Savil being the first Alderman and his office executed by John Harrison Esquire a most noble benefactor and a pattern to succeeding ages 1. He founded a Hospital for relief of indigent persons of good conversation and formerly industrious which he endowed with 80 l. per an and a Chapel endowed with 10 l. per an for a Master to read Prayers and to instruct them 2. He built the Free-school to which Godfrey Lawson Esquire Mayor of the Burrough of Leeds An. 1669. has added a Library placed it upon his own ground and enclos'd it with a beautiful wall 3. He built a most noble Church dedicated to S. John the Evangelist and endowed it with 80 l. per an with 10 l. per an to keep it in repair and provided a house for the Minister 4. He erected a stately Cross for the conveniency of the market When his estate was almost exhausted in acts of charity he left the remainder for relief of such of his relations as by the frowns of the world should unhappily be reduced to poverty bequeathing 30 l. per an to be managed by four Trustees to put out the males to trades and to prefer the females in marriage And as these are instances of his charity so in a Codicil annex'd to his Will there is a fair testimony of his strict justice and integrity Whereas I heretofore bought of Richard Falkingham Esq divers lands and tenements part of which I endow'd the New Church withal and part I since sold to several persons for a good sum of money more than I purchas'd the same for I thought my self bound to bestow upon the eldest son of John Green and the eldest son of John Hamerton who marry'd the coheirs of the said Richard Falkingham the surplus of all such moneys as I sold the lands for over and above what indeed they cost me together with a large addition thereunto the product of the whole sum amounting to 1600 l. which upon a strict estimate of his whole estate appears to be a full half He was baptiz'd in S. Peter's Church at Leeds the 16. of Aug. 1579. was chief Alderman 1626. and again 1634. in which year the new Church of his own foundation was consecrated 21. Sept. by Richard Neile then Archbishop of York He dy'd Oct. 29. A. D. 1656. aet 77. and lyes interr'd under an Altar-tomb of black marble in the said Church over which is the well-painted effigies of this Benefactor in his scaâ—â—et-gown the gift of the reverend Mr. Henry Robâ—nson the present incumbent who is perhaps the single instance of one that enjoys a Church both founded and endow'd by his own Uncle and from whom there is a fair and near prospect of some exemplary act of publick piety By a second Patent bearing date 2. Nov. 13 Car. 2. the government of Leeds was alter'd to a Mayor 12 Aldermen and 24 Assistants This place is now honour'd by giving the title of Duke to the right honourable Thomas Lord Marquis of Caermarthen President of their Majesties Council 〈…〉 s From Leeds Are passeth by Temple Newsome of old a Commandary belonging to the Knights Templars now the seat of the right honourable Arthur Ingram Lord Viscount Irwing in the Kingdom of Scotland â—â—â—â—â—rd t Near the confluence of Are and Calder is Castleford a history whereof Thomas de Castleford who was bred a Benedictine in Pontfract and flourish'd An. 1326. wrote â—â—â—'s â—â—â—ies from Ask a Saxon first owner thereof to the Lacies from whom that large Lordship descended to the Earls of Lancaster 〈…〉 Not far from hence is Ledston-Hall formerly the seat of the ancient family of the Withams but late of Sir John Lewis Baronet who having got a vast estate during his nine years factorship for the East-India-Company much augmented by the Jewels presented him by the King of Persia who much delighted in his company dy'd here without issue-male 14. Aug. 1671. He erected a curious Hospital which cost 400 l. building and endow'd it with 60 l. per an for the yearly maintenance of 10 aged poor people who by his Will are requir'd religiously to observe the Sabbath-day and to be present at Church in time of Divine-Service and Sermon u The occasion upon which Polydore Virgil and our Author say Pontefract had its name is by Dr. Johnston observ'd to be altogether inconsistent with the Records of the place especially in point of time At first it was call'd Kirkby for in the Charter made by Robert de Lacy son of Hildebert to the Monks of St. John the Evangelist they are stil'd De dominio suo de Kirkby â—â—â—st 〈◊〉 vol 1. and this he says he did by advice of T. Archbishop of York Yet the same Robert by another Charter to which are the same witnesses except that T. Archbishop of York is added confirms other Lands and Churches Deo S. Johanni Monachis meis de Pontefract So that by this account it is plain that in the time of T. Archbishop of York it had both the names of Kirkby and Pontefract Now this T. could be no other than the first Thomas who came to the Archbishoprick about the eighth of the Conquerour and continu'd in it till about the beginning of Henry 1. whom he crown'd and soon after