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PARIS, MARSEILLES, CANNES, N ICE, MONTE CARLO , GENOA,PISA, ROME, NAPLES, VESUVIUS, POMPEII , LA CAVA, AMALFI ,SORRENTO,

CAPRI , FLORENCE, VEN ICE, M ILAN , THE ITALIANLAKES, LUCERNE, PARIS , ETC.

HOLY WEEK AND EASTER AT SEVILLEA SELECT CONDUCTED PARTY w ill leave London on

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Illustrated B ookletsNo . 2 No. 3 (“ ITAL free

THOS . COOK SONLUDGATE CIRCUS, LONDON , AND BRANCHES

FENTON AND SONS

1 1 NEW OXFORD STREET , LONDON

(Near Mudie’

s Library and the British Museum )

Have for sale a large Collection o f OLD ENGLISH and FOREIGNARMS and ARMOU R ; Weapons, Ornaments, etc., i llustratingSavage Life ; Egyptian, Greek, and Roman Antiqu ities ; Ant iqueChina, Pottery, Carved Oak , Metalwork, and Curiosities of all kinds .

Commissions at Auction Sales under taken.

ESTABLISHED 1880.

i i i

THE TOWNLETT SELFE OF WENDOVER

WITCHCRAFT IN THE EASTERN COUNTIES

SOME OLD SURREY ROADS

THE B IRTHPLACE OF SHELLEY

READING TO CHICHESTER

A PREHISTORIC CIVILIZATION ONTHEBANKS

OF THE THAMES

EARLY CHURCHES OF SOUTH ESSEX

THE LATER HISTORY OF LITTLE BERKHAM

STEADSTAR CHAMBER CASES,

NO. !

NOTES AND QUERIESREPLIESREVIEWS

NOTICES.

It is particularly reque sted that all communication s for the Ed itor b eaddre s sed to him by name at 5 , Stone Building s, Linco ln’s Inn, W.C.

All communications for the Publishers shoul d b e sent d irect to them.

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for sale , and certain B locks can al so b e purchased at moderate price s.

G. BELL SONS, LTD., YORK HOUSE,PORTUGAL ST. W.C.

iv

THE HOME COUNTIES MAGAZINE

VOL. XI I I

THE

HOME COUNTIESMAGAZINE

D evoted to ttie Topog raphy of London ,M ida’lesex

,

Essex,H erts

,B ucks

,B erks

,Surrey,

‘

Kent,and Sussex

EDITED BY W . PALEY BA ILDON ,

VOLUME X I I I . 19 I I

u7lo

9.

LONDON : G . BELL AND SONS ,LTD.

YORK HOUSE, PORTUGAL STREET, W.C.

SOME LONDON COFFEE—HOUSES.

BY C . EDGAR THOMAS.

I‘HE task Of selecting a few o f the very numerous OldLondon Co fi’ee -Houses fo r the purpose Of description inthis artic le , i s a difficu lt one indeed ; we would l ike to

w rite o f them all,but w ith the l im ited space at our disposal ,

that,alas , i s imposs ible. I t i s not necessary to trace at any

length the gradual grow th Of the coffee-drinking habit ; sufficeit to say that one Jacobs

,a Jew ,

was the first to establ isha coffee-house, at Oxford , in the year Of grace 1650.

A strik ing example Of the lack o f enterprise in thosedays is afforded by the fact that his example was not fol lowedunti l two years later, when a S imi lar establ ishment was set upin St . Michael ’s Alley , Cornhi l l , by Pasqua Rossee, this beingthe first coffee-house in the City Of London .

The new drink took some l ittle t ime to find favour w i th thepublic ; i t had to be tried, and its efficacy for the cure o f headaches and other i l l s— that had been claimed for it— proved . But

this once accompl ished,the coffee-houses quickly sprang into

favour,and by the time o f Charles I I they were to be found in

great numbers all over the metropol is . They soon began toexercise an influence on publ ic Opinion ; for men Of al l classesmet under their hospitable roofs for the discuss ion o f theirseveral trades and professions , and to cu ltivate a spi ri t o f

social intercourse.At fi rst they w ere dist inctly cosmopol itan in thei r fre

quente rs ; merchants , actors , lawyers , doctors , l iterary folk ,and even j udges and “ gentlemen Of the road

,

” are said tohave rubbed Shou lders there. Even the poorest

,by the expen

diture o f a penny or two -pence,the p rice Of a cup o f coffee

,

cou ld m ix w i th the company and enjoy the conversation . Aperson des iring to meet another at that time

,would not ask

where he l ived,but what coffee-house he frequented . I n later

years,however, they became qu ite distinct by conforming to

XIII I B

SOME LONDON COFFEE-HOUSES .

C0 0

the exclus ive use o f speCIfic classes ; thus , fo r instance, Wi l l 5’

became the resort o f the Whigs , “ the Chapter” catered fo r the

booksellers,Lloyd ’s fo r mercanti le folk , and i n l ike manner

others were devoted to lawyers , merchants , men Of letters ,med icoe s

,etc

.Many of them possessed reading and w ri ting

rooms,and it was qu ite a common thing fo r agencies fo r the

sale o f various goods to be started there. For more than a

hundred years the coffee-houses held sway, but in the courseo f time they slow ly decl ined , the better C lass houses becomingClubs , and the humbler ones— those that were not close dcontinued to exist as taverns .I t is proposed in the fol low ing pages to view some Of these

coffee-houses as they real ly were ; to record the many legendsassoc iated w ith them ,

and to make their frequenters l ive againin these fascinating rendezvous that have played so importanta part in the history o f our mighty London.

ST. JAMES’S COFFEE-HOUSE

The St. James ’s Coffee-house was the famou s Whig resortwhich held sway from the time o f Queen Anne to George I I I .I t was situated at the south -west corner o f St. James ’s Street,and being in close proximity to S t. James ’s Palace , was afavourite haunt o f the Guards. Sw ift was a great frequenter,having his letters addressed there ; those from Stel la being en

closed under cover to Addison,unti l the friendship cooled

between the two men,when they w ere sent direct. I n w riting

to Stel la, he says : I met Mr. Harley,and he asked me how

long I had learnt the trick Of w riting to myself. He had seenyour letter through the glass case at the coffee-house

,and

wou ld swear it was my hand.

”

I t would appear that the worthy Dean christened the chi ldo f Elliot, who kept the establishment at the beginn ing o f theeighteenth century, fo r in a letter to Stel la, dated November9 ,

17 10, he w ri tes : This evening I christened our coffee-manEll iot’s chi ld , when the rogue had a most noble supper, andSteele and I sat amongst some scurvey company over a bow l Ofpunch .

”

St. James ’s Coffee-house is memorable as being thescene where Goldsmith ’s celebrated poem , Retaliation ,

originated . He was one o f a smal l party o f w itty and talented men

,

who occasional ly dined there, and at these dinners i t was characterist ic o f him to be the last to arrive. On one occasion afancy seized the assembled company to compose epitaphs upon

2

SOME LONDON COFFEE-HOUSES .

the late-comer, which the majority Of them did ; one only however has been preserved . This was Garrick ’

s,who w rote :

Here l ie s poe t Go l d sm ith , for sho rtne s s cal le d No l l ,Who wro te like an ange l , but talked l ike a po l l.

Goldsmith,who was extremely sensitive, did not rel i sh the

satire,and i n revenge produced the poem which so gross ly

mal igned his friends. Steele is said to have w ritten some Of hislove- letters from this coffee-house to “ Dear Prue

,

” the beautifulMary Scurlo cke ,

who eventual ly became his w ife. Numerousstories cou ld be told o f curious happenings at the St. James ’s ,but space forbids us mentioning more than one or two .

One day a scene o f extraord inary violence was w itnessed .

Among the company in the coffee-house was a certain Baronde Lingsivy ,

who suddenly ran a Frenchman through the bodyw ith his sword . I t seems that the Baron had no apparent reason fo r his action

,save that he w i l led that the company

should be serious. Lord Carlyle, commenting on the incidentin a letter to a friend

,said : “ The man won ’t d ie

,and the

Baron w i l l not be hanged .

”

And again,one night a l ittle whi le after S teele had issued

the fi rst number Of Ttie Tatler , a few wel l-dressed men force dtheir way into the house , and abused and insulted Steele asthe author o f that journal . One Of them swore that he wouldteach him better manners

,or

,fai l ing that

, cut his throat.Lord Forbes and two army Officers happened to be present

,

and when the cut- throat had uttered his threat,one Of them

reminded him that I n this country yOu w i l l find it easier tocut a purse than a throat.” Eventual ly the desperadoes wereejected . A new patent O il lamp was hung outs ide the premisesin 1 709 , the inventor being one Michael Cole. The St. James ’sCoffee-house was closed in 1 806 ,

and a pile Of bu i ldings erectedon its site.

WHITE’

S COFFEE-HOUSE

At White ’s.In that b ow -w indow— scandal’s favourite seatThe inqui sition of St. Jame s’s Stre e t,Where bilious que stioners await the ir pre yAnd daw dling id le r s kil l the te d iou s day,Whe re w it

, and foo l , oel esp r it, and bore ,Toge ther congregate at half-past four.

WILLIAM, LORD ALVANLEY.White’s Club, S ituated on the west s ide Of St . James’s

Street, was original ly known as “White’s Chocolate House

,

”

SOME LONDON COFFEE-HOUSES .

which was 0 ned in I - some Chronicle the date as 1698on the site rifw occupigny Boodle

’s Club,by Francis White ,

Of whom l ittle is known . He saw that by catering fo r thearistocracy good business could be done, and his enterpriseand foresight were qu ickly rewarded and the establ ishmentsoon became one Of the most popu lar in London . I ndeed , sogreatly did it prosper, that in four years White had to seeklarger accommodation on the opposite S ide o f the street.Francis White died in 1 7 1 I , leaving a fortune o f an

his w idow ,ElizabethWhite, carried on the business unti l about

1 7 2 5 ; in 17 50 we read that John Arthur, who had formerlybeen White’s chief servant , became the owner. On Apri l 28 ,1 7 33 , a disastrous fire occurred , completely destroying the premises

,together w ith a fine col lection o f paintings , belonging

to S irAndrew Fountaine , and valued at The King andthe Prince o f Wales came from St. James ’s Palace to w i tnessthe conflagration,

and did their utmost to encourage the effortsOf the firemen . I n addition to ordering the Palace guard tokeep the popu lace back , they between them gave thi rty gu ineasto be distributed among the firemen .

Consequent on the fire, the chocolate-house then sought tempo rary premises at Gaunt

’s coffee-house near by,and returned

to its Old quarters directly the rebui lding was accomplished .

I t was at this period that the first step towards the formationo f what afterwards became the celebrated White’s Club tookp lace. Certain Of the more exclusive frequenters Of the coffeehouse, desiring to keep themselves aloof from the generalthrong, made arrangements to have a portion Of the premisesreserved fo r their own Special use. This was done

,and they

formed themselves into a club,which was confined to the period

when Parl iament was sitting. The rules provided that electionwas to be strictly by bal lot

, w ith a quorum Of twelve membe rs.A subscription Of one gu inea a year was enacted “ towardshavmg a good cook only members w ere to partake o f thesed inners or suppers , which were ordered to be on the tableby ten O

’

clock precisely, and the bil l was to be brought in onthe stroke Of midnight.From the club-book Of October

,1 7 36, we find that the Duke

o f Devonshire , the Earls Of Cholmondeley,Rockingham

,and

Chesterfield , S ir John Cope, Major-Gen . Churchil l,and Colley

C ibber, the actor and dramati st— said to be the only memberOf the profession admitted to White’s— were members . Contemporary wri ters record that Cibber was alw ays greeted on

4

SOME LONDON COFFEE-HOUSES .

his entrance w ith cries of Oh ,King Coll ,

” Come in , KingCol l

,

” and “Welcome, welcome, King Col ley.

Heidegger,a foreigner

,was another member, being con

nected w ith the theatres and fo r some time manager o f theHaymarket. He amassed a huge fortune by reviving masquerades

,w hich had gone ou t Of fashion since Charles II’s time,

White’s serving as the Office fo r the sale Of tickets. GreatOpposition was expressed towards this form Of entertainment,especial ly by the bishops , but a B i l l brought before Parl iamentto suppress them was ignomi'niously thrown o ut.

John Arthur was succeeded in the management o f theCoffee-house by his son , Robert Arthur. The membership atthis period total l ed eighty-two , and the slow process o f election ,together w ith other c ircumstances , i nduced some membersand intending members to form a separate C lub

,which they

did,distingui shing it from the origina l by giving it the title

TheNew Club atWhite’s.” The members were drawn principal ly from the younger generation

,and

,i n time

,membership

o f this new body came to be looked upon as a probation forthe O lder c lub. Others who eventual ly became membe rs w ereWi l l iam Pitt

,afterwards Earl Of Chatham , S ir R. Walpole

,

George Selwyn the dramatist, Lord Temple , Richard Granvi l le,George Grenvi l le the naval secretary

, Sir George (afterwardsLord) Vincent, the third Earl o f Albemarle, who capturedHavannah , whi le in 1762 Robert Cl ive became a member, somel ittle time after his decisive victory o f Plassey.

Charles J ames Fox belonged to both clubs,chiefly ow ing to

the influence Of his father,Lord Hol land , an original member

of the Old club.

I ncreasing membership compelled Arthur to seek betteraccommodation , and he removed to the house in S t. James ’sStreet , belonging to Sir Whistler Webster, which i s sti l l thehome Of the present White ’s Club. Before this the club hadgained an unp leasant notoriety fo r gambl ing. Walpole statesthat the Earl Of Chesterfield was a great player there ; and

Sw ift says that Walpole, Earl o f O rford , never passed thepremises w ithout bestow ing a curse upon it as the bane o f halfthe Engl ish nobi l ity. Lord Littleton

, w ri ting to Dr. Doddridgein 1 7 50, says :

“ The Dryads o f Hagley are at present prettysecure

,but I tremble to think that the rattl ing Of a dice box

at White’s may one day or other ( i f my son shou ld be a'mem

ber o f that noble academy) shake dow n al l our fine oaks . I ti s dreadful to see

,not only there

,but almost in every house In

SOME LONDON COFFEE-HOUSES .

town ,what devastations are made by that destructive fury,

1 zs . per head— reduced in 1 797 to 10s. 6a’.—whi le hot suppers

were 8s. per head ; also, “ that every member who p lays at

chess , draughts , or backgammon ,do pay one shi l l ing each time

o f playing by day , and half-a-crown each by candlel ight. The

two c lubs were amalgamated in 1 7 8 1 , and the subscription was

raised to ten guineas.The anecdotes Of White’s wou ld fi l l a good-sized volume.

I t was here that Lord Cobham was made to apologize to LordBristol , for having spat in that worthy lord

’s hat at a fashion

aspe cial book being kept fo r the entering o f these wagers .

Curious, indeed , i s this entry : Lord Mountford bets S ir JohnB land 20 gu ineas that Nash outl ives Cibbe r,

”fo r both Nash

and Cibber l ived to see the two w agerers put an end to theirown l ives. Mountford wou ld, however , have w on the bet ,Cibber dying at a very advanced age in 1 7 5 7 , and Nash fouryears later. Sir John B land blew his brains out in 17 57 , havinglost his fortune at hazard ; Mountford also came to a tragicend

.Fearing to be reduced to distress , through his love Of

play, he app l ied fo r a government appointment, and determinedthat the reply shou ld be a matter o f l ife or death. The answerwas unfavourable, and his subsequent procedure show s thecool nature o f the man . He consu l ted several people on thebest and easiest way Of ending life, i nvited his friends to a

d inner party the fol low ing day at White ’s , and then playedunti l ten O

’clock the follow ing morning. Sending fo r a lawyerand W itnesses , he executed his w i l l , making a point Of askingthe lawyer if i t w ou ld hold good if a man shot himself. Beingassured that i t would , he requested them to wai t a momentwh i le he stepped into the next room . He did so, promptlyending his l ife w ith a pistol .Horace Walpole records that Fox did not Shine in the

debate on the Thirty-nine Articles in the House Of Commons ,February 6, 1 7 7 2 , because he had been p laying from Tuesdayeven ing the 4th instant, unti l five O

’clock in the evening o f

Wednesday the sth . At the finish his losses amounted toyet an hour before he had recovered I On

6

SOME LONDON COFFEE-HOUSES.

the Thursday he spoke in the debate, then repaired toWhite’s

,

where he stayed drink ing unti l 7 O’clock next morning. From

there he went to another gambling saloon , losing and

i n the afternoon set out for Newmarke t.

After the removal o f the Club to larger premises , Arthurretired and was succeeded by his son -in-law , Robert Mackre th .

He enj oyed a rather shady reputation , being concerned inmany questionable money transactions ; b ut he afterwardsaspired to the dignity o f an M.P .

,and it i s said that S ir Robert

Walpole used his influence in this matter,in return fo r a con

side rable loan. I n later l ife he was knighted , dying a rich manat the advanced age o f 94, sti l l possessed o f the freehold Of

White’s, together w i th other considerable p roperty. I n 1 7 70,

a person us ing the pseudonym Cherubim assumed control,

to be replaced abou t 17 84 by one John Mart indale. I n 1 8 12 aMr. Ragge tt was the proprietor. I n 1 798 the celebrated BeauB rummel became a member, whose w it and fascinating personality were much appreciated . Play was his ruin ; he is saidto have lost at one sitting. Contracting debts that hecould not hope to pay, he fled the country

,ultimately dying

in a Calais lunatic asylum in 1 840. The Club underwentstructural improvements from time to time, and, in 1 8 5 1 , fourbas-rel iefs

,representative Of the four seasons

, were set up inthe front Of the house, the interior at the same time undergoing repai r and redecoration .

Hogarth has immortal izedWhite’s in Plate VI o fhis Rake’sProgress

,

”which show s a room Of the club during the fi re Of

1 7 33 , w ith the gamblers p laying on quite regardless o f thei rdanger. From the reign o f George I I I the notoriety o f White’sas a gambl ing den began rapidly to decl ine. The strict ordero f the new monarch’s l ife

,and the example set by the new

Court , was soon generally fol lowed . The drunken orgies andfierce play ceased to be, andWhite

’s gradual ly became a meeting place fo r serious men o f affai rs .

WILL’

S COFFEE-HOUSE

Wi l l ’s was one o f the most famous coffee-houses o f i ts time,

but the date o f i ts open ing is unknown . I t was kept byW i l l iam Urw i n

,and achieved fame as an open market fo r

l ibels . The fi rst mention Of the establ ishment is made bythat famous old goss ip , Pepys , in hi s D iary under Fee ary 3 ,1664 :

“ I n Covent Garden tonight, going to fetch home myw ife, I stopped at the great coffee-house, where I never was

SOME LONDON COFFEE-HOUSES .

Dryden sat here each evening throughout the year for forty

years or more, d iscussmg poetry w ith the customers and

utes that might arise m the arguments ; his

found a plump taciturn man,w i th a fresh colour, and a dou r

look.I n after years Pope became a regu lar customer, fi rmly

believing the magic drink o f coffee to be a cure fo r achingheads.Dryden is generally said to have been return ing fromW i l l

’

sto his house in Gerard Street when he was cudgel led by threeruffians hired by the Earl o f Rochester, in the w inter o f 1679 .

Rochester was provoked to this assau l t by the publ ication o f

an essay o f Dryden’s , in which the poet had made scathingreferences to him ,

exposing him to ridicu le as a poet, w it, andrake .

Dryden’s name has also been recorded in connectionw ith another affai r. I t wou ld appear that two very greatfriends, Sir Henry Bellasses, and one Tom Porter, w ere d in ingtogether at Wi l l ’s, and S ir Henry, in giving his friend someadvice, spoke rather loudly ,

causing others to think they w erequarrel ling.

Turning round , the baronet said :“ I wou ld have

you know that I never quarrel , but I strike, and take that asa rule o fmine.

” How,said Porter, “ strike ! I wou ld I cou ld

see the man in England,who durst give me a blow .

” At that ,Bellasses soundly boxed his ears , and had they not beenseparated they wou ld have fought there and then . Going out,

Porter me t Dryden,told him about the quarrel , and that he

was resolved to fight S ir Henry immediately, because if thematter were al lowed to wai t

,they w ou ld qu ickly become

friends again . A little while after, Porter passed his adversary’s

coach and,Stopp ing it, promptly bade him descend . They

drew swords, and both weregrounded

,S ir Henry the more

SOME EAST KENT PARISH HISTORY.

tion; and further that the peop le do not come to the church

as they ought to do upon the Sabbath days — (Vol. 1 566

1 569. (Abp. Parker’s Visitat ion .)Rectory — Impropriator, the Abp. o f Canterbury.

Vicar z— Dom . Henry Wood , who i s married and residesthere

,he has also the Rectory o f Eastbridge in Lympne

Deanery ; he is hosp itable according to his means ; not apreacher nor l icensed to preach, not a graduate.

Householders , 26.

Communicants , 95 .— (Fol .

That they have not the Paraphrase Of Erasmus .The Divine- service is said in the church , because the quie r

is in such decay that i t cannot be said there for the rain.

(Vol.

1 57 1 . We do present that o ur chance] i s in so great decaythat our Vicar can say no service in i t, nor hath not done thistwelve-month.

Our church-yard is in great decay for lack o f repai ring , andwant o f hedging — (Fol .Mr. Hannington and his w ife and some part of his house

hold have not received the Holy Communion at Easter last,

nor doth come to the church all the year long.

The Vicar’s w ife fo r that she hath not received at Easterlast— (Fol . 48 ; vol. 167 1

1 57 8 . That Mr. Captain Bai l ey doth not come to his pari shchurch according to his duty.

— (Fol . 6 ; vol . I 5 7 7 -8

1 5 80. S ee under Badlesmere,vol . Vll, p. 2 1 2.

1 5 86. The chancel is in decay in ty ling , and in the beamfal l ing, in the defaul t o fWi l l iam Hannington the elder

,gentle

man,farmer o f the parsonage — (Fol .

1 589. Our Vicarage-house and the hedges be gone greatlyto

O

decay by the means Of Mr. Hutton,and the parish unserved

this month , whereby we desire to be better served,and to have

order fo r the repai ring o f the vicara e and mendin o f thehedges— (Fol .

g g

I 590. We say that by the space of this half year past,we

IO

SOME EAST KENT PARISH HISTORY.

have had no minister that hath said service every Sunday andHoly-day.

That our V icarage-house is very much at reparations.(Fol .

1 59 1 . John Alde rstone , being Vicar o f Hougham [ 1 590hath so i l l provided fo r the service o f the cure and adm inis

tration Of the sacraments , that one Dowker, being a mere layman and altogether unl icensed, was by him appointed to servethere

,and amongst other services did presume to baptise

the chi ld o f one Mommery o f the parish o f Hougham .

(Fol .

1 592. We , the Churchw ardens and S idesmen o f Hougham ,

do present Edmund Halton , w eaver, who taketh upon him toexpound the scripture and to Christen chi ld ren

,having no

authority fo r the same, and being forbidden by the churchwardens and S idesmen divers and sundry times . —(Fol .Mr. Finnes Of Hougham ,

fo r that he denieth to pay his cessmoney towards the providing Of necessaries unto the sameparish

,viz .

—a B ible,a service-book

,a Communion cup , table

cloth,e tC.,

cessed at 441. the acre, tw enty Shi l l ings . —(Fol .Mr. Henry Amy, fo r that at Easter late past, nor S ince, w e

have had no Communion in our parish .

2 . We present him further fo r that these two Sundays lastpast

,nor yesterday

,being May Day (as they cal l i t) , w e had

no service in our parish church .

3 . Our Minister is not resident, neither doth he catechiseevery second Sunday, as i s requ i red, nor yet wear the surpl ice,and also sometimes in saying Divine- service he om itte th and

readeth no t part thereof, as upon Palm Sunday he neither readthe Gospel nor Epistle

,as he Shou ld have done — (Fol . 168 ;

vo l. 1 5 85 -92 , partAl l these hereunder named dwel l in o ur parish o f Hougham ,

but have not resorted to church,notw ithstanding Open ad

monition in our Church hath been given by the Minister,

viz. :—Mr. Humfrey Mede, George B ing , John Kenton , HenryTidd iman

,Alexander Tiddiman

,John Cook

,Arnold Dawes

,

Thomas Ovill, Nicholas Flinteson,Alexander White, Richard

Carter,Derrick Garrett, James Ro uthe r, John Goldeston,

Richard Wenlock , John Matthew s, W i l l iam Country ,

'

JOhnKirton , John Hallo cke , Arthur Panther, John B ragg, S imonCarter

, Casby ,a mariner.— (Fol. 1

1 1

SOME EAST KENT PARISH HISTORY.

1 596.The churchyard is not sufl

'

iciently fenced. The churchand chancel are in many places untiled and unglased . Thebuttresses o f the church are greatly decayed and the stonesthereof in many places fal len down .

That Master Amy, Minister o f Hougham , doth not res ideon his b enefice , nor keepeth hospital ity. That he preachethw ithout l icense. That he l iveth by usury or putting out muchof his money to usury.

On the last day o f January, 1 597 , when he appeared inCourt, he said that he dwel leth in the V icarage-house, and hathdone these four years , and keepeth hospital i ty according tothe value o f the l iving. That he never put out any of hismoney to usury.

— (Fol . 64 ; vol. 1 58 5 -92, part 2 , 1 593

1607 . George Hambrook the younger, fo r that he mowedoats on two several Sabbath Days in the harvest time lastpast, viz ., 30 August and 6 September. —(Fol . 1That o ur Minister doth not wear the surpl ice, as is requ i red ,

in publ ic prayers,but only when he baptised chi ldren and

administered the Communion .

Our Minister doth not instruct the youth of our parish sooften as is requ ired by reason that they w i l l not so Often repairunto him.

That our parish-clerk (King) i s Of age suflicient, but he canneither w rite nor read.

—(Fol. 1

1609. Richard Burden o f our parish, for carrying or causingto be carried wood out o f a wood to his own [place] two orthree times on May

-day last.On June 12

,when Burden appeared in Court, he stated

That there being a piece o f land in Hougham in controve rseybetween him and one Mr. Engham ,

from which the saidMr. Engham had fel led wood

,and he upon the day detected

caused his son , John Burden , and one Richard S tandford andRobert Turrall, his servants , w ith his horses and w aggon andw ith another waggon

,to fetch w ood from that piece Of land

to his own house, which he did only fo r the preservation o f

his title in that piece o f land — (Fol .George Hambrook

,fo r suffering his waggon or cart to help

carry the wood upon the same day.-(Fol . 1 7 8 vol. 1602

16 18. Richard Burden , for that he on a Sabbath Daybetween M idsummer day and August last past

,immediately

1 2

SOME EAST KENT PARISH HISTORY.

after sermon,did rai l at an honest gentleman , Mr. Thomas

Fineux,and did say that he was a Cosen cheat]. He

began this unmane rly speech in the chancel , and continued itunti l he came out o f the church , to the great dishonour anddisparagement o f that honest gentleman, and the Offence o f theparishioners — (Fol . 1 7George Hambrook

,fo r that he usual ly keepeth his cattle

upon the Sabbath Day in the time Of divine service and sermon

,and cometh not to church at al l ; and official ly I present

him and Richard Burden,fo r. that they on Sunday the 22nd

November last past,came unto the church sti le in the time o f

Divine Service and sermon , and so went their way and camenot into the Church at al l

,to the dishonour Of God and con

tempt o f his word , and evi l example Of thei r neighbours.(Fol . 1 76 ; vol . 1609

16 19. That the church of Hougham,the Church-porch

,

steeple, leads, w indow s, and paving o f the same chu rch,and

also the churchyard and fence thereunto belonging,i s very

much decayed , and is very much in want o f reparation , andl ike in Short time for w ant o f due repai ring to be utterly ru inated.

-(Fol .

1622 . Richard Burden and his w ife,for their malitiousness

,

contentions , uncharitableness , their rai l ing, scolding, and scorning of divers amongst thei r neighbours — (Fol.

1624 Thomas Norman and his w ife, w idow Christian and

her son , Robert Liddon and his w ife, fo r not receiving theHoly Communion in our parish chu rch at Easter last

,they

dwel l ing in our parish of Hougham,as the common fame is in

our parish , and we usual ly fetch in their several houses in goingthe perambu lation o f the ci rcu it and bounds of our parish , andso have the parishioners o f the same parish used to fetch inthe same houses, or the ground whereon they stand , fo r thesemany years

,as is now commonly reported in the parish Of

Hougham .-(Fol . 8 3 ; vol. 16 19

163 5 . We present Edward Hi l l s,Thomas Giles

,Robert

Bennett, Richard Goddin , and Thomas B rockman,for not

coming to their parish church Of Hougham,there to hear

Divine Service and sermons , and to receive the Holy ComI 3

SOME EAST KENT PARISH HISTORY.

munion

,as by the law they ought to do.

— (Fol . 22 ; vol. 1 5851636, part

1 569. (Archbishop Parker’s Visitation .)

Recto ry z— Impropriator, the Abp. o f Canterbury. Vi carage

in his patronage.Vicar :— Dom.

Richard Phontayne ,who 15 married and re

sides there, has also the Vicarage o f Ewel l , and Vicarage o f

River,in the same Deanery ; he is hospitable as far as he is

able, not a preacher, nor a graduate.

Householders , 8 .

Communicants, 20.— (Fol .

That one Wi l l iam Bey ton and his household do work uponthe Holy-days .The chancel is not furnished as i t ought to be.That the Parson o f Lydden w i l l not al low 6s. 8a

’

. towardsthe Paraphrase o f Erasmus — (Vol .

1 57 1 . We do present Roger Dugdale, farmer of the parsonage Of Lydden , [that the Chancel] i s out o f reparations , bothabove head as not being water-tight , as underfoot not beingeven

,but ful l o f holes , unseemly to beholders ; and although

the same hath been heretofore al ready presented,yet w e find

no redress or reform therein .—(Fol .

That the Vicarage-house and other houses thereto belonging,

be in such ru in and decay for lack o f repairing.- (Fol .

1 5 7 2 . That the chancel o f Lydden is unpaved and l ike tofal l

,if speedy redress be not had

,because the same hath often

been presented and yet unreformed.— (Vol . 1 5 7 1

1 5 76. We present the w ife Of Thomas Marshal l,presented

fo r a w itch.

The glass w indow s of our chancel lacketh reparation,also

the pews .— (Fol . I 7 3 ; vol. 1 5 74

1 5 7 8 . We lack a cover to our Communion -cup , and a decentcloth to lay on our Communion Table.

-(Fol . 2

1 579. John Stooke , fo r that he w i l l not pay 6s. which hewas cessed at to the reparations o f Ewel l Church, being a greatowner in the said parish o f Ewel l . —(Fol.

I4

SOME EAST KENT PARISH HISTORY.

1 5 80. See unde r Badlesmere, vol . VII, p. 2 1 2 .

1 582. Our V icarage-house is ru inous.The chancel almost utterly decayed for lack o f reparations.

— (Fol. 92 ; vol. 1 5 7 7

1 5 88 . We present our chancel fo r lack Of reparation in thewal ls , the roof lacks tile ing , the glass w indow s broken , the seatsin the chancel greatly decayed and broken — (Fol .

1 590. Our chancel being not repai red by Mr. ThomasMonings, Parson o f Lydden — (Fol.

1 593 . We present Mr. Saunders , our Vicar [ 1 5 83 fo r

that upon Sunday next before May-day, upon the Sundaynext after May-day , neither upon May

-day last , nor yet onthe third Sunday after, w e had no service in our parish, neitherMorning nor Evening Prayer.2 . Our Vi carage-house is greatly ou t of reparations.3 . Our Minister doth not catechise so often as is requ ired .

—(Fol . 1 7 2 ; vol. 1 5 8 5That the w indows o f the Chancel wanteth glaze ing and are

greatly out o f reparations , and the said chancel wanteth tile ing ,

and l ikew ise the church . The churchyard also is not suffi cientlyfenced and enclosed

,so that the sw ine and hoggs come therein

,

and root and dig up the graves and make great spoi l ; andfurther there is a cove or part o f a certain house bu i l t someeight or n ine foot into the Church-yard there w i thout the consent o f the parishioners or any part thereof— (Fol .

1 594. Our chancel wanteth reparation , some o f the glassw indow s are broken dow n and decayed .

Our V icarage-house,by reason o f the late w ind , i s i n some

part thereof uncovered and unthatched .— (Fol. 24 ; vol . 1 592

1604. Edward Parker, Vicar Of Lydden , for causing to beset up or bu i lding a stable in the Church-yard .

—(Fol . 179 ;vo l. 1604

1605 . Our chancel is not paved , but floored as it hath beenaccustomed , nor whited , nor yet sufficiently repaired . Mr.S tephen Monings i s our Parson.

- (Fol .I s

SOME EAST KENT PARISH HISTORY.

We have not the Ten Commandments in our church yet,but we w i l l out o f hand .

We have no Table o f Degrees [o f marri ages forb idden] butwe w i l l have — (Fol. 60 ; vol. 1602

1623 .I, Stephen Carelton, church-warden o f Lydden , do

present Francis Pi lcher, late o f Lydden , now o f Hougham , fo r

that he de taine th from me and the other church-warden,two

kine o f the value o f 3 6s. to w it, 3 3s. 4d. each, and theprofit o f the same kine, ever s ince Easter las t, being after therate o f 5s. 4a

’. yearly, which kine and the profit thereof was at

the first given fo r the maintenance and reparation o f our church ,and is to remain in the hands o f the Church-wardens of ou rparish for the time being — (Fol . 68 ; vol. 16 19

163 5 . We have a Bible o f a large volume,but not of the

new translation — (Fol. 3 1 ; vol. 1 5 85 - 1636, part

1706. Arthur Tucker, Vicar, fo r neg lect o f his cure,and

other matters.Also fo r neglecting to read the proclamation and prayers

on the last fast,and fo r other matters — (Fol . 9 1 ; vol . 167 8

1 7 3 5

[To be continued .]

THE TOWNLETT SELFE OF

WENDOVER .

” 1

BY I . GIBERNE SIEVEKING.

FTER Rickmansworth the magic o f the country begins .I t i s impossible to desi re anything fairer than

,on a day

in early summer, Buckinghamshire spread before one’seyes. The Sheen , the glamour, are indescribable.

.

One’

s eye notes w i th keen pleasure the way i n which Nature ,W i th her artist’s eye, lays on her colours. Here the distantgleam o f

o

red -from a big patch o f clover adjoin ing the woods ;there, a p icturesque orchard on a softly rounded l pe , its treesknobbly, stunted , gnarled , dotted about i rregularly ; and perhaps the delicate blue o f a forget-me-not on the near bank .

Le land.

16

THE TOWNLETT SELFE OF WENDOVER.

Pasture fo r three plough-teams, and zos . overplus , w ood fo rhogs

.Altogether i t was as sessed at £38 annual rent in

legal ly assayed money.

”

0

There is a charter, whose date is uncertain , belonging to thereign o f King John , in which King Stephen is said to haveexchanged the manor o fWendover w i th Hugh de Gurney, orGurnace .

In 1 2 16 i t was given to Wi l l iam de Fedne s, orFienne s, and in 1 2 18 Wi l l iam de Cantilupe became possessedo f i t w i th other lands. What i s c lear i s thatWendover as earlyas the sixth year o f John ’s reign was mentioned as being inNorman possess ion , having been the property o f Robert deTibevill or Turbervi l le.

I n 1 59 1 Henry IV o fFrance gave the borough o fWendover,

and the manor o f Wendover Forens to Eli zabeth . (AngloSaxon “ foran ” meant “ before

,and

,i n its original sense

,

beyond —thus,Wendover Forens was a kind o f outer parish .

Wendover Dean is a l ittle hamlet near by, and formerly belonged to the Danes.)

“ I n 1 544 the King, by Paten tassigned a meadow cal led Castle D itch meade

,a close o f

pasture cal led Spittle Pond , a piece o f land o f 5 acres i n theBury Field , a close cal ledWel l Head Croft, arable land cal l edFowslow Downe

,a load Of wood for fow ell

,yearly to be

taken out o f the wood grow ing upon Backcomb parcel ofthe late monastery o fGreat Missenden . I n 1666

, O rderedthat any of the inhabitants o fWendover Forens shal l have freeaccess unto the Cage and S tockes w ithin the Burrowe o fWendover, and to putt their prisoners into the sai d Cage or S tocksas Often as they have occasion soe to do

,w i thout any let or

hinderance o f the inhabitants o fWendover Burrowe , upponpaine fo r any that shal l hinder them .

”

Not far from Wendover is the Old house cal led the Hal e,

which belonged to Dr. John Colet,the famous Dean o f St.

Pau l ’s. He was a native o f the place,and bu i l t later a hermitag e

at Shere, in Surrey, where he died o f sweating sickness i nSeptember, 1 547 .

The earl iest grant fo r a market and fair at Wendover wasby charter o f Edward I I I to Sir John de Moly ns, o f S tokePoges . The original charter represents this fai r to havebeen holden on S t. Barnabas ’ Day. I n 1 5 5 2 “ the King grantedan acre o f land cal led Lampland

,i n occupation o f Wi l l iam

Colet , g iven to maintain a l ight in the chu rch,also the roods

o f arable fo r maintenance o f a l ight there,habend . to them

and to the heirs and assigns fo r ever in free soccage of1 8

THE TOWNLETT SELFE OF WENDOVER.

the manor of East Greenw ich by fealty only. I asked thepresent Rector o fWendover how long the l ight had been discontinued

,but he cou ld give me no C lue to the date o f its ce s

sation . No word about it could be found in the churchregisters. There is the same mention o f maintenance o f a

l ight in the Stoke Mandevi l le Chu rch in an old record towhich I had access , but here again I cou ld not trace the dateof its being extinguished. The church registers date back to1600, and there are some quaint entries among them . I foundthere the fol low ing notice, i n black letter, dated 167 8 :

Carol i I I . Regis.An Act for bury ing in Wollen.

Whereas'an Act made in the 1 8 th year of His Majestiesreign is now ent itled for Bury ing in Wollen onlywas intendedfor the lessening the Importation o f Linen from beyond theSea, and the encouragement of the Wollen and Paper manufactures of this Kingdom had the same been Observed, but inRespect there was not sufficient Remedy thereby given for thediscovery or prosecut iono f offences against the said Law,

thesame hath hitherto not had the effect thereby intended,

and goes on to say that nothing made ormingled w ith flax, hemp, silk, hair, gold or silver, or any otherthing whatsoever than what is made of Sheep

’s Wooll onelyshou ld be used.

I n 1688 the wool len manufacture practical ly took precedenceof al l others

,and they w ere sacrificed to it. O ther materials

were manufactured,but at that time

,whenever their interests

ran counter to the wool len trade, the Government had noconscience in destroying them ruthlessly.

I n the vestry is a curious record,which runs thus : “ I n House

OfCommons May 17 th , 1642, i t was ordered , on humble petitiono f the Parishioners o fWendover

,that Mr. Carter,Mr.Va lentine ,

Mr. Beverley, Mr. Clendon ,Mr. Spurstow ,

Mr. Blakwe ll, Mr.Sennatt, and Mr.Woo lful

, O rthodox Divines , being b eneficedmen in the same county

,alle preachers and o f good conversa

t ion who are w i l l ing thereunto,Shall have l iberty

,freely and

w ithout any interruption , to set up and keep a lecture everyThursday w eekly in the said Parish Church o f Wendover.This custom has also long been discontinued.

An old tradition belongs to the bui ld ing o f the church. TheRector told me that many o f the inhabitants had told himthe story o f i t, and it has been quoted in Notes and Queries.

-It relates to a meadow adjoining the church,which

,accord

I9

THE TOWNLETT SELFE OF WENDOVER .

”

ing to this tradition,was original ly intended to have been

bu i l t there. There the bui lding was actuallya begun, but the

material s were al l carried away in the night by w i tches , anddeposited where the Church now stands . Eventual ly thew i tches ” had thei r way in the matter, and the parishioners

were overruled as concerned the question o fwhere their churchshou ld stand.

To the north o fWendover is Stoke Mandevi l le, which wasone o f the manors o f the B ishop o f Lincoln at the NormanSurvey.

Leland says that “ B ierton was original ly a Chapelo f ease to Aylesbury, and its revenues w ere annexed to thatprebend in Lincoln Cathedral by Richard Gravesend , B ishop ,w ith the Chapels o f Quarendon , Buckland , and Stoke Mandeville by patent in 1 266 and farther by Henry VI I I in1 524 to Longland , B ishop o f Lincoln . S toke Mandevi l le wasonly a daughter Church to B ierton . The Aylesbu ry Hundredis formed by union o f three ancient hundreds , Ele sbe rie ,Risbe rge , and Stane, and sti l l retains formal ly the appel lationo f the ‘Three Hundreds o f Aylesbury.

’ Elesb e rie con

tained Estone cal led now Aston-Clinton , B ierton or Burton ,w i th Buckland o rB rotone, now B roughton , Hulcott and S tockes,s ince cal led Stoke Mandevil le.

At Stoke Mandevi l le the two spurs o f the hi l ls , where theBritish camp was supposed to have lain , are plain ly vis ible.The fosse is covered w ith woods lying betw een , and clumps o fdark grow ing furze lying thick upon the slope . The wholeeffect o f these hi l ls i s most picturesque

,especial ly when seen

on such an afternoon o f glamour and bri l l iance as that whenI saw them first . Successive gleams o f sunshine cl imbed theslopes sw iftly in and o ut o f the furze bushes , unti l , havingreached the summit

,they suddenly disappeared leaving al l

beneath uncertain in outl ine,sombre and mysterious .

The vil lage contains a number o f fine Old barns and i nteresting bui ldings ; one, in particular, cal led “ Yew Tree Farm ,

”

i s almost comp letely hidden from view by a quaintly cut y ew

tree. Some l it t le distance from the vi l lage,standing

,as an old

record says , “ in a low ,watery meadow

,i s the old church

,

now practical ly in ru ins. The low, watery meadow i s charm

ing, w ith a l ittle softly flow ing stream meandering alongthrough it, sentinel led by rushes , and attended by companieso f wheatears. Service is never held in the church now ,

fo r

there is a newer bu i lding close to the station.

I n some Old records o f the place the follow ing entries occu r :20

“ THE TOWNLETT SELFE OF WENDOVER.

“ I n 1 5 5 3 the King granted int. al. to S ir Edward B ray, Kut. ,

John Thornton,and John Danby

,one and a half acres o f land

and one acre o f meadow in S tokenanfield ,i n the occupation Of

the Churchwardens,to the mainte nance o f a l ight in the Church

for ever. To the said Edwd,John and John

,and the heirs

and assigns of J . Thornton and J . Danby fo r ever, o f the manoro f East Greenw i ch

,by feal ty on ly

,in free soccage. By an

indenture,Apri l 16, 1649, Edward Wade, Of Ellesborough ,

yeoman,fo r £540 conveyed to Henry Babham , o f Walton in

the parish o fAylesbury part o f the manorhouse o f StokeMandevi ll e

,and one bay at the w est end of a ti led barn and

cow -house be longing to the same ; and several c loses and piecesOf arable land in S toke Mandevi l le in the tenure o f CicelyBankwo rth, w idow . I n the south wal l o f the church , Lipscombmentions there i s a piscina under a bracket arch

,and an a ltar

tomb o f stone, and above is w ritten in Roman capital s :

Cruell death by mortal blades,Hath Slaine foure of my tender Babes,Whereof Mary Thomas and Do rothye ,Within this place their bodies lye,But Go d which never man deceaved,This death to them is greates gayne,Increasinge ther joy freeing them from payne,O Doro thye my blessed Childe,Which lovingly lyved and dyed, mylde ,Thou wert my tenth even God’s owh e Choyce,On Good Friday at night my Doll departed,Adew my sweete , and most true hearted,My body w ith thyne I desire should lye

,

When God hath appointed me to dye,HOpe ing through Christ He w ill provide,Fo r my Soule w“1 thyne in heaven to abyde ,And I your Father Edmund Brudenell,Untill the Resurrection wi th thee w ill dwell .And so adewe , my swee te Lambes three,Unti ll in Heaven I shal l you seeSuch is my hope of R ichard my Sonn .

This EdmundBrudenelldied seised Of the manor of Newburyin Stoke Mandevi l le parish , having by his testament (o f 142 5 )bequeathed an annual rent o f ten marks out o f the manor fora chaplai n to pray fo r his sou l and the sou l o f Alice his w ife ,fo r th irty years. “ King John

,accord ing to another record

,“ having exchanged part o f Risberge for certain lands in

2 1

THE TOWNLETT SELFE OF WENDOVER.

S toke Mandevi l le ; one moiety o f the manor was held i n 1 302byWi l l iam de Kirkeby, who died seised o f i t in that year.The site o f the lands among the hi l ls and woods is nearPrestwood Common , between Missenden and Hampden , onthe left hand s ide, near Rignal l on the north , and HonourEnd Farm on the south, being an insu lated portion Of StokeMandevi l le parish , and by a memorable ci rcumstance conne cted w ith Engl ish history, as the land assessed fo r shipmoney when in possession o f the patriot Hampden ; givingrise to the trial which brought Mr. Hampden into great celebrity ,

and was u l timately productive o f such important consequences to the King and the nation , as wel l as to Hampdenhimself.”Three miles away across the dow ns is Chequers Court, said

to be one o f the most beautifu l places in Buckinghamshire.

I t was the Exchequer in John ’s reign , but there was a househere in the days o fWi l l iam the Conqueror. There are severalportraits o f Cromwel l at the Court, and numerous rel ics of himand his family

,including his sword

,his w atch

,etc.

Beacon Hi l l,one o f the hi l ls in the Chiltern range

,rises near

the house,and there is

,from its summit , a splendid view over

a vast p lain , in which are dotted about various churches andvi llages , among them the town o f Aylesbury , and far i n thedistance, the Malvern Hi l ls.

WITCHCRAFT IN THE EASTERNCOUNTIES.

BY E . VAUGHAN .

[Continued from vol. xu , p .

S regards the Puritan w i tch-panic,no doubt it was pre

valent al l over the country,but the chief manifestation

occurred in the Eastern Counties, where extreme Pro

testantism had fi rmly taken root,largely derived from its

intercourse w ith the Continental form . And no sooner hadthe popular creed become powerfu l than the persecutioncommenced , starting in 1644 at Manningtree

,whence it soon

spread al l over the districts o f Essex and East Angl ia.

22

WITCHCRAFT IN THE EASTERN COUNTIES .

The outbreak was fanned , if not created, by the malevolentgreed o f a human monster named Matthew Hopkins , who hadsettled in Manningtree

,and is supposed to have practised

as a lawyer. But a more lucrative occupation now Offereditself in the shape o f professional Wi tch-finde r

,

” and havingqual ified local ly for this Satanic trade by the judicial murdero f seven or eight Old women , the w retch rode from place top lace, w i th a certain John Stern fo r assistant, and a woman toact as searcher for the Devi l ’s marks ,

” demanding tw entyshi l l ings fo r each town visited

,and the same price per head fo r

every w itch discovered. His methods w ere to take the suspe cted person , and J

exto rt confession o f gu i l t by either sw imming

,running p ins into them ,

o r— most effectual o f al l— tofasten the cu lprit i n her own house upon a stool or table, andlet her remain bound fo r twenty- four hours w ithout food orw ater

,always leaving a l ittle hole at the doors fo r imps to enter

by. Another process consisted in walking ” the w itches between two people and not al low ing them to sleep fo r nightstogether. Imps general ly were in evidence, for if no innocentdog or cat made its appearance, the watchers might perchancesee a fl ea

,and if they did not succeed in ki l l ing it, then it was

pronounced to be an imp.

Hopkins had found the waking treatment most successfu lin deal ing w i th a Manningtree w i tch , who ,

after three nightsOf enforced sleeplessness

,natural ly w ent del i rious

,and con

fessed to having sold herself to the Devil , and a proper Gentlemen

” he was, w i th a laced band. After this acknow ledgement

,her imps began to appear, the first being l ike unto a l ittle

fat spotted span iel cal led Jamara,

”who “

suckt good blood fromthe Witch

,

”and another odd creature in the form o f a long

legged greyhound,cal led Vinegar Tom , w i th “

an head l ikean Oxe

,a longe tai le

,and broad eyes to whom this Dis

coverer ” (as Matthew termed himself) spake, bidding himgoe to that p lace prepared fo r him and his Angels . 5 0 the

Obliging monster “ immediately transformed himself i nto theshape o f a l ittle Chi ld o f foure yeares Old w ithout a head

,gave

halfe a dozen turnes about the house,and vanished at the

doore.”

The iniquitous trade o f Hopkins soon came to the ears o fParl iament , which added fuel to the fi re by sending out aCommission to inqu ire into the matter, including two Puri tanmin isters of undoubted piety— Calamy and Fairc lough— thelatter being especial ly noted fo r his Greate gravity

,tempered

23

WITCHCRAFT IN THE EASTERN COUNTIES .

w ith a Surprising Sweetness. These two divines accompaniedthe judges in their circu it, and accepted as conclusw e evidencethe w i ld self-accusations o f the hal f-demented creatures afterthe usual barbarities had been resorted to. Yet Baxter saysthey went to see that there was no Fraud nor Wrong donethem

,

”and adds that “ Understanding, Pious , and Credible

Persons visited the w itches in thei r prison , and heard theirsad confession .

” Fairclough, who possessed among his manypartes the talent o f being “ a Boanerges in the Pulpit,

”

preached two sermons before the jud ICIal court at Bury uponthe sin o f w itchcraft. Hutchinson states that although he wasunable to ascertain the exact argument o f the preacher’sNotions

,yet “ the Effect was that they went on to execute

them in great Numbe rs : And therefore, w e may bel ieve herecommended these Prosecutions as a Piece o f Piety. But

the Clergy o f our Church Oppo sed them so far as they hadPower,

”which was not very much just then . The hunting

went on unrestrained , and in Suffolk alone s ixty victims w erehanged in one year.Perhaps the most inexcusable deed o f which we have any

record during this period was the execution o f Mr. Low es ,“an ancient Clergyman

,near fourscore years Old,

”who had

been for fifty years the Vicar o fB rand iston , i n the same county.

Baxter,who evidently had the story from the accuser’s point

o f view,speaks o f him as an old Reading Parson

,

”which

denoted that he was continu ing to use the devot ions o f theAngl ican l iturgy

,instead o f extemporaneous prayers

,and

proceeds to relate that the supposed w i zard confessed to keeping two imps o f a destructive nature. For it befel l that oneday , when walking by the coast and w atching a Ship out atsea in ful l sai l, the most mischievous Of the tw o imps movedhim to send to sink the ship

,

” to which he accordingly consented , and the vessel went down into the depths be fore hiseyes .This strange tale was carefu l ly investigated in after years

by Dr. Hutchinson , who communicated w ith a successor of

the unhappy cleric , and discovered trustworthy parishionerswho were able to give him a very different version

,especial ly

one worthy gentlemen ,” whose father had l ived in Brandistonbefore him ,

and knew the Old Vicar personal ly,and stated that

he had been much respected as a painfu l preacher he haddone his duty since the days o f Elizabeth

, but he was an ardent Royal ist, and therefore a malignant.” When the w itch

24

WITCHCRAFT IN THE EASTERN COUNTIES.

demented condition told crazy stories o f imp adventures,and there is l ittle doubt that they real ly raved about thei rdomestic pets .In one Suffolk instance, a

“ Gentlewoman Of very greatPiety and Virtue ” told Hutchinson that when the w i tchfinders came to her neighbourhood , they played thei r inhumantricks upon an innocent old w oman , who at last , w orn ou tand l ight-headed from being deprived o f food and sleep , confessed to having in her keeping an imp cal led Nan .

” Uponhearing o f this , the husband o f the “ good Gentlewoman ,

”

himselfa “very learned ingenious man , and “having I ndignation at theTh ing ,

”went w ithout delay to the abode o f the dame,

taking his Wife w i th him ,and exercised a piece o f practical

Christianity. For finding the w retches sti l l at thei r work , theypromptly turn ed them out o f the house ; after which, they fedthe poor creature

,and put her to bed . Upon coming to her

self,after a long sleep, she cou ld remember nothing that she

had said , and cou ld only account fo r mentioning Nan bythe fact that she kept a pu l let Of that name.”

I t has been noticed that the few representatives o f the oldC lergy did what l ittle they cou ld to protest against Hopkinsand his crew .

“ Several Clergymen preached and spakeagainst them

,as far as those Times wou ld suffer, says

Hutchinson , and especial ly mentions Mr. Gau l , Vicar o f

Stoughton , in Huntingdonshire,who w rote a book exposing

the cruelties o f the evil trade , and inserted at fu l l length abul lying letter that the w itch-finde r had sent to some offi cialin the parish . In this impudent - epistle

,Hopkins cool ly an

nounced his intention o f giving the Tow n a visit sudden lyto search fo r evi l-disposed Persons cal led W i tches,

” and having heard that the Minister i s farre against us through Ignorance,

” he meant to come,God w i l l ing, the sooner to heare his

singu lar Judgement in the behalf o f such Parties .” After hinting that other ministers who had preached “ against theirDiscovery in a Pulpit had been forced to make a public recantation , he adds : I much marvaille that such evi l Membersshou ld have any o f the Clergy

, who Should dayly p reachTe rrour to convince such O ffenders

,stand up to take thei r

Partes. I am to come to Kimbolton this week, and i tshal l be tenne to one, but I w i l l come to you r Town fi rst.”This was evidently a bit o f bluff

,for he goes on to say ,

“ Iwould certainly know afore

, whether your Town affordsmany Sticklers for such Cattel l

,or w i l l ing to give us good

26

W ITCHCRAFT IN THE EASTERN COUNT IES .

Welcome and Entertainment,as otherwhere I have beene,

else I shal l wave your Shire , and betake me to such Places,where I doe, and may persist w i thout Control , but w ithThanks

,and Recompense. And so I humbly take my leave.

Probably the w retch did not Show his face in S toughton ,when the Vicar was busy col lecting evidence Of his enormities ,which was afterwards publ ished . The seeds o f mercy and

j ustice had been sow n,and the day o f reckoning was at hand .

I t cannot be ascertained w i th any exactitude when the finalact in Hopkins ’ career took place that called forth the longdelayed retribution

,but i t is C lear that he was busy at his vi le

work o f searching and sw imming the poor Creatures , whensome Gentlemen

,out o f I ndignation took him and . tied

his own Thumbs and Toes , as he used to tye others ,” and flung

him into a pond , where he floated , and so the w i tch -finde r was

proved to be a w izard . S trange to say, he does not appear tohave been hanged on the nearest tree as might have beensupposed , but al lowed ignomin iously to escape , and , accordingto one account

,found his way back to Manningtree, where

vexation,and the unwonted cold bath , so upset his constitu

tion that he soon died . Anyhow ,he disappeared

,and

,as

Hutchinson shortly remarks,

“ that c leared the County o f him ;and it was a deal o f Pity that they did not think o f the Experiment sooner.Butler , in his Hua

’

ibras,part o f which is supposed to have

been w ritten in Essex , al ludes to this t ime of the w i tch-hunting.

After relating how Hopkins

w ith in a yeare ,Hang

’d Thre e score of them in one Sh ire ,

and giving a satiri cal l ist Of misdeeds,such as

putting knavi sh TricksUpon green G ee se , and Turke y Ch icks ,Or Pig s that sud denly de ceas’dOf grie fs unnatural ,

he presents the last scene in the fol low ing concise l ines :

Who afte r prov’d h im selfe a Wi tch,

And made a Rod for h i s own B re ech .

Henceforward,although many individual cases occurred

,

no wholesale massacre ever again d isgraced the county,even

in the Puritan period . Two women— a mother and daughter—were executed at Bury in 165 3 ; and about the same time

27

WITCHCRAFT IN THE EASTERN COUNTIES .

another reputed w itch, cal led Jane La/keland , was either hanged

or burnt in Ipsw ich.

But w i tchcraft bel ief does not die out easi ly, and somecurious trials continued to take place in East Angl ia after theRestoration. One o f the most remarkable was that o f twopoor old women call ed Amy Dumy and Rose Cu l lender, whichwas heard before Sir Matthew Hale, at Bury, in the year 1664.

Both o f the accused were condemned and hanged.

The chief offence o f Rose Cul lender lay in having usedsome rustic remedies to soothe a neighbour’s chi ld that shewas nursing, but unfortunately the after resu l t was a fi t Of“ the Vapours ” ; the indignant mother at once ascribed thisto sorcery

,and consu lted a w i tch-doctor. By his advice, she

hung up the Child ’s blanket in her w ide, open Chimney, andfound at night that it had harboured an imp in the l ikenesso f a toad . This poor creature was promptly seized by thetongs

,and thrust into the fi re

,where it “ made a great and

horrible Noise,flash

’

d l ike Gunpowder,and w ent o ff l ike a

pistol .” The countercharm was said to be successful ; theeffect o f fi re being occu ltly conveyed to the w itch , who therebywas

“ burn’

d lamentably,according to Dame Durrant

’

s ve r

sion o f the story.

Amy Dumy had a longer l ist of s ins to answer for. JohnSoan gave evidence that as he was carting corn one day w iththree carts

,one o f them col l ided w i th Amy ’s l ittle b ut

,and

“w renched ” i t. Natural ly she came out i n a rage , and “ lethim to know her Opinion o f his carelessness, fo r su rely “ eithera jadish Horse or a si l ly Driver belonged to that Cart. Aftera wordy battle on went John

,and next drove into a gate

head this time the wheels w ere set fast into the obstacle, sohe cut down the post, and had no hesitation in saying thatMother Dumy had overlooked ” him .

O ther charges were laid to her door,b ut the most strange

was that o f bew itching the two chi ldren o f a certain Mr. Pacy,apparently a fish merchant residing at Lowestoft, and in thisdeed She was associated w i th Rose Cul lender. The two naughtywomen cal led at Pacy

’

s house one day w i th the law fu l intento f buying some herrings

, but, as probably they had an unhappyreputation , they were refused , and went Off grumbling. SOwhen the Chi ldren subsequently developed fits

, what cou ld bemore reasonable than to attribute the cause to a mal ignantsp i ri t left behind by the w itches ? The med ical diagnosis Of

that t ime encouraged the suggestion ; even the learned Sir28

SOME OLD SURREY ROADS.

Thomas B rowne, being asked in court by the judge fo r hisopinion

,

“ declared that he was clearly o f Opinion that theFits w ere natural , but heightened by the Devil , co -operatingw i th the Malice o f the Wi tches , at whose I nstance he did theVi l lan ies a sweeping assertion from the author o f Religi oMea

’iei

,and one that helped to seal the fate o f the cu lprits .

Baxter heard the circumstances of this case in after years ,when the affl icted maidens had grown up to women ’s estate ,and forgotten al l thei r chi ldish troubles. One detai l relatedby his informant struck the divine as s ingu larly convincing.

This revelation was vouchsafed to a “ Godly Min ister,”who

visited the family in the evi l d ay ,and had the privi lege o f

seeing one o f the girl s in a fi t, when a practical demonstrationwas granted o f the powers o f darkness, as the sufferer raved ,and roared

,and distorted her body in hideous convulsions .

Yet in order that irrefutable evidence shou ld be his wherebyto si lence fo r ever the “ I nfidel and the Sadducee,

” a specialtoken was sent. An invisible ghostly hand laid hold upon thegood man’s clothing ; seized an important hook , dragged itOff, and it d isappeared . Heedless o f hiS ‘

d istreSS, the evi l spiritconveyed it by occult means into the interior Of the damsel ’sanatomy

,and the exhibition o f black magic was completed

by an attack Of nausea,by which means the pious minister

duly received again his necessary hook . And Richard Baxtermarvel l ed that any shou ld doubt ![To be continued . ]

SOME OLD SURREY ROADS.

BY CHARLES V. O’NEIL.

T has been pointed out by Canon I saac Taylor, in theopening chapter o f Words and P laces, that there are twofe atures which , as a ru l e, remai n constant throughout al l

the changes to which a countryside ls subj ect In the course o fages— the local names

,and the names o f the w i l d flowers. To

these,I think

,may fairly be added the general system o f i ts

roads and footpaths . One Often hears i t said that accordingto Engl ish law and tradition once a highway

,always a high

way . There are o f course many exceptions to this rule orlaw

, whichever i t may be ; i n Surrey, fo r instance, the ancient29

SOME OLD SURREY ROADS.

track from Ockley on the Stane Street, through Parkgate andNewdigate to Gatton , every trace o f which has van ished ; andequal ly Of course any thoroughfare may be closed by meanso f the necessary l egal process, though such changes are notfrequent, except perhaps in the neighbourhood o f large towns .I n rural districts it is seldom worth while to c lose an Old track ,and as a general ru le when a road has been diverted , or itsuse abandoned, the old way has been al lowed merely to re

vert more or less to a state o f nature. I n many parts o f thecountry these overgrown derel ict roads are among the mostcharming features o f the district

,and can hardly fai l to sug

gest the most fascinating specu lations as to their pas t history,and the conditions that led to their part ial or entire abandonment.I t is a fact which may readily escape observation that the

real ly ancient ways ou t o f London through Surrey are nomore than two in number ; they are the Old Lew es Road , andthe Portsmouth Road . The Kent Road passes through such a

fragment o f the county that i t cannot be held to be in anyway a Surrey road . This is w ithout going into the questionwhether East Surrey may not in early days have been reckonedpart of Kent : as a matter o f fact the boundary does not seemto have been definitely settled even as late as S tuart times.The same remark app l ies to the great w estern highway, whichfrom time immemorial has crossed the Thames at Staines , butwhich, in spite o f the fact that it passes through some fewmiles o f the county , i n no way seems to belong to Surrey ;moreover

,in this case also the county boundaries were not

fixed unti l the year 1 226.

The reason fo r this dearth o f direct means o f communica

tion w ith the south and south-west o f the county is not hardto find . I n a word

,they were not required. The greater part

o f southern Surrey was original ly covered by the great Wealden Forest, and

,although the area o f this was constantly

diminishing, the clay lands , as they gradual ly emerged from astate o f woodland , were given over enti rely to agricu l ture.The Roman road through Ockley and Dorking, which

wou ld have served centra l Surrey, fel l early into disuse, andwas eventually abandoned

,except so far as it was requ ired

for purely local needs . As Mr. Malden says,i t seems as if al l

des ire fo r through communication had ceased , and fo r manycenturies this part o f the county consisted solely o f smal l selfcentred vil lage communities .

