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I^EICESTERSHIRE 


WILLIAM  ANDRMWS  F.RH.S.  .$ 


THE  LIBRARY 

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BYGONE    LEICESTERSHIRE 


NOTE. 

Of  this  book  750  copies  have  been  printed, 
and  this  is 


No 


/• 


IIELVOIU   I'AaTl.E. 


Bygone 
Leicestershire. 


Ki)rii:i)  r,v 

WILLIAM    ANDREWS,    F.R.I  I. S. 

AUTHOR  OF 
"HYC.ONE   ENGLAND,"    "OLD   CHURCH   LORE," 
"CURIOSITIES   OF   THE   CHURCH,"    ETC. 


LEICESTER  : 

FRANK  MURRAY. 

HULL  : 

WILLIAM  ANDREWS  &  CO.,  THE  HULL  PRESS. 

London:  Simpkin,  Marshall,  Hamilton,  Kent,  &  Co.,  Limited. 

1892. 


Ls  A  s7 


preface. 

^  I  ^HIS  volume,  like  others  of  the  series  to 
-■■  which  it  belongs,  attempts  to  deal  in  a 
popular,  and  at  the  same  time  accurate,  manner 
with  many  of  the  more  interesting  phases  of 
local  history,  biography,  and  folk-lore  of 
Leicestershire. 

I  am  greath^  obliged  to  my  contributors  for 
their  kind  help.  Other  friends,  including  Mr. 
George  Clinch,  of  the  British  Museum,  Mr.  S. 
Firth,  F.R.H.S.,  Mr.  Thomas  Harrold,  and  Mr. 
William  Kelly,  f.s.a.,  have  also  assisted  me 
with  important  suggestions  and  notes.  To  these 
gentlemen  I  tender  my  thanks. 


WiLLiAiM  Andrews. 


HxLL  Literary  Cn'r., 
Xoremher  Isf,  189:^. 


645944 


Contents. 


l»AOE 

HisToiuc  Lkicestkksiiiki:.     By  Thomas  Frost             I 

John  Wiclik  axd  Luttkkwoktii.     My  John  T.  Paj^e          ...  "JO 

T(£E  Last  Days  ok  a  Dy.nastv  :    An  iNTiionfcTioN  to  Red- 
more  FiouT     '.Hi 

The  B.vttlk  ok  Boswoktii.     By  EdwjufI  Laniploujrh           ...  41 

SCE.NE.s    AT    H(iS\Vt)JtTII  :     TuE    BlA'E    BoAIl    .Vl'   LEICESTER           ...  .'(4 

BuAutJATE  AND  Ladv  Jane  Gbev.     By  John  T.   Page          ...  (>2 

Lekesteu  Castle.     By  L  W.  Dickinson,  r..A.            70 

Death  ok  C.vhdin.u,  Wolsev  at  Lk[('Este}i  AiiisEV.       By   I. 

W.    Dickinson,   i;.a.     ...         ...         ...         ...         ...         ...  7(J 

i>Ei.v(iiH  Castle         ..  SH 

Robert,    Earl   ok    Leicester  :    A   (Jh.wter   ok   MEni.EVAE 

History            97 

Local  Proverbs   and   Folk    Pjirases.      By   T.    Broadbent 

Trowsdale         lOo 

Festival  Customs  in  Leicestershire.      By  Henrietta  Ellis  117 

WiTCHCRAKT  IN  Leicestershire.    By  J.  Potter  Bri.scoe,  k.k.ii.s.  !•_'() 

William  Lilly,  the  Astrolo<;er.     By  W.  H.  Thompson  ...  loO 

(iLEANINCS     KRO.M     EARLY     LEICESTERSHIRE     WiLLS.  By     the 

liev.   W.  (!.  D.  Fletcher,  m.a.,  k.s.a 140 

PUNISH.MENTS   OK   THE    PaST                   U")!) 

Lacrexce  Ferrers,  the  Mt'roerkr  E  vrl.     By  T.  Broadbent 

Trowsdale         ...         ...         ...         ...         ...         ...         ...  170 

The  Last  Gibbet.     By  Thomas  Frost 193 

The  Ancient  Water-mills  .\t  LoutiHBORoiGH.     By  the  Rev. 

W.  G.  D.  Fletcher,  m.a.,  k.s.a 204 

ASHBY-DE-LA-ZOUCH    CaSTLE    AND    ITS    ASSOCIATIONS  ;     AsHIU- 

DE-LA-Zoucii  AND  THE  FRENCH  PRISONERS.     By  Canon 

Denton,  m.a.     ..          219 

Miss  Mary  Lin  wood  :    An  Artist  with  the  Needle.       By 

William  Andrews,  f.r.h.s ...  236 

Street  Cries.     By  F.  T.  Mott,  k.r.g.s.                       244 

Minstrej.sv  in   Leicester.     By  the  Rev.  Geo.  S.  Tyack,  is. a.  234 

Index      2G2 


BYGONE    LEICESTERSHIRE. 


1bi6toric  Xeicestersbire. 

By  Thomas  Frost. 

AMONGST  the  Celtic  tribes  who  inhabited 
England  in  the  earliest  period  of  our 
country's  history  of  which  there  are  any  records, 
the  Coritani  held  a  position  second  to  none. 
They  occupied  the  counties  of  Leicester,  Derby, 
Nottingham,  Northampton,  Rutland,  and  Lincoln. 
At  the  time  when  the  Romans  were  gradually 
extending  their  dominion  over  the  whole  of  the 
country,  the  greater  part  of  Leicestershire  was 
covered  with  trackless  forests,  extending  in  an 
almost  unbroken  line  from  Charnwood  Forest  on 
the  east  to  the  moors  of  Staffordshire.  The 
Romans  intersected  this  woodland  region  with 
one  of  their  great  lines  of  communication,  called 
the  Fosse  Way,  which  ran  in  an  almost  straight 
line    from    the    site    of    the    present    town    of 


2  BYGONE  LEICESTERSHIRE. 

Cirencester,  in  Gloucestershire,  to  a  spot  in  the 
fertile  valley  of  the  Soar,  on  which  they  planted 
the  colony  and  military  station  of  Ratae,  where 
now  stands  the  chief  town  of  the  county.  Ratse 
became,  during  the  Roman  occupation  of  the 
island,  a  more  important  town  than  its  successor 
was  for  many  years.  Four  great  roads  met 
there,  and  the  civil  and  military  institutions 
introduced  by  its  enterprising  rulers  made  it  an 
advanced  post  of  a  stage  of  civilisation  which,  to 
the  inhabitants  of  the  surrounding  country,  was 
till  then  unknown.  Evidences  of  its  greatness  in 
those  days  are  still  discernible.  A  fragment  of 
Roman  masonry  still  remains  to  attest  the 
excellence  of  the  cement  used  fifteen  hundred 
years  ago ;  and  the  paved  floor  of  a  Roman 
house,  preserved  by  the  care  of  local  antiquaries, 
with  the  Roman  pottery,  implements,  etc.,  found 
at  various  places  in  the  neighbourhood,  bear 
witness  to  the  extent  to  which  the  arts  and  the 
refinements  of  life  which  the  conquerors 
introduced  were  carried  in  England  under  their 
rule. 

So  much  was  Rata?  a  Roman  settlement  that, 
on  the  withdrawal  of  the  imperial  legions  and  the 
civil  functionaries  of  the  empire  from  England,  it 


HISTORIC  LEICESTERSHIRE.  3 

rapidly  declined  from  its  former  prosperity  and 
importance.  The  hordes  of  invaders  from  the 
shores  of  the  North  Sea  and  the  Baltic,  to 
whom  historians  have  given  the  generic  name  of 
Saxons,  laid  the  town  in  ruins,  and  spread 
themselves  over  the  surrounding  country.  The 
evidences  of  Roman  civilization  almost  disappeared 
before  the  flood  of  Norse  barbarism,  and  the 
name  even  of  the  town  was  soon  forgotten  in  that 
of  Legecester,  given  to  it  by  its  new  inhabitants, 
and  which  by  a  gradual  process  of  corruption 
subsequently  became  Leicester.  But  the 
demolished  houses  were  rebuilt,  and  an  earthen 
mound  was  thrown  up  on  the  banks  of  the  Soar 
to  strengthen  the  defences  of  the  new  town,  to 
which  a  castle  was  subsequently  added. 

With  the  consolidation  of  the  Saxon  conquests, 
came  the  division  of  England  into  seven  kingdoms, 
in  the  largest  of  which,  Mercia,  was  included  the 
present  Leicestershire,  with  the  other  counties 
originally  occupied  by  the  Coritani,  and  afterwards 
forming  the  province  of  Flavia  Csesariensis. 
Repton,  in  the  adjoining  county  of  Derby,  though 
only  a  village,  was  the  capital  of  this  kingdom, 
and  several  of  its  kings  were  interred  within  the 
walls  of  the  abbey  which  rose  there  after   the 


4  BYGONE  LEICESTERSHIRE. 

conversion  to  Christianity  of  the  races  from 
whose  mixture  the  EngHsh  nation  had  sprung. 
Leicester  became,  in  679,  the  see  of  a  bishop, 
which  was  soon  afterwards,  however,  removed 
to  the  village  of  Dorchester,  and  eventually 
transferred  to  Lincoln,  The  first  of  these 
ecclesiastical  changes  was  brought  about  by  the 
occupation  of  Leicestershire  and  other  northern 
parts  of  Mercia  by  the  Danes.  The  incursions 
of  the  new  swarms  of  invaders  were  at  first 
successfully  repelled  by  the  kings  of  Mercia,  but 
in  874  the  last  of  those  petty  monarchs  gave  way 
before  the  persistent  inroads  of  the  enemy, 
abandoned  a  contest  which  seemed  hopeless,  and 
retired  to  the  Continent. 

The  heptarchy  was  at  that  time  broken  up, 
and  its  component  parts  were  in  course  of 
incorporation  in  one  kingdom,  thereafter  to  be 
known  as  England.  Four  years  after  the  Danish 
conquest  of  the  north-eastern  portion  of  Mercia, 
Alfred  stayed  the  encroachments  of  the  enemy, 
whom,  however,  he  allowed  to  hold,  on  condition 
of  acknowledging  him  as  their  sovereign,  the 
districts  in  which  they  had  settled.  The  records 
of  the  Danish  settlements  which  have  survived 
the  mutations  of  time  are  very  scanty,  but  the 


HISTORIC  LEICESTERSHIRE.  5 

existence  of  a  hundred  place-names  terminating 
in  "■  by,"  which  is  undoubtedly  Danish,  enables 
the  extent  of  the  locations  of  that  people  in 
Leicestershire  to  be  determined.  Ashby  and 
Groby  may  be  referred  to  as  examples. 

The  position  of  the  Danes  in  Mercia  did  not 
long  remain  unassailed.  On  the  first  signs  of 
renewed  hostility  to  their  Saxon  suzerains, 
Ethelfleda,  a  princess  of  the  royal  family,  led  a 
strong  force  into  Leicestershire,  recovered  posses- 
sion of  Leicester,  and  drove  the  rebellious 
Danes  into  Lincolnshire,  where  their  settlements 
had  always  been  more  numerous  than  elsewhere. 
The  defences  of  Leicester  were  restored  and 
strengthened,  and  for  a  long  time  the  town  and 
the  county  enjoyed  peace.  Misfortune  fell 
heavily  on  both,  however,  when  England  felt 
once  more  the  bitterness  of  a  foreign  yoke.  The 
chroniclers  of  the  period  have  not  recorded  the 
circumstances  which  drew  upon  them  the  wrath 
of  William  the  Conqueror.  Perhaps  it  was 
enough  that  sufficient  territorial  spoils  could  not 
be  found  elsewhere  with  which  to  reward  and 
enrich  the  Norman  officers  who  escaped  the 
spears  and  arrows  of  the  English  at  Hastings. 
However   this    may    have    been,    the    Domesday 


6  BYGONE  LEICESTERSHIRE. 

survey  shows  that  the  greater  jjortion  of  the 
lands  of  Leicestershire  passed  by  confiscation  into 
the  hands  of  foreigners  in  his  reign,  and  that  in 
the  chief  town  of  the  county  not  a  single 
English  freeholder  remained.  The  castle  was 
either  rebuilt  or  greatly  strengthened  by 
William's  orders,  and  its  custody  was  given  to 
one  of  his  Norman  followers,  Hugh  de  Grant- 
mesnil,  who,  as  sheriff  of  the  county,  collected  the 
royal  dues. 

Those  old  Norman  earls  and  knights,  however, 
though  they  owed  their  titles  and  possessions  to 
the  king,  did  not  forget  that  it  was  themselves 
who  had  placed  him  in  a  position  to  distribute 
those  rewards.  The  feudal  yoke  chafed  them  at 
times  as  much  as  it  did  the  inferior  vassals  and 
serfs.  ■  The  son  and  successor  of  Hugh  de  Grant- 
mesnil  gave  the  second  William  much  trouble, 
and  when  reduced  to  submission  sold  his  rights 
over  Leicester  to  Robert  de  Beaumont,  who,  in 
1107,  was  created  Earl  of  Leicester.  The  new 
governor  founded,  within  his  castle,  a  college  of 
canons  of  the  Augustinian  order,  and  built  a 
church  for  them,  which  still  remains  as  a  portion 
of  the  present  church  of  St.  Mary.  Monasticism 
had  not  then  made  much  progress  in  the  county. 


HISTORIC  LEICESTERSHIRE.  7 

but  the  abbeys  of  Osulvestoii  and  Launde  were 
founded  soon  after  that  of  Leicester,  which  dates 
from  1137,  and  several  priories  soon  followed. 
The  Cistercians  had  an  abbey  at  Garendon,  and 
an  Augustinian  nunnery  was  founded  at  Grace 
Dieu. 

The  second  Earl  of  Leicester,  undeterred  by  the 
fate  of  the  second  Hugh  de  Grantniesnil,  raised 
the  banner  of  revolt  against  Henry  II.  in  1175. 
Being  defeated,  he  was  imprisoned,  and  his 
possessions  were  confiscated  to  the  crown.  His 
castles  of  Leicester  and  Groby  were  demolished, 
and  the  earldom  was  conferred  by  the  King  upon 
Beaumont's  brother-in-law,  Simon  de  Montfort. 
The  second  earl  of  this  name,  he  who  made  so 
much  English  history  in  the  reign  of  Henry  III., 
contracted  a  secret  marriage  with  that  monarch's 
sister,  an  alliance  which,  however,  did  not  prevent 
him  from  putting  himself  at  the  head  of  the 
baronial  league  formed  to  repress  the  tyranny 
and  misgovernment  of  his  royal  brother-in-law. 
The  town  of  Leicester,  the  material  prosperity  of 
which  had  received  a  rude  shock  through  the 
reverses  of  the  second  Earl  Beaumont,  had  in 
1201  recovered  sufficiently  to  receive  a  charter 
from  John ;  but  it  suffered  ao^ain  for  the  action 


8  BYGONE  LEICESTERSHIRE. 

taken  by  Montfort,  being  besieged  and  taken  by 
the  King.  The  royal  reverse  at  Lewes  made  t^e 
earl  the  virtual  ruler  of  England,  but  the  tide 
turned  atjain  at  Evesham,  and  the  earldom  of 
Leicester  once  more  chani^fed  owners,  beingf  <jiven 
to  Prince  Edward, 

During  the  two  following  reigns  the  county 
enjoyed  peace,  and  made  considerable  advances  in 
civilisation.  The  men  of  the  towns  pursued  their 
commercial  and  industrial  occupations  in  quiet, 
and  throve  accordingly ;  the  farmers  cleared  the 
woodlands  along  the  valley  of  the  Soar,  and 
encroached  by  degrees  upon  the  limits  of 
Charnwood  Forest.  The  soil  of  the  county  being 
well  adapted  for  sheep  pasturing,  Leicester 
became  the  centre  of  a  considerable  trade  in 
wool ;  and  the  smaller  towns  of  the  shire, 
Loughborough,  Melton  Mow^bray,  Ashby-de-la- 
Zouch,  Market  Bosworth,  and  Lutterworth,  grew 
in  prosperity  as  they  increased  in  population. 

The  latter  half  of  the  fourteenth  century  was 
chiefly  marked,  so  far  as  Leicestershire  was 
concerned,  by  the  foundation  which  was  laid 
by  John  Wiclif  for  the  preaching  of  the 
Reformation.  The  learning  and  eloquence  of 
that  famous  student  and  preacher  attracted  the 


HISTORIC  LEICESTERSHIRE.  9 

notice  of  the  Duke  of  Lancaster,  who  held  with 
that  title  the  earldom  of  Leicester,  and  who  saw 
in  him  a  powerful  instrument  for  raising  an 
anti-clerical  party,  and  carrying  out  his  con- 
templated civil  and  ecclesiastical  reforms. 
Wiclif  was  introduced  by  him  to  Edward  III., 
who  was  willing  to  favour  the  reforming  priest  so 
long  as  his  learning  supplied  arguments  for 
resisting  the  pecuniary  claims  of  the  Pope,  and 
thus  enabling  him  to  use  the  funds  so  withheld 
for  his  wars  with  Scotland  and  France.  Wiclif 
was  presented  to  the  rectory  of  Lutterworth, 
where  he  continued  his  bold  course  of  preaching, 
and  undertook  his  great  work  of  translating  the 
Bible  into  Eno^lish.  Filled  with  zeal  for  the 
cause  of  truth  and  righteousness,  he  boldly 
attacked  the  worldly  and  often  immoral  lives  of 
the  wealthy  ecclesiastics,  and  questioned  their 
right  to  revenues  which  they  did  not  adminster 
for  the  good  of  the  Church.  It  was  a  period  of 
servile  discontent,  preluding  the  social  upheaval 
of  the  following  reign,  and  Wiclif  was,  in  relation 
thereto,  the  precursor  of  the  reforming  priest, 
John  Ball,  and  the  bold  Dartford  workman  who 
dared  to  teach  Bichard  II.  his  duty.  Such  teaching 
was  in  advance  of  the  age,  however,  and  Wiclif 


10  BYGONE  LEICESTERSHIRE. 

was  accused  of  heresy,  and  but  for  the  protection 
of  the  Duke  of  Lancaster,  he  would  probably 
have  been  condemned  to  the  stake. 

The  influence  of  Wiclif  in  Leicestershire  was 
very  great,  and  the  town  of  Leicester,  as  well 
as  Lutterworth,  became  a  centre  of  the  new 
doctrine,  as  it  was  called,  though  it  was  as  old  as 
the  gospel.  He  continued  to  preach  until  his 
death  in  1384,  but  fiv^e  years  later  Archbishop 
Courtenay  visited  Leicester,  to  enquire  into  the 
prevalent  religious  and  social  heterodoxy,  the 
holders  of  which  were  induced  to  acknowledge 
that  they  had  been  in  error.  Sixty  years 
afterwards,  in  conformity  with  a  decree  of  the 
Council  of  Constance,  the  bones  of  the  reforming 
rector  of  Lutterworth  were  exhumed  and  burned, 
and  the  ashes  cast  into  a  brook,  which,  as  Fuller 
says,  carried  them  into  the  Avon,  the  Avon  into- 
the  Severn,  and  the  Severn  into  the  ocean, 
whereby  they  were  borne,  and  with  them  the 
principles  for  which  Wiclif  had  contended,  to 
all  parts  of  the  world. 

On  the  usurpation  of  Henry  IV.,  Leicester 
became,  through  the  influence  of  his  father,  the 
Duke  of  Lancaster,  the  seat  of  the  Parliament 
when    it   was    deemed   inexpedient,    on   political 


HISTORIC  LEICESTERSHIRE.  11 

grounds,  for  the  session  to  be  held  in  Westminster. 
In  1414,  1426,  and  1450  Parliament  sat  in  the 
Hall  of  the  Grey  Friars,  at  Leicester.  In  the 
first  of  those  years,  London  was  disturbed  by 
an  abortive  rising  of  the  disciples  of  Wiclif, 
against  whom  repressive  enactments  were  passed 
by  the  Parliament  at  Leicester.  In  1426, 
London  was  disturbed  by  the  quarrel  of  the 
uncles  of  the  young  king,  Henry  VI.,  the  Duke 
of  Gloucester  and  the  Duke  of  Bedford,  and 
Parliament  was,  in  consequence,  summoned  to 
meet  in  the  serenoi-  atmosphere  of  Leicester. 
The  assembly  was  not  more  peaceful,  however, 
than  it  would  probably  have  been  if  it  had  been 
held  in  Westminster.  Its  members  met  in  arms, 
and  a  prelude  was  afforded  of  the  sanguinary 
strife  that  was  soon  to  desolate  the  land. 

After  the  death  of  the  Duke  of  Lancaster,  the 
Castle  of  Leicester  was  suffered  to  fall  into  decay. 
Notwithstanding  the  great  influence  he  had,  as 
Earl  of  Leicester,  exercised  in  the  town  and 
county,  the  sympathies  of  the  people  were  more 
with  the  legitimate  claimant  of  the  throne  than 
with  the  Lancastrian  faction.  Sir  William 
Hastings,  who  was  one  of  the  most  important 
nicignates  of  the  county,  was  a  staunch  supporter 


12  BYGONE  LEICESTERSHIRE. 

of  Edward  IV.,  who,  in  1461,  created  him  Baron 
Hastings  of  Ashby,  where  he  built  a  castle. 
Another  family  of  this  county  which  rose  into 
importance  at  this  troublous  period  was  the 
Greys  of  Bradgate,  to  whom  passed  the  estates 
of  the  Ferrers  family  of  Groby.  Sir  John  Grey 
fell  in  the  battle  of  St.  Albans,  and  his  widow 
became,  in  1465,  the  wife  of  Edward  IV.  The 
quarrel  which  arose  out  of  this  marriage  between 
Edward  and  the  powerful  Earl  of  Warwick 
forced  the  former  to  leave  the  country,  but  he 
returned  the  following  year,*  landing  at  Raven- 
spurn,  and  marching  thence  to  Leicester,  where 
he  was  joined  by  Lord  Hastings  with  four 
thousand  Leicestershire  men,  who  fought  shortly 
afterwards  in  the  sanguinary  conflict  at  Barnet. 
Edward  being  again  seated  on  the  throne  as  the 
result  of  that  victory,  Thomas  Grey,  the  queen's 
son,  was  created  Marquis  of  Dorset ;  but  on 
Edward's  death,  the  Duke  of  Gloucester  accused 
the  Greys  of  conspiring  to  seize  the  crown  for 
themselves,  and  the  Marquis  fled  to  the 
Continent.  The  arrest  and  execution  of  Lord 
Hastings,  which  quickly  followed,  constitute  a 
well  known  incident  in  the  history  of  the  short 
rei«rn  of  Edward  V. 


HISTORIC  LEICESTERSHIRE.  \:\ 

On  the  19tli  August,  1484,  Richard  III.  rode 
irjto  Leicester  from  Nottingham,  having  learned 
that  the  Earl  of  Richmond  had  reached  Lichfield 
on  his  way  from  Wales  to  London,  and  designing 
to  intercept  him  on  the  march.  He  slept  at  an 
inn  called  the  Blue  Boar,  on  a  bedstead  which  he 
brought  with  him,  and  in  which,  as  was  discovered 
a  century  afterwards,  the  sum  of  three  hundred 
pounds — a  very  large  sum  in  those  days — was 
concealed  in  a  false  bottom.  Two  days  later  he 
marched  out  of  Leicester  with  his  army,  and 
advanced  to  meet  his  foe,  who  was  approaching 
Market  Bosworth.  On  the  21st  the  two  armies 
met  on  Redmore  Plains,  a  mile  south  of  that 
town,  where  the  issue  was  decided  by  the 
desertion  of  Lord  Stanley,  with  three  thousand 
men,  to  Henry  Tudor.  Rendered  desperate  by 
his  situation,  and  hoping  to  turn  the  tide  in  his 
favour  by  one  well-directed  stroke,  Richard 
urged  his  charger  into  the  thick  of  the  fight,  cut 
down  Sir  William  Brandon,  who  bore  Richmond's 
standard,  unhorsed  Sir  John  Cheney,  and  was 
within  a  few  yards  of  the  earl,  when  Lord 
Stanley's  cavalry  interposed,  and,  overpowered 
by  numbers,  covered  with  wounds,  but  fighting 
to   the   last,   he   fell.     His   corpse   was    thrown 


14  BYGONE  LEICESTERSHIRE. 

across  a  horse  and  thus  ignoininiously  was  borne 
to  Leicester,  where  it  was  buried,  with  scant 
ceremony,  in  the  church  of  the  Grey  Friars.  A 
spring  on  the  field  of  Bosworth,  from  which 
Richard  is  said  to  have  drank  before  going  into 
battle,  was  afterwards  enclosed  by  rough 
masonry,  in  a  conical  form,  with  an  opening  for 
access,  and  was  known  for  centuries  afterwards  as 
"  Richard's  Well." 

Less  than  fifty  years  afterwards,  Leicester 
received  a  visitor  of  a  different  character,  whose 
death  preluded  one  of  the  greatest  changes  which 
the  religious  and  social  condition  of  England  has 
ever  experienced.  On  the  26th  of  November, 
1530,  that  magnificent  ecclesiastic.  Cardinal 
Wolsey,  having  been  arrested  at  Cawood,  in 
Yorkshire,  on  an  accusation  of  treason,  and  taken 
seriously  ill  on  the  road  to  London,  was  brought 
to  Leicester,  and  lodged  in  the  old  Abbey. 
Three  days  afterwards  he  died,  and  was  buried  in 
the  Lady  Chapel,  unlamented  in  death  as  he  had 
been  feared  in  life,  and  leaving  the  lesson  of  his 
career  ''  to  point  a  moral  or  adorn  a  tale." 

Under  the  sovereigns  of  the  Tudor  dynasty 
the  county  enjoyed  peace  and  prosperity.  The 
changes  brought  about  by  the  dissolution  of  the 


HISTORIC  LEICESTERSHIRE.  M 

monastic  houses  appear  to  have  been  Httle  felt. 
The  chief  landowners  profited  by  the  secularisation 
of  the  monastic  properties,  and  probably  the 
trading  and  industrial  classes  of  the  towns  did 
not  regret  the  transfer.  Henry  VII.  restored 
to  the  Marquis  of  Dorset  the  estates  forfeited  by 
the  Greys  in  the  preceding  reign,  and  the  second 
marquis  held  an  important  military  command 
under  Henry  VIII.  His  son  married  a 
daughter  of  the  Duke  of  Suffolk,  a  niece  of  that 
monarch,  and  succeeded  to  her  father's  title  in 
1551.  The  Hastings  family  also  experienced  the 
returning  sunshine  of  royal  favour,  and  resumed 
their  place  at  Ashby-de-la-Zouch.  In  1529 
George  Hastings  was  created  Earl  of  Hunt- 
ingdon, and  the  possessor  of  that  title  in  the 
reign  of  Elizabeth  served  that  imperious  lady 
well  in  maintaining  order  in  the  Midland 
counties.  Another  family  that  rose  to  great 
territorial  influence  in  this  period  was  that  of 
Manners,  the  head  of  which  was  created  Earl  of 
Rutland  in  1525,  and  restored  in  great 
magnificence  the  ruined  castle  of  Belvoir,  which 
now  ranks  among  the  stateliest  of  the  great 
mansions  of  England. 

The  Greys  never  recovered  the  position  they 


16  BYGONE  LEICESTERSHIRE. 

had  held  in  the  country  in  the  reign  of  Edward 
IV.  The  ambition  of  the  Duke  of  Suffolk,  fed 
and  encouraged  by  his  connection  with  Royalty,  led 
him  to  his  ruin.  In  conjunction  with  the  Earl  of 
Northumberland,  he  succeeded  in  prevailing  upon 
Edward  VI.  to  exclude  his  sisters  from  the 
succession  to  the  throne,  and  to  nominate  Lady 
Jane  Grey  as  his  successor.  The  scheme  did  not 
succeed.  Suffolk's  unfortunate  dauofhter  was 
indeed  proclaimed  queen,  but  she  reigned  only 
nine  days,  and  eventually  suffered  death  for  her 
father's  unscrupulous  ambition.  The  duke  shortly 
afterwards  followed  her  to  the  scaffold,  and  little 
pity  was  felt  for  him  by  the  nation,  though  a  thrill 
of  horror  had  been  felt  at  the  cruel  fate  of  his 
youthful  and  amiable  daughter. 

The  prosperity  enjoyed  by  Leicestershire 
under  the  Tudor  sovereigns  was  interrupted  by 
the  civil  war  of  the  seventeenth  century.  The 
county  was  almost  unanimously  on  the  side  of 
the  Parliament,  and  in  1645  Leicester  was 
besieged  and  captured  by  the  Roj^alists, 
commanded  by  Charles  himself,  and  given  up  to 
pillage.  A  long  time  elapsed  before  the  town 
recovered  its  former  prosperity,  while  the  rural 
districts  suffered  from  the  ravages  and  exactions 


HISTORIC  LEICESTERSHIRE.  17 

of  the  troops  that  in  turn  marched  across  the 

country.     The  Castle  of  Ashby  was  ruined,  and 

the  Earls  of  Huntingdon  did  not  restore  it,  but 

transferred  their  residence  to  Donington,  a  village 

in  the  same  portion  of  the  county. 

With  the  more  peaceful  days  which   came  in 

the  last  quarter  of  the  century,  and  those  of  the 

two     centuries     that      followed,     Leicestershire 

recovered  its  prosperity,  and  has  since  retained  it. 

The  long  and  fine  white  fleeces  of  the  Leicestershire 

breed  of  sheep  was  so  admirably  adapted  for  the 

manufacture  of  the  finer  descriptions  of  woollen 

goods,  that  Leicester  had  been,  even  as  early  as 

the  first  quarter  of  the  thirteenth  century,  the 

centre    of    the   woollen    trade    of    the   midland 

counties.     In  those  early  days  woollen  yarn  was 

woven  only  into  cloth,  and  stockings  were  made 

by  cutting  the  parts  out  of  the  cloth  and  stitching 

them  together,  just  as  cloth  gloves  are  now  made. 

Even  so  late  as  the  sixteenth  century,  knitted 

stockings  were  worn  only  by  the  upper  classes. 

The  liking  for  them  spread,  however,   and  the 

process  of  knitting  by  hand  soon  became  too  slow 

for   the   production   of  a   supply   commensurate 

with    the    demand.     Towards    the   end    of    the 

sixteenth    century,    William    Lee,    a   clergyman 

c 


18  BYGONE  LEICESTERSHIRE. 

in  the  neighbouring  county  of  Nottingham, 
invented  the  stocking-frame,  by  the  use  of  which 
hosiery  could  be  manufactured  much  more 
rapidly.  According  to  the  popular  tradition,  the 
reverend  inventor  found  his  courtship  of  his 
future  wife  hindered  by  the  excessive  industry  of 
the  young  lady,  whose  attention  was  always 
absorbed  by  her  knitting.  The  lover,  being  a  man 
of  some  ingenuity  and  mechanical  skill,  used  both 
for  the  construction  of  a  machine  which  might 
be  worked  without  requiring  such  exclusive 
attention. 

The  stocking-frame  did  not,  however,  come 
into  general  use  until  long  after  the  inventor  and 
his  generation  had  passed  away.  It  was  not  until 
the  middle  of  the  seventeenth  century  that  it 
became  established,  but  from  that  time  down  to 
the  present,  Leicestershire  has  been  the  chief 
seat  of  the  hosiery  trade  of  England.  As  the 
stocking-frame  could  be  worked  by  hand,  the 
manufacture  of  hosiery  was  an  industry  that 
could  be  carried  on  at  home,  and  it  spread, 
therefore,  over  the  whole  of  the  county,  and  was 
not  confined,  like  the  later  cotton  industries,  to  the 
towns.  Merchants  bought  the  wool  from  the 
farmers,   and   the   middlemen   supplied   the   raw 


HISTORIC  LEICESTERSHIRE.  19 

material  and  furnished  the  machines  on  hire. 
There  was  no  tendency,  therefore,  of  the  rural 
population  to  migrate  into  the  towns,  and 
manufacturing  life  thus  became  blended  with 
rural  pursuits,  the  two  being  carried  on  and 
flourishing  side  by  side.  It  was  long  before  the 
application  of  steam  to  the  hosiery  manufacture 
disturbed  these  conditions.  But  the  time  came 
at  length  when  steam-driven  machinery  began  to 
encroach  upon  manual  labour,  and  by  degrees  the 
factory  system,  as  we  see  it  in  operation  to-day, 
superseded  the  cottage  industry  of  former  times. 


3obn  Miclif  anb  Xutterwortb. 

By  John  T.  Page. 

IT  has  been  truly  said  that  there  is  no  name 
more  dear  to  EngUshmen  of  every  shade  of 
opinion  than  that  of  John  WieUf.  The  fearless- 
ness of  the  man  in  the  cause  of  truth,  and  the 
boldness  with  which  he  faced  his  persecutors,  as 
well  as  the  zeal  and  indomitable  perseverance  with 
which  he  carried  out,  amid  the  turmoil  of  his  life, 
his  grand  work  of  translating  the  Bible  into 
English,  are  qualities  which  cannot  fail  to  excite 
admiration. 

Though  the  issues  of  the  battle  fought  by 
Wiclif  on  behalf  of  religious  freedom  are  world- 
wide, yet  it  is  a  matter  of  profound  interest  to 
concentrate  attention  on  the  spot  where  the 
brave  soldier  not  only  bore  the  burden  and  heat 
of  the  strife,  but  also  eventually  laid  down  his 
life. 

The  birthplace  of  the  "Morning  Star  of  the 
Reformation  "  has  formed  a  subject  of  controversy 
for  many  years. 


JOHN  WICLIF  AND  LUTTERWORTH.  21 

There  is  no  doubt  as  to  his  Yorkshire  extraction, 
nor  that  he  came  of  a  very  ancient  and  good 
family.  The  villages  of  Wycliffe  and  Hipswell 
both  lay  claim  to  his  nativity,  but  the  exact 
locality  is  matter  of  conjecture. 

About  the  year  1335,  young  Wiclif  appeared 
at  Oxford,  and  was  duly  entered  as  a  student, 
some  say  at  Balliol,  but  others  claim  him  for 
Queen's  or  Merton  Colleges.  Here  he  inde- 
fatigably  studied  logic  and  philosophy,  and 
thoroughly  mastered  the  civil,  the  canon,  and 
the  common  law.  In  Latin,  too,  he  became  as 
proficient  as  in  his  mother-tongue. 

In  1361,  he  received  the  appointment  of 
Master  of  Balliol  College,  and  a  few  years  later 
that  of  Warden  of  Canterbury  Hall.  His  degree 
of  Doctor  of  Divinity  enabled  him  to  teach 
theology.  And  thus  his  sphere  of  usefulness 
constantly  widened  in  the  University. 

It  is  a  somewhat  curious  fact  that  Wiclif  s  first 
claim  to  national  attention  was  in  consequence  of 
a  pamphlet  which  he  issued  in  1366  against  the 
political  supremacy  of  the  Pope.  It  has  been 
inferred  that  he  was  at  this  time  a  member  of 
Parliament,  but  such  a  supposition  may  be 
dismissed,  owing  to  the  fact  that  his  name  does 


22  BYGONE  LEICESTERSHIRE. 

not  occur  in  the  list  of  "  Magistri "  summoned  to 
any  Parliament  of  the  period. 

In  1374,  negotiations  took  place  at  Bruges 
between  special  commissioners  sent  from  England 
and  representatives  of  the  Papal  Court.  These 
mainly  related  to  the  practice  of  "reserving" 
benefices  in  England,  which  was  considered  by 
patrons  as  an  encroachment  on  their  rights. 
Wiclif  was  sent  to  this  conference  as  a  Royal 
Commissioner,  with  the  Bishop  of  Bangor  and 
others,  but  no  very  satisfactory  conclusion  ajDpears 
to  have  been  arrived  at. 

About  this  time  Wiclif  was  appointed  to  the 
rectory  of  Lutterworth,  and  three  years  later,  in 
1377,  came  the  crisis  of  his  life.  The  frequency" 
and  sharpness  of  his  attacks  against  the 
pretensions  and  abuses  of  the  Papacy  had  raised 
for  him  a  bitter  enemy  in  the  person  of  Courtenay, 
Bishop  of  London.  Before  this  prelate  he  was 
presently  ordered  to  appear  in  St.  Paul's 
Cathedral,  on  a  charge  of  heresy.  He  obeyed 
the  injunction,  but  came  supported  by  two 
powerful  friends,  John  of  Gaunt,  Duke  of 
Lancaster,  and  the  Earl  Percy.  The  interview 
between  Wiclif  and  the  Bishop  speedily  changed 
into  a  stormy  altercation  between  the  nobles  and 


JOHN  WICLIF  AND  LUTTERWORTH. 


23 


the   ecclesiastics,    and   the   Court    broke   up    in 
confusion. 

In  the  following  year  (1378)  the  Pope  ordered 
Archbishop  Sudbury  to  summon  Wiclif  to 
Lambeth,  to  answer  charges  of  heresy  and 
revolutionary  views  about  property  in  general  and 


JOHN   WICLIF. 

From  Bale's  "  Centuries  of  British  Writers"  (lolS). 


Church  property  in  particular.  This  time  the 
people  openly  sympathised  with  him,  and 
eventually  a  Koyal  message  from  the  Queen- 
Mother   quashed   the    proceedings. 

As  many  as  five  bulls  now  arrived  from  Rome, 
addressed  severally  to  the  King,  the  Parliament, 


24  BYGONE  LEICESTERSHIRE. 

the  University  of  Oxford,  the  Archbishop  of 
Canterbury,  and  the  Bishop  of  London.  They 
demanded  that  Wiehf  should  cease  from  preaching, 
under  a  threat  of  excommunication,  and  also 
ordered  his  arrest  and  condemnation  as  a  heretic. 
With  rival  Popes  in  the  field,  however,  the 
Reformer  was  for  the  time  comparatively  safe. 

From  1378  to  1381,  Wiclif  was  busily  at  work, 
preaching  in  London,  at  Oxford,  and  at 
Lutterworth,  and  writing  tracts  and  theological 
treatises  in  abundance  both  in  English  and  Latin. 

The  Reformer  now  took  a  further  step,  and 
ngt  only  denounced  the  Papal  supremacy,  but 
also  protested  against  the  doctrine  of  the  mass  as 
being  the  central  evil  of  the  whole  system.  It 
was  evident  that  strong  measures  must  be 
resorted  to  by  the  authorities  to  stop  the 
progress  of  the  Reformer  ! 

An  appeal  to  canon  law  at  Oxford  resulted  in 
a  declaration  of  heresy,  and  Wiclif  was  virtually 
silenced  and  banished  from  the  University.  His 
old  patron,  John  of  Gaunt,  offered  him  friendly 
advice,  and  under  his  protection  he  was  allowed 
to  retire  to  Lutterworth.  Here  he  continued  to 
carry  on  his  work  of  writing  and  translating,  and 
of  educating  his  company  of  "  poor  priests." 


JOHN  WICLIF  AND  LUTTERWORTH.  25 

"Yearning  for  some  potent  engine,  like  the 
printing-press,  to  diffuse  the  words  of  life  as  he 
transcribed  them,  he  trained  his  hero  band  of 
Lollards,  whose  diligent  and  faithful  pens  made 
duplicates  and  copies  of  the  priceless  manuscript, 
and  who  read  and  taught  its  truths  by  the  light 
they  gathered  from  their  master." 

The  energy  of  this  "old  man  eloquent"  was 
amazing.  Not  only  did  he  expound  the  word, 
but  his  prolific  pen  produced  a  continuous 
stream  of  tracts  and  treatises,  some  of  which 
have  been  published  of  late  years,  but  many  still 
lie  hidden  in  the  libraries  of  continental  cities. 
All  this  time,  too,  his  English  Bible  was  being 
rapidly  copied  and  eagerly  read,  and  he  lived  to 
achieve  the  undying  honour  of  having  produced 
the  first  complete  translation  of  God's  Word  into 
English,  or  indeed  into  any  modern  language. 
"Not  only  was  Wiclif  'the  Morning  Star  of  the 
Reformation,'  but  he  was  the  intellectual  and 
spiritual  luminary  of  the  times  in  which  he 
lived." 

But  the  hour  was  now  at  hand  when  the  great 
Beformer  should  enter  into  rest.  While  engaged 
in  the  services  of  his  church,  on  the  13th  of 
December,   1384,  he  was  seized  with  a  paralytic 


26  BYGONE  LEICESTERSHIRE. 

fit,  and  on  the  last  day  of  the  year  he  died  in  the 
quiet  rectory  house  at  Lutterworth. 

He  was  buried  in  the  church  he  had  loved  and 
served  so  well,  and  for  some  time  his  body 
remained  undisturbed  within  the  sacred  precincts. 
It  was  more  than  thirty  years  after  his  death 
that  the  malice  of  his  enemies  woke  up  to  fresh 
effort.  The  Council  of  Constance  then  declared 
him  to  have  been  a  heretic,  and  not  only  ordered 
his  books  to  be  burnt,  but  was  maligrnant  enouofh 
to  add  "  that  his  body  and  bones,  if  they  can  be 
distinguished  from  those  of  the  faithful,  shall  be 
disinterred,  or  dug  out  of  the  ground,  and  cast  at 
a  distance  from  the  sepulchre  of  the  church." 

This  occurred  in  1415.  It  was  not  until  1428 
that  sufficient  courao^e  could  be  summoned  to 
carry  out  the  impotent  decree.  Archbishop 
Chicheley  then  came  to  Lutterworth  to  preside 
at  so  holy  a  function,  and  with  many  willing 
hands  to  help,  the  grave  of  John  Wiclif  was 
speedily  rifled  of  its  hallowed  relics. 

Tradition  says  that  his  bones  were  ultimately 
carried  to  a  spot  south  of  the  town,  just  where  a 
bridge  now  crosses  the  little  river  Swift,  and  that 
there  they  were  publicly  burned.  However  this 
may  be,  we  know  that  his  ashes  were  cast  into 


28  BYGONE  LEICESTERSHIRE. 

the  little  stream,  and  "  thus,"  as  quaint  old  Fuller 
puts  it,  "  this  brook  hath  conveyed  his  ashes  into 
Avon,  Avon  into  Severn,  Severn  into  the  narrow 
seas,  they  into  the  main  ocean.  And  thus  the 
ashes  of  Wiclif  are  the  emblem  of  his  doctrine, 
which  now  is  dispersed  all  the  world  over." 

This  holocaust  of  John  Wiclif  was  but  the 
sowing  of  the  seed  of  the  Reformation,  which  in 
time  grew  up  and  ripened  and  brought  forth  fruit 
an  hundredfold. 

There  is  not  much  in  the  modern  town  of 
Lutterworth  whereby  the  imagination  can  be 
assisted  in  its  journey  backward  across  the  ages 
to  the  time  when  Wiclif  resided  there.  A  few  old 
houses  with  projecting  gables  still  remain  to 
impart  a  glamour  of  antiquity  to  the  street 
leading  to  the  church,  but  beyond  these  there  is 
very  little  of  interest  outside  the  church  itself. 
The  ravages  of  time  have  dealt  leniently 
with  the  sacred  edifice,  and  judicious  restorations 
have  preserved  many  mementos  of  the  time  when 
Wiclif  s  voice  sounded  within  its  walls. 

The  structure  consists  of  a  chancel,  clere- 
storied  nave  with  five  bays,  north  and  south 
aisles,  a  south  porch,  and  a  lofty  tower,  surmounted 
by  crocketed  pinnacles,   at  the  west  end.     The 


JOHN  WICLIF  AND  LUTTERWORTH.  29 

tower  is  comparatively  modern,  but  the  greater 
part  of  the  body  of  the  church  is  undoubtedly 
Fourteenth  Century  work.  In  the  chancel  are  a 
priest's  door,  aumbry,  and  piscina ;  at  the  east  end 
of  the  south  aisle  is  another  piscina ;  while  in  the 
north  pier  of  the  chancel  arch  a  hagioscope  still 
remains. 

The  name  of  Wiclif  is  held  in  remembrance  by 
an  alto-relievo  monument  of  white  marble,  the 
work  of  the  late  Sir  Richard  Westmacott,  r.a. 
It  is  well  placed  at  the  east  end  of  the  north 
aisle  wall,  near  the  spot  where  he  is  supposed  to 
have  been  buried.  Various  figures,  students, 
priests,  and  others  are  represented  in  an  attitude 
of  deep  attention  around  the  grand  figure  of  the 
Reformer,  who,  with  hand  uplifted,  is  in  the  act  of 
addressing  them.  The  monument  bears  the 
following  inscription  : — 

SACRED  TO  THE  MEMORY  OF 

JOHN  WICLIF 

THE  EARLIEST  CHAMPION  OP  ECCLESIASTICAL  REFORMATION  IN 
ENGLAND  |  HE  WAS  BORN  IN  YORKSHIRE  IN  THE  YEAR  1324,  |  IN 
THE  YEAR  1375  HE  WAS  PRESENTED  TO  THE  RECTORY  OF 
LUTTERWORTH  :  |  WHERE  HE  DIED  ON  THE  31ST  OF  DECEMBER 
1384.  I  AT  OXFORD  HE  ACQUIRED  NOT  ONLY  THE  RENOWN  OF  A 
CONSUMMATE  SCHOOLMAN,  |  BUT  THE  FAR  MORE  GLORIOUS  TITLE 
OF  EVANGELIC  DOCTOR.  |  HIS  WHOLE  LIFE  WAS  ONE  IMPETUOUS 
STRUGGLE  AGAINST  THE   CORRUPTIONS   I  AND    ENCROACHMENTS  OF 


30  BYGONE  LEICESTERSHIRE. 

THE  PAPAL  COURT,  |  AND  THE  IMPOSTURES  OP  ITS  DEVOTED 
AUXILIARIES,  THE  MENDICANT  FRATERNITIES.  |  HIS  LABOURS  IN 
THE  CAUSE  OP  THE  SCRIPTURAL  TRUTH  WERE  CROWNED  BY  ONE 
IMMORTAL  ACHIEVEMENT,  |  HIS  TRANSLATION  OF  THE  BIBLE  INTO 
THE  ENGLISH  TONGUE.  |  THIS  MIGHTY  WORK  DREW  ON  HIM, 
INDEED,  THE  BITTER  HATRED  |  OF  ALL  WHO  WERE  MAKING 
MERCHANDIZE  OF  THE  POPULAR  CREDULITY  AND  IGNORANCE  :  | 
BUT  HE  FOUND  AN  ABUNDANT  REWARD  IN  THE  BLESSINGS  OF  HIS 
COUNTRYMEN,  OF  EVERY  RANK  AND  AGE,  |  TO  WHOM  HE 
UNFOLDED  THE  WORDS  OF  ETERNAL  LIFE.  |  HIS  MORTAL  REMAINS 
WERE  INTERRED  NEAR  THIS  SPOT  :  BUT  THEY  WERE  NOT  ALLOAVED 
TO  REST  IN  PEACE.  |  AFTER  THE  LAPSE  OF  MANY  YEARS,  HIS 
BONES  WERE  DRAGGED  FROM  THE  GRAVE  AND  CONSIGNED  TO  THE 
FLAMES  I  AND  HIS  ASHES  WERE  CAST  INTO  THE  ADJOINING  STREAM. 

The  pulpit  is,  in  many  respects,  the  same  from 
which  Wiclif  used  to  preach,  and  is  therefore  one 
of  the  chief  objects  of  interest  in  the  church. 
It  is  hexagonal  in  shape,  and  is  constructed  of 
thick  oak  boards,  elaborately  carved.  No  trouble 
has  been  spared  to  preserve  this  choice  relic  of 
bygone  days. 

Inside  the  communion  rails  stands  Wiclifs 
chair,  so  called  because  he  is  said  to  have  been 
carried  in  it  thence  to  his  home,  on  that  last 
memorable  occasion  when  he  was  stricken  with  the 
hand  of  death  while  participating  in  public  worship. 

Another  Wiclif  relic  is  his  dining-table,  which 
stands  at  the  west  end  of  the  church.  On  it  rests 
a   case    of    books    containing    two    volumes    of 


JOHN  WICLIF  AND  LUTTERWORTH.  31 

Wiclifs  Bible,  and  an  old  edition,  also  in  two 
volumes,  of  Foxe's  "  Book  of  Martyrs,"  dated 
1632.  To  the  latter,  part  of  an  iron  chain  is  still 
affixed. 

In  the  vestry  on  the  north  side  of  the  chancel, 
may  be  seen  a  fine  oil  painting  of  the  Reformer, 
and  there  is  also  preserved  here,  in  a  glass  case, 
part  of  a  cope  or  vestment  which  once  belonged 
to  him.  On  the  top  of  the  case  stand  two  candle- 
sticks, which  may  or  may  not  have  belonged  to 
the  church  in  the  time  of  Rector  Wiclif 

When  the  church  was  last  restored,  in  1867-0, 
under  the  direction  of  the  late  Sir  Gilbert  Scott, 
some  particularly  fine  frescoes  were  brought  to 
light.  The  principal  one  is  over  the  chancel  arch, 
and  represents  the  General  Resurrection. 
Christ  is  seated  in  the  centre,  on  a  rainbow, 
supported  by  two  angels  on  either  side. 
Beneath  His  feet  is  the  earth,  with  graves 
opening,  and  figures  representing  all  grades  of  life 
— from  the  crowned  king  in  flowing  robes  to  the 
nudest  skeleton — rising  from  their  tombs.  Fire 
is  seen  to  be  bursting  from  some  of  the  coffins, 
which  are  gradually  exuding  their  inmates.  The 
effect  is  intensified  by  the  ground  being  strewn 
with  ghastly  bones  and  grinning  skulls. 


32  BYGONE  LEICESTERSHIRE. 

The  other  fresco  is  over  the  north  doorway, 
and  consists  of  three  Hfe-size  figures,  said  to 
represent  Kichard  II.,  his  wife,  Anne  of 
Bohemia,  and  John  of  Gaunt,  Duke  of  Lancaster. 
Richard  stands  on  the  left,  fully  equipped  for 
sport,  with  hawk  on  hand.  The  Duke  is  in  the 
act  of  speaking  to  the  central  figure,  the  Queen,  the 
subject-matter  of  the  conversation  being,  as 
visitors  are  informed,  the  request  that  the  Queen 
will  use  her  influence  to  induce  the  King  to 
allow  Wiclif  to  remain  Rector  of  Lutterworth. 

The  scrupulous  care  with  which  this  church 
has  been  restored,  and  the  evident  pride  that  is 
taken  in  preserving  the  memorials  which  are  to 
be  found  there  of  Wiclif  and  his  times,  are  both 
matters  for  sincere  congratulation. 

May  it  be  long  ere  those  Vandals  who  ruthlessly 
destroy  relics  of  ancient  days  find  a  coign  of 
vantage  in  Lutterworth  Church !  Time  does 
its  work  quite  fast  enough,  without  the  aid  of 
modern  innovation,  but  united  they  hurl  down 
stone  after  stone,  and  beam  after  beam,  until 
a  new  world  rises  all  around,  and  men  in  time 
forget  the  spots  made  sacred  by  their  fathers' 
dust,  and  urge  their  toil  where  formerly  God's 
word  was  preached. 


^be  %a0t  2)ap6  of  a  B^nast^:  an 
3ntrot)UCtion  to  IRebmore  ifigbt 

"  O  Redmore  !  then  it  seemed  thy  name  was  not  in  vain, 
When  with  a  thousand's  blood  the  earth  was  covered  red." 

— Polyolhion. 

IT  is  not  necessary  to  relate  that  crimson 
chapter  of  history  over  which  is  inscribed 
the  name  of  Richard,  Duke  of  Gloucester ;  suffice 
it  that  he  consummated  his  crimes  by  the 
usurpation  by  the  crown  of  England,  and  by  the 
bloody  removal  of  his  nephews,  Edward  V.  and 
the  Duke  of  York. 

The  ambitious  nobleman  who  thus  raised  himself 
to  the  throne  by  the  ruin  of  his  brother's  house, 
was  eminently  qualified  to  rule  a  numerous  and 
bold  people.  Shakespeare  has  fixed  him  before 
us  in  a  few  nervous  words  : — 

"  Thy  prime  of  manhood,  daring,  bold,  and  venturous, 
Thy  age  confirmed,  proud,  subtle,  sly,  and  bloody  ! " 

Nevertheless  had  Richard  inherited  the  crown, 
without  the  necessity  of  an  unnatural  usurpation, 
he  would  have  passed  as  a  wise  ruler  and  a  popular 


34  BYGONE  LEICESTERSHIRE. 

monarch.  Despite  his  crimes,  he  had  a  con- 
siderable following,  and  possessed  a  strong  hold 
upon  the  affections  of  the  citizens  of  York. 

His  wisdom  in  council,  and  his  skill  and  courage 
in  the  field  had  been  sufficiently  tested.  Sir 
Thomas  More's  description  of  him,  as  being  "  ill- 
featured  of  limb,  crook-backed,  his  left  shoulder 
being  much  higher  than  his  right,  and  hard- 
favoured  of  visage ! "  is  contradicted  by  the 
evidence  of  the  Countess  of  Desmond,  who  had 
been  Richard's  partner  at  a  ball,  and  regarded 
him  as  second  only  to  his  brother  Edward,  who 
was  eminent  for  his  manly  beauty.  Certainly  his 
portrait  gives  the  impression  that  he  was  a  prince 
of  handsome  features,  expressing  mental  powers 
of  no  common  order :  but  the  face  and  the  acts 
of  Richard  conve}"  the  impression  that  his  age 
largely  exceeded  the  thirty-two  years  and  odd 
months  that  made  up  the  sum  of  his  life  when 
Stanley's  trumpets  ushered  in  its  last  moments 
on  Redmore  heath. 

