 
[A] BABINGLEY. In this parish, the first Christian church in East Anglia is said to have been built. Several hills in the vicinity, called Christian Hills, render the opinion highly probable. The village is situated near that part of the Lincolnshire wash called Lynn Deeps. [B] BABRAHAM, anciently Badburham, is situated in the hundred of Chilford. This place, which was one of the manors of Algar, Earl of Mercia, at the time of the Norman survey, formerly had a market on Mondays. About the year 1576, the whole manorial property in the parish fell into the possession of Sir Horatio Palavicini, a Genoese. According to the Singular anecdote of the Pope's Tax-gatherer. tradition of the neighbourhood, this gentleman was collector of the Pope's taxes in England, in the reign of Queen Mary, on whose death, and the consequent change in religion under Elizabeth, he (like the Vicar of Bray,) changed his faith, converted the Pope's money to his own use, and settled in this country. The following whimsical epitaph relates to this occurrence: it is printed in "Lord Orford's Anecdotes of Painting"— "Here lyes Horatio Palavazine, Sir Horatio was in great favour with Queen Elizabeth. He was naturalised, The Queen's favorite. by patent, in 1516, and commanded one of the English men-of-war in the great battle with the Spanish Armada, in 1588; and he was employed by the Queen, in her negotiations with the German Princes: he died at his seat, in this parish, on the 6th of July, 1600. It appears by the register kept in the church, that his children were baptized and buried here: it is also recorded, that the marriage of Sir Horatio's widow with Sir Oliver Cromwell, the Protector's uncle, took place exactly a year and a day after her husband's decease. The poor of this parish are partly maintained by a bequest of £97. a year, expended under certain restrictions imposed by the donor. Here is an alms-house, and a free school, founded by Levinus Bush, Esq., and his sister, Mrs. Judith Bennet; and the yearly sum of £25. is appropriated to the apprenticing of children.
[A] BABWORTH. The hall is the seat of the Hon. J.B. Simpson; it a plain white-fronted edifice, the surrounding grounds which are very beautiful, were laid out by the celebrated Repton. Babworth church is a neat gothic building, with a small steeple; it is worthy of remark, Trees grow out of the roof of the church. that there are two trees growing out of the roof of the south porch. Near this village the ground begins to rise, and displays the most enchanting scenery of woods, lawns, glades, heaths, cultivated farms, and ornamental seats. The late Paul Sandby, Esq., R.A., who died on the 8th of November, 1809, was descended from a branch of the Sandby family, of Babworth, and was born at Nottingham, in 1732. In 1746 he went to London, and having an early bias towards the arts, he got introduced into the drawing room of the Tower. After two years he was appointed draughtsman, under the inspection of Mr. David Watson, who was employed Paul Sandby, Esq. by the late Duke of Cumberland to take a survey of the Highlands. During this excursion he made several sketches from the terrific scenery of that romantic country, from which he afterwards made a number of small etchings, which were published in a folio volume. From this circumstance, perhaps, we may account for the bold and striking style by which the paintings of this excellent artist are so peculiarly distinguished. In 1752, he quitted this employment and resided with his brother at Windsor. Several of the most beautiful views in the neighbourhood of Windsor and Eton, now became the subject of his pencil; here also he obtained that skill in depicting gothic architecture which gave so beautiful an effect to those landscapes that Sir Joseph Banks purchased them all at a very liberal price. Mr. Sandby published several prints in ridicule of the inimitable Hogarth's "Analysis of Beauty," but he afterwards declared, that had he known the merits of that exquisite painter at the time, he Sandby the painter. should not have dared to depreciate them. On the institution of "the Royal Academy," he was elected one of the Academicians. He was afterwards appointed chief drawing master of the Royal Academy at Woolwich, and held the office with honour and credit to the day of his death.
[A] BADBY. This extensive village is situated on the brow of a hill, in the large uninclosed district of Badby-Down. Here are numerous springs, Quarries. and several quarries of flag-stone, which, from its excellence, is very extensively employed for the purposes of building and paving. On the summit of Arbury Hill, in this parish, is a large encampment, which is attributed to the Romans: the ramparts are very steep, and the whole is encompassed by a very wide and deep foss. [B] BADDESLEY. This village was celebrated a short time ago for a singular tree it contained, from which was frequently heard to issue groans as though uttered by a person in acute agony. The tree was an elm, young, vigorous, and to all appearance perfectly sound; and what is most wonderful, naturalists could assign no physical reason for the phenomena. Its fame spread far and wide; a pamphlet was written with an account of it, and persons came miles to visit it. The tree, however, it would seem The groaning tree. with the fickleness attendant too often upon those who have gained celebrity, would not always groan, yet no cause could be assigned for its temporary cessations, either from seasons or weather. Many superstitious tales were raised by the country people and alleged as reasons for this singular occurrence; and for eighteen or twenty months it continued an object of considerable interest; a gentleman of the name of Forbes, making an experiment to discover its cause, by boring a hole in its trunk, put a period to its agonies, it never groaned again. It was afterwards rooted up with a further view to make a discovery, but in vain. It is universally believed that there was no trick in the affair, but that some natural cause really existed, though never understood. [C] BADDILEY. A parish in the hundred of Nantwich. This place is principally remarkable for its church, standing on a small green surrounded by farm buildings. It consists of a small nave and chancel, and was constructed entirely of English oak; it is of the most remote antiquity, and presented a most unique specimen of ecclesiastical buildings of timber, previous to the introduction of stone; the upright timbers being much An oaken church. decayed were cased with brick in 1811, it having stood so many centuries that it was in danger of falling; the roof and ceiling are still in fine preservation. In the chancel are remains of some ancient stalls, and two elegant marble monuments, erected to the Mainwaring family, who were lords of the manor. Baddiley Hall, the former residence of this family, was a very old irregular building of timber and plaister, but has been lately pulled down. [D] BADDOW. (Great). This extensive, populous, and genteel village, from its peculiarly delightful situation, has become the residence of a considerable number of highly respectable families. Previous to the conquest, the manor was part of the possessions of Algar, Earl of Mercia. In consequence, however, of the rebellion of his son and successor, Earl Eadwine, who was slain in battle, this lordship, with other estates, was granted by King William to the monastery of the Holy Trinity at Caen, in Normandy. In the reign of Henry I., the crown was again possessed of it, and about the same period, the Earls of Gloucester became its proprietors; from which time, after having been vested in many noble families, it is now in the possession of the family of Houblon. Two chauntries of some value were formerly in the church.
[A] BADDOW, (Little). The church at this place contains a rich and splendid monument to the memory of Sir Henry Mildmay, Knight, who Sir Henry Mildmay. died in October, 1639. He is represented in a full suit of armour, reposing under a dome, which rests upon black marble pillars; two female figures kneel at his feet; the one elderly, and dressed in a scarf and hood, the other young, and magnificently attired in the fashion of the time. The head of the knight is supported by a pillow. From a latin inscription upon an oval tablet, we learn that Sir Henry having served as a soldier in the Irish wars, was for his gallantry knighted in the field. The carved effigies of two female figures, said by tradition to have been sisters and founders of this church, occupy recesses in the south wall of the centre aisle. Upon examining the two graves in which it was supposed that Skeletons found. the corpses of the persons whose figures stood in the niches were interred, in one of them were found three skeletons, and two in the other, but without the slightest vestige of wood, linen, coffin, or any other covering to the bodies. In the year 1817, Edward Bullin, Esq., bequeathed 196 acres of land, and a wood containing thirty-six acres, for the purpose of clothing and educating the children in this parish and that of Boreham. [B] BADLESMERE. Bartholomew de Badlesmere, lord of the manor in the reign of Edward the Second, obtained a license for founding a house of regular canons in this place. The church is a small and very plain Curious carvings in wood. Saxon structure. In the porch are the fronts of two ancient wooden seats, carved in high relief; one represents a shield, on which are the star, ribbon, and motto of the order of the garter: on the other are some Scriptural sentences, relative to the Holy Trinity, in four circles, united by bands; so that the words Pater, Filius, Spisces and Deus, though only once repeated in the circles, form a part of every sentence. [C] BADMINTON, (Great) has been the seat of the ducal family of Beaufort, ever since the demolition of Ragland Castle, in the civil wars. Badminton Duke of Beaufort's seat. House, the family residence of the duke, is situated in a noble park nearly nine miles in circumference, through which various avenues have been formed. It was erected by the first duke of Beaufort in the year 1682. It is a very extensive building, on the French model. In the hall is a large sarcophagus of Roman sculpture, representing a bacchanalian procession; this was given to the third duke of Beaufort, by Cardinal Alberoni. By that distinguished prelate, who died in 1745, many curious and original paintings were procured during his residence in Italy; among them is a Holy Family, by Raphael; and several by Guido and Carlo Dolci are much esteemed. He also purchased the very singular and finely painted satirical picture by Salvator Rosa, for which that artist was expelled Rome. "The Sovereigns of the different nations are here depicted by different animals, as an eagle, a wolf, a sheep, a hog, a fox, a cow, and an ass; the latter has the pontifical pall thrown over him, and the blind goddess, Fortune, is represented showering her gifts over the whole group." Some excellent landscapes, by the Italian masters, are also preserved here; Fine paintings. and a very fine series of fourteen portraits, of the Beauforts, from John of Gaunt, from whom they trace their genealogy. Badminton church is an elegant structure; it was built by the late duke in 1785, and contains many monuments of the Beaufort family.
[A] BAGINTON. The Hall, a seat of a descendant of the Bromley family, who purchased the estate in the reign of James I., was built by secretary Bromley. This gentleman, one of the most honest and able servants of Queen Anne, was Speaker of the House of Commons. In proof of the high estimation in which he was held, it is necessary only to cite a memorable circumstance relative to the residence under notice. In Once destroyed by fire. 1706, the family seat at Baginton was reduced to the ground by fire. Intelligence of this calamity was conveyed to the owner while attending his duty in the House of Commons, and a considerable sum was immediately voted by parliament towards a restoration of the structure. Here is barely to be traced the site of the castellated residence of Sir William Bagot, a firm adherent of Richard II., at which the Duke of Hereford, afterwards Henry IV., lodged the night previous to his projected personal contest with Thomas Mowbray, Duke of Norfolk, in the presence of the King on Gosford Green, where the lists were formed; the scene is admirably described by Shakespeare. [B] BAGLAN is a parish in the hundred of Neath. The village is of the most romantic beauty, and the scenery in the neighbourhood is of a delightful character. Near this place is Britton Ferry, which is interesting, not only on account of its sylvan fascinations, but as being the domain of Lord Jersey, whose extensive plantations spread over several bold hills Lord Jersey's seat. westward of the Neath river, a stream which here emerges in a fine sweep, between woody banks, partly broken into cliffs and at a short distance descends into the sea. "From a delightful shady walk over the stream, we branched off," says Mr. Barber, "into an 'alley green,' which led us up a steep hill, covered with large trees, and tangled underwood; the ascent was judiciously traced, where several bare crags, projecting from the soil, formed an opposite contrast to the luxuriant verdure which prevailed around. On gaining the summit, the charms of Britton Ferry disclosed themselves in 'an ample theatre of sylvan grace,' of more than common beauty: beyond which, the Bristol Channel, Britton Ferry. bounded by the aerial tint of its opposite coast, formed the distance. From this roaming prospect, however, the eye gladly returned to gaze on the local beauties of the scene, the tufted knoll, the dark glade, and the majestic river." The mansion is a very ordinary building; the house is low having two wings, with attic windows in the roof, ornamented with a bullustraded parapet. The neat simplicity of the hamlet deserves remark; perhaps the church is unrivalled, both for its picturesque situation, and moral interest. The custom of planting evergreens over the remains Planting evergreens over graves. of departed friends, and bedecking them with flowers at certain seasons of the year, is here attended to with peculiar care; and to this pleasing tribute of tenderness and affection the "Bard of Avon" refers in the following beautiful lines:— "With fairest flowers while summer lasts, David Ap Gwillym also beautifully alludes to this practice: "Oh, while thy season of flowers, and thy tender sprays thick of leaves remain, I will pluck the roses from the brakes, the flowers from the meads, the vivid trefoils, beauties of the ground, and the gaily smiling bloom of the verdant herbs, humbly will I lay them on the grave of Ivor!" This part of Wales is so mild in its climate, that myrtles, magnolias, and other tender exotics, grow luxuriantly in the open air. Near Baglan is a well with medicinal properties, but many superstitious notices are associated with its use in the neighbourhood. Mail arrives at Aberavon, 2 miles distant, 6 evening; departs, 7.30 morning.
[A] BAGSHOT is a village on the great western road, in the parish of Windlesham, and hundred of Woking. Bagshot heath derives its name from this village; it is one of the most extensive wastes in the kingdom, and was formerly the scene of many highway robberies. Its appearance is extremely desolate, but it is useful in supplying the inhabitants with fuel, and feeds a great number of sheep, the mutton of which is excellent; but like other animals fed on a similar pasture, the sheep are small. On the edge of the heath are several noblemen's seats. Among which, Hall Grove, the residence of Mrs. Birt; Chobham Place, S. Thornton, Esq.; South Hill Park, the Earl of Limerick; and Easthampstead Park, the seat of the Marquis of Downshire; are deserving the notice of the curious traveller. Bagshot heath. Bagshot Park to the north of the village, was once the seat of his late Majesty George IV. when Prince of Wales; after which time it was inhabited by the late Duke of Gloucester, (brother-in-law of his present Majesty) until the day of his decease, which occurred on the 30th of November, 1834, in the 58th year of his age; his remains were interred in St. George's Chapel, Windsor Castle, on the 11th of the following month. Bagshot was formerly a lordship of the kings of England, and was much resorted to by James I., and Charles I., to enjoy the pleasures of the chace. Mail arrives 10.14 night; departs 3.28 morning—Inns, King's Arms, and White Hart. [B] BAILDON is in the parish of Otley and wapentake of Skyrack, and is situated on the river Aire. The inhabitants are principally engaged in trade and manufactures. The Leeds and Liverpool Canal passes within a mile and a half from this place. Fair, first Saturday in March and November, for horses, horned cattle &c.
[A] BAKEWELL. This ancient market town, in which the petty sessions for the High Peak are holden, is situated on the western bank of the river Wye. Of late years, the market has dwindled into insignificance, but the parish is the most extensive in Derbyshire; its length is more than 20 miles, and its breadth upwards of eight. The pasturage in this neighbourhood is remarkably good. The town was anciently called Bath-quelle; it appears to have derived its name from its Bath-well, the immediate site of which has been for many years occupied by a collector of minerals and fossils for private cabinets. From the circumstance of a Roman altar, and other antiquities having been discovered here, there can be but little doubt that Bakewell was a place of some note in the time of the Romans. At the Conquest, Bakewell had two priests and a church. The manor then belonged to William Peverell, ancestor of the Peveril celebrated Seat of the Peverils of the Peak. in the admirable romance by Sir Walter Scott, styled "Peveril of the Peak." Bakewell church is an ancient structure, with a lofty spire. Near the entrance of the town, from Ashford, is a mill, for the carding, roving, doubling, spinning, and twisting of cotton, in which some hundreds of persons of both sexes are employed; the mill was erected by the late Sir Richard Arkwright, the founder of the cotton Sir Richard Arkwright. trade in this neighbourhood. This distinguished character, whose perseverance and admirable inventions raised him from one of the most humble occupations in society—that of a barber—to affluence and honour, was the youngest of thirteen children, and was born in the year 1732, at Preston, in Lancashire. A considerable manufacture of linen goods, and of linen and cotton mixed, was then carried on in that neighbourhood, and Mr. Arkwright had an opportunity of becoming intimately acquainted with the various operations; and being a man of superior powers, he directed his thoughts to the improvement of the mode of spinning, which had probably been conducted for ages without thought of change. The first hint respecting the means of effecting this improvement, he said, he accidentally received from seeing a red hot iron bar elongated, by being passed between iron cylinders. The difficulties which he experienced before he could bring his machine into use, even after its construction was sufficiently complete to demonstrate its value, would, perhaps, have for ever retarded its completion, had his genius and application been less ardent. His pecuniary means were not such as to enable him to commence business on his own account, and few were willing to incur the necessary risk. At length, however, he secured the co-operation of some persons who saw the merits of the invention, and were willing to assist his endeavours, and he obtained his first patent for spinning by means of rollers in the year 1769. To avoid the inconvenience of establishing a manufacture Cotton mills. of this kind at the great seat of the cotton manufacture, as it then existed, he removed to Nottingham, when, in conjunction with his partners, he erected his first mill, which was worked by horses. This mode being found too expensive, another mill on a larger scale was erected at Cromford, the machinery of which was put in motion by water. Mr. Arkwright soon effected many improvements in the mode of preparing the cotton for spinning, and invented a variety of ingenious machines for that purpose, in the most correct and expeditious manner, for all which he obtained a patent in the year 1775, and thus completed a series of machinery so various and complicated, yet so admirably combined as to excite universal approbation. That all this should have been accomplished by a single man, without education, without mechanical knowledge, or even mechanic's experience, is truly extraordinary; and is, perhaps, equal to any known example of the wonderful powers of the human mind, when steadily directed to one object. However, at the same time that he was inventing or improving the machinery, he was engaged in various undertakings which might have been thought incompatible with other pursuits. He was taking measures to secure himself a fair proportion of the fruits of his industry and ingenuity—he was greatly extending the business—he was introducing into every department of the manufactory, a novel system of industry, economy, order, and cleanliness; the whole of which he so effectually accomplished, that his example may be regarded as the origin of almost all similar improvements. During this entire period, he was afflicted with a violent asthma, which sometimes threatened the immediate termination of his existence; and for some time previously to his death, he was rendered incapable of continuing his usual pursuits, by a complication of diseases, which, at length, deprived him of life at the Rock House, Cromford, on the 23d of August, 1792. The honour of Knighthood was bestowed on him by George III., in December, 1786, when he presented an address to that monarch. Dr. Thomas Denman, an eminent Dr. Thomas Denman. physician, was born at this place in 1733; after the death of Dr. William Hunter, he was considered as the most eminent man of his profession. Towards the decline of his life he gradually relinquished the more laborious parts of his profession to his son-in-law, Sir Richard Croft, and became a consulting physician. His death, which was very sudden, took place on the 26th of November, 1815. He left two daughters and a son, the latter of whom, adopting the legal profession, is now Lord Chief Justice of the Court of King's Bench. Market, Friday.—Fairs, Easter Monday; Whit Monday; August 26; Monday after October 10; Monday after November 22, for cattle and horses,—Inn, Rutland Arms, allowed to be one of the best Inns in the kingdom, and is much frequented by anglers during the summer season.—Mail arrives 12.10 afternoon; departs 6.0 morning. Fair, first Saturday in March and November, for horses, horned cattle &c.
[A] BALA is situated at the outlet of the lake of the same name. It is a clean and populous market town, consisting of one wide principal street, and others crossing it at right angles. The houses are in general built very low. The young women commonly go barefooted; they are however well formed, and have little of the strong Welsh physiognomy. At this place is carried on a great trade in woollen gloves and stockings. Just before the entrance of the town is an artificial mount called "Tommen y Bala," (the tumulus of Bala) which is supposed to be of Roman origin, and placed here with a small castle on its summit to secure the pass towards the sea, which is about twenty-five miles distant. Bala Lake, or Llyn Tegid, is a quarter The largest lake in Wales. of a mile south of the town; it is the largest lake in Wales, being about four miles long, and in some places near a mile in breadth. At Bryn Goleu, its depth is several fathoms. The scenery around is mountainous, and it forms the principal attraction of the vicinity, yet it possesses none of the grand discriminating traits of the lakes of Scotland or Ireland. The overflowings of this lake are sometimes dreadful; but this only happens when the winds rush from the mountains at the upper end. In stormy weather, when swelled by torrents, the water is driven to the height of eight or nine feet, covering great part of the vale of Edeirnion, and almost threatening the town with destruction. In calm settled weather, it has been so smooth as to be frozen over. The river Dee rises from under Arran ben Llyn, the high mountain at the head of the lake; and according to Giraldus Cambriensis, Drayton, and others, passes through this immense body of water without deigning to intermix its waters, as the Rhone is said to pass through the lake of Geneva, and the classic Alpheus through the waters of the Adriatic. Hence it has been asserted, The lake fisheries. that salmon are never found in the lake, or gwiniad in the river; it however abounds with a variety of excellent fish, among which we may mention pike, trout, perch, and eels. The fishery in the 13th century belonged to the Abbey of Basingwerk; the whole property is vested at present in Sir Watkyn Williams Wynne, Bart., who allows the fishermen to be occasionally employed in attending fishing parties with a boat and nets, without such privilege no person is allowed the use of nets; but angling is freely permitted, and gentlemen as distant as from London visit this place entirely for the sake of indulging in this amusement. Of the inns at Bala, Mr. Hutton says, "although I have often only reposed one night at an inn, yet from agreeable treatment and conversation, I found some regret the next morning at parting; and though I saw the people but once, my mind revolted at the idea of seeing them no more." The town of Bala is governed by two bailiffs, and a common council, and the assizes are held here and at Dolgelly alternately; it is likewise one of the polling places for the county. Market Saturday—Fairs, May 14; July 10; Sep. 11 and 22; Oct. 24; and Nov. 8.—Mail arrives 8.0 morning; departs 5.0 afternoon.
[A] BALBY. In this village George Fox, the founder of the Society of Friends, or Quakers, held his first meetings. His father, who was a George Fox the Quaker. weaver, gave him a very religious education; he was apprenticed to a grazier, and much employed as a shepherd. From his earliest infancy he displayed a tendency to enthusiasm, and no doubt his solitary employment tended to confirm it. At the early age of nineteen he persuaded himself that he was called to exercise his faculties, solely in the affairs of religion. Forsaking his relations, he determined to devote himself to that alone. Equipped in a leathern doublet, he wandered from place to place, subsisting by the charity of those who received his doctrines. At length he reached the metropolis, where, being discovered by his friends, he was earnestly invited to return. This, however, he refused to do, and after remaining with them a short time, he again betook himself to his itinerant habits. He now walked abroad in retired places, fasting and studying the Bible by day and night, and sometimes a hollow tree was his habitation, book in hand, for a day together. In 1648, he publicly propagated his opinions, commencing as public preacher at Manchester, which place he frequently left to perambulate the adjacent towns, preaching in the market-houses. About this time he began to adopt the manners and habits which are peculiar to the society following his religious opinions; nor was he free from the persecution which constantly follows novelty, in any thing regarded as an innovation of a religious nature. At Derby, the disciples of Fox were first denominated Quakers, from the His wanderings and imprisonment. trembling delivery of their sentences, and their calls on the magistrates to tremble before the Lord. In 1655, Fox was sent a prisoner to Cromwell, who immediately liberated him upon ascertaining the peaceful nature of his doctrines. He was, however, treated by the country magistracy with great severity, from his frequently interrupting ministers, even during divine service, and more than once the Protector, Oliver Cromwell, exerted himself to obtain his freedom. A fast having been appointed on account of the persecution of Protestants in foreign countries, he addressed a letter to the heads and governors of the nation, descrying, in most forcible terms, the impropriety of having recourse to severity of a similar nature at home. Charles II. liberated him from prison in the year 1666, and from that time they formally united as a "Society of Friends." Three years afterwards he married the widow of Judge Fell, in the simple unostentatious manner practised by the sect to the present day. His health, however, was impaired by imprisonment and suffering, and he lived in a more retired manner to the day of his death, which took place in the year 1690, in the 67th year of his age.
[A] BALDERSLEY. Near this village is an extensive common, called Hutton Conyers Moor, on which there is a rabbit-warren; the inhabitants have a right of estray for their sheep on this moor, in conjunction with some other townships, and each township has a shepherd. The lord's Right of Common. shepherd has a pre-eminence of tending his sheep on every part of the common; and wherever he herds the lord's sheep, the several other shepherds are to give place to him, and give up what is termed their hofiong place, so long as they are depastured thereon. The lord's court is held on the first of January; the shepherds attend the court, and each do fealty by bringing a large apple-pye and a two-penny sweet-cake; each pye is divided into two parts, and distributed by the bailiff between the steward, the tenant of the rabbit-warren, and the shepherds of the townships, reserving Singular custom. a portion however for himself. Each pye contains about a peck of flour, and the bailiff measures them with a rule to see that they are of the proper dimensions; should they not be so he threatens to fine the town; he, however, has to provide furmenty (a food made by boiling wheat in milk) and mustard. The furmenty is put into an earthen pot, and the top of the dish placed level with the ground, all persons present are invited to partake; those who do not accept the invitation are deemed disloyal to their lord. Every shepherd is compelled to bring a spoon with him, and in cases of neglect, or wilful pleasantry, they are obliged to sup the hot furmenty from the pot, and the bystanders not unfrequently plunge the offenders head into the mixture, as a matter of diversion. [B] BALDOCK is situated between two hills, at the intersection of the great north road, and the Roman Ikeneld street. It was formerly the property of the Knights Templars, to whom Gilbert, Earl of Pembroke, gave the site; it was then called Baudoc: but some antiquarians, with little reason, derive its name from Balbec, a city in Syria, from which this order of knights was expelled by the Saracens. It principally consists of one long ancient street. The church, dedicated to St. Mary, is a spacious structure, and was built by the Knights Templars, and again partly rebuilt in the early part of the fifteenth century. All the early portion of this structure is of pure Roman architecture, and the latter of the florid gothic. The steeple, which is octagonal, was rebuilt a few years ago. In the church is a richly carved oaken screen, part of the ancient rood-loft, Sharks' teeth found in cutting through a hill. and a very curious font. In cutting through Baldock-hill, to form a new road, a number of fossils, consisting of cornua ammonis, sharks' teeth, &c., were discovered. There is a curious custom in this manor. When the Steward holds his Court Leet, the bell tolls, to summons the copyhold tenants together, to do their suit and service at dinner, to which every baker sends a loaf of bread, and every victualler a flagon of ale or beer. The object of this custom is intended for the Court Leet to examine the measures, as well as to judge of the quality of the articles of food. Market, Thursday.—Fairs, March 7; last Thursday in May; August 5; October 2; December 11, for cheese, cattle, and household goods.—Mail arrives 12.31 morning, departs 2.16 morning.—Bankers, Williamson and Co., draw on Hoare and Co.—Inn, White Hart.
[A] BAMBROUGH CASTLE is situated on the romantic coast of Northumberland, near an obscure town of the same name; it stands upon a triangular rock, high, rugged, and abrupt on the land side. But we leave its description, which would be too lengthy, and turn rather to the account of the benevolent institution founded in 1720, by Lord Crewe, Bishop of Seat of the Bishop of Durham. Durham, of which it is the seat. The keep of the castle is fitted up for suffering seamen, and property which may have been rescued from the fury of the ocean. Regulations were also adopted to prevent accidents on the coast, and to alleviate misfortunes when they had occurred. A nine-pounder placed at the bottom of the great tower, gives signals to ships in distress; and in case of a wreck announces it to the Custom-house officers, who hasten to prevent its being plundered. In addition to this, during a storm, horsemen patrol the coast, and rewards are paid for the earliest intelligence of vessels in distress. A flag is always hoisted when Noble charity. any ship is seen in distress on the Fern Islands or Staples; or a rocket thrown up at night, which gives notice to the fishermen of Holy Island, who put off to the spot when no boat from the main can get over the breakers. There has also been life-boats added to the establishment. Within the walls of the castle are supported two free-schools, an infirmary, thirty beds for shipwrecked sailors, and a granary, whence poor persons are supplied with provision at the first price. There is also a library, the books of which are circulated gratuitously for twenty miles round. This philanthropic endowment has not been suffered to decay with the romance of olden time, but the charitable intentions of the testator are fulfilled so as to exhibit a lasting record of his active benevolence. [B] BAMPTON. A market town, situated near the little river Batherme, which flows into the Exe at about one mile distance. Mr. Polwhele considers that this was a Roman station, and here, probably, the Romans had artificial hot-baths. A chalybeate spring in this neighbourhood is much celebrated for its medicinal qualities. John de Bampton, a Carmelite, John de Bampton. who was the first who publicly read Aristotle in Cambridge, was born here: he died in 1391. The manufactures of the place are serges and pottery. Market, Saturday.—Fairs, Whit Tuesday, and last Thursday in October, for cattle. [C] BAMPTON. Here are some slight remains of an ancient castle, supposed to have been erected in the reign of King John. The celebrated poet, John Philips, the son of Dr. Stephen Philips, archdeacon John Philips the poet. of Salop, was born in this town, on the 30th of December, 1676, and after the preliminary process of juvenile education, was sent to Winchester, where he was distinguished by the superiority of his exercises, and at school endeared himself to all his companions and superiors: it is related of him, that he seldom mingled in the play of other boys, but retired to his chamber, and indulged in the study of the poets and of the ancient and modern classics, particularly Milton. In 1694, he was removed to Christchurch, Oxford, where he finished all his University acquirements; but Milton—the immortal Milton—continued to be his uninterrupted day dream: and he might have exclaimed in the language of that poet, I will study the magnificence of thy etherial phantasy, "From morn till noon, from noon to dewey eve, It is said that there was not an allusion in "Paradise Lost," drawn from any hint either in "Homer," or "Virgil," to which he could not immediately refer. While at Oxford he was honoured with the friendship of Mr. Edmund Smith, author of the Tragedy of "Phaedra and Hippolitus;" and also with Philips's poetical works. that of the most polite and favoured of the gentlemen in the University. His first poem was published in 1703, entitled, "The Splendid Shilling," which has the merit of an original design. His next poem, entitled "Blenheim," which he wrote as a rival to Addison's poem on the same subject, was published in 1705, and procured him the patronage of Mr. Henry Saint John, afterwards Lord Bolingbroke. Independent of poetry, Philips was an excellent botanist; in 1706 he produced his third poem on "Cyder," founded on the model of Virgil's Georgics, a book not only of entertainment but of science; and soon afterwards, a latin Ode, "to Henry Saint John, Esq.," said to have been the poet's masterpiece. "It is gay and elegant," says Dr. Johnson, "and exhibits several artful accommodations of classic expressions to new purposes." At the time of his illness, Philips was meditating a poem to be called "The Last Day;" death put an end to so solemn and majestic a finale of genius. He died at Hereford, of a lingering consumption, February 15, 1708, in the thirty-third year of his age, and was buried in the cathedral of that city. Sir Simon Harcourt, afterwards Lord Chancellor, erected a monument to his memory in Westminster Abbey, the epitaph upon which was written by Character and death. Doctor Atterbury. Philips was a gentleman of a modest and amiable disposition, "and always praised without contradiction," (says Dr. Johnson) "as a man, modest, blameless, and pious, who bore a narrow fortune without discontent—and tedious and painful maladies without impatience; beloved by those who knew him, but not ambitious to be known." Market, Wednesday.—Fairs, March 26, and August 26, for cattle and toys.
[A] BAMPTON. The river Lowther runs through this parish. Here is a beautiful lake, called Haweswater, three miles long, and half a mile Haweswater lake. broad; it is environed by lofty mountains, conveying to the mind a grand and imposing appearance: its eastern side is sheltered by rocky eminences, plentifully clothed with verdure, while the western side displays the open fields, with all the sweet varieties of culture. A lead mine has lately been discovered in the neighbourhood. The free grammar-school was founded by Thomas Sutton, D.D., who vested in trustees the sum of £500., collected from estates out of the parish of St. Saviour, Southwark, and other places. Here, also, three parochial libraries were established respectively, in the years 1710, 1750, 1752, comprising about 800 volumes. Thomas Gibson, M.D., who married the daughter of Richard Cromwell, Protector, Dr. Thomas Gibson. was Physician-General of the army, and a native of this parish. He was the author of a system of anatomy. The learned doctor, having laid the foundation of his classical learning at a school in this county, he entered as scholar at Queen's College, Oxford, in 1686. The study of the northern languages about this period was particularly cultivated at the University, and Mr. Gibson rigidly applied himself to that branch of literature, in which he was assisted by Dr. Hicks. In a short time he translated into Latin the "Chronicon Saxonicum," and published it together with the Saxon original. Dr. Gibson had an early and strong inclination to search the antiquities of his own country, and being well versed in the knowledge of its original languages, he applied himself with great diligence, and in a few years produced his edition of "Camden's Britannica," An Antiquarian. and concluded this branch of learning with "ReliquÆ SpelmannianÆ," or the posthumous works of Sir Henry Spelman, relating to the laws and antiquities of England, which, with a life of the author, he published at Oxford, in 1698, and dedicated his work to Archbishop Tenison. About this time he was taken as Domestic Chaplain to the Archbishop's family, and soon afterwards was made Rector of Lambeth, and Archdeacon of Surrey. Upon the death of the Archbishop, in 1715, Dr. Wake, Bishop of Lincoln, succeeded him, and Dr. Gibson was appointed to that See; and Dr. Robinson also dying, in 1720, Gibson was appointed Bishop of Made Bishop of London. London. The ministry were so sensible of his great abilities, that a sort of ecclesiastical ministry was committed to his charge for several years. He died on the 6th of September, 1748, with true Christian fortitude, and in perfect tranquillity of mind.