30

SOME OLD SURREY ROADS.

The most moving tales are told o f the m isadventures thatbefel l those who were obliged to travel through the tortuousmiry lanes o f the Weald , either on horseback , or, worse sti l l ,i n wheeled vehic les o f any description . This state o f affai rsexisted unti l qu ite modern times .I t i s true that Surrey became in parts the home of flourish

ing industries,but a minimum o f enqui ry w i l l Show that this

industrial activity was confined to two districts in the extremesouth-west and the south-east o f the county, local ities whichw ere more or less in touch w ith the Portsmouth and LewesRoads respectively

,and where w ater carriage was to some

extent avai lable.

If one w ere to ask ten average Londoners which was thebest known road in Surrey, there is l i tt le doubt that nine o f

them at l east wou ld answer “ the B righton road , and , speaking fo r themselves , and fo r the present day ,

they wou ld,no

doubt,be right ; but i t must not be forgotten that B righton

,

as we know i t, i s but a creation o f yesterday, and that, l i tt lemore than a century and a half ago, o ut of the many roadsfrom which we can now make a Choice, shou ld w e set out towalk

,ride

,cycle

,or motor in that di rection

,only one— the

most easterly route,through Godstone and East Grinstead

was in existence.This road

, which is held of scarcely any account at thepresent time as a main highw ay from London , and , even belowCroydon is known only by the strictly local appel lation o f theGodstone Road

,was nevertheless fo r centuries the only route

from London to the Sussex coast. Aubrey cal ls it the Greatroad into Sussex ,

” and there seems no reason to doubt that inthe main it fol low s the l ine Of a Roman highway, which possib ly had Pevensey fo r i ts objective. Throughout what wevaguely cal l the Midd le Ages

,

” i t was essential ly the road toLewes , the great stronghold o f Mid-Sussex ,

and i t was by thisroad that S imon de Montfort and his barons marched in 1 264on the way to their triumph at Lewes.The actual course o f the road itself seems to have been

subject to an unusual number o f variations, but i t appears tobe general ly allowed that i t passed through Streatham ,

Croydon , and the Caterham Valley, in fact the course o f the presentroad as far as Godstone

,where

,instead o f bearing to the left

,

as does the present road,i t kept on in a direct l ine overTilbur

stow Hi l l , and then due south towards the Sussex border. Thisold road seems to have been abandoned at an early date he

3 1

SOME OLD SURREY ROADS.

tween Godstone and Croydon , as , although the greater part o fthe modern vi l lage o f Godstone borders i t, these houses onlydate from times when it had again been taken into use. Thechurch

,on the other hand, i s half a mile or more away in Flore

or Flower Lane, which is said to be the“ old main road to

London.

” This secluded lane makes a very sharp ascent ofthe North Downs , and at the summit the old road runs incontinuation along the eastern S ide o fMarden Park . Attemptswere made to close it here, but the Surrey County Counci lcontested the matter w i th success , and i t i s now freely opento the public as a bridle way . North o f Marden Park the roadwou ld appear to have curved to the left into the CaterhamValley

,through the gap over which the Woldingham rai lway

viaduct now passes, and thence to have fol lowed the l ine Of thepresent highway for a considerable distance, nearly as far as themodern Purley. Some l ittle distance before reaching the rai lway arch

,however

,a chalky track diverges on the right. This

is yet another abandoned section o f the old road,which joined

the road running through Smitham Bottom some l ittle distanceon the Croydon side o f Purley. The port ion o f the road fromGodstone up the Downs and through (or alongside) MardenPark is said to have been abandoned in the time o f QueenElizabeth

,and it was presumably then that the O lder and

obvious route through the gap by Godstone Quarry againcame into use.

Just below the quarry there i s a short section Of disusedroad, about a furlong to the east Of the main road

,which is

well worth exp lo ring. I t is said to be undoub tedly a fragmento f the original Roman road

,one o f those port ions which are

confidently marked on the O rdnance maps as such, and i t w i l lbe found to be a delightfu l specimen o f those deserted highways which give a text to these notes.When the coaching e ra set in

,and the question Of ready

means o f access to the south coast came under consideration,

this Old road to Brighton was not forgotten , and steps weretaken to improve it by avoiding the cl imb over TilburstowHi l l , a new road being made further to the east

,but running

over comparatively low ground in l ieu Of the dry and sandy$011 o f the hi l l top. To this divers ion we ow e the qu iet and

‘

p leasant bye-road over the hil l , w i th i ts w ide spreading view so f green Surrey scenery , where we can be free from motorsand all other disturbers o f the peace.

The various roads to Brighton are,as I have pointed out,

32

SOME OLD SURREY ROADS .

quently impassable in w inter, the Mole being subject to severefloods here as elsewhere, whereas the one over the Hi l l w ouldhave provided a way wel l above any risk of the kind , onceS idlow Bridge w ere passed.

Those who are interested in the h istory of our Old roadsw i l l find in Mr. Hi laire Bello c

’

s fascinating w ork , Tlie Ola'

Road,which deals mainly w i th the ancient B ri tish trackway

that fol lows the course o f the North Downs , a most picturesque,if necessari ly imaginative account o f the manner i n which thesheltered waters o f the Solent came in the earl iest days o f ourhistory to be the natural objective o f travel lers from Gau l westo f the Seine, from which w e may fairly deduce the undoubted ,and in fact obvious, conclusion that from time immemorial , orat any rate from the period when London fi rst establ ished itsimportance

,there has been a way o f some description , fol low

ing the l ine o f what we know as the Po rtsmouth Road. So

far as we have any know ledge o f the matter, the actual routehas suffered singularly l ittle variation

,at any rate in the Su rrey

portion .

The primeval instinct towards seek ing safety on high groundled the earl iest travel lers over the bare summit o f Hindhead

,

arduous cl imb though it were in either direction , in preferenceto venturing round the base o f the hi l l to the south , whereHaslemere now l ies

,a course which would have led them

through a densely wooded and swampy val ley. To this daythere is a strip o f ground to the north-west of Haslemere

,

known as Gray swood Bog ,which is quite impassable for a

considerable portion o f the year.To the north o f Hindhead lay a w ide stretch Of w i ld and

treacherous moorland,that , up to the time when the enclosure

acts were passed about half a century ago , remained w ithoutany roads worthy o f the name ; a state o f affairs of which someidea may be derived from Mr. Baring Gou ld’s romance TlieB room Squ ire . I t was commonly said that one cou ld ridefrom Shottermil l , near Has lemere, to Bagshot w ithout leavingthe heath. I n the preface to the Homeland Handbook forHaslemere and Hindhead there are some interesting reminis

cences contributed by an old res ident in the neighbou rhood ,which Show clearly the difficu lty

,if not actual danger, attend

Ing even such a short cross-country journey as that fromHaslemere to Farnham no more than sixty years ago.

There sti l l remains here a rel ic o f the ways that did dutyfo r roads down to the earl ier part o f the n ineteenth centu ry

34

SOME OLD SURREY ROADS.

in what is known as Old Farnham Lane, which leads fromnear Haslemere Station to the summit of Gibbet Hi l l . This isnow merely a very picturesque foot or bridle way ,

but,before

the present easi ly graded road to the “ Huts was con

structed,i t was, as i ts name implies , the main road between

Haslemere and Farnham,and moreover one may conc lude

that o f i ts kind it was always better than the average,seeing that its course is for the most part along a dry ledgeo f hi l ls ide raised wel l above the bottom Of the combe whichit fol low s.I t is curious to note

,and interesting as an instance of the

tenacity w ith which traffi c cl ings to its old routes,that in the

years 1 7 64 and 1 7 8 5 new roads were authorized from Milfordto Haslemere

,and from Haslemere to the Portsmouth Road

near Liphook, w ith the Object o f avoiding the long cl imb over

Hindhead in either d irection , at the expense o f a very s l ightlengthening o f the journey ; the se roads were du ly constructed ,and are sti l l in use

,b ut the coaches remained faithfu l to the

Portsmouth Road,which was in due course improved , and

continued to be,as i t is at the present time

,the main highway

from London to Hampshire and beyond . I do not think aS ingle coach travel led to Portsmouth through Haslemere,which was entirely served by those running to Midhurst andChichester.The most important modification that the Portsmouth Road

has experienced affected the three miles between Hindheadand Thursley

,but happily the Old road has remained intact

a del ight to the leisurely pedestrian .

Starting from th-e London end , as seems most natural ,although it affords a very pleasant return route from Hindhead to the land o f rai lway stations , the old track w i l l be foundto start opposite Thursley Church

,which stands about half a

mile from the modern road , and to the north-west o f i t. Atthe outset it is merely a narrow and somewhat ordinary countrylane, but after passing a farm or two i t begins to rise, and tolose i ts wel l-kept appearance. Soon there are fine view s to theright into the combe

,which is known at its head as the “Devi l’s

Punchbow l .” Presently the hedges disappear, and the lane,which has now become a steep and sandy track

,eventual ly

runs along the newer road , but at a much higher level . Afterfal l ing and cross ing the latter at an acute angle, i t c l imbs thes ide o f Gibbet Hi l l , and curves round the brink of the “ Punchbow l ,

”o r

,as Ogilby quaintly puts it, fetches a great compass

3 5

SOME OLD SURREY ROADS

to the left,final ly joining the present Portsmouth Road just

where the common land ends .This beautifu l Old track , which was known as Road . Lane,

was abandoned in 1 826, when the new road was cut, the reasonbeing that it was considered dangerous fo r stage coachestravel l ing at the pace then in vogue ; but it remains in excellent order fo r pedestrians , and i s certainly one o f the mostpicturesque o f Surrey ’s abandoned highways.I t i s said that in the earl iest times the Portsmouth Road , or

what is now known as such, instead o f dropping to the val leyo f the Wey at Godalming, struck due north from Thursley tothe Hog's Back. This would appear to be a not unreasonablesupposition , as the long l ine Of open hi l lside , viewed from afar,wou ld be a great attraction to primitive travel lers through anunknown or imperfectly known land ; but there appears to beno sufl‘icient evidence that this was actual ly the case, and thereis no track across the commons that can be positively identifiedas having formed part o f such a route. Moreover, Godalmingclaims a history dating from far back in the unrecorded past— its name testifies to this— and it was a place o f suffi cient impo rtance even in the days o f King Alfred to be specifical lymentioned in his w i l l so that i t seems l ikely that

,even though

in the earl iest times wayfarers may have taken a more northerlyroute, the early existence o f the flourishing settlement by thep leasant streams Of the Wey wou ld soon tempt those freshfrom miles o f inhospitable country not to pass i t by. I n anycase, the necessity Of crossing the river w ould l ead travel lersto the ford at Gui ldford

,or to the possibly sti l l O lder one at

Shalford .

From Guildford , i n a north-easterly direction tow ards London, the course o f the road would again be determined by thenature o f the country. To the north the many streams o f theWey to this day dominate the d istrict, and before the riverwas regulated by Sir Richard Weston

,about the middle of

the seventeenth century,travel l ing must have been w elln igh

out o f the question in that d irection. Moreover,the Mole had

also to be crossed , and the Mole is even now an intractable, ifInsignificant, stream , and is sti l l subject to serious floods , sothat a straight course was laid down fo r the road as far as

Cobham, where w e know an old ford existed , which was, i t i ssaid , rep laced by a bridge by Queen Maude, the w ife o fHenry I , in memory o f one o f her Maids o f Honour, who wasdrowned whilst crossing there

.

36

SOME OLD SURREY ROADS.

From Cobham the road wou ld appear to have fol lowedclosely in the l ine o f the present main road as far as Kingston ,the importance o f which was maintained from century tocentury by reason Of the existence o f a bridge there from veryearly times

,even

,i t is claimed

,from the days o f the Romans .

I n addition to this its earl ier name o f More ford testifies to theneighbourhood Of a ford o f the utmost importance. We knowfrom the accounts Of the skirmishes in the neighbourhoodduring the Civi l War that Kingston Bridge was looked uponas practical ly the key to London from the south-west , andthere seems to be no doubt but that whatever traffic came fromthe Portsmouth Road would cross the river here and fol low theMiddlesex shore to London . The present main road overKingston Hi l l to Stones ’ End in the Borough o f Southwarkwas constructed under an Act passed in 1 7 1 8 , but the popularroute fo r coaches was to d iverge to the left, after pass ing overPutney Heath , and to reach London by way o f Fulham .

Notw i thstanding that, as I have pointed out above, o f theroads at present in use from London through Surrey onlytwo can be cal l ed real ly old , i t seems p robable that from avery early date a road o f some sort has existed

,leaving the

Portsmouth h ighway at Godalming, and serving Chichesterand w est Sussex by way o f Petworth .

This road,unti l the advent o f the coaching era

,l eft Godal

m ing by means o fan exceedingly steep ascent to the south,and

p roceeded through very hi l ly country to Hambledon Common ,to which point i t i s sti l l i n use as a bye road

,but in the year

1 764 a new road was authorized between Milford on thePortsmouth Road and North Bridge

,Chiddingfold

,when the

old road,which i s said to have been an extremely bad one

,

even fo r west Surrey, was comp letely abandoned betweenHambledon Common and North Bridge. I t is , however, sti l lavai lable as a footway

,and at the Hambledon end the fu l l

w idth o f the old roadway sti l l remains,grass-grown from edge

to edge, and bordered by fine oaks. A more charming reversionto nature it w ou ld be hard to find .

I t i s now known as Hambledon Hurst,but more probably

that is the name o f the woodland through which it passes. Atthe Chiddingfold end the old roadway is covered by a densegrowth o f trees and bushes

,and no more than the narrowest

footpath remains Open . I n the days when Chiddingfold wasa flourishing industrial vi l lage, w ith glass works and i ronfoundries , and po ssibly some share in the Surrey woo l trade ,

37

SOME OLD SURREY ROADS.

and when the market granted by Edward I I was sti l l held ,this road must have been a busy one ; now

, except fo r anoccas ional motor

,the broad highway that has succeeded it i s

almost deserted .

[To be continued . ]

THE B IRTHPLACE OF SHELLEY .

BY J . C . WRIGHT,

ORSHAM must have been a pleasant place in Shel ley’searly days . Even now there is a considerable numbero f old houses whose roofs bear testimony to the dur

abi l ity o f the gray S labs o f stone w i th which they are covered .

The modern bui lder is satisfied w i th material more eas i lyaccessible and poss ibly cheaper than that o f the olden times.Some o f these Old houses are to be seen betw een the Carfaxand the Church ; and here also may be found the i ron ring towhich bu l ls were fastened to be baited , fo r this sport wasactually carried on unti l the beginning o f last century. I t i ssaid that the people o f Horsham w ere always fond o f pleasure,but their amusements are now o f a qu ieter k ind ; when thepresent w riter visited the town everybody was talk ing o f theFlower Show that was being held

,and the strains o f a brass

band were very much in evidence.

At the end o f the Causeway is the Church o f St. Mary,remarkable fo r i ts long roof covered w ith Horsham stone. I tbelongs to the Early English period

,w i th later additions , and

was restored some forty years ago. O f internal decorationthere is l ittle evidence. The effigy o f Thomas, Lord Brao se ,who died in 1 395 , may be noticed , but w ith the lapse Of timei t has suffered either from wanton mischief or w i lfu l intentionon the part Of sacri legious iconoclasts

,who have Chipped the

face in ru thless fashion. There are several painted w indow s ,the best, perhaps , being the Aldridge Memoria l at the end ofthe south chancel. But we must leave the chu rch and thetown for a short l iterary pi lgrimage to the early home o fShel ley.

Shelley’s name is rarely associated w i th Sussex , and yet , aseveryone know s, he was born at Field Place, some two miles

38

THE B IRTHPLACE OF SHELLEY.

from Horsham . Through the courtesy o f General S ir EdwardHutton , the w riter recently visited this scene o f the poet ’sboyhood and was interested to find the house in h armonyw ith one s preconceived ideas . Though some o f the bu i ld ingbears evidence o f modernity

,the Old portion has been al lowed

to remain much as i t was in Shelley’s days . Here the poetwas born on the 4th o f August 1792 . The room where hefi rst saw the l ight i s shown ; i t is an ordinary-sized bedroom ,

w ith a low cei l ing. Over the fi replace there is an engravedbrass plate

,on w hich his name is inscribed

,w i th the date o f

his birth,and the fol low ing l ines by the late Mr. Richard

GarnettShrine of the Dawn ing Speech and Thought

Of She l ley. Sacre d b eTo all who b ow where Time hath broughtG ift s to Etern ity.

Another room is pointed o ut as the room where Shel ley ’sfather usual ly sat ; i t was, in fact, his study. One can

,i n im

agination,conjure up the scenes that were w itnessed here

when the youth began to exhibit s igns o f rebel l ion againstpaternal admonition . And yet

,judging from one o f his letters,

w ritten at the age o f nine, he was much l ike other boys in hislove fo r toothsome luxuries

,fo r he begs his friend at Horsham

to tel l the bearer not to forget to bring me a fai ring,which

i s some gingerbread,sweetmeat

,and hunting-nuts .” We are

told he was fond o f mischief— he wou ld run a stick throughthe cei l ing o f the low passage to find some new chambe r, whichcou ld be made effective fo r some fl ights o f his vivid imagination . At ten years O f age he was sent to school at Brentford ,an academy kept by Dr. Greenlaw . He was not popular w ithhis schoolfellow s

,and entered into few o f their games . Words

w orth tel ls us“ the chi ld is father to the man

,

”and certainly

this truth was exemp l ified in young Shel ley, who was fond o f

nature, o f sol itude, and too imaginative to be playful . He

l ived amidst the supernatural . He says o f himselfWh ile yet a b oy , I soug ht fo r gho sts, and spe dThrough many a l isten ing chamber, cave , and ruin,And starlig ht w oo d , w ith fearfu l step s pursuing

Hope s of h igh tal k w ith the departe d dead.Yet he was a boy, and boy-l ike he was fond o f trying expe ri

ments . His hands and clothes,

” says his sister,

“were con

stantly stained and corroded w i th acids,for he was passion

ately fond o f chemistry, practised in a crude fashion . But as39

THE B IRTHPLACE OF SHELLEY .

he grew up, he manifested signs o f unrest ; he rebel led againstthe discip l ine that was meant to curb the passion o f 1115 sou lhe desp ised correction ; he expressed openly his feel ings .There was no one to turn this w i lfu lness into a less dangerouscourse

,and he thought himself misunderstood by al l about

him. His father he regarded as hard ; and when , in the

ordinary course o f events, the young man went to Oxford , theiron had entered his sou l . I t was the beginning o f the end.

Expel led from his college, he was forbidden to retu rn to FieldPlace. What shou ld he do ? He felt himself to be an outcast,a martyr

,and, l ike most martyrs , he was unw i l l ing to be a

party o fcompromise or to attempt any reconci l iation w i th thosewho might have softened their asperity towards him . He didnot possess a suflfi ciently balanced mind to see the position inwhich he had p laced himself. He became the s lave Of ideal swhich he cou ld never hope to real ize. His uncle, CaptainPilfold , took an interest in the erratic youth— Shel ley was

only nineteen at this period— and besought Mr. Shelley tomake his son an al lowance o f £200 a year. Moreover, hereceived permission to visit Field Place. On his return toLondon— fo r he had temporarily l ived in the metropol is— themanner o f his l ife was unsatisfactory. On the other hand , histastes were simple. I nto his domestic oddities we cannot enterhere. He kicked against the al tar o f justice as establ ished inthe dai ly sanctiti es o f human l ife

,

” and he bore the penalty.

He was generous to a fau l t. His self-denial was remarkable.Yet he was

N eg le cted and apart ;A herd -abandone d dee r, struck by the hunter’s dart.

We know something o f Shelley’s last years— his l ife atMarlow , his residence at Pisa, his sudden death by drown ing.

“ Those whom the gods love,die early

,

”may be appl ied to

Shelley. His l ife o f barely thirty years was fi l led w ith incident,and though he fai led to real ize his ideals

,as we have said , his

works display the genius w i th which he was so richly endow ed .

He longed fo r the regeneration o f mankind . He taught thatman was the chi ld o f immortal lOve ; that he was made to behappy ; and because he thought the Christianity o f his daydid not teach this , he appeared to be an enemy o f Christianity.

But he was one o f the few persons who can literal ly be saidto love their kind .

”

40

READING TO CHICHESTER .

By H. J . DAN IELL.

EAD ING to Chichester is somewhat of a far cry , butthe country traversed

,lying in the counties o f Berks ,

Surrey, and Sussex ,i s so picturesque and ful l o f in

te re st , that the fol low ing account o f a cycle ride betw een thesetwo towns may be worth recording.

The roads to be traversed are not always , perhaps, o f thebest

,especial ly towards the end o f the journey

,but, save fo r

Hindhead,there are no very steep gradients to be overcome,

and the S l ight ascents are more than compensated fo r by theOpportunities o f free-wheel ing on the downw ard grade .

For the fi rst m i le or so out o f Read ing the road toWokingham fol low s the electri c tramway, but, after leaving Earley,w ith its ancient demesne of White Knights , and crossing theLodden stream by the pictu resque old red brick bridge, thefine sandy roads and fir-toppe d ridges o f the pine country aresoon reached .

The fi rst large town passed is Wokingham , a curious oldplace

,main ly composed o f three streets which meet i n the

centre o f the town w ith a new Tow n Hal l at thei r junction .

Wokingham was one o f the last towns in which bu l l-baitingwas carried on in England

,even as late as the fi rst quarter of

the nineteenth century. I n fact, a certain inhabitant o f thetow n once bequeathed a house

,the rent o f which was to go

towards the provision Of a bu l l for the purpose o f bait ing.

Beyond Wokingham the country is somewhat dul l , as theroad crosses ridge after ridge o f sand

,each much l ike the

previous one, each smothered in pines . Every now and then,

however, a gl impse is caught o f pretty del ls and patches o f

purple heather, but the road is so Shut in by trees that theview o f the landscape is somewhat l imited .

Soon after crossing an old Roman road,local ly known as

The Nine Mile Ride,

” the Byzantine towers o f Wel l ingtonCol lege appear in sight on the left

, w ith the spire o f the chapelris ing beh ind them . The country becomes more open thanhitherto

,and green fields can be seen between the trees .

Dreary pines are left behind,and the road begins gently to

descend. I t now crosses the eastern end o f the Finchampstead41

READING TO CHI CHESTER.

ridges,and sweeps down the hi l l almost on to the top of

Sandhurst Church.

Here the road bears sharp to the left , leavmg the woo dentower o f Yateley Church peeping through the trees on theright

,and passes through the long straggling vi l lage of

Sandhurst.On the left is the larch-covered estate belonging to the

Royal Mi l itary Col lege. Original ly started at HighWycombe,Bucks , in 1 799 ,

three years later the Col lege was moved toGreat Marlow in the same county. I n 1 8 1 2 i t was decided totransfer the establ ishment to its present site, then a w i l ddesolate waste covered w ith heather and gorse , w i th a few

trees sparsely scattered about over i t. The only remnants o fthis w ide heath now left in the neighbourhood are the Uplandsof the Hartford Bridge Flats, to be seen on the right acrossthe B lackwater brook. Further up the London road to theeast

,however, much more o f i t remains in the shape Of

Bagshot Heath and the Chobham Ridges . When the Old

stage-coach travel ler left Hartley Row on his road to Londonhe looked to the priming o f his pistols

, fo r, betw een theHartford B ridge Flats and Egham tow n lay one o f the mostdangerous parts Of his j ourney, and here many a Dick Turpin ,and other knight Of the road played havoc w i th the nervesand val ises o f the passengers by His Maj esty ’s mail .The grounds o f the Royal Mi l itary Col lege are entered by

the lodge gates on the left . The main bu i lding o f the Col legeis soon seen . I t is a long ed ifice in the Doric style w ith twow ings s lightly throw n back from the main block . I n the centreis the grand entrance

,w i th a large portico supported on

Corinthian columns. I t was erected by the famous Mr.Wyatt,

and the grounds w ere beautiful ly laid o ut by B racebridge.

The latter soon transformed the bare moor into a w el l-woodedestate , and the p icturesque lake, once a mil l pond

,w i th its

fringe Of woods , bears s i lent testimony to his abi li ty.

After crossing the bridge over the junction o f the lake andthe Wish stream , the county o f Surrey is reached , the re

mainder o f the College estate lying in Berkshi re. On the leftthe

.

road i s bordered by the lake,largely dug by three mil i tia

reg iments during the war scare at the beginning o f the lastcentury. They w ere encamped near by and were employed inconverting the existing mil l pond into the present lake . On

the right is the high fence which borders the grounds ofGovernment House, the residence o f the Commandant o f the

42

READ ING TO CHI CHESTER.

Col lege,once the local manor-house, and the property o f

Wi l l iam Pitt.Three hundred yards further on

,outs ide the lodge gates

,i s

the vi l lage o f Yorktow n , named after the then Duke o fYork,

which came into existence w ith the advent of the Col lege.

The road turns sharp to the right by the Duke o f York’sHotel

,and after an un interesting couple o f miles the vi l lage of

Frimley , w ith i ts picturesque old inn , “ The White Hart,” i s

reached.

Beyond Frimley l ies Farnborough , w ith a curious Old churchand manor-house

,and the modern Abbey containing the

Mausoleum o f the Imperial family of France, which stands i nbeautifu l ly wooded grounds.After Farnbo rough comes the open ground OfCove Common ,

w i th a fine view o f Caesar’s Camp ; Aldershot, w i th its Queen ’sParade

,Government House

,and the long l ines o f red barracks

l ies in front. The road leads straight on past the grasscovered parade and polo grounds , across the Bas ingstokeCanal

,up by the cavalry barracks , and past the huge eques

trian statue o f the Duke o f Wel l ington . Next fol low s thesteep ascent o f Hungry Hi l l

,on the farther side of which there

is a goo d run,downhil l

,o f a coup le o f miles or so into the

hop-covered val ley o f the Wey , backed by the western endo f the Hog’s Back and the wooded height o f Cro oksburyHi l l .Dow n in the val ley l ies the town o f Farnham . I t i s an in

tere sting place w i th one long street , cal led the Borough , i tsextrem ities being know n as East andWest S treet respectively,and the whole is dominated by the fine old Castle

,the re

sidence o f the B ishops o fWinchester.The Chichester road lies down South Street, the turning

being by the Bush Hotel,famil iar to readers of Edna Lyal l ’s

book To Rig/li t the Wrong . The church , into which JoscelynHeyworth was led a prisoner, l ies up to the right along UnionS treet. I t is a fine bui lding

, worth a vis it, possessing in thetower a cari l lon o f bel l s which p lay

“ Life let us cherish ” everythree hours .I n Abbey Street Cobbett, the pol itician , was born .

Beyond Farnham the road forks. Taking the right-handbranch the road again enters a tract o f pine country

, w indingup and down through wooded dells, once the demesne o f therich Abbey o fWaverley. Soon is reached the l i ttle hamlet OfTilford , known to al l who have read S ir Nigel, by S ir Arthur

43

READING TO CHI CHESTER.

Conan Doyle. One can almost fancy the young squire, i n his

father’s armour, holding the old bridge over the Wey .

By the bridge stands, or stood , an ancient oak , mentionedin several medieval documents , and known success ively as theKing’s , Novel

’s,and B i shop ’s Oak .

After Tilford the scent Of the pine need les i s left behind ,and the way crosses the w ide, heather-clad waste o f FrenshamCommon . This country must be very l ike South Afri ca, consisting o f bare treeless kopjes ” and neks .” The two greatsheets o f water, the Frensham ponds , l ie on the right, hiddenby folds o f the ground , whi le ahead rise the three steep, con icalhil ls

,local ly known as “ the Devi l ’s Jumps

,

” and behind themagain appear the tree-clad slopes of Hindhead.

I t is a weary cl imb up to the summit o f thi s hi l l , and on thetop new hotels and red brick houses are very much in evidence.The view from the crest should be splendid , but at the t imeo f the wr iter’s vis it i t was marred by the driving rai n andmist.From the top of the hi l l i nto the Haslemere val ley i s a

splendid run down . After passing Shotterm i l l the uplands o fSussex are reached ,

and the road descends over several ridgesinto the vi l lage Of Fe rnhurst

,a local ity teeming in recol lections

o f the old smelting industry o f Sussex. One ,Wi l l iam Yaldw in,

i n the seventeenth centu ry, was an i ronmaster o f great repute

in Femhurst,and cannon w ere cas t in the vi l l age as late as

1 7 70.

At Fernhurst the view s o f the Weald and of Henley Hi l lare magnificent. Past the Cyl inders and over Cook ’s B ridge

,

Verdley Wood is reached , and then comes the toi lsome ascento f Henley Hi l l . The View from the summit well repays thecl imb. Behind l ie the Weald and the North Downs , w hi lebelow stretches a w ide expanse o f w ell-wooded and ferti lecountry, interspersed w i th smal l and p retty vi l l ages. I t is saidthat on a clear day I de Hi l l , near Sevenoaks, may be seenw i th a good glass.From Henley Hi l l the road crosses North Heath , where,

in the year 1 7 79, Robert and Wi l l iam Drewe t,two brothers

,

robbed the mai l coach,for which they afterwards suffered the

extreme penalty o f the law .

Below North Heath lies EasebourneWorkhouse, erected in1 794, and close behind it

,after pass ing the Mill , l ies the

vi l lage itself.Here there was a smal l nunnery founded by John de

44

READING TO CHI CHESTER.

Bohun , and dissolved in 1 5 3 5 . Part o f the old conventualbui ld ings w i th the fishponds sti l l remain . The church shou ldbe visited to see the imposing tomb o f the first ViscountMontagu

,who

,after a distingu ished pol itical career

,died in

1 592. His house at Cowdray ,or rather the remains o f i t

,fo r

i t was burnt out in 1 793 , i s to be seen on the left o f the roadjust before entering Midhurst. Queen Elizabeth visited LordMontagu here in 1 59 1 . The House, w ith its gray tow ers andivy-clad w al ls

,i s a fine Old ru in

,burnt i t is said

,in fu lfi lment

o f a curse which had fal len on the Montagu family fo r havingObtained lands which passed from the Church at the Dissolution o f the Monasteries.Midhurst is a quaint Old town w i th a rather uninteresting

church. There are several fine Old overhanging houses whichare worthy o f notice, but nothing else o f special mark.

Midhurst i s on the extreme southern edge o f the pinecountry. The sandy roads are left behind , and replaced bythose o f chalk. Ahead l ie the large rounded humps o f theSouth Dow ns . The fi rst vi l lage entered is that o f Cocking

,

where there was once another smal l nunnery,the church being

worth a visit to see the early thirteenth- century mural decoration . After leaving Cocking the road enters a gap in the hil l sand then comes some sw itchback rid ing to S ingleton , a prettyl ittle vi llage situated in a hol low . A mile further on the Houseand Church o fWest Dean are passed . FromWest Dean thereis a dow nhil l run o f a coup le o f miles or so to the Lavants

,

two l ittle vi l lages on the further S ide o f the hi l ls . Behind themrises Roche’s or Rook’s Hi l l , general ly cal led the “ Trundle

,

”

from the fine B ritish camp which crowns the summit. Beneaththe eastern slope l ies Goodwood racecourse.The South Downs contain many evidences o f B ri tish and

Roman occupation , and at Kingley Vale, tw o miles to thew est , a great battle i s said to have taken place in the time ofthe Britons, the hi l l above being crowned w ith tumuli .

From Mid -Lavant there is a good straight road into Chichester, past the Barracks , the depot o f the Royal SussexRegiment

,and Greyl ing Wel ls , the County Asylum ,

over theBroyle, and into the city over the site o f the Old North Gate.

From the Old North Wal l s to the fine Old market-cross,

erected in 1 500, i s a very short way , and here i n the centre o fthe town , abo ut fifty -five miles from Reading

,our ride ter

m inates.

45

A PREH ISTOR IC C IV ILIZATION ONTHE BANKS OF THE THAMES.

BY ALEXANDER J . PHILIP.

ITHOUT going back to the geological beginning ofthe world, or even to the violent volcanic disturbancesthat have altered the face of Europe, i t may be said

that many centuries before the coming o f the Romans to Brita inthe waters o f the Thames estuary spread much farther in landthan they do at present. There i s no doubt that even duringthe Roman period the low-lying grazing lands that are found ”

on both sides o f the river ( i n Kent from the Medway toWoolw ich, and on the Essex bank from Leigh to Barking Creek)were under water. The river wal l and many mi les o f fielddrains have reclaimed thousand o f acres, although occasional ly even this w al l , better described I think as a dyke , hasproved insufli cient to res ist the pressure o f the volume o f waterbrought up by an exceptional ly high tide when met by thedownward rush o f the flood water drainage Of the upperreaches.Windmil l Hi l l stood out as a prominent landmark , over

looking the w ide stretch o f the river that lay almost stagnantin the shal low backwaters below the smal l hi l ls on the Oppositeshore , while No rthflee t Creek was scarcely distinguishable fromthe river. Lapped by the tidal wavelets on three s ides , thehil l was the most strik ing headland , the only natural watchtower w ithin easy distance o f the city in the marshes, as Londonwas then called

,if w e accept the theory o f one school o f

historians.I t is not necessary to picture the coracles o f these peaceful

savages lying in the rushes,and their owners fishing fo r a

precarious l ivel ihood in the shal low lagoons.” However interesting this may be in school primers and story books , i t wouldappear to be but a smal l portion o f the truth ; and an i nsipid

,

pale, and flat picture o f a commercia l people, able and w i l l ingto defend themselves from those o f their own kind ; w i th acourage only l imited by the inadequacy o f their weapons .The loose way in which such historical terms as the Stone

Age,” “ the Bronze Age,” etc. , are used

,often suggests that

these periods in the world ’s development ended abruptly as46

THE BANKS OF THE THAMES .

each new one opened . Such is not the case ; even the termsthemselves are but the arbitrary namings o f modern times.Just as the latest machine lathe may be in use in the sameworkshop S ide by side w ith the adze that has not varied muchfo r centuries , so horn and stone and bronze were in use sideby side in the same vi l lage fo r many hundreds o fyears

,possibly

used by the same men , who would have no idea that the implements they held in their hands would come to be thesymbols o f two ages i n the long evolution o f thei r race.

I t appeared necessary to make these remarks as a S impleexplanation o f the very broad l ines on which the picture o f

this early civi l i zat ion is draw n . Whether -

o r not it w i l l bepossible, at any time, to do more than this fo r the very smal ltract o f country we are considering , I do not know ; b ut without draw ing upon one’s fancy, as distinct from the imagination , i t is not poss ible to do so now .

The discovery o f a large field o f fl ints at No rthfle e t,from

which thousands o f specimens have been taken already,close

to the chalk surface , points to the local ity having been thecentre o f an important and highly special ized factory. Thefl ints

, almost w ithout exception , are o f the flake variety andare o f a warl ike nature. If the situation had be en the scene o f asanguinary battle in which many thousands of warriors metthei r deaths there wou ld have been other evidence in theform Of human bones

,or weapons o f another description

,or

horn handles ; and the disposal o f the fl ints themselves wouldhave been unequivocal proof. I n the absence o f al l these i t i sreasonable to suppose that this was the s ite o f a great factoryo f fl int weapons . These fl ints are being safely preserved , andthei r number makes i t clear that the industry was a largeone , giving employment to a considerable number o f workers

,

who found their homes on the slopes o f the hi l ls o f Gravesendand Swanscombe

,and on the Brent at Dartford .

This p icture immediately opens up the whole vista Of thec ivi l ization o f these ancients . If the fl ints were fo r the use ofthe men o f the tow n that preceded Gravesend , there must havebeen a strong body o f warriors , so numerous a body ,

i n fact,

as to be worthy o f the designation o f an army ; while if thefl ints w ere fo r the purpose o f trade, there must have been aconsiderable number Of merchants

,or, if the trade was the

monopoly o f a powerfu l chief, he must have had many Subjects. I n either case there were many who w ere p ledged to al ife o f agricultural field work , either men or women , or both ,

47

A PREHISTORIC C IVILIZATION ON

the presence o f the one pre-supposing the existence o f theother

. Whichever way the subject is approached there appearsto be no room fo r doubt that this part o f Kent, w i th Gravesendfo r i ts centre, was the home o f a busy and pow erfu l community,having some know ledge o f the art o f war and the sc ience o fagricu lture.I t w i l l be observed that I refer on ly to this d istrict. This is

necessary because, in the firs t place, I am not attempting theimposs ible task o f depicting the many varied grades Of C ivi l ization spread over a country impassable in places and separatedby distances magnified a thousand times by the difficu lty o f

travel : and,i t is very general ly agreed that the difference

between the manners o f the tow n dwel lers and the agricu lturallabourers o f the present was much greater in degree in thepast ; and final ly

,i t i s now almost unquestioned that the

standard o f the C ivi l ization Of the men o f the south was higherthan that o f the northern dwel lers in our country in prehistoric times .TO return however. The bel ief that this was at one time

the centre o f a warl ike tribe is supported by the number andstrength o f the Roman stations , vi l las, and other w orks erectednear by.

The existence o f an army points to a need fo r i t ; fo r thepresence o f something worth protecting. There are only twothings worth this in any age, the one, l ife ; the other, property.

I n fact,unless in the case o f the precious metal s and j ewels ,

there must be l ife where there is property,and the larger the

property SO much greater must be the abundance o f l ife. Thisis true at the present , b ut in these bygone ages when property— corn in its various forms and the fru its o f the chase— was

produced by the infinite labour o f many hands this was st i l lmore the case.

Windmil l Hi l l , and the country to the south and beyond thewaters on the east and w est

, was the scene o f a busy commercial people who , as I have said , w ere able and w i l l ing toprotect themselves , thei r famil ies , and thei r property from theinroads o f neighbouring tribes and the poss ible

, but unl ikely,assaults o f foreign tribes and peoples .This is not all the evidence on which thi s picture o f a smal l

part of the ancient c ivi l i zation o f our country is drawn. On

the south-east slope o fWindmi l l Hi l l a superb example o f adene hole was discovered

,from which i t was poss ible by

successive careful steps in the deductive process to verify the48

Casts o fcuts m ade bymetal p icks ; no t ob tainable as holes .

Casts o f p ick -holes, Stone Court Dene -hole.

"

THE BANKS OF THE-THAMES .

previous hypotheses and consol idate the picture. This exampleo f the art o f early man has been described elsewhere

,

’but i t

w i l l be necessary to r efer briefly to some of its featu res . O therexamples o f dene holes have been found on the Kentish banko f the river Thames and a few on the Essex side. Some o fthese are undoubtedly modern chalk pits or wel ls ; unfo r

tunately ,all too frequently, they have been confused with the

true examples,w ith the resu l t that, w i th the discovery o f the

fraudulent nature o f the former the latter have been includedin the wholesale rej ection o f the entire field Of research affectedby one school o f antiquaries. This is qu ite as contrary to themethods o f the carefu l study o f the p rinciples o f history asthe unhesitating acceptance o f such pits as those in theChis lehurst Caves has been shown to be.

For many years there was a lack o f exact method in theexamination and registration o f the data found in these p its ;and the general statements and haphazard guesses o f bothpart ies fo r and against the possibi l ity o f the existence o f p itsin prehistoric times has obscured the real issue I t i s un

questioned that as late as the nineteenth century,and i n

some remote agricu ltural d istricts at the p resent time, chalkw el ls w ere sunk here and there in the fields by the farmer forthe purpose o f obtain ing chal k fo r his land ; i t i s al so un

questioned that block chalk was uti l i zed fo r bu i lding purpose.

An example o f eleventh centu ry chalk bu i lding sti l l'

standsw ithin easy distance o f the place in which I am w riting. But

i t i s Child ish to suggest that the bui lder sank a Shaft S ixtyfeet deep to secure hard Chalk

, when the blocks -the workmencut from the bu l l head were too large to pass through thenarrow funnel - l ike opening that was the only exit from ,

orentrance to , the chamber at the bottom . They w ere not fl intworkings , because, i n some, there have been found no traceso f fl int deposits , and where these have been found there is noevidence that they w ere pursued . The suggestion that theshape is due to the length Of run Of a barrow ,

or the“ throw ”

Of a spade,i s more ingenious than sound

,because

examp les o f al l Shapes have been found at different times; i nat least one o f which a barrow o f any kind wou ld have beenqu ite impossible.

These theories— they can be regarded as nothing more,un

supported as they are by any corroborative evidence appl icableto even the greater number o f known examples— were ad

1 Home Counties Mag az ine, vol. x i, p . 9 1 et sea.

49

A PREHISTORIC C IVILIZATION ON

vanced by the Rev. Mr. Hayes at a meeting of the RoyalAnthropological Association .

So far this has been destructive evidence, or, at the best,evidence o f a nugatory kind , resting on insufficient know l edgeand a rejection o f evidence admiss ible in every respect.Dene holes

,from accounts appearing in the w orks o f Spurre ll

and others,have been found at frequent though irregular

intervals on the south or Kentish S ide o f the river. Some ofthese dated from the fifteenth , s ixteenth , seventeenth , or eighteenth centuries ; others appear to be genu ine prehistoric excavations. A number o f those stil l existing 1 have personal lyexamined. But I do not know one, w ith any substantial claimto antiquity

,that is not on a hi lls ide w ithin easy distance o fi'un

ningwater,whiCh , at the period o fwhich I am w riting ,wasalmostcertain ly navigable fo r some o f the larger craft o f the time.

To descend from the general to the particular, however,from the dene holes between London and Gravesend to theGravesend tw in-chamber dene hole already mentioned

,i t is

worth remarking that,so far

,I have not been able to identi fy

any example o f the genuine dene hole to the east of the town ,although I have pursued rumours in various places

,from the

Higham Marshes to the Medway , and even in Margate, w i thout any success beyond the discovery o f a disused wel l . I two uld be rash to say that a dene hole cou ld not be foundthere, but it is at least unlikely. The reasons for this w i l lappear shortly.

The tw in-chamber dene hole was s ituated high up on thebrow o f the -hi l l. Roughly the shaft leading to the chalkchamber was sixty feet deep

,although the same chalk cou ld

have been found in the lower land around at a s l ight depth .

And as the chalk bed here is about a hundred feet deep sti l lmore sol id material m ight have been obtained w i th less labou r.Like most clene holes this was nearly fi l led in w ith the gradualsubsidence o f the s ides and the earth and loam from the top.

A large portion was cleared out, however , and the fol low ingrel ics were discovered. On the top were the bones o f smal lanimals o f the dog tribe ; a l ittle below the surface o f the bodyo f sand that fi l led the Chambers oyster shel ls were found.

Lower down sti l l , a piece o f Roman ti le was discovered , whi lealmost on the floor level and some feet below the lowest pointo f the surface o f the loam deposit two perfect examples o ffl int imp lements were found.

From this it w ou ld appear that there cannot possibly be any50

THE BANKS OF THE THAMES .

room for question ing the antiquity of the excavation . I n adene hole elsewhere, not above suspicion however, the re

mains o f an old horn lantern,o f a kind common to the w atch

men Of our grandfathers ’ time,w ere found on t/ze top o f the

debris. So that even if i t were not otherw i se know n i t wou ldbe Obvious that the fal l ing o f earth was a very gradual process.From whatever point o f view the presence o f these fl int toolsand Roman ti le in the Gravesend d ene hole are regarded , i ti s incontrovertible that the dene hole must have been in existence before the fl ints were left there. Coincidence, how evermarvel lous it may be in other respects

,cannot by any means

be made to account fo r al l things. These two fl ints are lnc luded in the i l lustrations o f specimens o f different periodsfound at Gravesend and in the neighbouring district .As though this evidence were not sufficient the Gravesend

tw in-chamber dene hole offers further,and

,i f that w ere poss ible,

sti l l more incontrovertible evidence in the pick-marks on thewal ls . Diagrams o f sections o f two of the most frequent formso f these were spe cial ly draw n fo r me from sketches made onthe spot, and are reproduced here. Repeated efforts w ithmetal picks

,of many shapes and under varying conditions ,

have fai led to produce anything similar ; the Shock o f theSw inging blow has always served to Shatter the chalk , whetherthat o f the sol id wal l or a loose block , before a hole o f any ap

pre ciable depth could be formed . The photographs o f theplaster casts taken from these pick holes w i l l serve to i l lustrate the difference between the picks w ith which these holeswere made and the metal picks o f later periods. Whi le thepage of horn implements

,al l found in the neighbourhood ,

and now in the care o f the Associated Portland CementManufacturers Limited

,presents an interesting corol lary, the

s ignificance o f which cannot be lost ‘sight o f. And it mustnot be forgotten that though the ingenuity Of the opponentsOf the belief in the age o f these prehistoric excavations maybe able to find some exp lanation o f isolated phenomena , nosuggestion has been put forward yet that w i l l meet al l thecircumstances o f the case.The shape o f the caves at Gravesend is important for

several reasons, one o f them , that it show s the impossib ilty o f

the wheelbarrow theo ry. For the benefit o f those who arenot famil iar w i th the detai l s of the controversy that has ragedintermittently amongst archaeologists and antiquaries fo r thepast forty or more years

,the meaning

'

o f the “wheelbarrow

5 1

A PREHISTORIC C IVILIZATION ON

run theory may be exp lained . A very common form o f denehole or pseudo dene hole (as i t i s now certain that this formhas been adopted in comparatively r ecent years) i s that whichhas been described as the double trefoi l , or s ix-chamberedcave

,on account o f the shape o f the Chamber or series o f

chambers at the foot o f the shaft. Radiating from a common centre there are six caverns, chambers , or extendedarms o f the one main chamber. The so -cal led wheelbarrow theory is that the

'

excavators pushed out from thecentre

,carrying the hewn chalk in thei r barrow s to the foot Of

the shaft,and that the length o f the burrow s they made in

this way was the length o f the distance they w ould use thebarrow . While one is forced to admit that there might besomething to be said to substantiate the theory, i t i s difficu l tto understand why the chambers vary in s ize and Shape in thesame dene hole

,and in one dene hole when compared w ith

another,and sti l l more why al l dene holes are not round as

they wou ld be if this theory were carried to its logica l cone lusion . I t i s qu ite sufficient to point out

,however, that this

form is not by any means general ; as al ready stated , theGravesend tw in-chamber Offered no means o f using a wheelbarrow

,even if i t had been found possible to get a wheel

barrow down this or any other dene hole Shaft. Not only wasthis the case at Gravesend in the tw in -Chambe r '

cave , but theshape showed an intention in its making.

I t is necessary to refer to this dene hole a lways as the twinChamber

,or the S inglewell Road dene hole, because numerous

dene holes have been found round about,although they w ere

not possessed o f the interest o f this , and are now only to beread o f i n scattered w ri tings .This dene hole was divided into tw o chambers by a w al l of

chalk left standing,roughly in the centre

,beneath the original

shaft, w ith an entrance additional to the top , Opening from theone room to the other.We have now arrived at a point when the result o f this

cumu lative data may be profi tably set o ut. The case mighthave been fi rst set out and the evidence then made to fi t , butthat is not satisfactory from any standpoint. SO far i t appearssafe to say that the evidence and the arguments derived fromIt are incontrovertible.

There must obviously have been some cogent reason whythis and other dene holes are s ituated on ris ing land near runn ing water o f some considerable depth. I t might be said that

5 2

THE BANKS OF THE THAMES.

they served as refuges from the gigantic animals that areknow n to have existed at some early date contemporaneousw ith the peoples who used the stone implements al ready described . But this i s highly improbable. The reasons againstthe suggestion are too numerous to detail

,and it w i l l be suf

ficient to point out that there was no compu l s ion on theancient Briton to reside so close to the water, and the absenceo f real dene holes inland show s that this danger, i f dangerthere was

,existed only at the water’s edge. Moreover the

know n dene holes are much more elabo rate than w ou ld havebeen necessary fo r a place o f temporary escape from somew i ld animal . While the few dene holes found would formsuch hopelessly inadequate provision fo r the numerous colonyI have shown existed here, that it is useless looking to theundiscovered dene holes to increase the provis ion adequately.

And lastly,the warl ike tribe

,the makers o f deadly fl int wea

pons , l i teral ly by the hundredweight, wou ld no doubt havefreed the w ide river waters o f regu lar pests , and dene hole refuges would be unnecessary against rare and unforeseen attacksfrom an amphibian enemy that had lost i ts way from the sea.

The only explanation reasonable and consistent that can

be offered , i s that these caves were s i tuated on a hi l ls ide abovenavigable streams so that something might be readily and

expeditiously conveyed to the water or to vessels on the water.This something may have been corn

,meat

,edible p rovisions,

or general merchandise. From certai n marks on the roof ofthe tw in -chamber dene hole it appears l ikely that i n this caseit was corn . The care w i th which the cave was fashioned madeit obvious that its use was a permanent or recurrent one ; andthe absence o f any remains , sepu lchral or mercanti le, in thisand most other dene holes Of any age

,serves to Show that the

material stored there, whatever its nature , was perishable.

From these tw o factors i t fol low s that there was urgent needfo r a quick transit from the hi l ls ide o f corn or other produceto the river s ide . From the nature Of this and other dene holesi t is Obvious that the material was stored here fo r some timebefore being transferred. And , as the point was near the water,and suppl ies cou ld be drawn only

,in all probabi l ity

,from the

south and south-east and south-west the p roduce must havebeen draw n from a considerable area.

I t is to be feared that these few pages have deal t rather toomuch w ith the dene hole theories

,but not more so than was

necessary fo r the clear presentation o f the subject ; and the5 3

A PREHISTORIC C IVILIZATION ON

amount o f dene hole information , fact , and theory, is infinite simal when compared w i th the amount avai lable. I hope,however, that nothing real ly germane has been omitted , andthat

,while no point has been laboured , nothing has been left

obscure.The material remains o f the Danish occupation of the

country, and to a stil l greater extent o f the Norman conquerors ,are plentiful and unmistakable : this , after a thousand years.The remains Of the Romans , nearly two thousand years ago ,are fo r the most part buried , and are consequently discoveredat comparatively rare interval s. I t can only be supposed thatthe materials in use at earl ier days have been buried in muchthe same way ,

and that the burial has been fol lowed by thenatural destruction of al l but the most impervious materials.Under these C i rcumstances i t cannot be expected that thepicture o f this extinct civi l ization on the banks o f the Thamesat Gravesend shou ld be a perfect one. I t has be en shown ,however, that enough material remains to construct , or reconstruct , much o f the l ife at this spot in bygone times. Theknow ledge o f the use o ffl in t implements and the value attachedto them is a modern discovery

,and it i s fai r to assume that

the futu re study o f the subject w i l l produce sti l l greater resu ltsthan those o f the past.Windmil l Hi l l probably marked the centre of the tribe’s

activity ; away towards No rthfle e t and Swanscombe Hi l l wasthe fl int factory

,fed by material obtained from the shal low

dene holes and other cuttings in Essex and at Stone and inSwanscombe itself. Throughout the year, possibly fo r l ongerperiods than one year

,the crops were sown and gathered and

stored in bulk as a general “ bank ” of the community,but

more probably as personal property,in the dene holes. I t may

be that pelts or other animal produce formed part o f theseearly exports , but this i s scarcely l ikely in view of the permanence o f the dene holes here and thei r absence in other districtswhere they might have been used as caelzes on hunting expeditions. At long intervals the expected foreign ships wouldhave been sighted aw ay down the river reaches , below theminiature C l iff on which Southend is bu i l t , and across thechalk rise o f Cl iffe

,and immediately the whole camp wou ld

be a scene o f bustl ing confusion .

I t appears to be probable that this was regarded as a proV1Sion station on the way to more d istant ports by the shipso f the greater nations o f the period ; and i t may have been

54

THE EARLY CHURCHES OF SOUTH ESSEX .

ing in extensa one o f the most interesting phase s of topog raphical antiqu ity asfound in the outpo st town o f what has always been the natural , comme rc ial , andsoc ial centre o f the country. The progressive tableaux , if I may cal l them so , w illcommence w ith the picture of prehistoric l i fe of the anc1ent Inhabi tants ; to befo llowed by that o f the Roman occupation ; the third pe riod w il l be tha t w hen theDanish and Roman invade rs made the ir home s at Swanscombe and Darton ; thenext period in the kale idoscopic history w il l be the long serie s o f years to the endo f the e ighteenth century ; the last tableau, the n ineteenth century , w il l depict therise and fal l of Gravesend as one o f the mo st popu lar resorts o f the time . Whileevery e ffort w il l b e made to verify all the statements, and no thing wi l l be sacrificedto the popular form ,

” this popular fo rm w il l be always in view , as it is notconce ivable that history must b e always unintere sting .

I shal l e steem it a favour if any of my readers who may have unique record s ofany kind re lating to the town o r the surrounding districts , more particularly inregard to the place Grave send took in the organized system of smugg l ing thatSpread over the who le of Kent and some of the neighbouring coun tie s

, w il l communicate w ith me .

NOTES ON THE EARLY CHURCHES OFSOUTH ESSE ! .

BY C . W. FORBES , Member Of the EssexArchaeological Society.

[Continued from vol. x11, p .

ROCHFORD .

OCHFORD i s an ancient town consisting o f four streetsOf i rregu lar houses ; i t i s approached from the westernend by a very picturesque avenue o f trees, a quarter o f

a mile long.

The Church is s ituated some l ittle d istance to the northw est Of the town ; i t is a bu i lding o f brick and stone bui l t i nthe early part o f the fourteenth century. Although there is nowno record o f an earl ier structure

,i t i s evident from a coped

gravestone w ith a flo riated cross,which l ies outs ide the north

wal l , that a church existed here prior to the present bu i lding.

The structure as w e see it to-day consists o f a chance], navew ith north and south ais les

,a vestry w i th a modern organ

chamber attached , a south porch , and a massive, lofty, embattled tower at the western end

,contain ing three bel ls .

The tower is bui l t o f red brick interlaced w ith d iaper workin black ; the wal ls are very thick , and it i s thought by somethat a smal ler tower o f the fourteenth century may have beenencased. Over the Perpendicu lar doorway on the west S ide isa shield w ith the arms o f Thomas Boteler (seventh Earl of

56

THE’

EARLY CHURCHES OF SOUTH ESSEX .

O rmond , a fess indented), who , i t i s stated , bui lt the towerwhen l iving at Rochford House, about the end o f the fifteenthcentury.

The north door into the nave is fi l led in. The south door iscovered by a fine stone embattled porch in the late Perpendicular style, w i th a double- l ight w indow on each side ; at eachangle o f the interior i s a stone corbel

,Show ing that i t was at

one time intended to have had a groined vau lt ing. Both northand south doorways are in the Decorated style.

The nave is divided from the aisles by two octagonal pi l larson each side

,w i th mou lded caps.

The north aisle had original ly four double- l ight fourteenthcentury w indow s

,two on the S ide and one at each end ; the

glazing o f the w indow at the eastern end was taken out whenthe organ chamber was bu i l t between the aisle and the vestry.

The south aisle was evidently erected at a l ittle later date ;the pi l lars on the south s ide are built o f a different stone

,the

w orkmanship is finer,and the w indow at the w est end is late

Decorated work .

The early fourteenth -century structure consisted Of a nave,

north aisle,and Chancel only, afterwards the south aisle was

added ; extens ive alterations appear to have been made at thetime the tower was erected , the south porch and vestry werebu i lt at this period

,probably at the cost o f the same benefactor.

On the south s ide the w indow s are modern restorations inthe same style as those in the north aisle ; the w indow , however,at the east end o f the south aisle is Perpendicu lar. The piscinaat this end show s that i t was used as a chapel ; i t i s surmisedthat it belonged to the Ormond family.

There were at one time tw o Open ings between the southais le and the chancel ; one now blocked up is bel ieved to havebeen fo r the stai rs to the rood ; the other, which was formerly ahagioscope

,has been opened out w i th a lofty arch into the

chanceL

The east w indow o f the chancel i s a fine five - l ight one o fthe Perpendicu lar period .

The chancel arch and the arch between the chancel and theorgan chamber are modern .

I n the north chancel wal l i s an original stone doorw ay o f

the fourteenth century,and also an Oblong opening ; as this

wal l was,prior to the bu i lding o f the vestry at the end o f the

fifteenth century, the exterior wal l , this Open ing is bel ieved tohave been a squint

,as it looks direct on to the altar ; i t is now

57

THE EARLY CHURCHES OF SOUTH ESSEX.

boarded up and used as a cupboard. Between the nave andthe tower is a high red-brick archway.

I n 1 862 three stained-glass w indow s were inserted in thechancel

,and in 1 887 the east w indow was fi l led w i th stained

glass ; at the last restoration in 1890 the organ chamber wasbuilt at the end o f the north ais le.

About the middle o f the nineteenth century the walls o f thenave were considerably heightened , a new roofwas put on , andthree circu lar clerestory w indows inserted on each side.The font is a modern pedestal one. There are now no

monuments o f any note ; there is one smal l brass in the nave,a female figure w i th a Latin ‘

inscription : Here l ies MariaDilcock who died 1 3

th December,Salmon , an old w ri ter, says : “ I n the east w indow are the

Arms o f Bohun . Humphrey Bohun , the last one, died in1 37 2 ; his w idow , who survived him for some time

,married for

her third husband,James Boteler, fou rth Earl o f O rmond.

ROCHFORD HALL.

The remains o f this ancient mansion are on the other sideo f the green

,almost opposite the west end o f the church. We

have direct information that this estate belonged to ThomasBoteler

,Earl o f Ormond , who was attainted and forfeited this

estate ; the attainder was reversed on the access ion o f HenryVI I in 148 5 . The Earl l ived here unti l 1 5 1 5 . There are severa lopinions as to who was the bu i lder Of this hal l ; but as w e

know that Thomas Boteler,seventh Earl of Ormond , erected

the church tower,w e may safely attribute the bui lding o f

Rochford Hal l to him,the architecture o f the hal l and church

tower being o f the same period .

Sir Thomas Boleyn,afterwards Lord Rochford , i s credited

w ith l iving here, and it is stated to be the birthp lace and

abode o f Anne Boleyn,also o f Robert

,third Baron Rich

, who

was created Earl o fWarw ick in 16 1 8 ; a room is sti l l shownin which Anne Boleyn was bel ieved to have been born.

The hal l was considerably enlarged and beautified by its succe ssive ow ners , but at the present time is very much dilapidatedand has considerably fal len from its high estate. The frontportion is now in the hands o f a golf club ; another portion i s ,I believe, occupied by a farm bai l iff.The almshouses at Rochford were founded by Robert Rich

,

Earl ofWarw ick,for s ix poor people.

5 8

THE EARLY CHURCHES OF SOUTH ESSEX .

14 cwt. ; two o f them are pre-Reform ation , and are i nsc ribed :Sancta Marg areta ,

Ora p ro nos [sic] and S it Non-zen D om ini

The two doo rways on the north and sou th sides lead inginto the nave belong to the earl ier church o f the fourteenthcentury ; the north doorway now leads into a vestry ; the southdoorway

,which is the chiefentrance into the church, i s covered

by a handsome decorated red -brick porch,w i th an embattl ed

roof ; it was at one time vau lted , but i s now plastered over ; theside w indows , and also a niche over the entrance

,have been

bricked up ; the floor is paved w i th fragments o f stone of anc ient memorials.The nave is divided from the aisles by four arches on each

side,supported by slender fluted pe rpendicu lar columns ; the

reveals supporting the chancel arch are octagonal,and form

part o f the original structure.In the floor at the w est end o f the nave is the top stone Of

a tomb,containing a muti lated brass ; the inscription is lost ,

but i t is surmised to be that o f John Barrington (died 14 16)and his w ife (died this J ohn Barrington was keeper o fthe King’s Park

,a large tract o f forest land and a portion o f

the royal hunting grounds . The north chape l i s bel ieved tohave been bu i l t by him as a chantry chapel

,the architectu re

being Of this period ; i t is d ivided from the chancel by a smal larcade o f two arches

,supported by a s lender p i l lar. The east

w indow , a four- l ight perpendicular one w ith fine tracery, i s thebest in the church . On the south s ide is a piscina . Tw o tombs,one w i th the arms o f Barrington on it , and the other w i th thebrass referred to above

,stood in this chantry unti l the middle

o f the eighteenth centu ry.

The sou th or Alen chapel was added in 1 5 1 7 by order o f aw ealthy resident named Wi l l iam Alen ; i t is bu i lt on a s imi larscale to that on the north side ; oak has been used instead o f

stone in the dividing arch,probably due to the difficu lty in

transit. The be autifu l tomb now to be seen there is to one ofhis sons , Richard Alen, reputed to have been the bui lder o f

this chantry in accordance w ith the w ishes o f his father expressed in his w i l l . The tomb is now much muti lated , thefigures are all gone

,but the decorative w ork on the canopy is

sti l l in a very good state o f p reservation . There is now notrace whatever o f the tomb Of the father

,Wi l l iam Alen .

The cei l ing was once adorned w ith coats o f arms o f the deVere and Howard families. The w alls are bu i lt o f ragstone

60

THE'

EARLY CHURCHES OF SOUTH ESSEX.

and fl int a rranged in chequer work . There are no other monuments left in the church o f any particular note.The font is modern ; a fragment o f an ancient font of

square construction,w ith arcading work , was discovered by

the present Rector some time back ; i t is now to be seen nearthe entrance to the vestry.

Among the church plate is a Chal ice, dated 1683 , w i th theinscription : Ex sumptious P aroclziae a

’e Ray leiglc in usum Ec

clesiae Sanctae Trinitatis .

Restorations material ly al tering the interior o f the churchtook place in 17 1 1 , 1 800,

and 1 840.

There is a curious old alms chest in the church, 36 i n . by 19 in .

by 19 in .,made out o f one block o f oak , and fastened by three

locks ; fo r additional securi ty it also had at one time a ring andChain fo r attachment to a wal l.Among the inventories o f Church goods drawn up by the

Commissioners in the reign o f Edward VI,dated October

1 5 5 2 , and now preserved in the Publ ic Record Offi ce, i s onerelating to Rayleigh . The document is endorsed w i th a statement permitting the use o f certaingoods and vestments in thechurch.

From the inventory it is seen that the Church o f Rayleighin 1 5 53 possessed the fol low ing

One crosse of sylver gil t anelyd, wayeing lxxi ouncesiijquarters.Two chaleses of sy lver gylt 1] patents , wayeing xx1] ounces

and a half.One pix of sylver a lit tle pece of sy lver, parcell gi lt,

wayeing ijounces.Fyve gret bells, waye ing by estymacyon lx hundred.