dy'd For Robert who granted these Charters was banish'd in the 6. of Hen. 1. for being at the battel of Tenercebray on behalf of Robert Duke of Normandy against K. Henry and dy'd the year after which was before any other Archbishop succeeded in that See to whose name the initial T. will agree Thomas the second indeed came presently after An. 1109. but this S. William to whom the miracle is attributed was not possess'd of it before 1153. From which it is evident that the town was call'd Pontefract at least 52 years before the miracle and how much longer we know not Below the Church and a water-mill call'd Bongate-mill there is a level ground nam'd the Wash the road from Pontefract to Knottingley and the directest way from Doncaster to Castleford By this Wash the current of waters flowing from the springs above and supplying two mills passes into the river at Knottingley But it retains not that name above a large bow-shot being terminated by a place called Bubwith-houses where by an Inquisition taken in the reign of Edw. 2. it appears that one John Bubwith held the eighteenth part of a Knights fee juxta veterem pontem de Pontefract i.e. near the old bridge of Pontefract Which must have been over this Wash as will be made more probable if we consider that even now upon any violent rains or the melting of snow it is so overflow'd as to be scarce passable and that formerly before the conveyance of the waters into chanels to serve the mills and the dreins made from hence to Knottingley the passage must have been much more difficult and by consequence the rather requir'd a bridge So then the probability of a
R. White sculp William CAMDEN Clarenceux Obijt Ao. D. 1623. Aetatis suae LXXIII CAMDEN'S BRITANNIA Newly Translated into English WITH LARGE ADDITIONS AND IMPROVEMENTS Publish'd by EDMUND GIBSON of QUEENS-COLLEGE in OXFORD Cic. de Divinat Lib. 1. Quem non moveat clarissimis Monumentis testata consignataque Antiquitas LONDON Printed by F. Collins for A. Swalle at the Vnicorn at the West-end of St. Paul's Church-yard and A. J. Churchil at the Black Swan i◠Pater-noster-Row 1695. TO THE RIGHT HONOURABLE Sir JOHN SOMMERS Kt Lord Keeper of the Great Seal of ENGLAND And One of HIS MAJESTY'S MOST Honourable Privy-Council May it please your Lordship OF all the Studies to which Men are drawn either by Inclination or Interest perhaps no one can pretend to such an agreeable pleasure as the Descriptions of Countries By a variety of Prospects they feed us constantly with fresh Satisfactions and the Objects they present are so chain'd together that a Curious Reader has much ado to break off This is the advantage of that Subject in general but when we come to our own Affairs the relish is still heighten'd in proportion to every one's Love for his Native Country And to whom then can our BRITANNIA address her self with a better assurance than to your Lordship whose Life is one continu'd Zeal for her Honour and Happiness She 's sensible of your Favours and in return has pickt up these Rarities of Art and Nature for a Present to your Lordship They are the Choice of her whole Stock and she hopes there may be something in them to divert you in that multitude of Business wherein you are daily engag'd for her Peace and Preservation But if there should not she 's sure however by disposing thus of her Treasure to lay an universal Obligation upon her Sons She still remembers how they all bless'd you for your Defence of her distressed Prelates and how upon your Lordship's Advancement a general Joy ran through her whole Family But that a more particular Satisfaction appear'd among the Learned to see the Honour conferr'd upon a Leading Member of their own Body She was pleas'd to hear them say That by such Promotions they as well as their Neighbours might at last have their Richlieus and Colberts The Dress wherein she appears is true Native English She has been a great Sufferer by foreign Modes and Fopperies but now resolves to quit them all and convince the World that she has every thing within her self and can live without borrowing In this homely Habit she comes to beg the continuance of your Lordship's Protection upon which your wonted Tenderness has made her presume so far as to encourage even the meanest of her Sons to hope for the same Favour and to write himself Your Lordship's Most obedient and most Humble Servant EDMVND GIBSON THE PREFACE TO THE READER BEFORE you survey the Work please to take the following account of the Materials and Contrivance When Mr. Camden publish'd the last edition of his BRITANNIA the Book met with so much applause and commendation from the Learned that they knew no title great enough for the Author He was stil'd the Varro the Strabo and the Pausanias of Britain and his Work universally own'd to be the most complete and accurate in its kind that had appear'd in any Nation So that one might say of it as Tully did of Caesar's Commentaries Omnes sanos à scribendo deterruit for