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TABLE  OF  CONTENTS, 


PAGE 

I. — Memoir  on  a  Mappemonde  by  Leonardo  da  Vinci,  being  the  earliest 
Map  hitherto  known  containing  the  name  of  America  ;  now  in  the 
Royal  Collections  at  Windsor.  In  a  Letter  addressed  to  Augustus 
Wollaston  Franks,  Esq.,  Director,  by  RICHARD  HENRY  MAJOR, 
Esq.,  F.S.A.  1—40 

II.—  Observations  on  the  Primitive  Site,  Extent,  and  Circumvallation 

of  Roman  London.    By  WILLIAM  HENRY  BLACK,  Esq.,  F.S.A.  41 — 49 

III. — Further  Observations  on  the  Primitive  Site,  Extent,  and  Circum- 
vallation  of  Roman  London.  By  WILLIAM  HENRY  BLACK,  Esq., 
F.S.A.  ....  50—58 

IV. — Sketch  of  British  and  Roman  London.     By  THOMAS  LEWIN,  Esq., 

M.A.,  F.S.A.  59—70 

V. — Remarks  upon  Holbein's  Portraits  of  the  RoyalFamily  of  England, 
and  more  particidarly  upon  the  several  Portraits  of  the  Queens  of 
Henry  the  Eighth.  By  JOHN  GOUGH  NICHOLS,  Esq.,  F.S.A.  71 — 80 

VI. — Notes  on  several  of  the  Portraits  described  m  the  preceding 
Memoir,  and  on  some  others  of  the  like  character.  By  GEORGE 
SCHARF,  Esq.,  F.S.A.  81—88 

VII. — Original  Documents  illustrative  of  the  Administration  of  the 
Criminal  Law  in  the  time  of  Edward  I. ;  with  Observations  by 
FRANCIS  MORGAN  NICHOLS,  Esq.,  M.A.,  F.S.A.  -  89—105 

VIII. — Remarks  on  a  Portrait  of  the  Duchess  of  Milan,  recently  dis- 
covered at  Windsor  Castle,  probably  painted  by  Holbein  at 
Brussels  in  the  year  1538.  By  GEORGE  SCHARF,  Esq.,  F.S.A., 
in  a  Letter  addressed  to  the  Earl  Stanhope,  President  106 — 112 

b 


vi  CONTENTS. 

PAGE 

IX. — An  Account  of  Remarkable  Subterranean  Chambers  at  Trelo- 
warren,  the  seat  of  Sir  R.  R.  Fyvyan,  Bart.,  in  the  county  of 
Cornwall.  By  J.  T.  BLIGHT,  Esq.  113—118 

X. — Royston    Court    House  and  its  Appurtenances.     By  JOSEPH 

BELDAM,  Esq.,  F.S.A.      -  119—137 

XI. — On  the  Annulus  Piscatoris,  or  Ring  of  the  Fisherman.      By 

EDMUND  WATER-TON,  Esq.,  F.S.A.  138—142 

XII. — On  the  unpublished  work  entitled  "  Antiquarius  "  by  Hieronymus 
Bononius,  of  Treviso,  and  his  Poetical  Remains;  including  a 
Poem  on  the  Revivors  of  Literature  in  the  Fifteenth  Century  who 
were  personally  known  to  that  Author.  By  WILLIAM  HENRY 
BLACK,  Esq.,  F.S.A.  143—156 

XIII. — On  the  Churches  at  Rome  earlier  than  the  year  1150.     By  ALEX- 
ANDER NESBITT,  Esq.,  F.S.A.  157 — 224 

XIV. — History  of  Winterton,  in  the  county  of  Lincoln,  by  Abraham  de 
la  Pryme ;  with  an  Introduction  by  EDWARD  PEACOCK,  Esq., 
F.S.A.,  the  owner  of  the  original  Manuscript  -  225 — 241 

XV. — Notes  on  Human  Sacrifices  among  the  Romans.  By  the  Very  Rev. 
HENRY  GEORGE  LIDDELL,  D.D.  Dean  of  Christchurch :  communi- 
cated in  a  Letter  to  the  Earl  Stanhope,  President  -  242 — 249 

XVI. — Memoranda  on  the  question  of  the  Use  of  Human  Sacrifices  among 
the  Romans.  By  WILLIAM  BODHAM  DONNE,  Esq. :  in  a  Letter 
to  the  Earl  Stanhope,  President  -  -  250 — 256 

XVII. — Letters  from  Sir  Henry  Wotton  to  King  James  I.  and  others. 
Communicated  by  C.  KNIGHT  WATSON,  Esq.,  M.A.,  Secretary, 
in  a  Letter  to  A.  W.  Franks,  Esq.,  Director  257 — 284 

XVIII. — Notes  on  some  Roman  Architectural  Remains  discovered  in  the 
city  of  Chester,  in  the  summer  of  the  year  1863.  By  WILLIAM 
TITE,  Esq.,  M.P.,  F.R.S.,  V.P.S.A.:  in  a  Letter  to  Augustus 
W.  Franks,  Esq.,  Director  285—294 

XIX. — On  discoveries  of  Remains  of  the  Roman  Wall  of  London,  by 
WILLIAM  TITE,  Esq.,  M.P.,  F.R.S.,  F.S.A.  In  a  letter  to 
Frederic  Ouvry,  Esq.,  Treasurer  295 — 306 


CONTENTS.  vii 

PAGE 

XX. — On  the    Mantle    and   the    Ring  of  Widowhood.      By  HENRY 

HAREOD,  Esq.,  F.S.A.      -  -        307—310 

XXI. — On  an  Inventory  of  the  Household  Goods  of  Sir  Thomas  Ramsey, 
Lord  Mayor  of  London,  1577.  By  F.  W.  FAIRHOLT,  Esq., 
F.S.A.  311—342 

XXII. — Description  of  a  Pocket-Dial  made  in~L593for  Robert  Devereux, 
Earl  of  Essex.  By  JOHN  BRUCE,  Esq.,  F.S.A. :  in  a  Letter 
addressed  to  the  possessor  of  the  Dial,  Edward  Dalton,  Esq., 
LL.D.,  F.S.A.  -  343—360 

XXIII. — On  the  Position  of  the  Portus  Lemanis  of  the  Romans.     By 

THOMAS  LEWIN,  Esq.,  M.A.,  F.S.A.  361—374 

XXIV. —  On   the  Identification    of   the   Roman   Portus  Lemanis.      By 

WILLIAM  HENRY  BLACK,  Esq.,  F.S.A.    -  375 — 380 

XXV. — On  the  worked  Flints  of  Pressigny-le-Grand.  By  JOHN  EVANS, 

Esq.,  F.R.S.,  F.S.A.,  F.G.S.  381—388 

XXVI. — Observations  on  some  Documents  relating  to  Magic  in  the  Reign 

of  Queen  Elizabeth.  By  W.  H.  HART,  Esq.,  F.S.A.  389—397 

XXVII. — Notice  sur  une  ancienne  Statue  de  Guillaume-le-Conque'rant,con- 
serve'e  dans  VEglise  de  Saint-  Victor-V  Abbaye  (canton  de  Totes, 
arrondissement  de  Dieppe.)  Par  M.  L'ABBE  COCHET,  Hon. 
F.S.A.  -  -  398—402 

XXVIII. — On  the  Excavations  at  Silchester.  By  the  Rev.  JAMES  GERALD 
JOYCE,  B.A.,  F.S.A.,  Rector  of  Stratfieldsaye,  and  Rural 
Dean  403—416 

XXIX. — Remarks  on  some  Early  Charters  and  Documents  relating  to  the 
Priory  of  Austin  Canons  and  Abbey  of  Austin  Canonesses  at 
Canonsleigh,  in  the  County  of  Devon.  In  a  Letter  from  CHARLES 
SPENCER  PERCEVAL,  Esq.,  LL.D.,  F.S.A.,  to  Augustus  Wollaston 
Franks,  Esq.,  M.A.,  Director  417 — 450 

XXX. — Instructions  given  by  King  Henry  VI.  to  Edward  Grimston  and 
others,  his  Ambassadors  to  the  Duchess  of  Burgundy,  1449  ;  and 
Notice  of  a  Portrait  of  Edward  Grimston,  painted  by  Peter 
Christum  in  1446.  Communicated  in  a  Letter  from  WILLIAM 

c 


viii  CONTENTS. 

PAGE 

J.  THOMS,  Esq.,  F.S.A.,  to  C.  Knight  Watson,  Esq.,  Secretary ; 
with  additional  Observations  by  A.  W.  Franks,  Esq.,  Director, 
and  George  Scharf,  Esq.,  F.S.A.  451—454 

Notes  on  Edward  Grimston,  Esq.,  Ambassador  to  the  Duchess 
of  Burgundy.  By  A.  W.  FRANKS,  Esq.,  Director  455 — 470 

Observations  on  the  Portrait  of  Edward  Grimston,  and  other 
Portraits  of  the  same  period.  By  GEORGE  SCHARF,  Esq.,  F.S.A. : 
in  a  Letter  to  W.  J.  Thorns,  Esq.,  F.S.A.  471—482 

XXXI.— Description  of  Ancient  Rock-Tombs  at  Ghain  Tiffiha  and  Tal 

Horr,  Malta.     By  Captain  JOHN  S.  SWANN,  F.G.S.  483—487 

XXXII. — On  the  Human  Remains,  and  especially  the  Skulls,  from  the 
Bock-Tombs  at  Ghain  Tiffiha  and  Tal  Horr,  and  from  other 
places  in  Malta.  By  JOHN  TUURNAM,  Esq  ,  M.D.  F.S.A.  488—500 

XXXIII. — On  the  Discovery  of  a  Romano-British  Cemetery  near  Plymouth. 

By  C.  SPENCE  BATE,  Esq.,  F.R.S.  -  -  -  501—510 


LIST  OF  PLATES. 


PLATE  PAGE 

I.  Mappemonde  by  Leonardo  da  Vinci,  Northern  part 
II.  Mappemonde  by  Leonardo  da  Vinci,  Southern  part 
III.  Site  of  Roman  London,  and  the  Roman  Ways  leading  to  it  49 

IV.  Portrait   of  Christina   Duchess   of   Milan,  from  a  painting    in 

Windsor  Castle  106 

V.  Portrait   of   Christina    Duchess  of  Milan,  from  a  painting   in 

Arundel  Castle  110 

VI.  Subterranean  Chambers  at  Trelowarren,  in  the  county  of  Cornwall       11 1 
VII.  Royston  Court  House  and  its  appurtenances 
VIII.  Architectural  details  from  Churches  in  Rome 

IX.  Doorway  of  Chapel  of  S.  John  Baptist,  Lateran  -  100 

X.  Door  in  Chapel  of  S.  Zeno  at  S.  Prassede  191 

XI.  Windows,  &c.  in  Churches  in  Rome 
XII.  Windows  in  Churches  in  Rome    - 

XIII.  Bronze  Railings  in  Cathedral  of  Aix-la-Chapelle  - 

XIV.  Ornamented  Slabs  from  Churches  in  Rome  206 
XV.  Plan  of  Roman  Remains  at  Chester 

XVI.  Suggested  Plan  of  probable  state  of  Roman  Temple  and  Baths  at 

Chester  29° 

XVII.  Remains  of  Wall  of  London  discovered  near  Cooper's  Row 
XVIII.  Dial  of  Robert  Devereux,  Earl  of  Essex 
XIX.  Plan  of  Romney  Marsh  as  it  was  in  the  time  of  the  Saxons  3G9 

XX.  Flint  Cores  from  Prcssigny-le-Grand,  Indre  et  Loire 

XXI.  Flint  Implements  from  Pressigny  and  the  Seine  •  387 

XXII.  Statue  of  William  the  Conqueror,  Saint-Victor-l'Abbaye-  400 

XXIII.  Plan  of  Silchester  within  the  Walls  404 

XXIIP.Ground  Plan  of  Block  I.,  Silchester         -  -  405 


x  LIST  OF  PLATES. 

PAGE 

XXIV.  Ground  Plan  of  Block  III.,  Silchester    -  KHi 

XXV.  Hypocaust  and  Floor  in  Block  III.,  Silchester  -  408 

XXVI.  Portrait  of  Edward  Grimston,  Esq.,  1446  458 

XXVII.  Arms  and  Inscription  on  Portrait  of  Edward  Grimston  -  459 

XXVIII.  Plans  and  Sections  of  Tombs  at  Chain  Tiffiha,  Malta  483 

XXIX.  Plan  and  Sections  of  Tomb  at  Tal  Horr,  Malta  486 

XXX.  Bronze    Mirror  and    Handles   and    Iron   Shears    found  near 

Plymouth  502 

XXXI.  Antiquities  found  near  Plymouth  503 

XXXII.  Pottery  found  near  Plymouth     -  504 


XVII. — Letters  from  Sir  Henry  Wotton  to  King  James  I.  and  others. —  Commu- 
nicated by  C.  KNIGHT  WATSON,  Esq.  M.A.  Secretary,  in  a  Letter  to 
A.  W.  Franks,  Esq.  Director. 


Communicated  January  30,  18C2,  and  April  30,  1863. 


MY  DEAR  FRANKS, 

THE  following  Letters  need  but  little  introduction  on  my  part.  They  may  be 
left  to  tell  their  own  story,  and  may  be  useful  to  illustrate  or  to  correct  the 
history  of  the  period  to  which  they  belong.  I  am  indebted  to  one  who  is  most 
conversant  with  that  history  *  for  the  headings  prefixed,  within  brackets,  to  such 
of  the  letters  as  seemed  to  him  to  require  some  such  elucidation.  For  the  letters 
themselves,  and  for  permission  to  transcribe  them,  the  Society  is  under  obligations 
to  Corpus  Christi  College,  Oxford,  and  in  particular  to  the  courtesy  of  the  Rev. 
Frederick  Chalker,  who  filled  the  office  of  Librarian  at  that  college  in  the  year  1861, 
when  I  was  allowed  access  to  the  valuable  collection  under  his  charge.  The 
volume  containing  them  is  thus  designated  in  Coxe's  Catalogus  Codicum  MSS. 
qui  in  Collegiis  Aulisque  Oxoniensibus  hodie  adservantur.  Pars.  ii.  160,  "  cccxviij. 
Codex  Chartaceus,  in  folio,  if.  229,  sec.  xvij.  Ricardi  Davis  de  Sandford  Collccta- 
neorum  volumen  secundum."  The  series  of  Wotton  Letters  is  immediately 
preceded  by  one  from  Henry  VIII.  to  Secretary  Knight b.  So  far  as  I  can 
ascertain,  the  letters  here  published  are  unedited.  Their  number  might  easily 
have  been  increased  from  other  quarters,  and  especially  from  the  Collection  of 
State  Papers  in  the  Record  Office.  The  present  specimens,  however,  go  far  to 
cover  the  ground  occupied  by  the  writer  in  his  diplomatic  capacity  at  Venice  and 
the  Hague,  while  the  last  of  them  gives  us  a  glimpse  into  his  private  life. 

Sir  Henry  Wotton  was  ambassador  at  the  Hague,  it  will  be  remembered,  for  a 
few  months  of  the  year  1615,  and  was  thrice  appointed  ambassador  to  Venice,  viz., 

•  Samuel  Rawson  Gardiner,  Esq.  author  of  the  "History  of  England,  1603-1616." 
b  Printed  in  Proceedings,  2nd  series,  vol.  ii.  p.  262. 
VOL.  XL.  2  L 


258  Letters  from  Sir  Henry  Wotton  to  King  James  I.  and  others. 

in  160-1, 1615,  and  1G21.  Though  historical  compositions  would  themselves  be 
cramped  for  space,  and  otherwise  unseasonable  in  the  pages  of  the  Archoeologia, 
the  materials  of  history  come  distinctly  within  the  scope  of  the  operations  for 
which  the  Society  of  Antiquaries  was  founded.  On  this  ground  I  abstain  from 
attempting  to  give  any  general  view  of  the  condition  of  Europe  and  the  policy  of 
England,  at  the  time  when  Sir  Henry  Wotton  was  so  disheartened  with  the  one 
and  so  discomfited  in  his  endeavours  to  carry  out  the  other.  Such  a  view  must 
be  looked  for  elsewhere,  and  will  certainly  be  seen  with  greater  distinctness  by 
one  who  has  the  assistance  of  these  letters  in  pursuing  the  inquiry. 

Believe  me,  My  dear  Franks,  yours  very  truly, 

C.  KNIGHT  WATSON. 


I. — JAMES  I.  TO  SIR  HENRY  WOTTON. 

[A  transcript.] 

[July  16,  1606.] 
JAMES  REX. 

Trustic  and  wclbclovcd  wee  greete  yow  well  Suche  and  soe  manic  are  yor  dispatches 
wth  wch  our  Sccretarie  dothe  acquainte  us  beinge  directed  to  him  wth  other  in  particuler  to  our 
ownc  Person  that  wee  thinke  it  not  sufficient  onely  to  acquainte  yow  by  his  Relation  wth  owre 
extraordinarie  approbation  of  yor  zeale  faithe  and  discretion  wthout  the  confirmation  thereof  under 
owre  ownc  hande  assuringe  yo*  that  they  are  not  onely  acceptable  to  us  for  the  watchful  eye  yo* 
have  towardes  cure  saftie  and  the  good  of  our  state  but  are  so  interlaced  wth  variety  off  occurents 
remarkeablc  and  proper  for  Princes  whose  state  is  subject  to  the  envy  of  equalls,  and  whose  con- 
stancie  in  Religion  is  more  then  a  moate  in  the  eyes  of  the  comon  adversarie  As  wee  doc 
acknowledge  that  wee  rcade  not  anie  forraigne  Dispatches  from  any  our  Ministers  wth  better  con- 
tentation.  Procedc  therefore  as  yo"  have  bcgunnc,  and  knowc  yow  serve  a  prince  that  can  both 
judge  of  meritt  and  make  demonstration  when  time  shall  serve.  Given  under  oure  signe  at  oure 
Manor  of  Greenwiche,  the  16th  day  of  Julie,  1606,  in  the  fourthe  yeare  of  oure  raignc  of  Great 
Brittan  France  and  Irclande. 
Superscription, 

To  oure  trustie  and  welbeloved  Sr  Henry  Wotton, 

Knight,  oure   Ambr   Resident  wUl  the  state  of 

Venice. 
[7/i  dono]        K.  Jam.  1C  Jul.  1COC. 


Letters  from  Sir  Henry  Wotton  to  King  James  I.  and  others.          259 


II. — SIR  HENRY  WOTTON  TO  JAMES  I. 

[The  following  letter  was  written  apparently  in  the  summer  or  autumn  of  1606.  It  contains  speculations 
on  the  part  which  would  be  taken  by  Henry  IV.  of  France  in  the  quarrel  between  Pope  Paul  V.  and  the 
Venetians  on  the  subject  of  the  claim  made  by  the  Republic  over  criminal  priests.  In  February,  1607, 
Henry  offered  his  mediation,  and  finally  gave  a  decision,  which  was,  in  all  important  points,  in  the  Pope's 
favour.] 

MAY  IT  PLEASE  YOUR  MOST  ECCELLENT  MAJESTY 

Your  Majesty  and  the  Kinge  of  Spayne  having  already  declared  yr  resolutions  in  the 
present  cause,  It  now  remayneth  to  see  what  the  French  Kinge  will  doe. 
Of  the  French  Kinge  there  are  foure  different  opinions. 

1.  That  he  will  assist  the  Pope. 

2.  That  he  will  assist  the  Venetians. 

3.  That  he  will  assist  both  the  Pope  and  the  Venetians. 

4.  That  he  will  assist  neither  the  Pope  nor  the  Venetians. 

Which  have  all  foure  through  his  ambiguous  proceeding  had  tyme  to  growe,  and  to  bee  con- 
firmed also  wth  some  arguments  more  or  lesse  in  theire  gcnerall  fancies  that  have  conceived  them. 

Whereof  though  I  have  formerly  rendered  unto  yr  Majesty  such  a  poore  account  as  I  had  then 
understoode  touchinge  only  the  first  yet  I  will  now  (wlh  your  gratious  leave)  resume  the  psumption 
to  lay  downe  before  yr  high  wisedome  in  one  view  the  reasons  againe  (wth  some  increase  both  of 
that  and  of  the  rest)  as  I  have  heerc  taken  them  uppon  the  place. 

For  the  first  that  hee  will  assist  the  Pope.     It  is  grounded  heere  upon  these  considerations. 

That  the  sayd  kinge  is  olde,  and  his  heire  a  child,  and  the  legitimation  questionable. 

That  he  will  seeke  to  leave  his  estates  quiet  and  rich. 

That  he  cannot  fall  from  the  Pope  w"'out  breaking  wth  Spaine. 

That  of  the  two  the  partakinge  w"'  the  Venetian  is  the  more  chargeable  ingagement. 

That  the  Jesuites  have  much  hold  of  him. 

That  the  Venetians  were  over  secure  or  rather  supine  in  the  begininge  suffring  him  to  bee 
poccupatcd  by  the  Pope's  instruments. 

That  Monss  de  Villeroy  continueth  in  his  ambition  of  a  cardinalship,  and  doth  governe  the 
dispatches  wth  much  advauntage,  having  his  sonn  resident  in  Rome. 

That  the  French  Ambassador  heere  is  (though  a  gentleman  otherwise  of  a  good  conscience)  yet 
the  converted  of  a  Jesuite. 

That  the  French  Queene  is  of  a  name  dignified  by  Popes,  and  herself  a  devotious  Romanist. 

That  the  sayd  king  hath  taken  advise  to  increase  his  party  in  the  consistory  and  thereby  to 
ballance  the  Spanish  grcatnes. 

As  for  the  conceit  that  came  before  of  his  affectingc  the  Empire  by  the  way  of  Rome  It  is  now 
growne  hcerc  not  only  cold  but  (under  yr  Ma'*6"  pardon  of  my  playncs)  almost  ridiculous,  as  if  the 
Germans  could  bee  wrought  to  suffer  a  revolution  of  the  Empire  to  the  Francks  or  that  it  were  fitt 
to  choose  a  Kinge  of  the  Romans  to  succeed  the  Emperor  as  old  as  the  Emperor  himself. 

2L2 


260  Letters  from  Sir  Henry  Wot  Ion  to  King  James  I.  and  others. 

For  the  second  opinion  that  he  will  assist  the  Venetians,  the  Venetians  seem  to  stand  in  hope  of 
his  assistance  three  wayes,  by  benefitt,  by  promise,  and  by  reason  of  state. 

The  first  hereof  they  urge  somewhat  tenderly  in  there  discourses  as  conteyning  a  sylent  ob- 
trusion of  ingratitude  and  of  his  former,  need  of  there  frendship  even  when  the  King  of  Spayne 
that  is  now  but  obliquely  theirs  was  directly  his  enemy, 

His  promise  of  succouringe  them  in  their  necessityes  they  ptend  not  only  to  bee  included  at  large 
in  the  generality  of  confederation,  but  to  have  been  confirmed  unto  them  after  his  troubles  wth  his 
corselett  wch  he  sent  them  as  a  pledge  thereof  accompanied  wtu  these  words,  that  he  would  on 
occasion  of  there  service  passe  the  mountaynes  and  re-arme  himself  heere,  in  wcl'  respect  they  have 
preserved  it  wth  inscription  much  to  that  purpose  amonge  the  rare  and  memorable  monuments  of 
there  citty. 

The  reasons  of  State  or  considerations  of  his  owne  conveniency  wch  they  conceive  to  bee  more 
obligatory  than  other  benefitts  or  promises  are  these  : — 

That  their  controversy  wth  the  Pope  is  the  roote  of  all  sovcraignty  and  the  common  cause  of 
Princes. 

That  it  hath  a  particular  conformity  wth  the  liberties  and  exemptions  of  the  church  of  Fraunce. 

That  otherwise  he  shall  preiudge  his  ownc  ptence  and  right  to  the  kingdome  of  Navarra, 
wch  his  great-grandfather  lost  by  an  excommunication. 

That  without  the  subsistaunce  of  this  state  the  Kinge  of  Spaynes  grcatnes  will  want  a  counter- 
poise in  Italy. 

That  the  cause  is  favoreable  both  to  the  Papists  and  Protestaunt  of  his  kingdome  and  no  feare  of 
division. 

That  hee  hath  a  faire  occasion  to  open  againc  the  passage  of  the  Vale  Tolina  by  conjunction  w01 
the  Venetians  and  Grisons  and  Protestant  Cantons. 

That  hee  can  never  make  any  sound  foundation  upon  the  friendship  of  any  Pope  whose  nephewes 
draw  out  soe  smale  benefitt  from  that  crowne. 

That  lastly  he  may  keepe  Rome  alwayes  in  sufficient  awe  of  him  for  the  working  of  his  owne 
designes  even  wth  the  feare  of  loosing  the  temporalities  of  Avinion,  wlh  the  wch  reasons  they  have 
(in  ernest  or  sport  or  cunninge)  beene  contented  to  cherish  themselves  so  farr  as  to  say  that  if  the 
Dolphin  should  come  hither  wtu  any  contrary  affirmation  they  would  crave  pardon  not  to  belecve 
him. 

The  third  opinion  is  that  he  will  assist  both  the  parties,  the  one  wth  Papists,  the  other  wth 
Hugonots,  cither  connivency  as  he  feedeth  the  troubles  of  Flaunders  or  otherwise:  an  opinion 
grounded  partly  upon  his  ownc  speeches  unto  the  ministers  on  both  sydes  wch  have  beene  ambigu- 
ous, and  such  as  hee  seemed  willinge  they  should  each  of  them  coaster  [tic]  to  there  advantage, 
and  nartly  upon  the  cariage  of  his  owne  instruments  both  heere  and  at  Rome  who  have  beene  noted 
amonge  there  propositions  of  reconcilement  to  intermingle  (as  it  were  casually)  certayne  aggrava- 
tiations  [sic]  of  the  case  both  on  the  one  syde  and  on  the  other  to  make  the  parties  more  sensible. 
And  I  must  humbly  protest  indeed  unto  yr  Majesty  that  to  all  whome  I  have  hetherto  heard  speake 
herein  it  hath  seemed  a  strange  position  that  a  French  King  should  seeke  the  disincombringe  of 
Italy,  having  so  oportune  a  meanes  to  embarque  the  King  of  Spayne  in  more  busines,  and  besyds  to 
spend  and  vent  the  unquiet  humors  of  both  religions  out  of  his  owne  estate. 


Letters  from  Sir  Henry  Wotton  to  King  James  L  and  others.  261 

The  last  opinion  is  that  he  will  assist  neither  the  one  nor  the  other,  but  conserve  himselfe  neutrall 
and  expect  accidents.  Upon  wch  they  discourse  thus — 

That  so  hee  shall  save  both  his  honor  and  charges. 

That  it  shalbee  alwayes  seasonable  enough  to  enter  when  either  of  the  parties  arc  in  extremity. 

That  hee  hath  fitt  excuses  for  both :  As  to  the  Pope  his  former  obligations  and  confederacy  with 
this  State;  to  the  Venetians  that  hee  is  II primo  figliuolo  delta  chiesa,  for  so  the  Pope  styleth  him. 

That  hee  hath  likewise  just  expostulations  wlh  both,  as  there,  the  oppositions  against  him  from 
Sextus  Quintus  to  the  latter  end  of  Clement  the  eight,  and  heere,  that  partly  by  the  auncient  leagues 
of  this  State  against  Fraunce  and  partly  by  there  late  irresolution  in  suffering  the  fort  to  be  built 
in  the  Vale  Tolina,  the  French  have  not  only  lost  all  there  possession  in  Italy  but  almost  all  possi- 
bility of  reentrance. 

That  for  the  French  King's  interest  in  the  conservation  of  this  state  it  shall  not  need  much 
to  trouble  him,  the  Venetians  having  never  beene  so  potent  as  at  the  present ;  and  the  Kinge  of 
Spaine  (upon  whom  the  Pope  maketh  principall  foundation)  being  so  entangled  in  his  owne  neces- 
sities ;  besydes  the  likelyhoode  that  some  the  smaler  princes  (the  Dukes  of  Mantua  and  Modena) 
will  at  the  least  stand  neutrall. 

Finally,  that  if  the  French  Kinge  can  by  his  instruments  foment  these  differences  and  keepe  him 
self  free,  it  will  in  all  probability  prove  a  subject  of  warr  betweene  the  Kings  of  Great  Brittanny 
[sic]  and  Spaine  (beinge  both  declared)  to  the  notable  advauntage  of  France. 

Thus  have  I  out  of  yr  Majestys  so  gratious  acceptance  of  my  former  psumptions  taken  also  now 
the  liberty  of  a  playne  servaunt  to  entertayne  your  Eccelent  minde  wt!l  the  discourses  of  this  place 
upon  a  kinge  who  hath  hetherto  (as  one  them  [sic]  sayd)  beene  liker  an  oracle  then  a  frend  :  most 
humbly  leaving  unto  your  great  wisedome  (as  doth  become  the  weakenes  of  myne  owne  capacity) 
the  judgment  of  the  event.  Only  I  cannot  forbeare  ("wth  your  Majcstyes  pardon)  to  note  herein 
that  amonge  the  severall  reasons  and  inducements  of  this  or  that  Prince  into  the  cause,  I  have  yeat 
heard  nothinge  so  litle  considered  as  the  goodnes  of  the  cause  itself:  religion  having  surely  in  this 
part  of  the  world  (as  far  as  I  can  see)  no  more  estimation  as  a  point  of  conscience,  but  yett  keeping 
still  some  credite  as  a  point  of  state. 

And  so  wlh  the  continuall  harty  prayers  of  this  poore  family  unto  the  God  of  Heaven  for  the 
longe  preservation  of  your  Majcstyes  most  deare  and  sacred  person  and  estates  wee  humbly  pros- 
trate our  selves  at  your  royall  feete. 

Your  Majestyes  most  faythfull  poorc  servant. 

POSTE. — Your  Maj''e  receaveth  the  present  by  a  confident  Messenger  whome  I  have  directed  to 
my  Lo.  of  Salisbury  upon  other  occasion  of  yr  very  important  and  secret  service. 

[In  dorso.~\  1606. 

From  Venice. 

To  his  Matic  from  Sr  Hen.  Wotton. 


262  Letters  from  Sir  Henry  Wotton  to  King  James  I.  and  otliers. 


III.— SIR  HENRY  WOTTON  TO  JAMES  I. 

[September  [?]  1614.] 

[This  and  the  three  following  letters  were  written  during  AVotton's  short  embassy  at  the  Hague,  and 
form  a  part  of  the  same  series  of  letters  as  those  preserved  among  the  State  Papers  at  the  Record  Office. 

The  two  pretenders  to  Cleves  and  Juliers,  the  Elector  of  Brandenburg  and  the  Palatine  of  Neuburg, 
quarrelled  with  one  another.  The  former,  with  the  aid  of  a  Dutch  garrison,  established  himself  in  Juliers; 
the  other  took  possession  of  Diisseldorf,  and  having  declared  himself  a  Catholic,  called  for  the  aid  of  Spain. 
Spinola,  at  the  head  of  an  army  of  21,000,  made  himself  master  of  Wesel,  but  he  was  prevented  from  over- 
running the  whole  territory  by  Count  Maurice  and  the  Dutch,  who  held  against  him  Rees  and  Emmerich 
with  the  neighbouring  towns.  Prolonged  negotiations  followed,  with  no  satisfactory  result ;  in  which  Wotton 
represented  England,  and  urged  in  vain  that  both  armies  should  mutually  agree  to  withdraw  from  the 
Duchies.J 

MATE  IT  PLEASE  YOUR  SACRED  MAJESTIE. 

Among  the  papers  that  we  lostc  in  the  fatall  passadgc  of  my  Sccrctaryc,  there  was  a 
letter  unto  your  Majestic  which  if  I  doe  not  revive,  my  harte  will  brcake.  as  vessells  that  are  stopped 
from  vent  when  some  thinge  boyleth  in  them.  The  person  whom  it  concerned  was  my  self. 
The  subject  was  the  Towne  of  Wesell.  The  essential  question  is,  by  whose  default  it  was  lost. 
Wherein  if  I  doe  not  satisfie  your  Majestic  I  desire  never  more  to  behold  the  face  of  so  juste  a 
Kinge  nor  of  any  honest  man.  But  before  the  rest  it  shall  be  fitt  to  repeate  these  wordes,  which 
I  rcceaved  in  a  letter  from  Mr.  Sccretarie  by  your  gratious  commandement. 

Now  (sayeth  he)  from  his  Majestic  I  am  to  acquaint  you  with  a  reporte  which  your  laste 
letters  en  passant  doe  touche,  but  which  to  him  hath  bin  confidently  delivered,  that  is,  the 
States  had  with  as  much  vigilancic  and  expedition  prevented  the  surprise  of  Wesell,  as 
after  they  did  of  Ecez  and  Emerick,  had  not  you,  with  much  assurance,  often  engaged 
yourself  that  the  Marquis  Spinola  would  not  attempt  uppon  that  Towne,  which  bruyte, 
though  his  Ma"c  cannot  easily  beleeve,  etc. 

First,  I  was  bounde  unto  your  Matie  for  this  particuler  advertisement,  For  though  I  hadd  heard 
before  of  some  suche  voice  bestowed  uppon  me,  yet  I  could  gather  it  to  noe  head.  Next,  I  yeeld 
your  Ma'ic  most  humble  thankes  for  the  asservation  of  your  belecfe,  which  I  rcceavc  as  an  argument 
of  your  favour  towards  me,  though  it  be  a  peece  of  your  ownc  usuall  and  naturall  cquitie.  As 
for  the  matter  itself,  I  conceave  one  special  comforto  in  it.  That  they  who  told  your  Ma"c 
how  Wescll  was  lost  be  my  securinge  of  the  States  would  perchaunce  likewise  have  sayed  that 
I  sould  the  Towne  to  the  Archecluckes,  if  my  honestic  had  been  as  questionable  as  my  discretion. 
But  these  and  the  like  aspersions  are  the  propper  badges  of  publicq  servants  especially  in 
Democraticall  regiments.  Whereof  both  reason  and  examples  might  easily  be  given,  if  it  did  not 
more  concerne  me  at  the  present  to  rectifie  my  poore  estimation  with  your  Matic  then  to  searchc 
the  nature  of  the  place  Therefore,  for  myne  owne  dischardge,  I  doe  hcere  humbly  protest  unto 
yor  Matie,  before  the  author  of  all  trueth,  that  I  never  engaged  myselfe  either  to  the  States  in 
generall  or  to  anie  single  man  dead  or  alive,  either  by  probabilitie  or  conjecture,  or  in  the  least 


Letters  from  Sir  Henri/  Wotton  to  King  James  I.  and  others.  263 

imaginable  tearmes,  that  the  Marquis  Spinola  would  not  attempt  uppon  the  Towne  of  Wesell. 
Soe  farre  was  I  from  often  assuringe  them  thereof  as  some  Vorstian  Spirit  hath  traduced  me. 
For  I  beseache  your  Matie  to  give  me  leave  to  aske  a  few  questions  in  myne  owne  case.  Howe 
could  I  give  them  any  such  assurance  or  whence  should  I  take  it?  Did  I  bring  any  suche  com- 
mission from  your  Matie?  Did  I  finde  any  at  the  Haghe?  Did  Spinola  make  me  his  secretarie  ? 
or  the  Archduke  his  confessor?  Had  I  practised  the  world  with  such  simplicitie  to  trust  Italians 
or  Spaniards  in  a  poynt  of  theyre  advantage?  Have  I  purchased  before  so  little  credit  in  the 
cause  of  the  Religion?  Have  I  been  bounde  to  your  Majtie  soe  longe  for  your  confidence  (where  in 
I  joye  more  then  in  youre  benefitts)  and  should  I  nowe  betraie  it  ?  Did  I  sende  any  letter?  Did 
I  receave  any  message  that  might  concernc  the  mayne  service  where  with  they  were  not  heere 
particularly  acquaynted?  And  is  this  a  state  to  be  stayed  or  stirred  soe  lightly  by  private 
conceytes  ?  God  let  me  not  live  if  I  be  not  confounded  more  with  wonder  then  with  other 
passion  at  the  monstruous  birthe  of  this  senselesse  rcporte. 

True  it  is  indeede  that,  at  my  second  audience,  I  wished  them  by  way  of  discourse  ten  daies 
before  there  was  any  doubt  of  Wesel,  and  twentic  before  it  was  taken,  not  to  collect  their  troupes 
till  more  evident  necessitic  pressing  them  rather  to  a  resolution  about  Juliers  (which  was  focus 
febris),  and  doubting  that  if  the  Marquis  should  beseege  that  place  or  sceke  to  blocke  it  upp  and 
they  oppose  him  with  a  formed  armie,  it  might  hazard  rupture,  which  was  against  the  gencrall 
scope  of  myne  errand :  and  Monsr  Barnevcld  himself  (who  tendreth  the  present  quiet)  did  advise 
me,  the  evening  before  my  said  audience,  to  use  some  such  speeche  (as  I  did)  unto  them.  Some 
weeke  after  this  or  thereaboutes  (for  I  do  not  precisely  remember  the  day,  nor  thought  I  should 
ever  neede  to  recorde  it)  Monsr  Barneveld,  Sr  Joachim  of  Zcland,  and  one  Licklama  of  Friseland, 
were  deputed  to  conferr  at  our  howses  with  Monsr  du  Maurier  and  myself.  At  which  they  asked 
owre  opinions  more  respectively  then  necessarily  whether  we  thought  it  fit  for  them  to  marche,  the 
rumors  being  then  much  encreased,  by  a  biedge  [sic,  qu.  bridge]  of  boates  that  was  buylte  at  Bergh, 
wherby  it  was  concluded  that  the  Marquis  intended  to  pass  the  Rhone.  Did  we  resist  it?  I  remitt 
that  to  them  selves.  Did  they  ask  us  perhaps  too  late?  We  are  not  soldiers  by  profession,  but  thus 
much  wilbe  bold  to  pronounce,  that  Wesel  might  alwaies  have  ben  saved  in  one  dale  i'rom  anie 
of  the  neerer  garrisons  of  Arnhem,  Zutphen,  Ncwmegen,  or  Skincksconce,  as  well  with  an 
handfull  of  the  States'  men  as  with  an  armie  (if  the  question  had  ben  onely  to  save  Towncs  and  not 
to  take  Townes),  or  otherwise  the  Marquis  might  have  broken  the  Truce,  to  which  poynt  they 
putt  him  in  diverse  other  places.  Was  there  then  no  collour  of  raysinge  this  voice?  I  have 
searched  my  papers  and  myself  and  I  finde  onely  a  letter  from  Mr  Trumbal  yr  Ma'"1'  agent  unto 
me  in  answere  of  one  which  I  wrote  with  knowledge  and  approbation  of  the  States.  Wherein  he 
spcaketh  of  suspense  or  intermission  of  some  fowre  or  five  dayes  which  he  had  with  much  a  doc 
obteyned  of  the  Archduke  Albertus  in  a  privat  audience  which  whether  it  were  performed  or  noe 
(as  the  Counte  Maurice  by  precise  computation  denieth)  is  now  a  needelesse  inquiry.  Mr  Dicken- 
son  can  informe  your  Matic  how  farre  I  pressed  the  Marquis  and  Monsr  Pechius  the  Archdukes 
rcpresentant  therein.  And  sure  I  am  that  howsoever  Mr  Trumball  did  relate  hether  what  he  had 
donne  with  suche  caution  as  did  not  staie  them  in  their  proceedings  heere  the  running  of  an  houre 
glasse.  There  remaineth  therefore  only  the  question  how  the  Towne  was  losst?  which  might 


264  Letters  from  Sir  Henry  Wotton  to  King  James  I.  and  others. 

easily  have  ben  saved  as  appereth  by  the  premisses.  Wherein  not  to  kepe  your  Matie  longe  from 
the  solution  of  this  mistery  (for  soe  I  might  call  it  the  matter  being  indeed  wrapped  in  a  few 
cloudcs  of  State)  what  is  there  more  to  be  saied  then  peccatum  tuum  in  te  Israel.  The  Towne  of 
Wesell,  notwithstanding  their  long  engagement  to  the  Dutchie  of  Cleves,  seekinge  under  pretence 
of  impartialitie  betweene  the  twoe  Princes  to  maintaine  it  self  in  the  nature  of  a  free  and  Imperiall 
Towne,  or  as  neere  as  it  might  bee1,  much  animated  with  therre  new  fortifications  and  little 
considering  the  difference  between  the  Burghers  and  Soldiers,  not  distrusting  their  enemyes  and 
perhaps  jealous  of  their  freindes.  Lastly,  willinge  enough  to  be  helped  without  but  not  within, 
.  did  not  only  seeke  no  helpc  from  whence  they  might  best  have  hadd  it,  but  likewise  refused  the 
assistance  of  the  Colonell  Schombergh,  who  offered  very  nobly  and  timely  to  levie  and  to  mayn- 
tayne  a  Regiment  one  moneth  uppon  his  ownc  chardge,  for  their  defence,  in  noe  other  qualitie 
then  as  a  gentleman  of  theire  owne  intertainement. 

Theise  were  the  circomstances  and  this  was  the  trueth  of  that  action  on  my  conscience  to  God 
and  my  fayth  to  your  Majestic.  Wherewith  I  did  chardge  both  the  Towne  it  selfe  at  my  being 
there  and  the  states  of  the  Provinces  when  they  came  unto  us  aboute  theire  immunities  at  Zanten. 
Where  I  acquainted  them  with  your  Matic*  Eoyall  declaration  of  your  self  on  theire  behalf  though 
a  little  too  late  by  the  fatality  of  theire  owne  folly  which  I  likewise  have  made  knowne  in  all 
Towncs  and  to  all  persons  where  I  have  passed  and  though  I  am  ashamed  to  seeke  withness  [sic]  for 
the  dischardgc  of  so  vile  an  imputation  and  to  borrow  credit  with  your  Matlc  extra  me  ipsum,  yet  for 
the  better  proofe  of  my  sinceritye  (which  was  all  the  inheritance  that  my  good  father  left  me) 
I  most  humbly  bcseeche  your  Matie  to  informe  your  selfc  of  the  Ambassador  of  Brandenbourg, 
nowe  comming  to  your  Cowrt,  whoe  hath  understood  from  Monsr  Barnevelds  one  mouthe  the 
trueth  of  this  affaire. 

I  am  now  confident,  notwithstanding  my  disasters,  to  have  performed  all  my  duties  to  your 
Matie,  and  I  was  infinitly  comforted  that  Mr  Secretairy,  when  by  your  commaundement  he 
acquainted  me  with  this  reporte,  did  with  the  same  penne  assure  me  that  your  Malic  had  under- 
taken my  cause  at  home  in  that  poor  expectative  which  I  held  by  your  former  goodnesse.  It  was 
a  duble  favor  in  your  Matie  both  to  doe  it  and  to  doe  it  towards  one  that  stood  in  such  obloquie  by 
which  you  have  boundc  eternally  unto  you  besides  my  other  naturall  and  longe  devoted  duties 

Your  most  humble 

And  loyall  servant. 
[7n  dona.'}  1615-14. 

To  his  Ma"0  King  James  from  Sr  Ilenrie  Wotton, 
about  the  losse  of  Wesell, 

Surr.  5  Sept.  1614. 


Letters  from  Sir  Henry  Wotton  to  King  James  I.  and  others.  265 

IV. — SIR  HENRY  WOTTON  TO  NICHOLAS  PEY. 

[Signed  only;  Postscript  in  Holograph.] 

[March  fg;  1615.] 

S', 

I  am  so  tyred  wth  the  publique  dispatchc  y*  I  must  take  the  libertie  to  ease  both  you 
and  my  self  wh  a  better  hand.  This  is  only  indeed  to  thancke  you  for  suche  letters  as  I  have  here- 
tofore receaved  from  you,  wch  were  full  of  love  and  good  advertisement.  I  was  tender  to  answere 
them  while  I  stoodc  under  blacke  reportes,  but  you  male  now  receave  my  letters  wthout  anie  feare 
of  contagion.  For  I  am  purged  of  my  leprosie,  havinge  receaved  my  assoilement  from  the  Kinge 
him  self.  Soe  you  sec  howe  the  world  is  chaunged  wth  me,  that  whereas  hearetofore  in  some  mans 
favorable  voyce  I  was  perchaunce  allowed  the  pretence  of  a  little  merit,  I  anie  nowe  faine  to  bragge 
of  innocencye.  Well,  Sr,  I  will  neither  trouble  you  nor  myself  anie  more  wth  these  discourses. 
The  substanciall  pointe  is  to  have  money.  For  without  that  bladder  we  cannot  swymme.  I  praie 
sollicite  my  Lorde  Treasorer  for  me  according  to  those  notes  that  you  shall  receave  from  this 
gentleman.  And  soe,  Sr,  reckonninge  myself  for  many  kindenesses  muche  beholden  unto  you,  I  rest 

Youres  to  serve  you 

HENRY  WOTTON. 
Haghe  this  20th  of  Marche  1614. 

I  take  it  unkindely  that  you  who  were  wont  to  make  many  startes  over  into  thease  Provinces 
have  stayed  that  humor  since  my  beeing  heare.  Well,  God  send  us  any  where  chearefully  together. 

You  will  easily  pardon  me  that  I  now  write  no  more  unto  you,  for  I  heare  you  officers  of  the 
Grcenclothc  arc  angric  and  troubled. 

[In  (torso.]     To  my  very  worthie 

frcnd  Mr  Nicolas  Pey, 

at  Court. 
20  Martij,  1614, 

Sr  Henry  Wotton,  from  the  Haighe. 


V. — SIR  HENRY  WOTTON  TO  [NICHOLAS  PEY?] 

[A  Transcript.] 

[June?  1615.] 
SIR, 

Having  not  long  written  unto  you  whose  frendship  towards  me  hath  given  you  a  great 
interest  in  my  proceedings  I  will  now  make  you  a  summarie  accoumpt  of  what  I  have  donn 
abroade. 

VOL.  XL.  2  M 


266  Letters  from  Sir  Henry  Wotton  to  King  James  I.  and  others. 

The  King  hath  employed  me  sence  my  last  comming  foorthe  in  fowre  sevcrall  Treaties  differring 
in  the  subjects,  in  the  instruments,  and  I  thincke  more  in  the  affections  and  ends.  The  first  was 
unto  the  States  for  the  sequestration  of  the  Castle  of  Juliers  wherein  I  was  joyned  with  the 
Frcnche ;  the  second  (which  we  call  the  Treatie  of  Xantcn  springing  from  the  first)  was  for  the 
settling  of  the  Prince  of  Brandenbourg  and  Counte  Palatin  of  Newbourg  in  a  kinde  of  provisionall 
compossession  of  the  litigious  provinces  with  some  forme  of  regiment  both  in  matters  ecclesiastical 
and  civil,  wherein  we  were  troubled  to  finde  a  measure  betwcene  theire  consciences,  especially  the 
Palatin,  being  a  new  convertite  to  the  Roman  churche,  and  the  more  eager  to  shew  the  synceritie 
of  his  devotion.  In  this  Treatie  we  were  no  lesse  then  thirtie  Ambassadors  and  Commissioners ;  so 
as  contrary  to  the  complaynte  of  the  Gospel  the  labourers  were  more  then  the  Harvest.  The  third 
was  for  a  defensive  league  betwcene  the  united  Princes  and  the  united  Provinces  wherein  I  was 
joyned  hcare  with  two  Representants  of  the  Union.  And  this  was  concluded  with  unimaginable 
celcritie,  partly  through  his  Malies  mediation,  who  was  the  sole  moover,  and  partly  by  the  qualitie 
of  the  tymc,  wich  being  a  little  turbulent  did  require  at  least  some  good  noysc  of  frends.  The  last 
was  for  the  composing  of  certain  differences  betwecne  his  Maj1'13  subjects  and  this  people  in  matter 
of  Commerce,  which  Treatie  did  exceed  all  the  other  three  both  in  length  and  difiicultie,  for  two 
reasons  as  I  conceave  it :  First,  through  the  sensiblenesse  of  the  subject  which  was  privat  utilitie  ; 
next,  because  it  had  likewise  some  commixture  of  publique  respects  and  those  of  no  slight  conse- 
quence, for  surely  it  importcth  more  to  let  the  King  of  Spaync  dispense  alone  the  whole  commodi- 
ties of  the  East  then  cache  of  us  to  wante  them.  Of  the  issue  of  owre  dcbatements  therein  my 
worthic  coinpagnons  Mr  Clement  Edmondes  and  the  other  two  have  rendrcd  his  Matle  an 
accoumpt.  For  my  part  me  thought  we  did  some  what  resemble  in  our  labours  those  weomcn  of 
Nombrc  dc  Dios,  who  as  they  saye  arc  never  brought  to  bed  in  the  place  where  they  conceave  but 
produce  their  childern  in  a  better  airc.  And  so  perchaunce  it  may  fall  oute  with  owre  conceptions 
to  be  perfected  in  his  Mutius  Kingdome,  which  will  be  a  greater  honor  to  theire  birthe.  Theare 
now  reniaineth  before  my  returne  the  prosecutinge  of  the  treatie  of  Xantcn  to  an  execution  wherein 
the  Archcdukes  onely  demaundc  from  the  states  a  promisse  of  not  re-entringe  into  those  Towncs. 
You  would  thincke  Sr  uppon  the  first  sounde  that  they  were  holy  personages  and  extreamly  pro- 
vident of  the  future  tranquillitie,  but  though  they  demauiide  the  promise,  they  meane,  for  ought  I 
see  yet,  not  to  aggrcc  uppou  the  fashion  which  hath  made  us  now  spendc  seaven  monthes  abowte 
the  reformation  of  phrases  mid  syllables. 

The  first  of  July  will  be  owre  criticall  daye  when  the  States  have  appoynted  a  general  asscmblie 
wherein  they  will  determine  of  theire  last  resolution.  And  so  having  dischardged  this  accoumpt  of 
myself  which  I  owed  you  in  all  true  love  I  committ  you  Sr  to  Gods  blessed  favorc  resting. 

[In  dorso.~]     Paralell  with  one  to  His  M'-v. 

Gives  an  account  of  himself  in  4  employm'"1*. 


Letters  from  Sir  Henry  Wotton  to  King  James  I.  and  others.  267 


VI.  —  SIR  HENRY  WOTTON  TO  JAMES  I. 

ugiut3, 

MATE  IT  PLEASE  YOUEE  MAJESTIE 

I  have  thought  mcete  to  direct  the  present  dispatche  immediatly  unto  your  owne 
Royal  handes  intending  therein  to.dischardge  twoe  duties.  The  first  is  an  accoumpt  of  the  states 
answere  touching  your  Matie"  proposition.  The  other  is  a  new  project  upon  the  whole  affaire; 
which  though  it  were  borne  at  first  in  myne  owne  fancie,  and  therefore  being  so  well  acquaynted 
as  I  am  with  the  father's  weaknesses,  coulde  not  merite  much  approbation  even  from  mysclfe,  yet 
having  since  conferred  with  some  judgments  of  more  value  and  balanced  those  reasons  of  state  on 
each  side  that  fall  into  it,  I  am  now  fulle  persuaded  (with  humble  reservation  alwayes  of  youre 
Matire  higher  wisdome)  that  it  will  prove  the  only  easie  waye  of  determining  this  great  businesse  for 
the  present  and  the  only  secure  for  the  future.  Xow  first  for  the  states  answere.  Yesterday  towards 
evening,  Mons.  Barneveld,  Sr  Joachim  of  Zeeland,  and  Liklama  of  Friseland  (respondents  for 
the  three  principall  provinces)  came  unto  my  house  as  from  the  rest  of  the  bodie,  where  Barneveld, 
in  very  sober  and  solemne  fashion,  spake  at  much  length  to  this  substance  ;  that,  since  my  late 
proposition  the  states  heere  resident  had  been  in  great  payne  how  to  satisfie  your  Matic  on  whose 
affection,  power,  and  judgment,  they  more  depended  in  all  theire  perplexities  then  upon  any  other 
assistance  under  Heaven.  That  they  had  debated  the  matter  at  theire  owne  table,  and  with  the 
Councell  of  State  and  with  the  Prince  Maurice  in  particular,  and  with  as  much  studie  and  anxietic 
as  any  thing  that  ever  befell  them. 

That  in  conclusion,  they  founde  themselves  unable  by  the  power  of  theire  commissions  to  deter- 
mine of  it  without  a  precedent  full  digestion  thereof  in  theire  severall  provinces,  intimating  that 
this  last  was  but  a  generall  Assemblie  of  Holland,  which  though  it  beare  the  greatest  chardge  in 
onerouse  tymes  yet  had  not  authentic  to  dispose  of  more  then  their  owne  voyces,  especially  in  a 
point  which  was  heretofore  by  the  universall  consent  of  all  the  rest  esteemed  the  most  cssentiall  of 
all  other  in  the  promise,  namely  the  interposing  of  the  regal  names  which  only  could  give  authority 
to  it  and  secure  them  from  deception. 

That  the  omitting  on  the  other  syde  of  the  Emperor's  name,  whoe  had  nothing  to  doe  in  the 
treatic,  could  houlde  no  proportion  of  equivalence  with  this  of  the  Kings  who  were  the  principal 
mediators  and  mayntayners  thereof,  and  therefore  the  Archeduckes  in  that  should  cxchaunge  but  a 
penn  knife  for  a  swordc.  Besides  that  even  themselves  did  never  in  any  of  theire  formularies 
presume  to  inserte  the  Emperor's  name  in  the  bodie  of  the  Promise  among  the  dispositive  woordes 
(as  they  call  them)  but  only  in  the  preface  like  a  compliment  or  peece  of  ceremonie. 

That  if  the  Deputies  of  the  Provinces  who  sitt  hccre  and  are  to  give  an  accoumpt  of  theire 
actions  should  without  special  and  deliberate  assent  of  theire  superiors  suffer  themselves  in  a 
poynte  of  such  wayghte  to  be  over-reached  by  the  Spaniards  (of  whose  artifices  sayd  he  we  are 
more  afrayd  then  of  thcire  power).  Howe  should  they  answere  it  to  the  people  whoe  were  allready 
full  of  clamor? 

2M  2 


268  Letters  from  Sir  Henry  Wotton  to  King  James  I.  and  others. 

That  the  constitution  of  their  state  wheare  theare  was  such  diversitie  of  interests  required  in 
them  that  had  the  presidence  of  the  aflfayres  a  more  cautelose  proceeding  then  in  other  formes  of 
Gouverment. 

That  therefore  if  the  Kings  names  were  taken  oute  of  the  Promise  (which  he  often  called  the 
mayne  poyntc  of  theire  securitie)  they  must  needes  (for  as  much  authentic  as  they  yet  had)  adde 
in  place  thereof  some  special  reference  to  the  Treatie  of  Xanton,  which  perchaunce  the  archedukes 
would  lesse  permitt.  For  the  whole  Provinces  had  aggrccd  upon  this  Disjunctive  that  either  the 
Kings  must  be  named  by  whome  the  Treatie  did  stand  or  at  least  the  Treatie  itself. 

Finally,  he  seemed  in  the  name  of  the  State  humbly  to  desire  cither  your  Ma1'™  gratious 
patience  till  the  matter  could  be  better  digested  in  a  gcncrall  consultation  or  that  you  would  be 
pleased  to  presse  the  Archedukes  (whoe  after  the  Treatie  of  Xanton  had  been  signed  and  sealed 
were  the  devisers  of  this  promise  for  the  preventing  of  the  execution)  to  be  contented  with  some 
relative  specification  of  the  sayd  Treatie  in  the  promise. 

This  was  the  substance  of  his  speachc  besides  some  matter  of  intelligence  touching  the  Emperor's 
intents  to  sequester  the  litigiouse  landes,  and  the  Spaniards  to  masque  theire  owne  purposes  under 
his  name,  with  the  like  apprehensions  which  abounde  in  private  discourse.  I  shall  not  necde  to 
repcate  to  your  MaUe  rnyne  owne  replye  which  consisted  principally  in  the  remembrance  of  youre 
royall  meritcs  towardcs  these  provinces  and  the  commone  cause,  youre  three  particular  engagements 
of  yourselfe  in  theire  defence  since  my  being  hecre,  youre  continuall  sollicitude  and  imployment 
of  all  means  for  their  tranquillitie,  youre  mediation  of  a  league  before  between  [the  States]  and  the 
Protestant  Union,  and  now  with  East  Friesland  for  theyre  better  strength,  which  things  and  the 
like  I  did  not  touche  with  any  cxprobration  as  I  professed  (for  ther  was  nothing  soe  contrarie  to  your 
Ma"™  nature  as  to  remember  your  bencfitts),  but  only  to  lett  them  see  that  theare  were  very  just  motives 
of  that  assurance  which  your  Matlc  had  given  bothc  others  and  yourself  that  your  intercessions  and 
counsayles  should  be  well  accepted  by  them,  especially  in  a  tyme  when  the  distractions  of  the 
kingdomc  of  Fraunce  the  minoritie  of  the  King  and  the  Queencs  private  eudes  did  cast  upon  your 
Maj"1'  almost  the  whole  care  of  the  common  cause.  But  Monsr  Barneveld  did  cutt  me  of  and 
ended  owre  conference  with  a  seriouse  acknowledgment  howe  much  they  were  bound  unto  your 
royall  person  and  crownes,  desiring  me  to  represent  unto  your  Ma"c  the  answer  which  I  had 
receaved  was  not  a  negative  but  dilative  unto  which  they  were  forced  for  the  present.  I  pressed 
him  to  tell  me  with  what  terme  they  could  resolve,  wherewith  he  seemed  somewhat  surprised,  but 
consulting  a  little  with  his  fellowcs  they  agreed  it  would  be  aboute  the  middle  or  towards  the  end 
of  September.  It  is  therefore  nowe  my  dutie  to  deliver  unto  your  Ma"'  the  reasons  that  I  conceave 
of  this  dclayc  :  First  it  had  been  most  unthankfull  to  disavowe  youre  Ma'"'  in  that  wherein  you  had 
engaged  them,  and  it  was  on  the  other  side  in  trueth  impossible  to  graunte  it.  For  your  Ma""1 
proposition  is  that  the  Kings  names  might  be  left  owte  of  the  Promise,  wherein  the  French  King 
doeth  not  yet  concurr,  soe  as  betweene  a  tendernesse  to  pffende  your  Ma"e  and  impossiblcnesse  to 
dispose  of  both  names  withoute  the  suite  of  bothe,  the  middle  way  was  dilation  ;  secondly,  they 
shall  in  this  meanc  while  by  the  benefit  of  a  few  weekes  come  to  clearer  knowledge  of  the  Emperors 
and  Kingc  of  Spaines  intention ,  the  dismasquing  whereof  importeth  much  in  the  cause.  For  if 
their  ends  be  pacificall  then  the  states  shall  have  noe  reason  to  houldc  the  places  taken,  but  if  there 


Letters  from,  Sir  Henry  Wotton  to  King  James  I.  and  others.  269 

be  a  rupture  intended  then  they  will  assuredly  keepe  the  townes  [sic]  an  make  Juliers  one  sommers 
worke  at  the  leaste. 

Thirdly,  theare  have  been  in  this  buisinesse  contrary  flatus,  for  I  finde  the  Instruments  of  the 
House  of  Brandcnbourg  extreamly  desirouse  (though  not  openly)  to  retayne  the  names  of  the 
Kings  as  (no  doubt)  imagining  the  French  King  tyed  onely  thereby  (whoe  is  tyed  by  nothing 
else)  to  theire  assistance.  For  of  your  Matie  they  have  better  houlde.  Lastly,  though  they  seeme 
truely  in  theire  confessions  to  yeelde  your  Matic  a  great  deele  of  power  over  them,  yet  pretend  to 
conceale  from  youre  knowledge  that  some  of  them  at  the  late  debatement  did  towche  your  Matil'5 
engaging  of  them  before  theire  consent  as  a  daungerous  precedent  in  respect  of  the  French  King, 
whoe  perchaunce  hereafter  upon  the  example  may  assume  the  like  which  pcradventure  was  some 
cause  to  breede  a  little  demurring.  But  this  secret  matter.  For  Monsr  Barneveld  in  his  speache 
to  me  saycd  not  one  syllable  of  the  French  King.  This  is  as  much  as  doeth  occurre  touching  the 
accoumpt  of  theire  answere.  Theare  nowe  remayneth  the  new  project  (which  not  to  trouble  youre 
Matie  with  more  then  necessarife  woordes)  is  briefly  this : — That  the  Prince  of  Brandenbourg  be 
contented  for  his  part  in  the  compossession  with  the  Dukedom  of  Cloves,  Cowntic  of  Marck, 
Kavensbergh,  Kavensteyn,  Sfc.;  and  yeelde  unto  Newbourg  the  Dukedomes  of  Juliers  and  Bergh 
for  his  share,  according  as  the  partage  was  determined  in  the  Trcatie,  withowtc  putting  the  matter 
to  the  hazardc  of  fortune  by  lottc.  In  this  I  conceave  a  great  probabilitic  to  satisfie  all  parties. 
The  first  Brandebourg,  whom  your  Matie  hath  most  cause  to  favor,  hath  noe  reason  to  refuse  it ; 
because  though  Juliers  and  Bergh  be  (noe  doubt)  the  fatter  possessions,  yet  that  poynt  is  counter- 
peased,  by  being  neerer  of  his  friends  and  master,  of  that  part  which  is  lesse  infected  witli  Popcrie, 
besides  the  hazarde  otherwise  of  getting  neither  of  bothe,  if  things  either  remaync  as  they  are  now 
or  be  worse  shuffled. 

As  for  the  states,  they  have  more  cause  to  wishe  it,  for  they  shall  have  a  trustie  and  oblidgcd 
Nayhbour  to  couver  theire  frontiers ;  and  I  am  come  by  curious  meanes  to  thus  much  light  that 
Monsr  Barneveld  long  agone,  even  while  we  were  at  Xanton  in  the  heatc  of  owrc  Trcatie,  did  advise 
the  Prince  of  Brandenbourg  to  make  choice  of  that  part.  Now  for  the  Archeduckes  they  have  the 
same  and  more  reason  then  the  States  to  desire  it.  For  they  shall  have  Xewbrough  by  them,  of 
whose  fortunes  they  may  dispose  as  well  as  they  have  donne  of  his  faithc  ;  and  they  shall  see  him 
placed  amongst  his  Catholicks,  to  which  part  he  had  ever  himself  so  greate  a  fancie,  that  it  cost  us 
three  weekes  discourse  at  Xanton  before  he  would  yeelde  to  putt  the  division  to  lottc.  I  will 
adde  heereunto  that  the  Archeduckes  shall  thereby  have  a  pcece  of  theyrc  willc  (though  it  be  but  a 
feminine  satisfaction)  in  chaunging  one  part  of  the  Treatie  ;  and  if  they  be  ones  satisfied,  they  will 
quickly  quiet  the  Emperor,  who  mooveth  only  by  the  nerves  of  Spaync.  And  sue  the  decision 
of  the  right  may  perchaunce  be  layed  of  till  the  comming  of  Elias,  and  the  provisional  possession 
be  converted  into  a  perpetual.  Or,  if  the  Duke  of  Saxony  (who  is  soe  Austriacal)  slial  drawc  the 
Empcrour  to  a  decision  of  the  cause,  yet  at  least  the  Landes  shall  lie  quiet  in  the  mcane  while,  and 
Christcndomc  bee  freed  from  these  impendent  feares  of  combustion.  Only  there  is  one  person 
nominated  in  owre  Treatie  which  will  distaste  the  project,  namely,  Monsr  Kcttlcr.  For  his 
donative  of  the  Baronic  of  Monjoy  must  passe  in  the  division  of  Juliers,  and  therefore  he  had 


270  Letters  from  Sir  Henry  Wolton  to  King  James  I.  and  others. 

rather  that  part  should  fall  to  his  Master,  that  he  might  gather  his  rents  at  the  more  ease ;  but  in 
all  event  theare  hath  ben  likewise  a  provision  for  him  in  the  Treatie. 

Thus  have  I  ben  bolde  to  presente  unto  yr  MaUe  with  humble  freedome  my  poorc  conceptions, 
which  by  the  gayning  of  time  I  have  by  an  expresse  currier  communicated  with  MODS'  Trumbal, 
that  if  youre  Matie  shall  allowe  of  it  he  may  bee  the  better  prepared  to  sounde  the  inclination  of 
that  Courte,  which  I  think  he  will  finde  easie  enough.  If  youre  Matll!  shall  in  youre  wisdome  (which 
is  the  guide  of  your  vassalls)  not  thincke  it  practicable,  then,  though  it  be  myn  owne  childe,  I  wishe 
it  strangled  in  the  cradle.  But,  because  if  anything  shall  ben  donnc  in  this  kinde  or  any  other, 
it  seemeth  much  important  to  prevent  the  Emperor's  motions,  I  humbly  begge  with  all  con- 
venient speede  the  knowledge  of  your  Ma"ra  will  by  the  re-dispatche  of  this  messenger,  William 
Murray,  of  whose  diligence  I  have  made  good  proofe.  And  soe  wishing  youre  MaUe  with  a  faith- 
ful hart  many  and  many  blessed  yeares,  I  rest 

Yr  Majesties  loyal  and  long  devoted  servant, 

H.  W. 

POSTS. — I  understand  that  yowre  Matic  shall  be  sollicited  by  the  Howse  of  Brandenbourg  to 
expresse  youre  resolution  and  counsayle  whether  the  Emperor's  sequestration  shall  be  resisted  in 
case  he  proceede  so  farre,  wherein  I  likewise  most  humbly  crave  some  notice  of  youre  Royall 
wille. 

From  the  Haghe,  this  3  of  August,  1615  st:  n: 
[7n  dorso.1  1G15,  Aug.  3. 

My  dispatche  touching  the 

Buisnesse  of  Juliers. 

q.  if  not  tedyous. 


VII. — PRIVY  SEAL  FOE  SIR  HENRY  WOTTON'S  ALLOWANCES. 

[October  17,  1615.] 

James  by  the  grace  of  God  King  of  England  Scotland  France  and  Ireland  Defender  of  the 
Faith  etc.  To  the  Trer  and  under  Trer  of  our  Exchequer  greeting  Whereas  we  have  appointed 
our  servant  Sr  Henry  Wotton  Knight  to  be  or  Ambassador  resydent  wth  the  Duke  and  State  of 
Venice,  and  have  allotted  to  him  for  his  diet  and  entertaynement  for  the  tyme  of  his  imploymcnt 
there  the  somme  of  fyve  markes  by  the  day  of  currant  money  of  England,  Wherefore  wee  will 
and  require  you  out  of  or  Treasure  in  the  receipt  of  our  Exchequer  from  tymc  to  tyme  rcmayning 
to  pay  or  cawse  to  bee  paid  unto  the  said  Sr  Henry  Wotton  or  his  assignes  the  said  somme  of  five 
markes  by  jhe  day  for  his  diet  and  entertaynement,  the  same  to  begin  from  the  first  day  of 
September  last  past  before  the  date  heereof,  and  so  to  contynue  till  the  day  of  his  returne  to  our 
presence ;  and  wee  are  further  pleased  that  for  his  better  furnishing  towards  this  service  you 


Letters  from  Sir  Henry  Wotton  to  King  James  I.  and  others.  271 

advance  unto  him  by  way  of  imprest  so  much  money  as  his  said  entertaynement  of  fyve  markes  by 
the  day  doth  amount  unto  for  the  space  of  fower  monthes,  the  same  to  be  defalked  afterwards  upon 
his  said  entertaynement.  And  or  pleasure  is  that  you  continue  to  make  like  advancement  unto 
him  by  way  of  Imprest  from  three  monthes  to  three  monthes  during  the  tyme  of  his  abode  there, 
the  same  to  be  defalked  upon  his  entertaynement  from  tyme  to  tyme.  And  further  our  pleasure  is 
that  you  pay  unto  him  for  his  charges  of  postage,  transportation  outwards  and  homewards,  sending 
of  Ires  speciall  and  such  like  charges,  such  sommes  of  money  as  shall  appear  by  bills  under  his 
owne  hand  to  be  laid  out  by  him,  the  same  bills  being  rated  and  allowed  by  or  principall  Secretary 
for  the  tyme  being,  and  these  or  Ires  shalbee  yor  sufficient  warrant  and  discharge  in  this  bchalfe. 
Given  under  our  privy  scale  at  or  Pallace  of  Westminster  the  17th  day  of  October  in  the  13th  yeare 
of  or  Kaigne  of  England  France  and  Ireland,  and  of  Scotland  the  49th. 

(Copie)  JO.  BIKGLEY. 

[In  dorso."}         Copie  of  Sr  Henry  Wotton  his  Privie  scale. 

17th  Octobr  Anno  xiijtio  R.  Jacob.     (1615.) 


VIII. — SIE  HENRY  WOTTON  TO  JAMES  I. 

[May  20,  1616.] 

[Written  in  passing  through  Turin  on  his  way  to  Venice.  The  details  of  the  negotiation  will  be  found  in 
the  despatches  of  Sir  Isaac  Wake  amongst  the  State  Papers.  From  his  letter  of  the  21st  of  May  the  date 
of  the  present  despatch  may  be  inferred.] 

MOST  GRACIOUS  SOUVERAYGNE, 

Your  Majesty  hath  heere  Mr  Isaac  Wake,  who  serveth  you  uppon  my  syght  and 
knowcledge  and  by  the  coinon  voyce  with  such  diligence  and  judgment  and  reputation  in  his 
whole  caryage  as  doth  much  ease  me  in  the  present  dispatch,  who  am  otherwise  in  respect  of  this 
place  but  a  passenger.  Havinge  therefore  given  your  Matic  an  account  by  letters  that  come  here- 
with to  Sr  Ealphe  Winwoode  of  a  painfull  and  dangerous  journey,  made  longer  by  at  least  six 
hundred  myles  then  it  might  otherwise  have  bin  for  the  avoydinge  of  contagious  townes  and 
provinces,  which  inforced  us  to  seek  as  hard  wayes  into  Italyc  as  I  thinke  Hannibal  did  pcarce 
with  fyre  and  vineger.  I  will  nowc  tell  your  Matie  what  hath  binn  donn  in  this  Court  whcare  I 
arryved  cyght  dayes  since  with  all  my  companye  but  one  (whom  1  left  behinde  in  desperate  case) 
through  God's  blcssinge  in  goode  health,  and  in  such  a  poynt  of  tyme  as  nothinge  could  have  bin 
wished  more  opportune,  for  I  mctt  some  twoe  hourcs  journey  from  the  Alpes  Signer  Octaviano 
Bonni,  one  of  the  gravest  senators  of  Venice,  of  my  olde  acquaintance,  imploycd  extraordinarilyc 
into  France,  from  whom  I  tookc  some  light  of  the  present  affaires  in  transltit,  and  hcther  I  am 
come  three  days  before  Monsr  de  Bcthun,  imploycd  likewise  extraordinarye  into  Italye  both  with 
the  same  endes,  though  perchance  not  with  the  same  affections,  for  though  theyre  scope  be  peace 
in  prima  intentione,*  yet  I  doubt  they  will  vary  about  the  media,  and  for  my  part  I  doe  not  well 

•  "  Capite  "  was  first  written  and  then  struck  out. 


272  Letters  from  Sir  Henry  Wotton  to  King  James  I.  and  others. 

see  hitherto  howe  theare  may  be  found  a  waye  to  wrap  up  the  several  feares  and  complaintes  of 
this  Prince  and  the  Venetians  in  one  pack  without  puttinge  more  feare  uppon  those  that  trouble 
them  then  them  selves  can  doe  eyther  jointlye  or  singlye  though  we  have  heerc  courage  enough  and 
moneye  enough  theare.  The  mainc  doubt  is  the  faintness  of  France  for  Albert  out  of  that  king- 
dome,  which  doth  cover  this  estate  with  five  Provinces,  it  might  perchance  be  some  case  to  the 
Kinge  and  Queene  to  vent  into  Italyc  the  relictes  of  their  owne  disquietcst  humours,  and  even  to 
spend  that  waye  some  of  the  principalls,  yet  I  doubt  their  conjunction  with  Spaine  will  hardly 
beare  this  pcece  of  wisedome.  These  thinges  I  doe  from  hence  represent  unto  your  MaUe  as  a 
vacant  discourser  uppon  which  at  Venice  I  shalbe  able  to  make  more  solid  judgement.  In  the 
meane  while  it  may  please  your  Ma1"-'  to  understand  that  myself  and  your  Resident  have  had  heere 
(post  solennia)  sundry  serious  conferences  with  this  Prince  of  twoe  and  three  houres  at  a  time,  and 
twice  likewise  with  the  intervention  of  the  Venetian  Ambassador,  who  is  the  nephew  of  that 
famous  Duke  Donate,  and  himself  a  gentleman  of  eager  spivitts.  This  Duke  did  yesterday  make 
also  an  attempt  to  bringe  us  altogeyther  to  a  cofnon  consultation  before  himself  and  some  of  his 
counsell,  with  Monsr  dc  Bethun  and  the  French  agent,  which  though  I  did  not  refuse  for  my  part 
(because  your  Ma1"*  endcs  are  cleare  and  necde  not  ieare  the  lyght)  yet  the  French  did  directly 

with 

resyst  it,  denyinge  to  treate  before  him  eyther  in  the  presence  of  his  owne  counsellors  or 
other  ambassadors.  The  cause  of  the  refusall  we  cannot  easily  tell,  whether  it  weare  fcare  of  beinge 
discovered  or  a  loathness  of  being  ingaged  to  farr  in  publique,  oradesyre  toappropriat  the  business 
of  Milan  as  much  as  may  be  to  themselves  alone,  or  lastly  some  doubt  that  the  noyse  of  such 
generall  meetingos  might  offend  Spaine  and  the  Pope.  Likewise  in  respect  of  our  profession, 
howesoever  sure  I  am  that  it  hath  moved  in  this  Prince  some  displeasure  and  more  jealousyc,  and 
so  I  leave  it.  Tout-hinge  our  owne  precedent  conferences  they  wearc  spent  about  foure  maine 
points — 

1.  The  league  of  the  Duke  with  the  Protestant  union. 

2.  The  league  of  the  Venetians  with  the  sayde  union. 

3.  The  strict  conjunction  betweene  the  Duke  himself  and  the  Venetians. 

4.  And  lastly,  the  pass  of  the  Grisons. 

For  the  first  I  have  disposed  the  Duke  unto  it  by  your  Ma'ic*  counsell  and  desyre  (which  are 
with  him  inducements  of  greate  auctoritye)  by  the  qualitye  of  his  own  person  beinge  a  member 
and  Prince  of  the  Empire,  as  the  Count  Palatin  styled  him  in  his  answer  to  me,  and  besydcs  viccar 
of  the  Empire  in  Italye  whiles  the  scale  is  vacant,  by  his  owne  connection  in  descent  and  bloudc 
with  the  principal!  houses,  and  lastlye  by  the  argument  of  arguments  his  owne  necessitye  as  fair  as 
it  might  be  manncrlyc  touched.  Uppon  this  he  made  twoe  doubles,  the  one  in  substance  and  the 
other  in  forme.  The  substantiall,  whether  he  might  enter  into  it,  the  ende  of  the  union  beinge 
(as  he  conceived  it)  for  the  maintenance  of  the  reformed  religion ;  wherin  I  cleared  him  that  it  was 
grounded  uppon  the  tranquillity,  a  meere  civill  point,  which  did  well  appeare  in  this  that  betweene 
the  princes  themselves  and  states  united  ther  was  some  difference  in  pointe  of  conscience,  besydes 
some  Imperiall  townes  that  wer  of  that  union,  that  notwithstanding  gave  libertye  to  the  roomaine 
religion;  in  which  point  he  was  contented  to  helpe  me  himself,  alleaginge  the  example  of  his 
neighbours  the  Swissers,  who  are  both  leagued  togeyther,  and  with  other  Princes  of  contrarye 


Letters  from  Sir  Henry  Wotton  to  King  James  I.  and  others.  273 

confession.  The  formall  doubt  was  howe  it  might  be  donn  handsomly  and  safelye,  whereon  after 
some  debatement  we  fell  uppon  this  that  the  fittest  waye  both  for  least  noyse  and  most  expedition 
was  to  treate  it  in  your  Ma1"*  Court  wheare  both  himself  and  the  Venetian  had  resydent  Ambas- 
sadors, for  at  this  conference  the  Venetian  Ambassador  heere  was  present  who  declared  a  goode 
inclination  in  that  state  unto  it,  wheare  uppon  the  Duke  tolde  him  in  a  goode  plaine  and  resolute 
fashion  that  nothinge  could  be  dearer  unto  him  than  to  enter  with  them  togeyther  into  the  same 
union,  but  howesoever  he  would  interteine  it  alone  provided  he  might  first  knowe  what  particular 
conditions  would  be  demanded  on  his  part,  wheareof  the  Conte  Scarnafigi  had  advertised  him  that 
I  should  bring  him  some  light  from  the  Palatin  Court.  To  this  I  answer  that  indeede  so  was  your 
Ma''™  commandement  unto  me  to  sound  it  as  farr  as  I  coulde  in  my  passage,  for  which  you  had 
expresslye  addressed  me  that  waye,  but  the  Count  Palatin  (though  otherwise  of  great  authoritye) 
could  come  to  no  particulars  wthout  the  deliberation  of  the  whole  bodye.  To  be  short,  he  resolved 
after  these  discourses  to  make  two  dispatches,  the  one  to  the  Embassador  resident  in  your  Mahes 
Court  with  instructions  to  treate,  for  he  had  power  (as  he  saythe)  sent  him  before,  the  other  a 
preparatorye  express  messenger  to  the  Count  Palatin  and  the  other  princes  to  intimate  his  desyre, 
and  to  move  them  to  appoint  some  with  sufficient  authoritye  for  that  purpose  in  your  Matlea  Court, 
wheare  the  Alleman  Princes  cannott  well  refuse  to  handle  it.  First,  because  your  Matle  is  the 
heade  of  the  union  ;  next,  because  for  that  in  the  answer  which  I  had  at  Heydelberg  the  Count 
Palatin  did  remitt  himself  to  that  which  had  bin  formerly  signified  unto  your  Matie  as  to  the 
fountaine  of  this  bussiness.  These  dispatches  the  Duke  promiseth  to  make  within  twoe  or  three 
dayes,  which  I  leave  to  the  solicitation  of  your  Maties  resident  heere.  And  for  the  other  three 
points  above  mentioned,  whereof  the  openinge  of  the  passage  through  the  Orisons  seemeth  the 
most  important  and  the  most  difficult,  I  will  make  as  much  hast  as  maye  be  to  give  your  Matle  an 
account  from  Venice,  which  state  being  nowe  styrred  with  theyr  owne  necessityes  should  methinkes 
by  a  mechanicall  maxim  be  the  more  capable  of  perswasion,  for  quod  est  in  motu  facilius  movetur. 
I  have  bin  heere  received  with  the  accustomed  countenance  and  favour  of  this  Prince  toward  all 
those  that  are  your  Matie",  and  I  have  saluted  with  all  due  kindeness  from  your  Matie  the  whole 
house,  amonge  whom  I  found  nowe  more  then  before  the  Dowager  of  Mantoua,  one  of  the 
principall  subjects  of  the  present  incumbrances.  I  must  end  with  humbly  beseeching  your  Matie 
both  to  pardon  and  to  pitie  the  wcakeness  of  us  your  servants  that  are  so  farr  removed  because  we 
are  tyed  uppon  this  varyable  theater  to  serve  your  Matie  by  discourse  which  others  doe  by  direction. 
But  our  guide  and  measure  is  the  honour  of  your  name  and  the  safetye  of  your  sacred  person  and 
estates,  which  humblye  comendinge  to  the  highest  protection,  I  rest 

Your  MatiM  most  faythfull  and  longe  devoted  servant. 

[7n  dorso.~\     From  Savoy. 

To  his  MaUe  from  Sr  Henry  Wotton  in  his  passage 
out  of  Germanic  into  Italic. 


VOL.  XL.  2  N 


274  Letters  from  Sir  Henry  Wotton  to  King  James  I.  and  others. 

IX. — SIR  HENRY  WOTTON  TO  SIR  WALTER  ASTON. 

[Holograph.] 

[This  and  the  following  six  letters  contain  the  news  of  the  time  for  the  information  of  Aston,  who  was 
ambassador  at  Madrid.] 

Venice,  this  ,|  of  June,  1621. 
MY  LORD  AND  EVER  HONORED  FRIEND, 

Not  long  before  my  coming  from  Vienna  (where  I  stayed  till  it  was  fitt  to  leave  the 
Emperour  to  the  Counsayles  of  his  owne  fortune),  I  gave  yr  Lord?  knowledg  by  the  waye  of 
Bruxelles  of  my  tending  to  this  place,  the  center  of  all  my  motions,  and  withall  I  sent  you  a 
cypher. 

Heere  I  have  been  almost  foure  moneths  hoping  still  for  some  commaundement  fro  you,  which  I 
will  now  begg  agayne.  Besides  owre  owne  privat  frendship  we  arc  now  consociates  in  the  publique 
service.  And  betweene  the  places  of  owre  residence  theare  is  as  much  relation  as  jcalousie  can 
breede  :  for  that  is  a  relative  as  well  as  love.  This  I  bring  as  an  argument  [of  JJ]tCfCOlir3C»  erased"] 
to  grownde  a  frequent  intercourse  of  letters  betweene  us ;  youre  Lord1'  shall  have  from  me  news 
enough  :  the  verie  disease  of  this  citie.  At  the  present  (to  beginn  wth  a  pertinent  poynt)  we  stande 
in  some  hazard  about  the  confines  of  an  aifront  or  a  rupture.  Certayne  Spanish  Troupes  would 
passe  armed  fro  Crema  towardes  the  Milanese  over  part  of  this  dominion,  wch  the  Duke  of  Fcria 
seemes  to  pretend  they  may  doe  by  olde  agreements  betweene  this  state  and  the  sayed  Dukedome, 
but  heere  the  Senat  hath  strongly  resolved  the  contrarie,  and  accordingly  a  campe  is  collected  of 
English,  French,  Fleamish  horse  and  foote  aboute  Martenengo  as  the  fittest  place  to  impeach  theire 
passage,  necre  which  the  sayed  Spaniardes  stande  hovering  what  they  shall  doe.  In  the  meane 
while  frequent  carriers  are  sent  hither  with  lies  in  theire  mouth  and  the  truthe  in  theire  pacqucts 
as  the  fashion  is,  whereof  the  last  hath  filled  all  this  Towne  w"1  a  voice  of  an  incountcr  and  some 
slawghtcr  on  bothc  sides.  But  a  fresh  letter  fro  Sr  Henry  Peyten,  Colonel  of  the  English  (who  is 
himselfe  theare)  doth  correct  this  vaync  noise. 

I  thincke  it  will  begett  more  passion  then  action  betweene  theasc  umbragious  neighbours,  and, 
according  to  the  Gospel's  phrase,  "  Threasure  up  anger  till  a  fitter  tyme." 

I  would  I  had  paper  enough  left  to  tell  you  how  little  we  believe  the  execution  of  yruTreatie 
about  the  Vale  Tolina.  It  is  playne  that  arts  arc  sought  to  linger  the  effect  till  the  Pope's  end, 
for  the  next  perchaunce  may  be  of  an  other  complexion.  This  is  Frenche  or  at  least  a  pure  Italian. 
And  so  (my  good  Lord)  I  commit  you  to  God's  blessed  love,  remayning, 

Youre  ever  faythfull  poore  frend  to  serve  you, 

HENRY  WOTTON. 

Alia  Medesima. 


Letters  from  Sir  Henry  Wotton  to  King  James  I.  and  others.  275 

X. — SIR  HENRY  WOTTON  TO  SIR  WALTER  ASTON. 

Venice  the  ^  of  September,  1621. 
MY  GOOD  LORD  AND  EVEB  HONORED  FREND, 

I  send  youre  Lordp  heerew"1  a  large  cypher  for  all  occurrents,  that  I  may  heereafter 
without  any  tender  or  scrupulous  reservation  communicat  wUl  you  some  of  my  fresh  thoughts. 
The  former,  wch  I  sent  from  Vienna,  seemeth  to  have  been  swallowed  between  that  place  and 
Bruxelles. 

In  the  conveyance  of  the  present  I  use  the  Spanish  secretarie,  who  seemeth  a  well  natured  man. 
Your  Lordp  hath  likewise  not  a  better  waye  of  youre  commaundes  to  me  then  by  the  Venetian 
Ambassadour  theare  till  I  shall  fitt  us  bothe  with  some  Marchant  that  hath  dealings  in  Spayne,  of 
wch  this  Towne  can  not  be  voyed. 

Youre  letters  to  Sr  John  A*re  I  reserve  till  his  returne  this  waye  homewardes.  For  his  Malic 
hath  removed  him,  and  to  make  the  place  emptie  for  Sr  Thomas  Howe  (who  is  already  on  the 
waye  wth  his  ladie  by  sea)  Mr.  John  Chapman  hath  been  sent  before -over  land  as  Secrettirie  of 
the  Ambassage,  at  whose  coming  thether  Sr  John  Aires  commission  doeth  immediatly  determin  ; 
with  him  I  have  had  little  tyme  to  settle  any  good  intercourse.  In  his  successour  I  have  more 
interest  of  privat  acquayntance,  betweene  whome  and  youre  LordP  I  will  intermediat  a  due 
intelligence. 

If  Christendome  were  fitt  to  thincke  of  a  common  cnimie  what  a  tyme  were  this  when  the  Gran 
Signor  hath  almost  desolated  Asia  with  carying  six  hundred  thousand  Turkes  and  one  hundred 
and  threescore  thousand  Tarters  (for  so  Sr  John  Aire  doeth  calculat  his  armie)    [i»te— E«fepe  Some  count 
erased]  towards  Polonia  ;  Constantinople  in  the  meane  tyme  lying  open  to  any  that  Avould  invade  ;t  at  a  f"U 
it;  for  the  Captayne  Bassha  is  in  the  Blacke  Sea.    Touching  neerer  things :  yesternight  the  Marquis  lm    -0"'  V 
de  Cocure  (late  Ledger  at  Rome),  by  the  way  of  Loreto  (that  zeale  may  countenance  his  errand),  within  my 
arrived  heere  wth  expresse  character  of  Ambassador  extraordinarie,  and   this  day  he   shall  by  compasse, 
senatours  be  publiquely  receavcd  and  conducted  to  a  house  wch  the  state  hath  fitted  lor  him  at  great  *" 
ease.     For  by  a  frugal  decree  of  senat  the  charge  and  care  of  all  such  extraordinarie  receptions  is 
laycd  on  the  Jues.     Long  it  hath  been  noysed  before  him  that  his  message  was  to  joyne  here  wth 
the  Nuntio  for  the  restoring  of  the  Jcsuites.     But  of  late  some  have  begunn  to  whisper  that  those 
Fathers  were  not  his  scope,  but  his  veile  to  cover  deeper  instructions  aboute  sounding  this  Kepublique, 
the  inclination  of  this  Republiquc,  if  the  King  his  Master  after  the  selling  of  his  owne  Rcalme 
should  passe  the  Alpes  in  person,  or  send  over  a  fayre  armie  in  favour  of  the  suppressed  Grisons  his 
confederates,  so  ingenious  is  this  cuntrie  that  they  ever  thinke  the  professed  part  of  all  negotia- 
tion nothing  but  the  vizard  of  the  concealed.    But  the  Frcnche  Ambassadour  resident  here,  having 
within  thcase  two  dayes  visited  me,  did  of  himself,  as  it  were  to  obviat  all  other  impressions,  assure 
me  that  his  coming  is  merely  for  the  aforcsayed  Jcsuites.     How  likely  he  is  to  spcede  may  be 
partly  conjectured  by  this,  that  yesterday  the  Duke  exhorting  such  senatours  as  arc  deputed  to 
receave  the  Marquis  to  be  theare  in  full  number,  he  fortified  hia  exhortation  with  this  argument, 

2N  2 


276  Letters  from  Sir  Henry  Wot  ton  to  King  James  I.  and  others. 

that  sithcncc  lie  was  likely  not  to  be  satisfied  in  his  errand  it  should  be  fitt  to  be  the  more  compleate 
in  all  respectes  that  did  concerne  his  person.  Of  the  issue  I  shall  give  yr  Lord!"  a  better  accoumpt 
in  my  next. 

The  controversie  in  terra  ferma  about  passage  of  soldiers  drawes  towardes  an  appoyntment  treated 
betweene  the  Pope's  Nuntio  at  Milan  and  this  heare.  The  fonnalitic  of  the  accorde  wilbc  thist 
the  Spanish  compagnie  that  was  repulsed  shall  [passe-,  erased],  marche  over  the  Venetian  territorie 

leave 

in  armes  by  publique  [pcrir.isgioB-,  erased],  with  the  ordinarie  protestation  sine  prejudicio,  wch 
protestation  the  Duke  of  Feria  would  a  great  while  not  swallowe,  but  now  he  seemeth  wonn  unto  it : 
provided  that  likewise  on  the  other  side  the  verie  same  be  protested  that  the  foresayed  compagnie 
was  putt  back  sine  prejudino.  After  this,  all  passion  shall  cease,  the  cause  be  civilly  considered, 
and  a  regular  determination  sett  downe  for  the  future. 

O 

In  the  lowc  Provinces  we  have  yet  no  actual  rupture.  For  the  seidge  of  Juliers  (a  neutral  piece 
though  garisoned  by  the  states)  implyeth  no  breache. 

Bavaria  thev  saye  is  now  entred  into  the  upper  Palatinat,  and  my  L.  Digbie,  notwithstanding 
yr  hclpc  out  of  Spaync  and  his  owne  singular  dextcritic,  can  obtcync  no  truce  in  the  lower.  For 
the  impediments  (I  meane  Mansfeld  and  Jeagcrndorff)  seeme  stronger  than  the  adjuvants. 

I  have  from  his  Lord'1  this  weeke  no  letters  wherewith  he  doctli  commonly  favour  me.  And 
therefore  am  loathe  to  beleive  a  voice  growen  hecrc  among  the  publique  Ministers  that  he  hath 
taken  his  leave  in  Vienna.  True  it  is  that  strong  reason  did  incline  him  towardes  Madrid.  For 
where  shall  we  hope  to  finish  this  businesse  but  at  that  the  fountaync  of  all  the  Empcrour's  strength 
and  counsayles  ?  I  will  now  give  my  cipher  leave  to  kisse  yr  handcs  before  I  intertayne  you 
farther.  In  the  meane  tyme,  and  ever  remayning, 

Yr  Lord?"  verie  faythfull  poore  frcnd  and  servant, 

HENRY  WOTTON. 

[/n  dorso.]     Alia  Modesima. 

3 
Sr  Homy  Wotton, 

24  of  September,  1621. 


XI. — SIR  HENRY  WOTTON  TO  SIR  WALTER  ASTON. 

[Holograph.] 

Venice,  the  *9  of  December,  1621. 

MY  LORD, 

Non  sum  ambitiosus  in  malts.     But  it  is  no  ordinarie  case  which  I  must  describe  unto 
youre  Lord""  for  the  excuse  of  too  many  silent  weekes. 

I  laye  myself  in  Padoua  more  then  a  moneth  thorough  an  ague  which  tooke  me  beeing  abroade. 
And  at  the  same  tyme  all  my  familie  (except  4  persons),  Italians,  Germans,  and  English,  were 
eather  theare  or  heere  in  like  manner  decumbent.  A  Venetian  Gentleman  also  who  lyeth  in  a 
eeavered  partition  of  my  howse  is  at  the  present  himself,  wyfe,  children,  maydcs,  and  gondoliers  all 


Letters  from  Sir  Henry   Wotton  to  King  James  I.  and  others.  277 

under  Physique,  so  as  we  beginn  to  suspect  owre  habitation,  beeing  the  most  exposed  to  all  weather 
of  any  in  Venice,  and  by  violence  of  the  flashing  windes  the  waves  have  pierced  thorough  and 
pondered  owre  wales  and  even  taynted  owre  cesterns.  Thus  we  are  contented  to  rest  owre 
curiositie  uppon  thease  seconde  causes.  But  God's  indisputable  will  must  be  donn,  which  is  the 
last  philosophic  both  of  Heaven  and  Earthe.  Two  I  have  lost.  The  one  with  the  more  griefe 
because  beyonde  all  expectation  even  of  his  Physitions  he  was  caried  awaye  in  the  strength  of  his 
youthe  by  a  weake  disease  which  some  fancies  did  exasperat.  The  other  was  a  Venetian  who  had 
long  served  under  Sr  Dudley  Carleton  and  mee  heare  as  secretarie  of  the  language  or  complements, 
a  place  more  easily  supplied  then  when  substance  is  vacant. 

This  is  the  accoumpt  of  owre  infirmities  wdl  have  made  me  so  worthie  of  yr  Lord1"  pardon  that  I 
may  chalenge  some  part  of  yr  compassion. 

Now  to  proceede  in  owre  correspondence  as  I  will  doe  wcekely.  For  while  God  shall  spare  us 
uppon  this  Theater  how  can  we  lack  subject  of  noise  and  discourse  ?  You  know  the  agreement 
betweene  the  Polonians  and  Turcks,  and  it  is  a  glorie  indeede  that  a  single  piece  hath  beene  able  to 
resist  the  common  enimie.  But  to  my  conceyte  the  greater  feare  remaynes.  For  I  doubt,  the 
external  daunger  which  kept  us  in  some  awe  beeing  taken  awaye,  Christendome  will  growe  too 
wanton  at  home.  We  now  saye  that  the  Emperour  shall  have  good  store  of  Polonians  to  liealpe 
him,  and  Bethelem  Gabor  as  many  Tartars.  Before  taease  can  arrive  with  you,  you  will  knowe 
that,  uppon  my  L.  Digbies  noble  relation  how  he  founde  the  buisiuesse  and  affections  to  stande,  his 
Mlie  hath  resolved  to  Ictt  the  Emperour  concocte  his  owne  humours,  and  it  hath  been  thought  fitt 
to  redceme  some  of  the  tyme  wch  hath  been  lost  by  Treaties  by  resummoning  the  Parlament  on 
the  20th  of  the  last  wch  had  been  adjorned  to  February.  Satis  peccatum  est  mollibus  consultis. 
Whether  my  L.  Digbies  jornie  to  you  theare  holde  or  no  youre  Lord1'  will  be  pleased  to  tell  me 
in  yr  next.  The  dispensation  of  owre  matche  at  Rome  is  eagerly  handled,  and  no  English  man  of 
any  fashion  (if  he  be  one  of  theire  Catholiques)  can  come  thether  but  they  call  him  an 
ambassadour. 

Heere  we  beginn  to  talke  of  some  new  levies  by  lande,  and  that  likewise  we  shall  ari'nc  the 
Gulph.  For  the  Spanish  fleete  intending  to  winter  as  they  saye  in  the  Port  of  Brendisi  hath 
given  us  scandal  enough  to  frame  a  complaynt  agaynst  it  to  the  Pope  as  beeing  likely  to  prejudice 
the  trafique  of  the  Adriatique  wherein  his  sanctitie  is  intercssed. 

You  have  heard  that  the  Grisons  have  renounced  the  league  of  Fraunce,  a  foulc  blowe  to  ye 
Treatie  of  Madrid  and  almost  enough  to  make  the  French  sober  at  home.  Owre  casie  Pope 
chideth  at  the  Spanish  progressions  in  the  Vale  tolina,  and  they  goe  forward  beeing  now  able  to 
walke  (while  they  kepe  a  foote  in  the  Lower  Palatinat)  from  Milan  to  Dunkercke  uppon  theire 
owne  inheritances  and  purchases:  a  connexion  of  terrible  moment  in  my  opinion.  Yor  Lord1" 
letters  to  Sr  John  Aires  I  reserve.  The  King  and  the  Marchants  have  dislodged  him,  and  Sr 
Thomas  Roe  wlh  his  ladle  are  well  on  their  way  thetherwards.  Betweene  whom  and  yr  Lord1'  I 
will  medeat  a  continual  intelligence.  Yesterday  was  heere  in  the  open  Court  of  the  Palace  one 
Aluigi  Querini,  a  principal  gentleman,  apprenended  and  muffled  in  a  cloake  by  order  of  the  In- 
quisiters  of  State  (one  of  owre  blackest  Magistrates)  for  a  secret  jornie  to  Ferrara  and  conference 
theare  wth  the  Cardinal  Governour.  On  Thursday  night  they  chose  Aluigi  Valeresso  to  succeede 


278  Letters  from  Sir  Henry  Wotton  to  King  James  I.  and  otliers. 

Sigr  Girolamo  Lando  in  England.  Theire  late  ambassador  Pesaro  sent  into  Fraunce  about  Poictiers 
•was  assayled  by  certayn  stragling  horsemen,  despoyled,  two  of  his  trayne  killed,  and  himself  had  a 
pistol  twice  putt  to  his  brest  which  bothe  tymes  tooke  no  fire.  But  lett  me  entertayne  you  no 
longer  with  thease  menudencias.  In  my  next  I  shall  have  occasion  to  awake  owre  cypher  wch  I 
have  yet  suffered  to  sleepe.  God  bless  us  and  love  us.  In  whose  deare  protection  I  leave  you, 
ever  remayning 

Youre  Lord**  vcrie  faythfull  poore  frend  to  serve  you, 

HENRT  WOTTON. 


XII. — SIR  HENRY  WOTTON  TO  SIR  WALTER  ASTON. 

[Holograph.] 

[December  29,         1  , 
Mr  LORD,  January  8,          2 

On  Saterday  last  (wch  was  hecre  new  year's  day)  the  French  Ambassadour  having 
audience  bnught  the  Duke  pour  les  estrenes  this  resolution. 

That  the  King  his  Master  having  considered  the  present  perplexities  of  the  Orisons  and  the 
inconveniences  that  may  growe  thearcby  uppo  this  Kepublique  was  determined  to  shewe  unto  the 
world  that  lie  had  power  bothe  to  reduce  his  subjectes  and  to  hcalpe  his  frcndcs.  But  had  first  in 
all  congruitie  thought  mcctc  to  propounde  to  the  King  of  Spayne  this  disjunctive,  that  the  thinges 
donn  in  the  Val  Tolina  were  rather  by  the  will  of  the  saycd  King  or  by  the  meere  practise  of  the 
D.  of  Feria.  The  first  he  could  not  imagin :  in  the  later  case  he  would  not  be  satisfied  with  lesse 
then  the  head  of  the  saycd  Duke.  For  otherwise  he  should  alwaycs  have  some  cause  to  suspect 
that  theare  had  been  betweene  the  K.  of  Spayne  and  his  Minister  some  connivent  intelligence.  In 
the  mgan  while  de  les  Diguieres  (whose  goverment  of  Dauphine  had  necrcst  aspect  uppon  Italic) 
was  commanded  to  putt  things  in  preparation.  With  this  the  foresayd  Ambassador  begann  the 
new  yeare,  w'1'  I  shall  not  neede  to  tell  yr  Lord?  how  welcome  it  was  to  this  senat,  nor  how  much 
welcomcr  it  would  have  been  if  the  French  king's  [presort;  erased]  inward  distractions  (which 
[woul.l,  erased]  wilbe  easily  fomented  by  theire  ownc  nobilitic,  besides  forein  arts)  would  suffer 
us  to  beleevc  thease  brave  promises. 

Yr  Lordf  hath  heard  of  a  certayne  negotiating  fryar,  by  name  Hyacintho  (who,  if  I  mistake  not 
the  man,  was  long  since  spued  out  of  this  Towne  for  a  mutinous  Sermon),  lately  intercepted  by  the 
Mansfeldians,  and  with  all  diverse  letters  wherewith' he  was  laden  fro  the  Empcrour  towardes  the 
Spanish  Court,  theare  to  make  good  by  his  dcxteritie  the  investing  of  the  Duke  of  Bavaria  in  the 
Electorship,  wcl'  that  Empcrour  had  already  resolved  uppon  him  and  already  actually  bestowed 
without  the  knowledge  of  Spayne,  as  we  are  yet  left  to  bclecve.  This  discoverie  hath  beene  verie 
opportune  for  the  information  of  cure  Parlament  at  the  present.  And  they  saye  that  all  the  papers 
taken  aboute  the  sayed  Fryar  shalbe  printed  at  the  Haghe,  conteyning  many  fierce  and  desperat 
poyntes  wch  tend  to  a  warr  of  religion  by  those  incancared  counsayles  wch  the  Emperour  receaveth 
after  dinner  fro  the  Jesuites.  For  that  is  theire  tyme  of  intromission  to  him. 


Letters  from  Sir  Henry  Wotton  to  King  James  I.  and  others.  279 

I  beleeve  yr  Lordp  will  have  great  payne  in  that  Court,  so  susteyne  yr  owne  good  impressions. 
God  make  this  new  yeare  wherein  we  shall  enter  before  the  next  currier  prosperous  unto  his 
Mlie  and  all  his  hono.     So  I  rest 

Yr  Lordp"  verie  faythfull  poore  frend  and  servant, 

HE  NET  WOTTON. 
From  Venice  the  29th  of  December  1621. 

Stile  of  England. 
[In  dorso.']     Sr  H?  Wotton,  29  Dec.  1621. 


XIII. — SIR  HENRY  WOTTON  TO  SIR  WALTER  ASTON. 

[Holograph.]  , 

Venice,  the  -~g-  of  Januarie,  1622. 
MY  LORD, 

I  shall  not  neede  agayne  to  tell  yr  Lord1"  of  a  certayne  Fryar,  by  name  Hiacintho, 
intercepted  in  Germanie  by  the  Mansfeldians  in  his  jornic  towardes  you  as  he  was  laden  with 
diverse  instructions  from  the  Emperor  and  letters  to  the  Principals  of  yr  Court.  By  wch  many 
thinges  are  opportunely  discovered,  and  among  other  that  the  sayed  Emperor  hath  actually  conferred 
the  Investiture  of  the  Electorship  on  the  D.  of  Bavaria  even  without  knowledge  of  the  King  of 
Spayne  as  we  are  yet  left  to  beleeve.  All  the  papers  wilbe  printed  at  the  Haghe,  and  copies  thereof 
are  already  sent  to  his  Majestic,  which  will  breede  you  buisncsse.  For  my  part  uppon  it  I  am 
readdie  to  turne  Eremite  and  to  abandon  all  rules  of  civil  art.  For  surely  (my  Lord)  the  Elccto- 
rating  of  that  Duke  is  agaynst  the  verie  Alphabet  and  Elements  of  State. 

I  conceave  the  King  of  Spayne  uppo  it  in  a  great  dilemma.  If  he  doe  not  mayntayne  the 
Emperour's  resolution  he  will  perchaunce  want  strength  himself  to  mayntayn  it.  If  he  shall  abett 
him  or  abone  him  (as  yr  phrase  is  theare)  it  wilbe  harde  to  make  this  age  beleeve  or  any  since  the 
tyme  that  men  did  eate  akornes  that  the  sayd  king  [of  Spayn,  erased]  was  not  of  his  counsayle. 

Heere  they  have  this  weeke  solcmnely  acquaynted  me  with  a  summe  of  theirc  intelligence 
touching  the  Khetian  affayres,  desiring  me  to  represent  the  same  to  his  Matio. 

My  answer  was  that  I  would  doe  so,  and  had  donn  so  already  by  sunclrie  pieces,  but  rather  out  of 
dutie  then  necessitie,  since  an  ambassage  fro  the  said  Grisons  beeing  [ai  erased}  arrived  at  the  Ilaghe 
with  porpose  perhaps  of  passing  over  into  England,  or  at  least  having  theare  conferred  all  theirc 
complaynts  wth  Sr  Dudley  Carleton,  his  Matlc  could  not  lackc  due  information  nor  a  just  feeling  of 
their  case,  whose  authentic  and  name  was  as  much  imploycd  in  the  trcatic  of  Madrid  as  the  French 
King's,  as  I  had  been  well  taught  by  yr  Lordp,  though  now  owre  necrer  cares  did  somewhat  distract 
us.  There  are  two  great  remarquable  circumstances  in  the  proceeding  of  the  Duke  of  Feria.  The 
one  that  he  imposeth  the  oath  of  obedience  as  he  goeth  on  fro  piece  to  piece.  The  other  that  after 
gBisoning  of  them  he  now  beginneth  by  little  and  little  to  disarme  them,  wch  is  in  truthe  to  cutt 
the  last  stringes  of  libertie. 


280  Letters  from  Sir  Henry  Wotton  to  King  James  I.  and  others. 

To  ende  my  letter,  and  to  beginn  the  new  yeare  (into  w*  we  are  entred  since  the  last  sumer) 
w*  pretie  stuff:  let  me  tell  yr  LordP  that  at  Rome  are  newly  arrived  a  levie  of  English  gentle- 
woemen.  Al  corpo  del  mondo  questa  e  galante.  They  are  brueing  a  new  order  of  feminine 
Josuites.  Theire  particular  names  I  yet  knowe  not,  but  I  imagin  the  Ladie  Lovel  of  my  cuntrie 
and  olde  acquayntance  to  be  the  leader.  For  she  hath  had  some  such  thing  in  her  high  fancies  a 
good  while.  This  I  will  lay  up  for  a  subject  of  more  discourse  betweene  us  as  I  shall  heare  farther. 
And  now  I  leave  yr  Lordp  in  God's  deere  love,  wth  the  wishing  of  many  happie  years  unto  you. 

Your  servant, 

HENRY  WOTTON. 
[7/i  dorsoJ]     Alia  Medesima. 


XIV. — SIR  HENRY  WOTTOX  TO  SIR  WALTER  ASTON. 

[Holograph.] 

Venice,  the  -J-|  of  January,  1622. 

MY  LORD,  . 

How  like  you  this  ?     In  the  copie  of  the  Emperour's  letter  to  yr  Don  Baltasar  de 
Zuniga  (intercepted  in  the  wallet  of  the  wandring    Fryar  Hiacintho)  is  cxpresly  affirmed  that 

[Electoral      t]lc  gaye(j  Emperour  had  conferred   fthc   £  •  -^  •  I  b  •  55  •  F5  •  ST  •  7*  •  c  •  «     uppon     . 
uppon  the  L         H      43      12      33      59     21      55      6      53 

Duke  of         tjle  Du].c  of  Bavaria  .1       c         o        n        d        c        b       ,,    o         g        n 

-SO"  '  by  C°UnSaylC   °f  the   33   '   21  '  49  '  3"5  '  H    3    '   d    2T  '   39   '   49     ' 

counsayle  of 

the  Conde       at        e     ~| 
d'Ognate.]      6  "  59  '  11  'J 

Thus  much  only  I  have  obteyned  leave  from  my  present  greefes  to  tell  yr  LordP,  my  steward  and 
kinsman^beeing  this  verie  day  taken  from  me  by  the  hand  of  God  after  a  long  infirmitie  which  had 
spent  his  strength,  and  so  I  commit  youre  Lord'  to  the  mercie  and  love  of  heaven. 

Certissimo  seruidore, 

HENEY  WOTTON. 

[L.S.]  All'  111"10  et  lecmo  sigre  il  sig™  Cavare  Gualtero  Ashton,  Ambasciadore  per  la  Mu  della 
Gran  Bretagna  a  Madrid. 


•  Here  is  a  blunder  in  the  cypher,  it  should  have  been  59. 
b  3  is  a  nullity  in  this  cypher. 


Letters  from  Sir  Henry  Wotton  to  King  James  I.  and  others.  281 


XV. — SIB,  HENRY  WOTTON  TO  SIR  WALTER  ASTON. 

[Holograph.] 

[Febmary  ~,  1621.] 
Mr  LORD, 

I  have  receavcd  two  letters  of  late  from  you,  and  in  the  first  of  them  one  to  Sr  Thomas 
Kowe,  to  wch  I  have  given  due  conveyance,  being  glad  that  I  lie  so  fitly  to  intermedia!  youre 
correspondence  w"1  the  Levant. 

In  the  other  I  finde  the  fruict  of  yr  diligence  in  procuring,  uppon  his  Matie8  last  letters  to  that 
King,  so  speedie  a.commaunde  to  Bruxelles  for  the  imployment  of  Pechius  in  owre  behalf  to  the 
Emperour,  of  wch  instrument  lett  me  tell  yr  Lordp,  by  the  waye,  that  he  gave  us  at  Santoun  more 
arguments  of  his  discretion  then  of  his  sinceritie. 

On  the  other  side  the  grave  of  Swarzenburge,  destinated  into  England  for  the  King's  satisfaction, 
having  wayted  on  the  Emperor  in  his  nuptial  jornie  beyond  Saltzburg  for  his  instructions,  was 
thense  retourned  back  to  Vienna  with  order  to  attend  theare  till  they  be  sent  him.  Thease  be  in 
my  opinion  not  Spanish  or  Italian  but  Dutche  delayes.  Heere  I  have  at  last  by  order  of  Senat 
receavcd  fundamental  satisfaction  touching  their  interteinment  of  the  C.  Mansfcld,  agaynst  wch  (as 
I  wrote  before)  I  had  interceaded.  They  tell  me  that  the  scope  of  theirc  contract  wth  him  is  not 
to  drawe  him  from  the  place  where  he  is,  but  rather  to  susteine  him  the  better  and  to  settle  his 
fortune  in  all  event,  wch  wilbe  a  good  quieting  of  his  thoughts.  So  they  explane  themselves,  and, 
for  aught  I  see,  we  must  lett  princes  be  theire  owne  Interpreters. 

From  Rome  we  have  great  things.  A  new  congregation  under  tytle  de  fide  Catholica  pro- 
paganda, pregnant  they  say  of  a  Leage  contra  Haercticos.  And  yet  owre  last  letters  from  close  men 
tell  us  that  the  Pope  doeth  waver  in  his  inclinations  towardes  the  Bavarian  Duke,  and  that  he 
hath  dispatched  an  expresse  currier  after  Verospo  to  suspende  that  piece  of  instruction  wch 
some  saye  springeth  from  Spayne,  whose  Instruments  at  Rome  have  lately  joyned  him.  In  so 
much  as  now  the  Spanish  Ambassadr  theare  and  the  Cardinal  Ludouisio  are  professed  Coach- 
compagnons  in  the  eye  of  the  world.  The  glue  is  the  Inheritrix  of  the  Princedom  of  Venosa  in 
the  Kingdom  of  Napcls,  who,  by  assent  fro  Spayne,  is  promised  to  the  Pope's  little  nephew: 
having  before  been  denyed  to  the  Duke  of  Modena  for  his  son  Don  Aluigi,  nay  even  to  Paulus  V"' 
for  his  ill-favoured  nephew  Prince  of  Sulmona.  Yet  this  perchaunce  may  prove  breve  gaudium, 
for  we  heare  withall  that  the  Pope  is  at  the  present  decumbent  of  more  then  the  goute.  Owre 
Duke  hearc  cometh  now  abroade  agaync,  whom  the  people  the  last  weeke  seemed  willing  to  beleeve 
to  be  dead.  His  tymes  indeede  have  been  somewhat  penurious.  And  the  common  man  heere 
knowes  no  other  rules  of  a  good  Prince  but  bigg  loaves. 

The  Ambassad'  of  this  State,  Griti,  bccing  revoaked  (as  I  have  formerly  written)  from  the 
Imperial  Court  uppon  new  difference  bctwecne  him  and  the  Conde  d'Ognate,  is  in  his  returnc  to 
visit  the  Bavarian  Duke :  a  thing  straunge  unto  me,  whereof  I  shall  tell  yr  Lordp  more  in  my  next. 
The  French  King  seemea  maynly  to  embrace  the  Rhsetian  businesse;  and  the  bodie  of  the  Grisons, 

VOL.  XL.  2  O 


282  Letters  from  Sir  Henry  Wot  ton  to  King  James  I.  and  others. 

(if  they  be  still  a  bodie)  have  disavowed  the  late  Acte  of  theire  Ambassadors  at  Milan :  nay,  as  we 
heare,  the  Ambassad™  themselves  saye  that  certayne  false  articles  have  been  inserted  into  the 
printed  copies  of  theire  accorde.  In  summa,  I  beleeve  the  Duke  of  Feria  (though  the  half  of 
him  be  English)  wilbe  troubled  with  mayntayning  his  new  purchases.  Of  owre  owne  maters  at 
home  I  am  unwilling  to  speake,  seeing  such  disharmonie  when  we  should  be  most  in  tune,  but 

Est  bene  non  potttit  dicere,  dixit,  erit. 
I  will  end  in  that  comfortable  verse,  And  ever  be, 

Youre  Lord1"  most  faythfull 

poore  frend  to  serve  you, 

HENRY  WOTTON. 
Venice,  this  -jj  of  Februarie,  1G21. 

Alia  Medesima. 
J?  Henry  Wotton,  18  of  Feb.  sti.  vet. 


XVI. — SIR  HENRY  WOTTON  TO  SIR  ALBERTUS  MORTON. 

[Holograph.] 

[The  mention  of  Lord  Holderness  and  Lady  Fielding  places  the  date  of  this  letter  between  Jan.  22, 
1621,  and  Sept.  14,  1622. 

In  March,  April,  and  May,  1622,  Wotton  was  negotiating  with  the  Venetians  for  assistance  for  the  war  in 
the  Palatinate,  and  this  Letter  was  therefore  in  all  probability  written  about  that  time.  Sir  Albertus  was 
the  third  son  of  George  Morton,  Sir  H.  Wotton's  half-brother.  He  began  public  life  as  his  uncle's  secretary 
at  Venice.  He  was  there  appointed  Secretary  to  the  Electress  Palatine,  and  Agent  with  the  Princes  of  the 
Union.  In  1G19  he  returned  home  upon  his  appointment  of  Clerk  of  the  Council.  In  1620-21  he  was 
sent  upon  a  special  mission  to  Germany  with  £30,000  for  the  Princes  of  the  Union.  In  1624  he  was 
appointed  Ambassador  to  France,  but  never  went,  as  in  February  1625  he  succeeded  Calvert  as  secretary.] 

Mi  ALBERTE, 

Youre  commendation  of  this  bearer  unto  me  hath  made  me  the  willinger  in  his 
returne  to  sett  uppon  him  a  marke  of  trust  in  the  cariage  of  an  important  dispatche  coincident 
with  his  departure,  of  w*h  one  piece  doeth  neerely  concerne  you,  namely  the  fayre  professions  of 
this  Republique  in  the  businesse  of  owre  Royal  Mistresse:  whose  concurrence  hath  been  sollicitcd 
bothe  by  his  Matics  ownc  letters  (which  are  the  best  interpreters  of  his  affection)  and  by  his  com- 
maundes  to  me.  Lett  me  praye  you  in  youre  next  to  the  Haghe  to  doe  me  the  right  of  informing 
how  glad  I  was  of  this  imployment  heere.  James  hath  quenched  all  my  wonder  at  yr  silence.  Now, 
because  I  foresee  that  heereafter  theare  will  growe  more  mater  of  discourse  betweene  us,  I  have 
thought  fitt  to  furnish  you  with  a  larger  cypher,  whereof  I  must  entreate  you  to  consigne  a  fayre 
copie  to  the  Deane  of  Paules.* 

•  John  Donne  was  made  Dean  of  St.  Paul's  in  November  1621. 


Letters  from  Sir  Henry  Wotton  to  King  James  I.  and  others.  283 

You  receave  heerein  the  copie  of  my  letter  to  the  Earle  of  Holdernesse  uppon  occasion  of  a 
new  commaunde  fro  the  King.  Let  me  trouble  you  with  the  presentation  thereof  unto  him,  and 
likewise  of  the  plant  which  I  send  in  a  little  long  box  inscribed  to  his  LordP.  I  have  adventured 
also  to  addresse  an  other  box  unto  you,  with  inscription  to  my  Ladle  Fielding,  wch  I  praye  retayne 
silently  [byjOU  erased]  till  the  receyte  of  my  letter  wch  shall  followe  this  within  two  dayes  by 
the  ordinarie ;  and  therein  I  shall  exercise  the  present  cypher  which  hath  made  me  now  send  it 
solitarily.  Till  then  therefore  no  more.  The  Lordes  love  be  with  us. 

Thine  owne  poore  uncle, 

HENRY  WOTTON. 

God's  pitie,  I  had  almost  forgotten  to  thancke  thee  for  thy  fine  tokens.  Never  was  man  so 
bragg  of  any  thing.  And  now  I  am  in  payne  what  I  shall  retourne  for  them.  Or  su  qualche 
cosa  sara. 

\_Indorso.~]  To  be  considered. 

To  Sr  Albertus. 
Or  su  qualche  cosa  sara. 


XVII. — Sin  HENRY  WOTTON  TO  LADY  WOTTON. 

[This  letter  must  have  been  written  in  July,  1 639.  Albert  Morton  the  younger,  the  second  son  of  Sir 
Robert  Morton,  who  was  the  eldest  brother  of  Sir  Albertus  Morton,  to  whom  the  last  letter  was  written, 
was,  according  to  information  derived  from  the  Rev.  H.  R.  Luard,  Registrar/  of  the  University  of  Cam- 
bridge, "  matriculated  pensioner  of  King's  College  on  July  2,  1639."  He  was  one  of  "Wotton's  executors,  as 
appears  from  a  notice  of  him  in  the  preface  to  "  The  College  of  Cardinals,"  edited  for  the  Camden  Society 
by  the  Rev.  J.  C.  Robertson,  Canon  of  Canterbury.  The  lady  to  whom  the  letter  is  written  was  the  widow 
of  Thomas  second  Lord  Wotton.  The  marriage  referred  to  is  that  between  her  daughter,  Hester  Wotton, 
and  Baptist  Noel,  the  son  of  the  second  Viscount  Camden.  It  took  place  (as  appears  from  an  extract  from 
the  Duplicate  Register  of  Boughton  Malherbe,  in  the  Diocesan  Registry  at  Canterbury,  furnished  by 
Mr.  Hopper,)  on  the  31st  of  December,  1639.] 