[A] BANBURY is pleasantly situated on the small river Charwell, and its staple commodities seem to be cheese and cakes; the former, even in Shakspeare's time, appear to have been celebrated, for Bardolph, when accused Cheese and cakes. by "Slender" of robbing him of his two milled sixpences, exclaims, "You Banbury cheese." The cakes have made this town more celebrated than even its political engagements. The castle of Banbury was founded in the year 1153, by Alexander, Bishop of Lincoln, and continued an episcopal residence till the reign of Henry VI. During the contentions between the houses of York and Lancaster, when civil discord was a familiar incident in this neighbourhood, Banbury suffered much; but more particularly in the memorable engagement, called "The Battle of Banbury," fought Battle of Banbury. about three miles from the town, in 1469. It took place on a plane called Danesmoor, near Edgecote. The Earl of Warwick was the commander of the Lancasterian forces, and the Yorkists were led by the Earls of Stafford and Pembroke, who had possession of the town. After one of the most determined conflicts ever recorded, the Yorkists were routed; the Earl of Pembroke and his brother were both taken and beheaded, and Edward IV. himself made prisoner a few days after. In 1642, the towns-people took part with the Parliament, but after the battle of Edgehill, this castle was taken by the royalists, under Sir William Compton, who defended it for 13 weeks against all the efforts of Sir John Fiennes, until the garrison was relieved by the Earl of Northampton. It suffered a further siege of 10 weeks, under Sir William Waller, and surrendered on honourable terms. Leland, who wrote in the Reign of Henry VIII., says, "In this castle is a terrible prison for convict men." A stone vault, with grated windows, and traces of the inner ditch, is supposed to have been Once a celebrated grammar Market, Thursday.—Fairs, Thursday after Jan. 18, for cattle, horses, and sheep: first Thursday in Lent; second Thursday before Easter, cattle and sheep; Ascension Day; Thursday and Friday in Trinity week; August 13, horses, cows, and sheep; Thursday after Old Michaelmas, hogs and cheese; October 30; and second Thursday before Christmas. Cheese, hops, and cattle.—Mail arrives 4.15 morning; departs 10.34 night.—Bankers, (Old Bank) Cobb and Co., draw on Jones, Lloyd, and Co.; Gibbons and Co., draw on Robarts and Co.; Gillett and Co., draw on Esdaile and Co.—Inns, Red Lion, and White Lion.
[A] BANGOR, which signifies the beautiful choir, is a Bishop's See; compared to its former size, it is now but an inconsiderable place. It is seated at the mouth of the Menai, near its opening to the Lavan sands, in a narrow valley, between two low ridges of slate rock, opening to the south, towards the majestic mountain, Snowdon, which rises 3571 feet above the level of the sea. Mr. Warner, the intelligent Welsh tourist, and his companion, spoke in raptures of this place. The beauty, repose, and retirement of the whole pleased them wonderfully. The latter observed, "If he were Bishop of Bangor, the only translation he would covet would be, thence to heaven." The former agreed with him, that "Were fate to throw him also into such a spot, very few attractions would have sufficient force to elicit him from it." They had "Never seen a place which united so many beauties in so narrow a circle." From this city the new road finds its way through a low pass in the adjacent ridge, and descends gently along the face of the sloping bank to the great bridge: this road is very smooth and well protected, and worthy of the The suspension bridge. magnificent scenery by which it is surrounded. Menai suspension bridge is distant about two miles and a half from Bangor. This noble bridge is substituted for the inconvenient ferry; it is 100 feet above the level of high water, even at spring tides. The cathedral is a low plain building, dedicated to St. Deiniol, to whom it owed its origin about the year 525, and he was elected the first bishop in 550. He was the son of Dinothus, Abbot of Bangor-iscoed, and reared under the auspices of a Welsh prince, patron of the bard Talliesin, and perhaps the most liberal prince of his time. In 1402 it was burnt down, during the rebellion of Owen Glendower; and what is rather singular, it was suffered to remain in ruins during the space of 90 years, when the choir was rebuilt by the Bishop in the reign of Henry VII. But that cruel ravager of ecclesiastical property, Bishop Cathedral. Bulkeley, not only alienated the lands belonging to the cathedral, but even had the audacity to sell the bells of the church. The choir is fitted up in a style of neat and simple elegance, and ornamented with an excellent organ, the gift of Dr. Thomas Lloyd, in 1779. The chapter consists of a dean, three archdeacons, two precentors, two vicars choral, six minor canons, six lay clerks, and eight choristers, with an income of £2,000. per annum. The windows of the cathedral were formerly very handsomely ornamented with stained glass, but in the civil wars of Charles I. the soldiers destroyed these, amongst other things. The most conspicuous monument in this building is that erected to the memory of Owen Gwynedd, one of the ancient princes of Wales. Here are several Dissenting meeting-houses, and the town is the resort of many visitors during the summer season; upwards of 50,000 annually are said to remain for longer or shorter periods. Steam-packets ply between this place and Liverpool. Market, Friday.—Fairs, April 5; June 25; September 16; and October 28.—Mail arrives at Menai Bridge 4.15 morning; departs 8.32 afternoon.
[A] BANGOR ISCOED is situated on the banks of the river Dee, which here passes under a bridge of five arches. This place, at present very inconsiderable, is famed on account of having been the site of the most ancient monastery in the kingdom, founded by Lucius, the son of Coel, the first Christian King of Britain, sometime previous to the year 180. This abbey The first abbey established in Britain. was remarkable for its valuable library, and the number of learned men trained within its venerable walls. Gildas Ninnius, who lived in the 7th century, was one of its abbots. He wrote in Latin an incorrect history of England, which is still extant. According to Speed, this monastery, in the year 596, contained no less than 2,400 monks, 100 of which passed in their turns one hour of devotion; there are no remains of the monastery existing. [B] BANSTEAD is celebrated for the excellent herbage which the neighbouring downs afford the sheep, which are highly prized for the delicate flavour of the mutton. There are many elegant seats in the vicinity, amongst which are Banstead House, Miss Motteux; Cold Blow Cottage, General Sir Edward Howorth; and the Oaks, the seat of the Earl of Seat of the Earl of Derby. Derby. This celebrated villa was erected by a society of gentlemen, called the "Hunter's Club," and the present noble proprietor can accommodate his guests with more than 50 bed chambers; and a pack of hounds are kept on the establishment, which has been long noted for its hospitality. On the 26th of February, 1834, Mr. John Richardson, a farmer, returning from Epsom to Banstead, was robbed and murdered on these downs. [C] BANWELL is an agreeable village, situated under the northern declivity of the Mendip hills, and is supposed to derive its name from a spring strongly impregnated with mineral properties, which expands into a fine sheet of water, and after turning two mills, empties itself into the channel near the ruins of Woodspring Priory. The church, which is a fine specimen of the florid gothic of the Tudor age, contains a richly carved screen and rood loft, a beautiful sculptured stone pulpit, and several windows of the richest stained glass. This manor has been Formerly a Bishop's Palace. in the possession of the Bishops of Bath and Wells, from the reign of Edward the Confessor, with little exception, till the present time. They had for many centuries a palace here, but nothing of it remains except a private residence called Banwell Court, still interesting for its antiquity. The park has been divided into enclosures, which afford at every point a most pleasing variety of landscapes. The Bishop of Bath and Wells has also a cottage ornee, for the accommodation of his family and of the numerous visitors which are driven hither to view the two singular caverns which have been discovered of late years in this neighbourhood. The monastery of Banwell was founded by the early Saxon monarchs. Asserius, or Asser, the scholar and biographer of King Alfred, was made Abbot by that monarch. This Abbey was destroyed by the Danes; it was afterwards restored, but never recovered its pristine importance; for instead of arriving at the point of prosperity usual in Royal foundations, it sunk into obscurity long prior to the dissolution of religious houses. Banwell is remarkable for two extraordinary caverns discovered in the Extraordinary caverns. year 1824, which occasioned no inconsiderable number of the curious to resort to the village. They were first discovered by some workmen digging a shaft in search of Calamine, which intersected a steep narrow fissure; after they had descended about 80 feet it opened into a spacious cavern, 150 feet long and 30 broad, and about 30 feet high. This is called the stalactite cavern, from the beautiful specimens of crystalized stalactite, which lay covering huge fragments of rock about the floor. In this place were found two pieces of candle, encrusted with lime, supposed to have been left by the miners after working for ochre, calamine, &c. A rich vein of iron ore, with some cobalt and manganese, was also discovered, the working of which has long since commenced, and the produce is conveyed to the smelting works on the southern coast of Wales. The workmen, in order to facilitate an easier method of entrance, opened another fissure lower in the rock, when suddenly another cavern presented itself, the floor of which was covered with a mass of sand, limestone, teeth, bones, &c. Professor Buckland, who surveyed this place, states, that a shaft being driven into this mass, proved it to have been nearly 40 feet deep. The bones consisted of various specimens of the ox tribe, including Antediluvian bones. the elk. Skeletons of the wolf, and a gigantic bear, in point of preservation, like what are to be found in ordinary churchyards—supposed to be of antediluvian origin, where found here. In the roof of the cave is a large chimney-like shaft, formerly rising to the surface, but now blocked up by fragments of limestone, mud, and sand, adhering together by incrustation, and through which dreadful pitfall, it is presumed, this immense number of beasts were precipitated at the great inundation. The rubbish has been partially cleared, and the bones are used to decorate the sides of the walls. A British earthwork crowns the summit of the neighbouring eminence, enclosing, within its irregular rampart, an area of about 20 acres; and, about a quarter of a mile further, is an entrenchment nearly square, the ground in the centre of which is elevated in the form of a cross. Fairs, Jan. 18, and July 18, for cattle, sheep, and cheese.
[A] BARDFIELD, (Great.) Market, formerly Tuesday (now disused.)—Fair, June 22, for cattle and toys. [B] BARDNEY, anciently Beardanam, is situated in a marsh on the north bank of the river Witham. An abbey was founded in the time of the Saxons, prior to the year 641. Here Ethelred, divesting himself of the splendour of royalty, retired to devote his days to religion, and became superior of the monastery. King Oswald is said to have been buried here, but the body King Oswald buried here. was afterwards removed to the church of Gloucester. The hand was retained by the monks as a relique, to which they ascribed the power of working miracles, and for a long period imposed upon the credulity of superstitious pilgrims. In the year 870 the monastery was burned by the Danes, but was afterwards rebuilt by Gilbert De Gaunt, Earl of Lincoln, who annexed to it several extensive estates. At the dissolution its annual revenues were estimated at £429. 7s.
[A] BARDSEY ISLE, is near the south-east point of the promontory of Llyn, in Caernarvonshire: it is of a moderate elevation; in length two miles, and in breadth one. The third part of its contents of 370 acres, occupied by a high mountain, affords sustenance to a few sheep and rabbits. It is about a league distant from the main land, and only accessible to the mariner on its south-east side, where there is a small well-sheltered No reptiles on this island. harbour. There is no reptile ever seen on this island, except the common water-lizard. The soil is clayey, but produces excellent barley and wheat. The inhabitants are employed in cultivating the land, and in fishing. The abbot's house is a large stone building, occupied by several families, and near it is a singular chapel, or oratory, being a long arched edifice, with a insolated stone altar near the east end. Dubricius, archbishop of Caerleon, almost worn out with age, resigned his see to St. David, retired here, and died in 522. He was interred upon the spot, but such was the veneration paid to his memory in after ages, that about the year 1107, his remains were removed, by the procurement of Urban, then Bishop of Llandaff, and re-interred in the cathedral of that see, of which he had been the first bishop. St. Dubricius was a man of singular eminence St. Dubricius. for learning and piety. He was Archbishop of Caerleon, and Metropolitan of all Wales, in the time of Aurelius Ambrosius; and prior to this elevation, he taught a school on the banks of his native river, which was much resorted to from all Christian countries. [B] BARDSEY, comprises the township of Bardsey, with Rigton and Wathersome. Near the church is a mound called Castle Hill, supposed to have been the site of a Roman fortress. At Bardsey Grange, in this parish, resided occasionally, and died, Francis Thorpe, the tyrannical Baron of the Exchequer; but the same house is rendered memorable as the birth place of the poet Congreve, in 1670. This clever and celebrated Birth-place of Congreve, the poet. poet, was baptised in the church of this village in the month of February of the same year. When an infant he was carried to Kilkenny, by his father, who had the command of the army there. He received his education in the school of Kilkenny, and from these circumstances it is probable that persons had fallen into the erroneous impression that Congreve was a native of Ireland. In 1685 he was admitted into the university of Dublin. In 1691 he became a member of the society of the Middle Temple, but soon relinquished the dry study of the Law. At the age of twenty-one, he published his novel called "Incognita," His works. or, "Love and Duty Reconciled." Soon afterwards, he brought out the Comedy, called "The Old Bachelor," of which Dryden says, "he never saw such a first play in his life;" it was performed in 1793, with the most unbounded applause. Lord Falkland wrote the prologue. The singular success and merits of this production, recommended him to the patronage and notice of the Earl of Halifax, who settled him in an office of six hundred a year, and during his life patronised him in every way he could. His next piece was "The Double Dealer." On the death of Queen Mary, in 1693, he wrote a Pastoral on the occasion, entitled "The Mourning Muse of Alexis," upon the appearance of which King William, her husband, granted him an annuity of £100. per annum. In 1695, he produced his Comedy, called "Love for Love;" and in 1697, the beautiful Tragedy of "The Mourning Bride." Having lived a high and honorable Died in Surrey-st., London. life amongst the most celebrated wits and classical men of the age, he died at his house in Surrey-street, in the Strand, January 19, 1729. On the 26th his corpse lay in state in the Jerusalem Chamber, at Westminster, and the same evening was carried into Henry the Seventh's Chapel, and afterwards buried in the Abbey. His pall was supported by the Duke of Bridgewater, Earl Godolphin, Lord Cobham, Lord Wilmington, Hon. George Berkeley, Esq., and Brigadier-General Churchill. Dr. Johnson says, "He has merit of the highest kind; he is an original writer, who borrowed neither the models of his plot, nor the manner of his dialogue." And Voltaire remarks, "That he raised the glory of comedy to a greater height than any English writer before or since his time."
[A] BARFORD, (Great). At this place is a piece of land, called White Bread Close, left, as is generally believed, by one of the Shepherd family, formerly residents of considerable opulence in the parish, for the purpose of purchasing loaves of white bread, to be thrown among the populace from Curious custom. the church porch. This whimsical custom at last became such a scene of scrambling, fighting, and disorder, that it was prohibited by the curate, and the money applied towards the purchase of coals for the poor, at Christmas. The boys, and even men, seemed to have participated in this sport, the same as at a game at foot-ball, or other play; and an old gentleman in the adjoining village fully remembers taking an active part in the scramble, and bearing off the wheaten loaf in triumph. [B] BARFORD, (Little), is situated in the hundred of Biggleswade, and is chiefly celebrated as the birth-place of Rowe, the dramatic poet, who was born here in the year 1673. His father having designed him for the study Rowe, the Dramatist. of the law, took him from school at the age of sixteen, and entered him a student in the Middle Temple. He made considerable progress, and was called to the bar, but Homer and Virgil had more charms for him than either Coke or Littleton. He was strongly solicited by his friends to practice, but nothing could overcome his affection for the muses; and his play, the "Ambitious Step-mother," having been received with great applause, he resolved to make poetry his profession. He had imbibed in his youth the most noble sentiments of liberty, of which he gave a specimen in his Tragedy of "Tamerlane." This was the second play that he wrote, and until of late years it was usual to perform it on the 4th and 5th of November, in commemoration of the gunpowder treason, and the landing of King William. Mr. Rowe being out of all employment, went one day to wait on the Earl of Oxford, Lord High Treasurer of England, when, among other things his Lordship asked him, whether he understood Spanish. He replied in the negative, and his Lordship said he would advise him to learn it as soon as possible. Rowe took his leave, applied himself to the study of that language, and expecting some lucrative employment, again waited upon him. How great was his disappointment, when his Lordship, on being informed of his acquisition, merely exclaimed, Anecdote. "How happy are you, Mr. Rowe, that you can now enjoy the pleasure of reading "Don Quixote" in the original!" His death took place on the 6th of December, 1718, in the 45th year of his age, and he was buried with great funeral pomp, in Westminster Abbey, where a handsome monument is erected to his memory.
[A] BARKING, in the hundred of Beacontree. The name is derived, according Origin of its name. to some writers, from the Saxon words Beorce—a birch tree, and Ing—a meadow; but the most natural presumption is, that it takes its name from Berging, signifying a fortification in a meadow, and which seems to be borne out, as there is an encampment still to be traced, of the most extensive dimensions, being more than forty-eight acres in the area; near to which is a spring of fine water, which no doubt supplied the inmates. In 870, Barking was burnt by the Danes, and the abbey destroyed, and Burnt by the Danes. the nuns either murdered or dispersed. Soon after the conquest, King William retired to this place, while the Tower of London was being erected, not deeming it safe to continue in that city; and here he was visited during the preparation for his coronation, by Earl Edwin, of Mercia; Morcar, Earl of Northumberland; and many others of the nobility, who swore fealty to him, on the restoration of their estates. It is situated on the river Roding, which branches off in two different streams, and unites with the Thames about two miles distant. Barking Creek is navigable for ships of 80 tons burden, and the coal and timber, together with the fishing trade, is carried on to a considerable extent. About a hundred fishing smacks sail from this town. Near the creek is a large flour mill, formerly belonging to the abbey; and in the vicinity of the town are extensive potatoe grounds for the supply of the London market. Barking is rather a dull town, from the want of a main thoroughfare; it has the appearance of antiquity stamped upon it, particularly the market-house, which is an extensive and ancient building of timber and plaster, of the age of Elizabeth. Here is a town-hall and work-house. A free quay for landing goods, subject to a table of regulations, and a spacious new road from the Commercial-road, through Eastham and Wallend to Barking. The church is dedicated to St. Margaret, and is a spacious ancient structure, with a lofty embattled tower at the west end, having a beacon turret at one corner. A free-school, which now occupies part of the work-house, was founded by Sir James Campbell, in 1641, who bequeathed a sum of £666. 13s. 4d. for that purpose. John Fowke, Esq., bequeathed certain lands for the maintenance of eight boys in Christ's Hospital, two of whom are chosen from this parish. The importance formerly Once a town of importance. attached to the town of Barking was almost entirely to be attributed to the magnificent abbey that was established here in the year 670, by Erkenwald, Bishop of London, for nuns of the Benedictine order: it was dedicated to the Virgin Mary. This abbey was governed by a succession of Abbesses, of noble, and even royal descent After the destruction of the establishment by the Danes, in the year 870, it was again rebuilt in a style of greater splendour than before, and on the death of King Edgar, in 970, his queen became Abbess. From the earliest period to the time of its dissolution, it may be said to have been a seminary for the principal gentry of England. Its revenues amounted, at the suppression of the religious houses, to £1084. 6s. 2-3/4d. Destruction has done its worst to this beautiful abbey, for at present little or nothing remains but the gateway, an interesting object, and in good preservation; over which is a room, called the Chapel of the Holy Ghost. This gateway was denominated the fire-bell gate, from its having anciently contained the curfew; it is a square embattled structure, with an octagonal turret at one of the angles. The arch of the entrance is finely pointed, and enriched with deeply receding mouldings; above is a canopied niche, under a fine gothic window of three lights. Among the ruins of the abbey were discovered a fibula, and a gold ring, on which were engraved, the Salutation of the Virgin Mary, and the initials I.M. The tyranny exercised over the tenants of this manor by the fraternity, would almost create a feeling of surprise in our present liberal and enlightened age, were they not perfectly well known in a thousand other instances. The manor of Clayhall was held under the Abbess and convent of Barking, by the following services: viz. that every tenant should come in person to the Abbey Church, on the vigil of St. Ethelburg the Virgin, and there attend and guard the high altar, from the first hours of Vespers till nine the next morning; and that he should be ready at all times, with a horse and a man, to attend the Abbess and her steward, when going upon the business of the convent, Singular services by which the manor of Clayhall was held. any where within the four seas. And, lastly, that the Abbess should have by way of herriot, upon the death of every tenant, his best horse and accoutrements: these services, however, did not exempt them from the quit rents. Besides the above tenure, there were other vexatious contingencies; viz. one (Robert Gerard) was among other services, to gather a full measure of nuts, called a pybot, four of which should make a bushel; to go a long journey on foot once a year to Colchester, Chelmsford, Ely, or the like distances, on the business of the convent, carrying a pack; and other shorter distances, such as Brentford, &c., and maintaining himself upon the road. He was to pay a fine upon the marriage of his daughter, if she married beyond the limits of the manor. If his daughter had an illegitimate child, he was to make the best terms he could with the Abbess, for the fine called Kyldwyte. It appears also, that he could not even sell his ox fed by himself, without the Abbess's permission. Some of the tenants, according to Blount, were obliged to watch and guard thieves in the Abbess's prison. A few miles distant, in a glade in Hainhault Forest, formerly stood an oak, famed through many centuries, and known by the Fairlop oak. name of Fairlop Oak. Its age is traced by the traditions of the country half way through the Christian era. Part of this noble tree has been converted into the pulpit of St. Pancras new church. Its rough fluted stem was 36 feet in circumference, and about a yard from the ground, divided into eleven immense arms; yet not in the horizontal manner of an oak, but rather that of a beech. Beneath its shade, which formerly overspread an area of three hundred feet in circuit, an annual fair was held on the 2nd of July, and no booth was suffered to be raised beyond the extent of its boughs. The fair is still continued on the same spot the first Friday in July. Market disused.—Fair, October 22, for toys. It lies within the three-penny post delivery.
[A] BARMING. Of this village the learned antiquarian, Mark Noble, was rector. His principal works were a history of the College of Arms, a Mark Noble. Genealogical History of the Royal Families of Europe, Memoirs of the Protectorate House of Cromwell; and, also, of the illustrious house of Medici. On St. Thomas's Day there is an annual solicitation for charity, and with the money raised loaves of bread are purchased, and distributed to the resident poor. Great quantities of hops, cherries, and filberts, are grown in this parish. [B] BARMOUTH, near the conflux of the river Maw, or Mawddach, is a village singularly situated; the houses are disposed, either among the sand, in a low situation, or at different heights on the side of a huge A very curiously built town. rock, like a part of the city of Edinburgh, and are said to resemble the town of Gibraltar. These houses form eight tiers, to which there is no approach, but by steps cut in the rock. The floors of one row are about level with the tops of the chimnies immediately in front; so that a person standing at his door may look down the chimnies of the neighbourhood below. The first range regales the second with its smoke, the second the third, &c. till we arrive at the uppermost, which, in a westerly wind, takes the mixed perfume of all. Barmouth is the port of Merionethshire, not far from which the river Mawddach has its commencement. "Proceeding along the banks of this river towards Dolgelly," says Mr. Bingley, "when it was high water, the whole bed of the river being filled, made the different landscapes in the scene appear truly picturesque. The first two miles which lay along, what the inhabitants of Barmouth call, the Beach, formed the most interesting part of the journey. In the composition of the views, scarcely any thing appeared wanting; there was every requisite of mountain and vale, wood, water, meadows, and rocks, arranged in beautiful order. Beyond the beach, the road winds at a little distance from the river, among the low mountains; and from different stations, I had views of the most elegant and picturesque landscapes, the river partly hidden by intervening mountains. This stream is much diminished in width and depth: at present it will not admit so much as a pleasure-boat to reach Dolgelly, which obliges company to walk three-quarters of a mile to the town." [C] BARNARD CASTLE. The castle from which the town appears to have derived its name, was founded by Barnard, son of Guy Baliol, who Guy Baliol. accompanied William the Conqueror to England, and to whom William Rufus granted the noble forests of Teesdale and Marwood. Edward the First, determined to mortify the Bishop of Durham and to abridge his power; he, therefore, gave this castle to Guy Beauchamp, Earl of Warwick, in whose family it continued for five generations. It afterwards came to the crown, and the tyrant Richard III. who took very great delight in this place, contributed much to its beauty by the most tasteful embellishments; his armorial bearings still appear, not only on the castle but over many parts of the town, and it has been a crown domain ever since. Hutchinson in his history of the county of Durham, describes the remains of the castle as covering about six acres and three quarters of ground. The parts which were of chief strength, stand on the very brink of a steep rock, about eighty feet above the level of the river Tees, commanding a most beautiful prospect up the river. The area on the side of the market-place, appears not to have had any communication with the chief strongholds and bulwarks of the fortress, and is separated from the interior buildings by a deep fosse which surrounds the rest of the castle. In an adjoining ground called the Flatts, is a large reservoir cut in swampy ground; water was collected and conveyed to the castle in pipes, to supply the garrison and cattle enclosed within the walls of the outer areas in times of public danger. This area is now a pasture for sheep, and other parts enclosed by the walls have been converted into orchards. Market, Wednesday.—Fairs, Wednesday in Easter and Whitsun Week, St. James's Day, and July 25, for horses, cattle, and sheep.—Bankers, W. Skinner and Co. draw on Barclay and Co.—Inns, King's Head, and Rose and Crown.—Mail arrives 6.40 morning; departs 2.40 afternoon.
[A] BARNBROUGH. The church is dedicated to Saint Peter, and contains a rude painting commemorative of "a serious contest that took place between a man and a wild cat." This conflict, which every body in Barnbrough firmly believes, is said to have occurred about the middle of the fifteenth century, between Percival Cresacre, lord of the manor, and a wild cat o' mountain. He is reported to have been attacked in one of the little woods in the neighbourhood, by this furious animal, and a running fight was kept up till they reached the church porch, where the mortal combat ended in the death of both. That some such circumstance Contest between the lord of the manor and a wild cat. did occur, is conjectured from the crest which the family afterwards adopted, viz. a cat o' mountain, which is still to be seen on the tower of the church; and the tradition is said to be further confirmed by the figure of an animal at the foot of the oak statue of this Cresacre, and also a rubiginous stone in the pavement of the porch of the church. We have many evidences in history that cats were beasts of chase, particularly in the charter of Ranulph Piperking, granted by Edward the Confessor:— Hart and hind, doe and bock, and again, Four greyhounds and six raches, In the church is an ancient monument of Alicia Cresacre, wife of the above gentleman, who died in 1450, on which is carved in old text:— Our bodys in stonys lye full still, In the north chancel is the monument of Percival Cresacre, a richly decorated altar-tomb under a flat arch, at the crown of which is the family arms, viz. three lions rampant, purple, on a gold shield. The effigies of Cresacre is in fine preservation, composed of carved oak, and representing a knight in a suite of plate armour, with his arms painted on a shield, and an animal (supposed to be a lion) at his feet. His sword which hung from his belt has been taken away, and both monuments are decorated with the favorite device of the family, a rosary of beads.
[A] BARN-ELMS. On the adjoining common stood the house in which the members of the celebrated Kit Cat Club assembled. Their Kit Cat Club house. original place of meeting was in London, but Jacob Tonson, the bookseller, who was their secretary, caused it to be transferred to a house belonging to himself, at Barn-Elms, and built a handsome room for their accommodation. The portrait of each member was painted by Sir Godfrey Kneller, but the apartment not being sufficiently large to receive half-length pictures, a shorter canvas was adopted, and hence proceeded the technical term of Kit Cat size. We give a further account of this club from the graphic pen of Sir Richard Phillips, in his "Morning's Walk from London to Kew," 1817. "A lane in the north-west corner of the common brought me to Barn-Elms, where now resides a Mr. Hoare, a banker, of London. The family were from home, and I had some difficulty to gain admittance, the servants knowing nothing either of the club, or its former occupant. A walk covered with docks, thistles, nettles, and high grass, led from the remains of a gateway in the garden wall to the door which opened into the building. Ah! thought I, through this desolate avenue, the finest geniuses in England daily proceeded to meet their friends. Yet, within a century, how changed—how deserted—how revolting! A cold chill seized me as the man unfastened the decayed door, and I beheld the once elegant hall filled with cobwebs, a fallen As described by Sir Richard Phillips in 1817. ceiling, and accumulating rubbish. The door on the left led to a spacious, and once superb, staircase—now in ruins. The entire building, for want of ventilation, having become food for the fungus, called dry-rot, the timbers had lost its cohesive powers. I ascended the staircase, therefore, with a degree of danger to which my conductor would not expose himself, but was well requited for my pains. Here I found the Kit-Cat Club-room, nearly as it existed in the days of its glory. It is 18 feet high, and 40 feet long, by 20 wide. The mouldings and ornaments were in the most superb fashion of its age, but the whole was falling to pieces from the effects of the dry-rot. My attention was chiefly attracted by the faded cloth-hangings of the room, whose red colour once set off the famous portraits of the club that hung around it. Their marks and sizes were still visible, and their numbers and names remained, as written in chalk for the guidance of the hanger. Thus was I, as it were, brought into contact with Addison and Steele, and Congreve, and Garth, and Dryden, and with many hereditary nobles, remembered only because they were patrons of those natural nobles. I read their names aloud—I invoked their departed spirits—I was appalled by the echo of my own voice. The holes in the floor, the forest of cobwebs in the windows, and a swallow's nest in the corner of the ceiling, proclaimed that I was viewing a vision of the dreamers of a past age; that I saw realized before me the speaking vanities of the anxious career of man. On rejoining Mr. Hoare's servant in the hall below, he informed me that his master intended to pull the building down, and form of it a riding-house. I learn that this design has since been executed. The Kit-Cat pictures were painted early in the eighteenth century, and about the year 1710 were brought to this spot, but the room I have been describing was not built till ten or fifteen years afterwards. They were 42 in number, and are now in the possession of a Mr. Baker, of Hertingford-bury, where I lately saw them splendidly lodged, and in fine preservation. It may be proper to observe, that the house of Mr. Hoare was not the house of Mr. Tonson, and that Mr. Tonson's house stood nearer to the Kit-Cat club-rooms, having a few years since been taken down." A person died in this place, leaving in his will an annual sum, to be laid out in roses to be planted on his grave. The spot is distinguished by a stone tablet on the outside of the wall of the church, enclosed by pales, with some rose-trees planted on each side of it. This tablet is dedicated to the memory of Edward Rose, citizen of London, who died in 1653, and left £20. to the poor of Barnes, for the purchase of an acre of land, on condition that the pales should be kept up, and the rose-trees preserved.
[A] BARNET. This small busy town occupies an elevated situation on the high north road; and near this place was fought, in the year 1471, the famous battle between the houses of York and Lancaster, which terminated Battle between the houses of York and Lancaster. in the death of the Earl of Warwick, and established King Edward the Fourth upon the throne. An obelisk was erected by Sir Jeremy Sambrook, in memory of the battle in the year 1740. In the church is an altar monument in commemoration of Thomas Ravensworth, Esquire, whose effigy, in a recumbent position, is represented on the tomb in veined marble. He died in 1630. Several others of his family are also buried here; and among these, James, his eldest son, who erected and endowed an alms-house, or hospital in Barnet, "for six poor ancient women, being widows or maidens, inhabitants of the town; and neither common beggars, common drunkards, back-biters, tale-bearers, common scolds, thieves or other like persons of infamous life, or evil name or repute; or vehemently suspected of sorcerie, witchcraft, or charming, or guilty of perjury: nor any ideot or lunatic are admitted." The annual value of the original endowment is now about £45.; besides which, the trustees have a further income of £30. annually, arising from other sources. Another alms-house for six poor widows, was built and endowed about the year 1723, under the will of John Garrett, Gent., who bequeathed £800. for that purpose. Near the Mineral spring. race ground, on Barnet Common, is a mineral spring, of a mild purgative nature, that was discovered about the middle of the 17th century, and was formerly in much repute. A few years ago a subscription was made for arching it over and erecting a pump. The town is at present governed by a presiding magistrate, a high constable and subordinate officers. The inhabitants of this township enjoy a very extensive common right over the adjoining wastes and chace. Between Barnet and South Mims, an extensive improvement has been effected in the road, which was a series of angular turnings and unnecessary hills, to an extent which renders it surprising how such glaring imperfections were suffered to exist, when a sufficiently direct line could be obtained. Market, Monday. Fairs April 8, 9, 10, linen drapery, mercery, toys, &c. The harvest fair or Welsh fair, September 4, 5, Welsh cattle and horses; Sept. 6, mercery, &c. and sometimes a few horses, pigs, &c. The Leeds Mail arrives 9.11 evening, departs 7.48 evening. The Glasgow mail arrives 9.20 evening; departs 4.18 morning. Inns, Duke of Wellington, Green Man, and Red Lion. [B] BARNET, (Friern). John Walker, the author of a celebrated dictionary, was a native of this place, and was born in the year 1732. Birth place of Walker, author of the pronouncing dictionary. About the year 1767, he joined with a Mr. Usher in setting up a school at Kensington; this speculation not succeeding he removed to London, where he gave lectures on elocution. It is said that in his early youth he studied the art, intending to make the stage his profession, although his very questionable success induced him to adopt another pursuit. Mr. Walker was an amiable as well as a learned man; he was the author of several elementary works: such as "The Rhetorical Grammar," "Elements of Elocution," "Key to the correct pronunciation of Greek, Latin, and Scriptural names," and a "Rhyming Dictionary." He died at his house in Tottenham Court Road, August 1, 1807. This parish includes the hamlet of Colney Hatch, half of Whetstone, and a part of Finchley Common.