any man to pretend to write after him was to draw upon himself the imputation of downright madness The saying might then be properly apply'd to it and it would have born the same character to the end of the World had his subject been the Actions of Men instead of the Description of Places Witness his Annals of Queen Elizabeth which as long as time shall last is like to be the standing History of that reign no less than Caesar's Commentaries will be of the Gaulish wars But the nature of the Work makes a large difference The characters of Men and the actions of Ages when the men are dead and the time gone do both stand unalterable Whereas the condition of places is in a sort of continual motion always like the Sea ebbing and flowing And one who should attempt such a complete Description of a single Town as might serve for all Ages to come would see his Mistake by the experience of every year every month nay almost of every day So that the space of sixty or eighty years must make a strange alteration in the face of things and he that should frame an Idea of many places by an account of so long standing would scarce believe 'em to be the same when he came to view them The growth of trade the encrease of buildings the number of Inhabitants do all make the appearance very different And 't is twenty to one but the place where all these improvements have happen'd has stole them in a great measure from some of its neighbours Two trading Towns are like two Armies they are always fighting as it were with one another and as one flourishes and advances the other generally decays and gives ground This turns things quite upside down so that where an old Survey promises nothing but mean Houses and poor Inhabitants we are very often surpriz'd with handsom buildings and a wealthy people and where we feed our selves with the hopes of finding every thing neat and splendid we are entertain'd with nothing but rubbish and ruins Matters of greater Antiquity I grant are more fix'd and certain What was the course of a Military Way a hundred years ago will be so as long as the world lasts and when the particular stations and garrisons are once right settl'd that trouble 's at an end for ever As Mr. Camden made a more regular search than any that had come before him so did he give us a greater light into that part of our History than all that wrote either before or since And yet even in these points the later discoveries of Bricks Coins Inscriptions and other marks of Antiquity have oblig'd the Learned to express their dislike of his conjectures in several particulars It was necessary to premise thus much concerning the nature of the subject lest the mention of Additions and Corrections in an Author of such an establish'd reputation should look too assuming or be constru'd a piece of envy and detraction But as defects of this kind ought not to be call'd Omissions since they lay out of one's reach so supplying of them does not argue either a want of judgment or diligence in those that have gone before If Mr. Camden had liv'd to this day he had been still adding and altering and had no doubt left his Britannia much more complete if the last sixteen years of his Life had not been taken up with the Annals of Queen Elizabeth But when I speak of adding and correcting it must not be understood as if any thing of Mr. Camden's
are Porlock â—ck 〈◊〉 in Saxon Portlocan and Watchet formerly Wecedpoort two harbours which in the year 886. suffer'd very much from the fury of the Danes b â—â—or Between these two lies Dunstor-castle in a low ground every way shut up with hills except on that side which faces the sea It was built by the Moions or Mohuns â—â—amily â—e Moâ—â—â—â— or â—â—â—â—ns from which it came by bargain to the Luterells This family of the Mohuns was for a long time very famous and powerful and flourish'd from the time of William the Conqueror under whom the Castle was built to the reign of Richard 2. Out of it were two Earls of this County William and Reginald who was depriv'd of that honour in the Barons war From that time their posterity were accounted Barons the last whereof John left three daughters Philippa wife of Edward Duke of York Elizabeth marry'd to William de Monte-acuto or Montacute second Earl of Salisbury of that name and Mawd to the Lord Lestrange of Knokyn The mother of these as the story goes obtain'd of her husband under this town so much ground for a * Compascuus ager Common to the inhabitants as she could go about barefoot in one day Near this castle are two small villages dedicated to two of their Country-Saints Carenton is the name of the one from Carentocus the Britain the other S. Decombes from Decumanus S. Decumanus who setting sail out of South-Wales landed here as we find it in an ancient Agonal in a horrid desert full of shrubs and briers the woods thick and close stretched out a vast way both in length and breadth strutting up with lofty mountains sever'd wonderfully by