One saunce bell a hand bell, wayeing by estn lxx pounds.One grene canopy o f Cloth, of a sat ten a bridges .One vestment of crymsen velvet wit th ’ apparell.One vestment o f blewe damaske , witout the apparell.One vestment of blewe velvet, wit th ’ apparell.One vestment o f grene satten a brigges, wit th ’apparell.One vestment of grene silke for decon subdecon, wit

the apparell to the vestment.One vestment of whyte Silk, wit black spots, witout apparell.Two black motley vestments the apparell to th ’ one o f

them.

One blewe motley vestment, witout apparell.One blewe vestment o f satten, wit th’apparell.One red vestment of sarssnet, witout th’apparell.

6 1

THE EARLY CHURCHES OF SOUTH ESSEX .

One vestment of blewe damaske , witout th’apparells.

One care c loth .

One Cope o f purp le velvet .One cope of crymsen velvet.Thre Old grene si lke copes .One cope o f whyte silke.One cope of motley.One old care c loth.

One red vestment of branchyd saye, th’apparell, except a

girdell.

One whyte vestment of fustyan, wit th’apparell.

One vestment of grene motley, witout apparell.On e coysshyn of c loth o f gold .

One red coysshyn of silk, corporase , vijcloths in them.

iiijcrewe tts of pewter.ijsuper alteres o f marble .

One pix cloft.

ijpayen of organs .A croysmatory of latton.

A senser a Ship of Copper.ijcoortens of stayned canvas.iijmasse books o f papier.iiijal tar clothes, th

’one o f diaper, a pied fringe.iijaltar clothes of chamblet saye fustyan buck[ram].One old crosse of COppe r.

A knop of grene silke gold .

One pulpet cloft.

iiijsurpleses.

iijrochetts.

iiijtowells.

Certain goods had been sold previously by the churchwardens among these were :

One painted fount cloth.

One banner staff.One alter standing in A llen

’s chappell .One shipp one pix o f si lver

, parcell gilt, a senser of

silver, parcell gilt.

The sum o f 4s. 4a'. was used about the reparacy on of the

churche mend inge Of the clo cke .

”

The fol low ing goods were sold by the parish ioners in 1 5 5 1for 4os., and the sum expended in paying the stage players ,and repai ring the Cornmarket viz . :

One masseboke wrytten ; 1] grayles ; iiijp’ressyons ; 1] malls ;

11] dyrge bokes ; ijwrytton bokes ; one olde masse boke ; one62

THE' EARLY CHURCHES OF SOUTH ESSEX.

boke of the psalmes ; iiijother written bokes ; a crosse stafi’

;iiijbanners stremers ijholywater potts the foot of a crosseo f latten ; iiij latten candelsticks; ijgret candelsticks ; onesakeryng bell ; certen other thyngs which we remembe r nott .

The inventory concludes thusIt appoynted to the chyrchewardens to use in the chyrche

the said two chalices, because the parysshe i s grete, and thered velvet cope, one of the green copes, the alter Clothes, allthe surplices, the care cloth, the pulpyt cloth, the canvys cloth,the herse towells ; the residewe is comytted to savekepyngto John Coke, gen t., Willm Rawllyn, to be used at theKing

’s pleasure.There is also at the Publ ic Record Office, among the returns

made to Parl iament in 1 388 Of the Ecclesiastical Gilds and

brotherhoods, etc ., a certificate relating to a Gi ld in Rayleigh .

By the kind perm iss ion o f the Rector o f Rayleigh,the Rev.

A. G. Fryer, I have taken much valuable information from hisbook Ray leigh in P ast Day s.

[To be continued.]

THE LATER HISTORY OF L ITTLEBERKHAM STEAD .

BY C . E. JOHNSTON .

N a previous article ‘w e traced the descent of the manoro f Little Berkhamstead to the

”

year 1 5 39, when it passedto the Crown on the atta inder of the Marchioness of

Exeter.On December 7 , 1 5 39, Henry VI I I granted for l ife to

Anthony Denny,chief gentleman o f his Privy Chamber, the

stewardship o f the manors o f Bedwell and Berkhamstead andthe custody o f the mansion o f Bedwel l and o f Bedwel l Parkand the w i ld animals therein , at a fee of£ 12 a year receivableout o f the said manors, together w ith the herbage and pannageo f Bedwel l Park and free warren o f conies w i thin and w ithoutthe park in : the parishes o f Essendon and Be rkhamstead, andtwo pastures adjoin ing the park called Great and Little Copie.’

Home Counties Mag az ine, vol. x i, p . 266.

3 Le tters and Papers , Henry VIII, 1 5 39, vol. 11, p. 300, and Patent Ro l l690, 3 1 Henry VIII, m. 34.

63

LATER HISTORY OF LITTLE BERKHAMSTEAD .

I n 1 543 100 fal low deer and 1 2 red deer were removed fromBedwel l Park to the King

’s park at Waltham .

1

S ir Anthony Denny “was one o f Henry VIII’s executors

and one o f the guardians o f Edward VI ; shortly after Henry’s

death he was using this posi tion to secure grants o f lands fo rhimself. On June 1 2 , 1 547 , des iring to have the manors ofBedwel l and Be rkhamstead , he put i n valuations as fol low "

Rents of assize of free tenants in Bedwell yearlyRents of Copyhold tenants inRents of tenants at wi ll inRents ofassize o ffree tenants inHatfieldWoodside yearlyRents of Copyhold tenants inRents o f assize of free tenants in Berkhamstead yearl

Rents o f copyhold tenants inFerm o f demesne lands dem ised to divers tenantsPerqu isitions of Courts

£4 1 1 6 1

Less. Fee o f Sir Anthony Denny 1 2 1

Annuity of Robt Page by letterspaten t of the King

T i the to the Vi car o f Berkhamstead

Hay making and Carting1 5 o 0

Clear yearly value 26 1 6 I

The warren of conies and the herbage and pannage o f

Bedwel l Park,which were Sir Anthony Denny’s fo r l ife, were

each valued at £6 1 3s. 4d . yearly.

On June 28 , 1 547 , the Crow n granted’ to S ir Anthony Denny

and his heirs for ever in fu l l absolute and entire completionand execution o f our dear father’s mind and intention ” themanors Of Bedw el l and Be rkhamstead , w ith other lands inNaz ing , Waltham ,

and Cheshunt. S ir Anthony died onSeptember 1

, and left Bedw el l and Berkham stead tohis third son

,Charles

,a young boy on whose death w ithout

1 Le tters and Papers , Henry VIII, 1 543 , vol. xviii, p. 1 26.

2 Se e a b iog raphy of h im in Transactions of East Herts Arc/i . Soc. ,

vol. iii, pt. 2 , p. 197 .

3Particulars for grant s , 1 Edw . VI

,se ction 1

,No . 1 5 7 2 .

Pat. Ro l l , 807 , 1 Edw . VI,111. 19.

5 Inq. p . m .

, 4 Edw . VI.

, pt. 1 , No . 1 1 5 .

64

LATER HISTORY OF LITTLE BERKHAMSTEAD .

hamstead a messuage, garden and 2 acres o f land bought in1622 o f Nicholas and Wi l l iamHooker and others . 1 His eldestson and hei r

,Humphrey Weld , who was eleven years old on

January 26,162 3 , was afterwards owner o f Lulworth Castle,

Dorset,and Governor o f Portland Castle.

On September 1 2,1645 , S ir John Weld

’s w idow , DameFrancesWeld and others , sold to Phineas Andrew s , merchant,o f Crutched Friars, London , the manor Of Little Be rkhamstead

w i th 64 acres o f demesne lands (viz 16 acres in B erklzamsteadM ead , 20 acres o f inclosed arable land cal led Hay cockes and

Hzgnoakes, and 28 acres Of arable land in the Common field)and about 65 acres o f other lands

,viz., Culverg rove, wood

ground cal led Hay cockp iece, a messuage and 10 acres adjoining

,D ry bottome meadow , 5 roods in B erknamstead M ead

,

B roome Close, a messuage and close in M z'

llfield ,three closes

in P ondfi eld ,two C loses “ down to the river,

”tw o closes in

Greenepig/ztell, an acre in B roadlands, a close o f 8 acres i nFell/zedg es , and a tenement w ith 1 acre Of land .

2

Phineas Andrew s was a royal i st and was married to Mi ldred ,s ister o f Thomas Fanshawe

,o f Ashford

,Kent ; his daughter,

El izabeth,married ’ Thomas

,son o f Sir John Wolstenholme ,

farmer o f the customs and afterw ards a baronet. Thomas andEl izabeth Wolstenholme had a son

,John (afterw ards third

baronet), baptized at Little Be rkhamstead i n 1649 : Thomassucceeded his father as second baronet in 1670,

and died in169 1 ; he and his w ife

,who died in 1697 , w ere buried at

St. Margaret’s , Westminster.I n 1650 Phineas Andrew s paid fo r Sir JohnWolsten

holme’s assessment by the Committee fo r the Advance o f

Money. The fol low ing year Andrew s himself was before theCommittee on information that he had sent £50 i n 1644 tohis uncle

, Sir John Harrison 4o f Bal l s Park, then at Oxford

in very strai tened ci rcumstances,and that about the same

time he had sent £100 to the King as a testimony o f hisaffection ; he was, how ever, released in Apri l , 165 2 , on theAct o f General Pardon .

Andrew s had chi ld ren baptized at Little Be rkhamstead i n

F ine s, Hert s, Trin.

, 20 Jame s I.C lo se Ro l l , 3336, No . 32 (2 1 Car. I

, pt.

Allegation fo r marriage licence date d January 3 1 , 1645-6 ; Elizabe thAndrew s was then ag e d se venteen .

Sir John Harrison was doubtle s s unc le of M rs. Andrew s through h i sm arriage w ith Margare t, daughter of Robe rt Fan s hawe.

66

LATER ' H ISTORY OF LITTLE BERKHAMSTEAD.

1647 and 165 3 ; the last, a son named Phineas , only l ived afew days. I n 165 5 he sold to George Nevill, Gent , o f S tapleI nn

,London

,fo r the manor o f Little Be rkhamstead ,

w i th all the lands purchased from the Welds,and also the

fol low ing copyhold lands acqu i red from Thomas Foster andJeremiah Roy ste rne , viz., Two closes o f pasture and woodcal led Cattalls ( 10 acres) and New Close adjoining (8 acres) ;a smal l p ightell ( 1 acre) ; M illfield Close (7 acres) lately inclosed out Of the Common field cal led M illfleld Fouracrep iecei nM illfield 5 acres in Sp rowsfield and Idlemanslzott (6 acres)in Sp rowsfield ; M ill/field B ottome (3 acres) ; M ill/field Spr ing(2 acres) ; 8 roods in B erkhamstead M ead ; P ollards Sp ringGrove (3 acres) ; B roadlands Grove (2 acres) ; land cal ledHounds (4 acres) ; and a messuage formerly in the tenure ofThomas Foster.2

George Nevi l l was elder son o f Richard Nevillo f Halstead,Essex

,and was descended from a younger son Of Richard

Nevill,second Lord Latimer. His son , Richard Nevi l l , was

buried at Little Be rkhamste ad i n 1664, and he himself diedin 1679 ,

aged fifty -eight,and was buried in the chance ! of

Little Be rkhamstead Church ; his w idow ,Elizabeth

,who was

youngest daughter o f Sir Hen ry Trotter o f Skelton Castle,died in 168 5 , aged s ixty-one

,and was buried near him .

The manor o f Little Be rkhamstead devolved on GeorgeNevi l l ’s on ly daughter

,Elizabe th

,who had married Cromwel l

Fleetwood , son o f Lieutenant-General Charles Fle e two od andB ridget

,daughter Of O l iver Cromwel l . Cromwel l Fleetwood

seems to have been the only son o f this marriage and to havebeen born in 165 3 ; his mother died in 1662

,and his father,

who married again,l ived a reti red l ife at Stoke New ington ,

being incapacitated from publ ic office after the Restoration.

Cromwel l Fleetwood was admitted to Gray’s I nn in 167 1 ;in 167 3 he was

“ received into Church fel low ship ” i n theCongregational Church in Bury Street, Duke

’s P lace,

under Dr. John Owen , where the rest o f his family weremembers “ He died w i thout issue in 1688 , and was buriedin the chance] at Little Be rkhamstead , where his w idow was

1 Andrew s afterward s bough t the manor of Denton,Kent ; he was

M.P. fo r Hythe 1660,d ie d in 166 1 and was buried at Denton.

3 Indenture o f July 23 , 165 5 . (C lo se Ro l l, 387 3 , No .

3 Allegation fo r marriage licence February 22, 167 8-9 ; Fle e twood wasthen age d about 26 ” and El izabe th Nevill abou t

Transactions of Cong regational Historical S oa'

ety , No . 1 quo ted inHertfords/zire Al ercu ry ,

March 7 , 1908 .

67

LATER HISTORY OF LITTLE BERKHAMSTEAD.

laid to rest in 1692“ adj acent to :

ye body Of her vertuous

husband.

”

El izabeth Fleetwood left by w i l l 1 £5 to her “ Aunt Fulthorpe

,

”

£300 to her kinswoman , Mary Fulthorpe , who hadbeen l iving w i th her, £10 to her “ s ister Bendish

”

[BridgetI reton , half-sister o f Cromwel l Fleetwood],£500 to her cousins ,Thomas Burkitt and Sarah his w ife o f Sudbury, £20 to her“worthy friend Mr. Hayworth , £3 to the poor o f LittleBe rkhamstead , £20 to poor Nonconform ist M inisters andMinisters ’ w idow s , and 50 fo r a large gravestone to be placedover her and her husband and fo r a monument on the wal l Ofthe church. There is no such monument to them ,

but thegravestone in the chancel floor has the arms o f Fleetwoodquartering Nevi l ! and the fol low ing inscription

Here lyeth the body of Elizabe th Fleetwood, widow, (whodied the xxvi of April MDCXCI I) adjacent to ye body of hervertuous husband, Cromwell Fleetwood Esq, who died y"1 of June MDCLXXXV I I I . This Elizabeth was sole daughterof George Ncvill, Gent ., and died wi thout issue.

The manor o f Little Be rkhamstead was left to GeorgeNevil l

,eldest son o f Mrs. Flee twoo d ’

s cousin and heir-at-law ,

John Nevil l o f Ridgewel l , Essex ,when he shou ld come o f age

,

and,unti l such time

,the revenue

,after meeting her debts and

legacies,was to go to John Nevill. The revenue, however,

proved insufficient to meet the charges upon it, and thetrustees obtained a private Act o f Parl iament 2 to enable themto sel l a portion o f the estate to meet these charges. Therewere two very good houses there

,the Manorhouse , and the

B rewhouse, “ which i s the mansion house and i s very large anda burthen to the estate to keep up ;

” and on September 16,the trustees fo r a nominal consideration conveyed to

John Nevi l l,in satisfaction o f moneys owed to him by the

estate,the Brewhouse, w i th orchards, gardens, malthouse,

dovehouse, etc ., and D obbs Closes ( 10 acres) adjoin ing thehouse

, 7 acres in B erkhamstead M ead, Sandp it Close (2 acres),

and P enly P ar/e ( 5 roods).The Brewhouse and Dobbs Closes afterwards passed into

Wil l (P. C. C. 105 Fane ) dated May 23 , 169 1 and pro ve d June 4, 1692.

There Is no entry of her burial in the pari sh reg i ster, w h ich i s defe ctiveat th i s period ; the date on her tomb stone se em s to have be en alteredfrom 1693 to 1692.

2 Local Ac t s, 7 and 8 Wi l l. Ill, Record Commi s sion, Statute s, vol. vu ,

P~ I S9, NO~ ! iii C lo se Ro l l, 4920, No . 10.

68

LATER HISTORY OF LITTLE BERKHAMSTEAD .

the possession of John B rassey,citizen and goldsmith of

London and owner o f Roxford manor in Hertingfordbury ;he sold them in 1 7 22

1 to John Moore,Gent ., o f St . James

’s,Westminster, who also acquired from Ursu la French , w idow ,

a farmhouse and 4 acres o f land in Little Be rkhamstead ,P ondfi eld (3 acres), Redducks (4 acres), Tne Danes ( 5 acres),7 } acres o f common arable land , 3 roods o fmeadow and 13 acresi n B erknamstead M ead . Moore sold his lands to MauriceHunt

,Esq .

,o f Cavendish Square, London , who died in 1 7 30,

and whose name is kept in remembrance in Little Be rkhamstead by the Charity which he left to the poor ; the Brewhouseand his lands in Little Be rkhamstead he left to Al ice , w ife o fW i l l iam Morehead

,Esq . , o f St. George

’s,Hanover Square,

London,who sold them in 1 7 38

2 to Beverly Butler, Esq .,of

the I nner Temple. On Butler ’s death in 1 7 54, the propertypassed to his w idow

,Martha

,who died in 1 7 62 , and left thi s

property to her “ dear friend ” Mary Durnford,who married

in 1 766 John Searancke , Esq .,o f Hatfield . Mrs . Searancke

died in 1 7 87 , and the Brewhouse and lands passed into thepossession o f John Stratton , Esq., o f The Gage, who pu l leddown the B rewhouse and erected on its Si te in 17 89 theexisting ci rcular tower of red brick .

George Nevill married Jane, daughter o f W i l l iam Guyon ,o f Great Yeldham

,Essex , and in 1 7 1 3

3 sold the manor o f

Little Berkhamstead and about 165 acres o f land to JohnDimsdal e the younger o f Hertford

,who was kn ighted in 1 7 25 ,

and died in 17 26, aged sixty-one,w i thout issue, l eaving this

manor to his cousin,Thomas Dimsdale

,afterwards Ist Baron

Dimsdale, w ith whose family the manorial rights sti l l remain.

C lo se Ro l l , 5329, No . 20.

2 C lo se Ro l l, 561 5 , No. 2 1 .3 C lo se Ro l l , 505 1 , No . 5 .

STAR CHAMBER CASES, No . ! .

DYER o . LORD CLINTON .

M ICHAELMAS TERM ,2 1 HENRY VI I , 1 505 .

(S tar Cnamécr P roceeding s,Henry VII , No. 47 )

O the Kyng ou r Souve re igne Lord .

[Meekly be see che th]1 your Highnes you r pore subjett

and day ly o ratour, John Dyer o f London , Glasier, thatwhere George Norton o f Merden in your Co untie o f Kent wasseasid in his demean as o f fee o f and i n certeyn [lands cal led]Cheveney ,

and o f and in other loudes,m edowe and pasture

call id Syphe rst, i n Merden afo rese id and in Ealdy ng in yourseid Countie in h is demeane as o f fe e , by Old enhe ritaunce tobym [descended and so possessed died] seasid ,

after whos deththe seid landes medow e

,pasture, wodde and other the pre

m isséz,descendyd and ought to descende to oon Jobane Dyer,

as suster and beire o f the seid George Norton , fo rasmo che [asthe said George died w i thout] i ssue o f his bo dy e . By forcewhe ro f the seid Jobane Dyer entred in to the seid londes andtenementes

,and was therof seasid by the space o f xx yerez

and more,and died Of that estate therof [seised after whose

death] the seid londes and tenemente s descendyd unto yourseid Oratour

,as son and he ire to the seid Johane , by force

whero f he entred i nto the seid londes and tenemente s, and

was therof seasid i n h is demeane as Of [fee , and was thereo f]peasibly seasid unto the tyme that Thomas Cornel l th ’ elderand Thomas Cornel l the y onger, w ithout title o f ryght entredin to the seid londes and tenementes, and therof w rongfu l lydisseised your [said Orator

,and] the same w i th force and

mygth kept ; ayenst whom your seid Oratour the xijth yereo f your most noble Re igne [ 1496-

7 ] Sovere igne Lord , sued a

w ry tt o f entre [entry] upon the S tatute de ing ressa ubi ing ressus

non datu r per leg em [passed in the reign of] Kyng Richardthe ijde ,

2 oon o f your noble progenitours, afore the Justice o fyour Commen Benche at Westminster : I n which accion theseid Thomas and Thomas pleaded that they entred nat ayenst

1 Part of the documen t i s torn off ; the m i s s ing po rtions are conjectural l y re store d

,w he re po s s ible.

Probably the act again st forcible entrie s, 5 Ric. II, s tat. 1 , cap. 7 .

70

STAR CHAMBER CASES , NO. X .

th e fourme o f [the statu te] ; and after long suy t made by yourseid Oratour i n the seid action , to his great costes and charges ,i t was founde be an inquest Of xijlawfull and indifferent menthat the seid Thomas and Thomas in entred o f theirow o e w rong, ayenst the fourme o f the seid statuy t, and asse ssidthe damages o f your seyd Oratour fo r his wronge s susteyned

in that behalf, whero f he hadde Jugement as [P by the recordo f that pro ]ce z more at large appe rith o f Record. And thisjugement natw ithstandy ng , the seid Thomas Cornel l andThomas

,o f there great mal ice

, w rongfu l ly after that e ftsone sdese sid your seid b ese che r [again o f the said] tenementes, and

the same w i th mygth and strenght kept, and a lso compleynedunto your Hyghnesse afore the lordes o f you r most Honourable and Discrete Counsel ayenst your seyd b e se cher

,and

fo ras[muche as the s]eyd loudes and tenementes lay nere untoJohn

,Lord Clynton and Say ,

your seid Hy ghnes Directedyour honourable letters to the seid Lord Clynton and toEdwarde Fe rey s, Esquie r, commaundyng them by the sameto cal le afore them the seid partiez and sett suche d ire cc ionby twene them as shuld accorde w ith conscience. By forcewhe ro f the seid Lord Clynton badde bothe the seid partiezafore bym ,

but he therin made nonne ende. And the seidThomas Cornel l

, pe rceyvyng that he cowde not atteyne to hispu rpose by that suy t, gaffe his pre tensid title in the premy sse zto the seid Lord Cl inton ; whiche Lorde, by colour o f the. samegy ft , w ith force and armes and in ry o tte s maner

,ayenst you r

peas and lawes, Souve re igne Lord , entred into the seid londe s

and tenemente s, and kept the possession o f the seid loudesand tenemente s and other the prem isse z w i th l ike force andmyght. And afterward your seid Oratour re -entred ,

and was

seasid therof in his demeane as o f fe e by reason o f his seidlawfull t itle, and lete [let] the seyd londes and other the prem isse z to ferme to oon John Gartfo rd , y eldyng to your seidOratour a ce rteyn yerly rent ; and then the seid Thomas Cornel l and Thomas

,i n there pre tensid ti tle o f the seid Lord

Clynton and by his commaundement , myght and strenght ,entred into the seid londes, and there toke w rongfu l ly vjoxenand xijbo lake s [bu l locks] o f the catell o f the said Fe rmo ur

,

and them drove awey ; and after the seid John Gartfo rd suyd

a w ry tt o f replevyn,and by vertue therof had his seid catell

ageyn. And the seid compleynt and wry tt, w ith the processein the same

, was removyd afore your Justice o f Pleas to beholden before yourself the xix yere o f your most noble Re igne

7 1

STAR CHAMBER CASES ,NO. X .

[ 1 503 and there the seid mater was ple ted , and the title o fyour seid Oratour put in issue to be try ed ,

and in the seidaccion it was tried , and fo unde by great delibe racion that theseid Thomas Cornel l and Thomas, whiche gaff the ire pretensydtitle to the seid Lord Clynton , badde no thyng therin but byd isseson donne to your seyd Supplyant , as i s afore rehe rsedwhe ruppon after the seid John Gartfo rd recovered his damagesfo r the wrongfull takyng o f the seyd bestes

,as afore your

seyd Justices also appe rith ther o f Record . And al l th is natw ithstandyng , the seid Lord Clynton o f his great myght , forceand strenght yet kepe th the possession o f the seid londe s andother the prem issez , and therin hath made g rete wast andd istruccion in fellyng o f grete trees fy sshyng Of his pondesand d ispoy lyng hys fy sshe , to his great losse. And your seidSuppliaunt i s a pore Citizen o f this Citie o f London and [not]able to pursue no further fo r the present [by] course Of theCommen lawe

,and SO l ikely to be d ishe re t, except your grace

be aid ing him] this behalf. I t may the rfo re please [you r]most noble Grace the premisse z to considre , and to graunt toyour seid b ese che r your honorable lettres o f Pryve Seale tobe directed to the seid Lord Clinton

, comaundyng bym bythe same to appere before [your Grace] and the Lordes o f

your most honorable Counce ll, at Westminster, on such dayand uppon suche payne as shal l p lease your Grace to ass igne,there to answe re to the prem isse z and further to be d irectedby your seyd Honourable Councellas shal l accorde w i th reasonand conscience.

[ adorsed Termino M ic/zaelis,anno reg ni Reg is xay [ I

Th’

aunswe rr o f John , Lord Clynton and Say , to the bi l l ofComp lainte o f John Dyer.The seid Lorde saith that the sayd bil l i s uncerte in and in

suflficrent to be aunswery d unto, and the mater the ryn conteyned feyned o f mal ice to vexe and trouble the seyd Lorde

,

and also is mater dete rmy nabullat the Commen Lawe,where

unto he praie th to be remitted ; and th’

advauntage therof toh 1m savyd , neve rtheles fo r further aunswe r and de clarac ion o ftro uth

, the seid Lorde saie th that whe r the seyd Complay nauntsaIth that the Kinge s l etters were d irectyde to the seyd noweLorde Cl inton and Edwarde Ferris to examyn the premisses ,tro uth It i s and so the seyd Lorde and Edwarde dydde , andcommaundyde the seyd parties to bringe their evydence s andto shewe their ti tles ; but the seyd John Dyer wolde never

7 2

STAR CHAMBER CASES ,NO. X .

Witho ute that that the seyd George Norton and Joane Dyeror any o f them dyed seasyd o f the premy sse s yn maner andfourme as is surmy sed ,

and w i thout that that the seyd Lordwi l l ave rr that at the tyme o f deth o f the seyd George Nortonthat the seid Thomas son o fWi l l iam , then cosin and heir tothe seyd Symond , was imprisoned and yn warde w ithin theCastel l o f Dove rr, and at the deth o f the seyd Joane Dyer theseyd Thomas

,who ise Estate the seid Lorde nowe hath , was

w ithin age ; and w i thout that that the sayd lorde is gy lty e ofany my sdemeano ur comprised yn the seyd by ll. Al l whichmaters he is redy to prove, etc .

The Replicac ion o f John Dyer to the answer o f John,Lord

Clynton and Saye.

[Repeats the statement in the B i l l and Specifical ly deniesthose in the Answ er.] And fo r asmo ch as the seid now

Lord hath confessid in his seid answer that he hath purchasedthe same londe s and tenemente s the same hangy ng in pley[plea] and variance, which i s ayenst al l lawe and good con

sience , and also i t i s but only fo r mayntenaunce and fo r noenother cause

,whe rfo r the seid John Dyer praiy th as he hath

pray d i n his seid hy ll, and further that the same Lord may bepony sshed fo r his offense don in the. premisses . Al l whichmater he is redy to prove and aver as this Cou rt shal l award ,and pray th as he hath prayd in h is seid byll, etc.

The Rejoynde r o f the Lord Clynton to the Reply cacon ofJohn Dyer.The seid Lord seith in every thyng as he seid in his seid

Ansuer,whiche y s goode and true in every poynt and that he

y s redy to ave rre and prove as this Court shal l award . Andwhere hit y s supposed that the seid Lord shuld purchase theseid landys and tenem enty s cal led Sh iphurst , the same landyshanggyng in ple and variaunce , the seid Lord seith as he seidin his seid ansuer, that he by force o f a decre made by the seidCounse ill was comaunded by the Pre sydent o f the seid Counse ill to put the seid Thomas in possessy on o f the same landysand tenementy s , em onge other, whe rby the variaunces and plebe twene the seid John Dyer and Thomas Cornel l was fu l l dete rmy ned ; and after that the seid Lord Clynton purchased theseid landys and tenementy s cal led Shiphurst, in manere andfourme as he hath al leged in his seid ansuer. Al l whichematers the seid Lord Clynton y s redy to ave rre and prove as

74

NOTES AND QUERIES .

this Court w i l l e award and prayeth as he hath prayed in hisseid ansue r.

The Replicacion o f John Dyer to the Reyonder o f the LordClynton.

The same John Dyer Se iy th in every thyng as he hath seydin his seid hy ll and replicac ion ; w i thout that that there wasever eny decre made by the Kynges moost Hono rabull Counsel l ayenst the same John Dyer to chyng the fo rse id londes andtenemente s or eny parte Of theym ,

or that the same Lord everhad eny commaundement by the Pre sedent o f the sameCounsel ! to putt the same Thomas Cornel l in possession o f

the fo rse id londe s and tenementes or that the same Lord everpurchased the same londe s and tenemente s b ut only fo r mayntenance and to b ore and maynten the same mater ayenst thelaw e ; and sens th

’

entre made by the same Lord in an actiontakyn by the fe rm our of the seid John Dyer ayenst the servanto f the seidLo rd , the same Lordes pre tensid title w as fond by xijhonest men o f the countre ayenst the same Lord and his servant and jugement was y evyn uppon the same. W ithout thatthe same Lord payd eny mony fo r the same lond , but by myghtand strenkith [strength] kepith the same, ayenst ryght and

good consience,to the utter ondoyng o f the same John Dyer.

Whe rfo re he ave ry th and praiy th as he hath prayd i n his seidbyll and replicacion.

NOTES — The main po int of intere s t in th i s case cons i st s of the two longped igree s se t out by the defendant. The s tudent of surname s w i l l obse rvethat the nam e Co rne l l i s identifie d w ith Co rnewayle , that is , Co rnwal l .The se t of plead ing s i s unu sual ly comp le te .

NOTES AND (HIERIES.

ILLIAM LOFT IE RUTTON.-Many o f our readers will

regre t to hear of the death of Mr. Rufton, who was a con

tributor to I 7ze Home Counties Magazine from i ts beginning. Mr. Rutton died on February 3 rd , in his eight ieth year, havingbeen born at Ashford, Ken t, in 1 8 3 1 . He waswell known in his profession o f a civ i l engineer, and it is no doubt to the training thus acqu ired that we must attribu te the painstaking accuracy and love o f

detai l that Characterized his archaeological work. NO point was tootrivial for research and proof or otherwise ; no one could bemore careful in verifying references ; these important factors give a perman

7 5

NOTES AND QUERIES .

ence and value to his articles, even on relatively unimportant subjects.He published a genealogical book, Tli rce B ranc/zes of t/1c Family ofPVentwor tlz, in 1 89 1 , and two biographical artic les on two Lo rdMayors o f London appeared recently in this magazine, but his bestwork was topographical, espec ial ly that relat ing to Greater London.

His articles on Westbourne Green,” B loomsbury Square,” TheSerpentine,

”and Kensington Gardens were wri tten for theR OM ,

while his last published paper, on“ The Manor of Eia or Eye next

Westm inster,” appeared in Arc/za ologia ; all o f these are sound and

solid contributions to the topography of the metropolis. Art icles onFolkestone Parish Church ”

and Sandgate Castle were printed inArc/za ologia Cantiana ; an art icle on Cheriton Church wi ll appear inour next number. Mr . Rutton was elected P.S.A. in 1 89 1 . His

genial disposition and w i llingness to help endeared him to a largec ircle o f friends by whom he will be great ly m issed.

TURNER AND PEAKE FAMILIEs.— Can any reader tell the ident ity of

one Sibylla Peake, of St. Saviour’s, Southwark, Surrey, spinster, who

married William Turner of the same parish, bachelor, Apri l 2 , 1 7 2 7 ?See Register of St. Benet

’s, Pau l’sWharf, vol ii., marriages, London,1 9 1 0, page 3 2 7 . Did this William Turner die before 1 740, and didhis wife Sibylla remarry ? If so, whomP— EUGENE F. MACPIKE.

1, Park Row,

Chicago, U .S.A.

DEADMAN ’S PLACE BURIAL GROUND — Can you or any one of yourcorrespondents tell me what became o f the remains o f the personsburied in Deadman’s Place Burial Ground, particularly regardingthose interred abou t 1 8 1 2 ?Can any one also instruc t me regarding the disposal of the tomb

stones, and the remains o f those buried in the ground at tached to theIndependent Chapel, belonging to the D issenters, which adjoinedDeadman’s Place Burial Ground.

Deadman’s Place was si tuated in Southwark, and is now calledPark Street. A chapel was situated there and was known in 1 764 as

Dr. Watson’s Dissent ing Chapel . It is stated that the burial groundreferred to is now a par t o f the brewery of Messrs Barclay, Perkinsand Co.

Deadman’sPlaceBurialGround is shown in Roque’s plan ofLondon,1 746, also in Rendel’s Map of Sou thwark 1 542, and the burial groundis referred to in the follow ing work : Hunter’sLondon B urial Grounds,etc. I find that bodies were buried there as recent ly as 1 8 1 2 . Werethe bodies or remains ever removed ? Under what legislative act wasDeadman ’s P lace Burial Ground c losed and when ? I shall be verygrateful

[

fo r any information through the columns of the Home Counties M agazine, and shall be very p leased to answer any repl ies sentdirect — JOHN GOLDSWORTHY ADAMS. Burns Avenue, Hartwell,Ohio, U .S.A.

7 6

REPLIES .

such a subject, in the eighth volume of Walford’s Antiquarian iden

tifie s these sites, and all are in the Clink Liberty .

On p . 202 , Mr. Ty ler bo ldly asserts that the historic Globe Theatrewas also in the Manor of Paris Garden, thereby shifting i t nearly aquarter o f a m ile from the position in Messrs. Barclay, Perkins andCo.

’s Brewery, where i t appears to be safely anchored by Dr .WilliamMartin, after most carefu l study Of original documents. Dr . C . W.

Wallace lately tried to prove that i t was north, not west, o f this si te.

Another statement on the same page, to which exception may betaken, is that “ olde Paris Garden Lane ” ran from Bankside in thedirec tion o f B lackfriars Road. The authori ty given is an Old print,”but in fact the now obli terated Paris Garden Lane ran from the stairso f that name to what was formerly called the Upper Ground, andparallel with the line of B lackfriars Road. On the river front the stairsnearly marked the eastern boundary of the manor ; the si te o f theFalcon Tavern, now I think marked by Falcon Wharf

,be ing just

Wi thin the Clink Liberty .On p . 205 , John Tay lor, the water-poet , is converted into “ WalterTaylor the poet,

”and the Globe Theatre is said to have been de

molished in 1 664. If,however

,we can accep t as au thentic evidence

Howes’ manuscript as given in Collier’s Life of Shakespeare, p . ccxlii

,

that historic bui ld ing was pu lled doune to the ground by SirMat thewBrand on Monday, April 1 5 , 1 644, to make tenements in the roomof i t .In conclusion I venture to point out that the Southwark bu l l-ring,

concerning which Mr. Tyler quotes an indenture dated Apri l 1 7 ,1 5 6 1 , was a long distance from the bull and bear gardens on theBankside, being near St. George

’s Church, on the west side o f theBorough High Street. After a carefu l comparison of p lans o f variousdates i t seems proved that the si te of Bull-ring A lley was ident icalwi th that of the present Brent

’s Court, between Adam’s (now Eve’s)

P lace and Falcon Court — PHILIP NORMAN, F.S.A.

OPEN AIR STATUES INLONDON— I notice that in Mr. T . W . Hil l ’sinteresting art ic le on the above he has not inc luded in his l ist thestatue o f Sir Robe rt Ge ffe'

ry, Knt.

This statue is p laced in a niche over the main entrance doorway tothe Ironmongers

’ A lmshouses in Kingsland Road, Shoredi tch. Aninscription under the statue is as follows

“ SIR ROBT GEFFRYES KNT ALDERMANAND IRONMONGER

FOU NDER OF THIS HOSPITALL.

The almshouses and the adjacent garden, which were recentlythreatened with demoli tion

,have been acquired by the London

County Counc il, the Shoredi tch Borough Counc i l and other public7 8

at has. in!“

Minna

un due

REVIEWS.

authorities for preservation as an open space. I llustrations of theAlmshouses and the Founder’s statue appeared in Country Life ofJuly 9, 1 9 1 o .

— J . H. JOHNSON.

ROLLS YARD AND CHAPEL (vol . xi, p. 2 Church Passage,formerly White’s A lley,” mentioned in the reply at the above reference, has, qu ite recently, been re -named Rolls Passage.

”-C. M .

PHILLIPS.

REV IEWS.

OUNTY CHURCHES, SURREY, by J . E. Morri s, B .A. GeorgeA llen and Sons ; pp. viii, 200 ; 2s. 6d . net.

This prom ise s to be a usefu l serie s of hand -books to our county Churches .Mr. Morr is proves a very e ffi c ient gu ide to Surrey ; he give s a short but suffic ientde scription of the main architectural feature s o f each church , and adds note s ofe ffigies, brasse s, o ld tile s, alms-boxes, and anything e lse worthy o f special attention.

The date of the reg iste rs i s also given , and use ful info rmation about recent repairsand so -cal led re sto rations. Of the se last we have the usual pitiful complaint ofwanton damage and de struction, which w il l probably continue until all old

churche s are scheduled under the Anc ient Monuments Act. The vo lume s are ofhandy size for the po cke t , and the casual visitor w i l l no t m iss much worth see ingif he take Mr. Morris’s bo ok w ith him . We should have l iked to see more i l lustrations, sixteen for the who le county is a meagre al lowance ; curiously enough, thes

cpecial items that Mr. Mo rris claims as be ing the most intere sting , e.g . , the pre

onquest tower at Guildford and the double -storied chance l at Compton, are notil lustrated at all.

THE TRANSACTIONS OF THE ST. PAUL’S ECCLESIOLOGICAL SOCIETY ;vol . vi

, part 5 ; Harrison and Sons ; 5 5 . net.The main feature of this numbe r is the interesting account of the repairs now in

progress atWinche ste r Cathedral , by Mr. T. G. Jackson, B .A. After a Short butluc id history o f the church and its successive al te rations and additions, w e have a

de tai led description of the eng inee ring wo rk undertaken to place the historicbuilding in a condition o f safety . Probably no such diffi cul t and dang e rous wo rkhas ever been attempted . The foundations had to be underpinned by divers wo rking in peaty wate r, so black that even e lectr ic torche s we re use less . The i l lustrationsg ive a vivid idea of the damaged cond ition of the walls and vaulting. Mr. Dew ickhas a learned article on Some VernacularVe rsions of the Great Oes OfAdvent,”in French and Dutch .

THE PARISH REGISTERS OF CHIPSTEAD AND TITSEY, SURREY, transcribed and edited by W. Bruce Bannerman, F.S.A.

This vo lume , the se venth of the Surrey Parish Reg ister Society, is edited byMr. Bannerman w ith his usual care . There are reproductions of old prints o f the

79

REVIEWS.

two churches , and the prefaces contain a lo t of use ful information bo th about thechurches and parishes. This Soc ie ty is do ing such good work that it deserves tobe be tter suppo rted. The next registers to be issued w il l be Cou l sdon and StokeD

’Abe rnon ; Beddington and Sutton are in the pre ss, while Fetcham, LittleBookham and Putney are in active preparation .

SHIP OF THE ROMAN PERIOD, discovered on the site of the new

County Hall. London County Council ; pp . 20 ; 6d.

Roman ships are not dug up every day , and therefore the L. C. C. have donewe l l to issue a hand-bo ok on the subje ct. Mr. W. E. Riley, the Counc il ’s Architeet, suppl ies a detai led description of the remains found , to which Sir LaurenceGomme adds some historical no tes. The i l lustrations and diagrams are exce l lent.

WHERE To LIVE ROUND LONDON ; NORTHERN SIDE ; new edition .

The Homeland Association ; pp . 2 1 8 ; I s. net.

In the new edition several residential d istric ts no t hitherto dealt wi th have be enincluded , and the who le information has be en revised and brought up to date inconsultation w ith the respec tive local autho ritie s. This book , which now entersits thirtie th thousand , give s just that practical information which is required bythose who are looking for a district in which to se ttle down. The districts dealtw ith are comprised as a rule in the area some five to forty m iles from the heart o fLondon. The re are some charm ing illustrations and a serie s of usefu l maps.

FORGOTTEN SHRINES ; an account of some old Catholic Halls andFamilies in England, and o f Relics and Memorials o f the EnglishMartyrs ; by Dom Bede Camm, B .A. , Oxon . Macdonaldand Evans ; pp . xvi

, 4 1 1 ; 2 5s. net.This work is pre sumably intended by the autho r for his cO-re l igionists only,

o therw ise it is difficul t to account for the note of acerbity which jars the non

Catho l ic reader on nearly every page . E lishmen o f all creeds (he says in hispreface ) have grown mo re sympathetic o late ” ; frankly, we canno t fee l thatto le rance and am ity on e ither side are l ikely to be promo ted by Mr. Camm ’s somewhat vio lent adjective s. Every thinking man must dee ply regre t the ersecutions

and crue lties in the name of re l ig ion which were indulged in by Catho l ic and

Protestant alike ; they form a me lancho ly Chapter in our history, which require sthe greatest tact and restraint in its treatment. It is much to be regretted that the sequalitie s are conspicuous by the ir absence . Apart from this defect, as w e venture tothink it , we have no thing but praise for Mr. Camm ’s book. The historical andgenealog ical matter is done w ith great care and accuracy , while the narrative portions are to ld w ith considerable ski l l and dramatic force . A large number of

orig inal documents are quoted , refe rence s be ing g iven as a rule , and this mate rialis w el l handled and put together. The place s dealt w i th are scattered pretty w ellall over England, Lancashire and Yorkshire having the l ion’s share . The book isprofusely illustrated , mo stly from pho tographs by the author and o thers ; a con

siderab le numbe r o f pen draw ings by Mr. Jo seph Pike make a p leasant variety.A capital index w il l make it useful as a work o f re ference , and , apart from itscontroversial Side , it should prove acceptable to all those intere ste d in Old housesand fam ily history. The general ge t-up of the book is adm irable and doe s thegreatest credit to the printe rs and publ ishers .

80

SAMUEL PLIMSOLL, CHERITONCHURCH , AND THE VIC INITY .

BY THE LATEW. L. RUTTON, F.S .A .

FTER l ife’s fitful fever he sleeps wel l. Shakespeare ’sfine l ine fitly applies to the Sai lor’s Friend,

”whose

grave is on the pleasant green hi l ls ide o f CheritonChurchyard, from which elevation , looking down a beautifu lval ley

,i s seen the Channel where pass the ships w i th thei r

crew s fo r w hose benefit he contended long and strenuously.

Pl imsol l died at the neighbouring town o f FOlke stone on June3 , 1 898 , and his resting-place, whether his own Choice or thatof his family

,i s such as to please al l who honour his memory.

I propose to refer to his work, but before doing so would l iketo say something o f Cheriton Church

,and o f the two or three

places o f interest found in the course o f a p l easant, moderatewalk Of rather more than two miles from Folkestone. Theway is mostly by footpaths across fields, fo r as the church standssome distance Off the main road

, whence i t i s reached by acrossroad

,the carriage drive is longer.

Grimston Avenue i s to-day on the w estern verge Of Folkestone

,w e fol low it to its northern end at the Shorncl i ffe Road ,

and turn ing into that road keep to it w estward unti l i t makesa decided bend towards Sho rnclifle Rai lway S tation . At thebend

,on our left, is a white gate barring the end o f another

projected avenue (a red letter-pi l lar al so conveniently marksthe point), and trending south-w estward across fields is seena narrow footpath between iron -w i re fences ; th is i s o ur way .

Soon w e reach Coolinge Lane, along which , on our left,i s

Coolinge , a large farmstead. The front o f the farmhouse , approached through a garden , i s pretty and modern - looking

,the

rear is Old and venerable ; the barn s and other out-bui ldings arecapacious and seem to represent a greater extent o f agriculture than from the progress Of building in the neighbourhood is now probable. Hasted , the county historian (on whosevaluable record

,now 1 20 years Old , we Shal l draw as we pro

ce ed), had nothing to say about Coolinge , so perhaps w e mayregard it simp ly as a large farm that has had various proprietors . Along the lane

,on our right

,i s a row o fnew

,smal l houses

,

XIII 8 1 G

CHERITON CHURCH AND THE VIC IN ITY.

marshal led by the Rai lway Hotel ( inns are now Obsolete),the name betokening the vicinity o f Shorncliffe S tation .

After crossing Coo linge Lane our path runs between cottagegardens

,and a l ittle Off the lane, on o ur left, a smal l house of

two stories is p icturesque from the grow th Of ivy covering it.About a quarter o f a mi le onward , by cornfield and garden

,

w e cross by a sti le, a fence which unti l lately marked theboundary between the parishes of Folkestone and Cheriton ;but Sandgate , the greater part o f which had been embracedby Cheriton

,now grown in bu lk and importance, has claimed

an urban district,and pushed the mother-parish northward

as far as the rai lway. We shal l here ignore the unfilial aggression

,and fo r awhi le bestow our attention on ancient Cheriton .

Cheriton Pari sh ” says Hasted— and when we quote himw e have to rem ember that he w rote more than a century ago“ i s about two miles in length from the down hil ls on thenorth to the quarry hi l ls and seashore on the south

,the breadth

about one mi le east to west.” The length has been decreasedat the south by portions now assigned to Sandgate and Hythe,although the foreshore has been retained ; the breadth variesmuch ; at “ The Court or manor house it measures 1% miles.Our author further says

,the church and vi l lage stand on very

high ground,

”which is true as regards the church , but as to

Cheriton vi l lage it has yet to be discovered . The church hasalways stood alone on the hi l l

,and in the hol low below i t was

found only the lord ’s manor house,the Court

,

” as the humbledremnant o f i t i s sti l l cal led . The schools, by the w ayside, notfar from the church

,are modern

,but the rectory, secluded

among trees on the east slope o f the val ley, i s a quarter o f ami le distant. For the rest

,down the val ley towards the

sea,and rather more than a quarter o f a mile from the Church

where the Seabrook stream enters the valley,a corn-mil l ,

now extinct, was the fi rst bu ilding o f a straggl ing vi l lage by

name Horn Street (not Cheriton). Here in the old times doubtless l ived the greater number Of the poor parishioners whoworshipped at the church

,which

,as was usual , stood con

venient to the dwel l ing o f the lord , to whom probably it owedfoundation . Besides Horn Street, south o f the church therewas also Cheriton Street, a smal l group o f houses along themain road

,half a mi le north-east

, which group has served asthe nucleus o f the modern Cheriton

,now extending ful ly half

a mile towards Folkestone,w ith a new Church, schools , and

o ther accessories . Besides the paramount manor o f Cheriton82

CHERITON CHURCH AND THE VIC IN ITY.

in hand about thi rty years ago , and we presume that, so far aswas practicable, the remaining old work was incorporated w i ththe new .

The length has been increased at both ends , and now

includes two houses , that to the east be ing higher in roof thanthat to the west. The appearance is that o f a large commodions dwel l ing , p leasant to the eye in form and colou r, the deepred-ti led roof, according w i th the wal ls which are faced withflat ti les o f the same tint , mel low ing as time passes over it.The w riter wou ld also w i tness to the excel lent taste shownin the interior work, w hich he has been permitted to see . AllOld woodwork in panell ing and cei l ing beams has been p rizedand prominently kept i n view

,while al l necessary new w ork

has been made to tone w ith the Old . Of the rel ics preserved ,perhaps the most impress ive is a medieval pointed and hoodmou lded arched doorway, which , though not in its originalposit ion

,now graces the garden front. Of the garden p recincts

i tmay be said that they are such as an Engl ishman del ights in .

On reaching Risborough Lane, which , grow n in importance as a thoroughfare

,i s on the latest edition o f the Ord

nance map cal led Enb rook Manor Road — w e fol low i t about200 yards westward , passing the ruddy mansion , unti l w e see,on our right, the Victoria p .h . Here we have Church Road

,

”

and know i t at once as our way to the chief object o f our w alk ,the Old church. A row o f the smal l though neat houses

,which

too rapidly are effacing the rural charm o f this neighbourhood,

borders the road on our left. A short d is tance up the road w efind

,on our right, a smal l shabby house, an unkempt garden

abo ut i t, and a few trees o f l ittle growth . This is the shrunkenrepresentative o f B ishop’s Enb rook ; i t is cal led The Oaks ,

”

and was formerly “ Oaks Farm ,

” but the oaks and the farmare now o f the past. The land originally formed the third parto f the manor o f Enb rook , which , temp . Henry I I I ( 1 2 16passing into possession Of the Abbey o f Langdon (near Dover),became a separate manor. At the Dissolution it was given toArchbishop Cranmer (hence its name, B ishop

’s Enb rook), andlater was in the families o f Sandys and Evelyn .

From Church Road,after passing the row Of new houses on

our left, w e have a clear view o f Cheriton Church against thesky, w estward half a mi le. The road does not trend directly

1 The lane o r road continue s southward to Shornclifl'e Camp wh ich nowenve lope s a few old house s known as Ri sborough. Here the old UnityInn

,

”enlarge d , has be come The Papil lon So l die rs’ Hom e

,

”the nam e in

dicating the lady by w hom it was institute d o rig inal ly at Sandgate.

84

CHERITON CHURCH AND THE VICIN ITY.

towards it,and w ith the troops ’ dri l l -ground on our left , and

cultivated land on the right,w e arrive

,less than half a

mile from the “ Victoria ,” at a point where five w ays meet.

Here an ancient and dismembered guide post points w ith i tsone remaining arm to Folkestone

,

” the way w e have come( 1 ) (2) i s i ts continuation which passes by bridge over the rai lway to junction w ith the main road towards New ington ; (3)trends southwards to Shorncliffe Camp ; (4) i s but a footwaycross ing the railway to the main road at Cheriton S treet, Offwhich is a fine old farmstead cal led The Firs ” ; ( 5 ) descendsinto the val ley where l ies Cheriton Court. Out o f 5 ) we seea path crossing a green field o f lucerne to the church ; thispath we w i l l not take immediately, but seek the Court in thehol low . The distance is a quarter Of a mile from the Old gu idepost

,and shortly before reaching the Court a private road on

the left branches o ff to the rectory.

The rectory is very pretti ly situated on the gentle s lope o fthe val ley, though so embowered in trees as not to be readilydiscovered . A vista Of green pasture

,however

,opens out to it

in front,and the sea is seen in the d istance. The red brick

house presents the appearance o f a plain , comfortable threestoried dwel l ing

,but the fact that i t i s no more than 1 20 years

Old is d isappointing ; the gardener’s cottage is said to be part

o f an older rectory.

Hasted,in 1 790, w rote of the Court Lodge as an ancient

Gothic bu i ld ing.

” The parish map Of 1 828 show s i t as havingthree s ides bui lt round an open court , the usual ground p lanof a med ieval house . The greater part having been pu l led dow nforty years s ince

, w e find to-day only the north w ing, and thathas been conve rted into three cottages o f two sto rie s, in thewal l so f which

,besides the external face o f Old masonry

,are seen

,

on the north side,a blocked -up double branch w indow , and on

the south side the Tudor arch o f a smal l doorway. These features

,w ith the old joist and

,roof-timbers o f the interior, con

stitute the remains o f the ancient Gothic bu i lding .

”

Waleran deCe ritone held land in Ce ritone in 1 2 Ware tius

Garret) de Valo igns, Sheriff o f Kent, 1 334 5 , had Cheriton ,and

,dy ingw i thoutmale issue

,temp .Edward I I ,his two daughters

were his co -heirs. Thus Francis (or Thomas) Fogge ,jure uxor is ,acquired the manors o f Cheriton,Swe rdling ( i n Petham), Repton ( in Ashford) , and Beachbo ro ugh ( i n New ington), and having so many seats it is questionable which was most favoured

1Arche ologi a Cantiana, vol. x ii, p. 2 1 5 .

3 5

CHERITON CHURCH AND THE VIC IN ITY.

w i th his residence. I t is p robable, however, that he d ied atCheriton Court

,as he is said to have been buried in Cheriton

Church,temp . Edward I I I . There was a long success ion

o f Fogge s, l iving chiefly, perhaps , at Repton in Ashford , thechurch o f which town is the Sp lendid memorial o f Sir JohnFogge who rebu i l t i t, temp . Edw ard IV. One o f the fami ly

,

Thomas Fogge (younger son o f S ir John ) was Rector o fCheriton ; he died in 1 502, and was buried in the chancel , where heis commemorated by a sepu lchral brass . He

,at least

,prob

ably l ived at the Court. George Fogge was the last o f the l inehere

,and

,in the reign o f Elizabeth

,sold Cheriton and Beach

borough to Henry Brockman ; the date is general ly given as1 5 7 3 . Thus we gather that Cheriton Manor was held by theFogge s about 2 50 years , and that their successors , the B rockmans

,who sti l l retain it, have had it 3 37 years ; but their

r eg ime has not been w i thout a break . I n the reign o f Charle S I—o r perhaps sooner— the family was divided betw een Beachborough

,the principal Seat , and Cheriton Court. The Beach

borough branch fai led in 1 767 , when James Brockman,dying

unmarried,left the estate to his cousin

,the Rev. Ralph

Drake,who had married Caroline Brockman , the last of the

Cheriton branch . Thereon Mr. Drake took the additionalname

,Brockman

,and the family

,in one house

,became Drake

B rockman o fBeachbo ro ugh . I t cannot be said precisely whenthe family evacuated Cheriton Court

,though it i s probable

that the event took p lace about 17 60.

I n later years the old house appears to have been let tofarmers . The latest o f these was Mr. Jesse Pi lcher, who probably succeeded his father ; the family is know n to have beenthree centuries in this neighbourhood . The last tenant o f theCourt was wealthy and worthy

,a benefactor to his parish . The

vil lage hal l at Cheriton Street was bui l t by him fo r lecturesand meetings

,and fo r divine service on Sundays ; and u lti

mately on the death o f his w idow,and sale o f his estate (for

he was a considerable land owner as wel l as tenant) , the parishbenefited largely by funds for the bu i lding and endowment o fa new church in modern Cheriton

,and fo r the sustentation o f

the old church. The old Court requ iring much repai r,i ts de

mo lishment was decreed in 1 870. Mr. Pi lcher then removed toThe Firs , his other farmstead , and there d ied in his seventyeighth year

,June

,1 87 3 .

Caseb ourne Manor has not lain on our walk from Folkestone, but it w i l l be wel l to give it attention before visiting

86

CHERITON CHURCH AND THE VIC IN ITY.

memory o f the fi rst Lord Justice o f England , and o f DameEliza his w ife , whose bodies rest in this churchyard , thei r souls ,we t ru st, in Heaven.

”S ir James Lew i s Knight-Bruce was one

Of the two Lord Justices Of the Court o f Appeal fi rst established in 1 8 5 1 . He died at Roehampton Priory , Surrey, w i thin a fortnight after retirement from the bench , November 7 ,I 866. The death o f his w ife in the previous year was thought tohave shortened his l ife ; her burial at Cheriton— and thereforeher husband ’s— was probably due to the fact that their eldestdaughter was the w ife o f Francis G. Daniel-Tyssen , Esq .,

o f

Sandgate. A tablet w i th in the porch indicates that i t waserected to the memory o f his parents by their only son ; thiswas in 1 87 3 , when the church was restored .

The church,in its external form

,can scarcely be thought

handsome. The ancient western tower, severe i n its s impl icity ,lacks bulk at the extremity o f a long almost unbroken l ine o froof

,nave and chancel having equal height. The north side

is broken by proj ections,yet perhaps a transept is wanting to

satisfy the eye ; formerly the north Chapel almost took theplace of the transept

,and

,i ndeed

,was so termed by Sir S tephen

Glynne, but the late bu i lding o f a north aisle has annul led theprojection . The height o f the eastern end

,on account o f the

fal l o f ground,i s remarkable

,there being as much as twen ty

feet o f blank w al l beneath the si l l s o f the chancel lancet w indows ; this, however, i s in some degree rel ieved by the buttresses at the angles . On the whole the appearance o f thechurch is pleas ing

,and greater symmetry can scarcely be ex

pected in an edifice which during centuries has grown ,w ithout

design, beyond its original proportions . The genu ineness o f theinterior is very satisfactory

,the nave open to the aisles on

either side by three pointed arches,the chancel i n its early

Engl ish beauty beyond . An architectural description is notintended , that having been suppl ied by Canon Scott Robertson ,a recognized authori ty on Kentish churches 1 ; yet, perhaps, wemay trace the record o f the bu i lding as read in i ts severalparts .Immediately on entering, attention is arrested by the pecu liar

connection between tower and nave,not by a w ide arch as

general ly seen, but by a tal l

,narrow (3 ; feet) doorway headed

above by a rude semicircu lar arch,turned in rough laminated

stone. With good j udgment the ancient masonry has herebeen left unplastered to serve as a visible sample o fwork which

1 A rcha olog ia Cantiana, vol. xviii, p . 3 53 .

88

CHERITON CHURCH AND THE VIC IN ITY.

manor o f Enb rook a wax taper o f 2 lbs . fo r Our Lady inthe church [o f Cheriton] fo r ever.

” And in 1 5 1 7 another testator left 40d . to the making Of the new beam in Our Lady’sChancel . View ing these two bequests together w e concludethat the Enb ro ok Chapel was dedicated to Our Lady.

That the addition o f the south ais le to the chu rch was madesome time in the fourteenth century is evident from the architecture. The old south wal l o f the nave was demol ished , andthree pointed arches

,springing from octagonal capitals and

columns,w ere made to Open into a new south aisle. At the east

end o f this aisle is a good w indow Of the Decorated style,the restoration o f one o f that character

,and under it was

formerly an altar to which the p iscina and sedi l ia sti l l w i tness .Now ,

as w e have learnt that the Caseb ourne family had achapel

,and

,moreover

,as the Old w i l l s mention a chancel o f

St. Katherine ,”w e may fairly conjecture that here was the

Casebourne Chapel dedicated to St . Katherine. And perhapsit may be thought that the conj ecture derives a l ittle colou rfrom the C i rcumstance that Katherine was the name o f theCasebo urne hei ress, and i t may even be imagined that thename was favoured in the family as derived from thei rpatroness

, S t. Katherine, to whom thei r Chapel was dedicated .

Arched recesses in the wal l,two in the north chapel , one in

the south aisle,contain coarsely carved recumbe nt e ffigies. Of

the first two ,one represents a man in c ivi l ian dress

,the other

a lady ; probably they w ereEnb rooks. The figure in the southaisle may have been intended fo r a Casebourne . Placed as theyare

, they are not conveniently seen , and especial ly are those inthe north chapel obscured by the organ . Thus they are betterstudied in the carefu l d raw ings rep roduced w i th Canon ScottRobertson ’s article. The special opin ion which he had Obtainedas to their date was that the dress pointed to the time o f

Edward I I ( 1 307 and that from S imi larity in that t e

spect they appeared to be contemporary. If this be so, w e may

think o f the Enb rooks and Caseb ourne s as contemporaries .After the bu i ld ing o f the south aisle the church remained in

the same form five hundred years. Then , in 1 87 2 , i t was re

stored O word o f fear ! let us say completed,fo r what was

done was conservatively done. The sou th aisle had been theaddition o f the fourteenth century ; the north aisle was thecompletion o f the nineteenth century . I n the Old north wal lOf the nave nothing was sacrificed except a mass Of ancientrubble pronounced by the architect to be o f the same charac

90

CHERITON CHURCH AND THE VICIN ITY.

ter as that o f the Old tower, a very interesting fact ; i tsfeatures— w indow s and doors— had been so debased as not tobe worth saving. The new arches and columns w ere madecorresponding to the Old, and the completed Church was rendered worthy o f its purpose.

We come out by the new Knight-Bruce porch throughwhich w e had entered

,and turn ing round by the tow er are in

the churchyard on the south s ide. At the end o f the southaisle

,in the angle between it and the Chancel , there is a

tomb marked by a very tal l and slender ornamental cross ,such as w ere

,in Old times , erected to give sanctity to the place.

Here repo se the j udge, his w ife, and the son who to his parent’s

memory had bui lt the porch . Unti l his death , in 1906, therehad been no inscription save initial s on the corner posts

,then

i t was added .

Rounding the Church by the chancel end w e soon find onthe north side the grave o f Mr. Pl imsol l , whose burial inCheriton churchyard has prompted the w riting o f this paper.A simp le white marble cross raised on three graduated blocksis at the head Of a space marked out by a Coping o f whitemarble fo r two graves . The memorable “ load l ine (a levell ine across a ci rcle) i s engraved at the base of the cross ;then fol low s the inscription : “ Samuel P l imsol l , the Sailor

’sFriend

,

”w ith place and date o f birth and death ; and then two

l ines o f Holy Writ. A photograph o f the memorial is prom ised fo r the next issue

,to accompany the story which , from

consideration o f space,i s deferred .

SOME LONDON COFFEE HOUSES.

BY C . EDGAR THOMAS.

[Continued from p .

BUTTONSUTTON’

S Coffee-house was s ituated almost exactlyopposite W i l l ’s in Russel l Street , Covent Garden , andthe most i l lustrious name connected w ith i t is that Of

Addison . Daniel Button opened the premises in 1 7 1 2 , havingbeen establ i shed by Joseph Addison

,whose servant he had

formerly been , and the poet at once became the ru l ing spi rit9 1

SOME LONDON COFFEE-HOUSES.

o f the place. The tone o f the coffee-house was both l iteraryand pol itical

,i n fact Button’s may be considered in the l ight

o f the first pol itical coffee-house , while towards the end o f itscareer it became distinctly Whig. At different times it numbered among its frequenters such men as Steele, Rowe , Savage,Ambrose Phil l ips

,Pope

,and Sw ift. Pope was subjected to

great annoyance and insu l t, and many tales cou ld be toldshow ing how his opponents received as good as they gave insatirical d iscourse and repartee, w hi le o f Addison , i t is recordedthat he usual ly studied al l the morn ing , then met his party atButton ’s, dined there, and stayed five or s ix hours

,sometimes

far into the night.A noted highwayman

,by name Jemmy Maclaine orM’

Clane ,became a famous character o f this house ; he i s described as atal l

,showy

,good- looking man . A customer named Donaldson

,

noting the regard Maclaine paid to the barmaid o f the coffeehouse , the landlord

’s daughter,gave a hint to the father as to

the man ’s character. The father cautioned his daughter,tel l ing

her at the same time to whom he owed the information , andshe imprudently mentioned the matter to Maclaine. The nexttime the highwayman met Donaldson , he said in his I rishbrogue : “ Mr. Donaldson

,I w i sh to spake to you in a private

room .