The  reign  so  infamously  commenced,  had  few 
ofleams  of  sunshine  to  lio^hten  its  tumultuous 
days.  A  magnificent  pageant  was  enacted  at 
York,  when  Prince  Edward  was  invested  with  the 
insignia  of  the  Principality  of  Wales ;  but  this 


THE  LAST  DAYS  OF  A  DYNASTY.  35 

was  quickly  followed  by  the  language  of  sedition, 
the  secret  defection  of  the  nobility,  and  the  open 
pretensions  of  a  new  claimant  of  the  throne.  The 
tragedies  of  the  field  were  common  to  the  time, 
but  the  murder  of  the  boy-princes — the  helpless 
children  of  their  late  and  most  popular  monarch 
— deeply  stirred  the  hearts  of  the  people.  A 
gentleman  named  CoUingbourne  gave  expression, 
in  the  following  epigram,  of  the  popular  hatred  of 
the  king,  and  contempt  of  his  favourites,  Ratcliff, 
Catesby,  and  Lord  Lovel  : — 

"  The  cat,  the  rat,  and  Love],  our  dog, 
Rule  all  England  under  a  hog." 

Richard  had  the  too-witty  CoUingbourne 
executed,  but  the  rhyme  lived. 

Death  carried  off  the  frail  Prince  Edward  and 
his  unhappy  mother,  the  death  of  the  latter  being 
imputed  to  Richard,  who  had  designed  to  have 
espoused  his  niece,  Elizabeth  of  York,  the  sister  of 
the  murdered  princes,  but  was  diverted  from  this 
unnatural  intention  by  the  representations  of  his 
advisers.  In  this  position,  he  declared  the  Earl  of 
Lincoln — a  descendant  of  the  princely  merchants 
of  Hull,  the  de  la  Poles — the  heir-presumptive  to 
the  throne.  This  was  probably  a  stroke  of  policy, 
in  so  far  that  it  served  to  bar  the  pretentions  of 


36  BYGONE  LEICESTERSHIRE. 

the  Earl  of  Richmond,  but  inasmuch  as  the  Earl 
could  command  no  party  sufficiently  strong  to 
trouble  the  king,  he  was  not  likely  to  contest  the 
claims  of  Richmond  in  the  event  of  Richard  being 
overthrown. 

Henry  Tudor,  the  Earl  of  Richmond  referred 
to,  was  descended  from  the  illegitimate  issue  of 
John  of  Gaunt  and  Catherine  Swynford,  and 
although  he  might  claim  some  little  popular 
respect  as  the  grandson  of  Owen  Tudor  and  the 
widow  of  the  national  hero,  Henry  V.,  it  is 
extremely  improbable  that  he  would  ever  have 
approached  the  throne  had  not  the  crimes  of  the 
House  of  York  opened  a  pathway  for  him. 

The  first  attempt  against  Richard  was  headed 
by  the  Duke  of  Buckingham,  who  was  also,  on 
his  mother's  side,  descended  from  the  Beauforts, 
and  had  been  one  of  the  most  zealous  partisans  of 
the  Duke  of  Gloucester.  The  restoration  of 
Edward  V.  to  the  throne  was  the  declared  object 
of  the  movement,  and  was  met  by  the  King's 
announcement  that  Edward  and  his  brother  had 
died  in  the  Tower.  Upon  this  evil  news  reaching 
them,  the  conspirators  brought  forward  the  Earl 
of  Richmond,  and  to  strengthen  his  more  than 
dubious  claims,  exacted  an  undertaking  from  him 


THE  LAST  DAYS  OF  A  DYNASTY.  37 

that  he  would  espouse  the  Princess  EHzabeth, 
and  thus  unite  the  long  conflicting  claims  of  the 
houses  of  York  and  Lancaster. 

On  the  14th  October,  1483,  Henry  VII.  was 
proclaimed  at  Exeter,  and  Buckingham  raised  his 
standard  at  Brecknock ;  the  disaffected  also 
appearing  in  arms  in  Wiltshire,  Kent,  and  Berks. 
Richmond  sailed  from  St.  Malo,  with  forty 
vessels,  to  support  his  friends,  but  was  sorely 
buffeted  by  adverse  winds,  and  compelled  to  put 
back.  The  attempt  failed  without  the  forces 
cominof  into  collision.  The  Severn  was  swollen 
by  heavy  rains,  the  bridges  destroyed,  and 
Buckingham's  advance  arrested.  Weary  of 
inactivity,  and  doubtful  of  success,  the  insurgents 
lost  heart,  and  dispersed.  Buckingham,  confiding 
in  the  devotion  of  a  servant,  Ralph  Bannister, 
was  betrayed  into  the  king's  hands,  and  carried  to 
Salisbury.  Richard,  disregarding  the  duke's 
urgent  request  for  an  audience,  commanded  that 
his  head  should  be  immediately  struck  off  in  the 
market  place. 

The  victory  was  an  easy  one,  but  the  king's 
position  was  dubious.  His  favourites  could 
command  no  following ;  and  lords  and  commons 
were    equally    disaffected,    for    his    majesty    had 


38  BYGONE  LEICESTERSHIRE. 

resorted  to  the  unpopular  expedient  of  raising 
supplies  by  forced  loans  from  his  reluctant 
subjects.  The  Duke  of  Norfolk  was  perhaps  the 
only  powerful  noble  who  was  faithful  to  Richard. 

The  Earl  of  Richmond  landed  at  Milford 
Haven  on  the  6th  August,  1485,  six  days  after 
his  embarkation  at  Harfleur.  He  brouo^ht  with 
him  2000  soldiers,  meanly  equipped  mercenaries, 
furnished  by  the  King  of  France.  The  defence  of 
Wales  had  been  committed  to  Sir  Rice  ap 
Thomas  and  Sir  Walter  Herbert,  but  the  former 
made  no  attempt  to  force  an  engagement,  and  the 
latter  went  over  to  Richmond  with  many  of  his 
friends  and  followers.  The  Earl's  army  was  a 
mere  handful  when  it  entered  Shrewsbury,  but 
the  young  Earl,  with  his  guardian.  Sir  Gilbert 
Talbot,  welcomed  the  adventurer,  and  reinforced 
the  army  with  2000  of  his  retainers. 

Royal  proclamations  had  been  issued,  exposing 
the  fictitious  claims  of  Richmond,  and  exhorting 
"  all  true  and  good  Englishmen  "  to  oppose  him 
in  arms.  Fixing  his  headquarters  at  Nottingham, 
on  the  24th  of  July,  the  king  impatiently  awaited 
news  of  the  landing  of  his  enemy,  yet  a  week 
elapsed  ere  tidings  of  that  important  event 
reached  him.     On  learning  that  the  Welsh  had 


THE  LAST  DAYS  OF  A  DYNASTY.  39 

not  opposed,  but  had  afforded  some  assistance  to 
the  Tudor,  he  resolved  to  march  against  the 
invader  and  force  a  battle,  without  loss  of  time. 

A  few  years  before  huge  armies  had  quickly- 
gathered  on  the  unfurling  of  the  standards  of 
York  and'  Lancaster ;  the  highways  had  been 
thronged  by  the  vassals  of  the  great  nobles,  and 
by  tumultuary  masses  of  half-disciplined  Welsh 
infantry.  On  battlefield  and  scaffold  had 
perished  the  flower  of  the  barons,  and  Henry 
Tudor  had  no  hold  upon  the  enthusiasm  of  the 
people  ;  the  general  detestation  in  which  Richard 
was  held  furnished  his  only  weapon.  If 
Richmond's  forces  increased  slowly,  few  men 
came  willingly  to  the  king's  aid ;  and  many  of 
those  who  marched  behind  the  standard  of  the 
unworthy  son  of  Duke  Richard  were  prepared, 
on  the  first  opportunity,  to  go  over  to  the  little 
Tudor  princeling.  Warwick  and  Edward  were 
at  rest ;  no  Margaret,  no  Prince  Edward,  aroused 
the  loyal  ardour  of  the  poor  remnant  of  the 
Lancastrian  party.  The  doomed  king  alone 
moved  in  heroic  guise  to  the  field  of  Bosworth. 

Richard  was  too  conscious  of  his  unpopularity, 
and  of  the  disaffection  of  his  barons ;  but,  before 
all  others,  the  suspicion  of  his  guilty  spirit  rested 


40  BYGONE  LEICESTERSHIRE. 

upon  the  two  brothers,  Lord  and  Sir  WilHam 
Stanley ;  and  while  these  captains  raised  troops 
for  his  support,  he  retained  Lord  Strange,  the 
elder  Stanley's  son,  as  a  hostage  for  the  father's 
loyalty. 

Such  was  the  position  of  Richard  in  the  August 
of  1485,  with  an  enemy  before  him,  weak  in 
numbers,  inferior  in  military  capacity,  but 
strengthened  by  the  knowledge  that  treachery 
was  paralysing  the  energies  of  the  usurper,  and 
that  he  was  reofarded  with  abhorrence  and  hatred 
by  the  great  mass  of  his  subjects. 


Zbc  Battle  of  Bosvoortb, 

By' Edward  Lamplough. 

KING  Richard  having  so  happily  prevailed 
over  Buckingham's  revolt,  was  afterwards 
called  upon  to  defend  himself  against  the  Earl  of 
Richmond  in  person,  that  nobleman  having 
landed  at  Milford  Haven  on  the  6th  of  August, 
1485,  and  pushed  on  for  Shrewsbury,  with  the 
determination  of  at  once  bringing  his  claims  to 
the  arbitration  of  the  sword. 

The  royal  forces  concentrated  at  Nottingham, 
and  on  the  16th  of  August  the  King  marshalled 
his  army  in  the  market  place,  with  great  pomp 
and  parade.  Regally  attired,  and  mounted  upon 
a  white  war-horse,  Richard  appeared  in  the  midst 
of  his  troops,  escorted  by  his  body-guard,  that 
displayed  his  cognizance,  the  famous  silver 
boar.  The  soldiers  marched  five  abreast,  with 
ensigns  and  banners  displayed.  On  the  17th  he 
issued  out  of  Notting^ham,  and  entered  Leicester 
the  same  day,  after  a  fatiguing  march  of  twenty- 
five  miles.  That  night  Richard  lodged  in  the 
Blue   Boar,    and  on   the  following  day  marched 


42  BYGONE  LEICESTERSHIRE. 

through  the  Westgate,  over  Bow  Bridge, 
expecting  to  strike  Richmond's  advance  on  the 
WatHng  Street  Road.  His  enemy  not  appearing, 
the  King  encamped  at  the  village  of  Earl 
Shilton,  his  officers  betaking  themselves  to  the 
church  for  shelter.  On  the  19th  of  August  he 
took  up  a  position  at  Stapleton,  entrenched  his 
camp,  planted  his  artillery,  and  impatiently 
awaited  the  approach  of  the  enemy. 

On  the  20th  instant  Richmond  reached  Tam  worth 
at  the  head  of  6000  men.  Deserters  from 
Richard's  army  began  to  drop  in,  but  the  chief 
hope  of  the  adventurer  was  in  the  treason  of  the 
brothers  Stanley.  Thus  Smollitt,  "  In  the 
neighbourhood  of  Tamworth  he  dropped  behind 
his  army,  and  in  a  fit  of  musing  lost  his  way ;  so 
that  he  was  obliged  to  lie  all  night  at  a  village, 
without  daring  to  ask  the  road,  for  fear  of  being 
suspected,  and  falling  into  the  hands  of  his 
enemies.  Next  morning  he  made  shift  to  rejoin 
his  army  at  Tamworth,  where,  finding  his  friends 
had  been  greatly  alarmed  at  his  absence,  he  told 
them  he  had  gone  to  confer  with  some  particular 
noblemen,  who  did  not  choose  to  appear  as  yet  in 
his  behalf  That  same  day  he  privately  visited 
the  Lord  Stanley  at  Atherstone." 


THE  BATTLE  OF  BOS  WORTH.  43 

On  the  morning  of  the  21st,  the  movement 
commenced  in  both  armies,  now  almost  within 
striking  distance.  Richmond  encamped  his 
forces  at  Atherstone,  and  Richard,  declining  to 
engage  on  the  plea  that  it  was  the  Sabbath  day, 
was  satisfied  to  maintain  his  camp  near  Bosworth, 
where  the  position  may  be  "yet  distinctly  traced  ; 
though  the  ancient  barren  wild,  without  a  hedge 
or  tree,  gleams  and  glows  beneath  the  summer's 
sun  with  the  products  of  cultivation."  Nine- 
teenth century  changes  are,  however,  numerous ; 
a  railway  passes  over  the  scene  of  the  sanguinary 
struggle,  and  a  canal  has  also  been  cut  through 
the  same  historic  soil.  The  most  severe  struggle 
is  supposed  to  have  occurred  on  the  Ambian 
Hill,  and  during  the  heat  of  the  engagement 
tradition  states  that  the  King  quenched  his 
thirst  from  a  stream  that  has  its  source  in  one  of 
the  slopes  of  the  hill,  and  the  place  yet  bears  the 
name  of  "  Richard's  Well."  "Richard's  camp 
was  the  most  extensive,  and,  with  the  breastwork 
around  it,  covered  eighteen  acres.  Henry's 
covered  seven." 

The  King's  mind  was  troubled  as  he  reposed 
amid  his  host  on  that  last  night  of  his  life. 
Conscience    may   have   troubled   his  bosom,   the 


44  BYGONE  LEICESTERSHIRE. 

distrust  of  impending  treachery  certainly  did, 
and  the  desertions  from  his  army  were  too 
numerous  to  pass  unobserved.  His  sleep  was 
grievously  troubled  by  evil  dreams,  wherein  he 
lay  at  the  mercy  of  devils,  who  sorely  haled  and 
pulled  his  limbs.  When  the  morning  dawned,  his 
pallid  face  bore  evidence  of  his  internal  suffering, 
but  Cicily  of  York  bore  no  coward  sons,  and 
casting  off  the  influences  of  superstition  and 
conscience,  he  arra37^ed  himself  in  a  splendid  suit 
of  mail — the  panopoly  in  which  he  had  stormed 
the  Lancastrian  entrenchments  at  Tewkesbury — 
and  gallantly  mounted,  with  a  golden  crown 
encircling  his  helmet,  he  dressed  his  lines  as  the 
battle  formation  was  made.  The  light  of  earlier 
years  had  passed,  the  soldier  was  oppressed  by 
the  crimes  and  apprehensions  of  the  King,  and 
Richard  moved  not  to  his  last  field  with  the 
fire  and  daring  of  the  past.  Leaving  his  tents 
standing,  he  marched  out  of  his  camp.  His 
army  was  disposed  in  two  lines.  The  first  was 
commanded  by  Richard  Howard,  Duke  of 
Norfolk,  who  was  seconded  by  his  son  Thomas, 
Earl  of  Surrey.  Richard  marched  with  the  second 
line  ;  and  Henry,  Earl  of  Northumberland,  moved 
on  the  right  flank  with  a  powerful  body  of  infantry. 


THE  BATTLE  OF  BOSWORTII. 


46 


An  adventurous  knight,  Sir  Simon  Digby, 
having  penetrated  Richard's  Hnes  during  the 
night,  noted  the  preparations  for  an  early 
advance,  and  carried  the  news  to  Kichmond.  It 
was  the  early  dawn  of  the  22nd  of  August,  and 
as  the  trumpets  sounded,  the  warriors  arose,  and 


RICHARD    I 


assumed  arms.  Preparations  commenced  at  four 
o'clock,  but  the  warriors  did  not  close  until  ten. 
Necessarily  much  time  Was  consumed  in  buckling 
and  bolting  of  harness  where  so  many  of  the 
combatants  were  heavily  mailed  men-at-arms. 

The  mixed  force  that  constituted  the   Tudor 
army  was  only  7000  strong.     The  2000  foreigners 


46  BYGONE  LEICESTERSHIRE. 

and  the  vassals  of  the  Talbots  probably  formed 
the  most  perfectly  accoutred  and  disciplined 
portion  of  Richmond's  forces.  The  remaining 
3000  men  was  composed  of  the  deserters  and 
adventurers  who  had  come  in  under  Griffith,  Ap 
Thomas,  Morgan,  Hungerford,  Bouchier,  Byron, 
Digby,  Hardwick,  and  other  disaffected 
gentlemen. 

Richard's  camp  flag  exhibited  a  dun  cow 
emblazoned  on  a  yellow  ground,  but  Sir  William 
Brandon  carried  his  private  banner,  of  green  and 
white  silk,  on  which  was  depicted  the  famous  red 
dragon  of  the  ancient  British  monarchs.  The 
disposition  of  his  small  army  necessitated  an 
extended,  and  therefore  weak,  line,  to  hold  the 
more  numerous  enemy  in  check.  The  risk  of 
being  outflanked  was  thus  guarded  against,  but 
the  danger  of  the  centre  being  penetrated  was 
increased.  John  de  Vere,  Earl  of  Oxford, 
commanded  the  centre ;  Sir  Gilbert  Talbot  led 
the  right  wing,  and  Sir  John  Savage  the  left. 
Henry,  seconded  by  his  uncle,  Jasper  Tudor, 
commanded  the  second  line.  The  field  was  open, 
and  unfavourable  to  his  inferior  army.  Had  the 
two  Stanleys,  who  hovered  between  the  armies 
charged  him,  his  army  must  at  once  have  been 


THE  BATTLE  OF  BOS  WORT  If.  •    47 

destroyed ;  for  Lord  Stanley's  division  consisted 
of  5000  men,  that  of  his  brother  of  3000. 

The  formation  of  the  two  armies  was  nearly 
the  same  :  the  archers  were  in  the  van,  supported 
by  the  bill-men  and  ghisarmiers ;  the  cavalry 
constituted  the  wings.  The  foot  wore  leather 
jacks  and  short  doublets,  with  long  hose.  Their 
head  armour  consisted  of  pot-helmets  and  iron 
scull-caps. 

Traitors  were  in  the  royal  army,  and  few  there 
had  any  heart  in  the  usurper's  cause.  On  the 
lodging  of  that  honest  veteran,  the  Duke  of 
Norfolk,  had  been  attached  the  following  rude 
rhyme — doubtless  the  warning  of  an  anxious 
friend : — 

"Jockey  of  Norfolk,  be  not  too  bold. 
For  Dickon  thy  master  is  bought  and  sold." 

Now  that  the  armies  were  drawn  out,  the 
Stanleys  took  post  on  either  side  of  the  dividing 
space  between  them,  thus  holding  the  flanks  of 
either  army  at  their  mercy.  Richard's  commands 
to  the  Stanleys  to  join  his  army  were  imperative 
and  urgent,  and  were  seconded  by  the  threat  that 
the  young  Lord  Strange  should  be  immediately 
executed  if  the  royal  orders  were  not  instantly 
obeyed.     Lord  Stanley's  reply  to  his  majesty's 


48  BYGONE  LEICESTERSHIRE. 

messenger  is  thus  reported  "  Should  the    King 
stain  his  honour  with  my  son's  blood,  tell  him  I 
.  have  more.     I  shall  come  at  my  convenience." 

On  receiving  Stanley's  defiance,  Richard  called 
for  the  headsman  to  perform  his  gruesome  office, 
but  was  dissuaded  from  the  act  of  vengeance  by 
the  representations  of  his  advisers,  who  affected 
to  believe  that  the  Stanleys  might  possibly  be 
awaiting  the  course  of  events,  and  would  support 
the  victors  when  the  tide  of  battle  turned. 
Eight  thousand  men,  combined  with  the  seven 
thousand  of  Richmond,  would  have  solved  the 
problem  at  once ;  or,  by  joining  Richard,  would 
have  affected  the  ruin  of  the  Earl's  army ;  yet 
Richard  affected  to  credit  the  representations  of 
his  counsellors,  and  Lord  Strange  was  relegated 
to  the  custody  of  his  guards.  Smollitt  narrowly 
censures  Richard  for  not  detaching  troops  to 
keep  the  Stanleys  in  check,  but  the  king  was  too 
good  a  general  to  divide  his  12,000  men  to 
confront  the  7000  of  Richmond,  the  5000  of 
Lord  Stanley,  and  the  3000  of  Sir  William.    • 

Fearing  the  worst  for  his  son,  Lord  Stanley 
despatched  an  urgent  message  to  Richmond  to 
commence  the  advance.  The  dun  cow  was 
carried  forward,  trumpets  sounded  the  charge,  and 


THE  BATTLE  OF  BOS  WORTH.  49 

the  two  armies  coming  within  bow-shot,  a  cloud 
of  arrows  was  poured  from  and  carried  death 
into  either  van.  As  the  centres  closed  with 
clash  of  bill  and  ghisarma,  Oxford  drew  his 
slender  lines  into  closer  formation,  and  his 
warriors  fought  with  the  dogged  resolution  of 
men  standing  on  the  brink  of  ruin.  Norfolk 
marked  Oxford's  actions,  and  extended  his  left 
with  the  intention  of  falling  upon  his  adversary's 
right  flank,  but  at  this  critical  moment  Lord 
Stanley  reinforced  Oxford  with  the  whole  of  his 
division,  and  held  Norfolk  in  check.  This 
disheartening  act  of  treachery  did  not,  however, 
paralyse  the  energies  of  the  royal  army  ;  no  panic 
ensued,  and,  although  distrust  and  apprehension 
pervaded  the  ranks,  a  severe  engagement  was 
maintained  at  close  quarters  for  nearly  two  hours. 
The  Duke  of  Northumberland  regarded  the  con- 
flict with  apathy,  and  made  no  attempt  to  support 
Norfolk ;  nevertheless  many  brave  men  fought 
hardily  for  the  king ;  and  Sir  Richard  Ratcliffe 
and  Sir  Robert  Brackenbury  defeated  the 
scaffold  of  its  due,  and  fell  gallantly  under 
shield. 

King  Richard  beheld  the  critical  state  of  the 

field  with  the  keen  eye  of  an  experienced  soldier, 

E 


50  BYGONE  LEICESTERSHIRE. 

and  rightly  judging  that  he  himself  must  make 
the  decisive  movement,  advanced  to  the  front, 
where,  it  is  stated,  a  scout  pointed  out  to  him  the 
position  occupied  by  the  Earl  of  Richmond,  in 
the  rear  of  an  eminence,  attended  by  a  few 
knights  and  men-at-arms,  amongst  whom  was 
the  bearer  of  the  dragon-banner.  Fired  by  the 
prospect  of  surprising  his  hated  adversary, 
Richard  ascended  the  slope,  and,  on  Richmond 
being  pointed  out  to  him,  exclaimed,  "  I  see  the 
man ;  let  all  who  are  true  knights  follow  me." 
Casting  aside  his  lance,  he  unsheathed  his  sword, 
and  spurred  furiously  upon  the  group.  Richmond, 
moved  to  unusual  heat,  triumphed  over  his 
habitual  timidity,  and  pressed  forward  to  meet 
his  ferocious  assailant.  But  Sir  William  Brandon 
and  the  tall  and  stalwart  Sir  John  Cheney 
spurred  between  the  closing  rivals.  One  blow  of 
Richard's  sword  smote  the  standard-bearer  to 
the  ground,  a  dying  man ;  a  second  blow  hurled 
the  stout  Cheney  from  his  war-steed,  and  the 
desperate  warrior  was  thus  hewing  a  bloody 
pathway  towards  Richmond,  when  Sir  William 
Stanley  burst  in  with  all  his  lances  and 
surrounded  Richard,  who,  pierced  by  many 
weapons,  and  fighting  fiercely  to  the  last,  with 


THE  BATTLE  OF  BOS  WORTH. 


51 


his  armour  broken  and  dinted,  and  the  crown 
smitten  from  his  helmet,  breathed  out  his  fierce 
spirit  in  the  midst  of  his  enemies,  some  fifteen 
minutes  after  he  spurred  up  the  hill. 


BOSWOBTH   FIELD. 


The  Duke  of  Norfolk  had  also  fallen,  and  on 
the  death  of  Richard  being  made  known,  his 
army  broke  and  dispersed,  leaving  about  1000  of 
its   number    on    Redmore    Plain.      Richmond's 


52  BYGONE  LEICESTERSHIRE. 

army  lost  only  100  men ;  but  this  statement  is 
difficult  to  believe,  as  the  two  armies  were  closely 
engaged  for  upwards  of  two  hours,  and  apparently 
the  vanquished  were  not  pursued  with  great 
severity.  On  the  scene  of  Richard's  death- 
struggle,  his  crown  was  found,  under  a  hawthorn 
bush,  where  it  had  rolled  during  the  melee,  and 
Lord  Stanley,  carrying  the  ensanguined  trophy  to 
Richmond,  placed  it  upon  his  head,  and  hailed 
him  King — first  of  the  Tudor  line. 

'*  At  the  foot  of  the  Ambrian  Hill  the  last  of 
the  Plantagenet  kings  lay  naked  in  the  noontide 
sun  amid  a  heap  of  slain." 

The  soldiers,  elated  by  a  victory  that  defection 
and  treachery  alone  had  made  possible,  took  up 
Stanley's  cry  with  enthusiasm,  and  from  that 
moment  Richmond  was  secure  in  the  crown  of 
England. 

No  great  severity  was  exercised  towards 
Richard's  adherents,  but  Catesby  and  two  others 
suffered  on  the  scaffold. 

Thus,  after  thirty  years  of  sanguinary  internecine 
strife,  the  famous  War  of  the  Roses  came  to  a 
conclusion  by  the  ruin  of  the  houses  of  York  and 
Lancaster,  for  it  would  be  absurd  to  affect  to 
regard  the  Earl  of  Richmond  as  possessing  any 


THE  BATTLE  OF  BOS  WORTH.  53 

legal  claim  to  the  honours  of  the  house  of 
Lancaster,  and  althoug-h  he  bestowed  his  hand 
upon  the  Princess  Elizabeth,  King  Edward's 
daughter,  it  was  simply  the  absorption  of  the  last 
poor  claim  of  the  house  of  York  in  the  securing 
of  the  Tudor  line.  True,  there  was  the  young 
Earl  of  Warwick,  but  the  Battle  of  Bosworth 
Field  opened  the  gates  of  the  Tower  for  that 
unfortunate  nobleman,  and  the  Tudor  steel  was 
ready  to  cut  short  his  claim  on  the  first  suspicion 
of  danger. 


Scenes  at  Boswortb :  ^be  KBlue  Boar  at 
Xeicester. 

SOME  incidents  of  tragic  or  romantic  interest 
associated  with  the  Battle  of  Bosworth 
Field,  or  the  fortunes  of  the  two  rivals,  King 
Richard  and  the  Earl  of  Richmond,  may  with 
propriety  follow  the  account  of  the  battle  given 
in  the  immediately  preceding  pages  of  "  Bygone 
Leicestershire." 

The  vicissitudes  to  which  the  ambition  of 
Richard,  Duke  of  York,  committed  his  family 
when  he  advanced  his  claim  to  the  throne,  is 
strikingly  illustrated  by  the  fact  that  when  his 
mangled  and  decapitated  corpse  was  carried  to 
Fotheringhay  for  interment,  there  met  by  his 
grave-side  his  child,  young  Richard,  and 
Margaret  of  Beaufort,  Countess  of  Richmond, 
the  mother  of  Harry  of  Richmond.  Not  only 
as  the  mother  of  Richard's  successful  rival  was 
the  Countess  fated  to  affect  the  fortunes 
of  the  noble  child,  but  also  as  the  wife  of  Thomas, 
Lord  Stanley.     No  doubt  her  influence  prevailed 


SCENES  AT  BOS  WORTH.  55 

over  the  Stanleys,  to  the  ruin  of  Richard  and  the 
exaltation  of  her  son.  Sir  William  Stanley,  who 
saved  Richmond  from  King  Richard's  sword  on 
Bosworth  field,  was  afterwards  condemned  on  a 
charge  of  treason,  and  confessed  his  guilt,  when 
he  was  sentenced  to  death.  His  treason  was  not 
supposed  to  be  of  the  deepest  dye,  but  he  was 
very  wealthy.  The  king  allowed  him  to  perish 
on  the  scaffold,  and  then  entered  into  the 
possession  of  his  wealth. 

King  Richard's  proclamation  against  the 
Tudors  is  an  extremely  interesting  document,  and 
deals  trenchantly  with  Richmond's  claims.  Com- 
mines,  although  not  correctly  informed  in  all  his 
historic  details,  graphically  describes  the  fall  of 
Richard  in  a  few  words : — 

"This  King  Richard  himself  reigned  not  long,  for 
God  on  a  sudden  raised  him  up  an  enemy,  without 
power,  without  money,  without  right  (according 
to  my  information)  and  without  any  reputation, 
but  what  his  person  and  deportment  contracted ; 
for  he  had  suffered  much,  had  been  in  distress  all 
the  days  of  his  life,  and  particularly  as  prisoner  in 
Bretagne,  to  Duke  Francis,  from  the  eighteenth 
year  of  his  age,  who  treated  him  as  kindly  as  the 
necessity    of    his    imprisonment    would    permit. 


56  BYGONE  LEICESTERSHIRE. 

The  King  of  France  having  suppHed  him  with 
some  money  and  about  3000  Normans,  the 
loosest  and  most  profligate  persons  in  all  that 
country,  he  passed  into  Wales,  where  his  father- 
in-law,  the  Lord  Stanley,  joined  him  with  26,000 
men,  at  the  least ;  and  in  three  or  four  days  time, 
he  met  the  bloody  King  Richard,  fought  him, 
slew  him  on  the  field  of  battle,  crowned  himself 
King  of  England,  and  reigns  at  this  present 
time." 

The  mind  of  the  doomed  king  was  evidently 
overcast,  by  the  apprehension  of  his  defeat  and 
ruin ;  but  his  pallid  aspect,  and  his  troubled 
slumbers,  were  not  necessarily  the  consequences 
of  a  fjnawinor  remorse,  or  the  stins^ino^s  of  an 
awakened  conscience ;  but  maybe  referred,  with 
equal  probability,  to  his  impotent  rage  when  he 
found  himself  drawn  into  a  conflict  with  an  enemy 
whose  pretensions,  military  experience,  and 
courage,  he  despised  ;  but  into  whose  hands  he 
might  fall  by  the  treachery  which  undermined  his 
strength,  and  against  which  neither  his  ferocious 
courage  nor  his  cunning  could  avail  him.  Of  all 
his  nobles,  probably  the  veteran  Duke  of  Norfolk 
alone  was  faithful  to  his  master. 

Kichard's    natural    ferocity   showed    itself    at 


SCENES  AT  BOS  WORTH. 


57 


intervals,  and  it  was  with  difficulty  that  he  was 
dissuaded  from  the  execution  of  his  hostage,  Lord 
Strange.  It  is  recorded  that  while  on  his  rounds 
on  the  morning  of  the  battle,  he  came  upon  a 
sentinel  sleeping  at  his  post,  and  that  he  buried 


rUK   BLUE    b.)Ait    Al-    l.ElCtSTER. 


his  dagger  in  the  poor  fellow's  heart,  with  the 
bitter  sarcasm,  ' '  I  found  him  asleep,  and  I  left 
him  as  I  found  him." 

A  few  hours  later,  and  the  tyrant  weltered  in 
his  own  blood,  betrayed  and  undone  by  the  bitter 


68  nYGONE  LEICESTERSHIRE. 

fruit  of  his  own  crimes — for  the  treachery  of  his 
nobles  was  tiie  revolt  against  the  usurper  and  the 
assassin,  not  against  the  king  or  the  house  of  York. 
Thus  Praed's  "  Red  Fisherman  :" 

"  From  the  bowels  of  the  earth, 
Strange  and  varied  sounds  had  birth ; 
Now  the  battle's  bursting  peal, 
Neigh  of  steed,  and  clang  of  steel ; 
Now  an  old  man's  hollow  groan 
Echoed  from  the  dungeon  stone ; 
Now  the  weak  and  wailing  cry 
Of  a  stripling's  agony  ! 
Cold  by  this  was  the  midnight  air  ; 
But  the  abbot's  blood  ran  colder. 
When  he  saw  a  gasping  knight  lie  there, 
With  a  gash  beneath  his  clotted  hair, 
And  a  hump  upon  his  shoulder. 
And  the  loyal  churchman  strove  in  vain 
To  mutter  a  Pater  Noster ; 
For  he  who  writhed  in  mortal  pain 
Was  camped  that  night  on  Bosworth  Plain — 
The  cruel  Duke  of  Gloucester." 

Better,  perhaps  not  braver,  men  fell  that  day. 
A  romantic  incident  of  the  battle  may  be  briefly 
mentioned.  Two  close  friends,  Sir  John  Byron 
and  Sir  Gervase  Clifton,  k.b.,  were  engaged  on 
opposite  sides,  and*  were  under  a  solemn  obligation 
to  each  other  that  he  who  was  on  the  victor's 
side  should  intercede  for  the  other,    or  for  his 


SCEJVUS  AT  BOS  WORTH.  69 

family,  if  life  was  lost  in  the  battle.  In  the  first 
charge  Clifton  was  borne  out  of  saddle,  and  felled 
by  his  adversary,  whereon  Byron  rushed,  with 
extended  shield,  to  aid  his  friend,  and  offer  him 
quarter.  Clifton  was,  however,  mortally  wounded, 
and  with  his  last  breath  reminded  his  friend  of 
their  engagement,  and  expressed  the  opinion  that 
the  victory  would  fall  to  his  party,  that  of 
Richmond. 

After  the  battle,  and  the  Tudor's  solemn 
thanks  to  heaven,  the  victors  entered  Leicester 
in  triumph,  Blanche  Sangleir,  pursuivant-at-arms, 
having  the  body  of  the  slain  king  in  his  charge. 

The  corpse  was  entirely  naked,  ghastly  with 
many  wounds,  and  stained  with  the  blood  and 
mire  of  Redmore,  through  which  it  had  been 
dragged.  It  had  been  insultingly  cast  across  the 
back  of  a  horse,  and  was  carried  with  the  head 
and  heels  dangling  opposite  each  other,  a  sorry 
spectacle  indeed.  The  corpse  of  the  father  had 
been  treated  with  indignity  ;  that  of  the  son  was 
not  more  fortunate.  It  was  publicly  exposed 
during  two  days,  and  insulted  with  barbarous 
indecency  by  the  people,  but  ultimately  received 
burial  in  the  Abbey  Church,  where  King  Henry 
bestowed  upon   it  the    honour    of   a    tomb    of 


60  BYGONE  LEICESTERSHIRE. 

variegated  marble.  When  the  Abbey  fell  into 
decay,  after  the  reformation,  the  tomb  was 
hidden  by  debris,  briars,  and  thorns,  and  on 
being  discovered,  was  rifled  for  the  acquisition  of 
the  stone  coffin,  which  long  served  as  a  drinking- 
trough  for  the  White  Horse  Inn,  in  the  Gallow- 
tree  Gate  of  Leicester,  but  was  broken  up  in  the 
time  of  George  I.  and  used  for  steps  for  a  cellar. 

The  old  Blue  Boar  Inn  at  Leicester  was  long 
regarded  with  interest,  not  only  on  account  of  its 
antiquity  and  characteristic  style,  but  on  account 
of  its  containing  King  Richard's  camp  bedstead, 
a  heavy  piece  of  wooden  furniture,  which  had 
been  used  as  a  treasure-chest  by  its  late  possessor, 
for  it  was  fashioned  to  contain  a  considerable  sum 
of  money,  and  was  well  furnished  when  Richard 
entered  Leicester.  When  Henry's  troops 
plundered  the  town,  they  no  doubt  gave  due 
attention  to  the  Blue  Boar,  but  missed  the  King's 
hoard,  which  was  afterwards  discovered  by  and 
enriched  the  owner  of  the  house,  who  throve  on 
the  usurper's  gold  and  attained  to  the  distinguished 
position  of  Mayor  of  Leicester.  Years  passed,  and 
the  ex-Mayor  died,  leaving  his  widow  in  affluent 
circumstances.  The  unfortunate  woman  retained 
in  her  service  an  old  servant  who  was  privy  to 


SCENES  AT  BOS  WORTH.  61 

the  discovery  and  appropriation  of  the  money, 
and  by  this  woman  the  old  lady  was  murdered, 
when  the  whole  transaction  came  to  light.  In 
1830,  the  story  of  this  historic  bedstead  was  thus 
recorded,  "  About  half  a  century  since,  the  relic 
was  purchased  by  a  furniture  broker  in  Leicester, 
who  slept  in  it  for  many  years,  and  showed  it  to 
the  curious  ;  it  continues  in  as  good  condition, 
apparently,  as  when  used  by  King  Richard,  being 
formed  of  oak,  and  having  a  high  polish.  The 
daughter  of  the  broker  having  married  one 
Babington  of  Rothley,  near  Leicester,  the 
bedstead  was  removed  to  Babington's  house, 
where  it  is  still  preserved." 


16ra^oatc  an^  Xat)^  3ane  6rep. 

By  John  T.  Pack. 

"  How  sweet  'neath  thy  far-spreading  trees  to  lie, 
Lulled  by  the  murmur  of  thy  haunted  stream  ; 
In  gentle  peace  and  calm  tranquility, 

O'er  all  thy  storied  past  to  dream  and  dream  ! " 

IN  most  of  our  English  counties,  and  particu- 
larly in  the  Midlands,  there  exist  historic 
shrines  to  which  ever  and  anon  student-pilgrims 
make  their  way  with  the  object  of  musing 
on  the  characters  and  lives  of  those  whose 
memories  are  there  perpetuated.  These  pilgrim- 
ages are  fraught  with  much  pleasure  and  profit, 
and  many  a  useful  lesson  has  been  learnt  through 
visits  paid  to  scenes  where  noble  men  and  women, 
whose  names  have  become  household  words, 
worked  and  dwelt. 

This  is  notably  the  case  with  Bradgate,  or 
Broad  Gate  as  it  was  called,  when,  long  years 
ago,  that  beautiful  and  accomplished  prodigy  of 
amiability^  Lady  Jane  Grey,  was  born  there. 

Bradgate  Park  lies  about  six  miles  north  of 
Leicester,  and  originally  formed  part  of  Charn- 


BRADGATE  AND  LADY  JANE  GREY.  63 

wood  Forest.  It  is  one  of  those  select  spots,  still 
left  in  England,  which  can  boast  that  never  in  its 
history  has  a  ploughshare  been  known  to  pass 
over  its  surface.  Far  back  in  the  distant 
prehistoric  ages,  the  researches  of  science  tell 
us,  the  country  for  miles  around  was  the 
scene  of  continued  volcanic  eruptions,  which 
accounts  for  the  immense  quantity  of  granite 
crags  scattered  over  the  face  of  the  ground. 
Besides,  therefore,  affording  study  for  the 
historian,  the  geologist  has  here  a  rare  field  in 
which  to  labour.  The  huge  boulders  have 
seemingly  been  thrown  about  haphazard  by 
mighty  giants  at  play,  and  in  some  places  bald 
patches  of  sunken  rocks  are  visible,  which  at 
present  the  grass  refuses  to  hide.  From  this  it 
will  be  easily  seen  that  the  surface  of  the  ground, 
by  the  strange  peculiarity  of  its  wild  beauty, 
cannot  fail  to  command  the  interest  of  even  the 
most  casual  observer. 

The  walk  from  Leicester  to  Bradofate  is  a  treat 
to  all  pedestrians,  so  varied  and  attractive  are  the 
surroundings.  Just  beyond  the  town,  on  the 
right,  stand  the  ruins  of  the  venerable  and 
once  imposing  Leicester  Abbey,  rendered  for 
ever  sacred  as  the  spot  where  the  great  spirit  of 


64  BYGONE  LEICESTERSHIRE. 

Cardinal  Wolsey  departed  from  him.  A  little 
more  than  three  miles  brings  us  to  the  village  of 
Groby,  considered  somewhat  noted  as  being  the 
earliest  villaofe  settlement  on  the  borders  of  the 
Forest.  Seated  by  Groby  Pool,  the  gaze 
wanders  in  a  most  cool  and  refreshing  manner 
across  its  eighty  acres  of  water.  The  sides  are  all 
strewn  with  boulders,  which  form  rude  but  com- 
fortable seats  for  travellers,  where  the  road  skirts 
the  Pool. 

About  a  couple  of  miles  further  on,  rendered 
short  and  easy  by  the  delightful  verdure  which 
fringes  the  road,  and  Bradgate  Park  is  reached. 
In  the  month  of  June  nothing  could  be  more 
enchanting  than  to  be  allowed  to  ramble  at  will 
in  its  valleys,  amongst  the  luxuriant  fern,  and 
beneath  the  impenetrable  foliage. 

A  somewhat  shallow,  but  in  rainy  seasons 
turbulent  and  dashing,  trout  stream  meanders  its 
way  across  the  Park,  and  empties  itself  eventually 
in  Groby  Pool.  Within  sight  of  this  stream,  and 
in  one  of  the  prettiest  parts  of  the  demesne,  stand 
the  ruins  of  the  house  whose  halls  once  echoed  to 
the  footsteps  of  "  the  nine  days'  Queen."  It  is  of 
course  around  this  spot  that  the  principal  interest 
centres.     There   is   not   much   left,  however,   to 


BRADGATE  AND  LADY  JANE  GREY.  65 

gaze  upon,  the  highest  portions  being  the  remains 
of  two  towers,  one  square  and  the  other  an 
irregular  polygon  in  shape,  and  a  gable 
end  surmounted  by  a  chimney.  A  low  wall 
connects  these  remnants  of  the  once  noble 
mansion,  and  on  entering  the  enclosure  a  few 
of  the  rooms  may  be  with  ease  mentally 
re-constructed.  The  Rev.  J.  Curtis  gives,  in  his 
valuable  "  Topographical  History  of  the  County  of 
Leicester,"  the  following  description  of  the  place  : 

"  The  south  side  of  the  house  consisted  of  the 
kitchen  and  servant's  apartments.  On  the  north 
side  was  the  great  hall,  of  which  the  remains, 
now  overgrown  with  luxuriant  ivy,  are  still  to  be 
seen.  To  the  east  of  the  hall  a  long  range  of 
buildings  extended  towards  the  north,  enclosing 
the  court  on  the  east,  and  the  hall  and  other 
offices  on  the  south.  The  foundations  of  the 
buildings  on  the  east,  which  seem  to  have  been 
occupied  as  the  private  apartments  of  the  family, 
are  still  visible ;  and  on  the  south-east  corner  are 
the  remains  of  an  octagonal  tower. 

"  The  ruins  .  .  .  exhibit  no  signs  of  archi- 
tectural grandeur ;  the  house  having  been  a  large 
but  low  building  in  the  form  of  a  square,  and 

turret  ted  at  each  corner." 

p 


66  BYGONE  LEICESTERSHIRE. 

Such  was  the  quiet  and  secluded  country 
mansion  of  the  Marquis  of  Dorset,  in  which 
Lady  Jane  Grey  first  saw  the  hght  in  October, 
1537.  From  her  mother  she  inherited  royal 
blood,  being  born  into  the  world  a  grand-daughter 
of  Mary  Tudor,  sister  of  the  then  reigning 
monarch,  Henry  the  Eighth. 

Her  father  was  a  lavish  patron  of  the 
schoolmen  of  the  day,  and  very  early  in  his 
daughter's  life  entrusted  her  education  to  John 
Aylmer,  who  succeeded  in  producing  from  the 
willing  materials  placed  at  his  disposal,  one  of  the 
most  singularly  clever  girls  of  that  age.  Day 
after  day  she  pored  lovingly  over  her  books,  and 
delighted  to  do  this  when  walking  in  the  leafy 
solitude  of  the  Park. 

"  Musing  with  Plato,  though  the  horn  was  blown 
And  every  ear  and  every  heart  was  won, 
And  all  in  green  array  were  chasing  down  the  sun." 

Her  time  was  spent  in  constant  study  at 
Bradgate  until  she  was  sixteen  years  of  age, 
when  it  was  arranged  that  she  should  marry  Lord 
Guilford  Dudley,  son  of  the  intriguing  and 
ambitious  Duke  of  Northumberland.  The  rest 
of  her  history  is  short  indeed.  Stirring  events,  of 
which  she  formed  the  centre,   clustered  thickly 


BRADGATE  AND  LADY  JANE  GREY.  67 

around  her,  and  on  the  death  of  Edward  the 
Sixth,  in  accordance  with  a  clause  in  his  will,  she 
was  proclaimed  Queen.  Her  nine  days'  reign  is 
one  of  the  saddest  episodes  of  English  History. 
The  end  speedily  arrived,  and  it  is  hard  to  have 
to  admit  that  the  execution  of  such  a  beautiful 
and  accomplished  lady  became  absolutely 
necessary  to  the  safety  of  Queen  Mary.  "  Though 
Queen  Mary  of  her  own  disposition  was  inclined 
finally  to  pardon  her,  yet  necessity  of  state  was  such 
as  she  must  be  put  to  death."  The  sad  story  of  her 
reign  and  death  has  formed  the  subject  of  poem 
and  prose  almost  as  frequently  as  any  known 
event,  but  nowhere  is  it  more  graphically  told 
than  in  Ainsworth's  "  Tower  of  London." 

Standing  before  the  old  ruins  of  the  once 
noble  mansion  of  the  Grey  family,  a  tinge  of 
sadness  is  imparted  as  we  ponder  over  the 
blighted  life  of  one  who,  but  for  the  foolish 
ambition  of  her  unscrupulous  relatives,  promised 
long  to  remain  an  ornament  to  the  literature  and 
learning  of  her  native  land.  Her  character  and 
attainments  are  very  aptly  summed  up  by  Fuller, 
as  follows: — "She  had  the  innocency  of  child- 
hood, the  beauty  of  youth,  the  solidity  of  middle, 
the  gravity  of  old  age,  and  all  at  eighteen ;  the 


68  HYGONE  LEICESTERSHIRE. 

birth  of  a  princess,  the  learning  of  a  clerk,  the 
life  of  a  saint,  and  the  death  of  a  malefactor  for 
her  parents'  offences." 

From  the  time  of  Lady  Jane's  death  the 
fortunes  of  the  Grey  family  steadily  declined, 
until  King  James  the  First  again  renewed  them 
by  creating  Henry  Grey  first  Baron  of  Groby. 
The  family  has  ever  since  remained  in  possession 
of  the  estates  at  Bradgate,  the  grandson  and 
successor  of  the  first  Baron  ultimately  receiving 
the  additional  title  of  Earl  of  Stamford. 

The  old  mansion  continued  to  stand  until  the 
commencement  of  the  present  century,  when, 
according  to  Throsby's  account,  it  was  burnt  •  to 
the  ground  by  the  then  Countess  of  Stamford. 
Writing  to  her  sister  in  London,  in  answer  to  a 
question  as  to  how  she  liked  the  place,  she 
replied  "  that  the  house  was  tolerable,  that  the 
country  was  a  forest,  and  the  inhabitants  all 
brutes."  Being  advised,  in  a  thoroughly  sym- 
pathetic manner,  to  "set  fire  to  the  house  and 
run  away  by  the  light  of  it,"  she  is  reported  to 
have  done  so,  and  traces  of  the  conflagration  may 
still  be  found  in  various  parts  of  the  ruins. 

Although  it  is  a  temptation  to  linger  lono- 
amid  these  picturesque  and  broken  walls,  yet  there 


BRA DG ATE  AND  LADY  JANE  GREY.  69 

are  other  attractions  at  Bradgate  by  no  means  to 
be  ignored.  In  the  chapel,  hard  by,  may  be  seen 
a  fine  monument  to  the  founder  of  the  present 
Hneage,  Henry,  Lord  Grey  of  Groby,  who  died 
on  the  26th  of  July,  1614.  This  magnificent 
tomb,  with  its  recumbent  effigies  is,  however, 
the  only  relief  to  the  monotony  of  the  interior  of 
this  now  disused  structure.  Wandering  at  length 
adown  the  steep  and  rocky  slopes  into  the  deep 
sequestered  dales,  many  a  gnarled  and  knotted  oak 
is  seen,  beneath  the  shade  of  whose  once  wide 
spreading  branches  Lad}'^  Jane  and  her  friend 
Roger  Ascham  may  w^ell  have  walked.  Robert 
Hall  thought  of  this  when  he  visited  the  place,  and 
very  pertinently  observed  to  a  friend  who  bore  him 
company :  "What  a  delightful  place  to  study  Plato 
in  !  ...  a  little  more  than  four  such  lives  as 
mine,  and  Lady  Jane  was  walking  here,  with  Plato 
in  her  hand,  and  Roger  Ascham  by  her  side." 

The  murmuring  trout  stream,  the  fish  ponds, 
the  broken  and  fantastic  fraofments  of  rock,  and 
uprising  from  the  scene  "  Old  John "  Hill,  with 
its  tower  and  mimic  ruin,  all  combine,  and  help 
to  make  Bradgate  one  of  the  most  enjoyable 
hunting  grounds  for  the  study  of  "  Bygone 
Leicestershire." 


Xeiceeter    (Lastle. 

By  I.  W,  Dickinson,  b.a. 

THE  name  Leicester  is  from  the  Anglo-Saxon 
Legecester,  the  Castle  on  the  Leir,  as  the 
stream  was  known  in  British  times  which  now  is 
called  the  Soar,  and  Leir  is  identical  with  Lear, 
the  unfortunate  king  whose  tragic  story  in 
Shakespeare's  hands  forms  the  highest  embodi- 
ment of  the  gloomy  North  Teuton  genius. 
Indeed,  according  to  Geoffrey  of  Monmouth,  the 
castle  and  town  were  founded  by  that  monarch 
on  the  site  of  the  Roman  station  Ratae,  at  the 
crossing  of  the  two  great  roads  the  Foss  Way 
from  the  mouth  of  the  Ax  in  Devonshire  to 
Lincoln,  and  the  Via  Devana  which  ran  from 
Chester  (Deva)  to  Colchester  ( Camalodunum). 
It  is  another  tribute  to  the  faultless  intuition  of 
those  wonderful  road-makers,  that  one  main 
factor  in  the  phenomenal  growth  of  Leicester  in 
our  own  days  is  its  central  position  at  the 
crossing  of  three  important  railways.  Of  this 
Roman     station     relics     have     been    found     in 


LEICESTER  CASTLE.  71 

pavements,  urns,  and  coins,  and  northward  from 
the  Castle  runs  the  "Jewry  Wall,"  over  seventy- 
feet  in  length,  and  in  places  twenty  feet  high, 
composed  in  part  of  Roman  bricks.  The 
"Jewry"  in  mediaeval  times  was  that  quarter  in 
a  town  where  alone  the  Jews  were  allowed  to 
dwell ;  the  old  Jewry  in  London  is  a  familiar 
example.  After  300  years  indecisive  oscillation 
in  the  struggle  for  supremacy  between  West  Saxon 
and  Dane,  now  Northumbria  ruling  Wessex,  now 
Wessex  forcing  Northumbria  to  own  her  sway, 
the  balance  of  power  came  to  rest  at  Watling 
Street ;  by  the  treaty  of  Wedmore,  England  to 
the  north-east  of  that  line  being  declared  Danish, 
to  the  south-west  Saxon,  and  between  these  two 
essentially  antagonistic  elements  was  formed  the 
strong  Danish  confederacy  of  the  Five  Boroughs 
— Derby,  Lincoln,  Leicester,  Stamford,  and 
Nottingham — to  guard  the  marches.  But  the 
North  was  doomed  to  bow  beneath  the  house  of 
Cerdic,  and  within  forty  years  the  noble  "  Lady 
of  Mercia,"  departing  from  the  strategy  all  but 
universal  with  the  Saxons,  of  open  fight,  and 
resorting  to  castle-building,  closed  round  the  Five 
Boroughs. 

They  fell   in   917,   and    with  them   all   North- 


72  BYGONE  LEICESTERSHIRE. 

umbria.  Twenty  years  later  came  Brunanburgh, 
"the  last  mad  rush  of  the  Sabine  bull  on  the 
Colline  gate,"  937,  and  henceforward  England 
south  of  the  Cheviots  was  to  be  one  and  indivisible. 
After  the  Conquest,  William,  the  great  castle- 
builder,  strengthened  and  enlarged  Leicester,  which 
must  have  been  a  novel  proceeding,  since  in  the  vast 
majority  of  cases  he  had  to  build  his  castles  ah 
ijiitio,  to  the  consternation  of  the  English,  who 
never  took  kindly  to  fighting  behind  walls,  and 
still  prefer  the  "  cold  steel,"  as  many  a  splendid 
charge  in  our  own  day  testifies.  On  the 
Conqueror's  death  the  Castle  of  Leicester  was 
seized  by  the  Greutmaisnells,  and  held  by  them  for 
Robert  of  Normandy ;  in  consequence,  it  was 
taken  by  the  Red  King  and  reduced  to  ashes. 

The  Beaumont  family  next  obtained  the  "Castle 
and  honour  of  Leicester  "  in  the  person  of  Robert, 
first  Earl  of  Leicester,  who  rebuilt  the  Castle. 
Robert,  the  second  Earl,  was  a  warm  partisan  of 
Henry  I.  in  his  contests  against  his  brother 
Robert  and  the  discontented  baronagfe.  This 
Robert  founded  the  abbey  of  St.  Mary  de  Pratis, 
outside  the  town.  The  third  Robert  lived  during 
the  stormy  times  of  Stephen,  the  worst  governed 
period    in    all    our    histor}^,    when    each    baron 


LEICESTER  CASTLE.  73 

entrenchedhimself  inhis  castle,  which  he  turned  into 
a,  centre  of  lawlessness  and  cruelty  past  credence. 

