the Charters by which the Scotch King stood obliged to do Homage to the King of England and thereupon ensued a great War betwixt them for King David being spurred on by the French King Invaded England and having made a great Road into the Northern Counties and spoiling and burning every where as they went along at length at Durham his Army was routed and himself taken Prisoner being first sent to the Tower afterward committed to this Castle where during his consinement he engraved upon the Walls of his Deportment the History of our Saviour's Death and Passion the Relicts of which are still to be seen After eleven Years Imprisonment he was restored against to his Kingdom by paying a good Ransom for his Liberty but before he returned he was one of the four Kings that was nobly Treated by Henry Picard a Vintner then Lord Mayor of London These were the four Kings Edward the Third King of England John King of France David King of the Scots and the King of Cyprus together with Edward The Black Prince all bearing him company at the same Table this was about the Year 1358. But before I leave this Town I cannot but take notice of one thing more memorable in our Age this being the first place where King Charles the First set up his Royal Standard against the Rebels in the late unhappy Wars and when the King's Forces were forced to leave it the Castle was quite demolished We went from hence to view the Chair of Robin-Hood of which it follows Having pleasured our selves with the Antiquities of this Town we took Horse and went to visit the Well and ancient Chair of Robin-Hood which is about a Mile within the Forest of Shirwood Being placed in that Chair we had a Cap which they say was his very formally put upon our Heads and having performed the usual Ceremonies befitting so great a Solemnity we received the Freedom of the Chair and were incorporated into the Society of that renowned Brotherhood but that we may not receive such Privileges without an honourable mentioning of the Persons that left them to Posterity know we must that the Patent was bequeathed to the inferior Rangers of this Forest by Robin Hood and Little John honourable Personages indeed being the chief Lords of some most renowned Robbers in the Reign of King Richard the First This same Robin Hood entertained one Hundred tall Men all good Archers with the Spoil he daily made himself Master of whom four Hundred tho' every way well Accoutred to give Battel durst scarce make an Onset He suffered no Woman to be violated oppress'd oa any ways molested poor Men's Goods he spared and did relieve them very liberally with what he got from the rich Carles He killed none and by this means he did for a long time keep up the Order of Knight Errants Having for some time pleased our selves with our new Brothers that very curteously entertained us we went from hence into Yorkshire The County of York is the greatest Shire by far of all England and is thought to be in a temperate measure fruitful If in one place there be stony and sandy barren ground in another place there are for it Corn-fields as rich and fruitful if it be void and destitute of Woods here you shall find it shadowed in another place with most thick Forests The Length extendeth from Hart-hill in the South to the Mouth of Tees in the North which is near seventy Miles the breadth from Flambrough-head to Horn-Castle upon the River Lun is Eighty the whole circumference three hundred and eight Miles HELMSLEY a Mannor in Yorkshire hath two Parks and a Chase in it said to be about 146 Miles in compass and had 40000 Timber-Trees and 200 Acres of Wood. There are many Free-holders there The whole Shire is divided into 3 parts which according to the 3 Quarters of the World are called The West-Riding The East-Riding The North-Riding West-Riding for a good while is compassed in with the River Ouse with the bound of Lancashire and with the South limits of the Shire and beareth toward the West and South East-Riding looketh to the Sun-rising and the Ocean which together with the River Derwent encloseth it North-Riding reacheth Northward hemmed in as it were with the River Tees with Derwent and a long race of the River Ouse YORK is the fairst City in all this County and deservedly reputed the Second of England for its Greatness and Munificence the pleasantness of its Situation the Buildings are stately and beautiful The whole City is rich glorious and honourable both in respect of its being governed by a Lord Mayor who moderates in all Cases of Temporal Affairs as also by an Archbishop who is Judge in all Spiritual Matters The River Ouse flowing with a gentle Stream from the North part cutteth it in twain and divided as it were into two Cities which are conjoined with a stone Bridge having one mighty Arch. There is a Cathedral Church dedicated to Saint Peter an excellent fair and stately Fabrick near unto which there is the Prince's House commonly called The Mannour York was a Colony of the Romans Ptolomey and Antonine and also by a piece of Money coined by the Emperour Severus in the reverse whereof we read COL EBORACUMLEG VI. VICTRIX Severus had his Palace in this City and here at the hour of death gave up his last breath with these words I entered upon a State every way troublesome and I leave it peaceable even to the Britains There are many fine Seats of Persons of Quality by reason of the Pleasantness of its Soil which abounds in Plenty of all things and for Pleasure and Recreation it affords the most of any County in England In the North-Riding of this County is Ounsbery-Hill or Rosebery-Topping which mount-up a mighty height and maketh a goodly shew a farre off so often as the Head thereof hath his cloudy Cap on lightly there followeth rain whence they have a proverbial Rhime When Rosebery-Topping wears a Cap Let Cliveland then beware a clap I could have particuliz'd several other Towns and Villages in this Shire but what has been related is most material and again the Volume is but small and would not bear it In this County there are 459 Parishes under which are very many Chappels for number of Inhabitants equal unto great Parishes We went from hence into the Bishoprick of Durham of which it follows Durham The chief Town in Latin Dunelmum a County Palatine and a Bishop's See 't is situated upon a Hill and encompassed almost round by the River Were is also shaped in form of an Egg and strongly fortified both by Art and Nature There is a stately Cathedral which makes a fine and lofty shew with an high Tower in the midst and two Spires at the West end The County in general is very pleasant and rich in its Mountains with Iron and Coals and its Vallies with Corn and Grass But before I leave this County
on the South Northamptonshire on the North and West and Cambridgeshire on the East 'T is a very fruitful County both for Corn and Grass and is watered by two pleasant Rivers Avon and Ouse The first Village we arrived at in this County was Fenny-Stanton but found nothing observable we went from hence to GODMANCHESTER a very great Country-Town and of as great a Name for Tillage situate in an open Ground of a light Mould and bending for the Sun There is not a Town in all England that hath more stout and lusty Husbandmen or more Plows a going For they make their boast That they have in former time received the Kings of England as they passed in their Progress this way with Nine-score Plows brought forth in a rustical kind of pomp for a gallant shew Soon after King James the First came into England here the Bailiffs of the Town presented him with seventy Teem of Horses all traced to fair new Plows in shew of their Husbandry of which when his Majesty demanded the Reason he was answered That it was their ancient Custom whensoever any King of England passed through their Town so to present him Besides they added That they held their Lands by that Tenure being the King's Tenants His Majesty took it well and Bad them use well their Plows being glad he was Landlord of so many good Husbandmen in one Town It is mention'd in History to have been a flourishing City and the old Roman Coins which have been digged up there do attest its Antiquity and that a Bishop did formerly reside in this place when it was in that condition HUNTINGDON is about half a Mile distant from this place and is the chief Town of the County situated upon the River Ouse over which stands a Bridge made of Stone which gives entrance into it the Houses are fair and the Streets large 't is adorned with four Churches and had formely an ancient Monastery belonging to it some of the Ruins are still to be seen Near the River upon a high Hill stands the remains of a Castle which was built about the Year of Christ 917 afterwards David King of Scots waging War against King Stephen upon the account of Maud the Empress who was his Niece this then was given upon some certain Terms to the Scotch King who did exceedingly beautifie and strengthen it by making strong Rampers and Fortifications round about it but Henry