MY  EVER  TRUELY  HONORED  LADIE  AND  NfiECE, 

When  this  my  servant  returning  lately  to  me  from  Cambridg  (whether  I  had  sent  him 
to  see  the  first  placing  of  my  nephew  Albertus)  thorough  London,  where  he  could  tell  me  you 
were  by  a  casual  meeting  with  yr  coacheman,  I  was  truely  sortie  bothc  to  understande  it  acci- 
dcntaly,  and  likewise  when  I  was  uppon  the  poynt  of  resolving  (as  he  can  well  tell  you)  to  have  the 
honour  and  comfort  of  wayting  on  you  in  mine  own  genial  ayre  youre  Mansion  Howse  in  Kent. 
But  I  heare  aboute  a  moneth  hense  you  wilbe  thcare  agayne,  and  I  will  plott  in  the  meane  while 

2o  2 


284  Letters  from  Sir  Henry  Wotton  to  King  James  I.  and  others. 

how  to  conveighe  my  self  unto  you  by  a  little  circuit,  for  more  then  a  voluntarie  and  pleasurable 
motion  doeth  now  carie  me  (since  youre  Ladp  is  out  of  Kent)  towardes  Suffolck,  espetially  that  I 
may  conferr  by  the  waye  with  an  excellent  physition  inhabitant  in  St.  Edmunds  Burie,  whom  I 
brought  myself  from  Venice,  where  (as  eather  I  suppose  or  surmize)  I  first  contracted  my  infirmitie 
of  the  splene,  to  which  the  verie  seate  is  generally  inclined,  and  therefore  theire  physitions  (who 
commonly  studie  the  inclinations  of  places)  are  the  likeliest  to  understande  the  best  remedies. 

For  my  particular  (I  thanke  my  God)  I  am  free  of  those  extremities  which  first  assayled  me, 
yet  still  troubled  at  tymes  with  some  uncivil  remaynder  as  my  sayed  servant  will  tell  you,  and  I 
should  be  glad  to  come  in  all  poynts  cheerfully  unto  you,  for  I  have  a  world  of  discourse  to  unlade, 
like  those  that  weede  not  a  garden  till  it  has  growen  a  woode.  Yet  in  the  reserved  mater  I  have 
not  much  to  saye  more  touching  that  subject  whereof  I  last  wrote  to  yr  Lad^  by  this  verie  Bearer. 
For  in  truth  I  have  given  it  out  with  a  good  confidence  that  all  is  well  in  the  intentions  on  both 
sides  and  with  assurance  on  my  inviolat  neece  yr  dawghter's  part.  And  the  reason  why  I  have  no 
more  stirred  in  it  is  an  experience  that  I  had  long  since  of  being  imployed  in  the  like  buisinesse  (as 
I  shall  tell  yr  Ladp  when  we  meete)  with  miserable  infelicitic.  I  thinke  silence  and  rest  doeth 
oftentymes  more  good  then  Physique  and  agitation  of  Nature. 

Glad  I  am  to  heare  that  yr  LadP  hath  brought  with  you  my  most  deere  Neece  Hester,  to 
whom  My  Lord  her  gran  father  did  as  great  an  injurie  as  he  could  possibly  doe  even  while  he 
meant  to  doe  a  greater  ;  owre  blessed  God  disposeth  of  all  thinges  sweetely  in  his  good  tyme.  And 
so  end  with  my  continual  prayers  for  his  decrest  favours  uppon  you  and  all  yours. 

Remayning  ever  youre  Ladp's  most  faythfull  servant, 

HENRY  WOTTON. 

[/«  dorso.']  Leettcr  of  Sr  Hen.  Wotton  touching  a  visit  or  Journey  to 
meete  his  neece  in  Kent,  but  by  a  circuit  to  goe  to 
Phisition,  w*  he  brought  from  Venice  wlh  him.  Venice 
subject  to  splene,  w"1  which  he  is  a  little  troubled  now 
and  then.  Soe  glad  to  heare  she  has  brought  his  neece 
Esther  wth  her,  to  whome  her  grandfather  did  as  great 
an  injury  as  possible,  while  he  sought  to  doe  a  greater. 
He  rests. 


XVIII. — Notes  on  some  Roman  Architectural  Remains  discovered  m  the  city  of 
Chester,  in  the  summer  of  the  year  1863 :  by  WILLIAM  TITE,  Esq.  M.P., 
F.R.S.,  V.P.S.A.,  in  a  letter  to  Augustus  W.  Franks,  Esq.,  Director. 


Read  January  14th,  1864. 


MY  DEAH  SlR, 

In  the  autumn  of  the  last  year,  on  my  way  back  from  Newcastle,  after  the 
meeting  of  the  British  Association,  I  passed  through  Chester ;  a  city  which,  for 
the  antiquary,  the  archaeologist,  and  the  architect,  possesses  peculiar  charms; 
and  which  I  never  visit  without  renewed  interest.  On  this  occasion  however  I 
found  Chester  to  be  gradually  changing  its  former  character,  in  consequence  of 
the  overpowering  influence  of  the  railroad  system,  which  makes  it  the  great 
centre  of  the  lines  of  communication  in  that  district.  At  the  station  a  very  large 
hotel  had  been  erected ;  and  that  undertaking  having  proved  successful  has 
probably  led  to  similar  speculations  in  the  city  itself.  The  principal  hotel  in  the 
main  street  has  been  taken  down,  and  is  now  being  rebuilt ;  and  in  the  adjoining 
street,  Bridge  Street,  another  large  old  inn,  known  as  "The  Feathers"  (the 
site  of  the  remains  I  am  about  to  describe),  has  been  destroyed.  Many  new  and 
magnificent  houses  and  shops  are  now  occupying  the  places  of  the  picturesque  old 
wooden  buildings  of  earlier  times ;  but  I  am  glad  to  perceive  that  the  peculiar 
feature  of  Chester  domestic  architecture,  the  "  Rows,"  is  still  retained ;  though 
the  ambulatories  now  constructed  are  much  higher  and  lighter  than  the  old 
passages. 

At  the  cathedral  the  structure  itself  still  remains  in  a  very  sad  state  of 
dilapidation ;  but  this  is  not  because  a  great  deal  of  repair  has  not  been  already 
effected,  for  the  exquisite  restoration  of  "  the  Lady  Chapel,"  at  an  expense  of 
9,000/.,  is  beyond  all  praise. 

As  I  wandered  along  the  Rows  I  observed  a  photograph  in  one  of  the  shop 
windows,  representing  the  foundation  of  a  large  Roman  bath  or  chamber,  in 
general  character  precisely  similar  to  the  remains  recently  discovered  at  Wroxeter» 
and  so  constantly  occurring  elsewhere  in  Britain,  but  much  more  frequently 
under  tessellated  pavements  in  Italy.  In  a  paper  in  the  thirty-sixth  volume  of 


286  Notes  on  Roman  Architectural  Remains 

the  Archaeologia,  on  the  pavement  discovered  at  the  Excise  Office,  I  have  described 
this  kind  of  foundation ;  and  I  have  also  in  another  place  explained  the  nature  of 
these  supports  for  such  weighty  floors.  Here,  therefore,  I  need  only  repeat, 
that  sometimes  the  floors  were  laid  upon  the  solid  earth,  as  in  the  case  of  the 
pavement  at  Broad  Street,  and  sometimes,  as  at  Wroxeter  and  in  this  instance  at 
Chester,  on  the  tops  of  small  pillars  called  piles.  In  this  example,  as  in  many 
others,  the  low  columns  supporting  the  floor  were  supposed  to  have  belonged 
to  a  hypocaust,  understanding  that  word  in  the  sense  of  a  heated  chamber; 
but  I  believe  they  were  often  really  nothing  more  than  a  most  efficacious 
means  of  securing  the  floor  from  the  damps  of  the  earth  beneath, — a  difficulty 
which  is  constantly  occurring  in  the  basements  of  our  own  houses. 

The  interesting  photographic  view  which  I  referred  to  led  me  to  inquire 
further,  and  I  learned  that  the  remains  had  been  discovered  on  the  site  of  the  late 
Feathers  Hotel,  in  digging  the  foundations  for  a  new  edifice.  The  architect 
under  whose  care  these  works  are  proceeding  was  not  then  in  Chester ;  but, 
having  obtained  a  sufficient  introduction,  I  visited  the  spot;  and,  though  the 
tessellated  pavement  and  its  low  columns  were  nearly  all  destroyed,  I  was 
agreeably  surprised  and  pleased  to  find  the  remains  of  a  Roman  portico,  or  even 
of  a  small  temple,  still  standing  in  situ.  Long  as  I  have  been  an  inquirer  into 
the  works  of  the  Romans  in  Britain,  I  had  never  before  seen  any  reliques  so  in- 
teresting as  these;  for  it  is  a  singular  fact  that  very  few  vestiges  have  been 
found  of  Iloman  columnar  decorated  architecture.  Pavements,  walls,  remains 
of  baths  and  villas,  sculptures,  inscriptions,  and  smaller  antiquities  are  frequently 
discovered,  and  in  sufficient  numbers  to  fill  museums ;  but  I  am  not  aware 
of  any  Roman  works  of  this  class,  excepting  perhaps  the  remarkable  conical 
building  Avliich  once  stood  on  the  banks  of  the  Carron,  near  Alloa,  in  Scotland,* 
and  the  magnificent  remains  of  the  Temple  of  the  Sun  or  of  Apollo  at  Bath.b 
London,  as  I  have  frequently  stated,  has  never  to  my  knowledge  produced  any 
such  architectural  reliques. 


•  This  edifice  was  familiarly  known  by  the  name  of  "  Arthur's  (Don,"  or  oven,  or  hoffen,  as  Stukelcy 
expresses  the  word.  It  was  of  a  circular  form,  very  much  resembling  a  common  bee-hive,  and  it  measured 
about  thirty-nine  yards  in  circumference  at  the  base.  It  was  destroyed  in  the  summer  of  the  year  1743, 
by  the  proprietor,  Sir  Michael  Bruce,  in  order  that  the  stones  might  be  employed  in  constructing  a  dam  on 
the  Carron,  which  was  soon  after  carried  away  by  the  river.  The  best  and  most  intelligent  account  of  this 
structure  is  contained  in  Mr.  Robert  Stuart's  "  Caledonia  Eomana,"  published  in  18-45,  plate  v.  and 
pages  180-182. 

"  The  earliest  account  of  the  temple  found  at  Bath  was  printed  by  Governor  Thomas  Pownall,  F.S.A. 


discovered  in  Chester.  287 

Bridge  Street  in  Chester,  the  locality  where  these  remains  were  discovered, 
almost  precisely  corresponds  in  its  direction  and  importance  as  a  great  and  ancient 
highway  with  the  old  Eish  Street  Hill  and  lower  end  of  Gracechurch  Street  in 
the  city  of  London,  since  it  leads  from  the  <Bridge  Gate,  like  a  main  artery, 
northward  through  the  city.  On  the  eastern  side  of  the  street,  something 
more  than  a  quarter  of  a  mile  from  the  river,  stood  the  old  hostel  or  inn  called 
"  The  Feathers,"  under  a  part  of  How's  Row  and  opposite  to  Pierpoint  Lane. 
Beneath  these  premises,  and  exactly  parallel  with  the  present  street,  the  Roman 
ruins  were  discovered,  in  the  afternoon  of  Monday,  June  22nd,  1863,  in 
removing  the  foundations  of  the  old  hotel ;  and  they  evidently  constituted  two 
distinct  portions  of  the  same  edifice. 

On  the  eastern  side  was  a  space  about  twenty-three  feet  square,  containing 
between  sixty  and  seventy  pillars,  thirty-two  inches  high,  of  a  quadrangular  form, 
with  caps  of  twelve  inches  :  the  columns  being  set  at  the  respective  distances  of 
thirteen  inches,  and  six  and  a  half  inches,  apart  from  each  other.  It  was  supposed 
in  Chester  that  this  chamber  must  have  been  the  hypocaust  of  a  bath ;  but 
the  character  and  number  of  the  small  columns,  and  the  absence  of  flue 
tiles,  which  are  especially  proper  to  a  hypocaust,  appear  to  me  to  prove  that  it 
really  was  a  space  artificially  contrived  below  the  floor  of  an  apartment  or  division 
of  a  building,  the  intention  of  which  I  have  already  explained.  I  am  inclined 
also  to  think  it  very  likely  that,  although  the  existence  of  these  remains  seems  to 
have  been  forgotten,  they  are  none  other  than  those  described  and  figured  by 
Messrs.  Daniel  and  Samuel  Lysons  in  1810,"  and  likewise  noticed  by  Horsley, 
Pennant,  and  Gough  many  years  before. 

About  a  fortnight  after  the  first  discovery,  on  excavating  to  the  north  of  the 
hypocaust,  so  called,  the  workmen  came  upon  the  base  of  a  circular  Roman  pillar, 

and  entitled  "  Descriptions  and  Explanations  of  some  Roman  Antiquities  found  at  Bath  in  the  year 
M.DCC.XC.  Bath,  1795."  4to.  It  contains  a  good  engraving  of  the  sculptures  and  inscription  ;  but  in 
Carter's  "  Ancient  Architecture  of  England,"  1795,  fol.  plates  vii.-x.  are  entirely  composed  of  large 
effective  etchings  of  all  the  remains.  The  most  complete  account,  however,  as  well  as  the  best  representa- 
tions of  them  will  be  found  in  Mr.  Samuel  Lysons's  "  Reliquite  Britannico-Romanas,"  vol.  i.  part  ii. 
1813,  Imperial  folio.  It  comprises  twelve  coloured  engravings  by  W.  Daniell,  from  drawings  made  about 
1802,  by  the  eminent  architect,  Sir  Robert  Smirke. 

tt  These  remains  have  now  been  represented  with  accuracy  and  artistic  excellence  in  the  local  photo- 
graph referred  to  abore.  The  hypocaust  chambers  at  Uriconium  (Wroxeter)  are  unquestionably  much 
finer  than  those  at  Chester,  but  they  do  not  comprise  auy  such  architectural  reliques  as  those  which 
are  subsequently  described  in  this  paper. 


Notes  on  Roman  Architectural  Remains 

twenty-seven  and  a  quarter  inches  in  diameter  across  the  top,  and  four  feet  eight 
inches  high,  resting  on  a  square  hlock  of  red  sandstone,  standing  on  the  native 
rock.  At  the  distance  of  five  feet  nine  inches  the  hase  of  a  second  column  was 
found  of  similar  mouldings  and  proportions;  and  subsequently  a  third  and  a 
fourth ;  hetween  the  last  of  which  are  the  remains  of  a  Roman  well,  fourteen  feet 
deep,  cut  in  the  solid  rock.  In  front  of  these  bases,  at  a  distance  of  thirty-nine 
and  a  half  feet,  there  have  been  discovered  those  of  six  other  columns,  with  the 
vacancy  once  occupied  by  the  seventh :  an  arrangement  which  gives  the 
appearance  of  a  small  temple,  as  will  be  perceived  by  a  reference  to  the  plan 
of  the  remains.  The  space  inclosed  by  the  two  lines  of  columns  is  a  parallelogram, 
which  under  ordinary  circumstances  would  have  been  the  cella  of  the  temple,  but 
it  would  be  an  exceedingly  small  one,  and  probably  was  only  a  covered  portico 
containing  a  statue.  The  whole  of  this  part  of  the  building  might,  therefore,  have 
constituted  a  four-columned  Corinthian  portico,  about  the  size  of  the  Maison 
Carre  at  Nismes.  On  July  the  16th  a  specimen  of  the  capitals  of  these  columns 
was  found  in  the  debris,  which  exhibits  a  good  arrangement  of  acanthus  leaves ; 
but  their  bases  consist  mainly  of  plain  bands  like  the  mouldings  found  on  those 
of  the  Temple  of  Apollo,  discovered  at  Bath  in  the  summer  of  1790.  Both  of 
these  examples  shew  the  rudeness  and  late  age  of  the  edifices  in  which  they 
appear;  or,  possibly,  the  inferiority  of  the  artificers  by  whom  they  were  con- 
structed, since  it  is  not  at  all  probable  that  the  best  workmen  in  any  art  were 
ever  transported  from  Rome  to  Britain. 

Since  it  may  be  considered  that  the  subject  of  this  paper  belongs  to  a  pro- 
fessional local  antiquary  rather  than  to  a  stranger,  I  ought,  in  self-defence,  to 
mention,  that  my  motive  for  thus  producing  it  is  that  no  such  accurate  local 
survey  appears  to  have  been  made.  The  Chester  Journals  repeatedly  suggested 
and  recommended  that  the  remains  should  have  an  existence  on  paper,  and  be 
carefully  measured,  as  the  new  structure  then  gradually  rising  would  efface  the 
Roman  work  in  the  course  of  a  few  weeks.  All  traces  of  this  ancient  edifice 
would  thus  be  entirely  lost,  until  similar  circumstances  of  excavation  might 
lead  to  another  discovery  of  that  which  was  really  already  matter  of  antiquarian 
history. 

That  such  a  result  is  not  at  all  improbable  may  be  proved  by  the  description 
and  survey  of  the  remains  of  the  supposed  Roman  bath  existing  under  "  The 
Feathers  "  Hotel,  published  by  Messrs.  D.  and  S.  Lysons  in  1810,  which  are  very 
likely  to  be  those  forming  the  first  portion  of  the  present  discovery.  "  Some  of 


Vol.XL.Pl.XV.p. 


PLAN  &COFTME  ROMAN   REMAINS 

DISCOVERED      IN      BRIDGE     STREET      CHESTER    (JUNE      1863) 
ON     THE     SITE     OF      THE      FEATHERS      TAVERN. 


SECTION  6HEW,MC  CONSTRUCTION  *T  A 
TO  TMC  SAKE  8C«LE  »»  COLUMN 


BRIDGE         STREET 


FRAGMENTS   OF   CAPITAL. 
SHAFT    AND    BA8E6   OF  COLUMNS. 


o  _  u)  _  y> 


to          mo  _  70         to          »o         too 


R    BRABB.DEL     FROM  A  SURVEY.  AND  ADDITIONAL  MEMORANDA  SUPPLIED 
BY   EDWARD   HODKINBON    E8O     ARCHITECT.   CHESTER. 


discovered  in  Chester.  289 

those  remains  (says  this  accoiint),  which  were  noticed  a  century  ago,  are  still  in 
existence,  consisting  of  a  hypocaust,  fifteen  feet  long  and  eight  feet  wide,  with  an 
adjoining  chamber,  or  preefumiim,  of  the  same  dimensions :  they  are  situated 
at  the  back  of  a  smith's  shop,  under  The  Feathers  Inn  in  Bridge  Street.  This 
hypocaust  is  supported  by  twenty-eight  pillars  of  stone,  two  feet  eight  inches  high, 
and  one  foot  square  at  the  top  and  bottom.  Over  these  pillars  are  placed  bricks, 
eighteen  inches  square  and  three  inches  thick,  which  support  others  two  feet  square, 
perforated  with  small  holes,  set  about  six  inches  asunder.  Immediately  over  this 
upper  layer  of  bricks  is  a  terrace  floor  composed  of  several  layers  of  lime,  pounded 
bricks,  &c.  in  different  degrees  of  fineness.* " 

These  works  are  also  described  by  Pennant  and  Gough ;  but  the  old  reference 
noticed  by  Messrs.  Lysons  appears  to  be  to  the  passage  inserted  in  Horsley's 
"  Britannia  Romana,"  published  in  1732.  "  In  Bridge  Street  on  the  south  side, 
under  '  The  Feathers '  stairs,  adjoining  to  a  cellar  on  the  east,  is  a  low  room,  the 
figure  of  which  is  a  regular  oblong.  The  roof  is  flat,  and  supported  by  several 
small  pillars  of  stone  about  two  feet  high.  Over  each  pillar  is  a  Roman  tile, 
nearly  two  feet  square,  and  about  three  inches  thick.  Each  of  these  tiles  has  a 
small  hole  or  holes  through  it,  about  six  inches  distant  from  one  another.  The 
outer  side  of  the  tiles  and  holes  is  black,  as  if  smoked.  The  floor  is  of  rough 
stone  and  cement." 

This  room  or  furnace  is  still  existing  in  the  city,  and  is  exhibited  to  visitors  at 
sixpence  each,  under  the  title  of  "  that  ancient  relique  of  the  Romans  the  Bath 
and  Hypocaust,  pronounced  by  all  antiquarians  to  be  the  greatest  curiosity  in 
Chester."  It  is  now  under  a  house  adjoining  to  "  The  Feathers  ;"  and  my  own 
impression  is  that  it  was  part  of  the  furnaces  of  the  baths  adjoining  ;  but  at  pre- 
sent, as  it  is  half  filled  with  water  from  natural  infiltration,  it  has  very  much  the 
look  of  a  small  cold  bath. 

I  trust  that  the  plans,  section  drawings,  and  this  short  description,  will  make 
the  nature  of  these  remains  quite  intelligible.  With  respect  to  the  period  at 
which  they  were  erected  my  own  opinion  is  that  they  were  built  about  a  century 
before  the  Romans  left  Britain.  The  Chester  journals  mention  coins  of  Claudius 
Gothicus,  Constantmus  II.,  and  Constans,  having  been  found  in  the  excavations ; 
but  I  could  not  discover  in  whose  possession  they  now  remain. 

In  a  former  part  of  this  letter  I  have  referred  to  a  very  elaborate  account  of 

»  Magna  Britannia,  vol.  ii.  part  i:.;  County  Palatine  of  Chester,  pp.  428,  431;  Horsley,  Britannia 
Romana,  p.  318. 

VOL.  XL.  2  P 


290  Notes  on  Roman  Architectural  Remains 

the  remains  found  at  Bath  in  the  very  splendid  work  originally  produced  by  Mr. 
Samuel  Lysons  in  1802,  which  subsequently  formed  the  second  part  of  his  "  Reli- 
quiae Britannico-Romana}."  The  drawings  for  this  beautiful  publication  were 
made  by  my  excellent  old  friend  Sir  Robert  Smirke ;  and,  like  everything  which 
he  executed,  are  models  of  taste  and  accuracy.  The  reliques  themselves  are  pre- 
served with  great  care  in  the  museum  at  Bath,  where  I  have  often  admired  them ; 
and  therefore  I  could  not  but  be  struck  with  the  very  remarkable  similarity  and 
general  agreement  between  them  and  some  of  the  remains  recently  discovered  at 
Chester ;  I  have  no  doubt  that  they  are  all  of  the  same  age.  As  Mr.  Lysons  has 
given  a  restoration  of  the  fagade  of  the  temple  at  Bath,  and  of  the  order  and 
entablature  used  in  the  architecture  :  in  plate  XVI.  I  have  attempted  to  effect  a 
similar  composition  out  of  the  imperfect  remains  found  at  Chester.  But  he  had 
an  authority  for  the  entablature  upon  the  columns,  which  I  had  not ;  though 
I  had  a  much  larger  quantity  of  the  buildings  themselves. 

The  columns  in  the  Bath  temple  were  two  feet  four  inches  in  diameter,  and 
were  fluted ;  and  the  capitals  and  entablature  were  also  highly  decorated.  At 
Chester  the  columns  differ  but  little  in  diameter  or  height;  but  they  are  not 
fluted,  nor  are  the  capitals  so  much  ornamented.  From  those  columns  which 
still  remain  in  situ  in  the  example  at  Chester,  there  is  not  the  least  difficulty  in 
restoring  the  plan  of  the  temple.  It  had,  no  doubt,  a  statue  in  the  middle  of  it, 
as  in  the  edifice  at  Bath,  where  also  a  beautiful  fragment  was  found  of  part  of  a 
bronze  head  of  Apollo  with  thin  gold  plating ;  and  I  hope  that  even  yet  some 
similar  reliques  may  be  discovered  at  Chester. 

I  ought  to  state  in  defence  of  the  plan  which  I  have  now  laid  before  this 
Society,  that,  in  the  restoration  proposed,  there  is  but  very  little  which  can  be 
attributed  to  fancy.  The  screen  of  columns  fronting  the  street,  as  shown  in  the 
plan,  is  imaginary,  but  the  foundation  wall  of  it  is  really  there.  The  appropriation  of 
the  apartments  is  also  conjectural,  but  it  is,  nevertheless,  reasonable,  and  consistent 
with  ancient  authorities.  My  opinion  is,  that  fronting  the  great  highway  leading 
to  the  bridge,  the  temple  and  baths  stood  as  they  are  here  arranged ;  but  whether 
I  am  right  or  wrong  in  respect  of  this  restoration,  it  is  indisputable  that  the 
remains  at  Chester  are  some  of  the  most  remarkable  monuments  of  Roman  art 
now  to  be  found  in  Britain ;  though  it  is  feared  that,  from  the  exigencies  of  the 
case,  they  have  been  by  this  time  all  taken  away. 

By  the  considerate  favour  of  the  Marquis  of  Westminster,  to  whom  the  ground 
belongs  on  which  this  building  stood,  and  also  by  the  meritorious  exertions  of  Mr. 
Hodgkinson,  his  architect,  the  best  of  the  remains  have  been  carefully  removed 


SUGGESTED  PLAN 

OF  THE  PROBABLE  STATE  OF  THE  ROMAN  TEMPLE  AND  BATH  8 

CHESTER. 


WITH  A  COMPARISON  OFTHE  COLUMNS  AND  ENTABLATURE  FOUND  IN  A  SIMILAR  STRUCTURE  AT  BATH. 


8UOOEBTED  ELEVATION  OFTEMPLE. 

C  H.£  S  T  £  R 


RC9TOREDOOLUUN   AND  ENTABLATURE 

CHESTER 


O    •  Y   «  !-»•    O 


FRIOIDARIUM 


TEPIDARIUM 


APODYTEHIUHI 


BRIDGE         STREET 


aoio«o«oiQ«j>goBOBO     190  FtET 


SUGGESTED  ELEVATION  OFTEMPLE. 
BATH. 


I  I 


RESTORED  COLUMN  AND  ENTABLATURE 
BATH 


W.TITS.OIftEXIT. 


R    BRASS. DEL 


discovered  in  Cheater.  291 

to  the  museum  at  Chester.  To  that  gentleman,  and  also  to  the  editors  of  the 
Chester  journals,  I  am  glad  to  record  my  thanks  for  the  information  which  they 
so  readily  afforded  me.  Mr.  Hodgkinson  likewise  most  obligingly  re-surveyed 
the  whole  site,  and  gave  me  many  important  particulars,  sections,  &c.  by  which 
I  perfected  the  survey  made  by  my  able  assistant  Mr.  H.  Brass.  I  am  further 
indebted  for  some  curious  photographs  to  Mr.  Peacock,  a  local  antiquary  of  the 
city,  and  to  Mr.  Hodgkinson. 

It  is  a  constant  tradition  in  the  ancient  history  of  Chester,  that  it  contained 
below  the  surface  many  vast  works  of  a  very  early  period,  which  had  become 
subterranean  only  because  mediaeval  buildings  and  causeways  had  been  from 
time  to  time  constructed  over  them.  The  same  observation  is  of  course  true  in 
some  degree  of  the  other  cities  and  towns  of  Britain  which  were  ever  occupied 
by  the  llomans;  but  the  very  names  of  Chester,  in  the  form  in  which  that 
nation  expressed  and  understood  them,  implied  a  camp,  a  legionary  station — in- 
valuable as  it  regarded  the  reduction  of  Ireland — and  a  city  and  a  castle  united" — 
"  Cestria  de  Castris  nomen  quasi  Castria  sumpsit." 

As  if  that  Chester  took  a  name, 

Which  Town  and  Castle  made  the  same. 


•'  Dr.  Stukeley  in  his  Itinerary,  vol.  i.  p.  59,  ii.  p.  30,  indicates  Chester  by  the  name  of  Deva,  placed  in 
the  margin  of  his  text,  which  is  a  Romanised  form  of  the  British  Dy/yr-Dwy,  or  the  Water  of  Dee.  As 
this  river  rises  from  two  springs  in  Wales,  the  last  word  has  beeu  understood  to  signify  two ;  "  but,''  says 
Camden,  as  translated  by  Philemon  Holland,  "others,  also  observing  the  signification  of  the  word,  interpret 
it  as  Black-water :  others  againe  as  the  Water  of  God,  and  Divine  Water.  But,  although  Ausonius  noteth 
that  a  spring  hallowed  to  the  gods  was  called  Diuvona  in  the  ancient  Gaules  tongue,  which  was  all  one 
with  the  British ;  and  in  old  time  all  rivers  were  reputed  Aion-ereis,  that  is,  descending  from  Heaven ;  yea, 
and  our  Britons  also  yielded  divine  honour  unto  rivers,  as  Gildas  writeth ; — yet  I  see  not  why  they  should 
attribute  divine  honour  to  this  river  Dwy  above  all  others.  Unlesse,  peradventure,  because  it  now  and 
then  changed  the  channel,  and  thereby  foreshowed  a  sure  token  of  victory  to  the  inhabitants  upon  it,  when 
they  were  in  hostility  one  with  another,  according  as  it  inclined  more  to  this  side  or  that  after  it  had  lefr. 
the  channel :  for  thus  hath  Giraldus  Cambrensis  recorded,  who  in  some  sort  believed  it." 

Selden,  however,  in  one  of  his  notes  to  the  Eleventh  Song  of  Drayton's  Polyolbion,  observes  that 
Chester  is  "  at  this  day  in  British  called  Caer  Lhean  ar  Dour  Divy,  i.  e.  the  City  of  Legions  on  the  river 
Dee.  Some  vulgar  antiquaries,"  he  continues,  "  have  referred  the  name  of  Leon  to  a  giant,  builder  of  it; 
I  nor  they  know  who  he  was,  or  when  he  lived ;  but  indeed  they  ridiculously  took  Lton  Dour  for  King 
Leon  the  great."  The  sanctity  of  the  Dee  is  repeatedly  referred  to  by  Drayton ;  Spenser  makes  it  the 
haunt  of  magicians ;  and  Milton  laments  that  when  Lycidas  was  lost  the  water-nymphs  were  not  "  where 
Deva  spreads  her  wisard-stream."  As  Deva  is  intended  to  be  the  name  of  a  female  river-divinity,  the 
prefix  wisurd  must  be  carefully  understood  in  the  sense  of  a  diviner,  as  Wharton  explains  it  from  Comus. 

2r2 


292  Notes  on  Roman  Architectural  Remains 

All  the  other  designations  by  which  this  place  is  known  in  remote  history, 
Leon  Gaur,  Caer  Leon,  Lhean  ar  Dour  Dwy,  or  Leye  Castria,  indicate  that  it  was 
the  permanent  residence  of  a  great  military  force  "  for  the  Romans,"  as  Daniel 
King  expresses  himself,  "  to  keep  the  keys,  as  I  may  say,  of  Ireland,  and  preserve 
the  limits  of  their  empire."  As  this  policy  required  the  maintenance  of  a  large 
standing  army  in  Chester,"  which  never  could  be  always  employed  in  hostile  or 
military  operations,  the  strength  of  it  must  often  have  been  directed  to  the  con- 
struction of  those  great  works  of  architecture  and  civil-engineering,  large  remains 
of  which  appear  to  have  been  visible  in  the  city  down  to  the  fourteenth  century, 
if  not  to  a  much  later  period.  The  curious  mediaeval  chronicles  by  which  the 
history  of  Chester  has  been  so  remarkably  perpetuated  contain  many  notices  of 
these  buildings,  which  the  authors  seem  to  have  seen  and  known,  even  though 
they  frequently  took  their  thoughts  and  words  from  each  other.  One  of  them, 
called  Roger  of  Chester,  says,  "When  I  behold  the  ground-work  of  buildings 
in  the  streets  laid  with  strong  huge  stones,  it  seemeth  that  it  has  been  founded 
by  the  painful  labours  of  the  Romans,  or  of  giants,  rather  than  by  the  industry 
of  Britons."  In  this  very  natural  observation  seems  to  be  contained  the  germ 
of  the  tradition  that  Chester  was  really  founded  by — 

Leon  Gauer,  a  mighty  strong  Giaunte, 

Which  builded  caves  and  dungeons  many  an  one. 

But  when  Dr.  Ormerod  produced  his  excellent  History  of  the  County  Palatine 
(upwards  of  forty  years  since),  he  says,  "  There  are  now  no  vaults  known  to  be  iii 
existence  of  the  kind  described  in  the  Polychronicon.  Under  some  of  the  rows  is 
a  series  of  vaults,  probably  once  used  as  storehouses  for  mercantile  purposes ; 
but  none  of  these  appear  to  be  older  than  the  fifteenth  century." 

It  is  quite  possible  that  in  many  unknown  places,  and  at  unknown  depths,  in 
such  cities  and  towns  of  England  as  were  once  occupied  by  the  Romans,  there 
may  yet  exist  some  great  remains  of  large  edifices,  over  which  mediaeval  struc- 
tures have  been  erected.  Of  their  existence,  however,  and  of  the  time  when  they 
were  covered  over,  we  know  nothing  ;  but  perhaps  a  plausible  conjecture  may  be 
offered  concerning  the  date  when  the  Roman  remains  discovered  at  Chester  first 
disappeared. 

1  The  Legion  stationed  at  Deva,  or  Chester,  was  the  twentieth,  known  by  the  name  of  Valeria  Victrix ; 
and  from  the  very  great  importance  of  the  post,  and  the  constant  service  required,  it  could  not  have  con- 
tained less  than  the  largest  number  of  soldiers ;  ten  cohorts,  or  perhaps  5,000  men.  It  was  one  of  the 
nineteen  legions  which  Dion  Cassius  mentions  to  have  been  raised  by  Augustus. 


discovered  in  Chester.  293 

In  A.D.  1335,  Edward  of  Woodstock,  Prince  of  "Wales,  the  famous  Black 
Prince,  was  created  the  first  permanent  royal  Earl  of  Chester ;  and,  after  the 
battle  of  Crescy  in  1346,  he  assumed  the  well-known  device  so  frequently  re- 
peated on  the  sides  of  his  monument  at  Canterbury,  of  an  escutcheon  sable, 
charged  with  three  ostrich  feathers  argent,  quilled  and  set  in  sockets  or ;  each 
enfiled  with  a  scroll  inscribed  tri)  triftie.  Some  such  device  was  in  all  probability 
the  sign  of  the  ancient  hostel  erected  over  the  Roman- work  at  Chester ;  and 
it  shows  both  the  reason  why  the  house  was  known  as  "The  Feathers,"  and 
the  particular  period  when  the  more  ancient  remains  were  built  upon.  Prince 
Edward  had  already  merited  the  gratitude  of  the  citizens  of  Chester  by  having 
confirmed  to  them  their  former  charters  and  liberties  in  another  grant,  dated 
March  9th  1341,  the  15th  year  of  Edward  III.,  in  which  the  boundaries  of  the 
city  are  all  expressed  by  name. 

I  am,  my  dear  Sir, 

Tours  very  sincerely, 

WILLIAM  TITE. 


NOTE. — In  the  course  of  the  winter  of  the  year  in  which  this  letter  was  read 
at  the  Society  of  Antiquaries,  I  received  an  intimation  from  Chester  that  Dr. 
Brushfield,  a  local  antiquary,  would  read  a  paper  on  these  remains ;  he  did  so 
in  two  lectures  given  at  meetings  of  the  Chester  Archaeological  Society  in  1864. 
He  has  also  published  in  the  Journal  of  the  Archaeological  Association  for 
December  1866  an  elaborate  plan  of  the  ruins,  and  some  particulars  of  anti- 
quities found  in  Chester,  and  also  in  connection  with  these  remains. 

This  plan  is  incorrect  in  one  particular ;  but,  if  I  had  known  that  Dr.  Brush- 
field  and  the  local  antiquaries  were  taking  so  much  pains,  I  might  have  been 
spared  much  of  the  labour  referred  to  in  this  communication ;  but  all  I  could 
learn  locally  is  explained  in  my  letter.  So  far  as  I  can  make  out,  Dr.  Brushfield 
thinks  these  remains  were  those  of  the  Praetorium  of  Roman  Chester.  In  the  last 
paper  referred  to,  and  which  I  now  take  the  liberty  of  quoting,  he  however 
speaks  of  a  very  curious  fragment  of  an  inscription  or  "  inscribed  slab,"  of  which 
I  was  not  informed,  in  Chester.  Dr.  Brushfield  refers  to  it  as  follows  : — 

"  Inscribed  slab. — The  last  archaeological  specimen  from  Chester  is,  perhaps, 
the  most  interesting  one.  It  is  a  portion  of  a  large  incised  slab,  and  was  found 
lying  adjacent  to  the  external  wall  of  the  Roman  apartments  uncovered  in  Bridge 
Street.  It  was  being  carted  away  amongst  some  rubbish,  but  was  fortunately 


294  Notes  on  Hainan  Architectural  Remains  in  Chester. 

recognised  by  Mr.  John  Peacock,  who  at  once  obtained  possession  of  it.  It  is  of 
a  square  oblong  form,  measuring  18  inches  long,  8£  inches  in  its  widest  breadth, 
and  2  inches  thick ;  and  is  in  two  portions,  which  fit  each  other  accurately.  Its 
posterior  surface  is  rough,  and  portions  of  concrete  still  adhere  to  it ;  whilst  its 
anterior  is  highly  polished,  and,  when  wetted,  reveals  the  characteristic  structure 
of  Purbeck  marble.  It  contains  the  remnants  of  two  lines  of  an  inscription,  the 
upper  consisting  of  portions  of  the  letters  o  G  and  perhaps  A ;  whilst  the  lower 
contains  the  letters  DOM,  with  a  point  before  the  D.  All  of  these  are  well  cut, 
are  remarkably  sharp,  and  bear  full  evidence  of  having  been  painted  red. 
Between  the  lines  on  the  left  side  is  the  mark  of  a  blunt  weapon,  with  a  crack 
proceeding  from  it. 

"  The  few  remaining  characters  of  the  inscription  afford  us  no  clue  either  to 
their  meaning  or  to  the  probable  contents  of  the  rest  of  the  slab.  The  DOM.  of 
the  lower  row  may  possibly  have  been  a  proper  name  ;  but,  as  inscriptions  fre- 
quently contain  the  words  domus  and  dominus,  it  would  be  idle  to  attempt  any 
explanation.  Taking,  however,  all  circumstances  into  consideration,  viz.  the 
large  size  of  the  Roman  building  on  the  site  of  which  it  was  found ;  the  evident 
care  displayed  in  selecting  a  durable  material,  and  in  subsequently  giving  its 
surface  such  a  high  polish  ;  the  unusual  size  of  the  letters,  and  their  colouring ; 
and  the  large  size  of  the  original  slab ;  we  have  sufficient  data  for  offering  the 
conjecture  that  it  formed  a  portion  of  a  dedicatory  inscription  on  the  erection  or 
restoration  of  the  building." 


XIX. — On  discoveries  of  Remains  of  the  Roman  Wall  of  London,  by  WILLIAM 
TITE,  Esq.,  M.P.,  F.R.S.,  F.S.A. :  in  a  letter  to  Frederic  Ouvry,  Esq., 
Treasurer. 


Read  Nov.  17th,  1864. 


42,  Lowndes  Square,  5th  November,  1864. 

MY  DEAB,  SIR, 

In  April  of  the  year  1854  I  had  the  honour  of  addressing  to  you  a  letter  on 
the  subject  of  a  tessellated  pavement  of  considerable  beauty  which  was  disco- 
vered in  Bishopsgate  Street  in  digging  for  the  foundation  of  Gresham  House. 

That  paper  was  subsequently  printed  in  the  thirty-sixth  volume  of  the  Archseo- 
logia,  and  at  page  209  the  following  passage  occurs  : — 

"  In  the  summer  of  1853  the  excavations  on  the  north  side  of  the  Tower  on 
Tower  Hill  showed  in  situ  distinct  remains  of  Roman  work  in  part  of  the 
inclosure  wall  of  Roman  London  on  that  side.  Here  the  wall  was  composed  of 
square  tiles,  with  that  very  thick  joint  and  accurate  bond  for  which  Roman  builders 
were  remarkable,  and  this  piece  of  work  might  have  been  executed  within  the 
compass  of  '  The  Seven  Hills  ;'  but,  excepting  this  brickwork,  the  Roman 
hypocaust  in  Thames  Street,  and  the  pavements  uncovered  in  various  places,  I 
have  never  seen  any  Roman  work  which  I  felt  sure  of.  It  may  be  answered, 
that  London  was  often  sacked  and  burnt ;  but  still  Roman  edifices  of  stone  are 
not  so  easily  disposed  of.  In  all  ages  such  fragments  have  been  made  use  of  as 
building  materials,  and  have  in  the  course  of  tune  been  gradually  brought  to 
light.  Bath,  Gloucester,  Cirencester,  and  other  places  can  witness ;  yet  their 
entire  absence  in  London  convinces  me  that  Roman  London  was  a  brick  city, 
and,  in  the  words  of  Tacitus,  '  a  place  not  dignified  with  the  name  of  colony, 
but  the  chief  residence  of  merchants.' ' 

The  annexed  woodcut  is  a  small  portion  of  the  Plan  of  London  copied  from  that 
published  by  the  Society  of  Antiquaries,  showing  London  as  it  existed  in  the  time 
of  Elizabeth. 


290 


On  discoveries  of  the  Remains  of  the 


The  cut  shows  the  eastern  side 
of  the  City,  and  this  first  frag- 
ment of  Roman  walling  was  dis- 
covered at  the  point  marked  A. 
At  B  a  piece  above  ground  still 
exists  in  a  stable-yard. 

Fifteen  years  ago  the  construc- 
tion of  the  Blackwall  Railway 
showed  it  again  at  D ;  though,  as 
no  memorandum  was  kept  by  the 
engineers,  and  I  was  not  in  Eng- 
land, I  cannot  indicate  the  exact 
situation  ;  but  I  know  it  was 
about  the  place  where  I  have 
marked  it,  at  D.a 

It  has  happened  in  my  profes- 
sional career  that  I  have  had 
much  to  do  in  building  in  this 
immediate  neighbourhood,  and 
traces  of  this  wall  have  frequently 
occurred,  but  until  the  summer 
of  this  year  nothing  appeared  of 


,3*.  Tower 
of  London 


a  Since  writing  this  letter  my  attention  has  been  drawn  to  an  account  in  a  small  literary  publication  of 
the  day,  in  which  the  following  description  occurs: 

"  Mr.  Crack  recorded  the  appearance  of  the  Wall  as  he  saw  it  in  1841  laid  bare  for  the  works  of  the 
Blackwall  Railway. 

"  Beneath  a  range  of  houses  which  have  been  in  part  demolished,  in  a  court  entering  from  the  east  side 
of  Coopers  Row,  nearly  opposite  to  Milbourne's  Almshouses,  and  behind  the  south-west  corner  of  America 
Square,  the  workmen,  having  penetrated  to  the  natural  earth — a  hard,  dry,  sandy,  gravel— came  upon  a 
wall  seven  feet  six  inches  thick,  running  a  very  little  to  the  west  of  the  north,  or  parallel  to  the  line  of  the 
Minories,  which,  by  the  resistance  it  offered,  was  at  once  conjectured  to  be  of  Roman  masonry.  When  we 
saw  it,  it  had  been  laid  bare  on  both  sides  to  the  height  of  about  six  or  seven  feet,  and  there  was  an  oppor- 
tunity of  examining  its  construction,  both  on  the  surface  and  in  the  interior. 

"  The  principal  part  of  it  consisted  of  five  courses  of  squared  stones,  regularly  laid,  with  two  layers  of 
flat  bricks  below  them,  and  two  similar  layers  above — the  latter  at  least  carried  all  through  the  wall — as 
represented  in  the  drawing. 

"  The  mortar,  which  appeared  to  be  extremely  hard,  had  a  few  pebbles  mixed  up  with  it  ;   and  here  and 


Roman  Wall  of  London.  297 

any  very  distinct  character,  when  the  growing  necessities  of  the  trade  of  London 
led  my  friends  Messrs.  Joseph  Barber,  Turnbull,  and  Co.,  to  project  the  con- 
struction of  some  extensive  warehouses  on  the  site  of  some  old  houses  and  yards 
in  Cooper's  Row.  In  August  of  this  year  their  present  architect,  Mr.  Clifton, 
called  my  attention  to  the  very  extensive  remains  of  the  London  "Wall  that  he 
had  uncovered,  and  brought  me  a  photograph  which  I  now  exhibit. 

I  immediately  visited  the  place  with  him,  and  we  found  that  for  a  length  of 
one  hundred  and  ten  feet  from  north  to  south,  and  for  a  height  of  twenty-five 
feet  from  the  ancient  surface  of  the  ground,  the  London  Wall  had  formed  the 
boundary,  as  it  still  does,  of  these  premises. 

All  the  upper  part  was  medieval,  of  an  early  date,  faced  principally  with 
Kentish  rag-stone,  and  the  arches  turned  in  the  same  material. 

These  arches  were  two  in  number,  with  the  trace  of  a  third.  They  were 
apparently  intended  for  arrow-slits ;  for,  though  the  internal  arch  and  recess  is 
no  less  than  five  feet  wide  by  six  feet  nine  inches  high,  the  external  opening  is 
only  two  feet  high  by  nine  inches  in  width.  In  the  arches  there  are  two  steps, 
the  lower  one  eleven  inches  high,  with  a  tread  of  thirteen  inches,  and  the  upper 
one  one  foot  seven  inches  high,  with  a  tread  of  two  feet.  These  steps  appear  to 
be  for  the  standing  or  kneeling  of  the  long-bow  or  cross-bow  men. 

All  that  part  of  the  wall  was  no  doubt  further  defended  by  a  deep  and  broad 
ditch,  and  the  bottom  of  the  arrow-slits  would  probably  be  about  fifteen  feet 
above  the  natural  level  of  the  land  or  of  the  water  in  the  ditch  at  high  water, 
for,  no  doubt,  it  communicated  with  the  Tower  ditch  and  finally  with  the 
Thames. 

In  descending  into  the  basement  of  the  warehouses,  I  was  pleased  to  find 
that  the  base  of  this  wall  was  of  regular  Roman  work,  exactly  as  I  had  seen  it 
further  southward  in  1853.  It  was  built  in  the  following  manner :  first,  six 
courses  of  tolerably  regular  masonry  three  feet  four  inches  high,  then  two 
courses  of  Roman  bricks,  then  five  more  courses  of  masonry  three  feet  four 

there  were  interstices  or  air-cells,  as  if  it  had  not  been  spread,  but  poured  in  among  the  stones.  The 
stones  were  a  granulated  limestone,  such  as  might  have  been  obtained  from  the  chalk  quarries  at  Green- 
hithe  or  Northfleet.  The  bricks,  which  were  evidently  Roman,  and,  as  far  as  the  eye  could  judge,  corre- 
sponded in  size  as  well  as  in  shape  with  those  described  by  Woodward,  had  as  fine  a  grain  as  common 
pottery,  and  varied  in  colour  from  a  bright  red  to  a  palish  yellow.  A  slight  circular  or  oval  mark — in  some 
cases  forming  a  double  ring — appeared  on  one  side  of  each  of  them,  which  had  been  impressed  when  the 
clay  was  in  a  soft  state. 

VOL.  XL.  2  Q 


298  On  discoveries  of  Remain*  of  the 

inches  high,  then,  two  more  courses  of  Roman  bricks,  and  then  more  masonry  in 
courses  until  it  meets  the  somewhat  irregular  medieval  work.  The  bricks  are 
of  excellent  make,  and  the  mortar  so  hard  that,  though  I  much  desired  to 
present  you  with  a  whole  brick,  I  have  only  succeeded  in  obtaining  one  in  two 
pieces. 

I  now  exhibit  an  elevation  and  section  of  this  wall,  which  are  represented  in 
the  accompanying  engraving. 

You  will  ask  me  to  say  what  I  think  of  this  Roman  wall,  and  when  and 
why  it  was  constructed,  but  I  can  tell  you  but  little  about  it.  It  has  led  me 
however  to  look  carefully  into  what  is  known  of  the  walls  of  London,  and  it  is 
somewhat  singular  that  this  Roman  wall  at  the  extreme  east  of  London  has 
turned  up  almost  simultaneously  with  the  undoubted  discoveries  of  Roman  walls 
almost  at  the  extreme  west,  so  graphically  and  ably  described  by  our  excellent 
colleague  Mr.  Black. 

You  will  therefore  obligingly  take  the  remarks  which  follow  as  a  tolerably 
complete  sketch  of  the  little  that  is  known  of  the  history,  the  construction,  the 
direction,  and  the  disappearance  of  the  walls  of  London.  In  such  a  survey  it  is 
evident  that  I  cannot  attempt  to  produce  any  new  matter ;  nor  can  I  hope  to 
invest  the  record  of  our  circumvallation  with  the  antiquarian  importance  and 
picturesque  interest  which  my  friend  Dr.  Collingwood  Bruce  has  given  to  the 
Roman  wall  of  Northumberland.  But  the  latter  is  considerably  more  than 
seventy-three  miles  in  extent,  and  our  metropolitan  walls  are  not  four  miles  in 
all.  The  northern  wall  is  also  still  rich  in  inscriptions  and  sculptures,  but  there 
are  few  such  noble  records  now  remaining  for  Londinium,  though  it  is  quite 
possible  that  many  such  monuments  might  once  have  existed  here  also,  which 
the  imperative  urgency  of  rebuilding  a  ruined  city  utterly  disregarded  and  swept 
away. 

Our  first  inquiry  of  course  must  be  as  to  the  Roman  walls  of  London,  and 
unluckily  here  our  information  is  of  the  most  meagre  kind.  It  appears  to  me 
there  cannot  be  any  doubt  that  they  had  no  existence  in  A.D.  61,  when 
Suetonius  left  the  place  to  destruction,  as  a  post  which  he  had  not  forces  enough 
to  defend,  and  which  possessed  no  military  strength  in  itself.  Simeon  of  Durham, 
a  credible  English  historian  of  the  twelfth  century,  attributes  the  first  walls  of 
stone  built  around  the  City  to  the  Empress  Helena,  about  A.D.  306 ;  but  it  is  not 
improbable  that  they  had  been  commenced  long  before,  and  that  her  works  were 
really  in  completion  of  the  older  substructures.  There  do  not  appear  to  be  any 


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Roman  Wall  of  London.  299 

notices  extant  of  a  Roman  legion  stationed  at  Londinium :  but  some  tiles  have 
been  found  stamped  "  P.  PR.  BRI.  LON  :"  an  inscription  supposed  by  Mr.  Roach 
Smith  to  indicate  the  work  of  the  first  cohort  of  the  Britons  at  London,  and 
thus  showing  what  soldiers  were  actually  engaged  on  the  works  there. 

As  to  the  extent  of  the  Roman  walls  and  what  they  inclosed,  history  and  tradition 
alike  fail  us,  for,  though  Fitz-Stephen  in  the  reign  of  Henry  the  Second  speaks  of 
high  walls  and  towers  on  the  north  of  the  City,  yet  he  says  the  southern  wall  had 
been  washed  away ;  and  the  walls  and  towers  on  the  north,  as  well  as  the  gates, 
were  no  doubt  Norman. 

The  only  facts  bearing  on  our  present  inquiry  are  those  stated  by  Dr. 
Woodward  as  to  the  finding  Roman  foundations  in  the  line  of  wall  in  Camomile 
Street  in  May  1707.  His  description,  which  is  as  follows,  might  well  serve  for  an 
account  of  the  works  in  Cooper's  Row  just  described.  He  says — 

"  The  foundation  of  the  wall  at  this  place  was  eight  feet  below  the  existing 
surface,  and  for  nearly  ten  feet  upwards  the  work  appeared  to  be  a  Roman 
construction.  It  was  composed,"  he  says,  "  alternately  of  layers  of  broad  flat 
bricks  and  of  rag-stone.  The  bricks  lay  in  double  ranges ;  and,  each  brick  being 
one  inch  and  three-tenths  in  thickness,  the  whole  layer,  with  the  mortar  inter- 
posed, did  not  exceed  three  inches.  The  layers  of  stone  were  not  quite  two  feet 
thick  of  our  measure  ;  it  is  probable  they  were  intended  for  two  of  the  Roman, 
their  rule  being  somewhat  shorter  than  ours.  In  this  part  of  the  wall  it  is  very 
observable  that  the  mortar  was  (as  usually  in  the  Roman  work)  so  very  firm  and 
hard,  that  the  stone  itself  as  easily  broke  and  gave  way  as  that."  He  further 
describes  the  superstructure  of  the  wall  as  follows :  "  The  outside,  or  that  towards 
the  suburbs,  was  faced  with  a  coarse  sort  of  stone,  not  compiled  with  any  Teat 
care  or  skill,  nor  disposed  into  a  regular  method,  but  on  the  inside  there  appeared 
more  marks  of  workmanship  and  art." 

Woodward  also  mentions  a  range  of  the  wall  in  a  street  called  The  Vineyard 
behind  the  Minories.  "This,"  he  says,  "is  the  most  considerable  remains  of 
Roman  workmanship  yet  extant  in  any  part  of  England  that  I  know  of." 

J.  T.  Smith  in  his  Ancient  Topography  of  London,  in  referring  to  the  line  of 
London  Wall  from  Winchester  Street  to  Moorgate,  which  I  well  recollect,  and 
which  remained  almost  complete  until  April  1817,  speaks  of  the  foundation  being 
under  a  layer  of  Roman  bricks ;  and  a  so-called  Roman  arch,  just  at  the  end  of 
Winchester  Street,  shown  by  an  imperfect  sketch  in  Mr.  Roach  Smith's  book, 
gives  indications  of  Roman  work  existing  there  or  thereabouts.  Again,  the 

2Q2 


300  On  discoveries  of  Remains  of  the 

remains  followed  up  by  Mr.  Black  at  Paul's  Chain,  and  the  Roman  foundations 
spoken  of  by  me  in  1854  as  having  been  rooted  up  in  Upper  Thames  Street,  are 
all  the  real  indications  of  the  Roman  walls  of  Roman  London,  for  I  consider  the 
remains  at  Cripplegate  churchyard,  Ludgate,  and  Cripplegate,  so  elaborately 
shown  by  Mr.  Archer,  in  his  "  Vestiges  of  London,"  not  to  be  Roman  at  all. 

I  now  return  to  the  remains  in  Cooper's  ROAV  and  its  neighbourhood. 

Above  ground  at  C  are  the  remains  I  have  described  in  this  paper ;  further  south- 
wards a  long  piece  remains  in  a  stable-yard  or  mews,  and  further  southward 
still,  abutting  on  Postern  Row,  were  the  foundations  I  saw  in  1854.  Mr.  Archer 
speaks  of  the  whole  length  as  having  been  about  seven  hundred  feet,  and  he 
gives  a  picturesque  but  not  very  accurate  print  of  the  arches  I  now  show  you, 
for  he  speaks  of  them  as  obtuse  arches  with  a  key-stone,  whereas  they  are  com- 
plete semicircles  without  key-stones,  the  latter  a  characteristic  feature  of  Norman 
work.  Among  the  few  historical  notices  of  this  spot  which  I  can  find,  is  one 
from  Strype,  who  says  that  after  the  Great  Fire  of  1666  an  arched  passage  was 
broken  through  the  wall  for  wheeled  carriages  which  could  not  pass  along  the 
Postern  Row.  "  And  here,"  says  Strype,  "  looking  northwards,  one  may  take  a 
view  of  the  inside  and  breadth  of  London  Wall,  which  appears  like  a  natural 
rock,  with  the  stones  so  cemented  into  the  work  that  nothing  but  the  greatest 
violence  can  separate  them.  On  the  west  side,  from  fourteen  to  fifteen  feet  high, 
are  seen  several  old  Roman  bricks  put  into  the  work  between  the  stones." 

Of  the  piece  above  ground  in  Trinity  Square  there  is  a  somewhat  fanciful 
view  in  Mr.  Archer's  book,  and  a  very  correct  one  in  the  first  volume  of  Wilkin- 
son's "  Londina  Illustrata." 

I  now  return  to  the  history  of  the  fragment  under  discussion,  according  to 
my  view  of  the  age  and  character  of  the  remains. 

It  appears,  then,  that  when  Archbishop  Laugton  and  William  Marshall,  Earl 
of  Pembroke,  had  failed  in  their  first  endeavours  to  prevail  on  King  John  to 
restore  the  ancient  laws  contained  in  the  Great  Charter,  the  associated  Barons 
assumed  their  arms,  and  with  their  forces  marched  first  to  Northampton  and 
thence  to  Bedford.  They  were  favourably  received  there  by  William  de  Beau- 
champ,  and  there  also  came  to  them  messengers  from  London,  who  privately 
advised  them  immediately  to  go  thither.  On  this  they  advanced  to  Ware,  and 
arrived  at  Aldgate,  after  a  night-march,  on  May  24th,  1215,  the  Sunday  before 
Ascension-day.  "Finding  the  gates  open,"  says  Roger  de  Wcndover,  "they 
entered  the  city  without  any  tumult  whilst  the  inhabitants  were  performing 


Roman  Wall  of  London.  301 

divine  service,  for  the  rich  citizens  were  favourable  to  the  Barons,  and  the  poor 
ones  were  afraid  to  complain  of  them."  Having  thus  entered,  they  placed  their 
own  guards  at  each  of  the  gates,  and  then  disposed  of  all  matters  within  the 
City  to  their  own  advantage,  but  especially  despoiling  and  destroying  the  houses 
of  the  Jews.  Two  of  their  most  powerful  leaders,  Robert  FitzWalter  and  Geoffrey 
Mandeville,  Earl  of  Essex,  then  actively  set  their  forces  to  the  repair  of  the  gates, 
walls,  and  defences  of  London,  in  which  were  employed  the  stones  taken  from 
the  Jews'  dwellings.  "  Aldgate,"  says  Randulphus  de  Coggeshalle,  "  being  then 
most  ruinous,  which  had  given  them  such  an  easy  entrance,  they  repaired,  or 
rather  new  builded  after  the  manner  of  the  Normans,  strongly  arched  with 
bulwarks  of  stone  brought  from  Caen  in  Normandy,  and  small  brick  called 
Flanders  tile  was  brought  from  thence,  such  as  hath  been  here  used  since  the 
Conquest,  and  not  before." 

This  account,  I  have  no  doubt,  explains  all  that  I  show  you,  and  it  re- 
markably corroborates  the  expression  of  the  historian  that  these  bulwarks  were 
repaired  with  the  stones  pulled  down  from  the  Jews'  houses.  Those  dwellings,  it 
will  be  remembered,  stood  in  a  long  road  immediately  adjoining  this  wall,  then 
called  "  Poor  Jewry  Lane  "  and  now  Jewry  Street.  Above  this  rude  masonry,  to 
the  height  of  about  twenty-two  feet,  is  a  strong,  well-built,  compact  wall  of 
rubble  work,  like  the  outer  wall  of  a  Norman  castle,  containing  the  arched 
openings,  whether  for  archers  or  ventilation  to  chambers  built  against  the  wall, 
and  also  agreeing  with  the  statement  of  the  historian,  that  the  works  were 
completed  after  the  improved  Norman  manner  of  building,  and  with  better 
materials.  The  closing  up  of  the  embrasures  and  the  casing  of  other  parts  with 
brickwork  of  course  belong  chiefly  to  the  time  of  the  rebuilding  of  London  after 
the  Great  Fire,  the  Act  of  Parliament  for  which  is  dated  1677 ;  when  the  ancient 
wall  was  made  use  of  for  receiving  the  edifices  to  be  again  erected  against  it. 

But,  after  all,  the  walls  of  London  are  historically  medieval,  and  I  perhaps 
cannot  do  better  in  concluding  this  paper  than  to  describe  what  they  really  were 
as  they  were  seen  in  the  fifteenth  century,  after  the  restoration  began  in  the 
year  1477,  by  Hugh  Joscelyne,  Lord  Mayor. 

The  City  Wall  commenced  near  the  point  on  the  west  where  the  river  Flete 
discharged  itself  into  the  Thames,  and  thence  passed  up  the  present  Bridge 
Street  with  a  short  oblique  line  along  the  Broadway  to  the  south  of  Ludgate 
Hill,  which  is  entered  at  the  gate  by  St.  Martin's  Church.  It  then  stretched 
up  the  Old  Bailey  and  turned  obliquely  northward  from  Newgate  Street 


302  On  discoveries  of  Remains  of  the 

to  Aldersgate  Street,  and  afterwards  continued  in  a  long  bending  line,  forming  the 
way  still  known  as  London  "Wall,  to  Aldgate.  From  this  entrance  the  wall  was 
continued  in  a  line  nearly  parallel  with  the  Minories,  by  Cooper's  Row,  to  the 
Tower;  through  which  Lord  Coke  declares  that  it  is  to  be  regarded  as 
extending  to  the  Thames.  All  that  locality  therefore  which  is  on  the  western 
side  of  the  wall  is  within  the  City  of  London,  in  the  Tower  ward  and  the  parish  of 
All  Hallows  Barking,  and  all  the  remainder  is  in  the  county  of  Middlesex.  The 
entire  extent  of  this  line  of  wall  is  estimated  at  ten  thousand  and  sixty-five  feet. 
The  superficial  contents  of  the  space  within  the  walls  is  only  about  three  hundred 
and  eighty  acres,  in  consequence  of  the  irregularity  of  the  lines  of  the  circuit. 
Against  the  wall,  and  also  upon  it,  there  were  erected  fifteen  small  bulwarks  and 
watch-towers;  and  the  City  was  entered  by  seven  principal  gates  on  the  land 
side,  and  many  small  posterns  and  water-gates  next  the  river.  The  wall  and 
towers,  however,  once  standing  on  the  south  side,  had  disappeared  even  in  the 
time  of  Fitz-Stephen ;  who  says  "  that  the  fish-abounding  river  of  Thames,  with 
his  continual  ebbing  and  flowing,  hath  long  since  subverted  them." 

The  uniform  evidence  of  the  contemporaneous  plans  of  London  by  Aggas 
about  1561,  by  Faithorne  in  1657,  and  by  Ogilby  and  Morgan  in  1675,  shows 
that  the  original  western  wall  of  the  City  was  then  considered  to  extend  in  a 
right  line  along  the  eastern  side  of  the  present  Bridge  Street,  Blackfriars.  But 
Mr.  Roach  Smith,  in  his  Illustrations  of  Roman  London  published  in  1859  (p.  18), 
denies  this  direction;  and  says  "from  Ludgate  the  Roman  wall  did  not  take  a 
direct  line  towards  the  Thames.  It  traversed  the  ground  now  occupied  by 
Printing-house  Square  and  the  office  of  the  Times  newspaper ;  and  about  that 
spot  diverged  towards  St.  Andrew's  Hill,  passing  to  the  south  of  Saint 
Andrew's  church ;  where,  although  not  a  stone  of  it  is  visible,  its  course  is  clearly 
indicated  by  the  abrupt  ascent ;  at  Rutland  Place,  in  particular,  a  flight  of  no  less 
than  twenty  steps  is  to  be  explained  by  no  other  cause  than  that  of  the  sub- 
terranean masonry  upon  which  the  houses  have  been  partly  built."  The 
description  which  is  contained  in  this  extract  is  probably  quite  accurate,  but  the 
statement  with  which  it  commences  is  incorrect,  for  the  wall  referred  to  was  no 
part  of  the  most  ancient  circumvallation  of  London.  It  was  really  a  substitutory 
barrier  erected  by  the  authority  of  King  Edward  I.  in  A.D.  1282,  to  replace  such 
parts  of  the  original  wall  as  might  have  been  taken  down  by  Robert  Kilwarby, 
Archbishop  of  Canterbury,  for  the  extension  of  the  church  of  the  Blackfriars.  It 
was  to  be  erected  from  Ludgate  westward  to  Flete  Bridge,  behind  the  houses, 


Roman  Wall  of  London.  303 

and  thence  along  the  course  of  the  stream  down  to  the  Thames.  For  the  execution 
of  the  work  of  the  City  walls  in  general  the  same  sovereign  had  in  A.D.  1276 
granted  a  considerable  charter  or  murage  tax,  but  in  the  year  1310  Edward  II. 
required  the  citizens  to  complete  the  wall  already  commenced,  with  a  certain  new 
tower  standing  at  the  head  of  it,  near  to  the  dwelling  of  the  Eriars  Preachers  ;  in 
aid  of  which,  in  1316,  he  issued  a  further  grant  of  customs  on  certain  articles  sold 
in  the  City.  The  massive  remains  of  this  tower  were  discovered  in  consequence 
of  a  fire  behind  the  south  side  of  Ludgate  Hill,  May  1st,  1792,  and  the  ruins  of 
the  turret  are  represented  in  Mr.  J.  T.  Smith's  Ancient  Topography  of  London. 

It  projected  fourteen  feet  north  from  the  wall  on  which  it  stood  in  the  City 
ditch,  and  it  measured  twenty-two  feet  above  the  height  of  the  wall.  The 
masonry  is  represented  to  have  been  very  strong,  but  exceedingly  rude,  consist- 
ing of  fragments  of  stone,  chalk,  and  flint,  consolidated  by  fluid  lime,  which 
required  the  insertion  of  wedges  to  divide  it  into  separate  parts.  The  murage- 
grants  appear  to  have  been  both  insufficient  for  their  intended  purpose  and  mis- 
chievous in  their  results ;  since  the  duties  levied  lessened  the  supply  of  provisions 
brought  to  London,  and  the  walls  were  not  duly  repaired.  Edward  II.,  there- 
fore, issued  several  other  royal  letters,  commanding  that  the  works  should  be 
executed ;  and  at  length,  about  1319,  the  duties  were  altogether  taken  off.  But 
it  should  be  also  observed,  that  the  sovereigns  themselves  sometimes  appro- 
priated these  funds  to  other  persons  and  purposes. 

In  the  year  1477,  however,  Ralph  Joscelyne,  an  energetic  Lord  Mayor,  com- 
menced the  greatest  and  most  effectual  restoration  of  the  City  walls  which  was 
ever  attempted.  The  course  he  took  is  thus  described : — 

"  He  first  caused  Moorfields  to  be  carefully  searched  for  clay,  and  bricks  to  be 
made  there  ;  and  likewise  lime  to  be  burned  for  mortar,  from  chalk  brought  out 
of  Kent.  The  line  which  was  rebuilt  at  this  time  extended  from  Aldgate  to 
Cripplegate.  The  eastern  extremity  of  it,  from  Bevice  or  Bevis  Marks  at 
Aldgate  to  Bishopsgate,  was  erected  by  the  Skinners'  Company.  Bishopsgate 
was  now  built  by  the  German  merchants  of  the  Stiliard  from  Bishopsgate  to  the 
church  of  All  Hallows  on  the  Wall :  the  work  was  executed  by  Joscelyne  the 
Mayor  and  the  Company  of  Drapers.  A  great  part  of  the  wall  westward  to 
Moorgate  was  supplied  by  the  executors  and  property  of  Alderman  Crosby; 
other  Companies  carried  it  on  to  the  postern  at  Cripplegate,  and  the  Goldsmiths 
rebuilt  it  to  Aldersgate,  where  the  work  ceased." 

Very  large  masses  of  this  medieval  wall,  with  trees  of  considerable  size  grow- 


304  On  discoveries  of  Remains  oftlie 

ing  upon  them,  were  long  to  be  seen  in  several  parts  of  the  vicinity  of  Moor- 
fields. 

One  of  the  finest  portions  of  the  work,  however,  remained  entire  until  ahout 
April  1817,  standing  on  the  north  side  of  the  street  called  London  Wall,  inclo- 
sing the  whole  of  the  back  of  Bethlem  Hospital,  and,  in  particular,  the  great 
chimney-shaft  of  the  furnace.  Two  very  interesting  etchings  of  these  remains 
were  published  by  Mr.  John  Thomas  Smith,  in  1814,  in  his  "  Ancient  Topo- 
graphy of  London,"  with  a  careful  account  of  their  structure.  He  states  that  the 
whole  line  extended  seven  hundred  and  fourteen  feet  from  opposite  the  end  of 
Winchester  Street,  almost  to  the  site  of  Moorgate.  It  appears  to  have  risen 
nearly  sixteen  feet  above  the  pavement.  In  some  places  the  wall  was  about  eight 
feet  in  thickness,  and  it  consisted,  first,  of  an  interior  concretion  of  chalk  and 
flint,  eight  feet  high,  strongly  cemented  together,  and  cased  on  each  side  with 
rubble  work  of  rag-stone.  On  the  width  of  two  feet  three  inches  on  the  north 
side  of  this  base  was  erected  an  embattled  brick  wall  eight  feet  high,  with  stone 
copings,  ornamented  with  lozenge  compartments  inserted  in  glazed  bricks ;  the 
spaces  between  the  battlements  measured  two  feet  and  a  half.  The  lower  cased 
wall  was  covered  with  two  layers  of  brick  or  tile,  of  unusual  dimensions,  being 
thirteen  and  a  half  inches  by  five  and  a  quarter  inches,  and  two  and  a  half  inches 
in  thickness.  They  were  of  a  rich  deep  red,  extremely  close  and  hard,  and  Mr. 
J.  T.  Smith  conjectured  that  they  might  possibly  be  some  of  those  already 
noticed  as  having  been  made  in  Moorfields.  The  same  artist  has  also  published 
a  representation  of  a  similar  fine  piece  of  the  embattled  London  Wall,  as  it 
appeared  in  April  1793,  as  the  boundary  of  the  churchyard  of  Saint  Giles  Crip- 
plegate.  Chiefly  from  the  depredations  committed  on  it  by  the  inhabitants  of 
the  adjoining  premises,  the  wall  became  so  mutilated  that  the  parish  authorities 
applied  to  the  Corporation  of  London  for  repairs,  and  it  was  at  length  arranged 
that,  as  the  City  had  no  further  occasion  to  keep  up  the  walls,  the  parish  should 
be  entitled  to  so  much  thereof  as  bounded  their  property  to  forty  feet  wide  and 
about  ten  feet  deep,  which  appeared  greatly  to  increase  the  strength  and  height 
of  the  bulwark. 

The  fosse  which  surrounded  London  was  .of  a  very  much  later  date  than  the 
original  walls,  since  it  was  commenced  only  in  the  end  of  the  twelfth  century, 
and  was  executed  principally  about  the  year  1213,  being,  apparently,  suggested 
by  the  formation  of  the  moat  round  the  Tower.  In  its  best  condition  and  situ- 
ation it  is  stated  to  have  been  two  hundred  feet  broad,  and  of  the  character  of  a 


Roman  Wall  of  London.  305 

clear  river,  containing  good  fish;  and  Ralph  Joscelyne,  the  Lord  Mayor  who 
restored  the  City  walls,  caused  the  whole  dyke  to  be  cleared  out  in  the  year  1477. 
The  particular  local  interests  of  residents  in  the  vicinity,  the  erection  of  buildings 
on  the  banks,  and  especially  the  ceaseless  expense  and  difficulty  of  clearing  the 
channels  and  watercourses,  at  length  gradually  and  effectually  closed  up  the  City 
ditches,  which  are  now  represented  by  the  sewers  of  the  City.  For,  if  the  plans 
published  by  the  Commissioners  of  Sewers  are  consulted,  it  will  be  seen  that  the 
line  of  the  walls  of  the  City  is  always  to  be  traced  by  the  large  sewers. 

Against  the  eastern  wall,  as  it  is  delineated  in  Aggas's  plan,  between  Aldgate 
and  Postern  Row,  there  were  shown  four  semicircular  towers  ;  and  on  the  north 
wall,  between  Aldgate  and  Moorgate,  there  appear  to  have  been  as  many  tall 
square  towers.  The  only  remains  of  such  turrets  now  existing  are  some  parts 
of  the  round  cases,  containing  ancient  linings,  in  the  churchyard  of  Saint  Giles 
Cripplegate,  as  previously  referred  to. 

I  append  a  list  (so  far  as  I  can  ascertain  it)  of  views  representing  various 
portions  of  the  ancient  walls  of  London,  and  with  this  list  I  shall  conclude  this 
letter. 

I  am,  my  dear  Sir, 

Yours  very  truly, 

WILLIAM  TITE. 


APPENDIX. 

List  oj  Books  and  Prints  illustrative  of  the  Remains  of  the  Walls  of  London. 

ANTIQUITIES  OF  LONDON  AND  ITS  ENVIRONS,  by  JOHN  THOMAS  SMITH.     London,  1791,  4to. 

Part  of  London  Wall  in  the  Churchyard  of  Saint  Giles'  Cripplegate;  published  May  10th, 
1792. 

London  Wall:  Remains  of  the  Tower  discovered  after  the  fire  on  Ludgate  Hill,  May  1st, 
1792. 

A  Front  View  of  the  Watch-tower  discovered  near  Ludgatc  Hill,  with  a  small  plan  show- 
ing the  site  of  it. 

Venerable   Remains  of  London   Wall  in  the  Churchyard  of  Saint  Giles,  Crippelgate; 
published  September  29th,  1800.     (Exterior  casing  of  a  semi-circular  tower.) 

Barber-Surgeons  Hall,  from  the  church  of  Saint  Giles'  Cripplegate.     (Exterior  modern 

casing  of  a  semi-circular  tower.) 
VOL.  XL.  2  R 


306  Appendix. 

A  VIEW  of  part  of  the  antient  REMAINS  of  LONDON  WALL  now  standing  near  POSTERN  Row, 
TOWER  HILL,  in  the  parish  of  All  Hallows  Barking,  September  1818.  Schnebbelie  del.  Dale 
sculp.;  published  January  1819  by  R.  WILKINSON,  125,  Fenchurch  Street. 

ANCIENT  TOPOGRAPHY  OF  LONDON,  by  J.  T.  SMITH.    London,  1815,  4to. 

Inside  View  of  the  Watch-tower  discovered  near  Ludgate  Hill,  May  the  1st,  1792;  drawn 
in  June  1792;  published  November  21st,  1813. 

Parts  of  London  Wall  and  Bethlem  Hospital;  drawn  in  June  1812;  published  Sep- 
tember 15th,  1814. 

South-west  View  of  Bethlem  Hospital  and  London  Wall;  drawn  in  August  1814;  pub- 
lished September  15th,  1814. 

A  venerable  Fragment  of  London  Wall  as  it  stood  in  the  Churchyard  of  Saint  Giles'  Crip- 
plegate in  1793,  since  which  period  the  battlements  have  been  taken  down,  and  in 
1803  a  brick  wall  was  erected  in  their  stead,  at  the  expense  of  the  parish;  drawn  in 
April  1793;  published  January  14th,  1812. 

VESTIGES  OF  OLD  LONDON  :  a  series  of  etchings,  from  original  drawings,  illustrative  of  the 
monuments  and  architecture  of  London  in  the  first,  fourth,  twelfth,  and  six  succeeding  centuries; 
with  descriptions  and  historical  notices  by  JOHN  WYKEHAM  ARCHER.  London,  1851,  4to. 

London  Wall :  Tower  Postern. 

London  Wall:  Saint  Martin's  Court,  Ludgate  Hill. 

London  Wall :  Base  of  a  Tower  in  the  Churchyard  of  Saint  Giles'  Cripplegate. 

London  Wall:  Cripplegate  Postern. 

London  Wall:   South  Wall  of  Cripplegate  Postern. 

London  Wall :  Remains  near  Trinity  Square. 

Interior  of  a  Tower  belonging  to  the  Wall  of  London,  Old  Bailey. 

Road  uniting  Roman  London. 

ILLUSTRATIONS  OF  ROMAN  LONDON,  by  CHARLES  ROACH  SMITH.    London,  1859. 

The  Wall  at  Tower  Hill. 
Roman  Arch,  London  Wall. 


307 


XX.— On  the  Mantle  and  the  Ring  of  Widowhood.    By  HENRY  HARROD,  Esq. 

F.S.A. 


Bead  February  16th,  1865. 


SIR  HARRIS  NICOLAS  printed  in  the  Testamenta  Vetusta  an  Abstract  of  the 
Will  of  the  Lady  Alice  West  of  Hinton  Marcel,  widow  of  Sir  Thomas  West, 
dated  in  1395,  and  proved  in  the  Prerogative  Court  of  Canterbury." 

In  this  will  occurs  a  remarkable  bequest  which  the  learned  editor  found  him- 
self quite  at  a  loss  to  explain.  She  bequeathed  to  her  son  Thomas,  amongst 
other  things,  "  a  ring  with  which  I  was  yspoused  to  God." 

Sir  Harris  rightly  says,  this  could  not  have  been  her  marriage  ring,  and  it  was 
clear  she  had  not  entered  a  convent.  This  is  still  more  clearly  made  out  by  a 
reference  to  the  transcript  of  the  will  in  the  registers  of  the  Prerogative  Court. 
It  will  there  be  seen  she  exercised  complete  control  over  her  property,  real  and 
personal,  and  she  makes  this  will  at  "  the  Lord's  Inn  of  Cherlton  without  New- 
gate, in  the  parish  of  Saint  Sepulchre,  in  the  suburb  of  London. 

Gough,  in  his  Sepulchral  Monuments,1"  quotes  a  story  from  Matthew  Paris,  of 
one  Cecily  Sandford,  a  lady  of  condition,  who  on  her  deathbed,  having  passed 
through  the  usual  forms  with  her  confessor,  and  he  ordering  her  attendants  to 
take  off  a  gold  ring  he  observed  on  her  finger,  she,  although  just  expiring, 
recovered  herself  enough  to  tell  them  she  would  never  part  with  it,  as  she 
intended  to  carry  it  to  heaven  with  her  into  the  presence  of  her  celestial  spouse 
in  testimony  of  her  constant  observance  of  her  vow,  and  to  receive  the  promised 
reward.  She  had  it  appears  made  a  vow  of  perpetual  widowhood,  and  with  her 
wedding  ring  assumed  the  russet  habit,  the  usual  sign  of  such  a  resolution.  It  is 

•  Register  Rous,  29.  b  Vol.  i.  p.  cxix. 

2R2 


308  On  the  Mantle  and  Ring  of  Widowhood. 

added  that  she  was  honorably  interred  in  St.  Alban's  Abbey  Church,  in  a  stone 
coffin,  before  the  altar  of  St  Andrew,  on  account  of  her  vow  and  her  rank. 

In  the  "  Colchester  Chronicle,"  portions  of  which  are  printed  in  Cromwell's 
History  of  Colchester,  one  entry  appears  to  confirm  the  conjecture  that  the 
whole  was  composed  in  the  fourteenth  or  fifteenth  century,  "  Anno  Dm  ccciij 
Helena  mortuo  Constancio  perpetuam  vovit  viduitatcm." 

From  a  careful  inspection  of  the  registers  at  Doctors'  Commons  it  is  abund- 
antly clear  that  the  custom  extensively  prevailed  in  the  middle  ages  of  widows 
taking  a  vow  of  chastity  and  receiving  a  peculiar  robe  and  ring.  It  was  this 
latter,  no  doubt,  that  Lady  Alice  West  gave  her  son ;  it  could  hardly  have  boen 
her  wedding  ring,  as  will,  I  think,  be  established  by  some  of  the  following 
extracts. 

By  the  testament  of  Katharine  Rippelingharn,"  dated  8th  February  1473, 
who  calls  herself  "  advowes,"  she  desires  to  be  buried  in  the  church  of  Baynardes 
Castell  of  London,  where  she  was  a  parishioner,  and  by  her  will,  in  which  she 
gives  herself  the  title  of  "  widow  advowes,"  she  shows  herself  in  the  full  exercise 
of  her  rights  of  property,  devising  estates,  carrying  out  awards,  and  adjusting 
family  differences,  and  in  an  undated  codicil  she  bequeaths  to  her  daughter's 
daughter,  Alice  Saint  John,  "  lieryold  ring  with  a  diamante  sette  therein  wherewith 
she  was  '  sacrid.'  ' 

Sir  Gilbert  Denys,  knight,  of  Syston,b  1422  :- 

"  If  Margaret  my  wife  will  after  my  death  vow  a  vow  of  chastity,  I  give  her  all 
my  moveable  goods,  she  paying  my  debts  and  providing  for  my  children;  and,  if 
she  will  not  vow  a  vow  of  chastity,  I  desire  my  goods  may  be  distributed  or 
divided  into  three  equal  parts,  &c." 

John  Brakenbury  l  in  1187  leaves  his  mother  certain  real  estate  "  with  that  con- 
dicion  that  she  never  mary,  the  which  she  promised  afore  the  parson  and  the 
parish  of  Thymmyllc ;  and,  if  she  kcpc  not  that  promise,  I  will  she  be  content 
with  that  which  was  my  fader's  will,  which  she  had  every  peny." 

William  Herbert,  knight,  Lord  Pembroke,11  in  his  will,  dated  27th  July  14G9, 
thus  appeals  to  his  wife,  "  And,  wife,  that  ye  remember  your  promise  to  take  the 
order  of  widowhood,  as  ye  may  be  the  bettor  maistres  of  your  owen,  to  perform 
my  will,  and  to  help  my  ehildern,  as  I  love  and  trust  you." 

William  Edlington,  esquire,  of  Castle  Carlton,  on  the  llth  June  1406,  says  in 
his  will,  "  I  make  Christian  my  wife  my  executor  upon  this  condicion,  that  she 

«  Register  Watts,  114.  b  Register  March,  fo.  424. 

<•'  Register  Milles,  43.  "  Register  Godyn,  228. 


On  the  Mantle  and  Ring  of  Widowhood.  309 

take  the  mantle  and  the  ring  soon  after  my  decease ;  and,  if  case  be  that  she  will 
not  take  the  mantle  and  the  ring,  I  will  that  William  my  son  (and  other  persons 
therein  named)  be  my  executors,  and  she  to  have  her  third  part  of  all  my  goods 
moveable." 

Lady  Joan  Danvers,"  in  1453,  gives  the  ring  of  her  profession  of  widowhood  to 
the  image  of  the  crucifix  near  the  north  door  of  St.  Paul's. 

And  Lady  Margaret  Davy,"  widow,  in  1489,  leaves  her  profession  ring  to  our 
Lady  of  Walsingham. 

Many  more  extracts  might  be  added,  but  there  is  sufficient  here  to  establish 
the  fact  of  the  extensive  prevalence  of  the  custom,  and  to  satisfy  every  one  that 
the  mysterious  bequest  of  Lady  Alice  "West  indicates  that  she  too  had  taken  the 
vow  of  chastity,  and  that  the  ring  she  left  her  son  was  not  her  wedding-ring,  but 
the  ring  of  her  profession  of  widowhood,  the  ring  with  which  she  was  "  espoused 
to  God." 

Gough  prints  the  Act  of  Court  from  the  Ely  Registers,  on  the  taking  the  vow 
by  Isabella  Countess  of  Suffolk  in  1382.  This  took  place  at  the  priory  of  Camp- 
sey,  in  the  presence  of  the  Earl  of  "Warwick,  the  Lords  Willoughby,  Scales,  and 
others.  The  vow  was  as  follows  :  "  Jeo  Isabella,  jadys  la  femme  William  do 
Ufford,  Count  do  Suffolk,  vowe  a  Dieu,  &c.  en  presence  de  tres  reverentz  piers  en 
Dicu  evesques  de  Ely  et  de  Norwiz,  qe  jeo  doi  estre  chaste  d'ors  eu.  avant  ma  vie 
durante."  And  the  Bishop  of  Ely,  with  authority  of  the  Bishop  of  Norwich,  (in 
whose  diocese  Campsey  was,)  received  and  admitted  the  same  "  et  mantellum 
sive  clamidem  ac  annulum  dicte  voventis  solempniter  benedixit  et  imposuit  super 
eam."c 

Dugdale,  in  his  history  of  Warwickshire  and  in  his  Baronage,  prints  a  licence 
from  John  Bishop  of  Lichfield  to  one  N.  N.,  to  administer  the  vow  of  chastity  to 
Margery,  widow  of  Richard  Middlemore,  who  died  15th  Henry  VII.,  which 
contains  this  passage  :  "  In  signum  hujusmodi  continentioc  ct  castitatis  promisso 
perpctuo  servando  eandem  Margeriam  vclandam  seu  pcplandam  habituinque 
viduitatis  hujusmodi  viduis,  ut  prsefcrtur,  ad  castitatis  professioncm  dari  et  uti 
consuetum  cum  unico  annulo  assignandum."d 

Dugdale  also  prints  an  Act  of  Court  on  the  vow  being  taken  by  Philippa, 
sometime  the  wife  of  Sir  Guy  of  Warwick,  on  the  9th  of  August,  1300,  in 

11  Register  Stockton,  85.  "  Register  Milles,  1G8. 

c  Gough,  vol.  I.  p.  cxix.  who  quotes  Register  Fordham,  Bishop  of  Ely.  fo.  39  b. 

11  Dugdale's  Warwickshire,  p.  895. 


310  On  the  Mantle  and  Ring  of  Widowhood. 

the  collegiate  church  of  the  Blessed  Mary  of  Warwick,  which  vow  ran  thus : 
"  En  le  nom  de  la  Seint  Trinite,  Piere  et  Fitz  et  Seint  Esprit,  jeo  Philippe,  que 
fu  la  feme  Sire  Guy  de  Warwick,  face  purement  et  dez  queor  et  volontee  entire- 
ment  avow  a  Dieu  et  Seint  Eglise  et  a  la  henure  Virgin  Marie  et  a  tout  la  bele 
compaigne  celestine  et  a  vous  reverend  piere  en  Dieu  Sire  Reynaud,  per  la  grace 
Dieu  Evesque  de  Wyrcestre,  que  jeo  ameneray  ma  vie  en  chastitee  desore  en 
avant,  et  chaste  sera  de  mon  corps  a  tout  le  temps  de  ma  vie."* 

A  good  specimen  of  the  form  of  the  mantle  of  the  professed  widow  may  be 
seen  in  the  brass  of  Lady  Joan  Braham,  Prenze,  Norfolk,  dated  1519 ;  she  is  de- 
scribed in  the  inscription  as  "  vidua  ac  Deo  dicata."  It  is  engraved  in  Cotman's 
Brasses,  vol.  i.  53.  Among  the  drawings  collected  by  the  late  Mr.  Dawson 
Turner,  illustrative  of  Blomeficld's  History  of  Norfolk,  (now  in  the  British 
Museum,)  is  one  of  a  brass  in  Witton  Church,  Norfolk,  representing  an  elderly 
female  in  wimple  and  mantle,  with  the  following  inscription  : — 

©rate  p'  a'i'a  to'ne  3fultanr  Sngell 
Votrtcts  cuj'  a'i'e  p'ptctet'  29e'. 

•  Dugdale's  Warwickshire,  p.  399. 


311 


XXI. — On  an  Inventory  of  the  Household  Goods  of  Sir  Thomas  Ramsey,  Lord 
Mayor  of  London  1577.    By  F.  W.  FAIRHOLT,  Esq.  F.S.A. 


Read  May  25,  1865. 


THE  value  of  Wills  and  Inventories  as  exponents  of  the  domestic  lives  of  our 
ancestors  cannot  be  too  highly  estimated.  To  them  we  must  look  as  to  the  most 
fertile  sources  from  whence  a  knowledge  is  to  be  obtained  of  that  curious  un- 
written history,  the  history  of  the  people.  The  glimpses  they  afford  of  domestic 
manners  are  all  the  more  precious,  because  of  their  rarity  elsewhere. 

The  document  to  which  I  now  solicit  attention  is  remarkable  for  the  complete 
and  minute  picture  it  presents  of  the  establishment  of  a  rich  merchant,  and  Lord 
Mayor  of  London,  in  the  days  of  Queen  Elizabeth.  Sir  Thomas  Ramsey,  of 
whose  goods  this  is  an  inventory,  was  a  member  of  the  Grocers'  Company,  served 
the  office  of  Mayor  in  1577,  and  died  1590,  a  benefactor  to  his  Company ;  leaving 
them  gratuities  to  be  mentioned  hereafter. 

Sir  Thomas  appears  to  have  made  his  residence  at  his  place  of  business,  for  we 
have  here  the  detailed  account  of  the  "  spice  howse,"  with  its  scales,  weights,  and 
other  appurtenances ;  the  "compting  howse  in  the  yard  "  is  also  duly  noted.  The 
establishment  was  situated  in  Lombard  Street ;  a  brief  note  appended  to  the  list 
of  Mayors  in  Strype's  edition  of  Stowe  informs  us  that  it  was  "  over  against 
Abchurch  Lane  end,  where  Sir  Martin  Bowes  before  lived."  Sir  Thomas,  in  his 
will,  speaks  of  it  as  "  my  mansion  house ;  "  and  it  was  evidently  a  large  and 
important  building,  standing  conspicuously  in  a  leading  thoroughfare,  with  a 
garden  in  the  rear  ;  thus  bearing  resemblance  to  that  of  Sir  Paul  Pinder  in 
Bishopsgate  Street,  which  still  stands  facing  the  highway,  and  had  "  a  garden- 
house  "  behind,  only  demolished  at  the  early  part  of  the  present  century.  The 
inventory  mentions  rooms  "next  to  the  streete."  There  appears  to  have  been  a 
lodge  at  the  entry  of  a  court-yard ;  the  hall  was  well  furnished  with  long  tables 
and  "  joyned  stooles,"  and  had  the  unusual  luxury  of  a  "longe  greene  carpett." 
It  was  decorated  with  shields  of  arms,  and  supplied  with  halberds,  lances,  and 
horseman's  staves.  There  was  a  large  reserve  of  warlike  implements,  kept  in  an 


312  On  an  Inventory  of  the  Household  Goods 

armoury-house  attached  to  the  mansion.  The  parlour  was  furnished  with  a  table 
capable  of  elongation  on  festive  occasions,  with  eighteen  "  joyned  stooles,"  as 
well  as  chairs  covered  with  velvet  and  kersey,  and  "stooles  of  needlework  "  for 
the  chief  guests.  A  Turkey  carpet,  five  yards  long,  is  also  enumerated,  so  that 
the  hall  must  have  had  a  stately  effect.  A  "  painted  chamber,"  and  a  "  matted 
chamber,"  are  named  among  the  rooms  in  the  house ;  which  appears  to  have  been 
large,  and  connected  by  a  gallery  with  a  "  garden  chamber."  In  the  yard  was  a 
well,  for  the  necessary  supply  of  the  house  in  days  when  water  could  only  be 
obtained  from  public  fountains,  sometimes  at  a  considerable  distance,  or  purchased 
from  water-carriers.  The  "  garden  chamber  "  seems  to  have  been  originally  used 
as  a  bed-chamber.  The  servants'  offices  appear  to  have  been  most  convenient  and 
well-furnished. 

There  are  many  items  in  this  inventory  that  illustrate,  or  are  illustrated  by, 
the  works  of  Shakespeare  ;  the  trundle  beds,  the  joined  stools,  the  andirons,  the 
buck-basket,  the  "  playing  tables,"  the  parcel-gilt  goblets,  as  well  as  the  eight 
gold  rings  of  the  wealthy  alderman,  recall  passages  in  the  plays  of  our  great 
dramatist.  The  bedstead  and  its  furniture,  allowed  to  the  widow,  also  illustrate 
one  remarkable  bequest  in  the  poet's  will. 

The  large  amount  of  personal  display  indicated  by  the  quantity  and  variety  of 
plate  enumerated,  as  well  as  the  valuable  nature  of  Sir  Thomas's  wardrobe,  tells 
of  an  age  when  it  was  considered  essential  for  a  gentleman,  or  a  rich  merchant, 
to  clearly  indicate  his  position  by  his  dress  and  his  home. 

Although  the  incidents  of  Sir  Thomas  Ramsey's  career  have  not  descended  to 
our  time,  he  must  have  been  well  known  in  his  own  era,  as  both  himself  and  his 
wife  figure  among  the  chief  characters  in  the  second  part  of  Heywood's  play, 
founded  on  the  chief  events  in  the  life  of  Queen  Elizabeth,  and  entitled,  "  If  you 
know  not  me,  you  know  no  bodie."  The  first  edition  was  printed  in  1609.  The 
impression  there  given  of  Ramsey,  is  that  of  a  rich  litigious  man,  while  his  wife 
appears  as  a  persistent  peacemaker.  She  comes  first  upon  the  scene  in  company 
with  Dr.  Nowell,  Dean  of  St.  Paul's,  requesting  him  to  mediate  between  her 
husband  and  the  more  celebrated  Sir  Thomas  Gresham,  who  have  been  opponents 
in  a  lawsuit  for  seven  years.  The  lady  argues  : — 

such  as  they, 

Men  of  the  chiefest  note  within  this  city, 

To  be  at  such  a  jar  doth  make  me  blush, 

Whom  it  doth  scarce  concern :  you  are  a  good  man ; 

Take  you  the  cause  in  hand,  and  make  them  friends: 

'Twill  be  a  good  day's  work,  if  it  so  ends. 


of  Sir  Thomas  Ramsey.  313 

Dr.  Nowell. — My  Lady  Ramsey,  I  have  heard,  ere  this, 

Of  their  contentions,  their  long  suit  in  law ; 
How  by  good  friends  they  have  been  persuaded  both, 
Tet  both  but  deaf  to  fair  persuasion. 
What  good  will  my  word  do  with  headstrong  men  ? 
Breath,  blown  against  the  wind,  returns  again. 
Lady  K.— Although  to  gentlemen  and  citizens 

They  have  been  so  rash,  yet  to  so  grave  a  man, 
Of  whom  none  speak,  but  speak  with  reverence, 
Whose  words  are  gather'd  in  by  every  ear, 
As  flowers  receive  the  dew  that  comforts  them, 
They  will  be  more  attentive.     Pray,  take  it  in  hand: 
'Tis  a  good  deed ;  'twill  with  your  virtue  stand. 

Sir  Thomas  now  enters,  and  soon  afterward  Gresham,  accompanied  by  a  friend, 
"  old  Hobson,"  a  roughly-honest  haberdasher,  who  at  once  proposes  to  act  as 
umpire  with  the  Dean.  The  scene  thus  continues  : — 

Gresham.— I'll  have  you  both  know,  though  you  are  my  friends, 

I  acorn  my  cause  should  stoop  or  yield  to  him, 

Although  he  be  reputed  Ramsey  the  rich. 
Ramsey. — And  Gresham  shall  perceive  that  Ramsey's  purse 

Shall  make  him  spend  the  wealth  of  Osterley, 

But  he  shall  know 

Gresham. — Know  !     What  shall  I  know  ? 
Ramsey. — That  Ramsey  is  as  good  a  man  as  Gresham. 
Gresham. — And  Gresham  is  as  good  a  man  as  Ramsey. 
Ramsey. — Tut,  tut,  tut ! 

Gresham. — Tut  in  thy  teeth,  although  thou  art  a  knight. 
Hobson. — Bones  o'  me,  you  are  both  to  blame. 

We  two,  like  friends,  come  to  conclude  your  strife, 

And  you,  like  fish-wives,  fall  a-scolding  here. 

Dr.  Nowell. — How  stands  the  difference  'twixt  you,  my  good  friends  ? 
Lady  R. — The  impatience  both  of  the  one  and  other 

Will  not  permit  to  hear  each  other  speak. 

I'll  tell  the  cause  for  both ;  and  thus  it  is. 

There  is  a  lordship,  called  Osterley, 

That  master  Gresham  hath  bought  and  built  upon ; 

Which  Osterley,  before  he  dealt  therin, 

Sir  Thomas,  my  husband  here,  did  think  to  buy, 
.  And  had  given  earnest  for  it. 

Ramsey. — Then,  Gresham,  here,  deals  with  the  land-seller, 

And  buys  my  bargain  most  dishonestly. 

This  imputation  lashes  Gresham  to  fresh  fury,  and  the  quarrel  rages  higher,  but  is 
VOL.  XL.  2  s 


On  an  Inventory  of  the  Household  Goods 

ultimately  argued  down,  and  compromised  by  the  Dean  as  umpire.  This  long 
scene  takes  place  in  Lombard  Street,  the  rendezvous  of  merchants,  and  is  con- 
cluded in  a  storm  of  rain,  which  induces  Gresham  to  determine  on  building  his 
Exchange ; 

That  merchants  and  their  wives,  friend  and  their  friends, 
Shall  walk  underneath  it,  as  now  in  Paul's. 

They  adjourn  to  a  reconciliatory  banquet  at  the  Dean's  house ;  who  afterwards 
takes  them  into  a  picture  gallery  filled  with  portraits  of  charitable  citizens. 
Among  them  are  two  ladies,  whose  deeds  being  rehearsed  to  Lady  Ramsey,  she 
exclaims : — 

Why  should  I  not  live  so,  that  being  dead, 
My  name  might  have  a  register  with  theirs. 

Sir  Thomas  is  afterwards  introduced,  as  Lord  Mayor,  at  the  opening  of  the 
Exchange ;  but  he  has  little  to  say  or  do,  but  that  little  is  made  to  indicate  a 
parsimonious  character.  We  next  hear  of  his  mortal  sickness  and  his  charitable 
intentions.  Lady  Ramsey  afterwards  appears  as  a  widow ;  and  a  long  scene 
ensues,  in  which  the  young  spendthrift  nephew  of  Gresham  endeavours  to  induce 
the  rich  old  lady  to  marry  him.  True  to  the  respect  with  wlu'ch  Heywood  seems 
to  have  desired  to  invest  her  character,  she  aids  him  with  her  cash,  but  most 
sensibly  declines  his  suit. 

I  am  unable  to  substantiate  these  incidents  of  Heywood's  drama  by  docu- 
mentary evidence.  It  is  probable  that  they  were  well  known  at  the  time  of  its 
production,  for  an  ordinary  London  audience  would  be  critical  in  such  matters. 
At  all  events  it  shadows  forth  the  popular  character  of  Sir  Thomas.  As  regards 
the  quarrel  with  Gresham,  a  reference  to  Burgon's  valuable  life  of  that  great 
merchantman,  though  no  mention  is  made  thereof,  establishes  its  probability ;  as 
he  tells  us  that  he  had  "much  difficulty"  in  properly  establishing  himself  at 
Osterley  Park,  and  securing  the  Manor  of  Heston  (Middlesex)  in  which  it  was 
situated." 

Sir  Thomas  was  the  son  of  John  Ramsey  of  Edenbridge,  near  Westerham,  in 
Kent;  and  he  remembered  its  "  poore  inhabitants"  by  gratuities  in  his  will. 

•  Osterley  seems  to  have  been  a  favourite  residence  of  Gresham's.  It  was  here  Queen  Elizabeth  visited 
him  1576,  and  the  characteristic  incident  occurred  as  narrated  by  Fuller,  which  showed  the  rich' citizen's 
perfect  courtiership.  The  Queen  found  fault  with  his  court-yard  as  too  large,  and  said  it  would  be  better  if 
divided  by  a  wall;  Gresham  sent  for  workmen  who  put  up  a  wall  in  the  night,  that  Her  Majesty  on  waking 
might  find  her  idea  carried  out. 


of  Sir  Thomas  Ramsey.  315 

His  charitable  thoughtfulness  toward  the  poor  is  abundantly  shewn  therein.  This 
document  has  other  claims  on  our  attention  for  the  picture  it  affords  of  the 
manners  of  his  era.  He  particularly  desires  to  have  a  stately  funeral ;  and  leaves 
a  sum  of  money  for  a  dinner  on  that  day  in  Grocers'  Hall ;  and  also  directs  that 
another  be  prepared  in  his  own  mansion,  to  which  the  Lord  Mayor  and  Aldermen 
are  to  be  invited,  as  well  as  all  his  neighbours,  and  such  others  as  his  executors 
think  good. 

The  tendency  of  the  courtiers  to  borrow  of  the  richer  citizens  is  shewn  in 
another  item,  where  he  names  the  loan  of  £587  to  Queen  Elizabeth's  favourite, 
Robert  Earl  of  Leicester. 

The  following  are  copies  of  the  two  wills  ;  one  disposing  of  personal,  the  other 
of  landed  property  : — 

TESTAMENTUM  DOMINI  THOME  RAMSEY,  MILITIS,  ET  ALDERMANNI  CIVITATIS  LONDINI. 

IN  THE  NAME  OF  GOD  AMEN.  The  twentith  daye  of  September  in  the  seaven  and  twentithe 
yere  of  the  raigne  of  our  soveraigne  Ladle  Quene  Elizabeth  I  Syr  THOMAS  RAMSEY  Knighte 
and  Alderman  of  ye  cittie  of  London  beinge  of  good  and  perfect  remembrance  laude  and  prayse 
be  unto  Allmightie  God  do  make  and  ordeyne  this  my  present  tcstamcnte  and  laste  will  concerninge 
the  disposicion  of  all  my  goodes  moveable  and  unmoveablc  whatsoever  in  manner  and  forme 
following  That  is  to  saye  first  and  principallye  I  commend  my  soule  unto  Allmightie  God  my 
Creator  and  maker  and  do  trust  that  thorough  the  deathe  and  passion  of  Jesu  Christe  his  only 
begotten  sonne  my  Redeemer  and  by  his  merittes  to  be  saved  And  my  bodie  I  will  to  be  burycd 
in  the  parishe  churche  in  London  where  I  nowe  dwell  And  my  will  and  my  rnyride  ys  that  all 
my  goodes  moveable  and  unmoveable  whatsoever  after  my  decease  shalbe  by  twoe  or  fower 
indifferent  persons  to  be  appoynted  and  sworne  by  the  Alderman  of  that  warde  where  I  dwell 
trulye  and  indifferentlye  appraysed  by  theire  juste  values  And  the  same  goodes  so  apprayscd  (after 
my  debtes  and  funeralls  payed)  I  will  accordinge  to  the  laudable  custome  of  the  citie  of  London 
shalbe  devided  into  twoe  equall  partes  whereof  the  one  equall  parte  shalbe  and  rcmayne  to  my 
welbcloved  wife  Dame  Mary  Ramsey  for  her  reasonable  parte  and  porcion  of  all  my  saied  goodes  to 
her  belonginge  according  to  the  custome  of  the  saied  cittie  And  the  other  moitie  orhalfe  I  reserve 
to  my  selfe  therwithe  to  perforine  my  legaceys  in  this  my  present  testamente  and  last  will  contcyned 
Of  which  moitie  or  one  halfe  First  I  give  and  bequeathe  to  the  poore  children  in  Christes  Ilospitall 
twentie  poundes  To  the  poore  in  Saincte  Bartholomewes  Hospitall  twentie  poundes  To  the  poore  in 
Saincte  Thomas  Hospitall  in  Sowthwarkc  twentie  powndes  To  the  poore  prysoners  of  Newgate  and 
Ludgate  to  cither  of  them  fyve  poundes  To  bothc  the  compt"  in  London  to  either  of  them  fower 
poundes  To  the  poore  inhabitauntes  dwellinge  within  ye  warde  of  Cheapc  to  be  distributed  by 
the  discretion  of  the  aldermen  of  the  same  warde  seaven  poundes  To  the  poore  prisoners  in  the 
Quenes  Benche  and  the  White  Lyon  to  either  of  them  fortie  shillinges  To  the  poore  prisoners  in 
the  Marshalsea^fiftie  three  shillinges  fower  pence  To  the  poore  inhabitauntes  in  Croydon  tenne 
poundes  To  the  poore  inhabitauntes  of  Eaton  Bridge  in  the  countie  of  Kente  tenne  poundes 

2s2 


316  On  an  Inventory  of  the  Household  Goods 

To  the  poore  inhabitauntcs  in  the  parishe  where  I  now  dwell  to  be  delyvered  within  tenne  dayes 
after  my  Buryall  tenne  poundes  To  threeskore  and  twelve  poore  men  to  attende  uppon  my  corpes 
to  my  buriall  to  every  of  them  a  gowne  price  sixe  shillinges  eighte  pence  the  yarde  to  be  ready  made 
for  them  And  to  every  of  the  said  poore  men  I  give  in  ready  money  eight  pence  Which  I  esteeme 
in  the  whole  will  amounte  to  one  hundrethe  poundes  Item  I  give  and  bequeathc  to  William 
Ramsey  my  eldest  brothers  sonne  in  money  fyve  hundred  poundes  and  a  blackc  gowne  To 
Frauncys  Tyrrell  my  sisters  sonne  twoe  hundred  poundes  and  a  blacke  gowne  To  Thomas  Tyrrell 
grocer  my  sisters  sonne  twoe  hundred  poundes  and  a  blacke  gowne  And  I  give  to  his  daughters 
that  shalbe  ly  vinge  at  my  decease  two  hundred  poundes  equally  amongest  them  to  be  devided  Item 
I  give  to  Thomas  Taylor  my  sisters  sonne  one  hundred  poundes  and  to  him  and  his  wife  to  either 
of  them  a  blacke  gowne  And  I  give  to  his  daughters  that  shalbe  living  at  my  decease  equally 
amongeste  them  one  hundred  poundes  To  William  Taylor  his  brother  my  sisters  sonne  two 
hundred  poundes  To  my  cosen  Alice  Farrington  one  hundred  poundes  To  Edith  Parseloe  her 
sister  twcntie  poundes  To  my  sister  Hebbarde  tenne  poundes  To  my  sister  Tirrel  of  Croydon 
twentie  poundes  and  to  her  daughter  Joane  fyve  poundes  To  John  Tirrell  my  sister  Tirrells 
sonne  tenne  poundes  To  my  cosen  Richard  Dane  servaunte  with  Thomas  Marten  grocer  twentie 
poundes  To  George  Dane  his  brother  fyve  poundes  To  Anne  Joan  and  Emme  Dane  his  sisters  to 
every  of  them  fyve  poundes  Item  my  will  and  mynde  ys  and  I  give  and  bequeath  to  Mary 
Wanton  wife  of  John  Wanton  twoe  hundred  poundes  To  Richard  Wcyver  my  sisters  sonne  one 
hundred  poundes  and  a  black  coatc  To  my  sister  Weyvcr  his  mother  fyve  poundes  To  my  cozen 
Emme  Theare  one  hundred  poundes  and  to  her  husbande  and  her  to  either  of  them  a  blacke  gowne 
and  to  theire  children  that  shalbe  living  at  my  decease  equally  amongest  them  one  hundred  pounds 
Item  I  give  and  bequeathe  to  Edward  Holmeden  and  Elizabeth  his  wife  to  cither  of  them  a  blacke 
gowne  And  to  her  son  Thomas  Holmeden  my  godson  one  hundred  poundes  Item  I  give  and  be- 
queathe to  Anne  Whiteheadc  my  servaunte  fyve  poundes  To  John  Reynoldes  my  servauute  fyve 
poundes  and  to  all  the  restc  of  my  servauntes  that  dwell  with  me  at  my  decease  to  everie  of  them 
fiftie  shillinges  over  and  above  theire  wages  and  blackc  at  the  discretion  of  my  executors  Item  I 
give  to  my  sister  Elizabeth  Glascockes  twoe  children  to  cither  of  them  tenne  poundes.  To  Mistres 
Kelk  my  wyves  sister  tenne  poundes  and  a  blacke  gowne  Item  I  give  to  ye  warden  and  lyverye 
of  the  companye  of  the  Grocers  for  a  dynner  to  be  made  at  theire  haule  the  day  of  my 
buriall  twentie  poundes  Item  I  do  give  and  bequeath  to  the  wardens  and  comynaltic  of  the 
mystcrye  or  companye  of  the  Grocers  of  the  cittie  of  London  for  a  stocke  to  remayne  with 
them  for  ever  the  somme  of  twoe  hundred  poundes  And  my  will  and  minde  ys  that  the  same 
stocke  shalbe  delyvered  by  the  wardens  of  the  same  companye  for  the  tyme  beingc  to  fower  younge 
men  of  the  same  companye  beinge  retaylors  to  everie  of  them  fiftie  poundes  a  peecc  freelie  without 
payinge  any  thinge  for  the  same  savinge  twelve  pence-for  makinge  of  an  obligacion  they  and  every 
of  them  puttinge  in  good  and  sufficiente  sewerties  for  repayment  thcrof  at  the  ende  of  twoe  yeres 
and  then  to  delyver  the  same  to  fower  other  younge  men  of  the  same  companye  for  twoe  yeres  more 
with  like  sewerties  And  so  to  contynewe  from  twoe  yeres  to  twoe  yercs  in  the  occupying  of  fower 
younge  men  of  the  saied  companye  in  forme  aforesaid  for  ever  Item  I  will  that  my  executors 
shall  cause  twentie  sermons  to  be  made  within  twoe  yercs  after  my  decease  in  the  parishe  churche 


of  Sir  Thomas  Ramsey.  317 

where  I  nowe  dwell  called  Saincte  Mary  Wolnothes  by  some  good  and  godlie  preacher  by  them  to 
be  provided  And  they  to  have  for  everie  sermon  sixe  shillinges  eighte  pence  for  theire  paines 
Item  I  give  and  bequeathe  to  my  welbeloved  wife  a  blacke  gowne  And  I  do  give  and  bequeathe 
to  my  Lord  Mayor  for  the  tyme  beinge  so  that  he  will  come  to  my  buryall  a  blacke  gowne  and  to 
the  sworde  bearer  a  blacke  gowne  I  give  and  bequeathe  to  the  Lady  Ryvers  a  blacke  gowne  To 
my  deputie  of  my  warde  that  shalbe  at  the  tyme  of  my  decease  and  to  his  wife  to  either  of 
them  a  blacke  gowne  To  Mr.  Sergaunt  Fleetwood  Recorder  of  London  a  black  gowne  To 
Mr.  Seabrighte  towne  clarke  a  blacke  gowne  To  Mr.  Dalbye  one  of  the  Lorde  Mayors 
clerks  a  blacke  gowne  To  Mr.  Buckmaster  a  black  gowne  And  further  my  will  and  minde 
ys  that  my  wife  shall  have  yf  she  will  a  reasonable  parte  or  some  convenientc  portion  by  the 
discretion  of  my  executors  of  my  plate  and  householde  stufie  she  payinge  to  my  executors  for  the 
same  as  yt  shalbe  praysed  And  my  will  and  minde  ys  that  ray  executors  shall  make  a  dynner  the 
day  of  my  buryall  in  my  nowe  dwellinge  house  wherunto  shalbe  desired  the  Lorde  Mayor  and  all 
my  bretheren  the  Aldermen  and  theire  wyves  my  deputie  and  his  wife  and  all  my  neighboures  and 
such  other  as  my  executor  shall  thinke  good  And  of  this  my  laste  will  and  testamente  I  make  and 
appoint  my  trustie  and  lovinge  frendes  Edward  Holmeden  grocer  Thomas  Tirrell  grocer  and 
Thomas  Farrington  vintner  my  full  and  sole  executors  chardginge  them  as  they  will  answere  before 
God  to  see  my  debtes  and  legacies  paied  justlye  and  trewlye  And  that  my  legacies  be  all  (savinge 
the  money  by  me  bequeathed  for  the  sermons)  payed  within  one  yere  at  the  farthest  after  my 
decease  And  I  desire  my  good  freindes  John  Wanton  William  Ramsey  Thomas  Taylor  and 
Frauncys  Tirrell  to  be  my  overseers  And  I  will  and  my  minde  is  that  after  all  my  legaceys  given 
by  me  in  this  my  last  will  and  testamente  be  paied  and  discharged  and  my  funerall  cxpcnces  borne 
The  residue  of  all  my  goodes  (my  debtes  legaceys  and  funeralls  discharged  as  aforcsayed)  I  give  and 
bequeathe  to  Edward  Ilolraeden  grocer  Thomas  Tirrell  grocer  Thomas  Farrington  vintner  John 
Wanton  grocer  Thomas  Taylor  grocer  William  Taylor  his  brother  Giles  Taylor  grocer  William 
Ramsey  Fraunces  Tirrell  grocer  and  Richard  Weyver  to  be  equallye  dcvyded  amongest  them  parte 
and  partc  like  In  witnesse  wherof  to  this  my  present  testamente  and  last  will  I  have  setto  my 
hande  and  scale  the  day  and  yere  abovesaied  By  me  THOMAS  RAMSEY  alderman.  Sealed  and 
delivered  in  the  presence  of  us  whose  names  hereafter  followc  per  me  Willm  Dalbye  Richard  Fordc 
servaunte  to  Syr  Thomas  Ramsey  knighte 

Item  I  give  and  bequeath  to  my  servaunte  Mary  Forster  twenty  poundcs  Item  I  will  to 
foure  skore  poore  men  gownes  a  peece  every  man  and  twelve  pence  in  money  every  man  at  my 
buriall  Item  I  give  and  bequeathe  to  Mary  Holmeden  my  cozen's  daughter  one  hundred 
poundes  and  I  give  and  bequeath  to  Susan  Holmeden  her  sister  one  hundred  poundes  To 
Edward  Holmeden  and  George  Holmeden  to  either  of  them  one  hundred  poundes  And  I  give  to 
Henry  Dale  a  blacke  gowne  And  to  Mr.  Mathewe  Dale  a  blacke  gowne  And  to  Robert  Coxe 
grocer  a  blacke  gowne  And  to  Nicholas  Barnesley  a  blacke  gowne  And  to  William  Bagnall  a 
blacke  gowne  Item  I  give  unto  Elizabeth  Tirrell  daughter  of  Thomas  Tyrrell  over  and  above 
her  legacey  aforesayed  fiftie  poundes  To  my  welbeloved  freind  Elizabeth  Holmden  one 
hundred  poundcs  And  whereas  the  right  honorable  Robert  Earle  of  Leicester  is  indebted  unto 
me  in  the  somme  of  fyvc  hundred  fiftie  poundes  payable  in  Januarye  one  thousand  fyvc  hundred 


318  On  an  Inventory  of  the  Household  Goods 

fourscore  and  seaven  In  defaulte  of  which  paymente  I  shalbe  interessed  in  the  twoe  and  thirtethe 
parte  of  the  mannor  or  Baronye  of  Denbighe  I  do  therefore  devise  will  and  bequeathe  the  same  in 
manner  and  forme  folowinge  videlicet  that  yf  the  saied  money  be  paied  and  redely  vered  at  the 
daye  wherein  the  same  is  due  or  before  then  I  will  the  one  halfe  therof  to  my  saied  lovingc  wife 
and  the  other  halfe  thereof  to  be  devyded  amongest  the  saied  Edward  Holmeden  Thomas  Tirrell 
Thomas  Farrington  Thomas  Taylor  William  Taylor  Gyles  Taylor  William  Ramseye  Frauncis 
Tyrrell  and  Richard  Weyver  to  be  equallye  devyded  amongest  them  But  yf  the  same  be  not 
payed  accordinglye  but  that  in  defaulte  therof  there  doth  discende  or  come  unto  me  and  my  heires 
and  assignes  a  twoc  and  thirtithe  parte  of  the  saied  Barronye  or  Mannor  of  Denbighe  Then  I  will 
and  devise  the  same  twoe  and  thirtithe  part  therof  to  the  saied  Edwarde  Holmeden  Thomas  Tirrell 
Thomas  Farrington  Thomas  Taylor  Gyles  Taylor  William  Ramsey  Fraunceys  Tyrrell  and  Richard 
Weyver  and  theire  severall  heires  videlicet  to  every  of  them  and  theire  severall  heyres  an  eighte 
parte  therof  By  me  Thomas  Ramsey  alderman  Sealed  and  delivered  in  the  presence  of  R.  Wrighte 
notarye  publique  and  of  me  Richard  Forde  Witness  I  William  Horner  grocer. 

[Proved  the  29th  day  of  May  1590  by  the  proctor  for  the  executors  in  the  will  above  nominated. 

On  the  27th  day  of  June  the  last  will  of  the  said  deceased  was  propounded  as  follows:*] 

ULTIMA  VOLUNTAS  DOMINI  THOME  RAMSEY  MILITIS. 