Henry  II.  put  down  these  nests  of  robbery 
with  a  strong  hand,  at  the  outset  of  his  reign, 
and  among  the  castles  demolished  by  this  king  is 
numbered  that  of  Leicester.  The  town  walls 
were  thrown  down  at  the  same  time,  and  never 
fully  rebuilt.  The  fourth  Earl,  also  Robert,  died 
childless ;  his  sister  and  co-heir,  Amicia 
Beaumont,  married  Simon  de  Montfort,  who 
thereby  acquired  the  Earldom  and  Castle.  The 
son  of  this  marriage  was  the  more  famous  Simon 
de  Montfort,  Earl  of  Leicester,  "  Earl  Simon  the 
Righteous,"  the  pure  patriot  whose  name  will 
ever  be  enshrined  in  the  hearts  of  all  true 
Englishmen.  When  King  and  Pope  had 
conspired  to  fleece  the  flock  they  had  sworn 
to  cherish,  and  exaction  after  exaction  had 
reduced  the  English  to  despair,  Earl  Simon  stood 
in  the  forefront  of  the  strife,  and  initiated  the 
government  of  the  country  by  Parliament,  which 
since  his  day  has  been  the  unquestioned  maxim 
of  our  constitution,  and  the  model  upon  which  all 
the  civilized  governments  of  the  world  are  formed 
more  or  less  closely. 

The  story  of  his  death  at  Evesham — August 


74  BYGONE  LEICESTERSHIRE. 

4th,  1265 — is  as  pathetic  as  any  in  our  annals. 
On  that  fatal  August  morning,  his  son  was  but 
nine  miles  away  at  Alcester,  and  as  the  light 
broke  he  at  first  mistook  the  soldiers  of  Prince 
Edward  with  which  the  heights  in  front  of  him 
were  filled  for  those  of  his  son.  As  he  saw 
them  coming  on  in  the  "  wise  order "  they 
had  learnt  from  him,  he  knew  that  his  fate 
had  come ;  he  killed  his  war-horse  before  his 
troops  as  a  sign  that  there  was  no  hope. 
For  three  hours  his  terrible  sword  kept  a 
clear  path  about  him,  and  with  the  cry  of  "It  is 
God's  grace,"  he  fell  at  last,  "  fighting  like  a  lion 
for  the  liberties  of  England."  He  was  attainted, 
and  the  Castle  and  Earldom  granted  to  Edmund, 
Duke  of  Lancaster,  second  son  of  Henry  III., 
and  the  Castle  has  since  gone  with  the  Lancaster 
property,  and  still  forms  part  of  the  "  Duchy  of 
Lancaster,"  which,  in  accordance  with  an  act 
passed  by  Edward  IV.,  is  still  "held  separately 
from  all  other  hereditaments,"  the  revenues  being 
wholly  exempted  from  control  of  Parliament. 

The  Dukes  of  Lancaster  restored  the  Castle  of 
Leicester,  and  must  have  done  so  on  a  magnificent 
scale,  as  under  them  it  was  frequently  the  scene 
of  ostentatious  pageants. 


LEICESTER  CASTLE.  75 

Thus  John  of  Gaunt  entertained  his 
unfortunate  nephew,  Richard  II.  and  his  Queen, 
with  his  usual  magnificence  in  1390.  When  the 
House  of  Lancaster  obtained  possession  of  the 
throne,  Leicester  Castle,  as  belonging  to  the  royal 
demesne,  became  of  importance,  and  Henry  V., 
the  second  monarch  of  that  dynasty,  twice 
summoned  parliament  to  meet  at  Leicester.  In 
1414  it  was  held  in  the  hall  of  the  Greyfriars, 
the  King  staying  in  the  Castle,  and  in  1425-6 
Parliament  met  within  the  threat  hall  of  the 
Castle  itself  A  third  time  did  Parliament 
assemble  at  Leicester,  in  1450.  With  the  fall  of 
the  cause  of  Lancaster  at  the  field  of  Towton, 
Leicester  Castle  passed  into  the  hands  of  Edward 
IV.,  together  with  fully  one-fifth  of  England,  the 
possessions  of  attainted  Lancastrians,  and  since 
then  has  remained  the  private  property  of  the 
reigning  sovereign. 

It  was  dismantled  by  Charles  I.,  and  most  of 
the  materials  sold  in  1645.  At  the  present  time 
this  ancient  and  royal  Castle  is  represented  by  a 
"  modernised  assize  hall,"  and  a  round  mound  of 
earthwork,  known  as  the  Castle  Hill,  thirty  feet 
high  and  a  hundred  feet  across. 


Death  of  CarMnal  Molee^  at  Xciccstcr 

By  I.  W.  Dickinson,  b.a. 

THE  Abbey  of  S.  Mary  de  Pratis,  at  Leicester, 
was  founded  by  Robert  Beaumont,  second 
Earl  Leicester,  in  1143,  for  the  Canons  Regular  of 
S.  Augustine,  from  their  habit,  a  long  cassock  with 
white  rochet  covered  by  a  black  cloak,  often  called 
the  Black  Canons.  The  monastery  was  richly  en- 
dowed and  enjoyed  many  privileges  in  various 
manors,  such  as  the  right  of  cutting  fuel,  and 
particularly  from  the  De  Quinceys,  a  claim  of  a 
tenth  of  the  hay  sold  in  Ade  and  Wyffeley,  and 
the  right  shoulder  of  all  deer  killed  in  the  Park 
of  Acle. 

The  founder  became  a  regular  canon  in  his 
own  foundation,  in  expiation  of  the  miseries  he 
had  brought  on  the  "  goodly  town  of  Leycestre," 
during  the  stormy  reign  of  Stephen. 

From  1143  to  1530  the  long  centuries  rolled 
by,  over  the  pleasant  meadows  on  the  Soar,  to 
which  the  monastery  owed  its  name,  and  each 


DEATH  OF  CARDINAL   WOLSEY.  11 

midnight  the  black-robed  procession  passed  from 
dormitory  to  church  for  Matins,  chanting  the 
Nocturnae ;  each  sunrise  was  greeted  with  Lauds ; 
each  sunset  heard  the  solemn  Vespers;  each  day 
closed  at  Compline  in  asking  protection  through  the 
night.  Year  by  year  the  fraters  cut  their  hay 
and  piled  their  firewood,  and  claimed  their  dues  : 
"  Amicia  Beaumont  giveth  two  bucks  annually  ;  " 
"  a  buck  annually  out  of  Charnwood  Forest ; "  the 
right  shoulders  of  the  Acle  deer  were  duly 
consumed  in  the  refectory ;  the  poor  were  each 
day  relieved  at  the  great  gate  ;  brothers  died  and 
were  laid  to  rest  'neath  the  chancel  steps,  new 
faces  filled  up  the  gaps,  new  gossip  and  chatter 
went  on  in  the  long  Fratry ;  human  lives  were  lived 
worthily  or  otherwise  in  that  old  monastery,  of 
whom  history  makes  no  mention,  and  already  the 
shadow  of  doom  had  fallen  on  the  lichen-covered 
walls  when  on  that  memorable  Saturday  night, 
November  26th,  1530,  it  being  dark,  ''the  abbot 
with  all  his  convent,  with  divers  torches  light," 
met  at  the  doorway  England's  last  Cardinal 
Archbishop,  and  across  his  face  too  the  shadow  of 
death  was  thrown.  "  Father  Abbot,  I  am  come 
to  lay  my  bones  among  you,"  said  the  dying 
Wolsey,     and    the    mule     passed     through     the 


78  BYGONE  LEICESTERSHIRE. 

gateway,  across  the  courtyard  with  its  workshops 
and  tool  houses,  to  the  steps  of  the  Hospitium,  or 
guest  chamber,  where  the  Cardinal  ahghted,  "  then 
master  Knyghton  took  him  by  the  arm,  and  led 
him  up  the  stairs,  who  told  me  afterwards  he 
never  felt  so  heavy  a  burthen  in  all  his  life.  And 
as  soon  as  he  was  in  his  chamber  he  went 
incontinent  to  his  bed  very  sick." 

Poor  broken  man  !  All  day  his  mule  had  been 
stirring  the  dead  leaves  on  the  journey  through 
the  November  light ;  when  those  same  leaves 
were  in  bud  last  Easter  "  upon  Palm  Sunday  he 
bare  his  palm,  and  went  in  procession  with  the 
monks  "  (at  Peterboro')  "  setting  forth  the  divine 
service  right  honourably.  And  upon  Maunday 
Thursday  he  made  his  Maunday  there  in  Our 
Lady's  Chapel,  having  fifty-nine  poor  men,  whose 
feet  he  washed  and  kissed," — being  fifty-nine 
years  old,  and  now  the  dead  leaves  are  rustled 
against  the  casement ;  some  eight  more  Maundays 
shall  come  and  Maunday  Thursday  and  Cardinal- 
Archbishops,  and  Compline  in  England  shall  be 
of  the  past. 

Next  day,  Sunday,  the  monks'  droning  comes 
faintly  across  the  cloister  as  they  chant  high 
mass,  and  memories  of  splendour,  and  court  life, 


DEATH  OF  CARDINAL   WOLSEY. 


79 


and  the  busy  world  he  has  seen  for  the  last  time 
mino-le  with  the  sound  in  the  sick  man's  fancies. 
'*  Upon  Monday,  in  the  morning,  as  I  stood  by 
his  bedside,  about  eight  of  the  clock,  the  windows 
being  close  shut,  and  having  waxlights  burning 
upon  the  cupboards,  I  beheld  him,  as  me  seemed. 


CARDINAL   WOLSEY. 


drawing  fast  towards  death.  He,  perceiving  my 
shadow  upon  the  wall  by  the  bedside,  asked  who 
was  there. 

"  '  Sir,'  quoth  I,  *  I  am  here.'  *  How  do  you?' 
quoth  he  to  me.  '  Very  well,  sir,'  quoth  I,  *  if  I 
might  see  your  grace  well.'  '  What  is  it  of  the 
clock  ? '  said  he  to  me.      '  Sir,'   said  I,  '  it  is  past 


80  BYGONE  LEICESTERSHIRE. 

eight  of  the  morning.'  'Eight  of  the  clock?' 
quoth  he,  *  that  cannot  be,'  rehearsing  divers  times 
*  eight  of  the  clock !  eight  of  the  clock !  Nay,  nay,' 
quoth  he  at  last  *  it  cannot  be  eight  of  the  clock, 
for  by  eight  of  the  clock  you  shall  lose  your 
master ;  for  my  time  draweth  near  that  I  must 
leave  this  world  !'  With  that,  one  doctor  Palmes, 
a  worshipful  gentleman,  being  his  chaplain  and 
ghostly  father,  standing  by,  bade  me  secretly 
demand  of  him  if  he  would  be  shriven,  and  to  be 
in  readiness  towards  God  whatsoever  should 
chance.  At  whose  desire,  I  asked  him  that 
question.  '  What  have  you  to  do  to  ask  me  any 
such  question  ? '  quoth  he,  and  began  to  be  very 
angry  with  me  for  my  presumption,  until  at  last 
master  doctor  took  my  part,  and  talked  with  him 
in  Latin  and  so  pacified  him." 

In  the  course  of  the  afternoon  a  messenger 
comes  post  haste  from  the  king  to  inquire  into 
some  '*  fifteen  hundred  pounds,"  missing  somehow, 
and  so  the  worthy  lieutenant  of  the  Tower, 
Master  Knyghton,  must  visit  the  sick  man  and 
make  demand  of  the  money.  "  Oh,  good  Lord," 
exclaimed  the  dying  Wolsey  "  how  much  doth  it 
grieve  me  that  the  king  should  think  in  me  any 
deceit,  wherein  I  should  deceive  him  of  any  one 


DEATH  OF  CARDINAL   WOLSEY. 


81 


penny  that  I  have.  Rather  than  I  would, 
Master  Knyghton,  embezzle  or  deceive  him  of 
one  penny  I  would  it  were  molten  and  put  into 
my  mouth,'  which  words  he  spake  twice  or  thrice 
very  vehemently. 


RUINS   OF   LEICESTKR  ABBEV. 


"  *  As  for  this  money  that  you  demand  of  me,  I 

assure  you  it  was  none  of  mine,  for  I  borrowed  it 

of  divers  of  my  friends  to  bury  me,  and  to  bestow 

among  my  servants,  who  have  taken  great  pains 

about  me,  like  true  and  faithful  servants.' "     And 

G 


82  BYGONE  LEICESTERSHIRE. 

ere  this  business  of  the  money  was  fully  settled 
the  abbot  sends  for  Mr.  Knyghton  to  his  supper. 

*'  Howbeit,  my  lord  waxed  very  sick,  most 
likely  to  die  that  night,  and  often  swooned,  and 
as  methought  drew  on  fast  to  his  end,  until  it 
was  four  of  the  clock  of  the  morning,  at  which 
time  I  spake  to  him  and  asked  him  how  he  did. 
'  Well,'  quoth  he,  '  if  I  had  any  meat,  I  pray  you 
give  me  some.'  '  Sir,  there  is  none  ready,'  said  I. 
'  I  wis,'  quoth  he,  '  you  be  the  more  to  blame  ;  for 
you  should  always  have  meat  for  me  in  a  readiness, 
to  eat  when  my  stomach  serveth  me  ;  therefore  I 
pray  you  get  some  ;  for  I  intend  this  day  to 
make  me  strong  to  the  intent  that  I  may  occupy 
myself  in  confession  and  make  me  ready  to  God.'" 
The  faithful  Cavendish  sees  that  it  is  but  the  last 
flicker  of  the  dying  candle  in  its  socket,  and  calls 
up  the  confessor  and  lieutenant. 

Master  Knyghton,  we  notice,  does  not  relish 
being  called  up  at  four  this  cold  November 
morning,  after  supper  with  the  abbot,  but  after  a 
httle  grumbling,  goes  like  the  worthy  gentleman 
he  is  to  see  the  Cardinal.  Wolsey  tastes  the 
chicken  cullace,  and  then  remembering  it  is  St. 
Andrew's  Eve  puts  it  from  him  and  will  eat  no 
more. 


DEATH  OF  CARDINAL   WOLSEY.  83 

He  then  confessed  the  space  of  an  hour.  And 
confession  ended,  his  last  words  are  spoken  to 
Knyghton,  th§  Heutenant.  ""^If  I  had  served 
God  as  dihgently  as  I  have  done  the  king,  he 
would  not  have  given  me  over  in  my  grey  hairs. 
I  pray  you  have  me  most  humbly  commended 
unto  his  royal  majesty,  and  beseech  him  in  my 
behalf  to  call  to  his  princely  remembrance  all 
matters  proceeding  between  him  and  me  from  the 
beginning  of  the  world.  .  .  .  He  is  a  prince 
of  royal  courage,  and  hath  a  princely  heart ;  and 
rather  than  he  will  miss  or  want  any  part  of  his 
will  or  pleasure  he  will  endanger  one  half  of  his 
realm. 

"  '  For  I  assure  you,  I  have  often  kneeled  before 
him  the  space  sometimes  of  three  hours  to 
persuade  him  from  his  will  and  appetite  :  but 
I  could  never  persuade  him  therefrom. 

"  'Therefore,  Master  Knyghton,  I  warn  you,  if  it 
chance  you  hereafter  to  be  one  of  his  Privy 
Council,  as  for  your  wisdom  you  are  very  meet, 
be  assured  and  advised  what  you  put  into  his 
head,  for  you  shall  never  put  it  out  again.    .    .    . 

"  '  Master  Knyghton,  farewell.  I  can  no  more 
say  ;  but  I  wish,  ere  I  die,  all  things  to  have  good 
success.     My  time  draweth  on  fast.     I   may  not 


84  BYGONE  LEICESTERSHIRE. 

tarry  with  you,'  and  even  with  these  words  he 
began  to  draw  his  speech  at  length,  and  his 
tongue  to  fail — his  eyes  being  presently  set  in 
his  head,  whose  sight  failed  him. 

"  Then  began  we  to  put  him  in  remembrance  of 
Christ's  .passion,  and  caused  the  yeoman  of  the 
guard  to  stand  by  secretly  to  see  him  die,  and  to 
be  witness  of  his  words  at  his  departure ;  and 
incontinent  the  clock  struck  eight,  and  then  gave 
he  up  the  ghost."  * 

The  abbot,  hastily  summoned,  hurried  up  with 
his  viaticum  and  anointed  the  body,  let  us  hope 
before  the  breath  was  fully  gone. 

The  abbot.  Cavendish,  and  Sir  William 
Knyghton,  held  a  consultation  and  decided  that 
the  Mayor  and  Corporation  of  Leicester  should 
be  summoned  to  view  the  body,  and  thus  prevent 
false  rumours  getting  abroad.  Accordingly  he 
was  placed  in  a  wooden  coffin  in  the  chamber 
where  he  died,  and  over  his  breast  the  insignia  that 
had  been  so  dear  to  him  in  life,  mitre,  crosier,  ring, 
and  pall,  and  till  five  in  the  afternoon  any  who 
listed  might  see  him  **  open  and  bare-faced." 

At  that  hour  he  was  taken  in  solemn 
procession  down  into   the   church,    and    "  divers 

*  Oavandiah. 


DEATH  OF  CARDINAL   WOLSEY.  85 

poor  men  "  with  torches  in  their  hands  watched 
all  night,  while  the  Canons  sang  "dirge  and  other 
devout  orisons."  By  four  in  the  morning  the 
whole  abbey  was  astir  ;  solemn  mass  was  sung  by 
the  abbot ;  then  the  corpse  was  buried  in  the 
midst  of  the  Lady  Chapel,  and  by  six  that  dark 
November  morning  he  was  alone  at  last — alone 
with  his  God.     November  29th,  1530. 

Thus  died  one  of  the  greatest  of  all  Englishmen. 
He  stood  on  the  dividing  ridge  of  the  ages. 
Behind  him  stretched  a  past  that  we  of  the 
present  can  never  fully  realize ;  all  things  were 
looked  at  from  a  standpoint  whence  they  will 
never  again  be  viewed ;  and  before  him  an 
unknown  land  he  could  never  have  dreamed  of 
already  loomed  in  sight — the  Europe  of  to-day. 


36cl\>oir  Castle. 

PLACED  upon  the  summit  of  a  steep  hill, 
five  miles  westward  from  the  red-roofed 
town  of  Grantham,  and  so  near  the  borders  of 
Lincolnshire  that  the  topographers  of  former 
times  as  often  located  it  in  that  county  as  in 
Leicestershire,  the  noble  seat  of  the  patrician 
family  of  Manners  commands  an  extensive  view 
over  the  comparatively  level  country  around. 

Camden  says : — "  In  the  west  part  of 
Kesteven,  on  the  edge  of  Lincolnshire  and 
Leicestershire,  there  stands  Belvoir  Castle,  so 
called  (whatever  was  its  ancient  name)  from  the 
fine  prospect  on  a  steep  hill,  which  seems  the 
work  of  art."  But  Nichols,  who  is  regarded  as 
a  better  authority  on  topographical  matters 
relating  to  Leicestershire,  states  that  "  the  castle 
is  at  present  in  every  respect  considered  as  being 
within  this  county,  with  all  the  lands  of  the 
extra-parochial  part  of  Belvoir  thereto  belonging 
(including  the  site  of  the  Priory),  consisting  in 
the  whole  of  600  acres  of  wood,  meadow,  and 


BELVOIR  CASTLE.  87 

pasture  land,  upon  which  are  now  no  buildings 
but  the  castle,  with  its  offices,  and  the  inn."  It 
may  be  remarked  here  that  whatever  weight  may 
attach  to  Camden's  statement  respecting  the 
name  Belvoir,  it  is  ignored  locally,  the  name  by 
which  the  place  is  known  in  the  surrounding 
district  being  pronounced  Bever. 

Though  its  history  is  not  so  rich  in  incident  as 
that  of  many  a  baronial  stronghold  now  in  ruins, 
it  nevertheless  dates  from  as  remote  a  period  as 
the  hoariest  of  them.  It  is  said  to  have  been 
founded  by  one  Robert  de  Todeni,  who  bore  the 
standard  of  Duke  William  of  Normandy  at  the 
Battle  of  Hastings,  and  was  rewarded  for  his 
services  by  the  Conqueror  with  large  possessions  in 
the  counties  of  Leicester  and  Lincoln.  Of  the 
structure  erected  by  this  fortunate  Norman  there 
is  probably  now  remaining  only  the  foundations. 
He  was  succeeded  in  its  possession  by  a  son 
whom  the  old  chroniclers  call  William  de  Albini, 
and  who  distinguished  himself  on  the  side  of 
Henry  I.  in  the  warfare  carried  on  in  Normandy 
between  that  monarch  and  his  brother  Robert. 
It  may  be  conjectured  that  he  proved  loyal  to 
Henry's  daughter,  the  Empress  Maud,  when  so 
many  of  the  nobles  ranged  themselves   against 


88  BYGONE  LEICESTERSHIRE. 

her,  for  Stephen  gave  a  grant  of  the  castle  and 
lordship  of  Belvoir  to  Ranulph  de  Gernon,  Earl 
of  Chester.  This  grant  was  confirmed  by  Henry 
II.,  but  the  property  subsequently  reverted  to  the 
Albini  family. 

William  de  Albini,  the  third  of  that  name,  was 
one  of  the  bold  men  who  signed  the  undertaking  to 
maintain  the  Great  Charter,  the  signing  of  which 
by  John  is  the  subject  of  one  of  the  pictures 
mentioned  by  Brayley  as  in  the  Belvoir 
collection  a  century  ago.  The  subsequent 
troubles  of  that  reiofn  afforded  the  Kino^  an 
opportunity  to  seize  the  Castle,  which,  however, 
with  the  estates,  or  a  considerable  portion  of 
them,  afterwards  passed  into  the  possession  of 
Robert  de  Bos,  Baron  Hamlake,  on  his  marriage 
with  the  heiress  of  the  Albinis.  The  new 
possessors  were,  for  several  generations,  more 
fortunate  than  their  predecessors,  Sir  William 
de  Bos,  the  third  in  succession  from  Bobert, 
holding  the  office  of  Lord  High  Treasurer  in, 
1402.  His  second  son,  Thomas,  who  succeeded 
John  de  Bos,  on  the  latter  dying  without  issue, 
was  knighted  for  his  deeds  of  valour  during  the 
French  campaigns  of  Henr}-  V.  ;  but  the  next 
owner  of  Belvoir  found  his  lines  cast  in  evil  times. 


BELVOIR  CASTLE.  89 

and  adhering  to  the  fortunes  of  the  usurping 
House  of  Lancaster  during  the  Civil  War  of  the 
following  reign,  was  attainted  of  treason,  his 
estates  being  divided  among  the  partisans  of 
Edward  IV.  The  castle  and  lordship  of 
Belvoir  fell  to  Lord  Hastings,  but  on  that  noble- 
man attempting  to  take  possession  he  was 
repelled  by  the  friends  of  De  Kos,  and  found 
it  necessary  to  employ  a  considerable  force  to 
assert  his  claim.  In  the  conflict  that  ensued  the 
castle  suffered  so  severely  that  Leland  says  "  the 
timber  of  the  roofs  uncovered  rotted  away,  and 
the  soil  between  the  walls^  at  last  grew  full  of 
elders." 

The  attainder  was  taken  off'  in  1472,  on  the 
petition  of  Sir  Henry  Kos,  and  eleven  years  later 
his  successor,  then  become  Lord  Kos,  obtained 
the  restitution  of  the  estates.  Dying  without 
issue,  his  sisters  succeeded  as  co-heiresses,  and 
the  eldest,  Eleanor,  marrying  Kobert  Manners, 
of  Ethale,  in  Northumberland,  conveyed  her 
share  of  the  property  to  that  family,  in  whose  pos- 
session it  has  since  remained.  Their  son,  George 
Manners,  received  the  honour  of  knighthood, 
and  his  successor.  Sir  Thomas  Manners,  was 
created  by  Henry  VIII.,  Earl  of  Kutland,  and 


90  BYGONE  LEICESTERSHIRE. 

took  an  active  part  in  the  putting  down  of  the 
disturbances  which  followed  the  suppression  of 
the  monastic  houses. 

The  priory  of  Belvoir  having  been  suppressed, 
he  removed  the  monuments  of  the  families  of 
Albini  and  Ros  to  Bottesford  Church,  and  also 
thoroughly  restored  the  castle,  which  was  after- 
wards greatly  extended  by  Henry,  the  second 
earl. 

Leland,  writing  of  the  castle  at  this  time, 
says : — "  It  is  a  strange  sight  to  see  how  many 
steps  of  stone  the  way  goeth  up  from  the  village 
to  the  castle.  In  the  castle  be  two  fair  gates ; 
and  the  dungeon  is  a  fair  round  tower,  now 
turned  to  pleasure,  as  a  place  to  walk  in,  and  to 
see  all  the  country  about,  and  railed  about  the 
round  (wall),  and  a  garden  (plot)  in  the  middle. 
There  is  also  a  well  of  great  depth  in  the  castle, 
and  the  spring  thereof  is  very  good."  The  steps 
of  which  the  old  topographer  writes  still  exist, 
and  are  cut  in  the  red  sandstone  of  which  the  hill 
on  which  the  castle  stands  is  composed. 

Henry,  the  second  Earl  of  Rutland,  made 
considerable  additions  to  the  castle,  so  that  it 
vied  even  at  that  time  with  the  most  palatial  of 
the  mansions  of  the  nobles  of  the  land.     When 


BELVOIR  CASTLE.  91 

Queen  Mary  engaged  in  the  unfortunate  war 
with  France,  which  resulted  in  the  loss  of  the 
last  of  the  English  possessions  in  that  country, 
the  Earl  was  appointed  captain-general  of  the 
land  forces  and  commander  of  the  fleet.  Francis, 
the  sixth  earl,  held  several  important  offices  of 
state.  He  was  twice  married,  and  by  his  second 
wife  had  two  sons,  who,  according  to  the 
inscription  on  their  monument  in  Bottesford 
Church,  were  murdered  by  Joan  Flower  and  her 
two  daughters,  who  were  servants  at  the  castle, 
and,  having  been  dismissed,  made  use  of 
"  enchantments,  spells,  and  charms "  to  obtain 
revenge  for  their  grievance.  Henry,  the  Earl's 
eldest  son,  died  soon  after  their  dismissal,  but  no 
suspicion  of  witchcraft  arose  until  five  years  after, 
when  the  three  women,  who  were  supposed  to 
have  entered  into  a  formal  contract  with  the 
devil,  were  accused  of  "murdering  Henry,  Lord 
Ros,  by  witchcraft,  and  torturing  the  Lord 
Francis,  his  brother,  and  Lady  Catherine,  his 
sister."  After  several  examinations  before  Lord 
Willoughby  d'Eresby  and  other  magistrates,  they 
were  committed  to  Lincoln  gaol.  Joan  died  at 
Ancaster,  on  her  way  thither,  wishing  the  bread- 
and-butter  she  ate  might  choke  her  if  she  was 


92  BYGONE  LEICESTERSHIRE. 

guilty.  The  two  daughters  were  tried  and 
convicted,  having — and  this  is  the  strangest  part 
of  the  story — confessed  their  guilt,  and  were 
executed  at  Lincoln.  This  horrible  judicial 
tragedy  was  enacted  in  1618. 

Under  the  seventh  earl,  Belvoir  Castle  received 
the  honour  of  a  visit  from  Charles  I.  His 
successor  sided  with  the  Parliament,  however, 
and  the  castle,  in  consequence,  sustained  several 
attacks  from  the  forces  of  the  Crown,  with  the 
result  that  it  received  considerable  damage,  and 
the  estate  was  so  wasted  that  the  Earl,  being 
"  put  to  great  straights  for  the  maintenance  of 
his  family,"  petitioned  the  House  of  Lords  for 
relief;  and,  as  Lord  Campden  had  been  the 
principal  instrument  in  the  damage  that  he  had 
sustained.  Parliament  ordered  that  £1500  a  year 
should  be  paid  out  of  that  nobleman's  estate  until 
the  Earl  of  Rutland  had  received  £5000  by  way 
of  compensation.  During  this  troublous  period 
the  castle  was  held  alternately  by  the  Parlia- 
mentarians and  the  Royalists.  In  1643,  a 
hundred  and  forty  men  of  Belvoir  were  defeated 
by  Colonel  Wayte,  who  took  forty-six  of  them 
prisoners  and  captured  sixty  horses ;  and  in  the 
following   year   the   same   officer    attacked    and 


BELVOIR  CASTLE.  93 

defeated   another  party.     In   this   year   Charles 
slept  two  nights  at  Belvoir. 

In  1703,  John,  the  ninth  Earl,  was  created 
Duke  of  Rutland  and  Marquis  of  Granby,  the 
second  title  being,  in  accordance  with  custom, 
assumed  by  his  eldest  son.  Notwithstanding  this 
high  advancement,  he  preferred  the  quiet  and 
retirement  of  the  country  to  the  splendour  and 
gaieties  of  the  Court,  and  resided  almost  entirely 
at  Belvoir,  never  visiting  London  for  many  years 
before  his  death.  His  grandson  was  "the  great 
Marquis  of  Granby,"  whose  head  appeared  on  so 
many  inn  sign-boards,  and  who,  during  the 
Jacobite  troubles,  raised  a  regiment  of  cavalry, 
became  lieutenant-general,  and  eminently  dis- 
tinguished himself  during  the  campaign  in 
Germany.  With  more  peaceful  times  came  more 
encouragement  to  improve  the  castle  and 
demesne  than  the  earlier  possessors  of  Belvoir 
had  had,  and  the  third  duke,  who  died  in  1779, 
was  able  to  do  much  in  that  direction.  A  more 
complete  restoration  was  carried  out  in  1807, 
under  the  direction  of  Wyatt,  one  of  the  most 
eminent  architects  of  that  period,  and  Belvoir 
Castle  became,  and  has  since  continued  to  be,  one 
of  the  leading  show  places  of  the  kingdom.     The 


94  BYGONE  LEICESTERSHIRE. 

pictures  with  which  its  later  owners  had  adorned 
the  walls  formed  one  of  the  finest  collections  in 
England,  and  still  divide  the  admiration  of 
visitors  with  the  treasures  it  contains  in  the  form 
of  armour  and  tapestry.  Besides  a  good 
collection  of  family  portraits  by  Lely,  Reynolds, 
and  artists  of  lesser  renown,  the  principal  apart- 
ments are  adorned  with  some  of  the  finest  works 
of  Guido,  Carlo  Dolci,  Claude,  Poussin,  Salvator 
Rosa,  Murillo,  Rubens,  Teniers,  Holbein, 
Vandyck,  Kneller,  Gainsborough,  West,  and 
Stothard. 

Belvoir  Castle  has  by  some  writers  been  said 
to  resemble  the  royal  residence  at  Windsor,  but, 
whatever  comparison  may  be  instituted  in  other 
respects,  the  situation,  upon  the  summit  of  a 
steep  elevation,  is  more  commanding.  As  altered 
and  newly  arranged  by  Wyatt,  it  consists  of 
a  quadrangular  court,  with  towers  and  terraces, 
upon  which  latter  its  owner  threatened,  in  the 
early  days  of  the  volunteer  movement,  to  plant 
cannon  for  the  protection  of  the  castle,  in  the 
event  of  working  men  being  enrolled  in  the  force 
which  is  now  regarded  as  an  important  and 
necessary  addition  to  the  military  resources  of  the 
kingdom. 


BELVOIR  CASTLE.  95 

By  an  accidental  fire  in  1816,  a  large  portion  of 
the  older  part  of  the  castle  was  destroyed,  but  the 
large  sum  of  £60,000  was  subsequently  expended 
in  repairs.  The  view  from  the  terraces  is  very 
extensive,  comprehending  the  whole  vale  of 
Bel  voir  and  the  adjacent  country  as  far  as 
Lincoln,  including  twenty-two  manors  of  which 
the  Duke  of  Rutland  is  the  lord. 

Concerning  the  princely  hospitality  which  has 
been  practiced  at  Belvoir,  Timbs  gives,  ''from  a 
published  account,"  the  following  particulars, 
which  are  said  to  apply  to  the  period  between 
December,  1839,  and  April,  1840  : — Wine  con- 
sumed, 200  dozens  ;  ale,  70  hogsheads  ;  wax-lights, 
2,330 ;  sperm  oil,  630  gallons.  Dined  at  His 
Grace's  table,  1,997  persons;  in  the  steward's 
room,  2,421  ;  in  the  servants'  hall,  nursery,  and 
kitchen  department,  including  comers  and  goers, 
11,312.  Of  bread  there  was  consumed  8,333  loaves ; 
and  meat  22,963  lbs.,  exclusive  of  poultry,  game, 
and  fish.  The  value  of  the  meat,  poultry,  and 
provisions,  except  stores,  consumed  during  this 
period,  is  stated  at  £1,323  7s.  llfd. — a  very  close 
calculation,  and  one  which  does  credit  to  the 
book-keeping  of  those  concerned.  The  quantity  of 
game  killed  during  the  season  over  all  the  duke's 


96  BYGONE  LEICESTERSHIRE. 

manors  is  said  to  have  comprised  1,733  hares,  947 
rabbits,  987  pheasants,  2,101  partridges,  776 
grouse,  23  black  game,  108  woodcocks,  138  snipes, 
28  wild  ducks,  and  6  teal. 

George  IV.,  then  regent  of  the  kingdom  during 
the  mental  incapacity  of  his  father,  visited  the 
castle  in  1814,  on  which  occasion  the  ancient 
ceremony  of  presenting  the  Sovereign  with  the 
key  of  the  Staunton  Tower  was  observed. 

The  custom  has  come  down  from  the  time  of  the 
Conquest,  when  the  castle  was  successfully 
defended  by  Sir  Mauger  Staunton  against  a 
Norman  force,  on  which  account  the  Conqueror, 
when  firmly  seated  on  the  throne,  allowed  him,  in 
acknowledgment  of  his  bravery,  to  retain  posses- 
sion of  the  lordship  of  Staunton.  This  lordship 
is  situated  five  miles  from  Belvoir,  and  seven 
from  Newark,  and  is  said  to  have  been  held  by 
the  Staunton  family  for  more  than  thirteen 
centuries.  The  ceremony  referred  to  was  per- 
formed in  1814  by  the  Rev.  Dr.  Stanton,  who 
presented  the  key  upon  a  velvet  cushion  ;  and 
was  repeated  by  the  same  gentleman  in  1843, 
when  the  Queen  and  the  Prince  Consort  visited 
the  castle. 


IRobert,  ]Earl  of  Xciceeter:  a  Chapter  of 
flDcbi^val  1bi6tor^. 

WHEN  the  sons  of  Henry  II.,  instigated 
by  Queen  Eleanor,  first  appeared  in 
open  rebellion  against  the  royal  authority,  a.d. 
1172,  with  the  intention  of  partitioning  the 
government  of  England  and  its  continental 
provinces,  among  the  first  who  assumed  arms 
against  the  powerful  and  magnanimous  monarch 
was  that  fiery  son  of  Kobert  Bossu,  Robert,  Earl 
of  Leicester,  known  by  his  surname  of  Blanch- 
mains,  or  the  white-hands. 

The  energy  and  military  ability  of  the  King 
secured  a  signal  success  to  his  arms  in  the 
opening  days  of  the  struggle.  His  Braban9ons 
fought  a  pitched  battle  with  the  insurgents, 
routed  them,  and  invested  the  Castle  of  Dol,  in 
which  the  principal  barons  had  thrown  themselves 
after  their  defeat.  The  stronghold  was  speedily 
compelled  to  surrender,  and  a  conference  was 
opened  for  the  adjustment  of  the  quarrel  between 

Henry  and  his  rebellious  sons  and  feudatories. 

H 


98  BYGONE  LEICESTERSHIRE. 

The  perfidious  Louis  of  France  exerted  himself 
to  retard  the  conclusion  of  peace,  and  was 
furthered  by  the  Earl  of  Leicester,  who  brought 
a  large  sura  of  money,  raised  on  his  English 
estates,  to  enable  the  princes  to  continue  the 
struggle.  This  arch-traitor  had  recently  renewed 
his  allegiance  to  the  King,  but  his  insolence 
rendered  an  amicable  adjustment  of  the  dispute 
impossible.  Not  stopping  at  invective  and  insult, 
he  threatened  King  Henry,  with  his  hand  upon 
Jiis  sword.  Those  around  restrained  him  from 
drawing  his  weapon,  but  so  fierce  was  the  storm 
of  passion  thus  excited  that  the  conference  broke 
up  in  the  utmost  confusion. 

There  was  a  fierce  encounter  between  the 
chivalry  of  the  two  armies  on  the  following  day, 
when  William  de  Mandeville  conquered  Ingelram, 
Castelan  of  Trie,  and  brought  him  prisoner  to 
King  Henry. 

To  further  harass  his  liege,  the  Earl  of 
Leicester  prepared  to  carry  the  war  into  England, 
the  borders  of  which  were  threatened  by  the 
Scots,  whose  barbarous  hordes,  easily  incited  to 
war,  were  accustomed  to  indulge  their  love  of 
massacre  and  plunder  when  the  throes  of  civil 
war  convulsed  England,  and  afforded  them  an 


ROBERT,  EARL  OF  LEICESTER.  99 

eaajT^  entrance  into  the  kingdom.  Blanchmains 
accordingly  raised  a  powerful  army  of  Flemings, 
and  embarked  for  England,  which  he  reached 
without  opposition,  and  marched  his  forces  to 
Framlingham  Castle,  where  Hugh  Bigot  was  in 
arms  against  the  King.  After  receiving  supplies 
and  munitions  of  war,  Leicester  laid  close  leaguer 
to  Ranulph  de  Broc's  Castle  of  Hakeneck,  which 
he  speedily  reduced,  in  the  absence  of  any  military 
force  adequate  to  maintain  the  royal  authority  in 
that  part  of  the  island,  the  justiciary,  Richard 
de  Lucy,  and  the  constable,  Humphrey  de 
Bohun,  having  conducted  a  military  expedition 
into  the  Lothian. 

Leicester's  invasion  was  so  formidable  that  the 
royalists  at  once  concluded  a  truce  with  the  King 
of  Scotland,  and  marched  into  England. 

Lucy  and  Bohun  formed  their  camp  at  St. 
Edmunds,  and  being  reinforced  by  the  Earls  of 
Cornwall,  Gloucester,  and  Arundel,  succeeded  in 
intercepting  the  Flemings  as  they  marched  upon 
Leicester.  The  Earl,  thus  brought  to  bay,  took 
up  a  strong  position  at  Fornham,  near  the  Church 
of  St.  Genevieve,  where  the  marshy  ground  was 
calculated  to  retard  the  movements  of  his  adver- 
saries. 


100  BYGONE  LEICESTERSHIRE. 

Then  Humphrey  de  Bohun  and  the  loyal 
Earls  issued  out  of  St.  Edmunds,  leading  a 
numerous  army,  which  included  300  knights, 
marching  under  the  standard  of  the  constable. 
Uniting  loyalty  and  religion  on  that  memorable 
day,  the  army  fought  beneath  the  banner  of  St. 
Edmund,  King  and  Martyr. 

The  first  onset  decided  the  conflict.  One  fiery 
charge  against  Leicester's  position  broke  the 
rebel  ranks,  and  covered  the  field  with  a  broken 
and  fugitive  army,  on  which  the  sword  of 
vengeance  descended  with  such  unsparing  rigour, 
that  10,000  Flemings  were  destroyed.  Those  who 
received  quarter  were  even  more  unfortunate, 
being  manacled  and  cast  into  dungeons,  where 
they  were  permitted  to  perish  of  starvation,  an 
act  of  detestable  cruelty,  not  to  be  too  severely 
reprobated. 

Chief  of  the  prisoners  were  the  perjured  Earl, 
his  Countess,  and  Hugh  des  Chateaux.  These 
were,  with  many  others,  carried  to  Normandy, 
and  Henry  condemned  them  to  close  imprison- 
ment in  the  fortress  of  Falaise. 

The  cause  of  the  rebel  Earl  was  vigorously 
maintained  during  his  incarceration,  and  the  King 
of  Scotland  ordered  his  brother  David  to  march  a 


ROBERT,  EARL  OF  LEICESTER.  101 

division  of  his  army  to  the  defence  of  Leicester, 
where  the  Earl's  constable,  Anketill  Mallory, 
maintained  himself.  The  Scots  were,  however, 
forestalled  by  the  justiciary  and  the  Earl  of 
Cornwall,  who  marched  against  and  invested  the 
town. 

When  the  Norman  garrison  perceived  the 
army  of  Richard  de  Lucy  moving  against  the 
town,  with  the  royal  banner  displayed,  they 
retired  into  the  Castle,  to  insure  its  safety, 
leaving  the  burghers  of  Leicester  to  make  the 
best  defence  they  could,  albeit  the  quarrel  was 
none  of  their  making.  Doubtless  they  had  no 
alternative  but  to  put  on  a  bold  attitude,  there- 
fore they  manned  the  walls,  and  strove  to 
keep  at  bay  the  fierce  enemy  that  came 
on  with  spear  and  pike,  and  drift  of  deadly  ar^ows, 
while,  sheltered  by  the  skill  of  the  archers,  many 
of  the  infantry  toiled  with  pick  and  spade  to 
undermine  the  walls.  Success  attended  their 
efforts,  and  on  burning  the  props  that  supported 
the  undermined  Walls,  great  breaches  were  made, 
the  huge  fragments  of  which  long  remained  in 
evidence  of  the  tenacity  of  the  mortar  used  in 
their  construction. 

Unable  to  keep  the  foe  at  bay,  the  doomed 


102  BYGONE  LEICESTERSHIRE. 

burghers  struggled  long  and  gallantly  with  the 
fierce  soldiers  that  poured  upon  them  through  wide 
breach  and  over  rampart ;  but  the  storm  ended  in 
a  scene  of  dreadful  confusion  and  bloodshed. 
Blind,  furious,  indiscriminate  was  the  massacre, 
but  the  wretched  survivors  at  length  purchased  a 
safe  retreat  through  one  of  the  gates,  and  fled 
from  their  ruined  homes,  impoverished  and 
bereaved,  to  find  refuge  on  the  church  lands  at 
Bury  St.  Edmunds  and  St.  Albans.  The  stormers 
sacked  the  town,  and  burnt  many  houses  to  the 
ground.  The  church  of  St.  Michael  was  over- 
thrown, and  the  whole  parish  reduced  to  a  mass  of 
ruins  :  for  many  years  this  section  of  Leicester 
remained  uninhabited,  the  streets  being  trans- 
formed into  grassy  lanes,  and  a  later  generation 
of  btirghers  planted  orchards  on  the  sites  of  the 
houses. 

Doubtless  Anketill  Mallory  and  his  garrison 
endured  the  deepest  bitterness  of  mortification 
and  impatient  wrath,  as  they  witnessed  the  surge 
of  battle  sweep  over  the  town,  and  the  smoke  and 
flame  of  burning  houses  spread  around  ;  but  they 
were  powerless  to  succour  or  avenge  the  Earl's 
vassals.  Richard  de  Lucy  made  no  attempt  to 
reduce  the  castle ;   doubtless  other  and  pressing 


ROBERT,  EARL  OF  LEICESTER.  103 

service  demanded  his  arms,  and  forbad  the  tedium 
of  a  long  and  dubious  siege. 

The  castellan  sought  compensation  for  the 
strokes  of  misfortune  by  inflicting  useless  injury 
upon  the  burghers  of  Northampton,  a.d.  1174. 
He  marched  against,  and  engaged  them  in  a 
conflict  that  entailed  severe  loss  of  life,  and  the 
captivity  of  two  hundred  burghers.  Leicester's 
adherents  made  a  similar  attack  upon  Nottingham, 
being  commanded  by  Robert,  Earl  of  Ferrers. 
The  town  was  stormed  and  sacked,  and  many  of 
the  burgesses  carried  ofl". 

Henry  arrived  in  England  a.d,  1174,  and 
brought  with  him  his  prisoners,  the  Earl  and 
Countess  of  Leicester.  His  presence  conduced  to 
a  speedy,  but  not  permanent,  settlement  of  the 
trouble.  While  tilting  in  Alnwick  meadows,  the 
King  of  Scotland  was  snatched  from  the  front  of 
his  army  by  Ranulph  de  Glanville,  and  carried 
on  the  spur  to  Richmond  Castle. 

Leaguer  was  laid  to  Leicester  Castle,  and 
Henry  is  said  to  have  held  out  to  Anketill 
Mallory,  as  the  alternative  to  its  surrender,  the 
threat  of  starving  Robert  Blanchmains  and  his 
countess  to  death. 

Mallory  had  served  his  master  with  zeal  and 


104  BYGONE  LEICESTERSHIRE. 

devotion,  and  had  perhaps  passed  the  bounds  of 
prudence ;  he  wisely  bent  to  the  storm,  made  his 
submission,  and  surrendered  into  the  King's 
hands  the  castles  of  Leicester,  Mountsorrel,  and 
Groby.  The  two  last  mentioned  fortresses  were 
afterwards  dismantled. 

In  the  treaty  concluded  between  Henry  and 
his  sons,  Leicester  was  excepted,  as  being  among 
those  who  had  made  a  prior  and  separate 
composition  with  the  king.  The  Earl  was  justly 
deprived  of  the  power  to  injure  his  monarch, 
although  his  lands  were  restored  at  the  council  of 
Northampton,  in  1177.  The  castles  were  restored 
to  him  on  the  accession  of  Richard  Coeur  de  Lion. 

Leicester  remained  in  a  ruinous  state  for 
upward  of  twenty-five  years,  when  a  gradual 
change  commenced.  Houses  were  rebuilt ;  a  new 
population  began  to  form  itself;  but  many  years 
elapsed  before  the  town  regained  its  ancient 
prosperity. 


Xocal  proverbs  aub  jfolk  pbra^ee. 

By  T.  Broadbent  Trowsdale. 

QUAINT  old  Fuller,  in  his  "Worthies," 
Ray,  Grose,  and  other  ancient  writers, 
devoted  much  attention  to  the  collection  of  local 
proverbs.  Among  these  we  find  several  connected 
with  the  county  of  Leicester,  and  although  they 
are  now  almost  entirely  obsolete, — some,  indeed, 
being  altogether  forgotten, — they  are  full  of 
interest  as  a  part  of  the  folk-lore  of  our  ancestors. 
Many  of  them,  too,  are  characterised  by  an 
element  of  coarseness ;  but  we  must  remember 
that  they  were  the  popular  sayings  of  a  genera- 
tion not  privileged  with  the  educational  advan- 
tages of  our  later  and  more  favoured  age. 
Numbers  of  these  colloquial  phrases  also  shed 
rays  of  light  on  the  history  of  the  places  to 
which  they  pertain,  and  the  early  associations  of 
their  inhabitants. 

Foremost  in  this  connection "  we  must  consider 
an  appellation  vulgarly  applied  to  Leicestershire 
and  its  people  centuries  ago ;   and  even  yet  not 


106  BYGONE  LEICESTERSHIRE. 

quite  relegated  to  the  oblivion  it  deserves.     We 

allude  to  the  phrase,  "  Bean-belly  Leicestershire." 

It  appears  that  the  saying  originated  in  the 

circumstance  that  the  county  was  at  one  time  the 

place ^ar  excellence  for  the  cultivation  of  this  useful 

vegetable.     Fuller  has  a  curious  explanatory  note 

anent  the  vulgar  reproach.     "  Beans,"  says  he, 

"  are  the  most  natural  and  plentiful  crops  grown 

in  Leicestershire,  especially  in  that  part  of  it  in 

the   Sparkenhoe    Hundred   lying  about  Barton, 

thence  called  *  Barton-in-the-Beans,'  where  they 

are  so  luxuriant  that  towards  harvest-time  they 

look  like  a  forest."      "  The    Leicesterians   are," 

continues  Fuller,  "  indeed  fond  of  beans,  though 

in  other  counties  they  are  food  only  for  horses  and 

hogs,  except  when  eaten  green,  in  this  they  are 

esteemed  all  the  year  round,  so  that  the  people 

have  not  only  a  pleasure  in  eating,  but  a  profit 

on  selling  them  to  their  neighbours."     The  poet 

Drayton,    in    his    "  Blazons   of    Shires,"   has   a 

couplet  which  runs  : — 

"  Beane-Belly  Leicestershire,  her  attribute  doth  beare, 
And  bells  and  bagpipes  next  belong  to  Lincolnshire." 

A  common  saying  in  the  neighbouring  counties 
used  to  be  : — "  Shake  a  Leicestershire  yeoman  by 
the  collar,  and  you  will  hear  the  beans  rattle  in 


LOCAL  PROVERBS  AND  FOLK  PHRASES.       107 

his  belly."  Of  course  this  was  a  humorous 
exaggeration  of  what  was  formerly  a  staple 
product  of  the  shire.  Popular  nicknames  and 
epithets  have  at  various  times  been  applied  to 
the  inhabitants  of  diiferent  counties  and  localities, 
to  adhere  with  more  or  less  pertinacity,  in  most 
cases  having  jocular  or  satirical  allusion  to  some 
peculiarity  of  the  district  referred  to,  or  the 
people  who  dwelt  therein.  In  point  of  fact,  how- 
ever, there  is  no  more  fitness  in  the  application  of 
the  phrase  "  Bean-belly  Leicestershire  " — at  any 
rate  in  the  present  day — to  the  inhabitants  of 
Leicestershire  than  there  is  in  calling  the  men  of 
Lincolnshire  or  the  dwellers  in  weald  of  Kent 
"  yellow-bellies,"  because  the  eels  and  frogs  of  the 
fens  have  the  abdomen  of  that  colour. 

A  famous  old  proverb  relating  to  Market 
Harborough  was : — 

"  A  goose  will  eat  all  the  grass  which  grows  in  Harborough- 
field." 

This  is  explained  by  the  fact  that  Market 
Harborough  had  no  pasture  lands  belonging  to  it. 
Mothers  and  nurses  used,  according  to  Grose,  to 
make  common  use  of  the  expression  : — 

"I'll  throw  you  into  Har borough-field," 
in    order  to  frighten   refractory    children    under 


108  BYGONE  LEICESTERSHIRE. 

their  care  into  obedience,  the  circumstance  of 
there  being  no  field  at  Harborough  entaiUng  no 
obligation  of  carrying  out  the  threat  with  which 
the  youngsters  were  terrorised. 

Two  sayings,  probably  having  reference  to 
Grooby,  near  Leicester,  are  noticed  by  Gough  : — 

"  Then  I'll  thatch  Groby-pool  with  pancakes," 
is  the  first.  This  was  locally  made  use  of  when 
any  person  boastingly  undertook  to  perform  any- 
thing having  an  air  of  great  improbability.  The 
other  old  proverb  in  connection  with  this 
presumably  apochryphal  pool,  which,  says  Gough, 
is  not  mentioned  by  Burton,  which  : — 

*'  At  his  death  there  will  be  many  a  wet  eye  in  Groby-pool." 

The  meaning  of  this  was  that  no  one  would 
weep  for  or  regret  the  demise  of  the  party 
alluded  to.  It  was  applied,  of  course,  to  persons 
not  held  in  high  esteem. 

In  alluding  to  Hocks  Norton  it  was  commonly 
customary,  years  ago,  to  say  : — 

"  Hogs  Norton,  where  pigs  play  on  the  organ." 

A  former  organist  of  the  parish  church  was 
blessed  with  the  patronymic  of  Piggs,  and,  to 
give  point  to  the  phrase,  Hocks  Norton  was 
corrupted  into  Hogs  Norton,    hence    the    origin 


LOCAL  PROVERBS  AND  FOLK  PHRASES.        109 

and  application  of  this  slightly  witty  colloquial 
saying. 

The  inhabitants  of  Carlton  Curlieu  were,  a  few 
generations  back,  known  as  *' Carlton  wharlers," 
because  of  a  difficulty  they  experienced  in 
correctly  pronouncing  the  letter  "r."  Of  this 
Burton  thus  speaks: — "I  cannot  here  omit  one 
observation,  which,  by  some,  hath  been  made  of 
the  naturalists  of  this  town,  that  all  those  who 
were  born  here  have  a  harsh  and  rattling  kind  of 
speech,  uttering  their  words  with  much  difficulty, 
and  wharling  in  the  throat,  and  cannot  well 
pronounce  the  letter  '  r.'  It  is,  however,  said 
that  the  present  generation  have  got  over  the 
impediment." 

An  antiquated  bit  of  weather  wisdom,  common 

in  the  north-east  of  the  county  of  Leicester,  and 

also  in  those  portions  of  the  shires  of  Nottingham 

and     Lincoln    adjacent     to     "  Belvoir's     lordly 

terraces,"  is : — 

"  If  Bever  have  a  cap, 
You  churles  of  the  vale  look  to  that." 

The  interpretation  of  this  proverbial  saying  is 
that  when  dark  masses  of  cloud  are  seen  hovering 
over  the  towering  ramparts  of  Belvoir  Castle,  it 
is  a  prognostication   of  much  rain    being   about 


no  BYGONE  LEICESTERSHIRE. 

to  fall  in  the  surrounding  valley.  The  ancestral 
home  of  the  Rutland  family  stands  on  a 
commanding  eminence,  and  continuous  wet 
weather  is  very  unfavourable  to  agricultural 
operations  in  the  contiguous  low-lying  country. 