the hollow vallies Here bidding farewell to the world he was stab'd by an Assassin and so got the reputation of a Saint among the common people 3 And between those Clivers was an old Abby of White Monks founded by William de Romara Cosin to the Earl of Lincoln Stoke-Curcy Family of the Curcies a Barony so nam'd from the Lords of it lies at a little distance from the sea the seat of William de Curcy Butler to K. Henry 1. Of which family was that John de Curcy John de Curcy who took Ulster in Ireland a man design'd by nature to be great and honourable endu'd with a height of soul and a sort of majesty whose signal courage must be understood from the Irish Antiquities From thence to the Stertpoint the shore shoots out by little and little where two of the largest rivers in the whole county meeting together empty themselves at one mouth call'd by Ptolemy the aestuary of Uzella The aestuary of Uzella from the river Ivell which throws off that name before it comes here It rises in Dorsetshire and at it's first coming into Somersetshire gives it's name to a well-frequented market-town call'd Evell 4 Which rose by the decay of Ilchester and receives a little river upon which is Camalet Camalet a See Stow's Annals p. 60. Drayton's Polyolb p. 54. a steep mountain of a very difficult ascent in the top whereof are the plain footsteps of a decay'd Camp and a triple rampire of earth cast up including 20 acres 5 And there appear about the hill five or six ditches so steep that a man shall sooner slide down than go down The inhabitants call it Arthur's palace but that it was really a work of the Romans is plain from the Roman Coins daily digg'd up there c What they might call it I am altogether ignorant unless it be that Caer Calemion we meet with in Ninnius's Catalogue by a transposition of letters for Camelion 5 Hereby are two towns West-Camelet and East-Camelet or Queens Camelet happily for that it had been in dowry to some Queen Cadbury Cadbury the adjoining little village may by a conjecture probable enough be thought that Cathbregion where Arthur as Ninnius has it routed the Saxons in a memorable engagement Another town of the same name North-Cadbury was given by K. Henry 3. to b A funeral Inscription upon the Northern Wall of St. Margaret's Westminster mentions one John Mulys of Halmston in Devoushire familiâ oriundum sui nominis quae insignita erat olim titulo de North-Cadbury Nicholas de Moeles Moeles who had marry'd Hawisia one of the heiresses of James de Novo mercatu or New-market This man's posterity liv'd a long time in great splendour till John in Edward 3.'s time dying lest only issue 2 daughters Muriela and Isabel this marry'd to William Botereaux d and the other to Thomas Courtney 6 Here to digress aside from the river Ivel Wine-caunton no mean market is neighbour to this North Cadbury and near thereunto is Pen c. Here Holland has inserted the same account that Camden afterwards gives of Pen. From hence the river Jvel runs to Ischalis Ischalis mention'd by Antoninus now Jvelcester Jvelchester call'd if I mistake nor in Ninnius's Catalogue Pontavel-coit for Pont Jvel Coit i.e. a bridge over the Jvel in a wood and by Florence of Worcester Givelcester It is now famous for nothing but the market and its antiquity for now and then they dig up Coins of the Roman Emperours of gold brass and silver That it was formerly bb This town as Leland says is one of the most ancient in all that quarter has had 4 Parish-Churches whereof two had the ruines standing in his time the third was quite demolâ—sh'd and one us'd Itinerar Vol. 2. large and encompass'd with a double wall is evident from the ruines 7 And two towers upon the bridge about the coming in of the Normans it was a populous place having in it a hundred and seven Burgesses And at that time it was a place of strength and well fortify'd for in the year of Christ 1088. when the Nobility of England had form'd a wicked plot designing to depose William Rufus in order to advance Robert his Brother Duke of Normandy to the throne Robert Moubray a warlike man after he had burnt Bathe vigorously assaulted this place but all in vain However time has done what he could not compass and has at last as it were storm'd it A little more inward 8 By Langpout a proper market-town the confluence of Jvel and Pedred form a river-Island call'd Muchelney Michelney i.e. the large Island wherein are something of the walls of an old Monastery which Historians tell us was built by King Athelstan Pedred riv Pedred commonly Parret rises in the very south-bound of the County and with a winding channel runs by Crockherne in Saxon Crucâ—rne and by Pedderton Pedderton to which it gave the name formerly Pedridan the palace of King Ina now famous only for a market and Fair procur'd of Henry 6. by Henry Daubeney then the Parret runs into the Jvel and robs it of it's name Three miles hence towards the East