[A] BARNSLEY. This large market town is built chiefly of stone, but being surrounded by coal pits and iron works, the smoke from which obscures the air, it is generally known by the name of Black Barnsley. The trade. The black glass bottles made here are of excellent quality, and the manufacture of linen is carried on to a great extent. Here also is made the best wire in the kingdom for needles. The town is seated on the side of a hill; the trade and population have considerably increased since the completion of the navigable canal, by means of which communications are opened with Wakefield, and all parts of the kingdom. The land in the vicinity of this town is highly distinguished for its fertility; the manor is possessed by the Duke of Leeds. Market, Wednesday.—Fairs, Wednesday before Feb. 28, horned cattle and swine; May 12, ditto; October 10, ditto, horses, and cheese.—Mail arrives 2.55 afternoon; departs 11.31 night.—Bankers, Becket and Co., draw on Glyn and Co.—Inns, King's Head, and White Bear. [B] BARNSTAPLE is said to derive its name from Bar, which in the ancient British signified the mouth of a river; and the Saxon word Staple, Incorporated by Henry I. a mart. It is situated in the hundred of Braunton, and returns two members to parliament. The town appears to have been incorporated by Henry I., yet it retains some traces of feudal jurisdiction; a number of common burgesses claiming a right to vote with the corporate officers for members of parliament. The £10. householders are about 607; the returning officer is the mayor, who with two bailiffs, two aldermen, twenty-two common councilmen, and other officers form the corporation. Barnstaple is one of the neatest and most respectable towns in the county; it lies on the eastern bank of the river Taw, in a broad and fertile vale, bounded by a semi-circular range of hills. The Taw here spreads to a considerable breadth, but from the great accumulation of sand, the port is Amusements, &c. shallow, and vessels of more than 200 tons are not able to enter. Over the river is a bridge of sixteen arches, which is said to have been built by one of the Tracys, at the time that family were lords of the manor. The streets are spacious and regular, and the buildings generally good. The town, indeed, boasts some of the marks of a metropolis; there are balls every fortnight, and a regular theatre, and nothing but a good pavement is wanted to make it highly agreeable. A noble quay extends some way along the river, terminated by a handsome piazza, over the centre of which stands the statue of Queen Anne, with an inscription, testifying to the loyalty of Robert Rolle, of Stevenstone, in this county, the erector. The woollen trade formerly carried on here with considerable spirit, greatly increased the wealth of the town, and enabled its inhabitants to erect a number of very respectable houses: this trade has of late failed, but the manufacture of baize, silk stockings and waistcoat pieces, still gives life to the place. Besides this source of wealth and population, the beauty of the surrounding country, and the cheapness of provisions, have induced many respectable families to reside here entirely; a circumstance which renders Barnstaple the most genteel town in the north of Devon. Here is a celebrated Grammar School, which has been founded about three centuries, and is famous for having educated a number of distinguished Eminent men educated here. men; among whom were John Jewel, Bishop of Salisbury: his Theological antagonist, Thomas Harding, Professor at Louvain: the poet Gay, and the learned Dr. Musgrave. Bishop Jewel was a learned divine, who lived in the reigns of the last sovereigns of the house of Tudor, and was born near Ilfracombe, in 1522. Having acquired the rudiments of his learning in this school, he was removed to Merton College, Oxford. He was a most zealous and able champion of the Christian faith; and was indefatigable in the pursuit of knowledge, even at the expense of his health, which was materially injured by the closeness of his application. About the year 1551, he obtained the rectory of Sunningwell, in Berkshire, where he was much beloved for his zeal and assiduity as a parish priest. When Queen Mary succeeded her brother Edward, Jewel was deprived of an office he held in the university; and, notwithstanding he subscribed to a confession of faith drawn up by the Catholics, yet suspicions were entertained of his sincerity, and fearing he should be prosecuted as an heretic, he withdrew from Oxford, and made his escape to the continent. On the death of Queen Mary, Jewel returned to England, and was received very favorably by Queen Elizabeth, who raised him to the bishoprick of Salisbury, in the year 1560. From this time until the day of his death, he was principally engaged in his pastoral duties, and in the defence and support Gay, the Poet, born here. of the Protestant faith. He died September 1571. The admirable moralist and poet, Gay, was also educated in this school; he was the composer of "The Beggar's Opera," the notion of which appears to have been afforded by Swift. The purpose of this singular performance, was to bring into ridicule the Italian Opera, and it is not easy to define the mixture of pathos and ridicule which distinguishes this remarkable production. His celebrated "Fables," written for the instruction of the Duke of Cumberland, have been the means of unqualified delight to millions. His first poem, entitled "Rural Sports," and dedicated to Mr. Pope, gained him the friendship of that poet. The year following he was appointed Secretary to the Duchess of Monmouth: at this time he printed his "Trivia," in the composition of which he was assisted by Swift. He died of an inflammation of the bowels, in 1732, (sincerely lamented by all who knew him,) and was buried in Westminster Abbey, where his monument exhibits an epitaph by Pope, which is written with tasteful tenderness. Market, Friday.—Fairs, September 19; Friday before April 21; second Friday in December, for cattle. These are considerable fairs, but are called great markets, as there is no charter to hold fairs on those days.—Mail arrives 7.0 morning; departs 5.0 afternoon.—Bankers, Pyke, Law and Co.; draw on Barclay and Co.; Drake and Co. draw on Esdaile and Co.—Inns, Fortescue Arms; Golden Lion; Kings Arms.
[A] BARNWELL derives its name from some wells, which in the age of superstition, were widely famed for the miraculous cures they performed in diseases of children. Sacred veneration was at length paid them, and pilgrims from distant parts resorted hither to adore the spirit which infused such wonderful virtues into the waters. A castle was erected here in the reign of Henry I., by Reginald le Moine, and became afterwards the baronial residence of the family of the Montagues. The remains of this once magnificent structure consist of four circular massy bastion towers, each forming an angle of a quadrangular court, inclosed by walls three feet thick; the grand gateway on the south side is flanked by similar towers. The whole forms a fine and curious ruin, and is a rare specimen of the early Norman castellated form of building.
[A] GREAT BARR is an agreeable village, which has long been the property of the Scott family, who have here one of the finest mansions in the county. This seat stands in a beautiful valley, affording the most delightful prospects of hill and dale, varied by wood and water. Shady walks and rustic seats furnish the most attractive conveniences for the promenade. One object in particular fixes the attention; it is an urn near the flower garden, to the memory of Miss Mary Dolman, the cousin of Shenstone, whose elegant pen supplied a beautiful tribute in Latin. The summit of Barr Beacon, which is 653 feet in height, was the spot from Barr Beacon, 653 feet high. whence the Druids gave notice, by watch-fires, of their periodical sacrifices; and it was used both by the Saxons and the Danes, as a beacon to alarm the country in times of danger. The chapel of the village is of remarkable beauty; its eastern window contains a painting on glass by Mr. Eginton, who has improved upon the design of the Rev. Mr. Peter's "Spirit of a Child." [B] GREAT BARRINGTON is a parish containing about 1000 acres, including some portion of Oxfordshire within its limits, as well as a small tract belonging to Berkshire. Previous to the conquest, the manor was held by Earl Harold; the present owner is Lord Dynevor, Lord Lieut. and Cust. Rot. of Carmarthen. Barrington church appears to have been erected about the time of Henry VII. Beneath one of the windows of the aisle are the monument and effigies of Captain Edward Bray, Capt. Edward Bray. grandfather of Sir Giles Bray, lord of the manor, who is represented in armour, with a ruff round his neck and a sword girt on the "right" side. This peculiarity originated from the captain having killed a man at Tilbury camp; and, in token of his sorrow, he determined never more to use his right hand. Lord Chancellor Talbot was buried in this church; he was the son of William Talbot, Bishop of Durham, and was born in the year 1684. After being elected a fellow of All Soul's College, Oxford, he married, and consequently was compelled to give up his fellowship. When he left the university, he was admitted a member of the society of Lincoln's Inn, and was speedily called to the bar. He was chosen to represent the now disfranchised borough of Tregony, in Cornwall, and afterwards was made member for the city of Durham. He died in the enjoyment of the highest character, after a short illness, on the 14th of February, 1737. Few Chancellors have been more lamented, both in public and private life. Lord Talbot acquired universal esteem. The Hall was built by him in the year 1734, soon after which it was destroyed by fire. The grounds furnish a good specimen of the "ferme ornee," (ornamental farm) and the park, about three miles in circumference, is well planted with a variety of beautiful trees.
[A] BARROW. This large and pleasant village appears to have taken its name from an ancient tumulus. It is occupied principally by gentlemen farmers, many of whom, however, derive great profit from the quantities of lime which they get up and burn. This village having been for many Superior lime quarries. centuries celebrated for a hard blue stone, similar to that in the vale of Belvoir, and when calcined, produces a very fine matter, from which is prepared a particularly hard, firm, and greatly esteemed cement. Various fossil remains are found amongst the limestone. One of the petrifactions, still preserved at Cambridge, with Dr. Woodward's fossils, is a plain and bold representation of a flat-fish, about twelve inches long. Mr. Jones, in his "Philosophical Disquisitions," notices it by saying, that "our country hath lately afforded what I apprehend to be the greatest curiosity of the sort that ever appeared. It is the entire figure of a bream, more than a foot in length, and of a proportionable depth, with the scales, fins, and gills, fairly projecting from the surface, like a sculpture in relievo, and with all the lineaments, even to the most minute fibres of the tail, so complete, that the like was never seen before." Dr. William Beveridge, one of the most learned prelates of the English church, was born here in the year 1638. At St. John's College, Cambridge, he applied The pious Beveridge born here. himself with intense application to the study of oriental literature. He reviewed the Hebrew, Chaldee, Syriac, Arabic, and Samaritan tongues, and produced a Syriac grammar. He was raised to the see of St. Asaph, in the year 1704, but he enjoyed his new dignity for a short period,—his death took place in the year 1708. In his divinity he was Calvinistic; from the simplicity and piety of his character, he was beloved by all parties. He lies buried in St. Paul's Cathedral. [B] BARRY ISLAND, the name of which has been thought to have been derived from St. Baroche, a hermit, who, according to Cressy, died here in the year 700. This island, which lets for about £80. a year, is estimated to contain about 300 acres. In Leland's time there was, in the middle of it, a "fair little chapel used," but there was no dwelling. Since that period, however, a house has been erected for the residence of a farmer, which, in the summer, is converted into a boarding-house, for the reception of sea-bathers. The family of Giraldus de Barri, are said to Remarkable noises heard here. have taken their title from this island, of which they were once lords. "It is remarkable," observes Giraldus, "that in a rock near the entrance of the island, there is a small cavity, to which, if the ear is applied, a noise is heard like that of smiths at work—the blowing of bellows, strokes of hammers, grinding of tools, and roaring of furnaces; and it might easily have been imagined, that such noises which are continued at the ebb and flow of the tides, were occasioned by the influx of the sea under the cavities of the rocks." Sir Richard Hoare, in his additions to Giraldus, observes as follows:—"Towards the southern part of the island, on a spot called Nell's Point, is a fine well, to which great numbers of women resort on Holy Thursday, and, having washed their eyes at the spring, each drops a pin into it. The landlord of the boarding-house told me, Curious custom. that on clearing out the well he took out a pint full of these votive offerings." On the main land, opposite the western extremity of the island, lies the village of Barry, near which are some remains of the castle. A few miles north-westward from Barry are the remains of Penmark castle, anciently the property of Sir Gilbert Humphreville, one of the followers of Fitzhamon. Llancarvan, in this vicinity, was once the seat of a religious house, said to have been founded by Cadoc the Wise, in the 6th century. Llancarvan is also distinguished as the birth-place of Caradoc, the Welsh annalist, who compiled a history of the Principality, from the abdication of Cadwaladyr, 686, to his own time. Tref Walter, or Walterston, in this parish, was the residence of Walter de Mapes, a writer of some note towards the middle of the 12th century. He was Archdeacon of Oxford, and Chaplain to Henry I. He built the church of Llancarvan, a large substantial edifice, and the village of Walterston, with a mansion for himself. His literary labours comprise a translation of the British Chronicle into Latin, and a Welsh version of Geoffrey of Monmouth's fabulous paraphrase of the same work. He wrote also a Treatise on Agriculture in the Welsh language.
[A] BARTHOMLEY contains several townships. The nave of the church has a richly carved wooden roof, dated 1589. On the 22d of December, 1643, a troop of Lord Byron's passing through the village, made an attack upon this venerable edifice, into which several of the inhabitants had gone for safety; they soon got possession of it, and having set fire to the forms, rushes, and mats, made such a smoke that the men who had retreated into the steeple were obliged to call for quarter, but their assailants having got them into their power, are said to have stripped them all, and most cruelly murdered twelve of them in cold blood, three only Cruel murder. being suffered to escape. A free school was founded here, in the year 1676, by the Rev. Mr. Steele, in which ten children are educated. In the year 1787, Mrs. Mary, Mrs. Margaret, and Mrs. Judith Alsager, ladies of the manor, obtained an Act of Parliament to enable them to finish a new church, or chapel, to be called Christ's Church, or Chapel, in that township. The same ladies built a school-house, and founded a school there, for the education of children of both sexes. [B] BARTLOW. Near this place, are four contiguous barrows, known by the name of Bartlow Hills, from their situation with respect to Bartlow Church. These are vulgarly, though erroneously, regarded as the tumuli raised over the slain in the battle fought between Edmund Ironside and the Danish King, Canute, in the year 1016. It is evident, indeed, from our account of Ashington, at page 50, that the place of action should be sought for, rather in the vicinity of the sea than at the northern extremity of the county. Camden states, that these stone coffins, with broken human bones in them, were found in one of these barrows; and Hollingshead affirms, that two bodies were found in one stone coffin. Mr. Gough remarks, that we do not find the use of stone coffins amongst the northern nations in their Pagan state; and the Danes were not converted until long after the time of Canute. The origin of these barrows, therefore, cannot now be traced.
[A] BARTON. Stockbridge Hall, an ancient edifice, was the seat of the Lancasters, whose arms are yet seen on the ceiling of the dining-room, and who continued here through twelve generations, when their estates fell to the Lowthers. The church, which is a low and extensive building, with a heavy tower between the chancel and the nave, contains the tomb of one Remarkable epitaph. of the Lancasters; some escutcheons of several families in the neighbourhood, and a brass plate, on which is this remarkable epitaph:— "Under this stone, reader, interred doth lie, The lady thus extravagantly eulogised, was Frances, the wife of Launcelot Dawes; she died in 1673. Barton school was founded in 1641, by four priests, natives of this parish. [B] BARTON. Near this village is a large stone, called Four-shire stone, from its forming the point of junction of the four counties of Gloucester, Worcester, Warwick, and Oxford. Here once resided an attorney of so pacific a disposition that he usually acted as mediator when disputes arose. This anomalous person, named Dover, instituted the annual festivities termed Cotswold Games, and was for forty years their chief supporter. Cotswold games. These diversions were celebrated upon the Cotswold Hills, in Gloucestershire, and prodigious multitudes are said to have resorted to them. They consisted of wrestling, cudgel-playing, leaping, pitching the bar, throwing the sledge, tossing the pike, with various other feats of strength and activity. A castle of boards was erected on this occasion, from which guns were frequently discharged. Dover received permission from James I. to hold these sports, and he appeared at their celebration in the very clothes which that monarch had formerly worn; but it is said there was much more dignity in his form and aspect. John Heywood, the epigramatist, speaking of these games, says— "He fometh like a bore, the beaste should seem bold,
[A] BARTON. This ancient town is pleasantly situated about three-quarters of a mile from the southern bank of the Humber. It was formerly surrounded by a rampart and fossee, the remains of which are still discernable. It was doubtless a place of great strength before the conquest, and served as a barrier against the irruptions of the Saxons and Danes. At the period of the conquest it was a principal port of the Humber, and Once a place of importance. until the rise of Kingston-upon-Hull it enjoyed an extensive commerce. At present its derives its principal consequence from being the point whence the communication with the Lincoln road is continued across the Humber to Hull, a distance of about six miles and a half. Market, Monday.—Fair, Trinity Thursday, for cattle.—Mail arrives 3.0 afternoon; departs 11.15 morning—Inn, The Waterside Inn. [B] STEEPLE BARTON. In this parish is situated Rowsham, which was, for several centuries, the seat of the Dormers, and it continued in their possession until the decease of General Dormer, in the year 1750. That gentleman bequeathed the mansion and estates to his cousin, Sir Rowsham House. Clement Cottrell, Knight, Master of the Ceremonies to George II., who annexed the name of Dormer to his own, and in whose family the property has since remained. The situation is extremely fine, and the grounds, which were laid out by Kent, during the life-time of General Dormer, afford a variety of picturesque and pleasant views. The mansion was built in the reign of Queen Elizabeth, but a few alterations were made at subsequent periods. The walls are embattled, and the doors are singularly enough perforated with holes (with slides to cover) so as to admit muskets being pointed through them. There is a large hall, and valuable library, containing many old and rare authors. A very excellent collection of paintings, (about 180 in number), and of busts and other figures in bronze, (amounting to fifty-five), has also been formed here. Horace Walpole, in one of his eloquent letters to George Montague, has thus spoken of this place:—"But the greatest pleasure we had, was in seeing Sir Charles Cotterell's, at Rowsham: it reinstated Kent with me; he has no where shewn so much taste. The house is old, and was bad; he has improved it—stuck as close as he could to gothic; has made a delightful library, and the whole is comfortable. The garden is Daphne in little, the sweetest little groves, streams, glades, porticoes, cascades, and rivers imaginable: all the scenes are perfectly classic. Well, if I had such a house, such a library, so pretty a place, and so pretty a wife, I think I should let King George send to Herenhausen for a Master of the Ceremonies." The pleasure-grounds are beautifully shaded by flourishing and noble beech trees; they are also ornamented by several stone statues, which all throw up water, except a very fine one of the dying gladiator, and a group of the lion tearing the horse, by Sheemacher.
[A] BASFORD lies in a bottom, approached from the race-ground. The scenery around it is rich in the extreme. This village has greatly increased The trade. of late, from various manufactures, and the improvements consequent upon them. Here are corn and cotton-mills, and the bleaching and dying branches of business are carried on with considerable success. The church has a very handsome spire, with a nave and side aisles in very good order, but there are no ancient inscriptions. The importance of this place has also been kept up, by its being the seat of the Court of the Honour of Peverel, since it was removed from Nottingham. It sits twice in the year, to try causes as high as £50. A jail for the court is situated here, which Howard describes as having, at the time of his writing, merely one room, with three beds; but the keepers told him he had another little room for women prisoners, of whom there being none in his custody, he applied the apartment to domestic uses. A bowling-green, close by the jail, is much frequented by the inhabitants of Nottingham. At Mapperley, a hamlet in this parish, is a handsome seat of Ichabod Wright, Esq., a banker of Nottingham. [B] BASFORD. Here was born, in 1630, the celebrated Charles Cotton, a burlesque poet of the seventeenth century. He received his education Charles Cotton. at Cambridge, and afterwards travelled through France. On his return to England he resided with his father at Basford, in the neighbourhood of the Peak. His first production was, a poetical essay on the gallant Earl of Derby. In 1656, he married a daughter of Sir Thomas Hutchinson, a Nottinghamshire Knight. Two years after this his father died; he then succeeded him in the family estate, which was encumbered with mortgages: being of an improvident disposition, he was subject to constant embarrassments, and was even confined for some months in a prison for debt. After the death of his first wife, he married the Countess Dowager of Ardglass. He died at Westminster in 1687. Some of his poems, of considerable merit, were published after his death. [C] BASING, or OLD BASING, though a small village, is of some importance, as the scene of a desperate and bloody battle between the Danes and the Saxons, in 871, commanded by King Ethelred and his brother Alfred, when the latter were defeated. It was, however, rendered more famous by the gallant stand made against the parliamentary forces in the reign of Charles I., by John Poulet, Marquis of Winchester, a lineal descendant Great battles fought here. of Hugh de Port, who, at the time of the Domesday Survey, held 55 lordships in this county. This small village was the principal of these extensive possessions, and appears to have been the very site of a castle, as mention of the land of the old castle of Basing is made in a grant allowed by John de Port, to the neighbouring priory at Monks Sherborne, in the reign of Henry II. His grandson, William, assumed the surname of St. John; and Robert, Lord St. John, in the 43d of Henry III., obtained a license to fix a pole upon the bann of his moat, at Basing, with permission to continue it so fortified during the pleasure of the King. In the reign of Richard II., Basing was transferred by marriage to the Poynings; and again, in the time of Henry VI., to the Paulets, by the alliance of Constance with Sir John Paulet, of Nunny Castle, in Somersetshire. Sir William Paulet, Knt., third in descent from this couple, created Baron St. John, of Basing, by Henry VIII.; and Earl of Wiltshire, and Marquis of Winchester, by Edward VI., was a very accomplished and polite nobleman, greatly in favour at court during most of the successive changes that occurred in the reigns of Henry VIII., Edward VI., Queen Mary, and Queen Elizabeth. He held the office of treasurer nearly 30 years, sustaining himself by the courtly maxim, of "being a willow, and not an oak." He rebuilt Basing Castle, in a magnificent, and even in a princely style; indeed, so much so, that Camden, in allusion to the immense expense of living entailed on his family by its splendour, observes that, "it was so overpowered by its own weight, that his posterity has been forced to pull down a part of it." Here, in 1560, he entertained Queen Elizabeth with "all good cheer," and so much to her satisfaction, that she playfully Queen Elizabeth splendidly entertained here for 13 days. lamented his great age; "for by my troth," said she, "if my Lord Treasurer were but a young man, I could find it in my heart to have him for a husband before any man in England." William, the great-grandson of this nobleman, and fourth Marquis of Winchester, had also, in 1601, the honour of having Queen Elizabeth for a guest for "thirteen days, to the great charge of the sayde Lorde Marquesse." During her residence here, the Duke of Biron, accompanied by about 20 of the French nobility, and a retinue of about 400 persons, were accommodated at the Vine, the seat of Lord Sandys, which had been purposely furnished with hangings and plate from the Tower, and Hampton Court, and with seven score beds and furniture, "which the willing and obedient people of the countrie of Southampton, upon two days' warning, had brought in thither to lend the Queen." When Elizabeth departed from Basing, she affirmed, that "she had done that in Hampshire, that none of her ancestors ever did; neither that any Prince in Christendom could do: that was, she had in her progresses, in her subject's houses, entertained a royal ambassador, and had royally entertained him." John, son of the preceding, and fifth Marquis of Winchester, was the brave nobleman who rendered his name immortal by his gallant defence of Basing House, in the cause of Charles I., during a tedious succession of sieges and blockades, which, with short intermissions, continued upwards of two years. The journal of the siege, printed in Oxford, in 1645, is one of the most eventful pieces of history during the civil war. The final investment appears to have been undertaken by Cromwell, who took it by storm, in October 1645, and burnt it to the ground, in despite of the Aimez Loyaulte, which the Marquis Burnt by Cromwell. had written with a diamond in every window, and which has ever since been the motto of the family arms. The plunder obtained on this occasion is said to have amounted to £200,000. in cash, jewels, and rich furniture. The number of soldiers slain before the walls from the commencement of the siege, is recorded to have been upwards of 2,000. There is a traditionary report, that the garrison was partly surprized through some of the troops being engaged at cards when the assault commenced. From a survey made in 1798, it appears that the area of the works, including the garden and entrenchments, occupied about fourteen acres and a half. The form was extremely irregular, the ditches very deep, and the ramparts high and strong; some of the remains are yet very bold and striking. The site of the ruins is particularly commanding. The canal from Basingstoke has been cut through a part of the works, and the outward entrenchments have been rendered very obscure and imperfect from recent improvements in the grounds. The brave Marquis, whose property was reduced to ruin in the cause of his Sovereign, lived to the restoration, but received no recompence for his immense losses. He died in 1674, and was succeeded by his eldest son, Charles, who, when he saw that other men of sense were at their wits' end, in the arbitary and tyrannical reign of James II., thought it prudent to assume the character of a madman, as the first Brutus did, in the reign of Tarquin. He danced, hunted, or hawked, a part of the day, went to bed before noon, and constantly sat at table all night. He went to dinner at six or seven in the evening, and his meal lasted till six or seven in the morning; during which time he ate, drank, smoked, talked, or listened to music. The company that The sixth Marquis of Winchester, a singular character. dined with him were at liberty to rise and amuse themselves, or to take a nap, whenever they were so disposed; but the dishes and bottles were all the while standing upon the table. Such a man as this was thought a very unlikely person to concern himself with politics, or with religion. By this conduct, he was neither embroiled in public affairs, nor gave the least umbrage to the court; but he exerted himself so much in the revolution, that he was, for his eminent services, created Duke of Bolton: he afterwards raised a regiment of foot for the reduction of Ireland. Charles, son of the former, and second Duke of Bolton, assisted in the great work of the revolution; and was one of the noblemen appointed at Exeter, in November, 1688, to manage the revenues of the Prince of Orange, as Sovereign of England. In 1717, he was declared Lord-Lieutenant of Ireland. Charles, the eldest son, and third Duke of Bolton, filled several high offices in the state. This nobleman, on the death of his first wife, from whom he had long been separated, wedded the celebrated Lavinia Beswick, or Fenton, more known by the name of Polly Peachem, from her celebrity Polly Peachem. in the performance of that character in the "Beggar's Opera." The parish church of Basing is a large, ancient, and curious structure, standing at a short distance from the site of Basing House, with a tower rising in the centre. In a niche at the west-end is a figure of the Virgin Mary: the roof is supported by round arches, springing from massive columns. This edifice was repaired in 1510, by Sir John Paulet, who, with his father, John Paulet, Esq., and their respective wives, lie buried beneath two arched tombs, one on each side the chancel. Beneath the south aisle is the family vault of the Paulets, in which six Dukes of Bolton, with many of their noble relations, are deposited. A mural monument has also been erected in this church to the memory of Francis Russel, Esq., F.R.S. and F.S.A., a native of Basingstoke, who assisted Mr. Nichols in his History of Leicestershire. He died in 1795.
[A] BASINGSTOKE. This large, ancient, and populous town is situated in a pleasant and well-wooded part of the county, and commands a considerable trade from its standing at the junction of five great roads. In the "Domesday Book" it is mentioned as always having been a royal Royal manor. manor, and as never having paid any tax, nor been distributed into hides: it is also noticed in that survey as having a market, whose tolls were worth "thirty shillings": we presume this to have been the weekly collection—a large sum in those days. From this town a canal was made to the river Wey, in Surrey; it was commenced in 1778. Its length is thirty-seven miles and a quarter, and the expense of cutting it amounted to £100,000. A large portion of this sum was laid out in forming a tunnel, nearly three quarters of a mile in length, through a hill near Odiham. Besides corn and flour, coals, timber, manure, and goods of almost every description are conveyed to different parts of the country by this channel. The first barge arrived at Basingstoke Wharf in January, 1794. Among the numerous projected advantages which led to the formation of the canal, was, the presumed cultivation of Bagshot Heath, and other heaths within the line of its course. A beautiful ruin overlooks the town on the north side, called Holy Ghost chapel. This was founded by Sir William, afterwards Lord Sandys, who with Bishop Fox, obtained a licence from Henry VIII. to found a brotherhood, to continue in perpetual succession, for the maintenance of a priest to perform divine service, and for the instruction of youth in literature. On an eminence in the vicinity, is an ancient encampment of an elliptical form, supposed to be British, three thousand three hundred Aubrey Camp. feet in circumference; it is called "Aubrey Camp," or familiarly "Bury Bank;" the ditch on the outside is partly filled up by the labours of the agriculturist; and in Rook's Down, in this neighbourhood, while cutting a new road in 1831, a number of human skeletons were discovered, supposed to be of those who fell in some battle fought near this place. The free grammar school adjoins the venerable ruins of the chapel of the Holy Ghost; it is an ancient edifice, and is supposed originally to have been the parish church. This grammar school was first founded by Sir William Sandys, in connexion with the "Guild of the Holy Ghost," and was re-established upon the dissolution of that fraternity, by Queen Mary, in the succeeding reign. There are twelve boys at present on the foundation. Drs. Jos. Warton, the refined poet and critic, and his brother Thomas Warton, Poet Laureate, were both educated here, under their father, Thomas Warton, B.D., Professor of Poetry in the university of Oxford, a writer of considerable ability. John De Basinge, a learned Greek scholar, a friend and contemporary of that intelligent historian, Matthew Paris, was a native of this town. He was a man eminent for piety and learning, and a perfect master of the Greek and Latin languages—an eloquent orator—an able mathematician, and a sound divine. Having laid the foundation of his university learning at Oxford, he went to Paris, and from thence to Athens; upon his return to England, he brought over several curious Greek manuscripts, and introduced the use of Greek numerical figures Eminent men born "When bold Leander sought his distant fair, This curious document bears date from the school of Basingstoke, Nov. 1737. In March 1773, at the age of sixteen, he was admitted a Commoner at Trinity College, Oxford, and soon after elected a Scholar. At this college Mr. Warton continued, with trifling intervals, forty-seven years. In 1745, he published "The Pleasures of Melancholy." In 1749, in consequence of a foolish riot occasioned by some of the scholars, Mason, the Poet, produced a poem called the "Isis," reflecting upon the loyalty of the college, upon which Mr. Warton immediately wrote the "Triumph of Isis," a poem of some merit, and a severe commentary upon the other production. About this time, his talents being generally acknowledged, he became Poet Laureate, and in 1750 he took a Master's Degree, and in 1751 succeeded to a Fellowship. In 1754 he published his observations on the "Faerie Queene of Spencer." In 1757, upon the resignation of Mr Hawkins, of Pembroke College, he was elected Professor of Poetry, which he held according to the usual custom for ten years. He died, May 21, 1790. Basingstoke is one of the polling places for the northern division of the county. Market, Wednesday.—Fairs, Easter Tuesday, for cheese and cattle; Whit-Wednesday for pedlary; September 23, for cattle and hiring servants, Devonport. Mail arrives 12.55 morning; departs 1.48 morning.—Bankers, Raggett and Co., draw on Masterman and Co.—Inn, Crown.
[A] BASINGWERK. This place is chiefly celebrated for the remains of its ancient abbey; for the vestiges of a house belonging to the Knights Templars; and for a castle, once the key to this part of the country. The abbey, which had the names also of Maes-Glas and Greenfield monastery, Ancient Abbey. is beautifully situated in a meadow between two hills, on the eastern side of the mouth of the Holywell river. It was founded, according to Tanner, in 1131, by Ranulph, Earl of Chester; others say in 1150, by Henry II. The abbot was frequently summoned to attend in parliament by Edward I. and at the dissolution of monasteries, the annual revenue amounted to £150 7s. 3d. The remains convey an imperfect idea of the original architecture. The doors and lower arches were semi-circular and unornamented, the windows were long, narrow, and pointed; but the south wall of the transept, one doorway, and one pointed arch, are all that remain of the church, and the offices have entirely disappeared. At a short distance from the ruins is an oak of great age, called the Abbot's Oak, which measures fifteen feet two inches in circumference. But the oaks and elms in this neighbourhood, though of a large size, appear withered and blasted by the effect of the channel breezes; the sycamores and maples are the only trees that flourish; a useful hint to planters. The house for the lay order of the Knights Templars, was instituted by Henry II., for the purpose of defence against the inroads of the Welsh, and of this no more than some portion of the offices remain. Vestiges of the castle Mostyn Hall. are yet visible in the fragments and foundation of a wall at some distance from the abbey, on the very margin of Watts-dyke. On a slope among hanging woods, near the township of Bagilt, stands Bagilt hall, a substantial mansion of ancient erection, late the seat of Paul Panton, Esq. Mostyn hall, a seat of Sir Thomas Mostyn, exhibits a variety of interesting features. Approached by a venerable avenue and a magnificent gateway, it stands in a small but beautiful park; it consisted originally of a square tower and two halls, in the larger of which the festive orgies of the baronial board were performed; but large additions were made in 1631, and many of its pristine features are defaced. Numerous paintings decorate the rooms, consisting for the most part of portraits, which illustrate all the varieties of costume in the several ages of their production; among the treasures of art are also many unique statues, busts, bronzes, and other articles of ancient or foreign production. In this neighbourhood are numerous collieries, the different appearance of which are phenomena interesting to the geologist. On the summit of a height called Mostyn mountain, is a monumental stone denominated Maen Achwynfan (the stone of lamentation). Its form is that of an obelisk; in height twelve feet, and two feet-four in thickness. It is probably a memorial of the dead slain in battle; but there appear to be no certain grounds for determining the period of its formation.