In  the  name  of  God  Amen  the  nynthe  daye  of  July  in  the  yere  of  oure  Lordc  God  a  thousand 
fyve  hundred  cightic  sixe  and  in  the  eighte  and  twentithe  yere  of  the  rayne  of  our  soveraigne 
Ladie  Elizabeth  by  the  grace  of  God  Queue  of  Englande  Fraunce  and  Ireland  defender  of  the 
faith  &c  I  Sir  Thomas  Ramsey  Knighte  Citizen  and  Alderman  of  London  beyng  of  good  and 
perfect  remembrance  thankes  be  to  Almightie  God  therfor  do  make  my  laste  will  concernynge  the 
disposicion  of  all  my  manners  landes  tenementes  and  hereditamentes  whatsoever  scituat  lyinge  and 
bcynge  within  the  eitty  of  London  the  counties  of  Surrey  and  Kente  and  els  where  within  the 
rcalme  of  England  in  manner  and  forme  followinge  viz.  First  my  will  and  meaninge  ys  and  I  do 
by  these  presentes  will  devise  and  bequeathe  and  allso  reserve  unto  my  executors  named  in  my  will 
of  my  moveable  goodes  1'rcc  ingresse  and  regresse  into  my  mansion  house  wherein  I  nowe  dwell 
scituate  in  Lumbert  streate  London  and  into  all  the  roomcs  of  the  same  to  be  used  and  taken  from 
ye  time  of  my  decease  for  and  duringe  the  space  of  one  whole  yeare  then  next  followinge  at  all 
tymc  and  tymes  whatsoever  at  theire  discretion  to  searche  viewe  and  peruse  all  my  writinges 
deedes  cvydences  bookcs  of  accompte  and  all  other  mynimentes  whatsoever  and  to  exequutc  and 
peribrme  any  other  matter  or  thinge  for  the  execucion  and  performauncc  whereof  they  shall  or 
may  have  cause  to  rcsorte  into  the  saied  mansion  house  or  into  any  the  roome  or  roomes  therof 
and  in  that  tyme  to  carry  out  or  bringc  in  suche  thingcs  as  they  shalbe  occasioned  or  thincke  good 
for  the  execution  of  this  my  presente  tcstamente  and  last  will  or  other  my  last  will  and  testament  of 
my  moveable  goodes  and  chattells  with  like  libertie  of  ingresse  and  regress  to  suche  theire  servauntes 
or  other  persons  whose  travell  they  shalbe  occasyoned  to  use  in  the  premisses  together  with  all 
suche  cartes  carriage  portage  and  all  other  helpes  and  circumstaunces  thereunto  belonginge  lor  and 
duringe  ye  space  of  one  whole  yere  And  allso  I  will  and  devise  unto  Dame  Mary  my  welbeloved 
*  These  paragraphs  are  in  Latin,  at  some  length,  with  the  customary  verbiage. 


of  Sir  Thomas  Ramsey.  319 

wife  my  saied  mansion  house  with  th'  appurtcnaunces  with  the  garden  therunto  belonginge 
together  with  the  twoe  tenementes  and  shoppes  therunto  adjoyninge  and  allso  my  stable  with  the 
appurtenaunces  All  which  ar  scituate  lyinge  and  beynge  in  Lumbertstreat  London  aforesaid  in  y* 
parishe  of  Saincte  Mary  Woolnothe  in  the  warde  of  Langborne  London  and  allso  all  those  my  three 
tenementes  in  Cornehill  in  the  parishe  of  Saincte  Michaclls  in  Cornehill  London  aforesaied  which 
saied  three  tenementes  now  ar  or  late  were  in  the  severall  tenures  or  occupacions  of  John  Okes 
upholster  Lawrence  Yeomans  cooke  and  Kobert  Stephens  grocer  To  have  and  to  houlde  all  and 
singuler  the  premises  with  the  appurtenaunces  unto  my  saied  wife  duringe  her  naturall  life  for  and 
in  full  recompence  and  satisfaction  of  her  dower  and  third  parte  of  all  my  manners  landes  tene- 
mentes and  hereditamentes  whatsoever  And  uppon  condition  that  she  shall  and  do  accepte  of  the 
same  as  a  full  recompence  and  satisfaction  of  her.  saied  dower  accordinglie  And  I  chardge  my 
saied  wife  that  she  shall  kepe  all  the  premises  to  her  devised  for  tearme  of  her  saied  life  in  good 
necessarye  and  convenyente  reparacions  duringe  the  saied  tyme  And  my  will  and  meaninge  ys 
that  yf  my  saied  wife  shall  accepte  of  the  saied  mansion  house  and  other  the  premisses  by  this  my 
saied  will  to  her  devised  for  her  full  thirde  parte  that  she  shall  have  the  use  of  all  suche  cesterns 
of  leade  and  other  the  leades  as  shalbe  remayninge  in  my  saied  dwellinge  house  in  Lumbert  streate 
London  at  the  tymc  of  my  decease  Item  I  will  and  devise  that  all  and  singuler  the  said  mansion 
house  and  all  and  singuler  the  premisses  before  by  theise  presentes  devised  to  the  saied  Dame  Marye 
my  wife  after  the  decease  of  the  sayed  Dame  Marye  shall  remayne  and  be  to  Thomas  Taylor  my 
sisters  sonne  his  heires  and  assignes  for  ever  To  have  and  to  houlde  the  same  after  the  decease  of 
my  saied  wife  to  hym  the  saied  Thomas  Taylor  his  heires  and  assignes  for  ever  together  witli  all 
suchc  cesternes  of  Leade  and  other  Leades  as  shalbe  remayninge  in  my  saied  mansion  house  in 
Lumbert  streate  at  the  time  of  my  decease  Item  I  will  and  devise  my  greate  house  with  the 
appurtenaunces  in  the  poultrey  in  the  parishe  of  Saincte  Mary  woolchurche  Hawe  London  in  the 
occupacion  of  Edward  Holmeden  grocer  and  also  my  garden  in  Cowleman  strete  in  Swanne  alley 
London  with  the  appurtenaunces  unto  my  cozen  Elizabeth  Holmeden  my  sister's  daughter  duringe 
her  naturall  life  willinge  and  chardginge  the  saied  Elizabethe  to  kepe  the  same  to  her  devised 
duringe  all  the  saied  tyme  in  good  necessarye  and  convenient  reparacions  And  after  the  decease  of 
the  saied  Elizabethe  I  will  that  the  saied  greate  house  in  the  poultrey  with  the  appurtenaunces  and 
the  saied  garden  with  the  appurtenaunces  shalbe  and  remayne  to  William  Taylor  and  Giles  Taylor 
brothers  to  the  saied  Elizabeth  and  theire  heires  and  assignes  for  ever  Item  I  will  and  devise  unto 
Thomas  Tirrcll  my  godsonne  sonne  of  Thomas  Tyrrell  citizen  and  grocer  of  London  my  tenementes 
and  landes  thereunto  belonginge  scituate  lyinge  and  beinge  in  the  parishe  of  Nudgate  in  the  countie 
of  Surrey  in  the  tenure  and  occupation  of  one  Nicholas  llickman  whiche  I  late  purchased  of  Richard 
Culpepper  gentleman  and  all  other  my  landes  and  tenementes  in  the  saied  parishe  of  Nudgate  to 
have  and  to  houlde  to  the  saied  Thomas  Tyrrell  my  godsonne  his  heires  and  assignes  for  ever 
And  the  residue  of  al!  my  manners  landes  tenementes  and  hereditamentes  by  me  not  devised 
amountinge  to  the  full  thirde  parte  of  all  the  manners  landes  tenementes  and  hercditamcates 
whereof  I  am  seised  of  any  estate  of  enheritauncc  I  leave  undevysed  to  descende  by  the  course  of 
the  lawcs  of  this  Eealme  to  or  uppon  my  heire  or  heires  at  the  common  lawe  And  lastlye  I  will 
that  yraediatlyc  after  my  decease  or  within  convenient  tymc  after  my  saied  executors  shall  by  the 
hclpe  and  direction  of  some  learned  advise  searche  and  peruse  all  my  evidences  decdes  myniinentcs 


320  On  an  Inventory  of  the  Household  Goods 

and  wrytinges  whatsoever  and  shall  devide  and  deliver  them  to  the  devisees  of  th'  enheritauncc  or 
fee  simple  of  the  severall  premises  accordinge  to  th'  intente  of  this  my  present  will  and  devise  viz. 
To  every  of  the  saied  devisees  or  theire  heires  and  to  my  saied  heire  or  heires  at  the  common  lawe 
suche  and  so  many  of  the  saied  deedes  evydences  mynimentes  and  wrytinges  as  shall  severally 
concerne  the  landes  or  tenementes  severally  to  them  devised  or  which  ar  to  discende  accordinge  to 
the  course  of  the  lawes  or  statutes  of  this  realme  and  allso  that  this  my  present  laste  will  and  devise 
concerninge  my  saied  manners  landes  and  tenementes  be  by  my  saied  executors  caused  to  be  enrolled 
in  the  courte  of  Hoystinges  of  London  accordinge  to  «the  custome  of  the  same  cittie  within  fower 
monethes  next  after  my  decease  In  witnesse  whereof  I  have  to  this  my  present  laste  will  and  devise 
of  my  saied  manners  landes  and  tenementes  and  hereditamentes  set  my  hande  and  scale  the  day  and 
yere  first  above  written  By  me  Thomas  Ramsey  alderman  Sealed  and  delyvered  by  Sr  Thomas 
Ramsey  as  his  laste  will  for  the  devise  of  his  landes  in  ye  presence  of  us  whose  names  ar  subscribed 
Thomas  Graye  the  elder  grocer  William  Home  grocer  Nicholas  Barnesley  grocer  Richard  Forde 
servaunte  to  Syr  Thomas  Ramsey  alderman  Richard  wrighte  Notary  publique. 
[Proved  as  before.] 

Sir  Thomas  was  buried,  according  to  his  wish,  in  his  parish  church.  It  was 
burnt  in  the  Great  Fire,  then  restored,  and  his  tomb  reinstated;  but  it  was 
destroyed  with  other  old  monuments  in  1716,  when  the  present  church  was  built 
by  Hawksmoor. 

The  tomb  of  Sir  Thomas  is  mentioned  in  Strype's  edition  of  Stowe  as  "  a  very 
good  monument  in  the  east  end  of  the  chancel,"  with  the  following  epitaph  : — 

"  Here  lyeth  interred  the  body  of  SIR  THOMAS  RAMSEY,  Knt.  a  most  worthy 
Citizen,  and  lately  Lord  Maior  of  London,  being  free  of  the  Grocers'  Company. 
"With  whom  (by  Will)  he  hath  lefte  a  perpetual  reliefe  for  poore  yong  men, 
retaylours  of  the  said  Company,  which  he  saw  performed  in  his  lifetime.  He  was 
a  most  careful  Magistrate,  walked  in  the  feare  of  God,  and  loved  peace.  He 
lived  79  yoares,  and  dyed  (without  issue)  in  the  faith  of  Jesus  Christ,  the  19.  day 
of  May,  Anno  Dom.  1590.  Whose  godly  end  was  a  true  testimony  of  his  vertuous 
life. 

"  Here  lyeth  buried  also  DAME  ALICE,  the  first  wife  of  the  said  Sir  Thomas 
Ramsey,  she  being  eldest  daughter  to  Bevis  Lea,  of  Enfield,  in  the  county  of 
Stafford,  Gent.  Unto  whom  he  was  married  37  yeeres ;  and  having  lived  85  yeeres, 
she  departed  this  life  the  18  day  of  January,  Anno  Dom.  1577. 

"Dame  Mary,  the  second  wife  to  the  said -Sir  Thomas  Ramsey,  was  oldest 
daughter  to  William  Dale,  of  Bristol,  Merchant,  unto  whom  he  was  married  12 
yeeres.  In  regard  therefore  of  so  worthy  a  knight,  and  his  two  vertuous  Ladeis, 
this  Monument  is  heere  placed  by  the  Executors  of  the  said  Sir  Thomas  Ramsey, 
the  18  day  of  November,  Anno  Dom.  1596." 


of  Sir  Thomas  Ramsey.  321 

Dame  Mary  was  equally  remarkable  with  her  husband  for  charity  and  benevo- 
lence. Strype  records  "  the  Christian  and  bountiful  charity  of  the  Lady  Ramsey, 
who  being  seized  of  lands  in  fee  simple  of  her  own  inheritance,  amounting  to  the 
yearly  value  of  £243,  by  consent  of  her  said  husband  gave  the  same  to  Christ's 
Hospital  in  London,  towards  the  relief  of  the  poor  children  there,  and  other 
charitable  uses,  as  shall  be  declared. 

"  To  the  Master  and  Usher  of  the  school  belonging  to  Christ's  Church,  she  gave 
yearly  £20. 

"  To  the  Schoolmaster  of  Hawsted,  by  the  year  for  ever,  she  gave  £20. 

"  To  ten  poor  widows,  beside  apparel  and  houses,  yearly  £20. 

"  To  two  poor  people  (a  man  and  a  woman)  by  her  appointed,  during  their  lives, 
she  gave  unto  each  of  them,  yearly  £2  13*.  4d. 

"  To  two  Fellows  of  Peterhouse,  in  the  University  of  Cambridge,  and  towards 
the  relief  of  four  scholars,  yearly  £40. 

"  To  St.  Bartholomew's  Hospital,  £10. 

"  To  Newgate,  Ludgate,  and  both  the  Comptors,  each  of  them  £10. 

"  After  the  expiration  of  certain  leases,  there  is  to  come  unto  Christ's  Hospital, 
yearly,  the  sum  of  £120. 

"  To  three  several  parishes  in  London,  namely,  St.  Andrew  Undershaft,  St. 
Peter's  the  Poor,  and  St.  Mary  Wolnoth,  in  Lombard  Street,  £10  to  each. 

"  Towards  the  maintenance  of  six  poor  scholars  in  Cambridge,  £20. 

"  Towards  the  relief  of  ten  poor  maimed  soldiers,  beside  cassocks,  caps,  hose, 
and  shoes,  yearly,  the  sum  of  £20. 

"  For  two  sermons,  yearly,  40«. 

"  She  gave  to  the  poor  of  Christ's  Church  parish,  yearly,  for  ever,  the  sum  of  50s. 

"  To  the  poor  of  the  Company  of  Drapers  in  London,  she  gave  £10  yearly. 

"  All  these  gifts  already  rehearsed  are  to  continue  for  ever,  yearly. 

"  Moreover  to  each  of  these  five  Companies  :  of  Grocers,  Drapers,  Goldsmiths, 
Haberdashers,  and  Merchant  Taylors,  she  gave  the  sum  of  £1,200,  to  be  lent  to 
young  tradesmen  for  four  years. 

"  She  gave  to  the  Maior  and  Commonalty  of  Bristol  £1,000,  to  be  employed 
toward  the  new  hospital  there,  and  other  charitable  uses,  by  the  consent  of  her 
executors. 

"  To  certain  parishes  in  the  country,  as  Berden,  Newport,  Clavering,  Langley, 
Rickling,  Quenden,  Stocking  Pelham,  and  Walden,  she  gave  the  sum  of  £100,  to 
buy  forty  gowns  of  frize  for  women,  and  sixty  coats  for  men,  the  remainder  and 
overplus  to  go  to  the  poor. 

VOL.  XL.  2  T 


322  On  an  Inventory  of  the  Household  Goods 

"  She  gave  to  poor  maids'  marriages  £40. 

"  Moreover  she  gave  the  sum  of  £500  towards  the  releasing  of  such  prisoners 
as  lye  for  the  debt  of  40s.  in  any  of  the  prisons  in  London  and  Southwark. 

"  She  gave  beside  the  sum  of  £3,000  to  other  good  and  godly  uses." 

There  were  formerly  two  tablets  detailing  her  gifts  to  Christ  Church  more  fully, 
and  thus  inscribed : — 

"  Behold  the  works  of  God,  done  by  his  servant  Dame  Mary  Ramsey. 

"  She  hath  given  a  yearly  maintenance  for  two  Fellows  and  four  Scholars  in 
Cambridge. 

"  More,  two  livings  of  good  value,  when  they  shall  become  fit  to  supply  them. 

"  More,  towards  certain  sermons  to  be  preached  in  this  church,  yearly. 

"  More,  in  Christ's  Hospital,  a  free  writing-school  for  poor  men's  children. 

"  More,  in  the  country,  a  free  grammar-school  for  the  poorer  sort. 

"  All  which  several  gifts,  before  remembered,  are  to  continue  yearly  for  ever. 

Forma,  Decus,  Mores, 
Sapientia,  Res,  et  Honores, 
Morte  ruunt  subita; 
Vivit  post  funera  Fama. 

"  The  rest  of  the  godly  works  done  by  this  good  lady. 

"  She  hath  given  a  worthy  maintenance  to  the  poor  of  Christ's  Hospital. 

"  More,  a  bountiful  gift  for  the  healing  of  poor  wounded  soldiers. 

"  More,  a  liberal  maintenance  for  ten  poor  maimed  soldiers. 

"  More,  a  liberal  maintenance  for  ten  poor  aged  widows. 

"  More,  a  bountiful  gift  to  release  poor  men  out  of  prison. 

"  More,  a  bountiful  gift  to  relieve  poor  men  in  prison. 

"  More,  a  yearly  stipend  to  poor  maids'  marriages. 

"  More,  to  the  relief  of  the  poor  of  four  several  parishes. 

"  All  which  several  gifts  are  for  ever. 

"  Her  faith  hath  wrought,  her  tree  was  not  barren.  And  yet  an  unprofitable 
servant.  1596." 

Such  is  all  I  have  been  able  to  glean  concerning  these  worthy  citizens.  Their 
lives  of  industry,  their  pursuit  of  wealth,  have  left  no  traces  behind.  Through 
their  charities  have  they  solely  been  remembered,  as  if  to  point  more  forcibly  the 
moral  of  the  poet's  lines : — 

"  ——  only  the  actions  of  the  just 
Smell  sweet,  and  blossom  in  the  dust." 


of  Sir  Thomas  Ramsey.  323 

A  TREWE  INVENTORYE  of  all  the  moveable  goodes,  househould  stuffe  and  plate,  wch  were  latelie  the 
goodes  and  chattells  of  Sr  THOMAS  RAMSEY,  Knight,  late  Alderman  of  the  Citie  of  London  ; 
as  the  same  was  viewed  and  appraised  by  Thomas  Corbet,  skynner ;  John  Alderson,  vintener ; 
Pattricke  Brewe,  gouldesmithe ;  and  John  Okes,  clothworker ;  praysers  sworne  and  appoynted 
the  xviith  daie  of  June  1590,  as  hereafter  followeth  : — 

In  the  newe  Parlour.                                     li.  s.           d. 

Imprimis :  a  chaire  of  greene  velvett  at                            .                 .                 •  xij          vj 

Itm.  two  chaires  of  greene  kersey,  fringed       .                 .                                 .  xj 

Itm.  two  olde  chaire  stooles,  of  crimson  velvett                .                 .  vj        viij 

Itm.  two  stooles  of  needleworke       ...                                  •  nij 
Itm.  one  drawing  joyned  table  (1)  wth  a  frame  and  xviij  joyned  stooles           .               xxxiij         iiij 
Itm.  a  long  pillowe  of  tissewe  and  a  windowe  cloth  of  chaungeable  silke 

damaske  .......  x 

Itm.  an  olde  cupboard  cloth  of  greene  and  red                ...  ij 

Itm.  iiij  litle  footestooles                  .                 .                                                   .  xviij 

Itm.  one  Turkye  carpett  of  v  yards  longe        ....  xxvj        viij 

Itm.  ix  olde  greene  cushions            .....  ij 

Itm.  viij  knobbes  of  tynne  for  the  cupboard    .  ij 

Itm.  a  cupboard  and  a  desk  of  wainskett         ....  iij         iiij 

Itm.  a  long  forme  covered  wth  greene  serge     ....  iij         iiij 

Itm.  iiij  olde  greene  stooles  at                                                            .  v 

Itm.  an  iron  to  keepe  in  the  fire  (2)                 ....  xviij 

Summa  t.  v        xix 


In  the  Garden  Chamber. 

Itm.  a  greate  longe  wainskete  presse  ....  xxxiij         iiij 

Itm.  a  longe  tapestrie  carpett  .  .  .  .  .        vij 

Itm.  two  grene  carpets  of  greene  cloth,  frenged  .  .  .        iiij  x 

Itm.  vij  skreene  clothes  and  windowe  clothes  of  grene  clothe,  garded  w"1 

grene  velvet,  and  fringed         .....  xxxv 

Itm.  a  cupboarde  clothe  of  redd  dornixe          .  ij 

Itm.  a  longe  pillowe  and  iiij  cushions  of  grene  velvet      .  .  xl 

Itm.  iiij  needleworke  cushions  of  the  grocers  armes         .  .  .  Iiij         iiij 

Ittn.  viij  needleworke  cushions  of  the  honysuckle  .  .  .  Iiij         iiij 

Itm.  iiij  olde  needleworke  cushions  ....  xiij        iiij 

Itm.  an  olde  longe  pillowe  of  tissewe  ....  xv 

Itm.  xij  greene  kersey  cushions       .... 

Itm.  a  chaire  of  greene  velvett        .....  xvj 

Itm.  iiij  lyned  coverletts  of  tapestrie  .  .  .  .vij 

Itm.  one  coarse  coverlett,  unlyned       .....  xij 

2  T  2 


324 


On  an  Inventory  of  Household  Goods 


Itm.  one  redde  rugge,  a  black  mantell,  and  a  white  blanket! 

Itm.  one  peece  of  coarse  kersey,  a  remnaunt  of  frise,  and  a  remnaunt  of  black 

cotton      ....... 

Itm.  two  downe  pillowes  covered  wth  white  fustian 

Itm.  v.  curtaines  of  redde  and  yellowe  taffetay,  and  the  vallencc  of  the  same, 

fringed  w"'  redde  and  yellowe  .... 

Itm.  a  tester  of  Bridges  satten         ..... 
Itm.  the  velvet  for  a  bedds  hed,  and  vallence  to  the  same  of  greene  velvett, 

fringed,  and  lyned  w"1  buckram  .... 

Itm.  a  curtaine,  sky  blewe  and  yellow  .... 

Itm.  a  paire  of  brasen  andirons  w'h  brasen  feete 

Itm.  a  shovell,  a  slice,  a  paire  of  croppers,  and  two  payre  of  iron  tounges 

Itm.  v  wainskote  tressells  ..... 

Itm.  a  paire  of  olde  playing  tables  ..... 

Itm.  ix  olde  pictures        ...... 

Itm.  a  paire  of  bellowes  and  an  old  tent  frame 

Itm.  a  wainskete  chest,  ij  blewe  tilletes  (3),  viijd.  and  vij  wainsket  boords 

Itm.  two  fine  tapestrie  coverlets,  unlyned,  at  . 

Itm.  iij  peeces  of  old  wainsket,  ij  wainsket  pillars,  and  a  wainsket  forme 

Summa  t. 


li. 


s. 

X 
XV 

viij 


iiij 


iij 


viij 


In  t/ie  Chamber  betwene  the  Great  Chamber  and  the  Garden  Chamber. 


Itm.  a  longe  olde  Turkic  carpett  . 
Itm.  a  greate  wainskote  cheste  . 
Itm.  a  plate  baskett,  and  a  wainskote  forme 


Summa  t. 


In  t/ie  Gallerie. 


Itm.  iij  longe  tables 

Itm.  two  square  carving  boorde  tables 

Itm.  three  stooles 


Summa  t. 


XXV 

xvj 

X 

viij 
v 

XJ 

XV 

ix 


x 


xvj 

v 

iiij 


xxv 


xix 


XX1J 

viij 


In  the  Chamber  over  the  neice  Parloure. 

Imprimis:    a  carved  bedsted  and  a  trundell  (4)  bedde,  and  two  waiusket 
settles      ....... 

Itm.  a  strawe  bedde,  a  fether  bedde,  and  a  boulster 


XXVJ 
X 


VIIJ 


of  Sir  Thomas  Ramsey.  325 

li.  s.       d. 

Itm.  a  court  cupborde    (5)              .....  xvj 

Itm.  a  leade  pott  for  the  privie,  and  an  iron  curtaine  rodd               .                 .  xvj 


Summa  t,  .         iiij       xix        iiij 

In  the  Ilall. 

Itm.  a  longe  greene  carpett              .....  xx 

Itm.  two  long  tables  w"1  the  frames                 ....  xxxiij         iiij 

Itm.  viij  joyned  stooles  and  two  wainskete  formes           .                 .                 .  xxj 

Itm.  xij  plaine  holberds  ......  xx 

Itm.  two  lanses,  horsemens  staves,  and  iiij  light  horsemans  staves  .                 .  viij 

Itm.  vij  shildes  of  armes                  .....  iij         vj 

Itm.  a  beame  and  an  aungell  gilt,  and  v  candlestickes   of  brasse,  and  a 

cristall  glasse           ......  xxv 

Itm.  an  iron  harth  w'h  an  iron  frame               ....  xx 

Itm.  two  foote  stooles      ......  iiij 

Summa  t.              .         vij         xj  ij 


In  the  olde  Parlour. 

I  tin.  a  longe  drawing  table,  and  a  frame  of  wainskote     ...  xx 

Itm.  iiij  wainskote  formes                .                 .                 .                 .                 .  ix 

Itm.  vj  stooles                 .                 ...                 .                 .                 .  vj 

Itm.  a  great  iron  back  for  the  chimnye            ....  viij 


Summa  t.  .  xliij 


In  the  Chamber  next  to  the  Ilall. 

Itm.  two  small  fether  beddes  and  a  boulster    ....        iiij 

Itm.  a  blanket,  and  three  small  grene  say  curtaines        ...  xij 

Itm.  a  mattres,  a  fether  bedd,  and  a  boulster  ....  Iiij         iiij 

Itm.  two  blancketts,  an  olde  tapestrie  coverlet,  and  an  olde  pillowe  .  xxxv 

Itm.  a  settle,  and  a  chaire  of  wainskote  ....  v 

Itm.  a  cheste  of  walnut  tree  .....  xl 

Itm.  a  wainskote  settle    ......  ij 

Itm.  a  shovell,  and  a  payrc  of  tonges,  and  a  slice  of  iron  .  .  xvj 

Itm.  a  paire  of  bellowes  ......  xvj 

Itm.  iij  windowe  say  curtaines,  and  the  curtaine  roddes  ...  xij 

Itm.  two  greene  cushions  .....  xij 

Itm.  two  olde  greene  stooles  .....  ij 

Itm.  a  small  looking  glasse,  and  a  lead  pott  for  the  privie  .  .  xxij 

Summa  t.  .        xij         vj          x 


320 


On  an  Inventory  of  the  Household  Goods 


In  the  Closet  next  to  Hie  same  Cliamber. 

Itm.  a  settle  of  wainskote  ..... 

Itm.  a  wainskote  cheste  ...... 

Itm.  a  greate  oken  wainskote  cheste  .... 

Itm.  a  hanger,  and  one  knife  ..... 

Itm.  a  combe  boxe  ...... 

Itm.  a  trundell  bedsted  and  a  boulster  .... 

Itm.  a  blancket,  and  an  olde  coverlett  .... 

Itm.  an  olde  browne  bill,  iij  iron  curtaine  roddes,  a  white  brushe,  and  a 
litle  olde  cheste        ...... 

Sutnma  t. 


li. 


s. 

V 

XJ 

V 

VJ 


VIIJ 

ii 

viij 


xxxvij 


In  Wilson's  Chamber. 

Itm.  a  bedsted,  and  a  strawe  bed,  and  a  trundell  bedsted 

Itm.  an  olde  wainskot  presse  ..... 

Itm.  a  standing  joyncd  bedsted,  a  strawe   bedd,  a  fether    bedd,  and  two 
boulsters  ...... 

Itm.  a  payrc  of  blanketts,  and  an  olde  coverlett 

Itm.  two  olde  chayres      ...... 

Itm.  an  old  table,  and  a  paire  of  tressells,  and  a  cheste  olde 

Itm.  a  joyned  stoole         ..... 


v 

V 


XXX11J 

i'j 
U 


" 


xij 


Itm.  v  boulsters  and  a  pillowe 


Itm  an  olde  boarded  bedsted 


In  the  Presse  there. 


In  the  Garret  there. 


Summa  t. 


In  the  Garret  next  to  the  streete. 

Itm.  an  olde  table,  two  tressells,  and  an  olde  presse 

Itm.  two  wicker  hampers  and  a  little  racke 

Itm.  a  skreene  w'1'  a  frame  and  a  suffering  fatt  (6) 

Itm.  an  olde  settle  and  some  olde  wainskote,  and  a  hayer  lyne  (7) 

Itm.  three  tressells          ..... 

Summa  t. 


vnj 


viij 


V1J 


of  Sir  Thomas  Ramsay.  327 

In  the  Chamber  next  to  the  Garrett.  li.  s.        d. 

Itm.  an  olde  standing  bedsted  wth  a  settle  unto  it  (8),  and  two  iron  curtaine 

rodds       .......  T 

Itm.  a  strawe  bedd,  two  fether  bedds,  and  a  boulster      .  .  v 

Itm.  a  payre  of  olde  andirons  .....  xviij 

Summa  t.  .  v          vj       viij 

In  the  Matted  Chamber. 

Imprimis,  a  standing  bedsted,  wth  iij  wainskote  settles  and  iij  iron  rodds         .  xiij         iiij 

Itm.  a  strawe  bedd,  a  fether  bedd  and  a  boulster  .  .  .iij 

Itm.  two  olde  coverletts,  one  lyned  and  one  unlyned,  and  a  blanket  .  iij         iiij 

Itm.  one  olde  carpett  of  tapestrie     .....  v 

Summa  t.  .         iiij  j        viij 

In  the  Brushing  Chamber. 

Itm.  vj  curtaine  rodds,  a  pott  of  lead  for  the  privie,  a  spynninge  wheele,  a 

deske  and  a  tressell  .  v 

Itm.  a  brushing  table  and  two  tressells  ....  xvj 

Itm.  a  waynskote  presse  .....  xxv 

Itm.  one  longe  dowble  cheste  .....  xiij         iiij 

Itm.  a  little  chest  and  a  buck  baskett  ....  ij  ij 

Itm.  a  great  wainskete  chest  .....  xiij         iiij 

Itm.  a  turned  chayer      ......  vj 

Summa  t.  .          iij  viij 

Apparell  in  the  presse  in  the  Srutihiny  Chamber. 

Itm.  a  skarlet  gowne  fased  wth  black  velvet     .  .  .  vj        xiij         iiij 

Itm.  a  scarlet  cloke  lyned  throughout  w"'  chaungeable  taffatye       .  .  xlvj        viij 

Itm.  a  scarlet  cloke  faced  w"'  gray,  w"'  the  tillet  .  .  .  xlvj        viij 

Itm.  one  scarlet  gowne  furred,  and  fased  w"1  martens      .  .  .  x 

Itm.  two  violet  gownes  fased  w"'  martens,  furred;  the  better  gowne  at  viij  li. 

and  the  old  gowne  at  46s.  8d.  x         vj        viij 

Itm.  a  violet  gowne  fased  w"'  satten  ....  xl 

Itm.  two  black  gownes  fased  w"1  martin  powtes  the  newe  gowne  at  7  li. 

the  worser  at  3  li.    .  .  .  .  .  x 

Itm.  a  night  gowne  of  kersey,  laste  wth  billament  (9)  lase,  and  fased  w"1 

martens  .......  Ij 

Itm.  three  black  gownes  fased  w"1  velvet,  the  worser  at  20s.  the  second  at 

iij  li.  and  the  best  gowne  at  vj  li.  .  .  .          xl 


On  an  Inventory  of  the  Household  Goods 


li. 


Itm.  three  black  velvet  coats,  viz.  the  worst  6s.  8d.  the  second  i  li.  and  the 

best  iij  li.  x  s.  . 

Itm.  a  blacke  clothe  coate  ..... 

Itm.  a  black  clothe  cloke  fased  w"1  velvet        .... 
Itm.  two  newe  dubletts,  one  of  fustian  and  the  other  of  buffin  (10)  w"1  satten 

sleeves     ....... 

Itm.  an  olde  dublet  of  purple  satten  .... 

Itm.  iiij  olde  dublets  w"1  satten  sieves  .... 

Itm.  two  paire  of  kersey  hose          ..... 

Itm.  a  felt  hatt,  fased  w"1  velvet,  w"1  a  fustian  bagge 

Itm.  one  newe  tawny  cloke  ..... 

Itm.  two  brushes  and  a  rubber         ..... 

Itm.  an  old  furred  gowne  ..... 

Itm.  a  violet  cloke,  furred  wlh  gray  .... 

Itm.   an  olde  scarlet  gowne,  furred,  fased  wth    martens  4  li.  10  s.    a  paire 

black  velvet  sleeves  6s.  8d.       ..... 

Summa  t. 


In  the  Painted  Chamber. 

Imprimis:  a  standing  bcdsted,  gilt  .... 

Itm.  a  flock  bedcle,  a  fether  bedd,  a  boulster,  and  a  paire  of  blanketts 
Itm.  a  coverlett,  vnlyned  ..... 

Itm.  the  vallence,  and  v  curtaines  for   a  bedd    of  yellowe  and  redde  olde 

taftataye  ...... 

Itm.  a  settle  of  wainskote  ..... 

Itm.  a  trundell  bed  of  wainskote,  a  fether  bedd  and  a  boulster,  and  an  olde 

boulster,  and  an  olde  coverlet  under  the  bedd 
Itm.  a  paire  of  blanketts,  and  an  olde  coverlet 
Itm.  two  downe  pillowes  of  fustian  .... 

Itm.  a  wainskot  settle  w"'  two  locks  .... 

Itm.  a  court  cupboard     ...... 

Itm.  an  old  danske  (11)  clieste         . 

Itm.  a  joyned  stoole,  and  a  foulding  table        .... 

Itm.  iiij  curtaines,  and  a  greene  say  curtaine 

In  the  Garret  above  the  Painted  Chamber. 
Itm.  iiij  tresselles  and  iiij  olde  bourdes  .... 

Summa  t. 


Isxv 


"J 


s. 

xvj 
xiij 

XX 


XX 

VJ 
VJ 

V 
XXX 

ij 

X 

XXXV 

iiij        xvj 


VJ 
"'J 

xiiij 
xx 

XXXV 

viij 

X 
V 


d. 
viij 


vnj 


VIIJ 

U 


VIIJ 


'"J 


VIIJ 


»J 


VJ 


xvj 


jqj 
o 


of  Sir  Thomas  Ramsey.  329 

.     In  the  Buttry.  li.          s.        d. 

Itm.  an  olde  bredd  bynne            .    .                .                 .                .                .  xvj 

Itm.  a  rackc  to  dry  plate,  and  a  square  plate  baskett      .                .                 .  viij 

Itm.  iiij  joyned  stooles     .                 .                 .                  .                                   .  ij          vj 

Itm.  two  cases  wth  16  knives           .....  iiij 

In  the  Larder. 

Itm.  a  great  chest,  and  two  flasketts  ....  v         vj 

Itm.  a  joyned  stoole,  and  other  lumber,  as  potts  and  footestooles    .  xij 

In  the  Entrye. 

Itm.  an  oister  table,  and  a  forme,  and  a  stoole  ...  iij        iiij 

Summa  t.  .  xviij        rtj 

In  Richard  Ford's  Chamber. 

Itm.  an  olde  bcdsted,  a  strawe  bedd,  a  mattres,  a  fetherbedd,  a  boulster,  two 

blancketts,  an  olde  rugge,  and  an  old  cheste          .  .  .  xxxv 

In  the  next  Chamber. 

Itm.  a  joyned  bedstedd,  a  strawe  bedd,  a  mattres,  a  flock  bedd,  two  olde 
boulsters,  a  pillowe,  and  two  olde  blancketts,  and  a  coverlet,  and  two  old 
chests  .......  xvj  viij 

Summa  t.  .  li        viij 

In  the  Compting  House  in  the  Yard. 

Itm.  a  drawing  comptor  of  oke        .....  vi        viij 

Itm.  a  counter  beame  wth  basons      .....  vi        viij 

Itm.  a  pay  re  of  gold  ballance  .....  xij 

Itm.  x  statute  bookes       ......  xviij 

Itm.  an  olde  small  chest ......  iiij 

Itm.  two  small  scales,  and  a  rack  of  wood       ....  xij 

Itm.  a  great  fyrre  cheste  .....  vi        viij 

Itm.  iij  saddles  ......  xl 

Itm.  two  lether  bridles    ......  v 

Itm.  the  lether  trappinge  for  the  furniture  of  two  horses  .  .  xij 

Itm.  two  velvet  bridles,  w"'  the  two  furnitures  of  blacke  velvett  trappinge, 

studded,  for  Sr  Thomas  his  wearinge       .  .  .  .iij 

Itm.  two  footeclothes  garded  wth  black  velvet  .  .  .  xxx 

Itm.  two  payre  of  spurre  .....  viij 

Itm.  14  olde  boxes          ......  ij          vj 

VOL.  XL.  2  U 


330  On  an  Inventory  of  the  Homehold  Goods 

11.          s.        d. 

Itm.  12  black  staves        .             .    .                 .                 .                 .                 .  viij 

Itm.  an  olde  cupbord      ......  vj 

Itm.  an  oldc  wagon         ......  ij         vj 

Itm.  a  bedsted  with  old  lumber       .....  x 

Itm.  brick        .......  xij 

Summa  i.              .  viij      xvij       viij 


Candlesticks. 

Itm.  20  pewter  candlesticks             .....  xx 

Itm.  vj  great  brasse  bell  candlesticks               .  xx 

Itm.  vj  other  myddle  brasse  candlesticks         ....  iiij 

Itm.  iiij  brode  brasse  candlesticks    .....  iiij 

Itm.  10  other  small  brasse  candlesticks            ....  iij        iiij 

Itm.  two  drawing  (12)  brasse  candlesticks       ....  ij 

Summa  t.               .  Iiij        iiij 


In  Pewter,  of  divers  sorts,  weying  asfolloweth,  viz. : — 

Itm.  pewter,  weying  one  wth  the  other,  in  the  wholle,  two  thousand  two 
hundrethe  and  one  pownd  at  v  d.  the  pownd,  one  wth  the  other,  amounts 
but  in  money  to  .  .  .  .  .  xlv  xvij 


Summa  t.  .        xlv       xvij 


In  Brasse,  Copper,  and  Latten,  as  hereafter  follow ethe : — 

Itm.  iij  great  brasse  potts,  iiij  lesser  brasse  potts,  ij  brasse  water  chafers,  two 
chafers  or  skillett  of  brasse,  and  a  litle  brasse  morter,  weying  in  the 
wholl  mcxxx1'  at  v  d.  p.  Ib.  .  .  .  .  vj  iij  iiij 

In  Brasse  and  Latten,  vis. : — 

Itm.  a  ewre  panne  of  latten,  a  brasse  panne,  a  latten  collcnder,  iij  latten 
panns,  one  perfuming  panne  of  latten,  two  great  brasse  panns,  a  skommer 
and  a  ladle  of  brasse,  and  a  small  brasse  kittle,  weying,  one  wth  the  other, 
cxxxv  Ib.  at  v  d.  per  Ib.  one  wth  another ....  Ivj  iij 

Itm.  a  copper  kittle  poiz'  xxx  Ib.  at  8d.  per  pownde     •  .  .  xx 

Itm.  iij  brasen  chaffing  dishes  wth  two  feete    .  xij 

Itm.  a  warminge  panne  .  Jj 

Summa  t.  .          x       xiij        vij 


of  Sir  Thomas  Ramsey.  331 

In  the  Armory e  Howse. 

li.  a.  d. 

Itm.  a  pistoll  and  a  dagge  .....  iij 

Itm.  iij  dimilaunces,  ij  of  them  at  40s.  a  pece,  and  j  at  10s.  som'    .  •  .        iiij          x 

Itm.  xv  corselets,  vij  at  20s.  a  pece,  and  viij  at  10s.  a  peece  .  .         xj 

Itm.  iij  Alman  rivetts  (13)  at  iij  a  iiij  d  per  pece  ...  x 

Itm.  xvij  Spanishe  morrians  at  2s.  6d.  per  pece  (14)       .  .  .  xlij          vj 

Itm.  x  combe  morrians(15)  at  16d.  ....  xiij        iiij 

Itm.  vj  muskets  wth  flasks  and  rests  .  .  .  .iiij 

Itm.  viij  Englishe  calivers  (16)  and  20  flasks  and  towch  boxes       .  .  x 

Itm.  12  Flemishe  calivers  and  13  flasks  and  towch  boxes  .  .  xxiiij 

Itm.  two  newe  holberds  ......  v 

Itm.  6  bowes  and  iij  shefFs  of  arrowes  ....  vj       viij 

Itm.  iij  white  skulls  (17)  .  .  .  .  .  xviij 

Itm.  xix  swords  and  rapiers  .....  xlvij          vj 

Itm.  xvj  daggers  and  girdles  .....  xxij       viij 

Itm.  iij  bandilyeres  (18)  ......  iij 

Itm.  iiij  gorgets  and  ij  gussetts  of  maile  (19)  .  ...  ij        viij 

Itm.  v  spades  and  shovells  and  two  pickaxes  ....  vj        viij 

Itm.  a  buckler  and  two  male  pillions  (20)       ....  x 

Itm.  iij  olde  formes         ......  ij          vj 

Itm.  19  pikes,  one  wth  another        .....  xxviij          vj 

Itm.  two  light-horsemens  staves,  iij  olde  formes  and  a  table  wth  a  frame,  an 

olde  holberd,  and  a  ladder        .....  vij  x 

Itm.  girdles  and  hangers,  a  souldyers  coate,  certaine  matche,  bow  strings, 

shooting  gloves,  and  brasers  (21)  ....  vj        viij 

Summa  t.  .  xxxiij        iiij  x 


In  the  Candle  Roome. 

Itm.  a  candle  cheste  wlh  certaine  candles  in  it,  certaine  tubbs  and  cheests,  w* 

other  olde  lumber    .  ....  x 

In  the  Great  Warehouse. 

Itm.  a  greate  beamc  and  skales       .....  xl 

Itm.  a  wainsket  bedsted  ......  x 

Itm.  two  pullies              ......  vj       viij 

Itm.  two  olde  stooles       ......  xij 

Summa  t.  .         iij         vj       viij 

2u2 


332  On  an  Inventory  of  the  Household  Goods 

In  the  Lower  Kitchen.  li.           s.           d. 

Itm.  two  sesternes  of  leade              .....  xl 

Itm.  a  skowring  troughe                 .                                  .                 .                 .  viij 

Itm.  a  flaskett  and  other  olde  tubbs  and  lumber,  and  a  coope         .                 .  ij 

Summa  t.  .  xlij        viij 

In  the  Well  Yard. 

Itm.  a  sesterne  of  leade  ......  xxx 

Itm.  a  small  leaden  troughe  .....  xviij 

In  the  Back  Yard. 

Itm.  iij  sesternes  of  leade  .  .  .  .  .  v 

Itm.  vj  tubbs  and  two  deskes  of  olde  wainskotc,  a  blocke,  wth  olde  lumber 

and  paving  stone  in  the  yard  .....  vj       viij 

Itm.  billets,  by  estimacion  x  thowsand,  at  x  s.  .  .  v 

Summa  t.  .         xj     xviij  ij 

In  the  Stable. 

Itm.  a  ladder  and  a  pitchforke         .....  ij 

Itm.  a  white  geldinge      .  •  .  .  .  .          iij          vj        viij 

Itm.  small  coles  ......  xx 

In  the  Stable  Chamber. 

Itm.  iij  saddles,  and  iij  olde  bridles,  an  olde  bedsted,  iiij  old  stirrupps,  and 

certaine  hoopes,  and  a  snaffle  .....  iij         iiij 

Itm.  an  olde  saddle  and  bridle,  and  other  lumber  .  .  .  xviij 

Summa  t.  .        iiij        xiij          vj 

In  the  Garden. 

Itm.  34  oken  boards,  at  .                 .                 .                 .                 .                 .  xxx 

Itm.  4  plancks,  at            ......  vj 

Itm.  billets  by  estimacion  ix  thowsand,  at                         .                 .                 .        iiij  x 

Itm.  a  greate  deale  of  old  lumber    .....  x 

Itm.  an  olde  ladder,  xviij  d.  iij  olde  spades,  xij  d.             .                  .                 .  ij          vj 

Itm.  a  little  ladder           ......  iiij 

Itm.  iij  pewter  stills        ......  xx 

Suinma  t.  .         vij     xviij  x 


In  the  Spice  Howse. 

Itm.  an  iron  beame  and  skales        .....  x 

Itm.  leaden  waights  xxxiij  c.  di.  at  viij  s.                         .                .                .  xiij       viij 

Itm.  two  brasse  morters  wayinge  clxiiij  Ib.  net,  at  4d.  ob'                .                 .  iij           i          vj 


of  Sir  Thomas  Ramsey.  333 

11.  s.        d. 

Itm.  two  olde  presses       .                 .             "~»  '         :  * .                »                .  xxxv 

Itm.  au  olde  counter        .                 .                ..•               .                .             ..  .  '  iij        iiij 

Itm.  two  small  palre  of  ballance,  at                  ....  ij         vj 

Itm.  two  boxes,  iij  barrells,  and  a  cake  of  p'masitie  (22) ...  xx 

Itra,  iij  spice  treyes,  xvj  d. ;  and  iij  links  vj  d.                  .                 .                 .  xxij 

Itm.  two  coats  of  plate    ......  x 

Itm.  two  piles  of  brasen  waights,  poize  xxxj  Ib.  at  iiij  d.  ob.             .                 .  xij 

Itm.  more  coarse  sparmacetye,  poize  xxx  Ib.  at                ...  xij        iiij 

Itm.  browne  paper  and  white  in  the  cupboard                 ...  iij 

Itm.  leade,  poize  iij  1.  qr.  ij  Ib.  at  7  s.               .                 .                 .                 .  vj          vj 

Itm.  wainsket  and  lumber                .....  ij 

Itm.  for  gonne  powder,  x.q.  xliij  Ib.  iiij  ounces,  at  viij  d.  p.  Ib.       .                 .  xxx         vj 

Summa  t.  .     xxiij        xix          vj 


,  In  the  Fishe  Howse. 

Itm.  ij  barrells  of  bay  salt                 .....  vij 

Itm.  one  barrell  of  white  sault         .....  iij 

Itm.  xiij  cople  of  linge    ......  x 

Itm.  tables  and  other  lumber           .....  ij 

In  the  BouU'mg  Howse. 
Itm.  an  olde  chest,  a  washing  block,  and  other  lumber  ...  ij          vj 

In  the  Howse  in  the  Middle  Yard. 

Itm.  tubbs  and  other  things  there    .....  ij 

Itm.  halfe  a  firken  of  sope,  and  other  lumber  there         ...  x 

In  the  Celler. 
Itm.  greate  coales  ......  v 

In  the  Bere  Cellar. 
Itm.  scantling  for  bearc  (23)  ....  vj        viij 

In  the  Vawt  Larder. 

Itm.  two  brine  tubbs,  a  flasket,  and  other  lumber  .  .  .  iiij 

Itm.  by  estimacion  billets  8  thowsand  at  x  s.  .  .  .  .        iiij 

In  the  Wine  Cellar. 

Itm.  a  tierse  of  wyne,  pryce  .....  l.ss 

Itm.  vij  cheses  at  vij  s. ;  litle  runlets  and  other  lumber  xij  d.  .  .  viij 

In  the  Garden  Woodteller. 
Itm.  one  thowsand  of  billets  .....  x 

Summa  t.  .       viij  ij 


334  On  an  Inventory  of  the  Household  Goods 

li.         s.        d. 
In  the  Lodge. 

Itm.  a  lantorne  of  glasse,  w"1  an  iron  frame,  and  a  shovell  .  v          ij 

In  the  Yard. 

Itm.  xlj  lether  buckets,  one  wth  another  at  .  .  .         iij 

Itm.  a  blocke  of  woode  there          .....  xviij 

In  the  Lodge  next  to  the  Gate. 
Itm.  an  olde  settle,  certaine  bricks,  and  a  forme  ...  ij          vj 

In  the  Upper  Kitchen. 

Itm.  a  cesterne  of  leade   ......  liij  iiij 

Itm.  v  treyes  of  woode,  and  a  paire  of  bellowes               ...  ij  yj 

Itm.  iij  stone  morters,  a  choppinge  boorde,  and  others    ...  iij  iiij 

In  the  Upper  Compting-house. 

Itm.  a  presse  of  wainskote                .....  viij 

Itm.  a  square  table  wth  a  frame        .....  vj 

Itm.  a  great  plate  cheste                   .....  xv 

Itm.  a  testament,  a  stoole,  and  vj  boxes           ....  iiij 

Summa  t.  .        viij         iiij        viij 

In  Iron  Worke,  as  followethe. 
Itm.  in  spitts,  racks,  trevetts,  barrs  of  iron,  and  other  such  necessaries  for  the 

kitchen,  wcying  in  the  whollc  iiij  c.  xlj  Ib.  at  j  d.  ob.  per  pownd  .  Iv 

Itm.  iiij  dripping  panns  of  iron,  and  two  frying  panns,  weying  Ixxvj  Ib.  one 

wth  another,  at  ij  d.  ob.  per  Ib.  ....  xv  x 

Itm.  v  chopping  knives,  ij  fire  shovells,  and  a  peele        .  .  .  v 

Itm.  iij  olde  iron  and  iiij  plate  dripping  panns  ...  ij          vj 

Summa  t.  .         iij     xviij        iiij 


Taken  owt  of  the  Wainskot  Cheste. 

Itm.  a  guilt  Scots  dagger  wth  two  knives  ....  v 

Itm.  iij  yards  £  of  satten  at  xj  s.  per  yard  ....             xxxviij  vj 

Itm.  halfe  a  yarde  of  course  satten  .  .                                   .                  .  iiij 

Itm.  one  yarde  and  halfe  of  buffine  ....  xv 

Itm.  a  booke  of  the  abridgment  of  statuts  ....  ij          vj 

Itm.  a  paire  of  knives  graven  and  guilt  ....  x 

Summa  t.  .         iij  xx 


of  Sir  Thomas  Ramsey.  335 

June  tie  19  daie,  1590. 
The  waight  and  prices  of  all  the  Plate,  asfollmceth,  viz.  Gilte  Plate. 

Imprimis :  one  nestc  of  gilt  bowles  (24)  wth  a  cover,  poize  Ixxxxviij  ounces  at  li.           s.           d. 

v  s  ij  d  per  ounce,  amounts  unto               ....  xxv           x          ij 
Itm.  one  nest  of  gilt  bowles  wth  a  cover,  poize  Ixxviij  oz.  di.  and  halfe  a  quarter 

at  v  s  ij  d  per  oz.  amounts        .                 .                .                 .  xx          vj          ij 

Itm.  one  nest  gilt  bowles  wth  a  cover,  poize  Ixxx  oz.  at  v  s  ij  d.       .                 .  xx      xiiij        vij 
Itm.  one  nest  of  gilt  bowles  wth  St.  Martin,  poiz  Ix  oz.  iij  qtr.  at  v  s  ij  d  per 

ounce,  amounts  unto                .                 .                 .                 .  xv       xiij           x 

Itm.  one  nest  of  gilt  gobletts  wth  a  cover,  poiz.  Ixv  oz.  iij  qrs.  at  v  s  ij  d         .  xvj       xix       viij 

Itm.  ix  gilt  potts  wth  covers,  poiz  clix  oz.  di.  at  v  s  ii  d  .                  .                 .  xli         iij            j 

Itm.  xij  ale  potts,  all  gilt,  poiz  clxxx  oz.  at  v  s  iiij  d  per  oz.           .                 .  xlviij 

Itm.  two  great  lyverie  potts  w01  covers,  cvj  oz.  di.  at  v  s  j  d             .                 .  xxvij           j        iiij 

Itm.  two  gilt  crewetts  wth  covers,  poiz  xxvij  oz.  qr.  at  v  s  iiij  d                         .vij       xiiij  v 

Itm.  two  great  gilt  saults  wth  j  cover  (25)  Ixxxix  oz.  iij  at  v  s  vj  d .                 .  xxvij       viij        vij 

Itm.  two  gilt  saults,  wth  j  cover,  poiz  Ixv  oz.  qr.  at  v  s  iiij  d             .                 .  xvij        viij 

Itm.  one  gilt  standing  cupp,  wth  j  cover,  poiz  Iiij  oz.  iij  at  v  s  iiij  d                  .  xiiij             i         iiij 
Itm.  two  gilt  pownsed  saults  wth  j  cover,  poiz.  liiij  oz.  di  at  vsiiijd  per 

ounce,  amounts  unto                 .....  xiv           x        viij 
Itm.  a  gilt  standing  cupp  wth  a  cover,  poiz  xiiij  oz.  di.  qr.  at  vj  s  iiij  d  per  ounce, 

amounts  unto            .                  .                  .                 .                 .                 .  xj           x 

Itm.  two  litle  gilt  bowles  wthout  cover,  poiz  xiiij  oz.  di.  at  v  s  vj  d  per  ounce, 

amounts  unto            .                  .                  .                 .                 .                 .iij       xix  ix 

Itm.  one  nest  of  gilt  bowles  wthout  a  cover,  poiz  Ixiij  oz.  di  at  vj  s  ij  d  per 

ounce,  amounts        ......  xvj        viij 

Itm.  one  nest  of  gilt  bowles  w"'out  cover,  poize  xlvij  oz.  di  at  v  s  ij  d  per  ounce  xlj           v           v 
Itm.  one  nest  of  gilt  bowles  wthout  cover,  poize  xlv  oz.  iij  q'  at  v  s  j  d  per  ounce, 

amounts  .                  .                  .                 .                 .                  .                  .  xj        xvj         iiij 

Itm.  one  nest  of  gilt  goblets  wth  j  cover,  poiz  Ixxij  oz.  at  v  s  j  d  per  ounce, 

amounts  unto            ......  xviij          vj 

Itm.  one  nest  of  gilt  goblets  wthj  cover  poiz  Iv  oz.  di  at  vsj  d       .                 .  xiiij           ij 

Itm.  two  gilt  saultes  wth  one  cover,  poiz  lix  oz.  at  v  s  ij  d.               .                  .  xv         iiij           x 

Itm.  a  gilt  sault  w"'out  a  cover,  poiz  xxvj  oz.  at  v  s  ij  d  .                 .                 .  vj      xiiij         iiij 
Itm.  a  gilt  standinge  cuppe  wth  a  cover,  poiz  xxvij  oz.  qr.  at  v  s  ij  d  per  ounce, 

amounts  unto           .                  .                 .                  .                  .  vij           o           x 

Itm.  a  gilt  nutt  wth  a  cover,  poize  xxiiij  oz.  di  at  v  s  ij  d                 .                 .  vj        iiij         vj 

Itm.  xij  gilt  potts,  wthout  covers,  clxxxj  oz.  at  v  s  iiij  d                    .                  .  xlvij          v         iiij 
Itm.  iij  gilt  ale  potts  wth  dolphin  eares,  wtu  a  cover,  poize  xxxiij  oz.  qr.  at  v  s 

j  d  per  ounce,  amounts  unto     .....  viij         ix 
Itm.  a  broken  trencher  sault,  and  a  cover  of  a  trencher  sault,  poiz  v  ounces 

quarter  at  iiij  s  x  d .                 .                 .                 .                .                 .  xxv        iiij 


On  an  Inventory  of  the  Household  Goods 


li.          s.       d. 

Itm.  v  gilt  spoones,  poize  x  oz.  iij  and  di.  at  v  s  ij  d       .  . 

Itm.  a  small  trencher  sault,  poiz  ij  oz.  at  vs  per  ounce,  amounts     . 
Itm.  a  gilt  pece  of  the  olde  towche  (26)  poiz  xxiiij  oz.  iij  qr.  at  v  s  j  d 
Itm.  iij  dossen  of  gilt  spoones,  poiz  Ixxxx  oz.  iij  qr.  at  v  s  ij  d 
Itm.  two  square  gilt  saults,  wth  one  cover  poiz  xxix  oz.  at  vs  vj  d  per  ounce, 
amounts  unto  ..... 

Summa  t. 


Parcell  gilt  plate,  weying  asfolloweth,  viz.  : 

Itm.  vj  hanse  potts  (27),  parccll  gilt,  poiz  Ixxxv  oz.  at  iiij  s  ix  d    . 

Itm.  iij  dossen  of  postle  spoones  parcell  gilt,    poiz  Ixvj  oz.  iij  qr.  and  half 

quarter  at  iiij  s  xj  d  per  ounce 
Itm.  a  bason  and  a  ewer,  parcell  gilt  w"1  the  grocers'  armes,  poiz  cvij  oz.  at  v  s 

per  ounce  amounts  unto  .... 

Itm.  one  bason  and  ewer  wth  Sr  Thomas  Ramsey's  armes,  poiz  ciij  oz.  qr.  at  v  s 

per  ounce,  amounts  .... 

Itm.  one  bason  and  ewer  w11'  Sr  Thomas   Ramsey's  armes,  poize  cj  oz.  qr.  at 

v  s  per  ounce,  amounts  unto    .... 
Itm.  iij  dossen  of  plate  trenchers,   poiz  cclxx  oz.  qr.  at  iiij  s  xj  d  per  ounce 

amounts  unto  ..... 

Itm.  two  dozen  of  olde  plat  trenchers  parcell  gilt  poiz  clxxix  oz.  iij  dwts.   at 

iij  s  xj  d  per  ounce,  amounts  unto 

Itm.  two  litle  white  bowles,  poiz  xj  oz.  iij  dwt.  at  iiij  s  x  d 
Itm.  one  basin  and  ewer,  parcell  gilt,  wth  a  cover,  poize  Ixxxoz.  at  iiij  s  viij  d 

per  ounce  amounts  unto  .... 

Itm.  one  great  nest  of  parcell  gilt  goblets,  poiz  cxliiij  oz.  w"1  one  cover,  at  iiij  s 

viij  d  per  ounce  amots  .... 

Itm.  one  nest  of  gobletts  parccll  gilt,  w"1  one  cover,  Ixxxxix  oz.  one  quarter, 

at  iiij  s  ix  d  per  oz.  amounts  to  ... 

Itm.  one  nest  of  goblets  parcell  gilt,  w"1  a  cover,  poiz  Ixviij  oz.  iij  dwts.  at  iiij  s 

ix  d  per  ounce,  amounts  to 
Itm.  one  nest  of  parcell  gilt  gobletts,  wth  a  cover,  poize  Ix  oz.  i  dwt.  at  iiij  s 

viij  d  per  ounce  ... 

Itm.  viij  parcell  gilt  potts,  w"'  covers,  poize  cxiiij  oz.  iiij  s  ix  d 
Itm.  iij  hanse  potts,  parcell  gilt,  poize  xlix  oz.  di  at  iiij  s  viij  d 
Itm.  two  lesser  hanse  potts,  parccll  gilt,  wth  covers,  xxix  oz.  at  iiij  s  viij  d  per 

ounce,  amounts  to 

Itm.  one  lyverie  pott,  wth  a  cover,  poiz  1  oz.  iij  dwts.  at  4s.  8d. 
Itm.  one  nest  of  gobletts,  parcell  gilt,  poiz  Ixiiij  oz.  at  iiij  s  viij  d, . 


VJ 

.     xxiij 

2f 

viJ 

Ivi 
x 

V 

viij 
xix 

ix 

X 

XJ 

.  vC.xix 

iiij 

V 

XX 

If 

VJ 

j 

.  xviij 

s 

xvij 

xj 

•  xxvj 

s 

XV 

XXV 

.t 

xvj 

iij 

XXV 

vj 

iij 

. 

Ixvj 

t 

viij 

viij 

ib 

•       xliij 
xlvj 
1 

viij 
ix 

ix 

•  xviij 

g 

xiij 

iiij 

.  xxxiij 

xii 

.  xxiij 

g 

xj 

v 

xvj 

- 

vj 

vj 

j 

ij 

.  xxvij 

iij 

x 

XJ 
r 

xj 

VJ 

XV 

iiij 

xj 

xvj 

x 

xv 


of  Sir  Thomas  Ramsey.  337 

li.         s.        d. 
Itm.  one  round  sault  wth  the  biasing  starre;  poiz  xviij  ounces,  quarter,  and 

the  halfe  quarter  at  iiij  s  x  d.    .  .  .  .  .         iiij        viij       ix"J 

Itm.  one  parcell  gilt  sault  wthout  a  cover,  poiz  xvj  oz.  iij  qtrs.  at  iij  s  viij  d 

per  ounce,  amounts  .  .  .  .  .  iiij  ij  x 

Itm.  two  dossen  and  fower  postle  spoones,  parcell  gilt  poiz,  lix  ounces  at  iiij  s 

xj  d  per  ounce,  amounts  unto  .....  xiiij  x  j 

Itm.  xviij  olde  spoones  parcell  gilt,  poiz  xxvij  oz.  at  iiij  s  ix  d  per  ounce, 

amounts  unto  .  .  .  .  .  vj  ix  v 

Itm.  one  bason  and  one  ewer  parcell  gilt  wth  a  cover,  wth  the  grocers  armes, 

poiz,  cvj  oz.  at  v  s.  .  .  .  .  .     xxvj        xvj        iiij 

Itm.  one  white  pownsed  bowle  wthout  cover,  poize  ix  oz.  halfe  and  halfe 

quarter,  at  iiij  s  viij  d  per  oz.    .  .  .  .  .  xliiij          xj 

Itm.  one  little  white  pott,  wth  one  eare,  poize  iij  oz.  and  the  halfe,  at  iiij  s  viij  d 

per  ounce,  amounts ......  xx          v 


Summa  t.  .    Clxix      xiiij 


Golde  chaines,  rings,  and  Jewells,  as  followetk,  viz. — 

Itm.  one  greate  chaine  of  golde,  poiz  xxxix  oz.  iij  dwts.  and  halfe  an  aungell 

weight,  at  Ivj  s  per  ounce,  amounts  unto                   .                 .                 .  Cx      xiiij        iiij 

Itm.  a  girdell  of  golde,  poiz  xxviij  oz.  at  Ivij  s  vj  d  per  oz.               .                 .  Ixxxj         iiij          vj 

Itm.  a  booke  of  golde  (28),  poiz  iij  oz.  at  xlviij  s  per  ounce             .                 .  vij         iiij 

Itm.  vij  golde  rings  weyingc  ij  oz.  di.  and  di.  qr.  at  xlviij  s  per  oz.                 .  vj          vj 

Itm.  j  golde  ring  of  Sr  Thomas  Ramsey's  armes,  poiz  one  ounce,  at                 .  Ij 

Itm.  j  paire  of  silver  spectacles,  poiz  iiij  oz.  at  iiij  s  vj  d.                  .                 .  xviij 


Summa  t.  .  ijCviij         xv          xj 


Lynnen  praised  the  26  daie  of  June  1590. 

Itm.  xv  damaske  table  clothes  conteyninge  Ixxxvj  yardes  at  v  s  per  yarde, 

amounteth  unto  one  wlh  another  ....    xxiiij 

Itm.  xv  damaske  towclls  conteyning  Ixxxxv  yardes  at  ij  s  vj  d        .  .        xij 

Itm.  xxvj  dossen  of  damaske  napkins  conteyninge,  every  dossen,  xiiij  yards 

and  a  halfe,  at  20d.  per  yarde,  amounts  unto  .  .  .      xxx  j       viij 

Itm.  xij  coverpanes  of  damaske  w1'1  knobbs,  at  iiij  s  a  pece,  one  w"1  another, 

amo'         .......  xlviij 

Itm.  a  short  table  cloth  of  damask,  wrought  wth  flowers,  conteyning  iiij  yards 

and  a  halfe  at  ii  s  iiij  d  per  yard  ....  xiiij          vj 

Damaske. 
Itm.  xvj  damaske  ewrie  towells  conteyning  xlvj  yards  or  thereabouts,  at 

20d.  per  yard,  amounts  unto   .  .  .  .  .iij        vxj       viij 

VOL.  XL.  2  X 


On  an  Inventory  of  the  Household  Goods 

li.  s.  d. 
Itm.  vj  brode  damaske  cupboard  clothes  and  skreene  clothes,  conteyning  one 

yard  and  a  halfe  of  damaske  a  piece,  at  ij  s  vj  d  per  yard  .  .  xxij  vj 
Itm.  two  damaske  windowe  clothes,  conteyning  bothe  two  yardes  and  a  halfe 

of  the  whole  bredthe,  at  iij  a  iiij  d.  .  .  .  viij  iiij 

Itm.  vj  skrene  clothes,  conteyning  x  yards  and  a  halfe  at  20  d  per  yarde  .  xvj  vj 
Itm.  v  damaske  windowe  clothes  of  napkin  bredthe  conteyning  vij  yards  iij 

qrs.  at  xx  d  per  yard,  amounts                  ....  xiiij        vij 

Diaper,  vi:. : 

Itm.  one  fine  diaper  table  cloth  conteyning  vj  yardes  at  v  s  per  yarde             .  xxx 

Itm.  one  fine  diaper  towell  co.  vj  yards  at  ij  s  vj  d           .                 .                 .  xv 

Itm.  ij  dossen  of  fine  diaper  napkins  co.  xiij  yards  at  xx  d  .  .  xlij  viij 
Itm.  xiiij  diaper  table  clothes  co.  6  yardes  a  pece,  Ixxxiiij  yards,  at  iiij  8  vj  d 

one  with  another,  amounts  unto  ....     xviij      xviij 

Itm.  vj  diaper  long  towells,  conteyning  vj  yardes  a  peece,  xxxvj  yards  at  ij  s 

iij  d,  one  wth  another                 .                  .                 .                  .                 .iiij  j 
Itm.  xv  dossen  and  iij  diaper  napkins  at  xviij  s  per  dossen                .                 .       xiij        xvj 

Itm.  iiij  narrowe  diaper  towells  co.  22  yards  at  18  d  per  yard  xxxiij 
Itm.  xv  diaper  ewrie  towells  conteyninge  xlij  yards,  or  thearabouts,  at  xij 

per  yarde,  amounts  unto          .....  xlij 

Itm.  iiij  carving  boord  clothes  of  diaper  at  xvj  d  a  peecc                  .  v         iiij 

Itm.  ij  diaper  skreene  clothes,  one  at  xij  d,  the  other  at  vj  d                              .  xviij 

Itm.  one  diaper  carving  boord  clothe,  of  diaper               .                                   .  ij          vj 

Itm.  one  olcle  diaper  table  clothe,  conteyning  5  yard.  qtr.  at           .                  .  ij          vj 

Itm.  iiij  diaper  cowchers  (29)  conteyning  24  yards  at  10  d  per  yard                .  xx 

Itm.  one  coarse  diaper  towell,  conteyning  v  yards,  at  12  d  per  yard                 .  v 

Itm.  v  dossen  coarse  olde  diaper  napkins  at  iiij  s  per  dozen,  one  wtu  thother  .  xx 

Plaine  Lynnen,  viz. : 

Itm.  one  plaine  table  clothe  co.  4  ells  quarter  at  ij  s  viij  d  per  ell    .                 .  xij         iiij 

Itm.  one  plaine  table  clothe  co.  v  ells,  at  ij  s  per  ell         .  x 

Itm.  one  plaine  table  clothe  conteyninge  iiij  ells,  quarter,  at  xvj  d  per  ell       .  v        viij 

Itm.  one  plaine  table  clothe  cont'  iiij  ells  iij  quarters,  at  xviij  d  per  ell  vij            j 

Itm.  one  plaine  table  clothe  cont'  iiij  ells  iij  quarters^  at  xvj  d         .                 .  vj         iiij 

Itm.  one  plaine  table  clothe  conteyninge  iiij  ells  iij  quarters,  at  xviij  d  per  ell  vij            j 

Itm.  one  plaine  table  clothe  conteyning  iiij  ells  iij  quarters,  at  xvj  d  per  ell  .  vj        iiij 

Itm.  one  plaine  table  cloth,  scant  v  ells,  at  16  d  per  ell,  amounts    .                 .  vj        viij 

Itm.  one  plaine  table  clothe  of  iij  ells  iij  quarters,  at  xx  d  per  ell    .  vj          iij 

Itm.  one  plaine  table  clothe  of  iiij  ells  iij  quarters,  at  xij  d  per  ell  .  iiij          ix 

Itm.  one  plaine  table  clothe  of  iij  ells  iij  quarters,  at  xvj  d  per  ell  .                 .  v 


of  Sir  Thomas  Ramsey.  339 

li.  s.        d. 

Itm.  one  plaine  table  clothe  of  iiij  ells,  scant,  at  19 d  per  ell        tef,:'          ->V,  iiij        viy 

Itm.  one  plaine  table  clothe  of  iij  ells  iij  quarters,  at  xvid  per  ell  .             •'•„-..-•  v 

Itm.  one  plaine  table  clothe  of  iiij  ells  qtr.  at  xviij  d  per  ell             .              •  .  ••  vj         ix 

Itm.  one  plaine  table  clothe  of  v  ells,  at  xvj  d  per  ell      .                 .                 .  vj       viij 

Itm.  one  plaine  table  clothe  of  v  ells,  at  xx  d  per  ell                        .                 .  viij        iiij 

Itm.  one  plaine  table  clothe  of  4  ells  and  a  halfe,  at  xx  d  per  ell     .                 .  vij         vj 

Itm.  one  plaine  table  clothe  of  iiij  ells  and  halfe,  at  ii  s  per  ell        .  ix 

Plaine  Towells  and  Ewry  Towells,  fyc. 

Imprimis,  one  holland  towell  of  iij  ells  quarter,  at  xviij  d  per  ell    .                 .  vj 

Itm.  one  towell  conteyning  iiij  ells  quarter,  at  xviij  d  per  ell          .                  .  vj         iiij 

Itm.  one  towell  of  iiij  ells  quarter,  at  18  d  per  ell           .                 .                 .  vij        iiij 
Itm.  xij  ewer  towells  of  27  ells  viz,  two  ells,  quarter,  the  pcce  of  halfe  holland 

bredthe,  at  ix  d  per  ell              .                 .                  .                  .                 .  xxj 

Itm.  two  ewer  towells,  wrought  the  white  worke,  at  iij  s  vj  d  per  pece            .  vij 

Itm.  iij  coverpanes,  wrought  w'h  black  worke,  at  vj  s  vij  d  per  pece                .  xx 

Itm.  one  cupbord  clothe,  wrought  wtk  white  worke         .                 .                  .  xiij         iiij 

Itm.  one  plaine  cupbord  clothe  conteyning  one  ell  qtr.  and  a  halfe,  at  xxij  d  .  iij         iiij 
Itm.  two  cupbord  clothes,  wrought  wth  black  worke,  one  at  iij  s,  the  other  at 

ij  s,  amounts  to         ......  v 

Itm.  two  long  skrene  clothes            .....  iiij 

Itm.  two  lesser  skrene  clothes                            .                                   .  ij          vj 

Itm.  iij  small  dore  clothes   ......  xij 

Itm.  two  neck  towells  conteyning  iiij  ells  and  halfe,  at  viij  d  iij 

Itm.  10  jack  towells  at  vj  d  per  pece,  one  w"1  the  other  .                  .  v 

Itm.  vj  carving  boord  clothes  at  xij  d  per  pece                 .                  .  vj 

Itm.  ij  dossen  and  nyne  plaine  napkins,  one  wth  another                  .  v 

Lynnen  used  about  the  hoivse, 

Itm.  one  diaper  table  clothe  conteyning  v  yards  iij  quarters,  at  iiij  s  per  yarde  xxiij 

Itm.  one  diaper  towell  conteyning  v  yards  and  halfe,  at  ij  s  per  yard               .  xj 

Itm.  xij  diaper  napkins  at                 ....  XTJ 

Itm.  iij  dossen  of  olde  diaper  napkins,  one  wth  another  at                 .                 .  iij 

Itm.  one  olde  diaper  table  clothe  and  a  corse  towull  of  diaper          .  ij          yj 

Plaine  holland. 

Itm.  one  plaine  table  clothe  co.  v  elles,  at  xviij  d  per  ell                  .                 .  vij         vj 

Itm.  one  plaine  table  clothe  co.  v  ells,  at  xvj  d  per  ell     .                 .                 .  vj       viij 

Itm.  one  plaine  table  clothe  co.  iiij  ells  iij  quarters,  at     .                 .             .    .  v 

2x2 


340  On  an  Inventory  of  the  Household  Goods 

li.  s.          d. 

Itm.  one  olde  plaine  table  clothe  at                  ....  ij          vj 

Itm.  two  long  towells,  viij  ells  and  a  halfe,  at  yj  d  per  ell                .                 .  iiij         iij 

Itm.  v  olde  table  clothes                  .....  xij 

Itm.  iiij  olde  tome  cupbord  clothes                  ....  iiij 

Itm.  iiij  olde  jack  towells                .....  iiij 

Itm.  ix  ewry  towells  at    .                .                 .                 .                 .                 .  ij 

Itm.  one  buttery  dore  clothe            .....  ij 

Itm.  iiij  old  table  clothes                 .....  vj 

Itm.  xxij  newe  napkins  ......  x 

Itm.  vij  dosscn  of  plaine  napkins,  one  wth  another  at  ij  s  vj  d  per  dossen         .  xvij          vj 

Lynnen  taken  out  of  the  Chest  in  the  Garden  Chamber. 

Itm.  iiij  payre  of  newe  canves  sheets  at  vij  s  vj  d,  one  wth  another,  amounts 

unto         .......  xxx 

Itm.  xij  payrc  of  olde  corse  sheetes  at  ij  s  payre,  one  wth  other        .  .  xxiiij 

Itm.  one  fine  holland  sheete  .....  vij 

Itm.  ix  payre  of  fine  sheetes  at  vj  s  vij  d  per  paire  .  .          iij 

Itm.  v  payre  of  olde  sheets  at  iiij  s  per  paire  .  .  xx 

Itm.  v  sheets  at  iiij  s  per  paire         ...  .  x 

Itm.  two  diaper  towells,  conteyning  vij  yards,  halfe,  at  x  d  .  .  vj          iij 

Itm.  iij  holland  towells,  conteyning  ix  ells,  at  12  d,  one  wth  another  ix 

Itm.  one  ewry  towell  of  callico  wlh  blacke  worke  .  .  viij 

Itm.  two  drinking  clothes  wrought  wth  black  worke  xij 

Itm.  two  mylded  (30)  napkins         .  •  vj 

Itm.  one  pcce  of  olde  canves  .  .  •  ij 

Itm.  iiij  paire  of  sheets  at  vj  s  viij  d  per  payre  xxvj        viij 

Itm.  one  payre  of  old  sheets  ....  ij          vj 

Itm.  x  corse  hand  towells  at  3  d  .  .  •  ij          vj 

Itm.  ix  old  sheets,  payre  .  •  iij 

Som't'.  .        Clj        xvj          vj 

Memorand'  these  parcells  of  goodes  hereafter  named  were  valued  by  the  praisers 
above  named,  and  yet  are  to  be  allowed  unto  Dame  Marie  for  her 
chamber,  viz. — 

Itm.  a  bedsted  vallence  of  velvet,  curteines  to  the  same  of  crimson  taffetie, 
a  fetherbedd,  boulster,  and  two  pillowcs,  two  blanckets,  two  paire  of 
sheetes,  two  pillowbers,  a  quilt  of  crimesen  satten,  and  vij  peeces  of 
tapestrie  hangings,  valued,  as  by  everie  particular  male  appere,  at  the 
bomme  of  ......  xxxviij  viij 


of  Sir  Thomas  Ramsey.  341 

li.         s.         d. 

Memorand'  these  parcells  hereafter  following  are  to  remaine  unto  the  said 
Dame  Marie,  wch  she  doth  challenge  as  her  owne,  the  propertie  not 
being  altered  as  she  was  Executrix  unto  Mr.  Thomas  Averie,  esquire, 
deceased. 

Itm.  two  corselets,  two  dymilaunces,  armor  for  a  man  of  armes  wth  his  mace, 
certaine  ymbrowdered  pillowes,  and  certaine  other  ymplements  of  hous- 
hold  stuffe,  as  by  everie  particuler  may  appeare,  valued  by  the  praisers 
abovenamed  and  doth  ain°  unto  the  some  t'  xxxij  xv  vj 


NOTES, 


1.  [one  drawing  joyned  table]  a  table  made  with  a  leaf  to  draw  out  and  increase  its  size  when  needed  ; 
"joyned  tables"  and  "joyned  stools"  indicated  superior  articles  of  furniture  in  contradistinction  to  common 
carpentry.     The  London  civic  companies  of  joiners  and  carpenters  were  distinct,  and  very  jealous  of  each 
other's  privileges,  which  were  most  minutely  regulated.    A  curious  account  of  their  disputes,  and  the  solemn 
trifling  over  trade-distinctions  which  occupied  City  magnates  at  this  time,  may  be  seen  in  Jupp's  "Account 
of  the  Worshipful  Company  of  Carpenters,"  by  which  it  appears  the  carpenters  might  only  make  such 
rough  furniture  as  might  hold  in  sockets  or  by  nailing  "  without  glue  ;"  the  joiners  having  the  monopoly 
of  making  "  all  tables  of  wainscote,  walnutt,  or  other  stuffe,  glued,  with  frames,  mortesses,  or  tennants,  or 
any  other  articles  of  furniture  that  require  to  be  dovetailed,  pinned,  or  glued." 

2.  [an  iron  to  keepe  in  the  fire]  a  lump  of  metal  similar  to  the  heater  of  an  italian-iron,  which  was  placed 
among  the  coals  to  economize  heat. 

3.  [tilletes]  coarse  wrappers,  "tyllet  to  wrap  cloth  in."     Palsgrave,  1530. 

4.  [trundle  ledde~\  a  bed  that  fitted  beneath  another,  and  was  pulled  forward,  or  "  trundled,"  on  wheels. 
It  was  used  for  servants,  or  attendants  on  the  sick.     There  is  a  very  curious  representation  of  one  in  an 
illumination  to  the  romance  of  the  Comte  d'Artois  (15th  cent.)  published  by  M.  Barrois,  of  Paris,  in  which 
the  Count  is  represented  in  the  canopied  bed,  while  his  valet  occupies  the  truckle  or  trundle.     It  has  been 
copied  in  HalliwelPs  folio  Shakespeare,  vol.  2,  p.  437. 

5.  [a  court  cupborde]  a  buffet  for  the  display  of  plate.     It  may  have  obtained  its  name  from  originally 
denoting  the  rank  of  its  owner.     On  its  summit  was  a  series  of  receding  shelves,  upon  which  the  plate  was 
arranged.     Persons  of  royal  blood,  only,  were  allowed  the  use  of  five  shelves ;  those  with  four  were  appro- 
priated to  nobles  of  the  highest  rank  ;  those  with  three  to  nobles  under  the  rank  of  dukes  ;  those  with  two 
to  knight-bannerets ;  and  those  of  one  step  to  persons  of  gentle  descent. 

6.  [a  suffering  fatt]  a  vat  used  for  salting  meat,  having  a  vent  at  bottom  to  drain  off  the  brine  when 
necessary. 

7.  [a  hayer  line]  lines  or  ropes  to  dry  clothes   upon  were  usually  made,  at  this  time,  of  horsehair. 
This  gives  point  to  Stephano's  jest  in  Shakespeare's  Tempest,  Act  4.   Among  the  representations  of  itinerant 
traders  forming  a  series  of  "  Cries  of  London,"  temp.  Jas.  I.  in  the  British  Museum,  is  one  crying,  "  buy  a 
hair-line." 


342  On  an  Inventory  of  Sir  Thomas  Ramsey. 

8.  [an  old  standing  bedstead  with  a  settle]     This  item  is  very  correctly  described  ;  such  bedsteads  were 
peculiar  to  the  two  preceding  centuries.     The  settle  was  attached  to  the  foot  of  the  bed,  and  used  for 
undressing.     In  the  romance  of  Meliadus,  (Brit.  Mus.  addit.  MS.  12,228,  fol.  312,)  is  a  very  correct  repre- 
sentation of  one.     (14th  cent.) 

9.  [billament  lose]  ordinary  ornamental  lace.     See  Proceedings,  2nd  S.  III.  108. 

10.  [btiffin]  a  coarse  common  cloth,  much  used  for  the  gowns  of  humbler  citizens,  as  appears  from 
allusions  in  the  comedy  of  "Eastward  Hoe,"  1605,  and  Massinger's  "  City  Madam." 

11.  [danske]  Danish. 

12.  [drawing  candlesticks]  candlesticks  made  to  draw  upward  in  a  socket  as  the  candles  burnt  down. 

13.  [Alman  rivets']  i.e.  German  rivets.     A  great  improvement  on  the  old  fixed  rivet,  in  use  till  the  time 
of  Henry  VIII.     They  were  formed  like  a  double  button,  connected  by  a  metal  band,  which  passed  through 
a  slot  in  each  piece  of  armour,  holding  both  firmly,  but  allowing  freedom  of  motion. 

14.  [Spanish  morrians]  light  metal  head-pieces,  with  a  rim  only  round  the  head,  having  neither  visor  nor 
cheek-pieces. 

15.  [combe  woman.*]  morions  with  a  raised  ridge  in  the  crown  like  the  comb  of  a  cock. 

16.  [calivers]     A  light  kind  of  musket.     It  was  invented  in  France,  and  derived  the  name  from  the  barrel 
being  always  of  one  calibre.     See  Meyrick  and  Hewitt. 

17.  [skulls']  close-fitting  metal  head-pieces  for  foot-soldiers. 

18.  [bandilyeres]  small  wooden  cases,  each  containing  a  charge  of  powder,  hung  to  a  leather  baldrick, 
and  slung  across  the  shoulder  of  a  soldier. 

19.  [gussets  ofmaile]  small  pieces  of  chain-armour  worn  at  the  junction  of  plate  armour. 

20.  [male  pillions']  large  saddles  for  travelling,  having  a  seat  behind  for  a  lady,  and  being  provided  with 
leather  bags  for  light  luggage. 

21.  [brasei-a]  coverings  of  leather  for  the  left  arm  of  the  bowman,  reaching  from  wrist  to  elbow,  to 
prevent  injury  by  percussion  of  the  bowstring. 

22.  [p'masitie]  spermaceti. 

23.  [fcantling  for  beare]  wooden  frames  for  beer  barrels  to  stand  on. 

24.  [nette  ofguilte  bou-le?]  small  drinking  cups  made  to  fit  into  each  other. 

25.  These  salts  probably  fitted  one  over  the  other  so  as  to  require  only  one  cover. 

26.  [the  olde  towche]  the  touch  was  the  assay  formerly  made  by  the  Goldsmiths'  Company,  of  the  purity 
of  gold  by  testing  it  with  the  touchstone.     Hence  the  term  was  applied  to  the  stamps  placed  by  them  on 
gold  or  silver  articles  that  had  been  submitted  to  their  assay. 

27.  [hanse  pott."]  pots  of  Flemish  manufacture. 

28.  [a  booke  of  golde]  probably,  judging  from  its  small  value,  this  was  a  small  pouncet  box  shaped  like 
a  book. 

29.  [diaper  coivchers]  diaper  coverings  for  couches  ? 

30.  [mylde'l]  mildewed. 


XXII. — Description  of  a  Pocket-Dial  made  in  1593  for  Robert  Devereux,  Earl 
of  Essex.  Ey  JOHN  BRUCE,  Esq.  F.S.A. :  in  a  Letter  addressed  to  the 
possessor*  of  the  Dial,  EDWARD  DALTON,  Esq.  LL.D.  F.S.A. 


Read  May  4th,  1865. 

5,  Upper  Gloucester  Street,  Dorset  Square,  N.W. 
20th  April,  1865. 

MY  DEAR  SIR, 

The  curious  article  which  you  have  entrusted  to  me  for  exhibition  to  the  Society 
of  Antiquaries  has  at  least  three  claims  to  the  attention  of  that  body  ; — 1st,  as  an 
authentic  memorial  of  a  celebrated  person ;  2nd,  as  an  excellent  specimen  of  a 
curious  description  of  mathematical  and  nautical  instrument,  long  superseded  in 
actual  practice,  but  full  of  interest  in  the  history  of  the  sciences  to  which  it 
relates ;  and,  3rd,  as  a  production  of  a  skilful  artist  in  this  kind  of  work  whose 
name  has  fallen  out  of  remembrance. 

The  instrument  in  question  consists  of  a  circular  case  or  box,  2%  inches  in 
diameter,  and  1  inch  in  depth,  made  of  brass,  gilded,  like  ordinary  watch-maker's 
work.  It  has  two  lids,  wings  or  leaves,  which  fasten  down,  one  on  each  side  of  the 
centre  compartment.  When  closed,  the  whole  has  the  appearance  of  a  round 
box,  covered  within  and  without  with  letters  and  figures  elaborately  engraved. 

Round  the  outer  edge  of  the  box  we  read  the  following  motto  or  inscription, 
engraved  in  capital  letters : — 

HE  •  THAT  •  TO  '  HIS  '  NOBLE  •  LINKAGE  '  ADDETH  "  VERTV  "  AND  "  GOOD  '  CONDISIONS  ' 

IS  '  TO  '  BE  •  PRAYSED  " 

and  then,  reversing  the  position  of  the  box  : — 

THET  '  THAT  •  BE  *  PERFECTLI  •  WISE  •  DESPISE  •  WORLDLI  '  HONOR  '  WHER  '  RICHES  '  ARE  • 
HONORED  '  GOOD  •  MEN  •  ARE  '  DESPISED  ' 

Replacing  the  box  in  that  position  in  which  the  first  of  these  inscriptions  may 
be  read  with  the  letters  upright,  we  find  on  the  upper  surface  or  lid  what 
has  been  a  Nocturnlabe,  or  Nocturnal,  that  is,  an  instrument  by  which  time 
may  be  approximately  discovered  at  night  by  the  observation  of  certain  stars. 

•  Since  this  paper  was  written  Dr.  Dalton  has  very  liberally  presented  the  Essex  Dial  as  an  addition  to 
the  national  collection  of  similar  instruments  preserved  in  the  British  Museum. — J.B. 


344  Description  of  a  Pocket-Dial  made 

Nocturnals  will  be  found  described  and  delineated  in  Bees's  Cyclopaedia,  in  the 
Encyclopaedia  Britannica,  and  more  particularly  in  "  The  Art  of  Navigation,  first 
written  in  the  Spanish  tongue  by  that  excellent  mariner  and  mathematician  of 
these  times,  Martine  Curtis  [Cortes],  and  translated  into  English  by  Richard 
Eden,"  (Lond.  4to.  1561) ;  in  Blundevill's  "  New  and  Necessary  Treatise  of  Navi- 
gation," (Lond.  4to.  1594) ;  in  Sir  Jonas  Moore's  "  New  System  of  Mathematics," 
(Lond.  2  vols.  4to.  1681) ;  in  SeUer's  "  Practical  Navigation,"  (Lond.  4to.  1694)  ; 
and  in  many  similar  books. 

From  the  descriptions  given  in  these  works  it  appears  that  there  was  considerable 
variety  in  the  construction  of  these  instruments,  every  one  being  framed  with  a 
view  to  the  observation  of  the  position  of  some  particular  star  or  stars  in  relation 
to  the  North  or  Pole  Star.  The  stars  ordinarily  selected  for  observation  were 
those  termed  the  pointers  or  guards  of  the  Little  Bear,  or  the  others  which  are 
similarly  termed  in  relation  to  the  Great  Bear ;  but  many  other  stars  would 
answer  the  purpose  equally  well.  Subject  to  differences  dependent  upon  the 
selected  star  or  stars,  or  upon  the  taste  of  the  maker  of  the  instrument,  the 
Nocturnal  may  be  stated  to  have  been  composed  of  three  concentric  circular 
plates  or  roundles,  placed  on  the  top  of  one  another  and  riveted  together  in  the 
centre.  The  first  or  undermost  and  largest  of  these  plates  had  the  outer  portion 
of  its  surface  divided  into  twelve  parts,  to  which  were  assigned  the  names  of 
the  several  months,  with  an  inner  graduated  circle  divided  by  lines  and  figures 
according  to  the  days  in  each  month.  At  the  point  of  the  edge  of  this  first 
plate,  which  was  opposite  to  that  part  of  the  outer  circle  which  indicated  the 
month  and  day  on  which  the  star  or  stars  to  which  the  instrument  had  relation 
came  to  the  meridian  at  midnight,  there  was  fastened  a  handle,  by  which  the 
instrument  was  held  upright  at  the  time  of  observation.  In  the  instrument 
before  us  we  find  the  months  enumerated  in  due  order  on  the  outer  circle  of  the 
first  or  undermost  plate,  and  perceive  that  the  handle  has  been  fixed  at  about  the 
21st  October,  the  point  opposite  to  which,  the  21st  April,  would  consequently  be 
the  top  of  the  instrument  when  it  was  held  before  the  face  at  the  time  of  observa- 
tion. The  21st  April  was  the  day  on  which  the  guards  of  the  Little  Bear  came 
to  the  meridian  at  midnight ;  we  may  therefore  infer  that  this  particular  instru- 
ment was  constructed  with  a  view  to  the  observation  of  those  stars.  The  months 
are  enumerated,  on  the  outer  circle,  from  right  to  left ;  and  it  will  be  observed 
that  "  Maie  "  has  only  thirty  days  assigned  to  it. 

The  second  plate  of  this  Nocturnal  is  marked  off  into  twenty-four  equal  divisions, 


£^^ 


•  GOOD-  CO3TDIS1OXS  •  IS  -To     RK  •  PftAYS£f> 


DIAL    OF 
ROBERT    DEVEREUX,EARL   OF    ESSEX 


Kell  Bro'  Iith  Castle  S'Kolborn 


Published  by  the   Society  of"  Antiquaries,  18G8 


for  Robert  Devereux,  Earl  of  Essex.  345 

indicative  of  the  hours  of  the  natural  day.  They  are  numbered  in  two  continuous 
series  from  one  to  twelve ;  and,  for  the  purpose  of  the  instrument  being  used  at 
night,  the  outer  edge  of  this  second  plate  is  serrated  or  divided  into  points  like 
those  of  a  saw,  one  for  each  hour,  the  point  indicative  of  one  of  the  numbers,  twelve, 
being  distinguished  by  a  much  longer  point  than  the  others,  so  that  by  feeling  and 
counting  these  points  any  particular  hour  might  be  ascertained  even  in  the  dark. 

The  third  and  uppermost  part  of  this  instrument  consisted  of  a  long  pointer, 
ordinarily  extending  from  the  centre  to  (and  in  some  cases  considerably  beyond) 
the  outer  edge.  All  the  three  pieces,  viz.  the  two  circles  and  the  long  pointer, 
were  joined  together  by  a  rivet,  which  was  pierced  or  perforated  in  the  centre 
with  a  small  hole,  through  which  the  person  using  the  instrument  was  to  direct 
his  observation  towards  the  Pole-star.  At  the  time  of  observation,  the  instrument, 
having  been  first  properly  set,  was  held  upright  by  its  handle,  and  when  the 
Pole-star  was  observed  through  the  perforation  in  the  centre  of  the  rivet,  the 
long  pointer  was  to  be  moved  round  until  its  outer  edge  indicated  the  position  of 
the  particular  stars  in  special  relation  to  which  the  instrument  was  constructed. 
The  time  was  then  found  by  observing  or  feeling  the  particular  hour  over  or 
nearest  to  which  the  long  pointer  stood.* 

It  is  obvious  that  there  were  two  portions  of  such  an  instrument  which  were 
particularly  liable  to  meet  with  damage — the  handle  and  the  long  projecting 
pointer.  The  instrument  before  us  has  been  unfortunate  in  both  these  particulars. 
The  place  whence  the  handle  has  been  broken  oif  remains  clearly  discernible, 
and  the  long  pointer  is  also  gone.  The  latter  was  no  doubt  ornamented  and 

1  The  description  of  this  operation  in  Curtis  or  Cortes's  Art  of  Navigation  is  so  quaint  that  it  is  worth 
quoting,  although  some  of  it  has  special  reference  to  the  form  of  his  particular  instrument  : — 

"  When  you  desire  to  know  the  liowre,  you  shall  turne  the  Index  of  the  lesse  rundell,  in  the  which  is 
written  Time  [this  refers  to  his  own  plate'],  to  that  part  of  the  great  rundell  where  is  marked  the  day  in 
which  you  desire  to  know  the  howre,  and  directing  your  face  toward  the  north,  you  shal  make  the  head 
toward  the  height  of  heaven  at  the  25  of  April  [that  being  the  day  on  which  the  foremost  guard  is  upon 
the  meridian  at  12  at  night].  And,  seeing  in  heaven  by  the  hole  in  the  middest  the  Starre  of  the  Xorth, 
holding  the  instrument  in  such  compasse  of  the  face  that  by  the  circumference  of  the  greater  rundell  may 
be  seen  the  Guard-starre  in  heaven,  you  shall  turn  the  home  [the  long  pointer  made  in  the  shape  of  a  horn 
with  the  mouth  doionivards']  round  about  until  it  fall  upon  the  guards,  so  that  by  the  two  holes  of  the  mouth 
of  the  horn  [this  was  a  peculiarity  in  the  particular  instrument  here  described]  the  two  Guard-starres  may 
be  seene,  and  by  the  hole  in  the  middest  the  North-starrc,  and  all  three  with  one  eye;  then  the  right  line  that 
goeth  from  the  North  to  the  first  guard  shall  shew  in  the  less  rundell  the  howre  that  shal  be."  (pp.  105,  IOC.) 
It  is  stated  in  Barlow's  Navigator's  Supply,  that  the  well-known  pilot  and  navigator  Stephen  Burrowes  pro- 
cured Curtis's  Art  of  Navigation  to  be  translated  into  English. 
VOL.  XL.  2  Y 


346  Description  of  a  Pocket-Dial  made 

ornamental,  like  every  other  part  of  the  original  work,  but  the  instrument  has 
been  repaired  by  some  unskilful  workman,  ignorant  of  its  nature  and  uses.  The 
results  have  been  that,  in  place  of  the  long  pointer,  we  see  a  plain,  short,  ugly 
spike,  and  that  the  original  perforated  rivet  has  been  succeeded  by  one  which  is 
unperforated  and  therefore  useless.  Erom  the  time  of  these  alterations  this 
Nocturnal  has  of  course  ceased  to  be  of  any  practical  utility.  The  observation  of 
the  pole  star,  which  was  the  foundation  of  its  astronomical  or  practical  usefulness, 
was  no  longer  possible. 

Proceeding  with  our  examination  of  the  instrument,  if  we  now  turn  it  upside 
down  we  find  on  the  side  opposite  to  the  Nocturnal  another  instrument,  the  name 
of  which  I  have  not  been  able  to  ascertain,  nor  perhaps  to  comprehend  the 
many  purposes  to  which  it  was  applicable.  It  is  clear  that  by  the  combina- 
tion of  figures  and  letters  upon  its  surface  an.  observer  who  knew  the  moon's 
position  in  the  heavens  might  determine  her  age,  or  contrariwise  if  he  knew  her 
age  might  ascertain  her  position.  The  instrument  might  also  be  made  serviceable 
in  ascertaining  the  sun's  decimation,  altitude,  and  place  in  the  ecliptic,  and 
consequently  in  answering  a  great  variety  of  geographical  and  astronomical 
problems.  Whatever  may  have  been  its  manifold  uses,  it  is  staisfactory  to  know 
that,  like  all  the  rest  of  the  box  which  remains  to  be  described,  it  is  still  in  its 
original  condition,  uninjured  by  the  repairer  of  the  Nocturnal. 

Like  the  Nocturnal,  the  instrument  now  under  consideration  consists  of  three 
circular  plates  placed  one  upon  another,  and  all  fastened  together  by  a  central 
rivet.  On  the  first  or  undermost  plate  we  find  engraved  in  concentric  circles : — 

1.  The  names  and  emblems  of  the  signs  of  the  Zodiac,  arranged  from  right 
to  left,  and  placed  round  the  instrument  as  follows : — 
Scorpio.  Taurus. 

Sagitarius.  Gemini. 

Capricornus.  Canecer. 

Aquarius.  Leo. 

Pisses.  Virgo. 

Aries.  Libra. 

2.  A  scale  consisting  of  twelve  divisions  of  30  days  each,  one  of  the  twelve 

placed  under  each  of  the  zodiacal  signs,  and  marked  off  in  a  decimal 
division  of  10,  20,  30. 

3.  The  months  of  the  year  arranged  as  in  the  Nocturnal,  the  names  being 

occasionally  spelt  somewhat  differently. 


for  Robert  Devereux,  Earl  of  Essex.  347 

4.  A  scale  of  the  days  of  the  months,  31  being  in  this  instance  assigned  to 

the  month  of  May. 

5.  The  points  of  the  compass,  arranged  according  to  the  course  of  the  sun ; 

N.  being  placed  immediately  under  the  12th  December,  when  the  sun 
enters  Capricorn ;  and 

6.  The  24  hours  of  the  day  arranged  in  two  series  of  12  each,  as  in  the 

Nocturnal. 

On  the  second  plate  there  is  engraved  one  circle,  on  which  are  marked  off  29^ 
divisions,  being  the  number  of  days  in  one  complete  lunation.  Attached  to  this 
plate  is  a  pointer  which  extends  to  the  second  circle  of  the  first  plate. 

The  third  plate  has  also  attached  to  it  a  pointer  which  reaches  to  the  same 
circle,  and  by  means  of  this  last-mentioned  pointer  the  third  plate  may  be  turned 
round  over  the  second  plate.  As  it  is  gradually  turned  round,  at  a  particular 
part  of  its  course  it  reveals,  through  a  circular  aperture,  a  full  face  engraved  on 
the  second  plate,  clearly  indicating  the  point  at  which  the  third  plate  should 
be  fixed  in  order  to  its  being  made  use  of  to  discover  the  place  and  time  of  the 
full  moon.  From  a  point  immediately  under  this  face  there  are  drawn  seven 
straight  lines.  The  one  in  the  centre  is  unmarked ;  but  the  other  six,  which 
branch  off,  three  on  each  side,  from  the  full  face  or  moon  to  the  circumference 
of  the  plate,  are  marked  by  the  astrological  signs  for  trine,  quartile,  and  sextile. 
This  is  the  only  indication  of  an  astrological  use  that  I  have  observed  throughout 
the  multitudinous  inscriptions  on  this  little  instrument  or  combination  of 
instruments. 

On  the  same  third  plate  we  find  inscribed  the  name  of  the  maker,  "  James 
Kynuyn  fecit,  1593."  For  a  long  time  I  was  unable  to  trace  any  other  men- 
tion of  this  name.  Our  excellent  Director  Mr.  Franks  opened  to  my  inspection 
the  very  curious  articles  of  this  class  which  are  preserved  in  the  British  Museum  ; 
but  no  dial  or  other  instrument  by  Kynwyn  could  be  discovered  amongst  them. 
As  the  name  smacks  of  Cornwall  or  of  the  Principality,  I  fully  expected  that 
our  Vice-President  Mr.  Octavius  Morgan,  who  possesses  a  large  collection 
of  such  objects,  and  has  made  them  a  study,  would  have  been  able  to  satisfy  my 
inquiries,  but  I  found  that  neither  the  artist  nor  his  work  had  fallen  under  the 
observation  of  either  Mr.  Morgan  or  Mr.  Franks.  The  same  result  attended  my 
inquiries  at  the  Kensington  Museum,  at  her  Majesty's  Library  at  Windsor  Castle, 
at  Greenwich  Hospital,  and  at  the  Horological  Institute.  Wherever  I  went  I 
found  abundance  of  German  work  in  articles  of  this  kind,  and  at  the  British 

2  Y2 


348  Description  of  a  Pocket-Dial  made 

Museum,  and  at  Greenwich  Hospital,  extremely  beautiful  productions  of  Hum- 
phrey Cole,"  who,  from  the  reign  of  Edward  VI.  to  a  late  period  in  that  of  Eliza- 
beth, was  the  leading  English  maker  of  instruments  of  this  class ;  but  I  was 
unable  to  discover  any  trace  of  the  name  of  Kynwyn,  or  any  other  example  of 
his  work.  Turning  my  inquiries  in  another  direction — from  instruments  to  books 
— I  was  a  little  more  successful. 

After  long  search  among  books  relating  to  navigation  and  the  mathematics,  I 
came  upon  a  copy,  in  the  British  Museum,  of  Blagrave's  Mathematical  Jewel 
(fol.  Lond.  1585),  which  formerly  belonged  to  the  well-known  anti-Marprelatc 
controversialist  and  poet,  Gabriel  Harvey.  This  volume  contains  various  margin- 
alia (as  Coleridge  used  to  term  them)  in  Harvey's  handwriting.  High  up  on  the 
title-page  he  has  written  his  autograph  in  his  bold  clear  hand — "  Gabriel  Haruey, 
1585,"  and  at  the  bottom  of  the  page,  under  the  engraved  representation  of 
Blagrave's  Jewel,  he  has  added  this  memorandum  : — 

"  Mr.  Kynvin  selleth  ye  Instrument  in  brasse." 

Further,  about  the  middle  of  the  same  title-page,  Harvey,  five  years  afterwards, 
inserted  the  following  additional  memorandum : — 

"  His  Familiar  Staff b  newly  published  this  1590. 
The  instrument  itself,  made  &  solde  by  M. 
Kynuin,  of  London,  neere  Powles.     A  fine  work- 
man &  mie  kinde  frend  :  first  commended 
vnto  me  bie  M.  Digges  &  M.  Blagrave  him- 
self.    Meaner  artificers  much  praised  bic 
Cardan,  Gauricus  &  other,  then  He  &  old 

a  Humphrey  Cole  has  not  met  with  such  attention  from  our  biographical  writers  as  a  man  of  so  much 
taste  and  ingenuity  deserved.  It  appears  from  a  letter  of  his  in  the  Lansdowne  Collection  (No.  26,  art.  22) 
that,  about  1558,  he  was  appointed  by  Sir  William  Cecil  to  an  office  in  the  Mint: — "  I  was  placed  in  the 
Tower,"  he  says,  "  to  serve  the  Queen  in  the  Mint,  to  do  the  services  pertaining  to  the  mill,  that  when  Eloy 
the  Frenchman  should  be  taken  therefrom  by  death  or  otherwise  I  should  enjoy  the  same."  From  the  con- 
tents of  this  letter,  which  is  dated  4th  December,  1578,  it  seems  probable  that  he  never  succeeded  to  the 
Frenchman's  office.  There  are  several  notices  of  Cole  among  the  State  Papers.  In  1565  he  was  one  of  a 
proposed  body  of  Commissioners  for  working  mines  (Dom.  Eliz.  vol.  xxxvii.  No.  30),  and  in  1578,  when 
Martin  Frobisher  brought  home  specimens  of  ore  from  America.  Humphrey  Cole  was  one  of  the  persons 
appointed  to  test  their  value.  (Sainsbury's  Colonial  Calendar,  1513 — 1C16,  pp.  33,  34,  57.) 

b  That  is,  another  instrument  invented  by  Blagrave,  and  by  him  so  called.  It  is  an  improvement  upon 
the  cross-staff,  and  is  described  by  the  inventor  in  a  little  volume  entitled  "  Baculum  Familiare,"  published 
in  1590,  4to. 


for  Robert  Devereux,  Earl  of  Essex.  349 

Humfrie  Cole,  mie  mathematical  mechani- 
cians.    As  M.  Lucar  newly  commendes 
Jon.  Reynolds,  Jon.  Read,  Christopher  Paine, 
Londoners,  for  making  Geometrical  Tables, 
with  their  feet,  frames,  rulers,  compasses 
&  squires.     M.  Blagrave  also  in  his  Fami- 
liar staff  commendes  Jon.  Read,  for  a 
verie  artificial  workman." " 

In  Harvey's  extremely  communicative  note  we  ohtain  such  information  re- 
specting Kynwin  and  several  others  of  these  ingenious  mechanics  as  will  suffice  to 
place  their  names  in  the  list  of  benefactors  to  nautical  and  mathematical  science. 
By  the  good  taste  of  their  artistic  workmanship  they  not  only  made  this  branch 
of  science  attractive  as  a  study  and  in  some  degree  fashionable,  but  they  led  the 
way  to  improvements  which,  shortly  after  the  date  of  this  instrument,  threw  into 
the  shade  all  their  ingenious  but  somewhat  cumbrous  contrivances  for  arriving 
at  simple  results. 

Proceeding  with  our  description,  and  lifting  up  the  lid,'  the  inscriptions  011 
which  have  been  the  subject  of  our  last  remarks,  we  find  on  the  back  of  it  a 
calendar  of  all  the  fixed  festivals  of  the  Church  of  England,  with  the  addition  of 
the  time  when  the  sun  entered  into  the  several  zodiacal  signs,  expressed  in  the 
customary  astronomical  symbols.  The  whole  of  this  plate  or  roundle  is  divided 
into  eight  circles,  of  which  the  three  outer  are  sub-divided  into  equal  sections, 
each  containing  one-fourth  of  the  whole.  One  of  each  of  these  twelve  sections  is 
devoted  to  every  month  of  the  year,  and  in  them  we  read  as  follows  : — 

I.  1  Circum.    6  Epiphani.     11  Sun  in  Aquarius.     25  Con.  paul. 

F.  2  purifi.     9  Sun  in  Pisces.     14  Valentin.     2-1  Mathi. 

M.  11  Sun  in  Aries.     2  Anunsiatio. 

A.  11  sun  in  Taurus.     23  George.     25  Marck  euangl. 

M.  1  Philip  and  lacob.     12  sun  in  Gemini. 

I.  11  bara.     12  sun  in  Cancer.     24  lo.  bap.     29  pet.  pa. 

I.  6  dog  be.     13  sun  in  Leo.     22  Mari  mag.     25  lames  ap. 

A.  14  sun  in  Virgo.     17  dog  ed.     21  barth.     29  Ion  be. 

11  Blagrave's  words  are  : — "  I  shall  easily  bee  heard  of  about  maister  Treasurer's  lodging  in  the  Court,  or 
at  Swallowfield  by  Reading,  where  I  dwell.  There  dwelleth  a  verie  artificial  workeman  in  Hosier  Lane, 
called  Jon.  Reade,  who  can  further  you,  whose  helpe  I  have  used  about  one  or  two  of  these  staues."  (Bacu- 
lurn  Famiiiare,  p.  69.) 


350  Description  of  a  Pocket-Dial  made 

S.  14  sun  in  Libra.     21  Matew.     29  micaell. 
O.  14  sun  in  Scorpio.     18  Luck  euan.     28  Simon  and  lud. 
N.  1  all  saints.     13  sun  in  Sagittarius.     30  Andrew  apo. 
D.  12  sun  in  Capricorn.     21  tho.     25  natiui.     26  Ste. 

On  the  remaining  five  of  the  circles  here  engraved,  we  have  tables  for  "  Easter 
da,"  the  Prime,  the  Epact,  the  "  Dominic  "  letter  for  ordinary  years,  and  finally 
the  additional  Dominical  letter  for  leap  years,  with  the  following  inscription : 
"  This  Tabell  beginneth  at  1593  and  so  for  euer."     This  inscription  must  not  be 
understood  to  mean  that  the  calendar  here  given  is  a  perpetual  one.    At  the  most 
it  is  one  for  35  years  only,  that  is,  from  1593  to  1627.    The  Easter  days  given 
are  (with  some  few  mistakes)  those  which  would  occur  within  those  35  years ; 
now  35  is  the  exact  number  of  the  possible  days  on  which  Easter  may  fall,  but 
Easter  does  not  recur  in  the  cycle  which  is  here  laid  down,  in  fact  there  are 
many  days  on  which  Easter  falls  which  are  not  here  mentioned.     Thus,  in  1631, 
Easter  day  fell  on  April  10,  in  1G34  on  April  6,  in  1G35  on  March  29,  in  1639 
on  April  14,  none  of  which  days  are  mentioned  in  this  table,  and  so  with  many 
others.   The  Prime  or  Golden  Xumber  and  the  Epact  run  on  in  continually  recur- 
ring cycles  of  19  years  in  the  order  in  which  they  are  here  laid  down ;  therefore, 
so  far  as  they  are  concerned,  this  calendar  may  be  termed  perpetual,  but  not  in 
respect  of  the  Dominical  letters,  leap  years,  or  Easter  days ;  and  even  with  re- 
spect to  the  Prime  and  the  Epact,  although  the  cycles  of  their  recurrence  are 
properly  laid  clown,  they  are  not  at  all  rightly  applied  to  the  Easter  days  with 
which    they  are   here   brought   into    connection.      They   start   correctly.      The 
Calendar  is  quite  right  for  1593.     But  immediately  afterwards  all  the  parts  fall 
out  of  relation  to  one  another.     This  can  be  seen  by  any  one  at  a  glance.     There 
are,  as  I  have  stated,  35  Easter  days  enumerated.    There  should  be  the  same 
number  of  Primes,  Epacts,  and  Dominical  letters  (counting  the  double  letters  of 
the  leap  years  for  this  purpose  as  one),  but  there  are  Primes  for  only  19  years, 
Epacts  for  the  same  number,  and  Dominical  letters   for  only  28  years.     The 
Calendar  is  therefore  really  only  complete  for  1593.     I  mention  these  circum- 
stances because  they  seem  to  show  that,  wi'th  considerable  pretence  to  scientific 
accuracy,  these  instruments  were  in  some  respects  little  better  than  mere  play- 
things. 

The  following  list  will  exhibit  the  amount  of  inaccuracy  in  these  tables  even 
for  the  Easter  days : — 


for  Robert  Devereux,  Earl  of  Essex.  351 

The  fourth  Easter  Day  is  stated  to  be  11  m.  which  is  an  impossible  day, 

Easter  never  happening  before  the  22nd  March.     This  should  have  been 

11  only,  omitting  the  M.     The  year  was  1596,  when  Easter  Day  fell  on 

the  llth  April. 

The  eighteenth  Easter  Day  is  marked  1,  for  1  A.    This  was  in  1610,  and 

should  have  been  8  A. 
The  twenty-second  Easter  is   marked  17,  which  from  its  position  means 

17  A ;  it  was  in  1614,  and  should  have  been  24  April. 
The  twenty-fifth  Easter  is  marked  13  A;  it  was  1617,  and  should  have 

been  20  April. 
The  thirty-fourth  Easter  is  marked  25,  which  means  25  A;  it  was  1627, 

and  should  have  been  25  March. 

On  the  next  plate,  which  lies  opposite  to  the  one  containing  the  calendar,  we 
have  a  tide-table  giving  the  names  of  a  number  of  places,  principally  on  the 
coasts  of  England  and  on  the  opposite  shores  of  the  Narrow  Seas,  arranged  under 
their  nautical  bearings  in  such  manner  as  to  show  in  what  places  at  the  new  and 
full  moons  high  water  occurred  at  the  same  time. 

Opening  the  box  itself,  we  find  on  the  lower  side  a  mariner's  compass,  con- 
sisting of  the  magnetic  needle  suspended  over  the  customary  fly  or  circular  card, 
on  which  are  painted  the  32  points.  The  needle,  although  a  little  rusty,  still 
turns  on  its  pivot,  and  its  movements  seem  still  true.  The  rim  of  the  box  in 
which  the  compass  is  contained  is  marked  off  with  360  divisions  or  degrees. 

On  the  upper  side  of  the  box,  opposite  the  compass,  we  find  a  list  of  the  prin- 
cipal places  in  the  world  with  their  latitudes,  jotted  down  apparently  without 
arrangement,  and  of  course  with  occasional  inaccuracy.  They  run  as  follows  : — 

Constantinople,  43°.  Florence,  45.  40. 

Alexandria,  31.  Napels,  40.  36. 

Jerusalem,  36.  40.  Orleance,  47. 

Edenburge,  57.  Viena,  48.  20. 

Venice,  45.  18.  Perusia,  42.  30. 

London,  51.  33.  Brasilia,  47.  41. 

Briscils,  44.  5.  Burgis,  42.  48. 

Patavia,  44.  28.  Antioch,  37.  20. 

Burdensi,  45.  30.  Corinth,  35.  55. 

Norinbarg,  40.  24.  Paris,  48.  30. 

Cesaria,  31.  40.  Lions,  45. 10. 


352  Description  of  a  Pocket-Dial  made 

Ments,  50.  8.  Tours,  47.  30. 

Braga,  43.  Antwerp,  51.  28. 

Granata,  37.  Quinsey,  37.  40. 

Daascus,  33.  Cuba,  23£. 

Lisbon,  39.  38.  Malta,  34. 

Athens,  37.  15.  Compostella,  42.  15. 

Niniui,  41.  40.  Carthage,  38. 

Babilou,  35.  Heercules  pillers,  36.  15. 

Roome,  44.  40. 

These  latitudes  are  disposed  in  four  circular  lines,  and  in  the  centre,  surmounted 
by  a  coronet  and  surrounded  by  the  garter,  with  its  customary  motto,  is  the 
achievement  of  arms  of  Robert  Devereux  the  2nd  Earl  of  Essex  of  that  family, 
consisting  of  sixteen  quarterings,  with  his  motto  engraved  thus  :  — IN  •  VEDIA  •  VIR- 
TTJTIS  •  COMES  •  The  coronet  has  more  the  appearance  of  that  of  a  duke  than  of 
an  earl,  but  in  those  days  the  forms  of  coronets  had  not  attained  their  present 
certainty. 

The  arms  themselves  are  quite  unquestionable,  although  there  are  some  varia- 
tions, or  rather  there  is  one  variation,  between  them  and  the  arms  of  this  family 
found  elsewhere.  In  the  garter-plate  of  Walter  Devereux  the  1st  Earl  of  Essex 
of  that  family,  as  I  am  informed  by  my  friend  Thomas  William  King,  Esq.  York 
Herald,  the  arms  are  arranged  thus  : — 

1.  Devereux.       2.  Bourchier.       3.  Woodstock.       4.  Bohun. 

5.  Milo.  6.  Mandeville.     7.  Louvain.  8.  Woodville. 

9.  Crophull.      10.  Verdon.         11.  Bigod.  12.  Gules,  a  bend  lozengy, 

or,  for  Mareschal. 
13.  Ferrers.        14.  Chester.         15.  Quincey.          16.  Bellamont. 

In  the  arms  of  the  same  family,  as  given  in  the  Lives  of  the  Devereux  Earls 
of  Essex  by  Admiral  Devereux,  the  12th  quarter  is  filled  with  six  lions  rampant, 
assigned  by  the  Admiral  to  Mareschal,  but  really  the  arms  of  Strongbow,  to  which 
the  Devereux  family  was  entitled  through  Mareschal.  In  the  engraving  on  the 
article  now  exhibited  the  same  12th  quarter  represents  Quarterly,  a  lion  passant, 
for  Say.  The  Earls  of  Essex  were  entitled,  as  Mr.  King  informs  me,  to  quarter 
all  these  several  arms  of  Mareschal,  Strongbow,  and  Say,  and  probably  these  and 
several  other  quarterings  to  which  they  were  entitled  were  occasionally  brought 
in  according  to  the  fancy  of  the  bearer  or  the  engraver.  In  reference  to  this 
part  of  our  subject,  Mr.  King  has  kindly  given  me  the  following  memorandum 
on  the  quarterings  of  Devereux  and  their  proper  arrangement : — 


•for  Robert  Devereux,  Earl  of  Essex.  353 

"  ARRANGEMENT  OF  THE  QUARTERINGS  OF  DEVEREUX. 

"  The  Roman  numerals  over  the  names,  in  the  following  arrangement,  indicate 
the  order  in  which  the  quarterings  should  be  placed. 

"  The  Arabic  numerals  show  the  way  in  which  the  quarterings  stand  on  the 
Dial  exhibited  by  Dr.  Dalton. 

"  The  names  over  which  there  are  no  numbers  refer  to  quarterings  omitted, 
but  which  the  Earl  was  entitled  to  bear." 

II.       »  III.        10  IT.        11 

Crophull. Verdon. Lacy. Bigod. Mareschal.a Strongbow.b 

(vi.      14 
Chester. 
*  errors. / 

I    <II.      15  Tin.      10 

,  Quincey.         FitsParnell.^^Bellamont. 


i.i 
Devereux.- 


ix.     i 
Bourchier.- 


i.     r  ii.     3 

Lovaine. Woodstock.— Bohun. 


ITI.    8 

Widvile. 


/  xm.  5 

I  Milo. 

XII.     t 


X1T.  12  XT.          0 


Fitzspiers. Say. Mandevillc. 


We  have  thus  endeavoured  to  describe  this  comprehensive  instrument  and  some 
of  its  various  uses.  We  have  also  traced  it  to  its  original  owner,  the  ambitious 
and  popular  Earl  of  Essex.  I  cannot  in  any  way  connect  it  with  his  personal 
history.  The  year  in  which  it  bears  date  was  one  of  the  quietest  in  his  life.  He 
had  served  in  Holland  under  Leicester,  he  had  joined  the  Portugal  expedition 
under  Norris  and  Drake,  he  had  commanded  the  forces  sent  into  Normandy  as 
auxiliary  to  Henry  IV.  and  had  returned  home,  at  the  age  of  26,  to  plunge  into 
those  party  politics  which  were  his  ruin.  It  was  at  this  time  that  he  became  a 
suitor  for  the  Attorney-Generalship  to  be  conferred  upon  Bacon.  The  year  1596 
was  that  of  the  Cadiz  expedition,  and,  as  this  instrument  bears  evident  tokens  of 
having  been  used,  it  is  not  improbable  that  it  was  worn  by  the  Earl  in  his  pocket 
on  that  occasion. 

Of  its  subsequent  history  I  am  not  informed.  A  modern  inscription,  written 
on  a  piece  of  paper  pasted  within  the  cover,  informs  us  that  it  "  formerly  belonged 
to  the  Prince  of  Waldeck,"  to  which  of  them  is  not  stated. 

•  Mareschal  (bend  lozengy)  occurs  on  the  garter-plate.     It  is  brought  in  by  Bigod. 
b  Strongbow  (six  lions)  occurs  in  Devereux 's  " Lives  and  Letters."   Strongbow  is  brought  in  by  Mareschal. 
VOL.  XL.  2  Z 


354  Description  of  a  Pocket-Dial  made 

The  cover  itself  demands  a  passing  notice.  It  is  extremely  well  made,  of 
stamped  leather  with  gilt  ornaments,  contrived  exactly  to  fit  the  article  to  be 
inclosed,  and  constructed  with  room  for  that  handle  of  the  Nocturnal  which,  as 
we  have  before  suggested,  has  been  broken  off. 

The  consideration  of  instruments  such  as  this  tends  greatly  to  heighten  our 
admiration  of  the  courage  of  those  daring  men  who,  with  ships  of  insignificant 
size,  and  at  a  time  when  science  could  do  so  little  for  them,  ventured  on  such 
arduous  voyages  as  were  accomplished  by  the  early  navigators.  Their  want  of 
acquaintance  with  many  of  the  helps  which  are  open  to  the  modern  sailor  is  very 
striking.  At  Greenwich  Hospital  is  a  beautiful  instrument  of  this  class  made  by 
Humfrey  Cole  in  1509.  Although  differently  arranged  to  the  one  now  before 
us,  it  contains  many  things  which  are  exactly  of  the  same  kind.  It  is  said  to 
have  been  used  by  Sir  Francis  Drake,  which  is  not  improbable.  But  how  per- 
plexed Drake  occasionally  was,  and  dependent  on  the  skill  of  the  practical 
mariner,  rather  than  on  the  knowledge  derived  from  imperfect  science,  is  curiously 
evidenced  by  a  statement  which  I  find  in  a  very  trustworthy  book  called  the 
Navigator's  Supply,  4to.  Lond.  1597,  written  by  a  clergyman  named  William 
Barlow,  a  son  of  Bishop  Barlow,  the  deprived  Bishop  of  Bath  and  "Wells  under 
Mary,  and  Bishop  of  Chichester  under  Elizabeth.  Barlow,  treating,  in  his  Epistle 
Dedicatorie  to  the  Earl  of  Essex,  of  the  mistakes  into  which  navigators  had  fallen 
from  unacquaintance  with  the  variations  of  the  compass,  writes  as  follows  : — 

"  A  memorable  example  hereof  fell  out  anno  1586,  when  Sir  Francis  Drake, 
a  gentleman  of  famous  memorie,  in  his  West  Indian  victorious  voyage,  departing 
from  the  harbour  of  Cartagena,  arriued  some  small  time  after  at  the  westermost 
point  of  Cuba,  called  Cape  S.  Antony,  and,  hauing  stayed  three  some  fewe  dayes, 
put  to  sea  for  Virginia  for  the  reliefe  of  our  countreymen  that  were  there  in  great 
danger  and  distresse.  Having  continued  at  the  sea  sixteene  dayes  tossed  with 
variable  windes,  they  came  at  last  within  sight  of  land,  but  by  no  means  could 
they  discerne,  or  give  any  probable  ghesse,  what  land  it  should  be.  So  it  was, 
that  one  of  Southhampton,  being  an  expert  and  skilfull  nauigator,  (though  of  other 
conditions  not  so  good  but  better  might  have  been  wished,)  for  his  frowarduesse 
having  receaved  disgrace  before,  was  notwithstanding  vpon  this  necessitie  called 
unto  conference ;  where,  after  Sir  Francis  had  bestowed  on  him  some  part  of  his 
eloquent  perswasions  and  faire  promises,  at  length  he  vndertaketh  to  doe  his  best. 
And,  hauing  made^his  obseruations  according  vnto  arte,  he  pronounced  in  laugliing 
and  disdainefull  maner  (because  his  advice  was  not  taken  in  the  setting  of  their 


for  Robert  Devereux,  Earl  of  Essex.  355 

course)  that  looke  what  land  they  had  hin  at  sixteene  dayes  before,  the  very 
same  precisely  was  the  land  that  now  they  were  at  againe.  Which  assertion  of 
his  heing  reiected  as  a  thing  impossible  by  all  those  of  skill  in  the  company,  and 
especially  by  Sir  Francis  himselfe,  not  without  reproachfull  wordes,  he  still  per- 
seuered  therein,  and  assured  them  that  vpon  his  life  they  should  finde  it  so ;  like 
as  in  the  ende  they  did.  This  coulde  he  neuer  haue  done  without  his  knowledge 
of  the  variation  of  the  compass ;  as  the  partie  himselfe  more  then  once  with 
great  earnestnesse  hath  protested  unto  me  in  conference  that  I  have  had  with 
him  concerning  those  matters." 

