abundance But now of late since these woods are partly cut down the land is found to be arable and of a fat mould plentiful in fruit delightful in corn planted with gardens rich in pastures in spring the pleasant meads smile on the spectators and the whole Isle is embroider'd as it were with variety of flowers Besides all this here are Meres full of Eels and Pools full of all sorts of fish and water fowl of which Ramsey-Mere Ramsey-Mere is one call'd from the name of the Isle far excelling all the neighbouring waters both in fairness and plenty and where the Isle is wider and wood thicker it prettily washes the sandy banks and is mighty pleasant to behold in its deep holes they draw out Pikes of wonderful bigness which they call Hakeds Hakeds either with several sorts of Nets baited Hooks or other fishing Instruments and tho' this place is perpetually haunted by fowlers and always abundance taken yet there 's still abundance left behind Then he proceeds to shew how one Ailwin of the royal family for his great authority and favour with the King sirnam'd Healf-Koning that is Half-King built this Abby upon the account of a fisher's dream how Bishop Oswald enlarg'd it how the Kings and others encreas'd its endowments so that it usually lay'd out 7000 pound of our money a year to maintain 60 Monks But since 't is now ruin'd perhaps some will think I 've said too much of it already yet however I 'll venture to add out of the same Author the Epitaph of Ailwin's Tomb because it bears such an uncommon title of honour HIC REQVIESCIT AILWINVS INCLITI REGIS EADGARI COGNATVS TOTIVS ANGLIAE ALDERMANNVS ET HVIVS SACRI COENOBII MIRACVLOSVS FVNDATOR That is Here rests Ailwin kinsman to the famous King Eadgar Alderman of all England and the miraculous founder of this Monastery From hence to Peterborough about 10 miles did K. Canute raise a pav'd causey with great labour and charge by our Historians call'd Kings delf Kingsdelf nigh the great Lake Wittlesmere because that way was render'd troublesome by brooks and sloughs f As this Abbey was an ornament to the eastern parts of the County so was Saltry Sawtry to the middle a Monastery founded by the second Simon of St. Lizes E. of Huntingdon A little way off lies Cunnington Cunnington held as the Lawyers word it of the Honour of Huntingdon where within a four-square ditch are the plain Reliques of an ancient Castle which with Saltry Saltry was given by Canute to Turkill the Dane â—urkill the Dane who liv'd among the East-Angles and call'd in Sueno King of Denmark to plunder the Nation After Turkill's departure it was possess'd by Waldeof Earl of Huntingdon son to Siward Earl of Northumberland who marry'd Judith William the Conquerour's Niece by his half sister on the mothers side by whose eldest daughter it descended to the Royal Family of Scotland for she after her first husband's decease marry'd David Earl of Huntingdon afterwards King of Scotland the younger son of Malcolm Can-mor King of Scotland and Margaret his Wife of the Royal Family of the English-Saxons for she was King Edmund Ironside's grandchild by his son Edgar sirnam'd the Banish'd David had a son call'd Henry and he another call'd David who was Earl of Huntingdon by Isabel one of his daughters Cunnington and other large possessions by marriage fell to Robert Brus from whose eldest son Robert sirnam'd the Noble it is that James King of Great Britain lineally derives his Descent and from his younger son Bernard who inherited Cunnington and Exton Sir Robert Cotton Knight derives his a person who besides other excellencies is a great admiâ—er and Master of Learning and has here a Collection of venerable Antiquities from all parts from whose peculiar courtesie I have often receiv'd great light into these obscure matters By reason these parts lye so low are under water for some months Mosses and some so hollow that they seem to float they are much troubled with the noisome smells of Lakes and a thick foggy air Here lyes that clear Lake so full of fish call'd Witlesmere Witlesmere Lake six miles long and three broad 2 Which as other Meres in this tract doth sometimes in calms and fair weather rise tempestuously as it were into violent water-quakes to the danger of the poor Fishermen by reason as some think of evaporations breaking violently out of the earth in a moorish Country but the great profit of fishing the plenty of Pastures and the abundance of Turfs for firing as the neighbours say do sufficiently make amends for the unhealthfulness of the place 3 Whereunto strangers and not the natives there are subject who live long and healthfully For King Canute order'd Turkill the Dane a person before mention'd that every village about the Fens shou'd have it's proper Marsh who so divided the ground that the inhabitants of each village shou'd have just so much of the main Marsh for their own use as lay right against the farm-ground of the said village He also made an order that no village might dig or mow in another's Marsh without leave but however the feeding shou'd be common to all that is Horn under Hâ—rn for the preservation of peace and quiet among ' em But enough of this The little History of Ely When Canute's children and servants were sent for from Peterborough to Ramsey passing this Lake in the midst of their pleasant voyage and their singing and jollity the turbulent winds and tempestuous storms arose on all sides and surrounded them so that they were utterly in despair either of life security or succour but so great was God's mercy that they did not all become a prey to that devouring Element The foundation-Charter of Saltry for some out of his compassion and providence he sav'd from the raging waves but others by his secret judgment he suffer'd to perish in the deep When this sad news was brought to the King it put him into a dreadful fright but after a little recovery by the counsel of his Nobility and Friends to prevent all future mischances from this merciless monster he order'd his soldiers and servants to mark out a Ditch in the Marshes between Ramsey and Witlesy with their Swords and Skeins and Day-labourers to scour and cleanse it from whence as we have it from our Predecessors of good credit this ditch by some of the neighbours was call'd Swerdes-delf Sweâ—des-deâ—â— d ffâ—â—eâ—t fâ—â—m Kingâ—delf because 't was mark'd out by swords but some would have it call'd Cnouts-delf from that King's name But now they commonly call it Steeds-dike and it is the bound between this County and Cambridgeshire Kinnibantum-Castle now Kimbolton Kimboltâ—n formerly the seat of the Mandevils since of the Bohuns and Staffords and now of the Wingfields is at present an ornament to the Eastern parts of the County g below which was Stonely
College here A little higher upon Watlingstreet for so this Military way of the Romans is vulgarly call'd where there is a bridge of stone over the river Anker Manduessedum Manduessedum is seated a town of very great antiquity mention'd by Antoninus which having not yet altogether lost its name is call'd Mancester Mancester and in Ninnius's Catalogue Caer Mancegued Which name since a quarry of free-stone lies near it 't is probable was given it from the stone there digg'd and hew'd For in the Glossaries of the British tongue we learn that Main signifies a stone and Fosswad in the Provincial language digging which being joyn'd together seem aptly enough to express the name Manduessedum u But how great or of what note soever it was in those times 't is now a poor little village containing not above fourteen small houses and hath no other monument of Antiquity to shew but an old Fort which they call Old-bury i.e. an old Burrough w Atherston on the one side a well-frequented market where the Church of the 14 Augustine Friers Friers was converted into a Chapel which nevertheless acknowledges that of Mancester to be the Mother Church and Nonn-eaton on the other side have by their nearness reduc'd Mancester to what you see it Neighbour to Atherston is Meri-val Merival i.e. Merry-vale where Robert de Ferrers built and dedicated a Monastery to God and the blessed Virgin in which his body wrapp'd up in an Ox-hide lies interr'd Beyond these Northward lies Pollesworth Pollesworth where Modwena an Irish virgin fam'd for her wonderful piety built a Nunnery which Robert Marmion a Nobleman who had his castle in the neighbourhood at Stippershull repair'd x Hard by also in the Saxon times flourish'd a town of which there appear now but very small remains call'd Secandunum at this time Seckinton Seckinton where Aethelbald King of the Mercians in a civil war was assassinated by Bcornred Chron. Sax. Beared in the year 749 but in a little time he was cut off by King Offa by the same means falling from the throne by which he had impiously got it y To close the whole I must now give you a Catalogue of the Earls of Warwick Earls of Warwick And to pass over Guar Morindus Guy that Echo of England and many more of that stamp which the fruitful wits of those times brought forth at one birth Henry son of Roger de Bellomonte brother of Robert Earl of Mellent was the first Earl of the Norman race who marry'd Margaret daughter of Aernulph de Hesdin Earl of Perch a person of mighty power and authority Of this family there were who bore that honour Roger son of Henry William son of Roger who dy'd in the 30th of King Henry the second Walleran his brother Henry son of Walleranâ— Thomas his son who dy'd without issue in the 26th of Henry the third and his sister Margery surviving was Countess of Warwick and dy'd childless Her two husbands nevertheless first John Mareschal Plaâ—â—â—3 Rot â—34 then John de Plessets in right of their wife and by the favour of their Prince were rais'd to the honour of Earls of Warwick But these dying without any issue by Margery Walleran Margery's uncle by the father succeeded in the honour and he dying without issue Alice his sister came to the Inheritance Afterwards William her son call'd Male-doctus Malduit and Manduit de Hanslap who dy'd also without issue But Isabel his sister being marry'd to William de Bello Campo or Beauchamp Baron of Elmesly carry'd the Earldom into the family of the Beauchamps Who if I am not mistaken because they were descended from a daughter of Ursus de Abtot gave the Bear for their Cognisance and left it to their posterity Of this family there were six Earls and one Duke William the son of Isabel John Guy Thomas Thomas the younger Richard and lastly Henry to whom King Henry the sixth made a Grant without precedent That he should be primier Earl of all England and use this title Henry primier Earl of all England and Earl of Warwick Rot. Parâ— 23 Hen. â— He made him also King of the Isle of Wight afterwards created him Duke of Warwick and by the express words of his Patent granted that he should have place in Parliament and elsewhere next to the Duke of Norfolk and before the Duke of Buckingham He had but one daughter Anne 24 Hâ— who in the Inquisitions was stil'd Countess of Warwick and dy'd in her Infancy She was succeeded by Richard Nevill who had marry'd the daughter of the said Duke of Warwick a person of an invincible spirit but changeable and fickle in his Allegiance the very sport and tennis-ball of fortune Who altho' no King himself was yet superiour to Kings as being the person who depos'd Henry the sixth a most bountiful Prince to him and set up Edward the fourth in his place Afterwards he un-king'd him again re-establisht Henry the sixth in the Throne and involv'd the kingdom in the flames of a civil war which were not extinguisht but with his own blood 15 After his death Anne his wife by Act of Parliament was excluded and debarred from all her lands for ever and his two daughters heirs to him and heirs apparent to their mother being married to George Duke of Clarence and Richard Duke of Glocester were enabled to enjoy all the said lands in such wise as if the said Anne their mother were naturally dead Whereupon the name stile and title of Earl of Warwick and Sarisbury was granted to George Duke of Clarence who soon after was unnaturally dispatch'd by a sweet death in a Butt of Malvesey by his suspicious brother King Edw. 4. His young son Edward was stil'd Earl of Warwick and being but a very child was beheaded by King Henry 7. to secure himself and his posterity The death of this Edward our Ancestors accounted to be the full period and final end of the long lasting war between the two royal houses of Lancaster and York Wherein as they reckon'd from the 28th year of Henry 6. unto this being the 15th of Henry 7. there were 13 fields fought 3 Kings of England 1 Prince of Wales 12 Dukes 1 Marquis 18 Earls with one Vicount and 23 Barons besides Knights and Gentlemen lost their lives Edward son of one of his daughters by George Duke of Clarence succeeded whom Henry the seventh for neither youth nor innocence could protect him to secure himself and the line put to death The title of this Earldom which was become formidable to Henry the eighth by the great troubles Richard Nevil that scourge of Kings had created lay dormant till Edward the sixth gave it to John Dudley deriving a title from the Beauchamps He as the before mention'd Richard endeavouring to subvert the Government under Queen Mary had his boundless ambition punisht with the loss of his head But his sons first John whilst his father was
cool briezes which by an innate salubrity of air renders the Country exceeding temperate On the East it hath the mountains of Talgarth and Ewias On the North as he saith 't is a more open and champain Country where 't is divided from Radnorshire by the river Wy upon which there are two towns of noted antiquity Bûalht â—â—â—â—ht a and Hay Bûalht is a town pleasantly seated with woods about it and fortified with a castle but of a later building by the Breoses and Mortimers when as RhÅ·s ap Gryffydh had demolished the old one At present 't is noted for a good market but formerly it seems to have been a place very eminent for Ptolemy observes the Longitude and Latitude of it and calls it Bullaeum â—â—â—â—â—eum Silurum b From this town the neighbouring part a mountainous and rocky Country is call'd Bualht into which upon the Incursion of the Saxons King Vortigern retir'd And there also by the permission of Aurelius Ambrosius his son Pascentius govern'd as we are inform'd by Ninnius who in his Chapter of Wonders relates I know not what prodigious story of a heap of stones here wherein might be seen the footsteps of King Arthur's Hound Hay in British Tregelhi which in English we may render Haseley or Hasleton lyes on the bank of the river Wy upon the borders of Herefordshire a place which seems to have been well known to the Romans since we often find their coyns there and some ruins of walls are still remaining But now being almost totally decay'd it complains of the outrages of that profligate Rebel Owen Glyn-Dowrdwy who in his march through these Countries consum'd it with fire c As the river Wy watereth the Northern part of this County so the Usk a noble river takes its course through the midst of it d which falling headlong from the Black-mountain and forcing a deep Chanel passes by Brecknock â—â—â—â—knock the chief town of the County placed almost in the Center thereof This town the Britains call Aber-Hondhy â—â—hodni â—â—do â—â—b from the confluence of the two rivers Hondhy and Usk. That it was inhabited in the time of the Romans is evident from several coyns of their Emperours sometimes found there Bernard Newmarch who conquered this small County built here a stately Castle which the Breoses and Bohuns afterward repaired and in our Fathers memory King Henry the eighth constituted a Collegiate Church of 14 Prebendaries in the Priory of the Dominicans which he translated thither from Aber-Gwily in Caer-mardhinshire Two miles to the East of Brecknock is a large Lake which the Britains call Lhyn Savèdhan and Lhyn Savà dhan Lhyn Savadham Giraldus calls it Clamosum from the terrible noise it makes like a clap of thunder at the cracking of the Ice In English 't is call'd Brecknockmere Brecknockmere it is two miles long and near the same breadth well stored with Otters and also Perches Tenches and Eels which the Fishermen take in their Coracls Lhewèni a small river having enter'd this Lake still retains its own colour and as it were disdaining a mixture is thought to carry out no more nor other water than what it brought in It hath been an ancient tradition in this neighbourhood that where the Lake is now there was formerly a City which being swallow'd up by an Earthquake resign'd its place to the waters d And to confirm this they alledge besides other arguments that all the high-ways of this County tend to this Lake Which if true what other City may we suppose on the river Lheweny but Loventium Loventium placed by Ptolemy in this tract which tho' I have diligently search'd for yet there appears no where any remains of the name ruins or situation of it Marianus which I had almost forgotten seems to call this place Bricenau-mere Bricenau-mere who tells us that Edelfleda the Mercian Lady enter'd the Land of the Britains Anno 913. in order to reduce a castle at Bricenaumere and that she there took the Queen of the Britains prisoner Whether that castle were Brecknock it self Brecknock-castle or Castelh Dinas on a steep tapering Rock above this Lake remains uncertain but it 's manifest from the Records of the Tower that the neighbouring castle of Blaen Lheveny Blaen Lheveni-castle was the chief place of that Barony which was the possession of Peter Fitz-Herbert the son of Herbert Lord of Dean-forest by Lucy the daughter of Miles Earl of Hereford e In the reign of William Rufus Bernard Newmarch the Norman a man of undaunted courage Lords of Brecknock and great policy having levied a considerable Army both of English and Normans was the first that attempted the reducing of this Country And having at length after a tedious war extorted it from the Welsh he built Forts therein and gave possession of Lands to his Fellow-souldiers amongst whom the chiefest were the Aubreys a Roger Gunter a younger brother of this family intermarrying with the daughter and heir of Thomas Stodey Esq â—3 Henr. 4. settled at Kintbury or Kentbury in Barkshire where the Family still remains Gunters Haverds Waldebeofs and Prichards And the better to secure himself amongst his enemies the Welsh he married Nêst the daughter of Prince Gruffydh who being a woman of a licentious and revengeful temper at once depriv'd her self of her own reputation and her son of his Inheritance For Mahel the only son of this Bernard having affronted a young Nobleman with whom she conversed too familiarly she as the Poet saith iram atque animos à crimine sumens depos'd before King Henry the second that her son Mahel was begotten in adultery Upon which Mahel being excluded the estate devolved to his sister Sibyl and in her right to her husband Miles Earl of Hereford whose five sons dying without issue this Country of Brecknock became the Inheritance of Bertha his daughter who had by Philip de Breos a son William de Breos Lord of Brecknock Called also Braus and Breus upon whom the seditious spirit and * Procax shrewd tongue of his ‖ Matildis de Haia wife drew infinite calamities For when she had utter'd reproachful language against King John the King strictly commanded her husband who was deep in his debt to discharge it Who after frequent demurrings at last mortgaged to the King his three castles of Hay Brecknock and Radnor which yet soon after he surprised putting the Garrisons to the Sword he also burnt the town of Lemster and thus with fire sword and depredations continued to annoy the Country omitting nothing of the common practice of Rebels But upon the approach of the King's forces he withdrew into Ireland where he associated with the King's enemies yet pretending a submission he return'd and surrender'd himself to the King who had intended to follow him but after many feign'd promises he again rais'd new commotions in Wales At last being compell'd to quit his native country he
the river Dea mentioned by Ptolemy which yet keeps its name being call Dee is Kircowbright â—â—â—cowâ—â—â—ght the most convenient haven of this Coast and one of the Stewartries of Scotland which belongs to the Maxwells Then Cardines a Fort upon the river Fleet built upon a craggy and high rock and fortify'd with strong Walls Hard by the river Ken by Ptolemy Jena but corruptly falls into the Sea Next Wigton a Port with a very narrow entrance between the two streams Baiidnoo and Crea reckoned among the Sheriffdoms over which * Agnew ex Insula Agnew of the Isle presides It formerly had for its Earl Archibald Douglas famous in the French War and now hath by the favour of King James John Fleming who derives his pedigree from the ancient Earls of Wigton Earls of Wigton Near this Ptolemy fixes the City Leucopibia Leutopibia which I know not really where to look for Yet by the place it should seem to be that Episcopal See of Ninian which Bede calls Candida Casa and the English and Scots in the same sence a It is in Saxon Hwit-erne the latter part erne in Saxon signifying any sort of vessel and so our English word Ink-horn called by our Northern men Inkern originally implies no more than a vessel in general for ink Whit-herne What then if Ptolemy as he did usually translate Candida Casa Candida Casa which was the name the Britains gave it into 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 in Greek that is white Houses instead of which the Transcribers have obtruded Leucopibia upon us In this place Ninia or Ninian St. Ninian the Britain a holy man the first that instructed the Southern Picts in the Christian Faith in the reign of Theodosius the Younger had his residence and built a Church dedicated to St. Martin the form whereof as Bede observes was contrary to the British buildings The same Author tells us that the English in his time held this Country and when the number of the Faithful encreased an Episcopal See was erected at this Candida Casa A little higher there is a Peninsula with the Sea insinuating it self on both sides which by a narrow neck is joyned to the main land This is properly call'd Novantum Chersonessus and Promontorium Novantum Promontorium commonly the Mull of Galloway Beyond this Northward is an open Bay full of Islands and of a mighty compass into which abundance of rivers on all sides have their influx But first of all from the very point of the Promontory Abravanus which being a little misplac'd is so termed by Ptolemy for Aber-ruanus that is the mouth of the river Ruan For at this time 't is call'd the river Rian and the Lake out of which it runs Lough-Rian admirably well stockt with herrings and a sort of * Saxatiles pisces Gudgeons This Galloway had its own Princes and Lords Lâ—rds of Galloway in ancient times of whom the first recorded in Chronicle was Fergusius in the reign of Henry the first of England who gave for his Arms A Lion Rampant Argent crowned Or in a Shield Azure After many Troubles he had raised he was driven to such streights by King Malcolm as to give his Son Uchtred for an hostage and being grown weary of the world to take upon himself the habit of a Canon at Holyrood House at Edenborough As for Uchtred Gilbert his younger brother took him Prisoner in a fight and after he had cut out his Tongue and pulled out his Eyes most miserably deprived him both of life and estate But within some few years after Gilbert was dead Roland the Son of Uchtred recovered his father's inheritance who of a sister of William Morvill Constable of Scotland begat Alan Lord Galloway and Constable of Scotland Alan by Margaret the eldest daughter of David Earl of Huntingdon had Dervogilda the wife of John Balliol and mother of John Balliol King of Scotland who contended with Robert Brus for that Kingdom and by a former Wife as it seems he had Helen married to Roger Quincy an English man Earl of Winchester who upon that account was Constable of Scotland as was likewise William Ferrers of Groby grand-son of the said Roger by a daughter and coheir But these English soon lost their inheritance in Scotland as also the dignity of Constable which the Commins Earls of Bughuan had Now Gâ—â—loway is an Earâ—dom in the Faâ—â—ly of tâ—â— Stewarâ—â— descended likewise of a daughter of Roger Quincy untill it was transferred unto the Earls of Arrol But b 'T is now an Earldom in the Family of the Stewarts the title of Lord of Galloway fell afterwards to the Family of Douglass a CARRICT CArrict follows next a Country fruitful in pastures and abundantly furnished with commodities both by land and sea Here Ptolemy places both c Probably the same with the bay of Glenluce Rerigonium a creek and Rerigonium a Town For which in a very ancien Copy of Ptolemy printed at Rome in 1480 we have Berigonium Berigonium So that I cannot chuse but think it was that which is now called Bargeny Bargeny A Lord it hath of the Family of the Kennedyes The Kennedyes which came out of Ireland in the reign of Robert Brus noble numerous and powerful in this tract The head of it is Earl of Cassils Earls of Cassils the name of a Castle upon the River Dun which is his seat upon whose banks he hath another call'd Dunnur Castle he is likewise hereditary Bailiff of this Province â—aily of Carrict For this with Kyle and Cunningham are the three Baileries of Scotland because they that govern these with ordinary power and jurisdiction are called Bailiffs a term coin'd in the middle age and signifies amongst the Greeks Sicilians and French a Conservator or Keeper Earls oâ— Carricâ— Lib. Mâ— ros But Carrict in former times had its Earls Not to mention Gilbert of Galloway's Son to whom King William gave Carrict entire to be possessed for ever we read that Adam of Kilconath about 1270 was Earl Carrict and died in the Holy War whose only Daughter Martha fell deeply in love with Robert Brus a beautiful young Gentleman as she saw him a hunting made him her Husband brought him the title and estate of Earl of Carrict and bore him Robert Brus that famous King of Scotland the founder of the royal Line But the title of Earl of Carrict being for some time left to the younger Sons of the Family of Brus afterwards became an addition to the other Honors of the Princes of Scotland KYLE KYle is next lying more inwardly upon the Bay a plentiful Country and well inhabited An. 750. In Bede's Auctarium or Supplement it is called Campus Cyel and Coil where it is recorded that Eadbert King of the Northumbers added this with other Territories to his Kingdom In Ptolemy's time d Now possibly called Loch-Rian Vidogara Nidogara was a
name of a Thunderbolt and the son with Pyrrhus that of an Eagle Here also dy'd Anne Wife of K. Richard 2. Sister to Wenzelay the Emperour and Daughter to the Emperour Charles 4. she first taught the English women that way of riding on horseback which is now in use whereas formerly their custom was tho' a very unbecoming one to ride astride as well as men Her husband took her death out so ill and mourn'd so immoderately that he altogether neglected and even abhorr'd the very house But King Henry 5. beautify'd it with new buildings â—ne and in Shene an adjoyning little village built a Monastery of Carthusians which he call'd Bethlehem In Henry 7.'s time this royal seat was quite burnt down by a lamentable fire but like a Phoenix sprung again out of it 's own ashes with greater beauty by the assistance of the same Henry and took the new name of Richmond from that Country whereof he had been Earl whilst a private person This Henry 7. had scarce put a finishing hand to his new structure but he ended his days here by whose care industry counsel and quick-sighted prudence the kingdom of England has stood hitherto unshaken â—â—een Eliâ—â—â—â—â—h's 〈◊〉 1603. From hence it was also that 90 years after his Niece the most Serene Queen Elizabeth after she had as it were glutted nature with length of days for she was about 70 years of age was call'd and receiv'd by Almighty God into the sacred and heavenly Quire A Princess exceeding her sex both in courage and conduct who as in her face so in her disposition shew'd the true image of her grandfather she was the love of the world and the delight of Britain And so far was she tho' but a woman from coming short of the lasting and renown'd virtue of her ancestors that if she did not exceed she at least abundantly equall'd them Let posterity believe this and give their assent to so favourable a truth for I do not corrupt venerable Truth with flatteries that a Virgin for 44 years together did so manage the government as to be belov'd by her subjects fear'd by her enemies and admir'd by all a pattern that no Age hitherto can produce the like Her death put England under such a general grief that it had lain in despair and desolation without the least prospect of comfort but that immediately upon her departure out of this life the most Serene James the true and undoubted heir mark'd out by all hearts and eyes for her successor shed forth his august beams and possessed all with the hopes of a lasting joy When we look upon him we scarce can believe her dead Tho' why should we talk of her dying whose immortal virtues still live and her sacred memory will ever be preserv'd in the minds of men and the Annals of Time 〈◊〉 far 〈◊〉 Tide â—es up the â—ames As far as this place the Thames receives the tide about 60 Italian miles from the mouth And there 's no other river in Europe that I know of where the tide comes up so many miles to the great advantage of those that live by it 〈◊〉 goes 〈◊〉 far Whether it be that from this place there are hardly any crookings but 't is carry'd eastward in a more direct channel generally fenc'd with higher banks and opens a wider mouth than other rivers to let in the sea which as I thought long since f Scaliger de Subtilit Exercitat 52. Selden in Polyolb p. 208. by the rapid circulation of the orbs from east to west is carry'd the same way I leave to the enquiry of Philosophers to whose judgments I willingly submit in these and the like matters However concerning these places and this subject take some few verses if you can relish them out of The wedding of Tame and Isis A dextra nobis Richmondia Shena vetustis Celsa nitet sapiens namque hanc Richmondia dici Henricus voluit sibi quod retulisset honorem Et titulos Comitis Richmondia jure paterno Hectoris Edwardi sed deflet funera nostri Proh dolor hic illi regi mens libera cessit Corpore contempto sedes abitura supernas Quem si non subito rapuissent ferrea fata Aut te Valesiis rapuisset Gallia victor Aut tibi Valesios Now stately Richmond to the right is seen Richmond whose name wise Henry chang'd from Sheen Who Richmond's Earl had by his father been Long this our Hector Edward's fate hath mourn'd Who 's godlike soul from hence to heav'n return'd And left the mortal fetters that it scorn'd Ah! thee had the blest powers not call'd too soon Or Valois had resign'd the Gallick crown Or that had Valois lost And a few verses after Tamisis alternum sentit reditumque fugamque Huc reflui pelagi quoties vaga Cynthia pronos Octavâ librat coeli statione jugales Aut tenet oppositam varianti lumine plagam Plenior increscit celeremque recurrit in aestum Atque superbus ait Concedant flumina nobis Nulla per Europae dotatas nomine terras Flumina tam longè sic certis legibus undas Alternas renovant nisi fratres Scaldis Albis Here Thame's great current with alternate course Maintains its rise and fall at constant hours When Phoebe rests at our Meridian line Or i' th' Horizon-point does faintly shine In hasty waves the rushing waters joyn While the proud river thus his worth proclaims ' Great you that Europe boasts her noblest streams ' Yield all to me for such an ebb and flow ' No rival flood but Scheld and Elb can show More inward at about four miles distance from the Thames None-such None-such a retiring seat of the Kings eclipses all the neighbour buildings It was erected by King Henry the 8th in a very wholsome air called before Cuddington Cuddington and design'd by him for his pleasure and diversion 'T is so magnificent and withall so neat as even to arrive at the highest pitch of ostentation and one would think that the whole art of Architecture were crowded into this single work So many images to the life are there upon all sides of it so many wonders of an accomplish'd workmanship as may even vie with the remains of Roman Antiquity so that it may lay a just claim to the name and is able to support it None-such being in Latin Nulla ejusmodi or as Leland expresses it in verse Hanc quia non habeant similem laudare Britanni Saepe solent Nullique parem cognomine dicunt Beyond the rest the English this extol And None-such do by eminency call And the house too is so surrounded with parks full of deer delicate orchards and gardens groves adorn'd with arbours little garden-beds and walks shaded with trees that * Amoenitas cum Salubritate Pleasure and Wholsomness seem to have made choice of this place wherein to live together But Queen Mary exchang'd it with Henry Fitz-Alan Earl of Arundel for other
Robert Earl Moreton half brother by the mother's side to William the Conquerour 15 And then had 56 Burgesses After the attainder of his son William Earl of Moriton it came to K. Henry 1. by Escheat In the composition between Stephen and K. Henry 2. both town and castle with whatsoever Richard de Aquila had of the honour of Pevensey which after his name was called Honor de Aquila and Baronia de Aquila or of the Eagle was assigned to William son to K. Stephen But he surrendred it with Norwich into King Henry 2 â—s hands in the year 1158. when he restor'd to him all such lands as Stephen was seised of before he usurped the Crown of England afterwards to William son to King Stephen who surrender'd it back to King Henry 2. from whom he had receiv'd it as a free gift Treaty between Henry and K. Stephen together with the lands formerly of Richer de Aquila or of the Eagle from whom they had the name of the Honour of the Eagle The honour of the Eagle Long it lay in the crown till K. Henry 3. granted it 16 Which had fallen to the Crown by Escheat for that Gilbert de Aquila had passed into Normandy against the King's good will to Peter Earl of Savoy the Queen's Uncle But he fearing the envy of the English against foreigners relinquish'd it to the King and so at length it came to the Dutchy of Lancaster to the Earls of Richmond of Bretagne from whom it fell to the crown again But now there is nothing remaining of the castle but the walls Some part of this Honour of the Eagle Henry 4. gave afterwards to the family of the Pelhams for their loyalty and good services Haâ—d by stands Herst amongst the woods Herst what it â—â—gnifies which has it's name from it's woody situation For the Saxons call'd a wood Hyrst This was immediately after the first coming in of the Normans the seat of certain Gentlemen who from the place were for some time named De Herst till such time as William son of Walleran de Herst took the name of Monceaux Register of the Monastery of Roberts-bridge from the place perhaps of his birth a thing usual in that age whereupon that name was annex'd to the place call'd ever since from it's Lord Herst Monceaux Herst Monceaux From whose posterity it descended hereditarily to the Fiennes Family of the Fiennes These Fiennes call'd likewise Fenis and Fienles are descended from Ingelram de Fienes who marry'd the heir of Pharamuse of Boloigne Pat. 37. H. 6. 17 About the time of K. Edw. 2. Sir John Fienes married the heir of Monceaux his son William married one of the heirs of the Lord Say his son likewise the heir of Balisford whose son Sir Roger Fienes married the daughter of Holland and in the first year of K. Henry 6. built of brick the large fair uniform and convenient house here Castle-like within a deep moat of whom K. Henry 6. accepted declared and reputed Richard Fenis to be Baron of Dacre And King Edw. 4. chosen honorary Arbitrator between him and Humphrâ—y Dacre An. 13 Ed. 4. Lord Dacre of the south confirm'd it to the said Richard Fenis and to his heirs lawfully begotten because he had married Joan the Cousin and next heir of Thomas Baron Dacre 18 And to have precedence before the L. Dacre of Gilesland heir male of the family sinâ—e which time 19 The heirs lineally descenaing from him being enrich'd by one of the heirs of the Lord Fitz-Hugh his posterity have flourish'd under the dignity of Barons Dacre till George Fiennes Lord Dacre 20 Son to the unfortunate Thomas Lord Dacre died very lately without issue Whose only sister and heir Margaret Sampson Lennard Esquire a person of extraordinary virtue and civility took to wife 21 And by her hath fair issue In whose behalf it was published declared and adjudged by the Lords Commissioners for martial Causes in the 2d year of the Reign of K. James with his privity and assent Royal That the said Margaret ought to bear have and enjoy the name state degree title stile honour place and precedency of the Barâ—ny of Dacre to have and to hold to her and the issue of her body in as full and ample manner as any of her ancestor enjoy'd the same And that her Children may and shall have take and enjoy the place and precedence respectively as the children of her Ancestors Barons Dacre have formerly had and enjoy'd But to return back a little 22 About 3 miles from Pevensey is Beckes-hill a place much frequented by St. Richard Bishop of Chichester and where he died Under this is Bulverhith in an open shore with a roofless Church not so named of a Bulls Hide which cut into Thongs by William the Conqueror reached to Battaile as the fable for it had that name before his coming Put here he arriv'd c. at this Pevensey William the Norman I shall again give you a short account because the place requires it of that which I shall treat of more fully elsewhere arriv'd with his whole navy upon the coast of Britain landed his army and having strongly entrench'd his camp set his ships on fire that their only hope might lye in their courage and resolution their only safety in victory And 23 After two days marched to Hastings quickly after marched to a Plain near Hastings 24 Then to an hill near Nenfield now call'd Standard-Hill because as they say he there pitched his Standard and from thence two miles further where in a plain c. where the Dye as it were was thrown for the Kingdom of England and the English Saxon Empire came to an end For there our Harold notwithstanding his forces by a former fight with the Danes were much diminish'd and fatigued by a long march gave him battel in a place call'd Epiton K. Harold's fight with William the Conqueror on the 14th of October 1066. When the Normans had given the signal of battel the first encounter began with flights of arrows from both armies for some time then setting foot to foot as if they fought man to man they maintain'd the battel a long while But when the English with admirable courage and bravery had receiv'd their fiercest onset the Norman horse furiously charg'd them with full career But when neither of these cou'd break the army they as they had before agreed retreated but kept their ranks in good order The English thinking they fled broke their ranks and without keeping any order press'd hard upon the enemy but they rallying their forces charg'd afresh on every side with the thickest of them and encompassing them round repuls'd them with a mighty slaughter yet the English having gotten the higher ground stood it out a long time till Harold himself was shot thro' with an arrow and fell down dead then they
to reckon up the Earls of Kent in their order omitting Godwin 99 And Leofwin his brother and others under the Saxons who were not hereditary but officiary Earls Odo brother by the mother's side to William the Conqueror is the first Earl of Kent we meet with of Norman extraction He was at the same time Bishop of Baieax and was a person of a wicked factious temper always bent upon sowing sedition in the State Whereupon 1 Whereupon he was committed to prison by a subtil distinction as Earl of Kent and not Bishop of Bayeux in regard of his Holy Orders after a great rebellion he had rais'd his Nephew William Rufus depriv'd him of his whole estate and dignity in England Afterwards when Stephen had usurp'd the Crown of England and endeavour'd to win over persons of courage and conduct to his party he conferr'd that honour upon William of Ipres a Fleming who being as Fitz-Stephen calls him ‖ Vâ—â— Canâ—â— cubaâ—â— a grievous burthen to Kent was forc'd by King Henry 2. to march off with tears in his eyes 2 And so became a Monk Henry the second 's son likewise whom his father had crown'd King having a design to raise a rebellion against his father did upon the same account give the title of Kent to Philip Earl of Flanders but he was Earl of Kent no farther than by a bare title and promise For as Gervasius Dorobernensis has it Philip Earl of Flanders promis'd his utmost assistance to the young King binding himself to homage by oath In return for his services the King promis'd him revenues of a thousand pound with all Kent as also the Castle of Rochester with the Castle of Dover Not long after Hubert de Burgo who had deserv'd singularly well of this kingdom was for his good service advanc'd to the same honour by K. Henry 3. 3 Who also made him chief Justice of England He was an entire Lover of his Country and amidst the very storms of adversity discharg'd all those duties that it could demand from the best of subjects But he dy'd divested of his honour and this title slept till the reign of Edward the second An. Eâ—â— Edward bestow'd it upon his younger brother Edmund of Woodstock who being tutor to his nephew K. Edward 3. undeservedly fell under the lash of envy and was beheaded The crime was that he openly profess'd his affection to his depos'd brother and after he was murther'd knowing nothing of it endeavour'd to rescue him out of prison 4 Perswaded thereto by such as covertly practis'd his destruction but his two sons Edmund and John 5 Who were restor'd by Parliament to blood and land shortly after And withal it was enacted That no Peer of the Land or other that procur'd the death of the said Earl should be impeach'd therefore than Mortimer Earl of Marsh Sir Simon Beresford John Matravers Baious and John Devoroil had that honour successively and both dying without issue it was carry'd by their sister for her beauty call'd The fair maid of Kent to the family of the Holands Knights For 6 Sir Thomas Thomas Holand her husband was stil'd Earl of Kent 7 And she after marry'd by dispensation to the Black-Prince heir to him King Richard 2. and was succeeded in that honour by 8 Sir Thomas Thomas his son who dy'd in the 20. year of Richard 2. His two sons were successively Earls of this place Thomas who was created Duke of Surrey and presently after raising a rebellion against K. Henry 4. was beheaded 9 Leaving no child and after him Edmund who was Lord High Admiral of England and in the siege of †â—aâ—um Bâ—oâ—i Tho. Walsingham S. Brieu in Little Britain dy'd of a wound in the year 1408 10 Leaving likewise no issue This dignity for want of issue-male in the family being extinct and the estate divided among sisters K. Edward 4. honour'd with the title of Earl of Kent first 11 Sir William William Nevill Lord of Fauconberg and after his death Edmund Grey Lord of Hastings Weisford and Ruthyn who was succeeded by his son George He by his first wife Anne Widevile had Richard Earl of Kent who after he had squander'd away his estate dy'd without issue 12 1523. But by his second wife Catharine daughter of William Herbert Earl of Pembrook he had Henry Grey Knight 13 Of Wrest whose grandchild Reginald by his son Henry was made Earl of Kent by Queen Elizabeth in the year 1572. He dying without issue was succeeded by his brother Henry a person endow'd with all the ornaments of true nobility This County hath 398 Parish-Churches ADDITIONS to KENT THE History of this County having been already publish'd in three just Volumes by Mr. Lambard Mr. Philpot and Mr. Kilbourne beside what has been done by some others one would think that little more could be said upon the subject Mr. Camden too spent some of the latter part of his life in this County which gave him an opportunity of informing himself more particularly concerning it's Antiquities Yet some things there are which have escap'd the diligence both of him and the rest and mistakes have happen'd here as well as in other Counties a Our Author has observ'd that this County was given by Vortigern to Hengist on account of his daughter But the Saxon Chronicle which says nothing of that Rowena shews us that he rather got it by force of arms having worsted Vortigern in two pitch'd battles once at Aylesford and again at Crayford where he kill'd 4000 Britains and put the rest to flight And thus the Kingdom of Kent continu'd under a race of Kings descended from him till Baldred last King of Kent in our Author's account lost it to Egbert King of the West-Saxons He was the last of that race but Egbert's * Caron Sax. An. 830 Chron. Maâ—â—os p. 1. 2. leaving his son Aethelstan that kingdom shows that he was not the very last King of Kent b At the Norman-Conquest our Author tells us these Inhabitants made a Composition for their ancient privileges Which however oppos'd by †Somner Gâ—â—â—lkind l. 2 p. 63. Mr. Somner and others seems to have some remains in their present Constitution For how else come they to retain their custom of Gavelkind which once prevail'd all over Britain as it does still in some parts of Wales and why do the Heirs particularly in Kent succeed to the Inheritance tho' their Father suffer for felony or murder To come now to the Survey of the County it self we will begin in the north part and go along with Mr. Camden c The river Ravensbourn runs into the Thames near Greenwich upon which there yet remains a large fortification the area whereof is enclos'd with treble rampiers and ditches of a vast height and depth near two miles in circuit which must certainly be the work of many hands but of whose
the Church is roof'd with lofty Arches of square work †Pari commissura the joints answering one another but on both sides it is enclos'd with a double Arch of stones firmly cemented and knit together Moreover the Cross of the Church made to encompass the middle Quire of the ‖ Canentium Domino Singers and by its double supporter on each side to bear up the lofty top of the middle tower first rises singly with a low and strong arch then mounts higher with several winding stairs artificially ascending and last of all with a single wall reaches to the wooden roof well cover'd with lead But 160 years after Henry the third demolish'd this Fabrick of Edward's and erected a new one of curious workmanship supported by several rows of marble Pillars and leaded over which was fifty years in building This the Abbots very much enlarg'd towards the west and Henry the seventh for the burial of himself and * Suorum his children added to the east part of it a Chapel of a most neat and admirable contrivance call'd by Leland the miracle of the world for you 'd say that all the Art in the world is crowded into this one work wherein is to be seen his own most splendid and magnificent Monument made of solid brass q After the expulsion of the Monks it had several revolutions first it had a Dean and Prebendaâ—ies next one single Bishop Thomas Thurlbey who after he had squander'd away the revenues of the Church gave it up and surrender'd it 42 Surrender'd it to the spoil of Courtiers to the Dean Presently after the Monks and their Abbot were restor'd by Queen Mary but they being quickly ejected by Authority of Parliament Queen Elizabeth converted it into a Collegiate Church nay I may say a Nursery of the Church For she settl'd twelve Prebendaries as many old Souldiers past service forty Scholars calld King's Scholars sent successively to the Universities and thence transplanted into Church and State c. Over all these she constituted a Dean 43 Over these she plac'd Dr. Bill Dean whose Successor was which dignity not long since was honourably bore by Dr. Gabriel Goodman a person of singular worth and integrity and a particular Patron both to me and my studies There were bury'd in this Church to run over those likewise in order Princes bury'd in Westminster-Abbey and according to their Dignity and the time when they dy'd Sebert first 44 And first Christian King of the East-Angles Harold bastard-bastard-son of Canutus the Dane King of England St. Edward King and Confessor with his Queen Editha Maud wife to King Henry the first and daughter to Malcolm King of Scots Henry the third Edward the first his son with Eleanor his wife daughter to Ferdinand third King of Castile and Leon. King Edward the third and Philippa of Hanault his wife Richard the second and Anne his wife sister of the Emperour Wenzelaus Henry the fifth with his wife Catharine daughter of Charles the sixth King of France Anne wife of Richard the third and daughter of Richard Nevil Earl of Warwick Henry the seventh with his wife Elizabeth 45 Daughter to King Edward 4. and his mother Margaret Countess of Richmond K. Edward the sixth Anne of Cleve fourth wife to K. Henry 8. Queen Mary and one not to be mention'd without the highest expressions both of respect and sorrow I mean our late most serene Lady Queen Elizabeth Queen Elizabeth of blessed memory the darling of England a Princess endow'd with heroick Vertues Wisdom and a greatness of Mind much beyond her Sex and incomparably skill'd both in Things and Languages Here she lyes bury'd in a stately Monument erected for her out of a pious veneration by King James But alas how inconsiderable is that Monument in comparison of the noble qualities of so great a Lady She her self is her own Monument and a more magnificent and sumptuous one too than any other For let those noble actions recommend her to the praise and admiration of Posterity RELIGION REFORM'D PEACE ESTABLISHT MONEY REDUC'T TO ITS TRUE VALUE A MOST COMPLEAT FLEET BUILT NAVAL GLORY RESTOR'D REBELLION SUPPRESS'D ENGLAND FOR XLIIII YEARS TOGETHER MOST PRUDENTLY GOVERN'D ENRICHT AND STRENGTHEN'D SCOTLAND FREED FROM THE FRENCH FRANCE IT SELF RELIEV'D THE NETHERLANDS SUPPORTED SPAIN AW'D IRELAND QUIETED AND THE WHOLE WORLD TWICE SAIL'D ROUND The Dukes and Lords that have been bury'd here are Edmund Earl of Lancaster younger son to King Hen. 3. Avelina de Fortibus Countess of Albemarle his wife William and Audomar de Valentia of the family of Lusignia Earls of Pembroke Alphonse John and other Children of K. Edward 1. John de Eltham Earl of Cornwall son of K. Edward 2. Thomas de Woodstock Duke of Glocester youngest son of Edw. 3. with others of his children Eleanor daughter and heir of Humfrey Bohun Earl of Hereford and Essex wife to Thomas de Woodstock the young daughters of Edw. 4. and Hen. 7. Henry young son of Hen. 8. who dy'd at 2 months old Sophia daughter of K. James 1. who dy'd ‖ Primo aetatis diluculo almost assoon as born Philippa Dutchess of York Lewis Viscount Robsert of Hanault in right of his wife Lord Bourchier Anne the young daughter and heir of John Moubray D. of Norfolk betroth'd to Rich. D. of York younger son to K. Edw. 4. 46 Sir Giles Daubeney Giles Daubeney Lord Chamberlain to K. Hen. 7. and his wife of the family of the Arundels in Cornwall Viscount Welles Frances Brandon Dutchess of Suffolk Mary her daughter Margaret Douglas Countess of Lenox grand-mother to James K. of Great Britain with Charles her son Winefrid Bruges Marchioness of Winchester Anne Stanhop Dutchess of Somerset and Jane her daughter Anne Cecil Countess of Oxford daughter of Baron Burghley Lord high Treasurer of England with her mother Mildred Burghley Elizabeth Berkley Countess of Ormond Frances Sidney Countess of Sussex 47 James Butler instead of Thomas Butler Thomas Butler Viscount Thurles son and heir of the Earl of Ormond Besides Humfrey Bourchier Lord Cromwell another 48 Sir Humfrey Bourchier Humfrey Bourchier son and heir of the Lord Berners both slain in Barnet-fight 49 Sir Nicholas Carew Baron Carew instead of Nicholas Baron Carew Nicholas Baron Carew the Baroness of Powis Thomas Baron Wentworth Thomas Baron Wharton John Lord Russel Thomas Bromley Lord Chancellour of England Douglasia 50 H. Howard Howard daughter and heir of Viscount Bindon wife of 51 Sir Arthur Gorges Arthur Gorge Elizabeth daughter and heir of Edward Earl of Rutland wife of William Cecil 52 Sir John Puckering John Puckering Keeper of the Great Seal of England Frances Howard Countess of Hertford Henry and George Cary father and son Barons of Hunsdon and Lord Chamberlains to Q. Elizabeth the heart of Anne Sophia the young daughter of Christopher Harley Count de Beaumont Embassador in England from
Yardley Hastings Yardley so sirnam'd of the Hastings once Earls of Pembroke to whom it belong'd 3 And to turn a little aside I may not omit Horton when as King Henry 8. created Sir W. Par Lord thereof Uncle and Chamberlain to Queen Catharine Par Baron Par of Horton which honour shortly vanish'd with him when he left only daughters who were married into the families of Tresham and Lane But to return to Willingborow a market anciently Wedlingborough 4 And Wodlingborough made a Market by King John at the suit of the Monks of Crowland Here a rivulet from the east runs into it coming down by Rushton and Newton belonging to the Treshams by Geddington where there was a Castle of the Kings and where there yet remains a Cross erected in honour of Queen Eleanor King Edward 1.'s Consort by Boughton belonging to the family of Montacutes Knights e Lib. in 〈◊〉 in scaâ—cario by Kettering Kettering a well-traded market-town near which stands Rouwell a noted Horse-fair f by Burton the Barony likewise if I mistake not the name of Alan de Dinant for King Henry 1. gave him a Barony of that name in this County for killing the French King's Champion in single Combat at Gizors and by Harrouden the Lord whereof * Sir N. Nicholas Vaulx Baron Vaulx Governour of Guines in Picardy K. Hen. 8. created Baron Vaulx of Harrouden Hence the Nen keeps his course to Higham a town 5 In times past of the Peverells and after by them of the Ferrers formerly belonging to the Ferrers from whom it took the name of Higham-Ferrers Higham Ferrers who had here also their Castle the ruins whereof are yet to be seen near the Church But the chief ornament of this place was Henry Chicheley Archb. of Canterbury who founded here a fine College for Secular Clerks and Prebendaries Founder of All-souls in Oxford Matth. Parker as likewise an Hospital for the Poor Thence it runs by Addington anciently belonging to the Veres and washes Thorpston commonly call'd Thrapston †Belonging likewise to them and it 's opposite Drayton the seat in the last age of H. Green but afterwards by his daughter of John and Edward Stafford Earls of Wiltshire Now 't is the Lord Mordaunt's to whom it descended hereditarily from the Greens Gentlemen of great reputation in this County Thence it runs almost round about a pretty little town which takes it's name from it Oundale Oundale they call it corruptly for Avondale where there is nothing worth seeing but a fine neat Church a Free-school for the education of youth and an Alms-house founded by Sir William Laxton sometime Lord Mayor of London In the neighbourhood stands Barnwell Barnwell a little Castle lately repair'd and beautified with new buildings by the worthy Sir Edward Mont-acute Knight of the ancient family of the Mont-acutes as appears by his Coat of Arms. It formerly belong'd to Berengarius le Moigne that is Monk and not as some think to that Berengarius of Tours whose opinion concerning the Eucharist was condemn'd in a Synod ‖ Of 113 Bishops held by the Bishop of Rome After this it salutes Fotheringhay-Castle Fotheringhay environ'd on every side with very pleasant Meadows which in Henry 3.'s time when the Strong-holds encourag'd the Nobility to revolt was surpris'd by William Earl of Albemarle who laid all the Country round about waste as Matth. Paris informs us At which time it seems to have belong'd to the Earls of Huntingdon 6 Who were of the Royal race of Scotland A good while after K. Edw. 3. assign'd it †Quast in hâ—eredicatem as it were for an inheritance or Appennage as they call it to his son Edmund of Langley Duke of York who rebuilt the Castle and made the highest Fortification or Keep thereof in form of a Horse-Fetter 7 Which hath of it self and with a Falcon in it was his Devise or Exprese as implying that he was locked up from all great hope as a younger brother which was the family of York's Device His son Edward Duke of York in the second year of Hen. 5. An. 1415. as appears by an Inscription there in barbarous verse founded a very fine Collegiate Church wherein himself after he was slain at the Battel of Agincourt as also Richard Duke of York his Brother's son who lost his life at Wakefield and his Wife Cicely Nevil had all magnificent monuments which were thrown down and ruin'd together with the upper part or Chancel of the Church 8 In King Edward the sixth's time But Queen Elizabeth commanded two monuments to be set up in memory of them in the lower end of the Church now standing which nevertheless such was their pinching and sparing who had the charge of the work are look'd upon as very mean and unworthy such great Princes descended from Kings and from whom the kings of England are descended 9 The form of the Keep beforesaid built like a Fetterlock occasioneth me to digress a little and I hope with your pardon when the gravest Authors in as small matters have done the like Edmund of Langly Duke of York who built that Keep and garnish'd the Glass-windows there with Fetter-locks when he saw his sons being young scholars gazing upon the painted windows ask'd them what was Latin for a Fetter-lock They studying and looking silently one upon another not able to answer If you cannot tell me says he I will tell you Hic haâ—c hoc Taceatis that is Hic haec hoc be silent and quiet and therewithal added God knoweth what may happen hereafter This King Edward the fourth his great grand-child reported publickly when he having attained the Crown created Richard his younger son Duke of York and then commanding that he should use for his badge the Fetter-lock open to verifie the presage of his great grand-father But this by the way The said Cicely Cicely Dutchess of York saw plainly within the compass of a few years what pastime †Impotens unruly and unconstant Fortune if I may so say creates her self out of the miseries of the mighty For she saw her husband Duke Richard even then when he thought himself sure of the kingdom and her son the Earl of Rutland slain together in a bloody battel and some few years after her eldest son Edward the fourth advanc'd to the * Deprived of the same recovering it again Crown and taken away by an untimely death having before made away †Her second son and c. his brother George Duke of Clarence After this she saw her son Richard K Rich. 3. forcing his way to the Crown by the lamentable murder of his Nephews and slander of her his own Mother for he charg'd her openly with incontinency then she saw him possess'd of the kingdom and soon after slain in battel These her miseries were so link'd together too that
I always thought came from the ancient Castilion family of the Earls of St. Paul â— Paul in France but the Coat of Arms of Luxemburgh that they bear is a sign that they came out of France since that Castilion family of St. Paul was by marriage ingrafted into that of Luxemburgh which was about two hundred years ago Above this the Trent the Idell and the Dan as they play along in their several streams thus Frontinus expresses it make a river Island Axelholme in Saxon Eaxelholme which is part of Lincolnshire in length from south to north 10 miles â—â—sholm but not past half so broad The lower part near the rivers is marshy and produces an odoriferous shrub call'd Gall 22 It yieldeth also Pets in the mores and dead roots of fir-wood which in burning give a rank sweet savour There also have been found great and long fir-trees while they digg'd for Pet both within the isle and also without at Laughton upon Trent bank the old habitation of the family of Dalanson now contractly call'd Dalison The middle has a small ascent and is both rich and fruitful yielding flax in great abundance and also Alabaster 〈◊〉 which being not very solid is more proper for lime and plaisterwork than for other uses â—â—â—aster The chief town was formerly call'd Axel now Axey from whence by adding the Saxon word Holme which among them signified a river-island the name without question was compounded It hardly deserves to be call'd a town 't is so thinly inhabited nevertheless there is to be seen a platform of a castle that was demolish'd in the Barons war and belonged to the Mowbrays who at that time had a great part of the island in their possession In the year 1173. Roger de Mowbray as the Author of an old Chronicle has it forsaking his allegiance to the Hâ—â—ry ◠〈◊〉 reâ—â— to his 〈◊〉 be â—â—gâ—r Elder King repair'd a Castle formerly demolish'd in the Isle Axelholme near Kinard ferry which Castle a great number of Lincolnshire-men passing over in boats besieged and compell'd the Constable and all the soldiers to surrender and laid it level with the ground A little higher lies Botterwic the owner whereof 23 Sir Edmund Sheffeld Edmund Sheffeld was the first Baron of that family created by Edward the sixth and lost his life for his Country against the Norfolk rebels having by Anne Vere a daughter of the Earl of Oxford John the second Baron father to Edmund who is now Knight of the most noble Order of the Garter 24 President of the Council establish'd in the north More northward on the other side of Trent is Burton Stather of which I have not as yet read any thing remarkable Since Egga who liv'd in the year 710 and Morcar both Saxons that were only Officiary Earls this County has given the title of Earl to William de Romara a Norman Earls of Lincoln after whose death for this title was never enjoy'd by his son who died before him nor by his grandson King Stephen conferr'd it on Gilbert de Gaunt who succeeded him but he dying Simon de St. Licius the younger son of Earl Simon you have the very words of Robert Montensis who lived about that time when he wanted lands 2 Hen. 2. receiv'd from King Henry 2. his only daughter to wife together with his honour Afterwards Lewis of France who was call'd into England by the rebellious Barons created another Gilbert of the de Gaunts family Earl of Lincoln but as soon as Lewis was forc'd away and he found himself acknowledg'd Earl by no man he quitted the title of his own accord Then Ralph the sixth Earl of Chester had this honour granted him by King Henry 3. and a little before his death gave by Charter to Hawise his sister wife of Robert de Quincy the Earldom of Lincoln so far forth as it appertain'd to him that she might be Countess thereof for so are the veâ—y words of the Charter She in like manner bestow'd it on John de Lacy Constable of Chester and the heirs he should beget on Margaret her daughter This John begat Edmund who dying before his mother left this honour to be enjoy'd by Henry his son the last Earl of this family For when he lost his sons by untimely deaths he contracted his only daughter Alice when but nine years old to Edmund Earl of Lancaster on condition that if he should dye without issue of his body or if they should dye without heirs of their bodies his Castles Lordships L iger-bâ—ok of Stanlow c. should come in the remainder to Edmund Earl of Lancaster and his heirs for ever But this Alice having no children by her husband Thomas who was beheaded lost her reputation by her light behaviour for that she without the K.'s consent was married to 25 Sir Eubul Eubulo Le-Strange Edw. 2. with whom she had been formerly somewhat too intimate for which reason the offended King seiz'd her estate 26 Yet both Sir Eubul Strange and Sir Hugh Frene her third husband are in some Records nam'd Earls of Lincoln But Alice being very old and dying without issue Henry Earl of Lancaster grandchild to Edmund by his second son had this her large patrimony by virtue of the aforesaid conveyance and from this time it became the inheritance of the house of Lancaster Nevertheless the Kings of England have conferr'd on several the title of Earl of Lincoln as Edward 4. on 27 Sir John John De-la-pole and Henry 8. on Henry Brandon who were both sons of the Dukes of Suffolk and died without issue Then Qu. Eliz. promoted to this honour See Dukes of Suffolk Edward Baron Clinton Lord High Admiral of England by whose very honourable son Henry 't is at present enjoy'd There are in this County about 630 Parishes ADDITIONS to LINCOLNSHIRE a THE corner of this County where Mr. Camden begins his survey seems formerly to have been a very inconsiderable or rather no part of it For as he observes from the banks there that the sea must once have come something farther so Mr. Dugdale putting Holland in the same number with Marshland in Norfolk and some other maritime places plainly proves that they have been long ago by great industry gain'd from the sea and were for many ages nothing but a vast and deep fen affording little benefit to the nation besides fish or fowl b As to the original of the name I shall not make the least scruple to joyn this and Holland â—â—lland in the Netherlands together agreeing so exactly in their situation soil and most other circumstances setting aside the difference of improvements which no doubt are much more considerable in one than the other but are nothing to our purpose so long as the primitive state of both was much the same Mr. Butler's conjecture drawn from the Saxon holt a wood and Ingulphus's Hoilandia which has given