Order though out of the world q Hence the Medway passing by Halling Halling where Mr. Lambard the first Historiographer of this County sometime liv'd in the Bishop's house comes at length to Rochester Rochester which is so certainly the Durobrovis of Antonin that I need add no more than what our Author hath written already concerning it only that it was sack't by the Danes in the days of King Ethelred An. 839. and besieg'd by them again in An. 885. when they cast up works round it but was reliev'd by King Alfred and that all the lands of the Bishoprick were laid waste by King Ethelred An. 986. Of late years it gave an additional title to the Lord Wilmot of Adderbury in Com. Oxon. who in consideration of his great and many signal services done to the Crown at home and abroad was created Earl of Rochester by Letters Patents bearing date at Paris Dec. 13. 1652. 4 Car. 2. who dying An. 1659. was succeeded in his Honour by his only son John a person of extraordinary wit and learning He dying without issue July 26. 1680. the right honourable Lawrence Hyde second son to Edward Earl of Clarendon Viscount Hyde of Kenelworth and Baron of Wootton Basset was created Earl of Rochester Nov. 29. 1682. 34 Car. 2. r The river Medway having past Rochester-bridge which is one of the finest if not the best in England glideth on to Chatham Chatham famous for the station of the Navy-Royal which hath been so far advanc'd by the Kings Charles and James 2. beyond what it was in our Authors days with the large additions of new Docks and Storehouses wherein are many conveniencies unknown till of late and all these so well fenced with new Forts such as those at Gillingham Cockham-wood the Swomp c. that perhaps there may not be a more compleat Arsenal than this in the world To which add the Royal Fort of Shireness Shireness in the Isle of Shepey built at the mouth of this river by King Charles 2. which stands much more commodiously for the security of the River than the Castle of Queenborough ever did which was built there for that purpose by King Edward 3. but is now demolish't Of this see more at the end of the County Which is all I have to say more than our Author has done concerning this fruitful Island but that of late years the right honourable Lady Elizabeth Lady Dacres mother to Thomas Earl of Sussex was enobled with the title of Countess of Shepey during life Sept. 6. 1680. the 32 of Car. 2. since whose death in consideration of many eminent services done the Crown by the honourable Henry Sidney Esq fourth son of Robert Earl of Leicester the titles of Viscount Shepey and Baron of Milton near Sittingbourn were both conferr'd on him by his present Majesty King William 3. Apr. 9. 1689. 1 Gul. Mar. who hath also been since successively made Lord Warden of the Cinque Ports Lord Lieutenant of Ireland and Master of the Ordnance s Near this Town of Milton Milton alià s Middleton now erected into a Barony Hasting the Dane as our Author tells us built him a Castle to annoy the Town the footsteps whereof yet remain at Kemsley-downs beyond the Church This they now call being overgrown with bushes the Castle ruff whither King Alfred coming against him fortified himself on the other side the water the ditches of which fortification and some small matter of the stone-work also still remain by the name of Bavord-Castle †Aelfredi vita p. 44 45 46. secus fontes Cantianos near unto Sittingbourn t This Sittingbourn Sittingbourn was once both a Mayor and Market town now through disuse enjoying neither But the Dane never did the town of Milton so much real mischief as Godwin Earl of Kent who being in rebellion against Edward the Confessor in the year 1052. enter'd the King's Town of Middleton and burnt it to the ground ‖ Chron. Sax. An. 1052. which in all probability stood in those days near the Church near a mile from the Town that now is and was upon the rebuilding remov'd to the head of the Creek where it now stands u Eastward from hence lyes the Town of Feversham Fevershaâ— where King Stephen saith our Author founded an Abbey for the Monks of Clugny which appears to be true by his Foundation-Charter printed in the * Vol. 1. p. 683. Monasticon taking his first Abbot and Monks out of the Abbey of Bermondsey of the same order yet †Hist oâ— Cant. p. â—â— Mr. Somner and ‖ Monâ—â—tâ—con Feveâ— shamiense p. 7 8. Mr. Southouse from the absolutory Letters of Peter Abbot of Bermondsey and of the Prior and Monks of S. Mary de Caritate finding Clarembaldus the first Abbot of Feversham and his Monks releas'd from all obedience and subjection to the Church of Clugny and to the Abbot and Prior aforesaid * Monast Angl. p. 3â— are inclin'd to believe Mr. Camden mistaken and that the Abbot and Monks of Feversham pursuant to their absolution presently took upon them the rule and habit of S. Bennet notwithstanding it is clear they were still esteem'd of the order of Clugny for several years after as farther appears by the Confirmation-Charters of King Henry 2. King John and Henry 3. all printed in the †Ibid. p. 687 688 689. Monasticon and by the Bulls of Pope Innocent 3. Gregory 10. and Boniface 9. all in a ‖ MS. imâ— Munimerâ— Eccles Christi Cantuar. MS. book in Christ-Church Canterbury So that I guess the mistake must rather lye on Mr. Somner's and Mr. Southouse's side than our Author's the absolutory Letters in all probability tending only to their absolution from those particular Houses making any claim upon them and not from the order it self though it cannot be deny'd * Monaâ—â— Angl. 