It  used  to  be  derisively  said  of  any  fellow 
conspicuous  for  his  cowardice,  but  who,  notwith- 
standing that  he  was  constantly  bragging  of  his 
pugilistic  accomplishments,  had  never  dared  to 
engage  in  an  actual  combat : — 

"The  last  maa  he  killed  keeps  hogs  in  Hinckley-field." 
An  egotistical  person,  or,  as  Grose  tersely  puts 
it,  "  one  that  is  past  learning,"  had  this  proverb 
sarcastically  applied  to  him  : — 

"  He  had  gone  over  Assfordby  Bridge  backwards." 
Grose  was  of  opinion  that  the  point  of  this  saying 
lay  in  the  equivocal  word  prefixed  in  the  name  of 
the  parish  cited.  The  Assfordby  referred  to  is  no 
doubt  the  place  now  known  as  Asfordby,  situated 
close  to  Melton  Mowbray. 

"  Put  up  your  pipes  and  go  to  Lockington  wake," 
was  a  command  formerly  given  by  the  Leicester- 
shire people  to  troublesome  fellows.  Lockington 
stands  at  the  extremity  of  the  shire,  near  the 
confluence  of  the  rivers  Trent  and  Soar  ;  and  the 
source  of  annoyance  having  been  removed  to  such 


LOCAL  PROVERBS  AND  FOLK  PHRASES.        Ill 

a  distance  from  the  greater  portion  of  the  county, 
would  not  of  course  cause  so  much  inconvenience. 
The  mention  of  the  words  pipes  and  wake  would 
seem  to  indicate  that  the  proverb  was  originally 
applied  to  a  wandering  minstrel.  That  race  have 
always  been  regarded  in  the  light  of  nuisances, 
and  a  wake  or  fair  would  be  the  most  suitable 
place  in  which  to  ply  their  avocation. 

"The  same  again,  quoth  Mark  of  Belgrave," 

Tn  common  conversation,  when  a  repetition  of 
any  sentence  was  made,  or  desired,  it  was  usual 
to  add  "  quoth  Mark  of  Belgrave."  Mark  of 
Belgrave,  so  says  tradition,  was  an  officer  of 
militia  in  the  days  of  "good  Queen  Bess,"  who, 
whilst  exercising  the  men  under  his  charge  before 
the  Lord-Lieutenant,  became  so  nervous  after 
issuing  the  first  word  of  command  that  he  could 
remember  no  more  of  the  order  of  his  duty,  but 
repeatedly  called  on  his  company  to  do  "  the 
same  again." 

A  proverb  allotted  to  the  county  of  Leicester 

by  Grose  is  : — 

"  What  have  I  to  do  with  Bradshaw's  windmill  1 " 

which  is  elucidated  as  being  synonymous   with 

"  what   have    I    to    do    with    any   other   men's 

business  ? " 


112  BYGONE  LEICESTERSHIRE. 

The  same  antiquary,  who,  by-the-bye,  is  the 
"  note  takin'  chiel "  immortalised  by  Burns, 
apportions  two  other  old  sayings  to  Leicester- 
shire, referring  to  places  which  have  not  now  any 
existence  in  the  county,  at  least  not  by  the  names 

given : — 

"  In  and  out  like  Belledon,  I  wot." 

This  phrase  was  applied  by  Leicestershire 
people  to  anything  crooked,  and  Belledon  was, 
says  Grose,  probably  a  scattered  irregular 
village ;  though,  adds  he,  nothing  particular 
respecting  it  occurs  in  Burton.  Destitute  way- 
farers were  known  to  the  inhabitants  of 
Leicestershire  by  the  common  designation  of 
"Bed worth  beggars." 

Bed  worth,  Grose  remarks,  is  not  mentioned  by 

any  of  the  topographical  writers  ;  but  is  probably 

some   poor  hamlet.     The  saying  may  have  had 

reference     to     the     parish    of    Bedworth,    near 

Nuneaton,     in     the      neighbouring     county     of 

Warwick. 

"At  Great  Glen 
There  are  more  great  dogs  than  honest  men." 

The  above  rhyme  was  formerly  applied  to  the 

village   of  Glen    Magna,   and  does  not,   we  are 

afraid,  reflect  great  credit  on  those  inhabitants  of 


LOCAL  PROVERBS  AND  FOLK  PHRASES.       113 

the   place    who   Hved    there    when    the    saying 
originated. 

An  active  jumper  was  said  to  : — 

"  Leap  like  the  Bell-giant  or  devil  of  Mountsorrel." 

This  proverb  is  derived  from  a  very  curious  old 
Leicestershire  legendary  story.  As  this  tradition 
is  supposed  to  have  given  names  to  several 
places  in  the  neighbourhood  of  Mountsorrel,  we 
will  briefly  recapitulate  it  for  the  delecta- 
tion of  our  readers.  Here  it  is  in  the  words 
of  Peck  : — "  The  country  people  have  a  story  of  a 
giant  or  devil,  named  Bell,  who  once,  in  a  merry 
vein,  took  three  prodigious  leaps,  which  they 
thus  describe : — 

"  At  a  place,  thence  ever  after  called  Mount- 
sorrel, he  mounted  his  sorrel-horse,  and  leaped  a 
mile,  to  a  place  from  this  circumstance  since 
called  One  Leap,  now  corrupted  into  Wanlip ; 
thence  he  leaped  another  mile,  to  a  place  called 
Burstall,  from  the  bursting  of  both  himself,  his 
girths,  and  his  horse ;  the  third  leap  was  also  a 
mile,  but  the  violence  of  the  exertion  and  shock 
killed  him,  and  there  he  was  buried,  and  the  place 
has  ever  since  been  denominated  Bell's  grave,  or 
Bel-grave."  Truly  a  marvellous  story,  but  only 
one  amongst  a  great  number  of  a  similar  character 


114  BYGONE  LEICESTERSHIRE. 

which  have  at  various  times  during  the  reign  of 

ignorance  and  superstition,  in   the  dark  ages  of 

the  past,  found  credence  among  the  people  of  our 

land. 

Another  old  Leicestershire  saying  sets  forth  that : 

"  There  are  more  unfortunate  women  in  Hose  than  virtuous 
ones  at  Long  Claxton." 

Hose  and  Long  Claxton  are  two  neighbouring 
villages  in  the  vicinage  of  Melton  Mowbray, 
Long  Claxton  being  very  considerably  the 
largest ;  so  that  the  assertion  made  in  the  pro- 
verb appears,  on  the  face  of  it,  to  say  the  least, 
very  strange.  The  saying  is,  however,  really  a 
play  on  the  word  "  Hose,"  its  true  meaning  being 
that  there  are  more  fallen  women  who  wear  hose 
than  virtuous  ones  dwelling  in  Long  Claxton. 
This  coarse  colloquialism  was  at  one  time  retailed 
to  every  stranger  who  halted  in  the  neighbour- 
hood of  Hose  or  Long  Claxton ;  and  much 
wonderment  was  excited  in  the  minds  of  those  un- 
acquainted with  the  double  entendre  of  the 
assertion  it  apparently  makes. 

An  old  writer  on  proverbs  informs  us  that 
a  hog- pudding  was,  more  than  a  hundred  years 
ago,  spoken  of  as  a  "  Leicestershire  plover,"  but 
why,  he  makes  no  attempt  to  explain. 


LOCAL  PROVERBS  AND  FOLK  PHRASES.        115 

Ray,  probably  erroneously,  places  the  following 
saying  amongst  the  Leicestershire  proverbs  : — 
"  Like  the  Mayor  of  Hartlepool,  you  cannot  do  that." 

Of  course  every  school-boy  is  aware  that 
Hartlepool  is  not  in  Leicestershire,  but  in  the 
northerly  county  of  Durham ;  still  it  may  be — 
from  the  fact  of  Ray,  who  was  an  observant  and 
generally  reliable  writer,  having  included  the 
proverb  in  those  belonging  to  Leicestershire — that 
it  was  in  common  use  in  the  Midland  county. 
Grose,  too,  following  the  earlier  antiquary,  deals 
with  this  proverb  under  the  heading  of  Leicester- 
shire, and  informs  us  by  way  of  elucidation  that 
its  understood  sense  was  "  you  cannot  accomplish 
impossibilities."  The  industrious  captain  adds  a 
little  illustrative  story,  which  is,  says  he,  the 
origin  of  the  proverb.  "  A  Mayor  of  a  poor 
Corporation,  desirous  to  show  his  old  companions 
that  he  was  not  too  much  elated  by  his  election 
to  office,  told  them  that  though  he  was  Maj^or  of 
the  Corporation,  he  was  still  but  a  man,  and  that 
there  were  many  things  he  could  not  do." 

Such  is  a  brief  review  and  attempt  at  explana- 
tion of  the  most  interesting  of  the  local  proverbial 
sayings  of  olden  Leicestershire  which  have  been 
handed  down  to  the  present  day.     The  lapse  of 


116  BYGONE  LEICESTERSHIRE. 

time  has  deprived  many  of  them  of  their  original 
zest  and  application  ;  but  they  are  reliques  of  the 
popular  folk-phrases  of  our  fore-goers,  and  as 
such,  deserving  of  the  attention  of  all  those  who 
have  any  sort  of  regard  for  the  associations  of 
antique  ages. 


Ifeetival  Cuetoma  in  Xcice^terabire. 

By  Henrietta  Ellis. 

TO  our  forefathers  the  year  in  its  round 
brought  a  succession  of  festivities,  now 
almost  forgotten,  or  only  very  partially  observed. 
Christmas  rejoicings  were  scarcely  over,  and 
Twelfth  Cakes  but  lately  eaten,  when  on  Plough 
Monday  a  band  of  merry  yokels  invaded  the  farm- 
house kitchen  to  execute  a  lively  dance.  Their 
presence  was  supposed  to  be  a  signal  that  field 
work  was  about  to  be  resumed ;  they  were 
probably  entirely  guiltless  of  having  offered 
tapers  to  "speed  the  plough"  at  any  shrine,  but 
with  some  of  their  number  in  feminine  attire, 
they  would  impersonate  the  ancient  characters, 
and  shout  "  good  luck  "  on  leaving  to  all  who 
encouraged  their  sport. 

A  few  weeks  later,  on  St.  Valentine's  Morn, 
the  children  would  be  early  astir,  eager  to  go  to 
the  great  house  "for  a  valentine."  Assembled  in 
groups  before  the  front  door  of  the  mansion  they 
piped  forth  their  greeting  : — 


118  BYGONE  LEICESTERSHIRE. 

"Good  morrow  Valentine, 
A  piece  of  bread  and  cheese, 
And  a  bottle  of  wine  ; 
If  you've  got  a  penny  in  your  pocket, 
Slip  it  into  mine  ; 
We  used  to  come  at  eight  o'clock, 
And  now  we  come  at  nine." 

The  children's  reward  consLsted  of  halfpence  or 
"  Valentine  Buns,"  always  respectfully  acknow- 
ledged by  forelock  or  curtsey.  T.  R.  Potter,  in 
his  "  History  of  Charnwood  Forest,"  says  that  on 
one  such  occasion  he  saw  as  many  as  "three 
hundred  children  with  happy  faces"  going  to 
Beaumanor.  The  art  of  making  "  Valentine 
Buns  "  is  not  yet  forgotten  in  the  neighbourhood 
of  Melton. 

Shrove  Tuesday  again  was  a  day  when  the 
children  felt  as  light  and  free  as  the  very  shuttle- 
cocks which  they  sent  into  the  air.  An  old  custom 
of  obtaining  the  half-holiday  by  "barring  the 
master  out  of  school "  survived  at  Frisby-on-the 
Wreake  until  within  the  last  forty  years.  The 
method  of  procedure  was  to  entice  the  master 
by  a  pre-concerted  manoeuvre  outside  the  door  of 
the  school-house,  and  then  turn  the  key  upon 
him.  The  youngsters  within  would  then 
commence  to  shout  vigorously  : — 


FESTIVAL  CUSTOMS.  119 

"Pardon,  master,  pardon. 
Pardon  in  a  pin, 
If  you  don't  give  a  holiday 
We  wont  let  you  in,"  • 


or 


"  Pardon,  master,  pardon, 
Pardon  in  a  spout. 
If  you  don't  give  a  holiday 
We'll  all  keep  yKDu  out." 

No  Leicestershire  schoolmaster  is  now 
"  pardoned  out  of  school "  when  the  Pancake 
Bell  rings  at  Shrovetide,  but  in  many  places 
children  are  allowed  a  little  special  license  at  that 
season,  and  may  be  seen  playing  in  fields 
(possibly  the  old  common  land  of  the  village) 
usually  deemed  sacred  from  such  intrusion. 

In  Leicester,  a  fair  in  the  Newarke  was  a 
time-honoured  Shrove  Tuesday  institution  ;  and 
long  after  the  fair  had  been  discontinued,  the 
presence  of  men  known  as  "whipping  Toms" 
caused  considerable  riot,  though  the  carter's 
whips,  with  which  they  were  armed,  were 
supposed  to  be  for  the  express  purpose  of 
controlling  the  mob  and  clearing  the  precincts  of 
the  castle.     Their  last  appearance  was  in  1847. 

The  tradition  which  associates  the  hare  with 
Easter  is  widely  spread.     Instances  of  it  may  be 


120  BYGONE  LEICESTERSHIRE. 

found  in  Leicestershire  in  the  Easter  Monday 
hunt,  which  used  to  take  place  on  the  Dane  Hills 
near  Leicester,  and  the  scramble  for  "  hare  pies," 
which  still  goes  on  at  Hallaton.  In  the  former 
case  a  dead  cat,  sprinkled  with  aniseed  and  trailed 
over  the  ground  at  the  tail  of  a  horse,  did  duty 
for  the  hare,  the  trail  being  made  finally  to  end 
at  the  door  of  the  Mayor,  who  was  expected  to 
regale  the  hunters  at  the  close  of  the  day.  At 
Hallaton,  lands  known  as  "  Hare  Crop  Leys " 
were  left  to  the  rector  in  consideration  of  his 
providing  annually  "  two  hare  pies,  a  quantity  of 
ale,  and  two  dozen  penny  loaves."  The  pies,  now 
made  of  mutton  or  veal  and  bacon,  are  carried, 
cut  up  in  a  sack,  at  the  head  of  a  procession,  on 
Easter  Monday,  to  a  place  called  *  *  Hare  Pie 
Bank,"  on  the  outskirts  of  the  village.  The 
penny  loaves  are  broken  into  fragments,  and 
distributed  by  the  way.  Arrived  at  the  scene  of 
action,  the  contents  of  the  sack  are  poured  out, 
and  scrambled  for  by  the  crowd.  Part  of  the  ale 
becomes  the  property  of  the  men  of  any  village 
who  can  succeed  in  kicking  the  wooden  bottle 
containing  it  some  five  hundred  yards  across  a 
brook,  to  a  certain  boundary ;  the  rest  is  drunk 
with  full  honours  at  the  market  cross. 


FESTIVAL  CUSTOMS.  121 

The  First  of  May  has  been  an  occasion  for 
gladness  and  rejoicing  since  earhest  times. 
Maplewell  (May-pole- well),  near  Woodhouse,  is 
said  to  be  the  spot  where  the  Forest  celebrations 
of  this  festival  took  place.  In  the  "  Tablette 
Book "  of  Lady  Mary  Keyes  (a  sister  of  Lady 
Jane  Grey),  a  quaint  description  is  given  of 
May-day  at  Bradgate,  in  the  16th  century : 
"Then  when  the  merrie  May  Pole  and  alle  the 
painted  Morris  dancers  withe  Tabor  and  Pipe 
beganne  their  spritelie  anj:icks  on  oure  butiful 
grene  laune,  afore  that  we  idel  leetel 
Bodyes  had  left  owre  warme  Bedds,  woulde 
goode  Mistresse  Bridget  the  Tire-woman  whom 
our  Lady  Mother  alwaies  commanded  to  do  owre 
Biddinge,  com  and  telle  us  of  the  merrie  men 
a-dancing  on  the  Grene."  On  May  morning  the 
milkmaids  would  repair  to  the  fields  with  pails 
bedecked  with  flowers.  In  some  villages,  arches 
of  evergreens  were  erected,  in  others  a  large  May- 
pole was  carried  round  (occasionally  on  Whit  Mon- 
day), and  an  ancient  doggerel  shouted  in  chorus  : — 

"  Riggany,  raggany, 
Ten  pin  flaggany ; 
Eighteen  pole." 

The  first  two  lines  of  this  apparently  meaning- 


122  BYGONE  LEICESTERSHIRE. 

less   jingle    were    said   very   rapidly,    the    third 
with  the  syllables  long  drawn  out, 

Whit  Monday  has  long  been  a  day  of  "  cakes 
and  ale."  In  Leicester  itself  during  the  Middle 
Ages  an  imposing  spectacle  was  witnessed.  A 
gorgeous  procession,  with  an  image  of  the  Virgin 
borne  aloft,  set  out  from  the  Church  of  St.  Mary, 
and  gathering  contingents  from  other  churches  as 
it  passed  down  High  Cross  Street  (at  that  time 
the  High  Street),  it  proceeded  through  the 
North  Gate  to  the  Mother  Church  of  St. 
Margaret,  before  the  High  Altar  of  which  two 
pairs  of  gloves  were  offered,  one  to  the  glory  of 
God,  the  other  to  St.  Thomas  of  India.  At 
Hinckley,  in  much  later  times,  a  pageant  took 
place  known  as  the  "  Riding  of  the  Millers." 
This  was  a  procession  of  millers  from  different 
parts  of  the  country,  dressed  out  in  ribbons,  with 
the  "  King  of  the  Millers  "  at  their  head,  followed 
by  representatives  of  various  trades  of  the  town, 
carrying  signs  of  their  calling.  The  chief 
personages  in  the  show  were  a  supposed  Baron  of 
Hinckley  and  his  Lady,  in  picturesque  costume. 
At  Burrow  Hill,  the  Races,  held  in  much  later 
times  on  the  level  ground  within  the  earthworks 
at    the    top,    drew    together    annually    a    large 


FESTIVAL  CUSTOMS.  123 

concourse  of  people.  Leland  thus  describes  these 
sports  :  "To  these  Borowe  hills  every  year  on 
Monday  after  White  Sonday,  com  people  of  the 
country  thereabouts,  and  shoote,  runne,  wrestle, 
dance,  and  use  other  feats  of  like  exercise."  They 
have  long  been  discontinued.  At  Enderby  some 
curious  observances  are  associated  with  the 
selling  of  the  grass  of  a  certain  meadow.  This 
piece  of  land,  known  as  "  The  Wether,"  is  said  to 
have  been  given  to  the  men  of  Ratby  by  John  of 
Gaunt.  After  the  sale,  which  always  takes  place 
on  Whit  Monday,  the  seller  and  his  attendants 
ride  to  Leicester  to  spend  the  proceeds  at  an  inn 
in  the  town.  Not  only  do  they  order  for 
themselves  a  sumptuous  repast,  but  ten  of  the 
aged  inmates  of  the  Trinity  Hospital  are  also 
treated  to  a  luncheon,  the  principal  dish  at  which 
must  consist  of  calf  s  head.  Originally  the  riders 
wore  in  their  hats  a  tuft  of  the  grass  of  the 
meadow,  tied  with  a  silver  tagged  lace,  which  was 
taken  out  and  thrown  among  the  populace  on 
reaching  the  High  Cross. 

The  Wake  or  Feast  has  long  been  a  time  of 
much  holiday-making  in  every  village.  If  held 
in  the  summer,  the  church  would  often  be  freshly 
"  strawed,"  as  is  still  done  on  the  first  and  second 


124  BYGONE  LEICESTERSHIRE. 

Sundays  in  July  at  Braunstone  and  Glenfield 
respectively.  At  Braunstone  the  hay  used  for 
the  purpose  is  brought  from  a  particular  field 
adjoining  the  parish  of  Aylestone,  and  must  be 
spread  on  the  floor  of  the  church  by  the  clerk 
without  using  a  fork,  or  the  right  to  the  produce 
of  the  "Clerk's  Acre"  would  be  forfeited.  At 
Glenfield,  the  tradition  is  that  Lady  Glenfield, 
having  lost  her  way,  and  being  helped  out  of  her 
dilemma  by  the  parish  clerk,  bestowed  on  him,  as 
a  reward,  the  "Church  Acre,"  from  which  the 
church  might  be  spread  with  hay  for  ever.  The 
"acre"  is  now  used  as  grazing  land,  but  hay  is 
procured  by  the  clerk  elsewhere,  and  duly  spread. 
In  September  there  were  the  Fairs,  principal 
among  them  being  the  one  at  Leicester,  granted 
by  charter  of  Edward  III.,  to  be  held  "three 
days  before  and  three  days  after  the  Feast  of  St. 
Michael."  Smaller  fairs  were  likewise  held  at 
Lutterworth,  Husband's  Bosworth,  Hinckley, 
Kibworth,  Hallaton,  and  other  places.  Farm 
servants  were  always  hired  for  the  twelve-month 
at  the  open  air  "  statutes  "  at  these  fairs.  Men 
and  maids  would  stand  in  lines  down  the  street, 
a  waggoner  with  a  knot  of  whip-cord  in  his  hat ; 
a  thresher  with  a  few  wheat  ears ;  a  shepherd,  a 


•  FESTIVAL  CUSTOMS.  125 

bit  of  wool ;  a  cow-man  some  hairs  from  a  cow's 
tail ;  and  so  on.  A  hiring  penny  always  closed 
the  bargain  by  way  of  stipulation.  On  the  north 
side  of  the  county  many  of  the  fairs  were  held  at 
Martinmas,  as,  for  instance,  at  Market  Bosworth, 
Sproxton,  Castle  Donington,  and  Loughborough. 
Towards  the  end  of  the  year  preparations  for 
Christmas  began  in  good  time.  Pigs  must  be 
killed,  and  "  chittering  pies  "  made,  or  pasties  of 
mince-meat  in  the  shape  of  a  pig,  with  tail  of 
pastry  and  eyes  of  currants.  "  Mince  pigs  "  were 
always  favourite  presents  for  absent  members  of 
the  family,  and  were  made  in  various  sizes,  large 
ones  for  the  grown-ups,  smaller  ones  for  the 
children.  They  are  not  to  be  purchased  at  any 
shop,  and  but  few  Leicestershire  house-wives  now 
know  how  to  make  them.  Finally  the  rejoicings 
of  Christmas  Eve  brought  round  the  mummers, 
with  their  thrilling  representations  of  St.  George 
and  the  Dragon,  and  a  now  forgotten  song  about 
the  coyness  of  Chloe.  Whether  any  such  are 
to  be  found  in  the  county  now  we  know  not,  but 
in  a  village  not  far  from  Leicester  they  were  to 
be  seen  about  ten  years  ago. 

"Thus  times  do  shift,  each  thiug  his  turn  does  hold ; 
New  things  succeed,  as  former  things  grow  old." 


Mttcbcraft  in  Xciceetcrsbire, 

By  J.  Potter  Briscoe,  f.r.h.s. 

SUCH  was  the  ignorance  and  superstition 
which  prevailed  in  Leicestershire  in  the 
summer  of  1616,  that,  on  the  16th  July,  nine 
females  were  executed  at  the  gallows  on  the 
charge  of  having  bewitched  a  youth  of  twelve  or 
thirteen  years  of  age,  named  Smith,  of  Husband 
Bosworth,  in  Leicestershire.  It  is  stated  that 
half  a  dozen  of  these  poor  creatures  were  familiar 
spirits, — one  was  like  a  horse,  a  second  like  a  dog, 
another  like  a  cat,  another  a  fulmart,  another  a 
fish  which  was  not  described,  and  another  a  cod- 
fish, each  of  which  tormented  the  youth  !  When 
the  boy  was  possessed  by  the  horse  he  would 
winny,  and  when  the  cat  took  possession  of  him 
he  would  mew.  At  these  times  he  would  go  into 
fits,  when  strong  persons  were  unable  to  keep 
him  quiet.  These  attacks  were  witnessed  by  the 
best  known  people  in  the  neighbourhood.  After 
their  trial  by  the  judges  of  assize,  the  wretched 
women    were    ordered    to    be   executed,    which 


w 


WITCHCRAFT  IN  LEICESTERSHIRE.         Ill 


sentence   was   carried   out   as   we   have   already 
stated. 

Here  is  an  instance  of  the  belief  in  witchcraft 
which  existed  in  the  same  county  a  century  and  a 
half  later.  In  1760  a  dispute  arose  in  the 
little  village  of  Glen  between  two  old  women, 
each  of  whom  vehemently  accused  the  other 
of  witchcraft.  The  quarrel  at  last  ran  so 
high  that  a  challenge  ensued,  and  they  both 
agreed  to  be  tried  by  the  ordeal  of  swimming. 
They  accordingly  stripped  to  their  shifts,  procured 
some  men,  who  tied  their  thumbs  and  great  toes 
together,  cross- wise,  and  then,  with  a  cart  rope 
about  their  middle,  suffered  themselves  to  be 
thrown  into  a  pool  of  water.  One  of  them  sank 
immediately,  but  the  other  continued  struggling 
a  short  time  upon  the  surface  of  the  water.  The 
mob  deeming  this  an  infallible  sign  of  her  guilt, 
pulled  her  out,  and  insisted  that  she  should 
immediately  impeach  all  her  accomplices  in  the 
craft.  She  accordingly  told  them  that  in  the 
neighbouring  village  of  Burton  there  were 
several  old  women  "as  much  witches  as  she  was." 
Happily  for  her,  this  negative  information  was 
deemed  sufficient,  and  a  student  in  astrology,  or 
"  white  witch,  "  coming  up  at  the  time,  the  mob, 


128  BYGONE  LEICESTERSHIRE. 

by  his  direction,  proceeded  forthwith  to  Burton 
in  search  of  all  the  deHnquents.  After  a  Httle 
consultation  on  their  arrival,  they  went  to  the  old 
woman's  house  on  whom  they  had  fixed  the 
strongest  suspicion.  The  poor  old  creature  on 
their  approach  locked  the  outer  door,  and  from 
the  window  of  an  upstairs  room  asked  what  they 
wanted.  They  informed  her  that  she  was  charged 
with  being  guilty  of  witchcraft,  and  that  they  had 
come  to  duck  her  ;  remonstrating  with  her  at  the 
same  time  upon  the  necessity  of  submission  to  the 
ordeal,  and  that  if  she  were  innocent  all  the  world 
would  know  it.  Upon  her  persisting  in  a  positive 
refusal  to  come  down,  they  broke  open  the  door 
and  carried  her  out  by  force  to  a  deep  gravel  pit 
full  of  water.  They  tied  her  thumbs  and  toes 
together  and  threw  her  into  the  water,  where  they 
kept  her  for  several  minutes,  drawing  her  out  and 
in  two  or  three  times  by  the  rope  round  her 
middle.  Not  being  able  to  satisfy  themselves 
whether  she  was  a  witch  or  no,  they  at  last  let 
her  go,  or,  more  properly  speaking,  they  left  her 
on  the  bank  to  walk  home  by  herself,  if  ever  she 
recovered.  Next  day  they  tried  the  same 
experiment  upon  another  woman,  and  afterwards 
upon   a   third ;    but    fortunately  neither  of  the 


WITCHCRAFT  IN  LEICESTERSHIRE.         129 

victims  lost  her  life  from  this  brutality.  Many 
of  the  ringleaders  in  the  outrage  were  appre- 
hended during  the  week,  and  tried  before  the 
justices  of  quarter-sessions.  Two  of  them  were 
sentenced  to  stand  in  the  pillory  and  to  be 
imprisoned  for  a  month ;  and  as  many  as  twenty 
more  were  fined  in  small  sums  for  the  assault,  and 
bound  over  to  keep  the  peace  for  a  twelvemonth. 


XKIliHiam  Xill^,  tbe  HstrolOGcr. 

By  W.  H.  Thompsok. 

IN  his  "  Hudibras,"  Butler  has  an  astrologer 
whom  he  holds  up  to  ridicule,  under  the 
name  of  Sidrophel.  The  poet,  a  man  with  a 
keen  eye  for  the  foibles  and  follies  of  his  time, 
and  coupled  with  it,  a  power  of  satire  which  has 
been  rarely  rivalled,  doubtless  had  before  him 
some  particular  character  in  actual  life,  when  he 
drew  the  picture. 

"  Quoth  Ralph,  not  far  from  hence  doth  dwell 
A  cunning  man,  hight  Sidrophel, 
That  deals  in  destiny's  dark  counsels. 
And  sage  opinions  of  the  moon,  sells  ; 
To  whom  all  people  far  and  near. 
On  deep  importances  repair." 

Professors  of  the  occult  arts  were  at  that  period 
by  no  means  rare,  for  in  the  seventeenth  century, 
Englishmen  of  all  ranks,  from  the  aristocracy  down- 
ward, were  quite  commonly  dabblers  in  astrology 
and  the  forecasting  of  horoscopes.  There  was, 
however,  one  astrologer  whom  the  great  satirist, 
with  his  Royalist  sympathies,  might  be  supposed 


WILLIAM  LILLY,  THE  ASTROLOGER.         131 

to   take   an   especial  delight  in  lampooning  and 

putting  to  ridicule.      Fortune-tellers  there  were 

many,  but  none  that  the  Commonwealth  had  so 

delighted    to    honour   as    William    Lilly.       Not 

only  was  he  imagined  to  have  foretold  a  number 

of  the    worst   disasters    that    had    befallen   the 

Royalist  cause,  but  he  boasted  also  to  have  had 

the  friendship  of  some  of  the   most   prominent 

meriibers    of    the    parliamentary    party.       Says 

Ralph  again  to  Hudibras  : — 

'*  Do  not  our  great  Reformers  use 
This  Sidrophel  to  forbode  news  : 
To  write  of  victories  next  year, 
And  castles  taken,  yet  i'  th'  air ; 
Of  battles  fought  at  sea,  and  ships 
Sunk  two  years  hence,  the  last  eclipse ; 
A  total  overthrow  giv'n  the  king, 
In  Cornwall,  horse  and  foot  next  spring ; 
And  has  not  he  point  blank  foretold 
What  se'er  the  close  committee  would  ; 
Made  Mars  and  Saturn  for  the  cause, 
The  moon  for  fundamental  laws." 

There  was  no  man  of  the  period  beside  Lilly, 

with    his    strange    prophecies,    his    Roundhead 

partisanship,  his  accommodating  to  the  desires  of 

parliamentary   wirepullers,    as   indicated   in    the 

lines  : — 

"  And  has  he  not  point  blank  foretold 
What  se'er  the  close  committee  would," 


132  BYGONE  LEICESTERSHIRE. 

together  with  his  great  influence,  to  whom  the 
words  of  Butler  can  be  so  aptly  applied. 

William  Lilly  was  born  at  Dise worth  in  1602. 
He  came  of  a  tolerably  good  stock ;  a  family 
which  had  been  "  yeomen  in  that  place  for  many 
asres."  So  far  as  education  was  concerned,  he 
received  a  fair  classical  training  at  Ashby  de  la 
Zouch,  although,  as  he  himself  somewhat  quaintly 
says  ''  his  master  never  taught  logic."  Does  this 
latter  fact  explain  some  of  the  vagaries  into 
which  the  pupil  afterwards  fell  ? 

Lilly's  father  having  died,  and  his  family  being 
left  in  great  poverty,  the  youth  came  to  London 
in  his  eighteenth  year,  where  he  obtained  a  menial 
situation  of  some  sort  in  the  household  of  a 
certain  old  citizen  and  his  wife.  He  succeeded  in 
winning  the  good  graces  of  both.  The  master 
died  in  1627,  and  left  him  an  annuity  of  £20  per 
year,  and  then  not  very  long  afterwards  his 
mistress  and  he  were  married. 

She  died  in  1633.  At  her  decease,  he  came  in 
for  property  of  the  value  of  £1,000,  this  repre- 
senting a  far  larger  sum  in  Lilly's  day  than  ours, 
and  he  was  now  in  comparatively  easy  circum- 
stances. It  was  sometime  about  this  period, 
having  leisure  on  his  hands,  that  he  really  began 


WILLIAM  LILLY,  THE  ASTROLOGER.         133 

to  prosecute  his  occult  studies.  He  read  all  the 
books  on  astrology  that  he  could  obtain,  and 
began  to  try  his  apprentice  skill.  The  breaking 
out  of  hostilities  between  the  Royalists  and  the 
Puritan  party,  and  the  subsequent  stirring 
character  of  the  epoch  came  to  him  as  a  golden 
opportunity.  It  was  then,  he  tells  us,  he  "  did 
carefully  take  notice  of  every  grand  '  action 
betwixt  king  and  parliament,  and  did  first  then 
incline  to  believe  that  as  all  sublunary  affairs 
depend  on  superior  causes,  so  there  was  a 
possibility  of  discovering  these  by  the  configura- 
tions of  superior  bodies."  And  having  "  made 
some  essays,"  he  "  found  encouragement  to 
proceed  further ;  and  ultimately  framed  to  him- 
self that  method  which  he  ever  afterward 
followed." 

Quickly  he  rose  into  great  notoriety.  His 
almanacs,  forecasting  coming  events,  had  an 
extremely  wide  circulation,  and  by  the  common 
people  he  was  looked  up  to  as  a  veritable 
prophet.  Further,  it  was  not  only  amongst  the 
unlettered  populace  that  he  was  held  in  high 
reputation.  If  his  own  statement  is  to  be 
believed  (and  there  is  no  reason  for  doubting  it), 
he  was  intimate  in  his  astrological  capacity  with 


134  BYGONE  LEICESTERSHIRE. 

ca  number  of  the  most  leading  men  of  the  times  ; 
Lenthal,  the  speaker  of  the  House  of  Commons, 
Whitlock,  Ashmole,  the  antiquary,  even  the 
learned  Selden  appears  to  have  given  him 
countenance.  This  latter  fact  affords  us  a 
curious  illustration  as  to  the  state  of  intellectual 
thought  then  prevalent.  Indeed  the  only 
important  difference  between  Lilly  and  a  large 
portion  of  his  contemporaries  seems  to  have 
been  this :  that  the  beliefs  which  they  in  a 
general  vague  sort  of  fashion  held,  he  endeavoured 
to  apply  to  the  current  problems  of  his  age. 
Not  but  that  there  was  a  very  considerable  element 
of  the  *'  quack  "  in  his  make  up.  He  may  have 
been  a  sincere  believer  in  the  arts  which  he 
professed,  but  at  the  same  time  he  was  not  above 
calling  to  his  aid  all  the  assistance  which  an 
intimate  acquaintance  with  the  political  move- 
ments both  at  home  and  abroad  could  give  him. 
He  was  as  astute  as  he  was  credulous.  Hence 
not  only  did  he  study  the  stars  and  planets,  but 
he  had  also  agents  and  informers  everywhere. 

In  the  present  sketch  it  is  impossible  for  us  to 
give  in  detail  all  the  various  schemes  or  enter- 
prises into  which  he  entered.  On  one  occasion, 
in   the   early   days  of  his  fame,   he  applied  for 


WILLIAM  LILLY,  THE  ASTROLOGER.         135 

permission  to  ascertain,  by  means  of  divining 
rods,  whether  there  was  not  extensive  treasure 
buried  beneath  the  cloisters  of  Westminster 
Abbey.  Leave  having  been  obtained  from  the 
dean,  on  the  condition  that  he  should  have  his 


WILLIAM    LILLY. 


share  of  whatever  might  be  found,  Lilly  "and 
thirty  other  gentlemen  entered  the  cloisters  one 
night,  and  applied  hazel  rods."  After,  however, 
they  had  disinterred  a  few  lead  coffins,  a  violent 
storm  arose,  which  so  alarmed  them  that  they  all 
took  to  their  heels  and  ran  home. 


136  BYGONE  LEICESTERSHIRE. 

His  first  almanac  was  published  in  1644,  with 
the  title  of  "Merlinus  Anglicus,  Junior,"  and 
such  was  the  avidity  with  which  the  public 
devoured  his  prognostications,  that  the  whole 
edition  was  sold  out  in  a  few  days.  To  shew  the 
importance  attached  to  his  forecasts,  and  what 
was  their  actual  or  reputed  influence  upon  the 
minds  of  the  people,  Lilly  was  somewhere  about 
this  time  arrested,  by  the  Commissioners  of 
Excise,  as  being  the  indirect  instigator  of  certain 
insults  which  they  had  received.  The  Com- 
missioners complained  of  "  having  their  cloaks 
pulled  on  'Change,"  and  that  the  Excise  Office 
had  been  burned  down,  both  of  which  events 
were  attributed  to  predictions  contained  in  one  of 
his  publications,  "  The  Starry  Messenger."  In 
this  case  it  was  proved  the  events  had  occurred 
prior  to  the  issue  of  the  treatise,  therefore  he 
regained  his  liberty > 

During  the  contest  between  the  King  and 
Parliament,  he  was  employed  by  the  Royalists, 
with  Charles's  privity,  to  ascertain  whether  the 
King  should  sign  the  propositions  of  the 
Commons,  and  for  this  opinion  he  received  £20. 
About  the  same  period,  however,  he  was  serving 
the  other  side,  being  employed  by  them  to  furnish 


WILLIAM  LILLY,  THE  ASTROLOGER.         137 

"  perfect  knowledge  of  the  chiefest  concerns  of 
France,"  for  which  information  he  received  £50 
in  cash  down,  and  the  promise  of  an  annuity  of 
£100  per  year.  After  1645,  until  the  Restora- 
tion, he  was  engaged  exclusively  in  the  interests 
of  the  Commonwealth  party. 

Up  to  1660,  he  had  the  highest  reputation, 
and  his  house  in  the  Strand  was  the  resort  of  all 
sorts  of  men  of  mark.  Under  the  date  of  October 
26th  in  that  year,  Master  Samuel  Pepys  has  the 
following  entry  in  his  diary :  "To  Mr.  Lilly's, 
with  Mr.  Spong,  where  well  received  ;  there  being 
a  club  amongst  his  friends.  Amongst  the  rest 
Esquire  Ashmole,  whom  I  found  to  be  a  very 
ingenious  gentleman.  With  him  we  sang  in  Mr. 
Lilly's  study."  But,  with  the  Restoration,  the 
famous  astrologer,  like  many  other  worthies  of 
the  Commonwealth,  passed  under  a  cloud.  Not 
only  were  his  Parliamentary  leanings  regarded  as 
a  black  mark  against  him,  but  a  new  era  now 
had  dawned.  An  epoch  characterised  by 
licentious  levity,  and  mocking  French  scepticism, 
could  be  expected  to  have  scant  sympathy  with 
studies,  however  mistaken,  which  dealt  with  the 
more  serious  problems  of  life.  Hence  arts,  which 
some  of  the  greatest  minds  of  the  earlier  half  of 


138  BYGONE  LEICESTERSHIRE. 

the  century  had  not  considered  beneath  their 
attention,  now  sank  into  discredit  and  disrepute  ; 
their  arch-professor  with  them.  Pepys  reflected 
in  many  ways  the  spirit  of  his  age,  under  its  less 
vicious  aspects ;  and  some  years  later  we  find 
him  making  fun  of  Lilly's  prophecies.  Under 
the  date  of  14th  June  1667,  we  have  this 
entry  of  his.  "We  read  and  laughed  at 
Lilly's  philosophies  this  month,  in  his  almanac, 
this  year." 

Long,  however  the  astrologer,  retained  his 
popularity  amongst  the  credulous.  When  Charles 
the  Second  had  indeed  sat  on  the  throne  for 
several  years,  there  were  a  number  of  men  tried 
and  condemned  to  death  for  high  treason  in  1666, 
for  a  certain  conspiracy  which  they  had  initiated 
on  the  faith  of  one  of  Lilly's  forecasts.  And 
for  evidence  that  superstition  dies  hard,  may 
be  quoted  the  fact  that  as  late  as  1852,  a 
London  publisher  considered  it  worth  his  while 
to  issue  an  edition  of  his  "  Introduction  to 
Astrolog}''." 

Lilly's  "  Life "  affords  one  of  the  most 
remarkable  examples  of  credulity,  combined  with 
successful  charlatanry  and  imposture,  to  be  found 
extant  anywhere.     We   may  add  that  when  no 


WILLIAM  LILLY,  THE  ASTROLOGER.         139 

longer  the  honoured  person  he  had  been  during 
the  Commonwealth  period,  finding  his  own  star 
had  ceased  to  be  in  the  ascendant,  he  retired  to 
Hersham,  in  Surrey.  There,  after  Hving  some 
years  on  the  large  fortune  he  had  amassed,  he 
died  in  1680. 


(5Icanin00  from  earl^  Xcicestcrsbire  Mille. 

By  the  Rev.  W.  G.  D.  Fletcher,  m.a.,  f.s.a. 

THERE  is  perhaps  no  class  of  ancient 
documents  which  gives  us  a  greater  insight 
into  the  manners  and  customs  of  our  forefathers 
in  the  Middle  Ages  than  old  wills.  The  wills  of 
Leicestershire  persons  may  be  found  either  at  the 
Leicester  District  Probate  Registry,  or  at 
Somerset  House ;  whilst  some  few  are  preserved 
at  Lincoln,  and  at  Lambeth  Palace. 

The  wills  enrolled  in  the  Court  of  Hustings  of 
the  City  of  London  are  the  earliest  series  of  wills 
extant;  they  begin  in  1258.  The  Lambeth  wills 
commence  in  1 312.  The  wills  and  administrations 
of  the  Prerogative  Court  of  Canterbury  commence 
in  1383.  The  wills  preserved  in  the  Leicester 
District  Registry  commence  about  the  end  of  the 
fifteenth  century,  and  consist  of  two  distinct 
series :  the  original  wills,  and  wills  copied  into 
the  Register  Books. 

Few  persons  care  to  read  old  wilts,  and  yet 
they  are  wonderfully  full  of  information  of  the 


EARLY  LEICESTERSHIRE   WILLS.  141 

highest  interest.  For  genealogical  purposes  they 
are  simply  invaluable  :  indeed  they  are  almost  the 
only  records  by  which  families  of  the  middle 
class  can  trace  their  descent,  prior  to  the 
introduction  of  Parish  Registers  in  the  sixteenth 
century.  But  it  is  for  the  insight  they  afford  us 
into  the  habits  of  our  ancestors,  that  they  are  of 
so  great  value.  In  this  chapter  I  purpose  to 
show  how  much  we  can  learn  about  Leicestershire, 
and  the  habits  of  our  Leicestershire  ancestors,  as 
deduced  from  their  wills. 

Pre-Reformation  wills  usually  begin  with  a 
bequest  of  the  soul  to  Almighty  God,  the  Blessed 
Virgin,  and  all  the  saints  ;  and  a  direction  that 
the  body  shall  be  buried  in  a  particular  church, 
or  before  a  certain  altar  or  image.  From  this 
direction  we  can  often  ascertain  the  correct 
dedication  of  the  church  in  or  near  which  the 
testator  is  buried.  Next  comes  a  bequest  "  for 
my  mortuary"  or  ''principal,"  frequently  of  the 
testator's  best  beast,  or  according  to  the  use  and 
custom  of  the  place.  By  the  Statute  of 
Circumspecte  agatis,  13  Edward  I.,  the  clergy 
were  permitted  to  sue  in  the  Spiritual  Courts  for 
mortuaries,  "  in  places  where  a  mortuarie  hath 
used  to  be  given  ; "  and  the  taking  of  mortuaries 


142  BYGONE  LEICESTERSHIRE. 

or  corse  presents  was  further  regulated  some 
250  years  later  by  the  Statute  21  Henry  VIII., 
cap.  6.  The  Leicestershire  testator  would  then 
bequeath  a  small  sum  to  the  high  altar  of  his 
parish  church,  for  tithes  forgotten ;  if  he  were 
poor,  8d.  or  Is  ;  if  he  were  comfortably  off,  6s.  8d. 
or  even  20s,  He  would  also  leave  a  few  pence  or 
shillings  to  the  Cathedral  or  mother  church  of 
Lincoln. 

After  this,  there  frequently  occur  bequests  of  a 
few  shillings  to  the  various  Gilds  of  the  parish  ; 
to  the  religious  houses  in  the  neighbourhood ;  to 
the  side  altars  of  the  church  ;  to  the  building 
work  or  reparations  going  on  at  the  time  in 
connection  with  the  church.  Some  article  is  not 
uncommonly  given,  instead  of  money.  Thus,  in 
1518,  John  Gybbon  bequeaths  to  the  high  altar 
of  Loughborough,  "  an  apron  to  make  an  amj^-s  of 
and  a  towell ; "  and  in  the  same  year  William 
Stakes  of  Loughborough  leaves  to  the  chapel  of 
Smalley  a  bullock,  to  St.  Katherine's  altar  a 
towel,  to  St.  Nicolas's  altar  a  towell-cloth,  and  to 
the  image  of  St.  Margaret  "my  wyffe's  second . 
best  Kerchoff."  In  the  next  year,  John 
Wayttgode  bequeaths  "to  Seynt  Kat'yn  aut' 
a     schete."      In     1521,     Richard     Ball     leaves 


EARLY  LEICESTERSHIRE  WILLS.  143 

"to  the  Church  of  Wemyswold  halff*  a  quart'  of 
barly." 

The  speedy  deliverance  of  the  soul  from 
purgatory  was  of  course  a  very  important  matter 
in  days  when  the  fires  of  purgatory  were 
commonly  believed  in  ;  and  so  we  find  numerous 
bequests  to  priests  to  say  masses  for  the  repose  of 
the  testators'  souls,  A  large  part  of  the  early 
wills  is  taken  up  with  these  bequests.  The  clergy 
were  certainly  consistent,  and  practised  what  they 
preached ;  for  their  private  money  was  mostly 
given  in  this  way.  I  give  a  few  instances,  to 
illustrate  this.  Christopher  Burton,  in  1503, 
bequeaths  to  Sir  Nicholas  Hawarte,  seven  marcs, 
that  he  may  celebrate  for  one  year.  Alice 
Whetley,  in  1515,  leaves  10s.  "for  a  trentall  of 
masses  for  my  soul  in  the  church  of  Loughborow." 
Hugh  Yerland,  in  1521,  leaves  ''to  the  three 
orders  of  ffreres  in  Leicester  for  fifteen  masses, 
£5."  Ralph  Lemyngton,  in  1521,  bequeaths  £30 
for  keeping  his  obit  sixty  years,  10s.  a  year  ;  also 
"  to  the  purchasing  of  XX.  marc,  of  land  by  the 
yere,  for  to  find  ij.  prestis,  and  to  purchase  ye 
mortemayne,  £320."  John  Rygmadyn,  in  1530, 
desires  that  a  priest  shall  sing  for  his  soul  and  all 
Christian  souls  for  half  a  year.     John  Blower,  in 


144  BYGONE  LEICESTERSHIRE. 

1534,  directs  Isabel  his  wife  "to  cause  a  trentall 
off  masses  to  be  sunge  "  for  his  soul ;  and  Alice 
Shylton  in  the  same  year  directs  that  a  priest 
shall  sing  and  pray  for  her  soul,  her  husband's,  her 
father  and  mother,  and  all  good  Christian  souls, 
for  two  years.  Richard  Sharpe,  in  1535,  directs 
that  "  at  my  buryall  day  mass  and  dirige  after 
the  custom  of  the  towne,  the  parish  priest  to 
have  viijd,  and  all  other  priests  y'}d.,  and  every 
child  that  could  serrves  in  the  quire,  and  haith  byn 
my  skeller  shall  have  jcZ.  a  peice,  also  at  my 
burial  xxs.  in  bread  to  the  poor  people  ; "  and  he 
leaves  the  residue  of  his  estate  in  masses  for  his 
soul. 

To  shew  that  the  clergy  were  consistent,  I 
would  cite  the  will  of  Sir  Thomas  Crosby,  priest, 
in  1523.  This  good  priest,  after  various  bequests 
to  his  parish  church,  leaves  xs.  apiece  to  the 
convents  of  Garendon,  Gracedieu,  and  Langley, 
for  saying  placebo,  dirige,  and  mass;  and  "an 
honest  p'st  synging  for  my  sowle,  my  ffaders,  my 
moders,  my  bredyrn,  my  systers,  and  all  crysten 
sowles,  the  space  off  iiij.  years,  every  yer  to  haffe 
ye  stypend  ye  sum  of  \li.,  sm*  to  do  hyt  w*  alt. 
xx?i."  It  was  the  custom  for  priests  to  leave  their 
money  for  masses  for  their  souls. 


EARLY  LEICESTERSHIRE  WILLS.  145 

The  Religious  Houses  came  in  largely  for  these 
religious  bequests.  Elsabell  Lemyntun,  in  1532, 
bequeaths  5s.  each  to  the  abbeys  of  Garendon, 
Ulverscroft,  Gracedieu,  and  Langley.  John 
Rygmadyn,  in  1530,  bequeaths  "  12d.  to  the  gray 
ffreas  in  Lecester."  Ales  Shylten,  in  1534,  gives 
to  the  Abbot  of  Garendon,  3s.  4d.,  and  to  the 
convent,  6s.  8d.  Alice  Barber,  of  Langley,  in 
1526,  directs  that  her  body  be  buried  in  the 
Church  of  Langley,  before  the  image  of  our 
Lady ;  and  bequeaths  "  to  the  ffrerys  howse  oft' 
Dawby,  6s.  8d.,  to  our  Lady  oft"  Langley  a  Powe, 
and  to  the  hyghe  awter  oft"  lancton,  12d." 
Thomas  Eyreke,  of  Leicester,  in  1517,  wills  "  that 
iij.  orderis  of  freeris  of  Lecester  bring  my  body  to 
the  grave,  and  every  of  them  to  haffe  xxc?.,  and 
the  Warden  of  the  gray  Freers  to  say  v.  messys 
at  the  entering  of  our  Lady  in  the  Frers,  and 
to  have  xxo?.  for  his  labor." 

Sir  E-auf  Shirley,  Knight,  of  Staunton  Harold, 
1516,  bequeathed  10s.  to  every  house  of  Friars  in 
Leicester,  to  pray  for  his  soul.  William,  Lord 
Hastings,  in  1481,  bequeathed  £10  to  the  Grey 
Friars  of  Leicester,  and  100s.  to  each  of  the 
other  two  houses  of  Friars. 

The  early  wills  often  contain  the  only  records 

L 


146  BYGONE  LEICESTERSHIRE. 

we  have  of  the  mediaeval  Gilds,  which  played  so 
important  a  part  in  the  middle  ages.  The  returns 
made  in  the  reign  of  Richard  II.,  and  preserved 
in  the  Public  Record  Office,  are,  I  believe,  missing 
or  lost,  so  far  as  Leicestershire  is  concerned. 
But  from  the  wills  we  learn  at  least  the  names 
of  these  Gilds,  for  it  was  the  practice  of  most 
tradesmen  to  leave  small  legacies  to  the  Gilds  of 
their  town.  And  it  is  astonishing  to  find  how 
numerous  these  Gilds  were.  Thus  the  little  town 
of  Loughborough,  with  its  population  of  perhaps 
2,000  or  2,500  people,  had,  in  the  early  part  of 
the  sixteenth  century,  at  least  twelve  Gilds. 
The  pre-Reformation  wills  have  preserved  to  us 
the  names  of  these  Gilds : — Religious  or  Social 
Gilds :  Jesus,  Corpus  Christi,  Our  Lady,  St. 
George,  St.  Katherine,  King's  Gild ;  Trade  or 
Craft  Gilds :  Weavers,  Carpenters,  Shoemakers, 
Tailors,  Cordwainers,  and  Smiths.  The  Religious 
or  Social  Gilds  were  dissolved  in  1549,  when 
the  king  seized  their  property.  The  Trade  or 
Craft  Gilds  subsequently  merged  into  the  Trade 
Companies.  As  most  men  belonged  to  one  or 
more  Gilds,  and  members  were  expected  to  leave 
a  legacy,  the  names  of  these  Gilds  have  fortun- 
ately thus  been  preserved.     Thomas  Burton,  the 


EARLY  LEICESTERSHIRE  WILLS.  147 

founder  of  the  splendid  Loughborough  Charities, 
by  his  will,  in  1494,  bequeathed  "to  the  Gilds  of 
Jesus,  Corpus  Christi,  the  Weavers,  Carpenters, 
and  to  the  King's  Gild,  twenty  shillings,  to  be 
equally  divided  amongst  them."  Richard  Sharpe, 
in  1535,  left  to  the  Church  of  Hallouten  twelve 
pence,  and  to  Corpus  Christi  Gild,  in  the  same 
town,  twelve  pence.  John  Loveday,  in  1419, 
made  bequests  to  the  Gilds  of  Corpus  Christi,  St. 
Cross,  St,  Thomas,  and  St.  Katharine,  in 
Leicester. 