[A] BASSALEG, a beautiful picturesque little village. In this parish was a Priory of black monks of the Benedictine order, founded by Robert de Haye, and Gundreda, his wife, between the years 1101 and 1120. No remains of this building exist but a ruin in a wood, about one mile distant from the church, called Coed-y-monachty, which is supposed to have been part of the structure. At about one mile distant, near the road to Llanfihangel, is a circular encampment, called Careg-y-saesson, but almost obscured by underwood. Its name has induced some to attribute it to the Saxons, but saesson is a term of reproach, which the Welsh bestow on all foreigners. The entrenchment is a single foss and rampart of earth. About one mile distant is another of a singular shape, with loose stones lying in the foss, probably the remains of walls. These fortresses are apparently British, and a meadow near Machen Place, called Maes Arthur, records the memory of that celebrated hero. From Bassaleg to the vale of Machen, the country is undulating and fertile. This vale is pleasingly Machen place. sequestered, yet intermixed with wildness and cultivation. The hills which skirt it are partly covered with herbage, and partly overhung with thick forests. The Rumney continues the boundary of the two counties of Monmouth and Glamorgan. This river, with the church, and Machen hill, almost covered with lime-kilns, give variety and cheerfulness to the scenery. Machen Place lies at the commencement of the vale, under the hanging groves of Rupara. A circular apartment called the hunting-room is decorated with a rich stuccoed ceiling, representing Diana in the middle, surrounded with seats, churches, and parties, in twelve compartments. [B] BATH. This ancient and far-famed city is the chief ornament of the west of England; that it is indebted to its medicinal springs for its origin as well as importance, there can be little doubt, but the period of its foundation is altogether unknown. The discovery of its springs, or rather, of their virtues, was for a long time ascribed to King Bladud, traditionally recorded "as the son of Lud Hudibras, King of Britain, about 2,500 years ago. In his youth he became infected with the leprosy, and, at the petition of the courtiers, who feared the contagion, was banished by his father from the palace. The Queen, on his departure, gave him a ring, as a token by which he should make himself known to her if ever he recovered. The young prince, when he reached Keynsham, met with a swineherd, by whom he was retained as an assistant. In a short time, King Bladud. he perceived that he had tainted the pigs with his leprosy. To conceal this misfortune, he sought permission to drive the herd to the opposite side of the Avon, under pretext that the acorns there were finer, and more abundant. Passing the river at a ford, since denominated Swineford, he led his herd to the hills on the north-side of Bath. While he was addressing his prayers to the rising sun, the pigs, impelled by a sudden phrenzy, ran up the valley to the spot where the hot-springs, boiling up, The discovery of the Baths. mixed their waters with the decayed weeds and foliage, and formed a bog. In this warm oozy-bed they began to roll, and wallow with delight; nor could their keeper allure them away, until extreme hunger pressed them to follow him. On washing them, he perceived that some had shed their white scurf; and he had not been many days longer in these parts, here he perceived that one of his best sows, which had been long wandering in the mire about the waters, was perfectly cured. Bladud, judging that the remedy which had succeeded in a particular instance, would prove generally efficacious, stripped himself naked, alternately rolled in the mud, and washed in the waters; and, after a few repetitions of this discipline, came out perfectly sound. Elated by this good fortune, he drove home his Bladud and his pigs. pigs, returned to court, and, shewing his ring, was recognized with rapture, and restored to his former rank and dignity. His father afterwards determined on sending him to Athens, to improve his natural genius. A splendid retinue was ordered to attend him; but Bladud preferred to travel as a private person, considering the parade of grandeur as an impediment to the acquisition of knowledge. After devoting eleven years to the study of literature, mathematics, and necromancy, he returned to Britain, was appointed Regent during his father's old age, and succeeded to the throne after his death. One of his first public works was the erection of a city near the springs, which thenceforward became the capital of the British monarchs. In his old age he devoted himself to the formation of visionary projects; the most daring of which was the construction of a pair of wings to fly with. In one of his attempts he fell and broke his neck, much to the grief of his subjects, who had enjoyed the blessings of his wise government more than twenty years." This account of the origin of Bath was long popular; but the inquiries of the present day have proved it unworthy of credit, and have adduced reasons to conclude that the city was founded by the Romans, about the middle of the first century. The The Roman city. form of the city approached to a parallelogram, extending on one side so as to form an outline somewhat pentagonal, and stretching in length, from east to west, about 1200 feet, and in the broadest parts, from north to south, 1140 feet. The wall, which enclosed this space, appears, from subsequent discoveries, to have been twenty feet above ground in height, and in thickness sixteen feet at the base, and eight at the summit, strengthened with five towers, rising at the angles, and having four portÆ, or entrances, facing the cardinal points, which were connected by two grand streets, dividing the city into four parts, and intersecting each other at the centre. Near the point of intersection were the springs, which the Romans converted into magnificent baths, by attaching to them suitable edifices, which, when complete, extended to two hundred and forty feet from east to west, and one hundred and twenty from north to south. The Roman appellation of the city, expressive of the genial heat and vigour derived from the springs, was AquÆ Solis, the waters of the sun. Roads were soon constructed to communicate with the neighbouring posts and encampments, and "a little Rome began to adorn a dreary and inhospitable wild." Agricola passed a winter here, after his successful campaign in Wales; and Arian erected here a "fabrica," or college of armourers. About the year 208, Geta, the younger son of Septimius Severus, resided in Bath, while his father was in Caledonia, quelling an insurrection. Some complimentary statues were raised on this and other occasions. The most eminent of the Roman structures was the temple of Minerva, on Their temples and baths. the eastern side of the great fosse-way, and nearly mid-way between the Porta Decumana, and the Porta Flumentana. Its western front consisted of a portico, supported by large fluted columns, of the Corinthian order. Behind this temple, towards the east, stood the splendid baths, the foundations of which were discovered in 1755, at the depth of twenty feet beneath the surface. Of the remains of Roman grandeur discovered from time to time, various specimens are preserved, and deposited, by order of the corporation, in a small building erected for the purpose, at the end of Bath-street. In the year 493, a large army of Saxons, under the command of Ælla, and his three sons, Cymenus, Pleting, and Cissa, encamped on Lansdown, and laid siege to Bath. At this period the heroic Arthur was performing wonders in favour of his countrymen. Apprized of the operations of the Saxon general, he hastened after him, attacked, and defeated him in a bloody and obstinate battle. About twenty-seven years afterwards, he again delivered Bath from the assaults of these ferocious invaders, by defeating a powerful army, on which occasion he is said to have slain four hundred and forty men with his own hand. John de Villula, a native of Tours, purchased the demesne of Rufus, in 1090, for five hundred marks, and obtained permission to remove the Pontifical seat from Wells thither; he rebuilt the monastery and church, restored the public and private edifices, and thus became the founder of a new city, on the ruins of the old one. Henry I. confirmed and extended the privileges The monastery. which his predecessor had granted, by adding the hidage of the city; and, in 1106, Villula, then Bishop of Bath, conferred the whole on the monastery of St. Peter. Henry paid a visit to Bath in the Easter of 1107. The city remained in the possession of the bishops until 1193, when Savaric gave it to Richard I., in exchange for the rich Abbey of Glastonbury. The prior, however, continued to hold the city under an annual rent of thirty pounds, exclusive of the levies which were made by the king on extraordinary emergencies. One of these occurred in the forty-seventh year of Edward III., to the amount of £13. 6s. 8d., a sum which conveys the idea of the inferiority of Bath, in point of population, to Bristol, which paid seven times as much. Four years after that period, the number of lay inhabitants in the city, above the age of fourteen, amounted to 570, and that of the clerics, in the archdeaconry, to 201. In this and succeeding reigns the property of the monastery was greatly augmented; and the monks of Bath are said to have cultivated the manufacture of cloth to such an extent as to render it one of the principal cities in the west of England for that branch of trade. This city sent Members to Parliament Monks were clothiers. as early as 1297. Queen Elizabeth, in 1590, granted a charter, which declared Bath to be a city of itself, and constituted a certain number of the citizens as a corporation, by "the name of the Mayor, Aldermen, and Citizens of the City of Bath." In the reign of James II. the corporation shut the gates against the Duke of Monmouth, when he summoned them, and apprehended the few adherents to his cause that remained within their walls. Six of these unfortunate persons afterwards fell victims to the vindictive cruelty of Jefferies. The Jacobite principles prevailed at Bath long after the revolution; and Carte, the historian, is said to have headed a party in favour of the pretender, during the rebellion of 1715. Being discovered, he leaped out of a window in his canonicals, and fled. The city is nearly surrounded by an amphitheatre of hills of considerable height. This range of hills opens to allow a course for the Avon, which winds around it, receiving numerous articles of merchandize, from hence conveyed in barges to Bristol. Bath is divided into four parishes: St. Peter and St. Paul, St. James, St. Michael, and Walcot, exclusive of the out parishes of Bath-Hampton, Bath-Wick, Bath-Ford, and Bath-Easton. Cathedral and other churches. The parish of St. Peter and St. Paul occupies the centre of the city, and formerly contained two churches, the abbey church, and the church of St. Mary of Stall, which stood on the spot of ground now occupied by the houses connected with the Pump-room Piazza. The Abbey church of Bath is of that class of architecture commonly denominated the Florid Gothic. It remains in the same form as when finished in 1532. It was founded by Oliver King, Bishop of Bath and Wells. It is in length, from east to west, 210 feet; length of the cross aisles, from north to south, 126 feet; breadth of the body and aisles, 72 feet; height of the tower, 152 feet; and the height of the roof, or vaulting, 78 feet. The west window is of extreme richness. The buttresses, on each side of the aisle windows, are ornamented with rolls, containing inscriptions, not now legible, but are said to contain the following allegorical allusion to the founder's name, taken out of the book of Judges, chap. ix. verse 8:— "Trees, going to choose their king, The windows of this church, fifty-two in number, are supposed to have given rise to its appellation of the Lantern of England. Here are various monuments, ancient and modern, and a handsome altar-piece, representing The Wise Men's Offering, given by General Wade. Here is also a fine specimen of monumental architecture in the little chapel, or oratory of Prior Bird, who died in 1525. This chapel has suffered much from having its tracery despoiled, and a part of it cut away to make room for a wooden seat, called the Bishop's Throne. One of the most beautiful and conspicuous monuments which ornament the transepts and nave is, that of Bishop Montague, at the north centre end of the nave. It is an altar-tomb, over which the effigy of the prelate in his robes, lies prostrate on its Quin's monumental "That tongue which set the table in a roar, Near the last mentioned monument lies buried the celebrated Beau Nash, long master of the ceremonies at Bath. Richard Nash was a native of Swansea in Glamorganshire, and was born October 18, 1674. His parents Account of the celebrated Beau Nash. were in a respectable situation of life; and young Nash received a competent classical education at Carmarthen school, from whence he was sent to Jesus College, Oxford, at the early age of sixteen. He was intended for the profession of the law; but this study was too dull and dry for a person of his volatile turn. Pleasure was the goddess he adored; and to whose service he devoted himself. He soon involved himself in an intrigue with an artful female in Oxford, of which description there are always numbers who are laying baits for young men of family or personal appearance, and in consequence of this he was removed from the University. His relations now purchased a pair of colours for him in the army; and here his taste for gallantry and dissipation would have been fully gratified, had not his inferior rank, and the duties attached to it, subjected him to subordination and restraint, which appeared intolerable to a man born for empire, and whose ruling passion was too strong to submit to control. He, therefore, left the army in disgust, and returned to the law, which he had discarded, by entering himself a student of the Middle Temple. Soon afterwards Nash was presented with an opportunity of exercising his natural talents. It had been an ancient custom with the society to which he now belonged, to entertain every new sovereign with a revel and a pageant. On the accession of William, Prince of Orange, Nash was selected as the most proper person to conduct this mighty business; and he succeeded so Refused to be knighted. well, that, it is said, William offered to knight him, an honour which he declined. His abilities, however, had attracted public notice, and this paved the way to his future success. Bath then beginning to rise into some little repute as a place of fashionable resort, Nash was induced to visit it in pursuit of pleasure, and soon made himself conspicuous by his taste, wit, and gaiety. At this period, it was the fashion for both sexes to bathe together quite naked, and for ladies to adorn their heads before they entered the bath with all the lures of dress. By these means their charms were set off to such advantage, that the husband of a lady in the Cross Bath, who with Nash and other spectators were admiring the female dabblers, told his wife "she looked like an angel, and he wished to be with her." Nash seized the favourable occasion to establish his reputation as a man of gallantry and spirit, and therefore suddenly taking the gentleman by the collar and the waistband of his breeches, soused him over the parapet into the bath. The consequence was a duel, in which Nash was wounded in the sword-arm; and, as it does not appear he was fond of fighting, it is probable that this incident prompted him when he rose to power, to issue his edict against wearing swords at Bath, "except by such as were not entitled to wear them at any other place." About this time a vacancy happening in the office of master of the ceremonies, a place hitherto of little profit or honour, the well known talent of Nash for the direction and invention of amusements, operated so much in his favour, that he was chosen "arbiter elegantiarum," and invested with the fullest power to order, arrange, and improve, the manner of the company, routine of amusements, and points of etiquette. Under the equal administration of Conduct of Nash towards the Princess Amelia. Nash, no rank could protect the offender, nor any dignity of situation influence him to connive at a breach of his laws. He deliberately desired the Duchess of Queensbury, who appeared at a dress ball in an apron, to take it off; and when the Princess Amelia requested to have one dance more after eleven o'clock, he replied, that the laws of Bath, like those of Lycurgus, were unalterable. This firmness of character was attended with the most beneficial consequences; and Nash, not ignorant what majesty is when stripped of its externals, took care by his dress and equipage to support the rank he assumed. He wore a large white hat, and drove a carriage with six greys, escorted by several persons on horseback, and foot, with French horns and other kinds of musical instruments. The Prince of Wales, the Prince of Orange, the nobility and gentry, all treated him with respect; and the corporation, who might be considered as his privy council, never took any steps without his fiat. His prosperity was of long duration; and, if a man who supported himself by gambling and intrigues, can be said to deserve prosperity, it was justly due to this celebrated character: but at length age and infirmities approached! and though Horace says, we should preserve consistency to the last, it appeared ridiculous to see grey hairs and decrepitude aping the gaiety and hilarity of youth. His admirers in consequence fell off; and he lived to be sensible of the folly of a life solely devoted to pleasure, and the vanity of pomp, whether real or affected.—Beau Nash died February His death. 3, 1761, and was buried at the expence of the corporation, in the abbey church, with much pomp and solemnity. The crowd that attended his funeral was so great, that not only the streets were filled, but the very tops of the houses were covered with spectators.—Amongst the places of Dissenting Chapels. worship for the Dissenters, are the Unitarian chapel, in Trim Street; the Baptist chapel, in Garrard Street; the Quaker's meeting-house on St. James's Parade; the chapel of the Unitas Fratrum, or Moravians, in Monmouth Street; a chapel belonging to the Wesleyan Methodists, in New King Street; an Independant Calvinist chapel, in Argyle Street; a sort of semi-episcopal chapel, in the connection of the late Countess of Huntingdon, in Harlequin Row; and a Roman Catholic chapel in Orchard Street. The original pump-room, began in 1704, was opened under the auspices of Mr. Nash. Its object was to enable the drinkers to take exercise without exposing themselves to the weather. The room was enlarged in 1751; a portico, stretching from it in a northerly direction, was added in 1786; and a superb western frontispiece in 1791. Five years afterwards, Mr. Baldwin the architect, erected a new pump-room on the site of the old one, on a more extensive and magnificent scale. During the full season, a company of musicians perform in the gallery every morning. Those who drink the waters, are expected to pay about a guinea per month, besides a gratuity to the pumper. The public baths are the King's Bath, and Queen's Bath, which are connected with each other; the Hot Bath, and the Cross Bath. The private baths are those belonging to the corporation, in Stall Street, adjoining the King's Bath, built in 1788, with dry pumps, sudatories, and every other accommodation; and the neat and convenient baths, called the Duke of Kingston's, or the Abbey Baths, belonging to Earl Manvers. The latter are supplied from the same source as the great pump-room. The Bath springs are said to have three distinct sources, the King's Bath, the Hot Bath, and the Cross Bath, which arise within a small distance of each other. They contain a small quantity of carbonic acid gas, and also of azotic gas; some sulphate of soda, and muriate of soda; selenite, carbonate of lime; siliceous earth; and a portion of oxyd of iron. These waters, taken internally, operate as a stimulant; they increase the action of the blood-vessels, and promote the various secretions, particularly those Use of the waters in certain disorders. of urine and perspiration. The diseases in which their external and internal uses render most service, are affections of the liver and stomach, jaundice, hypochondriasis, and chlorosis. They are especially efficacious in that state of gout termed atonic. The external application of the water is highly beneficial in palsy, chronic rheumatism, cutaneous diseases, scrofula, lameness, contractions, &c. The water, in all cases, should if practicable, be drunk hot from the pump. Its effect on the stomach and nerves are sometimes remarkably speedy; persons who have lost their appetites and spirits by high living, have, by using them a few days, recovered their powers of digestion and cheerfulness of mind. The quantity taken is seldom more than a pint and a half in the course of the day, and is divided into three portions, two before breakfast, allowing half an hour between them, and a third at noon. The condition of the patient is, however, to be strictly attended to: and the quantity must be regulated at the discretion of the physician. The General Hospital of this city was established for the reception of all the sick poor in the united kingdom, whose complaints require relief from the springs of the place; excepting the resident poor, who have the advantage of taking the waters at their own houses, at a moderate charge. Edward the Sixth granted upwards of eighty tenements, gardens, &c. within the city and its suburbs, for the purpose of founding a grammar-school at Bath, and maintaining ten poor folk within the said town for ever. The Bath Theatre is scarcely inferior to those of the metropolis. The present building was erected The Theatre. about the year 1805, in the centre of the city; and from its height, it forms a prominent object in the distance from all its environs. There are three entrances; the grand front being in Beaufort Square. The audience part is somewhat smaller than was that of the late Covent Garden Theatre, but the space behind the curtain is much larger. The length, within the main walls, is one hundred and twenty feet; the breadth sixty feet; and the height seventy. The exterior buildings are very extensive; there are three lofty tiers of boxes, affording a depth of rows towards the centre. Cast iron bronzed pillars are placed at a distance of two feet from the front, by which the first row of each circle appears as a balcony, independent of the main structure, and thus an inconceivable lightness is obtained. The private boxes are inclosed with gilt lattices: the entrance to them is by a private house, part of the property connected with the theatre, and they are accommodated with a suite of retiring rooms. The decorations are very splendid, particularly the ceiling. The Harmonic Society was instituted under the patronage of Dr. Harrington; and there is another musical society, called the York House Catch Club. The Sydney Sydney Gardens. Garden Vauxhall, at the extremity of Great Pulteney Street, abounds with groves, vistas, lawns, serpentine walks, alcoves, bowling-greens, grottoes and labyrinths. It is known to have contained four thousand persons. The riding school affords the public, amusement in wet weather. Lansdown races are in June and July. Besides the Public Library, the circulating libraries are numerous and well supplied, and the harmonic concerts and local institutions of a literary character, are easily accessible. It is intended to convert the common fields in the neighbourhood of Marlborough Buildings into a public park, laid out with numerous rides and walks, ornamental fountains, and plantations. Hackney coaches, and chariots, on the same principle as those used in London, are established here. Markets, Wednesday and Saturday.—Fairs, February 14; (Holloway) July 10; and Aug. 10, (Lansdown) for cattle, horses and all kinds of merchandise. The Falmouth Mail arrives 7.54 morning, and departs 6.30 afternoon. The Carmarthen Mail arrives 7.48 morning, and departs 6.56 afternoon.—Bankers, (Bladud Bank) Tufnell and Co.; draw on Jones, Lloyd and Co.; Tugwell and Co., draw on Barnard and Co.; (Old Bank) Hobhouse and Co., draw on Jones, Lloyd and Co.; (City Bank) Smith and Moger, draw on Barclay and Co.—Inns, York Hotel, White Hart, White Lion, Greyhound, Castle, and Elephant and Castle.
[A] BATHEASTON. This village is situated on the London road from Bath. The upper part contains the church, and amongst some handsome houses, is one which was formerly the residence of John Wood, Esq., the ingenious architect, to whom Bath owes many of its noblest buildings. The church is antique. At the west-end it has a fine square tower, one hundred feet high. The inside is remarkable for its neat and decent appearance. A custom long observed at the villa of Sir John Millar, Bart., displays his elegance and refinement in the choice of his amusements, as well as of his visitors. He had purchased an antique vase, discovered at Frescati, in Italy, in 1759; and having placed it in a room convenient for the purpose, he consecrated it to Apollo, and ordained Lady Miller, high priestess. He then issued a general invitation to all votaries of the muses, to assemble on a certain day in each week, and offer their poetical oblations The vase of Apollo. at the shrine; the degree of merit each possessed was decided by the public voice, and the author of the best was crowned with myrtle. A collation succeeded. This attic pastime continued for some years, till some witling contaminated the purity of the urn by a licentious composition, and the vessel was closed for ever. Two small volumes of these effusions have been published. [B] BATTERSEA is seated on the Thames, and gives the title of Baron to the family of St. John. The church contains many monuments, chiefly of the above noble family; particularly one in grey marble, to the memory of the celebrated statesman, Henry St. John, Viscount Bolingbroke, and of his second wife, whose profiles are sculptured in bass-relief. A monument near the south wall, represents Sir Edward Wynter in the act of Sir E. Wynter's exploits. performing two extraordinary exploits, thus described in his epitaph:— Alone, unarmed, a tyger he oppressed, A neat tablet, at the east end of the church, commemorates Thomas Astle, who was long a distinguished member of the Society of Antiquaries, Keeper of the Records in the Tower, a Trustee of the British Museum, and author of Treatise "on the Origin and Progress of Writing." He died in 1802, and left a valuable collection of manuscripts. Here are also interred, Arthur Collins, Esq., known as the author of an "Historical Account of the Peers and Baronets of England;" William Curtis, author of the "Flora Londinensis," and the Rev. Joseph Gardner, author of "Views on the Rhine," and otherwise distinguished by his attachment to the arts. Bolingbroke House was a spacious edifice, said to have contained Bolingbroke house. fifty rooms on a floor, of which a few only remain; among which is the favourite apartment of Lord Bolingbroke, wainscotted with cedar. A horizontal air-mill now occupies the site of this mansion, and in the gardens have been erected bullock-houses. Sherwood Lodge, near the Thames, is the residence of James Wolf, Esq. whose valuable collection of plaster-casts, from antique statues, are deposited in a gallery of Doric architecture, remarkable for the purity of its style. A wooden bridge was built over the Thames at this place, in 1771.
[A] BATTLE, anciently called Epiton, derived its present denomination from the conflict between William the Norman, and Harold Harefoot, which decided the fate of these realms, and gave to the former the surname of Conqueror. This engagement happened on the 14th of October, 1066, and continued from morning until sunset, when the Normans had sustained a loss of 15000 men, and the English four times that number, among whom was their king. The Conqueror, grateful for his victory, and in performance of a vow, commenced the foundation of an abbey on that part of the field where the battle had raged most fiercely, causing the high altar to be raised on the spot where the body of his valiant antagonist; or, as others say, his standard had been found. This The Abbey. abbey was dedicated to St. Martin, and the privileges enjoyed by the superiors within its precincts were almost regal; an exclusive right of inquest in cases of murder—the property of all treasure discovered there—free warren and exemption, even for their tenants, from all ecclesiastical jurisdiction—right of sanctuary for their church in cases of homicide—and the power of pardoning any condemned thief whom they should meet going to execution. From the foundation of this abbey, till its dissolution, it was governed by thirty-one abbots. Sometime after the latter period, it was the property of the Montagues, who sold it to Sir Thomas Webster, and that gentleman made it his residence. Sir Godfrey Webster, Bart., is the present owner. In its present state, Battle Abbey bears ample testimony to its ancient magnificence, the ruins being extensive, and exhibiting a mixture of the light Norman with the solid Saxon architecture. These remains occupy two sides of a quadrangle, of which one is an ancient gateway. Nine elegant arches, now filled up, are all that remain of the church. Two detached buildings, supposed to have been refectories, are now converted into offices. The town of Battle consists of one street, and has a handsome church, the windows of which are embellished with stained glass. The chancel contains a fine altar-monument to the memory of Sir Anthony Browne, armour-bearer to Henry VIII. This place is celebrated for a manufacture of gunpowder, inferior only to that at Dartford. Market, Thursday.—Fairs, Whit-Monday; Nov. 22, cattle and pedlary; second Tuesday in every month, cattle.—Bankers, Smith, Gill, and Co., draw on Spooner and Co.—Mail arrives 4.20 morning; departs 9.40 afternoon.—Inn, George. [B] BATTLE. The church is placed upon an eminence on the east side of the Escir river. It is a low edifice surrounded by a cemetry, bounded by a wall. A few straggling houses give this place the name of a village. History has fixed this spot as the scene of action where the fate of Brecknockshire Scene of a Welsh battle. was decided, upon its attack by Bernard Newmarch. The vestiges which indicate such an event, are, a well called Ffynon Pen Rhys; a lane called Heol y Cymri, and a long upright stone below the church on the south side; no other vestiges remain to recall the event. Half a mile eastward from Battle, appears the stately residence of the vicar of Llandevalle. Upon the wall of an inner court is an inscription in Latin. From the windows of this house are three most beautiful views; on the east side through a small vista, are seen the village of Llanddew, and in the back ground the black mountain beyond Talgarth. From the library, in which is a capital picture of our Saviour bearing the Cross, by Correggio, looking west, is the vale of Usk, with the highly ornamented grounds above Penpont; beyond which, Abercamlais, and the mountains in Llywel and Devynock close the scene. Nearly opposite is the gradually rising knoll of Benni, covered to the top on all sides with wood, beyond which appear the precipitous and majestic summits of the Beacons. Merthyr Cynog, or Saint Cynog, lies about four miles north. Cynog or Canoc, was the illegitimate son of Brychan Brecheinog. He was slain or murdered in one of the early eruptions of the Saxons into Wales, in the 5th century, on the summit of a hill in this parish, nearly opposite Castlemadoc, called Vanoleu, and according to Owen, was buried in Merthyr church. The edifice which remains, does not appear to be of an earlier date than the Norman era; it is situated upon a lofty ridge between the vales of Escir fawr and Escir fechan, in nearly the centre of the parish. It resembles a large barn, in which are some divisions, like pens for sheep, thrown in disorder to rot, when unfit for use.
[A] BATTLEDEN lies between the two great north-western roads. The family of Firmband, or Fremband, twice represented the county in parliament, as early as the reign of Edward III. In the reign of Elizabeth it became the property of the Duncombes; and it is to one of this family that we are indebted for the accommodation of the now antiquated sedans, The invention of Sedan chairs. or close chairs; and in the year 1634, Duncombe is said to have procured a patent, which vested in him and his heirs the right of carrying persons "up and down in them," for a certain term. "It is probable, (observes Lysons,) that Sir Saunders, who was a great traveller, had seen them at Sedan, where Dr. Johnson, supposes that they were first made; and it is remarkable that Captain Bayley first introduced the use of Hackney Coaches in the same year." In the year 1706, this manor was purchased by Allen Bathurst, Esq., a distinguished political character during the reigns of Queen Anne and George I. It was for many years the country seat of Lord Bathurst, and the resort of a celebrated constellation of wits, of whom he was the patron and friend. [B] BATTLEFIELD is a parish in the liberties of Shrewsbury, and derives its name from a sanguinary battle which was fought there on Saturday the 21st of July, 1403, between Henry the Fourth and the Battle between Henry the Fourth and Percy of Northumberland. Rebels, under Percy, Earl of Nothumberland, and in which Lord Henry Percy, well known as the valiant Hotspur, was slain, together with nearly 2300 gentlemen and others, and upwards of 600 common soldiers fell on that memorable occasion. After this signal victory, Henry the fourth caused a collegiate church to be erected on the spot for secular canons, which was dedicated to Saint Mary Magdalene, the battle having been fought on the anniversary of that day. This college was dissolved in the general wreck of establishments of this kind, when its revenues amounted to £54 10s. 4d. per annum; it is now the parish church. At the east end, over the altar window, is a figure of Henry the Fourth, much defaced by the corroding hand of time. In a niche in the south wall, is a rude carving in wood of the Virgin and child; and in the east window are still to be traced some mutilated remains of stained glass; but the most interesting object in this church, is a splendid gothic monument, recently erected to the memory of the late John Corbet, Esq. of Sundorne. This beautiful specimen of architecture is called Splendid monument. the Tudor gothic; the interior represents the miniature aisle of a cathedral or cloister, with its elaborately groined roof, and the front is adorned by the heraldic blazonings of the family. This fine and highly prized piece of art was designed by the Rev. Archdeacon Owen, of Shrewsbury, and most admirably executed by Messrs. Carline of that town, in a warmly tinted fine grained stone, from the Grinshill quarries in the neighbourhood.
[A] BAWTRY is a small town situated on the edge of Yorkshire, adjoining Nottinghamshire. It is handsome and well built; and the high street, through which lies the great North Road from London to Edinburgh, is very broad, and contains some elegant houses. At the upper part of this street is the market-place, in which are some excellent shambles. The town stands on a gentle but pleasant eminence, which slopes from the north and east down to the river Idle, which river is navigable to this place for small craft. On the western side of the town the ground is high and exceedingly pleasant, but the eastern, or marshy side, is subject to frequent winter inundations. The object which most travellers consider more especially worthy of attention, is the elegant mansion of the Viscountess Galway. The edifice is built of brick and is pleasantly situated at the southern extremity of the town; it has an extensive and handsome front, but a high brick wall secludes it from public view. The pleasure Seat of the Viscountess Galway. grounds which are kept in excellent condition, are stocked with Chinese pheasants, and other rare and curious birds. Near this place the Archbishops of York had a palace; and at this mansion, Archbishop Savage, in the time of Henry VII. delighted to take his pleasure in hunting; and in the next reign it was the residence of Cardinal Wolsey. The palace stood in a very low and damp situation, close to the confluence of the small river Ryton with the Idle. The great gateway, and the porter's lodge, were taken down towards the end of the last century, and what remains of the palace has been converted into a farm house. Market, Saturday.—Fairs, Whit-Tuesday; and November 22, for cattle and horses.—Inn, Crown—Mail arrives 2.0 afternoon; departs 11.30 morning. [B] BAYSWATER is situated on the Oxford Road, and is the first place passed after leaving London; it has been much increased of late by the building of new streets and genteel residences. A reservoir, under the same management as the water works of Chelsea, is in the neighbourhood. Bayswater Tea Gardens were formerly the Botanic gardens of Sir John Hill, who cultivated there his medicinal plants, and prepared his Water Dock, Essence, and Balsam of Honey. The reservoir before mentioned, was intended for the supply of the palace at Kensington, and the bason before the palace was to be kept constantly full by the proprietors; and, it was upon this condition that the property was granted them. It now supplies that part of the city estates situated in about Bond-street, with water.
[A] BEACHAMPTON. The remains of the mansion of the Bennetts have been converted into a farm-house, but the great hall is still standing. In the parish church are some monuments of this family; among which there is one to the memory of Sir Simon Bennett, who was created a baronet in 1627, and is recorded in history as having been a great friend to the poor, and to University College, Oxford. This monument, it appears, was set up by the college 100 years after his death, and great blame is imputed to them for having delayed it so long. Mr. William Elmer, Free grammar school. by his will, bearing date 1648, founded a free grammar school in this parish. The school-house was finished in 1667. The master, by an express clause in the founder's will, must be a single man, and is to reside in the school-house. It is endowed with lands, which are charged with the payment of a certain pension of £2. per annum, to eight poor men, and £1. per annum to as many poor women; and it is further provided, that three of each of these shall be inhabitants of this parish. [B] BEACHLEY from its almost insulated situation, has always been of great importance in a military point of view, for there are extensive earthworks of British origin still remaining. Offa's-dyke, which terminates here, is still to be traced. In the civil wars this place was considered of much importance, for Prince Rupert despatched a body of 500 horse and foot to occupy and fortify it. But history relates, that even before the fortifications were completed, the garrison was dislodged with great loss, by Governor Massie. After this, a battle was fought between the royalists and the parliamentary forces, under Sir John Wyntor, when the latter was defeated with the loss of 220 men; and it is currently reported that Once a place of great importance. he himself was forced to leap from the cliff into the river Severn, where a small boat lay ready to receive him; it is certain the place still goes by the name of "Wyntor's leap." The ferry over the river Severn has been before mentioned at page 63. Here is an inn called Beachley Passage House Inn. The time of high water is nearly the same as at Bristol Quay, and is always to be seen in the Bristol Newspapers. If the wind be northerly, this passage may be crossed for five hours before high-water; and if the wind be southerly or westerly, it may be passed for seven hours after high-water. [C] BEACONSFIELD is a small place, although it is one of great thoroughfare, but the market is almost wholly disused; in fact, Wycombe and Uxbridge appear to have drawn away the business. The manor, anciently an estate of the Windsors, afterwards became the property of the Monks of Burnham Abbey, a building but a few miles distant. Edmund Waller, the poet. Waller, the poet, was born at Coleshill, in this neighbourhood, at which place see his life; he was proprietor of the very pleasing seat, called Hall Barns, an ancient mansion belonging to the family; he lies buried in the churchyard, and a monument has been erected to his memory, with a latin inscription, too long and too dry to be given in our work. Gregories, in this parish, was the seat of the celebrated Edmund Burke, who, for critical taste and brilliancy of language, will ever be ranked amongst the most fascinating of English writers. His company was sought for by all The celebrated Edmund Burke. who could make the slightest pretension to kindred genius. He died in this town, and was buried in the church, where a marble tablet is set up, with a short inscription, to his memory. The apartments at Butler's Court, formerly Gregories, contained some fine paintings, by Sir Joshua Reynolds, and some valuable marbles. This seat, we believe, came into the possession of Mr. Burke through the friendship of Lord Verney and the Marquis of Rockingham, by whose munificence he was enabled to purchase it. The widow of the late Mr. Burke continued to reside at Butler's Court till the period of her death, which took place a few years after that of her late husband; the mansion and estate was afterwards purchased by James Dupre, Esq., who let the house to the master of a boarding-school, and in whose occupation it was destroyed by fire: the grounds have since been adapted to the purpose of agriculture. For the following interesting sketch of the illustrious and distinguished statesman, (Burke,) we are indebted to Dr. Watkin's Biographical Dictionary:—"He was born at Dublin, in 1730. His father was an attorney, and a Protestant. The son received his education under Abraham Shackleton, a Quaker, who kept a school at Ballytore, near Carlow, and it is recorded to the honour of Mr. Burke, that whenever he visited Ireland he always paid his respects to his old tutors: in 1746 he entered as a scholar at Sketch of his life. Trinity College, which he left on taking his bachelor's degree in 1749, and soon after became candidate for the professorship of logic at Glasgow, but did not succeed. In 1753 he entered of the Middle Temple, where he applied more to general literature than to the law, and supported himself by writing for the booksellers. Falling ill, through too close an application to his studies, he removed to the house of Dr. Nugent, a physician, whose daughter he afterwards married. In 1756 he published a pamphlet, entitled, "A Vindication of Natural Society." This piece was purposely drawn up in the manner of Lord Bolingbroke, and for a time imposed upon the friends of that writer as his real productions. His next performance was the Essay on the Sublime and Beautiful, published in 1757. This philosophical piece of criticism, written in a fine and elegant style, procured the author a great reputation, and the esteem of the first literary characters of the age; the principal of whom was Dr. Johnson. In 1758, he suggested to Mr. Dodsley, the bookseller, the plan of the "Annual Register," the historical part of which he wrote for several years. In 1761 he went to Ireland as the companion of his friend Mr. Hamilton, secretary to the Earl of Halifax, then Lord-Lieutenant. That gentleman, who was generally known by the name of Single-speech Hamilton, from the circumstance of his making only one speech in parliament, but one of uncommon eloquence, procured him a pension of £300. on the Irish establishment. On his return from Ireland he was made private secretary to the Marquis of Rockingham, First Lord of the Treasury, who brought him into parliament for Wendover. The Rockingham party continued in power but a short time, and on going out of office, Mr. Burke wrote a forcible pamphlet upon the subject, entitled, "A Short Account of a Short Administration;" after which, he became an active member of the opposition, as a senator and also as a writer. A pamphlet of his, entitled, "Thoughts on the Causes of the present Discontents," excited considerable interest as a bold exposure of court intrigues and favourites, in controlling the operations of ministers. In the struggle between Great Britain and the colonies, Mr. Burke bore a distinguished part as an opponent to the ministry. His speeches were vehement, and had so powerful an influence upon the people, that the citizens of Bristol, in 1774, invited him to be one of their representatives, without his being at the least expense. But at the next election in 1780, he was rejected by them for having supported the Irish petition for a free trade, and the bill for relieving Roman Catholics. He was then returned for Malton, in Yorkshire. At this time he gained great popularity by his introduction of a bill for a reform in the national expenditure, on which he spent prodigious labour, but it was unsuccessful. When the Marquis of Rockingham returned to power on the resignation of Lord North, in 1782, Mr. Burke obtained the post of Paymaster-general of the Forces, and a seat in the Privy Council; but this was of short duration, for on the death of his patron, Lord Shelbourne became First Lord of the Treasury, and Mr. Burke, with several of his friends, resigned their places. In the coalition, which for a little while succeeded the Shelbourne administration, Mr. Burke had his share both of emolument and abuse. The leading particulars of his political life, after this, were his exertions against Mr. Hastings, in which he manifested uncommon industry to fasten guilt upon that gentleman, with no small share of personal asperity; his vigorous opposition to Mr. Pitt's design of forming a limited regency on the King's illness in 1788; and above all, his ardour against the actors and defenders of the French revolution. On the latter subject he evinced peculiar sagacity at the outset, and when many worthy men were rejoicing at the prospect of rising liberty and happiness to the world, Mr. Burke predicted, with remarkable precision, the desolation, bloodshed, anarchy, and misery which ensued. He displayed his detestation of the revolutionists in the House of Commons, and separated himself in consequence from Mr. Fox, and many other of his old associates. In 1790 he published his famous "Reflections on the Revolution in France," which attracted wonderful attention, and produced a surprising effect upon the public mind. Many publications appeared in answer to this book; the most noted of which was Paine's pamphlet, entitled "The Rights of Man," wherein the principles of republicanism were so artfully addressed to the feelings of ordinary persons, as to excite for a time no small alarm to the friends of government. Mr. Burke, after this, published a variety Burke's reflections on the French revolution, &c. of pamphlets in support of his positions: as, "A Letter to a Member of the National Assembly;" "An Appeal from the New Whigs to the Old;" "Thoughts on a Regicide peace," &c. His zeal on this occasion, as well as his extraordinary talents, recommended him to the royal favour, and he obtained a pension, which gave room for those who had been galled by his arguments, to reproach him, and some illiberal animadversions were made upon him in the senate, which drew from him that admirable defence, his "Letter to a Noble Lord," in which he retaliates upon a celebrated Duke in a strain of keen irony and dignified remonstrance. Mr. Burke withdrew from parliament in 1794, leaving his seat for Malton to his son, an accomplished young man, who died shortly after. This melancholy event hastened his death, which happened the 8th His death. of July, 1797. A little before his death he caused to be read to him Addison's paper in the Spectator, on the Immortality of the Soul. Mr. Burke was very amiable in his private life, of correct deportment, faithful in his attachments; charitable to the poor, and religious without being superstitious. He had a fine taste for the arts, and was fond of gardening and architecture," Bulstrode, the seat of the Duke of Portland, is within three miles of the town; a more detailed account of this elegant mansion will be given in a future portion of our work. Market, Wednesday.—Fairs, Feb. 13; and Holy Thursday, for horses, cows, and sheep.—Mail arrives 11.10 night; departs, 3.30 morning.—Inn, Saracen's Head.
