshire for he writ too in the same words to Robert Courtney concerning this William I leave to the judgment of others Under this Henry 3. as we read in a Book in French belonging to the family of the Mohuns Knights 't is said that Pope Innocent on a solemn festival made Reginald Mohun Earl of Este i.e. as our Author interprets it of Somerset delivering him a golden Rose and granting an annual pension to be paid yearly at the altar of S. Paul's in London So that this man seems not so much to have been properly Earl as Apostolical Earl An Apostolical Eâ—â—â— for so such were term'd in that age who were created by the Pope as those created by the Emperour Imperial Earls having a power of licensing Notaries and Scribes making Bastards legitimate c. under some certain conditions A considerable time after John de Beaufort natural son to John of Gaunt Duke of Lancaster by Catharine Swinford See the Earls of Dorset being with his brothers and sister made legitimate by K. Richard 2. by the assent of Parliament was advanc'd to the honour of Earl of Somerset and afterwards created Marquess of Dorset but was presently depriv'd of that honour by Henry 4. and had only the title of Somerset left him He had three sons Henry Earl of Somerset who dy'd young John created by K. Henry 5. first Duke of Somerset who had an only daughter Margaret mother to K. Henry 7. and Edmund who succeeded his brother in the Dukedom and was for some time Regent of France But being recall'd he was accus'd of having lost Normandy upon which account he suffer'd many indignities from the people and in that lamentable war between the two houses of Lancaster and York was slain in the first battle of S. Albans Henry his son succeeded him who being a time-server and one while siding with the house of York another with the house of Lancaster was by the York-party taken prisoner in the battle of Hexam and had his levity punish d with the loss of his head And his brother Edmund who succeeded him in this honour the last Duke of Somerset of this family after the defeat of the Lancastrian party at Tewksbury was dragg'd being all over blood out of the Church wherein he had taken Sanctuary and beheaded The legitimate heirs male of this family being thus extinct first Henry 7. honour'd Edmund his young son with this title who soon after dy'd and next Henry 8. his natural son Henry Fitz-Roy who dying without issue Edward 6. invested 44 Sir Edward c. Edward de Sancto Mauro commonly call'd Seimor with the same who being full of Honours and as it were loaded with Titles for he was Duke of Somerset Earl of Hertford Viscount Beauchamp Baron of S. Maur Uncle to the King Governour to
the King Protector of his Kingdoms Dominions and Subjects Lieutenant of his forces by sea and land Treasurer and Earl Marshall of England Governour of the Islands of Guernsey and Jarsey c. was as if he had been fortunes foot-ball 45 Which never suffereth sudden over-greatness to last long on a sudden thrown down for but a slight crime and that too contriv'd by the treachery of his enemies and depriv'd of his honours and life together There are reckon'd in this County 385 Parishes ADDITIONS to SOMERSETSHIRE A THE general account our Author has given of the Belgae tho' it may in some measure be true namely that they liv'd in part of Hamshire and the south part of Wiltshire yet by assigning all Wiltshire and this County of Somerset to that people he may seem to have extended their bounds too far And the learned world would do well to consider whether North-Wiltshire and all Somersetshire might not be as fairly bestow'd upon the Cangi a people mention'd by * Annal. lib. 12. Tacitus 'T is an opinion favour'd by Mr. Tanner who has made great search as into Antiquities in general so particularly into the affairs of those parts And truly not without probable grounds for besides what Camden himself has urg'd to strengthen the conjecture as the Triumphal Arch found here erected to the honour of Claudius Caesar in whose time these Cangi were subdu'd and the resemblance of the name in Cannington and Cannings Hundreds and the towns of Wine-caunton and Cainsham if we consider two or three reasons more it will appear a little strange why Mr. Camden should recant and upon second thoughts place the Cangi in Cheshire For 1. The whole course of Ostorius's march may seem to convince us that the Cangi liv'd in this part of the Island especially if the Iceni may upon the authority and reasons of a late * Plot 's Hist of Staffordshire 〈◊〉 sect 3. Author be brought to those parts where the Ikenild-street pass'd