tho' I have long consider'd it Antiquity has so obscur'd all memorials of them that there remain not the least footsteps whereby to trace them So that tho' Justus Lipsius that great Master of polite learning takes me for a competent judge of this controversie I must ingenuously profess my ignorance and that I would rather recommend this task to any one else than assume it to my self However if the Ceangi and Cangi may be allow'd to be the same and I don't know why they may not then 't is probable that they liv'd in this County For while I was reviewing this work I heard from some credible persons that there have been twenty pieces of Lead dug up on this shore of a square oblong form and thus inscribed in the hollow of the upper part IMP. DOMIT. AVG. GER DE CEANG. But in others IMP. VESP. VII T. IMP. V. COSS. Aâ— Câ— Which seems to have been a monument rais'd upon account of some victory over the Cangi And this opinion is confirm'd by the situation of the place upon the Irish Sea An 〈◊〉 for Tacitus in the twelfth Book of his Annals writes That in Nero's time Ostorius led an Army against the Cangi by which the fields were wasted and the spoil every where carried off the enemy not daring to engage but only at an advantage to attack our rear and even then they suffer'd for their attempt They were now advanc'd almost as far as that Sea towards Ireland when a mutiny among the Brigantes brought back the General again But from the former Inscription it seems they were not subdued before Domitian's time and consequently by Chronological computation it must be when Julius Agricola that excellent Souldier was Propraetor here Moreover Ptolemy places the Promontorium 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 on this coast Neither dare I look in any other part beside this Country for the Garrison of the Conganii where Coâ—â—â— towards the decline of the Empire a Band of Vigiles with their Captain under the Dux Britanniae kept watch and ward But I leave every man to his own judgment As for the Earls of Chester Eaâ—â—s â— Cheâ—â—â— to omit the Saxons who held this Earldom barely as an office and not as an inheritance William the Conquerour made Hugh sirnam'd Lupus son to the Viscount de Auranches in Normandy the first hereditary Earl of Chester and Count Palatine giving unto him and his heirs this whole County h See Ordericus Vitalis's Ecclesiastical History l. 4. p. 509. where Chester is given to Reger of Montgomery to hold as freely by his sword as he did England by his crown these are the very words of the Feoffment Baron Chestâ—â— Hereupon the Earl presently substituted these following Barons Nigell now Niel Baron of Haulton whose posterity took the name Lacey from the estate of the Laceys which fell to them and were Earls of Lincoln Robert Baron de Mont-hault Seneschal or Steward of the County of Chester the last of which family dying without children made Isabel Queen of England and John de Eltham Earl of Cornwall his heirs William de Malbedenge Baron of Malbanc whose great grand-daughters transferred this inheritance by their marriages to the Vernons and Bassets Richard Vernon Baron of Sipbroke whose estate for want of heirs male came by the sisters to the Wilburhams Staffords and Littleburys Robert Fitz-Hugh Baron of Malpas who as I have observ'd already seems to have died without issue Hammon de Mascy whose estate descended to the Fittons de Bolin Gilbert Venables Baron of Kinderton whose Posterity remain and flourish in a direct line to this present age N. Baron of Stockport to whom the Warrens of Poynton descended from the noble family of the Earls of Warren and Surrey in right of marriage succeeded And these are all the Barons I could hitherto find belonging to the Earls of Chester Who as 't is set down in an old book had their free Courts for all Pleas and Suits except those belonging to the Earl's sword They were besides to be the Earl's Counsel to attend him and to frequent his Court for the honour and greater grandeur of it and as we find it in an old Parchment they were bound in times of war with the Welsh to find for every Knight's fee one Horse and Furniture or two without Furniture within the Divisions of Cheshire and that their Knights and Freeholders should have Corslets and 〈…〉 Haubergeons and defend their own Fees with their own Bodies 〈…〉 Hugh the first Earl of Chester already spoken of was succeeded by his son Richard who together with William only son of Henry the first with others of the Nobility was cast away between England and Normandy An. 1120. He dying without issue Ranulph de Meschines was the third in this dignity being sister's son to Hugh the first Earl He dying left a son Ranulph sirnam'd de Gernoniis the fourth Earl of Chester a stout Souldier who at the Siege of Lincoln took King Stephen prisoner His son Hugh sirnam'd Kevelioc was the fifth Earl who dy'd An. 1181. leaving his son Ranulph sirnam'd de Blundevill the sixth in that dignity who built Chartley and Beeston-castles founded the Abbey de-la-Cress and died without issue leaving four sisters to inherit Mawd the wife of David Earl of Huntingdon Mabil the wife of William de Albeney Earl of Arundel Agnes wife of William de Ferrars Earl of Derby and lastly Avis wife of Robert de Quincy The next Eâ—rl of this County was John sirnam'd Scotus the son of Earl David by the eldest sister Mawd aforesaid He dying likewise without issue King Henry the third bribed with the prospect of so fair an Inheritance annexed it to the Crown allowing the sisters of John other Revenues for their Fortunes not being willing as he was wont to say that such a vast estate should be parcelled among Distaffs The Kings themselves when this County devolved upon them J. Tillus maintain'd their ancient Palatine Prerogatives and held their Courts as the Kings of France did in the Counties of Champain that the Honour of the Palatinate might not be extinguished by difuse An Honour which afterwards was conferred upon the eldest sons of the Kings of England and first granted to Edward the son of Henry the third who being taken prisoner by the Barons parted with it as ransom for his Liberty to Simon de Montfort Earl of Leicester who being cut off soon after it quickly returned to the Crown and Edward the second made his eldest son Earl of Chester and Flint and under these titles summon'd him when but a Child to Parliament Afterwards Richard the second by Act of Parliament raised this Earldom to a Principality and annexed to it the Castle of Leon with the Territories of Bromfield and Yale and likewise the Castle of Chirk with Chirkland and the Castle of Oswalds-street with the Hundred and eleven Towns appertaining to the said Castle with the Castles of
original Charter it self still extant in the Cottonian Library and publisht by Sir Roger Twisden at the end of the Hist Eccles Sim Dunelm abundantly testifie 684 gave with the ground three miles round it to S. Cuthbert by whom it came to the Church of Durham Scarce four miles from hence Sherry-hutton Sherry-hutton a very neat Castle built by 9 Sir Bertrand Bulmer Bertrand de Bulmer and repair'd by Ralph Nevill first Earl of Westmorland is pleasantly seated among the woods near which is †This Castle was a great part of it lately burnt down Hinderskell Hinderskel a Castle built by the Barons of Greystock which others call ‖ Centum fontes Hunderd-skell from the many fountains that spring there Behind the hills to the Westward where the Country falls again into a level and the fields are more fruitful North Alvertonshire lyes Alvertonshire commonly North-Allerton a small territory water'd by the little river Wiske It takes its name from the town of Northalverton formerly Ealfertun which is nothing but a long street yet the most throng Beast-fair upon St. Bartholomew's day that ever I saw King William Rufus gave this place with the fields about it to the Church of Durham to the Bishops whereof it is much obliged For William Comin who forcibly possess'd himself of the See of Durham built the Castle there and gave it to his nephew which is almost decay'd The Bishops likewise his Successors endow'd it with some privileges For in the Book of Durham Cap. 1â— we find that Hugh de Puteaco Bishop of Durham fortified the Town having obtain'd this favour of the King that of all those unlawful Castles which by his order were then destroy'd up and down throughout England this alone should still be permitted to remain entire which notwithstanding the King afterwards commanded to be rased 113â— and laid even with the ground The Bâ— of Staâ—â—ard Near this was fought the battel commonly call d c One part of the History written by Richard Prior of Hexham bears the title De Bello Standardi Pits de Script Angl. p. 259. The Standard wherein David King of Scotland who by his unheaâ—d of cruelty had made this Country a mere desert Hovedâ— was put to flight with such slaughter of his men that the English themselves thought their revenge then at last sufficiently completed For what Ralph the Bishop said in his Exhortation to the English befoâ—e the fight was fully effected A multitude without discipline is a hindrance to it self either to hurt when they conquer or to escape when they are conquer'd This was call'd the Battel of Standard because the English being rang'd into a body about their Standard there receiv'd and bore the onset of the Scots and at last routed them Now this Standard as I have seen it dâ—awn in old books was a huge Chariot upon wheels with a * Maâ—â— mast of great height fix'd in it on the top whereof was a cross and under that hung a banner This was a signal only us'd in the greatest Expeditions and was lookt upon as the sacred Altar being indeed the very same with the Carrocium Carrocâ—â—â— among the Italians which was never to be used but when the very Empire it self lay at stake There is farther remarkable in this division Thresk Thresk commonly Thrusk which had formerly a very strong Castle where Roger de Mowbray began his rebellion and call d in the King of Scots to the destruction of his Country King Henry the second having very unadvisedly digg'd his own grave by taking his son into an equal share of the Government and Royalty But this Sedition was at last as it were quencht with blood and the Castle utterly demolisht so that I could see nothing of it there besides the rampire Another flame of Rebellion likewise broke out here in King Henry the seventh's reign For the lawless Rabble repining most grievously at that time that a small subsidy was laid on them by the Parliament drove away the Collectors of it and forthwith as such madness upon the least success spurs on without end or aim fell here upon Henry Percie Earl of Northumberland who was Lieutenant of this County Earl of Northâ—â—berland slain by 〈◊〉 Rebels and kill'd him then under the conduct of John Egremond their Leader took up Arms against their King and Country Yet it was not long before they were brought to such heavy punishments as were due to them Here hard by stands Soureby and Brakenbak belonging to the truly ancient and famous family of Lascelles Lascellâ—â— and more to the Southward Sezay formerly the estate of the Darells after that of the Dawnies who flourish'd long under the title of Knights The first and only Earl of Yorkshire after William Mallet and one or two Estotevills Earls 〈◊〉 Dukes oâ— York both of Norman extraction whom some would have to have been hereditary Viscounts here was Otho son of Henry Leon Duke of Bavaria and Saxony An. 1 R Hovedâ— by Maud the daughter of Henry the second King of England who was afterwards greeted Emperour by the name of Otho the fourth From whose brother William another son by Maud the Dukes of Brunswick Dukes oâ— Brunsâ—â—â—â— and Lunenburgh in Germany are descended who as an instance of this relation of theirs to the Kings of England us'd the same Arms with the first Kings of England that were of Norman descent namely two Leopards or Lions Or in a Shield Gules Long after this King Richard the second made Edmund of Langley fifth son to King Edward the third Duke of York who by one of the daughters of Peter King of Castile and Leon had two sons Edward the eldest in the life time of his father was first Earl of Cambridge after that Duke of Albemarle and last of all Duke of York who without issue lost his life valiantly in the battel of Agincourt in France Richard the second son was Earl of Cambridge he married Ann sister of Edmund Mortimer Earl of March whose grandmother likewise was the only daughter and heir of Leonel Duke of Clarence and attempting to set the Crown upon the head of his wife's brother Edmund was presently found out and beheaded as if he had been hired by the French to destroy King Henry the fifth Richard his son in the sixteenth year after by the great but unwary generosity of Henry the sixth â— 10 H. was fully restored as son of Richard the brother of Edward Duke of York and Cousin German to Edmund Earl of March. And now being Duke of York Earl of March and Ulster Lord of Wigmore Clare Trim and Conaght he grew to that pitch of boldness that whereas formerly he had sought the Kingdom privately by ill practices complaining of male-administration dispersing seditious rumours and libels entring into secret combinations by raising broils next to wars against the Government at last he claims it publickly
the Portraicture of a Layman with an Hawk or Eagle perch'd on his Arm. Over his Head are the foremention'd ruins of the Lord Howard's Inscription Next to these the Picture of some Apostle Saint or other Holy man in a sacerdotal habit with a Glory round his Head On the top stands the Effigies of the B. V. with the Babe in her Arms and both their Heads encircled with Glories as before On the North we have a great deal of Chequer-work subscribed with the following Characters fairly legible Upon the first sight of these Letters I greedily ventured to read them Rynburu and was wonderfully pleased to fancy that this word thus singly written must necessarily betoken the final extirpation and burial of the Magical Runae in these parts reasonably hoped for upon the conversion of the Danes to the Christian Faith for that the Danes were anciently as well as some of the Laplanders at present gross Idolaters and Sorcerers is beyond Controversie and I could not but remember that all our Historians tell us that they brought their Paganism along with them into this Kingdom And therefore 't was not very difficult to imagine that they might for some time practise their Hocus tricks here in the North where they were most numerous and least disturbed This conceit was the more heightened by reflecting upon the natural superstition of our borderers at this day who are much better acquainted with and do more firmly believe their old Legendary Stories of Fairies and Witches than the Articles of their Creed And to convince me yet further that they are not utter strangers to the Black Arts of their forefathers I accidentally met with a Gentleman in the neighbourhood who shew'd me a Book of Spells and Magical Receipts taken two or three days before in the Pocket of one of our Moss-Troopers wherein among many other conjuring feats was prescrib'd a certain Remedy for an Ague by applying a few barbarous characters to the Body of the party distemper'd These methought were very near akin to Wormius's RAMRUNER which he says differ'd wholly in figure and shape from the common Runae For though he tells us that these Ramruner were so called Eo quod molestias dolores morbosque hisce infligere inimicis soliti sint Magi yet his great friend Arng. Jonas more to our purpose says That His etiam usi sunt ad benefaciendum juvandum medicandum tam animi quam Corporis morbis atque ad ipsos Cacodaemones pellendos fugandos I shall not trouble you with a draught of this Spell because I have not yet had an opportunity of learning whether it may not be an ordinary one and to be met with among others of the same nature in Paracelsus or Cornelius Agrippa On the East we have nothing but a few Flourishes Draughts of Birds Grapes and other Fruits all which I take to be no more than the Statuary's Fancy On the South flourishes and conceits as before and towards the bottom the following decay'd Inscription The Defects in this short piece are sufficient to discourage me from attempting to expound it But possibly it may be read thus Gag Ubbo Erlat i.e. Latrones Ubbo Vicit I confess this has no affinity at least being thus interpreted with the foregoing Inscription but may well enough suit with the manners of both ancient and modern Inhabitants of this Town and Country Upon your pardon and correction Sir of the impertinencies and mistakes in this which I shall humbly hope for I shall trouble you with my further Observations on the Font at Bridekirk and to all your other Commands shall pay that ready obedience which becomes Sir Your most obliged and Faithful Servant Will. Nicolson The second was dug up at Cambeck in the ruins of an old stone-wall and is of this form This third is imperfect and in what place it was found I cannot positively say DEO COCIDI COH I. AEL A VS w At Brampton Bramptoâ— there is an Hospital for six poor men and as many poor women with allowance for a Chaplain lately founded and endow'd by the Right Honourable Elizabeth Countess Dowager of Carlisle mother to the present Earl of Carlisle x Upon the river Irthing lyes Naworth-Castle Naworth now in the possession of the Right Honourable Charles Howard Earl of Carlisle great grandson to that Lord William mention'd by our Author who has repair'd the Castle and made it fit for the reception of a Family Here is a Library formerly well furnish'd with Books and there are still * Caâ—â— Lib. Mâ—â— Oxen. many Manuscripts of value relating chiefly to Heraldry and English History In the Hall are the Pictures of all the Kings of England down from the Saxon times which were brought from Kirk-Oswald-Castle when that was demolish'd about 100 years ago In the garden-wall are a great many stones with Roman Inscriptions which were collected and placed there by some of the Family Some of them are not legible others are On one is IVL. AVG. DVO .. M SILV .. VM On another I. O. M .... II. AEL DAC .. C. P ... EST RELIVS FA. L. S. TRIB PET. VO COS. On another LEG II. AVG. On another COH I. AEL DAC CORD .. ALEC PER .... With some others which are plainly the same with those Mr. Camden has copied out and which in all likelihood were brought hither from Willyford y Not far from Lanercost is a medicinal spring which issues out of a rock the water is impregnated with Sulphur Nitre and Vitriol and is said to be very good for the Spleen the Stone and all Cutaneous distempers In the summer time it is much frequented both by the Scotch and English z What our Author has told us in relation to the Lords of Gillesland seems to be a mistake For first Ranulph and Radulph are the same name and Ranulph de Mechinis is call'd indifferently by these two Chron. Cumbâ— Dugd. â— vol. 1. pâ— Id. Bar. â— p. 525. Then Ranulph de Micenis who was Lord of Cumberland by Grant from the Conqueror was the very same who was afterwards Earl of Chester by descent after the death of his Cousin-german Richard second Earl of Chester who was son to John Bohun and Margaret his wife sister to Hugh Lupus first Earl of Chester Again William de Micenis brother to Randolph de Micenis was Lord of Coupland but not of Gillesland for upon Randolph's resignation of the County of Cumberland into the hands of King Henry 1. Randolph had given Gillesland to Hubert de Vallibus which Grant the King confirm'd to him and his Successors enjoy'd it The Right Honourable Charles Howard present Earl of Carlisle and Lord of Gillesland claims descent from him by the mother's side according to the pedigree of the Family which is to be seen in his Chapel at Naworth-Castle Continuation of the EARLS Francis the last Earl mention'd by our Author dying in the year of our Lord 1641. was succeeded by his only son
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
place of note here perhaps Aire Aire which is a Sheriffdom a little Mart and a well known Port upon a river of the same name * See 〈◊〉 of it iâ— Additâ—ons Concerning which I can meet with nothing better worth my writing than these Verses sent me by Mr. Johnston Parva urbs ast ingens animus in fortibus haeret Inferior nulli nobilitate virum Aëris è campis haurit purissima coelum Incubat miti mollior aura solo Aëria hinc non Aera priùs credo illa vocata est Cum duris quid enim mollia juris habent Infera cum superis quod si componere fas èst Aurea fo rs dici debuit illa prius Small is the town but of great Souls is prowd For courage fam'd and sons of noble blood From th' happy clime pure draughts of air descend And gentle breezes bless the fruitful land Old times if Poets have a right to guess Not Aeria but Aëria call'd the place Rough brass could ne're such soft delights express If I so high might raise my noble theme I 'd swear that Aurea was the ancient name Besides the River Aire there are two other Rivulets that water this small Territory having many little villages scattering upon their banks Lougar upon which the Crawfords and Cesnock upon which the Cambells have their residence noted families in this tract upon whose bank is also Uchiltre-Castle Uchiltre or Ochiltre the Seat of the Stewarts of the blood Royal as descending from the Dukes of Albany hence stiled Barons of Uchiltre of which House was that Robert Stewart the inseparable companion of the Prince of Conde who was kill'd with him in a battle in France Cambel of Louden enjoys the honour of Hereditary Bailiff of this Kyle CVNNINGHAM TO Kyle upon the West and North is joyned Cunningham and so hems in the same Bay that it streightens its hitherto expatiating breadth The name signifies as much as the King's habitation whence you may conjecture its pleasantness It is water'd by the Irwin which divides it from Kyle at the head almost of which river we have a sight of Kilmarnock the Seat of the Barons Boids 〈…〉 In the reign of King James the third Thomas one of these was by a gale of Court-favor advanced to the authority of Regent and Robert his Son to the Honour of Earl of Arran and a marriage with the King's Sister But upon the same gale's blowing contrary they were adjudged enemies to the State Robert had his Wife taken from him and given to James Hamilton their Estates were confiscated and stript of all by the inconstancy of fortune they died in exile Yet their posterity recover'd the ancient honour of Barons and enjoy it at this day Upon the mouth of the river Irwin stands 〈◊〉 e It hath a Viscount of the family of Ingram a Borough with a Port so choaked up with banks of sand and so shallow that it is only capable of small Vessels Higher up stands Ardrossan â—â—â—â—â—ssan a Castle of the Montgomeries hanging as it were over the bay this is an ancient and noble family which can shew as a proof of their Marshal valour Poununy-Castle built out of the ransom-money of Henry Percy sirnamed Hotspur whom J. Montgomery took with his own hand in the Battle at Otterburne and brought away Prisoner Not far from Ardrossan is Largis embru'd in the blood of the Norwegians by King Alexander the third From whence following the winding of the shore we meet with Eglington-Castle once possessed by Gentlemen of that name from whom it descended to the Montgomeries Montgomeries who take hence the title of Earls of Eglington Earls of Eglington But whence this Sirname came is hard to guess That out of Normandy it came into England and that there were several Families of that name I am satisfied But that in Essex from which Sir Thomas Montgomery Knight of the Garter in the reign of Edward the fourth was descended gave Arms but a little different from these But this noble House hath dilated it self very much and out of those of Gevan was that Gabriel de Lorges called Earl of Montgomery Captain of the Scotch Guard du Corps The Scotch Guard du Corps in France that was instituted by Charles the fifth King of France for a Guard to him and his Successors as a signal mark of their fidelity and favour who in a Tournament slew Henry the second King of France with a Splinter of his Spear which his Beaver chancing to be up penetrated through the eye into his brain Afterwards taking part with the Huguenots in the Civil wars of France he was intercepted and beheaded But the Family of the Cunninghams is accounted the most numerous in this Tract the head whereof the Earl of Glencairn Cunninghams Earls of Glencairn hath a Seat at Kilmauris and derives his descent out of England from an English Gentleman who together with others murdered Thomas Archbishop of Canterbury How true this is I know not but perhaps it may be grounded upon a probable conjecture taken from an Archbishop's Pall which they give in their Coat of Arms. b The Island GLOTTA or ARRAN WIthin sight of Cunningham amongst many other Islands Glotta is of greatest eminence an Island mentioned by Antonine the Emperor in the very Frith of the river Glotta or Clyde called at this day from a Castle of the same name Arran The innermost parts are wholly mountainous but the bottoms along the shore are well inhabited The first Earl it had â—â—â—â—s of â—â—â—on that I ever read of was Robert Boid whose wife and Earldom together upon Boid's being banished the Kingdom James Hamilton as I mentioned before obtained and his Posterity have enjoyed the same saving that of late James Steward appointed Guardian to James Hamilton Earl of Arran when he was so defective in his understanding that he could not manage his Estate took this Title in the right of being guardian Near unto this stands Buthe called from a little Religious Cell founded by Brendanus for so in Scotch the call a Cell which has a Sheriff of the Family of the Stewarts In this Island is Rothesay-Castle which gives the Title of Duke to the eldest Son of the King of Scotland who is born Prince of Scotland Duke of Rothsay and High Steward of Scotland ever since King Robert the third invested David his eldest Son Duke of Rothsay who was the first in Scotland that was honoured with the Title of Duke With which Title Queen Mary honoured Henry Lord Darley before she took him to be her Husband After this in the same Bay we have a sight of Hellen antiently Hellan-Leneow that is according to J. Fordon's interpretation The Saints Island the Hellan Tinoc that is the Island of Hogs with many others of less note Additions to the NOVANTES a THE Country of the Novantes is Galloway and the Sheriffdom of Aire Galloway hath upon
March Marr and Garioth Lord of Annandale and Mann was out-law'd by his brother James the 3. and after many struglings with the world and its troubles in the end as he stood by to see a Tournament at Paris he happen'd to be wounded by a splinter of a broken Lance and so died His son John the 4th Duke of Albany Regent likewise and made Guardian to K. James the 5. being charm'd with the pleasures of the French Court as having married a daughter and coheir of John Earl of Auvergne and Lauragueze died there without issue Whom out of respect and deference to the bloud Royal of Scotland Francis the 1. King of France honour'd so far as to allow him a place in France between the Archbishop of Longres Tily and the Duke of Alencon Peers of the Realm After his death there was no Duke of Albany till Queen Mary 11 In our memory conferr'd this honour upon Henry Lord Darley whom some few days after she made her Husband and K. James the 6. granted the same to his second son Charles an Infant now Duke of York These Parts are inhabited by a sort of people barbarous warlike and very mischievous commonly called Highland-men Highland-men who being the true race of the antient Scots speak Irish and call themselves Albinnich People they are of firm and compact bodies of great strength swift of foot high minded born as it were for the exercises of War or rather of robberies and desperately bent upon revenge They wear after the manner of the Irish †Plaids strip'd Mantles of divers colours with their hair thick and long living by hunting fishing fowling and stealing In war their armour is an iron head-piece and a coat of Mail their arms a bow barbed arrows and a broad back-sword And being divided into Families which they call Clanns what with plundering and murdering they commit such barbarous outrages Parliam 1581. that their savage cruelty hath made this Law necessary That if one of any Clann hath committed a trespass whoever of that Clann chances to be taken shall repair the damage or suffer death 12 Whereas the whole Clan commonly beareth feud for any hurt receiv'd by any one member thereof by excution of Laws order of Justice or otherwise PERTHSHIRE OUT of the very bosom of the Mountains of Albany issues the Tay The River Tay. the greatest river in all Scotland and rolls along thro' the fields till widening it self into a Lake full of Islands it there restrains its course After this kept within banks it waters Perth a large plentiful and rich country and receives the Amund a little River coming out of Athol This Athol Athâ—l to make a little digression is infamous for Witches but a country fruitful enough having woody valleys where once the Caledonian Forest The Caledâ—nian Forest dreadful for its dark intricate windings for its denns of bears and its huge wild thick-maned bulls extended it self in former ages far and near in these parts As for the places herein they are of little account but the Earls are very memorable Thomas a younger son of Rolland of Galloway was in his Wife 's right Earl of Athol Earls of Athol whose son Patrick was murder'd at Hadington by the Bissets his Rivals and they immediately set the house on fire Chronicon Mailrâ—ss that it might be supposed he perished casually in the flames In the Earldom succeeded David Hastings who had married Patrick's Aunt by the mother's side whose son that David sirnamed of Strathbogy may seem to have been who a little after in the Reign of Hen. 3. of England was Earl of Athol married one of the daughters and heirs of Richard base son to King John of England and had a very noble Estate with her in England She bore him two sons John Earl of Athol who being very unsettled in his allegiance was hanged on a Gallows fifty foot high and David Earl of Athol who by a marriage with one of the daughters and heirs of John Comin of Badzenoth by one of the heirs of Aumar de Valence Earl of Pembroke got a mighty estate He had a son David who under King Edw. 2. was sometimes summoned to Parliament amongst the English Earls and being made under King Edward Baliol Lieutenant-General of Scotland was conquer'd by the valour of Andrew Murray and slain in a battle in Kelblen Forest in the year 1335. His son David had only two young daughters Elizabeth married to Tho. Percy from whom the Barons de Burrough fetch their original and Philippa married to Sir Tho. Halsham an English Knight Then fell the title of Athol to that Walter Stewart son to King Robert 2. who barbarously murder'd James 1. King of Scotland and was agreeably punished for that execrable piece of cruelty insomuch that Aeneas Sylvius then Pope Eugenius the 4th's Nuncio in Scotland is reported to have said That he could not tell whether he should give them greater commendations that revenged the King's death or punish them with a sharper censure of condemnation that polluted themsâ—lves with so heinous a Parricide After an interval of some few years this honour was granted to John Stewart of the house of Lorne son of James sirnamed the Black Knight by Joan the widow of King James 1. daughter of John Earl of Somerset and ‡ Nepti neice to John of Gaunt Duke of Lancaster whose Posterity enjoy it at this day a 'T is now a Marquisate in the Family of Murray Now the Tay by the Influx of the Almund being enlarged makes for Dunkell Dunkeld adorned by King David with an Episcopal See This upon account of the signification is lookt upon by most as a town of the Caledonians and they interpret it The hill of Hazles who will have it take the name from the Hazles of the Caledonian Forest * See â—he Additions Bâ—r h. From hence the Tay takes its course by the ruins of Berth a little desolate City not forgetting what calamity it brought upon it in times past when with an impetuous torrent it overflow'd the pasture and corn grounds destroyed all the labours of the Husbandman and hurried headlong with this poor city a Royal infant and all the Inhabitants Instead whereof King William built Perth Perth much better situated which presently grew so rich that Necham who lived in that age made this distick upon it Transis ample Tai per rura per oppida per Perth Regnum sustentant istius urbis opes Great Tay through Perth through towns through country flies Perth the whole Kingdom with her wealth supplies But posterity hath named it from a Church founded in honour of St. John St. John's town St. Jâ—hns Town And the English in the heat of the war between the Bruses and the Baliols fortified it with great Bulwarks which the Scots afterwards mostly demolished It is nevertheless a neat little City pleasantly seated between two Greens
57 And this Rory his succâ—ssor practising new treason against King James his advancer upon the terrour of a guilty conscience fled the Realm in the year 1607 and died at Rome The Scots The antient inhabitants of this Ulster as likewise of all other parts of the Kingdom went formerly by the name of Scots and from hence they brought that name into the Northern part of Britain For as Giraldus says the six sons of Mured King of Ulster possest themselves of the North of Britain about 400 years after Christ from which time it has been called by the name of Scotia Yet the Annals of that Kingdom shew us that it has had this name much earlier And moreover Fergus the second who re-established the Kingdom of the Scots in Britain came from hence Patrick â—xâ—ife of â— Patrick having foretold That though he seemed mean and contemptible to his brethren at that time it would shortly came to pass thas he should be Prince and Lord over them all To make this the more probable the same writer adds farther That not long after Fergus according to the prediction of this holy man obtained the soveraignty in these parts and that his posterity continued in the throne for many generations From him was descended the most valiant King Edan son of Gabrain who conquer'd Scotland called Albania where his offspring reign to this day 58 Sir John John Curcy in the reign of Henry the second was the first Englishman that attempted the conquest of this County who having taken Down and Armagh made himself master of the whole Province either by force or surrender and was the first that had the title of Earl of Ulster â—'s of â—â—er At last his success and fortune made him so envied that for his own worth and the unworthiness of others he was banish'd and by King John's appointment succeeded by Hugh de Lacy second son of Hugh Lacy Lord of Meth who was made Earl of Ulster by a sword with orders to carry on a war against him Yet he was deprived of this honour by the same King 〈◊〉 â—o upon his insolence and popular practices but received again into favour In confirmation of this I will here give you word for word what I find in the Records of Ireland Hugh de Lacy formerly Earl of Ulster held all Ulster exempt and separate from any other County whatsoever in capite of the Kings of England by the service of three Knights when ever the Royal service was ordered by proclamation And he migâ—â— try in his own Court all pleas whatsoever belonging to the Sheriff and the Chief Justice and held a Court of Chancery c. After this all Ulster was forfeited to our Lord King John from the said Hugh who had it afterwards granted him for term of life by King Henry the third After Hugh's decease Walter de Burgo did these services to our Lord Edward King Henry's son Lord of Ireland before he was King This same Lord Edward infeoff'd the aforesaid Walter with the lands of Ulster to have and to hold to him and his heirs by the service aforesaid as well and freely as the said Hugh de Lacy did excepting the advowsons of the Cathedral Churches and the demesns of the same as also the Pleas of the Crown Rapes Forstalls Arsonyes and Treasure-trouves which our soveraign Lord King Edward retaineth to himself and his heirs This Walter de Burgo who was Lord of Conaught and Earl of Ulster had by the only daughter of Hugh de Lacy Richard Earl of Ulster who put an end to an uneasie life in the year 1326. This Richard had a son John de Burgo who died in his life time after he had had a son William by his wife Elizabeth the sister and co-heir of Gilbert Clare Earl of Gloucester who succeeded his Grandfather William was murder'd by his own men in his youth leaving a little daughter Elizabeth See Raâ—norshire and Yorkshire north-riding afterwards married to Leonel Duke of Clarence by whom she had likewise an only daughter married to Edmund Mortimer Earl of March and by her the Earldom of Ulster and Seigniory of Conaught came to the Mortimers from whom together with the Kingdom of England it fell to the house of York and then by King Edward the fourth was annexed to the Crown or the King 's demesn lands as they express it A civil war breaking out at that time and the Nation falling into faction and parties so that these English then in Ulster were induced to return into England to support their several sides and parties these Countreys were seiz'd upon by O-Neal and others of the Irish so that the Province grew as wild and barbarous as could be and whereas it formerly yielded a considerable revenue to the Earl in money it has hardly since that time paid any to the Kings of England And if I may be allowed to make remarks of this nature the piety and wisdom of the Kings of England has been more defective in no one thing than in the due administration of this Province and all Ireland either in respect of propagating Religion modelling the State or civilizing the Inhabitants Whether this neglect is to be imputed to a careless oversight or a design of parsimony and unseasonable providence I am not able to determine But one would think an Island so great and so near us where there 's so much good soil and rich pasture so many woods so much good mettal for digging up so many fine rivers and commodious harbours on all sides convenient for navigation into the richest parts of the world upon which account great imposts might be probably expected and lastly an Island so very fruitful of inhabitants and the people both in respect of minds and bodies capable of all the employments of peace or war should of right challenge and deserve our care for the future 59 If they were wrought and conform'd to orderly civility I Did but just now intimate That I would give some account of these O-Neals who pretend to be Lords of Ulster and therefore I promised to an excellent friend of mine the history of the Rebellions they rais'd this last age Though that Gentleman is now happy in a better world yet I had so much esteem for him that I cannot now but perform my promise to his very memory Thus much I thought necessary to premise As for the following History the materials are not drawn from uncertain reports or other weak authorities but from those very authâ—ntick papers that came from the Generals themselves or such as were eye-witnesses and had a share in the transactions and that so sincerely that I cannot but flatter my self with hopes of favour from the Reader if he desires a true information or would understand the late affairs in Ireland which are so much a secret to most of us and also of escaping all manner of reprehension except from such as are conscious and gall'd
addressed himself thus to him My brother and my Soveraign You know very well that the Kingdom of the Isles was mine by right of inheritance but since God hath made you King over it I will not envy your happiness nor grudge to see the crown upon your head I only beg of you so much land in these Islands as may honorably maintain me for I am not able to live upon the Island Lodhus which you gave me Reginald hearing this told his brother he would take the advice of his Council upon it and the day after when Olave was called in to speak with he was apprehended by Reginald's order and carried to William King of Scotland that he might be there put in prison where he continued in chains for almost seven years For in the seventh year died William King of Scotland and was succeeded by his son Alexander but before his death he commanded that all prisoners whatsoever should be set at at liberty Olave being thus freed came to Man and soon after accompanied with no small train of Nobility went to St. James His brother Reginald made him now marry the daughter of a Nobleman of Kentyre his own wives sister named Lavon and gave him Lodhus to enjoy again But within some few days after Reginald Bishop of the Isles called a Synod and divorced Olave the son of Godred and Lavon his wife as being the Cousin german of his former wife Afterwards Olave married Scristina the daughter of Ferkar Earl of Rosse Reginald's wife Queen of the Islands was so troubled at this news that she sent letters in the name of her husband King Reginald to her son Godred in the Island Sky commanding him to kill Olave As Godred was contriving to execute this order and going to Lodhus for that end Olave got off in a little cock-boat and fled to his father-in-law the Earl of Rosse aforesaid while Godred in the mean time wasted the Island At the same time Pol the son of Boke Sheriff of Sky a man of great interest in all the Islands fled likewise having refused to comply with Godred and lived in the Earl of Ross's house with Olave Making a league with Olave they went together in one vessel to Sky At last they understood by their Spies how he lay unapprehensive and negligent with a very few men in a certain Island called St. Columbs So he gathered his friends and companions together and with such volunteers as would go with him set sail in the middle of the night with five ships drawn together from the opsite shore distant about two furlongs and beset the Island Godred and his companions next morning perceiving themselves enclosed were in great consternation However they took arms and though to no purpose manfully endeavoured to withstand them For Olave and Pol the aforesaid Sheriff landed about nine a clock with their whole army and cut off all they met with those only excepted that had taken sanctuary in the Churches Godred was taken and not only blinded but gelded too However this was against Olave's will for he would have saved him but for Boke's son the Sheriff aforesaid For this was done in the year 1223. Olave having received pledges from the Noblemen of the Isles set sail for Man the next summer with a fleet of thirty two ships and arrived at Rognolfwaht At this very time Reginald and Olave divided the Kingdom of the Isles between them but Reginald was to have Man over and above together with the title of King Olave having now the second time furnished himself with provisions from the Isle of Man returned with his company to his part of the Islands Reginald the year following taking Alan Lord of Gallway along with him went with the people of the Isle of Man to disseise his brother Olave of the lands he had given him and to reduce it under his own dominion But the people of Man being unwilling to fight against Olave and the Islanders by reason of a peculiar kindness between them Reginald and Alan Lord Gallway were forced to return home without effecting any thing A while after Reginald pretending a journey to the Court of his soveraign Lord the King of England raised an hundred marks in contribution from the Island of Man but went however to the Court of Alan Lord of Gallway During his stay there he married his daughter to Alan's son The people of Man received this news with such indignation that they sent for Olave and made him King 1226. Olave recovered his inheritance namely the Kingdom of Man and of the Isles which his brother Reginald had governed for thirty eight years and reigned quietly two years 1228. Olave accompanied with all the Nobility and the greatest part of the people of Man sailed over to the Isles A while after that Alan Lord of Gallway Thomas Earl of Athol and King Reginald came into Man with a great army and there they wasted all the south part of the Island spoiled the Churches and put all the inhabitants they could meet with to death so that the whole was in a manner desolate After Alan had thus ravaged the Country he returned with his army leaving his Bailiffs in Man to collect the tribute of the Country and send it to him King Olave coming upon them at unawares soon put them to flight and recovered his Kingdom Whereupon the people that had been dispersed and scattered began to get together again and to live in their old homes with quietness and security The same year King Reginald came in the dead of night in the winter time with five sail of ships and burnt all the ships that belonged either to his brother Olave or the Nobility of Man the Isle of S. Patrick and tarried forty days after in Ragnoll-wath haven desiring peace of his brother During this abode he won over all the inhabitants of the south part of Man so that they swore they would lose their lives rather than he should not be restored to the half of the Kingdom Olave on the other side had drawn in those of the north part to adhere to him and so upon the fourteenth of February at a place called Tinguall the two brothers came to an engagement wherein Olave had the victory and King Reginald was flain but without the knowledge of Olave About this time certain Pirates arrived at the south part of Man and wasted it The Monks of Ruffin convey'd the Corps of King Reginald to the Abbey of S. Mary de Fournes and there it was buried in a certain place which he himself had before chose for that purpose Olave after this went to the King of Norway but before his arrival Haco King of Norway had appointed a certain Nobleman called Husbac the son of Owmund to be King of the Sodorian Islands and named him Haco This Haco accompanied with Olave Godred Don the son of Reginald and many Norwegians came to the Isles but in taking a certain castle in the Isle of Both he was
and his Sister Isabel de Albeny Countess of Arundel Isabel the second Sister was married to Gilbert Clare Earl of Glocester she had Richard de Clare Earl of Glocester and the Lady Anise Countess of * Perhaps â—evonia Averna â—â—â—e uxoris who was Mother of Isabel the †Mother of the Lord Robert Brus Earl of Carrick in Scotland afterwards King of that Nation â—is place 〈◊〉 corrupâ—â—d From Eva Brus the third Sister descended Maud the Mother of the Lord Edmund Mortimer Mother of the Lady Eva de Cauntelow Mother of the Lady Milsoud de Mohun who was Moâ—â—er to Dame Eleanor Mother to the Earl of Hereford Joan â—arshall the fourth Sister was married to the Lord Guarin of Mount â—hinsey and had Issue Joan de Valens Sybil Countess of Ferâ—â—s the fifth Sister had Issue seven Daughters the eldest call'd â—â—gnes Vescie Mother of the Lord John and the Lord William Vesâ—â—e the second Isabel Basset the third Joan Bohun Wife to the â—ord John Mohun Son of the Lord Reginald the fourth Sibyl â—ohun Wife to the Lord Francis Bohun Lord of Midhurst the fifth Eleanor Vaus Wife to the Earl of Winchester the sixth * Agatha Agas Mortimer Wife to the Lord Hugh Mortimer â—â—e seventh Maud Kyme Lady of Karbry These are all both â—ales and Females the Posterity of the said William Earl Marshal MCCXX. The Translation of S. Thomas of Canterbury The â—â—me year died the Lord Meiler Fitz-Henry founder of Connal â—nd was buried in the Chapter-House of the said Foundation MCCXXIV The Castle of Bedford was besieg'd and the Castle â—f Trim in Ireland MCCXXV Died Roger Pippard and in the year MCCXXVIII â—â—ed William Pippard formerly Lord of the Salmon-leap This â—ear died likewise Henry Londres alias Scorch-Villeyn Archbishop â—f Dublin and was buried in Trinity-church there MCCXXX Henry King of England gave Hubert Burk â—â—e Justiceship and the Third Penny of Kent and â—ade him also Earl of Kent Afterward the same Hubert was â—â—prison'd and great Troubles arose between the King and his â—â—bjects because he adher'd to Strangers more than to his own naâ—â—ral Subjects MCCXXXI William Mareschall the younger Earl Marshal and â—arl of Pembrock departed this life and was buried in the Quire â—f the Friers Predicants in Kilkenny MCCXXXIV Richard Earl Mareschall Earl of Pembrock and â—rogull was wounded in a Battel in the Plain of Kildare on the â—â—st day before the Ides of April and some few days after died in Kilkeny and there was buried hard by his * Girmanum natural Brother viz. William in the Quire of the Friers Predicants Of whom this was written Cujus sub fossa Kilkennia continet ossa MCCXL Walter Lacy Lord of Meth died this year in Engâ—â—nd leaving two Daughters to inherit his Estate of whom the â—â—rst was married to Sir Theobald Verdon and the second to Gefâ—ery de Genevile MCCXLIII This year died Hugh Lacy Earl of Ulster and â—as buried in Cragsergus in the Convent of the Friers Minors â—eaving a Daughter who was married to Walter Burk Earl of Ulster The same year died Lord Gerald Fitz-Maurice and Lord â—ichard de Burgo MCCXLVI An Earthquake about nine of the Clock over all â—he West MCCXLVIII Sir John Fitz-Geffery came Lord Justiciary into â—reland MCCL. Lewis King of France and William Long-Espee were â—aken Prisoners with many others by the Saracens In Ireland Maccanewey a Son of Belial was slain in Leys as he deserv'd In the year MCCLI. The Lord Henry Lacy was born Upon Christmas-day likewise Alexander King of Scots in the 11th year of his Age was then contracted with Margaret the daughter of the King of England at York MCCLV Alan de la Zouch was made and came Justiciary into Ireland MCCLVII This year died the Lord Maurice Fitz-Gerald MCCLIX Stephen Long-Espee came Justiciary into Ireland The green Castle in Ulster was demolish'd William Dene was made Justiciary of Ireland MCCLXI The Lord John Fitz-Thomas and the Lord Maurice his Son were slain in Desmond by Mac Karthy Item William Dene Justiciary dy'd and Sir Richard Capel put in his room the same year MCCLXII Richard Clare Earl of Glocester died this year as also Martin de Maundevile on the morrow of S. Bennet's day MCCLXIV Maurice Fitz-Gerald and Maurice Fitz-Maurice took Prisoners Richard Capel the Lord Theobald Botiller and the Lord John Cogan at Tristel-Dermot MCCLXVII David de Barry was made Justiciary of Ireland MCCLXVIII Comin Maurice Fitz-Maurice was drown'd The Lord Robert Ufford was made Justiciary of Ireland MCCLXIX The Castle of Roscoman was begun this year Richard of Exeter was made Justiciary MCCLXX The Lord James de Audley came Justiciary into Ireland MCCLXXI Henry the son of the King of Almain was slain in the Court of Rome Plague Famine and Sword rag'd this year particularly in Meth. Nicholas de Verdon and his Brother John were slain Walter de Burgo Earl of Ulster died MCCLXXII The Lord James Audley Justiciary of England was kill'd by a fall from his Horse in Tothomon and was succeeded in this Office by the Lord Maurice Fitz-Maurice MCCLXXIII The Lord Geffery Genevile return'd from the Holy Land and was made Justiciary of Ireland MCCLXXIV Edward the son of King Henry was anointed and crown'd King of England by Robert Kilwarby a Frier-Predicant Archbishop of Canterbury upon S. Magnus the Martyr's day in the Church of Westminster in the presence of all the Nobility and Gentry His Protestation and Oath was in this form I Edward son and heir of King Henry do profess protest and promise before God and his holy Angels from this time forward to maintain without partiality the Law Justice and Peace of the Church of God and the People subject unto me so far as we can devise by the counsel of our liege and legal Ministers as also to exhibit due and canonical Honour to the Bishops of God's Church to preserve unto them inviolably whatsoever has been granted by former Emperors and Kings to the Church of God and to pay due Honour to the Abbots and the Lord's Ministers according to the advice of our Lieges c. so help me God and the holy Gospels of the Lord. This year died the Lord John Verdon and the Lord Thomas de Clare came into Ireland And William Fitz-Roger Prior of the Hospitallers was taken Prisoner at Glyndelory with many others and more slain MCCLXXV The Castle of Roscoman was built again The same year Modagh was taken Prisoner at Norragh by Sir Walter le Faunte MCCLXXVI Robert Ufford was made Justiciary of Ireland upon the surrender of Geffery de Genevill MCCLXXVII O Brene slain MCCLXXVIII The Lord David Barry died this year as also the Lord John Cogan MCCLXXIX The Lord Robert d'Ufford went into England and appointed Frier Robert de Fulborne Bishop of Waterford to supply his place In whose time the Mony was chang'd A Round Table was also held at Kenylworth by Roger Lord Mortimer MCCLXXX Robert d'Ufford return'd from England
and made ready to entertain the Conquerors whosoever they should be usually saying upon this occasion That it would be a shame if such Guests should come and find him unprovided It pleasing God to bless them with the Victory he invited them all to Supper to rejoice with him giving God the thanks for his success telling them He thought the things look'd as well upon his Table as running in his Fields notwithstanding some advis'd him to be saving He was buried in the Convent-church of the Friers-predicants of Coulrath near the river Banne Item The Earl of Ormond Chief Justice of Ireland went into England and Moris Fitz-Thomas Earl of Kildare was made Chief Justice of Ireland by a charter or commission after this manner Omnibus c. To all whom these Presents shall come greeting Know ye that we have committed to our faithful and loving Subject Moris Earl of Kildare the office of Chief Justice of our Kingdom of Ireland together with the Nation it self and the Castles and other Appurtenances thereunto belonging to keep and govern during our will and pleasure commanding that while he remains in the said office he shall receive the sum of five hundred pounds yearly cut of our Exchequer at Dublin Vpon which consideration he shall perform the said office and take care of the Kingdom and maintain twenty Men and Horse in arms constantly whereof himself shall be one during the enjoyment of the said commission In witness whereof c. Given at Dublin by the hands of our beloved in Christ Frier Thomas Burgey Prior of the Hospital of S. John of Jerusalem in Ireland our Chancellor of that Kingdom on the 30th of March being the 35th year of our reign Item James Botiller Earl of Ormond return'd to Ireland being made Lord Chief Justice as before whereupon the Earl of Kildare resign'd to him MCCCLXI Leonel son to the King of England and Earl of Ulster in right of his Wife came as the King's Lieutenant into Ireland and on the 8th of September being the Nativity of the blessed Virgin arriv'd at Dublin with his Wife Elizabeth the Daughter and Heir of William Lord Burk Earl of Ulster Another Pestilence happen'd this year There died in England Henry Duke of Lancaster the Earl of March and the Earl of Northampton Item On the 6th of January Moris Doncref a Citizen of Dublin was buried in the Church-yard of the Friers-predicants in this City having contributed 40 l. towards glazing the Church of that Convent Item There died this year Joan Fleming wife to Geffery Lord Trevers and Margaret Bermingham wife to Robert Lord Preston on S. Margaret's eve and were buried in the Church of the Friers-predicants of Tredagh Item Walter Lord Bermingham the younger died on S. Lawrence-day who left his Estate to be divided among his Sisters one of whose Shares came to the aforesaid Preston Item Leonel having arriv'd in Ireland and refresh'd himself for some few days enter'd into a War with O Brynne and made Proclamation in his Army That no Irish should be suffer'd to come near his Army One hundred of his own Pensioners were slain Leonel hereupon drew up both the English and the Irish into one body went on successfully and by God's mercy and this means grew victorious in all places against the Irish Among many both English and Irish whom he knighted were these Robert Preston Robert Holiwood Thomas Talbot Walter Cusacke James de la Hide John Ash and Patrick and Robert Ash Item He remov'd the Exchequer from Dublin to Carlagh and gave 500 l. towards walling the Town Item On the feast of S. Maur Abbot there happen'd a violent Wind that shook or blew down the Pinnacles Battlements Chimnies and such other Buildings as overtop'd the rest to be particular it blew down very many Trees and some Steeples for instance the Steeple of the Friers-predicants MCCCLXII In the 36th year of this King's reign and on the 8th of April S. Patrick's church in Dublin was burnt down through negligence MCCCLXIV In the 38th year of this reign Leonel Earl of Ulster arriv'd on the 22d of April in England leaving the Earl of Ormond to administer as his Deputy On the 8th of December following he return'd again MCCCLXV In the 39th of this reign Leonel Duke of Clarence went again into England leaving Sir Thomas Dale Knight Deputy-keeper and Chief Justice in his absencc MCCCLXVII A great feud arose between the Berminghams of Carbry and the People of Meth occasion'd by the depredations they had made in that Country Sir Robert Preston Knight Chief Baron of the Exchequer put a good Garrison into Carbry-castle and laid out a great deal of mony against the King's Enemies that he might be able to defend what he held in his Wife 's right Item Gerald Fitz-Moris Earl of Desmond was made Chief Justice of Ireland MCCCLXVIII In the 42d year of the same reign after a Parliament of the English and Irish Frier Thomas Burley Prior of Kylmaynon the King's Chancellor in Ireland John Fitz-Reicher Sheriff of Meth Sir Robert Tirill Baron of Castle-knoke and many more were taken Prisoners at Carbry by the Berminghams and others of that Town James Bermingham who was then kept in Irons as a Traytor in the castle of Trim was set at liberty in exchange for the Chancellor the rest were forc'd to ransom themselves Item The Church of S. Maries in Trim was burnt down by the negligent keeping of the fire in the monastery Item On the vigil of S. Luke the Evangelist Leonel Duke of Clarence died at Albe in Pyemont He was first buried in the city Papy near S. Augustin and afterwards in the Convent-church of the Austin Fryers at Clare in England MCCCLXIX In the 43d year cf this reign Sir Willium Windefore Knight a Person of great valour and courage being made the King's Deputy came into Ireland on the 12th of July to whom Gerald Fitz-Moris Earl of Desmond resign'd the office of Chief Justice MCCCLXX In the 44th year of this reign a Pestilence rag'd in Ireland more violent than either of the former two many of the Nobility and Gentry as also Citizens and Children innumerable died of it The same year Gerald Fitz-Maurice Earl of Desmond John Lord Nicholas Thomas Lord Fitz-John and many others of the Nobility were taken Prisoners on the 6th of July near the Monastery of Magie in the County of Limerick by O-Breen and Mac Comar of Thomond many were slain in the Fray Whereupon the Lieutenant went over to Limerick in order to defend Mounster leaving the War against the O-Tothiles and the rest in Leinster till some other opportunity This year died Robert Lord Terell Baron of Castle Knock together with his son and heir and his Wife Scolastica Houth so that the Inheritance was shared between Joan and Maud the sisters of the said Robert Terell Item Simon Lord Fleming Baron of Slane John Lord Cusak Baron of Colmolyn and John Taylor late mayor of Dublin a very
declares himself not well satisfied whether the ancient Britains had any records or writings at all wherein they had transmitted their history and original to posterity And therefore he plainly confesses That he took all out of foreign writers and not out of any writings or records lâ—ft by his own country-men For if there ever had been any such they were in his time quite lost having either been burnt by the enemy at home or carried away by the exiles into foreign parts Ninius also disciple of Eluodugus in the preface to his Chronicle written 800 years since complains That the greatest Scholars among the Britains had but little learning and that they had left no memorials And confesseth that whatsoever he had written was collected out of the Annals and Chronicles of the Holy Fathers They also argue That Bede William of Malmsbury and all the rest who wrote before the year 1160 seem not to have ever heard so much as the name of our Brutus there is as to this particular in all their writings such an universal silence They observe farther that the very name of this Brutus was a stranger to the world untill a most barbarous and ignorant age gave an opportunity to one Hunnibald a trifling writer to obtrude his Francio a Trojan Son to King Priam as the Founder of the French name and nation Hence they conclude that when our country-men had once heard that their neighbours the French derived their pedigree from the Trojans they thought it below them to to come behind a people in descent whom they equaled in valour And hereupon 400 years ago our Geoffry ap Arthur of Monmouth first of all gratify'd the Britains with this Brutus as Founder of the British Nation and feigned him not only of a Trojan but also of a divine extraction Before which time they urge that there never was any the the least mention made of such a man as Brutus They add moreover that much about the same time Scotch writers set up their fictitious k The Irish and Scotch in the business of Pharaoh's daughter should not be made two different nations See Ogyg p. 69. 344. c. 12. pag. 463. Usher Primord Cap. 16. Scota Daughter of Pharaoh King of Egypt as the Foundress of their Nation That thereabouts too some persons abusing their parts and mis-spending their time without any ground of truth forged for the Irish their Hiberus for the Danes their Danus for the Brabanders their Brabo for the Goths their Gothus for the Saxons their Saxo as the Founders of their several nations But now this our more knowing age hath discovered all these Impostures and since the French have rejected their Francio as a meer counterfeit The French saith the most learned Turnebus when they lay claim to a Trojan original do it purely in emulation of the Romans For when they saw this people so much build upon that as the most noble pedigree they thought it convenient to invest themselves in the same honour Since also the most sober and thinking part of the Scots have cast off their Scota and the force of Truth it self hath at last entirely prevailed against that Hiberus Danus Brabo and all the rest of these mock-princes they much wonder why the Britains should so fondly adhere to their Brutus as the original of their Island 's name and to their Trojan extraction as if there had been no Britains here before the destruction of Troy which happen'd about 1000 years after the deluge or as if there had not lived many valiant men in the world before Agamemnon Farther yet they tell us that the greatest part of learned Authors as Boccatius Vives Hadrianus Junius Polydore Buehanan Vignier Genebrardus Molinaeus Bodinus and other persons of great judgment do unanimously affirm that there never was such a man as this Brutus Nay more that very many of our Country-men persons eminent for their learning reject him as a meer Impostor Among whom in the first place they produce John of Wheathamsted He lived about the year 1440. Abbot of St. Albans a man of excellent judgment who wrote long ago concerning this matter in his Granarium According to other historâ—s which in the judgment of some men deserve much more credit the whâ—le relation concerning Brutus is rather poetical than historical and upon several accounts rather fanciful than real As first we find no where in the Roman Histories the least mention either of the killing of the father or of the begetting or banishment of the son Secondly Ascanius according to several authors had no son whose proper name was Silvius For they give us an account but of one that he ever had to wit Julius from whom afterward the Julian family had its original c. And thirdly Silvius Posthumus whom possibly Geoffry may mean was the Son of Aeneas by his wife Lavinia and he having had a son named Aeneas in the 38th year of his Reign ended his life not by any mischance but by a natural death By all which circumstances it is apparent that that Kingdom which is now called England was not heretofore named Britain from Brutus the son of Silvius as many will have it But others look upon the whole as no other than a ridiculous piece of foppery and vanity to lay claim to this nobility of descent when we cannot ground our pretence upon any probable foundation 'T is virtue alone that gives nobility to any nation and it is a greatness of mind with exactness of reason that makes the true Gentleman Suitable hereunto Seneca in his Epistles tells us out of Plato That there is no King Epist 44. who was not extracted from slaves nor any slave that descended not from Kings Let this therefore be allowed the British nation as a sufficient evidence of their honourable original that they are couragious and resolute in war that they have been superior to all their enemies round and that they have a natural aversion to servitude In the second place they produce William of Newbourgh a much more ancient writer who in this rough language fixed the charge of forgery upon Geoffrey the compiler of the British history as soon as ever he had published it A certain writer started up in our days hath devised strange and ridiculous tales concerning the Britains and with a sort of impudent vanity hath extolled them far above the gallantry of the Macedonians or Romans His name is Geoffrey but he hath the additional one of Arthur too because he sent abroad under the honourable title of an history the Fables of King Arthur taken out of the old fictions of the Britains with some additions of his own which he hath coloured over with a little Latine The same man with yet greater boldness hath published as authentick prophesies and pretends to ground them upon certain truth the fallacious predictions of one Merlin unto which also in translating them into Latin he hath added a good deal of his own
this new countrey that the whole body of inhabitants began to fall under it and the tract it self to be called Britannia Armorica and to be stiled by the French Britannia Cismarina Hence J. Scaliger Vicit Aremoricas animosa Britannia gentes Et dedit imposito nomina prisca jugo Armorica stout Britain overcame And with her yoke impos'd her ancient name For that they fell upon their friends who had entertained them is manifest among others from the words of Regalis Bishop of * Venetensis Gregor Turon lib. 10. c. g. Vennes concerning himself and friends We are enslaved to the Britains and undergo a hard yoke In after times they courageously defended their lives and liberties against the French at first under the conduct of petty Kings and afterwards under Counts and Dukes though as Glaber Rodolphus has it their whole wealth consisted in being freed from tribute and in having plenty of milk And hence William of Malmesbury who wrote five hundred years ago says thus of them They are a generation of men very needy at home and therefore earn foreign pay in other places by very toilsome methods If they be but well paid they stick not either upon the score of right or kindred at engaging in civil wars but are mercenary and for the side that bids most The BRITAINS of WALES and CORNWALL THE rest of the Britains who were miserably forc'd to seek a Country in their own native one underwent such a weight of calamity as cannot to the full height of it be express'd being not only harrassed by a cruel war carried on far and near against them by the Saxons Picts and Scots but every where oppress'd by the intolerable insolence of wicked Tyrants Who and what these were about the year 500 you shall hear in short from Gildas who liv'd at that time and was himself an eye-witness Constantinus Constantinus among the Damnonii though he had bound himself by an express oath before God and the Saints that he would do the duty of a good Prince yet slew two children of the blood royal and their two Tutors both valiant men in two Churches under the Amphibalus * As an old Glossary interprets it or sacred vestment hary on both sides which the Abbot wore having many years before that put away his lawful wife and defil'd himself with repeated adulteries Aurelius Conanus also called Caninus Aurelius Conanus wallowing in parricides and adulteries and hating the peace of his country was left alone like a tree withering in the open field His father and brothers were carried away with their own wild whimseys and surprised by an untimely death Vortiporius Vortiporius a tyrant of the Dimetâ—â— the unworthy son of a good father in his manners like a Panther being as much spotted with his sins sitting in the throne in his grey hairs full of craft and subtilty and defiled with parricides and adulteries turn'd off his wife committed a rape upon her daughter and then kill'd her Cuneglasus Cuneglasus in Latin Lanio c Otherwise writ furvus fulvus a bear riding upon many and the coachman that drives the chariot which holds the bear a despiser of God and oppressor of the Clergy fighting against God with sins and men with arms turned off his wife industriously sought out holy men to injure them was proud of his own wisdom and confided in the uncertain strength of his riches Maglocunus Maglocunus an Island Dragon who had deprived many tyrants of their Kingdoms and lives would be ever first in at a mischief his strength and malice was generally above that of others he gave largely sinned profusely fought stoutly and excelled all the Commanders of Britain both in extent of Dominions and in the stature and gracefulness of his person In his youth he fell upon his Uncle then a King and his courageous souldiers and destroyed them with fire and sword Afterwards when the fantastick thoughts of reigning in an arbitrary manner were extinguished he fell into such a remorse of conscience that he profess'd himself a monk yet he soon returned to his vomit and breaking his former vows to a monastick life despised his first marriage and fell in love with the wife of his own brothers son then living killing the said brothers son and his own wife after he had lived some time with her and then he married his brothers sons wife on whom he had settled his affections But the relation of these things belongs to Historians who have hitherto falsly made them to succeed one another when at the very same time as appears from Gildas who speaks to them all severally they usurp'd a tyranny in distinct parts of the Island These few remains of the Britains withdrew themselves into the western parts of the Island namely Cornweales Britweales Walsh Welshâ—â— those we call Wales and Cornwall which are fortitified by nature with hills and aestuaries The first of those Countreys was call'd by the Saxons d Britwealas Cornwealas and Galwealas are the true readings Seâ—the b giâ—ning of the â—dditions to Cornwall and Mr. Sommer's Glossary at the end of the X. Scriptores under the tit e Wâ—â—â—a Britweales and the other Cornweales as those in France Galweales For any thing that was exotick and foreign was nam'd by them Walsh and for the same reason the Walloones in Holland and the Vallachi upon the Danube were originally so call'd These Britwales or Welshmen were a warlike people and for many ages maintained their liberty under their petty Kings Although they were shut out from the English by a trench of wonderful make cast by King Offa yet they were ever now and then breaking in and wasting their cities with fire and sword and likewise were repay'd by the Saxons with most grievous outrages At last in the reign of Edw. the first Statutâ—â— Wallâ—a as he writes it of himself The Divine Providence which disposeth all things rightly among other dispensations of his mercy by which he has vouchsafed to adorn us and our Kingdom of England hath now by his mercy subjected the Kingdom of Wales with the inhabitants thereof who held formerly of us wholly and fully without any let or hindrance to our property and dominion having annexed and united the same to the crown of our said Realm as one member of the self same body Notwithstanding in the next age nothing in the world could induce them to endure this servitude no accommodation could be made between them and this spight and hatred upon it between the two nations could never be extinguished till Henry the seventh descended from the Welsh was favourable and easie to them and Hen. VIII admitted them to the same laws and liberties that the English have Since that and some time before the Kings of England have found them to be of untainted loyalty and obedience However the Cornwalli were soon reduced under the dominion of the Saxons in spight of all the