[A] BEAMINSTER is a town of very great antiquity; it is situated on a fertile spot near the banks of the small river Birt. The prebendaries of Salisbury were formerly lords of the manor, until the parliamentary commissioners (who appear to have made very free with church property) seized it, and for a time it passed into other hands, but it was only for a time: the right at length became acknowledged, and in the possession of the prebendaries of Sarum it now remains. This town has suffered much by the devastation of fire, and still more by the destructive sword of civil, or rather uncivil, warfare. Britton speaks of a record of the former being preserved in a blank leaf of an old Bible, in the possession of a gentleman of this town, which memorandum ran as follows:—"The towne of Beaminster was burnt on Palme Sunday, being the 14th day of April, and in Destroyed by fire in 1644. the year of our Lord 1644. At the same time prince Maurice, being in the towne seven dayes before the fire, and there continued till the fire burnt him out of his quarters. The fire was first kindled in John Sergeant's house, in North-street; it was a musket discharged in the gable; and it was wild-fire, and the winde lying directly with the towne, the whole place was destroyed in two hours; and those goods for the most part which were saved out of the fire were carried away by the soldiers. There were seven score and four dwelling-houses, besides barns and stables, burnt." An eye-witness in Sir Thomas Fairfax's army describes it as "a place of the pitifullest spectacle that man can behold; hardly a house left not consumed by fire." Two thousand pounds were granted by the parliament to assist in re-building the town: this, with other sums, raised by the neighbouring gentry, answered the purpose. But it appears that the place was doomed to destruction, for in June, 1684, it Burnt down in 1684, and again in 1781. was again consumed, and the loss is said to have amounted to £10,000.: nor did its misfortunes end here, for in the gusty month of March, in the year 1781, upwards of fifty dwelling-houses, besides barns, stables, and other buildings, were reduced to ruins in the short space of three hours. Mrs. Tucker founded a free-school here, in 1684, for the purpose of affording education to twenty of the poorest boys in the town; three or four of these boys were to be apprenticed annually, and it is necessary that one of these, at least, should become a seaman. The Rev. Mr. Samuel Hood, father of Lord Hood, was master of this school in the year 1715. The inhabitants are principally engaged in the manufacture of sail-cloth, and in the production of iron, tin, and copper ware. The work-house is a large commodious building; formerly an alms-house. Market, Thursday.—Fairs, April 4; September 19, for horses, sheep, and cattle. [B] BEAUDESERT. This place is situated in the hundred of Barlichway. The church is dedicated to St. Nicholas, and exhibits some good specimens of ancient architecture. The village was the birth-place of Richard Jago, the poet, who was the son of the rector: he was born in 1715, and was educated at Solihull grammar-school, about eleven miles distant from this place. His first poetical production which attracted notice was an "Elegy on the Death of a Blackbird," and this was followed by a poem, descriptive of the "Battle of Edgehill," which is considered the most finished of his works: the subject was in all probability suggested by his residence in the neighbourhood of the scene of action. He died on the 8th of April, 1781.
[A] BEAULIEU. The river Exe, over which there is a bridge, is navigable up to this village. Here is a manufacture of coarse sacking. The ruins of Beaulieu Abbey are beautifully situated on the eastern banks of the river. The delightful valley which surrounds these venerable remains, is of a circular form, bounded by well-wooded hills, and in itself, consists of a rich variety of ground. The Abbey was founded, A.D. 1204, by The Abbey founded by King John. King John, for monks of the Cistercian order; a class of friars to which that monarch had been previously particularly adverse. The king, it is said, after various oppressive measures exercised against the Cistercians, summoned the Abbots and principals of that order, to Lincoln, whither they hastened, flattering themselves that he would there confer upon them some marks of his grace and favor. Instead of this, say the monkish historians, "the savage monarch ordered the Abbots to be trodden to death, by horses: but none of his attendants being found sufficiently cruel to obey the sanguinary command, the ecclesiastics, dreadfully alarmed, retired hastily to their inn. In the course of the ensuing night, when the monarch slumbered on his bed, he dreamt that he was standing before a Judge, accompanied by the Cistercian Abbots, who were commanded to scourge him severely with rods and thongs; and when he awoke in the morning, he declared that he still felt the smart of the beating. On relating this dream to a certain ecclesiastic of his court, The king's singular dream. he was advised to crave pardon of the Abbots, whom he had before so barbarously treated; and assured, that the Almighty had been infinitely merciful to him, in thus revealing the mysteries of his dispensations, and affording him paternal correction. The king, adopting this counsel, ordered the Abbots to attend him; and, contrary to their expectations, received them with kindness:" and the remembrance of his dream still continuing to influence his conduct, he shortly after granted a charter for the foundation of the Abbey of Beaulieu. It was greatly enriched by succeeding grants; and at the Dissolution, its possessions were estimated at the annual value of £428. 6s. 8d. The manor of Beaulieu, with all its rights, privileges, and appurtenances, (the rectory and right of patronage excepted), was granted to Thomas Wriothesley, Esq. afterwards Earl of Southampton. The circumference of the manor embraces an extent of 28 The manor extends 28 miles. miles, and the clear annual revenue amounts to between £4000 and £5000. The immediate precincts of the Abbey were encircled by a stone wall, the remains of which are richly mantled with ivy. An edifice, nearly square, now called the palace, but originally built for the Abbot's lodging, was converted into a family seat after the Dissolution. Over the entrance is a canopied niche, in which stood the image of the Virgin Mary. The hall is a well proportioned room, handsomely vaulted, the ribs springing from pilasters, and spreading over the roof in beautiful ramifications. Eastward from this edifice is a long building, supposed from the extent and height of the apartments, to have been the dormitory; beneath it are several good cellars. The ancient kitchen is also standing, and near it is the refectory, a plain stone edifice, with strong buttresses: this is now the parish church of Beaulieu; the Abbey church, which stood to the north-east, having been entirely destroyed. On the west side is the ancient rostrum, or pulpit, from which lectures were read when the monks were assembled at their meals below. The site of the Abbey Church may be traced by the unevenness of the ground; but not a vestige of the building is remaining. Fragments of demolished tombs are occasionally dug up here, this having been the burial-place of various illustrious and noble personages, Burial place of Queen Eleanor. and among them, Queen Eleanor, mother of King John. Some traces of the cloisters are yet distinguishable. Whilst Beaulieu Abbey was invested with the privilege of a sanctuary, its walls afforded a temporary protection to Margaret of Anjou, Queen of Henry VI.; who, returning from the continent, in expectation of being reinstated in her former dignity, was informed of the imprisonment of her husband, the destruction of his army, and the death of the Earl of Warwick, and the elevation to the throne of Edward IV. Another celebrated fugitive, to whom this abbey afforded sanctuary, was Perkin Warbeck, who, after many vicissitudes, was executed at Tyburn, in 1499.
[A] BEAUMARIS, though but a small place, is the capital of the island; it is finely situated on a low shore, called Beaumaris Bay. The present town appears to have originated from the circumstance of a castle having been erected here about the close of the 13th century, by Edward I. It lies Chief town in Anglesea. close to the town, covering a large space of ground, in a low situation. Its erection was subsequent to its proud rivals Conway and Caernarvon. The necessity of the present castle arose from Rhyddlan, upon the opposite shore, being often possessed by the Welsh princes. It appears to have been the last of the three great fortresses erected by Edward. On the conquest of Wales in 1295, he fixed upon this spot with a view of surrounding it with a fosse, for the double purpose of defence, and bringing small craft to unload their cargoes under its walls, by a canal, part of which was, till lately, remaining. From the period of its erection to the time of Charles I., it does not appear to have been at all conspicuous on the page of history. A communication was made between various parts of the inner court, by means of a surrounding gallery, about six feet wide, a considerable portion of which is yet entire. Within recesses, in the sides of the gallery, are several square apertures, apparently once furnished with trap doors, which opened into rooms beneath; but their use has not been ascertained. Mr. Grose thinks they might have been used for the purposes of imprisonment. A tennis, fives court, and bowling-green, have been formed within the interior. The town of Beaumaris was surrounded with walls, for its defence, and placed under the government of a corporation, endowed with various privileges and lands. Mr. Lloyd supposes, from local tokens being circulated by opulent tradesmen, about the year 1650, of which he had several in his possession, that it was a place of considerable traffic. The present town consists of several streets, of which one terminated by the castle is handsome, and the houses are generally well built. Beaumaris is much frequented during the summer months, by Much frequented in summer. numerous genteel families, attracted by the pleasantness of this part of the island, and to avail themselves of the benefit of sea-bathing. The parochial church is a handsome structure, consisting of a chancel, nave, and two aisles, with a large square embattled tower. In the vestry adjoining were deposited the remains of lady Beatrice Herbert, daughter of the celebrated mirror of chivalry, the Lord Herbert of Cherbury. Near which lies interred the Rev. Gronwy Davies, with an inscription concluding as follows: "Here lies learning, friendship, love; The free-school was erected and liberally endowed by David Hughes, Esq., in the year 1603, who ten years afterwards founded also an excellent alms-house for six poor persons, to whom he granted small annuities. He was born about the middle of the 16th century, in a cottage now in ruins. He left the island early in life, in a very humble station, but by prudence and propriety of conduct, he made a decent fortune. "'T is here the active worth of Hughes appears, The old town-hall, built in 1563, has been taken down, and under the patronage of Lord Viscount Bulkeley, another more elegant has been erected upon its site. The town, re-incorporated in the 4th year of Elizabeth, is governed by a mayor, recorder, two bailiffs, twenty-four burgessess, Its government. two serjeants at mace, a town clerk, jailor, four constables, and a water-bailiff. The county hall is a small low building, being neither conveniently formed nor respectable in its appearance. The custom-house stands upon the green near the edge of the water. Beaumaris bay consists of an expansive opening in front of the town, so sheltered by the island of Priesholme and the great Ormeshead, as to allow vessels of considerable burden to ride in safety, during the most stormy weather. The depth of water near the town, at ebb-tide, is from six to seven fathoms, but the channel scarcely exceeds a quarter of a mile in breadth. The greater part of the bay is left dry for several miles when the tide is out, which part is called the Lavan Sands. These once formed a habitable hundred, belonging to the territory of Arson. They were formerly called Wylofaen, or the place of Weeping, from the shrieks and lamentations of the inhabitants at the time when the land was overwhelmed by the sea. Lavan is a corruption Lavan sands of Traeth Talaven, or the fermented heap, allusive to the boiling up of water in the quicksands. The ferry was granted by charter to the corporation in the 4th year of Elizabeth: it lies near the town. The place of embarking or landing is the point anciently known under the appellation of Penrhyn Safness, but afterwards Osmund's Air, from a malefactor, who on his way to execution, being asked where he was going, answered, "To take the air." The walk over the sand at low water is firm and good; they should be passed three hours after high water, and will be safe for four hours; or in other words, two hours before low water and two after. Precautions are essentially necessary to be taken, for near the times of the sands being Caution. covered by the sea they are frequently shifting, and in many places become so watery or quick, as to have proved both dangerous and fatal. This way is equally perilous in foggy weather, but as some persons are necessitated to pass in every season, the large bell at Aber is humanely rung, to direct them towards the sound. Market, Wednesday and Saturday.—Fairs, Feb. 13, Holy Thursday, Sept. 19, and Dec. 19, for cattle.—Inn, Bull's Head.
[A] BECCLES is a large and well-built town, situated on the river Waveny, which is navigable from this place to Yarmouth, and divides in its course the counties of Suffolk and Norfolk. It is governed by a portreeve and thirty-six burgesses, the office of the former being held in rotation by twelve of the latter. The church is gothic, with a steeple, containing twelve bells, and a porch, which is considered a fine specimen of the florid gothic. The ruins of Endgate church may be seen out of the town, but the inhabitants Fine gothic church. of the village appear to have been long esteemed parishioners of Beccles. Here is a theatre, a town hall, a jail, and a free school, endowed with 100 acres of land, in the reign of James I.; and a good grammar-school founded by Dr. Falconberge, and endowed with an estate, then worth forty pounds per annum, although now considerably increased in value. Near the town is a large common, on which the inhabitants of the town have the privilege of feeding their cattle on easy terms. In 1586 a fire consumed eighty houses in this place, and property to the amount of £20,000. Market, Saturday.—Fairs, Whit Monday, June 29, and October 2, for horses and pedlary.—Bankers, Gurney and Co., draw on Barclay and Co.—Mail arrives 10.15 morning; departs 3.45 afternoon.—Inns, King's Head, and White Lion. [B] BECKENHAM. The church of this village is a neat edifice, containing many monuments of the Style, Raymond, Burrell, and other families. On a slab in the chancel, is a remarkable brass, to the memory of dame Margaret, wife of Sir William Dalsell, Knt., and daughter of John Barnes. Esq., of Redhall, in Norfolk, who died 1563: she is represented in a flowered petticoat, and close-bodied gown; the sleeves slashed at the shoulders, and hanging down to the feet. Here is also the monument of Mrs. Jane Clarke, wife of Dr. Clarke, physician at Epsom, with an elegant inscription, by Gray. The parish register, under the date of Oct. 24, 1740, also records the burial of Margaret Finch, who lived to the Queen of the gipsies died here, at the age of 109. age of 109 years. She was one of the people called gipsies, and had the title of their queen. After travelling over various parts of the kingdom, during the greater part of a century, she settled at Norwood, whither her great age, and the fame of her fortune-telling, attracted numerous visitors. From a habit of sitting on the ground, with her chin resting on her knees, the sinews at length became so contracted, that she could not rise from that posture: after her death, they were obliged to inclose her body in a deep square box. Her funeral was attended by two mourning coaches: a sermon was preached upon the occasion, and a great concourse of people attended the ceremony. Her picture adorns the sign-post of a house of public entertainment in Norwood, called the Gipsy House. Beckenham-place, the seat of John Cator, Esq., is partly in the parish of Bromley; but the mansion itself is in that of Beckenham. Rear-Admiral Sir Piercy Brett, who died in 1781, (and with his lady, lies buried in the church,) resided here. The estate, which had long been owned by the St. Johns, was alienated to the Cators, in 1773. The house is a handsome building, commanding a beautiful prospect. Kent House, the ancient seat of the Lethieullers, in Beckenham parish, is now occupied as a farm: the estate belongs to J.J. Angerstein, Esq. Clay Hill, or the Oakery, also in this parish, was the property of the late learned Edward King, Esq., F.R., and A.S. This gentleman, who was a native of Norfolk, was elected president of the Society of Antiquaries on the decease of Dr. Milles, in 1784; but, on the succeeding election in the year following, he was obliged to relinquish the chair to the Earl of Leicester, after an unprecedented contest. He was the author of various works; the principal of which are, his "Observations on Ancient Castles;" "Morsels of Criticism," tending to illustrate the Scriptures; and the "Monumenta Antiqua." He died in 1806, at the age of 72.
[A] BECKHAMPTON. Near this place is an enormous tumulus, perhaps the largest in England; it is called Silbury Hill, and common belief declares it the place of sepulchre of some British king. The two antiquaries, Silbury Hill. Greethead and Stukeley differ, as antiquaries frequently do, with regard to which of the British monarchs the honor of being supposed to lie beneath this stupendous monument should belong. The former learned writer asserting it to be that of Prydain, and the latter calling it that of Cynneda. Scattered over the neighbouring downs are numerous large stones called the Grey Wethers; they bear this name from their resemblance to a flock of sheep. Beckhampton Inn, stands at the junction of the two great Mail roads, leading from London to Bath; the southern road passing through Devizes and Melksham; and the northern through Calne and Chippenham. The inn is a large brick building, but has a most desolate appearance, according well with the character of the gloomy downs on the margin of which it stands; yet the traveller would do well to refresh here, as there is but little accommodation for many miles beyond. The Falmouth Mail which passes through Devizes, arrives 5.5 morning; departs 9.20 night. The Bristol Mail which passes through Calne, arrives 5.5 morning; departs 9.35 night. [B] BECKINGTON was formerly a place of much importance in the clothing business, but the decline of that trade in the west of England has much reduced the town. It was the birth-place of Thomas Beckington, an English prelate, who was one of the three appointed to draw up a code of laws in conformity with which the Wickliffites were to be proceeded against. His book against the salique law is still in the possession of the Lambeth library. [C] BEDALE is a tolerably well built town, situated in a rich valley, which with the surrounding country is exceedingly fertile, and both corn and grass yield abundant crops. The town lies to the west of the Great; Glasgow road, about two miles from Leeming Lane. Hornby Castle, the Seat of the Duke of Leeds. seat of the Duke of Leeds, deserves the admiration of the tourist. Bedale church is a large and handsome edifice, and the tower is said to have been constructed with so much strength, as to enable the inhabitants to defend themselves therein, during the inroads of the Scots. Market, Tuesday.—Fairs, Easter Tuesday, Whit-Tuesday; June 6 and 7; July 5 and 6, for horses, cattle, sheep, leather, &c.; Oct. 11 and 12, horned cattle, sheep, hogs and leather; and Monday-week before Christmas, for horned cattle and sheep. The Glasgow Mail arrives at Leeming Lane, two miles distant 7.54 evening; departs 4.58 morning.—Inns, Black Swan, and the Swan.
[A] BEDDGELART, is situated in a beautiful tract of meadows, at the junction of three vales, near the conflux of the Glas Lyn, or Gwynant, or Nant Colwyn. Nant hwynant, and the Colwyn, which flows through Nant Colwyn, a vale which leads to Caernarvon. Its situation was the fittest in the world, says Mr. Pennant, to inspire religious meditation, amid lofty mountains, woods, and murmuring streams. The church is small, yet the loftiest in Snowdonia. The east window consists of three narrow slips. The roof is neat, and there yet remains some very pretty fret work. A side chapel is supported by two neat pillars and gothic arches. This church has been conventual, belonging to a priory of Augustines, dedicated to the Virgin. They were probably of the class called Gilbertines, consisting of both men and women, living under the same roof, but divided by a wall, as a piece of ground near the church is called Dol y Llein (the meadow of the nun). No remnant of the priory however exists. The ground on the south side of the church seems to have been the spot whereon the buildings stood which the monks formerly inhabited. There are two or three arched doors on that side the church, through which probably the friars entered. The ancient mansion-house near the church might have been the residence of the prior. In this house is shown an old pewter mug, that will hold upwards of two quarts; and any person able to grasp it with one hand, while full of ale, and to drink it off at one draught, is entitled to Ancient pewter mug. the liquor gratis, and the tenant is to charge it to the lord of the manor as part payment of his rent. Tradition says, that Llewelyn the Great came to reside at Beddgelart during the hunting season, with his wife and children; and one day, the family being absent, a wolf had entered the house. On returning, his greyhound, called Ciliart, met him, wagging his tail, but covered with blood. The prince being alarmed, ran into the nursery, and found the cradle in which the child had lain covered with blood. Imagining the greyhound had killed the child, he immediately drew his sword and slew him, but on turning up the cradle, Tradition of a wolf and child. he found under it the child alive, and the wolf dead. This so affected the prince, that he erected a tomb over his faithful dog's grave, where, afterwards, the parish church was built, and called from this accident, Bedd-Cilihart, or the grave of Cilihart. In the Welch annals this region is styled the forest of Snowdon. It is a subject of great regret to most tourists, that many of the rocks which surround Beddgelart, though once covered with oaks, are now naked. One proprietor, however, is raising new plantations upon his estate. Snowdonia, though once a forest, contains now scarcely a tree. Salmon is very plentiful here, selling sometimes as low as three-farthings a pound; the average price is about four-pence. The best land lets at 20s. an acre; but the average of the neighbourhood is from 2s. 6d. to 5s., with unlimited right of common upon the mountains. In this little plain is an almost inexhaustible turbary, or right of digging turf. There is a comfortable inn at this place, called Beddgelart Hotel. It is marked by the emblem of the Guide to the mountains. goat, with the following appropriate motto. "Patria mea Petra." My country is a rock. The guide to the mountains is the harper of the house; or a resident in the village. William Lloyd, the schoolmaster of this place, was long noted as an intelligent "conductor to Snowdon, Moel Hebog, Dinas Emrys, Llanberis pass, the lakes, waterfalls, &c.; he was also a collector of crystals, fossils, and natural curiosities found in these regions. Dealer in superfine woollen hose, socks, gloves, &c.," but in the year 1804, he finally emerged from all sublunary avocations, to the regions beyond the grave. Opposite to the village of Beddgelart, is Moel Hebog (the hill of flight) which Lord Lyttelton ascended. [see Festiniog.] In a bog near that mountain, was found in 1784, a most curious brass shield, which was deposited with Mr. Williams, of Llanidan; its diameter was two feet two inches, the weight four pounds; in the centre was a plain umbo projecting above two inches; the surface was marked with twenty-seven Brass shield found. smooth concentric elevated circles, and between each a depressed space of the same breadth with the elevated parts, marked by a single row of smooth studs. The whole shield was flat and very flexible. This was probably Roman, for the Welsh despised every species of defensive armour. In ascending the summit of Snowdon from this place, a neighbouring vale is passed, which is by far the most beautiful of the vales among these mountains. It is about six miles long, and affords a great variety of wood, lakes, and meadows. The vale of Llanberis is the only one which may be said to rival it; but their characters are so different, that they cannot with propriety be compared. On the left, about a mile and a half up the valley, is a lofty wood-clad rock, called the fort of Ambrosius, or Merlin Ermys, a magician who was sent for to this place from Caermarthen, by Vortigern, who was king of Britain from 449 to 466. Upon its summit is a level piece of ground, and the remains of a square fort; and upon the west side, facing Beddgelart, there are traces of a long wall. It stands detached from other rocks, and at a distance appears in the form of a man's hat. Adjoining is a stony Groves of the magicians. tract called the cells or groves of the magicians. In the next field, a number of large stones are called the tombs of the magicians. It was to this place that Vortigern retired, when he found himself despised by his subjects, and unable to contend longer with the treacherous Saxons, whom he had introduced into his kingdom. It is probable that this insular rock afforded him a temporary residence till he removed to his final retreat in Nant Gwrtheyrn, or Vortigern's Valley. Speed says, probably without truth, that Vortigern married his own child by Rowena, daughter of Hengist, the Saxon prince, and had by her one son. There is a tradition, that Madog, the son of prince Owen Gwynedd, resided in this vale for some time before he left his country for America. The entrance from Beddgelart, is but the breadth of a narrow rugged road, close by the river's side, in which there is nothing inviting; but passing on, the traveller advances upon enchanted ground, where he finds extensive meadows, expanding at every turn of rock, smooth as a bowling green; beautiful lakes and meandering rivers, abounding in fish; mountains towering one above the other in succession, while to the left, Snowdon overtops them all, seeming Snowdon. like another Atlas, to support the firmament. Mr. Pennant, says he continued his walk along a narrow path above the lake, as far as the extremity; then descending, reached the opposite side, in order to encounter a third ascent, as arduous as the preceding. This brought him into the horrible crater immediately beneath the great precipice of Wyddfa; its situation is dreadful, surrounded by more than three parts of a circle, with the most horrible precipices of the highest peak of Snowdon. The strange break, called the pass of the Arrows, was probably a station for the hunters to watch the wandering of the deer. The margin of Ffynmon-las here appeared to be shallow and gravelly, the waters had a greenish cast, but what is very singular, the rocks reflected into them seemed varied with stripes of the richest colours, like the most beautiful lute-strings, and The pass of the Arrows. changed almost to infinity. Here he observed the wheat-ear, a small and seemingly tender bird, and yet almost the only small one, or indeed the only one, (except the rock-ouzel) that frequents these heights; the reason is evidently the want of food. The mountainous tract near Snowdon, scarcely yields any corn; the produce is cattle and sheep, which during summer they keep very high in the mountains, followed by their owners with their families, who reside during that season in their Havod-dai, or summer dwelling, or dairy houses, as the farmers in the Swiss Alps do in their Sennes. These houses consist of a long low room, with a hole at one end to let out the smoke, from the fire which is made beneath. Their furniture is very simple, stones are the substitutes for stools, and the beds are of hay, ranged along the sides: they manufacture their own clothes and dye them with plants, collected from the rocks. During summer, the men pass The summer habits of the mountaineers. their time in harvest work, or tending their herds; the women in milking, or making butter and cheese of the milk for their own consumption. The diet of these mountaineers is very plain, consisting of butter, cheese and oat bread; their drink is whey, not but that they have their reserve of a few bottles of very strong beer, by way of cordial, in sickness. They are people of good understanding, wary, and circumspect; usually tall, thin, and of strong constitutions, from their way of living. Towards winter, they descend to their old dwelling, where they lead, during that season, a vacant life, in carding, spinning, knitting, &c. The height of Snowdon is 3571 feet.
[A] BEDFORDSHIRE. This county, before the Roman invasion, was part of the district inhabited by a race of people whom the invaders denominated Cassii. Afterwards, in A.D. 310, it was a third part of the division named Flavia CÆsariensis. After that, it was attached to the kingdom of Mercia. In 827 it became subject to the West Saxons. It was first called Bedfordshire in the reign of Alfred the Great, probably from Bedan Forda: i.e. The Fortress on the Ford; there being fortifications on the borders of the river Ouse. It is an inland county, bounded on the north by Huntingdonshire and Northamptonshire; west by Buckinghamshire; An inland county. south by Bucks and Herts; and east by Herts and Cambridgeshire. Its form approaches an irregular parallelogram, with many deep and almost isolated indentations. The extent is about 36 miles in the greatest length, and the greatest breadth about 22 miles; it contains 465 square miles; circumference about 95 miles. It is divided into 9 hundreds, 125 parishes, 10 market towns, 58 vicarages, 550 villages, having a total population of 95,383 inhabitants. It belongs to the Norfolk circuit, and is in the diocese of Lincoln; subject to an archdeaconal jurisdiction, being divided into six deaneries. The climate is deemed mild and genial. The prevailing winds south westerly; the north east winds being regarded as indicating a cold summer and a severe winter. The soil is of an exceedingly Climate mild. mixed and varied character; but much the greatest portion is of a clayey nature, particularly in parts north of Bedford. The south districts are chalky. A slip extending diagonally from Woburn to near Biggleswade is a mixed sand; an almost equal portion from the vicinity of Biggleswade to the neighbourhood of Bedford, partakes of a rich gravelly soil; part of which, near the town of Biggleswade and village of Sandy, is successfully cultivated for the production of garden vegetables to a considerable Value of the land. extent. So peculiarly is that soil adapted for such produce, that it is in some instances let for more than £14. per acre; and generally from £4. to £9. may be considered as a fair rent for that luxuriant soil. There can be no standard or real average as to the value of land; as the value, like the soil itself, is exceedingly variable. Rivers.—The Ouse and the Ivel are the chief; both of which abound with fish of various kinds. The Ouse is remarkable for very great and sudden inundations. The Grand Junction Canal skirts this county at Leighton Buzzard. The natural produce consists chiefly in corn, garden vegetables, cheese and butter. There is a little ironstone, limestone, and a few extraneous fossils. There are several mineral springs, but none of any celebrity. The principal landed proprietor is the Duke of Bedford. His Grace possesses estates in about 25 parishes; under the auspices of whom and of his illustrious brother, the county is indebted for immense agricultural improvements.