I  have  said  that  these  instruments  were  valuable  in  their  own  day  as  having 
had  a  tendency  to  make  scientific  studies  fashionable.  My  meaning  was,  that 
articles  like  that  now  exhibited,  like  that  attributed  to  Sir  Francis  Drake,  and 
like  many  others  in  the  British  Museum  and  elsewhere,  at  once  ornamental  and 
costly,  could  have  found  their  way  only  into  the  wealthiest  ranks  of  society,  and 
that  they  had  thus  a  tendency  to  excite  and  diffuse  a  taste  for  such  truths  of  science 
as  these  instruments  could  disclose  among  persons  in  the  highest  walks  of  life. 
As  an  evidence  of  this  kind  of  influence,  it  may  not  be  uninteresting  to  know  that 
this  was  one  among  the  many  elegant  tastes  of  Charles  I.  A  book  was  expressly 
written  to  teach  him  geometry,  and  was  ornamented  by  a  rare  portrait  of  himself 
as  a  youth.  James  I.  employed  Gunter  (the  inventor  of  several  instruments  of 
great  use  which  have  come  down  to  our  times)  to  set  up  a  variety  of  dials  in  the 
royal  garden  at  Whitehall.  Prince  Charles  took  a  lively  interest  in  the  work, 
and  for  his  own  instruction  procured  Gunter  to  write  an  account  of  the  uses  of 
these  dials,  which  was  subsequently  published,  and  is  a  very  curious  book. 
Throughout  his  reign  Charles  exhibited  an  inclination  to  patronise  the  cultivators 
of  such  ingenious  arts,  although  his  good  intentions  were  probably  not  always 
exerted  in  behalf  of  the  worthiest  objects.  Richard  Delamain,  a  teacher  of 
mathematics,  who  lived  in  "  the  upper  part  of  Chancery  Lane,"  and  was  an 
acquaintance  of  Attorney-General  Noy,  was  one  of  these  persons  who  stood  high 
in  the  King's  favour.  Delamain  put  forth  several  mathematical  instruments  as 
his  own  inventions.  Some  of  his  contemporaries  decried  them  as  mere  appro- 
priations of  other  men's  labours,  but  the  King  was  attracted  by  them,  purchased 
his  instruments,  and  granted  him  a  pension.  Among  Delamain's  inventions  was 
one  which  he  termed  a  Mathematical  Ring  "  extracted  from  the  logarithms." 
This  was  a  dial  or  instrument  by  the  movement  of  several  parts  of  which  various 

2z2 


356  Description  of  a  Pocket-Dial  made 

arithmetical  and  mathematical  questions  could  be  answered.*  This  instrument 
took  the  King's  fancy.  He  had  one  made  in  silver,  and  always  carried  it  about 
with  him.  On  the  morning  of  the  last  scene  of  his  sad  history,  when  he  came  to 
divide  among  his  children  and  attendants  the  few  books  and  trinkets  which  re- 
mained to  him,  this  Mathematical  Ring  was  an  article  which  he  thought  worthy 
to  be  his  dying  gift  to  his  second  son.  Herbert  records  the  incident  thus  : — "  He 
likewise  commanded  Mr.  Herbert  to  give  his  son  the  Duke  of  York  his  large 
ring  sun-dial  of  silver,  a  jewel  his  Majesty  much  valued ;  it  was  invented  by  Mr. 
Delamain,  an  able  mathematician  who  projected  it,  and  in  a  little  book  showed 
its  excellent  use  in  resolving  many  questions  in  arithmetic,  and  other  rare  opera- 
tions to  be  wrought  by  it  in  the  mathematics."  (Herbert's  Memoirs,  ed.  1711, 
p.  130.)  Herbert  was  no  doubt  mistaken  in  terming  the  article  a  0tm-dial,  but 
from  the  similarity  of  the  uses  it  cannot  be  doubted  that  Delamain's  dial,  which 
he  called  the  Mathematical  Ring,  was  the  jewel  here  alluded  to.  It  would  afford 
an  apt  illustration  of  Herbert's  touching  Memoir  if  any  gentleman  could  exhibit 
an  example  of  Delamain's  invention  to  the  Society  of  Antiquaries. 

In  conclusion  I  beg  to  express  my  very  sincere  thanks  to  Mr.  King  and  Mr. 
John  Williams  for  valuable  help  on  this  occasion.  Every  one  knows  that  these 
gentlemen  arc  at  all  times  ready  to  give  assistance  to  inquirers. 

Believe  me,  my  dear  Sir, 

Yours  very  sincerely, 

JOHN  BRUCE. 

EDWARD  DALTOX,  Esq.  LL.D.  F.S.A. 

Dunkirk  Manor  House,  Nailsworth,  Stroud. 

"  Delamain  published  a  description  of  it,  entitled  "  Grammelogia,  or  the  Mathematical  Ring,  extracted 
from  the  Logarithms,"  12mo.  Lend.  [1C32],  and  an  account  of  another  instrument  invented  by  him,  entitled 
"  The  making,  description,  and  use  of  a  small  portable  instrument  for  yc  Pocket  (or  according  to  any  mag- 
nitude) in  forme  of  a  mixt  Trapezia,  thus  !,  called  a  Horizontall  Quadrant.  Composed  and  produced 

soly  for  the  benefit  and  use  of  such  which  are  studious  of  mathematicall  Practice.  Written  and  delivered 
by  Delamain,  student  and  Teacher  of  the  Matheraatickes."  12mo.  Lond.  1632.  There  are  papers  relating  to 
Delamain  in  several  volumes  of  the  State  Papers. 


for  Robert  Devereux,  Earl  of  Essex.  357 

Note  on  the  Use  of  the  Nocturnal.    By  JOHN  WILLIAMS,  Esq.  F.S.A. 


Read  May  llth,  1865. 

I  can  add  but  little  to  the  very  interesting  account  given  by  Mr.  Bruce  of  the 
curious  little  instrument  formerly  belonging  to  the  Earl  of  Essex.  As  however 
he  has  called  upon  me  to  offer  some  explanations  as  to  the  mode  of  using  certain 
parts  of  that  instrument,  I  have  brought  together  such  information  as  I  could 
collect  as  likely  to  be  serviceable  for  that  purpose. 

The  instrument  consists  of  various  parts,  as  described  by  Mr.  Bruce.  Some  of 
these  are  devoted  to  chronological  or  geographical  purposes,  the  latter  being  referred 
to  the  mariner's  compass,  which  also  forms  a  part  of  the  article  exhibited.  The 
upper  part  presents  us  with  an  instrument  formerly  much  employed  by  nautical 
men  and  others  to  ascertain  the  hour  of  the  night  by  means  of  the  positions  of  the 
stars  called  the  guards  of  the  Great  or  Little  Bear,  in  reference  to  the  pole-star. 
This  instrument  is  called  a  Nocturnal.  The  earliest  notice  of  an  instrument  of 
this  kind  I  have  hitherto  been  able  to  find  is  in  the  "  Cosmographia"  of  Peter 
Apian,  printed  at  Antwerp  in  1564.  The  appendix  to  this  work  is  entitled  in 
the  index,  "  De  Horarum  Noctis  Observatione,"  and  here  we  find  the  description 
of  an  instrument  essentially  the  same  as  the  Nocturnal,  and  also  of  another,  to 
which  I  shall  have  occasion  shortly  to  allude,  as  affording  some  explanation  of 
the  use  of  the  combination  on  the  opposite  side  of  the  Essex  instrument.  In  the 
description  above  referred  to,  a  figure  is  given  of  a  man  finding  the  hour  of  the 
night  by  means  of  the  guards  or  pointers  of  the  Great  Bear.  The  instrument  he 
employs,  however,  is  simply  the  toothed  or  moveable  circle  of  our  nocturnal,  the 
hour  being  indicated  by  means  of  an  index,  also  moveable ;  and  a  paragraph  fol- 
lows, entitled  "  Usus  hujus  Instrument!,"  which  is  too  obscure  to  be  readily  under- 
stood without  an  example,  and  none  is  given.  I  must  however  observe  that  the 
outer  or  fixed  circle  of  the  later  instruments  does  not  occur  in  this. 

In  Pale's  "  Art  of  Dialling,"  4to.  Lond.  1593,  the  year  of  the  construction  of 
the  Essex  instrument,  we  have  a  section,  "  How  to  make  an  instrument  whereby 
you  may  know  the  just  hour  of  the  night  by  the  starres."  A  tolerably  clear  de- 
scription of  every  part  follows,  first  separately,  and  then  as  put  together  for  use ; 
followed  by  a  diagram.  The  instrument  described  by  Fale  has  a  handle  that  can 


358  Description  of  a  Pocket-Dial  made 

be  shifted  in  order  to  adapt  it  either  for  the  Great  or  Little  Bear  as  occasion 
might  require ;  the  moveable  circle  is  also  toothed.  In  both  these  instances  no 
name  is  given  to  the  instrument. 

Sir  Jonas  Moore,  in  his  "  New  System  of  Mathematics,"  2  vols.  4to.  1681, 
figures  and  describes,  under  the  name  of  "  The  Nocturnal,"  an  instrument  which 
may  be  considered  as  identical  with  a  wooden  one  now  exhibited,  and,  as  his 
description  is  the  most  intelligible  I  have  met  with,  .'[  shall  quote  his  words  in 
explanation  of  the  use  of  this  early,  but  now  entirely  disused,  instrument.  In 
vol.  i.  p.  253,  we  have  "  The  Description  and  Use  of  the  Nocturnal,"  as  follows  : 
'  There  are  many  kinds  of  Nocturnals,  some  for  one  star,  some  for  another,  of 
which  we  shall  take  notice  only  of  two,  one  made  for  the  constellation  of  the 
Great  Bear,  and  the  other  for  the  Little  Bear ;  and,  they  both  consisting  of  like 
parts,  one  description  shall  serve  both.  This  instrument  is  composed  of  three 
pieces  or  parts  ;  the  first  and  biggest,  on  which  is  the  handle  by  which  to  hold  it  in 
time  of  observation,  hath  on  the  fore  side  two  circles,  in  the  outermost  of  which 
are  the  days  of  the  months,  and  upon  the  innermost  the  24  hours  of  a  day  natural ; 
upon  the  back  side  are  the  32  points  of  the  compass ;  and  sometimes,  especially 
if  it  be  for  the  Little  Bear,  the  distance  of  the  Pole  star  above  or  beneath  the 
pole. 

"  If  the  Nocturnal  be  for  the  pointers  (or  as  some  call  them  the  guards)  of  the 
Great  Bear,  then  you  will  see  in  the  circle  of  months  February  17  at  the  top, 
because  the  star  that  night  comes  to  the  meridian  at  midnight ;  but  if  it  be  for 
the  fore  guard  of  the  Little  Bear  you  will  see  April  25  at  the  top,  right  under  the 
middle  of  the  tip,  for  the  like  reason. 

"  The  second  or  middle  piece  or  part  contains  two  circles  and  a  small  tooth  or 
index ;  the  outermost  circle  is  divided  into  29 J  days,  for  the  moon's  age ;  the 
innermost  into  21  hours.  The  index  is  a  little  short  peg,  standing  out  from  the 
edge,  and  is  to  be  set  to  the  day  of  the  month  as  occasion  requires. 

"  The  third  and  upper  or  innermost  part  or  piece  is  a  long  index,  the  edge  of 
which  that  comes  from  the  centre  must  be  brought  over  the  guards  in  observing. 
Sometimes  one  instrument  is  made  to  serve  both  Bears. 

"  To  find  the  hour  of  the  night  and  upon  what  point  of  the  compass  the  guards 
are :  First  set  the  tooth  of  the  middle  part  to  the  day  of  the  month ;  then  lift  up 
the  instrument  and  hold  it  as  upright  as  you  can,  with  the  fore-side  towards  you, 
and  afterwards  bow  the  upper  end  or  tip  on  to  the  top  of  the  nocturnal,  so  much 
towards  you,  that,  looking  through  the  hole  in  the  middle  of  the  nocturnal,  you 


for  Robert  Devereux,  Earl  of  Essex.  359 

may  see  the  Pole-star.  Now,  when  you  see  the  Pole-star  through  the  hole,  turn 
the  long  index  or  ruler  about,  till,  by  the  edge  coming  from  the  centre,  you  can 
see  the  first  of  the  guards  of  the  Little  Bear,  or  to  the  pointers  of  the  Great  Bear ; 
if  for  the  Great  Bear,  then  shall  the  edge  of  that  index  or  ruler  show  upon  the 
innermost  circle  of  the  middle  part  or  piece  the  hour  of  the  night ;  and  at  the 
same  time  on  the  back-side  of  the  nocturnal  the  point  of  the  compass  on  which 
the  guards  are." 

In  explanation  there  is  a  moveable  diagram  which  renders  this  description  per- 
fectly clear. 

The  wooden  instrument  now  before  you  is  clearly  one  of  those  referred  to  in 
the  sentence,  "  Sometimes  one  instrument  is  made  to  serve  both  Bears ;"  there 
being  on  the  moveable  circle  two  teeth  or  pegs,  as  Sir  J.  Moore  calls  them,  the 
one  marked  G.  for  Great  Bear,  and  the  other  L.  for  Little  Bear.  On  the  back 
are  the  bearings,  with  the  distance  of  the  Pole-star  above  or  beneath  the  true 
pole  for  both  Bears ;  with  these  exceptions  the  instrument  is  precisely  the  same 
as  that  described  by  Moore.  To  use  this  instrument  we  must  proceed  in  the  fol- 
lowing manner.  I  wish  to  ascertain  the  hour  by  means  of  the  pointers  of  the 
Great  Bear.  I  bring  the  tooth  marked  G.  to  the  day  of  the  month  on  the  outer 
graduated  circle,  Now,  holding  the  instrument  as  nearly  as  possible  in  the  meri- 
dian, and  inclining  it  so  as  to  be  able  to  see  the  Pole-star  through  the  hole  in  the 
centre,  the  index  is  to  be  moved  until  it  intersects  the  pointers  of  the  Great  Bear, 
when  it  will  also  be  found  to  cut  with  its  inner  edge  the  hour  of  the  night  on  the 
moveable  circle.  It  will  also  show  the  bearings  of  the  guards  and  the  distance  of 
the  Pole-star  from  the  true  pole  at  the  hour  in  question.  For  the  guard  of  the 
Little  Bear  the  tooth  marked  L.  is  to  be  used  in  like  manner.  I  may  also  observe 
that  as  April  is  on  the  top,  this  is  nominally  arranged  for  the  guard  of  the  Little 
Bear,  but  answers  equally  well  for  both. 

The  Nocturnal  forming  so  conspicuous  a  part  of  the  Essex  instrument  next 
requires  our  attention.  Like  the  examples  just  referred  to,  it  consists  of  a  fixed 
plate,  a  moveable  circle,  and  a  brass  rod  serving  as  an  index,  which  is  also  move- 
able.  Applying  the  principles  just  laid  down  to  it,  it  will  be  found  that,  as  April 
occurs  on  the  upper  part  of  the  fixed  plate,  this  instrument  is  adapted  to  finding 
the  hour  by  means  of  the  guard  or  bright  star  of  the  Little  Bear.  The  fixed  plate 
is  graduated  in  the  usual  manner,  having  the  circle  of  months  and  the  24  hours 
of  the  day  upon  it.  The  moveable  plate  has  two  circles  upon  it,  the  one  with  the 
days  of  the  moon  (29£),  the  other  showing  the  24  hours  of  the  day.  This  plate  is 


SCO  Description  of  a  Pocket-Dial. 

also  toothed ;  and  one  of  the  teeth,  that  against  the  12th  hour,  being  longer  than 
the  others,  is  employed  as  an  index  for  rectifying  the  instrument.  The  moveahle 
index  is  at  present  a  short  rod  of  brass.  This,  however,  does  not  appear  to  have 
been  the  original  index ;  that  doubtless  having  been  much  longer,  reaching  to 
nearly  the  edge  of  the  outer  circle  on  the  fixed  plate.  The  present  rod  barely 
touches  the  base  of  the  teeth,  and  was  possibly  substituted  for  the  original  one 
when  the  instrument  underwent  some  repairs,  evidently  by  a  workman  who 
understood  nothing  of  its  use,  as  not  only  is  the  index  too  short,  but  the  hole 
through  which  the  Pole-star  should  be  seen  does  not  exist,  having  been  stopped 
up  by  a  rivet.  This  Nocturnal  was  used  as  before  described,  excepting  that  the 
index  is  merely  pointed  to  the  star  instead  of  intersecting  it.  The  teeth  were 
employed  to  ascertain  the  hour,  by  means  of  the  touch,  when  it  was  too  dark  to 
read  the  engraved  figures.  Thus  the  finger  was  passed  from  the  long  tooth — 
always  12 — counting  the  number  of  teeth  between  that  and  the  index,  which 
number  gave  the  hour  required. 

In  addition  to  the  above  there  is  a  compass  within,  with  the  whole  of  the  points 
marked.  There  are  also  three  inner  plates,  or  rather  surfaces,  which,  as  described 
by  Mr.  Bruce,  consist  of — one  relating  to  the  calendar ;  another  indicating  the 
time  of  high  water  at  a  variety  of  places ;  and  a  third  having  the  Essex  arms  and 
the  latitudes  of  some  of  the  principal  places  in  the  world  upon  it. 

Such  is  the  use  and  application  of  the  nocturnal ;  but  we  have  another  curious 
piece  of  apparatus  at  the  other  end  of  the  Essex  instrument,  which  may  require 
explanation.  Here  again  we  are  indebted  to  Peter  Apian,  and  to  him  alone,  for 
some  account  of  this  instrument.  In  folio  49  he  gives  a  moveable  diagram  of  an 
instrument  substantially  the  same  as  that  before  us,  and  describes  it  as  intended 
to  show  the  hour  when  the  moon  is  shining.  His  instructions  for  using  it  are 
however  so  obscure,  being  without  any  examples,  that  I  have  been  unable  to 
apply  it  to  its  intended  use.  It  does  not  occur  in  any  of  the  later  works  to  which 
I  have  had  access,  so  that  they  have  afforded  no  assistance  in  its  elucidation. 
All  that  can  be  said  is,  that  it  is  intended  to  show  the  hour  of  the  night  by  means 
of  the  moon,  but  how  applied  to  that  purpose  I  have  not  ascertained. 


XXIII. — On  the  Position  of  the  Portus  Lemanis  of  the  Romans.     By  THOMAS 

LEWIN,  ESQ.,  M.A.,  F.S.A. 


Read  November  23rd,  1865. 


THE  Portus  Lemanis  must  clearly  have  been  one  of  the  great  thoroughfares 
between  Britain  and  the  Continent,  and  it  is  not  a  little  singular  that  the  position 
of  a  port  once  so  famous  should  never  have  been  satisfactorily  settled.  The 
common  impression  is  that  it  lay  at  the  foot  of  Lymne  Hill.  For  the  benefit  of 
those  who  are  not  familiar  with  this  neighbourhood,  I  should  mention,  in 
limine,  that  the  village  of  Lymne  or  Lympuc  stands  about  2£  miles  to  the  west 
of  Hythe,  on  the  highest  part  of  the  cliff  which  girds  in  the  eastern  portion  of 
Romney  Marsh.  On  the  declivity  of  the  hill,  about  half-way  down,  is  seen 
the  old  Roman  castrum,  called  Stuttfall,  occupying  10  or  12  acres.  There  are 
walls  on  the  north,  east,  and  west,  and  the  east  and  west  walls  run  down  to  the 
marsh  itself ;  but,  what  is  remarkable,  the  south  side  towards  the  marsh  had  never 
any  wall,"  and  hence  the  erroneous  notion  so  generally  prevalent  that  at  the 
foot  of  the  castrum  was  once  the  Portus  Lemanis,  and  that  in  the  course  of  ages 
the  sea  retired  from  Lymne,  when  the  port  shifted  to  West  Hythe,  and  that  the 
sea  again  retired,  when  the  port  was  transferred  to  Hythe.  I  shall  endeavour 
to  show  that  these  changes,  if  they  ever  occurred,  must  have  preceded  the 
historic  period,  and  that  in  the  tune  of  the  Romans,  as  for  many  centuries 
afterwards,  the  only  port  was  Hythe.  In  fact  Portus  and  Hythe  are  the  same 
thing,  Portus  in  Latin  being  Htj'S  in  Saxon. 

The  expression  "  Portus  Lemanis  "  is  found  in  the  Antonine  Itinerary,  where 
Stone  Street  is  made  to  run  from  Canterbury  "  ad  Portum  Lemanis,"  a  distance 
of  16  miles.  As  this  is  the  solitary  instance  of  the  phrase  we  must  pause  for  a 
moment  to  consider  its  import.  Had  the  author  meant  to  say  that  Lymne 
itself  (in  Latin  Lemanse)  was  the  port,  he  would  have  written  ad  portum 
Lemanas,  or  ad  portum  Lcmanarum  ;  instead  of  that  he  uses  the  words  ad  portum 
Lemanis  (ablative), — the  port  at  or  or  near  Lymne,  as  distinguished  from  the  port 

•  This  fact  was  ascertained  some  years  since  by  cutting  a  cross  trench. 
VOL.  XL.  3  A 


362  The  Porlus  Lemanis  of  the  Romans. 

at  Dover  (Dubris)  or  Pevensey  (Anderida).  The  only  other  occasions  on  which 
reference  is  made  in  ancient  authors  to  Lemanae  or  Leinanus,  or  any  cognate 
word,  are  the  following : — In  the  Peutinger  tables  a  road  is  drawn  from  Canterbury 
or  Dover  to  Lemavio,  (a  clerical  error  no  doubt  for  Lemano,)  and,  as  a  castle  is 
depicted  at  the  termination  of  the  road,  the  Roman  castrum  at  Lymne  must  be 
meant  and  not  the  port.  Lemano  by  itself  would  rather  indicate  the  river 
Lemanus,  the  old  name  of  the  Rother.  In  the  Notitia  the  garrison  of  the 
Turnacenses,  or  men  of  Tournay,  is  quartered  Lemanis,  which  of  course  must  be 
interpreted  at  Lymne,  that  is,  in  the  Roman  castrum.  In  Ravennas  the  rivers  of 
Britain  occur  in  the  following  order — Durbis  (the  Dour  or  Dover),  Lemana,  Rovia 
(the  Rother) — so  that  here  we  have  mention  made,  not  of  the  town  of  Lymne,  but 
of  the  river  Lemanus. 

As  to  the  etymology  of  the  word  under  its  various  forms  of  Lemanse,  Lemanus, 
&c.,  some  would  derive  it  from  the  Greek  \ifirjv,  and  if  so  it  signifies  a  port, 
which  the  river  always  was,  wherever  its  embouchure ;  but  if  we  have  recourse 
to  the  Greek  the  word  should  rather  be  traced  to  Xi>i^,  a  marsh.  As  Celtic  and 
Greek  both  flow  i'roni  the  same  original  language,  there  was  probably  some  old 
Celtic  word  resembling  the  Greek  \ifiprj,  and  with  the  same  signification.  It  is  a 
curious  coincidence  that  the  Celtic  Lake  of  Geneva  is  also  called  Leman.  The 
etymology  given  by  Stukeley  is  more  ingenious  than  trustworthy,  viz.,  that 
Lemana),  now  the  towne  of  Lymne,  is  derived  from  the  Celtic  words  Ihe,  a  road 
(but  which  is  rather  a  place),  and  maen,  a  stone,  as  being  the  termination  of  Stone 
Street,  the  Roman  way  from  Canterbury. 

Let  me  now  examine  the  grounds  upon  which  the  theory  rests  that  Portus 
Lemanis  is  to  be  placed  at  the  foot  of  Lymne  Hill. 

1.  It  may  be  argued  that  the  term  Portus  Lemanis  or  the  Port  at  Lymne 
can  only  mean  what  it  literally  expresses,  viz.,  a  port  at  Lymne  itself.     But  to 
this  it  may  be  answered  that  the  Port  of  Rome  was  not  at  Rome  but  at  Ostia, 
and  the  port  of  Athens  was  not  at  Athens  but  at  the  Piraeus ;  and  when  a  port  at 
Lymne  is  spoken  of  we  must  first  examine  the  locality  itself  before  we  can 
pronounce  upon  the  interpretation.     Now  when  we  inspect  the  locus  in  quo  we 
find  that  the  port  could  not  possibly  have  bee"n  at  Lymne  itself,  for  Lymne  stands 
on  the  summit  of  a  long  ascent,  and  is  a  quarter  of  a  mile  from  the  nearest  point 
accessible  to  the  sea.     As  therefore  the  port  was  certainly  not  at  Lymne  itself, 
it  is  merely  a  question  of  degree  at  what  distance  the  port  lay  from  it. 

2.  It  may  be  urged  that  the  castrum  called  Stuttfall  can  only  have  been  built 
for  the  purpose  of  protecting  the  port,  which  must  therefore  have  been  at  the 


The  Portua  Lemanis  of  the  Romans.  363 

foot  of  the  castrum.  But  was  this  so  ?  Stuttfall  was  one  of  the  series  of  forts, 
or  castra  prcesidiaria,  erected  in  the  reign  of  Valentinian,  by  his  general 
Theodosius  (A.D.  368 — 369),  along  the  eastern  and  southern  coasts  of  England 
called  the  Saxonicum  littus,  to  guard  it  from  the  piratical  invasion  of  the  Saxons, 
who  then  for  the  first  time  began  to  be  troublesome ;  and  the  position  of  these 
castra  had  reference  not  so  much  to  the  defence  of  any  particular  town  as  to  the 
defence  of  the  most  exposed  parts.  Thus  the  castrum  of  Burgh  Castle,  seated 
on  the  cliff  on  the  east  bank  of  the  Waveney,  guarded  the  marshes  of  the  Yare 
estuary,  which  flowed  up  to  Norwich,  but  there  was  no  port  at  or  near  Burgh 
Castle.  The  castrum  of  Eelixstowe  watched  the  flats  at  the  mouth  of  the  Orwell, 
but  there  was  no  port  there.  The  castrunt  at  Othona,  now  Bradwell,  was  to 
overlook  the  levels  on  the  south  of  the  Blackwater,  but  it  has  never  been 
suggested  that  Othona  was  a  port.  The  castrum  of  Stuttfall  therefore  was  erected 
not  to  command  the  port  but  to  be  ready  in  case  of  a  descent  upon  the  adjoining 
marsh,  and  Lymne  Hill  was  fixed  upon  as  being  the  highest  of  the  cliffs  at  the 
north  of  the  marsh,"  and  so  affording  the  best  look-out  for  a  hostile  approach. 
The  castrum  itself  was  half-way  down  the  hill,  but  there  was  no  doubt  anciently 
a  watchtower,  as  there  is  now  a  castle,  at  the  summit,  and  tradition  reports  that 
there  was  once  a  subterranean  communication  between  the  site  of  the  present 
castle  and  the  castrum. 

3.  It  is  argued  that,  as  the  Roman  castrum  on  Lymne  Hill,  which  has  no  wall 
on  the  south,  must  have  been  sufficiently  defended  on  that  side,  there  must  on 
the  south,  where  now  is  the  marsh,  have  at  that  time  been  the  sea ;  and,  if  so,  what 
more  likely  than  that  the  Portus  Lemanis  was  there  ?  I  answer,  in  the  first  place, 
that  Stuttfall  is  situate  on  a  very  steep  slope,  and  that  the  southern  side  would  be 
sufficiently  secure  if  it  were  shut  in  by  a  deep  and  broad  wet  ditch ;  and  the  stream 
of  Slabrook,  which  descends  into  the  marsh  by  the  side  of  the  London  Road,  and 
is  now  diverted  artificially  to  Hythe,  runs  naturally  to  Lymne.  And  this  rivulet 
would  have  abundantly  sufficed  to  keep  the  ditch  full.  But,  say  that  in  Roman 
times  the  sea  did  lave  the  foot  of  the  castrum,  how  does  it  follow  that  the  estuary 
there  was  navigable  ?  When  the  site  of  the  castrum  was  selected  the  object  was 
security,  and  if  the  south  side  were  left  open  it  would  be  much  more  vulnerable 
if  it  could  be  approached  by  a  naval  force,  than  if  in  the  front  of  it  lay  an 
extensive  marsh  with  a  few  feet  of  water,  and  a  depth  of  slime  or  ooze.  We  may 
also  suppose  that,  although  there  was  no  regular  wall  on  the  south,  the  castrum 

•'  It  is  upwards  of  350  feet  high. 

3x2 


364  The  Portus  Lemanis  of  the  Romans. 

had  some  sort  of  rampart  there,  hut  which,  being  less  solid  than  the  other  parts, 
has  since  disappeared.  Mr.  Elliott,  the  eminent  engineer  of  the  marsh,  has  also 
just  communicated  to  me  an  important  piece  of  information.  He  tells  me  that 
in  front  of  Lymne  Hill,  at  the  distance  of  about  a  quarter  of  a  mile,  may  be  traced 
from  east  to  west,  through  Botolph's  Bridge  and  parallel  to  the  hills,  an  old 
embankment,  which  after  a  course  of  more  than  a  mile  throws  out  two  arms  up  to 
the  hills,  so  as  to  inclose  a  rectangular  space  at  the  foot  of  the  castrum.  This  he 
conceives  to  have  been  anciently  a  lake  of  water,  supplied  by  at  least  four  strong 
springs,  which  now  chiefly  feed  the  canal.  He  adds,  that,  from  the  incessant  rains 
which  prevailed  in  the  autumn  of  this  year  (A.D.  ]  865),  the  old  bed  of  the  lake  was 
again  flooded,  while  on  the  other  side  of  the  walls  or  banks  referred  to  it  was  dry 
land.  This  watery  barrier  was,  in  his  opinion,  the  defence  of  the  castrum  on  the  south. 

4.  It  may  be  urged  that  Stone  Street  runs  from  Canterbury  to  Lymne,  and,  as 
the  same  road  in  the  Antonine  Itinerary  is  made  to  terminate  at  Portus  Lemanis, 
therefore  the  Portus  Lemanis  must  have  been  at  Lymne.  But,  in  the  first  place, 
Stone  Street  was  a  military  road,  and  the  principal  object  of  it  therefore  would  be 
not  the  port  of  embarkation,  but  the  garrison  or  castrum.  Besides,  when  we 
examine  this  old  Roman  way,  we  find  that  it  was  carried  in  a  straight  line,  and 
can  still  be  traced  from  Canterbury  to  New  Inn  Green  near  "Western  Hanger} 
where  we  lose  sight  of  it,  but  that  if  the  straight  line  were  extended  from  New 
Inn  Green  it  would  point  "  to  the  Shipway  Cross,  and  continue  down  the  present 
roadway  which  descends  the  hill  to  West  Hythe.  Now  this  is  the  only  place 
along  the  hill  where  a  roadway  could  possibly  descend  it  in  a  straight  line,  and 
was  actually  selected  as  the  road  to  the  ships  in  port,  and  therefore  called  the 
Shipway."  "  The  road  therefore  did  not  lead  directly  to  Lymne,  but  only  near  to 
it,  and  ran  to  the  only  opening  by  which  access  could  conveniently  be  had  to  the 
sea-shore.  There  were  also  two  branches  from  the  main  road,  one  to  the  castrum 
of  Stuttfall  and  the  other  to  the  town  of  Hytlie.1"  Stone  Street,  therefore,  with 
this  explanation  does  not  at  all  tend  to  show  that  Portus  Lemanis  was  at  Lymne, 
but  rather  in  the  direction  of  Hythe. 

Consider  now  how  far  it  is  probable  in  itself  that  Portus  Lemanis  was  at  the 
foot  of  Lymne  Hill.  Had  such  been  the  case,  we  should  expect  to  find  at  least 
some  vestiges,  however  faint,  of  the  port  itself.  The  ground  there  has  been  long 
under  cultivation,  but  I  have  never  heard  or  read  (though  I  have  often  inquired) 
that  any  remnant  of  a  pier  or  sunken  vessel,  or  even  any  anchor  or  other  part  of 

»  Mr.  Thurston's  Communication  to  C.  R.  Smith,  Richborough  and  Reculver,  p.  254. 
b  Harris's  History  of  Kent,  p.  367. 


The  Portus  Lemanis  of  the  Romans.  365 

a  ship's  tackle,  \vas  ever  discovered  in  this  part.  Again,  had  the  port  existed  here, 
the  adjacent  parts  on  the  hill  side  must  have  heen  covered  with  wharves  and  ware- 
houses and  the  dwellings  of  the  seafaring  population ;  but,  with  the  exception  of 
Stuttfall  itself,  no  signs  of  population  here  show  themselves.  At  the  summit  of  the 
hill  stands  the  village  of  Lymne,  hut  there  are  no  indications  of  its  ever  having 
been  a  place  of  importance.  Some  Roman  remains  have  been  found  near  at 
hand,  but  there  is  nothing  to  show  that  Lymne  itself  was  the  centre  and  nucleus  of 
a  great  commercial  mart.  How  unreasonable  too  is  it  to  suppose  that  the  town 
connected  with  the  port  should  have  been  separated  from  it  by  such  an  interval 
as  the  long  and  steep  slope  between  Lymne  and  the  Marsh. 

But  there  is  another  and  weightier  objection  to  the  theory  that  Portus  Lemanis 
was  at  the  foot  of  Lymne  Hill.  It  is  certain  that,  if  the  port  icas  at  the  foot  of 
Lymne  Sill,  the  whole  marsh  must  have  been  under  water.  The  port  and  the 
reclaimed  marsh  could  not  have  co-existed.  If,  therefore,  it  can  be  shown  that 
the  marsh  was  inclosed  at  the  time  when  Portus  Lemanis  was  known,  the  port 
could  not  have  been  at  the  foot  of  Lymne  Hill.  First,  then,  what  is  the  date  of 
the  Antonine  Itinerary,  in  which  alone  the  Portus  Lemanis  is  spoken  of;  and, 
secondly,  when  was  the  marsh  reclaimed?  The  Itinerary  makes  mention  of 
Diocletianopolis,  named  after  Diocletian,  who  began  to  reign  A.D.  284 ;  and  of 
Maximianopolis,  after  Maximian,  the  colleague  of  Diocletian ;  and  of  Candidiana, 
after  Candidianus,  the  son  of  Galerius ;  and  of  Constantinople,  which  was  dedicated 
A.D.  330 ;  and  contains  other  allusions  to  places  which  cany  us  far  into  the  4th 
century.  We  should  therefore  place  the  date  of  the  Antonine  Itinerary  somewhere 
about  A.D.  350.  Rome  was  taken  by  Alaric  A.D.  409,  and  the  final  departure  of 
the  Romans  from  Britain  may  be  placed  in  that  year.  Now  is  it  likely  that  so 
vast  an  undertaking  as  the  inclosure  of  Romney  Marsh  could  have  been  carried 
out  by  the  Romans  during  the  interval  from  A.D.  350  to  A.D.  409,  during  which 
period  the  empire  was  fast  tottering  to  its  fall?  But,  besides  this,  a  coin  of 
Carausius,  who  ruled  in  Britain  from  A.D.  287  to  A.D.  293,  was,  I  am  informed  by 
Mr.  Elliott,  found  near  Dymchurch,"  and  another  coin  of  Allectus,'1  who  ruled  in 
Britain  from  A.D.  293  to  A.D.  296,  and  which  I  have  in  my  own  possession,  was 
turned  up  at  Eastbridge  in  the  marsh  ;  and  a  cart-load  of  Roman  pottery  was  also 
some  years  since  disinterred  in  the  neighbourhood  of  Dymchurch,  and  submitted 


"  It  was  lent  to  some  one  and  never  returned. 

b  A  friend  considers  it  a  coin  of  Gordian.     It  has  a  hole  in  it,  and  apparently  has  been  worn  for 
ornament.     Possibly,  therefore,  it  may  have  been  dropped  in  the  marsh  by  a  Saxon. 


366  The  Portus  Lemanis  of  the  Romans. 

to  the  British  Archaeological  Association  at  Canterbury.'  Indeed  Roman 
remains  are  scattered  over  the  whole  of  Romney  Marsh,  and  may  be  found  in 
every  field  that  is  ploughed.  How,  then,  can  it  be  maintained  that  the  marsh 
was  under  water  in  A.D.  350,  when  the  Portus  Lemanis  is  spoken  of  ?  and  if  it  was 
not  under  water  the  Portus  Lemanis  could  not  have  been  at  the  foot  of  Lymne  Hill. 

If  the  Portus  Lemanis,  then,  was  not  at  Lymne,  could  it  have  been  at  West 
Hythe,  which  lies  between  Lymne  and  Hythe  ?  This,  again,  is  impossible,  for, 
if  the  sea  flowed  there,  the  whole  of  West  Hythe,  including  the  church,  would 
have  been  deluged.  West  Hythe  could  only  have  come  into  existence  when  the 
marsh  was  drained.  Indeed  I  cannot  find  from  any  authentic  record  that  West 
Hythe  was  ever  anything  more  than  a  suburb  of  Hythe.  The  very  name  of 
West  Hythe  shows  that  Hythe  was  the  principal  town,  and  West  Hythe  an 
accretion  to  it.  Had  it  been  otherwise,  West  Hythe  would  have  been  called 
Hythe,  and  Hythe  East  Hythe.  According  to  Leland,  Hythe  had  once  within  it 
four  parishes  and  their  churches,  one  of  which  was  West  Hythe,  so  that  the 
West  Hythe  evidently  did  not  take  the  lead,  but  was  a  dependency  upon  Hythe.b 

The  Portus  Lernanis,  then,  could  only  have  been  the  port  afterwards  so  well 
known  amongst  the  Saxons  as  the  Port  or  Hythe ;  and  that  Hythe  was  not  a 
Saxon  creation,  but  had  been  occupied  by  the  Romans,  is  clear  from  the  Roman 
remains  so  abundantly  found  in  and  about  Hythe.  Very  recently,  in  excavating 
for  a  dram  at  the  east  end  of  Hythe,  on  the  margin  of  the  old  port,  the  foundations 
of  a  Roman  building  were  dug  up  in  the  main  road,  about  two  feet  under  the  sur- 
face, and  at  the  same  time  was  turned  up  a  great  quantity  of  Roman  pottery.0 
We  are  led  to  the  same  conclusion  by  the  fact  that  the  great  Roman  way  of  Stone 
Street  which  ran  from  Canterbury  to  the  sea  bifurcated  as  it  approached  the  coast, 
one  branch  loading  to  the  military  garrison  at  Stuttfall,  the  other  to  Hythe.  A 
Roman  road  may  also  be  traced  from  Hythe  to  Stamford,  and  another  to  Charing 
and  Lyminge,  so  that  Hythe  was  evidently  a  place  of  as  much  importance  in  the 
Roman  as  in  the  Saxon  times. 

We  derive  some  further  light  from  Richard  of  Cirencester,  who  lived  in  the 
14th  century,  whose  testimony  is  the  more  valuable  as,  to  use  the  words  of  Gibbon, 
"  he  showed  a  genuine  knowledge  of  antiquity,  very  extraordinary  for  a  monk  of 
the  14th  century."  d  I  know  that  some  have  questioned  the  genuineness  of  the 

1  Report  for  September,  1844,  p.  115. 

b  Hasted's  Hist,  of  Kent,  vol.  iii.  p.  412. 

c  See  Casar's  Invasion  of  Britain,  by  T.  Lewin,  2nd  Edition,  p.  cxxi. 

d  Decline  and  Fall,  cb.  31,  note.     See  State  of  Britain,  AJ>.  409 — 449. 


The  Portus  Lemanis  of  the  Romans.  367 

book,  but,  from  the  many  undesigned  coincidences  contained,  I  am  satisfied  myself 
that  there  is  no  ground  for  the  suspicion.  One  of  his  itinera  is  as  follows  : 

"  Anderida  Portu       M.P. 

Ad  Lemanum         M.P.  xxv, 

Lemaniano  Portu    M.P.  x. 

Dubris a  M.P.  x. 

Richard  is  here  giving  the  road  from  London  to  Southampton,  and  thence  along 
the  coast  from  Anderida,  or  Pevensey,  to  Dubrae,  or  Dover,  and  thence  back  again 
to  London,  and  he  tells  us  that  from  Pevensey  to  the  river  Leman,  viz.,  the  mouth 
of  it  at  Romney,  was  25  miles,  and  from  the  river  Leman,  or  llomney,  to  the  port 
of  Leman  was  10  miles,  the  present  distance  from  Romney  to  Hythe.  It  is  im- 
possible that  by  the  port  of  Leman  he  could  have  meant  either  Lymne  or  West 
Hythe,  for  it  is  unquestionable  that  in  the  14th  century,  when  Richard  wrote, 
Romney  Marsh  had  been  under  cultivation  for  many  centuries.  We  have  grants 
of  manors  upon  the  Marsh  as  early  as  in  the  time  of  the  Saxons,  those  for  instance 
by  OfFa,  and  Edward,  and  Phlegmund.1'  We  have  therefore  the  authority  of 
Richard  of  Cirencester  for  saying  that  the  Portus  Lemanis  was  Hythe,  and  that 
the  latter  was,  in  his  day,  still  called  the  Portus  Lemanianus. 

We  have  alluded  to  the  inclosure  of  Romney  Marsh  as  intimately  connected 
with  the  question  of  the  Portus  Lemanis,  and  our  investigation  would  be  in- 
complete if  we  did  not  enter  more  largely  upon  this  subject.  The  details 
themselves  also  possess  so  much  interest  from  the  singular  changes  that  have 
taken  place,  that  no  apology  will,  it  is  hoped,  be  needed  for  a  brief  outline.  It  is 
clear,  in  the  first  place,  that  the  whole  of  Romney  Marsh  from  Hythe  to  Rye  is 
a  sea  deposit.  The  soil  of  the  marsh  is  a  black  mould,  the  product  of  slime  or 
ooze,  and,  wherever  you  dig,  you  come  upon  marine  shells  identical  with  those  now 
found  in  this  part  of  the  Channel.  The  sea  all  along  the  coast,  and  more 
particularly  in  the  spring,  is  charged  with  a  quantity  of  earthy  matter,  and  so 
soon  as  the  current  slackens  the  silting  process  begins.  The  tendency  of  the 
silt  is  of  course  to  sink,  but  the  rate  of  deposit  is  affected  by  the  current,  and  is 
regulated  by  a  variety  of  other  cicrumstances.  A  single  tide  has  been  known  to 
deposit  ]  of  an  inch,  and  in  the  basins  at  the  mouths  of  the  sluices,  where  the 
water  is  comparatively  quiet,  the  accumulation  in  twenty  years  has  risen  from  3  to 

n  As  Dubris  is  evidently  the  ablative,  the  nominative  case  must  have  been  Dubrse.  The  more  correct 
form  of  the  word  was  probably  Durbw,  as  the  name  is  derived  from  the  stream  on  which  it  stands,  the 
Dour,  or  in  Celtic  Dwr,  the  water. 

b  See  Kemble's  Codex. 


36§  The  Porlm  Lemanls  of  the  Romans. 

5  feet.  Under  ordinary  circumstances,  however,  one-eighth  of  an  inch  per 
annum  is  thought  by  Mr.  Elliott,  the  well-known  engineer  of  the  marsh,  to  be 
a  fair  average  ;  and  if  so,  an  enormous  space  of  time  must  have  been  consumed 
in  the  formation  of  the  marsh,  the  mould  of  which  has  been  found,  by  boring, 
to  be  some  90  feet  deep. 

Contemporaneously  with  this  gradual  deposit,  another  operation  of  nature 
was  in  progress.  The  shingle  which  lines  the  shore  in  this  part  is  composed 
of  flints  and  stones  washed  out  of  the  cliffs  at  Fairlight  and  Beachy  Head, 
and  the  Downs  more  to  the  south.*  The  flood-tide  is  up-channel,  and  the 
prevailing  winds  blow  in  the  same  direction,  and  consequently  the  run  of  the 
shingle  is  northwestward.  It  is  to  prevent  this  constant  flux  of  the  shingle 
and  the  waste  of  the  shore,  that  so  many  wooden  barriers  or  little  jetties, 
called  knocks  or  groynes,  have  been  run  out  from  the  shore  to  low-water 
mark.  Some  of  the  features  which  attend  this  shifting  of  the  shingle  are 
remarkable.  The  wash  of  the  sea  carries  the  flints  and  stones  forward  as  they 
fall  from  the  cliffs,  the  largest  pebbles  being  thrown  uppermost,  so  that,  as  you 
walk  down  the  shingle  bank  to  the  sea,  you  find  the  weightiest  shingle  on  the  top, 
and  mere  sand  at  the  water's  edge.  On  looking  at  the  piles  which  support  the 
knock,  you  will  observe  the  upper  posts  much  worn,  while  those  lower  down,  and 
therefore  in  the  greater  depth  of  water,  are  comparatively  intact.  The  explanation 
is.  that  the  larger  pebbles  in  the  upper  part  of  this  moving  mass  produce  greater 
abrasion  than  do  the  softer  materials  further  down.  Mr.  Elliott  informs  me,  that 
at  a  depth  of  20  feet  water,  as  the  agitation  from  the  winds  does  not  reach  so  far, 
the  shingle  remains  stationary.  Until,  therefore,  the  bed  of  the  sea  has  been 
raised  to  that  height,  either  by  the  deposit  of  ooze  or  of  the  shingle  itself,  there 
is  no  movement  of  the  shingle. 

The  action  of  the  sea,  then,  upon  the  flints  and  stones  as  they  fell  from  the  cliffs 
was  this.  In  the  first  place  they  were  forced  by  the  wind  and  tide  along  the  foot 
of  the  cliffs  until  they  came  to  a  point  where  the  cliffs  trended  suddenly  inland. 
This  was  at  the  point  to  the  east  of  Fairlight,  called  Cliff's  End.  Here  the 
shingle  was  projected  forward  into  the  sea  itself,  in  the  direction  of  a  straight  line 
running  from  Fairlight  to  Hythe.  Age  after  age  succeeded,  and  this  spit  of 
shingle  advanced  until  it  reached  Lydd.  Here  it  was  partially  checked  by  the 
small  island  on  which  Lydd  stood.  However,  in  time  the  shingle  again  advanced 
until  it  reached  another  island,  on  which  Romney  was  afterwards  built ;  when 

•  There  can  be  no  doubt  that  the  chalk  cliffs  furnish  a  great  part  of  the  flints,  as  the  chalk  is  often 
observed  adhering  to  the  flints. 


VoLH 


as  it  w»s  certajnlv  in  the 

TIMK  OF  THE  SAXOXS. 

and   j.i.il.. il.lv  in 
TIME  OF  THE  ROMANS 
and  jierhaps  in  tin- 

TIMK    OF    THE    BRITONS. 


A  B.    Thf  fltfittief  dfnntc  the  rmmbrr  of  J-'eet 
>,,l.-~   I/,,,/,    Wain-  Mark. 


Scalr. 


'Z-j. 


The  Portus  Lemanis  of  the  Romans.  369 

leaving  Romney,  on  the  east,  it  again  advanced  to  Dymchurch,  and  now  began  to 
near  the  hills  which  shut  in  the  marsh  on  the  north.  Let  it  not  he  supposed  that 
this  is  an  imaginary  picture.  It  was  on  this  shingle  spit,  between  Fairlight 
and  Lydd,  that  Old  "Winchelsea  was  situate,  and  from  Romney  to  Dymchurch 
the  shingle  spit  may,  to  this  day,  be  traced  all  the  way  under  the  present  Dym- 
church wall." 

Pause  we  here  for  a  moment  to  consider  the  effects  of  the  changes  thus  far  in- 
troduced. The  form  of  Eomney  Marsh  is  curvilinear,  or  like  a  bow,  the  shingle  spit 
of  which  we  have  spoken  being  the  string  (see  the  accompanying  plan,  Plate  XIX.) 
On  the  north-west  side  of  the  marsh,  which  was  then  an  estuary,  the  river  Limen  or 
Rother,  the  drain  of  the  great  Andred  forest,  poured  its  waters ;  the  mouth  of  the 
river  being  near  Appledore,  at  the  part  now  called  the  Dowles.b  Here,  at  the  Dowles, 
is  the  greatest  depression  of  the  whole  marsh,  caused,  no  doubt,  by  the  projection 
of  the  torrent  from  the  river,  which  drove  the  deposit  before  it,  and  prevented  the 
silt  from  settling.  Not  only  so,  but  for  the  circuit  of  a  mile  to  the  S.E.  of 
Appledore  are  found  trunks  of  oak,  alder,  birch,  and  hazel,  which  must  have  been 
drifted  there,  as  none  of  these  trees  can,  from  the  peculiarity  of  the  soil,  be  made  to 
grow  in  the  marsh  itself.  In  travelling  by  the  railway  across  this  part  of  the  marsh 
you  may  see  specimens  of  these  trunks  in  the  ditches  at  the  side  of  the  railway. 
So  long  as  the  mouth  of  the  estuary  was  open  at  the  eastern  end,  the  inset  and 
outset  of  the  tides  twice  a  day  left  its  impress  on  the  shingle  spit,  which  every 
here  and  there,  as  a  storm  occurred,  was  wrenched  aside  and  swept  inwards  in  a 
curve  toward  the  marsh.  In  the  Geological  Map,  published  by  order  of 
Government,  to  accompany  the  Ordnance  Map,  these  deflections  of  the  shingle, 
with  a  bend  inwards,  are  distinctly  and  accurately  represented.  During  this  period 
the  inclination  of  the  surface  of  the  deposit  in  the  marsh  must  have  been /row  ivest 
to  east,  for  on  the  west  the  waters  were  comparatively  quiescent  and  the  silt  had 
time  to  settle ;  while  on  the  east  was  a  tremendous  current  from  the  inset  and 
outset  of  the  tides.  As  regards  the  direction  north  and  south,  the  slope  was 
from  the  sea,  towards  the  hills,  inasmuch  as  the  waters  of  the  Limen  or  Rother, 
and  the  other  streams  which  descended  from  the  high  ground  on  the  north,  kept 
up  a  current  at  the  foot  of  the  cliffs,  while  the  water  next  the  shingle  spit  was 

0  Elliott's  paper  on  Romncy  Marsh,  Transact,  of  Civ.  Eng.  vol.  vi.     Caesar's  Invasion  of  Britain,  by  T. 
Lewin,  p.  civ. 

b  Is  not  the  word  Dowles  to  be  derived  from  the  Celtic  word  "  Dol,  a  meadow  or  dale  in  the  bend  of  a 
river,"  a  description  which  so  exactly  represented  the  Dowles  when  the  river  Limen  was  diverted  along  the 
Ehee  wall  to  Romney  ?     If  a  part  of  Romney  marsh  was  named  by  the  Ancient  Britons,  the  marsh  itself 
must  have  been  reclaimed  by  them,  as  Mr.  Smiles  supposes. 
VOL.  XL.  3  B 


370  The  Portm  Lemanis  of  the  Romans. 

comparatively  tranquil.  Lymne  at  this  remote  time  must  have  enjoyed  all  the 
advantages  of  a  port,  and  perhaps  was  a  port.  At  low-water  the  river  Limen 
or  Rother  must  have  flowed  along  the  foot  of  the  hills,  and  have  discharged 
itself  at  Lymne.  Indeed,  the  channel  in  this  direction  can  be  traced  all  along 
as  far  as  Lymne  by  the  abrasion  of  the  cliffs  from  the  action  of  the  current." 

Meanwhile  the  shingle  spit  was  pushing  itself  forward,  and  the  channel  between 
it  and  the  hills  was  more  and  more  narrowed,  until  eventually  by  the  violence  of 
some  tremendous  storm  (such  as  those  in  the  reigns  of  Henry  III.  and  Edward  I.), 
the  bank  or  bed  of  shingle  which  had  been  long  accumulating  was  thrown  up 
against  the  hills,  and  thus  for  the  first  time  was  closed  the  mouth  of  the  marsh. 
The  point  of  contact  of  the  shingle  with  the  hills  was  at  a  point  called  Hythe 
Oaks,  being  about  half-way  between  Lymne  and  Hythe.  This  bar  to  the  exit  of 
the  waters  from  the  marsh  could  not  long  continue,  for,  though  the  sea  was 
excluded,  the  Lirnen  or  Rother  and  twenty  smaller  streams  were  continually 
increasing  the  volume  of  water  within  the  marsh,  and  the  only  question  was, 
what  part  of  the  barrier  was  weakest,  *.  e.  where  would  the  rising  flood  force  for 
itself  a  passage.  The  shingle  spit  was  burst  asunder  between  Romney  and  Lydd. 
Here  the  pent-up  waters,  sweeping  everything  before  them,  dug  for  themselves  a 
deep  channel  to  the  sea,  and  thenceforth  the  outlet  of  the  Limen  or  Rother,  and 
the  inset  and  outset  of  the  tides,  was  at  Romney.  The  slope  of  the  marsh  which 
had  hitherto  been  from  west  to  east  now  began  to  be  reversed.  The  waters  to  the 
cast  were  comparatively  tranquil,  while  to  the  west,  from  the  course  of  the  river 
and  the  action  of  the  tides,  there  was  a  constant  scour.  On  the  east,  therefore, 
the  silt  had  time  to  settle,  while  on  the  west  it  was  kept  in  suspense,  and  thus 
it  came  to  pass,  that  the  slope  of  the  marsh  was  eventually  from  east  to  west. 
At  the  inclosure  of  the  marsh  (of  which  we  shall  speak  presently)  the  difference 
of  level  was,  and  still  is,  about  five  feet,  that  is,  the  eastern  end  of  the  marsh 
was  and  is  five  feet  liigher  than  the  western.  This  is  visible  to  the  eye,  for  as  you 
walk  along  the  bank  of  the  military  canal  you  see  the  marsh  at  the  west  end 
many  feet  below  the  level  of  the  water,  but  as  you  approach  Hythe  the  marsh 
rises  to  a  level  with  it.  So  great  a  change  in  the  level,  considering  the  slow  rate 
of  deposit,  must  have  been  the  work  of  many  centuries.  From  this  time,  the 
shingle,  which  before  it  touched  the  hills  was  all  bent  inward  by  the  rush  of 
the  tide  into  the  estuary,  was  henceforth  laid  from  time  to  time  in  ridges  or 
arcs  curving  outward  towards  the  sea,  as  may  be  seen  in  the  geological  map  to 
which  we  have  already  referred.1* 

a  Ilasted's  Kent,  voLiii.  pp.  435, 441.        b  And  see  Casar's  Invasion  of  Britain,  by  T.  Lewin,  2nd  ed.  p.  Iv. 


The  Portus  Lemanis  of  the  Romans.  371 

The  projection  of  the  shingle  spit  against  the  hills  at  Hythe  Oaks  was  caused 
by  the  violence  of  an  extraordinary  tempest,  but  for  a  long  period  after  this  the 
shingle  from  the  west  continued  still  to  advance  regularly  to  the  east,  and  for  a  time 
without  again  touching  the  hills;  and  during  this  period  West  Hythe  may  have  been 
a  port  as  Lymne  had  been  before.  In  the  course  of  ages,  however,  the  shingle 
spit  was  again  wrested  aside  and  dashed  against  the  hills  at  Hythe,  between  the 
present  barracks  and  the  more  eastern  of  the  two  Hythe  bridges  over  the  canal. 
The  part  between  Hythe  Oaks  and  Hythe  (now  Duck  Marsh)  was  thus  barred  from 
the  sea,  and  became  a  lake  into  which  flowed  the  rivulet  called  Slabrook  and  other 
springs,  and  these  waters  accumulating  forced  their  way  back  at  Hythe  Oaks,  and 
there  opened  a  way  for  themselves  at  the  foot  of  the  hill  into  the  estuary  in  the 
west,  but  as  the  flood  was  not  considerable  the  outlet  was  of  no  great  breadth. 

The  shingle  spit,  after  having  thus  touched  the  hills,  first  at  Hythe  Oaks, 
and  then  at  Hythe,  was  again  carried  along  eastward  until  it  reached  its  natural 
and  final  termination  at  Shorncliff,  by  Sandgate.  Between  Hythe  and  Shorncliff 
however,  was  left  behind  (i.e.  north  of)  the  spit,  a  triangular  space,  into  which 
flowed  two  streams  from  the  hills,  one  from  Saltwood  and  the  other  called 
Seabrook,  and  the  waters  within  this  spit  were  gradually  swollen,  until  they 
forced  a  passage  through  the  shingle,  at  a  point  near  the  end  of  the  Elm  avenue 
at  Hythe.  By  this  outlet,  kept  open  by  these  two  streams,  the  tides  for  many 
centuries  passed  in  and  out,  and  formed  the  tidal  harbour  called  by  the  Romans 
Portus  Lemanis,  and  by  the  Saxons  Hythe.  To  such  a  depth  had  the  soil  been 
excavated  by  the  inset  and  outset  of  the  tides  before  the  shingle  spit  had  touched 
the  hills  at  any  point,  that  from  the  departure  of  the  Romans  from  Britain  in  the 
6th  century  (by  which  time  certainly  the  shingle  spit  had  reached  the  hills  and 
blocked  up  the  passage),  eleven  centuries  elapsed  before  the  channel  which  had 
thus  been  formed  was  finally  choked  up. 

As  to  the  time  when  the  marsh  was  reclaimed  we  are  quite  in  the  dark.  As 
to  the  part  between  Hythe  Oaks  and  Hythe,  now  called  Duck  Marsh,  the 
means  of  excluding  the  sea  were  so  simple  and  obvious  that  probably  the  inclosure 
was  made  at  a  very  early  period  by  the  Britons  themselves  before  the  arrival 
of  the  Romans.  On  the  south-east  the  shingle  bank  was  continuous  up  to 
the  hills,  and  formed  a  substantial  barrier;  and  on  the  west  the  sea  entered 
only  from  the  marsh  at  the  foot  of  the  hills  by  a  narrow  channel;  and 
all  that  was  required  was  a  short  dam  at  this  point  between  the  shingle  bed 
and  the  hills.  That  this  was  the  course  actually  adopted  may  be  seen  from  the 
remnant  of  the  dam  still  distinguishable  for  some  distance  at  Hythe  Oaks,  but  the 

3  B  2 


372  The  Portus  Lemanis  of  the  Romans. 

part  next  the  hills  has  been  swept  away  by  the  military  canal.  This  partial 
inclosure,  prior  to  the  inclosure  of  Romney  Marsh,  generally  accounts  for  a  fact 
otherwise  inexplicable,  viz.  that  Duck  Marsh  is  not  within  the  jurisdiction  of 
Romney  Marsh,  which  ends  precisely  at  Hythe  Oaks. 

As  to  Romney  Marsh  proper,  viz.  from  Hythe  Oaks  to  the  wall  running  from 
Appledore  to  Romney,  called  the  Rhee  Wall,  Mr.  Smiles,  in  his  "  Lives  of  the 
Engineers,"  is  of  opinion  that  it  was  innedby  the  ancient  Britons,  who  had  brought 
the  art  of  embanking  from  the  Low  Countries.  This  is  certainly  possible,  and  the 
only  argument  against  the  theory  is,  that,  so  far  as  I  am  aware,  no  ancient 
British  remains  have  been  ever  discovered  in  any  part  of  Romney  Marsh  proper. 
The  general  belief  is  that  this  great  work  was  accomplished  by  the  Romans,  and  it 
is  particularly  mentioned  by  Tacitus  in  his  "  Agricola  "  that  the  native  population 
was  employed  by  the  Romans  in  embanking  marshes.  The  name  of  Romney  Marsh, 
or  the  Marsh  of  the  Romans,  may  be  derived  either  from  the  Romans  having 
first  lauded  upon  it  under  Caesar,  or  from  the  Romans  having  inclosed  it.  "  Rhee 
"Wall,"  the  great  Western  dam,  seems  to  be  a  corruption  of  Rivi  Vallum,  or 
River  Wall,  and  if  so,  it  points  to  the  Romans  as  the  authors  of  the  enterprise. 
It  is  clear  that  Romney  Marsh  proper  was  under  cultivation  in  Roman  tunes,  for, 
as  already  observed,  Roman  remains  are  found  scattered  all  over  it,  and  more  par- 
ticularly at  Dymchurch,  Ivechurch,  Newchurch,  and  Eastridge.  Near  Dymchurch, 
in  the  direction  of  Romney,  was  anciently  an  extensive  Roman  pottery,  which  to 
this  day  can  be  traced  all  along  by  the  fragments  of  ware  which  are  turned  up  in 
great  abundance.  No  doubt  along  this  part  was  the  shingle  spit,  to  which  we 
have  alluded,  and  which  was  all  above  high-water-mark ;  and  the  natural  terra 
firnui  of  the  island  of  Romney  may  also  have  extended  far  in  this  quarter ;  but 
the  pottery  is  also  scattered  northward  to  a  distance  over  what  was  originally 
marsh,  and  cannot  be  accounted  for  except  on  the  assumption  that  the  marsh  had 
been  already  inclosed. 

The  mode  in  which  the  marsh  was  reclaimed  admits  of  no  doubt.  On  the 
south  there  already  existed  a  sufficient  barrier  in  the  great  sliingle  spit.  The 
only  exposed  side  was  the  western,  and  for  the  purpose  of  shutting  out  the  sea  on 
this  quarter  a  high  wall  was  erected  from  Romney  to  the  hills,  and  at  the  same 
time  a  deep  trench  was  cut  from  Romney  to  the  Dowles,  near  Appledore,  with  a 
parallel  wall  on  the  west,  to  receive  in  the  trench  between  the  two  walls  the 
waters  of  the  river  Limcn  or  Rother.  The  eastern  wall  of  the  trench  reached  all 
the  way  from  the  terra  firma  of  Romney  to  Appledore,  and  from  the  increasing 
depression  of  the  marsh  was  higher  and  higher  as  it  advanced  northward.  The 


The  Portus  Lemania  of  the  Romans.  373 

western  wall  reached  only  to  Snargate,  where  the  river  was  to  enter  the  cut.  In 
the  construction  of  these  works  there  were  various  objects  in  view.  In  the  first 
place,  Romney  Marsh  proper  was  to  be  drained,  and  the  deep  trench  served  as  the 
general  sewer.  But  unless  the  trench  were  scoured  it  would  soon  be  silted  up, 
and  to  obviate  this  difficulty  the  river  Limen  or  Bother  was  forced  by  embank- 
ments into  the  trench.  But  besides  this,  the  river,  by  emptying  itself  at  the 
end  of  the  trench  into  the  mouth  of  the  estuary  at  E/omney,  would  serve  to 
dislodge  the  ever-recurring  silt,  and  so  keep  open  a  port.  The  trench  itself  also 
was  navigable,  and  vessels  might  pass  along  it  by  a  short  cut  up  to  Appledore.a 

In  acquainting  myself  with  the  subject  of  Romney  Marsh  I  have  met  with 
two  statements,  which  appeared  at  first  sight  to  negative  the  hypothesis  that  the 
marsh  was  under  cultivation  in  the  time  of  the  Romans.  First,  Harris  writes, 
in  his  "  History  of  Kent,"  that  a  grant  was  made  in  A.D.  755  of  salt  pans  at 
Lymne  ;b  and,  if  so,  the  sea  at  that  time  must  have  flowed  up  to  Lymne. 
Secondly,  a  Royal  Commission,  dated  20  Edw.  I.  (A.D.  1291, 1292),  states  that  "the 
King  was  informed  that  Richard  Ferynge,  parson  of  the  church  of  Lymene, 
had,  by  reason  of  his  lands  and  tenements  belonging  to  his  said  church,  at  his 
own  expense  repaired  (and  was  still  ready  to  do  so)  a  certain  bank  at  West 
Ilythe,  situate  near  the  sea  coast,  as  often  as  need  required,  and  that  therefore 
he  ought  not  to  contribute  to  the  repair  of  any  other  banks,  for  as  much  as 
neither  he  nor  his  predecessors,  parsons  of  the  church,  had  ever  been  accustomed 
so  to  do ;  and  that  nevertheless  John  de  Chert,  Bailiff  of  Romenhall  Marsh,  and 
the  twenty-four  jurats,  had  newly  distrained  him  for  the  repair  of  the  banks  and 
ditches  near  the  sea  coast  at  Appledore,  and  Stephen  de  Pencestre  and  "William 
de  Echingham  were  made  Commissioners  to  see  into  it ;"°  and  from  this  reference 
to  a  sea  wall  at  West  Hythe,  the  suggestion  arose  to  my  mind  that  the  sea  might 
still  at  that  time  have  flowed  into  the  marsh  at  the  foot  of  Lymne  Hill. 

I  consulted  Mr.  Elliott,  the  engineer  of  the  marsh,  to  explain,  if  he  could, 
these  two  apparent  anomalies,  and  his  answer  was  most  satisfactory.  As  to  the 
salt-pans,  I  must  first  of  all  observe,  that  the  grant  to  which  Harris  alludes,  was 
one  by  King  Ethelbert,  in  the  following  terms: — "There  is  a  small  piece  of  land,  i.e. 
the  fourth  part  of  a  ploughland  near  the  Limenea,  adapted  for  drying  salt,  &c. 
I  have  also  granted  100  acres  of  the  same  track  in  the  place  which  is  called 
Sandtun,  but  the  boundaries  of  that  land  are  these — on  the  east  is  the  King's 

•  See  the  finding  of  the  jury  in  11  Edw.  III.  (A.D.  1337),  Holloway's  Hist,  of  Romney  Marsh,  p.  105. 
b  Harris's  Hist,  of  Kent,  p.  183.  «  Holloway's  Hist,  of  the  Marsh,  p.  99. 


374  The  Portus  Lemanis  of  the  Romans.    • 

land — on  the  south  is  the  river  which  is  called  the  Limenea — on  the  west  and 
north  Hudanfleot :"  »  with  reference  to  this,  Mr.  Elliott  writes,  "  The  grant  refers 
to  Romiiey  and  not  to  Lymne.  The  boundaries  will  do  for  E/omncy  hut  not 
for  Lymne.  If  at  Lymne,  the  salt-pans  must  have  been  in  the  marsh,  and  then 
on  the  east,  south,  and  west  would  have  been  sea,  and  on  the  north  Lymne  Hill. 
At  Romney,  on  the  contrary,  the  description  agrees.  Sandtun  would  be  the 
Sandhills,  called  the  Warren,  to  the  east  of  Romney,  and  the  boundaries  of  this 
tract  would  be  as  stated,  viz. — the  King's  land  on  the  east  would  be  the  territory 
to  the  east,  about  100  acres,  which  was  vested  in  the  Crown  until  the  reign  of 
Elizabeth,  when  it  was  granted  to  Romney  Corporation ;  the  river  on  the  south 
would  be  the  Limen  or  Rother,  which  then  flowed  there;  and  Hudanfleot,  referred 
to  as  on  the  north  and  west,  would  be  the  fleet  which  may  still  be  traced  there, 
though  it  has  lost  its  name,  and  would  still  be  a  fleet  were  it  not  for  the  improved 
drainage."  With  respect  to  the  bank  repaired  by  the  parson  of  Lymne,  Mr.  Elliott 
writes,  "  There  is  an  outlying  piece  of  wall  now  known  by  the  name  of  West 
Hythe  wall,  standing  across  one  of  the  valleys  dividing  two  of  the  shingle  piles 
between  the  grand  tower  and  Hythe,  on  land  situate  in  the  parish  of  West  Hythe, 
and  yet  belonging  to  the  rectory  of  JJymne."  There  can  be  no  doubt,  therefore, 
that  this  is  the  outlying  sea-wall  to  which  the  parson  of  Lymne  is  referring.  So 
clear  a  solution  of  these  two  difficulties  amounts  to  an  argument  for  the  truth  of 
our  own  hypothesis. 

It  does  not  concern  the  matter  in  hand  to  speak  of  the  marshes  to  the  west  of 
Rhee  Wall,  as  Denge  Marsh  and  Walland  Marsh.  I  shall  only  add,  therefore, 
that  they  were  reclaimed  at  a  much  later  period  by  Archbishop  Becket  and 
other  ecclesiastics,  as  is  shewn  by  the  names  attached  to  the  different  innings;  as 
St.  Thomas's  innings,  named  after  Becket,  Baldwin's  innings  after  Archbishop 
Baldwin,  &c.  Neither  is  it  to  the  purpose  in  hand  to  trace  further  the  changes  in 
the  course  of  the  Limen  or  Rother.  It  originally  flowed  as  we  have  seen  along 
the  foot  of  the  hills,  and  found  an  outlet  at  Lymne.  Then  it  was  shifted  to 
Romney ;  and  from  the  effect  of  the  great  inundations  which  occurred  in  the 
reigns  of  Henry  III.  and  Edward  I.  it  was  eventually  diverted  to  Rye,  where 
its  embouchure  still  is. 

•  Kemble's  Codex,  chart.  77. 


XXIV. — On  the  Identification  of  the  Roman  Portus  Lemanfe,  by  WILLIAM  HENRY 

BLACK,  Esq.  F.S.A. 


Read  January  llth,  1866. 


ON  the  23rd  of  November  last,  I  took  occasion,  in  the  course  of  some  remarks 
oil  Dr.  Thurnam's  paper  on  the  Wiltshire  Long  Barrows,  to  mention  the  titles 
of  some  papers  which  I  had  in  my  mind  to  communicate  to  this  Society  in  the 
course  of  the  present  session ;  one  of  them  was,  "  On  the  Roman  Ports  in  Kent 
and  Sussex."  Immediately  afterward  I  was  surprised  by  a  discourse,  pronounced 
in  your  hearing,  by  Mr.  Lewin,  who  undertook  to  identify  Hythe  with  the 
"  Portus  Lemanis."  My  own  views  of  the  subject  being  quite  at  variance  with 
the  theory  of  that  learned  gentleman,  I  would  have  delivered  myself,  on  the  spot, 
of  the  sentiments  which  I  entertained  respecting  his  communication,  while  it 
was  fresh  before  us ;  but  the  time  was  then  too  far  advanced  to  permit  a  discus- 
sion, and  the  present  date  was  therefore  assigned  to  me  as  a  peremptory  term  for 
answering  the  case  set  up  by  the  learned  advocate  of  Hythe. 

So  far  as  I  can  recollect  his  arguments,  they  amounted  to  this  : — That 
sufficient  indications  did  not  exist,  to  fix  the  locality  of  the  Roman  port  at  a 
distance  from  the  present  sea-coast ;  that  the  Romney  Marshes  had  long  been 
filled  up  with  deep  and  solid  deposits  of  alluvial  or  marine  matter,  precluding  the 
possibility  of  a  port  at  Lymne ;  and  that  at  Hythe  are  found  a  town  and  port, 
answering  the  conditions  required  for  the  identification  of  the  Roman  port  in 
question.  In  short,  Mr.  Lewin's  former  identification  of  Hythe,  as  the  place 
where  Julius  Caesar  is  supposed  by  him  to  have  landed  in  his  expeditions  into 
Britain,  having  been  generally  accepted  (though  with  considerable  reservation 
on  my  part),  he  seems  to  have  encouraged  himself  into  the  opinion  that  the 
same  place  was  afterward  used  by  the  Romans  as  a  permanent  marine  station. 
This  is,  I  believe,  quite  true,  so  far  as  regards  the  neighbourhood  of  Hythe  ;  but 
I  cannot  admit  Hythe  to  be  either  the  precise  spot  of  the  first  landing,  or  a 
subsequent  marine  station  of  the  Romans,  at  least  until  the  fourth  century. 


376  On  the  Identification  of  the  Roman  Portus  Lemanis. 

For,  in  the  very  outset  of  this  inquiry,  it  is  needful  to  ask,  what  "  Portus 
Lemanis"  is  intended, — that  of  the  Antonine  Itinerary,  or  that  of  the  later 
Roman  records  and  authors  ?  The  authorities  upon  which  our  knowledge  of  the 
name  is  founded  are  four  only  ;  that  is  to  say  : 

1.  The  Antonine  Itinerary,  which  devotes  a  separate  journey,  the  fourth  out 
of  fifteen,  to  show  the  way  and  distance  from  London  to  the  "  Portus  Lemanis," 
and  which  treats  it  as  one  of  the  three  Kentish  ports  reached  from  the  metropolis 
by  land,  from  the  intermediate  city  of  Canterbury.     This  I  assign  to  the  second 
century. 

2.  The  "  Notitia  Utriusque  Imperil,"  which  is  commonly  assigned  to  the  fifth, 
but  which  (from  internal  evidence)   cannot  be  later  than  the  fourth  century. 
Here  the  Antonine  word   "  port "   is   omitted ;    and  the  name  "  Lemanis "  or 
"  Lemannis  "  occurs  alone,  as  the  place  where  an  officer  of  a  detachment  of  the 
Turnacenses  held  a  garrison,  under  the  command  of  the  Comes  Litoris  Saxonici. 

3.  The  Peutinger  Table,  ascribed  with  good  reason  to  the  time  of  the  Emperor 
Theodosius,  before  the  fifth  century.    Here  the  denomination  is  nearly  the  same  as 
in  the  foregoing  authority,  if  we  allow  for  error  of  transcription  ;  for  "  Lemauio  " 
is  clearly  a  depravation  of  "Lemanis;"  and  it  is  attended  with  the  symbol  of  a 
gateway  between  towers,"  signifying  a  fortified  city  or  port,  equivalent  to  the 
denomination  "  civitas  "  in  the  Itinerary  from  Bordeaux  to  Jerusalem,  written  in 
or  shortly  before  the  same  age.    The  other  places  so  distinguished  in  the  fragment 
of  Britain  preserved  in  that  record  are  Ritupis,  Dubris,  Durovernum,  Camulo- 
dunum,  and  the  Devonian  Isca. 

4.  The  anonymous  Geographer  of  Ravenna,  attributed  to  the  sixth  or  seventh 
century;  in  whose  work  "Lemanis"  occurs,  as  in  the  "first  part  of  Britain," 
between  "  Mutuantonis "  (which  I  consider  to  be  a  corrupt  reading  for  either 
Flu.  Trisantonis,  or  else  Porlu  Adurni}  and  "Dubris." 

To  these  are  added,  by  our  learned  and  able  Fellow  Mr.  Charles  Roach  Smith, 
in  his  Antiquities  of  llichborough,  Reculver,  and  Lymne  (London,  1850,  4to.), 
the  Geography  of  Ptolemy,  and  the  work  which  passes  under  the  name  of  Richard 
of  Cirencester ;  but  I  reject  them  both  as  inapplicable  to  the  present  case,  for 
these  reasons  :  the  former  mentions  Kaivos  \ifiijv,h  which  seems  to  indicate  a  port 

a  Compare  the  gateway,  with  small  conical  towers,  on  the  reverse  of  a  Roman  coin,  figured  in  Mr.  C.  R. 
Smith's  work  on  Lymne,  p.  249. 

h  Netv  Port,  or  New  Haven,  described  as  distant  1°  W.  in  longitude,  and  30'  S.  in  latitude,  from  Kavrtov 
nKfiov,  the  South  Foreland  ;  while  Hythe  and  Lymne  are  distant  very  few  minutes  of  a  degree  from  that 
promontory. 


On  the  Identification  of  the  Roman  Portus  Lemanis.  377 

in  Sussex,  not  in  Kent ;   and  the  latter  is  utterly  spurious,  one  of  the  most 
impudent  and  glaring  forgeries  ever  imposed  on  the  antiquarian  world. 

Now  to  deal  with  Mr.  Lewin's  arguments  in  favour  of  Hythe,  I  might 
content  myself  by  briefly  drawing  your  attention  to  what  has  been  already 
written  by  Mr.  C.  R.  Smith,  and  also  by  our  oldest  antiquaries.  Leland,  who  saw 
Lymne  in  a  less  ruined  state,  more  than  three  centuries  ago,  had  no  idea  of 
Hythe  as  representing  the  Portus  Lemanis,  but  saw  in  the  massive  walls,  and  all 
the  circumstances  of  Lymne,  indubitable  evidence  of  its  antiquity.  Somner, 
who  preferred  Old  Romney,  seems  to  have  had  a  preference  for  an  old  cinque- 
port,  now  blocked  up  ;  and,  though  his  opinion  has  not  been  followed  in  later 
times,  yet  the  very  place  which  he  preferred  yields  an  argument,  by  analogy,  in 
favour  of  Lymne  and  against  Hythe. 

With  respect  to  Mr.  Lewin's  arguments  that  I  have  enumerated,  I  reply  to 
the  first,  that  Lymne  has  sufficient  indications  of  its  identity  at  the  present  time  ; 
first  in  respect  of  its  name,  which  is  unquestionably  derived  from  and  is  almost 
identical  with  the  Roman  name ;  secondly,  from  its  distance,  being,  as  I  mea- 
sure and  compute,  exactly  the  required  distance  of  sixteen  Roman  miles  from  Can- 
terbury, while  Hythe  is  by  the  road  about  two  miles  further,  though  equally  distant 
with  Lymne  from  Canterbury  in  a  right  line  as  the  crow  flies ;  thirdly,  in  that  it 
has  a  direct  and  most  remarkable  Roman  road,  called  "  Stone  Street,"  leading 
from  the  south-western  suburb  of  Canterbury,  not  toward  Hythe,  but  by  a  little 
inclination  westward  away  from  Hythe  to  the  brow  of  the  hill  on  which  is  the 
town  of  Lymne,  and  on  the  slope  of  which  is  the  ruined  Roman  fortress  of  Stut- 
fall  Castle  ;  fourthly,  in  the  fortress  itself,  of  which  we  know  more  now,  since  the 
laborious  and  careful  excavations  made  by  Mr.  C.  R.  Smith  about  fifteen  years  ago ; 
fifthly,  in  the  Roman  altar,  erected  by  the  Prcefectus  Classis  Britannica,  and 
found  among  the  ruins  of  the  fortress  during  those  excavations ;  and  lastly,  in 
its  noble  situation,  surveying  and  commanding  the  whole  level  of  Romncy 
Marshes — at  first  a  quiet  bay ;  now,  and  for  ages  past,  a  fertile  pasture  land. 

To  the  second  argument,  drawn  from  the  present  aspect  of  the  Romney  Marshes, 
I  answer,  that,  however  old  their  present  state  may  appear  to  be,  with  proofs  of 
Roman  occupation,  we  might  as  well  argue  against  the  insular  condition  of 
Thanet  in  the  time  of  the  Romans,  and  even  in  Beda's  time,  from  the  existence 
and  appearance  of  similar  marshes  between  Sandwich  Haven  and  Reculver,  and 
deny  that  the  Rutupian  port  was  ever  there.  The  Roman  measures  in  the  An- 
tonine  Itinerary  reach  precisely  to  Sandwich  town  for  the  Portw  Ritupis,  though 
now  as  far  from  the  sea  as  Lymne  is.  The  state  of  the  ground  at  the  foot  of 

VOL.  xx.  3  c 


378  On  the  Identification  of  the  Roman  Portus  Lemanis. 

Lymne  Hill  is  much  altered  by  the  continuous  effect  of  springs  breaking  out  in 
a  loose  soil,  and  consequent  landslips,  which  in  some  instances  have  transported 
the  Roman  ruins  to  a  distance,  and  buried  them  to  a  depth  of  many  feet. 

This  fact  is  enough  to  account  for  the  choking  up  of  the  mouth  of  the  river, 
which  seems  formerly  to  have  flowed  along  the  foot  of  the  cliff,  probably  that  which 
is  now  a  branch  of  the  Rother,  which  now  has  two  outfalls  in  Rye  Haven,  besido 
the  dikes  cut  in  the  marshes.  These  numerous  dikes  have  diverted  the  course 
of  the  upland  waters,  and  given  to  some  of  them  an  outfall  at  Romney.  But  I 
need  not  insist  on  the  former  existence  of  such  a  river  as  a  mere  theory,  when, 
the  Ravenna  Geographer  names  the  "  Lemana  "  among  British  rivers,  and  the 
Saxon  Chronicle  tells  us  of  the  arrival  of  a  vast  fleet  of  invading  Danes  at 
"  Limene  mouth  "  in  the  time  of  King  Alfred.  It  is  impossible  to  deny  the 
identity  of  Lymne  with  that  name. 

If  it  be  urged  that  "  Hythe  "  means  port,  so  also  does  "  West  Hythe,"  closely 
adjoining  to  Lymne,  but  now  no  longer  a  landing-place,  except  perhaps  from  the 
military  canal  constructed  within  the  present  century.  Why  should  this  western 
place  have  been  called  "  Hythe  "  at  all,  unless  a  port  could  have  existed  there 
in  former  times,  as  at  the  modern  "  Hythe,"  which  is  merely  East  Hythe,  distin- 
guished from  the  other  ?  It  is  actually  called  so  in  Ogilby's  Britannia,  pub- 
lished in  1698. 

But  there  is  also  at  Lymne  the  celebrated  "  Shipway,"  the  very  way  leading 
down  to  the  shore  (now  the  marshes)  from  the  village  of  Lymne,  and  through 
that  of  West  Hythe,  on  the  eastern  side  of  the  E-oman  fortress,  but  far  from  Mr. 
Lewin's  Hythe.  From  this  ancient  and  secluded  spot  is  derived  the  name  of  the 
Supreme  Court  of  the  Lord  Warden  of  the  Cinque  Ports,  formerly  holden  (as 
Leland  says)  at  or  near  this  place,  and  still  retaining  the  name  of  "  the  Court 
of  Shipway."  What  greater  proof  of  dignity  and  antiquity  can  there  be  than 
this  ?  What  better  identification  of  the  antient  place  can  be  desired  ?  For 
although  it  stands  now,  from  various  causes,  at  some  distance  from  the  sea, 
it  retains  the  Roman  name  of  the  Portus  Lemanis,  shortened  down  to  Lymne 
or  Lympne ;  and  it  contains  the  original  place  of  maritime  judgment,  on  the 
public  way,  which  in  old  time  led  to  the  ships,  but  does  not  lead  to  "  Hythe." 

Mr.  C.  R.  Smith  thus  mentions  the  "Shipway,"  in  his  description  of  the 
locality,  at  pp.  212,  243  of  his  "  Antiquities"  : — "  The  situation  of  the  castrwm" 
says  he,  "  is  one  of  singular  interest.  It  is  on  the  lower  part  of  a  large  tract  of 
ground,  of  considerable  acclivity,  which  separates  the  Romney  Marshes  from  the 
mainland,  and  forms  a  strong  contrast,  in  its  irregular  and  wild  character,  with 


On  the  Identification  of  the  Roman  Portus  Lemanis.  379 

the  flat  and  monotonous  district  intervening  between  it  and  the  sea.  Looking 

upward  from  the  level  land  in  front  of  the  castrum, portions  of  the  walls 

are  seen,  irregular  and  disconnected,  bounded  on  the  right  by  a  hanging  wood, 
and  a  winding  road  called  the  Shipway,  leading  by  the  little  village  of  West 
Mythe ;  on  the  left,  by  a  long  range  of  broken  sloping  pasture  ground ;  and  in 
front  by  an  inland  cliff,  crowned  by  the  church  of  Lymne,  and  a  castellated 
mansion  situated  upon  the  very  verge  of  the  cliff."  Indeed  the  whole  passage 
deserves  the  most  attentive  consideration,  expressed  as  it  is  in  a  lively  and  in- 
teresting manner,  by  the  hand  of  a  master,  whose  conclusions  I  seek  to  justify 
against  Mr.  Lewin's  new  theory. 

Here  too  I  must  add  the  clear,  convincing,  and  striking  testimony  of  Leland, 
contained  in  his  Itinerary,  vol.  vii.  p.  132  : — "Lymne  Hille,  or  Lyme,  was  sum- 
tyme  a  famose  haven,  and  good  for  shyppes  that  myght  cum  to  the  foote  of  the 
hille.  The  place  is  yet  cawled  Shypwey  and  Old  Haven.  Farther,  at  this  day 
the  Lord  of  the  V.  Fortes  kepeth  his  principal  Cowrt  a  lytle  by  est  fro  Lymmchil. 
Ther  remayneth  at  this  day  the  ruines  of  a  stronge  fortresse  of  the  Britons,  hang- 
ging  on  the  hil,  and  cummyng  down  to  the  very  fote.  The  cumpase  of  the 
fortresse  semcth  to  be  a  x.  (ten)  acres,  and  be  lykelyhod  yt  had  sum  walle  beside 
that  strecchid  up  to  the  very  top  of  the  hille,  wher  now  ys  the  paroch  chirche,  and 
the  Archidiacous  howse  of  Canterbury.  The  old  walles  of  a  the  (it  are  ?)  made 
of  Britons  brikes,  veiy  large,  and  great  flynt,  set  togyther  almost  inclissolubely 
with  mortars  made  of  smaule  pybble.  The  walles  be  very  thikke,  and  yn  the 
west  end  of  the  castel  appereth  the  base  of  an  old  towre.  Abowt  this  castel,  yn 

tyme  of  mind,  were  fownd  antiquities  of  mony  of  the  Romaynes Ther 

went  fro  Lymme  to  Canterbury  a  streate  fayr  paved,  therof  at  this  daye  yt  is 
cawled  Stony  Streat.  Yt  is  the  straytest  that  ever  I  sawe,  and  toward  Cantor- 
bury  ward  the  pavement  continually  appereth  a  iiij.  or  v.  mylcs.  Ther  cunimeth 
at  this  day  through  Lymme  castel  a  little  ryllc,  and  other  prety  waters  resort  to 
the  places  about  Lymmc-hil ;  but  where  the  ryver  Limene  should  be  I  cannot  tcl, 

except  yt  should  be  that  that  cummeth  above  Applcdor  ....  iii (eight 

or  ten  ?}  myles  of,  and  that  of  cowrs  ys  now  chaunged,  and  renneth  a  nerer  way 
ynto  the  se,  by  the  encresing  of  Romney  Marsch  that  was  sumtyme  al  se."  • 

What,  then,  if  we  do  find  at  Hythe  a  town  and  a  port  ?  What  if  I  should 
inform  Mr.  Lewin,  from  my  own  measurements,  that  Hythe  is  in  part  Roman  ?  It 
is  yet  to  be  proved  to  have  been  the  Portus  Lemanis,  or  any  part  or  parcel  of  it, 
at  least  in  the  earlier  Roman  period.  Old  Romney  is  Roman,  so  is  New  llomney. 

•  Ldand,  as  quoted  by  Mr.  C.  K.  Smith,  except  the  explanations  within  parentheses. 

3c2 


380  On  the  Identification  of  the  Roman  Portus  Lemanis. 

The  inclosure  of  the  marshes  ruined  the  oldest  port,  and  the  traffic  was  at 
length  driven  out  toward  the  sea,  both  by  the  silent  operations  of  nature,  and 
yet  more  by  the  same  agency  which  has  removed  the  traffic  of  the  old  Roman 
city  and  port  of  Deva  (Chester)  to  Liverpool,  and  will  soon  remove  that  of  Lon- 
dinium,  the  Augusta  of  Julian's  time,  and  our  great  emporium,  to  Gravesend, 
Tilbury,  and  the  Hope,  viz.  greediness  of  land,  shutting  out  tidal  waters  by 
obstinate  and  senseless  promoters  of  embankments.  For  I  apprehend  that,  in  the 
time  of  Julius  Caesar,  the  site  of  the  Romney  Marshes  was  an  ample  bay,  con- 
taining some  muddy  islands ;  that  the  inclosure  of  these  by  banks,  the  decay  of 
the  cliffs,  the  diversion  of  the  current,  and  the  natural  accumulation  of  silt  and 
shingle  (which  Mr.  Lewin  has  aptly  described),  in  process  of  time  choked  up 
the  vast  anchorage  in  which  the  invading  Roman  Fleet  of  800  ships  had  ridden ; 
that  the  proper  name  of  the  port  clung  to  the  township  and  fortress  of  Lymne, 
after  it  had  ceased  to  be  a  mai'itime  station ;  and  that  at  length  the  appellative 
'•  Hythe,"  (which  is  rather  a  landing-place  than  a  port  or  haven,)  attached  itself 
to  the  little  village  of  West  Hythe,  and  afterwards  to  East  Hythe,  now  called 
"  the  town  and  port  of  Hythe."  If  this  succession  of  facts  be  admitted,  it  neces- 
sarily follows  that  Lymne  represents,  by  situation,  the  original  and  proper 
Portus  Lemanis ;  while  its  neighbour  Hythe  has  obtained  a  transfer  of  the  mari- 
time and  commercial  denomination  of  "  port,"  as  a  kind  of  successor  in  business, 
but  is  by  no  means  to  be  regarded  as  its  local  and  historical  representative. 

Postscript. — The  altar,  which  was  found  in  1850  among  the  ruins  at  Lymne,  is  damaged  at  the 
top  and  on  one  side  ;  hence  its  inscription  is  mutilated.  As  represented  in  Mr.  C.  K.  Smith's 
Keport  on  his  Excavations  (which  was  printed  for  the  Subscribers  in  1852,  4to.),  plate  vii.  and 
page  25,  the  inscription  is  as  follows  : — 


•  •  iv  • 

ARAM 

.  AVFIDIV 

PANTEKA 

PRAEFECT 

CLAS  '  BRIT 


which  I  read  and  fill  up  thus  : — 

[DEO  NEP]TV[NO]ARAM  p.  AVFIDIV[S]  PANTERA[NVS]  PRAEFECT[VS] 

CLAS.  BRIT[AN.  EX  VOTO  P.] 
Deo  Neptitno  aram  P.  Aufidius  Panteranus  Prcefectus  Classic  Britannica  ex  voto  posuit. 


XXV. — On  the  worked  Flints  of  Pressigny  le  Grand :  by  JOHN  EVANS,  Esq., 

F.E.S.,  F.S.A.,  F.G.S. 


Read  November  16th,  1865. 


AT  a  time  when  the  worked  flints  discovered  in  such  profusion  near  Pressigny 
le  Grand  are  attracting  so  much  attention  among  French  archaeologists,  it  seems 
probahle  that  a  few  remarks  upon  them,  and  upon  the  controversy  to  which  they 
have  given  rise,  may  be  of  interest  to  this  Society. 

Public  attention  appears  to  have  been  first  called  to  the  discoveries  at  Pressigny 
by  a  letter  from  the  Abbe"  Chevalier  to  M.  Elie  de  Beaumont,"  but  it  is,  I  believe, 
to  Dr.  Leveille"  of  Pressigny,  or  to  Comte  Alexis  de  Chasteigner,  that  the  merit 
is  due  of  first  observing  the  real  character  of  the  worked  flints.  MM.  Brouillet 
and  Meillet,  the  authors  of  the  "Epoques  Antediluvienne  et  Celtique  du  Poitou," 
first  published  representations  of  some  of  the  specimens,  and  M.  Gabriel  de 
Mortillet,  the  accomplished  editor  of  the  "  Materiaux  pour  1'Histoire  positive  et 
philosophique  de  THornine,"  Dr.  Eugene  Robert,  the  Abbe"  Bourgeois,  M.  Pen- 
guilly  1'Haridon,  the  Marquis  de  Vibraye,  and  others  as  well  as  myself,  have  taken 
part  in  the  discussion  which  has  been  carried  on  in  France  as  to  the  antiquity  to 
be  assigned  to  these  objects.1" 

It  was  in  January  of  the  present  year  that  I  visited  Pressigny  in  company  with 
my  valued  friend  the  late  Mr.  Henry  Christy  and  MM.  Brouillet  and  Louis 
Lartet;0  and  the  specimens  now  exhibited,  including  those  belonging  to  the 
Society,  are  a  small  portion  of  those  which  we  then  collected  upon  the  spot. 

Pressigny  le  Grand  is  a  small  town  situated  on  the  river  Claise,  an  affluent  of 
the  Creuse,  in  the  department  of  Indre  et  Loire.  It  lies  about  30  miles  to  the 

•  Comptes  rendus  des  Stances  de  1'Academie  des  Sciences,  vol.  Ivii.  p.  427. 

b  See  Mate'riaux  pour  1'Hist.  de  1'Homme,  vols.  i.  and  ii.  passim  ;  and  Comptes  rendus  des  Stances  de 
1' Academic  des  Sciences,  1864  and  1865,  passim.  See  also  a  Paper  on  this  subject  by  Sir  John  Lubbock 
and  Professor  Steenstrup  in  the  Transactions  of  the  Ethnological  Society,  N.S.  vol.  v.  p.  221. 

c  Since  this  Paper  was  read,  I  have  revisited  Pressigny  accompanied  by  Mr.  J.  \V.  Flower,  F.G.S.,  and  I 
have  incorporated  some  of  the  results  of  our  further  investigations  in  the  text. 


382  On  the  worked  Flints  of  Pressigny  le  Grand. 

south  of  Tours,  and  is  most  readily  accessible  from  the  station  of  Port-des- Piles 
on  the  Orleans  Railroad,  from  whence  it  is  distant  about  24  kilometres  (say  15 
miles).  We,  however,  drove  to  it  from  Chatellerault — a  rather  longer  journey. 

The  peculiar  worked  flints  of  which  principally  I  wish  to  speak,  are  but  rarely 
found  at  Pressigny  itself,  and,  though  occurring  elsewhere,  are  most  abundant  at 
two  farms  called  La  Claisiere  and  La  Doucetterie,  rather  more  than  two  miles 
from  Pressigny,  and  on  the  opposite  side  of  the  Claise.  The  soil  is  a  red  loam, 
overlying  the  cretaceous  rock  of  the  district,  and  during  wet  weather  becomes 
extremely  soft  and  sticky,  so  much  so  as  to  have  acquired  the  local  name  of 
melasse.  In  some  places  whole  fields  of  this  loam  were  replete  with  worked 
flints,  and  the  large  specimens,  which  from  their  resemblance  to  pounds  of 
butter  have  received  from  the  peasants  the  name  of  livres-de-beurre,  were  very 
abundant,  notwithstanding  that  whole  cartloads  of  them  had  been  collected 
at  the  farm-house  of  La  Claisiere  and  some  neighbouring  cottages;  and  the 
soil  teemed  with  flakes,  mostly  broken,  and  with  splinters  of  flint.  Near  the 
farm,  in  a  road  section,  a  bed  of  flakes  was  to  be  seen  at  a  depth  of  about 
two  feet  from  the  present  surface,  and,  so  far  as  could  be  judged,  worked  flints 
abounded  in  the  soil  in  every  direction,  even  to  a  small  distance  below  the  depth 
of  the  present  cultivation. 

The  most  remarkable  of  the  worked  flints  are  the  livres-de-beurre  already 
mentioned,  of  some  of  which  representations  are  given  in  Plate  XX.  These  are 
large  blocks  of  flint,  usually  10  to  12  inches  long  and  3  to  4  inches  wide  in  the 
broadest  part,  the  thickness  being  in  most  cases  less  than  the  width.  In 
general  outline  they  may  be  described  as  boat-shaped,  being  square  at  one 
end  and  brought  to  a  point — more  or  less  finished — at  the  other.  The  outline 
has  been  given  by  striking  a  succession  of  flakes  from  the  sides  of  a  mass  of  flint, 
until  the  boat-like  contour  has  been  obtained,  with  the  sides  slightly  converging 
towards  the  keel,  and  then  the  wpper  surface  corresponding  to  the  deck  of  the 
boat  has  been  chipped  into  form  by  a  succession  of  blows  administered  at  right 
angles  to  the  first,  and  in  such  a  manner  that  the  deck,  as  originally  formed,  was 
convex  instead  of  flat.  After  this  convex  surface  was  formed,  one,  two,  or  even 
more  long  flakes  were  dislodged  along  its  whole  length,  or  nearly  so,  by  blows 
administered  at  the  stern  of  the  boat,  thus  leaving  one  or  more  channels  along 
what  corresponds  to  the  deck.  In  rare  instances  these  long  flakes  have  not  been 
removed  (Plate  XX.  fig.  2) ;  in  others  of  more  frequent  occurrence  one  of  the 
flakes  has  broken  off  short  before  attaining  its  full  length. 

Looking  at  a  number  of  these  livres-de-beurre  arranged  together,  the  eye  is 


Vol.  XL.  Plate  XX.  p.  382. 


HATCHET  (?)  PRKSSIONY. 


5. 


SCRAPER.   PRESSIUNY. 
f,. 


4. 


FLAKE,   PRESSIUNT. 


1. 


FLAKE.  I'KESSIOSY. 

Scale.  V\ff    I  to  5.  1  ;  Kig.  6,  ]. 


R,  RIVER  SF.TNE. 


FI.AKK,  PKHWIOXY 


On  the  icorked  Flints  of  Pressigny  le  Grand.  383 

struck  by  the  great  similarity  of  form  prevailing  among  them ;  and  their  uniformity 
of  shape  and  the  regular  neat  manner  in  which  their  edges  are  chipped  would 
at  first  sight  lead  to  a  presumption  that  they  were  intended  for  use  as  implements 
of  some  sort  or  other.  They  have  accordingly  been  regarded  by  some  of  the  local 
authorities  as  having  been  intended  for  ploughshares,  and  by  others  as  some 
kind  of  large  and  heavy  axes.  There  is  however  one  very  strong  argument 
against  this  view  of  the  case,  as  it  seems  utterly  impossible  that  such  an  enormous 
number  of  them  could  have  been  lost  or  thrown  away  in  a  single  spot,  and 
there  is  no  evidence  whatever  of  there  having  been  any  ancient  cemetery  at  La 
Claisiere  where  implements  or  arms  such  as  these  might  by  some  possibility  have 
accumulated  as  offerings  to  the  dead. 

It  is  true  that  in  certain  instances,  such  as  the  bone  caves  of  the  Dordogne  and 
Belgium,  the  Swiss,  and  even  some  Irish,  lakes,  we  have  vast  accumulations  of 
worked  flints,  but  in  these  cases  the  size  is  usually  much  smaller  than  at  Pressigny, 
and  there  is  reason  for  supposing  them  to  have  been  lost,  or  thrown  away  as  worn 
out,  like  the  obsidian  razors  of  Mexico,  of  which  it  is  on  record  that  several  were 
used  up  in  shaving  one  person.*  At  Pressigny,  so  far  as  I  could  see,  the  large 
livres-de-beurre  show  no  sign  of  use  or  wear.  Those  persons,  moreover,  who  have 
paid  most  attention  to  the  flints  have  come  to  the  conclusion  that  they  are  not, 
strictly  speaking,  implements  at  all,  but  rather  the  refuse  or  waste  resulting  from 
the  manufacture  of  implements.  They  regard  them,  in  fact,  as  the  nuclei,  ma- 
trices, or  cores,  from  which  long  flakes  or  knives  have  been  removed,  and  which 
have  then  been  thrown  away  as  having  served  their  purpose. 

On  this  point  indeed  nearly,  if  not  quite,  all  those  who  have  written  upon  the 
subject  are  agreed ;  but  M.  Eugene  Robert,  M.  Decaisne,  and  M.  Elie  de  Beaumont 
are  of  opinion  that  these  blocks  of  flint,  instead  of  belonging  to  any  remote  period, 
when  stone  knives  or  lance-heads  were  in  use,  are  to  be  assigned  to  a  much  more 
modern  period,  even  to  the  days  since  the  invention  of  gunpowder.  They  say,  in 
fact,  that  they  are  the  refuse  arising  from  the  manufacture  upon  the  spot  of  flints 
for  fire-arms,  and  M.  Robert,  with  a  happy  fertility  of  imagination,  has  determined 
that  the  long  flakes  struck  off  lengthways  of  the  matrices  were  intended  for  gun- 
flints,  while  the  short  flakes  struck  off  transversely  from  the  blocks  furnished  the 
flints  for  pistols. 

Assuming  this  suggestion  to  be  true,  we  might  indulge  in  some  interesting 
speculations  founded  upon  the  comparative  quantities  of  the  long  and  the  short 

•  Torquemada,  Monarquia  Indiana,  quoted  in  Tyler's  Anahuac,  p.  331. 


384  On  the  worked  Flints  of  Prcssigny  le  Grand. 

flakes,  as  to  the  proportionate  numbers  of  guns  and  pistols  in  use  in  France  at  tho 
time  when  these  nuclei  were  formed,  and,  as  there  are  at  least  ten  short  flakes 
to  one  long  one,  the  excess  of  pistols  over  guns  at  the  period  would  prove  to  have 
been  somewhat  surprising.  In  corroboration  of  the  gun-flint  theory,  some  local 
traditions  have  been  cited  of  the  manufacture  of  gun-flints  upon  the  spot ;  but 
though  in  a  country  abounding  in  flints  there  would  appear  to  be  no  reason  why 
such  a  manufacture  should  not  have  been  carried  on,  yet 'on  examination  there 
appears  to  be  no  foundation  for  any  such  traditions  with  respect  to  Pressigny,  and 
M.  Penguilly  has  moreover  shown  that  the  kind  of  flint  found  there  is  not  fit  for 
gun-flints.  It  is  moreover  fatal  to  the  gun-flint  theory  that  the  ground  is  full  of 
flakes  of  various  lengths,  all  adapted,  so  far  as  form  is  concerned,  to  be  made  into 
gun-flints,  but  yet  thrown  away,  and  that  the  nuclei  themselves  are  of  a  different 
form,  and  far  larger  in  size  than  those  resulting  from  the  ordinary  gun-flint 
manufacture,  in  which  the  blocks  of  flint  are  usually  utilised,  until  no  more  flakes 
fit  for  chipping  up  into  gun-flints  can  be  struck  off  them. 

These  blocks  must,  therefore,  be  regarded  as  the  waste  or  refuse  resulting  from 
some  other  manufacture,  and  there  can  be  no  doubt  that  this  was  the  production 
of  long  flint  knives  or  lance-heads.  In  the  first  place  we  find  evidence  of  such 
long  blades  of  flint  having  been  produced,  in  the  long  furrows  remaining  upon 
the  nuclei ;  and  in  the  next  place  it  appears,  from  an  examination  of  these  nuclei, 
that,  as  a  rule,  they  were  not  thrown  away  until,  either  from,  their  reduced  size, 
or  from  some  defect  in  the  flint,  they  were  no  longer  adapted  for  the  production 
of  long  blades.  It  will  perhaps  appear  singular  to  most  persons  that  so  much 
care  should  have  been  bestowed  in  chipping  these  Iwres-dc-beurre  into  shape, 
if  they  were  not  themselves  to  be  made  use  of  as  implements,  but  were  merely 
the  blocks  from  which  flakes  of  flint  were  to  be  split. 

It  will,  however,  on  a  little  consideration  become  apparent  that  this  chipping 
into  a  regular  form  is  in  fact  one  of  the  necessities  of  the  case  for  the  production 
of  long  blades  of  flint.  "Where  flakes  of  only  three  or  four  inches  long  ai*e  required, 
such  as  are  used  for  the  manufacture  of  ordinary  gun-flints,  the  operator  may 
readily,  with  his  hammer,  strike  off  from  the  outside  of  his  block  of  flint  a  suc- 
cession of  chips,  so  as  to  give  it  a  polygonal  outline,  the  angles  of  which  will  serve 
for  the  central  ridges  or  back-bones  of  the  first  series  of  regular  flakes  that  he 
strikes  off.  The  removal  of  this  first  series  of  flakes  leaves  a  number  of  projecting 
ridges,  which  serve  as  guides  for  the  formation  of  a  second  series  of  flakes,  and  so 
on  until  the  block  is  used  up. 

But  in  a  case  where  a  flake  ten  or  twelve  inches  in  length  is  required  a  different 


On  the  worked  Flints  of  Pressigny  le  Grand.  385 

process  becomes  necessary.  For  it  is  nearly  impossible  with  a  rough  mass  of  flint 
to  produce  by  single  blows  plane  surfaces  10  or  12  inches  in  length,  and  arranged 
at  such  an  angle  as  to  produce  a  straight  ridge  such  as  would  serve  to  form 
the  back -bone,  as  it  were,  of  a  long  flake ;  and  without  such  a  back -bone  the  pro- 
duction of  a  long  flake  is  impossible.  It  is  indeed  this  ridge  (which  need  not,  of 
course,  be  angular,  but  may  be  more  or  less  rounded  or  polygonal)  that  regulates 
the  course  of  the  fissure  by  which  the  flake  is  dislodged  from  the  matrix  or  parent 
flint,  there  being  a  slight  degree  of  elasticity  in  the  stone  which  enables  a  fissure 
once  properly  commenced  in  a  homogeneous  flint  to  proceed  at  right  angles  to 
the  line  of  least  resistance  in  the  dislodged  flake,  while  at  the  same  time  exerting 
a  nearly  uniform  strain,  so  that  the  inner  surface  of  the  flake  becomes  nearly 
parallel  to  the  outer  ridge.  It  was  to  obtain  this  outer  ridge  that  the  Pressigny 
flints  were  chipped  into  the  form  in  which  we  find  them,  and  it  appears  as  if 
the  workmen  who  formed  them  adopted  the  readiest  means  of  obtaining  the 
desired  result  of  producing  along  the  block  of  flint  a  central  ridge  whenever  it 
became  necessary,  until  the  block  was  so  much  reduced  in  size  as  to  be  no  longer 
serviceable.  I  have  already  described  the  manner  in  which  this  was  effected,  viz., 
by  first  chipping  the  block  into  a  sort  of  boat-like  form,  and  then  by  blows  from 
the  sides  producing  a  rounded  ridge  along  the  upper  surface.  This  process  could 
be  repeated  from  time  to  time  after  each  set  of  long  flakes  had  been  dislodged, 
until  the  block  was  used  up.  The  specimens  exhibited  show  these  nuclei  in 
various  stages,  one  of  them  having  the  central  ridge  left  upon  it,  and  others 
having  had  one  or  two  long  flakes  dislodged  from  them.  A  specimen  of  each 
of  these  three  varieties  is  engraved  in  Plate  XX.  and  a  section  of  each  with 
the  ridged  side  upwards  is  placed  below  them.8  The  causes  why  they  were 
rejected  as  useless  are  still  susceptible  of  being  traced.  In  some  cases  the 
nucleus  had  become  so  thin  that  it  would  not  bear  re-shaping  ;  in  others  a  want  of 
uniformity  in  the  texture  of  the  flint,  probably  caused  by  some  included  organism, 
has  made  its  appearance,  and  caused  the  flakes  to  break  off  short  of  their  proper 
length,  or  has  even  made  it  useless  to  attempt  to  strike  them  off.  In  some 
rare  instances,  when  the  striking  off  long  flakes  has  proved  unsuccessful  on  the 
one  face,  the  attempt  has  been  made  to  procure  them  from,  the  other.  The 
abundance  of  large  masses  of  flint  in  the  country— some  as  much  as  two  or  three 
feet  over — has,  however,  rendered  the  workmen  rather  prodigal  of  their  materials. 
As  a  proof  of  the  necessity  which  exists  for  chipping  the  nuclei  from  which 

•'  It  should  be  stated  that  the  specimens  in  Plate  XX.  figs.  1  and  3,  and  Plate  XXI.  figs.  2,  4,  and  6,  are 
in  the  Christy  Collection;  the  rest  are  in  my  own  collection. 

VOL.  XL.  3  D 


386  Onthe  worked  Flints  of  Pressigny  le  Grand. 

long  flakes  are  to  be  dislodged  into  this  boat-like  form,  I  may  mention  that 
several  of  the  longest  nuclei  found  upon  what  appears  to  have  been  the  site  of  an 
ancient  manufactory  of  flint  implements  at  Spiennes,  near  Mons,  in  Belgium,  are 
shaped  in  a  precisely  similar  manner  to  those  from  Pressigny.  A  very  few  nuclei 
of  the  same  form  have  also  been  found  in  Denmark. 

Some  of  the  blocks  which  have  been  used  for  the  production  of  shorter  flakes 
are  of  the  same  character  as  the  nuclei  of  ordinary  occurrence,  and  in  the  neighbour- 
hood of  Leugny,  about  8  or  10  miles  from  Pressigny,  where  livres-de-beurre  also 
ocsur,  large  flat  nuclei  are  found,  from  which  wide  thin  flakes  have  been  struck. 
The  flakes  themselves,  which  are  found  associated  with  the  nuclei  at  Pressigny, 
are  evidently  derived  from  them ;  but,  so  far  as  I  could  learn,  the  long  ones  are 
never  found  perfect,  but  only  in  a  broken  condition,  or  as  "  wasters."  Three  of 
these  fragments  are  engraved  in  Plate  XXI.  figs.  1,  2,  and  4.  Figs.  1  and  2  are 
portions  of  the  first  flakes  struck  from  the  nuclei  after  a  central  ridge  had  been 
produced  by  cross-chipping,  as  may  be  seen  by  the  character  of  the  external  face. 
Fig.  4  exhibits  the  cross-chipping  on  one  only  of  its  external  facets ;  the  other, 
which  is  much  straighter  and  flatter,  being  the  result  of  another  flake  having 
been  previously  struck  longitudinally  from  off  the  parent  block.  Altogether 
there  is  evidence  of  a  manufacture  of  flint  implements  having  been  carried  on 
on  a  large  scale  at  Pressigny ;  but  these  implements  seem  to  have  been  princi- 
pally though  not  exclusively  the  long  knife-like  blades,  though  the  Marquis  de 
Vibraye*  and  Sir  John  Lubbock  record  having  found  round-ended  scrapers  and 
some  other  forms  of  implements  upon  the  spot.  I  have  also  found  a  few  of  these 
scrapers,  one  of  which,  from  la  Claisiere,  is  engraved  in  Plate  XXI.  fig.  5.  It  is, 
as  will  be  perceived,  of  considerably  larger  size  than  is  usual  with  instruments  of 
similar  form.  Others  from  the  same  spot  are  smaller  and  proportionally  broader. 
Many  of  the  flakes  are  minutely  chipped  along  some  part  of  their  edges,  not 
improbably  by  having  been  used  for  scraping  bone  or  some  other  hard  substance. 
I  observed  this  more  particularly  in  the  flakes  which  abound  at  L'Epargne,  a 
farm  on  the  opposite  side  of  Pressigny  to  La  Claisiere,  and  about  the  same 
distance  from  it.  At  this  spot  also  the  livres-de-beurre  occur,  but  not  in  so  great 
profusion  as  at  La  Claisiere.  There  are  some  flakes  and  portions  of  flakes  which 
present  small  well-defined  semicircular  notches,  either  in  the  ends  or  sides,  but 
whether  these  have  been  intentionally  made  or  produced  by  wear,  or  whether  they 
are  not  rather  the  results  of  accidental  blows  of  the  pick,  given  during  the  culti- 
vation of  the  soil,  has  yet  to  be  determined. 

1  Mat.  pour  1'Histoire  de  1'Homrae,  vol.  i.  p.  520. 


Vol.  XL.  Pl»t,    \\l.p.  387. 


2. 


SKCTION. 
TIIRKE    FLINT  CORES. 

v  I.F.  nRANn,  INDRE  ET  LOIRE. 


3. 


Scale  J. 


On  the  worked  Flints  of  Pressigny  le  Grand.  387 

I  also  found  at  L'Epargne  three  or  four  implements  of  a  roughly  triangular 
outline,  and  approaching  very  closely  in  character  to  the  so-called  hatchets  of  the 
Danish  kjokken-moddings.  The  most  symmetrical  and  carefully  chipped  of  these 
is  engraved  in  Plate  XXI.  fig.  3.  Others,  from  their  rudeness,  come  nearer  still  to 
the  kjokken-modding  type.  I  may  mention  that  in  the  collection  of  the  Abbe" 
Bourgeois,  of  Pontlevoy,  are  numerous  specimens  of  identically  the  same  form  as 
those  from  the  Danish  refuse-heaps,  but  which  have  been  found  upon  the  surface 
in  the  neighbourhood  of  Pontlevoy,  and  that  I  have  myself  found  an  implement  of 
the  same  form  in  company  with  numerous  scrapers,  flakes,  &c.,  and  a  few  arrow- 
heads, both  barbed  and  leaf-shaped,  in  the  ancient  camp  of  Maiden  Bower,  near 
Dunstable.  It  would  appear,  therefore,  that  the  use  of  this  form  of  implement 
was  not,  as  has  been  supposed  by  some  antiquaries,  confined  to  the  inhabitants  of 
the  sea-coast. 

A  few  fragments  of  flakes  have  been  found  at  Pressigny,  carefully  worked  along 
both  edges  so  as  to  form  a  sort  of  knife  or  dagger;  but  they  would  appear,  like  the 
numerous  other  "  wasters,"  to  have  been  broken  or  spoilt  in  the  process  of  manu- 
facture. Their  evidence,  however,  taken  in  conjunction  with  that  of  other  similar 
but  more  perfect  specimens  found  in  different  parts  of  France,  is  of  great  value  as 
affording  an  at-all-events  approximate  solution  of  the  question  as  to  the  period  to 
which  this  manufacture  is  to  be  assigned,  for  these  long  flakes  or  knives  occur 
in  the  interments  in  the  dolmens  or  cromlechs  of  central  France,  which  are 
referred  to  the  Stone  period  of  that  country.  In  the  museum  at  Poitiers  is  one  of 
these  flakes,  carefully  re-chipped  on  one  face  and  8£  inches  in  length,  and  in  the 
Mus6e  d'Artillerie  at  Paris  are  two  beautiful  flakes  8  inches  long,  the  edges 
neatly  finished  by  chipping,  which  were  found  in  the  Seine  in  constructing  the 
foundations  of  Pont  Napoldon  III.  Another,  7£  inches  long,  found  at  Thenay, 
near  Pontlevoy,  is  in  the  collection  of  the  Abb6  Bourgeois.  Another,  no  less  than 
13  inches  in  length,  was  lately  discovered  at  Pauilhac  near  Fleurance,  in  the  depart- 
ment of  Gers,  and  is  engraved  in  the  Revue  de  Gascogne,  vol.  vi.  Mr.  Franks 
has  lately  procured  another  specimen  found  in  the  Seine,  and  beautifully  chipped. 
It  is  nearly  7  inches  long,  and  represented  in  Plate  XXI.  fig.  6;  unfortunately 
it  is  broken  across,  and  a  small  portion  is  wanting.  And  what  is  remark- 
able, in  four  of  these  instances  at  least,  the  material  of  which  the  flakes  are 
formed  is  precisely  the  same  flint  as  the  nuclei  of  Pressigny.  I  may  mention, 
that  this  is  a  peculiar  ochreous-coloured  flint,  rather  coarse-grained  and  opaque, 
and  that  the  beds  from  whence  it  is  derived  are  micaceous  chalk,  by  French 
geologists  considered  to  belong  to  the  zone  of  ammonites  peramplu-s  or  the 


388  On  the  worked  Flints  of  Pressigny  le  Grand. 

Turonien  of  d'Orbigny.  Besides  the  flakes  and  nuclei  which  I  have  described, 
polished  stone  axes  occur  occasionally  near  Pressigny,  and  several  of  the  polishing 
or  grinding  stones  used  in  their  manufacture  have  been  found  in  that  district, 
among  which  a  specimen  in  the  possession  of  Dr.  L6veilld  stands  pre-eminent. 
Some  of  these  ground  axes,  however,  are  not  made  of  the  flint  of  the  district. 

I  may  add,  that  in  the  gravel  deposits  at  Pressigny,  and  other  places  in  the 
neighbourhood,  and  on  the  surface  at  la  Pinauderie  near  Leugny,  flint  implements 
have  been  found  closely  resembling  those  from  the  valley  deposits  of  the  Somme 
and  of  some  of  our  English  rivers  ;  but  the  circumstances  under  which  they  have 
been  discovered  require  further  examination.  On  the  present  occasion  I  confine 
myself  principally  to  calling  attention  to  these  remarkable  nuclei  and  flakes,  which 
seem  to  prove  the  existence  of  a  regular  manufactory  of  stone  weapons  so  long  ago 
as  the  Stone  period  of  central  France,  for  there  is  a  similarity  in  the  workmanship 
of  the  different  nuclei  so  striking  that  many  of  them  seem  to  have  been  formed  by 
the  same  hand,  and  it  seems  more  probable  that  there  should  have  been  a  settle- 
ment upon  the  spot  of  men  who  manufactured  these  long  knives  and  afterwards 
bartered  them  away,  than  that  the  flints  were  worked  by  various  tribes  who 
visited  the  spot  as  oiie  abounding  in  the  raw  material  for  their  cutlery.  What 
was  the  current  value  of  an  eight-inch  blade  in  hides,  meat,  corn,  or  other  ne- 
cessaries of  life  must  remain  an  unsolved  problem.  If  the  manufacturers  were 
paid  anything  like  the  present  price  for  such  objects  they  were  certainly  not 
badly  remunerated. 

But  under  any  circumstances  we  cannot  but  regard  with  interest  these  almost 
the  only  relics  of  a  manufactory  on  a  large  scale  of  cutlery  of  the  Stone  period 
in  France  with  which  we  are  acquainted. 


XXVI. —  Observations  on  some  Documents  relating  to  Magic  in  the  Reign  of  Queen 
Elizabeth.     By  W.  H.  HART,  ESQ.  F.S.A. 


Read  May  llth,  1865, 


A  good  deal  of  attention  has  been  bestowed  on  the  crystal  balls  supposed  to 
possess  magical  powers,  and  in  which  visions  of  the  unseen  world  might  be 
revealed  to  those  who  had  sufficient  faith  in  the  powers  of  these  wonderful 
mirrors.  I  do  not  propose  entering  into  any  discussion  on  the  merits  of  these 
crystals ;  but  I  will  with  your  permission  lay  before  you,  from  among  the  State 
Papers  of  the  reign  of  Queen  Elizabeth,  some  curious  documents  bearing  upon 
alchemy,  magical  glasses,  and  magic  in  general. 

From  authentic  sources  we  learn  that  alchemy,  or  the  art  of  transmuting  the 
baser  metals  into  gold  or  silver,  was  in  the  middle  ages  not  only  extensively 
followed  by  private  adventurers,  but  also  received  favour  at  the  hands  of  the  King ; 
who  on  several  occasions  granted  his  royal  licence  to  certain  persons  to  exercise 
this  art,  thus  constituting  what  we  now-a-days  call  a  patent. 