the Second finding it in process of time a Cage for Rebels and Ring-leaders to Sedition at last quite demolished it from the top of the Hill is a very pleasant Prospect for some Miles The Town is governed by a Mayor and Aldermen and the Assizes are held here twice a Year for the Shire and wants no kind of Provision to entertain Travellers who resort hether out of the Northern parts the great Road to the City of London lying through this Town In this Town in the Year 1599 was that Usurper and Religious Cheat Oliver Cromwel Born and Educated whom though we have reason to curse his very Name and detest his Memory as odious and execrable yet since prosperous Successes of the most cruel Tirants makes others inquisitive after those Persons which they did so fortunately attend It will not be amiss to tell the World that this place gave him his first Being who Nero like destroyed his Father and his Mother too the Father of his Country and his Country too being a Murderer of the one and a Plague to the other who was of so unparallel'd and base a Temper of Mind from his Cradle to his Grave that nothing could stay with him or be pleasing to him long but what carried even the World before it Confusion and Ruin In this little Shire are numbred seventy eight Parishes four Hundreds and six Market-Towns We stayed here one Night and the next day we went into Northamptonshire This County is situate in the very middle and heart as it were of England On the East lie Bedford and Hunting donshires On the South Buckingham and Oxfordshires Westward Warwickshire Northward Rutlandshire and Lincolnshire separated from it by Avon the less and Welland two Rivers It is a champion County exceeding populous and passing well furnished with Noblemens and Gentlemens Houses replenished also with Towns and Churches insomuch as in some places there are twenty and in others thirty Steeples with Spires or square Towers within view at once The soil very fertile both for Tillage and Pasture yet nothing so well stored with Woods unless it be in the further and hither sides But in every place as elswhere also in England it is over-spread and as it were beset with Sheep THARPSTONE is twelve Miles distant from Huntingdon has a great Market for all sorts of Grain and well stored with Inns from hence we went to another Town called KETTERING which is of much more Note than it Neighbours by reason of a handsome Cross beautified with divers Images curiously carved the next place was HIGHAM-FERRERS The excellent Ornament of this place was Henry Chichley Archbishop of Canterbury who built All-Souls College in Oxford and another here where he placed secular Clerks and Prebendaries and withal an Hospital for the Poor FOTHERING-HAY-Castle environed on every side with most pleasant Medows Here Mary Queen of Scots was beheaded There belongs unto this Shire three hundred twenty six Parishes Leicestershire The next place of Note we went to was Leicester the Metropolis of Leicestershire 'T is more venerable for its Antiquity than its comeliness or present beauty I find that about the Year 680 it was a Bishop's Seat though in few Years after the Sea was Translated and the Dignity being taken away from the Town it began to go much to decay but in the time of the Normans it flourished exceedingly and encreased mightily in Inhabitants yet afterwards in the Reign of King Henry the Second it was again involved in great Calamities and Disasters Here is to be seen an ancient Hospital in the Chappel whereof Henry Earl of Lancaster and Henry his Son the first Duke of Lancaster lie Interred for that Duke being very Aged and being willing to give some visible Testimony of his Charity built this Hospital for the Use and Maintenance of divers poor aged decreped Persons of both Sexes and on the other side amongst those flowry Meadows which the River Sore enricheth with its bubling Stream Robert the crook-backt Earl of Leicester built a Monastery very spacious and magnificent and Dedicated it to the Virgin Mary and endowed it with large Revenues In the Chappel of this Monastery lay interr'd the great and puissant Cardinal Woolsey who being at first a poor Man's Son of Ipswich in Suffolk was raised by King Henry the Eighth for his great Parts and Learning to the greatest Degree of Honour in this Nation being advanced to be Lord Chancellor of England and presented with a Cardinal's Cap from the Pope and the unknown Incomes and Revenues and by his great
I cannot omit the mentioning of a certain place near Derlington which is 3 Pits full of Water of a wonderful depth called by the common People Hell Kettles concerning which Sir Richard Baker in his English Chronicles gives this Account That in the 24th Year of King Henry the Second the Earth in this place lifted up it self in the manner of an high Tower and so remained from Morning till Evening unmoveable and presently after that time fell with so horrible a noise that it affrighted all the Inhabitants thereabouts and the Earth swallowing it up made those 3 deep Pits which are still to be seen The next place we took notice of was Northumberland The Ground appears to be very barren and rough and is Mountainous and Rocky in many parts of it Towards the Sea and Tine by diligence and good Husbandry it becometh fruitful but elswhere 't is hard and rugged By reason of the sharpness of the Air and coursness of the Soil the Inhabitants are lookt upon and esteem'd to be a War-like People and excellent Light-horsemen The Nobility and Gentry of the North are of great Antiquity and can produce more ancient Families than any other Part of England many of their Gentry taking date before the Conquest the rest came in with William the Conqueror NEW-CASTLE upon TINE so called because Robert de Curtois Son of William the Conqueror built there a New Castle out of the ground against the neighbouring Scots the very Eye of all the Towns in these Parts enabled by a notable Haven which Time maketh being of that depth that it beareth very tall Ships and so defendeth them that they can neither be easily tossed with Tempests nor driven upon Shallows and Shelves The Town is situated on the rising of an Hill adorned with four Churches and fortified with strong Walls which have 7 Gates in them with many Towers It is wealthy partly by entercourse of Traffick with the Germans and partly by carrying out Sea-coals wherewith this Place aboundeth both into foreign Countries and also into other parts of England BERWICK is the utmost Town in England and the strongest hold in all Britain It is well near compassed about with the Sea and Twede together Upon the West of Northumberland the Picct's Wall is to be seen of great height and almost whole There are about 46 Parishes in Northumberland Cumberland This County is like the rest of the Northern Counties and hath a sharp piercing Air the Soil is fertile for the most part both with Corn and Cattel and in some parts hereof with Fish and Fowl Here are likewise several Minerals which have of late been discovered not only Mines of Copper but Veins of Gold and Silver too have been found here as I was credibly inform'd and of all the Shires we have it is accounted the best furnished with the Roman Antiquities Nor it is no less renowned for its high Mountains than for its Mines of which there are three Skiddow Lanvellin and Casticand and these Words goes much concerning the height of them Skiddow Lanvellin and Casticand Are the highest Hills in all England CARLISLE is commodiously Situated and is fortified with a strong Wall Castle and Cittadel the Cathedral Church there being formerly a very stately and magnificence Structure adorned with rare Ornaments Not far from this City is a Trophy of Victory as is supposed called by the Country People Long-Megg and her Daughters being Seventy and seven Stones each of them Ten Foot high above-ground and one of them is fifteen foot There are in Cumberland 9 Market-Towns and 58 Parishes Westmorland It is so called because it lieth amongst Moors and high Hills and was for the most part unmanured such barren places the Northern Englishmen call Moors and Westmoreland is a Western Moorish-county The Air is sharp and cold KENDALE-KIRKE by Kendale a very great Town of Trade and Resort with two broad and long Streets crossing the one over the other a place excellent for Cloathing and for Industry so surpassing that in regard thereof it carrieth a great Name For the Inhabitants have great Traffick and vent of their Woollen-cloaths throughout all parts of England APELBY memorable for its Antiquity and Situation only It standeth in a pleasant Site encompassed for the most part with the River Eden for its Antiquity it deserves to be counted the chief Town of the Shire The Castle is the common Goal for Malefactors and the Sessions and Assizes are there kept In this Shire are contained 26 Parishes Lancashire It is a large populous and well wooded County The County Palatine of Lancaster famous for the four Henries the Fourth Fifth Sixth and