After he had quell'd the Iceni he immediately march'd against the Cangi but before he had finish'd his Conquests over them the commotions of the Brigantes requir'd his presence in their Country retraxêre ducem saith the Historian now if the Cangi had inhabited Cheshire they had almost laid in his way to the Brigantes who therefore could not be said retrahere ducem But after they were subdu'd he comes back and settles a Colony at Camulodunum which if the resemblance of the name the nature of the place and all the signs of a Roman station be of any force we may place at †See â—den's dâ—scriptiâ— it Camalet in this County Besides it must needs be in those parts because the Romans march'd from thence to subdue the Silures from whom they march'd against the Ordovices And can we imagine that any prudent General as Ostorius no doubt was would harrass his Souldiers with such a needless march as from Cheshire or Staffordshire into South-Wales and so leave enemies behind him in North-Wales into which they would first have bended their course if Camulodunum had been so near it as * Plot 's Hist of Staffordâ—â—ire some endeavour to prove 2. Lipsius's conjecture of reading instead of the Cenimagni of Caesar Iceni Cangi confirms this opinion for if that be allow'd then from Caesar's own words those Iceni and Cangi must be plac'd in the south parts of Britain near the Bibroci in Barkshire and the Segontiaci in Hamshire so that the share of the Cangi will in all probability fall in North-Wiltshire and Somersetshire 3. The memory of those people preserv'd in several names of places besides those mention'd by Camden Such are Caningan-maersces in the Saxon Chronicle which are undoubtedly the marshes in Somersetshire In Wiltshire there is the Hundred of Canings and in it a town of the same name call'd in old Writings Caningas as in another Hundred is Alcannings as much possibly as old or old Cannings And that ancient town of Caln especially if spell'd as we find it in Domesday Cauna or as at this day Caun seems to retain something of the name 4. Why may not the Severn-sea be that which Tacitus says looks towards Ireland near which the Cangi liv'd and Avon in those parts the Antona of Tacitus on the banks whereof Ostorius before the rebellion broke out had made several garrisons And thus much of the ancient Inhabitants a This County of Somerset was by our Saxon Fore-fathers call'd Sumursaetescyre and the inhabitants of it Sumursaetas Sumorsaete and Sumaersaetas The letter o in the first Syllable was brought in by later Writers as it has likewise into the principal town Somerton which by the Saxons was call'd Sumurton and by some of the more early Historians Sumerton â—â—â—lock â—atchet b Upon the coast of the Severn-sea lye Porlock and Watchet two ports famous in the times of the Saxons which our Author tells us An. 886. suffer'd much from the Danes Chron. â— Watchet in the year 997. was again harrass'd by them and amongst the rest of the neighbours in those westerly parts suffer'd whatever fire and sword could inflict Porlock was the place where Harold landed from Ireland An. 1052. who being oppos'd by the inhabitants and neighbouring people slew great numbers of them and carry'd off a large booty More eastward from hence at some distance from the sea â—â—ingâ— is Cannington at or about which place in the year 1010 the Danes so much practis'd their old trade of burning and plunder The present name agrees well enough with the old â—â—ron 〈◊〉 Mx. Caningan and the situation of it with the marches of that army Nor does the maersces the marshes which is added to it less confirm the opinion if Mr. Camden's character of the whole County be true that it is especially in the winter extreme wet and fenny I had once thought this the Marshes in Kent and that Caningan was an errour of the Librarians for Centingan but upon examining the course of their journey the mistake appear'd c Leaving the sea-coast our next direction is the river Ivel near which is Camalet mention'd by Mr. Camden as a place of great Antiquity â—eland's â—rar 2. â—en's â—es upâ—â—olyolb The hill is a mile in compass at the top four trenches circling it and between each of them an earthen wall In the very top of the hill is an Area of 20 acres or more where in several places as Leland observes might be seen the foundations of walls And there was much dusky blew stone which the people of the adjoyning villages had in his time carry'd away Beside the coyns Stow tells us of a silver horse-shoe there digg'd up in the memory of that age and Leland describes it in a kind of extasie Good Lord says he what deep ditches what high walls what precipices are here In short I look upon it as a very great wonder both of Art and Nature d Not far from hence is North-Cadbury