By  letters  patent  dated  the  9th  of  May,  3  Edward  III.  [1329],  the  King,  after 
stating  that  he  had  understood  that  John  le  Rous  and  Master  William  de  Dalby 
knew,  by  the  art  of  alchemy,  how  to  make  silver,  and  had  made,  and  still  did 
make,  the  same,  and  that  by  their  art  they  could  greatly  benefit  the  kingdom, 
appointed  Thomas  Gary  to  bring  these  alchemists  to  him  under  a  safe  conduct, 
with  their  instruments,  and  all  other  things  pertaining  to  their  art." 

By  letters  patent  dated  July  6,  22  Henry  VI.  [1444],  after  stating  that  John 
Cobbe  had  by  petition  shown  that  he  was  desirous  of  making  experiments  "by 
the  art  of  philosophy  "  in  transmuting  imperfect  metals  into  the  perfect  metals  of 
gold  and  silver,  to  endure  like  any  gold  or  silver  growing  in  any  mine,  "  as  he 
says,"  but  that  he  was  hindered  in  his  work  by  certain  malicious  persons,  who 
supposed  that  he  worked  by  an  unlawful  art,  the  King  granted  him  licence  to 
follow  his  art  without  any  molestation  whatever.11 

By  letters  patent  dated  June  18,  16  Edward  IV.  [1476],  the  King  granted  to 

•  Patcut  Roll,  3  Edw.  III.  part  1,  in.  21.  k  Patent  Roll,  22  Henry  VI.  part  2.  m.  9. 


390  Observations  on  some  Documents  relating  to  Magic 

David  Beaupe  and  John  Marchaunt  liberty  to  exercise  the  art  of  converting 
mercury  into  gold  and  silver  for  the  term  of  four  years.' 

Again,  in  the  reign  of  Elizabeth,  one  John  Peterson  of  Lubeck  made  certain 
offers  to  her  Majesty  respecting  experiments  in  alchemy,  and  also  for  delivering 
glasses  to  her  Majesty.  These  were  most  probably  crystal  glasses,  of  which  we 
have  had  in  our  own  time  a  notable  instance ;  when  the  proprietor  of  Zadkiel's 
Almanack  brought  himself  into  unenviable  notoriety  as  the  possessor  and  the 
champion  of  the  mystic  globe,  which  could  disclose  secrets  so  awful  that  one  of 
the  witnesses  who  vouched  for  the  truth  of  its  revelations  refused  to  look  on  the 
crystal  in  court,  because  she  considered  it  too  solemn  a  thing  to  be  laughed  at.  I 
allude  to  the  trial  of  "  Morrison  v.  Belcher,"  which  took  place  in  the  year  1863. 

Peterson's  offer  to  the  Queen  is  as  follows : 

The  tennour  of  this  letter  to  her  Majestic  as  followeth  : — 

A  mostc  humble  preamble  excusinge  his  boldnes  in  wrytinge  to  her  highnes. 
An  Apollogie  to  the  noble  science  of  Alcumey. 

A  declaracion   of  the  longe  studye  and  practize  of  Mr.  Ofeilde  in  his  howse  in  this  arte  by  the 
pace  of  viii  ycres,  and  many  commendacions  of  the  man's  virtues. 

The  straight  and  high  charge  he  gave  bynding  him  by  sacrament  to  deliver  theis  glasses  so  sone 
as  he  coulde  to  her  Majesty. 

A  confydente  affirmacion  of  the  wonderfull  riches  (excedynge  all  comparison)  to  be  by  them 
attayned. 

The  firste  is  of  Sol  prepared  and  dispersed. 
The  seconde  is  of  Luna  devided  and  dispersed. 
The  thirde  is  of  Mercury  made  homogeniall. 

Theis  this  letter  presenteth  to  her  Majestic  by  me,  so  pleaseth  her  to  appoyntc  order  for  the 
conveyaunce  which  I  have  sene,  and  under  my  scale  so  assured,  as  noe  deceyte  can  be  used  therin; 
besides,  I  have  delyvered  them  into  the  handes  of  the  Senate  of  Lubick,  to  be  safely  kepte  to  her 
Majesties  use,  and  made  a  publicke  instrumente  in  wrytinge  thcrof  by  a  Notary  to  avoyde  all  fraude. 
For  theis  glasses  yf  her  Majestic  lyke  not  to  have  them,  I  will  on  the  perill  of  my  heade  bringe. 
fortye  thowsande  dollars  into  her  coffers  without  one  penny  of  her  charges,  so  yt  may  stande  with 
her  gracious  pleasure  to  use  my  further  service  herin.  per  ROBERT  SMYTHE. 

[/«  dorsoJ] 

A  note  of  the  contentcs  of  the  lettre  to 
her  Majesty  writen  from  Jo:  Peterson 
borne  in  Lubeck. 

Rob:  Smythe  undertakes  on  the  perill  of 
his  head  to  bring  40  thousand  Dollers  for 
the  3  materiales.1' 

1  Pati-nt  Roll,  16  Edward  IV.  part  1,  m.  20.  b  State  Papers,  Dom.  EUz.  vol.  75,  No.  66. 


in  the  reign  of  Queen  Elizabeth.  391 

Again,  in  the  year  1570  a  crystal  stone  was  in  request  in  order  to  discover 
certain  money  which  was  stated  to  he  hidden  in  a  house  in  Kent,  and  a  spirit,  by 
name  "  Oryence,"  was  summoned  to  appear  in  this  crystal  to  answer  questions ;  hut, 
as  might  be  expected,  he  failed  in  his  appearance. 

The  matter  was  referred  by  the  Lords  of  the  Council  to  Justice  Southcote  and 
Mr.  Stanley  of  the  Mint,  who  caused  certain  examinations  to  be  made,  as  the 
following  documents  will  show. 

The  first  is  a  letter  from  Southcote  and  Stanley  to  the  Lords  of  the  Council, 
dated  July  29,  1570,  thus  :- 

Our  duties  most  humblie  remembred  unto  your  Honors,  signifyinge  the  same  that  accordinge  to 
the  tenor  of  your  most  honorable  Letters  wee  have  severally  examined  John  Buckley  student  of 
Oxford  and  William  Bedoe  prisoners  in  the  Towre,  lately  sent  thither  by  your  Honors,  whose  ex- 
aminacions  wee  sende  unto  your  good  Lordshippes  herewith,  and  wee  did  likewise  send  for  William 
Seres  stacioner  of  London  at  the  tyme  of  our  examinacion  to  give  us  informacion  of  such  matter  as 
he  could  against  the  said  prisoners,  and  upon  their  severall  examinacions  echo  of  them  shewed  him 
self  humble  and  obedient,  sayinge  that  they  made  plaine  and  true  confession  accordinge  to  their 
knowleges  of  those  thinges  whereupon  they  were  examined,  which  their  sayinges  in  that  behalt 
semed  unto  us  not  to  be  true,  for  that  they  agree  not  upon  the  principall  offence  :  as  by  their 
severall  examinacions  to  be  considered  by  your  honors  may  appeare/  And  thus  prayinge  to  thal- 
mightie  for  the  prosperous  preservacion  of  your  most  honorable  L.  wee  humblie  take  our  leave. 
From  London  this  xxix'h  of  Julie  a"  1570. 

Your  L.  most  bounden  ever  to  commaunde 

JOHN  SOUTHCOT. 

THOMAS  STANLEY." 

The  examinations  are  as  follow  : — 

The  examynacion  of  John  Bowckeley  Scoller  of  the  Universitye  of  Oxforde  taken  the  xxviii  of  July 
a"  1570  &  a°  xii  Elizabethe  Regine  &c.  before  John  Southcot  on  of  the  Quencs  Ma"*"  Justices 
and  Thomas  Standley  esquier  Treasurer  of  her  graces  Mynt. 

First  the  sayd  John  Bowckeley  sayeth  that  the  first  acquentance  that  he  hadde  w'  William  Bedo 
was  about  Crigmas  last  &yt  was  in  the  Universytye  of  Oxford;  which  Bcdo  came  to  this  examynates 
chambre  in  New  Inne  in  Oxford  and  desyred  this  examynate  to  cast  a  fygure  for  certen  monny 
that  was  hydden  in  a  mans  house  in  Kent;  to  whom  this  examynate  then  awnnsweryd  that  he  hadd 
no  skyll  in  that  scyence  to  geve  hym  tunderstond  of  any  suche  monny  there ;  and  therupon  the 
sayd  Bedo  was  very  earnest  w*  this  examynate  &  requeryd  hym  to  sett  the  fygure  &  to  do  his  best 
thcrin;  and  upon  his  itnportunat  sute  this  examynate  sett  a  fygure  &  went  w'  hym  into  Kent  to 
the  house  where  the  sayd  monny  was  supposed  to  be  to  vewe  the  place,  which  was  over  MrBaryngtons 

•  State  Papers,  Dom.  Eliz.  1570,  vol.  71,  No.  63. 


392  Observations  on  some  Documents  relating  to  Magic 

house  at  Brencheley  in  Kent;  and  at  his  beyng  there  which  was  by  the  space  of  xiiii.  or  xv.  dayes 
dyd  nothinge  but  make  merry  and  after  retorned  from  thens  to  Oxford  ageyn,  and  sayeth  that  about 
Whitsontyde  last  the  sayd  Bedo  came  to  Oxford  to  this  examynate  &  requestyd  hym  to  go  ageyn 
into  Kent  to  the  sayd  Barryngtons  house  to  make  merry ;  at  whose  request  this  examynate  went 
w*  hym  thether  &  beyng  there  and  earnestly  requested  by  the  sayd  Bedo  to  geve  hym  some  certen 
knowlege  whether  ther  were  any  monny  hydden  in  the  sayd  house  or  not,  this  examynate  then  sayd 
to  hym  that  he  hadd  don  his  uttermost  and  could  prove  nothing,  and  therupon  this  examynate  for 
ferder  assaye  havyng  a  certen  cristall  stone  about  hym  dyd  call  the  spryte  Oryence  to  see  whether 
he  wold  appere  in  the  sayd  cristall  to  geve  hym  tunderstond  whether  ther  were  any  monny  hydd 
in  the  sayd  house  or  not,  which  callyng  was  in  the  fyldes  nere  the  sayd  house  of  the  sayd  Barryngton 
in  Kent,  and  ther  apperyd  no  such  sprete  nor  any  other  thing,  wherupon  this  examynate  dyd  then 
ons  ageyne  declare  to  the  sayd  Bedo  that  he  could  doo  no  good  in  that  matter ;  and  after  thend  of 
the  Whitson  holydaycs  this  examynate  departed  from  thens  to  Oxford,  where  he  remayned  till  suche 
tyme  as  Mr  Doctor  Cooper  Comyssary  of  Oxford  dyd  send  for  hym  and  dyd  apprehend  hym  and 
sarched  his  chambrc  and  studye  what  thinges  he  hadd  there  and  toke  such  monny  as  he  hadd,  and 
dyd  sarche  whether  the  same  or  any  part  thereof  were  dyminysed  or  inbased,  which  he  could  not  fynd; 
and  ferder  sayetli  such  bookcs  as  this  examynate  hadde  towelling  the  art  of  estromancy  gematry  and 
alcamistrye  the  sayd  Mr  Cooper  toke  and  sent  w'  this  examynate  unto  the  court  to  the  privye 
counsayell  from  whence  after  he  hadde  byn  examyned  he  was  sent  to  the  Towre  of  London  to  be 
kept  as  a  prisoner/  And  this  examynate  ferder  sayeth  that  the  sayd  Bedo  at  his  last  beyng  w'  hym  at 
his  chambre  in  Oxford  which  was  a  little  after  Whitsontyde  last  saw  this  examynate  lowkyng  upon 
a  booke  made  by  John  Baptista  Porta  Neappolitanus  who  wretyth  of  naturall  magyge  wherin  there 
were  soundry  experymentes  as  well  of  metalles  as  of  other  thinges,  emonges  the  which  ther  was  on 
that  treatyd  of  the  demynishing  of  sylver  and  also  of  gevyng  of  weight  unto  sylver,  which  when  this 
examynate  hadd  redde  some  part  therof  to  the  sayd  Bedo  the  same  Bedo  desyred  to  geve  hym  the 
copye  of  that  that  wold  geve  weight  unto  sylver  and  that  that  wold  make  hit  white  &  colored  ageyn ; 
to  whom  this  examynate  sayd  that  if  he  wold  be  sworen  upon  a  booke  that  he  wold  never  use  the 
same  wlin  the  realme,  and  also  upon  condicion  that  he  wold  geve  unto  this  examynate  a  tablett  of 
gold  he  wold  coppye  the  same  for  hym  in  Englishe ;  and  the  sayd  Bedo  then  sayd  unto  this 
examynate  that  he  wold  not  only  geve  hym  a  tablett  of  gold  for  hys  paynes,  but  also  wold  be 
sworren  never  to  use  hit  in  Englond  sayeing  that  he  wold  goo  by  younde  see  &  practyce  the  same 
upon  Spanys  ryalles  And  therupon  this  examynate  dyd  swere  hym  upon  a  booke  that  he  shuld  not 
practys  the  same  wi"'n  any  of  the  Quenes  domynyons  ;  and  after  the  said  Bedo  departed  to  London 
and  shortely  after  sent  a  tablett  of  gold  and  a  letter  to  this  examynate  and  a  still  of  glasse  by  a  pore 
man  which  this  examynate  receyved  &  by  the  sayd  pore  man  sent  the  coppye  of  the  sayd  water  to 
geve  wight  to  the  sayd  Bedo  And  the  sayd  examynate  being  ferder  demaunded  whether  he  dyd 
lerne  or  teche  the  sayd  Bedo  or  any  other  to  make  a  powder  to  demynnes  or  inbasse  sylver  or  to 
take  any  part  from  sylver  coygne  and  not  to  impayre  the  prent  therof  sayeth  that  he  never  taught  or 
lernyd  hym  or  any  other  any  suche  art  or  connyng  more  then  by  reading  of  the  aforsayd  booke 
and  declaryng  the  same  in  Englisse  as  ys  wretyn  in  the  same  booke  nor  dyd  ever  trye  any  suche 
thyng  upon  any  coigne  nor  canne  make  any  powder  or  other  thyng  to  demynys  any  sylver  coigne  or 
other  coigne  nor  hadd  ever  any  conference  or  talke  w  any  person  towching  the  sayd  booke  or  any 


in  the  reign  of  Queen  Elizabeth.  393 

thing  thcrin  but  only  w'  the  sayd  Bedo,  nor  hadd  any  other  talke  or  comynycacion  wl  the  sayd 
Bedo  towching  the  demynyssyng  or  gevyng  wyght  to  sylver  orther  then  he  hath  before  declared 
And  this  examynat  being  ferder  demaunded  whether  he  dyd  ever  practys  or  exercyse  any  invocacions 
or  conjuracions  to  any  wycked  sprete  for  any  intent  or  purpose  sayethe  that  he  never  used  or 
practyzed  any  suche  thinge  more  then  he  hath  before  declared  which  was  the  first  and  last  tyme 
that  he  ever  made  any  suche  invocacion  and  whiche  he  wold  not  have  don  but  by  the  earnest 
request  and  desyre  of  the  sayd  Bedo  And  being  ferder  demaunded  whether  he  ever  practyzed  the 
art  of  multyplicacion  or  alcamestrye  sayeth  that  he  about  Mydsomer  last  dyd  trye  whether  quyck- 
sylver  wold  hold  together  as  ledde  or  not,  but  he  could  not  bring  it  to  any  perfeccion  &  more 
he  never  practyzed  or  dyd. 

By  me  JOHN  BULKELEY. 

JOHN  SOUTHCOT. 

THOMAS  STANLEY." 

Thexamynacion  of  William  Bedo  Stacyner  taken  the  xxviii.  of  July  A°  1570  &  in  the  xii.  yere  of 
the  raigne  of  our  most  drad  soveraigne  Lady  Quene  Elizabeth  before  John  Southcot  on  of  the 
Quenes  MatiM  Justices  and  Thomas  Standley  esquier  Treasuror  of  her  Highnes  Mynt. 

First  this  examynat  sayeth  that  he  was  boren  in  Glocestre  Sheirc  w'in  the  Cytye  of  Glocestre 
and  when  he  was  about  xii.  yers  of  age  he  came  to  London  and  was  bounde  apprentyce  to  one 
Phillipc  Skapulis  Stacyoner  then  dwellyng  in  St.  Clcmentes  parysshe  w'out  Temple  barr  and  who  now 
dwellyth  at  Brystow  and  served  hym  as  apprentyse  the  space  of  vii.  yers  and  kept  a  shoppe  for  hym 
duryng  the  same  tyme  by  the  space  of  iiij.  yers  at  Bristow  afforsayd  and  after  this  examynat 
hadde  the  parsonage  of  Wraxall  in  Somerset  Sheire  in  ferine  iij.  yers  &  duryng  the  same  tyme  gat  a 
lytle  stocke  of.monny  and  then  came  to  London  and  bought  bookes  &  wares  &  went  to  Fayres  and 
hyrcd  a  shoppe  in  the  cytye  of  Lyncoln  and  there  sold  bookes  about  iij.  or  iiij.  yers  and  after  he 
come  into  Sussex  to  vysyte  a  brother  of  his  dwellyng  at  Arrundell  and  from  thens  went  into  Kent 
to  one  Mr  Barrynton  dwellyng  at  Brencheley  who  hadd  stollen  from  hym  out  of  his  house  viii.  or 
x.  11  in  monny  and  bcyng  desyrous  to  know  who  hadde  the  same  moved  this  examynate  whether  he 
dyd  know  any  that  could  tell  hym  who  stale  his  said  monny  from  him  to  whom  this  examynate 
awnsweryd  that  he  knew  of  nonne  but  sayed  that  he  wold  inquyre  as  he  travelyd  yf  there  were 
any  suche  wherupon  betwyn  Crismas  &  Candalmas  last  yt  fortned  this  examynate  to  travell  to 
Oxford  and  beynge  thcyre  inqueryd  of  dyvers  whether  ther  were  any  there  that  could  tell  where 
monny  stollen  or  lost  might  be  founde  and  he  sayeth  that  dyuers  of  the  Skolers  ther  whose  names 
he  knowcth  not  told  hym  that  one  master  John  Bowkcley  a  studyant  in  New  Inne  could  tell  hym 
best  thcrof  and  hereupon  he  went  unto  the  sayd  Mr  Bowckeley  &  dcsyred  hym  to  tell  hym  who 
hadde  stollen  the  sayd  monny  who  awnnsweryd  hym  that  he  could  not  well  tell  but  sayd  that  he 
wold  cast  a  fugar  for  hyt  and  so  dyd  in  very  dedc  and  saycd  that  he  dyd  lowkc  in  a  cristall  stone 
for  hit  but  for  all  that  he  colde  fynde  nothyng  and  then  &  there  this  examynate  fell  into  famylycr 
acquentans  and  talke  w'  the  sayd  Bowckeley  &  then  the  sayd  Bowckeley  sayd  unto  this  examynate 
that  if  he  wold  gcve  hym  a  Tablett  of  gold  that  he  wold  teche  hym  the  nrtc  how  to  demynysshe 

•  State  Papers,  Dom.  Eliz.  1570,  vol.  71,  No.  63,  i. 
VOL.  XL.  3  E 


394  Observations  on  some  Documents  relating  to  Magic 

any  sylver  coigne  in  the  wayght  not  hurtyng  the  prcnt  therof  and  also  teche  hym  to  make  a  water  to 
geve  the  wight  therof  ageyn  and  thereupone  this  examynate  agreed  to  send  hym  a  Tablett  of  gold 
but  the  sayd  Bowckeley  wold  not  lerne  hym  the  art  to  geve  wight  till  suche  tyme  he  hadd  the 
Tablett  and  so  this  examynate  departed  from  Oxford  to  London  and  lay  at  one  Mr  Wryttes  house 
dwellyng  by  Seynt  Georges  Churche  in  South warke  and  about  vj.  or  vij.  wekes  last  past  bought  a 
Tablett  of  gold  in  goldsmythes  Eow  in  Chepsyde  which  cost  hym  iiij.  li  &  ode  monny  and  after 
inqueryng  of  the  sayd  Mr  Wryght  where  he  might  have  a  trustye  man  to  carry  a  token  and  a 
letter  to  Oxford  the  sayd  Wright  provided  hym  a  bromc  man  dwellyng  in  Kentys  strcte  in  South- 
warke  whose  name  this  examynat  knoweth  not  by  whom  upon  the  credyte  of  the  sayd  Mr  Wright 
he  dyd  send  the  sayd  Tablett  and  his  letter  unto  the  sayd  Mr  Bowckeley  to  Oxforde  who  delyveryd 
the  sayd  Tablett  and  letter  to  the  sayd  Bowckeley  accordingly  And  thereupon  the  sayd 
Bowckeley  sent  a  letter  unto  this  examynate  wherin  he  wrote  how  he  shuld  make  the  sayd  water 
to  give  wight  to  the  sylver  coigne  that  shuld  be  lyghtened  which  letter  this  examynate  showed  unto 
Mr  Sccreatorye  And  this  examynate  ferder  sayeth  that  the  sayd  Bowckeley  before  his  departure  from 
hym  at  Oxford  dyd  in  his  presence  lerne  hym  how  he  shuld  lighten  any  sylver  coigne  which  was  with 
a  certen  powder  and  other  thinges  the  receyttes  wherof  he  hath  declared  hertoforo  to  the  sayd 
Mr  Secreatory  and  to  the  sayd  Mr  Standley  And  this  examynate  beyng  demaunded  how  manny 
peces  of  sylver  coigne  he  hath  demynysshcd  &  lightened  w'  the  sayd  poudcr  &  other  thinges  sythens 
he  lernyd  the  same  and  where  he  dyd  practyce  &  exercyse  the  sayd  art  and  what  sylver  peces  of 
coigne  hit  was  that  was  so  lightened  to  the  first  interragotory  he  sayeth  that  he  hath  lightened 
sythence  lie  lernyd  the  sayd  art  about  an  viij.  or  x.  ii  in  monny  and  hath  taken  off  as  moche  sylver 
from  the  same  Icvyng  the  prcnt  therof  hole  as  amounteth  to  ij.  onces  of  sylver  And  he  hath  don  hit 
at  Arrundell  at  his  brother's  house  in  Sussex  and  in  dyvers  other  places  as  he  hath  rydden  by  the 
wayc  where  he  logged  wl  a  little  fyre  in  a  fyrc  shovell  and  he  sayeth  that  the  most  part  of  the  coigne 
that  he  dyd  demynysshe  &  lessen  was  xii.d  &  vi.d  of  the  Quenes  Matics  coigne  &  some  Spanyshc 
sylver  and  he  ferder  sayeth  that  the  sayd  Bowckeley  told  hym  when  he  first  taught  hym  the  sayd 
art  that  hit  was  nonne  offence  in  law  to  demynyshe  the  Spanys  sylver/  And  he  sayeth  ferder  that 
the  sylver  which  he  toke  of  from  suche  peces  of  sylver  coigne  as  he  dyd  demynyshe  he  dyd  melt  at 
Arrundell  in  his  chambre  in  an  iron  ladcll  and  after  brought  the  same  to  London  and  caused  hit  to 
be  fyned  by  a  gold  fyner  dwellyng  in  Aldergat  Strete  whose  name  he  knoweth  not  but  he  sup- 
poseth  that  his  name  ys  John  Wheler  And  this  examynate  ferder  sayeth  that  sythens  his  beyng 
at  Oxford  he  never  spake  or  sawe  the  sayd  Buckeley  but  when  they  were  together  at  the  Court 
before  the  Councell/  and  he  ferder  sayeth  that  he  hath  utteryd  all  the  sayd  peces  of  x\i.A  &  vi.d 
that  he  dyd  so  demynysshe  as  well  in  Sussex  as  in  other  Countryes  as  he  travelled  and  also  utteryd 
some  of  the  same  in  the  Cytye  of  London  And  this  examynate  ferder  sayeth  that  he  made  non 
but  one  Fraunces  Godely  Stacyoner  dwellyng  in  St.  Gregoryes  parysshe  in  London  privey  to  his  sayd 
art  and  promysed  to  lerne  hym  the  same  art  so  that  he  wold  geve  hym  xl."  in  monny  who  promysed 
him  to  geve  hym  the  sayd  xl.'  but  be  hath  not  reccyved  hit  as  yet  and  more  he  cannot  saye. 

JOHN  SOUTHCOT.  WYLLYAM  BEDO. 

THOMAS  STANLEY.8 

a  State  Papers,  Dom.  Eliz.  1570,  vol.  71,  No.  C3,  ii. 


in  the  reign  of  Queen  Elizabeth. 

The  two  following  documents  are  curious  illustrations  of  the  belief  that  if  a 
person  wishes  to  bring  about  the  death  of  any  one  with  whom  he  is  at  enmity  he 
has  only  to  draw  a  picture  or  make  a  waxen  image  of  such  person,  and  then  stick 
pins  round  about  the  heart,  which  process  will,  by  the  help  of  magic  art,  effect  its 
purpose.  The  second  document  also  mentions  a  crystal. 

One  Atkinson  beinge  prisoner  in  Newgate  &  beinge  acquainted  wth  one  Robert  Birche  who  as 
hee  heard  was  knowen  &  well  thoughte  of  by  Sir  Edward  Hobby  did  sende  for  the  said  Birche  to 
come  to  him  to  have  his  advise  in  his  affaires ;  &  at  his  comynge  Frauncis  Norton  beinge  allso 
prisoner  there  said  that  the  said  Birche  was  a  conjurer  and  coulde  doe  many  thinges  wch  beinge 
heard  of  M™  Dewse  she  desired  Atkinson  to  bee  a  meane  that  shee  mighte  speake  w"1  Birche. 

At  his  cominge  to  her  she  told  him  that  slice  had  heard  of  him  &  longe  soughte  for  him  &  that 
the  cause  why  she  desired  to  speake  wth  him  was  that  by  his  counsell  &  aide  shee  mighte  bee 
revenged  of  her  enemies,  wherein  she  said  he  should  greatly  please  God,  for  one  of  them  was 
that  thiefe  Younge  who  lived  by  robbinge  papistes  thother  was  Sr  Rowland  Heyward,  Gunston,  & 
Sye,  whose  pictures  she  said  she  would  have  made  &  then  pricke  them  to  the  harte,  or  els  that  by 
his  arte  they  mighte  all  dye  an  they  did  at  the  assises  at  Oxford. 

Birche  aunswcred  her  that  her  practise  was  perilous  &  daungerous  but  he  would  thinke  on  the 
matter  &  tell  her  his  opynion,  &  ymediately  he  imparted  the  matter  to  Mr  Younge  who  wished 
him  to  see  what  she  had  done  but  to  beware  that  he  did  nothing  himselfe,  &  cominge  to  her  after- 
wardes  she  had  prepared  waxe  rcquestinge  him  to  make  the  pictures  wch  hee  said  hee  could  not 
doe  for  that  hee  was  lame  &  that  hee  was  lothe  to  geve  his  consente  wthout  the  consente  of  her 
husbande  and  shee  said  that  her  husband  was  afrayed  to  come  in  daunger,  but  hee  would  allowe  her 
to  geve  asmuch  as  hee  would,  but  yet  hee  should  come  to  him. 

The  nexte  day  Dewse  came  to  Birche  &  said  that  he  knewe  the  cause  of  his  comynge  by  his 
wife  &  did  saye  that  he  would  performe  what  shee  had  promised  &  would  geve  him  xlh  more  &  Birch 
said  that  hee  had  forgotten  their  names  &  Dewse  wrote  them  wtu  his  owne  hande  &  then  he  said 
he  would  thinke  of  the  matter,  &  Dewse  willed  him  to  come  home  as  soone  as  he  coulde. 

Within  two  daics  after  Birche  came  to  Mrs  Dewse  &  slice  said  that  she  was  fully  resolved  to  make 
the  pictures  of  those  villaynes  &  praied  him  because  he  could  not  doe  them  yet  to  stande  by 
her  &  to  tell  her  if  slice  did  amisse,  then  she  made  three  pictures,  one  for  Mr  Younge  &  put  a 
pynne  into  his  harte,  another  for  Sr  Rowland  Heyward  &  putt  a  pynnc  to  his  harte  &  another 
under  his  ribbes,  &  the  third  picture  for  Sye  &  put  two  pynnes  in  his  eyes,  &  shortly  after  Dewse 
came  to  Birche  &  told  him  that  hee  feared  Norton  would  betray  them. 

M™  Dewse  hath  sent  for  Birche  divers  tymes  since  &  sent  him  a  sugar  loafe  &  lemans  &  told  him 
that  shee  thanked  God  some  of  her  pictures  did  worke  well  and  so  she  hoped  would  all  the 
reste  &  desired  him  to  come  often  to  see  them. 

Upon  scarchc  rnadc  in  Newgate  two  pictures  were  founde  in  her  cubord  by  the  Sheriffe  in  a 
secrete  place  w"1  pynnes  slicked  in  them  as  is  aforesaid,  and  she  told  Birche  that  the  third  was 
broken  &  that  shoe  would  make  more  &  the  said  two  pictures  rcmaine  in  the  custodie  of 
Mr  Sebrighte  towne  clerke  of  London  by  commandment  of  the  Lord  Mayor  &  the  Benche. 

[In  dorso,"} — Januarie  1589.     Information  against  Dewses  wief.* 

11  State  Papers,  Dora.  Eliz.  vol.  230,  No.  30. 

3E2 


396  Observations  on  some  Documents  relating  to  Magic 

A  true  reporte  of  Mrs.  Dewse  her  wordes  conccrnlnge  her  meaninge  and  dealinge  towardes  the 
Lord  Chancellor  the  Lord  Chamberleyne  Mr.  Recorder  &  others  whereof  I  remember  no  more 
of  their  names  but  the  ShcrifFes. 

Firste  she  said,  0  sir  you  are  hartely  wellcome,  I  sente  for  you  yesterdaye  to  thende  to  praye  you 
that  if  all  my  Frcndes  deceyve  me,  &  that  if  neither  my  pictures  nor  any  thinge  I  can  doe  els  will 
destroye  rnyne  enemies,  that  then  you  will  stande  so  muche  my  goode  Frendc  to  doe  somcthinge 
by  arte  to  destroye  all  those  that  are  my  husbandes  enemies  in  a  dampe  as  I  heard  some  were  at 
Oxford  assises  which  are  allmost  all  the  benche  by  that  villeyne  Rowland  Heyward  &  Younges 
meanes,  who  have  since  you  were  wth  me  sent  the  knaves  Sheriffes  to  searchc  my  house  who  have 
geven  me  such  abhominable  wordes  &  sent  my  maide  to  the  Coumpter  &  so  uphelde  Gunstone  that 
murtherer  in  all  his  doinges,  that  noe  woman  is  able  to  endure  the  same,  For  they  had  not  onely 
done  her  these  injuries  &  soughte  to  make  her  husband  lose  his  office,  wch  wouldc  bee  both  her 
and  her  childrens  undoingcs,  but  they  had  allso  made  the  lord  Chamberleyne  that  hee  would  not 
reade  her  husbandes  peticions,  and  the  Lord  Chauncelor  who  was  ever  her  husbandes  frend  woulde 
doe  nothinge  for  her,  &  Mr  Recorder  whom  she  thought  would  not  have  bcne  her  enemie,  he 
likewise  did  now  (as  slice  heard)  take  his  parte  that  should  have  her  husbandes  office,  &  all  was 
through  the  knaves  Rowland  Heywarde  &  Justice  Younge  &  the  Sheriffes  meanes,  and  therefore 
as  slice  was  myndod  she  would  make  all  their  pictures  &  pricke  them  wth  pynnes,  that  they  mighte 
thinke  it  was  Gods  doingc  because  they  would  suffer  theeves  to  overthrows  her  husband  wll'out  any 
cause  And  tliat  if  I  wouldc  come  to  her  againe  w"'in  two  daycs  after  I  should  see  howe  shee  had 
done  them  &  in  what  order,  for  she  mente  to  pricke  them  all  at  the  hartc,  &  if  they  died  all  excepte 
the  Lord  Chauncelor,  it  was  no  matter,  sayeing  how  say  you  is  it  not  a  good  meanes  to  workc 
against  my  enemies,  they  tell  me  &  I  have  often  heard  it  is.  Birclic  aunswercd  that  it  was  a  daun- 
gerous  meanes  &  that  slice  were  bcste  to  take  good  heede  how  she  dealtc  and  whom  she  trusted  in 
such  matters ;  and  that  the  best  meanes  was  to  pray  to  God  that  hee  would  turne  her  enemies  hartcs, 
&  that  for  his  parte  he  would  bee  glad  hereafter  if  he  could  by  any  good  meanes  doe  her  pleasure. 
She  aunswercd,  I  thank  you,  good  Sir,  &  if  I  doe  not  prevaile  by  makingc  my  pictures,  if  then  you  will 
doe  that  for  nice  wrh  was  done  at  Oxford  assises,  my  husband  will  geve  you  xl  li.  for  your  payncs  ; 
Birch  aunswercd  he  woulde  doe  any  thinge  hee  could  wth  his  owne  &  her  safetie  to  doe  her  good, 
but  hee  woulde  doc  it  for  curtcsie  and  not  for  money  Then  said  shee  I  pray  you  of  all  curtesie  as 
ever  you  will  doe  any  thinge  for  me  take  v  s.  of  me  to  buy  a  great  christall  for  me  &  when  you  come 
againe  you  shall  sec  what  I  will  doe  wthall  &  I  will  crave  your  opynion  howe  you  like  my  Frendes 
counsell  aboute  the  same.  Birche  said,  I  will  buy  it  for  you  wth  a  good  will  &  1  pray  God  sende 
you  good  counsell ;  &  thereupon  she  gave  him  v  s.  sayeng  she  would  fayne  have  him  stay  longer, 
but  that  she  was  afraycd  to  have  him  or  any  straunger  sene  w11'  her,  by  one  Norton  wch  was  a 
prisoner,  who  would  b^wraye  all  that  hee  coulde  mistruste  of  her,  And  so  she  gcving  him  thankes 
for  his  paynes  &  hee  gevinge  her  thankes  for  her  giftes  wch  were  two  lemons  a  sugar  lofe  &  a 
capon  they  parted  at  that  time. 

These  speeches  she  uttered  the  same  day  she  was  apprehended. 

ROBT.  BIRCHE. 

[7n  dorso."]     Birche  his  last  conference  wth  M"  Dewsc." 

•  State  Paper?,  Dom.  Eliz.  vol.  230,  No.  31. 


in  the  reign  of  Qveen  Elizabeth,  397 

Very  soon  afterwards  we  find  another  document  among  the  State  Papers  which 
gives  an  account  of  various  articles  of  witchcraft  found  in  a  field  near  London, 
including  a  crystal  stone,  on  which  was  written  Satan. 

May  it  please  your  wurshipp  to  understand  That  we  John  Gilbert  and  John  Holmeade  servauntes 
to  Humfrey  Weld  citizen  and  grocer  of  London  beinge  at  our  masters  house  at  Southstrete  in  the 
parishe  of  Edmonton  the  xxith  dale  of  this  instant  monith  of  September  We  are  comaunded  by  the 
constable  with  others  moe  to  make  serche  for  certen  men  wch  weare  about  the  arte  of  witchcraftc  or 
conjuringe  wch  men  we  founde  in  the  feilde  or  closes  of  one  Robert  Hewes  otherwise  called  Eobert 
Carpenter  wch  ij  conjurers  when  they  espied  us  one  of  them  fled  awaye  but  the  other  of  them  we 
tooke  wth  certen  lattyn  bookes  about  him  wch  are  to  be  sene  and  he  beinge  carried,  to  the  constables 
house  and  there  kept  we  with  diverse  others  retorned  to  their  cabbyn  wch  they  had  made  under  a 
great  tree  in  the  said  closse  of  the  said  Eobert  Hewes  wth  certen  cirkells  on  the  ground  within  the 
said  cabbyn  and  one  of  the  said  cirkells  was  laid  about  with  parchment  written  uppon  wth  crosses 
and  by  the  said  cabbyn  we  found  a  stoole  with  divers  pottos  by  the  same  stoole,  and  a  redd  cock 
beinge  dead  by  it  and  againste  the  said  stoole  a  fayre  cristall  stone  with  this  word  (Sathan)  written 
on  yt  Also  a  parchment  writinge  wlh  three  or  foure  scales  of  yellowe  waxe  at  the  same  we  found 
also  in  the  same  cabbyn  a  cope  a  sirpler  a  crowne  a  scepter  gilte  and  a  fayre  broad  sword  ready 
drawen  beinge  sett  upp  againste  the  tree  and  diverse  other  bookes  and  writinges  and  a  pece  of  brasse 
gilded  with  diverse  lettres  graven  uppon  it,  and  powders  and  rattes  bane  wcb  the  partie  that  Hed  strawed 
in  the  waye  disapointinge  thereby  our  bloudd  hounde  And  the  partie  wcb  we  tooke  had  about  him 
the  picture  of  Christe  on  the  Crossc  hanginge  behinde  his  back  under  his  doublet  &  on  the  same 
stringe  before  him  the  picture  of  serpentes  or  suche  like  And  the  said  partie  was  brought  by  the 
constable  before  Mr  Justice  Clark  to  be  examined  and  we  understand  that  the  said  conjurer  is  let 
goe  uppon  suerties  to  answere  the  same  at  the  next  sessions." 

To  the  best  of  my  knowledge  these  documents  have  never  before  been  noticed, 
and  therefore  I  beg  leave  to  submit  them  to  the  consideration  of  this  Society  as 
curious  illustrations  of  the  belief  which  formerly  prevailed  with  regard  to  the 


magical  art. 


•  State  Papers,  Dom.  Eliz  A.D.  1590,  vol.  233,  No.  72. 


398 


XXVII.  Notice  sur  une  ancienne  Statue  de  Guillaume-le-Conquerant,  conservfe 
dans  VEglise  de  Saint-  Victor-V  Abbaye  (canton  de  Tdtes,  arrondissement  de 
Dieppe.)  Par  M.  L'ABBE  COCHET,  Hon.  F.S.A. 


Read  Jan.  18th,  1866. 


L'image  des  grands  hommes  est  toujours  pre"cieuse  pour  la  posterity ;  mais  cette 
image  le  devient  encore  davantage  si  elle  se  rapproche  du  temps  ou  ont  v6cu  les 
he*ros,  et  si  la  representation  offre  les  plus  grandes  chances  de  ressemblance  avec 
les  modeles.  A  defaut  des  traits  du  visage,  les  anciennes  statues,  lorsqu'elles 
sont  contemporaines,  ont  au  moins  le  m6rite  de  la  fide'lite  du  costume,  chose 
toujours  importante  dans  la  reproduction  d'un  personnage  historique.  Aussi 
est-ce  avec  un  soin  extreme  et  presque  avec  un  culte  que  nous  devons  traiter  les 
portraits  que  le  passe*  nous  a  laissds  de  ceux  qui  furent  son  honneur  et  la  gloire 
de  la  patrie. 

Ces  reflexions  nous  sont  inspirees  par  une  statue  de  Guillaume-le-Conquerant, 
due  de  Normandie  et  roi  d'Angleterre,  qui  se  conserve  depuis  des  siecles  h 
1'Abbaye  de  Saint- Victor-en-Caux,  supprime'e  depuis  cent  vingt  ans,  et  dont 
1'eglise  n'est  plus  qu'une  simple  paroisse  rurale. 

Cette  eglise  cependant,  quoique  entierement  reformde  et  refondue  de  1750  a 
1755,  conserve  encore  quelques  traces  de  son  origine  ancienne  et  de  sa  destination 
premiere.  Nous  citerons  spe'cialement  des  arcades  de  pierre  du  treizieme  siecle, 
une  jolie  salle  capitulairc  du  meme  temps,  et  par  dessus  tout  une  curieuse  statue 
de  pierre,  a,  present  placee  au  chevet  exte"rieur  de  1'eglise  dans  une  niche  faite 
expres  pour  elle,  mais  qui  ressemble  cependant  a  une  fenfitre  rebouch6e. 

Hatons-nous  de  le  dire  tout  d'abord,  cette  statue  n'est  point  &  la  place  qui  lui 
fut  primitivement  destinee.  Elle  e*tait  autrefois  placee  &  la  porte  du  monastere 
qu'elle  semblait  avoir  pour  mission  de  garder.  Une  inscription  du  dernier  siecle 
nous  re"  vele  ce  detail : 

Anglia  victorem,  dominum  quern  Neustria  sensit 

Limina  Victoria  servat  arnica  sui; 
Sit  procul  hinc  inimica  manus,  vigil  excubat  heros, 

Est  Deus  ipse  intus;  crede,  pavesce,  cole. 


Notice  sur  une  ancienne  Statue  de  Guillaume-le- Conquer  ant.  399 

La  raison  pour  laquellc  le  duc-roi  est  ainsi  constitue  gardien  et  protecteur  de 
1'abbaye  vient  eVidemment  de  ce  qu'il  en  dtait  conside're'  comme  le  fondateur. 
C'e"tait  du  moins  1'opinion  des  derniers  moines  b6nedictins,  et  probablement  aussi 
celle  de  l'Abb6  Terrisse,  auquel  nous  attribuons  1'inscription  suivante,  a  present 
placde  a  c6te"  de  1'image  et  en  face  de  celle  que  nous  venons  de  dormer  : 

Guillelmus  Conquestor 

Anglorum  rex,  Normannorum  dux, 

Abbatiae  sancti  Victoris  fundationera  confirmavit 

Anno  salutis  1074. 

Le  prieure"  de  Saint- Victor,  primitivement  fond6  en  1051  par  le  pretre  Tormord 
et  par  Roger  de  Mortemer,  fut  clove1,  en  1074.  a  la  dignit6  d'abbaye  par  Jean 
d'Avranches,  arckeveque  de  Rouen,  et  par  le  duc-roi  de  la  Normandie." 

Guillaume,  heureux  dans  ses  guerres,  cut  toujours  une  deVotion  particuliere 
pour  le  glorieux  soldat  de  Marseille.  Une  vieille  tradition,  connue  dans  le  pays, 
et  presque  aussi  ancienne  que  la  statue,  pretend  que  le  Conqu6rant  obligeait  les 
moines  a  allumer,  chaque  nuit,  des  feux  sur  leur  cloclier  pour  e"clairer  a  travers 
le  pays  la  marcbe  de  son  arm6e.b 

C'est  eVidemment  a  ces  divers  titres  de  bienfaiteur,  de  restaurateur,  et  de 
second  fondateur,  que  Guillaume  fut  Iionor6  dans  1'  Abbaye  de  Saint- Victor,  et  que 
son  image  y  fut  reve'ree.  II  est  probable  que  les  religieux,  dirig6s  peut-etre  par 
rAbbe"  Barthelemy  (1268-1277),  auront  fait  dresser  1'image  de  leur  patron 
terrestrec  et  1'auront  placdc  a  I'entre'e  du  monastere  splendidement  r6gene're',d  car 

a  Neustria  pia,  p.  545.  Gallia  Christiana,  t.  xi.  p.  26 1.  Instrumenta,  p.  13.  Pommeraye,  Histoire  de 
Fabbaye  royals  de  Saint  Oven  de  Rouen,  pp.  348-353.  Duplessis,  Description  Geographic/lie  et  Historique  de  la 
Haute-Normandie,  t.  i.  p.  119.  Guilmeth,  Descr.  Giogr.  Hist.  Stat.  et  Man.  des  Arrondissements  de  Dieppe, 
t.  i.  pp.  230-31. 

b  Cette  tradition  n'a  rien  d'invraisemblable.  Un  fait  de  guerre,  rapporte  par  Orde'ric  Vital,  semble  lui 
donner  raison.  Notre  grand  historien  Normand  raconte  que  Hugues  de  Gournay,  s'dtant  soulevd  en  1118 
centre  le  duc-roi  de  la  Normandie,  s'avanya  dans  le  Talon  et  le  pays  de  Caux.  II  y  fit  quelquo  temps  une 
guerre  acharnde  "  qui  crudelissimam  in  Talou  et  in  Calentensi  pago  gucrram  faciebat."  Guillaume  du 
Tancarville  charge  de  protdger  les  Cauchois  vint  dire  a  Henri  II.  "  Ecce  Caletcnses  mittunt  me  ad  te."  LP 
roi  ne  tarda  pas  Ji  venir,  et  un  combat  eut  lieu  pres  d'Ouvillc-l'Abbaye.  Le  fils  du  seigneur  de  St.  Laurent 
en-Caux  y  perdit  la  vie,  et  son  corps  fut  inhume  dans  1'abbaye  de  Saint- Victor. — Ord.  Vital.  Hist.  Eccl. 
lib.  xii. 

c  II  parait  bien  que  les  anciens  moines,  du  moins  ceux  de  la  Normandie,  se  plaisaient  i\  conserver  au 
milieu  d'eux  les  images  de  leurs  bienfaiteurs,  car  les  historiens  de  Jumieges  nous  assurent  que  dans  ce  grand 
monastere  on  a  vu  perseverer  jusqu'a  la  revolution  les  statues  de  Clovis,  de  Bathilde,  de  Dagobert,  de  Kollon, 
de  Guillaume  Longue-Epe'e,  ct  de  Charles  VII.  Deshayes,  Histoire  de  V Abbaye  royale  de  Jumieges,  p.  183. 

d  Dans  le  choeur  de  Saint- Victor  est  une  dalle  du  treiziime  siecle,  presque  eflhcee,  et  sur  laquelle  on  lit, 


400  Notice  sur  une  ancicnne  Statue  de  G-uillaume-le-  Conque'rant. 

la  salle  capitulaire,  les  batiments  claustraux,  et  1'dglise  tout  entiere  furent 
renouvelds  au  treizieme  siecle.  Les  pierres  qui  restent  proclament  fortetnent 
cette  reconstruction. 

Si  1'dglise  a  dtd  en  grande  partie  ddmolie  au  dernier  siecle,  si  le  monastere  a 
presque  completement  disparu,  du  moins  il  nous  est  restd  deux  belles  choses  de 
cette  grande  et  curieuse  dpoque :  la  salle  capitulaire  et  la  statue  de  Guillaume. 

Deja  nous  avons  ddcrit  cet  dldgant  Chapitre  dont  M.  Andrd  Durand  prepare  une 
belle  reproduction."  Aujourd'hui  nous  ne  parlerons  quo  de  1'image  royalc,  la 
plus  ancienne  qui  nous  soit  restde  d'un  prince  qui  remplit  son  siecle  de  sa 
renommde,  qui  fut  1'honneur  de  la  nation  Normande,  et  qui  est  demeurd  1'une 
des  plus  grandes  figures  du  Moyen-Age. 

Nous  croyons  que  1'Angleterre,  la  France,  et  la  Normandie  seront  heureuses  de 
connaitre  les  traits  du  grand  homme  par  la  reproduction  qui  se  rapproche  le  plus 
de  1'original.  (Planche  XXII.) 

Cette  statue,  haute  de  deux  metres,  et  en  pierre  de  taille,  doit  appartenir  a  la 
fin  du  treizieme  si&cle  ou  au  commencement  du  quatorzieme.  Par  sa  forme  elle 
rappelle  les  images  funebres  des  Enervds  de  Jumieges,  des  dues  Rollon  et  Guil- 
laume Longue-Epde,  qui  se  voient  h  la  cathddrale  de  Rouen,  et  des  rois  Anglo- 
Normands  de  la  famille  des  Plantagcnet.  Je  cite  surtout  parmi  ces  derniers  la 
statue  de  Richard  Coeur-de-Lion,  que  Ton  voit  a  Rouen,  et  celles  de  Henry  II,  et 
de  Jean-sans-Terre,  qui  existent  encore  a  Fontevrault.  Je  pourrais  en  dire 
autant  de  la  plupart  des  images  sdpulcrales  des  rois  de  France,  refaites  au 
treizi6me  siecle  par  les  abbes  de  Saint-Denis.  Comme  ses  contemporaines,  la 
statue  de  Guillaume  a  dtd  pcinte  et  dorde,  suivant  un  usage  gdndral  &  cette 
dpoque.  "  Malheureusement,"  dit  M.  Deville,  "  elle  a  re9u  plusieurs  couches  suc- 
cessives,  ce  qui  1'a  un  peu  clefiguree  :  la  premiere  couche  dtait  un  bleu  d'outremer, 
a  laquelle  on  a  superpose"  de  1'or,  puis  a  celle-ci  du  rouge.  Le  fond  du  manteau 
etait  egalement  blanc,  forrnant  damier  avec  Tor ;  plus  tard  on  1'a  peint  en  blanc 
mouchete'  en  or.  Le  pommeau  de  I'epde  est  dord,  le  reste  en  vert-pommc ;  la  tete 
egalement  a  6te  peinte,  et  les  cheveux  ont  dte"  dords." 

Le  duc-roi  est  vetu  d'une  longue  robe,  qui  ferme  par  devant.  Un  manteau 
royal,  ndgligemmcnt  jete  sur  les  dpaules,  est  soutenu  a  1'aide  de  deux  cordons, 
dont  la  main  droite  tient  les  glands  sur  la  poitrine.  Les  dtoffcs  paraissent 

non  sans  peine,  quelques  mots,  reste  de  vers  leonins.     C'est  precis^ment  le  nom  de  1'Abbe  Barthelemy, 

"  .  .  .  .  JACET  ABBAS  :  BARTHOLOMA(EVS)  .  .  .  ." 

a  Excursion  Pittoresque  et  ArcMol.  dam  les  Environs  de  Dieppe,  3°  partie,  No.  21. 


Vol.  XL.  Plat,-  \.\lf.  t>.  4m. 


STATUE   DB  OUILLAUMR-LK-CONQUfiKANT. 
EOLISE  DK  RAINT-VIOTOR-I/ABBAYE. 


Notice  sur  une  ancienne  Statue  de  Guillaume-le-Conqu£rant.  401 

ramage'es  et  frangdes  avec  une  certaine  elegance.  Un  ceinturon,  disons  mieux 
un  baudrier  de  cuir,  passe  au-dessous  de  1'aiselle  et  serre  le  corps  du  prince, 
suivant  la  coutume  civile  et  militaire  de  ce  temps-la.  Le  ceinturon  est  de'core'  de 
fleurs  qui  font  saillie,  et  il  ferme  &  1'aide  d'une  boucle  carre"e,  qui  sent  bien  le 
Moyen-Age.  La  tenninaison  flotte  devant  la  robe  a  la  bauteur  des  jambes.  Du 
milieu  du  baudrier  part  une  laniere,  qui  soutient,  au  cdte"  gauche,  une  longue  et 
large  e'pe'e. 

Cette  e'pe'e,  qui  a  pres  d'un  metre  de  longueur,  semble  reposer  dans  un  fourreau 
de  me'tal.  Dans  sa  partie  haute,  ce  fourreau  est  orne*  d'une  croix  de  Malte,  sem- 
blable  a  nos  croix  d'absolution  des  onzieme  et  douzieme  siecles.  La  garde,  fort 
simple,  se  compose  d'une  traverse  qui  fait  la  croix.  Le  pommeau  est  triangulaire, 
et  la  poigne*e  est  cercle"e.  C'est  parfaitement  1' e'pe'e  du  treizieme  siecle,  telle 
qu'on  la  trouve  dans  les  musses  et  sur  les  tombeaux  de  cette  riche  et  curieuse 
e"poque. 

Les  cheveux  du  roi  sont  courts  et  Idgerement  boucMs,  comme  au  temps  de 
Saint  Louis.  Sur  sa  tete  est  un  simple  bandeau  royal,  qui  fut  pare*  de  cabochons. 
La  couronne  qui  1'a  surmonte'e  longtemps  est  en  platre,  et  parait  une  addition 
poste"rieure. 

Sa  main  droite  ne  pose  pas  sur  la  garde  de  son  dpde ;  mais  ainsi  que  nous 
1'avons  deja  dit,  elle  est  releve*e  sur  la  poitrine,  ou  elle  serre  les  cordons  qui 
soutiennent  le  manteau.  Cette  attitude  est  celle  que  Ton  remarque  a  Saint  Denis 
sur  plusieurs  images  royales  du  treizieme  siecle. 

De  la  main  gauche  il  tient  un  sceptre  brise",  dont  le  sommet  restitue"  par  1'artiste 
dut  6tre  autrefois  fleurdelyse". 

Les  deux  pieds  sont  6peronn6s,  et  les  deux  c"perons  sont  a  pointc,  selon  1'usage 
de  ce  temps. 

C'est  a  regret  que  nous  ajouterons  en  terminant  que  cette  royale  image,  digne 
de  figurer  au  Palais  de  Versailles  ou  au  Musee  des  Souverains,  a  6t6  depuis  long- 
temps  d^robde  aux  regards  et  cach<5e  dans  un  lieu  bien  peu  digne  d'elle.  Get  e"tat 
de  choses,  peu  honorable  pour  notre  pays,  a  souvent  prdoccupe"  1' Administration 
D6partementalc  et  la  Commission  des  Antiquite"s.a 

M.  le  Maire  de  Saint  Victor,  dont  le  patriotisme  6gale  les  lumieres  ct  le  gout, 
a  cherche"  aussi  le  moyen  de  faire  cesser  une  situation  anormalc  qui  pesait  &  son 
cceur  de  Normand  et  de  Fra^ais. 

Enfin,  en  Ddcembre  1864,  il  a  die"  possible  de  tirer  de  sa  place  obscure  1'antique 

•  Proces-verbaux  de  la  Commission  des  Antiquite's  de  la  Seine-Inf.  t.  i.  pp.  34,  78,  244,  t.  ii.  p.  85. 
VOL.  XL.  3  p 


402  Notice  stir  une  ancienne  Statue  de  Guillaume-le-Conguerant. 

et  ve'ne'rable  image  du  Conque'rant,  et  de  la  placer  dans  une  niche  nouvelle  plus 
convenable  que  la  pre'ce'dente.  Cette  niche,  pratiqu6e  au  c6t6  m6ridional  du 
choeur,  met  la  statue  a  proximit6  de  la  grande  route,  et  en  vue  de  la  place 
publique.  Ainsi,  ddsormais,  habitants  et  Strangers  pourront  contempler  a  1'aise 
les  traits  d'un  prince  qui  fut  le  bienfaiteur  de  la  contre"e,  la  gloire  de  la  Normandie, 
et  le  fondateur  d'un  empire  qui  dure  encore  au  dela  des  mers.  Nous  ne  devons 
pas  laisser  ignorer  au  pays  qu'il  doit  cette  heureuse  transformation  de  1'image  a  la 
bienveillance  de  M.  le  S6nateur  PreTet  de  la  Seine-Infe'rieure  et  a  la  ge'ne'rosite'  de 
M.  le  Maire  de  Saint- Victor,  qui  auront  ainsi  contribu6  a  populariser  Timage  du 
plus  grand  des  Normands,  laquelle  est  aussi  le  plus  curieux  monument  des 
alentours. 


403 


XXVIII. — On  the  Excavations  at  Silchester.    By  the  Rev.  JAMES  GERALD  JOYCE, 
B.A.,  F.S.A.,  Rector  of  Stratfieldsaye,  and  Rural  Dean. 


Read  May  24th,  1865. 

THE  Roman  city  known  to  us  under  the  name  of  Silchester  forms  part  of  a 
large  farm  upon  the  Hampshire  estates  of  his  Grace  the  Duke  of  "Wellington. 
The  land  was  occupied  till  very  lately  by  Mr.  Barton,  whose  name  is  familiar  to 
archaeologists  in  connection  with  the  place  as  having  formed  a  small  hut  inte- 
resting collection  of  coins  and  antiquities  found  within  or  around  the  walls.  At 
Mr.  Barton's  death,  in  1864,  this  collection  was  purchased  hy  his  Grace. 

At  the  date  when  this  purchase  was  made,  the  Duke  conceived  a  wish  to  carry 
out  some  investigation  of  the  ground  within  the  walls.  A  preliminary  inspection 
of  the  land  was  consequently  made  by  me  in  August  1864,  with  a  view  to  report 
upon  the  most  advisable  plan.  Three  courses  were  submitted  for  his  Grace's 
decision;  viz. 

First :  To  excavate  the  site  of  the  villa  which  had  been  partially  exposed  in 
February  1833.  This  offered  certainty  without  delay. 

Second :  To  open  at  the  intersection  of  the  two  main  roads  which  traversed  the 
entire  space  at  right  angles.  The  point  where  they  cross  each  other  could  be 
fixed  with  perfect  accuracy.  This  promised  to  lead  to  public  buildings  of 
importance. 

Third :  To  ascertain  where  the  plough  had  most  recently  struck  foundations  of 
any  size,  and  lay  them  bare,  so  as  to  trace  from  them  as  a  starting  point.  Such 
spots  would  be  of  all  the  most  easy  to  reach,  and  demanded  examination  more 
than  others,  because  obviously  more  exposed  to  inevitable  damage  in  agriculture. 

A  further  recommendation  was  added,  for  obvious  reasons,  that,  in  whatever 
plan  was  followed,  careful  inquiry  should  be  kept  in  view  for  any  traces  of  the 
place  of  sepulture.  This  would  no  doubt  be  outside  the  walls. 

His  Grace,  upon  this  Report,  decided  that  the  third  course  had  most  in  its 
favour ;  and  an  excavation  was  ordered  to  be  commenced  at  a  spot  pointed  out 
by  Mr.  Cooper,  the  present  tenant,  as  one  where  the  plough  had  recently  grazed 
a  buried  pavement. 

Such  is  a  brief  preliminary  statement  of  the  circumstances  under  which  this 

8i9 


404  Excavations  at  Silchester. 

most  important  archaeological  work  has  hecn  begun.  I  shall  now  proceed  to  give 
an  outline  of  the  result  up  to  the  present  date.* 

It  is  necessary  first  to  fix  the  point  at  which  operations  commenced.  A  modern 
highway  passes  completely  across  the  area  inside  the  walls  (see  Plate  XXIII.),  bear- 
ing about  west-north-west.  This  divides  the  whole  into  two  unequal  parts,  there 
being  about  two-thirds  on  the  south,  and  the  remaining  third  on  the  north,  of  the 
modern  road.  The  villa  opened  in  1833  lay  on  the  further  skirt  of  the  south  portion, 
close  by  the  city  wall.  The  spot  pointed  out  by  Mr.  Cooper  as  that  where  the 
plough  had  recently  glinted  several  feet  along  the  face  of  a  pavement  was  in  the 
position  lying  to  the  north  of  the  highway,  and  as  nearly  as  possible  at  its  centre. 
It  was  near  the  heart  of  the  city,  and  might  be  described  as  virgin  ground  to  the 
archaeologist,  no  excavation  of  any  kind  having  ever  been  made  near  it. 

Here  an  opening  was  tried  on  November  1st,  1864,  and  after  a  search,  of  only 
half-an-hour  the  pavement  we  were  in  quest  of  was  reached  by  the  spade,  at  a 
depth  of  nine  inches  perpendicular  below  the  surface.  It  proved  ultimately  to 
be  the  central  gallery  or  corridor  of  a  small  Roman  house,  which  stood  at  a  corner 
where  two  minor  streets  crossed  each  other.  Of  this  house  (as  subsequently 
developed)  I  will  now  give  a  description. 

A  traveller  in  Roman  times,  on  his  way  from  London  to  Bath,  would  reach 
Silchester  by  one  day's  march  from  Staines,  that  is  to  say,  from  the  Roman  station 
Bibrax,  or  Poutes.  He  would  enter  Silchester  by  the  eastern  gate,  close  to  the 
amphitheatre.  If  on  entering  the  city,  instead  of  keeping  the  main  road,  he  were 
to  turn  to  his  right,  and  take  the  first  narrow  street  he  met  leading  westward,  he 
would  in  a  few  minutes  arrive  at  this  corner  house.  It  faced  the  north.  Its 
front  measures  on  the  outside  along  the  street  64  feet,  and  the  street  entrance 
was  in  the  corner  of  this  front  furthest  from  our  traveller,  i.e.  the  north-west. 
The  entry  from  the  street  was  a  passage  5  feet  wide  by  nearly  20  feet  long ;  its 
floor  apparently  yellow  clay  over  rammed  gravel,  except  at  the  inner  end,  where 
about  6  feet  of  it  is  paved  with  the  ordinary  red  tesserae  of  chipped  tile,  about  an 
inch  cubic  each.  Lying  in  this  entry  nearest  the  street  were  rib-bones  of  oxen, 
several  bits  of  the  "  round  bones  "  chopped  by  a  butcher  (all  in  the  same  way), 
and  oyster-shells.  The  presence  of  several  large  iron  spike-nails  here  indicated  a 
wooden  frame  and  door. 

Passing  into  the  house  through  this  entry  we  find  ourselves  standing  at  the 
extreme  west  end  of  the  corridor  first  struck.  This  runs,  so  far  as  could  be 
ascertained,  the  whole  length  of  the  house  through  its  centre,  being  itself  60  feet 

•  24th  May  1865. 


Vol  Al    1 : 


PLAN    OF 

SIL  CHESTER 

WITHIN    THE  WALLS, 


slirwinj*   tlie  EsoWWliMU  up  to 
October.   18I.C, 


Scalp    100  Feet  to  i  In.  ii 


TTujf  flan  if  latd  rfo».«   itit  n  r 
vnfy.    and  ru>t  sufiftheti  <*a 


• 


Minor     Street     from     East    to    West 


-/,  ;-.//     .-.!,  n, 

•probably  reef  trf*  a,  sHecL,   ousro&s 
•frvnv  -wail'  to  w 


SILCHESTER    EXCAVATIONS. 

GROUND   PLAN 
of 

BLOCK       I  . 


Scale    B*  Inch  to  »  Foot 


KellBro'Laho  C»«tle  S^HoIbern. 


Excavations  at  Silchester.  .  405 

long  by  9  feet  wide.  This  corridor  was  paved  with  white  stone  tesserae.  If  we 
look  along  it  from  where  we  stand  at  its  western  extremity  with  our  faces  due 
east,  we  have  on  the  left  five  rooms,  on  the  right  two.  To  assign  the  purpose 
of  each  room  from  the  fragment  of  its  floor,  or  from  its  shape,  would  be  extremely 
hazardous,  but  one  of  the  number  was  a  kitchen.  It  is  that  furthest  from  where 
we  stand,  on  the  left.  The  others  had  floors  of  tesserae,  this  of  yellow  clay  only  ; 
and  here  were  found  a  portion  of  a  Roman  mill-stone,  a  variety  of  broken  pottery, 
including  part  of  the  side  of  an  amphora  which  had  once  been  carefully  mended 
and  retained  a  leaden  rivet  within  a  drilled  hole,  several  small  bits  of  glass,  of 
which  one  small  fragment  belonged  to  a  very  delicate  glass  vessel  which  had 
pillars  or  ornaments  applied  upon  its  surface,  and  a  lump  of  lead  molten  into  a 
mass  upon  the  clay  floor  under  the  action  of  great  heat.  Many  bones  were  also 
found  here.  The  floor  of  this  room  is  19  feet  by  9  feet  6  inches. 

The  other  rooms  on  the  same  side  of  the  corridor  measure  respectively,  the 
first,  13  feet  10  inches  by  19  feet,  with  a  floor  of  red  tesserae  nearly  perfect ;  the 
second,  8  feet  6  inches  by  10  feet,  with  a  floor  of  white  tesserae  somewhat 
damaged ;  the  third,  8  feet  6  inches  by  6  feet,  with  a  floor  of  white  tesserae  ;  the 
fourth,  15  feet  by  19  feet,  with  a  floor  of  white  tesserae,  only  a  few  of  which 
remained. 

In  the  last  floor  there  was  a  deep  circular  cavity,  apparently  lined  with 
square  8-inch  tiles.  It  was  the  result  of  some  alteration.  At  one  time  a  well 
lined  with  flints  was  beneath  this  spot.  It  had  been  filled,  covered  in,  and 
floored  over ;  but  the  floor  was  not  laid,  as  the  remainder  of  this  room,  with  white 
tesserae,  but  with  red  tiles,  covering  a  space  of  8  feet  square.  After  the  house 
had  been  deserted,  and  when  a  mass  of  material  accumulated  above,  the  filling 
of  the  well  subsided  very  gradually,  not  displacing  the  tiles.  The  whole  square 
of  newer  flooring  then  sunk  till  its  centre  was  as  much  as  4  feet  6  inches  lower 
than  the  level  at  which  it  had  been  laid,  leaving  a  great  basin  6  feet  in  diameter, 
which  still  retained  the  tiles  in  rows  ;  and  in  this  state  it  was  when  exposed.  It 
lay  open  during  the  past  winter,  when  the  snow  which  drifted  into  it  changed  its 
appearance  by  causing  the  rows  of  tiles  to  detach  themselves  and  slide  down  into 
the  middle  of  the  bottom." 

8  Extract  from  Journal  of  Excavation,  subsequent: — "  7th  May  1866.  Previous  to  filling  back  the  mould 
to  cover  in  the  house  No.  1 ,  again,  the  circular  basin  was  dug  through  at  the  centre.  From  below  the  tiles 
were  raised  fragments  of  wall  plaster,  with  colour,  the  colours  being  quite  strong  at  first,  a  small  bronze  coin 
of  Claudius  Gothicus,  a  little  piece  of  jet  black  wood,  not  rotten,  but  exceedingly  hard,  and  a  few  bones  of 
oxen." 


406  Excavations  at  Silchester. 

Upon  the  right  of  the  corridor,  as  already  stated,  are  two  rooms.  One  directly 
faces  the  entry  from  the  street,  measuring  24  feet  3  inches  by  8  feet.  It  had 
been  paved  with  red  tesserae,  a  portion  of  which,  11  feet  in  length,  was  found 
perfect  at  the  end  next  the  corridor. 

Midway  down  this  gallery,  on  the  same  side,  is  a  recess  or  small  room, 
rectangular  in  shape,  open  to  the  corridor  along  its  front,  which  measures 
12  feet  6  inches,  and  is  recessed  to  a  depth  of  7  feet.  The  floor  here  was 
of  a  superior  quality;  within  a  margin  at  each  end  of  it,  12  inches  wide, 
was  a  mosaic  of  fine  work.  The  small  portion  left  was  the  central  point  of  a 
geometrical  pattern  in  tesserae  of  half-inch  cubes.  They  had  been  laid  in  pink 
mortar  over  concrete,  and  the  colours  were  pure  white,  drab  white,  yellow,  red, 
and  black.  It  had,  unfortunately,  perished  under  successive  ploughings,  the 
very  imperfect  fragment  which  was  left  measuring  about  2  feet  by  1  foot  6  inches. 
A  careful  drawing  of  this  was  obtained  at  once,  for  it  was  in  a  very  frail  state, 
and  during  the  extreme  severity  of  the  winter  which  so  rapidly  followed,  although 
every  care  was  taken  to  protect  it  beneath  a  wooden  shutter,  the  alternations  of 
frost,  snow,  and  thaw  entirely  disintegrated  the  pattern,  so  that  by  spring  nothing 
definite  could  be  traced.  Here,  perhaps,  was  the  little  lararitim  of  the  house. 

This  completes  internal  details.  On  the  outside  two  narrow  streets  crossing  at 
right  angles  at  the  north-west  corner  ran,  one  along  the  northern,  the  other  along 
the  western  wall.  Upon  the  south  were  a  small  yard  and  a  long  narrow  shed, 
separated  from  each  other  by  the  projection  of  the  last-described  room.  In  the 
yard  was  a  quantity  of  oyster  shells,  many  bones,  and  fragments  of  pottery. 
That  the  space  cast  of  the  recessed  room  on  the  outside  of  the  house  was  shedded 
over  is  conjectured  because  the  eastern  end  wall  of  the  dwelling  is  prolonged  to 
match  the  projection  of  the  above  room,  including  thus  a  space  19  feet  3  inches 
in  length.  Within  this  space  lay  a  number  of  heavy  stone  roofing  slabs, 
apparently  different  from  the  material  used  to  cover  the  rest  of  the  house.  These 
slabs  appeared  to  be  lying  where  they  had  slidden  down  when  their  supports 
gave  way. 

The  walls  are  throughout  of  flint.  The  outside  walls  vary  from  24  to  27  inches 
in  width ;  the  inside  walls  from  19  to  23  inches ;  they  have  perished  to  within 
two  inches  of  the  floors,  and  in  some  places  are  level  with  them. 

The  coins  found  in  excavating  this  house  were  all  of  bronze  and  of  a  late 
period.  They  commence  with  the  reign  of  Victorinus  and  extend  to  that  of 
Valens ;  no  rare  type  was  among  them.  A  considerable  number  were  entirely 
illegible ;  these  apparently  belong  to  the  age  of  the  Constantines.  » 


fK 


' 


GROUND    PLAN 


Tfn.s    fH'rhi'tij     cnty 
//r//'M     tin- 
r*?  ly  th** 


OF 


'R  1 

£>    -L. 


SILCHESTER    EXCAVATIONS, 


S<-:ilc,    id1.    Iiich-to  a  foot. 


LIST     OF     COINS    AS    FOUND 


Hotiliis. 


Doiuiliaii 

Trajaii 

S:iliin:i   (Iladi-iail) 

Antoninus  Pius 


.  N?  2* 

24:. 

13. 

2-t. 

.  1.    UJ. 

Claudius  II  1.7. 

Postuiuus  1.     20. 

Ti-li-icus   Se«r  3. 

Victorinus 

AIiLxiiiiiHiius  I.     7. 

Coiistantius  (  'I.  i.ii-u  s  7. 

Carausuis  1.     *.   5.    6.    7. 

Allectu*  7. 

Coiiitnntine    G&  1.    18. 

Const  ai»tiiu>j>oli»  1H. 

I'l-llS     Kol  I  I.I  5. 

Crispua  .........  .  .1. 

Const  mis  1  . 

Vnlons  1.     7. 

Valentiiiiiiii  I  7. 

7. 


Excavations  at  Silchester.  407 

A  second  house  was  opened  at  a  short  distance  from  the  first  whilst  the  latter 
was  in  progress.  To  this,  for  the  sake  of  distinctness,  the  name  of  Block  n.  was 
given.  In  extent  of  area  this  second  excavation  far  exceeds  the  first,  and,  as  it  is 
still  far  from  completed,  the  details  are  passed  over  until  the  entire  site  has  been 
examined. 

As  I  am  about  to  pass  from  this  second  to  a  third  excavation  close  to  it,  which 
I  propose  to  describe,  it  is  necessary  to  point  out  the  position  they  both  occupy 
in  relation  to  the  Block  or  House  No.  I.,  and  to  each  other. 

There  was  no  doubt  that  in  the  first  excavation  we  had  been  working  among 
the  smaller  streets.  It  appeared  important  that  the  next  essay  should  be  made 
in  preference  upon  one  of  the  principal  lines.  Now  the  great  road  traversing  the 
city  due  north  and  south  could  readily  be  followed  by  a  line  drawn  directly  from 
the  centre  of  the  north  gate  to  the  centre  of  the  south  gate ;  and  it  was  quite 
obvious  that  the  smaller  street  already  spoken  of,  as  passing  from  east  to  west 
along  the  front  of  the  first  excavation,  crossed  this  great  north  road  at  right 
angles.  The  distance  from  the  westernmost  quoin  of  House  I.  to  the  centre  of 
the  intersection  of  the  small  with  the  great  street  was  a  little  over  400  feet. 
This  intersection  was  accordingly  taken  as  a  clue,  and  search  was  made  at  a 
distance  of  15  to  20  feet  from  it  upon  its  north  and  south  sides,  for  the  two 
corner  houses  likely  to  have  stood  there  with  their  faces  to  the  west.  Both 
were  found  without  difficulty ;  that  on  the  south  was  discovered  earliest,  and 
hence  is  described  as  Block  u. ;  that  on  the  north  (now  entirely  cleared)  being 
Block  in. 

Block  in.  resembles  in  plan  the  Roman  dwellings  found  in  various  parts  of 
England,  but  in  internal  arrangements  would  seem  to  have  been  less  luxurious 
than  a  villa.  The  area  circumscribed  by  its  extreme  dimensions  is  98  feet 
6  inches  by  126  feet.  Its  plan  is  that  of  a  large  quadrangle  or  peristylium 
53  feet  6  inches  by  41  feet  7  inches,  round  three  sides  of  which  ran  a  gallery, 
whilst  on  its  fourth  side  were  the  entrance  and  three  principal  living  rooms.  The 
remaining  apartments  were  disposed  so  as  to  be  accessible  from  two  sides  of  the 
gallery.  (See  Plate  XXIV.) 

The  living  rooms  were  on  the  west,  and  ranged  along  the  line  of  the  great  road. 
Two  of  these  rooms  (Nos.  1  and  8)  were  warmed  by  hypocausts  from  the  heat  of 
a  single  furnace :  their  floors  measured  about  20  feet  by  16  feet.  The  hypo- 
causts offer  no  novel  features ;  the  rooms  were  side  by  side,  and  one  hypocaust 
communicated  beneath  the  floor  with  the  other.  In  that  which  contained  the 
furnace  (No.  8)  the  floor  had  been  supported  upon  the  usual  pilse  composed  of 


408  Excavations  at  Silchester. 

8-inch  tiles,  in  columns  alternately  square  and  octagonal ;  a  block  of  somewhat 
irregular  but  substantial  masonry  sustained  that  part  which  was  nearest  the  fire. 
The  other  hypocaust  (No.  1)  was  constructed  in  a  somewhat  different  way  (see 
Plate  XXV.) ;  the  floor  rested  on  a  solid  bank  all  round  to  a  distance  of  four  feet 
from  the  walls,  through  which  bank  ducts  or  cuts  were  made  from  the  centre  radia- 
ting to  the  walls,  one  at  each  angle,  and  one  midway  at  each  side,  showing  to  the 
eye  a  sort  of  union-jack  pattern ;  the  centre  itself  was  dug  out  to  form  a  rect- 
angular well  or  sunken  area  8  feet  by  10  feet,  filled  with  pilse  of  tiles  (one  tile 
only,  but  that  one  enough  to  tell  its  tale,  was  left  in  position) ;  the  faces  of  these 
ducts  or  radiating  channels  were  masoned  up  in  flint,  and  flues  rose  perpendicularly 
in  the  walls  of  this  room,  where  the  ducts  terminated.  Nearly  similar  hypocausts 
are  figured  in  plates  viii.,  xvi.,  and  xxn.  of  Mr.  Artis's  Delineations  of  Roman 
Buildings  at  Castor.  Portions  of  the  margins  of  the  pavement  of  this  room 
remained  in  the  floor ;  these  consisted  of  tesserse  of  the  most  ordinary  description  in 
stripes  of  red  and  white.  There  is  every  indication,  however,  to  suggest  that  this 
is  the  fragment  of  some  floor  of  later  date  than  the  hypocaust  itself,  the  masonry 
of  which  appears  to  have  been  laid  in  mortar  and  executed  with  some  care ; 
these  tesserae  are  laid  merely  upon  a  bed  of  rubbish,  and  not  in  concrete,  and 
in  all  probability  they  belong  to  the  later  ages  of  Roman  occupation. 

In  both  these  living-rooms  there  has  been  most  likely  a  central  pavement  of  a 
better  and  finer  kind ;  and  with  respect  to  this  an  interesting  enigma  remains 
for  archaeologists,  viz.,  Avhen  were  these  pavements  removed?  They  did  not 
perish  by  violent  outrage,  for  there  are  no  traces  left,  the  removal  being  complete 
and  entire ;  nor  by  the  decay  of  age,  fdr  tesserae  of  hard  stone  do  not  vanish  or 
waste  by  lapse  of  time.  There  is  a  circumstance  connected  with  the  room  nearest 
the  furnace  which  is  both  curious  and  suggestive.  Along  two  of  its  sides  (one  of 
them  the  side  upon  the  great  road),  the  house-wall  has  been  anciently  dug  clean 
away  from  below  the  foundations,  without  leaving  a  vestige  behind.  This  has  not 
been  done  elsewhere,  and  it  appears  as  if  the  object  was  by  doing  this  to  gain 
access  from  underneath  to  the  lower  side  of  this  floor.  So  completely  is  a  removal 
of  material  evidenced,  that  in  an  area  where  eighty  (at  least)  of  the  little  support- 
ing pillars  of  tiles  stood,  all  had  disappeared  entirely  except  eight  along  the  inner 
side,  furthest  from  where  the  hypocaust  was  broached ;  each  pillar  had  been  com- 
posed of  about  fifteen  tiles,  and  consequently  above  one  thousand  have  been 
removed.  Amongst  the  rubbish  which  was  dug  through  in  excavating,  many 
tiles  of  large  size,  both  flanged  and  flat,  were  found,  but  they  were  those  on  which 
the  concrete  of  the  floor  had  been  supported,  and  which  formed  the  suspensura, 


Vol. XL  PlXX7p.408. 


SILCHESTER      EXCAVATIONS. 


.jSifi§fc2s 


RADIATING     HYPOCAUST     IN     BLOCK     III. 


, 

•: 


cc 

o 

z 


I- 
< 


0 

• 


Small     Street.      18    feet  wide 


FLOOR   OF   MIXED    TILES    &   TESSER/E, 

IN  AN  APARTMENT  SUPPOSED  TO  HAVE  BEEN  A  SHOP. 


Excavations  at  Silchester.  409 

not  the  pillars.  At  one  point  a  row  of  four  cap  tiles  was  found,  lying  side  by  side, 
exactly  as  the  hand  of  the  mason  had  first  placed  them ;  they  still  touched  each 
other,  and  had  not  parted  in  any  way,  hut  they  were  not  in  their  original  plane, 
nor  did  they  lie  square  to  any  wall,  but,  as  a  consequence  of  their  supports  having 
been  removed  from  beneath,  they  had  slidden  forward  as  if  tilted  toward  the 
centre,  and  that  in  a  diagonal  direction  to  the  line  of  wall ;  below  were  no  pilse ; 
above  no  concrete ;  it  follows  almost  beyond  doubt  that  in  these  we  have 
evidence  of  the  removal  of  the  tesselated  floor,  by  disengaging  it  piecemeal  from 
underneath.  Who  carried  away  the  mosaics,  the  Roman  masters  of  Silchester, 
or  their  barbarian  successors  ? 

The  third  living-room  lies  at  the  south-west  angle  of  the  building.  Its  floor  is  a 
rare  example  of  Roman  tiled  work.  (See  Plate  XXV.)  It  measures  16  feet  square; 
in  the  middle  is  a  rectangular  figure,  bounded  by  a  single  line  of  square  8-inch  tiles, 
fourteen  in  the  row.  The  inside  of  this  figure  is  filled  by  red  hexagons,  which  leave 
a  diamond-shaped  interstice  wherever  four  of  the  hexagons  meet,  and  these  spaces 
are  filled  by  nine  small  drab  tesserae  of  stone.  The  outside  of  the  figure,  between 
the  rectangle  and  the  walls,  was  filled  by  octagons,  leaving  small  square  interstices 
between  every  four,  also  filled  by  nine  small  drab  tesserae.  It  is  not  quite 
regular,  octagons  occuring  sometimes  where  hexagons  ought  to  be,  and  some  of 
the  spaces  having  been  filled  with  black,  not  white,  tesserse,  and  some  with  small 
tiles ;  but  the  effect  where  the  pattern  is  adhered  to  is  remarkably  pleasing,  from 
the  variety  of  form  and  colour,  though  entirely  simple.  The  floor  has  been  badly 
patched  in  mending  by  the  last  occupants ;  and  at  the  south-east  corner  it  is 
broken  quite  away,  heavy  flints  in  considerable  number  lying  upon  it  just  here." 

About  the  middle  of  the  northern  side  of  the  house,  in  a  space  which  can  just 
be  discerned  to  mark  the  floor  of  a  room  20  feet  square,  was  the  remains  of  a 
mosaic.  A  very  insignificent  fragment  of  the  border  was  left  to  indicate  its 
presence  ;  the  pattern  was  apparently  a  diamond-shaped  lozenge  between  bands  of 
a  similar  tint,  the  only  colours  perceived  being  black,  white,  and  red.  The  mosaic 
had  been  12  feet  square,  but  lying  only  a  very  few  inches  under  the  surface  had 
been  almost  entirely  ploughed  up. 

One  particular  of  a  very  suggestive  nature  attaches  to  one  of  the  rooms  upon 
the  northern  side.  In  that  which  is  numbered  17  on  the  ground  plan,  the  walls 

a  There  is  little  doubt  that  this  is  a  floor  of  very  late  date,  and  formed  by  using  the  tiles  (squares 
octagons,  and  hexagons)  which  had  in  its  first  construction  been  employed  as  the  pilse  of  a  hypocaust.  In 
its  latest  occupation  the  room  was  very  probably  a  shop,  being  at  a  corner,  and  in  an  excellent  position. 
The  streets  of  Pompeii  supply  many  examples  of  such  shops  along  the  fronts  of  great  mansions. 

VOL.  XL.  3  G 


410  Excavations  at  Silchester. 

appeared  badly  built,  as  if  executed  in  baste.  They  were  not  laid  in  mortar  but 
in  dark  mould  or  mud;  they  consisted,  however,  of  flints  in  courses,  with  frag 
ments  of  broken  tiles.  On  closely  examining  the  portion  of  wall  along  the 
northern  side  of  this  apartment,  it  was  found  to  have  been  raised  above  the 
undisturbed  remains  of  a  burnt  house  ;  there  was  at  bottom  a  bed  of  d6bris,  con- 
sisting chiefly  of  mortar  and  wall  plaster,  with  pieces  of  tile ;  above  this  was  a 
layer  of  charred  wood  from  two  to  three  inches  thick,  and  on  the  top  of  it  a  seam 
of  wall  plaster  again,  over  which  two  courses  of  flints  (the  bottom  of  the  new  wall) 
remained  as  they  had  been  laid.  A  careful  drawing  was  made  at  once  of  this 
singular  evidence  of  a  rebuilding,  and  as  the  later  work  was  so  badly  done  as  to 
be  particularly  perishable,  such  a  drawing  must  soon  be  the  only  record  left  of 
this  curious  fact. 


Wall  built  over  a  seam  of  charred  wood. 


The  quadrangle  (7)  bears  no  trace  of  having  been  roofed  over,  yet  no  indication 
has  been  found  of  a  provision  to  carry  off  the  rainfall.  At  its  centre  a  hole  was 
dug  to  a  depth  of  5  feet  in  searching  for  the  remains  of  an  impluvium,  but  none 
was  found.  The  following  entry  from  the  rough  note  of  the  excavation  of  this 
quadrangle  may  be  interesting.  "  Feb.  4,  1865. — Oyster  shells,  a  great  quantity 
in  north-east  corner ;  wall  plaster  painted  red  in  same  place ;  a  small  pan  of  dark 
grey  ware,  broken ;  a  heavy  iron  door-catch ;  yellow  clay  at  bottom ;  many  small 
red  and  black  tesserae  loose  among  the  rubbish,  such  as  would  have  been  in 
mosaic  work."  The  galleries  running  quite  round  three  of  its  sides  were  8  feet  to 
9  feet  wide,  that  on  the  north  paved  with  very  hard  coarse  white  tesserae,  and  in 
good  condition  ;  on  the  east  with  red,  and  in  a  bad  state  ;  and  on  the  south  lines 
of  red,  white,  and  black,  somewhat  irregular  and  a  good  deal  mended  at  different 
dates  of  occupation.  At  the  centre  of  each  gallery  was  an  exit  into  the  quadrangle. 

The  other  rooms  are  in  some  instances  so  small  as  to  leave  no  doubt  that  they 
were  intended,  according  to  Roman  habits,  for  sleeping  chambers.  Two  however 
are  of  considerable  size  and  do  not  appear  to  have  been  meant  for  that  use ;  one  of 
these  is  about  20  feet  square,  and  the  other  still  larger ;  the  end  wall  of  the  latter 
has  perished,  but  the  floor  appears  to  have  measured  20  feet  by  30  feet.  A 


Excavations  at  Silchester.  411 

discovery  of  some  interest  attaches  to  this  floor,  which  is  numbered  19  on  the 
plan.  When  the  excavation  had  reached  the  level  of  the  tesserae  of  its  pavement 
(of  which  a  few  square  feet  only  remained)  it  was  noticed  that  a  portion  of  the 
tesselation,  not  quite  at  the  centre,  suddenly  broke  off  in  a  straight  line,  its  last 
few  courses  sinking  downward  toward  the  middle.  This  was  suggestive  of  a 
hollow  in  the  floor ;  search  was  therefore  ordered  to  be  carefully  made,  the  mould 
there  proving  peculiarly  soft  and  yielding.  When  the  superincumbent  layer  was 
removed  the  shape  of  the  hollow  was  clearly  discerned.  It  was  an  oblong  cavity 
6  feet  in  length,  3  feet  6  inches  in  width,  and  about  2  feet  deep,  and  had  been 
roughly  faced  with  flints  on  three  sides.  It  contained  indubitable  evidences  of 
its  use.  It  had  been  the  place  of  the  strong  box  of  the  mansion,  which  had  been 
sunk  in  the  floor  for  safety,  instead  of  being  built  into  a  wall  as  we  place  them. 
A  wooden  framing  or  collar  had  been  let  into  the  pavement,  and  a  wooden  box 
constructed  within  it,  having  some  pieces  of  flanged  tiles  beneath  the  bottom  to 
raise  it  above  the  damp.  Three  formidable  iron  hinges  turning  in  loops,  whose 
ends  were  spiked  through  the  collar  and  clenched  behind  it,  supported  the  lid. 
These  hinges  stood  one  in  the  centre  and  one  at  each  end,  and  had  oak  plank 
about  \\  inch  thick  bolted  down  upon  them ;  the  bolts  remain  projecting  from 
them  still,  with  portions  of  wood  fibre  adhering ;  the  lid  when  shut  was  flush  with 
the  pavement  of  the  floor.  The  superincumbent  pressure  in  lapse  of  ages  has 
caused  the  hinges  to  curve  downward  at  their  centres.  To  complete  the  fittings 
there  were  found  within  the  lock-plate,  the  key,  and  the  iron  handle  to  lift  the 
lid;  but  beyond  a  little  jet  black  humus  above  the  flanged  tiles  (the  relic  of  the 
planks  out  of  which  the  box  had  been  constructed)  nothing  else  was  discovered." 


Remains  of  the  Strong  Box.    Block  III. 


11  It  will  readily  be  remembered  that  a  somewhat  similar  incident  occurred  in  the  excavations  at  Pompeii, 
which  gave  its  name  to  the  "  House  of  the  Quaestor  "  there.  In  that  instance  two  chests  bound  with  iron 
had  been  fastened  against  the  wall. 

3o2 


412  Excavations  at  Silchester. 

The  articles  found  during  the  excavation  of  this  large  area  are  few  compared 
with  its  extent,  and  consist  chiefly  of  coins.  These  range  over  a  wide  period  of 
Roman  history,  commencing  with  the  year  A.D.  87  (Domitian,  Cos.  xiii.)  and 
reaching  to  A.D.  375  (Valentinian  I.) ;  a  large  proportion  of  them  belong  to  the 
family  of  the  Constantines.  Only  a  few  are  of  uncommon  type.  The  most 
noticeable  are  two  of  Carausius.  In  one  Carausius  is  helmeted  on  the  ob- 
verse in  an  imbricated  cuirass,  holding  a  javelin,  with  the  inscription  "  VIRTUS 
CARATJSII  ;"'  in  the  other  there  is  the  peculiarity  of  the  reverse  bearing  above  the 
usual  "  Pax"  figure,  the  legend  "  PAX  ATTGGG,"  this  formula  being  commemorative 
of  the  recognition  of  Carausius  as  Emperor  by  the  two  other  Augusti — Diocletian 
and  Maximianus.b  A  similar  coin  was  found  some  years  back  at  Reculver,  but 
they  are  of  rare  occurrence. 

The  articles  of  iron  in  addition  to  those  already  mentioned  (the  hinges,  lock- 
plate,  key,  and  handle,)  are  the  pieces  of  an  iron  strigil  found  in  the  prcefurnium 
of  the  hypocaust ;  a  light  hammer-shaped  implement  having  instead  of  a  hammer 
a  head  with  two  cutting  edges,  supposed  to  be  the  trimming  instrument  of  a 
worker  in  mosaic  ;  a  swivel  ring  having  a  pendant  and  snap  attached,  perhaps  for 
carrying  a  lanthorn ;  two  chisels,  wall  hooks,  a  heavy  door-catch,  and  numbers  of 
nails  of  all  sizes.  Scarcely  a  fragment  of  bronze  was  met  with. 

A  great  quantity  of  broken  pottery  was  discovered  everywhere,  but  no  entire 
vessel.  The  fragments  belong  to  every  description  of  ware  which  we  know  to 
have  been  in  use  with  the  Romans.  The  coarsest  are  bits  of  broken  amphorae,  or 
of  large  flat  dishes  of  dark  grey  ware  with  a  sort  of  diamond  crossbar  scored 
slightly  on  the  surface  as  ornament.  Among  the  finer  fragments  are  portions  of 
Castor  pottery  with  a  white  flowing  leaf  or  tendril  applied  upon  a  glazed  black 
ground  :  there  is  also  an  unglazed  straw-coloured  ware  in  various  thicknesses  and 
of  different  qualities.  A  considerable  number  of  fragments  of  fine  red  pottery 
have  come  up  on  the  spade,  but  no  complete  bowl  or  vessel  has  been  exposed ;  the 
embossed  figures  and  heads  on  these  fragments  are  without  difficulty  recognised 
as  formed  with  the  same  stamp  or  mould  that  appears  on  similar  earthenware 
found  in  London  and  in  the  north  of  England.  It  is  a  circumstance  not  unworthy 
of  mention  that  there  is  a  perpetual  recurrence  of  parts  of  vessels  in  a  variety  of 
material  lined  in  the  bottom  and  up  the  sides  with  minute  bits  of  quartz  or 
pounded  flint,  to  assist  the  process  of  rubbing  up  food  in  them.  Some  of  these 
belong  to  the  class  which  has  been  described  under  the  name  of  "  mortaria,"  con- 
sisting of  a  very  dense  pale  drab  clay,  extremely  heavy,  and  burnt  hard ;  but 

»  Found  in  room  6.  b  Found  in  room  1. 


Excavations  at  Silchester.  413 

others  arc  of  the  finest  texture  of  red  pottery,  and  can  scarcely  be  described  by 
the  same  name,  although  in  use  they  must  have  been  very  similar. 

I  shall  now  invite  attention  to  the  general  plan  of  this  city.    (See  Plate  XXIII.) 

During  our  present  excavation  every  attention  has  been  given  to  ascertain  with 
as  much  exactitude  as  the  exposed  walls  permit  the  general  plan  of  the  laying  out 
of  the  streets.  The  delineations  presented  as  yet  must  be  considered  incomplete 
as  surveys,  but  the  information  they  will  supply  is  interesting,  and  it  is  accurate 
as  far  as  it  goes.  It  will  be  worth  while  to  refer  for  a  moment  to  the  surveys 
of  Silchester  which  already  exist. 

In  the  Bodleian  Library  at  Oxford,  among  the  papers  of  the  Gough  Collection, 
is  Stukeley's  original  pen-and-ink  plan  of  the  walls  and  amphitheatre,  inscribed 
"  Silchester  in  1722."  This  plan  was  engraved  the  same  year,  and  bears  upon  it, 
"  Vindoma,  4  Aug*.  Peritura  moenia  stylo  renovavit  Gul.  Van  der  Gucht."  In 
the  King's  Library,  British  Museum,  London,  there  are  two  plans  of  Mr.  John 
Stair's,  both  being  manuscript  drawings,  and  dated  respectively  1741  and  1742  : 
the  former  shows  the  ancient  streets,  the  latter  the  modern  fields.  There  is  also 
in  the  same  place  a  manuscript  survey  by  Mr.  John  Wright,  dated  1745. 

Stukeley's  plan  of  1722  is  entirely  imaginary  as  regards  outline.  He  considered 
apparently  that  Roman  camps  must  be  rectangles,  and  therefore  he  figures 
Silchester  as  a  rectangle  of  2,000  feet  by  2,600,  with  corners  rounded  off. 
But  he  is  more  correct  than  either  Stair  or  "Wright  as  respects  the  continuity  of 
the  city  walls.  He  shows  an  opening  at  the  north-east  corner  close  to  the  amphi- 
theatre, where  they  lay  down  unbroken  wall.  This  opening  exists,  and  is  not  a 
dilapidation.  It  will  be  found  of  importance  in  settling  an  interesting  question. 

An  engraved  plan  was  published  with  the  Proceedings  of  the  Royal  Society  in 
the  Philosophical  Transactions  of  1748,  to  accompany  Professor  Ward's  second 
paper  on  Silchester.  This  appears  to  have  been  prepared  from  Wright's  survey. 
The  outline  of  the  city  is  delineated,  with  some  approach  to  exactness,  as  a 
polygon  with  nine  sides. 

In  such  of  these  plans  as  give  them,  the  streets  of  Silchester  are  laid  down  as 
six  in  number  running  from  north  to  south,  intersected  by  six  others  running 
from  east  to  west.  The  site  of  the  Forum  is  marked  to  the  south-east  of  the 
point  where  the  two  principal  streets  cross  each  other.  The  course  of  the  prin- 
cipal via  from  the  north  gate  to  the  south  gate  is  quite  correctly  rendered,  and 
that  of  the  parallel  streets  ;  but  the  direction  of  the  great  road  or  via  from  east  to 
west,  cutting  the  other  at  the  centre,  is  not  so  true.  This  last,  being  the  highway 
from  London,  which  traversed  the  city  through  its  heart,  entering  it  by  the 


Excavations  at  Silchester. 

eastern  gate,  is  perhaps  the  most  important  of  all,  and  on  it  depends  the  course 
of  the  five  other  streets  which  have  the  same  bearing.  There  is  every  ground  to 
suppose  that  its  line  crossed  the  other  main  road  at  right  angles,  that  the  plan 
of  the  Forum  inscribed  within  the  intersection  at  the  south-east  was  a  rectangle, 
and  that  all  the  insulat,  or  blocks  of  buildings,  were  equally  so.  As  laid  down, 
they  are  unavoidably  askew.  They  describe  no  right  angles,  and  this  necessarily 
results  from  the  position  in  which  the  east  gate  is  placed. 

In  1821  Lackington  and  Co.  published  a  slight  survey  of  the  walls,  with  the 
fosse,  the  surrounding  country,  and  the  external  roads.  In  1838  an  engraved 
plan  appeared  in  the  Archacologia ;  it  purports  to  be  a  copy  of  Wright's,  but  is 
composed  by  a  junction  of  Wright's  and  Stair's.  This  plan  has  rectified  the  shape 
of  the  Forum  by  describing  its  angles  as  right  angles.  To  effect  this,  the  courses 
of  all  the  streets  are  thrown  out ;  and  it  will  be  seen  on  reference  to  it  that, 
although  they  aro  numerically  as  they  were  on  former  plans,  they  no  longer 
correspond  with  the  city  gates. 

There  is  also  an  admirable  survey  prepared  by  Mr.  M'Laughlan  in  1850  for  the 
Archaeological  Institute.  In  this  the  country  surrounding  Silchester  is  mapped 
with  the  greatest  accuracy,  particularly  the  earthworks  and  lines  of  road.  He 
accepted  the  delineation  of  the  circuit  of  the  walls  and  the  position  of  the  gates 
as  they  stand  in  the  maps  of  Stair  and  Wright. 

He  was,  however,  too  accurate  a  surveyor  not  to  detect  the  difficulty  inseparable 
from  the  plans  of  the  city  as  hitherto  laid  down.  He  endeavoured  to  reconcile  it 
with  the  facts  before  him  at  the  expense  of  one  of  the  principal  vine.  Mr. 
M'Laughlan,  therefore,  gives  up  a  straight  unbroken  line  for  the  course  of  the 
London  Road,  and  makes  it  deflect  at  the  Forum.  "  The  observation,"  says  he, 
"  that  two  of  the  streets  wider  than  the  others  lead  to  the  four  gates  of  the  city, 
one  from  north  to  south,  the  other  from  east  to  west,  is  not  correct.  For,  though 
the  one  from  north  runs  directly  from  one  gate  to  the  other,  as  drawn  in  the  plan, 
the  other  does  not  run  directly  from  east  to  west,  as  stated ;  and,  if  it  did,  the 
streets  could  not  be  at  right  angles  to  each  other,  which,  in  fact,  they  are"  His 
theory  is  that  the  great  line  from  London  to  Bath  entered  Silchester  at  the 
present  farmyard-gate,  reached  the  east  face  of  the  Forum  in  a  straight  course, 
turned  abruptly  there  to  the  right,  and  passed  along  that  face  of  the  building 
to  its  north-east  angle,  thence  starting  afresh  by  a  new  line  for  the  western 
gateway. 

Now,  as  the  entire  city  bears  on  its  face  the  strongest  evidence  of  having  been 
laid  out  upon  a  rectangular  plan  of  construction,  all  its  streets  crossing  each 


Excavations  at  Silchester.  415 

other  in  straight  lines,  at  nearly  regular  intervals,  and  at  right  angles,  it  is,  to  say 
the  least,  a  very  unlikely  circumstance  that  the  persons  who  so  laid  out  its  plan 
made  one  marked  exception  to  all  the  rest  of  the  general  arrangements  in  the 
instance  of  the  main  road  from  London  to  Bath,  and  that  they  designedly  inter- 
rupted that  one  great  line  by  employing  the  Forum  as  an  obstruction  to  its  direct 
course  in  the  very  heart  of  the  city. 

We  are  now  in  possession  of  unequivocal  proof  that  such  was  not  the  case. 
The  great  line  from  east  to  west  ran  as  directly  in  an  unbroken  course  from  gate 
to  gate  through  the  city  as  that  from  north  to  south ;  but  the  eastern  gateway 
was  not  situated  where  it  has  been  hitherto  marked  (that  is,  at  the  entrance  to 
the  farmyard),  and  it  will  be  found  that  by  placing  it  in  its  true  position  the  road 
passes  clear  of  the  Forum,  all  the  angles  of  the  streets  remain  right  angles,  and 
the  "  imulai"  or  blocks  of  edifices,  will  be  rectangles. 

The  mistake  has  arisen  from  assuming  (as  was  very  probable,  indeed,)  that  the 
modern  highway  coincided  in  some  measure  at  its  entering  from  the  east,  through 
the  ancient  wall,  with  the  line  of  Roman  road  passing  through  the  original 
eastern  gate.  It  has  not  hitherto,  as  far  as  I  am  aware,  been  observed  by  any 
one,  that  the  opening  at  the  north-east  (which  Stukeley's  plan  marks  as  a  gap,  but 
Wright  and  others  omit,)  is  a  gateway  in  reality. 

In  order  to  verify  the  actual  position  of  this  gate  it  was  necessary  first  to  trace 
the  line  of  road  across  the  city  internally  from  the  westward. 

Starting  from  the  west  gate  to  the  crossing  of  the  two  great  lines,  no  difficulty 
arises  up  to  the  point  of  intersection  ;  the  space  is  about  800  feet  in  length,  and 
an  unbroken  course  of  road  is  evident,  the  eye  being  able  to  detect  a  rising  along 
the  surface  the  whole  way,  and  the  colour  of  the  crop  showing  a  difference  in  the 
ground.  By  projecting  this  right  line  eastward  it  was  found  to  cut  the  modern 
highway  diagonally  at  a  point  where  an  elevation  at  the  same  angle  crosses  the 
surface  of  this  modern  way.  Carrying  the  same  straight  line  still  further  east,  it 
was  found  to  be  running  directly  parallel  to  the  small  street,  whose  course  was 
ascertained  by  the  direction  of  the  walls  of  Blocks  i.,  n.,  and  in. ;  and  the 
further  continuation  of  this  right  line  advanced  directly  without  a  bend  to  the 
opening  already  mentioned,  and,  issuing  through  the  wall  eastward  by  that 
opening,  it  passed  close  by  the  outer  edge  of  the  amphitheatre,  touching  its 
"vomitorium"  or  exit,  and  having  its  own  transit  marked  there  also  by  an 
elevation  of  surface  which  crosses  another  modern  highway  by  the  side  of  the 
fosse  at  that  part. 

It  still  remained  however  to  make  the  matter  beyond  doubt  by  actually  ascer- 


416  Excavations  at  Silchester. 

taining  that  the  opening  in  the  walls  in  question  was  a  gateway.  The  following 
extract  from  the  Journal  of  Excavation  gives  the  result. 

"  May  13th,  1865.  A  careful  examination  of  this  gap  made.  The  opening  was 
filled  merely  with  thorns  to  the  height  of  the  stakes  represented  here  (4  feet 
6  inches).  In  order  to  ascertain  beyond  any  doubt  the  nature  of  the  gap  in  the 
wall  at  this  place,  a  workman  was  ordered  to  clear  out  the  base  of  each  apparent 
quoin,  so  as  to  test  whether  it  was  a  true  quoin  or  an  accidental  fracture. 
There  is  an  undoubted  quoin  on  each  side.  He  was  directed  also  to  search 
whether  the  wall  is  continued  across  at  bottom.  He  made  three  openings  to  test 
this  accurately,  one  at  each  side,  and  one  in  the  centre ;  there  is  not  any  wall 
carried  across  here.  At  eighteen  inches  deep  he  met  a  bed  of  hard  and  deep 
gravel,  similar  to  that  which  has  been  found  to  form  the  surface  of  every  street 
within  the  walls  which  we  have  tried.  He  states  that  when  working  for  the 
farmer  he  and  another  of  our  men  have  opened  this  line  of  road  inside  the  walls 
at  this  point,  and  have  found  it  to  be  of  very  bard  gravel  about  12  inches  thick." 

The  distance  from  quoin  to  quoin  is  11  feet  6  inches ;  two  large  flat  slabs, 
which  bad  been  squared  at  the  edges,  were  found  here,  at  a  subsequent  examina- 
tion, which  only  served  to  confirm  the  above  position. 

In  closing  my  present  remarks,  I  may  venture  to  claim  for  the  statement  now 
laid  before  you  as  to  Silchester  one  title  to  your  consideration,  which  some  others 
on  the  same  subject  are  wanting  in.  I  have  abstained  entirely  from  speculation, 
and  confined  myself  to  ascertained  facts.  You  will  perceive  from  what  has  been 
said,  that  the  excavation  has  not  advanced  beyond  its  earliest  stage ;  no  inscrip- 
tions have  been  at  present  discovered ;  what  is  known  may  be  spoken  of  as  nothing 
in  comparison  with  what  we  may  yet  learn,  if  the  work  continues  to  be  carried  on. 
We  are  aware  of  at  least  thus  much  to  lead  us  onward.  It  is  now  certain  that 
hidden  within  the  dark  bosom  of  this  strange  city,  guarded  still  by  the  almost 
unbroken  circle  of  those  weird  walls  which  defy  time  and  tempest  alike,  there 
sleeps  many  a  lloruan  home,  with  its  waifs  of  common  things  undisturbed  by 
hand  of  man  for  thirteen  centuries.  Among  these  silent  and  buried  streets  are 
the  temples  of  their  gods,  whose  traces  remain  to  this  day ;  whilst  in  the  very 
heart  of  all  lies  the  yet  unawakened  Forum,  a  place  of  great  magnitude,  and 
which  crowned  the  most  commanding  site  within  the  walls. 


XXIX.  Remarks  on  some  Early  Charters  and  Documents  relating  to  the  Priory 
of  Austin  Canons  and  Abbey  of  Austin  Canonesses  at  Canonsleigh,  in  the 
County  of  Devon,  In  a  letter  from  CHARLES  SPENCER  PERCEVAL,  Esq. 
LL.D.  F.S.A.  to  AUGUSTUS  WOLLASTON  FRANKS,  Esq.  M.A.  Director. 


Read  May  10th,  1866. 

MY  DEAR  SIR, 

It  has  been  to  me  an  agreeable  task  to  comply  with  your  request  that  I 
should  examine  and  give  you  some  account  of  the  parcel  of  early  documents,  the 
exhibition  of  which  before  the  Society  of  Antiquaries  Miss  Portman  has  been 
good  enough  to  procure. 

I  find  that  these  documents  refer  exclusively  to  the  religious  house  of 
Canonsleigh,  or,  as  it  was  sometimes  called  after  the  second  foundation  there  of 
canonesses,  Mynchenlegh,  situate  in  the  county  of  Devon,  and  diocese  of  Exeter. 

Dr.  George  Oliver,  in  his  learned  Monasticon  Diocesis  Exoniensis,  has  given  an 
account  at  some  length  of  this  foundation,"  mainly  derived  from  a  cartulary  of 
the  house  now  preserved  in  the  British  Museum.k 

From  Dr.  Oliver's  memoir  we  learn  that  Walter  de  Clavile,0  who  held  Burles- 
combe  (near  Tiverton,  on  the  borders  of  Devon  and  Somersetshii'e,)  of  the  honour 
of  Gloucester,  founded  a  priory  of  Augustinian  Canons  at  Legh  in  that  parish,  in 
or  near  the  year  1162. 

Dr.  Oliver  notices  that,  in  some  way,  Canonsleigh  had  become  connected  with 
the  great  priory  of  Plympton.  With  reference  to  this  it  may  be  observed  that  in 
William  Earl  of  Gloucester's  charter  of  confirmation  of  the  original  foundation 
the  canons  are  called  "  Canonici  secundum  ordinem  Plymptone  Christo  famu- 

•  Mon.  Dioc.  Exon.  p.  224.  b  MS.  Harl.  3CCO. 

0  The  Clavile  family  were  once  of  considerable  importance  in  Devon  and  Dorset.  At  the  time  of  the 
Survey  Walter  <le  Clavile  held  in  chief  not  only  Burlescombe,  but  also  several  other  manors  in  Devonshire 
(Domesday,  i.  1 12),  and  Morden  near  Blandford,  and  other  manors  in  Dorsetshire.  His  descendant,  pro- 
bably his  grandson,  the  founder  of  Canonsleigh,  held  two  knight's  fees  ill  Devonshire  of  the  honour  of 
Gloucester,  and  was  so  returned  by  William  Earl  of  Gloucester  in  12  Hen.  II.  (See  Lib.  Nig.  Scacc.  apud 
Hearne,  p.  1G1,  and  Polwhele's  Devon,  p.  203.)  No  complete  genealogy  of  the  family  appears  to  exist.  The 
VOL.  XL.  3  H 


418  Charters  and  Documents  relating  to  the 

lantes  "  :  and  that  part  of  Walter  de  Clavile's  gift  (the  churches  of  Burlescomhe 
and  Morden)  had  already  been  given  by  him  to  the  priory  of  Plympton,  as  appears 

following  pedigree  is  taken  in  part  from  Pole's  Devon  Collections,  p.  212,  enlarged  by  a  careful   exa- 
mination of  the  Harleian  Cartulary : — 

Walter  de  Clavile,  Lord  of  Burlescombe,  &c.  co.  Devon,  and  of 
Morden,  &c.  co.  Dorset,  temp.  Will.  I. 

William  de  Clavile1^ 

Joheta2  ^Sir  Walter  de  Clavile,  founded  Canonsleigh,  c.  1162.        Ralph.2  Gilbert.2 

i . — | 1 — | 

Juliana4=j=William  de  Clavile,  confirmed  his  father's  Adeliza.2  Agnes.2  3 

gifts.2  3  Mabilia.2  Hadewis.2 


Walter  de  Clavile,  son  and  heir4  5      Sir  Roger  de  Clavile,7  alive  33,8  45,9  47,10  and=Johanna.B 
(ob.  s  p.?)  48  Hen.  III.11  (heir  to  his  brother?) 

Sir  John  de  Clavile,  first  of  that  name,  Lord  of  Burlescombe  1282,12  confirmed  to  the 
new  foundation  in  1311  his  ancestor's  gifts  of  tithe  of  his  demesne  here,  and  of 
certain  tithes  at  Mordeu. 

Here  the  connection  of  the  Claviles  with  Canonsleigh  ceases.  Sir  W.  Pole  makes  Sir  John  I.  to  be 
brother  and  not  son  to  Sir  Roger.  His  pedigree  is  without  vouchers,  but  is  probably  derived  as  to  this 
portion  from  the  pleadings  in  the  suit  between  Beare  and  Percehay  presently  to  be  mentioned. 

He  proceeds  as  follows  :  — 

tiir  William  (as  before).^  ..... 

Sir  Roger,  ob.  s.p.          John  de  Clavile  (I),  brother  and  heir.=p  ..... 
John  (H.-  .... 


I  --      ---  1 
Robert  Beare  of  Huntshum,  3  E.  2  =j=Agnes  de  Clavile.  John  de  Clavile  (111.)^=.  .  .  . 

I  —  r~ 

John  Ik-are.=pAlice,  dau.  of  Thomas  Clavile  of  Lifton.  William.^.  .  .  . 

Thomas  Beare,  claimed  Lomen  Clavile  as  next  heir  of  William=p  .....         William,  ob.  s.p.  circa 
ajrainst  Sir  Henry  Percehay,  the  judge,  whose  title  would  |  temp.  Ric.  II. 

appear  to  have  been  derived  from  a  purchase.  .-(-. 

In  Hutchins's  History  of  Dorset  13  it  is  stated  that  John  Clavyle  held  Morden  cum  membris  in  the  6th  of 
Edward  II.  for  two  fees,  of  the  Earl  of  Gloucester.     This  is  no  doubt  our  John  de  Clavile  I.     He  was 


1   Sir  W.  Pole  inserts  a  William,  Walter,  and  William  between  the  Walter  of  Domesday  and  the  founder. 
-  See  Walter's  charter  of  foundation  printed  in  Oliver,  JJioc.  Exon.  p  22C. 
:1  Charter  of  confirmation.     MS.  Harl.  3C60,  Legh,  Clavile,  No.  vii. 

4  Ibid.  Clavile  charters,  No.  x.  °  Ibid.  No.  xi.  G  Ibid.  No.  xiii. 

7  Rogerus  de  Clavile  fil.  et  hair.  Will,  de  C.  dedit  terras  Prioratui  S.  Nicholai  Exon.      Coll.  Topogr. 
et  Gen.  i.  385.  s  Cartul.  Clavile,  No.  xv.  "  Ibid.  fo.  42. 

10  Ibid.  fo.  686.  n  Ibid.  fo.  69.  '*  Infra,  App.  No.  V. 

1:1  Under  East  Morden,  iii.  130. 


Priory  and  Abbey  td  Canonsleigh.  419 

from  Henry  the  Second's  confirmation  charter  to  that  house.8  Plympton  was 
the  earliest  foundation  of  Austin  Canons  in  this  part  of  England,  and  Canonsleigh 
was  probably  an  offshoot  from  it.  This  would  go  some  way  to  explain  the  claims 
of  the  priory  of  Plympton  to  interfere  in  elections  to  the  headship  of  Canonsleigh, 
the  settlement  of  which  claims  in  1219  Dr.  Oliver  has  recorded. 

This  foundation,  after  continuing  for  more  than  a  hundred  years,  during  which 
time,  as  appears  from  the  cartulary,  it  was  augmented  by  many  gifts  of  lands  from 
neighbouring  families,  ceased  to  exist  in  1284,  when  the  monastery,  with  its  estates, 
was  made  over  to  a  community  of  regular  canonesses,  also  of  the  Augustinian 
order,  under  the  government  of  an  abbess.  The  foundress  of  the  new  establish- 
ment was  Matilda,  widow  of  Richard  de  Clare,  Earl  of  Gloucester  and  Hertford, 
and  daughter  of  John  de  Lacy,  Earl  of  Lincoln. 

dead  it  would  seem,  leaving  a  son  under  age,  in  the  1st  year  of  Edward  III.,  as  a  writ  then  issued  to  the 
escheator  on  this  side  Trent  to  seize,  among  other  estates  in  a  similar  plight,  the  lands  of  which  John  Cla- 
vyle  deceased  had  died  seised.1  This  was  in  consequence  of  the  attainder  of  Hugh  Despencer  the  younger, 
who  had  married  one  of  the  coheirs  of  the  honour  of  Gloucester ;  and  two  years  after,  Geoffrey  de  Royston 
had  a  grant  of  the  custody  of  two-thirds  of  the  manor  of  Bridelescumbe  (Burlescombe),  which  was  of  John 
de  Clavile,  deceased,  to  hold  until  the  majority  of  the  heir.2  What  relationship  this  heir  of  John  I.  bore  to 
him  does  not  appear.  If,  as  Sir  W.  Pole  has  it,  it  was  his  son  of  the  same  name  (John  II.),  he  must,  I 
think,  have  died  before  the  23rd  Edward  III.  leaving  a  third  John  his  heir.  For  in  that  year  Andrew 
Luterell  had  a  grant  of  the  custody  of  the  manor  of  Burlescombe,  together  with  Lomene  (Lowman)  Clavile, 
to  hold  during  the  minority  of  the  heir  of  John  de  Clavile,  who  held  of  Hugh  Despencer,  deceased,  &c. 
Now  this  heir  of  John  de  Clavile  can  hardly  be  the  same  as  "  the  heir  of  John  de  Clavile"  before  mentioned 
(that  is  of  John  de  Clavile  I.),  as  John  I.  was  dead  in  the  1st  year  of  the  reign,  and  his  heir,  even  if  a 
posthumous  son  (the  extreme  case)  must  have  been  out  of  ward  in  the  23rd  year.  Pole's  statement  is 
probably  correct  as  to  three  successive  fathers  and  sons  all  of  the  same  name,  though,  in  spite  of  the 
identity  of  Christian  name,  John  II.  may  possibly  have  been  a  brother  of  John  I.  In  the  25th  year  of 
Edward  III.  this  Andrew  Luterell  had  a  grant  of  the  marriage  of  the  son  of  John  de  Clavill."  This 
son  was  probably  John,  the  third  John  of  Pole's  pedigree,  as  in  47  Edw.  III.  John  Clavel  of  Morden 
(according  to  Hutchins4)  held  lands  in  Little  Kimmeridge.  Hutching  next  mentions  a  William  Clavile 
(who  died  20  Ric.  II.)  who  held  East  and  West  Morden  of  Edmund,  Earl  of  March,  by  knight's  service.  He 
adds  that  these  Claviles  seem  to  have  been  the  principal  branch  of  the  family,  and  to  have  become  extinct 
at  Morden  about  1374.  A  younger  branch  continued  to  Hutchins's  day  at  Smedmore  in  Dorsetshire.''1 
These  facts,  so  f;ir  as  they  go,  substantiate  Sir  W.  Pole's  pedigree. 
•  Oliver,  p.  135. 


1  Abb.  Rot.  Orig.  ii.  5,  col.  i.  ro.  8.  «  Ibid  p  28,  col.  i.  ro.  7,  Cant. 

3  Ibiil.  p  216,  col.  i.  ro.  4.  4   Ubi  supra, 

8  See  his  vol.  i.  3 1C,  where  a  pedigree  of  this  branch  is  given,  but  the  connection  with  the1  modern  family 
is  not  made  out. 

3  ii  2 


420  Charters  and  Documents  relating  to  the 

Lord  Portman's  deeds  and  other  instruments  relate,  I  find,  to  both  foundations. 
From  their  nature,  all  of  these  are  not  entered  in  the  Harleian  Cartulary,"  which, 
as  usual,  comprises  merely  the  charters  of  feoflinent  and  other  muniments  of  title 
respecting  the  various  estates  possessed  by  the  community.  From  these  original 
documents,  unknown  to  Dr.  Oliver,  some  additional  information  as  to  the  history 
of  the  two  houses  may  be  gleaned ;  and  some  of  the  mere  title-deeds  in  the  parcel 
may  possess  sufficient  independent  interest  to  warrant  their  publication  by  the 
Society  of  Antiquaries. 

To  begin  with  the  documents  relating  to  the  original  foundation.  The  earliest 
instrument,  printed  in  Appendix  No.  I.  relates  to  the  appropriation  to  the  priory 
of  the  church  of  Sampford  (anciently  Sandford)  Arundel,  a  parish  which  lies  in 
the  diocese  of  Wells,  just  over  the  Somersetshire  border,  within  a  few  miles  of 
Leigh.  Roger  Arundel,  as  appears  from  the  cartulary ,b  had  given  the  church 
to  the  monastery  before  1205,  and  Savaricus,  Bishop  of  Bath  and  Glastonbury c 
(1192-1205),  had  appropriated  it  to  the  use  of  the  prior  and  canons.d  Some  dispute, 
however,  would  seem  to  have  arisen  as  to  this  transaction,  for  in  the  instrument 
of  appropriation  AVC  find  it  stated  that  the  canons,  by  the  ordination  of  Josce- 
line,  Bishop  of  Bath  and  Wells  (1205-1242)  had  an  annuity  of  twenty  shillings 
out  of  the  church,  a  fact  which  at  first  sight  at  least  appears  inconsistent  with 
their  having  the  entire  appropriation.  Be  this  as  it  may,  their  right  to  the 

*  Each  of  the  deeds  transcribed  into  the  cartulary  has  a  mark  of  reference  thereto  endorsed  on  it. 

''  Harl.  3, GOO,  fo.  01.     The  following  genealogical  notes  from  the  cartulary  may  be  worth  preserving: — 

Roger  Arundel.=j= 

Nicholas  Arundel,  his  charter  (fo.  Cl),  witnessed  by  Robert  Archdeacon  of  Guildford1s=:Joan. 

John  Arundel,  party  to  a  fine  of  Sampford  church,  27  H.  3  (fo.  61  b.) 

John  Arundel  (fo.  65  ft).=plsabel. 

r 

John  Arundel  (fo.  C5  b).-^- 


John  Puz=Joan,  probably  sister  and  coheiress      Arundela,  dau.  of  John  Arundel  (fo.  68)^Richard  Crispin, 
(fo.  68,).  with  Arundela  (fo.  6«).  fee  Colliuson,  Somertets.  iii.  26.  (fo.  68). 

William  Crispin,  son  and  heir  presumptive,  alive  48  H.  3.=y=Joan  (Collinson,  iii.  26). 

Roger  Crispin  de  Sandford  Arundel, alive  4  Ed.  II.'(fo.  G'J),          Bradston(CW-=T=Joan  (Col- 
ob.  s.p.  7  Ed.  II.  (Collinson).  linson).  liiison). 

Elizabeth  ((7o//wwoii).^=Sir  John  Streche,  died  seized  of  Sampford  2'J  Ed.  III. 

4- 

'  See  Dugd.  Mtmusticim  as  to  this  title.  d  MS.  Harl.  3,660,  p.  61  b. 