Seventh Kings of England derived from John Gaunt Duke of Lancaster is upon the South-confined and parted by the River Mersey from the County Palatine of Chester the County of Darbyshire bordering upon the East the large County of Yorkshire together with Westmorland and Cumberland being her kind Neighbours upon the North and the Sea called Mare Hibernicum imbracing her upon the West Their Kine and Oxen have goodly Heads and fair spread Horns and are in body well proportionate withal but the Ground for the generality is Hilly and Mountainous MANCHESTER a Town of great antiquity from Main a British Word which signifieth a Stone It is seated upon a stony Hill and beneath the Town there are most famous Quarries of Stone It far excelleth the Towns lying round about it for the Beautiful shew it carrieth for resort unto it and for Cloathing In regard also of the Mercate place the fair Church and Colledge LANCASTER or Loncaster from the River Lone the chief Town of this Region I shall now give a short Account of the Seven Wonders which are as follows The First Wonder Is at the Divel's Arse near a Village called Castleton sufficiently Noted for that wide Subterraneons Cavarn known by the Name of the Devil's Arse which runs under the Hill upon which the Castle stands and at its Entrance it is Large and Capatious tho' the further you go in the more narrower it is Contracted within the Mouth of it are several poor Cottages Erected the top of this Cave is an exceeding great Height and appears to the Eye as if it were Arched above and Chequer'd with diversity of culloured Stones At the Entrance the poor People are very ready to attend with Candles and Lanthorns to conduct Strangers in tho' it belonged to Satan's Territories and it is very Dark and Slippery by reason of several Currants of Water which runs along the Cave which puts a stop to your Journey there is a Story of a Shepherd that past over all these Currents and at last came into a very fair and delightful Meadow which savours too much of a Romance to be credited however 't is supposed could all these Waters once be gone over there might be made some new Discoveries but it is a dismal place both for its Name and Nature and hath so near a Relation to
of its Walls by the Danes who raised as it thought certain Trenches whereof one is called Maumbury being an Acre inditched another Poundbury somewhat greater and the third a Mile off as a Camp with fine Trenches containing near ten Acres called Maiden-Castle which in all probability was a Roman Station but that which argues its Antiquity is the Coin of the Romans both Copper and Silver found there and especially at Fordington hard by which the common People call King Dorne's Pence whom by some Allusion to the Name they think him to be the Founder of the Town It had anciently a Castle in that place where the Grey-Friars built their Convent out of the Ruins thereof It has three Parish Churches and several Alms-houses for the support and maintenance of poor impotent People and it was formerly a noted Place for the Manufacture of Cloth and is now for Sheep of which there are huge Numbers to the great benefit and enriching of the County The next Shire we design'd to pursue our Progress in was Hampshire of which it follows Hampshire We went out of Dorsetshire through some part of Wiltshire which I have already mentioned and so came into the Confines of Hampshire and past through part of New Forrest where along the East is the Banks of the River Avon William the Conqueror demolished all the Towns Villages both Houses and Churches far and near and likewise rejected the Inhabitants after having done so he made all the ground within the compass of 20 Miles into a Forrest or Harbour for Wild Beasts and so it was called New Forrest and this he did either that the Normans might arrive more securely in this place Normandy lying just over against it in case new Broils should arise after his Conquests or for the Pleasure he took in Hunting or else to encrease his Treasure for being better affected and more favourable to Beasts than Men he imposed very heavy Fines and Penalties yea and most grievous Punishments upon all such Persons as did meddle with the Game but it seems the Children suffered for the Cruelty of their Father for Richard his second Son and William Rufus who Succeeded him both perished in this Forrest the one with a Blast of pestilent Air the other with an Arrow shot by chance by Sir Walter Tirrel Henry likewise his Grandchild by his eldest Son Robert whilst he was here in the hot pursute after his Game was caught up by a Bough where in a very short time he underwent the miserable Fate of poor Absolom The first Town of Note we came to in this County was Southampton which is situated betwixt two Rivers the one running forth at the West side called Test and the other on the East The Town is fair and hath stately Buildings with two commodious Keys which do highly adorn it and the great concourse of Merchants which Trade to Foreign Parts do mightily enrich it There are five Parish-Churches with one for the French likewise it hath a strong Wall and seven Gates with a Castle upon a Mount cast up to a great height built by Richard the Second and it was made a Corporation by Henry the Sixth who Constituted it both Town and County which doth abundantly dignifie it It hath three Markets a week and that for Fish is five Days in a Week 't is likewise of great Note for building of Merchant's Ships After some small stay here we went to Winchester of which take this following Account Winchester I find it to have been a Place of great Antiquity and that it was in great Request amongst the Romans In this City was Constance who was become a Monk saluted Caesar by the Order of his Father Constantine though afterwards he paid dearly for his Honour by the loss of his Life This was the chief Seat in which the Saxons placed themselves and made it famous by their erecting Magnificent Temples in the Time of the Normans too it flourished exceedingly until it was almost once or twice quite destroyed by the Sword but now again 't is very fair and populous large and stately and is computed to be within the Walls above a Mile in length it hath six Gates which give entrance into the City though all of them have been very much defaced in our Civil Wars as likewise the Castle which formerly hath been very formidable for its Strength and Impregnableness This is that Castle that Maud the Empress having took held it out some considerable time against King Stephen and being at last strictly besieged by the Bishop of Winchester then in being who was Brother to the King fearing to be took Prisoner and delivered up into her Enemies hands she secured her self by this cunning Way she commanded it should be given out for a most certain truth that she was Dead and was carried out upon a Beir as if she had been so indeed and by this means she deceived her Enemies and secured her own Person Upon the Wall hereof hangs the Round Table so much talked of and called by the Name of King Arthur's Round Table whether this can gain to it self so great Antiquity as is attributed to it I shall not undertake to determine yet certain it is that those kind of Tables are of a very long standing for formerly when there hath been great Entertainments amongst the valiant Champions of this Nation it was usual for all such to sit round them lest any Difference should arise amongst the Noblemen about Superiority of Place About the middle of the City stands the Cathedral built by Kenelwalchius King of the West Saxons who Constituted Ina the first Bishop there and it was always had in great Veneration by the Saxons because divers of their Kings was Enterred in it and was called by them The Old Monastery there is a Dean and 12 Prenbendaries belonging to it the Church is curiously adorned with Monuments of ancient Hero's and Bishops of that See William Wainfleet Founder of Magdelen College in Oxford lies here Entombed with his Hart in his Hand and Cardinal Beaufort and Bishop Gardner that bloody Scourge to the poor Protestants in Queen Mary's days who did so insatiably thirst for the Blood of Queen Elizabeth but was always crossed in his most wicked Inclinations there lies also the Lord Weston Earl of Portland whose Monument is of Brass and by him his Father who lies in Marble here is likewise preserved the Chair of State in which Queen Mary was Married to King Philip the Countess of Exeter is also Enterr'd here also the Chappel of Bishop Fox is worth ones observation which he built for his own use together with his Study and Press for his Books all in one place In the Quire under a plain flat Marble Stone lies the Body of William Rufus King of England who received his Mortal Wound as he was Hunting in the New Forrest by Sir Walter Tyrrel Sir Walter shooting at a Deer unawares hit him on the Brest on which he died immediately and