Isabella and Delaley and other large Possessions which by the Outlawry of Richard Earl of Arundel were then forfeited to the Crown Richard himself was styl'd Princeps Cestriae Prince of Chester But this title was but of small duration no longer than till Henry the fourth repeal'd the Laws of the said Parliament for then it became a County Palatine again and retains that Prerogative to this day which is administred by a Chamberlain 11 Who hath all jurisdiction of a Chancellour within the said County Palatine a Judge Special 12 For matters in Common-Plees and Plees of the Crown to be heard and determin'd in the said County two Barons of the Exchequer three Serjeants at Law a Sheriff an Attorney an Escheator 13 And the Inhabitants of the said County for the enjoying of their Liberties were to pay at the change of every owner of the said Earldom a sum of money about 3000 marks by the name of a Mize as the County of Flint being a parcel thereof about 2000 marks if I have not been misinform'd c. We have now survey'd the Country of the Cornavii who together with the Coritani Dobuni and Catuellani made one entire Kingdom in the Saxon Heptarchy then called by them Myrcna-ric and Mearc-lond but render'd by the Latins Meâ—cia from a Saxon word Mearc which signifies limit for the other Kingdoms border'd upon this This was by far the largest Kingdom of them all begun by Crida the Saxon about the year 586. and enlarg'd on all hands by Penda and a littlâ— after under Peada converted to Christianity But after a duration of 250 years it was too late subjected to the Dominion of the West-Saxons when it had long endured all the outrage and misery that the Danish wars could inflict upon it This County has about 68 Parishes ADDITIONS to CHESHIRE AS the County of Chester exceeds most others in the antiquitâ— and Royalty of it's jurisdiction and multitude of it's ancient Gentry so the famous Colony settled in it under the Roman Government has render'd it very considerable for Antiquities Nor had that Subject wanted a due examination or the remains of Antiquity layn so long undiscover'd if most of it's Historians had not been led away with a chain of groundless stories and extravagant conjectures 'T is true Sir Peter Leicester has made due searches into the Records relating to this County especially to Bucklow-Hundred and reported them with great exactness and fidelity but the Roman affairs he has left so entirely untouch'd that 't is plain he either industriously declin'd them as foreign to his business or wanted experience to carry him through that part of history In like manner Sir John Doderidge a man of great learning in his Treatise concerning this County hath exactly stated the ancient and present revenues thereof but was not so diligent in his enquiries concerning the original of the County Palatine as might from a man of his Profession have been reasonably expected However his defect in this point is in a great measure supply'd by what the learned Mr. Harrington has left upon that subject a Gentleman by whose death Learning in general and particularly the Antiquities of this County which he had design'd to illustrate and improve have suffer'd very much a To begin then with Mr. Camden who first observes that this is a County Palatine County Palatine It may be worth our notice that it had this additional title upon the coming over of the Normans At first indeed William the Conquerour gave this Province to Gherbord a Nobleman of Flanders who had only the same title and power as the Officiary Earls amongst the Saxons had enjoy'd the inheritance the Earldom and grandeur of the Tenure being not yet settl'd Afterwards Hugh Lupus son of the Viscount of Auranches a Nephew of William the Conquerour by his sister receiv'd this Earldom from the Conquerour under the greatest and most honourable Tenure that ever was granted to a Subject Totum hunc dedit Comitatum tenendum sibi haeredibus suis ita liberè ad gladium sicut ipse Rex tenebat Angliae coronam The vast extent of the Powers convey'd in this Grant carry'd in them Palatine jurisdiction tho' it is certain that neither Hugh Lupus nor any of his successors were in the Grant it self or any ancient Records stil'd Comites Palatini As to the original of Palatinates in general it is clear that anciently in the decline of the Roman Empire the 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 