1  One  of  the  name  Hobert  was  Archdeacon  of  Surrey,  according  to  Le  Neve,  in  1130  and  1171. 


Priory  and  Abbey  at  Canonsleigh.  421 

advowson  and  to  the  annuity  was  disputed  by  Sir  John  Arundel,  descendant 
of  Roger  the  benefactor,  who,  after  some  legal  proceedings  in  the  King's  Court, 
probably  in  the  nature  of  a  quare  impedit,  presented  (shortly  before  the  year  1243) 
Master  Walter  de  Saint  Quintin,  canon  of  "Wells  and  archdeacon  of  Taunton,  to 
the  church  of  Sampford  Arundel.  This  ecclesiastic,  as  appears  from  the  recital  of 
the  next  instrument,  was  a  good  friend  to  the  canons,  and  it  was  probably  through 
his  means  that  some  arrangement  was  effected  between  the  rival  patrons  of  the 
church,  which  resulted  in  the  levying  a  fine  before  the  Justices  Itinerant  at 
Ilchester  on  the  octaves  of  Candlemas  1243  (27  Hen.  III.),  which  confirmed  the 
convent  in  their  right  to  the  advowson. 

The  canons,  being  thus  the  admitted  patrons,  were  in  a  position  to  receive  an 
appropriation  of  the  benefice. 

At  the  moment,  the  see  of  Wells  was  void  by  the  death  of  Josceline  of  Wells,' 
and  the  archdeacon,  who  claimed  to  have,  in  consequence  of  the  vacancy,  the 
necessary  spiritual  jurisdiction  in  that  behalf,"  proceeded,  by  the  instrument  now 
under  notice,  to  appropriate  the  church  to  the  monastery,  under  the  usual  pretext 
of  the  poverty  of  the  canons,  and  their  consequent  inability  to  maintain  due 
hospitality. 

The  archdeacon,  however,  was  careful  of  the  interests  of  himself  and  successors. 
For  not  only  did  he,  following  as  he  says  the  rule  of  Bishop  Josceline  as  to  new 
appropriations,  double  the  synodals  payable  out  of  the  rectory  of  Sampford  to  the 
archdeacons  of  Taunton  on  the  occasion  of  their  visitations,  but  also  procured  for 
the  archdeaconry  a  benefaction  (it  would  seem  as  the  consideration  for  the  quiet 
acquisition  by  the  canons  of  Leigh  of  the  church  of  Sampford,)  of  a  substantial 
character. 

This  brings  us  to  the  next  of  Lord  Portman's  documents,  that  printed  in 
Appendix  No.  II. 

"  Josceline  died  Nov.  19,  1242,  and  his  successor  was  not  elected  for  two  years  afterwards.  Dugd. 
Mm.  ii.  277. 

ti  Some  attempt  at  examining  the  validity  of  this  claim  will  be  found  in  a  footnote  to  the  Appendix 
No.  I.  Whether  the  convent  was  not  satisfied  as  to  the  validity  of  the  appropriation  made  by  the  arch- 
deacon, sede  vacante,  or  what  the  reason  may  have  been,  we  cannot  tell ;  but  it  appears  from  the  cartulary 
that  William  de  Bitton,  who  succeeded  to  the  see  of  Bath  and  Wells  in  1248,  after  the  short  incumbency 
of  Bishop  Roger  of  8arum  (1244-1247),  in  the  first  year  of  his  pontificate  again  appropriated  Sampford  to 
the  monastery  by  an  instrument,  which,  though  in  other  respects  very  nearly  following  the  tenor  of  the 
archdnacon's  appropriation,  omits  all  reference  to  it,  except  what  may  be  implied  from  the  following  clause, 
"  HKC  autem  sic  duximus  ordiuanda  salvis  nobis  et  successoribus  nostris  per  omuia  dignitate,  auctoritate  et 
jurisdictione  et  episcopalibus  consuetudinibus  el  archidiacono  loci  jure  orchid  iaconali"  &c. 


422  Charters  and  Documents  relating  to  the 

The  advowson  of  the  church  of  Thorne  St.  Margaret,  which  is  situated  in  the 
rural  deanery  of  Taunton,  close  to  Sampford  Arundel,  and  within  a  few  miles  of 
Leigh,  had  been  given  to  the  canons  by  Baldwin  de  Thorne*  some  years  after  the 
foundation  of  the  priory.6 

This  advowson,  on  St.  George's  Day  1243,  was  made  over  by  the  canons  to  the 
archdeacon.  The  deed  recites,  as  a  consideration  for  the  conveyance,  his  good 
offices,  benevolence,  and  generosity  to  the  house,  and  other  good  causes  (probably 
including  the  appropriation  of  Sampford),0  and  proceeds  to  state  that,  with  the 
consent  of  Baldwin,  and  the  prior  and  convent  of  Leigh,  the  former  and  the  actual 
patrons  of  the  church,  the  archdeacon  annexed  the  advowson  to  the  church  of 
Milverton,  then,  as  now,  a  prebend  of  the  cathedral  church  of  Wells,  perpetually 
annexed  to  the  archdeaconry  of  Taunton.d 

The  conditions  of  the  annexation  were  as  follows  : — the  incumbent  of  Thorne 
was  to  provide  annually  for  ever  in  the  church  of  Wells,  on  the  eve  of  the  obit  of 
Master  Walter,  twenty  shillings  to  be  distributed  by  the  hands  of  the  communiarii 
of  the  cathedral1  among  the  canons  and  clerks  of  the  church  who  should  be  present 
in  the  choir  on  his  anniversary,  and  the  eve  thereof,  throughout  the  celebration 
of  divine  service.  Besides,  the  incumbent  was  to  find  every  quarter  forty  shillings 
for  the  support  of  a  chaplain  who  should  daily  in  the  church  of  Wells  perform 
the  entire  office  of  the  dead,  with  Commendation,  Placebo  and  Dirige,  for  the  soul 

a  The  following  descents  of  this  family  are  deduced  from  the  Harleian  Cartulary  (fo.  44  b.  et  seqq.): — 

Gerold— 

Baldwin,  Lord  of  Thorne.^Sibilla. 
Gerold,  son  of  Baldwin.  Gilbert  de  Thorne.^Joan. 


Baldwin  de  Thorne,  son  and  heir,  alive  1243. 


William  de  Thorne,  alive  1273. 

''  Sir  Juhele  de  Valk-torte,  sheriff  of  Somerset,  was  a  witness  to  Baldwin's  charter,  which  is  without 
date.  His  name,  however,  does  not  occur  in  the  list  of  sheriffs  either  in  Fuller's  ^Yorthies  or  in  Collin- 
son's  History  of  Somersetshire. 

c  This  instrument  and  the  former,  it  will  be  oberved,  are  of  even  date  (St.  George's  Day  1243),  and  the 
same  persons  are  named  as  attesting  witnesses.  The  two"  transactions  recorded  by  the  two  deeds  are  pre- 
sumably therefore  "  of  the  same  piece,"  though  neither  instrument  expressly  recites  the  tenor  or  purport  of 
the  other. 

11  The  perpetual  curacy  of  Thorne  St.  Margaret  still  is  or  very  lately  was  in  the  gift  of  the  Archdeacon  of 
Taunton. 

'•  Commnniariits  or  commttnicarius  was  an  officer  in  a  religious  foundation  whose  duty  it  was  to  distribute 
the  commons  of  money  or  provision  to  the  members  of  the  body.  See  Ducange  sub  vocibus. 


Priory  and  Abbey  of  Canonslcigh.  423 

of  the  archdeacon,  of  Bishop  Josceline,  who  gave  him  his  archdeaconry,  and  of 
John,8  priest  and  treasurer  of  Salisbury,  uncle  of  Master  Walter,  who  educated 
him,  and  also  for  the  souls  of  Walter's  father  and  mother,  of  all  benefactors  to  the 
churches  of  Wells,  Milverton,  and  Thorne,  and  for  the  souls  of  all  the  faithful 
departed. 

The  next  document  (Appendix  No.  III.)  is  an  example  of  the  way  in  which, 
down  to  the  twelfth  century,  lay  proprietors  disposed  of  the  tithe  of  their  land  to 
such  churches  as  they  pleased,  being  a  gift  to  the  Church  of  Morden  (East  Mor- 
den,  hundred  of  Loosebarrow,  co.  Dorset),  afterwards  appropriated  to  Canons 
Leigh,  of  the  whole  tithe  of  the  demesnes  of  the  grantor,  one  Geoffrey  de  Fortune, 
"  quarum  (decimarum)  unam  partem  antiquitus  antecessores  mei  prescripts 
ecclesioc  debito  reddiderunt,  reliquas  vero  duas  partes  aliis  ecclesiis  contulerunt, 
et  in  alios  sumptus  quandoque  pro  libito  suo  libere  transtulcrunt."  This  deed 
is  without  date,  but  is  in  the  form  of  a  letter  to  the  bishop  of  the  diocese,  Joscelin, 
who  governed  the  see  of  Salisbury  from  1142  to  1184.  Hutchins  mentions  an 
Adam  de  Porton  as  holding  land  in  Morden,  apparently  in  27  Edward  I.,  but 
notices  no  other  person  of  the  family. 

A  hundred  years  after  this  gift,  disputes  arose  between  the  monastery,  claiming 
to  be  appropriators  by  prescription  of  100  years  and  upwards,  the  longissima  pre- 
scriptio  of  the  canon  law,  and  one  William  de  Purstone,  who  asserted  that  he  was 
entitled  to  the  rectory  by  provision  of  Giles  formerly  bishop  of  Sarum.  The 
dispute  was  referred1"  to  arbitrators,  who  on  the  Wednesday  next  after  the 
feast  of  St.  Vincent,  1272,  awarded  that  the  appropriation  was  good,  but  that 
as  William  had,  through  ignorance  of  the  facts,  been  induced  to  procure  for  him- 
self (possibly  by  paying  the  bishop  a  round  sum  for  it)  the  provision,  bad  as 
made  during  plenarty,  the  convent  should  give  him  an  annual  pension  of  forty 
shillings,  until  by  their  means  he  should  be  provided  with  a  better  living. 

The  next  year  the  canons  took  care  to  obtain  from  the  bishop  of  Salisbury 
(Walter  de  la  Wyle)  the  formal  instrument  of  appropriation  of  the  church  of 
Morden,  which  is  among  Lord  Portman's  documents,  and  will  be  found  in 
Appendix  No.  IV. 

Appendix  No.  V.  contains  a  rather  curious  composition  (taken  from  the  Car- 
tulary) between  Henry  prior  of  Leigh  and  the  convent  there  with  John 
de  Clavile,  the  lineal  descendant  of  the  founder  and  lord  of  Burlescombe,  as 
to  the  guardianship  of  the  temporalities  of  the  priory  during  a  vacancy  of  the 

•  John  is  not  among  the  Treasurers  of  Salisbury  in  Hardy's  Le  Neve.  Jordanus  is  there  named  as 
Treasurer  in  the  years  1142  and  1184.  b  MS.  Ilarl.  36CO,  fo.  70. 


424  Charters  and  Documents  relating  to  the 

headship  of  the  house,  which  John  claimed  to  have  as  patron.  It  was  agreed 
that  in  future,  on  the  occurrence  of  a  vacancy,  John  and  his  heirs  should  merely 
appoint  a  porter,  either  the  existing  officer  or  another  of  the  servants  of  the 
house,  who  should  swear  on  the  Gospels  to  permit  no  extern*  to  enter  the 
priory,  nor  interns  to  carry  away  any  of  the  goods  of  the  community,  "  ad 
dampnum  domus,  quominus  elemosina  dicti  Johannis  et  progenitorum  suorum 
bene  et  fideliter  custodiatur."  This  arrangement  hears  date  on  the  feast  of 
St.  Simon  and  St.  Jude,  1282,  two  years  hefore  the  transfer  of  the  establishment 
to  the  canonesses. 

Before  we  proceed  to  the  consideration  of  the  instruments  relating  to  the 
second  foundation,  I  may  call  your  attention  to  letters  apostolic  of  Pope  Innocent 
IV.,  addressed  to  the  bishop  of  Bath  and  "Wells,  desiring  him,  as  diocesan,  to  give 
licence  to  Robert  Burnel  (Robertus  dictus  Burnel)  to  have  a  private  chaplain  on 
his  own  estate,  on  account  of  the  distance  of  the  parish  church  and  badness  of 
the  roads,  if  the  bishop  thought  proper.  This  instrument  (in  Lord  Portraan's  pos- 
session) is  dated  at  Lyons,  3  non.  Dec.  Anno  Pontificatus  septimo  (Dec.  3, 1250), 
under  the  bnlla  in  lead  appended  by  hempen  threads.  Robert  Burnel,  bishop  of 
Bath  and  Wells,  gave  the  manor  of  Rockbcave,  in  the  county  of  Devon,  and  the 
advowson  of  the  church  there,  to  the  canonesses  shortly  after  their  establishment 
at  Leigh,  lie  died  in  1292.  This  bull  was  probably  obtained  by  an  ancestor  of 
the  bishop,  and  may  have  come  into  the  possession  of  the  canonesses  among  the 
title  deeds  of  the  bishop's  gift. 

It  was  in  1284,  two  years  after  the  confirmation  of  the  election  of  Prior  William 
de  llonneton  or  Roneton,"  that  the  second  foundation  by  Matilda  de  Lacy  (widow 
of  Richard  de  Clare,  Earl  of  Gloucester  and  Hertford)  took  place.  Among  Lord 
Portinan's  documents  now  under  notice  is  a  letter  dated  xvii.  kal.  Nov.  1284,  from 
Alice,  abbess  of  the  Avell-known  monastery  of  Lacock  in  Wilts,  and  the  convent 
there,  addressed  to  Peter  Lionel',  bishop  of  Exeter.  By  this  letter  the  abbess  and 
her  convent,  at  the  request  of  the  bishop  of  Exeter  and  of  the  countess,  whom 
they  style  patroness  of  the  church  of  Leigh,  "  where  the  order  of  St.  Austin  for 
females  had  by  Apostolic  authority  been  instituted,"  signify  their  consent  to  the 
translation  to  Leigh  of  three  ladies  of  their  convent,  namely,  Dame  Matilda 
Tablere  (who  was  almost  immediately  appointed  the  first  abbess1'),  Juliana  de 
Bristoll,  and  dementia  de  Ovile,  (the  consent  of  these  ladies  and  of  Walter 

a  Oliver,  Mon.  Dioc.  Kxon.  224. 

'•  Oliver,  225.     He  calls  her,  from  the  Exeter  Register,  de  Tablere.     She  received  the  benediction  of 
the  bishop  as  abbess  on  Oct.  28,  1284. 


Priory  and  Abbey  at  Canonsleigh.  425 

Scammel,  bishop  elect  of  Salisbury,  having  been  obtained),  and  they  absolve  these 
sisters  from  their  obedience  to  Lacock." 

The  countess  made  several  additions  to  the  landed  property  of  the  house,  the 
particulars  of  which  will  be  found  in  Dr.  Oliver's  work.  Besides  these  estates 
the  authorities  at  Rome  appear  to  have  insisted  on  the  gift  of  600£.  and  upwards, 
a  very  large  sum  of  money  at  that  time,  for  the  endowment  of  the  new  foundation. 
It  was  not,  however,  for  many  a  year  that  the  canonesses  reaped  the  benefit  of  this 
handsome  benefaction. 

Prom  a  law  report b  we  learn  that  King  Edward  the  First,  being  in  want  of  funds, 
probably  for  his  Scottish  wars,  had  borrowed  the  money,  and  in  1301  had  not 
paid  it  back.  The  letters  patent  (to  be  noticed  presently)  further  inform  us  that 
the  royal  borrower,  who  had  received  the  money  "  pro  urgentissimis  negociis  suis, 
et  pro  utilitate  et  defensione  regni  sui,"  had  given  what  we  may  call  an  exchequer 
bond  payable  on  demand  for  the  amount.  The  short  law  report  speaks  for  itself, 
and  I  give  it  here  in  English,  as  the  law  French  even  of  those  times,  corrupted 
as  it  has  since  been  by  frequent  transcripts  by  English  scribes,  is  not  always 
quite  intelligible  to  '  lay  men.' 

"  The  abbess  and  convent  of  Canon  Leigh  petitioned  the  King,  in  the 
parliament  at  Lincoln,  stating  that  the  King  had  taken  out  of  the  treasury  of  the 
cathedral  church  at  Exeter  672/.,  which  money  Maud  de  Glocester,  mother  of 
the  Earl  Gilbert,  had  ordained  for  lands  to  be  bought  for  the  sustenance  of  ladies 
of  the  said  house,  to  which  thing  the  said  countess  was  bound  by  oath  by 
the  Pope  before  she  could  have  favour  to  found  the  said  house,0  and  they 
prayed  that  restitution  should  be  made  to  them  (or  else  they  must  depart  from 
the  house),  or  that  the  King  should  assign  to  them  the  manors  of  Bradewick  and 
Kenton,  which  had  escheated  to  the  King  by  the  death  of  the  Earl  of  Cornwall. 
Whereupon  it  was  ordained  in  parliament  that  all  those  of  whom  the  King  had 
taken  moneys  should  apply  to  the  treasurer,  and  barons,  and  that  they  should 
allow  them  their  debts  or  (assign  them)  debts  of  others,  or  assign  lands  in 
satisfaction,  &c.  But  because  the  said  manors  had  come  de  novo  to  the  King, 
the  barons,  not  knowing  the  King's  pleasure,  would  not  commit  these  said  manors 
until,  &c." 

a  The  seals  to  this  instrument  have  perished,  and  it  has  not  been  thought  necessary  to  print  it  in  ertenso. 

b  Memorand.  in  Scacc.  29  Edw.  I.  de  term.  Trin.  43.  Dr.  Oliver  has  given  the  reference,  not  quite  accu- 
rately, to  the  Year  Book. 

"  I  have  been  disappointed  at  finding  no  papal  instrument  relative  to  this  transaction  in  the  Vatican 
Transcripts,  now  in  the  British  Museum. 

VOL.  XL.  3  I 


426  Charters  and  Documents  relating  to  the 

Dr.  Oliver,  or  rather  his  learned  correspondent  Mr.  E.  Smirke,  after  quoting 
this  report,  says,  "whether  the  ladies  ever  got  the  money  after  all  is  not 
very  clear."  The  letters  patent,  however,  of  King  Edward  III.,  printed  in 
Appendix  No.  VI.  from  the  original  in  Lord  Portman's  possession,  show  that  at 
all  events  an  arrangement  between  the  convent  and  the  Crown  was  made  in  the 
fifth  year  of  that  king's  reign.  The  letters  patent,  dated  October  9th,  5th  Ed.  III. 
(1331),  recite  that  King  Edward  II.  in  the  fourth  year  of  his  reign  (1311)  had 
granted  to  the  abbess  and  convent  that  out  of  the  wardships  to  come  to  his  hands 
there  should  be  delivered  to  them  lands,  or  rents,  to  the  annual  value  of 
100/.,  to  have  and  to  hold  until  they  should  have  received  the  whole  amount 
of  the  debt,  the  exact  sum  of  which  (672J.  5s.  10$d.)  is  given.  Nothing  seems 
to  have  come  of  this,  for  the  canonesses  again  had  petitioned  the  King  in  council 
for  payment  which  they  had  not  hitherto  received.  A  fresh  arrangement  is  then 
made  by  the  patent,  which  empowers  the  convent  to  receive  by  the  hands  of  the 
collectors  of  the  customs  of  the  port  of  Southampton  one  moiety  of  the  old  and 
new  customs  of  that  port  (except  the  customs  on  wine)  yearly,  as  from  the 
1st  of  June  then  last  past  (June  1st,  1331),  after  1,0007.  had  been  levied  thereout 
for  the  King's  use,  until  the  whole  debt  should  be  satisfied. 

A  petition  in  parliament  of  the  eighth  year  of  King  Edward  II.  throws  a  further 
light  on  his  father's  borrowings.  It  is  from  the  hospital  of  St.  John  of  Jerusalem, 
and  recites  that  King  Edward  I.  had  caused  to  be  taken  out  of  their  treasury 
at  Clerkenwell,  by  Sir  Philip  de  Wylughby,  chancellor  of  the  exchequer, 
2.690Z.  11*.  4rf.,  and  afterwards  by  his  writ  commanded  the  barons  of  the  ex- 
chequer that  all  those  of  his  realm,  both  religious  and  clerks  and  laymen,  from 
whom  money  had  been  taken  for  his  use,  in  consequence  of  the  search  made  in 
abbeys,  houses  of  religion,  hospitals,  churches,  and  elsewhere  in  his  realm,  should 
be  agreed  with  in  respect  of  the  moneys  taken,  by  sufficient  payment  or  by  certain 
assignment  to  be  made  them  by  way  of  allowance  of  debts  due  from  them  to  the 
King,  or  of  fines  which  they  might  make  in  the  King's  court  for  favours  to  be 
procured.  The  prior  and  his  brethren  had  exhibited  their  patents  in  the  ex- 
chequer, but  their  debt  was  still  unsatisfied.  They  therefore  prayed  payment, 
which  was  ordered  to  be  made,  by  allowance"  of  debts  due  to  the  King. 

The  dedication  of  the  monastery  was  slightly  altered  by  the  second  founder, 
the  name  of  Saint  Etheldred  being  added  to  the  patrons.  This  change  is  first 
observed  in  a  charter  of  confirmation  of  all  his  ancestor's  gifts  made  by  John 
de  Clavile  (May  4,  1  Edw.  II.  1308),  in  which  he  calls  the  abbey  the  Church  of 
Saint  Mary,  Saint  John  Evangelist,  and  Saint  Etheldred.  In  the  beautiful  seal 


Priory  and  Abbey  at  Canonsleigh.  427 

of  the  new  foundation  ( figured  at  the  foot  of  Appendix  No.  VIII.),  probably 
the  gift  of  the  foundress,  and  engraved  under  her  direction,  the  sainted  queen 
appears  kneeling  on  one  side  of  the  Blessed  Virgin,  who  holds  the  Divine  Infant 
on  her  knee,  while  on  the  other  side  is  a  male  kneeling  figure  representing  St. 
John,  who,  as  in  the  retable  preserved  in  Westminster  Abbey,  holds  the  celestial 
palm  branch  which,  according  to  the  legend,  he  bore  before  the  body  of  Our  Lady 
at  her  exequies." 

The  Lord  of  Burlescombe  was  not  content  with  giving  the  ladies  the  confir- 
mation charter  just  mentioned.  Ten  years  afterwards  we  find  him  moved,  on 
careful  consideration  of  his  ancestor's  pious  gifts  of  tithe  to  the  old  priory,  to  make 
restitution  of  an  annual  sum  of  ten  shillings  and  eight  pence  of  tithe  of  rents  in 
Morden  and  elsewhere,  which  had  not  been  paid  for  six-and-twenty  years.  He 
did  not  indeed,  so  far  as  appears  from  the  charter  (Appendix  No.  VII.),  make 
arrangements  for  the  discharge  of  the  arrears,  but  he  solemnly  admitted  his 
obligation  to  pay  for  the  future,  and  added  a  somewhat  curious  form  of  distress- 
namely,  that  if  any  quarterly  payment  of  this  tithe  should  be  in  arrear,  it  should 
be  lawful  for  the  bailiffs  (not  of  the  abbey  but)  of  the  Earl  of  Gloucester,  who,  as 
we  have  seen,  was  chief  lord  of  the  fee,  to  enter  and  distrain,  &c.  at  the  costs  of 
the  covenantor,  his  heirs  and  assigns. 

Appendix  No.  VIII.  is  the  formal  notarial  instrument,  recording  the  pro- 
cessus  electionis  of  Alice  Parker,  to  be  abbess,  in  the  room  of  Joan  Arundel,  who 
died  on  the  17th  of  February,  147f . 

Although  more  than  one  complete  form  of  canonical  election  is  already  in 
print,b  the  present  document  would  appear  to  be  of  sufficient  interest  for  publi- 
cation, as  it  gives  the  names  of  all  the  ladies  of  the  convent  at  the  date  of 
the  election,  and  is  besides  accompanied  by  a  fine  impression  of  the  seal  just 
mentioned,  which  is  not  noticed  by  Dr.  Oliver.  It  would  be  needless  to  go 
into  any  detail  as  to  the  forms  and  ceremonies  belonging  to  an  election  of  this 
nature,  especially  as  a  very  excellent  explanation  of  most  of  the  particularities 
will  be  found  in  the  Preface  to  the  Monasticon  Dioc.  Bxon.  p.  viii.  I  have, 
however,  subjoined  to  the  transcript  in  the  Appendix  a  few  short  notes  on  points 
which  seemed  to  require  comment. 

By  this  and  the  documents  next  following  we  are  enabled  to  augment,  if  not 

•  See  Scott's  Gleanings  from  Westminster  Abbey,  p.  105;  article  on  the  Retable,  by  Mr.  Burges. 
b  See  particularly,  a  long  form  of  such  a  proceeding,  on  the  election  of  an  abbat  of  lilastonbury,  in  the 
MoiwsticoH.  article  Glastonbury. 

3i2 


428  Charters  and  Documents  relating  to  the 

to  complete,  Dr.  Oliver's  series  of  abbesses.  He  was  unacquainted  with  the  date 
of  the  death  of  Dame  Joan  Arundel,  which,  as  just  stated,  occurred  in  147y. 
The  petition  of  the  convent  to  the  founder  for  licence  to  proceed  to  an  election 
in  her  room  is  entered,  as  Dr.  Oliver  observes,  without  date  at  the  end  of  the 
Harleian  Cartulary.  From  the  public  instrument  which  is  now  under  notice,  it 
appears  that  the  founder's  licence  was  dated  March  4th,  147T,  and  that  the 
election  took  place  on  the  21st  of  that  month. 

Besides  recovering  in  this  manner  the  name  of  Alice  Parker,  as  that  of  the 
immediate  successor  of  Abbess  Arundel,  we  find  that  Alice  Parker  herself  had 
ceased  to  be  abbess  in  1488,  for  Lord  Portman  has  the  original  cong6  d'dlire  under 
the  great  seal  of  Henry  VII.,  who  then  was  patron  and  founder,  dated  Nov.  27th 
in  the  fourth  year  of  his  reign,  for  the  election  of  an  abbess  in  her  room.* 

It  does  not  appear  who  was  elected  on  this  occasion ;  but  Lord  Portman  has 
another  original  conge  d'ttire,  also  under  the  great  seal,  dated  Feb.  12, 
14  Hen.  VII.  (1499),  giving  permission  to  the  prioress  and  convent  to  elect,  in 
the  room  of  Joan  Stubbe,  the  last  abbess  then  deceased.  She  was  probably  the 
immediate  successor  of  Alice  Parker,  and  may  very  well  have  lived  till  the  time 
of  Elizabeth  Fouliill,  who  had  a  long  incumbency,  as  she  was  already  abbess  in 
1517,  and  lived  to  receive  a  pension  of  40/.  at  the  surrender  of  the  house  in 
1538-9." 

The  rest  of  the  parcel  of  deeds  which  you  have  submitted  to  me  relate  to 
lands  formerly  belonging  to  Canonsleigh,  and  have  but  little  general  interest. 
They  are  for  the  most  part,  transcribed  into  the  cartulary,  an  abstract  of  the 
principal  contents  of  which  Dr.  Oliver  has  given. 

Among  these  documents  is  a  charter  of  William,  son  of  Gerard  de  Cliste 
(Appendix  No.  IX.)  ;  it  is  not  in  the  cartulary,  and  I  have  not  found  that 
the  convent  had  land  in  any  one  of  the  parishes  which  take  their  name  from 
the  river  Clist,  in  the  valley  of  which  they  are  situated. 

The  form  of  attestation  to  the  charter  (undated,  but  of  the  latter  half  of  the 
thirteenth  century)  of  Hugh  Peverel,  son  of  Sir  Hugh  Peverel,  of  Sanford 
(Sampford  Peverel),  granting  to  the  canons  lands  in  Gollimore,  near  Winesford, 
is  curious.0  It  runs  thus  : — "  Hiis  testibus  :  Ex  parte  mea,  Willelmo  de  Rotho- 

•  The  great  seal,  as  appended  to  the  conge  (Te'lire,  is  figured  in  Sandford,  Genealogical  History,  p.  456, 
but  it  is  to  be  noted  that  the  words  of  the  legend  are  separated  on  both  sides  by  colons  and  roses,  not  by 
colons  on  the  obverse  and  roses  on  the  reverse,  as  Sandford  has  represented  it. 

b  Oliver,  p.  226. 

c  The  charter  will  be  found  at  fo.  43  b,  MS.  Harl.  3660. 


Priory  and  Abbey  at  Canonsleiyh.  429 

mago,  Simone  filio  Rogeri,  Ricardo  Flaundr',  Roberto  de  Campell  et  Hundredo 
meo  de  Sandford  et  multis  aliis  :  Ex  parte  Canonicorum,  teste  Domino  Deo  et 
veritate  conventual!." 

Among  the  title-deeds  of  property  in  Exeter  are  several  of  the  thirteenth  century, 
executed  before  the  Mayor  of  that  city,  in  the  Guildhall  there.  The  locality  is 
indicated  as  being  "  within  the  four  benches  of  the  hall."  The  form  in  the 
charter  (1267)  of  Roger  de  Hemery  (Appendix  No.  X.)  is  as  follows  :  —  "  Et  quia 
volo  quod  haec  venditio  mea  firmitatem  obtineat  perpetuam,  inter  quatuor  scanna 
Gialde  Civitatis  Exoniensis  prsesenti  scripto  sigillum  meum  apposui."  Several 
varieties  of  the  same  form  will  be  found  in  the  cartulary  (fo.  926,  96,  97,  &c.) 
My  acquaintance  with  English  charters,  passed  in  ancient  municipalities  such 
as  that  of  Exeter,  is  too  limited  to  induce  me  to  say  that  this  form  is  unusual, 
much  less  unique.  It  was,  however,  previously  unknown  to  me,  and  it  may  be 
interesting  to  note  that  it  is  identical  with  a  form  which  occurs  in  Germany, 
especially  in  the  trading  towns  of  the  west,  with  which  Exeter  when  it  was  a 
great  port  had  probably  much  commercial  intercourse." 

I  may  lastly  notice  the  seal  of  office  of  the  onicial  principal  of  the  Bishop  of 
Exeter,  under  Bishop  George  Nevile,  1463.  It  may  be  described  thus  :  — 

Pointed  oval,  2TV  by  If  inches  in  size.  Subject  :  under  a  tabernacle  of  per- 
pendicular work,  the  effigy  of  a  bishop,  holding  his  pastoral  staff  in  his  left  hand, 
and  seated  behind  a  table  or  desk.  Below  in  a  niche,  an  ecclesiastic,  with  a 
small  desk  at  his  side,  whereon  his  exterior  hand  rests.  Legend 

officialis  prtnctpalis  episropt 


•  Hafltaus  in  his  Glossarium  Germanicum  Medii  Aevi  has  the  following  passage  (Article  Biincke,  p.  92): 
Zlir  birr  I3nrnrl;r.  Quatuor  scamna,  in  quibus  judici  assidebant  Scabini  in  judicio  solenni.  Per  metony- 
men,  judicium  plenum  duodecim  fere  scabinorum,  cujus  figuram  ita  describit  Gryphiander  in  Tractatu  de 
Weichbild  Saxonico,  c.  Ixv.  n.  3,  "  Collocatum  erat  tribunal  in  loco  editiore  pro  judice,  cui  in  quatuor 
scamnis  sive  bancis  quadrato  ordine  circutnsedebant  Scabini.''  ....  Vocabantur  autem  Dir  birr  ISarnrftr 
non  solum  Judicia  Provincialia  sed  etiam  majorura  civitatum.  Haltaus  then  gives  several  references  to 
documents  where  the  expression  in  question  in  the  Latin  form  is  used  in  reference  to  local  courts  at 
Mechlin,  Cologne,  and  elsewhere.  Of  these  the  following  is  most  to  our  purpose.  A  Charter  (A.D.  1256) 
of  Henry  III.  Count  of  Misnia,  and  Landgrave  of  Thuringia,  to  the  town  of  Ahenberg  contains  this  passage: 
"  Quicunque  fecerit  emendam  extra  figuram  judicii,  ita  quod  digitum  non  levat  [i.e.  juramento  se  astringat] 
infra  quatuor  scampna,  de  emenda  pollicita  convinci  non  potest,  sed  juramento,  si  voluerit,  so  purgabit." 
I  am  indebted  for  this  reference  to  Grimm,  Deutsche  Rechts-Alterthiimer,  pp.  212,  810.  At  the  latter 
page  will  be  found,  among  much  other  learning  as  to  the  material  form  of  ancient  Teutonic  Courts,  addi- 
tional instances  where  the  expression  '•  die  vier  Banke  "  is  used,  as  in  the  statutes  of  the  Hanse  town  of 
Bremen,  and  in  Magdeburg  records. 


430  Charters  and  Documents  relating  to  the 

This  interesting  seal  is  appended  to  letters  of  admission  and  institution  of 
John  Arundell,  clerk  to  the  parish  church  of  Northleigh,  co.  Devon,  (the  ad- 
vowson  of  which  was  among  the  gifts  of  Maud  de  Clare  to  Canonsleigh,)  vacant 
by  the  death  of  Robert  Udy,  Rector,  by  Henry  Webber,  Dean  of  Exeter,  and 
Vicar-General  of  the  bishop  in  remotis  agentis,  on  the  presentation  of  the 
abbess  and  convent.  Given  at  Exeter,  Nov.  4,  1463,  in  the  eighth  year  of  the 
confirmation,  and  fifth  of  the  consecration,  of  George  Bishop  of  Exeter :  under 
the  seal  of  office  of  the  official  principal  of  the  bishop,  "  quod  (sigillum,  viz.)  ad 
manus  habemus  in  hujusmodi  officio  constitutus." 

To  these  observations,  which  I  fear  have  extended  to  a  tedious  length,  I  need 
only  add  an  expression  of  the  thanks  to  which  Miss  Portman  is  entitled,  for 
having  been  the  means  of  bringing  to  light  a  collection  of  documents  well  cal- 
culated to  illustrate  mediaeval  life  and  manners,  and  to  add  some  particulars  to 
the  history  of  a  monastic  foundation  of  more  than  ordinary  interest. 

I  am,  my  dear  Sir, 

Very  faithfully  yours, 

CHARLES  SPENCER  PERCEVAL. 


Priory  and  Abbey  of  Canonsleigh.  431 


APPENDIX. 


Num.  I. 

Consensus  Decani  et  Capituli  Wellensis  pro  ecclesia  de  Saunforde  Amndelle 
approprianda  Priori  et  Canonicis  de  Leghe. 

[Ex  autogApho  penes  Dominum  Portman.     Reperies  apographon  in  Cod.  Harl.  3660,  fo.  63  ] 

Omnibus  ad  quos  literae  praesentes  pervenerint,  Johannes  Decanus  et  Capitulum  Wellense, 
salutem  in  domino.  Noveritis  nos  inspexisse  cartam  et  ordinationem  dilecti  fratris  et  canonic!  nostri 
magistri  Walter!  de  Sancto  Quintino  archidiaconi  Tanthon  super  ecclesia  de  Saunforde,  sub  hac 
forma — Universis  has  literas  Jnspccturis  vel  audituris,  magister  Walterus  de  Sancto  Quintino 
archidiaconus  Tanthon  salutem  in  domiuo.  Xoverit  universitas  vestra  quod  cum  Prior  et  Canonici 
de  Leghe  ordinis  sancti  Augustini  ex  ordinatione  domini  nostri  Joscelini  bonae  memoriae  quondam 
Bathoniensis  episcopi  viginti  solidos  annuatim  perceperint  in  Ecclesia  de  Saunforde,  et  ipsos 
dictorum  viginti  solidorum  Dominus  Johannes  de  Arundelle  dominus  dicta;  villce  per  magnum  tcmpus 
non  sustinuerit  ausu  proprio  [non  Cartul.]  gaudere,  asserens  se  ipsius  ecclesiae  patronum,  optinuitper 
curiam  domini  Regis  Walterus  (sic)  prsenominato  domino  episcopo  praesentari  cui  custodiaejusdem 
ad  ipsius  ut  asseritur  praesentationem  priore  predicto  et  canonicis  reclamantibus  et  contradicentibus 
fuit  commissa.  Tandem  post  inultas  altercationes  inter  ipsos  super  dicta  advocatione  tarn  in  curia 
domini  Regis  quam  alias  habitas,  per  finalem  concordiam  dictum  placitum  per  cyrographum  factutn 
coram  Rogero  de  Turkbur,"  Gileberto  de  Prestone,  Willelmo  de  Sancto  Edraundo,  Alano  de  Sorn,1' 
apud  Ivelcastre  in  octabis  Purificationia  beatae  Marias,  anno  regni  Regis  Henrici  filii  Regis  Johannis 
vicesimo  septimo,  Justiciariis  Itinerantibus  Domini  Regis,  sic  inter  eos  conquicvit,  videlicet  quod 
dictus  Johannes  recognovit  advocationem  dicta:  ecclesiae  de  Saunforde  cum  suis  pertinentiis  esse  jus 
Prioris  et  ecclesiae  de  Leghe,  Habendam  et  tenendam  eidem  Priori  et  successoribus  suis  et  ecclesia: 
de  Leghe  dictam  advocationem  cum  suis  pertinentiis  in  puram  et  perpetuam  liberam  et  quietam 
elemosinam'  ab  omni  secular!  exactione  et  demanda  in  perpetuum.-  Et  quia  totalis  jurisdictio 

•  Turkeby,  Cartvl.  »  Forn,  Cartel. 

c  The  phrase  should  run  "  in  puram  perpetuam  et  liberam  elemosinam  quietam,"  &c.  The  Cartulary 
follows  the  present  text.  The  document  seems  carelessly  drawn.  The  construction  of  the  second  sentence 
presents  more  than  one  difficulty. 


432  Charters  and  Documents  relating  to  the 

episcopalis,  vacante  sede  episcopal!,  de  antiqua  consuetudinc,  ad  quemcumque  archidiaconum  in 
suo  spectabat  archidiaconatu,11  nos  auctoritate  dicta:  jurisdictionis  episcopalis,  sede  tune  vacante,  ad 
nos  devolutae,  considerantes  quod  dicti  prior  et  canonici  tot  laboribus  et  expensis  angustiati  erant, 
quod  more  solito  hospitalitatem  prout  decuit  exhibere  transeuntibus  non  valebant,  vestigiis  dicti 

1  This  claim  of  the  Archdeacon  of  Taunton  to  have  the  entire  episcopal  jurisdiction  within  his  arch- 
deaconry vacante  sede  Cor  in  more  modern  language  to  have  the  guardianship  of  the  spiritualities  on  such 
occasions)  is  too  remarkable  to  be  passed  over  in  silence. 

I  have  not  been  in  a  position  to  ascertain,  as  might  be  done  by  examination  of  the  Wells  registers, 
whether  the  jurisdiction  really  ever  belonged  "  de  antiqua  consuetudine"  to  the  archdeacon  of  Taunton  or 
any  other  archdeacon  of  that  diocese,  but  I  have  not  found  an  instance  of  a  similar  claim  elsewhere.  As 
advanced  however  in  the  text  the  claim  must  fail  from  its  generality,  being  for  every  archdeacon  in  his  own 
archdeaconry.  For,  as  the  following  short  review  of  the  authorities  will  show,  although  the  right  to  the 
guardianship  of  the  spiritualities  in  England  is  involved  in  some  obscurity,  yet  it  lies  generally  between  the 
dean  and  chapter  and  the  archbishop  only. 

"  By  the  Canon  Law,"  says  Burn,1  "  the  Dean  and  Chapter  are  the  guardians  of  the  spiritualities  during 
the  vacancy  ;  and  it  hath  been  allowed,  that  of  common  right  they  are  so  at  this  day  in  England,  and  that 
the  Archbishop  hatli  this  privilege  only  by  prescription  or  composition ;  and  divers  Deans  do  challenge  this 
by  ancient  charters  from  the  Kings  of  this  realm."  Lord  Coke,  whom  Burn  cites,2  supports  the  first  of 
these  propositions,  and  on  examining  the  works  of  the  canonists  it  is  quite  clear  that  the  general  rule  of  their 
law  is  in  favour  of  the  chapter  having  and  exercising  the  spiritual  jurisdiction  during  the  vacancy  of  the 
see,  although  to  this  there  may  have  been  some  exceptions  in  some  places. 

Lyndwode  says,3  "  Custodia  Spiritualium  et  Temporalium  de  Jure  Communi  pertinet  ad  Capitulum." 
(Jus  Commune  in  Lyndwode's  sense  of  course  means  the  general  Canon  Law.)  In  support  of  his  proposition 
he  quotes  "  ])e  Major,  et  Obed.  c.  quum  olim"  (Decretal.  Greg.  ix.  lib.  i.  tit.  33.  c.  14)  where  Gregory  IX. 
(1227 — 1241 )  directs  the  confirmation  of  a  conventual  election  to  be  made  sede  vacante  by  the  chapter  of  the 
cathedral  of  the  diocese ;  and  "  De  Maj.  et  Ob.  c.  unico,  lib.  6,"  (Sexto  Decretal,  lib.  i.  tit.  17)  where  Boniface 
VIII.  (1294 — 1303)  says  "  Episcopali  sede  vacante,  potest  capitulum,  seu  is  ad  quern  episcopalis  jurisdictio 
tune  temporis  noscitur  pertinere,  iis  quibus  posset  episcopus  si  viveret  ab  excommunicationis  sententia.  .  .  . 
absolutionis  beneficium  impertiri,  &c."  "  De  consuetudine  tamen,"  continues  Lyndwode,  "  potest  pertinere 
ad  alium,  sicut  notatur  et  legitur  De  Offic.  Ordi.  c.  prasenti,  lib.  6,  (Sexto  Decretal,  lib.  i.  tit.  16,  c.  9),"  which 
passage  however,  relates  merely  to  guardianship  of  temporalities,  "  et  De  Elect,  c.  Statutum,  in  Clem. 
(Constit.  Clementina)  i.  3,  7,)"  where  Clement  V.  in  the  Council  of  Vienne,  (1311)  after  providing  for  the 
preservation  to  the  successor  of  the  profits  of  spiritual  or  secular  courts  during  a  vacancy,  says  "  Ceterum 
ad  singulares  personas,  ad  quas  ratione  dignitatis  jurisdictio  cum  ejus  emolumento  devolvitur  sede  vacante, 
de  consuetudine,  privilegio,  vel  jure  alio  special!,  volumus  praesentetn  constitutionem  extendi."  See 
Decretal,  vi.  tit.  8.  De  supplenda  neyliyentia  prcelatorum,  c.  iii.  And  see  all  the  foreign  authorities  collected 
in  the  Tractatus  Universi  Juris,  torn.  xiii.  pars  2a,  p.  414  verso. 

The  law  on  this  point  seems  to  have  been  in  an  unsettled  state  in  the  province  of  Canterbury  in  the  thirteenth 


1  Eccl.  Law,  Bishops,  225.  2  2  Inst.  15. 

*  De  Immunitate  Ecclesice,  lib.  iii.  tit.  28,  '  contigit  aliquando,'  ad  verb,  custodiain. 


Priory  and  Abbey  of  Canonsleigh.  433 

domini  episcopi  inhaerere  volentes,  et  eorundem  paupertati  et  utilitati  in  quantum  secundum  Deum 
possimus  providere  cupientes,  ut  hospites  melius  et  copiosius  possint  admittere  et  exbibere,  ad 

century,  the  archbishop  and  the  several  chapters  each  claiming  the  right.  After  considerable  disputes, 
the  question  was  settled  by  Archbishop  Boniface  so  far  as  regarded  certain  of  his  suffragan  sees.  The 
agreements  made  by  him  with  the  chapters  of  those  dioceses  appear  to  be  the  compositions  alluded  to  by 
Coke.  Lyudwood  mentions  several  of  these  compositions  in  his  Provinciale,  lib.  v.  tit.  15,  '•  De  pcenis  " 
constit.  "  Tantum  incaluit "  ad  verbum  "  custodi  spiritualitatis"  where  he  says,  "  Loquitur  (Johannes 
Peckhatn,  Archiep.  Cant.)  secundum  consuetudinem  Prov  incise,  secundum  quam  Archiepiscopus  vacante  sede 
deputat  custodem  spiritualitatis  ;  vel  loquitur  secundum  compositionem  inter  Archiepiscopum  et  Ecclesias 
Cathedrales  initain,  prout  inter  Bonefacium  et  diversas  Ecclesias  Cathedrales  suss  Provinciee  varise  composi- 
tiones  in  ea  parte  factse  sunt,  viz.,  inter  Londini,  Sarisbur',  Lincoln',  Norwich',  Wigorn',  &c.,  et  alias  suse  Pro- 
vincise  Ecclesias  Cathedrales ;"  and  in  lib.  ii.  tit.  1 ,  Dejudiciis,  const.  "  In  causis"  ad  verbum  "  committatur," 
speaking  of  the  jurisdiction  in  causes  matrimonial  of  Officials  principal  and  others,  he  notices,  "  Officialem 
quern  dat  capitulum,  vel  alius  ad  quern  spectat,  sede  vacante."  The  words  vel  alius,  &c.,  it  may  be  noted 
in  passing,  seem  to  imply  that  even  when  Lyndwode  wrote  the  jurisdiction  was  not  quite  clear,  or  at  least 
that  the  law  or  practice  was  not  uniform  as  to  the  authority  by  whom  the  official  was  to  be  appointed. 

The  composition  between  Archbishop  Boniface  and  the  Chapter  of  London  dated  August  21,  12C2,  is 
printed  in  Wharton,  De  Episcopis  Londinensilvs,  page  255, *  and  seems  to  be  much  of  the  same  character  as 
the  rest.  From  the  recitals  it  appears  that  the  dispute  had  run  very  high,  and  had  been  carried  to  Rome. 
The  agreement  (which  Newcourt  says  is  still  adhered  to)  was,  that  on  the  occurrence  of  a  vacancy  in  the 
see  of  London,  the  chapter  should  present  to  the  archbishop  two  or  three  of  their  canons,  or  one  minor 
canon  with  one  or  two  major  canons,  of  whom  the  archbishop  was  to  choose  one  to  be  the  official,  and  to  have 
institutions  and  collations  and  exercise  other  jurisdiction,  by  the  authority  of  the  archbishop,  who  however 
was  not  to  interfere  with  him  in  the  execution  of  his  office. 

The  composition  between  Archbishop  Boniface  and  the  Dean  and  Chapter  of  Lincoln,  between  whom 
there  had  been  long  litigation  on  the  subject  in  the  Roman  Court,  is  printed  in  Wilkins's  Concilia,  i.  75C. 
It  is  dated  1261.  The  Chapter  are  to  present  three  or  four  of  the  canons,  of  whom  the  Archbishop  is  to 
appoint  one  as  Official  to  exercise  the  episcopal  jurisdiction,  except  in  the  city  of  Lincoln  and  the  cathedral, 
where  the  Dean  himself  is  to  have  it. 

The  see  of  Salisbury  was  vacant  in  1272,  and  it  appears  from  an  instrument  relating  to  the  appropriation 
of  the  church  of  Morden  to  Canonsieigh,  that  at  that  time  the  jurisdiction  was  exercised  by  an  Official 
constituted  by  the  Archbishop  of  Canterbury.  The  passage  proving  this  runs  "  provision!  .  .  .  Magistri 
Constantini  de  Mildenhall  officialis  Saresbur'  sede  vacante  ii  Domino  Cantuar'  Archiepiscopo  tocius  Anglie 
primate  constituti.2" 

Battely  (App  to  Suppl.  Hist.  Cant.  No.  iv.  b.  c.),  quoting  a  MS.  treatise  in  the  Archives  of  Christ  Church, 
Canterbury,  consisting  mainly  of  extracts  from  the  registers,  says,  "  in  omnibus  aliis  diocesibtis  (which, 
from  the  context  looks  as  if  Rochester  alone  was  excepted)  totius  Provinciaj  Cantuarise,  sede  vacante,  omnis 
jurisdictio  et  potestas  ordinaria  ad  Archiepiscopum  Cant,  totaliter  est  devoluta  et  translata,  et  ipse  archie- 
piscopus  de  officiis  et  miuistris  aliis  ordinabit  ibidem  pro  exercitio  jurisdictiouis,  et  durante  vacations 
archicpiscopus  omnes  proventus  habubit." 

1  A  summary  of  it  is  given  by  Newcourt,  Itepertorivm,  i.  35.  It  will  also  be  found  at  full  length  in 
Wilkins's  Concilia,  i.  758.  a  Harl.  MS.  3660,  fo.  70. 

VOL.  XL.  3  K 


434  Charters  and  Documents  relating  to  the 

augmentandum  eorundem  elemosinam  et  ampliandum  domus  caritatem,  statuimus  et  ordinamus 
quod  in  praedictorum  Prioris  et  Canonicorum  proprios  usus  praedicta  ecclesia  convertatur  ;  Salvo 
hoc,  quod  omnia  ipsius  ecclesioe  onera  ordinaria  debita  et  consueta  sustinoant  et  pcrsolvant,  et  quod 
dicta:  ecclesise  per  capellanum  et  clericum  ydoneum  faciant  deservire.  Et  quia  juri  archidiaconali 

But  the  case  of  Rochester  is  peculiar  :  for  there  the  Archbishop  of  Canterbury,  as  is  well  known,  was 
patron  ;  and,  on  a  vacancy,  had  the  custody  of  the  temporalities,  and  gave  restitution  of  them,  receiving 
the  homage  of  the  newly  appointed  bishop.1 

I  am  informed  that  at  the  present  day,  in  some  cases  (apparently  those  above-mentioned  where  Boniface's 
compositions  exist),  the  dean  and  chapter  nominate  three  persons,  of  whom  the  Archbishop  of  Canterbury, 
through  his  vicar-general,  appoints  one  as  commissary,  while  in  other  cases  the  vicar-general  assumes  the 
guardianship  which  he  exercises  through  surrogates  appointed  by  himself.  In  the  case  of  the  see  of  London, 
I  learn  that  the  canon  who  happens  to  be  in  residence  at  the  time  of  the  occurrence  of  the  vacancy  is  always 
selected  to  exercise  the  jurisdiction. 

The  common  lawyers  from  an  early  date  appear  to  have  been  in  doubt  as  to  the  rights  of  the  matter. 

The  Lincoln  composition  was  pleaded  before  the  Court  of  Common  Pleas  in  Easter  Term  17  Edward  III. 
(1344)-  in  a  quart  non  admisit  brought  by  the  King  against  the  Archbishop  of  Canterbury  as  guardian 
of  the  spiritualities  of  the  bishopric  of  Lincoln  vacante  stde,  for  not  admitting  the  King's  presentee.  The 
archbishop's  counsel  Pult[on?]  pleaded  in  abatement  to  the  writ,  that  by  composition  between  the  dean 
and  chapter  and  the  predecessor  of  the  archbishop,  it  was  ordained  that  in  time  of  voidance,  &c.,  the  dean 
and  chapter  should  choose  three  of  the  chapter  and  present  them  to  the  archbishop  as  metropolitan  and 
superior,  and  the  archbishop  should  choose  one  of  the  three,  who  during  the  vacancy  should  do  what 
appertains  to  an  ordinary,  and  should  have  institution  and  induction  (i.e.  the  right  to  institute,  &c.,  as 
ordinary): — that,  in  the  present  case  the  dean  and  chapter  chose  A.  B.  and  C.  and  presented  them  to  the 
archbishop,  who  selected  one,  B,  wiio  entered  on  and  exercised  the  office ;  and  so  the  archbishop  was  not 
guardian,  but  merely  superior  as  metropolitan,  so  that  the  writ  did  not  lie  against  him. 

For  the  Crown,  Thorpe  replied  that  by  common  right  the  archbishop  was  guardian  during  a  vacancy, 
and  besides  that  the  person  selected  to  exercise  the  jurisdiction  acted  in  fact  as  the  official  of  the  archbishop 
by  whom  he  was  chosen,  and  by  his  commission;  and  that  he  answered  to  the  archbishop  for  the  issues 
and  profits  of  his  office,  so  that  indeed  the  archbishop  was  chief  guardian  and  the  minister  of  the  King 
for  the  King;  and  that  no  composition  between  the  archbishop  and  the  chapter  could  discharge  the 
former  as  against  the  King.  Upon  this,  Pole  for  the  defendant  rejoined  by  a  traverse  of  the  archbishop's 
right  at  common  law,  for,  said  he,  "  by  common  right  and  law  the  dean  and  chapter  are  the  guardians 
unless  this  be  modified  by  prescription  or  composition."  Moreover,  that  it  did  not  fall  within  the  province 
of  the  King's  Court  to  inquire  who  was  guardian,  but  that  the  writ  should  be  addressed  to  the  guardian  in 
general  terms,  and  not  to  the  holder  of  the  office  by  name. 

Thorpe  explained  himself  to  mean  by  "common  right"  that  it  was  usual,  and  in  fact  universal, 
in  the  realm  that  the  archbishop  should  be  guardian. 

After  some  further  argument,  Stouford  gave  judgment.  He  said  that  the  jurisdiction  was  one  which 
had  always  existed,  and  that  in  his  opinion  it  had  its  commencement  by  licence  of  the  King  :  winding  up  with 
the  rather  questionable  dictum,  that  in  the  time  of  Ilichard  I.  (the  time  of  legal  memory)  and  ever  before, 


1   See  Battely,  pt.  ii.  62.  *  Year  Book,  17  Edw.  III.  Pasch.  No.  9,  fo.  23. 


Priory  and  Abbey  of  Canonsleiylc.  435 

per  dictam  appropriationem  ratione  sequestri  et  aliis  ex  causis  posset  derogari  in  posterum  in 
aliquem  eventum ;  volumus  et  statuiinus  in  recompensationem  dictae  lesionis  quod  in  perpetuum 

the  archbishops  were  guardians,  until  in  King  Henry  the  Third's  time,  for  default  of  good  guardianship, 
&c.,  the  composition  was  made  ut  supra :  "  and  we  do  not  consider  that  a  composition  made  between  the 
parties  since  the  time  of  memory  can  discharge  the  archbishop  as  against  the  King."  The  matter  ended 
here,  as  the  see  of  Lincoln  was  shortly  afterwards  filled  up,  and  the  King  sued  the  new  bishop. 

This  case  was  cited  by  Coke  in  the  argument  in  Grange  v.  Denny,  Bulstrode,  part  3,  174,  and  indeed  it  is 
this  case  which  was  in  his  mind  when  stating  the  law  in  2  Institute  15,  already  cited.  Coke,  however,  rather 
stretches  the  case  to  prove,  what  it  does  not,  that  of  common  right  the  dean  and  chapter  are  guardians  of 
the  spiritualties ;  but  he  adds,  "  but  now  the  archbishops  have  used  to  have  this  by  way  of  composition,  as 
great  lords  will  incroaoh  all  into  their  own  hands."  Dodderidge,  J.,  continuing  the  discussion  in  Grange  v. 
Denny,  remarked,  as  to  an  archbishop,  that  vacante  sede  of  a  bishop  within  his  province  he  himself  is 
guardian  of  the  spiritualties ;  sed  sede  vacante  of  his  own  diocese,  the  dean  and  chapter  of  this  is  guardian 
of  the  spiritualties.  Lord  Coke  answers  to  this — "  This  did  commence  by  way  of  composition,  but  originally 
it  was  not  so,  but  the  dean  and  chapter  was  guardian  of  the  spiritualties."  Dodderidge :  "  It  doth  not 
appear  to  be  so  by  our  books,  no  mention  being  made  of  any  such  composition,  but  the  guardian  of  the 
spiritualties  to  be  according  to  the  difference  before  put  between  a  province  and  a  diocese." 

In  Broke's  Abridgment  is  the  following  memorandum  (Administrators  et  Administration,  ca.  4C): — 
"  Nota  per  omnes  legis  peritos,  et  per  ceux  del  arches  (the  advocates  of  the  Arches  Court),  quod  tempore 
vacationis  d'un  Archevesque  ou  d'un  Evesque,  le  Deane  et  le  Chapter  committra  1'administration ;"  that  is 
to  say,  that  the  right  of  the  ordinary  to  grant  administration  of  the  goods  of  defunct  persons  within  his 
jurisdiction  is  to  be  exercised  sede  vacante  by  the  dean  and  chapter. 

Cowell  (Law  Dictionary,  sub  voce  Gustos)  says  : — "  The  appointment  of  custos  spiritualitatis  or  spirit  it- 
alium  by  the  canon  law  appertains  to  the  dean  and  chapter;  but  at  present  with  us  in  England  to  the 
archbishop  of  the  province  by  prescription.  Howbeit  divers  deans  and  chapters  (if  Glover  says  truly  in  tin- 
preface  to  his  Readings,)  do  challenge  this  by  ancient  charters  from  the  kings  of  this  land." 

Ayliffe,  Parergon,  125,  puts  the  matter  rather  differently.  He  says — "  Of  common  right  the  dean  and 
chapter  are  guardians  of  the  spiritualties  during  the  vacancy  of  a  bishopric  (citing  Decretal,  lib.  v.  7,  9,  or 
rather  the  gloss  on  that  text):  but  the  usage  of  England  is,  that  the  archbishop  is  the  guardian  of  the 
spiritualties  during  such  vacancy  as  to  matters  of  jurisdiction,  &c."  And  he  refers  to  the  case  of  the  Dean 
and  Chapter  of  Durham  v.  Archbishop  of  York,  1  Ventr.  225,  the  report  of  which  case  is  shortly  as 
follows. 

In  a  prohibition  the  archbishop  pleaded  a  prescription  that  he  and  his  predecessors  have  time  out  of  mind 
been  guardians  of  the  spiritualties  of  the  bishopric  of  Durham  sede  vacante;  and  issue  was  joined  thereupon, 
and  tried  at  the  bar  this  term.  (Michs.  24  Chas.  II.)  Hall  said: — "de  jure  communi,  the  dean  and  chapter 
were  guardians  of  the  spiritualties  during  the  vacancy  as  to  matters  of  jurisdiction,  &c.  but  the  usage  here 
in  England  is  that  the  archbishop  is  guardian  of  the  spiritualties  in  the  suffragan  diocese."  There  was  much 
evidence  given  that  anciently  during  the  vacancy  of  Durham  the  archbishop  had  exercised  jurisdiction,  both 
contentious  and  other,  as  guardian  of  the  spiritualties;  but  since  Henry  VIII. 's  time  it  had  been  for  the  most 
part  administered  by  the  dean  and  chapter:  and  the  verdict  -was  here  for  the  dean  and  chapter. 

The  curiosity  of  the  question,  and  the  absence  of  clear  information  in  the  text  books,  may,  it  is  hoped,  bt- 
pleaded  as  an  excuse  for  the  great  length  of  this  note.  In  countries  where  the  decrees  of  the  Council  of  Trent 

3  K2 


436  Charters  and  Documents  relating  to  the 

archidiacono  Tanthon  et  successoribus  suis  de  dicta  ecclesia  synodalia  dupplicentur,  et  dupplicata 
una  cum  procuratione  nobis  et  successoribus  nostris  debita  eisdem  in  perpetuum  reddantur.  Imitan- 
tes  in  hoc  factum  dicti  domini  Joscelini  quondam  Bathoniensis  episcopi  qui  in  ccclcsiis  quas  de 
novo  viris  religiosis  appropriavit  predicta  fieri  statuit  et  ordinavit.  In  cujus  rei  testimonium 
praesentem  cartam  sigilli  nostri  impressione  roboravimus.  Hiis  testibus,  Magistro  Roberto  de 
Sancto  Quintino  canonico  beatae  Mariae  Beluacensis,  Domino  Henrico  de  Ivelcestre  vicario  de 
Chywtone,  Petro  vicario  de  Milvertone,  Roberto  capellano  de  Langeforde,  Willelrao  de  Russham, 
Ricardo  de  Sancto  Albano  clerico,  Baldewino  domino  de  Thome,  et  multis  aliis.  Datum  apud 
Leghe  anno  Incarnationis  Domini  millesimo  ducentesimo  quadragesimo  tercio,  mense  Aprili,  die 
sancti  Georgii  martyris. — Nos  autem  praedictam  ordinationem  praedictl  magistri  Walter!  de  Sancto 
Quintino  archidiaconi  Tanthon  ratam  habentes  et  gratam,  eidem  nostrum  adhibemus  assensum,  et 
hoc  prassenti  scripto  nostro  protcstamur.  In  cujus  rei  testimonium  eidem  sigilla  nostra  apponi 
fecimus.  Datum  Wett  decimo  sexto  Kt.  Julii,  anno  Domini  millesimo  ducentesimo  quadragesimo 
tercio. 

Two  labels  for  seals.  First  seal  lost.  Second  seal  pointed  oval  ;  3  by  2  inches  in  size.  Subject ; 
a  full  length  (archi)episcopal  effigy,  holding  in  his  left  hand  a  cross-staff  with  vexilluvn  appendant. 
Right  hand  in  benediction.  On  either  side  a  small  object  (a  dragon  or  perhaps  a  flower).  Feet 
resting  on  a  (prostrate  figure?)  Legend,  in  Lombardic  character,  SIGILLUM  :  ECCLESIE  :  BEATI  : 
AXDREE  :  DE  :  WE[LLES].  Counterseal,  pointed  oval  ;  2-J-u-  by  If.  Subject :  between  three 
countersunk  quaterfoils,  St.  Andrew  on  his  cross.  Above,  on  dexter  the  sun,  sinister  the  moon. 
In  base,  between  lower  limbs  of  the  saltire,  a  demi-figure  in  adoration.  Legend,  in  Lombardic 
character,  VIKTUTEM  SANCTE  CRUCIS  AGNOUI. 


Num.  II. 

Carta  de  annexalione  advocationis  ecclesice  de  Thome  Sanctce  Margarets  ecclesia 
de  Milcerton,  una  cum  fundatione  cantaria  in  ecclesia  Wellensi. 

[Ex  autographo  penes  eundem.     Vide  Cod.  Harl.  3C60,  fo.  48.] 

Omnibus  Christ!  fidelibus  ad  quos  praescns  scriptum  pervenerit,  frater  Henricus  prior  de  Leghe 
et  ejusdem  loci  canonici,  salutem  in  domino.  Noverit  universitas  vestra  quod  cum  simus  vicini 
viri  venerabilis  magistri  Walteri  de  Sancto  Quintino  archidiaconi  Tanthon,  et  ipse  a  nobis  gratiam 

are  accepted,  the  matter  is  definitively  settled.  See  Cone. 'Trident.  Sess.  xxiv.  "  de  Reformatione,"  cap.  16. 
"  Capitulum  sede  vacante  ....  officialem  seu  vicarium  infra  octo  dies  post  mortem  episcopi  con- 
stituere  tenetur." 

It  should  be  observed  that  in  the  appropriation  of  Sampford  the  dean  and  chapter  were  consenting  parties 
(as,  indeed,  by  the  canon  law  they  must  have  been,  see  Decretal,  lib.  iii.  10,  8,  de  hits  qui  fivnt  a  prcelato 
sint  assensu  capituli),  and  so  may  not  have  been  interested  in  disputing  Archdeacon  Walter's  law  in  that 
case;  yet  the  general  claim  was  adverse  to  them. 


Priory  and  Abbey  of  Canonsleigh.  437 

specialem  el  magnam  optinere  meruit,  cum  in  multis  urgentissimis  arduis  et  necessariis  negotiis 
nobis  et  ecclesiae  nostrae  profuerit  habundanter,  et  domus  nostrse  paupertatem  in  pluribus  sui  gratia 
valde  liberaliter  et  gratanter  relevaverit :  nolentes  vicium  ingratitudinis  incurrere,  set  pocius  grata 
vicissitudine  eidem  respondere  pro  posse  nostro,  licet  non  a  pari  hoc  facere  possimus;  habito  pru- 
dentiura  virorum  consilio,  de  communi  et  unanimi  assensu  omnium  nostrorum  maxima  et  diutina 
super  hoc  praehabita  deliberatione,  praedicto  magistro  Waltero  archidiacono  duas  acras  terrae  de  la 
Wudehulle  cum  omnibus  pertinentiis  suis,  quae  jacent  inter  terram  quae  fuit  Symonis  de  Lukcumbe 
et  terram  qua;  fuit  Sampsonis  de  Raddune,  una  cum  advocatione  ecclesise  beatae  Margaretae  de 
Thorne,  et  suis  assignatis  seu  attornatis  religiosis  et  aliis,  prsedictis  rationibus  et  aliis  quampluribus 
moti,  concedimus  et  donamus,  pure,  sponte  et  absolute,  absque  aliquo  retinemento  in  perpetuum, 
cum  eadem  libertate  et  collatione  et  pociori  si  possimus  quam  habemus  a  Baldewino  de  Thorne 
quondam  ejusdem  ecclesiae  advocate.  Et  omnia  praedicta  cum  omnibus  suis  pertinenciis  eidem 
archidiacono  et  successoribus  siue  assignatis  suis  in  perpetuum  contra  omnes  homines  plene  wa- 
rentizabimus.  Cartam  vero  dicti  patroni  per  quam  nobis  dictam  terram  cum  advocatione  ecclesiae 
contulit  dictus  Baldewinus  in  haec  verba  inseri  fecimus: — Omnibus  Christifidelibusad  quos  prasens 
scriptum  pervenerit,  Baldewinus  dominus  de  Thorne,  salutem  in  Domino.  Noverit  universita? 
vestra  me  divinae  pietatis  intuitu,  necnon  et  pro  salute  animas  meae  et  omnium  antecessorum  et  suc- 
cessorum  meorurn,  pro  me  et  heredibus  meis  dedisse,  concessissc,  et  hac  praesenti  carta  mea  con- 
firmasse  in  puram  et  perpetuam  elemosinam,  et  omnino  liberam  et  quietam  in  perpetuum,  Deo  et 
ecclesiae  beatae  Mariae  et  Sancti  Johannis  evangelistae  de  Leghe  in  Devonia  et  canonicis  ibidem  deo 
servientibus  duas  acras  terras  de  la  Wudehulle  cum  omnibus  pertinentiis  suis  que  jacent  inter  terrain 
quae  fuit  Symonis  de  Lukcumbe,  et  terram  quae  fuit  Sampsonis  de  Raddune,  una  cum  advocatione 
ecclesiae  beatae  Margaretae  de  Thorne;  Habendas  et  tenendas  pratdictis  ecclesiae  et  canonicis  tie 
Leghe  praedictas  duas  acras  terrae  et  praedictae  ecclesiaa  advocationem,  cum  omnibus  pertinentiis 
suis,  libere,  quiete,  integre  et  pacifice  in  perpetuum,  ut  praedictum  est,  absque  omni  contradictione 
et  calumpnia  mei  vel  heredum  meorum  in  perpetuum.  Ita  quod  nee  ego  nee  aliquis  heredum 
meorum,  nee  aliquis  pro  me,  nee  aliquis  pro  illis,  poterimus  in  praedictis  duabus  acris  et  advocatione 
dicta;  ecclesiae  vel  pertinentiis  suis  aliquid  juris  vel  clamii  vendicare.  Licebit  etiam  eisdein  priori 
et  canonicis  prsedictas  duas  acras  cum  prsodicta;  ecclesiae  advocatione  et  suis  pertinentiis  quan- 
documque  et  cuicunque  voluerint  sine  omni  contradictione  vel  molestia  a  me  vel  heredibus  mei? 
assignare.  Et  ego  Baldewinus  et  heredes  mei  tenemur  warentizare  in  perpetuum  praedictis  ecclesiae 
et  canonicis  de  Leghe,  vel  eorum  attornatis  vel  assignatis,  dictas  duas  acras  cum  advocatione  dicta; 
ecclesiae  cum  omnibus  pertinentiis  suis  contra  omnes  homines.  Et  ut  hsec  mea  donatio,  concessio, 
et  praesentis  cartae  meae  confirmatio  ratae  sint  et  stabiles  in  perpetuum,  praesentem  cartum  sigilli  mei 
inpressione  roboravi.  Hiis  testibus:  Domino  Johele  de  Valletorte  tune  vicecomite  Sumersete, 
Henrico  de  Chaunflur,  Magistro  Ilenrico  persona  ecclesiae  de  Stauntone,  Domino  Thoma  de  Tetce- 
burne,  Symone  de  Lukcumbe,  Johanne  de  Arundelle,  Roberto  de  Wilecestre,  Willelmo  de  Ore- 
weye,  Nicholao  de  Hallehey,  et  multis  aliis." — Quam  quidem  terram  cum  advocatione  dictae  ecclesia? 

*  In  the  Cartulary,  the  word  "  clerico  "  is  inserted  after  the  name  of  Henry  de  Champflour.     A  person 
of  these  names  was  sheriff  of  Somerset  1286. 


438  Charters  and  Documents  relating  to  the 

et  omnibus  pertinentiis  suis  tarn  de  consensu  dicti  Baldewini  quondam  advocati  cjusdem  ecclesiae 
quam  nostro  communi  et  unanimi  asscnsu  omnium  nostrorum  dedit  et  concessit  dictus  archidiaconus 
ecclesiae  de  Milvertone  in  perpetuum,  quae  est  praebenda  ecclesiae  Wellensis  dicto  archidiaconatui 
Tanthon  in  perpetuum  annexa.  Ita  quod  quicumque  qui  pro  tempore  in  posterum  tenuerit  sive 
habuerit  dictam  ecclesiam  de  Milvertone  cum  praedicta  terra  et  ecclesia  de  Thome  inveniat  an- 
nuatim  in  perpetuum  apud  Welt  in  vigilia  obitus  dicti  magistri  Walter!  de  Sancto  Quintino  archi- 
diaconi  Tanthon  viginti  solidos,  distribuendos  per  manus  communariorum  inter  canonicos  et 
clericos  ecclesiae  Wellensis  qui  die  anniversarii  sui  et  in  vigilia  in  choro  interfuerint  sollempni 
celebration!  dicti  anniversarii  ejusdem  usque  ad  plenam  dicti  servicii  consummationem.  Item  et 
quod  pncter  haec  inveniat  annuatim  in  perpetuum  in  quatuor  anni  terminis,  videlicet  in  festo  Sancti 
Michaelis,  Natalis  Domini,  Paschae,  Nativitatis  Sancti  Johannis  Baptistae,  aequis  portionibus, 
quadraginta  solidos  ad  sustentationem  unius  capellani  qui  singulis  diebus  per  annum  faciet  in 
ccclcsia  Wellensi  plena?  servitium  defunctorum,  cum  Commendatione,  Placebo  et  Dirige,  pro 
anima  dicti  Walter!  de  Sancto  Quintino  et  Joscelini  bonac  memoriae  quondam  Bathoniensis  episcopi, 
qui  dicto  Waltero  dictum  archidiaconatum  contulit,  et  Johannis  presbiteri  et  thesaurarii  Sares- 
biriensis  avunculi  dicti  Walteri  qui  ipsum  educavit,  et  patris  et  matris  ejusdem  Walteri  specialiter, 
et  pro  animabus  omnium  benefiictorum  ecclesiae  Wellensis  de  Milvertone  et  Thome,  et  pro  anima- 
bus  omnium  iidelium  defunctorum,  liberandos  capellano  et  ejusdem  ecclesiae  vicario  qui  dictum 
servitium  fecerit,  per  manum  communiarii  Wellensis  qui  pro  tempore  fuerit.  Qui  capellanus  in 
festo  Sancti  Michaelis  ammovebitur  per  archidiaconum  Tanthon  qui  pro  tempore  fuerit,  et  per 
cundcm  alms  de  anno  in  annum  loco  ejusdem  substituetur  in  perpetuum.  Quod  si  in  ammovitione 
(«'c)  vel  in  substitutione  praedicta  negligens  fuerit,  vel  remissus,  vel  minus  ydoneum  substituerit  ar- 
chidiaconus memoratus  per  negligentiam  suam,  eo  anno  ipsius  ammotio  ct  substitutio  ad  capitulum 
Wellense  pertineat.  Et  si  forte  capellanus  ad  dictum  servitium  assignatus  impedimento  quoeumque 
detentus,  dictum  servitium  aliquo  die  vel  tempore  facere  non  poterit,  vel  voluerit,  vel  non  fecerit, 
alius  loco  suo  ydoneus  illud  faciat,  et  emolumentum  tanti  temporis  per  quod  illud  facerit  plene 
pcrcipiat.  Ita  quod  alterius  impedimento  cessante,  ille  ut  prius  usque  terminum  suuin  illud  per- 
ficiat.  Quod  si  forte  episcopus  vel  archidiaconus  Tanthon,  vel  alius  qui  dictam  ecclesiam  de  Mil- 
vertone habuerit  vel  tenuerit,  collationem  praedictam,  modum  et  formam  ratum  habere  vel  stare 
nolucrit,  vel  ipsam  non  observaverint,  vel  ipsius  observationem  perturbaverint,  quominus  in  forma 
praedicta  stare  nequierit,  vel  non  steterit,  extunc  irrita  sit  et  nulla  penitus  per  omnia  collatio  et 
assignatio  pracdictae,  et  sub  pracdictis  modo  et  forma  et  tenore  in  omnibus  devolvatur  ad  capitulum 
Wellense.  Ita  quod  capitulum  Wellense  habeat  et  teneat  omnia  prsedicta  in  usus  communae  suae 
in  perpetuum,  et  fieri  faciat  dicta  servitia  sub  eisdem  modo  et  forma  in  omnibus  et  per  omnia,  ut 
praBdictum  est.  Quod  si  forte  capitulum  Wellense  praedicta  per  omnia  lacere  noluerit,  vel  non 
fecerit,  extunc  irrita  et  penitus  nulla  habeatur  collatio  et  assignatio  praedicta  facta  capitulo 
Wellensi,  et  devolvatur  absolute  ad  Prioratum  de  Leghe;  Ita  quod  in  ecclesia  sua  de  Leghe 
fieri  faciant  dicta  servitia  annuatim  in  perpetuum  sub  modo  et  forma  praedicta,  non  per  canoni- 
cum  set  per  capellanum  secularem,  quern  in  domo  sua  ad  hoc  tencant  de  anno  in  annum  per 
visum  archi[diaconi]  Tanthon  qui  pro  tempore  fuerit,  et  ad  hoc  faciendum  per  subtractionem 
bcneficiorum  quae  habet  Prioratus  de  Leghe  in  archidiaconatu  Tanthon  compellat  archidiaconus 


Priory  and  Abbey  of  Canonsleigh. 


439 


Tanthon  saepedictus.  In  cujus  rei  robur,  approbationem ,  confirmationcm  et  tcstimonium,  praesenti 
cartse  tarn  ego  fratcr  Henricus  Prior  de  Leghe,  et  ejusdem  loci  canonici,  quam  dictus  Baldewinus 
et  Walterus  archidiaconus  memoratus  sigilla  nostra  apposuimus.  Hiis  testibus,  Magistro  Roberto 
de  Sancto  Quintino  canonico  ecclesise  beatae  Mariae  Beluacensis,  Domino  Henrico  vicario  de  Chiwe- 
tone,  Petro  vicario  de  Milvertone,  Roberto  de  Langeforde  capellano,  Willelmo  de  Russham,  Ri- 
cardo  de  Sancto  Albano  clerico,  Baldewino  de  Thome,  et  aliis.  Datum  apud  Leghe  anno  Incar- 
nationis  Domini  millessimo  ducentesimo  quadragesimo  tercio,  mense  Aprili,  die  Sancti  Georgii. 


The  first  seal  is  that  of  the  Prior  of  Legh,  with  the  eagle  of  St.  John  for  the  device. 
The  second  seal  is  that  of  the  priory,  as  described  in  Mon.  Dioc.  Ex.  p.  224. 
The  third  seal  is  that  of  the  Archdeacon:  The  legend   NOTioiA  DIGNO  WALTERI   CREDITK 
SIGNO.     The  counterseal  is  a  small  antique  gem  representing  a  female  head  in  profile. 


Num.  III. 
Carta  Galfridi  de  Pourtuna  super  dccimas  de  Mordone. 

[Ex  autographo  penes  eundem.] 

Venerabili  Domino  et  patri  suo,  Gocit  Salesbericnsi  episcopo,"  Gaufr  de  Pourtuna  salutem.    No- 
vcrit  illustrissima  sanctitas  vestra  me  concessisse  et  donasse  ccclcsiae  Sancte  Marise  de  Morduna 


11  Probably  Josceline,  Bishop  of  Salisbury,  114-2-1184. 


•140  Charters  and  Documents  relating  to  the 

omnes  decimas  dominii  mei  de  Mordun,  quarum  unam  partem  antiquitus  antccessores  mei  prse- 
scriptae  ecclcsiae  debito  reddiderunt,  reliquas  vero  duas  partes  aliis  ecclcsiis  contulcrunt,  et  in  alios 
sumptus  quandoque  pro  libito  suo  libere  transtulerunt.  Et  ut  eas  deinceps  totas  plenarie  possideat 
pnenominata  ecclcsia,  et  ut  munis  calumpnia  annicbiletur,  omnis  controversia  frustrctur,  propria 
in  manu  in  conspcctu  ecclesiae  praefatas  decimas  super  altare  praescriptae  ecclesiae  reddidi  et  hanc 
donationcm  carte  mese  astipulatione  confirmavi,  ct  sigilli  impressione  roboravi.  Hiis  testibus, 
Osberto  capellano,  Willelmo  clerico,  Waltero  militis  filio,  Alvieto,  Falcone,  Seleuro,  Tramudo  pres- 
bytero,  et  Ailmaro  filio  ejus,  Norinan,  et  aliis  quampluribus  parrochianis  qui  huic  donatione  inter- 
fuerunt. 

Endorsed.     Mordon  de  dono  decimarum.     (This  instrument  is  not  in  the  Harleian  Cartulary.) 
Seal.     Circular.     Nearly  2  inches  in  diameter.     Device  :  an  equestrian  effigy  to  the  sinister  in 
long  hauberk  of  chain  mail,  high  peaked  cap  of  mail,  sword  in  right,  and  club-like  object,  probably 
a  shield  much  in  profile,  in  right  hand.     Legend  :   +  SIGILL[VM  GAVFK]IDI  DE  POVRTV[NE]. 


Num.  IV. 

Appropriatio  ecclesia  de  Mordone  facto,  canonicis  de  Leghe  per  Waltcrum  de  la 

Wyle  Episcopum  Salisburiensem. 

[Ex  autographo  penes  eundem.   Vide  Cod.  Harl.  3660,  fo.  70]. 

Universis  sanctae  matris  ecclesiae  filiis  presentes  literas  visuris  et  audituris,  Walterus  dei  gratia 
cpiscopus  Sarr,  salutem  in  domino  sempiternam.  Quia  nobis  legitime  constitit  quod  religiosi  viri 
Prior  ct  Conventus  de  Leghe  Canonicorum  Exoniensis  diocesis  ecclesiam  de  Mordone  in  Dorsettia 
nostrae  diocesis  multo  tempore  transacto  canonice  adepti  sunt  in  suos  proprios  usus  perpetuo  possi- 
ilendam,  ac  ipsam  eeclesiam  salva  vicaria  ejusdem  legitime  praescripserunt  per  pacificam  longi 
tcmporis  possessionern — Xos  pracdictorum  religiosorum  securitati  super  eadem  ecclesia  providere 
volentes,  dei  intuitu  et  ad  instantiam  venerabilis  patris  domini  Johannis  dei  gratia  Wintoniensis 
episcopi,  pncdictam  ecclesiam  de  Mordone  cum  omnibus  juribus  et  pertinenciis  suis,  salva  compe- 
tent! porcione  vicariae  ejusdem  ecclesiae,  praedictis  priori  et  conventui  ac  eorum  successoribus 
perpetuis  temporibus  in  usus  proprios  canonicorum  loci  praedicti  de  Leghe  possidendam  de  venera- 
biliuin  virorum  decani  et  capituli  ecclesiae  nostrae  Salesbir  consensu  concedimus  et  confirmamus. 
In  quorum  tc?timonium  sigillum  nostrum  et  sigillum  praedictorum  decani  et  capituli  prcsentibus 
literis  patentibus  sunt  appensa.  Dat  Sarr  in  crastino  Cinerum,  Anno  ab  Incarnatione  Domini 
M°ducentesimo  sexagesimo  tercio. 

Seals.  1.  Pointed  oval.  3  by  1  finches  in  size.  Subject:  full  length  episcopal  effigy  in  bene- 
diction, standing  on  a  corbel,  maniple  to  the  pastoral  staff.  Legend,  in  Lombardic  character, 
[WAL]TERUS  n'i  GKA.  SALESBIRIENSIS  Eri8cop[vs]. 

2.  Pointed  oval.     3  by  2  inches.     Subject :  seated  on  a  throne  under  a  trefoiled  early-English 


Priory  and  Abbey  of  Canonslciyh.  441 

arch,  the  Blessed  Virgin  wearing  a  low  crown:  in  her  right  hand  a  sceptre  held  bend  wise:  sitting 
on  her  knee  the  Divine  Infant.  Legend,  in  Lombardic  character,  +  SIGILL  [SANC]TE  MARIE 
[SAu]E8[Bii:iEN8]lS  ECCL'lE.  Engraved  in  Hoare,  Modern  Wilts,  vol.  i.  Salisbury  Seals, 
PL  i.  No.  1. 


Num.  V. 

Compositio  inter  Henricum  Priorem  de  Leghe  et  Johannem  de  Cktvilla  de  custodia, 

Domm  de  Leghe  vacante  Prioratu. 

[Cod.  Harl.  36GO,  fo.  25  b.] 

Notum  sit  omnibus  quod  cum  inter  Henricum  Priorem  et  canonicos  de  Leghe  Exoniensis 
diocesis  ex  parte  una  et  Johannem  de  Clavilla  Dominum  de  Burlescumbc  ex  altera  parte  super 
custodia  prioratus  de  Leghe  tcmpore  vacationis  ipsius,  quam  custodiam  idem  Johannes  clamat  ad  se 
pertinere  tanquam  ad  patronum  ejusdem  prioratus,  orta  esset  materia  contencionis ;  tandem  commu- 
nibus  arnicis  intervenientibus  sopita  est  finaliter  dicta  contentio  in  hunc  modum: — videlicet  quod 
quotienscunque  vacabit  Prioratus  predictus,  idem  Johannes  et  heredes  sui  eligent  janitorem  qui 
prius  fuerat  in  eodem  prioratu  vel  quemcunque  alium  servientem  dicti  prioratus  pro  voluntate 
dicti  Johannis  et  heredum  suorum,  et  personam  per  eos  sic  electam  jurare  faciant  super  sancta 
Evangelia  quod  durante  dicta  vacatione  portam  domus  predictoe  fideliter  custodiat;  Ita  quod  non 
permittet  aliquos  exteriores  Prioratum  pracdictum  intrare,  vel  intcriores  aliquid  de  bonis  domus 
asportare  ad  dampnum  domus,  quominus  elemosina  dicti  Johannis  heredum  et  progenitorum 
suorum  bene  et  fideliter  custodiatur.  Conccssit  insuper  dictus  Johannes  pro  se  et  heredibus  suis 
quod  ratione  vacationis  predictae  domus  quandocumquc  vacaverit,  nihil  sive  de  bonis  dictae  domus 
appropriare  vel  quicquam  aliud  ratione  patronatus  in  ea  vendicare  possint  imperpetuum  quam  id 
quod  superius  est  expressum.  In  cujus  rei  testimonium  presenti  scripto  duplicato  supradictaa  partes 
hinc  inde  sigilla  sua  apposuerunt.  Da?  in  festo  Apostolorum  Simonis  ct  Judae  Anno  Domini 
M°CC°lxxx0  secundo  Anno  R.  R.  Edwardi  decimo;  Presentibus,  Magistro  Waltero  de  Lecche- 
lade  Precentore  Exoniensi  et  Domini  Petri  Exoniensis  Episcopi  tune  Vicario,  Nicholao  Silvayn, 
Simone  Rectore  Ecclesiaj  de  Bagewrthc,  Henrico  de  Berneville,  Willelmo  fratre  suo,  Willelmo 
Lampreic,  Waltero  de  Claville  et  aliis. 


Num.  VI. 

Littercc  Patentee  Regis  Edwardi  Tertii,  de  pecunia  Canonicarum  de  Leghe 

mutuata. 

[Ex  autographo  penes  Dominum  Portmaii  ] 

Edwardus  Dei  gratia    rex   Angliaj,  dominus  Hiberniae  et   Dux  Aquitania;,  omnibus  ad  quos 
presentes  litters;  pervenerint  salutem.      Sciatis  quod  cum  dominus  E.  quondam  rex  Angliae,  avus 
VOL.  XL.  3  L 


442  Charters  and  Documents  relating  to  the 

noster,  pro  urgentissimis  ncgociis  suis,  et  pro  utilitato  et  defcnsione  tocius  rcgni  sui,  recepisset  dc 
abbatissa  et  monialibus  de  Canounlcglie  per  manus  tune  thesaurarii  et  camerariornm  ejusdem 
avi  nostri  dc  scaccario  suo  sexcentas  scxaginta  et  duodecim  libras  quinque  solidos  decem  denarios 
et  unuiH  obolum,  per  visum  et  testimonium  David  de  Seryngtone  clerici  ejusdem  abbatissse, 
idemque  avus  noster  sextodecimo  die  Septembris  anno  regni  sui  vicesimo  secundo  per  litteras  suas 
patentes  sigillo  scaccarii  sui  signatas  promisisset  praefatis  abbatissae  et  monialibu's  de  predicta 
pecunue  summa  satisfieri  facere  cum  ab  ipsis  super  hoc  esset  requisitus,  ac  dominus  E.  nuper 
rex  Angliae,  pater  noster,  vicesimo  die  Marcii  anno  regni  sui  quarto,  per  litteras  suas  patentes, 
magno  sigillo  suo  signatas,  concessisset  cisdem  abbatissae  et  monialibus  quod  de  custodiis  quas  ad 
manus  suas  contingeret  devenirc  liberarentur  pncfatis  abbatissae  et  monialibus  centum  libratae 
terra;  seu  redditus  per  annum  per  rationabilem  extentam  inde  faciendam,  tenend  et  habend 
quousque  indc  ad  plenum  levassent  et  habuissent  sexcentas  sexaginta  et  duodecim  libras  quinque 
solidos  decem  denarios  et  unum  obolum  supradictos,  prout  in  litteris  dictorum  avi  et  patris 
nostrorum  pncdictis  per  pnedictas  abbatissam  et  moniales  nobis  in  cancellariam  nostram  restitutis 
plenius  continetur,  De  qua  quidem  pecuniae  summa  predicts;  abbatissa  et  moniales  solucionem 
seu  alias  satisfactionem  hactenus  ut  asscrnnt  assequi  non  potuerunt,  per  quod  nobis  per  petitionem 
suam  coram  nobis  et  consilio  nostro  exhibitam,  supplicarunt  ut  eis  inde  solutionem  seu  alias 
satisfactionem  fieri  jubere  velimus  competentem — Xos  volentes  prtefatis  abbatissae  et  monialibus 
dc  praedicta  pecunix  summa  satisfieri,  ut  cst  justum,  concessimus  eisdem  abbatissae  et  monialibus, 
quod  ipsi  (sic)  singulis  annis  a  primo  die  Junii  proximo  prajterito  computandis  postquam  millc  librae 
tam  de  antiqtia  quam  nova  custumis  in  portu  villa}  nostrae  Sutbamptone  ad  opus  nostrum  levatse 
fuerint,  medietatem  tocius  residui  earundem  custumarum,  custuma  vinorum  dumtaxat  excepta, 
percipiant  et  habeant  per  manus  collectorum  nostrorum  custumarum  earundem  qui  pro  tempore 
fuerint,  quousque  pradietae  abbatissa  et  moniales  dictos  sexcentas  scxaginta  et  duodecim  libras 
quinque  solidos  decem  denarios  et  unum  obolum  receperint  de  medietate  supradicta.  In  cujus  rei 
testimonium  lias  litteras  nostras  fieri  fccimus  patentes.  Teste  meipso  apud  Westmonasterium, 
xv.  die  Octobris,  anno  regni  nostri  quinto.  Per  ipsum  Kegem. 

[A  fragment  of  the  great  seal  (B  of  Professor  Willis)  remains  in  white  wax.] 


Num.  VII. 

i 

Carta  Johannis  de  Clamle  super  decimas  de  Mordene  et  Breicere. 

[Ex  autographo  penes  eundern.     Vide  Cod.  Harl.  3660,  fo.  26.] 

Pateat  universis  per  prcscntcs  quod  cum  ego  Johannes  de  Clavilla  diversas  cartas  Walteri  de 
Clavilla  antecessoris  mci  et  aliorum  antecessorum  meorum  inspexerim  continentes  quod  ipsi  ante- 
cessores  pro  salute  sua  et  salute  antecessorum  suorum  ct  successorum  suorum  dederint  et  conces- 
serint  Ecclesiae  Dei  et  Sanctae  ilariac  Sanctique  Johannis  Ewangelistae  de  Leghe  totam  decimam 


Priory  and  Abbey  of  Canonsle/i///.  443 

reddituum  diversarum  terraruin  suarum  ab  ipsis  ct  heredibus  suis  prefatse  ecclesia;  reddendam;  ego 
dictus  Johannes  successor  dicti  Walter!  et  hereditario  jure  tenens  predictarum  terraruin,  decem 
solidos  et  octo  denarios  de  decimis  quorurndam  reddituum  predictorum  per  viginti  et  sex  annos  in 
festo  Sancti  Michaclis  proximo  ante  diem  confectionis  presenciurn  annuatim  a  retro  existere  fateor 
per  presentcs.  Et  ad  animse  meac  ct  antecessorum  meorum  et  successorum  meorum  periculum 
magis  evitandum  volo  et  concede  quod  ego  dictus  Johannes  heredes  et  assignati  mei  dictos  decem 
solidos  et  octo  denarios  per  tempus  predictum  subtractos  ecclesia?  predicts;  et  Religiosis  Dominabus 
Abbatisse  et  Conventui  ibidem  Deo  serventibus  et  successoribus  suis  in  puram  et  perpetuam 
elemosinam  de  cetero  annuatim  ad  quatuor  anni  terminos  principales  equis  porcionibus  persolvere 
teneamur  impcrpetuum;  videlicet,  de  decinia  quorumdam  reddituum  de  Mordone  octo  solidos;  et 
de  decima  Brewer  ibidem  duos  solidos  et  octo  denarios.  Insuper  volo  et  concede  pro  me  et  heredi- 
bus et  assignatis  meis  quod  si  in  solucione  decem  solidorum  et  octo  denariorum  predictorum  in  toto 
vel  in  parte  suis  terminis  defecerimus(quod  absit)  quod  ballivi  domini  Comitis  Glouccstriae  qui  pro 
tempore  f'uerint  sumptibus  nostris  nos  per  nostras  dictas  terras  distringant  et  districtioncs  teneant 
quousquc  predictis  Dominabus  Abbatissae  et  Conventui  ut  de  jure  Ecclcsiaj  predictae  plenaric  fuerit 
satisfactum.  In  cujus  rei  testimonium  prescntibus  sigillum  meum  npposui.  Dat  apud  I-egh 
Canonicarum  undecimo  die  Mail  anno  Domini  M°ccc°xj°  et  regni  R.  Edward!  fil.  R.  Edwardi  iiij". 

Seal.     Circular  ^  inch  in  diameter.     Device,  a  key  in  pale.     Legend,  in   Lombardic  character, 
SI.  IOHISDECLAVILLE. 


Num.  VIII. 
Processus  clectlonis  Domino;  Alicia;  Parker  in  Abbatissam  Monasterii  de  Ley  a. 

f_Ex  autogr.  penes  eundem.] 

Revcrendo  in  Christo  patri  ct  domino  Domino  Johanni  Dei  gratia  Exoniensi  episcopo,  ipsiusve 
vicario  in  spiritualibus  general!,  coinmissario  ejusve  locum  in  hac  parte  tenenti  cuicumque,  suaj 
humiles  et  devotie  in  Ghristo  filioe  Cristina  Edwyke  pi-iorissa  claustralis"  inonasterii  hcatae  Mario; 
Virginia  Sanctique  Johannis  Evangelists  dc  Canonleghe  ordinis  sancti  Augustini  Exoniensis 
dioceseos  et  cjusdcm  loci  conventus,  obcdientiam  et  reverenciam  tanto  patri  debitiis  cum  honore. 
Reverend*  vostraj  paternitati  ac  omnibus  quorum  interest  vcl  intcrerit  in  hac  partc  quomodolibet 
in  futurum  notum  facimus  per  prsesentes  quod  praefato  monasterio  nostro  nuper  vacante  atque 
abbatissaj  et  pastricis  solacio  dcstituto,  per  mortem  bouse  inemoria;  Johanna! 

,11.  ...  ..  .  ...  Death  of  the  last 

Arundelle  ultima!  abbatissaj  dicti  monasterii,  qua;  (prout  placuit  Deo)  die  dominion,    abi>«u,  Keb.  17. 

videlicet  decimo  septimo  die  niensis  Februarii  anno  Domini  millesimo  quadringcn- 

tesimo  septuagcsimo  diem  suum  clausit  extremum,  ac  die  Jovis  proximo  extunc  sequent!,  videlicet 

•  A  conventual  prior  is  one  who  is  himself  the  head  of  the  house;  a  claustral  prior,  one  who  hus  an 
abbat  over  him;  v.  Lyndw.  ad  Coustit.  De  scrutinio  in  online,  &c.  c.  cumquaiittt,  v.  prior. 

3L  2 


444  Charters  and  Documents  relating  to  the 

vicesimo  primo  die  cjusdem   mensis  Februarii  ipsius  corpore  prout  decuit  ecclesiasticse  tradito 

sepulturae ;  Petita  insuper,  ut  moris  est,  ex  parte  nostra  liccncia  pariter  et  obtenta  a 
obtained  from  prsenobili  et  praepotenti  viro  domino  Kicardo  comite  War?  et  Sar  ipsius  monasterii 

'patrono  et  fundatore,*  procedendi  ad  novam  electionem  abbatissa;  ibidem  faciendam, 
ne  ipsum  monasterium  nostrum  incommoda  diucius  deploraret,  ego  Cristina  Edwyk  priorissa 
antedicta  ac  prassidens  capituli  ipso  monasterio  sic  vacante,  die  Sabbati  post  festum  Sancti  Gregorii 
Papse,  videlicet  decimo-septimo  die  mensis  Marcii,b  una  cum  consororibus  infrascriptis  tune  ibidem 
praesentibus,  intravimus  domum  capitularem  ejusdem  monasterii,  ac  licentia  dicti  patroni  ostensa 
lecta  et  declarata  primitus  per  me  coram  eisdem,  videlicet  coram  domina  Johanna  Brydham 
celeraria,  Domina  Alicia  Ayshforde  suppriorissa,  Domina  Johanna  Cave,  Domina  Agnete  Yerde 
sacrista,  Domina  Agnete  William  firmaria,  Domina  Alicia  Parker  tercia  priorissa,  Domina 
Florencia  Carewe  secunda  cantrice,  Domina  Johanna  Seynt  Tabyn,  Domina  Johanna  Stappe" 
expresse,  Sorore  Radegunda  Stapulhille,  Amea  Clyftone,  et  Agnete  Stone  canonicis  et  consororibus 
in  dicto  monasterio  regulam  et  ordinem  Sancti  Augustini  tacited  professis  simul  et  capitulariter 
congregatis,  do  special!  mandato  et  expresso  consensu  ipsarum  omnium  et  singularum  consororum, 

Pro  me  dicta  Cristina  et  dictis  meis  consororibus  diem  Jovis  proximum  extunc 
Eufction!1  '  sequentem,  videlicet  vicesimum  primum  diem  mensis  Marcii,  ad  electionem  futurae 

abbatissse  monasterii  nostri  prasdicti  in  dicto  domo  capitulari  faciendam  seu  cele- 
brandam  cum  continuatione  et  prorogatione  dierum  tune  immediate  sequentium  quousque  electio 
hujusmodi  fuerit  cclebrata,  Nobismet  ipsis  et  nostrum  singulis  ac  cuilibet  de  dicto  conventu  sen 
aliunde  vocein  in  hujusmodi  electione  habentibus,  necnon  ad  omnia  alia  et  singula  exercenda  et 
expedienda  quaa  ipsius  electionis  negocium  et  nos  concernere  in  ea  parte  poterant  vel  debuerant, 

a  The  coinji!  <l\'lire,  or  licence  of  the  patron  to  elect  a  head,  was  required  just  as  much  in  the  case  of  a 
small  abbey  like  Cauonsleigh,  as  it  is  at  the  present  day  before  the  chapter  of  Canterbury  or  London  can 
elect  an  arclibi.shop  or  bishop. 

In  the  present  instance,  Richard  Neville,  Earl  of  Warwick  and  Salisbury  (the  "king-maker"),  appears  to 
have  been  founder  and  patron  in  right  of  his  wife  Anne  Beauchamp,  ultimately  heir  of  her  brother,  Henry, 
Duke  of  Warwick,  himself  heir  of  Isabel  Despencer,  by  her  second  husband,  Richard  Beauchamp,  Earl  of 
Warwick:  this  Isabel  being  sister  and  heir  of  Richard  Despencer,  Earl  of  Gloucester,  great-grandson  of 
Edward,  second  son  of  Hugh  le  Despencer  the  younger,  and  heir  of  his  mother  Eleanor,  eldest  sister  and  coheir 
of  Gilbert  de  Clare,  Earl  of  Gloucester  and  Hereford,  son  and  heir  of  Gilbert,  son  and  heir  of  Matilda 
de  Clare,  the  foundress  of  the  abbey.  On  the  attainder  of  the  king-maker,  who  only  survived  Alice 
Parker's  election  by  one  year,  having  been  slain  at  the  battle  of  Barnet  in  1471,  his  possessions  coming  to 
the  crown,  King  Henry  VII.  became  founder,  and  as  such  gave  conge  d'elire  on  the  next  election  of  an 
abbess  in  1488,  when  Alice  Parker  died,  and  again  in  1499,  after  the  death  of  Joan  Stubbe. 

b  The  day  of  the  mouth  seems  mistaken.  The  17th  of  March  in  157$,  with  which  year  all  the  rest  cf 
the  dates  agree,  fell  on  Sunday  not  on  Saturday. 

f  Probably  the  same  person  as  Joan  Stubbe,  afterwards  abbess. 

d  A  religious  person  might  be  held  "  tacitly  professed  "  who,  being  of  full  age,  remained  in  the  monastery 
upwards  of  a  year,  wearing  the  habit  of  the  order,  although  he  or  she  had  not  solemnly  taken  the  vows. 
See  as  to  this,  Lyndwode,  Tit.  De  Regularibus  c.  Sanctimoniales. 


Priory  and  Abbey  of  Canonsleigh.  446 

assignavimus,  limitavimus,  assumpsimus,  statuimus  et  praefiximus  tune  ibidem.     Decrevimus  eciam 

tune   ibidem    de    consensu  omnium   ct  singularum    consororum  tune    prsesencium 

Dominam  Aliciam  Ayshbury,  ejusdem  domus  praeeentricem,  ordinem   et  regulam    £|^t« 

Sancti  Augustini  expresse  professam,  sed  tune  absentem,  et  quadam  gravi  aegritudine 

in  firmitorio  detentam,  fore   citandam,  ad   interessendum  die  et  loco  prefixis  una  cum  aliis,   et 

consenciendum   in   negocio  eleccionis  hujusmodi,  si  voluerit  et  valuerit  commode 

interesse.     Quo    die   Jovis   veniente,  videlicet  vicesimo  primo    die  mensis    Marcii 

antedicti,  missaque  de  Spiritu  Sancto  ad  summum  altare  ejusdem  monasterii  solemp- 

niter  celebrata,  ac  demum  convenientibus  insimul  ad  sonum  campanae  Mary  vulgariter  nuncupate, 

et  capitulariter  congregatis  in  domo  nostra  capitulari  praedieta  pro  hujusmodi  electione  celebranda, 

Xobis  Cristina  priorissa,  Johanna  Brydham,  Alicia  Ayshforde,  Agnete  Yerde,  Agnete  Wylyham, 

Alicia  Parker,  Florencia  Carew,  Johanna  Seynt  Tabyn,  Johanna  Stappe,  Radegunda  Stapulhille, 

Amea  Clyftone,  et  Agnete   Stone,  pcrsonaliter,  Johanna  Cave  et  Alicia  Ayshbury  in  firmitorio 

gravi  33<mtudinc  detentis.  per  me  dictam  priorissam  earum  procuratricem  rite  et 

Sermon,  Pet.  1, 

sufficienter    ordmatam,    ac  proposito    verbo    Dei   per    venerabilem    virum    magis-    m.  8 "  Be  ye  all 

trum  Nicholaum  Gosse  in  sacra  theologia  bacallarium,  cujus  thema  Unanimes  estate, 

prima  Petri  tercio,  et  Spiritus  Sancti  gracia  invocata  per  decantacionem  ympni  Angelici  "  Veni 

Creatus  (sic)  Spiritw"  solempniter  decantati,  ac  constitutionibus    Quia  propter*   et    Vt,d  Creator 

Indempnitatibvsb  per  discretum  virum  magistrum  Owynum  Lloid,  legum  doctorem, 

summarie  declaratis  in  vulgari,  Post  licenciam  ejusdem  domini  Ricardi  comitis  Warf    r°^M 

et  Sar  patroni  publice  et  aperte  perlectam  declaratam   et  repetitam  nobis  elegendi 

ibidem  futuram  abbatissam  per  eundem  concessam,  cujus  Iicentio3  tenor  patet  in  haec  verba: — 

Ricardus  comes  Warret  Sar  religiosae  domus  atque  ecclesiac  de  Canonleghe  ordinis  Sancti  Augus- 
tini Exoniensis  diocesis  fundator,  priorissae  domus  praedictae  et  ejusdem  domus  con- 
ventui,  salutem  in  domino sempiternam.  Cum domusatque  ecclesia  praedictae  per  mortem    t°^e ' 
religiosac  mulieris  Johannas  Arundelle,  nuper  abbatissae  domus  praedictae,  qurc  dudum 
obiit,  cujusque  corpus  sacra  sepulturae  traditum  extitit,  solatio  abbatissae  destituta  existit,  prout 
per  litteras  vestras  sub  sigillo  communi  domus  praedictae  inde  confectas  nobis  plenius  constat,  Nos 
igitur  considerantes  plurima  incommoda  quae  ecclesia  viduata  in  ejus  viduitatis    et    vacationis 
tempore  multociens  dinoscitur  sustinere,  volentes  contra  talia  cicius  quo  poterimus  de  rcmedio 

"  The  Constitution  Quia  propter  "  is  the  24th  canon  of  the  fourth  Council  of  Lateran,  held  under 
Innocent  III.  A.D.  1215.  which  requires  the  election  to  be  made  by  scrutiny  of  votes  ;  by  compromise 
(when  the  chapter  agreed  to  delegate  their  powers  for  this  occasion  to  certain  individual  members  of  their 
body)  ;  or  lastly,  by  inspiration,  i.e.  by  unanimous  concurrence  and  acclamation."  Dr.  Oliver,  from  whoso 
Preface  (page  ix)  I  quote,  gives  the  text  of  the  Constitution  from  Concilia,  xxviii.  183,  ed.  Paris,  1(>44. 
He  might  have  added  the  reference  from  the  Corpus  Juris  Canonici,  namely,  Extra  de  Electione,  c.  Quia 
propter.  (Decretal.  Greg.  IX  lib.  i.  tit.  vi  cap.  xlii.) 

b  This  is  a  Constitution  of  Boniface  VIII.,  and  will  be  found  in  Sexto  Decretalium,  lib.  i.  tit.  vi.  De 
Electione,  &c.,  c.  xliii.  It  refers  to  elections  in  houses  of  females  alone.  The  only  passage  which  illustrates 
the  subject  is  extracted  in  the  next  footnote. 


446  Ckarfart  and  Documents  relating  to  the 

providcre  oportuno,  vestris  supplication!  et  petition!  annuentcs  ad  clectionem  canonicam  in  hac 
parte  procedendi  et  de  salubri  abbatissa  in  dorao  praedicta  canonice  providcndi,  vobis  licenciam 
damns  et  per  praesentes  concedimus  specialem.  In  cujus  rei  testimonium  pnesentibus  sigillum 
nostrum  apposuimus.  Datae  quarto  die  mensis  Marcii,  anno  domini  millesimo  quadringentisimo 
septuagesimo. — Ego  Cristina  priorissa  antedicta  vice  mea  et  omnium  mearum  consororum 
ac  dc  earum  mandate  ct  cxpresso  consensu  in  vulgari,  juxta  juris  peritorum  consilium  quasdam 
monitiones  et  protestationes  foci  in  scriptis  in  baec  verba, — In  Dei  nomine  amen. 

Monition  for  _  .         f ,   .     .  . 

those  not  enti-  kgo  Uomina  (_  nstma  hdwyk  priorissa  monasteru  Beat33  Mariae  Virginia  Sanctique 
to'dcpart.1"*1  '  Johannis  Evangclistae  ordinis  Sancti  Augustini  de  Canonleghe  Exoniensis  diocesis 

vice  mea  ac  aliarum  concanonicarum  et  consororum  mearum  omnium  et  singularum 
hie  praesentium,  ac  de  mandato  speciali  michi  facto  eciam  ab  eisdem,  universos  et  singulos 
excommunicates  et  suspenses  vel  interdictos  necnon  alios  quoscumque  hie  prssentes  qui  de  jure  aut 
consuetudine  in  prajscnti  electionis  negocio  non  deberent  interesse,  moneo  quatinus  ab  hac  domo 
nostra  capitulari  recedcnt,  Xosque  ad  quas  jus  pertinct  eligendi,  ad  electionem  libere  procedere 
paciantur,  Protestaus  in  hiis  scriptis  vice  mea  et  aliarum  omnium  praedictarum  consororum 
mearum,  quod  non  est  intencionis  nostrae  aut  alicujus  nostrum  cum  ipsis  aut  ipsorum  aliqua  in  hoc 
electionis  negocio  procedere  seu  quanquam  eligere  cum  eisdem,  scd  quod  voces  et  vota  eorundem 

nulli    prastent    tmfFragium    nee    alicui    aflerant  nocumentum,   quinimmo  pro  non 

Lay  folk  and  .  . 

seculars  exi-iu-  uatis  ct  receptis  habeantur. — Qua  quidcm  protestatione  prasmissa,  exclusisque  laicis 
quibuscumque  ac  secularibus,  exceptis  notario  ct  testibus  inl'rascriptis,  qui  pro 
regimino,  directione  et  testimonio  negocii  electionis  nostraj  liujusmodi  iuerant  evocati,  Ac  demum 
Address  of  the  nobis  super  forma  proeedendi  aliqualiter  tractantibus,  Ego  statim  Priorissa  protuli  haec 
niendlT/Dame  ver'ja :  "  Sorores  meae,  michi  videtur  quod  Domina  Alicia  Parker  esset  nobis  et 
Alice  Parker.  monastcrio  nostro  valde  utilis  et  necessaria."  Cui  omnes  et  singulae  consorores 
Election  per  illicio  (sic)  et  repcntc  et  quasi  per  inspirationem  (Alicia  Parker  concanonica  et 

intpiralionem,' 

consorore  nostra  predicta  dumtaxat  cxccpta,)  idem  unanimitcr  dixerunt  ;  undo 
incontinunter  ego  pramominata  Cristina  priorissa  prxdicta  vice  mea  et  omnium  consororum 
mearum  ac  de  earum  speciali  mandato  et  expresso  consensu  eandem  Aliciam  Parker 
elego  in  communi  mulierem  itaque  providam  et  discretam,  cx])erientia  regularis  disciplinse 
praeditarn,  vita,  moribus  ct  conversacionc  merito  commendendam  (sic),  in  aetate  legittima 
constitutam  et  dc  Icgittimo  matrrmonio  procrcatam,  atque  in  ordine,  religionc,  et  regula  Sancti 
Augustini  in  dicto  monasterio  expresse  professam,b  necnon  in  spiritual ibus  et  temporalibus 
plurimum  circumspectam,  Cui  nichil  obstare  speratur  de  canonicis  iiistitutis  quominus  ipsius 

*  Canonical  election  may  V>e  in  one  of  three  ways — Per  vlam  Sjririttiit  Sancti,  sice  per  inx/iirationem, 
where  as  in  the  present  case  (lie  choice  is  immediate  and  unanimous:  per  viam  scnillnif,  by  majority  of 
votes  of  all  the  electors  separately  taken:  or,  per  viam  compromissi,  where  the  electors  nominate  one  person 
or  more  to  whom  the  choice  of  the  person  to  be  elected  is  left. 

b  "Nee  in  abbatissam  aut  priorissam,  ubi  per  priorissam  monasterium  gubernatur,  de  ceteroeligatur  aliqua 
nisi  tricesimum  annum  compleverit,  et  exprtsse  professa  fuerit  ordinem  regulareui."  Const.  Indempnitatilus, 
ubi 


Priori/  and  Abbey  of  Canonsleigh.  447 

monasterii  regimen  canonice  valeat  obtinere,  et  ipsam  electionem  ibidem  publicavi.     Qua  electione 
sic  celebrata,  praefata  clecta  sic  praesens,  seorsum  ad  quendam  angulum  ejusdem  domus  capitularis  so 
ammovit  et  divertit.     Et  statim  et  consequenter  per  me  dictam  Cristinam  priorissam  antedictam  ac 
procuratorem  et  nunciam  specialem,  a  toto  conventu  in  hac  parte  sufficienter  deputatam,  idem  (sic) 
conventus  praefatam  electionem  dicta:  consorori  nostrae  Aliciae  Parker  sic  electae  fecerunt  praesentari, 
Necnon  ipsam  ad  consenciendum  hujusmodi  electionem  de  se  factae  suppliciter  requiri.      Ipsa  vero 
consoror  Alicia  Parker  electa  nostra  prhno  resistens,  tandem  grates  reddens  Deo  suisque  electricibus 
multiformes,  post  modicam   deliberationcm  habitam,  divinae  nolens  ut  asseruit  resistere  voluntati, 
nee  suarum  concanonicarum  communi  et  concordi  electioni  contradicere,  annuit  votis  earum  [et] 
electioni  hujusmodi  consenciit  in  liec  verba: — In  Dei  nomine  amen.     Ego  Alicia  Parker  canonica 
monasterii  sive  abbathiaVBeatae  Maria:  Virginia  Sanctiquc  Johannis  Evangelistae  de 
Canonleghe  ordinis  Sancti  Augustini  Exoniensis  diocesis,  ordinem  et  regulam  Sancti    AMesa'ciect " 
Augustini   in   eadem  abbathia  expresse  professa,  et   in  aetate  legittima  constituta, 
electa  in  abbatissam  abbathia!  antedictae  nunc  vacantem,  sajpius  et  instanter  ex  parte  consororum 
mearum  multipliciter  cum  non  modica  instancia  requisita  quatinus  electioni  de  me  jactae  consensum 
preberern  pariter  et  assensum,  Nolens  ulterius  divinae  resistere  voluntati,  illis  qui  me  clegerunt 
grates  quas  possum  refero ;  et  quamvis  hujusmodi  negociura  magnum  sit  et  arduum,  ac  ego   non 
sim  ita  potcns  ad  sustinendum  et  supportandum  illud,  Tamen  Dei  auxilio  ct  consororum   mearum 
consilio,  ac  ad  honorem   Sanctai   et  Individual  Trinitatis,  Patris  et   Filii  et  Spiritus   Sancti,   ct 
Beatac  Mario:  Virginis  Sanctique  Johannis  Evangelistas,  in  quorum  honore  ecclesia  conventualis 
praalibate  (sic)  honorificc  extitit  dedicata,  electioni  hujusmodi  de   me  facta;  expresse  consentio  et 
cam  accepto  in  hiis  scriptis — Quo   habito,  psalmo    Te  ])eum  laudumus   solempniter    decantato, 
cum  solempni  campanarum  puliacione.  dictam  clectam  nostram   inter  duas  sorores 

.  Tr  Drum  sung, 

ante    summum    altare    ecclesia;    nostrae    conventualis    memoratae    nobis     omnibus    and  the  Bolls 
processionaliter  ordinatae,  in  sequentibus  introduximus;  qua:  prostrata  in  orutione, 
et  psalmo  totaliter  decantato,  ac  quadam  oratione  congruente  super  eandem   electam   dicta,  statim 
ipsa  electio,  per  dictum   venerabilem  virum  magistrum   Nicholaum    Gosse    de  spcciali  mandate 
ymmo   verius   devota   supplicatione  mei   priorissaj   et   tocius   conventus,   (dicta    electa  dumtaxat 
excepta,)  mnltis   convicinis   ac   extraneis   in    multitudine    copiosa    praesentibus    infra    ccclesiam 
conventualcm  dicti  monasterii  alta  et  intelligibili  voce  electionem  hujusmodi  aperte 
publicari  fccimus  ct  coram  omnibus  declarari.      Qua:  publicatio  nb  omnibus  tune    ^"^'f^ctTo" 
precsentibus  crat  pacifice  audita  et  gratanter  accepta. 

Reverendos  igitur  paternitati  vestrae  antedictae,  vestrisve  commissariis  quibuscumquc  in  hac  parte 
legittime  constitutis  vel  constituendis,  humiliter  et  devote  voto  unanimi  supplicamus, 
quatinus  eandem  electionem  nostram  vi  et  Spiritus   Sancti  gracia,  tarn  solempniter    confirmation, 
quam  concorditer  celebrata  in,   per  vos  aut  vestros  commissaries  conlirmare,  ac  eidein 
electae  nostrae  munus  bcnedictionis  impendcrc,  caetera  in  hac  parte  neccssaria  ac  eciam  oportuna  qua? 
vestro  in  hac  parte  incumbunt  ofTicio  pastorali  favorabiliter  impartiri  facere  graciose  dignemini;  ut 
Deo  auctore  cadem  electa  nobis  et  ecclesia;  nostroe  piaedictac  sub  patcrnitatis  vestra;  praesidio  abbatissa 
et  pastrix  ydonea  pracssc  valeat  utiliter  ct  prodcsse,  Xosque  sub  ipsius  felici  regiminc  possimus  coram 


Charters  and  Documents  relating  to  the 


Deo  salubritcr  militare.  Caeterum  ut  vestra  reverenda  paternitas  noscat  evidencius  praemissa  rei  gestae 
veritatcm  habere,  votaque  omnium  nostrorum  ut  praefertur  in  praam  issis  omnibus  et  singulis  concor- 
dasse,  ac  in  hujusmodi  supplicatione  et  requisitione  nos  unanimiter  convenisse,  vobis  vestrisque  com- 
missariis  quibuscunque  in  hac  parte  dcputatis  sive  deputandis  praesens  nostrae  electionis  dccretum  trans- 
misiraus.  Quod  per  Nicholaum  Crese  clericum  Exoniensis  diocesios  notarium  auctoritate  apostolica 
publicum,  dictaeque  electionis  et  in  eadem  actorum  scribam,  exinde  fieri  subscribique  et  publicari  ac 
in  hanc  publicam  formam  redigi,  ejusque  signi  appositione  et  nostri  sigilli  communis  appencione 
mandavimus  et  fccimus  fideliter  communiri,  in  testimonium  et  (idem  omnium  praemissorum. 
Datum  quoad  praesens  decreti  nostri  consignationem  apud  Canonleghe  in  domo  nostra  capitulari 
pnedicta,  vicesimo  sccundo  die  mensis  Marcii  praelibati,  anno  domini  supradicto. 

Acta  sunt  haec  prout  suprascribuntur  et  recitantur  mensibus,  diebus,  loco  et  anno  domini  supra- 
dictis,  Indictione  quarta,  Pontificatus  sanctissimi  in  Christo  patris  et  domini  nostri  Domini  Pauli 
divina  providentia  Papa;  Secundi  anno  septimo,  praescntibus  yi  singulis  actis  atque  gestis  dicto 
die  vicesimo  primo  mensis  Marcii  praelibati,  anno  domini  supradicto,  venerabilibus  et 
discretis  viris  magistris  Johanne  Pascawyn9  sacra  theologiae  professore,  Jolianne  Perys 
rectorc  ecclesia:  parochialis  de  Uffeculme,  Domino  Thoma  Harry  vicario  de  Burlyscombe,  et  Nicholao 
Notarial  attes-  Prous  litterato  testibus  ad  praemissa  vocatis  specialiter  et  rogatis. 

Lt  ego  Xicholaus  Crese  clericus  Exoniensis  diocesis  publicus  auc- 
toritate  Apostolica  notarius  praefatis  missae  de  Spiritu  Sancto  supradicto  vicesimo 
primo  die  mensis  Marcii  ad  majus  altare  monastcrii  de  Canonleghe  praedicti  cele- 
brationi,  verbique  Dei  proposition!  et  ympni  Veni  Creator  Spiritus  in  domo  capitulari 
dicti  monasterii  decantationi,  dictarumque  constitutionum  declarationi,  monitionibus 
et  protestationibus  per  pncfatam  Cristinam  Edwyk  priorissam  pncdictam  factis, 


Witu 


The 
Notarial 

Mark 

of 
Nicholas 

Crese. 


dictaeque  Alicia?  Parker  sororis  solcmpni  et  in  communi  electioni, 
necnon  ejusdem  electionis  pnedictae  electse  in  domo  capitulari  dicti 
monastcrii  per  priorissam  praedictam  pi-assentation!  et  consensus 
requisitioni,  ac  postmodum  preelibatse  elector  huic  electioni  de  ipsa 
celebrate  consensus  pracstationi,  Psalmi  Te  Deum  laudamus  de- 
cantationi, ipsiupque  electaj  ad  sum  mum  altare  ecclesiae  conventualis 
dicti  monasterii  inter  duas  sorores  introduction!,  ac  przefatse  electionis 
clero  et  populo  publicationi,  caeterisque  omnjbus  et  singulis  dum  sic 
ut  pra?mittitur  prx-fato  vicesimo  primo  die  Marcii  agerentur  et  fiercnt 
una  cum  testibus  supcrius  dcsignatis  sub  anno  Domini,  indictione, 
pontificatu  et  mense,  quibus  supra  personaliter  interfui,  eaque  omnia 
et  singula  sic  fieri,  vidi  ct  audivi,  variis  aliunde  occupatus  negociis, 
per  alium  scribi  feci,  et  in  hanc  publicam  formam  rcdegi,  ac  praescnti 
publico  instrumento  signum  meum  apposui  consuetum,  et  hie  me 
subscripsi  de  mandate  tain  ipsius  electae  quam  eligencium  requisitus 
et  rogatus  in  testimonium  prjemissorum. 