Bequests  for  repairing  bridges  and  fords  are 
very  common  ;  indeed  legacies  seem  to  have 
been  the  chief  source  of  their  reparation.  The 
before-mentioned  Thomas  Burton  left,  in  1494, 
twenty  shillings,  and  more  if  necessary,  to  the 
reparations  of  bridges  and  public  roads  within  the 
the  parish  of  Loughborough.  William  Smythe, 
of  Cotes,  bequeathed,  in  1560,  twelve  pence  "to 
mendinge  of  a  forthe  at  Cotes  bry gge."  John 
Fildyng,  of  Lutterworth,  in  1403,  left  money  for 
repairing  the  king's  highway  in  Ly  Bonde-end, 
and  the  bridge  leading  to  the  hospital.  Thomas 
de  Beby,  of  Leicester,  in  1382,  bequeathed  to  the 
reparation  of  the  north  and  west  bridges  forty 
shillings  each,  and  for   the   repair   of  the   road 


148  BYGONE  LEICESTERSHIRE. 

called  le  Wodegate,  twenty  shillings.  Ralph 
Wooton,  of  Stoke-golding,  in  1533,  left  "one land 
to  the  towne  to  dyge  stone  for  reparacions  of 
hyeways  in  the  towne  and  fylds  for  evermore." 

Bequests  to  the  poor,  though  now  very  rare, 
frequently  occur  after  the  Reformation,  and 
occasionally  before.  The  dissolution  of  the 
Monasteries  proved  a  great  blow  to  the  poor,  and 
the  Poor  Laws  were  inefficient;  and  so  in 
Elizabeth's  reign  and  later,  testators  were  chari- 
tably disposed.  Loughborough  testators,  from 
1520  to  1540,  frequently  left  13d.,  and  sometimes 
as  many  black  hoods,  "  to  the  xiii  poor  Beedes 
folke." 

It  was  not  rare  for  a  testator  to  bequeath 
money  or  loaves  to  be  distributed  amongst  the 
poor  who  should  be  present  at  his  funeral. 
Ralph  Wooton  of  Stoke-golding,  in  1533,  left  a 
curious  bequest  of  "  a  dole  of  fifteen  loaves  and 
fifteen  herrings  to  the  poor  of  Stoke  every 
Sunday  next  Easter."  To  give  a  few  more 
instances  :  John  Adeson,  rector  of  Loughborough 
and  Caldbeck,  in  1540,  left  "  to  every  poore  house 
in  Lughborowe,  fourpence  ;  and  four  quarters  of 
rye,  and  four  quarters  of  barlye,  to  be  disposed 
amongst  them  at  the  discretion  of  Richard  Grene 


EARLY  LEICESTERSHIRE  WILLS.  149 

and  Sir  William  Fyshpicke,  and  four  quarters  of 
pese."  John  Stockes,  of  Beaumanor,  in  1575, 
leaves  20s.  to  the  poor  of  Woodhouse  ;  Thomas 
White,  in  1682,  40s.  to  the  poor  of  Lutterworth ; 
and  Katherine  Parker,  of  East  Norton,  in  1747, 
40s.  to  the  poor  of  Tugby  for  bread,  and  £5  each 
to  the  poor  of  Goadby,  Hallaton,  Billesdon,  and 
other  places,  Thomas  Damporte,  sometime 
mayor  of  Leicester,  leaves,  in  1556,  **£3  to  be 
geven  to  poore  folke  the  day  of  my  buriall." 

We  can  often  glean  a  man's  religious 
views  from  his  will.  Thus  we  find  a  rector  of 
Loughborough,  John  Willocke,  in  1585,  directing 
that  his  body  should  "  be  buried  christenly  in  the 
grounde  without  any  Rynginge  after  my  deathe, 
or  any  pompe,  miche  lesse  without  any  Supersticon 
wheare  my  frends  will."  He  was  evidently  in 
sympathy  with  the  Puritanism  prevalent  in 
Elizabeth's  reign.  Another  rector.  Dr.  John 
Bright,  in  1695  directs  that  £100  or  more  should 
be  spent  upon  his  funeral  and  monument :  but  he 
was  chaplain  to  the  King  and  Dean  of  St.  Asaph, 
as  well  as  rector!  In  1656,  Dame  Margaret 
Bromley,  widow  of  Sir  Edward  Bromley,  a  judge, 
lived  at  Loughborough,  in  the  house  of  the 
intruding  Parliamentarian  rector,  and  she  directed 


160  BYGONE  LEICESTERSHIRE. 

that  she  should  be  buried  in  the  chancel  by  Mr. 
Trigg,  and  that  none  of  her  relations  should  be 
sent  for  but  her  nephew  Abney,  and  no  solemnity 
used,  nor  ringing  of  bells. 

Sir  Robert  Hesilrige,  Bart.,  in  1721,  directs 
that  his  trustees  shall  educate  his  children  in  the 
same  opinions  he  holds,  and  desires  his  son  will 
never  keep  a  priest  of  any  religion  in  his  family. 
John  Browne,  who  describes  himself  as  "an 
unworthy  servant  of  Christ  Jesus,  and  minister 
of  his  Word,"  in  1622,  charges  his  son  Joseph 
Browne  "to  feede  the  flock  committed  to  his 
charge,  and  that  he  doe  it  tarn  verba  quam 
exemplo." 

Bequests  of  articles  of  dress  are  very  common 
in  sixteenth  century  wills.  Such  garments  as  a 
black  furred  gown  with  hood,  a  jacket  of  St. 
Thomas  worsted  furred  with  fox  and  lamb,  a 
black  gown,  a  scarlet  gown,  a  murray  gown,  a 
doublet  of  chamlet,  a  black  hood,  a  girdle,  a 
kertyll  of  sylke  and  gold  with  frerys  koutts,  a 
greyn  gowne,  a  peyr  of  sheyts  with  a  pillow,  my 
buckskyng  doublet,  etc.,  constantly  occur. 

Occasionally,  but  very  rarely,  we  find  a  few 
books  named  in  early  wills,  and  these  chiefly  in 
the  wills  of  the  clergy.     John  Adeson,  a  priest, 


EARLY  LEICESTERSHIRE  WILLS.  151 

in  1540,  leaves  to  Sir  William  Fishpoll,  St,  Thomas 
super  epistolas  Paulli  and  the  Bible  in  four 
volumes ;  to  Sir  Richard  Grene,  Summa 
Anthonini,  sermones  Richardi,  St.  Ambrose, 
Athanasius,  Theophylact,  Summa  Angelica, 
sermones  Jannensis  ;  to  Thomas  Barnyngham  my 
great  Bible  at  London ;  and  to  John  Bothe  a 
Bible  and  Newe  Testament  in  Englishe,  and  the 
Bishop's  boke  called  the  Institution  of  a  Christian 
man. 

John  Willocke,  in  1585,  bequeaths  to  the  Earl 
of  Huntingdon,  all  my  bookes  of  histories, 
Anthonie  Sabellicus  the  towe  volumes,  Naw- 
clerus,  Pollydorus  Virgilius,  Sledanus,  Paulus, 
Jovius  Aventinus,  the  great  concordance  of  the 
Byble,  and  my  latten  Byble,  the  Booke  of 
Concells,  and  the  Booke  called  the  Code. 

John  Heyrick,  of  Leicester  (the  father  of  Sir 
William),  left,  in  1589,  to  his  son  Thomas,  his 
Bible  lying  in  the  hall  window,  and  the  New 
Testament  of  Mr.  Calvin's  translation. 

Thomas  Bright  well,  d.d..  Dean  of  the  new 
Collegiate  Church  at  Leicester,  in  1389,  directs 
that  all  his  books,  which  he  had  from  Martjmhalle, 
Oxford,  shall  be  returned  thither.  William  de 
Humberstone,  in   1394,  bequeaths  to   the  abbey 


152  BYGONE  LEICESTERSHIRE. 

a  Bible  complete  in  one  volume.  Richard  de 
Spridlington,  in  1382,  bequeaths  to  Eston  Chapel 
Portiforium  and  great  Psalter,  and  his  Ordinale  ; 
and  to  Bringhurst  Church  his  great  Portiforium. 
In  1391,  Sir  Robert  de  Swyllyngton,  Knight, 
bequeaths  his  new  missal  to  our  Lady  of  Leicester. 
William  de  Wolstanton,  in  1403,  bequeaths  to 
Sir  John  le  Scrope,  his  Portiforium  of  the  use  of 
York.  Four  of  these  five  last  testators  were 
priests. 

We  learn  the  burial  places  of  distinguished 
personages  from  their  wills.  Thus  Henry  Plan- 
tagenet,  Earl  of  Lancaster,  in  1345,  directs  that 
his  body  be  buried  in  the  Hospital  of  our  Lady  of 
Leicester,  in  the  choir  before  the  high  altar. 
His  son  Henry,  Duke  of  Lancaster,  Earl  of  Derby, 
Lincoln,  and  Leicester,  and  Seneschal  of  England, 
in  1360,  directs  that  he  be  buried  in  the 
Collegiate  Church  of  the  Annunciation  of  our 
Lady  at  Leicester,  near  the  altar  where  his  father 
is  buried ;  and  that  the  King,  Queen,  Prince,  his 
wife  Lady  Isabel,  and  his  sisters,  be  invited  to 
his  funeral. 

There  are  preserved,  with  many  of  the  early 
wills,  inventories  of  the  goods  and  chattels  and 
money  of  the  testators,  which  were  filed  in  the 


EARLY  LEICESTERSHIRE  WILLS.  153 

Court,  and  which  throw  great  light  on  the 
domestic  habits  of  our  forefathers.  Our  ancestors 
lived  in  very  much  smaller  houses  than  would 
satisfy  their  descendants  to-day.  An  eight- 
roomed  house  would  suffice  for  a  country  gentle- 
man and  his  family.  The  furniture  was  very 
scanty.  In  the  hall, — the  principal  living  room, — 
there  might  be  one  folding  table,  a  long  settle,  a 
throne  chair,  and  a  form.  Then  there  occur  beds 
in  all  the  parlours,  in  every  room  except  the  hall 
and  kitchen.  Jugs  and  basins  were  unknown  ; 
perhaps  only  one  basin  and  ewer  in  the  whole 
inventory.  There  are  no  books  or  ornaments ; 
but  a  fine  collection  of  silver  plate. 

Let  us  look  at  the  inventory  attached  to  the 
will  of  a  yeoman,  one  of  the  Herricks,  John 
Heyrick  of  Houghton-on-the-Hill,  in  1543.  He 
has  but  four  rooms  in  his  house,  viz.,  the  hall, 
seller,  kitchen  or  bruhouse,  and  barn.  In  the 
hall  were  5  pots,  3  pans,  12  dishes,  10  plates,  4 
saucepans,  2  salt-sellers,  2  spits,  a  pair  of  tongs, 
a  table,  2  forms,  a  hamper,  a  board,  a  chair,  3 
stools,  and  a  pendyd  cloth.  His  sleeping  room 
was  the  seller,  where  he  had  2  beds,  with 
mattresses,  sheets,  coverlets,  blankets,  bolsters, 
pillows,    towels,    and   candlesticks.     There  is  no 


154  BYGONE  LEICESTERSHIRE. 

mention  of  jugs,  basins,  baths,  etc.  This  worthy 
yeoman's  stock  consisted  of  10  horses,  19  kine, 
and  five  score  sheep.  His  whole  inventory 
amounted  to  £36  18s.  He  was  evidently  a 
religious  man,  for  he  leaves  money  for  thirty 
masses,  and  a  pyx  for  the  Sacrament. 

We  often  get  a  glimpse  at  current  local  events 
from  the  wills.  Thus  in  July  1515,  the  plague 
was  evidently  raging  in  the  neighbourhood  of 
Loughborough,  as  we  find  Gefferey  Salesbury's 
will  was  witnessed  by  the  parish  priest,  "  and  no 
more  for  ffer  off  the  plage  off  pest." 

The    following    curious    inventory,     which    is 
attached  to  the  will  of  Raffe  Warde  of  Lough- 
borough, 1535,  shows  us  what  expenses  he  was 
put  to  at  the  burial  of  his  wife  Maud  : — 
"  Exspenc'  at  the  bereall  of  Mawd  Ward. 

It.  payd  to  the  presse  for   masse 

&  dirige ijs.  iiijd 

It.  payd  to  the  belman,  to  thomas 

bedford iiid. 

It.  payd  the  Ryngars  .         .      xvc?.  oh. 

It.  to  the  bedfolke        .         .         .        ijc?.  oh. 

It.  payd  In  bred  &  Ayll'      .         .     vis.  \\]d. 

It.  payd  for  belles  &  candyllstykes  xxc?. 

It.  payd  for  the  lyghttes      .         .         xviijc/. 


EARLY  LEICESTERSHIRE  WILLS.  155 

"It.  payd   for  bred  &  Ay  11  to  the 

Ryngars    .         .         .         .         .         '^d.  oh. 

It.  payd  for  A  man  &  A  horsse 

to  Granth'm      .         ,         .         .  xiijcZ." 

Sometimes  much  of  a  man's  personal  history 
can  be  gleaned  from  his  will.  Thus  one  John 
Bowes  of  Beccles  in  Suffolk,  in  1523,  mentions 
in  his  will  that  he  was  born  at  Ragdale  in  the 
Wyllowes,  but  received  his  early  education  until 
he  was  fourteen  at  Loughborough,  and  that  his 
father,  John  Bowes,  and  his  three  brothers, 
Edward,  Thomas,  and  William,  were  all  buried  at 
Loughborough. 

Early  wills  are  of  immense  value,  from  the  vast 
amount  of  ecclesiastical  information  that  they 
contain.  We  can  get  a  very  fair  idea  of  the 
internal  appearance  of  churches  in  pre-Reforma- 
tion  times  from  the  bequests  in  the  wills.  We 
learn  the  correct  dedications  of  the  churches,  and 
of  the  side-altars ;  what  images  were  set  up  in 
the  buildings ;  approximate  dates  of  rebuilding, 
altering,  or  repairing  the  churches ;  gifts  of 
communion-plate,  bells,  or  goods ;  the  names  of 
the  parochial  clergy,  etc. 

The  grand  old  parish  church  of  Loughborough 
is  now  always  known  as  All  Saints ;    but  this  is 


166  BYGONE  LEICESTERSHIRE. 

evidently  incorrect,  for  in  the  sixteenth  century 
many  testators  directed  that  their  bodies  should 
be  interred  in  the  church  or  churchyard  dedicated 
in  honour  of  St.  Peter  and  St.  Paul.  In  the 
same  church,  there  were  side-altars  dedicated  to 
St.  Nicholas,  St.  Katherine,  and  our  Lady,  the 
last  on  the  south  side ;  and  images  of  St. 
Margaret,  our  Lady,  and  St.  Anne, 

The  Tower  of  Loughborough  Church  was 
evidently  undergoing  considerable  rebuilding  in 
the  sixteenth  century  ;  as  many  testators,  between 
1521  and  1535,  left  money  for  the  building  of 
the  steeple,  the  edification  of  the  steeple,  or  the 
window  of  the  steeple. 

In  Wymeswold  Church,  there  was  some  repre- 
sentation of  the  Assumption ;  as  Thomas 
Humston,  in  1533,  bequeathed  "to  kepyng  a 
leyght  before  the  ymage  of  the  Assumption  of  our 
Lady  in  the  hay  quere  of  Wymundiswolde,  ij 
kayne ;"  and  Thomas  Andyby,  in  1530,  bequeathed 
two  shillings  "  to  the  hee  altar  of  our  Lady  the 
Assumptyon  in  Wymyswold."  Thomas  Lufwyk, 
rector  of  Burton  Overy,  in  1390,  bequeaths  to 
Lufwyk  parish  church,  a  missal,  a  vestment,  and  a 
silver  zone  to  make  a  chalice.  William  de  Humber- 
ston,  in  1394,  gives  a  toft,  to  maintain  a  light  at 


EARLY  LEICESTERSHIRE  WILLS,  157 

the  principal  altar  of  Burstall  Chapel,  and  twenty 
shillings  for  the  like  at  Thurmaston  Chapel. 
Thoraes  de  Beby,  in  1382,  bequeaths  100  shillings 
to  St.  Mary's  altar  in  Beby  Church.  Sir  Ralph 
Basset,  Knight,  in  1377,  desires  that  he  be 
interred  in  the  newly-built  chapel  of  the  Blessed 
Virgin  Mary,  at  Sapcote  ;  and  makes  a  bequest  to 
the  high  altar  of  St.  John  Baptist,  of  Sapcote. 
Amongst  the  bequests  to  Loughborough  Church 
in  the  early  part  of  the  sixteenth  century  are 
these  : — a  table  cloth  to  St.  Nicolas's  altar,  a 
towel  to  St.  Katharine's  altar,  "  my  wife's  second 
best  kerchoff "  to  St.  Margaret's  image,  a  gallon 
of  wax  to  our  Lady's  altar.  Thomas  Burton, 
by  his  will,  in  1494,  left  £13  6s.  8d.  for  the 
purchase  of  an  altar  "in  honore  Sancti  Nicholai 
de  fackur  transmarium  ; "  this  shows  the  date  of 
the  erection  of  this  altar,  and  its  cost.  John 
Malory,  in  1516,  directs  that  he  be  buried  in  the 
chapel  of  St.  John  Baptist  within  the  church  of 
Walton.  John  Porter,  in  1517,  will  be  buried 
before  the  image  of  St.  John  Baptist  in  the  north 
aisle  of  the  church  of  Thorpe  edmer.  William 
Ardern,  in  1530,  will  be  buried  in  the  church  of 
Knipton,  before  the  picture  and  image  of  our 
Lady,  and  gives  a  *'  candy Istyke  of  latyne  of  three 


158  BYGONE  LEICESTERSHIRE. 

lights  to  be  sett  before  the  pyketor  of  all 
Saynctts  "  in  the  same  church.  John  Jackson, 
in  1531,  bequeaths  twenty  shillings  to  making  of 
a  new  rose  in  the  north  aisle  of  St.  Mary's,  in 
Leicester. 

These  fragmentary  gleanings  from  a  few  of  the 
early  wills  will  show  what  a  great  deal  of 
ecclesiastical  information  we  can  find  in  them. 

The  wills  were  mostly  made  by  the  clergy,  as 
they  were  often  the  only  persons  in  the  parish 
able  to  write,  and  were  usually  witnessed  by 
them.  They  relate  mainly  to  personalty,  as, 
until  Henry  VIII. 's  reign,  a  man  could  not  dis- 
pose of  his  land  as  he  wished,  so  as  to  leave  it 
away  from  his  heir-at-law.  Besides  appointing 
executors,  it  was  also  most  usual  for  testators  to 
appoint  two  or  more  overseers  or  supervisors. 

I  trust  that  the  foregoing  will  help  to  show 
something  of  the  interest  attaching  to  early  wills, 
and  of  the  great  amount  of  valuable  matter  that 
can  be  gleaned  from  their  contents. 


IPuni0bment6  of  the  paet 

IN  "  the  good  old  days  of  '  Merrie  England,'  " 
a  scolding  or  shrewish  woman  was  held  to 
be  a  delinquent  against  the  public  peace,  and 
various  curious  instruments  were  devised  for  her 
punishment.  The  chief  of  these  old  fashioned 
terrors  of  the  virago  was  the  cucking-stool. 
Several  writers  on  old  English  customs  have 
alluded  to  the  use  of  the  cucking-stool  in  the 
county  of  Leicester,  so  that  we  see  our  Leicestrian 
dames  were  addicted,  in  common  with  their 
sisters  in  other  parts  of  their  country,  to 
occasionally  letting  their  tongues  run  too  freely 
for  the  public  comfort. 

The  cucking-stool  in  the  early  history  of 
England  must  not  be  confounded  with  the 
ducking-stool.  They  were  two  distinct  machines. 
It  appears  from  a  record  in  the  "  Domesday 
Book,"  that  as  far  back  as  the  days  of  Edward 
the  Confessor,  any  man  or  woman  detected 
giving  false  measure  in  the  City  of  Chester  was 
fined  four  shillings  ;  and  for  brewing  bad  ale,  was 


160  BYGONE  LEICESTERSHIRE. 

placed  in  the  Cathedra  stercoris.  It  was  a 
degrading  mode  of  chastisement,  the  culprits 
being  seated  in  the  chair  at  their  own  doors  or 
in  some  public  place.  In  1467,  the  town 
authorities  at  Leicester  directed  that  scolds  were 
to  be  presented  by  the  Mayor  on  a  "  cuck-stool " 
before  their  own  doors,  and  then  carried  to  the 
four  gates  of  the  town. 

Mr.  William  Kelly,  f.s.a.,  one  of  the  most  pains- 
taking and  able  of  Leicester  antiquaries,  who  has 
paid  much  attention  to  obsolete  local  punishments, 
has  some  important  notes  bearing  on  this  subject 
in  a  lecture  delivered  on  the  24th  February  1851, 
before  the  members  of  the  Leicester  Literary  and 
Philosophical  Society.  "  From  the  frequency," 
said  Mr.  Kelly,  "  with  which  payments  for  making 
Cucking-stools  occur  in  the  accounts,  it  is  to  be 
presumed  that  its  use  in  this  town  was  not  rare. 
Throsby,  waiting  about  the  year  1790,  says  in  his 
History  of  Leicester,  that  there  was  at  that  time 
a  Cucking-stool  kept  somewhere  about  the  Town 
Hall  premises,  and  adds  that  *to  the  credit  of 
the  nimble-tongued  fair  it  is  now  a  long  time 
since  it  was  used.'  On  reading  this  passage,  it 
immediately  struck  me  that  an  oak  chair  in  the 
Town     Library      (called     by     the      Librarian, 


PUNISHMENTS  OF  THE  PAST.  161 

'  Alderman  Newton's  Chair,'  but  as  I  sub- 
sequently found,  without  authority),  had  very 
much  the  character  of  some  of  the  ancient 
Cuck-stools  of  which  I  had  seen  engravings.  I 
had  not  previously  examined  the  chair  closely ; 
but  on  doing  so,  I  at  once  found  my  anticipations 
confirmed,  as  it  proved  beyond  doubt  to  be  one 
of  these  instruments  of 
punishment  formerly  in 
use  in  Leicester.  A  draw- 
ing of  this  Cucking-stool 
has  been  kindly  made  for 
me  b}^  Mr.  Flower,  from 
which  the  accompany- 
ing engraving  is  taken. 

"  It  will  be  seen  that 
under  the  arms  are 
grooves,  constructed  for 
the  purpose  of  receiving  and  retaining  in  their 
proper  position  the  cords  by  which  the  instrument 
was  suspended  w^hen  immersion  was  resorted  to ; 
for  which  occasion  also  the  seat  is  so  constructed 
as  to  be  removable  at  pleasure,  in  order  that  it 
should  offer  no  obstruction  to  the  passage  of  the 
chair  through  the  water.  The  Cucking-stool 
itself  may  be  seen  in  the  Town  Museum." 


LEICESTER   CUCKINO-STOOL. 


M 


162  BYGONE  LEICESTERSHIRE. 

Mr.  Kelly  reproduced  from  the  Chamberlains' 
Accounts  the  following  items  : — 

s.      d. 

"1548.    Item,— Paid   to   John   Croft 
for  makyng  the  Cookstolle  -         -     v 

1552.    Item, — Paid  for  mendyng  of 

the  Cuckstole  at  tow  tymes  -         -  viij 

1558.    Item, — Paid  to  Robert  Crofts 
for  makyng  of  the  Duckstoole       -  xvj 

1563.    Item, — for  makinge  the  cuc- 

stoole  ------  xvj 

Item, — to  Willm.  Yates  for 
making  pynes  and  bands  for  the 
same   ------  vj 

1556.    Item, — Paid  to  Robert  Byl- 
brough  for  certen  wood  and  bords 
for  the  repairinge  of  the  Coock- 
stole    ------  xij 

Item, — Paid  to  William  Yates 
for  ij  longe  pynns  with  coUers  for 
the  same  Coockstoole   -         -         -  xij 

Item, — Paid  for  nails  for  the 
same  Coockstole  -         -         -         -  ij 

1578.    Item, — Paid  for  a  newe  Cuck- 
stoole  ------     xiiij." 

In  1646,  a  new   Cucking-stool  was  provided. 


PUNISHMENTS  OF  THE  PAST.  163 

and  in  the  following  year  an  item  as  follows  occurs 
in  the  accounts  of  the  town  : — 
"  Item, — Paid     for    making     the 

Cookestoole   -         -         -         -    xvjs  vjd." 

This  seems  to  indicate  that  more  than  one  was 
in  use  at  the  same  time. 

Mr.  Kelly  found  in  the  Hall-papers  of  Leicester 
the  following  account  of  an  accusation  and 
punishment : — 

"27th  June  1654,  before  Mr.  Maior,  Mr. 
Somerfeild. 

"The  informacon  of  Mr.  Thomas  Goadbye 
against  Ann  Ramkin,  widdow,  sayeth  as  he  was 
goeinge  downe  Redcrosse  Streete,  one  Clarkes 
wife  called  him  to  her  and  shee  tould  him  that 
one  Ann  Ramkin,  widdow,  did  saye  that  the  said 
Clarkes  wife  did  pyne  her  husband  in  Goale,  and  as 
they  were  talkinge  together  the  said  Ann  Ramkin 
came  to  them  and  did  use  many  railenge  words  and 
called  Mr.  Goadbye  knave,  and  did  then  say  that 
Clarke's  wife  did  pyne  her  husband  in  the  Goale. 

"  The  said  widdow  Ramkin  sent  home  in  the 
Cuchstoole  then." 

The  last  entry  bearing  on  this  subject  Mr,  Kelly 
was  able  to  trace  in  the  old  accounts  of  the  town 
was  as  follows  : — 


164 


BYGONE  LEICESTERSHIRE. 


"  1768-9.  Paid  Mr.  Elliott  for  a  Cuck- 

stool  by  Order  of  Hall  -         -  £2  0  0." 

When  women  were  ducked  at  Leicester  the 
operation  was  performed  on  or  near  the  side  of 
the  West  Bridge.  Old  accounts  include  items  for 
carrying  the  ducking-stool  thither. 

An  intelligent  Frenchman,  named  Misson, 
visited   England   about    1700,   and   has   left    on 


DUCKING-STOOL. 


record  one  of  the  best  descriptions  of  a  ducking- 
stool  that  has  been  written.  It  occurs  in  a  work 
entitled  "  Travels  in  England."  "  The  way  of 
punishing  scolding  women,"  he  writes,  "is  pleas- 
ant enough.  They  fasten  an  arm  chair  to  the 
end  of  two  beams,  twelve  or  fifteen  feet  long,  and 
parallel  to  each  other,  so  that  these  two  pieces  of 
wood,  with  their  two  ends,  embrace  the  chair, 
which  hangs  between  them  upon  a  sort  of  axle. 


PUNISHMENTS  OF  THE  PAST.  165 

by  which  means  it  plays  freely,  and  always  re- 
mains in  the  natural  horizontal  position  in  which 
the  chair  should  be,  that  a  person  may  sit  con- 
veniently in  it,  whether  you  raise  it  or  let  it 
down. 

"  They  set  up  a  post  on  the  bank  of  a  pond  or 
river,  and  over  this  post  they  lay,  almost  in  equi- 
librio,  the  two  pieces  of  wood,  at  one  end  of  which 


DUCKING-STOOL— FROM   AN  OLD  CHAP-BOOK. 

the  chair  hangs  over  the  water.  They  place 
the  woman  in  this  chair,  and  so  plunge  her  into 
the  water,  as  often  as  the  sentence  directs,  in 
order  to  cool  her  immoderate  heat."  In  some 
instances  the  ducking  was  carried  to  such  an 
extent  as  to  cause  death. 

We  give  two  illustrations  of  the  ducking-stool, 
one  similar  to  that  described  by  Misson  and  the 


166  BYGONE  LEICESTERSHIRE. 

other  from  an  old  chap-book,  without  date, 
entitled  "  Strange  and  Wonderful  Relation  of  the 
Old  Woman  who  was  Drowned  at  Ratcliff 
Highway  a  fortnight  ago."  We  gather  from  the 
work  that  the  poor  woman  was  dipped  too  often, 
for  at  the  conclusion  of  the  operation  she  was 
found  to  be  dead. 

At  Leicester  there  was  another  machine  for 
punishing  women  who  used  their  tongues  too  freely, 
called  the  Scolding  Cart.  In  1629  there  is  in 
the  old  accounts  of  the  town  a  charge  of  two 
shillings  for  making  two  wheels  and  furnishing  a 
bar  for  it.  In  many  places  this  was  known  as 
the  tumbrel.  On  this  machine  women  were 
carted  round  the  town  before  being  ducked. 

There  was  at  Leicester  another  form  of  punish- 
ment not  confined  to  women  only,  it  was  that  of 
carting  through  the  town  evil  doers.  A  man 
ringing  a  bell  to  attract  attention  attended  the 
procession.  The  culprits  usually  had  a  paper  on 
their  heads  setting  forth  the  nature  of  their 
crimes.  "  Entries  relating  to  this  mode  of 
punishment,"  says  Mr.  Kelly,  "  are  far  from  rare, 
but  they  are  generally  of  a  nature  unsuitable  for 
quotation.  The  following,  however,  may  serve  to 
illustrate  the  custom  : — 


PUNISHMENTS  OF  THE  PAST.  167 

8.        d. 
"  1586.  Item, — Payed  for  a  Carte  and 

to  the  Beadell  for  cartinge  of  twoe 

Harlotts  abowte  the  Towne  -  xij 

1598.  Item,— Pd  to  Whittel  for  his 

horse  and  Carte,  and  one  that  Led 

the  horse  and   Carte  abowte  the 

town,    to   Cartt   Marye  Smythe, 

and  one  John  Wylkynson  glover  xij 

Itm.  p    to  George  Longley  for 

paynetinge   of  ij    papers   sett   on 

Marye  Smithes  head  and  Wylkyn- 

son's  [and  other  work]  -         -     iij 

1613.  Item, — paid  for  A  horse  and 
Carte,  three  holberde  men,  and 
one  other  man  to  ring  the  Bell, 

when  John  Camden  and  his 

and  allso  Robert  Webster  were  by 
order  of  the  Sessions  Carted  about 

the  Town     -         -         -         -         -       iij  vj 

1614.  Item, — Paide  to  the  Burne- 
man  for  his  horse  and  Carte,  to 
cart  a  Knave  and  a  Queyne,  which 

came  from  Coventrie    -         -         -        xij." 

The   brank   was    an    instrument    planned   for 
curing    scolds.       It    was     by    some    authorities 


168  BYGONE  LEICESTERSHIRE. 

considered  to  possess  greater  advantages  as  a 
corrective  measure  than  the  ducking-stool.  Dr. 
Plot,  speaking  of  this  artifice  for  the  silencing  of 
female  speech,  said  "  I  look  upon  it  as  much  to 
be  preferred  to  the  cucking-stool,  which  not  only 
endangers  the  health  of  the  party,  but  also  gives 
the  tongue  liberty  'twixt  every  dip,  to  neither  of 
which  this  is  at  all  liable,  it  being  such  a  bridle 
for  the  tongue  as  not  only  quite  deprives  them  of 

speech,  but  brings  shame 
for  the  transgression,  and 
humility  thereupon,  before 
'tis  taken  off,  which  being 
put  upon  the  offender  by 
order  of  the  Magistrate 
and  fastened  with  a  pad- 
LEicESTER  BRAKK.  lock    bchiud,    shc    is    led 

round  the  town  by  an  officer  to  her  shame ; 
nor  is  it  taken  off  till  after  the  party  begins 
to  show  all  external  signs  imaginable  of 
humiliation  and  amendment."  The  historian  just 
quoted  gives  an  illustration  representing  a  pair  of 
branks,  as  used  at  the  end  of  the  seventeenth 
century.  They  are  formidable  looking  contriv- 
ances, consisting  of  hoops  of  metal  passed  round 
the  neck  and  head,  opening  by  means  of  hinges 


PUNISHMENTS  OF  THE  PAST.  169 

at  the  sides,  and  closing  by  a  staple  with  a  pad- 
lock at  the  back ;  a  plate  within  the  hoop, 
projecting  inwards,  pressed  upon  the  tongue,  and 
formed  an  effectual  gag.  We  give  a  picture  of 
the  brank  formerly  in  use  at  Leicester.  In  the 
parish  church  of  Walton-on-Thames  one  is  pre- 
served, bearing  a  date  of  1633  and  the  following 
couplet : — 

"  Chester  presents  Walton  with  a  Bridle, 
To  curb  women's  tongues  that  talk  too  idle." 

It  is  asserted  that  a  man  named  Chester  lost  a 
valuable  estate  he  expected  to  inherit  from  a 
wealthy  relative  through  a  gossiping  and  lying 
woman. 

The  pillory  was  for  a  long  time  employed  as  an 
engine  of  punishment.  In  Leicester  it  stood  in  the 
Market  Place.  We  may  state  that  the  pillory 
was  for  many  ages  common  to  most  European 
countries.  Known  in  France  as  the  pillori  or 
carcah,  and  in  Germany  as  the  prayiger,  it  seems 
to  have  existed  in  England  before  the  Conquest, 
in  the  shape  of  a  stretch-neck,  in  which  the  head 
only  of  the  criminal  was  confined.  By  a 
statute  of  Edward  I.,  it  was  enacted  that  every 
stretch- neck,  or  pillory,  should  be  made  of 
convenient  strength,  so  that  execution  might  be 


170 


BYGONE  LEICESTERSHIRE. 


done  upon  criminals  without  peril  to  their  bodies. 
The  pillory  in  which  Roger  Ockam  underwent 
his  punishment  for  perjury  in  the  reign  of 
Henry  VIII.,  consisted  of  a  wooden  frame  erected 
on  a  stool,  with  holes  and  folding  boards  for  the 
admission  of  the  head  and  hands.  An  engraving 
in  Douce's  "  Illustrations  of  Shakespeare  "  (vol  ii., 

p.  147),  taken  from  a 
MS.  of  the  thirteenth 
century,  gives  an  example 
of  a  pillory  constructed 
for  punishing  a  number  of 
offenders  at  the  same  time, 
but  this  form  was  of  rare 
occurrence. 

The  use  of  the  pillory 
was  brought  to  an  end 
by  an  Act  of  Parliament, 
dated  June  30th,  1837.  As  a  mode  of  punish- 
ment it  was  so  barbarous,  and  at  the  same  time 
so  indefinite  in  its  severity,  that  we  can  only 
wonder  it  should  not  have  been  swept  away  long 
before. 

In  the  church  of  Ashby-de-la-Zouch  is  a  finger 
pillory.  It  is  one  of  a  few  which  have  come 
down  to  the  present  time. 


B.    OCKAM    IN  THE   PILLORY. 


PUNISHMENTS  OF  THE  PAST. 


171 


We  believe  the  finger  pillory  was  frequently 
employed  in  our  old  manorial  halls.  The 
interesting  Leicestershire  example  has  often  been 
described  and  illustrated.  An  account  of  it 
appears  in  Notes  and  Queries  of  October  25th, 
1851.  It  is  described  as  "fastened  at  its  right 
hand  extremity  into  a  wall,  and  consists  of  two 


FINGER   PILLORV,    ASHBY-DE-LA-ZOL'CH. 


pieces  of  oak ;  the  bottom  and  fixed  piece  is  three 
feet  eight  inches  long ;  the  width  of  the  whole  is 
four-and-a-half  inches,  and  when  closed  it  is  five 
inches  deep  ;  the  left  hand  extremity  is  supported 
by  a  leg  of  the  same  width  as  the  top,  and  two 
feet  six  inches  in  length ;  the  upper  piece  is 
joined  to  the  lower  by  a  hinge,  and  in  this  lower 
and  fixed  horizontal  part  are  a  number  of  holes, 


172  BYGONE  LEICESTERSHIRE. 

varying  in  size ;  the  largest  are  towards  the  right 
hand  :  these  holes  are  sufficiently  deep  to  admit 
the  finger  to  the  second  joint,  and  a  slight  hollow 
is  made  to  admit  the  third  one,  which  lies  flat ; 
there  is,  of  course,  a  corresponding  hollow  at  the 
top  of  the  moveable  part,  which,  when  shut  down 
encloses  the  whole  finger."  Thomas  Wright, 
F.S.A.,  in  his  "Archaeological  Album,"  gives  an 
illustration  of  the  Ashby-de-la-Zouch  example, 
and  we  reproduce  a  copy.  "  It  shows  the  manner 
in  which  the  finger  was  confined,  and  it  will 
easily  be  seen  that  it  could  not  be  withdrawn 
until  the  pillory  was  opened.  If  the  offender 
were  held  long  in  this  posture,  the  punishment 
must  have  been  extremely  painful." 

Stocks  were  much  used,  and  several  pairs  were 
in  various  parts  of  Leicester.  They  were  placed 
at  each  of  the  four  gates  of  the  town,  and  in 
other  localities.  One  pair  was  placed  under  an 
elm  tree  in  the  Market  Place,  and  of  course  in 
the  towns  and  villages  of  the  county. 

Whipping  at  the  whipping-post  was  another 
common  method  of  punishing  persons  in  past 
times.  From  the  Leicester  Town  Accounts 
of  1605,  Mr.  Kelly  copied  the  following 
entries : — 


PUNISHMENTS  OF  THE  PAST.  173 

"  Itm.— P"*-  to  W"'-  Sheene  '•     '*• 

for  A  poste  for   correction  of 
Roages  -         .         .         >  ij 

Itm.— P*^  to  Robert  Lud- 
1am,  locksmythe  for  one  Iron 
for  same  post  -         -         -  xij." 

And  in  1660  there  was 

"Paid  to  John  Groce  for 
setting  up  the  Whipping-post 
and  for  ale     -         -         -         -        00  08  06." 

We  learn  from  Machyn's  Diary  that  it  was 
also  designated  the  post  reformation. 

"  At  this  period,"  continues  Mr.  Kelly,  "  the  law 
made  no  distinction  of  sex,  with  regard  to  the 
punishment  of  the  lash,  for  by  the  Statute  of  the 
21  Jac.  I.,  c.  6,  it  was  enacted  that  women 
convicted  of  simple  larcenies  under  the  value  of 
ten  shillings  should  be  burned  in  the  hand,*  and 
whipped,  stocked,  or  imprisoned  for  any  time 
not  exceeding  a  year ;  and  the  whipping  of 
women  was  not  abolished  until  the  reign  of 
George  IV.  Thus  in  the  account  for  the  year 
1591  we  find  there  was 

'  Paid  for  the  whipping  of  a  woman      -      6*^ ' 

*  In  the  account  for  1599  there  is  a  charge  of  sixpence  "  for  a  Brand 
to  burne  prisoners  withal. " 


174  BYGONE  LEICESTERSHIRE. 

And  this  entry  is  followed  by  a  charge  for  the 

*  whipping  of  a  lame  cripple,'  and  other  instances 

of  the  same  kind  occur  in  subsequent  years.* 

A   whipping-post   stood   beside   the  stocks  in 

which     Hudibras     was    confined,    of    which     a 

burlesque    description    is    given    in   the    poem ; 

whilst  of  the  great  number  of  them  in  use  during 

the  reigns  of  Elizabeth  and  James  I.  we  have  a 

striking  testimony  in  the  works  of  Taylor,  the 

water-poet.     He  says  : — 

'  In  London,  and  within  a  mile,  I  ween 
There  are  of  jails  or  prisons  full  eighteen ; 
Ajid  sixty  whipping-posts,  and  stocks,  and  cages.' 

— The  Virtue  of  a  Jail. 

One  of  these  instruments  is  still  standing,  near 
the  school-house,  in  the  village  of  Keyham  in  this 
county." 

In  closing  this  paper  we  must  not  omit  to  state 
that  the  chief  facts  are  drawn  from  an  interesting 
lecture  by  Mr.  William  Kelly,  delivered  at  the 
Literary   and    Philosophical  Society,    Leicester, 

*  "The  p^eneral  rule  of  all  England,"  says  the  pamphlet,  entitled 
"Stanleye's  Remedy,"  published  in  1646,  "is  to  whip  and  punish  the 
wandering  beggars  and  to  brand  them  according  to  the  form  of  the 
new  Statute,  and  so  mark  them  with  such  a  note  of  infamie,  as  they 
may  be  assured  no  man  will  set  them  on  work. "  And  the  writer  adds 
that  "  the  poor  may  be  whipped  to  death,  and  branded  for  rogues, 
and  so  become  felons  by  the  law,  and  the  next  time  hanged  for 
vagrancie."  What  a  picture  we  have  here  of  the  tender  mercies  of 
the  law  at  that  period  ! 


PUNISHMENTS  OF  THE  PAST.  175 

on  24th  February,  1851,  and  bearing  the  title  of 
"Ancient  Records  of  Leicester  ;"  from  "  Old-Time 
Punishments,"  by  William  Andrews,  f.r.h.s., 
published  at  Hull,  in  1890,  and  now  out  of  print ; 
from  a  carefully  prepared  paper  from  the  pen  of 
Mr.  T.  Broadbent  Trowsdale ;  and  we  have  also 
been  supplied  with  notes  by  residents  in  the 
county. 


Xaurence  ifcrrere :  tbe  flDur&erer»*iearL 

By  T.  Broadbent  Trowsdale. 

IN  a  folio  volume  issued  in  1760  (the  year  of 
Lord  Ferrers'  execution),  the  full  title  of 
which  reads: — "Trial  of  Laurence,  Earl  of 
Ferrers,  of  Breedon,  in  the  county  of  Leicester, 
for  the  murder  of  his  servant,  John  Johnson, 
before  Ho.  of  Peers,  with  judgment  for  murder 
given  against  him,"  is  given  a  full  account  of  this 
extraordinary  trial,  which  excited  more  public 
interest  than  almost  any  other  on  record.  The 
father  of  the  nobleman  who  forfeited  his  life  to 
the  offended  laws  of  his  country,  was  the  Hon. 
Laurence  Shirley,  fourth  son  of  the  first  Earl, 
and  his  mother  one  of  the  daughters  of  Sir 
Walter  Clarges,  Baronet.  Through  his  grand- 
mother, Elizabeth,  daughter  and  heiress  of 
Lawrence  Washington,  of  Garsden,  his  lordship 
represented  a  branch  of  the  family  which,  in  after 
times,  gave  to  America  her  illustrious  President, 
George  Washington,  and  by  female  descent  also 
he  was  the  representative  of  Robert  Devereux, 


LAURENCE  FERRERS.  177 

Earl  of  Essex,  the  romantic,  headstrong,  and 
unfortunate  favourite  of  "  Good  Queen  Bess." 
The  estates  inherited  by  Lord  Ferrers  were  very 
large,  his  abilities  of  no  mean  order,  and  every- 
thing seemed  to  combine  to  brighten  the  prospects 
of  his  journey  through  life.  But  a  violent  temper, 
sometimes,  sad  to  relate,  maddened  to  fury  by  the 
influence  of  intoxication,  marred  all  these  gifts  of 
fortune,  and  at  last  brought  the  unhappy  Earl 
to  an  ignominious  death  at  the  hands  of  the 
executioner.  Many,  impressed  with  the  strongest 
conviction  of  Lord  Ferrers'  insanity,  have  con- 
demned the  verdict  which  consigned  him  to  the 
scaffold,  and  we  feel  assured  that,  in  our  own 
more  lenient  times,  the  doubt  that  did  exist  would 
have  tempered  justice  with  mercy.  The  main 
cause  of  the  rejection  of  the  plea  of  insanity  was 
the  extraordinary  skill  and  acumen  displayed  by 
his  lordship  in  the  examination  of  the  witnesses  ; 
and  it  must  be  conceded,  even  by  the  firmest 
advocates  of  the  Earl's  lunacy,  that  in  most 
instances  his  fits  of  fury  arose  from  the  excite- 
ment of  drinking,  and  that  occasionally  his  mind 
exhibited  great  strength  and  clearness.  Before 
entering  on  the  story  of  the  murder,  we  will  give 
our  readers  a  few  particulars  in  exemplification  of 


178  BYGONE  LEICESTERSHIRE. 

the  Earl's  ungovernable  passion.  In  the  year 
1752,  he  had  married  the  sister  of  Sir  William 
Meredith,  Baronet,  of  Henbury,  Cheshire,  a  lady 
of  great  beauty  and  accomplishments.  With  such 
cruelty  did  Earl  Ferrers  behave  to  his  consort, 
that  her  ladyship  was  obliged  to  apply  to  Parlia- 
ment for  redress.  The  consequence  of  her 
petition  was  that  an  Act  was  passed,  allowing  her 
a  separate  maintenance,  to  be  raised  out  of  the 
estates. 

Lord  Ferrers  ran  his  mare  against  a  military 
friend's  horse  at  the  Derby  races  of  1756,  for 
£50,  and  was  the  winner  of  the  stakes.  After 
the  race  he  spent  the  evening  with  some 
gentlemen,  and  in  the  course  of  conversation,  the 
Captain  whose  horse  had  lost  the  stakes  for  him, 
having  been  informed  that  his  lordship's  mare  was 
in  foal,  proposed,  in  a  jocose  manner,  to  again  run 
his  horse  against  her  at  the  expiration  of  seven 
months.  Lord  Ferrers  was  so  affronted  with 
this  circumstance,  which  he  conceived  to  have 
arisen  from  a  preconcerted  plan  to  insult  him, 
that  he  quitted  Derby  at  three  o'clock  in  the 
morning,  and  went  immediately  to  his  seat  at 
Staunton  Harold  in  Leicestershire.  He  rang  his 
bell  as  soon  as  he  awoke,  and  a  servant  attending, 


LAURENCE  FERRERS.  179 

he  demanded  of  him  if  he  knew  how  the  Captain 
came  to  be  informed  of  the  condition  of  his  mare. 
The  servant  declared  that  he  was  ignorant  of  the 
matter,  but  the  groom  might  have  told  it.  That 
person  being  called,  he  denied  having  given  the 
information.  Previous  to  the  affront  presumed 
to  have  been  given  on  the  preceding  evening, 
Lord  Ferrers  had  invited  the  Captain  and  the 
rest  of  the  company  to  dine  with  him  as  on  that 
day,  but  they  all  refused  their  attendance,  though 
he  sent  a  servant  to  remind  them  that  they 
had  promised  to  come.  Lord  Ferrers  was 
so  enraged  at  this  disappointment,  that  he 
kicked  and  horse-whipped  his  servants,  and 
threw  at  them  such  articles  as  lay  within  his 
reach. 

On  one  occasion  some  oysters  were  sent  to  his 
lordship  from  London.  The  bivalves  did  not  turn 
out  to  be  good,  and  the  Earl  thereupon  directed 
one  of  the  servants  to  swear  that  the  carrier  had 
changed  them.  The  conscience  of  the  servant 
would  not  allow  him  to  take  such  an  oath,  and  he 
declined  to  obey  the  order  of  his  master.  Lord 
Ferrers  at  once  flew  into  a  violent  rage,  stabbed 
the  servant  in  the  breast  with  a  knife,  cut  his 
head  with  a  candlestick,   and   kicked  him  with 


180  BYGONE  LEICESTERSHIRE. 

such  severity  that  he  was  under  the  surgeon's 
care  for  several  years  afterwards. 

During  a  visit  of  the  Earl's  brother  to  himself 
and  Countess  at  Staunton  Harold,  a  casual 
dispute  arose  between  the  parties,  and  Lady 
Ferrers  being  absent  from  the  room,  the  Earl  ran 
upstairs  with  a  large  clasp  knife  in  his  hand,  and 
demanded  of  a  servant  whom  he  met  where  his 
lady  was.  The  man  replied,  "In  her  own  room," 
and  having  directed  him  to  follow  him  thither, 
Lord  Ferrers  sternly  ordered  the  servant  to  load 
a  brace  of  pistols  with  bullets.  This  order  was 
complied  with,  but  the  man,  apprehensive  of 
mischief,  declined  priming  the  pistols.  Lord 
Ferrers  discovered  this  evasion,  swore  at  the 
servant,  and  calling  for  powder,  primed  the 
weapons  himself.  He  then  threatened  the  now 
almost  terror-stricken  servant  that  if  he  did  not 
immediately  go  and  shoot  his  brother  he  would 
blow  his  brains  out.  The  poor  man  hesitated, 
and  his  lordship  pulled  the  trigger  of  one  of  the 
pistols,  but  it  fortunately  missed  fire.  Hereupon 
the  Countess  fell  upon  her  knees,  and  implored 
her  irate  husband  to  appease  his  passion,  but  in 
return  he  swore  at  her,  and  threatened  her 
destruction  if  she  opposed  him.     The  servant  now 


LAURENCE  FERRERS.  181 

escaped  from  the  room,  and  reported  what  had 
passed  to  his  lordship's  brother,  who  immediately 
called  his  wife  from  her  bed,  and  they  left  the 
house,  though  it  was  then  two  o'clock  in  the 
morning. 

The  ill-fated  Mr.  John  Johnson,  the  Earl's 
steward,  whose  life  was  sacrificed  to  his  master's 
passion,  had  been  connected  with  the  family  from 
his  youth  up,  and  was  distinguished  by  the  fidelity 
of  his  service,  and  the  regular  manner  in  which  he 
kept  his  accounts.  When  the  law  had  decreed  a 
separate  maintenance  for  the  Countess,  Mr. 
Johnson  was  proposed  as  receiver  of  the  rents  for 
her  use,  but  apprehending  that  much  unpleasant 
ness  would  accrue  to  the  holder  of  the  oflSce,  he 
declined  to  accept  it,  until  he  was  urged  to  do  so 
by  the  Earl  himself.  It  appears  that  at  that 
time  Johnson  stood  high  in  his  lordship's  favour, 
but  this  state  of  feeling  endured  for  a  brief  period 
only.  The  Earl  soon  conceived  an  opinion  that 
his  steward  had  combined  with  the  trustees  to 
disappoint  him  of  a  contract  for  some  coal  mines, 
and  he  came  to  a  resolution,  out  of  spite  for  this 
imaginary  wrong,  to  put  an  end  to  his  existence. 
The  Earl's  displeasure  was  first  evinced  by  his 
sending  notice  to  Johnson  to  give  up  a  profitable 


182  BYGONE  LEICESTERSHIRE. 

farm  which  he  held  under  him,  but  upon  Johnson 
producing  a  lease  granted  by  the  trustees,  no 
further  steps  were  taken  in  the  affair. 

After  this  Lord  Ferrers  behaved  in  so  affable 
a  manner  to  Johnson  that  the  latter  imagined 
that  all  thoughts  of  revenge  had  subsided,  but  on 
the  13th  of  January,  1760,  his  lordship  called  on 
Johnson,  who  lived  about  half  a  mile  from  his 
seat,  and  bade  him  come  to  Staunton  between 
three  and  four  of  the  afternoon  of  the  Friday 
following.  His  lordship's  family  consisted  at  this 
time  of  a  gentlewoman  named  Clifford,  with  four 
of  her  natural  children,  three  maid  servants,  and 
five  men  servants,  exclusive  of  an  old  man  and  a 
boy.  After  dinner  on  the  Friday,  Lord  Ferrers 
sent  all  the  men  servants  out  of  the  house,  and 
desired  Mrs.  Clifford  to  go  with  the  children  to 
the  house  of  her  father,  at  a  distance  of  about  two 
miles.  Johnson  coming  to  his  appointment, 
one  of  the  maids  let  him  in,  and  he  was  ushered 
into  his  lordship's  room.  In  about  an  hour  after, 
a  female  domestic,  hearing  some  high  words, 
went  to  the  door  to  see  if  she  could  discover  what 
was  going  on.  Listening,  she  heard  the  Earl 
say,  "Down  upon  your  knees,  your  time  is  come, 
you  must  die  1 "  and  shortly  afterwards  she  heard 


LAURENCE  FERRERS.  183 

the  report  of  a  pistol.  Then  his  lordship, 
apparently  alarmed  at  the  act  he  had  committed, 
called  for  aid  ;  and  his  servant,  on  reaching  the 
room,  discovered  the  steward  shot  through  the 
body,  and  weltering  in  his  blood.  Lord  Ferrers, 
under  a  momentary  touch  of  compassion,  gave 
directions  that  the  poor  man  should  be  led  to 
bed,  and  that  Mr.  Kirkland,  the  surgeon,  should 
be  brought  from  Ashby-de-la-Zouch.  At  a 
request  of  the  wounded  man  a  person  was  also 
dispatched  for  his  children.  Miss  Johnson,  the 
eldest  daughter,  immediately  came,  and  was 
followed  by  the  surgeon,  to  whom  Lord  Ferrers 
said,  "  I  intended  to  have  shot  him  dead,  but, 
since  he  is  still  alive,  you  must  do  what  you  can 
for  him." 

The  medical  gentleman  soon  found  that  the 
poor  steward  had  been  mortally  wounded ;  but, 
knowing  the  Earl's  fierce  disposition,  and  dreading 
similar  consequences  to  himself,  he  dissembled  the 
matter,  and  told  him  that  there  was  no  danger  in 
the  case.  Hereupon  the  Earl  drank  himself  into  a 
state  of  intoxication,  and  then  went  to  bed ;  after 
which  Mr.  Johnson  was  sent  to  his  own  house,  in 
a  chair,  at  two  o'clock  in  the  morning,  and  the 
poor  fellow  died  at  nine.     Mr.   Kirkland,  being 


184  BYGONE  LEICESTERSHIRE. 

really  convinced  that  Johnson  could  not  live, 
procured  a  number  of  persons  to  secure  the 
murderer.  When  they  arrived  at  Staunton 
Harold,  Lord  Ferrers  had  just  risen,  and  was 
going  towards  the  stables  with  his  garters  in  his 
hand  ;  but,  observing  the  people,  he  retired  to 
the  house.  He  covertly  removed  about  from  one 
hiding  place  to  another,  so  that  it  was  a  consider- 
able time  before  he  was  taken.  This  happened 
on  the  Saturday,  and  he  was  conveyed  to  Ashby- 
de-la-Zouch,  and  there  kept  in  confinement  until 
the  following  Monday,  when  a  coroner's  inquest 
having  returned  a  verdict  of  "Wilful  murder 
against  Lord  Ferrers,"  the  Earl  was  committed  to 
the  Gaol  of  Leicester. 