as were design'd for a march and imagining that this had won the favour of the Gods they immediately set to sea and fell to their oars There was another way the Danes had of appealing their Gods or rather of running into most detestable superstition which Ditmarus a Bishop and an author of somewhat greater antiquity than Dudo thus describes Lib. 1. But because I have heard strange things of the ancient sacrifices of the * North-mannâ— Normans and Danes I would not willingly pass them over There is a place in those parts the capital city of that Kingdom call'd Lederun in the province of Selon There they meet once every nine years in January a little after our Twelfth-day and offer to their Gods 99 men and as many horses with dogs and cocks for hawks being fully perswaded as I observ'd before that these things were most acceptable to them About the time of King Egbert The Danish pâ—â—â—ders in the 800 year of Christ they first disturb'd our coasts afterwards making havock of every thing and plundering over all England they destroy'd Cities burnt Churches wasted the lands and with a most barbarous cruelty drove all before them ransacking and over-turning every thing They murder'd the Kings of the Mercians and East-Angels and then took possession of their kingdoms with a great part of that of Northumberland To put a stop to these outrages a heavy tax was impos'd upon the miserable Inhabitants called b i.e. a certain sum paid to the Danes from the Saxon Gyldan to pay and thence our Yield Dangelt Dangelt the nature whereof this passage taken out of our old Laws does fully discover The Pirates gave first occasion to the paying Danigeld For they made such havock of this nation that they seem'd to aim at nothing but its utter ruine And to suppress their insolence it was enacted that Danigeld should yearly be paid which was twelve pence for every hide of land in the whole nation to maintain so many forces as might withstand the Incursions of the Pirates All Churches were exempt from this Danigeld nor did any land in the immediate possession of the Church contribute any thing because they put more confidence in the prayers of the Church than the defence of arms But when they came to dispute the cause with Alfred King of the West-Saxons he what by retreats and what by attacks did not only by force of arms drive them out of his own territories but likewise slew the Deputy-Governor of the Mercians and in a manner clear'd all Mercia of them And his son Edward the Elder prosecuting his Father's conquests recover'd the Country of the East-Angles from the Danes as Athelstan his spurious son to crown their victories after a great slaughter of them subdu'd the Kingdom of Northumberland and by his vigorous pursuit put the Danes into such a fright that part of them quitted the kingdom and the rest surrendred themselves By the courage of those Princes was England deliver'd out of that gulph of miseries and had a respite of 50 years from that bloody war But after Aethelred a man of a cowardly spirit came to the Crown the Danes raising fresh hopes out of his dullness renew'd the war and made havock of the nation till the English were forc'd to purchase a Peace with annual contributions And so insolently did they behave themselves that the English form'd a Plot and in one night slew all the Danes through the whole nation to a man imagining that so much blood would quench the flaming fury of that people and yet as it happen'd it did but add more fuel to it For Sueno King of the Danes incens'd by that general massacre invaded England with a powerful army and push'd forwards by an enraged spirit put Ethelred to flight conquer'd the whole nation and left it to his son * Cnut in the Coins Canutus He after a long war with Ethelred who was then return'd and his son Edmond sirnam'd Ironside but without any decisive battle The Danes infested England 200 years reign'd about 20. was succeeded by his two sons Harald his spurious one and Canutus the Bold After the death of these the Danish yoke was shaken off and the government return'd to the English For Edward whose sanctity gain'd him the name of Confessor Edward the Confessor the son of Ethelred by a second wife recover'd the Regal Dignity England now began to revive but presently as the Poet says Mores rebus cessêre secundis The loads of Fortune sunk them into vice The Clergy were idle drousie and ignorant the Laity gave themselves over to luxury and a loose way of living all discipline was laid aside the State like a distemper'd body was consum'd with all sorts of vice but Pride that forerunner of destruction had of all others made the greatest progress And as Gervasius Dorobernensis observes of those times They ran so headlong upon wickedness that 't was look'd upon as a crime to be ignorant of crimes All these things plainly tended to ruine The English at that time says William of Malmesbury us'd cloaths that did not reach beyond the middle of the knee their heads were shorn their beards shaven only the upper lip was always let grow to its full length Their arms were even loaded with golden bracelets and their skin all set with painted marks The Clergy were content with a superficial sort of learning and had much ado to hammer cut the words of the Sacraments The NORMANS AS in former ages the Franks first and afterwards the Saxons coming out of that East-Coast of Germany as it lies from us I mean the more Northerly parts of it plagu'd France and Britain with their Piracies and at last became masters the Franks of France and the Saxons of Britain so in succeeding times the Danes first and then the Normans follow'd the same method came from the same Coast and had the same success As if providence had so order'd it that those parts should constantly produce and send out a set of men to make havock of France and Britain and establish new kingdoms in them They had their name from the Northern parts from whence they came â—d â—nt for Nordmanni signifies no more than Northern men in which sense they are likewise term'd c From the Saxon Leod a people or nation Nordleudi â—dâ—â—i â—molâ— i.e. Northern people as being the flower of the Norwegians Suedes and Danes In the time of Charles the Great they carry'd on their trade of Piracies in such a barbarous manner both in Friseland England Holland Ireland and France that that Prince when he saw their vessels in the Mediterranean cry'd out with a deep sigh and tears in his eyes How am I troubl'd that they should venture upon this coast â—r Sanâ— de Geâ— Caroâ—â—agni even while I am living I plainly foresee what a plague they are like to prove to my successors And in the publick Prayers and
Exeter and last of all to the Crown But Queen Mary gave this mannour as our Lawyers call it to Thomas Marrow whose son sold it In the reign of William 1. as it is in Domesday it had forty burgesses within the Burg and nine without Henry 1. endow'd it with many privileges and K. John with more For a long time it was govern'd by a Mayor and two Bailiffs but Queen Mary granted it a Mayor two Aldermen and a Common-Council of four and twenty The inhabitants for the most part are merchants who drive a considerable trade with France and Spain Nor must I forget to take notice of two very learned men and most famous Divines bred in this School Joh. Jewell John Jewel Bishop of Salisbury Th. Harding and Thomas Harding Professor in Lovain who have very hotly and very nicely writ and engag'd one another in points of Religion From hence the Taw passing by Ralegh which formerly belonged to it's noble lords of the same name but now to the famous family sirnam'd de Chichester and after that enlarg'd by the river Towridge runs into the Severn sea Kenuith but finds not Kinuith castle mention'd by Asserius Yet there was upon this coast a castle of that name and so situated that there was no approaching it on any side but the east here in the year 879 Hubba the Dane who had harass'd the English and cut off many of them was himself cut off The place from thenceforward was call'd Hubbestow by our Historians At the same time the Danish standard call'd Reafan was took by the English Which I the rather observe because from a story in Asserius Menevensis who has writ these transactions it may be gather'd that the Danes us'd a crow for their standard which is said to have been wrought in needle-work in their Ensign by the daughters of Lothbroc the Dane portending them invincible as they imagin'd There is nothing henceforward to be seen on this North shore besides Ilfarcombe which is a pretty safe harbour for ships z and Combmarton joyning to it under which some old lead-mines not without veins of silver Combe what it signifies Nicotius have been open'd lately Now Combe that I may once for all observe it which is commonly added to the names of places in these parts signifies a low situation or a vale and perhaps may come from the British word Kum which has the same meaning and the Fâ—ench retain it in the same sense to this day 12 From the ancient Gallick Language the same with old British aa More to the south-east from hence and next to Somersetshire stands Bampton Bampton formerly Baentun which in William the Conqueror's time fell to Walter de Doway or Duacensis with very large estates in other parts of whose posterity Juliana an heiress marry'd to William Paganell Paganell or Panell commonly Paynell had issue Fulco de Bampton he had a son William and Christiana the wife of Cogan an Irishman whose posterity came to the estate the heir of William dying without issue From the Cogans it went hereditarily to the Bourchiers now Earls of Bath by Hancford and the Fitz-warins bb Earls of Devonshire In the beginning of the Norman Government not to mention Hugh the Norman whom Queen Emma had formerly made Ruler of this County King William 1. made one Baldwin hereditary Viscount of Devonshire and Baron of Okehampton who was succeeded in this honour of Viscount by his son Richard who dy'd without issue male K. Henry 1. afterwards conferr'd upon Richard de Redveriis first Tiverton and after that the honour of Plimpton with other places appertaining to it and then made him Earl of De vonshire Ford Abbâ—y Register granting him the third penny of all the revenues of that County Now the revenues of that County belonging to the King did not at the utmost exceed 30 marks out of which the said Earl was to deduct ten yearly for his own share After these he obtain'd the Isle of Wight of the said King and thence was stil'd Earl of Devonshire and Lord of the Isle He had a son Baldwin who for siding with Mawd the Empress against Stephen was banish'd Yet Richard the son recover'd his Father's honour who left two sons Baldwin and Richard in their turns Earls of Devonshire but dy'd without issue And then this honour fell to their Uncle William sirnam'd de Vernon 13 Because he was born there He had a son Baldwin who dy'd in the life-time of his father having first by Margaret the daughter of Guarin Fitz-Gerold had Baldwin the third of that name Earl of Devonshire He had two children Baldwin the last Earl of this family who dy'd without issue and chang'd the Gryphon clenching a little beast which his ancestors us'd in their seal into a scutcheon or a lion rampant azure and Isabel who was married to William de Fortibus Earl of Albemarle and had a son Thomas who dy'd young and Avellina who was marry'd to Edmund Earl of Lancaster whom she very much enrich'd But she soon dying without issue Hugh Courtney descended as they write from the Royal line of France and related to the former Earls was by K. Edw. 3. by his letters only without any other ceremony created Earl of Devonshire 14 And link'd as Cousin and next heir to the said Isabel Claus 〈◊〉 9 Ed. â—â— 35. in 〈◊〉 For he commanded him to use that title 15 And by a precept to the High-Sheriff of the Shire commanded he should be so acknowledg ' d. Reginald Courtney was the first of this family that came into England brought hither by K. Henry the second and him advanc'd with the marrige of the heir of the Barony of Okehampton for that he procur'd the marriage between the said King and Elenor heir of Poictou and Aquitam But whether he was branch'd from the house of Courtney before it was match'd in the Royal blood of France or after which our Monks affirm but du Tillet Keeper of the Records of France doubteth I may say somewhat in another place Hol. Our Historians tells us that the branch of that family which seated is self here was deriv'd from the Royal house of France But however that matter be there is one branch still in France known by the title of Princes of Courtenay as being lineally descended from Lewis le Grosse King of France Another branch came to be Emperors of Constantinople and enjoyed that Dignity for three or four descents Another seated it self in the East where Jocelin de Courtnay famous in the Holy Wars was made Count of Edesâ—â— He was succeeded by his son Hugh after him Edward his grandchild by his son Edward enjoy'd it and dying left it to his son Hugh He likewise to a son Thomas who dy'd in the 36 of K. Hen. 6. This Thomas had three sons Thomas Henry and John whose fortune during the bloody wars between the houses of York
lately digg'd up And what puts it beyond all dispute is a Fosse-way beginning there which leads to Sorbiodunum or old Salisbury Continuation of the EARLS Thomas the last Earl mention'd by our Author dying of an Apoplexy April 19. 1608. was succeeded by Robert his son and heir whose second son Richard succeeded his father Thomas the eldest son dying before his father and unmarry'd This Richard dying without issue his younger brother Sir Edward Sackvil succeeded him in his honours who was first Lord Chamberlain to Queen Mary wife of King Charles 1. and afterwards bore the same Office to that King His son Richard was next Earl and was succeeded by Charles his son by the Lady Frances daughter to Leonel Earl of Middlesex and at length heir to James Earl of Middlesex her brother upon which account the said Charles was created Earl of Middlesex by Letters Patents bearing date April 14. 27 Car. 2. More rare Plants growing wild in Dorsetshire Calamogrostis five Gramen tomentosum Park Gramen tomentosum Calamograstis quorundam vulgi Gramen plumosum Lob. Belg. Gr. arundinaceum paniculâ molli spadicea majus C. B. The soft or woolly Reedgrass This groweth in the borders of dry fields in many Countries of this Kingdom especially in Dorsetshire Park p. 1182. I am suspicious there will be no such grass found in this or any other County of England neither am I satisfied what sort of Grass Lobel meant by this title See his description of his own translation out of his Dutch Herbal in Parkinson Carduus stellatus luteus foliis Cyani C. B. Solstitialis G. R. Spina Solstitialis J. B. Cardui stellati varietas jacea lutea clusii Lob. S. Barnaby's Thistle By the hedges not far from Cirencester in Glocestershire Mr. Bobert Cyperus longus Ger. longus odoratus Park odoratus radice longa seu Cyperus Officinarum C. B. paniculâ sparsa speciosa J. B. The ordinary sweet Cyperus grass or English Galingale Found by Mr. Newton in the Isle of Purbeck Dorsetshire Gale frutex odoratus Septentrionalium Elaeagnus Cordi J. B. Myrtus Brabantica five Elaeagnus Cordi Ger. Rhus myrtifolia Belgica C. B. Sylvestris five Myrtus Brabantica vel Anglica C. B. Gaule sweet Willow or Dutch Myrtle In a low level marsh ground near Wareham in this County plentifully Malva arborea marina nostras Park English Sea Tree-mallow About the cottages of the Village called Chissell in Portland Island Sedum Portlandicum Ad. Lob. majus marinum Anglicum Park Portland Sengreen Lobel writing so ambiguously of this plant and we having not seen nor heard of it at Portland I should not have thought it worth mentioning but that I find it in some Catalogues of Gardens Vermicularis frutex minor Ger. fruticosa altera Park Sedum minus fructicosum C. B. An Cali species seu Vermicularis marina arborescens J. B. Shrub-Stonecrop or rather Glasswort On the stone batch running from the shore of Dorsetshire almost to Portland Island SOMERSET SHIRE by Robt. Morden BELGAE TOWARDS the North and East the Belgae border'd upon the Durotriges who probably both from the name and other good authority came from among the Belgae a people of Gaule into Britain For the Belgae as Caesar learn'd of the Rhemi were descended from the Germans and formerly passing over the Rhine were induc'd by the fruitfulness of the place to settle there after they had expell'd the Gauls From whence as the same Author has it they pass'd over into Britain with no other design than to plunder and ravage and were all call'd by the names of those cities where they had been born and to which they belong'd before they came thither here making war upon the inhabitants they settl'd and began to cultivate the ground It does not precisely appear at what time they came over unless possibly Divitiacus King of the Suessiones who flourish'd before Caesar might transplant the Belgae into those parts For he had the government of a great part as of Gaule so also of Britaine Neither is it yet clear'd from whence the name of Belgae should come Hubert Thomas †Leodius of Leige a very learned man was of opinion that Belgae is a German word because the Germans call the Gauls and Italians Wallen and some of them term them Welgen John Goropius a Belgian will have it come from the Belgick word Belke signifying in that language Anger as if they were more prone to anger than others But since the name of Belgae does not seem to be deriv'd from that language us'd at this day by the Low-Dutch which is almost the same with our English-Saxon for it came from the Saxons which Charles the Great transplanted into Brabant and Flanders I am inclin'd to favour the opinion of those men who fetch it from the old Gaulish tongue which our Welsh do still in a great measure keep entire and will have the Belgae so nam'd from Pel with them signifying remote For they were the remotest of all Gaule and as they were at the greatest distance from the Roman Province with respect to their situation so also to their breeding and humanity And the Poet has told us that the Morini a people of Gallia Belgica were the most remote when he calls them Extremi hominum the furthest part of mankind But now let us come to our Belgae whose territories were very large viz. Somersetshire Wiltshire and the inner part of Hamshire A SOMERSETSHIRE THE County of Somerset commonly call'd Somersetshire is a large and plentiful country On the north the Severn-sea beats upon it on the west it bounds upon Devonshire on the south upon Dorsetshire on the east upon Wiltshire and part of Glocestershire The soil is very rich especially for grain and pasturage 1 And yet not without stony hills 't is very populous and tolerably well furnish'd with havens Some think that this name was first given it because the air is gentle and as it were a summer-air in those parts in which sense the Britains at this day call it Glad arhaf translating the word out of our language But the truth is as in summer time it may really be term'd a summer-country so no less may it in the winter-season be call'd a winter-country so wet moist and marshy is it for the most part which creates a great deal of trouble to travellers However I shall not scruple to believe that this name was certainly given it from Somerton formerly the chief town of the County since Asser a very ancient Author calls it every where the County of Somertun a 2 In the very first limit of the shire westward where Ex riseth in a solitary and hilly moor first appeareth Dulverton a silly market according to the soil and near unto it was a small Religious house of Black Chanons at Barelinch who in later times acknowledged the Fettiplaces their founders Upon the Severn sea where this County borders upon the Danmonii the two first places we meet with
which gives name to the house called Broke situated upon it Baron Brooâ—e This house was heretofore the seat of John Pavely Lord of the Hundred of Westbury and afterward gave the title of Baron to Rob. Willoughby because by the Cheneys he was descended from the family of Pavely when K. Henry 7. created him Peer of the realm of which King he was a great favourite and by him as it is reported made 9 Steward of his house and c. for some time Lord high Admiral For which reason he gave the r The Rudder is painted in several glass-windows of his house rudder of a ship for his Cognizance as Pompey the Admiral of the Roman Navy stamp'd the stern on his medals But this family was soon extinct for he left but one son Robert Baron Brook who had by his first wife a son call'd Edward who dy'd in his father's life-time and left one daughter afterwards married to Sir Fulk Grevil by his second wife he had two daughters by whom this rich estate came to the Marquess of Winchester and the Lord Montjoy Not far from hence toward the east lies Edindon Edindâ—â— heretofore Eathandune where K. Alfred won the most glorious victory that ever was obtained over the ravaging Danes and drove them to that extremity that they solemnly swore immediately to depart the land In this place also William de Edindon Bishop of Winchester a great favourite of K. Edw. 3. who was born here and from hence took his sirname founded a College for Canons call'd Bonhommes k Upon a hill a little above on the same rivulet stands Trubridge in old time Truþabrig that is Trubâ—â— a strong or true bridge But for what reason it had this name does not at all appear Now it is very noted for the Clothing-trade and shews the ruines of Å¿ The Castle says Leland stood on the south side of the town it is now clean down There was in it seven great towers whereof some pieces of two of them yet stand c. The Earls of Sarum were Lords of Thoroughbridge then the Dukes of Lancaster and now the Earl of Hertford So he The Court of the Dutchy of Lancaster for this County is annually held in this town about Michaelmas a Castle which belongeth to the Dutchy of Lancaster 11 And sometime to the Earl of Salisbury l The Avon being encreas'd by this river watereth Bradford â—radford in old time Bradanford call'd so from the Broad ford which standeth on the side of a hill and is built all of stone where a bloody battel was fought in the Civil wars between Kenilwachius K. of the West-Saxons â—n 652. and Cuthred his Kinsman Here the Avon leaveth Wiltshire and entreth into Somersetshire running toward the Bath m From hence the west limit of this Shire goes directly southward n by Longleat â—ongleat the well-contriv'd and splendid house 12 In a foul soil which c. tho' more than once damnified by fire 13 Hath risen eftsoons more fair of the Knightly family of the Thinnes descended from the Boteviles o Maiden-bradley â—aiden-â—radley so named because t This is a vulgar Fable the Hospital being built long before the division of that estate among daughters See the Additions to Worcestershire under the title Kidderminster one of the daughters and heiresses of Manasser Bisset a famous man in his time being her self a Leper built a Hospital here for leprous maids and endowed it with her inheritance her father had founded a Priory here u In the reign of K. Stephen before Stourton â—rons of â—ourton 〈◊〉 Hen. 6. the seat of the Barons of Stourton who were dignified with this title by K. Henry 6. w This is a mistake for Sir W. Stourton marry'd Elizabeth heiress to Sir John Moigne long before Hen. 6.'s time viz. 21 Ric. 2. See Sir William Dugdale's Baronage at which time a very great estate accru'd to them by a marriage with the heiress of the family of Le Moign or Monk not Mohun as some have erroneously thought and from thence their Crest is a Demi-Monk with a penitential whip in his hand The town took its name from the river Stour which riseth here out of six fountains between which proper the Stourtons Lords of this place bear for their Arms a Bend Or in a field sable By the foresaid Maiden-Bradley glides a rivulet call'd Dever-ril â—ver because like Anas in Spain and the Mole in Surry which took their names from thence x There is nothing at present to be heard of any such diving river it diveth under the earth and a mile off riseth up again and hasteneth to Verlucio â—erlucio a very ancient town mentioned by Antoninus the Emperor in his Itinerary which name it hath not yet quite lost being call'd Werminster â—erminster a compound of that old name and the Saxon word Minster which signifieth a Monastery Heretofore it had great privileges for it is recorded in the book which William the Conqueror caused to be made that nec geldavit nec hidata fuit that is it paid no tribute Now it is only famous for a great y Kept on Saturdays Corn-market and indeed it is scarce credible what quantities of Corn are every week carried hither and presently sold 14 But for remnants of Roman Antiquities I could discover none here only on the East side are seen some trenches upon the Hills and on the West a natural round and high cop'd hill called Clay-hill p From this place toward the south north and east all along the middle of the Shire the Downs are so wide that there can scarce be any bounds discover'd from whence they are call'd the Plains â—sbury-â—ns but thinly inhabited and heretofore of bad repute for frequent robberies The south part of them is water'd by two pleasant rivers the Willey-bourn the Guilou of Asserius and the Nadder commonly called Adder-bourn Willey-bourn having its first rise at Werminster runneth by Heitesbury or Hegedsbury the feat of the Barons of Hungerford q 15 But in the Church which hath been Collegiate there is seen but one defaced monument of them The last Lord Hungerford created by K. Henry 8. had his denomination of this place but enjoy'd that honour a short while being condemn'd of a crime not to be utter'd to a village called Willey Opposite to which is seen a very large military entrenchment fortify'd with a deep double ditch and called by the neighbouring inhabitants Yanesbury-Castle â—nesbury From it's figure any one may easily conclude that it was a Roman Camp Some think it was Vespasian's Camp who being Lieutenant of the 20th Legion under Claudius subdued two nations in this part of England to the Roman Empire and some remains of Vespasian's name are thought to be in Yanesbury r 16 Opposite to this on the other side of the water is another less
their weapons might be examin'd unexpectedly came a Mandate from the King that the cause should not then be decided lest the King should lose his right In the mean time they compounded the Earl agreeing to surrender up all his right in the castle to the Bishop and his successors for ever upon the receit of 2500 Marks aa â—â—rls of â—lisbury Salisbury had Earls very early whose pedigree I will not only draw faithfully but i They may be carry'd yet higher for Knighton stiles Edric Duke of Mercia Earl of Salisbury higher also out of the history of Lacock â—istory of â—â—cock Walter de Euereux Earl of Rosmar in Normandy had by the munificence of William the Conqueror very large possessions in this shire which he bequeathed to his younger son Edward sirnamed of Salisbury who was born in England leaving his other lands in Normandy with the title of Earl of Rosmar to k The eldest son of this Walter that succeeded him in the Earldom was called Gerold Walter his eldest son whose line not long after failed This Edward of Salisbury was very eminent in the twentieth year of William the Conqueror and is often mention'd in Domesday book but without the title of Earl His son Walter founded a small monastery at Bradenstok and there in his old age after he had got a son call'd Patric who was the first Earl of Salisbury by Sibilla de Cadurcis or Chaworth assum'd the habit of a black Canon This Patric the first Earl was slain by Guy of Lusignian A. D. 1169. in his return from a pilgrimage to S. James of Compostella and was succeeded by his son William who died at Paris in the reign of Richard 1. Ela his only daughter by the favour of the said K. Richard was married to William Longspee so sirnamed from the long sword he usually wore who was a natural son of K. Henry 2. to whom upon this marriage with Ela accrued the title of Earl â—â—â—s of the 〈◊〉 of Saâ— and her Coat of Arms viz. Az. 6 Lioncells Rampant Or. His son was also called William Longspee with whom Henry 3. being offended because being signed with the Cross he went to the Holy War without his leave took from him the title of Earl and castle of Sarum He notwithstanding being resolv'd on his design went into Egypt with S. Lewis King of France â—h Paâ— 973. â—051 and fighting valiantly in the midst of his enemies near Damiata which the Christians had taken died in the bed of honour not long before that holy King was unfortunately made prisoner He had a son call'd also William who did not enjoy the title of Earl and had only one daughter named Margaret â—â—â—g â— p. â—4 who was notwithstanding call'd Countess of Salisbury and married to Henry Lacy Earl of Lincoln by whom she had but one daughter viz. Alice the wife of Thomas Earl of Lancaster who being outlawed K. Edw. 2. seized upon the lands which she had made over to her husband some of which viz. Troubridge Winterbourn Ambresbury and other manours King Edw. 3. gave to William de Montacute in as full and ample manner as ever the Predecessors of Margaret Countess of Sarum held them â—ds of Patent And at the same time he made the said William de Montacute Earl of Sarum and by the girding on of a sword the said Earldom was invested in him and his heirs for ever This William was King of the Isle of Man and had two sons William who succeeded his father in his honours and died without issue 22 Having unhappily slain his own Son while he train'd him at tilting and John a Knight who died before his brother leaving by Margaret his wife daughter and heiress of Thomas de Monthermer John Earl of Salisbury * De monte Hermerti who being a time-server and conspiring against King Henry 4. was slain at l It should be Cirencester in Comitar Glocestr Chichester A.D. 1400 and afterwards attainted of High Treason Notwithstanding which his son Thomas was restored to his blood and estate one of the greatest Generals of his age whether we consider his pains in all matters of moment his unwearied constancy in all undertakings and his quickness in putting his designs in execution who whilst he besieged Orleans in France was wounded by a Dart from a * è tormento majori Balist of which he died A. D. 1428. Alice his only daughter was married to Richard Nevil Pat. 20 Hen. 6. 1461. to whom she brought the title of Earl of Sarum who following the York-party was taken Prisoner in a battel at Wakefield and beheaded he was succeeded by Richard his son Earl of Warwick and Salisbury who taking delight in dangers engaged his Country in a fresh Civil War in which he lost his own life Isabella one of his daughters married George Duke of Clarence brother to K. Edw. 4. by whom he had a son call'd Edward 23 Earl of Warwick who was unjustly beheaded in his childhood by K. Henry 7. and his sister Margaret to whom the title of Countess of Salisbury was restor'd 24 By Henry 8. in a full Parliament about the fifth year of his reign suffer'd the same fate at 70 years of age by the command of Henry 8. For it is an usual practice among Princes to put to death or perpetually to imprison their kindred upon slight surmizes which are never wanting that they and their posterity may be the better established in the Throne Ann the other daughter of Richard Nevil Earl of Warwick and Salisbury was wife to Richard 3 25 Duke of Glocester and Brother to K. Edw. 4. to whom after she had born Edward * Whom his Unkle K. Edward in the 17th of his reign created Earl of Salisbury and Richard his father usurping the Kingdom made c. Prince of Wales who dy'd young she her self dy'd not without suspicion of poyson From that time this honorary title ceased until A. D. 1605. the most potent K. James dignify'd therewith Robert Cecil second son to our Nestor Wil. Cecil for his prudence and good service to his King and Country whom as I have said he had before honour'd with the titles of Baron Cecil of Essenden and Viscount Cranburn for his great merits and industry in promoting the good of the Kingdom So much concerning the Earls of Salisbury bb Below this City upon the Avon is seated Duncton Duncton or Donketon which is reported to be a very ancient Corporation Bogo commonly Beavois and famous for the seat of Beavois of Southampton who for his valour much celebrated by the Bards is commonly accounted one of the great Worthies Salisbury is every way encompass'd with the open plains unless it be toward the east Clarendon on which side it hath the neighbourhood of the large Park of Clarendon very commodious for keeping and breeding Deer and once beautified with a royal palace
has been a long series of successors no less eminent for wealth and honour than for piety and devotion 5 But among others St. Swithin continues yet of greatest fame not so much for his sanctity as for the rain which usually falls about the feast of his translation in July by reason the Sun then is Cosmically with Praesepe and Aselli noted by ancient writers to be rainy Constellations and not for his weeping or other weeping Saints Margaret the Virgin and Mary Magdalen whose feasts are shortly after as some superstitiously credulous have believed and by a peculiar privilege are Chancellors to the Archbishop of Canterbury and Prelates of the Garter Some of these at great expence have beautify'd and enlarg'd this Church particularly Edington and Walkeling but above all Wickham who with incredible cost built the West part of the Church from the Choire a neat and curious piece of work in the middle of which between two pillars is his own monument The Church has been accordingly dedicated to new Patrons Amphibalus Peter Swithin and lastly to the Holy Trinity by which name it is at present call'd Among the Saxons it was in great repute for being honour'd with the Sepulture of some of their Kings whose bones were gathered by Richard Fox Bishop and put into little gilded Coffins which with their several Inscriptions he placed upon a wall that runs along the upper part of the Quire It was formerly call'd h Ealdan-Mynster Chron. Sax. Ealden-mynster i.e. the old Monastery or Minster to distinguish it from the more modern one i Niwan-Mynster Chron. Sax. NeÆ¿an-mynster i.e. New Minster which King Aelfred founded and to build the Offices belonging to it bought of the Bishop a certain peice of ground for every foot whereof he paid one Mark according to the publick Standard This new College as well as the old one was first founded for marry'd Priests who were afterwards expelled by Dunstan Archbishop of Canterbury upon the miracle of a Cross speaking and condemning the Order and so Monks were brought into their room These two Monasteries had their walls so near one another that when they were singing in one the noise was a disturbance to the other upon which arose some quarrels between the two Societies that afterwards broke out into feuds This reason and another inconvenience of a great confluence of waters which ran down the streets from the West-gate and making a standing pool at this new Monastery did infect the air with unwholsome vapours caus'd the Church 200 years after it's first building to be remov'd into the northern suburbs to a place call'd Hide Hide-Abby where by the licence of Henry 1. the Monks built a large and beautiful Monastery which within a few years by the treachery of Henry of Blois Bishop of Winchester as a private little History of that place tells us was miserably burnt down in which fire was consum'd that famous Cross the gift of Canute the Dane that as some old Records deliver it cost him the yearly revenue of all England But the Monastery was raised again to a noble fabrick as the present ruines testifie and grew by degrees till that fatal period for the destruction of Monks For then this house was demolished and the other of St. Trinity which is the Cathedral Church upon ejection of the Monks had a new foundation of a Dean and 12 Prebendaries At the East-side of the Cathedral stands a spacious k It was built A. D. 1137. by Henry Bishop of Winchester Leiger-Book of St. Cross in the hands of Mr. Worsley palace of the Bishop's call'd Wolvesey fortify'd by several turrets almost surrounded by the river and reaching to the City-walls m In the south suburbs there is a neat College that answers it which William of Wickham Bishop of this See the greatest patron and encourager of Learning that was in England A College bâ—â—â—â— by William of Wickham and whose memory shall be celebrated through all ages in the Monuments of Learning built for a publick school which affords great numbers of learned men both to Church and State In this are maintain'd gentilely a Warden 10 Fellows 2 Masters 70 Scholars l Particularly 3 Chaplains 3 Clerks an Organist 16 Choristers and the statutable servants with some others There are also other eminent buildings in this City most of them consecrated to religious uses which because time has destroy'd I have no mind to mention n tho' I cannot but take notice of that * Partheâ—â—â—m St. Mary's Abby Nunnery or Monastery for Virgins which Aelfwide wife to King Alfred founded it having been so noble a piece of building as the ruines of it still shew and the place out of which Henry 1. Maud wife to Henry 1. took his wife Maud daughter of Malcolm King of Scots by whom the Royal families of the Saxons and Normans were united and by which means that Prince gain'd much on the affections of the English For she was great grand-daughter to Edmund Ironside by his son Edward The banished and a Lady not only endow'd with all the vertues becoming a Queen but more especially eminent for piety and devotion Whereupon this old Tetrastick was made in her commendation Prospera non laetam fecêre nec aspera tristem Aspera risus ei prospera terror erant Non decor effecit fragilem non sceptra superbum Sola potens humilis sola pudica decens Nor bless'd rejoyc'd nor when unhappy mourn'd To laughter grief and joy to fear she turn'd Nor beauty made her frail nor sceptres proud Humble tho' great and scarce more fair than good As to Guy Earl of Warwick so famous in story who in a single combat here conquer'd Colbrand that Danish †Typhoëus Giant and Waltheof Earl of Huntingdon beheaded in this place where afterward was the Chapel of St. Giles and as to the famous adjoyning Hospital of St. Cross founded by Henry de Blois Brother of King Stephen and Bishop of this City and farther endow'd by Henry de Beaufort Cardinal I shall say nothing of all these because a full relation is already given of them in our common Histories As to the Earls of Winchester Earls of Winchester to pass by Clito a Saxon who at the coming in of the Normans was depriv'd of this ancient honour King John made Saer Quincy Earl of Winchester The Quincy's Arms. whose Arms were * Baltheus militaris a Fesse with a †Lemniscus label of seven as I learn'd from his seal To him succeeded Roger his son who bore in a field Gules seven ‖ Rhombos Mascles voided Or. But he dying without Issue male the honour was extinct in him for he marry'd the oldest daughter and co-heir by a former wife of Alan Lord of Galloway in Scotland in whose right he was Constable of Scotland But by her he had only 3 daughters of whom the eldest was marry'd to William de Ferrariis Earl of
honour of the deceased party When the Roman Empire began to decline and barbarous nations made frequent incursions into their provinces then the British armies fearing they might be involv'd in the calamity of their Neighbours chose themselves Emperors first Marcus then Gratian both of whom they presently murder'd and lastly â—tura â—runt â—tantine 〈◊〉 chose â—â—eror â—he sake 〈…〉 in the year 107. they * chose one Constantine purely for the sake of his name and against his own will in this city Caer Segont as Ninnius and Gervasius Dorobernensis tell us He setting sail from Britaine arrived at Bologne in France and got all the Roman forces as far as the Alps to joyn him defended Valence a city of Gaule with great resolution against the forces of Honorius the Emperor and set a garrison upon the †Rhine â—henum that was before defenseless He built several fortresses in the passages of the Alpes In Spain by the assistance of Constans his son whom from a Monk he had rais'd to the title of Augustus he was very successful and then sending letters to Honorius to beg pardon for his crime in suffering the soldiers to force upon him the Purple received back an Imperial Robe from that Emperour Buoy'd up with this he pass'd the Alpes with a design to march to Rome but hearing of the death of Alaric the Goth who had been a friend to his cause he retreated to Arles where he fixed the Imperial seat commanded the city to be call'd †after his own name â—tantiâ—â—â— and summon'd thither a solemn meeting of seven Provinces In the mean time Gerontius rais'd a faction against his Master and after he had traiterously slain Constans his son at Vienne in Gaule closely besieged Constantine the Father in Arles but while one Constantius sent by the Emperour Honorius was marching against him with an army Gerontius laid violent hands upon himself In the mean time Constantine being reduc'd to great necessity by the closeness of this siege and by some unhappy sallies of the garrison brought to despair he quitted his honour and that load of fortune and entring into the Church took upon him the Order of a * Priest â—â—y upon which the city was presently surrendred and he led prisoner into Italy where he was beheaded with Julian his son whom he entitled the Noble 〈◊〉 entiâ—â—e 〈◊〉 and Sebastian his brother The History of these affairs which is before deliver'd more at large I have here abridged from Zosimus Zosomen Nicephorus Orosius and Olympiodorus that truth may triumph over the vanity of those who by the help of their own invention have adulterated this story with their ridiculous and simple forgeries Our Historians report that in this city was the inauguration of our martial King Arthur and soon after the place was demolish'd either in the Saxon Wars or when Athelwolf in rebellion against King Edward his brother assisted by that crew of Danish Robbers destroy'd all this country as far as Basing-stoke Nothing now remains but the walls which though they have lost their coping and battlements seem to have been of a great height For by the rubbish and ruins the earth is grown so high that I could scarce thrust my self through a †passage which they call Onion's hole â—â—gipâ—râ— tho' I stoop'd very low The walls however remain in a great measure entire only some few gaps there are in those places where the gates have been and out of these very walls there grow Oaks of such a vast bigness incorporated as it were with the stones and their roots and boughs spreading so far round that they even raise an admiration in all that behold them In compass the walls contain about two Italian miles so that perhaps from the largeness of the place the Saxons call'd it Selcester that is a great city Sel what For Sel seems in their language to have signified great since Asserius Menevensis interprets the Saxon word Selwood by Sylva magna i.e. a great wood On the west-side of the walls where 't is a level there runs a long ridge cast up for defence of the place It includes about 80 acres of land a good and fat soil now divided into separate fields with a little grove towards the west and eastward near the gate a farm-house with a small Church of modern building in which while I search'd for ancient Inscriptions I found nothing but some Coats of Arms in the windows viz. in a field sable seven Fusils argent Bendwise as also in a field sable a Fesse between two cheverns Or and in a shield Or an eagle display'd with two heads gules Arms of the Blewets Bainards and Cusanz I find these last to be the Arms of the Blewets to whom this estate came after the time of William the Conquerour the second are the Arms of the noble family of Bainard of Leckham and the first is the Coat of the family of the Cusanz by whom this estate pass'd hereditarily from the Blewets to the Bainards But in the reign of William the Conquerour this was in the possession of William de Ow the Norman who being accus'd of treason appeal'd to a tryal of his innocence by Duel but being conquered he was by command of King William Rufus punish'd with the loss of his eyes and testicles The inhabitants of this place told me it had been a constant observation of theirs that tho' the soil here be fat and fertile yet in a sort of baulks that cross one another the corn never grows so thick as in the other parts of the field and along these they imagine the streets of the old city to have run Here are commonly dug up British tiles and great plenty of Roman Coins which they call Onion-pennies from one Onion whom they foolishly fancy to have been a Giant and an inhabitant of this city There are often found too some inscriptions which the ignorance of the Country-people has robb'd the world of There is only one brought up to London and placed in the garden of the honourable William Cecil Baron of Burghley and Lord High Treasurer of England which is this MEMORIAE FL. VICTORI NAE T. TAM VICTOR CONIUX POSVIT I shall not be positive as some others are that this was a monument in memory of Victorina who was called Mater Castrorum i.e. Mother of the Camp and who rais'd the Victorini son and grandson Posthumus Lollianus Marius and Tetricus Caesars in Gaule and Britain against Gallienus the Emperor But I have somewhere read that there were two Victors in Britaine and that both flourished at the same time one son of Maximus the Emperor the other * Praetorio Praefectus Praefect of the Guards to the same Emperor and mention'd by St. Ambrose in his Epistles But I dare affirm that neither of these was he who set up this monument in memory of his wife As there is one Roman military way that leads from hence directly southward
Moels and the Courteneys much augmented his estate His son Robert who marry'd the daughter and heir of the Lord Botereaux enrich'd the family more and then Robert his son who had to Wife Eleanor the daughter and heir of William Molines upon which account he was honour'd among the Barons of the Kingdom by the name of Lord Molines and during the Civil Wars between the Houses of York and Lancaster was beheaded at New-castle made great additions to it Thomas his son slain at Salisbury in his father's life-time left Mary an only daughter married to Edward Lord Hastings with whom he had a great estate But Walter brother to the said Thomas begat Edward Hungerford father of that Walter whom Henry 8. created Baron Hungerford of Heytesbury and condemned afterwards for a very heinous crime nevertheless Queen Mary restor'd his children to every thing but the dignity of Barons h Not far from hence towards the South lies Widehay â—idehay long the seat of the Barons of St. Amand â—â—ons of Amand. whose estate by marriage came to Gerard Braybrok and Elizabeth his eldest grand-daughter by his son Gerard transferr'd the estate by marriage to William Beauchamp who being summon'd to Parliament by the name of William Beauchamp of St. Amand â—â—uchamp 〈◊〉 Amand was a Baron as his son Richard also was who had no legitimate issue From thence the river Kenet taking it's course between Hemsted Marshall anciently held * Per virgam Marescalliae by the Rod of the Marshalsea and belonging to the Marshals of England where †Sir Thomas Thomas Parry Treasurer of the Houshold to Queen Elizabeth built a very fine seat and Benham Valence so call'd from it's belonging to William Valence Earl of Pembroke 7 But Queen Elizabeth gave it to John Baptista Castilion a Piemontes of her Privy Chamber for faithful service in her dangers comes to Spinae Spinae the old town mention'd by Antoninus which retaining still it's name is call'd Spene but instead of a town is now a poor little village scarce a mile from Newbury a noted town that had it's rise out of the ruines of it For Newbury Newbury with us is as much as the New Borough that is in regard to Spinae the more ancient place which is quite decay'd but hath left the name in part of Newbury it self still call'd Spinhamlands And if nothing else yet this certainly might prove that Newbury fetcht it's original from Spinae for that the inhabitants of Newbury owns the little village Spene for their mother tho' Newbury compar'd with Spene is for it's buildings and neatness a very considerable town and much enrich'd by cloathing well seated upon a plain and has the river Kenet running through it In the Norman Conquest this town fell to Ernulph de Hesdin Earl of Perch Lib. Inquisitionum whose great grandson Thomas Earl of Perch being slain at the siege of Lincoln the Bishop of Chalons his heir sold it to William Marshall Earl of Pembroke who likewise held the mannour of Hempsted hard by spoken of before as did his successors Marshals of England till Roger Bigod for his obstinacy lost his honour of Earl Marshal and possessions too which notwithstanding by much †precariò intercession he obtain'd again for life i The Kenet continues on his course from hence and receives by the way the little river Lamborn Lamborn which at it's rise imparts the name to a small market-town that in ancient times belong'd to Alfrith K. Alfred's Cousin having been left him by the said King in his Will and afterwards was the Fitzwarin's who obtain'd the privilege of a market of Henry 3. But now it belongs to the Knightly family of Essex which derives it's pedigree from William de Essex Under-Treasurer of England in Edw. 4.'s time and from those of the same sirname in Essex that liv'd in great repute and honour there From thence this little river runs beneath g In the late Civil Wars it was a garrison for the King Dennington Dunnington-castle call'd also Dunnington a little but very neat castle seated on the brow of a woody hill having a fine prospect and windows on all sides very lightsome They say it was built by Sir Richard de Abberbury Knight founder also of God's House beneath it for the relief of the poor Afterwards it was the residence of h It was the house of Jeoffery Chaucer and there under an Oak commonly call'd Chaucer's Oak he is said to have penn'd many of his famous Poems The Oak till within these few years was standing Chaucer then of the De la Poles and within the memory of our fathers of Charles Brandon Duke of Suffolk And now the Kenet having run a long way passes at last by Aldermaston Aldermaston which Henry 1. gave to Robert Achard from whose posterity by the De la Mares it came at length by right of marriage to the Fosters a Knightly family At last it runs into the Thames having first with it's windings encompass'd a great part of Reading This little city or town of Reading Reading call'd in Saxon * Per virgam Marescalliae Rheadyge of Rhea that is the River or of the British word Redin signifying Fern which grew in great plenty hereabouts for the neatness of it's streets the fineness of it's buildings for it's riches and the reputation it hath gotten for making of cloath goes beyond all the other towns of this county tho' it hath lost it's greatest ornaments the beautiful Church and very ancient Castle k For this as Asserius tells us the Danes kept possession of when they drew a ditch between the Kenet and the Thames and hither they retreated after King Ethelwolph had routed them at Inglefield Inglefield a little village in the neighbourhood which gives name to a noble and ancient family But it was so demolish'd by K. Henry 2. because it was a place of refuge for King Stephen's party that nothing now remains of it but the bare name in the next street Near to this K. Hen. 1. having pull'd down a little Nunnery founded in former times by Queen Alfritha to expiate for some crimes built a most magnificent Abbey for Monks and enrich'd it with great Revenues Which Prince to use the very words of his Charter of Foundation Because three Abbeys in the kingdom of England were formerly for their sins destroy'd that is Reading Chelsea and Leonminstre which were long in Lay-mens hands by the advice of the Bishops founded a new Monastery at Reading and endow'd it with Reading Chelsea and Leonminstre In this Abbey was interr'd the Founder himself King Henry 7 With his wife both veil'd and crown'd for that she had been a Queen and professed Nun. Maud the Empress together with his daughter Maud as appears by the private history of the place tho' some report that she was bury'd at Becc in Normandy Who as well
about the year of Christ 1183. Baldwin Archbishop of Canterbury by an exchange with the Bishop of Rochester got a mannour in this place wherein he began a palace for him and his successors and this by little and little was enlarg'd But when the Archbishops began to have thoughts of building a small Collegiate Church here Good God what numbers of Appeals were packt to Rome by the Monks of Canterbury and what thundrings threatnings and censures were level'd by the Pope against the Archbishops For the Monks were jealous that this might prove an encroachment upon their Privileges and deprive them of their right to elect the Archbishop Nor could these disturbances be quieted till the little Church they had began was at the instance of the Monks levell'd with the ground Near to this is the most famous mart-town of all the County call'd at this day the Burrough of Southwork in Saxon Suþƿerke Southâ— i.e. a work or building to the south situated so to the south over against London as that it seems to be a sort of suburbs to it but yet so large is it and populous that it may vie with most Cities in England being as it were a Corporation of it self Within the memory of our fathers it had it 's own Bailifs but in the reign of Edward 6. it was annext to the City of London and is at this day reckon'd a branch of it For which reason we will defer the further examination of this place till we come to London Beneath this the Thames leaves Surrey the eastbound whereof runs down in a direct line to the south almost by Lagham which in the reign of Edward 1. had it's Parlamentary Barons Barons S. John 〈◊〉 Lagâ—â—â— call d S. John de Lagham whose estate came at last to J. Leodiard by a daughter and heiress Somewhat lower almost in the very corner where it takes a view both of Sussex and Kent is Sterborrow-castle formerly the seat of the Lords de Cobham who from this place were nam'd de Sterborrow Sterborrâ— and descending from John de Cobham Lord of Cobham and Couling and the daughter of Hugh Nevil flourish'd a long time together in great splendour and reputation For Reginald in the reign of Edward 3. was made Knight of the Garter and Admiral of the Sea-coasts from the Thames mouth Westward But Thomas the last of them marrying Anne daughter to 15 Humphry Duke the Duke of Buckingham had by her one only daughter Anne marry'd to Edward Burgh descended from the Percies and Earls of Athol His son Thomas was created Baron Burgh by K. Henry 8. and left a son William father to Thomas Barons â—rough 〈◊〉 Burgh who was a great encourager of Learning Governour of Briel made by Queen Elizabeth Knight of the Garter and Lord Deputy of Ireland where he expos'd himself to death in defence of his country As to Eleanor Cobham of this family wife to Humphrey Duke of Glocester whose reputation was something tainted I refer you to the English Histories We must now reckon up the Earls Earls 〈◊〉 Surreâ— who were 〈◊〉 call'd 〈◊〉 of Wâ—â— Arms 〈◊〉 Earls 〈◊〉 Warrâ—â— William Rufus King of England first made William de Warren Governour of Surrey 16 Who had marry'd his Sister under the honorary title of Earl whose Arms were Checky Or and azure For in his Foundation-Charter of the Priory of Lewis we read thus I have given c. for the good of my master K. William who brought me over into England and for the good of my Lady Queen Mawd my wife's mother and for the good of my master K. William his son after whose coming into England I made this Charter and who created me Earl of Surrey c. To him succeeded his son 17 And marry'd the daughter of Hugh Earl of Vermandois whereupon his posterity as some suppose us'd the Arms of Vermandois His son William dying in the Holy Land about 1142. and his grandchild by a son of the same name But this last had only a daughter who brought the same title first to William King Stephen's son and afterwards to Hamelin base son of Geoffrey Plantagenet Earl of Anjou But the first husband dying without issue Hamelin had by her William Earl of Surrey whose posterity taking the name of Warrens bore the same title This William marry'd the eldest daughter and coheir of William Marshal Earl of Pembroke widow of Hugh Bigod and had by her John 18 Who slew Alan de la Zâ—rich in presence of the Judges of the Realm and John by Alice daughter of Hugh le * Earls of March in â—â—â—nce Brune sister by the mother's side to K. Henry 3. had William who dy'd before his father and had by Joanna Vere daughter of the Earl of Oxford John who was born after the death of his father and was last Earl of this family He was as I learnt from his seal Earl of Warren Surrey Strathern in Scotland Lord of Bromfeld and Yale and Count Palatine But he dying without lawful issue in the 23d of Edward 3. his sister and heiress Alice was marry'd to Edmund Earl of Arundel and by that marriage brought this honour into the family of the Arundels 19 For Richard their son who marry'd in the House of Lancaster after his father was wickedly beheaded for siding with his Sovereign King Edward 2 by the malignant envy of the Queen was both Earl of Arundel and Surrey and left both Earldoms to Richard his son who contrariwise lost his head for siding against his Sovereign K. Richard 2. But Thomas his Son to repair his Father's dishonour lost his life for his Prince and Country in France leaving his sisters his heirs for the lands not entailed who were marry'd to Thomas Mowbray Duke of Norfolk c. to Sir Rowland Lenthall and Sir William Beauchampe Lord of Abergavenny from which it came at last by the Mowbrays to the Howards For Thomas Mowbray marry'd the eldest sister and coheir of Thomas Fitz-Alan Earl of Arundel and Surrey In the mean time 20 After the execution of Richard Earl of Arundel Richard 2. conferr'd the title of Duke of Surrey upon Thomas Holland Earl of Kent who notwithstanding did not long enjoy that honour For secretly endeavouring to rescue the same Richard then taken prisoner and to restore him to his Crown his plot unexpectedly was discover'd and himself making his escape was seiz'd by the town of Cirencester and beheaded Next Thomas de Beaufort who was the King's Chancellor bore this honour if we may believe Thomas Walsingham For he tells us that in the year 1410. The Lord Tho. Beaufort Earl of Surrey dy'd But let Walsingham make good his assertion for there is no such thing appears in the King's Records only that Thomas de Beaufort was about that time made Chancellor 'T is evident however from the publick Records of the Kingdom that King Henry 6. in the 29th year of
last Office he was able to pay him not to preserve his memory which his many Virtues had made immortal but his body committed to the ground in hopes of a joyful Resurrection As for the River which runs by and has its Spring in the Northern parts of this County it is enlarg'd by the influx of many Rivulets on both sides the most noted of which washes Cowdrey a noble seat of Viscount Montacute 7 Which for building oweth much to the late Viscount and formerly to Sir William Fâ—tz-Williams Earl of Southamton and has on it's other side Midherst 8 That is Middle-wood proud of its Lords the Bohuns who bear for their Arms A Cross Azure in a Field Or and from Ingelricus de Bohun under K. Hen. 1. flourish'd till Hen. 7's days who gave in marriage the Daughter and heir of John Bohun to Sir David Owen Knight the natural Son of Owen Theodore or Tudor with a large inheritance Bohuns of Mâ—dâ—â—â—â— Their Arms Spigurâ—el what a signifies These Bohuns were to note by the by the antiquity of a word now grown out of use for some time the Kings Spigurnels by inheritance that is the Sealers of his Writs which Office together with the Serjeanty of the King's Chapel was resigned to K. Edw. 1. by John de Bohun the Son of Franco as we read in an old Charter made concerning that very matter Next we have a sight of Pettworth Pettwâ—â—th which William D'Aubeney Earl of Arundel gave together with a ‖ large estate to Josceline of Lovain a Brabander Queen Adeliza's brother a younger son of Godfrey Duke of Brabant descended from the stock of Charlemain upon his marriage with Agnes the only daughter and heir of the Percies The Percies Since which time the posterity of that Josceline having assumed the name of Percy as we shall tell you elsewhere have held it See Northumberland in the end A family certainly very ancient and noble which derive their descent from Charlemain more directly and with a series of Ancestors much less interrupted than either the Dukes of Lorrain or Guise who so highly value themselves upon that account This Josceline as I have seen in a donation of his us'd this Title Josceline of Lovain Brother of Queen Adeliza Castellane of Arundel As the shore gives back from the mouth of Arun 9 Inwardly is Michelgrove that is Great Grove the heir general whereof so surnamed was married to John Shelley whereby with the profâ—ssion of the Law and a marriage with one of the Coheirs of Beknap the family of Shelley was greatly enrich'd near Tering lies Offingtons The faâ—â—â— of the Wâ—â—â— the seat of William West Baron De la-ware This of the Wests is a noble and ancient family whose estate being much enlarg'd by matching with the heirs of Cantelupe of Hempston and of Fitz-Reginald Fitz-Herbert was adorn'd also with the title of Baron by the heir general of the Lord De-la-ware Barons de 〈◊〉 Ware Hard by is a sort compass'd about with a bank rudely cast up where the inhabitants believe that Caesar intrench'd and sortify'd his Camp But Cissbury Cissbury the name of the place plainly shews it was the work of Cissa who was the second King of this Kingdom of the Saxon race succeeding Aella his father and with his brother Cimen and no small body of Saxons landed on this coast at Cimen shore Cimeâ—-shore so call'd of the said Cimen a place which now hath lost it's name but that it was near Wittering King Cedwalla's Charter of Donation made to the Church of Selsey is a very convincing proof There is another fort likewise to be seen two miles from Cissbury which they commonly call Chenkbury Thence near the sea lies Broodwater the Barony of the Lords de Camois Câ—mâ—â—s who flourish'd here from the time of King Edward 1. till * Heâ—â—â— time our Grandfathers remembrance when by female heirs the estate fell to the Lewkenors and Radmilds Of this family John Camois son of Lord Ralph Camois by a president not to be parallel'd in that nor our own age out of his own free will I speak from the Parliament Rolls themselves gave and demised his own wife Margaret daughter and heir of John de Gaidesden A Wâ—â—e given 〈◊〉 grantâ—◠〈◊〉 another Paâ—l â—â— Edw. â— to Sir William Painel Knight and to the same William voluntarily gave granted released and quit claimed all the goods and chattels which she hath or otherwise hereafter might have and also whatsoever was in his hands of the aforesaid Margaret 's goods and chattels with their appurtenances So that neither he himself nor any man else in his name might claim or challenge any interest nor ought for ever in the aforesaid Margaret from henceforth or in the goods or chattels of the said Margaret Which is as much as what the Ancients said in one word Ut omnia sua secum haberet that she should have away with her all that was hers By vertue of which grant when she demanded her dowry in the mannour of Torpull an estate of John Camois her first husband there commenc'd a memorable suit But she was cast in it and sentence pass'd That she ought to have no dowry from thence Upon a Statute made against Women absenting themselves from their Husbands c. This I mention with a sort of reluctancy but I perceive Pope Gregory had good reason to write to Archbishop Lanfrank that he heard there were some amongst the Scots that not only forsook their Wives but sold them too since even in England they so gave and demis'd them Upon the shore a little lower appears Shoreham Shoreham anciently Score-ham which by little and little has dwindled into a poor village now call'd Old Shoreham having given rise to another Town of the same name the greatest part whereof is ruin'd and under water and the commodiousness of it's Port by reason of the banks of sand cast up at the mouth of the river wholly taken away whereas in former ages it was wont to carry ships under sail as high as Brember Brember-Castâ—e at a pretty distance from the sea This was a castle formerly of the Breoses for K. William 1. gave it to William de Breose from whom the Breoses Lords of Gower and Brechnock are descended and from them also the Knightly Families of the Shirleys in this County and Leicestershire But now instead of a castle there is nothing but a heap of ruins beneath which lies Stening on set-days a well-frequented market which in Aelfred's Will if I mistake not is called Steyningham 10 In latter times it had a Cell of Black Monks wherein was enshrin'd St. Cudman an obscure Saint and visited by Pilgrims with Oblations e â—â—â—tus Ad â—ni 〈◊〉 Proâ—â—â—rum That ancient port also call'd Portus Adurni as it seems is scarce 3 miles off the mouth of the river where when the Saxons