was brought to Winchester and buried in this place though afterwards his Bones were Translated into a Coffer At the West end of the Quire stands in Brass two Statues very curiously wrought the one of King James the First and the other of King Charles the First of ever blessed Memory there is another thing also very remarkable in the Cathedral and that is the rich and famous Monument of William of Wickham who was Constituted Bishop of Winchester in the Reign of Edward the Third But to return again into our Discourse relating to the City We find it not only to have attained a great Eminency for its Religious Houses for its pleasant Gardens for its Silver-stream'd Brooks and flowry Meadows for its publick and private Edifices for its great Hall wherein the Assizes are usually held for the County of Southampton not to be parallel'd for Length and Breadth by any throughout this Nation except Westminster for the Antiquity of its Corporation with the true and exact Rules of Equity and Justice prescribed by its Governors and Magistrates 't is likewise reported to have been very famous and renowned by its Sufferings and Ruins of its Palaces and in the time of Adelstane King of the West Saxons that invinceable Hero Guy Earl of Warwick in a single Combat slew Colbrand the Danish Giant in Hide-Mead near to this City After some time spent here we travelled to Portsmouth of which I come next to discourse of PORTSMOUTH is about 16 Miles distant from Winchester and situated in a little Island called Portsey 'T is a place of great Strength and of no less importance by reason of the Dock where many of the King 's greatest Men of War are built those impregnable Wooden-Walls of our Brittish Island 'T is fortified with a Wall made of Timber and the same well covered over with thick Banks of Earth 't is likewise environed with a double Trench over which are placed two Drawbridges from which about a Mile distance is another and at all of them stands Centuries of Soldiers who are kept in Garrison with a little Fortress adjoining to it which leads up the Continent to the Seaward is a Castle and Block-houses which being first begun by King Edward the Fourth King Henry the Seventh as it is reported did afterwards compleat which Fortifications have of late Years received exceeding great Augmentations by the succeeding Monarchs especially in the late King Jame's Reign Here is only one Church and an Hospital called God's House built by Peter Roch Bishop of Winchester hereabouts are divers Saltpanhouses which make exceeding white Salt Much more might have been wrote concerning this County but this may suffice for these two Reasons the first is The smallness of the Volume will not allow it and the second is That what has been related is the notablest and most requisite to be mention'd Sussex The next place of Note we went to was Chichester in Sussex 'T is a good large City well Wall'd re-built by the second Saxon King of this Province it was before the Conquest of a small Repute Bishop Raulf built a Cathedral here which before he had fully finished was consumed by Fire yet by his Endeavours and the bounteous Liberality of King Henry the First it was raised up again and is now a Bishop's See The Church is not very large but was formerly a curious beautiful Fabrick having a Spire-steeple of Stone of a very great height and an high Tower standing near the West Door which was built by King Rinon as they say In the South Cross-Isle of the Church was formerly on the one side artificially pourtrayed and painted the History of the Churches Foundation with the Images of the Kings of England on the other there was likewise the Images of the Bishops at the charge of Bishop Sherborne who greatly Adorned and Illustrated this sacred Structure The City is walled about in a circular round Form the Lavant a pretty River running hard by it on the South and West sides It hath four Gates opening to the four Quarters of the World from whence the Streets leads directly and cross themselves in the midst where the Market is kept and where Bishop Read Erected a fair stone Market-house supported with Pillars round about We went from hence to Amberly Castle which is about 12 Miles from Chichester higher into the County it was built by William Read Bishop of Chichester in the Reign of Edward the Third for the use of his Successors and Leased out now to the worthy Family of the Butlers who are the present Inhabitants We stayed here the space of a Week where we were generously Entertained with great courtesie and civility We went from hence to Arundel and from thence to Lewes of which take this brief Account ARUNDEL is about four Miles from Amberly situated upon the Brow of an Hill but finding nothing to detain us here but the Ruins of an old Castle which for many Generations hath successively appertained to the Earls of Arundel we travell'd on to LEWES which was the next Town we came to 'T is situated upon a Rising almost on every side and hath been Wall'd but now there is no great sign of the Walls there is several Streets near it as Suburbs and in the times of the Saxons when King Athelston made a Law for the coining of Money he appointed two Coiners in this place There are five Churches belonging to it and this place was very memorable for that Mortal and bloody Battel between King Henry the Third and the Barons in which prosperous beginning of the Fight on the King's side proved the overthrow of his whole Army for whilst Prince Edward his Son breaking by force through certain of the Baron's Troops carelesly pursued the Enemy over-far as making sure account of the Victory the Barons having reinforced themselves and giving a fresh Charge so discomforted and put to flight the King's Forces that they constrained the King to accept of unequal Conditions of Peace and to deliver his Son and others into their hands From hence we went to Pevensey or Pemsey of which it follows PEVENSEY or PEMSEY There is a very low Level which some are of Opinion hath been over-flowed by the Sea and the Town of Pevensey is the noted place for the first Landing of William the Conqueror and formerly there was a Haven and Castle Hastings is not far from hence where was fought that bloody Battel betwixt King Harold and the Norman Duke which proved so fatal to the English and successful to the Normans which Ground where the Fight was hath been thought ever since to have worn the Conqueror's Livery because always after Rain it looks of a reddish colour I could haved cited other Remarks in this County but what is related is most material Kent 'T is a County divided into three several Portions the first of which is called Health without Wealth the second is Health and Wealth and the third Wealth without Health to all
Treasures and Mints of Money atchieved more magnificent Acts than ever any Prelate did before him for he erected the Royal Palace of Hampton-Court besides two famous Colleges the one at this Native Town and the other a most glorious Structure called Christ-Church College in Oxford and for the height of his Living and Attendance it is very elegantly set forth by the writer of his Life But notwithstanding he was the Favourite of his Prince and the Darling of Fortune and sued to by Foreigners and his own Country-men too as to be the only Person to apply to in all accounts yet true it is that Fortune very oft sets great Persons upon the Hill of Honour thereby to precipitate them with the greater Violence we find this lofty Cardinal could no way secure himself from the reach of fretting Envy and learn'd by the mutability of his own Condition for being retired into the Country after he seeing his Fortunes began to ebb at Court having the Great Seal took from him by the King's Order and was afterwards sent for by the Lieutenant of the Tower to appear before his Majesty and as returning out of the North to the City of London in his Journy he fell sick of a Flux at the Earl of Shrewsbury's house in Sheffeild-Park which being accompanied with a Fever did so weaken his Body that when he came to Leicester Abby which way he took he told the Abbot after the Solemnities of receiving him were past That indeed he was come to lay his Bones amongst them which accordingly came to pass for their he died and after his death his Corps being invested by the Monks with all such Ornaments as he was Professed in when he was made Bishop and Archbishop as Mitre Cross-King and Pall with all other things due to his Order and Dignity and having lain some few days in State to be visited by those who had a mind to pay their last Respects to his Person he was buried in their Chappel dedicated to the Virgin Mary with great Solemnity though all perished in the ruin of the Monastery Subverted not long after when Popery was banished from the Confines of England This Town had its share of Calamities in the unhappy Civil Wars It is well furnished with all kind of Grain it is governed by a Mayor Alderman and Recorder with other inferiour Officers to attend them The Town is strengthened with several Gates in one whereof is kept the Magazine it is also adorned