Lord  Ferrers  was  kept  in  durance  vile  at 
Leicester  about  a  fortnight,  when  he  was  allowed 
to  proceed  to  London  in  his  own  landau,  in  order 
to  take  his  trial  before  the  House  of  Peers  on  the 
capital  charge.  His  behaviour  on  the  journey 
evinced  the  utmost  composure.  He  was  taken  to 
the  House  of  Lords,  and  the  verdict  of  the 
coroner's  jury  having  been  read  over  before  the 
assembled  Peers,  Lord  Ferrers  was  committed  to 
the  Tower  of  London  for  safe  custody. 

His  Lordship's  place  of   confinement  was  the 


<  ■? 

as   6< 


2  ^ 


186  BYGONE  LEICESTERSHIRE. 

Round  Tower,  near  the  drawbridge.  Two  warders 
constantly  attended  in  his  room,  and  one  waited 
at  the  door.  At  the  bottom  of  the  stairs  two 
soldiers  were  placed,  with  their  bayonets  fixed, 
and  a  third  stood  on  the  drawbridge.  The  gates 
of  the  Tower  were  shut  an  hour  before  the  usual 
time  during  his  imprisonment.  Mrs.  Clifford 
took  her  four  children  up  to  London,  and  occupied 
lodgings  in  Tower  Street,  sending  messages  to  his 
Lordship  several  times  in  the  day  ;  to  these  he  at 
first  replied,  but  the  communication  became  so 
troublesome  that  the  correspondence  was  much 
restricted.  Whilst  in  the  Tower,  Lord  Ferrers 
lived  in  a  regular  manner.  His  breakfast  con- 
sisted of  a  muffin  and  a  basin  of  tea  with  a  spoon- 
ful of  brandy  in  it ;  after  dinner  and  supper  he 
drank  a  pint  of  wine  mixed  with  water.  His 
conduct  was  generally  becoming,  but  he  some- 
times exhibited  evident  proofs  of  discomposure  of 
mind.  His  natural  children  were  permitted  to 
visit  him  several  times,  but  Mrs.  Clifford  was 
denied  admission  after  repeated  application. 

After  the  necessary  preparations  were  com- 
pleted, and  Lord  Henley,  the  Chancellor,  was 
created  High  Steward,  the  trial  came  on  before 
the  House  of  Peers,  in  Westminster  Hall,  on  the 


LAURENCE  FERRERS,  187 

16th  of  April,  1769.  The  proof  of  the  fact  was 
sufficiently  clear,  and  by  the  unanimous  voice  of 
the  tribunal  of  his  Peers,  Earl  Ferrers  was  found 
guilty  of  murder,  and  the  Lord  High  Steward 
passed  sentence  that  he  should  be  executed  on 
the  21st  of  April.  The  condemned  Earl,  how- 
ever, received  a  respite  to  the  5th  of  May. 

The  Earl  made  a  will  during  his  imprisonment, 
leaving  sixty  pounds  a  year  to  Mrs.  Clifford,  a 
thousand  pounds  to  each  of  his  natural  daughters, 
and  thirteen  hundred  pounds  to  the  children  of 
his  murdered  steward.  The  latter  legacy,  which 
should  have  been  the  first  to  be  discharged,  was 
for  some  reason  or  other  never  paid.  His  Lord- 
ship petitioned  to  be  beheaded  within  the  Tower, 
but  as  his  crime  was  so  atrocious,  the  King 
refused  to  interfere  with  the  sentence  of  the  law. 

Through  the  influence  of  his  family,  however, 
he  was  not  swung  off  into  eternity  from  a 
common  cart,  as  had  hitherto  been  the  practice 
with  plebeian  culprits.  A  scaffold  was  erected 
under  the  gallows  at  Tyburn,  and  covered  with 
black  baize.  A  part  of  the  scaffold,  on  which  the 
murderer  was  to  stand,  was  raised  eighteen  inches 
above  the  rest.  This  arrangement  may,  we 
think,  be  regarded  as  the  precursor  of  the  drop. 


188  BYGONE  LEICESTERSHIRE. 

"  There  was,"  says  Horace  Walpole,  "  a  con- 
trivance for  sinking  the  stage  under  him,  which 
did  not  play  well ;  and  he  suffered  a  little  by 
delay,  but  was  dead  in  four  minutes." 

In  his  preparations  for  the  execution,  Lord 
Ferrers  displayed  another  prominent  feature  of 
his  character,  his  great  vanity.  His  lordship  was 
dressed  in  his  weddings  clothes,  which  were  of  a 
light  colour,  and  richly  embroidered  with  silver. 
When  he  put  them  on,  he  said,  "  This  is  the  suit 
in  which  I  was  married,  and  in  which  I  will  die." 
He  set  out  from  the  Tower  to  meet  his  fate  at 
nine  o'clock  in  the  morning,  amidst  crowds  of 
spectators.  First  went  a  large  body  of  police, 
preceded  by  one  of  the  high  constables ;  next 
came  groups  of  grenadiers  and  foot  soldiers  ;  then 
the  sheriff  in  a  chariot  and  six  ;  and  next  Lord 
Ferrers  in  his  landau  and  six,  guarded  by  a 
strong  escort  of  cavalry  and  infantry.  The  other 
sheriff's  carriage  followed,  succeeded  by  a 
mourning  coach,  drawn  by  six  horses,  conveying 
some  of  the  malefactor's  friends.  Last  of  all 
went  a  hearse,  provided  for  the  purpose  of  taking 
the  corpse  from  the  place  of  execution  to 
Surgeon's  Hall. 

The    procession    was    two    hours    and    three- 


LAUHESCE  FERRERS.  18'J 

quarters  on  its  way.  During  the  passage  his 
lordship  conversed  very  freely  with  Mr.  Sheriff 
Vaillant,  who  joined  him  in  his  landau  at  the 
Tower-gate.  That  officer  expressed  to  Lord 
Ferrers  how  disagreeably  he  felt  his  position  in 
having  to  wait  upon  him  on  so  awful  an  occasion, 
but  promised  to  do  all  in  his  power  to  render 
his  situation  as  little  irksome  as  possible.  The 
Earl  replied,  "The  apparatus  of  death,  and  the 
passing  through  such  crowds  of  people,  are  ten 
times  worse  than  death  itself;  but  I  suppose 
they  never  saw  a  lord  hanged,  and  perhaps  they 
will  never  see  another."  Upon  the  Chaplain  of 
the  Tower,  who  also  occupied  a  seat  in  the  landau, 
observing  that  the  public  would  naturally  be 
inquisitive  about  his  lordship's  religious  opinions, 
the  Earl  returned  answer  that  "  He  did  not 
think  himself  accountable  to  the  world  for  his 
sentiments  on  religion ;  but  that  he  always 
believed  in  one  God,  the  maker  of  all  things ; 
that  whatever  were  his  religious  notions  he  had 
never  propagated  them  ;  and  that  all  countries 
had  a  form  of  religion  by  which  the  people  were 
governed,  and  whoever  disturbed  them  in  it  he 
considered  as  an  enemy  to  society."  Respecting 
the  death  of  Mr.    Johnson,  he   said,    "  He  was 


190  BYGONE  LEICESTERSHIRE. 

under  particular  circumstances,  and  had  met  with 
so  many  crosses  and  vexations  that  he  scarce 
knew  what  he  did."  He  declared,  however,  that 
he  had  no  malice  against  the  unfortunate  man. 

Once  during  the  journey,  Lord  Ferrers  desired 
to  stop  to  have  a  glass  of  wine  and  water ;  but 
upon  the  sheriff  remarking  that  such  a  piroceeding 
would  only  draw  a  greater  crowd  around  them, 
the  Earl  replied,  "  That  is  true,  by  no  means 
stop."  Shortly  afterwards,  a  letter  was  thrown 
into  the  carriai^e ;  it  was  from  Mrs.  Clifford,  to 
tell  him  that  it  "  was  impossible,  on  account  of 
the  dense  crowd,  for  her  to  get  up  to  the  spot 
where  he  had  appointed  she  should  meet  and  take 
leave  of  him  ;  but  she  was  in  a  hackney-coach  of 
a  certain  number."  The  Earl  begged  Mr. 
Vaillant  to  order  his  officers  to  endeavour  to  get 
the  hackney-coach  up  to  his.  "  My  Lord,"  said 
that  gentleman,  "  you  have  behaved  so  well 
hitherto,  that  it  is  a  pity  to  venture  unmanning 
yourself"  To  this  the  Earl  answered,  "  If  you, 
sir,  think  I  am  wrong,  I  submit."  After 
which  he  gave  the  sheriff  a  pocket-book,  contain- 
ing a  bank-note,  with  a  ring,  and  a  purse  of 
guineas,  which  were  afterwards  delivered  to  the 
unfortunate  woman. 


LAURENCE  FERRERS.  191 

At  the  place  of  execution,  the  procession  was 
met  by  another  party  of  horse  soldiers,  who 
formed  a  circle  round  the  gallows.  His  lordship 
walked  up  the  steps  of  the  scaffold  with  great 
firmness  ;  and,  having  joined  with  the  chaplain  in 
repeating  the  Lord's  prayer,  which  he  called  a 
fine  composition,  he  spoke  the  following  words 
with  great  fervency : — "  O !  God,  forgive  me  all  my 
errors,  pardon  all  my  sins  ! "  He  then  presented 
his  watch  to  Mr.  Vaillant,  and  gave  five  guineas 
to  the  assistant  of  the  executioner,  by  mistake, 
instead  of  the  dread  finisher  of  the  law  himself 
The  master  demanded  the  money,  and  a  dispute 
arose,  which  was  promptly  stopped  by  the  sheriff. 
The  executioner  now  proceeded  to  do  his  duty. 
Lord  Ferrers'  neckcloth  was  taken  off,  a  white  cap, 
which  he  had  brought  in  his  pocket,  put  on  his 
head,  and  his  arms  pinioned  with  a  black  sash. 
On  the  silken  rope  being  placed  round  his  neck, 
the  culprit  turned  momentarily  pale,  but 
recovered  again  in  an  instant.  He  then  ascended 
the  raised  stage,  and,  within  seven  minutes  of  his 
leaving  the  landau,  the  signal  was  given  for  that 
part  of  the  scaffold  on-  which  he  stood  to  be 
struck,  and  the  guilty  spirit  of  the  murderer-Earl 
passed  into  the  presence  of  its  Creator. 


192  BYGONE  LEICESTERSHIRE. 

After  hanging  an  hour  and  five  minutes,  the 
body  was  received  into  a  coffin  lined  with  white 
satin,  and  conveyed  to  Surgeons'  Hall,  there  to  be 
dissected.  After  the  mortal  remains  of  the  Earl 
were  again  placed  in  the  coffin,  the  halter  and  his 
hat  were  laid  with  him,  near  his  feet.  On  the  lid 
of  the  coffin  there  appeared  these  words  : — 

"  Laurence,  Earl  Ferrers,  Suffered 
5  May,  1760." 
After  the  body  had  remained  some  time  at 
Surgeons'  Hall  for  public  inspection  it  was  given 
up  to  the  Earl's  friends  for  interment.  It  would 
be  an  injustice  to  the  memory  of  the  unfortunate 
nobleman  not  to  mention  that  during  his 
imprisonment  he  made  pecuniary  recompense  to 
several  persons  whom  he  had  injured  during  the 
extravagance  of  those  fits  of  passion  to  which  he 
unhappily  so  often  gave  way. 


Zbc  Xaet  (Bibbct 

By  Thomas  Frost. 

THAT  the  exposure  upon  gibbets  of  the 
bodies  of  criminals  who  had  suffered  the 
extreme  penalty  of  the  law  should  have  continued 
to  be  practised  down  to  a  period  within  the 
recollection  of  many  persons  now  living  ought 
not,  perhaps,  to  cause  much  surprise  in  the  minds 
of  those  of  the  present  generation  who  remember 
that,  within  a  time  even  more  recent,  men 
convicted  of  treason  have  been  sentenced  to  be 
disembowelled  and  dismembered  after  the  hang- 
man had  executed  his  odious  office  upon  them. 
The  time  had  passed,  however,  when  a  civilised 
and — nominally  at  least — Christian  community 
could  regard  such  horrors  without  a  shudder,  and 
the  sentences  to  which  reference  is  made  were  not 
carried  into  operation.  It  has  been  remarked 
that  many  of  the  generation  of  Frenchmen  that 
perpetrated  or  gloated  over  the  horrors  of  the 
great  revolution  of  the  last  century  may  have 
seen  Damien  dismembered  while  living,  after  a  vain 


194  BYGONE  LEICESTERSHIRE. 

effort  had  been  made  to  carry  out  the  terrible 
sentence  that  he  should  be  torn  in  pieces  by 
horses  attached  to  his  limbs.  That  such  barba- 
rous punishments  have  a  tendency  to  debase  and 
brutalise  those  who  witness  their  infliction,  and 
thus  to  reproduce  the  crimes  they  were  designed 
to  repress,  is  now  generally  recognised,  and 
with  the  recognition  has  come  a  penal  code  more 
humane,  and  yet  no  less  efficient  for  its  legitimate 
purpose. 

In  the  first  quarter  of  the  present  century, 
though  the  bleached  skulls  and  blackened  quarters 
of  political  offenders  no  longer  w^ere  displayed 
on  city  gates,  many  a  strip  of  green  waste  by  the 
road-side,  and  many  a  gorse-covered  common  had 
its  gibbet,  from  which  swung  in  the  breeze  the 
clanking  and  creaking  iron  hoops  encasing  the 
grim  and  ghastly  remains  of  what  had  been  a 
man. 

The  writer  has  heard  from  his  father  a  descrip- 
tion of  the  demoralising  scene  which  he  witnessed 
on  Putney  Heath,  on  the  Sunday  after  the  execu- 
tion of  Jeremiah  Abershaw,  a  notorious  highway- 
man, when  drunken  revellers  clustered  round  the 
gibbet,  and  drank  to  the  ghastly  form  that 
depended  from   it,  and   from  which  one  of  the 


THE  LAST  GIBBET.  195 

wretches  separated  a  finger,  in  order  to  make 
a  tobacco  stopper  of  the  bone.  He  has  heard, 
too,  from  a  relative  who  had  been  an  officer  of  the 
mercantile  marine,  of  the  shock  which  he 
received,  when  departing  on  his  first  voyage,  from 
the  hideous  spectacle  of  th'e  gibbets  of  pirates  and 
murderers  on  the  seas,  which  then  studded  the 
banks  of  the  Thames,  just  below  Black  wall.  But 
the  last  gibbet  was  set  up  in  the  vicinity  of 
Leicester,  in  which  town  there  must  be  persons 
still  living  who  remember  the  horrible  circum- 
stances connected  with  its  erection. 

Sixty  years  ago  there  resided  with  his  parents 
in  Wharfe  Street,  off  Wheat  Street,  Leicester,  a 
young  man  named  James  Cook,  who  carried  on 
the  business  of  a  bookbinder  at  a  workshop 
situated  in  the  rear  of  the  Flying  Horse  public- 
house,  in  Wellington  Street.  About  eleven 
o'clock  on  the  night  of  June  7th,  1832,  some  men 
who  were  passing  the  workshop  observed  a  glare 
of  light  from  one  of  the  windows,  and  supposing 
the  premises  to  be  on  fire,  paused  to  ascertain 
the  cause.  Thej'  then  became  aware  of  a  strong 
smell  of  burning,  and  having  aroused  some  of  the 
neighbours,  they  forced  open  the  outer  door  and 
entered.      A  large  fire  was  found  to  be  burning 


196  BYGONE  LEICESTERSHIRE. 

in  the  grate,  and  from  this  alone  had  proceeded 
the  glare  of  light  which  had  arrested  their  steps. 
Over  the  fire,  the  flame  of  which  mounted  far  up 
the  chimney,  was  a  large  piece  of  charred  flesh, 
the  burning  of  which  had  caused  the  effluvia  which 
had  reached  their  olfa'ctory  organs  even  before 
they  entered  the  building.  The  singularity  of 
this  circumstance,  and  the  risk  which  there  seemed 
to  be  of  the  chimney  being  set  on  fire,  prompted 
the  men  to  send  for  the  occupier  of  the  premises. 
Cook  came  immediately,  and  on  being  asked  for  an 
explanation,  stated  that  the  flesh  had  been  bought 
for  a  dog,  but,  as  he  deemed  it  unfit  for  even  canine 
consumption,  he  had  determined  to  burn  it.  To 
some  of  the  persons  present  this  explanation  did 
not  seem  [perfectly  satisfactory,  and  a  constable 
was  sent  for.  On  the  arrival  of  this  functionary 
the  circumstances  were  related  to  him,  but  he 
did  not  deem  them  such  as  would  warrant  him  in 
detaining  Cook,  who  was  allowed  to  depart. 

The  constable  took  possession  of  the  premises, 
however,  and  the  burning  mass  of  flesh  was 
removed  from  the  fire,  and  submitted  to  the 
inspection  of  a  local  surgeon  named  Macaulay. 
That  gentleman  was  unable  to  determine  whether 
or  not  the  flesh  was  that  of  a  human  being,  but 


THE  LAST  GIBBET.  197 

some  partially  calcined  bones  which  were  found 
in  the  ashes  under  the  grate  he  pronounced  to 
be  those  of  human  fingers.  Other  suspicious 
circumstances  came  to  the  knowledge  of  the 
police  on  the  following  day.  A  stranger  from 
London  had  dined  at  the  Stag  and  Pheasant  Inn, 
and  had  afterwards  been  seen  to  enter  Cook's 
workshop ;  and  no  one  could  be  found  who  had 
seen  him  since.  A  lad  employed  by  Cook  had 
been  sent  home  earlier  than  usual  that  evening, 
and  Cook  had  been  seen  washing  the  floor  at  an 
unusually  early  hour  on  the  following  morning. 
A  warrant  was  thereupon  obtained  by  the  police 
for  the  arrest  of  Cook,  but  on  their  proceeding 
to  execute  it,  it  was  found  that  he  had  left  the 
town. 

Intense  excitement  was  produced  in  Leicester 
and  the  surrounding  neighbourhood  by  these 
circumstances,  and  several  persons  joined  the 
detectives  in  the  search  for  the  fugritive.  The 
Town  Clerk  convened  a  public  meeting,  to 
consider  measures  for  the  assistance  of  the 
authorities,  and  it  was  determined  to  offer  a 
reward  of  £200  for  the  apprehension  of  the 
murderer,  several  prominent  residents  in  the  town 
joining  the  magistrates  in  this  offer.     Search  was. 


198  BYGONE  LEICESTERSHIRE. 

in  the  meantime,  made  for  the  head  and  other 
portions  of  the  victim,  but  without  success, 
nothing  being  found  beyond  the  ghastly  reKcs 
of  mortality  already  in  the  possession  of  the 
police. 

Cook  succeeded  only  for  a  day  or  two  in 
evading  the  search  that  was  made  for  him.  The 
newspapers  of  the  period  give  no  details  of  his 
arrest  or  of  the  subsequent  proceedings  before  the 
magistrates.  Their  absence  may  be  accounted 
for  partly  by  the  comparative  smallness  of  the 
journals  of  sixty  years  ago,  and  partly  by  the 
pressure  upon  their  space  caused  by  the  debates 
in  Parliament  on  the  Keform  Bill,  and  the 
intense  cKcitement  which  they  occasioned 
throughout  the  country.  To  this  latter  cause 
may  be  added  the  news,  given  almost  as  fully  as 
that  of  the  murder  in  Leicester,  of  the  formidable 
insurrection  in  Paris,  on  the  occasion  of  the 
funeral  of  General  Lamarque.  All  that  the 
public  learned  through  the  press  concerning  Cook 
at  this  time  was  that  he  had  been  visited  in  gaol 
by  the  magistrates,  to  whom  he  had  confessed  his 
guilt. 

From  the  briefly  related  particulars  which  were 
o-iven,  it  appears  that  the  man  who  visited  Cook, 


THE  LAST  GIBBET.  199 

and  was  seen  no  more  afterwards,  was  a  London 
tradesman  named  John  Paas,  with  whom  Cook 
had  had  business  relations.  The  latter  had 
received  some  goods  from  Paas,  concerning 
payment  for  which  a  dispute  arose,  which  was 
terminated  by  Cook  seizing  the  iron  pin  of  a 
binder's  press  and  striking  his  victim  a  violent 
blow  on  the  head  with  it.  Paas  called 
"murder!"  and  staofofered  towards  the  door, 
seizing  a  hammer,  as  if  to  defend  himself ;  but  he 
dropped  it  immediately,  and  fell  on  the  floor. 
Cook  struck  him  on  the  head  two  or  three  times 
more,  and  he  never  spoke  or  stirred  again.  The 
murderer  then  took  from  his  victim's  pockets  £55 
in  gold  and  notes,  and  sat  down  to  consider  how 
he  should  dispose  of  the  body.  This  he  resolved 
to  do  by  burning,  and  for  that  purpose  he  made  a 
large  fire,  and  then  proceeded  to  decapitate  and 
dismember  the  body.  The  magistrates  and  the 
police  were  of  opinion  that  he  had  not  disposed 
of  the  whole  of  the  remains  by  fire,  but  he 
persisted  in  his  statement  that  all  had  been 
burned  except  the  portion  discovered  when  the 
premises  were  broken  into  by  the  neighbours. 
He  related  these  particulars  with  the  utmost 
calmness,   and  added  that  if   he   "  had   not  got 


200  BYGONE  LEICESTERSHIRE. 

drinking  before  the  job  was  completed,"  no  trace 
of  the  crime  would  have  been  left. 

The  trial  took  place  on  August  8  th,  in  a 
crowded  court,  the  judge  taking  his  seat  on  the 
bench  at  the  unusually  early  hour  of  nine  o'clock. 
It  was  perhaps  expected  that  the  proceedings 
would  be  of  a  protracted  character,  but  to  the 
surprise,  and  perhaps  disappointment,  of  those 
present,  the  prisoner,  who  retained  the  calmness 
and  self-possession  he  had  evinced  from  the  first, 
pleaded  guilty,  and  then  proceeded  to  read  the 
New  Testament,  as  if  the  formalities  which 
remained  to  be  observed  had  no  interest  for 
him. 

"  I  suppose,"  said  the  judge,  "you  are  aware 
of  the  consequences  of  that  plea?" 

"  I  am,"  replied  Cook. 

"  And  you  make  it  deliberately  and  advisedly  V 

''  I  do." 

"Attend  to  me  now,  not  to  that  book,"  con- 
tinued the  judge.  "You  can  look  at  books 
afterwards.  Do  you  mean  to  adhere  to  the 
answer  you  have  given,  and  are  you  determined 
to  persevere  in  it  ?" 

'*  I  am,"  replied  the  prisoner. 

The  judge  then  put  on  the  black  cap,  and  pro- 


THE  LAST  GIBBET.  201 

ceeded  in  a  speech  said  to  have  been  "  most 
impressive,"  to  pass  sentence  of  death,  with  the 
addition  that  the  prisoner's  body  should,  after 
execution,  be  hung  from  a  gibbet  near  the  town. 
During  the  dehvery  of  this  address,  the  prisoner 
exhibited  no  emotion,  and  on  its  conclusion  he 
gently  inclined  his  head,  made  a  movement  of 
his  right  hand  to  some  person  on  the  bench,  and 
was  conducted  to  his  cell,  the  whole  of  the  pro- 
ceedings having  occupied  no  more  than  a  quarter 
of  an  hour. 

The  sentence  was  executed  three  days  after- 
wards, as  was  the  custom  at  that  time.  Half- 
past  nine  was  the  time  fixed  for  the  execution, 
but  long  before  the  hour  had  struck,  Welford 
Road,  leading  to  the  gaol,  was  thronged,  and  the 
dense  mass  of  human  beings  that  congregated 
around  the  scaffold  was  estimated  at  no  less  than 
30,000.  It  was  five  minutes  after  the  time 
announced  for  the  dread  event  when  the  con- 
demned man,  having  received  the  sacrament, 
walked  to  the  scaffold  with  a  firm  step,  displaying 
no  more  emotion  than  he  had  done  on  his  trial. 
The  authorities  appear  to  have  been  still  disposed 
to  doubt  the  truthfulness  of  his  statement  that 
he  had  disposed  of  the  whole  of  the  remains  of 


202  BYGONE  LEICESTERSHIRE. 

the  murdered  man  by  burning,  for  he  was  again 
questioned  on  the  subject  just  before  his  execu- 
tion, and  exhorted  to  make  a  further  revelation, 
if  there  was  anything  more  to  be  disclosed.  To 
this  appeal  he  replied :  "I  am  now  about  to 
stand  in  the  presence  of  my  maker,  and  I  declare 
that  I  destroyed  the  whole,  except  what  was 
found."  Good  order  is  said  to  have  prevailed 
around  the  scaffold,  and  the  immense  crowd 
dispersed  quietly  after  the  judicial  sentence  had 
been  carried  into  effect.  The  body  of  the  culprit, 
after  hanging  the  usual  time,  was  cut  down  and 
carried  into  the  gaol. 

The  gibbet  constructed  for  the  due  carrying 
out  of  the  latter  portion  of  the  sentence  was 
thirty-three  feet  in  height,  and  was  set  up  on  a 
piece  of  waste  land  on  the  side  of  the  road 
leading  to  Countesthorpe,  and  about  a  quarter  of 
a  mile  from  the  toll-gate  on  the  Aylestone  road. 
Twenty  thousand  persons  are  said  to  have  been 
present  when  the  body  of  the  murderer,  dressed 
as  he  had  been  at  the  trial,  and  encased  in  iron 
hoops,  braced  together  by  transverse  pieces  of 
iron,  was  brought  from  the  gaol  in  a  cart,  and  sus- 
pended from  the  lofty  gibbet  by  means  of  a  ring 
in  the  ironwork  enclosing  the  head,  and  a  hook 


THE  LAST  GIBBET.  203 

in  the  arm  projecting  from  the  highest  portion  of 
the  upright. 

Some  objectors  to  the  observance  of  the 
barbarous  custom  made  an  application  to  the 
authorities  for  permission  to  remove  the  body 
from  the  gibbet  and  consign  it  to  a  more  fitting 
resting-place  in  the  earth.  Whether  any  repre- 
sentation in  support  of  this  course  was  made  to 
the  Secretary  of  State  for  the  Home  Department 
does  not  appear ;  but  the  body  had  been  only 
three  days  suspended  from  the  gibbet,  when  an 
order  for  its  removal  therefrom  was  received 
from  the  Home  Office,  and  was  promptly  acted 
upon.  The  residents  in  the  neighbourhood  were 
probably  not  sorry  to  see  the  horrible  thing 
taken  away,  while  every  right-minded  person  in 
the  kingdom  must  have  received  with  satisfaction 
the  knowledge  that  the  last  gibbet  had  been 
removed  from  the  green  waysides  of  England. 


Zl)c  ancient  TKnater:»«min0  at 
^ouobborougb. 

By  the  Rev.  W.  G.  D.  Fletcher,  m.a.,  f.s.a. 

ANY  traveller  going  by  train  along  the 
Midland  line  of  railway  from  Leicester  to 
Loughborough,  can  see  on  his  right  hand,  just 
before  reaching  Loughborough  Station,  two 
water  corn  mills  standing  on.  the  banks  of  the 
river  Soar.  These  mills  have  long  been  known 
as  the  Upper  and  Lower  Mills,  and  during  a  very 
long  period  the  tenants  and  inhabitants  of  the 
Manor  of  Loughborough  were  compelled  to  take 
all  their  corn  and  grist  there  to  be  ground.  This 
led  to  a  number  of  lawsuits  in  the  Exchequer, 
and  the  pleadings  in  these  suits  are  preserved  in 
the  Public  Record  Office.  I  propose  in  this 
paper  to  show  how  the  inhabitants  of  the  manor 
asserted  and  eventually  obtained  the  right  to 
have  their  corn  ground  where  they  pleased. 

The  Domesday  Survey  mentions  that  Hugh 
Lupus,  the  Norman  Earl  of  Chester,  and  nephew 
to  William   the   Conqueror,    held  the   Manor  of 


WATER-MILLS  AT  LOUGHBOROUGH.  205 

Loughborough ;  and  that  in  the  manor  there 
were  two  mills  of  ten  shillings  value.  There  is 
little  doubt  but  that  the  Upper  and  Lower  Mills, 
which  were  long  ago  known  as  the  King's  Mills, 
occupied  the  sites  of  these  two  Domesday  Mills. 
They  followed  the  manor  for  centuries,  and  were 
the  property  of  the  Despensers,  Beaumonts, 
Greys,  and  Hastings,  successively  lords  of  the 
manor,  until  the  year  1810,  when  the  then  lord, 
Francis,  Earl  of  Moira,  sold  the  manor  and  all 
his  property  in  Loughborough,  and  with  them 
these  ancient  mills. 

The  Manor  of  Loughborough  was  in  the  16th 
and  17th  centuries  held  of  the  King,  subject  to 
the  payment  of  a  fee-farm  rent  of  £115  16s.  6d. 
yearly.  A  few  miles  from  the  town  was  the 
Abbey  of  Garendon,  which  had  for  its  benefit 
certain  corn  mills  at  Garendon  and  Dishley ;  and 
when  this  Abbey  was  dissolved,  and  its  possessions 
sold,  the  millers  of  these  mills  not  unnaturally 
sought  to  increase  their  custom,  and  this  they 
did  by  offering  to  grind  corn  in  a  shorter  time  and 
at  a  cheaper  rate  than  the  millers  of  the  old 
Louofhborouo^h  mills. 

Katherine,  Countess  Dowager  of  Huntingdon, 
who  was  tenant   for   life   under   the   settlement 


L'OG  BYGONE  LEICESTERSHIRE. 

made  on  her  marriage  with  Henry,  third  Earl  of 
Huntingdon,  of  '*  all  those  three  auncyent  milles 
called  the  Sore  mills,  the  walke  mill,  and  the 
ffishpoole  mill,  being  all  parcell  of  the  mannor  of 
Loughborowe,"  about  the  year  1610  commenced 
a  suit  in  the  Exchequer  against  Nicholas  Gossen, 
father  and  son,  who  were  millers  of  Dishley  Mill, 
and  Robert  Traunter,  miller  of  Garendon  Mill, 
and  several  inhabitants  of  Loughborough.  The 
countess  alleged  that  the  lords  of  the  manor  had 
from  time  immemorial  the  right  of  grinding  all 
the  corn  of  the  inhabitants,  but  that  the  Gossens 
and  Traunter  had  enticed  many  of  the  tenants 
and  inhabitants  to  grind  their  corn  at  the  Dishley 
and  Garendon  Mills,  and  had  sent  men  and 
horses  to  carry  it  to  and  from  the  town,  and  took 
less  toll  than  was  charged  at  her  mills.  This  was 
the  first  of  ten  successive  suits  that  were  brought 
within  a  period  of  eighty-eight  years  by  members 
of  the  Hastings  family  against  owners  or  tenants 
of  adjacent  mills  ;  and,  though  I  have  not  found 
any  Decree,  yet  the  defendants  probably  submitted, 
and  matters  were  quiet  for  sixteen  years. 

The  next  suit  was  commenced  by  Henry 
Hastings,  fifth  Earl  of  Huntingdon,  in  the  year 
1626,  against   William    Fowlds  and  eight  other 


WATER-MILLS  AT  LOUGH  BO  ROUGH.  207 

freeholders  and  copyholders,  tenants  of  the 
manor,  and  against  Thomas  Farnham,  gent.,  owner 
of  a  water  corn  mill  in  Quorndon,  distant  two 
miles  from  Loughborough,  and  his  four  loadsmen. 
In  his  Bill  of  Complaint,  the  Earl  alleges  that 
from  time  immemorial  "  there  have  beene  two 
water  corne  mylnes  standinge  uppon  the  river  of 
Soare,  and  one  mawlte  mylne  standinge  within 
the  saide  Towne  of  Loughborough,"  on  the  Wood 
Brook,  and  that  all  the  inhabitants  and  house- 
holders within  the  town  owe  suit  and  soke  to  the 
said  mills,  and  are  used  to  grind  all  their  corn 
and  malt  that  they  spend  in  their  houses,  or  bake 
or  brew,  at  the  Earl's  mills.  And  that  Fowlds 
and  other  tenants  of  the  manor  have  ground  their 
corn  and  malt  at  other  mills,  and  have  set  up 
querns  in  their  own  private  houses  ;  and  pretend 
that  they  have  liberty  to  grind  their  corn  when 
they  please,  and  are  not  bound  by  any  custom  or 
tenure  to  grind  their  corn  and  malt  at  the  Earl's 
mills.  And  that  Farnham's  loadsmen  have 
carried  corn  and  malt  of  various  inhabitants 
from  Loughborough  to  the  said  mill  in  Quorndon. 
I  have  not  found  any  Decree  in  this  suit ;  but  no 
doubt  aofain  the  defendants  submitted. 

The  same  Earl  Henry  commenced  another  suit 


208  BYGONE  LEICESTERSHIRE. 

in  the  Exchequer,  in  1638,  against  Henry 
Skipwith,  of  Knight- thorpe,  Esq.,  and  Symon 
Rugeley,  Esq.,  Skipwith's  son-in-law,  and  against 
John  Nicholas,  and  certain  tenants  of  the  manor. 
He  complains  that  Skipwith  had  newly  built  and 
set  up  a  wind-mill  within  half  a  mile  of  the  town 
of  Loughborough,  at  which  he  had  persuaded 
some  of  the  tenants  to  grind  their  corn  and  grist ; 
and  that  Nicholas  had  lately  set  up  a  common 
bakehouse  in  Loughborough,  and  had  baked 
bread  which  had  been  sold  to  the  tenants  and 
inhabitants. 

Nicholas,  with  Gertrude  Dixon  and  William 
Fowlds,  filed  their  Answer,  in  which  they  assert 
that  excessive  toll  is  taken  at  the  Earl's  mills,  and 
that  the  toll  should  be  a  twentieth  or  twenty- 
fourth  part  of  the  corn  ground ;  and  that  they 
have  only  sent  their  corn  to  other  mills  when,  by 
reason  of  floods  or  droughts,  the  Earl's  mills  could 
not  serve  them.  They  assert  further  that 
Loughborough  bakers  are  by  ancient  custom 
permitted  to  bake  in  their  own  ovens,  or  where 
they  pleased  ;  and  that  the  Earl's  tenants  of  the 
bakehouse  used  only  to  charge  one  penny  for 
baking  a  strike  of  corn,  but  now  charge  three- 
pence a  strike.     Skipwith  and  Rugeley  also  filed 


WATER-MILLS  AT  LOUGHBOROUGH.  209 

an  Answer,  in  which  they  say  that  the  old  mill, 
situate  in  Mill  Field,  in  the  manor  of  Knight- 
thorpe,  being  decayed,  Skipwith  set  up  a  new  mill 
on  the  foundation  of  the  old  one. 

The  Depositions  of  witnesses  taken  in  this  suit 
at  Loughborough,  on  26th  September,  1638,  are 
preserved,  and  are  interesting.  From  the 
evidence  it  seems  that  Skipwith's  wind-mill  at 
Knight-thorpe  was  built  about  1611,  on  the  site 
of  "  an  olde  ruynous  wyndmyll,"  in  a  field  called 
Neather  Field,  and  on  the  Mill  Furlong ;  and 
that  corn  was  often  taken  there  to  be  ground,  as 
also  to  other  mills  at  Dishley,  Sheepshed, 
Quorndon,  and  Garendon,  when  the  water  was 
defective  at  the  Earl's  mills.  The  Earl's  millers 
seem  to  have  dealt  ill  with  some  of  the  customers, 
taking  five,  six,  seven,  or  even  eleven  pounds  out 
of  a  strike  ;  and  when  they  made  complaint,  met 
with  abuse,  not  satisfaction. 

A  curious  list  of  the  stones  in  the  Earl's  mills 
is  given.  Opinions  differed,  however,  as  to 
whether  the  Earl's  bakehouse  was  a  common 
bakehouse,  and  the  only  bakehouse  in  the  town, 
and  whether  all  tenants  were  bound  to  bake  their 
bread  there.  The  raising  of  the  toll  for  baking 
bread  is  attributed  to  the  scarcity  and  dearness  of 


210  BYGONE  LEICESTERSHIRE. 

fuel,   which  thirty  years  back  might  have  been 
had  for  little  or  nothing. 

The  cause  came  on  for  hearing  on  4th  February, 
1640,  before  the  Chief  Baron  and  other  Barons, 
who  ordered  that  the  tenants  and  inhabitants 
within  the  manor  should  grind  all  their  corn  and 
malt  at  complainant's  mills,  so  that  the  same 
should  be  ground  within  forty-eight  hours,  and 
in  default  of  this  they  might  grind  their  corn 
and  malt  at  any  other  mills  they  should  think  fit. 
The  question  of  the  common  bakehouse  was  not 
touched  upon,  and,  indeed,  was  never  seriously 
pressed  by  the  lords  of  the  manor. 

Matters  now  remained  quiet  for  a  few  years ;  but 
Earl  Henry  dying  on  14th  November  1643,  and  his 
son,  Ferdinando  Hastings,  succeeding  to  his  title 
and  estates  as  sixth  Earl  of  Huntingdon,  some 
of  the  tenants  began  to  send  their  corn  to  certain 
mills  at  Quorndon,  the  property  of  Thomas 
Farnham,  and  to  Dishley  Mill,  to  be  ground. 
Consequently  Earl  Ferdinando,  in  1648,  com- 
menced a  suit  in  the  Exchequer  against  Thomas 
Farnham,  gent.,  Henry  Gosson,  farmer  of 
Dishley  Mill,  and  against  Thomas  Whittaph, 
a  copyholder,  and  several  inhabitants  of  the 
manor,   for  taking  their  corn  to  be   ground   at 


WATER-MILLS  AT  LOUGHBOROUGH.  211 

Quorndon  and  Dishley  Mills.  The  defendants, 
in  their  Answer,  simply  deny  that  complainant 
has  any  exclusive  right  of  grinding,  Lough- 
borough "beeinge  of  very  lardge  extent,  and 
beeinge  a  great  markett  towne." 

The  Depositions  of  a  number  of  witnesses, 
which  were  taken  on  25th  January,  1649-50,  are 
full  of  interest.  From  these  depositions  it  seems 
that  the  late  Earl  Henry  "was  a  very  powerfull 
man  in  the  County,  and  especially  at  Lough- 
borrowe,"  and  the  inhabitants  were  in  much 
subjection  to  him  ;  and  that  they  did  not  carry 
the  former  suits  to  hearing,  because  he  was  "  a 
great  man,  and  one  with  whom  they  could  not 
deal,  else  they  would  not  have  ceased  their 
defence."  The  Earl's  mills  in  the  manor  were 
three,  and  were  called  "  the  Walke  Mill,  the  Malt 
Mill,  and  the  Soare  Mill  near  the  Cotes  Bridge," 
and  had  seven  pairs  of  stones  for  grinding  corn, 
etc.  The  Walke  Mill  lay  ruined  several  years, 
and  about  twenty  years  ago  was  rebuilt  by  Earl 
Henry.  It  seems  that  when  a  Dishley  loadsman 
came  into  Loughborough  about  fifty  years  ago 
with  bells  about  his  horse's  neck,  a  loadsman  of 
Loughborough  cut  off  the  bells  and  broke  them; 
Some  of  the  defendants'  witnesses  assert  that  for 


212  BYGONE  LEICESTERSHIRE. 

many  years  the  inhabitants  of  Loughborough 
have  sent  their  corn  to  Quorndon  and  Dishley 
Mills  at  their  own  pleasure,  also  to  Barrow  and 
Sheepshed ;  one  old  man  deposing  that  for 
seventy  years  the  Farnhams  have  sent  into 
Loughborough  to  fetch  corn  to  grind  at  their 
mills  in  Quorndon.  It  is  stated  by  the  Earl's 
witnesses  that  most  tenants  took  their  own  corn 
to  be  ground ;  but  forty  years  since  the  penny 
bakers  and  others  hired  loadsmen,  whom  they 
paid  a  penny  a  strike  for  carrying ;  and  after- 
wards Earl  Henry  provided  loadsmen  and  horses 
for  the  use  of  the  tenants  at  his  own  cost.  The 
town  of  Loughborough  is  said  to  be  "a  very 
great  markett  towne,  and  there  is  very  many 
ffamilyes  there,  perhaps  five  hundred." 

When  the  cause  came  on  for  hearing  on  the 
12th  June,  1651,  the  Court  decreed  that  the 
owners  or  occupiers  of  the  Quorndon  and  Dishley 
Mills  should  not  fetch  or  carry  any  corn  of  the 
freehold,  leasehold,  or  copyhold  tenants  of  the 
manor  to  be  ground  at  any  mill  except  the 
complainant's  mills ;  and  that  the  question 
whether  the  rest  of  the  inhabitants  of 
the  manor  are  bound  to  grind  at  com- 
plainant's   mills   shall   be    decided    in    an   action 


WATER-MILLS  AT  LOUGHBOROUGH.  213 

at  Common  Law  to  be  tried  in  the  Exchequer 
of  Pleas. 

About  this  time  Earl  Ferdinando  and  his 
brother  Henry,  Lord  Loughborough,  sold  some 
of  their  property  in  the  manor,  and  in  the 
conveyance  a  covenant  was  invariably  inserted, 
that  the  purchaser  should  grind  his  own  corn, 
grain,  and  malt  at  the  Earl's  water  mills  and  horse 
mills. 

Whether  this  trial  at  the  Common  Law,  to 
test  the  right  of  the  inhabitants  generally,  apart 
from  the  freehold,  leasehold,  and  copyhold 
tenants,  ever  took  place,  I  do  not  know.  How- 
ever, Earl  Ferdinando  died  a  few  years  afterwards, 
on  13th  February,  1656,  and  then  the  Dishley 
millers  began  again  to  carry  the  corn  of  the 
tenants  or  inhabitants  to  be  ground  at  Dishley 
Mill,  situate  a  mile  and  a  half  from  the  town, 
and  outside  the  manor.  In  1664,  Lucy,  Countess 
Dowager  of  Huntingdon,  Ferdinando's  widow, 
filed  her  Bill  of  Complaint  against  Bridge tt 
Gosson,  of  Dishley,  widow,  tenant  of  the  Dishley 
Mill,  for  fetching  and  grinding  the  corn  of  the 
inhabitants  within  the  manor,  and  against  Oliver 
Bromskill,  clerk  (the  intruding  but  now  deposed 
rector),  and  Elizabeth  Towle,  who  had  within  the 


214  BYGONE  LEICESTERSHIRE. 

last  three  years  set  up  hand  mills,  and  ground  the 
corn  of  other  inhabitants.  From  the  pleadings 
in  a  later  suit.,  it  appears  that  Widow  Gosson 
spent  £20  in  defending  this  suit,  but  the  Countess 
of  Rutland  (who  was  owner  of  the  Dishley 
Mills),  not  assisting  her,  she  neglected  further 
defence  of  the  suit.  So  the  question  whether 
the  inhabitants  of  Loughborough,  who  were  not 
tenants  of  the  manor,  might  grind  where  they 
liked  was  not  yet  brought  to  an  issue. 

The  Manor  of  Loughborough  now  became 
vested  in  Theophilus  Hastings,  seventh  Earl  of 
Huntingdon ;  and  a  series  of  five  suits  in  the 
Exchequer  followed  in  rapid  succession,  until  the 
question  was  finally  determined.  The  Earl  seems 
to  have  leased  his  ancient  mills,  in  1675,  for  a 
term  of  years  to  John  Harrison  and  Benjamin 
Harrison ;  and  they,  in  1678,  commenced  a  suit 
against  William  Freeman,  tenant  of  the  Dishley 
water  corn  mill,  for  fetching  and  grinding  the 
corn  of  certain  inhabitants  of  Loughborough  at 
Dishley  mill.  Freeman  in  his  Answer  alleges 
that  the  Dishley  millers  have  always  fetched  corn 
from  Loughborough. 

Three  years  later,  in  January  1680-81,  Earl 
Theophilus  also  filed  his   Bill   against  the   same 


WATER-MILLS  AT  LOUGHBOROUGH.  215 

William  Freeman  ;  who,  in  his  Answer,  says  that 
the  Earl's  mills  are  inefficient  to  grind  the  in- 
habitants' corn,  and  that  the  Earl  had  within  the 
last  three  years  erected  a  new  windmill  in  the 
•Lordship  of  Loughborough,  and  that  he  had 
constantly  for  four  years  fetched  the  corn  of  the 
inhabitants  to  be  ground  at  Dishley  mill. 

In  1682,  the  Earl  filed  two  Bills  of  Complaint 
against  Anne  Freeman,  widow  (William  Freeman, 
the  defendant  in  the  former  action,  having 
apparently  died),  who  was  now  the  tenant  of 
Dishley  Mill,  under  George,  Duke  of  Buckingham, 
at  a  rent  of  £31  ;  and  she  in  her  Answer  alleges 
that  time  out  of  mind  Dishley  millers  have  fetched 
corn  from  Loughborough,  and  the  inhabitants 
have  sent  their  corn  to  Dishley  mill.  Ambrose 
Phillipps,  Esq.,  also  puts  in  an  Answer,  and  says 
that  he  lately  purchased  Dishley  Mills  with 
Garendon  Manor,  and  has  since  let  the  mills  at 
£25  rent,  and  he  claims  the  general  privilege  of 
all  Englishmen  of  going  into  Loughborough  or 
grinding  the  corn  of  such  customers  as  they  can 
efet.  None  of  these  suits  seem  to  have  been 
proceeded  with,  or  to  have  come  to  a  hearing. 

We  now  come  to  the  last  and  most  important 
suit  of  all,  sixteen  years  later.     The  inhabitants  of 


216  BYGONE  LEICESTERSHIRE. 

Loughborough  still  asserted  their  right  to  send 
their  corn  where  they  liked  to  be  ground,  and 
continued  to  do  so,  and  the  millers  from  all  the 
country  round  regularly  came  into  the  town  to 
fetch  their  corn.  Consequently,  Earl  Theophilus 
filed  his  Bill,  about  1697,  against  George  Mugg 
and  several  other  inhabitants  of  Loughborough, 
and  against  the  tenants  of  mills  at  Garendon, 
Dishley,  and  Costock.  The  despositions  were 
taken  at  the  Bull's  Head,  in  Loughborough,  on 
9th  May,  1698  ;  and  a  number  of  witnesses  were 
examined.  It  seems  that  the  horses  of  foreign 
millers  were  frequently  impounded  when  they 
came  into  the  town  to  fetch  corn;  and  that  one 
John  Peake,  thirty  years  ago,  bought  a  quern, 
which  he  never  used  for  fear  of  trouble,  so  sold  it. 
Some  of  the  witnesses  complained  that  they  were 
not  fairly  or  honestly  dealt  with  by  Lowe,  the 
Earl's  miller ;  that  the  customary  toll  was  for  the 
miller  to  take  four  pounds  out  of  each  strike  of 
wheat,  but  Lowe  would  sometimes  take  seven  or 
eight  pounds.  One  woman,  who  sent  half  a  strike 
of  white  wheat  to  be  ground,  got  back  red  wheat 
instead.  Another  sent  a  peck  of  rye,  and  got  it 
back  five  pounds  short.  Some  alleged  that  the 
Earl's  mills   were  not  able  to  grind   in  time  of 


WATER-MILLS  AT  LOUGHBOROUGH.  217 

floods,  sometimes  for  two  or  three  weeks 
together. 

When  the  cause  came  on  for  hearing,  on  the 
20th  of  July  following,  the  court  ordered  that  the 
matter  in  question  be  tried  at  the  next  Assizes  to 
be  held  for  the  county  of  Leicester,  the  issue 
to  be  whether  the  inhabitants  within  the  manor 
are  obliged  by  custom  to  grind  all  their  corn, 
grain,  and  malt  at  the  Earl's  ancient  mills,  and 
not  at  any  other  mills.  The  question  was  tried 
at  the  next  Leicester  assizes  accordingly,  and  a 
verdict  was  given  for  the  defendants,  and  it  was 
decided  that  the  inhabitants  of  the  manor  of 
Loughborough  are  not  bound  by  custom  to  grind 
all  their  corn,  grain,  and  malt  at  the  Earl's 
ancient  mills  there,  but  at  any  other  mills.  On 
the  8th  December  the  Earl  applied  for  a  new  trial, 
but  the  Court  of  Exchequer,  on  21st  February, 
1698-99,  refused  to  grant  it,  and  so  the  matter 
was  finally  disposed  of 

Thus  the  inhabitants  of  Loughborough,  after 
long  litigation,  extending  nearly  ninety  years, 
during  which  there  were  no  less  than  ten  suits 
commenced  in  the  Court  of  Exchequer,  finally 
won  the  victory,  and  threw  off  the  claim  asserted 
by  the   powerful  lord   of  the   manor   that    they 


218  BYGONE  LEICESTERSHIRE. 

should  grind  solely  at  his  mills,  and  gained 
the  right  to  grind  their  own  corn  whereso- 
ever they  pleased.  No  doubt,  if  the  Records 
were  searched,  similar  results  might  be  found 
in  the  case  of  other  places  within  the 
county. 


Uobb^^tfcAa^Zoncb    Castle    ant)    its 
associations. 

asbb^*«be:*Ia*'Zoncb    anb    the   Jfrcncb 
prisoners. 

By  Canon  Denton,  m.a. 

THOUGH  its  baths  and  other  attractions 
are  most  of  them  of  recent  date,  yet  long 
before  many  of  what  are  now  great  centres  of 
population  had  an  existence,  Ashby-de-la-Zouch 
was  a  place  of  considerable  note. 

And  although  Sir  Walter  Scott  has  in  his 
vivid  and  masterly  description  of  the  lists  and  the 
tournament  at  Ashby-de-la-Zouch,  thrown  a 
halo  of  chivalry  and  romance  over  the  town,  yet 
independent  of  the  charms  and  fascinations  of  the 
pages  of  Ivanhoe,  from  its  ancient  remains,  and  its 
associations  stretching  far  back  into  the  past, 
Ashby-de-la-Zouch,  or  Ashby  as  it  is  generally 
called,  may,  beyond  any  other  parts  of  the  county, 
claim  to  belong  to  "  Bygone  Leicestershire." 

The  great  Castle  of  Ashby,  throughout  the 
middle  ages,   was  one  of  "  the  stately  homes  of 


220  BYGONE  LEICESTERSHIRE. 

England,"  and  its  picturesque  ruins  at  the  present 
day,  tell  alike  of  olden  days  and  of  former 
magnificence. 

Sir  Walter  Scott  knew  Ashby  and  its  Castle 
and  neighbourhood  well,  for  he  often  stayed  at 
Coleorton  Hall  two  miles  distant,  and  he  thus 
writes  in  Ivanhoe — **  Prince  John  (afterwards 
King  of  England)  held  his  high  festival  in  the 
Castle  of  Avshby.  This  was  not  the  same 
building  of  which  the  stately  ruins  still  interest 
the  traveller,  and  which  was  erected  at  a  later 
period  by  the  Lord  Hastings,  High  Chamberlain 
of  England,  a  victim  of  the  tyranny  of  Richard 
the  Third,  and  yet  better  known  as  one  of 
Shakespeare's  characters  than  by  his  historical 
fame."  William,  Lord  Hastings,  to  whom  Sir 
Walter  here  refers,  lived  at  Ashby  Castle  in 
almost  reofal  state.  He  had  no  less  than  two 
lords,  nine  knights,  fifty-eight  squires,  with 
twenty  gentlemen  of  rank  among  his  retainers. 
Yet  how  uncertain  is  the  tenure  of  earthly 
greatness  or  the  enjoyment  of  wealth  and  power  ! 
For  though  Ashby  Castle  and  the  old  town  of 
Ashby  have  seen  many  dark  and  gloomy  days, 
— yet  they  have  seen  few  darker  ones  than  that 
when  messengers  conveyed  the  terrible  news  to 


ASHBY-DE-LA-ZOUCII  CASTLE.  221 

the  inmates  of  his  Castle — that  WilHam,  Lord 
Hastings,  High  Chamberlain  of  England,  one  of 
the  most  powerful  nobles  of  his  day,  had  been 
beheaded ! 

As  the  first  shock  of  loss,  and  the  first  burst  of 
fierce  rage  abated  in  the  Castle  and  town, 
knight  and  squire  and  dame  would  have  their 
indignation  renewed,  when  under  the  shadow  of 
the  great  keep  or  in  the  reception  rooms  high  up 
in  it,  they  heard  fuller  particulars  of  their  Lord's 
fate.  Heard  how  on  June  14,  1483,  the  Duke  of 
Gloucester  had  accused  William,  Lord  Hastings,  of 
high  treason,  and  had  had  him  beheaded  on  Tower 
Hill,  within  a  few^  hours  of  so  accusing  him, 
fulfilling  to  the  letter  his  dastardly  threat 
that  "  he  would  not  dine  until  Hastings'  head 
was  off." 