of Kingsdowne had that seditious 57 Sir Bartholomew Lord Badlismere Bartholomew mention'd before He again by Margaret Clare had 58 Sir Giles Lord Badilsmere Giles who dy'd without issue Margery wife of William Roos of Hamlak Mawd of John Vere Earl of Oxford Elizabeth of William Bohun Earl of Northampton and afterwards of Edmund Mortimer and Margaret of 59 Sir John John Tiptoft from whence descended a splendid race of Princes and Noblemen 60 Then saw I Tenham not commended for health but the parent as it were of all the choice fruit-gardens and orchards of Kent and the most large and delightsome of them all planted in the time of K. Henry 8. by Richard Harris his fruiterer to the publick good for 30 Parishes thereabout are replenish'd with Châ—rrygardens and Orchards beautifully dispos'd in direct lines Next I saw Feversham Feversham which is very commodiously seated for the most plentiful part of this Country lyes all round it and it has a bay very convenient for the importation and exportation of commodities for which reasons it flourishes at this day above it's neighbours And it seems formerly to have made a good figure since K. Aethelstan held a Meeting here of the Wise men of the Kingdom and enacted Laws in the year of our Redemption 903. and that Stephen who usurp'd the Crown of England built a Monastery for Cluniacks wherein himself his wife Mawd and his son Eustace were all bury'd u Near this place as also in other parts of the County they discover here and there pits of great depth which tho' narrow at the top yet more inward are very capacious having as it were distinct chambers with their pillars of Chalk To what end the pits in Kent might be made Several opinions have been broach'd about them For my part I have nothing to offer as my own conjecture unless they were those pits out of which the Britains digg'd white chalk to manure their ground as they are mention'd by Pliny For says he they us'd to sink pits a hundred foot deep narrow at the mouth but within of a great compass and just such are those very pits we describe nor are they met with any where but in chalky grounds Unless some imagine that the English-Saxons might digg such holes for the same uses the Germans did from whom they were descended They were wont says Tacitus to digg holes under ground and to overlay them with great quantities of dung thus they prov'd a refuge against winter and a garner for their corn for the bitterness of the cold is allay'd by such places And if at any time the enemy should surprise them he plunders only what 's open and expos'd the secret corners and pits being either altogether unknown or safe upon this account that they are to be sought for From thence upon an open shore abounding with shell-fish and particularly oysters of which the pits are very common we see Reculver Reculveâ— in Saxon Reaculf but formerly by the Romans and Britains Regulbium Regaâ—â—â—â— as 't is call'd in the Notitia which tells us that the Tribune of the first Cohort of the Vetasians lay here in garrison under the Count of the Saxon shore 61 Who had the command then of nine ports as the Lord Warden hath now of five ports for so in those times were the sea-coasts hereabouts stil'd And it justifies this it's Antiquity by l There have been ancient Medals and Coins lately dugg up here the coyns of Roman Empeâ—ors that are dugg up in it Aethelberht King of Kent when he gave Canterbury to Austin the Monk built here a palace for himself Basso a Saxon adorn'd it with a Monastery out of which Brightwald the eight in the See of Canterbury was call'd to be Archbishop Whereupon it was from the Monastery call'd also Raculf-minster when Edred brother to Edmund the Elder gave it to Christ-Church in Canterbury m Nothing is left but the Church and about 12 houses the sea having gain'd all the Town and at this day the Church it self is in great danger to be lost and to preserve it there are men almost continually employ'd to make good the wall or banks which may prevent it's breaking At this day 't is nothing but a little Country village and the small reputation it has is deriv'd 62 From the salt savoury oysters there dredged from that Monastery the towers whereof in the form of Pyramids are of use to sea-men for the avoiding of sands and shelves in the mouth of the Thames Haâ—râ—aâ—â— Jâ—â—â—â— H. â— in maâ—g For as a certain Poët has it in his Philippeis Cernit oloriferum Tamisim sua Doridi amarae Flumina miscentem See Thames renown'd for Swans with brackish waves Mix her pure stream w Now we are come to the Isle of Tanet divided from the Continent by the small chanel of the river Stour by Bede called Wantsum Stour 〈◊〉 which is made up of two different rivers in that woody tract nam'd the Weald So soon as it gets into one chanel it visits Ashford and Wy noted market-towns but small Both of them had their College of Priests that at the latter built by John Kemp Archbishop of Canterbury a native of the place x and the other by Sir R. Fogg Knight Wy had a peculiar Well also into which God was mov'd to infuse a wonderful virtue by the Prayers of 63 Eustace a certain Norman Monk if we may believe Roger Hoveden Pag. 45â— whom I would by all means recommend you to if you are an admirer of Miracles 64 As how the blind by drinking thereof recovered sight the dumb their speech the deaf their hearing the lame their limbs And how a woman possess'd of the Devil sipping thereof vomited two toads which immediately were first transform'd into huge black dogs and again into asses And much more no less strange than ridiculous which some in that age as easily believ'd as others â—asly forg'd Thence the Stour leaving East well the inhabitation of the family of the Finches worshipful of it self and by descent from Philip Belknap and Peoplesham goeth on to Chilham c. Next is Chilham Chilham or as others call it Julham where is the rubbish of an ancient Castle which one Fulbert of Dover is said to have built Fulbert of Dover which family soon ended in a female heir marry'd to Richard natural son of King John to whom she brought this castle and very large possessions He had two daughters by her Lora wife of William Marmion and Isabel wife of David de Strathbolgy Earl of Athole in Scotland 65 Afterward of Sir Alexander Baliol who was call'd to Parliament by the name of Lord of Chilham and mother to that John Earl of Athole who having been sentenc'd for repeated treasons to make him conspicuous in proportion to the nobility of his birth was hang'd at London upon a gallows 50 foot
remov'd the Rother which formerly empty'd it self here into the sea out of it's chanel stopping up it's mouth and opening for it a nearer passage into the sea by Rhie then it began by little and little to forsake this town which has decay'd by degrees ever since and has lost much of it's ancient populousness and dignity Below this the land shoots forth a long way eastward we call it Nesse as resembling a nose 93 Before which lieth a dangerous flat in the sea upon which stands Lid Lid. a pretty populous town whither the inhabitants of Prom-hill betook themselves after that inundation And in the very utmost Promontory call'd Denge-nesse Denge-nesse where is nothing but beech and pebles there grow * Ilices Holme-trees with sharp pricky leaves always green representing a low wood for a mile together and more Among those pebles near Stone-end is a heap of larger stones which the neighbouring people call the monument of S. Crispin and S. Crispinian who they say were cast upon this shore by shipwrack and call d from hence into an heavenly Country From hence the shore turning it's course goes directly westward and has a sort of pease which grows in great plenty and naturally amongst the pebles in large bunches like grapes in taste differing very little from field-pease and so runs forward to the mouth of the Rother which for some time divides Kent from Sussex The course of this river as to Sussex-side we have briefly spoken to before On Kent-side it has Newenden which I am almost perswaded was that haven I have long sought after call'd by the Notitia Anderida Anderida by the Britains Caer Andred and by the Saxons Andredsceaster Andredsceaster First because the inhabitants affirm it to have been a town and haven of very great Antiquity 94 Whereof they shew the plott next from its situation by the wood Andredswald to which it gave that name and lastly because the Saxons seem'd to have call'd it Brittenden i.e. a valley of the Britains as they call'd also Segontium of which before from whence Selbrittenden is the name of the whole Hundred adjoyning The Romans to defend this coast against the Saxon Pirats plac'd here a band of the Abulci with their Captain Afterwards it was quite destroy'd by the outrages of the Saxons For Hengist having a design to drive the Britains entirely out of Kent and finding it his interest to strengthen his party by fresh supplies 95 Of his own nation sent for Aella out of Germany with great numbers of the Saxons Then making a vigorous assault upon this Anderida the Britains that lay in ambuscade in the next wood did disturb him to such a degree that when at last after much blood-shed on both sides by dividing his forces he had defeated the Britains in the woods and at the same time broke into the town his barbarous heart was so inflam'd with a desire of revenge that he put the inhabitants to the sword and demolish'd the place For many ages after as Huntingdon tells us there appeared nothing but ruins to those that travell'd that way till under Edward the first the Friers Carmelites just come from Mount Carmel in Palestine and above all desiring solitary places had a little Monastery built them at the charge of †Sir Thomas Albuger Knight upon which a town presently sprung up and with respect to the more ancient one that had been demolish'd began to be call d Newenden i.e. a new town in a valley 96 I saw nothing there now but a mean village with a poor Church and a wooden bridge to no great purpose for a ferry is in most use since that the river Rother not containing himself in his Chanel hath overlaid and is like to endanger and surround the level of rich lands thereby Whereupon the inhabitants of Rhie complain that their haven is not scour'd by the stream of Rother as heretofore and the owners here suffer great loss which their neighbours in Oxeney do fear if it were remedy'd would fall upon them This is a river-Isle ten miles about encompass't with the river Rother dividing his streams and now brackish having his name either of mire which our Ancestors called Hox or of Oxen which it feedeth plentifully with rank grass Opposite to this is c. Lower down the river Rother divides it's waters and surrounds Oxney Oxâ—ey an Island abounding with grass and near its mouth has Apuldore Apuâ—dâ—â—â— where that infectious rout of Danish and Norman pirates after they had been preying upon the French-coasts under Hasting their Commander landed with their large spoils and built a castle but King Alfred by his great courage forced them to accept conditions of peace d d d Near in a woody part are Cranbroke Tenderden Benenden and other neighbouring towns 97 Sisingherst a fair house of the family of Bakers advanced by Sir John Baker not long since Chancellour of the Exchequer and his marriage with a daughter and heir of Dingley Bengebury an habitation of the ancient family of Colepepper and near adjoyning Hemsted a mansion of thâ— Guildfords an old family but most eminent since Sir John Guildford was Controuler of the House to King Edward 4. For his son and heir Sir Richard Guildford was by King Henry 7. made Knight of the Garter Of his sons again Sir Edward Guildford was Marshal of Calais Lord Warden of the Cinque Ports and Master of the Ordnance Father to Jane Dutchess of Northumberland Wife to Sir J. Dudley Duke of Northumberland Mother to the late Earls of Warwick and Leicester and Sir Henry was chosen Knight of the Garter by King Henry 8. and had his Arms enabled with a Canton of Granado by Ferdinand King of Spain for his worthy service in that Kingdom when it was recover'd from the Moors and Edward liv'd in great esteem at home To be brief from the said Sir John are issued by Females immediately the Darels of Cale-hill Gages Brownes of Beechworth Walsinghams Cromers Isaacs and Iseleies families of prime and principal note in these parts But now I digress and therefore crave pardon wherein the * The Cloathing of Kent is very much decay'd cloath-trade has been very much encourag'd ever since the time of Edward 3. who in the tenth year of his reign invited over into England some of the Flemings by promises of large rewards and grants of several immunities The Câ— Manâ—â—◠〈◊〉 Englâ—â— to teach the English the cloath-manufacture which is now one of the pillars of the kingdom 98 Thus much of Kent which to conclude summarily hath this part last spoken of for Drapery the Isle of Tenet and the east parts for the Granary the Weald for the Wood Rumney-marsh for the meadow-plot the north Downs towards the The Thames for the Cony-garthe Tenham and thereabout for an Orchard and Head-corne for the brood and poultrey of fat big and commended Capons Now
†Ports and Forts pag. 104 105. Mr. Somner rather inclines to believe that either Hastings or Pemsey on the coast of Sussex must have been the old Anderida founding his opinion upon what Gildas says concerning these Ports and Forts viz. that they were placed in littore oceani ad meridiem but I suppose this ought to be understood in a large sense every thing being to be taken for sea whither such vessels could come as they had in those days in which sense no doubt Newenden might be accounted a sea-town and liable to such Pyrates as the Saxons were as well as either Pemsey or Hastings Continuation of the EARLS The last Earl of Kent whom our Author mentions dying without issue An. 1625. was succeeded by his brother Charles who by his wife Susan daughter of Sir Rich. Cotton of Hampshire had issue Henry who dying without issue An. 1639. the honour by reason of the entail upon the heir male descended to Anthony Grey Rector of Burbach in the County of Leicester son of George son of Anthony Grey of Barnspeth third son to George Grey the second Earl of Kent of this family which Anthony by Magdalen his wife daughter of William Purefoy of Caldico◠in Com. Warwick Esq had 5 sons and 4 daughters whereof Henry the eldest son succeeded in the Honour and wedded Mary the daughter of Sir Anthony Ben by whom he had issue Henry who dy'd young and Anthony now Earl of Kent More rare Plants growing wild in Kent Acinos Anglicum Clus pan Acinos Dioscoridis fortè ejusdem in Hist Acin Anglica Clusii Park Clinopodium 3. seu Ocimi facie alterum C. B. Clinopodium 4. Ger. emac. English wild Basil This grows in chalky mountainous barren and gravelly grounds not only in Kent where Clusius found it but in many other Counties of England I take it to be only a variety of the common Acinos or Stone Basil differing in having a thicker even-edged or not-indented leaf The Herb-Women were wont formerly to sell this Plant for Poley-mountain at London I suppose now they are better informed Adiantum album Offic. Tab. Cam. Ruta muraria Ger. J. B. C. B. Ruta muraria sive Salvia vitae Park White Maidenhair Wall-Rue Tentwort This grows in many places on old stone walls and in the chinks of rocks as in this County on Rochester-bridge on the walls of Sir Robert Barnham's house at Bocton Munchelsey at Cobham where all the houses are covered with it P. B. on Ashford-bridge and at Darford Park †Alcea minor Park The lesser Vervain-mallow Parkinson for Synonyma of this gives Alcea Matthioli Tragi which others make synonymes of the common greater Vervain-mallow He tells us also that it grows in some places of Kent but names no particular ones Now Kent is a large spot of ground to seek out a plant in Alchimilla Ger. vulgaris C. B. major vulgaris Park Pes leonis sive Alchimilla J. B. Ladies mantle This is found frequently growing in mountainous meadows and pastures especially in the North of England where by the common people it is called Bears-foot It grows also in the southern parts but more rarely I have found it in some pastures near my own dwelling in Essex and therefore can easily believe Parkinson that it may be found at Kingswood nigh Feversham and elsewhere in Kent Alga fontalis trichodes C. B. Alga sive Conserva fontalis trichodes Park Trichomanes aquaticum Dalechampii J. B. Water Maidenhair I happened to find this plant in the cistern or conduit-house at Leeds Abbey in Kent belonging then to Sir William Meredith howbeit I do not think it peculiar to Kent but common to the like places all England over tho' it hath not yet been my hap to meet with it elsewhere Alopecuros altera maxima Anglica paludosa Ger. emac. altera maxima Anglica paludosa sive Gramen Alopecuroides maximum J. B. Lob. Adv. part alt Alopec maxima Anglica Park Great English Marsh Fox-tail grass In the salt marsh by Eriffe Church P. B. †Alsine Cochleariae longae facie nondum descripta P. B. Chickweed resembling the long-leaved Scurvy-grass Between the two Parks at Eltham on the mud What Plant the Authors of Phytologia Britannica meant by this name I cannot easily divine Some have thought that they intended Alfine longifolia uliginosis proveniens locis J. B. However no man that I have heard of hath as yet been able to discover any non-descript plant thereabout †Alsine corniculata Clusii Ger. J. B. Park Lychnis segetum minor C. B. Horned Chickweed This is a sort of Mouse-ear Chickweed and no Campion as C. Bauhine would have it In Westgate Bay in the Isle of Thanet P. B. I do not believe that ever it grew there unless in some garden or of seed accidentally shed It s natural place is in Spain among corn The same Authors of Phyt. Brit. tell us that Anchusa lutea is also to be found in the same Isle I believe as much as the former Anagallis aquatica rotundifolia Ger. aquat rotundifolia non crenata C. B. aquat 3. Lobelii folio subrotundo non crenato Park Samolus valerandi J. B. Round-leaved Water-Pimpernell This herb growing in many watery and marsh grounds and about little rivulets and springs in most Counties of England I should not have mentioned as a peculiar of Kent but that it is no very common plant and others have assigned places to it in this County In the Salt marshes two miles below Gravesend P. B. Anagallis foemina Ger. coerulea foemina J. B. terrestris coeruleo flore C. B. Park Female or blue-flower'd Pimpernell This may likely enough be found in Rumney-marsh as Parkinson tells us We have observed it among the corn in other places of England but more sparingly beyond seas it 's more plentiful in some Countries than the red However I take it to be not a distinct species but an accidental variety of Pimpernel differing only in the colour of the flower Armeria sylvestris altera calyculo foliolis fastigiatis cincto Lob. Caryophyllus pratensis Ger. pratensis noster major minor Park barbatus sylvestris C. B. Viola barbata angustifolia Dalechampii J. B. Deptford pink This is so called either because it grows plentifully in the pastures about Deptford or because it was there first taken notice of by our Herbarists 'T is not peculiar to Kent but common to many other Counties in meadows and pastures especially where the ground is sandy or gravelly Atriplex maritima laciniata C. B. maritima J. B. marina Ger. marina repens Lob. Park Jagged Sea-Orrache At Queenborough and Margate in the Isle of Thanet and in many other places on the sandy shores Ger. Though I have not observed it in these places yet I believe it may there be found as well as on the coasts of Essex Brassica arborea seu procerior ramosa maritima Morison An Brassica rubra vulgaris J. B Perennial tree-Colewort or Cabbage On the chalky cliffes at Dover
expresly says that the Founders did therein instituere Canonicos seculares who were of the Order of S. Augustine Roger de Iveri is there mention'd as a Co-Founder a Parish-Church dedicated to St. George to which the Parishioners not having free access when the Empress Maud was closely besieg'd in this castle by King Stephen the Chapel of St. Thomas Å¿ Westward from the Castle hard by was built for that purpose He is supposed likewise to have beautified the city with new walls which are now by age sensibly impair'd Robert his Nephew son of his brother Nigel Chamberlain to King Hen. 1. t Who design'd thereby to expiate the sins of her former unchaste life and to prevail with her husband told him a story of the chattering of birds and the interpretation of a Frier which legendary tale Leland tells us was painted near her Tomb in that Abbey by persuasion of his wife Edith daughter of Furn who had been the last Concubine of that Prince in the island meadows nigh the castle built Oseny Oseney Abby which the ruins of the walls still shew to have been very large At the same time as we read in the Register of the said Abbey of Oseney Robert Pulein began to read the holy scriptures at Oxford which were before grown almost out of use in England which person after he had much profited the English and French Churches by his good doctrine was invited to Rome by Pope Lucius 2. and promoted to the dignity of Chancellour of that See To the same purpose John Rous of Warwick writes thus By the care of Keng Henry the first the Lecture of Divinity which had been long intermitted began again to flourish and this Prince built there a new Palace which was afterward converted by King Edward 2. into a Convent for Carmelite Friers But u Richard Ceur de Lion third son of Henry and Queen Eleanor his wife was born on the Feast of the Assumption of the Virgin Mary An. 1157. 4 Hen. 1. in the King's Palace of Beaumont in a Chamber upon the ground whereof the Carmelites when this house was given them by King Edw. 2. built a Belfrey and Tower of which they us'd to boast as the place of Nativity to this Martial Prince long before this conversion was born in that Palace the truly Lion-hearted Prince King Richard 1. commonly call'd Ceur de Lion Richard ceur de Lyon a Monarch of a great and elevated Soul born for the glory of England and protection of the Christian world and for the terror and confusion of Pagans and Infidels Upon whose death a Poet of that age has these tolerable verses Viscera Carleolum corpus Fons servat Ebrardi Et cor Rothomagum magne Richarde tuum In tria dividitur unus qui plus fuit uno Nec superest uno gloria tanta viro Hic Richarde jaces sed mors si cederet armis Victa timore tui cederet ipsa tuis Great Richard's body's at Fontevrault shown His bowels at Carlisle his head at Roan He now makes three because too great for one Richard lyes dead but death had fear'd his power Could this proud Tyrant own a Conquerour The City being thus adorn'd with beautiful buildings many Students began to flock hither as to the common Mart of civility and good letters So that learning here quickly reviv'd chiefly through the care of the foresaid Robert Pulein a man born to promote the interest of the learned world who spar'd no trouble and pains to cleanse and open the fountains of the Muses which had been so miserably dried and damm'd up under the favour and protection of King Henry 1. King Henry 2. and Richard his son whom I mention'd just before And he met with such fortunate success in his endeavours that in the reign of King John there were three thousand Students in this place who went away altogether some to Reading and some to Cambridge w As also to Maidstone Salisbury and other places when they could no longer bear the x Which happen'd An. 1209. the 10th of King John upon a Clerk in Oxford accidentally killing a woman and complaint being made to the King then at Woodstock he commanded two of the Scholars who upon suspicion of that fact had been imprison'd by the Towns-men to be immediately hang'd without the City walls This so much offended and frighted the poor Scholars that they all deserted the Town But the Inhabitants being soon sensible of the desolation and poverty they had brought upon themselves did upon their knees deprecate the fault at Westminster before Nicholas the Pope's Legate and submitted to a publick Penance Upon which the dispersed Scholars after five years absence return'd to Oxford An. 1214. and obtain'd some new Privileges for their more effectual protections abuses of the rude and insolent Citizens but when these tumults were appeas'd they soon after return'd Then and in the following times as Divine Providence seem'd to set apart this City for a seat of the Muses so did the same Providence raise up a great number of excellent Princes and Prelates who exercis'd their piety and bounty in this place for the promoting and encouraging of Arts and all good Literature And when King Henry 3. came hither and visited the shrine of S. Frideswide which was before thought a dangerous crime in any Prince and so took away that superstitious scruple which had before hindred several Kings from entring within the walls of Oxford He here conven'd a Parliament to adjust the differences between him and the Barons and at that time confirm'd the privileges granted to the University by his Predecessors and added some new acts of grace and favour After which the number of learned men so far encreas'd as to afford a constant supply of persons qualified by divine and humane knowledge for the discharge of offices in Church and State So that Matthew Paris expresly calls Oxford The second School of the Church after Paris nay the very foundation of the Church r. For the Popes of Rome had before honour'd this place with the title of an University which at that time in their decretals they allow'd only to Paris Oxford Bononia and Salamanca And in the Council of Vienna it was determin'd That Schools for the Hebrew Arabic and Chaldaic tongues should be erected in the Studies of Paris Oxford Bononia and Salamanca as the most eminent that the knowledge of those Languages might be hereby propagated and encourag'd and that out of men of the Catholick Communion furnisht with sufficient abilities two should be chosen for the profession of each Tongue For the maintenance of which Professors in Oxford all the Prelates in England Scotland Ireland and Wales and all Monasteries Chapters Convents Colleges exempt and not exempt and all Rectors of Parish-Churches should make a yearly contribution In which words one may easily observe that Oxford was the chief School in England Scotland Wales and Ireland and that
belong'd to Nigel Kyre pp Next is Ricot Ricot which still continues in the family of the Norris's and is now part of the possession of the right honourable James Earl of Abingdon who had that honour conferr'd upon him Novemb. 29. 1682. and having marry'd Eleanora one of the daughters and coheirs of Sir Henry Lee Baronet by her has issue his eldest son and heir apparent Mountague Lord Norris who has marry'd the heiress to the family and estate of the ancient and honourable Venables Barons of Kenderton qq South and by West of Dorchester are two banks with a trench between them therefore call'd Dike-hills * Pag. 322. which in the opinion of Dr. Plot cannot be part of any Roman way because extended only as a string to the great bow of the river Thames but rather a fortification such as P. Ostorius is said by Tacitus to have rais'd on the rivers Antona and Sabrina or else some of the out-works of the fortifications on Long Witenham-hill on the other side the water which perhaps was the Sinnodunum of the ancient Britains So he rr Not far from hence is Ewelme Ewelme the Rectory whereof with a Canonâ—y of Christ-Church King James 1. in the third year of his reign annex'd to the office of Regius-Professor of Divinity in Oxford as he did at the same time the government of the Hospital here to that of Professor in Physick Which Prince however represented as of a mean spirit for his inclinations to peace was yet one of the highest patrons to learning and the greatest Benefactor to this University and deserves to have his memory vindicated from the common aspersions cast upon it by men of ignorance and men of arms ss Then the Thames runs forward to Henley Henley which Dr. Plot takes to be the ancientest town in the whole County so call'd says he from the British Hen which signifies old and Lley a place and perhaps might be the head town of the People call'd Ancalites that revolted to Caesar tt At some distance is Watlington Watlington which by the name one would imagine to be of no less than British Antiquity Plot. p 332 as seeming to point out to us * the old way of making their towns or cities an account whereof Strabo has left us viz. Groves fenc'd about with trees cut down and laid cross one another within which they built them sheds for both themselves and Cattel The same way of fencing the Saxons call'd Watelas hurdles or wattles from whence the town probably enough might have its name Continuation of the EARLS Henry the last Earl mention'd by our Author marry'd Diana second daughter to William Cecil Earl of Exeter and dy'd at the siege of Breda An. 1625. without issue Upon which Robert Vere son and heir of Hugh son and heir of Aubry de Vere second son of Earl John the fifth was in the Parliament held at Westminster An. 2 Car. 1. restor'd to this title of Earl of Oxford who taking to wife Beatrix van Hemmema of Friezland had issue by her Aubrey the present Earl Knight of the most noble Order of the Garter who marry'd Diana daughter to George Kirk Esq but by her has no issue More rare Plants growing wild in Oxfordshire Anagallis foemina flore coeruleo Female or Blew-flower'd Pimpernel At Battle near Oxford Park p. 554. Arundo vallatoria foliis ex luteo variegatis Painted or gilded Reed Found by Mr. Bobert in the river Thames not far from Oxford Though it be but an accidental variety it deserves to be mention'd being very ornamental in gardens Atriplex vulgaris sinuata spicata D. Plot. Hist. nat Oxon. It is found commonly on Dunghils growing together with Goose-foot Orache Geranium Columbinum maximum foliis dissectis D. Plot. Hist nat Oxon. columbinum majus foliis imis longis usque ad pediculum divisis Moris hist The greatest Doves-foot Cranes-bill with dissected leaves In hedges about Marston and on that part of Botley causey next Oxford in great plenty Gramen caninum aristatum radice non repente sylvaticum Dogs-grass with awns Found plentifully growing in Stoken-Church woods Mr. Bobert Gramen Secalinum majus Sylvaticum Gr. secalinum majus Park an Gr. hordeaceum montanum sive majus C. B. Wild Rye grass of the woods In Stoken-Church woods also Idem Gramen cyperiodes minimum Ranunculi capitulo rotundo Cyperus-grass with a round Crowfoot-head Frequently found on the bogs on the west side of Oxford Idem Gramen bromoides maximum hirtum Park Festuca graminea perennis hirsuta gluma longiore dumetorum spicâ divisâ In Godstow copse near Oxford Idem Helleborine flore albo vel Damasonium montanum latifolium C B. Ger. Damasonium Alpinum seu Elleborine floribus albis J. B. Elleborine minor flore albo Park White-flower'd Bastard-Hellebore In the woods near Stoken-Church not far from the way leading from Oxford to Lnod Hordeum nudum seu Gymnocrithon J. B. Zeopyron sive Tritico-speltum C. B. Park Hordeum nudum Ger. cujus figura huic plantae minimè respondet Naked Barley It is sown in the fields about Islip in Oxfordshire and other places It is really a species of wheat and no Barley only its ear resembles the Hordeum dystichum Orobanche Verbasculi odore D. Plot. Hist nat Oxon. Birds-nest smelling like Primrose-roots At the bottoms o trees in the woods near Stoken church Saxifraga Anglica annua Alsines folio D. Plot. Hist nat Oxon. Annual Pearl-wort In the walks of Baliol-College gardens and on the fallow-fields about Hedington and Cowley plentifully and in many other places Stachys Fuchsii J. B. Ger. major Germanica C. B. Park Base Hore-hound Nigh Witney-park in Oxfordshire and thereabouts plentifully Tilia foliis molliter hirsutis viminibus rubris fructu tetragono 'T is known by the name of the red Lime and grows naturally in Stoken-Church woods Mr. Bobert Tormentilla reptans alata foliis profundiùs serratis Pentaphyllum minus viride flore aureo tetrapetalo radiculas in terram è geniculis demittens Moris Hist Creeping Tormentil with deeply indented leaves In the borders of the corn-fields between Hockley and Shotover-woods and elsewhere Triticum spica multiplici C. B. Ger. Park Many-eared wheat It hath been sown about Biceter and Weston on the green Viola Martia hirsuta major in odora D. Plot. Hist nat Oxon. Moris hist. Trachelii folio D. Merret Violet with Throatwort-leaves In Magdalen-college-Cops Shotover-hills Stow-wood and many other places plentifully It is found in most Countries Viola palustris rotundifolia D. Plot. Hist nat Oxon. Round-leaved Marsh-violet In the bogs about Stow-wood and on the banks of Cherwell between Oxford and Water-Eyton but sparingly Clematis Daphnoides major C. B. Daphnoid latifolia seu Vinca pervinca major Park The greater Periwinkle In the high-ways between Wolverton and Yarnton and in several hedges thereabout I am not yet fully satisfied that this is a native of England though it be found in the places mentioned
Chronicon Saxonic from whence also we learn that in 921. the Danes leaving the siege of Tocester and coming upon the unarm'd people took a great booty of men and cattel between Bernwood and Aâ—lsbury 572. As for its old British name that through the injury of time is quite lost This town was heretofore chiefly famous for St. Aedith St. Aedith a native of it who when she had prevail'd with her father Frewald to give her this for her portion presently upon perswasion of some Religious persons left the world and her husband and taking on her the habit of a Nun grew so celebrated for her sanctity that in that fruitful age of Saints she is reported to have done several miracles together with her sister Edburg Edburg from whom Edburton a little village among the hills takes its name * Now commonly Middleton-cheney In the time of the Conquerour this was a Manour-royal and several yard-lands were here given by the King upon condition that the holders of them should find Litter i.e. straw for the King's bed I hope the nice part of the world will observe this whenever he should come thither h In the reign of Edw. 1. certain Knights surnam'd de Ailsbury who bore for arms a Cross argent in a field azure are reported but how truly I know not to have been Lords of this place Yet so much is certain that these Knights were eminent in those times and that by marriage with an heiress of the Cahaignes formerly Lords of Middleton Cahaignes they came to a plentiful estate which fell afterwards by marriage to the Chaworths or de Cadurcis and Staffords 10 Of Grafton c. The greatest repute it now hath is for Cattel It owes much to the munificence of Lord chief Justice Baldwin who not only adorn'd it with several publick edifices but rais'd an excellent Causey for about three miles where the road is deep and troublesome All round about are fed a vast number of well-fleec'd sheep to the great profit and advantage of their owners especially at Querendon Querendâ—â— a Lordship belonging to the very eminent Sir Henry Lee Knight of the Garter Eythorp Eythorp once to the Dinhams now to the Dormers Knights and Winchindon Winchindon to the Godwins Knights c. i By the Thames down lower we meet with nothing memorable unless Cherdsley Cherdâ—â—ey be as many think it is the g The true reading is Gerdices-leag Cerdic-slega of the Saxons so call'd from Cerdicius who had here a sharp engagement with the Britains Nigh to this place is Credendon now Crendon which was the seat of the Honour of Giffard by which name that vast estate was call'd that fell to Walter Gifford at the Conquest 11 Whose son the second Earl of Buckingham and Ermingard his wife built the Abbey of Noteley thereby in the year 1112. So Holland who being made Earl of Buckingham founded as 't is thought the Monastery of Notesley Noteâ—â—ey and his Cousin h See in Northumberland under the title Barony of Bolebec Hugh de Bolebec from whom by a female the Earls of Oxford are descended held here several manours of him The ruins of Bolebec-castle Bolebec-â—â—â—â—â—e appear hard by in the Parish of Whitchurch 12 Near unto which is Ascot the principal mansion-house of the Dormers from whence descended the Dutchess of Fesia in Spain and others of noble note Usa or Ouse formerly Isa and the second Isis which flows gently through the northern part of this Shire rising in Northamptonshire and presently entring this County with but a small current passeth by Bitlesden Bâ—â—â—esden which Robert de Mapertshal Lord of the place gave to Osbert de Clinton Chamberlain to Hen. 1. k a powerful man at Court to save him from being punish'd as a Felon for stealing one of the King's hounds But he receiv'd it back again from the Chamberlain with a Kinswoman of his in marriage Yet in the Civil Wars in K. Stephen's time he lost it again and Ernald de Bosco by the favour of Robert Earl of Leicester got it who in the year 1127. founded there a little Monastery for Cistertian Monks l The next place that the Ouse visits is Buckingham Buckingham the chief town of the County which Edward the Elder in the year 1915. as Marianus hath it foâ—tified with a rampire and turrets on both sides of the bank against the incursions of the Danes Yet it seems to have been no considerable place in the first times of the Normans since in the reign of the Confessor as Domesday book informs us it paid only for one hide and had twenty six Burgesses The town is seated on a low ground the Ouse very commodious for the mills surrounds it on all sides but the north The Castle seated in the middle of the town upon a great mount of whose very ruins scarce any thing now remains as it were divideth the town into two parts the greater of these is to the north where stands the Town-hall i 918. Chron. Sax. the lesser to the west in which there is a Church though not very ancient where was the Coffin of St. Rumbald S Rumbald 13 A child born k Yet our Author in Northamptonshire says this Saint was born at Brackley in that County at King's Sutton a neighbouring village and by our ancestors esteem'd a 14 Child-Saint and much fam'd with many miracles Saint m Hence the Ouse moves with a gentle current to the north-east More easterly from the river toward the woods is Whaddon Whaddon formerly the seat of the Giffards who were hereditary Keepers of Whaddon-Chase under the Earl of Ulster from whom that office descended to the Pigots who sold it into another family Here is now the residence of the warlike family of the Barons Grey of Wilton Barons Grey of Wilton who held the adjoyning manour of Eaton by the service of keeping one Gerfalcon of the King 's whence that family bears for their crest a falcon sitting on a glove Not far hence lies Saulden Saulden where there is a neat house built by the honourable and learned Knight Sir John Fortescue who for his prudence and integrity was made Chancellour of the Exchequer 15 And of the Dutchy of Lancaster and privy Counsellor to Queen Elizabeth and King James 1. for him and his family On the other side of the river not far from the bank are 16 Stow of the family of the Temples Leckhamsted Leâ—khamsted the seat 17 Of the Greenwaies of the Tirrils Lillingstone L l ingston of the ancient family of the De-hairel commonly Dairell and Luffeld Lâ—â—feld where there was formerly a Monastery founded by Robert Earl of Leicester but the Monks dying all of the plague caus'd it to be deserted Higher on the south-bank of the river the most considerable place is Stony-Stratford
which had been for some time buried under ground and was dug up a perfect stone More to the East Tuddington shews it's beautiful house lately built by H. Lord Cheney 12 Made by Queen Elizabeth Baron Cheyney of Tuddington built and shortly after dy'd sans-issue where also formerly Paulinus Pever a Courtier and Sewer to King Henry 3. did as Matth. Paris tells us build a seat with such palace-like grandeur such a Chapel such Lodgings with other houses of stone cover'd with lead and surrounded it with such ‖ Pomoeâ—â— avenues and parks that it rais'd an astonishment in the beholders We have not gone far from this place along by Hockley in the hole a dirty road extreme troublesome to travellers in winter time 13 For the old Englishmen our Progenitors call'd deep mire hock and hocks and through fields wherein are the best beans yielding a pleasant smell but by their fragrancy spoiling the scent of dogs not without the great indignation of the Hunters till we ascend a white hill into Chiltern and presently come to Dunstable Duâ—stabâ—e seated in a chalky ground pretty well inhabited and full of Inns. It has 4 streets answering the 4 quarters of the world and because of the dryness of the soil every one has 4 publick * Lacunâ— ponds which tho' supply'd only with rain-water are yet never dry For springs they can come at none without digging 24 fathom deep In the middle of the town there is a Cross or rather a Pillar having engraven upon it the Arms of England Castile and Pontieu and adorn'd with Statues it was built by K. Edw. 1. in memory of his Queen Eleanor among some others in places through which she was carry'd 14 Out of Lincolnshire in Funeral pomp to Westminster There 's no manner of doubt to be made but that this was the Station which Antoninus the Emperour in his Itinerary mentions under the name of Magioninium Magiovinium Magiovinium and Magintum c Mr. Camden in his second edition 8o. settl'd it at Ashwell in Hertfordshire nor need it be sought in any other place For setting aside that it stands upon the Roman Military way the Swineherds now and then in the neighbouring fields find Coins of the Emperors which they call to this day Madning-money and at a little distance upon the very descent of Chiltern-hills there is a round military fortification such as Strabo has told us the British towns were It contains 9. acres and is call'd Madning-bowre and Madin-bowre a name wherein with a little variation one may easily discover Magintum But after Magintum either by the storms of war or time was destroy'd Henry 1. built another Town here with a Royal seat at Kingsbury and planted a Colony that should be a curb to the insolence of Robbers as the private History of the little Monastery which he founded for an ornament to his Colony does plainly testifie But take the very words of that private History tho' they savour something of the barbarity of that age It is to be observ'd that that * Aâ—ea structure at the meeting of the way of Watling and Ikening d Primitus sartabatur in the folio edition but in the second which was in 8o. we find in the margin primitus succidebantur was first contriv'd by Henry the Elder of that name King of England to prevent the mischiefs of one Dun a famous Robber and his Gang and that from this Dun the place was call'd Dunstable i Our Lord the King built a burrough there and a Royal seat for himself near it The Burgesses were free in every thing as the other Burgesses of the King's Realm The King had in the same village a Fair and Market and afterwards built a Church wherein by the authority of Pope Eugenius 3. he plac'd Canons Regular feoffing the said Religious in the whole Burrough by Charter and granting them several immunities k 15 As for Leighton Buzard on the one side of Dunstable and Luton on the other neither have I read nor seen any thing memorable in them unless I should say that at Luton I saw a fair Church but the Quire then roofless and overgrown with weeds and adjoyning to it an elegant Chapel founded by J. Lord Wenlock and well maintained by the family of Rotheram planted here by Thomas Rotheram Archbishop of York and Chancellour of England in the time of King Edw. 4. Now of the Lords Dukes and Earls of Bedford Dâ—kes Earls and Barons of Bâ—â—â—ord First there were Barons of Bedford of the family of Beauchamp who by right of inheritance were Almoners to the Kings of England on their Coronation-day But the estate being divided by daughters to the Mowbrays Wakes and Fitz-Otes King Edward 3. made Engelram de Coucy Earl of Soissons in France 16 Son to Engelrame Lord of Coucy and his wife daughter to the Duke of Austria to whom he had marry'd a daughter first Earl of Bedford Afterwards Henry 5. erected Bedford into a Dukedom and it had three Dukes the first was John third son of Henry 4. who beat the French in a sea-engagement at the mouth of the Seine and again being made Regent of France 17 Slain in a land-fight at Vernolium He was bury'd at Roan and the Fortune of England as to the French wars was bury'd with him Whose monument while Charles 8. King of France was a viewing and a Nobleman stood by that advis'd him to pull it down Nay says he let him rest in peace now he 's dead whom France dreaded in the field while alive The second Duke of Bedford was George Nevil a young boy son of John Marquess of Montacute both of whom K. Edw 4. degraded by Act of Parliament almost assoon as he had set them up the father for treachery in deserting his party and the son out of revenge to the father Tho' it was indeed urg'd as a pretence that he had not estate enough to bear out the grandeur of a Duke and that great men when they want answerable Fortunes are always a plague and burthen to their neighbours The third was Jasper de Hatfeld Earl of Pembroke honour'd with this title by his * Nepote grandchild Hen. 7. whom he had sav'd out of very great dangers but 18 Some ten years after his creation he tho' he liv'd to a great age dy'd unmarry'd But within the memory of our Fathers it return'd to the title of an Earldom when King Edward 6. created John Russel Earl of Bedford who was succeeded by his son 19 Sir Francis Francis a person of that piety and gentile easiness of temper that whatever I can possibly say in his commendation will fall infinitely short of his Virtues He left Edward his successor and grandchild by his son Francis who is growing up by degrees to the honour of his Ancestors This little County has 116 Parishes ADDITIONS to BEDFORDSHIRE a ON the west-side of
they hanged him upon a tree 39 For in a reverent awe of the Church they durst not bury him because he died excommunicated To him succeeded his 2 sons 40 Geoffrey his son who was restored by Hen. 2. to his father's Honours and Estate for him and his heirs William who by his wife was also Earl of Albemarle Geoffrey and William both taken off without issue Afterwards K. John in consideration of a good sum of money 〈◊〉 Pierz 〈◊〉 Fâ—â—z-â—â—â—re promoted Geoffrey Fitz-Pierz L. Ch. Justice a very prudent and grave man to this dignity He had took to wife Beatrice eldest daughter to William de Say descended from the sister of Geoffrey de Magnavil first Earl of Essex A great mony'd man saith an old Author and very rich who with a round sum of money and many entreaties made his application to the Bishop of Ely the King's Justice and laid claim to this Earldom in right of his wife daughter of William brother to Geoffry de Say eldest son by an hereditary title Who admitted him into full seizin thereof and demanded the promis'd sum which he receiv'd within a little time to put into the King's Exchequer He being thus admitted and confirm'd by the King's Letters Patents held and possess'd this honour and receiv'd the Homage of those that held of him by Knight's service 41 And so was girt with the sword of the Earldom of Essex by King John at the solemnity of his Coronation This Geoffrey Fiz-Petre was advanced to the high Estate of Justicer of England by King Richard 1. when he removed Hubert Archbishop of Canterbury from that office by the Pope's peremptory command for that Bishops ought not to intermeddle in secular affairs This place the said Geoffrey Fitz-Petre executed with great commendation preserving by his wisdom the Realm from that confusion which it after fell into by King John's unadvised carriage Geoffrey and William the two sons of this Geoffrey Fitz-Piers taking the sirname of Magnavil or Mandevil enjoy'd this honour The former of these 42 By his wife was Earl of Glocester also and c. died young Register of Walden-Abbey being unfortunately kill'd at a publick Tilting The other took part with Prince Lewis of France against King John and died without issue So that the honour now fell to 43 Their sisters son Humfrey de Bohun Earl of Hereford and Constable of England For thus writes the Chronologer of Walton-Abbey In the year 1228. the 6th of the Ides of January William de Mandevil Earl of Essex died c. In the same year Humfrey de Bohun Earl of Hereford the Constable of England espoused Maud daughter to Geoffrey Earl of Essex and so succeeded in that honour But from the Archives it is evident that Henry de Bohun father to this Humfrey married the said heiress And such a mistake might easily creep in for in the Writers of that age the Christian-names are only marked with great Letters as See the Earls of Hereford H. for Henry or Humfrey G. for Gilbert or Geoffrey c. Of this family the male heirs succeeded in the dignity of Earls of Hereford and Essex for several years whom I have already reckon'd up among the Earls of Hereford because they wrote themselves Earls of Hereford and Essex Eleanor eldest daughter to the last of the Bohuns given in marriage with the honour to Thomas de Woodstock Duke of Glocester had by him one daughter Anne first married to Edmund Earl of Stafford from whom sprang the Dukes of Buckingham and then to 44 Sir William William Bourgchier to whom K. Henry 5. gave the County of Ewe in Normandy This last had by her a son of his own name advanced to the dignity of Earl of Essex by Edw. 4. 45 In regard he had married his Aunt and was descended from Thomas of Woodstock He was succeeded by another Henry his son's son who died in his old age by a fall from his horse leaving issue only one daughter Anne who being laid aside King Henry 8. that he might make new additions to his honours and preferments created Thomas Cromwell who had been his main assistant in baffling the Pope's authority at the same time Earl of Essex High Chamberlain of England and Knight of the Garter Before this for his extraordinary prudence he had made him Master of the Rolls Secretary of State Baron Cromwell of Okeham Vicar General to the King in spiritual concerns and Lord Keeper and all this in five years time But after five months enjoyment of his Earldom he like most great favourites in the State concluded his scene of life with a most tragical end losing his head for treason The same King promoted to the Earldom of Essex 46 Sir William William Par to whom he had given in marriage Anne the only daughter and heir of Henry Bourgchier But he too at last dying without issue Walter Devreux Viscount Hereford whose great grandmother was Cicely Bourgchier sister to Henry Bourgchier of whom we spoke but now receiv'd the honour of Earl of Essex by the favour of Queen Elizabeth and left it to his son Robert who being for his excellent natural endowments highly in favour with that admirable Princess sail'd with such a smooth and prosperous gale into honours and preferments as to make it the common hope and expectation of the Kingdom that he would equal if not exceed the greatest characters of his Ancestors But at last being carried away with vain ambition and popularity and endeavouring to get the start of his own hopes he hurried himself into a sad destruction As several persons who condemn slow methods though secure choose sudden ones to their utter ruin But his young son Robert was restor'd to full possession of his father's honour by authority of Parliament through the special favour of our present most Serene Soveraign King James There are reckoned in this County 415 Parish-Churches ADDITIONS to ESSEX a THE County of Essex is so bounded with waters that by the help of the Ocean on one side and Rivers on others it makes a Peninsula As to Viscountile Jurisdiction it seems formerly to have been annext to Hertfordshire for in the 8th of Edward 3. John de Cogshall was Sheriff of them both about which time also one Escheator discharg'd the office in both b Our Author begins with Waltham-forrest Waltham-forrest which might very well be call d as he observes the Forrest of Essex reaching formerly through this County as far as the Sea * Norden's Essex MS. as appeareth by Edward the Confessor's gift to one Randolph Peperkin It still is so large as to thrust it self out into a great many Hundreds c Near the Thames is Leyton Leyton where Mr. Camden is enclin'd to settle the Durolitum Durolitum of Antoninus though he professes himself altogether at a loss for the places mention'd hereabouts by the Ancients And 't is no wonder that
without issue was succeeded by his brother Roger whose son Richard marry'd Amicia daughter and coheir of William Earl of Glocester and in right of her his posterity were Earls of Glocester whom you may find in their proper place But at last upon default of heir-male Leonel third son of Edw. 3. who had marry'd Elizabeth daughter and sole heir of William de Burgo Earl of Ulster by Elizabeth Clare was honour'd by his father with the new title of Duke of Clarence But he having only a daughter call'd Philippa wife of Edmund Mortimer Earl of March King Henry 4. created his younger son Thomas Duke of Clarence Dukes of Clarence who was Governour of Normandy 7 As also Lord High Steward of England and Earl of Albemarle and in the assaults of the Scots and French was slain in Anjou leaving no issue behind him A considerable time after Edward 4. conferr'd this honour upon George his brother whom after bitter quarrels and a most inveterate hatred between them he had receiv'd into favour yet for all that he at length dispatch'd him in prison ordering him to be drown'd as the report commonly goes †In dolio vini Cretici in a butt of Malmesey And thus 't is planted in the nature of man to hate those they fear and those with whom they have had quarrels for life even tho' they be brethren e From Clare the Stour runs by Long-Melford a beautiful Hospital lately built by that excellent person Sir William Cordall Knight Master of the Rolls to Sudbury Sudbury i.e. the Southern burrough which it almost encompasses The common opinion is e For Ecclesiastical Jurisdiction it has still something of preheminence the County being divided into the two Archdeaconries of Suffolk and of Sudbury that this was once the chief town of the County and that it had the name given it with respect to Norwich i.e. the northern village And indeed at this day it has no reason to give place to it's neighbours For 't is populous and thrives exceedingly by the Cloth-trade it 's chief Magistrate also is a Mayor who is annually chosen out of the seven Aldermen Not far from hence is Edwardeston Edwardeston a place of no great repute at present but had formerly Lords and inhabitants of great honour call'd de Monte Canisio and commonly Mont-chensy Barons de Montchensy Of which family Guarin marry'd the daughter and co-heir of that most powerful Earl of Pembroke William Marshal and had by her a daughter Joanna who brought to her husband William de Valentia of the family of Lusigny in France Minor Hist Matth. Par. the title of Earl of Pembroke That Guarin Mont-chensy as he had great honours so likewise had he a very plentiful fortune insomuch that in those times he was call'd the Crassus of England his Will amounting to no less than two hundred thousand marks f 8 No small wealth as the standard was then From a younger brother or cadet of this house of Montchensie issu'd by an heir-general the fâ—â—â—ly of the Waldgraves who having long flourisht in Knightly degree at Smaltbridge nearer to Stour as another family of great account in elder age 〈◊〉 Buers which was thereof sirnamed A few miles from hence the Stour is encreas'd by the little river Breton which within a small compass washes two towns of Antiquity At the head of it we see Bretenham a little inconsiderable town without almost any appearance of a City and yet that it is the Combretonium Combretonium mention'd by Antoninus in those parts is evident both from the affinity and signification of the name For as Bretenham Bretenham in English implies a town or mansion upon the Breton so does Combretonium in Welsh a valley or low place upon the Breton But this place in the Peutegerian Tables is falsly call'd Comvetronum and Ad Covecin A little way from hence to the east is seen Nettlested 9 Whence was Sir Thomas Wentworth whom King Henry 8. honour'd with the title of Baron Wentworth from whence are the Wentworths Baâ—ons Wentworth whom King Henry the eighth honour'd with the dignity of Barons and neighbour to it is Offton i.e. the town of Offa King of the Mercians where upon a chalky hill there lye the ruins of an old Castle which they tell you was built by King Offa after he had villanously cut off Ethelbert King of the East-Angles and seiz'd upon his kingdom 10 But to return to the river Breton on the banks of another brook that is joyn'd thereto stands Lancham a â—air market-town and near it the manour of Burnt-Elleie to which King Henry 3. granted a market at the request of Sir Henry Shelton Lord thereof whose pâ—sterity flourisht here for a long time Below this is Hadley in Saxon headlege famous at this day for making of woollen Cloaths but mention'd by our ancient Historians upon the account of Guthrum or Gormo the Dane's Guthrum or Gormo the Dane being buried here For when Alfred had brought him to such terms as to make him embrace Christianity and be baptiz'd he assign'd him this tract of the East-Angles that he might to use the words of my g Selden has observ'd it to be taken out of Malmesbury Not. MS. Author by a due Allegiance to the King protect those Countries he had before over-run with ravage and plunder From hence the Breton runs 11 Runs swiftly by Higham whence the family of Higham takes its name to Stour c. into the Stour whose united streams flowing not far from Bentley Bentley where the Talmaches a famous and ancient family have a long time flourisht within a few miles run near Arwerton Arwerton formerly the seat of the famous family of the Bacons 12 Who held this manour of Brome by conducting all the Footmen of Suffolk and Norfolk from St. Edmund's-dike in the wars of Wales now of the Parkers who by the father's side are descended from the Barons Morley and by the mother from the Calthrops a very eminent family Then they flow into the Ocean and the river Orwell or Gipping joyning them just at the mouth discharges it self along with them This rises about the very middle of the County out of two Springs one near Wulpett Wulpett the other at a little village call'd Gipping Wulpett is a Market-town and signifies in Latin Luporum fossa i.e. a den of Wolves if we believe Neubrigensis who has patcht up as formal a story about this place as is the * Vera narratio True Narrative of Lucian Namely how two little green boys †Ex Satyrorum genere born of Satyrs after a long tedious wandering through subterraneous Caverns from another world i.e. the Antipodes and the Land of St. Martin came up here If you would have more particulars of the story I refer you to the Author himself ‖ Omnibus rihonibus ridenda prâ—pinabit who
Lancaster Earl of Hereford to the King for blabbing some scandalous and malicious words against his Majesty And when they were to try it by duel a Herald by the King's authority pronounc'd sentence against them at the very Lists that both should be banish'd Lancaster for 10 years but Mowbray for life who dy'd at Venice leaving two sons behind him in England Whereof Thomas Earl Marshal and Earl of Nottingham for he had no other titles upon raising a conspiracy was beheaded by Henry of Lancaster who had possest himself of the Crown under the name of Henry 4. But his brother and heir John by the favour of Hen. 5. was restor'd and being for some years after stil'd only Earl Marshal and Earl of Nottingham upon Hen. 6.'s coming to the Crown was by virtue of a Patent granted by Rich. 2. as son of Thomas Duke of Norfolk his father Rot. Parl. 3 Hen. 6. and heir to Thomas his brother declar'd Duke of Norfolk by authority of Parliament He was succeeded by his son John who dy'd in the first year of Edw. 4. and he also by his son of that name who in the life-time of his father was by Hen. 6. created Earl of Surrey and Warren Parl. 17. Edw. 4. Whose only daughter Anne was marry'd to Richard Duke of York K. Ed. the 4.'s young son and with her had a grant from his father of the titles of Norfolk Earl Marshal Warren and Nottingham But both he and his wife being made away very young Rich. 3. K. of England conferr'd the title of Duke of Norfolk and the authority of Earl Marshal upon 24 John Lord Howard John Howard who was found Kinsman and one of the heirs of Anne Dutchess of York and Norfolk above-mention'd For his mother was one of the daughters of that first Tho. Mowbray Duke of Norfolk and K. Edw. 4. had advanc'd him to the dignity of a Baron This John was kill'd in the battel of Bosworth fighting valiantly for Richard against Hen. 7. His son Thomas who by creation from Rich. 3. was Earl of Surrey 25 And by King Hen. 7. made Lord Treasurer was by K. Hen. 8. restor'd to his father's title of Norfolk 26 And his son the same day created Earl of Surrey after he had routed the Scotch-army 27 At Branxton at Floddon wherein James 1. K. of Scots was slain In memory of which victory it was granted to the family of the Howards that in the middle of the White Bend in their Arms there should be added In an Escocheon Or An honorary Escocheon in the Arms of the Howards a demy Lion shot through the mouth with an arrow within a double tressure adorn'd with Lilies on both sides Gules which comes very near to the Arms of the Kings of Scotland He was succeeded by his son Thomas 28 As well in his Honours as in the Office of Lord Treasurer of England and liv'd in the time of Queen Mary whom our own Age saw toss'd about with the ebbs and flows of Fortune His grandchild Thomas by his son Henry which Henry was the first of our English Nobility that grac'd his high birth with the ornaments of Learning being attainted of High-Treason for endeavouring a match with Mary Queen of Scots and in the year 1572. beheaded See in the Adages of Hadr. Juu. Achilleum votum was the last D. of Norfolk From which time his posterity has as it were lay dead but now by the favour and bounty of K. James begins to revive and flourish again There are in this County about 660 Parish-Churches ADDITIONS to NORFOLK THE County of Norfolk is so call'd from its Northern situation with respect to the rest of the East-Angles whereof it was a part Our Author recommends it for its being very populous having as he observes 27 markets and 625 villages But if we may trust the Book of Rates of Taxes to the King the esteem it hath upon that account may be rais'd much higher for there we find 32 markets and 711 villages whether Mr. Camden was mistaken in the number or this increase have been since his time I dare not say What he has observ'd of its being a Nursery of Lawyers as it is confirm'd by many instances so particularly by the great Sir Henry Spelman from whom Spede confesses he receiv'd his description of Norfolk After that he drew up an entire description of this his native County and upon his authority principally depends the greatest part of the following remarks a To begin with our Author Thetford Thetford is no doubt the ancient Sitomagus but whether that be corruptly written Simomagus and Sinomagus is not so certain as to bear a positive assertion It is worth the while to consider whether there is not something in these names which should imply its being the Capital city of the Iceni If we take Simomagus Ptolemy's Simeni for so he names the people of those parts does something favour it and Sinomagus comes nearer the name Iceni especially if we may suppose the I cast away as in Hispani Spani Besides Caesar's calling this people Cenimagni which Camden finding them distinctly read Ceni Agni is of opinion should be read Iceni Regni farther confirms this conjecture b As to the relation which Mr. Camden discovers between the initial of the old and present names Sit and Thet and from thence concludes that the modern name is compounded of the remains of the Roman and the Saxon ford there is no grounds for it For the old Saxon name was Ãeod-ford not as Mr. Camden writes it Ãeotford the similitude of t and d probably creating a mistake in some old Copies which plainly signifies a ford of the people This town was famous for being a seat of the Kings of the East-Angles but whether that fortification with a double trench was the work of the Saxons our Author leaves to the judgment of others That incomparable Antiquary Spelman thinks it was done by the Danes who made so considerable a figure in those parts because the camps of both Romans and Saxons are generally observ'd to be much larger An anonymous Author quoted by * Antiq. Cant. p. 148. Caius tells us there was formerly a Great-School or Nursery of Learning in this place It may possibly be the same which †Hist Eccl. l. 3. c. 18. Bede hints to when he informs us how Sigebert after he was return'd home and settl'd in his kingdom built a school for the education of youth in imitation of what he had observ'd of that nature in France Whether this passage belongs to Thetford or Cambridge for the latter lays claim to it to advance its Antiquity is a point too large to be discuss'd here Notwithstanding the eminency of the place which besides the seat of the East-Saxon Kings the Bishops-See and 8 Monasteries have entail'd upon it a thing perhaps that few cities can boast of yet in 9 Edw 1. it was neither city
a petty Convent founded by the Bigrames A little way hence stands Awkenbury given by King John to David Earl of Huntingdon and by John Scot his son to Stephen Segrave Stephen Segrâ—â—e a person I 'm the more willing to mention because he was one of the Courtiers who have taught us * Nâ—â—â—am potenâ—â—am essâ—â—â—â—â—ntâ—m That no power is powerful With a great deal of pains he rais'd himself to a high post with as much trouble kept it and as suddenly lost it In his young days from a Clerk he was made Knight Matth. Pâ—â—â— and tho' he was but of a mean family yet in his latter days by his bold industry he so enrich'd and advanc'd himself that he was rank'd among the highest of the Nobility made Lord Chief Justice and manag'd almost all the Affairs of the Nation as he pleas'd At length he wholly lost all the King's favour and ended his days in a cloyster and he who out of pride must needs remove from ecclesiastical to secular Affairs was forc'd to reassume his ecclesiastical Office and shaven crown without so much as consulting his Bishop which he had formerly laid aside Not far off stands Leighton Leightâ—n where Sir Gervase Clifton Knight began a noble building h and just by lyes Spaldwick given to the Church of Lincoln by Henry 1. to make some amends for erecting Ely-Bishoprick out of Lincoln-Diocese The river Nen enters this Shire by Elton Elton f It is now the possession of John Proby Esquire the seat of the famous ancient family of the Sapcots where is a private Chapel of singular beauty with curious painted windows built by the Lady Elizabeth Dinham Baron Fitz-Warren's widow who marry'd into this family Higher upon the Nen nigh Walmsford Walmsford stood a little city of greater antiquity than all these call'd Caer Dorm and Dormeceaster by Henry of Huntingdon who says it was utterly ruin'd before his time Undoubtedly this is the Durobrivae Dâ—â—â—briâ—ae of Antonine that is the River-passage and now for the same reason call'd Dornford nigh Chesterton which besides the finding of old Coins has the apparent marks of a ruinous City For a Roman Port-way led directly from hence to Huntingdon and a little above Stilton Stiâ—ton formerly Stichilton it appears with a high bank and in an old Saxon Charter is call'd Erminstreat Ermiâ—gstreat Here it runs through the middle of a square fort defended on the north-side with walls on the rest with ramparts of Earth nigh which they 've lately digg'd up several stone Coffins or Sepulchres in g This Estate is now the joynt Inheritance of Sir John Hewet of Warsly in this County Baronet and John Dryden Esquire descended to them from the sisters of the last Sir Robert Bevile the ground of R. Bevill of an ancient family in this County Some think this city stood upon both banks of the river and others are of opinion Caster 〈◊〉 Nâ—r â—â—â—ptoâ—shâ— e that the little village Caster on the other side was part of it and truly this opinion is well back'd by an ancient history that says there was a place call'd Durmundcaster by Nene where Kinneburga founded a little Nunnery first call'd Kinneburge-caster and afterwards for shortness Caster This Kinneburga the most Christian daughter of the Pagan King Penda and Alfred King of the Northumber's wife chang'd her Soveraign Authority for Christ's service to use the words of an old writer and govern'd her own Nunnery as a mother to those sacred Virgins Which place about 1010 was level'd to the ground by the fury of the Danes A little before this river leaves the County it runs by an ancient House call'd Bottle bridge B â—â—â—â—-bridge for shortness instead of Botolph-bridge which the Draitons and Lovets brought from R. Gimels to the family of the Shirlies by hereditary succession Adjoyning to this lies Overton corruptly called Orton forfeited by Felony and redeem'd of K. John by Neale Lovetoft whose sister and coheir was married to Hubert or Robert de Brounford and their children took upon 'em the name of Lovetoft Earls of Hâ—ntingdon This County at the declining of the English-Saxons had Siward an Earl by office for then there were no hereditary Earls in England but the Governours of Provinces according to the custom of that age were call'd Earls with addition of the title of this or that Province they govern'd as this Siward the time he govern'd here was call'd Earl of Huntingdon but soon after when he govern'd Northumberland he was call'd Earl of Northumberland See â—he Eâ—â—ls â—f Noâ—thamptonshire He had a son call'd Waldeof who under the title of Earl had the government of this County by the favour of William the Conquerour whose niece Judith by his sister on the mother's side he had married This Waldeof's eldest daughter says William Gemeticensis was married to Simon ‖ â—â—vaneâ—â—erâ—◠〈◊〉 uâ—t câ—p â—6 de Senlys or St. Liz she brought him the Earldom of Huntingdon and had a son by him call'd Simon After her husband's decease she was married to David St. Maud the Queen of England's Brother who was afterwards King of Scotland by whom she had a son nam'd Henry Afterwards as Fortune and Princes Favours alter'd this Dignity was enjoy'd sometimes by the Scots and other times by the St. Lizes first Henry the son of David J â—n â—â—rdâ—â— in Scotâ—â—â—â—n co l. 3. â— 3. 6. 〈◊〉 3â— then Simon St. Lizes Simon the first 's son after him Malcolm King of Scotland Earl Henry's brother after his decease Simon St. Liz the third who dying without heirs was succeeded by William King of Scotland and Malcolm's Brother Thus says Ralph de Diceto in the year 1185. when he flourish'd When Simon Earl Simon 's son dy'd without children the King restor'd to William K. of Scotland the County of Huntingdon with all its appurtenances Then his brother David had it Matth. Par. and his son John Scot Earl of Chester who dy'd without heirs and when Alexander the second who marry'd King Henry the third's daughter had held this title a little while and the Wars broke in the Scots lost this honour besides a fair inheritance in England A good while after Edward the third created William Clinton Earl of Huntingdon Richard the second put Guiscard de Angolesme in his place and after his death John Holland He was succeeded by John 4 Who was stil'd Duke of Excester Earl of Huntingdon and Ivory Lord of Sparre Admiral of England and Ireland Lieutenant of Aquitain and Constable of the Tower of London and Henry his sons who were each of them also Dukes of Exeter See Dukes of Exeter pag. 32. Cap. 50. The same Henry Duke of Exeter that Philip Comines as he affirms saw begging bare-foot in the Low Countries whilst he kept firm to the House of Lancaster though he had married Edward the fourth 's own sister Next to him Thomas