〈◊〉 p. 417. but that the Abbot and Monks of Reading were at first Cluniacs and after became Benedictines as perhaps these might do some years after their first foundation And thus much for the Ecclesiastical state of this Town As for Secular matters it has been lately honour'd by giving title to Sir George Sands of Lees Court in this County Knight of the Bath who in consideration of his faithful services to King Charles 1. was by King Charles 2. advanced to the degree and dignity of a Baron of this Realm by the title of Baron of Throwley as also of Viscount Sands of Lees Court and Earl of Feversham by Letters Patents bearing date at Westminster April 8. 28 Car. 2. which he was only to enjoy for term of life with remainder to Lewis Lord Duras Marquess of Blanquefort in France and Baron of Holdenby in England who marrying the Lady Mary eldest daughter of the said George Earl of Feversham who dyed Apr. 16. 1677. the said Lord Duras being naturalized by Act of Parliament An. 1665. succeeded his Father-in-law in all his titles and
Antesignani Standard-bearers of London 16 And amongst them Robert Fitz-Walter had licence of King Edw. 1. to sell the site of Bainard-Castle to the said Archbishop Robert The Bishopâ—ick Nor was London only wall'd round at that time but also upon the confirmation Christianity receiv'd from that best of Emperours the Flamine was remov'd and a Bishop put in his place For 't is plain that the Bishop of London was at the Council of Arles held in the year 314. under Constantine the Great since we find by the first Tome of the Councils See Baronius concerning this Council Out of the Province of Britain Restitutus Bishop of the City of London whom with his successors some affirm to have had his residence at St. Peter's in Cornhill From that time London flourish'd so exceedingly London caâ—â—'d Augâ—sta as that by degrees it was call'd Augusta and had that honourable title under Valentinian the Emperour For thus Ammianus Marcellinus in his 27th Book And going to London an ancient town which posterity call'd Augusta And in his 28th Book Going from Augusta which the Ancients call'd London Upon which account The Mint when a Mint-Office was settled here in Constantine the Great 's time for we read in those Medals that he made in memory of Constantius his father as well as in others P. LON. S. i.e. Pecunia Londini signata or money coin'd at London then he that was Governour here under the Count of the * Sacrarum largitiorum Augusta a most honourable name Imperial Largesses we find call'd by the Notitia Provost of the Treasures of the Augustenses in Britain This Augusta was a name of the greatest honour and full of Majesty For the Builders or Repairers of Cities out of either hopes or wishes that they might be powerful flourishing and great us'd to give them auspicious names But amongst all the rest there was none so magnificent none so auspicious as Augusta For that best and greatest of Emperours Octavianus took the name of Augustus not without the judgment of the most Learned He was surnam'd Augustus says Dio to imply that he was above the common reach of men Lib. 54. For those things which best deserve honour and are most sacred are call'd Augusta Nor had London this name and this particular mark of honour without the consent of the Roman Emperours Which custom of taking no name without a particular Licence Virgil hints to in that verse of his Urbem appellabant permisso nomine Acestam The city they with leave Acesta call'd But as time has destroy'd this most honourable name so has it confirm'd that more ancient one of London While it had that other name it was very near being sack'd by a seditious gang of Robbers but Theodosius father to Theodosius the Emperour falling upon them while they were laden with the spoils routed them and as Marcellinus has it with great joy and in a triumphant manner enter'd the City that had just before been overwhelm'd in miseries Marching from thence he so effectually freed Britain by his singular courage from those calamities wherein 't was involv'd that as Symmachus tells us †Consecrarunt Britannicum Ducem inter prisca nomina London in the Saxons hands the Romans honour'd this British General with a Statue on horse-back amongst their ancient heroes Not long after when the Roman Government in Britain expir'd by a publick calamity of the whole Island it fell under the power of the Saxons but by what methods does not appear from