It  would  be  a  far  brighter  day  for  Ashby  when 
the  portals  of  its  Castle,  two  years  later,  opened  to 
welcome  Edward,  Lord  Hastings,  after  the  battle 
of  Bosworth,  where  he  fought  with  the  victorious 
army.  Bosworth  field  being  only  a  few  miles 
distant,  early  intelligence  would  reach  it  of  the 
issue  of  the  last  great  Battle  of  the  Roses.  And 
in  Ashby  and  its  Castle  there  would  be  but  one 
feeling  of  rejoicing,   that  the  man  who  had  be- 


222  BYGONE  LEICESTERSHIRE. 

headed  William,  Lord  Hastings,  who  had  waded 
to  the  throne  through  blood,  had  himself  been 
defeated  and  slain,  and  that  the  crown  of  England 
had  been  placed  on  the  head  of  the  new  king  in 
the  hour  of  his  triumph. 

And  the  rejoicings  at  Ashby  over  the  Battle 
of  Bosworth  proved  an  earnest  of  the  better 
fortune  of  Edward,  Lord  Hastings,  who  had  in 
due  course  all  his  estates  restored  to  him  by 
Henry  the  Seventh. 

As  has  been  remarked,  Sir  Walter  Scott  speaks 
of  the  "  stately  ruins  "  of  Ashby  Castle,  and  few 
words  better  than  "stately"  could  also  have 
described  what  the  castle  was  before  it  was  a 
ruin. 

Leland,  the  great  antiquary,  in  his  **  Itinerary," 
written  during  the  reign  we  have  just  referred  to, 
that  of  Henry  the  Seventh,  says,  speaking  of 
William,  Lord  Hastings — ''  This  Lord  built  a 
very  noble  house  at  Ashby,  intending  it  for  the 
residence  of  his  family,  which  it  continued  to  be 
for  about  200  years.  The  situation  was  at  the 
south  side  of  the  town,  on  a  rising  ground  having 
three  parks  adjoining  thereto.  The  great  Park 
which  was  ten  miles  in  compass ;  Prestop  Park 
for  fallow  deer ;  and  the  Little  Park  at  the  back 


ASHBY-DE-LA-ZOUCH  CASTLE.  223 

of  the  house  for  red  deer,  which  were  all  well  stored 
with  wood.  The  house  itself  consisted  of  mixed 
buildings  of  brick  and  stone,  the  rooms  therein 
being  large  and  magnificent,  and  adjoining 
thereto  a  fair  chapel,  scarcely  to  be  equalled  by 
any  private  one,  the  Universities  excepted.  But 
that  which  was  the  greatest  ornament  were  two 
stately  large  towers,  with  walls  of  Ashlar  stone, 
covered  with  lead  and  embattled ;  which  towers 
stand  back  and  towards  the  garden  in  the  south 
and  south-west  sides  of  the  house,  as  it  should 
seem,  and  by  tradition  it  has  been  told,  built  in 
such  a  figure,  that  two  more  might  be  placed  at 
convenient  distances  to  equal  them,  the  greater 
of  these  being  an  entire  house  of  itself,  consisting 
of  a  large  hall,  great  chambers,  bed  chambers, 
kitchens,  cellars,  and  all  other  offices. 

"  The  other,  much  less,  and  standing  westward, 
was  an  entire  kitchen  of  so  large  dimensions  as  is 
scarcely  to  be  paralleled,  over  which  were  divers 
fine  rooms  that  was  called  the  kitchen  tower." 
It  may  be  added  that  the  outer  walls  of  the 
kitchen  tower  were  very  strong ;  a  large  pro- 
portion of  them  now  remain ;  they  are  in  some 
instances  nine  feet  thick,  the  ground  floor 
containing  one  large  kitchen  with  huge  fire-places. 


224  BYGONE  LEICESTERSHIRE. 

For  two  months,  viz.,  from  the  middle  of 
November  1569  to  the  middle  of  January  1570, 
Mary  Queen  of  Scots  was  a  guest,  or  rather  a 
prisoner,  in  the  Castle — and  a  spacious  apartment, 
with  an  immense  stone  window,  each  of  its  many 
squares  large  enough  for  a  tall  man  to  stand 
upright  in,  is  known  as  "  Queen  Mary's  room." 
The  present  owner  of  the  Castle  and  Lord  of  the 
Manor  of  Ashby,  Lord  Donington,  to  whose  wife 
(the  late  Countess  of  Loudoun)  a  beautiful 
memorial  cross  is  placed  in  the  town,  has  lately 
caused  the  part  of  the  Castle  including  Queen 
Mary's  apartments  to  be  especially  cared  for, 
and  protected  against  the  ravages  of  time. 

If  Queen  Mary  came  to  Ashby  unwillingly, 
her  son  King  James,  by  all  accounts,  came  there 
willingly  enough.  When  that  King  visited 
Ashby,  the  establishment  at  the  castle  was  on  a 
princely  scale.  Upwards  of  seventy  persons 
daily  dined  and  supped  there,  exclusive  of 
strangers.  The  visit  of  King  James  the  First 
added  so  much  to  the  costliness  and  splendour  of 
the  style  of  living,  that  the  expense  of  entertain- 
ing him  is  said  to  have  materially  crippled  the 
property  of  the  Earl.  Indeed,  the  late  Lady 
Flora,  daughter  of  the  First  Marquis  of  Hastings, 


ASHBY-DE-LA-ZOUCII  CASTLE.  225 

concludes  her  poem  on  Ashby-de-la-Zouch, 
describing  this  visit  of  James  the  First  to  her 
ancestor,  Henry,  Fifth  Earl  of  Huntingdon,  as 
follows : — 

"  The  bells  did  ring, 
The  gracious  King 
Enjoyed  his  visit  much  ; 
And  we've  been  poor 
Ere  since  that  hour 
At  Ashby-de-la-Zouch." 

During  the  King's  stay  at  Ashby  Castle, 
dinner  was  served  up  by  thirty-four  knights  in 
velvet  gowns  and  gold  chains,  everything  else 
being  sumptuously  magnificent.  In  the  year 
1617,  preparatory  to  the  Royal  visit,  the  Corpora- 
tion of  Leicester  presented  the  Earl  of  Hunt- 
ingdon with  a  yoke  of  fat  oxen.  In  the  month 
of  May,  1645,  King  Charles  the  First  was  the 
guest  of  the  then  Earl  of  Huntingdon.  A " 
gleam  of  sunshine  at  that  time  illumined  the 
fortunes  of  the  King  in  the  Midlands. 

Leicester  was  taken  by  the  Royalist  army, 
and,  with  the  fall  of  the  county  town,  the 
soldiers  of  the  Parliament  quitted  the  garrisons 
of  Bag  worth,  Coleorton,  and  Kirby.  At  this 
seeming  turn  of  the  tide,  sanguine  hopes  of 
ultimate    success    would    inspire    confidence    in 


226  BYGONE  LEICESTERSHIRE. 

the  hearts  of  the  good  men  and  true  in  Ashby 
Castle.  These  hopes,  however,  were,  we  know, 
doomed  to  be  disappointed,  the  king's  troops  had 
to  leave  Leicester,  and  the  commanders  of  the 
garrison  at  Leicester  rode  straight  to  Ashby, 
which,  in  those  troublous  days,  served  as  a  place 
of  refuge  not  only  to  combatants,  but  to  non- 
combatants  ;  among  them  being  several  learned 
and  pious  divines.  We  cannot  now  look  at  the 
Earl's  tower,  with  its  reception  rooms  at  such  an 
elevation  as  to  be  beyond  the  reach  of  rude 
assault  or  desperate  onset,  and  not  feel  that 
Ashby  Castle  was  well  calculated  to  protect 
those  who  sought  for  safety  within  its  massive 
walls,  and  right  glad  must  they  have  been 
for  the  pleasant  refuge  they  afforded  them. 

In  June,  1645,  King  Charles  the  First  came  for 
another,  and  a  very  brief,  visit  to  Ashby  Castle. 
And  it  would  seem  that  on  Sunday,  June  15,  he 
left  the  castle  about  ten  in  the  morning,  on  his 
way  to  Lichfield. 

It  is  not  difficult  to  conjecture  how  sad  a  day 
the  15th  of  June,  1645,  was  in  the  town.  And  as 
the  King,  with  all  his  troubles  before  him,  rode 
that  June  morning  out  of  the  castle,  and  passing 
the   western   doorway   of    the    church,    possibly 


ASHBY-DE-LA-ZOUCH  CASTLE.  227 

having  already  joined  in  its  serv^iees,  went  down 
what  is  now  the  Market  Place  of  Ashby.  As 
he  rode  on,  every  inch  a  King,  we  can  believe 
that  while  on  all  sides  loyal  homage  was  paid 
him,  yet  anxious  looks  followed  his  course,  and 
that  when  they  had  seen  their  last  of  him,  fore- 
bodings of  coming  evil  would  prevail  in  the  town 
and  in  the  castle.  Forebodinofs  all  too  soon 
realized,  for  on  the  surrender  of  the  garrison  at 
Leicester,  the  Royalist  general,  Lord  Lough- 
borough, according  to  Nicholls,  returned  to 
Ashby  Castle,  and  the  Parliamentary  army, 
under  Sir  Thomas  Fairfax,  for  months  closely 
besieged  both  the  town  and  castle,  which 
strongly  resisted  them,  and  held  out  bravely  for 
the  Poyal  cause. 

Eventually  articles  for  the  surrender  of  "  the 
maiden  garrison  at  Ashby-de-la-Zouch,"  so  called 
as  having  never  actually  been  conquered,  were 
signed,  and  the.  castle  doomed. 

In  1648,  we  find  the  command  of  Ashby-de-la- 
Zouch  given  to  Thomas,  Lord  Grey,  of  Groby, 
who  was  desired  to  take  care  for  securing  and 
safe  keeping  the  Duke  of  Hamilton  a  prisoner 
there. 

In  the  month  of  November  that  same  year,  it 


228  BYGONE  LEICESTERSHIRE. 

was  referred  to  a  committee  of  the  House  of 
Commons  "  to  consider  of  all  castles,  garrisons, 
and  places  of  strength  in  the  kingdom,  what  were 
to  be  kept  up  and  what  were  to  be  slighted  and 
made  untenable,"  and  on  the  same  day  it  was 
resolved  that  the  garrison  and  castle  of  Ashby- 
de-la-Zouch  should  be  "  slighted  and  made  unten- 
able," and  that  James,  Earl  of  Cambridge,  then  a 
prisoner  in  that  castle  should  be  committed  close 
prisoner    to    Windsor   Castle   for   high   treason. 

"Thus,"  says  Nichols,  "was  this  noble  structure 
soon  after  permitted  to  dissolve,  with  the  downfall 
of  the  monarchy  and  the  king's  interest — these 
unworthy  ends  being  affected  by  the  Parliamentary 
Committee  then  sitting  at  Leicester,  which 
committee  having-  sent  some  of  their  members 
to  view  the  place,  employed  divers  persons  to 
demolish  these  goodly  towers  by  undermining. 
William  Bainbricja  of  Lockington  in  the  said 
county,  a  general  in  the  Parliamentary  army, 
commanding  a  party  of  horse  for  the  occasion, 
bearing  the  oversight  thereof." 

General  Bainbrigg  executed  his  commission 
with  such  zeal  that  the  immensely  thick  walls 
were  overthrown,  and  what  was  once  a  famous 
castle,    great     in    its    strength    and 


ASIIBY-DE-LA-ZOUCH  CASTLE.  229 

has  been  from  that  day  to  this  a  famous  ruin, 
beautiful,  exceedingly,  in  its  decay. 

One  hundred  and  twenty  years  after,  in  178G, 
a  visitor  to  Ashby  thus  writes  respecting  the 
castle: — "The  castle,  however,  still  preserves  a 
considerable  portion  of  its  original  grandeur,  and 
fully  merits  the  eulogy  of  its  several  panegyrists. 
It  seems  scarcely  to  have  known  any  bounds 
either  in  the  modes  of  arrangement,  or  in  the 
altitude  of  the  several  stories." 

We  pass  over  many  interesting  particulars, 
civil  and  ecclesiastical,  pertaining  to  Ashby  in 
the  years  that  have  intervened  since  its  castle 
was  destroyed,  and  we  will  conclude  this  paper 
with  a  short  notice  of  the  residence  of  the  French 
prisoners  in  the  town,  at  the  beginning  of  the 
present  century. 

It  may  perhaps  not  be  always  borne  in  mind, 
that  during  the  long  wars  with  France,  this 
country  had  to  receive  within  its  shores  a  vast 
number  of  prisoners  of  war  of  all  ranks. 

There  were,  according  to  Sir  Archibald  Alison, 
in  the  year  1810,  not  less  than  50,000  French 
prisoners  in  Great  Britain.  And  relying  on  the 
same  authority,  Napoleon  never  remitted  one 
farthing  for  their    maintenance.     The    Emperor 


230  BYGONE  LEICESTERSHIRE. 

thus  left  thousands  who  had  fought  his  battles 
and  won  his  laurels,  either  to  starve  or  to  be  a 
burden  on  the  British  Government,  which  on  the 
contrary  regularly  remitted  the  whole  cost  of  the 
support  of  the  English  captives  in  France  to  the 
imperial  authorities.  Vast  structures  were 
erected  at  an  enormous  expense  for  the  reception 
of  the  French  soldiers,  notably  one  at  Dartmoor 
and  two  in  Scotland,  each  of  these  being  capable 
of  containing  six  or  seven  thousand  men. 

While  the  soldiers  were  imprisoned  in  these 
and  other  places,  the  officers  were  quartered  in 
various  towns,  and  among  them  Ashby-de-la- 
Zouch  received  about  200,  though  not  all  officers. 

The  writer  of  this  paper  had  many  particulars 
respecting  them  given  him  by  one  who  was  in 
Ashby  all  through  the  residence  of  the  French 
prisoners  in  the  town,  and  who  lived  to  a  great 
age.  He  also  has  had  access  to  a  record  kept  by 
a  well-known  physician  who  lived  in  Ashby  at 
that  time. 

It  would  seem  that  the  first  French  prisoners 
arrived  in  the  town  on  Friday,  September  26th, 
1804, — this  first  detachment  consisted  of  forty-two 
officers,  and  other  detachments  followed.  The 
French  prisoners  were  in  Ashby  from   1804  to 


ASHMY-DE-LA-ZOUCII  CASTLE.  231 

1814,  returning  to  their  own  country  when 
Napoleon  was  sent  to  Elba. 

We  can  readily  imagine  in  those  days  when 
war  was  constantly  being  waged  between  this 
country  and  France,  in  the  Peninsula  and 
elsewhere,  how  strange  it  must  have  seemed  to 
the  good  people  of  Ashby  to  have  living  in  their 
midst  200  men  who  rejoiced  when  their  neighbours 
sorrowed,  and  sorrowed  when  their  neighbours 
rejoiced.  In  these  "  good  old  days  "  news  of  any 
kind  travelled  very  slowly,  and  it  might  be  that 
days  would  elapse  after  a  battle  was  fought 
before  the  particulars  reached  Ashby.  And 
when  the  postman  who  rode  into  the  town  on  the 
Birmingham  and  Tamworth  road,  with  gay  ribands 
in  his  hat,  the  French  prisoners  who  always  went 
as  far  as  they  were  allowed  on  the  way  to  meet 
him,  when  they  saw  these  outward  signs  of  the 
tidings,  were  terribly  distressed  and  disheartened. 

And  as  the  bells  of  the  Parish  Church  rang 
out  the  news  (some  of  the  same  grand  peal  of  eight 
now  in  the  tower),  clashing  out  England's 
victory,  as  the  great  bonfires  blazed,  as  other 
tokens  of  national  joy  were  manifested, — the 
French  prisoners  dropped  their  usual  bonhomie 
and  retired  to  their  rooms,  and  stayed  there  until 


^32  hYGOli^k  lEtCESfEkSHtM. 

the  rejoicing  was  over.  On  the  other  hand, 
rumours  of  the  landing  of  Napoleon  in  England 
were  frequent,  and  as  the  French  residents  in 
Ashby  heard  of  them  their  manifestations  of 
deliofht  were  demonstrative  in  the  extreme. 

The  greater  part  of  the  French  prisoners  at 
Ashby  were  officers  of  the  army  or  navy ;  there 
were,  however,  thirty  civilians  among  them, 
"merchants"  as  they  are  called  by  Dr.  Kirkland 
in  his  note-book,  to  which  I  have  referred. 

My  aged  informant,  Mrs.  Why  man,  told  me 
that  the  officers  were  allow^ed  10s.  6d.,  and  the 
civilians  7s.  6d.,  a  week  for  their  maintenance, 
which  was  paid  them  on  behalf  of  the  Govern- 
ment by  a  Mr.  Farnell.  The  French  prisoners 
were  allowed  to  go  a  mile  in  any  direction  out- 
side the  town,  and  no  more,  their  favourite  walk 
was  what  is  now  called  "the  Mount  Walk,"  and 
they  loved  to  gaze  on  the  ruins  of  the  Castle.  It 
is  said  by  some  that  they  taught  the  inhabitants 
of  Ashby  the  art  of  crochet  work,  and  it  must 
have  been  an  advantage  in  many  ways  to  the 
people  of  Ashby  to  have  them, — and  doubtless 
intercourse  with  them  softened  many  of  the 
existing  and  deep-rooted  prejudices  against  the 
French.      During    the    ten    years    the    French 


ASHBY-DE-LA.2iOUCII  CASTLE.  233 

prisoners  were  in  Ashby,  some  of  them  escaped, 
others  were  exchanoed  for  Eno^Hsh  officers 
imprisoned  in  France,  and  many  were  ransomed, 
but  the  places  of  those  who  left  were  always 
filled,  and  the  full  number  of  two  hundred  kept 
up.  Towards  the  end  of  their  stay  occurred 
the  Battle  of  Pampeluna,  and  of  the  officers  who 
had  been  shut  up  in  that  so  long  besieged  city, 
and  who  surrendered  to  the  English,  several  were 
sent  to  Ashby.  Those  who  came  from  Pampeluna 
brought  much  money  with  them,  which  they  had 
concealed  in  the  soles  of  their  "  Napoleon  "  boots, 
and  in  the  collars  and  cuffs  of  their  coats.  There 
were  two  dogs,  rather  distinguished  in  their  way, 
belonging  to  the  prisoners,  one  named  Mouton, 
who  came  with  the  first  party  of  prisoners  in  1804, 
and  went  back  in  1814,  and  another  dog,  which 
came  with  one  of  the  prisoners  from  Pampeluna, 
the  only  dog  who  had  survived  the  siege.  Both 
animals  were  great  pets,  not  only  with  the 
Frenchmen,  but  also  with  the  people  of  Ashby. 

The  prisoners  lived  in  lodgings,  but  the  utmost 
resources  of  the  town  must  have  been  taxed  to 
accommodate  as  it  did  200  additional  inhabitants, 
some  of  them  were  married,  and  others  took  to 
themselves  wives  while  in  Ashby. 


234  BYGONE  LEICESTERSHIRE. 

At  least  two  duels  are  recorded  as  having  been 
fought  by  the  French  officers  during  their 
residence  in  Ash  by — one  of  them  being  a  Captain 
Colvin,  whose  body,  with  its  military  cloak 
round  it,  was  found  early  in  the  morning  between 
Ashby  and  the  neighbouring  village  of  Packing- 
ton.  The  officer  who  killed  Captain  Colvin, 
we  are  told,  attended  the  funeral  at  Packington. 

Dr.  Kirkland  has  also  the  following  entry  in 
his  records  :  "  Monsieur  Denegres,  a  French 
prisoner,  killed  in  a  duel,  Tuesday,  Dec.  6,  1808." 

As  we  have  already  said,  some  of  the 
French  officers  married  while  they  lived  in  the 
town.  Indeed,  according  to  the  registers  of 
Ashby  Parish  Church  from  1806  to  June  1st, 
1814,  ten  weddings  took  place  between  French 
officers  and  residents  in  Ashby.  In  all  the 
entries  the  bridegrooms  are  described  as  "  French 
prisoners  of  war  resident  in  this  Parish,"  or  as 
"  French  prisoners  of  war  on  parole  in  this 
Parish." 

Some  of  the  prisoners  also  died,  and  were 
buried  in  Ashby  Parish  Churchyard,  e.g.,  on 
November  2,  1806,  Etienne  Lenon,  ''French 
prisoner;"  on  April  15,  1807,  Francis  Rabin, 
"French  prisoner;"  October  19,  1808,  "French 


ASH  BY-DEL  A-ZOUGH  CASTLE.  235 

prisoner "  Xauvier  Mandelier ;  and  others  were 
also  laid  to  rest  under  the  shadow  of  the  church, 
which,  with  the  Castle,  is  a  great  object  of 
interest  in  Ashby.  In  the  Registers  of  Baptisms 
there  are  several  entries  as  being  those  of 
children  of  French  prisoners.  And  these 
records  show,  among  other  things,  that  the 
prisoners  of  war  who  were  quartered  at  Ashby, 
did  not  allow  national  prejudices  to  prevent  them 
forrainor    the    closest   ties    with    the    inhabitants 

o 

of  the  place  of  their  captivity,  who  cordially 
reciprocated  this  feeling. 

Nor  at  their  departure  was  this  good  feeling 
lost,  and  years  after  Waterloo,  and  after  Napoleon 
had  been  sent  a  prisoner  to  St.  Helena,  there  were 
kindly  memories  entertained  in  many  a  French 
family  of  the  hospitable  English  town,  where  for 
ten  years  the  soldiers  of  the  empire  found  their 
prison  a  home. 


nDi65  flDar^  Xiuwoob— an  Hrtiet  with  the 
IRceMe. 

By  William  Andrews,  f.r.h.s. 

AMONG  the  worthies  of  Leicestershire, 
Miss  Mary  Linwood  is  entitled  to  a 
prominent  place.  She  obtained  with  her  artistic 
needlework  more  than  local  fame.  "No  needle- 
work, either  ancient  or  modern,"  says  Lambert, 
**  ever  surpassed  the  productions  of  Miss 
Linwood."  At  the  age  of  thirteen  years  she 
commenced  her  first  picture  with  the  needle,  and 
continued  to  labour  with  much  success  until 
she  had  attained  the  ripe  age  of  eighty-seven. 

Needlework  was  not  the  only  work  of  her  long 
life  ;  for  many  years  she  conducted  a  young  ladies' 
school  in  Leicester,  which  her  mother  had 
established  in  1764,  in  a  house  in  the  upper  end 
of  Belgrave  Gate,  and  in  this  house  Miss  Linwood 
remained  until  her  death  in  1845. 

She  early  in  life  became  famous.  "  Strangers," 
says  Mrs.  T.  Fielding  Johnson,  in  her  charming 
"  Glimpses    of    Ancient     Leicester,"     "  passing 


MISS  MARY  LIN  WOOD.  237 

through  the  town  would  frequently  break  their 
journey,  and  miss  a  coach,  by  stopping  to  call 
on  Miss  Linwood,  in  the  hope  oT  an  interview 
with  the  gifted  lady,  and  perchance  of  being 
favoured  with  a  glimpse  of  her  finely-executed 
work."  She  was  invited  to  exhibit  her  work 
before  the  Royal  family.  The  papers  of  the  period 
contain  a  report  of  the  proceedings.  "  On  Friday 
last,"  says  the  Morning  Post  of  April  24th,  1787, 
'*  Miss  Linwood,  of  Leicester,  was  introduced  to 
her  Majesty,  at  the  Queen's  House,  where  she 
had  the  honour  of  exhibiting  several  pieces  of 
needle-work,  wrought  in  a  style  far  superior  to 
anything  of  the  kind  ever  yet  attempted.  She 
received  from  her  Majesty  the  highest 
encomiums,  whose  attention  and  encouraging 
behaviour  to  this  truly  ingenious  young  lady 
reflects  great  honour  on  the  royal  Patroness. 
The  Princess  Royal,  Princess  Augusta,  and 
Princess  Elizabeth,  who  were  present,  were  much 
pleased,  and  expressed  great  approbation  at  those 
admirable  performances.  His  Majesty  being 
then  engaged,  Miss-  Linwood  was  requested  to 
leave  them  till  the  next  day  for  his  inspection." 
The  pictures  were  removed  to  the  Pantheon, 
Oxford  Street,  London,  and  in  the  Morning  Post 


238  BYGONE  LEICESTERSHIRE. 

of  May  4th,    1787,   an  advertisement  as   follows 

appears : — 

"AT  THE  PANTHEON. 

AN    EXHIBITION    OF    PICTURES    IN     NEEDLE-WORK,      RESEMBLING 

PAINTINGS  AND  DRAWINGS,  IN  THE  MANNER  OF  SEVERAL 

ESTEEMED  ARTISTS, 

By  miss  LIN  wood,  of  LEICESTER. 

HONOURED     BY    THE     APPROBATION     OF    THEIR     MAJESTIES     AND 
THE    PRINCESSES.    * 

Some  of  these  works  have  been  submitted  to  the  inspection 
of  the  Society  for  the  Encouragement  of  Arts,  etc.,  who  pre- 
sented Miss  Linwood  with  a  medal,  in  token  of  their 
approbation. 

Commences  to-morrow,  and  will  continue  open  every  day 
from  Nine  to  Seven  o'clock. 

ADMITTANCE  ONE  SHILLING." 

A  notice  of  the  collection  appears  in  the 
Morning  Post  of  May  12th,  1787,  in  which  it  is 
observed  that,  "  The  great  number  of  Noblemen 
and  Gentlemen  who  go  to  Miss  Linwood's 
Exhibition  at  the  Pantheon,  do  them  credit  as 
friends  to  female  merit,  which  should  ever  find 
attention  from  the  men,  as  well  as  from  the 
ladies,  who,  to  their  praise,  visit  the  Exhibition 
in  numerous  and  respectable  parties." 

The  editor  of  the  Morning  Post  appears  to 
have  been  greatly  pleased  with  Miss  Linwood's 
work,  and  most  anxious  that  she  should  obtain 


MISS  MARY  LIN  WOOD.  239 

the  patronage  of  the  pubHc  at  her  exhibition. 
In  his  issue  for  June  30th,  1787,  he  again  called 
attention  to  it,  as  follows: — "Miss  Lin  wood's 
Exhibition  at  the  Pantheon  evinces  the  admirable 
effect  of  worsted  properly  disposed,  as  a 
resemblance  of  painting ;  with  some  slight 
exceptions  it  forms  a  beautiful  scene.  The 
amateurs  of  paintings  may  receive  satisfaction 
from  the  comparison  ;  this  species  of  composition 
having  been  raised  to  some  degree  of  rank  among 
the  arts,  by  the  genius  and  skill  of  Miss  Linwood, 
of  Leicester,  whose  exhibition,  now  open  at  the 
Pantheon,  should  be  inspected  particularly  by 
young  ladies  who  are  in  town  during  the  present 
school  vacations,  as  ingenious  and  elegant 
exercises  of  the  needle."  Other  journalists  were 
equally  favourable  in  their  comments.  "  Miss 
Linwood,"  says  Tlie  World  of  July  6th,  1787, 
"  by  the  exhibition  of  her  needle- work,  has  got 
much  fame,  but  not  as  much  as  she  deserves. 
The  profits  of  the  exhibition  are  all  she  gets,  for 
none  of  the  pieces  are  to  be  sold." 

The  pictures  were  removed  to  Hanover  Square 
Rooms,  and  subsequently  to  Leicester  Square, 
where  they  remained  for  many  years  one  of  the 
sights  of  London. 


240  BYGONE  LEICESTERSHIRE. 

Her  method  of  work  has  been  several  times 
described.  On  an  upright  frame  was  stretched 
thick  tammy,  woven  expressly  for  her  use. 
A  sketch  in  outline  of  her  picture  was  then 
made,  and  with  worsteds,  chiefly  dyed  in 
Leicester  by  her  manufacturing  friends  and  by 
herself,  she  set  to  work  with  great  energy,  and 
worked  every  stitch  of  her  pictures.  The  only 
help  she  had  was  in  the  threading  of  her 
needles. 

In  her  gallery  sixty- four  pictures  were 
ultimately  brought  together,  consisting  chiefly 
of  copies  of  paintings,  the  works  of  the  great 
masters.  The  most  prized  production  was 
Salvator  Mundi,  after  Carlo  Dolci.  She  refused 
for  this  one  work  three  thousand  guineas,  and  it 
was  bequeathed  to  Her  Majesty  Queen  Victoria. 
She  presented  to  the  Leicester  Infantry  Volun- 
teers, in  1794,  a  beautifully  embroidered  banner. 

Her  pictures,  in  the  year  following  her  death, 
were  sold  by  public  auction  by  Messrs.  Christie 
and  Manson,  and,  remarkable  to  record,  the  prices 
received  for  them  were  extremely  small.  We 
reproduce  the  following  particulars  of  the  sale 
from  Chambers's  "  Book  of  Days  "  :—The  Judg- 
ment  of  Cain,    which    had    occupied  ten   years 


MISS  MARY  LIN  WOOD.  241 

in  working,  brought  but  £64  Is.  ;  JephthaJs  Rash 
Vow,  after  Opie,  sixteen  guineas  ;  two  pictures 
from  Gainsborough,  The  Shepherd  Boy,  £17  6s.  6d., 
and  The  Ass  and  Children,  £22  2s.,  The  Farmers 
Stable,  after  Morland,  brought  £32  lis.  A 
portrait  of  Miss  Lin  wood,  after  a  crayon  picture 
by  Russell,  r.a.,  brought  eighteen  guineas  ;  and 
A  Woodma7i  in  a  Storm,  by  Gainsborough, 
£33  Is.  6d.  Barker's  Woodman  brought  £29  8s.  ; 
The  Girl  and  Kitten,  by  Sir  Joshua  Reynolds, 
£10  15  s.  ;  and  Lady  Jane  Grey,  by  Northcote, 
£24  13s.  In  the  Scripture-room,  The  Nativity, 
by  Carlo  Maratti,  was  sold  for  £21  ;  Dead  Chnst, 
L.  Caracci,  fourteen  guineas  ;  but  The  Madonna 
della  Sedia,  after  Raffaelle,  was  bought  in  at 
£38  17s.  A  few  other  pictures  were  reserved  ; 
and  those  sold  did  not  realize  more  than  £1,000. 

It  is  pleasing  to  record  that,  through  the  public 
spirit  of  two  or  three  Leicester  ladies,  in  April, 
1891,  Miss  Lin  wood's  picture  of  The  Nativity 
was  purchased,  and  placed  in  the  Town  Museum, 
Leicester. 

Miss  Linwood  was  one  of  the  last  persons  in  this 

country  to  use  a  Sedan-chair.     A  few  years  before 

her  death  she  might  often  be  seen  in  this  once 

popular  conveyance  in  the  streets  of  Leicester. 

R 


242  BYGONE  LEICESTERSHIRE. 

She  made  an  annual  visit  to  London,  and  there, 
in  1844,  she  was  taken  ill,  and  was  brought  back 
to  Leicester  in  an  invalid  carriage.  Her  health 
improved,  and  her  life  was  prolonged  until  the 
following  year,  when  she  died  of  an  attack  of  the 
influenza,  at  the  age  of  eighty-nine  years.  She 
was  buried  at  St.  Margaret's  Church,  Leicester. 
Mrs.  Johnson  tells  us  that  "  either  from  a  morbid 
fear  that  she  would  quickly  be  allowed  to  pass 
into  oblivion,  or  from  a  desire  to  be  constantly 
reminded  of  her  own  mortality,  she  had  ordered 
her  own  name  to  be  previously  engraved  on  her 
parents'  tombstone,  and  under  it  the  words : 
'  died  in  the  19th  century.'"  A  tablet,  erected 
by  her  friends,  bears  the  following  inscription  : — 

" SACRED    TO    THE    MEMORY 
OP 

MARY  LINWOOD, 

WHOSE    GENIUS    HAS    SHED    A    LUSTRE    ON 

HER    AGE,    HER    COUNTRY,    AND    HER    SEX  : 

AND 

WHOSE    WORKS    ARE     A    SPLENDID    MONUMENT     OP    ART    AND 

PERSEVERANCE. 

IN   CALM    AND   GRATEPUL   RESIGNATION 

SHE  CLOSED  A   LIFE  OF  UNWEARIED  ACTIVITY  AND  BENEVOLENCE 

ON   THE    11th    DAY    OF   MARCH,    A.D.    1845, 

IN   THE   NINETIETH    YEAR    OF   HER   AGE." 


MISS  MARY  LIN  WOOD.  243 

"  Her  end,"  says  the  Leicester  Mercury,  in 
recording  her  death,  "  was  approached  with 
exemplary  resignation  and  patience.  By  her 
death,  many  poor  famihes  will  miss  the  hand 
of  succour  ;  her  benevolence  of  disposition  having 
led  her  to  minister  of  her  substance  to  the 
necessities  of  the  poor  and  destitute  in  her 
neighbourhood. " 


street  Cries. 

By  F.  T.  Mott,  f.r.g.s. 

ONE  of  the  most  fundamental  laws  of  the 
universe  is  the  law  of  change.  From 
hour  to  hour  the  Ages  march  along,  and  every 
step  is  marked  by  death,  and  every  step  by  life. 
The  old  forms  fade.  The  new  ones  blossom  and 
fade  in  their  turn.  Not  a  spider's  web,  not  a 
grain  of  sand,  not  a  leaf  in  the  forest,  remains 
permanent  for  a  single  second.  Even  the  stars 
come  and  go.  The  sun  is  a  boiling  cauldron  full 
of  storm  and  whirl  and  change ;  and  as  he 
changes  so  do  his  planets,  and  this  world  with  all 
its  living  occupants.  Not  wildly  nor  chaotically. 
It  is  law,  and  every  phase  of  it  is  law-bound, 
ordered,  and  unchangeable.  All  these  complex 
and  interwoven  movements  are  waves  that  rise 
and  fall  in  perfect  rhythm,  notes  in  the  universal 
harmony.  The  history  of  man  is  a  single  phrase 
in  the  music  of  the  spheres,  but  place  that  phrase 
under  the  intellectual  microscope,  and  it  unfolds 
into  a  complex  universe,  whose  beginnings  and 


STREET  CRIES.  245 

endings  are  out  of   sight,   and    whose   minutest 
fraofinent  it  would  take  a  volume  to  describe. 

The  species  is  broken  up  into  races,  the  race 
into  nations,  the  nations  into  provinces  and  towns, 
and  each  has  its  history  of  perpetual  change,  its 
epochs  of  rise  and  fall.  The  intellectual  outlook 
of  each  social  group  changes  as  widely  as  its 
external  conditions.  Public  opinion  and  public 
sentiment  are  never  the  same  at  the  end  of  any 
century  as  they  were  at  the  beginning,  and  the 
changes  of  thought  and  feeling  are  necessarily 
marked  by  varied  customs.  There  are  epochs 
of  poetic  inspiration,  of  hard  utilitarianism,  of 
scientific  research,  of  miserly  acquisitiveness,  of 
chivalrous  generosity,  of  land  hunger  and  glorj^ 
hunger,  of  heedless  vice,  and  of  ascetic  devotion. 
These  social  changes  follow  each  other  no  doubt 
in  varied,  yet  quite  orderly,  succession,  though  the 
law  of  their  succession  may  be  hidden  from  us, 
too  large  in  its  sweep  for  our  small  field  of  vision. 
But  the  recognition  of  the  great  fact  that  all  is 
changing,  and  that  all  change  is  orderly,  gives  a 
deep  interest  to  the  small  bye- ways  of  history, 
and  makes  even  the  street  cries  of  a  provincial 
town  worth  thinking  about.  Some  persons 
wonder  why  the  musical  cries  of  the  last  century 


246  BYGONE  LEICESTERSHIRE. 

are  heard  no  longer  in  our  English  towns.  It  is 
due  simply  to  the  inevitable  change  of  public 
sentiment. 

The  life-stream  of  the  English  race  has 
reached  a  deep  clean  channel,  in  which  the 
picturesqueness  of  the  banks  is  sharply  marked 
off  from  the  steady  flow  of  the  mid-channel. 
'*  Let  business  be  business,"  is  the  motto  of  the 
day.  "  What  has  trade  to  do  with  poetry  or 
music  ?  They  are  for  holidays,  and  galas,  and 
recreative  evenings,  not  for  shops  or  markets." 
The  work  of  the  day  is  crowded  into  fewer  hours, 
but  not  a  moment  of  those  few  can  be  spared  to 
the  graces  of  song. 

"  Cherry  ripe  I  cherry  ripe  !  ripe  I  cry  ! 
Fresh  and  fair  ones,  come  and  buy ! " 

is  a  waste  of  time  and  breath,  and  must  be 
shortened  into  : — 

"Cherries,  tuppence  a  pound,  tuppence  a  pound  !" 

If  rural  hamlets  will  still  listen  to  the  Dutch 
girl's  pretty  melody  of  "  Buy  a  broom !"  there 
is  no  room  for  her  in  the  busy  market-place,  her 
trumpery  besoms  are  of  no  practical  use. 

About  the  year  1700,  there  was  a  book 
published  called  "  London  Cries,"  with  wood-cuts 


STREET  CRIES.  247 

of  the  criers  and  their  wares,  and  some  of  these 
are  reproduced  in  Hone's  "Table  Book"  (1827). 
Even  at  this  latter  date  the  musical  cries  were 
dying  out,  and  Hone  mentions  several  which  had 
been  for  some  time  extinct. 

Several  others  which  were  still  in  existence 
were  known  in  the  streets  of  Leicester  as  well  as 
in  London. 

"  Young  lambs  to  sell !  young  lambs  to  sell ! 
If  I'd  as  much  money  as  I  could  tell 
I  never  would  cry  young  lambs  to  sell ! " 

was  heard  here  occasionally  about  fifty  years  ago. 
They  were  frail  little  toys  covered   with   white 
wool,  with  a  bit  of  ribbon  round  the  neck. 
Hone  gives  the  pin-man's  cry  as  : — 

"  Three  rows  a  penny,  pins, 
Short  whites,  and  mid-dl-ings  !" 

But  our  Leicester  pin-man  made  more  than  this 
of  it.  His  well-known  song  was  for  many  years 
almost  a  necessary  element  in  the  Saturday 
market,  and  only  disappeared  about  thirty  years 
ago  :— 

"  Eight  rows  a  penny  O  ! 
Whilst  I've  got  any  O  ! 
Eight  rows  a  penny  O  ! 
Yer  long,  strong  pins  ! " 


248  BYGONE  LEICESTERSHIRE. 

And  sonietinies  he  would  vary  the   last  line  to 
"  Yer  fine  London  pins  !" 


-^^^^ ^ — X • — •— H  -b;^^^ — * — * — m — g — ^ — 


Eight  rows    a    pen  -  ny,    O  !       Whilst  I've  got     a  -  ny,    O  ! 


#- 


Eight   rows     a     pen  -  ny,      O  !  Yer        long    strong  pins ! 

There  was  another  notable  cry  which  went  out 
behind  the  Gates  of  Silence,  about  the  same  time 
as  the  old  pin-song. 

A  very  ancient,  very  dirty,  and  very  weird- 
looking  woman,  used  to  trot  about  the  streets, 
with  her  back  bent  at  a  right  angle,  and  a  dirty 
bag  over  her  shoulder,  and  her  cry  kept  time 
with  her  quick  shuffling  steps  in  a  nasal  chant : — 

''  Ainy  ould  shoes  or  ould  boots  to  pairt  wi'  ? 
Ainy  'are-skins,  rabbit-skins,  doctor's  bottles,  ould  iron, 
broken  flint  glass,  bones,  rags  to  pairt  wi'  ?" 

The  cry  of  the  night  watchman,  who  went 
round  the  dark  streets  with  his  heavy  coat  and 
his  lantern,  ceased  with  the  coming  of  the  new 
police.  It  was  a  relic  of  the  times  when  all  things 
were  done  artistically. 


1_« — j,:N_g>_.„^ 


Half  -  past      two     o'clock,  Snow  -  y  morning  !. 


STREET  CRIES.  249 

"Hot  cross  buns"  are  still  cried  lustily  by 
hundreds  of  small  boys  on  Good  Friday  morning, 
but  they  don't  trouble  themselves  to  sing  the 
well-known  melody.  It  is  simply  a  shout  on  one 
note,  "  Hot  cross  buns  !  Hot  cross  buns  !  One 
a  penny,  two  a  penny,  hot  cross  buns!"  pro- 
nounced as  rapidly  as  their  careless  tongues  can 
do  it. 

Some  twenty  years  ago  there  was  a  rather 
pretty  Irish  girl  in  Leicester  who  had  a  dainty 
way  of  crying:  "Good  lither  laces,  a  penny  a 
paire !"  Her  pleasant  voice  and  manner  and 
Irish  accent  attracted  many  customers. 

Those  who  knew  the  Leicester  Saturday 
Market  twenty  or  thirty  years  ago  will  recognize 
the  folio  wins:  familiar  cries  : — 

"  Ham  sandwiches  a  penny  each,  a  penny  each  ! 
Ham  sandwiches  a  penny  each  !" 

"Sold  again  !     Four  more  a  penny  here,  four  a  p'ny  !" 

These  were  plain  round  sweetish  cakes,  three 

inches  across,  convex  on  the  upper  side,  and  with 

three  or  four  currants  in  the  top  of  the  convexity. 

They  are  still  sold. 

"  Old  Moore's  book  almanack  !   Old  Moore's  book  almanack, 
one  penny  ! " 

This    famous    almanack   still  gets  printed  and 


250  BYGONE  LEICESTERSHIRE. 

published,    but   it    must   be    nearly   pushed   out 

by  swarms  of  competitors.     It  used  to  have  the 

field  almost  to  itself. 

"  Six  sheets  of  note  paper  and  a  packet  of  envelopes  all  for 
one  penny  !" 

This  cry  cannot  be  older  than   the  penny  post, 
as  envelopes  were  not  used  previously. 
"  Penny  an  ounce  here  !     Two  ounces  for  three  halfpence  !" 

The  sale  of  "  rock "  in  the  streets  and  the 
markets  has  greatly  diminished,  probably  owing 
to  the  opening  of  innumerable  shops  for  the  sale 
of  "hard  confectionery." 

"  Half-a-dozen  silver  spoons,  a  knife  and  fork,  a  gold  ring, 
and  a  cedar  pencil,  all  for  one  penny  !  " 

The  adjectives  in  this  cry  were,  of  course,  purely 
euphuistic  ;  "  tall  talk  "  for  tin,  brass,  and  deal ; 
but  it  seemed  a  cheap  pennyworth,  and  many 
little  boys  and  girls  were  made  happy,  no  doubt, 
by  such  a  gift. 

"  Pies  hot  here,  a  penny  each  !  penny  each,  pies  hot ! " 
The    celebrated    Leicestershire    Pork    Pie    was 
here  reduced  to  its  lowest  quality  and  smallest 
size,  but  it  was  sold  by  thousands. 

There  was  a  quack  chiropodist  who  used  to 
stand  upon  a  stool  and  repeat  a  very  short 
address  about  every  five  minutes,  beginning  with 


STREET  CMIES.  251 

the  words,  "  Cutting  your  corns  is  the  worst 
thing  you  can  possibly  do.  Apply  this  plaster," 
etc.,  etc.  Then  he  would  sell  a  few  penny- 
worths of  his  plaster,  and  begin  again. 

One  Leicester  man  used  to  make  a  living 
by  selling  ''Baked  Wheat"  about  the  streets. 
It  was  used  for  making  "  Firmity,"  a  very  ancient 
dish,  and  still  enjoyed  by  children.  His  cry  at 
night,  or  very  early  in  the  morning,  was  a  kind  of 
hoot — "Hot! — wheat!"  in  a  deep  monotonous 
voice,  and  so  indistinctly  pronounced,  that  only 
those  who  knew  could  make  out  what  he 
meant. 

The  milkman's  call  was  more  of  a  shriek  than  a 
hoot.  You  heard  the  clink  of  the  tin  pail  upon 
the  doorstep,  and  then  came  "Milk  O — Oh!" 
the  last  syllable  jumping  up  two  or  three  octaves 
at  a  bound,  and  "fetching"  the  maid  wherever 
she  might  be.  Milk-carts  have  now  superseded 
the  old  pail. 

Does  anybody  know  what  "ships'  trotters" 
are  ?  They  used  to  be  sold  in  great  numbers  in 
the  Leicester  market.  A  little  old  man  had  a 
little  stall  covered  with  them,  and  cried  them  to 
the  passers-by. 

They  were  sheeps'  feet   skinned   and   cleaned 


252  BYGONE  LEICESTERSHIRE. 

and  boiled,  and  very  good  little  tit-bits  they  were 
when  they  were  fresh ;  but  if  anybody  once  got  a 
putrid  one  he  remembered  it. 

"  Catch  'em  alive  O  ! — catch  'em  alive  !  "  was 
the  cry  of  a  young  man  who  wore  a  hare-skin  cap 
to  make  himself  conspicuous,  and  sold  fly-papers. 

*'  White  herrings  ! — all  hut  alive  !  "  was  chanted 
by  a  hawking  fishmonger. 

There  was  a  man  with  a  large  box  on  two 
wheels,  the  edges  of  the  box  adorned  with  little 
windmills  of  coloured  paper  revolving  in  the 
wind,  who  cried  "  Rags  and  bones !  Bring  out 
your  rags  and  bones !"  and  the  children  of  the 
back  streets  would  run  out  with  hands  full  of 
rubbish  and  refuse,  and  get  a  windmill  in  ex- 
change. 

Finally  there  was  the  early  morning  cry  of 
"  Swe-e-e-ep !"  repeated  at  your  door  with 
irritating  monotony,  until  the  servants  woke  and 
let  in  the  black  man  and  his  climbing  boy. 

A  notable  sound  in  the  Leicester  streets  for 
many  years,  more  truly  artistic  than  any  of  its 
cries,  was  the  music  of  the  Nottingham  organ- 
grinder,  with  his  pan-pipes.  He  was  no  common 
grinder  whose  business  is  just  to  turn  the  handle 
at  an  unvarying  pace,  and  let  the  machine  make 


STREET  CRIES.  253 

such  music  as  is  in  it.  He  was  an  artist  of  taste 
and  feeling,  and  the  tones  he  drew  out  of  his 
pipes  to  the  organ  accompaniment  made  many 
good  judges  pause  and  wonder.  It  was  a  treat 
to  hear  him  play  "Annie  Laurie,"  or  "Love 
Not."  These  were  two  of  his  favourite  tunes, 
and  were  well  suited  to  his  instruments.  It  was 
a  serious  loss  to  Leicester  when  the  old  gentle- 
man retired  upon  the  little  fortune  he  had 
accumulated. 

There  are  still  some  cries  in  the  Saturday 
market,  but  all  the  picturesqueness  and  the 
music  is  gone  out  of  them.  The  vendors  only 
want  to  be  heard,  and  to  sell  their  goods.  They 
have  no  pleasure  in  their  work.  They  shout,  but 
they  do  not  sing.  Such  pleasures  as  their  hard 
lives  admit  are  taken  at  night,  when  the  day's 
work  is  over.  In  the  old  days,  when  it  was 
easier  to  live,  the  work  and  the  pleasure  were 
mingled  together,  life  was  of  a  different 
pattern.  Those  times  will  not  come  back. 
History  never  repeats  itself  But  a  century 
hence  the  pattern  will  have  changed  again,  and 
the  love  of  beauty  and  song  will  find  develop- 
ment in  some  new  form. 


flDin0trel6\>  in  Xciccster. 

By  Rev.  Geo.  S.  Tvack,  b.a. 

THERE  can  be  little  question  that  Mediaeval 
England  was  a  music-loving  land. 
Amongst  the  representatives  of  all  classes,  for 
example,  that  pass  before  us  in  the  pages  of 
Chaucer,  the  art  of  music  in  some  of  its  forms  is 
no  uncommon  accomplishment.  Of  the  Squire 
we  read  that  "singing  he  was,  or  floyting 
(fluting)  all  the  day."  The  Friar  is  quite  at 
home  wuth  song  or  harp,  and  the  Miller  can  well 
"blow  and  soun "  his  bagpipe.  "There  never 
was,"  says  Charles  Knight,  "  a  people  apparently 
more  keenly  alive  to  the  charm  of  music  in  con- 
nection with  the  services  of  the  Church,  with 
poetry,  and  with  dancing."  The  oldest  known 
specimen  of  the  part-song  is,  as  is  well-known,  a 
North  Country  canon  of  the  early  thirteenth 
century,  "  Sumer  is  icumen  in,"  and  we  have  it  on 
the  authority  of  Giraldus  Cambrensis  (1147-1216), 
that  part-singing  was  in  his  day  a  peculiarity  of 
the  English    nation,       "The    Britons,"   he  says, 


MINSTRELSY  IN  LEICESTER.  2rjr, 

"do  not  sing  their  tunes  in  unison,  like  the 
inhabitants  of  other  countries,  but  in  different 
parts  ;  so  that  when  a  company  of  singers  meet 
to  sing,  as  is  usual  in  this  country,  as  many 
different  parts  are  heard  as  there  are  singers." 

Another  illustration  of  this  same  truth  is  the 
fact  that  nobles  of  that  ao^e  thoucjht  it  as  much 
part  of  their  necessary  state  to  keep  a  company 
of  minstrels,  as  to  provide  a  retinue  of  knights 
and  men-at-arms,  and  no  house  with  any  claim  to 
rank  was  without  its  harper  at  the  least ;  while 
corporations  and  other  public  bodies  frequently 
had  their  musicians  paid  out  of  the  revenues  at 
their  disposal.  It  is  a  matter  of  regret  that  our 
England  of  to-day  does  not  more  fully  realize 
that  it  is  but  a  narrow-minded  and  short-sigfhted 
practicalness  which  holds  art  to  be  so  much  more 
a  luxury  than  a  necessity  of  civilized  life  as  to  be 
almost  beyond  the  pale  of  public  assistance, 
while  a  host  of  grooms  and  stablemen  are  deemed 
a  more  needful  adjunct  to  a  great  house  than  a 
company  of  musicians. 

Leicester  affords  us  good  examples  of  the 
support  which  both  private  munificence  and 
public  policy  rendered  to  the  cause  of  music  in 
days  gone  by. 


25G  RYOONE  LEICESTERSHIRE. 

As  early  as  1308,  the  Earl  of  Lancaster  and 
Leicester  kept  a  body  of  minstrels  at  his  castle 
in  the  latter  town,  and  expenses  with  regard  to  it 
occur  from  time  to  time  in  the  records  of  the 
household.  In  1381,  John  of  Gaunt,  one  of  the 
greatest  of  the  Earls,  founded  a  Court  of 
Minstrels  at  Tutbur}?",  which  was  by  charter 
endowed  with  the  legal  powers  of  a  court-baron 
over  all  musicians  in  the  counties  of  Stafford, 
Derby,  Nottingham,  Leicester,  and  Warwick  ; 
but  in  spite  of  the  wide  jurisdiction  thus  assigned 
to  it,  it  is  doubtful  whether  it  could  exercise 
any  control  over  the  Honour  of  Leicester,  which 
was  entirely  independent  of  Tutbury,  and  one  of 
the  most  important  in  the  realm.  With  the 
accession  of  Henry  of  Bolingbroke,  Gaunt's  eldest 
son,  to  the  throne,  as  Henry  IV.,  in  1399, 
Leicester  Castle  ceased  to  be  the  chief  seat  of 
that  house,  and  we  hear  no  more  of  its 
minstrelsy. 

But  it  was  not  only  the  great  folk  at  the 
castle  and  their  noble  guests  who  had  an  ear  for 
music ;  the  busy  burgesses  and  honest  citizens  of 
Leicester  could  enjoy  round,  and  catch,  and . 
madrigal  with  the  best  of  them,  and  that  was 
indeed  a  poor  wedding,  or  an  ill-managed  merry- 


MINSTRELSY  IN  LEICESTER.  257 

making,  that  had  not  its  seasoning  of  music. 
Hugh  the  Trumpeter ;  Henry  Howman,  harper ; 
Thomas  Wylkyns,  "wayte;"  Thomas  Pollard, 
musician ;  and  Andrew  Marsam,  virginal  maker, 
all  appear  in  the  guild-rolls  of  the  town  between 
1314  and  1579,  proving  that  there  were 
musicians  in  Leicester  of  esteem  and  position 
among  their  fellow-citizens.  The  first  mention, 
— not  necessarily,  however,  the  first  institution, 
— of  an  organized  body  of  town  waits  is  in  the 
year  1524,  in  the  Chamberlain's  annual  accounts, 
when  liveries  were  provided  for  three  waits  at  a 
cost  of  16s.  This  livery  consisted  of  a  scarlet 
gown  trimmed  with  silver  lace,  and  a  silver  chain 
with  a  "scutcheon"  bearing  the  town  arms,  a 
cinquefoil.  The  number  of  these  badges  seems 
never  to  have  been  increased,  but  that  of  the 
waits  grew  from  the  original  three  to  five  in 
1603,  and  then  to  six ;  their  cloaks  also  were 
subsequently  ornamented  with  gold  instead  of 
silver  lace.  Each  of  the  waits  was  allowed  a 
boy  under  him,  who  also  wore  a  gown,  and  a 
badge,  probably  of  inferior  metal,  hung  about  his 
neck  by  a  green  ribbon. 