Confessor's Charter In consideration of 4000 Eeles in Lent the Monks of Ramsey shall have out of the Territory of St. Peter so much square stone as they need at Berneck and of rough stone for walls at Burch Beneath Berneck that Roman way which the neighbouring Inhabitants call the Forty-foot way from its breadth cuts this Shire in two between Caster and Stamford and appears in an high Causey especially by the little wood of Berneck where it has a Beacon set upon the very ridge and so runs along by Burghley-Park-wall Some few miles hence the Welland runs down by Maxey-Castle Maxey formerly belonging to the Barons of Wake and by Peag-Kirke Peag-Kirk Ingu phus where in the infancy of Christianity in England Pega a holy woman who gave name to that place sister of St. Guthlac with other devout Virgins by their life and example gave excellent documents of Piety and Chastity and so comes to the Fenns so often mention'd And by reason the bank on the South-side thereof is neglected the river over-flows the adjacent Lands to the great damage of the proprietors and having broken thus out of it's chanel which went formerly by Spalding it falls into the Nen and extreamly overcharges it The lesser Avon which is the other boundary as I said of this Shire northward but serves for a limit only about 5 or 6 miles breaking out of the ground near the springs of the Welland runs westward by 11 Suleby sometimes an Abby of black Monks and by c. Stanford Stanford upon Avon seat of the family of Cave Cave out of which several branches of good note have dispers'd themselves in all the neighbouring Tract also by Lilburne the seat in former ages of the Canvils That this hath been anciently a Roman Station I am persuaded by it's situation upon one of their Military ways by the ancient Trenches there and a little piked Hill cast up which some dug of late days in hopes of finding old hidden treasures but instead of Gold they met with Coals And thus this little river after it 's passing under Dowbridge leaves Northamptonshire and enters Warwickshire Bounds of the Ancients From the digging up of those Coals what if I should give a guess that this Hill was thrown up for a mark or Boundary since Siculus Flaccus tells us that either Ashes or Coals or Potsherds or broken Glasses or Bones half burnt or Lime or Plaister were wont to be put under such marks or limits and St. Augustin writes thus of Coals Lib. de Civ Dei 21. c. 4. Is it not a wonderful thing considering Coals are so brittle that with the least blow they break with the least pressure they are crush'd in pieces yet no time can conquer them insomuch that they that pitch'd Land-marks were wont to throw them underneath to convince any litigious fellow whatsoever that came never so long time after and should affirm that no Land-mark was there made And so much the rather am I inclined to this conjecture because they that have written of limits do inform us that certain Hillocks which they termed Botontines Boton tines Hence perhaps come our Buttings were plac'd in the limits So that I suppose most of these Mounts and round Hillocks which we see all hereabouts 12 And call Burrows were raised for this purpose and that Ashes Coals Potsherds c. might be found under them if they dug deeper into the ground Earls of Northampton The first Earl that this County had at least that I know of was Waldeof son of the warlike Siward who being also Earl of Huntingdon lost his head for treason against William the Conquerour leaving only two daughters behind him which he had by Judith the Conquerour's niece by a sister on the mother's side The Life 〈…〉 Simon * De S. 〈…〉 Sylvaneciensâ—â— Sinlis being scornfully rejected by Judith the mother upon account of being lame in his legs married Maud the eldest daughter and built St. Andrew's Church and the Castle at Northampton After him succeeded his son Simon 2. who was a long time at law about his mother's estate with David King of Scots his mother's second husband and having sided with King Stephen in the year of our Lord 1152. died with this ‖ Elogia elogy A youth full of every thing that was unlawful every thing that was unseemly His son Simon 3. going on with the suit against the Scots for his right to the Earldom of Huntingdon wasted his whole estate but thro' the favour of King Hen. 2. married the daughter and heir of Gilbert de Gant Earl of Lincoln and having at last recover'd the Earldom of Huntingdon and disseis'd the Scots died issueless in the year 1185. Many years after King Edw. 3. created William de Bohun a person of approved valour Earl of Northampton and when his elder brother Humfrey de Bohun Earl of Hereford and Essex and High Constable of England was not able in that warlike Age to bear the charge of Constable he made him also High Constable of England After him his son Humfrey succeeding in the Earldom of Northampton as also in the Earldoms of Hereford and Essex upon his Uncle's dying issueless had two daughters the one married to Thomas of Woodstock youngest son to King Edw. 3. the other to Henry of Lancaster Duke of Hereford afterwards King of England The daughter of Thomas of Woodstock brought by her marriage this her grandfather's title of Northampton together with others into the family of the Staffords But when they had lost their honours King Edw. 6. honour'd William Par Earl of Essex a most accomplish'd Courtier with the title of Marquiss of Northampton who within our memory died issueless And now while I am upon this work our most serene Sovereign King James in the year of our Lord 1603. at one and the same time has advanced Henry Howard Brother of the last Duke of Norfolk a person of excellent wit and fluent eloquence a complete master of Arts and Sciences exceeding prudent and provident to the degree and stile of Baron Howard of Marnehill and the honour of Earl of Northampton There belong to this Shire 326 Parishes ADDITIONS to NORTHAMPTONSHIRE a THE County of Northampton at the time of the Conquerour's Survey was something larger than now it is For all the south part of Rutlandshire must have been taken out of it because in Domesday-book we meet with the towns in this tract under the title of Northamptonshire 'T is a County so plentiful in all things necessary to life that it does not need nor indeed will allow much of manufacture the ground abundantly maintaining and fully employing the Inhabitants * Full Wor. pag. 279. It is said that of Cloathing has been attempted with great application but at last came to nothing The thinness of it's woods observ'd by our Author and it 's distance from the sea so that no Coal can
mark of infamy by wickedly conspiring with those wretched Incendiaries who design'd with one single charge of Gun-powder to have destroy'd both their Prince and Country d 2 More eastward upon the river Welland I saw nothing remarkable unless it be Berohdon now Barodon which Thomas Beauchamp Earl of Warwick held with South-Luffenham and other hamlets by service to the King's Chamberlain in the Exchequer Fiâ— 14 Ed. 3. In the furthermost division beyond the river encompass'd with hills lyes the pleasant and fruitful valley now call'd The Vale of Catmose perhaps from Coet maes which in the British tongue signifies a woody field or ground In the midst of which vale stands Okeham Okeham that seems for the same reason to have taken it's name from Oaks Near the Church 3 Which is large and fair are still remaining the ruinous walls of an old castle built as is reported by a He was a younger son to William de Ferrers Earl of Derby and held Okeham by the service of one Knights fee and a half 12 Hen. 2. Wright pag. 95. Walkelin de Ferrariis in the beginning of the Normans And that it was the habitation of the Ferrars besides the authority of tradition is sufficiently evident from the Horse-shoes which that family gave for their Arms nail'd on the â—â—tes and in the hall Afterwards this town belong'd to the Lords of Tatteshall But when King Richard 2. advanced Edward son of the Duke of York to the title of Earl of Rutland he also gave him this Castle In the memory of the last age it came to Thomas Cromwell Barons Cromwell and as I have read b He was Baron Cromwell of Wimbledon but not of Okeham See the printed Stat. of 31 Hen. 8. concerning Gavelkind gave him the title of Baron Henry 8. advanc'd this person to the highest dignity but soon after when by his many projects he had expos'd himself to the storms of envy on a sudden he depriv'd him both of life and honours e Eastward from hence is Burley Burly most pleasantly situated overlooking the Vale. This is now the magnificent seat of the Harringtons who by marriage with the daughter and heir of Colepeper came to so large an inheritance in those parts that ever since they have been a flourishing family in like manner as the Colepepers were before them to whom by N. Green the great estate of the Bruses did in part descend Which Bruses being of the chief Nobility of England match'd into the Royal family of Scotland from whom by Robert the eldest brother the Royal Line of the Scots and by Bernard a younger brother the Cottons of Connington in the County of Huntingdon of whom I have already spoken and these Harringtons are descended Upon which account K. James dignify'd Sir John Harrington Barons Harringtâ—â— 4 Branch'd from the stem of the ancient Lords Harington a most famous and worthy Knight with the title of Baron Harrington of Exton 5 A town adjacent where be hath also another fair house f On the east-side of this County near the river Guash lye Brigcasterton of which more hereafter and Rihall where when superstition had so bewitched our Ancestors that it had almost remov'd the true God by the multiplicity of Gods one Tibba a Saint of the lesser rank was worship'd by Falconers The Falcoâ—ers Saint as a second Diana and reputed a kind of Patroness of Falconry g Next adjoyning is Essenden whose Lord Robert Cecil the excellent son of an excellent father who was the support of our kingdom was lately created by King James Baron Cecil of Essenden Baron Câ—â—â— of Essendâ—n This little County Edward the Confessor devised by his last Will to his wife Eadith conditionally that after her death it should go to St. Peter's at Westminster These are the words of the Testament I will that after the decease of Queen Eadgith my wife Roteland with all things thereunto belonging be given to my Monastery of the most blessed Peter and that it be surrender'd without delay to the Abbot and Monks there serving God for ever But this Testament of his was vacated by William the Norman who keeping a great part of this estate to himself divided the rest to Judith the Countess whose daughter marry'd David K. of Scots to Robert Mallet Oger Gislebert of Gaunt Earl Hugh Alberic the Clerk and others But to Westminster he left indeed at first the tithes but afterwards only the Church of Okeham with the Appendices or Chapelries thereunto belonging Oppida Mercatoria per Ichnographiam Villae Parochiales per Pagi minores per Sedes vel loca devastata Olim Villae per Denotantur COMITATUS ROTELANDIAE Tabula Nova Aucta This little County is adorn'd with 48 Parish-Churches ADDITIONS to RVTLANDSHIRE a WHat the original of this County's name was we are in a great measure in the dark for as Mr. Camden's Roet and Rud will not do because we are assur'd there is nothing in the County to justifie such a conjecture so Mr. Wright's Rotelandia quasi Rotunda-landia will hardly pass till we can give some probable account how it came by a Latin name more than other parts of England The Conquest could not bring it in because we find it call'd so in the time of Edward the Confessor and beside so much of it as belong'd to Nottinghamshire to which the name Roteland was given before the rest came to be part of it is far from making a circular figure how round soever it may be when all together b When the County of Rutland came to be distinct or upon what occasion is altogether unknown Mr. Camden says that Authors 300 years old make no mention of it as of a separate Shire but that it was distinct before is certain for in the 5th of King John Isabel his new Queen had at her Coronation assigned her in Parliament for her dowry among other lands * Wright â—g 3. Com. Roteland villam de Rokingham in Com. Northampt. c. And in 12 Johan the Custos did account for the profits of this County in the Exchequer Which Custos can relate to nothing but the Sheriff of the County who was and still is as it were a Guard and his office is imply'd in his name Scyre-gerefa from which Sheriff is contracted signifying no more than a Keeper of the County â—iâ—g 〈◊〉 c In the south part of this County lies Uppingham the site whereof will hardly bear Mr. Camden's derivation from an ascent †Wright â— 130. the ground upon which it stands being something above a level but hardly amounting to a hill Johnson who is said to have built the school was call'd Robert and beside that built two Hospitals one at Okeham and another here at Uppingham Near this place is Lydington where about the year 1602. Thomas Lord Burgley settl'd an Hospital or Alms-house for a Warden 12 poor men and 2 poor women
Norman-writers Nichol and Mr. Thomas Twyne in his Breviary of Britain fol. 24. b. says he has observ'd the same many times in ancient Charters and Records of the Earls thereof written in the French-tongue And even as low as Edward the fourth's time William Caxton in his Chronicle entitl'd Fructus temporum pag. 141. and 295. calls it Nichol. I know none who remove the Roman Lindum from hence except Talbot who carries it to Lenton in Nottinghamshire which opinion we have consider'd in its proper place ‖ Itinerar p. 21. Leland tells us he heard say that the lower part of Lincoln-town was all marish and won by policy and inhabited for the commodity of the water è regione that this part of the town is call'd Wikerford and in it are 11 Parochial-Churches besides which he saw one in ruins The White-Fryers were on the west-side of the High-street in Wikerford * Pag. 22 That beyond old Lincoln much money is found in the North-fields What Mr. Camden has concerning the decay of this town wherein he says of 50 Churches are scarce left 18 he seems to have borrow'd from a hint of Leland's and if he had no other authority it seems to be deliver'd in terms too positive and general For Leland mentions it very tenderly and only says †Ibid. There goeth a common fame that there were once 52 Parish-Churches in Lincoln-city and the suburbs of it At a little distance from Lincoln is Nocton Nocton formerly a Religious-house where is a very magnificent seat lately built by Sir William Ellys Baronet At Wragby Wragby eight miles East of Lincoln the wife of one Charles Gays An. Dom. 1676. brought forth a male-child with two heads which liv'd some hours The mother of the child is still living and keeps an Inn in the town and the matter of fact can be attested by at least 100 people who saw it u Upon the little river Bane stands Horn-castle Horn-castle which evidently appears to have been a Camp or Station of the Romans as from the Castle which is Roman work so also from the Roman coins several whereof were found therein the time of Charles the first and some they meet with at this day tho' not so commonly in the field adjoyning The compass of the Castle was about 20 Acres which is yet plainly discernable by the foundation of the whole and some part of the wall still standing It is a Seigniory or Soke of 13 Lordships and was given by King Richard the second to the Bishop of Carlisle and his Successors for his habitation and maintenance when by the frequent incursions of the Scots he was driven from his castle of Rose in Cumberland and spoil'd of his revenues Three miles South-east from hence is Winceby Winceby where Octob. 5. 1643. was a battel fought between the King and Parliament the forces of the first commanded by Colonel Henderson and the Lord Widdrington those of the latter by Colonel Cromwell The fight scarce lasted an hour and the victory fell to the Parliament w At the meeting of the rivers Bane and Witham is Tatteshall Totteshall where in the front of the castle not long since were to be seen the Arms of the Cromwells the ancient Lords of it It afterwards came to be one of the seats of the Clintons Earls of Lincoln besides another at Sempringham which Mr. Camden mentions in this County x At a little distance from Bullingbrook is Eresby Eresby which gives the title of Baron to the Earl of Lindsey the third division of this County The first who enjoy'd this title oâ— Earl was Robert Lord Willoughby of Eresby creaâ—â—â— Nov. 22. in the second year of King Charles 1. He was son to that Peregrine Berty whom Catharine Baroness of Willoughby and Dutchess of Suffolk bore to Richard Berty while they made their escape into foreign parts in Queen Mary's persecution He was call d Peregrine eo quod in terra peregrina pro consolatione exilii sui piis parentibus à Domino donatus sit as the publick Register of Wesel in the Dutchy of Cleve where he was born expresses it At the request of the honourable Mr. Charles Berty Envoy extraordinary to the Electors and other Princes of Germany in his passage through that City the Burgomasters Aldermen and Counsellors took a copy of the evidences of his birth and Christening as they found it in their Register and presented it to him under the common seal of the City This Robert the first Earl Lord High Chamberlain of England was succeeded by his son and heir Mountague upon the restoration of Charles 2. made Knight of the Garter who dying in the year 1666. was succeeded by Robert his eldest son y A little above Bullingbroke stands Hareby Hareby eminent for the death of Queen Eleanor wife to King Edward 1. who being conveyed from thence to Westminster had a great many Crosses erected to her memory in several noted places This is the more observable because our Chronicles tell us she dy'd at a place call'd Hardby without giving us any hints where it stands z Hard by is Bollingbroke Bollingbroke whereof Oliver Lord St. John of Bletso was created Earl 22 Jac. 1. Dec. 28. and was succeeded by his grandchild Oliver St. John by Pawlet his second son Oliver Lord St. John the eldest being slain at Edge-hill fight At present the place gives the title of Earl to the right honourable Pawlet St. John aa More towards the sea lies Boston Boston where Mr. John Fox Author of the Acts and Monuments was born bb At Grimesby Grimesby were formerly three Religious-houses i.e. one Nunnery and two Monasteries and not far from the same coast between Salflet-haven and Louth is Salfletby memorable for its late Minister Mr. John Watson who was incumbent 74 years during which time as he himself reported it he buried the inhabitants three times over save three or four persons He had by one wife fourteen sons and three daughters the youngest now past the fiftieth year of his age In all this time he was a constant industrious Preacher except during his imprisonment for 40 weeks in Lincoln Gaol by Cromwell who put a Militia-Drummer in his place Since the present reign he was also suspended ab officio but considering his great age not à beneficio He dy'd in Aug. 1693. aged 102. cc Turning to the west towards the river Trent we meet with Osgodby Osgodby otherwise call'd Ostegobby and Osgoteby where Mr. Camden places the seat of St. Medardo and deduces it to the family of Ashcough But Mr. Dugdale has assur'd us that the whole is a manifest mistake that family belonging to another Osgodby in the same County about 30 miles south of this dd Directly towards Lincoln is Stow Stow. the Church whereof is a large building in the form of a cross and very ancient It was founded by Eadnoth a Bishop of Dorchester in Oxfordshire
of the Graves of the great family of Mansfield in Germany who assert the Antiquity of the family of Mansfeld in Germany and that the first Earl of Mansfeld was at the Celebration of the round Table with our Arthur and that he was born here Our Kings were formerly wont to retire hither for the sake of hunting and that you may have it in the very words of an old Inquisition Henry Fauconberge held the manour of Cukeney in this County by Serjeanty for shooing the King's horse when he came to Mansfeld 9 And the hereditary Foresters or Keepers of this Forest of Shirewood were men in their times of high estimation viz. Sir Gerard de Normanvile in the time of the Conquest the Cauzes and Birkins by whose heir it came to the Everinghams Of which family Sir Adam Everingham was summon'd to Parliaments in the reigns of King Edw. 2. and King Edw. 3. At which time they were seated at Laxton anciently call'd Lexinton where also fleurish'd a great family so sirnam'd whose heirs were marry'd into the houses of Sutton of Averham and Markham Many small rivers spring out of this wood and run towards the Trent the chief of them is Idle â—dle upon which near Idleton in the year 616 the great success and fortune of Ethered a most potent King of the Northumbrians stopp'd and fail'd him For whereas he had formerly always fought with great success here his fortune vary'd and he was cut off being defeated by Redwald King of the East Angles who set Edwin excluded then and depriv'd of the throne of his Ancestors over Northumberland The course of this little river lyes at no great distance from Markham â—â—rkham a small village but yet it has given name to the Markhams a family very famous heretofore both for antiquity and virtue 10 Being descended from one of the heirs of Cressy and formerly from an heir of Lexinton as I lately shew'd the greatest ornament of which was J. Markham who was Lord Chief Justice of England and temper'd his Judgments with so much equity as you may read in the Histories of England that the glory of him will never perish in after ages i He dy'd as appears from an inscription in Markham-Church of S. Silvester's day An. D. 1409. Six miles from hence to the westward stands Workensop â—â— kensop known for its great produce of liquorice â—â—qâ—orice and famous for the Earl of Shrewsbury's house there built in this age by George Talbot Earl of Shrewsbury with magnificence becoming the state of so great an Earl and yet not to contract envy To the Talbots it came with a great inheritance from the Lovetofts first Lords of it in the Norman times by the Furnivals and Nevils Of these Lovetofts G. Lovetoft in Henry the first 's time built a Monastery here the ruins of which are still to be seen among very pleasant meadows on the East-side of the town but the West-part of the Church is yet remaining with two towers very fair and beautiful i A little higher upon the same river I saw Blithe â—â—â—the a noted market-town which was fortify'd with a castle as I was inform'd by Bulley or Busly a Nobleman of Norman extract but at this day hardly the ruins of it are visible so destructive is age to every thing But the little Monastery there was built by Roger Busly and Foulk de Lisieurs and this is almost the last town of Nottinghamshire to the Northward unless it be Scroby â—â—roby a little town belonging to the Arch-Bishop of York seated in the very edge of it William sirnam'd the Conquerour Lords and Earls of Nottingham Lib. M. Linton Matth. Paris p. 126. See the Earls of Derby Matth. Paris p. 204. Hoveden p. 373. b. Inq. 6 Ric. 2. made his natural son William Peverell ruler of this County not by the title of Earl but Lord of Nottingham who had a son that dy'd during the life of his father and he likewise a son of the same name depriv'd of his estate by Henry the second for preparing a dose of poyson for Ranulph Earl of Chester About the same time Robert de Ferrariis who plunder'd Nottingham us'd this title in the gift he made to the Church of Tuttesbury Robert the younger Earl of Nottingham But afterwards King Richard the first gave and confirm'd to his brother John the County and Castle of Nottingham with the whole Honour of Peverell Long after that Richard the second honour'd John de Mowbray with this title who dying young and without issue his brother Thomas succeeded him who by Richard the second was created Earl Marshal and Duke of Norfolk and being banish't immediately after he begat Thomas Earl Marshal beheaded by Henry the fourth and John Mowbray who as also his son and grandson was Duke of Norfolk and Earl of Nottingham But the issue male of this family failing and Richard the infant-infant-son of Edward the fourth Duke of York having enjoy'd this title among others 11 By his wife the heir of the Mowbraies for a small time Richard the third honour'd William Marquess of Barkley and Henry the eighth grac'd Henry Fitz-Roy his natural son 12 When he created him Duke of Richmond who both dy'd without issue with this title of Earl of Nottingham And lately in 1597. Queen Elizabeth solemnly invested Charles Howard High Admiral of England who is descended from the Mowbrays with this honour for his service as the Charter of his creation has it so stoutly and faithfully perform'd by Sea against the Spaniard in the year 1588. and his taking of Cadiz in the year 1596. he then commanding by Sea as the Earl of Essex did by Land There are 168 Parish-Churches in this County ADDITIONS to NOTTINGHAMSHIRE THE Antiquities of this County were publish'd An. 1677. by Robert Thoroton Doctor of Physick a native of it with great accuracy and exactness But keeping close to the descent of families and possessions of estates in which he has shown a great curiosity Mr. Camden and he have carry'd on two very different designs Had he given himself the liberty of making digressions upon British Roman and Saxon Antiquities as Mr. Burton in his history of Leicestershire has done his curiosity must needs have discover'd a great many things of that nature which might have been of considerable use towards the improvement of Camden Since then he has confin'd himself to the business of possessions for those matters I refer the Reader thither where he may have ample satisfaction and will go along with our Author in that part of Antiquity which he has principally touch'd upon a Going out of Leicestershire the Foss-way Foss-way which is the best if not the only direction for what we principally look after leads us into the South-part of this County and carrys us along the East of it into Lincolnshire And because Mr. Camden has taken no notice of it the best service that
In the Civil wars it was a garison for the King and commanded by Colonel Philip Stanhope a younger son to Philip the first Earl of Chesterfield which being taken by storm he and many of his souldiers were therein slain and the house afterwards burnt e Directly towards the north upon the west-side of the river is Southwell Southwell where I cannot but take notice of an inscription upon a pillar in that Church both because I do not observe it set down by Dr. Thoroton and also because it contains aâ—sort of historical account of that place Reges Reginae erunt nutrices tuae Hanc Collegiatam Parochialem Ecclesiam Religiosa Antiquitas Fundavit Rex Henricus 8. Illustrissimus restauravit 1543. Edwardo Lee Archiepiscopo Ebor. piissimo petente Regina Elizabetha Religiosissima sancivit 1584. Edwino Sandys Archiepiscopo Ebor. dignissimo intercedente Monarcha Jacobus Praepotentissimus stabilivit 1604. Henrico Howard Comite Northamptoniensi praenobilissimo mediante A Domino factum est istud Da gloriam Deo Honorem Regi Sint sicut Oreb Zeb Zebe Salmana qui dicunt possideamus Sanctuarium Dei Psal 83.11 Det Deus hoc sanctum sanctis sit semper Asylum Exulis Idolatras sacrilegósque ruat * From hence it is commonly call'd Leespillar Gervas Lee In piam gratámque Maecenatum memoriam posuit 1608. DARBY SHIRE by Robbt. Morden From this town the family of the Southwells took their name and were anciently seated here For mention is made in the â— Thorot â—â—â—ing-â—â—â—shâ—â—e Records of Sir Simon Southwell under Hen. 3. of Sir John under Edw. 1. and of several others down to Hen. 6. when they spread themselves into Norfolk and Suffolk In the reign of Charles 2. Sir Robert of that name went into Glocestershire where he is now seated at Kings-weston f The next place is Langer â—â—nger which Camden mentions as eminent for the Lords of it the Tibetots where we are to observe that this name has had no relation to that place since the time of Edw. 3. For in the 46. year of his reign Robert the last of the Tibetots dying without heir-male the custody of all his lands and the care of his three daughters were committed to Richard le Scrope and he marrying Margaret the eldest to his son Roger brought that seat into the name of the Lords Scropes wherein it continu'd down to Emanuel who was created Earl of Sunderland 3 Car. 1. But he having no issue by his wife Elizabeth that and the rest of his estate was settl'd upon his natural issue three daughters and Annabella the third of them to whose share this manour fell in the division marrying John Howe second son of Sir John Howe of Compton in Glocestershire brought it into that name On the west-side of Trent not far from the river Idle stands Tuxford â—â—â—ford where Charles Read Esquire built a curious Free-school and endow'd it with 50 l. per an The like he did at Corby in Lincolnshire and Drax in Yorkshire to which last he added a hospital and endow'd that also with 50 l. per an h Returning to the course of the river we are led to Littleborrough â—â—â—leborâ—â—â—gh which Camden tells us upon second thoughts he 's fully satisfied is Antoninus's Agelocum â—â—locum â—â—â—giacum or Segelocum The place at which he says he formerly sought it appears from his edition of 1594. to have been Idleton seated upon the bank of the river Idle to which he was induc'd partly by its distance from Lindum and partly because he imagin'd it might be an easie slip of the Librarian to write Agelocum for Adelocum which latter is not unlike the present name of it Talbot is for Aulerton in Sherwood and Fulk contrary to Antoninus who makes it distant from Lindum 14 miles at least for Agle almost six miles from that place Dr. Thoroton seems inclin'd to reduce it to the bank of the river Idle where Eaton standing upon that account may as well be call'd Idleton and Id or Yd in the British signifying corn as Ydlan denotes a granary there may seem to be some affinity between that and Segelocum as if it were a place of corn But then it is scarce fair to bring it to Idleton upon the likeness in sound with Adelocum and afterwards to settle it there upon a nearness in signification to Segelocum one of which readings must be false and by consequence not both to be made use of as true to confirm the same thing Upon the whole Mr. Burton approves of our Author's conjecture and to reconcile Agelocum and Segelocum has ingeniously rank'd these two amongst the words to which the Romans sometimes prefix'd an S or Sibilus and sometimes omitted it So says he they call d the Alpes which in Lycophron's Cassandra we find written 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 and they who are call'd 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Insulae by Dionysius the Periegetes the same in Strabo are 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 lying in the British Sea Salamantica of Spain is call'd by Polybius 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 and Caesar's Suessiones in Ptolemy are 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 To add one common Noun out of Dioscorides what in Virgil's Eclogues is Saliunca in him is 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 or rather take the whole place out of him 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 i On the north-west side of this County about a mile and a half from Workensop is Welbeck-Abbey Welbeck-Abbey now a very noble building seated in the lowest part of a fine park surrounded with trees of excellent timber and was the seat of William and Henry late Dukes of New-Castle And about 6 miles east from hence stood the Abbey of Rughford Rughford-Abbey now the noble and pleasant seat of George Marquiss of Hallifax Continuation of the EARLS Charles Howard mention'd by our Author dying An. 1624. was succeeded by his second son Charles William the elder dying before him without issue-male This Charles was succeeded by a son of his own name who was likewise second son James the elder dying unmarry'd At present the title is enjoy'd by the right honourable Daniel Finch late Secretary of State More rare Plants growing wild in Nottinghamshire Caryophyllus minor repens nostras An Betonica coronaria sive caryophyllata repens rubra J. B. Purple creeping mountain Pink. By the roads side on the sandy hill you ascend going from Lenton to Nottingham plentifully and in other sandy grounds in this County Gramen tremulum medium elatius albis glumis non descriptum Said to grow in a hollow lane between Peasely and Mansfield by P. B. I have not seen this sort of grass my self nor do I much rely on the authority of this book only I propose it to be searched out by the curious Glycyrrhiza vulgaris Ger. emac. Common English Liquorice It is planted and cultivated for sale at Worksop in this County which Camden also takes notice of Lychnis
the chief are the Dove the Hans Churnet Tein Blath and Trent which receives them all and carries them with it into the Sea The Dovus or Dove Dove bank'd with hard Limestone which they burn to manure their fields with runs swiftly for a great way along the East-part of this County severing it from Derbyshire by its white clayish chanel without any shelves of mud in it Lying in a Lime-stone soil it sucks in such richness from it that in the very middle of winter the meadows on both sides of it look fresh and green and if it overflows and lays the meadows afloat in April like another Nile it makes them so fruitful that the Inhabitants thereabouts joyfully tell you their common rhyme In April Dove's flood Is worth a King 's good This river will swell so much in twelve hours time that to the great terrour of the Inhabitants thereabouts it will wash off sheep and cattel and carry them along with it yet falls again within the same time and returns to its old bounds whereas the Trent being once over the banks keeps the field in float four or five days together But now for those rivers which run into it The first is Hans Hans which dipping under ground breaks out again three miles off The next that joyns it is the Churnet Churnet which runs by De-la-Cres De-la-Cres Abbey built by Ranulph the third of that name Earl of Chester Leike noted for its Market and then Aulton Aulton formerly the Castle of the Barons de Verdon 15 Who founded here the Abbey of Croxden from whom by the Furnivals it descended to the Talbots Earls of Shrewsbury A little lower the Tein Tein a small river runs into the Dove which rising not far from Cheddle the ancient seat of the Bassets descended from the Bassets of Draiton runs on in a course so uneven and winding that in a mile's riding I had it to cross four times Near this in Checley Church-yard Checley stand three stones raised Spire-like two of which have little images cut out in them and that in the middle is the highest The Inhabitants talk of an engagement between two Armies there the one with weapons the other without and that three Bishops were slain in that battel in memory of whom these stones were erected What historical truth may beveil'd under this story I am not as yet sensible 16 As for Blith it hath in this Moorland a little castle nam'd Careswell which Sir William Careswell built with great ponds having their heads made of square-stones and Draicot which gave a sirname to a family of great antiquity in this Country Now the Dove 17 After it hath receiv'd Tine runs under a firm Stone-bridge to Utcester Utcester in Saxon Uttok-cester seated upon a hill of easie ascent and rather rich upon the account of its fine meadows and cattel than neat and handsome in respect of building Before I saw it I took it for Etocetum being induc'd to this opinion by the affinity of the two names But now time has furnish'd me with more certainty in this matter Afterwards where the Dove draws towards the Trent it sees Tutbury Tutesbury castle formerly very large and also call'd Stutesbury commanding as it were the lower Country by its high situation on an Alabaster-hill built with the little Monastery by Henry de Ferrars a noble Norman to whom William the first gave large possessions in this County which were all lost by Robert de Ferrariis Earl of Derby upon his second revolt from Hen. 3. For tho' after the many troubles he had raised in the Barons war he was receiv'd again into favour by the King and then bound by a strict oath to be faithful to him for the future yet the restless temper of this man that he might make fortune comply by force since he could not by caress and courtship soon after hurry'd him again into arms against his Soveraign and being at last took that I may use the words of the record according to the form of his obligation he suffer'd this great loss of his whole estate and honour There is a lake some where in this Shire if Necham does not deceive us into which no wild beast will enter upon any account but since the place is uncertain and indeed the thing more In lib. de laudibus Divinae Sapientiae I will only subscribe these verses of Necham's about it intitled by him De Lacu in Staffordia Rugitu Lacus est eventûs praeco futuri Cujus aquis fera se credere nulla solet Instet odora canum virtus mors instet acerba Non tamen intrabit exagitata lacum A Lake that with prophetick noise does roar Where beasts can ne'er be forc'd to venture o'er By hounds or men or fleeter death pursu'd They 'll not plunge in but shun the hated flood Of another Lake also in this County Gervasius Tilburiensis Gerv. Tilburiensis in his Otia Imperialia to Ocho the fourth writes thus In the Bishoprick of Coventry and in the County of Stafford at the foot of the mountain Mahull so call'd by the inhabitants there is a water like a Lake very broad in the out-grounds of a village which they call Magdalea There is great store of wood all along upon the lake the water of which is very clear and so effectual in refreshing that when the hunters have given chace to a stag or other wild beast till their horses are spent and weary if they drink of this water in the scorching heat of the sun and likewise water their horses with it they recover their strength to run again to that degree that one would think they had not run at all As for the title of Stafford it has continu'd from Robert of Stafford whom William the Norman enrich'd with great possessions in his posterity till our times A family exceeding eminent and old and which has undergone several turns of fortune For first they were Barons of Stafford Earls and Barons of Stafford 18 Then few of them Earls viz. Ralph created by K. Edw. 3. Earl of Stafford who marry'd the heiress of Hugh Audley Earl of Glocester Hugh his son who dy'd in pilgrimage at Rhodes and his three sons successively Thomas and William both without issue and Edmund who took to wife the daughter and heiress of Thomas of Woodstock Duke of Buckingham Afterward three of them were Dukes of Buckingham and Earls of Stafford c. as it hath been before declared By the attainder of the last of them those ample inheritances c. then Earls after that Dukes of Buckingham and Earls of Stafford And now 't is their ill fortune to be fallen back to their old title of Baron only and those great estates which they have gain'd by their most honourable marriages are as it were fled and scatter'd In lieu whereof they enjoy a happy security which never cohabits with
to 9 Robert Blunt Robert Burnel Bp. of Bath and afterward to the Lovels g It is now in the possession of George Weld Esq Up higher stands Wenlock Wenlock now famous for lime-stone but formerly in King Richard the second 's time for a copper-mine yet most remarkable in the Saxons time for a very ancient Nunnery where Milburga liv'd a devout Virgin William Malmesb. and was buried it was repair'd and fill'd with Monks by Earl Roger de Montgomery e 10 In later times Sir John Winell call'd also Wenlock because he here inhabited for his faithful service to King Henry 6. was by him advanc'd to the state and honour of Baron Wenlock and elected Knight of the Garter in whose cause he manfully lost his life in the battel of Tewksbury leaving no issue but from his Cousin and heir-general the Lawleys of this County are lineally dâ—scended A little more west is Acton-Burnell c. Acton Burnell Acton Burnel a castle of the Burnels and afterwards of the Lovels was honour'd with an Assembly of Parliament in Edward the first 's reign The family of the Burnels was very honourable and ancient Barons Burnell and much enrich'd by the Bishop before-mention'd but it became extinct in Edward the second 's reign when Mawd the heiress married John Lovel her first husband and John Haudlow her second whose son Nicholas took the name of Burnel from whom the Ratcliffs Earls of Sussex and some others derive their pedigree f Scarce a mile off is Langley Langley lowly situated in a woody park the seat of the Leas one of the most ancient and honourable families in these parts h This family is new extinct Next is Condover Condover formerly a manour of the Lovels and lately of Tho. Owen one of the Justices of the Common Pleas a very great lover of learning but since deceas'd and has left behind him a son Sir Roger Owen a general scholar and altogether worthy of so excellent a father It appears by record that this is holden of the King in chief To find two foot-soldiers for one day towards the army of Wales in time of war A remark that I think proper once for all to make for a general information that the Gentry of these parts held their estates of the King of England by tenure to aid him with soldiers for defence of the Marches whensoever a war broke out between the English and Welsh Near this is a little village call'd Pitchford Pitchford which formerly gave it's name to the ancient family of the Pitchfords but now is in the possession of R. Oteley Our Ancestors call'd it Pitchford from a spring of pitchy water for in those days they knew no distinction between pitch and bitumen And there is a well in a poor man's yard A bituminous well upon which there floats a sort of liquid bitumen although it be continually scumm'd off after the same manner as it doth on the lake Asphaltites in Judaea and on a standing pool about Samosata and on a spring by Agrigentum in Sicily but the inhabitants make no other use of it than as pitch Whether it be a preservative against the Falling-sickness or be good for drawing and healing wounds as that in Judaea is I know no one yet that has made the experiment More eastward stands Pouderbache castle now ruinated formerly call'd Purle bache the seat of Ralph Butler the younger son of 11 Sir Ralph Butler the younger son of Ralph Butler of Wem Ralph Butler of Wem from whom the Butlers of Woodhall in the County of Hertford derive their pedigree Below this Huckstow forest fetches a great compass between the mountains where at Stiperston's hill Stiperston's hill great heaps of stones and little rocks as it were appear very thick the Welsh call them Carneddau tewion 12 But whereas these seem natural I dare not c. but I dare not so much as guess that these among others were the stones which Giraldus Cambrensis describes in this manner Harald the very last foot-soldier with a company of foot lightly arm'd and stock'd with such provision as the country afforded march'd both round the whole County of Wales and through and through it insomuch that he scarce left any alive behind him in memory of which total defeat he threw up many hillocks of stones after the ancient manner in those places where he obtain'd victories which bear this Inscription HIC FVIT VICTOR HARALDVS At this place Harald was Conquerour Caurse More to the north Caurse-castle is situated the Barony of 13 Sir Peter Peter Corbet from whom it came to the Barons of Stafford i It is now the Lord Weymouth's and near it Routon Routon very ancient upon the western borders of the Shire not far from the Severn which formerly belong'd to the Corbets but now to the ancient family of the Listers Some time before John L'Estrange of Knocking had it out of ill will to whom Leolin Prince of Wales ras'd it to the ground as we read in the Life of 14 Sir Foulgue Fulk Fitz-Warin We find it flourishing by the same name in the Romans time but call d Rutunium Rutuniuâ— by Antoninus nor can it be a mistake since the name and the distance which he describes it to be from the famous town Uriconium exactly concur Near this is Abberbury-castle and Watlesbury Abberburâ— and Watlesbury which from the Corbets came to the Leightons Knights of an honourable family k It is now in the possession of Sir Edward Leighton Baronet It seems to have taken its name from that Consular-way and Kings high-road call'd Watlingstreet which leads by this place into the farthest parts of Wales as Ranulphus Cestrensis says thro' two small towns that are call'd from it l It is very obvious to observe several towns of this name thro' England lying upon the ancient high ways Strettons between which in a valley some ruins are to be seen of an ancient castle call'd Brocards-castle Brocardâ— castle surrounded with green meadows that were formerly fish-ponds But these castles with some others which are too many to reckon up here owing their decay to length of time and uninterrupted peace and not to the fury of war are a great part of them ready to drop to the ground Now passing over the river Severn we come to the second division propos'd which lay on this side the Severn and as is said belong'd to the Cornavii This likewise is divided into two by the river Tern which flows from north to south and has it's name from a large pool in Staffordshire where it rises such as we call Tearnes In the hithermost or eastern parts of these divisions near the place where Tern and Severn joyn stood Vriconium Uriconiuâ— for so Antoninus call'd it tho' Ptolemy would have it Viroconium and Ninnius Caer Vruach the Saxons call'd it Wreken-ceaster but
Stoke And he by Anne his wife daughter of William Lord Hastings had Francis the fifth Earl who begat of Mary daughter to Thomas Lord Dacre of Gilles-land George the sixth Earl a man of approv'd fidelity in weighty affairs of State whose son Gilbert by his wife Gertrude daughter to Thomas Earl of Rutland the seventh Earl maintaineth at this day c. Next succeeded George and after him Francis his son the father of George Talbot Earl of Shrewsbury a States-man of untainted honour and approv'd experience in the weighty affairs of Government whose son Gilbert at present not only supplies his Ancestors room but supports the character too with great grandeur and his own personal merits There are in this Shire about 170 Parishes ADDITIONS to SHROPSHIRE SHropshire being the Frontier between England and Wales has had more Castles in it than any other County in England Insomuch that a * Fuller's Worth late Author says it may seem on the west to be divided from Wales with a wall of continu'd castles and Speed tells us that beside several towns strongly wall'd upon this occasion 32 Castles have been built in it a Of the more ancient Castles there seems to have been one at Chirbury Chirbury near the Severn for Aethelfled Lady of the Mercians is †Chr. Sax. said to have built one at Cyricbyrig Now as to the affinity between the old and new names if we add the Norman h after C the change is very easie and natural and for the condition of the place nothing can answer more exactly for where should she more probably build it than here when her main design was to secure her kingdom against the incursions of the Welsh b From hence toward the south-east was fought that famous battel mention'd by our Author between Ostorius and Caratacus And as the Action was great and eminent ‖ Aubrey 's Monumenta Britan. vol. 2. so are the remains of it to this day very considerable Near Lanterden about the meeting of the rivers Teme and Clun are two barrows in which were found burnt bones and an urn And a little way east of Teme at Brandon Brandon is a single square work with four ports very commodiously situated as having near it the river to serve them with water a thing the Romans were always careful to secure if possible And these are the reliques of the Romans As for the Britains there is a Camp of theirs about half a mile from Brandon at a place call'd Coxoll near Brampton-Bryan-Castle it is now cover'd with great oaks From hence they seem to have been beaten and about three miles towards the north is that large British Camp Caer-Caradock Caer Caradock The trenches are very deep and yet it is hard rock The Rampires are wall'd but the wall is now cover'd with earth which if one remove a little the stones appear * Dugd. Visitation of Shropsh It is now vulgarly call'd the Gair and situate upon the east-point of a very steep hill having no access to it but from a plain on the west part thereof It is three times as long as 't is broad having its entrance to the west fenc'd with a high treble rampire There is also a narrow passage out of it towards the east upon the very pitch of the hill The north-side of it is fortify'd with a deep and double trench but on the south-side it hath but a single trench because the steepness of that side of the hill is of it self a very good defence On the south-point of a high hill a mile north of Clun call'd Tongley Tongley is a large fortification somewhat larger than Caer Caradock it is made circular and defended with 3 deep trenches drawn round it And a mile from Bishops-castle towards Montgomery is a place call'd the Bishops-mote Bishops-mote where is a very steep and high hill like the Keep of a Castle at the west end and towards the east near an acre of ground surrounded with an entrenchment These are all the marks we have left of this memorable engagement c Keeping along the south-coast of the County we come to Clay-hill Clay-hill where are still the remains of an ancient Camp d From whence the Severn leads us to Bridgenorth Bridgnorth a name as Leland has observ'd but of late use it being call'd in all ancient Records Bridge But the most ancient name is that given it by the Saxon Annals Bricge from which by some of our later Historians it is term'd Brugge and Bruggenorth that addition being made upon the building of some bridge over the Severn south of this So that our Author I think is mistaken when he says it was formerly call'd simply Burgh implying thereby some fortification That Castle built by the Danes An. 896. call'd in Saxon CÆ¿atbricge seems to be the very same tho' our Author and Mr. Somner are inclin'd to place it at Cambridge in Glocestershire For 1. 't is said expresly to be upon the Severn whereas Cambridge is two miles distant and beside that was probably built to guard the passage over the Severn 2. The Canterbury-copy reads it expresly Bricge as the Chronicle calls Bridgenorth which is at this day commonly nam'd Brigge And 3. As to the former part of the word there is a town about a mile distant call'd Quatford and another at two miles distance call'd Quat so that one may reasonably imagine CÆ¿atbricge should not be far off The forest Morfe Morfe mention'd by our Author is now a waste with scarce a tree upon it and the Walls and Castle he speaks of quite ruinated Northward from hence is Evelyn from which place the family of that name came into Surrey some ages since along with the Onslows and Hattons where these three seated themselves near one another and have remain'd a long time e Upon the edge of Staffordshire is the Well of S. Kenelm S Kâ—â—â—â—â— Welâ— to whom the Kingdom of Mercia fell at seven years of age But Quendred his sister practising with the young King's guardians made him away f More to the west is Acton-Burnell Acâ—â—â—-Burnell famous as our Author observes for a Parliament there The House of Commons sat in a barn then belonging to the Abbot of the Monastery of S. Peter and S. Paul which is still standing and belongs to Francis Prynce Esq g Next the Severn carries us to the Uriconium Uriconiâ—â— of the Ancients the circumference of which city-wall was about 3 miles built upon a foundation for the most part made of pebble-stones about 3 yards thick and a vast trench round it which in some places appears exceeding deep to this day Our Author refers the decay of it to the Danish wars and that it was burnt is indubitable for the way the fire went is still discoverable by the blackness and rankness of the soil But if we say this was done by the Danes we seem to injure the Antiquity of Shrewsbury
room William the son of Osbern of Crepon or as the Normans call'd him Fitz-Osbern a person very nearly allied to the Dukes of Normandy He being slain in the 4 Assisting the Earl of Flanders wars in Flanders was succeeded by his son Roger sirnam'd de Bretevill who died 5 Condemn'd to perpetual prison for a Conspiracy against the Conquerour out-law'd Proscriptus leaving no legitimate issue Then King Stephen restor'd to Robert le Bossu Earl of Leicester 6 Who had marry'd Emme or Itta heir of Bretevill son of Emme de Bretevill's heir I speak out of the original it self the Borough of Hereford and the Castle and the whole County of Hereford to descend by inheritance but to no purpose For Maud the Empress who contended with Stephen for the Crown advanced Miles the son of Walter Constable of Glocester to that honour and 7 Also granted to him Constabulariam Curiae suae the Constableship of her Court whereupon his posterity were Constables of England as the Marshalship was granted at the first by the name of Magistratus â—lariscalâ—iae Câ—riae nostrae made him high Constable of England Constables of England Nevertheless King Stephen afterwards divested him of these honours This Miles had five sons Roger Walter Henry William and Mahel all persons of great note and who died untimely deaths after they had all but William succeeded one another in their father's inheritance having none of them any issue King Henry amongst other things gave to Roger The Mote of Hereford with the whole Castle Girald Cambriae Itin. l. 1. c. 2. and the third penny of the revenues of the Pleas of the whole County of Hereford whereof he made him Earl But upon Roger's death if we may credit Robert Montensis the same King kept the Earldom of Hereford to himself Margaret the eldest sister of these was married to Humphrey Bohun the third of that name and his Posterity were High Constables of England viz. Humphrey Bohun the fourth Henry his son 2 Par. Chart. An. 1 Reg. Joan. Matth. Paris Lib Waldensis Lib. Monasterii Lanthony to whom King John granted Twenty pound to be received yearly of the third penny of the County of Hereford whereof he made him Earl This Henry married the sister and heir of William Mandevill Earl of Essex and died in the fourth year of King Henry the third Humphrey the fifth his son who was also Earl of Essex and had Humphrey the sixth who died before his father having first begot Humphrey the seventh upon a daughter and one of the heirs of William Breos Lord of Brecknock His son Humphrey the eighth was slain at Boroughbrigg leaving by Elizabeth his wife daughter of King Edward the first and dowager of the Earl of Holland a numerous issue viz. John Bohun Humphrey the ninth both Earls of Hereford and Essex who dyed issueless and William Earl of Northampton who had by Elizabeth 8 Daughter sister and one of the heirs of Giles Lord Badlesmer Humphrey Bohun the tenth and last of the Bohuns Earl of Hereford Essex and Northampton as also Lord High Constable of England He left two daughters Eleanor the wife of Thomas de Woodstock Duke of Glocester and Mary married to Henry of Lancaster Earl of Derby Henry 〈◊〉 fourâ—◠〈◊〉 of Eâ—gâ—â—â—â— who was created Duke of Hereford and was afterwards crowned King of England After this the Staffords Dukes of Buckingham had the title of Earls of Hereford who were descended from a daughter of Thomas of Woodstock which daughter was afterwards married to William Bourchier called Earl of Ew But in our memory King Edward the sixth honour'd Walter D'Eureux descended by the Bourchiers from the Bohuns with the title of Viscount Hereford whose grandchild by a son was afterwards created Earl of Essex by Queen Elizabeth This County contains 176 Parishes ADDITIONS to HEREFORDSHIRE a THE County of Hereford being as it were a Frontier in all the wars between the English and Welsh has upon that account been very remarkable for its number of Forts and Castles no fewer than 28. the greatest part whereof have now little to show beside the name Our Author observes it to be a very good Corn-Country but its present peculiar eminence is in Fruits of all sorts which give them an opportunity particularly of making such vast quantities of Syder as not only to serve their own families for 't is their general drink but also to furnish London and other parts of England their Red-streak from a sort of Apple they call so being exrtemely valu'd b Upon the river Wye two miles from Hereford is Eaton-wall Eaton * Aubr MS. a Camp containing about thirty or forty acres The works of it are single except a little on the West-side And about two miles from hence and a mile from Kenchester is Creden-hill upon which is a very great Camp and mighty works the graff here is inwards as well as outwards and the whole contains by estimation about forty acres c Near which is Kenchester Kenchester †Blome where about the year 1669. was found in a wood a great vault with tables of plaster in it The vault it self was pav'd with stone and thereabouts were dug up also many pieces of Roman Coins with large Bones leaden Pipes several Roman Urns with ashes in them and other vessels the use whereof was unknown d A little lower stands its daughter Hereford Hereford in which name our Author would find some remains of the old Ariconium whereas it is of a pure Saxon original implying no more than a ford of the army nor ought the vulgar's pronouncing it Hariford be of any weight when it appears by * See the Glossary and the several places wherein 't is mention'd our most ancient Annals that it was constantly written hereford Which interpretation doth also suit the situation of the place exceeding well the Severn being for many hundreds of years the frontier between two Nations almost always at war e Leland †Itinerar MS. has told us that the Castle by the ruins appear'd to have been one of the fairest largest and strongest in all England The walls were high firm and full of great towers and where the river was not a sufficient defence for it there it was strongly ditch'd It had two wards each of them surrounded with water the dungeon was high and exceeding well fortify'd having in the outward wall or ward ten towers of a semiciâ—cular figure and one great tower in the inner ward As to the building of it the sâ—me Leland has left us what tradition was on foot in his time without taking any notice of our Author's Earl Milo Some think says he that Heraldus â—gan this Castle after that he had conquer'd the rebellion of the Welshmen in King Edward the Confessor's time Some think that the Lacies Earls of Hereford were the great makers of it and the Bohuns Earls of Hereford
died an Exile in France but his wife being taken suffer'd the worst of miseries for she was starv'd in prison and thus did severe penance for her scurrilous language His son Giles Bishop of Hereford having without regard to his nephew who was the true heir recover'd his father's estate by permission of King John left it to his brother Reginald whose son William was hang'd by Lhewelin Prince of Wales who had caught him in adultery with his wife But by the daughters of that William the Mortimers Cantelows and Bohuns Earls of Hereford enjoy'd plentiful fortunes This country of Brecknock fell to the Bohuns and at length from them to the Staffords and upon the attainder of Edward Stafford Duke of Buckingham considerable revenues were forfeited to the crown in this County This County has 61 Parishes ADDITIONS to BRECKNOCKSHIRE a UPon the river Wye is Bualht whereof in the year 1690. a considerable part being that side of the street next the river Wye was by a casual fire totally consumed b Whether this town of Bualht be the ancient Bullaeum or whether that city or fort allowing it to have been in this County was not at a place call'd Kaereu Kaereu some miles distant from it may be question'd At leastwise 't is evident there hath been a Roman fort at Kaereu for besides that the name implies as much signifying strictly the Walls or Rampire and was prefix'd by the Britains to the names of almost all Roman towns and castles they frequently dig up bricks there and find other manifest signs of a Roman work 'T is now only the name of a Gentleman's house and not far from it there is also another house call'd Castelhan If it be urg'd in favour of Buelht that it seems still to retain its ancient name which Ptolemy might render 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 it may be answer'd that Buelht Buelht what it signifies which I interpret Colles boum Ox-Cliff or Oxen-Holt was the name of a small Country here from whence in all likelihood the ancient Bullaeum if it stood in this tract was denominated but that being totally destroy'd and this town becoming afterwards the most noted place of the Country it might also receive its name from it as the former had done But that I may dissemble nothing since the congruity of the names was the main argument that induc'd our learned Author to assign this situation to the ancient Bullaeum Silurum we shall have occasion of hesitating if hereafter we find the ruins of a Roman fort or city in a neighbouring Country of the Silures the name whereof may agree with Bullaeum no less than Buelht c Of the famous Owen Glyn-dwr Owen G yndwr or Glyn-Dowrdwy I find the following account in some notes of the learned and judicious Antiquary Robert Vaughan of Hengwrt Esq Sir Davidh Gam was wholly devoted to the interest of the Duke of Lancaster upon which account it was that Owen ap Gruffydh Vychan commonly call'd Owen Glyn-Dŵr was his mortal enemy This Owen had his education at one of the Inns of Court and was preferr'd to the service of King Richard 2. whose Scutifer as Walsingham saith he was Owen being assured that his King and Master Richard was deposed and murder'd and withall provoked by several affronts and wrongs done him by the Lord Grey of Ruthin his neighbour whom King Henry very much countenanced against him took arms and looking upon Henry as an Usurper caus'd himself to be proclaim'd Prince of Wales And though himself were descended paternally but from a younger brother of the house of Powis yet as ambition is ingenious he finds out a way to lay claim to the Principality as descended by a daughter fâ—om Lhewelyn ap Gruffydh the last Prince of the British race He invaded the lands burnt and destroy'd the houses and estates of all those that favour'd and adher'd to King Henry He call'd a Parliament to meet at Machynlheth in Montgomeryshire whither the Nobility and Gentry of Wales came in obedience to his summons and among them the said David Gam but with an intention to murder Owen The plot being discover'd and he taken before he could put it in execution he was like to have suffer'd as a Traitor but intercession was made for him by Owen's best friends and the greatest upholders of his cause whom he could not either honourably or safely deny Yet notwithstanding this pardon as soon as he return'd to his own Country where he was a man of considerable interest he exceedingly annoy'd Owen's friends Not long after Owen enter'd the Marches of Wales destroying all with fire and sword and having then burnt the house of Sir David Gam 't is reported he spake thus to one of his tenants O gweli di wr côch cam Yn ymofyn y Gyrnigwen Dywed y bôd hi tan y lan A nôd y glo ar ei phen The British name of this river is Wysk Usk. whencâ— nomâ—nâ— which word seems a derivative from Gwy or Wy whereof the Reader may see some account in Radnorshire At present it is not significative in the British but is still preserv'd in the Irish tongue and is their common word for water There were formerly in Britain many Rivers of this name which may be now distinguish'd in England by these shadows of it Ex Ox Ux Ouse Esk c. But because such as are unacquainted with Etymological Observations may take this for a groundless conjecture that it is not such will appear because in Antonine's Itinerary we find Exeter call'd Isca Danmoniorum from its situation on the river Ex and also a city upon this river Usk for the same reason call'd Isca Leg. II. The County of MONMOUTH By Rob t Morden e Bernard Newmarch having discomfited and slain in the field Bledhyn ap Maenyrch â—â—edhyn â—p Meinâ—â—â—ch seised on the Lordship of Brecon and forced his son and heir Gwgan to be content with that share of it he was pleas'd by way of composition to appoint him He gave him the Lordship and Manours of Lhan Vihangel Tal y Lhyn part of Lhan Lhyeni and Kantrev Seliv with lodgings in the castle of Brecknock where in regard he was the rightful Lord of the Country there was such a strict eye kept over him that he was not permitted at any time to go abroad without two or more Norman Knights in his company R. Vaug. ¶ At a place call'd y Gaer near Brecknock there stands a remarkable monument in the highway commonly call'd Maen y Morynnion â—aen y â—orynnion or the Maiden stone It is a rude pillar erected in the midst of the road about six foot high two in breadth and six inches thick On the one side where it inclines a little it shews the portraictures of a man and woman in some ancient habit It seems to have been carv'd with no small labour though with little art for the Figures are considerably rais'd above the superficies of the stone and