[A] BEDFORD. This is an ancient corporation, the earliest charter of which is dated in 1160. It is governed by a mayor, recorder, aldermen, two chamberlains, and thirteen common councilmen. Whoever may have been a mayor is always afterwards reputed as an alderman. The mayor and bailiffs are chosen annually out of the freemen. As early as the year Very ancient corporation. 1295, it sent two members to parliament. The Duke of Bedford takes his title from this town, which first gave title of duke to the victorious prince John Plantagenet, Regent of France, during the minority of his nephew, Henry VI. as it did in the reign of Edward IV. first to John Nevil, Marquis of Montacute, and then to the king's third son, George Plantagenet; but he dying an infant, the title lay vacant till Henry VII. created his uncle, Jasper Tudor, Duke of Bedford, who also died without issue; and thus far the title was enjoyed by the first possessor only of each family. But King Edward VI. making John, Lord Russel, Earl of Bedford, the dignity has ever since been in that illustrious house, with an advancement of it to the title of Duke, by King William III. The history Origin of the Bedford family. of the noble family of Russell is curious and interesting. They appear to have originated in Dorsetshire, and owe their greatness to an accident on that coast. In the reign of Henry VII., Philip, Archduke of Austria, being bound for Spain, the heiress of which kingdom he had married, was obliged by a storm to put on shore at Weymouth, where he was received by Sir Thomas Frenchard, of Wolverton, Knt., who, till he could inform the court of the event, sent for his neighbour Mr. John Russell, then lately returned from his travels, to entertain his illustrious guests. The Archduke was so pleased with his conversation, that he recommended him to the king of England, who soon advanced him to several honourable posts, and his son Henry VIII. created him Baron Russell of Cheneys, in the county of Bucks, which estate he afterwards acquired by marriage. He was made by Henry VIII. lord warden of the stannaries, and lord admiral of England and Ireland, knight of the garter, and lord privy seal. In the reign of Edward VI. he was lord high steward for the coronation, and had a grant of Woburn Abbey, and was in the 3rd of Edward VI. 1549, created earl of Bedford. He had the honour to conduct over to England, Philip of Spain, grandson to the prince who first brought him to court and advancement. He died 1554, and was succeeded by his son Francis, who died in 1585, and was buried at Cheneys, as were most of his descendants. His son Francis being killed a day or two before his father's death, by the Scotch in the marches, his son Edward succeeded his grandfather, and died 1627; he was succeeded by his cousin Francis, son of his uncle William, lord Russell, of Thornhaugh, lord deputy of Ireland, in the reign of Elizabeth. This Francis was the first projector of the draining of the great level of the fens, called after Bedford Level. him, Bedford Level, and dying 1641, was succeeded by his eldest son William, who after having several times joined both parties during the civil war, at last adhered to the royal cause, and suffered a severe loss in the death of his only son by the very family whom he had supported; to compensate for which he was created by King William, Marquis of Tavistock, and Duke of Bedford, and dying in 1700, was succeeded by his grandson Wriothesley. He, in 1711, by his son and namesake, and he 1732, by his brother John, who, dying in 1771, was succeeded by his grandson Francis, the late duke, who died rather suddenly, of an illness occasioned by a rupture, on the 2nd of March, 1802, in the 37th year of his age. His brother, Lord John Russell, succeeded him in his title and estates. This nobleman, so suddenly and unexpectedly raised to ducal honours, was born on the sixth of July, 1766; and, on the 21st of March, 1786, before he had completed his twentieth year, he married at Brussels, Georgiana Elizabeth, the second daughter of Viscount Torrington. This lady died on the 11th of October, 1801; leaving issue, Francis, born May 10, 1788; George William, born May 8, 1790; and John, born August 19, 1792. Shortly after his accession to the title, his grace married a second time, Georgiana, the fifth daughter of the duke of Gordon, by whom he had several children. After the death of Mr. Pitt, when Mr. Fox and his friends succeeded to power, his grace was appointed Lord Lieutenant of Ireland; a post which, without distinguishing himself as a party man, he filled to the entire and general satisfaction of the public. When Henry II. granted a charter to the burgesses First charter granted by Henry II. of the town of Bedford, he rendered it subject to the payment of £40. per annum, as a fee-farm rent to the crown. Their mercantile guild and ancient privileges were confirmed by the succeeding monarch, who also granted new privileges and immunities similar to those enjoyed by the burgesses of Oxford. Richard II. granted still more extended privileges, and among others a view of Frankpledge within the borough. In this monarch's charter the corporation are styled the mayor, bailiffs, and burgesses. In the reign of Edward I. the liberties of the town were seized by that monarch, the bailiffs having neglected to discharge the fee-farm rent. In the reign of Henry VI. the town being much decayed, many houses gone to ruin, and the trade of it brought low, and the usual issues discontinued, the inhabitants petitioned the king to shew them his grace: accordingly he granted that the yearly rent should be remitted in part for a time. In the reign of Henry VII. it was permanently reduced, through the interposition of Sir Reginald Bray, then Prime Minister, to £20. per annum, and afterwards to £16. 5s. 8d. which rent is now payable to their successors. The last renewal of the charter of incorporation was in the reign of King James II. in whose time the mayor and aldermen were removed from their respective offices, by royal mandate, for neglecting to elect two burgesses to serve in parliament. The members were in consequence chosen by his Majesty's ministers. The right of election was determined in 1690, to be in the burgesses, freemen, and inhabitant householders not receiving alms. The number of voters is nearly 500. Bedford is a place of great antiquity, and is supposed by some writers to have been the Lactidorum of Antoninus; but Camden objects to this, on the ground that the town is not situated on any Roman road, neither have any Roman coins been found there. Its situation is upon the Ouse, by which it is divided into two parts, in the direction of east and west. This circumstance enables it to carry on a considerable trade with Lynn. In the Saxons' time, Bedford was a place of considerable consequence: as King Offa buried here. appears from its having been chosen by Offa, the powerful King of the Mercians, for his burial place. His bones were interred in a small chapel, which being situated on the brink of the river Ouse, was afterwards undermined and swept away by the floods, during an inundation. Bedford, as has been already stated, was also famous for a victory gained in the year 572, by Cuthwlf, the Saxon king, over the Britons. The Danes once destroyed this town; but Edward the Elder repaired it, and united the town on the south side of the river, called Mikesgate, to Bedford, on the north side of it; since which they have both gone by this name. After the conquest, Pain de Beauchamp, the third Baron of Bedford, built a castle here, encompassed with a mighty rampart of earth, and a high wall, the whole so strong that King Stephen, who besieged and took it in his war with the Empress Maud, was glad to grant the garrison honourable terms. In the barons' wars it was again besieged, and for want of relief, taken by King John's forces under Fulco de Brent, to whom the King gave it for a reward; but for his subsequent behaviour he took it from him, and caused it to be demolished, though it was not quite level till the reign of Henry III. The celebrated John Bunyan, whom we shall notice John Bunyan. hereafter, was ordained co-pastor of the congregation of St. Peter's, in 1671, and continued in that situation until he died in 1688. The chair in which he used to sit is still preserved as a relic in the vestry of the chapel. As early as the year 1745, the Moravians, or society of Unitas Fratrum, had an establishment at Bedford, where they built a neat chapel in 1750. Of late years, however, the number of these recluse and inoffensive sectaries has considerably declined; and the house adjoining to the chapel, which was formerly appropriated to the brethren and the sisters of the society, has been converted into a school. In the year 1556, Sir Noble charity, founded by Sir William Harper. William Harper founded a free school in Bedford, for the instruction of children of the town in grammar and good manners. The school-house was rebuilt in 1767, when a statue of the founder was placed in the front, with a latin inscription beneath, to the following effect:— "Behold, Traveller, the Bodily Resemblance The warden and fellows of New College, Oxford, are visitors of this school, and have the appointment of the masters and ushers. The master's salary is £260. with coals and candles; that of the second master is £160., with the same allowance of fire and candle. The writing-master has a salary of £80. per annum. Sir William Harper, for the support of this excellent institution, conveyed to the corporation thirteen acres and one rood of land, lying in the parish of St. Andrew, Holborn, which he had purchased for the sum of £180.; he also conveyed his late dwelling-house, &c., at Bedford. The revenues of these estates were also to be applied towards apportioning maidens of the town on their entrance into the marriage estate. In the year 1660, the corporation leased the whole of the lands in the parish of St. Andrew, Holborn, for the term of 41 years, at the yearly rent of £99. In the year 1684, a reversionary Its revenues. lease was granted for the further term of 51 years, at the improved rent of £150. In consequence of granting these leases, a great number of houses were built, and the following streets covered the above-mentioned thirteen acres of meadow land:—Bedford-street, Bedford-row, Bedford-court, Princes-street, Theobald's-road, North-street, East-street, Lamb's Conduit-street, Queen-street, Eagle-street, Boswell-court, Queen-street, Harper-street, Richbell-court, Hand-court, Gray's Inn-passage, Three Cup-yard, &c. The annual rent of these buildings is now considerably increased, and it is expected that in a few years it will amount to upwards of £30,000. This extraordinary increase of revenue occasioned the trustees to apply to parliament for two several acts to regulate its disposal, and to extend the objects of the charity. By the priorism contained in these acts of parliament, the maintenance of the master and usher of the grammar-school, and the maintenance of a master, and two ushers to the English school, is provided. Three exhibitions of £40. per annum, are given to scholars from the free school, either at Oxford or Cambridge, during the space of six years. The sum of £800. per annum is appropriated for marriage portions, to be given by lot in sums of £20. each, to forty poor maidens of Bedford, of good fame and reputation, not under sixteen years of age, and not exceeding fifty. They are not to marry within two months after receiving the marriage portion, otherwise to forfeit it. The men to whom they are to be married must not be vagrants or persons of bad fame or reputation. A yearly sum of £3,000. per annum is also appropriated by the last act, for the maintenance of twenty-six boys in an hospital or school of industry, and £700. to be laid out in apprentice fees for fifteen poor boys and five girls, to be chosen by lot. The trustees have likewise been enabled to build alms-houses for Alms-houses. a number of poor men and women. The weekly allowance to each is 3s., and 40s. annually for clothing. If a poor man and his wife live together, they are allowed to the amount of 5s. per week. One hundred pounds per annum is appropriated to be given in sums of £5. each, to twenty poor girls upon their going out to service. The residue of the income is to be laid out in buildings, and in endowing more alms-houses, or building cottages to be let at a low rent to the poor. Here are also a house of industry, and an infirmary, which are well supported. Lace-making employs a great number of the lower classes, both in the town and county of Bedford. The lace is chiefly made by women; and children at the Lace-making, Markets, Tuesday and Saturday.—Fairs, First Tuesday in Lent, April 21, July 5, Aug. 21, Oct. 11, and Dec. 19, for all kinds of cattle.—Mail arrives 1.14 morning; departs 2.54 afternoon.—Banker, Thomas Barnard, draws on Kay and Co.—Inns, George, and Swan.
[A] BEDLINGTON, though within the county of Northumberland, belongs to Chester ward, in the county of Durham. It lies between the rivers Wansbeck and Blythe. The monks of Durham, in their flight to Lindisfarne, before the arms of the Conqueror, with the incorruptible body of St. Cuthbert, rested all night here. The Rev. Francis Woodmas, the expositor of St. Chrysostom, was vicar here from 1696 to 1710. The Blast furnaces. Bedlington blast furnace, for smelting iron, was some years since taken down. At the Bebside and Bedlington Mills, about fifty men are employed. An unsuccessful attempt was a few years ago made to establish a manufactory of printed cottons at Stannington bridge, in this neighbourhood.
[A] BEDWIN was a market-town, and supposed by Stukeley to have been the Leucomagus of the Romans; it certainly was a chief city of the Saxons, who built a castle there. It was a borough by prescription, sending two members to parliament, and is governed by a portreeve, and exercises many of its original rights, although considerably reduced in population. The church, a cruciform building of flints, with a central tower, is ancient and curious in itself, and for the monuments which it contains. The obtusely pointed arches of the nave, ornamented with zig-zag and billetted mouldings, rest on capitals, richly adorned with flowers, grotesque heads, and other figures. In the south transept are two tombs, which commemorate Adam and Roger de Stocre, Lords, according to Leland, of "Stoke Haulle thereby." The chancel contains the noble altar monument of Sir John Seymour, of Wolphall, father of the Protector, Somerset, and other distinguished persons. Near this tomb are two brass plates, on one of which is the figure of a lady, with her hands folded, and the inscription—"Julia Seymour;" the other commemorates Monument of Julia Seymour, sister to Lady Jane Grey. a son of Sir John Seymour. The manor of Bedwin, which once belonged to Gilbert, Earl of Clare, husband of Anna d'Acres, was purchased by the late Earl of Aylesbury. This place gave birth, in 1621, to Dr. Thomas Willis, a learned physician, who wrote several works on his art, was appointed physician in ordinary to Charles II., and died of pleurisy in 1675. On Castle-hill is an entrenchment, in area two acres, with some foundations, supposed to be those of a castle, founded by the Saxons. Chisbury Castle is an entrenchment more than fifteen acres in extent, supposed to have been begun by the Britons, and sometime occupied by the Romans. The neighbouring village of Little Bedwin has a church built of flints, in the Anglo-Norman style of architecture, with a nave, aisles, chancel, and tower. Market, formerly Tuesday (disused).—Fairs, April 23, and July 26, for horses, cows, and sheep. [B] BEERALSTON. This place once had the privilege of sending two members to parliament. It is chiefly inhabited by labourers employed in agriculture and mining. The borough was under the influence of the Earl of Beverley. The right of election was vested in those who had land in the borough, and paid three-pence acknowledgment to the Lord of the Manor, who varied the number of electors at his pleasure, by granting Electioneering abuses. burgage-tenures, which were generally resigned when the election was concluded, to as many of his partisans as were requisite. The portreeve, chosen annually in the Lord's court, was the returning-officer. The first members were returned in the twenty-seventh of Elizabeth. Risdon mentions that Beare was bestowed by William the Conqueror on a family descended from the house of Alencon in France, and that it still continues its name under the corruption of Bere-Alson. In the reign of Henry II., Henry Ferrers had a castle here, which came to the possession of his descendant Martin Ferrers, the last of the house, in the time of Edward III. The manor then came to the Champernounes, and passed respectively through the families of Willoughby, Mountjoy, Maynard, and Stamford, to the present possessor, the Duke of Northumberland. In this place are several lead-mines, now of inconsiderable value, though sometimes impregnated with silver; but in the reign of Edward I., it is said, that in the space of three years 1,600 pounds weight of silver was obtained. Since that time no considerable quantity has ever been procured.
[A] BERE FERRIS. This parish is situated south by west from Tavistock. Here, observes Risdon, "lieth Ley, the ancient possession of a family so called, whence the name tooke that honor; for from hence Sir James Ley, Knt., Lord Chief Justice of England, and High Treasurer, created afterwards Earle of Marlborough, descended; a lawgiver in the chief place of justice, and a preserver of venerable antiquity, whose noble thoughts were so fixed on virtue, and his discourses embellished with wisdome, and his heart with integrity, that his words did never bite, nor his actions wrong any man, to give him just cause of complaynt." A honest lawyer. Amongst several ancient monuments in Bere-Ferris Church, is one under an arched recess, of a cross-legged knight half inclined on his right side, with his right hand on his sword; and another of a knight and his lady, under a richly ornamented arch in the chancel. Among the figures painted on the east window is that of William Ferrers, who was probably the builder of this fabric, as he is represented kneeling, and holding the model of a church in his hand. [B] BERE REGIS is situated in the Blandford division of the county. Drs. Stukeley and Coker conjecture that this place was the site of a Roman station; an opinion which is confirmed by a large entrenchment upon Woodbury Hill, about half a mile north-east of the parish. The area of this place, which contains about ten acres, is surrounded by triple ramparts, that in some places are high and deep. On the summit, which commands a very extensive prospect, a fair is annually holden. This fair begins on the Nativity of the Virgin, and continues through the five following days: though of late years it has much decreased; it was once the most considerable in the west of England. Queen Elfrida, to whom the manor belonged, is said to have retired to her seat in this place, after the The residence of Queen Elfrida. murder of her son-in-law, Edward the Martyr. King John also appears to have made it his residence. In the reign of Henry III. the manor was bestowed on Simon de Montfort, Earl of Leicester; but, as a consequence attending his rebellion, it was taken from him, and granted to the King's brother, Edmund. Edmund gave a moiety of it to the Abbess of Tarent, who, in the reign of Edward I. claimed for her manor of Bere a fair, a market, a free-warren, and the whole forest of Bere. Her moiety of these was granted her. At the dissolution, Henry VIII., for the sum of £680. 16s. 8d. granted the manor to Robert Turberville, to whose ancestors the other moiety had belonged for ages. The mansion of the Turbervilles still remains: it is an ancient irregular structure, built with stone, and its windows contain various quarterings of the Turberville family and its alliances. Bere Regis, though it does not appear ever to have been represented in parliament, was incorporated in the time of Edward I. Its market is ancient, as appears from King John's having confirmed it to the inhabitants. The church is a large and handsome structure, and contains numerous monuments of the Turberville and other families. The town of Bere Regis has suffered twice by fire: once in 1634, and again in 1788. After the latter fire the inhabitants found shelter in the booths erected for the fair. The most distinguished natives of the place have been James Turberville, Bishop of Exeter, and John Morton, Archbishop of Canterbury. Market, Wednesday.—Fair, September 18.
[A] BEES, (ST.) This ancient village is situated in the Ward of Allerdale, west by north from Egremont. It is understood to have derived its name and origin from a religious house, which was founded here about the year 650, by St. Bega, an Irish nun of great sanctity. On the death of Bega, Early history. a church was erected in honour of her virtues; but both these establishments having been destroyed by the Danes, William, son of Ranulph de Meschines, replaced them by a new foundation of Benedictine monks, and made it a cell to the Abbey of St. Mary at York: in the time of Henry I. The manor was granted after the dissolution to Sir Thomas Chaloner, by Edward VI. in the last year of his reign. It next became the property of a family named Wyberg, from whom, under a fore-closed mortgage, it passed to an ancestor of the Earl of Lonsdale, about the year 1663. St. Bees church, which was erected about the time of Henry I., had the form of a cross, and great part of it is yet standing. The east-end is unroofed, and in ruins: the nave, however, is fitted up as the parish church, and the cross aisle is used as a place of sepulchre. The ancient chancel has narrow lancet windows, ornamented with double mouldings, and pilasters, with rich capitals. At the east end are niches, of a singular form, with pointed arches, supported on well proportioned pillars, having capitals adorned with rich engravings. The whole edifice is of red free-stone. A free grammar school was founded in the village of St. Bees by Archbishop Girandal, under a charter from Queen Elizabeth, towards the close of the sixteenth century. This prelate was born in the neighbouring village of Helsingham, in the year 1519. He was educated at Cambridge, where he obtained a fellowship at Pembroke Hall. Being attached to the principles of the Reformation, Bishop Ridley made him his chaplain, and precentor of St. Pauls. He was also appointed chaplain to the King, and prebendary of Westminster; but on the accession of Mary he retired to Germany, and settled at Strasburgh. When Elizabeth ascended the throne he returned home, and was employed in revising the Litany. In 1559 he was chosen master of Pembroke Hall, and the same Archbishop Girandal. year preferred to the see of London, from whence, in 1570 he was translated to York, and in 1575 to Canterbury. Two years afterwards he was suspended from his archiepiscopal functions, for refusing to obey the Queen's order to suppress prophecyings, or the associations of the clergy to expound the Scriptures. His sequestration was taken off, though he never completely recovered the royal favour. He died at Croydon, 1583. He contributed to Fox's acts and monuments. James I. afterwards increased the endowments, which have been since augmented by divers benefactors. Several scholars of great eminence have received the rudiments of education in this seminary. It is remarkable, however, that, till a few years ago, the school had not undergone any material change since its foundation. Occasional repairs were indeed found absolutely necessary for the support of the buildings, but no improvement seems ever to have been attempted. Through the munificence of the Earl of Lonsdale this long respected seminary has been put into complete order, and made more suitable to the purpose intended by the pious founder than it had been at any time since its erection. Exclusive of what has been done at the spacious school-room, the library is rendered more commodious. The master's house, which adjoins the school, has been enlarged, some parts of it rebuilt, a good garden well walled round, and the whole made a very comfortable and eligible residence.
[A] BEESTON. Near this village are the remains of a castle, once deemed impregnable; it is situated on a sandstone rock, 366 feet in perpendicular height. So strong was this fortress considered, that it became a proverb in the neighbourhood to say, "It is as strong as Beeston Castle." The area contains five acres, and was rendered unapproachable by means of a very wide ditch. In the reign of Charles I. it underwent a lengthened siege, or rather blockade, for all communications were cut off with the neighbourhood for a long term; at last it was compelled to surrender, and the parliament ordered it to be dismantled. During the period of the threatened invasion of the French, in 1803, this castle was fixed upon by the lieutenancy of the county, as the site for a signal station and beacon. The ancient and craggy walls are beautifully mantled over with a luxuriant Castle on a rock. covering of ivy, and the base of the hill abounds with several varieties of rare plants. The well of the castle is nearly 300 feet deep, and the peasantry firmly believe that it contains a vast store of riches, which have been thrown into it during the civil wars. A mineral spring was discovered here a few years ago. The inhabitants of Chester consider it a favourite holiday indulgence to visit this castle in a pleasure excursion; and by application to an old woman in the village, who may be A favourite place of resort. considered the female warden of the place, travellers can be conducted to the summit of the building. The views from the ramparts are beautiful, extending over the whole Vale Royal of Cheshire, to the estuaries of the rivers Mersey and Dee: that side of the hill which forms a precipice rises perpendicularly 160 feet from the base of the elevation, and upon looking down from the high pinnacle of the castle wall, it is sufficient to call to remembrance the sublime poetic effusion of our immortal bard:— "How fearful [B] BEETHOM. This mountainous and highly interesting parish is situated in the Kendal Ward, at the south-western extremity of the county of Westmoreland, on both sides of estuaries of the river Kent, which is navigable for small craft as far as the hamlet of Storch, and comprises the chapelries of Witherslack, and the townships of Beetham, Farleton, Haverbrack, and Methop, with Ulpha. The parish church is dedicated to St. Michael, the patron saint of mountainous and hilly parishes: it is a neat building, situated in a fine vale, or holm ground, commanding the richest variety of wood, water, and rocky scenery. Here are two fine old monuments to the memory of Thomas de Beetham and his lady, who lived in the reign of Richard III. Here was anciently a chapel, dedicated to St. John, and near it, in a garden, a considerable number of human bones were dug up; it was situated about forty yards from the present school-house. Some few years since a mole cast up an amber bead, and with it an oval piece of silver, about the size of a shilling; it was perforated through the middle, and on one side was an impression of the crucifixion, with the letters J.N.R.J.; on the right of which was a crescent, and on the left a rising sun; at the bottom, the Virgin Mary, in a weeping attitude: on the reverse, a lamb, with a standard, and St. Andrews' cross. The parsonage, or rectory-house, which stood on the north-east corner of the churchyard, was formerly called the college of St. Mary's. The Hilton family had also a handsome house near this spot, which was enlarged and improved by George Hilton, an eccentric squire, George Hilton, an eccentric character. and well known character in this neighbourhood about the commencement of the last century. This George Hilton was a Roman Catholic, and joined the Scotch rebels in 1715, upon whose defeat he made his escape, but was pardoned by the act of grace the year following, and afterwards retired to a house which he built at the south end of Beethom Park. Mr. Hutton, the historian of this place, says, "that he discovered a diary, in an old chest, which was kept by this gentleman, taken by himself every night, but which was afterwards lost. 'On Sunday, (says he in one place,) I vowed to abstain from three things during the ensuing week (Lent), viz. women, eating of flesh, and drinking of wine; but, alas! the frailty of good resolutions. I broke them all! Conversed with a woman—was tempted to eat the wing of a fowl—and got drunk at Milnthorp.'" Of this parish the Rev. William Hutton was vicar, who wrote a folio book of collections for its history, which he deposited in the vestry for the information of posterity, with blank pages to be filled up as materials should occur. He was an amiable man, and an indefatigable antiquarian. The old manor house, called the Hall of Beethom, was a fine old castellated mansion, but now unfortunately in ruins. One large apartment in this castle is still called the hall, and according The Hall. to the laudable practice of ancient hospitality, was devoted to the purpose of entertaining the friends and dependants of the family: and hence came the proverb— "'Tis merry in the hall The remains of a room, formerly used as a chapel, still exist; and the ruins of this fine mansion are of considerable extent. The ruins of another hall in this parish are also to be seen in Cappleside Demesne, consisting of a front and two wings, comprising an extent of 117 feet of frontage. Also an ancient tower, now in ruins, called Helslack Tower: and another tower, called Arnside Tower; equally neglected. These towers seem to have been intended to guard the Bay of Morecambe, as similar buildings are erected on the opposite side of the river. A grammar school was founded here in 1663, and rebuilt in 1827. It has an endowment of about £40. a year, arising out of lands bequeathed for the instruction of fifty poor boys.
[A] BELCHAMP, or Belchamp Wallers, in the hundred of Hinckford, lies north-east by north from Castle Headingham. The church, dedicated to the Virgin Mary, is lofty and neat, and contains an orchestra, with a fine toned organ. Here is a capacious vault which belongs to the Raymond family; and an elegant marble monument dedicated to them in the chancel. Mrs. Raymond has established in this village a Sunday Belchamp Hall. school for fifty children belonging to the poor. Belchamp Hall, in this parish, is the residence of the Raymond's, one of whose ancestors came into England with the Conqueror, and whose family have resided in this neighbourhood upwards of two centuries. The house is a substantial and commodious building, whose principal or south-eastern front is for the most part composed of foreign bricks. It is situated on a pleasant lawn, sloping gradually to a small river, within 200 yards of the front. A spacious and extensive terrace, skirted with lofty trees, at the end of which is an ancient building, ornamented with painted glass, lies to the south. At the other end is a lofty mount, with another ornamental building on its summit. This mansion contains an interesting collection of pictures by some of the most esteemed masters; among them are the following:—The Wise Men's Offering, an altar-piece; Albert Durer. This picture, with a large gun, some pistols, and powder flasks, inlaid with gold and ivory, were presented to the Raymonds, by Sir William Harris, a sea-officer, who took them, with other property, on the defeat of the Spanish Armada, in 1588. A three-quarter portrait of Sir Hugh Middleton, Bart., in whose public spirit the New river originated, and another of his wife, are both by Cornelius Jansen. Goldingham Hall, in the parish of Bulmer, adjoining Belchamp, was the residence of Sir Hugh. [B] BELFORD is a little market town pleasantly situated on the side of a hill about two miles from the river Lear, and being a post-town, and on the great north road, has several good inns. The buildings in general are neat, and the church is a handsome structure, erected in 1700. Near this place on a rising ground, are the ruins of an ancient chapel, surrounded by several tall oaks; and at a little distance, are the remains of a Danish camp, apparently of great strength, surrounded by a deep ditch. The annual races formerly run at Beadnall, now take place at this town. Market, Tuesday—Fairs, Tuesday before Whit-Sunday, and August 23, for black cattle, sheep, and horses. The Edinburgh Mail arrives 7.49 morning; departs 3.36 afternoon.—Inn, Blue Bell. [C] BELLEAU. At this place, which takes it name from the excellent springs that issue from the chalk hills in the neighbourhood, are the ruins of what is called the Abbey. These consist of part of a turret, and two Abbey Ruins. gateways, which convey an idea of its being a place of considerable importance. The walls are covered with ivy, and overhung with lofty ash trees. After the civil war, this place was granted to the eccentric Sir Harry Vane, who used to amuse himself on Sundays in assembling here his country neighbours, to whom he addressed his pious discourses. The church of Belleau is said, by Gough, to have been attached to the neighbouring monastery of Ailby; but neither Tanner nor the Monasticon mention such a religious house.
[A] BELLINGHAM, lies N. N W. from Hexham. It gave name to an ancient family, who were seated here in 1378. Some ruins of their castle still remain. The chapel, dedicated to St. Cuthbert, is roofed with stone arches in rib-work: there are many gravestones in its floor, sculptured with swords, and other warlike emblems. Nearly opposite, on the south side of the North Tyne, is Heslieside, the seat of the Charlton family, since the time of Edward the Sixth. The old mansion-house, built after the manner of Lowther Hall, in Westmoreland, was burnt down about eighty years ago, and then rebuilt. The present edifice stands on a gentle eminence: the grounds are well wooded, and diversified with fine sheep-walks; and the gardens and fruit walls are very productive. Five miles above this place is Falstone chapel; and about seven miles further up is Keelder Castle, formerly the residence of a famous border chieftain, but at present a shooting-box of the Duke of Northumberland. The moors here are scattered over with cairns, tumuli, and Druidical monuments. Of Tarset Hall, about two miles above Heslieside, only some slight remains are visible. Of Chipchase Castle, the old tower still remains. Its Chipchase Castle. roof is built on corbels, and it has openings through which to throw down stones or scalding water upon an enemy. The tattered fragments of Gothic painting on the walls, are exceedingly curious. Soon after it came to the family, (its present owners,) the mansion was thoroughly repaired, and much improved; the chapel on the lawn was rebuilt, the gardens made, and the grounds covered with extensive plantations. This delightful residence is surrounded with scenery of the richest and most enchanting kind. The rooms in it are fitted up in a splendid style, and ornamented with several excellent paintings. A bridge was erected over the Burn at the east end of the town in 1826. Market, Tuesday.—Fair, Saturday after September 15, for cattle, sheep, linen and woollen cloth. [B] BELPER, or Belpar, anciently Beaupoire, is situated on the banks of the Derwent, in the hundred of Appletree. It is a chapelry of Duffield; and, though formerly an inconsiderable village, its population now exceeds, with the exception of Derby, every other town in the county. The great increase of population began from three large cotton mills of Messrs. Strutts, the first of which was erected in 1776. Two of them yet remain; but the third was destroyed by fire early in the year 1803. The largest of these mills is 200 feet long, 300 feet wide, and six stories high: it is considered Manufactories. fire proof, as the floor is built on brick arches, and paved with brick. The two water-wheels, which are employed in the machinery in this building, are remarkable for magnitude and singularity of construction; one of them being 40 feet long, and 18 in diameter; and the other 48 feet long, and 12 feet in diameter. As timber could not be procured large enough to form the axles of these wheels in the common manner, they are constructed circularly and hollow, of a number of pieces, and hooped in the manner of a cask. One of the shafts is six feet in diameter, and the other nine. The shuttles are constructed in one piece, so as to support the lateral pressure of the water, although it is ten feet deep, by resting one upon another. This is different from the usual mode of construction, in which they are supported by large perpendicular beams at every six or seven feet, in order to sustain this lateral pressure. About twelve or thirteen hundred people are employed at these mills; and the proprietors have built many houses, and a chapel, for their accommodation. Cotton Mills. Near the mills a stone bridge of three arches has been erected across the Derwent, at the expence of the county, the former one having been washed down by a dreadful flood, in 1795. At a short distance, lower down the river, is a bleaching mill, belonging to the same proprietors; an iron forge, and two cotton mills; one of them constructed like that before described. A stone bridge was also erected here by these gentlemen in 1792. These mills afford regular employment to about 600 persons. A Sunday school has been established here, and another at Belper, for the instruction of the children employed at the cotton works. Market, Saturday.—Mail arrives 1.30 afternoon; departs 8.45 morning.
[A] BELTON. The church is a small ancient structure. The tower appears to have been rebuilt in the year 1637, and at a subsequent period, the chancel has been renewed. The church is extremely neat, and has Belton House. in the south window six pieces of stained glass, illustrative of scriptural subjects. Within the nave are several splendid monuments. Belton House, near Grantham, the residence of Earl Brownlow, is situated on a beautiful lawn, in a wooded valley, through which the river Witham winds its course. The mansion was built in the year 1689, from designs by Sir Christopher Wren. The form of the building is that of the letter H, a stile of architecture peculiar to that period. It is of stone, and presents four uniform elevations. The apartments are lofty, and well proportioned. Several of the rooms are highly ornamented with carving by Gibbons. The late Lord Brownlow made considerable improvements in the mansion. He took down the cupola and balustrade from the roof. The drawing room was considerably enlarged, and a new entrance at the south front made. Here are many pictures by celebrated masters of the Flemish and Italian schools, with numerous family portraits by Lely, Reynolds, Kneller, Romney and others. Among the latter we may remark a portrait of Sir John Cust, Bart., Speaker of the House of Commons, in his robes, by Sir Joshua Reynolds. William III. in his progress through the northern counties, honoured Belton House with his presence. The park comprises an area of five miles in circumference, inclosed by a wall; numerous plantations of fine trees are highly ornamental to the place. Sir John Brownlow, K.B. afterwards Viscount Tyrconnel, enriched the library with a valuable collection of books; he also formed some extensive gardens, which have since been more adapted to the modern taste in gardening. [B] BELVOIR. The Castle is one of the most magnificent structures in the kingdom. It is placed on an abrupt elevation of a kind of natural cliff, forming the termination of a peninsular hill. It has been the seat of Manners, Dukes of Rutland, for several generations, and claims the priority of every other building in the county in which it is situated. Belvoir has been the site of a Castle ever since the Norman conquest; and its possessors have been chiefly persons of eminence who have figured in the pages of history. The view from the terraces and towers comprehends the whole vale of Belvoir and the adjoining country as far as Lincoln, including twenty-two of the Duke of Rutland's manors. On the southern slope of the hill are enclosed-terraces, on which there are several flower-gardens, The Castle. surrounded by shrubberies. The park is of great extent, containing fine forest trees, which form a woodland beneath the hill so extensive as to afford shelter for innumerable rooks. Its interior and furniture is of the most superb and costly description; it also contains one of the most valuable collections of paintings in this country, whether considered for the variety of the schools, or the works of each master. A conflagration took place in the year 1816, which consumed a great portion of the ancient part of the castle, and several of the pictures. A curious anecdote is related, illustrative of the folly and superstition of ancient times, which may not be uninteresting to add. Joan Flower and her two; daughters who were servants at Belvoir Castle, having been dismissed the family, in revenge made use of all the enchantments, spells, and charms that were at that time supposed to answer their malicious purposes. Henry the eldest son died soon after their dismissal, but no suspicion of witchcraft arose till five years after, when the three women who are said Charge of witchcraft. to have entered into a formal contract with the devil, were accused of "murdering Lord Henry Ross by witchcraft and torturing the Lord Francis his brother and Lady Catherine his sister." After various examinations they were committed to Lincoln gaol. The mother died at Ancaster, on her way thither, having wished the bread and butter she ate might choak her if she was guilty. The daughters were tried before Sir Henry Hobbert, Chief Justice of the Common Pleas, and Sir Edward Bromley, one of the Barons of the Exchequer; they confessed their guilt and were executed at Lincoln, March 11, 1618.
[A] BEMERTON, a parish in the hundred of Branch and Dole. The rectory of this place is interesting, as having been the residence of no less than four celebrated characters, viz. Dr. Walter Curie, Bishop of Bath Celebrated men. and Wells, and afterwards of Winchester, who died in 1647; George Herbert, called the divine, who died in 1635; John Norris, a metaphysical writer, who died in 1711; and, lastly, Mr. Archdeacon Coxe, the traveller and historian, who died in 1828: all of them gentlemen highly distinguished in the annals of literature. [B] BENEFIELD. In this parish are some remarkable cavities, called Swallows, which have opened a wide field of speculation among philosophers, who have grounded, upon the singular phenomena they exhibit, some new systems with regard to the theory of the earth. These swallows are situated about a furlong west of the village, and are nine in number. Geological curiosities. Through these cavities, the land-flood waters constantly pass and disappear. They are of a circular form, and of various diameters; some having an oblique, and others a perpendicular descent, opening beneath the apertures into large spaces, which exhibit several smaller conduits, through which the waters pass, to join perhaps, some subterranean river, or mingle with the grand abyss of waters, which some philosophers have placed in the centre of the earth.