with divers eminent Fabricks both Sacred and Civil the Cross in high Street is a very excellent Structure there are likewise five Churches by that which is called St. Martins stands the new Hospital being a stately Edifice built and endowed by several Benefactors for the use of divers aged Men and Women with a Chappel and a Chaplain to read Divine Service and to be assistful to those poor People therein and to this joins their publick Library which was given for the use of Ministers and Schollars who inhabit here hard by St. Mary's Church stands the Castle where the Assizes are kept for the County and by St. Nicholas there is a Wall which by the Ruins of it seems to be of very great Antiquity having several hollow places in it of an oval form of which the Inhabitants have strange Conjectures concerning them as if there had been some place in which the Pagans did offer up their Children to their blood-thirsty Idols or that they made them here pass through the fire as the Israelites did to Moloch but of this there is no probability at all and these only being conjectural Guesses I shall leave them and observe one thing more concerning this Town After the fatal Battel betwixt King Richard the Third and Henry Earl of Richmond afterwards Henry the Seventh King of England in Bosworth-field about the Year of our Lord 1485 in which King Richard with four Thousand Men more were slain and not above ten Persons on the other side The Corps of the deceased King was brought to be buried there in great disgrace as the day before he went out in pomp for his Body being rifled by the Souldiers was carried naked behind a Pursivant at Arms and being all over daub'd with Mire and Blood was conveyed to the Grey Friar's Church that then was within the Town and there buried very obscurely and meanly whilst Richmond with joyful Acclamations was proclaimed King in the very midst of slaughtered Bodies round about CARLETON all that are born there whether it be by a peculiar Property of the Soil or of the Water or else by some other secret Operation of Nature have an ill favoured untunable and harsh manner of Speech fetching their Words with very much ado deep from out of the Throat with a certain kind of wharling the Letter R being very irksome to them to pronounce Rutlandshire It is the least County of all England Lying in form almost round like a circle it is in compass so far about as a Light-horsman will ride in one day It was called Rutland as one would say Red-land the Earth in this Shire is every where red and so red that even the Sheeps fleeces are thereby coloured red The English-Saxons called Red in their Tongue Roet and Rud. UPPINGHAM a place upon an high ascent whence that name was imposed a well frequented Market Town The Vale of Catmose a field full of Woods Okeham is in the middle of it so called from Oaks This small Shire hath Parish Churches fourty eight Lincolnshire A very large County reaching almost three Score Miles in length and carrying in some places above thirty Miles in breadth passing good for yielding of Corn and feeding of Cattel well furnished and set out with great number of Towns and watered with many Rivers having great store of Fish and Fowl BOSTON is a famous Town standing on both sides the River Witham which hath over it a wooden Bridge of great height well frequented by means of a commodious Haven unto it The Market-place is fair and large and the Buildings are very beautiful also a most stately Church with a very high Tower-steeple and hath as many steps in its steeple from the bottome to the top as there are Days in the Year which Steeple salutes Passengers and Travellers a great way off and giveth Direction also to Sailers In the Coat of Boston for the Corporation there are three Crowns relating to the three Kingdoms the Crest a Ram lying upon a Wool-sack the Ram signifying the great Sheep-walks in the Fens round about and the Wool-sack that it was a Staple-Town the Supporters of the Coat are two Maremaids signifying that it was a Port-Town LINCOLN The chief City of the County and is large well inhabited and frequented it is situated upon the side of an Hill and thence hath its Name from its Situation or because it hath been a Colony Certain it is a Place of great Antiquity and of a very long standing there are fourteen
few Cathedral Churches but is now demolished There are accounted an Hundred and Thirty Parishes in this Shire We went next into Warwickshire It is bounded on the East-side with Northamptonshire Leicestershire and the Watling-street-way on the South with Oxfordshire and Glocestershire on the West for the greatest part with Worcestorshire and on the Northside with Staffordshire It is divided into a plain Champion and a woody Country which parts the River Avon running crookedly from North-East to South-West doth after a sort sever one from the other WARWICK is the principal Town of the whole Shire It standeth over the River Avon upon a steep and high Rock and all the Passages into it are wrought out of the very Stone It stands in a dry and fertile Soil having the benefit of rich and pleasant Medows on the South part with the lofty Groves and spacious Thickets of the Woodland on the North. It hath a very strong Castle the seat in times past of the Earls of Warwick the Town it self is adorned with fair Houses COVENTRY It is a City very commodiously Seated large sweet and neat was fortified with a strong Wall and is set out with right goodly Houses among which there rise up on high two Churches of rare Workmanship standing one hard by the other and matched as it were as concurrents the one consecrated to the Holy Trinity the other to Saint Michael One and the self same Bishop carried the name both of Coventry and Lichfield Leofrick the first Lord of this City being much offended and angry with the Citizens oppressed them with most heavy Tributes which he would remit upon no other condition at the earnest suit of his Wife Godina unless she would her self ride on Horseback Naked through the Greatest and most inhabited Street of this City which she did indeed and was covered with her fair long Hair and also a Proclamation was publish'd commanding all People to keep close within their Houses as also their Doors and Windows shut no Person on pain of Death to appear in that Street nor so much as to look into it whether out of a Window or otherwise upon which as she was riding along Naked one Man curious than Ordinary ventures to peep out of a Garret Window and being immediately discovered was Apprehended and Hang'd as by the Effigies of a Man that is continually kept up as a Memorandum in a full proportion looking out of a Garret Window and called by the Inhabitants Peeping Jack And thus she did set free her Citizens of Coventry from many Payments for ever At Gosford-Gate there hangeth to be seen a mighty great Shield-bone of a wild Bore or rather of an Elephant being not so little as a yard in length which Guy of Warwick slew in Hunting when he had turned up with his Snout a great Pit or Pond which is now called Swansewell but Swineswell in times past In this County there are an Hundred and Fifty Eight Parish Churches Worcestershire At the first entring on the Confines of this Shire we found it a very Healthfull and plentiful County One part is of Note for its excellent Cheese but mostly for its great number of Pear-trees growing all along the very Hedges of which the Inhabitants make a very pleasant Drink called Perry 't is likewise very full of Salt Pits and hath formerly been admir'd for the abundance of Salt-Springs which have very oft been discovered in this County but that which makes it most renowned is the River Severn which streams along the County This as also the River Avon which comes out of Warwickshire are well replenished with all sorts of Fish but more particularly seem to have been designed on purpose as Stews and Ponds for the preservation of Lampreys a Fish of great Esteem in that Country and sent far and near as a very great present throughout divers parts of England They are called Lampreys from the Latin word Lampretra as if they had their Denomination from licking of Rocks they are like Eels slippery and blackish however on their Bellies they are of a blewish Collour in the Spring they are most wholesome and sweet for in the Summer the part which is to them instead of a Back-bone waxeth very hard Naturalist observe that these Fish receive and let in Water at seven Holes for that they have no Gills visible at all the Romans allways thought this a very Noble Dish and when any Person of Quality desired a Sumptuous Feast he would be sure to be provided with these and the Italians at this day are very much delighted with them and upon that Account are very exquisite in their Dressing of them and consequently by their Cookery make them exceeding delicate to the taste The first Town of Note we came to in this County was the City of WORCESTER It is the chief City of this County and gives its Name to it the