” Donaldson,being unarmed

,natural ly decl ined the in

vitation ; Maclaine retorting that they wou ld assuredly meetagain . A few days later Donaldson was w alking in the neighbourhood o f Richmond when the highwayman appeared onhorseback. Donaldson wou ld probably have been shot hadnot at that moment a carriage come by. Maclaine came o f agood stock , his father being an I rish dean , and his brother aCalvin istic min ister in Hol land. For some time he was established as a grocer in the City o f London , but on losing hisw ife he gave up bus iness, spent his savings , amounting tosomething l ike £200, and took to the road fo r a l ivel ihood.

He was final ly app rehended in the autumn o f 1 7 50.

Dean Sw ift courted the acquaintance o f Button ’s during theearly part o f Queen Anne’s reign

,and at fi rst on account o f

his quaint mannerisms,none suspecting his identity, he earned

fo r himself the nickname o f the mad parson .

” Contemporaryw riters have recorded many anecdotes i l lustrative o f hiseccentric ities. One evening he turned round to the company,and addressing a gentleman who was evidently from thecountry, said : Pray, s i r, do you know any good weather inth i s world ? ” “ Yes, s ir, I thank God , I remember a good deal

92

SOME LONDON COFFEE-HOUSES .

S ir Richard S teele Knt. , which works w i l l transmit thei rnames w i th honour to posterity.

”

0

The action o f a contemporary newspaper In publ ishing anaccount o f the case o f the unfortunate Richard Savage, resulted in the raising Of a subscription fo r his rel ief. The contributio ns were sent to Button ’s, and Savage was presentedw ith a cheque fo r 70 guineas .I t was at Button ’5 that two gentlemen once engaged In a

discussion on rel igion,when one said to the other

,

“ I wonder,

sir,you shou ld talk o f rel igion

,when I ’ l l hold y o u five gu ineas

you can ’t say the Lord’s Prayer. Done

,

” repl ied the other,

and Sir Richard Steele shal l hold the s takes .” The moneybeing produced

,the Chal lenged gentleman began and recited

the whole o f the Creed . Wel l,

” said the other, dumbfounded ,I own I have lost ; I d id not think he could have done it.

”

Button ’s eventual ly became a private house, in whichMrs. Inchbald, the novel ist, resided fo r some considerabletime

,occupying herself principal ly w i th the translation o f

plays. Whilst l iving here, she sold her S imple S tory ,which

had been w ritten some years before,fo r £200. Timbs, the

biographer,states that whi le residing on the site o f Button ’s

,

Phil l ips,the publ isher

,offered her fo r her Memoirs ,

which Offer,however

,she decl ined . She died in a lodging

house at Kennington in 1 82 1 , leaving

THE CHAPTERThe Chapter Coffee house was noted as the resort o f C lergy

men , booksel lers, and men Of letters,as w el l as fo r i ts good ly

supply Of pamphlets and newspapers , while the punch soldthere was voted by common consent the best in London .

Chatterton stayed here fo r a brief whi le,w ri ti ng to his mother

at Bristol , “ I am quite famil iar at the Chapter Coffee-house,

and know al l the geniuses there and to a friend o f his :“ Send me whatever you wou ld have published

,and direct fo r

me to be left at the Chapter Coffee house,in Paternoster Row .

The famous “Wi tenagemot ” was a feature o f the Chapter.This consisted o f a smal l room or box

, where a class thateventually came to be known as the We t Paper Club, metto read the periodicals d irectly they w ere publ ished , w i th thepaper sti l l w e t, the new s being considered stale by the time ithad got dry. This company was very select

,and numbered

some w its and important personages,including Alexander

94

SOME LONDON COFFEE-HOUSES .

Stephens , editor o f the Annual B iog raphy and Ohituary . Hisrecol lections o f the Chapter Coffee-house w ere publ ished inthe Monthly Magaz ine under the title Stephensiana.

”

Booksel lers and doctors comprised a good part o f the company

,meeting there to discuss their crafts

, while Cow per, thepoet

,and Robinson

,a famous booksel ler o f his day ,

al so came .

Ambrose Phi ll ips,the publisher

,who about this t ime was

start ing his M onthly M ag az ine, came w i th his pockets ful l o fgu ineas

,presumably on the look-out fo r l ikely contributors .

This coffee-house was also a favourite haunt o f Goldsmithand Garrick . The famous actor was o f a very thrifty dispos ition

,and a tale regarding this i s worth recording. One

day a weary and broken-down fiddler entered,and

, afterplaying

,handed round his hat . Everyone contributed ; Foote,

the player and dramatist , who was present, remarked,If

Garrick gets to hear o f thi s he w i l l certain ly send in his hat.I n due course the original company died or ceased to pat

ronise the place,and S tephens laments the fact that “ the noisy

box o f the Wittinagemo t was, some years previous to 1 820,

remarkable fo r i ts si lence and du l lness . The two or three lasttimes I was at the Chapter

,I heard no noise above a whisper ,

and I almost shed a tear on thinking o f men, habits , and timesgone by fo r ever ! ”

Charlotte B ronte came to London w i th her father in 1 848 ,and lodged at the Chapter. I n Mrs. Gaskell’s Life may befound the fol low ing description o f the premises :Half way up on the left hand side [o f Paternoster Row] is

the Chapter coffee -house. I vis ited i t last June [ 1 8 I t wasthen unoccupied. I t had the appearance o f a dw ell ing-house twohundred years Old or so

,such as one sometimes sees in ancient

country towns ; the cei l ings o f the smal l rooms were low andhad heavy frames runn ing across them ; the wal l s w ere wainscotted breast high ; the stai rs w ere shal low ,

broad,and dark ,

taking up much space in the centre o f the house. Thehigh narrow w indow s looked into the gloomy Row . I n 1 85 7the Chapter ceased to - be a coffee-house, and became a tavern .

Ten years later,the bu i lding was pu l led down during altera

tions in the Row . The Chapter was the last to carry on thecoffee-house business in London.

LLOYD ’

S

Lloyd ’s Coffee-house was original ly s ituated in Tower Street,and is fi rst mentioned some l ittle t ime before the Revolution.

95

SOME LONDON COFFEE-HOUSES .

The local i ty was al l that cou ld be desi red for the transactiono f business among seafaring folk, yet we find that EdwardLloyd

,the founder, after four years , removed to Abchurch

Lane,Lombard Street, here he soon afterwards started

“Lloy d’

s New s,

”which was promptly suppressed , the judges

op in ing that the l iberty o f the press did not extend to gazettes.I t was not unti l the time o f George I that the famous Lloyd’sList was fi rst issued .

I t was Lloyd ’s aim to bring the underwriters together, whow ere scattered allover the C i ty ; this he did at his new quarters ,resorting to sales and other devices to po pularize his premises .By 1 700,

his efforts were so successfu l that al l the mercanti le gentry Of repute resorted to his coffee-house

,which had

now become a recognized place for the transaction o f business.I ts fame is mentioned in a poem publ ished in 1 700,

entitledThe Wealthy Shop-keeper ; or the Charitable Christi an

Now to Lloyd’s coffee -house he never fai lsTo read the le tters and attend the sale s.”

Nothing fu rther is known of the original Lloyd,but we read

that on 1 1 March,1 740,

Mr. Baker, master o f Lloyd’s coffee

house in Lombard Street, w aited on S ir Robert Walpole withthe new s ofAdmiral Vernon ’s taking Portobe l lo . This was thefi rst account received thereof, and proving true, Sir Robertwas pleased

'

to order him a handsome present.” Lloyd ’s re

moved some time later to Pope’s Head Al ley, where i t received

the appel lation : New Lloyd ’s Coffee-house ” ; and again in1 7 74 to premises s ituate at the north-west corner o f the RoyalExchange.

The establ ishment continued to prosper unti l 1 836, when itwas destroyed by fi re

,together w i th the Exchange. During

the rebui ld ing a fine set o f apartments were set aside fo rLloyd ’s Subscription Rooms ,

”which now became more than

ever the resort o f ship-owners,underw riters

,insurance

,stock ,

and exchange brokers , etc. The coffee-rooms from this datew ere kept separate from the rooms p rovided fo r the subscribers .I t was here that al l new s relative to vessels , losses at sea, en

gagements,captures

,etc .

,was to be had

,and no rel iance what

ever was p laced On information,unless i t was up at Lloyd

’s.”

The rooms were decorated in the Venetian style,and at the

entrance to one o f the apartments were exhibited the ShippingLists . A comp lete set o f instruments fo r the recording o f thew ind and weather was also in stal led . Lloyd ’s was renowned

95

SOME LONDON COFFEE-HOUSES .

and thin,while the other was short and fat, and Lady Towns

end is credited w i th having said :“ I can ’t imagine why one

shou ld be preferred to the other ; I see but l ittle differencebetween them ,

the one is as broad as the other is long.

”

A club was formed , w i th a gu inea subscription, in 1 764,which numbered 700 members o f al l C lasses, high and low ;Haines

, who was then the proprietor, obtained the premisesnext door

,and opened them as card

,reading

,and conversa

tion rooms . Others who now graced the company were HenryB rougham ,

father of the great Lord Brougham , S ir JohnFielding

,the magistrate and half-brother o f the novel ist o f

that name, S ir John Fletcher Norton, a crafty lawyer, who

enjoyed the title Sir Bul l - face Double-fee,” and Smollett, but

then he is said to have patronized all the coffee-houses.I n the parish boo ks Of St. Pau l ’s , Covent Garden , may be

found the fol low ing entry relating to Tom ’s

s. d .

46 Dishes o f Chocolate 1 3 o

34 Jel l ies 1 7 0

B iscu its 2 5

Haines, the proprietor , was succeeded by his son Thomas.Cibber made this establ ishment his rendezvous in his lateryears. For some time he l ived in Spring Gardens , Whitehal l ,and losing his w atch one day

,he caused the fol low ing adve r

tisement to be ci rculated“ I n or near the old playhouse i n Drury Lane

,on Monday

last , the 19th o f January,a w atch was dropped

,having a

tortoiseshel l case in laid w i th si lver,a silver chain

,and a gold

seal ring— the arms,a cross w avy and cheque. Whoever brings

i t to Mr. Cibber at his house near the Bu l l Head Tavern inSpring Gardens

,at Charing Cross

,shal l have three gu ineas

reward. On the authori ty o fWal po le,i t i s said that Cibber

w rote one o f his plays in a l ittle cottage which stood formerlyon the site o fWalpole’s mansion at Strawberry Hi l l . Cibberd ied in 17 5 7 , in h is eighty-fourth year. Shortly before hisdeath , Walpole hai led him “ Good day ,

” expressing pleasureto find him looking so w el l . Egad

, S ir,” repl ied Co l ley

,

“at

eighty-four i t i s wel l fo r a man that he can look at all. I nthe new spapers i t was said that he was “ carried to sleep w i thKings and heroes in Westminster Abbey

,

” but this i s not true .

His burial -p lace i s not know n , a l though there is a traditionthat he was interred in a Danish church at Ratcliff Highway.

98

SOME LONDON COFFEE-HOUSES .

The snuff-box of the club was of fine tortoiseshel l , andon the l id

,i n s i lver rel ief

,were the portraits o f Charles I ,

Queen Anne, and the Boscobel oak w i th Charles I I in thebranches

,while at the foot was a si lver plate engraved “Thomas

Haines.” Daniel Defoe w rote of this establ i shment : “ Afterthe play the best company general ly go to Tom ’s , near adj oining

, where there is playing at Picket and the best o f conversation ti l l m idnight .”

Tom ’s was closed in 1 8 14, the premises remaining unti lthey were demol ished in 1 865 , when a bank was erected onthe site.

DICK’

S

Dick ’s was one of the best know n o f the Fleet S treetestabl ishments. I t was Opened

,close to Temp l e Bar, by

Richard Turner, and was promptly designated Dick’s . The

house was original ly the printing shop o f Richard To ttell,law printer to Edward VI , and Queens Mary and El izabeth .

From all accounts i t boasted some fine panel l ing,and a hand

some staircase and balustrades. Cowper, whi le he l ived in theTemple

, was a frequenter of the house.

At Drury Lane Theatre in 1 7 37 , was produced a dramaentitled “ The Coffee-house

,

” having Dick’s fo r i ts original .The owner o f the business at that time was Mrs . Yarrow

,who

w i th her daughter was severely critic i sed in the play. Theroving caval iers frequenting Dick ’s took the matter up , andgoing in a party to the play-house

,they how led and hooted

the piece , and even extended their anger and disapproval tosubsequent work o f this particu lar author

,the Rev. James

Mil ler. When Dick ’s had ceased to exist as a coffee-house,the premises were occupied by Jaggard and Stephens, lawstationers , and eventual ly by Messrs . Butterworth , who now

hold the original lease.

THE M ITREThe Mitre in Fleet Street was more o f a tavern than a

coffee-house, and consequently hardly comes w i thin the scopeo f this article , but the fascinating personal i ty o f Dr. Johnsonsurely w arrants some l ittle account o f i t. Johnson ’s Mitrestood at 39 , Fleet Street , and was not the Mitre in Mitre Court ,w i th which i t i s often confused . The historic old place hadbeen in existence years before Johnson ’s time ; fo r here i t was,

99

SOME LONDON COFFEE-HOUSES .

a centu ry before, that Li l ly, the astrologer, met Poole ; whilethe Roya l Soc iety , whose meeting-

p lace was then i n CraneCourt hard by, held their dinners fo r some time at the Mitre.

I n Charles II’s time Pepys resorted there , and the w ittyDr. Radcl iffe during Anne ’s reign . Dr. Johnson spent muchOf his t ime there, which h is biographer, Boswel l , has freelyrecorded . I n his Life of johnson,

he says : “ I had heard thath is p lace o f frequent resort was the Mitre Tavern in FleetS treet, where he loved to Sit up late . I cal led on him and

th ither we went at n ine. We had a good supper and port w ine,

o f which he then sometimes drank a bottle. The orthodoxhigh church sound o f the Mitre

,the figure and manner o f the

celebrated Dr. Johnson,the extraordinary power and precision

o f his conversation , and the p ride ari s ing from finding myselfadmitted to his companionship

, p roduced a variety o f sensations and a p leas ing elation Of mind , beyond what I had everbefore experienced . We finished a couple of bottles o f

port and sat ti l l between one and two O’clock in the morn ing.

”

And again , “ at night [February, 1 766] I supped w i th Johnsonat the Mitre Tavern

,that w e might renew our social intimacy

at the original place o f meeting. But there was now a conside rable difference in his way o f l iving. Having had an i l lnessi n which he was advised to leave o ff w ine, he had from thatperiod continued to abstain from it, and drank only wateror lemonade.

”

Leigh Hunt in The Tow n bore testimony to the fact thatJohnson patronized nearly every tavern and coffee-house inFleet Street, but that the Mitre was his favourite.

WITCHCRAFT IN THE EASTERNCOUNTIES.

BY E . VAUGHAN .

[Continued from p .

LOWLY but surely a more rational and sober spirit wasspreading over England. The l ittle band Of selectscholars o f al l shades o f pol itical and religious op in ion ,

who had met during the Commonwealth in Dr.Wi lkin ’s roomsat Oxford to discuss philosophical lore and scientific reseach ,developed at the Restoration into the Royal Society, whose in

100

WITCHCRAFT IN THE EASTERN COUNTIES .

Naturally, w i tch-hunting was sti l l a legitimate occupation inthe minds o f the rustic popu lation , and many an unprotecteddame may have fal len a victim to mob-law , and never beenheard o f beyond her own neighbourhoo d . The river B lackwater, w inding round the l ittle Essex town o f Coggeshall

, was

the scene o f a sordid tragedy in the summer o f 1699. For somereason or another

,the Widow Comon was suspected o f deal

ing w ith the powers o f darkness, and three times w ithin asmany days the w retched Old creatu re was dragged down tothe water’s edge, and flung into the s tream . Each time shefloated

,and so the w i tchcraft was proven. NO further proceed

ings were taken ; i t may be that some more enl ightened inhabitant interposed . But she did not long survive the treatment

,

and the next account of her, dated on the 27 th o f the fol low ingDecember

,simply states that “ the Widow Comon

,that was

counted a w i tch, was buried .

”

A warning against the brutal custom of “ sw imming was

del ivered at Brentwood Assizes in 1 7 1 2 by Lord Chief JusticeParker

, who pointed o ut that if “ the Party loose her l ife by ital l they that are the Cause Of i t are gu i lty o fWi lful Murther.The j udicial advice was no doubt much needed in Essex

,fo r

in the eighteenth century it was considered good sport to ducka w itch

,and the County-People enjoyed it as they would

“ Baiting a Bear or a Bul l .Sti l l , in spite o f al l popular opposition , the new spirit of

rational inquiry was spreading. At the time o f the Re sto ration

,bel ief i n attributing death and disease to malevolent

magic was common among the educated C lasses , but by theyear 1 7 1 8 i t only su rvived among the i l l iterate, and , strangelyenough

,a smal l but noisy section o f the C lergy , whose spirited

forefathers had been among the fi rst to Oppose the persecutiono f supposed w i tches.I n the interval no less than twenty-five works ( including

a few pamphlets) had appeared in defence o f the bel ief,and

among them Baxter’s,but they did l ittle to arrest the growth

o f enlightenment and j ustice,and at length the final blow was

given to the iniqu ity o f w itch-hunting by the publ ication Of

Dr. Hutchinson ’s Historical Essay on Witchcraf t. The lawgradual ly became a dead letter

,and in 17 36 i t was repealed

and ceased to stai n the statutes o f England.

The last legal trial o fany note occurred in 17 1 2 , when somefew Clergymen

,otherw ise Men o fReputation ,

” as Hutchinsonsatirical ly terms them

,disgracefu l ly i l l-treated a poor woman

102

W ITCHCRAFT IN THE EASTERN COUNT IES .

cal led Jane Wenham,o fWalkern

,in Hertfordshi re. The usual

tests were resorted to,including stabbing w ith pins

,and when

driven hal f crazy,and unable to remember the Lord ’s Prayer

correctly, she was prosecuted fo r w i tchcraft. Lucki ly fo r her,the judge was a man o f

“ Learning and Experience,”who

valu’

d not those Tricks and Trials,so

,although an ignorant

ju ry found her gui lty,he subsequently obtained fo r her a

remission o f the condemnation ; and the poor old creature,afraid to return to her vi l lage

,was taken under the protection

of Colonel Plummer o f Gibston,who gave her a l ittle House

near his own,where she spent the rest o f her days soberly and

inoffensively.

” There Hutchinson visited her,and obtained

very great Assurance that She was a Pious SoberWoman ,who could repeat both the Lord ’s Prayer and Creed

,and other

very good Prayers besides w ith undissembled devotion,

”

so that he came to the conclusion that her only crime was herm isfortune to have l ived “ i n such a barbarous Parish .

” 1

S ince the repeal o f the Sorcery statute, the last phase o f

witch-hunting has taken the form o f mob-law . For not onlydid the unholy excitement appeal to brutal ized minds

,but a

very genuine faith in magic continued to exist in rural districts,

and indeed is al ive to-day.

“ Sw imming ” continued to bepractised during the eighteenth centu ry in spite o f i ts i l legal ity.

I n 17 5 1 an unhappy Old man and his w ife, who resided atTring

,in Staffordshire, w ere repeatedly dragged through the

water unti l the woman was drowned,and the man only res

cued just in time to save his l ife. One o f the fiends who

assisted at this deed was tried and hanged,but the popu lace

s ided w ith the murderer,and abused the authorities fo r execut

ing an honest fel low who had del ivered his vi l lage from anaccursed w itch.

Coming dow n to the nineteenth century,we find w i tchcraft

sti l l flourishing in the eastern counties,i ts main features un

changed from the days o f our forefathers. The vi l lage o f

Thorpe-le -Soken , in Essex ,contained a mischievous Old w itch

abo ut eighty or ninety years ago ,who delighted in laying

spells upon wagon whee l s so that the strongest team o f horseswere powerless to sti r. But if the carter’s whip were laid acrossthe bew i tched wheel , the vehicle moved at once w ith ease,while Goody Gardner fled w ith how ls o f dismay. For i t washeld as fi rmly as in the seventeenth century that , if any person1 For a ful l account of Jane Wenham ’s case , by W. B . Gerish , see

H C. M,vol. viii , pp . 65-7 7 .

103

W ITCHCRAFT IN THE EASTERN COUNTIES .

or thing w ere under a spel l , whatever treatment was appl iedto that Object wou ld be felt by the sender Of the i l l . Only

,

during the “working ”

o f the counter- spel l , no word must bespoken to the w i tch , or the effect is destroyed .

A man was recently l iving in the neighbourhood, who ,

i nh is chi ld ish days

,had been reduced to a p indling condition

by the Thorpe sorceress . He was p robably a sickly l ittle boy,

and his ai lments w ere doubtless due to natural causes,but i n

the opinion o f the good grandmother , who reared him ,he was

“ overlooked.

” Accordingly she used the (from her point ofview ) only avai lable treatment, which was to c ut o ff closelyhis toe and finger nai l s , his hair and his eyebrow s ; then casting all the resu lt o f her Operation upon a S low fire

,she put the

chi ld on a chai r by the hearth to watch them consume,and

dared him to speak . As usual in these accounts,the w itch

soon came knocking outside, apparently in great misery Ofmindand body, and her striving and praying fo r a word o f pityso worked upon the bo y that he called loudly fo r his grannieto come to “ that O ’

d woman at the door.” Of course it was

all spoi lt : the w i tch w ent o ff gai ly, while the mort ified grandmother cou ld only vent her d isappointment upon the unluckycause Of the fai lure by fetching him a rare slap on the jaw s .However, he su rvived that, as w el l as the over- looking

,

” andl ived to be an elderly man .

The last scene in Dame Gardner’s l ife affords a terrible i l lustration o f the intimate connection between superstitious fearand hideous cruelty. He r l ittle hut was s ituated upon a w ideopen green

,where donkeys brow sed and geese stalked abo ut

in solemn state. One day a brood o f gosl ings fel l i l l,and most

o f them died ; whereupon the owner, suspecting the evi l eye,burnt the remain ing two al ive. Whether any barbarity waspractised upon the Old woman at the same time is an openquestion

,but if so

,i t was never found out. Elderly in

habitants o f Thorpe,whose parents w ere l iving at the time,

only relate what thei r fathers declared unto them- thatw ithin three days the vi l lage was rid o f the witch

,who lay

dead w ithin her squal id home w i th marks of burn ing uponher.Uncanny Old crones might have been found during th e

middle o f the last century in the p i cturesque vi l lage ofFinchingfield , s ituated in the north-w est o f the same count y.

Both Nancy Day sley and Nanny Benham had an evi l repo rtin the young days o f some Old people yet l iving, and i t wa s

104

WITCHCRAFT IN THE EASTERN COUNT IES .

his infirmity he was known as “ Dummy. At one time hehad resided at Braintree, and , taking his national ity into con

s ideration,i t i s conj ectured that he was attracted to that town

by the French origi n o f Messrs. Courtauld ’s fi rm,at whose

crape factory he Obtained work . Afterwards,he removed to a

b ut at S ible Hedingham ,where he eked out a scanty l iving by

pretending to tel l fortunes,and performing other mysteries.

He made use o f grotesque gestures to convey his meaning,

but the Chief mode o f communication w i th his cl ients was byw ri ting ; some hundreds o f fragments o f dirty paper w erefound after his death

,containing such queries as He r husband

have left her many years,and she w ant to know whether

dead or al ive ” ; and What was the ree son my Sun do notright ? I meen that Solge r.

” Love letters of maidens to theirsweethearts w ere among his store

,w ith fool ish questions

scribbled in penci l across them, o f which “ Shal l I marry ? ”

and , “ How many chi ldren shall I have ? ” may be taken asexamples. One note was cu rt enough , and doubtless indicateda cruel deed ; “ Did y o u say w e ki l led your dog ? if you did ,I w i l l send fo r pol iceman .

” The Old man ’s patrons w ere notal l o f the peasant class ; one letter, apparently from a servant,states that The lady is cumen herself on Monday to see yoo

,

and She give y ou 011 them things,and one shi l leh .

”

Dummy was a great col lector o f walk ing-sticks,possessing

over 400 of them ,and hoarding them amid a load o f rubbish

,

in company w i th umbrel las,tin boxes

,French books, and

foreign coins. Probably his only friend had been the faithfuldog whose sad end is hinted at. I n lonely squalor he spenthis uncanny but harmless existence ; an object o f supersti tiousd read and dis l ike to his neighbours

,who

,however, did not

scruple to make use o f his cu rrin know ledge whenever theyneeded it. So matters w ent on , and it was not ti l l Dummywas over eighty years o f age that the long pent-up storm o f

fanatical hatred and terror broke forth. I t began in a trivialway , and the circumstances have al l the famil iar featu res o f

the seventeenth centu ry detai ls .A certain Mrs . Smith kept a l i ttle shop some distance from

the vil lage,into which the w i zard walked one evening w ith the

request that he might be al lowed to sleep at n ights in a snugshed situated in her yard ; which desire was granted . But,after a few days

, the woman objected to her odd tenant, andordered him o ff the premises. An angry scene ensued, andwhen at length the old man

,after many gesticu lations , took106

WITCHCRAFT IN THE EASTERN COUNTIES.

his leave,he scraw led upon the doorway that Emma Smith

wou ld be i l l in ten days . Of course she was overtaken w ithsickness just as she expected to be

,developing symptoms o f a

most pecu l iar and distressing nature. And as no medical aiddid her any good

,although one doctor came thrice in one

night, the cause o f disease was evident : she was bew i tched ,and none but the sender o f the spel l could remove it.So one evening in early autumn , Mrs . Smith , accompanied

by sympathizing friends,betook herself to the “ Swan publ ic

house,whereunto Dummy was known to resort , and cheer his

sol itary l ife fo r an hour or so. Upon this night, however, hesoon found himself very unpleasantly placed in the midst ofan enraged group . The proceedings were commenced by theinval id

,who

,upbraiding him fo r all her i l lness

,

“ begged andprayed him to go home w i th her and heal her, Offering himas payment three sovereigns , but he only shook his head , anddrew his hand across hi s throat , to intimate that he wouldrather ki l l himself. A man who was present tried to effect acounter-spel l by endeavouring to make the w izard kiss theaffl icted lady, but to this she objected , saying that she hadgot a husband o f her own for that remedy. So her championthen “

walked ” the Old man , seiz ing him ,and making him

“ dance ” round the room . This unwonted exercise soon re

sulted in a fall , but after being picked up, and given somebeer to revive him , Dummy was made to “ j ump round ” asbefore, and this performance was kept up fo r more than anhour

,although a second fal l occurred . Meantime Emma Smith

got possess ion o f his hat,taking therefrom two books , one o f

which She put into her pocket , and the other she pluckedto pieces, saying, “ That ’s the book he ’s done me by. Anumber o f women were present

,and fanned the flames by

keeping up a pitying chorus of “ Oh dear ! How bad thewoman du look ! ”

The evidence upon the next act in the miserable tragedy isconfused and confl i cting, each party denying thei r gu i lt andaccusing others . But it i s clear that the exhausted Frenchman

,

who evidently escaped from his enemies fo r a few minutes,

and was crouching on the ground outside the “Sw an ,

”was

dragged to a brook near by,and flung into the water, either

by one o f the men , or Mrs . Smith herself. Most Of the w itnessescharged the latter w i th the initiative

,but said the man assisted

by w ading across the brook , and pushing his victim back fromthe other s ide. There is no doubt he was repeatedly immersed

,

107

WITCHCRAFT IN THE EASTERN COUNTIES .

and when at length he managed to craw l out, Emma cal ledfo r a stick , and tried the blood cure by striking him on hishead and shou lders, and cal l ing him a devi l . None o f thecrowd interfered , and the only mi ld protest came from a ce r

tain John Peti t, who took the stick away, and advised its disuse

,o r folks m ight be “ responsible.

” Mrs . Smith said She

wou ld not hurt him fo r the world , so she kicked him instead.

“ She seemed ”

(said John in his evidence)“ in a very strange

way ,”b ut he only thought it his bus iness to fol low at some

distance ” when the next move was dow n Watermi l l Lane,

and he “ thought he heard “ the female ” yel l out the orderto sw im him in the mil l -head .

Upon hearing a splash,the cautious John ventured to draw

nearer , and saw the poor Old creatIIre , whose crippled tonguehad apparently been trying to cry Murder

,

” again flounderingpitifu l ly in the deeper w aters o f the mi l l stream . Two on

lookers suggested he might be drowned if not rescued , so oneo f his assai lants dragged him out Of the water

,and lai d him

on the grass . Then a woman cal led Mrs . B ruty came forward,and

,al though she confessed to supernatural fears o f Dummy,

ass isted to get him home. But inside that w retched hut, noone dare venture. John Petit w ent as far as the door, andmade signs that the dripping clothes had better be removed ,but he was afraid to Offer any ministrations to the half-drownedman , who lay all night alone in his soaked condition .

Wi th the morning came kind ly aid,but i t was too late. He

was found to be in a state o f collapse,greatly bru ised upon

his head and shou lders,and screamed when the we t and muddy

garments were removed . So they carried him to HalsteadWorkhouse, where the merciful end came sw iftly ; and themedical certificate attributed his death to “ pneumonia

,caused

by immersion .

”

Two persons w ere apprehended,Mrs. Smith and one of

the men , but at the inquest the jury w ere only unanimousi n finding the woman gu i lty of manslaughter

,and cou ld not

agree to convict the man . The case was then brought beforethe local magistrates

,and resu lted in the tw o accused persons

being committed for trial to the Assizes to be held at Chelmsford in the fol low ing March before Lord Chief Justice Erle.There the jury returned a verd ict Of “ Gui lty against bothculprits , who , however, only received sentences o f s ix monthshard labour in the county goal .S ince that time, it i s bel ieved that no l ife has been lost for

108

STRAND-ON-THE-GREEN .

w itchcraft i n England , and “ sw imming has ceased to be .

But the bel ief is al ive tod ay, l ingering on in old -world districtsand vi l lages

,where, over neighbourly cups of tea, elderly dames

w i l l yet relate how Nanny Benham “ overlooked the pluck ,and Goody Gardner slew the geese.

STRAND ON THE GREEN .

BY J . TAVENOR-PERRY.

HEParish of Chisw ick has , roughly, the form o f an equilateral triangle w i th two Of i ts s ides

,the south-east and

the south-w est, washed by the Thames, whi le the northernor land side was crossed by an open gravel ly waste or commonwhich was general ly know n as Turnham Green , and is nowonly represented by the smal l open space to which that name isnow confined . This waste land was intersected by two mainroads from London , running nearly paral lel to each other, butun iting at a point near the commencement of Old B rentfordimmediately opposite to the present Brentford market . Thesetwo roads were the British trackway, which led from the fordat Westminster towards the w est o f the country, and the mainRoman road which passed across the north o f London fromColchester to S i lchester ; and o f these two roads

,curiously

enough,the earl ier is the only one which can sti l l be w alked

for its entire length through Chisw ick . The courses o f thesetwo roads are laid dow n by Mr. Montagu Sharpe on the valuable map prefixed to his Antiquities of M iddlesex,

thoughnecessari ly to a very smal l scale ; but properly to appreciate theendurance o f the B ritish trackway its course must be fol lowedon foot

,or the map compared w ith a large-scale plan of the

local ity,and anyone starting to walk from Hammersmith to

Kew B ridge on the south s ide Of the way , may fol low i ts exactoriginal l ine w i thout the least deviation. Immediately afteremerging from King Street, Hammersmith , i t w i l l be noticedthat the footway parts from the roadway, l eaving an everw idening space o f vacant land between , i n some parts irregularly bui l t over w i th smal l houses the owners o f which can

only Show a “ squatter ’s ” title to the s ite,unti l at Turnham

Green the space between the path and the road has increased109

STRAND -ON-THE-GREEN .

to the whole w idth of the Common . From this point i t againbecomes an independent highway road under the name ofWel lesley Road ” and at the end o f that i t merges in thepresent modern high road which continues through Brentford .

The course of the Roman road from the angle o f the presentGoldhawk Road in Hammersm ith to the B0110 brook, at thewest end o f Turnham Green has been , to a great extent, ohl iterated ,

although i t was shown to exist in 1 824 and was

coloured as a high-road on Crutchley’

s inch-scale map oftheEnvirons of London o f that date. The principal causes whichled to its alteration at so recent a date were the constructionsof theWest London and London and South-Westem Rai lways ,the latter Of which fol lowed

,to a great extent

,the same l ine

across Acton Common as the road did ; i t is sti l l , however,poss ible to fol low i t fo r some way across Stamford brook andthrough Bedford Park and Back Common and trace it onto the point where it j oined the present high road near the oldPack Horse tavern .

At the w est end of the original Turnham Green Commonwhere it abutted on the river

,and in a south-easterly di rection

from the end o f the two roads we have just described , aftertheir j unction , extended one o f those gravel ly banks which ,ri sing above the high tides

,early attracted settlers along the

northern shores of the Thames,and formed the beginn ings of

such important vil lages as Chelsea, Fulham ,and Brentford.

The character o f i ts formation together w ith its position on theedge o f a common no doubt suggested the very simple nameo fStrand -on-the-Green . There i s nothing to show when it fi rstadopted or received its descriptive appel lation

,but it may be

fairly assumed that i t was at no very recent date,since

,

although the word strand ” i s i n common use in the language,

particu larly in poetry, i t but seldom occurs as a place-name,

and when it does it seems to have had a Dan ish origin . We

have it in Overstrand and S idestrand,two Norfolk vi l lages in

a district where there had been a Danish settlement,and the

Strand o f Westminster has always been associated,together

w ith the neighbouring church o f St. Clement Danes,w i th some

ep i sode in Anglo-Danish history ; and as we know that theDanes in 879 w i ntered in their moated camp in the adjoin ingparish o fFulham , i t i s not beyond the bounds o fprobabil ity thatsome visitors from that camp may have founded a colony here.

If such was the origin o f S trand -on-the-Green,fo r the fi rst

few centuries o f i ts existence its history is vei led in obscurity,

1 10

STRAND-ON-THE-GREEN .

and when w e get the first gl impse of it , early in the eighteenthcentury, we find that Bollack described it as a straggl ingplace by the Thames ’ s ide

,stretching itself almost to Old

Brentford inhabited chiefly by fishermen .

” Gradual ly to thesefishermen s cottages

,many o f which are stil l remain ing, were

added boat-builder’s sheds and maltings,and i n consequence

o f the res idence o f the Court at Kew ,i n the near vicinity,

the bui lding o f Kew Bridge,and the increasing number and

importance o f the mansions in the immediate neighbourhood,

private houses o f the better class were bu i l t ; and by the closeof that centu ry the place had assumed much the appearanceit presented w ithin the memory of many sti l l l iving before theincoming tide o f suburban improvements robbed i t o f so manyof its charms . The recol lection seems but recent to many whomay have travelled in the Spring time o f the year to Kew

Gardens by train o f the last stage o f the journey when , after arun through blooming orchards between red -brow n crumblinggarden wal l s

,the train suddenly emerged on to a bridge cross

ing the Thames,and a hasty gl impse was c aught of a medley

ofbarges and maltings,house s and foliage ,strewn in picturesqueconfusion along the river’s marge and reflected in its plac idw aters . (Fig. But although the trains sti l l dash across thebridge, electrical ly driven , the glory o f the vision is tarnished ,and the few remnants o f i ts Charms may last but a l ittl e longer ;the gravel ly strand is choked w ith mud , the maltings havebeen dismantled or shorn o f their louvres and the floweringorchards have been cut down by the specu lating bu i lder. Yet,unti l a very few years ago , S trand-on-the-Green

,in spite of the

rai lway and its hideous bridge which slash across the middleo f i t , remained a quiet riverside hamlet, emb osomediin its trees ,on the way to nowhere, and almost inaccessible save by w ater ;w i th the shingle fo r its high road and a shelf o f w all ing alongthe house fronts fo r i ts promenade, i ts people pursu ing thei rsimple avocations o f fishing

,malting

,or boat-bu i ld ing

,undis

turb ed by the sound o f the church-going bel l or the seductionsof a rai lway station .

Much o f the pecu l iar character o f Strand-ou-the-Green wasdue to its road

,which was not merely a w aterside road , but a

road which was under w ater at nearly every high tide. Thestrand was o f a hard clean shingle, cleansed by the tide andstream

,and innocent o f the mud which o f late years has been

suffered to accumu late over it ; so that when it was covered bythe tidal water it was as safe and easy to traverse as the ford

I 1 1

STRAND -ON-THE-GREEN .

across a river. I n th is respect i t was doubtless l ike theLondon S trand , which cou ld scarcely have obtained that designation had i t been , as i t now i s, merely a rivers ide streetseparated by a l ine o f bui ldings from the w ater, but which musthave gained i ts name before the great med ieval palaces werebui lt along its foreshore. Such a strand remained in Chelsea almost w ithin the memory o f some sti l l l iving

,known as

“ the way under the w i l low s ,”which extended from Lindsay

Row to Chelsea Farm , the seat o f Lord Cremorne ; and byth i s way Lady Cremorne and her guests drove from CheyneWalk.

The water road of S trand-on-the-Green stood wel l abovethe general foreshore and not much below the foundations o fthe houses and was

,in fact

,a portion o f the bank on which

they were bu i l t, so that i t was only qu i te at high tide that theriver flowed over it ; and it was the w i lful , or at l east considered ,destruction o f this roadway to enable the barges and othercraft to be brought up close alongside o f the river w al l whichgave a death-blow to the picturesque characteristics Of thethe place. The road sti l l remains more or less complete infront o f some o f the private houses , but the many gaps whichhave been made in i t are covered , and d isplay at every low tide alayer o f Odoriferous mud. The great deterioration in the cleanliness o f the bank may also be attributed to a reduction in thescouring force o f the stream by the construction o f the halft idal lock at Richmond , which thus permits the unpleasantmud

,w hich was before time carried away by the current

,to

accumulate.

Along the front of the houses a rude embankment w al l hadbeen bu i lt

,rising some three or four feet abo ve the roadway ;

i t sustained a terrace or pathway giving access to the housesin al l states o f the tide. As this l ittle embankment was theproperty o f each individual house-owner i t was constructed invarious w ays o f varying w idths , but w ith fl ights o f steps beforethe more important houses dow n to the roadway fo r thei rcarriage visitors . The whole length o f the place was p lantedw ith trees by the various owners , perhaps in a somewhat haphazard manner

,and these are shown on Roques ’ map ,

but theybecame gradual ly lost by old age and neglect ; and amongthose sti l l remain ing are elms , w i l low s , and Lombardy poplars ,which last have been much deformed in recent years bytopping.

”

Before further deal ing w i th the roadway which formed an1 1 2

STRAND -ON-THE-GREEN .

important l ink betw een Kew Ferry and Burl ington and SuttonLanes

,we w i l l w alk the length o f the terrace. The short piece

o f road from Kew Bridge,by which the place is reached ,

always stood w el l above the tide-way ,and the Space between

it and the river was,unti l recent years

,open ground planted

w ith trees which have now given place to model laundries andequal ly unpicturesque bui ldings . On the roadway behind these,among some mean and modern houses

,stands an old publ ic

house w ith a large deserted garden in front of i t , which ti l llately bore the S ign o f the “ Indian Queen ,

” and doubtlessbelonged to the era o f the Princess Pocahontas ; b ut i t haslos t i ts l icense and w i l l shortly disappear. At the end o f thisshort road we reach the beginning of S trand-on- the-Green ,which presents much the aspect shown in our view (Fig.

although the poplars have been recently muti lated and thep icturesque maltings is c losed and w i l l no doubt soon be pu l leddown . At this po int, where the way is now closed by a gate,the old road took to the w ater, and a very narrow al ley, onceknown as Back Lane, which has been recently w idened anddignified by the name o f Thames Road

,divided the Old houses

from the orchards in thei r rear and gave an access to themwhen floods or special ly high tides ove rfl owed the terrace.About this point also was the Middlesex end of the Kew Ferrywhich crossed to the Surrey side to the end of the “ horseroad from Richmond which passed along the east S ide o f

Kew Green,but which Ferry became disused when Kew Bridge

w as bu i lt a l ittle further up the river.Immediately after passing the maltings we come to a pic

ture sque house (Fig. part o f which formed the “ Bel l andCrown publ ic-house

,recently destroyed . This is one o f the

best o f the O lder houses and may be pre-Georgian in date , butno legend as to its bui ld ing and occupation seems to attachto it. By the Bel l and Crow n was a narrow turning which ,accord ing to Crutchley’3 map o f 1 824, crossed Back Lane andled up to the lane now know n as Wel lesley Road

,and it was

probably the way by which Kew Ferry was reached fromTurnham Green . I ts connection w i th that road

,however, has

red,and almost all traces o f i t destroyed by the

betw een therecords on it sfloods much asthe Loire.

ed three-storey1 1 3 1

STRAND -ON-THE-GREEN .

houses o f the mid -Georgian period , w i th their monotony onlya l itt le broken by some added bow -w indow s

,but all o f them

rejoicing in distinctive names,o f which two

,Zacchary and

Arakne,may point to some forgotten associat ion ; but the

most important o f them ,which is double-fronted and has some

architectural pretensions , i s named Zoffany House after thepainter who l ived here and was

,perhaps

,its bui lder. To this

house he retired after his successfu l painting tour in I ndia asthe place was handy to the court o f his patron George I I I atKew ; and Queen Charlotte

’s coach,i t is said

,not infrequently

drew up on the water-w ashed road in front o f his steps.Zoffany presented some o f his rel igious compositions to theneighbouring churches

,and one o f these sti l l hangs in the

rebui lt church o f St. George at Old Brentford ; but the one hewas supposed to have given to his parish church o f Chisw ickas an altar-piece

,representing David w ith his harp, accom

panied b y a smal l boy w i th the two Tables o f the Law andca l l ing the King’s special attention to the seventh commandment, was discovered , on the restoration o f the bui ld ing, w i thalmost suspicious convenience

,to be o f doubtfu l authenticity

and was turned out o f the church.

Adjoining this group is a long mal t ings,now used fo r other

purposes,and several picturesque houses (Fig. and beyond

is an open space through which a smal l brook came downfrom the land behind

,the terrace being carried over i t by a

smal l bridge. At the corner of the space is the Ship publ ichouse, now closed , and next to it a large pretentious row ofmore modern brick houses ; and to theserange of mal tings , barge-bu i lders ’

the end o f which we come to the“ City Barge (Fig. This S ignthe summer tpurposes

,was

the w inter i t was laid up in a shed,

s ide, facing S trand-on-the-Green .

naval architecture was bui l t for threstored in 1 85 1 at a cost o fSanders ineight years afterwards for £4 16. I t was, however, sti l l inC ity’s use i n the eighties

,as the w riter o f this article then

the p leasure o f spending a day on board w i th a CorporaCommittee

,engaged at luncheon and other arduous duties

the r iver ” ; but not long since the remai ns o f it, used as a1 14

STRAND-ON-THE-GREEN .

hulk , were to be seen outside the “ London Apprentice atI sleworth .

A little beyond the “ City Barge the i ron girder bridgecrosses the Thames carrying the South-Western Rai lway toKew ; and beyond that again w e come to the Bul l ’s Head

,

”

the sixth but last publ ic-house in our short w alk (Fig. I nspite o f i ts modern appearance this house has some fai r c laimto a moderate antiquity

,and the legend which associates i t

w ith the Protector may not be w ithou t foundation . Hisdaughter

,Mary Cromwel l

, was married to Lord Fauconbe rg ,whose residence at Sutton Court was close by ; and he mayhave frequently taken the water

,after visiting her on his return

toWhitehal l or Hampton Court, from the steps in front o f the“B ul l ’s Head ,

” or even rested fo r a whi le w i thin i t when w aiting fo r his barge.

After passing a row o f simple cottages w i th front gardens,

general ly very gay in summer- time, w e come to a set o f onestorey almshouses w ith thei r fronts turned away from theriver, and the end o f them facing i t and occupied by an in

scription which records the fact that they w ere bui lt i n 1 7 24by a local carpenter

,who erected one o f them at his own

charge.

”Beyond these low ly dwel l ings we come to the last

and by far the largest o f the private houses in the place, nowknow n as The Elms from the very fine specimens o f thosetrees which stand towards one s ide of i t on the terrace wal l ,although those in front of the house are magnificent Lombardypoplars . A large garden behind and at the side of it i s surrounded by an exceptional ly high wal l , as to which there wassome local legend which was mixed up w ith an exciting storyo f the Spanish main . I t was said that an Engl ish admiral ,who had been sent to theWest I ndies to search fo r some losttreasure

,returned w i th a very bad report o f the result of his

expedition and had retired to end his days in thi s sequesteredretreat, when a suspicious government sent dow n to S trandon-the-Green a gang of men to d ig over his garden and search,once more

,fo r the lost treasure. Bel ieving in the truth o f the

story,i t is said that the specu lating bui lders who have settled

on the neighbourhood l ike a swarm o f locusts , destroying everygreen thing

,are very anxious to acqu i re the site for thei r

operations and to investigate themselves the nature o f i tssubsoi l .At this point S trand-ou -the-Green comes to an end , as

the low - lying road gradual ly rose above high-water mark and1 1 5

STRAND -ON-THE-GREEN .

connected itself at an angle to Burl ington Lane in front o fGrove Park ; but the story o f the alterations which have takenplace in this part o f Chisw ick are beyond the scope o f th isa er.p!We must, however, refer once more to the road which passed

in front of the terrace wal l , as i t not only served fo r the housesthemselves

,but as a thoroughfare fo r those who ,

particularlyafter Kew Bridge was bu i l t, preferred the water-side way toLondon by the Chisw ick and Hammersmith Malls on throughFulham and the King’s Road , Chelsea. I t may seem strangethat any shou ld have selected so ci rcu itous a route when therewas so direct and w ide a road as that from B rentford toKensington ; but it is to be remembered that unti l this wasmade up in 1 8 16 by Macadam it was in almost as deplorablea condition as any by - lane, and so unsafe was i t on accountOf robbers and footpads that a Special guard-house had to bebuil t on one side o f i t near Gunne rsbury Lane— where it sti l lstands w ith theWar Office plate o f the last reign on it— to beoccupied by soldiers from Hounslow when the court was atKew and the king was l ikely to ride that way to London . But

before Kew B ridge was bu i l t the landing place o f the Kew

Ferry at the end Of Strand -on-the-Green was in constant useby those who w ere passing by land to town ; and i t is evidentfrom the accounts remaining o f the assassination p lot againstWi l l iam I I I that this was the point the King selected fo rcrossing over to his weekly hunt i n Richmond Park . Macau laydescribes the w inding character of the lane by whichWi l l iampassed from the river up to Turnham Green

,and it seems

clear from the description that it was either the lane whichled up from the Bu l l and Crown ,

” at one end o f Strand-on

the-Green,into theWel lesley Road

,the old B ri tish track-way ,

or else up Sutton Lane, direct on to Turnham Green at theother end . Macaulay states in his journal that he vis itedthe s ite and was easily able to identify it ; but unfortunatelyhe does not give us the detai ls o f his identification .

The water-way Of S trand -on-the-Green has long since ceasedto be passable

,and the place no longer presents many attrac

tions to the private resident ; while the crowd o f mean houseswhich are being bui lt around it

,and the work-shop s and stores

into which the maltings and houses are be ing turned are rapidlydestroying those charms which have for so long attracted thelovers o f the picturesque.

1 16

SOME OLD SURREY ROADS.

BY CHARLES V. O’NEIL.

[Continued from p .

not find in Surrey, as in Middlesex and someo f Hertfordshire

,the network Of green lanes ,

although one o f the most charm ing localcharacteristics , tel ls o f the rural popu lation having fal lenaway to such an extent that many o f the by -roads havebecome total ly unnecessary— a process that is sti l l going onj ust outside the London area— nevertheless there are as acompensat ion , both on the North Downs , and among the sandhil ls to the south o f them

,many miles Of deep hol low lanes ,

frequently thickly overgrow n w i th bushes and sapl ings,and

in places far below the neighbouring fields . I recal l to m indone such

,which forms part o f an exceptional ly del ightfu l

c ross -country walk from Chiddingfold to Dunsfold . The oldtrack is

,I should say

,not less than fifty feet below its

overhanging banks . I t is , o f course,very we t, and qu ite

impassable fo r many months o f the year, but there is , as i su sual ly the case , a good path inside the adjoin ing field , fromwhich an exceptionally fine view o f theWeald can be Obtained .

Gilbert White,in the opening chapter o f his S elborne, cal ls

attention to the hol low ing out o f the soft s tony surface o f thelanes in his neighbourhood by the action o f the w eather, andthe streams o f w ater that ran dow n them after rain , but thisprocess is far more noticeable on the hi l l s to the south o f theTillingb ourne Valley, the soi l being so much softer and morereadily acted Upon by cl imatic influences. The lanes and

footpaths round Shere, both those to the south in the directiono f the Hurtw ood and those running up into the hi l l s to thenorth

,furnish many instances o f this ; they are moreover o f

the most intricate description,and bew i ldering in the extreme

to anyone who attempts to find his way about w i thout veryprec i se directions or a modern ordnance map.

One point that first attracts attention is that they run w ithremarkable uniformity from south to north . According to ourideas the natural direction o f trafli c through the vi l lage wouldbe cast and west, along the level val l ey o f the Tillingbourne ,which i s traversed by the success ion of w inding lanes that

1 17

SOME OLD SURREY ROADS .

does duty fo r a high road from Gu i ldford to Dorking , but it isquite clear that this route is comparatively modern , and onlycame into being when the necessity fi rst began to be fel t fo rbetter means o f communication w i th the neighbouring tow ns.This general d irection o f the Shere lanes is no doubt partly

due to the ancient connection o f the vi l lage w i th Cran leigh ,which resulted in a parish o f unusual length as compared w ithits breadth ; and in early times

,when each hamlet formed a

self-centred community, and had l ittle or no intercourse w ithits neighbours , such ways as came fi rst into being were natural ly those which converged upon the buildings o f the vi l lage ingeneral

,and the church in particu lar. This was especial ly true

i n the case Of a vi l lage such as Shere, which was always ofsome local importance

,and once even possessed a market.

Moreover,in early days the Tillingb ourne Val ley must have

been a terrible place. I t i s th ickly wooded even now ; at thetime when the earl iest roads took form the whole val ley musthave been a mass o f dark woodland

,no doubt very sw ampy in

p laces , and the few travel lers o f the day ,east-bo und and west

bound, other than those o f the pi lgrims, who i n course o f timeprobably made Shere one o f their halting places , wou ld makeal l poss ible haste to regain the easier way along the hil lside.

I t i s probable,as I said just now ,

that a section at any rateo f the pi lgrims to Canterbu ry would

,after visiting St. Martha’s ,

proceed to Shere Chu rch by the nearest route, that byWestonand S i lverhi l l Woods, but these would be only the humbler ormore devoted among them

,who travel led afoot either by

choice or o f necessity ; and even these, accord ing to thegeneral ly accepted View

,took the fi rst opportunity o f cl imbing

the h i l ls ide by one or other o f the tracks which may be seensl ightly further to the east.However this may be , there IS to this day a steep cart track

running uphil l from the centre o f Shere vi l lage to the north ,i n direct continuation o f a narrow track which comes fro rriCranleigh, over the sandy hi l ls to the south . This steep laneit i s hardly even as much as that— is known significantly asLondon Lane.” Upon reaching the top o f the hi l l i t runss traight forward over the bracken

,only a narrow footpath

being apparent to the eye, but i t i s sti l l passable fo r wheeledtraffic at a p inch , and in fact a friend o f mine , being pressedfo r time, drove across in a dogcart a few years ago w ithoutm ishap . I n about a mile i t jo ins a fairly good road , andeventual ly reaches the Epsom and Gui ldford highway (at a

1 1 8

SOME OLD SURREY ROADS.

point by Horsley Towers) where the latter has Obviously beendiverted— o f which I shal l have something to say later onand from here there is a direct route as far as the PortsmouthRoad . The general continu ity o f this success ion o f tracksforces the conclus ion on the mind that here we may have oneo f the original l ines o f communication between w est Surrey ,and the more settled parts o f the county and London.

Outside the eastern boundary wal l o f Horsley Towers thereis a narrow and not particu larly attractive footway

,which has

now no sufficiently Obvious out let to the north,but I am told

that i t i s known local ly as the Old London Road , and thati t went by way o f Kingston . Presumably i t crossed the Moleat Church Cobham

,and a study Of the map show s by - lanes

in that di rection that may have been a continuation o f i t,but

I have not been able to arr ive at any definite information onthe subject. Local traditions however l ive long

,and

,as this

narrow track is in exact al ignment w i th a bridle way throughthe woods, which diverges from the lane from Shere mentionedabove, i t seems not unreasonable to infer that i t may haveformed part o f yet another packhorse track from Shere andCranleigh in the di rection o f London .

To the south o f Shere , and in the neighbourhood o f theHurtwood

,the tracks are sti l l more numerous

,and very

difficult to fol low w i thout an extensive know ledge o f thecountry. The w ri ter o f the Surrey volume in the Highwaysand By eways

” series describes the d ifli culty he experiencedin finding his way from the w indmi l l on Pitch Hi l l to FarleyHeath . I think he must have fol lowed the path I once tracedo ut

,but i n the reverse d irection . At any rate I passed the

sol itary cottage that he mentions,but I was fortunate i n start

ing from the other end , where I had a definite datum to workfrom , i n the shape o f a curve o f Bow Lane clearly shown onthe Ordnance map , and I found the way w ithout very muchdiffi cu lty.

The path I fol low ed is an instance o f one that must at sometime have been in fairly constant use but i s now entirelyabandoned . I t i s w ide and hard under foot

,b ut so completely

overgrow n w i th nuts and hazel that mere pushing is o f noavai l

,one can only get through by craw l ing under the boughs.

The great number o f paths in this neighbourhood runningfrequently paral lel w ith

,and in close p roximity to each other

has been attributed to smugglers,who ,

i t i s known,found in

these w i lds in the eighteenth century a ready means o f access1 19

SOME OLD SURREY ROADS.

to thei r markets in the more settled parts of the country ; butin al l probabi l ity the truth is that in the days o f packhorses

,

when the country was open for many miles, each man or caravan wou ld more or less choose his own path , as c i rcumstancesor the state o f the weather or his own know ledge or ignoranceof the l ie o f the land might move him .

We are, I think , rather l iable to underestimate the industrialactivity that formerly characterized certai n parts o f Surrey,which are now emphatical ly rural and agricu ltural , but it is tothis that w e must attribute a very considerable proportion o f

the by -w ays o f the central parts o f the county. Practical lythe only means o f access to London and other centres was bymeans o f packhorses, which wi l l to some extent account for thenumerous north-bound tracks . Even now one o f the waysacross from the Tillingb ourne Val ley to the Epsom and

Gui ldford Road is know n as Staple Lane, which must surelybe a reminiscence o f the vanished wool trade that formerlyflourished at Wonersh and the larger places in the neighbourhood ; moreover Manning and B ray mention as a place-nameStaplelands i n proximity to this lane .

The name i s now confined to a narrow track running fromthe top of Combe Bottom to East Clandon , b ut the existingroadway from Shere has every appearance o f being mod ern

,

and,moreover

,soon after leaving the main road from Shere

to Gu i ldford i t cu rves very sharply to the left in the l ine ofan old track up Juniper Hi l l , and then again equal ly sharplyto the right. These bends are alone sufli c ient to make onesuspect the existence of an older track, which w i l l be foundon pass ing through a gate immediately in front at the fi rstbend. I t i s completely overgrow n in places , and at fi rst canonly be made out w i th difficu lty, but further on it i s moreOpen

,and it w i l l then be seen to be more than a mere footpath ,

and i t may be fol low ed unti l i t rej oins the road,nearly at

the top o f the combe. This is , I have no doubt, the originalsouthern end o f Staple Lane, and i n i ts former state i t mayhave been a packhorse road from Cranleigh and the adjacentvi l lages in the di rection o f Chertsey and S taines .I t may have been Observed that I have had l i ttle to say in

these notes abou t the Roman roads Of which traces have beenfound in Surrey. My reason fo r this i s that my aim has beento confine myself to such roads as are at present in use, or areusable, at any rate by pedestrians. Moreover the subject isone upon which l ittle can be said w i th certainty, and any

1 20

SOME OLD SURREY ROADS.

various stages o f grow th may be seen on the northern l pes

o f Leith Hi l l , planted in many instances in the hope o f derivingsome return from otherw i se pro fitless ground .

Coldharbour Lane seems to have fal len into an unaccount

able state o f neglect , as we learn that by the middle o f theeighteenth century it could only be traversed on horseback

,

and,as the resu lt o f a petition to Parl iament , the present high

road from Horsham to Dorking was eventual ly constructed .

I have a private theory Of my own that Coldharbour Laneas it is now— above Boar Hi l l , i s the successor o f a sti l l olderroad

,the bridle way that runs paral lel w ith i t inside Redlands

Wood,the upper entrance o f which is exactly in alignment

w ith the lane as i t turns after leaving Coldharbour vil l age ;i t i s d ifficu lt otherw ise to account for the existence o f thisright Of way ,

fo r which no object is apparent , and whichappears to be know n to very few even o f those l iving in thed istrict. I t ends after an exceedingly sharp descent (whichw ould appear to be quite sufli cient to account for its abandonment) at a spot in Coldharb our Lane known ominously asthe Robbing Gate ” at the top o f Boar Hi l l . I t is curious tonote that in the fol io edition Of Ogilby

’

s B ritannia,dated

1698 , Co ldharb our Lane appears as part o f a main route fromLondon to Arundel

,and is considered worthy o f inclusion

amongst the extremely l imited numbe r o f main roads in thatwork . I t might thus almost be regarded as a third real lyancient main route to be added to the two I mentioned at thebeginn ing o f these notes

,but contemporary accounts o f i ts

normal condition seem to forbid the conclusion that i t cou ldhave been used even fo r the primitive stage veh icles then inuse

,and we know that half a century later, as mentioned above,

i ts state was such that i t was considered too b ad even for thatday

,and the present fine road over the Holmwood was made.

I t i s interesting to note that in the w ork entitled B r itannia

D ep icta or Og ilby Imp roved ,issued about 1 7 36, w hich furnishes

a crude series o f maps o f the counties o f England , the roadsnoted in Surrey (omitting the Dover and Exeter roads) areonly five in number

,the old Lewes Road , the Portsmouth

Road,the one j ust mentioned to Arundel , the branch road

from Godalming through Chiddingfold to Petworth ,and the

cross road from Sta ines to Farnham ,which leaves the great

w estern highway to Sal i sbury and Exeter on Bagshot Heath ,and runs fo r some few miles w i th in the western border o f thecounty .

1 22

SOME .OLD SURREY ROADS .

Another o f the old tracks which tradition declared to haveonce been a high road is to be found on the northern slope ofLeith Hi l l . I t runs from Co ldharbour to Wotton , above theB roadmoor Val ley

,and i s known asWolvens Lane— a remini

scence o f times when country w alks must have been attendedby more than a spice o f danger— and i s I suppose as w i ld andsecluded a by

-way as cou ld be found even in this thin ly inhabited area ; but i t is a l ittle difficu l t to bel ieve that two suchinsignificant hamlets could ever have requ i red a “ high roadto connect them .

High up on Mickleham Dow ns,overlooking the val ley of

the Mole,there is a broad green track

,carried in some places

on an embankment,and in others cutting through the hi l l

s ide. This is now know n as Shepherd ’s Walk,

”but i t bears

evident traces Of Roman engineering,and is marked on the

O rdnance map as Ermyn S treet. I t seems almost certain,

how ever,that i t w as a continuation o f S tane Street , but

experts differ, as experts w i l l , as to whether it dropped downto Ewel l

,and then fol lowed the l ine Of the present high road

through Morden to London,which runs in an absolutely

straight l i ne fo r several mi les,or whether i t bore to the right

towards one o f the Roman settlements, which are said to have

been located at various spots on the North Dow ns . I t is wel lworth exp loring if only fo r the delightfu l qu ietude o f the surroundings

,and the fine views i t affords o f the w el l-wooded

country on either s ide.

I have intentional ly left to the last the best o f al l the Old

Surrey roads,the primeval track

,compared w ith which the

oldest o f the main h ighways now existing in the county is asbut a creation o f yesterday. Long before the Romans cameand taught the primitive natives to make roads

,this o ld hi l l

track was in regu lar use,carrying merchants and their wares

through Kent and Surrey from the narrow seas far toward thewest.One can real ize w ith what feel ings o f rel ief and joy those

early travel lers who had boldly ventured across from theshores o f Gau l

,urged by the desire o f lucrat ive trading w ith

the men o f the south—west, must have come upon this openhil l - track

, which would appear to have been , as i t were, madefo r them

,running as i t does along the open hil ls ide

,as a rule

just below the summit,and so protected from the northerly

w inds , and , on the other hand , l ifted safely above the dangersand terrors

,know n and imagined

,o f the w i ld and densely

1 23

SOME OLD SURREY ROADS.

wooded Weald. They w ou ld see it pointing directly towardsthe setting sun ,

the point at which they aimed,and at each

o f the spots where a considerable stream had to be crossed,

that is at Aylesford , O tford , Burford , and Guildford , they wou ldfind a means o f cross ing that wou ld ensure them a safe andeasy passage.

One cannot discuss this time-honoured highway w ithoutagain referring to Mr. Bello c ’s bo ok on the subject

,which

brings so vividly before the eyes the conditions o f the longdistant past, when this was the main route— if not the onlyone— running east and west through the southern counties

,

and when in due course o f time it came to be thronged by al lmanner o f men and their merchandise.I ts story i s inextricably interwoven w i th that o f the Canter

bu ry pi lgrimages , and much has be en w ri tten and said as tohow far

,if at al l , the pi lgrims used the Old road in their

journeyings. The natural i nference is that at fi rst, at al l events ,they fol low ed the wel l -known route

, which was i ndeed , as faras our know l edge goes, the only one open to them ,

and,al

though in course o f time the humbler and more devoutamongst them may have laborious ly made a foot track forthemselves through the low - lying woodlands from church tochurch

,and from shrine to shrine, the probabi l ity i s that al l

those who merely followed the fashion o f the day, al l thosewho travel led fo r business or pleasure, and every one who hada horse to ride wou ld keep to the dry and open hi l ls ide track

,

i n preference to the mi ry and devious ways o f the lowerground.