as the name imports were only officers of the Courts of Princes The term in process of time was restrain'd to those who had the final deteâ—mination of Causes under the King or Emperour And those that exercis d this sovereignty of jurisdiction in any Precinct or Province were call'd Comites Palatini and the place where the jurisdiction was us'd Palatinatus a Palatinate Instances of such personal offices in the Court we may still observe in the Palatine of Hungary and examples of such local authority we have in the Palatinates of the Rhine Durham and Lancaster Whether therefore the ancient Palatines were equal to the Praefecti Praetorio the Curopalatae the Grand Maistres in France or the ancient Chief Justices in England we need not dispute since it is clear that the Comites Palatini as all new-erected Officers titles retain'd many of the powers of the ancient but still had many characters of difference as well as some of resemblance By virtue of this Grant Chester enjoy'd all sovereign jurisdiction within its own precincts and that in so high a degree that the ancient Earls had Parliaments consisting of their own Barons and Tenants and were not oblig'd by the English Acts of Parliament These high and unaccountable jurisdictions were thought necessary upon the Marches and Borders of the Kingdom as investing the Governour of the Provinces with Dictatorial power and enabling them more effectually to subdue the common enemies of the Nation But when the same power that was formerly a good bar against Invaders grew formidable to the Kings themselves Henry 8. restrain'd the sovereignty of the Palatinates and made them not only subordinate to but dependent on the Crown of England And yet after that restraining Statute all Pleas of Lands and Tenements all Contracts arising within this County are and ought to be judicially heard and determin'd within this Shire and not elsewhere and if any determination be made out of it it is void and coram non judice except in cases of Error Foreign-Plea and Foreign Voucher And there is no other crime but Treason that can draw an inhabitant of this County to a Tryal elsewhere This jurisdiction tho' held now in other Counties was most anciently claim'd and enjoy'd by this County of Chester The Palatinate of Lancaster which was the Favourite-Province of the Kings of that House was erected under Edw. 1. and granted by him to Henry the first Duke of Lancaster and even in the Act of
Parliament that separates that Dutchy from the Crown of England King Hen. 4. grants Quascunque alias libertates jura Regalia ad Comitatum Palatinum pertinentia adeo liberè integrè sicut Comes Cestriae infrà eundem Comitatum Cestriae dignoscitur obtinere Which ancient reference proves plainly that the County of Chester was esteem'd the most ancient and best setled Palatinate in this Kingdom And although the Bishop of Durham doth in ancient Plea lay claim to Royal jurisdiction in his Province à tempore conquestûs anteà yet it is evident that not Durham it self much less Ely Hexamshire or Pembroke was erected into a County Palatine before Chester And as this is the most ancient so is it the most famous and remarkable Palatinate in England insomuch that a late Author Bâ—cman who usually mistakes in English affairs says of Cheshire Comitatui singulare est quòd Titulum Palatinatus gerat solis Germanis alià s notum b Having premis'd thus much concerning the nature of Palatinates let us enter upon the County it self wherein the river Dee first leads us to Banchor Banâ—hâ—â— famous for the Monastery there But before we go any farther it will be necessary to arm the reader against a mistake in * Mâ—â— i◠〈…〉 Poâ—â—â—â—â— Malmesbury who confounds this with the Episcopal seat in Caernarvonshire call'd Bangor whereas as Mr. Burton observes the latter was like a Colony drawn out of the former That Gildas the most ancient of our British writers was a member of this place we have the authority of Leland but upon what grounds he thinks so is not certain †Bâ—â— Eâ—â—â—â— lib. â— As for Dinothus he was undoubtedly Abbot there and sent for to meet Austin at the Synod which he call'd here in this Island Whether Pelagius the Heretick beiong'd also to this place as Camden intimates is not so certain Ranulphus Cestrensis tells us in his time it was thought so by some people ‖ Pâ—â—câ—◠〈◊〉 c. 3 Tradunt nonnulli c. and John of Tinmouth in the life of St. Alban expresly says that he was Abbot here But this man's relation to the place is not like to derive much honour upon it the remains of Roman and British Antiquity that have