River Severn which in other parts of the County runs along in a swift Currant here glides more softly with a more gentle Stream admiring as it were this City as it passeth by It is famous both for its Antiquity and Beauty 't is supposed that the Romans built it at that time when they first planted Cities on the Eastern-side of the Severn to hinder the Incursion of the Britains who were on the other side even as they did on the South-side of the Rhine in Germany to repress the Germans and keep them within their own Boundaries 'T is situated partly upon the brow of a Hill rising with a gentle Ascent and hath a very fair Bridge over the River and is of great Repute by Reason that the Citizens are generally great Clothiers The Houses are Neat and well Built the Streets clean and well Paved the Churches in Number many in Order and Beauty excellent but especially the Cathedral built many Hundred Years since in this Church are divers small Pillars all of pure Marble which stand in Rows and do uphold that vast Bulk and Fabrick somewhat strange to see the Body larger then the Supporters that so small props should be able to bear up so great a Weight This City hath suffered great Calamities by Fire having almost been quite Burnt up by the Danes three times and in the Year 1113. by an unknown Casualty and once again in the Reign of King Stephen And sure I am 't is not long since it fell into the Hands of some Barbarous and merciless Rebells who were as raging as the Flames and whose Fury was as unquenchable as the Fire Witness the grevious Pressures it groaned under for its Loyalty Love and Obedience to the King in the Year 1651. For here it was That after His Majesties long Exile he arived with an Army of Scots and some English the 22 d. of August and by the Assistance of the Citizens beat out the Soldiers who kept it for the Common-wealth and being Proclaim'd by the Mayor that then was and one of the Sheriffs King of England Scotland France
restoring of Eye-sight to the Blind and is also of great use in strengthening the Limbs of weak Persons SUTTON WALLS Amongst the other Varieties we were entertanied with in this County there were some Remains of Antiquity called Sutton walls Near to the Village of Marden are the Ruins of some antient great Buildings in all probability supposed to be the Mansion-house of Offa when Renchester flourished or at least when Hereford was but in its Infancy This Offa being King of the Mercians having invited Ethelhert King of the East-Angles into his Palace under colour and pretence of bestowing his Daughter upon him in Marriage by the Councel of his ambitious Wife in hopes to succeed him in his Kingdom basely and treacherously caused his Head to be stricken off by one Grimbert his Servant and his Body being buried on the Banks of the River Lugg was afterwards removed to Hereford and over it was built a Cathedral by King Milfred which was since dedicated to St. Ethelbert Having sufficiently recreated our selves with all the pleasure pastimes and rarities in this County we began to think to return towards London and went from this City to a place called Ross in this County a Town noted for its famous Houses of Slates and Stones as also for a great number of Blacksmiths hammering out their living upon their Anvells and when we were past that Town we soon came into the Confines of Gloucestershire of which hereafter Gloucestershire Being within the Confines of this County we found it most fertile watered by the River Severn and be-set with Woods and thick Groves 't is happy in the enjoyment of all things which are necessary for the Use and Service of Man the very Hedges and Land are well stored with Apples and Pear-trees and their fragrant blushing Colour invites the wandering Travellers to refresh himself with their most Wholesome Juices And as Concerning this County in General the Towns stands thick together in most parts of this County and so 't is populous the Houses numerous and well built the Churches fair and handsome and so 't is honourable but that which is one of the greatest Blessings of all is the River Severn there is not any River in all our Nation for its Channel broader for a Stream Swifter and for Variety of Fish better stocked though sometimes it overflows the Banks and when it hath roved a great way it retires back again as it were triumphing over the Conquest of the Land This River Severn or Sabrina was so called from Sabenia a fair Lady concerning whom there goes this Story Loarnie the eldest Son of Brutus who came first into Britain took to Wife the Daughter of the Duke of Cornwall but notwithstanding this he kept a very beautiful Mistriss and by her he had a Daughter whom he named Sabenia whereupon he grew so enamoured of her that after the Death of his Father-in-law the Duke of Cornwall he put a way his Lawful-Wife and Wedded his Mistriss his Wife was so extreamly netled at this that she immediately repaired into Cornwall and made her Complaint there amongst her Friends and Relations and having gathered a great Power to revenge her Injury she fought with her Husband Loarine and Slew him and buried him at Trynobant or London afterwards executed her Revenge still in the highest Degree She took the Lady with her fair Daughter Sabenia too and drowned them both in this River The first place of Note we came to in this County was the City of GLOCESTER This City is well seated and as well inhabited and of a considerable Trade by reason of the Severn which being Navigable Boats of great Burden come up to their Key side loaded with several Commodities 'T is governed by a Mayor and Aldermen and is adorned with several fair Churches amongst which the Cathedral is the chief and most glorious Erected by Alfred Archbishop of York and Bishop of Worcester it hath been by the charity of good Benefactors much enlarged King Edward the Second lies here Interred under a Monument of Alablaster and in the Quire under a wooden painted Tomb lies Robert the Eldest Son of William the Conqueror who was deprived both of his Life and Kingdom by his younger Brother Here is likewise to be seen the Monument of Lucius the first Christian King that ever was in England about the Year 179. The Pillars of this Church are of an extraordinary thickness scarce to be parallel'd in any Church in England but that which makes it more remarkable is a place at the East end of the Quire called The Whispering-place 't is a Pentagone-Arch in the from of a Semicircle 30 Yards in circuit and so rare a piece of Art That if any Person stands at one end of it and whispers never so softly he that lays his Ear to the other end will discover distinctly the Words he speaks Then next Town of Note we went to was TEWKSBURY a Market-Town of good Note and of a great Trade for Cloth and Stockins 'T is situated amongst the pleasant Rivers Severn on the one side enricheth it on the other side Avon and another small River which comes from the East over each whereof stands Bridges which give entrance into it It hath been counted famous for the great Battel fought here between the House of York and Lancaster utterly Subverted In the Reign of King Henry the Third there is a story of a Jew that lived in this Town Recorded That falling into a Jakes or Privy on the Sabbath or Saterday by no means for Reverence of that Day suffer any Helping-hands to come and pluck him out of that unpleasant Hole whereupon the then Earl of Gloucester having some Intilligence of his refractory Sullenness gave a strick Charge that no one should dare to take him out on the Sunday for the Reverence of that Day and so the poor Circumsized-Wrecth perished in that most Loathsom Dugeon through his own folly This was about the year 1259. The next place of note we went to was CICITER which the River Ornus or Churne Rising amongst the Woods near Corbely is very commodious for Mills This Place doth appear to have been of great Antiquity and Renown The Brittish Chronicles shew that this Town was burnt being set on fire by a Company of Sparrows through an Invention devised by on Gurmund certain it is that the Inhabitans shew a Mount below the Town which they report this Gurmund did cast up they corruptly call it Gurmund's Tower Hear is likewise to be seen some ruinated Wall of an old Abby 't is now beautified with a very handsome Church having a high spired Steeple and a Market once a week Many other things are very observeable which will be too tedious to relate We went from hence to FAIREFORD a place well known for its curious Church-Windows in which are most rarely pourtrayed in Painted-glass the whole history of the Bible From hence we went into Oxfordshire Which being once entered into we could not