The pilgrimages are,however

,but an episode in the history

o f th is old road,and the four hundred years during which

they took place are a mere trifle as compared w i th the twothousand or more during which it has been in existence. I twas a wel l-used highway

,probably

,as I have said , the best

used in what are now the southern counties , a thousand yearsbefore Becket was s lain at Canterbury ; and when pi lgrimagesceased under the stern ru l e o f the Tudors

,the road remained ,

as i t st i l l remains usable,not merely as a footway, a mere

rel ic o f past greatness, but w i thout Obstruction and avai lable

as a cart road throughout practical ly its whole length . I nfact i t is probably very l i ttle if at al l inferior to the majorityo f Engl ish roads p rior to the coaching era . One importantuse to which i t has been put may be gathered from the nameby which it i s know n local ly

,and by which i t i s denoted on1 24

SOME OLD SURREY ROADS .

as one may fairly cal l i t , reached an earl ier culminating pointat the close o f the eighteenth and early part o f the n ineteenthcenturies , and unti l coaching was k i l led by the rai lw ays

,there

was an absolute mania, ass isted to no smal l degree by com

peti tion betw een those who embarked upon the carrying trade,for travel l ing by road at the highest possible rate o f speed.

The development o f the nation ’s roads that ensued was notconfined to the great trunk routes : w e read that during thefifty years between 1 76 1 and 1 8 10 no less than sixteen hundredTurnp ike Acts were passed , and , although no doubt many o f

these w ere not put into effect (just as many Rai lway Actswere and are passed , and then are heard o f no more), manyhundreds o f miles o f cross-country connections w ere eitherconstructed or re - constructed to meet the grow ing needs o f

the time,resu l ting in the abandonment either whol ly or in

part o f the older l ines o f communication .

To any one who know s Surrey w el l many other instancesw i l l occu r o f such roads which have bee n whol ly or in partabandoned ; fo r example, the success ion o f lanes that w eresuperseded by the present high road from Epsom to Gu i ldford

,

constructed under Acts of 1 7 5 5 -8 , many traces o f which existbo th east and w est o f Leatherhead . The most casual wayfarer can hardly fai l to notice that i n the latter d irection thevi l lages all l ie o ff the road

,and if he begins to exp lore them

he w i l l find that as far as Effingham the older lane to thenorth o f the present highway is sti l l intact, and that i t sti l lcarri es the bu lk o f the local trafli c .

An abandoned continuation beyond Effingham terminatesabruptly at the boundary o f the Horsley Tow ers estate, whichfact

,coupled w ith the exceedingly sharp corners a mi le fu rther

on,by the “ Duke o fWel l ington at East Horsley

,forces one

to conclude that the older road was swal lowed up when theHors ley estate was formed

,but I have not been able to

ascertain anything definite as to this.Again

,a few miles further on by East Clandon there are

evident traces o f diversions having taken place, and to thesouth o f the main road there is a melancholy loop o f desertedtrack that must have formed part o f some predecessor to thepresent road.

To attempt anyth ing l ike a detai led su rvey o f the roads ofthe county is o f course qu ite out o f the question in an art icleo f this length

,and my main Object in putting together these

somewhat disconnected notes has been the hope that someone1 26

SOME OLD SURREY ROADS.

possessed o f the necessary leisure,know ledge and antiquarian

instinct may be tempted to deal w i th this fascinating subjectas i t deserves .The l iterature on the subject is meagre i n the extreme. I n

the appendix to Manning and B ray, the Roman roads are

dealt w i th at some length,and then fol lows a catalogue o f the

new turnpikes recently completed or authorized in Surrey, butof the great middle period

, when the road system o f the countywas in the making, scarcely anything appears to have beenw ritten .

I t is greatly to be lamented that the science o f cartographydeveloped so late— a comparative series o f county maps

,show

ing someth ing more than scattered col lections o f crudelyindicated and conventional gables

,varied by an occasional

church steeple , wou ld have been most instructive as to thedistribution o f popu lation, and the means o f communicationfrom age to age ; b ut such maps as w ere produced before themidd le o f the eighteenth century were

,as a ru le o f the most

rudimentary description .

A contributor to one of the early volumes of the SurreyArcha o logical Col lections w rote as fol low s :

The general subject of roads is one well worthy the studyof all those who seek to trace back efi

'

ects to their causes,

they being among the most important means by which thecivilization of mankind has been effected .

”

Mr. Bel loc more picturesquely says

Of primary things that move us, the least obvious butmost important is the road . The greatest and most original ofthe spells which we inheri t from the earliest pioneers of ourrace. It was the most imperative and the first of our necesSitIes.

This view o f the matter has not received the attention itdeserves . The history o f the roads Of any given district i s tono inconsiderable extent the history o f the people o f thatdistrict

,and in the case o f a county such as Surrey, which has

had singularly l i ttle part in the great events o f o ur nationalhistory

,i f we know under what c ircumstances its roads came

into being, what were the successive developments o f the

system, why this road was made and why that one was

abandoned, we are not far from a fairly comprehensive know

l edge of the history o f the county in general ; and it is open to127

SOME OLD SURREY ROADS.

question whether the subject may not be as interesting andprofitable as discussions on Roman pottery and pre-Romanfl ints, and treatises thereon. The matter is wel l worth con

sideration.

THE RECORDS OF ST. MARTIN ’

S,

LUDGATE,Part IV.

BY HENRY R PLOMER.

[Continued from vol. 1111, p.

imb ing Ludgate Hi l l , in the days o fElizabeth found a w elcome resting p lace providedfo r them by the city authorities, in the form o f a bench

placed outside the chu rch o f St. Martin ’s. This bench was

fixed between the great and l ittle doors which gave entranceto the church from Bowyer Row ,

as the upper end o f LudgateHi l l was then cal l ed . I t al so appears to have extended roundthe western s ide o f the church fo r some distance. That part ofi t which stood between the two doors occupied a space o f

eighteen feet by three. Nothing can better i l lustrate the growing value o f land w ithin the w al ls o f the city than the storywhich is told in the fol low ing documents of how the tired wayfarer was deprived o f his resting place by the covetous citizenswho w ished to secure the strip o f land

,eighteen feet by three

to put up a shop.

Thomas Severne , the fi rst appl icant , was a parish ioner ofSt. Mart in’s

,and

,as w i l l be seen from the fol low ing m inute of

the Common Counci l,he suffered the usual fate .o f pioneers.

f ovis, secundo die Mara z, Anna xxxiiij domine nostreElizahethe Regine , etc. 1 59 1 , [1 5 9 1Webb,[Dyxiq Barne, Martin, Harte, Buckell, Masham ,

Maior. Slanye , B illingsley,Ratclyff,Elk in , Skinner,Cathe r,Sal tonstall, Soane, Mowsley, Broke, ac Ryder et Barneham,

I tem where Thomas Severne , haberdasher, was a sutor tothis Court for a lease to be graunted to him of the Citee ’s p ieceof void grounde , where the seate is lately erected adjoyningeto the parishe churche o f St. Martyn

,Bowyer Row, wi thin

Ludgate Yt was this daye ordered that the same su te should bede termyned in this Courte by scrutany . And theruppon theCourte proc eading to the same scrutany, yt was founde that it

128

THE RECORDS OF ST. MARTIN ’

S , LUDGATE .

was not fitt nor convenient the same sute should be graunted, orthat the same peece ofgrounde shoulde be lett by lease. Whetappon yt is this day ordered, decreed and fullie resolvedby this Courte

,aswell for the causes aforesaide as for divers

other causes the same Courte especiallymovinge , that the samepeece of ground shall not at any tyme hereafter be let by lease,nor converted into Shoppes, but shall forever remayne and

contynewe a seate and benche for the ease of the parishionersthere

, and other her Majesties subjectes. [fol. 86 d .]

This praiseworthyattitude o f the CityAuthorities did not lastlong

,andwhere Thomas Seve rne fai led , Thomas Person or Peir

son was more successful a few years later. But i t w i l l be noticedthat he first o f al l enl isted the help o f the Vestry , and prevailedupon that body to make the application .

januar ie, the xxxj‘"

1 596 [1 5 96Item yt is agreed by a Veristry houlden by Thomas Cooke

and Thomas Person, Churche wardens the last daye o f

Januarie , 1 5 96, [1 5 96-7] that if the said Churchewardens andparishioners doe ob tayne and get the newe longe benche onethe Syouthe syde andWest end of St. Mar tin’s Churche , neareLudgat, ethiere by leasse or fee farme of the Chambre of London

,at the sut of Thomas Person or otherwise, yt was then and

the ire o rdred by the said Churchwardens and persons there assembled, whose names are here written, that the above namedThomas Person shal l have a leasse of the said benche for xxjyeare s at a reasonable rent, to convart in to a shope at his ownecost and charges. Ordred and decrid the yeare above written, the 3 9 yeare of our soveraigne Ladie the Queene.

Thomas CookeThomas Person jChurche Wardens.

Jhon Hartford, Richard Arnoyld, Florence Cawdwell, RogerSmyth, John Lyche , Nicholas Crosse, Robarte Gomershall,Robarte Pavy

,Edward Undrehill, William Smythe, Jhon

Gravete, William Frythe . [fol.

The fol low ing document,though out o f i ts chronological

order, should be read next, as show ing that the appl ication ofSt. Martin ’s Vestry proved successfu l and the terms uponwhich it obtained the land upon which the seat stood . I t w i l lbe noticed that nothing is said as to the use to which it wasto be put.

Whereas the Maior and Comynalty and Citizens of theCitty of London, by their Indenture o f Lease under theirCommon Seale, b earinge date the xviijth daie of September,

1 29 K

THE RECORDS OF ST. MARTIN ’

S , LUDGATE .

1 5 98 , And in the fortith yere of the Re igne of our Sove reigne

Lady Queene Elizabeth, e tc .,did devise, graunt and to fearme

lett unto Florence Caldwall, Richard Arnold, Thomas Cooke,Nicholas Crosse, Edward Underhill and Robert Pavy , haberdashers, Citizens of London and parishioners o f St. Martin at

Ludgate, All that parcell o f ground lieinge alonge parte of theSouthe side of the Churche of S‘Mart yn , Bowyer Rowe, inLondon, that is to saie, betwixt the greater doore leadinge out

o f the streete w i thin Ludgate into the same Churche and thesmaller dore there leadinge also into the same Churche , conteyninge in lengthe from East to West e ighteene foote, be ytmore or lesse, and in breadth from the Churche Wal l into theStreete Southwarde threefoote,For thetermeofforty yeares, comensinge from the feast of S

t Michaell Tharchangell next cominge after the date of the same Indenture o f Lease, and for theyearlie ren t of Five Shillinges of lawfull money of England, asby the same Indenture of Lease more pleinly may appeare ;Al l whiche said persons were putt in truste as Fcoffees by therest o f the parishioners of the said parishe of Sainct Martyn, totake the said lease in their names, to the general l use of theparishioners o f th e same parish. It is therefore this xxviijtho f September, 1 600, ordered, agreed and consented unto by aful l Vestrie , holden by William Frith and Roberte Gomersal l,Churchwardens, that althoughe the said lease be graunted inthe names o f the said Feo ffees

, yet it is the very true meaninge

and entent of all the said Feoffees and every of themthat the said Lease, and all the benefitt and Comoditie

theruppon cominge , arrisinge and growinge at all tymeshereafter, shalbe and shalbe adjudged, entended and meantto be to the use and b ehoofe of all the parishioners of

the said parishe nowe beinge, and to their successors, parishioners o f the said parishe , duringe the saide terme of fortyyears in the said lease graunted , and to noe other use , enten tor purpose, the said lease or any other mat ter or thinge to thecontrary notwithstanding. For the testimony ’

Of the truthe

hereof aswell wee the Feoffees, as also the Parishioners, havesett to our bandes, the daie and yeare above wri tten. [fol. 9 1 d .]

As the names are not given,th is was evidently only a

transcript o f the original document. The vestry however didnot wait for this general ratification of the agreement. On thefi rst o f October, 1 598, they passed a resolution that ThomasPeirson , merchaunt tailor

,an auncient dwel ler i n the same

parishe ,” should be granted a lease o f thi s strip o f ground ,

three feet by eighteen,fo r twenty-one years at a yearly rental

o f 4os., so the parish were not doing badly on the transaction .

1 30

THE RECORDS OF ST. MARTIN ’

S,LUDGATE .

Final ly we have this minute entered .

Att a Vestrye holden on Wensday, the xxith of Marche,1 5 98 [1 598 byNicholas Crosse andWilliam Frithe , Churchwardens, for lettinge the Lease o f the shoppe at the Churchedoore to Thomas Person ; at whiche tyme there mett in thevestrye thenombe rof fortyParishioners,whereof thirty-eighte o fthem gave their consentes under their bandes that the saidThomas Person should have a lease of the said shopp for oneand twenty yeres, to lett and sett at forty Shillinges a yere rent,Soe that whosoever it was let unto by the said Thomas Personor his assigns shou ld first enter into bond to the Churchwardeins

,to the use o f the same parishe , not to annoy or hinder

the Devine Service, nor to be noysome or troublesome to theparishioners, andto doo his best endeavor to keepe theChurchein safety and from annoyaunces.

Also Mr. Crowe, the parson, being there present, gave hisconsent and al lowance for fixin e the same shoppe to theChurche Wall. [fols. 89 d.

, 90 d.

In thi s way the bench , which a few years before the CommonCounci l had decreed should forever remayne ,

”was done away

w ith , and the tired pedestrian was robbed o f his resting place.

Passing now to other matters,it may be o f interest to record

the rules that governed the Vestry meetings at this t ime. I n1 592 , during the term o f offi ce o f John Leach and ChristopherHol lingshed , the fol low ing articles w ere drawn up and enteredin this book

,in a clear and scholarly hand

Imprimis : That every Ve streyman Shal l Observe and keepeall orders agreed upon by the same Vestrey, or elles to be excluded from the same plase and another chosen in his plase.Item : That every Vestery man shal l come to the Vestery,

being lawfully warned, not having resonable excuse fo r hisabsence by the same Vestery to be alowed of o r most voyces.

Item : That every Vestery man at ther meetinges in thesame Vestery shall behave themselves reverent ly and decentlyone towards an other

,in speches and o therwayes.

Item : That every Ve stery man shal l beare or compoundfor all suche offices as he or they have bine or shalbe chosenunto w ithin the same parrish, without resistance, or els ex

cluded.

Item : That every Vestery man shall paye all manner ofseasementes

, paymentes and deuties, w ith which in the sameparishe they have bine or shalbe asseased unto by the Seassorso f the same parish, elected and chosen for the same purpose.Item : That yf aney Vestery man be to be new chosen to

1 3 1

THE RECORDS OF ST. MARTIN ’

S, LUDGATE .

suppley the plases wanting, yf the want be wi thin the Gate orw ithout, ther shalbe 3 or 4 put in election by the whole Vestery of both sides of the most fittest men on that side wherethe want is, and then the choyse to be made out of them bythe most voyses of that side onely that wanteth.

I tem : That ther shalbe no Vestery holden under the numbero f xvjVestery men at the least , be ing lawfq warned.

I tem : That these articles were agreed upon by a lawfullVestery and lawfully warned, being the number of 25 Vesterymen.

Absent onely from thisVestery, Mr. Antrobus, Mr. Bullocke ,Mr. Broughe, Mr. B lande, Mr. Gomersall. [fol. 84 d .

,8

Some idea of the variety of matters dealt with at the Vestrymeetings may be gathered from the fol lowing entries

Item : It was agreed that the Sexton should have for everytyme that he tolleth the bell iiijd . and lykewise for thepawllclo th for every tyme that i t goithe iiijd. [fol.

That the Clarke Should have the commoditys o f the bellsas he hath had hertofore , And the Churche Wardens to fynd allthe bell ropes forthermore i t was agreed that the Sextonshall have for and vjd. every

Anno 1 5 93 , hit

was ordered and fullyagreyed that every stranger or forrener notbeing a parrisshioner that shalbe buried in oure Church shallpaye in alldewtyes dubble so muche as a parisshener. [fol.That from henceforth all suche letters Pattents as shall

happen to come to our Churche under the Great Scale of England, or other let ters Pattentes under anie other seale, theChurch wardens for the tyme beynge shall cause them to bepublished and redd in our said Churche . And for the avadingeof troble , aswell to the parisshioners as to the preacher, whichmay happen by reason of suche collections in tyme of Devyne

Servyce , the Churchewardens shall geve to everye one that shal lcome with the Greate Scale of England, ijs. iiijd. , and to everieone that commeth with letters pattentes under the scale of

the Admiral ty xx d ., And the like to them that shall come w ith

the Bishopp’s l icence. [fol. 88 d .]

At a Vestry holden the laste daye o f Februarie, 1 600,

[1 600 by Robert Pavie andEdward Underhill, Churchwardens. I twas fullye agreed that for the collection for the Queen

’sBrode Seale for the burninge o f anye towne, shoulde be collected by the Churchwardens or officers of the parishe of everyinhabitante ; and for other licences, to be given oute o f the

1 32

THE RECORDS OF ST. MARTIN ’

S , LUDGATE .

Church stocke, by the discreation of the Churchwardens fo rthe tyme beinge.It was also agread that all the pewes, as well for men as

weomen, shulde be marked with syphers, that hereafter theym ight be the better knowne and how manye for every pewe,and [there]was apoynted to joyne with the Churchwardens forthat purpose, John Hartford

,Jeames Willmore

,Thomas

Cooke, Wi lliam Fri the. [fol.

On the perambulacion day there should be spent out of theChurch stock everyVesterye man to spend xijd. ,

beinginvited or warning left att his howse, all to be spent for a

neighbourly meetinge and honest recreation, for amytie and

love of neighboures. And if the Churchwardens shall layeoute or dispend more then this lowaunce , the overplus to beof the Churchwardeins’ owne charges. Yff there be lesse spent,soe much as wanteth to be put t in accomp t to the poorestocke, and aunswerable in the next accompt to the Churchwardeins that succeede them . And everyVestrye man that shallrefuse to pay his whether he come or not, to be dism issed for being a Vestrye man, and another chosen in hisp lace where the want is. [fol. 94 d .]

At a full Vestry houlden one Tuesday, being the xxijthDecember, 1 60 1 , by Edward Underhill and William Ensor,Churchwardens, i t was agreed that Robert Mote should beepaid by the Churchwardens viijlz

'

. js. and to take a

bonde of hime to performe suche Covinantes as are agreedUppone in the bonde to the use of the parishe ; and furtheritwasagreed one the same day that theire shoulde bee a pe ticionmaid to the Masters o f the Hospital] to procure warant fo r thegett ing in Hennrey Pounde

’s Childe

, which is at nursse, andfuther that the Churche Wardens shoulde b estowe someclothes uppon yt. [fol. 9

That a whipp ing post shalb e set up at the Conduit in theOld Bayly, and that i t shalb e aswell to the use within the Gateas w ithout the Gate. [fol. 1 00 d .]

Robert Mo te was a be l l-founder, who se service s had been requis itionedrecas t one of the be l ls.

1 33

GRAVESEND AND ITS SURROUNDINGSAT THE COM ING OF THE ROMANS, ANDDUR ING THE ROMAN OCCUPATION.

BY ALEX. J . PHILIP.

N the p receding account o f a prehistoric settlement Isketched briefly the appearance o f Gravesend at a periodantecedent to any o f the unmistakable data that usual ly

go to the making o f recorded history,such as coins and medal s

and references in the w ritten records o fmore advanced peoples.To some extent, but not to so great an extent as is usual lysupposed , this i s specu lative ; I purposely refrained fromburdening the narrative w i th erudite detai ls of etymology, inthe study o f which there is room and opportunity fo r numberless errors and pitfal ls . I n process o f t ime the aboriginalinhabitants

,who w ere i n commun ication w i th other parts of

the world , by their intercourse w ith other peoples becamecomparatively civi l ized.

There is l i ttle doubt that before the time of the fi rst Romanattack in AD . 54, the B ritons of Kent w ere possessed of ametal coin currency. I t may be accepted w ithout doubt thata people w ith facu lt ies suffi ciently acquis itive to enable themto copy a coinage system fo r their own use, was far advancedin other di rections . How ever, i t is w i th the d istri ct roundabout Gravesend

,and not w ith the larger subject o f the history

o f Kent that I am concerned ; nevertheless , i t i s not only perm iss ible

,but advisable

,to treat the district lying w ithin the

confines o f a semici rcle draw n from Higham on the east,

through Cobham and S inglew ell to Greenhithe on the w est,as supp lying material fo r this h istory.

Gold and other coins o f B ritish minting have been foundin the district ; B ri tish towns have been traced at Swanscombe,Cobham

,and Ightham ; while the great British road which

preceded the later Roman Watl ing Street , ran some distanceto the south o f the s ite of the present Gravesend.

The late Mr. A . J . Dunkin had no doubt that on the easternbank o f the Ebbsfle e t (then a navigable river, but now astreamlet running from Sp ringhead Gardens) , was s ituated 3.

l arge tow n,w ith shipbui lding and dockyards o f the fi rst im

portance. “ The maj ori ty o f the vessels bui l t in the river1 34

ROMAN GRAVESEND.

Ebbsfl ee t were o f great bu lk. The prow s and stem s beingraised high above the spray o f the sea

,were utterly impene

ttable by the brazen beaks or rostm o f the Roman craft— andl ike those o f the Veneti , were almost entirely constructed ofoak , the produce o f the forest , now indiscriminately termedSwanscombe, or Stone Park Wood, which descended to theverge o f the estuary. Formed in the strongest manner and ofthe most efficient materials , these ships were admirablyadapted fo r distant voyages , or encountering the stormyseas which washed the British shores .”

I n both 54 B .C. and 5 3 B .C. Ju l ius Cae sar fai led to make anygreat impression on the Bri tons . I n the second invasion hepassed near Gravesend and fought a battle in the vicinity

,

camping afterw ards at Swanscombe on the way to Dartford ,where there is bel ieved to have been an extensive city. Anumber o f weapons , pieces o f armour, and human bones w erediscovered at Thong. This find appears to be the same asthat described by the late Mr. Dunkin and the late Mr. Arnold ,but their accounts are w ithout the detail s necessary to identifyeither the exact site or the “ find .

”But the name Battle Street

at Cobham,close by Thong, adds cons iderable strength to the

bel ief that this was the scene o f a sangu inary struggle betweenthe Romans and the B ritons on one o f these early campaignsof the invaders . I t is unfortunate that this discovery was notbetter described and attested at the time it was made

,as it

might have thrown considerable l ight on the invasion o f th ispart of Kent by Cae sar or his successors .Caesar’s account o f his own campaigns cannot be rel ied

upon in al l detai ls . His statement that the B ritons were barbarians has been assai led most violently by Mr. Dunkin ; andwhile i t cannot be disputed that the term was appl ied to anyone who did not enjoy the honour o f Roman citizenship

,

Caesar’s description o f the chariots , the agricu ltu ral and otherski l led work o f the inhabitants o f Kent

,may be accepted as

evidence o f the high state o f civi l ization they had attained .

The accompanying i l lustration o f weights bel ieved to havebeen used in fishing w ith nets and dug up in Gravesend maybe taken to substantiate the claim made on behalf of theBritons

,that they w ere equal ly ski l led in fishing.

The lack o f w ritten history between the invasions of Cae sarand that o f Au lus Plautius is disconcerting

,but it i l lustrates

the precarious nature o f the evidence on which some of themz

'

nutz'

w o f history have been founded .

1 3 5

ROMAN GRAVESEND .

B ri tish Gravesend may be described, at the time of thecoming o f the Romans , as a popu lous centre o f the surrounding country

,w ith few inhabitants on Windmil l Hi l l

,judging

from the comparatively smal l number o f B ritish rel ics foundthere ; the ris ing land was po ss ibly given over to some otherthan a residential obj ect.I n this scene o f prosperi ty, but not o f peace— if the chariots

and war weapons and mil itary prowess o f the B ritons isaccepted as proof— came . the Romans o f Au lus P lautius . Thestatement that he fought a battle in Swanscombe Woods i supheld by Dunkin , who has drawn what is perhaps the mostvivid picture o f B ri tish Gravesend poss ible. From that timethe Gravesend distri ct was completely Romanized . Higham ,

Shom e, Springhead , Southflee t, Ebb sfiee t , and Tilbu ry maywel l be regarded as part o f an enormous centre o f activity.

The bank o f the river from Tilbury to East Ti lbury was

whol ly given up to trade and commerce w i th other nations.Springhead was the famous station , Vagnz

'

m ,on the great

highway laid down fo r mil i tary purposes from London to thecoast

,namely

,Watl ing S treet, which ran largely along the

l ine o f the earl ier British road— Sarm Gwyddelin. No rthflee tor Ebbsflee t was taken over as a shipbui lding yard . AtShorne, about the same distance to the east o f Gravesend , aRoman cemetery ha s been found

,i n addition to a smal ler one

at Ti lbury. Higham was the site o f a great Roman potteryfactory. But in al l this there is l i ttle mention o f Gravesend .

Why the Romans avoided making use o f the eminence I cannot say, but the fact remains that so far as the hi l l is concernedthe finds are strikingly and disappointingly few .

The different discoveries on w hich this description of theGravesend d istrict i s based are exceedingly interesting.

A great many o f the general ly accepted ideas regarding theinhabitants o f this part o f the country and Ca sar’ s invas ion o f

i t have been disproved and discarded. The B ritons at thistime w ere not a race o f ignorant savages

,o f w i l d men o f the

w oods,inhabiting, so far as that term could be appl ied to an

existence such as that usual ly described,forests and marshes ,

with lairs l ike beasts o f the field and the chase. They w ere nota race o f w eakl ings

,b ut men o f gigantic stature, renow ned fo r

their mi l itary prow ess, who had led the attacks on Rome

itself, their ancestors taking part in the sack o f the city . Theircountry was one o f the most impo rtant as regards commercialvalue, exporting the greater part o f the tin o f the world , and

1 36

ROMAN GRAVESEND.

a considerable amount of other merchandise,even

, as I pointedout previously, as it had done for more than a thousand years .The mystery that Ca sar found attaching to it was not due tothe ignorance o f i ts inhabitants or the density o f the country,but was the resu lt o f a commercial jealousy of the traders whocarried on an extensive but exclus ive monopoly of businessw i th the B ritons.Under these conditions it is not surpris ing that Caesar, when

he had succeeded in subdu ing the Gauls and other tribes lyingbetween I taly and Bri tain , shou l d turn his attention to thewar- l ike islanders who had caused him more trouble than anyo f the Continental peoples . I n fact

,by their campaigns i n

Europe they had invited his attack,and if the story of

Avarwy’

s treachery,i n deserting to the Romans on Cmsar’s

second landing,i s accepted

,the Roman general might wel l

have be en repulsed a second time from the B ritish shores .I t i s impossible to say when fi rst Roman rel ics were found

and treasured in the district,because

,so far as can be traced ,

they have been found ever s ince the Romans official ly ” leftthe country. I say official ly because (w ith the exactitudeof which I have previously complained) i t is usual ly statedthat the Romans rel inqu ished the country in the year 4 10A.D .,

w ithout any regard being paid to the fact that after fourhundred years o f the closest connection it was impossible toeradicate the Romans, thei r influences or their i nsti tutions .While there is no doubt that these di scoveries have been madeat intervals during the passing centuries

,i t i s equal ly beyond

question that they have rarely received the attention theydeserve in the way o f scientific observation o f the circumstances o f the discovery and the position o f the find ”

; thisw i l l be abundantly evident from the records o f the finds referred to in the fol low ing pages

,and these

,o f course, are those

that have been recorded most minutely.

Springhead, about half a mile from the confines of theexisting Borough o f Gravesend, and actual ly w ithin the UrbanDistrict o fNorthfie et , has furnished more important Romanremains than any other spot in the d istrict. Mr. C. RoachSmith, in describing the second great find o f Roman coins atSpringhead

,refers to the site as that o f an extensive mansz

'

o

or mulatz'

o,recorded in the second [ ter o f the I tinerary of

Antoninus as Vagm’

acw,nine miles from Duroér z

'

vz'

s, Rochester,and eighteen from Now

’

omagu s, towards Wal lsmore than two feet thick were uncovered , and he records the

I 37

ROMAN GRAVESEND.

fact that the remainder cou ld be traced by the parched cornon the top. Sepulchral remains have been found on numerousoccasions close by. The fi rst recorded find o f coins o f theRoman period appears to have been made in the later yearso f the eighteenth century. They are referred to by Thorpe inthe Costamala Rmfi mse, where they are described as beingturned up by the plough. Dunkin , the Dartford antiquary

,

states that the farmer, named Pedder, who held the fields atthat time

,had many in his possession , and the rector of

Nursted ,the Rev. Mr. Landor, also had a large number.

Other people gathered Specimens,and in this way dispersed

the col lection .

Many art ic les o f Roman antiqu ity have also been found inSouthfl ee t, where by some the Roman station is bel ieved tohave stood . At that period , however, the imaginary l ine between the parishes o f No rthflee t and Southfiee t did not exist ;and

,as Springhead and Southflee t are practical ly contiguous

,

there appears l ittle doubt that the Roman town or stationspread over both. Fol low ing the discovery o f the Romancoins

, watercress was cu l tivated there, i n 1 805 , in the streamfed by the sp rings. When digging the foundations o f h is hut,B radbury

,the man who fi rst put the

“ gardens ” to the usethat has been associated w i th them ever s ince, uncovered theremains o f

,a Roman bath. He continued to turn up articles

o f greater or less value,from a monetary point o f view ,

in

c luding a large quantity o f horse-shoes— to the weight,i t i s

s tated,o f nearly half a ton .

I n 1 844 ,while the gardens were in the occupancy o f

Mr. S i lvester, a field o f pottery was uncovered , the artic les inc luding

,the bottoms o f urns, amp /2mm, Samian w are, etc .

the forms and patterns compris ing almost an infinite diversi ty,ranging from the fi rst rude efforts

,to the elegant resu lts o f

perfectedart.” Many other important finds have been made

at this s i tuation,but there are other Roman discoveries to be

described round about . I cannot leave Springhead , however,w ithout referring to the discovery o f the hoard o f coins in1 887 ,described by the late Mr. Roach Sm ith , in the Numismatic

C/zrom'

cle,as being 1 14 in numbe r and extending from Gor

d ianus the Third to Te tricus Junior. A catalogue o f the coinsis given in the paper, but i t i s not necessary to repeat i t here.

There i s some evidence (though not more conclus ive thanthat on which much Roman-B riti sh history in other partsof the country is based) that an aqueduct or canal ran from

1 38

ROMAN GRAVESEND .

Mr. Teanby’

s diary o f 24th November, 1 86 1 :“Walked over

to Higham by the bank o f the canal, w ith Peachey. Theworkmen have struck into the vein again , and cartloads ofpottery have been turned out o f late. Traces o f large fi res

,at

three distinct spots,w ere visible on the edge o f the cutting.

”

The ti le-tomb was described as oval in form , five feet indiameter

,and three feet eight inches high . Extracts o f the

description o f the p rocess o f manufacture o f a ti le-tomb takenfrom the Jou rnal o f theB ri tish Archaeological Assoc iation

,may

be of interest i n connection w ith this d iscovery at Highammore than half a century ago.

The cavity of the c ist was about four and a half fee t longby three feet b road ; i t was abou t eighteen inches high where thehead and chest of the skeleton were laid, and the height at theother end was about twelve inches. The manner of form ingthe cist was as follows. The pit having been dug, the bo ttom and

lower parts of the sides were worked and prepared, as c lay istempered formak ing pottery or bricks. When this had been sufficiently done, fuel was introduced and a strong fire made, whichburn t into a solid substance of brick the bottom and lower partsof the sides. The ashes were cleared out

,and the corpse was

placed in the c ist, with a quant ity o f moss. I t appears from thenature o f the cavity that the head must have been inc lined onthe chest, and the knees slightly raised and bent . A dome wasthenmade over the corpse, composed of rods o fwood, indiameterfrom an inch to half an inch

,stretched across from side to side,

crossed at abou t the di stance of six or seven inches by other rod s,two or three together, some impressions o f which have beenpreserved. The dome of tempered clay was then made over it,fuel introduced, and a very strong fire again made, which burntthe dome into a complete vaulting of brick over the corpse.

After this a layer o f large stones was placed over the dome abouta foot thick : and afterwards the pit was filled up wi th earth.

Before proceed ing to the last and most important d istrictof the great Roman colony or provincial centre

,namely Ebbs

fleet,i t w i l l be as w el l to make clear the divergence o f opin ion

regarding the river or the sea and i ts tides as they affectthe country round about at th is time. I am not deal ing now

w i th the Gravesend district 1n the prehistoric period to whichI have already referred

,variously stated to be from one thous

and to four thousand years before the Christian Era,but to

the historic period that opened w i th the coming o f the Romans .I t has been stated that the larger

,or at least a large

,part o f

the land , now dry and cult ivated , was at this t ime covered by140

ROMAN GRAVESEND .

the sea or at least by the tide : others have said that some timeduring the Roman occupancy an immense and devastatingtidal wave sw ept up the river and washed away enormous tractso f land on both banks betw een London and the sea

,leaving

the cl iffs standing, w ith the rest o f the country in between as

marsh land , only just level w i th the highw ater mark o f theregu lar rise and fal l o f the tide. Both these hypotheses aresupported by facts in “ evidence

,but obviously both cannot

be right : and they therefore become largely expressions ofopinion . My own opin ion— I do not claim fo r i t anythingmore than that— is that even w ithin the narrow l imits o f the

four or five mi les o f river bank on either side o f Gravesend,

erosion has taken place here and there almost side by sidew i th a s ilting that has added to the ground : otherw ise i t isd ifficul t to reconcile the marshes w i th the deterioration ofthe Ebb sfle e t to its present insignificance as a stream . Thenatural explanation is that the lowest o f the marshland has resulted from the gradual washing o f high tides over a natural lylow val ley- land now kept back from the reclaimed land bythe river wal l : while Ebb sflee t has been gradual ly fi l led byearth from its own head

,and washed down from the upper

reaches o f the river and deposited by the tide. This theoryprovides fo r all discoveries of Roman remains so far as I havebeen able to trace them ; and does not seem to run counter toany o f the evidence offered by the conformation o f the countryand the comparatively recent river deposits .We come now to Ebb sflee t. Dunkin

,w ith considerable assur

ance,traces this to a period long before the coming o f the

Romans,and describes the city w i th much imaginative de

tai l . Many o f his statements can be disproved,b ut a suffic ient

substratum o f fact remains,and recent discoveries prove that

the main fact , the existence o f a Roman colony, i s true. Thediscovery— probably the greatest yet made in the district— i sthe vi lla now being uncovered on the banks o f this sameEbbsflee t.

141

Q UEEN ANNE OR (HJEEN CHARLOTTE ?The Statue in (Q e en Square , Bloomsbury .

BY FRANCIS DRAPER.

HERE appear to be some good reasons for the op in ionwhich has been expressed , that the statue in QueenSquare, B loomsbu ry , i s not that o f Queen Anne,

1 butCharlotte

,consort o f King George the Third .

I n the Court New s o f May 4, 1 7 7 5 , it i s stated that He r

Majesty’s S tatue lately put up in Queen ’s Square has the fo llow ing motto : Vir tutis decus et tutanzen ,

or Engl ish : Theornament and guardian o fVirtue.’ The words He r Majesty ”

could at that time refer to no other than Queen Charlotte, whowas born in 1744 ,

and would,therefore

, when the statue wasset up be thirty-one years o f age. She was married to the Kingand crow ned in 1 76 1 , and died in 1 8 1 8 .

That the official announcement did not refer to any otherQueen ’s Square is evident. The street now known as QueenAnne ’s Gate was, i t i s true, once cal led “ Queen ’s Square,

”

but the statue of Queen Anne is sti l l there , and there is noquestion as to whose effi gy it i s. Nor cou ld i t have any referrence to “ Queen ’s Square at Bath , although the Queen wasthere in 1 8 17 , and had bee n before. The only monument therei s a s ingle obel isk erected by Nash to the honour o f Frederick ,Prince o f Wales , who had been benefi ted by drinking thewaters. I t is fair then to conclude that Queen ’s (now Queen)Square, B loomsbury, i s the place indicated , and that the statuesti l l there is the one put up in I 7 7 5 .

I n Kearsley’

s S trang e/ s Guide or Companion tlzroug /zLondonand Westminster and tile country round (which though nu

dated 2 contains several references to Queens Anne, Carolineand Mary

,and to many publ ic events

,sufficient to fix the

period) , w e have this description o f the square : “ Queen ’sSquare is an area o f a pecu l iar kind

,being left open on one

side, for the sake o f the beautifu l landscape which is formedby the hi l ls o f Highgate and Hampstead

,together w i th the

1 See H . C. 111,vol. x ii

, p. 34.

2 The British Museum Catalogue g ive s 1793 as the probable date of

publ ication.

QUEEN ANNE OR QUEEN CHARLOTTE ?

the w retched state o f the local ity. After a storm in I 768 , thewater in the canal rose to such height, that only four inches o fthe rai l s which surrounded i t appeared above the surface ; theparade was ove rfl owed , and the sentr ies were driven fromtheir posts ; al l the lower part o f the Park , as far as Storey

’sGate Coffee-house, was rendered inundated and qu ite impassable.”The normal state was not much better. Notw i thstanding al l

the improvements that had been attempted , the unclean habitso f the chai rmen and soldiers in the Park and the smel l o f thestables at the Horse Guards pervaded every avenue leading toit. The puddles of stagnant water on Duck I sland was veryoffensive in Summer as the air cou ld not ci rcu late ow ing to thew i l low s and brambles w ith which it was overgrown , and variousother nu isances of a similar kind . The entrance to Queen ’sSquare at that time was through a door in the brick wal l o f thePark .

The critic,however, found his way to Queen

’s Square,B loomsbury, which he describes as an area o f a pecul iar kind

,

being open on one side for the sake o f the beautifu l landscape,

”

e tc . (using the same words as previously quoted , and evidentlyfilched from the earl ier book) , but he makes no mention o f anystatue

,there which he certainly would have done had it

existed . W ith one other extract I dismiss thi s w ri ter ; i t isone that reveals the rage fo r statue making at this period . He

says : “ Between Devonshire House and Hyde Park Corner,

there is nothing more remarkable, except the shops andyards o f statuaries, and sorry I am that they afford a judiciousforeigner such a flagrant opportunity to arraign and condemnour taste. Among a hundred statuaries you shal l not see one

,

even tolerable in design or execution ; nay, even the copies o fthe antique are so monstrous ly wretched that one can scarcelyguess at the original s.”

As a more modern authori ty,I mayquote SirWalter Besant’s

Holborn and Bloomsbury ,i n which it is stated : Queen ’s

Square , was bui lt i n Queen Anne’s reign and named in herhonour, but it i s a statue of Queen Charlotte that standsbeneath the plane trees in the centre. I t i s thus clear thatmore than one w riter has fal len into the mistake of regardingthe statue as that o f Queen Anne , fo r which there is not muchexcuse. No doubt many other evidences cou ld be found toprove that the statue is that o f Queen Charlotte, even if thel ikeness in the face to so many engravings and portraits werenot sufli cient to establ ish the fact.

I44

Imelloithe

The Statue in Queen Square, B loomsbury.

THE HONOUR OF AQUILA .

Bv E . A. CHANDLER.

EFORE the Norman Conquest,Earl Godw in held

Wi tley for 20 hides ; Domesday Book records thati t was then rated at 1 2 hides ; there was land for

16 ploughs,a church

,and 3 acres o f meadow ,

and wood pasturefo r 30 pigs. After the Conquest the Manor was be stowed byWi l l iam upon Gilbe rt de Aquila, or d

’

A igle , for the d istinguished services o f his father and his grandfather, who fel lat the Battle o f Hastings .Gilbert ’s son and heir

,Richer

,l ived through the reigns of

Henry I, Stephen, and Henry I I ; he was engaged in two

futi le rebel l ions and forfeited his lands more than once,but

obtained restitu tion of them in the 4th year of the reign ofHen ry I I

,1 1 57 -8 .

He died in 1 1 76, l eaving an eldest son , Gilbe rt , who isdescribed as Lord o fWitle i, and as having married a daughtero f Hamel in , Earl o fWarenne and Surrey. He died in the 6thyear o f King John

,1 204

-

5 . His eldest son,Gilbert

,suc

ceeded to his estates,but he seems to have offended the King

(Henry I I I ) by going into Normandy w ithout the King’s leave.

At any rate,he forfeited his lands

,for i n 1 23 5 Hen ry I I I

granted the Honour o f Aquila , or the Eagle, to GilbertMareschal

,Earl o f Pembroke, and afterw ards to John , Earl

o fWarenne,to hold during the King ’s pleasure.

S ix years afterwards, i n 1 24 1 , the King bestowed theHonour

,during pleasure

,on Peter de Savoy, uncle to the

Queen . I n 30 Henry I I I , 1 245 -6, Peter had a formal grantmade to him by the King o f the Honour o f Aqui la. AnHonour consisted o f a group o f manors granted by theKing

, w ith power to the grantee to hold a court possessingcivi l and criminal j u risdiction

, whereupo n th e grantees b ecame inferior lords

,and the seignory o f the superior lord was

termed an “Honou r.” This particular Honour retained thename o f “ Aquila ” long after the fami ly o f Aqui la ceased tohave anything to do w i th i t. The Manor o fWi tley was therefore part o f a group of royal manors , o f which the Sovereignfrom time to time made revocable grants.During Peter’s ownership disputes arose between him and

the customary and other tenants of the manor. He i s reported146

THE HONOUR OF AQUILA.

to have raised the rents and by other exactions o f serv iceto have been gui lty o f intolerable oppressions . After Peter’sdeath the Lordship o fWi tley seems to have been settled onEleanor, Queen o f Henry I I I , as part of her dower, for in thefi rst year o f Edward I , 1 27 2 , she remitted such additionalrents and services as had been imposed on the tenants byPeter, on condition Of their future fidelity and perform ing aMass yearly in the Church o f Wi tley in honour of God andthe B lessed Virgin Mary

,for the sou ls o f the late King Henry

and the said Peter de Savoy, for ever. This Queen died a nunat Ambre sbury in 1 29 1 , when the Lordship reverted to theCrown. I t seems to have remained in the hands o f the Crow nfor some time

,the King granting leases to individuals

,for i n

1 2 Richard I I,1 389, during the tenancy for l ife o f one

Walter Rauf and Mundina his w ife,certain tenants of the

manor refused to do their accustomed services,to pay “ tal l

ages and rents,and disturbed the w arren which formed part

o f the manor,by taking thereout vi et arm is certain rabbi ts

and hares. A Royal Commission was i ssued to inquire intothe matter and it i s of this Commission that I propose to givea detailed account

,i ts interest to Wi t ley people lying in the

fact that certain individual s from Roke,Milford and Mousehill

appear to have been concerned in the offen ce.But first a few words about the manorial system on which

society rested at the time. The land , under this system ,was

divided into large estates. The Lord Of the Manor retained partas his demesne

,

” and the rest was divided amongst tenants,who rendered service for them to their lord ; these tenantswere either freemen

,hold ing free tenements

,or vi l leins

,hold

ing by copy o f court-rol l,nominal ly at the w i l l o f the lord ,

but real ly w i th securi ty o f tenure. The Manor-house wasthe centre of every Engl ish vi l lage [fo r instance i n Wi tley,the Manor-house stood close to the Church on the northeast side o f i t

,and rel ics o f i t are now turned up when

graves are dug in that part o f the churchyard] ; the ManorCourt was held i n i ts hal l

,and there the lord received homage

and held his “ View o f Frankpledge.

”Outs ide

,if the Lord

possessed criminal j u risdiction,stood the gal low s . Around was

the demesne,cu l tivated by the services Of the vi l lein

,who held

his own land by the performance o f certain services,strictly

l imited by custom and performed at certain times of the year,

and who was,i n this

,distingu ished from the labourer who had

to work throughout the year. Under successive lords exemp147

THE HONOUR OF AQUILA .

t ions from service were from time to time granted and againexacted , which g ave rise to constant disputes and, as timewent on , vi l leins sought to discontinue thei r accustomed services to thei r lords

,and claimed to be free o f all services.

The fol low ing proceedings in the Court o f King’s Bench ,

Hi lary Term,I 388

-9, are probably typical of many disputesOf the time

Surrey z— Alan ofSteddall, Wi lliam Brenchaste , and WilliamHankeford , who had been appointed to inqu ire whether thetenants of the manor o f Wit ley had refused to render theservices due to Wal ter Rauf and Mundina his wife, who thenheld the manor for life, and whetherWalter and Mundina had

c laimed more than their right, made their presentment to theeffec t thatThere was warren in the manor, both in the demesne lands

and in all other lands held of that manor, as well native asbond, and that John Harethorn , Stephen le Erl, Alan of

Milford,R ichard Conemere , Wal ter Hegger, Wi lliam Hamel

don, Richard Goos, R ichard le Erle, William Rede of

Mousehill and R ichard of Roke, tenants o f the manor, atdivers times in the r o th, r 1 th, and 1 2th years of the King

’sreign [1 3 86 to entered the warren by force and arm s,and w1thout leave chased and took away 40 rabbits and 6

hares,and that the greater part of the warren was destroyed.

That the said Stephen le Erle, Alan de Milford, R ichardGonomere, Walter Hegger, Wil liam Hameldon, R ichard leErle, William Rede o f Mousehill and Richard of Roke, haddeclined to pay a certain year ly rent o f £4, called “ tallage,”eceived from all bond-tenants, and resisted by force and

arms, and raised a certain subsidy of money amongst themselves, and compelled one John Logge and many other tenan tsto contribute ; and in the 9th, 1 0th , r 1 th, and 1 2th years hadbanded together to prevent Walter and Mundina havingwarren and levying the tal lage.That (al thoughWalter and Mundina ought to have pannage

for all p igs and piglets of all the customary lands of themanoryearly, at the first court after Michaelmas, viz . : from eachcustomary tenant having less than 1 1 p igs or piglets onepenny, if 1 1 p igs or piglets the third best pig or p iglet, andif more than 1 1 p igs or piglets for each pig 1d . and for eachp iglet éd) the said Stephen, Alan, R ichard Conemere,WalterHeggere ,Wi lliam Hameldone, Richard le Erl,Wil liamRede and Richard o f Roke, refused to render that pannage,and resisted by force and arms.That whereas Walter and Mundina held views o f Frank

148

THE HONOUR OF AQUILA.

p igs should give 1 d. for each : if 1 1 then that the Lord shouldhave the third best pig, and if more than 1 1 for each pig 1d .

l

As to the attendance o f resident tenants twice a year wi thout excuse, Stephen and the others said that from time immemorial excuses were made.As to the tenants

,both native and bond, and the liability

to be charged on the Book, Stephen and the others said thatat the two courts held for View of Frankpledge, wheneverthey were sworn they did it of goodwi ll ; they had not beengu ilty o f resistance oi et armis.

Edmund Brudenell, suing on behalf o f the King, said that,as to the allegat ion that A lan of Milford held in right of hisw ife Margery and that the others hold their lands to themand their heirs by charter

,those tenants held in bondage and

at the w il l of the Lo rd, and that they were gui lty of all thecharges first made.

As to the tallage of the 4Edmund knew nothing ofQueenEleanor’s charter

,and said that the late King Edward I I I ,

grandfather of the present King, was seised of the manor andtallage, that they descended to the present King, who grantedthe manor and i ts appurtenances to Walter and Mundina, byvirtue whereof they were seised o f the manor and tallage, andthat the excuse for exoneration from tallagewas not sufficient ;and as in their plea they acknow ledged the wi thholding, heasked for conviction

, as also with regard to the resistancevi ct armis.

He also claimed that they were gu ilty o f collecting money,and o f forcing John Logg and others to contribute.With regard to the pannage of p igs and p iglets, wherein the

tenants had p leaded that they did not owe pannage for littlepigs, Edmund said that King Edward, the grandfather of thepresent King, was seised o f the manor and of the pannage ofp igs and piglets, which manor descended to the present King,who granted it to Walter and Mundina.

As to the p lea that the tenants were not required to swear ormake presentments at any courts except at theView of Frankpledge twice a year, Edmund said that the tenants in thatmanor in bondage, as well as at wi ll

,in the t ime Of Edward,

the late King, in the time of the present King, and in thetime ofWalter and Mundina, had sworn to do all services.Final ly Edmund said that these tenants held their tene

ments in bondage and at wi ll, and that as to the residue contained in the Presentation, the tenants were gu ilty.

The case was cal led before a jury on the octave o fMichael1 The ir po int was that only pig s were to count, not pig le t s .

1 50

THE HONOUR OF AQUILA.

mas,and was respited unti l the quindene o f Martinmas , on

which day, before the King at Wycombe, came Edmund andS tephen le Erl , Alan o f Milford

,Wi l l iam Rede of Mousehill

and Richard o f Roke,in person . A jury was sworn , and

Master Walter Rauf,being sworn , said on oath that the said

S tephen , Alan , Wi l l iam ,and Richard held divers customary

lands w i thin the manor,both native and bond

,and not freely

by charter, viz : the said Stephen held one messuage and land ,

fo r which the said Stephen should be reeve Of the manor andperform customs and services ; and also the said Alan , inright o f Margery his w ife

,held one messuage and the fourth

part o f a virgate Of land ; l ikew i se the sai d Wi l l iam held twomessuages and about 1 1

, virgates o f land ; and l i kew ise thesaid Richard held one messuage and one virgate of land ; fo rwhich each Of them must act as reeve

,and do al l services in

cumbent on such tenants,both native and bond

,w ithin the

said manor ; and that the said S tephen , Alan , Wi l l iam ,and

Richard,at divers times in the lo th , 1 1 th , and 1 2th years o f

the present King, entered the w arren and by force and armsand w ithout the permission o f the said Walter and Mundina,tenants o f the manor for l ife by the King’s grant

,chased and

carried o ff 40 rabbits and 6 hares , and chased and laid handson divers other hares and rabbits

,and that S tephen , Alan ,

W i l l iam,and Richard refused in words to pay the tal lage,

but did not res ist payment vi et armis,and that Stephen ,

Alan, Wi l l i am ,

and Richard,and other tenants o f the manor

in bondage,levied a subsidy in money amongst themselves ,

and banded themselves together w i th the intention o f resisting the said Wa lter and Mundina

,to prevent their having

warren and levying tal lage ; that the said Stephen , Alan ,Wi l l iam ,

and Richard made such agreement for raising moneyamongst themselves without making oath fo r that purpose ,and raised divers moneys amongst themselves and othertenants

,and forced John Logge to contribute against his w i l l ;

and the said Stephen , Alan , Wi l l iam , and Richard refused topay the pannage, b ut did not resist vi et arm is ; and that al lthe tenants w ithi n the manor, both nat ive and bo nd , oughtto be sworn on the Book at every court, and do al l servicestouching the said court and manor

,and that S tephen , Alan ,

Wi l l iam,and Richard

,tenants by birth and in bondage

,being

required at al l courts,as w el l as the two courts Of View of

Frankpledge,to swear on the Book and do services

,had alto

gether refused and resisted o i et armis to do so.

I 5 1

THE HONOUR OF AQUILA.

On this, S tephen le Erl , Alan o f Milford, Wi l l iam Rede o f

Mousehill and Richard o f Roke were committed to the prisono f the King ’s Marshalsea in the custody o f Robe rt Parys ,the Marshal

, Hi lary Term ,1 2 Richard I I .

The Sheriff was directed to takeWi l l iam Hegge re ,Wi l l iamHameldon and Richard Goos, and to have them before theKing on the octave o f the Purification

,to answer for the said

trespasses,but they came not. The Sheriff was therefore

d irected to have thei r bodies before the King on the octave ofMichaelmas. They were subsequently taken

,declared rebels

,

and imprisoned .

THE HALLOWING OF CRAMP RINGS.

Bv CORNELIUS NICHOLLS.

N the use of rings of gold and s i lver for the above ceremony

, w e see the continuance o f one o f the most anciento f all superstitions ; fo r the Ring has been looked upon

as a ta l isman or charm to avert evi l from its possessor by al lnations and at al l periods o f the world ’s history. I n its connection w i th the above service, we are once more referred tothat prol ific source o f the miracu lous— Edward the Confessor.The story of his mysterious ring is ful ly set forth in Caxton’

s

Golden Leg end . There we find that on a certain day the King,

being present at a church at Clavering, in Essex , dedicatedto St. John , was greeted by an old man , who asked alms forthe sake o f God and St. John ; having no money w i th him ,

the King took a ring from his finger and gave it to the Old

man . Years after this event some pi lgrims to the Holy Land,

having lost thei r way i n the forest, and being in great dangerat n ight from w i ld beasts

,suddenly saw

“ a fayre auncy ent

man, w ith white hair fo r age.

” This man refreshed and restedthe pi lgrims

,and on the morrow ,

having set them on theright way ,

and being pleased to hear them speak w el l o f theirKing

,told them he was St. John the Evangel ist, and that on

their retu rn home they w ere to say to their King that St.

John did grete him w el l by the token that he gave to methis ryuge

,which ryuge ye shal l del iver to him agayne . The

legend here briefly related seems to have been a suflic ient

foundation on which to bui ld the strange ceremony carri ed1 5 2

THE HALLOWING OF CRAMP-RINGS.

hand of the K ing, holding o f the sayde booke ; and when itis done

,the King shall rise and go to the High Altar, where

an huisher must be ready wi th a cushion to lay for his graceto kneele upon, and the greatest Lord or Lords being thenpresent shal l take the basin or basins w ith the rings, and bearthem after the K ing, and then deliver them to the King tooffer ; and this done, the Queen shall come down out of herclosett or travers into the Chappell, wi th her ladies and gentlewomen wayters on her, and creepe to the Crosse ; and thatdone she shal l re turne againe into her close tt or travers ; andthen the ladies shal l come downe and creepe to the Crosse,and when they have done, the Lords and Noblemen shal l inlikewise. 1

Unl ike the Touching fo r the King ’s Evil,this was exclu

sively an Engl ish custom ,but so great was the fame Of these

hal lowed rings , that Ambassadors Of foreign Courts made su itto partic ipate i n thei r gift ; thus Lord Berne rs,when at the Courto f the Emperor Charles V,

as ambassador from Henry VI I I ,w ri tes to Wolsey

,

“ If your Grace remember me w i th someCrampe-Rynge s, ye shal l do a thing much looked for, and Itrust to bestow theym wel l

,w i th Godd ’

s grace.”

I t was, however, during the reign o f Queen Mary , the lastcelebrant o f the custom

,that the hal low ing o f Cramp-Rings

seems to have reached its c l imax. N0 longer are the ordinaryofferings to the Cross esteemed suffi cient to supply the demand , fo r w e find in the year 1 5 56 the fol low ing transactionw i th the Court j ewel ler concern ing broken gold

I tem, delivered by the Queen’s commandment , the 1 6th

March,annis predictis, to Robert Raynes (his highnes

’

goldesmyth), in broken gold to make crampe rings, be ing part of aGeorge b edde of golde received from Windsor, o f the chardgeof the Office of the Juelles and Plate, having enamell and

other rubyshe in it, delivered for fyftie and five ounces, thesame being tryed and clerly melted, and retourned by himinto golde jemewes,

3weing 5 3 oz .

Item,more delivered the same tyme to the said Raynes,

to make cramp rings, in broke plate of silver, theise par cellsa basone and a lyre o f silver, late theEar l of Bedfoarde ’s, ando f the chardge o f the saide Office, per oz . 8 5 o z . di .I tem, two chaundlors of silver, late the said Earle’s, and of

the said chardge , per oz . 42 o z . qr. and a crysmatory box of1 From a MS. in the King ’s Library, Pari s, cited in Gents. Mag ,

1 7 74.

Harley MS . 295 .

3 Ge'

meaux, twins ; i.e. , double ring s .

1 54

THE HALLOW I NG OF CRAMP-RINGS.

silver, of the plate received from churches, per oz . 1 2 o z. all

weing together oone hundreth thirtie-nyne ounces, threquarters

,which was retourned by him in silver jemewes, 34 oz .

3 qr.All which golde and silver, being made into cramp-nngs,

were halowed by the Queens Maiestie on Good Frydaye , andso geven by her Highnes awaye, as hath bene accustomed.

‘

These articles o f “ broken gold and si lver apparentlyformed a part o f the remain ing ornaments derived fromSomerset’s “ gleanings from the churches ; fo r after theirgreat spol iation by Henry VI I I

,

they sti l l retained many richornaments. These

,as we learn from Fu l ler, were found by the

Commiss ioners appointed fo r the search to be more con

side rab le than was expected , “ considering the distance o f

time and the cold scent they fol lowed so many years after theDissolution.

” 2

As in the ceremony o f Touching fo r the King’s Evi l,pre

viously al luded to , so also in this of the Cramp Rings,we

have the Venetian Ambassador’s account of Queen Mary ’spart in the service.

On Good Friday, Apri l 4, 1 5 5 6, she adored the Cross inthe Church of the Friars, the Legate being present, creepingto i t

,kissing i t, w ith inexpressible emotion. She then pro

ceeded to the curious royal function of the benediction of

cramp-rings. On the right of the High Altar, four bencheswere set

,so as to form a square, an enclosure into which she,

descending from her oratory, placed herself on her kneesin her hands she took two basins ful l of rings, the one of

her own, the other of others, labelled w ith their names, andpassed them from hand to hand, repeating certain psalms andinvocations.’

And here,while avai l ing ourselves o f these Venetian t e

cords,we are tempted to make a digression as to the character

o f this much-w ronged Queen,whose very name in certai n

histories bore so terrible a prefix. For if to see ou rselves asothers see us be desirable, so also is i t wel l to receive independent testimony concerning Our historical characters . Thisis contained in a report to his senate by Giacomo Soranzo(Ambassador to Edward VI , and to Queen Mary), dated

1 T. N icho l s,Illustrations of Manners, etc . (Appendix ).

2 C/zurclzHistory , Book VII.3 C ited in D ixon’s History of tbc Clzurclz of Eng land, vol. iv, p. 568.

I SS

THE HALLOWI NG OF CRAMP-RINGS .

18th August 1 5 54. After giving a description Of the Queen ’spersonal appearance and occupations , he continues :

Her Majesty’s countenance indicates great benignity andclemency, which are not belied by her conduc t, for althoughshe has had many enem ies, and though so many of themwere by law condemned to death, yet had the executions depended solely on her Majesty’s wi ll, not one o f them perhapswould have been enforced ; but, deferring to her Council ineverything, she in this matter likewise comp lied w ith thewishes o f others rather than w ith her own .

With regard to the Church service used on these occasions ,i t may be of interest to give part o f the text from The Ceremonies o f B lessing Cramp-Rings on Good Friday, used by theCathol ic Kings o f England.

”

H e Rings ly ing in one B ason or more, this pray er is to besaid over t/um

O God, the maker of heavenly and earthly creatures, andthe most Grac ious restorer of mankind, the dispenser of

allGrace, and the origin of all blessings ; send downe fromHeaven thy Holy Spiri t, the Comforter, upon these Rings,Artificially framed by the workman, and by thy Greate powerpurify them so, that all the malice of the fowle and venomousSerpen t be driven out ; And so the metal, which by Thee wascreated

,may remaine pure and free from all dregs of the

enemy. Through, etc.A B lessing of flu Rings.

0 God, who hast man ifested the Greatest wonders Of thypower by the cure o f diseases, and who were pleased thatRings should be a pledge of fideli ty in the patriarch Judah, apriestly ornament in Aaron, the mark o fa faithfu l guardian inDarius, and in this Kingdom a remedy of divers diseases :Graciously be pleased to bless E4 and sanctifyE4 these R ings,to the end that all such who weare them may be free from all

snares of the Devil, may be defended by the power ofcelestialarmour, and that no contraction of the nerves

,or any danger

o f the falling sickness may infest them, but that in all sort ofdiseases by thy help they may find relief.

The rubric continues

T/zesc pray ers being said,tlze King

’s fIzg/znes rubbitit t/ze

Rings between lzis Izana’

s, say ing ,Sanctify, O Lord

,these Rings, and graciously bedew them

C ite d in Wal dron’s Literary Museum , 1694.

1 56

THE HALLOWI NG OF CRAMP-RINGS .

Fall ing S ickness doo marke the place where his head fel l atthe first beginn ing o f the disease, and in that place doo drive anI ron nai le over the head , i t w i l l presently help or del iver himfrom fal l ing any more.” We are also told that “ There becertaine w i ld beasts in the woods o f Ge rmanie that have nojoynts i n thei r legs , and therefore never l ie down , but stand torest them

,which the Hunters know ing, saw e the trees (where

unto they are accustomed to lean unto) half asunder, then thetrees fal l ing

,the Beasts also are taken . This fact o f natural

history is further improved upon by a later w riter ’ who says

The hoofs of a beast called Alces [the Elk], which is awild beast like a fallow Deer, having no jointes iin his legges,hath a marvellous virtue and strength against the falling Evil,for a little p iece thereof, enclosed in a R ing put upon the finger next the little finger, so that the same piece of the hoof beturned toward the palm of the hand, doth recreate them mar

vellous much that are fallen, and immediately makes them riseup . Which Lcmnius, saith he, proved once or twice. AndM

'

zala’

us saith that he proved it and i t was counted for a m iracle. jo/zannes Agricola doth say the like. The hoof o f theright hinder foote is to be chosen. But you must take heedof false deceivers, which sell the Hoofes o f Oxen or Kine forthe true Hoo fes of Alccs.

A cure fo r the King’s Evi l runs : “ If the feet o f a great l iving Toad be cut o ff, the Moon void o f course, that is, aspectingnone and hastens towards the Conj unction o f the Sun,

andhanged abo ut the neck Of him or her that hath the King’sEvi l

,i t so profits, that oftentimes it del ivers the party from

the disease.” From which i t seems that at least up to thedates o f such remedies the Royal Touch and the Hal lowedCramp-rings h eld the field .