The   primary   duty   of  this   company  was   no 
doubt  to  act  as  watchmen,  crying  the  hours  and 


258  BYGONE  LEICESTERSHIRE. 

watchinof  ajsrainst  fire  or  foe  throuerhout  the 
night,  as  their  name  implies ;  but  together  with 
all  their  bravery  of  scarlet  and  silver,  they 
undertook  more  ambitious  offices.  Twice  daily 
all  through  the  year  they  were  to  play  in  some 
public  place  for  the  pleasure  of  the  people,  and 
they  provided  the  requisite  music  on  all  occasions 
of  municipal  state,  occupying,  for  instance,  the 
minstrels'  gallery,  still  existing  at  the  Guildhall, 
at  the  mayoral  banquets. 

No  fixed  salary  was  assigned  to  them  until 
1581,  before  which  time  they  seem  to  have 
depended  upon  the  irregular  support  of  gratuities. 
In  that  year,  however,  it  was  ordered  that  each 
inhabitant  should  be  assessed  by  the  mayor,  at 
his  discretion,  in  a  quarterly  sum  for  the 
maintenance  of  the  waits ;  and  in  the  following 
year  further  provision  was  made  for  them  by  the 
corporation  taxing  itself  for  the  same  object, 
the  "Twenty-four"  to  the  extent  of  12d.,  and 
the  "  Forty-eight "  to  that  of  6d.  per  quarter. 
At  the  same  time  they  were  granted  absolute 
protection  from  all  competition ;  for  all  other 
musicians,  even  if  residents  in  Leicester,  were 
forbidden  to  exercise  their  art  in  public,  except 
at  the  general  assizes,  when  they  might  play  for 


MINSTRELSY  IN  LEICESTER.  269 

the  amusement  of  strangers  only.  In  return  for 
these  privileges  the  town  waits,  on  their  part, 
were  bound  to  the  aforesaid  duties,  and  were 
prohibited  from  performing  anywhere  without 
the  town,  except,  by  the  mayor's  permission  in 
each  case,  at  fairs  or  weddings. 

A  further  illustration  of  the  support  given  by 
private  individuals  to  companies  of  musicians 
meets  us  in  the  year  1583,  when,  the  old  waits 
having  been  dismissed,  the  musicians  of  one  Mr. 
Griffin  were  appointed  in  their  stead,  on  the 
same  terms  as  their  predecessors.  The  new 
waits  held  office  for  nearly  twenty  years,  losing 
it  at  last  owing  to  disagreements  among  them- 
selves. In  1603,  five  waits  were  appointed,  but 
their  wages,  so  far  as  they  were  derived  from  the 
members  of  the  corporation,  were  reduced  by 
one-half,  the  two  sections  of  that  body  paying 
quarterly  only  6d.  and  3d.  respectively.  In 
1671,  when  Robert  Howe  was  leader  of  the 
waits,  another  irruption  of  discord  ended  in 
the  dismissal  of  the  company,  and  on  the 
appointment  of  their  successors  a  further  change 
was  made  in  their  remuneration,  £5  per  annum 
being  given  to  them  collectively,  together  with 
their  liveries.     These,  in  1677,  cost  £10   17s.   8d. 


260  BYGONE  LEICESTERSHIRE. 

No  doubt  during  all  this  time  gratuities  given  at 
weddings  and  other  private  festivals,  and  con- 
tributions collected  at  fairs  and  such  like,  added 
considerably  to  the  income  of  the  waits. 

The  wandering  minstrel,  once  the  honoured 
guest  at  every  hall  or  castle  which  he  passed, 
had  long  since  sunk  into  disrepute,  so  that,  in  a 
statute  of  the  thirty-ninth  year  of  Elizabeth, 
minstrels  are  joined  with  jugglers,  bear- wards, 
fencers,  common  players  of  interludes,  tinkers, 
and  pedlars,  in  one  general  condemnation  as 
rogues,  vagabonds,  and  sturdy  beggars.  The 
Leicester  waits,  protected  by  the  prestige  of 
municipal  appointment,  and  by  a  regular  employ- 
ment, escaped  the  hue  and  cry  that  followed 
their  less  fortunate  brethren,  and  hved  on  in  all 
the  dignity  of  lace  and  chains  till  the  "  Municipal 
Corporations  Reform  Act"  of  1835,  that  foe  to 
so  much  that,  if  objectionable,  was  picturesque, 
swept  them  away,  with  other  things  far  less 
worthy  of  preservation.  Mace-bearers,  town 
waits,  and  others  were  involved  in  one  common 
overthrow  ;  and  maces,  town-plate,  silver  chains, 
"  scutcheons  and  cinquefoils,"  and  all,  met  the 
unhonoured  doom  of  the  auctioneer's  hammer. 
From  the  catalogue  of  the  sale  it  appears  that  the 


MINSTRELSY  IN  LEICESTER.  261 

"  properties  "  of  the  waits  consisted  of  two  horns, 
two  clarionets,  four  piccoloes,  and  a  bassoon.  One 
of  the  chains,  with  its  badge,  is  now  to  be  seen 
in  the  Town  Museum. 

It  may  well  have  been  that  the  music  of  the 
waits  of  bygone  days  left  much  to  be  desired, 
and  our  concert-halls  and  assembly-rooms  doubt- 
less provide  infinitely  better  food  for  the  musical 
palates  of  the  upper  and  middle  classes  than  did 
the  morning  and  evening  performances  of  the 
Leicester  town  waits ;  yet  one  cannot  help  think- 
ing that  the  Corporation  of  Leicester,  and  of 
every  other  town  and  city  in  our  land,  is  respon- 
sible for  much  expenditure  which  is  less  justifiable 
that  would  be  the  provision  of  the  free  enjoy- 
ment of  music  by  the  poor  amid  the  monotony 
and  dinginess  of  our  prosaic  and  "  practical "  life 
of  to-day. 


Jnbey. 


Abbeys,  7 

Abershaw,  Jeremiah,  194 
Anecdote,  re  Bosworth,  58 
Ashby-de-la-Zouch    Castle,    219 
Leland's    account    of,    222 
Mary  Queen  of  Scots  at,  224 
James  I.  at,  224  ;  Charles  I. 
at,  225-227 ;   surrendered    to 
Parliament,    227  ;     rendered 
untenable,  228 ;   Nichols  re, 
228  ;  in  1786,  229 
Ashby-de-la-Zouch  and  the  French 
prisoners,    229 ;    tidings     of 
victory,  231 ;  prisoners'  allow- 
ance,  232;    pet  dogs,    233; 
duels,   234 ;   marriages,    233- 
234  ;  deaths  and  births,  235 
Assfordby  Bridge,  110 

Bainbridge,  General,  228 

Bean-belly,  Leicestershire,  1.06 

Beaumont,  Robert  de,  6 

Bed  worth  beggars,  112 

Belledon,  112 

Belvoir  Castle,  86  ;  founded,  87 
Mediaeval     history,      87-90 
Leland's     description,      90 
additions  to,   90 ;  Civil  War 
incidents,  92  ;    restored,  93  ; 
fire  at,  95 ;  hospitality,  95 

Bever's  cap,  109 

Bible,  Wiclif's  translation,  25 

Blue  Boar,  the,  41,  60-61 

Bosworth,  Battle  of,  13,  41-53 

Bosworth  Field,  43 

Bohun,  Humphrey  de,  99-100 

Books,  bequests  of,  151 

Brackenbury,  Sir  Robert,  49 

Bradgate  and  Lady  Jane  Grey, 
62 

Bradshaw's  wind-mill.  111 

Brandon,  Sir  William,  13,  50 

Branks,  168 

Bridges,  re  bequests,  147 


Britons  :  the  Coritani,  1 
Buckingham's  insurrection,  36-37 
Buns,  valentine,  118 
Burials,  re  wills,  149,  152 
Burton,  128 

Cambridge,  James,  Earl  of,  228 

Carlton  Curlieu,  109 

Carting  through  the  town,  166 

Catesby,  52 

Charles  L,  16,225-227 

Cheney,  Sir  John,  13,  50 

Chicheley,  Archbishop,  26 

Christmas,  125 

Churches,  St.  Mary,  6 ;  Lough- 
borough, 155-156,  Wymes- 
wold,  156  ;  bequests,  141- 
142 ;  burials,  141  ;  hay,  124 

Clothing,  bequests  of,  150 

Collingbourne's  epigram,  35 

Commines,  re  Richard  III. ,  55 

Cook,  James,  195-203 

Courtenay,  Archbishop,  10,  22 

Cucking  Stool,  159 

Danes,  4-5 

Death  of  Cardinal  Wolsey,  76 
Desmond,  Countess  of,  34 
Digby,  Sir  Simon,  his  exploit,  45 
Dorset,  Marquis  of,  15 

Easter  Monday,  119-120 

Edward  III.,  9 

Edward  IV.,  12 

Edward,  Prince  of  Wales,  34 

Ethelfleda,  5 

Execution  of  Witches,  126 

Fairs,  124 

Festival  Customs,  117 
Finger  Pillory,  171 
Flags  and  Standards,  46 
Flavia  Csesariensis,  3 
Fords,  bequests  re,  147 
Fornham,  battle  at,  99 


INDEX. 


263 


Fosse- Way,  the,  1 
Funeral  Expenses,  154 
Furniture,  re  wills,  153 

Gaunt,  John  of,  9,  22,  24,  32,  36, 

75,  123 
Gibbet,  the  last,  193 
Gilds,  146 
Glen,  127 
Glen  Magna,  112 
Gossip,  evil  results  of,  169 
Grantmesnil,  Hugh  de,  6 
Greys  of  Bradgate,  the,  12 
Grey,  Lady  Jane,  16,  66-68 
Grooby,  lOS 

Hamilton,  Duke  of,  227 
Hastings,  the,  15  ;   Sir  William, 

11  ;  Lord  Edward,  221  ;  Lord 

William,  220 
Henry  IL,  97-104 
Hinckley  Field,  110 
Hiring  "Statutes,"  124 
Historic  Leicestershire,  1 
Hocks  Norton,  108 
Hose  and  Long  Claxton,  1 14 
"  Hudibras"  quoted,  130-131 
Huntingdon,  Catherine,  Countess 

of,  205 
Huntingdon,    Henry,   fifth    Earl 

of,  206 
Husband  Bosworth,  126 

Key  of  Stainton  Tower,  96 

Last  days  of  a  dynasty,  33 

Laurence  Ferrers,  176  ;  un- 
governable temper  of,  178- 
181 ;  shoots  his  steward,  181- 
183  ;  committal  and  trial, 
184-187  ;  last  will,  187  ; 
execution,  187-192 

Lee,  William,  17 

Leicester  (Rataj,  Legicester),  3, 
5,  7,  10-11  ;  See  of,  4  ;  After 
the  Conquest,  6 ;  Parliaments 
at,  11,  75;  Richard  IIL  at, 
13,  41  ;  Wolsey  at,  14  ; 
Captured,  16, 101;  Musicians, 
re,  257 

Leicester  Abbey,  76-77 

Leicester  Castle,  70  ;  early 
history,  70-71 ;  early  lords  of, 
72-73 


Leicester,  Robert,  Earl  of,  7,  97- 
104 

Leicestershire  plover,  114 

Lincoln,  Earl  of,  35 

Lilly,  William,  130 ;  his  almanacs, 
133,  136 ;  at  Westminster 
Abbey,  135  ;  Pepys,  re,  137  ; 
conspiracy,  re,  138 

Linwood,  Miss  Mary — an  artist 
with  the  needle,  236 ;  royal 
patrons  of,  237 ;  exhibition 
of  pictures,  238  ;  sale  of 
pictures,  240-41  ;  method  of 
working,  240  ;  her  death,  242 

Local  proverbs  and  folk  phrases, 
105 

Lockington  Wake,  110 

Lucy,  Richard  de,  99,  101 

Lutterworth,  9-10,  28;  Lutter- 
worth Church,  28-32 

Mallory,  Anketill,  101-104 
Manners  family,  the,  15 
Mark  of  Belgrave,  1 1 1 
Market    Harborough    (proverb), 

107 
Maunday  Thursday,  78 
May,  first  of,  121 
Mayor  of  Hartlepool,  the,  115 
Mercia,  3-4 

Milford  Haven,  Richmond  at,  38 
Mince  Pigs,  125 
Minstrelsy    in     Leicester,     254 ; 

John  of    Gaunt's    minstrels, 

256 
Montfort,  Simon  de,  7,  73-74 
More,  Sir  Thomas,  34 
Mountsorrel,  Bell-giant  of,  113 
Municipal    Corporation    Reform 

Act,  260 
Music,  love  of,  254 

Nottingham,  Richard  III.  at,  38, 

41 
Norfolk,  Duke  of,  38,  49,  51  ;  his 

warning,  47 
Normans,  the,  5-6 
Northumberland,  Earl  of,  16 

Paas,  John,  murder  of,  199 

Parliament  and  Leicester,  11,  75 

Pillory,  169 

Pirates,  gibbeting,  195 

Plague,  154 

Plough  Monday,  117 


264 


INDEX. 


Poor,  bequests  to  the,  148 
Praed's  "  Red  Fisherman,"  58 
Prisons  for  French  soldiers,  230 
Punishments  of  the  past,  159 
Purgatory,  bequests  re,  143 

Ratcliflf,  Sir  Richard,  49 

Repton,  3 

Richard  III.,  13,  33-40,  41-53,  55- 

59;    his  death,    13,   50;    his 

burial,  14,  59 
Richard's  Well,  14,  43 
Richmond,  Countess  of,  54 
Richmond,  Earl  of,  13,  36-40 
Riding  of  the  millers,  122 
Robert  Blanchmains,  7,  97-104 
Romans,  the,  1-3 
Rutland,  Henry,  second  Earl,  90 

Saxons,  the,  3 

Scenes  at  Bosworth,  54 

Scolding  cart,  166 

Sedan  chair,  241 

Sentinel,  Richai'd,  and  the,  57 

Shrove  Tuesday,  118 

Sidrophel,  130-131 

Stanley,  Lord,  13,  40,  42,  47-49, 
54-55  ;  Sir  William,  40,  47-49 

Stamford,  Countess  of,  the  incen- 
diary, 68 

Staunton,  Sir  Mauger,  96 

Statute  re  minstrels,  260 

Stocks,  172 

Stockings,  17-18 


Strange,  Lord,  40,  47,  48 
Street  cries,  244 
Sudbury,  Archbishop,  23 
Suffolk,  Duke  of,  16 
S.  Valentine,  117 

Tamworth,  42 
Tudors,  the,  14-15 

Waits,  257-261 

Wake  or  feast,  123 

Warwick,  Earl  of,  12 

Water  Mills  at  Loughborough, 
the  ancient,  204 ;  right  of 
grinding,  204-205 ;  trial  of 
1640,  210;  trial  of  1651,  212; 
trial  of  1698,  217 

Whipping,  172 

"  Whipping  Toms,"  119 

Whit  Monday,  122 

Wiclif,  John,  8-10;  and  Lutter- 
worth, 20 ;  he  disputes  the 
Papal  supremacy,  21 ;  charged 
with  heresy,  22-24 ;  at 
Lutterworth,  24  ;  death,  26  ; 
monument,   30  ;   relics,  30-32 

Wiclifites,  11 

William,  the  Lion,  captured,  103 

Wills,  early  Leicestershire,  140 

Witchcraft,  91  ;  in  Leicestershire, 
126 

Wool,  trade  in,  8,  17 

York,  Richard,  Duke  of,  54 


Elegantly  bound  in  cloth  gilt,  demy  8uo.,  2  uols.,  Ts.  6cl.  each. 

Edited  by  WILLIAM  ANDREWS,  F.R.H.S. 


Contents  of  Volume  I. : — Historic  Lincolnshire,  by  John  Nicholson — The 
Ancient  Boat  at  Brigg,  by  T  Tindall  Wildridge — Havelok,  the  Dane,  by 
Mabel  Peacock— The  Crowle  Stone,  by  the  Rev.  Geo.  S  Tyack,  b.a. — 
A  Roman  Arch — A  Curious  Legend,  by  the  Rev.  W  Henry  Jones — 
Quaint  Land  Tenures  and  Customs  of  the  Manor,  by  T  Broadbent 
Trowsdale,  f.r.h.s. — Swineshead :  The  Story  of  King  John's  Death,  by 
Edward  Lam  plough — Barton-on-Humber  in  the  Olden  Time,  by  C  H 
Crowder — Pirates  in  the  Humber,  by  Edward  Peacock,  f.s.a. — The 
Pilgrimage  of  Grace,  by  Frederick  Ross,  f.r.h.s. — Horncastle  or  Winsby 
Fight,  by  Edward  Lamplough — Somersby  Manor  and  Cross,  by  J  G  Hall 
— Some  Old  Lincolnshire  Gilds,  by  the  Rev.  J  Malet  Lambert,  m.a.,  ll.  u. 
— Somerton  Castle  and  its  Royal  Captive,  by  Theo  Arthur — The 
Champion,  by  William  Andrews,  k.k.h.s. — Haxey  Hood— Bull-Running, 
by  John  H  Leggott,  f.r.h.s. — Henry  Welby,  the  Grub  Street  Hermit, 
by  Theo  Arthur— The  Plague  in  Alford,  1630,  by  the  Rev.  Geo  S 
Tyack,  b.a. — Kirke  White  in  Lincolnshire,  by  Alfred  Lishman — Index. 

Contents  of  Volume  II.  : — Lincoln  Cathedral,  by  T  Tindall  Wildridge 
— Lincoln  Castle,  by  E  Mansell  Sympson,  m.d. — Tattershall,  its  Lords, 
its  Castle,  and  its  Church,  by  E  Mansell  Sympson,  m.d. — Bolingbroke 
Castle,  by  Tom  Robinson,  m.d. — Ancient  Stained  Glass  at  Barton-on- 
Humber,  and  the  great  Earl  Beaumont,  by  T  Tindall  Wildridge — On  the 
Population  of  Lincolnshire,  by  Tom  Robinson,  m.d. — Suj)erstitious 
Beliefs  and  Customs  of  Lincolnshire,  by  the  Rev.  Wm.  Proctor  Swaby,  D.  D.' 
— The  Legend  of  Byard's  Leap,  by  the  Rev.  J  Conway  Walter — 
Thornton  Abbey,  by  Frederick  Ross,  f.r.h.s.— The  Witches  of  Belvoir, 
by  T  Broadbent  Trowsdale — The  Battle  of  Lincoln,  by  Edward 
Lamplough — Lincoln  Fair,  by  Edward  Lamplough — Alford  Fight,  by  the 
Rev.  Geo  S  Tyack,  b.a. — Robert  de  Brunne,  by  Frederick  Ross,  f.r.h.s. 
— Dr.  Dodd,  the  Forger,  by  John  T  Page — Sir  Isaac  Newton— Barton- 
on-Humber  Ferry,  by  C  H  Crowder — An  Eighteenth  Century  Poet,  by 
the  Rev.  Alan  Cheales,  m.a. — Lincolnshire  a  Century  Ago — Spalding 
Gentlemen's  Society,  by  Dr.  Perry — The  Great  Brass  Welkyn  of  Boston, 
by  William  Stevenson— The  Great  Hawthorn  Tree  of  Fish  toft — Index. 

PRESS    OPINION. 

"Mr.  Wm.  Andrews  collects  together  a  series  of  papers,  by  various 
competent  hands,  on  the  history,  antiquities,  and  folk-lore  of  the  great 
eastern  county  which  has  borne  so  conspicuous  a  part  in  the  past  history 
of  England,  and  produced  so  many  men  who  have  illustrated  it.  .  .  A 
valuable  contribution  to  local  history." — The  Times. 

HULL  :  WILLIAM  ANDREWS  &  CO.,   THE  HULL  PRESS. 
London :  Simpkin,  Marshall,  Hamilton,  Kent,  &  Co.,  Ltd. 

T 


Elegantly  bound  in  cloth  gilt,  demy  8uo.,  price  78.  6d. 
Only    750    copies    printed,     and    each    copy    numbered. 

Its  History,  Folk-Lore,  and  Memorable  Men  and 
Women. 

Edited  by  WILLIAM  ANDREWS,  f.r.h.s., 

Author  of  "Old-Time  Punishments,"  "Curiosities  of 
the  Church,"  "Old  Church  Lore." 


CONTENTS. 

Historic  Essex,  by  Thomas  Frost — Epping  Forest :  Its  History, 
Customs,  and  Law^s,  by  Jesse  Quail — Greenstead  Church,  by  Edward 
Lamplough — The  Burial  of  Harold  at  Waltham,  by  William 
Winters,  f.k.h.s. — St.  Osyth's  Priory,  by  John  T  Page — Colchester  in 
Olden  Times,  by  Joseph  W  Spurgeon — The  Siege  of  Colchester,  by 
Joseph  W  Spurgeon— Colchester  :  Its  Historic  Buildings  and  Famous 
Men,  by  Joseph  W  Spurgeon — Essex  Tokens,  by  Thomas  Forster — 
Queen  Elizabeth  at  Tilbury  :  A  Glance  at  Armada  Days,  by  Edward 
Lamplough — The  Lawless  Court,  by  the  Rev.  Geo.  S  Tyack,  b..\. — The 
Dunmow  Flitch — A  Deserted  Primitive  Village,  by  (i  Fredk.  Beaumont 
— William  Hunter,  the  Young  Martyr  of  Brentwood,  by  John  W  Odling 
— Fairlop  Fair  by  John  W  Odling— Thomas  Tusser  and  his  "Five 
Hundred  Points  of  Good  Husbandry,"  by  W'  H  Thompson — John  Ray, 
Naturalist,  by  W  H  Thompson — Wanstead  House,  by  John  T  Page — 
Hopkins,  the  Witchfinder,  by  Frederick  Ross,  f.r.h.s. — An  Essex  Poet, 
by  the  Rev.  Geo.  S  Tyack,  b.a.  —Historic  Harwich — Old  Bow  Bridge,  by 
John  T  Page — Index. 

PRESS  OPINIONS. 

"  Readable  as  well  as  instructive,  and  it  has  an  interest  for  many  more 
than  Essex  people." — The  Globe. 

"Good  paper,  good  type,  and  good  illustrations  all  help  to  make 
'  Bygone  Essex  '  an  exceedingly  pleasant  and  agreeable  book. " — Sala'i 
Journal. 

' '  This  work  will  be  welcomed  by  all  intelligent  explorers  of  their  own 
country,  who  cannot  fail  to  regard  its  ancient  monuments,  and  historic 
localities  with  renewed  interest  after  perusing  it." — The  Gentlewoman. 

HULL :  WILLIAM  ANDREWS  &  CO.,   THE  HULL  PRESS. 
London :  Simpkin,  Marshall,  Hamilton,  Kent,  &  Co.,  Ltd. 


Only  750  copies  printed,  and  each  copy  numbered. 


Elegantly  bo::;i:l  in  cloth  gilt,  demy  8vo. ,  ys.  6J. 

:B^gone  Xancaebtre* 

Edited   by  ERNEST  AXON. 


Contents  : — Historic  Lancashire,  by  Ernest  Axon — The  Religious  Life  of 
Lancashire  during  the  Commonwealth,  by  W  A  Shaw,  m.a.  , — Kersal 
Moor,  by  Janet  Armytage — A  Lancaster  Worthy  (Thomas  Covell),  by 
William  Hewitson— Some  Early  Manchester  Grammar  School  Boys,  by 
Ernest  Axon — The  Sworn  Men  of  Amounderness,  by  Lieut. -Col.  Henry 
Fishwick,  f.s.a. — Lancashire  Sundials,  by  William  E  A  Axon,  m.r.s.l. 
— Tlie  Plague  in  Liverpool,  by  J  Cooper  Morley — The  Old  Dated  Bell  at 
Claughton,  by  Robert  Langton,  f.r.h.s. — The  Children  of  Tim  Bobbin,  by 
Ernest  Axon — The  "  Black  Art"  at  Bolton — An  Infant  Prodigy  in  1679, 
by  Arthur  W  Croxton — Wife  Desertion  in  the  Olden  Times — The  Colquitt 
Family  of  Liverpool — Some  Old  Lancashire  Punishments — Bury  Siranels — 
Eccles  Wakes,  by  H  Cottam — Furness  Abbey — Colonel  Rosworm  and  the 
Siege  of  Manchester,  by  George  C  Yates,  f.s.a. — Poems  of  Lancashire 
Places,  by  William  E  A  Axon,  m.k.s.l. — Father  Arrowsmith's  Hand,  by 
Rushworth  Armytage — Index — Illuntraied. 

"  A  work  of  considerable  historical  and  archaeological  interest." — 
Liverpool  Daily  Po/^t. 

*'  The  book  is  handsomely  got  up." — Manchester  Guardian. 

"  In  the  collection  of  papers  forming  this  highly  interesting  volume, 
many  antiquarian  and  historical  matters  connected  with  the  County 
Palatine  are  dealt  with,  and  at  least  a  dozen  authors  have  contributed 
essays  rich  in  curious  facts.  .  .  All  the  articles  are  good,  and  should 
make  this  volume  a  favourite  among  the  historical  students  of  the  County 
Palatine. " — Liverpool  Merctiry. 

"  The  book  is  excellently  printed  and  bound." — Library  Review. 

"  'Bygone  Lancashire'  is  a  welcome  addition  to  the  literature  of  the 
County,  and  we  echo  the  hope  expressed  by  the  editor  that  its  appearance 
'  may  encourage  the  local  patriotism  which  is  such  a  striking  character- 
istic of  the  Lancashire  Lad.'  It  may  be  added  that  the  work,  which 
contains  a  few  illustrations,  is  well  got  up,  and  does  credit  to  the 
publishers. " — Manchester  Courier. 

"  This  is  another  of  those  clearly-printed,  well-covered,  readable, 
accurate,  and  entertaining  '  Bygone  '  volumes  that  come  forth  with 
pleasant  frequency  from  the  Andrews'  press,  Hull.  .  .  The  volume  is 
sure  of  a  ready  sale  among  the  more  intelligent  of  the  '  Lancashire  Lads.' " 
— Antiquary. 

HULL  :  WILLIAM  ANDREWS  &  CO.,   THE  HULL  PRESS. 
London  :  Simpkin,  Marshall,  Hamilton,  Kent,  &  Co.,  Ltd. 


Ele,s;antly  hound  in  cloth  p'li,  demy  8vo.,  price  ys.  6d. 

Only  500  copies  printed,  and  each  copy  numbered. 

BY^OflE  MOpAMpTOM^[llI(E, 

Its  History,  Folk-Lore,  and  Memorable  Men  and  Women. 
Edited  by  WILLIAM  ANDREWS,  f.r.h.s., 

Author  of  "Old-Time  Punishments,"  "Curiosities  of  the  Church," 
"Old  Church  Lore." 


Contenf9 : — Historic  North.imptonshire,  by  Thomas  Frost — The  Eleanor 
Crosses,  by  the  Rev.  Geo.  STyack,  b.a. — Fotheringhay :  Past  and  Present, 
by  Mrs.  Dempsey— The  Battle  of  Naseby,  by  Edward  Lamplough — The 
Cottage  Countess — The  Charnel  House  at  Rothwell,  by  Edward  Chamber- 
lain— The  Grunpowder  Plot,  by  John  T  Page — Earls  Barton  Church,  by 
T  Tindall  Wildridge— Old  Fairs,  by  William  Sharman — Witches  and 
Witchcraft,  by  Eugene  Teesdale — The  City  of  Peterborough,  by  Frederick 
Ross,  F.R.H.S. — The  English  Founders  of  the  Washington  Family  of 
America,  by  Thomas  Frost — Ann  Bradstreet,  the  Earliest  American 
Poetess — Liber  Custumarum,  Villse  Northamptonise,  by  Christopher  A. 
Markham,  f.s.  a. — Thomas  Britton,  the  Musical  Small-Coal  Man,  by  E  E 
Cohen — Old  Scarlett,  the  Peterborough  Sexton — Accounts  of  Towcester 
Constables,  by  John  Nicholson — Miserere  Shoemaker  of  Wellingborough, 
by  T  Tindall  Wildridge — Sir  Thomas  Tresham  and  his  Buildings,  by  John 
T  Page — Northamptonshire  Folk-Lore,  by  John  Nicholson — Northampton- 
shire Proverbs — An  Ancient  Hospital,  by  the  Rev.  I  Wodhams,  m.a. — 
A  carefully  prepared  Index — Illustrations. 

PRESS   OPINIONS. 

"  The  volume  is  very  interesting,  and  for  those  who  dwell  in  the  county, 
or  whose  tastes  lead  them  to  explore  its  history,  it  will  have  esijccial 
attraction. " — Publisher,^'  Cirndar. 

"  A  welcome  contribution  to  the  literature  of  the  county." — North- 
ampton Herald. 

"  The  book  is  published  in  a  form  that  is  well  worthy  of  the  high 
standard  that  the  Hull  Press  has  achieved,  and  we  can  congratulate  Mr. 
Andrews  on  adding  one  more  stone  to  the  fabric  of  the  bygone  history  of 
the  Midlands." — Hull  Daily  News. 

"  An  interesting  volume,  as  well  as  being  got  up  in  exceptionally  good 
style.  The  matter  is  well  chosen  and  well  rendered,  so  that  the  book  is 
not  only  a  thing  of  beauty,  but  also  a  veritable  treasure-house  of  reliable 
and  entertaining  articles." — Beverley  Independent. 

"  A  welcome  addition  to  the  shelves  of  anyone  interested  in  the 
antiquities  of  Northamptonshire,  while  even  those  who  are  not,  will  be 
able  to  pleasantly  while  away  many  odd  half -hours  by  perusing  its  pages. " 
— Kettering  Leader. 

HULL  :   WILLIAM  ANDREWS  &  CO.,  THE  HULL  PRESS. 
LoxDON  :  SiMPKiN,  Marshall,  Hamilton,  Kent,  &  Co.,  Ltd. 


Elegantly  bound  in  cloth  gilt,  demy  8vo.,  price  7s.  6d. 

Begone  2)crb^6bire: 

Its  History,  Romance,  Folk-Lore,  Curious 
Customs,  etc. 

Edited  by  WILLIAM  ANDREWS,  f.r.h.s. 

"TAERBYSHIRE  is  rich  in  historical  associations  of  an  out-of-the-way 
^^  character.  In  the  pages  of  "  Bygone  Derbyshire "  are  presented 
in  a  readable,  and  at  the  same  time  in  a  scholar-like  style,  papers,  pro- 
fusely illustrated,  bearing  on  such  subjects  as  the  history  of  the  county, 
ancient  castles,  monumental  brasses,  gleanings  from  parochial  records, 
old  church  lore,  family  romance,  traditions,  curious  customs,  witchcraft 
well-dressing,  old-time  sports,  etc.,  etc. 


GontentH : — Historic  Derbyshire — On  an  Early  Christian  Tomb  at  Wirks- 
worth — Curious  Derbyshire  Lead-Mining  Customs — The  Place-Nam 
Derby — Duffield  Castle — Haddon  Hall— The  Romance  of  Haddon  Hall — 
The  Ordeal  of  Touch — The  Monumental  Brasses  at  Tideswell — Bolsover 
Castle — The  Lamp  of  St.  Helen — Peveril  Castle — Samuel  Slater,  the 
Father  of  the  American  Cotton  Manufacture — The  Bakewell  Witches — 
Mary  Queen  of  Scots  in  Derbyshire — The  Babington  Conspiracy — Eyam 
and  its  Sad  Memories — Well-Dressing — Old-Time  Football — After  Thirty 
Years  ;  An  Incident  of  the  Civil  War — Derbyshire  and  the  '45 — Bess  of 
Hardwick — Shadows  of  Romance — Index. 


-^1-  PRESS  OPINIONS.  -1^- 

"' Bygone  Derbyshire '  is  a  valuable  and  interesting  contribution  to 
local  history  and  archsRology. " — The  Times. 

"  The  volume  is  pleasant  reading  of  a  most  attractive  county." — Daily 
Teleffraph. 

"A  vei-y  interesting  and  welcome  addition  to  the  literature  of  Derby 
shire." — Derbyshire  Cotirier. 

"Mr.  Andrews  is  to  be  warmly  complimented  on  the  all-round 
excellence  of  his  work,  which  forms  a  valuable  addition  to  Derbyshire 
literature." — Alfreton  Journal. 

"  A  valuable  addition  to  any  library." — Derbyshire  Times. 

HULL  :  WILLIAM  ANDREWS  &  CO.,  THE  HULL  PRESS. 
London  :  Simpkin,  Marshai,l,  Hamilton,  Kent,  &  Co. ,  Ltd. 


Elegantly  bound  in  cloth  gilt,  demy  8uo.,  price  7s.  6d. 

By  FREDERICK  ROSS,  F.R.H.S., 

Author  of  "  Yorkshire  Family  Romance,"  "Legendary 
Yorkshire,"  etc. 


CONTENTS. 

The  Walls  and  Gates — Episodes  in  the  Annals  of  Cheapside — Bishops- 
gate  Street  Within  and  Without — Aldersgate  Street  and  St.  Martin's-le- 
(irand — Old  Broad  Street — Chaucer  and  the  Tabard — The  Priory  of  the 
Holy  Trinity,  Aldgate — Convent  of  the  Sisters  Minoresses  of  the  Order 
of  St.  Clare,  Aldgate— The  Abbey  of  St.  ^lary  of  Graces,  or  East  Minster 
— The  Barons  Fitzwalter  of  Baynard's  Castle — Sir  Nicholas  Brember, 
Knight,  Lord  Mayor  of  London — An  Olden  Time  Bishop  of  London  : 
Robert  de  Braybrook — A  Brave  Old  London  Bishop :  Fulco  Basset — An 
Old  London  Diarist — Index. 

PRESS    OPINIONS. 

*'  Mr.  Ross  deals  with  the  chief  episodes  in  the  history  of  London 
architecture,  and  with  existing  London  antiquities  in  a  garrulous,  genial 
spirit,  which  renders  his  book  generally  attractive." — The  Times. 

"Beyond  all  doubt  a  more  interesting  and  withal  informing  volume 
than  '  Bygone  London '  it  has  not  been  our  good  fortune  to  come  across 
for  many  a  long  day." — The  City  Press. 


PRICE   ONE    SHILLING. 

-^  In  the  Temple.  ^ 


eONTEMTS. 

In  the  Temple — The  Knights  Templars— The  Devil's  Own— Christmas  in 
the  Temple — How  to  become  a  Templar — On  Keeping  Terms — Call  Parties. 


•'  Amusing  and  interesting  sketches." — Late  Times. 

"  Pleasant  gossip  about  the  barristers'  quarter." — Gentlewoman. 

"  A  very  pleasant  little  volume." — Globe.  / 

"  An  entertaining  little  book." — Manchester  Examiner. 

HULL:  WILLIAM  ANDREWS  &  CO.,  THE  HULL  PRESS. 
London  :    Simpkin,  Marshall,  Hamilton,  Kent,  &  Co.,  Ltd. 


Elegantly  hound  in   cloth  gilt,   demy   Svo.,   6s. 

Legendary  ^  Cjorkshire. 

By  FREDERICK  ROSS,  F.R.H.S. 


Contents  : — The   Enchanted  Cave  —The  Doomed  City — The   Worm  of 

Nunnington — The  Devil's  Arrows— The  Giant  Road  Maker  of  Mulgrave — 

The  Virgin's  Head  of  Halifax — The  Dead  Arm  of  Sb.  Oswald  the  King — 

The  Translation  of  St.   Hilda— A  Miracle  of  St.  John— The    Beatified 

Sisters — The  Dragon  of  Wantley— The  Miiacles  and  Ghost  of  Watton — 

The  Murdered  Hermit  of  Eskdale— The  Calverley  Ghost-  The  Bewitched 

House  of  Wakefield. 

PRESS  OPINIONS. 

Beverley  Recorder  says — "  It  is  a  work  of  lasting  interest,  and  cannot 
fail  to  delight  the  reader." 

Driffield  Ob-'^erce.r  says  : — The  history  and  the  literature  of  our  county 
are  now  receiving  marked  attention,  and  Mr.  Andrews  merits  the  support 
of  the  public  for  the  production  of  this  and  the  other  interesting  volumes 
he  has  issued.  We  cannot  speak  too  highly  of  this  volume,  the  printing, 
the  paper,  and  the  binding  being  faultless." 


Elegantly  bound  in  cloth  gilt,  demy  Svo. ,  6s. 

l^orhsbire  dfamil^  IRomance. 

By  FREDERICK  ROSS,  FR.H.S. 


Contents : — The  Synod  of  Streoneshalh — The  Doomed  Heir  of  Osmother- 
ley — St.  Eadwine,  The  Royal  Martyr — The  Viceroy  Siward — Phases  in  the 
Life  of  a  Political  Martyr — The  Murderer's  Bride — The  Earldom  of  Wiltes 
— Blackfaced  Clifford— The  Shepherd  Lord— The  Felons  of  Ilkley— The 
Ingilby  Boar's  Head — The  Eland  Tragedy — The  Plumpton  Marriage — The 
Topcliffe  Insurrection — Burning  of  Cottingham  Castle — The  Alum  Workers 
—The  Maiden  of  Marblehead — Rise  of  the  House  of  Phipps — The  Traitor 
Governor  of  Hull. 

PRESS  OPINIONS. 

"  The  grasp  and  thoroughness  of  the  writer  is  evident  in  every  page, 
and  the  book  forms  a  valuable  addition  to  the  literature  of  the  North 
Country. " — Gentlewoman. 

"  Many  will  welcome  this  work." — Yorkshire  Post. 

HULL  :  WILLIAM  ANDREWS  &  CO.,  THE  HULL  PRESS. 
London  :   Simpkin,  Marshall,  Hamilton,  Kent,  &  Co.,  Ltd. 


Elegantly  hound  in  cloth  gilt,  demy  8vo. ,  price  6n. 

yorkshire  Battles. 

By  EDWARD  LAMPLOUGH. 

Contents: — VVinwidfield,  etc. — Battle  of  Stamford  Bridge— After  Stam- 
ford Bridge— Battle  of  the  Standard — After  the  Battle  of  the  Standard- 
Battle  of  Myton  Meadows — Battle  of  Boroughbridge — Battle  of  Byland 
Abbey — In  the  Days  of  Edward  III.  and  Richard  II. — Battle  of  Bramham 
Moor — Battle  of  Sandal — Battle  of  Towton — Yorkshire  under  the  Tudors 
—Battle  of  Tadcaster — Battle  of  Leeds— Battle  of  Wakefield — Battle  of 
Adwalton  Moor— Battle  of  Hull — Battle  of  Selby — Battle  of  Marston 
Moor — Battle  of  Brunnanburgh — ^Fight  off  Flamborough  Head — Index. 
PRESS  OPINIONS. 

"  A  remarkably  handsome  volume,  typographically  equal  to  the  best 
productions  of  any  European  capital.  "—iVort/i  British  Daily  Mail. 

"An  important  work." — Beverley  Independent. 

"Does  great  credit  to  the  new  firm  of  book  publishers." — Yorkshire 
County  Magazine. 

"  A  beautifully  printed  volume." — Halifax  Courier. 

Cloth,  4.S. 

yorkshire  in  Olden  Times. 

Edited  by  WILLIAM  ANDREWS,  F.R.H.S. 

Contents: — An  Outline  History  of  Yorkshire,  by  Thomas  Frost — The 
Cow-Devil :  A  Legend  of  Craven,  by  William  Brockie — The  First  Anglo- 
Saxon  Poet,  by  John  H  Leggott,  f.r.h.s — The  Battle  of  Brunnanburgh, 
by  Frederick  Ross,  f.k.h.s — Old  Customs  of  York,  by  George  Benson — 
Elizabethan  Gleanings,  by  Aaron  Watson — The  Fight  for  the  Hornsea 
Fishery,  by  T  Tindall  Wildridge — Folk  Assemblies,  by  John  Nicholson 
— Quaint  Gleanings  from  the  Parish  Register-Chest  of  Kirkby  Wharfe, 
by  the  Rev  Richard  Wilton,  m.a. — The  W^akefield  Mysteries,  by  William 
Henry  Hudson — A  Biographical  Romance,  by  William  Andrews,  f.r.h.s. 
— Some  Sera  ps  and  Shreds  of  Yorkshire  Su  perstitions,  by  W  Sydney,  f.  r.  s.  l. 
— The  Salvation  of  Holderness,  by  Frederick  Ross,  f.r.h;.s. — -Yorkshire 
Fairs  and  Festivals,  by  Thomas  Frost — James  Nayler,  the  Mad  Quaker 
who  claimed  to  be  the  Messiah,  by  William  Andrews,  ?.R.ii.s — Duke 
Richard's  Doom  :  A  Legend  of  Sandal  Castle,  by  Edward  Lamplough — 
Obsolete  Industries  of  the  East  Riding,  by  John  Nicholson— Bolton 
Abbey:  Its  History  and  Legends,  by  Alfred  Chamberlain,  u.a. — To 
Bolton  Abbey,  by  the  Rev  E  G  Charlesworth. 
PRESS  OPINION. 

"The  work  consists  of  a  series  of  articles  contributed  by  various 
authors,  and  it  thus  has  the  merit  of  bringing  together  much  special 
knowledge  from  a  great  number  of  sources.  It  is  an  entertaining 
volume,  full  of  interest  for  the  general  reader,  as  \vell  as  for  the  learned 
and  curious." — Shields  Daily  Gazette. 

HULL:  WILLIAM  ANDRE W^S  &  CO.,  THE  HULL  PRESS. 
London  :    Simpkin,  Marshall,  Hamilton,  Kent,  &  Co. ,  Ltd. 


SECOND  EDITION.       Bound  In  cloth  gilt,  demy  800.      6s 

Cutioeitm  of  t^t  Cpurep: 

Studies  of  Curious  Customs,  Services,  and  Records, 
By    WILLIAM     ANDREWS,   F.R.H.S., 

Author  of  *'  Historic  Romance,"  "  Famous  Frosts  and 
Ikost  Fairs,"  "Historic  Yorkshire,"  etc. 


eONTE/NTS: 

Early  Religious  Plays :  being  the  Story  of  the  English  Stage  in 
its  Church  Cradle  Days — The  Caistor  Gad-Whip  Manorial 
Service— Strange  Serpent  Stories — Church  Ales — Rush-Bearing 
— Fish  in  Lent — Concernirg  Doles — Church  Scrambling  Chari- 
ties— Briefs — Bells  and  Beacons  for  Travellers  by  Night — Hour 
Glasses  in  Churches — Chained  Books  in  Churches — Funeral 
Effigies — Torchlight  Burials — Simple  Memorials  of  the  Early 
Dead — The  Romance  of  Parish  Registers — Dog  Whippers  and 
Sluggard  Wakers — Odd  Items  from  Old  Accounts — A  carefully 
compiled  Index. 

— >©      I  LLUST-RATED.    ©^ 


press   (Opinions. 

"  A  volume  both  entertaining  and  instructive,  throwing  much  light  on  the  manners 
and  customs  of  bygone  generations  of  Churchmen,  and  will  be  read  to-day  with  much 
interest." — Neivbery  House  Magazine. 

"An  extremely  interesting  volume." — North  British  Daily  Mail. 

"  A  work  of  lasting  interest." — Hull  Examiner. 

"  The  reader  will  find  much  in  this  book  to  interest,  instruct,  and  amuse." — Hoine 
Ckitnes. 

"  We  feel  sure  that  many  will  feel  grateful  to  Mr.  Andrews  for  having  produced  such 
V)  interesting  book." — The  Antiquary. 

"  A  volume  of  great  research  and  striking  interest." —  The  Bookbuyer  {New  York). 

"  A  valuable  book." — Literary  World  {Boston,  U.S.A.). 

"An  admirable  book." — Sheffield  Independent. 

"  An  interesting,  handsomely  got  up  volume.  .  .  ,  Mr.  Andrews  is  always  chatty 
*nd  expert  in  making  a  paper  on  a  dry  subject  exceedingly  readable." — Newcastle  Courant 

"  Mr.  William  Andrews'  new  book,  '  Curiosities  of  the  Church,'  adds  another  to  the 
series  by  which  he  has  done  so  much  to  popularise  antiquarian  studies.  .  .  .  The  book, 
it  should  be  added,  has  some  quaint  illustrations,  and  its  rich  matter  is  made  available  foi 
reference  by  a  full  and  caj-ffuUv  coniciled  index." — Scotsman. 


Hull :  William  Andrews  &  Co.,  The  Hull  Press. 
London :  Simpkin,  Marshall,  Hamilton,  Kent,  &  Co.,  Ltd. 

X 


Elegantly  bound  in  cloth  gilt,  demy  8uo.,  price  6s. 


Ofb   Cputc?  Bore. 

By    WILLIAM    ANDREWS,    F.R.H.S., 

Author  of  ^*  Curiosities  of  the  Church"  ^'  Old- Time  Punishments,'' 
''Historic  Romance,"  etc. 


The  Right  of  Sanctuary— The  Romance  of  Trial— A  Fight 
between  the  Mayor  of  Hull  and  the  Archbishop  of 
York— Chapels  on  Bridg-es— Charter  Horns— The  Old 
English  Sunday  — The  Easter  Sepulchre  —  St.  Paul's 
Cross— Cheapside  Cross— The  Biddenden  Maids  Charity 
—Plagues  and  Pestilences- A  King  Curing  an  Abbot 
of  Indigestion— The  Services  and  Customs  of  Royal 
Oak  Day— Marrying  in  a  White  Sheet— Marrying  under 
the  Gallows— Kissing  the  Bride— Hot  Ale  at  Weddings 
—Marrying  Children  — The  Passing  Bell  —  Concerning 
Coffins- The  Curfew  Bell— Curious  Symbols  of  the  Saints 
—Acrobats  on  Steeples— A  carefully-prepared  Index. 


--'•    PRESS    OPINIONS.  "^ 

"  A  worthy  work  on  a  deeply  interesting  subject.  .  .  .  We 
commend  this  book  strongly." — European  Mail. 

*'  An  interesting  volume." — The  Scotsman. 

"Contains  much  that  ■will  interest  and  instruct." — Gla-tfjow 
Herald. 

"  The  author  has  produced  a  book  which  is  at  once  entertaining 
and  valuable,  and  which  is  also  entitled  to  unstinted  praise  on  the 
ground  of  its  admirable  printing  and  binding." — Shidds  Daily  Gazette. 

"Mr.  Andrews'  book  does  not  contain  a  dull  page.  .  .  . 
Deserves  to  meet  with  a  very  warm  welcome. " —  Yorkshire  Post. 

"  Mr.  Andrews,  in  '  Old  Church  Lore,'  makes  the  musty 
parchments  and  records  he  has  consulted  redolent  with  life  and 
actuality,  and  has  added  to  his  works  a  most  interesting  volume, 
which,  written  in  a  light  and  easy  narrative  style,  is  anything  but 
of  the  '  dry-as-dust '  order.  The  book  is  handsomely  got  up,  being 
both   bound  and   printed   in  an  artistic   fanhion."— Northern   Daily 


Hull :  William  Andrews  &  Co.,  The  Hull  Press. 
London :  Simpbin,  Marshall,  Hamilton,  Kent,  &  Co.,  Ltd. 


Fcap  4to.    Bevelled  boards,  gilt  tops.    Price  48. 

jfamous  3Ft06t8  anb  J^roet  Jfaits 
in  (Breat  Britain. 

Chronicled  from  the  Ear/ /est  to  the  Present  Time. 
By  WILLIAM  ANDREWS,  f.r.h.s. 


This  work  furnishes  a  carefully  prepared  account  of  all  the  great  Frosts 
occurring  in  this  country  from  a.d.  134  to  1887.  The  numerous  Frost 
Fairs  on  the  Thames  are  fully  described,  arid  illustrated  with  quaint 
woodcuts,  and  several  old  ballads  relating  to  the  subject  are  reproduced. 
It  is  tastefully  printed  and  elegantly  bound. 

PRESS  OPINIONS. 
"  The  work  is  thoroughly  well  written,  it  is  careful  in  its  facts,  and  may 
be  pronounced  exhaustive  on  the  subject.  Illustrations  are  given  of 
several  frost  fairs  on  the  Thames,  and  as  a  trustworthy  record  this  volume 
should  be  in  every  good  library.  The  usefulness  of  the  work  is  much 
enhanced  by  a  good  index." — Public  Opinion. 

"  A  very  interesting  volume."—  Northern  Daily  Telegraph. 

"  A  great  deal  of  curious  and  valuable  information  is  contained  in  these 
pages.     .  "  .     .     A  comely  volume." — Literary  World. 

"  The  work  from  first  to  last  is  a  most  attractive  one,  and  the  arts  alike 
of  printer  and  binder  have  been  brought  into  one  to  give  it  a  pleasing 
form. " —  Wakefield  Free  Prexs. 

"  An  interesting  and  valuable  work." —  Went  Middlesex  Times. 

"  Not  likely  to  fail  in  interest." — Manchester  Guardian. 

"  The  book  is  beautifully  got  mp.^—Barnsley  Independent. 

"  This  chronology  has  been  a  task  demanding  extensive  research  and 
considerable  labour  and  patience,  and  Mr.  Andrews  is  to  be  heartily  con- 
gratulated on  the  result." — Derby  Daily  Gazette. 

"  A  volume  of  much  interest  and  great  importance." — Rotherham 
Advertiser. 

One  hundred  copies  only  printed  for  sale,  and  each  copy  numbered. 

Ube  Bvolution  of  Brama. 

By  SIDNEY  W.  CLARKE. 

"A  carefully  written  work.  .  .  .  It  is  a  readable  contribution  to 
dramatic  history." — The  Critic. 

HULL  :  WILLIAM  ANDREWS  &  CO.,  THE  HULL  PRESS. 
London :  Simpkin,  Marshall,  Hamilton,  Kent,  &  Co.,  Ltd. 


Price  6s.     Demy  8uo.     Elegantly  bound  cloth  gilt. 

(^  (TUon^P  in  a  ®anl»i : 

A  Woman's  Wanderings  in  Northern  India. 
By  CHRISTINA  S.  BREMNER. 


Contents : — The  Ascent  from  the  Plains  to  the  Hills — Kasauli  and  its 
Amusements — Theories  on  Heat— Simla,  the  Queen  of  the  Hill  Stations — 
Starting  Alone  for  the  Interior — In  Bussahir  State — The  Religious  Festival 
at  Pangay — On  Congress — On  the  Growing  Poverty  of  India. 

PRESS    OPINIONS. 

"  The  author  of  a  '  Month  in  a  Dandi '  has  a  facile  pen,  and  is  evidently 
a  shrewd  observer.  Her  book  differs  from  many  belonging  to  the  same 
class  by  reason  of  its  freshness,  its  spontaneity,  and  its  abundance  of 
interesting  detail.  Moreover,  the  book  is  written  with  a  purpose.  '  If  by 
perusing  these  pages  the  reader  obtains  a  clearer  view  of  England's 
attitude  to  her  great  dependency,  if  his  prepossessions  against  '  black 
men '  and  the  '  poor  heathen  '  should  melt  away  in  any  degree,  if  the 
assumption  that  what  is  good  for  England  must  necessarily  be  so  for 
India  receives  a  slight  shake,  the  writer  will  feel  rewarded.'  To  these 
conclusions  one  is  almost  certain  to  come  when  the  experiences  of  Miss 
Bremner's  '  Month  in  a  Dandi '  are  recalled.  There  would  be  no  end  to 
our  quotations  were  we  to  reproduce  all  the  passages  we  have  marked  as 
being  interesting.  Miss  Bremner  is  always  in  good  spirits,  and  writes 
with  ease,  and  evidently  con  amore." — Birmingham  Daily  Gazette. 

"  Miss  Bremner's  book  describes  a  woman's  wanderings  in  Northern 
India,  and  it  is  written  from  adequate  knowledge,  with  shrewd  discern- 
ment, and  a  pleasing  amount  of  vivacity." — Speaker. 

"  '  A  Month  in  a  l)andi '  is  full  of  instruction.  It  shows  a  great  deal  of 
ability  and  determination  to  express  truths,  even  if  they  be  unpalatable. 
The  chapters  on  the  vexed  questions  of  Baboo  culture  and  Indian 
Congress  are  well  worth  reading." — Manchester  Guardian. 

"  Miss  Bremner's  style  is  chastened,  for  the  most  part  humorous,  faithful 
to  detail,  and  oftentimes  polished  to  literary  excellence.  The  earlier 
chapters  are  full  of  raciness  and  agreeable  personality. — Hull  Daily  Mail. 

"  '  A  Month  in  a  Dandi '  describes  the  writer's  wanderings  in  Northern 
India,  following  upon  a  shrewdly  observant  account  of  the  seamy  side  of 
Anglo-Indian  Society.  The  subject  throughout  is  approached  from  a 
political  economist's  point  of  view.  The  chapter  on  the  growing  poverty 
of  India  sounds  a  warning  note." — Gentlewoman. 

"  The  author  of  a  '  Month  in  a  Dandi '  is  evidently  a  keen  observer  of 
men  and  things,  and  we  know  that  her  opinion  is  shared  by  many  of  our 
countrymen  who  have  had  a  much  larger  experience  of  India  and  Indian 
affairs  than  herself.  The  book  is  full  of  the  most  exquisite  word  pictures, 
pictures  that  are  full  of  light,  beauty,  and  grace,  but,  unfortunately,  some 
of  them  have  more  shade  than  we  care  to  see  ;  but,  doubtless.  Miss 
Bremner's  treatment  is  correct  and  life-like. " — Hidl  Daily  News. 

HULL  :    WILLIAM  ANDREWS  &  CO.,   THE  HULL  PRESS. 
London  :  Simphin,  Marshall,  Hamilton,  Kent,  &  Co.,  Ltd. 


(A 


UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA  LIBRARY 

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