Priory  and  Abbey  of  Canonsleigli.  449 

Num.  IX. 
Carta  Willelmifilii  Gyrardi  de  Cltete. 

[Ex  autogr.  penes  eundem.] 

Sciant  praesentes  et  futuri  quod  ego  Willelmus  filius  Gyrardi  de  Cliste,  consensu  et  assensu  here- 
dum  meorum,  concessi  et  hac  present!  carta  mea  confirmavi  Willelmo  Hastement  pro  homagio  et 
servitio  suo  donationem  et  quietam  clamantiam  unius  forlingi  terrae  in  Kyldringthone  cum  omnibus 
pertinentiis  suis  in  australi  parte  de  Hesyle,  quam  Walterus  filius  et  heres  Pagani  Janitoris  praefato 
Willelmo  Hastement  concessit  et  carta  sua  confirmavit;  Tenend  et  habend  eidem  Willelmo  et 
heredibus  suis  de  me  et  de  heredibus  meis  jure  hereditario  in  perpetuum,  libere  et  quiete,  integre  et 
pacifice,  in  boscho  et  piano,  in  pratis  et  paschuis,  in  viis  et  semitis,  in  aquis  et  mariscys,  et  cum 
omnibus  aliis  libertatibus  cidem  forlingo  pertinentibus ;  Reddendo  inde  annuatim  michi  vel 
heredibus  meis  unam  libram  cymini  ad  Natale  Domini,  pro  omni  servitio,  salvo  regali  servitio, 
quantum  pertinet  ad  unum  forlingum  terrae.  Pro  hac  autem  concessione  et  confirmatione  mea 
dedit  michi  prsedictus  Willelmus  unum  annulum  aureum  cum  una  gerneta  in  recognitione.  Quod 
ut  ratum  et  inconcussum  inperpetuum  permaneat,  praesenti  scripto  et  sigilli  mei  muniminc  confir- 
mavi. Hiis  testibus,  Eudone  de  Bellocampo  tune  vicecomite  Devonian  per  Robertum  de  veteri 
ponte,  Ricardo  Flandrensi,  Martino  de  Fisacre,  Waltero  de  Colom,  Johanne  Cola,  Reginaldo 
Wauthortti,  Waltero  Thurbcrt,  Nicholas  Gervasii,  Waltero  La  Chawe,  et  multis  aliis.8 

Seal,  circular,  Vf  inch  in  diameter;  subject,  a  long  tailed  bird,  neck  thrown  up,  wings  elevated. 
Legend,  in  Lombardic  characters,  SIG'.  [WILLELMJI.  DE  CLIST  FIL'  GIRARDI. 


Num.  X. 

Carta  Rogeri  Hemerici. 
[Ex  autogr.  penes  eundem.    Vide  Cod.  Harl.  3660,  fo.  914.] 

Sciant  presentes  ct  futuri  quod  Ego  Rogerus  Hemerici b  vcndidi  domino  Danieli  de  Longocampo 
octo  solidatas  redditus  extra  portam  australem  Exonie  pro  sex  marcis  argenti  quas  mihi  prc- 
manibus  plenarie  persolvit;  scilicet  quatuor  solidatas  redditus  quos  mihi  debuit  Rogerus  le  Bruton 

•  Sir  W.  Pole  (Dev.  Coll.  92)  says  that  Robert  de  Veteri  Ponte  was  sheriff  of  Devon  and  Eudo  de  Bello- 
campo in  his  place  from  12  John  to  the  end  of  the  reign.  The  deed  would  seem  to  show  that  Vipont 
was  the  deputy.  In  the  lists  of  Exeter  mayors  and  provosts,  Walter  la  Chawe  (Le  Caws)  figures  from  1232- 
1267  ;  and  Walter  Thurbert  from  1219  to  1236.  The  date  of  the  deed  is,  therefore,  most  likely  very  late 
in  the  reign  of  King  John.  »  Alibi,  Rogerus  Emeray. 

VOL.  XL.  3  M 


450  Charters,  Sfc.,  relating  to  the  Abbey  at  Canonslcigh. 

de  domo  cum  pertinentiis  quam  de  me  temrit ;  Et  quatuor  solidatas  redditus  quos  mihi  debuit 
Agnes  Thatmayde  de  domo  cum  pertinentiis  quam  de  me  tenuit.  Et  volo  et  concedo  pro  me  et 
heredibus  meis  quod  dictus  Daniel  vel  quicunque  alius  vel  alii  cui  vel  quibus  idem  Daniel  dictum 
redditum  octo  solidorum  dare  vendere  vel  assignare  voluerit,  habeant  et  teneant  eundem  redditum 
imperpetuum  quietum  et  solutum,  nullo  iure  mihi  vel  heredibus  meis  inde  retento.  Et  sciendum 
quod  de  residue  tenement!  mei  ibidem,  scilicet  domo  quadam  cum  pertinentiis  qua;  est  intra 
predicta  duo  tenementa,  ego  et  heredes  mei  debeinus  aquietare  predictas  octo  solidatas  redditus 
de  releviis  et  omnibus  aliis  serviciis,  et  ideo  eandem  domum  cum  pertinentiis  non  poterimus 
vendere  invadiare  vel  quoquo  modo  alicnarc.  Et  quia  volo  quod  hsec  vendicio  mea  firmitatcm 
optineat  perpetuam  inter  quatuor  scanna  Gialde  Civitatis  Exoniensis  present!  scripto  sigillum 
meum  apposui.  Hiis  tcstibus:  Waltero  la  Chawe  tune  Majore  Exonie,"  Hugone  de  Langed%  et 
Philippe  le  Palmer9  tune  prepositis,  Illario  Blondo,  K.  filio  Henrici,  Johanne  Thurberti,  Eicardo 
Walrand,  Rogero  Liden?,  Ricardo  Busse,  Waltero  de  Molton,  Johne  Palmere  et  multis  aliis. 
Seal,  A  fleur  de  lis.  Legend,  S.  RO[GER1]  EMERL 

a  Walter  la  Chaw  or  Chaw  succeeded  Nicholas  Ilchester  (who  died  in  office),  in  1267,  Philip  Palmer  and 
Hugh  de  Langdon  being  his  Provosts.  (Jenkins,  Hist,  of  Exeter,  p.  45.)  Hilary  Blondy  occurs  in  the 
same  list  as  Mayor  in  1255,  and  again  in  1258,  when  Roger  FitzHenry  was  his  Provost.  Oliver,  Hist,  of 
Exeter,  228,  omits  Hilary  Blondy  in  these  years,  but  makes  an  individual  of  that  name  Mayor  in  1227. 
Walter  de  Molton  occurs  as  Provost  in  1240,  1241,  1243. 


XXX. — Instructions  given  by  King  Henry  VI.  to  Edward  Grimston  and  others, 
his  Ambassadors  to  the  Duchess  of  Burgundy,  1449 ;  and  Notice  of  a 
Portrait  of  Edward  Grimston,  painted  by  Peter  Christus  in  1446.  Com- 
municated in  a  Letter  from  WILLIAM  J.  THOMS,  Esq.,  F.S.A.,  to  C.  KNIGHT 
WATSON,  Esq.,  Secretary;  with  additional  Observations  by  A.  W.  FEANKS, 
Esq.,  Director,  and  GEORGE  SCHAEF,  Esq.,  F.S.A. 


Kead  June  18th,  1863. 

40,  St.  George's  Square,  S.W., 

17th  June,  1863. 
MY  DEAE  SlE, 

I  AM  enabled  by  the  kindness  of  the  Earl  of  Verulam  to  exhibit  to  the  Society 
the  original  of  a  Document  of  some  interest  in  the  commercial  history  of  this 
country. 

It  is  the  Instructions  given  by  Henry  the  Sixth,  on  the  28th  May,  in  the  27th 
year  of  his  reign,  that  is  in  1449,  to  Edward  Grimston  (the  ancestor  of  the 
noble  Earl  to  whom  the  document  now  belongs,)  and  others,  whom  he  sends  as 
Ambassadors  to  treat  with  the  Ambassadors  of  the  Duchess  of  Burgundy,  respect- 
ing certain  infringements  of  the  Treaty  lately  concluded  between  the  King  and 
the  Duchess,  and  on  matters  connected  with  the  trade  and  commerce  of  the 
two  countries. 

The  commission  to  the  ambassadors  will  be  found  in  Hymer,  vol.  xi.  p.  229 ; 
but  the  instructions  have,  I  believe,  never  been  printed,  and  appear  to  me 
deserving  the  attention  of  the  Society. 

But  the  Society  will  probably  consider  of  yet  higher  interest  the  contemporary 
Portrait  of  Edward  Grimston,  which  Lord  Verulam  has  kindly  brought  up  from 
Gorhambury  for  the  purpose  of  its  being  exhibited  before  the  Society. 

It  was  painted  in  144G,  and  is  therefore  one  of  our  earliest  dated  English 
portraits,  and  is  by  an  artist  (Petrus  Christus)  whose  name  is  preserved  on  the 
back  of  the  pannel,  but  of  whom  little  seems  to  be  known.  I  hope,  however, 
that  Mr.  Scharf,  whose  acquaintance  with  works  of  art  is  far  more  extensive 
than  mine,  may  be  able  to  furnish  some  particulars  respecting  him. 

Believe  me,  my  dear  Sir, 

Yours  very  truly, 

WILLIAM  J.  THOMS. 

C.  Knight  Watson,  Esq.,  M.A. 

3M2 


452  Instructions  given  by  King  Henry  VI.  to  Edward  Grimston, 

Instructions  yeven  by  the  Kyng  cure  soucerajn  lorde  to  his  trusty  and  welbeloved  Johan 
Marney  knyghte,  Maistre  Thomas  Kent  doctoure  of  lawe,  William  Pyrton,  Edward 
Grymeston  and  John  Wodehous  squyers,  iiij,  iij  or  twaine  of  thaim,  whom  he  sendeth 
his  Ambassatours  at  this  tyme  to  his  Totcne  of  Calais  for  to  commune  trete  appoints 
and  conclude  with  the  Commissaries  of  the  Duchesses  of  Bourgoigne  in  the  maters  that 
folowetfi. 

Furst  at  suchc  tyme  as  the  saide  Ambassatours  shall  assemble  with  the  saide  Duchesse  Arabas- 
satours  at  Calais,  the  whiche  is  accorded  shall  be  the  xij  day  of  Juyng  next  commyng,  thei  shall 
mowe  saye  that  they  be  there  by  the  Kynges  commaundement  havyng  full  power  to  commune  pro- 
cede  and  appointe  diverse  matters  concernyng  the  wele  of  bothe  parties  And  that  the  Kinges  will 
is  that  thei  shall  entende  effectuelly  to  alle  suche  thinges  as  may  be  thoughte  good  and  behovefulle 
And  forthirmore  proceding  thai  shall  abide  and  awaite  what  maters  the  saide  Duchesse  Ambassa- 
tours woll  desire  to  commune  of,  and  do  thaire  parte  asrauch  as  thay  may  that  askinges  and 
peticions  growe  of  that  other  partie. 

Item  the  saide  Ambassatours  shall  sai  thai  bene  redy  to  entende  and  procede  in  frendly  wyse 
as  lawe  and  reason  woll  to  the  reformacion  of  attemptats,  and  thereupon  be  redy  to  receyve  and 
here  the  complaintes  of  bothe  sides  and  aunsweres  to  thaym,  and  do  thaire  parte  to  understonde  the 
trouthe  of  the  saide  complaintes  by  due  and  lawfullc  examinacion,  that  is  to  say,  thai  shall  see  who  it 
is  that  complayneth  and  whethir  he  be  there  in  his  owne  persone  or  by  what  auctorite  he  apperith 
and  admittc  no  complainte  without  the  complaigner  have  sufficient  power. 

Item  thei  shall  in  examynyng  the  maters  receyve  and  admitte  suche  proves  as  lawe  wolle,  not 
yeving  feith  to  thafTcrmacion  of  the  partie  nor  to  lettres  testimoniall  of  citees  townes  or  officers 
neither  to  private  writynges,  but  to  witnesses  duely  examined,  confession  of  the  parties,  open  instru- 
mentes,  open  knowlache  of  the  dedc  or  other  proves  such  as  the  lawe  woll  admitte  or  suche  as  it 
shall  be  thought  to  theire  discrecions  sufficient. 

Item  for  asmuche  as  it  is  supposed  that  the  Kinges  subgittes  upon  whom  the  complaintes  been 
and  shall  be  made  woll  not  be  present,  the  saide  Ambassatours  shall  mowe  saye  thai  ben  redy  not- 
withstanding thabsence  of  the  partie  to  lucre  theire  complaintes,  to  selc  and  receyve  the  proves  in 
that  partie,  and  so  shall  mowe  do  and  commune  and  debate  the  mater  as  shall  be  thought  to  thaire 
discrecions,  absteinyng  thaym  in  all  that  thei  may  to  condcscende  and  yeve  any  Jugement  or  sen- 
tence ayenst  the  partie  so  absent  though  it  be  thought  mater  clerely  proved  but  if  it  so  be  that  for 
the  better  proccdyng  in  other  maters  or  to  eschewe  rupture  or  other  inconveniences  it  shall  be 
thought  to  the  saide  Ambassatours  necessarie  and  behovefulle  to  procede  and  yeve  suche  sentence, 
and  in  that  cas  thay  shall  say  thai  woll  report  it  to  the  Kyng  to  that  entent  that  execucon  be  made 
as  the  cas  shall  require. 

Item  as  touching  the  matier  of  Crotoye,  sith  it  was  accorded  and  concluded  by  the  trewes 
taken  by  my  lorde  of  York  and  the  saide  Duchesse  the  which  have  divers  tymes  be  proroged  that 
thappatisementes  woued  to  be  paied  to  Crotoye  in  tyme  of  werre  shuld  ceesse,  yit  notwithstanding 
as  it  is  saide  thai  of  Crotoie  have  receyved  continuelly  and  yit  don  the  saide  appatisementes  And 
thereuppon  that  other  partie  desire  to  be  restored  of  that  thai  have  paied,  the  saide  Commissaires 


and  Notice  of  a  Portrait  of  Edtcard  Grimston.  453 

shall  mowe  saye  that  at  such  tyme  as  the  lorde  Haburdyn  was  in  Englande  the  Kyng  ordeined  to 
be  paied  a  greet  somme  of  money  for  the  saide  cause  of  his  owne  fredom  withoute  that  any 
sufficient  informacion  was  had  in  that  behalve  And  over  this  commaunded  straitely  that  thai  of 
Crotoie  shulde  absteigne  thaym  from  thens  forth  fro  the  receyvyng  of  suche  appatisementes,  the 
which  commaundement  the  King  undirstandith  thai  have  obeied  and  cannot  thinke  that  thai  have 
do  any  thing  to  the  contrary,  but  and  it  be  afiermed  that  it  be  otherwise  the  saide  Commissaires 
shal  be  redy  to  hiere  thexaminacion  and  receyve  proves  therof  and  where  thai  fele  difficulte  therin 
thay  shall  say  thai  woll  report  it  to  the  Kyng. 

Item  the  saide  Gommissaires  shall  mow  remembre  that  now  late  the  saide  Due  hath  ayenst 
the  tenure  of  the  trewe  ordeigned  that  noone  Englisshe  clothe  wollen  cloth  shuld  be  brought  into 
the  Contrees  of  Holland  Zeland  and  Brabant  to  the  grete  hurt  and  damage  of  the  King  and  his 
subgittes  ayenst  the  trewes  and  olde  frendeship  of  the  saide  Contrees,  and  aske  in  the  Kinges  name 
for  the  saide  hurtes  and  damages  xx.M1  ii.  withoute  particuler  hurtes  and  dammages  of  his  sub- 
gittes, or  suche  a  somme  as  it  shall  be  thoughte  to  thaire  discrecion. 

And  in  this  matier  thay  shall  mowe  calle  to  mynde  that  the  Kyng  divers  tymes  hathe  sent  to  the 
saide  Duchesse  for  revocacion  of  the  saide  ordenaunces,  wherein  she  hath  certified  by  writyng, 
and  peraventure  hir  Ambassatoure  woll  say  the  same  that  the  saide  ordenaunce  was  made  by 
thadvis  wille  or  aggrement  of  the  Marchauntes  of  thestaple  at  Calais  The  Kinges  saide 
Ambassatours  shall  mowe  say  that  it  cannot  so  be  conceyved  but  that  fully  the  Marchauntes 
of  the  saide  estaple  had  never  knowlache  therof  and  so  the  Maire  and  Marchauntes  of  thestaple 
called  before  the  Kinges  Counsaill  answered  that  thai  yave  never  counsail  ne  consented  to  the 
saide  ordenaunces  And  thoughe  it  had  be  so  that  summe  of  the  saide  Marchauntes  for  thcire 
plesure  and  singuler  proufit  wolde  have  desired  suche  a  thing  ayenst  the  commune  wele  the 
King  wold  not  have  supposed  that  the  saide  Duchesse  wolde  have  be  moved  therewith  without  the 
certificacion  of  the  King  And  sithen  that  she  nowe  knoweth  the  King  is  not  nor  may  be 
content  with  so  prejudiciall  a  thing  as  this  is  aswcle  to  him  self  his  subgittes  as  others  he  doubtcth 
not  the  saide  Duchesse  nor  hir  Ambassatours  woll  not  estraunge  theym  to  the  revocacion  therof 
And  remembre  that  the  Duchesse  certified  the  King  by  hir  lettres  that  hir  Ambassatours  sluild 
come  fully  instruit  at  this  tyme  to  Calais  in  the  saide  matier  And  make  request  that  it  be  so  doo. 

Item  thai  shall  mow  calle  to  mynde  that  aswele  in  thappointemcntes  made  afore  this  tyme 
betwix  the  King  and  thaym  of  Holand  Zeland  &c.  as  in  the  trewes  taken  by  my  lord  of  York  in 
the  Kinges  name  with  the  saide  Duchesse  Commissaries  at  Roen  divers  tymes  sithen  prorogcd 
It  is  conteined  expressely  that  alle  marchaundise  shul  frely  have  his  cors  betwix  bothe  parties  with- 
outen  eny  lette  or  distourbaunce. 

Item  the  same  is  also  conteigned  in  the  Trewes  taken  and  yit  enduring  betwix  the  Kyng  and 
his  Oncle  of  Fraunce  in  the  which  the  King  understandeth  the  saide  Duchesse  is  comprised  And 
therefore  not  withouten  cause  the  King  mervailleth  of  the  saide  ordenaunce  so  ayenst  the  saide 
frendships  appointementes  and  also  divers  trewes. 

Item  the  saide  ordenaunce  is  ayenst  the  olde  frendships  and  custume  long  tyme  observed,  for  it 
cannot  be  remembred  but  at  all  tymes  it  hathe  bene  sene  and  used  Englissh  clothe  to  rcsorte  and 
have  his  uttcraunce  in  Holland  Zetland  and  Braband  where  it  is  now  forboden,  like  as  mar- 
chaundiees  of  thos  contrees  ben  frely  uttred  here  upon  thees  groundes  and  such  others  as  shal  be 


454  Instructions  given  by  King  Henry  VI.  to  Edward  Grimston. 

thought  to  the  saidc  Ambassatours  may  serve  therto  thai  shall  gader  as  many  reasons  as  thai  canne 
and  God  woll  yeve  thaym  grace  to  sture  and  moeve  the  Duchesse  Ambassatours  to  the  revocacion 
of  the  saide  ordenaunce  and  prohibicion. 

Item  thai  shall  mowe  say  that  the  nature  of  trewes  woll  and  is  thentente  therof  that  alle 
Marchaundise  shulde  have  his  course  and  Marchauntes  to  have  thcire  communicacion  eche  with 
other,  and  if  so  were  that  an  ordenaunce  myghte  be  made  for  the  stopping  of  oo  maner  of 
marchaundise  In  like  wise  it  myghte  be  extended  to  another  and  so  to  all,  and  by  that  meene 
alle  marchaundise  ceese  and  the  trewe  remayne  of  noon  effect  nor  ease  to  the  subgittes. 

Item  if  it  be  saide  that  this  mater  myghte  be  eased  at  suche  tyme  as  it  shulde  be  spoke  of  the 
reformacion  of  Attcmptates  It  may  be  saide  that  it  is  thought  that  the  saide  ordenaunce  may  not 
be  called  attemptates  nor  conprised  in  the  nature  therof  but  is  directely  enervacion  of  the  Trewe 
and  contrary  therto  and  in  no  wise  reformable  lesse  thanne  it  be  revoked. 

Item  the  saide  Commissaries  shall  remembre  that  the  yerc  of  oure  lorde  a  M'.cccc.xi/v  the  ix  day 
of  April  in  the  Townc  of  Bruges  were  made  and  appointed  betwix  the  Kingis  Commissaries  and  the 
Commissaries  of  the  Contrees  of  Holland  Zelland  and  Friseland  certaine  articles  the  which  the  saide 
Due  hath  approved  ratified  and  confermed  And  amonges  other  thinges  it  was  ordeigned  and 
appointed  that  Englissh  Marchauntes  shuld  have  had  in  recompense  of  theire  hurtcs  and  wronges 
doone  to  thaym  by  men  of  Holland  Zelland  and  Friseland  a  certaine  somme  of  money  to  have  be  paied 
at  certain  daycs  and  if  any  defaute  happed  or  were  in  paiement  therof  or  any  parte  therof,  thanne  it 
shulde  be  la\vfull  to  the  saide  Englissh  marchantes  to  arrest  the  said  Hollanders  Zellanders  and 
Frises  theire  goodis  and  shippcs  and  kepe  thaym  and  alienc  the  saide  goodes  til  the  ful  contentement 
of  the  saidc  sommcs  with  costes  and  damages  after  the  discrecions  of  the  Kinges  Commissaries,  and 
over  that  rcsorte  to  theire  hole  acciones  that  the  saide  Englissh  marchantes  had  before  ayenst  the 
saide  Hollanders  Zellanders  and  Frises  the  which  thinges  more  at  large  appere  in  thappointementes 
made  thereupon  And  sith  it  is  soo  that  the  saide  daies  of  paiement  bene  not  kept  but  that  thai  bene 
past  and  also  diverse  and  many  delayes  desired  by  the  saide  Duchesse,  the  Commissaries  abovcsaide 
shall  aske  and  require  redy  contentement  of  the  saide  sommes  due  with  dammagcs  and  costes 
made  in  that  behalve,  to  the  which  if  that  other  parte  woll  condescende  the  King  is  content  that 
the  saidc  appointcmcntes  remaigne  and  be  observed  as  they  were  accorded. 

And  if  it  be  so  that  other  partie  wol  not  entende  therto  nor  appointe  the  contentement  of  the 
saide  sommc,  the  saide  Commissaries  shal  lat  thaim  wite  in  the  Kinges  behalf  his  wille  is  that 
his  subgittes  have  and  rejoyce  the  benefet  of  the  saide  appointementes  that  was  made  and 
accorded  if  the  money  were  not  paied  at  the  dayes  accorded  And  also  that  thai  be  admitted  to 
have  hool  restitucion  of  the  goodes  take  fro  thaim  after  theffect  of  the  saide  appointementes. 

Item  the  saide  Commissaries  shall  use  tharticlcs_  abovcsaide  with  suche  dircccion  and  circum- 
stances as  God  and  thaire  discrecions  woll  yeve  thaym. 

Item  thai  shall  use  thordre  abovesaide  if  it  shal  be  thoughte  to  thaym  so  expedient,  or  elles  oon 
Article  before  another  as  it  shal  be  thoughte  to  thaire  discrccion  moost  neccssarie  and  behovefull. 
In  witnesse  whereof  to  this  present  Instruccion  the  King  oure  saide  souvcrain  lorde  hath  do  be 
put  his  greet  and  prive  scales.  Yeven  at  Westmenster  the  xxviij  day  of  May  the  yere  of  the  regne 

of  the  same  oure  souverain  lorde  xxvij. 

FRANCIS 

MOND. 


Notes  on  Edward  Grimston,  Esq.  Ambassador  to  the  Duchess  of  Burgundy. 
By  A.  "W.  FRANKS,  Esq.,  Director. 


IT  may  be  of  interest  to  the  Society  to  collect  together  such  notices  as  occur  of 
Edward  Grimston,  the  ambassador  to  the  Duchess  of  Burgundy,  and  the  person 
represented  in  the  interesting  portrait  by  Peter  Christus. 

By  the  kindness  of  the  Earl  of  Verulam,  I  have  been  able  to  make  use  of 
variqus  documents,  apparently  unpublished,  which  assist  in  throwing  some  light 
on  the  ambassador's  history. 

The  family  of  Grimston,  of  Grimston  in  Holderness,  was  of  great  antiquity, 
and  claims  descent  from  Sylvester  de  Grimston,  standard-bearer  to  William  the 
Conqueror  at  the  Battle  of  Hastings.  The  name  does  not  however  appear  in 
the  Roll  of  Battle  Abbey.  Edward  Grimston,  as  shown  by  a  document  printed 
below,  claimed  to  bear  the  arms  which  had  been  borne  by  his  ancestors  for  400 
years,  which  would  carry  them  back  even  before  the  Conquest. 

The  Grimstons  of  Grimston,  or  Grimston  Garth,  in  Holderness,  it  may  be 
stated,  bore  the  arms,  Arg.  on  a  fesse  sa.  three  mullets  pierced  or.  The  subject 
of  our  notice  and  his  descendants,  being  a  junior  branch,  differenced  the  coat  by 
the  addition  of  an  ermine  spot  sa.,  and  in  this  form  the  arms  appear  both  on  the 
front  and  back  of  the  portrait.  The  coat  in  its  undifferenced  state  is  given  in 
the  Roll  of  Arms  temp.  Richard  II.  as  borne  by  Gerard  de  Grymston,  probably 
the  person  called  in  the  pedigrees  Sir  Gervaise  Grimston  of  Grimston,  who 
died  without  issue.  He  was  succeeded  by  his  brother  Walter,  whose  son  Wil- 
liam Grimston  of  Grimston,  had  three  sons  :  from  the  eldest  of  them,  Thomas, 
descend  the  Grimstons  of  Grimston. 

The  second  son,  Robert,  seems  to  have  settled  in  Suffolk  during  the  reign  of 
Henry  V. ;  he  married  a  daughter  of  Sir  Anthony  Spilman,  of  Suffolk,  which 
match  is  said  to  have  been  the  cause  of  his  removing  to  that  county."  There  was, 
however,  an  early  connection  with  the  De  la  Poles,  who,  starting  from  Hull,  had 
acquired  lands  in  Norfolk  and  Suffolk.  The  Grimstons  living  in  Holderness  may 
have  had  transactions  with  the  wealthy  merchants  of  Hull,  and  in  the  16th  of 
Richard  II.  we  find  that  Gerard  de  Grimston  had  given  a  bond  for  £50  to  Sir 
Michael  de  la  Pole.b 

The  son  of  Robert  Grimston  was  Edward  Grimston,  the  subject  of  this  notice. 
Either  he  or  his  father  may  have  adopted  the  difference  of  an  ermine  spot  in 

*  Reyce,  in  a  manuscript  pedigree,  gives  1421  as  the  date  of  the  settling  in  Suffolk. 
b  Kal.  and  Inv.  Exch.  ii.  p.  45. 


456  Notes  on  Edicard  Grimston,  Esq. 

their  coat  of  arms ;  and,  as  we  find  two  coats  ascribed  to  the  name  of  Spilman  or 
Spelman  in  which  ermine  charges  occur,  it  is  not  impossible  that  the  ermine 
spot  may  have  been  derived  from  that  source. 

Edward  Grimston  is  described  as  of  Rishangles  in  Suffolk,  in  which  parish  it 
may  be  mentioned  that  the  De  la  Poles  held  a  knight's  fee,  and  from  a  document 
which  will  be  hereafter  noticed  it  would  appear  that  he  had  been  in  the  service 
of  the  Earl  of  Suffolk  during  the  minority  of  Henry  VI.  that  is  before  1442. 

The  first  notice  of  him  that  I  have  found  in  the  public  documents  is  in  1441. 
On  the  25th  November,  20  Henry  VI.  (1441),  a  warrant  was  issued  to  the 
treasurer  and  chamberlains  to  pay  to  Stephen  Wilton,  Doctor  of  Laws,  "  which 
goeth  in  the  King's  service  to  the  Duchess  of  Burgundy  and  others,"  c.  marcs. 
A  similar  warrant  was  issued  to  pay  Edward  Grymston  and  William  Port,  to 
cither  of  them  £20,  as  a  reward  to  go  "  in  the  said  message  with  the  said  Master 
Stephen."  Three  days  afterwards  however  it  appears  that  William  Port  was 
indisposed  to  go,  and  the  sum  to  be  paid  to  him  was  ordered  to  be  divided 
between  AVilton  and  Grimston,  20  marcs  to  the  former,  and  10  marcs  to  the 
latter." 

The  mission  to  the  Duchess  of  Burgundy  was  no  doubt  connected  with  the 
commercial  treaties  between  England  and  Flanders.  The  great  importance  of  an 
unrestricted  trade  between  the  two  countries  had  led  to  a  number  of  truces  and 
treaties,  infringed  from  time  to  time  by  the  misconduct  of  the  merchants  of  one 
or  other  country,  or  temporarily  suspended  by  wars  between  the  rulers  of  the  two 
countries.  So  important  however  was  the  commerce  to  both  parties  that  we 
occasionally  find  that  a  provision  was  made  for  the  continuance  of  commercial 
intercourse,  even  though  the  rulers  of  the  countries  should  be  at  war. 

The  Duke  of  Burgundy  had  been  on  the  side  o£  England;  but,  in  1435,  annoyed 
with  the  second  marriage  of  his  brother-in-law  the  Duke  of  Bedford,  and  other 
causes,  he  concluded  the  treaty  of  Arras  with  France.  This  greatly  exasperated 
the  English,  who,  as  a  reprisal,  went  so  far  as  to  put  to  death  some  of  the 
merchants  from  the  Low  Countries  then  in  London. b  The  English  took  Ardres 
and  the  Burgundians  Crotoy.  The  injury  however  which  ensued  to  the  commerce 
of  Flanders  induced  the  Duchess  of  Burgundy  to  write  to  her  cousin,  the  King  of 
England,  to  ask  that  commercial  intercouse  might  be  renewed.  Commissioners 
were  appointed  on  each  side/  and  a  treaty  for  commercial  intercourse  was  con- 
cluded for  three  years  at  Calais  in  1439,  to  terminate  November  1,  1442. d 

a  Nicolas,  Proc.  Privy  Council,  v.  169,  176.  b  Paradin,  Annales  de  Bourgogne,  p.  768. 

£_c  Rytner,  x.  713.  d  Rymer,  x.  736. 


Notes  on  Edward  Grimston,  Esq.  457 

In  1440,  Wilton  and  Chyrch  went  to  Bruges  to  settle  the  claims  of  damages 
made  on  either  side  since  the  treaty  of  Arras  ;  this  they  completed  on  the  17th 
June,  1440,  and  their  award  was  confirmed  by  the  King,  12th  July  following.* 

In  January  1444,  the  Earl  of  Suffolk  and  other  Commissioners  met  at  Tours  to 
negotiate  a  truce  with  Trance  as  a  preliminary  to  a  peace,  in  consequence  of  the 
proposed  marriage  of  Henry  VI.  with  Margaret  of  Anjou.  The  truce  was  signed 
May  28,  1444,  and  the  Earl  of  Suffolk,  having  been  created  a  Marquess,  was 
authorised  to  espouse  the  Princess  of  Anjou  as  proxy  for  the  King.  The  espousals 
were  celebrated  at  Nancy,  and  the  Queen  arrived  April  9,  1445.  Edward  Grimston 
seems  to  have  been  connected  with  this  business,  as  on  the  17th  of  the  previous 
August  a  payment  of  146Z.  13s.  M.  was  made  from  the  Exchequer  to  the  Marquess 
of  Suffolk,  who,  by  the  King's  command,  proceeded  abroad  to  bring  over  and  safely 
conduct  the  Queen  to  the  King's  presence,  "  in  money  paid  to  him  by  the  hands 
of  Edward  Grymeston  in  part  payment  of  his  wages  of  4£.  10s.  a  day  for  two  months 
for  going  upon  the  business  aforesaid.""  Grimston  was  likewise  employed  to  pay 
sums  to  two  minstrels  of  the  Duke  of  Milan,  and  to  John  de  Surenceurt,  an 
esquire  of  Rene*  of  Anjou,  who  had  come  to  the  Queen's  coronation.0 

It  is  probable  that  in  recompense  of  his  various  services,  and  also  perhaps  by 
the  favour  of  the  Earl  of  Suffolk,  Grimston  obtained  on  the  8th  September,  1445, 
from  the  King,  in  conjunction  with  John  Lampet,  Lieutenant  of  Avranches,  the 
reversion  of  the  "Ward  and  Captaincy  of  the  castle  of  Valoignes  in  Normandy. 
The  original  grant  is  in  the  possession  of  the  Earl  of  Verulam,  and  runs  as 
follows  :  — 

Henry  par  la  grace  de  dieu  Eoy  de  franco  et  dangleterre  a  tons  ceulx  qui  ces  presentes  lettres 
verront  salut.  Comme  des  se  tiers  jour  du  mois  davril  derniers  passe  pour  consideracion  des  bons  et 
aggreables  seruices  que  nous  a  fais  de  long  temps  ov  fait  de  nos  gueures  nostre  ame  et  feal  escuier 
Jehan  Lampet  lieutenant  a  Avranches  et  confians  de  ses  sens  loyalte  diligence  et  bonne  experience 
nous  lui  eussions  done  et  ottroye  a  terme  de  sa  vie  la  garde  et  capitainnerie  de  nostre  chastel  de 
Valoingnes  vacans  lors  comme  len  disoit  par  la  mort  de  Jehan  de  Robessarf1  lainsne  chevalier  et 
depuis  avons  eu  congnoissance  quil  estoit  encore  en  vie  par  quoy  le  don  que  en  avions  fait  au  dit 
Jehan  Lampet  na  aucunement  sorti  son  effect  Et  pur  ce  nous  ayans  en  memoire  icelui  don  du 
quel  ne  voulons  estre  frustre  icelui  escuier  mais  icelui  valoir  en  temps  et  en  lieu  Savoir  faisons 
que  pour  les  causes  devant  dictes  et  consideracions  des  bons  et  loyaulx  services  que  Edward 
Grymeston  escuier  nous  a  faij  depieca  des  nostre  jeune  aage  en  la  compaignie  de  nostre  treschier  et 


»  Rymer,  x.  791.  b  Devon)  issues,  p.  443.  c  /$,#.  p.  452. 

d  In  1432  Thierry  de  Robessart  was  captain  of  garrison  at  Saint-  Sauveur-le-Vicomte.    Joursanvault 
Papers,  p.  227. 

In  1433  Jehan  de  Robessart  was  captain  of  garrison  at  Caudebec.     Ibid.  p.  228. 
VOL.  XL.  3  N 


458  Notes  on  Edward  Grimston,  Esq. 

tresame  cousin  le  marquis  conte  de  Suffolk  grant  maistre  de  nostre  hostel  si  comme  encore  fait  un 
chascun  jour  A  iceulx  Jehan  Lampet  et  Edward  ensemble  et  au  seurvivant  deulx  deux  avons  donne 
et  ottroye  donnons  et  ottroyons  de  grace  especial  par  ces  presentes  icelui  office  de  garde  et  capitain- 
nerie  de  nostre  chastel  de  Valoingnes  que  a  tenu  et  tient  de  present  le  dit  Jehan  de  Roberssart  pour 
en  joir  par  les  dessusdis  et  survivant  diceulx  a  terme  de  la  vie  deulx  deux  et  dun  chascun  deulx 
comme  dit  est  tantost  apres  le  trespas  du  dit  Jehan  de  Roberssart  aux  gaiges  droiz  franchises 
prouffiz  et  emolumens  acoustumej  Et  ainsi  et  par  la  forme  et  maniere  que  en  a  joy  et  joist  encore 
icelui  de  Robessart  Et  avec  ce  a  telle  charge  et  retenue  de  lances  et  darchiers  qui  par  nous  ou 
no}  lieuxtenants  ou  commis  leur  sera  selon  les  temps  ordonnee  Pourveu  que  les  dessusdits  Jehan 
Lampet  et  Edward  ne  prendront  ne  auront  de  nous  tous  deux  autres  gaiges  pour  raison  dudit 
office  de  garde  et  capitainnerie  quil  est  acoustume  Et  donnons  en  mandement  au  bailli  de 
Cotentin  on  a  son  lieutenant  que  prins  et  receu  des  dis  Jehan  Lampet  et  Edward  et  dun  chascun 
deulx  le  serment  en  tel  cas  acoustume  il  les  mette  et  institue  ou  face  mettre  et  instituer  de  par  nous 
en  possession  et  saisine  du  dit  office  et  dicelui  ensemble  des  droiz  gaiges  franchises  prouffiz  et 
emolumens  dessus  dits  et  au  dit  office  appartenants  les  facent  seuffrent  et  laissent  joir  et  user 
plainnement  et  paisiblement  par  la  maniere  dessusdit  et  a  eulx  deux  a  chacun  deulx  obeir  et 
entendre  par  tous  ceulx  quil  appartendra  es  choses  touchans  et  regardans  icelui  office  en  leur 
faisant  iceulx  gaiges  paier  baillicr  et  delivrer  par  ceulx  quil  appartendra  et  qui  les  ont  acoustume 
de  paier  aux  termes  et  en  la  forme  et  maniere  acoustumez  Lesquelj  ainsi  paiez  nous  voulons  par 
rapportant  avec  ces  presentes  ou  le  vidimus  dicelles  fait  soubz  seel  royal  ensemble  quietances  des 
dessusdit  Jehan  Lampet  et  Edward  ou  de  lun  deulx  pour  lautre  estre  allouez  es  comptes  et 
rabatuz  de  la  recepte  de  celui  ou  ceulx  qui  paiez  les  aura  ou  auront  par  noz  amez  et  feaulx  les  gens 
de  nos  comptes  a  Rouen  Aux  quelx  nous  mandons  et  commandons  que  ainsi  le  facent  sans 
contredit  ou  difficulte  aucune  En  tesmoing  de  ce  nous  avons  fait  mettre  nostre  seel  a  ces  presentes. 
Donne  en  nostre  chastel  de  Wyndesore  le  viijme  jour  de  Septembre  Ian  de  grace  mil  cccc  quarante 
cinq  et  dc  nostre  regne  le  xxiijmc. 

Par  le  Roy.  monsieur  le  marquis  Conte  de  Sulffolk,  messire  Emond  Hunguerfford,  et  autres 
presens. — JE.  RIVEL. 

Attached  to  a  wide  parchment  label  a  fragment  of  a  seal  of  white  wax,  apparently  the  counter- 
seal  of  the  French  great  seal  of  Henry  VI.  representing  an  angel  holding  two  sceptres  and  the 
shield  with  the  arms  of  France  and  England.8 

We  next  find  Grimston  once  more  employed  in  a  mission  to  Burgundy,  and  at 
a  time  that  is  of  some  interest,  as  being  that  of  the  date  on  the  portrait  by  Peter 
Christus.  (PI.  XXVI.) 

The  treaty  for  commercial  intercourse  with  Flanders  had  been  made  for  three 
years  in  1439  ;b  and  December  24, 1439,  ambassadors  were  appointed  (including 
Stephen  Wilton)  to  meet  the  envoys  of  Flanders  for  the  prolongation  of  the  treaty, 

"  Engraved  in  Trcsor  de  Numismatique  et  de  Glyptique,  Sceaux  des  Rois  de  France,  pi.  xi.  fig.  3. 

b  Eymer,  x.  736. 


. 


EDWARD     G  R  IMSTO  N,  144-6  . 
from    thf    origin  •>/     Pvrtr-uit     n  I      Go 


,PlXXVnp459. 


ARMS  OF  EDWARD  GRIMSTON  AND  SIGNATURE  OF  ARTIST. 


Notes  on  Edward  Grimston,  Esq.  459 

•which  was  done  for  five  years,"  so  as  to  expire  1st  November,  1447.  In  1446  a 
meeting  was  held  at  Calais,  and  on  the  4th  August  the  treaty  was  renewed  for 
twelve  years,  so  as  to  expire  1st  November,  1459." 

This  however  controlled  more  especially  the  commercial  intercourse  between 
the  two  countries.  In  1443,  the  Duchess  of  Burgundy,  having  received  full 
powers  from  her  husband,  concluded  with  the  Duke  of  York,  Lieutenant  and 
Governor-general  for  the  King  of  England  beyond  the  seas,  a  truce,  from  which 
either  party  could  only  recede  by  giving  three  months'  notice.0  The  letters  patent 
of  the  Duchess  are  dated  23rd  April,  1443.  On  the  1st  of  February,  1446,  letters 
of  safe-conduct"  were  given  by  Henry  VI.  to  John  de  Luxembourg,  Bastard  of 
St.  Pol  and  lord  of  Halburdyn,  and  his  company,  who  had  probably  come  on  the 
business  of  the  treaty.  The  truce  was  accordingly  renewed,  as  appears  by  the 
Duchess  of  Burgundy's  declaration,  dated  at  Brussels  12th  July,  1446,  and  by  the 
renewal,  each  party  was  to  give  one  year's  notice  before  abandoning  the  truce. 
On  the  14th  July  the  King  issued  his  letters  patent,  reciting  the  fact  of  the  new 
treaty  recently  concluded,  and  appointing  Master  Thomas  Kent,  doctor  of  laws 
and  clerk  of  the  Council,  and  Edward  Grymeston  "  ad  tradendum  et  deliberandum 
dictas  literas  nostras  una  cum  aliis  ejusdem  datse  facta  dictarum  abstinentiarum 
tangentibus  praefatoe  consanguinese  nostrse  vel  potestatem  sufficientem  in  ea  parte 
habentibus  vel  habenti  Recipiendo  literas  super  ipsis  abstinentiis  confectas  sub 
sigillo  ejusdem  nostrse  consanguine®  continentes  tenorem  de  verbo  ad  verbum 
ejusdem  sedulse  signatze  per  Dominum  Johannem  Luxembourg  Militena  Bas- 
tardum  Sancti  Pauli  et  dominum  de  Habourdyn."" 

It  is  therefore  probable  that  Kent  and  Grimston  went  to  Brussels,  where  the 
Duchess  then  was,  and  it  is  possible  that  it  was  in  that  city  that  the  portrait  was 
painted  by  Peter  Christus. 

On  the  14th  May,  1447,  the  Duchess  of  Burgundy  issued  her  letters  patent/  in 
which,  after  reciting  the  treaty  of  the  Duke  of  York,  and  stating  that  she  has 
lately  had  speech  with  some  servants  and  subjects  of  the  King  of  England,  "  lors 
estans  pardevers  nous,"  she  appointed  the  Bastard  of  St.  Pol  and  Master  Holland 
Pippe  to  communicate  with  the  King  of  England  or  his  officers.  The  truce  was 
then  prolonged  for  four  years. 

In  December  1447,  we  find  on  the  Issue  Roll  notice  of  a  payment  to  Francis 
1'Arragonois,  lately  made  knight  of  the  garter,  made  to  him  by  the  hands  of 
Hennage,  servant  of  Edward  Grimston,  as  a  gift  from  the  King  to  discharge  the 

•  Rymer,  x.  750.  i>  Ibid.  xi.  140.  °  Ibid.  xi.  24. 

"  Ibid.  xi.  110.  o  Ibid.  xi.  138.  '  Ibid.  xi.  171. 

3N2 


4GO  Notes  on  Edward  Grimston,  Esq. 

fee  due  by  him  as  K.G.  to  St.  George's  Chapel."  This  was  Sir  Francis  de  Surienne, 
commonly  called  the  Arragonese,  who  was  elected  K.G.  on  the  27th  November, 
1447,  and  installed  8th  December  following. 

In  consequence  of  infractions  of  the  truce  between  France  and  England  and 
between  England  and  the  Duchess  of  Burgundy,  the  King  of  England  appointed 
on  the  25th  October,  1448,  as  ambassadors  Sir  Humphrey  Stafford,  Sir  John 
Mareney  knight,  Master  Robert  Stillington  and  Master  Richard  Wetton  doctors 
of  law,  together  with  "William  Pirton  and  John  Wodehous  esquires,  to  meet  at 
Calais,  or  any  other  convenient  spot,  in  order  to  see  to  the  correction,  punish- 
ment, reparation,  and  reformation  of  these  infractions,  and  to  require  and  obtain 
the  same  from  the  other  sides ;  this  was  to  be  done  "  sine  strep itu  et  figura  judicii," 
by  consent  of  both  parties." 

The  meeting  was  held  at  Calais  in  November  1448,  and  prorogued  to  the 
4th  May,  1449 ;  the  ambassadors  of  the  Duchess  were  the  Bastard  of  St.  Pol, 
Henry  Uttenhove,  and  John  Postel/ 

This  brings  us  to  the  year  1449,  the  date  of  the  instructions  printed  above. 
From  the  proceedings  of  the  Privy  Council"1  it  would  appear  that  on  the  17th 
March,  27  Henry  VI.  (1449),  William  Pirton,  lieutenant  of  Guines,  and  Edward 
Grymeston  received  instructions  to  go  to  the  Duchess  of  Burgundy  and  with  due 
reverence  remonstrate  at  the  prohibition  of  the  introduction  of  English  cloth ; 
and,  after  reminding  her  of  the  King's  negociations  with  "  they  of  Holland  and 
Zealand,"  and  the  truce  for  free  intercourse  concluded  at  Rouen  by  the  Duke  of 
York,  and  the  truce  between  England  and  France,  in  which  the  Duchess  is  com- 
prised, they  are  to  state  that  the  ordinance  cannot  be  considered  a  restitution  of 
attemptates.  The  instructions  then  go  on  as  follows  : — 

"  As  the  King  has  now  called  the  third  estates  of  his  land  and  they  be 
assembled  at  the  city  of  London  for  his  Parliament,"  the  said  third  estates  have 
piteously  complained  upon  the  said  ordinance,  and  besought  the  King  that  he 
would  ordain,  if  the  said  ordinance  were  not  put  aside  without  delay,  that  no 
merchandise  of  the  said  countries  should  be  received  or  attempted  in  this  land, 
but  be  forfeited  in  case  it  be  brought  hither,  and  so  they  beseech  the  King  to 
require  the  said  Duchess  to  put  aside  the  ordinance. 

"  Inasmuch  as  there  is  a  report  of  arms  at  St.  Omer  and  concourse  of  people, 
and  as  divers  habiliments  of  war  have  been  ordained  and  made  in  divers  places 
of  that  obeissance,  the  said  ambassadors  shall  move  of  their  own  selfe,  speak  and 

11  Devon,  Issues,  p.  4CO.  b  Rymer,  xi.  218.  c  Ibid.  xi.  220. 

d  Nicolas,  Trocedings  of  the  Privy  Council,  vi.  69.  e  Rot.  Parl.  v.  150,  151. 


Notes  on  Edward  Grimston,  Esq.  461 

commune  upon  this  matter,  and  feel  by  all  means  they  can  to  what  intent  the 
said  things  he  ordained,  for  the  noise  and  renown  is  that  under  the  said  colour 
divers  enterprizes  be  imagined  and  taken  in  hand." 

There  are  some  further  instructions  which  terminate  with  the  statement  that 
if  the  Duchess  "will  ordain  and  depute  her  people,  as  well  for  the  quatre 
membres  as  other,  to  have  communication  upon  the  said  matters,  the  King  will 
be  ready  also  to  ordain  his  commissaries." 

Pirton  and  Grymeston  are  not  here  called  ambassadors,  but  were  rather 
accredited  messengers. 

In  consequence  probably  of  the  Duchess  having  agreed  to  treat,  Sir  John 
Marney,  Kent,  Pirton,  Grimston,  and  Wodehouse,  were  appointed  ambassadors, 
commissioners,  procurators,  and  special  messengers,  to  arrange  the  quarrels  "  sine 
strepitu  et  flgura  judicii.""  The  instructions  they  received  are  printed  above. 

On  the  28th  July  the  King  appointed  no  less  than  fifteen  persons,  the  chief  of 
whom  were  Lord  Dudley,  Thomas  Kent,  and  Thomas  Thirland,  as  ambassadors  to 
treat  for  commercial  intercourse,  and  especially  concerning  the  sale  of  wools  and 
fleeces,  and  at  the  same  time  Lord  Dudley  and  Thomas  Kent  were  appointed 
ambassadors  to  treat  concerning  the  reparation  of  infractions  of  the  truce. 

In  these  appointments  the  name  of  Edward  Grimston  is  not  mentioned,  and 
it  is  probable  that  he  was  otherwise  engaged,  having  been  sent  from  the  King  of 
England  to  the  King  of  France.  The  relations  between  the  two  monarchs  had 
become  very  unsettled  in  consequence  of  the  taking  of  Fougeres  by  the  English 
under  Sir  Francis  de  Surienne.  That  Grimston  was  sent  to  the  King  of 

o 

France  about  this  time  appears  from  the  answer  made  by  the  Duke  of  Burgundy 
on  the  24th  July,  1449,  to  Charles  VII.  who  had  sent  ambassadors  to  the  Duke 
to  ask  his  advice  as  to  how  the  King  should  act  towards  the  English,  they  having 
broken  the  truce.b 

The  Duke  says  that  the  ambassadors  have  told  him  "  quo  puis  nagaires  le  roy 
avoit  recues  lettres  de  son  nepveu  dangleterre  contenant  creancc  sur  Edouart 
Grimeston  et  aussi  plusieurs  lettres  de  due  de  Sombreset,"  &c. 

The  subject  of  Grimston's  mission  is  not  given,  but  it  seems  to  have  been 
unfortunate  as  affecting  his  subsequent  career,  for  we  do  not  find  him  again 
employed  in  diplomatic  affairs.  He  was  about  also  to  lose  his  patron  the  Duke 
of  Suffolk,  who,  after  being  impeached  by  Parliament,  committed  to  the  Tower, 

»  Rymer,  xi.  229. 

b  Reply  of  the  Duke  of  Burgundy  to  the  Ambassadors  of  Charles  the  Seventh,  King  of  France.  Stevenson, 
Wars  of  the  English  in  France,  i.  2C4. 


462  Notes  on  Edward  Grim$ton,  Esq. 

• 

and  released,  was  miserably  put  to  death  in  a  boat  in  Dover  Roads,  May  2nd, 
1450.  After  the  Duke's  death,  the  Commons  assembled  in  Parliament  presented 
a  petition  for  the  removal  of  certain  persons  from  the  King's  presence ;  among 
them  are  the  Duke  of  Somerset,  the  widowed  Duchess  of  Suffolk,  the  Bishop  of 
Chester,  Lord  Dudley,  and  various  other  persons  including  "  Edwarde  Grymston, 
late  of  London,  squier,"  and  begging  that  they  may  not  receive  any  of  their 
salaries  from  1st  December,  1450."  It  is  probably  to  this  time  that  may  be  re- 
ferred a  curious  petition  in  Grimston's  own  hand,  of  which  the  original  is 
preserved  among  the  records  of  the  Earl  of  Verulam,  and  which  may  therefore 
never  have  been  presented.  It  is  in  the  following  words  : — 

To  the  Kinge  our  sovereign  lorde. 

Moste  Cristien  prince  and  oure  aller  moste  dradde  sovereign  lord,  I  your  humble  true  liegeman 
Edward  Grymeston,  constrcigncd  of  necessite  at  this  tyme  to  withdrawe  my  pouere  pereone  for 
drede  of  pcrsones  that  bene  hasty  and  hote  and  list  not  to  knowe  nor  undirstande  the  trouthe  of  my 
desertes,  and  not  for  none  offence  that  ever  I  dydd  seid  laboured  or  was  knowynge  of  yn  wille 
thought  or  ymaginacion  ayenst  the  weelez  of  youre  moste  noble  persone  or  of  your  Realme  yn  any 
wise,  Beseche  humbly  your  Roialle  mageste  that  for  my  true  acquitell  unto  youre  highenes  ye  like 
to  foryiffe  me,  Allethougli  I  enhardie  me  by  wey  of  meke  supplicacion  to  write  for  my  trouthe  and 
declaracion  unto  youre  gretc  rightwosnes,  By  the  whiche  as  lowly  as  ever  didd  true  liegeman  I 
beseche  youre  grace  that  my  mcrittes  may  truely  be  undirstande  knowen  and  so  pupblisshed  & 
shewed  unto  the  gcncrallte  of  this  your  highe  court  of  parlement,  To  the  whiche  I  crye  and 
beseche  our  mercyfull  lord  that  alle  knoweth  that  aftir  my  true  menynge  rightewosly  undirstande 
I  may  have  that  I  have  deserved  and  none  othirwise.     And  for  as  muche  as  I  am  enformed  that 
by  my  goinge  divcrsez  tymes  over  the  see  by  the  highe  commaundement  and  ordenaunce  of  you 
sovereign  lorde  and  of  youre  fulle  noble  counceille,  and  specially  yn  this  my  laste  viaigc  unto 
youre  uncle  and  adversaire  of  Fraunce,  in  the  conceites  of  murmureux  and  misunderstandinge 
persone}  I  am  noyssed  and  disclaundred  with  gretc  blame  and  charge  that  I  shulde  receive  on  that 
partie  grete  and  excessive  somme}  of  goode,  And  ys  supposed  that  I  shulde  labour  knowe  and  be 
assentinge  to  thinges  that  shulde  be  hurt  and  preiudice  to  you  sovereign  lord  and  youre  Realme} 
as  yt  ys  scid,  that  godd  dcfcnde,  In  the  whiche  viage}  moste  dradde  sovereign  lord  and  yn  everich 
of  theme  by  the  fcithe  and  liegeaunce  I  owe  to  you  and  ever  shalle  I  have  allewey  done  my  true 
parte  laboure  and  devoire  aftir  myn  instruccions  yeffen  me  by  thadvise  of  your  noble  and  true 
counceille  to  execute  and  fullefille  the  charge}  and  commaundmcnt  that  I  have  haddc,  And  therof 
allwcy  made  my  feithefulle  and  true  Reportes  to  my  lordes  of  your  counceille,  And  yn  esspecialle 
of  this  last  right  costagcux  and  aventreux  vlage  that  I  went  unto  youre  seid  uncle  and  adversarie  by 
their  allers  ordeignnaunce  and  commaundement  sore  nyenst  my  wille  saving  for  youre  highe  dis- 
plesaunce  and  their  allers  so  as  of  recorde  I  profved  grete  part  of  my  pouer  goode  to  have  bene 
discharged  thereof  at  tyme  and  couthe  not,  The  whiche  seid  viage  I  toke  upon  me  and  fullfilled 
my  charga  to  my  grete  coste  and  laboure.     And  yn  grete  aventure  and  daunger  of  my  lyffe  as  yt 

»  Camden  Society,  Trevelyan  Papers,  i.  60. 


Notes  on  JZdtcard  Grimston,  Esq.  463 

ys  welle  knowen,  And  alle  the  convey  of  my  seid  viage  as  welle  the  reporte  and  declaracion  alle 
alange  in  what  time3  I  spake  unto  youre  seid  uncle  and  what  answers  he  yaffe  me  as  of  alle  the 
demaundes  answers  and  comunicacions  that  I  hadde  yn  any  wise  with  him  or  his  counceille  word 
for  word  as  ferforthe  as  I  couthe  thinke  or  ymagine  dayly  and  yn  continent  I  wrote  theme  forth- 
with of  myn  own  hande  to  that  ende  that  so  myn  othir  charge}  that  by  the  ordenaunces  and 
commaundementes  before  seid  I  hadde  to  the  Duchesse  of  Bourgne  I  myght  the  rather  and  more 
spedely  sende  yt  over  to  my  lordes  of  youre  counceille  withouten  delaye  than  to  have  abyden 
the  lengthe  of  my  comynge,  So  that  by  their  highe  wisdome  thei  might  the  more  hastely 
provide  for  the  remedies  of  that  thereby  mighte  be  undirstande  was  amys,  And  also  that  for 
my  true  acquitille  the  seid  Reporte  so  writen  of  myn  own  hande  might  remaigne  of  recorde, 
the  whiche  by  grete  parte  of  my  seid  lordes  was  redde  over  alle  alange  and  welle  noted 
and  examyned  as  I  trowe  thei  bene  yitt  remembred,  Of  the  which  services  at  my  commyng 
home  my  lordes  alle  yaffe  me  a  grete  laudc  and  thanke  etc.  And  yn  as  muche,  moste 
gracieux  sovereigne  lord,  as  I  wote  not  whedir  ye  be  remembred  and  have  true  knowlege 
of  my  seid  declaracion  I  therefore  presume  and  eraboldisshe  me  upon  your  grace  and  benignite 
herewith  to  sende  the  same  propre  declaracion  so  writen  of  my  pouere  hande  unto  your  highencs, 
Besiching  humbly  youre  moste  royalle  persone  that  of  youre  grace  and  pitee  ye  like  to  undir- 
stande the  trouthe  of  my  true  service  and  menynge,  And  that  ye  like  of  your  grate  rightewosncs  to 
commaunde  and  ordeigne  yt  to  be  showdc  and  redde  with  this  humble  request  unto  the  lordes  and 
communs  beinge  now  assembled  yn  this  youre  highe  court  of  parlement,  And  yiff  there  be  any 
erthely  man  what  so  ever  he  be  that  particulerly  wille  say  or  charge  me  with  the  receit  of  any 
manere  of  goode  on  that  partie  othir  than  I  have  certified  un  to  my  lordes  of  your  seid  counceille 
that  your  seid  uncle  and  my  lord  of  Somersett  yaffe  me  at  my  departingc  Or  ferthermore  wille 
sey  that  I  laboured  spake  procured  or  by  any  mene  was  prive  or  hadde  communicacion  of  any  otliir 
matere  on  the  Franche  partie  other  then  by  the  seid  declaracion  I  have  truely  writen  as  I  couthe 
and  at  all  tyme}  as  welle  hereof  as  of  myn  othir  charge}  for  you  sovereign  lord  yn  alle  wise  made 
my  true  reporte  unto  my  lordes  of  your  counceille  Or  that  sithens  I  was  borne  ynto  this  worlde  yn 
that  viage  or  any  othir  I  ever  was  willinge  knowinge  and  assentingc  to  any  thinge  that  might 
rightwosly  soune  or  be  taken  to  any  manere  hurt  or  preiudice  of  you  moste  gracieux  sovereigne 
lord  or  of  youre  lande  yn  any  wise  to  myn  understanddinge.  Whensoever  I  may  here  or  have 
knowlege  of  any  suche  particulere  persone  and  that  yt  like  your  highencs  that  I  may  be  herde  and 
standc  yn  suerte  of  my  pouer  persone  from  the  rigcure  of  persones  withoute  cause  or  reson  evillc 
disposed  and  advysed  undir  the  proteccion  of  cure  mercyfulle  lord  and  of  your  grete  rightewosnes 
I  shalle  not  faille  with  youre  noble  leve  as  welle  for  my  true  liegeaunce  as  for  the  pouere  worshippe 
of  the  blodc  that  I  am  common  of  beringe  the  same  name  and  armes  that  I  doo  more  than  cccc 
yeres  as  y t  may  be  proved,  to  comme  and  offre  my  body  as  youre  true  liegeman  openly  to  prove  and 
make  goode  the  contrarie  upon  any  suche  persone  that  so  wille  or  darrc  charge  me  yn  suche  wise  as 
ye  wille  yiff  me  leve  and  as  the  case  shalle  require.  Besechinge  therefore  you  of  youre  most  ample 
and  spcciall  grace  and  semblably  the  goode  wille  of  all  that  shalle  here  this  humble  request  to  accept 
my  true  feithc  and  liegeaunce  to  you  wardes  that  with  the  grete  mercy  of  oure  lordc  shall  never 
faille,  And  that  by  the  socourc  and  rclecffe  of  your  grete  pitee  and  rightewosnes  and  your  peoples 


464 


Notes  on  Echcard  Grimston,  Esq. 


true  undirstandinge  I  your  true  humble  subgette  that  wyllingly  never  trespassed  to  man  on  lyve 
but  entended  allewey  my  true  service  be  not  thus  unrightwosly  blamed  nor  withoute  desert  putt 
yn  drede  disclaundre  and  noyse  to  myne  uttermoste  reprooffe  and  undoinge.  And  that  this  myn 
humble  and  meke  supplicacion  and  desire  of  iustice  conceived  and  writcn  of  myn  owne  hande 
withouten  advise  or  counceille  save  of  godd  and  of  my  true  menynge  for  my  true  acquitaille  may  be 
taken  aftir  my  playne  and  uncolured  writing  at  alle  tymes.  And  so  to  be  understande  pubblys- 
shed  and  yiff  yt  like  your  grace  enacted  yn  this  present  parlement  at  the  reverence  of  godd  and  yn 
the  wey  of  charite. 

And  for  as  much  as  for  the  causes  beforeseyd  and  othir  of  goddes  visitacion  I  nethir  darre  nor 
may  comme  to  your  highenes  at  this  tyme  yn  my  persone  And  that  to  the  peoples  undcrstandinge 
this  shulde  not  be  thoughte  no  feyned  supplicacion  the  more  largely  to  verefie  and  to  bynde  me  to 
that  ys  before  writen  I  therfore  feirfully  have  taken  upon  me  undir  the  proteccion  of  youre  highe 
magnificence  to  signe  this  with  myn  hande  and  with  the  pouere  scale  of  myn  armes  for  the  more 
credence  and  recorde. 


"We  next  hear  of  Grimston  as  indicted  with  others  at  Rochester  before  the 
Cardinal  of  York,  the  Archhishop  of  Canterbury,  and  the  Duke  of  Buckingham/ 
in  August  1451,  in  connection  with  Cade's  rebellion. 

In  the  former  petition  Grimston  states  that  he  has  withdrawn  himself,  and  he 
may  very  likely  have  been  out  of  the  kingdom.  Another  and  probably  later  petition 
is  preserved  among  Lord  Verulam's  archives  from  which  it  would  appear  that  he 
had  been  for  twenty-two  months  in  prison,  and  it  may  therefore  very  fitly  find 
a  place  here. 

To  the  Kinge  oure  sovereign  lorde. 

Please  it  you  oure  moste  dred  souereign  lord  of  your  moste  specialle  grace  piteuxly  to  considre 
the  lange  endured  and  undeserved  sorows  dredes  &  trouble}  with  the  inportables  losse}  of  goode 
that  causeles  your  humble  true  liegeman  Edward  Grymeston  hathe  suffred  &  borne  to  his  utter- 
most undoinge  &  distruccion  withouten  the  hasty  relieffe  of  oure  mercyfulle  lord  &  of  youre 
grete  pitee  &  rightwosnes  that  by  sum  mene  youre  highenes  like  to  ordeign  and  commaunde  that 
he  may  be  herd  &  accepte  to  iustices  to  answere  to  any  thinge  that  hathe  bene  or  can  be  seyd  or 
leyde  unto  him,  the  whiche  he  hathe  sued  &  offred  him  selffe  to  by  the  space  of  xxij  monethes 
yn  as  large  wise  as  ever  did  poure  liegeman,  but  he  ys  so  aloigned  &  delayed  therfro  that 

•  Ellis,  Original  Letters,  2nd  Ser.  i.  113. 


Notes  on  Edward  Grimston,  Esq.  465 

nethir  by  your  specialle  writinges  nor  messages  to  your  juge}  nor  othire  wise  he  can  atteign  therto 
by  what  menej  nor  for  what  cause  it  ya  not  undirstande  Besechinge  therfore  humbly  youre 
benigne  grace  that  of  your  grete  rightwosnes  &  yn  tendir  consideracion  of  the  sorowfulle 
premisse}  with  many  other  adversite3  that  your  seid  suppliant  hathe  lamentably  suffired  onely  for 
lak  of  Justices  that  yt  may  like  your  highenes  to  commaunde  your  juge}  of  your  benche  straitly  by 
your  mouthe  or  by  your  specialle  writinges  to  attende  and  hastely  to  procede  to  his  deliverance 
So  as  aftir  his  arreignement  by  your  specialle  grace  &  commandes  he  may  go  at  large  under 
bailie  upon  sufHciaunt  suerte  to  suche  tyme  &  place  as  by  your  seid  iugez  or  any  of  them  shalle 
be  lymyted  &  graunted  for  his  deliverance  And  that  for  the  sone  expedicion  thereof  ye  like 
hereupon  to  graunte  and  commaunde  suche  specialle  lettres  fro  your  highenes  un  to  your  seid 
juge}  as  shall  be  thoughte  necessarie  for  the  diligent  spede  therof  So  as  of  your  grete  pite  and 
rightwosnes  your  humble  true  liegeman  be  not  finally  distroyed  by  no  lenge  delayes  fro  iustices  at 
the  Reverenc'  of  oure  lord  whome  he  shalle  evermore  pray  for  your  moste  noble  astate. 

This  petition  is  neither  dated,  signed,  or  sealed,  and  may  have  been  only  a 
draft  of  one  actually  sent.  It  is  in  the  same  hand  as  the  other. 

We  must  now  turn  to  the  domestic  relations  of  Edward  Grimston.  Among  the 
papers  in  the  Earl  of  Verulam's  possession  are  some  memoranda  which  appear  to 
have  been  communicated  to  Mr.  Warner  of  Lincoln's  Inn,  12th  February,  1599, 
by  Williamson,  a  mercer  dwelling  by  St.  Magnus  in  London,  on  the  authority  of 
an  old  kalendar  which  would  appear  to  have  been  in  a  manuscript  which  had 
belonged  to  the  parish  church  of  Eye  in  Suffolk.  One  of  the  entries  seems  to 
relate  to  the  first  wife  of  Edward  Grimston,  and  at  any  rate  has  been  considered 
to  do  so  by  the  compiler  of  the  notes  ;  it  is  somewhat  obscure  and  is  as  follows  :— 

"  Obitus  venerabilis  femine  Alicie  quondam  uxoris  E.  Grimeston  ab  infanti 
excellente  ducissa  postea  generose  magnifice  Margarete  Reginse  que  etiam  et 
virtutibus  fuit  induta  et  obiit  145G." 

From  a  description  of  the  tomb  of  Edward  Grimston,  which  will  be  given 
hereafter,  it  is  not  improbable  that  the  coat  of  this  lady  was  Gu.  three  bars 
gemelles  arg.  This  was  a  form  of  the  coat  of  Bensted,  and  was  also  borne 
with  additional  charges  by  the  names  of  Walshe,  Inglos,  and  Thornhill.  It  was 
also  a  foreign  coat,  being  ascribed  to  the  families  of  Averton,  Fosseux,  Noyelle, 
S'.  Cheron,  S'.  Julien,  Toulonion,  and  Wyon. 

Among  the  papers  at  Gorhambury  is  a  copy  of  a  deed  dated  2Gth  September, 
38  Henry  VI.  (1459),  which  appears  to  be  the  marriage  settlement  of  Edward 
Grimston  with  his  second  wife  Mary,  daughter  of  Sir  William  Drury  by  Katherine 
Swynford ;  the  latter  was  at  the  time  of  the  settlement  the  wife  of  Thomas 
Cursun,  Esq.  This  document  is  as  follows  : — 

Hoc  Indentura  facta  xxyj10  die  Scptcmbris  Anno  Kegni  Regis  Henrici  vi"  post  conquestum 

VOL.  XL.  3  O 


466  Notes  on  Edward  Grimston,  Esq. 

xxxviij0  inter  Edwardum  Gryraeston  Ar.  ex  parte  una  et  Thomam  Cursun  Ar.  dominam  Catherinam 
nxorem  eius  nuper  uxorem  Willielmi  Drury  Militia  et  Thomam  Drury  armigerum  {ilium  et 
heredem  eiusdem  Willielmi  ex  parte  altera  testatur  Quod  cum  idem  Thomas  Drury  se  agreavit  et 
concessit  solvere  eidem  Edwardo  et  assignatis  suis  centum  marcas  legalis  monetae  Angliaa  et  iidem 
Thomas  Cursun  domina  Catherina  uxor  eius  et  Thomas  Drury  ultra  illas  centum  marcas  se 
agreaverunt  et  concesserunt  solvere  eidem  Edwardo  et  assignatis  sive  executoribus  suis  Quinquaginta 
libras  legalis  monetae  Anglia3  ad  maritagium  Marie  sororis  eiusdem  Thome  Drury  unius  filiarum 
predict!  Willielmi  et  domine  Catherine  Quam  idem  Edwardus  (gracia  divina  mediante)  ducet  in 
uxorem.  Quibusquidem  centum  marcis  per  predictum  Thomam  Drury  eidem  Edwardo  impostea 
solvendis  modo  et  forma  quibus  sequitur  videlicet  viginta  marcas  nunc  die  et  tempore  solemnisacionis 
maritagii  predict!  idem  Thomas  Drury  eidem  Edwardo  solvet  Et  ad  festum  Sancti  Michaelis 
Archangeli  quod  erit  Anno  domini  millessimo  quadringentessimo  sexagesimo  decem  libras  Et  ad 
festum  Sancti  Michaelis  Archangel!  extunc  proximo  sequentem  decem  libras  Et  ad  festum  Sancti 
Michaelis  Archangeli  extunc  proximo  sequentem  decem  libras  Et  ad  festum  Sancti  Michaelis 
Archangeli  extunc  proximo  sequentem  decem  libras  Et  ad  festum  Sancti  Michaelis  Archangeli 
extunc  proximo  sequentem  tresdecem  libras  sex  solidos  et  octo  denarios  Pro  qua  quidem  summa 
centum  marcarum  idem  Thomas  Drury  inveniet  sufficientem  securitatem  per  separalia  scripta  ob- 
ligatoria  pro  qualibet  solucione  eidem  Edwardo  et  executoribus  suis  annuatim  ad  festa  predicta 
solvenda  predictasque  quinquaginta  libras  eidem  Edwardo  et  executoribus  suis  modo  et  forma  quibus 
sequitur  solvend'  videlicet  quod  cum  idem  Thomas  Drury  annuatim  solverit  eisdem  Thome  Cursun 
et  domino  Catherine  uxori  sue  ad  terminum  vite  ejusdem  Catherine  decem  libras  pro  manerio  de 
Lawnes  in  comitatu  Suffolk  Quod  quidem  manerium  do  hereditate  ejusdem  Thome  Drury 
extitit  Ita  concordatum  est  quod  iidem  Thomas  Cursun  et  domina  Catherina  uxor  ejus  et  Thomas 
Drury  solvent  ad  festum  Sancti  Michaelis  Archangeli  proximo  futurum  eidem  Edwardo  sive  assig- 
natis suis  quinquc  marcas  legatis  monete  partem  de  predicta  annuali  redditu  decem  librarum  eidem 
domino  Catherine  pro  prcdicto  manerio  de  Lawnes  solvenda  et  ad  festum  Sancti  Michaelis 
Archangeli  ad  tune  proximo  sequentem  quinque  marcas  Et  sic  de  anno  in  annum  ad  idem 
festum  Sancti  Michaelis  Archangeli  quinque  marcas  quousque  predicta  summa  quinquaginta 
librarum  plcnarie  fuerit  persoluta  Pro  qua  quidem  summa  quinquaginta  librarum  eidem 
Edwardo  et  executoribus  suis  solvenda  modo  et  forma  superius  recitatis  inter  partes  predictas 
concordatum  est  Quod  Johannes  Clopton  Armiger  et  omnes  alii  si  qui  fuerint  ad  usum  predicte 
domine  Catherine  sive  Thome  Drury  de  et  in  dicto  manerio  de  Lawnes  cum  suis  pertinenciis  feoffati 
per  suum  sufficiens  scriptum  sigillatum  dabunt  et  concedent  eidem  Edwardo  et  assignatis  suis 
quondam  annualem  redditum  quinque  marcarum  annuatim  exeuntem  de  predicto  manerio  cum 
suis  pertinenciis  habendum  et  percipiendum  eidem  Edwardo  et  assignatis  suis  quousque  quinquaginta 
librae  plenarie  persolvantur  Quod  quidem  scriptum  facient  et  eidem  Edwardo  deliberabunt  ante 
festum  Nativitatis  Domini  proximo  futurum  Ulterius  concordatum  est  quod  predictus  Johannes 
Clopton  nee  aliquis  sive  aliqui  corum  qui  de  dicto  manerio  cum  suis  pertinenciis  sunt  feoffati 
permittent  seu  permittet  aliquod  recuperari  per  breve  de  forma  donacionis  indiscender  sive  per  aliquod 
nliud  breve  ad  sectam  predict!  Thome  Drury  sive  alicujus  alia?  persona?  versus  ipsos  sive  aliquem 
eorum  sive  aliquo  alio  modo  extra  eorum  possessionem  manerium  predictum  recuperare  sive  de- 
\olvere  quousque  predict®  quinquaginta  librae  modo  et  forma  antea  recitatis  intcgre  persolvantur  Et 


Notes  on  Edward  Grimston,  Esq.  467 

ad  omnes  istas  convencioncs  ex  parte  predictorum  Thome  Cursun  et  Domine  Catherine  et  Thome 
Drury  bene  et  fideliter  perimplendum  iidem  Thomas  Cursun  et  Thomas  Drury  per  separalia  sua 
scripta  obligatoria  de  dato  presencium  separatim  teneantur  eidem  Edwardo  in  centum  libras 
sterlingorum  Qui  quidem  Edwardus  pro  se  et  executorib'us  suis  concedit  quod  si  omnes 
convenciones  et  soluciones  ex  parte  predictorum  Thome  Cursun  et  Domine  Catherine  et  Thome 
Drury  sint  integre  solutae  et  perimplete;  quod  tune  predicts  separalia  scripta  obligatoria  centum 
librarum  vacua  sint  et  quodlibet  eorum  sit  vacuum  et  nullius  valoris.  In  cuius  rei  testimonium 
partes  predictse  sigilla  sua  alternatim  apposuerunt.  Data  die  et  anno  supradictis. 

By  this  marriage  Grimston  not  only  became  in  some  measure  connected  with 
the  house  of  Lancaster,  hut  also  with  the  Duke  of  Suffolk,  if  there  he  any  truth 
in  the  surmise  that  Philippa  Chaucer,  wife  of  the  poet,  was  sister  to  Katherine 
Swinforcl,  Duchess  of  Lancaster,  William  De  le  Pole  being  grandson  of  Philippa 
Chaucer,  and  Mary  Grimston  great-grandaughter  of  the  Duchess  of  Lancaster. 

By  his  marriage  with  Mary  Drury  Edward  Grimston  had  a  numerous  progeny, 
five  sons  and  three  daughters,  who  are  thus  noticed  in  the  memoranda  above 
alluded  to. 

John,  the  first  gotten  sonne  of  Edwarde  Grimeston,  Esquier,  had  of  Mary  his  wief  that  was 
daughter  to  Wittm  Drury,  Knight,  and  of  his  wief  dame  Katheryn  Swynforde,  daughter  of 
Sr  Thomas  Swynford  that  was  sonne  to  Sr  Norman  Swynford,  that  was  husband  to  Dame 
Katheryn  Swynford  that  was  Duchesse  of  Lancaster,  was  borne  the  xxist  daye  of  Aprill  aboute 
viij  of  the  clocke  in  the  mornyng,  the  yeare  of  our  Lorde  1461,  the  dominicall  letter  D. 

Edward,  the  second  sonne  of  Edward  Grimeston,  Esquire,  and  of  the  said  Marie,  was  borne  the 
xxiiijth  daie  of  Marche  our  Ladyes  even  the  annunciation  quarter  of  the  hower  before  ix  of  the 
clock  at  night,  the  year  of  or  Lorde  1461,  the  dominicall  letter  C. 

Thomas,  the  thirde  sonne  of  Edwarde  Grymeston  and  Mary  beforesaide,  was  borne  the  fyfth 
daye  of  Julie  before  ij  of  the  clocke  in  the  mornyng,  the  yeare  of  our  Lorde  1463,  the  dominicall 
letter  B. 

John,  the  iiijth  sonne  of  the  saide  Edward  and  Mary,  was  borne  the  vith  daie  of  August  at  fower 
of  the  clocke  in  the  mornyng,  the  yeare  of  our  Lorde  1464,  the  dominicall  lettre  G. 

Christopher,  the  vth  sonne  of  the  said  Edward  and  Marie,  was  borne  litell  before  v  of  the  clock 
at  nyght,  the  thirde  day  of  Jule,  the  yeare  of  our  Lorde  1466,  the  dominicall  lettre  F. 

Anne,  the  first  daughter  of  the  said  Edward  and  Marie,  was  borne  the  xxvilh  daie  of  Jule, 
Sl  Ann  daye,  midhower  betwixt  viij  and  ix  of  the  clocke  in  the  mornyng,  the  yeare  of  or 
Lorde  1467,  ye  dominicall  letter  G. 

Elizabeth,  the  second  daughter  of  the  saide  Edward  and  Marie,  was  borne  the  xvijtu  daye  of 
November  at  vij  of  the  clock  in  the  mornyng,  the  yeare  of  our  Lorde  1468,  ye  dominicall  letter  B. 

Alice,  the  thirde  of  the  said  Edwarde  and  Marie,  was  borne  the  xvth  daie  of  February  betwixt 
two  and  three  after  none,  the  yeare  of  or  Lorde  1469,  the  dominicall  letter  G. 

And  the  said  Marie,  mother  to  all  thes  children  before  written,  in  her  yonge  and  beavtevous 

3o2 


468  Notes  on  Edward  Grimston,  Esq. 

yeares  of  xxvij  passed  christienly  and  devoutly  to  our  Lordes  mercy  the  vij  daye  of  Marche 
then  next  following,  in  the  yeare  of  our  Lorde  after  the  olde  counte  of  England  1469,  on  Ashe 
Wedensdaye. 

In  a  manuscript  volume  of  the  seventeenth  century,  preserved  in  the  library 
of  Lord  Dacre,  at  the  Hoo,  lettered  Reyce's  account  of  Suffolk,  no  doubt  by 
Robert  Reyce,  of  Preston,  in  Suffolk,  are  some  notes  on  the  church  at  Thorndon, 
among  which  is  the  following  description  of  the  tomb  of  Mary  Grimston  (p.  218). 

"  These  be  the  armes  of  Dame  Katherine  Sewynforde  sometymes  Dutches  of 
Lancaster  that  by  Sr  Norman  Sewynforde  had  a  sonne  and  heire  Sr  Thomas 
Sewynforde  knighte  father  to  dame  Katherine  wyfe  to  Sr  Wylliam  Drury 
Knighte  the  which  Sr  Wylliam  Drury  and  dame  Katherine  amonge  others  had 
Marye  the  wyfe  of  Edward  Grimeston  Esqre  whom  God  had  endewed  with 
greate  vertue  and  bewtye  and  is  heere  interred  the  6  daye  of  Marche  An"  1469 
on  whose  sowle  God  have  mercy.  Amen. 

"  Beneathe  this  Epitaphe  lieth,  in  Brasse,  the  forme  of  a  humane  bodye  in  a 
wyndynge  sheete,  neere  the  which  are  eight  children  kneelinge,  whereof  5  are 
bareheaded  as  sonnes  and  3  in  mourninge  whooddes,  all  in  brasse.  Upon  the 
very  hiest  parte  of  all  was  a  greate  escocheon  quarterly  of  John  of  Gawnte  as 
France  and  Englaude,  over  all  a  lambeaux  of  3  poynts  ermyn  empaled  Sewyn- 
forde, arg1  upon  a  chevron  sable  3  bores  heds  coupped  or.  Somewhat  lower 
was  a  single  escocheon  of  Grimeston,  argent  upon  a  fesse  sable  3  rowells  or,  in 
the  canton  poynte  one  ermyn.  Upon  the  seconde  corner  Sewynforde  as 
before.  Upon  the  thirde  corner  beneathe  Grymeston  as  before  empaled 
Drurye  arg'  upon  a  cheefe  verte  2  moollets  or,  pierced  gules.  Upon  the  4th 
corner  beneathe  Druery  as  before  empaled  Sewynford  as  before.  Underneathe 
this  corpes  and  eight  children  kneelinge  was  this  wrytten,  c  Orate  pro  anima 
Marie  Grimeston.' ' 

The  memoranda  copied  by  Mr.  Warner  and  already  alluded  to  continue  as 
follows  : — 

And  the  saide  Edwarde  Grymeston  thelder  was  afterwarde  wedded  in  the  Abby  Church  of  Eye 
(in  the  presens  of  my  lorde  the  Duke  of  Suffolk  and  of  my  lady  his  wief  syster  to  our  soueraigne 
lorde  King  Edwarde  the  iiij"1),  to  dame  Phillip  the  lady  and  barrones  Koos,  daughter  to  the  lord 
Tiptot  and  syster  to  the  Earle  of  Worcester,  the  xxvj"1  daye  of  August  yn  the  yeare  of  our  lorde 
1471. 

The  Lord  Roos  was  attainted  4th  November,  1461,  and  died  the  same  year,  and 
his  widow  afterwards  married  Sir  Thomas  Wingfield,  and  thirdly  Edward  Grim- 
ston ;  by  the  latter  she  does  not  appear  to  have  had  any  issue. 


Notes  on  Edward  Grimston,  Esq. 

The  following  curious  petition  was  addressed  to  the  King  after  the  marriage  by 
Edward  Grimston  and  his  wife  ;  the  original,  which  is  undated,  is  preserved 
among  the  deeds  in  Lord  Verulam's  collection : — 

To  the  Kyng  cure  alle  most  dradde  liege  lorde, — 

Mekely  besechethe  and  piteously  compleynethe  unto  youre  highenesse  Edward  Grymestone, 
Squier,  and  Philipe  his  wyfe,  late  the  wyfe  to  Thomas  late  lord  Roos,  that  by  Reason  of  atteyndre 
of  the  same  Thomas  alle  maners,  londes,  tenementes,  Rentes,  and  possessions  whiche  were  of  the 
saide  Thomas  were  forfaityd  unto  youre  highenesse,  by  the  whiche  the  saide  Philipe  was  put  from 
her  dower  and  joyntoure  that  tyme  to  her  due,  amountynge  to  the  yerely  value  of  M1  marc'  and 
more  And  youre  saide  highnesse,  most  graciously  considering  the  nyghnesse  of  blode  that  the  saide 
Philipe  is  unto  your  most  roialle  persone,  that  is  to  sey,  doughter  unto  youre  grete  Aunte  the  lady 
Powys,  that  was  suster  unto  the  noble  lady  youre  graundame  the  Countesse  of  Cambrigge,  and 
noothinge  that  tyme  had  by  Joyntoure  or  dower  wherupone  to  lyve  or  to  susteyne  and  fynde  her  and 
her  childrein  according  to  her  honoure  and  worshipe  Of  youre  most  noble  and  habundaunt  grace 
graunted  by  youre  lettres  patentes  bering  date  the  ix  day  of  Decembre  in  the  first  yere  of  youre 
most  noble  Reigne  unto  John  late  Erie  of  Worcestre  and  other  to  the  use  of  the  saide  Philipe  certain 
manors  in  diverse  shires,  estemed  to  the  value  of  vij°  marcs.  Of  the  whiche  somme  in  a  parliament 
holden  in  the  vijth  yere  of  your  victorious  Reigne  there  was  resumed  into  youre  handes  certeyne  of 
thoo  maners  to  the  yerely  value  of  iij"  marcs.  After  the  whiche  resumcione  it  lyked  youre  highe- 
nesse of  youre  most  specialle  grace  to  remember  and  consider  the  nyghencsse  of  blode  beforeseide, 
with  the  honoure  longinge  therto,  and  that  the  said  Philipe  had  nother  dower,  nor  joyntoure,  nor 
other  goode  to  lyf  by.  And  therupone,  by  thaduise  of  youre  noble  councelle,  by  youre  lettres 
patentes  under  youre  grete  scale,  bering  date  the  xxx  day  of  Juyft,  in  the  viith  yere  of  youre  seide 
victorious  Reigne,  gave  and  graunted  unto  the  saide  John  late  Erie  of  Worcestre,  and  to  hir  for 
terme  of  her  lyfe,  for  sustentacione  of  her  and  her  childrein,  and  in  lieu  of  her  ioyntour  and  dower 
beforesaide,  the  maners  of  Uffyngtone,  Wragby,  &  Estringtone,  in  the  Counte  of  Lincolne,  the 
maners  of  Orstone,  Warsope,  and  Ekeringe,  in  the  Counte  of  Notyngham,  the  maner  of  Setone  with 
the  Annuite  of  the  priore  of  Wartre,  in  the  Counte  of  Yorke,  the  maner  of  Adderley  with  Sponley 
in  Shropshire,  the  maner  of  Estbourne  with  the  hamelet  of  Hechingtone,  in  the  Counte  of  Sussexe, 
that  some  tyme  were  longing  to  Thomas  late  lord  Roos  her  husbond,  the  whiche  maners  with  th' 
appurtenaunces  be  not  to  the  value  of  cccc  marcs.  And  semblably  it  lykcd  youre  highenesse,  in 
the  viii'h  yere  of  youre  Reigne,  by  youre  other  leltres  patentes,  to  graunte  the  same  maners  unto  Sir 
Thomas  Wyngfelde  and  her,  that  tyme  her  husbonde,  for  terme  of  her  lyfe,  Soo  that  in  tymes  thoo 
maners  that  youre  saide  suppliauntes  clayme  and  occupie  have  passed  youre  grete  scale,  of  which 
maners  noght  exceding  to  the  value  of  cccc  marcs  the  saide  Philipe  in  her  pure  wydowhode  hath 
yeven  and  graunted  to  the  mariage  and  sustenaunce  of  hir  ij  doughters11  the  somme  of  Ixxx1' 
during  hir  lyfe,  So  that  the  residue  therof  will  unncthe  suffice  to  her  resonable  sustenaunce,  with 
charges  requisite  and  incedent  to  the  same.  Please  it  youre  highnesse,  the  premisses  considered ,  atte 
reuerence  of  all  myghty  god,  by  the  advyce  and  assent  of  the  lordcs  spiritualt  and  tcmporatt  and 

•  Elenor,  who  married  Sir  Robert  Manners,  and  Isabel  wife  of  Sir  Thomas  Everingham  and  others. 


470  Notes  on  Edward  Grimston,  Esq. 

Comens  in  this  present  parliament  assembled,  and  by  auctorite  of  the  same,  to  ordeyne,  stablysabe, 
and  enacte  that  the  saide  Philipe  from  hensforthe  suerly,  for  terme  of  her  lyve,  have,  possede,  kepe, 
holdc,  and  enjoye  alle  the  forsaide  manors  and  alle  other  the  premisses  with  theire  appurtenaunces, 
quietly  and  in  pease,  withoute  interuptione  or  eny  resumyng  of  them,  or  eny  part  of  them,  by  eny 
meane  hereaftre  into  youre  handes,  according  to  youre  graunte  last  made  to  her  therof,  as  is  affor- 
seide,  to  have  for  her  sustentacione  aforehersed,  In  as  much  as  she  and  her  childrein  have  none 
other  thing  wherupone  to  lyve.  And  youre  saide  suppliauntes  shall  ever  pray  to  god  for  the  good 
prospirite  of  youre  most  roialle  persone. 

Nothing  more  seems  to  be  known  of  the  life  of  Edward  Grimston,  and  in  the 
manuscript  account  of  Suffolk  by  Reyce,  already  noticed,  we  find  the  following 
account  of  his  tomb. 

"  In  a  hie  tombe  enarched  in  the  walle  of  the  chawncell  there  lieth  in  armor, 
havinge  an  escocheon  of  Grimeston  on  cache  shoulder,  with  this  epitaphe, 

Hie  jacet  Eduardus  Grimeston  armiger  quondam  de  Rishangles  Lodge  qui 
obiit  die  mercurii  viz.  vicessimo  tertio  die  mensis  Septembris  anno  domini  1478. 
Cuius  anime  propitietur  Deus.  Amen. 

"  In  the  first  corner  above  one  single  escocheon  of  Grimeston  as  before ;  in  the 
seconde  corner  above,  Grimeston  as  before,  empaled,  gules  3  barres  gemelles 
arg1 ;  ....  in  the  thirde  corner  beneathe,  Grymeston  as  before,  empaled,  Drury 
as  before ;  iu  the  4th  corner  beneathe,  Grimeston  as  before,  empaled,  Typtofte, 
arg1  a  saltier  engrailed  gules." 

The  tomb  of  Edward  Grimston  is  noticed  in  Davy's  Suffolk  Collections  (Add. 
MSS.  19,090,  f.  156)  as  being  within  the  communion  rails ;  the  inscription  which 
had  been  on  the  edge  of  the  slab  of  the  altar-tomb  had  disappeared,  and  of  the 
figure  of  Grimston  a  fragment  only — "  his  head  and  breast  with  his  arms  on  his 
shoulders  still  remains  in  the  church  chest."  Of  the  four  shields  at  the  corners 
of  the  slab  the  two  upper  ones  alone  remained. 


Observations  on  the  Portrait  of  Edward  Grimston,  and  other  Portraits  of  the 
same  period.  By  GEORGE  SCHARF,  Esq.  F.S.A.  in  a  Letter  to  W.  J.  Thorns, 
Esq.  F.S.A. 


National  Portrait  Gallery, 
18th  June,  1863. 

DEAR  MR.  THOMS, 

I  have  carefully  examined  the  very  interesting  portrait  of  Edward  Grimston 
which  the  Earl  of  Verulam  has  been  good  enough  to  send  to  our  Society  for 
examination.  I  am  glad  to  hear  that  his  Lordship  intends  to  have  the  surface, 
both  back  and  front,  protected  by  glass. 

This  picture  is  one  among  the  very  few  known  examples  of  early  English 
portraiture  produced  by  artists  of  decided  eminence.  In  one  respect  it  stands  alone 
in  English  portraiture,  being  a  solitary  instance,  for  the  fifteenth  century,  of  a 
picture  having  the  date,  the  name  of  the  painter,  and  the  person  represented 
equally  well  defined.  The  dated  signature  of  Petrus  Christus,  combined  with  the 
shield  of  Grimston  at  the  back,  clearly  establish  this  fact. 

Two  other  examples,  nearly  approaching  this  in  importance,  but  without 
affording  the  combination  of  date  with  names  of  subject  and  painter,  deserve  to 
be  noticed.  They  both  belong  to  the  school  of  Van  Eyck,  and  represent  English 
characters. 

The  first,  also  attributed  to  Petrus  Christus,  is  in  the  Gallery  at  Berlin  (No.  532 
of  Dr.  Waagen's  Catalogue),  and  represents  a  young  lady  of  the  Talbot  family. 
The  name  of  the  painter,  "  Opus  Petri  Christophori,"  was  originally  inscribed  on 
the  frame,  but  has  been  since  destroyed." 

•  Dr.  Waagen  adds,  in  a  note  at  page  76  of  his  Handbook  of  German  and  Flemish  Painting,  8vo.  I860, 
"  on  the  cotemporary  but  now  lost  frame  was  an  inscription  telling  the  name  of  the  painter  and  that  of  the 
person  portrayed."  This  is  a  further  instance  of  the  disadvantage  of  merely  inscribing  signatures  on 
picture  frames,  manifested  also  in  the  works  of  Joannes  Corvus,  in  the  portrait,  for  example,  of  Fox  Bishop 
of  Winchester,  described  in  the  Archceologia,  vol.  xxxix.  page  47. 


472  On  the  Portrait  of  Edward  Grimston, 

The  Berlin  picture,  also  on  wood  and  measuring  11  by  9  German  inches,  is  so 
similar  in  size  and  general  treatment  as  to  have  almost  the  appearance  of  being 
intended  as  a  companion  to  the  Grimston  picture.  The  lady  is  seen,  nearly  to 
the  waist,  with  the  face  turned  in  f  to  the  left  with  the  eyes  fixed  on  the 
spectator.  She  wears  a  tall  black  cap,  and  a  portion  of  the  veil  connected  with 
it  passes  close  under  her  chin,  and  leaves  the  neck  bare  ;  her  hair  is  entirely 
concealed;  the  hands  are  not  seen;  she  wears  a  necklace,  and  her  dress  is 
trimmed  at  the  upper  part  with  white  fur ;  the  sleeves  are  of  blue  velvet,  fitted 
very  tightly  to  the  shoulders.  The  background  represents  the  plain  wall  of  a  room, 
with  panelling  round  the  lower  part  of  it  as  in  the  Grimston  picture.  No  coat  of 
arms  or  inscription  is  now  observable.  The  light  falls  on  the  countenance  from 
the  left-hand  side,  the  reverse  of  the  treatment  adopted  in  Lord  Verulam's 
painting.  Crowe  and  Cavalcaselle,  in  their  Flemish  Painters,  1857,  (p.  121)  ob- 
serve, in  speaking  of  this  picture,  the  circumstance  of  "  its  soft  and  clear  tones 
differing  from  the  known  examples  of  the  painter's  manner." ' 

The  other  example  which  I  would  cite  is  at  Chiswick  House,  and  belongs  to  the 
Duke  of  Devonshire.  In  point  of  art  it  is  by  far  the  best,  although  wanting  both 
the  date  and  signature  of  the  painter.  The  persons  depicted  are,  however,  clearly 
defined  by  the  introduction  of  shields  of  arms.  The  figures  are  Sir  John  Donne 
and  his  wife  Elizabeth  Hastings,  accompanied  by  their  daughter,  kneeling  in 
adoration  before  the  Virgin  holding  the  Infant  Saviour. 

Notwithstanding  the  prominence  of  the  armorial  bearings  of  a  different  family, 
the  picture  was  received  into  the  Devonshire  collection  as  a  representation  of  Lord 
Clifford  and  his  lady  by  Van  Eyck.  In  Dodsley's  London  and  its  Environs, 
1701,  vol.  ii.  page  122,  it  is  thus  described  :  "  Lord  Clifford  and  his  family,  painted 
in  1444  by  John  Van  Eyk,  called  John  of  Bruges."  The  same  is  repeated  in  the 
English  Connoisseur,  1766,  vol.  i.  page  38.  Horace  Walpole  thus  perpetuates  this 
error  in  his  Anecdotes  of  Painting,  page  32  of  the  quarto  edition,  1798 :  "  There 
is  an  old  altar-table  at  Chiswick  representing  the  Lord  Clifford  and  his  lady 
kneeling.  Van  Eyck's  name  is  burnt  in  on  the  back  of  the  board." 

Dr.  Waagen  was  the  first  to  form  a  correct  estimate  of  the  artistic  merits  of  the 

"  I  regret  that  I  did  not  subsequently  inquire  from  my  much-esteemed  friend  the  late  director  of  the 
Berlin  Gallery  whether  the  back  of  the  panel  had  ever  been  examined  to  ascertain  if  there  are  traces 
of  any  heraldic  device  or  inscription  ou  it. 

'  This,  if  actually  the  case,  would  be  a  very  unusual  method  for  artists  of  this  school  to  adopt  in  signing 
their  pictures.  I  subsequently  examined  the  back  of  the  panel,  September  1865,  and  found  the  name 
IOHAKES  VAN  ETCK  clumsily  written  across  the  centre  in  black  ink. — G.  S. 


and  other  Portraits  of  the  same  period.  473 

picture,  and  to  assign  it  to  a  successor  of  Van  Eyck,  possibly  Hans  Memling.* 
Subsequently,  in  his  Handbook  of  German  and  Flemish  Painting,  1860,  page 
100,  he  unhesitatingly  accepts  it  as  the  work  of  Memling,  and  pronounces  it  "in 
every  respect  one  of  the  finest  works  of  the  master." 

The  error  of  nomenclature  was  still  further  spread  by  two  engravings  of  the 
Knight  and  his  Lady  from  a  repetition  of  this  portion  of  the  picture  published 
by  J.  Thane  in  1793,  under  the  title,  "  George  Talbot,  Earl  of  Shrewsbury  and 
his  Countess  Anne,  from  an  ancient  painting  on  board  in  the  possession  of  John 
Thane." 

It  was,  however,  reserved  for  our  learned  colleague,  Mr.  John  Gough  Nichols, 
to  recover  the  true  significance  of  the  picture,  and  to  point  out  those  to  whom 
the  portraits  could  alone  refer.  This  was  done  in  a  very  interesting  communica- 
tion to  the  Gentleman's  Magazine  for  November,  1840,  page  489,  under  the 
initials  J.  G.  N." 

Walpole,  in  his  Anecdotes,  mentions  several  other  early  portraits  of  distinguished 
historical  personages,  likewise  attributable  to  artists  of  eminence,  but  unfortunately 
their  authenticity  as  portraits  cannot  be  maintained.  He  purchased  at  Mr. 
Ives's  sale,  June  4th,  1779,  part  of  an  old  altar-piece,  said  to  have  come  from 
the  Abbey  of  St.  Edmundsbury ;  the  separate  compartments  of  which  relate  to 
the  subject  of  the  Nativity,  combining  full-length  figures  of  patron  saints  and  a 
kneeling  one  of  the  donor  of  the  picture. 

A  shield  of  arms  clearly  indicates  a  connection  with  Sir  Robert  Tate,  Lord 
Mayor  of  London  in  1488,  who  married  Margery  Wood.  In  these  figures 
the  fertile  imagination  of  Walpole  perceived  Humphrey,  the  good  Duke  of 
Gloucester ;  Henry  Beaufort,  Cardinal  of  Winchester ;  and  John  Kempe,  Arch- 
bishop of  Canterbury ! 

The  figures  called  Beaufort  and  the  Duke  of  Gloucester  are  engraved  under 
these  names  by  Parker  and  Gardiner  in  Harding's  Shakespeare,  1791.  Wal- 
pole had  the  panels  "  split  "  into  two,  and  entrusted  them  to  Bonus  in  Oxford 
R-oad  "  to  repair  only  and  not  repaint  them."  They  were  purchased  at  the 
Strawberry  Hill  sale  in  1842,  and  exhibited  at  the  British  Institution  in  1853  by 
the  Duke  of  Sutherland.0  The  same  characters  were  supposed  by  Walpole  to 

•  Art  and  Artists  in  England,  1838,  vol.  i.  p.  268. 

b  For  subsequent  observations  on  this  picture,  which  was  No.  18  of  the  1866  Portrait  Exhibition  at  South 
Kensington,  and  attributed  to  Van  Eyck,  see  a  valuable  paper  by  Mr.  James  Weale  in  Notes  and  Queries 
for  December  3rd,  1864,  page  452. 

They  were  No.  27  of  the   1866  Portrait  Exhibition  at  South  Kensington,  and  there  described  in  the 
VOL.  XL.  3  P 


474  On  the  Portrait  of  Edward  Grimston, 

have  been  repeated  in  a  picture  of  a  royal  marriage,  also  at  Strawberry  Hill,  and 
published  by  him  in  his  Anecdotes  of  Painting  as  the  Marriage  of  Henry  Sixth. 
The  figure  of  the  Queen,  engraved  by  Sheneker  as  Margaret  of  Anjou,  appears 
in  Harding's  Shakespeare.  This  picture  was  also  exhibited  by  the  Duke  of 
Sutherland  at  the  British  Institution  in  1853,"  and  subsequently  at  the  1866 
Portrait  Exhibition,  No.  16  of  the  Catalogue.  See  the  Gentleman's  Magazine 
for  1842,  and  the  Athenaeum  for  same  year,  page  318. 

This  has  proved  to  Walpole  the  source  of  several  great  historical  portraits 
similar  in  quality  to  the  preceding.  Here  again  he  finds  Archbishop  Kempe, 
the  Duke  of  Gloucester,  the  Queen  of  Naples  mother  of  Queen  Margaret, 
the  Duke  and  Duchess  of  Bedford,  and  the  Marquis  of  Suffolk.  None  of 
these  are  supportable  by  internal  evidence.  Walpole  deliberately  says,  "The 
portraits  of  Duke  Humphrey  and  Archbishop  Kempe  have  been  authenticated  by 
two  others  of  the  same  persons  which  formed  part  of  an  altar-piece  at  St. 
Edmundsbury,  and  are  now  at  Strawberry  Hill." 

Another  picture,  also  at  Strawberry  Hill,  which  Walpole,  in  his  Anecdotes  of 
Painting,  page  50,  vol.  iii.  of  the  4to.  edition,  1798,  mentions  as  a  "  celebrated 
picture  by  Mabuse,"  formerly  at  Easton  Neston,  has  afforded  an  additional 
portrait  to  Harding's  Shakespeare.  It  was  engraved  by  Parker  as  the  "  Earl  of 
Richmond,  afterwards  King  Henry  the  Seventh."  This  title  is  somewhat  difficult 
to  reconcile,  since  the  personage  therein  represented  is  already  King,  for  he  wears 
an  arched  regal  crown.  The  entire  picture  was  engraved  under  Walpole's  own 
auspices  for  his  Anecdotes  of  Painting,  as  "  The  Marriage  of  Henry  VII.  and 
Elizabeth  of  York,  by  Mabuse,"  vol.  ii.  page  461  of  4to.  edition. 

The  last  instance  of  false  portraiture  to  which  I  shall  advert  is  the  picture 
obtained  by  Horace  Walpole  from  Cosway  and  erroneously  denominated  the 
children  of  Henry  the  Seventh.1"  This  picture  certainly  belongs  to  the  school  of 
Mabuse,  and,  as  I  have  already  shown,  represents  the  three  children  of  the  King 
of  Denmark.  See  Archceologia,  vol.  xxxix.  page  260. 

In  the  foregoing  instances,  the  names  of  the  persons  represented  occupy  the 
first  place,  and,  whether  or  not  correctly,  have  been  very  positively  asserted. 

following  terms :  "  Altar-piece,  in  the  wings  of  which  the  Duke  of  Gl&ucester  is  represented  kneeling,  and 
in  character  of  a  pilgrim."  "  The  mitred  figure  is  John  Kempe." 

•  It  is  a  good  Flemish  picture  belonging  to  the  close  of  the  fifteenth  century.  The  bridegroom  is  not 
royal,  has  an  aged  and  careworn  face,  with  a  glory  round  the  head,  as  in  Raphael's  well  known  Sposalizio 
at  Milan.  The  ceremony,  seen  through  an  arch,  takes  place  in  an  open  space  in  front  of  a  church. 

"  Lord  Orford's  Works,  4to.  1798,  vol.  ii.  p.  512. 


and  other  Portraits  of  the  same  period.  475 

The  following  case  is  of  an  opposite  character,  and  consists  of  the  mere  mention 
of  a  name  and  no  picture  ;  but  it  leads  to  some  curious  illustration  of  the  pur- 
poses to  which  art  was  applied,  and  also  of  the  opinion  then  held  as  to  its  capa- 
•bility  and  requirements. 

"We  have  some  circumstantial  records  of  an  artist  having  been  entrusted  in  the 
year  1442  with  the  delicate  task  of  painting  the  portrait  of  three  young  ladies  to 
guide  our  youthful  monarch  Henry  VI.  in  the  choice  of  a  wife.  Unfortunately 
the  portraits  themselves  are  not  known  to  be  in  existence;  but  the  instruc- 
tions given  by  the  King  to  the  painter  are  so  quaint  and  curious  that  they 
deserve  to  be  transcribed.  Even  the  patronymic  name  of  the  artist  is  unknown. 
He  merely  appears  as  Hans,  most  probably  a  German  or  Fleming,  and  is  described 
in  a  letter  to  De  Batutz,  quoted  in  Thomas  Beckington's  journal,  as  a  very  com- 
petent artist.  The  instructions  given  by  the  King,  July  1442,  to  his  agents,  run 
thus :  — 

"  At  your  first  commyng  thider,  in  al  haste  possible,  that  ye  do  portraie  the  iii 
doughters  in  their  kertelles  simple,  and  their  visages  lyk  as  ye  see,  their  stature 
and  their  beaulte  and  color  of  skynne  and  their  countenaunces,  with  al  maner  of 
features ;  and  that  one  be  delivered  in  al  haste  with  the  said  portratur  to  bring  it 
unto  the  Kinge,  and  he  t'appointe  and  signe  which  hym  lyketh  ;  and  therupon 
to  sende  you  word  how  ye  shall  be  governed."  Journal  by  one  of  the  suite  of 
Thomas  Beckington,  A.D.  MCCCCXLII.  by  Nicholas  Harris  Nicolas,  Lond.  1828, 
page  10. 

Hull,  who  formed  part  of  the  mission,  having  brought  from  England  an  artist 
named  Hans  or  Hansa,  to  paint  the  likenesses  of  the  daughters  of  the  Count  of 
Armagnac,  Sir  Robert  Roos  wrote  to  the  Count  on  the  3rd  of  November,  stating 
that  he  had  sent  Hans  to  him,  and  begged  that  he  would  cause  the  business  to  be 
hastened. 

On  the  22nd  of  November,  John  de  Batutz,  Archdeacon  of  St.  Antonin  and 
Canon  of  Rodez,  wrote  to  the  Ambassadors,  thus  describing  the  progress  of  the 
picture. 

"  As  soon  as  Hansa  had  arrived,  which  he  did  safely,  by  the  grace  of  God,  ho 
diligently  applied  himself  to  the  object  for  which  he  came,  namely,  the  three 
pictures  or  likenesses ;  and  such  have  been  his  zeal  and  assiduity  in  the  work, 
that  with  the  help  of  God  we  hope  quickly  to  return  him  to  you.  Within  four 
days,  or  little  more,  the  first  of  the  three  portraits  will  be  upon  the  canvas 
(linthes  impresserit),  and  the  rest  he  will  despatch  still  more  quickly,  as  he  will 
have  the  whole  of  the  materials  ready  provided.  To  the  utmost  of  my  power  I 


476  On  the  Portrait  of  Edward  Grimston, 

will  urge  him  to  expedition,  that  we  may  the  sooner  arrive  at  the  happy  and 
desired  consummation  of  our  labours."  Ut  supra,  page  75. 

The  artist's  progress  and  difficulties  are  recorded  in  a  letter  dated  L'lsle,"  January 
3rd,  1443,  from  Archdeacon  de  Batutz  : — 

"  Hans  has  finished  one  of  the  three  likenesses.  From  the  severe  coldness  of 
the  weather,  which  has  prevented  his  colours  from  working,  he  could  not  finish 
it  sooner,  though  he  laboured  with  constant  diligence.  He  is  beginning  to  pro- 
ceed with  the  other  two,  which,  with  God's  help,  he  will  finish  in  a  shorter  time, 
especially  if  the  cold  should  subside,  and  give  him  greater  facilities.  But  on  this 
subject  he  has  more  fully  written  to  you.  I  am  constantly  urging  his  operations, 
and  shall  continue  to  do  so,  as  there  is  nothing  on  earth  I  more  desire  than  to  see 
them  completed ;  and  as  soon  as  they  are,  which  will  be  shortly,  he  shall  be  sent 
back  to  you  in  safety."  Ut  supra,  page  94. 

It  is  not  known  that  the  pictures  ever  arrived  in  England ;  the  marriage  was 
broken  oif,b  and  shortly  after  King  Henry  received  a  portrait  of  Margaret  of 
Anjou,  his  future  wife,  painted,  through  the  intervention  of  the  Earl  of  Suffolk, 
by  one  of  the  first  artists  of  France.0 

King  llene,  the  father  of  Margaret,  was  one  of  the  most  distinguished  painters 
of  the  time.  His  works,  several  of  them  still  extant,  are  frequently  referred  to 
on  account  of  their  superior  technical  merit  and  refinement.  His  works  are  all 
more  or  less  in  the  style  of  the  Van  Eycks,  a  taste  which  he  probably  acquired 
during  his  throe  years'  captivity  at  Dijon  and  Bracon,  between  the  years  1431 
and  143G.d  llene  dedicated  in  the  church  of  the  Carmelites  at  Aix,  the  capital 
of  his  dominions,  a  votive  picture,  which  is  still  to  be  seen  there.  It  is  not 
only  a  monument  of  his  piety  but  of  his  skill.' 

Considering  his  high  artistic  proclivities  and  his  skill  in  portraiture,  it  is  not 
altogether  improbable  that  the  first  picture  which  Henry  the  Sixth  saw  of  his 
intended  wife  had  been  painted  by  her  own  father.  King  Rene  was  a  contem- 
porary of  Pctrus  Christus.  His  daughter's  marriage  took  place  in  April  1445,  one 
year  before  the  date  inscribed  on  the  Grimston  picture  now  before  us.  Rene"  is 
known  during  his  imprisonment  at  Bracon  to  have  painted  on  glass  portraits  of 

11  L'Isle  en  Jourdain  between  Auch  and  Toulouse. 

b  Sandford's  Genealogical  History,  ed.  1677,  page  290. 

c  Miss  Strickland's  Queens  of  England,  ed.  1852,  vol.  ii.  page  170. 

d  Eastlake's  Materials,  vol.  i.  page  216. 

e  Mrs.  Jameson's  Legends  of  the  Madonna,  ed.  1852,  page  114, 


and  other  Portraits  of  the  same  period.  477 

the  Dukes  of  Burgundy,  Jean  Sans  Peur,  Philip  the  Good,  and  Charles,  and 
subsequently  his  own  portrait,  for  the  windows  of  the  ducal  chapel  at  Dijon." 

Eive  years  after  the  death  of  Henry  the  Sixth,  Margaret  was  ransomed  by 
Louis  XI.  and  restored  to  her  father  in  1476.  They  sojourned  at  Reculee,  about 
a  league  from  Angers,  on  the  river  Maine  or  Mayenne,  where  the  titular  monarch 
had  a  castle  that  commanded  a  view  of  the  town,  with  a  beautiful  garden  and  a 
gallery  of  paintings  and  sculpture,  which  he  took  delight  in  adorning  with  his 
own  paintings,  and  ornamented  the  walls  of  his  garden  with  heraldic  designs 
carved  in  marble.b 

Rene"  died  at  Aix,  July  1480,  and  his  daughter,  exhausted  in  body  and  mind, 
survived  him  only  two  years.  Both  were  interred  in  the  cathedral  of  Angers. 
Their  monument  was  destroyed  in  1783.° 

The  portrait  on  glass,  published  by  Montfaucon  while  still  existing  in  one  of 
the  windows  of  the  cathedral  of  Angers,  and  copied  in  Miss  Strickland's  Lives  of 
the  Queens  of  England,  was  very  probably  painted  by  her  father .d 

There  can  be  no  doubt  about  the  identity  of  the  painter  or  the  person  represented 
in  the  precious  little  picture  now  exhibited  to  the  Society  by  favour  of  Lord 
Verulam.  The  inscription  on  the  back  reads,  |JettUS  Xpt.  me  fmt  &°  1446.  It  is 
preceded  by  the  peculiar  device  of  a  heart  transfixed  by  an  instrument  like 
a  windlass. 

A  similar  inscription  with  the  date  1449,  and  the  transfixed  heart  at  the 
opposite  extremity,  occurs  on  a  picture  representing  St.  Eloy  and  other  figures, 
in  the  possession  of  Mr.  Oppenheim,  a  banker  at  Cologne.  The  inscription  is  en- 
graved somewhat  coarsely  in  Brulliot's  Dictionaire  des  Mbnogrammes,  Munich, 
4to.  1832,  part  iii.  page  137,  No.  953. 

The  Cologne  picture  belonged  previously  to  M.  de  Sybel  of  Elberfeld,  and  came 
originally  from  the  Guild  of  the  Goldsmiths  at  Antwerp.' 

The  inscription  has  been  carefully  copied,  and  the  first  two  words  transposed, 
in  Passavant's  Kunstreise,  Frankfurt,  1833,  No.  9  of  Monograms.  Saint  Eloy  is 
seated  in  a  shop  filled  with  all  kinds  of  jewelry  and  precious  stones,  weighing 

•  Crowe  and  Cavalcaselle,  Flemish  Painters,  page  198.  Strickland's  Queens  of  England,  1852,  vol.  ii. 
page  165. 

b  Villeneuve  de  Bargemont,  Marseilles,  1819;  quoted  by  Miss  Strickland. 
0  Quatrebarbes,  (Euvres  du  Roi  Rene,  4to.  Paris,  1849,  vol.  i.  page  152. 
d  Engraved  in  D'Agincourt,  plate  cxvi.  and  in  Quatrebarbes,  Texte,  page  148. 
«  Kunstblatt  for  the  year  1833,  No.  12,  page  47. 


478  On  the  Portrait  of  Edward  Grimston, 

some  rings,  which  he  appears  to  have  sold  to  a  betrothed  couple.    This  illustrates 
the  legend  of  St.  Godeberta." 

A  picture,  formerly  in  this  country,  in  the  possession  of  Mr.  Aders,"  and  now 
in  the  Staedel  Gallery  at  Francfort,  No.  402  of  the  collection,  is  signed  ^Jrtrus 
Xpi  ntp  ffCtt,  and  bears  a  contested  date  of  1417.  It  represents  the  Virgin 
playing  with  the  Infant  Christ  upon  her  knee,  and  offering  him  flowers,  with  two 
full-length  figures  of  St.  Jerome  and  St.  Francis  at  the  sides. 

Dr.  Waagen,  in  his  Handbook  of  German  and  Flemish  Painting,  page  75,  ob- 
serves, "  the  broad  and  beautiful  cast  of  the  draperies  in  this  picture,  as  well  as 
the  style  of  colouring,  show  a  feeling  borrowed  from  Hubert  Van  Eyck." 

Crowe  and  Cavalcaselle,  page  119,  say  of  it  that  the  painter  was  completely 
Flemish.  "  His  tones,  though  sombre  were  powerful ;  his  outlines  somewhat 
hard.  His  flesh  tints,  though  dark  in  shadow,  were  not  unpleasant."  Passavant 
described  it  as  clear  in  colour,  but  with  a  brownish  tone  in  the  shadows,  which  is 
peculiar  to  the  works  of  John  Van  Eyck. 

The  following  extracts  from  a  letter  which  I  received  from  Sir  Charles  Eastlake 
bear  directly  upon  the  subject,  and  afford  important  evidence  with  regard  to  the 
true  interpretation  of  the  date  : — 

"  You  are,  I  believe,  aware  that  there  is  a  picture  by  Petrus  Christus  in  the 
possession  of  Mr.  Oppenheim  at  Cologne.  It  represents  St.  Eloi,  the  patron  of 
Jewellers,  and  apparently  a  young  betrothed  couple,  half  figures,  small  life  size. 

"  The  abbreviated  inscription  '  Petrus  Christi  me  fecit,  A.  1449,'  is  on 
a  parapet  below.     Before  the  name c  is  the  monogram  :  .(see  cut.) 

"  If  I  remember  rightly,  this  corresponds  with  the  monogram  on  Lord 
Verulam's  picture.     I  am  told  it  also  corresponds  with  that  on  the 
small  picture  in  the  Frankfurt  Gallery  by  the  same  painter,  in  which 
the  date  (doubtless  originally  1447)  had  been  altered  before  that  picture  was  in 
the  gallery  to  1-417. d 

"  You  probably  know  that  Vasari  in  his  account  of '  Diversi  Artifici  Fiamminghi,' 
and  also  in  his  Introduzione,  mentions  the  painter  under  the  name  of  Pietro 
Christa."" 

•  Compare  Crowe  and  Cavalcaselle,  page  119. 

''  Passavant,  Kunstreise,  Frankfurt,  1833,  page  92. 

c  In  this  instance  the  device  is  really  at  the  end  of  the  inscription.  (G.  S.) 

d  Compare  Eastlake's  Materials,  page  190;  and  Waagen's  Handbook,  page  75. 

•  See  Vasari,  Firenze,  15C8,  pp.  51,  857. 


and  other  Portraits  of  the  same  period.  479 

He  is  also  mentioned,  among  the  distinguished  Flemish  artists,  by  Lodovico 
Guicciardini  as  "  Piero  Christa,"  in  his  Descrittione  di  tutti  i  Paesi  Bassi,  folio, 
Antwerp,  1588,  page  128. 

Two  pictures  by  Petrus  Christus  are  in  the  Berlin  Gallery,  Nos.  529A  and  529s. 
They  represent  the  Annunciation  and  the  Last  Judgment,  and  are  signed  partly 
on  one  panel  and  partly  on  the  other  "  Petrus  Xpi  me  fecit,  Anno  Domini 
MCCCCLII."  In  all  these  cases  the  painter  seems  to  have  uniformly  adopted  the 
usual  medieval  transcripts  of  the  Greek  letters  X  P  in  abbreviating  his  name. 
The  only  exception  to  this  rule,  and  that  merely  on  tradition,  as  the  inscription 
disappeared  with  the  frame,  was  in  connection  with  the  portrait  of  a  young  lady 
of  the  Talbot  family,  noticed  above,  where  the  signature  is  stated  to  have  been 
"  Opus  Petri  Christophori." 

Dr.  Waagen  observes,  Handbook,  page  75,  that  in  the  archives  of  the  cathedral 
of  Cambrai,  according  to  Count  de  Laborde,  Les  Dues  de  Bourgogne,  Introduction, 
p.  cxxv.  f,  the  painter  is  designated  "  Petrus  Christus  of  Bruges." 

A  picture  representing  St.  Peter  and  St.  Dorothy,  when  at  the  Manchester 
Exhibition  in  1857,  No.  440  of  the  catalogue,  was  attributed  to  this  artist,  and 
styled  "Meister  Cristoph:"  but  it  has  no  signature.  It  was  formerly  in  the 
Boisserde  and  Wallerstein  collections,  and  has  recently  been  presented  by  the 
Queen  to  the. National  Gallery.  The  picture  certainly  belongs  to  a  subsequent 
period,  namely,  early  in  the  sixteenth  century,  and  is  rather  German  than  Flemish. 