[A] BENENDEN, or Biddenden, three miles south east from Cranbrook, is at present populous, though the clothing manufacture, which first occasioned the increase of the population of this part of the county, in the reign of Edward the Third, has for many years failed here. Several good houses still remaining, discover the prosperity of the former inhabitants. The church is a handsome regular building, and its tower a structure of considerable height and strength. By the old part now remaining, it appears to have been originally but small. The interior contains several ancient brasses, and among them, one for the Goldwells of Great Chart; with the dates 1452, and 1499, in Arabic numerals: the rebus of this name, a golden fountain, or well, is also in one of the windows. A free grammar school, now degenerated into a complete sinecure, was founded here in the year 1522. There is a tradition in this parish, that a bequest for the use of the poor, of 20 acres of land, now called the Bread and Cheese land, lying in five pieces, was given by two maiden sisters, commonly The Biddenden maids. called the "Biddenden Maids," of the name of Chulkhurst, "who were born joined together by the hips and shoulders, in the year 1100;" and having lived in that state thirty-four years, died within about six hours of each other. This tale is affected to be established by the correspondent figures of two females impressed on cakes, which after Divine service, in the afternoon, on every Easter Sunday, are distributed to all comers, and not unfrequently to the number from 800 to 1000. At the same time, about 270 loaves, weighing three pounds and a half each, and cheese in proportion, are given to the poor parishioners; the whole expence being defrayed from the rental of the bequeathed lands. The marvellous part of the story however, was wholly discredited by the well informed, until the visit of the Siamese twins to this country revived it with some appearance of truth. [B] BENFLEET lies south-west by south from Rayleigh. Here was a castle, built by Hastings, the celebrated Danish pirate, and which building A pirate's castle. Matthew of Westminster described, as having deep and wide ditches. This fortress Alfred the Great took and destroyed in the year 890; Hasting's wife and two sons taken therein, were sent to London. The creeks entering the Thames round Benfleet are celebrated for their oysters. [C] BENNINGTON, called Belintone in the Domesday Book, was a seat of the Mercian kings; and here a great council of nobility and prelates was assembled about the year 850, under King Bertulph, who on the complaint of Askill, a monk of Croyland, of the great devastations committed on the property of that monastery by the Danes, granted the monks a new charter of divers "splendid liberties," and several extensive manors. In Ancient charters. the 33d of Edward I. a charter of a weekly market, and a fair annually, was granted for this manor; but the former has long fallen into disuse! The manor was long in possession of the Bourchiers, Earls of Essex. Robert, the third Earl, after his divorce from the infamous Lady Francis Howard, his first wife, in 1613, sold it to Sir Julius CÆsar, Knt., from whom it descended to his son and heir, Sir Charles CÆsar. This gentleman was appointed Master of the Rolls in 1638; and, after being twice married, and having fifteen children by both wives, died of the small-pox, at Bennington, in 1643: this disease proved fatal also to several of his issue, and among them, to Julius, his eldest surviving son, who dying within a few days, was buried in the same grave with his father. Henry, his next son, and heir, represented this county in the two first parliaments held in the reign of Charles II.; and he was knighted by that sovereign in 1660: he also died of the small-pox, in January 1667. The small-pox fatal to Cheshires. This manor was sold to the trustees under the will of Sir John Cheshire, Knt. His great nephew, John Cheshire, Esq., resided in a small mansion near the ancient castle at Bennington, which stood westward from the church, and most probably occupied the spot whereon stood the palace of the Saxon Kings. The artificial mount of the keep, with the surrounding ditch, are still to be seen. The old manor-house that had been inhabited by the CÆsars, stood in the park, at a small distance from the village, but was burnt down about fifty years ago. A small edifice, since erected on the site, was for some years occupied by Mr. Bullock. Bennington church is a small fabric, consisting of a nave and a chancel, with a tower at the west end, and a chapel or burial-place connected with the chancel on the north. Here are two ancient monuments, under arches, which form Their monuments. part of them, each exhibiting recumbent figures of a knight and a lady. Many of the CÆsars lie buried here. The Benstede family, sometime lords of the manor, are supposed to have built this church, as their arms are displayed both upon the roof and on the tower. In a niche over the south porch, St. Michael and the dragon are sculptured.
[A] BENSINGTON was an ancient British town, taken from the original inhabitants by Ceaulin, in the year 572. The west Saxons held the place for two centuries, and appear to have constructed a castle for its defence; but it was reduced by Offa, king of the Mercians, who defeated his rival in a sanguinary contest. To the west of the church are a quadrangular A Mercian King. bank and trench. Three sides of the embankment are much defaced. Plot mentions an "angle of King Offa's palace near the church;" by which he probably alludes to the same spot. In this village are several modern buildings. The church, which is gothic, has been built at different times. In the brick flooring of the nave are some ancient stones, with mutilated brasses. Here is a Sunday-school supported by subscription; and a meeting-house for methodists. [B] LONG BENTON. A dreadful calamity occurred at Heaton Colliery, in this neighbourhood, on the morning of May 3, 1815, when, by Dreadful accident. the sudden influx of water from an old mine, Mr. Miller, (the under-viewer, who left a wife and eight children), 22 workmen, 42 boys, and 37 horses, perished; and 25 widows, with about 80 children, were left to bemoan the sudden death of their husbands and fathers. Steam-engines were immediately employed, and every exertion was made for the recovery of the bodies; notwithstanding which, it was not till the 6th of January, in the following year, that the first body was found. It was that of an old man employed on the waggon-way: and a fact worthy of notice is, that the waste-water in which he had been immersed had destroyed the woollen clothes, and corroded the iron parts of a knife the deceased had in his pocket, yet his linen and the bone-haft of his knife remained entire. Shortly after, Mr. Miller, and a few others, were discovered: they had met a similar fate, having been overtaken by the water about a hundred yards from the shaft to which they had been hastening to save themselves. But the lot of these eight persons may be considered fortunate, when compared with the unhappy beings left at work towards the rise of the mine, and as yet unconscious of their dreadful situation. About the 16th of February, the higher parts of the workings were explored; and now a scene truly Fifty-six lives lost in a mine. horrible was presented to view: for here lay the corpses of 56 human beings, whom the water had never reached, being situated 35 fathoms above its level. They had collected together near the crane, and were found within a space of 30 yards of each other; their positions and attitudes were various; several appeared to have fallen forwards from off an inequality, or rather step, in the coal on which they had been sitting; others, from their hands being clasped together, seemed to have expired while addressing themselves to the protection of the Deity; two, who were recognized as brothers, had died in the act of taking a last farewell by grasping each other's hand: and one poor boy reposed in his father's arms. Two slight cabins had been hastily constructed by nailing up deal boards, and in one of these melancholy habitations three of the stoutest miners had breathed their last. A large lump of horse flesh, wrapped up in a jacket, nearly two pounds of candles, and three others, which had died out when half-burned, were found in this apartment, if it can be so called. One man, well known to have possessed a remarkably pacific disposition, had retired to a distance to end his days alone, and in quiet. Another had been placed to watch the rise or fall of the water; to ascertain which, sticks had been placed, and was found dead at his post. There were two horses in the part of the mine to which the people had retired; one had been slaughtered, its entrails taken out, and hind quarters cut up for use; the other was fastened to a stake, which it had almost gnawed to pieces, as well as a corfe or coal basket that had been left within its reach. That these ill-fated people perished for want of Cause of their death. respirable air, and not from hunger and thirst, is certain; for most of the flesh cut from the horse, with a considerable quantity of horse-beans, were unconsumed, and a spring of good water issued into this part of the colliery; besides, the unburned remains of candles afford evidence of a still stronger nature; and by these data the coroner's jury was enabled to pronounce a verdict accordingly. The overman had left the chalk-board, in which it is usual to take down an account of the work done, together with his pocket-book, in an empty corfe; on these some memorandum might have been expected to be noted: but no writing subsequent to the catastrophe appeared on either.—The bodies of those men which had lain in wet places were much decayed; but where the floor was dry, though their flesh had become much shrivelled, they were all easily recognised by their features being entire.
[A] BERKELEY. This ancient, but small town, is situated upon a pleasant eminence in the beautiful vale of Berkeley, almost east from the Severn. In the Domesday book, it is termed a royal domain and free borough. A nunnery is said to have existed here in the reign of Edward the Confessor; the frail sisters of which were dispossessed of their estates, including the manor, by the craft of Earl Godwin, who found means to introduce into the community a profligate young man, by whom the nuns were seduced. This conduct being reported to the King, the nunnery was The nunnery. dissolved, and its possessions granted to the Earl. The Conqueror afterwards bestowed the manor on Roger, surnamed De Berkeley, a chieftain who had accompanied him to England. Roger, his grandson, taking part with Stephen, against Henry II., was deprived of his lands; and Berkeley was given by that monarch to Robert Fitzharding, Governor of Bristol, in reward for his eminent services. This nobleman was descended from the Kings of Denmark, and in his posterity the extensive manor of Berkeley, one of the largest in England, is still vested. Berkeley church appears to be of the age of Henry II., though it has undergone various alterations. Near the pulpit is a curious tomb, in memory of Thomas, second Lord Berkeley, and Margaret, his first wife. Here also are various other monuments of this family. The tower, which stands at some distance from the church, was constructed about seventy years ago. In the churchyard is the well known ludicrous epitaph, written by Dean Swift, in memory of "Dickey Pearce, the Earl of Suffolk's fool." Berkeley Castle appears to have been founded by Roger de Berkeley, soon after the The castle. Conquest; but various important additions were made to it during the reigns of Henry II., Edward II., and Edward III. The form of the castle approaches nearest to that of a circle; and the buildings are included by an irregular court, with a moat. The keep is flanked by three semi-circular towers, and a square one of subsequent construction: its walls are high and massive: the entrance into it is under an arched doorway, with ornamental sculpture in the Norman style, similar to one at Arundel Castle. This fortress has been the scene of various memorable transactions; the most remarkable, perhaps, was that of the murder of Murder of Edward II. Edward II., in September, 1327, thus noticed by Gray:— "Mark the year, and mark the night, Tradition states, that when the murder of King Edward had been determined on, Adam, Bishop of Hereford, at the instigation of the Queen, wrote to the keeper the following words; which, not possessing the distinctness imported by punctuation, were capable of a double construction: "Edwardum occidere nolite timere bonum est." The keeper, easily divining the wicked wishes of his employer, put his royal master to death. According to another account, when the death of this unfortunate, but weak sovereign, had been resolved on by the Queen and Mortimer, her infamous paramour, he was removed from Kenelworth to Berkeley Castle, by Sir John Maltravers and Sir Thomas Gourney, to whose keeping he had been previously committed. Thomas, second Lord Berkeley, then owner of the castle, treated him with civility and kindness, but was, in a short time, obliged to relinquish his fortress to the government of Maltravers and Gourney, by whom the King was soon afterwards murdered, in the most brutal and savage manner. "His crie," says Holinshed, "did move many within the castell and town of Birckelei to compassion, plainly hearing him utter a waileful noyse, as the tormentors were about to murder him; so that dyvers being awakened thereby, (as they themselves confessed,) prayed heartilie to God to receyve his soule, when they understode by his crie what the matter ment." A small apartment, called the dungeon room, over the flight of steps leading into the keep, is shewn as the place where the cruel deed was committed: at that time, all the light it received was from arrow slits; the windows have been since introduced. A plaister cast kept here, and said to have been moulded from the King's face after death, is, in reality, a cast from his effigies on the tomb at Gloucester. Berkeley Castle, during the civil wars, was held for the King; and frequent skirmishes took place in the town and neighbourhood. In 1645 it was besieged, and surrendered to the Besieged by the Parliament. parliament, after a defence of nine days. In the apartments, which are mostly low, dark, and void of proportion, are preserved a numerous assemblage of portraits, chiefly of the Stratton branch, the bequest of the last heir of that family. Besides these portraits, here are several miniatures of the Berkeleys, of considerable antiquity, and so far curious. A few landscapes, by Wouvermans, Claude, Salvator Rosa, &c. complete the Berkeley collection. Edward Jenner, an English physician, celebrated for having introduced the practice of vaccination, as a preventive of the small-pox, Edward Jenner. was the youngest son of a clergyman, who held the rectory of Rochampton, and the vicarage of this place, and the son was born here, May 17, 1749. Being destined for the medical profession, he was, after a common school education, placed as an apprentice with a very respectable surgeon, at Sodbury, in his native country. He visited London, to finish his studies, by attending the lectures of the celebrated anatomist John Hunter. Returning to the country, he settled here, as a practitioner of the various branches of his profession. A situation like this afforded but little leisure or opportunity for acquiring distinction, and an occasion presented itself for obtaining a larger field for observation, improvement, and emolument: this, however, he was induced to decline. The circumstances of the transaction are thus related by Dr. Lettsom, in his address to the London Medical Society:—"Dr. Jenner happened to dine with a large party at Bath, when something was introduced at the table which required to be warmed by the application of the candle, and doubts were expressed by several persons present, whether the most speedy way would be to keep the flame at a little distance under, or to immerse the substance into it. Jenner desired that the candle might be placed near him, and immediately putting his finger into the flame, suffered it to remain some time; next he put his finger above it, but he was obliged to snatch it away immediately. 'This, gentlemen,' said he, 'is a sufficient test.' The next day he received a note from General Smith, who had been of the party the preceding day, and who was before that time an utter stranger, offering him an appointment in India, which would insure him, in the Anecdote. course of two or three years, an annual income £3,000. The offer was referred to his brother, and Jenner, from his attachment to him, declined it." He had already obtained the reputation of a man of talent and science, when he made known to the world the very important discovery which has raised him to an enviable situation among the benefactors of the human race. His investigations concerning the cow-pox were commenced about the year 1776, when his attention was excited by the circumstance of finding that some individuals, to whom he attempted to communicate the small-pox by inoculation, were insusceptible of the disease; and on inquiry he found that all such patients, though they had never had the small-pox, had undergone the casual cow-pox, a disease common among the farmers and dairy-servants in Gloucestershire, who were not quite unacquainted with its preventive effect. Other medical Discovery of vaccination by the cow-pox. men were aware of the prevalence of this opinion; but they treated it as a popular prejudice, and Jenner seems to have been the first who ascertained its correctness, and endeavoured to derive from it some practical advantage. He discovered that the variolÆ vaccinÆ, as the complaint has been since termed, having, in the first-instance, been produced by accidental or designed innoculation of the matter afforded by a peculiar disease affecting the udder of a cow, could be propagated from one human subject to another by inoculation, to an indefinite extent, rendering all who passed through it secure from the small-pox. He made known his discovery to some medical friends, and in the month of July, 1796, Mr. Cline, surgeon to St. Thomas's Hospital, introduced vaccination into the metropolis. So singular and anomalous a fact as the prevention of an infectious disease by means of another, in many respects extremely differing from it, could not but be received with hesitation; and a warm controversy took place on the subject among the medical faculty. This ultimately proved advantageous both to the discovery and the discoverer, as it terminated in establishing the truth of the most important positions which he had advanced, and left him in full possession of the merit due to him as a successful investigator of the laws of nature. The practice of vaccine inoculation was adopted in the army and navy, and honours and rewards were conferred on the author of the discovery. The diploma constituting him doctor of medicine, was presented to Jenner as a tribute to his talents, by the University of Oxford; he was chosen a fellow of the Royal Society, Jenner's subsequent fame. and of other learned associations; and a parliamentary grant was made to him of the sum of £20,000. The extension of the benefits of vaccination to foreign countries spread the fame of the discoverer, who received several congratulatory addresses from continental potentates. The emperor of Russia, when in this country in 1814, sought an interview with Dr. Jenner, treated him with great attention, and offered to bestow on him a Russian order of nobility. He also visited the King of Prussia, Marshal Blucher, and the Cossack General, Count Platoff, the latter of whom said to him, "Sir, you have extinguished the most pestilential disorder that ever appeared on the banks of the Don." On receiving his diploma, Dr. Jenner practised as a physician at Cheltenham, during the season, and that watering-place was his principal residence till he became a widower, when he removed to Berkeley, to spend in retirement the evening of his life. He died suddenly in consequence of apoplexy, January 26, 1823, and was interred in the parish church of this town. Market, Wednesday.—Fair, May 14, for cattle and pigs.
[A] BERKHAMPSTEAD. "The Saxons, in old time," observes Norden, "called this town Berghamstedt, because it was seated among the hills; for Berg signified a hill; ham, a town; and stedt, a seat; all of which was very proper for the situation hereof." The buildings are chiefly of brick, and irregular, but intersected with various handsome houses. Berkhampstead Description. consists of one principal street, about half a mile in length, extending along the side of the high road; and another smaller one branching out from the church towards the site of the castle. The Grand Junction Canal runs the whole length of the town, and very close to it, which makes it a place of considerable trade. Many respectable and genteel families reside here, and hold their monthly balls at the King's Arms Inn, during the winter. The King of Mercia had a palace or castle here; and the town had attained sufficient importance at the time of the Conquest, to be appointed as the place of meeting between the Norman sovereign, and the chiefs of the confederacy formed against his power, and headed by Abbot Fretheric, of St. Alban's. "In the brough," says the Domesday Book, "are two and fifty burgesses, who pay four pounds a year for toll; and they have half a hide, and two shillings rent, common of pasture for the cattle, wood to feed a thousand hogs, and five shillings rent by the year. Its whole value is sixteen pounds. The castle erected by the Saxons was enlarged, strengthened, and fortified with additional Its ancient castle. outworks, by the Earl of Mortaigne; but in the time of his son and successor, William, who had rebelled against Henry I., it was seized, and ordered to be razed to the ground." It is probable, however, that the demolition was only partial, as it was again fitted up as a royal residence, either in the time of Stephen, or early in the reign of Henry II. The castle and honour of Berkhampstead continued in the possession of the crown till the seventh of King John, who granted them to the Earl of Essex, for £100. per annum. In the year 1216 the castle, which had been reverted to the crown, was besieged by Lewis, Dauphin of France, in conjunction with certain English barons. The garrison, taking advantage of the negligence of the besiegers, made two successful sallies on the same day, capturing divers chariots, arms, and provisions; but, after a siege of some continuance, they surrendered. Henry III. granted the Earldom of The seat of Kings and Nobles. Cornwall, with the honour and castle of Berkhampstead, to Richard, his brother, for his services at the siege of the castle of Riole, in France; but, disagreeing with him, he revoked the grant. The interposition of the Earls of Pembroke and Chester occasioned its restoration to the Earl of Cornwall. In 1245, the King granted him an annual fair, of eight days' continuance, for his manor of Berkhampstead; and here, after a long illness, he died on the 4th of April, 1272. Edmund, his only surviving son, succeeded to his estates and titles; and in his time there were twelve burgesses within the borough, with fifty-two free tenants, and twenty-two tenants by serjeancy. This Earl founded the college of Bon-Hommes, at Ashridge, in Buckinghamshire. In the fourth of Edward III., John of Eltham, brother to the King, had a grant of Berkhampstead, with other manors, to the value of 2,000 marks per annum: but, dying without issue, in 1336, his estates were granted by the King, to Edward the Black Prince, with the Dukedom of Cornwall, to be held by him and his heirs, and the eldest sons of the heirs of the King's of England. Richard II. occasionally resided at Berkhampstead castle. Since that period, the castle and honour of Berkhampstead have descended from the crown, to the successive Princes of Wales, as heirs apparent to the throne, and possessors of the Dukedom of Cornwall, under the grant of Edward III. The castle was situated on the east side of the town; and, though the buildings are Now in ruins. now reduced to a few massive fragments of wall, the remains are still sufficient to evince the ancient strength and importance of this fortress. The ramparts are very bold, and the ditches still wide and deep, particularly on the north and east sides, though partly filled up by the lapse of centuries. The keep was a circular tower, occupying the summit of a high and steep artificial mount, moated round. Large trees are now growing on the sides of the mount, as well as on many parts of the outward rampart, and declivities of the ditches: other parts are covered with underwood, in many places so thick as to be impassable. The inner court is now an orchard; the outer court is cultivated as a farm; and a small cottage, with a few out-buildings, now occupies a portion of the ground once occupied by Princes and Sovereigns. Near the rampart, on the west side, flows the little river Bulbourne. The church, dedicated to St. Peter, is built in the form of a cross, with a tower rising from the intersection towards the west end, and having a projecting staircase at the south-east angle, terminated by a turret at the summit. The tower is supported on strong pointed arches, and was originally open, but is now closed from the church by the belfry floor. On the outside of the tower, next the street, is a sculpture of an angel supporting a shield, impaled with the arms of England and France quarterly. The same arms are painted on glass in the window of a small chapel within the church. Various chapels The church. and chantries were founded here in the Catholic times, and are still partially divided from the body of the church. The sepulchral memorials are numerous. Between two columns of the nave, surrounded by pews, is an ancient tomb of rich workmanship, having on the top, full-length effigies of a Knight and his Lady, both recumbent. The Knight is represented in armour, with his hands raised in the attitude of prayer across his breast: his head rests on a helmet, having a human head, with a long beard, at the upper end; his feet are supported on a lion: he has on a hood and gorget of mail; and, on the sash, which crosses his body and shoulder, is a rose: opposite to this, on his breast-plate, is a dove. The figure of the lady is greatly mutilated; her hands and head are broken off; the latter rests on a cushion, and is covered with net-work; she is arrayed in a close dress, and has a rose on each shoulder. No inscription is remaining on this tomb to designate the persons to whose memory it was erected. Torynton is supposed to have been the founder of the church; a man in special favour with Edmond Plantagenet, Duke of Cornwall. In Sayer's chancel is an altar-tomb of alabaster and black marble, in the memory of John Sayer, Esq., who was chief cook to Charles II. when in exile, and founder of the alms-house for poor widows in this town. A large and strong building of brick, erected as a free-school in the reign of Henry Free school. VIII., and endowed with the lands of the guild or brotherhood of St. John the Baptiste, (an ancient foundation in this town,) stands at the bottom of the churchyard. In the next reign the school was made a royal foundation, and incorporated. The master is appointed by the crown, and has apartments at one end of the free school; the school-room occupies the centre; and the other end is inhabited by the chaplain and usher. Here is also a charity-school, supported by voluntary contributions, &c. Numerous donations for charitable purposes have been made to this parish, the principal of which was a bequest of £1,000., made by John Sayer, Esq., in July, 1681, for the building and endowment of an alms house: this was erected after his decease by his relict, who placed in it six poor widows, and increased the original endowment by the gift of £300. Each widow has a small allowance weekly, and a cloth gown worth 20s. once in two years. In the 14th of Edward III., two representatives were sent from this borough; but this was the only return ever made, except to the great council held at Westminster, in the 11th of the same King. Berkhampstead had a charter of incorporation granted by James I., but it scarcely survived the reign of his son. An attempt was made to revive the charter, a year or two after the restoration, but it did not succeed. The honour of Berkhampstead formerly included upwards of fifty-five lordships and manors, in the three counties of Herts, Northampton, and Buckingham. Berkhampstead-place is situated on a pleasant Contained fifty-five lordships. eminence adjoining the town. Great part of the structure was erected by the Careys, having been burnt down in the time of the Lord Treasurer Weston, who then resided in it: the remainder was afterwards repaired, and with some additions, forms the present dwelling. King James's children were mostly nursed in this house. The life of Cowper, the poet, who was born here, will be given at Olney, on account of the length of the present article. Market, Saturday.—Fairs, Shrove-Monday, Whit-Monday, for cattle; Aug. 5, cheese; September 29, Oct. 11, statute.—Mail arrives 11.30 night; departs 3.30 morning.—Inn, Kings Arms.
[A] BERKSHIRE. This county was originally inhabited by three tribes or nations, termed by the Romans Attrebates, Bibroces, and Segontiaci. Its ancient division into three nations. The first occupied part of the west, the south-west and north-west parts. The second the south-east parts; and the third a portion of the north parts. Under the Romans, this county formed part of the first division called Britannia Prima. During the Heptarchy it belonged to the West Saxons. It was once called Berrocshire, from the name of a hill covered with box, which at one time occupied a large portion of it. It is an inland county, bounded on the north by the Thames, which divides it from Oxfordshire on the west, and Bucks on the east; and by part of Surrey; on the north by Surrey and Hampshire; and on the west by Wilts and a small part of Gloucestershire. It is so very irregular in its shape as not to admit of any adequate description. Its greatest length is about forty-eight miles, and its utmost breadth from north to south about twenty-five. In one of the narrowest parts, by Reading, it is about six or seven miles, and less still at the eastern extremity. It contains about 464,500 acres, and is about 140 miles in circumference; it is in the province of Canterbury, and the diocese of Salisbury; (the parish of Chilton, which is in the diocese of Oxford, and Langford, which is in that of Lincoln, excepted;) subject to an archdeacon, and is divided into six deaneries. It is included in the Oxford circuit. There are 20 hundreds, 12 market towns, 148 parishes (of which 67 are vicarages,) and 671 villages. The natural divisions of the county are four, 1. The Vale, beginning at Budcot, and ending at Streatley. 2. The Chalky Hills, running nearly through the centre of the lower part of the county. 3. The Vale of the Kennet, extending diagonally from Hungerford to near Wargrave. 4. The Forest Division, commencing on the east to Loddon, and occupying nearly the entire breadth of this part of the county to Old Windsor, and from Sandhurst south to Maidenhead north. The air is deemed peculiarly salubrious, particularly Air, soil, and rivers. on the chalky and gravelly soils, which are the most common throughout the county; but the uneven face of the country causes some slight degree of variation in this particular, though every part is considered healthful and good. The soil is as various (though perhaps more mixed) as in the last described county. The Vale of White Horse consists generally of a rich strong loam and gravel, with some sand and stone brasp, producing corn, wheat, beans, &c. In the Chalk Hill district, light black earth on chalk prevails, with flint, chalk, gravel, and loam. Here numerous sheep are fed; it produces, towards the south and east, turnips, barley; and, when properly manured, Lammas wheat and artificial grasses. The Vale of Kennet, is generally peat land, with gravel, loam and clay, though in the south east parts a poor stony and heathy soil. The Forest District, gravel, clay, and loam, except on the south, which is poor and heathy. The principal rivers and streams are the Thames, the Kennet, the Loddon, the Lambourn, the Ock, the Aubourn, the Emme, and the Broadwater. All these, with perhaps the exception of the Aubourn, the Emme, and the Broadwater, abound with almost every kind of fresh water fish. Besides these rivers and streams, there are the Ginge Brook, the Moreton Brook, and other rivulets, &c.; also some other natural and artificial lakes and ponds. Water, however, is generally scarce on the Berkshire downs, and along the whole of the chalky stratum. The navigable rivers are the Thames and the Kennet. The navigable canals are the Kennet and Avon canal, which joins the river Kennet a little above Newbury; the entire length from Newbury to Bath is sixty miles—it has been navigable since the year 1798; and the Wilts and Berks canal, opened on September 21, 1810, into the Thames at Abingdon; from near Bath to Abingdon, about fifty-one and three-quarter miles. Mineral waters are by no means common in this county. The natural productions of this county, except those which may be considered partly agricultural, are neither plentiful or important. There are no minerals nor fossils of any great consequence. Natural productions. The strata of sand with oyster-shells, and particularly a thick stratum of chalk, is found near Reading. The surface of the soil, however, amply compensates for the apparent barrenness of the internal parts; and the produce of fat cattle, sheep, swine, and grain, is immense; as is also that of fine timber, especially oak and beech. Abingdon gives the title of Earl to the Bertie family—Coleshill, that of Baron to the Pleydell-Bouverie family—Foxley, that of Baron to the Townshend family—Hungerford, that of Baron to the Rawdon-Hastings family—Mortimer, the title of Earl to the Harley family—Newbury, that of Baron to the Cholmondely family—Uffingham, that of Viscount to the Craven family—and Windsor, the title of Baron to the Windsor-Hickman family; and Earl, to the Stuarts. It has been calculated, that, including houses, mills, and other productive revenue arising from or attached to the soil, the landed property cannot amount to less than £500,000 per annum, and that the largest possessor may have about £8000. The largest possessor, being a peer, is the Earl of Craven. The Craven, Englefield, Eyston, Read, Ancient and noble families. Southby, Seymour, and Clarke families are among the few ancient families who still inherit the same estates, and occupy the same seats, or are immediately connected with the county, as their ancestors. Among the representatives of some very old families, or in the female line, may be ranked the Berties, the Nevilles, the Pleydells, the Puseys, the Throckmortons, the Lovedens, the Nelsons, and the Blagraves. The King is purposely omitted in this brief list:—his possessions as a landed proprietor being well known. Agriculture so much engrosses the attention of the people of Berkshire, that very little trade, unconnected with these pursuits is carried on. There are, however, some manufactories of sail-cloth, kerseys, canvass, and malt; and there are also several pretty large breweries in various parts of the county: the Windsor ale having acquired considerable celebrity; and at the Temple mills, near Bisham, there is a copper manufacture, and a manufacture of potash at Milton.
[A] BERMONDSEY stretches along the banks of the Thames, from Southwark to Deptford, and Rotherhithe eastward, and is much inhabited by woolstaplers, fellmongers, curriers, parchment-makers, and other manufacturers, with such craftsmen as are connected with the construction and management of shipping. A priory for monks was founded here in 1082, by Aylwin Child, a citizen of London, and endowed by the second William with his manor of Bermondsey. In 1399, it was made an abbey, and at the dissolution, it was granted to Sir Thomas Pope, who built on its site a large house, which afterwards became the property and residence of the Earls of Sussex. Another part of the site is called the Abbey House. Royal residence. Catherine, the Queen of Henry V., and Elizabeth, Queen of Edward IV. retired to this place, where they died, the former in 1436; the latter soon after the forfeiture of her lands, by an order of the Council, in 1486. The church was erected in 1680, of brick, with a low square tower and turret, and consists of a chancel, nave, two aisles, and a transept. A free school was founded here by Mr. Josiah Bacon, and endowed with a revenue of £150. for the instruction of not more than sixty, or fewer than forty boys. A charity-school was also established, by contributions, in 1755, for the education of fifty boys and thirty girls, and was afterwards endowed Church and schools. by Mr. Nathaniel Smith, with a revenue of £40. per annum. The Bermondsey Spa was discovered in 1770, and, by means of the attractive entertainments contrived by the proprietor, became a place of general resort; but soon after his death the gardens were closed, and the area is now built upon. This suburban parish long retained a very antique air from the age of several of its streets and houses, many of which were built of wood. But the spirit of improvement has gradually amended its appearance: an act of parliament was passed in the year 1823, for watching, paving, cleansing, and lighting the parish. A new church has been erected here for the convenience of the parishioners, at a moderate distance from the mother church; it is, however, subordinate to the original rectory.
[A] BERRY POMEROY. This place, situated in the hundred of Hayter, derives its name from the Pomeroys, a very considerable family in these parts. Ralph de Pomeroy, who came to England with William the Norman, and for his services was rewarded with fifty-eight lordships in this county, built a castle here, the magnificent ruins of which, seated on Castle in ruins. a rocky eminence, rising over a pellucid brook, now form, in combination with the other features of the scenery, one of the most delightful views in Devonshire. The approach to the castle, observes Dr. Matton, in his Observations on the Western Counties, "is through a thick wood, extending along the slope of a range of hills that entirely intercept any prospect to the south: on the opposite side is a steep rocky ridge, covered with oak, so that the ruins are shut into a beautiful valley. The great gate, with the walls of the south front, the north wing of the court, or quadrangle, some apartments on the west side, and a turret or two, are the principal remains of the building; and these are so finely overhung with the branches of trees and shrubs which grow close to the walls, so beautifully mantled with ivy, and so richly incrusted with moss, that they constitute the most picturesque objects that can be imagined; and when the surrounding scenery is taken into the account, the noble mass of wood fronting the gate, the bold ridges rising in the horizon, and the fertile valley opening to the east, the ruins of Berry Pomeroy Castle must be considered as almost unparalleled in their effect." The posterity of Ralph de Pomeroy resided here till the reign of Edward VI., when Sir Thomas Pomeroy sold the manor to Edward Seymour, Duke of Somerset, from whom it has descended to the present Duke of Somerset. Berry Pomeroy Castle, whose venerable ruins we have just mentioned, appears to have been originally quadrangular, and to have had but one entrance, which was on the south side, between two hexagonal towers, through a double gateway; the first of which was machiolated, and strengthened by angular bastions, and having over it the Pomeroy arms, still visible. A small room over the gateway was probably the chapel: it is divided by a wall, supported by pillars and arches. From the eastern tower is a fine view of the surrounding country. The ruins in the interior part, or quadrangle, are considerably more modern than the rest of the building. These appear to have belonged to a "magnificent structure," commenced, says Prince, in his Worthies of Devonshire, by the Seymours, at an expense of Former state of the castle. £20,000, but "never brought to perfection: for the west side of the mansion was never begun: what was finished may be thus described. Before the door of the Great Hall was a noble walk whose length was the breadth of the court, arched over with curiously carved free-stone, supported in the fore part by several stately pillars of the same stone, of great dimensions, after the Corinthian order, standing on pedestals, having cornices and freezes finely wrought. The apartments within were very splendid, especially the dining-room; and many other of the rooms were well adorned with mouldings and fret-work; some of whose marble clavils were so delicately fine, that they would reflect an object true and lively from a great distance. Notwithstanding which it is now demolished, and all this glory lyeth in the dust, buried in its own ruins; there being nothing standing but a few broken walls, which seem to mourn their own approaching funerals." The walls are formed of slate, and appear to be rapidly decaying. The grounds round the castle consist of steep eminences, covered with oak and other trees. Even in the court, and remains of the fortress itself, trees of nearly a century's growth are flourishing in luxuriance, and compose, with the shrubs thickly scattered within the area, a scene highly beautiful. In the wars between Charles I. and the Parliament this castle was dismantled. Berry Pomeroy Church, which was built by one of the Pomeroy family, contains a splendid alabaster monument to the memory of Lord Edward Seymour, Knt. son to the Duke of Somerset; Edward Seymour, Bart. and his Lady, the daughter of Sir Arthur Champernoune. The two first are represented in armour; the knight having a truncheon in his hand, and lying cross-legged. The lady is in a black dress, with the figure of a child, in a cradle, at her head, and at her feet another in a chair: below are nine figures kneeling, with books open before them. This monument was repaired by the late Duke of Somerset, the eighth lineal descendant of the Duke of Somerset the Protector.