brief relation of it tho' not in its proper place Surrey From the West it boundeth partly upon Barkshire and Hantshire from the South upon Sussex and from the East on Kent towards the North it is watered with the River Thames and by it divided from Middlesex It is a County not very large yet wealthy enough where it beareth upon Thames and lieth as a plain and champion Country FERNHAM so named of much Fern growing in that place GUILFORD a Market Town well frequented and full of fair Innes KINGSTONE a very good Market Town for the bigness and well frequented It had begining from a little Town more ancient than it of the same name in which when England was almost ruinated by the Danish Wars Aethelstan Edwin and Ethelstred were crowned Kings upon an open stage in the Market place whence it was called Kingstone SHENE so called of its shining brightness now Richmond wherein the most mighty Prince King Edward the Third when he had lived sufficiently both to glory and nature died King Henry the Seventh built it and gave it that name of Richmond of the Title he bore being Earl of Richmond before he obtain'd the Crown of England He had scarce finished this new work when in this place he yeilded unto Nature and ended his Life Here Queen Elizabeth also died CROIDON there was the Archbishop's House of Canterbury There are Charcoles LAMBETH Canutus the Hardy King of England there amidst his Cups yeilded up his vital Breath It is the Palace of the Archbishop of Canterbury This County hath in it an hundred and forty Parish Churches I have been both in North and South Wales of which other Pens have already set forth so that I do not intend to deliver any thing to the Publick that hath been already set forth by others but only give a short Account of several things very observable not yet set forth by any WALES Flintshire THe Air is healthful without any Fogs or Fenny-Vapours and the People generally are very Aged and hearty The Snow lies here very long upon the Hills the County affords great plenty of Cattel but they are small Millstones are also digged up in these Parts as well as in Anglesey Towards the River Dee the Fields bears in some places Barley in others Wheat but generally throughout Rye with very great encrease and especially the first Year of their breaking up their Land and afterward two or three Crops together of Oats Holy-Well or St. Winifrid's-Well This County is most remarkable for a little Village called Holy-Well where is the Well of St. Winifrid so famous for the strange Cures which have been wrought by the Vertue of it as it is supposed the Water hereof is extream cold and hath likewise a very great Stream that flows from it which is presently able to drive a Mill the Stones which are at bottom being of a sanguine colour are believed to receive that colour from the Drops of Blood which trickled down from her Body when she was here beheaded by the bloody Tyrant that would have ravished her and the Moss which grows upon the sides and bears a very fragrant Smell is averred to have been the product of her Hair though I find by some we brought away with us that in process of time it loseth all its sweetness Over the Well stands a Chappel dedicated to her built of Stone after a curious manner to which formerly was much resorting by Pilgrims who came hither out of blind Devotion and the generality of the Commonalty hereabouts do believe That this Martyred-Virgin and the great Miracle that was wrought by St. Benno who restored her to life again as they say by claping on her head immediately after it was cut off upon her Shoulders which Relation those Inhabitants thereabouts do verily believe to be true So having made some small stay here in which time we conversed with the Welshmen and gathered up a true Account of this County which was as follows Radnorshire In the East and South parts thereof 't is more fruitful than the rest but is uneven and rough with Mountains yet it is well stored with Woods watered with running Rivers and in some places with standing Pools the Air is very cold and sharp because the Snow lying long unmelted under the shady Hills and hanging Rocks whereof there are many and upon the Borders of it which lies next to Herefordshire runs a-long a famous Ditch which Offa King of the Mercians with great toil and labour caused to be cast up from Dee mouth to Wye mouth for the space of 90 Miles to separate the Britains from the English Several other things there are very observable which are too tedious to relate Brecknockshire Lies beneath Radnorshire It is thick with Hills and fruitful in the Valleys MOUNTH-DENNY three Miles from Brecknock is a Hill so called that hath its top above the Clouds and if a Cloak or Hat or the like be thrown from the top of it it will never fall but be blown up again nor will any thing descend but Stones or Mettals or things as heavy LYNSARATHAN-MERE two Miles East from the same place is a Mere called Lynsarathan which as the People dwelling there say was once a City but the whole City was swallowed up by an Earthquake and this Water or Lake succeeded in the place they say likewise That at the end of Winter when aftr a long Frost and the Ice of this Lake breaks it makes a fearful noise like Thunder possibly because the Lake is encompassed with high steep Hills which pen in the sound and multiply it or else the ground may be hollow underneath or near the Lake LIVENNY-River Through this Lake runs a River called Livenny without mixture of its Waters as may be perceived both by the Colour of the Water and also by the Quantity of it because it is no greater afterwards than when it entered the Lake CADIER-ARTHUR or Arthur's Chair a Hill so called on the South side of this County from the Tops resembling the form of a Chair proportionate to the Demensions of that great and mighty Person upon the top whereof riseth a Spring as deep as a Well four square having no Streams issuing from it and yet there are plenty of Trouts to be found therein Glamorganshire Hath a temperate Air and is generally the most pleasant part of all South Wales MINYD-MORGAN Hill On the top of a certain Hill so called is a Monument with a strange Character which the Inhabitants thereabouts say if any Man read the same he shall die shortly after The Springs by Newton Upon the River Ogmore and near to Newton in a sandy Plain is a Well the Water whereof is not very clear in which at full Sea in Summer-time can hardly any Water be took up but at the Ebb it bubbleth up amain in Summer-time I say for in the Winter the Ebbing and Flowing is nothing near so evident because of the Veins of Water coming in by
them That if a Man does but lightly set his foot any where upon the top of them he shall perceive the Earth to stir for several Foot from him which probably might occasion the Story of the floating Island before mentioned PEN-NEANMOUR The great stony Head a Hill so called in this County It is an exceeding high and steep Rock which hanging over the Sea when it is Flood afordeth a very narrow Way for Passengers having on the one side huge Stones over your heads as if they were ready to fall upon you and on the other side the raging Ocean lying off a wonderful steep depth under it but after a Man hath passed over this together with Pen-mean-Lythan The less story Head he shall come to an open broad Plain that reacheth as far as the Conway in which are bred a sort of Shell-fish which being Conceived of an Heavenly-dew as is conjectured bring forth Pearl BANGOR-PENCHOR so called is also in is this County a Bishop's See the Church was Consecrated to Daniel Bishop hereof but that which is now standing is but a mean Structure for Owen Glender that notorious Rebel who designed to destroy all the Cities in Wales set it on fire because the Inhabitants of this Place chose rather to side with the King of England than with him Hereupon the ancient Church being defaced Henry Denry Bishop hereof did afterwards repair it about the Reign of Henry the Seventh as we were credibly inform'd by the Inhabitants Anglesey In this Island which is computed to be in compass 85 Miles or thereabout are frequently found and digged up in the lower Grounds Bodies of huge Trees with their Roots and Firr-tres of a wonderful bigness and length which Trees some believe were cut down by the Romans as the Inhabitants do say That when the Romans had Conquered this Island they caused all the Woods to be cut down and destroyed This Island was in time past full of Woods and Timber but instead thereof now it yeildeth plenty of Corn Sheep and Cattle The Air is indifferently healthful in most parts of it here are likewise great store of Mill-stones and Grind-stones and in some places a sort of Earth of which they make Allum and Copperas also it yeilds such plenty of Wheat that it seems to be deserving of the Title of The Mother of Wales Denbighshire The Air is cold but very wholsome the Snow lies long on the Hills being a hilly Country the high Hills resembling the Battlements of Walls MOILENLLY-hill is the highest Hill in this Shire having a Spring of very clear Water upon the top of it WREXHAM in this County is about 16 Miles from Holy-well and is much admired for its Church-steeple being a very curious Fabrick contrived according to the most exact Draught and Models of Architecture no where