History I fancy that Vortigern when a captive gave it Hengist the Saxon for his ransom for it belong'd to the East-Saxons and Authors tell us that Vortigern gave Hengist that Country upon this account At which time the Church suffer'd whatever could be inflicted it 's Pastors martyr'd or banish'd the flocks driven away and when all the wealth sacred and profane was swallow'd up in plunders and rapines Theonus the last Bishop of London that was a Britain hid the Reliques of the Saints as my Author says to preserve their memory and not out of any superstition Reliques hid to preserve the memory of persoâ—s But tho' the disturbances of the Saxon age were such that one might truly say Mars himself had brandish'd his weapons yet was London as Bede tells us a Mart-town of great traffick and commerce both by sea and land But afterwards when a gentle gale of peace began to fan and inspirit this weary Island and the Saxons turn'd Christian it rose again with a new and greater lustre For Aethelbert King of Kent under whom Sebert was a ‖ Quasi beneficiarius sort of petty Prince purely by permission in those parts he built here a Church dedicated to S. Paul S. Pauls which by improvements at several times is grown to an exceeding large and magnificent building and the revenues of it are so considerable as to maintain a Bishop Dean Praecentor Chancellour Treasurer 5 Archdeacons 30 Prebendaries and others The east-part of this Church which seems to be newer and is curiously wrought having a vault and a most beautiful porch call'd also S. Faith's Church was re-edify'd by Bp. Maurice about 1036. out of the ruins of that Palatine Tower above-mention'd having been before that lamentably burnt down Of which Malmesbury It has such a majestick beauty as to deserve a name amongst the buildings of greatest note So wide is the vault so capacious * Superior aedes the body of the Church that one would think it might contain the greatest Congregation imaginable And thus Maurice by satisfying his extravagant humour entail'd the charge of this great work upon posterity And afterward when Richard his successor had allow'd the entire revenues of his Bishoprick to the building of this Cathedral finding other ways to maintain himself and his family he seem'd to have done nothing towards it thus he bestow'd all he had upon it and to little purpose The west part of it as also ‖ Transeptum the Cross-Ile is spacious with lofty large pillars and a most beautiful roof Where these 4 parts do as it were cut one another there arises a large and lofty tower upon which stood a spire cover'd over with lead and of a prodigious height for from the ground it was 534 foot but in the year 1087. it was burnt with lightning not without great damage to the city and tho' built again yet very lately when we were boys suffering the same fate once more it is not yet re-edify'd I will subjoyn the description of this magnificent structure out of an Author of pretty good Antiquity which you may read or let alone as you please The length of Paul's Church is 690 foot the breadth 130 foot the height of the western-roof from the area 102 foot the height of the roof of the new building from the area 88 foot the height of the stone-work belonging to * Campanile the Belfrey from the ground
whereof one was rebuilt at the publick charge of the Corporation A. D. 1682. and endow'd with sixty pounds per annum whereof thirty is for the maintenance of a Catechetical Lecturer who is to expound the Catechism of the Church of England every Sunday and to preach a Sermon every first Wednesday in the month Twenty pounds are assign'd to a Schoolmaster and ten to an Usher who are to prepare the Children of the Parish for the said Lecture Besides which the Town pays yearly 580 l. towards the maintenance of their Vicar and those Lecturers and Curates that are under him s Both it s Wealth and Commerce are wonderfully encreas'd since Camden's time The Coal-trade is incredible and for other Merchandice Newcastle is the great Emporium of the northern parts of England and of a good share of Scotland The publick Revenue is also wonderfully advanc'd of late years for which the Town is in a great measure indebted to the provident care and good management of its two great Patriots Sir William Blacket Baronet and Timothy Davison Esquire Aldermen t At Fenham a little village in the parish of Newcastle there are now some Coal-pits on fire which have burn'd for several years The flames of this subterraneous fire are visible by night and in the day-time the track of it may be easily follow'd by the Brimstone which lies on the surface of the Earth Newcastle has afforded the title of Earl to Lodowick Stewart Duke of Lennox and Earl of Richmond created in May 1604. But in the year 1627. this title was conferr'd upon William Cavendish Viscount Mansfield and Baron Ogle who was afterwards in 1643. created Marquiss of Newcastle and the year following Duke of Newcastle In 1676. he