Cramp-rings were formerly so esteemed that they w ere regarded as heirlooms by thei r possessors ; thus in the w i l l o fJohn Baret Of Bury St. Edmunds

,dated 1463 , a be quest is

made to My LadyWaldegrave o f“ a rowund ryng o f the Kinge s

S i lver. I n another part o f the w i l l he bequeaths to ThomasB rew s, e squiy e r, my crampe ryng w i th black innamel

,and a

part s ilver and gilt and i n 1 5 3 5 Edmund Lee bequeath sto my nece Thwarton my gold ryng w ith a turkes [ turquoise]and a cramp ring of gold w b al l.” 2

1 Thomas Lupton, A tbousand notable t/zing s, 1659.

B ury Wills ; Cam den So cie ty.1 5 8

NOTES AND (mERIEs.

NPUBLISHED MSS. RELATING To THE HOME COUNTIESINTHE COLLECTION 011 P . C. RUSHEN.

1 700, Michae lmas Term , 12 Wi l l iam III.— Contemporary copy exemplificationof a Rec overy of 2 messuage s, 1 toft, 70 ac res of land, 3 acres of meadow , 7 acresof wood and common of pasture in Ashamsted and Woo lhampton, co . Berks.Henry Beane , demandant, Adrian Moo re , deforc iant,Wil l iamWickens, vouchee .

1468 , Easter Term , 8 Edward IV.— Chirograph of Fine of 24 acre s of land and

8 acre s of pasture in Bulfan , co . Essex ; Lew is Fitzlowes, esq . , John Clapton, esq. ,

Robe rt Plomer, and Wil liam Moore , querants, and Thomas Broman and Isabe lhis w ife , deforc iants.8 March , 7 Hen .

— Chirograph of Fine of 1 messuage in Waltham Ho ly Cross ;Margery late w ife o f JohnWare ofWaltham Ho ly Cro ss, querant, and ThomasFaukener and Agne s his wife , de forciants.1608 , Michae lmas Term, 6 Jame s I.— Chirograph of Fine of 1 messuage , 1 dovehouse , 1 garden , 50 acres of land , 2 acres o f meadow , 6 acre s ofpasture and 2 acre sof wood in Be lchamp Otten , Water Be lchamp o therw ise Be lchamp Wil l iam,

Foxearth o therw ise Foxherd , Borley and Lyston ; Henry Kent, querant, WilliamMayor and Elizabe th Mayor, w idow, deforciants.1614, Hilary Term , 1 1 Jame s I.— Chirograph of Fine of 1 me ssuage and 1 cur

tilage in the parish of St. Martin’s, Ludgate ; Edward ap John ap Hugh ap Griffith ,uerant, and Richard ap John ap Hugh ap Griffi th and Katherine his w ife ,eforciants.

1660-1 , 1 2 Charles II. —Chirograph of Fine of 1 m e ssuage , 1 stable , 1 garden,1 orchard and 12 acres of meadow in Hendon ; Robe rt Barker and ThomasPownse tt, querants, Thomarsh Clarke , gent. , and Hester his w ife , deforciants.1 7 19, Easter Term , 5 George I.— Chirograph of Fine of 1 Me ssuage , 1 cottage ,

1 barn, 6 stables, 1 curtilage and 2 gardens in Brom ley ; Franc is Valentine , querant,and Henry Wynett and Lucy his w ife , deforciants.17 70, Michaelmas Term, 10 George III. —Chirograph o f Fine of 2 cottages and

1 acre of land and a mo iety of I me ssuage , 6 stable s, 1 curtilage and 1 acre ofland in Brom ley ; Edward Wellum , plaintiff, and George Waylett El izabe thhis wife , deforciants .1699 , Michae lmas Term, 1 1 Wil l iam III.— Contempo rary copy of chirograph

of Fine o f five parts of 3 messuage s and 1 top in the parishe s of St. Bartho lomewand St. Bridget ; Richard Brooke , gent. , querant, and Robe rt Poynting, RichardPoynting , Anne Joyce , w idow , and JohnHannam and Susan his w ife , deforciants.1 72 1 , Trinity Term, 7 George I .

— Contemporary copy of chirograph o f Fine of6acre s of land, 9 acre s ofmeadow , 8 acre s of pasture and 45 acres ofmarsh in Berryand Ram sey ; Robert Sergeant, Samue l Sergeant, Jo seph Sergeant, John AssellWil liam Cave , querants, and Trive Hamond and Theodosia his w ife , BeamontRedman and Anne his w ife , deforc iants.1687 , November 20.

— Deed of covenant to levy a Fine be tween EdmundSawy er ofHeywood, co . Berks, esq. , and Mary his w ife , Wil l iam Cherry ofTheMiddle Temple , London, esq. ,

Franc is Cherry of the same , gent. , and El izabe thhis wife, James Haye s of the sam e , esq. , Constantine Phips of the same , esq. ,

Wil liam Yorke of The InnerTemple , London , esq. and Sarah his w ife , Wil liamBright o fThe Inner Temple , esq. , and Doro thy his w ife , and Johanna Finch ofHeywood , spinster, of the one part, and Richard Minshul l of The Inner Temple ,esq. , of the o the r part. Rec iting that John Finch of Feens, co . Berks, esq. , diedse ised in fee of certain messuages inThe Poultry, in the parish of St. MaryWoo lchurch, London , leaving the said Elizabe th, Mary, Sarah, Dorothy and Johanna

I 59

NOTES AND QUERIES .

his only daughters and cohe irs, and that a fi fth part descended to the saidDorothy ;and that the said John by hi s w i ll gave to Do ro thy £400 out of certain messuagesin Co leman St. , to be so ld : Witne ssed that the partie s o f the first part covenantedto levy a Fine un to Minshull o f a crop or c lo se o f Marsh ground, cal led Po dsElmes, contain ing 4 acres , in the new Marsh, Westham , co . Essex , oc cupied byThomas Hulbe rt, and certain me ssuage s in Be l l Alley and Swan Alley , in the

parish o f St. Stephen, Co leman St. , London, occupied by Eaton, Lee ,Marshal l, Grosveno r, Fox, Banks , C lovers Vanlangerke , and one

fifth o f certain messuage s in The Pou ltry, o ccupied by Richard Northan, PaulAylworth and Gee , so descended to the said Dorothy ; the fine was to be to

the fo llowing use s : the 4 acres in Westham to said Bright and his heirs, themessuages in Be l l and Swan Alleys to Bright and his executors, e tc. , for 500

years , then to Sawy er, Cherry, Yorke and Bright in trust fo r sale to pe rform the

trusts o f saidWil l : and the said one fifth part to uses dec lared in a deed of June 201687 , be tw eenWil liam Bright the e lder, o f Oxford , esq. , of the one part, and thesaidWil l iam Yo rke , and Richard Godwell o f Oxford, gent., of the o ther part .Declared that the said term was in trust to raise the sai d £400, and afterwards toattend the inheritance .

1692 , January 10.-Deed of covenant to levy a Fine , be tween Mary Bovington

of Allhal low s in the Wal l, London, w idow , Roger Hayward the younger, o f

Reading , co . Be rks, bargemas ter, and Anne his wife , Will iam El l iott the e lder,of Gt. Marlow , co . Bucks , butcher, Robert Younge ofTylus , co . Berks , yeoman,

and Anne his w ife , Edward Too th of Drayton , co . Middle se x , fisherman, and

Alice his w ife , of the first part , Thomas Smith of Gt. Marlowe , laceman , and

Mary his w ife of the second part , an d Wil liam Harman the younger , o f Gt. Mar

lowe , gardener, Thomas Wiggenton of the same , bargeman,and Katherine his

wife , and John Bovington o f the same , yeoman , of the third par t. A fine was tobe levied o f a messuag e in Gt. Marlowe , occup ied by Dan ie lWright, apo thecary ,2 messuages in Deane Lane there , and 5 acre s in the common fie lds o fGt. Marlowe ,to the fo l low ing uses — the messuag e o ccupied byWright, purchased by the saidSm ith of said Mary Bo ving ton, to the use of the sa id Sm ith and his he irs ; one of

the messuages in Deane Lane , purchased by the said Harman of the said Hayward,to the use of Harman and his he irs ; the other m essuage in Deane Lane , pur

chased by the said VViggenton of the said El l io tt, to the use ofWiggenton and hiswife and the ir he irs ; the 5 acres o f land purchased by John Bovingt on of Rob .

Younge and Edward Too th, to the use of Boving ton and his he irs. S igned by theparties of first and second parts.

1673 , January 20.— Draft covenant to levy a Fine , be tween John Richards ,

Citizen and Turner of London, and Barbara his w ife , one of the daughters o fSamue l Snow, late Citizen and Baker of London, deceased , o f the first part,John Eaton o f Redrith , co . Surrey, marine r, and Elizabe th his w ife , anotherdaughter of the said Snow of the 2nd part , and Thomas Jenney, C itizen Bakero f London, and Thomas Fox, C itizen and Weave r of London, o f the 3rd part.A fine w as to be levied of certain messuage s, co ttages , gardens, &c . , in the par ishof St. Butto lph without Aldersgate , co . Middle sex , then late occupied by ThomasGrifl

'

en , fron ting to Goswell St. on the we st, and in part to lands of Little ton, esq. ,

and in part to lands of John Snow on the west, and adjo ining to Fanne Alley, onthe south , and in part to an Inn cal led The Three Horse shoe s and to lands of thesaid Littleton on the north , by the name of 1 2 m e ssuage s, 1 2 cottages and 6gardens : To the use , as regards one mo iety, to said Richards w ife fo r 99 years ,if they should so long live , remainder in trust to preserve contingent remainders,remainde r in tai l male of the said John and Barbara, remainde r in tail female ofthe said John and Barbara, remainder to the he irs of the body ofBarbara , remainderto the said El izabe th and the heirs of her body, remainder to the said John and

Barbara and the ir he irs : the o ther mo iety to the use of the said Eaton and hiswi fe for 99 years , if they should so long l ive , remainder in trust to preserve contmgent remainders, remainder in tail male of the said John andElizabe th , remainder

16o

NOTES AND QUERIES .

“28th February, 1 746. William Pyke of the parish of St. Leonard,

Shoredi tch, in the county OfMidd lesex, aged twenty-five years and a

Bachelor, and Sarah Day, of the same parish, aWidow. To marryin the parish church of Saint Bennet near Pau l

’s Wharfe, London .

Was the above-named Isabella Price any relation to Henry Price,son-in-law of Dr. Edmond Hal ley, the second Astronomer-Royal ?What was the maiden name o f Mrs. Sarah Day, widow ? Was itSTUART ? Evidence has already been published of other connec tionsbetween the Day, Halley, and Pyke familleS.— EUGENE F. MCPIKE.1,Park Row, Chicago, U .S.A.

REV IEWS.

EMORIALS OF OLD SURREY, edited by the Rev.

J . Charles Cox, LL.D., P.S.A. George Allen and Sons ;pp . xv, 299 ; 1 5s. net.

A co l lection of thirteen art icles , of varying interest and merit. The thre e articlesto which we should give pre -eminence are those by Dr. Fairbank on Brasses , byMr. Aymer Val lance on Roods, Screens , and Lofts , and by Mr. P. M. Johnstonon Wal l Paintings ; the two latter are arranged alphabe tical ly under par ishe s,which Is a great convenience . Each of these papers is a sound and useful additionto the topography o f the county , w e l l wri tten and w e l l il lustrated . Without venturing in any way to

“p lace ”

the remaining artic les, w e may mention firstMr. Tavenor-Perry’5 descriptive account of the royal re sidence s in the county,w i th some very pleasing pen

-and ink drawings by the author. The remaininggeneral article s are Mr. Malden ’s on Historic Surrey (good of its kind , but suchske tches always strike us as rather futile ), Mr. Cl inch ’s on Surrey be fo re the

Norman Conquest (a useful survey of finds from the palaeo l ithic to the Saxonpe riod , w ith an unfortunate m isprint of bronze for iron on p . Dr. Cox’s onthe Fo rests (intere sting and readable ), and Mr. Malden’s on Post-ReformationFoundations . This last is a subject too Often neglected , and Mr. Malden has donegood service in co l lecting these notes. Turning to the papers on spec ial subjects, Dr.

Fairbank deals w ith Bermondsey Abbey, and Dr. Coxw ith Chertsey andWaverleyAbbeys, all three art icles rather suflering from over-condensation. Mr. Kershawwrite s o f Lambe th Palace , w ith which he was so long connected as Librarian ;his exce llent account is hardly improved by the use o f some anci ent wood blocksfor il lustrations. The two concluding article s, on Hindhead G ibbet by Dr. Cox,and on Fanny Burney in Surrey by Mr. Kershaw , are poor trifl ing scissors ”andpaste so rt of stuff, qui te out of keeping w ith the rest of the vo lume .

OLD COUNTRY INNS, by Henry P. Maskell and EdwardW. Gregory,with illustrations by the authors. Pi tman and Sons ; pp . vi, 294 ;7s. 6d. net.

An interesting and amusing book , full of anecdo te and quotation, and pleasantlywritten. The subject is treated of from every conce ivable po int o f view , evenmodern inns and cafes are no t neg lec ted , and there is a very sensible chapter on

public-house reform . A good many statements w il l not commend themse lves toserious antiquaries, and most of the il lustrations seem to have suffered from overreduction.

162

REVIEWS.

A HISTORY OFCOLFE’S GRAMMAR SCHOOL AT LEWISHAM, with a Lifeof its Founder. By Le land L. Duncan, E.S .A . Printedfor the Worshipful Company Of Leathersellers of the City of

London ; pp . xi, 239.

When the Rev. Abraham Colfe , vicar of Lewisham, founded his GrammarSchoo l he mad e the Leathersellers’ Company the Governors , a w ise provision ; forit is hardly too much to say that the schoo l owes its continued existence to the

Company. But for that powerful and l iberal body behind it, the schoo l wouldhave been absorbed by the Charity Comm issione rs on more than one o ccasion ;the Company e rected new build ings in 1890 at a co st of and now theyhave enabled Mr. Duncan to issue his history in the present handsome vo lume .

A se venteenth-century schoo l canno t b e expected to have the historical interest ofo lder foundations, and the annals of Colfe ’s schoo l are for the most part quiet anduneventful. The sketch of Colfe ’s l ife , however, affords a good picture of his period,and the story of his exertions in saving Sydenham Common from the greed ofJames I ’s courtiers was w e l l worth the te l l ing . Mr. Duncan has spared no painsin hunting out material , which is we l l arranged and carefu l ly edited. We can

heartily congratulate the Leathersellers’ Company, the schoo l , and the author on

the result. The arm s attributed to the fam ily (go ld, a fe sse be tween thre e co ltssable ), which are shown on the monument to the founder ’s grandfather at Ho lyCross Church , Canterbury, are sure ly based on a painter’s error. The name Colfe

is frequently spe l led Calfe , and occasionally Caulfe and Corfe ; sure ly the chargeson the shie ld should be calves, not colts.

AN INTRODUCTION TO THE STUDY OF LOCAL HISTORY ANDANTIQUITIES, by John E. Morr is, D .Litt.

,and

Humfrey Jordan, B .A. George Rout ledge and Sons ; pp. xvi,

399 ; 64 illustrations ; 4s. 6d. net.Dr. Morris’s preface , ful l of strong common sense , led us to expe ct a sound andscho larly wo rk , and we are not disappo inted . The book is a marve l of concisenessand accuracy, and the amount of information contained in it is Simply prodigious .This remark appl ie s equal ly to Mr. Jordan ’s chapters, those on monaste ries, industries, dome stic architecture , and coaching . The w o rk w il l form a very usefulreference book even to a skilled antiquary (no t antiquarians, p lease ), and w ill , wefeel sure , b e we lcomed by the inte l l igent schoo l-boy as a pleasing contrast to theusua l inane g ift-book. Among o ther good po ints we are g lad to see Dr. Morrisdriving another nai l into the co ffi n of that pestilent theory that place -name s ining

-12am , ing-ton , and the l ike , are evidence o f the village community. We are in

expressibly shocked to find that aDoctor ofLiterature ofOxford uses “ aggravating ”as synonymous w ith annoying ” !

A HISTORY OF A BEDFORDSHIRE FAM ILY, being a History of theCrawleys o f Nether Craw ley, Stockwood, Thurleigh, and Yeldenin the County of Bedford, by William Austin . Alston R ivers ;pp . xii, 3 26 ; 7s. 6d. net.All hone st genealogy is intere sting and valuable , particularly so when, as in this

case , the gradual rise of a family i s traced from the re lative ly humble po sition ofyeomen or tenant-farmers to a recogn ized place among the county gentry. TheCraw leys have had the good fortune to discove r a board o f ancient documents, longforgotten, and w ith the he lp of the se Mr.Austin is enabled to start his pedigree w itha man who must have been born early in the fifteenth century. We imagine thatw ith some searching at the Record Office it should not be very difficult to take the

163

REVIEWS.

fam ily further back. The de scendants of this firstWilliam Craw ley seem to haveprospe red , bought manors and o ther prope rt ies , and to have branched o ff intoseve ral flourishing l ines . Pe rhaps the mo st inte re sting membe r of the family wasSir Francis Craw ley, Judge o f the Common Pleas in 1632 ; the pho togravurepo rtrait show s him to have be en a singularly handsome man. He was impeachedby the House ofCommons in 1641 for favour ing the levy of Ship-money. Mr.Austinis to be congratulated on his very readable boo k.

THE CATUYELLAUNI, a powerfu l Bri tish tribe in the district nowknown as Midd lesex, by Montagu Sharpe, D.L. BrentfordPrinting and Publishing Co. pp . 1 6 ; 6d . net.

We always w e lcome a further instalment ofMr. Sharpe ’sAntiqu itiesq iddlcsex,for we are sure of getting a careful ly reasoned judgement, and a l ist of authoritieson which his conc lusions are based . We have here an account of one of the bestknown o f the British tribe s, w ith a l ist of the ir known kings , and a de scription o f

the ir appearance, methods of warfare , dwell ings, arts , co inage , agriculture , andtrade . Mr. Sharpe al so give s an interesting sketch of Dru id ism, but we ventureto think that ne ither the accounts o f c lassical historians, nor the practices andlegends o f medievalWe lsh bards (the two main source s o f information) are quitetrustwo rthy ; the one imports his own ideas into the manners and custom s o f asemi -c ivil ized race , while the o ther carrie s his later deve loped theories andpractices a thousand years backwards. For these reasons we think that mostdescriptions of the Druids and the ir do ings, inc luding Mr. Sharpe ’s, should berece ived w ith great caution.

A SHORT MASONIC HISTORY, with some Account of the HigherDegrees, by Frederick Arm itage ; Vol. I I . Weare and Co . ;

pp . 1 76 ; 4s. 6d. net.The author, having deal t with the suppositious origin of Freemasonry in his

previous vo lume , now give s us the history of the craft from its revival . It is a

curious and fasc inating story. What was it that led to the remarkable multiplicationof the se soc ieties all over Europe ? In England, Scotland , France , and Germany ,more e specially, degrees and o rders sprang up l ike mushrooms , and manyo f them had as Short a l ife . It certainly was no t love of science or philanthropy ;manyof the lodge s seem to have be en of a pol itical charac ter, gene ral ly oppo si

tion po l itics but in a large number o f them the main objec t seems to have be ensoc ial , combined w ith a love of harmle ss mystic ism and dr e ssing up.

” Mr.

Arm itage ’s book is w el l and careful ly written, contains much curious information,and wi l l intere st all students of socio logy, whether members of the craft or not.

THEGARDENS or GRAY’s INN, and otherVerses, by Christian Tearle.Longmans; pp. 8 2 ; 5 s. net.

Mr. Tearle ’s muse has a fine versatil ity, bo th in metre and subject. His Caval ierpoems are particularly good ; “ Hey ho , Prince Rupert ” has the real lil t o f thepe riod , and we can imagine a troo p o f re ckless horsemen sing i it as theygal loped. We l ike the three legal items , “ The Gardens of Gray ’s nn,

” “ TheGhosts of Lincoln’s Inn, ” and Poo r Little Houses o f Chancerie , w ith the irtop ical al lusions. The pathetic piece s are written w ith much charm and fee l ing ,and Little Red Riding Hood is a gem for children.

(64

THE HAYMARKET,LONDON .

H ISTORICAL AND ANECDOTAL .

BY J . HOLDEN MACM ICHAEL, author o f Tbe S tory of C/zaring

CHAPTER I

HERE are very few hay-markets in London that survivethe piping times when Middlesex was so famous for itshay that a native o f the county was know n as a “ hay

digger.” l I t wou ld in fact be unnecessary to possess a handw ith five fingers to count them upon , one being atWhitechapel ,another at Sm ithfield , unti l o f late years the Portman Market i n Marylebone , and the Cumberland , at Regent

’s Park.

2

I t was in the year 1 830 that the Cumberland or Regent’s Park

Market rel ieved the Old hay-market in St. James ’s o f i ts

commerce,pursuant to an act O f 1 1 George IV

,cap . 14. I t

was also proposed in the early part o f the year 1906 to converta portion o f the Cumberland hay-market to the publ ic use asa garden or playground fo r chi ldren

,but the Paddington

Borough Counci l , ow ing to certain market rights , found theproject impracticable.Although the Elizabethan surveyor and engraver

,Ralph

Aggas,by his plan o f the vi l lage o f Charing, fi rst d raw n on

wood about the year 1 560,show s that the Haymarket was

even,at that period , known by the same name , yet the civi l

ized beginnings o f the Old and better ordered market are fi rstrecorded by Evelyn

,who ,

in his Diary o f 3 1 Ju ly, 1662, notesthat he sat w i th the Commissioners about reforming bu i ldings and streets o f London , and w e ordered the paving o f theway from St. James ’s North , w lzic/z w as a quagm ire, and also

of tbe Hay-market about Piqud illo ,

and agreed upon instructions to be printed and publ ished for the better keeping thestreets clean .

” Unti l the year 1692 , the Haymarket was acommon highway, where carts o f hay and straw stood tol l

An old Pu tne y inhab itant, who , if I remember correc tly, had been inhi s young days a farm -hand , to l d me that he knew M iddle se x men be ingspoken of as

“hay

-d iggers Dorse tsh ire men as“

gobblers ” Herefordsh ire as b roadhom s

” Hertford shire as“ he dge hog s ” Northampton

shire as snobs ” shoemakers) ; No ttinghamsh ire as ram s ” ; Rutlandshire as Rutland gao l , or w h ite hare ; Linco lnsh ire as

“ ye l low-be l lie s ”(fen frog sE) ; and Buck ingham sh ire as bul l-dog s.”

2Ano the r hay-marke t was in We stm inste r Broadway ( 17x111 165

THE HAYMARKET.

free . But i n that year the street was paved , and , by the acto f Parl iament then made

,a tol l o f 6d. or 2d. was laid upon all

carts o f hay and straw that came to the market . This actseems to have exp i red shortly afterw ards , for in a petition tothe House o f Commons in 1696, i t is complained that the acti s s ince expired

,and such Carts have ever since stood Toll

free.

” Further petit ions secured the royal assent in 1697 (9Wi l l iam I I I ) to an act fo r paving and regu lating the haymarket

,i n the parishes o f St. Martin ’s- ih -the-Fields

,and St.

James ’s w i thin the Liberty OfWestminster.’The market was not at fi rst establ ished fo r the sale o f hay ,

fo r Sir Nathaniel Curzon , and John Kent, esq .,represented to

the House o f Commons in 1699 that Charles I I , in the fifteenthyear o f his reign

,granted to John Harvey and John Coell,

e sqrs., and their heirs , two markets to be held on Mondaysand Wednesdays

,i n the hay-market

,fo r buying and sel l ing o f

cattle and sheep ; that James I I afterwards granted thosemarkets m ight be held on Tuesdays and Thursdays w eeklyfo r ever

,in Great Brook-field , i n the same parish ; the free

hold and inheri tance o f which markets w ere,fo r a valuable

consideration,vested in the petitioners

,who qu iet ly enjoyed

the same ti l l the City of London suggested that Edward I I Igranted a charter

,i n the fi rst year o f his reign

,that no market

shou ld thenceforth be granted inf ra sep tem lucas (Pleucas)in circu itu civitatis p raedicte ,

“ and brought a scire f acias torevoke the said grants o f King Charles and King James .That the suppression o f the said markets w i l l not only be adamage to the petit ioners

, who have been at great charges inbui lding, paving, and making other preparations for the same,but al so a very great inconven ience to the inhabitants nearthe said market : and praying the House to take into theirconsideration thei r case

,and rel ieve them therein .

” 2

The act o f 8 and 9 Wi l l iam I I I,cap . 1 7 declares

that the hay-market “ shal l be construed to extend in lengthfrom the Old Tol l Post at the upper end of the Haymarket ,over against a house lately cal led Coventry House

,to the

Phoenix I nn at the low er end o f the said Haymarket,and the

house over against i t,and the breadth from the kennel

,running

by the houses on the east side to the kennel running by thehouses on the west s ide. By this act the hay-market waspaved , each cart- load o f hay contributing 3d. and each cartjournals of the House of Commons

, vol; ix pp. 698 and 765 .

2Ibid.

,vol. x iii p . 130.

166

THE HAYMARKET.

large number of women , chiefly from North Wales, were soemployed , at that time. But at the time of the removal of theSt. James ’s hay-market to Regent ’s Park in the year 1 830,

theindustry appe ars to have been almost entirely in the handso f I rishmen, who are a far more hardworking race than theyare sometimes al lowed to be. But if the sun did not shine athaymaking time there was trouble— in Middlesex.

“ Makehay while the sun shines is a proverb which w i l l not be foundin such frequent use in Latin as in Celtic and Teutonic countries. The Danes say Man skal b ruge den Sol som nu skinner and the Germans Warme d ich wei l das feuer brennt,

”

and so the poor I rishman who migrated to thi s country fo rthe hay season often suffered the greatest distress . I n thesummer o f 1 830, through prolonged adverse weather, they en

dured cruel privations w i th a patience and forti tude which ,i n spite o f racial feel ing at that time

,brought subscriptions

l iberal ly forward at the hands of the Sassenach towards thei rrel ief. Not, however, before shocking deaths w ere recorded .

I n the neighbourhood of Acton two poor fel low s were founddead in a ditch— two more were found at Wi l lesden , havingalso succumbed to starvation

,and a fifth was found dead some

where about Hampstead. Upon Opening the bodies o f thedead, no sustenance whatever was found in their stomachs , excepting some sorrel , upon which p lant the victims had subsisted unti l death put a period to their sufferings .lLater th is state o f things cu lm inated in a dreadfu l riot

among Irish labourers at Barnet. For some unexplainedreason

,when the hay-making was resumed , they resented the

sudden cutting short o f the supply Of bread which had beenmaintained by a few Of the more w ealthy inhabitants . Withthe cry o f “ bread or blood ” on their l ips they broke intothe bakers ’ shops, scattered the property, and threatened theowners. There, however, appe ars to have been a pre-existingbad feel ing between the country people and the immigrants .2

One has heard frequently, from aged people, o f the I rishwomen trooping in s ingle fi le from Fulhamto Covent Gardenw ith baskets o f market-produce on thei r heads, and there i s anerection

,sti l l standing in Piccad i l ly

,upon which they and other

porters used to rest their burdens , but it i s doubtfu l whetherany l iving person remembers the sturdy Welshwomen labouring to the M iddlesex hay fields by the marrow -bone stage.”

TInc Times, 1 8, 22 June, 1830.

2Ibid ., 24 June, 1830.

168

HISTORICAL AND ANECDOTAL.

Harrow , Hendon , and Finchley , where there w ere hay-barnscapable o f holding from thi rty to fifty

,and sometimes a b un

dred , loads o fhay, seem to have been the principal hay producing parts north o f London . Corn and barley

,but l ittle rye and

oats , were cu l tivated , although the green and root crops fo rthe cattle were beans, peas , tu rnips, cabbages, white and redclovers, ray-grass cut green

,and tares w i th barley and oats in

termixed . For the use o f the Londoner were produced turnips ,potatoes, carrots, parsnips , green peas, beans. Dr. Johnson assigned oats to horses in England

,and to men in Scotland , and

where in his time w ere horse or man finer ? But the Middlesexfarmer cu ltivated beans f or horses , though g reat quantities are

shipped f or Af r ica and the West Indies,as diet f or the Neg ro

Slaves.

” The better sorts Of beans w ere podded when green andsent to the London markets.’ This rotation o f crops left ampleroom fo rg rass

- lands, and o f the grass- lands the cattle,

“ neatand smal l , pastured upon what was l eft when the innumerableLondon horses were provided fo r by the hay crops. This greatnumber o f horses provided vast quantities o f manure whichkept the country soi l in a highly productive state. The mecess ities created by the coaching trafl‘ic

,to say nothing o f the

packhorse mode o f travel l ing,when the principal means o f

travel on land was on horseback,must have brought enormous

quantities o f hay to London.

I t would be interesting to note the appreciable decl ine ofhay consumption in London in connection w i th the grow ingmotor traffi c

, but so late as the year 18 56, upwards o floads o f hay and straw were consumed weekly in the metropolis . Amidst this great traffic there were ample opportunit iesfor the sw i ndler

,whose gentle art somewhat discounts any

poetic conception w e may be disposed to form of the arcadiansimpl icity o f the Middlesex farmer— that is

,if one may judge

from paragraphs l ike the fol low ingA Salesman of hay and straw at the Haymarket, St. James

’s,was convicted in the fu ll penalty of 5l. per truss, for selling1 6 trusses of hay, short of weight, and nine of bad qualityin the inside. This penalty in reali ty falls upon the Farmerwho sent the hay to market.2

The act to prevent abuses i n the hay and straw trade cameView of the Ag riculture of M iddlesex, by John M iddle ton, 2nd cd.,

p. 246.

2 Evening Mail, 1 7 -19 September, 1 800. Threepence pe r load was demanded of the hay

-carters for the privi lege of standing for the sale of169

THE HAYMARKET.

into operation in Ju ly,1 8 56. I ts main Object was to put an end

to the long continued and fraudu l ent practice o f mixing w ater,sand

,earth

,etc., in hay and straw (in the centre o f the trusses).

The act ( 19 and 20 Victoria) made al l parties l iable, and en

j oined upon the salesmen,under a penal ty o f £10,

to send aticket w i th every load o f hay and straw containing the Christian name

,surname, and address of the ow ner . So that there

was no difficulty in getting at and punishing the real offender.I t also empowered the clerk o f every hay-market to examineal l hay and straw Offered or exposed for sale at any market incase o f complaint being made

,and to enforce the law ,

thussaving the buyer the trouble o f prosecuting. And as al l thepenalties w ent to the party who prosecuted , the clerk was compe nsated fo r his trouble.

Upon the abol ition o f the hay -market,or some l ittle time

after,the inhabitants

,as I was informed by one Of the oldest,

petitioned for the establ ishing Of a cab - stand in the centre ofthe street where formerly the hay-w ains rested . This cab -stand

,

however,soon

,after the manner o f the street i tself

,gained an

evi l reputation . I t was in fact known as the thieves ’ rankow ing to the night cabmen or bucks here located

,con

stantly being known to pick up drunken sw el ls,

” or nobsas they were cal led

, w i th the del iberate end o f robbery in view .

Consequently this rank was avoided by those who retainedenough sense to foresee the perilwhich theywould thus be courting, especial ly as there was a trusty person at Hyde Park Corner, to w it , Thirsty Joe,

”who was a waterman

,i.e.

,a horse

waterer, who was a terror to such cabmen on account o f hispugil istic talents.

CHAPTER I I

MESSRs. RANSOM , BOUVERIE AND Co .

’

s bank at the southeast corner o f the Haymarket i s said , perhaps erroneous ly,

the ir hay in the marke t, wh ich was devo te d to the repairing of the s tree t .And they were not al lowe d to stand loade d w ith hay after three O

’c lock in

the afternoon, etc. , on pain of forfe iting 5s. Hay so l d in London, e tc., b e

tween the first ofJune and the last of August, be ing new hay , was to w e ighsixty pound s a trus s ; and old hay , during the remainder of the year, fiftysix pound s , under the penal ty of 2s. 6d . for e ve ry tru s s offere d for sale (2Wil liam and Mary

, cap . 6 ; 8 and 9 Wil l iam, cap. 4 ; and 3 1 Ge orge II,cap.

1 70

THE HAYMARKET.

The newspaper of the eighteenth century became a favouritemeans of inter-communication in affai rs of the heart, andespecial ly was this the case w i th the GeneralAdvertiser , wherein the follow ing instance some love- lorn Lothario found the“ Prince o f O range ” a u sefu l halfway-house to the object o fhis sol icitude

A Tall, well fashion’d, handsome young woman , abouteighteen, w ith a fine bloom in her countenance, a cas t inone of her eyes

,scarcely discernible ; a well-turned nose, and

dark-brown uncurled hair flow ing about her neck , whichseemed to be newly cut [sic], walked last new year

’s dayabou t three o’c lock in the afternoon, pretty fast through LongAcre, and near the turn in to Dru ry Lane me t a young gen tleman wrapp

’

d up in a blue roccelo cloak, whom she look ’d at

very steadfastly : He believes he had formerly the pleasure o fher acquaintance : If she w ill send a line directed to H. S.

Esq. to be left at the bar Of the Prince o f Orange Coffeehouse

,the corner o f Pal l Mall, intimating where she may be

spoke wi th, she wi ll be inform’

d of something greatly to heradvan tage. She walked in a dark coloured undressed gown,black hat and capuchin ; a low m iddle aged woman plainlydressed, and a footman following c lose behind

,seemed to

attend her.

Cool ly supp ing at the O range Coffee-house, watching theprogress o f the flames on 1 7 June , was an I tal ian , who was

general ly suspected o f having set fi re to the HaymarketTheatre. He had been in the employ o f Gal l ini

, w i th whomhe had had some disagreement.’Among the frequenters o f the O range Coffee-house was

Mr. Ce rve tto , the V ioloncel lo performer, who died at Mr.Friburg

’

s snuff- shop in the Haymarket,and of whom an

anecdote is told .

The Orange Coffee-house was the chosen resort o f foreignersof al l sorts

,and

,if (says Mr. Austin Dobson) we may trust a

sketch by Row landson , o f the gentlemen Of the army andnavy also. To the O range Coffee -house under cover to animaginary Mr. Grafton ,

” Thomas Lowndes , the Fleet S treetpublisher, forwarded in 17 7 8 the proofs o f Fanny Burney

’

s

Evelina .

2

The famous draught-player, Parry, resided on the eastern

M ichae l Ke l ly, Reminiscences, vol. i, p. 3 16.

2 Early D iary ,1 889, vol. ii, p. 2 14, quo ted by M r. Dobson in h is Paladin

of P hilanthropy , 1 899, p. 83 .

1 7 2

HISTORICAL AND ANECDOTAL.

side of the Haymarket, w ithin a door o f the O range Coffeehouse. He was a Welsh harper, and was much noticed bySir Watkin Wi l l iams Wynne, who was unfortunately ki l ledby a fal l from his horse. Although Parry was total ly bl indhe was acknow l edged to be one o f the best draught-playersin England

,and occasionally played w ith the frequenters of

Old S laughter’s in St. Martin ’s Lane. The Barn ” or BarnMeuse was

,however, the principal resort o f draught-players .

When Nathaniel Smith, the engraver, father o f J . T . Smith ,Keeper o f the Prints and Draw ings in the British Museum ,

lodged w ith Roub iliac , the scu lptor, in S t. Martin’s Lane,

Smith was introduced by Ro ub iliac to Parry in consequenceo f a bet made at Old S laughter’s . A game o f draughts ensuedwhich lasted about half an hour. But Smith , who was w inning,perceiving the venerable bl ind man to be much agitated , w ouldmost w i l l ingly have lost the game had there not been betsdepending on it

,so that his integri ty overpowered his incl ina

tion and he won.

1

The w el l-known West-end banking fi rm,Messrs. Ransom ,

Bouverie and Co .,although now s ituated at the corner o f the

Haymarket and N0. 1 , Pal l Mal l East , was founded at No. 5 7 ,Pal l Mal l

,about the year 1 7 86, by Mr. Ransom ,

who tookinto partnership S ir F. B . Morland and Mr. Hammersley,under the style of Ransom

,Morland and Hammersley. This

continued to be the style o f the fi rm unti l 17 96 ,when Mr. Ham

me rsley left them to start a new bank,which he set up at

76, Pal l Mal l . In 1 8 19 S ir F. B . Morland left the fi rm to e s

tab lish a bank o f his own under the style of Morland and Co.

In the fol low ing year the directory show s that Ransom and

Co . moved to No. 34, Pal l Mal l ; i n 1 82 1 to 2 5 , Pal l Mal l ;and in 1 823 to NO . I , at which the house i s sti l l located.

Addison w rote his Campaig n whi le l iving in the Haymarket. The Government o f the day wanted a poem to be w rittenon the Battle o f B lenheim

,and Hal ifax mentioned Addison ,

as one fitted to w rite it,to the Lord Treasurer Godolphin ,

who sent Henry Boyle, afterwards Lord Carleton , to him .

Addison was then l iving in an attic over a smal l shop in thisstreet. Afterw ards

,says Mr.Wheatley, Pope, fi l led w ith en

thusiasm , took Wal ter Harte to see the room .

No. 1 Haymarket was a w el l-known rendezvous for booklovers. One of Thomas Payne’s successors at the Mew s Gate,

Nollehens and his Times, by J . T. Smith .

I 7 3

THE HAYMARKET.

after Sancho the black , Ignatius Sancho’s son

,was Mr. James

Bain , who afterwards removed to No. 1,Haymarket

,where his

business , says Mr. Austin Dobson , i s sti l l carried on , in ac

cordance w ith the best booksel l ing traditions by his sons.’

At the back Of Messrs . Tooth and Sons ’ premises , Nos . 5and 6

,Haymarket, were those o f Henry Robert Morland ,

artist and picture dealer,and father o f the famous George

Morland,the painter. He was the eldest son

,and was born

here on 26 June, 1 763 .

Morland ’s father, probably unjustly, i s accused of stimulat

ing his son ’s talents unduly,w ith a view to his own profit ,

shutting the chi ld up in a garret to make draw ings frompictures and casts

,fo r which he found a ready sale. The boy,

on the other hand,soon found a way to make money for

himself by hiding some o f his draw ings , and low ering themat nightfal l out o f his w indow to young accomplices, w ithwhom he used to spend the proceeds in frol ic and self-indulgence. I t has also been asserted that his father

,discovering

this trick , tried to concil iate him by indulgence, humouringhis whims and encouraging his low tastes . The truth seemsto be that his father

,if severe, was neither mercenary nor

unprincipled,but tried to do his duty towards his son , who

was also his apprentice,and that the son

,possessed o f un

usual carelessness o f disposition and love o f pleasure, rebel ledagainst al l restra int

,and developed early a taste fo r dissipa

tion and low society which became ungovernable.’Whether Messrs . Arthur Tooth and Sons’ premises occupy

the si te o f what is described in 1 742 as a Great Room anda “New Room at Raphael ’s Head in the Haymarket, onecannot say ; but a Mr. Ford seems to have been a famouspicture-auctioneer at this address. This is h is announcement :

To be Sold by AUCT IONBy Mr. FORD

At his New Room at RAPHAEL’S HEAD, in the Hay

-Market,This Day, the 3o th instant,

THE late Mons . de PILE’S celebrated Gallery of

Capital Pictures, lately purchas’

d , and brought from Paris byMr. GEMINIANI

This most valuable Collection of the greatest Masters, as etc. , etc.T IT IAN

,SPAGNIOLET,

1 Eighteenth Century Vig nettes, 1894, p. 195 ; since remove d to CharlesS tree t, Haymarke t.

2 D ict. Nat. B iog .

1 74

THE HAYMARKET.

Theophi lus Cibber was a great amateur among the boxers,

as w el l as in the business of the playhouse. He was frequentlyapplied to fo r a vaunting b ill, ofwhich the fol low ing, fo r B roughton ’s theatre

,i s a specimen :

AT THENEW THEATREIN THE HAY-MARKET

, ONWEDNESDAYTHE 29th of this Instan t Apri l.

The beauty Of the Science of defence w ill be shewn in aTrial of Skill, between the following masters, vizWhereas therewas a battle fought on the 1 8th ofMarch last,

between Mr. JOHNSON, from YORKSHIRE,and Mr.

SHERLOCK from IRELAND,in which engagement they

came so near as to throw each other down. Since that roughbattle, the said SHERLOCK has chal lenged JOHNSON tofight him,

strapt down to the stage, for twen ty pounds ; towhich the said JOHNSON has agreed ; and they are to meetat the t ime and place above mentioned, and fight in the following manner

,viz. , to have their left feet strapt down to the

stage w ithin the reach of each other’s right leg ; and the mostbleeding wounds to decide the wager.N .B . The undaunted young JAMES, who is thought the

bravest Of his age in the manly art of boxing, fights the stouthearted GEORGE GRAY, for ten pounds, who values himself for fighting the famous GLOVER , at TOTTENHAMCOU RT . Attendance to be given at ten, and the master s

mount at tw elve. Cudgel-playing and boxing to divert the gentlemen till the battle begins .

B roughton l ived to the age of eighty-five , and died in 1 7 89.

He was many years a Yeoman o f the Guard .

’

Hack , the Norw i ch butcher, beat Faulkner the cricket playero f Kent (who had before beat Smal lwood and others) atB roughton ’s amphitheatre after a very severe contest o f twentyseven minutes. The Odds, before setting out, were three toone on Hack

, but during the battle the bets came about two toone on Faulkner. The house was crowded , and the prices sohigh, that no less than £300 was taken to see these combatants, who fought so long as they could l ift their arms .’

[To be continued .JThe S treets of London by ] .T. Smith (ed . by Charle s Mackay, LL.D.

1 849, vol. i, pp . 222 Gentlernan’s Mag az ine, 1 3 May , 1 7 52, p. 238.

1 76

A BYGONE CHILDHOOD .

BY E . VAUGHAN.

HE glamour of the past is a sentiment which has itsroots deeply seated in human nature. I t i s easy to lookback upon the early days o f youth

,and

,i n remembering

al l thei r keen enj oyments and eager del ights,to forget the

black clouds which now and again blotted out the Apri l sunshine o f l ife’s spring. And it i s good to let the mind dwel lupon the brighter s ide, and recal l the radiance o f the daw nrather than the subsequent hours o f gray sky and cheerlessrain

,and thus retain as a lasting possession the inheritance

o f glad memories . Upon the other hand,there is nothing

sadder,or more conducive to the embittering of character

,

than the recol lection o f a chi ldhood Spent amid circumstanceso f cruel hardships and tyrannical treatment. This is happi lyseldom the case i n the present day

,yet ifwe carry our thoughts

back into bygone times,and see what was the lot o f chi ldren

a hundred years ago , the pictu resque past loses much of itsfascinating charm . I t is a material help to the real ization ofthe absolute Change which has taken place in our ideas o f

juveni le education ifwe can come across a personal descriptiono f chi ld ish experiences, l ike the one we are about to consider.The w riter, whose name was Michael Lane, was the son of

the Vicar o f Sawb ridgwo rth, Hertfordshire, at which placehe was born in 17 8 1 , entering the school above mentionedwhen only seven years old, and remaining there unti l hebecame a midshipman in the Royal Navy. After a Short periodhe left the service to study law

,and , qual ifying as a sol ic itor,

settled down in the Essex town o f Bocking, where he continued to reside unti l his death in advanced age. I n his latterdays

,he committed to w ri ting the story o f his boyhood

,and

i t i s to one o f his surviving daughters , a venerable lady in hern inetieth year

,

’ that w e are indebted for the preservation ofthis interesting manuscript.I t w i l l be best to retai n the exact words as far as possibl e,

and let Michael Lane tel l his own tale. He commences w itha brief genealogical history and

,after stating that his paternal

Thi s lady, Mrs. Livermore , d ied at Rayne,Essex, February 18, aged

ninety.

A BYGONE CHI LDHOOD .

grandfather had been a medical man resid ing at NorfolkS treet in the Strand , and in good Practice

” goes on to say :he was a l ineal descendant o f the Colonel Lane (mentionedin Hume’s H istory of Eng land) whose S i ster Jane during theCommonweal th ( in 165 1 ) saved Charles zud from his Enemies ,(who were i n hot pursuit after him) by clothing the King inher l ivery

,and riding w ith him as her Servant on a Pi l l ion

from Bently to Bri stol .” A miniatu re o f Jane Lane is st i l l i nthe possess ion o f the family. Another ancestor o f note wasS ir Richard Lane , Chief Baron o f the Exchequer in the reigno f Charles I , and a Privy Counci l lor. “ I n 1645 he had theGreat Seal del ivered to him . But at last being by the Kingappointed one o f the Commissioners to treat o f the surrendero f Oxford , he was forced to fly beyond sea to avoid the resentment o f Parl iament

,and died in France.

”

Michael ’s father was the youngest o f three sons , and waseducated at Charterhouse and Oxford . After taking a gooddegree at the Univers ity, he became ordained , and began hisc lerical career as Curate o f Hammersmith

,where his good

looks are said to have brought him great popu larity amongthe lady membe rs o f the congregation . By an oil-colouredpainting,

” says his son,

“which was taken when he fi rst entered

Holy O rders , you w i l l perceive he must have been a veryhandsome young man . This painting

,which now hangs upon

the w al l i n his daughter’s house,depicts a cleric o f almost

j uveni le appearance,becomingly dressed in Old-fashioned

costume, w i th white hands and a brow n w ig .

Among his fair admirers at Hammersmith was the daughterof M ichael Impey ,

whose brother, S ir Elij ah Impey ,

figuresso conspicuously in Macaulay’s Essay on Warren Hasting s,and , the attachment being mu tual

,the couple soon married ;

although it was against the consent or at least against theincl ination o f her parents

,they being very proud

,and not

l iking their Daughter to marry a poor Curate. A descriptionof this lady fol lows :

She was very pretty and accompl ished w el l versedin Hi story , Astronomy, French , Draw ing, and Dancing, anddel ighted in being in company w i th men o f l earn ingbut as to the society o f women

,i t was i rksome

,their conver

sation being on frivolous topics. She was descendedfrom the clan o f Frasers o f Scotland , and Lord Lovat (whowas beheaded fo r rebell ion before I was born) was herfi rst cousin .

”

1 7 8

A BYGONE CHI LDHOOD .

for she knew w el l that I should have kicked , and roared , andfought and bitten . We , o f course, went in the back way ,saw

‘Mrs . Lane ’ i n the k itchen , and after some chi t-chat between her and my Workhouse-Mammy, I was taken into thenursery

,which was furn ished w ith only an oak table

,a large

Hutch or Chest in which was kept the household l inen,

” and ahigh i ron-barred fender in front o f a fireless grate. No chai rswere al lowed .

Here he was i ntroduced to his elder brother and sister,

although at first he quite fai led to understand who they were,

and so left, the mother turn ing the key in the lock accordingto her usual custom . This also Michael was too bew i lderedto notice

,and after a l ittle time

,thinking he wou ld go and

rejoin his Mammy,

” tried to open the door,and then real ized

the ful l horror o f the s ituation. I n vain the other children,

used to being imprisoned fo r hours together,tried to pacify

the unhappy l ittle creature. Imagining that they too were inthe plot , he turned on them w i th blow s and maledictions

,

having become proficient in the art o f swearing as taught bythe paupers , although a younger sister, who after wards leftthe workhouse at the same age, was acknow ledged to be themost eloquent o f the family in her ready command of thatparticu lar form o f conversation . The storm ended at l ast inthe utter exhaustion o f the child, who was then laid on thehutch

,where he slept for two hours , and awoke more resigned

to his fate.The manuscript gives a detai led description of the Children ’s

l ife fo r the next three years. Among the chief miseries musthave been the cold

,as apparently the fi re was never l it, even

in w inter, except when thei r mother came to w ash, dress, orundress them

,and they were dai ly locked in for a longer or

shorter period,according to the weather. On fine days they

were sent into the churchyard to play w i thin given boundaries ,but not al lowed to go near the gates fo r fear o f a renewal o ffriendship w i th the workhouse inmates

,whom Michael and

his profane l ittle s ister loved far better than any one at theVicarage . If the days were too w e t fo r outdoor play, theyw ere compel led to take exercise by going on their hands andknees

,and craw l ing up and dow n the front stai rcase fo r an

hour,punished if they left o ff

,and then locked up again.

The night nursery was the servants ’ room,where sometimes

the children Shared the servants ’ beds ; the hour fo r bed -timebeing seven o ’clock in the summer

,and six o’clock in the w inte r.

1 80

A BYGONE CHI LDHOOD.

Breakfast was served to them in the nursery, and consisted o f

milk “ messes,” and thick bread and butter

,the bread being

made from equal quantities o f potatoes and coarse flour, w ithwater to drink . The hutch served instead o f chairs, and during the meal they w ere left alone

,w i th the door locked .

At the end o f an hour,the servant came to clear away, and

the mother fol low ed to hear them say their prayers,and teach

them hymns, before turning them out into the Churchyard.

The dinner hour was one o ’clock,and at five o’clock they w ere

fed on bread and cheese,w ith an occasional variety in hot

potatoes instead of bread .

Michael ’s education was undertaken by his father,whose

system o f imparting know ledge seems to have been basedupon the theory that al l instructions shou ld be du ly and constantly accompanied by beating, as an aid to memory and aqu ickener o f the understanding. Under this mode o f tu ition

,

natural ly stupid anddull,unable to retainwhat

often wou ld place the vi llage chi ldren ining morning service

,and hear them repeat

the fi rst lesson . On these occasions , l ittlelaced on the steps o f his father’s desk

,and

to join in the answers, the clerical ear having fu l lity o f overhearing al l blunders

,and as such trans

w ere always visited w ith the rod when the drearyance came at length to its close

,i t i s l i ttle wonder that

looked back in after l ife upon catechisms and churchservices as insti tutions w hich had made his smal l m ind revolt,and his heart s icken . Yet under humane treatment he would

y have made a ready scholar,fo r he relates that when ,

much tribulation,he had m astered the difficulties of

reading,a lady residing at Harlow gave him a copy o f Sand

and M er ton,and the old-fashioned book brought a

joy into his du l l l ife. He would push the table underSpout so loudly

his favourite passages that passers-by stopped to l isten . Therewas one drawback to the bliss ; the study was j ust underneaththe window

,and such treats cou ld only be safely indulged in

when the paternal feet were heard to pass into the vi l lage,the

w indow being too high for him to see the joyfu l s ight of hi sfather’s retreating figure. Sometimes, i n sp i te o f all precau

tions, disaster occurred, and the dreaded foe wou ld returnxi 11 1 8 1 o

A BYGONE CHI LDHOOD .

unheard,the fi rst intimation of his presence taking the form

o f a -stentorian command fo r s i lence from below ,and this , if

not instantly obeyed, was soon fol lowed by a personal visit to

the nursery,and an appl ication of the fami ly birch

,which

always hung ready for use on a nai l over the fi replace.Besides Sanay

‘ord and M erton

,another pleasure which l i t

up the gloomy atmosphere was the enjoyment o f dancing onw inter evenings . Mrs . Lane was an expert in this accompl ishment

,and excel led in the gracefu l execution o f the minuet ,

and other compl icated dances which w ere popu lar a centuryago . A vi llage carpenter played the quaint old music on hisviol in

,while the Children w ere shown the steps ; and , du l l

though he might be at lessons,Michael easi ly attained the art

o f dancing , and could even ass ist in helping to teach hisbrothers and sisters .[To be continued .]

NOTES ON THE EARLY CHURCHESSOUTH ESSE !

BY C . W. FORBES, Member of the EssexArchaeological Society.

[Continued from p.

GREAT STAMBRIDGE .

REAT STAMBRIDGE doubtless received its ri am

from a stone bridge over the River Roche ; i ttwo miles north-east o fRochford . I n the early regis

1 5 59, i t is styled Much S tambridge.

”

The church i s o f early Norman foundation . The lowertion o f the wal ls on the north side, to a height o f about tenare from 3 ft. to 3 ft. 6 in. th ick , and belong to thestructure ; the tower has remains o f Norman l ights.I n the latter part o f the fourteenth century

,the ch

pears to have been largely rebu i l t ; this is Shown bydow s in the nave and chance]

,which are al l o f this peri

the exception o f one square-headed w indow at the east ethe nave ; the lofty arch at the west end , leading into the tis also Decorated work .

The bu i lding at the present time consists of chancel ,182

THE EARLY CHURCHES OF SOUTH ESSEX .

south ais le,north porch , and western tower w i th a low wooden

spire,contain ing one bel l ; a modern vestry and an organ

Chamber are bui lt on the north and south sides o f the chancel.The north and w est doorways are fourteenth century work ;

at the south s ide o f the w est doorway is a niche for an image.The west w indow i s later work.

Between the nave and south ais le are two octagonal pi llars ,w ith mou lded capitals . There is now no Chancel-arch , but atthe sides are stone pi l lars w i th mou lded capitals . I n 1 88 1 anew roof was put on the nave and chancel ; i t is bel ieved thatthe Chancel-arch was taken down at th is time

,as the tops of

the pil lars form supports fo r the new roof. On the south sideis an arched opening, probably the entrance to the rood stairs .At this time also an archway was cut through the south wal l

the modern organ-Chamber,

o f the south ais le ; the vestryo f the chancel

,the fourteenth

e chancel i s a Decorated piscina,

ed i l ia on this s ide were formed by- l ight w indow abo ve.the tower, i s octagonal , and prob

century ; theldic

low s : ( I ) the s ide facing north is blank ;flower emblems , which appear to be roses ; ( 5 )

er M,for the Virgin Mary, to whom the church is dedi

(7 ) and (8) have heraldic designs, the fami l ies to whichare supposed to relate being uncertain .

HAWKWELL.

Two miles north-west o fRochford , on the road to Rayleigh , i sthe vil lage o fHawkwel l

,spel t in ancient documents Haw ks

wel l and Hackwel l .road

,i s o f ancient

ent structure,how ever, i s in the early Per

dates from about the end o f the fourteenthno trace

,so far as one can judge, o f any

cons ists of a chancel , nave, south porch ,(containing one bel l) surmounted by a

supported in the interior by crossed timbe r work ; the re

1 83

THE EARLY CHURCHES OF SOUTH ESSEX.

mainde r of the bui lding, including the porch , i s of stone andrubble.The cast and west w indow s are pointed

,w i th three l ights

,

of early Perpendicular design ; the other w i ndow s in thechancel and nave are square-headed

,w ith two l ights in each.

I n the south wal l of the chancel , near the altar, i s a squaretopped piscina

,and on the same s ide

,close to the chancel arch

,

i s a smal l trefoi l low -s ide w indow .

The chancel arch is pointed,w i th but l ittle ornamentation .

The north and sou th doorways are also pointed ; that onthe north now l eads into a modern vestry.

The font is modern .

WI CKFORD .

The town of Wickford probably derives its name from theSaxon, Wic, a vil lage, and a ford of the river Crouch ; in olddocuments it is speltWiceford,Wygeford,Wikford,Wyke fo rdand even Wincfo rt.The church , s ituated j ust outside the town on the road to

Rayleigh,i s of very early foundation . We read in ancient

documents that Robert o f Essex gave the church at Wi ckfordto the Priory at Prittlewel l

,and later that Thomas a Becket

took it under his charge,as one o f those belonging to an al ien

Priory. At the Dissolution o f the Monasteries , the patronagepassed to the Crown ; from 1 5 5 1 to the present time it hasbeen in private hands .I n 1 876, the Old church

,being somew

pul led down, and an entirely IIFrom a sketch dated 187 5 we

have been erected aboutThe only portion o f theoak roof of the chancel ;belong to the fourteenthin the Priory at Prittlewel l . Besidesplain octagonal font o f the same perioThe bel ls are both pre-Reformation ; they are of Lon

make,dating from about 1460. The foundry stamp has

name o f Keble,w ith a reversed crescent below . The first

bears the inscription, Sancta Katerina ora pro nobis, and

second , S it nomen Domini benedictum. Tblack-letter, w i th crowned capitals.Belonging to the church is an old set

1 84

THE EARLY CHURCHES OF SOUTH ESSEX.

sisting of two flagons, a chal ice and paten , and an almsdish ;the larger flagon is inscribed

,

“Wickford in Essex , 1 7 58 . JohnCrouch

,Churchwarden ” ; the paten has “Wickford , AD .

the almsdish i s bel ieved to date also from 1 7 5 8 .

NORTH BENFLEET.

Two miles south-west of Wi ckford is the vi l lage o f NorthBenflee t. The church has several interesting features, althoughconsiderable reconstruction has taken place o f late years . I tis Early Engl ish in design

,and dates from the end o f the

twelfth century ; the font , being Norman , i t seems probablethat there was an earl ier Norman church . The present strueture consists of a chancel

,nave

,north porch , and western tower.

There was formerly a wooden belfry, w i th a spire, which ,however

,was pul led down in 1905 , and the present red-brick

tower bui l t ; i n the interior can sti l l be seen the timbers thatsupported the old belfry. The tower contains tw o preReformation bel ls , w ith the inscription , Sancta Katharina ora

pro nobis on each.

When the new tower was bui l t,the north wal l and the top

portion o f the south wal l o f the chancel were also rebu i lt i nred brick.

I n the nave are eight Early Engl ish lancet window s,four

on each side.

On the south side o f the chancel i s a smal l chamber, w ithtwo niche w indow s on the south side and a s ingle trefoi l w indow on the east s ide ; this was probably added at the beginning o f the eighteenth centu ry.

There are two double- l ight window s o f the fourteenthcentury in the chancel

,and the east w indow i s of the same

period.

On the south wal l o f the chancel i s a stone pi l lar w ithmou lded capital o f a rare pedestal piscina ; beside this areplain narrow sedi l ia .

The chancel arch is modern,and dates from the restoration

of 1905 ; the north doorway and porch also underwent considerab le restoration at this time.The font i s Norman ; i t consists o f a massive square basin ,

w ith plain arcading,supported on a central p i l lar with a

smal ler pi l lar at each corner.’

There are se veral font s of th is description in ne ighbouring churches,for instance, Ave ley and Laindon.

1 8 5

THE EARLY CHURCHES OF SOUTH ESSEX.

Let into the north wal l o f the nave, Opposite the font, i s astone s lab with the fol low ing inscription :

Interr’d underneath the Table lies the bodys of Susannah

Joseph Hazwell, A.M., her spouse, who was married to her

abou t 20 years, and outlived her w idower 20 years more, andwas Rector of this parish from June ye first

, 1 68 5 , to the 1 7th

o f Feb . ,1 7 3 2 , aged about XC.

By his sole Execu tor, Residuary Legatee and Successor,Francis Clark, E.M. 81 LL.D.

,who in ye year 1 7 23 erected

(wi th his leave) and by Faculty from the D iocesan annext thewainscot Pew adjoining to the Pulpit, to the church Lease o fBonvillMannour for ever.

From tyes of k indred qui te remov’dMank ind alike our Rector lov’dHe underlock

’t his flock not fleect ’

em

Content w i th naught or what best pleased’em

And what he took, resolved to spendUpon, or give them , at the end .

I am unable to make out either the grammar or the meaning o f the third l ine

,which has been copied exactly as w ritten .

I n the nave is an old , plain , wooden chest.The chal ice and paten bear the inscription : Mended and

b eautified at ye expense o f ye Revd Joseph Hazwell, lateRector.”

[To be continued. ]

NOTES ON WITLEY,SURREY.

BY E . A. CHANDLER.

THE RED ROSE LEASEHOLD .

HE old cottages in Witley S treet between the Sun I nnand Mr. F. Milton ’s house are held on the tenurea Red Rose rent

,and as this i s somewhat unusual

adays, i t may not be altogether uninteresting to tracehistory as revealed in the title deeds .Thomas Stynt, a weaver o fWi tley, granted a lease of

cottages , dated January 10,23 Elizabeth , 1 5 80-1 , to Ri

Paine o f Enton,fo r a term o f 800 years from Christmas,

at the yearly rent o f a red rose.On March 4, 1 5 80- 1

,Richard Paine assigned the

1 86

NOTES ONW ITLEY, SURREY.

John How ick o fWitley,butcher

,who died in 1606

,leaving by

his w i l l to his son John his howsinge and gardens thereto inW i tley Street, but his Wife to have the use of the l itle houseand l i tle garden during her l ife.

”

I n 16 14 John How i ck, the son , assigned to Richard Bedel lofWitley, butcher.I n 1636 Richard Bedel l assigned to Richard Eade o fWitley,

yeoman , whose son and executor, Richard Eade, in 1679, 3 1

Charles I I,assigned to Francis Denyer

,who on October 16,

1686, assigned to Thomas Matthew .

Thomas Matthew in 1699 assigned to W i l l iam Crafter o fWi tley

,tailor. I n 1 703 Wi l l iam Crafter assigned to John

Crafter.I n 1742 John Crafter married Anne March

,one o f the

daughters o f John March o f Enton,and th is property was in

cluded in a marriage settlement,dated Ju ly 20, 1742 , o f which

John Woods was one o f the trustees. John Crafter died in1 7 89, l eaving his w ife, the said Anne, who died in 1 800,

anda son

,Hen ry.

I n 1802 the executors of John Woods , the last survivingtrustee o f the settlement o f 1 742 , and Henry Crafter ass ignedto Wi l l iam Bow ler o fWitley, bricklayer, who on May 7 , 1 8 10,

assigned to Henry Balchin. Henry Balchin died on May 16,

1 845 , having by w i l l left his real and personal property toPeter Heward and Edward Keen on trust for sal e. I n 1 846

Heward and Keen assigned to George Gilbe rt o f Chiddingfold ,cordwainer, who died on June 30,

1 8 54, leaving the p ropertyto his w ife for l ife and afterwards on trust fo r sal e. Mrs . Gilbert died on July 23 , 1 870,

and on September 29, 1 870, thetrustees o f George Gilbert ’s w i l l sold to James Pannel l o f Rlstead

,gamekeeper. James Pannel l died on August 3 , 1 884,

bequeathing the lease by his w i l l to his son John Pannel l , andon December 1 2

,1904, John Pannel l and his mortgagee sold

to E . A . Chandler, the present owner.Al l traces o f the freeholder, the representative in title o f

Thomas Stynt , have long ago disappeared , so that there i snow no one to claim the red rose .