Roman work the Britain bricks and Roman coyns there found are most certain arguments among which the Reverend Father in God Francis Bishop of Landaffe by whose information I write this imparted unto me of his kindness one of the greatest pieces that ever I saw coyn'd of Corinthian copper by the city of Elaia in the lesser Asia to the honour of the Emperour Severus with this Greek Inscription 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 that is The Emperour Caesar Lucius Septimius Severus Pertinax And on the reverse an Horseman with a Trophee erected before him but the letters not legible save under him 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 that is of the Elaians which kind of great pieces the Italians call Medaglioni and were extraordinary coyns not for common use but coyn'd by the Emperours either to be distributed by the way of largess in Triumphs or to be sent for Tokens to men well deserving or else by free Cities to the glory and memory of good Princes What name this place anciently had is hard to be found but seemeth to have been the Port and Landing place for Venta Silurum when as it is but two miles from it Near Caldecot Câ—â—decot where the river Throgoy enters the Severn-Sea Inq 3 E. 1. I observ'd the wall of a castle which formerly belong'd to the High-Constables of England and was held by the service of Constableship of England Not far from hence are Wondy and Pen-how Wâ—â—dy and Peâ—-â—â—w the seats formerly of the illustrious family of St. Maur St Maur or Seiâ—â—r now corruptly call'd Seimour For we find that about the year 1240. in order to wrest Wondy out of the hands of the Welsh G. Marescal Earl of Pembroke was obliged to assist William of St. Maur. From whom was descended Roger of St. Maur Kt. who married one of the heiresses of the illustrious J. Beauchamp the noble Baron of Hach who was descended from Sibyl one of the co-heiresses of that most puissant William Marshal E. of Pembroke and from William Ferrars Earl of Derby Hugh de Vivon and William Mallet men of eminent worth in their times The Nobility of all which as also of several others have as may be made evident concentred in the Right Honourable Edward de St. Maur or Seimour now Earl of Hereford a singular encourager of virtue and learning for which qualification he 's deservedly famous The Fenny tract extended below this for some miles is call'd the Moor The Mâ—or which at my present reviewing these notes An Inundatâ—â— 16â—â— Jan. has suffer'd a most lamentable devastation For the Severn-Sea after a Spring-tide being driven back by a Southwest-wind which continued for 3 days without intermission and then again repuls'd by a very forcible Sea-wind it raged with such a tide as to overflow all this lower tract and also that of Somersetshire over against it undermining several Houses and overwhelming a considerable number of cattel and men In the borders of this Fenny tract where the land rises lies Gold-cliff Gâ—â—d-câ—iff so call'd saith Giraldus because the stones appear when the Sun shines of a bright gold colour Nor can I be easily perswaded saith he that nature hath bestow'd this colour on the stones in vain or that this is merely a flower without fruit should some skilful Artist search the veins and bowels of this rock In this place there remain some ruins of an old Priory founded by one of the family of Chandois From hence we come through a Fenny Country to the mouth of the river Isca â—he river 〈◊〉 call'd by the Britains Wysk in English Usk and by others Osca This river as we have already observ'd taking its course through the midst of the County passes by three small cities of noted antiquity The first on the Northwest borders of the County call'd by Antoninus Gobannium Gâ—bannium is situate at the confluence of the rivers Wysk and Govenni and thence denominated It is at this day retaining its ancient appellation call'd Aber-Gavenni and by contraction Aber-Gaenni which signifies the Confluence of Gavenni or Gobannium It is fortified with walls and a castle which as Giraldus observes has been oftner stain'd with the infamy of treachery than any other castle of Wales First by William Son of Earl Miles and afterwards by William Breos both having upon publick assurance and under pretence of friendship invited thither some of the Welsh Nobility and then basely murder'd them But they escaped not God's just punishment for Breos having been depriv'd of all his effects his wife and son starv'd with hunger died himself in exile The other having his brains dash'd out with a stone while Breulas-castle was on fire suffer'd at length the due reward of his villany The first Lord of Aber-Gavenni Lords of Aber-Gavenni that I know of was one Hamelin Balun who made Brien Wallingford or Brient de L'Isle call d also Fitz-Count his Executor And he having built here an Hospital for his two sons who were Lepers left the greatest part of his Inheritance to Walter the son of Miles Earl of Hereford This Walter was succeeded by his brother Henry whom the Welsh slew and invaded his Territories which the King's Lieutenants defended though not without great hazard By Henry's sister it descended to the Breoses and from them in right of marriage by the Cantelows and Hastings to Reginald Lord Grey of Ruthin 19 Rich. 2. But William Beauchamp obtain'd it of the Lord Grey by conveyance and he again in default of Issue male entail'd it on his brother Thomas Earl of Warwick and on his heirs-male Richard son of William Beauchamp Lord of Aber-gavenni for his military valour created Earl of Worcester being slain in the wars of France left one only daughter who was married to Edward Nevil From henceforth the Nevils became eminent under the title of Barons of Aber-Gavenni But the castle was a long time detain'd from them upon occasion of the conveyance before mention'd The fourth of these dying in our memory left one only daughter Mary married to Sir Thomas Fane Claus 19 21 Hen. 6. c. between whom and Sir Edward Nevil the next heir-male to whom the castle and most of the estate had been left by Will which was also confirm'd by authority of Parliament there was a trial for the title of Baron of Aber-Gavenni before the House of Lords in the second year of King James which continued seven days But in regard the question of right could not be fully adjusted and that each of them seem'd to all in respect of descent very worthy of the title and that moreover it was evident that both the title of Baron of Aber-Gavenni and that of Le Despenser belong'd hereditarily to this family the Peers requested of his Majesty that both might be honour'd with the title of Baron to which he agreed It was then proposed to the Peers by the L. Chancellor first Whether the heirs-male or female should enjoy the
Monuments of this kind in Wales some of which we shall take notice of in other Counties In Anglesey where there are many of them as also in some other places they are call'd Krom-lecheu a name deriv'd from Krwm which signifies crooked or inclining and lhech a flat stone but of the name more hereafter 'T is generally supposed they were places of burial but I have not yet learn'd that ever any Bones or Urns were found by digging under any of them Edward Somerset Lord Herbert of Chepstow Ragland and Gower obtain'd of K. Charles 1. the title of Earl of Glamorgan Earls of Glamogan his father the Lord Marquiss of Worcester being then alive the Succession of which Family may be seen in the Additions to Worcestershire DIMETAE a _THE remainder of this Region which is extended Westward and call'd by the English West-Wales West-Wales comprehending Caer-mardhin-shire Pembrokeshire and Cardiganshire was thought by Pliny to have been inhabited by the Silures But Ptolemy to whom Britain was better known placed another Nation here whom he call'd Dimetae and Demetae Moreover both Gildas and Ninnius used the word Demetia to signifie this Country whence the Britains call it at this day Dyved changing the M into V according to the propriety of that Language If it would not be thought a strain'd piece of curiosity I should be apt to derive this appellation of the Demetae from the words Deheu-meath which signifie the Southern plain as all this South-Wales has been call'd Deheu-barth i.e. the Southern Part. And I find that elsewhere the Inhabitants of a champain Country in Britain were call'd by the Britains themselves Meatae Nor does the situation of this Country contradict that signification for when you take a prospect of it the Hills decline gently and it dilates it self gradually to a Plain a Seing it was the custom amongst the Romans to retain such names of the places they conquer'd as the ancient Natives made use of adding only a Latin termination it may seem more probable that Dimetia was mâ—de out of the British name Dyved than the contrary But whatever the original name of this County might be I cannot subscribe to our Author's conjecture of the etymon of it for we find no such word in the British Language either in Manuscripts or common use as Meath for a plain champain Country Tho indeed if there were such a word they that are well acquainted with those Counties would scarce allow it applicable to them CAER-MARDHIN-SHIRE THE County of Kaer-Vyrdhin call'd by the English Caer-Mardhin-shire is a Country sufficiently supply'd with Corn very well stock'd with Cattel and in divers places affords plenty of Coal It is bounded on the East with Glamorgan and Brecknock shires on the West with Pembroke on the North divided from Cardiganshire by the river Teivi and on the South with the main Ocean which encroaches on the Land here with such a vast Bay 〈◊〉 that this Country might seem out of fear to have withdrawn it self In this Bay Kydweli first offers it self the territory whereof was possessed for some time by the sons of Keianus a Scot until they were driven out by Kynèdhav a British Prince But now it is esteem'd part of the Inheritance of Lancaster by the heirs of Maurice of London or de Londres who removing from Glamorganshire after a tedious war made himself Master of it and fortified old Kydweli with Walls and a Castle now decay'd with age For the Inhabitants passing over the river of Gwen-draeth vechan built new Kydweli invited thither by the conveniency of a Haven which yet at present is of no great use being choak'd with shelves â—â—hâ—an â—â—an of â—y conâ—â— When Maurice of London invaded these Territories Gwenlhîan the wife of Prince Gryffydh a woman of invincible courage endeavouring to restore her husband's declining state enter'd the field with display'd banner and encounter'd him But the success not being answerable to her courage she with her son Morgan and divers other Noblemen as Giraldus informs us were slain in the field 〈◊〉 of â—or and â—â—eli By Hawis the daughter and heiress of 1 Sir Thomas of London Thomas de Londres this fair Inheritance with the Title of Lord of Ogmor and Kydweli descended to Patrick Chaworth and by a daughter of his son Patrick to Henry Earl of Lancaster The heirs of Maurice de Londres as we read in an old Inquisition were obliged by this Tenure in case the King or his Chief Justice should lead an Army into these parts of Kydweli to conduct the said Army with their Banners and all their Forces through the midst of the Country of Neath to Lochor â—â—iver 〈◊〉 or â—â—s A little below Kydweli the river Towy which Ptolemy calls Tobius is received into the Ocean having passed the length of this County from North to South First by Lhan ym Dhyvri so call'd as is supposed from the confluence of rivers which out of malice to the English was long since demolish'd by Howel ap RhÅ·s â—â—r Afterwards by Dinevor-castle the Royal Seat of the Princes of South-Wales whilst they flourish'd situated aloft on the top of a Hill And at last by Caer-mardhin which the Britains themselves call Kaer-Vyrdhin Ptolemy Maridunum Maridunum and Antoninus Muridunum who continues not his journeys any farther than this place Caer-Mardhin and is here by negligence of the Copyists ill handled For they have carelesly confounded two Journeys the one from Galena to Isca the other from Maridunum to Viroconovium This is the chief town of the County pleasantly seated for Meadows and Woods and a place of venerable Antiquity fortified neatly saith Giraldus with brick-walls partly yet standing on the noble river of Towy navigable with ships of small burden tho' the mouth of it be now almost stopp'd with a bed of Sand. Here our Merlin Merlin or Myrdhin Emris the British Tages was born for as Tages was reported to have been the son of a Genius and to have taught the Tuscans South-saying so our Merlin who was said to have been the son of an Incubus devised Prophecies or rather mere Phantastical Dreams for our Britains Insomuch that in this Island he has the reputation of an eminent Prophet amongst the ignorant common people a Soon after the Normans enter'd Wales this town fell into their possession but by whose means I know not and a long time it encounter'd many difficulties having been often besieged and twice burnt first by Gryffydh ap RhÅ·s and afterwards by RhÅ·s the said Gryffydh's brother At which time Henry Turbervil an Englishman reliev'd the castle and cut down the bridge But the walls and castle being afterwards repair'd by Gilbert de Clare it was freed from these miseries so that being thus secured it bore the tempests of war much easier afterwards The Princes of Wales eldest sons of the Kings of England settl'd here their Chancery and Exchequer for South-Wales Opposite to this city
towards the east lies Cantrevbychan Cantrev-bychan which signifies the lesser Hundred for the Britains call such a portion of a country as contains 100 villages Kantrev where may be seen the ruins of Kastelh Karreg which was seated on a steep and on all sides inaccessible rock and several vast caverns Caverns b now all cover'd with green Turf where in the time of War such as were unfit for arms are thought to have secured themselves a notable fountain also which as Giraldus writes ebbing and flowing twice in twenty four hours imitates the sea-tides On the north is extended Cantrev Mawr or the great Hundred a safe retiring place heretofore for the Britains as being very woody and rocky and full of uncouth ways by reason of the winding of the hills On the south the Castles of Talcharn Talcharn and Lhan Stephan Lhan Stephan stand on the sea-rocks and are ample testimonies of warlike prowess as well in the English as Britains Below Talcharn the river * Brit. Tâv Taff is discharg'd into the sea on the bank of which river was famous heretofore Ty gwyn ar Dav which signifies the white house on the river Taff so call'd because it was built of white hasel-rods for a Summer-house Here in the year of our redemption 914. Howel 1 Sirnam'd Dha that is good sirnam'd the Good Prince of Wales in a full assembly there being besides Laymen 140 Ecclesiasticks abrogated the Laws of his Ancestors and gave new Laws to his people as the Preface before those laws testifies d In which place a small Monastery was built afterwards call'd Witland-Abbey Witland Abbey Not far from hence is Kilmaen Lhwyd where some Country-men lately discover'd an earthen Vessel that contain'd a considerable quantity of Roman Coins Roman Coyns of embas'd silver from the time of Commodus who was the first of the Roman Emperours that embas'd silver to the fifth Tribuneship of Gordian the third which falls in with the year of Christ 243. Amongst these were Helvius Pertinax Marcus Opellius Antoninus Diadumenianus Julius Verus Maximus the son of Maximinus Caelius Balbinus Clodius Pupienus Aquilia Severa the wife of Elagabalus and Sall. Barbia Orbiana which as being very rare were Coyns of considerable value amongst Antiquaries e It remains now that I give some account of New-castle New-â—â—â—â—â—e a small town seated on the bank of the river Teivi which divides this County from Cardiganshire for so they now call it because it was repair'd by 2 Sir Rhise ap Thomas RhÅ·s ap Thomas a stout warriour who assisted Hen. 7. in gaining his Kingdom and was by him deservedly created Knight of the Garter whereas formerly it was call'd †Vâ—â—â— Emâ—â— Elmlin Which name if the English gave it from Elm-trees their conjecture is not to be despis'd who are of opinion it was the Loventium Loâ—en â—â— of the Dimetae mention'd by Ptolemy for an Elm is call'd in British Lhwyven f Seeing we find it not recorded which of the Normans first extorted this Country out of the hands of the Princes of Wales Order requires that we now proceed to the description of Pembrokeshire This County has 87 Parishes ADDITIONS to CAER-MARDHIN-SHIRE a MErlin or Merdhin Emrys for so our Writers call him flourish'd An. 480. The first of our Historians that mentions him is †Eulogium Brit. c. 42. c. Ninnius who supposes he was call'd Embreys Gleutic He says nothing of his being the son of an Incubus but on the contrary tells us expresly his mother was afraid of owning the father lest she should be sentenc'd to dye for it but that the boy confess'd to King Vortigern that his father was by Nation a Roman The same Author informs us that King Vortigern's Messengers found him ad campum Electi in regione quae vocatur Glevising which whether it were at this Town or County or in some other place seems very questionable no places that I can hear of being known by such names at present All the Monkish Writers that mention him make him either a Prophet or Magician But H. Lhwyd ‖ Com. Brit. Descript p. 65. a judicious Author and very conversant in British Antiquities informs us he was a man of extraordinary learning and prudence for the time he liv'd in and that for some skill in the Mathematicks many Fables were invented of him by the vulgar which being afterwards put in writing were handed down to posterity b These Caverns taken notice of by our Author are supposed by some inquisitive persons who have often view'd them to have been Copper-mines of the Romans And indeed seeing it is evident from some Antiquities found there that Kaer-Gai in Meirionydh-shire was a Roman Town or Fort and that the place where these Caves are is also call'd Kaio I am apt to infer from the name that this place must have been likewise well known to the Romans And that I may note this by the way I suspect most names of places in Wales that end in I or O. such as Bod-Vari Kevn Korwyni Kaer-Gai Lhannio Keidio and Kaio to be Roman names such terminations being not so agreeable with the Idiotism of the British But for the Antiquity of this place we need not wholly rely upon conjectures for I have lately receiv'd from Mr. Erasmus Saunders A. B. of Jesus College Oxon. these following Inscriptions which he copy'd from two stones at a place call'd Pant y Pòlion in this parish The first which I suppose to be Roman lies flat on the ground and is placed cross a gutter but the other which seems to be of somewhat a later date is pitch'd on end and is about a yard in height the Inscription whereof is to be read downwards c I cannot conjecture what might be the original signification of this word Tâv but it may be worth our observation that the most noted rivers in South-Wales seem to have been thence denominated for besides that there are three or four rivers of that name the first Syllable also in Tawy Towy Teivi and Dyvi seems to me but so many various pronunciations of it and for the latter Syllable I have * elsewhere offer'd my conjecture R. 〈◊〉 Anâ—◠〈◊〉 that it only denotes a River or perhaps Water Nor would it seem to me very absurd if any should derive the name of the river Thames from the same original For since we find it pretty evident that the Romans changed Dyved the ancient name of this Country into Dimetia and Kynedhav a man's name into †Cunotamus 〈◊〉 â—â—d â—â—â—â—â—n Pâ—â—â—â—â—shire and also that in many words where the Latins use an M. the Britains have an V. as Firmus Firv Terminus Tervin Amnis Avon Lima Lhîv c. it seems not unlikely considering we find the word Tâv usual in the names of our rivers that the Britains might call that river Tâv Tà vwy or Tà vwys before the Roman Conquest which they afterwards call'd Tamesis d An ancient MS. Copy
excellent Library which Alcuin tells us was founded by his Master Archbishop Egelred The Monastery did not lye long till it rose again but the Cathedral lay neglected till Edw. 1.'s time and then it was begun by John Roman Treasurer of this Church and brought to that stately pitch we now see it of by his son John William Melton and John Thoresby all Archbishops nn together with the contributions of the Gentry thereabouts especially of the Percies and the Vavasors as the Arms of those families in the Church and their portraictures in the gate do shew The Percies are cut out with a piece of timber and the Vavasors with a stone in their hands in memory of the one's having contributed stone and the other timber â—â—â—ent p. p. 〈◊〉 1. to this new fabrick The church as we are told by the Author of the Life of Aeneas Silvius or Pope Pius 2. as he had it from his own mouth is famous for its magnificence and workmanship all the world over and for a lightsome Chapel with shining walls and small thin-wasted pillars quite round This is the beautiful Chapter-house where the following verse is writ in golden Letters Ut Rosa flos florum sic est Domus ista Domorum The chief of Houses as the Rose of flowers About the same time the Citizens began to fortifie themselves with new walls adding many towers for a farther security and made excellent laws for their government King Rich. 2. made it a County incorporate and Rich. 3. began to raise a new Castle in it from the ground That nothing might be wanting in the last age K. Hen. 8. established a Council or Senate here not unlike the Parliaments in France The Council established in the North. who were to judge of all suits arising within these northern parts and to decide them by the rules of right and equity This Court consists of a President and what number of Counsellors the King pleases with a Secretary and under-Officers Our Mathematicians have defined the Longitude of York to be 22 deg and 25 scr the Latitude 54 degr and 10 scr Thus far we have been describing the west part of this County and the City of York which neither belongs to this nor any other part of the Shire but enjoys its own Liberties and a jurisdiction over the neighbourhood on the west-side called the liberty of Ansty Ansty which some derive from Ancienty to denote its antiquity others more plausibly from the German word Anstossen implying a bound or limit I will conclude what I have said of this City with these verses written by J. Jonston of Aberdeen not long since Praesidet extremis Artoae finibus orae Urbs vetus in veteri facta subinde nova Romanis Aquilis quondam Ducibusque superba Quam pòst barbaricae diripuere manus Pictus atrox Scotus Danus Normannus Anglus Fulmina in hanc Martis detonuere sui Post diras rerum clades totque aspera fata Blandius aspirans aura serena subit Londinum caput est regni urbs prima Britanni Eboracum à primâ jure secunda venit O'er the last borders of the Northern land York's ancient towers tho' oft made new command Of Rome's great Princes once the lofty seat Till barbarous foes o'erwhelm'd the sinking state The Picts the Scots Danes Normans Saxons here Discharg'd the loudest thunder of the War But this once ceas'd and every storm o'erblown A happier gale refresh'd the rising town Let London still the just precedence claim York ever shall be proud to be the next in fame The Ouse being past York begins to be disturb'd with eddies or that whirl of waters which we call Higra and so marches by Bishops-Thorp Bishops-Thorpe that is the Bishop's Village formerly called S. Andrew's Thorpe till Walter Grey Archbishop of York purchased it and to bilk the King's Officers who are always ready to seise the Temporalities of Bishops when a See is vacant gave it to the Dean and Chapter of York upon condition they should always yield it to his successors Of whom Richard le Scrope Arch-bishop of York a hot man and still hankering after novelty and change was in this very place condemned of high treason by King Henry the fourth for his seditious practices oo Upon the same river stands Cawood Cawood the castle of the Archbishops which King Athelstan gave to the Church as I have been told Over against it on the other side the river is seated Rical where Harold Haardread arrived with a numerous fleet of the Danes From hence the Ouse runs to Selby a pretty populous little town and remarkable for Henry the first 's being born in it Here William the first his father built a Church in memory of St. German who quash'd the Pelagian Heresie notwithstanding like a Hydra it had frequently revived and struggl'd for life here in Britain The Abbots of this and of St. Maries at York were the only Abbots of these northern parts that could sit in Parliament pp At last the Ouse runs directly to the Humber 14 Leaving first Escricke a seat of the Lascelles sometimes to be remember'd for that K. James advanced Sir Thomas Knivet the owner therâ—of Lord Knivet to the honour of Baron Knivet of Escricke in the year 1607. passing in it's way by Drax Dâ—ax a little village formerly famous for a Monastery 15 Founded there by Sir William Painell where Philip de Tollevilla William Newbrigensis is my Author had a castle strongly situated in the midst of rivers woods and marshes and defended it against K. Stephen relying on the courage of his men and the great store of arms and provisions in the place however it was soon reduced into the King's power qq ADDITIONS to the West-riding of YORKSHIRE YORKSHIRE without any angular advantages extends into a square of fourscore and ten miles * 〈…〉 p. â—74 adequate in all its dimensions to the Dukedom of Wâ—rtenberg in Germany a Following the river Don we first come to Wortley Wortlâ—y the Issue-male of the family of which name expir'd in Sir Francis Wortley †Sid. Reports 315. who devis'd the greatest part of his estate to Anne Newcomen supposed to be his natural daughter the present wife of the Honourable Sidney Wortley Esq ‖ Dugd. Bar. 2 Vol. p. 445 second son of Edward Mountague Earl of Sandwich slain in the Dutch wars 28 May 1672. who in right of his said wife is Lord of Wortley b Not far from hence is Wentworth Wâ—ntworth Of the family of that name and place was the Right Honourable Thomas Viscount Wentworth Lord Lieutenant of Ireland created Earl of Strafford 15 Car. 1. and Knight of the most noble order of the Garter who being beheaded on Tower-hill 12 May 1641. lyeth here interr'd and was succeeded in his Honours by his son William the present E. of Strafford and Knight of the said noble Order c The Don carries us next to
question but this was the very c Dr. Gâ—le gives us a note upon this passage in Ptolemy which must be wrong printed 'T is this Salutarem sinum male MS. Seld. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Which ought to be thus pointed Salutatem sinum male MS. c. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Gabrantovicorum Gâ—bâ—â—â—vâ— a people that liv'd in this neighbourhood n Near this is Bridlington a town famous for John de Bridlington a Monkish Poet d There is no such thing One might as well say as some do that the Caledonian woods are still plentifully stockt with Wild-bears Both these kinds are long since wholly destroy'd in that Kingdom See Sir Robert Sibbald's Nuntius Scoto-Brit part 2. p. 9. whose rhyming prophecies which are altogether ridiculous I have seen o Not far from hence for a great way towards Drifield there was a ditch drawn by the Earls of Holderness to divide the Lands which was call'd Earls-dike But why this small People were call'd Gabrantovici I dare not so much as guess unless perhaps it was deriv'd from Goats which the Britains call'd Gaffran whereof there are not greater numbers in any part of Britain than in this place Nor is this derivation to be lookt upon as absurd seeing the Aegira in Achaia has its name from Goats Nebrodes in Sicily from Deer and Boeotia in Greece from Oxen. The little Promontory that by its bending makes this Bay is commonly call'd Flamborough-head 〈◊〉 but by Saxon Authors Fleam-burg who write that Ida the Saxon who first subdu'd these parts arriv'd here Some think it took its name from a Watch-tower to set out Lights whereby Mariners might discern that Harbour For the Britains still retain the provincial word Flam and the Mariners paint this Creek with a flaming-head in their Sea-Charts Others are of opinion that this name came into England out of Angloen in Denmark the ancient Seat of the Angli for there is a town call'd Flemsburg from which they think the English gave it that name as the Gauls according to Livy nam'd Mediolanum in Italy from the town Mediolanum they had left in Gaul For the little village in this Promontory is call'd Flamborough â—â—â—boâ—â—gh which gives original to another noble family of Constables as they call them which by some are deriv'd from the Lacies â—ables â—â—amboâ—â—gh Constables of Chester p Upon my enquiries in these parts I heard nothing of those Rivers call'd Vipseis â—â—eis which Walter de Heminburgh tells us flow every other year from unknown Springs and with a great and rapid current run by this little Promontory to the Sea However take what William of Newborough who was born there has said of them These famous waters commonly call'd Vipseis spring from the earth at several sources not incessantly but every other year and having made a pretty large current through the lower grounds run into the Sea and when they are dry'd 't is a good sign For the flowing of them is truly said to forbode the misery of an approaching famine q As the Sea winds it self back from hence a thin slip of land like a small tongue when 't is thrust out shoots into the Sea such as the old English call'd File from which the little village Filey takes its name More inward stands Flixton where a Hospital was built in the time of Athelstan for defending Travellers as it is word for word in the * Regiis Archivit Publick Records from Wolves that they should not be devoured by them This shews us that in those times Wolves Wolves infested this tract which now are to be met with in no part of England not so much as in the frontiers of Scotland altho' they are very numerous in that Kingdom This small territory of Holderness was given by William the first to Drugo de Bruerer a Fleming Earls of Albemarle and Holderness Genealogiae Antiquae upon whom also he had bestow'd his niece in marriage but she being poison'd by him and he forc'd to fly for his life was succeeded by Stephen the son of Odo Lord of Albemarle in Normandy descended from the family of the Earls of Champaigne whom William the first who was his nephew by a half sister on the mother's side is said to have made Earl of Albemarle and his posterity retain'd that title in England notwithstanding Albemarle be a place in Normandy He was succeeded by his son William sirnam'd †Le Gross Crassus His only daughter Avis was married to three husbands successively to William Magnavill Earl of Essex to Baldwin de Beton and to William Forts or de Fortibus By this last husband only she had issue William who left also a son William to succeed him His only daughter Avelin being married to Edmund ‖ Gibbosus Crouchback Earl of Lancaster dy'd without children And so as it is said in Meaux-Abbey-book for want of heirs the Earldom of Albemarle and the Honour of Holderness were seized into the King's hands Yet in following ages King Richard the second created Thomas de Woodstock his Uncle and afterwards Edward Plantagenet son to the Duke of York Duke of Albemarle in the life-time of his father Henry the fourth also made his son Thomas Duke of Clarence and Earl of Albemarle which title King Henry the sixth added afterwards as a farther honour to Richard Beauchamp Earl of Warwick ADDITIONS to the East-riding of YORKSHIRE a NOW we come to the second Division the East-Riding Which Division by Ridings to observe it by the way is nothing but a corruption from the Saxon ÃriHing â—g which consisted of several Hundreds or Wapentakes Nor was it peculiar to this County but formerly common to most of the neighbouring ones as appears by the p. 33. 34 Laws of Edward the Confessor and the â—g 74 â—c Life of King Alfred b The first place we meet with is Mont-ferrant-Castle which ‖ â—â—erar Leland tells us in his time was clearly defaced so that bushes grew where it had formerly stood Of the family de Malo Lacu or as Leland calls them Mawley there were eight successively enjoy'd the estate all Peters but the last of these leaving only two daughters the one was married to Bigot and the other to Salwayne c However the name of Battle-bridge â—â—â—â—e-â—â—â—ge may be us'd for Stanford-bridge in Authors a Traveller will hardly meet with it among the Inhabitants of this Country Our Author seems to have taken it from an Instrument concerning the Translation of St. Oswin since printed in the â—â—m 1. â—4 Monasticon Anglicanum which speaking of this place adds Nunc verò Pons belli dicitur i.e. at present 't is call'd Pons Belli or Battle-bridge d Upon the Derwent lyes Howden â—â—den formerly Hovedene as is plain from several Records in the time of Edward 2. and Edward 3. as also from †â—n MS. Leland's calling the first Canon of the place John Hovedene
elsewhere they held of the King More inward among the mountains of Blackamore Blackamore there is nothing remarkable to be met with besides some rambling brooks and rapid torrents which take up as it were all the vallies hereabouts unless it be Pickering a pretty large town belonging to the Dutchy of Lancaster seated upon a hill and fortified with an old Castle to which many neighbouring villages round about do belong so that the adjacent territory is commonly called Pickering Lith the Liberty of Pickering and the Forest of Pickering Pickering which Hen. 3. gave to Edmund his younger son E. of Lancaster In this upon the Derwent Atton Atton is situated which gives name to the famous family of the Attons Knights descended from the Lords de Vescy whose estate was divided by the daughters between Edward de St. John the Euers and the Coigniers From this Edward de St. John a great part thereof came by a daughter to Henry Bromflet who was summon'd to Parliament in the following manner 27 Hen. 6. Bromflet Lord Vescy no where else to be met with among the Summons to Parliament We will that both you and the heirs males of your body lawfully begotten be Barons of Vescy Afterwards this title went by a daughter to the Cliffords On the other side four miles from Pickering near Dow a very strong current is Kirkby-Morside Kirkby-Moreside none of the most inconsiderable market-towns formerly belonging to the Estotevills and situate near hills from which it takes it's name From these westward stands Rhidale Rhidale a very fine valley pleasant and fruitful adorn'd with 23 Parish-Churches and the river Rhy running through the midst of it A place says Newbrigensis of vast solitude and horror till Walter Espec gave it to the Cluniack Monks and founded a Cloister for them Here Elmesly is seated Elmesley call'd also Hamlak which if I do not mistake Bede calls Ulmetum where Robert sirnamed de Ross built the Castle Fursam near which the river Recall hides it self under ground Lower down upon this river stands Riton the old estate of an ancient family the Percihaies commonly called Percyes From hence the Rhy with the many waters received from other currents rolls into the Derwent which washes Malton Malton in this valley a market-town famous for its vent of corn horses fish and Country-utensils There the foundation of an old Castle is visible which formerly as I have heard belonged to the Vesceys Baron Vescey Barons of great note in these parts Their pedigree as appears from the Records of the Tower is from William Tyson who was Lord of Malton and Alnewick in Northumberland and was cut off in the battel of Hastings against the Normans His only daughter was married to Ivo de Vescy a Norman who likewise left one only daughter called Beatrice married to Eustachius the son of John Monoculus who in the reign of K. Stephen founded two Religious houses at Malton and Watton For his second wife daughter to William Constable of Chester was Lady of Watton William the son of Eustachius by his wife Beatrice being ripped out of his mothers womb took the name Vescey and for Arms Arms of the Vâ—scies Matth. Paris MS. A Cross Argent in a field Gules This William by B. daughter to Robert Estotevill of Knaresburgh had two sons Eustach de Vescey who married Margaret daughter to William King of Scotland and 7 Sir Guarin Guarin de Vescey Lord of Knapton Eustach was father to William who had a son John that died without issue and William famous for his exploits in Ireland and who changed the old Arms of the family into a shield Or with a Cross Sable William his lawful son John dying in the wars of Wales gave some of his lands in Ireland to King Edward that his natural son called William de Kildare might inherit his estate Lib. Dunelm and made Anthony Bec Bishop of Durham his Feoffee in trust to the use of his son who hardly acquitted himâ—elf fairly in that part of his charge relating to Alnwick Eltham in Kent and some other estates which he is said to have converted to his own use This natural son aforesaid was slain at Sterling fight in Scotland and the title fell at last to the family of the Attons by Margaret the only daughter of 8 Sir Guarin Guarin Vescy who was married to Gilbert de Atton Vid. pag. praeced But enough of this if not too much and besides we spoke of it before Near this valley stands Newborrow Newborrow to which we owe William of Newborrow an English Historian learned and diligent now it is the Seat of the famous family de Ballasise who are originally from the Bishoprick of Durham and also Belleland commonly call'd Biland Biland two famous Monasteries both fâ—unded and endow'd by Roger Mowbray Family of the Mowbrays The family of these Mowbrays was as considerable as any for power honours and wealth they possessed very great estates with the castles of Slingesby Thresk and others in these parts The rise of this family was in short thus Roger de Mowbray Earl of Northumberland and R. de * In another plâ—ce call'd De Frente Bovis Grandebeofe being for disloyalty depâ—iv'd of their estates King Henry the first gave a great part of them to Nigell de Albenie descended from the same family with the Albenies Earls of Arondell a man of very noble extraction among the Normans He was Bow-bearer to William Rufus and enrich'd to that degree by him The Register of Fountain-Abby that he had in England 140 Knights fees and in Normandy 120. His son Roger was also commanded by him to take the name of Mowbray fâ—om whom the Mowbrays Earls of Nottingham and the Dukes of Norfolk are descended To these Mowbrays also Gilling-castle Gilling-castle a little way from hence did formerly belong but now 't is in the hands of that ancient and famous family which from their fair hair have the name of Fairfax Fairfax for fax Fax in the old Saxon signifies hair or the hairs of the head upon which account they call'd a Comet or Blazing-star a Faxed-star Faxed-star as also the place before spoken of Haly-fax from holy hair Below this to the Southward lyes the Calaterium nemus commonly The Forest of Galtres The Forest of Galtres which in some places is thick and shady in others plain wet and boggy At present it is famous for a yearly Horse-race A Horse-race wherein the prize for the horse that wins is a little golden bell 'T is hardly credible what great resort of people there is to these races from all parts and what great wagers are laid upon the horses In this Forest stands Creac Creac which Egfrid King of Northumberland in the year b It was given in 685. the last of that King's reign as some Latin editions and the
for their great bulk and branchy heads are very remarkable and extraordinary The river Ure which we have often mention'd has its rise here out of the western mountains and first runs through the middle of the vale Wentsedale Wentsedale which is sufficiently stock'd with cattel and has a great deal of lead in some places Not far from the first spring while it is yet but small 't is encreased by the little river Baint from the south which issues from the pool Semur with a great murmur At the confluence of these two streams where some few cottages call'd from the first bridge over the Ure Baintbrig was formerly a Roman garison Bracchium of which some remains are yet extant For upon the hill which from a burrough they now call Burgh there are the groundworks of an old fortification about five acres in compass and under it to the east the signs of many houses are yet apparent Where among several proofs of Roman Antiquity I have seen this fragment of an old Inscription in a very fair character with a winged Victory supporting it IMP. CAES. L. SEPTIMIO PIO PERTINACI AVGV IMP CAESARI M. AVRELIO A PIO FELICI AVGVSTO The name o◠〈…〉 eras'd BRACCHIO CAEMENTICIVM VI NERVIORVM SVB CVRA LA SENECION AMPLISSIMI OPERI L. VI SPIVS PRAE LEGIO From which we may conjecture that this fort at Burgh was formerly called Bracchium which before had been made of turf but then was built with stone and mortar that the sixth Cohort of the Nervii garison'd here who also seem to have had a Summer Camp upon that high hill trenched round which is hard by and is now called Ethelbury It is not long since a Statue of Aurelius Commodus the Emperour was dug up here Statue of Commodus the Emperour who as Lampridius has it was stil'd by his flatterers Britannicus even when the Britains were for chusing another against him This Statue seems to have been set up when through an extravagant esteem of himself he arriv'd to that pitch of folly that he commanded every one to call him The Roman Hercules son of Jupiter For it is formed in the habit of Hercules his right-hand armed with a club and under it as I am inform'd was this broken and imperfect Inscription which had been ill copied and was quite decay'd before I came hither CAESARI AVGVSTO MARCI AVRELII FILIO SEN IONIS AMPLISSIMI VENTS _____ PIVS This was extant in Nappa Nappâ— a house built with turrets and the chief seat of the Medcalfs The 〈…〉 which is counted the most numerous family this day in England For I have heard that Sir Christopher Medcalf Knight the chief of the family being lately Sheriff of the County was attended with 300 Knights all of this family and name and in the same habit to receive the Justices of the Assize and conduct them to York From hence the Ure runs very swiftly with abundance of Crey-fishes Crey-â— ever since C. Medcalf within the memory of this age brought that sort of fish hither from the south parts of England l and between two rocks from which the place is called Att-scarre it violently rolls down its chanel not far from Bolton Bolton the ancient seat of the Barons de Scrope Barons 〈◊〉 Scrâ—pâ— and a stately castle which Richard Lord le Scrope Chancellour of England in Richard the second 's time built at very great charge Now taking its course eastward it comes to the town of Midelham Midâ—ehâ—â— the Honour of which as we read in the Genealogy of the Nevils Alan Earl of Richmond gave to his younger brother * By 〈◊〉 Ribaa Rinebald with all the lands which before their coming belonged to Gilpatrick the Dane His grandchild by his son Ralph Lords of Midâ—ehâ—â— called Robert Fitz-Ralph had all Wentsedale bestowed on him by Conanus Earl of Bretagne and Richmond and built a very strong castle at Midleham Ranulph his son built a small Monastery for Canons at Coverham now contractedly called Corham in Coverdale Genealâ—â—â— antiquâ—â—â— and his son Ralph had a daughter Mary who being married to Robert Lord Nevill brought this large estate for a portion to the family of the Nevils This Robert Nevill having had many children by his wife was taken in adultery unknown and had his privy members cut off by the adulteress's husband in revenge which threw him into such excessive grief that he soon dy'd From hence the Ure having pass'd a few miles washes Jervis or Jorvalle-Abbey 1 Of Cistertians founded first at Fo rs add after translated hither by Stephen Earl of Britain and Richmond which is now decay'd then runs by Masham Mashaâ— which belonged to the Scropes of Masham who as they are descended from the Scropes of Bolton fo are they again grafted into the same by marriage On the other side of this river but more inward stands Snath Snath the chief seat of the Barons de Latimer whose noble extraction is from G. Nevill younger son of Ralph Nevill first Earl of Westmorland who had this honourable title conferr'd on him by K. Henry the sixth of that name when the elder family of the Latimers had ended in a female Barons Latimeâ— and so in a continu'd succession they have flourished till our time when for want of heirs-male to the last Baron this brave inheritance was parted among his daughters who were married into the families of the Percies the Cecils the D'anvers and Cornwallis There is no other place in these parts remarkable upon the Ure but Tanfeld Tanfeâ—â— formerly the seat of the Gernegans Knights from these it descended to the Marmions Marmâ—â—â— lâ— q. 6. â— the last of these left Amice his heir the second wife of John Lord Grey of Rotherfeld whose two children taking the name of Marmion were heirs to their mother 2 John that assum'd the sirname of Marmion and dy'd issueless and Robert who left behind him one only daughter and sole heir Elizabeth wife to Sir Henry Fitz-Hâ—gh a nâ—ble Baron and one of them left an only daughter and heiress Elizabeth the wife of Fitz-Hugh a famous Baron The Ure now receives the Swale Swalâ— sacred â—â—ver so called as Thom. Spott has it from its swiftness which enters it with a great leaping and hurry of waters This also rises out of the western mountains hardly five miles above the head of the river Ure and runs to the eastward It was very sacred among the ancient English because when the Saxons were first converted to Christianity there were baptiz'd in it on one day with great joy by Paulinus Archbishop of York above ten thousand men besides women and children The course of the Swale lies through a pretty large vale which is called Swaldale from it and has grass enough but wants wood and first by Marricke â—â—rricke where stood a Cloister built by the Askes men of great note heretofore
called Balineum as appears from this Inscription which was hence convey'd to Connington to the house of the most famous and learned Sir Robert Cotton Knight DAE .. FORTVNAE Instead of Deae Fortunae VIRIVS LVPVS LEG AVG PR PR BALINEVM VI IGNIS EXVST VM COH I. THR ACVM REST ITVIT CVRANTE VAL. FRON TONE PRAE F EQ ALAE VETTO Here I must correct an errour in those who from a false draught of this Inscription which has it Balingium corruptly for Balineum imagine the place to have been call'd Balingium whereas upon a close inspection it is plainly Balineum in the stone a word used for Balneum by the ancients as the learned know very well who are not ignorant that Baths were as much us'd by the Souldiers as any others both for the sake of health and cleanliness for daily in that age they were wont to wash before they eat and also that Baths both publick and private were built at such a lavish rate every where Seneca See Flintshire that any one thought himself poor and mean that had not the walls of his Bath adorn'd with great and costly * Orbibus Rosses In these men and women washed promiscuously together tho' that was often prohibited both by the Laws of the Emperours and Synodical Decrees In the decline of the Roman Empire a †Numerus Exploratorum Band of the Exploratores with their Praefect under the command of the * Dacis Britanniae Captain of Britain had their station here as is manifest from the Notitia where it is nam'd Lavatres Now seeing these Baths were also call'd Lavacra by the Latins perhaps some Critick or other will imagine that this place was call'd Lavatrae instead of Lavacra yet I should rather derive it from that little river running hard by which I hear is call'd Laver. This modern name Bowes seeing the old Town was burnt to the ground according to a tradition among the Inhabitants seems to me to be deriv'd from that accident For that which is burnt with fire is call'd by the Britains Boeth and so the Suburbs of Chester beyond the Dee call'd by the English Hanbridge is nam'd by the Welsh or Britains from its being burnt down in a Welsh in-road Treboth that is a little town burnt Here begins that mountainous and vast tract always expos'd to winds and rain which from its being rough and stony is call'd by the Inhabitants Stanemore Stanemore for it is quite throughout solitary but for one Inn in the middle of it for the entertainment of Travellers 5 Call'd the Spittle on Stane more Spittle on Stanemore and near this is the remainder of a Cross which we call Rere-cross Rere-cross and the Scots Rei-cross that is a Royal Cross Hector Boetius a Scotchman says this stone was set as a boundary between England and Scotland when William the first gave Cumberland to the Scots upon this condition that they should hold it of him by fealty and attempt nothing that might be to the prejudice of the Crown of England Somewhat lower just by the Roman Military way was a small Roman Fort of a square form which is now call'd Maiden-castle Maiden-castle From hence as I had it from the Borderers this Military Roman way went with many windings to Caer Vorran As the favour of Princes inclin'd there have been several Earls of Richmond Earls of Richmond and of different families of whom with as much accuracy and clearness as I can I will give this following account in their due order 6 The first Earls were out of the house of Little Britain in France whose descent is confusedly intricate amongst their own Writers for that there were two principal Earls at once one of Haulte Britain and another of Base Britain for many years and every one of their children had their part in Gavelkind and were stil'd Earls of Britain without distinction But of these the first Earl of Richmond according to our Writings and Records was Alane sirnam'd Feregaunt that is The Red son of Hoel Earl of Britain descended from Hawise great Aunt to William the Conquerour who gave this Country unto him by name of the Lands of Earl Eadwin in Yorkshire and withal bestowed his daughter upon him by whom he had no issue He built Richmond-castle as is before specified to defend himself from disinherited and out-law'd English men in those parts and dying left Britain to his son Conan le Grosse by a second wife But Alane the Black son of Eudo son of Geffrey Earl of Britain and Hawise aforesaid succeeded in Richmond and he having no child left it to Stephen his brother This Stephen begat Alane sirnam'd Le Sâ—vage his son and successour who assisted King Stephen against Maude the Empress in the battel at Lincoln and married Bertha one of the heirs of Conan le Gross Earl of Hault Britain by whom he had Conan le Perit Earl of both Britains by hereditary right as well as of Richmond He by the assistance of K. Henry the second of England dispossessed Eudo Vicount of Porhoet his father-in-law who usurp'd the title of Britain in right of the said Bertha his wife and ended his life leaving only one daughter Constance by Margaret sister to Malcolme King of the Scots Geffrey third son to King Henry the second of England was advanced by his father to the marriage of the said Constance whereby he was Earl of Britain and Richmond and begat of her Arthur who succeeded him and as the French write was made away by King John his Uncle Alan Rufus Earl of Britain in Armorica Alan Niger to whom William the Conquerour gave this shire Stephen Earl of Britain his brother Alan Earl of Britain About this time Overus de St. Martino is mention'd as Earl of Richmond the son of Stephen Conanus Earl of Britain his son who by the assistance of Henry the second King of England recover'd Britain from his Father-in-law the Sheriff of Porhoet possessed of it Geoffrey Plantagenet son of Henry the second King of England who first married Constantia only daughter of Conanus Arthur his son who is said to have been made away by King John Upon this account John was certainly impeach'd by the French as Duke of Normandy who pass'd Sentence upon him tho' he was absent unheard had made no confession and was not convict Normandâ— taken froâ— the King 〈◊〉 England so they adjudg'd him depriv'd of Normandy and his hereditary Lands in France Whereas he had publickly promis'd to stand to the judgment of Paris and answer to the death of Arthur who as his liege subject had taken an oath of Allegiance to him yet had broken the same raised a rebellion and was taken prisoner in the war In these times the question was bandied Whether the Peers of France could be Judges of a King anointed and by consequence their Superiour seeing every greater dignity as it
were drowns the lesser and the King of England and Duke of Normandy at that time was the self same person But where am I thus roving After Arthur there succeeded in the Earldom of Richmond Guy Vicount of Thovars second husband of Constantia aforesaid Ranulph the third Earl of Chester third husband to the said Constantia Peter de Dreux descended from the Blood-royal of France who married Alice the only daughter of Constantia by her husband Guy Thovars 7 Then upon dislike of the house of Britain Peter of Savoy c. Peter of Savoy Uncle of Eleanor Consort to King Henry the third who fearing the Nobility and Commons of England that grumbled at that time against foreigners voluntarily renounced this honour John Earl of Britain son of Peter de Dreux John the first Duke of Britain and his son who married Beatrice daughter to Henry the third King of England He had issue Arthur Duke of Britain who according to some Writers was also Earl of Richmond For certain Robert de Arthâ—is wâ— not Earl oâ— Richmâ—â—d as Frâ—â—sardus has â— but of â—â—lomorâ— Lib. Feâ—d Richmâ—â—diae John his younger brother presently after the death of his father enjoy'd this honour who added to the ancient Arms of Dreux with the Canton of Britain the Lions of England in bordure He was ‖ Custoâ— Governour of Scotland under Edward the second where he was kept prisoner three years and at last dy'd without children in the reign of Edward the third and John Duke of Britain his Nephew the son of Arthur succeeded in this Earldom He dying without issue at a time when this Dutchy of Britain was hotly * Between John de Montâ—foâ—â— and Jâ— Clauâ— wife of Charles of Blâ—is contended for 8 Between John Earl of Monfort of the half-blood and Joan his brother's daughter and heir of the whole blood married to Charles of Blâ—ys Edward the 3d to advance his interest in France gave to John Earl of Montford who had sworn fealty to him for the Dutchy of Britain all this Earldom till such time as he should recover his Lands in France he seeming preferable to the daughter of his brother deceas'd 9 To whom the Parliament of France had adjudg'd it both as he was a man as he was nearer ally'd and as he had a better title His lands being at length regain'd by means of the English the same King gave it to John of Gaunt his son who at last restor'd it to the King his father for other Lands in exchange The King forthwith created John Earl of Montford the second Duke of Britain sirnam'd the Valiant to whom he had married his daughter Earl of Richmond that he might oblige him by stronger ties being a warlike man and a bitter enemy to the French Yet by an Act of Parliament in the 14th of King Richard the second he was deprived of this Earldom for adhering to the French against the English However he retain'd the title and left it to his posterity The Earldom it self was given by the King to Joan of Britain his sister widow of Ralph Basset of Draiton After her death first Ralph Nevil Earl of Westmorland by the bounty of Henry the 4th had the Castle and County of Richmond for term of Life and then John Duke of Bedford Afterwards Henry the sixth conferr'd the title of Earl of Richmond upon Edmund de Hadham his brother by the mother's side with this peculiar privilege That he should take place in Parliament next the Dukes To him succeeded Henry his son afterwards King of England by the name of Henry the seventh But whilst he was in exile George Duke of Clarence and Richard Duke of Glocester had this County bestow'd upon them by King Edward the fourth their brother Last of all Henry natural son to Henry the eight was by his father invested Duke of Richmond Duke of Richmond but in the year of our Lord 1535. he dy'd without issue 10 As for Sir Thomas Grey who was made Baron of Richmond by King Henry the sixth he was not Lord of this Richmond but of a place in Bedfordshire call'd Rugemound and Richmount Greies There are reckon'd in this County 104 great Parishes besides Chapels of Ease ADDITIONS to the North-Riding and Richmondshire a IN the North-riding the first place our Author speaks of is Scarborough â—â—â—â—boâ—â—â—gh which drives a great trade with fish taken in the Sea thereabout wherewith they supply the City of York tho' thirty miles distant Besides Herings which he takes notice of they have Ling Cod-fish Haddock Hake Whiting Makrel with several other sorts in great plenty On the North-east it is fortified with a high and inaccessible rock stretcht out a good way into the Sea and containing at the top about eighteen or twenty acres of good Meadow and not near sixty as Mr. Camden has told us out of Newbrigensis Whether the difference lye in the several measures of Acres or the greater part of it be washt away by the Sea or lastly may have been caus'd through an error of that Historian I shall not dispute since the matter of fact is plain Wittie's â—â—â—ription â—carboâ—â—â—gh â— The Spaw-well is a quick Spring about a quarter of a mile South from the Town at the foot of an exceeding high cliff arising upright out of the Earth like a boyling pot near the level of the Spring-tides with which it is often overflown It is of that sort of Springs which Aristotle calls 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 which in the most droughty years are never dry In an hour it affords above 24. gallons of water for the stones through which it flows contain more than 12 gallons and being empty'd every morning will be full within half an hour It 's virtue proceeds from a participation of Vitriol Iron Alum Nitre and Salt to the sight it is very transparent inclining somewhat to a sky-colour it hath a pleasant acid taste from the Vitriol and an inky smell The right honourable Richard Lumley has from this place his title of Earl of Scarborough b Upon the same coast is Whitby â—â—itby not call'd in Saxon Streanes-Heale as our Author has it but Streones HalH as it is in the Saxon Paraphrase of Bede and also the best Latin Copies And therefore Mr. Junius in his Gothick Glossary under the word Alh seems to have hit the true original when he fetches it from the Saxon hael hal or healh call'd by Caedmon alh which as our Northern word Hall still in use signifies any eminent building Hence the Pagan God Woden's Valhol or Valhaul so frequently mention'd in the Edda and other old Cimbrian Writers and Crantzius fetches the name of the City of Upsal from the same original c As for the Serpent-stones â—â—â—pent-â—â—â—â—es Mr. Nicholson who has made large observations upon the Natural Rarities of those parts affirms them to be the same with those the Modern Naturalists call Cornua Ammonis Whether
are read these verses in an old barbarous character concerning King Oswald Hic locus Oswalde quondam placuit tibi valde Northanhumbrorum fueras Rex nuncque Polorum Regna tenes loco passus Marcelde vocato This happy place did holy Oswald love Who once Northumbria rul'd now reigns above And from Marcelde did to Heaven remove From Warrington the Mersey grows broader and soon after contracts it self again but at last opens into a wide mouth very commodious for trade and then runs into the Sea near Litherpoole Litherpool in Saxon Liferpole commonly Lirpoole call'd so as 't is thought from the water spread like a fenn there It is the most convenient and frequented place for setting sail into Ireland but not so eminent for its being ancient as for being neat and populous e For the name of it is not to be met with in old Writers but only that Roger of Poictiers who was Lord of the Honour of Lancaster as they express'd it in those times built a Castle here the government whereof was enjoy'd for a long time by the noble family of the Molineaux Molineux Knights whose chief Seat lyes hard by at Sefton Sefton which the same Roger de Poictiers bestow'd upon Vivian de Molineaux about the beginning of the Normans For all the Land between the Ribell and the Mersey belong'd to the said Roger as appears by Domesday f Near Sefton Alt a little river runs into the Sea leaving its name to Altmouth a small village which it passes by and runs at a little distance from Ferneby where in the mossy grounds belonging to it they cast up Turves which serve the Inhabitants both for fire and candle Under the Turf there lyes a blackish dead water which has a kind of I know not what oily fat substance floating upon it and little fishes swimming in it which are took by those that dig the Turves here so that we may say we have fish dug out of the ground here as well as they have about Heraclea and Tius in Pontus Nor is this strange when in watry places of this nature the fish by following the water often swim under-ground and men there fish for them with spades But that in Paphlagonia many fish are dug up Fishes dug up and those good ones too in places not at all watery has somewhat of a peculiar and more hidden cause in it That of Seneca was pleasantly said What reason is there why fish should not travel the Land if we traverse the Sea g From hence the shore is bare and open and goes on with a great winding More into the Country stands Ormeskirke Ormeskirk a market-town remarkable for being the burial-place of the Stanleys Earls of Derby whose chief Seat is Latham hard by a house large and stately which from Henry the fourth's time has been continually enlarg'd by them h At that time John Stanley Knight father of John Lord Lieutenant of Ireland descended from the same stock with the Barons of Audley married the daughter and heir of Thomas Latham an eminent Knight to whom this great estate with many other possessions came as his wife's portion From that time the Stanleys Stanleys have liv'd here of whom Thomas son of Thomas Lord Stanley made Earl of Derby Earls of Derby by King Henry the seventh had by Eleanor Nevill daughter to the Earl of Salisbury George Lord Le Strange For he married Joan the only daughter and heir of John Baron Le Strange of Knockin who dy'd during the life of his father leaving a son Thomas the second Earl of Derby He by his wife Ann daughter of Edward Lord Hastings had a son Edward the third Earl of Derby who by Dorothy the daughter of Thomas Howard Duke of Norfolk had Henry the fourth Earl whose wife was Margaret daughter of Henry Clifford Earl of Cumberland and mother of Ferdinand the fifth Earl who dy'd lately and of William now the sixth Earl who succeeded his brother 4 But I forget my self now when as I have formerly remembred as much i Here Dugless Dugless river a small brook runs with an easie still stream near which our Arthur as Ninnius says defeated the Saxons in a very memorable battel Near the rise of it stands Wiggin Wiggin a town formerly call'd Wibiggin as they affirm I have nothing to say of this name but that the Lancashire-men call buildings Biggin Biggin what nor of the town but that 't is neat and plentiful and a Corporation consisting of a Mayor and Burgesses also that the Rector of the Church is as I have been told Lord of the town Hard by stands Holland Family of Hollands from which the Hollands a most famous family who were Earls of Kent and Surrey and Dukes of Exeter took their name and original The daughter and heir of the eldest brother who flourish'd here under the degree and title of Knight being at last marry'd to the Lovels brought them both the estate and Arms of this family Arms of the Hollands namely In a field Azure ‖ With flowers de Ly◠florete Argent a Lion rampant gardant Arg. Near the mouth of the Dugless lies Merton a large broad lake which empties it self into this river where in the out-let of it it is presently joyn'd by the river Ribell Next to the Mersey this is the first river here that falls into the Ocean the old name whereof is not quite lost at this day for Ptolemy calls the Aestuary here Bellisama Bellisama and we Ribell by adding perhaps the Saxon word Rhe which signifies a river This river running in a swift stream from Yorkshire-hills is first carry'd to the southward by three high mountains Ingleborrow-hill near the spring of it which made me very much wonder for it shoots out in a vast ridge rising as it were gradually to the westward and mounts up towards the end as if another hill were rais'd upon the back of it Penigent Penigent so call'd perhaps from it's white and snowy head for so Pengwin signifies in British it is of a great bulk but not so high as the other Where the Rhibell enters Lancashire for these I have mention'd are in Yorkshire stands Pendle-hill Pendle-hill of great height and which on the very top produces a peculiar plant call'd Clowdesbery Clowdesbery as if it were the off-spring of the Clouds k But this hill is chiefly famous for the great damage done to the lower grounds about it heretofore by a fall of water that issued from it and for being an infallible prognostick of rain when the top of it is black and cloudy I the rather make mention of them both because they are the most eminent hills in our Appennine and therefore 't is commonly said Ingleborrow Pendle and Penigent Are the highest hills between Scotland and Trent and also that what I have already said may be the better understood Why the highest Alps should be
they destroy'd every thing they could meet with burnt to the ground From that time they began to build nearer a green hill by the river upon which stands a castle not very great nor ancient but fair built and strong and upon the very hill stands a Church the only one in the town where the Monks aliens had a cell heretofore 7 Founded by Roger of Poictiers Below this at a very fine bridge over the Lone on the stoâ—pest side of the hill there hangs a piece of a very ancient wall which is Roman they call it Wery-wall probably from the later British name of the town for they nam'd this town Caer Werid that is a green 〈◊〉 from the green hill perhaps but I leave the fâ—râ—her discovery of this to others John Lord of Moâ—iton and Lancaste who was afterwards King of â—ngâ—and confirmed by charter all the liberties which he â—ad granted to the Burgesses of Bristow Edward the third in the 36th year of his reign granted to the Mâ—yor and Bailiffs of the village of Lancaster that Pleas and Sessions should be held no where else but there The latitude of this place not to omit it is 54 degrees 5 minutes and the longitude 20 degrees 48 minutes From the top of this hill while I look'd all round to see the mouth of the Lone which empties it self not much lower I saw Forness â—ournesse the other part of this County on the west which is almost sever'd from it by the sea for whereas the shore lay out a great way from hence westward into the ocean the sea as if it were enrag'd at it ceased not to slash and mangle it Nay it swallow'd it quite up at some boisterous tide or other and theâ—eby has made three large bays namely Kentsand which receives the river Ken Levensand Duddensand between which the land shoots oâ—t so much like a promontory into the sea that this 〈◊〉 oâ— the county takes its name from it 〈…〉 and Foreland signifie the same with us that proâ—â—â—â—tortâ—â— anterius that is a fore-promontory does in latiâ— l The whole tract except by the Sea-side is all high mountains and great rocks they call them Fornâ—ss-fâ—lls â—â—rnâ—sâ—e-Fells among which the Britains liv'd securely for a long time relying upon the fortifications wherewith nature had guarded them tho' nothing prov'd impregnable to the Saxon Conquerors For in the 228th year after the coming in of the Saxons we may from hence infer that the Britains lived here because at that time Egfrid King of the Northumbrians gave to S. Cuthbert the land called Carthmell Carthmell and all the Britains in it for so it is related in his life Now Carthmell every one knows was a part of this County near Kentsand and a little town in it keeps that very name to this day wherein William Mareschal the elder Earl of Pembroke built a Priory and endow'd it If in Ptolemy one might read Setantiorum Sâ—tâ—â—â—â—â—ruâ— Lacus 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 a lake as some books have it and not Sâ—tantiorum 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 a haven I would venture to affirm that the Britains in these parts were the Setantii for among those mountains lies the greatest lake in England now call'd Winander-mere Winamâ—â—rmere in Saxon WinÆ¿adremer perhaps from the windings in it about ten miles in length the bottom pav'd as it were with a continued rock wonderful deep in some places as the neighbouring Inhabitants tell you and well stor'd with a sort of fish no where else bred See the Aâ—dâ—â—â—â—ns tâ— Wâ—â—tmâ—â—land Câ—are a fiâ—h Hiâ—tâ—ry â—f Maâ—â—â— which they call Chare m Upon this lake stands a little town of the same name where in the year 792. Eathred King of the Northumbrians slew the sons of King Elfwold after he had taken them from York that by his own wickedness and their blood he might secure himself in the Kingdom Between this lake and the river Dudden is the promontory we commonly call Forness with the Island Walney like a Counterscarp lying along by it and a small arm of the sea between The entry to it is d This fort is quite ruinated defended by a Fort call'd The Pile of Fouldrey Piâ—e 〈◊〉 Fâ—uldâ—eâ— situate upon a rock in the middle of the water and built by the Abbot of Forness in the first year of King Edward the third Upon the promontory there is nothing to be seen but the ruins of Forness-Abbey 8 Of Câ—stercian Monks Lâ—b F â—â—sâ—â—nâ— which Stephen Earl of Bullen afterwards K. of England built in the year 1127. in a place formerly call'd Bekensgill or translated it rather from Tulket in Anderness Out of the Monks of this place and no where else as they themselves have related the Bishops of the Isle of Man which lyes over against it were wont by an ancient custom to be chosen this being the mother as it were of several Monasteries both in that Island and in Ireland n More to the East stands Aldingham Aldâ—â—ghâ—â— the ancient estate of the family of the Harringtons Hâ—â—â—â—gtâ—â—s to whom it came from the Flemmings by the Cancefelds and whose inheritance by a daughter went to William Bonvill 9 Of Somersetshire of Devonshire and by him at last to the Greys Marquisses of Dorset Somewhat higher lyes Ulverston Ulâ—â—â—â— to be mention'd upon this account that Edward the third gave a moiety of it to John Coupland one of the most warlike men of that age whom he also advanc'd to the honour of a Banneret for taking David the second King of Scots prisoner in a battel at Durham After his death the said King gave it with other great estates in these parts and with the title of Earl of Bedford to Ingleram Lord Coucy a Frenchman he having married his daughter Isabel and his Ancestors having been possess'd of great Revenues in England in right of Christian de Lindsey â—o As for those of the Nobility who have bore the title of Lancaster 〈…〉 there were three in the beginning of the Norman Government who had the title of Lords of the Honour of Lancaster namely Roger of Poictou the son of Roger Montgomery sirnam'd Pictavensis as William of Malmesbury says because his wife came out of Poictou in France But he being depriv'd of this honour for his disloyalty King Stephen conferr'd it upon his own son William Earl of Moriton and Warren Upon whose death King Richard the first bestow'd it upon John his brother who was afterwards King of England For thus we find it in an ancient History 〈…〉 King Richard shew'd great affection for his brother John For besides Ireland and the Earldom of Moriton in Normandy he bestow'd upon him such great preferments in England that he was in a manner a Tetrarch there For he gave him Cornwal Lancaster Nottingham Derby with the adjacent Country and many other things A pretty while after King Henry the third son of King John