[A] BERWICK. The town is situated N. by W. from Newcastle. King Edgar gave it, with Coldingham, to the church of Durham; but it was afterwards forfeited by Bishop Flambard. It had a church in the reign of Alexander, and, in David's time constituted one of the four boroughs where courts of trade were wont to be held. In 1173, it was reduced to ashes; and in the following year, Earl Duncan marched to the place, and butchered its defenceless inhabitants. Henry II. having obtained the castle as a pledge for King William, strengthened its fortifications. It was restored, however, The disputed town. in the following reign. King John made dreadful ravages in the town and neighbourhood. A convention was held here by Edward I., in 1291, to arbitrate the claims to the crown of Scotland, which were at length determined in favour of his creature, Baliol. This prince having shortly afterwards thrown off his allegiance, Berwick became exposed to the fury of Edward's resentment. In 1296, the English king fortified it with a wall and a fosse, and in the same year received the homage of the Scotch nobility here In 1297, the town was taken by Sir William Wallace; but the castle held out, and after a long assault, was relieved. Wallace about eight years after this was betrayed, and half of his body exposed upon Berwick-bridge. The Countess of Buchan, for crowning Robert Bruce, at Scone, Countess of Buchan shut up in a cage six years. was shut up here in a wooden cage, six years, and then released. Edward II. and his queen wintered at Berwick in 1310. He assembled his army here before the battle of Bannockburn. Peter Spalding betrayed this place into the hands of Robert Bruce in 1318: many attempts were made to recover it, which was not effected till the day after the battle of Hallidon-hill, in 1333. Edward III. was here in 1335, with a great army in 1340, and the year after, at Easter, held a tournament; but during his absence in France, in November 1353, the Scots surprized and took the town. The castle, under the renowned Sir John Copeland, held out till Edward, in February following, arrived with a great army, and forced the Scotch to capitulate. Seven Scotchmen, in 1377, surprised the castle, and held it eight days against 7,000 archers, and 3,000 cavalry. The deputy-governor, under the Earl of Northumberland, betrayed it into the enemy's hands in 1384; but the earl soon after recovered it. Through the solicitation of his uncle the Earl of Worcester, engaging in the rebellion against Henry IV., in 1406, he employed this fortress against the king; but a cannon-shot, the first that was ever fired in England, so alarmed the garrison, that it, immediately surrendered. According to Walsingham and Speed, this shot was of a large size, and demolished great part of a tower. In 1811, a The first cannon-ball used in England. all of cast iron, weighing ninety-six pounds, answering to this account, was found in a part of the ruins of the castle. It had penetrated the wall about three yards, at a place where it was flanked with a tower. An unsuccessful attempt was made to reduce it in 1422; but after the battle of Towton, in 1461, it was again in the hands of the Scots, who strengthened its walls, and held it till 1482, when it finally came into possession of the English. "From that time," observes Camden, "the kings of England have continually added works to it, particularly Queen Elizabeth, who, lately to the terror of the enemy, and security of the towns-people, contracted the circuit of the walls, drawing within the old ones a very high wall, well built of strong stone, surrounded by a deep ditch, a regular rampart, redoubt, counterscarps, and covered ways, so that the form and strength of the fortifications are sufficient to discourage all hopes of carrying it by assault, not to mention the bravery of the garrison, and the stores in the place, which exceed belief." Between the years 1761 and 1770 the walls were almost entirely rebuilt in many parts, and finished in 1786. The governor of Berwick has a salary of £586. 7s. 1d. The barracks measure 217 by 121; and contain twenty-four rooms for officers, and seventy-two rooms adapted to hold 567 privates. The church of Berwick, a peculiar of the dean and chapter of Durham, stands on the north side of the parade. It was rebuilt between 1642 and 1652, at the cost of £1400. It has no steeple. It consists of three aisles, and several galleries, all handsomely pewed. The Worshipful Mercers' Company, in London, founded a lectureship here. David I., King of Scotland, The church and convents. founded here a convent for Cistertian Nuns; and Robert III, granted its revenues to Dryburgh Abbey. The convent of Carmelites originated with Sir John Grey, in 1270. The Scotch King, in 1239, brought hither a convent of Dominicans, which Edward III. removed. The Trinitarians had a house here, as had the Franciscans; and between the sea and the town, in Maudlin-field, stood the hospital and free chapel of St. Mary Magdalen, which had an hospital or hermitage belonging to it at Segeden.—Queen Elizabeth founded a free school here; and a charity-school was rebuilt in 1725, in which twenty boys and six girls are clothed and educated. Berwick bridge was swept away by a flood in 1199. It The bridge 24 years in building. was rebuilt of wood, of which it consisted, till the time of James I., who commenced the present elegant structure of stone. It has fifteen arches; its length being 1164 feet, and its breadth seventeen. It was twenty-four years, four months, and four days in building, and cost government £14,960 1s. 6d. The Town Hall was built in 1754. On its ground-floor, on the east-side, is a piazza, called the Exchange; and opposite it are cells for criminals, and shops. The second floor consists of two spacious halls. The outer hall, for holding courts and guilds, measures, sixty feet by thirty-one. The inner hall forty-seven feet long and twenty-three feet broad, is occasionally occupied for public entertainments. The upper story is the common gaol of the town. The turret, 150 feet high, contains eight musical bells. The first charter of the corporation was granted by Edward I. The corporation were first summoned to send members to parliament in the latter end of the reign of Edward IV. The last charter of this town was granted by James I. The corporation now consists of a mayor, recorder, town clerk, four bailiffs, a coroner, four serjeants at mace, Municipal officers. and a water-bailiff. The mayor is also escheator in the borough, clerk of the market, and a justice of the peace; the other justices of the town being the recorder and such resident burgesses as have sustained the office of mayor. They are lords of the manor of Tweedmouth, where they hold a court-leet and court-baron twice a year. Their annual revenues arising from duties taken at the quay and gates, are estimated at £7000. Besides the trade in salmon, great quantities of corn and eggs are exported here for London. One morning in the month of October, 1814, there were upwards of 10,000 salmon, in Berwick market, caught in the Tweed, some of which might have been bought at 2s. each. At the same time, the finest herrings Salmon and herring fisheries. (of which an immense shoal was on the coast) were sold for 2s. the hundred of six score. On the same day the best salmon was sold in Newcastle market at 6d. per pound, and some of the inferior kind as low as 4d. The port has about sixty or seventy vessels. The harbour abounds with low dangerous rocks. At its mouth a noble pier has recently been constructed on the site of an old one, built by Queen Elizabeth. Berwick Castle, once a place of high importance, is now almost levelled with the ground. About 400 yards north of it, is a pentagonal tower, called the Bell Tower, having its name from containing a bell, which was rung on any occasion of alarm. Markets, Wednesday and Saturday.—Fairs, Friday in Trinity Week, for black cattle, sheep, and horses.—Mail arrives 9.49 morning; departs 2.1 afternoon.—Bankers, Commercial Banking Company; draw on Jones, Lloyd, and Co.; Batson and Co.: draw on Glynn and Co.—Inns, King's Arms, and Red Lion.
[A] BESSELSLEIGH, is a small village, in the hundred of Hormer. The manor formerly belonged to the family of Legh, from which it passed, by a female heir, to that of Besils, or Blesells, which flourished there for several centuries. "At this Legh," says Leland, "be very fayre pastures and woodes. The Blesells hathe bene lords of it syns the tyme of Edwarde the First, or afore, and ther they dyd enhabite. The place is all of stone, and stondithe at the west end of the paroche churche. The Blesells cam out of Provence in Fraunce, and were men of activitye in The Blessell's family. feates of armes, as it appearith in monuments at Legh, how he faught in Listes with a strange knighte that chalengyd hym, at the whiche deade the Kynge and Quene at that tyme of England, were present. The Blesells were countyd to have pocessyons of 400 marks by the yere." In the year 1516, the estates of the Blesells were carried, by the marriage of an heiress, to the Fettiplaces, a respectable Berkshire family, one of whom Besil Fettiplace, Esq., was High Sheriff in the 26th of Queen Elizabeth. The manor of Besselsleigh was purchased of the Fettiplaces, by William Lenthall, Esq., Speaker of the Long Parliament, whose descendants now reside at Burford, in Oxfordshire.
[A] BETHNAL GREEN. There is a curious legend relating to this place, of which Henry de Mountfort, son of the ambitious Earl of Liecester, who was slain with his father at the memorable battle of Evesham, is the hero. He is supposed to have been discovered among the bodies of the dying and the dead (by a young lady) in an almost lifeless state, and deprived of his sight by a wound which he had received during the engagement. Under the fostering hand of this "faire damosel" he soon recovered, and afterwards marrying her, she became the mother of the celebrated "Besse," the heroine of the popular ballad of the beggar's daughter of Bethnal-green, written in the reign of Elizabeth. Fearing least his rank The blind beggar of Bethnal-green. and title should be discovered by his enemies, he is said to have disguised himself as a beggar, and taken up his residence at Bethnal-green. The beauty of the daughter attracted many suitors, and she was at length married to a noble knight, who, regardless of her supposed meanness and poverty, had the courage to make her his wife: her other lovers having deserted her on account of her low origin. At Bethnal-green is an old mansion, which the inhabitants, with their usual love of traditionary lore, assign as the palace of the blind beggar. The tradition, though with very little grounds for its foundation, is still preserved on the sign posts of several public houses in the neighbourhood. On the 19th September, 1826, the parish officers of Bethnal-green waited on the Secretary of State for Gang of 500 thieves, in 1826. the Home Department, and stated that a lawless gang, of 500 or more, thieves infested that neighbourhood and committed the most dreadful outrages nightly, upwards of fifty persons having been robbed and beaten in the course of a week; the secretary ordered forty men mounted, to patrole the parish, and aid the local authorities in bringing the offenders to justice. The hospital called the Trinity House, founded in the year 1695, for twenty-eight ancient seamen, who have been masters of ships, and their widows, is in this parish. The funds arising from the ballast-offices, lighthouses, buoys, beacons, &c. are appropriated by parliament to this corporation. Each of the inmates receives 16s. a month, 20s. a year for coals, and a new gown every second year. Many of the streets of this parish are almost wholly occupied by the operative silk-weavers. [B] BETTWS-YN-RHOS. Fairs, February 20, May 8, August 15, and November 20. [C] BETTWS BLEDDRWS. In this neighbourhood there exists a curious custom relating to marriage, called a bidding, which takes place about a week previous to the day of ceremony. The banns are published as in England. A bidder goes from house to house, with a long pole and ribbons flying at the end of it, and standing in the middle floor in each house, he repeats a long lesson, with great formality. He mentions the day of the wedding, the place, the preparations made, &c. The following is a specimen:—Speech of the Bidder in 1762. "The intention of the bidder is this; with kindness and amity, with decency and liberality for Einion Owain, and Llio Elys, he invites you to come with your good will on the plate; bring current money; a shilling, or two, or three, or four, or five; with cheese and butter we invite the husband and wife, and children, and men-servants, from the greatest to the least. Come there Curious marriage customs. early, you shall have victuals freely, and drink cheap, stools to sit on, and fish if we can catch them; but if not, hold us excuseable; and they will attend on you when you call in upon them in return. They set out from such a place to such a place." The gwahodder, or bidder, has eight or ten shillings for his trouble. Saturday is always fixed on as the day of marriage, and Friday is allotted to bring home the furniture of the woman, consisting generally of an oak chest, a feather bed, clothes, &c. The man provides a bedstead, a table, a dresser and chairs. The evening is moreover employed in receiving presents of money, cheese, and butter, at the man's house, from his friends, and at the woman's house from her friends. This is called purse and girdle, it is an ancient British custom. All these presents are set down minutely on paper. If demanded, they are to be repaid. On Saturday, the friends of the man come all on horseback, from the number of eighty to a hundred, and have bread and cheese, and ale at his cost, making at the same time their presents, or pay pwython, i.e. the presents that have been made at their weddings. From ten to twenty of the best mounted go to the intended bride's house to demand her. The woman with her friends are expecting the summons, but she appears very uncomplying, and much Welsh poetry is employed by way of argument; one party being within the house, the other without, abusing each other much. Several persons then deliver orations on horseback, with their hats off, demanding the daughter from the father, who were answered by persons appointed for the business. At length the father appears, admitting and welcoming his guests. They alight, walk in, take some refreshments, and proceed to church. The girl mounts behind her father, mother, or friend, upon the swiftest horse that can be procured. Her friends then pretend to run away with her, riding like mad folks, in any direction. During this time, the girl has no pillion, sitting upon the crupper, and holding by the man's coat, at last the horse is tired, or the bride growing impatient consents to go, using only some feints to get out of the road, till they arrive at the church. The ceremony being over, they return to the married couple's house, eating at free cost, but finding their own liquor. Sunday being come, the married pair stay at home receiving good will and pwython. On Monday the drink is exhausted, and the cheese, &c. is sold, frequently making, with the money presented, a sum of £50 to £60. On the following Sunday, most of the company attend the young pair to church, and the ceremony closes. Among the eminent natives of this neighbourhood, was David ap Gwylim, of Bro Ginin, whose works appeared in a large volume, in the year 1789. He A Welsh poet. nourished from about the year 1330 to 1370. In early life he enjoyed the munificent patronage of Ivor the generous, an ancestor of the Tredegar family. Under the influence of a passion for the fair Morvudd he composed 147 poems. Their loves were mutual, but her friends induced her to accept a wealthy connection, named Rhys Gwrgan, an officer of the English army, who served at the battle of Cressy, 1346; Dab Gwilym persuaded Morvudd to escape with him, during the absence of her husband in France; in consequent of which he was imprisoned, but liberated through the influence of his friends. It is from the poems of this author, that the modern literary dialect has chiefly been formed. Fairs, August 17, and September 23 and 27.
[A] BETTWS GWERFYL.—Fairs, March 16, June 22, August 12, September 16, and Dec. 12. [B] BETTWS-Y-COED. At this village, which contains scarcely a hundred houses, is the picturesque bridge of Pont-y-Pain, beneath which is a famous salmon leap; and the road leads into the luxuriant vale of Llanwrst, in the neighbourhood of which are many seats. The principal of these is Gwydir House, an ancient mansion of the Wynnes; and Gwydir House. now an occasional residence of Lord Gwydir. Two miles northward is the village of Trefrew, remarkable chiefly for a saline spring, and the site of a royal palace, built by Llewelyn. Between two mountains, near this place are some capital mines, the produce of which are lead, calamine, mixed with iron, ochre, and pyrites. Bettws-y-Coed lies on the mail-coach road to Holyhead. From Cernioge Mawr, through this place to Ogwen Lake, a broad smooth, and well protected road has been made among the rocky precipices with which the mountainous country abounds. The village church contains an ancient but very perfect tomb of Gryffyd, grand nephew of Llewellyn, the last prince of Wales. This interesting monument is concealed rather awkwardly beneath one of the benches. Fairs, May 15, and December 3.—Mail arrives 6.30 afternoon; departs 6.0 morning. [C] BEVERLEY. This important market town lies at the foot of the wolds, it was anciently called Dierwald: the wood of the Deiri; from its extensive forest. Its present appellation may be a corruption of Beaver ley; beavers having abounded in the neighbouring river, Hull. Its origin and early history. Its origin and early history were totally unknown, till the beginning of the eighth century, when St. John of Beverley founded a church and monastery, and died there. This institution was several times destroyed by the Danes; and there is a pause in its history, till Athelstan granted to it many priviledges, and built a new college. Many archbishops of York were benefactors to the monastery, and expended large sums in beautifying the church. In the early part of the civil war, Charles I. had his quarters here; and subsequently the town was taken by the parliamentarians. It appears that Beverley derived its first and greatest importance from its connexion with the saint. In its present state, the town is extensive and pleasant. The entrance from Driffield, through an ancient gateway into a spacious street of elegant houses, is particularly beautiful. Its market-place also being large and commodious, is a principal ornament. The church of St. John, which is in excellent preservation, is a superb edifice, adorned at its west end with two lofty steeples. Within it is rich in relics of antiquity. Gisbon, describing it, says "the minster here is a very fair and neat structure: the roof is an arch of stone. In it are several monuments of the Earls of Northumberland, who have added a little chapel to the choir; in the windows whereof are the pictures of several of that family, drawn in the glass. At the upper end of the choir, on the right side of the altar place, stands the freedstool, made of one entire stone, and said to have been removed from Scotland; with a well of water behind it. At the upper end of the body of the church, next the choir, hangs an ancient tablet, with the pictures of St. John and king Athelstan, and this distich: 'Als free make I thee, Hence, adds our author, the burgesses of Beverley pay no toll or custom in any port or town of England. The choir is paved with marble of four colours. Over the altar is a magnificent wooden arch supported by eight fluted Corinthian pillars. The east window now contains all the painted glass which could be collected from the others. The screen, between the choir and the nave, is Gothic, and is justly esteemed a principal ornament of the edifice. At the lower end of the body of the church stands a large font of agate stone. In 1664, a vault was discovered of free-stone, in which was a sheet of lead, containing the relics of St. John, with an inscription, dated 1197, which imported that, the church having been destroyed by fire, the ashes had been for some time lost, but that at length they had been found and there deposited. They were contained in a small Ancient superstitions. leaden box, and consisted of a few bones, six beads, some large nails, and three brass pins. The whole was piously replaced, with an appropriate inscription; and, in 1726, the spot was adorned with an arch of brick-work.—The church of St. Mary is also a large and handsome structure; and like the minster, was destroyed in 1528, by the fall of its steeple. It contains some monuments and inscriptions; but none of note.—Beverley is a corporate town, and is governed by a mayor, twelve aldermen, and thirteen of the principal burgesses. The whole number of these last is about 1200; and many persons are induced to purchase their freedom, by the privileges and immunities which it confers: among these are extensive rights of pasture on four commons, near the town; and, as we have observed, liberation from all tolls throughout the kingdom. Besides its churches, Beverley has the following public edifices and charitable institutions: the Hallgarth, a beautiful and spacious hall, in which are held the sessions, and a register-office for deeds and wills; an elegant market cross, supported by eight columns; each one entire piece of free-stone; a common gaol, which was rebuilt thirty-five years since, with Public edifices. due attention to the suitable accommodation of its inmates; seven alms-houses with funds, for the erection of two more; a work-house, which cost £700; and finally, an excellent free-school, to the scholars of which are appropriated two fellowships at St. John's Cambridge, six scholarships, and three exhibitions. The trade of Beverley arises chiefly from the making of malt, oat-meal, and leather: formerly it was somewhat celebrated for clothing. The vicinity of the town, particularly towards the west, is rather pleasing; and commands several interesting prospects. At the distance of three miles, is the moated site of Lekingfield House, which was demolished, probably, about the end of the sixteenth century. The barbarous custom of baiting a bull on the day of the mayor being sworn into office, to the disgrace of the town, still continues. In the Grammar school were educated Bishops Allcock, Fisher, and Green; and here was painted as early as 1509, the figure of a man on horseback, by 'Hugh Goes.' Beverley is remarkable as being the birth-place of the following eminent persons, viz.: Aluridus, an ancient historian, who died in 1129. Dr. John Allcock, the founder of Jesus College, Oxford, who was the most celebrated divine, scholar, and architect of his time. In 1470, he was Dr. John Allcock born here. made a privy counsellor and embassador to the King of Castile. He was successively Bishop of Rochester, Worcester, and Ely, Lord High Chancellor of England, and lord President of Wales. In his capacity of an architect, few, if any, ever excelled him, and his correct judgment in this science procured him the appointment of Comptroller of the Royal Works. He founded the Grammar School of Kingston upon Hull, and built a chapel, on the south side of the church, where his parents were buried. The beautiful hall of the episcopal palace of Ely was erected from his design and at his expense. He very elegantly enlarged the parish church of Westbury, and built that sumptuous and beautiful chapel in the Presbytery of Ely Cathedral, where he was buried, and which remains at the present day, a monument of his correct judgment; but all these fall into shadow, when compared with that gorgeous and exquisite mass of enrichment, Henry the Seventh's Chapel at Westminster; of which, if he was not the immediate designer, he was at least the able manager and superintendant of its erection—a monument of pious munificence that will be endeared to every lover of art, when the living temple of its projector is forgotten. He died at his castle of Wisbeach, October 1, 1500.—John Fisher, Bishop Bishop Fisher born here. of Rochester, was born here in 1459. His father was so eminent a scholar and divine, that Margaret, Countess of Richmond, mother of Henry VII., although unknown to him, sent for him, and appointed him her domestic chaplain; and to his councils posterity are mainly indebted for those magnificent foundations, St. John's and Christ's College at Cambridge. This amiable bishop, with all his virtues, could not preserve himself from the malignity of "the worst of England's monarchs"—Henry VIII.; and under the pretence of being inimical to the marriage of the king with Ann Bolyen, he was thrown into prison, and most barbarously treated; here he continued for nearly a year, and might have been left to die of ill treatment and old age, had it not been for the unseasonable mark of respect paid him by Pope Paul III., who created him, May 15, 1535, Cardinal Priest of St. Vitalis. Henry forbade the hat to be brought into England, and sent Lord Cromwell to examine the Bishop about the affair. "My Lord of Rochester," (says Cromwell) "what would you say if the Pope should send you a Cardinal's hat," upon which the Bishop replied, "Sir, I know myself to be so far unworthy of such dignity that I think of nothing less; but if any thing should happen assure yourself that I should improve that favour to the best advantage that I could, by assisting the Holy Catholic Church of Christ, and in that respect I would receive it upon my knees." When the answer was brought, the king said in a great passion, "yea! is he yet so lusty—well, let the Pope send him a hat when he will—mother of God! he shall wear it on his shoulders then, for I will leave him never a head to set it on." His ruin being now determined, but hardly daring to take his life upon such trivial grounds, the king sent that most fawning and contemptible creature, Sir Richard Rich, Solicitor-General, to draw from him something that might convict him. This wiley wretch gradually drew from him a private opinion concerning the king's supremacy, telling the Bishop at the same time, that it was a scruple of the King's conscience that made him ask for it. Thus entrapped he was not allowed to make a defence, but was tried by a bill of attainder for high treason, and executed on the 22d of the same month, and his head placed on London bridge. Thus perished this good, but ill-fated prelate, in the 77th year of his age, which dreadful His head placed on London-bridge. tragedy, as Bishop Burnet observes, "Has left one of the greatest blots upon this kingdom's proceedings."—The Rev. John Green was also a native of this place, he was born in 1706, educated at the Grammar School here, and finished his university education at St. John's College, Cambridge, where he became master of arts; he afterwards engaged himself as usher of a school at Litchfield, where he became acquainted with Dr. Johnson, and Mr. Garrick. In 1730, he was elected a fellow of St. John's College, and soon afterwards the Bishop procured for him the vicarage of Hingeston. In 1744, Charles, Duke of Somerset, and Chancellor of the University, made him his domestic chaplain. In June 1750, he was elected master of Bennet College, and in 1756, Dean of Lincoln, then Vice-chancellor of the University of Cambridge; and at last, through the influence of his patron, the Duke of Newcastle, preferred to the See of Lincoln. He was the friend and colleague of Archbishop Secker, who had always a just esteem for his virtues and abilities. After the death of Lord Willoughby, of Parham, in 1765, the literary meetings of the Royal Society used to be held in his lordship's house, as one of its most accomplished members. In June 1761, he exerted his problematical talents in two letters "On the Principles and Practice of the Methodists," which he addressed to the Rev. Mr. Berridge and Mr. Whitfield; and to the honour of this prelate be it spoken, that when the Bill for the Relief of the Dissenters, was brought before the House of Lords, in May 1772, and lost upon a division of 102 to 27, he was the only member of the clerical brotherhood, who voted in its favour. He died suddenly at Bath, April 25, 1779. This elegant scholar was one of the writers of the celebrated "Athenian Letters," published by the Earl of Hardwick, in 1798, 2 vols. 4to. Beverley returns two Members to Parliament. The £10 householders are about 507. The returning officer is the Mayor. Markets, Wednesday and Saturday.—Fairs, Thursday before Old Valentine; Holy Thursday; July 5; November 5, for horses and sheep; and every alternate Wednesday for horned cattle.—Bankers, Machell and Co.; draw on Glyn and Co.; Bower and Co., draw on Curries and Co.—Mail arrives 10.45 morning; departs 6.0 afternoon.—Inn, Tiger.
[A] BEWCASTLE is supposed to have been a Roman station, and garrisoned by part of the Legio Secunda Augusta, as a security to the workmen who were employed in erecting the famous wall, it is situated in the midst of a wild and unfrequented district, in the Ward of Eskdale. Some vestiges of ancient buildings still remain, and numerous Roman coins and inscriptions have been discovered here. The present name of the village is reported to have been derived from Bueth, who was Lord of the Manor at the time of the Conquest, and is said to have repaired a Roman castle here, and called it after his own name. The castle was of a square form, each front about twenty-nine yards in length: it is now in ruins: the south side, of which there are most remains, is nearly fourteen yards high. This structure was destroyed by the parliamentary forces in the year 1641. It seems to have been a dark gloomy fortress. Gils Bueth, the son of Bueth, mentioned above, was treacherously killed by Robert De Vallibus, at a meeting which had been held for friendly purposes. His possessions then fell to the crown, and were bestowed by Henry II. on the last Hubert de Vallibus, whose daughter conveyed them to the family of the Multons by marriage. The estates afterwards passed through several hands. Bewcastle in the fifth of Charles I. was granted to Sir Robert Graham, in whose family it remains. Upon one occasion the captain of Bewcastle is said to have made an incursion into Scotland, in which he was defeated and forced to fly. Watt Tinlinn, a celebrated retainer of the Buccleuch family, who held for his border service a small tower on the frontiers of Liddisdale, pursued him. Watt Tinlinn was, by Anecdote of Watt Tinlinn. profession, a cobbler, but by inclination and practice an archer, and warrior. He closely followed the fugitive through a dangerous morass: the captain, however, gained the firm ground; and seeing Tinlinn dismounted, and floundering in the bog, used these words of insult: "Sutor Watt, ye cannot sew your boots: the heels risp, and the seams rive." "If I cannot sew," retorted Tinlinn, discharging a shaft, which nailed the captain's thigh to his saddle. "If I cannot sew, I can yerk." Bewcastle Church is a small edifice, standing on a rising ground near the castle, a fosse surrounding them both. In the churchyard is a celebrated obelisk, which has for many years attracted the attention of the curious. Its height is fourteen feet, two inches: its breadth, on the bottom of the broadest side, is one foot ten: on the top was originally a cross, which is supposed to have been abolished in some ebullition of popular enthusiasm. Various sculptured ornaments appear on its different sides, executed with much fancy, together with an illegible Roman inscription, and some human figures. On the wastes of Bewcastle parish, several thousands of sheep and black cattle are annually fed. The inhabitants of the parish live chiefly in single and scattered houses; their religious opinions are mostly conformable to the doctrines of the church of England; but about thirty years ago a meeting house was built for a small congregation of Presbyterians. In this parish, a fine is paid of four years, ancient rent, on Ancient fine change of the Lord of the Manor by death: or of the tenants either by death or alienation: besides various customary works and carriages; and for a heriot, the best beast of which the tenant may die possessed, except the riding-horse kept for the lord's service. Bewcastle parish has two schools supported by subscription, the masters of which have a salary of about ten pounds a year, and the privilege of a whittle-gate. The custom of whittle-gate was formerly much observed in this and the neighbouring counties: it consists in the master going to all the abodes of his scholars in rotation, and being supplied with victuals by the parents or friends.
[A] BEWDLEY is seated on the Severn, in the centre of a populous manufacturing district; it was, in the reign of Edward I., a manor of the Beauchamps, and received from Edward IV. its charter of incorporation. Leland's description of the town, and his opinion of its origin, possess some Leland's description of the town. beauties, and great exactness.—"The towne selfe of Beaudley is sett on the syde of a hill; soe comely a man cannot wish to see a towne better. It riseth from Severne banke by east, upon the hill, by west; soe that a man standing on the hill trans pontem by east, may discerne almost every house in the towne, and at the risinge of the sunne from the east, the whole towne glittereth (being all of a new building), as it were of gould. By the distance of the parish church (at Ribbesford), I gather that Beaudley is a very new towne, and that of ould time there was but some poore hamlett, and that upon the building of a bridge there upon Severne, and resort of people unto it, and commodity of the pleasant site, men began to inhabit there; and because the plott of it seemed fayre to the lookers, it hath a French name, Beaudley." The figure of the town is that of the letter Y: the foot extending to the river; one of the horns, towards Ribbesford, the other into the forest. The bridge, viewed from the loaded wharfs, appears a handsome modern structure, possessing a lightness of feature, superior even to that of the bridge at Worcester. The church, situated at the junction of the three principal streets, is accounted a chapel of ease to the mother church of Ribbesford; and was rebuilt in its present neat, yet embellished style, about 1748. Here are also appropriate places of public worship for the numerous dissenters; several institutions for carrying on the useful work of education, mostly supported by voluntary contributions, and a number of alms-houses for the poor and aged. The town-hall is a handsome modern building of stone, with three arches in front, six square pilasters, and a pediment, surmounted by the Littelton arms, and a double row of arcades. The trade of Bewdley is considerable, and the inhabitants boast, with reason, that their trows and their crews are the best on the river. Among the sources of this profitable commerce, are numerous tan-yards; manufactures of a kind of cap, much worn before the introduction of felt hats, comb-making, and other works in horn, and a manufacture of flannel; while the town is a sort of mart for the wholesale grocery trade. The charter of incorporation of Bewdley has been subject to some extraordinary changes: the original deed, renewed by James I. was surrendered to Charles II., and replaced by another from his successor, which last, on the accession of Anne, was declared illegal, and became the cause of a contention, which produced a long and expensive law-suit, ended by the The charter disputed. confirmation of the original charter. By virtue of this, the corporation of Bewdley consists of a bailiff, a recorder, a high steward, and twelve capital burgesses, who depute one member to parliament, the bailiff being the returning officer. The borough comprises the parish of Ribbesford and the hamlets of Ribbenhall, Hoarstone, Blackstone, Netherton, Lower Milton, and Lickhill; the number of burgesses are 42, and £10. householders about 484. Lord Lyttelton is lord of the manor, high steward, and recorder. A few years since, Dr. James Johnstone, of Worcester, made an important discovery in this neighbourhood, of a mineral spring, whose qualities, after an attentive analysis, he declared to resemble those of the Harrowgate and Moffat waters. The most celebrated natives of this place were John Tombes, born in 1612, a subtle disputant, and a learned man, but a changeling sectary; and Richard Willis, who was the son of a capper, and became remarkable for his extemporaneous preaching; the latter was made chaplain to King William, and promoted to the see of Winchester, in 1714. Near a pleasant hamlet on the side of the river opposite to Bewdley, is Spring Grove, a large white building surrounded by a Spring Grove. park, late the seat of S. Skey, Esq. to whom the country is indebted for the introduction of a breed of mules, both handsome and useful. On a hill, half a mile from Bewdley, and on the eastern bank of the Severn, is the elegant villa called Winterdyne. This agreeable retreat, plain in its appearance, yet commodious, is seated on a high and romantic cliff, embowdered in deep tufted slides, and surrounded by ornamented walks, which are diversified with Gothic turrets, seats, and hermitages. Advancing on the river, Blackstone rocks meet the eye; a bold range of dusky cliffs feathered to the top, and made romantic by the formation of a cell or hermitage, heretofore the abode of some holy man, but now a repository for the potatoes, cheese, and farming implements of a neighbouring agriculturist. Market, Saturday.—Fairs, April 23, July 26, and December 11, for cattle, horses, cheese, and linen and woollen cloth.—Bankers, Skey, Son, and Co.; draw on Lubbock and Co.; and Pardoe and Co.; draw on Hoare and Co.—Mail arrives 12.27 afternoon; departs 1.30 afternoon.
[A] BEXLEY was given by King Cenulph to the see of Canterbury. Edward II. granted a weekly market to be held here, but this has long been disused. Archbishop Cranmer alienated Bexley to Henry VIII. James I. granted it to Sir John Spilman, who afterwards sold it to the celebrated Camden, who made over his right to the University of Oxford, for the purpose of founding an historical professorship; but covenanted that all One of Camden's manors. the revenues of the manor should be enjoyed for 99 years from his own death, by Mr. William Heather, his heirs and successors, subject to the payment of £140. annually. The University have since granted leases from time to time, for 21 years, to the Leighs, of Hawley. The church, a peculiar of the Archbishops of Canterbury, has a shingled tower and small octangular spire. On the south side of the chancel is an ancient confessional, consisting of three divisions of pointed arches, and a recess for holy water; on the north side are seven ancient stalls of oak with carved heads, and other figures. Here are several curious old monuments High-street House, which adjoins the churchyard, was rebuilt in 1701 by the late learned antiquary, John Thorpe, Esq., F.S.A., author of the "Customale Roffense," who purchased this estate of the Austens, of Hall Place, in 1750. On his death, his possessions devolved to his two daughters, by Catharine, daughter of Dr. Lawrence Holker, of Gravesend: High-street House, was allotted to the youngest, married to Cuthbert Potts, Esq. This gentleman became owner also, in right of his wife, of a contiguous villa, called Bourne Place, which was built about fifty years ago, by Lawrence Holker, Esq. son of Dr. Holker. Hall Place, formerly the seat of a family surnamed At-Hall, is an ancient and spacious edifice, now occupied as a boarding-school. On August 12, 1822, Robert, Marquis of Londonderry, sinking under the weight of a very heavy session of Death of Lord Londonderry. Parliament, died by his own hand. Symptoms of mental aberration had been observed in his Lordship by the Duke of Wellington, who had required Dr. Blankhead to visit him; his Lordship severed the carotid artery with a knife, and died almost instantly. He was an able diplomatic character, and an acute and efficient Parliamentary leader—he was, in the 53d year of his age: on the 20th of the same month his remains were deposited in Westminster Abbey. The Right Honourable Nicholas Vansittart was appointed Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, and raised to the Peerage by the title of Baron Bexley, of Bexley, in Kent, on the 31st January, 1833.
[A] BIBURY. In the eighth century this little village belonged to the See of Worcester: in the twelfth century it was given, with certain restrictions, to the Abbey of Oseney, in Oxfordshire; and, in 1547, it was finally alienated from the See of Worcester, to the Earl of Warwick, from whom the manor has passed through various families to Estcourt Cresswell, Esq. Bibury is a peculiar, possessing jurisdiction over Aldsworth, Barnsley, and Winson; the Lord of the Manor, however, claims a prescriptive right of appointing his own official and chancellor, who hath the recording of wills, and the granting of licenses within the peculiar: nor doth the Lord of the Manor allow to the Bishop the right of visitation. The Church is supposed to have been rebuilt by the monks of Oseney. The architecture of the north and south doors is in the early Norman style. On the north wall was a colossal painting, in fresco, of St. Christopher, the sight of whose image, according to the monkish legends, had sufficient efficacy to Monkish legends. preserve the spectator from sudden or violent death: the painting is now obliterated. Several monuments and inscriptions to the memory of the Coxwalls, and other families, are in the edifice. The mansion was built in the reign of James II., by Sir Thomas Sackville, of the family of the Earls of Dorset. From its situation on an easy eminence, it commands a fine view of the river Colne, backed by an amphitheatre of low wood, of the most variegated foliage, clothing the acclivities of the hills, and rendered more beautiful from the contrast afforded by the barren downs which appear in the distance. [B] BICESTER lies in a flat situation near the eastern border of the county. The parish is divided into two districts, termed King's End and Market End. The church is a large and respectable edifice. There is no peculiar manufacture: but the town derives great benefit from its market and cattle fairs. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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