Amongst the documents relating to the property is the w i l lo f one Thomas Rapley, probably for a time the tenant of oneo f the cottages . An abstract o f the w i l l i s as fol low s

xxn September, 1 6 10 .—I

,Thomas Rapley of Witley, an

unprofitable servant of God, weake in body but in perfect1 87

NOTES ONW ITLEY, SURREY .

memory (God be praised), do make this my last Will andTestament. First, I comend my soule unto the hand o f God,my maker, hopeinge assuredly through the onely meri ts ofJesus Christ, my Saviour, to be made partaker of life everlastinge. Unto Nicolas Rapley, my sonne, xvs. wi thin yeare

after my decease unto Thomas Rapley, his sonne, five shillings unto his use at same time. Unto Agnes Rapley, myeldest daughter, a cowe

,to be delivered presently after

the decease of Agnes, my Wife, and a b ockerame [buckram]sheet, a brooch and an andiron. Unto Joane, my seconddaughter, one other cowe, a coverlet, a brooch and an andiron,to be delivered as aforesaid ; but ifAgnes, my Wife, fortune tomarry then the kine and the other thinges unto them [thedaughters] presently.

D IARY OF THE REV. JOHN CHANDLER .

The fol low ing are extracts from a diary kept by my father foreach Sunday at the end o f the year 1 834 and during 1 83 5 . Theyare not in themselves o f any very great interest

,but they give

a picture o f the clerical work o f that time,when Thursley

, al

though possess ing an ancient church, was technical ly a chapel

held w i th the l iving o fWi t ley , and Milford had no church at all.My grandfather

,the Rev. John Flutter Chandler

,was Vicar

o f the parish . He was an old man at the time the diary wasw ritten , and was for many years Vicar o f Woking as w el l aso f Wi t ley. He l ived in his -

own house,then cal led Witley

House, w i th his w ife,formerly Miss Currie

,and his

daughter Mary,afterwards Mrs. F. S . B lunt. My father acted

as his Curate,and lodged in the vi l lage ; the Vicarage was

l et . There were services alternately in the morning and afternoon at Wi tley and Thursley, and a lecture at Milford in theevening

,given either by my father or by his cousin

,Mr.

Horace Currie,who l ived at Mi lford House w ith his sister

,

Mrs. Webb.

-The parish was l arge and rambling, stretching pretty nearlyfrom Godalming to Hindhead

,and was then unspoi led by

modern bui lding,few of the cottages being o f later date than

the sixteenth or fi rst half of the seventeenth century.

W itley Church was fu l l of high pew s and had a mus ic ians ’

gal lery in the north transept. The south porch , by which theChurch i s now entered , was blocked up, and ful l o f buildingmaterial . The Congregation stepped down into the Churchfrom a large west door.

1 88

NOTES ONWITLEY, SURREY.

The SundaySchool arrangements were primitive . There wasa class fo r girls held in the stable o fWitley House ; the boysw ere taught in the vi l lage school (the present I nfant School) ,and a C lass was held by a Mr. TomWel land somewhere in thevi l lage and another by a Mr. Cooper at Culmer.

Extractsfrom the D iary .

1 834, Dccr . 2 5 th, Christmas Day.— Preached an old sermon at

Wi t ley and Thursley . Pretty good congregation at Witley ; manycommunicants . A very large congregat ion at Thursley, as therealways is on Christmas Day . The same sermon, and it seemedto do better. May God soon raise up for these poor people a Shepherd of their own

, who may lead them to their Saviour and preparethem to come to God and partake of the great salvation which He sofreely and bount ifully hath provided them w ith.

1 The boys had theirdinner and seemed p leased, as also the teachers.

1 83 5 , Jan. 4, Sunday.— Church In themorning atWitley up at 7 at

9 30 wen t and read aprayer to mymother 5 school children and taughta class, and taught Mary

’s girls in the stable. Not a great many inchurch ; preached 3 6 minu tes ; not very good. At Thursley, walkedwi th Horace [Currie] part of the way a large congregat ion ; sermondid better ; gave Mrs . Berry a book ; Mrs . Hardy’s child christened ;called on Mrs. Moon, and discoursed them about the Cherry Fair.I hope it may do them good.

Jan. 2 5 .— Up early in the morning ; looked over my sermon, it

did pretty well,better at Witley than at Thursley, as it wanted

shortening and altering In several places . There was not a very goodattendance at Thursley Church, and the people kept com ing in afterthe service began . Heard the 2nd and 3rd classes at the Schooltheir catechism (they were very dul l indeed) ; allthe teachers present,but rather a confusion and no great order . Saw Mrs. Craft fromHaccomb and .Mrs. Moorey from Creed Hole . Walked home bymyself, and looked over my sermon . Went to my mother

’s schoolbefore Church ; large congregation, several aliens. Baptisms, whichmy father took ; went to see Joe Hockley and Dame Duke.Feb . 1 5 .

- Heard the boys their catechism ; taught girls, in stable,before Church ; talked to them about their hymn ; pretty good number at Church. After Church had my dinner and walked to Thursley;large congregation as usual. Same sermon as at Witley ; afterwardshad 2 christenings, Mrs. S. Denyer and S. Court, and a funeral, anold woman out of the workhouse saw Mrs. Jardine, much the same,Mrs. Weston, Mr. 81 Mrs . Lewis ; Mrs . L. better ; talked about my

The first Vicar of Thurs ley was appointed In 18 53 .

A fair he ld in the summe r, apparently on a Sunday, a source of

great offence ; see June 28.

1 89

NOTES ONW ITLEY, SURREY.

intended lecture. Cal led at Milton’s on my way to Milford ; poorold Mrs. M. just dead ; go t to Milford just as the c lock struck 7 ;largish party ; spoke to them for an hour about “ the Labourers inthe Vineyard, and hope delivered it faithfully ; got home by halfpast eight.Feb . 2 2 .

— Breakfasted in the library while my father was shaving.

Got to Thursley by Heard the boys of the 3 rd 4th classtheir catechism

,and asked questions about scripture history. Hope

some of them are improving, but discipline is sadly relaxed ; notmany at Church ; preached sermon. Hope it made an impression ;it did better at Wit ley

,where there were no singers, but great many

peop le considering the wetness of the day ; all the Miltons ; noHewards there. Taught the girls before Church.

March I .— Read prayers in the school at

2 past 9 ; stayed wi ththem till .

1

1y past 1 0, and then taught the girls til l Church time , madeout with

1[

them pretty well. Girls said hymn about gay clothing ;pretty good congregation in Church ; all the Hewards ; singing theold way, b 1it hope and trust by next Sunday to be able to effect sucha change as shal l be more agreeable to the congregation and more(what is the great thing) to the praise and glory of God . Walked toThursley in the rain ; a large congregat ion ; same sermon. Old Mrs .Hi llyer buried ; very wet ; saw Mrs . Nash, and scolded her and herdaughter ; saw Mrs. Weston and Mrs. Jardine ; then to the lecture,made out hardly enough on charity ; must do better next time.

March 8 .— Off for Thursley by to 9 ; got there in time for

prayers ; heard 4th c lass 3 rd class their catechism and 2nd C lass afew quest ions. Wedding of Mrs. Winter

’s sister put off. Pretty goodcongregat ion ; preached on “ He that liveth in p leasure is dead whilehe liveth ” ; directed to Mrs . Nash, &c . , but also I hope may beuseful to many more besides her. Funeral, after Church, ofpoor oldMrs. Jardine ; the old man was not there ; got back in t ime forluncheon, and went to church to announce the singing. It made outvery fairly

,and all people seemed pleased at our first attempt. The

same sermon,an immense congregat ion, larger than I ever knew it .

Young men behaving badly, both before and after Church ; spoke tothem

,but not kindly ; went to see Tom Trigg, and sat with him a

l ittle while. After dinner went to Milford, and had a pretty goodattendance of people at the lecture.April 1 2th.

— Mother went to the girls in the stable. I read prayersto the boys in the schoolroom,

and at 1 0 Mr. Le Maire came, andwe practised t ill 2 past 1 0 on the Seraphine ;

’ it seemed to do verywell . Taught the girls for a short t ime, but soon sent them intoChurch . A large congregation the music did very well and seemedto give great satisfaction. After service dined and off to Thursley,

A keyed wind-instrument, some thing l ike a harmonium.

190

NOTES ONW ITLEY, SURREY.

service there at 3 ; had 4} an hour to hear the boys their catechism .

Sam Denyer no better. Old Walker acted as clerk ; a very fu l lChurch . Walked across the common to the workhouse ; saw poor oldMaster Slow

,he seems very badly ; saw a good many people going to

Tom Welland ’s ; not many people at the lecture at Horace’s, i t didnot do very well ; spoke on Melchisedek , but did not understand thesubject myself

,therefore no wonder if I spoke badly, and what I said

on the Sacrament seemed very c lumsy, but I hope it may be turnedto good.

Easter Sunday — Service and Sacrament atWitley in the morning ;very large congregation. Mr. Le Maire p layed the Seraphine ; a verygood at tendance at the Sacrament . Same sermon at Thursley, goodattendance ; Walker, c lerk ; anthem very long. Saw S. Denyer afterwards, old Mrs. Mitchell and the people at Hound-down ; boysplay ing cricket on MousehillGreen. Lecture at Milford.

Apri l 26th .-At Lavington. Did the duty for Manning,

’who had

lost his father ; got down there late on Saturday evening ; nobody athome ; went over to Graffham on Sunday morning. Catechised theboys in the schoolroom ; not a very large congregation ; awkwardchurch ; full of galleries ; got back in good time, and dined betweenthe services. Went to the Church at Lavington before service, andheard

,

the boys and girls ; preached at Lavington ; good congregationand a nicer church. Immediately after set off for a long walk all overthe downs ; then to Su tton, back through Burton Park by a littleafter 7 ; did not return home that night.May 3rd

— Had finished my sermon in good time, on the subjectof the death of poor John Knowles, from James, iv, 1 3 , 14 ; preachedit at both Wit ley and Thursley, tho’ it did not do so well at theformer as i t did at the latter place. Read prayers at mother

’s school,and then went down to Cooper

’s and was very well pleased with them .

A pretty good congregat ion in Witley Church, all but the young menin the gal lery ; go t to Thursley a li t tle before church time ; a largecongregation ; saw old Mi tchell afterwards ; christened Mrs. Wisdom ’schild ; gave notice of lecture at 7 o’clock. Went to High Bu t ton,calling on old Phillips by the way ; saw Mrs. Hardy, and prom isedher a B ible ; saw Dame Collin, and read and prayed wi th her andthe Fosters, who came in to her.May 1 7 th.

—Went first to the Boys’ school and read the prayer,and then to Welland’s school, where I heard the boys their catechism ;then returned and went to church, where there was a good congregat ion, being a very fine day ; Mr. Le Maire with the Seraphine ; thesinging did extremely well. Heard after church of Mary Mi tchell ,a nd of H. Davis and Hannah Elliot running away . Dined

, and

Afterward s joined Roman Catho l ic Church and was sub sequentl yCardinal-Archb i shop ofWe stm inste r. The p lace s here mentione d are allIn Sus sex, be tween Pe tworth and Ch iche ster.

19 1

NOTES ONW ITLEY, SURREY.

walked to Thursley ; same sermon ; very full congregation indeed ;heard the boys for 4} an hour before the service began ; changedbooks

,etc. ,

afterwards ; called at Denyers, Sam somewhat better ;cal led at Graff’s, Mr. M itchell was reading to them ; saw Berry and

Nash. Got to Milford by past 6 ; lecture at 7 . Singing a failure,for no men came ; room very full. Got home by 5 past 8 . Saw SusanElliott on my way back, and one or two more people.

May 24th .— At Thursley by 9. Catechised the 3rd class ; brought

new books for the li ttle boys .Ascension Day.

—3 o

’clock at Thursley, 7 at Witley. Heard thegirls before 1 1 a very large congregation indeed, never hardly saw somany ; singing very bad ; Mr. Le Maire played out o f all time. Afterdinner walked to Crossways ; saw R . Taylor and the Luffs ; thenround the ponds ; scolded boys at the P. house ; do. at Culmer,took away their ball.May 3 I st.

— Read prayers for my mother (girls in stable) ; heard aclass and the girls before going into Church. Mr. Le Maire was there,and the singing did ex tremely well ; do. the sermon, for tho’ bad inpoint of composition, it contained some home and wholesome truths.Same at Thursley. Went to dinner directly after Church at my house,Horace Currie and all. Did not get to Thursley till just church t ime ;saw Sm ithers and Hone very drunk on the Portsmouth Road. Veryful l congregation ; 2 christenings afterwards, Alfred Searle and ThomasCourt. Read over the Registers w i th S. Denyer ; called afterwardsat Mrs.Western ’s and Mrs. Saggers, and walked home some way w i thyoungWalker ; saw Abraham Sm ith andWm . Rothwell andW. Triggbefore I came in. We passed the evening together at the Vicarage.

June 28 .— Walked over to Thursley, and arrived there by 7} past 9,

in time for prayers ; stirred them up about the Collects and Go spels,and heard the 2nd class give an account of the collect, and spokeabout the hymns . Not many people in Church, the old Lewises,Knowles, etc. my father was there, and spoke about the Sabbathbreaking, Mr. Lickfold, etc. Saw a cart which I suspect containedcherries ; I pray I may bem istaken . Got home an hour before church ;heard the girls ; a large congregation in Church ; several strangers,Hambledon people. After Church saw Tay lor with a bat, and tookit away from him ; went afterwards to Hockley’s to complain of

Char les, and to Mrs. Ransford ’s. Taught my boy (boot and knife

b oy) afterwards for an hour.July 5 .

—Walked after breakfast to Welland’s, and stayed there ashort time ; seemed to do very well ; pretty good congregation inChurch

,singing did nicely. Dined between churches with Horace

Currie. Got off to Thursley about to 2 ; it rained a little ; got tothe school just as they were going to Church ; large congregation ;same sermon . Saw Mrs. Weston, who is ill and keeps her bed ;afterwards walked to Bowler’s Green ; saw Mrs . Li llywhite and her

192

SOME EAST KENT PARISH HISTORY.

That we lack our ord inary sermons — (Vol .

1 5 80. S ee under Badlesmere in vol . v11, p . 2 1 2 .

1 590. The church lacketh repairing — (Fol.We want service upon certain Sundays , our Mr. Tanner

serveth two places, by reason whereof he say e th service w i thus once a fortnight — (Fol . 1 2 1 ; vol . 1 589

1 592 . Our church is gone to decay i n such sort that ourpoor parish , w i thout aid and assistance o f others , i s not ableto repair i t. Also the church-yard is to be repaired — (Fol .168.

Sfephen Woolle tt, for retain ing a maid- servant o f thirteenor fifteen years old , and not sending her at any time to becatechised

,notw ithstanding he hath been sundry times re

quired so to do by our Minister and Wardens .W i l l iam Harris , fo r breaking open ou r church-yard gate,

by reason whereof the hogs break in and turn up the graves .— (F01.

1 593 . That in the year in which Marable and LukePhi lpot w ere Churchwardens

,they or the one of them did

pu l l down or cause to be pu l led down a chapel cal led Our

Lady Chapel ,” standing on the south side of the chancel , and

the w indow s o f the same, which was covered w ith lead , andalso a part o f the covering o f the church which was leaded ,they pul l dow n and recover w ith ti les .When they appeared in the Court they said that, as Church

wardens , they took o ff the lead from a chapel on the southside o f the Chancel there, and did new raft the same, andcovered again the chapel w i th the lead so far as i t would go ,and then about twelve feet o f the same w i th tiles — (Fol . 230 ;vol. 1 59 1

1 595 . Luke Philpot,fo r the denying to pay a part o f a cess

made by the parish,and his own consent to the cess making.

— (Fol .George Finnis

, our Clerk, for saying service , for the whichwe, the Churchwardens, have forbid him .

—(Fol.There is a B i l l o f Presentment made by the Churchwardens

of the parish , upon a certai n woman , cal led Margaret Fo rdred,to be accused fo r a w itch

,by the report o f divers— (Fol .

194

SOME EAST KENT PARISH HISTORY.

1 596. Luke Phi lpot refuseth to pay the cess for the reparation o f our church

,being cessed at 42s. 3d.

— (Fol . 1 1 1 ;

vol. 1 594

1 597 . We present ou r Vicar,Mr. Tanner, and Edward

Trussle , fo r braw l ing , chiding and d isorde rly ing themselves inthe church .

Our church and chancel is not repaired,and the church

yard unfenced .

Our V icarage-house is not sufficiently repaired .

Our Vicar, fo r being away a month , and we having noservice .

Our Vicar, fo r not wearing the surpl ice.— (Fol . 1 1 3 ; vol.

1 596

1600. John Thurbam e o f our parish refuseth to pay al l h iscess

,being made fo r the reparation o f our parish church

,being

cessed at 6s. 8d .— (Fol .

James Maye o f the city o f Canterbu ry, who ,upon Monday

,

the second day o f June,did put his horse in our parish church,

being offensive to d ivers of the parishioners there.—(Fol . 274 ;

vol. 1 598

1601 . Our be lfry or steeple wanteth repairs— (Fol. 96 ;vol. 1600

1602 . Wi l l iam Leonard, Jurate o f Dover, farmer of the par

sonage o f St. Margaret’s,for that the w indow s o f the chancel

o f the church are not suffi ciently repaired — (Fol . 2 1 ; vol.

1602-

4 )

1606. Our church is not suffi ciently repaired , by reason o f

the greatness o f the damage which did come about by the latestorm

,and the poverty o f the parish — (Fol . 2 1 ; vol. 1606

1608 . We want the Ten Commandments, and our churchwanteth reparation — (Fol . 5 ; vol. 1608

1609.— The Vicarage is not suffi ciently repaired, the fau lt o f

Edmund Tanner,Vicar.— (Fol. 89 vol. 1609- 1

16 14. Richard Allen , farmer o f our parsonage, for that thechancel i s much out of repai r.— (Fol . 16 1 ; vol . 16 1 3

195

SOME EAST KENT PARISH HISTORY.

16 16. We have no decent carpe t fo r the Communion Table,nor flagon fo r the w ine at the administration o f the HolyCommunion.

Our church i s not sufl‘iciently repaired , viz .,the wal ls and

buttresses o f the church and belfry,the floors in the church

not w ell paved , or otherw ise not decently kept, and the seatsor pew s in the church not wel l maintained — ( Fol . 1 8 ; vol .16 16

16 1 8 . Phi l ip Gibbo n complained that Mr. Edmund Tanner,Vicar there

,denieth to the parish a Book o f Martyrs , as he

hath heard it cal led,which S ir Peter Manwood gave unto the

use o f the parishioners there , to be kept in the church , andone other book

,whereof he knoweth not the name, and also

B i shop Jewel ’s works ; and that he many times abuses hisparishioners in his sermons

,terming o f them louts and dis

gracing them and persecuting them,and especial ly this com

plainant.Further he info rmeth that the V icarage-house i s much de

cay ed and in great want of repairs , and i s holden up by propsand shaw s

,and the wal ls much broken.

Further he l iveth offensively,by haunting of taverns and

ale-houses .When the Vicar appeared in the Court he said - That he

hath the books,viz ., a volume of the Book o f Martyrs , which

S ir Peter Manwood gave to him,as he understood it

,but

s ince he unde rstande th otherw i se, he w i l l restore them ,w ith

the book o f Jewel ’s w orks,w ithin this month. And prom ise th

to restore the vicarage.— (Fol . 24 ; vol. 1617

16 19. Our steeple wanteth some reparations,and we humbly

crave a convenient time for the repairing o f the same.(Fol.

1 Ph il ip G ibbon (an ance stor of the h istorian) was the e l der son of

Thomas G ibbon, who in 1 57 3 had purchase d the Manor of We st C liff,

near D o ve r, and was buried inWe s t C l iff Church , January 1 5 , 1 596. Phil iprebui l t the manor-hou se in 1627 , wh ich date i s on the house. He marriedin 1 586, at We st C liff

,El isabe th one of the daughters of Thomas Ph ilpot,

by w hom he had two sons,Thomas and Matthew ; al so a daughter, Mary,

who marrie d in 16 1 1 Thomas Sheaf of Cranbrook . Ph ilip G ibbon probably gave up We s t C liff to h is e l de st son and moved to Canterbury, as h isw i l l de scribe s h im of St . Mary Mag dalene , Canterbury, yeoman i t wasproved September 16, 1629, at Canterbury . Ph i lip was burie d at WestC l iff, Augus t 24, 1629 also h i s w idow , Eli sabeth, September 16, 1647 .

196

SOME EAST KENT PARISH HISTORY.

1679. There are three bel ls be longing to the parish churchof St. Margaret’s , and two o f them are cracked ; and thesteeple o f the church i s so w eak and shattered

,having a crack

in it from the top to the bottom,and so hath been fo r some

years past, that it must be whol ly taken down before anyframe and bel ls can be set up

,otherw i se it would soon shake

the steeple down ; and that the steeple, frame, and casting ofthe two bel ls , w i th hanging the same, wou l d cost at least£400 to £500,

which sum the parishioners are not able toraise, being very poor, the major part o f them tenants . Thatthe parish church is very large

,and doth yearly cost a con

side rable sum of money to repai r. Whereupon the Judgemonished Wi l l iam Homesby to appear the next court-dayafter Michaelmas — ( Fol . 45 ; vol . 167 5[To be continued. ]

HISTOR ICAL SURVEY OF THE LONDONFIRE BRIGADE .

By FRANCIS EDWIN TYLER.

early precautions against fi re adopted by the Cityauthori ties w ere rather remarkable. At a very earlyperiod any householder who dared to cover his house

w ith thatch,general ly had the mortification o f w itnessing his

dwel l ing destroyed by the authorities . I n the year 1 302 , oneThomas Bat, c itizen , came before the Lord Mayor and Courto f Aldermen and bound himself and al l h is rents

,lands and

tenements,to keep the City o f London indemnified from fi re

and other losses which might occur from his houses coveredw ith thatch

,in the parish o f S t. Laurence, Candlewykestre te ,

and he ag reed that he wou ld have the said houses coveredw ith ti les

,about the Feast o f Pentecost then ensu ing. Furthe r

more, in case he shou ld not do the same, he granted that the

Mayor, Sheriffs , and Bai l iffs o f London , should cause the said

houses to be roofed w i th ti les, out o f the issues o f his rentsaforesaid .

I n the reign o f King Richard the First, the wardmotesordered that al l persons who dwelt in great houses Within thew ards Should have a ladder or two , ready and prepared tosuccour their neighbours in case o f fi re ; further, that al lpersons should have in the summer time

,and especially

198

ILONDON

SURVEY OF THE LONDON FIRE BRIGADE .

between the feasts of Pentecost and St. Bartholomew , beforetheir doors, a barrel ful l o f w ater, fo r quenching such fi re

,if it

be not in a house which had a fountain o f i ts own ; also thatreputable men o f theWard , w i th the Aldermen , Shou ld providea strong crook o f i ron

, w ith a wooden handle, together w ithtwo chains and two strong cords , and that the Beadle shou ldhave a good and loud -sounding horn .

I t was also strictly forbidden that any person shou ld be sodaring as to be found wandering about the streets of the cityafter the Curfew had rung at St. Mart in ’s-le -Grand

,upon

pain o f being arrested . This makes rather pleasant andamusing reading, in V iew o f the great freedom enjoyed bycitizens o f the present day .

The first mechanical contrivance fo r extinguishing fi re wasa syringe or squ irt. I t was two feet in length

,and when in use

was fastened by means o f straps to the body o f a man . Somewere worked by three persons , two o f whom held the squirtand nozzle

,whilst the thi rd worked the piston w i thin . These

early engines were much in demand , and after the Great Firethey increased in large numbers, u lt imately giving way toimproved fi re engines .Tw o years after the d isastrous conflagration o f 1666, the

City Corporation establ ished a force o f men,styled the Fire

Police. Each parish was provided w i th the fol low ing implements : leathern buckets , pickaxes, s ledge-hammers , Shovels ,and brass hand -squirts .The enormous damage caused by the Great Fi re led to the

establishing o f I nsurance Offices. The fi rst Office, the Phoenix,was founded in 1682 , and its meetings and business transactions were held at the famous Rainbow Coffee House in FleetStreet. This was fol lowed by the Hand -in-Hand anda few years later

,1 706 ,

the Sun Offi ce was established . Eachindividual company kept its own engines and fi remen

,the

latter wearing distinctive l iveries .Outbreaks o f fi re were very frequent, and in 1 708 the Lord

Mayor and Common Counci l issued the fol low ing solemnwarn ing :

Whereas divers fires often happen by the negligence of

servants,be it therefore enacted, by the au thori ty aforesaid,

that if any menial or other servant or servants through negl igence or carelessness shal l fire or caused to be fired

,any

dwelling-house,or outhouse or houses, such servant or servants

being thereof lawfully convicted by the oath of one or moreI99

SURVEY OF THE LONDON FIRE BRIGADE.

of Her Majesty’s Justices o f the Peace, shal l forfeit and paythe sum o f one hundred pounds into the Churchwardens o fsuch parish where the fire shal l happen, to be distributedamong the sufferers by such fire, in such proportions as thesaid Churchwardens shal l deem just ; and in case of defau ltor refusal to pay the same immediately after convic tion, thesame being lawfully demanded by the said Churchwardens,that then

,and in such case, such servant or servants, Shall, by

warrant under the hands o f two or more Justices o f the Peace,be comm it ted to some workhouse or House o f Correc tion, asthe said Justices shall deem fi t, for the space of eighteenmonths, there to be kept at hard labour.

For the more effectual preventing o f fi res i n the City andsuburbs

,i t was enacted by Parl iament :

That the Churchwardens of each parish be empowered, atthe charge of their respective parishes, to fix upon the severalmain water-pipes in the s treets, stops-blocks or fire -cocks, alsoto provide a large hand-engine wi th a leathern pipe and socketto screw upon the fire-cock . And for the future all party wallsto be of brick or stone, excep t the houses on London Bridge.

The year 1 798 w i tnessed the formation o f a body o f mencal led the Fire Watch or Guard. A few years later the Chairman o f the Globe I nsurance Office made an attempt to forma general fire -engine establishment

,but it proved an utter

fai lure. However, i n 1 832 , eight o f the then existing I nsuranceCompanies formed an al l iance

,and thus started the London

Fire-Engine Establ ishment. By i ts ru les London was dividedinto five districts

,and each was suppl ied w i th an engine

house or station . There w ere also two floating stations,one

being at Southwark B ridge, and the other at Rotherhithe.

These floating engines required over one hundred men towork them , and they threw w ater at the rate o f two tons aminute. Gratu ities w ere awarded to pol icemen who gave analarm o f fi re at the nearest station . I t i s also worthy o f notethat bystanders were l iberal ly paid for any assistance theyrendered to the firemen in their endeavours to extingu ish outbreaks. It requ i red some thirty men to work each engine, 5 0that at a large conflagration some five hundred bystanders , oreven more

, were employed .

O fttimes the engines were summoned from the country,being conveyed to the requ i red destination by rai l , manyarriving too late to be of any ass istance.

200

SURVEY OF THE LONDON FIRE BRIGADE .

course o f time the style o f the fi rm became Hadley and S impkin . Mr. Moses Merryweather joined the fi rm as an apprenticei n 1 807 , and eventual ly became head o f the business . Thefi rm made such rapid progress, that the Government w ere notS low in seeking their advice on matters relating to fi re extin

guishing , which example was qu ickly follow ed by some o f themost distingu ished men o f the day. Among those who gavemuch attention to the methods o f fi re extinction was the lateDuke o fBuckingham . The Duke had an apti tude for mechanicsand was a frequent visitor to the factory at Long Acre.

So much fo r the early history o f the fi rm : now l et us consider thei r relation to the improvement o f fire -extinguishingappl iances during the past fi fty years .When Nathaniel Hadley commenced business as a maker

o f fi re appl iances the manual engine o f the day was a smal lmachine drawn to fi res by means o f a trol ley, and workedusual ly by sixteen men . I t was an excel lent engine fo r pumping purposes

,having regard to its s ize

,however defic ient i t

may have been in provis ion for rapid transport,and in other

ways . The fi rst great improvement was made in 1 792, whenmeta l valves w ere u sed in place o f leathern ones . The engineremained unal tered

,and was sti l l o f l ittle value. Gradually

,

however,engines w ith larger wheels were constructed

,having

a seat fo r the driver, and a hose-box upon which the mencould ride.I t remained

,however, for Mr. Moses Merryweather to con

struct an engine more conveniently arranged and more powerful i n regard to weight and size than any o f its predecessors.This important event took place i n 1 8 5 1 , when he launched

his “ London B rigade Manual .” S ince 1 8 5 1 many improvements have been made

,and especial ly in 1 88 5 , when a new

pattern valve was invented ; but substantial ly the pattern o f

1 8 5 1 i s sti l l i n vogue.Turning to the steam fire -engine we read that the fi rst one

was designed in 1 829. Little was heard o f i ts existence unti l1 87 9, when several S im ilar engines w ere placed upon the market and w ere eagerly bought. Between [the years 1 860 and1 885 , Messrs . Merryweather helped many smal l towns andcountry districts by giving support to local efforts fo r propermeans o f p rotection against fire. O ften a meeting which wasbeing held fo r the pu rpose o f interesting the inhabitants o fthe local ity i n the fi re prevention question , w ou ld be en

l ivened by a representative from Long Acre driving up on an202

SURVEY OF THE LONDON FIRE BRIGADE.

engine and giving a display w i th the machine, thus helping toarouse the necessary enthusiasm to make the fi re brigademovement a success.Another fi rm which for three-quarters o f a century has been

prominent in the manufacture o f fire -engines and appl iances isthat o f Messrs . Shand , Mason and Company. I n 1 8 52 theywere employed by the London Fire-Engine Establ ishment(the fi re brigade o f that period) to app ly steam -power to oneo f the existing fi re floats

,then hand worked, on the river

Thames . The result was eminently satisfactory, once i t wasdecided to obtain a complete self-propel l ing steam fire -engine.This engine

,the fi rst complete floating steam fire -engine bu i l t

,

went into active service in 1 8 5 5 , and held its own unti l 1 890,

when it was superseded by a more modern appl iance. Threeyears later

,1 8 5 8 , the fi rm commenced to construct land engines ,

and completed thei r fi rst engine towards the latter end o f 1 8 5 8 .

This was not destined to do usefu l work in England, but was

shipped to St. Petersburg, where it rendered capital service.The engine had a capacity o f from 200 to 2 50 gal lons o f waterper minute

,and was tested , w i th Splendid results , before ship

ment abroad. The Times o f November 25 , 18 5 8 , reported thetrial as follow s

On Friday morning, at seven o’clock, this new machinewas worked at the Grand Surrey Canal, Camberwell. In tenm inutes from the time of lighting the fire suffi c ient steam was

obtained to throw a 3 inch jet to a considerable elevation .

This was changed for larger ones up to one inch in diameter,the height of the latter being equal to that from a Brigadeengine when worked at fu ll speed .

The fi rm received a wel l-deserved honour when , in 1 860,the London Fire Establ ishment hired from them the fi rst steamfire -engine on wheel s. A second engine was purchased, andwon the first prize at the London I nternational Exhibitionof 1 862 .

By this t ime publ ic interest in steam fire -engines had beenfairly aroused

,and in Ju ly

,1 863 , the famous competitive trial s

took place at the Crystal Palace,when a committee o f scientific

men,headed by the late Duke o f Sutherland , w ith the able

assistance o f the late S ir Eyre Massey Shaw , K .C.B . as secretary

,raised a sum o f £700 to be distributed in prize-money

fo r the best steam fire -engine . The resu l t was,one half of

the prize-money was adjudged to Messrs. Shand , Mason and203

SURVEY : OF THE LONDON FIRE BRIGADE .

Co ., while the other hal f was divided betw een two othercompetitors. Further success attended these engines abroad— one of them obtain ing a gold medal in an exhibition inMiddleburg

,Hol land. This engine subsequently w ent to

B radford .

Continu ing the thread of our story we find that as theMetropol is increased in s ize so the numbe r o f fires increased

,

unti l i n 1 862 a Parl iamentary Committee was appointed toinqu i re into the existing arrangements for the protection o f

l ife and property against fi re. A bulky report was i ssued ,and

the outcome was that a new force was establ ished,under the

control o f the old Board o fWorks, the title o f the force being“ The Metropol itan Fire B rigade.” Captain Shaw was giventhe post o f superintendent. The force comprised about 3 50offi cers and men , w ith a numerous and various supply ofengines and appl iances. The central station was in Watl ingStreet , in the City o f London .

Each succeeding year the B rigade has rapidly increased insize and effi ciency. At the time o f w riting the force is underthe direct control o f the London County Counci l ; the totalstrength is as fol low s : Chief Office and a staff o f men ;82 land stations ; 3 river stations w ith floats ; 74 horsed steamfire -engines ; 7 steam motor fire -engines ; 4 petrol motor fireengines ; 10 motor escape-vans ; 56 miles o f hose ; 90 hosecarts ; etc. The number o f fires during the year 19 10 reachedthe huge total o f 83 l ives being lost.The stations are equipped w ith the very best appl iances

that modern enginee ring science can produce. Yet in spite ofthese and other sundry precautionary measures the Metropol issti l l suffers from disastrous outbreaks o f fi re.I n another Chapter w e shal l endeavour to recal l a few of

the many disastrous conflagrations that have, at one periodor another, w rought havoc, destruction, and death to manycitizens o f London .

204

RURAL CONDITIONS I N THE HOME COUNTIES.

parishes the taxpayers attributed their poverty to a varietyo f causes.I n Harmondsworth and Littleton they comp lained o f the

sandy nature o f the soi l , apparently w i th considerable justice,since in the latter parish a large amount o f land was not considered worth ti l lage unti l qu ite modern times. I n additionthey had suffered from a hot and dry summer

, which had“ burnt up and destroyed such crops as they had grow n.

The poverty o f Littleton also, and o f Shepperton , was statedto be so great that the parishioners cou ld not even sow theirlands . At Sunbu ry, too , the inhabitants were so poor that thegreater part o f their land lay fal low , while on account o f “ thetoo heavy taxation they had been obl iged to sel l most o ftheir sheep . Kensington also, though paying a fairly hightax

,had more than 428 acres o f arable uncultivated . The

church o f this parish appears to have been w el l endowed,s ince

the Rector had,be sides money-rents

,more than 400 acres o f

arable land and 9 o f meadow ,whi le the Vicar had 1 2 acres o f 1mm,

arable and the ninth part o f the hay o f the parish.

Hackney must have presented a very rural aspect in thosedays

,and evidently consisted chiefly o f meadow - land

,since

the ninth part only o f the hay was worth £ 1 3 6s. 8d .,more

than double that in the riverside parish o f Fulham .

Of Edmonton w e may remark that in this Plantagenetsurvey it retains its Domesday name o f Edelme ton ,

and alsorecal l the fact that at Bush Hi l l are— o r were lately— theremains o f an ancient B ritish camp ; al l which serves to pointout Edmonton as an ancient habitation and name. I n thereturns fo r I sleworth and Tw ickenham

,Queen Phil ippa is

mentioned as a landowner ; being probably lady o f the manoror manors in these parishes ; they w ere sti l l royal manorswhen Henry V founded the magnificent monastery o f S ion atthe last-named place in 14 14, which scarcely tw enty yearslater was removed to the former

,and after the Dissolution

was granted to the Protector Somerset, when it became thecelebrated S ion House.

So much fo r Middlesex as regards the parishes assessed inthis survey

,which

,as a matter o f fact

,do not number more

than 64.

I n Essex, on the other hand, the I nquisitions included 3 53parishes, but there remains on record l ittle more than meremoney matters and the names o f the three

,five

,or more

206

RURAL COND IT IONS I N THE HOME COUNTIES .

parish ioners who composed the jury examined in each case.

But enough exists to show that agricultu re was in anythingbut a flourishing state in that county, since in all but 2 2

parishes the taxable value was much below (by a half, a third ,or a quarter) what it was at the time o f Pope N icholas

’

s valor

about fifty years before.

The most profitable parish to the Exchequer shou ld havebeen W i tham

,whose valor was over £54, but the jurors

returned the “ ninths at on ly £26. I t i s a place o f greatantiqu ity

,i dentified by some w i th Canonium,

the Romanstation o f Antoninus. I n confi rmation o f this (at least asregards period) the numerous coins o f various emperors foundhere may be adduced

,as wel l as the ti le- l ike bricks in the

church w al l s ; the remains o f a more or less c ircu lar camp,w ith double val lum

,existing in the neighbourhood

,perhaps

,

points to a sti l l earl ier time, though local tradition attributesi t to Edward the Elder

,who

,as the Saxon Chronicle says ,

bu i lt the burh at Witham .

”

Of l i ttle less nominal value was Havering, yet its ninthsyielded no more than £16. Here one o f the jury examinedwas a certai n John atte Hatche , a name serving to recal l theexistence here o f the royal park o f Have rynge

-atte-Bourne.

For a hatch was a pecu l iar kind o f forest or park gate, thelower portion

,o f a form similar to an ordinary five -barred

gate,being surmounted by a super-structure designed to pre

vent the deer from overleaping the barrier. Doubtless Johnatte Hatche

,together w i th John le Parker, another juror here,

were concerned in carrying out a royal order addressed , in thesame year o f these Inquisitors

,to the Sheriff o f the county,

directing him to “ cause to be fel led twenty large oaks in theKing’s park o f Have rynge ,

” the timber be ing requ ired fo r

certain structures in the Tower o f London ; poss ibly, interalia

,fo r repai ring or strengthening the cages o f the w i ld

be asts kept there. At this period a certain Roger le Bowyerwas keeper o f the l ions and leopards ” in the Tower, re ce iving 3s. 1d . a day ,

namely,I s. fo r his w ages and 2s. 1d . fo r pro

viding the food fo r the l ions and leopards .Fifteen years later the Queen granted and the King con

firmed,the manor o fHavering to Nicholas and AliceTalewo rth

to be held by the yearly payment o f a pai r o f hare- skin bootsand assisting in maintain ing the pales o f the park .

As fo r the or more personal names preserved in theserecords of past Essex they Show the large proportion o f sur

207

RURAL CONDIT IONS I N THE HOME COUNTIES.

names which have been derived not only from places but frommere s ituations. For instance, on one page alone there areeight Show ing such an origin , as atte Bregge , atte More, atteMershe , atte B rooke, atte Ponde, atte Felde , atte Parke, andatte Hel le

,the latter name casting no reflection upon its

owner, or upon Essex, the w ord merely meaning Hal l .” Be

sides these there are atte Holte (a l ittle wood), atte Chirche ,atte Gate, atte Tye (a common) , and many others S imi lar.More uncommon is Richard Licthewatre

, whi le Thomas deRankdiche

’

s name seems to suggest indifference to scouringhis ditch

,

” a very frequent cause o f amercement at the localcourts in the Middle Ages .

The records fo r Hertfordshire preserve many detail s of rurall ife and circumstance not w ithout interest fo r us to-day.

Herein , as in Essex, agricu l tu re was i n a depressed state, andin all but ten parishes under survey a great part o f the arableland lay fal low .

” I n B ishop ’s Hatfield such crops as grew tomaturity were stated to be o f poor quality.

” Here the B ishopso f Ely had a palace

,which afterwards came into the hands o f

Henry VI I I,the parish having been a royal demesne in

ancient times ; and here Queen Elizabeth passed some yearso f her l ife in an easy but secure captivi ty

,the bounds o f her

wanderings, accord ing to tradition , being defined by an oaktree sti l l existing in the park.

S imi lar agricu ltural advers ity oppressed Ware, Braughing,

The rfield,and Barkway, w i th the additional drawback that

the wool and lambs in these parishes w ere i ncluded amongthe things depreciated in amount and value. The two latterplaces, together w ith Bockland and B irley, appear to havebeen particu larly affl icted during the Plantagenet era

,fo r a

Close Rol l o f thirty years earl ier records that the men o f thevil ls o f Th irfeld , Be rkwey ,

Bocland and Birlee had the wholeo f their crops destroyed by a great storm .

” Later on in theages , i n Queen Elizabeth’s reign , additional adversity befel lBarkway, a great fi re almost entirely consuming it ; a disasterwhich recurred in the middle o f the eighteenth century.

B raughing,much minished doubtless from the days when

it was demesne o f the Saxon kings, i s in two respects l ikeEdmonton

,being traditional ly o f Roman origin , and l ikew ise

possessed o f the remains o f a camp ; in thi s instance morel ikely the make o f the conquerors of the old world , s ince iti s quadri lateral in form . Here, i n the year o f these I nquisi

208

CHERITON CHURCH AND THE VIC IN ITY.

a whole w eek on 7 s. 95d ! Undaunted by a fi rst fai lure wefind him in 1 8 57 as a Gas Coal Merchant in Hatton Garden

,

to this in 1 8 5 8 ( the year he married) he added Manufacturero f Locomotive Coke ” and i s s imilarly described unti l 1 866.

But in 1860 he had transferred his business to the Good sStation o f the Great Northern Rai lway at King ’s Cross. Thatabil ity and assidu ity had enabled him qu ickly to master hisbusiness was Show n as early as 1 862 by the production of apamphlet on the Export and I nland Coal Trade, and hisrapid advance in fortune appears in his being able to incurthe expenses o f a Parl iamentary Election in October, 1 865 .

His candidature, however, was not successful . The Times o f

January 3 1 , and of February 8 , 10, and 1 2,1 868

,contains long

letters w ritten from Sheffield , show ing that he had devotedconsiderable time to the study o f the consumption o f coal i nthe iron-smelting w orks o fYorkshire, Lancashire, Staffordshi reand parts of France and Belgium .

I n 1867 he had taken up his residence at Whiteley WoodHal l

, Sheffield , and thus resumed connection w ith the placewhere his career had commenced. But i t was to Derby thathe again appl ied fo r a seat in Parl iament , and in December1 868 that constituency elected him as Liberal member by amajority o f Sheffield appears to have been continuedas his residence unti l 1 87 2 , though in 1 870 (only) he had alsoas his address 9 , Harrington Square, London , N.W.

,in 187 3

1 876 he is located by the Directory in Victoria S treet , Westminster

,and in 1 87 7 at 28 , Park Lane.

His experience in the coal trade had brought to his knowledge the corrupt practices o fmerchant-shippers and insu ranceagents in sending to sea unseaworthy and overladen vessels

,

regardless o f peri l to the crew s. The danger o f the sai lor’sl ife had also been indel ibly impressed on his mind by hisown participation in it at a t ime, when during a terrible stormthe vessel was nearly lost in which he w ith his w ife w erevoyaging. There

,in the supreme moment o f danger

,he vowed

that if his l ife were spared he wou ld devote it to the saving ofl i fe at sea. The incident was related to an enthusiastic meetingin Exeter Hal l in the fu rtherance o f th is cause.During his fi rst session in Parl iament— that o f 1 869— he

spoke in several debates , but i t was not ti l l his second session ,1 870, that , on Ju ly 28, he introduced a resolu tion advertingto the great loss o f l ife and property at sea ow ing to the overloading o f ships, for prevention o f which a compu l sory fixed

2 10

CHERITON CHURCH AND THE VICIN ITY.

final decision . I n March , 1 874, supported by Mr. Roebuck ,Mr. Samuda,

and two other Members , he brought in a B i l lto provide fo r the practical survey o f merchant ships and fo rso marking ships as to diminish the p ractice o f overloading.

He had many sympathis ing supporters , the House was nearlyequal ly divided , b ut by a majori ty of three (Ayes 1 70— Noes1 7 3 ) the B i l l was lost .The narrowness o f the defeat no doubt inspired him to

further efforts , and again i n February, 1 87 5 , he, w ith the samesupporters , was ready w ith another B i l l . But the Governmento f Disrael i , carried by the force o f publ ic Opin ion

, was al soprepared w i th a measure. This was supported by Pl imsol l

,

though not entirely to his satisfaction , fo r again he had toinsist on the al l important point— the fixing o f a maximumload- l ine. But agai n disappointment befel l h im

,for after

several debates the B i l l was w i thdrawn .

This blow was too heavy for Pl imsol l . During s ix years i nParl iament he had given all his energy to obtain legislationagainst flagrant abuses acknow ledged on al l s ides to exist.Year after year he had suffered defeat w i th patience— in thepreceding year by a majori ty o f three on ly— and yet againwas the measure o f reform to be repulsed by those whosepersonal i nterests it affected. I t is not wonderfu l that he thenin keen disappointment and indignation lost self- control .Greatly excited

,he moved the adjournment o f the House and

then implored Ministers not to consign thousands o f humanbeings to miserable death . Ships passed from hand to handunti l bought by some needy and reckless specu lators whosent them to sea w i th p recious human l ives w ives w eremade w idow s and ch i ldren orphans in order that Specu lativescoundrels might make unhal lowed gains there wereshipowners who w ere S imply ship knackers , he had heard aMember o f the House thus described ; here there were shoutso f “ Order, b ut he proceeded , “ I am determined to unmaskthe vi l lains . The Speaker intervening, presumed that theexpression “ Vil lains ” did not app ly to any Member o f theHouse, b ut Pl imsol l affi rmed that i t did , and refused to w i thdraw it. The Prime Minister, Disrael i , w i th great reluctance ”

moved that the hon . Member for Derby,fo r his d isorderly

conduct be reprimanded in his place. The Speaker ru led thathe should be heard from his place, and then w i thdraw , butPl imsol l , w ithout claiming to be heard , w alked out o f theHouse, yet once turning he exclaimed, Do you know that

2 1 2

CHERITON CHURCH AND THE VICIN ITY.

thousands are dying for this ? ” 1 Further discussion on thematter was postponed for a week

,i n order that the Hon.

Member having recovered composure might then make hisapology. I n a week ’s time he again took his place in theHouse, and making frank and ample apology for the expressions he had used

,he w ithdrew them

,but any statement o f

fact advanced he was unable to withdraw . The perfectlycourteous and deferential Speech was favourably received, and ,notw ithstanding the reservation o f fact, Disrael i expressed thegeneral feel ing o f the House that the apology was sufficient.The incident was thus dismissed

,but not so the subj ect which

had raised the storm ; publ ic indignation had been roused , andthe shrew d head o f the Government saw that to al lay i t ameasure must at once he brought forward. Even the day beforethe apology was made an Unseaworthy Ships B i l l was readfor the first time

,and being hurried through allits stages received

the Royal Assent a fortnight after its introduction. This wasan interim B i l l

,to serve fo r one year only

,and unti l a more

complete measure should be brought forward next session ; i tgave to the Board of Trade more rapid and direct action incarrying out the provisions o f previous Acts.For the session o f 187 6 Pl imsol l was ready with another

Bi l l , which having been read a fi rst t ime was dropped to giveplace to the promised Government measure. This occupiedthe House more than three months . I t d id not satisfy ourMember

,who proposed an Amendment and had much to say

on the subject ; but he got h is “ load- l ine.” I t was enactedthat every B ritish merchant ship Shou ld Show on each S ideamidships a horizontal l ine twelve inches long— white on blackorblack on white— indicating the deck-level,and also a horizontal l ine eighteen inches long drawn through a circu lar disctwelve inches diameter Show ing the level to which the ow nerintended to load the ship for the voyage. This was the loadline ” for which Pl imsol l had long contended

,though not based

on the proportions he had recommended . The marking wasSimply left to the discretion of the Ship-owner or master, subjectto the approval of the Board o f Trade I nspector ; the declaration o f distance between deck- l ine and load - l ine had

,

however, not only to be official ly stated , but also set down inall agreements between master and crew. For neglect to markthe load- l ine

,or for overloading

,the penalty was £100.

He i s said by Sir Henry Lucy, in D iary of Two Parliaments, to haveshaken h is fist at the Prime M ini ster, but it i s not so reporte d in Hansard.XIII 2 13 Q

CHERITON CHURCH AND THE VIC IN ITY.

Thus after seven years o f persevering effort “ The Sai lors ’

Friend ”had achieved his aim .

“ He had left his mark onevery B ritish Ship ”

(The Times).He sat in fou r sessions of Parl iament after w inning the load

l ine,and in the Hansard reports are his inqu iries in specific

cases of loss o f ships , and occasional speeches on kindredsubjects. I n his last session , February— March , 1880,

he introduced a B i l l to amend former Merchant Shipping Actsrelating to stowage o f grain cargoes . On this a Select Comm ittee o f I nquiry was appointed. His last speech , on thesubject o f Parliamentary Elections , was on March 17 , a weekbefore the dissolution .

I n the election o f Apri l , 1 880,he was again returned by his

Derby constituency,and w i th a handsome majori ty o f

seven w eeks later he resigned his seat in order that SirWi l l iam Harcourt (who had been ousted at Oxford) mighttake it. His constituents at Derby were much opposed to hisretirement

,and

,as he said in his final speech to them

,he had

found it much harder to get out of his seat than many a manfinds it to get into one.Wi thin three months after his resignation he had no less

than thirty invitations from constituencies in al l parts o f thecountry. Yet although he had spoken of his return to Parl iament as not improbable

,he seems to have been at this time

bent on travel,and so decl ined the seats offered to him . He

went to the United S tates (several vis its), Canada, Bermuda ,Austral ia

,and Ind ia. That he w ent to Austral ia soon after

obtain ing l iberty o f action appears i n the announcement o fhis return from B risbane in November

, 1 882 . There also hepleaded the cause o f the sai lor

,and his efforts received a

handsome recognition in Apri l,1 883 , when he was presented

w i th a model in S i lver of a ship that had been named afterhim The Samuel Pl imsol l ,

” to which was attached a miniaturel ife-buoy

,bearing the dedication : “ Presented to Samuel

P l imsol l,Esq ., by the Seamen o f New South Wales, in re

cognition o f his disinterested and valuable services to theSeamen o f the World .

”

But his attention was not enti rely d irected to the interestso f the sai lor ; from time to time he was occupied in otherpractical enterprises . Thus in January, 1 884, he was considering the p racticabil ity o f a fish export from India

,and in

furtherance o f this object he obtained faci l i ties from theI ndian Government previous to a vis it to Madras. In Sept

2 14

CHERITON CHURCH AND THE VIC IN ITY.

England,and attributed it not a l ittle to the school -books

used in the United States, which reflected the resentmentcaused by the part taken in th i s country duri ng the war

between North and Sou th . Wi th his usual energy, he set himself to dispel thi s misunderstanding by col lecting from fiftytwo English school-books their references to America

,in

which no trace o f i l l-feel ing was found . And w ith thesecol lected extracts he

,i n company w i th his w ife, crossed the

Atlantic,sought the Minister o f Education at Washington

,

and laid the matter before him ,so clearly and forcibly

,that

he gained the Minister’s entire sympathy, w ith the result thatin the next Educational Repo rt thirty pages were devoted tothe extracts furn ished by Plimsol l.Returned to Folkestone

,the health of the strenuous humani

tarian decl ined,and the fai lure o f eyesight affl icted him . I n

the last two years o f his l ife the tal l , bent form ,l ean ing on his

W ife’s arm as he w alked,was seen at times on the Leas ; by

and-by perhaps the p leasant gardens at the rear o f his housesufficed fo r airing. He had been almost forgotten when

,on

the morning o f Friday,June 3 , 1 898, i t was told that he had

passed away. On the next Tuesday his body was laid inCheriton Churchyard ; his w idow and two l i ttle daughters( the elder only twelve years old) w ere there, and other membersof his fami ly ; also representatives o f the B riti sh and ForeignSai lors ’ Society, the Deep Sea Fishermen , the London CityMissions

,and a large contingent o f seamen o f al l grades in the

employment o f the South-Eastem Marine Service. And,

S ignificant o f his w ide Christian sympathies,prayers were

offered by both Angl ican and Congregational ministers . Thegrave

,a few yards o ff the north S ide of St. Martin ’s chancel ,

faces eastward ; but turning a l ittle towards the south onelooks down the fair val ley

, w i th the sea in the distant view .

So , ending as we began,i t may be said once more of “ the

Sai lors ’ Friend that : After l ife’s fitful fever he sleeps wel l.”

Mr. Pl imsoll was tw ice married . By his fi rst w ife— whomhe had the misfortune to lose in Austral ia

,i n 1 882— he had no

chi ldren. Of his second marriage in 1885 there were the twodaughters above-mentioned

,and one son , Samuel Richard

Cobden Pl imsol l, graduate ofBall io l Col lege, Oxford , and nowo f the Inner Temple.

2 16

THE NORTHMEN IN THE THAMES.

BY ALEX. J . PHILIP.

ROM the departure of the Romans (or at leas t from thetime of thei r ofli cial or nominal departure from ourcoasts) to the Norman Conquest, i t wou ld be d ifli cult

i f not impossible to find any period in the history o f Gravesendand its surroundings

,or

,in fact

,o f any tow n on the southern

bank o f the river,so barren o f rel ics and historical and topo

graphical remains . Apart from Saxon cemeteries and thescanty remains o f pre-Conquest architecture

,much the same

may be said regarding the rest o f the country in general,most

certainly i n regard to Kent,but in the Gravesend district

there have been very few discoveries o f this kind. The mostvaluable evidence

,such as i t is , i s to be found in the nomen

clature . Even this i s not so valuable as it might be elsewhere,because there is not enough of it. For a long time deneholes or Dane-holes w ere regarded as valuable data to ourknow ledge o f the Northern invasion

,but , as I have previously

pointed out, the name is not traceable in any way to theinvaders.Undoubtedly a considerable amount of destruction fol lowed

the Anglo-Saxons and other invaders during the six hundredyears that elapsed from the end of the Roman occupation tothe Norman Conquest. Gravesend and its surroundings , as Ihave already shown

,occupied a position o f considerable im

portance in Roman times,and many houses

,farms

,and

other bu i ldings must have been demolished during this predatory period . Perhaps the most representative o f these wasthe “ vil la discovered some two years ago atNo rthflee t, on the ,

banks o f the Ebbs . Whether or not w e accept the fu lsome,

glow ing account o f Dunkin as to the grandeur and importanceo f the Romans and their res idences on the banks o f this stream

,

or arm o f the Thames, w e have here incontrovertible evidenceo f the existence o f one large bui lding ; and I think there is nodoubt that

, w ith the extension o f the excavations fo r chalkand clay

,others equal ly fine w i l l be found .

This Roman bu i lding, which may or may not have beendestroyed or devastated by the Northmen , has been describedas a vi l la. While it partakes of some o f the characteristics of

2 17

THE NORTHMEN IN THE THAMES.

a purely residential dwel l ing, i t appears as though it wou ld bebetter described as a farm . A large part o f the vi l la has beenuncovered suffi ciently to Show the existence o f sti l l olderfoundations be neath , but i t is not poss ible to publ ish at thiss tage any fu l l and correct survey. The bu i ld ings seem tohave been o f a rather straggling nature. The “ finds ” weresomewhat in the nature o f s ingle and i solated d iscoveries , asfo r instance a quantity o f ti les

,a portion o f a pavement

,some

glass,and

,not by any means least, a large ki ln . The w el l ,

too,i s o f considerable interest ; but everything found seems

to resemble more the useful artic les o f a farm,rather than the

fine and beautiful things to be found in the residence o f aweal thy Roman.

Whatever the material condition o f this Roman res ident orhis neighbours may have been , there is nothing here either tosupport or discredit the theory that the Angles descended andbrushed aw ay the Romans and thei r beautifu l city that stoodon the banks o f the Ebbs. On the other hand the situation ofGravesend

,on one o f the most access ible spots on the river,

w ith considerable natural advantages,must have appealed

strongly to the invading tribes.Any detai led picture drawn of Gravesend during this these

Six centuries must be largely the resu lt of fancy and imagination . The general ly accepted theory is that the district wasthe centre o f the storm

,the war storm ,

that is, o f the south

eastern distric t. The district i s supposed to have been sacked,

devastated,and utterly destroyed

,so far as the Roman and

Romano-British bu i ld ings are concerned , and the people l ivingthere dispersed or annihi lated. After sweeping over the richKentish slopes

,the Angles

,who undoubtedly predominated ,

are supposed to have made their head-quarters on the streamor arm o f the Thames at No rthflee t, which w e have alreadyreferred to at some length as the Ebbs . The conjectural bu rning o f the town is suggested to have occurred very soon afterthe leaving o f the Romans

,al though the waterw ay i tself is

thought not to have disappeared unti l after the Norman Conquest, and this event is generally understood to have been theresu l t o f intention and manual labour

,rather than the effect

o f perfectly natural causes.The material upon which th is story o f th e burnt Roman

town has be en bui lt is o f the scantiest,and may be said to be

non-existent unti l abo ut the n inth century. Let us examinethe remain ing data.

2 18

THE NORTHMEN IN THE THAMES.

distance,and throw no l ight on the condition o f Gravese nd

during these dark centuries.Discoveries o f more or less moment have been made in the

district i tself. I n the early years o f the last century a buriedhoard o f Saxon coins, 5 5 2 i n number, was found in PelhamRoad

,a thoroughfare probably o f more importance long ago

than now ,together w i th a Saxon cross o f s i lver. The dates

o f the coins ranged from 8 14 to almost the end of the ninthcentu ry

,pointing clearly to the pe riod o f thei r deposi t. So

late a date o f course throw s no l ight on the fifth , s ixth, seventh ,and eighth centuries of the Saxon occupation , using thegeneric word “ Saxon ” to cover the miscel laneous invasionsof the Jutes

,the Angles

,the Danes

,etc.

This cross, found in 1 838 , now i n the B ri tish Museum , isdescribed as having a loo p at the top

,for suspension ; a glass

dome, part o f a bead , in the centre, w i th blue and white markings in a gold mount o f rope pattern . There are inte rlacingsat the extremities

,and in this instance they seem to be mere

Sketches , roughly executed w ith a sharp-pointed instrument,

perhaps w ith a view to fi l igree ornament .The coins found were o f the fol low ing kings, etcLou is o f France

, Coolno th , Archbishop o f Canterbu ry,Ethelwulf

,Burgred o f Mercia

,Ethe lweard of East Angl ia

,

Edmund o f the same , Ethelred , Alfred , Ceolwulf I I o f Mercia,and Athelstan I o f East Angl ia.

I t w i l l be as wel l here to describe Shortly the invasion ofthe county.

The traditional date o f the landing o f the Jutes— the fi rstcomers— i s 449 ; they landed in Thanet and overran thecounty and the coast l ine

,or river bank

,as far as London ;

taking in Gravesend on the way .

The references to Kent in the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle,which i s the Chief authori ty fo r the history o f the period

,are

mostly records o f pi l lage and destruction,ravage and murder,

one o f the worst o f which was the incursion o f O laf describedin the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle

In this year (994) came Amlaf and Swegen to London, onthe Nativi ty of St. Mary [Sept 8] w ith ninety-four ships, andthey were obstinately fighting against the town, and wouldalso have set i t on fire. But they there sustained more harmand evil than they ever weened that any townsmen could doto them. For the Holy Mother o f God, on that day, manifested her mercy to the townsmen, and delivered them from

220

lllolllerdl

THE NORTHMEN IN THE THAMES.

their foes. And they then went thence, and wrought thegreatest evi l that ever any army could do

,in burning, and

harrying, and in manslayings, both by the sea coast, amongthe East-Saxons, and in Kentland and among the SouthSaxons and in Hampshire.

Gravesend borrow s some lustre from Rochester in theseearly days . Cl iffe

,some distance away, was the scene of the

Ecclesiastical Synods . The appl ication o f Cliffe is given asCloves , Hoo . Cool ing , or Cow l ing, sti l l farther o ff i n the samedirection

,is mentioned in a charter o f the year 808

,and may

have been a place o f some importance in the later Saxonperiod. I t i s in Meopham ,

however, that the chief interest ofthe district is centred in these years.There we have the valuable evidence afforded by the w i l l of

By rhtric and Aelfsw ith , his w ife, by which Denton was givento the Priory of St. Andrew , Rochester.’

This is the last testament of Byrhtric and Aelfswith hiswife, at Meopham,

with the witness of their kinsmen. Firstto his royal lord one torque of 80 mancuses of gold and onehand seax o f as much, and four horses, two caparisoned, andtwo belted swords, and two hawks, and all his tall deerhoundsand to the lady one torque of 3 0 mancuses of gold, and onesteed

,for her mediation with the king that the will might

stand . And for his sou l and his parents’ souls, two sulings

at Denton to St. Andrew ’s ; and She , for her Soul and herparents

’ souls,two at Longfield, and thereto, for her 30 man

cuses of gold, and one neck-torque o f 40 mancuses, and onesilver Cup , and half a golden band ; and every year, at theircommemoration, provision for two days from Hazleholt, and

for two days from Wateringbury, and for two days fromB irling, and for two days from Harrietsham . And to Christchurch 60 mancuses of gold, 30 to the B ishop and 30 to theConvent ; and one neck-torque o f 80 mancuses, and two

silver cups, and the land atMeopham. And to St. Augustine’s

30 mancuses of gold, and two silver cups, and half a goldenband . And to Byrhtwarn, the land at Darenth for her day ;and after her day, to St. Andrew

’s, for us (two) and our

parents . And B irl ing toWulfeh and let him give 1 000 penceto St. Andrew’s for us and our parents. And to Wulfsige ,Wothringbury, within that generation. And to Sired, Hazelholt

, within that generation . And to Wulfeh, and Aelfeh hisbrother

,Harrietsham

,within that generation, to Wulfeh the

inland, and Aelfeh the out land . And to Wu lfstan Ucca,See Denton, by G . M . Arno l d.

22 1

THE NORTHMEN IN THE THAMES .

Wolcnesstede,w i thin that generation ; and one hand-seax of

three pounds. And the ten hides at Stratton to the monasteryat Wolcnesstede . And the land at Fawkham,

after Byrhtwarn’s day, to St. Andrew’s

,for Aelfric, her lord and his

parents, according to their testament. And Bromley, afterByrhtwam

’

s day, to St.Andrew’s, asAelfric her lord bequeathed

i t, for him and his parents. And Snod land also to St. Andrew’s,

after her day, as Aelfere , Aelfric’s father, bequeathed i t, and

he afterwards, wi th the wi tness o f Eadgifu the lady, and

Archbishop Oda, and Aelfeh, Aefstan’

s son, and Aelfric hisbrother

,and Aelfnoth P il ia, and Godw ine of Fe tcham

,and

Aedric of HOO, and Aelfsi the priest at Croydon. And toWulfstan 60 mancuses of gold, to distribute for us (two ) andour parents ; and another such to Wulfsige to distribute ; andbe i t between them and God if they do i t not . And toWulfsige , Tydiceseg, and the charters, w ithin that generation ;and two spurs of three pounds. I , Byrtric , b eg for the love o fGod, of my most dear Lord (the king), that this our gift mayremain inviolate, nor any one be perm i tted to violate i t. Likewise we b eg and entreat all the friends of God that they beour supporters in this, and may any who presume to violatei t receive from our Lord Christ, Himself the Judge, everlast ing condemnation ! And may they who preserve i t inviolatereap the mercy of God.