to be parallel'd in those parts for Workmanship of which taking some small view we passed into Shropshire of which I have already made mention I having already given a Relation of most of the Shires in Wales and omitted Monmouthshire of which I could not in honour to the County pass by without a Visit so staying at Hereford some days we set a-part some time to go see Monmouth of which it follows Monmouth We found the Ways near Monmouth hard and rugged and that Town to be environed with Hills on all Sides the Ruins of its Walls and Castle argue its Antiquity It hath a fair Church and Market-place with a Hall for the Assizes and Sessions 'T is governed by a Mayor Recorder and Aldermen and the Inhabitants do generally speak both the Welsh and English Tongue They told us there of great Immunities and Privileges granted to them by the House of Lancaster but for no other thing is it so much renowned as that it was first the Native place and gave Breath to Henry the Fifth that Scourge of the French and glorious Pillar of the English Nation who Conquered Charles the Sixth King of France and all his Army and made him surrender up his Crown unto him and Acknowledge him the triumphant Conqueror Here we were entertained with no other Objects but what the stony Rocks the dangerous Clifts the towring Mountains and craggy Precipices did afford us being now and then covered with Flocks of Sheep and Herds of Goats the Inhabitants told us That upon the Black Mountain there as they call it or thereabouts are some Hills so high whose Tops are so sharp that two Persons may stand upon two different Points thereof and discourse with one another and understand each other very well although they must be forced to go some Miles before they can embrace each other but the truth of this I will not averr certain I am there are many of them of so unconceivable a height and so steep an Ascent that they seem as it were Nature's Stair-cases by which we may climb up to some higher Region and have Entercourse with the Inhabitants of the Moon Thus have I given a true and faithful Relation of my Travels over England and Wales but cannot much commend the latter for their Cookery yet for their Linen it was indifferent sweet and clean I could have mentioned several other things but what has been spoke of is most material FINIS
Churches whereof the Cathedral is very glorious being not much in feriour to any and in one of the Steples there is a very great Bell rung by sixteen Men called Great Tom of Lincoln 'T is governed by a Mayor and Aldermen The Diocess here is the largest in England for after three Bishopricks were taken out of it it contained four whole Counties and parts of two the whole Shire is divided into three Part whereof one is called Holland a second Kestuen and the third Lindsey GRANTHAM a Town of good resort adorned with a School built by Richard Fox Bishop of Winchester and with a fair Church having a Spire-steeple of a mighty height There are in this Shire six hundred and thirty Parishes thirty and one Hundreds and thirty Market Towns We went from hence into Nottinghamshire It is limited Northward with Yorkshire Westward with Darbyshire and in some other parts with Yorkshire The South and East parts thereof are made fruitful by the River Trent with other Riverets resorting unto it NOTTINGHAM is built upon a Rock and is environed by Rocks on one side which are washed by a crooked winding of a commodious River and hath a very fair Park of the Duke of Castle 's adjoining to it with the Forest of Shirewood bordering upon it The Streets are large and well paved the Market-place very handsome and convenient the Churches spatious and well contrived and the Houses high and stately they are for the most part built with Brick but some of them are rare pieces as well for Structure as Design and in short the whole front of their Fabrick is beautified with Sculptures and glistering Balconies the Inhabitants be very desirous of the new Modes and Draughts of Architecture The Castle which is on the West side of the Town is situated upon an exceeding high Rock and is supposed to be a place of very great Antiquity This Castle held out a Siege by the Danes against Alfred and it was then called Snottenham and now Nottingham King Edward the Second strenghened the Town by an addition of Walls and a new Castle was built by William the Conqueror to keep the English in awe and subjection and by Art and Nature together it became even impregnable Edward the Fourth illustrated it with several Dwelling-houses for Commanders and Soldiers and indeed in the Rock upon which the Castle stands are several small Cottages hewen out of it in which at present dwells divers poor people and it is reported that it never was taken until it was surprized by Robert Earl of Derby in the Baron's Wars who having once got this entered the Town and then used the Townsmen according to his pleasure though I find too in the Life of King Stephen that Robert Earl of Gloucester invaded this Town with a great Power and when most of the Townsmen were slain and burnt in the Churches whither they fled for refuge there is a Story of one of them who was richer than the rest and being forced to return to his own house by the Soldiers that had taken him to shew them where all his Treasures lay he bringing them into a Celler and whilst they were busy in breaking open Locks and Coffers conveyed himself away making the Door fast after him and set the House on fire so that the Soldiers being thirty in number perished all in the Flames which ketching hold of other Buildings joining to it almost burnt up the whole Town But that which makes this Castle most signally remarkeable was the Discovery of Roger Mortimore Earl of March and the Imprisonment too of David le Brase King of the Scots who was here confined the relation of which I shall set down as briefly as I can After King Edward the Second had been Deposed and Murdered by the Plots of his own Wife Queen Isabella and King Edward the Third her Son had Reigned about four Years a Parliament was called at Nottingham where this Roger Mortimore who was then the Queen 's most especial Favourite was in such Glory and Renown that it was beyond all comparison None so much Lord Paramount as the Earl of March None appears in so great an Equippage and attended with so honourable a Retinue as the Earl of March so that the King's Train was inferiour to his and his Majesty's Glory eclipsed by the Pomp and Grandeur of one of his Nobles for he very oft would presume to go foremost and his own Officers and was so exceeding proud and haughty as to make all Persons cringe and do as great Homage to him as to Majesty it self nay he undertook to Order and Dispose of all Persons and Affairs to his own Will and Pleasure and hereupon one day he very sharply rebuked the Earl of Lancaster the King's Cousin for presuming to appoint Lodgings for certain Noblemen near the Court without his particular License and Assignation and having dislodged the Earl with some other Persons of very great Quality and removed them a Mile out of Town he did by this means so incense the Nobility against him that they began to pry more narrowly into his Actions and being enraged to see his Pride and Usurpation of his great Prerogatives they unanimously held against him and gave it out amongst the People That this Mortimore was the Queen's Gallant and the King's Master and sought by all means he possibly could to destroy the Royal Blood and to Usurp the Crown which Report did so work upon some of the King 's most trusty Friends that they got Robert Holland who had a long time been Governor of the Castle and knew well all the secret Corners therein to swear Secrecy to them and Fidelity to the King and accordingly to assist them in those Designs they had in hand Whereupon one night King Edward lying without the Castle both he and his Friends were brought by Torch-light through a secret place under ground beginning a far off from the said Castle 't is the Vault which is still called Mortimore's Hole till they came even to the Queen's Chamber which by chance they found open being armed with naked Swords in they rushed leaving the King in the same posture at the Door being entered into the Privy-chamber they found the Earl of March undressed ready to go to bed to the Queen but they crossed his Design and cool'd his Courage halling him away by force upon which the Queen cried out Good Son take pitty upon gentle Mortimore suspecting her Son to be there in the company The Keys of the Castle were presently called for and every place withal the Furniture committed into the King's Hands and Mortimore was forthwith sent to the Tower who being Tried by his Peers Arraign'd and found Guilty was hanged upon the common Gallows two Days and two Nights The Articles that were brought against him were divers though his Familiarity with the Queen his Treachery to his King and his great Service to David King of the Scots was the chief whilst he also burnt