was succeeded by his son Henry Cavendish But of late the right honourable John Holles Earl of Clare was created Duke of this place by his present Majesty u The Rutarii Rutarii or Ruptarii are not only mention'd by our Historians in the reign of King John but before his time in the reign of Hen. 2. and after it under Hen. 3. By all the accounts we have of 'em it appears they were mercenary German Troops Now in the High-Dutch Rott whence our English Rout is a Company of Soldiers Rotten or Rottiren to muster Rottmeister a Corporal c. That from hence we are to fetch the true original of the word we are sufficiently taught by Will. Neubrigensis who liv'd and wrote his History in the times of these Rutars Rex says he stipendiarias Brabantionum copias quas Rutas vocant accersivit lib. 2. c. 27. Dr. Wats is therefore mistaken who in his Glossary derives the name from the German Reuter a Trooper or Horseman uu The Town of Morpeth together with Gilles-land c. came by Elizabeth sister and coheir of George the last Lord Dacre to her husband the Lord William Howard of Naworth third son to the Duke of Norfolk whose grandson Charles was soon after the Restauration of Charles the second created Earl of Carlisle and Viscount Morpeth Which Honours were inherited by his son Edward and are now enjoy'd by the most accomplish'd young Nobleman his grandson Charles the third Earl of Carlisle of this Family w At the famous Synod mention'd by our Author S. Cuthbert is said to have been chosen Bishop By the account that Bede and especially his Royal Paraphrast gives of the matter it looks more like a Parliament than a Synod for the Election is reported to have been mid anmodre geê§afunge ealra ê§aera Æ¿itena Now Æ¿itena in the Language of those times signifies Senators or Parliament-men who it seems unanimously chose him Bishop Bed Eccl. Hist. l. 4. c. 28. The meeting is indeed said to have been on the river Alne And yet I very much doubt whether this Twiford Twiford be in Northumberland and whether Archbishop Theodore ever came so far north There are a great many Twifords in the south of England The Legend of S. Cuthbert p. 17. says this Synod was held at Twiford upon Slu. x There never was any Covent or Monastery founded at Alnwick Alnwicâ— or near it by John Vescie There was indeed a Monastery of the Order of the Praemonstratenses founded by Eustachius Fitz-John Father of William de Vescie who had that sirname from his Mother an Heiress But this was done in the year 1147. long before the Carmelites were heard of in England John Bale who was sometime a Carmelite himself tells us the first Covent of that Order was founded at Holm Hull they now call it near Alnwick by Ralph Fresburn a Northumberland Gentleman who dy'd A. D. 1274. and was buried in this Covent See Bale de Script Brit. Cent. 4. c. 1. and J. Pitz. ad Ann. 1274. 'T is a wonder how our Author came to mistake thus since he uses some of Bale's very words and must doubtless have read his account Eustachius's Abbey is still to be seen at half a mile's distance from the Covent of Hull down the river â—â—â—staâ—â—â—ge y Within the Circuit of the old Castle of Dunstaburge grew lately 240. Winchester Bushels of Corn besides several Cart-loads of Hay 'T is now famous for Dunstaburgh-Diamonds a sort of fine Spar which seems to rival that of St. Vincent's Rock near Bristol z I do not think Bede himself ever gave out that Etymology about Bebba No mention of it in the Saxon But 't is there call'd cynelican byrig i.e. a Royal Mansion and 't is also said that it was miserably wasted by Penda the Pagan King of the Mercians who had certainly burnt it had not the Prayers of Bishop Aidan happily interpos'd Bede lib. 3. capp 12. 16. It was afterwards totally ruin'd and plunder'd by the Danes A. D. 933. Yet as ruinous as it now is the Lord of the Manour William Forster Esq still holds here in a corner of it his Courts of Leet and Baron Florence of Worcester seems to me to have been the first contriver of the story of Queen Bebba See Sir H. Spelman's Gloss in Beria After Mowbray's flight mention'd by our Author and his being taken at Tinmouth the Castle of Bamborough was stoutly maintain'd by Morael his Steward and Kinsman till the Earl himself was by the King's order brought within view of the Fort and threatned with the having his eyes put out in case the besieged held out any longer Whereupon it was immediately surrender'd and Morael for his bravery receiv'd into the King's Court and Favour See the Saxon. Chron. ad Ann. 1095. aa The Improvements in Tillage at Rock by John Salkeld Esq and in Gardening and Fruitery at Falladon by Samuel Salkeld Gent. both in the Parish of Emildon ought here to be mention'd as Fineries hardly to be equall'd on the North-side of Tyne The latter is the more observable because an eminent Author of this Age will hardly allow any good Peaches Plumbs Pears c. to be expected beyond Northamptonshire whereas Fruit is produc'd here in