and Darwent and also in these five Townships Brigham Eglysfeld Dene Brainthwaite and Grisothen and in the two Clistons and Staneburne He infeoffed also Odardus le Clerk in the fourth part of Crostwaite pro Custodia Asturcorum c Austurcorum MS. B. suorum i.e. for keeping his Goshawkes Galfridus de Meschins Earl of Chester dy'd without issue and thereupon Ranulphus de Meschins became Earl of Chestre and surrender'd to the King all the County of Cumberland on this condition That all those that held Lands of him in Fee should hold of the King in Capite The foresaid Waldevus son of Earl Gospatricius infeoffed Odardus de Logis in the Barony of Wygton Dondryt Waverton Blencogo and Kirkbride which Odardus de Logis founded the Church of Wygton and gave to Odardus son of Liolfe Tulentyre and Castlerige with the Forest between Caltre and Greta and to the Prior and Convent of Gisburne he gave Appleton and Bricekirk with the Advowson of the Church there He gave also to Adam son of Liolfe Uldendale and Gilcruce and to Gemellus son of Brun Bothill and to Waldevus son of Gileminius with Ethreda his sister he gave Brogham Ribton and Litle Brogham and Donwaldese and Bowaldese ad unam Logiam for a Lodge or House for a Ranger He gave also to Ormus son of Ketellus Seton Camberton Flemingbi Craiksothen in marriage with Gurwelda his sister And to Dolfinus son of Abwaldus with Matilda another sister he gave Appletwhaite and Litle Crosby Langrige and Brigham with the Advowson of the Church there He gave also to Melbeth his Physician the Town of Bromefeld saving to himself the Advowson of the Church there Alanus son and heir of the said Waldevus gave to Ranulphus Lyndsey Blenerhasset and Ukmanby with Ethereda his sister To Uthrdeus son of Fergus Lord of Galloway in marriage with Gurnelda d Gunilda MS. B. his other sister he gave Torpenhow with the Advowson of the Church there He gave also to Catellus de Spenser e Le Despenser MS. B. Threpeland He gave also to Herbert the Manour of Thuresby for the third part of a Township He gave also to Gospatricius son of Ormus High Ireby for the third part of a Township He gave also to Gamellus le Brun f Isal Rugh MS. B. Rughtwaite for a third part of a Township He gave also to Radulphus Engaine Issael with the Appurtenances and Blencrake with the Service of Newton And the same Alanus had one Bastard-brother nam'd Gospatricius to whom he gave Boulton Bastinthwaite and Esterholme And to Odardus he gave Newton with the Appurtenances And to his three Huntsmen Sleth g Selif MS. B. and his Companions Hayton To Uctredus he gave one Carrucat of Land in Aspatrike on condition that he should be his Summoner Summonitor in Allerdale He gave also to Delfinus six Bovates or Oxgang of Land in High-Crossby that he should be Serviens D. Regis the King's Serjeant in Allerdale And to Simon de Shestelyngs he gave one Moiety of Deram And to Dolfinus son of Gospatricius the other Moiety He gave also to Waldevus son of Dolfinus Brakanthwaite And to the Priory of S. Bega he gave Stainburne And to the Priory of Carliol he gave the body of Waldevus his son with the Holy Cross which they have yet in possession and Crossby with the Advowson of the Church there with the Service that Uctredus owed him and also the Advowson of the Church of Aspatrike with the Service of Alanus de Brayton He gave them also the Advowson of the Church of Ireby with the Suit and Service of Waldevus de Langthwaite The same Alanus son of Waldevus gave to King Henry h D. H. Regi Seniori MS. B. the Fields of the Forest of Allerdale with liberty to hunt whenever he should lodge at Holme-Cultrane To this Alanus succeeded William son of Duncane Earl of Murrayse Nephew and Heir to the said Alanus as being son to Ethreda sister to his father Waldevus The foresaid William son of Duncanus espoused Alicia daughter of Robert de Rumeney Lord of Skipton in Craven which Robert had married a daughter of Meschins i Willielmi de Meschins MS. B. Lord of Coupland This William had by this Alicia his wife a son call'd William de Egremond who dy'd under age and three daughters The eldest nam'd Cicilia k Seff MS. B. and Silitia being a Ward was married by King Henry to William le Gross Earl of Albemarle with the Honour of Skipton for her Dower The second nam'd Amabilla was married to Reginald de Luce with the Honour of Egremond by the same King Henry And the third nam'd Alicia de Romelic was married to Gilbert Pipard with Aspatrike and the Barony of Allerdale and the Liberty of Cokermouth by the said King Henry and afterwards by the Queen to Robert de Courtney but she dy'd without heirs of her body William le Gross Earl of Albemarlie had by his wife Cicilia Harwisia l Hatewisia to whom succeeded William de Fortibus Earl of Albemarlie to whom succeeded another William de Fortibus to whom succeeded Avelina who was espoused to Lord Edmond brother to King Edward and dy'd without heirs c. Reginald de Luce by Amabilla his wife had m Richardum de Lucy Amabillum Aliciam Alicia To Amabilla succeeded Lambert de Multon To him succeeded Thomas Multon de Egremond And to Alicia succeeded Thomas de Luce n Quae sequuntur desunt MS. B. to whom succeeded Thomas his son who was succeded by Anthony his Brother More rare Plants growing wild in Westmoreland and Cumberland Lan. Eruca Monensis laciniata lutea Jagged yellow Rocket of the Isle of Man In Sella fields Sea-bank found growing abundantly by Mr. Lawson Echium marinum P. B. Sea-Bugloss On the Sea-shore near White-haven plentifully Mr. Newton W. Gladiolus lacustris Dortmanni Clus cur post Water Gilly-flower or Gladiole In the Lake call'd Hulls-water which parteth Westmoreland and Cumberland Orobus sylvaticus nostras English Wood-vetch At Gamblesby about six miles from Pereth in the way to New-castle in the hedges and pastures plentifully Vitis Idaea magna quibusdam sive Myrtillus grandis J. B. Idaea foliis subrotundis exalbidis C.B. Idaea foliis subrotundis major Ger. Vaccinai nigra fructu majore Park The great Bilberry-bush In the same place with the precedent but where the ground is moist and marshy An Additional account of some more rare Plants observ'd to grow in Westmoreland and Cumberland by Mr. Nicolson Arch-deacon of Carlisle Cannabis spuria fl magno albo perelegante About Blencarn in the parish of Kirkland Cumberland Equisetum nudum variegatum minus In the meadows near Great Salkeld and in most of the like sandy grounds in Cumberland Geranium Batrachoides longiùs radicatum odoratum In Mardale and Martindale Westm Hesperis Pannonica inodora On the banks of the Rivulets about Dalehead in Cumberland and Grassmire im Westmoreland
to him King Aelfred was under a necessity of coming to Terms with them and so he and they divided the Land assign'd it to the Danes who within a few years were thrown out by Athelstane Yet even after this the People made a King of Eilric the Dane who was forthwith expell'd by King Ealdred Henceforward the name of King was no more heard of in this Province but its chief Magistrates were call'd Earls whereof these following are successively reckon'd by our Historians Osulph Oslac Edulph Waldeof the Elder Uchtred Adulph Alred Siward Tostius Edwin Morcà r and Osculph Amongst these Siward was a person of extraordinary valour who as he liv'd so he chose to dye in his Armour Ingulph p. 511. b. An. 1056. His County of York was given to Tostius Brother to Earl Harold and the Counties of Northampton and Huntingdon with his other lands bestow'd on the noble E. Waldeof his son and heir I have here given you the very words of Ingulphus because there are some who deny that he was Earl of Huntingdon To this let me also add what I have met with on the same subject in an old Parchment Manuscript in the Library of John Stow a most worthy Citizen and industrious Antiquary of the City of London Copsi being made Earl of Northumberland by William the Conquerour dispossess'd Osculph who nevertheless soon after slew him Afterwards Osculph himself was stabb'd by a Robber and dy'd of the wound Then Gospatrick bought the County of the Conquerour by whom he was also presently divested of the Honour and was succeeded by Waldeof the son of Siward He lost his head and was succeeded by Walcher Bishop of Durham who as well as his successor Robert Comin was slain in an insurrection of the Rabble mm The title was afterwards conferr'd on Robert Mowbray who destroy'd himself by his own wicked Treason 10 When he devis'd to deprive King William Rufus of his Royal Estate and to advance Stephen Earl of Albemarle a son to the Conqueror's sistâ—r thereunto Then as the Polychronicon of Durham tells us King Stephen made Henry the son of David King of Scots Eâ—rl of Northumberland and his son William who was also himself afterwards King of Scots wrote himself William de Warren Earl of Northumberland for his mother was of the family of the Earls of Warren as appears by the Book of Brinkburn-Abbey Within a few years after Richard the first sold this County to Hugh Pudsey Bishop of Durham for life but when that King was imprison'd by the Emperour in his return from the Holy War and Hugh advanc'd only two thousand pounds in silver towards his ransom Lib. Dunelm the King took this slender contribution so ill knowing that under colour of this ransom he had rais'd vast sums that he depriv'd him of the Earldom At present that Honour is enjoy'd by the family of the Percies Percies descended from Charles the Great who being descended from the Earls of Brabant got the sirname and inheritance of the Percies together which was done by the true Off-spring of Charles the Great by Gerberg daughter to Charles younger brother of Lotharius the last King of France of the Caroline stock Josceline younger son of Godfrey Duke of Brabant who marry'd Agnes daughter and sole heir of William Percie This William's great grandfather call'd also William Percie came into England with William the Conquerour who bestow'd on him lands in Tatcaster Linton Normanby and other places This Agnes covenanted with Josceline that he should take upon him the name of Percie but should still retain the ancient Arms of Brabant which were a Lion Azure chang'd afterwards by the Brabanters in a Field Or. The first of this family that was made Earl of Northumberland was Henry Percie the son of Mary daughter of Henry Earl of Lancaster This Noble-man signaliz'd his valour in the wars under Edward the third and was by him rewarded with large Possessions in Scotland He was very much enrich'd by his second wife Matilda Lucy who oblig'd him to bear the Arms of the Lucies and by Richard the second was created Earl of Northumberland His behaviour was very ungrateful to this his great Benefactor for he deserted him in his straits and help'd Henry the fourth to the Crown He had the Isle of Man bestow'd on him by this King 11 Who also made him Constable of England against whom he also rebell'd being prick'd in Conscience at the unjust deposing of King Richard and vex'd at the close confinement of the undoubted Heir of the Crown Edmund Mortimer Earl of March his kinsman 12 Grievously complaining and charging him King Henry with Perjury That whereas he had solemnly sworn to him and others that he would not challenge the Crown but only his own Inheritance and that King Richard should be govern'd during his life by the good Advice of the Peers of the Realm he to the contrary had by imprisonment and terrour of death enforc'd him to resign his Crown and usurp'd the same by the concurrence of his faction horribly murdering the said King and defrauding Edward Mortimer Earl of March of his lawful right to the Crown whom he had suffer'd to languish long in prison under Owen Glendowr reputing those Traytors who with their own money had procur'd his enlargement Hereupon he first sent some Forces against him under the command of his brother Thomas Earl of Worcester and his own forward son Henry sirnam'd Whot-spur who were both slain in the battel at Shrewsbury Upon this he was attainted of High-Treason but presently receiv'd again into the seeming favour of the King who indeed stood in awe of him He had also his estate and goods restor'd him except only the Isle of Man which the King took back into his own hand Yet not long after the popular and heady man again proclaim'd war against the King as an Usurper having call'd in the Scots to his assistance And now leading on the Rebels in person he was surpriz'd by Thomas Rokesby High-Sheriff of York shire at Barham-moor where in a confused skirmish his Army was routed and himself slain in the year 1408. Eleven years after Henry the fifth by Act of Parliament restor'd the Honour to Henry Percie his Grandchild by his son Henry Whotspurre whose mother was Elizabeth the daughter of Edmund Mortimer the elder Earl of March by Philippa the daughter of Lionel Duke of Clarence This Earl stoutly espoused the interest of Henry the sixth against the House of York and was slain in the Battel of St Albans His son Henry the third Earl of Northumberland who married Eleanor the daughter of Richard Baron of Poynings Brian and Fitz-Paine lost his life in the same quarrel at Towton in the year 1461. When the House of Lancaster and with it the Family of the Percies was now under a cloud King Edward the fourth created John Nevis Lord Montacute Earl of Northumberland but he quickly resign'd that Title being made
Falkirk but we need not here be particular in the Description of it designing a separate discourse upon that subject at the end of this Kingdom SELGOVAE BEneath the Gadeni to the South and West where now lie the small Territories of Liddesdale Eusdale Eskdale Annandale and Nidisdale q To which add Wachopdale so called from Rivulets running through them which all lose themselves in Solway-Frith were anciently seated the Selgovae the reliques of whose name seem to me whether to others too I knâ—w not to remain in the name Solway IN Liddesdale â—â—ddâ—sâ—â—â—e we have a high prospect of Armitage so called because anciently dedicated to a solitary life But now it is a very strong Castle which belonged to the Hepburnes who deduce their Original from a certain English Captive whom the Earl of March for delivering him out of a danger much enriched They were Earls of Bothwell â—â—rls of â—â—thwell and for a long time Admirals of Scotland by inheritance But by a sister of James Earl of Bothwell last of the Hepburnes â—â—pburnes married to John Prior of Coldingham a natural son of K. James 5. who had several such issue both title and estate devolved to his son Hard by is Brakensey â—â—akensey the seat of the warlike Family of Baclugh â—â—â—d â—â—clugh sirnamed Scot with many other little Forts of men of Arms up and down the Country In Eusdale Eusdale I should be apt to think from the affinity of the name that the ancient Uzellum Uzellum mentioned by Ptolemy lay upon the River Euse In Eskdale Eskdale some are of opinion that the Horesti Horesti dwelt into whose borders Julius Agricola after he had subdued the Britains that inhabited this Tract led the Roman Army especially if we read Horesci for Horesti For the British Ar-Esc signifies a place by the River Eske As for Aesica in Eskdale I have spoken of it before in England and need not repeat it here a ANNANDALE JOined to this on the west-side lies Annandale Annandale that is the Valley or Dale upon the river Annan into which the access by land is very difcult The places of greatest note are a Castle upon Lough-Maban Lough-Maban which is three parts surrounded with water and strongly walled And Annandale Town almost upon the very mouth of the river Annan divested of all its glory by the English War in the reign of Edward 6. In this Territory the Jonstons The Jonstons are men of greatest name a family born for Wars between whom and the Maxwells who by ancient right preside over the Stewartry The Stewartry of Annandale for so 't is term'd there hath been too long an open enmity and defiance even to bloodshed This Valley Edgar King of the Scots upon his restoration to his Kingdom by the Auxiliaries he had out of England gave for his good services to Robert Brus The Bruses Lord of Cleaveland in the County of York who bestowed it by the King's permission upon Robert his younger son being unwilling himself to serve the King of Scots in his Wars From him are branched the Bruses Lords of Annandale of whom Robert Bruse married Isabella the daughter of William King of Scots by the daughter of Robert Avenel his son likewise Robert the third of that name married the daughter of David Earl of Huntingdon and Garioth whose son Robert sirnamed the Noble upon the failure of the issue of Alexander the third King of Scotland challenged in his mother's right the Kingdom of Scotland before Edward I. K. of England as the direct and superior Lord of the Kingdom of Scotland as the English give out or as an Honorary Arbitrator as the Scots will have it as being more nearly related in degree and bloud to King Alexander the third and to Margaret daughter to the King of Norway although a second sister's son Who soon after resigning up his own right granted and gave over to his son Robert Brus Earl of Carrick and to his heirs I speak out of the very Original all the right and claim which he had or might have to the Kingdom of Scotland But the point was determined in favour of John Baliol who sued for his right as descended from the eldest sister though in a more remote degree in these words Because the person more remote in the second degree descending in the first line is to be preferred before a nearer in the second line in the succession of an inheritance that cannot be parted Nevertheless the said Robert son to the Earl of Carriot by his valour possess'd himself of the Kingdom and establish'd it in his posterity A Prince who as he was illustrious for his glorious Actions so did he successfully triumph over Fortune so often his Adversary with a courage and presence of mind invincible b NIDISDALE CLose to Annandale on the West lies Nidisdale abounding in arable and pasture grounds so named from the River Nid The River Nid by Ptolemy falsely written Nobius for Nodius or Nidius of which name there are other Rivers in Britain full of muddy shallows as this Nid is It springs out of the Lake Lough-Cure upon which stood anciently Corda Corda a Town of the Selgovae It takes its course first by Sanqhar a Castle of the Creightons The Creightons Barons of Sanqhar who were long honoured with the Title of Barons of Sanqhar and the authority of hereditary Sheriffs of Nidisdale next by Morton Earls of Morton which gave the Title of Earl to some of the family of Douglass of which others are seated at Drumlanrig upon the same River near the mouth whereof stands Dunfreys Dunfreys between two Hills the most flourishing Town of this Tract which still shews its ancient Castle a Town famous for its woollen Manufacture and remarkable for the murder of John Commin a man of the greatest Interest amongst the Scots whom Robert Brus lest he should oppose his coming to the Crown ran through in the Church and easily got a pardon of the Pope for a murder committed in a sacred place Nearer to its mouth Solway a Village still retains somewhat of the old name of Selgovae Upon the very mouth is situated Caer-Laverock Caer-Laverock Ptolemie's Carbantorigum a Fort looked upon as impregnable when K. Edw. I. accompanied with the flower of the English Nobility besieged and took it But now 't is a weak Mansion-House of the Barons Maxwell who being of ancient Nobility were long Wardens of these Western Marches and lately advanced by a marriage with a Daughter and Coheir of the Earl of Morton whereby John Lord Maxwell was decâ—ared Earl of Morton as also by the Daughter and Heir of Hereis Lord Toricles whom J. a second son took to wife and had by her the title of Baron Hereis Barons Hereis In this valley also upon the lake lies Glencarn Glencaâ—â— of which the Cunninghams about whom I shall speak
and although some of the Churches are defaced yet wants it not its beauties so divided too that almost every street is inhabited by a several trade apart and is furnished by the Tay every tide with commodities from sea in their light Vessels b. It gives the Title of Earl to the Family of Perth chief of the name of Drommonâ— Upon it J. Johnston so often mentioned PERTHUM Propter aquas Tai liquidas amoena vireta Obtinet in medio regna superba solo Nobilium quondam Regum clarissima sedes Pulchra situ pinguis germine dives agri Finitimis dat jura locis morémque modúmque Huic dare laus illis haec meruisse dari Sola inter patrias incincta est moenibus urbes Hostibus assiduis ne vaga praeda foret Quanta virum virtus dextrae quae praemia nôrunt Cimber Saxo ferox genus Hectoridum Felix laude novâ felix quoque laude vetustâ Perge recens priscum perpetuare decus Near Tay's great stream amongst delightful plains Majestick Perth in royal splendour reigns For lofty Courts of antient Kings renown'd Fair is the site and ever rich the ground Hence laws and manners neighb'ring parts receive Their praise 't is to deserve and hers to give No walls like her her sister towns can show Which guard her riches from the bord'ring foe How stout her Knights what noble spoils they won The Britains Saxons and the Danes have known Renown'd in eldest and in latest days Oh! may her glories with her years encrease And new deserts advance her antient praise And now lately King James 6. hath advanced Perth to an Earldom upon his creating James Baron Dromond Earl of Perth Earl of Perth Near Perth is Methven Barâ—â— Methven which Margaret of England Dowager to King James 4. purchased with ready money for her third husband Henry Stewart of the Blood Royal and his Heirs and withal obtained of her son James 5. the dignity of a Baron for him A little lower is Rethven a Castle of the Rethvens Râ—â—hven on Râ—eâ—erâ— a name to be accursed and raz'd out of all memorials since the States of the Kingdom past a decree that all of that name should lay it down and take a new one after that the Rethvens Brothers in an execrable and horrid conspiracy had plotted the murther of the best of Princes James 6. who had created their father William Earl of Gowry but afterwards upon his going insolently to prescribe Laws to his Sovereign and being convicted of High Treason beheaded him But I may seem to have said too much of persons condemned to eternal oblivion and yet the mentioning such wicked generations may be of use to caution posterity As for Gowry Gowry so much celebrated for its Corn-fields and the excellency of its soil it lyes along the other side of the Tay being a more level country In this Tract over against Perth on the farther side of Tay stands Scone Sâ—â—ne a famous Monastery in times past and honoured with the Coronation of the Kings of Scotland ever since King Keneth having hard by made a general slaughter of the Picts placed a stone here enclosed in a wooden chair for the Inauguration of the Kings of Scotland It had been transported out of Ireland into Argile and King Edw. 1. of England caused it to be convey'd to Westminster Concerning which I have inserted this Prophecy so common in every man's mouth since it hath now proved true as few of that sort do Ni fallat fatum Scoti quocunque locatum Inveniunt lapidem regnare tenentur ibidem Or Fate 's deceiv'd and heaven decrees in vain Or where they find this stone the Scots shall reign Now by the special favour of King James Scone gives the title of Baron to c He erected here stately buildings which are possessed by his heirs under the title of Vicounts of Stormont Theatr. Scotiae p. 46. David Murray Where the Tay now grown larger dilates it self Arrol Arrol hangs over it the seat of the noble Earls of Arrol Earls of Arrol they have been hereditary High Constables of Scotland ever since the Bruses times and deduce their original which is certainly very antient from one Hay a man of prodigious strength and courage who together with his sons in a dangerous battle against the Danes at Longcarty catching up an Ox-yoke by fighting valiantly and encouraging others rallied the retreating Scots so as they got the day Which victory and deliverance both the King and the States ascrib'd to his singular valour Whereupon several excellent lands were assign'd hereto him and his posterity who in testimony of this action have set a Yoke for their Crest over their Coat of Arms 13 Three Escutcheons gules in Argent As for Huntley-Castle Huntley-Castle hard by I have nothing to write of it but that it has given name to a very great and honourable family of which hereafter g ANGVS UPon the aestuary of the Tay and up a little way within it along the North-Eske lyes Angus called by the genuine Scots Aeneia extending it self into fields bearing wheat and all other sorts of grain large hills lakes forests pastures and meadows and beautified with several sorts and castles In the first entrance into it from Gowry stands Glamis â—â—o Glaâ—â—â— a Castle and the Barony of a Family sirnamed Lyons which have been famous ever since J. Lyon a great favourite of King Robert 2. received this and the dignity of a Baron with the King's daughter in Marriage and therewith as I find written the sirname of Lyon with a Lyon in his Arms within a Treassure Floury â—e shield 〈◊〉 the 〈◊〉 and â—reassure â—â—ry B. as the Kings themselves bear but in different colours Patrick now Lord Glamis very lately obtained the honour of Earl of Kinghorn from King James 6. At a little distance is Forfar â—isdom 〈◊〉 â—orfâ—r where for the administration of Justice the Barons Greies are hereditary Sheriffs 〈◊〉 â—ry who are descended from the Greies of Chillingham in Northumberland and came into Scotland with King James 1. when he returned out of England Upon the first of whom nam'd Andrew the King bountifully conferr'd the Lordship of Foulis with Helena Mortimer for his Wife â—â—ndee 〈◊〉 â—tene 〈◊〉 verb. â—â—if Near the Tay's mouth is Dundee d This Town has a good Trade fine buildings and an Hospital for the poor At present it gives the Title of Marquiss to the chief Family of the Grahams which the antients called Alectum others Taodunum a town well frequented and whose Constable by a peculiar privilege is Standard-bearer to the Kings of Scotland Hector Boetius â—â—â—tor â—â—â—tius who was here born expounds the name Dundee Donum Dei by allusion This person in that age when learning began again to flourish wrote an elegant history of Scotland out of such hidden monuments of Antiquity that Paulus Jovius wonder'd there should be
in his writings Records of above 1000 years standing concerning these remote parts of the world the Hebrides and the Orcades when in Italy the nurse of excellent wits for so many ages after the expulsion of the Goths there was such a scarcity of writers See the â—â—ditions But upon this place Johnston born not far from hence hath these verses TAODUNUM Or DEIDONUM Quà Notus argutis adspirat molliter auris Hâc placidè coëunt Taus Oceanus Hic facili excipiens venientes littore puppes Indigenis vasti distrahit orbis opes Saepe dolis tentata belli exercita damnis Invictis animis integra praestat adhuc Fama vetus crevit cum Relligione renatâ Lucis hinc fulsit pura nitela aliis Alectum dixere priùs si maxima spectes Commoda fo rs Donum dixeris esse Dei. Tu decus aeternum gentisque urbisque Boëti Caetera dic patriae dona beata tuae Where the calm South with gentle murmurs reigns Tay with the sea his peaceful current joyns To trading ships an easie port is shown That makes the riches of the world it s own Oft have her hapless sons been forc'd to bear The dismal thunder of repeated war Yet unsubdu'd their noble souls appear Restor'd Religion hath advanc'd her height And spread through distant parts the sacred light Alectum once 't was nam'd but when you 've view'd The joys and comforts by kind heav'n bestow'd You 'll call it Donum Dei Gift of God Boetius honour of the realm and town Speak thou the rest and make thy mother's honours known Hence we have a sight of Brochty-crag Brochty-Crag a Fort defended by a Garison of English many months together when out of an earnest desire of a perpetual peace they sued for a Marriage between Mary of Scotland and Edward 6. of England and upon promise thereof demanded the performance by force of arms but the Garison at length abandoned it Then to the open sea lies Aberbroth in short Arbroth Arbroth a place endowed with ample Revenues formerly consecrated to Religion by King William in honour of St. Thomas of Canterbury Near this the Red-head Red-head shooteth out into the sea a Promontory to be seen afar off Hard by South-Eske enters the Ocean which flowing out of a lake passes by Finnevim-Castle much fam'd for being the seat of the Lindsays The Lindsays Earls of Crawford of whom I have spoken already Then Brechin Brechin standing upon the same River which King David the first adorned with a Bishop's See * See the Additions and at its very mouth Mont-rose Montrose that is The Mount of Roses a town antiently called Celurca built out of the Ruines of another of the same name and situated between the two Eskes which gives the title of Earl to the Family of Graham Upon which thus Johnston CELURCA or MONS ROSARUM Aureolis urbs picta rosis mons molliter urbi Imminet hinc urbi nomina facta canunt At veteres perhibent quondam dixisse Celurcam Nomine sic prisco nobilitata novo est Et prisca atque nova insignis virtute virûmque Ingeniis Patriae qui peperere decus A leaning mount which golden roses grace At once adorns and names the happy place But ancient times Celurca call'd the town Thus is it proud of old and late renown And old and late brave sons whose wit and hand Have brought new trophies to their native land Not far from hence is Boschain Boschain belonging to the Barons of Ogilvy Baroâ—s Ogilvy of very ancient nobility descended from that Alexander Sheriff of Angus who was slain in the bloody battle at Harley against the Mac-donalds of the Isles As for the Earls of Angus Earls of Angus Gilchrist of Angus a person illustrious for his brave exploits under Malcolm the 4th was the first Earl of Angus that I read of About the year 1242 John Comin was Earl of Angus who died in France and his Dowager perhaps heiress of the Earldom was married to Gilbert Umfravile an Englishman For both he and his heirs successively were summoned to the Parliament of England till the 3d year of K. Richard 2d under the title of Earls of Angus But the English Lawyers refused in their Instruments to own him for an Earl because Angus was not within the Kingdom of England till he produced in open Court the King 's Writ whereby he was summoned to Parliament under the name of Earl of Angus In the reign of David Brus Sc tâ—â— chron con Tho. Steward was Earl of Angus who took Berwick by surprize but presently lost it again and a little after died miserably in prison at Dunbritton The Douglasses men of haughty minds and invincible hearts ever since the reign of Robert the 3d have been Earls of Angus after that Geo. Douglass had married the Kings Daughter and are reputed the chief and principal Earls of Scotland whose Office it is to carry the Regal Crown before the Kings at all the solemn Assemblies of the Kingdom The sixth Earl of Angus of this race was Archibald who married Margaret daughter to Henry the 7th and mother to James the 5th King of Scotland by whom he had issue Margaret Wife to Matthew Stewart Earl of Lennox she after her brother's death without issue willingly resigned up her right to this Earldom with the consent of her husband and sons to David Douglass of Peteindreich her Uncle's son by the father's side to the end that by this obligation she might engage that family more closely to her which was already the nearest allied in bloud At the same time her son Henry was about to marry Queen Mary By which marriage King James Monarch of Great Britain was happily born for the general good of these nations h s Now it is a Marquisate in the same family MERNIS THese parts were in Ptolemy's time inhabited by the Vernicones the same perhaps with Marcellinus's Vecturiones But this name of theirs is now quite lost unless we can imagine some little piece of it remains in Mernis For oftentimes in common discourse in the British tongue V is changed into M. THis little Province Mernis butting upon the German Ocean is of a rich soil and generally a level and champagne countrey The most memorable place in it is Dunotyr Dunotyr a castle advanced upon an high and inaccessible rock looking down on the sea beneath fortified with strong walls and towers at certain distances which hath long been the seat of the Keiths Kâ—ith a very ancient and noble family and they in recompence of their valour have long been hereditary Earls Marshals Earls Marshals of the Kingdom of Scotland and Sheriffs of this Province Sheriffdom of Kincarain or Mernis In a Porch here is to be seen that ancient Inscription abovementioned of a * Vex. â—ticâ—is Company belonging to the XXth Legion the letters whereof the most
towards the Ocean there were anciently seated the Taizali Some derive this later name from Boves Oxen whereas the ground is fitter to feed sheep whose wooll is highly commended Notwithstanding the Rivers in this Coast every where breed abundance of Salmon yet they never enter into the River Ratra Thâ— Râ—ver Raâ—ra as Buchanan hath told us Neither let it prove to my disadvantage if I cite his Testimony although his books were prohibited by authority of Parliament in the year 1584. because many passages in them were fit to be dash'd out He there reports also That on the bank of Ratra there is a Cave near Stany 's Castle whose nature seems worth our taking notice of A strange â—â—â—er The water distilling by drops out of a natural vault is presently turned into pyramidal stones and if people did not take the pains to clear the cave now and then the whole space in a little time would be fill'd up to the top of the vault Now the stone thus made is of a middle nature betwixt Ice and hard stone for it is friable and never arrives to the solidity of Marble It is hardly worth my while to mention the Clayks Câ—ayks a 〈◊〉 of Gâ—ese a sort of Geese believed by some with great admiration to grow upon trees here in this coast and in other places and when they are ripe to fall down into the sea because neither their nests nor eggs cou'd ever any where be found But those that have seen the ship in which Sir Francis Drake sailed round the world laid up in the river Thames can testifie that little birds breed in the old rotten keels of ships since a great number of such without life and feathers stuck close to the outside of the keel of this ship Yet I should think that the generation of these birds was not from the logs of wood but from the sea term'd by the Poets the Parent of all things a Hector Boetius first spread this errour but that it is such â—ppend 〈◊〉 Librum â— Part 3. â—â—atiae Ilâ—â—â—atae Dr. Sibbalds has largely proved in his Scotia Illustrata only he is now convinced that thâ—y are not informis mâ—ssa carnosa as he there câ—lls them And a Discourse concerning the late worthy Sir Andrew Balfour to be prefixt to the Catalogue of his Books will in a short time give further light into it A mighty mass likewise of Amber Amber as big as the body of a Horse was not many years since thrown up upon this shore This the learned call Succinum Glessum and Chryso-electrum and Sotacus was of opinion that it was a juice which amongst the Britains distill'd from trees ran into the sea and was there hardned Tacitus had the same sentiments of it in this passage of his I should believe De moribus Germanorum that as there are trees in the secret parts of the east which sweat out frankincense and balm so in the Islands and other countreys of the west there are woods of a more fatty substance which melting by the hot beams of the near-approaching sun run into the sea hard by and being driven by tempestuous weather float to the opposite shores But Serapio and the modern Philosophers will have it to work out of a bituminous sort of earth under the sea and by the sea-side that the waves in stormy weather cast part of it upon the shore and that part of it is devoured by the fish But I have digressed too far and will return into my way hoping my ingenuous confession will purchase me a pardon In the reign of Alexander the 2d Alexander Comin had conferr'd upon him the honour of Earl of Buquhan Earls of Baquhan who married a daughter and one of the heirs of Roger de Quircy Earl of Winchester in England and his grand child by a son brought the same title to Henry Beaumorâ— her husband For he in the reign of Edw. the 3d sat in the Parliament of England under the name of Earl of Buquhan Afterwards Alexander Stewart son to King Robert the 4th was Earl of this place succeeded by John a younger son of Robert Duke of Albany who being sent for into France with 7000 Auxiliary Scots by the French King Charles the 7th did extraordinary good service against the English and had so great a reputation there that after he had killed Thomas Duke of Clarence K. Henry the 5th's brother at Baugy and got as great a victory over the English as ever was obtained he was made Constable of France But 3 years after when the fortune of the war turned he with other valiant Commanders The valour of the Scots in the Wars of France Archibald Douglas Earl of Wigton and Duke of Tours c. was routed at Vernoil by the English and there slain Whom yet as the Poet said Aeternum memorabit Gallia cives Grata suos titulos quae dedit tumulos Those grateful France shall ever call her own Who owe to her their graves and their renown The French cannot but confess that they owe the preservation of France and recovery of Aquitain by thrusting out the English in the reigns of Charles the 6th and 7th in a great measure to the fidelity and valour of the Scots But afterwards K. James the first out of pity to Geo. of Dunbar whom by authority of Parliament he had before divested of the Earldom of March for his father's crimes gave him the Earldom of Buquhan And not long after James son of James Stewart of Lorn sirnamed the Black Knight 14 Whom he had by Queen Joan sister to the Duke of Somerset and widow to King James I. c. whom he had by Joan of Somerset obtained this honour and left it to his posterity but not long since for default of heirs male it went by a daughter to Douglas a younger brother of the House of Lochlevin Beyond Buchan in the bending back of the shore northwards lies Boen Boen and a Now a Barony in the family of Ogilby Bamff a small Sheriffdom * See the Additions and Ainza a little tract of less consideration as also Rothamy Castle the seat of the Barons of Salton Barons Salton sirnamed b Now Frazer Abernethy Beneath these lies Strath-bolgy Strath-bolgy that is the Valley upon the Bolgy formerly the seat of the Earls of Athol sirnamed from thence but now the chief residence of the Marquess of Huntley c Now from the Marquisate of Huntley rais'd to the Dukedom of Gordon Marquess of Huntley For this title K. James the 6th conferred upon Geo. Gordon Earl of Huntley Lord Gordon and Badzenoth eminent for his ancient nobility and his many followers and dependants Whose ancestors are descended from the Setons and by authority of Parliament took upon them the name of Gordon upon Alexander Seton's marrying the daughter of Sir John Gordon with whom he had a very noble estate and received
the honour of the Earl of Huntley from K. James the second in the year 1449. l MVRRAY BEyond the mountain Grampius which by a continual range of close join'd hills as it were extends its ridge with many risings and sinkings to this very country the Vacomagi in ancient times had their habitation upon the Bay of Vararis Vacomagi Sinus Vararis where now Murray Murray Frith lies in Latin Moravia noted for its fertility pleasantness and profitable product of fruit-trees The Spey a noble river opens a passage through this countrey into the sea wherein it lodges it self after it hath watered Rothes Castle whence the Family of Lesley derive their title of Earl ever since K. James the 2d advanced Geo. Lesley to the honour of Earl of Rothes Of this Spey thus our Poet Necham Spey loca mutantis praeceps agitator arenae Inconstans certas nescit habere vias Officium lintris corbis subit hunc regit audax Cursus labentis nauta fluenta sequens Great Spey drives forward with impetuous force Huge banks of sand and knows no certain course Here for a boat an Osier-pannier row'd By some bold peasant glides along the flood The river Loxa mentioned by Ptolemy now call'd Losse hides it self hard by in the sea Near this we have a sight of Elgin in which as also in Forres adjoining J. Dunbar of Cumnock descended from the House of the Earls of March does justice as hereditary Sheriff But when it is now ready to enter the sea it finds a more plain and soft soil and spreads it self into a lake well stored with Swans wherein the Herb Olorina grows plentifully Here upon it stands Spiny Barons Spiny Castle of which Alexander of the House of Lindsay is now the first Baron As also Kinloss Baâ—on Kinloss a near neighbour formerly a famous Monastery call'd by some Kill-flos from certain flowers there miraculously springing up on a sudden where the corps of King Duff murdered and here hidden was first found * In the year 972. hath for its Lord Edward Brus Master of the Rolls in England and one of His Majestie 's Privy Council created by K. James the 6th Baron Brus of Kinloss a Now Earls of Elgin Thus much for the shore More inward where Bean Castle now stands look'd upon to be that Banatia Banatia mentioned by Ptolemy there was found in the year 1460 a Marble Vessel very finely engraved and full of Roman coins Hard by is Nardin or Narne Narne Sheriffdom an Hereditary Sheriffdom of the Cambells of Lorn where in a Peninsula there stood a fort of a mighty height built with wonderful works and formely held by the Danes A little off is Logh-Nesse a very large lake three and twenty miles long the water whereof is so warm that even in this cold and frozen climate it never freezes from this by a very small Isthmus of hills the Logh Lutea or Lothea which by Aber lets it self into the western Ocean is divided Upon these lakes there stood anciently two noted fortifications called from the loghs one Innerness the other Innerlothy Innerness hath the Marquess of Huntley for its hereditary Sheriff who hath a large Jurisdiction hereabout * See thâ— Additions But take here what J. Johnston writes upon these two places INNERNESS and INNERLOCHY Imperii veteris duo propugnacula quondam Primaque regali moenia structa manu Turribus oppositis adverso in limine spectant Haec Zephyrum Solis illa orientis equos Amnibus hinc atque hinc cincta utique piscibus amnes Foecundi haec portu perpete tuta patet Haec fuit at jacet heu jam nunc sine nomine tellus Hospita quae Regum est hospita facta feris Altera spirat adhuc tenuis sufflamina vitae Quae dabit fati turbine victa manus Dic ubi nunc Carthago potens ubi Martia Roma Trojaque immensae ditis opes Asiae Quid mireris enim mortalia cedere fatis Corpora cum videas oppida posse mori Two stately forts the realm's old guardians stood The first great walls of royal builders prov'd Their lofty turrets on the shores were shown One to the rising one the setting sun All round well stock'd with fish fair rivers lay And one presents a safe and easie bay Such once it was but now a nameless place Where Princes lodg'd the meanest cattel graze T'other survives and faintly breaths as yet But must e're long submit to conqu'ring fate Where 's haughty Carthage now with all her power Where 's Rome and Troy that rul'd as great before Where the vast riches of the Asian shore No wonder then that we frail men should die When towns themselves confess mortality In the reign of K. Robert Brus Thomas Randolph his sister's son a person that took infinite pains for his country and met with much opposition was very famous under the title of Earl of Murray Eâ—rlâ— of â—â—â—ray In the reign of K. Rob. 2. John de Dunbar had the King's daughter and with her the Earldom of Murray as an amends for her lost virginity Under K. James the 2d William Creichton Lord Chancellor of the Kingdom and Archibald Douglass had a violent contest for this Earldom when against the laws and ancient customs of the Realm Douglass who had married the younger daughter of James de Dunbar Earl of Murray was preferr'd before Creichton who had married the elder by the power and great interest that William Earl Douglass had with the King which was so very great that he did not only advance this brother to the Earldom of Murray but another brother likewise to the Earldom of Ormond and two of his Cousins to the Earldoms of Angus and Morton But this his greatness a thing never to be trusted to when so exorbitant was his ruin soon after Under King James the 5th his own brother whom he had constituted Vicegerent of the Kingdom enjoyed this honour And within our memory James a natural son of K. James the 5th had this honour conferr'd upon him by his sister Qu. Mary who ill requited her when having gotten some few of the Nobility on his side he deposed her a most wicked precedent for crowned Heads But the punishment of heaven soon fell upon him being quickly after shot through with a musquet bullet His only daughter brought this title to her husband James Steward of Down descended of the Blood Royal to wit of the Dukes of Albany who being slain by some that envied him left behind him his son James his successor in this honour m LOQHVABRE ALl that tract of land beyond the Nesse which bends down to the western coast and joins to the lake Aber is thence called Loghuabre that is in the ancient British Tongue The Mouth of the Lakes That which lies towards the northern coast Rosse Loghuabre abounds much in pastures and woods and hath some veins of iron but very little produce of corn It
another place Totam cum Scotus Hibernem Movit When Scots all Ireland mov'd to sudden war For from hence the Scots made their inroads into Britain and were oftenr with great loss repulsed But from whence they came into Ireland Ninnius a very ancient author and disciple of Elvodugus who by his own testimony lived in the year 830 under Anaraugh King of Anglesey and Guineth will inform us For when he has told us that in the third age of the world the Britains came into Britain Irish fâ—om Spain and that the Scythians came into Ireland in the fourth he proceeds to tell us See pag. 86 87 c. Bartholanus in another place That last of all the Scots came from Spain into Ireland The first that arrived there was Partholanus with 1000 men and women who multiplied to the number of 4000 and then a great mortality befell them so that all died in a week without so much as one to survive The second that landed in Ireland was Nemeth the son of Aguomen who by report was a year and a half together upon the sea and made to a harbour in Ireland with his shattered vessel from hence he returned into Spain and after that Or perhaps of one Melesius Otherwise call'd Clan-Hoctor the three sons of a Spanish Knight came hither in thirty Cules with thirty wives in each Cule and continued here a year The last that arrived here was Elam-hoctor whose posterity continues here to this day With this agrees Henry of Huntington The Britains in the third age of the world came into Britain and the Scots in the fourth into Ireland And though these things are not very certain yet that they came from Spain into Ireland is manifest and that a part of them set sail again and made a third nation among the Britains and Picts in Britain The opinion of the Irish likewise confirms it who willingly own themselves to be the offspring of the Spaniards Neither is it strange that they should come into Ireland from the north of Spain which as Strabo writes is quite barren and unfit to live in From that passage of Ninnius one may infer that the entry of Bartholanus and Nimethus is to be dated much later than they have done it I need not here put the reader again in mind that this Countrey was call'd Scotia from the Scots These Scots not many years after Christianity here were converted to Christianity in Ireland though they would have that story in Rufinus concerning the conversion of the Hiberi in Asia to be meant of them Then also Palladius the Bishop was sent to them by Pope Celestinus Whereupon Prosper Aquitanus writes against Collator in this manner Celestin delivered the Britains from the Pelagian heresie by banishing certain enemies to God's grace who were then in their own native countrey even from that unknown part of the Ocean and having ordained a Bishop among the Scots while he endeavoured to preserve the Catholick Religion in an Island belonging to the Romans he induced a barbarous nation to turn Christian In the year 4â—â— Yet Ninnius says that nothing was effected by Palladius being snatch'd away by an untimely death Palladiâ—â— Vincenâ— lib. 9. c. St. Patrick and also upon the authority of the Irish writers that the Christian Religion was planted in Ireland by Patrick This Patrick was a Britain born in Cluydsdal related to l Sir Martin Hol. Martin * Tâ—â—â—nenâ—â— of Tours and a disciple of St. German appointed to succeed Palladius by Pope Celestin who planted the Christian Religion in Ireland with such success that the greatest part of that Countrey was converted so he was called the Irish Apostle Henricus Antisiodorensis an ancient writer has this passage concerning him in his book about St. German's miracles Forasmuch as the glory of a father is more conspicuous by the government of his sons among the many sons of Christ which are believed to be his disciples in Religion it shall suffice in short to mention one the most famous of all others as the course of his actions shew and this is Patrick the peculiar Apostle of the Irish Nation who being for 18 years together under his most holy discipline from such a fountain drew no small knowledge in the Holy Scriptures The divine and godly Bishop observing him to be magnanimous in Religion eminent for virtue and famous for learning and deeming it unfit that a husbandman of such importance should not be employed in the vintage and plantation of the Church directed him to that holy Pope Celestin by Segetius a priest of his who was appointed to inform the Apostolical See of the worth and zeal of that holy man Being therefore approved of and enabled by the authority and blessing of his Holiness he took a voyage into Ireland and being made the peculiar Apostle of that Nation as he then instructed them by his preaching and miracles so now he does and will for ever adorn them with the wonderful privileges of his Apostleship St. Patrick's disciples in Ireland were such great proficients in the Christian Religion that in the age following Ireland was term'd Sanctorum Patria i.e. the Country of Saints The Monks of Ireland holy and learned and the Scotch Monks in Ireland and Britain were eminent for their holiness and learning and sent many holy men into all parts of Europe who were the first founders of Luxeul-Abby in Burgundy of Bolby-Abby in Italy of Wirtzburg-Abby in France of S. Gallus in Switzerland of Malmesbury Lindisfern and many other Monasteries in Britain For out of Ireland came Caelius Sedulius a Priest Columba Columbanus Colman Aidan Gallus Kilian Maidulph Brendan and many others celebrated for their holy lives and learning Henry of Auxerre above-named is to be understood of these Monks in this address of his to the Emperor Carolus Calvus What should I speak of Ireland which slighting the dangers by sea transports great numbers of Philosophers into our Countrey and the most considerable and eminent of these do voluntarily banish themselves to attend the most wise Salomon with respect and obedience Monks This monastick profession now in its infancy was much different from this of our age They endeavour'd to be what they profess'd and were above dissimulation and double dealing If they erred it was through simplicity and not through lewdness or wilful obstinacy As for wealth and the things of this world they so much slighted them that they not only not affected them but even rejected them when either offered or descended to them by inheritance For Columbanus who was himself a Monk of Ireland as Abbot Walafrid Walafrid reports when Sigebert King of the Franks press'd him with many large promises not to leave his Kingdom made this famous reply That as Eusebius tells us of Thadaeus it became not them to gape after other men's riches Contempt of riches who had left and forsaken their own for Christ's sake
The British Bishops seem no less to have despised riches for they had no subsistence of their own Thus as we find in Sulpitius Severus The British Bishops The Bishops of Britain in the Council holden at Rhimini were maintained by the publick having nothing of their own to live upon The Saxons in that age flock'd hither as to the great mart for learning and this is the reason why we find this so often in our Writers Such a one was sent over into Ireland to be educated o Vide Bed lib. 3. c. 7 27. and this passage in the life of Sulgenus who flourish'd 600 years ago Exemplo patrum commotus amore legendi Jvit ad Hibernos Sophia mirabile claros With love of learning and examples fir'd To Ireland fam'd for wisdom he repair'd The Sâ—tâ—ns â—â—em to the borrowed â—â—eir letâ—â—â—s from 〈◊〉 Iâ—â—sh And perhaps our fore-fathers the Saxons took the draught and form of their letters from them their character being the same with that at this day used in Ireland Nor is there any reason to admire that Ireland which for the most part is now rude and barbarous and without the glory of polite literature Religion and learning flourish sometimes in one Country and sometimes in another was so full of pious and great Wits in that age wherein learning was little heeded throughout Christendom when the wisdom of Providence has so ordered it that Religion and Learning shall grow and flourish sometimes in one Nation and sometimes in another to the end that by every transplantation a new growth may shoot up and flourish to his glory and the good of mankind However the outrage of wars by little and little soon put a stop to the pursuits and study of Religion and Learning in this Kingdom For in the year 644 EgfrÃd King of Northumberland with fire and sword spoil'd Ireland which was then a very kind allie to England and for this reason he is most sadly complain'd of by Bede After the Norwegians under the conduct of Turgesius Ireland wast d by the Norwegi wasted this Country in a most dismal manner for the space of 30 years together but he being cut off by an ambush laid for him the inhabitants fell upon the Norwegians and made such an entire defeat of them that hardly so much as one escaped Now these Norwegians were without doubt those Normans who as Rheginus tells us in Charles the Great 's time invaded Ireland an Island of the Scots and were put to flight by them Afterwards Oustmanni those perhaps whom Tac. calls Aestiâ—n s Eginâ—rdâ—s Aitisti the Oustmanni i.e. the East-men came from the sea coasts of Germany into Ireland where under the colour of trade and merchandise being admitted into some cities in a short time they began a very dangerous war Much about this time Edgar the most potent King of the English conquered a great part of Ireland For thus we find it in a certain Charter of his Unto whom God has graciously granted together with the Empire of England the dominion over all the Kingdoms of the Islands with their fierce Kings as far as Norway and the conquest of the greatest part of Ireland with her most noble city Dublin These tempests from foreign parts were soon succeeded by a worse storm of dissention at home which made way for the English Conquest of that Country Henry the second King of England seeing the differences and emulations among the petty Princes of Ireland took this opportunity and in the year 1155 moved the Conquest of Ireland to his Barons for the use of his brother William of Anjou However by advice of his mother Maud Robert de Moâ—te ad annum 1185. De mic the son of Murchard 1167. the Empress this design was deferred and put off to another time Not many years after Dermicius the son of Murchard Dermic Mac Morrog as they call him who governed the east part of Ireland in Latin Lagenia commonly Leinster for his tyranny and extravagant lusts for he had ravished p The wife of O. Rorke daughter of a petty King of Mâ—ath the wise of O. Rorkes petty King of Meath was driven from his Country and obtained aid and forces of King Henry the second to restore him He made this contract also with Richard Earl of Pembroke sirnamed Strongbow Richard Strongbow of the family of Clare that if he would assist him he would ensure the succession of his Kingdom to the Earl and give him his daughter Eva to wife Upon this the Earl forthwith raised a good Army consisting of Welsh and English induced the Fitz-Geralds Fitz-Stephens and other of the English Nobility to assist him and by these powers not only restored Dermicius his Father-in-law but in a few years made such progress in the conquest of Ireland that the King of England began to grow jealous and suspect his power so that he put forth his Proclamation requiring the said Earl and his adherents upon grievous penalties to return out of Ireland declaring that if they did not forthwith obey they should be banished and their goods confiscated Hereupon the Earl by deed and covenant made over to the King all that he had in Ireland either in right of his wife or of his sword and so had the Earldoms of Weisford Ossory Carterlogh and Kildare with some castles bestowed upon him by the King to hold of him After this King Henry the second raised an army sailed over into Ireland in the year 1172 Henr. 2. enters Ireland and obtained the soveraignty of that Island q Câ—â—â—cerning the Coâ—onies sent from England and Wales into Ireland in the time of King Henr. 2. and the Lands granted therein see Ware 's Antiquitat Hâ—bâ—rn p. 232. For the States of Ireland conferred upon him their whole power and authority Girald Cambrens MS. In the hands of Baron Howth namely Rotheric O Conor Dun that is to say the brown King of Ireland Dermot Mac Carty King of Cork Donald O Bren King of Limerick O Carel King of Uriel Mac Shaglin King of Ophaly r O Rorke was not King of Meath O Rorke King of Meath O Neale King of Ulster with all the rest of the Nobility and people by Charters signed delivered and sent to Rome from whence it was confirmed by a Diploma of Pope Hadrian's Synod 1. 2. at Cassil Armagh and by a ring sent him as a token of his Investiture it was also ratified by the authority of certain Provincial Synods Afterwards King Henry the second bestowed the Soveraignty of Ireland upon his son John which was confirmed by a Bull from Pope Urban who to confirm him in it sent him a Crown of Peacocks Feathers embroidered with Gold Authors affirm that when this Prince came to the Crown he granted by his Charter that both Ireland and England should be held of the Church of Rome Hovedun and that he received it
Earl of Strafford Lord Lieutenant of Ireland erected a large and magnificent Pile and designed to make it the seat of his Family principal and head town of this County is Kildar Kildar eminent in the first ages of the Irish Church for Brigid â— Brigid a virgin of great esteem for her devotion and chastity not she who about 240 years since instituted the Order of the Nuns of S. Brigid namely that within one Monastery both Men and Women should live together in their several apartments without seeing one another but one more ancient who lived about a thousand years ago was a disciple of S. Patrick and very famous both in Ireland Scotland and England Her miracles and the fire which never goes out being preserved and cherished in the * Adytis â—â—â—traliâ—â—â— inner sanctuary like that of Vesta by the sacred Virgins and still burns without any addition or increase of ashes are related by some Authors This town has the honour of being a Bishops See formerly stil'd in the Pope's Letters Episcopatus Darensis 14 And after the entrance of the English into Ireland was c. and was first the habitation of Richard Earl of Pembrook afterwards of William Marshall Earl of Pembrook his son in law by whose fourth daughter Sibill it came to William Ferrars Earl of Derby and by a daughter of his by her likewise to William Vescy whose son 15 William Lord Vescy William Vescy Lord Chief Justice of Ireland being out of favour with King Edward the first upon a quarrel between him and John the son of Thomas Fitz-Girald and having lost his only legitimate son gave Kildare and other lands of his in Ireland Aâ—chivâ—â—â—geta to the King upon condition he should infeoff his natural son sirnamed de Kildare with all his other lands in England A little after that the said John son to Thomas Fitz-Girald whose ancestors descended from Girald Windesor Castellan of Pembrook by their great valour did much service in the conquest of Ireland had the castle and town of Kildare together with the title and name of Earl of Kildare Earls of Kildar bestow'd upon him by King Edward the second These Fitz-Giralds or Geraldins as they now call them were very great men and particularly eminent for their brave actions who of themselves as one says preserved the sea-coasts of Wales and conquered Ireland And this family of Kildare flourished with their honour and reputation unsullied for a long time having never any hand in rebellions till Thomas Fitz-Girald son of Girald-Fitz-Girald Earl of Kildare and Lord Lieutenant of Ireland in Henry the eighth's time upon the news that his father who was sent for into England and charg'd with male-administration was executed was so far transported by the heat of youth upon this false rumour that he rashly took up arms against his King and Country invited Charles the 5th to take possession of Ireland wasted the Country with fire and sword besieged Dublin and put the Archbishop thereof to death for which outrage he was soon after hang'd with five of his uncles his father being dead before of grief and trouble at these proceedings However this family was restored by Queen Mary to its ancient grandeur who promoted Girald brother of the said Thomas to the Earldom of Kildare and the Barony of Offaly 16 He ended this life about the year 1558. His eldest Son Girald died before his father leaving only one daughter married to Sir Robert Digby Henry his second son succeeded who when he had by his wife Lady Frances daughter to Charles Earl of Nottingham only two daughters William the third son succeeded to the Earldom who was drowned in passing into Ireland in the year 1599 having no issue And then the title of Earl of Kildare came to Girald Fiâ—z Girald son to Edward their uncle who wan restored to his blood in lineage to make title by descent lineal or collateral from his father and brother and all his ancestors any attainder or corruption of blood to the contrary notwithstanding his two sons Henry and William having both succeeded him without issue male the title of Earl fell to Girald Fitz-Girald their Cousin-german 17 With a fair patrimony seduced by the Religious pretext into Rebellion Other eminent towns in this county are Naas a market town Athie situate upon the river Barrow Mainoth a castle of the Earls of Kildare and endowed with the priviledge of a market and a fair by King Edw. the first in favour of Girald Fitz-Moris Castle-Martin the chief seat of the family of the Fitz-Eustaces descended from the Poers in the County of Waterford of whom Rowland Fitz-Eustace Barons Fitz Eustace for his great worth was made a Baron of Parliament by Edward the fourth and had the manour of Portlester bestow'd upon him as also the title of Vicount Baltinglas by Henry the eighth Pat. 2. Ed. 4. Viscounts Baltinglas all which dignities Rowland Fitz-Eustace lost 7 being banish'd in Q. Elizabeth's time for his treachery The more considerable families here besides the Fitz-Giralds are all likewise English the Ougans De-la-Hides Ailmers Walshes Boisels Whites Suttons c. As for the Gyant 's dance which Merlin by art magick transferred as they say out of this territory to Salisbury-plain as also the bloody battle to be fought hereafter between the English and the Irish at Molleaghmast I leave them for the credulous and such as doat upon the fabulous part of antiquity and vainly admire prophesies For it is not answerable to my design to dilate upon stories of this nature These are the midland Counties of Leinster now for those upon the sea coast The County of WEISFORD BElow that mouth from which the three sister-rivers the Barrow the Neore and the Swire empty themselves into the sea upon a Promontory eastward where the shore is rounding lies the County of Weisford or Wexford in Irish County a Which signifies Coarse or rough Reogh where the Menapii Menapii are placed by Ptolemy That these Menapii were the off-spring of the Menapii that peopled the sea-coast in the Lower Germany the name it self seems to intimate But whether that Carausius Carausius who put up for Emperor and held Britain against Dioclesian were of this or that nation Published by Sâ—hottus I leave to the discovery of others For * Aurelius Victor calls him a citizen of Menapia and the city Menapia is in Ireland and not in the Low-Countreys of Germany according to Geographers Upon the river Barrow in this County formerly flourished Ross a large b Now a burrough city of good trade and well inhabited fortified with a wall of great compass by Isabel the daughter of Earl Richard Strongbow which is the only remains of it at this day For the dissention between the citizens and the religious here has long since ruined the town and reduced it to little or nothing More eastward Duncanon Duncanon