The foregoing provides admirable i l lustration o f the surrounding country

,but throw s no l ight upon the S i te o f the

present Gravesend . I t tends to prove,however

,that this part

o f the country was w el l to the forefront in civi l ization as ithad always been . So large a circle of holdings o f land wouldbe incompatible w i th bad roads or bridle-paths, through adesolate w i lderness .

THE RECORDS OF ST. MARTIN ’

S,LUDGATE

,Part V .

BY HENRY R. PLOMER.

[Continued from p .

HE most momentous event in the history o f the Churcho f England in El izabeth ’s reign

,was the birth o f Puritan

ism,the outward and visible S ign o f which was the fierce

attack o f the Mart inists upon the hierarchy of the Church.222

THE RECORDS OF ST. MARTIN ’

S , LUDGATE .

the north s ide o fThames Street , and the farthermost Eastwardo f the parish of St . Magnus the Marty r ; and the 6th housefrom the corner of Gracechurch S treet. The passage o f theHoope Taverne goeth under the said house.

— Anno Dom :

1 7 1 1 [fos. 109Another benefactor to the church was Ralph B rooke

,the

herald,a parishioner

, who on December 24, 16 12 , presented avery handsome pu lp it-cushion o f crimson velvet, w i th tassel so f gold , and also the escutcheon o f the arms o f the latelydeceased Hen ry, Prince o fWales [fo .

I n 16 1 2 a B ible o f the new translation was given by JoyceCooke

, w idow o f Thomas Cooke, o f her zealous and rel igiousdevotion to the honor and service of God [fo . 10 1

Dr . Theodore Gulston , a noted physician and student o fAristotle

,d ied at h is house on Ludgate Hi l l May 4, 1632 .

By his w i l l he left £200 to the Col lege of Physicians to founda lectureship to be held in each year by one o f the four youngest doctors of the col lege. The lectures have been annual lydel ivered since 1639 to the great advantage o f medicine inEngland. He also left a sum of £40 for the rel ief o f the pooro f the parish o f S t. Mart in ’s

,and the vestry drew this legacy

from a house and Shop on Ludgate Hi l l , know n by the S igno f the Flying Horse [fo s. 1 2 5 ,During this period the Rectory was held by two men of

some distinction . I n 16 14 the Rev. Samuel Purchas,author

of P urchas his P ilg rimag e and Hahluy tus P osthumus or

P urchas his P ilg r imes,was appointed chaplain to the Arch

bishop o fCanterbury,and Rector o fSt. Martin ’s. His S ignature

appears in these records for the fi rst t ime on Apri l 16,161 5 ,

to the fol low ing characteristic entry :

At a general l Vestrie then holden it was agreed that fromhenceforth none shalbe chosen to be collectors for the pooreor Churchwardens in this parish (except upon some extraordinary occasion for the general l good) which cannot write and

be able to keep their booke themselves [fo .

He remai ned Rector unti l his death i n 1626,during which

time his P ilg rimag e went through no less than four editions ,a suffi cient testimony to the value of his labours and theOpinion formed o f them by his contemporaries .He was succeeded by Dr . Michael Jermyn , the son of

Alexander Jermyn,merchant and Sheriff o f Exeter. He was

fo r a time chap lain to Princess El izabeth, Electress Palatine,224

THE RECORDS OF ST. MARTIN ’

S ,LUDGATE .

and afterwards to Charles I . He became Rector o fS t. Mart in ’sbefore August 1 1

,1627 , not 1628

,as stated in the D . IV. B .

His chief l iterary works w ere commentaries on the book o f

Proverbs and Ecclesiastes,publ ished i n the years 1638 and

1639. During his term as Rector the fol low ing entry show show lax the Church authorities o f St. Martin ’s had be come inthe matter o f thei r registers :

Alsoe att the same Vestry [Nov. 14, 1 629] it was agreedthat all the mariages, christenings and burialls which hath notbine fairlie wri tten and entered into the parchment booke thisvjyeares, should out of hand be done, and that Mr. Needham ,

upper churchwarden, should pay for the ingrosinge of thesame.

Betw een 1630 and 1643 the entries are few and o f l i ttleinterest. After 1640 the Puritan movement began to makeitself felt in this as in other parishes throughout the City

,and

i t cu lminated in the dismissa l o f Dr. Jermyn . The records donot tel l us the cause o f his dismissal

,but on November 9, 1643 ,

a committee was appointed to make choice o f an able d ivineto supply the cure o f this parish in the rome o f Doctor Je rm in ,

who was lately voted from this place [fo .

The persons chosen to form this committee were probablythe chief malcontents ; they were Dr. John Clerk , Dr. She ffe ,Mr. Hobson , Captain Walter Lee, Mr. Whatman , Mr. Jeston ,

and Richard Roche,representing the parish ioners w i thin the

gate, and Mr. Glover , Thomas Arnold , Matthew Fox,Mr.

Looker,Mr. Taylor

,Mr. Bachelor, and Mr. Peter Johnson ,

representing those w ithout the gate.

To this entry there has be en added in another and a laterhand the fol low ing couplet :

Jermyn depriv’d because he dar’d to keep

The Fox and wolfe from preying on the sheep .

The person chosen to replace Dr. Jermyn was a Mr. Gowreor Gower

, who held the post unti l 1648 . During this time theVestry was very active in the discharge o f i ts duties , and itsofficers kept the records w ith careful m inuteness . Thus in1643 , while Richard Roche was churchwarden , he made anindex to the “ materiall matters ” contained in this volume

,

and also a l ist o f the money due to the Churchwardens fromvarious sou rces [fos. 34I n May

,1644, a Child was left “ i n the passage through the

225

THE RECORDS OF ST. MART IN ’

S , LUDGATE.

dogge tavern it was christened , and named Marie Martin ,and arrangements were made for its maintenance [fo .

I n June o f the same year money was levied on the basis ofa two years ’ rate from the parishioners for the rel ief o f Glou

cester, Hereford , and other associated counties.The next interesting entry is that o f June 29 , 1645 , when the

Vestry unanimously agreed that the O rdinance o f Parl iamenttouching the Presb ite rian Government, should goe forwardand be put in execution [fo . The same hand that w rotethe couplet on Jermyn ’s dismissal , adds to this entry a slashingcommentary

IMPIOUs ERROR

Thus did mad peop le void of feare and grace,Besiege the churche and storme the sacred place.

Who ’s this that comes from Egypt with a storyOf a new pamphlett call

’d a direc tory ?

His Cloke is something short, his looks demure,His heart is rotten and his thoughts impure.In this our land this Scottish hell-hatch ’d bratLike Pharoah’s lean kine w il l devour the fatt.Lord

,suffer not thy tender Vine to bleed !

Cal l home thy shepherds which thy lambs may feed !

The names o f the vestrymen who were present on this occasion are not recorded , but those whose names appear shortlybefore and shortly after, and who took an active part in parishaffairs at that time, w ere Thomas Arnold

, Wi l l iam Hobson ,Matthew Fox, Wi l l iam J eston , I saac Sw ift, Henry Dermer,Wi l l iam Audley, Joseph Batcheler, ArthurWhatman

,Thomas

Lock,Thomas Boteler, Symon Burburie , Thomas Jole, Peter

Johnson , Mark B radley, Capt. Walter Lee, John Smyth ,Richard Col lett and John B rowne.The imperfect state o f the parish register was again before

the Vestry in 1647 , and on January 6 i t was ordered

That Mr. Jeston and Mr. Sm ith within the Gate, and Mr.Fox and Mr. Batcheler wi thou t, should peruse the RegisterBook for the Christenings, burialls and weddings, to perfect thesame (if they and Mr. Fox, the Clarke, required to beverie carefull in the entringe of the same

,during his continu

ance as parish Clarke [fo .

A momentous reservation.

226

THE RECORDS OF ST. MART IN ’

S , LUDGATE .

Whereupon the Royal ist verse-monger chantedThe heire ’

s Slaine , the vineyard ’s now your own,

But would you the creation cause to moane ,Why trouble you Religion

’s sacred stream,

And tare Christ’s coate, which had no rent or seame?

Thomas Jacombe or Je comb e was the son o f John Jacomb eo f Burton Lazars , near Melton Mowbray, Leicestershire. He

matricu lated at Magdalen Hal l , Oxford , in Easter Term ,1640,

b ut when the Civi l War broke o ut he removed to S t. John ’sCol lege

,Cambridge

, where he graduated B A . in 1643 . He

shortly afterwards s igned the Covenant, and became a Fel lowo f Trin ity in the place o f an ejected Royal ist. I n 1647 hewas appointed chaplain to the Countess Dowager o f Exeter(D .N. He was a man o f qu iet spiri t and moderate view s ,a pleasant preacher —if w e may bel ieve Pepys

, who heardhim more than once— and a book lover. He was expected topreach tw i ce every Lord’s Day ,

and to administer the Sacraments in due course ; in return the Vestry undertook to gatherthe ti thes quarterly

,so that he might not have any anxiety as

to the payment o f his stipend .

This appointment drew from the commentator anothercouplet

Thus in the Temple, every saucy JackOpens his Shop and shews his Pedlar’s pack.

Among the alterations carried out i n the Church in accordance w ith the preva i l ing spi ri t o f the times

,was the moving o f

the pulpit and reading desk , which was done in 1650 ; thisbrought out the rhymer’s last effort :

The fifth Commandment did their souls so gall,They mov’d their Canting-tub to hide ’

em all.

I have tried to identify the w ri ting o f these Scraps of versebut w ithout much success ; i t seems to resemble most nearlythat o fRichard Roche

,who was churchwarden more than once.

Between 1650 and 1660 the entries only fi l l s ix pages o fthis book

,and four o f these are occupied w ith the text o f an

agreement dated June 14, 1658 , between the Minister andChurchwardens on one part and Parthenia Lowman o f theparish o f St. B ride’s, Fleet S treet, respecting a gift o f£100given by her to the use o f the poor o f St. Mart in ’s [fos. 1 5 3Charles I I was p roclaimed King in May, 1660,

and in thesame month the Vestry o f St. Martin ’s appointed Dr. Jacombe

228

PRESENTMENTS AGAINST B ISHOPS OF LONDON.

to be Rector in the place o f Dr. Jermyn , who had died duringCromwel l ’s Protectorate. Orders were also given fo r the resto ration o f the pulpit and reading desk to their former positions ,for the setting up of the King

’s arms,and the bewte fey ing

of the church .

But the parishioners had barely recovered from the troubleso f the previous twenty years , when another disaster fel l uponthem , the church and al l i t contained being reduced to ashesby the Great Fi re o f 1666.

PRESENTMENTS AGA INST THE BISHOPSOF LONDON

,1425

- 1493 .

BY ETHEL STOKES.

HE fol low ing record contains a series of presentmentsmade against various B ishops o f London , i n the Court o fKing’s Bench

,for defaults in not repairing bridges and

ther S imi lar matters. Thevaluable

,and general ly a good

topography o f Greater Londonat a period which i s not so rich in material as the centuriesbefore and after it. None of the items seem to cal l for anyspecial notes .

1493 , Trini ty Term. Richard Hil l, now B ishop of London,successor of Thomas [Kempe], late B ishop of London, is in mercy fo rdivers defaults, presentments whereof have been made in the King

’sBench by juries at sundry times as underIn Trinity Term , 3 Henry V I presentment was made thatthe common way at Whitecrostrete in the parish of Fulham is overflowed and obstructed, for want of the scouring of a certain ditchthere

, which the B ishops of London, from time immemorial, havebeen bound and accustomed to scour by reason of their tenure.

In Hilary Term, 4 Henry V I it was presented that there

has been a common bridge at Fulham for all the King’s lieges from

time immemorial,which the B ishop of London ought to repair by

reason of his manor of Fulham , and which then lay broken downand in ru ins .In Trinity Term, 5 Henry VI that the bridge is so broken

down, that the King’s lieges cannot cross it.

In Michaelmas Term, 7 Henry V I that there is a bridge

x111 229 R

PRESENTMENTS AGAINST B ISHOPS OF LONDON .

called Stampfordeb rigge in the King’s highway between Chelchith

[Chelsea], Kensyngton and Fulham , broken down to the increasingdamage of many persons ; and also two bridges in Hamersmyth, inthe highway there between Knottynghill and Acton , so that no onecan cross them with their goods and burdens, ei ther on horse orfoot, without great danger and loss o f their goods . Also that a

certain ditch in Hamersmyth next the highway there, betweenWhytecrostre te and Busshefeld, is fi lled with sand, dung, clods of

earth and other rubbish, so that the water overflows the highway.

In Trinity Term , 7 Henry V I that there is a bridge inFulham, in a way leading from Fulham Bery to London, which isbroken down, to the great damage of both riders and pedestrians.In Hilary Term

, 8 Henry V I [1429 it was presented thatThomas Bishop o f London, held a certain piece of cult ivatedground called le Hyde, in the parish o f Stepney , and is bound toscour a certain ditch between that land and le rechecrofte , about 40perches long, and to provide for the flowing of the water fromColerlane across the highway there in a ditch, which is now so filledwi th earth, sand, etc . , that the highway is overfl owed.

In Michaelmas Term, 9 Henry V I that a bridge nearAnghiton in the King’s highway there leading from that p lace to thecity of London is so broken down, that men riding over have brokentheir horses’ legs in the holes in the bridge.

In Hilary Term , 1 0 Henry V I [ 143 1 that the B ishop ois bound to repair a bridge in Algatestrete, for the use o f hcarts, opposite Whitechapellane , leading from Shordyche

clyff by the highway in the parish of St . Mary Matfelon.

In Trinity Term , 1 2 Henry V I that there is aFulham called Bradeleysbrigge , in the highway there leading fromLondon to Oxford, broken down and in disrepair. And anotherbridge there cal led Storkysb rigge in the highway there, likewisebroken down . And another

,called Wythybrigge , so broken down

that peop le cannot cross.In Easter Term, 1 3 Henry V I [143 that two bridges in Fu lham

called Storkys Brigges are broken down, to the great bodily dangerof the King

’s peop le.In Easter Term

, 1 5 Henry VI that there are two bridgesin ruins in Ac ton .

In Easter Term, 20 Henry VI that there is a bridge in theKing

’s highway be tween the vills o f Acton and Knottynghill calledWodelandbrigge , at Fu lham ,

so broken down that no one can crossi t . And another bridge in the highway at Fulham,

between the villsof Kensyngton and Hamersmyth, called Hycrossebrigge , so ruinousthat one can only cross in danger of one

’s life.

Wil l iam Grey was b i shop at thi s time .

230

PRESENTMENTS AGAINST B ISHOPS OF LONDON

Staunford Hyll, is broken down, so that no one can cross on horse oron foot except in danger o f their lives.In Michaelmas Term ,

1 3 Edward IV that there is a di tchin Yeling, between the cross cal led Yelyng Crosse and le Whelme ,con taining 60 perches, filled up with all kind of filth and rubbish forwant o f scouring, .so that the water running therein overflows anddamages the highway.

-In Hilary Term,! 14 Edward IV [14 74 that there is a stone

bridge in the highway leading from the c ity of London to the vill o fWare, set in Hakney, in a very broken down state, so that carts andcarriages can cross only with the greatest danger . This the B ishopought to repair by reason o f his demesne lands as well in Hakney asin Newenton.

In Trinity Term,1 5 Edward IV [1 47 that there is a bridge at

Hakney, lying between Staunford Hyll and Hakney, one perch inlength and twelve feet in breadth, so that neither horsemen norpedestrians can cross it without great risk.

In Hilary Term,2 1 Edward IV [148 1 that there is a ditch in

Yellyng So filled w ith sand and refuse that the water often overflowsthe highway and impedes travellers.

Now, in the Trinity Term of the 8 th year of King Henry VI Ithe B ishop comes into court by Nicholas Opy, his attorney,

and, having heard the prem ises, begs an adjournmen t t il l the Octaveof St. Michael next to come, which is gran ted to him.

[Coram Rege Roll, Trini ty, 8 Henry VI I , m. 6 et sea,Rex]

CHENIES AND LATIMERS. A Walk

in the early Autumn .

BYW. H. WADHAM POWELL.

RHAPS one o f the most charming and interesti

the neighbourhood o f the north-w est partLondon is in the direction o f the

vi l lage o f Cheneys,or Chenies

,a place fu l l

the past, as it hangs over the lOvely valley o f

by the way , i s one of the best trout s treams icounty.

Wi th this obj ect then in view,w e can

proceed to Chorley Wood Station , s ituCentral and Metropol itan Rai lway

,as o u

immediately on leaving the station the country in all its232

CHEN IES AND LATIMERS .

the yel low gold of Eschschol tz i as , and other bright floweringplants

,and are odorous w i th the scent o f stocks and carna

tions. Roses abound in al l d irections , and it i s a fact that onehas to push them as ide in order to post one’s letters i n thevi l lage post offi ce.The season for the cherry blossoms , for which trees Chen ies

i s so famous,is of course over, but the apple trees in every

orchard are laden wi th fru it. The vil lage itself,as has been

already mentioned,i s sti l l much the same as when Froude

descri bed it in such glow ing terms. I n the centre, on a S lope ,

i s the vi l lage green and the vi l lage water supply,over which

eighteen majestic elms throw thei r shadows and keep it cooleven in the hottest weather.Close at hand is the church, with the Bedford mausoleum

attached to i t as a north transept. This has been recentlyrebu ilt and apparently enlarged

,but al l that need now be said

on this most copious subj ect i s,that, as Froude so aptly

remarks , to know the biographies of the dead Russel ls buriedat Chenies is to know Engl ish history fo r twelve generations

,

”

a task which may be relegated,so far as we are now concerned

,

to another opportunity— possibly, i t may be added , to theGreek Kalends.This chapel or mausoleum was bu ilt by Anne

,Countess of

Bedford , i n 1 5 56. He r' mother was a Chenies

,and i t was

through her that the estate came into the Bedford family.

The monument to the Countess is considered on goodauthority to be one o f the finest of its kind in Europe

,and we

can wel l cal l to m ind,from having seen it some time s ince,

the great artistic beauty and character o f the effi gies of theCountess and her husband

,and the rich purple tint of the

whole monument, ow ing to the pink veins which meanderthrough the alabaster o f which it is composed .

Lord Wrio thesley Russel l , a former rector, occupied thatposi tion for over half a century, and he was also Canon o f

Windsor fo r forty-six years : at his spec ial request he wasburied w i th his parishioners in God ’s Acre adj oining thechurch , among the orchards and the meadow s, where today the sweet sun Shines serenely on the modest memorialwhich has been erected to his memory. His w ife, the LadyWrio thesley ,

survived him only a month,and

,equal in years,

in death they were not d ivided. He died on the 5 th of Apri l ,and she on the 5 th o f May

, 1886.

I n a meadow hard by stands , i n a quite j ubilant state of2 34

CHEN IES AND LATIMERS .

juveni l ity, the ancestral oak, under whose Shadow the GreatQueen o f the S ixteenth century sat

,as tradition hath it

,when

she vis ited Chenies in 1 570, and was entertained there byFrancis , Earl o f Bedford , whose father, the fi rst Earl , wasprobably the bu i lder o f the old manor-house close to thechurch

,one complete wing only o f which , however, i s sti l l in

existence.The chimney-stacks are of fine rubbed bricks

, which arenow o f a beaut ifu l mel low crimson colour. They are s ix innumber, and twelve o f the chimneys are o f different patterns ;they are some o f the finest Specimens o f this kind o f work now.

left to us . They are now nearly in as good condition,fair

wear and tear excepted,as when the Great Quee n Of the

West sat b eside the wood fires kindled in their roomy,built

out,ingle nooks

,three centu ries and a half ago.

These memories of the past,however

,may now be left

behind us , and , with

The no i se of sing ingIn the late swee t air

,

let us return to the vil lage green , and proceed down the steephi l l leading In the direction o f Chesham , and flanked by theancient avenue o f majestic elms which sti l l be ars the name o fLady Chenies’ Walk .

”

This magnificent entourage of trees forms an appropriategateway to the lovely val ley o f the Chess

,which l ies below

them,and from which rise on either side the wooded hi l ls,

which are a portion o f the lower spurs o f the Chilterns . S i lencereigns around

,save for the plaintive music o f the robin’s song

and the cooing o f the wood-pigeons in the more d istant woods .Through the val ley runs the famous trout stream o f the

Chess,past rich meadow s— in which the cattle are peacefu l ly

grazing and fulfi l l ing their edible destin ies— ever carrying onw i th it as i t flow s the yel low border o fw i ld mimu lus , which l inesits banks for some distance. Here the rooks and the ploversseem to have formed a sort o f temporary al l iance, and arehaving a fat time o f i t among the worms and grubs whichabo und In these pastures .A further progress o f about a mile up the val ley in the

direction o f Chesham ,brings us to a turning which leads

across the river,over a modern brick and stone bridge, which

hardly harmonizes w i th the surrounding landscape. Just abovethis bridge the Chess

,or a portion o f i t , has been dammed up

235

CHEN IES AND LATIMERS .

so as to form a pool,where, among the reeds and the loosestrife

which l ine the banks,shy moor-hens are darting about as is

their wont. But why were there no water-l i l ies in that pool ?Below th is

,the Chess continues its course, and i t qu ite

makes one’s mouth water to see the trout shooting about inthe clear stream , and , as one may say, almost contemptuouslyignoring our existence.From this spot a view i s obtained of the house o f Latimers

,

the seat of Lord Chesham , I t was to the original Tudormansion here, then inhabited by Wi l l iam Cavendish , Earl ofDevonshire

,that the unfortunate Charles the First was taken

for the night o f the 1 5 th of October, 1645 , after he had fal leninto the hands of the Parl iamentary army.

A l ittle further on one comes to the l ittle hamlet ofLatimers,

which the Post Office authorities have seen fi t to cal l Latimer,

consisti ng o f one o f the quaintest col lections o f old-world halftimber cottages

,w i th dormer lattices , that can nowadays be

met w i th . Here they stand, hidden away among the hi l ls andwoodlands in this qu iet corner of the county, on the road tonowhere— j ust the sort of place that takes looking for to find.

But i t i s worth the search , fo r a prettier spot in Buckinghamshire would be hard to meet w i th.

I n the centre of these cottages is a smal l vi l lage green,

surrounded by the cottagers ’ gardens,now bright w ith asters

,

phloxes,zinnias

,stocks, and last, but by no means least, some

lovely roses , the veri table last Roses o f Summer. On the greeni tself, shadowed by two maj estic elms , stands an obel isk o f redgrani te

,upon which are inscribed the names o f those natives

o f Latimers and the neighbouring vi l lages who w ere engagedin the South African War.

The l ist of these names,some 1 30 i n numbe r, embraces al l

ranks o f the service, and is headed by those o f Lord Chesham ,

Beatrice,Lady Chesham

,who acted as nurse

,and their son

,

the Hon . G .W. H. Cavendish , who was kil led i n the action o fDiamond Hi l l ; and it i s w el l that here beneath the ancestralelms o f thei r native land their memories should thus be keptgreen .

A few yards further up the slope i s one of the entrances tothe park, close to which are the church and the rectory— thelatter a fine old Georgian house— both o f which are more orless embosomed in the green fol iage of the numerous treesand shrubs which surround them .

The l ittle church is a modern structure,on the S ite of

236

CHEN IES AND LATIMERS.

another bui lding,surrounded by the churchyard

,which is

practical ly a wel l kept garden lawn,adorned with roses

,and

other shrubs of a somewhat graver tone and character.There is some good modern stained glass in the w indow s

of the church ; and who wou ld not w ish to know somethingmore o f the story o f romance which must have shadowedthe l ife o f that young actress who died at the age of nineteen— whose virtues , whose be auty, whose modesty , and whosegraces are so pathetical ly commemorated in the long andelegant Latin inscription “ to these most dear remains

,

”which

was engraved on her monument in the older bu ild ing,and is

s igned w ith the in itials G . D . D .

” The date o f her death is1 706.

These in itials have been ass igned on some authority toGeorge, Duke o f Devonshire

,

” but in 1 706, Wi l l iam ,the

first Duke, was st i l l l iving. The letters probably stand forGulie lmus Dux Devoniae .

The church stands on the slope o f the hi l l,and from th is

point there is one of the most charming view s o f this mostpicturesque val ley on the eastern s ide as can wel l be w ishedfo r. An almost sacred si lence, as is meet, pervades the scene.Immediately around are the park lands

,graced w i th ornamental

groups o f trees, and beyond these l ie the more open chalkdowns

,while

,close at hand

,on the side o f the roadway, are

some remarkably fine hol ly trees,their glossy dark green

leaves garlanded w ith the orange-red boughs o f the w i ld rosetrees which have grown to a height of twenty feet or moreabove the pathw ay.

On leaving Latimers we went on through the pasture landdow n the val ley

,l eaving on ou r left the remains o f the old

church o f Flaunden,and coming presently out on the open

down to the tomb o f one Wi l l iam Liberty, Brickmaker, o f

Chorley Wood,who

,to quote the inscription on the S ide o f the

monument, was

,by his own desire, buried in a vau l t on this

part of his estate. He died in 17 7 7 , at the age o f 5 3 . Thistomb

,or monument

,i s bu i lt o f good red bricks , which were

no doubt some o f his own making ; they are ornamented w i thsimple mouldings

, and surmounted by a stone S lab. I t seemsa singular position fo r a tomb , out i n the open country, as i twere ; but the surroundings, at any rate, are peaceful , and at

times beautifu l . Wi l l iam Liberty was probably one o f thosewho , l ike the B lack Douglas o f old

,would rather have heard

the lark s ing than the mouse squeak.

237

CHEN IES AND LATIMERS .

Shortly afterwards we came to Dodds Mil l , a picturesquespot where the trout were ris ing to the late afternoon fly

,and

we could not but cal l to mind Fro ude ’

s assert ion that a day’sfishing at Chenies means a day by the best water in England ,i n the fisherman

’

s paradise of sol itude — and long may itremain so.

Al l around the birds were beginning thei r evening songs ,and

,w ith a last look up the flower-strew n val ley, we passed

out o f i t and ascended the hi l l to Chenies , whence a furtherwalk of about two miles or so brought us back to ChorleyWood Station , w ith the conviction impressed upon us, on thewhole

,that Andrew Lang has c leverly summed up the S itua

tion,when he w rites in one o f his charming vers de socie’te’ :

And be tter a cru s t and a beaker of beer,With ro se -hung hedge s on e i ther hand ,Than a Palace in Town , and a Prince ’s chee r,When fan s for a penny are so l d in the S trand.

NOTES AND (mERIES.

NPUBLISHED MSS. RELATING To THE HOME COUNTIESINTHE COLLECTION OF P. C. RUSHEN.

1668 , Novembe r 4.— Draft covenant to levy a Fine , be tween Hart Browningo f London, groc er, brother and he ir of John Brown ing , late Citizen and Grocer ofLondon, deceased , and Mary w ife of the said Hart, of the one part, and JohnBartho lomew , C itizen and D istil ler of London, of the o the r part. Whereby, inconsideration o f money paid by Bartho lomew to Browning for the purchase , thelatter covenants to le vy a fine to Bartho lomew of a messuage on the west side ofB ishopsgate St. , in the parish of St. Ethe lburga , next to a m essuage cal led theKing’s Head on the north , and a messuage cal led The Three Crowns on the so uth ,which me ssu e , the subject of the Fine , was thentofore known asThe Sugar Loaf,but then as T e Still and Tobacco Ro l l , and was thentofore occupied by RichardKirbey, later by Edward Hil l, and then by the said Bartho lomew ; said to bese ttled in jo inture upon Rebecca Brown ing , re l ict of said John Browning , for herlife to the use of said Bartho lomew and his he irs.1670, May 2 5 .— Draft bargain and sale by Thomas Sanders of Lo ndon, gent.

son and he ir of John Sanders, late of London , deceased, to George Gilbourne ofLondon, gent. of the freeho ld o f several me ssuages in or near Fetter Lane andFlower-de -Luce Court, in the parish o f St. Dunstan

’

s in the West, occupied byJohn Gale , blacksmith , John Godschall, curryer, Matthew Huffi eld , imbroiderer,Robert Roads, wye r-drawer, Wil liam Gar land , paynter, William Dod , victual ler,John Tillear, tallowchandle r, Mary Skinne r, widow , John Smyth , distil ler , JohnThrockmorten, vintner, John Sm ith , cook , John Haslewood , vintner, ThomasHill, victual ler, Thomas Lane and John Guillym ,

cofl'

eesellers, AbrahamWicks,mealman

, Danye l Franklyn, girdler, Robert Archer, habe rdasher, N icho las Smith,238

NOTES AND QUERIES .

side of Bo l t Court, St. Dunstan’s in theWe st , London, whereupon 2 messuages

formerly stood , se veral ly occup ied by JohnWolstancroft and John Bowden , C itizensand Merchent Tailors of London ; which prem ise sWolstancroft then lately boughtof Samue l Howard , and since agree d to be conveyed by Jourdan and o thers toOrpwood and his he irs ; To the use of Orpwood and his heirs .

EDMOND HALLEY JUNIOR, SURGEON, R.N.-Let me cal l attention

to some of the very few known facts about the astronomer Hal ley ’sonly maturing son, Edmund Hal ley junior, who was born circa 1 700.

He entered the royal navy as a surgeon, May 8 , 1 7 3 2 , on H M S.

D urslcy ; but qu itted on January 1 5 ,‘

1 7 3 3 . Next we find him onhalf-pay from February 2 1 , 1 7 3 3 , t ill Sep tember 1 3 , 1 7 3 9. Then here -entered the service (September 1 4, on H M S . B ri stol.

The last entry appears under date August 8 , 1 740, and mentions hisw ife Isabella, as executrix, although we know that her name was“ Sybilla.

”

The foregoing items were taken from the Admiralty archives inthe Public Record Ofiice , where has also been discovered an old

book relat ing to the B ristol, which con tains an entry, dated February7 , 1 740, that Surgeon Halley was struck ofi

’ the muster-roll ; hi sname is marked DD

,

”which appears to mean di scharged, dead.

”

The B ristol was then at Portsmouth, fitting out to join AdmiralVernon in the West Indies. His will was proved by his widowSybilla, at London

,five days later (February 1 2

,1 740 In the

Calendar o f Wi lls at Somerset House,the word Kent is written

in the margin, and the abbreviation pts,” indicating perhaps that

his dom icile was in Kent and that he had died beyond the seas, inpar tibus. Perhaps some member of the Navy Records Society mayknow or be able to discover the burial-place of Surgeon Halley. Theparish clerk of Portsea says there is no record o f his burial there.Surgeon Halley, then of Greenwich, aged 40, marri ed May 4,

1 7 38 , Mrs. Sybilla Freeman ne’

e Stuart), w idow , also of Greenwich,aged 40 . The marriage took place In the Chapel o f Morden College,at B lackheath. The bride seems to have had at least one daughter(Mary) and probably another (PSarah ) by her previous marriage, forin her own will, as of East Greenw ich, widow she mentionsher two granddaughters, Sybilla Parry and Sarah Parry . We findalso the record of the marriage at Morden College, o f John Parry ofthe parish of St. Mildred, Bread Street, London, and Mary Freeman,of Greenw ich, July 3 1 , 1 744. They had in addi tion to the two

daughters, Sybilla and Sarah Parry, one son, John. The point mostat issue wi th the present wr iter is the existence and identity of

Mrs . Sybilla Freeman’s other (suppo sed) daughter, Sarah Freeman,who is believed to have been the Mrs. Sarah Day, widow, of

St. Leonard’s, Shoreditch, who , in 1 746, married Wil liam Pyke. Ifso, there Should be some record of the birth o f a son, James Pyke,circa 1 7 50, and of a daughter who married a

“Macdonald from240

NOTES AND QUERIES .

Ireland, (Pcirca Mrs . SybillaHalley’s granddaughter, SybillaParry, married a Sope r, and was l iving czr ca 1 795 , when she isment ioned in the will of her step-mother

,Anne Parry , the second

wife and w idow of John Parry, senior. I am indebted to Mr. R. J .Beevor, M.A . and to Lt. Col . G. S. Parry, for the above facts.There shorild be further facts about Surgeon Halley obtainable

somewhere, and i t would be interesting to know more about him .

Exam ination of a bunch of surgeons’ certificates, under initial letterH

,

” in the Public Record Office, failed to reveal his. Study of theLog

-books of the D urslcy and the B ristol ( 1 7 39- 1 740) on which heserved, according to the record, did not develop any entry of hisname.

— EUGENE FAIRFIELD MACPIKE. 1,ParkRow,

Chicago, U .S.A.

LAMPLANDS.-The writer of the interest ing article on “ The Town

let t Selfe of Wendover,quoting, says [ante, pp .

“ In 1 5 5 2 theK ing granted an acre of land called Lampland . . given to maintain a light in the church, also the roods of arable fo r maintenanceof a light there, habend . to them and to their heirs and assigns.fo r ever in free soccage of the Manor of East Greenwich by fealtyonly.

”But the Rector of Wendover could give no clue to the date

of cessation. May I state for general information that the landsreferred to were given before the Reformation for the maintenanceof lights at certain altars in the church. As the acre of land hadacqu ired the title of Lampland, it ind icates a gift of considerableantiqui ty, since the donor

’s name was lost in the use to which therent was applied. At the Reformat ion every such light was consideredan idolatrous practice, and all “ Lamplands

”were forfeited to the

state, as were also the lands and belongings of all monasteries,colleges, free chapels, chantries, fraternities, brotherhoods, gi lds,stipendiaries, Obi ts, and anniversaries. The story of these lands andtheir seizure is an interest ing one, for nearly every village and churchwas affected . Unfortunately it yet remains to be written, though in afew instances acommencement has been made— I say

“unfortunately,”

for the want of such a history has led and still leads to so many misleading statemen ts . The general impression is that the Dissolutionof the monasteries

,colleges, e tc .,

was but a means for enriching a

“ dissolute King and his greedy court iers ; ” but that impression isentirely wrong. The Dissolu t ion was part of a huge scheme of reformwhich Henry did not live to see accomplished . New sees and

cathedrals were endowed, hospitals for the sick, the aged poor, andothers

,were reorganized and grammar schools were refounded . In

many instances gilds were allowed to redeem the property held bythem in trust

,the amount of the fine varying accord ing to the extent

of the idolatrous use : for instance, the fine to redeem land left tomaintain a chantry priest would be less if the priest were required toact as schoolmaster. Lastly, or perhaps I should say first of all, the

241

NOTES AND QUERIES.

lawyers and offic ials on whom the burden of the work fell had to bepaid ; may be these were the greedy courtiers.As regards the grants of land, such grants may have been leases,

at rack ren t or otherwise , sales in return for full value , grants onpayments of fines

,or grants for special purpo ses. Some writers

erroneously treat all alike as gifts, but the fact remains that when theresidue was sold, more than a century later to pay the debts o f thedissolute monarch (Charles I I by the way, not Henry VI I I ), thegrants were so numerous that the mere index fil ls two large volumes.Those who desire to investigate the whole subject of the carrying

out of the Dissolution w ill find ful l and m inute details at the RecordOffice. I commend to their attention the returns of the Commissionsof 3 7 HenryV I I I, the detai led accounts under the same Comm ission(Rentals and Surveys), the returns of the Commission of 2 Edward V I ,the appendices thereto, and the particulars for the sale of thecolleges, chantries, etc . , these last are less known and chiefly affectour villages and rural churches — L. M. B IDEN .

THERUSHEN MSS .— Mr. P. C. Rushen, whose MSS. are well known

to readers of the Home Counties Magazine, w ishes to dispose of hiscollec t ion . It comprises nearly 5 ,o o o i tems, ranging in date from1 300 to 1 8 5 0, and of w idely varied interest. Further details can beobtained from Mr. Rushen, whose address is 7 , Warwick Mansions

,

Warwick Court, High Holborn.-EDITOR.

HILLINGDON.— There is a house or farm at Hillingdon known as

Hercies Manor or Hersey Farm. Can any one tell me how and wheni t got i ts nameP— C. J . HERSEY.

SCATCHERD .—I shall be glad of any information concern ing a Rev.

Mr. Scatcherd, probably born about 1 700 . He married a MissStapilton before 1 7 34, probably in London or the neighbourhood.

W. P. B .

REPLIES.

BORGE BORROW.— The London County Council has re

cently affixed a memorial tablet at No. 1 3 , Hereford Square,South Kensington, where George Borrow once lived.

PRITTLEWELL CHURCH, ESSE! (vol . xi , p .

- The following notefrom the w i ll of R ichard Frende of

“ Fri twell,” dated August 24,

1 5 00, may be o f interest as touching the history of the above church:“ My body to be buried in the chapell of Jhesus by the lower

242

REPLIES.

Thames into Kent and Surrey , and winds up w ith Sussex and Hants— amplematerial for the hundred illustrations , and w ith such a guide it wou ld b e difiicultto find a more de l ightful route. Gu ide he certainly is, yet here is no thing of theo rdinary guide-book . For, in addition to be ing a keen obse rver, Mr. Fea is bo thantiquary and historian ; and though ne ither cul t is obtruded, the fact is clear onevery page . Those scraps of histo rical and archaeo logical learn ing , deftly droppedinto p lace , are the resul t of study and re search , no t, as is too often the case , mere

siftings from the l iterary dust-b in. Much patient w ork has gone to the making of

these page s, l ightly and easily as they read ; so that as refe rence bo oks , part ofthat growing l ibrary o f sound topographical w ork , we give a high place to Mr.

Fea’s 1books. Nooks and Corners deal s wi th Norfo lk , Suffo lk , and the Midlandcounties, w i th a touch of Yo rkshire thrown in. There are many touche s ofgenuinehumour. The idea of Guy Fawkes as the first Quaker is de l icious, while theinn yard where HenryVIII addre ssed the Romans shou ld sure ly have a CountyCounc i l Tablet to record the fact. We must record a sceptical fee l ing as to some o f

the dungeons and underground passage s, though as evidence of local tradition th eymay be worth noting . Bo th vo lumes are profuse ly i llustrated and have good indexes.

A HISTORY OF ARCHITECTURE INLONDON , arranged to illustrate thecourse of Architecture in England until 1 800, wi th a sketch of

the preceding European styles . By Wal ter H. Godfrey, with a

Preface by Philip Norman, LL.D ., F.S.A. Batsford ; pp. xxiii

,

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the Ro l ls Office as they w ere some thirty or forty year s ago . The general introduct ion on the differences of construction of c lassical and gothic architecture , w iththe consequent difference s of style , is a singularly luc id explanation of a principleoften forgo tten ; it w il l be useful to the student as we l l as the amateur. The weal tho f architectural examples in and near London is tru ly remarkable . Even after thehavoc of the Great Fire and the incalculable destruction that has taken p lace forim rovements

” during the last century, there is not a pe riod , hardly, indeed , asub

'vision or variation of any period, that cannot b e il lustrated by some existingbuilding ; there is much to lament, there is also much to be thankful for. To thecasual v isitor Mr. Godfrey’s book w i l l add a new charm to sight-see ing , and theLondoner, who , as a rule , knows very l ittle o f London, may perhaps b e inducedby it to explore . The i llustrations and plans are numerous and we l l chosen, andaltoge ther the book is a we lcome addition to the metropo l itan l ibrary.

WESTERHAM AND ITS SURROUNDINGS a Gu ide to Wolfe-Land. ByGibson Thompson, wi th an Introduction by Lt .

-Col. C. A. MadanWarde

,D.L., J .P. Fourth edit ion. The Homeland Association ;

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This exce l lent guide has been revised and enlarged , and w ith some additionalil lustrations it is now one of the be st of the Homeland se rie s. The fact that afourth edition has been cal led for shows thatWo lfe sti l l remains one of our mostpopular heroes.

244

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i i

CONTENTS.

PAGETHE PRIORY OF SS . MARY AND MARTIN

,

DOVERESSEX VIS ITATIONS , 1 297

A BYGONE CHILDHOODTHE HAYMARKET , LONDONTHE SURREY TYPE OF VILLAGE CHURCHESCHALFONT ST. GILES AND MILTONHISTORICAL SURVEY OF THE LONDON FIRE

BRIGADETHE EARLY CHURCHES OF SOUTH ESSEXCANONBURY TOWERSOME EAST KENT PARISH HISTORYKNIGHTSBRIDGE HOSP ITAL,

1605

NOTES AND QUERIESREVIEWS

NOTICES.

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iv

Cano nbury Tow er.D rawn by F rank Esam .

THE PRIORY

been used as thesince it had been acqu i red fo r that purposethe Cromwel l ian Captain o f Deal Castle.the apse were blow n up to ee ct some faand the resting-place o f the Taveno rs was desecrated by beingburied under the stables erected fo r a neighbouring grocer.I n those long past days people w ere permitted to w ander

freely about theWestern Heights and the Castle Hi l l w ithoutbeing regarded as German Spies

,and could contemplate the

magnificent panorama to be seen from the summit o f theCastle keep, including a View of the three kingdoms which thecustodian would explain to be the Kingdom o f England atour feet , the Kingdom of France across the water, and the

Kingdom o f Heaven over our heads ! But although novelrestrictions prevent us from seeing a great deal w e might l iketo see, we are to day spared the sight o f the imprisoneddebtors s itting in the embrasures of the Fnlbert Tower, who ,

by a string rigged up across the castle-ditch,rang a bel l over

a wayside alms-box to sol ic it a dole from the passers-by ; andwe have no longer to w itness the scandal of the Roman Pharosand the B ritish-Saxon church o f St. Mary- in-Castro servingas the garrison coal -store.

Just outside the boundary o f the old town wal l s and theBiggingate (pu l led down in 1 762 and named after a Begu inage which once stood near by) were the extensive reS t. Mart in ’s Prii ngs

,save the

occupied the S ite, and retain ing in 1 845 al lmarks o f i ts ancient use. I ts position wastwo old Roman roads from Dover

,the one in a north-westerly

direction leading to Canterbury and London,and the other at

right angles to i t going southwards to P or tus Lemanis andAna

’eria

’a ; while branching from the former road a l ittle

further along went a thi rd road northwards to Rutup iae andum.

The great Priory church had been pu l led dow n to theground level

,but its outl ines

,together w i th those o f the

chapter-house and the undercroft o f the dorm itory,distinctly traceable

, while l arge massesother remains were scattered over i tsthe nave

,the C loister .q uare and the W

w i th some buildings adjoining it,sti l l

and to the north again of these stood246

St . Martin ’s Priory,Dover.

P lan o f Remain s abo ut 1845 .

THE PRIORY OF SS.

‘MARY AND MARTIN ,

have yielded,was at the time unprocurable. I n

people o f Tours , regretting thei r hasty vandal ism ,

make reparation fo r the mischief done by closing thtionary street and commencing the reconstructionabbey church ; but hitherto the Dover people haveimitate thei r worthy repentance.During the next two or three years Saxon and

S treets w ere bui lt , and the whole of the eastern pas ite

,including the Priory

and presently came the London,C

w ith its “ Priory S tation to thethe Phi l ist ine tightened . I n 1 868 ,al l the uncovered portion o f the property

,

farm ; and al though,i n a most praisew orth

vided fo r the preservation o f the Refectory,

the Guest-House,the estate was laid o ut w ith new 10

ancient barn was pul led down , and the Priory pond was filup. Whether the last was dragged or properly examinedone seems to remember

,w hich is a pity

,S ince strange fish

sometimes caught in monastic ponds,as w i tness the ea

found in the pond o f Newstead Abbey which now servesthe lectern in Soutthe rearrangementpassed intoone o f thehe didthough no more than was necessary fo r their maintenan

he afterwards transferred them to th e Counci l o f theCol lege , by whom the Refectory was re -roofed and thoroughrestored

,to be used as the great hal l o f the Col lege.

Having now described the state to which the remainsthe Priory o f SS . Mary and Martin

,and i ts predecessors

title, St. Martin -le -Grand and St. Mary-in-Castro

,were redue

during the last century, i t i s necessary to take up the histo f the foundations before w e enter on an architecturalscription o f the bu i ldings.The history and description o f the fabric o f S t. Mary

Castro are given very ful ly by the Rev. John Puckle ini l lustrated work Tli e C/zurc/z and Fortressa learned archaeological paper deal ing ch

and Saxon remains was read by the latebefore the Kent Archaeological Societythei r meeting at Dover in 1 87 5 .

248

THE PRIORY OF SS. MARY AND MARTIN,DOVER.

Darel l states that the B ri tish king Lucius fi rst bui l t andfortified the Church on the top o f the hi l l i n 16 1 , providing itw ith three priests who were maintained by a tol l on the shipping ; and that Augustine reconsecrated the church to theB lessed Virgin

, while Eadbald, the son o f St . Ethelbert, afterhis reconversion from the heathendom into which he hadlapsed , by the advice of St. Law rence o f Canterbury, foundedin Connection w ith it, a col lege o f s ix canons and a provost ina bu i lding near Colton ’s Gate. I n consequence of the scandal

,

real or imaginary, o f these canons l iving among the garrison ,

Witred,King o fKent, shortly before his death in 7 2 5 , removed

the foundation to a S ite w ithin the tow n,i ncreasing the number

of canons to tw enty-four, fo r whom he bu ilt new houses anda church dedicated to St. Martin

,giving them for their support

increased dues upon the shipping,a grant which was confirmed,

later on,by Canute.

Such is the history o f the foundation o f the great Churchand col lege o f St. Martin-le -Grand as related by Darel l

,but

from other sources w e learn that three chaplains were retainedto Serve the Castle church under very strict ru les

,two of

whom continued to l ive i n the Canons ’ Tower and the otherin Colton’s Tower. They served the three altars in the church ;the fi rst sang mass at the high altar before the governor

,

another at the north altar o f the holy rel ics at nine o’clock forthe garrison

,and the third , an hour later, at St. Mary

’s altarfo r the marshalmen and officers.To the new foundation o f St. Martin -le -Grand w ere trans

ferred all the franchises and privi leges enjoyed by that in theCastle. I t was to be subject to no prelate or ordinary, but tobe esteemed as the King’s Chapel and to be subject on ly tohis j urisdiction ; i t i s mentioned as having had also the singularhonour o f starting the mass before any other church in thetown , no other being al lowed to commence unti l the bel l ofSt. Martin ’s gave the signal. How far these special privi legesincluded sanctuarial rights i t would be interesting to discover,having regard to subsequent events ; but the protecting cloako f St. Martin implied sanctuary.

From the great s ize o f the church and the Character o f itsremains

,i t i s evident that i t was rebu i lt soon after the Con

quest and under foreign influence ; the earl ier one havingprobably perished when the town was set on fi re byWi l l iam ’sNorman followers. I t consisted o f a nave 1 10 feet long, anda choir 93 feet long, term inating in an apse, from which pro

249

THE PRIORY OF SS . MARY AND MARTIN,DOVER .

jected three apsidal Chapels the transepts were ais leless , andthere was a tower at the crossing 3 5 feet square. The westfront seems to have abutted on the tow n wal l

,and on each

S ide o f i t was one o f the town gates, that to the north knownas St. Martin ’s Gate, and that to the south know n as CowGate, which was only removed in 1 7 76.

After having endured fo r nearly a thousand years accordingto tradition , or fo r at least half that period according to history ,this ancient col lege

,associated w ith the legends o f British

Christianity as wel l as w ith the miss ion o f S t. Augustine, fel lbefore Norman rapacity and monkish jealousy. The foreignbishops and the rel igious orders both looked askance on thesesecu lar foundations

,and call ing their wealth i l l -gotten and

thei r l iberty l icense,combined fo r their suppression . The

Dover case may have Seemed aggravated by the independenceo f the Dover burghers and their disl ike to their foreign masters ,fo r the incident o f Eustace o f Boulogne

’

s outrage under theConfessor was not then forgotten

,and some l iving may have

w i tnessed the burn ing o f the town by the Norman knights ,while the sympathies o f the Canons wou ld necessari ly be w i ththei r fel low townsmen . Their destruction was due , and thepsychic moment arrived on May 4, 1 1 30, when Henry I andal l the bishops

,w i th David

,King o f Scotland , w ere present

at the ded ication festival o f Canterbu ry Cathedral , and Archbishop Wi l l iam de Corbe i l preferred his request to the Kingfo r the dissolution o f the ancient foundation and for the sequestration o f its revenues.This W i l l iam de Corbeil

, who ,judging from his name, was

a Norman importation , attached himself early in h is somewhatadventurous l ife to the notorious Ralph Flambard , and hisassociation w ith thi s man must have influenced his subsequentcareer

,and

,perhaps

,i nduced that fondness for bricks-and

mortar which afterwards d istinguished it. Flambard , who , bythe grace o fW i l l iam Rufus and a t imely present o f a thousand pounds

,became B i shop o f Durham in 1099, was

o f Thu rstan,a vi l lage priest o f Bayeux ,

while his moreputed to be a w i tch

,famil iar w i th demons . His

Fu lcher was the equal ly infamous B ishop o f Liseux

had a son,El ias

, who succeeded him in his stal l atand another one

,Thomas

,fo r whom he tried to

Fu lcher ’s bishopric on the death o f that worthy.

he had practical ly the kingdom in his keeping,

sees vacant,Canterbury among them

,and boldin

2 50

THE PRIORY OF SS. MARY AND MARTIN,DOVER.

During these w rangl ings w ith Thurstan and the delays i nRome

,the work o f rebu i ld ing Lanfranc ’s choi r at Canterbu ry

,

begun by St. Anselm and Prior Ernulph , had been carried onto comp let ion , and i t was at its dedication festival that Corbei lmade his request to the King for permission to reconstitutethe roya l foundation o f S t. Martin-le -Grand . He may havebeen

,and probably was

, instigated to make thi s request bythe monks o f Christchurch , but he had also his own purposesto serve ; the sequel w i l l Show , however, that his craft wasinsufl‘icient to w ithstand the monks ’ greed , though these opposing interests had a good deal to do w i th modifying the schemefo r the new foundation .

The possess ions o f St. Martin-le -Grand at the time o f i tsSUpe rcession must have been cons iderable, s ince they sufficedfo r the support o f tw enty-fou r canons ; among them ,

at thetime o f the Domesday Survey, w ere “ ten and a half mil ls

,

”

bes ides pastures and gardens,and their shipping dues

,al l o f

which were doubtless transferred to the New -work ; b ut howfar its special privi leges cou ld be transferred i t i s d iflicult tounderstand . The new church o f SS . Mary and Martin was

certainly not free from episcopal visitation,nor could its

founder have desired it to be so, and i t cou ld scarcely havebeen a King’s chapel

,w i th the Special sanctuarial customs

appertain ing to such,as at St. Martin-le -Grand in London ;

and al l such privi leges wou ld very l ikely remain attached tothe old church which, although the col lege was suppressed ,was not d isused u nti l the Reformation . Whencesoever heobtained the funds, Corbei l commenced at once to put inexecution his new scheme, and instead o f attempting to adaptthe old bu i ld ings where the si te was already hemmed in byexisting streets

,and where perhaps the unsympathetic tow ns

men would not have been pleasant neighbours , he selected anew s ite in the position we have already described , outs idethe w al ls.Although the Benedictines o f Christchurch hoped and ex

pected to occupy the new priory bu i ld ings on their completion ,the Archbishop from the fi rst intended them for the Augustinians, whose order the King had recently introduced intoEngland and made fashionable

,and in which he himself was

most interested,not only as Prior o f St. Osyth ’s, but because

he was at the moment actively engaged in reconstructing instone the Augustinian Priory o f Merton in Surrey, foundedby Gilbert Norman and endowed by the King in 1 22 1 . After

2 5 2

THE PRIORY OF SS. MARY AND MART IN,DOVER.

his long apprenticeship to Flambard, Wi l l iam was doubtless

able to give the general design for the bui ldings he required ,and he was wel l able to procure workmen from Canterbu ryand some Ski l led mason who had served on Ernulph

’

s staff tosupervise his work

,and

,having been granted by the King

stone from a quarry at Caen , he at once set to work . TheCanterbury monks

,if they had possessed the faintest know ledge

o f ecclesiology,must early have discovered the intentions of

the Archbishop,even ifhe had at first hidden them

, when theysaw by the plan o f the foundations that he ignored the apsidalterm ination to his choir which , at so much labour and cost ,they had just been restoring to their cathedral

,and was instead

bu i ld ing the square east end which was so distingu ishing amark in the Churches o f the Austin Canons.Corbei l must have hurried on his bui lding operations at

great Speed , fo r w ithin three years from their commencementhe had so far advanced the church and provided conventualbui ldings

,poss ibly o f a more or less temporary Character

,as

to be able to introduce some members o f the order on whomhe always intended to confer the foundation . Accordingly afew canons from the convent at Merton took possession ; butthis introduction was violently opposed by the monks

, who

claimed to have received a grant o f the new Priory from theKing

,and who natural ly desired that i t should be occupied

by those o f their own order. To support thei r c laim theyprepared to send one o f the convent to Rome

,and

, what waseven more to the purpose, they at once dispatched some o f

their number to turn out the intruders and hold the house byforce. Just at this j unctu re Corbei l lay a-dying

,o f remorse

,i t

was said, fo r having been persuaded by Henry o f B lois tocrown Stephen after he had promised Mati lda not to do so ; sothe Canons lost his active support, and soon disappearedentirely from the story

,disputing no further for the house which

had been bu i lt fo r them . Henry, however, who had becomePapal Legate

,took their s ide

,and deciding that the Benedic

tines were in i l legal possession ordered them home againforthw ith. But the effort was in vain , for Theobald, Corbei l

’ssuccessor as Archbishop ,

after some further disputation,de

cided final ly in favour o f the Benedictines,and at once sent backsome monks with the Sacrist o f Christchurch as their fi rst Prior.Although after this decision the Benedictines were never

again d isturbed , there was much friction betw een St. Martin’s

and Christchurch relating to the supremacy o f the latter and2 5 3

THE PRIORY OF SS . MARY AND MARTIN , DOVER

its right to appoint the Priors o f the former. Appeal s wereconstantly being made to Rome on the subject ; and i t is saidthat one was pending at the time o f the Reformation

,which

may be sti l l waiting the decision o f the Roman Cur ia.

[To be continued .]

ESSE ! V ISITATIONS, 1 297 .

BY CLOTILDA MARSON .

HE lover o f history unconsciously hunts the scent o f theGolden Age dow n the receding al leys of past centuries .I t i s impossible not to long to find some field o f ancient

days where men and women l ived pure and innocent l ives ,mindfu l o f God and kind to each other. Yet , as w e look closelyat records

,w e find always the stains o f blood on the page , and

in the annal s o f the Church more evidence o f “ the outwardand visible S ign than the inward and Spiritual grace.

” Yetthere is a century in Engl ish history where the l ife o f thenation seemed at a high level

,and the reign o f Edward I , in

that th irteenth centu ry o f S t. Francis and St. Lou i s , i s onewhich has less to d isappoint research than almost any reignwhich could be thought o f.The S low task o f copying w ord for word the Visitations of

Churches belong ing to S t. P aul’

s Cat/zedral in 1 297 summonedin procession the actors on the vanished stage, embalmed bythe careful pains o f the ancient scribe . At fi rst the recordsseem to furn ish only a few dry detai ls , but as w e l ooked atthem closely we seemed to trace some evidences o f vi l lage l ife,varied by interests from w ithout, by labour which was not subdivided

,and by prayer which fed on enthusiasm .

The churches visited belonged to manors held by the Deanand Chapter o f St. Pau l ’s in Essex , Hertford , and Middlesex ,but a glance at the visits made in September and October i nEssex are enough to i l lustrate the l ife o f the time. I t may besaid

,in the words o f Thomas Fu l ler, that before w e can get a

vivid picture o f such far-o ff days “ this bare skeleton o f time,place, and person must be fleshed w ith some pleasant passages .”

Essex is st i l l a damp and watery county, as w e may gatherfrom the beginning o f Great Expectations. Yet, as we travel

2 54

ESSEX VIS ITAT IONS .

hence we find that ow ing to his love o f hunting the King oftencame w ith court and train to the near neighbourhood o f ourmanors o f S t. Paul . B i shop s , as wel l as kings , loved huntingin those days

,so that w e are not surprised when w e read how

in 1 27 8 Edward gave l icence fo r l ife to Wi l l iam ,B ishop of

Norw ich , to hunt w i th h is own dogs the fox,hare

,badger and

cat in the forest o f Essex , provided he did not take greatgame or course in the warrens .When the King was hunting at Fing ringhoe he was near to

the St. Paul ’s manors of Thorpe,Kirkby

,and Walton

,and

when he vis ited his manor o f Rayleigh or hunted at Eastwoodhe was not far from the manors o f Barl ing and Til l ingham .

I t was from Fingringho e King Edward started on the day hiswasherwoman wagered against him that She would be “ i n atthe death and won her wager.One o f the fi rst o f the churches vis ited by Dean Baldock

and his attendant canon and scribes was Navestock . ThisChurch was so near to London that variety must have come tothe vi l lagers in more ways than to the remoter se a-S ideparishes

,but they were al so w ithin reach o f the great Abbey

ofWaltham,a working hive o f learn ing , art, and medic ine.

The manors o fWi ckham and Highbridge would benefit bythe “ Carmes or Maries Men lately establ ished ( 1 292) at

Maldon by B ishop Gravesend o fLondon ,1

who fi l led his l ibraryw i th beautiful editions o f the B ible and trusted to the Carmel itefriars to spread its principles. To Thorpe, Kirkby, and Waltonthe nearest home of learning wou ld be St. Osyth ’s , the lovelypriory o f Augustin ian Canons

,the remains o f which are pic

tured i n the M onastz’

con.

I n all o f these rel igious houses,and many besides

,our

Essex vi l lagers o f 1 297 could hear al l the latest foreign new s ,perpetual ly trick l ing in as messengers arrived from Rome w i thnew s o f the Abbey’s business at the cur ia . The world l ivedon the high road in those days

,as M . Jusserand has Shown in

his Vie Nomade, and w e may be sure that i n every vi l lagestreet knots o f men might be seen discussing Pope Boniface’sgreat bul l o f Cler icis Laicos, which forbade the clergy to paytaxes . That very January ( 1297 ) the question had come upi n Parl iament

,and the clergy had met to consider i t at

St. Paul ’s . Many o f our Essex men would l ikely be sai lors inthe Cinque Ports fleet

,and from personal affection would

perhaps s ide w i th brave King Edward against Archbishop1 See Camden Soc.,

Wil l s of Bi shop s Button and Grave send .2 56

ESSEX VIS ITAT IONS.

Winchelsey and the Pope. Perhaps some o f them had w it

nessed the touching reconci l iation between the King and

Archbishop Winchelsey which had taken place at Westminster in July, I 297 .

Just before the qu iet vis its to the Churches began,fierce war

had been raging on the Scottish borders . The great generalo f the age was King Edward himself, and he was now away i nFlanders , busy over his war w ith France. Wal lace had takenthis opportunity to rally all his forces

,and on September 1 1

had total ly defeated John de Warenne, Earl o f Surrey, andthe Treasurer

,Cressingham

,i n the Battle o f Stirl ing. S ir

Hugh Cress ingham was a Canon o f St. Paul ’s , and we maywel l fancy that the scribe told the l istening vi llagers how theskin o f the proud plural ist had been torn from his corpse andpart o f i t made into a sword-belt for Wal lace . Cressinghamheld a l iving in Essex

,and the horrid tale must have com

pe ted in interest w ith the entry in the rol l at Barl ing of howthe best chasuble is gnawed w i th mice

,al though o f cloth o f

gold enriched w ith Saracen work o f Arabic characters andprecious stones . The mice did much mischief in these parts

,

and Fu l ler describes a plague o f them which Spoi led the cropsand had l iked to have devoured the land had they not beenexterminated by an army o f ow ls .Pageants brought variety to our vi l lagers

,as wel l as new s

o f the quarrels o f Pope and King,o f nation and nation. I n

January,1 297 , they might w alk to I psw ich to w atch the

festivities o f a week when King Edward ’s daughter Elizabe thwas married to the young Earl o f Hol land . She was onlyfifteen

,and no doubt it occasioned much interest to the spec

tators when the motherless and w i lfu l Princess c lung to herfather and begged not to go to the new home ti l l he couldtake her himself. After an angry scene in which he threw thecoronet o f the Princess into the fire, the King gave way . TheEarl o f Hol land started from Harw ich w ithout hi s bride, andmerely conveyed his s ister-in-law

,the Duchess Margaret, to

B russels to her husband the Duke o f Brabant. A monthbefore our Essex visitation the girl Countess El izabeth o f

Holland had set sai l w ith her father for Flanders, and doubtless many an Essex man went to view the fine gear— thetwenty-six horses and the new chariot o f the young princess.They would take more interest in observing which o f the lordsand barons consented to go to the war i n Flanders w i th theKing

,or to Gascony w i thout him . There was great friction

2 57

ESSEX VIS ITAT IONS .

between the King and his lords. Humphrey de Bohun , theConstable

,who held so many broad lands in Essex

,refused

to go to Gascony. To Roger B igod o f Norfolk,the Earl

Marshal,Edw ard said, By God , Earl , you shal l either go or

hang.

”By God ,

” said Roger, O King ,

l w i l l neither go norhang. At the moment when the vis itations were going fo rw ard the Earls , w ith an army o f dependents

,w ere arranging

in Parl iament fo r the confi rmation o f the Charters to be sealedby Edward at Ghent on November 5 , tw o days after DeanBaldock had got safely back to S t. Paul ’s. I n pol itics thenw e see ou r Essex countrymen supporting thei r lords in maintaining the great principle that redress o f grievances mustprecede grant o f supply.

The tenants o f St. Paul ’s manors who took up the farmsor deliveries o f produce to the Chapter’s bake-house in Godl iman Street , w ou ld no doubt bring back new s o f the doings inParl iament

,as wel l as much else to stir the hearts o f the vil

l agers. Afi rma was food fo r a single w eek .

To turn from affai rs o f state , the Church l ife of the l ittlehamlets seems to have furn ished them w ith interests w hichsaved them from monotony at home

,even had their inter

course abroad been less w ide than i t was.

The scribe usual ly begins his entries by saying whether ornot the Churchyard is in good repai r. The gates often w antmending