been discover'd there by the Plough-men for now the place is all corn-fields are a much greater testimony of it's ancient glory * Lâ—â—â— Such are the bones of Monks and vestures squar d stones Roman coyns and the like c From hence the river Dee runs to Chester the various names whereof are all fetch'd from the affairs of the Romans the British from the Legion and the Saxon Ceaster from the Fortifications made in that place upon account of the Legion being there quarter'd That the Legio xx was there is agreed on all hands but by what name it was call'd or when it came over are points not so certain but they may admit of some dispute For the first it is generally call'd Legio Vicesima Victrix and Camden assents to it but that seems to be defective if we may depend upon the authority of an old Inscription upon an Altar digg'd up in Chester A. D. 1653. and compar'd with what Dio has said of this Legion The Inscription is this I. O. M. TANARO T. ELVPIVS GALER PRAESENS GWTA PRI·LEG·XXW COMMODO · ET LATERANO COS. V. S. L. M. Which I read thus Jovi Optimo Maximo Tanaro Titus Elupius Galerius Praesens Gubernator Principibus Legionis Vicesimae Victricis Valeriae Commodo Laterano Consulibus Votum solvit lubens merito For if that Legion was call'd simply Vicesima Victrix what occasion was there for doubling the V To make it Vigesima quinta would be a conjecture altogether groundless and yet if the first V denote Victrix the second must signifie something more 'T is true Mr. Camden never saw this Altar yet another he had seen which was digg'd up at Crowdundal-waith in Westmorland should have oblig'd him not to be too positive that those who thought it might be call'd Valens Victrix or Valentia Victrix were necessarily in an errour VARONIV ......... ECTVS LEG XX. V. V. c. Here also we see the V. is doubl'd Whether the latter signifie Valeria will best appear out of Dio that great Historian who in his recital of the Roman Legions preserv'd under Augustus hath these words concerning the 20th Legion 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 The 20th Legion saith Dio which is also call'd Valeria and Victrix is now in Upper-Britain which Augustus preserv'd together with the other Legion that hath the name of Vicesima and hath it's winter-quarters in Lower-Germany and neither now is nor then was usually and properly call'd Valeria Mr. Burton is induc'd by the Westmorland-monument to make an addition to Victrix and sets down Valens but why this passage should not have induc'd him rather to make choice of Valeria I confess I perceive no â—eason For first the distinction he makes between the Vicesima in Britain and that in Germany is plain not only from the natural constâ—uction of the words but likewise because Dio's 19 Legions which were kept entire by Augustus cannot otherwise be made up Next supposing this distinction 't is very evident that he positively applies the name Valeria to the first and as plainly denies that the second ever had that title And why should not we as well allow the name of Valeria to this as we do to other Legions the additional titles of Ulpia Flavia Claudia Trajana Antoniana The second head When this Legion came over or when they were here settl'd cannot be precisely determin'd That this was a Colony settl'd by Julius Caesar as Malmesbury seems to affirm implies what never any one dreamt of that Julius Caesar was in those territories Giving an account of the name Caerlegion he lays down this reason of it quod ibi emeriti Legionum Julianarum resedere The learned 4 Selden would excuse the Monk by reading Militarium for Julianarum 〈◊〉 ad 〈…〉 but that his own ancient Manuscript would not allow To bring him off the other way by referring Julianarum not to Caesar but Agricola who in Vespasian's time had the sole charge of the British affairs seems much more plausible Before that time we find this Legion mention'd by Tacitus in the Lower-Germany and their boisterous behaviour there And in Nero's time the same Author acquaints us with their good services in that memorable defeat which Suetonius Paulinus gave to Queen Boadicia So that whenever they might settle at Chester to repel the incursions of the active Britains it plainly appears they came over before Galba's time from the reign of which Emperour notwithstanding Mr. Camden dates their landing here Another Altar was found at Chester with this Inscription It was discover'd by the Architect in digging for a Cellar in the house of Mr. Heath and was view'd and delineated by Mr. Henry Prescott a curious Gentleman of that city to whom we are