the titles of the Dukes of York who write themselves Lords of Trim. After that it runs by Navan Navan which has its Baron or Baronet but not Parliamentary and is for the most part honoured with the residence of the Bishop of this Diocess who has now no Cathedral Church but acts in all matters with the assent of the Clergy of Meth. His See seems to have been at Cluanarard also called Clunart where Hugh Lacy formerly built a Castle for thus we find it in the * Apostollâ—cis Apostolical Letters Episcopus Midensis sive Clunarardensis and corruptly as it seems in a Roman Provincial Elnamirand The c This is the river famous for the battle fought on the banks of it between King William and King James on the first day of July 1690. Boyn now grows larger and after a speedy course for some miles falls into the sea near Drogheda And what if one should imagine this river to be so called from its rapid stream for Boan not only in Irish but in British also signifies swift and our Countryman Necham sings thus of it Ecce Boan qui Trim celer influit istius undas Subdere se salsis Drogheda cernit aquis See how swift Boyn to Trim cuts out his way See how at Drogheda he joyns the Sea The families of greatest note in this County besides those already mentioned the Plonkets Flemings Barnwells and Husseys are the Darceys Cusakes Dillons Berminghams De la Hides Netervills Garvies Cadells and others who I hope will pardon me for not taking notice of them as well as those I mention though their dignity may require it WEST-METH THE County of West-meth so called in respect of the former upon which it borders to the West comes up to the Shanon and lyes upon the King's County on the South and the County of Longford on the North. It is hardâ—y inferiour to either of them for fruitfulness number of inhabitants or any other quality except civility and mode Molingar â—â—â—ngar by Act of Parliament was made the head town of this County because it lyes as it were in the very middle The whole is divided into 12 Baronies Fertulogh where the Tirells live Ferbille the seat of the Darcies Delvin Baroâ— Delvin which gives the title of Baron to the Nogents a famous English family descended from 27 Sir Gilbert Gilbert Nogent whom Hugh Lacy who conquer'd Meth for his great services in the wars of Ireland rewarded with these Lands and those of Furrey as that learned Gentleman Richard Stanihurst has observed Then this Furrey aforesaid as also Corkery where the Nogents dwell Moyassell the seat of the Tuts and Nogents Maghertiernan of the Petits and Tuts Moygoisy of the Tuts and Nangles Rathcomire of the Daltons Magirquirke of the Dillons all English families also Clonlolan where the O-Malaghlins who are of the old Royal Line of Meth and Moycassell where the Magohigans native Irish do live with many others called by a sort of barbarous names But however as Martial the Poet said after he had reckon'd up certain barbarous Spanish names of places being himself a Spaniard he liked them better than British names so the Irish admire these more than ours and one of their great men was wont to say he would not learn English lest it should set his mouth awry Thus all are partial in passing a judgment upon their own and think them pleasant and beautiful in comparison of others Meth had its petty Kings in old times and Slanius the Monarch of Ireland as 't is said appropriated the revenues of this County to supply provision for his own table When the English got footing there Hugh Lacy conquer'd the greatest part of it and King Henry the second gave it him in fee with the title of Lord of Meth Lords of Meth. who at the building of Derwarth Castle had his head struck off by a Carpenter as he held it down to give him directions This Hugh had two sons Hugh Earl of Ulster of whom more hereafter and Walter Lord of Trim who had a son Gilbert that died in the life-time of his father By the daughters of this Gilbert Margaret and Maud the one part of this estate by the Genevills Genevills who are said to be of the family of Lorain and the Mortimers came to the Dukes of York and so to the Crown For Peter de Genevill Maud's son had a daughter Joan who was married to Roger Mortimer Earl of March the other part by Margaret wife of John Verdon and by his Heirs Constables of Ireland Constables of Iâ—eland fell at length to several families of England 28 As Furnivall Burghersh Crophull c. The County of LONGFORD TO West-Meth on the North side joyns the County of Longford reduced into the form of a County by 29 Sir Henry Sidney H. Sidney Lord Deputy some years ago formerly called c Or Annaly Analè Anale and inhabited by a numerous family of the d O Farrâ—l O-Pharols O-Pharoll of which there are two eminent Potentates the one in the South part called O-Pharoll Boy or the Yellow and the other ruling in the North called O-Pharoll Ban i.e. the white Very few Englishmen live among them and those that do are of long continuance The side of this County is water'd by the Shanon the noblest river in all Ireland which as we observed runs between Meth and Conaught Ptolemy calls it Senus Riv. Senus Shannin and Shanon Orosius Sena and in some Copies Sacana Giraldus Flumen Senense The natives thereabout call it the e i.e. Shan-awn Shannon that is as some explain it the antient river It rises in the County of Le Trim in the mountains of Therne from whence as it runs along Southward it grows very broad in some places Then again it contracts it self into a narrow stream and after it has made a lake or two it gathers in it self and runs to Macolicum Macolicum mentioned in Ptolemy now Malc Malc as the most learned Geographer G. Mercator has observ'd Soon after it is received by another broad lake called Lough Regith the name and situation whereof makes it seem credible that the City Rigia Rigia which Ptolemy places in this County stood not far off When it is passed this lake it contracts it self again within its own banks and runs by the town Athlon of which in its proper place From hence the Shanon having passed the Catarach at f Killaloo Killoloe whereof I shall take notice by and by grows capable of bearing ships of the greatest burthen and dividing its stream encompasses the city Limirick of which I have spoken already From hence after a direct course for threescore miles together wherein by a fetch or winding it takes in an Island ever now and then it plies very swiftly to the Westward Where it is fordable at low water it is guarded with little
at the representation of their own actions The O-NEALS and their Rebellions in our Age. TO say nothing of O. Neal the great who before the arrival of St. Patrick tyranniz'd in Ulster and a great part of Ireland nor of those after his time who were but obscure this family has been of no eminent note since the English set foot in that Kingdom save only during the time that Edward Brus 1 Brother to Robert King of Scotland the Scot bore the title of King of Ireland In those troublesome times Dovenald O-Neal began to exert himself and in his Letters to the Pope uses this stile Scoto Chronicon l. 12. c. 26. Dovenald O-Neal King of Ulster and all Ireland as right heir by descent yet this new King soon vanished upon the extinction of these troubles and his posterity continued in obscurity till the wars between the houses of York and Lancaster embroiled the Kingdom of England and the English then in Ulster were obliged to return home to support their respective parties and commit the Province to the charge of the O-neals At that time Henry O-Neal the son of Oen or Eugenius O-Neal married the daughter of Thomas Earl of Kildare and his son Con Mâ—re or Con the great married the daughter of Girald Earl of Kildare his mother's Neice Being thus supported with the power and interest of the Earls of Kildare who had administred the affairs of Ireland for many years they began to exalt themselves with great tyranny among the people under no other title than the bare name of O-Neal insolently slighting those of Prince Duke Marquess Earl c. as mean and inferiour to it Con the son of this Con sirnamed Bacco i.e. lame succeeded his father in this dignity of O-Neal who had entailed a curse upon such of his posterity as either learned to speak English sow'd wheat or built houses fearing that these would but tempt the English to invade them 2 Often saying that language bred conversation and consequently their confusion that wheat gave â—â—stenance with like effâ—ct and by building thâ— should do as the crow doth make her nest to be beaten out by the hawk King Hen. 8. having humbled the Family of Kildare began to suspect this of the O-Neals likewise who had been aiding to the former in his rebellions which put him into such fear that he came into England voluntarily renounced the title of O-Neal and surrendred all he had into the King's hands who by his Letters-Patents under the great Seal restored them again adding the title of Earl of Tir-Oen The first Earl of Tir-Oen to have and to hold to him and his son Matthew falsly so called and to the Heirs of their bodies lawfully begotten Matthew at the same time was created Baron of Dunganon who till the fifteenth year of his age went for the son of a certain Black-smith in Dundalk whose wife had been a concubine of this Con's and then presented the lad to him as his begotten son Accordingly he received him as such and rejected his own son John or Shan Shan or John O-Neal as they call him with all the rest of the children he had had by his lawful wife Shan seeing a Bastard preferred before him and exalted to this dignity took fire immediately grew averse to his father and fell into such a violent fit of hatred and revenge against Matthew that he murder'd him and so plagu'd the old man with affronts and injuries by attempting to dispossess him of his estate and honours that he died with the very greif and resentment of them Shan was presently upon this chosen and proclaimed O-Neal 3 By an old shoe cast over his head after which he enter'd upon the inheritance and to secure himself in the enjoyment of it made diligent search after the sons of this Matthew but to no purpose Yet Brian the eldest son was not long after slain by Mac-Donel Totan one of this family of O-Neals upon Shan's instigation as it was reported Hugh and Cormack made their escape by the assistance of some English and are living at this day Shan upon this restoration began out of a barbarous cruel temper to tyrannize among the Gentry of Ulster after an intolerable manner vaunting himself in having the Mac-Gennys Mac-Guir Mac-Mahon O-Realy O-Hanlon O-Cahan Mac-Brien O-Hagan O-Quin Mac-Canna Mac-Cartan and the Mac-Donells the Galloglasses in subjection Being called to an account for these things by 4 Sir Henry H. Sidney who governed in the absence of the Earl of Sussex Lord Deputy he answer'd that as the undoubted and legitimate son and heir of Con born by his lawful wife he had enter'd upon his father's estate that Matthew was the son of a Black-smith of Dundalk born of his wife Alison who had cunningly obtruded him upon his father Con as his son to deprive him of the estate and dignity of the O-Neals and that supposing he had been so tame as to have bore this injury yet ne'er another O-Neal of their family would have endur'd it That as for the Letters Patents of Hen. 8. they were null and void forasmuch as Con had no right in any of those things he surrender'd to the King but for his own life and that he indeed had no disposal of them without the consent of the Nobility and people that elected him neither were Patents of this nature of any force but where the true heir of the family was first certified upon the oath of twelve men which was omitted in this case lastly that he was the right heir both by the Laws of God and man being the eldest son of his father born in lawful wedlock and elected O-Neal by the unanimous consent of the Nobility and people according to the Laws of Tanestry whereby a man at his full years is to be preferr'd before a boy and an unkle before a nephew whose Grandfather surviv'd the Father neither had he assumed any greater authority over the Nobility of Ulster than his Ancestors had ever done as he could sufficiently prove by Records Not long after this he fought O-Rayly and defeated him took Callogh O-Donell put him in prison with all his children ravish'd his wife and had issue by this adultery seiz'd upon all his castles lands and moveables and made himself absolute Monarch of Ulster But hearing that Thomas Earl of Sussex the Lord Deputy was upon his march to chastise this insolence he was so terrified that upon the perswasion of his Kinsman Girald Earl of Kildare who had been restored to his estate by Queen Mary he went into England and threw himself on the mercy of Queen Elizabeth who received him graciously and so having promised his allegiance for the future he returned home where for some time he conformed himself to a civilized course of life both in the modes of diet and apparel thrust the Scots out of Ulster with the loss of James Mac-Conell their Captain kept himfelf and his people
sacred If one praise a horse or any other creature he must cry God save him or spit upon him and if any mischief befalls the horse within three days they look for the person that commended him to whisper the Lord's Prayer in at his right ear They believe that the very eyes of some people are bewitching to their horses and in such cases they repair to certain old women who by muttering a few prayers set them to rights again The horses feet are very much subject to worms which multiply exceedingly and at last corrupt the body The remedy in this case is thus They send for a witch who must be brought to the horse on two Mondays and one Thursday at which times by breathing and repeating her charm she cherishes the part affected and the horse recovers Many give a reward for the knowledge of this charm and are sworn never to divulge it They think the women have peculiar charms for all evils shared and distributed among them and therefore they use them according to their several gifts and endowments They begin and conclude their incantations with a Pater-noster and Ave Maria. When any gets a fall he springs up and turning about three times to the right diggs a hole in the greund with his knife or sword and cuts out a turf for they imagine there is a spirit in the earth So that in case he grows sick within two or three days after they send one of their skill'd Women to the place where she says I call thee P. from the east west south and north from the groves the woods the rivers the fens from the fairies red black white c. And after some short ejaculations she returns home to the sick person to see whether it be the disease Esane which they imagine is inflicted by the fairies and whispers into his ear a short prayer and a Pater Noster after which she puts some coals into a pot of clear water and then passes a better judgment upon the distemper than many Physicians can do Their armies consist of horsemen of some * Triariis veterane soldiers râ—served for the rear whom they call Galloglasses and who fight with sharp hatchets and of light-armed foot they call them Kernes armed with darts and daggers When the foot or horse march out they think it a good omen to be huzza'd and in case they are not they think it forebodes ill They use the bag-pipe in their war instead of a trumpet they carry Amulets about them repeat short prayers and when they engage they cry out as loud as they can Pharroh which I suppose is that military Barritus Barritus of which Ammianus speaks believing that he who joyns not in the general shout will have this befall him viz. to be snatch'd from the ground and hurried as it were upon the wing through the air avoiding ever after the sight of men into a certain valley in Kerry See that County as I have already said Those who are about the sick never mention a word of God or the salvation of the soul or making their wills but flatter them with the hopes of recovery They give them over that would receive the Sacrament The wives are not sollicitous that their husbands should make their wills because it s grown a custom for them to have a third of his goods the rest to be distributed by equal portions among the children unless when they come to enter upon the Estate he that is mightiest gets the best share for he that has most power whether Uncle or Nephew oftentimes seizes upon the Estate excluding the sons When a sick person is departing before he dyes certain women being hired mourners standing where four streets meet spreading out their hands make loud acclamations suited to the occasion and endeavor to stay the departing soul by recounting what blessings he enjoys in worldly goods wives beauty and fame kindred friends and horses asking him why he will depart and to whom he would go and expostulating with the soul they accuse it of ingratitude and at last in their complaints they affirm that the expiring soul transmigrates into Night-haggs a sort of women that appear at night and in the dark but when the soul is once departed they mourn by claping of hands and hideous howlings They attend a funeral with so much noise that a man would think the quick as well as the dead past recovery At these grievings the nurses the daughters and the strumpets are most passionately sorrowful nor do they less bemoan those that are slain in the field than those that dye in their beds though they say 't is the easier death of the two to dye fighting or committing robbery They rail spightfully at their adversaries and bear an immortal hatred against all their kindred They think the souls of the deceased are in communion with famous men of those places of whom they retain many stories and sonnets as of the gyants Fin-Mac-Huyle Osshin Mac-Owim and they say through illusion that they often see them As to their diet they feed freely upon herbs especially cresses mushrooms and roots so that Strabo not without reason called them 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 i.e. Eaters of herbs for which in some copies 't is falsly read 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 i.e. Gluttons They love butter tempered with oat-meal milk whey beef-broth but chiefly flesh and often times without bread What corn they have they lay up for their horses which they take great care of When they are sharp set they make no bones of raw flesh after they have squeez'd the blood out to digest which they drink Usquebaugh They let their cows blood too which after it is curdled and strew'd over with butter they eat with a good relish They generally go bareheaded save when they wear an head-piece having a long head of hair with curled Gleebes Gleebes much affected by them and they take it hainously if one twitch or pull them They wear linnen shifts very large with wide sleeves down to their knees which they generally stain with saffron They have woollen jackets but short plain breeches close to their thighs and over these they cast their mantles or shag-rugs Mâ—ntles â—â—eroâ— lla which Isidore as it seems calls Heteromallae fring'd round the edges with divers well mixt colours in which they wrap themselves up and sleep sound upon the bare ground Such also do the women cast over the garment which comes down to their ancles and they load their heads as I said rather than adorn them with several ells of fine linnen rolled up in wreaths as they do their necks with neck-laces and their arms with bracelets These are the manners of the Wild Irish out of our Author as for the most of the rest who inhabit the English Pale The English Pale as they call it they are defective in no point of civility or breeding which they owe to the English Conquest and much better would the
grew so concerned for blinding his brother that he renounced the Kingdom and with the sign of the cross went in pilgrimage to Jerusalem where he died 1089. As soon as the Nobility of the Island receiv'd the news of Lagman's death they dispatched their Ambassadors to Murecard O-Brien King of Ireland desiring that he would send them some diligent man or other of Royal extraction to rule over them during the minority of Olave the son of Godred The King readily consented and sent one Dopnald the son of Tade with orders and instructions to govern the Kingdom though it belonged not to him with modesty and tenderness But as soon as he was advanced to the throne without any farther heed to the commands his Lord had laid on him he grew grievous to the people by his tyranny and and reigned three years with great cruelty and outrage The Nobility being then no longer able to endure this oppression conspir'd rose up in arms and banish'd him Upon that he fled into Ireland and never returned 1097. One Ingemund was sent by the King of Norway to get the soveraignty of these Islands When he came to the Isle Leod he sent to all the great men of the Islands commanding them to assemble and make him King In the mean while he with his companions did nothing but spoil feast ravish women and virgins giving himself wholly up to such beastly lusts and pleasures As soon as the great men of the Islands were acquainted with these proceedings being now assembled to make him King they were so enraged that they went in all haste towards him and coming to his house in the night set it on fire so that he and his whole retinue were either destroyed by the fire or by the sword An. 1098. was founded the Abby of S. Mary at Cistercium Antioch was taken by the Christians and a Comet appeared The same year was fought a battle between the Inhabitants of the Isle of Man at Santwat those of the north-side got the victory In this engagement were slain Earl Other and Macmaras the two Leaders This same year Magnus King of Norway the son of Olave son of Harald Harfager out of curiosity to know whether the Corps of St. Olave King and Martyr remained uncorrupt commanded his tomb to be open'd This order being opposed by the Bishop and his Clergy the King himself came in person and had it open'd by force And when with the sense of his own eyes and hands he found the body sound and unputrified he fell into great fear and went away in all haste The next night the King and Martyr appear'd to him saying Take thy choice of these two offers either to lose thy life and Kingdom within 30 days or to leave Norway and be content never to see it more As soon as the King awaken'd he called his Nobles and the Elders of his people together and told them what vision he had seen Being frighted at it they gave him this Council That with all haste he should depart from Norway Upon this he prepared a fleet of an hundred and sixty ships and set sail for the Orcades which he soon conquer'd from whence he went on with success and victory through all the Islands till he came to that of Man Being landed there he went to St. Patrick's Isle to see the place where the Islanders had been engaged a little before for many of the dead bodies were as yet unburied This fine Island pleased him so well that he resolved to seat himself in it and to that end built forts and strong holds which retain his name to this day Those of Gallway were so much over-awed by him that at his order they cut down wood and brought it to the shore for him to make his Bulworks withal Next he sailed to Monia an Island of Wales where he found two Hughs both Earls one of them he slew Monia for Anglesey v. Girald Cambrensem in Itinerario Cambria the other he put to flight and conquer'd the Island The Welsh men made many Presents to him so taking his leave of them he returned to Man To Maricard King of Ireland he sent his shoes commanding him to carry them upon his shoulders thro' the middle of his house on Christmas day in sight of his Messengers to signifie his subjection to King Magnus The Irish received this news with great wrath and indignation But the King more advisedly said That he would not only carry but also eat his shoes rather than King Magnus should destroy one Province in Ireland So he complied with this order and honourably entertained his Messengers and sent them back with many presents to him and made a league with him Being returned they gave their Master an account of Ireland describing its situation and pleasantness its fruitfulness and the excellence of its air Magnus hearing this begun to turn his thoughts wholly upon the Conquest of that Count try For this end he gave orders to fit out a good fleet and went before with sixteen ships to take a view of the Country but as he unwarily left his ship he was beset by the Irish and cut off with most of those that were with him His body was buried near St. Patrick's Church in Down He reigned six years After his death the Noblemen of the Island sent for Olave the son of Godred sirnamed Crovan who lived in the Court of Henry King of England the son of King William 1102. Olave the son of Godred Crovan began his reign which continued 40 years He was a peaceable Prince and in league with all the Kings of Ireland and Scotland His wife was Africa the daughter of Fergâ—se of Gallway by whom he had Godred By his Concubines he had also Regnald Lagman and Harald besides many daughters one of whom was married to Summerled Prince of * Argiâ—e Herergaidel to whom the Kingdom of the Isles owe their ruine By her he had four sons Dungall Raignald Engus and Olave 1133. The Sun was so eclipsed on the fourth of the Nones of August that the day was as dark as the night 1134. Olave gave to Yvo Abbot of Furnes part of his lands in Man towards building an Abby in a place called Russin He enricht the estate of the Church with Islands and Revenues and endowed it with great liberties 1142. Godred the son of Olave sailed over to the King of Norway who was called Hinge and did him homage he staid there some time and was honourably received This same year the three sons of Harald the brother of Olave who were bred at Dublin came to Man with a great multitude of men and such as the King had banished demanding one half of the Kingdom of the Isles for their share The King being willing to please them answered That he would take the advice of a Council about it Having agreed upon the time and place for their meeting these base villains began to plot against the King's life At the
Trinity appear'd to him saying Why hast thou cast me out of my own Seat and out of the Church of Doun and plac'd there my S. Patrick the Patron of Ireland For John Curcy had expell'd the Secular Canons out of the Cathedral Church of Doun and introduc'd the black Monks of Chester in their room And the Holy Trinity stood there upon a stately Shrine and John himself took it down out of the Church and order'd a Chappel to be built for it setting up the Image of S. Patrick in the great Church which displeas'd the most-high God Wherefore he bid him assure himself he should never set foot in his Seignory again However in regard of other good Deeds he should be deliver'd out of Prison with Honour which happen'd accordingly For a Controversy arising between John King of England and the King of France about a Lordship and certain Castles the King of France offer'd by a Champion to try his Right Upon this the King call'd to mind his valiant Knight John Curcy whom he cast in Prison upon the information of others so he sent for him and ask'd him if he were able to serve him in this Combat John answer'd He would not fight for him but for the Right of the Kingdom with all his Heart which he undertook to do afterwards And so refresh'd himself with Meat Drink and Bathing in the mean while and recover'd his Strength Whereupon a day was appointed for the Engagement of those Champions namely John Curcy and the other But as soon as the Champion of France heard of his great Stomach and mighty Valour he refus'd the Combat and the said Seignory was given to the King of England The King of France then desired to see a Blow of the said Curcy Whereupon he set a strong Helmet * Plenan loricis full of Mail upon a large Block and with his Sword after he had look'd about him in a grim manner struck the Helmet through from the very Crest into the Block so very fast that no one therâ— was able to pull it out till he himself at the request of the twâ— Kings did it easily Then they ask'd him Why he look'd so gruâ— behind him before he struck So he told them If he had fail'd iâ— giving it he would have certainly cut them all off as well Kingâ— as others The Kings made him large Presents and the King of Englanâ— restor'd him also to his Seigniory viz. Ulster John Curcy attempteâ— 15 several times to sail over into Ireland but was always in danger and the Wind cross'd him so he waited awhile among the Monk of Chester and at last sail'd into France and there died MCCV. The Abby of Wetheny in the County of Limerick was founded by Theobald the Son of Walter Butler Lord oâ— Carryk MCCVI. The Order of Friars Minors was begun near the Ciâ—â— Assisa by S. Francis MCCVIII William de Brewes was banish'd out of England anâ— came into Ireland England was interdicted for the Tyranny 〈◊〉 King John A great defeat and slaughter was given at Thurles iâ— Munster by Sir Geffery Mareys to the Lord Chief Justice of Inland's Men. MCCX John King of England came to Ireland with a greâ—â— Fleet and a strong Army and the Sons of Hugh Lacy viz. thâ— Lord Walter Lord of Meth and Hugh his Brother for their Tâ—ranny but particularly for the Murder of Sir John Courson Loâ—â— of Rathenny and Kilbarrock for they had heard that the saâ—â— John accus'd them to the King were driven out of the Nation So they fled into France and serv'd in the Monasteries of S. Taurâ—â— unknown being employ'd in Clay or Brick-work and sometimâ—â— in Gardens as Gardeners But at length they were discover'd bâ— the Abbot who intreated the King on their behalf for he haâ— baptiz'd their Sons and had been as a Father to them in manâ— things So Walter Lacy paid two thousand fâ—ve hundred Markâ— and Hugh Lacy a great Sum of Mony likewise for their Ransom and they were restor'd again to their former Degree and Lordshiâ— by the Abbot's Intercession Walter Lacy brought with him Johâ— the son of Alured i.e. Fitz-Acory Son to the aforesaid Abboâ— whole Brother and Knighted him giving him the Seignory 〈◊〉 Dengle and many others Moreover he brought Monks with hiâ— out of the said Monastery and bestow'd many Farms upon theâ— with the Cell call'd Foury for their Charity Liberality and gooâ— Counsel Hugh Lacy Earl of Ulster built a Cell also for tâ—â— Monks in Ulster and endow'd it in a place call'd John King 〈◊〉 England having taken many Hostages as well of the English as 〈◊〉 the Irish and hang'd a number of Malefactors upon Gibbets aâ—â— setled Affairs return'd into England the same Year MCCXI. Sir Richard Tuyt was crush'd to death by the fall of Tower at Alone He founded the Monastery de Grenard MCCXII The Abby of Grenard was founded This saâ—â— year died John Comyn Archbishop of Dublin and was burieâ— within the Quire of Trinity Church he built S. Patrick's Churâ—â— at Dublin Henry Londres succeeded him sirnam'd Scorch-Villeyâ— from an Action of his For having call'd in his Tenants one daâ— to know by what Tenure they held of him they show'd him the Deeds and Charters to satisfie him whereupon he order'd them to be burnt and hence got the name of Scorch-Villeyn given him by his Tenants This Henry Archbishop of Dublin was Justiciary of Ireland and built Dublin-castle MCCXIII William Petit and Peter Messet departed this life Peter Messet was Baron of Luyn hard by Trim but dying without Heir-male the Inheritance fell to the three Daughters of whom the Lord Vernail married the eldest Talbot the second and Loundres the third who by this means shar'd the Inheritance among them MCCXIX The City of Damieta was miraculously won on the Nones of September about Midnight without the loss of one Christian The same year died William Marshall the Elder Earl Marshal and Earl of Pembrock * The Genealogy â—f the Earl Marshall who by his Wife the Daughter of Richard Strongbow Earl of Strogul had five Sons The eldest was call'd William the second Walter the third Gilbert the fourth Anselm and the fifth Richard who lost his Life in â—he War of Kildare every one of them successively enjoy'd the â—nheritance of their Father and died all without Issue So the Inâ—eritance devolv'd upon the Sisters namely the Daughters of their Father who were Maud Marshall the Eldest Isabel Clare the seâ—ond Eva Breous the third Joan Mount Chensey the fourth and Sibill Countess of Firrars the fifth Maud Marshall was married to Hugh Bigod Earl of Norfolk who was Earl Marshal of England â—n right of his Wife By whom he had Ralph Bigod Father of John Bigod the Son of the Lady Bertha Furnival and * The Widow of Gilbert Lacy. Isabel Lacy Wife to John Lord Fitz-Geffery by whom after the death of Hugh de Bigod Earl of Norfolk she had John de Guaren Earl of Surry
call'd Hogelyn John de Northon John de Breton and many others Item On the 16th before the kalends of July Dolovan Tobyr and other towns and villages bordering upon them were burnt down by the said malefactors Item Soon after this a great Parliament was held at London wherein a sad difference arose between the Barons upon the account of Pieirs Gaveston who was banish'd out of the Kingdom of England the day after the feast of S. John the baptist's nativity and went over into Ireland about the feast of the Saints Quirita and Julita together with his wife and sister the Countess of Glocester and came to Dublin in great state and there continued Item William Mac Baltor a stout robber and incendiary was condemn'd in the court of our Lord the King at Dublin by the Lord Chief Justice John Wogan on the 12th before the kalends of September and was drawn at a horse's tail to the gallows and there hang'd as he deserv'd Item This year a marble cistern was made to receive the Water from the conduit-head in Dublin such as was never before seen here by the Mayor of the City Master John Decer and all at his own proper expences This same John a little before made a bridge to be built over the river Aven-Liffie near the priory of S. Wolstan He also built the Chappel of S. Mary of the Friers minors wherein he was buried and the Chappel of S. Mary of the Hospital of S. John in Dublin Item This John Decer was bountiful to the convent of Friers Predicants in Dublin For instance he made one stone-pillar in the Church and laid the great stone upon the high altar with all its ornaments Item He entertain'd the friers at his own table on the 6th day of the week out of pure charity as the seniors have reported to their juniors Item The Lord John Wogan took ship in Autumn to be at the parliament of England and the Lord William Bourk was appointed Keeper of Ireland in his room Item This year on the eve of S. Simon and Jude the Lord Roger de Mortimer and his Lady the right heir of Meth the daughter of the Lord Peter son of Sir Gefferey Genevil arriv'd in Ireland As soon as they landed they took possession of Meth Sir Gefferey Genevil giving way to them and entring himself into the order of the Friers predicants at Trym the morrow after S. Edward the Archbishop's day Item Dermot Odympsy was slain at Tully by the servants of Sir Piers Gaveston Item Richard Bourk Earl of Ulster at Whitsontide made a great feast at Trym and conferr'd Knighthood upon Walter Lacie and Hugh Lacie In the vigil of the Assumption the Earl of Ulster came against Piers Gaveston Earl of Cornwal at Drogheda and at the same time turn'd back towards Scotland Item This year Maud the Earl of Ulster's daughter imbark'd for England in order for a marriage with the Earl of Glocester which within a month was consummated between them Item Maurice Caunton kill'd Richard Talon and the Roches afterwards kill'd him Item Sir David Caunton was hang'd at Dublin Item Odo the son of Cathol O Conghir kill'd Odo O Conghiâ— King of Connaght Item Athi was burnt by the Irish MCCCIX Peter Gaveston subdued the O Brynnes in Ireland and rebuilt the new castle of Mackingham and the castle of Kemny he also cut down and scour'd the pass between Kemny castle and Glyndelagh in spite of all the opposition the Irish could make and sâ— march'd away and offer'd in the Church of S. Kimny The same year the Lord Peter Gaveston went over into Englanâ— on the eve of S. John Baptist's Nativity Item The Earl of Ulster's son's wife daughter of the Earl oâ— Glocester came into Ireland on the 15th of October Item On Christmas-eve the Earl of Ulster returned out of England and landed at Drogheda Item On the Purification of the Blessed Virgin Mary Sir John Bonevil was slain near the town of Arstol by Sir Arnold Pover and his accomplices and buried at Athy in the Church of the Frierâ— predicants Item A Parliament was held at Kilkenny in the octaves of thâ— Purification of the Blessed Mary by the Earl of Ulster John Wogan Justiciary of Ireland and others of the nobility wherein a difference among certain of the great men was adjusted and many proviso's made in the nature of statutes that might havâ— been of good consequence to the Kingdom if they had been observ'd Item Shortly after Sir Edward Botiller return'd out of England where he had been knighted at London Item The Earl of Ulster Roger Mortimer and Sir John Fitz-Thomas went over into England Item This year died Sir Theobald Verdon MCCCX. King Edward and Sir Peter Gaveston took theiâ— march for Scotland against Robert Brus. Item There was this year a great scarcity of corn in Ireland * Eranca an eranc of corn sold at the rate of twenty shilling and upwards Item The Bakers of Dublin were punish'd after a new way foâ— false weights For on S. Sampson the Bishop's day they werâ— drawn upon hurdles at the horses tails along the streets of thâ— City Item In the Abby of S. Thomas the Martyr at Dublin Sir Neiâ— Bruin Knight Escheator to our Lord the King in Ireland departed this life his corps was buried at the Friers-minors in Dublin witâ— such a pomp of tapers and wax-lights as never was before seen iâ— this Kingdom This year a Parliament was held at Kildare wherin Sir Arnold Pover was acquitted of the death of the Lord Bonevil for it waâ— found Se defendendo Item On S. Patrick's day Mr. Alexander Bickenor was witâ— the unanimous consent of the Chapter made Archbishop of Dublin Item The Lord Roger Mortimer in the octaves of the nativity of the Blessed Virgin return'd into Ireland Item This year died Henry Lacy Earl of Lincoln MCCCXI In Thomond at Bonnorathie the Lord Richarâ— Clare gave the Earl of Ulster's party a very strange defeat Thâ— Lord William Bourk and John the Lord Walter Lacy's Son werâ— taken prisoners with many others This battle was fought on thâ— 13th before the kalends of June and great numbers both of thâ— English and the Irish slain in it Item Tassagard and Rathcante were invaded by the rapperies namely the O Brinnes and O Tothiles the day after S. John Baptist's nativity Whereupon in the Autumn soon after a greaâ— army was rais'd in Leinster to defeat them both in Glindelory anâ— in other woody places Item In August a Parliament was holden at London between thâ— King and the Barons to consider the state of the Kingdom and thâ— King's houshold and a committee of six Bishops six Earls and six Barons was appointed to consult the good of the Realm Item On the 2d day before the Ides of November the Lord Richard Clare cut off 600 Galegolaghes Item On All saints day last past Peter Gaveston was banished out of England by the Earls and Barons and many good statutes were
misfortunes In the year of our Lord 676. it was destroy'd by Aethelred the Mercian and after that more than once plunder'd by the Danes Aethelbert King of Kent built a stately Church in it and adorn'd it with an Episcopal See making Justus first Bishop of it but when this Church was decay'd with age Gundulphus 46 A Norman repair'd it about the year 1080. and thrusting out the Priests put the Monks in their stead who too are now ejected and a Dean with 6 Prebendaries and Scholars fill their places Near the Church there hangs over the river a Castle fortify'd pretty well both by art and nature which the common opinion affirms to have been built by Odo Bishop of Bayeux and Earl of Kent But without all doubt William 1. was founder of it For we read thus in Domesday The Bishop of Rovecester holds in Elesforde for exchange of the ground upon which the castle stands 'T is certain however that Bishop Odo depending upon an uncertain turn of affairs held this against William Rufus 47 At which time there passed a Proclamation thro' England that whosoever would not be reputed a Niding should repair to recover Rochester-Castle whereupon the youth fearing that name most reproachful and opprobrious in that Age swarmed thither in such numbers that Odo was enforced to yield the place and that at last for want of provisions he did not only surrender it but was degraded too and quitted the Kingdom But as to the repairing of the castle take this out of the Textus Roffensis Textus Roffensis an ancient MS. book of that Church When William 2. would not confirm the gift of Lanfranck of the mannour of Hedenham in the County of Buckingham to the Church of Rochester unless Lanfranck and Gundulph Bp. of Rochester would give the King 100 l. of ‖ Centum libras Denariorum Deniers At last by the intercession of 48 Sir Robert Rob. Fitz-Hammon and Henry Earl of Warwick the King yielded that instead of the money which he demanded for a Grant of the mannour Bishop Gundulph because he was well vers'd in Architecture and Masonry should build for him the Castle of Rochester all of stone and at his own proper charges At length when the Bishops tho' with some difficulty were brought to a compliance Bishop Gundulph built the castle entirely at his own cost And a little while after K. Henry 1. as Florence of Worcester has it granted to the Church of Canterbury and the Archbishops the custody and Constableship of it for ever and liberty to build a tower for themselves within it Since which time it has suffer'd one or two sieges but then especially when the Barons wars alarm'd all England and Simon de Montefort 49 Earl of Leicester vigoâ—ously assaulted it tho' in vain and cut down the wooden bridge Instead of which a curious arch'd stone bridge was afterwards built with money rais'd out of the French spoils by John Cobham 50 Which was after repair'd But in the time of K. Rich. 2. Sir Robert c. and Robert * Call'd Canolius by the French Knowles the latter whereof rais'd himself by his warlike courage from nothing to the highest pitch of honour 51 At the end of the said bridge Sir John Cobham who much further'd the work erected a Chapel for our Elders built no notable bridge without a Chapel upon which besides the Arms of Saints are seen the Arms of the King and his three Uncles then living And long after Archbishop Warham coped a great part of the said bridge with iron-bars q The Medway posts thro' this bridge with a violent course like a torrent and as it were with a sort of struggling but presently growing more calm affords a Dock 52 At Gillingham and Chetham to the best appointed fleet that ever the Sun saw ready upon all emergent occasions The Royal Navy and built at great expence by the most serene Qu. Elizabeth for the safety of her Kingdoms See more of this at the end of the Additions to this County and the terror of her enemies who also for the security of it hath rais'd a fort upon the bank r 53 At Upnore Now Medway grown fuller and broader makes a pleasant show with it's curling waves and passes through fruitful fields till divided by Shepey-Island which I fancy to be the same that Ptolemy calls Toliatis it is carry'd into the aestuary of Thames by two mouths the one whereof westward is call d West-swale as the eastern one which seems to have cut Shepey Shepey from the Continent East-swale but by Bede Genlad and Yenlett This Island from the Sheep a multitude whereof it feeds was call'd by our Ancestors Shepey i.e. an island of sheep 't is exceeding fruitful in corn but wants wood being 21 miles in compass Upon the northern shore it had a small Monastery call'd now Minster Minster built by Sexburga wife to Ercombert King of Kent in the year 710. Below which a certain Brabander lately undertook to make brimstone and coperas out of stones found upon the shore by boyling them in a furnace Upon the west side it is fronted with a most neat and strong castle built by King Edward 3. and is as he himself writes of a pleasant situation to the terrour of the enemy and comfort of his own subjects To this he added a Burgh and in honour of Philippa of Hainault his Queen call'd it Queenborrough Queenborrough i.e. the burgh of the Queen The present Constable of it is 54 Sir Edward Edward Hoby a person whom I am always oblig'd to respect and who has very much improv'd his own excellent wit with the studies of Learning Upon the east is Shurland Shurland formerly belonging to the Cheineys now to 55 Sir Philip. Philip Herbert second son to Henry Earl of Pembroke whom K. James the same day created both Baron Herbert of Shurland and Earl of Montgomery This Island belongs to the Hundred of Midleton so call'd from the town of Midleton now Milton Milton It was formerly a Royal Village and of much more note than at present tho' Hasting the Danish pyrate fortify'd a Castle hard by it in the year 893. with a design to do it what mischief he could s Sittingburn Sittingborn a town well stor'd with Inns t and the remains of Tong-castle Tong. appear in the neighbourhood 56 With his new Mayor and Corporation which as some write was so call'd for that Hengist built it by a measure of thougs cut out of a beast's hide when Vortigern gave so much land to fortifie upon as he could encompas with a beast's hide cut into thongs Since the Conquest c. this last was the ancient Seat of Guncellin de Badilsmer The Family of Badilsmer a person of great Honours whose son Bartholomew begat that Guncellin who by the heiress of Ralph Fitz Bernard Lord
is now Earl of Feversham †Dudg 〈◊〉 vol. 2. p. â—1â— w From above Feversham the shore runneth on to Regulbium or Raculfcester now Reculver Reculâ—â— Reguâ—â—â— the first Roman Watch-tower that comes in our way These Castles or Watch-towers being usually built upon the hghest ground near the place where 't was thought convenient they should be set we may conclude this stood in that square plot of rising ground within which after King Ethelbert's Palace and after that the Monastery stood and now the Minster or Church only stands encompass'd with the foundations of a very thick wall which for ought I know to the contrary may be the remains of this ancient Roman Fort it being of the same figure with the rest that are still more perfect However that it was somewhere hereabout at least the great number of Cisterns Cellars c. daily discover'd by the fall of the cliff amply testifie together with the great quantities of Roman brick or tile Opus Musivum Coins fibulae Gold-wire Ear-rings Bracelets c. daily found in the sands Which yet all come from the landward upon fall of the cliffs the terrene parts whereof being wash't away by the Sea these metalline substances remain likewise behind in the sands whence they are constantly pick't out by the poor people of the place And these they find here in such great quantities that we must needs conclude it to have been a place heretofore of great extent and very populous and that it has one time or other underwent some great devastation either by war fire or both I think I may be confident of the latter there being many patterns found of metals run together whereof the Reverend Dr. Batteley now Arch-Deacon of Canterbury a curious and skilful Collector of such like Antiquities has a cogent proof viz. of a piece of Copper and Gold thus joyn'd in the melting which he had from thence x Hence our Author keeping along the shore proceeds to the Isle of Thanet sever'd heretofore from the main land of Kent by the River Stour upon which stands Wye a little Market-town where Cardinal Kemp who was born in the Parish built a fair large Collegiate Church with a lofty Steeple in the middle the Spire whereof was formerly fired by lightning and burnt down to the Stone-work or Tower which too of late for want of timely repair fell down of it self and beat down the greatest part of the Church where it now lyes in its ruins Hence the Stour passes on by Olanige or Olantigh i.e. an Eight or Island to Chilham â—â—â—â—ham where our Author thinks that Caesar had his first conflict with the Britains upon his second landing and that here it was he left his Army encamp't whilst he return'd and repair'd his Ships sore shatter'd by a storm and that hence it was call'd Chilham or Julham i.e. Julius's mansion but I cannot agree with him either in the one or the other for Caesar says expresly that the place of this conflict was but twelve Roman miles from his place of landing whereas Chilham whether he landed at Deale or Peppernesse is many more But here I do believe it was that in his march from his encampment in pursuit of the Britains he lost one of his Tribunes Laberius Durus whose monument it is that remains there on the River side by the name of Julaberie's grave xx Five miles below Chilham is Canterbury â—â—â—terbury at present a City of great trade to which the Foreigners in it seem to have contributed very much They are partly Walloons and partly French the first being driven out of Artois and other Provinces of the Spanish Netherlands in the Reign of Queen Elizabeth for adhering to the Reformed Religion came and settl'd here and brought along with them the art of weaving silk into this Kingdom And this is now brought to that perfection that the silks wove at Canterbury equal if not exceed any foreign silk whatsoever great quantities being sent to London where it is very much esteem'd by the Merchants The settlement of the French is but of late date only since the last persecution under Lewis 14. but they are numerous and very industrious maintaining their own poor and living frugally In the Publick Service they joyn with the Wallooms who have a large place allow'd them near the Cathedral and these together make a very great Congregation y The Stour passing Canterbury which our Author has describ'd at large runs on towards Thanet where Vortimer overthrew the Saxons ad lapidem tituli which is Stonar in this Island as 〈…〉 â—ps tituli Archbishop Usher our Author and most others agree But â—rd 〈…〉 â—orts and â—ts p. 94 â— 6 9◠〈…〉 Brit. 〈…〉 Mr. Somner and after him ‖ my Lord Bishop of Worcester seem rather inclin'd from some resemblance of the name and the reasons following to place it at Folkstone or Lapis populi the present Stonar not being supra ripam Gallici maris as Ninnius describes his lapis tituli to be nor standing high but in a low place apt to be overflow'd and therefore unfit for erecting a conspicuous Monument that was design'd to strike a terrour at a distance both which are more agreeable to Folkstone and lastly because Ninnius is not express that Lapis tituli was in Thanet Câ—p. 45 â— as he was in three other battles before whence they conclude and perhaps rightly that had it been in Thanet he would have told us so as he did in the rest which being a question too intricate to be debated here is wholly left to the decision of the Reader â—esfleet z Nor is it so certain that the battle of Wippedsfleet was in this Island at Ebbesfleet near the Sea-shore it looking as if the Saxons were almost driven out of the Nation again whereas they had defeated the Britains in many battles just before and driven them out of Kent as is plain and evident from the â—n 455 〈◊〉 465. Saxon Chronicle But it was certainly here that the Saxons first landed and after them St. Augustine who brought Christianity to them And here it was that Egbert the eighth and not the third King of Kent as our Author has it gave as much land to Domneva in recompence of the wrong he had done her as a Hind should run over at one Course to build a Monastery on which amounted to no less than 48 plough-lands about a third part of the Island as appears by the †Vol. 1. p. 84. Mapp in the Monasticon and the Course of the Hind delineated in it In short great has been the reputation of this Island in ancient times which too has been increased in these by its being advanced to the Honour of an Earldom the title of Earl of Thanet being deservedly given to Sir Nicholas Tufton Baron Tufton of Tufton in Com. Sussex 4 Car. 1. who dying 30 June An. 1632. was succeeded by his eldest surviving son John
who by his wife Margaret eldest daughter and coheir of Richard Earl of Dorset having six sons Nicholas John Richard Thomas Sackvill and George and dying May 7. 1664. ‖ Dudg Bar. vol. 2. p. 454. has been already succeeded by four of them his fourth son Thomas a person of great honour and vertue being now Earl of Thanet aa Southward stands the Rutupiae or Rutupium Rutupium which whether it was the same with the Portus Rutupensis Rutupiae statio or the old Reptimouth is a question * Ports and Forts p. 3. 4. Mr. Somner 't is plain would have them two places contrary to the opinion of Leland Lambard and Camden wherein in the general I can willingly agree with him but can by no means think our Portus Rutupensis could ever be Sandwich but rather Stonar which he himself allows to have been an ancient Port. I acknowledge Sandwich lyes well nigh as near to the old Rutupium as Stonar does and consequently might as deservedly have assum'd the name of Portus Rutupensis as Stonar could had it had the same conveniencies in point of situation for such a purpose as Stonar once had which I dare vouch it was the road where the ships lay that came ad urbem Rutupiae as Ptolemy calls it that was a little mile higher in the Country just as Leith in Scotland is the Port to Edenbugh and Topsham in England to Exeter And this too was afterward the Lundenwic or Port to which all such as traded either to London from forreign parts or from London into forreign parts had their chief resort bb And yet we must not deny but that Sandwich is an ancient Town tho' daughter to these it being mention'd †Ibid. p. 15. says Somner in one of the Chartularies of the Church of Canterbury in the year 979. But the ‖ Chron. Sax. Saxon Chronicle tells us that above a hundred years before Aethelstan King of Kent and a certain Duke call'd Ealcher overthrew the Danes in a Sea-fight at dondpic in Kent from which time it grew greater and greater upon the decay of Richborough and Stonar till the days of Edward the Confessor when at the first institution of the Cinque Ports which now are it was thought fitter to be esteem'd one of the five than Stonar then was Since when it has still retain'd that title being the second port in order and has always been esteem'd a Town of trade and repute which of late has been increas'd by affording an honourable title to that great Seaman Edward Mountague Esq who having gotten the sole Command of the English Fleet in the late Usurpation with singular prudence so wrought upon the Seamen that they peaceably deliver'd up the whole Fleet to King Charles 2. for which signal service he was July 12. 12 Car. 2. advanc'd to the honours of Lord Mountague of S. Neots Viscount Hinchingbrook and Earl of Sandwich who dying at Sea 28 May 1672. was succeeded in his honours by his eldest son Edward who is now Earl of Sandwich cc. Next is Dover Dover where some part of the Pharus or Lighthouse which stood on the hill over against the Castle is yet remaining now vulgarly call'd Bredenstone Here the Lord Wardens of the Cinque Ports since Shipway has been antiquated have been of late sworn and indeed most of the other business relating to the Ports in general is done here Here are all the Courts kept and from hence is the most frequent passage out of England into France which has render'd it famous throughout the world and the more by having given of late the title of Earl to the right honourable Henry Lord Hunsdon Viscount Rochfort †Dugd Bar. vol. 2. p. 398. who on the 8th of March 3 Car. 1. was advanced to the title of Earl of Dover He dying about the year 1666. was succeeded by his son John who dying the year following without issue male this title lay extinguish'd till it was revived again by King James in the person of the honourable Hen. Jermin Esq Nephew to the right honourable Henry Earl of St. Albans who was created Baron of Dover May 13. 1685. 2 Jac. 2. dd Southwestward from hence on the same shore lies the town of Hithe and not far from it a most noble antiquity now call'd Stutfall Castle which no question was the ancient Portus Lemanis for very good reasons brought by our Author though †Ports and Forts p. 38. Mr. Somner alledges the contrary He allows it indeed to have been a Roman Fort but by no means the old Portus Lemanis that lying according to all the Copies of the Itinerary 16 miles from Canterbury whereas Stutfall is but 14 about the same distance says he that Dover is from it wherefore he rather supposes that there was a mistake in the Librarians in setting a V for an X and that the distance indeed should have been XXI which sets it about Romney the place he would have to be the true Portus Lemanis But this conjecture puts it more out of distance than before and 't is a much easier mistake in the Librarians to transpose a V and an I which sets it in true distance again according to Mr. Somner himself viz. at XIV and no more Or to admit of no mistake in the Librarians at all if we set Lyme as ‖ Ibid. p. 37. our Author says at the same distance from Canterbury that Dover is which is 15 miles and the lower side of Stutfall Castle where the port must be near a mile below Lyme as really it is and allowing too that the Roman miles are somewhat less than the English we shall bring it again in true distance at XVI miles without carrying it to Romney which in all probability in those days lay under water at least in Spring-tides or if not so the Marsh certainly did 'twixt Stutfall and Romney which they could never pass nor did they ever attempt it for we find the Roman way ends here as 't was necessary it should since it could not well be carry'd on further thro' a Marsh or rather sea 8 miles together for so far 't is hence to the town of Romney ddd West whereof at about 8 miles more distance stands the town of Apledore upon a rising ground which in the time of the Saxons An. 894. stood at the mouth of the river Limene as their * An. 894. Chronicle tells us whence 't is plain that Romney or at least Walland-Marsh was then all a sea for we never put the mouth of a river but at it's entrance into the sea now if the sea came so lately as An. 894. to the town of Apledore in all probability 500 years before in the Romans time it might come as far as Newenden where Mr. Selden and our Author have placed the City and Castle of Anderida erected here by the Romans to repell the Saxon rovers the sea here in all ages having retired by degrees I know
the liver and spleen and the late Dr. Owen assured me that he found relief from it in the acutest fits of the stone Upon the death of William Herbert Earls continued the last Earl mention'd by our Author the honour of Earl of Pembroke descended to Philip Herbert who was also Earl of Montgomery and was succeeded by Philip his son After whose death William his son and heir succeeded and upon his death Philip Herbert half-brother to the last William At present Thomas of the same name enjoys the titles of Earl of Pembroke and Montgomery CARDIGANSHIRE THE shores being obliquely driven back towards the east from Octopitarum or St. David's promontory receive the sea into a vast bay much of the form of a half-moon on which lies the third Region of the Dimetae call'd by the English Cardiganshire in British Sir Aber Teivi and by Latin Writers Ceretica If any suppose it denominated from King Caratacus â—â—â—g Caraâ—â—â—â—â— his conjecture may seem to proceed rather from a fond opinion of his own than any authority of the Ancients And yet we read that the same renowned Prince Caratacus rul'd in these parts On the west towards the sea it is a champain country as also to the south where the river Teivi divides it from Caer-Mardhin-Shire But towards the east and north where it borders on Brecknock and Montgomeryshire there is a continued ridge of mountains but such as afford good pasturage for sheep and cattel in the valleys whereof are spread several lakes or natural ponds That this country was peopl'd formerly not with cities but small cottages may be gathered from that saying of their Prince Caratacus who when he was a captive at Rome having view'd the splendour and magnificence of that city said â—â—â—â—ras Seeing you have these and such like noble structures why do you covet our small cottages a However let us take a slight view of such places as are of any noted Antiquity 〈…〉 â—â—â—er 〈◊〉 The river Teivi call'd by Ptolemy Tuerobius corruptly for Dwr Teivi which signifies the Teivi water springs out of the lake Lhyn Teivi under the mountains already mention'd At first 't is retarded by the rocks and rumbling amongst the stones without any chanel takes its course through a very stony country near which the Mountaneers have at Ros a very great Fair 〈◊〉 Fâ—ir for cattel to Stratfleur â—â—râ—â—â—r â—â—â—a fâ—oâ—â— a Monastery heretofore of the Cluniack Monks encompass'd on all sides with high mountains From hence being receiv'd into a chanel it runs by Tre ' Gâron â—â—e ' Gââ—â—n 〈◊〉 Pheâ—â—â—â—â— and by Lhan Dhewi Brêvi a Church dedicated to the memory of St. David Bishop of Menevia and thence denominated Where in a full Synod he confuted the Pelagian heresie at that time reviving in Britain and that not only out of sacred Scripture but likewise by miracle for 't is reported that the ground on which he stood preaching mounted up to a hillock under his feet b Thus far and farther yet the river Teivi runs southward to Lhà n-Bedr â—â—â—â—-Bedr a small market-town From whence directing it's course to the west it makes a broader chanel and falling over a steep precipice a near Kil-Garan â—â—â—-Garan makes that Salmon-Leap I have already mention'd in Penbrokeshire For this river abounds with Salmon and was formerly the only river in Britain as Giraldus supposed that bred Beavers â—â—â—vers A Beaver is an amphibious animal having it's fore-feet like a dog's but footed behind like a goose of a dark gray colour and having an oblong flat cartilagineous tail which in swimming it makes use of to steer it's course Giraldus makes several remarks upon the subtilty of this creature but at this time there are none of them found here c Scarce two miles from this Kîl-Gâran lies Cardigan Cardigan call'd by the Britains Aber Teivi i.e. Teivi-mouth the chief town of this County fortified by Gilbert the son of Richard Clare but being afterwards treasonably surrender'd it was laid waste by RhÅ·s ap Gryffydh and the Governour Robert Fitz-Stephen Fitz Steven whom some call Stephanides taken prisoner who after he had remain'd a long time at the devotion of the offended Welsh for his life was at length releas'd but compell'd to resign into their hands all his possessions in Wales Whereupon he made a descent into Ireland though with a small army yet very successfully and was the first of the Normans who by his valour made way for the English-Conquest of that Kingdom From the mouth of Teivi the shore gradually retiring is wash'd by several rivulets Amongst them that which Ptolemy calls Stuccia Stuccia or the river Ystwyth at the upper end of the County deserves our notice the name whereof is still preserv'd by the common people who call it Ystwyth Near the source of this river there are Lead-mines d and where it is discharged into the sea is the most populous town of this whole County call'd Aber-Ystwyth which was also fortified with walls by the above-mention'd Gilbert Clare and defended a long time by Walter Beck an Englishman against the Welsh Not far from hence lies Lhan-Bà darn-Vawr i.e. Great St. Patern's who as we read in his life was an Armorican and govern'd the Church here by feeding and fed it by governing To whose memory a Church and Bishop's See was here consecrated but the Bishoprick as Roger Hoveden writes fell to decay long since for that the people had most barbarously slain their Pastor At the same place the river Rheidiol Rheidiol also casts it self into the Ocean having taken it's course from that very high and steep hill Plin-Lhymmon which terminates the north part of the County and pours forth besides this those two noble rivers we have already mention'd Severn and Wye Not very far from Aber-Å·stwyth the river DÅ·vy the boundary betwixt this County and Merionydhshire is also discharg'd into the Ocean The Normans had scarce setled their conquest in Britain when they assail'd this coast with a navy and that with good success For in the time of William Rufus they wrested the sea coasts by degrees out of the Welshmen's hands but granted most part of it to Kadŵgan ap Blèdhyn a most prudent Britain Lords of Cardigan a person of great interest throughout Wales and at the same time in much favour with the English But This Salmon-Leap is not at Kil-Garan but between Kennarth and Lhan Dugwydh his son Owen proving a rash young man and a hater of Peace and annoying the English and Flemmings who had lately settled there with continual excursions the unhappy father was depriv'd of his Inheritance and forced to suffer for the offences of his son who was also himself constrain'd to leave his native Country and to flee into Ireland King Henry the first granted this County of Cardigan to Gilbert Clare who planted Garisons therein and fortified several Castles But Kadŵgan with his son Owen being
afterwards receiv'd into favour by the English had all his Lands restored to him Notwithstanding this Owen returning again to his old Biass and raising new Troubles was slain by Girald of Penbroke whose wife Nesta he had carried away His father being carried prisoner into England expected for a long time a better change of Fortune and being at last in his old age restored to his own was unexpectedly and on a sudden stab'd by his nephew Madok After that Roger de Clare receiv'd Cardiganshire by the munificence of King Henry the second but Richard Earl of Clare his son if I mistake not being slain whilst he was coming hither by land RhÅ·s Prince of South-Wales having with his victorious Army made a great slaughter of the English reduc'd it at last under his subjection However it fell afterwards by degrees without any blood-shed into the hands of the English It contains 64 Parish-Churches ADDITIONS to CARDIGANSHIRE a THat this Country was subject to King Caractacus seems not evident from any place in Tacitus or other Author For we find no mention of the names of those Countries under his Dominion unless we may presume the Silures his Subjects from these words of Tacitus Annal. Lib. XII Itum inde in Siluras super propriam ferociam Caractaci viribus confisos quem multa ambigua multa prospera extulerant ut caeteros Britannorum Imperatores praemineret c. Moreover tho' we should grant him to have been King of the Dimetae yet such as aâ—e concern'd for the ancient reputation of this Countâ—y may fairly urge that tho' they accept of the authority of Zonaras who liv'd a thousand years after yet nothing can be collected from that speech of Caractacus that may prove this Countâ—y to have been more poorly inhabited in those times than other Provinces seeing he only speaks in general of the Countries in his Dominion and that we find by his speech in Tacitus that he was plurium Gentium Imperator Prince or Soveraign of many Countries MS. of Mr. R. Vaughan of Hengwit b The Synod for suppression of the Pelagian Heresie was held about the year 522. For we find in some British Records that St. Dubricius Arch-bishop of Caer-Lheion having assisted at the Synod and resign'd his Bishoprick to St. David betook himself that year together with most of the Clergy that had conven'd on that occasion to a Monastery at Ynys Enlhi * Bardsey Island where being free from the noise of the world they might with less interruption devote the remainder of their lives to God's service Of this retirement of St. Dubricius and his followers mention is made also by an eminent Poet †Aâ—â—â— Gatrâ—â— aâ—â—â— Gwâ—â—druâ—â—â— Mycâ—â—â—â— Bâ—irdh Ancâ—â—â—â— Satyrâ—â— King oâ— Bards of that age in these words Pan oedh Saint Senedh Bhrevi Drwy arch y prophwydi Ar ôl gwiw bregeth Dewi Yn myned i Ynys Enlhi c. At this Church of Lhan Dhewi Brevi I observ'd an ancient Inscription on a Tomb-stone which is doubtless remov'd from the place where 't was first laid it being plac'd now above the Chancel door but the Mason that laid it there had so little regard to the Inscription that two or three words are hid in the wall which renders the Epitaph not wholly intelligible However it may not perhaps be amiss if we take notice of what remains of it in sight seeing it 's probably such an Epitaph as might become that martyr'd Bishop of Lhan-Badarn who as Giraldus informs us was barbarously murder'd by some profane Wretches of his Diocese For I am apt to conjecture it may bear this sense Hic jacet Idnert alià s Idnerth filius I ....... qui occisus fuit propter Pietatem Sanctitatem But I had rather such as have opportunity of doing it would satisfie their curiosity by causing some stones under it to be remov'd and so reading the whole Inscription than that they should rely on my conjecture There is also another old Inscription on a Stone erected by the Church door on the out-side which seems as well as some others on Crosses to consist wholly of Abbreviations What it may import I shall not pretend to explain but shall add nevertheless a Copy of it leaving the signification to the Reader 's conjecture The Sexton of this place shew'd me a Rarity by the name of Matkorn yr Å·ch bannog or Matkorn Å·ch Dewi which he told me had been preserv'd there ever since the time of St. David adding the fabulous tradition of the Oxen call'd Ychen bannog which I shall not trouble the Reader with as being no news to such as live in Wales nor material information to others This Matkorn however seem'd to me a very remarkable curiosity For if it be not really as the name implies the interiour horn of an Ox it very much resembles it and yet is so weighty that it seem'd absolutely petrified It 's full of large cells or holes and the circumference of it at the root is about 17 inches Whilst I was copying the Inscriptions above-mention'd a Country-man told me there was another at a house call'd Lhannio îsav in this parish distant about a mile from the Church Being come thither I found these two Inscriptions and was inform'd that several others had been discover'd by digging but that the stones were applied to some uses and the Inscriptions not regarded The first I read Caij Artij Manibus aut fortè memoriae Ennius Primus Another Roman Epitaph circumscrib'd with lines in the same manner as this is may be seen in Reinesius Synt. Inscr Cl. 3. LXIV The letter C. revers'd as in the first place of this Inscription denotes frequently Caia but sometimes also Caius as may be seen in the same Author p. 722. C SEMPRONIO c. This note or character C added to the first fifth sixth and last letters is sometimes observ'd in other Roman Inscriptions ‖ 〈…〉 As for the second letter of this Inscription we have frequent examples on stones and coyns of that form of the letter A. In Reinesius p. 3. we find this Inscription HERCVLI L. ARTIVS c. which that learned Critick directs us to read Herculi Lartius but seeing we find here also the name of Artius peradventure that correction was superfluous Besides Roman Inscriptions they find here some times their coyns and frequently dig up bricks and large free-stone neatly wrought The place where these Antiquities are found is call'd Kae'r Kestilh which signifies Castle-Field or to speak more distinctly the Field of Castles tho' at present there remains not above ground the least sign of any building nor were there any for what I could learn within the memory of any person now living in the neighbourhood or of their Fathers or Grandfathers However seeing it is thus call'd and that it affords also such manifest tokens of its being once inhabited by the Romans we have little or no reason to doubt but that they had a Fort or Garison if not a considerable Town