The  earliest  mention  which  I  find  made  of  the  Grimston  picture  occurs  in 
Pennant's  Journey  from  Chester  to  London,  4to.  1782,  page  248.  After  minutely 
describing  the  historical  portraits  preserved  at  Gorhambury,  a  series  almost 
unequalled  in  extent,  variety,  and  general  excellence,  the  author  proceeds :  "I 
shall  conclude  with  a  very  singular  portrait  on  wood,  called  Sylvester  de  Grimston, 
a  noble  Norman,  standard-bearer  to  the  Conqueror  at  the  battle  of  Hastings,  and 
afterwards  his  chamberlain.  The  picture  is  ancient  and  curious,  but  wants  four 
centuries  of  the  great  period  in  which  Sylvester  lived ;  neither  did  that  age  afford 
any  artists  that  could  give  even  a  tolerable  representation  of  the  human  figure, 
much  less  convey  down  a  likeness  of  the  fierce  heroes  of  their  times.  I  premise 
this,  to  show  the  impossibility  of  this  portrait  having  been  a  copy  of  some  original 
of  this  great  ancestor.  The  dress  is  singular  :  a  large  bonnet,  with  a  very  long 
silken  appendage ;  a  green  jacket,  hanging  sleeves ;  a  collar  of  SS  held  in  one 
hand ;  his  face  beardless.  On  the  back  of  the  picture  is  Petrus  Xoi.  me  fecit, 
anno  1416  (sic).  The  artist  is  unknown  to  me ;  but  the  habit  of  the  person  is  of 
the  date ;  for  I  find  in  Monfaucon's  Monarchic  Francoise  several  persons  of  rank 


480  On  the  Portrait  of  Edward  Grimston, 

in  the  dress,  particularly  Philip  le  Bon,  Duke  of  Burgundy.  I  do  not  hesitate  to 
imagine  that  the  Gorhambury  portrait  is  no  other  than  one  of  this  illustrious 
prince." 

Gough  in  his  Sepulchral  Montiments,  page  cclx.  of  the  Introduction,  published 
1786,  repeats  the  earlier  tradition  of  the  picture  representing  Grimston,  the 
standard-bearer  and  chamberlain  to  William  the  Conqueror.  He  gives  a  facsimile 
of  the  inscription  on  the  back  of  the  panel  in  outline,  on  a  reduced  scale,  but  very 
inaccurately.  The  engraver  has  ignorantly  followed  some  hasty  transcript  which 
had  been  put  into  his  hands.  The  letter  X,  standing  for  Ch.  in  the  name  Christus, 
had  been  left  out  by  the  original  copyist,  who  hurriedly  supplied  the  omission 
by  putting  it  in  above,  adding  the  ordinary  caret  sign  below. 

In  a  second  edition  of  Pennant's  Journey  from  Chester,  published  thirteen  years 
after  the  author's  decease  in  1811,  the  correct  name  was  first  made  known  by  the 
editor  in  a  foot-note  on  page  335,  as  follows  :— 

"This  portrait  is  now  supposed  by  the  noble  owner  to  represent  Edward 
Grimston,  who  was  ambassador  to  the  court  of  Burgundy  in  the  reign  of  Henry 
VI.  and  as  the  family  arms  are  painted  on  the  back  and  front  of  the  picture,  the 
conjecture  does  not  appear  improbable.  See  Bymer's  Fcedera,  xi.  230." 

The  inscription  was  carefully  facsimilied  in  a  woodcut  on  the  page  following. 

The  following  technical  notes,  which  I  have  just  made  from  the  picture,  may 
perhaps  possess  some  interest  as  recording  my  impressions  of  the  general  ap- 
pearance and  the  peculiarities  of  the  painting. 

The  picture  is  painted  on  oak,  and  measures  12  inches  by  9  inches ;  it  is 
very  mellow  and  brown  in  general  tone,  like  the  works  of  John  van  Eyck.  The 
brown  complexion  and  entirely  bald  face  recall  the  characteristics  of  the  husband 
in  Van  Eyck's  well-known  picture  of  two  figures,  a  man  and  his  wife  standing  in 
a  room,  now  in  the  National  Gallery.  The  shadows  of  the  face  are  brown,  harsh, 
and  deficient  in  softness  of  feeling  or  modelling.  The  shadows  cast  on  the  wall 
from  the  beams  of  the  room  are  cleverly  marked  and  doubled  as  if  caused  by  the 
introduction  of  a  second  light.  The  shadows  from  the  black  cross-bars  are  omitted 
on  the  curved  side  of  the  circular  window. 

The  gold  chain  of  large  rings  round  his  neck  is  painted  solely  with  a  pale 
opaque  yellow,  shaded  with  burnt  siena  and  outlined  in  black.  There  is  no 
actual  gold  on  any  part  of  the  picture.  The  hand  that  is  seen  exhibits  no  ring ; 
it  is  fairly  well  modelled,  but  clumsy  at  the  wrist,  brown  in  colour,  with  a  sepia- 
brown  shadow  :  the  finger-nails  are  carefully  marked.  His  head-dress  is  one  solid 
mass  of  black  paint.  There  is  no  shadow  on  his  green  dress  from  the  long  pendant 


and  other  Portraits  of  the  same  period.  481 

of  the  cap  or  bonnet.  The  SS  chain,  apparently  of  silver,  is  beautifully  finished. 
It  appears  to  be  double  as  it  passes  over  his  thumb.  The  coating  of  green  paint 
on  the  back  is  much  chipped  and  blistered,  some  portion  of  it  actually  separating 
from  the  wood.  The  green  ground  is  dark  and  mottled  with  splotches  of  red.  The 
letters  are  dark  red.  (Plate  XXVII.)  The  upper  row  black-lined  on  the  right 
side  with  black;  the  lower  black-lined  with  very  bright  red  lead.  Query,  has 
the  red  lead  of  the  upper  letters  since  turned  black  ?  The  small  device  pre- 
ceding the  inscription  is  a  bright  red  heart  transfixed  with  a  fine  rod  and  cross 
pieces,  like  wires,  of  pure  white  colour. 

There  is  a  small  touch  of  white  like  a  crescent  in  the  centre  of  the  heart.  The 
device  is  very  delicately  painted. 

Believe  me, 

Yours  very  faithfully, 

GEORGE  SCHARP." 

• 

POSTSCRIPT. 

Since  writing  the  above  several  important  particulars  respecting  the  painter 
have  come  to  light.  These  we  owe  to  the  indefatigable  researches  of  Mr.  W.  H. 
James  Weale,  resident  at  Bruges,  who  published  them  in  the  Beffroi,  vol.  i.  page 
236,  a  periodical  of  great  value  in  recording  discoveries  and  elucidating  matters 
connected  with  art  and  literature.  A  few  of  the  leading  points  of  these  discoveries 
will  doubtless  be  found  acceptable. 

Peter  Christus  was  born  at  Baerle,  a  small  village  in  the  commune  of  Tron- 
chiennes,  between  that  village  and  Deynze.  Of  his  father  nothing  more  is  known 
than  that  he  also  was  named  Peter.  Christus  probably  came  to  Bruges  in  1443, 
since  he  purchased  the  right  "of  citizenship  as  a  painter  July  6th,  1444.  The 
following  extract  is  taken  from  the  archives  of  the  city  in  a  register  of  the  names 
of  those  who  purchased  the  right  of  citizenship  between  September  2,  1434,  and 
September  2,  1449,  fol.  72,  "  Pieter  Xps,  f.  Pieters,  gheboren  van  Baerle,  cochte 
zyn  poorterscip  upten  vi  sten  dach  van  Hoymaent ;  bi  Joos  van  der  Done,  omme 
scilder  te  zine." 

•  The  sketch  which  I  made  at  the  time,  June  18,  1863,  is  here  reproduced;  because  since  that 
time,  owing  to  the  carelessness  of  a  picture-cleaner  named  Anthony,  nearly  all  traces  of  the  device 
have  disappeared.  When  Miss  Hill  made  her  very  careful  copy  of  the  picture  in  water-colours 
it  was  no  longer  visible.  I  believe,  however,  that  since  the  monogram  has  been  partially 
recovered. 

VOL.  XL.  3  Q 


482  On  the  Portrait  of  Edward  Grimston,  fyc. 

In  1449,  Peter  Christus  painted  the  picture  which  continued  a  long  time  in 
the  possession  of  the  Goldsmiths  Company  at  Antwerp.  One  of  the  last  members 
of  the  Corporation  sold  it  to  the  late  M.  de  Sybel.  The  picture,  as  stated 
above,  now  belongs  to  Mr.  Oppenheim  of  Cologne.  Mr.  Weale  has  printed  in 
the  Beffroi,  page  241,  vol.  i.  a  careful  facsimile  of  the  inscription  reduced  to 
the  scale  of  one-half,  which  is  here  faithfully  repeated : 


The  wings  of  the  altar-piece  in  the  cathedral  at  Burgos,  representing  the  An- 
nunciation and  Nativity,  and  the  Last  Judgment,  dated  1452,  passed  to  a  convent 
at  Segovia,  were  conveyed  by  M.  Frasinelli  to  Germany,  and  are  now,  as  already 
mentioned,  in  the  museum  at  Berlin. 

In  1451  the  chapter  of  the  cathedral  of  Cambrai  received  from  Canon  Foursy 
du  Bruille,  Archdeacon  of  Valenciennes,  a  "  miraculous  picture  "  of  "  Notre  Dame 
de  Grace,"  brought  from  the  church  of  the  Holy  Sepulchre  at  Rome.  Peter 
Christus  made  three  copies  of  this  picture  in  145  i  for  the  Count  d'Etampes. 
One  of  them  is  now  in  the  hospital  at  Cambrai. 

In  1402  Christus  and  his  wife,  of  whom  no  particulars  are  known,  became 
members  of  the  fraternity  of  "  Notre  Dame  de  L'Arbre  Sec,"  established  in  the 
church  of  the  Minorites  at  Bruges. 

In  1163  he  prepared  for  the  city  of  Bruges  a  large  representation  of  the  Tree  of 
Jesse,  to  be  carried  in  procession,  for  which  he  received  40  livres  8  escalins  de 
gros.  In  1467  and  1468  he  was  employed  in  repairing  it.  The  last  mention  of 
Christus  on  record  belongs  to  the  year  1472,  March  19,  when  he  attended  in  the 
cloister  of  St.  Donatus  to  hear  pronounced  the  arbitration  of  a  dispute  between 
the  corporation  of  Painters  and  Peter  Coustain,  painter  to  the  Duke. 

Mr.  R.  N.  Wornum  gives,  based  on  the  same  authority,  a  succinct  account  of 
the  painter  and  his  works  in  the  last  edition  of  his  valuable  text-book  "  The  Epochs 
of  Painting,"  1864,  page  145. 


•;XVHI  P 


TOMB      N°      I  . 


Section,  on,  C.D. 


C_  ,._•» 


Ground,  Plan, 


«  o:. 


Section,  on,  A.B. 


TOMB      N?      2. 


Section,  on,  C.D. 


Ground.'  Plan, 


Section  on,  A£. 


TOM  B      N?     3 


Ser,Ucn  orvC.D. 


..D 


GrouiuL  Plan. 


Niche 


Section  on,  A.  B 


uw/i  to  a,  foot 


Kell  Bro*  lith  London 


TOMBS      AT      CHAIN       TIFFIKA,    MALTA. 


XXXI. — Description  of  Ancient  Rock- Tombs  at   Ghain  Tifflha  and  Tal  Horr, 
Malta  :  by  Captain  JOHN  S.  SWANN,  F.G.S. 


Read  Jan.  18th,  1866. 


I.  TOMBS  AT  GHAIN  TIPFIHA. 

THE  tombs  at  Ghain  Tiffiha,"  which  is  situated  on  the  west  or  Gozo  side  of 
Malta,  three  or  four  miles  to  the  south  of  St.  Paul's  Bay,  are  all  cut  in  the  rock, 
and,  though  differing  slightly  in  form  and  dimensions,  have  a  general  resemblance, 
as  will  be  seen  by  the  following  descriptions. 

Tomb  No.  1.  —  The  first  tomb  examined  was  nearly  square,  but  with  the 
corners  slightly  rounded  (see  the  ground  plan,  PI.  XXVIII.  fig.  1).  The  dimen- 
sions of  this  tomb  are  about  6  feet  in  length,  and  about  6  feet  3  inches  in  width,b 
and  the  greatest  height  4  feet  3  inches,  which  is  probably  somewhat  in  excess 
of  the  original  height,,  as  a  portion  of  the  roof  appears  to  have  fallen  in.  The 
roof  is  slightly  arched,  as  will  be  seen  by  the  accompanying  sections. 

The  entrance  to  the  tomb  is  by  a  square  opening  cut  into  the  rock  to  a  depth 
of  1  foot  3  inches  to  1  foot  6  inches  ;  it  appears  to  have  been  much  more  care- 
fully cut  than  the  interior  of  the  tomb,  and  is  certainly  the  work  of  people  well 
acquainted  with  the  art  of  stone  cutting,  and  possessed  of  suitable  tools.  There 
is  not  the  slightest  trace  of  inscriptions  of  any  kind.  The  bottom  of  the  entrance 
is  very  nearly  on  a  level  with  the  bottom  of  the  interior  of  the  tomb,  and  the 
entrance  faces  nearly  NNW. 

•  Ok  is  the  aspirate,  and  the  name  is  often  written  Ain  Tiffiha,  Taffiha,  or  Toffiha.  [By  an  accidental 
error  the  name  is  misspelt  Tiffi&a  in  the  accompanying  plate.] 

b  There  was  room  in  the  chamber  for  the  bodies  to  have  been  laid  in  the  extended  position,  and  I  believe 
them  to  have  been  so  deposited,  from  observing  the  position  of  the  fragments  of  skulls  at  one  end  of  the 
chamber,  and  of  the  phalanges  and  tarsal  bones  at  the  other.  I  was  not  able  to  inspect  a  tomb  entirely 
undisturbed,  the  workman  having  pulled  about  the  contents  immediately  they  were  opened,  in  search  of 
coins  or  other  objects  of  value,  which  however  do  not  appear  to  have  been  found. 

3Q2 


484  Description  of  Ancient  Rock-  Tombs 

In  this  tomb  two  skulls  and  a  quantity  of  bones  were  found,  apparently  those 
of  two  individuals.  The  latter  were  very  fragile,  and  required  most  careful 
handling,  and  they  were  unfortunately  much  broken  by  the  violent  treatment 
they  received,  from  which  cause  also  much  damage  was  done  to  the  lower  jaws. 

Quantities  of  fragments  of  pottery  were  also  found;  but  in  most  cases  the 
fragments  were  so  small  that  it  is  quite  impossible  to  conjecture  the  shape  of  the 
vessels  of  which  they  formed  part.  The  following  articles,  however,  were  found  in 
a  very  good  state  of  preservation,  viz.  a  two-handled  vase  of  pale  coarse  pottery, 
10  £  inches  high  (see  woodcut,  fig.  2),  two  jugs,  of  which  one  has  a  trifoliated 
mouth,  and  two  small  saucers,  5f  inches  and  7^  inches  in  diameter ;  the  latter 
has  a  spiral  brown  line  on  the  outside,  and  is  represented  in  the  woodcut,  fig.  9. 
These  vessels  do  not  show  any  trace  of  pattern,  excepting  a  few  stripes  round 
them  of  darker  colour  than  the  general  colour  of  the  vessels  themselves.  The 
two  small  saucers  are  of  a  coarser  material  than  the  vase  and  jugs. 

Tomb  No.  2  is  situated  about  three-quarters  of  a  mile  from  Tomb  No.  1.  The 
entrance,  which  faces  nearly  SW.,  is  precisely  similar  to  that  of  No.  1,  but  the 
shape  of  the  cutting  differs  slightly,  as  will  be  shown  from  the  accompanying  plan 
and  sections  (PI.  XXVIII.  fig.  2).  This  tomb  presents  the  peculiarity  of  having 
a  kind  of  ledge  or  shelf,  about  one  foot  high  and  one  foot  wide,  on  the  side  to  the 
left  of  the  entrance.  Its  greatest  height  is  about  4  feet  3  inches,  length  6  feet 
3  inches,  including  the  shelf,  and  width  6  feet  6  inches. 

In  this  tomb  large  quantities  of  bones  were  found,  but  in  such  a  state  as 
scarcely  to  permit  of  being  handled  or  moved.  No  whole  skulls  were  obtained, 
but  many  fragments :  from  the  broken  state  of  the  bones  it  is  quite  impossible  to 
guess  at  the  number  of  individuals  who  may  have  been  interred  here.  The  state 
of  the  bones  in  this  tomb,  and  also  in  No.  3,  is  partially  accounted  for  by  the  fact 
that  the  tenant  of  the  land  has  made  a  terrace  field  in  front  of  the  entrances  to 
these  tombs,  the  soil  of  which  rises  to  between  two  and  three  feet  above  the  level 
of  the  entrance,  through  which  water  and  the  finer  portions  of  the  marl  of  which 
the  field  is  composed  have  percolated,  and  rendered  the  bones,  already  much 
decayed,  quite  rotten. 

Quantities  of  pottery,  both  whole  and  in  a  broken  state,  were  found  in  this 
tomb,  differing  slightly  in  quality  from  that  found  in  Tomb  No.  1.  The  following 
is  a  list  of  articles  found  in  a  good  state  of  preservation,  viz.  a  large  globular 


at  Ghain  Tiffiha  and  Tal  Horr,  Malta.  485 

amphora,  2  feet  1  inch  high,  of  red  pottery,  apparently  washed  with  a  lighter 
colour,  and  with  two  painted  lines  across  the  body  (see  woodcut,  fig.  1) ;  a  large 
round  plate  or  saucer  of  finer  ware  than  the  others,  1^  inch  high,  and  9  inches  in 
diameter ;  a  red  two-handled  bowl  of  pale  red  ware,  7£  inches  in  diameter  (wood- 
cut, fig.  6) ;  two  small  bowls,  5f  inches  in  diameter ;  two  small  plates,  3£  inches 
in  diameter ;  a  one-handled  jug,  of  thin  dull  red  ware,  4  inches  high  (woodcut, 
fig.  5) ;  three  bottle-shaped  vases  with  one  handle  each ;  and  two  open  lamps 
with  projections  for  two  wicks,  and  which  show  marks  of  burning  (woodcut,  fig.  7), 
each  about  5  inches  long. 

Tomb  No.  3. — This  tomb  is  in  the  immediate  vicinity  of  No.  2,  and  the  entrance 
also  faces  the  south-west. 

The  only  peculiarity  presented  in  this  tomb  is  that  a  portion  of  it,  about  one- 
third,  differs  in  width  from  the  remaining  portion.  The  dimensions  differ 
slightly  from  those  of  Nos.  1  and  2,  and  the  annexed  rough  ground-plan  and 
sections  (PI.  XXVIII.  fig.  3)  show  the  dimensions  and  the  peculiarity  above 
mentioned.  In  the  wall  at  the  furthest  extremity,  on  the  right-hand  side,  there 
is  a  small  niche  about  3  feet  4  inches  from  the  floor  of  the  tomb.  This  is  the 
only  instance  in  the  tombs  at  Ghain  Tiffiha  of  there  being  any  trace  of  a  niche  of 
this  kind. 

As  in  Tomb  No.  2,  bones  were  found  in  great  abundance,  but  in  a  very  rotten 
state,  owing  to  the  damp  and  to  being  mixed  with  wet  clay — indeed  it  was  almost 
impossible  to  handle  or  remove  them  without  their  falling  to  pieces.  From  the 
very  large  number  of  small  vertebrae  it  would  seem  probable  that  one  or  more 
young  persons  had  been  buried  in  this  tomb.  The  pottery  was  here  also  in  a 
very  broken  state,  but  some  tolerably  perfect  vessels  were  obtained,  viz.  a  two- 
handled  vase  or  amphora  of  pale  pottery  12  inches  high  (woodcut,  fig.  3),  a  small 
bottle  of  pale  terra  cotta  6  inches  high  (woodcut,  fig.  8),  a  small  lamp  of  the  same 
form  as  those  found  in  Tomb  No.  2,  a  small  bowl,  and  a  broken  cup. 

In  this  tomb  also  was  found  a  vase  of  very  coarse  material,  which  could  not  be 
handled  in  consequence  of  its  extreme  rottenness,  with  the  debris  of  which  were 
found  quantities  of  fragments  of  calcined  bones  which  appear  to  have  been 
deposited  in  the  vase.  The  dimensions  of  this  vase  appear  to  have  been  from 
1  foot  4  inches  to  1  foot  6  inches  in  height,  about  1  foot  in  diameter  at  the  top, 
and  1  foot  3  inches  in  diameter  in  its  widest  part  about  two-thirds  from  the  top. 


486 


Description  of  Ancient  Bock-Tombs 


Tomb  No.  4. — This  tomb  did  not  differ  in  character  from  those  already  men- 
tioned, and  contained  fragments  of  bones  and  pottery,  but  no  whole  skulls  or 
complete  articles  of  pottery  were  obtained. 

None  of  the  above  excavations  present  the  smallest  trace  of  any  inscriptions,  but 
this  may  arise  from  the  nature  of  the  stone  (coralline  limestone)  in  which  they 
are  cut. 


CiROUP   OF    POTTERY    FBOM   TOMBS  AT   GHAJN   TIFFIHA. 


II.  TOMB  AT  TAX  HORB. 

Having  heard  that,  during  the  progress  of  the  works  at  the  new  cemetery  at 
Tal  Horr,  an  ancient  tomb  had  been  discovered,  I  visited  the  spot  in  November 
1865,  and  examined  the  tomb,  of  which  the  following  is  a  description. 

This  tomb  consists  of  a  vertical  shaft  cut  in  the  solid  rock,  at  the  bottom  and 
on  one  side  of  which  is  a  horizontal  chamber  very  nearly  circular  in  shape,  and 


Vol  XLPI.XXIX  p 


'  -    •••  . 
Section  en  C.I) 


SecUvn    on  A..B 


Plan. 


Scale  %  uuh.  la  a.  feet 


•  '  lith  London 


TOMB   AT   TAL   HORR.  MALTA. 


at  Ghain  Tiffiha  and  Tal  Horr,  Malta.  487 

to  which  admission  is  gained  from  the  shaft  by  a  small  rectangular  opening,  in 
front  of  which  is  a  small  trench. 

The  dimensions  of  the  shaft,  chamber,  and  trench  will  be  seen  from  the 
annexed  plan  and  section  (Plate  XXIX.)  which  is  roughly  copied  from  a  more 
finished  plan  kindly  lent  me  by  the  Hon.  G.  Vella,  Collector  of  Land  Revenues. 

On  the  sides  of  the  shaft  four  notches  are  cut,  apparently  to  facilitate  descent 
and  ascent. 

The  shaft  appears  to  have  been  carefully  cut  by  a  people  possessed  of  good 
tools  as  well  as  an  aptitude  for  using  them. 

At  the  bottom  of  the  shaft  were  found  the  skull  and  bones  of  apparently  a 
young  person,  and  in  the  chamber  the  bones  and  skulls  of  two  individuals, 
together  with  a  few  articles  of  pottery. 

Having  expressed  a  wish  to  submit  one  or  both  of  these  skulls  to  the  inspection 
of  my  friend  Dr.  Thurnam,  one  of  them  was  kindly  supplied  me  by  the  Hon. 
G.  Vella,  to  whose  courtesy  I  am  much  indebted  for  the  facilities  afforded  me  in 
inspecting  both  the  tomb  and  the  human  remains ;  and  I  am  also  indebted  to 
Dr.  Cesare  Vassalo,  the  Librarian  of  the  Public  Library,  for  the  facilities  afforded 
me  for  examining  the  pottery. 

With  regard  to  the  articles  of  pottery  found  in  this  tomb,  they  appear  to  be  of 
the  same  kind  as  those  obtained  by  me  at  Ghain  Tiffika,  with  one  exception, 
however,  viz.  an  amphora  with  two  long  handles.  Its  height  was  about  29 
inches  and  greatest  diameter  about  9  inches ;  the  extremity  of  the  pointed  base 
was  broken  off. 

Besides  the  articles  of  pottery  a  small  bright  blue  nodule  was  found,  about  the 
size  of  a  small  walnut.  Its  colour  is  most  beautiful ;  but  what  it  is  or  may  have 
been  is  most  difficult  to  conjecture. 

A  notice  of  the  discovery  at  Tal  Horr  appeared  lately  in  the  Malta  Observer, 
the  writer  of  which  supposes  that  the  nodule  may  be  a  "  decomposed  sapphire  !  " 
but  the  grounds  on  which  he  has  arrived  at  such  a  conclusion  seem  to  be  open 
to  considerable  doubt. 


XXXII. — On  the  Human  Remains,  and  especially  the  Skulk,  from  the  Rock- 
Tombs  at  Ghain  Tiffiha  and  Tal  Horr,  and  from  other  places  in  Malta. 
By  JOHN  THURNAM,  Esq.,  M.D.,  F.&.A. 


Read  Jan.  18th,  1866. 

THE  human  remains  from  Tomb  1  at  Ghain  Tiffiha  comprise  the  more  import- 
ant bones  of  two  skeletons.  They  are  generally  well  preserved,  though  very 
light  and  brittle,  as  would  appear  from  the  almost  entire  destruction  of  the  animal 
matter.  They  are  uniformly  stained  of  a  dark  reddish-brown  hue,  and  here  and 
there  incrusted  with  a  tufaceous  or  stalagmitic  deposit  of  the  same  colour.  The 
bones  from  Tombs  2  and  3  are,  on  the  contrary,  of  a  pale  or  drab  clay  colour. 
The  dark  colour  of  the  former  is  attributed  by  Captain  Swann  to  the  percolation 
through  cracks  in  the  limestone  rock  of  water  tinged  with  the  highly -coloured 
soil  with  which  many  fissures  in  the  upper  limestone  of  Malta  are  filled.  The 
Tombs  2  and  3,  on  the  contrary,  had  become  filled  with  clay  from  "  Clay-bed 
No.  3,"  and  hence  the  difference. 

The  skeletons  from  Tomb  1  are  those  of  two  persons  of  less  than  middle 
stature.  One  (A)  I  take  to  be  that  of  a  man  with  a  stature  of  about  5  feet 
1  inch,  the  other  (B)  to  have  been  perhaps  one  inch  less.  The  difference  in  the 
length  of  the  bones  of  the  leg  and  thigh  in  the  two  skeletons  is  very  trifling. 
There  is  a  greater  difference  in  the  length  of  the  bones  of  the  arm,  which  are  at 
least  an  inch  longer  in  A  than  in  B.  The  length  of  the  bones  is  as  follows: — 

A.  B. 

Eng.  Inches.        Millimetres.                            Eng.  Inches.  Millimetres. 

Femur                                     16J  413  16J  413 

Tibia  .                  .                   14  355  13j  349 

Fibula  .  13 J  343 

Humerus  .                            12  £  308  —  — 

Radius                                     9J  241                                  8J  216 

Ulna  .                                   104  260                                  9J  235 

All  the  long  bones  of  A  are  thicker  than  those  of  B,  and  have  the  processes 
and  ridges  for  the  attachment  of  muscles  much  stronger.  The  small  size  of  the 


On  Human  Remains  from  Ghain  Tiffiha  and  Tal  Horr.  489 

scapulas  of  B,  and  the  form  and  size  of  the  respective  ossa  innominata,  are  all  in 
favour  of  the  one  being  the  skeleton  of  a  man  and  the  other  of  a  woman.  The 
skulls,  as  received  by  me,  were  not  lettered  to  correspond  with  the  other  bones  of 
the  skeleton.  I  have  ventured,  however,  to  assume  that  the  larger  and  more 
dolichocephalic,  which  is  also  distinguished  by  more  marked  facial  characters, 
really  belongs  to  the  larger  and  doubtless  male  skeleton  A.  The  lesser  and 
sub-brachycephalous  skull  attributed  to  skeleton  B  has  not  the  sexual  characters 
so  strikingly  marked,  but  that  if  found  alone  it  might  have  been  taken  for  that  of 
a  man.  I  have  ventured  to  regard  it  as  female.  The  special  description  of  these 
two  skulls  follows  that  of  the  less  perfect  human  remains  from  Tombs  2  and  3. 

Tomb  2. — The  bones  from  this  tomb  are  much  more  fragmentary  than  those 
from  Tomb  1.  They  seem  to  indicate  three  skeletons ;  there  are  portions  of  at 
least  five  humeri.  The  principal  bones  appear  to  have  been  those  of  a  man, 
woman,  and  child.  Those  which  can  be  measured  are  a  humerus  and  a  radius. 

Eng.  Inches.  Millimetres. 

Humerus 12J  317 

Radius 9J  237 

There  are  the  entire  occipital  and  a  considerable  part  of  both  temporal  and 
parietal  bones  of  the  woman's  skull,  which  was  clearly  of  ovoid  or  even  doli- 
chocephalic form.  The  fragment  of  another  skull  presents  some  post-coronal 
depression. 

Tomb  3. — The  fragmentary  bones  from  this  tomb,  among  which  are  portions  of 
five  humeri,  and  three  lower  jaws,  show  that  in  it  likewise  not  less  than  three 
bodies  had  been  interred.  The  length  of  two  tibia,  and  of  two  radii,  seem  to 
imply  a  somewhat  higher  stature  than  for  the  skeletons  from  Tomb  1. 

Eng.  Inches.        Millimetres.  Eng.  Inches.      Millimetres. 

Tibia  15  381  Radius  .         .         9|  247 

Tibia    .         .         14j  374  Radius  .         .         9J  241 

Here  also  it  is  probable  that  one  of  the  occupants  of  the  tomb  was  a  man  and 
another  a  woman.  The  sex  and  age  of  the  third  is  doubtful.  Among  the  bones 
was  the  sacrum  of  a  small  ruminant  animal,  probably  a  female  goat  or  antelope. 

We  will  now  return  to  the  description  of  the  two  tolerably  perfect  skulls  from 
Tomb  1. 

Skull  A  appears  to  be  that  of  a  man  of  seventy  or  seventy-five  years  of  age. 

VOL.  XL.  3  R 


490  On  Human  Remains  from  Rock-Tombs  at 

Almost  all  the  teeth  have  been  lost  during  life.  The  coronal,  sagittal,  and 
lambdoid  sutures  are  almost  entirely  obliterated.  It  is  a  moderately  dolicho- 
cephalous,  or,  more  strictly,  an  ovoid  or  orthocephalic  skull,  the  breadth  being  in 
the  proportion  of  '74  to  the  length  taken  as  TOO.  The  frontal  region  is  narrow 
and  rather  flat  and  receding ;  the  parietals,  broad  in  proportion  to  the  frontal, 
have  the  tuberosities  moderately  well  expressed,  and  slope  away  gradually  to  a 
tolerably  broad,  rounded,  and  prominent  occiput.  The  mastoids  are  of  moderate 
size  and  taper  in  form,  the  digastric  grooves  deep.  Turning  to  the  face  we  find  a 
full  glabella,  the  prominence  of  which  extends  to  the  inner  thirds  only  of  the 
supraeiliaries ;  the  jugal  bones  are  but  slightly  prominent.  The  most  remarkable 
feature  in  this  skull  is  perhaps  the  great  prominence  of  the  nasals,  which  are 
directed  outwards  and  forwards  at  an  almost  right  angle  with  the  glabella.  The 
superior  maxillaries  are  of  medium  size  and  have  never  been  deep,  though  the 
senile  atrophy  and  posthumous  decay  of  the  dental  arcade  prevent  the  exact 
determination  of  the  depth  of  the  bone.  Tiie  same  circumstances  interfere  with 
any  conclusions  as  to  the  degree  of  prognathism  of  which  the  alveolar  portion  of 
this  bone  has  been  the  seat.  The  lower  jaw,  which  appears  to  belong  to  this 
skull,  is  long  and  much  thrown  forward,  with  the  ascending  ramus  square  and 
broad,  but  not  very  deep.  On  placing  it  in  position  it  becomes  obvious  that  the 
prognathic  prominence  of  the  intermaxillaries  and  their  contained  incisor  teeth 
has  been  somewhat  considerable.  The  chin  is  narrow  and  rather  prominent. 
Two  only  of  the  teeth  remain  in  the  upper  jaw  ;  in  the  lower  the  left  canine  is 
now  alone  present,  and  is  the  seat  of  much  jagged  erosion. 

Skull  B  is  of  smaller  size,  and  is  less  massive  than  the  former  (A).  Its  facial 
characters  are  more  feminine  in  appearance,  though  the  mastoids  are  large,  short, 
and  tuniid,  and  the  transverse  occipital  spine  and  inion  are  large  enough  for  those 
of  a  man.  The  sex  may  be  doubtful.  I  take  the  skull  to  be  that  of  a  person  of 
about  sixty-five  years  of  age.  The  obliteration  of  all  the  principal  sutures  is 
much  advanced.  The  proportions  are  sub-brachycephalous,  the  breadth  being  as 
'78  to  the  length  taken  as  I'OO.  The  forehead  is  narrow,  but  less  receding  than 
in  A.  The  parietals  are  broad  and  somewhat  short,  and  present  a  considerable 
expansion  at  the  temporo-occipital  angles.  '  Some  degree  of  parieto-occipital 
flatness  is  visible,  particularly  on  the  right  side.  The  occiput  and  base  of  the 
skull  are  distinguished  by  much  ruggedness.  The  face  presents  a  slightly  promi- 
nent glabella ;  the  nasals,  not  at  all  remarkable  for  prominence,  are  implanted 
into  the  glabella  at  a  very  acute  angle.  The  superior  maxillaries  are  short  and 
small,  with  the  alveolar  margins  slightly  everted ;  when  the  incisor  teeth  were  in 


Ghain  Tiffiha  and  Tal  Horr.  491 

place,  a  certain  degree  of  prognathism  was  no  doubt  apparent.    The  teeth  remain- 
ing in  the  lower  jaw  are  very  considerably  eroded. 

These  two  crania  may  be  compared  with  three  other  ancient  Maltese  skulls, 
already  known  to  anthropologists. 

The  first  (No.  3  of  our  Table)  is  the  celebrated  skull  sent  to  the  late  Dr. 
Morton  by  the  distinguished  traveller  M.  Fresnel,  in  1847,  with  the  following 
memorandum :  "  Cranium  from  the  sepulchral  caves  of  Ben-Djemma,  in  the  island 
of  Malta.  It  appears  to  have  belonged  to  an  individual  of  the  race  which,  in 
times  of  the  highest  antiquity,  occupied  the  northern  shores  of  Africa  and  the  isles 
adjacent."  Morton,  it  is  said,  even  before  he  knew  where  it  came  from,  divined 
it  to  be  Phoenician,  from  its  great  peculiarities  and  want  of  resemblance  to  any 
skulls  known  to  him.  He  thus  describes  it :  "In  a  profile  view,  the  eye  quickly 
notices  the  remarkable  length  of  the  occipito-mental  diameter.  This  feature  gives 
to  the  whole  head  an  elongated  appearance,  which  is  much  heightened  by  the 
general  narrowness  of  the  calvaria,  the  backward  slope  of  the  occipital  region,  and 

the  strong  prognathous  tendency  of  the  maxilla3 The  lower  jaw 

is  large  and  much  thrown  forwards.  The  slope  of  the  superior  maxillae  forms  an 
angle  of  about  45°  with  the  horizon.  Notwithstanding  the  inclination  of  the 
maxillae,  the  incisor  teeth  are  so  curved  as  to  be  nearly  vertical.  Hence  the 
prognathism  is  quite  peculiar,  differing  both  from  that  of  the  Eskimo  and  true 
African  skulls."8 

In  the  winter  of  1862-63  the  Ben-Djemma  b  skull  was  carefully  examined  by 
Professor  Dr.  D.  Wilson  of  Toronto,  by  whom  some  measurements  of  it  were 

4  Meigs,  Catalogue  of  Crania,  1857,  p.  28,  No.  1352;  Nott  and  Gliddon,  Types  of  Mankind,  p.  xl. ; 
Indigenous  Races,  p.  314. 

b  Ben-Djemma,  otherwise  Bingenna.  Mr.  Vance  mentions  a  mummy  case,  "  from  a  tomb  in  the  Bin- 
genna  mountains,"  resembling  those  found  in  Egypt,  and  which  is  preserved  in  the  Library  at  Valetta. 
Archceologia,  xxix.  235.  The  sepulchral  caves  of  Ben-Djemma  are  a  series  of  galleries  with  lateral  chambers 
or  catacombs  hewn  in  the  face  of  the  cliffs,  in  the  south-west  of  the  island  of  Malta.  There  are  other  traces, 
besides  the  rock-hewn  tombs,  of  the  existence  of  an  ancient  town,  though  no  record  of  its  name  or  history 
survives.  In  his  Malte  et  le  Ooze,  p.  21,  M  Frederick  la  Croix  remarks:  "  Whoever  the  inhabitants  of  this 
city  may  have  been,  it  is  manifest,  from  what  remains  of  their  works,  that  they  were  not  strangers  to  the 
processes  of  art.  The  sepulchral  caves,  amounting  to  a  hundred  in  number,  receive  light  by  means  of  little 
apertures,  some  of  which  are  decorated  like  a  finished  doorway.  In  others,  time  and  the  action  of  the  humid 

atmosphere  have  obliterated  all  traces  of  such  ornament  and  left  only  the  weathered  rock The 

chambers  set  apart  for  sepulture  are  excavated  at  a  considerable  distance  from  the  entrance  in  the  inmost 
recesses  of  the  galleries  and  are  of  admirable  design." 

3a  2 


492  On  Human  Remains  from  Rock-Tombs  at 

taken.  Dr.  "Wilson  says,  "  The  skull  is  no  doubt  that  of  a  woman  ; m  it  is  narrow 
throughout,  with  its  greatest  breadth  a  little  behind  the  coronal  suture,  from 
whence  it  narrows  gradually  towards  front  and  rear.  The  lower  jaw  is  large  and 
massive,  but  with  less  of  the  prognathous  development  than  in  the  superior 
maxillary.  The  nose  has  been  prominent ;  but  the  zygomatic  arches  are  delicate, 
and  the  whole  face  is  long,  narrow,  and  tapering  towards  the  chin.  The  parietals 
meet  at  an  angle,  with  a  bulging  of  the  sagittal  suture,  and  a  slight  but  distinctly 
defined  pyramidal  form  running  into  the  frontal  bone.  The  occiput  is  full,  round, 
and  projecting  a  little  more  on  the  left  side  than  the  right."  I  have  added  to  the 
Table  a  few  of  Dr.  Wilson's  measurements  of  this  skull.  From  these  we  learn 
that  its  length  is  7'4,  and  its  parietal  diameter  5'1  inches  ;  the  breadth  thus  being 
as  -69  to  the  length  taken  as  TOO. 

Another  ancient  Maltese  skull  (No.  4),  for  a  photograph  of  which  I  am  in- 
debted to  the  kindness  of  Dr.  A.  Leith  Adams,  Surgeon  of  the  22nd  Regiment,  is 
preserved  in  the  museum  of  the  Public  Library  at  Valetta. b  It  was  dug  up  in 
the  ruins  of  the  celebrated  temple  of  Hagiar  Kim,  near  Crendi,  during  the  exca- 
vations conducted  by  Governor  Sir  Henry  Bouverie  in  the  year  1839. c  Un- 

•  I  substitute  "woman"  for  "man,"  as  printed  in  the  Canadian  Journal  for  March  1863,  on  the 
authority  of  Dr.  D.  Wilson  himself,  in  a  letter  with  which  he  has  favoured  me  The  description  of  this  skull 
is  contained  in  his  interesting  and  useful  memoir  On  the  Significance  of  Certain  Ancient  British  Skull-forms, 
p.  8—12. 

b  I  have  to  thank  my  friend  R.  T.  Gore,  Esq.  of  Bath,  for  copies  of  drawings  showing  both  the  face  and 
the  profile  of  a  skull  said  to  be  derived  from  "  a  tomb  of  very  ancient  date  at  Malta  in  1838,"  but  which, 
on  comparison  with  Dr.  Adams's  photograph,  I  cannot  doubt  to  be,  with  it,  representations  of  one  and  the 
same  skull.  I  have  briefly  referred  to  both  the  Ben-Djemma  and  the  Hagiar  Kim  skull,  in  Memoirs 
Anthrop.  Soc.  of  London,  vol.  i.  p.  1G4. 

c  These  excavations  are  described  by  Mr.  J.  G.  Vance  in  the  Archccologia,  vol.  xxix.  p.  227.  The 
only  notice  of  human  remains  in  Mr.  Vance's  memoir  is  that  in  the  following  passage:  "  On  examining  the 
bones,  which  during  the  process  of  excavation  were  dug  up  in  great  quantities  amongst  the  rubbish,  we 
were  led  to  suppose  that  the  victims  offered  generally  consisted  of  small  animals,  such  as  sheep,  lambs,  or 
even  birds  :  there  are,  nevertheless,  some  which  belong  to  a  larger  species  of  carnivorous  quadruped,  as 
also  a  few  human  remains  ;  from  which  we  may  infer  that  the  life  of  man  was  on  peculiar  occasions  required 
to  form  a  part  in  a  mysterious  and  barbarous  ceremony."  (p.  230.)  Some  additional  diggings  were  made  in 
the  interior  of  Hagiar  Kim,  in  1852,  by  Charles  Newton,  Esq.  of  the  British  Museum,  as  briefly  referred  to 
in  the  Archaeological  Journal,  vol.  ix.  p.  299.  The  objects  seem  to  have  consisted  exclusively  of  fragments 
of  ancient  pottery,  specimens  of  which  are  preserved  in  the  British  Museum. 

Mr.  Khind's  observations  on  Hagiar  Kim  are  given  in  the  Archaeological  Journal,  vol.  xiii.  p.  397.  In 
the  memoir  of  this  lamented  antiquary  by  John  Stuart,  Esq.  (Edin.  18C4,p.  21)  there  is  a  brief  reference  to 


Ghain  Tiffiha  and  Tal  Horr.  493 

fortunately  there  is  no  precise  statement  as  to  how  it  was  placed  when  found, 
beyond  the  fact  that  it  was  "  imbedded  in  the  detritus  within  the  chief  circle  "  of 
the  temple.  In  the  Malta  Penny  Magazine,  No.  34  (May  2nd,  1840,  p.  138),  we 
are,  however,  told  that  "  a  quantity  of  quadruped  and  a  few  human  bones  were 
found  interred  in  chamber  12,  the  most  remarkable  of  which  is  a  human  skull, 
found  buried  two  feet  above  the  floor."  A  figure  of  the  skull  is  given  (fig.  4), 
upon  which  the  writer  adds,  "  it  will  be  seen  that  it  belongs  to  the  Ethiopian 
family."  It  is  thus  open  to  considerable  doubt  whether  the  skull  is  of  contem- 
porary date  with  the  structure  in  which  it  was  found.  Though  not  such,  it  may 
still  be  the  skull  of  an  ancient  Maltese.  Several  indeed  have  conjectured  that  it 
is  that  of  a  negro,  not  differing  from  existing  varieties  of  that  race.  It  would  be 
rash  to  deny  the  possibility  of  the  cranium  being  that  of  an  intertropical  African  ; 
but  a  comparison  of  the  photograph  with  the  sketch  of  that  of  the  skull  from  the 
Ben-Djemma  caves  shows,  that  its  marked  prognathism  is  only  an  exaggeration 
of  that  seen  in  the  latter.  The  small  horizontal  circumference  makes  it  probable 
that  it  likewise  is  the  skull  of  a  woman.  Though  so  much  more  prognathic,  it  is 
of  much  less  elongate  proportions  than  that  from  Ben-Djemma. 

Since  this  was  written,  the  skull  from  Hagiar  Kim  has  been  forwarded  to 
England  for  examination  by  Professor  G.  Busk,  F.R.S.,  by  whom  it  has  been 
figured  for  his  as  yet  unpublished  Crania  Typical  Through  Mr.  Busk's  kindness 
I  have  had  the  opportunity  of  examining  and  measuring  the  skull,  which  is  no 
doubt  that  of  a  woman  of  less  than  middle  age.  The  frontal  is  low  and  narrow, 
the  superoccipital  full  and  rounded,  the  inion  not  very  strongly  marked,  the 
parietal  tubers  round  and  quite  prominent,  so  that  the  skull  is  less  dolichocepha- 
lous  than  it  would  otherwise  have  been ;  the  relative  breadth  being  represented 
by  '78.  This  is  by  many  understood  as  a  dolichocephalic  proportion,  though  in  a 
more  precise  technical  scale  of  skull-forms  it  would  be  termed  sub-brachycepha- 
lous.  The  skull  is  thin,  light,  and  porous,  and  there  is  nothing  beyond  its 
prognathism  to  Avarrant  any  suspicion  of  a  negro  origin.  In  connection  with  the 
produced  alveoli  and  maxillae,  the  great  depth  of  the  chin  is  its  most  remarkable 
character,  measuring,  exclusive  of  the  incisor  teeth,  l-6  inch.  The  depth  here  is 
as  great  as  that  of  the  ascending  ramus  of  the  lower  jaw,  measured  to  the 

this  skull  and  the  circumstances  of  its  discovery.  It  is  difficult  to  reconcile  with  the  notice  in  The  Malta 
^[arjazine  the  statement  of  Mr.  Khind,  that  "  it  was  found  with  crumbling  bones  in  a  species  of  crypt  in  the 
megalithic  remains  at  Hagiar  Kim  ;"  unless  he  intends  by  the  name  of  crypt  the  oval  chamber  No.  12, 
which  is  "31  feet  long  by  12  wide." 

•  Mr.  Busk  has  also  figured  the  skull  from  Tal  Horr  described  below. 


494  On  Human  Remains  from  Mock- Tombs  at 

lower  edge  of  the  sigmoid  notch.  The  sagittal  and  coronal  sutures  are  consider- 
ably obliterated,  perhaps,  as  Mr.  Busk  suggested  to  me,  the  effect  of  carrying 
weights  on  the  head.  The  usure  of  the  crowns  of  the  teeth  is  horizontal  and 
moderate. 

An  ancient  Maltese  skull  (No.  6),  in  the  museum  at  Lund,  is  known  to  me 
from  photographs  of  the  profile,  face,  and  vertex,  kindly  sent  to  me  by  the 
venerable  Professor  Nilsson,  by  whom  I  am  informed  that  it  was  obtained 
from  a  catacomb  in  the  island  of  Malta.  The  skull  was  found  in  a  niche 
in  a  side  chamber  of  one  of  these  tombs,  by  a  young  physician,  a  pupil  of 
Dr.  Nilsson's,  during  his  visit  to  Malta."  It  appears  to  be  that  of  a  man,  the 
frontal  region  being  broad  and  well  arched.  Though,  like  the  other  skulls  I  have 
described,  it  is  slightly  prognathic,  it  differs  from  them  in  being  of  a  much  more 
round  and  broad  form.  According  to  the  measurements  of  the  photograph  of 
the  vertex,  its  breadth  is  as  '80  to  the  length  taken  as  I'OO,  a  proportion  which 
just  comes  within  the  brachycephalous  categoiy. 

Another  ancient  Maltese  skull  (No.  6  of  the  Table),  from  the  rock-tomb  dis- 
covered in  the  new  cemetery  at  Tal  Horr,  has  also  been  placed  in  my  hands 
by  my  friend  Captain  Swann.  This  is  the  very  fine  cranium  of  a  man  of  not 
more  than  fifty  years  of  age,  perhaps  considerably  younger.  It  is  much  larger 
than  any  other  of  the  skulls  here  described,  unless  possibly  the  last,  which  I  only 
know  through  photographs.  It  has  a  horizontal  circumference  of  21-3  inches 
(541  millimetres),  and  a  cubic  capacity  of  100  cubic  inches  (1,638  cubic  centi- 
metres). The  forehead  is  of  medium  breadth,  but  well  arched  and  elevated;  the 
parietals  are  well  expanded,  and  the  occipital  still  more  so.  The  norma  verticalis, 
or  upper  aspect  of  the  skull,  is  a  very  regular  oval,  and  the  measurements  show 
that  it  has  a  relative  breadth  of  '75.  This  is  precisely  the  true  oval  or  ortho- 
cephalic  proportion,  equally  removed  from  the  oblong  or  dolichocephalic  and 
from  the  round  or  brachycephalic  form  of  skull.  All  the  great  sutures  arc  very 
much  obliterated  internally,  and  the  sagittal  externally  likewise.  The  glabella 
and  supraciliaries  are  not  very  prominent.  The  facial  bones  are  rather  narrow 
and  of  moderate  size.  There  is  a  slight  tendency  to  prognathism  shown  in  the 
eversion  of  the  short  dental  arcade  of  the  inte"rmaxillaries.  In  the  lower  jaw  is 
to  be  observed  the  prominent  and  somewhat  pointed  chin,  and  also  the  oblique 
position  of  the  ascending  branches.  An  unusual  number  of  the  teeth,  especially 

m  The  skull  is  briefly  referred  to  by  Professor  Nilsson  in  Die  Ureinwohner  des  Scandinavigchen  Nordens. 
1863.  p.  20.  "Ich  selbst  babe  einen  Menschenschadel  erhalten,  welcher  in  einer  Nische  der  einen 
(Maltesischen)  Seitenkammer  gefunden  wurde." 


Ghain  Tiffiha  and  Tal  Horr.  495 

those  of  the  lower  jaw,  appear  to  have  been  lost  at  an  early  period  of  life,  so  that 
the  crowns  of  those  which  remain  have  been  protected  against  the  attrition  to 
which  they  might  otherwise  have  been  subjected. 

The  historical  ethnology  of  the  islands  of  Malta  and  Gozo  is  by  no  means  free 
from  doubt.  That  they  were  settled  by  the  ancient  Phoenicians  at  a  very  early 
period,  and  long  before  the  time  when  they  fell  under  the  influence  of  the 
Carthaginians,  is  an  opinion  probable  in  itself  and  entertained  by  the  best  modern 
historians.  The  only  ancient  testimony,  however,  in  favour  of  it  is  that  of 
Diodorus  Siculus,  by  whom  Malta  is  termed  "  a  colony  of  the  Phoenicians."  It 
has  been  supposed  that  these  islands  had  an  earlier  population  of  North  African 
or  Libyan  stock,  but  of  this,  though  not  unlikely,  there  is  no  evidence.  The  late 
Admiral  W.  H.  Smyth,  F.R.S.  and  S.A.,  referring  chiefly  to  the  people  of  the 
lesser  island  of  Gozo,  says  :  "  The  present  inhabitants  are  of  athletic  form,  with  a 
physiognomy  especially  marked  by  the  nose  and  lips  approaching  to  that  of  the 
Africans."  The  existing  population  of  Malta  is  usually  regarded  as  for  the  most 
part  derived  from  the  Arabs  or  Saracens,  who  overran  the  islands  of  the 
Mediterranean  in  the  ninth  and  subsequent  centuries  of  our  era ;  but  this  is  by 
no  means  certain,  and  there  are  those  who  with  Admiral  Smyth  conclude,  that, 
"  although  Malta  was  frequently  subjugated  by  other  powers,  the  Phoenicians  and 
Carthaginians  became  so  identified  with  the  supposed  aborigines  of  the  island 
that  the  subsequent  intercourse  with  Greeks,  Romans,  Saracens,  Normans,  and 
Spaniards  appears  to  have  had  but  little  comparative  effect  on  the  language, 
habits,  or  customs  of  the  Maltese."  b 

There  can  be  little  doubt  that  the  ancient  rock-tombs  of  Malta  are  in  many 
cases  those  of  Phoenicians  or  their  descendants,  but  that  all  are  such  is  not 
probable,  and,  in  the  absence  of  inscriptions  in  the  Phoenician  character,  we  must 
proceed  with  caution  in  the  attribution  of  any  particular  tomb  to  this  people/ 
Within  a  recent  period  important  evidence  has  been  obtained  as  to  the  form  of 

•  Lib.  v.  o.  12.  See  Kenrick's  Phoenicia,  p,  108;  and  articles  "Melita"  and  "  Gaulos  "  in  Smith's 
Dictionary  of  Geography. 

b  Archceologia.  xxii.  295. 

c  Au  antiquary  as  cautious  as  the  late  Mr.  Rhind  attributes  to  the  Phoenicians  "  some  at  least  of  the  very 
numerous  rock  catacombs "  of  Malta.  Archttoloijia,  xxxviii.  2G8.  He  refers  to  Viissalo's  brochure, 
Mnnumenti  Antichi  net  Qruppo  di  Malta.  See  Art  Journal,  N.  S.  vol.  v.  Phoenician  inscriptions  are  not 
quite  unknown  in  Malta,  though  I  am  not  able  to  refer  to  any  from  or  connected  directly  with  tombs.  In 
the  Malta  Penny  Magazine,  vol.  i.  one  is  figured,  aud  a  translation  is  attempted  by  Prof.  Marmora. 


496  On  Human  Remains  from  Rock-Tombs  at 

the  Phoenician  or  Carthaginian  skull  from  the  exploration  of  tombs  near  Tharros 
in  Sardinia,  the  identity  of  which  is  attested  by  inscriptions  in  the  Phoenician 
character.  For  our  knowledge  of  these  tombs  we  are  indebted  to  Dr.  G.  Nico- 
lucci :"  they  seem,  though  on  a  larger  scale,  to  have  much  analogy  with  the  rock- 
tombs  of  Ben  Djeinma  and  Ghain  Tiffiha  in  Malta.  They  are  described  as  "  dug 
in  a  soft  calcareous  sandstone,  and  present  a  series  of  sepulchral  chambers  of 
different  sizes  of  an  oblong  quadrate  or  cubic  form,  which  are  approached  by  a 
narrow  passage,  mostly  occupied  by  stairs  cut  in  the  rock.  The  opening  to  them 
is  not  so  much  as  five  feet  in  height,  and  is  closed  by  a  large  rough  stone,  upon 
which  at  times  sculptured  figures  are  seen.  The  doors  of  the  tombs  are  always 
turned  to  the  east,  and  the  bodies  also  look  in  that  direction.  The  number  of 
skeletons  they  contain  are  one,  two,  three,  and  sometimes  four,  constantly  turned 
to  the  rising  sun,  with  arms  at  their  sides,  or  female  ornaments  and  urns  of  varied 
forms,  some  of  which  present  inscriptions  in  Punic  or  Phoenician."  Near  the 
entrance  of  the  tomb  in  which  the  three  skulls  which  were  first  obtained  were 
found,  was  a  stele  or  pillar-stone  inscribed  in  Phoenician  characters  of  the  form 
used  in  later  times,  and  perhaps  of  the  second  or  third  century  B.C.  The  inscrip- 
tion has  been  read  by  the  celebrated  orientalist  the  Abbe  Lanci  as  signifying 
"  The  place  of  repose  of  Jaghtam  the  son  of  Jubal."  It  thus  appears  probable 
that  this  tomb  belongs  to  the  period  of  Punic  ascendancy  in  Sardinia  if  not  to  the 
time  when  the  Romans  had  made  themselves  masters  of  great  part  of  that  island. 
On  the  other  hand,  there  can  be  but  little  doubt  that  those  buried  in  it,  though 
not  perhaps  properly  speaking  ancient  Phoenicians,  were  of  direct  Phoenician 
descent. 

In  his  last  "  note  "  Dr.  Nicolucci  gives  us  the  measurements  of  five  crania 
from  the  Tharros  tombs,  with  wood-cuts  of  three  of  the  number  engraved  from 
photographs.  All  the  skulls  are  shown  to  be  of  a  long  oval  or  dolichocephalous 
form,  with  a  breadth  of  '70  to  '75  to  the  length  taken  as  I'OO.  They  are,  more- 
over, remarkable  for  the  projection  of  the  nasal  bones ;  and  for  the  great  promi- 
nence of  the  tuberosity  (upper  scale)  of  the  occipital.  These  peculiarities  induced 

•  Mem.  delta  Reale  Accad.  di  Torino,  t.  xxi.  ser.  ii°,  18C3.'  See  the  abstract  of  this  memoir  by  Dr.  J. 
Barnard  Davis,  in  the  Anthropol.  Review,  London,  1864,  vol.  ii.  p.  30;  also  Dr.  Nicolucci's  later  "Note 
sur  quelques  cranes  Pheniciens  trouve's  dans  la  necropole  de  Tharros,  ile  de  Sardaigne."  Bull,  de  la  Soc. 
dAnthrop.  t.  v.  18C4,  p.  703;  t.  vi.  p.  103.  In  the  original  memoir  are  three  full-sized  plates  of  the  skull. 
Our  Maltese  skulls  may  likewise  be  advantageously  compared  with  another  series  of  ancient  crania  from 
the  Mediterranean  coasts,  viz.  with  those  of  the  Japyges  of  Southern  Italy,  also  described  by  Prof.  Nicolucci, 
Sulla  Stirpe  Japigica,  e  sopra  tre  Crani,  &c.  Atti  del'  Accad.  delle  Scienze,  &c.  vol.  ii.  No.  20.  1866. 


Ghain  Tiffiha  and  Tal  Horr.  497 

Dr.  Nicolucci  to  class  these  Phoenician  skulls  in  the  same  series  with  the  skulls 
of  the  other  Semites,  especially  the  Arahs  and  Jews ;  an  opinion  which  he 
supports  by  a  comparison  of  the  measurements  of  the  skulls  of  Arahs  in  the 
collection  of  Professor  Van  der  Hoeven.  The  Phoenician  type  of  skulls,  we  are 
told  by  Dr.  Nicolucci,  is  still  very  prevalent  in  Sardinia ;  a  testimony,  he  adds, 
the  most  eloquent  to  the  numerical  predominance  of  the  Phoenicians  over  the 
other  populations  of  this  island  in  ancient  times.* 

If  we  turn  to  the  Table  of  Measurements  of  the  six  ancient  Maltese  skulls 
described  in  this  paper,  we  shall  find  them  uniformly  less  dolichocephalous  than 
the  Phoenician  skulls  from  Tharros.  Of  the  six  skulls,  one  is  decidedly  dolichoce- 
phalic (No.  3),  two  are  ovoid  or  orthocephalic  (No.  1,  No.  6),  two  are  sub-brachy- 
cephalic  (No.  2,  No.  4),  and  one  is  perhaps  brachycephalic  (No.  5).  Though  the 
variety  is  considerable,  it  is  not  greater  than  is  often  met  with  in  people  whose 
prevailing  cranial  type  is  indisputably  dolichocephalic.  The  mean  relative 
breadth  of  the  entire  series  is  '74,  as  is  also  that  of  the  five  Tharros  skulls.  The 
projection  of  the  nasals,  moreover,  is  even  more  striking  in  one  of  the  Maltese 
(Ghain  Tiffiha  A)  than  in  the  Tharros  skulls ;  and  the  occipital  prominence  is  a 
marked  feature  in  at  least  three  :  viz.  Ghain  Tiffiha  A,  Ben  Djemma,  and  Hagiar 
Kim ;  though  it  must  be  noted  that  the  two  last  are  probably  female.  One  or 
two  of  the  Maltese  skulls  may  be  thought  to  be  distinguished  from  those  of  the 
Phoenicians  of  Tharros  by  their  prognathism.  Slighter  grades  of  alveolar  or 
maxillary  prominence  are,  however,  by  no  means  rare  in  series  of  skulls  which 
are  normally  orthognathic ;  and  the  presence  of  prognathism  is  itself  noted  by 
Dr.  Nicolucci  in  one  of  the  Tharros  skulls  (No.  3) :  "  Les  arcs  alve'olaires  des 
deux  uu\choires,  projetes  en  avant,  formcnt  un  leger  prognathisme,  qui  devient 
encore  plus  Evident  par  la  direction  oblique  en  dehors  des  alve'olcs  et  des  dents 
incisives  et  canines."  On  the  whole,  the  somewhat  considerable  prognathism 
which  exists  in  the  Hagiar  Kim  and  Ben  Djemma  skulls,  especially  the  former, 
does  not  seem  sufficient  to  exclude  them  from  all  claim  to  be  regarded  as  Phoeni- 
cian. They  may  be  Phoenician  with  an  exceptional  degree  of  prominence  of  the 

*  I  have  added  to  the  table  of  measurements  those  of  a  sixth  skull,  supposed  to  be  Phoenician,  derived 
from  a  cemetery  at  Pinita  in  Sicily.  The  age  of  the  tombs  was  proved  by  objects  found  in  them  bearing 
inscriptions  jn  Phoenician  characters.  The  skull  was  obtained  by  Signer  Italia-Nicastro.  The  measure- 
ments are  those  of  the  distinguished  anthropologist  Signor  Nicolucci,  who  has  minutely  described  it.  Bull, 
de  la  Soc.  cTAnthrop.  1865.  t.  vi.  p.  701—707;  t.  vii.  pp.  341,  537.  Three  other  skulls  from  this 
Phoenician  cemetery  are  named,  but  are,  I  believe,  too  fragmentary  for  measurement. 
VOL.  XL.  3  s 


498  On  Human  Remains  from  Rock-Tombs  at 

maxillary  and  dental  apparatus,  or  they  may  be  of  a  mixed  Phoenician  and  Libyan 
or  North  African  stock. 

It  is  to  be  hoped  that  further  researches  in  the  rock-tombs  or  catacombs  of 
Malta  may  disclose  interments  which  will  aid  in  the  more  precise  determination 
of  the  question  as  to  the  cranial  form  of  the  ancient  Maltese ;  and,  by  the 
discovery  or  otherwise  of  inscriptions  in  the  Phoenician  character,  may  enable  us 
to  pronounce  positively  on  the  claim  of  that  people  to  a  Phoenician  origin.  Other 
means  must  not  be  neglected ;  and  the  comparison  of  the  fictile  and  other  relics 
from  the  tombs  may  afford  important  aid.  The  fragments  of  pottery  found  by 
Mr.  Newton  in  his  excavations  within  the  inclosures  of  Hagiar  Kim,  and  which 
may  be  seen  in  the  British  Museum,  are  of  a  different  and  much  ruder  character " 
than  is  that  of  the  vessels  obtained  by  Captain  Swann  from  the  tombs  of  Ghain 
Tiffiha,  the  type  of  which  is  much  more  classical,  and,  I  believe,  Greek. b  If  of  the 
Roman  epoch,  the  portions  sent  to  me  with  the  skulls  differ  considerably  from 
the  Roman  pottery  of  this  country.  Captain  Swann  inclines  to  believe  the 
tombs  he  excavated  to  be  Roman.  We  may  perhaps  assign  them  to  a  later 
date  than  that  of  the  skull  found  in  the  Hagiar  Kim  ;  but  the  cranial  configura- 
tion does  not  lead  to  the  inference  of  any  mixture  of  Roman  blood.  Indeed,  the 
skull-form,  so  far  as  not  presumably  Phoenician,  is  more  readily  connected  witli 
the  idea  of  ancient  Greek  rather  than  with  that  of  Roman  admixture. 


P.S.  (Sept.  13, 1870.) — Since  the  above  was  written,  I  have  seen  the  interesting 
account,  by  Dr.  E.  Charlton,  of  the  fictile  vases  from  rock  and  pit  tombs  in 
Malta,  presented  by  him  to  the  Society  of  Antiquaries  of  Newcastle-upon-Tyne. 
(Archaoloyiu  sEliana,  N.  S.  18G1,  v.  131.)  Dr.  Charlton  attributes  these  vases 
"  to  a  period  not  later  than  two  or  three  centuries  before  the  Christian  era,"  and 
thinks  it  probable  they  may  be  "  of  very  early  date,  coeval  with  Phoenician  rule 
in  the  Mediterranean." 

•  Considering  their  rudeness  and  barbaric  form,  they  are  remarkable  for  smoothness  of  surface.  Had 
Dr.  Birch's  suggestion  (History  of  Ancient  Pottery,  i.  155),  that  travellers  should  collect  fragments  of 
pottery  from  Phrenician  sites  and  deposit  them  in  European  "museums,  been  complied  with,  we  should  be 
better  acquainted  than  we  are  with  the  character  of  the  fictile  productions  of  that  people. 

b  There  is  a  strong  resemblance  in  tlie  form  of  the  three-lobed  mouths  of  the  jug  from  the  Ghain  Tiffiha 
tomb  No.  1  and  that  of  the  mouths  of  many  of  the  pitcher-shaped  painted  Greek  vases  in  the  British  Mu- 
seum. Mr.  Franks  assures  me  that  the  Ghain  Tiffiha  pottery  is  Greek,  circa  200  B.C. 


Ghain-Tiffiha  and  Tal  Horr. 


499 


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J.  Barnard  Davis,  No.  1174. 

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XXXIII — On  the  Discovery  of  a  Romano-British  Cemetery  near  Plymouth. 
£y  C.  SPENCE  BATE,  Esq.  F.E.S. 


Read  March  9th,  1865. 


EARLY  as  the  Romans  were  known  to  have  visited  the  southern  and  south- 
western shores  of  England,  it  is  remarkable  that  so  little  should  be  left  to 
testify  to  it.  Historians  inform  us  that  on  the  banks  of  the  waters  that  flow 
into  the  Plymouth  Sound  there  was  once  a  Roman  station,  but  no  record  or 
evidence  remains  that  can  establish  the  precise  locality  of  the  ancient  Tamara. 
Attempts  have  not  been  wanting  to  fix  it  somewhat  near  the  present  village 
of  Tamerton,  but  it  appears  to  me  that  there  is  little  to  support  this  idea 
beyond  advantageous  topographical  considerations.  The  remains,  however,  of 
an  old  Roman  road  are  still  in  existence  on  the  property  of  the  Rev.  Collins 
TrelaM'ny,  which  appear  to  suggest  that  the  line  by  which  those  old  travellers 
passed  from  station  to  station  westward  to  the  tin  districts  of  Cornwall  lay  much 
nearer  to  Plymouth. 

It  is  not,  however,  my  object  in  this  paper  to  endeavour  to  establish  the  locality 
of  the  lost  site  of  the  ancient  Roman  station  in  the  neighbourhood  of  Plymouth, 
but  merely  to  record  the  result  and  describe  the  objects  found  in  some  recent 
explorations  that  have  been  made ;  first,  with  the  desire  to  communicate  what  we 
do  know,  and  second,  that  it  may  suggest  to  others  that  may  be  similarly  engaged 
the  desirability  of  the  preservation  of  any  objects  that  may  be  found  during  the 
extensive  excavations  that  are  being  made  in  that  neighbourhood. 

In  the  spring  of  the  present  year,  in  order  to  remove  any  impediments  that 
might  interfere  with  the  range  of  the  guns  belonging  to  the  new  fort  which  is 
being  erected  on  Stamford  Hill,  the  engineer  found  it  necessary  to  cut  away  the 
slope  between  it  and  the  sea,  thus  bringing  to  light  the  remains  of  an  ancient 
burial-ground. 

The  hill  in  question  consists  of  slate,  and  is  situated  betwreen  the  broad  bay 
of  Plymouth  Sound  on  the  west,  and  an  arm  of  the  sea  that  is  known  as  "  Cat- 
water,"  and  flows  up  the  estuary  of  the  River  Plym,  on  the  east.  On  the  north 
the  land  projects  to  some  distance,  and  ends  in  a  bluff  hill  of  limestone  known 
as  Mount  Batten,  between  which  and  the  hill  on  which  the  remains  were  found 


On  the  Discovery  of  a  Romano-British  Cemetery  near  Plymouth.         501 

is  a  low  grass  plain  with  a  gravelly  soil,  that  previous  to  the  erection  of  the 
Plymouth  Breakwater  was  occasionally  flooded  at  high  spring-tides.  On  the  east 
of  Fort  Stamford  is  another  mass  of  limestone,  a  portion  of  the  same  rather  than 
a  separate  hill ;  on  the  south  is  the  high  land  of  Staddon  Heights. 

The  remains  were  discovered  in  pits,  generally  about  four  or  four  and  a  half  feet 
deep,  one  foot  of  which  consisted  of  soil,  the  remaining  three  having  been  exca- 
vated in  the  partially  disintegrated  surface  of  the  natural  rock.  These  graves 
were  mere  hollow  excavations,  but  the  sides  were  sometimes  sharply  cut,  especially 
where  the  soft  slaty  rock  was  firmest.  The  bottoms  of  the  pits  or  excavations 
were  deepest  towards  the  centre,  and  they  were  filled  in  with  the  debris  of  the 
materials  removed  in  making  them,  together  with  numerous  large,  rough, 
weather-worn  blocks  of  limestone,  that  must  have  been  purposely  brought  from 
one  of  the  neighbouring  limestone-hills. 

The  removal  of  the  soil  had  been  proceeded  with  for  some  time,  and  the  work- 
men stated  that  they  had  occasionally  found  bones  and  pieces  of  earthenware.  It 
was  only,  however,  when  they  found  some  bronze  articles,  for  which  they  antici- 
pated receiving  a  few  shillings,  that  they  reported  the  discovery  to  Captain  Mog- 
gridge  the  engineer  officer  in  charge  of  the  fortification  works. 

As  soon  as  the  discoveries  were  known  I  was  kindly  made  acquainted  with  the 
facts.  Hastening  to  the  place  I  watched,  as  far  as  practicable,  the  progress  of 
the  exploration.  The  graves  were  very  numerous,  and  of  an  irregular  form. 
In  some  instances  several  graves  broke  into  each  other,  and  in  one  case  the 
extremity a  appeared  to  be  associated  with  others  as  if  it  had  been  made  at  right 
angles  with  them.  When  I  first  arrived  portions  of  four  graves  were  exposed 
in  section,  out  of  which  had  been  previously  taken  some  human  bones,  two 
bronze  armlets,  a  bronze  fibula,  and  some  pottery.  After  my  arrival  some  more 
human  bones  were  found,  evidently  portions  of  at  least  three  skeletons,  as  well  as 
several  isolated  molars  of  the  pig.  Several  pebbles  from  the  sea-beach,  mostly  of 
one  size,  and  fragments  of  glass,  together  with  a  vase  of  coarse  pottery,  were  lying 
in  one  grave. 

Upon  opening  a  new  grave  we  found  at  the  bottom  a  bronze  mirror  in  tolerably 
perfect  condition,  and  traces  of  decomposed  bones  There  was  also  discovered  in 
this  grave  a  bronze  fibula.  In  other  places  the  workmen  found  the  handles  of 
two  bronze  mirrors.  Two  bronze  bracelets  of  different  forms,  a  dagger  or  knife  in 
a  bronze  sheath,  portions  of  a  bronze  cup,  and  some  fibulye  were  also  brought  to 
light.  There  have  also  been  found  fragments  of  many  kinds  of  earthen  vases  more 

•  I  say  the  extremity  because  tins  was  all  that  was  nut  dug  away  when  I  arrived. 


502         On  the  Discovery  of  a  Romano-British  Cemetery  near  Plymouth. 

or  less  perfect,  portions  of  the  human  skeleton,  and  a  considerable  quantity  of 
iron  in  a  very  decomposed  state,  apparently  parts  of  implements  of  some  kind. 

It  may  perhaps  be  most  convenient  to  notice  the  various  antiquities  that  were 
discovered  according  to  the  classes  to  which  they  belong. 

1.  Bronze  Mirrors. — The  first  of  these  that  we  found  was  lying  flat  at  the 
bottom  at  the  eastern  extremity  of  a  grave.  It  was  nearly  circular  in  form,  but 
rather  wide  than  deep.  (PL  XXX.  fig.  1.)  The  front  or  polished  surface  of  the 
mirror  was  placed  downwards.  The  back,  which  was  upwards,  was  ornamented 
with  engraved  scroll-work,  as  may  be  seen  in  the  plate.  In  order  to  bring  out 
more  strongly  the  design,  some  portions  of  the  engraving  were  filled  in  with 
numerous  short  striations,  somewhat  like  basket  work.  The  mirror  was  sur- 
rounded by  a  naiTow  border  or  rim,  which  was  formed  of  a  separate  piece,  and 
folded  over  the  margin.  This  specimen  was  damaged  in  many  parts,  particularly 
upon  the  under  surface,  and  some  of  the  edge  was  entirely  eaten  away;  but  where 
the  rim  was  preserved  the  plate  was  in  good  condition,  and  retained  the  bright 
colour  of  the  metal.  With  this  specimen  no  handle  was  found ;  but  a  second 
mirror,  of  which  the  very  small  portion  that  has  been  obtained  seemed  to  shew  it 
to  have  been  similar,  has  the  handle  attached  to  it.  (PL  XXX.  fig.  3.)  This  handle 
is  cast  in  one  piece  in  the  form  of  a  loop  made  by  folding  one  half  back  against 
the  other,  and  securing  them  in  that  position  by  a  band,  the  two  free  ends  being 
spread  out  to  hold  the  mirror,  which  is  received  in  a  groove,  and  supported  on 
each  side  by  a  scroll-work  of  bronze,  much  of  which  is  lost,  but  the  impression 
still  remains  upon  the  plate.  This  handle  is  four  inches  long.  Another  handle 
was  also  found  of  a  more  finished  character.  (PL  XXX.  fig.  2.)  It  will  be  seen 
by  the  engraving  that  it  terminates  in  an  oval  ring,  and  was  attached  to  the 
mirror  by  a  grooved  flange  with  rivets.  No  trace  of  the  plate  that  belonged  to 
this  handle  was  found. 

I  am  informed  by  Mr.  Evans  that  mirrors  of  this  kind  are  rare,  and  that  only 
a  single  specimen  with  engraved  back  has  previously  been  found  in  England.*  It 
was  discovered  near  Bedford,  and  is  now  preserved  in  the  museum  of  ihe  Bedford- 
shire Archaeological  Society. 

2.  Armillce. — The  next  objects  of  interest  that  were  obtained  from  these  explora- 
tions are  bronze  armilla3.  There  were  four  of  one  form  and  two  of  another.  The 
first  (PL  XXXI.  figs.  1,  2)  were  formed  of  solid  bronze  flattened  upon  the 
internal  and  rounded  upon  the  external  surface.  They  opened  by  a  hinge  in 

"  Since  writing  this  paper  I  have  seen  a  drawing  by  Mr.  Blight,  of  Penzance,  of  another  similar  mirror 
tliat  was  found  near  the  Lizard. 


•      r,502 


Scale 


Full    Size. 


ANTIQUITIES     FOUND     NEAR     PLYMOUTH. 


On  the  Discoccry  of  a  Romano- British  Cemetery  near  Plymouth.  503 

the  middle,  which  was  made  by  the  insertion  of  a  tongue  into  a  deep  notch  or 
groove,  and  secured  by  a  rivet  on  which  the  two  halves  swung.  It  is  not  quite 
clear  what  kind  of  clasp  secured  them  when  shut ;  two  of  them  had  one  kind 
whereas  the  third  evidently  differed.  From  the  position  of  the  rivets  it  appears 
that  two  were  fastened  by  the  projection  of  a  central  piece  of  wire  that  was  caught 
with  a  spring  clasp  as  in  the  bracelets  of  the  present  day.  A  third  has  a 
tongue  very  similar  to  that  of  the  hinge  but  smaller,  and  this  probably  was 
caught  by  a  spring  also.  The  external  surface  of  these  bracelets  was  ornamented 
by  embossed  markings,  consisting  of  a  running  scroll  that  looked  like  a  series  of 
the  letter  S  folded  into  each  other.  The  rounded  portion,  formed  by  the  bottom 
of  one  S  inclosing  the  top  of  the  succeeding,  is  raised  and  perforated  by  two  deep 
holes  placed  side  by  side.  These  holes  are  in  some  few  places  still  filled  by  a  dull 
red  enamel,  as  were  once  probably  all  the  rest. 

The  second  form  of  bracelet,  of  which  we  have  but  two  specimens,  is  much  more 
slender  and  almost  without  ornament.  Five  embossed  bands,  of  which  the  middle 
one  is  the  largest,  ornament  the  centre,  which  is  the  stoutest  part  of  the  bracelet. 
There  appears  to  have  been  no  fastening,  and  the  bracelet  is  evidently  formed  on 
the  principle  of  a  spring  that  yields  to  the  pressure  of  the  hand  as  it  is  forced  on 
the  wrist.  The  bronze  of  some  of  these  was  very  brittle,  breaking  with  the 
slightest  pressure. 

3.  Fibula. — Four  specimens  of  fibulae  were  found,  two  in  an  injured  the  rest  in 
a  tolerably  perfect  state.     These  bronze  brooches  are  of  an  arched  form ;  front 
and  side  views  of  two  of  them  are  given  in  the  engraving  (PI.  XXXI.  figs.  5 — 8). 

From  one  of  the  latest  opened  of  these  graves  we  obtained  a  small  bronze 
penannular  brooch*  (PI.  XXXI.  fig.  3),  made  upon  a  plan  that  has  recently 
come  again  into  use.  It  forms  an  incomplete  ring,  the  extremities  of  whicli 
terminate  in  small  knobs.  The  pin,  which  was  movable,  was  made  to  pass 
between  the  extremities  and  impinge  with  pressure  upon  the  opposite  side. 

4.  Dirk. — A  small  dirk  or  knife  (PI.  XXXI.  fig  9)  was  also  dug  out  by  one  of 
the  workmen.    The  blade  of  the  dirk  is  still  within  the  sheath ;  although  the  latter 
is  of  bronze  I  am  inclined  to  believe  that  the  blade  may  be  of  iron.     The  form  of 
the  sheath  suggests  that  one  side  of  the  blade  possessed  a  cutting  the  other  a 
blunt  edge.     The  sheath  is  formed  of  two  pieces  of  bronze  plate  fastened  by 
the  broader   plate   having  its  edges  folded   so   as  to  inclose   the   smaller.      A 
small  loop  of  flattened  wire  is  secured  by  three  rivets  to  the  margin  near  the 
handle,  which  thus  enabled  the  implement  to  be  secured  to  a  belt.     No  evidence 
of  solder  is  apparent  in  any  part  of  this  or  any  other  article. 


504  On  the  Discovery  of  a  Romano-British  Cemetery  near  Plymouth. 

5.  Bronze  Cup. — A  bronze  cup  or  rather  portions  were  found  by  the  workmen. 
The  fragments  consisted  of  the  bottom  and  a  part  of  the  rim  only.     The  bottom 
is  about  one  and  a  quarter  inch  in  diameter,  and  the  arc  of  the  rim  shows  the 
top  of  the  cup  to  have  been  about  three  inches  in  diameter.     The  edge  of  the  rim 
is  slightly  turned  out. 

6.  Glass. — Some  fragments  of  a  glass  vase  or  bowl  were  thrown  out  of  one 
grave.     They  are  of  a  beautiful  amber  colour,  the  surface  being  only  slightly 
iridescent.     The  fragments  that  we  recovered  are  the  bottom,  a  portion  of  the 
side,  and  a  part  of  the  rim.      The  bottom  is  about  two  and  a  half  inches  in 
.diameter,  from  which  the  base  passes  out  in  nearly  a  horizontal  line,  until  it  has 
reached  the  approximate  diameter  of  five  inches  ;  it  then  gradually  ascends  to  the 
probable  height  of  four  or  five  inches,  and  as  gradually  increases  in  size  until  it 
has  reached  the  diameter  of  six  inches,  when  it  is  finished  by  a  shallow  rim 
formed  by  the  folding  of  the  edge  of  the  glass  outwardly  back  upon  itself.     The 
lower  portion  of  the  vase  is  ornamented  by  a  series  of  raised  lines  radiating  from 
the  base ;  but,  instead  of  passing  directly  to  the  circumference,  they  flow  diagonally 
outwards  as  if  formed  during  the  time  that  the  plastic  material  revolved  upon 
its  own  axis.     Although  in  many  parts  the  workmanship  shows  crudeness  in 
execution,   yet  the   vessel,  as  a   whole,   must   have   exhibited   an   elegance   in 
appearance  that  is  suggestive  of  the  idea  that  it  must  have  been  the  property  of 
an  individual  of  some  pretension  among  his  fellows  of  that  time,  particularly 
when  we  compare  it  with  the  quality  of  the  pottery  that  has  been  found  in  the 
same  locality. 

7.  Pottery.  — 'With  one  exception,  all  the  pottery  that  has  been  found  in  this 
cemetery  is  in  a  fragmentary  state,  nor  is  this  to  be  wholly  attributed  to  the  care- 
lessness of  the  excavators,  although,  the  excavations  having  been  carried  on  by 
men  working  for   a    contractor   under   Government,    they  were  compelled    to 
pursue  their  labour  assiduously,  and  were  not  permitted  the  time  necessary  to 
remove  such  fragile  materials  with  safety  from  their  positions  in  the  graves. 

The  remains  of  a  bowl  of  black  pottery  (PL  XXXII.  fig.  1)  are  of  a  coarse  ware ; 
it  rests  on  a  circular  foot  about  three  inches  in  diameter ;  from  this  bottom  the 
base  of  the  vase  extends  on  each  side  until  the  diameter  is  about  five  inches  ;  at 
about  four  inches  from  the  base,  there  is  a  small  round  depression  on  the  inside 
near  the  upper  edge,  corresponding  with  a  similar  depression  upon  the  outside, 
from  which  latter  a  groove  passes  as  far  as  the  broken  edge.  This  marking  is 
suggestive  of  a  small  horizontal  handle  having  been  situated  in  this  position ;  but, 
if  so,  there  was  no  corresponding  handle  at  the  opposite  extremity  of  the  basin, 


Vol  X,  p.504. 


On  the  Discovery  of  a  Romano -British  Cemetery  near  Plymouth.         505 

since  the  two  fragments  together  complete  more  than  half  the  diameter  of  the 
vase. 

A  second  black  vase  (PI.  XXXII.  fig.  2)  was  found  by  Captain  Moggridge. 
This  is  of  much  finer  ware  than  the  previous  one,  and  much  more  thin  in  texture ; 
it  is  also  of  a  much  more  elegant  shape,  though  formed  on  the  same  general  design. 
The  foot-ring  is  about  three  inches  in  diameter,  the  centre  of  which  is  deeply 
excavated,  corresponding  with  a  convex  elevation  on  the  inside.  From  the  ring  at 
the  bottom  the  sides  extend  on  each  side  until  the  diameter  is  about  seven  inches. 

Of  a  third  black  bowl  or  vase,  one  small  fragment  only  has  been  recovered,  but 
this  is  enough  to  show  that  the  design  was  the  same  as  the  previous ;  the  sub- 
stance was  a  little  stouter  than  the  last,  but  less  so  than  the  first,  and  it  differed 
from  both  in  having  a  double  embossed  line  half  way  up  the  sides.  This,  like 
the  two  previous  ones,  is  very  dark,  almost  black,  not  only  on  the  surface  but 
through  the  substance,  a  circumstance  that  I  think  must  be  due  to  the  character 
of  the  clay  of  which  the  vessels  were  made,  and  not  attributable  to  the  muffling 
of  the  furnaces  during  the  process  of  baking. 

A  very  small  vase,  of  a  less  darkened  surface  to  the  two  previously  discovered 
specimens,  Captain  Moggridge  was  fortunate  enough  to  save  from  the  uplifted 
axe  of  the  excavator  in  a  perfect  state  (PI.  XXXII.  fig.  3).  The  bottom  is  flat, 
and  about  an  inch  and  a  half  in  diameter.  The  mouth  is  about  three  inches 
in  diameter,  and  the  height  is  about  four  inches. 

The  form  of  the  next  vase  is  much  like  the  last  described,  from  which  it  differs 
in  having  a  more  sudden  curving  just  below  the  neck;  it  also  stands  higher.  It 
is  of  a  red  colour  and  larger,  the  diameter  of  the  bottom  being  about  four  inches, 
the  body  of  the  vessel  at  its  greatest  width  about  seven  inches,  and  the  mouth 
about  three  ;  the  height  is  about  eight  inches  and  a  half. 

The  next  vase  to  which  I  have  to  draw  attention  differs  in  form  and  evidently 
attained  a  higher  degree  of  external  finish  than  any  previously  described ;  unfor- 
tunately of  this  specimen  but  few  fragments  have  been  recovered.  It  consists  of 
hard-baked  clay  of  a  coarse  character ;  the  general  colour  is  red,  but  in  some 
places  the  external  surface  is  blackened,  probably  due  to  the  muffling  of  the 
furnace  during  the  process  of  baking.  The  height  is  about  four  inches  and  a  half; 
it  stands  upon  a  circular  base  about  three  inches  in  diameter,  and  which  raises 
the  vessel  from  the  ground  about  an  inch ;  the  bottom  of  the  vase  within  is  flat, 
the  sides  gracefully  rounded  outwards,  then  inwards,  and  again  outwards  to  the 
mouth,  the  diameter  of  which  is  about  six  inches,  being  in  fact  the  widest  part 
VOL.  XL.  3  T 


606  On  the  Discovery  of  a  Romano-British  Cemetery  near  Plymouth. 

of  the  vessel,  overhanging  the  body  of  the  vase  quite  three  quarters  of  an  inch. 
The  external  surface  is  ornamented  by  a  rim  at  the  edge,  by  an  embossed  ring 
about  an  inch  below,  and  by  a  second  but  less  raised  ring  an  inch  still  lower, 
beneath  which  point  the  swelling  part  of  the  vessel  is  covered  by  a  number  of 
short  engraved  notches  placed  in  lines  vertical  to  the  base ;  this  latter  work- 
manship resembles  the  ornamentation  of  Celtic  pottery. 

Two  vessels  apparently  intended  for  holding  water  were  found.  The  first  was 
a  plain  earthenware  bottle  made  of  very  soft  friable  yellow  ware.  The  body  of 
this  vessel  was  nearly  circular,  having  a  flat  ringed  base  and  a  narrow  neck. 
It  was,  when  first  found,  perfect  as  to  form  but  intersected  by  numerous 
fractures,  so  that  it  was  impossible  to  have  removed  it  except  in  a  very  frag- 
mentary condition.  It  stood  in  an  upright  position,  and,  previous  to  its  removal, 
I  inserted  iny  hand  through  the  broken  side  but  found  nothing  within.  The 
height  of  the  bottle,  which  had  a  portion  of  the  neck  broken  off,  was  about  eight 
inches,  and  it  could  not  be  much  less  in  diameter  than  six. 

The  other  vessel  is  of  the  same  general  form  as  the  preceding  but  somewhat 
larger.  It  is  of  a  light  yellow  friable  ware.  It  probably  stood  about  twelve  inches 
in  height,  and  its  diameter  at  its  greatest  circumference  was  probably  about  eight 
inches.  The  neck  and  mouth  of  the  vessel  are  represented  in  PI.  XXXII.  fig.  5, 
and  it  will  be  seen  that  it  had  a  handle. 

The  only  piece  of  pottery  of  any  consequence  that  I  have  left  undescribed 
appears  to  have  been  part  of  a  drinking  cup.  It  is  of  a  yellow  ware ;  its  sides 
were  perpendicular  to  its  flat  base,  and  it  was  ornamented  by  a  double  embossed 
line  traversing  the  circumference  on  a  level  with  the  lower  extremity  of  the 
handle,  which  was  probably  near  the  middle.  Assuming  this  to  be  the  case,  the 
cup  probably  stood  at  about  five  inches  in  height,  and  its  circumference,  taken 
from  a  continuation  of  the  measured  segment,  could  not  be  less  than  four  inches 
and  a  half;  so  that  it  was  nearly  as  broad  as  high,  and  probably  held  about  a 
pint  of  water. 

8.  Iron  Implements. — The  iron  objects  were  mostly  in  too  decomposed  a  con- 
dition for  us  to  arrive  at  any  positive  conclusions  as  to  what  they  really  were. 
Some  appear  to  have  been  the  remains  of  the  blades  of  knives  ;  some  were  pro- 
bably the  tangs  of  knives  that  were  driven  into  the  handle,  and  the  remains  of 
wood  still  attached  to  them  deeply  stained  with  ferruginous  rust  support  this 
hypothesis ;  some,  of  which  there  were  a  considerable  number  taken  from  one 
spot,  might  have  been  the  round  points  of  arrows,  or  the  armature  of  a  buckler. 


On  the  Discover  of  a  Romano- British  Cemetery  near  Plymouth.         507 

They  consisted  generally  of  irregularly-shaped  nodules  of  iron,  from  which  a  point 
or  sharp  tongue  projected.     There  are  many  other  pieces  of  irregular  form. 

About  a  hundred  feet  from  these  graves,  while  cutting  nearer  towards  the  sea, 
the  labourers  came  upon  a  solitary  grave  of  similar  character  to  the  rest,  out  of 
which  they  obtained  several  fragments  of  iron,  four  of  which  upon  being  put 
together  were  found  to  be  the  remains  of  a  pair  of  shears.  (PL  XXX.  fig.  4.)  The 
others  were  part  of  a  knife.  The  point  was  curved  forwards,  one  edge  of 
the  blade  being  sharp ;  the  other,  forming  the  back  of  the  knife,  was  thick  and 
blunt. 

9.  Bronze  Rings. — With  these  last  implements  parts  of  three  bronze  rings  were 
found.  The  largest  is  faced  with  three  circular  discs,  the  middle  one  being  much 
greater  in  diameter  than  the  lateral  ones,  which  are  of  one  size.  (PL  XXXI.  fig.  4.) 
The  central  one  is  ornamented  with  designs  in  relief.  The  lateral  discs  are  deep, 
and  when  found  were  partially  occupied  with  a  white  material,  probably  the 
remains  of  a  cement  that  was  used  to  fix  a  bead  in  each.  The  ring  which  is  now 
flattened  somewhat,  was  evidently  intended  to  have  been  worn  on  the  finger. 

The  second  ring  is  smaller  than  the  previous  one.  Its  face  is  merely  a  flattened 
extension  of  itself,  and  is  ornamented  by  two  rows  of  short  vertical  lines  inclosed 
within  engraved  margins.  This  ring,  of  which  only  a  portion  has  been  recovered, 
appears  to  have  been  too  small  to  have  been  worn  on  the  finger  even  of  a  female ; 
and  the  circumstance  of  the  face  being  at  right  angles  with  the  sides  suggests 
that  it  may  have  been  used  for  other  purposes  than  as  a  finger-ring. 

Some  portions  of  a  third  ring  were  also  found,  but  not  sufficient  to  enable  any 
idea  to  be  formed  of  its  character  with  certainty.  The  fragment  consists  of  small 
wire  flattened  at  one  extremity,  the  sides  of  the  whole  being  closely  ribbed. 

On  the  completion  of  the  work  necessary  for  the  fortification,  I  applied  for  per- 
mission to  pursue  further  research.  In  this  way  I  have  been  enabled  to  proceed 
more  cautiously,  and  obtain  a  clearer  idea  of  the  positions  of  the  things  found  in 
relation  to  each  other.  Undoubtedly  the  remains  appear  to  be  very  hetero- 
geneously  mingled  together,  but  still  I  think  the  following  may  be  relied  upon 
as  being  an  approximation  of  their  relative  positions  to  each  other. 

The  blocks  of  weather-worn  limestone  which  appear  in  the  first  instance 
to  be  so  irregularly  placed  I  ascertained,  by  tracing  the  circuit  of  the  walls 
of  the  graves,  where  it  was  practicable  to  do  so,  to  have  been  placed  originally 
as  a  wall,  within  which  the  corpse  was  placed  in  a  sitting  posture.  It  is 

3i2 


508          On  the  Discovery  of  a  Romano-British  Cemetery  near  Plymouth. 

probable  that  some  of  the  stones  were  also  employed  for  the  purpose  of  covering-in 
the  body. 

The  reason  that  ornaments  and  objects  of  value  were  buried  with  the  dead  has 
never  been  clearly  established.  The  small  number  of  things  that  are  found 
interred  militates  altogether  against  the  idea  which  Caesar  has  affirmed  to  be  the 
case  with  the  inhabitants  of  ancient  Briton — that  all  their  wealth  was  buried 
with  them — even  if  we  suppose  that  the  inhabitants  of  a  Roman  colony  had  so 
far  adopted  the  customs  of  the  people  among  which  they  had  settled  as  to  have 
copied  them  in  their  mode  of  interment. 

Judging  from  these  explorations,  the  opinion  at  which  I  have  arrived  is  that 
it  was  customary,  arising  from  sanitary  purposes  or  from  feelings  of  affection, 
to  bury  with  the  body  all  the  objects  which  the  individual  had  in  use  at  the 
time  of  or  during  the  sickness  that  preceded  death.  It  is  in  this  way  only 
that  I  can  account  not  only  for  the  existence  of  ornaments  and  vessels  of  value, 
but  also  for  the  presence  of  pebbles  from  the  shore  as  well  as  the  teeth  of  the 
pig,  all  of  which  I  assume  to  have  been  objects  of  amusement  belonging  to  the 
child  from  whose  grave  I  took  them. 

In  the  solitary  grave  the  discovery  of  finger-rings,  a  knife,  and  scissors  indicate 
it  as  the  burial-place  of  a  female,  but  why  it  was  separated  so  distantly  from  the 
rest  there  are  at  present  no  means  of  ascertaining ;  that  the  separation  was 
intentional  may  be  accepted  from  the  circumstance  that  a  cutting  in  the  rock 
was  found  to  exist  between  it  and  the  other  graves,  which  the  engineering  officer 
assures  me,  from  its  appearance  and  character,  must  have  originally  been  intended 
as  a  drain. 

I  offer  these  suggestions  merely  as  ideas  that  occurred  to  my  mind  as  I 
progressed  with  the  research,  which  at  present  must  be  considered  in  an  un- 
finished state,  inasmuch  as  there  appears  to  be  a  very  considerable  ground  not 
yet  explored. 

Since  the  explorations  were  made  by  which  the  preceding  objects  were 
obtained,  I  have  received  from  my  friend  Captain  Moggridge  a  coin  that  was 
dug  from  the  soil  in  a  direction  nearer  to  the  sea  than  the  place  at  which  the 
graves  were  found.  This  coin  is  much  defaced,  but  appears  to  be  a  Second 
Brass  of  Vespasian.3  This  Roman  prince  having  reigned  from  A.D.  GO  to  79  we 
may  form  some  idea  of  the  period  at  which  existed  the  station  on  Stamford  Hill 
from  among  the  inhabitants  of  which  those  who  occupied  these  graves  were 
buried.  I  am  aware  that  the  evidence  furnished  by  the  coin  is  very  unsatisfactory, 

•  Since  this  a  worn  First  Brass  coin  of  Antoninus  Pius  has  been  found  on  the  same  hill. 


On  the  Discovery  of  a  Romano-British  Cemetery  near  Plymouth.  509 

but  when  data  by  which  to  arrive  at  a  conclusion  are  wanting  we  are  thankful 
for  every  feeble  substitute.  That  the  coin  may  have  been  buried  at  any  sub- 
sequent period  is  quite  possible,  but  the  circumstance  that  it  should  be  a  Roman 
coin  and,  though  not  found  in  one  of  the  graves,  yet  buried  deeply  in  the  soil, 
does,  as  I  said  before,  in  lieu  of  better  evidence,  assist  us  somewhat  to  arrive  at 
a  date  which  may  possibly  be  the  correct  one. 

It  cannot  be  doubted  that  in  the  neighbourhood  of  such  an  extensive  burial- 
place  there  must  have  been  some  village  or  station  of  the  same  period.  No 
record  of  such  a  place  is  handed  down  to  us  either  by  history  or  tradition ; 
and,  as  it  is  not  very  probable  that  there  were  two  stations  so  very  near, 
it  is  not  unlikely  that  this  may  have  been  the  site  of  Tamara.  Of  course 
the  objection  that  will  be  raised  to  this  hypothesis  is  that  the  river  Plym 
and  not  the  Tamar,  from  which  the  station  derived  its  name,  flows  down 
the  Catwater.  In  answer  to  this  objection  I  would  remark  that  Plymouth  Sound 
is  the  ocean  mouth  of  the  Tamar,  of  which  the  Hamoaze  is  but  a  part,  and  that  it 
is  not  unlikely  but  that  the  entire  length  of  the  river  from  the  English  Channel 
to  the  weirhead  may  formerly  have  been  known  as  the  Tamar,  even  if  the  branches 
were  not  also  recognised  under  the  same  term.  I  think  that  the  locality  would 
be  a  favourable  one  for  a  station,  where  vessels  might  ride  at  safety  and  have 
but  little  difficulty  in  getting  out  to  sea. 

Hooe  Lake,  two  thousand  years  ago,  was  probably  not  so  filled  with  mud  as  it 
now  is,  and  would  offer  to  vessels  at  anchor  the  safety  of  a  dock  harbour. 

By  the  river  Plym  the  Dartmoor  tin,  the  produce  of  the  stream-works  of  which 
such  abundant  evidence  remains,  could  easily  be  brought  down.  By  the  river 
Tamar  might  come  the  tin  from  the  great  western  range  of  the  Duchy  Hills. 

The  old  Pioman  road,  which  I  have  been  informed  by  Mr.  Trelawny  is  still  in 
existence  on  his  estate,  would  appear  to  be  in  a  line  from  the  station  at  Stamford 
Hill  to  the  nearest  ferry  on  the  Tamar,  where  the  crossing  would  not  entail  the 
passage  of  other  rivers. 

Whether  the  idea  of  this  having  been  the  old  Tamara  be  correct  or  not,  there 
can,  I  think,  be  no  doubt  but  that  it  must  have  been  the  site  of  a  Roman  village, 
and,  as  being  the  first  traces  that  have  been  found  in  the  neighbourhood  of 
Plymouth,  I  have  thought  that  it  might  form  a  subject  worthy  of  the  considera- 
tion of  this  learned  Society. 

I  may  add  that  all  the  specimens  are  preserved  in  the  Museum  at  the  Athenaeum, 
Plymouth,  where  have  also  been  deposited  such  as  have  been  since  found  at  the 
same  place. 


510 

Note  on  the  Mirrors,  8fc.  discovered  in  a  Cemetery  near  Plymouth.    By  AUGUSTUS 
"WOLLASTON  FRANKS,  Esq.  M.A.  Director. 

The  mirrors  which  have  been  discovered  in  the  cemetery  near  Plymouth,  and  which  are  engraved 
in  Plate  XXX.,  are  objects  that  have  been  rarely  discovered  in  the  British  Islands.  Three 
specimens  are  however  known  to  me,  which  it  may  be  interesting  to  compare  with  those  under 
consideration.  1.  A  bronze  mirror  slightly  elliptical  in  form,  and  with  a  marginal  band  like  fig.  1. 
It  has  likewise  engraved  scrolls  on  the  back  of  the  same  general  character  as  the  mirror  from 
Plymouth.  Greatest  width,  seven  inches  and  three-quarters.  The  handle  is  attached  to  the  mirror 
by  a  plate  cut  out  in  scrolls  somewhat  like  fig.  3,  is  composed  of  two  loops  with  a  cross-band  at 
their  junction,  and  terminates  in  a  large  ring.  It  was  found  near  Bedford,  and  has  been  alluded 
to  by  Mr.  Spence  Bate.  2.  A  smaller  mirror  of  the  same  description,  with  engraved  scrolls  at  the 
back  and  an  ornamental  handle.  It  forms  part  of  the  collection  presented  by  Joseph  Mayer,  Esq. 
F.S.A.  to  the  town  of  Liverpool.  Nothing  is  known  as  to  its  history.  3.  A  mirror  of  a  slightly 
elliptical  form  (greatest  width  eight  inches  and  a  quarter),  with  a  plain  back,  a  marginal  rim,  and 
a  broad  handle.  The  portion  of  this  handle  joining  the  mirror  is  ornamented  with  scrolls  in  relief; 
the  lower  end  is  decorated  with  pierced  work.  It  was  discovered  at  Balmaclellan,  Kirkcudbright- 
shire, and  is  preserved  in  the  Museum  of  the  Scottish  Antiquaries.  See  Proceedings  Soc.  Ant. 
Scotland,  vol.  iv.  p.  294,  and  Sculptured  Stones  of  Scotland,  vol.  ii.  p.  x.  With  it  were  found  a 
number  of  other  bronze  objects,  including  a  large  crescent-shaped  plate  engraved  with  scrolls  of 
precisely  the  same  character  as  fig.  1.  Similar  scrolls  also  occur  on  the  shield  found  in  the  river 
Withain,  engraved  in  the  Archceologia,  vol.  XXIII.  PI.  xiii.  and  in  Kemble's  Iforce  Ferales, 
PI.  xiv. 

It  is  well  known  that  mirrors  are  not  unfrequcntly  represented  on  the  early  sculptured  stones  of 
Scotland,  accompanied  by  combs  and  other  symbols. 

The  mirrors  of  unquestionably  Roman  origin  found  in  England  and  the  Continent  may  be 
divided  into  the  following  classes: — 1.  Quadrangular  mirrors  without  handles;  2.  Circular  mirrors 
fitting  into  cases  of  the  same  form  ;  3.  Circular  mirrors  with  handles,  but  without  marginal  bands, 
the  edges  often  pierced.  These  mirrors  are  of  a  whiter  metal  than  those  found  at  Plymouth,  more 
like  modern  speculum  metal,  and  probably  contain  a  larger  amount  of  tin. 

1  should  be  therefore  disposed  to  attribute  the  mirrors  from  Plymouth  and  the  others  which  I 
have  described  to  a  Late  Celtic  origin.  The  only  other  mirrors  with  ornamented  backs  are  the 
Etruscan ;  in  their  elliptical  form  the  specimens  under  consideration  are  not  altogether  unlike 
Egyptian  mirrors. 

To  a  Late  Celtic  origin  I  should  also  be  inclined  to  refer  the  armlet  engraved  in  Plate  XXXI. 
fig.  1.  Some  of  the  pottery,  especially  Plate  XXXII.  fig.  5,  is  purely  Roman. 

I  may  add  that  in  1832  a  considerable  number  of  British  coins  were  found  on  Mount  Batten, 
near  this  cemetery.  See  Numismatic  Journal,  vol.  i. ;  Evans,  Coins  of  the  Ancient  Britons,  pp.  72, 
106,  128. 


INDEX. 


A. 


Abbess,  election  of  an,  427,  443 

Adder's  Beads,  229 

Altar,  Roman,  found  at  Lymne,  380 

Altars  in  Roman  Churches,  210 

Ambonet  in  Roman  Churches,  209 

America,  earliest  mention  of,  24 — 40 

Anne  Boleyne,  Queen,  Portraits  of,  74,  81,  87,  88 

Anne  of  Cleves,  Queen,  Portraits  of,  77,  86 

Anne,  Queen  of  Hungary,  Portrait  of,  81 

Annulus  Piscatoris,  memoir  on,  129 — 142 

Antiquarius,  The,  by  Hieronymus  Bononius,  143 — 

156 

Armagnac,  Count  of,  Portraits  of  his  Daughters,  475 
Armilla  from  Plymouth,  502 

Arundel  Castle,  Portrait  of  Duchess  of  Milan  at,  108 
Arundcl  Family,  Pedigree  of,  420 
Aston,  Sir  Walter,  Letters  to,  274—282 


B. 


BATE,  C.  SPEJJCE,  F.R.S.,   on   a   Romano-British 

Cemetery  at  Plymouth,  500—509 
BELDAM,  JOSEPH,  F.8.A.  on  Royston  Court  House, 

119—137 

Benches,  The  Four,  429 
Ben-Djemma,  Malta,  Skull  from,  491 
BLACK,  WILLIAM  HBNHY,  F.S.A.  observations  on 

the  Site  of  Roman  London,  41 — 49 
. further  observa- 


tions, 50—58 


by  Hieronymus  Bononius,  143 — 156 


•  on  the  Antiquarius, 


BLACK,  WILLIAM  HEKRY,  F.S.A.  on  the  Identifica- 
tion of  the  Roman  Portus  Lemanis,  375 — 380 

BLIGHT,  J.  T  on  Subterranean  Chambers  at  Trelo- 
warren,  Cornwall,  113 — 118 

Boleyne,  Mary,  portrait  of,  84 

Bononius,  Hieronymus,  of  Treviso,  MSS.  by,  143— 
156 

Bronze  Objects  from  Plymouth,  502,  510 

BRUCE,  JOHN,  F.S.A.  on  a  PockeWial  of  Robert 
Devereux,  Earl  of  Essex,  343—356 

Burgundy,  Duchess  of,  Embassies  from  England  t<>, 
451—461 


C. 


Canonsleigh,  co.  Devon,  Priory  and  Abbey  at,  417— 

450 

Carausius,  Coins  of,  412 
Cassivcllaunus,  town  of,  51,  64 
Cathedrae  in  Roman  Churches,  215 
Celtic  Bronze  Mirrors,  510 
Charles  I.  his  Residence  at  Royston,  133 
Chester,  Roman  Remains  discovered  at,  285 — 294 
Christus,  Petrus,  Portrait  of  Edward  Grimston  t>y. 

451,  459,  471 

other  paintings  by,  471 — 482 

Ciboria  in  Roman  Churches,  213 
Clavile  Family,  Pedigree  of,  418 

Seal  of  John  de,  443 

Clist,  Seal  of  William  de,  449 

COCHET,  L'Abbe,  Sur  une  Statue  de  Guillaume-le- 

Conquerant,  398 — 402 
Cole,  Humphrey,  dial-maker,  348,  354 
"  Confessions"  of  Roman  Churches,  199 
Crystals  used  in  magic,  390 


512 


INDEX. 


D. 


Dalton,  Edward,  F.S  A.  Pocket-dial  belonging  to, 

343—360 
Darcy  Family,  235 
Donne,  Sir  John,  Portrait  of,  472 
DONNE,  WILUAM  BOOIIAM,  on    Human   Sacrifices 

among  the  Romans,  250 — 256 
Doorways  of  Roman  Churches,  190 
Dniry,  Mary,  wife  of  Edward  Grimston,  465— 4C7 


E. 


Edward  I.  Administration  of  Criminal  Law  in  his 

reign,  89—105 

-  money  borrowed  by,  425,  441 
Edward  VI.  Portraits  of,  72 
Elizabeth,  Princess,  Portraits  of,  73,  85 
Elizabeth,  Queen,  Documents  relating  to  Magic  in 

her  reign,  3«9— 397 
Emery,  Roger,  Seal  of,  450 
Episcopal  .Jurisdiction,  sede  vacante,  432 
Essex,  Robert   Deverenx  Earl  of,  his   Pocket-dial, 

343—360 

arms  of,  352 

EVANS,  JOHN,  F.JS.A.  on  the  worked  Flints  of  Pres- 

signy-Ie-Grand,  3*1—388 
Exeter,  seal  of  official  principal  of  Bishop  of,  429 


F. 


F.URHOLT,  F.  W.  F.S.A.  on  an  Inventory  of  the 
Household  Goods  of  Sir  T.  Ramsey,  311—322 

Fibula  from  Romano- British  Cemetery  near  Ply- 
mouth, 503 

Fisherman's  Ring,  129 — 142 

Flanders,  its  relations  with  England,  459 

Flint  Implements  from  Pressigny-le-Grand,  381  — 
388 

Fonts  of  Roman  Churches,  202 

FKANKS,  AUGUSTUS  WOLLASTON,  Director,  Notes  on 
Edward  Grimston,  455 — 470 


FRANKS,  AUGUSTUS  WOLLASTON,  Note  on  Antiquities 
discovered  at  Plymouth,  510 


G. 


Chain  Tiffiha,  Malta,  Rock-tombs  at,  483 — 486 

Skulls  from,  488 — 490 

Giocondi,  Francesco,  20 

Giocondi,  Fra  Giovanni,  21 

Glass   from   Romano-British  Cemetery   near    Ply- 
mouth, 504 

Gresham,  Sir  Thomas,  312 

Grimston,  Edward,  Ambassador  from  Henry  VI.,  In- 
structions to,  and  Portrait  of,  451—471 
Seal  of,  464 


Family,  455 


Guilford,  Lady,  Portrait  of,  85 


H. 


Hagiar  Kim,  Malta,  skull  from,  492 

HARROD,   HENRY,  F.S.A.  on  the  Mantle  and  the 

Ring  of  Widowhood,  307—310 
HART,  W.  H.    F.S.A.   on  Documents  relating  to 

Magic,  temp.  Elizabeth,  389—397 
Helps,  Mr.,  on  Human  Sacrifices,  250 
Henry  VI.,  his  Instructions  to  his  Ambassadors  to 

the  Duchess  of  Burgundy,  452 — 454 
Henry  VIII.,  Portraits  of  the  Queens  of,  71—88 

Picture  of  Family  of,  79,  83 

Holbein,  Hans,  his  Portraits  of  the  Royal  Family 

of  England,  71—73 
his  Portrait    of    the    Duchess    of 

Milan,  107 

Human  Sacrifices  among  the  Romans,  242 — 256 
Hythe,  Kent,  whether  site  of  Portus  Lemanis,  361 
—380 


I. 


Inventory   of    Household    Goods    of   Sir   Thomas 
Ramsey,  311—342 


IXDEX. 


513 


J. 


James  I.,  his  Residence  at  Royston,  120 — 131 

Letters  from  and  to  him  by  Sir  Henry 

Wotton,  257—284 

Jane  Seymour,  Queen,  Portraits  of,  76,  82 
JOYCE,  Rev.  JAMES  GERALD,  F.S.A.  on  the  Exca- 
vations at  Silchester,  403 — 416 


K. 


Katherine  of  Arragon,  Queen,  Portraits  of,  73,  81 
Katherine  Howard,  Queen,  Portraits  of,  78,  84,  87 
Katherine  Parr,  Queen,  Portraits  of,  79,  83 
Kynvin,  James,  dial-maker,  347 — 349 


Law,  Criminal,  temp.  Edward  I.,  89 
LEWIN,   THOMAS,    F.S.A.    Sketch   of    British   and 
Roman  London,  59 — 70 

on   the   Position   of    the 

Portus  Lemanis  of  the  Romans,  361 — 374 

LIDDELL,  Very  Rev.  HENRY  GEORGE,  Dean  of 
Christchurch,  on  Human  Sacrifices  among  the 
Romans,  242—249 

London,  British,  44,  51,  59—66 

Roman,  Site  of,  41—58,  66—70 

Wall  of,  295,  306 

Lord  Mayor  of,  311 

Lud,  Walter,  21,  30 

Lymne,  Kent,  whether    Site   of  Portus   Lemanis, 

361—380 
— — Roman  Altar  from,  380 


M. 


Magic,  Documents  relating  to,  389 — 397 

MAJOR,   RICBARD   HENRY,   F.S.A.   Memoir  on   a 

Mappemonde  by  Leonardo  da  Vinci,  1 — 40 
Malta,  Rock-tombs  at,  483 
Mantle  of  Widowhood,  307 — 310 

VOL.  XL. 


Mappemonde  by  Leonardo  da  Vinci,  1 — 40 

Margaret  of  Anjou,  Portrait  of,  476 

Mary,  daughter  of  Henry  VIIL,  Portraits  of,  72 

Milan,  Christina,  Duchess  of,  Portraits  of,  106 — 
112 

Milverton,  Advowson  of,  422,  436 

Mirrors  of  Bronze  found  in  Cemetery  near  Ply- 
mouth, 502,  510 

Morden,  East,  Advowson  of,  423,  440 

Morton,  Sir  Albert,  Letter  to,  282 


N. 


NESBITT,  ALEXANDER,  F.S.A.  on  the  Churches  at 
Rome  earlier  than  the  year  1150,  157—224 

NICHOLS,  FRANCIS  MORGAN,  F.S.A.  observations  on 
Documents  illustrative  of  the  Administration  of 
Criminal  Law,  temp.  Edward  I.,  89 — 105 

NICHOLS,  JOHN  GOUGH,  F.S.A.  remarks  on  Hol- 
bein's Portraits  of  the  Royal  Family,  and  Portraits 
of  the  Queens  of  Henry  VIIL  71—80 

Nocturnal,  instrument  so  called,  344,  357 — 360 


P. 


Pavement,  Roman,  at  Winterton,  co.  Lincoln,  241 
—     at  Silchester,  408 

Pavements  of  Roman  Churches,  181 

PEACOCK,  EDWARD,  F.S.A.  on  the  History  of  Win- 
terton by  Abraham  de  la  Pryme,  225 — 241 

PERCEVAL,  CHARLES  SPENCER,  F.S.A.  on  Charters 
and  Documents  relating  to  Priory  and  Abbey  of 
Cannonsleigh,  co.  Devon,  417 — 430 

Pey,  Nicholas,  Letters  to,  265 

Phoenician  Occupation  of  Malta,  495 

Plymouth,  Romano-British  Cemetery  near,  500 — 
510 

Pocket-dial  of  Robert  Devereux  Earl  of  Essex,  343 
—360 

Popes,  use  of  Fisherman's  Ring  by,  129 — 142 

Portman,  Lord,  Documents  belonging  to,  417 

Porton,  Geoffrey  de,  Seal  of,  440 

U 


514 


INDEX. 


Portus  Lemanit,  Site  of,  361—380 

Pottery  from  Rock-tombs  at  Malta,  486,  498 

Romano-British  Cemetery  near  Ply- 
mouth, 504 

Presbyteria  in  Roman  Churches,  202 

Pressigny-le- Grand,  Flint  Implements  from,  381 — 
388 

Pryme,  Abraham  de  la,  his  History  of  Winterton, 
225—241 

Pedigree  of,  230 


R. 


Ramsey,  Sir  Thomas.  Inventory  of  Household  Goods 

of,  311— 342 

Rene  of  Anjou,  Paintings  by,  476 
Richmond,  Henry  Fitzroy  Duke  of,  72 
Ring  of  the  Fisherman,  129 — 142 

Widowhood,  307—310 

Roman  Altar  found  at  Lymne,  380 

London,  Site  of,  41—58,  66—70 

on  remains  of  the  Wall  of,  295 — 306 

Remains  at  Chester,  285  —  294 

Silchester,  Excavations  at,  403 — 416 

Romans,  Human  Sacrifices  among  the,  242 — 256 
Rome,  Churches  of,  earlier  than  the  year  1150,  157 

—224 

Romney  Marsh,  367 

Roos,  Philippa  Lady,  wife  of  Edward  Grimston,  468 
Roper,  Margaret,  Portrait  of,  85 
Royston  Court  House,  119—136 
Rudd  Family,  239 


S. 


Sacrifices,  Human,  among  the  Romans,  242 — 256 

Saint- Victor-l'Abbaye,  Normandy,  Statue  of  Wil- 
liam the  Conqueror  at,  398 — 402 

Salisbury,  Seals  of  Walter  Bishop  of,  and  of  Dean 
and  Chapter  of,  440 

Sampford  Arundel,  Advowson  of,  420,  431 

Sardinia,  Skulls  from,  496 


SCHAKF,  GEORGE,  F.S.A.  notes  on  the  Portraits  of 

the  Queens  of  Henry  VIII.  80—88 
on  a  Portrait  of  the  Duchess 

of  Milan,  106—112 
on  the  Portrait  of  Edward 

Grimston,  &c.  471—482 
Scorbrough  Family,  239 
Seal  of  the  official  principal  of  the  Bishop  of  Exeter, 

429 

Saint  Andrew,  Wells,  436 

Priory  of  Leigh,  439 

Walter,  Archdeacon  of  Taunton,  439 

Geoffrey  de  Porton,  440 

Walter,  Bishop  of  Salisbury,  440 

Dean  and  Chapter  of  Salisbury,  440 

• John  de  Clavile,  443 

Abbey  of  Canonsleigh,  448 

William  de  Clist,  449 

Roger  Emery,  450 

Edward  Grimston,  464 

Silchester,  Excavations  at,  403 — 416 

Skulls  from  Rock-tombs  at  Malta,  481—499 

Sleight  Family,  237 

Sloane,  Sir  Hans,  Letters  to,  228 

Smith,  C.  Roach,  F.S.A.  his  opinion  as  to  Lymne, 

377 

Soderini,  Pietro,  29 

Stanhope,  Earl,  P.S.A.  his  views  on  Human  Sacri- 
fices, 242,  252 
Statutes   of  Winchester   and   Westminster,    temp 

Edward  I.  92—100 
Stobnicza,  John,  his  Introduction   to   the   Coimo- 

graphia  of  Ptolemy,  37 
Subterranean  Chambers  at  Trelowarren,  co.  Cornwall, 

113—118 

Suffolk,  Earl  of,  457 
SWANN,  Capt.  JOHN  S.  on  Rock-tombs  at  Ghain 

Tiffiha  and  Tal  Horr,  Malta,  483—486 


T. 

Tal  Horr,  Malta,  Rock-tomb  at,  486 
Skull  from,  494 


INDEX. 


515 


Tate,  Sir  Robert,  Portrait  of,  473 

Taunton,  Archdeacon   of,  his   Claim  to   Episcopal 

Jurisdiction  sede  vacante,  432 

his  Seal,  439 

Tertullian,  his   Statement  as  to  Human  Sacrifices 

among  the  Romans,  248 
Tharros,  Sardinia,  Skulls  from,  496 
THOMS,  WILLIAM  J.,  F.S.A.  on  the  Instructions  given 

by  Henry  VI.  to  Edward  Grimston,  451 
Thorndon,  Suffolk,  Monuments  at,  468,  470 
Thome  Family,  Pedigree  of,  422 
Thome  St.  Margaret,  Advowson  of,  422,  436 
THURNAM,  JOHN,  M.D.,  F.S.A.  on  Human  Remains 

from  Malta,  488—499 
TITB,  WILLIAM,  M.P.,  V.P.S.A.  on  Roman  Remains 

at  Chester,  285—294 
on  the  Remains  of  the  Roman  Wall 

of  London,  295—305 
Tombs  in  Roman  Churches,  216 
Trailbaston,  Justices  of,  94 
Trelowarren,  co.  Cornwall,  Subterranean  Chambers 

at,  113—118 


V. 


Valoignes,  Normandy,  Castle  of,  457 
Verulam,  Earl  of,  Portrait  and  Documents  belong- 
ing to,  451-471 


Vespucci,  Amerigo,  Voyages  of,  12 — 40 
Vinci,  Leonardo  da,  Mappemonde  by,  1 — 40 


W. 


Wall,  Roman,  of  London,  295—306 

WATERTON,  EDMUND,  F.S.A.  on  the  Annulus  Pis- 

catoris,  138 — 142 
WATSON,  C.  KNIGHT,  Secretary,  on  letters  from  Sir 

Henry  Wotton  to  James  I.  and  others,  257 
Wells,  Seal  of  Church  of,  436 
Westminster,  Statute  of,  98 
Widowhood,  Mantle  and  Ring  of,  307 — 310 
Will  of  Sir  Thomas  Ramsey,  315 
William  the  Conqueror,  Statue  of,  398—402 
WILLIAMS,  JOHN,  F.S.A.  Note  on  the  Use  of  the 

Nocturnal,  357—360 
Winchester,  Statute  of,  92 
Windows  of  Roman  Churches,  193 
Windsor  Castle,  Mappemonde  in  Royal  Collections 

at,  1—40 

Portrait  of  Duchess  of  Milan  at,  106 

Winterton,  co.  Lincoln,  History  of,  by  Abraham  de 

la  Pryrne,  225—241 
Woodward,  B.  B.  F.S.A.  discovers  a  Mappemonde 

in  the  Royal  Library,  1 
Wotton,  Sir  Henry,  Letters  to  James  I.  and  others, 

257—284 


Westminster :  Printed  by  J.  B.  NICHOLS  and  SONS,  26,  Parliament  Street. 


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